STANDARD DISCLAIMER: All characters and situations related to Star Trek are wholly owned by Paramount Pictures. All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" TV series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.

THE MAVERICK CHRONICLES

THE ILLUSION OF SELF

Part One

I

If the truth was known, Chris Larabee was bored.

Of course, while he considered this a fact known only to him, everyone else on the bridge had a fair idea of it as well. In fact, they had such a fair idea that their Captain was bored that the current odds over who would throw him bodily into a torpedo tube was starting to run increasingly high among the senior staff. It had started simply enough, a little drumming of fingers against his command chair, followed by regular wistful sighs of boredom waiting for something to happen. This soon followed with inquiries of the communications officer even two minutes if there was anything to hear until the youth was so jumpy that each time the captain moved, Ensign JD Dunne flinched in fear. The ensign was starting to think he had somehow disappointed the Captain by not producing the desired signal that would end the man’s tedium.

After awhile, he moved from harassing JD to the science station where Lieutenant Commander Styles was currently running sensor sweeps of the local area, seeking scientific anomalies and coordinating with stellar cartography to get a more precise map of this sector of space. The third office seemed to answer all his questions in stride. As always, she wore that mercurial expression on her face that told everyone they had better have a good reason for approaching her. Still those who came to know the Commander personally would see that she was not so glacial but rather reserved with her opinions. Thus, everyone was mystified at how she was capable of tolerating his questions over and over again.

"Chris," Vin Tanner spoke up in an effort to take the Captain’s mind of his boredom. He noticed Lieutenant Commander Ezra Standish was idling with his phaser and probably thinking what were the odds of getting away with justifiable homicide if he were to use it on his commanding officer. "You up for some mountain climbing on the holodeck?"

The statement was of no surprise to anyone because the Captain and the helmsman had spent a great deal of off duty time engaging in all sorts of outdoor activities. Last week it was white water rafting on the Colorado River and the week before it had been hiking up Mount Seleya and now the flavor looked to be mountain climbing. A small sigh of relief passed through the bridge as breaths were held in anticipation that the mention of a holodeck might get the Captain off the bridge.

"Sure," Chris remarked with a sigh, since not much else was happening on the bridge. "When does your shift end?" He asked, staring at the view screen ahead and seeing to his disappointment, nothing but stars flying past the ship as the Maverick cruised languidly at Warp 3.

"In about an hour." Vin replied. "I thought we might try the Machupuchare." The Vulcan suggested.

"You intend to scale those heights?" Ezra exclaimed with something akin to horror. The infamous fish hook mountain in the Himalayas was one of the most challenging goals for even the most seasoned mountain climber. The real Machupuchare had claimed many lives in its long history as a venue for climbers and Ezra could not imagine anyone undertaking such an arduous form of entertainment.

"Yep." Vin said thinking nothing of it since Ezra seemed to have a complaint about any form of recreation that required breaking a sweat. "It’s been done by others."

"Take it easy Ezra," Chris drawled, aware that the Security officers main concern was the fact that Vin preferred to disengage the holodeck safety protocols when he performed any adventure sport. Takes all the fun out of it if you can get a scrape knee, the helmsman had said to his Captain after Nathan Jackson had dragged Vin into his ready room the last time the man had been forced to treat the Vulcan for broken ribs apparently from a fall. "Safety wills be on."

"I am gratified to know that." Ezra said after a moment. "I do not relish having to face my security team and inform them I have to assign someone to guard you captain while you climbing a mountain."

"Although," JD found himself speaking up despite himself. "It would have been fun to see their faces when you did." The young man grinned.

A small titter of laughter moved through the bridge and the earlier tension had dissolved for the moment. Chris glanced over his shoulder and asked. "Anything interesting Commander?" He looked at Alex since she had been somewhat silent during this exchange. The question seemed to irk her and she straightened up and gave him a look. "Captain," she said neutrally. "You realize that I have the greatest respect for you."

The captain exchanged a mystified glance with Ezra and Vin over the question before replying. "I assume so, why?" He looked at her.

"So you understand when I say with all due respect that if you do not keep asking me that question at every 2.34 minute intervals, I will have to throw you in the warp core."

Another ripple of amusement went through the bridge although in this instance it was more restrained since no one wanted to be caught laughing at their science officer’s statement even though it was surely deserved. Ezra was suddenly busying himself with his security console, Vin’s eyes had faced front even though he was biting down he watched the stars flying past them with absolutely no interest. In the meantime, JD found it necessary to make a slight course correction.

Chris frowned and replied somewhat quietly. "Point taken. "You’ll let me know if something is up."

"The minute it happens." She answered, letting out a sigh of relief that he did not take too much offense at her words since some commanders would.

"Mr. Dunne, Mr. Tanner," Ezra looked at his fellow bridge officers. "I do believe you both owe me ten credits each."

"Ten credits on what?" Chris glared at them suspiciously.

"That Alex would be the first one to break." Vin said with a little smile, which saw him, rewarded with a playful smirk from the science officer.

"Have I been that annoying?" Chris cast his gaze around the bridge, daring them to respond.

Vin, Ezra and JD looked at each other in silent agreement before they all answered in perfect unison "Absolutely notSir."

"Cowards," Alex said under her breath.

***********

Unaware of how close the ship had actually come to mutiny, Commander Buck Wilmington was presently at Four Corners with Counselor Josiah Sanchez going over the monthly crew evaluations. It was a task he hated doing but discovered, much to his chagrin, that the duty fell solely within his purview as first officer of the USS Maverick. Much of his dislike arose from the fact that Buck hated to think that any member of the crew was a lost cause no matter how overwhelming the evidence might be. If it were not for Josiah helping him with making the necessary decisions, Buck would never be able to file a bad report on anyone.

"Well Vin’s situation is improving." Buck commented as he went through the Vulcan’s evaluation. "Mostly because Chris had made it his business to make sure he speaks his mind a little more."

"Being caught between two cultures can be very difficult," Josiah remarked. "However, he holds up well under pressure and I think he’s starting to come out of that shell of his a little more, not just with the captain and Commander Styles. He had something of a problem that I told him to see Lieutenant Travis about."

"I see." He looked at Josiah and noted that the Counselor did not choose to elaborate which meant asking would be a waste of time. Instead, Buck merely nodded in response before taking a sip of his coffee before adding further. "When he gets talking, you can’t shut him and he’s got quite a temper on him. Keeps it inside most of the time but when it goes, it goes."

"That’s just the Vulcan in him." The Counselor pointed out. "Most people seem to forget that the reasons Vulcans subscribe to non emotion is because of just how heated their passions can be when they are provoked. Case in point, the Romulans."

Buck had forgotten. Romulans and Vulcans, though similar in appearance, were so diametrically opposed in culture and way of life that it was impossible to imagine that they were once the same race. Vin came from a stock that was extremely volatile and it was easy to forget that even though he appeared human in every way, he was not. "I suppose so."

"What about Mr. Dunne?" Josiah inquired, moving to the youngest member of the Maverick’s bridge crew.

A genuine smile of pleasure stole across Buck’s face at the mention the Ensign. "Well, his performance on the bridge is exemplary. He’s conscientious, eager, still green as all hell but he listens." The pride in Buck’s voice was just as unmistakable as the smile on his face. Since coming on board, it had been Buck’s responsibility to train JD and the kid had failed to disappoint. Seeing the world through JD’s eyes made Buck remember what it was like when the galaxy was a fresh, exciting place to him. In some ways, it still was but experience had changed Buck too much for him to enjoy like he had when he had first emerged from the Academy.

"Well they weren’t wrong when they deep seated him as potential captain material," Buck concluded with more than just pride. This time, he was speaking as JD’s superior officer. "A couple of years under his belt and he’s going to be good. I can believe how he beat the Kobayashi Maru."

"Yes," Josiah nodded, having read that in the young man’s records. "I hear that Starfleet Academy is still mourning."

The Kobayashi Maru was a test scenario offered by Starfleet Academy to evaluate graduating command cadets to decide which one of their number would be viable candidates as future captains. The test, which revolved around the fictitious ship called the Kobayshi Maru, offered a no-win situation. The program offered a scenario where the cadet would be required to rescue a ship in the Neutral Zone. There was no solution that would allow either the Kobayshi Maru or the ship rescuing her to escape safely. It was designed as a mental problem to see how potential command officers would handle themselves even in dire circumstances and those results usually decided who would wear captain’s gold and who would not.

Before JD Dunne, only one person had successfully beaten the Kobayashi Maru and that was James T Kirk whose solution was to sneak in the night before and reprogram the simulation so that a solution could be reached. However, when JD had tackled the problem of the Kobayashi Maru, he had offered a unique solution in that he had challenged the simulated enemies in the Neutral Zone, in this case the Klingons, to a duel between captains, warrior to warrior with their ancient bathlet weapon. Klingon honor could not allow such a challenge to go unanswered and thus the Klingon commander had no choice but to accept the duel and thus both the Kobayashi Maru and the Federation ship sent to rescue her were saved. The solution had never been tried and the programmers of the Kobayashi Maru had to cry defeat because the essence of test had been solved and Starfleet had a very important question answered regarding the future of Mr. Dunne.

"How’s he doing in the head department?" Buck asked, knowing performance alone could not judge the well being of an officer.

Josiah flinched at the use of the word but Buck seemed to have a lot of such sayings which Josiah was slowly becoming accustomed to. "He was a little nervous to begin but then he’s fresh from the Academy, you can’t expect him to be any other way. His mother died shortly before he graduated so he’s still feeling the loss but I think you’ve been a great help to him."

"I have?" The first officer looked at Josiah with a hint of surprise that JD would have credited so much to him.

"He looks up to you." Josiah replied, unafraid for Buck to hear this because the man needed to continue supporting JD for the youth to reach his full potential. "And I take it you’ve been making an extra effort for him to not to feel too homesick?"

"I remember what it was like shipping out for the first time." Buck admitted. "It’s hard enough when you got family but when have no one," he lapsed into deep thought because he never did have family when he joined the Academy. His mother had been dead and gone for years by then and if it had not been for Chris, Buck would have spent a lot of his furloughs alone.

"I understand," Josiah answered, well aware of Buck’s history. "What about you?" He suddenly asked.

Buck choked in mid swallow not expecting the question and raised his eyes as the Counselor in a display of astonishment over the question. "What about me?" He retorted, waiting for Josiah to clarify what he meant by that inquiry.

Josiah smiled faintly, finding some amusement in Buck’s reaction. The first officer tended to play big brother to everyone, whether or not they needed. As the ship’s Executive Officer, Josiah supposed that quality came part and parcel with the job but the position of first officer made it difficult for him to confide in anyone else about his troubles other than the captain and he could understand why most chose not to.

"How are you doing since taking the job as first officer?" Josiah asked once again, deciding that he would have to be a lot clearer than he had been if he wished to garner some form of an answer from Buck.

"Fine I guess." Buck answered, not really understanding the need to bring up this subject since the role of first officer had fit him rather comfortably and Buck saw no difficulties that had yet to emerge. "Why do you ask?"

"Well this is your first command on a ship as first officer." Josiah pointed out. "It’s not like any other job and save the centre seat, it’s probably the hardest there is on this ship. You’re responsible for all the details that the Captain doesn’t have time to deal with but has to be done if the ship is to function."

"When you put it like that you make me nervous," Buck said adjusting his collar. "It’s harder than I thought," he admitted after a moment’s reflection seeing no need to bottle it up. "I feel like I’ve got to keep everything running smooth all the time so that Chris can do his job and it’s the details that worry me. If I miss something it could affect the whole ship." After a moment, he looked at Josiah and gushed.

"How do you do that?" Buck stared at him. "How do you just get people to start talking. One minute I say everything is fine and the next thing you know I’m unloading on you."

"Its I do," the Counselor said with a smile. "I get people to unload and most of them who have something to say, will find a way to tell me eventually."

"It’s sneaky." Buck retorted. "But to answer your question, now that you got it out of me. I’m doing okay actually. I was scared to death the first few weeks but I’m getting the hang of it and in the rare occasions when I ain’t, there’s plenty of female company around to see me through the rough spots."

"Right." Josiah rolled his eyes, remembering what a sweet tooth Buck had when it came to the ladies on board the ship.

It was no wonder the man took his vacations on Raisa.

************

Vin Tanner was on his way back to his quarters when he found Lieutenant Mary Travis waiting for him outside his quarters. Vin had not expected to see her so soon even though he requested a private audience earlier today. As the only person on board the ship who had some knowledge of Vulcan culture, Vin had no choice but to approach the protocol officer in order to deal with a personal problem he had been ordered by Josiah to handle for the sake of his own mental well being. As soon as he saw her, he wished he had not asked her to meet him when his duty shift was over. Fortunately, in a short time, he would be joining the captain on the holodeck to make their rock climbing appointment so he had an excuse to get this over and done with as quickly as possible.

"Vin." Mary greeted upon seeing him approach his door. "I called the bridge at the end of your duty shift and they said you were heading down here."

"Yes," Vin nodded quietly, always feeling uneasy around her. As someone who knew how Vulcans should behave, Vin was always wondering whether or not she was judging him according to their standard. Her son was an entirely different matter and on the occasions he had joined Chris Larabee and young William for their fishing trips on the holodeck, Vin had found it easy to deal with the child.

Entering his quarters, he cursed slightly that his room was somewhat untidy. In those respects, he was terribly human and had not an ounce of repentance over that trait. Better that then to be so fastidious that he would spend all his time picking up after himself.

"I’m sorry," he said picking up some stray clothes from the sofa. "I was not expecting company."

"That’s all right," she smiled. "I have an appointment myself so I can’t stay long. What can I do for you?" She asked, aware that he would be happier if they could get straight to the point.

Vin swallowed, wishing he did not have to do this but knew he had no choice in the matter. It was easier to speak to her about this then it was with any other Vulcan on the ship because they tended to find him something of an oddity and Vin did not need his differences pointed out any more than they already were. "I’ve been having trouble keeping myself from melding with people I touch." Vin managed to say after a moment, aware of how Vulcans felt about melding with other races, particularly without permission. To them, it was almost like mind rape.

"I see." Mary said quietly, aware of how serious a problem this was. "How can I help?"

"Josiah said that you knew something about Vulcan mental disciplines." He continued speaking and she could tell how very hard this was for him because he was not accustomed to asking for help from anyone. People seemed to offer it readily because he appeared fragile at times without understanding how much strength lay beneath that veneer of silence. "I thought you could teach me."

"I know something." Mary admitted readily. Living on Vulcan and being married to one for as long as she had made the study of such disciplines a necessity. While her telepathic ability was awakened, it could never be as strong as full-blooded Vulcan’s, like Vin. "I could help you with mental exercises and certain techniques about shields if you like." She offered.

"That would be good." Vin said with relief, grateful that she could help because he could not imagine going to another Vulcan about this problem. As it was, they all considered him something of a freak because he had not learnt any of their ways even though he was Vulcan in every aspect. His upbringing had changed him from Vulcan to human and somehow, Vin felt as if they blamed him for it. As if he had any choice in the matter.

"When would you like to begin?" She asked, knowing how hard it had been to seek aid of any kind about something like this. In that respect, he as typically Vulcan. They liked to keep their personal affairs just that, personal.

"Tomorrow?" He offered because he had to go meet the Captain soon and he really did want to climb that mountain with Chris.

"Tomorrow it is then." Mary agreed with a nod. "I’ll see you here at the same time?" She suggested.

"That will be fine." Vin flashed her a grateful smile and let out a sigh of relief when she finally left the room. After her departure, Vin had to take a few moments to compose himself, praying that he made the right decision. If not for the seriousness of the situation, he would have preferred to handle this himself as he had handled all things about his heritage over the last few years. In private.

Sometimes, it was so hard to be Vulcan, even for a Vulcan.

*********

When Chris finally decided that it was time to walk off the bridge in order to join Vin on the holodeck, he had come to the firm conclusion that nothing was going to happen today. It looked as if the same old boring routine that had been taking place, ever since they began the ordeal of mapping the local area was going to be with them for at least another day. Besides, he was starting to believe that he was indeed infuriating his bridge crew by his expressions of weariness and boredom and while he had tried to curb it after Commander Styles had threatened him with bodily harm, Chris could not help but continue pestering her after awhile.

After all, he had to have some fun.

"Well this has been fun," Chris sighed as he rose to his feet from his command chair. "But I guess I’ll turn the bridge over to you for awhile Commander." He said to Alex with something of a smug expression.

"Thank you Sir." Alex retorted. "Shouldn’t you be running along to the holodeck?"

"If you think that nothing is going to happen." Chris gave Ezra a look of mischief as he asked and saw the security chief trying to stifle his laughter but somehow the snigger managed to show on his face.

"Captain, there’s nothing out there!" She barked. "Go, climb Machupuchare! Hell, do Everest if you can, just go! If there is even the slightest chance that something is going down I promise that we’ll let you know immediately!"

It took quite a bit to wear her patience but Chris was very pleased at his success. "If you say so Commander." He grinned and walked towards the turbo lift. He was still wearing that satisfied expression when the doors slid open and he stepped inside to be spirited elsewhere in the ship.

"You know," Alex mused to herself as she prepared to go back to work on her charting project with stellar cartography now that she was ensured she would not be interrupted with ridiculous question. "If he wasn’t my Captain, I’d shoot him."

"Er.....Commander." JD Dunne suddenly exclaimed. "I’m receiving what appears to be a distress signal."

Alex let out visible groan about the same time that Ezra burst out laughing unable to contain himself after being presented with the piece de la resistance on this whole situation. Even JD was laughing openly as Alex shouldered and replied sharply in a low voice.

"Get the Captain." She fumed and then added, giving Ezra a cold stare. "You want to lay odds on the who’s the first person to get their nose broken if they say a damn word?"

Part Two

It was approximately thirty minutes following the discovery of the distress beacon and most of the bridge officers were inside the conference room preparing to deliver their reports on the preliminary investigations made so far. The ship was presently heading for the source of the signal at warp five and the estimate time of arrival would allow them to answer the call for help in less than three hours. While the location of the signal was not more than a few light years away, there was some concern at the presence of a Federation type distress signal calling to them from so far within uncharted space.

As Chris found himself in the captain’s chair at the head of the conference table within the ready room, he tried to keep the satisfied smirk off his face each time he looked in the direction of Alex Styles. Even though much humor had been wrought already by the fortuitous appearance of the distress signal just after she had sent him off the bridge, convinced that no situation would arise to require his attention, Chris could not help laughing inwardly at the whole episode. Alex on the other hand, wore the same stony appearance, not about to show anyone that she felt the least bit repentant for her earlier actions.

Since a full staff report was not required at this time, only the bridge officers were attending for the briefing. Chris sat at his customary seat at the head of the table with Alex and Buck flanking him on either side. JD took up position next to Buck while Vin sat between the science officer and Ezra. There was no need to broaden the scope of the meeting just yet, not until they had some idea of what they would be facing when they finally arrived at the source of the signal.

"Okay," Chris glanced in Alex’s direction with the same gloating expression on his face he had worn since learning about the signal. "Assuming that under the personal assurance of our science officer that nothing else is going to happen today, let’s get this meeting under way." He remarked, displaying a smug grin as he said that.

With the exception of Buck and Alex, the other three men in the room could not help but chuckle slightly. Even Vin was sniggering and hiding his mouth behind his hands as he did so in order not to be heard but his amusement was apparent. Ezra was not so furtive and the dimpled smirk on his face was enough to show just how much he was being entertained at Alex’s expense. JD who was not about to incur the wrath of a senior officer under any circumstances was biting the inside of his cheek trying to keep his need to laugh under control.

Buck looked around mystified wondering what was the joke he had missed, especially when his oldest friend, not to mention his Captain, was staring at the only female in the room like a mischievous boy who had just pulled a particularly delicious prank. Alex, who was frowning, did not appear annoyed, merely chagrined by what had happened on the bridge and was allowing the captain his amusement at her expense for the time being.

"What did I miss?" He looked around in puzzlement.

"Don’t ask." Alex grumbled giving the rest of the officers at the table a dark look, which ensured their silence for the moment at least. She had no doubt that the minute the meeting was over, Ezra would be gleefully filling Buck in on all the details, if JD did not do it first.

"I’ll let you on it later," Chris said with a smile before deciding that it was time to get down to business. Besides, he had no desire to test the boundaries of Alex’s patience. "So JD," he looked at the young ensign who also happened to be his navigation and communications officer. "Have you traced the signal?"

"Yes Sir," JD nodded clearing his throat and reminding himself that the time for playful mischief was over. "It’s definitely a Federation homing beacon. Mostly deployed in the DY500 series. They’re old ships but the recognition pattern is the same. I’ve run it through the registry and the frequency matches that of a ship called the Leonov."

"Good work." Buck commented, once again feeling that familiar swell of pride at how well the young man was doing under his tutelage. Most officers his age would be scrambling to maintain their balance in such experienced company but JD was holding his own even though his lack of years showed at times. Buck was always certain to let him know that those whose respect he wanted so much to earn noted his ability to handle himself.

"What do we know about the Leonov?" Chris turned to Alex since this was her field of expertise.

Alex who had done a thorough investigation prior to this meeting of all the data accumulated on the subject was quick to make her response. "Until its disappearance more than six months ago, she was mostly a commercial freighter owned by a Tellerite trader named Dar Kelisan. Deep Space Five reports that Kelisan did most of his business with the Lysians. According to station logs the Leonov had made a supply stop just before the recent Borg invasion. Nothing of them has been heard of since and it was assumed that they had abandoned that part of space following the disaster on Lysia. However, I’ve checked with Federation Stellar Control and they have not received any flight plan from Leonov for quite some time."

"It could be possible that they ran into the Borg when the Collective attacked Earth." Buck suggested.

"But they don’t leave anything behind." Vin countered. "If they could take a starship apart like paper, there would not be much left of DY500 series ship if they encountered it, not enough to leave a homing beacon still operational."

"Mr. Tanner is correct," Ezra agreed readily. "A ship like that would have no chance against the Borg. I believe that whatever caused the Leonov to emit its distress signal is not due to the Collective but something else altogether."

"Do we know where they are?" Chris asked Alex once again.

"Yes." She nodded. "Judging by the source of the transmission, its coming from a star system with an earth type yellow star and four M class planets. Beyond the notation of its existence, nothing else is known of the system. However, we are the first ship assigned to make comprehensive stellar charts of this area in almost twenty years so naturally what’s on record is going to be out of date and not all that useful."

"So we have no information on what’s waiting for us when we get there, other than an old ship that was thought to have been destroyed suddenly having resurfaced." Chris frowned, disliking the lack of intelligence. He disliked going into a situation blind and when there were civilians involved, he liked it even less.

"More or less." Buck shrugged, sympathizing with Chris’ feelings on the subject. "How many were on board the Leonov?" He asked Alex.

"Two hundred and fifty crew." Alex replied. "Mostly Tellerites and humans."

"Could they still be alive?" Vin ventured to ask. "If they didn’t run into the Borg, it is possible that there could be survivors."

"Unfortunately," Ezra added. "Having no knowledge as to the nature of their difficulties, we cannot assume anything at all." The security chief did not wish to sound pessimistic but the purpose of such discussions were to put all possibilities on the table and the notion of an unknown threat in this remote corners of space was not unheard of. The Borg was not the only hostile aliens to emerge from the Delta quadrant as they had learnt when they encountered the C’Kaia only a few weeks ago. The lack of discovery did not mean the absence of danger.

"I’d like to operate under the assumption that someone is still alive for us to find." Chris replied after hearing all the opinions of his officers. "The DY500 class ships were made to last and if I’m not mistaken their life support systems were pretty formidable. They were constructed for deep space missions so two and hundred and fifty people may be able to survive for six months or more if they’re smart." He glanced at Vin. "How long until we arrive?"

"At present speed of Warp 5, three hours." Vin answered automatically.

"Let’s take her up to Warp 9," Chris decided. "I think that the Leonov has waited long enough for someone to find her."

No one could disagree with that.

*********

With the increase in speed to Warp 9, the Maverick significantly cut down its expected time of arrival at the Leonov’s position from three hours to one. In anticipation for a possible rescue, the appropriate departments were mobilized for action. Doctor Nathan Jackson’s medical team was prepped and ready to beam to the ship the moment survivors were confirmed to warrant their presence. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Julia Pemberton had organized a team of engineers and technicians in order to assess the status of the Leonov once they found the ship. If all possible, Chris wanted to salvage the vessel.

The view screen offered a breathtaking view of an Earth type solar system and the yellow star though unremarkable in comparison to the slew of others like it that populated the galaxy, was nonetheless a spectacular sight in the distant space. The amber waves of light it illuminated seemed to enhanced the speckled beauty of the stars around it and the silhouette of several planets could be seen through the sea of color.

"Have you located the ship?" Chris asked, anticipating that Alex knew her job well enough for him not to make that query.

His confidence in his bridge crew was beyond reproach. Even though they were only weeks into their tenure on board the Maverick, Chris was pleased to know that they metamorphosed from a group of individuals becoming accustomed to sharing the same space into a well oiled machine that was capable of anticipating each others actions. He could not hide the pride he felt at how quickly they had forged their bonds since coming on board and knew that such unity did not come easily. There were officers on other ships who served together for years without acquiring the level of camaraderie that was achieved on the Maverick in a matter of weeks.

"Yes," Alex nodded staring at the console with some measure of concern. "It does not appear to be coming from any of the planets or its moons."

"Then where?" Buck asked before Chris could.

"According to my scans, the signal is emanating from what appears to be a planetoid, possibly an asteroid just beyond the gravitational pull of their second planet."

"Confirmed." Ezra declared, having made his own sensor scans of the system while in search for possible dangers to the ship. "There are no other ships in the system or anything resembling technology. If something is transmitting a beacon in this system, it has to be the Leonov and it is coming from the location that Alex has pinpointed."

"Take us in at half impulse." Chris ordered and Vin immediately complied. Before them, the star starting moving past them on the view screen as the great ship sailed forward like a giant leviathan in the watery depths.

"I didn’t think there was an asteroid cluster in this area to be able to trap an asteroid in this system." JD remarked, hoping that his query might be answered by his more experienced crew mates.

"It’s unusual." Buck had to admit. "When they’re speeding through a system like this, they’ve usually got too much velocity to be caught by a planet’s gravity and if they do get caught, there should not be any fragments left to be floating in space."

"Asteroid coming into range." JD announced.

"Let see what she looks like." Chris ordered and the view screen shifted its gaze from the expanse of stars to the planetoid that was the subject of the discussion at the moment. Although it was a small in comparison to the planet by which it was trapped in orbit, the planetoid was nonetheless sizeable for its type. Its shape was not spherical but rather elliptical and its surface was marked by large craters indicating that prior to its permanent settlement around the planet, several smaller members of its kind had bombarded it.

"I have a fix on the Leonov." Ezra exclaimed.

"Magnify." Buck ordered before Chris could do so. The image on the screen changed once again and the bridge of the Maverick was treated to the sight of a ship that had more or less landed badly on the surface of the planetoid. Several portions of its hull had been breached as well as extensive scorching on its upper pylons and damaged nacelles.

"We are not going to be able to get that off the ground." Vin found himself remarking to no one in particular even though most of the bridge shared his sentiments. The ship’s landing on the surface of the planetoid did not appear to be kind although he was not an engineer to be certain that the Leonov was entirely lost. "There are structural breaches everywhere," he observed as his keen Vulcan senses studied the image before him. "Is it possible to seal those?"

"Let’s find out," Chris replied and tapped his com badge. "Lieutenant Pemberton, have you been monitoring the situation."

"Yes Sir," the cheery voice of the Chief Engineer sang across the bridge, bringing an instinctively smile to the lips of the seasoned security officer. "She’s in pretty bad shape but I don’t think she’s a lost cause. I need a closer look but we might be able to save her."

"Good." He said pleased. "Get a team ready, we may be sending you down there." Chris knew that Julia would be itching to get to the Leonov. The DY500 ships were considered to be something of a classic and he could imagine the engineer was eager to inspect the vessel, even in its dilapidated condition.

"No problem." She answered eagerly.

"Captain," Alex who had been quiet all this time suddenly made herself heard. The astonishment in her voice was plain as she looked at him with nothing less than a mystified expression on her face that immediately alarmed everyone on the bridge because she was not a woman prone to panicking unless the situation was dire. "I believe that there is an atmosphere on that asteroid."

"That’s impossible." Buck declared without even pausing to consider the possibility because when he was on the Nimitz, he had played the role of science officer enough to that her claim sounded incredible.

"I’m telling you," Alex repeated herself. "My scans are showing a rich oxygen nitrogen atmosphere not to mention a gravitational field not dissimilar to ours. There seems to be some kind of strange energy field surrounding the planetoid that might be responsible but I’ve never seen field fluctuations like this. It’s like a cocoon around the entire body of the asteroid."

"Is it natural?" Buck asked starting to realize that they might be faced with the impossible and was just as awed by it as she was.

"I don’t know." She mused and that surprised just about every body because I don’t know was not a phrase that was common to Alex’s vocabulary. The science officer always had some kind of an answer, even if it was a wild hypothesis.

"Is it a weapon?" Ezra asked, his instincts as security officer kicking in with this sudden development. Even though he could not see how it could be deployed that way, Ezra was always cautious about any unknowns that was capable of harnessing great power and the ability to provide an asteroid with an atmosphere seemed to fall into that category.

"I don’t think so," Alex replied. "Whatever this energy field around the asteroid is, I have no idea how its being generated. The sensors won’t even penetrate it. It some kind of intense disruption field the scanners can’t get through. I doubt we will be able to get a transporter lock through it.

"You mean if there are survivors down there we’re going to have to rescue them by shuttle?" Buck looked at her.

"More or less." Alex shrugged, displeased that she was unable to give them any better news. Besides that however, there was something about the planetoid – asteroid, that just did not feel right. She could not put her finger on it and yet Alex was reluctant to cast aspersions when all she had to base her suspicions upon was a gut feeling.

"JD," Chris who had been silent all this time finally spoke. "See if you can hail them."

"Yes Sir," JD nodded even though he did not feel very hopeful about their success. If their science officer was right and she was very rarely wrong about these things, an energy field capable of locking a transporter signal would be able to keep out a subspace signal with just as much ease. As he made the attempt, he was not surprised when his attempts to contact the Leonov was met with cold silence.

However, the young ensign refused to give up so easily and spent the next few minutes altering numerous bandwidths in order to reach the damaged freighter. Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that there was no response forthcoming and he was forced to concede defeat.

"I’m sorry Captain," he looked at Chris apologetically. "I can’t raise the Leonov and I’m not sure its because there’s no one receiving us or because we can’t break through the interference on the asteroid’s surface."

"Its all right," Chris assured the youth with a nod of acknowledgment to his efforts. "This whole thing is pretty strange. In truth, I didn’t expect it to be so easy."

"Okay we can’t reach them," Buck stated refusing to admit defeat by their inability to contact the crew of the Leonov. "We’re going to have to go down there."

"Captain I object to that." Ezra retorted and Chris more or less expected it considering the circumstances. "We have no idea what is taking place on board the Leonov, not to mention this asteroid. It displays none of the characteristics of a spacial body of its type and as Commander Styles pointed out the energy radiating from it is just as suspect. Travelling to the planetoid may put us into a compromising situation."

"I agree." Alex lent her support because she did not at all like the idea of anyone venturing into that asteroid with so much about it remaining elusive. Her senses were tingling with alarm over the idea of any of her crewmates landing on the asteroid. It had nothing to do with fear because death was a part of life in Starfleet. One could not be apart of a space faring race without appreciating that beyond the safe surroundings of luxurious starships was a cold, black vacuum that would kill you in seconds of exposure.

"There are 250 people down there who are already in a compromising situation." Buck stated firmly, meeting Alex and Ezra’s eyes with a hard stare. "We can’t just abandon them because it’s a little dangerous."

"All right," Chris interceded before the conflict on opinions became something more than it should. He was aware of the tension on the bridge over this issue and unfortunately, it was always going to be his call as to what should be done. While he was sympathetic to Alex and Ezra about their concerns, since he had to take into account any danger that might effect his ship or his crew, he also had responsibility to the people that Starfleet was charged to protect.

"Buck’s right." He glanced at the two lieutenant commanders. "There are people down there and we have to see that they are safe. So this is what we’re going to do. Buck you will take an Away team to the planetoid, Ezra, you and a full security complement will go with him. Lieutenant Pemberton will accompany you to assess the state of the Leonov. Once you have made contact with the survivors if any, I want you to move the shuttle off the planetoid’s surface and give us your report. If you do not report within one hour of your arriving at the ship, we’re coming after you. Is that clear?" The tone in his voice indicated that there was no room for negotiation on this point. He was willing to listen to their ideas but the Maverick was not a democracy.

Ultimately, the decision was his and they would do well to remember it.

"Aye Sir." Buck nodded, taking note of the authoritative manner of Chris’ voice to know that he expected to be obeyed on this point. Glancing at Ezra, he saw that the security chief was satisfied with the Captain’s order by the nod of approval he received when he met the man’s gaze. "If you don’t mind, I’d like JD to come with us."

JD’s face brightened immediately despite the somber mood on the bridge. It was obvious that the thought of going on his first away mission had overridden the previous tension and no one could be unaffected by the smile on his face at Buck’s suggestion. He immediately looked over his shoulder upon mention of his name, like the wide eye youth that he was secretly pleading for Chris to agree to Buck’s request because he really wanted to go.

"I don’t see why not." Chris could not help feeling a slight curl to the ends of his lips at the hopeful expression on the young man’s face. It was obvious that he was itching to go on an Away mission and as Chris met Buck’s eyes, he wondered if they had ever been that young and eager when they had first left the Academy.

Of course they were, just like every cadet who shipped out the first time.

"I don’t see why not." Chris turned to JD. "You up for your first away mission?"

"Yes Sir," JD said with unabashed enthusiasm. He gave Buck a thoroughly grateful smile even though Chris was certain he had completely forgotten about the danger that had been the point of so much discussion prior to this moment.

Vin Tanner however, was not watching the interplay between Captain, First Officer and the young ensign. His attention was focused on the disturbed expression on Alex’s face. Even though he had not meant to do so, he knew that he was physically in tune with the third officer because of his ability to meld. Thus he had a sense of the emotional changes in her psyche and at the moment, he could tell that she viewed this mission with extreme concern.

Whatever gut instinct was making her afraid, Vin could feel it too and he prayed that she was wrong.

Part Three

Less than an hour after the Maverick had arrived at Leonov’s World, the appellation given to the planetoid that had offered temporary shelter to the injured ship of the same name by the bridge officers, the runabout Pearlman launched out of Maverick’s shuttle bay. The Maverick kept a close eye on its departing child, ever vigilant in the knowledge that there always danger in the unknown and the planetoid towards which the runabout was presently headed was about as unknown as they could get.

Despite the strenuous objections of the chief science officer, Chris had held firm in his decision to allow Buck to take an Away Team to Leonov’s world. Although she was cautious and for the life of him, he could not understand the level of apprehension Alex had shown at his decision. Still, Chris could understand her concern. Everything about the planetoid did not make sense and yet they were bound by the rules of humanity as well as duty, to investigate the possibility of survivors within the wreck of the old ship. When Alex found that she could not convince the Captain to change his mind, she had instead requested permission to accompany Buck on the mission before being refused once again.

This time, Chris’ decision had to do with the possibility of Alex being right. If there was something amiss on Leonov’s world and their crewmates were endangered upon finally arriving at the mysterious asteroid, then it was likely that Alex’s expertise would be absolutely essential in order to retrieve them again. He had worked with science officers during his service in Starfleet and Chris could say with utter confidence that Alex was one of the best and if she was right about the planetoid, he would need her on the bridge.

"Pearlman ready to launch." Commander Buck Wilmington’s voice spoke over the com system on the bridge.

"All right Buck," Chris answered from his position in the command chair. "Keep an open com signal at all times. I expect that once you enter the gravitational field of the planetoid that strange energy disruption will knock out your communications with so remember what I said about reporting in."

"Aye Sir," the first officer replied seriously, aware that on this matter Chris expected to be obeyed and could not count on their long standing friendship to assuage his captain’s anger if he did not do as he was told when it came to the safety of the crew. "One hour after we land, I’ll take the Pearlman into orbit and give you a report."

"Good luck Commander," Chris said hating the fact that he was trapped in this chair and not out there with Buck, leading this away mission. That was the hardest thing about making the transition from first officer to captain. When he had been on board the Rutherford, Chris had been just as adamant about keeping Captain Savil on the bridge, as Buck was insistent that he remain on the bridge taking centre seat. Sometimes, Chris longed for the days when the captain could lead every away mission. Thanks to Starfleet protocols, captains were now required to remain on the bridge as much as possible and allowing landing missions to be undertaken by their capable first officers.

Progress, he snorted.

"You okay Chris?" Vin’s voice suddenly pierced through his ruminations.

Chris blinked and saw the helmsman looking at him with concern. Vin had the uncanny ability to read what was on his mind and Chris wondered if he was the only who shared this symbiotic relationship with the Vulcan or did this extend to anyone he cared for deeply. Vin did not make friends easily and could only count true camaraderie among the senior staff of the Maverick. According to Josiah, he was slowly learning how to interact with other crewmembers but his main support seemed to be the senior officers whom he shared the bridge.

"Yeah I’m fine," the captain drawled. "Just not used to taking the back seat that’s all." He sighed longingly. "I rather be out there."

"At the risk of using the same argument that you used on me a minute ago," Alex spoke up, "we need you here in case anything goes wrong."

Chris could not disagree with that and she was right, he had used the same argument to make her see reason when he refused her request to allow her to accompany Buck to the surface of Leonov’s world. Now he had to accept that those rules applied to him. More so because he was captain.

"I know." He nodded and eased back into his chair. "Its just that I have a bad feeling about this."

"Tell me about it." Alex said under her breath and as he glanced at Vin, could see the young man sharing the same distaste for this mission. Like all good officers, they were accustomed to relying on instincts that were unexplainable to guide their actions and everything about the planetoid seem to cry danger. However, like all conundrums, it offered no plausible explanation as to what form that peril might take.

"Unfortunately," Vin added, sharing the same discomfiture. "Buck was right, there are people down there who need our help. Maybe they can explain what happened all this when he finds them."

Chris nodded silently, hoping it was indeed that simple. However, with Alex’s concerns lingering in his mind, not to mention the fact the planetoid was unlike anything they had discovered in almost three hundred years of space exploration, Chris could not be so certain that simple was ever going to be apart of the equation.

**********

"I don’t see why we have to wear these things." Julia Pemberton complained as she reluctantly put on the enviro-suit. She hated the cumbersome suits that were supposed to protect them against the elements and not drive them insane with awkwardness. "I thought we had confirmation that there was an atmosphere on the planetoid’s surface."

Through the cockpit of the runabout, the surface of Leonov’s world, not to mention the ship itself was a shapeless image that was gaining focus the closer they made their approach to the planetoid. As a precaution, Ezra had ordered everyone into their environmental suits just in case the atmosphere was not as hospitable as the scanners had claimed. While he had every faith in Alex’s determination that Leonov’s world had a rich oxygen nitrogen atmosphere, Ezra was still unable to forget that the presence of such a phenomenon on the planetoid was an impossibility in accordance with every piece of scientific theory there was.

"Give it a rest lieutenant," Buck who was at the pilot’s seat retorted before Ezra could try a more tactful approach. Buck was perfectly aware that when it came to Julia Pemberton, Ezra was not exactly firing on all thrusters. Besides, after hearing about their disastrous first date some weeks ago, Buck seriously doubted that Julia would be very partial to anything Ezra had to say. "We’re wearing the suits because we have to. This whole planetoid is one big mystery and until we have at least some answers, we’re going to take every precaution. Besides, while our scanners on the Maverick say that there’s an atmosphere, the sensors on the runabout can’t confirm it." The tone of his voice indicated that he was not addressing her as the good-natured friend who made her laugh in their off duty hours but rather as her commanding officer, requiring her to remember that she was a Starfleet officer.

Julia really hated it when he did that.

"Okay," she grumbled. "But I do this under protest." She declared before snapping her glove into place and flexing her fingers experimentally within the protection of the soft fiber gauntlet.

"Julia," Ezra glanced at the red head while in the process of suiting up himself. "I cannot see why you have such an aversion to a rather necessary safety precaution?"

"You wouldn’t," she snorted, giving him a cold look as she reached for a helmet.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ezra looked at her and noticed that his security team was trying very had to keep a straight face. JD who was next to Buck at the cockpit was wearing a similar expression on his face. Just about everyone on the entire ship was aware of Lieutenant Commander Standish’s feelings towards their chief engineer and the results of their first romantic evening together. Julia had complained to one of her engineering officers following the event and the rumor mill soon delivered that tasty morsel of gossip to every corner of the ship.

"Okay you two," Buck spoke up, this time his tone was less authoritative but warning nonetheless. "This isn’t the time or the place. I suggest you to curb it until we get back to the ship."

"Yes Commander." Julia nodded with a hint of guilt on her face for behaving in less than a professional manner.

"We will talk about this later, Lieutenant Pemberton." Ezra said firmly, determined to find out what it was he had done that was so wrong. After all, Las Vegas as a venue for a first date was perfectly reasonable. He had programmed the holodeck to recreated Caesar’s Palace right down to its Corinthian columns, how could she find anything offensive about that? Of course, his attempt to be completely authentic had sprung some interesting glitches in the program that he had been completely unaware at the time until the date was under way and too late for him to salvage.

"Don’t count on it." She muttered, giving him a look of pure ice.

Ezra rolled his eyes, hating the fact that she was mad at him even though he could not fathom how she could have believed the fiasco of the night had been his fault or his intention for that matter.

Buck ignored the interplay between the duo and returned his attention the planetoid that was looming larger in the cockpit window. As they neared their landing site, they could see the shape of the Leonov in walking distance. The damage she had suffered upon her landing on this small world did not appear as severe and Buck could actually believe in the possibility of making the ship suitable for space travel again.

"Julia," Buck called out to the chief engineer. "Come take a look at this."

She came forward immediately, trying not to let the bulky suit hamper her movements as she stepped into the cockpit at the behest of her commanding officer. "What is it Buck?" She asked as she stood between him and JD, peering out at the view screen as they penetrated the atmosphere of Leonov’s world and began the descent to its rocky and crater ridden surface.

"There she is." Buck pointed at the ship.

Julia had already found it and as she observed the ship that had been the object of their quest, she noted that it was in better condition than she originally thought. Although Julia had every confidence earlier that she would manage to get the dilapidated wreck of the ground, she had to admit that the ship was in very bad shape and would require a lot of man hours from her engineering team before it could be made space worthy again. Yet now, it looked like her estimation had been a mistake. The ship was not in such terrible condition after all and the work required seemed merely cosmetic.

"You know," she mused looking at it and tried hard to imagine how she could have made such a mistake in her earlier judgment. It was not in her habit to be so wrong about her determination on a ship’s condition and while she might have been reluctant to condemn the vessel, she did not think that her judgment would have been so erroneous. "The damage does not look so bad upon closer inspection."

"Yeah," JD agreed with her. "It sure looked a lot worse than it did when we were on the Maverick."

The first office did not say anything because he was carefully observing the ship himself. Like Julia Pemberton, he too had estimated the damage to the Leonov being more severe than it now appeared. However, logic dictated that it could not possibly be that because a ship did not suddenly become less damaged than it was an hour ago. Alex had spoken about some kind of distortion field surrounding the planetoid, perhaps it had obscured the imagining sensor and their view of the Leonov had been exaggerated with particular emphasis on the ship’s damaged areas.

"The field around this planetoid was probably affecting the view screen image," Buck replied but could not keep the skepticism from his voice. Something strange was going on here and for the first time since he left the ship, wondered if he had been too hasty dismissing Alexandra Styles’ concern when it was obvious that she had good reason to worry. "So do you think we can get her off the ground?" Buck asked, deciding to return to the subject at hand since this speculation would avail him nothing.

Julia turned her emerald colored eyes on the ship and Buck found himself admiring the powerful strobe like effect of those amazing irises, speckled in gold and could appreciate why Ezra was so lost. She pursed her full lips as she considered his question. "As I said, the damage doesn’t seem so bad. The hull has been breached in several places but we’ve got duranium plating on the Maverick I can use to seal those but I’ve got to get inside to take a look. The structure seems to have survive the crash; she didn’t break up on impact so I’m assuming it was fairly decent landing. The breaches in the hull seem to be from some kind of collision but I’d need to examine it with a tricorder to be sure."

"That would mean the probabilities of survivors is high," Ezra remarked entering the cockpit after he had given his security team their orders once they reached the surface.

"Well that depends entirely on how their life support systems fared after the landing." Julia answered. All traces of her previous hostility towards him had evaporated mostly because her mindset was focused firmly on the job at hand.

"Are we getting any readings JD?" Buck asked, hoping that their proximity might produce better results with their scans.

JD let his fingers fly over the keypad on the controls before him, trying to circumvent the wall of disruption that had hampered Alex’s attempts to scan the planetoid from the Maverick not to mention his attempts to contact the survivors of the Leonov. Whatever this energy field was, it could not be penetrated and yet there was nothing like it on record. "I’m sorry Sir," JD looked at him apologetically after a moment. "I can’t get through it. Its like the severest ionic field disruption I’ve ever seen."

"Its okay," Buck said in understanding. "I guess we’re going to have to do this the old fashioned way."

**********

The runabout landed less than a hundred metres away from the Leonov. As Buck and the Away team stepped out of the smaller vessel, they found themselves on a landscape that was perennially in the dark. However, the illumination from the planet around which Leonov’s world remained trapped in orbit did offer enough light to keep them from wandering about in pitch-black darkness. This was just as well because the terrain, what they could see of it, was covered in large craters and even though the runabout was only a hundred metres away, the distance between it and the Leonov would be by no means easy to traverse.

The space between them and the ship was rocky and irregular, with a number of smaller craters that required crossing since going around them would take too much time. Even though the sensors had read an oxygen nitrogen atmosphere prior to their arrival on the surface, Buck was taking no chances since their tricorders were next to useless now that they were here. The possibility of contagion or some other danger presented by the odd radiation emanating from the planetoid was not something Buck was going to risk exposing any member of his team.

"What a charming place." Ezra remarked as he cast his gaze across the barren landscape of peaks and jagged rocks.

"You’re the last person to talk about charming places." Julia muttered under her breath inside the confines of her enviro-suit when she walked past him to join JD.

Ezra paused a moment and swore quietly when Buck sidled up along side of him. "You realize of course you’re going to be paying for this for the next six months."

"I am starting to see that." Ezra sighed loudly as they started towards the Leonov that was nestled in a large crater only a few hundred yards away. "I was under the impression that Caesar’s Palace was a tasteful place."

"Oh really?" Buck looked at him skeptically. "Let me give you some advice about women."

"I do not require advice on the feminine gender of our species, Commander." Ezra said stiffly.

"Of course not," Buck retorted without missing a beat. "That’s why you took your lady to a casino where the girls dance with just about nothing on and two homosexuals perform magic tricks with large, domesticated cats who require audience participation."

"I had no idea that she was going to have to put her head in that tiger’s mouth!" Ezra cried out helplessly. "The program was supposed to contain this extremely charming and elegant hotel where there were roulette wheels and baccarat tables. How was I supposed to know that Caesar Palace had been turned into some odious refuge for blue haired matrons with colorful blouses and sequined eyewear?"

"Caesar’s Palace is your idea of a romantic place?" Buck stared at him in disbelief. "Paris is a romantic place. You take a woman there and I guarantee you, you will not be sleeping alone. Same goes for London, all that fog and upper crust finery, Rio de Janeiro during Mardi Gras and for the more exotic, Jamaica. Trust me, the bikini factor is reward enough."

Ezra gave Buck a look. "It terrifies me to know if anything happens to the captain, you will be in charge of the ship."

"You’re just saying that cause I’m right." Buck grinned before facing front again.

Julia and JD were almost to the edge of the crater where the Leonov was presently located. They could see the top of the ship and noticed that its communications array and main sensor grid had been destroyed. Jagged edges of metal, darkened by heat and fused steel was all that was left of those two vital systems and partially explained why the Maverick had been unable to raise the Leonov during its hail. There was simply no way for the ship to have picked up the starship’s attempt to communicate.

"Wait a minute." Ezra declared suddenly realising something upon seeing that damaged transmitter. "Commander." He switched to a more formal tone because this was indeed serious and glanced at his security team. "Watch yourselves ladies and gentlemen," he said without any hint of doubt in his voice as he gave his warning. "I am certain nothing here is as it seems."

"What is it?" Buck paused and looked down at JD and Julia making a brisk pace towards the ship.

"That is their communication array is it not?" Ezra asked Buck slowly once his commanding officer turned to face him.

"Yes," Buck retorted. His impatience evidenced even through the glass of his helmet. "So?"

"So how did they send us a distress signal to bring us here?"

Buck turned around immediately and shouted. "JD, Julia!" His voice was loud enough to force both officers to freeze in their tracks and halt any further advance towards the ship. "Hold position immediately!" He ordered. When the duo had turned around and faced him, confusion in their faces at the sudden order to cease their progress, Buck felt it safe to take his eyes off them and gesture Ezra and his security forward.

"You know the drill," Buck looked at Ezra who nodded in answer because he did indeed know what was the best course of action when the possibility existed that they had been led into a trap. Although this derelict spaceship offered no immediate danger, Buck was not about to take any chances in light of Ezra’s statement and the fact that he now more than certain that they had not been wrong about the level of damage incurred by the ship’s forced landing on this world.

"I surely do." Ezra remarked and had to see for himself that Julia was staying right where she was before he issued his orders to his security team. "I want all of you to spread out in pairs and create a defensive perimeter around the ship. You will hold position here for one hour. If for any reason, Commander Wilmington, Lieutenant Pemberton, Ensign Dunne or myself fail to emerge from inside this steel behemoth, you are to follow captain’s orders and take the Pearlman back to the Maverick and give the captain your report. Is that clear?"

"But Sir...." someone started to speak up. No doubt to voice their opinion that they disliked leaving him or the officers named to whatever dangers that might prevent them from leaving with the rest of the security team.

"You heard the commander’s orders," Buck replied before Ezra could. "If something goes wrong, you are return to the Maverick. This is not up for negotiation. Understood?" He looked at the faces around him with hard eyes until he got the nods to the affirmative he wanted.

On that note, Buck motioned Ezra forward and they continued walking towards the ship, hoping that no one would have reason to put that order to the test.

********

Once the security team had taken a defensive perimeter around the large ship, Buck and Ezra joined JD and Julia and resumed their journey towards the hulking mass of steel that had been at rest inside the crater for the past six months. As they neared the ship, Julia tried once again to determine the extent of the damage with her tricorder, beyond what she could see with her eyes. It was not an easy proposition considering the tricorder seemed to indicate that there was nothing before them but static.

"Its no good." She sighed as they searched for a visible sign of entry into the ship’s interior. "The tricorders are absolutely useless."

"This is a alarming possibility but....."Ezra’s voice drifted off as he reached for his phaser and aimed at an indiscriminate rock lying on the shale like ground before firing.

Energy lashed out from the weapon and disintegrated the offending rock, leaving nothing in its place but a darkened stain of charred earth. No sooner than he had discharged the phaser, the ground beneath them rocked suddenly. Julia lost her balance and JD managed to grab her arm before she fell to the ground while Buck tried to remain on his feet. The tremor rumbled through the ground, causing a shudder to run through all their bones before it ceased all together.

"What the hell was that!" Buck demanded.

"I don’t think the planetoid is entirely stable." Julia said straightening up and flashing JD a smile of thanks for catching her.

"I wanted to ensure that we still had weapons." Ezra replied, feeling a little embarrassed at causing the commotion but it was a necessary test. At least he know knew that their weapons were not as useless as their tricorders.

"Sir, are you all right?" The anxious voice of one of his security officers was soon asking over the communicator inside his helmet.

"Yes Mr. Katovit." Ezra said wearily. "We are all in good health. Maintain your post as instructed and try not to fire your weapons unless absolutely necessary. Apart from everything else, this planetoid is not stable."

"Aye Sir," the response came back promptly and Ezra returned the phaser back into its holster.

Buck Wilmington was studying the surroundings closely, trying to understand how an asteroid that was capable of maintaining an atmosphere and gravity was so unstable that a single blast from a hand phaser could destabilize it. Once again, he wondered if he had not been too hasty convincing the captain that they come down here. No sooner than the thought had crossed his mind, he brushed it aside. There could still be survivors here and until they knew otherwise, this was always going to be an inevitable course of action.

"Ezra, don’t do that again." Julia retorted, feeling a sliver of concern run up her spine.

"Or at least give us some warning." Buck reiterated.

"Buck!" JD called out. He had been busy studying the hull of the ship while his older companions discussed what had just happened when he noticed what they had been searching for towards the front pylon of the ship. The access hatch seemed undamaged and functional. Judging by the corrosion of cosmic dust, it had not been used in some time.

"What is it kid?" Buck turned to the youth and moved to join him.

"I found an entry hatch." JD said unable to hide his excitement as he hasten his pace to the opening in question.

"Hey slow down." The first officer barked at JD. The last thing he wanted was to see the kid get hurt running head long into doing something stupid. Everything that had transpired so far had convinced Buck they knew nothing about this planetoid at all. Right now, the best thing they could do was to find out if there were any survivors left from the crew of the Leonov and get the hell out of here as quickly as possible.

While they still could.

JD forced himself to stop running even though the urge to answer that question for himself was overwhelming, not simply because he wished to depart this strange place but also because he hated to think that his first away mission was going to end in tragedy. He waited for the others to reach him when suddenly, he heard the sound of metal scraping against metal behind him. Turning around, he saw the lever that opened the hatch starting to turn and instinctively, took a step backwards and reached for the utility belt that housed his phaser.

The door pushed open, bits of dirt fell away from the edges as it opened. JD raised his weapon to fire, no longer trusting what would emerge from the inside of the Leonov based on what they had seen so far. Thanks to this strange energy field was that surrounded the planet behind its impenetrable cloak, JD was not about to trust anything he saw before him. When the door finally swung open, JD could only stare in wide-eyed surprise as the aim of his phaser dropped immediately to the ground.

Standing before him and no more than sixteen years old he estimated, was a girl.

She looked at him with dark colored hair and a smile of welcome. "Hello, my name is Aislynn."

Part Four

At first, no one could speak even though the young girl stared at them in anticipation, waiting for a response. There was no reason for them to be so astonished, after all, the entire reason they had made the trip here was in order to rescue the survivors of the Leonov and yet there was something about seeing that hope come to fruition that was slightly disconcerting. Perhaps it was the combined elements of mystery that had pursued them the moment they had sighted this planetoid in space. Beginning with the inability of the Maverick’s sensors to scan the spatial body to the discovery that what they had seen of the Leonov from space was very from the reality of it, this latest turn of events seemed to be just another peculiar turn in this entire mission.

Finally it was Buck who broke the silence as he reached JD who was waiting for him to take the lead since he was feeling his way about the protocols of behavior during an away mission. As Buck approached him to address the young woman before them, he saw JD letting out a sigh of relief at his arrival.

"Hello there little lady," Buck offered the girl a smile who had recoiled a little and was staring at them anxiously, no doubt a little unnerved by these strangers in their alien looking enviro suits who had yet to respond to her greetings of welcome earlier. He estimated that she was no more than sixteen if that and she stared at him as if trying to see past the glass that covered his face. She was probably wondering whether or not they were human and in these bulky suits, she could be forgiven for her uncertainty.

"I’m Commander Wilmington of the USS Maverick," Buck stated. "We picked up your distress signal."

"Our distress signal?" She looked at him blankly and did not really absorb his words for a few seconds. "We sent a call for help but it feels like we’ve been waiting for so long for someone to come."

"We’re here now," Buck said with a smile and noted that the young lady seemed to be surviving quite in the planetoid’s strange atmosphere with no difficulty whatsoever and made him feel somewhat ridiculous that they were still trapped in these cumbersome suits. "This here is Ensign Dunne, Lieutenant Pemberton and Commander Standish." Buck introduced the rest of his party to the young girl who noted their presence with a shy nod of acknowledgment.

When the introductions were complete, Buck observed how well she was breathing in the atmosphere and chose to make a leap of faith. Taking a deep breath, he decided that he was going to risk taking of his helmet. It was apparent that the Leonov’s survivors were somewhat traumatized by their lengthy isolation and there was no need to exacerbate the problem by keeping their faces hidden behind imposing helmets and the atmosphere did not appear lethal to young Aislynn who was just as human as he was.

"Commander what are you doing?" Ezra demanded as he saw Buck starting to remove his helmet.

"Taking this thing off." He replied, without pausing as he twisted the helmet out of its snap lock fastenings. "It’s pretty obvious that the air’s breathable."

"How long have you been here Aislynn?" Julia asked as she stepped forward. The girl’s attention was very much focused on Buck and she jumped a little upon hearing a secondary voice speaking to her.

"The ship crashed about seven months ago," she replied after a moment, still watching Buck as he removed the helmet and ran his hands through his hair once he was freed of the protective headwear.

"What did happen to the Leonov, young lady?" Ezra inquired. "We seem to be a little unclear on that point."

"We went through some kind of cosmic storm that breached our hull plates." She said slowly as if considering her words carefully so that she might impart to them the correct information because she did not quite understand what had happened herself. "Berthol rays flooded most of the ship." Her lips quivered as she revealed that and Buck could well understand why that was. Berthol rays were extremely dangerous to organic life forms and would have likely killed anyone who came into contact with it. There was no known cure for the radiation poisoning it wrought and Buck was hardly surprised when the young girl seemed visibly distressed talking about the event.

"Most of us were killed." She whispered. "There’s only a few of us left."

"It’s alright," Buck put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a little smile. "Why don’t you show us where the others are and we can start thinking about getting you off this rock?"

Aislynn immediately broke into a radiant smile and Buck had to confess that she was a pretty little thing and would be quite something to look at when she was a few years older. She had long dark hair worn almost to the waist and she looked at him with inquisitive brown eyes and full lips. Her cheeks were a little sunken but Buck estimated that this was mostly due to being under nourished during her tenure here. He would not be surprised if she had survived during all this time on ration packs since food replicators were too much of a luxury item in an emergency situation.

Judging from the smile on her face at his suggestion, the idea of leaving this imposed exile was a welcome one. He supposed this was hardly the ideal environment for a teenager and wondered what she would be doing on a commercial trading ship so far away from the core systems.

"This way," she urged them to follow as she slipped into the open hatchway that led into the heart of the Leonov. Buck followed her first with Ezra following closely. The expression on the security man’s face revealed that he was still dubious about their success at finding survivors so easily. Of course Buck did not point out that Ezra was a born skeptic in all things and for a man who believed in luck to win his card games, he was decidedly lacking in faith.

The interior of the ship was dimly lit and mostly with emergency lighting. Buck assumed that the Leonov’s reactor core must still be functioning although by now everything must be running on minimum power in order to conserve as much of the ship’s resources as possible. "How many of you are there, Aislynn?" Buck asked as they started down the narrow passageway that led up the length of the ship.

"Ten." She answered after a pause.

"Ten?" JD exclaimed in shock. "But there were 250 of you according to the ship’s crew manifest!"

"JD," Julia intervened quickly because she had seen the extend of the hull breaches and knew that level of damage would have allowed a substantial part of the ship to become contaminated with Berthold rays.

"Its okay Lieutenant Pemberton," Aislynn replied. "Most of the ship was effected, I was on the bridge with the Captain and the senior crew when we ran into the storm. The captain knew I wanted to see the bridge which was lucky for me I guess cause everyone else…." Her voice drifted away and it took no feat of genius for the Starfleet officers to deduce what had been the fate of the others on board the Leonov.

"We’ll need a skeleton crew from the Maverick if we’re going to get this ship off the ground." Julia remarked. These old freighters aren’t as automated as the new ships, not as much computer memory." She explained as they moved deeper and deeper into the Leonov. It appeared as if the attempt to purge the ship of the harmful Berthold rays was only partially successful as bulkheads that had been sealed and cordoned off evidenced the presence of contamination.

"We’re going to bring the ship back with us?" Aislynn looked at Buck in question.

"I don’t see why not." He answered. "She’s taken a beating but it’s not anything that can be salvaged. Besides, I think your captain might like the idea of saving his ship."

"I don’t know," she shrugged. "I think Captain Kelisan is just as sick as we are of this ship." She answered. "It must be something to travel around in a starship."

"Well you’re gonna find out soon enough." JD remarked.

"Yes," she smiled. "Very soon."

Ezra who trained at observing people by their body language and by what they tried to show, immediately picked up something in the girl’s manner at how she had made that statement. He had no idea why he was being so suspicious but her response to JD’s statement was not what Ezra would have expected from a young woman trapped on a ship like this for so many months. Of course, his suspicion had no basis in fact but the feeling lingered, like a bitter after taste that would not go away. For the moment however, he shook the caution away, deciding that he would keep his eyes open for anything that might give this nagging doubt in him reason for being.

As soon as they approached the heart of the ship, they could hear voices emanating from further up the corridor. Moving closer to the bridge, it was plain to see that this had been the main area of occupation for the Leonov’s crew since her unceremonious arrival on this planetoid. Since this location was surrounded on all sides by other decks, it was the most well guarded place on the ship, not to mention the most protected enclave from the Berthold ray contamination.

Hearing footsteps echoing down the corridor, the voices sought to meet them and very soon the Away team found themselves confronted by a group of people, whose species varied between Tellerite, human and one Andorian. The remains of the Leonov’s crew looked very much the survivors of lengthy ordeal. They appeared just as malnourished as Aislynn herself but their faces did not display the same eagerness that she had at being found. After seven months trapped on this barren rock with nothing but the insides of the ship as shelter, Buck could very well understand their lack of optimism.

"Look Captain!" Aislynn said grabbing Buck’s hand and towing him gently towards the portly Tellerite who was staring at the Starfleet personnel along with the rest of his crew in shock and some measure of disbelief. It was obvious that morale had been low judging by the expressions on those faces before him but decided that they could be forgiven for believing that since they were marooned so far away from Federation space lanes. "They’ve come! They’ve finally come!" She beamed and looked over her shoulder to flash an adoring smile at Buck.

The rest of the Away team caught the look and held their composure in place even though it was hard not to see the humor in the situation. A small smirk had stolen across Ezra’s dimpled features which he was determined to maintain since it would not do much for his reputation as security chief to go around laughing out loud when he ought to be at his professional best. Julia however, caught the look and nudged him in the ribs gently, her emerald eyes telling him silently that he had better not embarrass the girl just because she had a little crush on their first officer.

"Don’t you dare." She hissed a warning in his direction.

"I beg your pardon." He looked at her with complete innocence. "I have no idea what you mean."

"Right," she snorted derisively and turned to face Buck who was conversing with the Tellerite captain and introducing them to the survivors of the Leonov as he had done earlier when they had first encountered Aislynn.

"How does he do it?" JD whispered in her direction as he saw the look that the young girl was giving their commanding officer.

"The mating instincts of some women can be decidedly askew when it comes to Mr. Wilmington. I hardly see what is so captivating." Ezra remarked with just a hint of crow in his voice.

"You wouldn’t," Julia met his eyes and then added with a devious smile of her own before shifting her gaze to Buck as she looked over the man with interest that was more than just passing. "However, speaking for the rest of my sex, there are more than one of us who would not mind us sinking our teeth into Mr. Wilmington."

Ezra turned to her sharply just as she started moving away. "Julia, you are joking are you not?"

She did not answer.

"That is hardly funny," he retorted. "I insist you tell me...”

*********

"It was a cosmic storm." Dar Kelisan started to explain after the Starfleet officers and the survivors of the Leonov had gathered into what appeared to be the conference room for crew briefings. Kelisan, like all Tellerites were a stocky, heavyset people with full brown irises and snouts that did not look too dissimilar from the porcine variety found on Earth. It was very obvious that Kelisan had kept his people alive through sheer determination and ingenuity and Buck found himself admiring the seasoned space veteran for managing to keep the mortality rate of the survivors steady following the devastating loss of almost 240 people. He tried to imagine what the man must be feeling to lose that many under his command and Buck soon came to the conclusion that he never wanted to know.

"We had just left one of the colonies on the rim and were heading back to Lysia and Federation space when it came at us almost a warp speed. We knew we did not have the escape velocity to outrun it so there was little we could do but prepared to bear the brunt of it." He let out a heavy sigh and swallowed thickly.

"Please take your time," Buck said gently. As someone who considered the crew of his ship his responsibility, he had a great deal of empathy for Captain Kelisan and had a feeling that when the Leonov’s crew were safely on board the Maverick, the Captain would spending a great deal time with Josiah coping with the loss.

"Thank you Commander." Kelisan offered Buck a grateful smile and cleared his throat. "It was a Level 9 shock wave that went straight through our shields. A starship could have probably taken that kind of impact but the shields of a DY500 crumbled like Ferengi honor. We had multiple hull breaches all across the ship as you have probably seen when you approached us."

"Yes," Julia nodded in answer. "That kind of damage I understand has a tendency to fry circuits on these older ship. Your emergency bulkheads would have probably failed throughout the outer decks of the ship."

"Yes," a human who had been introduced to them as Janice Auel and was also the navigation officer on the Leonov responded promptly to spare the captain the ordeal of explaining further. "We lost almost a third of the crew after the initial impact."

"God," JD whispered. He was still too young and too fresh to adequately deal with the kind of death that those poor souls must have endured. Berthol poisoning was meant to destroy tissue on the cellular level and was said to be one of the most painful ways to die. The only consolation for those who had suffered contamination was a quick if not agonizing death with a massive dosage.

"It was terrible," Kelisan nodded somberly. "Some managed to survive the contamination and it was they who manually sealed the bulkheads in parts of the ship where decompressive purge was able to dissipate the Berthold rays."

"And how did you come to be on this curious little oasis." Ezra asked, still unable to shake that feeling of imbalance that had dogged him from the moment they had come on board this ship. Actually no, this feeling had its origins in the Maverick in solidarity with those shared by Alexandra Styles when she had claimed that there was something about the planetoid that was not quite right. Still, he had to admit, these poor folk had survived their ordeal without further misadventure since arriving on lonely half world and thus Ezra was forced to concede that perhaps, his suspicions were unfounded.

However, while he would concede the point, he was not about to abandon it.

"Well our warp engines were off line and with our engineer dead," the Tellerite continued. "There was no way to repair it. We were drifting aimlessly and we knew that without warp engines, Lysia was years away. Impulse power was down to a minimum and with what was left of our sensor equipment, Janice scanned for a suitable landing site."

"Our shield strength was down," Janice took up the narrative once more, addressing her answer directly at Ezra. The security chief wondered if his skepticism was showing because he had no wish to offend these people who had undoubtedly been through something of ordeal in their exile to this place. "We knew we could not make it through the atmosphere of a planet without burning up and so we were exceedingly lucky to find that this planetoid did have breathable air. We knew we make a safe landing if we diverted all remaining power to the shields, unfortunately this meant that once we landed we could not leave."

"All that was left to do," Kelisan sighed. "Was to send an automated distress signal and conserve all the power we had left once we landed. We had emergency rations for a crew of 250 and everyone even slightly affected by Berthold ray contamination soon grew sick and died."

"There’s a ridge out there," one of the survivor cast a glimpse away from the main group to the unseen place he was describing. "We used it to bury the others." The human said quietly. "It’s got a pretty nice view of the planet. It was the best we could do for them."

"I am sorry," Buck reiterating, unable to think of anything else to say in condolence that would not sound trite since he could not imagine what it must like for them to watch friends and family die, while being powerless to do anything about it.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," the Tellerite answered, seemingly grateful for Buck’s attempt nonetheless. "You have found us and for that, we can never be grateful enough. However, I am wondering if it is possible to salvage the Leonov. With the resources of a starship, I am sure that she could be made space worthy again. This ship," he glanced over the room and the people in it with him before looking at Buck again. "She has been our home for almost a year and I would hate to abandon her now that we are free to leave. It just wouldn’t be right."

"Well that ain’t gonna happen." Buck said happy to bring some good news to Captain Kelisan on that note. "Lieutenant Pemberton also happens to be the Chief Engineer of the Maverick and has agreed that the Leonov is salvageable."

The Tellerite brightened considerably at that piece of information. "You think she can be repaired?"

"Yes," Julia nodded with a smile, feeling the mood of optimism at returning the Leonov to its past glory to be quite infectious. "We have duranium plating on the Maverick which can be quite effective in temporarily sealing your hull breaches until we reach Deep Space Five and a high level baryon sweep should be able to decontaminate the decks affected by the Berthold radiation."

"How long would it take?" Buck asked Julia as ripple of excitement moved through the survivors of not only leaving this world but also doing so in the ship they had arrived here in the first place.

"With a full engineering crew and a little help from Mr. Dunne here, I’d say a few days." Julia remarked after a moment. "That is if you don’t mind getting your hands a dirty doing some real work Ensign." The red haired lieutenant gave the young man a wink of mischief.

"I could rough it for a bit ma’am." JD grinned, eager to help. He was just as encouraged as the rest of the Away Team by the joy they had brought to the survivors, not only by their rescue but the salvage of the Leonov as well.

"Commander," Ezra spoke up, taking note of the time. "We need to make our report to the Captain. Our hour is almost up."

"Yes we do," Buck agreed readily because he knew Chris Larabee well enough to be certain that if the report they were required to give was not received on time by their captain, Chris would tear the planetoid apart attempting to ascertain their fates. He also knew that if Chris learnt that the reason for the absence of a report was because Buck had forgotten to deliver it, then Chris would be tearing something else when Buck returned to the ship.

"Ezra, I think you can do the honors. You and Julia return to the Maverick to round up her engineering crew. Let the captain know that the situation here is nominal and that JD and I will stay here. I don’t think it’s such a good idea to leave this people alone again so soon after finding them don’t you?"

"Of course not." Ezra said stiffly, hiding the fact that he did not at all like the idea of leaving the first officer of the Maverick here alone for one damn minute. However, Ezra was not one to act rashly nor did he believe in making unfounded accusations, especially when he had no reason to doubt the tale imparted upon them by the crew of the Leonov. The story that Kelisan had told him was perfectly plausible and Ezra was wondering if his nose for trouble was not a little inaccurate this time.

"However, if you do not mind Commander," Ezra found himself saying a moment later. "I would prefer to leave my security team here. I am certain that they could be invaluable assisting in whatever minor repairs the Leonov might require, leaving the engineering crew when they arrived, to attend to more important matters."

Julia was about to respond when she saw the serious expression on Ezra’s face and immediately halted any protest she was going to make on that subject. While Ezra Standish might have been the galaxy’s worst judge of venues to take a woman on a first date, he was a first rate chief of security. Whatever his reason might have been for keeping his security team close to Buck and JD, Julia had no doubt they were very good ones and was not about to make any statement to counteract his suggestion. Swallowing thickly as she closed her mouth to rephrase herself, Julia raised her eyes to meet Buck’s gaze a moment later and replied. "I think that would be a marvelous idea."

"All right," Buck answered, seeing nothing of the momentary indecision that had crossed her features and expressed an affirmative to both their suggestions. "You two better get going if we’re going to make the Captain’s deadline."

Ezra flashed Julia a look of thanks as they both complied with Buck’s order, hoping that he was simply being paranoid and that the seemingly dignified manner in which they had found these survivors was not a facade that hid something darker beneath the veil.

Part Five

With the news that the Away Team had arrived on the planetoid without incident and there were survivors from the Leonov, the Maverick returned to its normal routine while at the same time carrying out their rescue operations. Following Julia’s report that the Leonov was indeed salvageable, an engineering team was dispatched to the surface in order to make the repairs necessary to the ship in order render her space worthy again. Chris had also sent Nathan and a medical team down to the surface following Ezra’s revelation that the survivors did need medical attention and also a wealth of supplies to replenish the strained resources of the Leonov during her long isolation here.

Vin Tanner could not deny that he was uncomfortable as he found himself seated across Mary Travis on the sofa inside his quarters as the first session of his education into Vulcan disciplines began. Until this point, Vin did not have much contact with the protocol officer which was hardly a surprise since he was not particularly comfortable around women in general, except for Alex but Vin knew that their science officer was not just any woman. Most of his friends on the Maverick were the male members of the senior staff and the women were an unknown element he was slowly becoming accustomed to. However, Vin could not deny that when it came down to it, there was no person he dealt with on a day to day basis that made him as nervous as Mary.

He knew that it was not her fault and the reason he had sought her out was because Vin believed she would not be so judgmental of him despite his lack of knowledge in all things Vulcan. He supposed he had been a little afraid of her because she might think him to be something of an oddity since he was Vulcan and yet appeared to be nothing like one. He hoped her empathy in the human side of him would allow her to give him the aid he needed to get the psychic side of his Vulcan heritage under control.

She had brought some objects with her for use during this session and one of those items included a Vulcan meditation flame. The candle sat on a small but ornate candleholder made of wood and engraved with intricate patterns that Vin recognized as being Vulcan. As the wax began to melt, the candle gave off an aromatic scent that Vin could not place but found strangely soothing decided that must have its intended purpose. As the silky texture of sweet fragrance filled the room, Vin found himself relaxing and the discomfiture he had previously felt began to bleed slowly away.

Taking a few minutes to observe her closely as she prepared the lesson, Vin could understand why the captain was as taken with their protocol officer as he had been. Vin sensed that it took quite a bit to get past the hardened exterior of Chris Larabee’s heart and yet Mary had done so easily. She was a very beautiful woman, Vin found himself admitting, with the kind of eyes that one could lose themselves within trying to understand all the nuances in its speckled brilliance. While he himself found her enchanting, he knew that his preferences lay elsewhere but could still appreciate why the Captain often did nothing but gaze in her direction when he thought no one was looking.

"How are you feeling?" Mary asked, sensing that Vin was slightly anxious about this lesson.

"Fine." He said quietly, trying not to show that he was nervous. Mary who had been around Vulcans for so long probably thought he was an unschooled child as it is, since a real Vulcan would have at least understood the most rudimentary aspect of mental shields.

"Vin," Mary said gently. "Its not that hard. I’m sure you’ll learn the disciplines in no time at all."

Vin met her gaze and saw that there was no reproach in her voice, just the genuine belief that he would be able to master the lessons that she would be teaching him. Vin felt gratified at her faith in him even though he did not believe it was going to be so easy. "I hope so." He answered. "It’s been very disturbing."

"I can imagine." She said in understanding. When she had first married Syan and their close link had been formed, she found it extremely disorientating that he could know her thoughts almost as soon as she had t hem. While Mary had become accustomed to the feeling, she knew that it had been just as difficult to let Syan into her mind as it was to have free access of his. In the beginning, she had thought it to be invasive until she understood that it was part and parcel of Vulcan love. However, for a novice and unbonded male as Vin certainly was, it must have been something of an ordeal to find oneself entering someone else’s thoughts without permission or desire.

"I wouldn’t like it if someone knew what was going on in my head all the time and I know that people wouldn’t like it if I was doing it to them." Vin confessed. In truth, he was mostly concerned about displaying such tactic with Alex. Because of his strong emotional attachment to her, he could the feelings from her more clearly than anyone on the ship, save perhaps Chris Larabee. However, while the bond with the captain was one forged of friendship and reliance, the one he had unwittingly established with Alex was far deeper and certainly more intense. However, Vin did not need any clairvoyance to know that if Alex even suspected that he had been reading her, the science officer would be furious and he did not want Alex angry at him for any reason.

She simply meant too much to Vin for him to stand inspiring her ire.

"I don’t want to invade Alex’s thoughts." He found himself confessing. "There’s so much there she doesn’t want anyone to know."

"Do you read her thought or just sense feelings from her?" Mary asked somewhat fascinated by the level of sensitivity that she could feel emanating off him. No doubt had he ever been schooled in the full mental disciplines of Vulcan heritage, he would have been quite an adept.

"Mostly feelings," Vin confessed, feeling even that was too much. "I don’t like it." He said firmly. "It’s like feeling the heat from boiling water. You know that its going to hurt you if you get too close and yet you can still see the steam coming at you the closer you get to it."

"I see," Mary nodded, absorbing the imagery to better appreciate what he was telling her. "Well," she raised her eyes and met his gaze. "Then we better get started." Placing both her hands flat on the table with her palms facing upwards, she took a deep breath and spoke once again. "Take my hands." She ordered

Vin complied immediately and listened to her soft voice as she began her instruction, secretly praying that it was enough.

***********

An hour later and Mary did not have to be telepathic to know that their progress was less than stellar. No matter how much she tried to teach him the rudimentary basic that were taught to young Vulcan children, Vin had trouble grasping those lessons and his lack of ability to understand was deepening his frustration with every new failure. Mary did not expect him to immediately comprehend what she was saying since he had never been raised as a Vulcan to have those inbred instincts nurtured to the path he was forcing himself to take now. However, she did wonder if it was not her teaching skills because he needed to be under the tutelage of a true Vulcan master of the craft. Vin had enough trouble approaching her let alone be forced to put himself under the somewhat unforgiving scrutiny of a Vulcan teacher.

"I can’t do it!" He leaned back into the sofa, annoyance oozing from every pour as he let out another groan of exasperation.

"Its okay Vin," Mary assured him. "You can’t expect immediate results." She did not want him to be discouraged after just one hour of trying to learn a discipline that required years to fully master.

"I want to get this thing under control!" He snapped back. "I mean, its humiliating enough as it is to be so different, to have other Vulcans look at me like I’m some kind of freak! The last thing I need is to start pissing off the humans on board too."

Mary could understand his fears but she was not about to let him give up on him give up on himself. "Vin, I’m sure that’s not true. Vulcans don’t think that way and your friends will know that it is not your fault that this is happening to you."

Vin let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to focus the furious thoughts running through his mind. He knew that he was fast approaching a mindset that would make it impossible for him to learn anything but Vin could not help it. He felt that at least on some level, he ought to have some understanding of what she was trying to teach him, after all these lessons were designed for children. It incensed him beyond belief that what was commonplace to Vulcan children was too much for him to cope with.

"I hate this." Vin managed to say after a moment. "I know that I’ll never really be Vulcan and I can accept that. Its hard sometimes to want to be apart of something and knowing that you never will be without having all these abilities turning up to ruin what life I’ve managed to build!"

"It’s not ruined yet," Mary said gently. "You have a long way to go but I know you will make it." She looked at him confidently. "Real Vulcans….." She stopped herself too late when she realized what she had just said and was mortified by her choice of words.

"Real Vulcans?" He glared at her taking it as badly as she had thought he would, the moment the words had carelessly passed her lips. "I am a real Vulcan!" He exclaimed standing up abruptly. "I just ain’t no heartless, unfeeling mechanical machine!"

"Vin…" Mary tried to say something, anything to calm down the fire inside his eyes but he was not listening. Before she could apologise or explain herself, he was half way across the room and out the door.

***********

It was not often that Alexandra Styles saw Vin Tanner angry.

However as she rounded the corner of the deck and saw him storming towards the turbo lift with an almost visible cloud of rage following him, she felt immediately concern and hastened her pace to catch up with the lieutenant. It took quite a bit to inspire the rage she was seeing in his face and she knew that he was not used to displaying that level of anger, not was he accustomed to reigning the heated impulses that came with that kind of emotions.

Alex did not understand the feelings she had for Vin Tanner, why she felt this need to protect him> It was just that there were times, when he seemed so vulnerable that he sorely needed someone to give a damn. Yet beneath that simple need to keep him safe and guarded from those who would take advantage of his naiveté was an attachment that she had not expected to feel for him or anyone else for that matter. Still, ever since they had met that first day in Four Corners, the bond between them was strengthening and evolving into something uncharted with the passage of time.

Alex could not deny that there was more to her feelings for Vin than she would care to admit and even though their relationship was hardly sexual, it was extremely intimate in the sense that there was more than just friendship in the equation. It was this unknown that what made their relationship so special, she supposed. While Alex was still too raw inside to feel more for the Vulcan just yet, she did know that he was her friend and anything that upset him, warranted her immediate attention.

"Vin." She called out and saw him pause.

Vin turned around slowly and the look on his face was indeed furious. She wondered what on earth had inspired such rage. He was normally so unflappable about everything. Even insults seemed to bounce off him once Vin had collected himself enough to react. Alex could not imagine what had inspired such anger. "What’s wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing." He replied shortly, his cobalt colored eyes still seething in anger.

"Come on," she urged hating to see him like this. "Talk to me. You looked pissed."

"You want to know?" He demanded, turning on her. "You really want to know?" Without giving Alex any warning, he had her neck in his hands and had slammed her into the wall. Alex was too stunned to offer any resistance and Vin was at least four times stronger than she was. Before she knew what was happening, his hands were on her cheek bones and suddenly, her head started to swim as she felt a torrent of memories swirling in on her as the past closed in with such force she was gasping for breath.

Vin found his heart fist up in a wave of black rage so potent it made the anger inside him pale in comparison. Without hesitation, he penetrated the wall of sheer will that kept the hateful demons inside of her trapped and ventured into the fortress within where Alexandra Styles had kept her innermost self hidden. As he breached that secret place, he could hear the despair and sorrow, the tears of humiliation and pain weeping in the mist. He was nearing the heart of something vile and terrible before he realized what act of utter rape he perpetrating upon her.

"ENOUGH!" She tore his hand from around her throat and slammed her fist into his face with enough force that Vin dropped immediately to the floor from the power of that one strike. He felt a warm gush of blood ooze from his broken lip and looked up at her to see the fury in her eyes. His heart sank and he wished he would just die from the shame of what he had done. His souls screamed inside his chest and Vin curled up into a ball, aghast that he had hurt the one person who always seemed to understand no matter how inexplicable it was for him to explain it to her.

"Don’t you EVER do that again." Alex hissed at him, with a glare in her eyes that was not quite human. She had sensed the anger in him as he had attempted to meld with her and while she empathized with his insecurities, he had no right to do what he had just done. Alex looked at Vin, who was twisting himself in disgust at his actions and knew that nothing she said to him could make him feel any worse than he already did. Seeing him so torn up inside and filled with shame went a considerable way to dousing the outrage inside of her and she took a deep breath to steady herself and let her anger dissipate. She stared at her hands and saw that she was still shaking before seizing control of her emotions until the trembling was drive away.

Fortunately, no one was in the corridor so the incident still remained between the two of them for the moment. Alex was grateful for that for she had no wish to explain what had happened to anyone else.

Feeling her anger abate in the face of his incredible guilt, Alex dropped to her knees to help him up. "Come with me." She said quietly.

He raised his eyes to her and Alex felt her anger evaporate completely at the pain she saw in those pools of blue as well as the intense sorrow that was etched in his handsome face. At that instance Alex realized that she could never really be able to stay angry with him for very long. Furthermore, it was a testament to her feelings for Vin that she was forgiving him for what he had done when Alex would have torn anyone else apart for such an act of intrusion.

"I’m sorry." He whispered, clearly horrified with himself.

"Its okay," she placed her hand on his cheek and once again, Vin felt that familiar flutter of excitement whenever she touched him. He loved the feel of her skin against his and knew that he would do anything to make it up to her. "You’re angry." She stated meeting his gaze as they both rose slowly to their feet.

"Yes," he admitted. Even though he was mortified by his actions with Alex, his guilt only served to stoke the fire that had precipitated his unspeakable behavior in the first place not quash it. The rage had not disappeared despite his determination to make it up to her. He could feel it churning under the skin, bubbling in its need to escape and realized this was probably why Vulcans had chose a life of non-emotion centuries before when the alternative was an uncontrollable tide of anger that would have destroyed the entire species. Suddenly, he started to understand what an affront to them he must be. He was a constant reminder of the past they had left gratefully behind.

"Killer angry?" She guessed accurately.

Vin nodded again, wondering if she trying to make him suffer by forcing the truth from him. However, there was only that same caring affection in her eyes, which only made him, feel worse. "Alex, I’m sorry…" He started to apologise again.

"Its okay Vin," Alex said softly. "I know what it feels like to be so mad you can’t stand it." Alex gestured him to follow her as she took Vin’s hand in hers and pulled him gently towards the turbo lift. "Now come with me and we’ll see if we can’t do something about that before you really do something you regret."

"Where are we going?" He asked, hoping it was not to the nearest airlock so that she could launch him into space without a suit.

Alex did not answer.

***********

"Computer," Alexandra Styles instructed the main computer as she and Vin found themselves standing outside Holodeck 1 a few minutes later. "Load Styles combat program 21." She answered, meeting his gaze and saw his brow furrow in confusion as she waited for the computer to let them know that all was in readiness for their pleasure.

"Program initiated." The dulcet tones of the ship’s computer responded and the doors to the holodeck slid open.

"Coming?" Alex asked as she entered first, not waiting for him to follow while perfectly confident that he would, despite his inability to discern what she was up to. Good, she thought with a smile. He deserved a little bit of confusion after intruding on her thoughts. While she had forgiven the trespass on her privacy for what it was, she was not about to let him off the hook so easily. If Vin was so angry that he could lash out at one of his commanding officers, Alex knew that it was her responsibility not only as his friend but also as a superior to do something about it before he actually hurt someone.

Someone who did not feel as much for him as she did.

The world that had been created for them was not what Vin expected. He had expected to find an earth type environment and instead what they had stepped into did not at all look like the planet of Alex’s birth. Instead, the skies were red and hot, with molten rivers of heat flowing in the distance while the ground was baked and rocky. For a minute he thought it might be Vulcan but the images he had seen of his home world told him that this, whatever this place was, definitely was not it.

Alex saw Vin’s gaze trying to identify their location and she waited until the holodeck doors slid close before she revealed. "Its Borath."

Vin turned to her sharply with a brow raised. "One of the Klingon colonies?" His surprised showed.

"Yes," Alex looked around, relishing the heat of the make believe facsimile of the world on her skin. While the Maverick’s climate controls ensured that the temperature was never uncomfortable for the thousand people who called it home, Alex sometimes missed the unpredictability of uncontrolled weather. "Borath is one of their main religious centres."

"The heat is nice." Vin said enjoying the warmth himself. After growing up in a wilderness that had was almost tropical in its climate and then later on living in Texas, he had found that he preferred warm temperatures. It had never occurred to Vin of course that much of his appreciation for the heat had more to do with his being Vulcan than anywhere he might have spent his youth. Unfortunately, as Vin had never been to Vulcan since he was a child, he did not make the connection that his home world was one of the warmest planets in the Federation stable.

"My father was the Federation ambassador to Kronos when I was growing up," Alex explained as she took a long look about her and was revisited by memories of those happier times. She supposed at some point, she was going to have to speak to William Styles but their relationship had not been the same ever since she returned from Cardassian space. "We lived in the capital until I was sixteen."

"You lived on Kronos?" Vin’s eyes widened, unaware of that bit of news regarding her past. Then again, he was hardly surprised because she seldom spoke about her past and for that matter, neither did he. If he thought fitting in with humans was difficult he could not imagine what a human female must have endured being surrounded by Klingon warriors.

"It wasn’t so bad," she smiled, guessing what was running through his mind as he stared at her in astonishment. "I learnt how to deal with anger quite effectively thanks to the Klingons." She answered and then spoke up in a louder voice. "Computer, adjust safety protocols to maximum tolerance and produce two bathlets."

"You’re kidding." Vin exclaimed as the weapons materialized before the two Starfleet officers and Alex walked towards them.

"What’s the matter, lieutenant?" She met his gaze with a smile of mischief. "Scared I’ll hurt you?" She replied as she leaned down and picked up the curved blade before handing one to him.

"No," he retorted, feeling something he could not define bubble inside him at the idea of meeting her in combat. If Vin did not know better, he would say it was almost excitement and had it been remotely possible, it could have even been arousal. "I’d hurt you." He stated, trying not to come out and remind her that as a Vulcan he was more than a match for her.

"I know you’re a lot stronger than I am." She said as Vin took the bathlet from her. "However, I trained to use these things with Klingon opponents and I’ve managed to hold my own so if I were you, I wouldn’t be so sure that you’re going to beat me."

"Alex....." Vin started to protest, genuinely believing he was going to hurt her if they fought, despite the stirrings of desire that was being fed by the possibility of what she was suggesting. He was still trying to convince himself that this was a bad idea when suddenly, he saw Alex swing the blade into a neat arch, heading straight for his skull. Without thinking, he swung his own bathlet to counteract the weapon’s intended blow with a defensive man oeuvre of his own.

"Heads up Vin." Alex warned after the clanging of metal had faded away as the first blow was struck.

"You could have taken my head off." Vin protested as their bathlets met once again, metal against metal, clashing loudly with each blow.

"Of course not," Alex said smoothly, not at all bothered by the fact that she could have injured him. "I wouldn’t do anything to that pretty face of yours." She teased and prepared to strike once again.

"Pretty huh?" Vin frowned and swung the blade again, once again countering a very skilled move by Alex which told him he had better start paying attention or he was going to get his ass effectively kicked. "I’ll show you pretty......"

PART SIX

PART ELEVEN

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Authors Note: Aislynn, I loved your name. Hope you don’t mind me using it.