USS ANUBIS - Mission 08
Shapeshifting
POST INDEX
Post # Character Title
001 Morningstar No Place Like Home
Back at NA, a creature finds its way on the ANUBIS
002 Shar'El A Simple Situation
Shar'El is informed of the situation
003 Paquette After Party
Sonja finds Maya unconscious
004 Ya'Han Early Morning
Ya'Han wakes up Jayson before heading to Sickbay
005 Maya When A Dream Is Not A Dream
Unconsious, Maya tries the remembers what happened
006 Shar'El Explanations and Observations
Shar'El informes the senior staff of the situation
007 Stark Going Against the Red
Jayson tries to defuse Ya'Han's frustration
008 Paquette Cold, Dark and Sad
Sonja has a hard time dealing with the warp core going offline
009 Ya'Han Turning Up The Heat
Maya, Nicole and Ya'Han have a chat leading to an idea
010 Stark Taming Of The Dragon
Jayson tries to smooth things over with Ya'Han
011 Jones Waiting in the Wings
The new FCO comes on board the ANUBIS
012 Shar'El Unseen Still
Shar'El tracks down the new FCO, Tanith Jones
013 Ya'Han Who?
Ya'Han and Jayson try to figure out who is the woman they saw
014 Maya When A Doctor Is Not A Doctor
The alien goes to Sickbay to help with Maya's condition
015 Shar'El Frantic Search
Shar'El goes to Sickbay and discovers Maya and Lillie
016 Ya'Han A Dragon Slain
Ya'Han runs into the intruder with unpleasant consequences
017 Paquette The Dragon Whisperer
Sonja drills Ya'Han after she is brought to Sickbay by Jayson
018 Shar'El Clarifications
Shar'El reports to Erik and then goes to Sickbay
019 Morningstar Confrontation
Following is talk with Shar'El, Erik confronts Koniki
020 Stark Deep Rooted Feelings
Ya'Han behaves strangely while alone with Jayson in her quarters
021 Shar'El Change of Plan
Shar'El speaks to Erik and discovers that the creature is now Jayson
022 Ya'Han Seeing Red
Ya'Han and Nicole talk about what might have happened to Jayson
023 Maya A Whim, A Thought...
Maya wakes up and regains some of her memories of what happened
024 Stark Crushing Guilt
Jayson feels very guilty about what happened with the alien
025 Shar'El A Different Approach
After leaving Maya t her work, Shar'El goes to get Ya'Han
026 Ya'Han Covering All The Angles
Shar'El askes something difficult of Ya'Han concerning the Alien
027 Stark One-On-One
Stark opens up to Nicole about his fears in regards to Ya'Han
028 Maya By Warmth of Heart...
Maya is looking at the situation from a far more personal angle
029 Paquette Bruised Feelings
Sonja has a blowout with Elan after finding ANI in pieces
030 Shar'El Curious on Many Levels
Tanith identifies the alien and keeps it dusy while backup arrives
031 Ya'Han Through The Door
Shar'El and Ya'Han debate as to who needs to face the alien
032 Dima & Jones Liaison
Nicola and Tanith devise a plan to deal with the alien life form
033 Stark Him, Her and Her
Jayson comes face-to-face with the two Ya'Han and make a choice
034 Shar'El Gracious Host
The alien is invited to tour the ship and talk to others
035 Ya'Han Another Sister
Ya'Han tries to understand her feelings towards the alien
036 Maya Scientific Curiosity
The alien is brougght to see Maya and a lengthy discussion insues
037 Paquette Old Movies
The alien is brought to see Sonja and ANI
038 Morningstar Back On Board
Erik returns to the ANUBIS and speaks with his staff
039 Shar'El Game of Trust
Shar'El and Nicole talk about the Admiral and the alien
040 Ya'Han Living Mirror
While looking at the alien, Ya'Han recalls a time from her past
041 Stark Concerns for Her, and Her
Jayson talks to Ya'Han about wanting to help the alien life form
042 Dima Empathy
Nicole gets the alien to take a name for itself
043 Shar'El Inner Conflict
Shar'El finds herself troubled by what they are planning on doing
044 Ya'Han Leaving Nothing To Chance
Ya'Han compares hrself to Kai following instructions from Shar'El
045 Paquette The Shape of Things to Come
Sonja makes things complicated for Shar'El during the meeting
046 Shar'El Things To Do
Shar'El gives instructions to the members of the senior staff
047 Stark For The Right Reasons
Jayson and Ya'Han talk about the reasons leading to their actions
048 Maya The Scientific Point of View
Maya and Lillie discuss emotions and how Kai perceives them
049 Dima Best Little Mutiny Ever
Erik and Nicole talk about their current situation
050 Ya'Han Blind No More
Ya'Han remembers a moment from her past when she was 7
051 Jones Poor Career Choices
Tanith has a discussion with Nicole
052 Shar'El Tactical Review
Shar'El reviews the possibilities that their actions may bring about
053 Stark Feeling The Heat
Ya'Han and Jayson notice that the Admial is no longer in his office
054 Paquette Time To Shape Up
Kai is escorted to Sickbay where things get complicated
055 Ya'Han Clearing The Way
Ya'Han takes control and makes sure that nothing more goes wrong
056 Shar'El Face-To-Face
Shar'El watches from the IGC as the Admiral meets the others
057 Morningstar Following Orders
The crew brings Kai back to NA, or do they?
058 Shar'El Change of Atmosphere
Shar'El notes a drastic change in the attitude of people
059 Stark Venting Anger
Jayson and Ya'Han spar and talk
060 Jones The Relative Merits of Planets
Tanith and Maya talk about the search for Kai's home world
M08-P001: USS ANUBIS: Morningstar: Day 01 - 1945 ("No Place Like Home")
##########
"No Place Like Home"
Previous post "The Last Meeting"
##########

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
- The Wizard of Oz

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32015.1945

The Native American sat in his chair at the center of the perfectly quiet bridge, his full attention locked on the main view screen displaying a solid wall that would have appeared far too close to many. The ANUBIS was being brought into its docking bay by the hidden base's tractor beams, leaving the crew to be nothing more than spectators to the unfolding events.

"Sensors showing no forward motion," Lieutenant Jayson Stark reported from the Operations station. "We are at a full stop."

The sound of metal clamping onto metal echoed in quick repetition through the ship as the USS ANUBIS was secured.

"Locking clamps and umbilical connections are in place," Lieutenant Ya'Han confirmed from the Security and Tactical station. "We are receiving clearance from NEW ALEXANDRIA Operations to open all access ports."

"We are home!" Lieutenant Sonja Paquette cheered, casting her hands high over her head. "Time to turn everything off, kick off our shoes and head to the nearest drinking hole.  Anyone care to join me for a glass of wine to celebrate?" It was evident that the Chief Engineering Officer had been in a jovial mood.  Although not as vocal as the redheaded woman, the rest of the officers currently on the bridge had been just as happy to be back home, especially given that they had not had to deal with any Lokustaar along the way. The journey from the Ferengi / Federation border to NEW ALEXANDRIA had been happily monotonous.

"Secure all stations," Captain Erik Morningstar ordered as he stood from his chair, "then you can consider yourself all on leave until further notice."

A wave of cheers filled the Command Deck as Commander Shar'El, the ANUBIS' First Officer made her way to the standing Captain.

"Will you be joining us for a drink?" Shar'El inquired, truly hoping that the Captain would finally allow himself to be a man instead of always being what the crew saw him as, a tireless Commanding Officer who never took any time for himself.

"As much as I would like to Commander," Erik began thinking back to his promise to Counsellor Dima, "I need to meet with Admiral Koniki. We have a great deal to talk about in regards to the mission we have just completed."

"You need to learn to relax," Shar'El said, not trying in the least to hide her being annoyed.

"As much as I might agree with you, I was not the one who braved the chaos of the street markets on MARKALA PRIME nor dealt with a mad Aide and a troubled royal heir," the Native American pointed out. "You all have earned your time off, so enjoy it while I take care of the administrative aspects of the mission."

"Will you at least promise to come and join us when you are done?" the First Officer pleaded.

"I will do my best," Erik nodded. "With Admiral Koniki there is no telling how short or long the meeting will be.  He might kick me out after a few minutes without an explanation or have me there until the ice melts on DELTA VEGA."

"DELTA VEGA is an ice planet," Shar'El scowled.

"My point exactly."

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Level 6, Administrative Offices
Stardate: 32015.2015

"Good evening Captain Morningstar," Allyson, the Admiral's always cheerful secretary and receptionist to the whole administrative section offered as the Native American approached. "Admiral Koniki is expecting you."

"I am never sure if that is a good thing or not," Erik admitted as he walked by the blond haired woman.

"The Admiral is actually in a good mood," the secretary reported with a beaming smile. "The crew of the BASTET were able to find the Admiral's daughter. Despite some difficulties, they have brought her back here."

"The Admiral has a daughter?" the Native American gasped, that particular piece of knowledge having been a complete surprise to him. With that in mind, the Captain of the ANUBIS made his way into the office of the Commanding Officer of the NEW ALEXANDRIA complex.

"Erik! Come on in," the Admiral said inviting the Captain with a joyous motion of his hand. "I have read your preliminary report on this MARKALA PRIME affair, looks like your team got out just in time."

"It was close on more than one level," Captain Morningstar clarified as he took the seat that had been offered to him by the Admiral.  "Here is the complete compiled sensor data we collected," Erik added as he handed over one of the many PADDs he had brought along. "You will see that the Hirogen planetary blockade was set up to make sure that *no one* made it on or off either planet."

"Most interesting that the High Sovereign of NYLA IV called upon the Hirogens to enforce this blockade," Admiral Koniki mused aloud. "Must have cost him a sizable chuck of his wealth to pull that off.  Let's start at the beginning, I want to know about that confrontation you and your crew had with that Lokustaar bioship."

Erik nodded his head in acknowledgement, realizing by the tone of the man sitting on the other side of the desk that this meeting would not be one of those quick ones.

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section I, Level 2
Stardate: 32015.2100

The NEW ALEXANDRIA complex was by itself a secret installation known to only a select few. The secrecy of this base extended far beyond its physical reach and even went within the confines of the rock that gave it its natural camouflage. Section I did not appear on any internal schematic nor could it be seen from the docking bays as no windows or any other sort of external hint of its presence had been provided.  Even within the personnel of the secret base, only a select few knew of presence of this section, and even less knew as to what was taking place therein.

"How is our guest?" The lead scientist asked, repeating the same question that he had been asking at this specific hour every day for the last 15 months, or was it 16?

The question had been the exact same, and as every other time the answer proved to be equally predictable.  "No change in our readings," the technician replied with a sigh, having today decided to add a extra twist to his report. "The only reason we know it's there is because we actually see it. Other than that, none of the instruments are able to tell that it's actually there. No heat, no mass, no biological or chemical substance. The only reason we suspect that it is alive is because it moves, sometimes.  If only it was not translucent, at least that way it would give us *something* to look at every now and then."

"Confirm the integrity of the room's seal, run the standard sensor diagnostics and call it a night," the lead scientist said as he had done countless times before, ignoring the technician's verbose frustration which in all honesty he shared in.  "Doctor Moreau has set up a few new tests for our guest which are scheduled for early tomorrow morning. So let's give whatever is in there some rest, my guess is that it's going to need it."

"Glad I won't be here to witness the 'mad Doctor' at work," the technician admitted with a chuckle. "That man gives me the creeps."

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section I, Level 9, Doctor Moreau's Quarters
Stardate: 32015.2200

The man laid on top of the sheets of his bed making it clear that he did not intend to get any sort of sleep tonight. The unknown creature on level 2 had taken up all of his time and thoughts since it was discovered, the researcher having become beyond frustrated with his lack of success in discovering the slightest bit about it. He knew that it was alive based on how it responded to being touched an handled, the Doctor having even been hit by the creature once after a rougher tactile examination.  The Admiral had been very firm as to what could or could not be done to the creature, or at least he was until yesterday when a wider range of tests was authorized. The Admiral must have been in an exceptionally good mood, and thanks to that, the Doctor would be able to push his research on the creature to an entirely different level.  All Sacha needed was to be patient and wait until 0600 when the new tests had been scheduled to start.

Of course waiting until the morning shift to be present would force the Doctor to deal with the technicians' endless questions as to the need for the methods he wanted to use. Although they had all been ready to advance science, their loyalty to their medical oath to do no harm had proven to be a hindrance of the worst possible kind. None of their previous tests had been able to classify the pile of translucent gel as having been alive in the slightest way, yet they refused to push forward.

Some had compared the gel to the Founders although no chemical or biological similarities had been discovered.  As far as they knew, the creature was not even that, possessing no apparent independent will.  The tests scheduled for tomorrow morning would make it clear that the gel was not actually alive but only responded to directly applied external stimuli. From there, the substance that could not be classified would be ripped down to its primary elemental components and analysed as any other rock or slime would.

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section I, Level 2
Stardate: 32015.2230

The tests had been scheduled to start in less than 7 hours, but the Doctor had found it impossible to wait any longer. The mystery of this substance screamed to be resolved and Sacha had decided that he would not wait a minute more to get to the answers they all had been so desperate to find.

The control room had been vacant making his work that much easier. He would be able to prep the tests and carry them out without having to worry about someone looking over his shoulder or questioning his every move. By the time the tests had been scheduled to start, the answers will have already been discovered and he would be praised for his diligence and devotion.

A tray filled with medical instruments was prepared and after confirming that everything he needed was present, the Doctor unlocked the outer most door. The seals had been far more than could have been required to contain a small sample of gel like the one that was inside the observation room, but still nothing had been left to chance.  Even inside the airtight room, several force fields were present to insure that nothing could escape from the room. At least that was how the system had been designed, a system that required someone at the controls to engage the energy fields when a scientist or Doctor stepped inside the confinement chamber.

Since he was alone, Doctor Moreau took extra care to insure that the doors were closed behind him as he made his way in.  Given that the gel could barely move, it had been unlikely that it would be able to make its way out even if it had wanted to.

Arrogance it seems would once again be proven to be the downfall of those who considered such a trait as being a positive attribute.

The moment Doctor Moreau was close enough to the creature he had been ready to prove was actually nothing more than a strange collection of gelatinous compounds, the substance in question reached out and took hold of the intruder's hand.  After a quick struggle, the glove of the biocontainment suit was yanked off leaving the Doctor exposed. Before he could reach the inner door to open it, the substance had crawled onto the floor and encased the handle which caused the researcher to directly touch the creature.

Screams of panic filled the sealed room but no one heard the Doctor's desperate pleas for help as the substance made its way into the suit through the one opening that had been created.

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Level 6, Administrative Offices
Stardate: 32015.2330

"I think it would be best if we ended things here," the Admiral offered. "I am sorry for keeping you here so long, I did not realise that it was so late."

"No worries Admiral," the Native American said with a tired smile. "The advantage of being home is that we all get to sleep in in the morning, not having to deal with any dire issues."

As if the universe had wanted to prove the Captain wrong, an alarm sounded just as he finished his sentence.

"Allyson?" The Admiral demanded after having opened a channel to his secretary.

"We have just been made aware that a breach occured in one of the lower research levels," Allyson reported, not saying more knowing that the Native American had not been aware of the secret section inside the secret base.

"Erik, stay here," the Admiral ordered as he made his way out of his office.

Left alone, the Captain decided to stand and make his way to the large windows set behind the Admiral's desk allowing for an impressive view of the docking array. Erik smiled as he saw a view of the ANUBIS that he rarely enjoyed while his mind casual wandered as to what problems might have taken place inside the complex at such a later hour.

After several long minutes, the Admiral finally returned, a flustered expression on his face.  "Sorry about that Erik, but we have a situation on our hands and I need your complete cooperation to see it resolved."

"Of course Admiral, you know that you can always count on me," Erik stated without hesitation.

"Something has made its way on board the ANUBIS," the Admiral explained. "As of right now your ship is under lockdown. No one is to board or disembark. No transporter signal will be permitted to or from the ANUBIS, the ship and all those on board are under maximum quarantine until the situation is resolved."

"Situation?" The Native American gasped, "What situation? What is going on?"

"Contact whoever is currently in charge of your ship, I will explain things to you both at the same time."

--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette

Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501

AND

Lt. Commander Elan Fairborn [Access Character BIO for Elan Fairborn]
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
M08-P002: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 01 - 2345 ("A Simple Situation")
=-=
"A Simple Situation"
[previous post was "No Place Like Home" by the plotting Francois]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Shar'El's Quarters
Stardate: 32015.2345

The gathering of officers in the Black Hole Lounge had been tamed as compared to other similar events, reflecting on the fact that everyone, well at least most, had been tired and ready to retire to their quarters to get some well deserved peaceful sleep. Sonja had been happy with sharing a few drinks with her fellow shipmates including Maya, Lillie and Nicole while Ya'Han and Jayson appeared to have worked things out between them as they danced together in a way that went far beyond being simple coworkers. 

Having returned to her quarters and following a short yet very relaxing shower, the ExO / ILO had just about been ready to crawl into her bed when the chime rang indicating that an urgent signal was coming in.  Quickly making her way to the communication station on her desk, the raven-haired woman opened the channel the moment she reached the controls.  "Commander Shar'El here, what's going on?"

=/\= Stand by Commander, =/\= the Captain announced, the tone of his voice making it perfectly clear that this had not been a joke or some sort of unannounced drill.

=/\= The ANUBIS has been placed under complete lock-down effective immediately, =/\= the Admiral announced causing the ExO / ILO to question if she had heard correctly or if the glass of wine she had taken thanks to Sonja's insistence had hindered her faculties.

"Excuse me, can you say that again? Lock-down?" The ExO / ILO asked, blinking several times.

=/\= Yes Commander, =/\= the Admiral confirmed not at all sounding pleased. =/\= A creature of unknown origin and capabilities has made its way on board the ANUBIS and the ship will remain on lock-down until it is found and returned to a secured location on NEW ALEXANDRIA. =/\=

"Alright," Shar'El acknowledged thinking that the Admiral was greatly over reacting. "Give us the specifications as to what or who we are looking for and we will run a complete sensor sweep of the ship. Your runaway 'whatever it is' will be back in your care in no time."

=/\= I suspect that it won't be that easy, =/\= the Captain commented, obviously knowing a little more thanks to his proximity to the Admiral.

=/\= You are searching for a creature that we believe is capable of taking on the form and biological characteristics of whoever it physically comes in contact with, duplicating not only their physical appearances but also their individual biometrics, knowledge and possibly even their skills and abilities, =/\= the Admiral explained sounding rather vague.  =/\= What we do know for sure is that sensors are not able to detect it, forcing any search for it to use visual scans or direct hands-on. =/\=

"Alright, now this sounds like a real challenge," the ExO / ILO acknowledged.  "What else can you give us?"

=/\= Not much I'm afraid, =/\= the Admiral admitted. =/\= The entity has already switch form several times, able to take on the attributes and knowledge of anyone it comes in contact with. That is why we suspect it decided to board the ANUBIS, maybe seeking a way to escape the base. We are not sure of its intents or if this ability is limited to the latest person it came in contact with. We are not even sure if the knowledge it gains through this contact carries forward from one shape to the next. =/\=

"This is starting to sound like a real issue," Shar'El noted no longer feeling tired in the least. "So we are dealing with some sort of shape-shifting creature able to gain the knowledge and possible skills and abilities of whoever it comes in contact with?"

=/\= That's pretty much it, =/\= the Captain confirmed in an unenthusiastic voice.

"Should I ask as to what happens to those touched by this *thing*?" The ExO / ILO inquired, not entirely certain that she wanted to know the answer.

=/\= The person touched by this creature becomes disoriented and may be made to lose consciousness. The video evidence is limited but it does seem to indicate that the creature is able to control this effect, either covertly stealing an identity through simple contact or disabling an individual to take their place on a longer term basis.  There is one more thing we can add, =/\= the Admiral offered.

"Anything you can give us will help," Shar'El stated, thinking that they were at a clear disadvantage based on what had so far been said.

=/\= When causing someone to become unconscious, the creature appears to be able to create a bio-energy resonance in the body of the target making them invisible to sensors, =/\= the Admiral detailed. =/\= The effect is not permanent but it lasts long enough to allow for the creature to move about without triggering any alarms due to there appearing to be two of the same individual. =/\=

"This keeps getting better and better," Shar'El sighed.  "Let me see what I can do. maybe the IGC can come up with something.  Could we get a copy of the available data on this thing?"

=/\= All medical and scientific data is heading your way,=/\= the Captain stated. =/\= Unfortunately, there is not a great deal to work with. The creature was pretty much a complete mystery before it escaped and made its way to the ANUBIS. =/\=

"Receiving the data now," Shar'El noted before realizing just how small the file actually was. "You weren't kidding when you said that there was not a lot known on this thing. I will forward the information to the IGC as well as to Doctor Doyanne. We will get back to you as soon as I have something to report. In the meantime we can set up force fields throughout the ship thus limiting their ability to move about."

=/\= Commander, =/\= the Captain jumped in with. =/\= Only secure the main computer, as for the warp core and weapons systems take those off line so that they cannot be used against the ship or base. If the creature feels cornered, it may become desperate and without knowing the full extent of its shape-shifting abilities it is better for us to address this issue with a certain level of caution. Only inform the senior staff of this situation, maybe we can lure the creature into relaxing its position making it easier for us to find it without risking general panic. One last thing Commander. =/\=

"Yes Captain?"

=/\= Keep me informed as to your plans and progress. I may not be there in person but the ANUBIS is still my ship and I want to be back on her as soon as possible. =/\=

"Of course Captain," the ExO / ILO acknowledged. "We'll get this situation resolved in no time, so don't get too comfortable over there."

=/\= Somehow I doubt that is a possibility for me, =/\= the Captain sighed back before the communications channel was closed.

"Just once I would like for us to have to deal with a simple situation," Shar'El sighed. "I mean a really simple, done and over with in a minute or so type of simple."

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Black Hole Lounge
Stardate: 32016.0010

During the festivities many crew members came and went, so no one had paid any attention to one more having come in to sit by themselves on the upper level, watching with interest the people below. Never before had it experienced life in this manner and there was so much to process. The way they moved, the way they thought, even the way they interacted with one another had all seemed so... alien.

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P003: USS ANUBIS: Paquette: Day 02 - 0015 ("After Party")
"After Party"
previous post was "A Simple Situation"

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Black Hole Lounge
Stardate:32016.0015

The evening had been great, the only thing missing had been the Captain but he had likely been stuck in one of the Admiral's endless meetings. For that, the Chief Engineering officer pitied the man but in all honesty she preferred that it was him there instead of her.

As the party came to an inevitable conclusion based on no other fact that it was now the morning after, the redhead looked around the mostly vacant room that had been party central the evening prior.  One by one Sonja had bid farewell to those who had come to celebrate the conclusion of their last mission. Since she had called for this friendly gathering, the Chief Engineer had felt a certain amount of responsibility and had therefore taken on the role of host.  During the celebration this meant that she had made sure everyone had plenty to drink, but by the end of the party her duties had progressed to insure that those in attendance had been able to make it out of the Black Hole Lounge so as to not spend the night there..

After having followed with her eyes the Chief Science Officer as she made her way down the stairs from the upper level, Sonja greeted Maya with a beaming smile.  "Thank you for coming Commander," the redhead offered to the Shillian before she made her way out of the Black Hole Lounge. "I hope that you were able to enjoy yourself."

Maya stopped, turned to look at Sonja and tilted her head to one side ever so slightly. The expression on the face of the scientist was priceless and actually made the redhead fight back the urge to laugh out loud. It was as if the Shillian had been completely unable to understand what had just said to her.

"Maybe you should get some sleep," Sonja suggested with a smile, certain that the woman had been suffering for one too many drinks, or three. As strange as the silence was when dealing with the Chief Science Officer, the Chief Engineer had not been about to complain. From what she could remember of the evening, Maya had been herself for most of it, going into very verbose descriptions of the events on MARKALA PRIME should someone ask a question or even make any sort of reference to the planet as a whole.

"Maybe you should get some sleep," Maya repeated almost mechanically as she walked out of the Black Hole Lounge leaving behind a perplexed and puzzled Chief Engineer.

"Well, glad she only had wine," Sonja chuckled to herself while shaking her head, dismissing the strange exchange the two of them had just share. "Anything stronger and she might not have been able to walk out. Guess no petting the monkey tonight for me," the redhead added, this time unable to hold back the laughter she had herself triggered.

"Will we be able to close now?" One of the waitresses asked, the lounge's personnel having been made to remain on duty for far longer than usual.

"Give me a minute to make sure nothing was forgotten," Sonja announced as she set her sights on the stairs leading to the second floor. "I think it will be easier to accept should I come across someone's discarded personal effects. It will lead to less questions to be asked, at least by everyone else that is, I can't make any promises as to how many questions I will be asking."

Having said this, Sonja made her way up the winding stairs, making sure to hold on to the railing. As great as her own endurance to alcohol was, the woman had to admit that she had indulged far more than she would have had she been in her quarters. After all, as the celebration's host, it had been her responsibility to display a good example and encourage everyone to participate and let loose. Thinking back on this, the Chief Engineer suddenly found herself glad that the Captain had actually not been present. Knowing the man, at least based on what she saw of him, Captain Morningstar would have more than likely been a proverbial stick in the mud.

With both feet firmly on the upper level of the Black Hole Lounge, Sonja gave her surroundings a quick once over, confirming that nothing had been left behind. So it was quite a surprise when she noticed someone resting on one of the far tables.  As the Engineer approached, she could see that the individual was a woman, her face hidden by her arms which cradled her head.  The surprise became even more shocking when the redhead gently pulled on the woman's shoulder to have her be in a more presentable sitting position.

"Commander Maya?" Sonja gasped, quickly questioning herself as to whether or not she had just dreamt seeing and talking to the woman as she left the Black Hole Lounge. If the experience the Engineer clearly remembered had indeed not been a dream, than who had she spoken to? Better still, who had been the person whom could have been the Shillian's twin sister?

The next several minutes were spent, after having confirmed that the woman had indeed been alive, trying to wake the unconscious Shillian, but to no avail. Either the alcohol or some other substance had made the scientist completely unresponsive.  Unable to get answers from the source, the Chief Engineer decided to go another route.  "Sonja to ANI?"

=/\= My apologies Lieutenant, but the Avatar is currently unable to answer you at this time, =/\= the voice of the gentle giant who worked on NEW ALEXANDRIA as a Robotic Engineer replied.

"Elan? What are you doing on the ANUBIS at this ungodly hour?" The woman inquired, now having to face not one mystery but two.

=/\= Please keep in mind that my world is on a planetary rotation of 34 hours, =/\= the Oltharian pointed out. =/\= Although I do not spend a great deal of time there, I do maintain the same work schedule, this allows me to be more efficient. When I heard that the ANUBIS had returned, I thought I would come on board and perform the upgrades we had spoken about. =/\=

"I was not expecting you to do those *now*," Sonja sighed. "Never mind, I will take care of things here another way. In the meantime, I would like for you to put ANI back together as quickly as possible."

=/\= That may take some time as the upgrades we had discussed are rather extensive, and I am currently only a quarter of the way through them,=/\= the Robotics Engineer explained. =/\= I am unable to cancel what has been so far done and I am afraid that ANI will be unable to properly function if the work is interrupted. =/\=

"Fine," the Chief Engineer snapped. "Sonja to the IGC, I hope someone is up there."

=/\= Will I do? =/\= The first Officer replied to Sonja's gladness and surprise.

"I thought you went to bed?"

=/\= I did, but something came up. What's going on? =/\=

"Maya just left the Black Hole Lounge."

=/\= I'm surprised she lasted that long, =/\= Shar'El admitted.

"No, I mean that someone or something that looked like Maya left. Maya was on one of the tables of the upper level passed out."

=/\= Let me check the internal sensors, =/\= the First Officer stated. =/\= I was hoping that maybe our sensors would be better than those on board NEW ALEXANDRIA, =/\= Shar'El added with a sigh of disappointment.

"What's going on?" Sonja demanded.

=/\= Can't explain right now, not like this. Bring Maya to Sickbay, I will have the rest of the senior staff meet us there. =/\=

"Computer, lock on to myself and Commander Maya. Initiate sight-to-sight transport to Sickbay."

=/\= Unable to comply, =/\= the computer stated. =/\= Sensor lock established only on one person, unable to lock on a second. =/\=

"Just bloody grand," Sonja let out in a clearly Scottish accent. "All right then," the Chief Engineer sighed in the same accent. "Hope Lillie will have a few of those anti-hangover pills at the ready. I can only guess there are going to be a few unhappy people stumbling into Sickbay very soon, including myself.  In the meantime, let's go Lassie," Sonja said as she grabbed the unconscious woman and sung her lifeless arm over her shoulders. "Gessus, you weigh as much as a wee draft horse. Now would be a good time for you to shape-shift into that cute little monkey of yours. It would certainly make it easier for me to carry you to Sickbay. Why did they have to put it all the way on Deck 7? As soon as I get the chance I will have a talk with the Captain, either we move the Black Hole Lounge up several decks or bring Sickbay several decks down."

=====
Lorraine Paquette

Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
M08-P004: USS ANUBIS: Ya'Han: Day 02 - 0020 ("Early Morning")
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Early Morning"
[previous post was "After Party"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Ya'Han's Quarters
Stardate: 32016.0020

This had not been the first time they had returned to her quarters together. Usually they sat on the couch, talked and even enjoyed some cuddling time before falling asleep. After the party in the Black Hole Lounge though, Jayson had barely made it in before collapsing of exhaustion. To his credit though, the man had managed to make it to the bedroom with little assistance from Ya'Han.

As great as Starfleet training was, it was no match for a night of dancing with a Nylaan trained as an entertainer. Ya'Han had never realised this before, but she could dance just as much as Sonja could drink without feeling any ill effects.

Standing by the side of the bed in the dimly lit room, she grinned as she looked down at the still fully dressed man lying on top of her bed. Their relationship had been a difficult one,not for a lack of trying, but the tranquility of their journey back to NEW ALEXANDRIA had given the time and opportunity to become closer than they had ever been. Despite this though, the Nylaan still found herself torn between the world of her past and the possibilities of her future.

=/\=All Senior Officer are to report to Sickbay, =/\= the announcement from Commander Shar'El came over the ship's intercom system.

"What?" Jayson mumbled as he lifted his head for only a second before it came crashing back down onto the pillow.

"Let's go," Ya'Han said as she turned the lights in the bedroom to full intensity before nudging the exhausted Chief of Operations.

"It's probably only a drill," the man argued in a half sleeping daze.

=/\= I repeat, all Senior Officers are to report to Sickbay. This is not a drill. =/\=

"There goes that theory," the Sec/Tac quickly added before pushing the man lying on her bed clear off causing him to crash onto the floor that had not been as close as he might have liked it to be.

"Hey! I would have gotten up," Jayson pointed out as he looked over the edge of the bed to the now bright red-haired woman. "Granted eventually, but still," he added after a few seconds, "where is the rush? The Commander asked for the Senior Officers to report to *Sickbay*, not the bridge. Add to this the fact that we are *inside* NEW ALEXANDRIA I doubt that we are facing a life-or-death situation."

"We received an order," Ya'Han countered in all seriousness, glaring back at the man still partially on the floor behind her bed. "Would it make it easier if I gave you another reason to go to Sickbay?"

Jayson thought about this for a few seconds before realizing that the woman had not been playing any sorts of games. Had her hair been purple or better still green, he might have taken her up on her offer just to see where it would lead, but since the Sec/Tac had been in full fiery combat mode, the OPS Officer quickly decided against accepting the potentially life-threatening offer.

"Fine," he huffed. "I bet it will be nothing more than Doyanne having come across something that we might have ingested during the party.  That, or some lost something, maybe Maya transformed into that monkey of hers and went wandering through the ship."

"Whatever the reason is, we received an order," Ya'Han said, clearly not having any intentions of delaying their departure for Sickbay. "Now, let's get moving."

"Yes ma'am," Jayson acknowledged almost adding a salute which caused the fiery haired woman to glare at him once more. "Okay, okay, I'm up and moving."

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.0045

Jayson and Ya'Han rushed into Sickbay unsure as to what to expect. Seeing Doctor Doyanne examining Maya with a concerned looking Sonja looking on indicated that things had been far more serious than imagined.

"What happened?" The Sec/Tac asked, immediately having become concerned from Maya as well as the rest of the crew.

"Not entirely certain," Sonja replied before adding a sigh. "From what I have seen, we may have a doppelganger on board, one that has taken on the form of our Chief Science Officer."

"Ya'Han to Security," the Sec/Tac called out after having pressed her comm badge.

"Belay that Lieutenant," Commander Shar'El said, shaking her head to add to what she had just said.

=/\= Yes Lieutenant? =/\= came the voice of one of the security officers.

"Never mind, sorry for having bothered you at such an early hour," Ya'Han said, amending her earlier call before closing the channel by pressing her comm badge once more. "What is going on?" The Sec/Tac inquired of the First Officer who was now looking at the unconscious Chief Science Officer.

"We have a situation on our hands, one that we have direct orders from the Captain to handle quietly and without involving the rest of the crew," Shar'El explained. Although she could have said more, it had been best for her to wait for the rest of the Senior Officers to also be here so as to avoid having to repeat herself.

"With all due respect Commander," the Sec/Tac argued. "If we have a security breach on board the ANUBIS, I fail to see any advantages in keeping the rest of the crew, especially my security personnel, in the dark."

"If you two want to argue or even duke it out, that is fine by me," Doctor Doyanne snapped as she continued to care for the unconscious woman on the main examination bed. "Just do it *elsewhere* than here. I would appreciate some peace and quiet as i try to figure out what happened to Maya and how to undo it, if it is at all possible."

"Apologies Doctor," the Sec/Tac offered, the hair of the Nylaan woman still as red as could be.

"Agreed," Shar'El added. "Lack of sleep is making us to be somewhat on edge. Please continue with your work to help Maya, in the meantime we will behave," the First Officer stated before turning to face the Sec/Tac. "The Captain wants us to handle this more quietly so as to avoid making our unexpected and unwelcomed guest feel trapped. I suspect that there might be more but he was unable to give details due to the proximity of the Admiral."

"Is the crew or the ship in any immediate danger?" Ya'Han asked, the Nylaan woman having jumped into full protective mode.

"As of right now, and according to the Captain, we are not in any danger," Shar'El answered. "That is why we are going to proceed quietly without sounding any general alarms. The goal is to handle the situation in as much a peaceful manner as possible."

Ya'Han glanced over at the Doctor and her patient, not liking the way the situation was being portrayed or handled, but having little choice in the matter.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han

Lieutenant JG Ya'Han [Access Character BIO for Ya'Han]
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P005: USS ANUBIS: Maya: Day 02 - 0045 ("When A Dream Is Not A Dream")
---
"When A Dream Is Not A Dream"
(Previous Post: "Early Morning")
---

Setting: Dreamscape
Stardate: 32016.0045

Memories of the party flashed in the mind of the unconscious woman forcing the Shillian to relive the events that had ultimately led her being here.  Everyone was enjoying the festivities, and were pleasantly surprised to see that the scientist had seemed to be doing the same. Being the kind of person that Maya was, parties of any kind had never truly been her thing, able to relax and unwind through working on some obscure research. Whenever possible the Chief Science Officer would find some duty-related reason to either find herself unable to accept an invitation or to make a quick escape as soon as her discomfort grew to be more than she could handle.

This time though things had been different. Maybe it was because of the way the mission on MARKALA PRIME had unfolded, maybe it was because of the uncertainty surrounding the shadowy race known as the Lokustaar, or maybe it was simply because she did not wish to anger the Chief Engineering Officer who had organized this gathering. Whatever the reason or reasons had been, Maya had accepted to come and even went as far as to stay for the duration of the celebrations.

Maya easy recalled the one glass of wine that Sonja had given her, as well as the second one, which seemed to suddenly materialize in her hand following the first being put down on a table.  As happy as the Terran woman had been, the Shillian suspected that discarding the second glass might cause an issue with their host. So to avoid any unpleasant words or actions that might shed an unwelcome dark cloud on the festivities, the Scientist made sure that the second glass never left her grasp, this even if the crimson liquid remained untouched in the impressively large glass.

Actually, a few sips had made their way from the glass and passed her lips, each time because their eyes had met and Maya had not dared to show that the gift had not been appreciated, at least on some small manner.  Although the Chief Science Officer outranked the Chief Engineering Officer, the Shillian could not bring herself to use this during an unofficial event, especially one that had been meant to make those present be thankful for life in general.

The Shillian could also clearly recall the flamboyant and carefree dancing that had filled the Black Hole Lounge. For obvious reasons, the Nylaan had managed to capture the attention of most during that time but not for the rational that most would have expected.  Ya'Han had maintain the now customary black and red colour mix for her hair instead of displaying the dark emerald hue that best reflected the extent of her skills as a dancer. What had made everyone look in her direction despite the absence of the green hair had been the way that she and Jayson Stark had been in each other's arms. The sight had triggered muted cheers from Sonja and Shar'El,  both claiming in a rather colourful language that this had taking far to long to reach this point.

The only other memory that stood out in the mind of the Shillian was that of an odd sensation as someone reached out, his hand even so gently caressing hers. Maya had ventured to the upper level of the Black Hole Lounge to make sure that everyone knew the celebration was winding down, that was when she noticed someone sitting alone in the corner.  The crew member had appeared as if he had been sleeping at the table.  Her first instinct was to go search for Nicole or maybe even Lillie fearing the interpersonal skills of the Counsellor or maybe even the Medical knowledge of the Doctor might be required, but the scientist eventually decided against this course of action. Surely being an Officer holding the rank of Lieutenant Commander, she would be able to handle the situation involving a fellow shipmate who had more than likely passed out due to overconsumption or fallen prey to simple fatigue.  Following the demands, both physical and psychological, that had been made of her during the mission on MARKALA PRIME, this situation should be as simple as could be for her to address.

The moment his hand touched hers, Maya began to feel dizzy and weak. The sensation grew so rapidly that she could no longer manage to stand. Luckily, or at least that is how the Shillian perceived it, the crew member reached out and helped her down into the chair where he had been sitting moments before.  Maya had tried to look up into his face but the memory of him was nothing more than a blurred image, one quickly followed by complete darkness.

In the darkness that now surrounded her so completely, Maya thought she heard voices, one of which being that of Doctor Lillie Doyanne. The Shillian thought for a moment and concluded that she had found herself inside a dream. Many scientific and research papers had been written on cognitive dreaming but never had she experienced one, up until now.  Calling up everything that she had read about this phenomenon, the Chief Science Officer tried to control the images and sounds that came to break the void around her.

It had not taken long for the Chief Science Officer to begin to control this strange dream, allowing her to move about the void as she wished. Despite this newfound ability though, Maya found it impossible to summon an image to match that of the voice she had continued to hear. The more the scientist focused on that particular voice, the more she wondered as to how all of these dreams and memories fit in together?

When the memory of the unidentifiable crew member resurfaced, the Shillian expanded her questions to include his possible involvement in what she was currently experiencing.  Had she still been in the Black Hole Lounge or had she been brought to Sickbay, possibly explaining the earlier floating sensation as her body moved without her walking. This could also serve to account for the voice of the Chief Medical Officer which made the Doctor herself feel so very close.

Maya paused in her own mind as she tried to piece the scattered puzzle of this mystery together.
Had she truly been dreaming or had something happened to her, something that had taken place on the second level of the Black Hole Lounge, something that she could not yet understand and more important something that she could not find a way out of?

---
Jessica Solarik

Lieutenant Commander Maya [Access Character BIO for Maya]
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS

&

Captain Selene Fiona Iverson [Access Character BIO for Selene Iverson]
Commanding Officer
USS BASTET

"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
M08-P006: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 02 - 0100 ("Explanations and Observations")
=-=
"Explanations and Observations"
[previous post was "When A Dream Is Not A Dream" by the dreaming Jessica]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.0100

It had taken a little longer than expected to get every member of the senior staff to report to Sickbay, but given the exceptionally early hour of the day combined with the activities of the evening before, the ExO / ILO had actually been surprised that everyone had managed to show up.  Even when off duty and in the quiet safety of their base of operation, the crew of the ANUBIS still continued to perform at the highest level of professionalism, something that Shar'El had been most grateful and proud of.

"Now that everyone is here, I can start," the raven-haired woman stated, actually trying to think as to how she would present the situation before quickly explaining how the Captain had wanted things handled.  "We have an intruder on board," the ExO / ILO said, having decided to start with this believing that it was best to just go straight to the point. After everything that the crew had faced, both as individuals and as a group, the direct approach had seemed to have the best response while avoiding people to jump to erroneous and possibly farfetched conclusions.

"Was Maya injured by this intruder?" Counselor Dima asked, the woman's concerns not having given the Commander a chance to even get to that point in what would have been her report to the senior officers.

"It is not as simple as that," Shar'El replied, adding a sigh to further state this fact. "Let me get to the end before asking any questions. What we do know is that some alien lifeform escaped from NEW ALEXANDRIA and made its way onto the ANUBIS. Captain Morningstar and Admiral Koniki believe that it has done this with maybe a hope of escaping the base. Now for the real twist in this story, the life form is capable of taking on the form of whoever it touches and it is believed by what had been so far observed that this creature also gains the knowledge and physical skills and strength of those it touches."

"The ability for the alien creature also appears to have the side effect of draining the target while encasing them in some sort of bio-energy resonance field that is making it impossible for my instruments to get any sort of readings," Doctor Doyanne added a she continued working on the unconscious Maya, the CMO clearly sounding annoyed at her inability to actually help her patient.

"As I said, this entire affair is not as simple as it may first seem to be," Shar'El reconfirmed. "The alien life form is able to completely shield itself from our sensors, making it impossible to track, and it is able to extend this cloaking effect to those it touches." The ExO / ILO paused for a few seconds allowing for the information thus far provided to sink in.  "Now, as per the Captain's orders, we are to keep the knowledge of the search for this life form to only essential personnel, which means the senior staff and those few others who will need to be informed as the situation progresses. The Captain wants to avoid making the creature feel trapped, so since the ANUBIS is currently on complete lockdown, nothing will be able to get on or disembark. This will be the extent of the limitations we will be imposing on it.  Again, and in accordance to the idea of not making the life form feel threatened or trapped, only the main computer and armory will be protected by a force field, all other weapon systems as well as the warp core are to be rendered inoperative by taking them offline."

"Great," Sonja exclaimed, visibly unhappy by the latest twist in this affair. "So we are searching for something that could appear as anyone without being able for us to either track it with sensors or corner it with force fields. How his the Captain planning on leading this lovely blind search of his?"

"Actually," the ExO / ILO smiled, "he will be keeping an eye on our efforts and progress from NEW ALEXANDRIA," Shar'El announced. "Unfortunately, he was there speaking with Admiral Koniki when the lockdown of the ANUBIS was called into effect."

"This just keeps getting better and better," the redhead woman sighed with disbelief.

"I understand that this is not an ideal set of parameters, but for the time being we need to look at this as a first contact situation," the ExO / ILO clarified. "We know next to nothing about this life form and there is no reason or us to provoke it or even to make it believe that we mean it harm in any way. Not only do we have to try our best to make it feel safe while on the ANUBIS, but we may very well have to undo whatever emotional or psychological harm the NEW ALEXANDRIA scientists did through whatever tests or procedures they put the poor creature through."

"You are going under the belief that the creature is using its ability to change form as a method of self preservation and not as an attack," Nicole noted, clarifying this very important idea to everyone else.

"Yes," Shar'El confirmed. "So far no one has been hurt. The effects of coming in contact with the creature may prove to be inconvenient and even uncomfortable, but everyone who was touched has recovered in time."

"Everyone with the exception of Maya," Doctor Doyanne quickly amended. "With their bio-energy resonance field around her, I can't tell if she is working out of her unconscious state or is she is falling deeper into what might turn into a coma.  Being the only Shillian, and never having dealt with this type of alien life form, there is no way to know what kind of damage it did to her."

"As long as she is with you, Maya is in good care," Shar'El pointed out. "As for the res of you, go about your regular duties while keeping an eye out for this life form. Report anything and everything directly to the IGC, they will monitor and report back to me. Remember, we are to deal with this as a first contact situation."

A general sense of understanding and agreement filled the room, this to the delight of the Commander.  Following the short meeting, each member of the senior staff made their way out of Sickbay, some taking the time to check on the situation and condition of the ship's Chief Science Officer.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Jefferies Tube next to Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.0100

It had taken some effort to tap into the unexpected abilities of this form, but after several failed attempts it had managed to become this small, furry animal which possessed remarkable speed and agility.  Unlike the prison that it had been trapped in, this place had been filled with endless passageways, large and small alike, all able to be explored in any form. As interesting as the prospect of investigating this new environment was, it found itself far more interested in the creatures that could be found everywhere in it.

Back in the open space with two levels, it had watched as these creatures moved in very strange and odd ways while they consumed all matters of solids and liquids, although they did seem to favour the latter. The loud and rhythmic sounds that had filled the room then had not been present in this place, in addition it had noted that the mood it perceived as the strange creatures communicated with one another had been very different. There appeared to be some concern about the being that it had touched back in the large space with two levels, the one that had granted it the ability to take on the form it currently had, the alien that now laid flat and motionless while the others stood around it.

Thanks to the multiple creatures it had taken the form of so far, the strange way in which they communicated with one another had become easier to understand but still there had been a sizable gap in it being able to make sense of what was being said and planned.  Back in the prison where is had been kept in near complete isolation, silence had reigned supreme, but here the sounds and noises from countless sources made the experience even more fascinating.

For now, it would continue to observe these strange aliens, trying to understand them better so as to be able to more effectively avoid being recaptured while it continued to search for a way to return home.  Maybe the knowledge of its world and how to reach it would be found in the mind of one of these physically limited creatures.

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P007: USS ANUBIS: Stark: Day 10 - 0130 ("Going Against the Red")
"Going Against the Red"
[previous "Explanations and Observations"]

[/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 8, Corridor
Stardate: 32016.0130

Having been told not to involve anyone else in this search for whatever the creature was, Ya'Han had decided to head straight for the Security Center where she would make sure that the weapons would be properly secured.  Of course, not having anything better to do, Jayson had tagged along, barely managing to keep up with the woman who apparently was stuck in ultra-high gear.

"You know what?" He said while trying his best to catch his breath. "I am glad that we are not on any type of alert status."

"Why is that?" the Chief of Security asked in return, almost sounding as if she had not truly cared what the answer would be.

"Because if we were I am sure that you would be breaking the warp threshold," he replied rolling his eyes. "This is a 'first contact' situation, not a 'red alert, kill anything that dares to move' situation. You can take it easy you know."

"Take it easy?" the woman turned on the spot, her bright red hair flying through the air reminding the OPS officer that he needed to tread carefully, a warning that he now wished he had paid attention to before now. "We have an unknown alien on board," she said looking around to make sure that no one else had been present to hear her enraged rant. "We are on lockdown, the ship's weapon systems are to be taken off line and I have to make sure that none of my security personnel are actually armed to make sure that this alien thing does not feel threatened.  I am well aware of the protocols for first contact, but I am also painfully aware of the danger an unchallenged hostile force can be, especially if they are already inside the ANUBIS."

"Remember what Commander Shar'El said," Jayson said making sure to keep a safe distance between him and the fiery haired volcano ready to erupt. "There is no indication that this life form is hostile in any way."

"Be sure to mention that to Maya when she wakes up," Ya'Han said before turning back to continue her trek to the Security Center. "If she wakes up," she added after having added several steps between the motionless man and herself.

[/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 8, Security Center
Stardate: 32016.0145

Jayson ever so cautiously made his way into the room, glad to see that the Chief of Security had been both unarmed and busy accounting for each and every side arm that should have been there.

"Great," Ya'Han snarled making it clear to Jayson that he still needed to keep a safe distance between them. "There are three phasers missing from storage. My guess is that the last not all of the last security detail brought their side arms back after we docked back to NEW ALEXANDRIA. How am I supposed to tell them to bring their weapons back without telling them why?"

"Maintenance, upgrade, calibration," the OPS officer offered, his tongue having moved faster than his head once again. "Ya'Han, you need to relax," he offered placing his open hands straight in front of him in the hopes of calming the woman in some way. "I get it, you are upset about how we have to handle this situation, but the Captain must have his reasons for wanting us to do it this way.  As for the weapons, if it makes it easier for you, I will take care of it. I can send out a general message to all security personnel asking them to return any and all side arms not currently in either of the Security Centers. Since we are back home, I can easily claim that we are hoping to get them all tested, cleaned and calibrated. No one will think this strange in any sort of ways, plus the message may help make the life form feel safer if I do it on an open channel instead of through a more private and secured one."

"I hate this," Ya'Han blasted as she sent her fist crashing into one of the closed doors of a weapon's locker. "My security forces should not be wondering the ship unarmed, but rather with their weapons at the ready with the order to shoot at anything that seems out of place."

"Are you listening to yourself?" Jayson suggested, still holding his open hands in front of him. "The life form is able to take on the appearance of anyone it touches. What exactly would you tell your troops? To shoot at anyone and everyone that *might* seem strange? We would have half this crew flat on the decks unconscious. You really need to calm down and be more rational about all of this."

"You are right," she agreed following several long seconds of silence during which she had picked up, to Jayson's growing concern, one of the phasers that had been in one of the open lockers.  "I need to be more rational about this. Maybe I could run a few tests to see if the creature is actually affected by a phaser's stun setting? Of course, I would need to test the weapon first to make sure that everything is working as it should," she continued this time pointing the weapon directly at Jayson.

"WAIT!" the OPS Officer pleaded, certain that the next thing he would feel would be the stinging sensation of the energy beam hitting him square in the chest.

"I was just teasing," Ya'Han admitted, looking down at the weapon in her hand before putting it back. "I am very frustrated with this situation and the way it is being handled, but I am not about to shoot you."

"Glad to hear that."

"At least not yet," she added with a wink.

"For the record," he continued after making sure that Ya'Han could not reach for another weapon, at least not without him being able to make a hasty retreat from the room. "You might want to set up a meeting with Nicole. This anger is something that you might want to discuss with her."

The woman with the fiery red hair glared back at him before laughing leaving him to wonder if he should laugh with her or run away from her.

[/\]
Jayson Sousa

Lieutenant JG Jayson Stark [Access Character BIO for Jayson Stark]
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P008: USS ANUBIS: Paquette: Day 02 - 0200 ("Cold, Dark and Sad")
"Cold, Dark and Sad"
previous post was "Going Against the Red"

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 22, Main Engineering
Stardate: 32016.0200

Sonja gazed at the dark warp core, the redhead looking as if she had been on the edge of an emotional breakdown as she stared into the heart of the ANUBIS which had been rendered lifeless.  "Sleep," she softly said before forcing herself to stand as straight and tall as she could. "Hopefully, we will have you back up and running soon, so rest. You'll be back to your old self, no you will be better than that in no time" the Engineer added, her voice having threatened to break more than once as she spoke.

Although the situation with the unknown life form which had found its way onto the ANUBIS had forced the shutdown of the warp core, this to the Engineer's dismay, the opportunity to perform a full maintenance on all of the power conduits had been an impossible one to ignore. The Chief Engineering Officer would have preferred to do this on her own terms, but the orders from the Captain had been perfectly clear leaving the red-haired woman with no other choice.

"With all due respect Lieutenant," one of the Engineers of the night shift said as he moved closer to the department head. "We could have waited until the start of the morning shift to disengage the warp core. It would have made things easier and also provided you with more time to make all of the necessary preparations."

The mechanical preparations had not been an issue, far from it. Sonja knew this leaving the woman to guess that the man had been referring to a more emotional and psychological set of preparations. As a mere graveyard shift worker, what did he know? His duties and responsibilities to the ANUBIS had been minimal to the point of being almost irrelevant. He did what he was told to do from the only person that mattered, the Chief Engineering Officer herself. She understood the nuances of the ship, the needs and requirements that went far beyond what the displays reported.  She had not required any more time to prepare for this than he did, although if he continued along his course of commenting it would be a foregone certitude that he would need some time in Sickbay to address what would become his own needs.

"It's never an easy thing to see," the Oltharian giant said as he joined the much shorter Human woman. "Most do not understand how difficult it is for a Chief Engineer to see their ship in such a state."

"Did you come to gloat or to help?" Sonja snapped, obviously upset by something that the giant Robotics expert could only assume had been the shutdown of the ANUBIS' central energy system.

"My apologies," the Oltharian offered, adding a deep bow as a show of both regret and reverence.  Although he outranked the Chief Engineer, Elan understood that he was nothing more than a guest while on board the ANUBIS and as such he needed to conduct himself accordingly. The kindness and empathy of the giant had always been traits that set him apart from others.

"Sorry Elan," Sonja quickly followed with, trying to take hold of the imposing man's arm but managing to only grab less than half of the bulky appendage. "Having both ANI and the ANUBIS *off-line* is proving to be more difficult than I had expected it to be. Actually, to be entirely honest, this will be the first time that I am faced with this situation. Never have both of them been *sleeping* at the same time."

"Again, please accept my most profound apologies," Elan offered, clearly feeling bad as he was responsible for half of the situation that now plagued the Chief Engineer. "I should have waited and confirmed with you first before starting the upgrades on the ship's Avatar. At least that way, we could have scattered the work to insure that one of the two would be operating while work progressed on the other."

"It's not your fault," the redhead dismissed. Even had he done as suggested, there had been no way for the Oltharian to know that an alien creature had been making its way to the ANUBIS. In the end, the same result would have been reached, but with far more questions. At least this way, things had come to be without people wondering more than they needed to.

Trying to look on the bright side of things, Sonja looked up at the 7'6" giant standing next to her and smiled. The Captain had wanted the warp core taken offline to insure that the alien life form would not be able to use in to achieve its goal or even try to use it against the ship and its crew. With ANI in the same predicament, the Chief Engineer could apply the same reasoning in that with the Avatar being out of commission, the shapeshifting intruder would not be able to use her to help it achieve whatever goal it had set for itself.

"Alright, enough delidadeling," Sonja suddenly announced to one an all within earshot. "You all have work to do, so get moving. I want every conduit from the primary to the emergency backups to be taken apart and individually tested. If the structural integrity is at more than 75%, no make that 80%, then clean it and put it back. If not, or if you notice anything that seems out of the ordinary, I want that section completely replaced.  The warp core may be down but we have access to full replicator power thanks to the umbilical connection with NEW ALEXANDRIA, so if there is something that needs to be replaced, let's use their power to do it."

"You do realize that with the specifications you have just given, the task could take several weeks to complete," Elan pointed out.

"Last I checked we had nowhere to go or anything else to do," Sonja countered with. "Wasn't it you who kept saying that there is no time like the present or some other old fashion saying that meant the same general thing? There is work to be done and I intend to have it done."

The Oltharian smiled, remembering for a brief moment how it felt when he was the Chief Engineer of the USS DISCOVERY and later of the USS PROPHECY, both remarkable vessels with equally remarkable Captains and crews.  "With your permission," Elan offered with a bow. "I will resume my work on the Avatar. Maybe I can find a way to speed the process and have her operational ahead of schedule. If at all possible this will allow you to not have both the Avatar and warp core out of commission at the same time."

"That would be nice," the red haired Engineer noted, wishing for a moment that she could tell Elan about the situation they faced and in so doing explain why she had been so driven to get so much work done and started so immediately.

=====
Lorraine Paquette

Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
M08-P009: USS ANUBIS: Ya'Han: Day 02 - 0600 ("Turning Up The Heat")
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"Turning Up The Heat"
[previous post was "Cold, Dark and Sad"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.0600

In a strange way, Ya'Han had been grateful. After all that had happened on MARKALA PRIME and the political nightmare that her home planet had been thrown in the midst of, being able to focus on a specific security task had been a welcome distraction.  There was no denying that spending time with Jayson had helped a great deal in that aspect.  His being there by her side more than he had ever been before had been a wonderful diversions from her family issues.  The man had actually managed to make her laugh more than once, creating memories that she would cherish for a very long time. Sadly, the chaos that had taken hold of her family had never been too far from her mind despite his greatest and continued efforts.

It had been her hope that working in this situation would force her thoughts away from NYLA IV and a father that she at times wished she could entirely forget.  Right now, she needed to focus her every thought on the life form that had claimed the ANUBIS as its hiding place and home.

Knowing that the internal sensors could not detect the intruder had not stopped the Sec/Tac from trying her best to find another way to track its movements through the ship. So far, every idea that she had come up with had proven equally ineffective or impossible to implement without having the entire ship go into full alert status. Thanks to the Captain's orders to keep things quiet, those options were immediately dismissed.

"The situation proving to be more complicated than we hoped?" Counsellor Dima asked, having come to the bridge to check in on the other members of the senior staff.

"Impossible would be a better way to describe it," Ya'Han corrected, her frustration evident in both her words and posture.

"Aside from this impossible search," the joint Trill continued, "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," the Sec/Tac quietly chuckled as she ran her fingers through her mixed black and red colored hair.  "Let me guess, Jayson?"

"Actually no," Nicole smiled. "I just overheard a couple members of your security personnel talking about having seen you in 'red dragon mode'."

"Red dragon mode?" Ya'Han asked, never having heard the expression before.

"How do I explain that?" The Counsellor asked to herself. Through all of her lives, she had become aware of the mythical EARTH creature but not in a way that would have made it easy for her to explain what the creature was and how it related to the Sec/Tac.

"Explain what?" Maya asked as she walked by the two women, the CSciO having caught only the tail end of the conversation.

"What a red dragon is," Nicole answered not realizing what she had just done by answering the question in the way she had,

"I actually did some research on those strange mythological EARTH creatures," the Chief Science Officer began causing Ya'Han to close her eyes and shake her head. If Nicole had not been completely aware of just how verbose the Shillian could be, this would prove to be a perfect learning opportunity. A possibly very painful one, but a learning opportunity nonetheless.  "Oversized lizards likely brought to life by the discovery of skeletal remains that did not fit the knowledge of the time. From that, the mythology of these creatures was born and evolved into something that spread over the entire planet.  Based on the most common and accepted ideas of these creatures there are many different types of dragons found throughout that planet's literature. That said though, most can be classified in one of two categories; the European and Oriental kind.  As I recall, those described had possessing bright colours, such as the red mentioned earlier, belonged to the European myths. These creatures were described as being extremely dangerous, heavily armoured through natural scales, fierce and very ill tempered beasts able to breathe fire on a devastating scale.  Some myths even have these creatures able to breathe other types of equally dangerous and deadly substances such as frost, poison and even acid on the same scale of destruction.  Although there are accounts of similar creatures in the mythology of other worlds, dragons seem to have played a far more important role on EARTH having frequently been elevated to a level matching that of local deities."

"Thank you Commander," the Sec/Tac quickly offered to avoid the explanation into a creature that never actually existed to continued. "I believe that I get the idea now."

"Why were you interested in such a mythological creature?" Maya asked out of simple curiosity. Working in the field of Intel while operating from a secret base lost in an asteroid belt in deep space, the mythological beast mentioned had not been something that could be expected to surface in a normal conversation.

"Lieutenant Ya'Han was compared to a red dragon by some members of her security personnel," Counsellor Dima explained, thinking that this would be a perfect opportunity to test both women's reactions to the unexpected situation.

Maya's eyes grew instantly wider unlike those of Ya'Han, which once again closed ever so slowly.  "That is an interesting comparison," the CSciO added before continuing on her way to the science station without uttering another word or looking back at the two women she had just been speaking to.

"I think she's afraid of you now," Nicole whispered to the Sec/Tac. The Trill Counsellor did her best to hide her amusement but was unable to completely hide the grin that had formed on her lips.

"I think she and the rest of the crew have little to be concerned in that regards," Ya'Han dismissed with a sigh. "At least not until I can master breathing fire."

Nicole chuckled at the joke but found it odd that the Sec/Tac had remained entirely serious during the last part of their little exchange. Given that she had actually said something that could be considered as amusing, the Counsellor had at the very least expected to see a hint of a smile on the woman's lips, that or maybe her hair to have taken on a lighter color. Instead, Ya'Han had appeared to be even more serious and pensive than she had been when Nicole had arrived onto the bridge.

"Is everything alright?" Counsellor Dima wondered, thinking that maybe the Sec/Tac having been referred to as a mythological fire-breathing lizard had hit a nerve.

"I might just have found a way to scan the ANUBIS for the intruder," Ya'Han announced, the smile that Nicole had expected to see now having appeared on the lips of the Nylaan woman. "The intruder may be able to shield itself from our internal sensors, but there has to be some sort of heat trail left behind by its movements through the ship. It might take a while to be able to isolate the heat signatures of the crew, but once we have managed it, all we will need to do is to discard all of the heat trails that are following an actual body. Whatever trail remains will be that of the alien life form."

"That is a very interesting idea. You should inform Commander Shar'El," the Counsellor stated, clearly sharing the Sec/Tac's enthusiasm. "I am sure that she will be more than happy to hear that we may have a way to at the very least know where the life form is as well as where it is heading. That alone should make things a lot easier on everyone."

"Agreed," Ya'Han nodded as she opened a channel to the IGC to inform them of the possible breakthrough the Sec/Tac had just made.

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Hanali Han

Lieutenant JG Ya'Han [Access Character BIO for Ya'Han]
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P010: USS ANUBIS: Stark: Day 02 - 0800 ("Taming Of The Dragon")
"Taming Of The Dragon"
[previous "Turning Up The Heat"]

[/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.0800

He thought that this would be easy. Then again there was a great deal of things that he thought would also be easy and those things had proven to be anything else but. Finding a way to isolate the individual heat trails left by those on board the ANUBIS had now ranked right up there with Jayson not even coming close to landing a hit against Ya'Han when they spared. Like his fighting matches with the Chief of Security, the OPS officer had put in a lot of work and effort to achieve absolutely nothing.

"There is no way for us to do what it is that you want," Jayson said from the Operations station, directing his frustration at the woman who was spearheading the project. "The material used in the construction of the ANUBIS, and every other Starfleet vessel for that matter, are made to be as resistant as possible to heat transfer. If not, the whole ship would be an ice cube as the coldness of space would make its way clean through the ship."

"There has to be a way for us to figure it out," Ya'Han said slamming her open hands against her work station showing that her frustration had reached the boiling point, as if the return of her bright red hair had not been enough to show this to everyone currently on the bridge.

"Now I see it," the OPS Officer said with a grin.

"See what?" Ya'Han asked through clenched teeth, glaring at the man who had luckily been half way across the room.

"Your people calling you the 'red dragon'," he answered, looking at the woman with a distinct air of admiration. "I only heard about this today, but now that I look at you this way, I have to admit that it suits you very well."

"How is my being compared to some sort of overgrown mythological fire-breathing lizard from your home planet suit me?" She asked in an infuriated manner making Jayson realise that although he had wanted to pay the woman a compliment, he had gone about it all wrong.

"Ya'Han," he said, trying to calm the woman down. Speaking to her while in such a state would serve no purpose and would likely only make things worse. Therefore, Jayson needed to reach her in a way that no one else could at this moment.  "Slow down and look at me. Forget about that thing, the heat trails or whatever else has got you so worked up.  Look at me and think back to that evening when we went to the Arboretum. Remember what you said to me then?"

With a fire that matched her fiery red hair, Ya'Han glared back at the man until she managed to summon the memory that he had asked her to remember. It had been a sweet moment shared between the two of them, a fleeting moment during which the woman everyone knew as being a titan in both physical and emotional strength had permitted herself to be nothing more or less than a woman.

"As dangerous as dragons were said to be in those myths, they were also revered as creatures of amazing grace, beauty and possessing unmatched strength and power," Jayson said trying to undo what he had done with his earlier statement. "Armies were said to become invincible when they had a single one of those creatures fighting alongside them."

Jayson paused for a moment, trying to see if his words had been heard for what he had meant them to be or if Ya'Han had still been too angered to listen to what he had been saying.  So far, it appeared that he had reached her as he needed and saw her stance soften, opening the door for him to continue with his explanation.

"I only agreed with you being compared to a dragon because of the traits I have just mentioned. You are, as I have said to you many times, the strongest woman I have ever seen, and I do not mean only on a physical level. After everything that you have gone through lately, here you are performing your duties above and beyond anything that could have been expected. Let's face it, if I had been in your shoes, I would likely still be on Nicole's couch crying my head off."

He paused once more, thinking it best to pace himself. If he said everything that he wanted all in one shot, it might come across as being fake or insincere, something that he truly did not want to happen, as he believed wholeheartedly in what he was saying to woman.  From the first time they had met, their relationship had been a rough ride with countless emotional rises and fall. From hating everything that she was or even had been, he had come to appreciate Ya'Han in ways that he had never even considered. Now he saw it as his responsibility to be there for her in whatever ways she needed no matter the reason.

"Them comparing you to a red dragon is only accurate to the extent of what they know of you, what you allow them to see of you," the OPS Officer continued. "My agreeing with them is based on an entirely different level of understanding, in fact I see you as being more of a Tiamat than any other dragon in all of the mythologies."

"What is so special about that dragon?" She asked, trying to hold on to her anger but finding it increasingly difficult as displayed by her actually smiling while asking the question.

"Alright," Jayson chuckled, "but you have to hear me out."

"Fine," she sighed, finding it impossible to refuse him.

"Tiamat was a goddess of the ancient Babylonian, portrayed over time as a five-headed dragon," he explained.

"Five heads?" Ya'Han gasped.

"You promised to hear me out," he reminded her with a smile.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, her hair having now fully returned to the customary black and red mix.

"As I was saying, Tiamat was a goddess who was later portrayed as a five-headed dragon, each head being of a different color and capable of breathing a different substance. It was said that no weapon known to man or god could harm her while the simple mention of her name was enough to send entire villages and towns into fear-filled panic.  I see you as her because of your ability to be more than whom you seem, like Tiamat, you are able to address a situation from a completely different perspective. You, through the endless training and highly practiced skills of the cast that you display the hair color of, and her through her different heads and their individual breaths.  I see you as being indomitable as she was, commanding respect and even fear by your simple presence. You are what those creatures were meant to be, strong beyond description while being a creature of endless grace to be admired and worshiped."

"Creature?" Ya'Han teased. "Is that I am to you? Is that what you see me as, a beast, a lizard?"

"You know very well that is not what I meant," he said defending himself as best as he could while still knowing that she had only meant to be verbally playful with him.  "You are by strength and beauty nothing short of a goddess, one that I admire and worship with each and every breath I take."

"When did you ever become so poetic?" She asked, the anger and frustration she had felt having now been nothing more than a distant memory.

"I think it was that last time we spared together," Jayson said while laughing. "That last landing on he floor mat was rough and might have knocked something loose in that head of mine."

"Jayson," Ya'Han grinned back as she shook her head. "There always was something loose in that head of yours. Now, how about we continue working on figuring out how to make this plan work or should this goddess strike down her unwilling follower?"

He simply smiled. **No doubt about it. She is far more Tiamat than a simple red dragon. I don’t think any dragons, be them of mythology or real could even manage to beat her.**

[/\]
Jayson Sousa

Lieutenant JG Jayson Stark [Access Character BIO for Jayson Stark]
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P011: USS ANUBIS: Jones: Day 02 - 0130 ("Waiting in the Wings")
"Waiting in the wings"
(Cont. "Taming of the dragon")

* * *=(/\)=* * *
Location: New Alexandria, Counseling and Medical
Stardate: 32001.1600

"I grew up on RAGNAR 3."

“No, you didn’t. Tanith, I’ve got your records right here, you grew up on EARTH. You know it, you know I know it, so why did you just lie?” Counselor Abbas leaned back in his chair, and looked at the woman across from him. An unprepossessing woman, she seemed even to his eye to be nearly identical to a million other women. Dressed in a trendy mass produced outfit, hair in a trendy but not particularly memorable style, not plain, but not pretty either. Her face, posture, build, everything about her was completely unmemorable. No wonder she was accidentally left undercover for seven years, a not particularly charitable voice in the back of Abbas’ mind said, she was completely and utterly forgettable.

“I don’t know. Reflex?” The woman blinked at him sleepily, her voice was quiet, medium in pitch, not quite monotone, but not lively or animated. “Or I forgot, maybe.”

“You aren’t going to be able to reintegrate back into society if you lie to everyone about inconsequential details, Tanith,” Abbas said with a sigh.

“Listen, I don’t care about reintegrating. I just came back for a new assignment, is all,” the woman sounded awkwardly uncomfortable. “The Orion Syndicate’s foothold in the Triangle is lost, assignment done, time for a new one.”

“No can do. Seven years is too long to be undercover, without support or a handler or going home. I can’t imagine the amount of stress you’ve been living under, and I don’t think you fully understand, either.” Abbas held up a hand to forestall her protests. “Now, I am aware that I can’t keep you on leave either. Our computer systems alerted us to you… Let’s just call it stalking… people around NEW ALEXANDRIA. I’m guessing that’s because you’re bored.”

“That seems like a fair assessment.”

“Right. I think you need structure, purpose, and routine. So I’m going to recommend that you return to normal duty, a ship, so that you have a finite number of people to get to know and to practice being a normal officer with, and set routines with familiar locations. Now, that does not negate the fact that you’re still required to continue your counseling, so I’ve asked that you be placed on the same ship as my friend Nicole Dimas, whom I think will be a good fit for your situation and special needs.” Abbas noted that Tanith didn’t look impressed by the idea of being on a ship one iota. “They’re in need of a pilot, I think that may be a good position for you, predictable hours, not too taxing, you’ll be able to focus on reintegrating back into normal duty. What do you think?”

The woman looked back at him, her expression mildly skeptical. Finally she shrugged.

“Fine. Better than staying here, I guess.”

"That’s the spirit."

* * *=(/\)=* * *
Location: USS ANUBIS, deck 8, corridor.
Stardate: 32016.0130

Something out of the ordinary was happening on the ANUBIS, but Tanith couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Shortly after she’d arrived on the ship, she’d tried to beam back to NEW ALEXANDRIA to locate some missing belongings, only to be denied. Then, she’d been wandering the ship trying to familiarize herself with the layout, when she’d seen a woman who looked like a Trill-but-not-quite leaving the Black Hole. Shortly after, she’d seen the same woman, but unconscious- being carried out of the Black Hole.

She was quite certain that the woman hadn’t gone back into the lounge.

Then, she’d felt something change in the normal hum and thrum of the ship, and through some not so subtle snooping in engineering had discovered that the warp core was offline, ostensibly for upgrades. Now, she’d come upon the Chief of Security stalking through the hallways in the wee hours of the morning, clearly hunting *something* a hapless Human male- the Chief of Operations-  in tow. Tanith caught snatches of their conversation. Clearly, like most of the galaxy, they hadn’t noticed her, or hadn’t noticed that she’d not moved on once she passed them. The gist of it was that there was some sort of alien life-form on board the ship, and the crimson-haired woman was intent on finding it.

Tanith perked up a bit when she heard this. After days of tedium, finally something interesting was happening. She hesitated for a moment, then decided to discreetly tail the Chief of Security and her companion. She had a momentary nagging feeling like maybe she should introduce herself and make her presence known, but it was quickly overtaken by the excitement of mystery to be solved.

* * *=(/\)=* * *
Alexandra Fowler

Flight Control Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P012: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 02 - 1000 ("Unseen Still")
=-=
"Unseen Still"
[previous post was "Waiting in the Wings" by the latest addition to our family Alex]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Captain's Ready Room
Stardate: 32016.1000

Five hours ago, it felt weird to be sitting in his chair, behind his desk, looking at the room from his perspective. As much as nothing had been changed in regards to layout or decor, the simple fact that Shar'El had been sitting on the other side of the desk had made everything seem different.  With the Captain stuck on NEW ALEXANDRIA, there had been no reason why the ExO / ILO could not indulge in this activity if only for a few minutes.

After having enjoyed the change of perspective for a little while, Shar'El had returned to the IGC to supervise the continued efforts in locating the alien life form that had clandestinely come on board. Despite the entire staff of the Intel Gathering Center scanning every inch of the ship and pouring through every video feed available, their search had proven ineffective.

When the news that their Chief of Security might have found a way to track the intruder, the ExO / ILO returned to the bridge to get the details and supervise the new method.  After an hour or so of Ya'Han and Stark still trying to figure out how to make this work, Shar'El had retreated back into the Captain's Ready Room, this time claiming the desk and chairs as her own with far less guilt than she had felt the first time around.

With time on her hands, being unable to make the IGC or any faster than they already were or help in the complex task faced by the Chief of Security and Chief of Operations, the ExO / ILO decided to take care of her own duties. Having returned to their home base meant that some member of the crew had been transferred off the ANUBIS while others had been assigned to it, and as First Officer, it had been her job to manage these changes in personnel.

Amongst the names of crew members who had left the ship prior to the lockdown being enforced, two members of Lieutenant Paquette's engineering team were listed. The notes next to heir names indicated that their transfer had been sanctioned by Doctor Doyanne, both crewmen having suffered physical injuries severe enough to grant them an extended period of rest and rehabilitation.

Not having been aware of any accident or event that would account for this, the ExO / ILO made a mental note to explore this further with the Chief Engineering Officer, wondering if the redhead had been somehow involved in her personnel's injuries.  Knowing Sonja as she did, Shar'El did not put it past the feisty woman to have been the sole responsible for the injuries. As relaxed and nonchalant as she could appear to be to many, Lieutenant Paquette had always been a hardcore engineer demanding nothing less than the absolute best from each and every member of her team.

Following the completion of her review of those who had been listed as leaving the ANUBIS, Shar'El continued reading the information displayed on the PADD in her hands, taking a few seconds to realize just how comfortable the chair their Captain sat in was.

"I better be careful," the ExO / ILO said to herself, pressing her back into the chair. "This chair might be enough to convince me to seek a command of my own."

After chuckling at her own joke for a few seconds, Shar'El resumed her reading, this time going over the list of people who had been assigned to the ANUBIS. The first name she read was that of their new Flight Control Officer, a Terran woman by the name of Tanith Jones.  Under normal circumstances the ExO / ILO would have gone over the list first thing in the morning and made a point to welcome each new crew member, especially one assigned to bridge duties, to help them make themselves at home.

The more she read the Ensign's Starfleet record, the more Shar'El realized that meeting this Tanith Jones had been something that needed to have already happened.  "Shar'El to Counsellor Dima," the ExO / ILO said after having tapped her communicator, realizing only after the fact that she could have used the comm station on the Captain's desk.

=/\= Nicole here,=/\= the Counsellor joyfully replied. =/\= What can I do for you? =/\=

"Actually I only need you to answer one question," Shar'El explained. "Have you met with our new Flight Control Officer, Ensign Tanith Jones?"

=/\= I have not, =/\= Nicole confirmed. =/\= Should I have? =/\=

"The fault is not yours Counsellor," the ExO / ILO explained. "With the chaos that came to be thanks to the lockdown and our search for the intruder, our normal routine was a little more than disrupted. Please take a moment to review the personnel file for Ensign Tanith Jones and arrange for a meeting at your earliest convenience. I will arrange to meet with her right away."

=/\= Understood, Dima out. =/\=

With the communication channel now closed, Shar'El went to contact the IGC in the same manner but stopped herself, instead opting to use the Captain's station, which rested on his desk.

"Shar'El to the IGC."

=/\= Go ahead Commander. =/\=

"I need the location of Ensign Tanith Jones," the ExO / ILO instructed. "She is our new FCO and came on board prior to the lockdown."

It was true that Shar'El could have used the computer to accomplish the exact same task, but thanks to her experience as an Intel Operative, she had been far more confident as to the speed and accuracy of her department, not that she held the ANUBIS' computer at fault in any way. Doing so could enlist the wrath of the Chief Engineer, something that the ExO / ILO wanted to avoid at all cost.

=/\= Internal sensors as well as bio-readings place Ensign Tanith Jones on the bridge, =/\= the IGC technicien reported, sounding a little confused given the current location of the person who had just made the request. =/\= She is sitting at the Flight Station, looking over the ANUBIS' propulsion and navigational system. =/\=

"Thank you," Shar'El acknowledged before closing the channel feeling somewhat foolish for having asked to locate someone how had been right there on the other side of the door.

=/\=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.1025

Shar'El stepped out of the Captain's Ready Room to stand just out of reach of the sensor allowing for the door to close behind the woman. From there, she casually scanned the bridge, noting that Ya'Han and Jayson were still working on trying to find a way to track the intruder's heat signature. Sitting at the flight control station as reported, a woman who could be none other than Ensign Jones was busy with her review of the ship's propulsion and navigational systems.

The ExO / ILO found it interesting to see just how the other officers went about their business as if the woman had not even been there. Although this should not have been an issue by itself, the fact that this had been the first time their new FCO had been on the bridge, Shar'El had expected someone to at the very least say something. 

That said though, Shar'El understood that the crew had not been faced with what could have been considered to be a normal situation, and by such those involved had been busy with far more pressing matters.  Having explained how all of this could have come to be to her own satisfaction, Shar'El made her way to the flight control station and the woman sitting there.

"Ensign Tanith Jones?"

"Yes," the woman relied, not even bothering to look at the person who had just spoken to her.

"I'm Commander Shar'El, the ANUBIS' First Officer," the ExO / ILO said, introducing herself to the new member of the crew.

"Sorry," Tanith said as she quickly bounced to her feet to face the Commander. "Just thought I would take a moment to become more familiar with the flight system. Everyone seemed so busy, I figured that I would just stay out from underfoot."

"Very thoughtful of you," Shar'El acknowledged while suspecting that there had been more to the story, but as a new member of the crew, the Ullian had been once again restricted in the manner in which she could investigate. "Now if you come with me into the Captain's Ready Room, we can proceed with your official welcome to the ANUBIS and as a member of the senior staff I will be able to bring up up to speed on our current situation."

"You mean the life form that you are all so frantically searching for?"

Shar'El was momentarily surprised. Not everyone would have been able to so quickly size up the situation, but then again although Tanith had been an Ensign, she had been far from being new to the world of Intel. The fact that she had already been aware of their situation actually made the ExO / ILO recognize that the woman possessed skills and intuitions that would be beneficial for the ANUBIS.

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P013: USS ANUBIS: Ya'Han: Day 02 - 1030 ("Who?")
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Who?"
[previous post was "Unseen Still"]
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.1030

Ya'Han pried her gaze from the security console for a moment, the Sec/Tac needing to take a break from the seemingly endless set of problems and complications they had come across in trying to track the heat trail of the life form. With its ability to remain hidden from their sensors and its flexibility to appear as anyone it touched, the creature had proven to be exceptionally difficult to locate.

The idea to track the heat trail had seemed so simple at the start, so perfect in countless ways, but Jayson had shown Ya'Han just how next to impossible their situation actually was. Every time they found a way to help in their efforts, something else would come up to make the process unreliable or too inaccurate to be of any real use.  As the Sec/Tac focussed on the main view screen at the front of the bridge, she saw something that instantly drew her complete attention. 

"Did you see that?" The Sec/Tac asked having caught only a glimpse of the woman who Commander Shar'El had been speaking to before they both vanished into the Captain's Ready Room.

"See what?" Jayson asked in reply, not even making an effort to raise his eyes from his workstation.

"That woman."

"What woman?"

"The one that Commander Shar'El was talking to," Ya'Han clarified trying to keep her frustration in check. "The woman who was sitting at the flight control station by the looks of things and who was walking with the Commander."

"There was someone sitting there?" Jayson noted in complete surprise, never having noticed that a person had been there.  "You were probably imagining things," he added still keeping his attention on his console. "We have been working on this one job for how many hours now? I am surprised that I have not started seeing things. My eye feel like they are free floating in my head not to mention that after a while all of these readouts start to look the same."

"I was not imagining anything," the Sec/Tac said with absolute certitude. "Commander Shar'El was speaking to someone and they both went into the Captain's Ready Room."

"With the Captain stuck on NEW ALEXANDRIA, I understand why the Commander would want to use his office," Jayson grinned. "There are some clear advantages to being in command of a starship. If it was not for the responsibilities and constant headaches, I wouldn't mind being a CO myself. Would be nice to finally be able to be in charge of something more than a single department."

"Jayson, we are both Junior Grade Lieutenants," the Sec/Tac sighed. "Getting our own command is many, many years away, and that is if we both manage to make it through all of the missions and nightmares that we are bound to face without dying or getting court-martialled."

"Still looking on the bright side of things I see," he laughed. "Remember back at the Academy, every instructor and counsellor kept telling us to set goals, to keep our eyes on the future, to never settle for the small stuff because everything was possible," the Operations Officer said in his defence. "You can't blame someone for wanting to be a Captain some day. Don't you want to command your own ship one day?"

"It would be nice," Ya'Han found herself admitting before realizing that they had gotten completely off topic. "Wait! That is not what we need to be talking about right now," she continued, trying to get the conversation back on track. "We need to figure out who that woman is?"

"What woman?"

"Not again," Ya'Han said, rolling her eyes and letting her shoulders drop in defeat.

"Alright," he continued with a chuckle, this time actually taking his gaze off his station. "You claim to have seen a woman, a woman who is now with Commander Shar'El in the Captain's Ready Room. What's so strange about that?"

"I didn't recognize her," the Sec/Tac stated in a clearly suspicious manner.

"Are you going to honestly tell me that you are able to recognize each and every member of this crew?" Jayson questioned in shock. "I have problems remember those that are in my department, so there is no way I could identify the entire crew."

"I'm the Chief of Security," she said, making it clear by the tone of her voice that the answer given had been the one and only reason she needed to be able to do what had been mentioned. "That woman was not on board the ANUBIS, at least not until we docked at NEW ALEXANDRIA."

"Well there's your answer," Jayson exclaimed in an *eureka* moment. "They came on board after we docked at the base. No one can expect you to recognize anyone whom you have not yet met. I will be the first to vouch for how good you are at your job, but you being able to do that would border on the supernatural."

"Jayson," Ya'Han said looking directly into the eyes of the OPS officer. "That woman came on board before the lockdown."

"That's obvious," he chuckled. "She would not have been able to make it here otherwise.  I think you are tired and may be in need of a break."

"I am fine," the Sec/Tac confirmed in a calm and steady voice. "Whoever that woman is came on board the ANUBIS before the lockdown, around the same time as the alien life form we are currently searching for. A life form that we know for a fact is capable of taking on the form of anyone it touches."

When the lightbulb figuratively appeared over Jayson's head, he quickly checked the internal sensors. If the instruments showed the Commander as being alone in the Captain's Ready Room, their quest to find and apprehend the shapeshifting life form would be over.  The OPS Officer checked and rechecked the readings he was receiving from the room right next to them.

"It's not the life form we are looking for," he sadly admitted. "Sensors are picking up two life forms, both humanoid. Therefore, unless our intruder is able to control its ability to hide from our sensors and suddenly decided to have a chat with the Commander, we are no further ahead in our search.

"I would say that we are in fact a few steps back," the Sec/Tac pointed out as she stared at the closed door. "We now have a new mystery to solve in figuring out who that woman is?"

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han

Lieutenant JG Ya'Han [Access Character BIO for Ya'Han]
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P014: USS ANUBIS: Maya: Day 02 - 1130 ("When A Doctor Is Not A Doctor")
---
"When A Dream Is Not A Dream"
(Previous Post: "Who?")
---

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 11, Corridor
Stardate: 32016.1130

As fun as it was to travel the ship as a small furry creature, it had needed to take on a different, more versatile form, one that would allow it to more effectively search this place, and its people. Although the knowledge of the many people it had come in contact with had been extensive, none had been aware of its home. Still, the search had not been completely in vain as it learned more about the environment these strange creatures lived in with each contact.  

That is why it had decided to delay its search for a way to return home. After having been away for so long, what would a few more days be? In the meantime it would be able to investigate a part of this place that the last creature it had touched had been fond of spending a lot of time there.

---
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 11, Arboretum
Stardate: 32016.1140

The feel and shape of the many flora present in this room had reminded it of the home it longed to return to.  In its native form though, it would not have been aware of the aroma and colours that were also very much present here. As much as it might have disliked the physical limitations of these alien creatures, their ability to perceive the world through more than a sense of touch had been remarkable.

Small and delicate flowers had been something wonderful to touch back on its home planet, but thanks to this new form, the similar flowers here could be admired for their vibrant colours and exquisite aromas.  When it heard the door opening, it sought to hide out of nothing more than a simple survival instinct.

From behind a nearby tree, it watched as two of the creatures wearing blue followed the small path winding through the flora. Unaware of there being someone else on the room, the two went on to talk while it listened.

"Do you know if Doctor Doyanne managed to find a way to wake Commander Maya?"

"Not by a long shot. Whatever bio-resonance energy the Commander came in contact with, it just won't go away."

"Do you know what kind of experiment she was working on? I mean, if there is a danger to the crew, should we not have been told? You would think that someone on the bridge would have made an announcement to explain why the ship in on full lock-down."

"I personally don't care. In fact, I am actually grateful for it. My husband was bringing medial samples over to NEW ALEXANDRIA and delayed coming back. So he got caught on the outside which is giving me some quiet time. As for us being in some sort of danger, when was the last time you ever heard any sort of explanation as to what it is we are dealing with?"

"True enough. The entire medical staff was on heightened alert and we only found out why only after the away team came back on board the ANUBIS. Guess it makes sense though; imagine how much of a general panic we would have had to deal with if everyone on the ship knew that we were being hunted by a fleet of Hirogens hunters."

"As much as it would be nice to know what is going on from time to time, I think it's best that we don't. That said, I will admit that it would be nice to know what happened to the Commander. Her being in the state she is currently in without the Chief Medical Officer able to do anything about it is very concerning to me. What if Commander Maya is not able to be awakened from that coma-like state? Maybe that is why we are on lock-down. The command staff, while trying to keep things quiet, are looking for the one who did this."

"I would hate to be the one found responsible for whatever happened to the Commander. Doctor Doyanne seemed ready to knock someone's head off last time I saw her."

"For a Chief Medical Officer, that woman can be scary at times."

It continued to watch in silence as the two creatures made their way further into the aroma-filled room. As soon as it saw an opportunity to do so, it quickly exited to consider what it had just heard. Never had it touched a creature to gain their appearance and have them become so unresponsive. This ability had been meant to be nothing more than a defence mechanism, a way for it to be able to better blend into its environment to avoid predators. The ability was never meant to cause harm to anyone or be used as some sort of weapon. If there was something it could do to help, it would do so to show that it had not been a threat to all these strange and alien creatures.

---
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.1200

It wished that there had been another way, but without the medical knowledge of the situation, there had been little it could have done to help. After having confirmed that the creature in charge of the health of the others creatures in this place had been fine and would wake soon, it made its way to the main examination table.

"Maya," it spoke in a whispered voice meant to be heard by no one else but it and the unconscious creature laying there lifeless. "Shillian. You are the last of your kind. Why you no feel lonely?"

Being unconscious, the Chief Science Officer was unable to offer any sort of reply, a fact that it had come here to remedy.  It looked at one of the two split extremities, understanding the biological functioning of it for the first time. **These aliens are indeed very strange,** it thought as it lowered the hand onto that of the unconscious creature on the table.

Within seconds, the large display board became alive with various readings, the medical equipment now able to actually detect the patient for the first time since she had been brought there.

"I'm sorry," it whispered looking down at Maya, puzzled by more than her appearance and metamorphic abilities. Her being the last of her kind had been an interesting discovery, almost as interesting as the fact that it had to learn this from another one of the creatures. It was evident that there was a great deal more to learn about these creatures as well as their interactions with one another.

Not wishing to be discovered in what might have been considered to be a threatening position, it quickly made its way out of the room, glancing over its shoulder one last time to make sure that the creature would recover. Something that it was now able to confirm through its newly obtained understanding of the medical information being displayed.

---
Jessica Solarik

Lieutenant Commander Maya [Access Character BIO for Maya]
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS

&

Captain Selene Fiona Iverson [Access Character BIO for Selene Iverson]
Commanding Officer
USS BASTET

"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
M08-P015: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 02 - 1220 ("Frantic Search")
=-=
"Frantic Search"
[previous post was "When A Dream Is Not A Dream" by the always resourceful Jessica]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Corridor
Stardate: 32006.1220

Following a lengthy chat with Ensign Jones, the ANUBIS' new FCO, the ExO / ILO had decided to visit Sickbay and check on the condition of the Chief Science Officer. During her discussion with Tanith, Shar'El had thought it best, since the latest addition to the crew was a member of the senior staff, to fill her in on their current situation.  The First Officer was pleasantly surprised by the woman who appeared to already be aware in many ways of their predicament. It was evident that the woman possessed skills that would need to be more closely investigate at some point in the near future.

During her conversation with Tanith, for obvious reasons Maya's name had been mentioned by Shar'El which led the Commander to once more think of the unconscious woman currently in Sickbay.  As much as the ExO / ILO might have hated the unknown alien for what it had done, thoughts of the Commander quickly diverted back onto the Chief Science Officer, this turning the general anger into a very specifically targeted heart-felt concerns.

Since no messages from Doctor Doyanne or anyone else from the medical staff had been received, Shar'El was not expecting there to be any changes in the Shillian's condition, but still the Commander thought it would be nice to check in on Maya in person. At the very least, the ExO / ILO could once again offer the CMO any and all assistance she might require to help in the perplexed situation concerning the unconscious Chief Science Officer.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 32006.1225

Shar'El casually stepped into Sickbay to find it vacant with the obvious exception of the patient who had been the reason for the ExO / ILO's visit. Although the absence of Doctor Doyanne had been impossible to miss, the Commander dismissed it as being likely due to the fact that Lillie was checking certain readings or test results in her office or maybe even had gone to one of the medical labs. In either case, it had been a forgone conclusion that the CMO's absence by the patient's side could easily be explained as being caused by the unchanged conditions of the CSciO.

"Hang in there Maya," the ExO / ILO offered as she looked at the unconscious Chief Science Officer. "Your vital signs look good," Shar'El added with a smile of gratitude, her eyes having moved to the main diagnostic board to take in the displayed data. It was only after several seconds that the paradox of the situation dawned onto her. From the start, Doctor Doyanne had complained about the fact that her instruments could not penetrate the field that was made to envelope the woman, making it impossible to scan the Shillian. Limited to the most basic of feedback obtained through tactile means, there had been no real way to know if the efforts of the CMO had in any way actually helped in resolving the situation that plagued her patient.

With that in mind, Shar'El was happily shocked to see all matters of biological readings being displayed on the diagnostic board.  This left the ExO / ILO to wonder why she had not been informed of this amazing turn of event, then it dawned onto her. What if Lillie had not been aware of this fortunate development?

"Doctor Doyanne?" Shar'El called out just in case the woman was being somewhere else in sickbay. When no reply came, the ExO / ILO reached for her communicator.  "Shar'El to IGC, can you give me the location of Doctor Doyanne?"

Following what seemed to be a lengthy pause of complete silence, one of the techs cautiously replied.  =/\= Doctor Doyanne is in her office, right around the corner from you Commander, =/\= the voice was respectful and yet it still managed to carry with it a touch of surprise hinting to those in the IGC wondering why the ExO / ILO had seemingly fallen into a habit of asking for the location of people who were only a few steps away from her current location.

"Lillie?" Shar'El called out after having closed the communication channel. Maybe she would need to reconsider her method of contacting the IGC when looking for someone, at least the computer did not judge anyone should the requested person be found so close. At least, that was as long as Lieutenant Paquette didn't tweak the computer to have such a procedure added to its processing system as the ExO / ILO suspected the Avatar had already been so equipped.

The ExO / ILO stepped into the CMO's Office, having half expected to find the woman so completely buried in her work so that she had been unaware of anyone having entered Sickbay or called out her name. Instead Shar'El found Lillie unconscious on her desk.

"Doctor Doyanne?" the First Officer called out as she rushed to the woman's side.  Two fingers were quickly applied to the woman's neck to search for a heartbeat or any other signs of life. When it was so confirmed that the woman was indeed well and only unconscious, the ExO / ILO immediately reached once again for her communicator. "Commander Shar'El to all senior staff," she called out knowing that the IGC would be monitoring the signal even if they had not been mentioned. "I need all available members of the senior staff to converge on Sickbay. It seems that our guest was just here and decided to take on the form of Doctor Doyanne.  Keep your eyes open and remember, simply report if you find it, do not engage. I repeat, do not engage the intruder. We are still under direct orders to find some sort of friendly political solution to this."

In all honesty Shar'El would have liked to order the use of weapons, even if only set on stun, but she did understand the Captain's reasoning for not wanting to go that specific route. So far the life form had not harmed anyone, and it seemed that it might have had a role to play in making it possible for them to help Maya. It was evident that if this creature had wanted to harm any of them in any way, it could have done so well before now, but still it remained unseen, searching for something that the crew of the ANUBIS had yet to positively confirm beyond any shadow of a doubt.

"Lillie, are you alright?" the ExO / ILO asked as she tried to wake the Doctor. A bright smile formed on Shar'El's lips as vague memories began to be broadcasted by the woman showing that she was indeed returning to a state of consciousness and that by the looks of things she had not been physically or psychologically injured.

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P016: USS ANUBIS: Ya'Han: Day 02 - 1230 ("A Dragon Slain")
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"A Dragon Slain"
[previous post was "Frantic Search"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Corridor
Stardate: 32016.1230

The moment Commander Shar'El had made her announcement, the Sec/Tac rushed to Deck 7 with the hopes of intercepting the intruder. Without sensors or being permitted to use phasers as well as force fields to corner the unknown shapeshifting life form, Ya'Han struggled to figure out how to proceed.  Granted, she needed to actually find it first, but after that what was she supposed to do?

Shar'El had been perfectly clear in her instructions to the senior staff. They were *not* to engage the intruder, simply locate and report. As the ANUBIS' Sec/Tac, first contacts had not been her strongest point. Such protocols were far better suited to command level officers, Counsellor and even Scientists and Doctors over soldiers.  As much as Ya'Han would not admit it out loud, she believed that Jayson would be able to better than her in handling such a situation.

As Ya'Han turned the corner putting the Sec/Tac on a straight line path to Sickbay, she saw a very familiar face.  "Doctor? What are you doing out of Sickbay?"

Lillie hesitated, then appeared nervous for a split second before offering a smile. "I was just looking for someone to tell the good news to. Maya will recover."

"That is a good news," the Sec/Tac smiled back. As joyous as the announcement was, Ya'Han could not help but feel that there was something odd about this. Doctor Doyanne appeared nervous, uncertain of herself, not in a professional sense but rather in a personal sense, as if she had not been entirely certain as to whom she was and how to behave. With all of that, it was not long before the Sec/Tac figured out what was happening.

"Ya'Han to Commander Shar'El," she softly said after having tapped her comm badge. "Deck 7, section Delta 5. It's Doyanne."

"I don't want to hurt anyone," the intruder said, having understood what was happening.

"We know," Ya'Han confirmed, opening her hands to show that she was not armed. "We don't want to hurt you either. We simply want to talk, to understand you."

The alien life form watched with confused interest as it observed the woman's hair color change from a bright fiery red to mixture of black and red. Although many of the creatures it had come across appeared to be the same, it was becoming increasingly more evident that there had been many different abilities that it still needed to sample in order to understand.

"Thank you," the life form said suddenly appearing weak. Although she knew that the Doctor standing in front of her was not Lillie Doyanne, Ya'Han was unable to go against the reflex of reaching out to save the fainting woman from collapsing to the floor in a way that might cause her to become injured.

Ya'Han looked into the other woman's eyes realizing only too late what had happened.  By the time the Sec/Tac had lost consciousness, he had been looking into hr own eyes staring back in sadness.

"I am truly sorry," the alien life form said, carefully lowering the unconscious Sec/Tac to the floor.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Corridor
Stardate: 32016.1240

Jayson was the first to arrive on the scene closely followed by Commander Shar'El, Ensign Dima also arrived shortly after but from the opposite direction.

"YA'HAN!" the OPS Officer exclaimed dropping to the floor next to the unconscious woman.

"I just came from Sickbay," Nicole explained. "Lillie was rendered unconscious as well but is recovering. By the looks of things it did the same to Ya'Han."

"It also means that our intruder now has partial of complete tactical knowledge of the ANUBIS and its systems," the Commander said, clearly unhappy with the latest turn of events.

"It doesn't want to hurt anyone," Ya'Han offered while in the arms of the man who had instinctively feared the worst in seeing the black haired Nylaan on the floor as he had found her.

"You need to rest," Jayson offered.

"I will be fine," Ya'Han argued, looking into the man's eyes as if it had been the first time she had done so, seeing something therein that she had never before seen or expected.

"Yes you will," the OPS Officer confirmed as he positioned himself to take Ya'Han into his arms. "I will make sure of it.  With your permission Commander," he said having turned to face the First Officer following his lifting the Chief of Security off the floor.

"Take her to Sickbay," Shar'El agreed with a nod of her head. "We'll be right there."

The Counsellor and First Officer watched as the man willingly played the role of the knight in shining armor to none other than the woman whose own people referred to as the Red Dragon.

"Whatever that alien life form did to Ya'Han must have been quite something," Nicole chuckled. "Not only did it knock the red right out of her hair but it also made her to accept being carried that way."

"I suspect that the person doing the carrying has something to do with her allowing it," Commander Shar'El theorized. "After MARKALA PRIME, Ya'Han has been forced to re-evaluate a great many things about herself and how she faces the universe around her."

"I know," Nicole agreed. "Still, I would not have expected her to be so... submissive. It bothers me a little."

"Counsellor, you of all people should recognize love when you see it," the First Officer offered with a chuckle.

Nicole grinned back, her eyes focussed on the couple walking away. With everything that happened on MARKALA PRIME, NYLA IV and now the encounter with the alien life form, a great many things were possible.

"What does bother me," Shar'El shot back looking down both ends of the corridor, "is that our intruder managed to get passed us once again. With the knowledge of our Chief of Security that it now possesses, I am afraid that things are going to get a lot more complicated in our efforts to get to talk to it. I need to report to the Captain," the Commander said, unhappily making her way back the way she had come.

On her side, Nicole decided to follow Jayson and Ya'Han back into Sickbay. In addition of keeping an eye on them, the Counsellor needed to make sure that Doctor Doyanne had been alright following her own encounter with the alien life form.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Quarantine Quarters
Stardate: 32016.1300

These specific quarters were designed to be completely isolated from the rest of the ship, protecting the crew from whatever illness or disease the occupant inside might have. This also meant that the room was sealed from the outside allowing only for sensors to provide a clue as to who or what was inside.

Unable to detect the unconscious black and red haired woman currently laying on the floor of the quarantine quarters, the alien life form could without concern carry on as the woman known to her friends and co-workers as Ya'Han.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han

Lieutenant JG Ya'Han [Access Character BIO for Ya'Han]
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P017: USS ANUBIS: Paquette: Day 02 - 1250 ("The Dragon Whisperer")
"The Dragon Whisperer"
previous post was "A Dragon Slain"

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.1250

Sonja might have been too late to help corner the alien life form, but she had been right on time to intercept Ya'Han and Jayson as they walked into Sickbay. To be more accurate, as the Chief of Operations walked in and the Chief of Security was carried in while the Chief Engineer was right on their heels.

"Are you alright?" The redhead demanded of the woman peacefully resting in the arms of a man. "Are you injured? Dizzy? Otherwise incapacitated?"

"I am fine," the black haired woman smiled as she looked at the man who had so gallantly carried her to Sickbay before returning her attention to the woman who had been so inquisitive.

"If you are fine, why aren't you standing?" The Chief Engineer bluntly inquired, finding the scene of the Chief of Security in the position she was in to be shocking, maybe even troubling if not entirely repulsive.

"Ya'Han had a run-in with the alien life form," Counsellor Dima offered as she joined the gathering of officers in Sickbay, having walked in not too long after the Chief Engineer. "Jayson found her on the floor and quickly offered to bring her here."

"Offered?" Sonja repeated with a raised eyebrow, certain that there was more to this than a simple offering as stated by Counsellor.

"He didn't really give her a choice," Nicole chuckled as she looked at Jayson, her smile ever so gently softening as she shifted her gaze onto the black haired Chief of Security still being carried.

"All right," the Engineer huffed. "First of all, put her down," she instructed Jayson adding a stern motion of her hand to make it perfectly clear that this had not been a suggestion.  "The damsel in distress routine doesn't suit you," Sonja added looking straight into Ya'Han's eyes as if trying to figure out if everything was indeed as claimed or if something was actually wrong with the Nylaan. "Where is Doctor Doyanne?"

"The alien life form found her first," Nicole explained. "Based on the situation that we now have, we suspect that the alien needed to take on Lillie's appearance and knowledge to help with Maya's condition.  The good news is that both are currently recovering from their individual encounters and should, in time, make a complete recovery."

"You encountered that alien," Sonja said in a matter-of-fact manner after having turned to face the black haired Chief of Security. "I mean, you came face to face with it and it touched you," the redhead Engineer continued, giving the woman a complete once over as if searching for indications of a confrontation

"Yes," the woman nervously confirmed, as she felt rather self conscious about her appearance thanks to Sonja's intense visual scrutinizing.

"But you were not rendered unconscious like Maya and Doctor Doyanne?" The Engineer added sounding puzzled.

"The alien has never wanted to harm anyone," the Chief of Security cautiously explained, her reply not at all fitting the question that had been presented to her, something that Counsellor Dima was quick to notice. Giving the line of questioning the Chief Engineer had been on, Nicole suspected that Sonja shared in her misgivings concerning Ya'Han. Something did not appear to be entirely right with the Nylaan woman, the solid black hair having been but one of several hints, granted small hints, but hints nonetheless.

"I know that," Sonja acknowledged in a challenging manner, "but that doesn't change the fact that each and every time this thing has come in contact with someone, be it on NEW ALEXANDRIA or on the ANUBIS, the victim has been found unconscious. All with one exception, you."

It was easy to see that the black haired woman had increasingly grown nervous following the way in which the discussion had progressed.  The alien life form had thought its plan to be a good one, replacing the creature instead of simply taking on her appearance to ease an escape. Never had the alien expected to be discovered with such apparent ease and her identity as well as methods so completely challenged.

Faced with a no-win scenario, the alien remained silent unsure as to what to say next. It wanted to address the erroneous evidence being hurled in its direction, it wanted to set the record straight, to clarify what it had done and why. All of the people it had rendered unconscious had been so as to allow for a clean getaway.  None of them had been injured, and all would quickly recover with the exception of Maya. The alien had never expected nor wished for this, hence why she had returned to help.  The truth was that several others had in fact been touched, but the contact had been meant to provide it with a rapid sample of the target's knowledge. Not everyone it had come in contact with had in fact been made to lose consciousness.  Of course making such a claim would only confirm what the alien could only hope had been a passing belief.

"That's my girl!" Sonja suddenly exclaimed as she grabbed the completely shocked woman by the shoulders to give her a thorough shake. "Leave it to the Rainbow Dragon to be the one able to resist that alien's stun power."

"Rainbow Dragon?" the solid black haired Nylaan asked, clearly puzzled by the nickname that had been used to describe her. Although the alien life form had taken on both the likeness and knowledge of the Chief of Security, the words spoken had not made any sense. This of course further confused the alien leaving it unsure if its cover had indeed been blown. To make matters worse, being surrounded by so many of these strange creatures, there had been little hope of it managing to escape, this no matter what form it would take.

"Red Dragon is too restrictive," Sonja casually explained. "I mean, let's be honest. With all of the colours at your disposal, you should not allow people to lock you into a 'one size fits all' kind of description, well one *colour* fits all. Speaking of colours, what's which the black hair?"

Ya'Han's posture instantly relaxed, at least partially. The alien's cover had not been compromised, and this would remain so as long as it would be able to provide an acceptable explanation as to the current colour of her hair.

"I might not have lost consciousness, but the contact with the alien still managed to drain me enough to make it difficult to control my hair colour," it explained, drawing on the knowledge that it had taken from the real Ya'Han.  "As I said, I am fine and just need some rest."

"You are welcome to take one of the beds," the Counsellor offered, pointing to the nearest vacant station.

"You guys have your hands full with Doctor Doyanne and Maya," Jayson chimed in. "I will take Ya'Han back to her quarters. She can rest there and I will make sure that she lack for nothing."

Sonja faked a gagging motion at what the Chief of Operations had just said. "Come on Rainbow Girl, tell that lover boy of yours that you would rather have me taking care of you. Well, not *that* way, but I am sure that I can make your rest and recovery far more interesting than he would."

Jayson glared through narrow eyes at the redheaded Chief Engineer.  "I am quite capable of taking care of her," he pointed out.

"Thank you," the black haired woman offered to the redhead. "I will be fine with him."

The Engineer quickly brought her hands to her chest as if she had just been shot. "Betrayed and mortally wounded, quick Counsellor take me to the nearest bed. I might not make it there on my own following this."

As much as Nicole found this entire display comical, she could not shake the feeling that there was something strange about their Chief of Security. Still though, there had been no proof or actual reason to say anything or even oppose the Lieutenant returning to her quarters to rest following her encounter with the alien.

"Lieutenant Stark, please see that Lieutenant Ya'Han makes it to her quarters safe and sound," the Counsellor stated. "In the meantime I will take care of our overacting Chief Engineer."

"Overacting you say?" Sonja quickly countered in a Scottish accent. "Aye, I'll show ye some overacting alright lass, and I guarantee that you'll not be about to forget it anytime soon. Now, do I have to get myself to that bed or are you going to carry me there?"

Nicole just closed her eyes and shook her head in amused disbelief.

=====
Lorraine Paquette

Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
M08-P018: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 02 - 1330 ("Clarifications")
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"Clarifications"
[previous post was "The Dragon Whisperer" by the hilarious Lorraine]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Captain's Ready Room
Stardate: 32016.1330

Following a not so quick detour through the IGC, Shar'El had returned to the bridge before making her way back into the Captain's Ready Room. Whatever hesitation she might have felt the first time the ExO / ILO had ventured to the other side of the man's desk had long vanished, the raven-haired woman now feeling right at home.

With a press of a finger, Shar'El opened a communication channel to Captain Morningstar knowing that he would be waiting for news while stuck on NEW ALEXANDRIA.

[/\] Good news? [/\] The man asked the moment his face appeared on the small desktop screen.

"Not really," Shar'El admitted. "In fact I would say that what I have to report is anything but good."

[/\] Guess I should not have expected anything else, [/\] Erik sighed. [Even while inside our own base of operations it seems that the ANUBIS is a magnet for trouble. All right, let's hear it. [/\]

"Without being able to use force field and with the sensors still unable to track the movements of the intruder, we have had limited success in keeping up with it," the ExO / ILO explained.

[/\] What about tracking it through its residual heat trail? [/\] the Captain inquired in a hopeful tone, [/\] You had reported earlier that Jayson and Ya'Han were working on that possibility. [/\]

"They both dedicated a great deal of time trying to make this work, unfortunately, there are just too many obstacles that got in the way and right now both of them are dealing with another issue," the ExO / ILO reported.

[/\] Another issue? [/\]

"Following the intruder's encounter with Commander Maya, it seems that it developed a liking for members of the senior staff. From what we have been able to piece together, after rendering Doctor Doyanne unconscious the alien life form removed the dampening field that was surrounding Maya. While in the Doctor's form, it ran into Ya'Han. Apparently, Nylaan physiology is less susceptible to the effects as our Chief of Security managed to remain conscious."

[/\] The bad news being that it came in contact with her and obtained part or all of her knowledge. [/\]

It was evident that the Captain had not been happy by this latest development. Having an alien life form on board his ship had been one thing. To have it be able to take on the physical appearance of others was an added inconvenience. That the shapeshifting intruder could also access the knowledge of those it touched had made a bad situation worse, and now that the Chief of Security counted amongst those that their unwelcomed guest had come in contact with, things had taken on an entirely different level of complexity.

[/\] This is still a first contact situation, [/\] the Captain clarified. [/\] There is no reason for us to make an enemy of this creature. That said, I will not allow the ANUBIS or its crew to be place in any sort of danger. Do what you have to do, with restrain. We can no longer afford to have this alien wonder the ship as it pleases. [/\]

"Won't Admiral Koniki oppose this?"

[/\] I will take care of the Admiral, [/\] Erik said with assurance. [/\] You take care of the ship. Morningstar out. [/\]

Shar'El leaned back in the chair as the small communication screen went dark. She had expected the Captain to not be thrilled with her report, but in all honesty she had not expected him to take such a forceful stand, then again, with what had just happened the situation they were now dealing with had not been the same as the one they had started with.

"First, I need to get a clear picture of what kind of situation we are in," the ExO / ILO said as she stood and made her way around the desk, giving it one last glance at the desk that she had rather quickly become used to being on the other side of.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.1345

"Counsellor Dima," the ExO / ILO said as she walked into Sickbay, Nicole having been the first person Shar'El had seen. "How is everyone?"

"Both Doctor Doyanne and Commander Maya are showing clear signs of recovery. I suspect that they will be back on their feet soon," the Counsellor reported, not wanting to give any specific time period as she was not the Chief Medical Officer.

"What about Lieutenant Ya'Han?" Shar'El asked as she scanned the beds lining the wall of Sickbay, unable to locate the woman in question.

"Lieutenant Stark took her back to her room," the Counsellor explained. "Ya'Han argued that she simply needed to rest and Jayson offered to help her and make sure that her needs would be met."

"I am going to need to have a talk with them," Shar'El huffed. "I understand that she needs to rest after what happened. I will even grant her that if she only needs to rest, that she can do so in her quarters, but there is no reason why Jayson should be there with her and that Ya'Han should have realised this.  We all have given her a great deal of freedom following the events of MARKALA PRIME, but this is crossing the line."

"Commander," Nicole jumped in. "There might be something else. I noticed something different about Ya'Han. Nothing evident, nothing that I can make an official report about, but there is still something strange about the way she is behaving. Maybe she was able to ward off the stun effect of the alien intruder, but it might have had another unexpected effect on her."

"Just like the unexpected effect it had on Maya," the ExO / ILO said as she glanced over to the Chief Science Officer, glad to see bio readings on the monitor above her head. "Whatever this alien life form is, it does seem to have an easier time affecting humanoids who do not possess some sort of special biological ability.  I will keep your words in mind, but I will still be paying our Chief of Security and Chief of Operations a visit. There seem to be a need to clarify a few details about their responsibilities to this ship and its crew which come well before whatever responsibilities they might believe they have for one another."

Nicole watched as Shar'El exited Sickbay, comparing the raven-haired woman to a runaway shuttle. "Might need to clear my calendar," the Counsellor grinned. "One way or the other I might be called in to deal with one or more people once this *talk* is done and over with."

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P019: USS ANUBIS: Morningstar: Day 02 - 1345 ("Confrontation")
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"Confrontation"
Previous post "Clarifications"
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"This is as far as I go.".
- Beckram, Skiltfolk escort

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section C2, Level 2, Senior Officer's Quarters
Stardate: 32016.1345

The Native American sat at the small desk, looking straight at the small darkened screen that sat in the corner. Rushing to see Admiral Koniki and demanding answers would serve no purpose, and that Erik knew from personal experience. As grave as the situation might have appeared to be to the ANUBIS' Commanding Officer, he understood the need for a less direct and abrasive way when dealing with the base's senior most officer who had reclaimed his position as Head of Starfleet Intelligence.

Under normal circumstances he might have gone for a walk through the ANUBIS or even on the outer hull if the ship's status permitted it. There he would be able to clear his thoughts and call upon the stillness of the universe to help guide his words. The longer he thought about the situation, about the shapeshifting alien life form that had escaped to seek refuge on board his ship, and especially about the knowledge that it had obtained, the more Erik realized that this had not been the time for diplomacy. The Native American needed to get to the bottom of this. He needed to get answers from the one person who knew everything. After all, as the Commanding Officer of NEW ALEXANDRIA and Head of Starfleet Intelligence, if Admiral Charles N. Koniki did not know what was happening, no one did.

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Level 6, Administrative Offices
Stardate: 32016.1410

Even with the ASPS transport system supplemented by the rapid high capacity turbolift system, travelling from any one section of the secret base to any other was a time consuming effort. It was true that sight-to-sight transport would have been much faster, but the energy signature could have over repeated use make the hidden base more vulnerable at being detected. Because of this, such transport methods was reserved for absolute emergencies and to a very selective list of personnel to which Captain Erik Morningstar did not belong to.

Although long, the length of the journey had permitted the Native American to consider his own position and how he would confront the Admiral on this situation. Claiming the need to secure the ship would have little effect, Erik having already understood that the safety of the unknown creature had been set by the Admiral has being of a higher priority than that of security of the ANUBIS and its crew. Using this knowledge as the focal point to his facing the base's Commanding Officer though, Captain Morningstar knew how he needed to approach the matter to insure the man's increased cooperation.

"Captain Morningstar," Allyson chimed as she noticed the Native American enter the Administrative Section. "I hope that you are finding your accommodations satisfactory. I made sure that Commander Quint was aware of your situation and he offered to get you anything that you may require during your stay here."

"Thank you Allyson," Erik acknowledge without actually looking at the always smiling blonde haired woman manning the reception desk. "There is only one thing I am in current need of," he added while walking past the woman with purpose and drive.

As the Native American closed in on the massive double doors of the Admiral's office, he found it strange that the secretary had not voiced any sort of objections to his having walked right by, or that he had obviously been poised to burst onto the Commanding Officer unannounced.

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Level 6, Admiral Koniki's Office
Stardate: 32016.1411

The moment the old fashion doors were pushed open, the Admiral rose his head from whatever reading he had been in the middle of to greet the Native American with an actual smile. "Come on in Erik. You are right on time. The girls called it nearly to the exact second."

"The girls?" the Captain asked, finding himself taken by surprise not only by the Admiral's reaction but also by his words.

Koniki smiled. This had not been the time for him to reveal to the Native American the presence of the sisters who through their unique abilities could predict the odds of something happening with remarkable accuracy. Unfortunately for the Admiral, they had been unable to for tell the escape of the alien life form, something that he actually had to blame himself for as they had not been informed of the creature's presence on NEW ALEXANDRIA. Apparently he had fallen prey to his own need to keep certain secrets from even those he trusted above everyone else.

"That's for another day," the Admiral offered to the Captain as he invited the Native American to join him at the conference table set in the adjacent room. "Let me guess, your crew have had limited success in tracking the creature and you have come here to demand more information."

"Demand may be a strong word," Erik pointed out with a sigh quickly realizing that his entire plan of action had been exposed even before having stepped inside the Admiral's office which explained why Allyson had not offered any sort of opposition upon his arrival. "I would also venture that there is no guessing from your part."

"Touché," the Admiral chuckled. "That said Erik, you cannot begrudge me knowing what is happening on my base with one of my ships when it is right there," Koniki stated, pointing in the general direction of where the ANUBIS was docked. "I had hoped that your crew would be able to beat the odds and find a way to bring that creature back without too much fuss. As good as your people are though, I should not have kept the details from you. It was unfair of me to set them up for failure like that."

The Native American felt his rage mounting as he listened to the backhanded explanation offered by the Admiral, one that still provided nothing as to the details he had eluted to. Erik drew in a long deep breath, all too aware that his emotions would be turned, twisted and used back against him. At least that much he had learned from his previous dealings with the Admiral.

"So, how can I help?" Koniki asked, the tone of his voice bordering on condescending arrogance.

"For starters, you might want to make sure that NEW ALEXANDRIA is well secured," Erik countered with. "Your escaped shapeshifting life form managed to touch my Chief of Security. Knowing that the creature is able to absorb the knowledge of those it comes in contact with, the situation has shifted to no longer involving only the ANUBIS."

The Admiral laughed once again. "Being in command of a starship, even if it is one as large and sophisticated as the ANUBIS as made you soft Erik," Koniki explained. "The moment the alien escaped onto your ship and the lockdown was called, all access codes available to you and your crew were disabled. You might consider this to be a cold and unfeeling response to the situation, but as I am sure you will understand there are far too many risks that needed to be contained. That said, I will admit that your crew as so far performed better than I had expected. I personally expected you here several hours ago."

"Can we stop with these games," Erik snapped, allowing his anger to surface even if only for a short period of time. "I have a crew that could be in danger and here you are playing with their lives as if they didn't matter," the Native American said before taking a second to mentally and emotionally gather himself. "Maybe to you the members of my crew don't matter, but they do to me. All of them have done more for you and this base than could have ever been asked of them, and with that alone they deserve far more respect than you have shown them."

"Relax Erik," the Admiral said as he called up some data to be displayed on one of the screens present on the wall set at the back of the conference room. "Your crew is quite safe. As strange and skillful as the creature may be, I can assure you that it is completely harmless.  Do you remember Elan Fairborn?"

"Of course," Erik replied with a shrug. "What does he have to do with this situation?" The Captain asked in return seeing the archived images of the creature being held and studied in some sort of isolation lab.

"Nothing," Koniki clarified. "I was just mentioning him because of his personality, his inability to harm anyone or anything. That need of his was what caused him to be refused into the Religious Circle and what eventually drove him off OLTHAR PRIME and to Starfleet Academy.  However gentle he may be, I can assure you that the creature you are so concerned about right now is even more pacifist than he is.  Your crew in its entirety is quite safe."

"If they are so safe, why all of the extra protection? Why lockdown the ANUBIS and cancel all access code?" The Native American inquired, having quickly identified a flaw in the Admiral's stated logic.

"Touché once again," Koniki nodded. "That quick mind of yours is why you were my first choice as Captain of the ANUBIS. As peaceful as the creature is, we both know that things can change over time. Although there have been no indications that the creature currently on board the ANUBIS would become less of a pacifist than it is, I still cannot take the chance.  What I can do though is give you this. The creature is very curious and wants to learn as much as it can about the things that are completely different from it. It's shapeshifting ability is nothing more than a defence mechanism that it uses to avoid conflict and remain hidden while it observes others."

"Why was that information not divulged right away to me and Commanding Shar'El?" Erik asked obviously annoyed by the way the entire matter had been handled.

"The creature is also very smart, at least for a certain amount of time and depending on who it comes in contact with," the Admiral explained. "As much as it can change its appearance, it can only do so by mimicking the last living organism it has touched with the intent of taking on its form. The moment it selects someone new to shapeshift into, it loses the ability to take on any of the other forms it might have had prior.  Another limitation the creature has appears to be the limited amount of time is can hold on to the knowledge it has absorbed. Within what we have observed to be 12 to 16 hours, all information it gained vanished leaving it to return to its base appearance and intellect."

"Which would make it actually more difficult for anyone to locate," the Native American theorized.

"Exactly," the Admiral confirmed. "The creature is a master at surviving by remaining unseen. There are many things we do not know about it, but what we do know for a fact is that it is one of a very small number of creatures like it. I have shared with you everything that we do know, but after a while it began to actually refuse to interact with us bringing our research of it to a complete halt. The escape was not planned, but it was an opportunity that I could not just let slip away."

A thousand and one thing passed through the Captain's mind but in the end he simply chose to remain silent and walk away. Now he needed to contact Shar'El and relay the information that he had obtained, information that would most certainly change the manner with which the crew would handle the situation of the alien shapeshifting life form currently on board the ANUBIS.

--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette

Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501

AND

Lt. Commander Elan Fairborn [Access Character BIO for Elan Fairborn]
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
M08-P020: USS ANUBIS: Stark: Day 02 - 1400 ("Deep Rooted Feelings")
"Deep Rooted Feelings"
[previous "Confrontation"]

[/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Ya'Han's Quarters
Stardate: 32016.1400

His concerns for Ya'Han had covered a wider range than even he could have expected. Although he knew her to be someone who could change her character and attitude as quickly as she did her hair color, never had he see her like this.

Even before they had reached her quarters, Jayson knew that there was something weird about her. That she had solid black hair had been a visual indication that something was not right, the OPS knowing that of all the colors Chief of Security could chose from that one had been her least favorite. Her clinginess, as much as he enjoyed it tremendously, had been another indication that something had been different about her.

Jayson had not been surprised that of all those who had come up against the alien intruder, that she had been he one to be strong enough to not lose consciousness. From the first time they had met, he realized that Ya'Han was a woman possessing a strength that reached far beyond the physical realm. True, he had been made to experience the extent of her physical strength more than once while they spared in the ship's gymnasium, but the OPS officer understood that she was more than just an expert fighter. Her life had forced her to be more than what others saw, and he considered himself lucky to have been permitted to know the woman that hid beneath the various colors of her hair.

Sitting on the couch, waiting for her to complete taking a nice, relaxing hot shower, his gaze travelled the walls of the living room. This had not been his first time here, but it had been the first time he had actually taken the opportunity to look around. The two of them had grown closer, something that in hindsight he actually found completely surprising. Since MARKALA PRIME a lot of things had changed, and as sorry as he felt for the hell that she had been put through, Jayson could not find it in himself to be entirely unhappy. After all, it was because of what had happened that they had come to see how important each had been to the other.

"What are you thinking about?" Ya'Han asked as she stepped out of the bathroom within nothing more than a towel covering her modesty.

The sight proved to be more than he could immediately process causing him to stutter as he tried to form some kind of answer. "Wow," he finally managed following several failed attempts to say anything as he looked at the woman who, for a reason that he actually did not care about, was still displaying solid black hair.

Truth be told, although he had spent several nights in these quarters and even shared the owner's bed during the night, nothing had happened. Either both had been too tired and fell asleep before even hitting the pillows or they had both been happy to simply not be alone during the night.  He could only guess as to how Ya'Han thought and felt about this, but from what little she had revealed to him, feeling safe while she slept had actually been something of an issue during her escape from her home planet.

"Do you find this form pleasing?" Ya'Han asked. The unexpectedness of the question was enough to knock Jayson down, but luckily for him he had been sitting on the couch. Again though, he found himself unable to speak, his thoughts tripping over one another as he tried to understand what was happening.

"Of course," he finally managed in complete stunned admiration. He had always found her 'form' to be more than pleasing but had never thought it appropriate to voice such feelings. "What is there not to like," he added before realizing that he had allowed his thoughts to actually be said aloud.  As he looked at the woman standing a few meters away, he wondered if she would be angered by his forwardness or if maybe she just had needed some sort of reassurance. Whatever that alien life form had done to her, it seemed to run far deeper than he could ever have expected it to. Maybe, he thought, taking her out of Sickbay had not been such a good idea.

Silence filled the room as they gazed into each other's eyes. Jayson desperately trying to understand what it is that was happening. He had wanted to be here, making sure that she was all right and maybe bringing her something to drink or eat, but he had not intended on staying. Maybe Nicole would argue that, claiming that subconsciously he had wanted to be here, to prove that his feelings were real, but the OPS Officer knew that his feelings came in second to his responsibilities to the ANUBIS and its crew. The fact that there was an unknown shape-shifting life form wandering around the ship only made it that much more important for him to be at his post.

"I am glad," the black-haired Nylaan eventually said, adding a beaming smile than made Jayson melt. He had been ready to offer some sort of reply when his words became stuck in his throat as Ya'Han began to move closer, the towel that had been wrapped around her form having been left behind on the floor.

"What... what are you doing?" He asked through a loud gulp. Had it been anyone else, Jayson might have found himself inwardly cheering for what he was sure was about to happen, but this was Ya'Han and to be perfectly honest he respected her far too much to take advantage of the situation. If there had been any doubts about there having been some lingering effect following her encounter with the alien life form, there had not been any now. What bothered him the most is that he knew that deep inside, he wished for this to have been real, to be made to see that his feelings for her had been reciprocated.

"Relax," she sensually said, gently running her the tips of her fingers against his cheek while here eyes dove straight into his soul. "I won't hurt you," she added in a whispered voice. "I don't want to hurt you or anyone else. I just need to understand what it is that I am feeling."

[/\]
Jayson Sousa

Lieutenant JG Jayson Stark [Access Character BIO for Jayson Stark]
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P021: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 02 - 1415 ("Change of Plan")
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"Change of Plan"
[previous post was "Deep Rooted Feelings" by the cornered Jayson]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 2, Corridor
Stardate: 32016.1415

It did not normally take 30 minutes to get from Sickbay to Deck 2 where the quarters of the senior officers were located, but in this case the ExO / ILO had thought it best if she took her time. Shar'El had been ready to rip the man's head clean off his shoulders for what he had decided to do. Yes, she understood his desire to make sure that Ya'Han was alright and she even understood his longing to be by her side, but this had not been the time. Not by a long shot.

With the alien life form wandering the ship as it pleased, and now rendering unconscious members of the senior staff one after the other, each and every remaining member of the senior staff needed to be busy in finding a solution to this matter.  Although the situation they all faced did call for a certain level of urgency, the ExO / ILO knew that if she did not take some time to cool down the number of abled senior officers would be reduced by one more.

What Shar'El needed to do was to take a page from Counsellor's Dima's book and approach the Operations Officer with tact and understanding. If after that the man still found a reason not to agree with her point of view, then she would gladly count one less on the numbers of people she could count on to find a solution to the matter of the elusive intruder they had on board the ANUBIS.

=/\= IGC to Commander Shar'El, =/\= the call came just as the ExO / ILO was a couple of steps from reaching the door to the quarters of the ANUBIS' Chief of Security.

**What now?** She inwardly sighed. "Go ahead," Shar'El continued after having tapped her communicator, her gaze locked on the door that stood between her and the officers she had needed to speak to.

=/\= Captain Morningstar is on an emergency channel.  He has new information to relay, =/\= the IGC tech reported, not giving any more information for fear that someone who had not been aware of their situation would overhear the message.

"Guessing that the meeting with Admiral Koniki went better than expected," the ExO / ILO noted to herself. Given her current location, it made little sense for Shar'El to return to the bridge or even go to the IGC. Since talking to the Captain in the open had also not been a valid option due to the nature of their situation, the raven-haired woman needed to come up with an alternative.  "I will take it in my quarters.  Stand by," she said looking at the door she had been but a few steps away.

Just as she took the first step towards her own quarters, the door to Lieutenant Ya'Han's quarters opened, surprising the Commander as she saw the man she had wanted to speak to step out.

"Commander, is everything alright?" He asked, looking a little surprised by the fact that the woman had been right there.

"I thought you were going to be keeping an eye on Ya'Han," Shar'El pointed out, thinking that maybe she had judge the man too quickly.

"I was," he confirmed as he glanced over his shoulder at the once again closed door. "She was tired. I just wanted to make sure that she was alright. After a long hot shower she fell asleep on her bed and will likely be there for a while," the Chief of Operations explained appearing somewhat nervous, a condition that Shar'El dismissed as having been due to his likely understanding as to why she had been here in the first place.

"Are you heading back to the bridge?" The ExO / ILO inquired.

"Yes," he confirmed. "I thought I would test a few more things that might help us track the intruder. If you need me to do something else though, I would be happy to help. Since no one his being hurt, I don't see there being a rush in our finding it."

"No rush?" Shar'El repeated in shock. "I don't have time to discuss this with you at this moment," the ExO / ILO explained. "Head to the bridge, I will join you there as soon as I have taken care of something here."

"Of course Commander," the Chief of Operations acknowledged before heading in the opposite direction, glancing over his shoulder to see if the Commander had planned on stopping at the quarters that he had just exited from. To his relief, the raven-haired woman went on her way, apparently having somewhere to get to in a hurry.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Shar'El's Quarters
Stardate: 32016.1420

The ExO / ILO wasted no time in reaching her quarters and heading directly to the communication station. Pressing on a few controls, Shar'El confirmed her presence and identity allowing for the secured channel with the Captain to be opened.

"Good news I hope, " the Commander said as soon as the Captain's face appeared on the small screen.

[/\] Not sure if it's good news, but it is more information then we had, [/\] the Captain explained before going into a rapid recount of what the Admiral had said to him.

Shar'El could do nothing but listen as the known specifics of the creature were explained. It was smart, curious and able to take on the form of only the last person that it came in contact with. That would make things easier, granted not all that much, but at least the number of possibilities would not increase with each recorded encounter.

"The creature's curiosity is what we need to focus on," Shar'El proposed. "The more we try to run after it, the faster it will run away. We might be able to eventually corner it once we can identify what form it has taken, but that could take some time. If we can find a way to get it to come to us, it would make things easier for everyone."

[/\] I was thinking the same thing. If she is up to it, get Maya involved in this. Of the members of the senior staff, if not the entire crew, she has to be the one who is the most curious. Maybe she could get into that creature's head and come up with something that would pique its curiosity to the point of making it ignore its fears of us. [/\]

"Sound's like a plan," Shar'El acknowledged. "I will head back to Sickbay and report back as soon as we have a plan of action."

[/\] Good luck Commander. Morningstar out. [/\]

With that the small communication screen went dark leaving the Commander with a new plan, but first she needed to go to Sickbay and see if their Chief Science Officer had been in any condition to help in this new endeavor.

=/\= Doctor Doyanne to Commander Shar'El, =/\= the call from the CMO came over with a distinct tone of panic.

"Go ahead Doctor. What seems to be the problem?"

=/\= It's Ya'Han, =/\= the CMO reported. =/\= She was found unconscious. =/\=

"How is that possible? She was escorted back to her quarters by Lieutenant Stark who reported to me in person that he had left her asleep in her bed."

=/\= My guess is that the woman he brought back to her quarters was not her, =/\= the Doctor theorized. =/\= One of my nurses went into the quarantine quarters near where Ya'Han claimed to have run into the creature. She was found unconscious on the floor. She has been brought into Sickbay and is recuperating. =/\=

"If it was not Ya'Han who Jayson brought back to the quarters..." the Commander thought out loud before dashing out of her quarters to get to the one place she had wanted to go to for a while.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Ya'Han's Quarters
Stardate: 32016.1430

As she burst into the room, Shar'El found an unconscious Jayson, laying on the couch with a strange smile engraved onto his features.  Finding herself even more angry than she had been before, the Commander hated herself for having been so close to putting an end to this madness. Had she not delayed coming here, she would have been able to trap the alien life form. Instead she had even chatted with it while it escaped having taken on the form of their Chief of Operations.

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P022: USS ANUBIS: Ya'Han: Day 02 - 1445 ("Seeing Red")
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Seeing Red"
[previous post was "Change of Plan"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.1445

"Ya'Han," Doctor Doyanne pleaded once again, the Sec/Tac with the bright fiery hair not at all ready to spend a second more on the examination bed. "You need to relax and let me complete my scans. You were rendered unconscious by the alien life form and i need to know if there are any lingering effects."

"I am fine Doctor," Ya'Han argued through clenched teeth. "Let me get out of here and I will prove it to you the moment I get my hands on our intruder."

"Although your anger is understandable, it will only serve to delay your return to active duty," Counsellor Dima pointed out.  "It is only after you are cleared by me that you will be permitted to go an look for the intruder, until then the best you can hope to achieve is to be released back to your quarters following a clean bill of health from Doctor Doyanne."

Her words had been cold and straight to the point, and for that, Ya'Han actually was thankful. "My apologies Doctor, Counsellor," the Sec/Tac offered as she eased herself back down onto the examination table before taking in a slow, long breath.

"Doctor," Commander Shar'El called out as she walked in with a partially conscious Lieutenant Stark who could barely put one foot in front of the other. "Found him in Ya'Han's quarters. He's conscious enough to have given me a hard time about making his way here on his own."

"With the exception of Maya, it seems that the stun effect of the alien life form only lasts for an hour at most," Doctor Doyanne explained having managed to collect a fair amount of data on that particular subject as of late.

"Pardon me Commander," Ya'Han said as she pushed herself up on her shoulders. "Where do you say Jayson was found?"

"In your quarters," the Commander noted with a sigh. "My guess is that it dragged you into the quarantine section and allowed itself to be found by Jayson and myself. Wanting to help and seeing that you had not been as affected as others had, he escorted you, well the alien, back to your quarters. I am uncertain as to what happened there, but the alien made its way out of appearing as Jayson shortly after. That's twice I came across the intruder and twice I failed to recognize it for what it was."

"Commander," the Sec/Tac continued glancing menacingly at the CMO and CNS. "If you authorize me to return to duty now, I will make sure that this thing is cornered once and for all."

"Unfortunately, it's not that easy," Shar'El sadly noted. "The Captain had been made aware of some additional details hanks to Admiral Koniki.  We are to continue dealing with this creature as a first contact mission although we might have a way to make things easier on ourselves. Apparently it is very smart and very curious, so I am here to see if Commander Maya is able to assist."

Doctor Doyanne glanced at the Sec/Tac and shook her head while smiling before following the Commander to where the CSciO was. Ya'Han's efforts to get out of having to receive a clearance from both the CMO and CNS had failed in an epic way.

"That was not very nice," Nicole whispered to Ya'Han who had fallen back onto the examination bed.

"You can't blame me for trying," the Nylaan with the black and red color mix said, smiling. "I'm the Chief of Security and I am stuck here in Sickbay while a shapeshifting alien life form is gallivanting through the ship doing who knows what."

"According to the Commander, the alien is very curious," the Counsellor said, repeating Shar'El's own words. "Maybe it is only going from officer to officer to experience life through their eyes and bodies."

"Wait, what?" Ya'Han said, apparently stunned by what had just been said, her previous anger having stopped her from better understanding the more global situation. "You think it's going from officer to officer to experience life through their perspective?"

"It would make sense," Nicole pointed out. "If a creature possessing heightened intellect and a curiosity to match was in a completely foreign environment, I can easily see it trying to sample as much of it as possible from as many different perspective. Our universe may have a very number of unique visual and tactile points of interest, but we all see and experience them in different ways. Its ability to change form would be an interesting tool to use in the exploration of the world around us."

"What do you think that creature is looking for specifically?" The Sec/Tac wondered, her gaze having fallen onto the man who had not so long ago been brought into Sickbay by Commander Shar'El.

"It is very hard to say without better understanding the mentality of the life form we are dealing with," the Counsellor replied. "That said, if we take the Commander's description of it as a starting point, being very smart and curious should lead any creature to want to experience increasingly more complex aspects of the world around it as it moves from one experience to the next."

"More complex experiences," Ya'Han whispered to herself as she now glared at the resting man, recalling that Commander Shar'El had clearly noted that Jayson had been found in *her* quarters, this after having escorted the alien life form that had taken on her likeness there.

Noticing the Sec/Tac's hair changing once again to the bright fiery red that clearly reflected the return of her anger, Nicole looked at the woman' eyes and identified what or who it was that she was so intently looking at.

"Ya'Han? He wouldn't have," the Counsellor quickly said in his defence. Although she had not proof in either case, protecting him, her and their fledgling relationship had forced Nicole to take the safest side in what could explode into an entirely different problem.

Her gaze remained locked on the man. Given that they had not crossed that line during the many nights that they had spent together, the Sec/Tac quickly argued against herself that she had no right to feel the way she did. That said though, the possibility of him having done so with someone else, someone who would have appeared exactly like her, made the Nylaan feel strange, uncomfortable, to the point of being emotionally violated.

Ya'Han knew that she had not real ground to feel as she felt, this jealously felt literally alien to her, but yet there is was, nagging at her thoughts and feelings. Jayson and she had covered the majority of the gambit when it came to how two people felt for one another. The Nylaan liked the way that their relationship had evolved and now she feared that maybe the alien life form could have picked up on her inner most desires and acted upon them, something that the Sec/Tac had not dared to do.

She would have to speak with him, privately, alone, and inquire as to what had actually happened between him and the alien. Only then would she know if the jealousy she felt was justified, but first she needed to remain calm in order to receive a medical and psychological clearance from Doctor Doyanne and Counsellor Dima. Once that was accomplished and the two of them would get the opportunity to speak alone, Jayson would be best to have some very good answers as to what had happened, especially if he did not want to be made to feel the full extent of the wrath and might of the woman known as the 'Red Dragon'.


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Hanali Han

Lieutenant JG Ya'Han [Access Character BIO for Ya'Han]
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P023: USS ANUBIS: Maya: Day 02 - 1445
("A Whim, A Thought, and More is Sought")
---
"A Whim, A Thought, and More is Sought"
(Previous Post: "Seeing Red")
---

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 11, Corridor
Stardate: 32016.1445

Her mind felt as if it was in some sort of haze. The Shillian scientist could hear and see everything, but processing this data seemed to be happening far slower than she believed it should.  By the sound of the Doctor scolding the Nylaan Chief of Security, Maya knew that she was in Sickbay, the auditory and visual details of her surroundings easily confirming this. What the Chief Science Officer had been unable to figure out though had been the manner in which she had come to be here in the first place. Whatever fog had taken over her mind had made it impossible for the Shillian to recall anything pertaining to recent events.

When Commander Shar'El entered the room helping their Chief of Operations Lieutenant Stark, Maya wondered if she had been brought into Sickbay in the same general manner. Being the scientist that she was, the Shillian found herself more troubled by the lack of information as to the *how* she had come to be in Sickbay over the *why*. If only the Chief Science Officer could recall what it was that she was doing prior to waking up here maybe the answer she sought would be within her grasp.

"How are you feeling?" Doctor Doyanne softly asked of the Shillian, the Chief Medical Officer glad to see her patient awake and apparently well aware of her surroundings.

"A little weak and having problems thinking," Maya replied meeting the inquisitive eyes of the Chief Medial Officer as well as those of the First Officer, both women looking down at her in a way that made the Chief Science Officer wonder if she had somehow been responsible for her current condition. Being unable to recall anything useful at this time left the Shillian to imagine an endless set of possibilities as to what had happened to cause hr to be as she was now.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Lille asked, wanting to gage the mental acuity of her patient, especially given that she had just complained of an inability to think properly.  As simple as the question was, it proved to be the one that Maya had dreaded the most, the haze that had taken hold of her thoughts seemingly having grown thicker the moment Doctor Doyanne had spoken.

The Sillian hesitated as she desperately tried to reconstruct her memories. Normally, this would not have been an issue since Maya always excelled at recalling details, reports, studies and experiments that she might not have been in any way directly involved with. Again, the Chief Science Officer found herself troubled by the fact that she could not clearly recall how things had occurred to see her being here in Sickbay. Had she suffered from head trauma due to an accident? Why did she feel that the woman currently being kept on the main examination table had something to do with all of this? Had Ya'Han caused her to be here in this state?

Trying as hard as she could to reconstruct her memories using the near certitude that the Chief of Security had been involved in this strange story on some level, the Shillian tried her best to ignore the eyes of the First Officer and Chief Medical Officer which were intently focussed on her.

"I remember seeing Ya'Han," Maya softly announced, desperately trying to put all of the pieces of this mental puzzle together. "Yes, I do remember her; she had green hair and was distant. Not as in her not being social, no, that I also remember that she was.  I mean that I remember looking at her from an elevated distance. How did I manage to look down at her like that?" The Shillian wondered, not specifically directing her question to the women standing over her.

"It might take a little while longer for her to rebuild her memories," Doctor Doyanne said, a distinct air of distress was present in her voice. Everyone else who had been affected by the alien life form had rapidly recuperated within an hour or so, in some cases such as herself, Lillie had been back on her feet and working in less than that. The only one who had been severely affected had been the Shillian, likely due to her unique physiology, and this greatly bothered the Doctor.

"Is there anything you can do to help?" Commander Shar'El asked. Although her words had been softly whispered they had been spoken loud enough for the Shillian to over hear them making it evident that the skills and knowledge of the Chief Science Officer of the USS ANUBIS had been required in some way. This realization further drove Maya to find a way to retrieve the memories that had for some unknown reason been made inaccessible to her.

Approaching this matter as she did any other, meaning that she did so scientifically, the Chief Science Officer focussed on what she did remember. Ya'Han, their Chief of Security had been in a situation where she had been comfortable in displaying her green hair. Furthermore, Maya had been in a position where she could look down at the woman as she danced.

Maya smiled. That was right, Ya'Han had been dancing, this explained her green hair and why the Shillian had been so sure that the Nylaan and she had been in some sort of public location. With this latest piece of the puzzle found and put in its place, the rest quickly followed.  The only public location where the Chief of Security could have been while dancing had been the Black Hole Lounge, which also explained why the Chief Science Officer recalled seeing her from a higher perspective likely havin been on the upper level.

"Commander?" Doctor Doyanne wondered, the smile of the Shillian having been rather out of place given the situation and discussion that had been happening over the woman.

"The last thing I remember was being in the Black Hole Longue," Maya said, answering the earlier question in a way that actually pleased her. "The senior officers had gathered to celebrate the end of our mission. Ya'Han was dancing up a storm through the entire evening and I remember watching her do so from the upper level on several occasions. When the party started to unwind, I went to the upper level once last time to make sure that everyone had either already returned to their quarters or were capable of doing so. That was when I noticed a crewmember alone at one of far the tables. I went in t see if everything was all right and if they needed help to return to their quarters. That is the last thing I remember."

"Glad to see you back with us Commander," the First Officer noted, her smile echoing that of Doctor Doyanne, both women appear very relieved. "Let me bring you up to speed on what has happened. A shapeshifting alien life form able to take on the appearance of whomever it touches escaped from NEW ALEXANDRIA and made its way on board the ANUBIS. The ship is currently on lockdown to insure that it cannot escape and Captain Morningstar has made it clear that we are to address this matter as a first contact situation."

"Is becoming unconscious a natural side effect of the ability of this life form or can it actually control it?" The Chief Science Officer asked, causing the smile on both the First Officer and Chief Medical Officer to grow larger.

"No doubts about it," Lillie chuckled. "Sounds like Maya is back."

"Yes she is," Commander Shar'El pleasantly agreed. "As for your questions, we believe that the creature uses this 'side effect' as you referred to it in order to insure that it can escape without any issues. By rendering the person it is taking on the appearance of unconscious it makes it a lot easier to move about without being properly identified. I can vouch for that having seen it twice without realizing that i was not the officers I believed it to be."

"So the physical transformation is perfect, or near it. The alien must have a highly evolved natural genetic replication system to allow it to copy an individual as complex as a humanoid to the point of being indistinguishable from the real person. What about knowledge? Appearing as someone else would give it a clear advantage when moving around, but the moment it would encounter another member of the crew, it would find itself unable to interact, even on the simplest level," Maya said making Shar'El chuckle.

"We missed you," the First Officer admitted. "The alien is also capable of acquiring some of the knowledge of the person it touches. According to the information relayed by Captain Morningstar from Admiral Koniki, the alien is only able to change into the last person it has come in contact with and that for a limited period of time. The knowledge though does appear to remain, although we are not certain if it is simply for a longer period of time or if the knowledge gathered is permanently acquired by it even after it returns to its original gelatinous form."

"Gelatinous natural form? How truly interesting. That said, am I right in suspecting that the creature has some sort of sensor dampening field making it impossible for us to track it?" the Chief Science Officer theorized. "Given the complex genetic biomatrix that it must have to be able to accomplish the level of transformation it has displayed, as well as the ability to stun whoever it touches, it would make sense that it is also able to general a close proximity field making it undetectable by our instruments. Also, if you had been able to track it, you would not have been here in such a hurry to see me back on my feet."

"You are right; we are unable to track it using internal sensors. To make matters worse, the alien is very smart, but what we need your help with is that it is also very curious," Shar'El explained. "We hoped that you might be able to get into its head and figure out a way for us to lure it out in the open so that we can actually talk to it. As a first contact, we have not used any force fields or any type of weapons so far and the Captain and I would like to keep it that way."

"I think I can help," Maya nodded, a knowing smile on her lips. "There are some interesting similarities between the alien and I. We are both shapeshifters, although I will admit that I am somewhat jealous as to the range of its polymorphic abilities as you have described them, and we are also both very curious. I am wondering if maybe this alien life form is in some way related to the Founders of the Gamma Quadrant or if the creature naturally developed this shape-shifting ability as a survival and defence mechanism. Wherever the alien may have originally come from, I am very much interested in discovering more about it.  Unlike me who came from a humanoid background, our everyday environment must be completely alien to it filled with potential dangers as well as exhilarating discoveries. We just need to find what it is that it is most interested about."

Doctor Doyanne could not help herself but smile as she glanced over to Stark before returning her gaze onto Ya'Han. "By the looks of things, I would say that the alien is interested in a great many things, and right now it seems to be more focussed on the way that our bodies operate and interacts with others like it."

"Really?" Maya enthusiastically asked, her own curiosity having been piqued to hits highest degree. "I will need to speak to both Jayson and Ya'Han about this, maybe they can provide a unique insight into the way this alien life form acts and goes about satiating its own curiosity."

"You might want to hold on perusing that line of questioning for the time being," Shar'El cautiously suggested. "I do not believe that the dragon is ready to be poked on that specific matter right now," the First Officer added, glancing at the Chief of Security who for the time being appeared to be in a relatively calm state.

"Dragon?" Maya repeated clearly surprised by the use of that particular and unexpected word. "The alien is also able to take on the form of a mythological EARTH creature?" The Chief Science Officer inquired, puzzled and excited by the prospect. Maybe if the Shillian got to speak and develop a relationship with this alien she would be able to learned more about its shapeshifting abilities as well as how to achieve taking on the form of such a legendary beast.

"Never mind," the Commander quickly dismissed. "If you are up for it, we can leave now and see what we can come up with. Although the alien has been shown to not being dangerous to the crew, I would rather we got this matter resolved quickly and avoid things changing in that regards."

"Of course Commander," Maya said as she swung her legs over the edge of the biobed, very happy to see that her body had been responding as it should, not that she had truly expected otherwise since the haze that had been present in her mind had all but vanished.

---
Jessica Solarik

Lieutenant Commander Maya [Access Character BIO for Maya]
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS

&

Captain Selene Fiona Iverson [Access Character BIO for Selene Iverson]
Commanding Officer
USS BASTET

"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
M08-P024: USS ANUBIS: Stark: Day 02 - 1450 ("Crushing Guilt")
"Crushing Guilt"
[previous "A Whim, A Thought, and More is Sought"]

[/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.1450

He saw her when Shar'El had brought him into Sickbay. He also had been aware of the way she was looking at him as he recuperated on the biobed. What worried him the most was whether or not Ya'Han had been justified in her anger.

He should have known that something had not been right the moment he saw Ya'Han with black hair. Yes, that had been her preferred color a while back, but she had done so much to distance herself from the significance of that particular color in her culture. Jayson had been too quick to accept that this had been because of her encounter with the alien instead of investigating further. Now, all he could do was wonder as to what had actually happened.

He could see in her eyes that she believed *something* had happened. He wasn't sure if it had, but just the fact that Ya'Han believed it was enough to make him feel beyond guilty.  Jayson was possibly holding himself more responsible than she was considering him to be for no other reason than he should have known.

Yes, the woman he had escorted back to her quarters had appeared in every way like Ya'Han. The alien had even sounded like her for the most part, but still he should have known. The black hair had been an inescapable clue, but there had been others. Her clinginess had been very uncharacteristic of her. At first he kept expecting her to suddenly stop and use her hold on him to flip him onto the floor. Instead though, he quickly found himself enjoying the closeness they were sharing.

If those clues had not been enough to make him realise that the woman had not been who she had appeared to be, the way she came out of the shower and walked to him should have made Jayson go into full red alert mode. When it came to them being alone, Ya'Han had proven to be a tease, enjoying dancing in a very seductive way for him but nothing more. It was as if she wanted to make sure that they two of them had been ready for what would come next. Although at times he might have felt frustrated, in the end he understood and even agreed with her unspoken idea.

It was not like her dancing had been in anyway unenjoyable, quite the contrary. Therefore, to see her suddenly leave the towel behind and approach him like a hungry beast should have made him realise that something that had been wrong, very wrong.  He should have stopped her or even found a way to get away. Maybe, just maybe, if he had been given a little more time he would have been able to realize that Ya'Han had not been Ya'Han.

In hindsight, it all seemed so easy. All of the things he could have done, should have done, noticed and put into perspective. Everything seemed so clear now, but back then, everything had been different.  As far as he had been concerned, it was Ya'Han he had been escorting back to her quarters. It had been Ya'Han who was holding on to his arm so tightly as they walked and it was her who was smiling back at him each and every time their eyes met.  While sitting on the couch he was sure that it was Ya'Han taking a relaxing shower and her who came out wrapped in nothing but a towel.

He had almost cheer aloud when the towel fell and he saw whom he believed to be Ya'Han in all of her perfection. Even if he had known what he did now, would he have actually been able to resist the siren that was approaching him in the buff? As much as he wanted to believe that he would have, the truth was that he doubted himself. This would be a dream come true, and now that dream had turned into a nightmare without equal.

Jayson cast his eyes to the main examination bed and met Ya'Han's still angered gaze. he wished that he could go back in time and undo what had happened before what might or might not have happened did. He would make sure that Ya'Han remained in Sickbay, claiming that it had been for her own good. That way the two of them would not have found themselves alone, she would not have vanished into the shower and emerged to allow the towel to drop.

He wanted to apologise even if he was not sure what he would be apologising for. The alien life form had completely fold him as it had so many before him, and based on what he overheard this included Commander Shar'El who had failed to recognize the creature not once but twice. If the First Officer had been unable to tell the replica from the real officer, how had he been expected to do that very same thing? Granted this was a poor excuse but for the time being, it was the only one he could hold on to.

"You seem to be feeling all right," Doctor Doyanne said, checking on the bio readings displayed over his head.

"I'm anything but alright," he whispered back. "I tried to do the right thing by helping her, by showing her that I would be there for her no matter what. Instead I ended up escorting the alien to her quarters and possibly destroying everything that we both had work so hard to create."

"Give her time," the Doctor suggested. "I am sure that she will come to understand the situation. We were all fooled by it. Even Maya is in admiration as to its shapeshifting skills, and that has to count for something in our evaluation of how we all were so completely fooled."

"Maybe," he reluctantly agreed. "Professionally we were all fooled into believing that another member of the crew had been there with us, walking by our side or even exchanging a few friendly words. That excuse may be enough for everyone to accept that they failed to see through the alien's disguise, but on a more personal level I am not so sure that excuse will do."

"Your personal relationship with Ya'Han is still very new," the Doctor pointed out. "You cannot expect to know every little thing about the other. For some married couples living together, that level of intimate knowledge can take *years* to achieve."

"Again, maybe so," Jayson sighed, "but it does not change the fact that I failed to see that the woman I was with was not the woman I have wanted to be with for so long.  All he clues were there for me to see, and I dismissed them one after the other. On a professional level, I was fooled like everyone else. On a personal level I convinced myself that these clues meant nothing when they clearly pointed to everything wrong."

"Have confidence in her," the Doctor suggested. "Nicole will agree with me on this I am sure, it is human nature to not see what is right in front of our eyes, especially when the heart and its emotions get in the way.  It is clear that you have feelings for her, we all see it, and she will too. Just give her time."

"The problem is that I believe it is those exact same feelings that are the ones responsible for the way I acted," Jayson proposed. "If it had not been for my feelings and desire to show that I truly cared for her, I would not have been in her quarters with the alien doing... who knows what."

[/\]
Jayson Sousa

Lieutenant JG Jayson Stark [Access Character BIO for Jayson Stark]
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P025: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 02 - 1515 ("A Different Approach")
=-=
"A Different Approach"
[previous post was "Crushing Guilt" by the guilt ridden Jayson]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Exo-Biology Lab
Stardate: 32016.1515

Watching Maya at work was a sight beyond description, the Shillian being truly amazing when observed in her natural habitat. Although the Exo-Biology lab located on the same deck as Sickbay had not been the woman's preferred location, one would have bee hard pressed to notice it. With several monitors displaying all sort of information about anything and everything possibly related to the alien life form, the Chief Science Officer had tried to find something that would make their task easier.

Shar'El wanted to lend a hand, but each time she thought that there was an opening at one of the workstation, the Shillian would swoop by, use it for a few seconds before moving to another. Likewise the ExO / ILO had wanted to inquire as to some of the data being displayed, but she never felt like the time had been right to interrupt the frantically working scientist.

"Do you always work on multiple scientific approaches at the same time when dealing with an unknown?" Shar'El asked, hoping that a none-specific question would not interfere with the Shillian's work.

"Yes," Maya uncharacteristically replied with a one-word answer while continuing to move from one research station to the next. "Although, this situation is different," the Shillian added after a few moments, still leaving the Chief Science Officer well short on her normally expected word count.

"Different? How so?" Shar'El found herself asking; mesmerized by the way Maya was able to stay on top of multiple researches all at the same time.

"The alien we are dealing with is not truly an *unknown* in that we do know something about it," the scientist explained, her words having come out at a much faster rate than those before hinting that the ExO / ILO had been about to get the kind of answer she had both expected and dreaded.  "Classifying the life form as an unknown would lead some to believe that we know nothing about it, which is not true. We have confirmed through your own repeated observations that it is capable of taking on the shape of others and that it can do so by simply touching the intended person it wishes to become. This indicate a very complex as well as flexible cellular matrix. That the alien is also able to draw knowledge from those it touches points us to suspect that the cellular matrix we have just spoken of is somehow linked to its nervous system. in a normal humanoid capable of shapeshifting, such as myself, this would require a hyper developed neural network which might make the alien very susceptible to certain external stimuli. This concerned me until I remembered you saying that the alien was gelatinous in its natural state which of course changes everything."

"Of course it does," Shar'El noted in a daze, knowing beyond any doubts that the Chief Science Officer had returned in full Shillian force.

"Although the alien and I are both shapeshifters, the way we achieve any sort of transformation is very different, that is why I am focussing more on establishing similarities with the Founders instead of with my own cellular makeup. Since both the Founder and the alien have a more uniform and fluidic form when in their natural state, it makes more sense to see if the similarities extend beyond that point. In doing so we might come across a way to track it despite its possessing a natural sensors dampening effect which by itself raises several interesting questions."

As interesting as all of this was, Shar'El quickly found herself tuning out the continued and highly detailed explanation. Yes, Maya was back and the best way to acknowledge this was to allow her to perform what she did best without any sort of distractions or interruptions.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.1525

The Commander walked back into Sickbay to make sure that everything had been as it should in regards to their Chief of Operations and Chief of Security. What Shar'El had not expected was to find the tranquility and quietness of the room to be so soothing.

"Is everything all right Commander?" Counsellor Dima asked, easily noticing the expression on the face o the ExO / ILO.

"I'm fine," Shar'El confirmed with a smile. "I just left Maya in the Exo-Biology lab. It seems that our Chief Science Officer in back in full form."

"She's a hard person to keep down," Nicole pointed out. "She is also someone who is very easily diagnosed by simply listening to her speech pattern."

"Based on that alone I can irrevocably confirm that she is back," the Commander added, not as a complaint but actually as a joyful observation. The ANUBIS was by any measure a better ship thanks to the hard work and dedication the scientist displayed. "How about our other patients?"

"Lillie is doing well," the Counsellor said looking at the Chief Medical Officer as she hovered from one patient to the next. "Jayson is feeling guilty and Ya'Han is feeling antsy."

"Given what happened I can understand why," the ExO / ILO stated. "Do you believe that our Chief of Security will be able to be released soon?"

"Doctor Doyanne already medically cleared her," Nicole admitted. "I was just keeping her here for observation along with Jayson. To have been replaced, even for a short period of time by the alien life form is something that could lead to some psychological trauma. Here I can observe all three without them even realizing it."

The Commander had been about to inquire as to whom the third person had been until she realized that the Counsellor had bee referring to Lille, the Doctor having also fallen to the metamorphic touch of the alien.  "Would it be alright if I took Ya'Han with me. Maya is working on the scientific side of our problem but there are still a few security issues that I would like to have covered before we try to bring the alien to us."

"She is fine," the Counsellor noted. "It might actually do her some good to be out of here and away from Jayson. I fear that his having so completely fallen for the illusion of the alien while it was portraying itself as our Chief of Security is something that she is having problems dealing with."

"She is not the only one by the looks of things," Shar'El pointed out looking at Jayson who seemed almost depressed while lost in his own thoughts. "Take care of him, I will see what I can do to smooth things over with Ya'Han. To be honest though, I do not believe that the universe is intending to make life easy for them in any sort of way."

"It does appear like that," Nicole agreed.

After a moment of shared silence, Shar'El made her way to he main examination bed.  "Both Doctor Doyanne and Counsellor Dima claim that you are ready to return to active duty. Are you?" The ExO / ILO inquired, knowing very well that the Nylaan would just at the opportunity.

"Absolutely," Ya'Han replied having already moved from a resting position to a sitting one, waiting for the confirmation that she could do so before jumping down to her feet.

"Good," Shar'El smiled. "Come with me. We have a few things that I need to be looked into."

Ya'Han wasted no time in complying with the words of the First Officer. Just as she reached the doorway though, the Chief of Security manage to shoot a quick glance in the direction of the Chief of Operations before following the Commander out of Sickbay. As much as the story with the alien intruder was far from being done and over with, neither had the issue of what had or had not happened between the shapeshifting life form and Lieutenant Stark. At least though, the black and red haired woman would have something other to occupy her thoughts.

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P026: USS ANUBIS: Ya'Han: Day 02 - 1535 ("Covering All The Angles")
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Covering All The Angles"
[previous post was "A Different Approach"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Exo-Biology Lab
Stardate: 32016.1535

The Sec/Tac followed the Commander into the medical lab, understanding that they were checking up on whatever progress the CSciO had made before heading to do whatever had been planned. Shar'El and Ya'Han were not entirely surprised to find Maya completely buried in her work, so much so that she had not noticed the arrival of the two officers.

"In some ways this alien may actually be a superior shapeshifter than the founders," Maya stated obviously continuing the verbal train of thought that she had been one prior to the arrival of the First Officer and Sec/Tac. "If possible, I will have to remember to speak to this life form and inquire about how it communicates with others of its kind. That said though, I have this strange feeling that it feel alone, I am not sure why I feel that way but I certainly do fee it. Could there be some sort of bio-neural exchange between it and those it comes in physical contact with? I need to look into this possibility."

"Should we interrupt?" Ya'Han inquired as she watched the scientist move from station to station as if this had been some sort of extreme physical training.

"I do not believe that it would be safe do to so," Shar'El pointed out. "For anyone involved. We can come back later; in the meantime let's see if we can work on the other aspect of our situation."

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 8, Security Center
Stardate: 32016.1540

The trip to the Security Center had taken place in near perfect silence, something that the Sec/Tac believed had been due to the Commander not wanted the alien to overhear their plans. Being unable to now for sure if the life form had been near them had justified in the eyes of the Nylaan woman this level of paranoia.

Once the door to the Security Center had closed behind them, Shar'El gave a quick look around to insure that they had in fact been alone. "The Captain wants us to deal with the alien using first contact protocol, and as much as I may agree with him on the majority of the reasons for having chosen this course of action, I am still concerned that we have given this alien far too much freedom with access to our systems."

"I agree," Ya'Han said; glad to see that she had not been the only one thinking this way. "We have noticed that the alien is able to not only take the physical form of anyone it touches but it can also gain their knowledge. Given that the alien was Jayson the last time it was seen, it has the potential of having access to every system on board the ANUBIS."

"That is why I wanted to speak with you in private," the Commander said. "Maya is working on trying to find a way to use its curiosity against it. Based on that happened with Jayson, it is possible that this curiosity is currently focussed on something other than this ship and its systems."

"You want me to play bait to it?" The Sec/Tac asked in horror, not at all liking the idea. If given the slightest opportunity, it was far more likely that highly trained Nylaan would physically confront the alien to make it pay for what it had put Jayson, and her, through. If the life form wanted to experience life as they all did, it made sense to have it deal with the full impact of what jealousy could bring.

"I would not have used the word *bait*, but I was hoping that you would be willing to talk to it," Shar'El specified. "If it is still wandering the ANUBIS as our Chief of Operations, and even if it only possesses some of his knowledge and feelings, seeing you could very likely place it in a tactical disadvantage, one that we could capitalize on and use to bring this entire situation to a rapid and uneventful conclusion."

"I am not sure I would be able to do as you ask," Ya'Han said, her hair gradually shifting as he mood was, fiery. "It may take time for me to understand what happened and even to forgive Jayson, but I am not sure that I would be able to show the alien the same. As much as I may hold him responsible, I certainly hold the alien far more so. Be it an curious alien is not an excuse for what it did."

"Although I do understand where you are coming from on this," Shar'El offered trying her best to calm the Sec/Tac and see the hair change to anything other than the bright red it had become. "There is still no proof that anything did happen between it and Jayson, and even if it did, are you willing to allow this misunderstanding to jeopardize our first contact encounter? You also need to keep in mind that establishing a positive relationship with this alien is clearly important to the captain."

Ya'Han did not at all appreciate having be placed between her personal feelings and professional responsibilities. Of course she wanted for the mission to be successful, this beyond the fact that it was what Captain Morningstar wanted, but she had permitted herself to get close to someone an in so ding had discovered a weakness within herself, one that had already been exploited.

"I will follow your orders to the letter Commander," the Sec/Tac announced, her voice having grown instantly cold. Although her hair had returned to the red and black mix that Shar'El had wanted to see, the First Officer wondered if maybe the price that had been required would prove to be too high. Had she lost the trust of the woman she had come to consider being much more than a simple shipmate?

"In the meantime," the Commander continued hoping that a change of subject would help. "I need you to walk me through all of the security protocols that you and Jayson have access to. I also need your tactical evaluation of a worst-case scenario based on our current situation. What could the alien do with the complete and combined knowledge of our Chief of Security and Chief of Operations?"

"A lot," Ya'Han unhappily replied, keeping the rest of what she would have wanted to say to herself knowing all too well that it would not have pleased Commander Shar'El.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han

Lieutenant JG Ya'Han [Access Character BIO for Ya'Han]
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P027: USS ANUBIS: Stark: Day 02 - 1535 ("One-On-One")
"One-On-One"
[previous "Covering All The Angles"]

[/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.1535

He knew that she was not in Sickbay anymore, thanks to having overheard the discussion between the Chief of Security and First Officer. Yet, he could still feel her accusing piercing gaze on him. The worst of it was that he did not know what, if anything, he could do to rectify the situation that had come to stand between them.

"You seem troubled," the Nicole said as she came to stand by the man's bed.

"With all due respect Counsellor, I am sure that it did not require any great effort to figure that out," Jayson said with a sigh, very aware that his emotions and feelings had been right there for all to see. In fact, he even wondered if maybe the medical display set over the head of the medical bed had, in some way, confirmed what he was certain everyone already knew.

"Jayson," Counsellor Dima said in mock annoyance, "I am only concerned about your emotional well being. Looking at your readings, everything physical is working fine. Unfortunately, there are no such scans that can inform us of your current state of mind. I have to relay on my experience and observations."

"With four lifetimes of experience, you would think that you would be able to recognize the feelings I am dealing with," he pointed out, indicating through his cold and inhospitable tone that he had not been in the mood to talk about this, or anything else for that matter.

"Five actually," the Trill corrected with a smile. This had not been the first time the Dima symbiont had to deal with an uncooperative individual, and it was very likely that it would not be the last either. "Four *former* hosts, this is my fifth," she explained pointing to herself 'a la Vanna White.' "As to the point you made, I do have quite the experience dealing with those very same emotions and feelings you are fighting with right now. This said, it would not be proper for a Counsellor, or anyone else for that matter, to try and start a conversation with something along the lines of 'It clearly appears that the person you are romantically involved with is beyond angry at you and that you seem to be having difficulties dealing with that'."

"Point taken," Jayson acknowledged. "It is more to the point though."

"Yes it is," Nicole confirmed, "but as a Counsellor I have to verbally set up a more welcoming and nurturing environment that will hopefully allow the individual to more openly express themselves. It is far more effective when someone says how they are feeling without having someone like me trying to pry the information from them."

"Almost sounds like an interrogation technique," the OPS Officer noted, actually allowing a faint smile to appear.

"Actually, a lot of the techniques used by Counsellors are derived or straight out taken from interrogation methods," Nicole pointed out. "We both look at body gesture, analyse speech patterns, work around psychological blockage, be them intentional or not. The one main difference though is that Counsellor do their best to have the person they are speaking ith remain both alive and sane, a claim that unfortunately not every interrogator can make."

"I have seen my fair share of Counsellor over the years," Jayson admitted, not that this had been in any way a surprise to Dima who had certainly read his file more than once. "It is true that most tended to follow the same general approach and method, but I will admit that yours is, shall we say, different."

"Thank you," Nicole smiled as she added a deep curtsy. "I will take that as a compliment. I would hate to be labeled as being just *another* Counsellor who is trying to get into people's heads."

"You win," he chuckled. "Yes I am troubled, and yes it is because of Ya'Han. I have guilt for what I did, even if I am not entirely certain as to the extent of what that was, but I know that just the possibility of it was enough to hurt her."

"And that was the last thing you wanted to do," Counsellor Dima stated. It might have taken a little longer than she had expected it to, but she knew that Jayson would come around and open up. The fear and apprehension many displayed towards Counsellors had been long ago been addressed by the Chief of Operations. All that Nicole needed to do now was to work through the barrier he had created around himself out of the guilt and sadness he had felt.

"I'm just afraid that she will never find it in her heart to forgive me," he added. "I wanted to do the right thing, to show her the kind of person I could be, and instead I demonstrated how blind I could be."

"They do say that love is blind," Nicole pointed out. "Right now, things are too fresh, and let's face it we are all still very much right in the middle of this affair. You need to give her time and have faith in both her feelings for you and your feelings for her. You acted with the belief that it was Ya'Han, not the alien, who was by your side. Maybe you could have seen beyond the transformation, maybe there was actually noting that you could have seen to make you realize that it was not actually her. What you do have to realise is that over time, she will come to see and accept that you did it all because you thought it was her and no one else."

"I am not so sure that she will," Jayson sadly admitted.

"When she will look back at this, she will see you and her, not you and some other woman," Nicole clarified. "It will take time for her to distance her emotions from the image, but it will happen. Think back to your own cherished memories, even those that held at one time or another pain or sorrow. You can now look back at those same memories and smile. Ya'Han will do the same because it is *her* that is there with you, not someone else."

"You make it sound so simple," he admitted, still not entirely believing that it would *be* that simple but at the very least understanding that there was some level of hope for him. "Thank you," Jayson added.

"You're welcome," the Counsellor nodded. "If you want or need to talk, you know where to find me."

"You mean I actually have a choice in the matter?" the OPS Officer jokingly asked.

"Jayson," the Counsellor said mocking being hurt. "You always have a choice, as long as I agree with your decision that is," she concluded adding a playful smile.

[/\]
Jayson Sousa

Lieutenant JG Jayson Stark [Access Character BIO for Jayson Stark]
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P028: USS ANUBIS: Maya: Day 02 - 1535
("By Warmth of Heart, Your Pain I Feel")
---
"A Whim, A Thought, and More is Sought"
(Previous Post: "One-On-One")
---

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Exo-Biology Lab
Stardate: 32016.1535

Information of all kind were displayed on the monitors and holographic displays of the Exo-Biology laboratory as per the numerous request of the Chief Science Officer. From the cellular structure of various types of Vulcan, Orion and Terran jellyfish, to the far more complex bio-chemical transformation matrix of the Changelings also known as the Founders, anything and everything the Shilling had thought would held in her research had been summoned. With so much data being displayed all around her, it was actually expected to see the arm of the scientist go right through one of the countless three-dimensional holographic displays that had filled the room.

To anyone not aware of what the Shillian had been in the midst of, they might have thought that the Exo-Biology Laboratory had been transformed into some sort of exhibit on the cellular make-up on creatures that span the known universe. Then again, to anyone who knew the Chief Science Officer, this elaborate display was nothing more than an indication as to the depth of her research into a single matter, the scientist holding with a certain amount of pride to her reputation of being someone who never did anything in half measures.

"Computer," Maya suddenly called out interrupting the pristine silence that had claimed the laboratory. "Using the genetic models that have already been established as possessing the highest likelihood to account for a life form capable of sampling the DNA of a target with a simple touch, extrapolate all possible natural environments. Take into account that such environments could possibly be located outside of the boundaries of this dimensional universe," the Shillian instructed before continuing talking, but this time to herself. "Let's face it, for all we know the life form originated from another dimension. It would not be the first time that a life form found its way into this realm of physical matter from one entirely different. If that should prove to be the case though, I will need to arrange to speak with Lieutenant Mitshiba, her expertise in trans-dimensional life forms far exceeds my own. I have to admit that there are times that I am jealous of her posting," Maya added to no one in particular as she moved from station to station.

As soon as the lengthy list of possible environments was completed and displayed, the Chief Science Officer glanced at it to see if she would see something there that would provide some possible insight as to the way of thinking of the alien used. A lengthy sigh of disappointment escaped from the Shillian who quickly realized as she read some of the environments that some rather important search parameters had been omitted from her first request.

"As much as I would love to see a planet possessing a Hydrogen-Sulphide and Argon mix atmosphere with a gravity ranging between 0.1 to 14.75 that of EARTH, I doubt that the alien would be able to survive in what we consider to be a normal environment," the Chief Science Officer noted to herself, thinking that she had been too much in a rush to see the results of this search. "Computer," the Shillian continued, "edit last search parameter to include the ability of said life form to be able to survive in an artificially maintained oxygen and nitrogen environment such as the one commonly found on NEW ALEXANDRIA and the ANUBIS."

The first list that had been created by the computer vanished before being rapidly replaced by another, one that proved to be much shorter, this to the relief of the Chief Science Officer. With a new set of basic temperatures, pressures and atmospheres set, the possible environments that the life form had once called home stood well in the range of worlds known to the Federation and the Shillian.

The first environment to catch the eye of the Chief Science Officer was one that displayed a lush and thick forest or jungle, providing the life form with natural protection as well as ample selection to copy in order to avoid falling victim to a predator. The second environment that the Chief Science officer considered as one of the more likely possibilities was a desert landscape which offered little in the sense of natural protection but was equally deprived of numerous deadly predators.

Although there were several other environments that seemed promising as a possibility for the life form to inhabit, Maya quickly found various reasons to dismiss them in favour of one of the two she had narrowed the list to.  Even from this small narrowed down selection, the Shillian felt driven to one in particular for reasons that strangely enough did not come from anything scientific, but rather from a strange personal feeling that she could not entirely explain.

From the busy bee that she had been, moving from one station to the next with showing any signs of fatigue, the Shillian scientist suddenly came to a complete stop, her full attention cast on the environment that she had selected over all others as the most likely point of origin of the life form currently on board the USS ANUBIS. Although the scientific indicators pointed to several possibilities, that one had been the one that Maya had chosen for no other reason than because of a 'gut feeling'.

For a reason that she could not understand, the Shillian found herself comparing the current status of the life form to her own. Both had been aliens in their own terms lost in many ways in this strange world, and although they had followed very different paths to reach their current location, the Chief Science Officer felt a certain kinship with the other shapeshifter. Maybe it was because they both shared a rare ability that no one else had on board this vessel, or maybe it was because one of the potential environments had reminded her of a world that no longer existed. A world that once, in what felt life another forgotten lifetime, she had called home.

Suddenly, the Chief Science Officer found herself wondering about the emotions and feelings of this life form, no longer interested in the simple scientific aspects, as numerous as they might have been, which surrounded the creature like a cloak of mystery. For the first time in a very long time, Maya found herself looking at something not through the eyes of a researcher but rather with the interest of a woman looking for something that stood well outside of the realms of science.

Could this life form be like her, the last of its kind? Was that why it had sought to escape NEW ALEXANDRIA or had there been another reason? Were there others like it out there amongst the stars hoping for the return of one of their own? Now, the Shillian found herself envying the life form despite knowing very little about it. Aside from an ability that far surpassed her own, the unknown life form possessed something else that the Shillian wishes she could have - hope in being reunited with its own kind.

---
Jessica Solarik

Lieutenant Commander Maya [Access Character BIO for Maya]
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS

&

Captain Selene Fiona Iverson [Access Character BIO for Selene Iverson]
Commanding Officer
USS BASTET

"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
M08-P029: USS ANUBIS: Paquette: Day 02 - 1535 ("Bruised Feelings")
"Bruised Feelings"
previous post was "By Warmth of Heart, Your Pain I Feel"

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Main Engineering
Stardate: 32016.1535

After having been tossed to the side in favour of Jayson by none other than Ya'Han, Sonja had wandered the ship before returned to the one place where she always felt welcomed; the ANUBIS' Main Engineering. The redhead had not truly been angry at the Nylaan woman, understanding that after all that she had endured it made more sense for her to seek the quiet comfort of the Chief of Operations rather than to have to deal with the frivolities that would surely be supplied in abundance by the Chief Engineer. That said though, that particular understanding had not completely nullified the stinging sensation the redheaded engineer had been left with.

Whatever the situation might be, the ANUBIS always welcomed her Chief Engineer back without question at least that was when the vessel itself was not figuratively sleeping. Without the rhythmic pulsating energy coursing through the Matter / Antimatter Reaction Assembly, the towering column of the warp core appeared unpleasantly dark and cold, a feeling that extended to the whole of the ship's Main Engineering section and beyond.

Thanks to the chaos created by the alien life form as it shifted from one appearance to another, Sonja had actually forgotten that the heart of the her ship had been made inactive by her own hand. Thanks to that, where some saw the intruder as an interesting distraction, the Chief Engineering Officer saw nothing more than a nuisance that she hoped would be dealt with as quickly as possible.

As Sonja longingly looked at the dark tower of the warp core she momentarily smiled.  Ya'Han, unlike what the Engineer expected Maya to feel, believed the same in regards to the alien intruder. First contact or not, this situation would come to an end not nearly fast enough for the redhead's liking.

"I know that there are a million things that I could be doing," the Chief Engineer noted to herself with a sigh. "Frankly, seeing you like this is depressing me more than I would have expected it to," Sonja added as she extended her hand to touch the cold and inactive warp core. "However fast we get this situation resolved and you back up active won't be fast enough for me."

With that the Chief Engineer made her way to the robotic's lab where she withdrew when she needed to have a few moments to herself. Under normal circumstances the room would have been empty, but this time Sonja walked in to see the imposing Oltharian working on a disassembled ship's avatar.

"What are you doing?" the Chief Engineer exclaimed, the shock of seeing ANI's body scattered throughout the Robotics Lab having been almost more than she could handle at this particular time.

"The same thing that I was doing the last time you were here," Elan replied, sounding as friendly as always. "I did warn you that the upgrades to the Avatar would be extensive and that I would be working as fast as possible. That is why I was forced to take her apart so that I could perform all of the motor-response diagnosis at the same time. It means that I will have to perform and global neuro-processing analysis and re-calibration after but that will actually be faster than my initial plan. The unfortunate drawback of doing it this way though, as you can easily see, is that ANI is not quite herself at the moment."

"Not quite herself? What the frell! " Sonja gasped clearly exasperated by the Oltharian's statement. "*Not quite herself* would be her having a new hairdo or maybe a slightly different appearance. Heck, even a new hair colour would make her appear like someone else, although Ya'Han may not appreciate no longer being the only one able to change her hair colour at will, but I digress.  ANI is scattered across the room in detached pieces. I think that qualifies as being way more than being not 'quite being herself'," the Chief Engineer exclaimed adding the air quotes. There had been no way for anyone to miss the fact that the woman had been several shades past severely upset.

"Please accept my most profound apologies," the Oltharian offered his voice and posture clearly indicating that he had in no way wished to see the Engineer be in such an agitated state. Since his arrival on board the ANUBIS all that the Robotics Engineer had wished for was to help the Chief Engineer in making the avatar be more than she had initially been created to be.

"Don't apologies," Sonja snapped back, pointing an accusing finger at the giant. "Just fix her," she added before spinning around and angrily making her way towards the lab's exit.

"Sonja?" Elan nervously queried, unsure if there was anything he could say to make things better while at the same time worried that he might have injured their working relationship through all this, something that he truly did not wish to see happen.

"I don't want to hear anything more from you, you giant overgrown blue pole," the redhead dismissed without looking back and while both of her hands were cast high above her head in a clear show of desperate disapproval. "First Ya'Han disses me, and then I am made to remember that my ship is asleep which leaves me to seek comfort from who has become nothing more than a dismembered friend. This is truly not my day."

"Where can I reach you when ANI has been restored to full and assembled working condition?" The Oltharian quickly inquired before the woman exited the room, understanding by now that it had been far better to let her go rather than to try and keep the redheaded engineer here with him.

"The way my luck has been going," Sonja sighed. "I'll probably be in my quarters, alone and drinking water because the replicator will have decided that today is a good day for me to stop indulging in my second favorite pass time."

Elan could do nothing but watch as the Chief Engineering Officer stormed away while silently wondering as to what the woman *first* favorite pastime actually was.

"Don't even ask," Sonja angrily added well after having vanished from the Oltharian's sight causing a surprised expression to appear on the giant's features.

=====
Lorraine Paquette

Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
M08-P030: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 02 - 1535 ("Curious on Many Levels")
=-=
"Curious on Many Levels"
[previous post was "Bruised Feelings" by the comically inclined Lorraine]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Jefferies Tube
Stardate: 32016.1535

After having taken on the appearance of the ship's Chief of Operations, it had wandered the maintenance and access corridors known to few on board this strange place. Not only had this allowed the alien life form to further explore environment that it had found itself in, but it also gave it time to think about all that it had seen and experienced thus far.

These weird creatures had been very different from those it had seen while confined in that awful place. All that those creatures had been interested was to see if they could get it to change appearance as they wished. Yes it had complied at first but soon it decided to no longer be the amusing toy they saw it as. In this place though, those it would encounter seemed happy to let it be, offering only a few words when they said any words at all.

As the shape-shifting female, it had discovered a new appreciation for the mysteries around it. Like itself, the woman had been very curious about her surroundings, but her mind as well as the tools at her disposal had allowed for her curiosity to go much further and its own could have ever hoped to. The alien had sampled a strength of will the likes of which it had never considered before when it had taken on the appearance of the other female. Her physical strength had been remarkable, but paled when compared to the driving force that resided deep inside her. It had also learned a great deal about what these creatures referred to as feelings while in that form, something that it had definitely wanted to learn and experience more about.

In its current form though, the knowledge of this *ship* as they called it had increased beyond its ability to understand. So many images flooded its mind that it could barely manage to continue moving, that was why it had required some time to process the knowledge that it had accumulated.  Although not having mastered a complete understanding of the ship or even the knowledge that it had gathered through the numerous forms it had taken, the life form knew where it needed to go so as to obtain the answers it sought. Despite feeling nervous and even a little scared, it began its journey to that location without any further delay.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.1540

Tanith Jones sat peacefully at the flight station, getting better acquainted with her station and the ship that unfortunately was not going anywhere, at least not for a while given the chaos that reigned inside.

The alien life form that had come on board had sure made a mess of things, but thanks to the orders of their Captain to treat this as a first contact had in no way made things easier. Not being as familiar with the ship and crew as she thought had been required, the FCO had been more than happy to stay out of everyone's ways. After all, this was what she had become accustomed to following her long time undercover.

The sound of the turbolift doors drew the woman's attention for a a moment, noticing a man she recognized as Lieutenant Stark coming on. The man, like so many others went about his business without paying the Ensign at the Flight Station any attention. As she was about to return to her getting to know the ship in more depth, the Ensign noted something strange about the mustard-shirted man.

As a Lieutenant and a senior officer of the ANUBIS, one would have expected the man to be confident in his travels through the ship. In the case of Jayson Stark though, this had not been the case, the man appearing as nervous as could be while he made his way to the Operations station. Even once there, he seemed unsure of what to do next, as if the knowledge he needed to use had been only partially accessible.

At first Tanith thought that maybe the man was suffering from some sort of illness, but the more she watched him working at the station, the more the FCO concluded that something else was going on.  Taking into account that the shapeshifter everyone had been looking for could easily taken on the form of anyone it touched, Esign Jones quickly put the pieces of this puzzle together and formed what she considered to be the most likely hypothesis.

The alien was on the bridge appearing as the ship's own Chief of Operations.

Now, using sensors to locate the alien had been useless, but using the same method to confirm the location of a member of the crew had been a brilliant idea. If the sensors confirmed what Tanith was seeing, then the problem would be solved and she would be able to return to her affairs. On the other hand, if the sensors showed there to be no one at the Operations station, this would confirm the presence of the alien life form so close to her.

The non-verbal request was submitted to the computer using the flight control interface and it took only a few seconds for the results to appear confirming what the FCO had suspected from the start. The man who appeared as Lieutenant Jason Stark and who was currently at the Operations station had not been the person in question, but rather the doppelganger everyone had been looking for.

"Bridge to Commander Shar'El," Tanith said in a whispered voice, not wanting to attract the attention of the alien life form who luckily appeared very taken by whatever it was doing at the Operations station.

=/\= Go ahead Ensign, =/\= Shar'El replied, suspecting that something was amiss given the soft spoken manner in which she had been contacted.

"It's here," Ensign Jones stated, glancing over her shoulder to confirm that the alien had indeed not somehow vanished from the last position where she had seen it be. "On the bridge. Not sure what it's trying to do but it has taken on the appearance of Lieutenant Stark and is at his station."

=/\= Keep it busy. Talk to it if you have to, just do something to keep it there, =/\= Shar'El ordered. =/\= We will be right there. =/\=

"Easier said than done," Tanith muttered to herself. At least the alien appeared to be preoccupied by its own affairs, which would make things simpler as long as that continued, which of course it did not.  After only a few seconds the alien life form, appearing a little frustrated, turned away from the Operations station and began to make its way to the turbolift.

"Excuse me, Sir," the FCO smiled as she stood from her station, visibly startling the man who had obviously not noticed her until now. "I do not think we have met," Tanith continued, knowing very well that she had not had the pleasure to speak to either the Chief of Operations or the doppelganger, at least as far sha she knew. "My name if Tanith Jones, Ensign Jones if you want to be more official. I have been assigned to the ANUBIS as the new Flight Control Officer."

ANUBIS, yes it remembered that name but had not understood what it truly was until now. These creatures needed, for an unknown reason to it, to name objects so hat they could more easily refer to specific ones. This *ship* had been named ANUBIS.

"A pleasure to meet you," the life form offered in return. "If you will excuse me, I have to go."

Considering her first efforts to keep the alien on the bridge has a obvious failure, the FCO decided to try something different. After all, she had received direct orders from the Ship's First Officer. "If you have a moment, I would like to ask you a few questions about the systems on board the ANUBIS. She is not like any ship that I have been on, especially given that I have not been on a ship for a long time, and I find myself in need of a helping hand. Since you are the ship's Chief of Operations, I suspect that you know everything there is to know about her, and even a few things that no one else does. Mind helping the new girls on deck?"

Tanith smiled inwardly. Nothing worked quite as well as playing on a man's ego to get things done, at least that had been her experience both before and during her time in deep undercover work. Than again, never had she had to deal with an alien life form able to change appearance, which was why the Ensign made sure to keep a safe distance between them.

"I am sorry," the doppelganger nervously said, looking around the bridge as if expecting something to come leaping out of nowhere to tackle it. "I should be going."

**Keeping a profit hungry Ferengi standing still while in the middle of a market would be easier than his,** Tanith silently sighed to herself.  "Would it be alright if I looked you up later? Maybe we could talk over a drink."

From the basic delay tactics she had jumped to playing on the male ego, and now the desperate Ensign had found herself trying to tap into the more primal instinct of a man. Shape-shifting alien or not, surely it would respond to simpler and more basic drives. At last that was what the FCO had been left hoping for.

That's when the doors to the turbolift opened and Commander Shar'El walked out followed by the Chief of Security. Before either could say or do anything, the life form ran towards the observation lounge, sealing itself behind the door.

"Perfect timing," Tanith announced. "I was running out of ideas to keep him here. If you had not shown up when you did, I might have had to resort to undressing to keep its attention on me instead of leaving."

"Undressing?" Ya'Han said, shooting an evil glare at the woman. Had she just said that she would have been ready to undress in front of Jayson, who actually had not been Jayson.

"Thank you Ensign," Shar'El offered before tapping Ya'Han on the shoulder to have her refocus her attention on the closed door and the alien now trapped behind it. "Now we need to figure out how we proceed with this *first contact*."

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P031: USS ANUBIS: Ya'Han: Day 02 - 1550 ("Through The Door")
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"Through The Door"
[previous post was "Curious On Many Levels"]
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.1550

All joking aside, the search for the alien life form had come to an unexpectedly rapid end. Having avoided detection since its arrival on board, and even after having managed to fool Commander Shar'El not once but twice, Ya'Han had not expected it to be so easily cornered. Either it had become overly confident in its ability to be unnoticed or something else had changed. With all of the knowledge it had obtained through the various forms it had taken, surely it knew that the bridge and observation lounge were dead ends.

"Do we go in?" The Sec/Tac inquired, hoping that the Commander would agree to do so and maybe even authorize Ya'Han to carry a sidearm with her. Up until now, the goal had been to keep the creature from feeling trapped or threatened. Unfortunately, since it had been discovered by multiple people forcing it to seek refuge into the Observation Lounge to avoid any possible confrontations, it was a safe assumption to think that it thought itself to be both trapped and threatened.

"I will go in," Shar'El stated with conviction. "You stay here and make sure that it does not get by me. First contact protocol dictates that the senior most officer present handle the situation. Hopefully I can find a way to make it see that we mean it no harm."

"Commander!" The Sec/Tac immediately objected. "You cannot be serious? As this ship's Chief of Security, I cannot let you go in there alone. We are dealing with a potentially dangerous creature, one capable of not only taking on the appearance of others but also take their knowledge. I understand that it has not physically harmed anyone so far, but we have moved well beyond that in regards to the potential threat it poses to not only this ship and crew but to everyone remotely associated with the ANUBIS. So far, that alien has manage to obtain complete or partial knowledge from Commander Maya, Lieutenant Stark and myself, and likely more that we are yet unaware of. To add your knowledge of the ship's crew and the memories that they have shared with you. Add to this your extensive understanding of the systems of this ship which include everything relating to the IGC, and we are faced with a monumental risk that we simply cannot allow."

As much as Shar'El wanted to argue the point with the Sec/Tac, the First Officer had to concede the fact that the point made had been spot on. The simple thought of seeing the alien take on her own form and waltz into the IGC made the woman consider and accept the argument presented.

"What do you suggest?" Shar'El asked, finding herself on the proverbial fence about following established first contact protocol and insuring the safety of the crew and ship, which unfortunately had already been far more compromised than it should have ever been.

"I will go in," Ya'Han offered without any hesitation. "It has already touched me, so the danger in regards to passing on vital information to it is minimal. Based on the fact that it was me for a period of time, we might find some commonality that will allow it to more easily trust me. If it still appears as Jayson, his feelings for me may again allow for a common ground that I will be able to use to establish a solid line of communication."

"You make it sound like you are a nearly perfect choice for this," Shar'El pointed out with distinct hesitation. "As I recall though, you were dead set against being used as bait. Now you offer yourself freely to meet with the alien. You have to admit that your change of position on this is somewhat confusing."

"True," the bright red haired Nylaan agreed. "That said, the situation is rather different. You wanted me as a woman and someone close to Jayson to be a bait in order to lure it out. Here, I am offering to take your place as the ANUBIS' Sec/Tac based on the fact that the danger to the ship is too great. The overlap between the two positions remains the reason why I am the best choice in either case."

"Alright," the Commander nodded, unable to find any valid point to offer as a counter argument. "I have two questions for you before I allow you to go in there by yourself."

"The first?"

"In your culture, which color represents the diplomatic skills that you have just displayed and expertly used against me?" Shar'El said, actually cracking a faint smile as she did so.

"Interplanetary diplomacy is reserved for the High Sovereign," Ya'Han explained. "Should an enjoy be required to go to another planet, the honor would be bestowed upon the oldest son as part of his training as heir to the throne. Although I do possess the ability through birth right to display the corresponding color, I have never received the required training to be a diplomat for my people."

"You would have made a good diplomat," Shar'El stated. "Your people's loss is our gain."

"You said you had two questions before allowing me to do as I suggested," the Sec/Tac pointed out not wanting to delay this any more than it already had.

"Can you go in there as something else than aa the Chief of Security ready for a fight?" The Commander playfully asked, taking a strand of the Nylaan's hair in her fingers to show the bright red that it had been since the call from Ensign Jones had been received.

Ya'Han drew in a long deep breath, closed her eyes and calmed herself as much as she could. For a brief moment, the Sec/Tac almost wished that Counselor Dima had been here to witness this, so that she could see the progress the Nylaan had made in controlling her emotions, which controlled the color of her hair.  "Is this better?" She asked with a smile after having reopened her eyes.

"Are you sure that this is the right color to use?" Shar'El inquired, curious to see what thought process had been used to reach the decision now being displayed.

"Although purple is the color for diplomacy, it is also the color of royalty. Since it has touched me and taken on my form, I have to go under the assumption hat it knows this and might see my using that color as a way to enforce my authority on it. The white of medicine seemed to not make any sense while the blue of science might be interpreted as my approaching the situation as some sort of curiosity needing to be investigated and researched. Green would have simply made things too weird for me, especially if the alien is still appearing as Jayson, so i was left with this as the only alternative," Ya'Han carefully detailed.

"You hope that by presenting yourself with black hair that it will not see you as a threat?"

"That is my hope," the Sec/Tac confirmed.

"Good luck," Shar'El said as she took one large step back to clear the path for the Sec/Tac to walk into the Observation Lounge and confront the alien life form in what everyone hoped would be a peaceful and uneventful meeting.

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Hanali Han

Lieutenant JG Ya'Han [Access Character BIO for Ya'Han]
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P032: USS ANUBIS: Dima & Jones: Day 2 - 1555 ("Liaison")
“Liaison”
(Continued from “Through the Door”)

=/\=
“First seek to understand, then to be understood.”
-Steven Covey

=/\=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Observation Lounge
Stardate: 32016.1555
Time Index: Moments before before Ya’Han enters

The being who was in the form of Jayson Stark heard and saw the door close, but realized too late there was no egress from the large conference area. The room was different than most of the other places it had explored. There was less in the way of devices, not like the other room it had just left. That room, or the Bridge as it thought it was called, had been nearly full of systems with things to watch, push, and explore. This room, in contrast, had only an interface on the wall near the door, a couple of other built ins which were meant to dispense nourishment for the others, and a large flat surface surrounded by seating.

It turned to the transparent aluminum windows that flanked the room. The almost panoramic view made the gel-like life form stop in its tracks. The size of the space station was massive, with multiple elevations and various lights teeming from each deck. It seemed to dwarf the vessel it had escaped to after leaving the room it had been held captive in for so very long. It had been there all that time and never understood the stimuli it had been missing. The input it craved had been right outside the sterile and cold lab that had become its prison.

The alien who looked like Jayson sank into a chair, frustrated and sad. It looked down at the floor, not sure what its next move could be or should be.

Ya’Han entered the room with stealth, making sure there was no way the creature could leave.  But she needn’t have worried; alt-Jayson was sitting there, looking dejected and not exactly the most attentive at her arrival. She knew it was the alien life form, but she felt herself smiling as the mannerisms reminded her of Jayson.

“We mean you no harm,” she began, and the being responded with a startled shudder. “Please, relax, I carry no weapons,” the Sec/Tac volunteered, standing still in an effort to prevent it from feeling as though it were being chased. Her ebony hair swung as she raised her hands to show they were empty and she had no holstered phasers.

“What is your intent?”

Ya’Han carefully lowered herself into the chair nearest the door, with the hope that it would not feel threatened. “I could ask you the same question.”

“What is your intent?” it asked again.

“Our purpose, the purpose of Starfleet, is to seek out new life and new civilizations. You are a new life form to us, therefore we wish to learn more about you. Isn’t that what you have been doing since you boarded the ship and assumed the appearances of several of us- to learn more about us?”

Alt-Jayson looked troubled somehow. “I have been the one for a long time.”

“The one?”

“Without others of my kind… one.”

“Oh, you mean alone.”

“No, there have been the... people in the white coats.”

Ya’Han squirmed a little in her seat. There was the possibility that the being was trying to manipulate her into feeling sorry for it. It was hard to believe that the entity was under lock and key unless it was some sort of threat.

“I do not completely understand time and its passing but I feel like I have been poked at and prodded for an eternity. I do not know what the men wish from me.”

“What do you want with us?”

“The chance to learn new things was… not expected. But it is very pleasant. Your vessels are similar and yet also different.”

“Vessels?”

It gestured to Stark’s physical form. “This is a vessel.”

“Our bodies.”

“Yes. They are not practical, but the sensation of taking in and expelling air, absorbing nutrients, removal of waste, they are... interesting to experience.”

“You didn’t completely answer my question. What do you want?”

“I ask for asylum from the white coats that have impacted my freedoms.” Alt-Jayson stood and paced around the room, pausing occasionally to view the station in all its grandeur. “And I want to go to a place where I am able to interact with life forms of all kinds, so that I may learn and grow.”

“I can relay your message, but I do not have the authority to grant your requests.”

“I understand. There is one last request that you *are* able to fulfill.” It gazed at her thoughtfully, edging closer to her.

Ya’Han gripped the arms of the chair she was sitting in as the alien continued to draw nearer. She recalled what Shar’El had said about being ‘bait’ and she had never felt closer to that than right now. “What is it?” she asked.

“I wish to be you once more, and to be with the one called Stark. There is a closeness between the both of you that is rare and unlike something I have encountered.”

Ya’Han tried not to let the creature’s words shock her as she triggered a small hypospray the ILO had given her, one that was camouflaged in a bracelet on her wrist. The blend of stimulants was designed to prevent her being taken over by the being’s ability, but given there was only one of the gelatinous alien that they knew of, this had yet to be tested. Until now.

=/\=
Setting: Bridge

Nicole entered from the turbolift to find Shar’El and the new FCO, Tanith Jones, standing outside the Observation Lounge. The Counsellor had come from Sickbay, trying to gather any information she could from those who had experienced being overtaken by their visitor, when she was alerted of the somewhat tense situation. “Any new developments?”

The Ullian ExO/ILO shook her head. “Not since I contacted you. Ya’Han is with it now, trying to understand its purpose. We didn’t want to overwhelm or frighten it any more than it already is. At this time, its curiosity appears much greater than any desire for violence.”

Ensign Dima tilted her head to one side in thought. “We have to demonstrate that we want to learn more from it and that we are not trying to trap it.”

Shar’El carefully considered this as she gestured to the comm link panel. “We can communicate with them verbally. Would that help?”

“Maybe. He, or It, did seem to understand language, if not the finer details of expressing himself while I was trying to stall him,” Tanith added.

The petite Counsellor nodded. “Yes, however, the longer the entity is in there with only Ya’Han, the more likely they may think we are planning an ambush, or some other threat while thinking she was only brought in as a distraction. And in reality, the only skill it has shown us is the ability to assume another person’s form. It hasn’t deliberately hurt anyone.”

“So we send some more people in, show we don’t intend to attack. It needs to be someone non-threatening, which means-” Tanith lazily gestured towards Ensign Dima. “The counselor. In other words, not scary.”

Nic looked at the new addition to the Anubis crew, not sure if “not being scary” was a compliment, but deciding under the circumstances that it probably was. Shar’El looked skeptical. Nicole didn’t have any common ground with the being, so it would be like sending in a stranger. The second in command wasn’t sure if that was a solid strategy.

“Commander, listen, if it makes you feel any better, I’ll go in with her,” Tanith said with a yawn. The Ullian stared doubtfully at the other woman, who blinked sleepily back at her, and ran a hand through her mussed hair. “I’m… unobtrusive. I can let the counselor do her work without being disruptive. And I have a soothing voice, so I’ve been told. This one time, I was in a tight spot with a couple of mercenaries- well, I guess we don’t really have time for that story right now- but anyway, long story short I talked them to sleep and was able to escape.”

Shar’El thought about this for a few moments. Utilizing three of the senior staff against one being constituted a large amount of resources. But diffusing a situation hadn’t usually been Ya’Han’s strong point, unless by diffusing one meant using her physical prowess to subdue her attacker, something she knew they did not want to do. The Ullian woman relented. “Okay.”

The two junior officers looked at each other, then approached the door, flanking either side as to gain quick entry.

=/\=
Setting: Observation Lounge

No sooner than Tanith and Nicole had crossed the threshhold between the Bridge and Observation area did they notice something was terribly amiss.

Ya’Han was standing on the left side of the room, looking confused, and about six feet away stood… Ya’Han.

“Counsellor,” one said to Nicole in a pleading tone

“Ensign Jones,” the other said to the FCO in pretty much the same way.

The joined Trill couldn’t tell a difference visually, even though it was pretty obvious one of them had to be the shapeshifter and the other the genuine daughter of the High Sovereign and their Sec/Tac. “Two of them? How is that possible?”

“I really don’t know,” Tanith answered back.

=/\=
A joint post by

Susan Ledbetter
Writing for

Chief Counselor
USS ANUBIS NCC-18501

And

Alix Fowler

Flight Control Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P033: USS ANUBIS: Stark: Day 02 - 1613 ("Him, Her and Her")
"Him, Her and Her"
[previous "Liaison"]

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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Turbolift
Stardate: 32016.1613

It had taken long enough for him to be released from Sickbay. In a way, he had hoped that his charms and compliance had been the reason why he had been permitted to walk out as he had, but something told him otherwise. The way Doctor Doyanne had looked at him hinted to there having been something amiss, and the shortness of her replies to his questions made it perfectly clear that she had not been ready to more than she had.

Her only suggestion had been for him to return to his post on the bridge. Given that he ANUBIS was docked inside NEW ALEXANDRIA, and they were dealing with an alien intruder, the idea of him going back to his post for no specific reason had been odd. As strange as it might have seemed though, Jayson found himself heading to the command deck without delay.  During the journey, all he could do was to hope that everything was alright with Ya'Han. After all that had happened with the life form while it had impersonated their Chief of Security, there was no telling what the real 'Red Dragon' would be capable of.

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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.1615

The moment he set foot on the bridge, he knew that something was up. The expression on the Commander's face hinted to thing not having gone the way she had expected, whatever that might have been.

"Where is Ya'Han? Is she alright?"

Maybe he had jumped the gun and allowed some sort of paranoia to take over. It was no secret that he cared for the woman, but still his feelings should not have made him consider the worst possible outcome without taking into account whom he had been concerned for. Let's face it, of those on board the USS ANUBI, Ya'Han had been by far one of the ones most capable of taking care of herself no matter the situation. The nickname of 'Red Dragon' had been well earned, and he had numerous bruises to attest to that fact.

"She's fine," Shar'El said, casting her gaze towards the observation lounge.

Not seeing anything that would have hinted that he had not been permitted to enter that particular room, Jayson slowly made his way in. First thing he noticed were the backs of Counsellor Dima and their new FCO, Ensign Jones. They seemed very interested in something or someone ahead of them. That's when he noticed her, and her.

"What the..."

"Jayson," the two Ya'Han said in near unison, one sounding happy while the other seemed tiered.

He froze in his step as he processed the sight. Had this been a dream come true or his worst possible nightmare come to life?

"It appears that our guest took on Ya'Han's likeness, again," Nicole said. "By the looks of things this happened with her permission," the Counsellor further explained.

Jayson had been about to ask as to which was which but he quickly held his tongue. This would be the test he needed to pass in order to prove to the real Ya'Han that he was able to figure things out. To show her that he could not be so easily fooled by simple appearance, but in his defence, the alien life form did possess the memories, even if only in part, of the person it took the appearance of.

"I am glad that you are here," one of the two Nylaan said. Last time he had been fooled by the intruder, it had portrayed itself with black hair. Unfortunately, both women now in front of him had the exact same hair. So, was the one who had just professed her joy at seeing him been the real Ya'Han or the gelatinous copy?

Jayson hated himself for not being able to pick out the real Ya'Han without any effort. They had spent enough time together, shared so much with one another, how could he not be able to tell her apart from the alien? Trying to think things through, the OPS officer figured that the Nylaan who had just spoken had to be alien. It had shown a certain attraction to him, hopefully tapping into the feelings of the real Ya'Han. That said though, there was a possibility of the genuine woman being happy to seeing him here after having taught the alien a lesson in regards of what it meant to be her.

Although the debate happened in his mind in less than a single heartbeat, he felt time stretching into minutes and hours. Things became even more intense when he realised that both Ya'Han had been looking at him, silently urging him to make a decision. As simple as all of this should have been, Jayson knew that his life depended on whether or not he would make the right call.

Making the right decision would possibly lead to the alien feeling confused, maybe even hurt, but that was part of the human experience that it had wanted to explore. Making the wrong choice would have far more serious consequences, especially for him. It was easy to imagine that the real Ya'Han you forgo being hurt and jump directly into an angered rage that would make her new nickname appear to having been a drastic understatement. Even if Jayson managed to initially survive this, he knew that the price he would be made to pay for that mistake would be stretched out into the rest of his natural life, if not beyond.

"Jayson?" they both asked at the same time and almost in the same tone, as if the situation had not been difficult enough for the OPS officer. However long he had taken to make the call had been too long, everyone had picked up on his uncertainty and hesitation. Maybe he would be able to pass it on as having been caused by the shock of seeing twins where none had been expected, but in order to pull that off he needed to make a final decision now.

The Nylaan who had smiled upon his arrival stood by the large window, a confused expression on her face while the other black-haired woman sat at the table, her confusion bordering and disappointment.

"Are you alright?" He asked of Ya'Han, the one sitting at the conference table, coming closer to meet her gaze with his.

"Depends," she muttered, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly as she stared into his soul.

"I know it's you," he offered with a faint smile. It was only following the silence that followed that he understood what he had done wrong. It was not that he had made an erroneous decision, but rather that he had managed to keep his statements as neutral as could be.  He could have inquired as to the alien's well being just as easily as he would have asked the question of her, and his reply to the 'depends' had also been a non-committal offer. To claim that he knew who she was could be interpreted in either way. "I mean that I know that you are the real Ya'Han, this despite you having black hair, something that you don't usually do for reasons that you have explained to me.

The decision had been made, now all he could do was to see if he was right. The odds had been in his favor, or at least that was what he believed. His luck not having been all that great though, the possibility of him having made a dangerous mistake still hung over his head.

"You got lucky," Ya'Han grinned as she wrapped her arms around the man's neck glad to see that he had passed the test, not that the situation had been advertised as such.

"What do we do now?" Tanith asked, seeing the confusion on the other Ya'Han grow even deeper as the alien tried to make sense of what it was witnessing.

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Jayson Sousa

Lieutenant JG Jayson Stark [Access Character BIO for Jayson Stark]
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P034: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 02 - 1630 ("Gracious Host")
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"Gracious Host"
[previous post was "Him, Her ad Her" by the safe Jayson]
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Observation Lounge
Stardate: 32016.1630

Life in Starfleet was unexpected at the best of times. One moment you could be heading down to a moon for some basic training and the next you would find yourself caught in the middle of a war opposing two interdimensional species. Nothing was ever simple or ended the way that might have been expected, and as annoying as that might be, it was part of the thrill of being part of such an organization. You never knew what would happen next.

Their latest situation had been no different in that regards. The ship had found itself to be the hiding place of a shapeshifting alien life form who had been impossible to track. Then, in what appeared to be the blink of an eye, the majority of the senior officers had gathered around the same intruder opening first contact talks as if everything else that had taken place had been as normal as could be.

Well, as normal as could be expected while having two Chief of Security sitting at the conference table set inside the observation lounge.

"There is so much to learn about all of this," the alien said. As strange as it was to see and hear Ya'Han speak in this way, it was even more unsettling to see the Chief of Security sitting across from the other, Jayson not daring to leave her side for fear that he might have to make his earlier choice all over again.

"Learning about others is also our goal," the ExO / ILO explained. "The organization we belong to, Starfleet, deals with many different aspects of life in space. Exploration and discovery of new life form is among our highest goal, and it is always our greatest hope that we can share knowledge.

"Those in white coats were not interested in sharing," the life form sadly pointed out. "All they wanted was to take, never giving."

"We are all truly sorry about that," Counsellor Dima jumped in, seeing that the conversation would require a more trained hand at this. As a joint Trill with several lifetime of experiences and her latest host's training in this field, it made sense for Nicole to smooth things as best she could. "Please do not judge the whole by the actions of some of is parts," she pleaded. "We do not all follow the same methods. Some, due to personal experiences or different reasons to seek this knowledge may act against the rules set by the whole. We truly mean you no harm."

"I know this now," the life form still in the form of their Chief of Security said. "The more I understand the memories of those I touched, the more I see how different you each are from one another. There is still a lot that I do not understand though," the other Ya'Han said, casting her eyes onto Jayson, hinting to some of the unanswered questions it still had.

"We would be happy to help you understand more about us and our world," the ExO / ILO offered. "We have many questions that we would like answered as well. I am sure that our Chief Science Officer has an extensive list of questions she would like to ask you about your world and the method by which you are able to transform as you do."

"Maya," the other Ya'Han said as if recalling a distant memory. "The name of the woman you are speaking of is Maya. She is also a shapeshifter and was the one remained unconscious after we touched."

Nicole quickly noticed that the alien's posture and expression had changed to reflect fear and concerned, as if what had happened to the Shillian would in some way be held against it. The life form understood very well emotions such as fear, but it had never before had to deal with anger as it had been made to see it through the memories of others.

"You have nothing to be concerned about," Nicole reassured, seeing the distinct signs on the other Ya'Han's face. "Maya is in many ways very much like you. She is very curious about the world and people around us and I am sure that she holds no malice towards you for what happened. In fact, from what we have been able to gather, it was thanks to you that she woke up from the state that she found herself in."

"I never meant to hurt her," the alien explained apologetically. "I never expected her body to react the way it did. She was the first of her kind, away and unable to return to her home as I am."

"Has your home planet also been destroyed?" Shar'El inquired, thinking that the similarities between the two shapeshifters had already been amazing.

"Destroyed?" the other Ya'Han repeated. Yes, through the memories of others it knew the word and even might have had a faint understanding of its meaning, but that left it far from being able to visualize the significance of having one's world vanish to never again be visited or seen.

"Let's just say that it is something that in time we might be able to explain," Counsellor Dima offered thinking it best to avoid such a discussion for the time being.  "If Commander Shar'El will permit it, maybe we could show you the ship and introduce you to the crew. That way you would get to learn more without having to fear being discovered.  We would be able to share knowledge and we could answer each other's questions. Would that be all right?"

"Although the question had been directed to the ExO / ILO, the Counsellor had expertly presented it so that the alien life form understood that it too had a say in the matter. As great as this possible exchange of information may appear to be, it was not something that the alien life form would be forced into. Obviously, it had been forced into far more than it should have prior to finding refuge on board the ANUBIS, and following the orders of Captain Morningstar, they needed to treat this situation as delicately as possible.

So far though, first contact seemed to be going well, thanks to the lines of communication having been opened. The challenge now was to see this fledgling trust grow, not through empty promises but through actual actions, something that Shar'El appeared to be willing to do. Given that the Shillian had been unable to look into the memories of the alien life form, any gathering of knowledge would have to be done the old fashion way.

"I am sure that many members of the senior staff would be delighted to meet you," the ExO / ILO stated, confirming her being on board with the plan suggested by the Counsellor. "As I am sure that you will have many questions for them, they will have just as many for you. I hope that you will not mind this."

"You are as curious about me as I am about you," the other Ya'Han said. "I understand this and will answer your questions," it said before suddenly turning to face the couple sitting on the other side of the table. "What is the significance of a kiss?" It asked, obviously directing the query to Ya'Han and Jayson. "Why is there so many memories of you touching in that manner? Is it how you create new, smaller vessels?"

"What?" Jayson gasped.

"No," Ya'Han stated, appearing just as shocked as the man sitting next to her.

"That question might be better left for Doctor Doyanne," Shar'El offered, trying to divert the focus away from the couple. As unexpected at this was though, the ExO / ILO had to admit that she enjoyed seeing the cheeks of the two officers become as red as the Nylaan's hair became when she was faced with a situation that required her particular skills and training as Chief of Security.

"Let's just say that the process of creating a new vessel is slightly more complicated," Nicole vaguely explained, looking forward to see how Lillie would handle this particular matter. In the name of sharing information, there had been no reason why the CMO needed to be kept out of the loop or shielded from the juicier questions.

"Well then," the ExO / ILO said as she stood from the chair she had been sitting in. "If you are up for it, we can go now. There is an entire ship to visit and a great many people who would love to meet you."

The other Ya'Han appeared a little hesitant at first, fearing the reaction that its presence might cause, but after all that had been sad to it, confirmed by many of the memories that it had taken and knowledge it had gathered, the opportunity to learn more than it hd ever before was simple too great to shy away from at this point.

"Thank you," it offered with a smile. "I would be happy to actually meet and speak to others so that I can learn more."

"Where should we go first?" Nicole asked. "Dropping in on Maya now would make the most sense but it would lock us in for several hours."

"Hours?" Shar'El echoed with a chuckle. "We would be lucky if that meeting lasted a few *days*. We could go to Sickbay and see Doctor Doyanne and let's not forget Main Engineering with Lieutenant Paquette. There are many areas and people that we need to visit, what we have to figure out is in which order we are going to do this."

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P035: USS ANUBIS: Ya'Han: Day 02 - 1645 ("Another Sister")
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"Another Sister"
[previous post was "Gracious Host"]
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Corridor
Stardate: 32016.1645

It was strange to see herself walking ahead of where she actually was, like some sort of weird dream or an out-of-body experience. Seeing the other Ya'Han talking to Commander Shar'El and Counsellor Dima as they walked made the scene that much more surreal. What it the Nylaan Sec/Tac standing there or was the person from whom this point of view originated been the real Chief of Security for the USS ANUBIS?

"You'll be all right," Jayson said, holding on to the arm of the red and black-haired woman. Ya'Han had changed her hair color to help set herself apart from the other 'her', at least for everyone else's sake. The haze that still filled her thoughts though made it that much more demanding for the woman walking in the back to make the distinction.

Ya'Han recalled something that had been mentioned in one of her philosophy classes at the Academy, a quote from an EARTH author, which claimed that "Travel far enough, you meet yourself". At that time, those words had meant little, but now that simple quote had become something to be revisited. Part of the Sec/Tac knew that the alien life form had not been her, but looking at the way it walked and stood had been just too much to simply be dismissed. The other Ya'Han looked and sounded exactly like the real deal.

"Were you really able to tell us apart or did you just get lucky?" She asked of the man walking by her side. Ya'Han could recall with ease the confused expression on the man's face when he walked in and was later ben forced to make a decision. There was no hiding the fact that she had been more than pleased with his ability to tell them apart, but the Sec/Tac still was curious as to how Jayson had made his final selection.

"You were sitting while she was standing," Jayson casually explained. "Having been touched by her, I remember how draining it was, making it nearly impossible to stand, so it made sense that you, as the real Ya'Han, be the one sitting and trying to recuperate from that contact." He paused for a moment to add a reassuring smile. There might have been any reason to gloat but he was not able to let his success go without being acknowledge in some way. "The fact that she was happy to see me was another huge hint. You would never have been that happy, not unless you had just flipped me on my back while in the ship's gymnasium."

"Do you truly believe that I enjoy flipping you like that while we train?" Ya'Han asked, looking at Jayson with uncertainty. "Do you think I do that for fun or because I get some perverse pleasure in hurting you?"

"Yes," he admitted with a chuckle. "I'm pretty sure you love it, and that is why you never waste a chance to do it. That fire in your eyes is also something that was missing in the way she looked at me. The comfort we share beyond words and actions was absent; she was looking at me as if the two of us had not shared all of the things you and I have. When she looked at me from across the table, it was impossible to miss that there was something missing in her eyes."

"Is that so?" the Sec/Tac muttered, "So why did you hesitate for so long?" Ya'Han added before returning her gaze onto the solid black-haired woman walking ahead of her. "I also noticed something interesting, fact that you have been referring to the alien as *her* since we have started talking. Remember, before Nicole, Tanith and yourself came into the observation lounge, *she* was a *he*, and that *he* was *you*."

Jayson instantly fell silent as he contemplated that thought and image. How weird would it have been for him to walk in and see the alien life form as if he had been staring into a mirror? For a moment, he began to understand what Ya'Han had likely been experiencing by being so close to herself like this. Staring at a reflection was one thing, to look at someone else and seeing yourself looking back had to be an entirely different matter.

As they continued walking, Ya'Han found her mind drifting to another Nylaan woman, one that she never had the chance or pleasure to actually get to know. There had been a certain odd feeling in coming face-to-face with a sister she had known nothing about, a feeling that she experienced again in some strange way. The situation had been completely different here, but still the black and red-haired woman could not help but look at the alien life form with the same general confusion and wonder. The sensation proved to be even more powerful given that the latest Nylaan woman she had set her eyes upon had appeared, moved and even sounded exactly like her.

While speaking with Nicole about what had happened on MARKALA PRIME, which had led to the death of her sister, Ya'Han had mentioned how interesting it would have been to learn about her own father and family from a woman she had never known existed. In this case, the questions would have been directed more towards herself, allowing the Sec/Tac to learn more about the person she had become from someone who wanted to discover as much as possible about everything. Having taken on her appearance and knowledge would certainly allow the alien to possess a unique and fresh perspective on the life that the self-exiled daughter of the High Sovereign had forged for herself.

"You seem very taken by her," Jayson said before quickly correcting himself, "I mean taken by *it*."

"It's all right," Ya'Han dismissed. "Trust me, this is a lot stranger for me than it is for you. I am looking at myself walking ahead of me, wondering if this life form is just a replicate of what I look like or if there is truly more to it. How many of my memories does it have and is there more of who I am in there beyond what we see? The way she smiled at you was more than a display of recognition, she felt something, a deeply rooted emotion that deals with you specifically and I am just wondering what it is exactly? She wanted to be me in order to experience the emotions that I have for you because it doesn't know them."

"Nothing happened," Jayson quickly said in his own defence before the words of the Sec/Tac actually registered in his mind. "Wait, what? The emotions that you have for me?" he added, unable to contain the beaming smile that came to light up his face. Through all of her activities, through all of the time they had spent together, Ya'Han had never admitted to having feelings for him. The hints were there, that could not be denied, but never had she verbally confirmed this to him or anyone else.

"Don't let it get to your head," she teased. The truth was that showing any type of outward affection had not been something the daughter of the High Sovereign had actually received any sort of classes for. Added to this the manner in which she had escaped from her home world had meant that any display of emotion would be interpreted by others as a show of weakness making her an easier target than she already had been.

"I won't let it go to my head," Jayson grinned back. "At least I will try my best. That said though and for the record, you just called *it* a *she* as well. I think that *she* is growing on you. Like the twin sister you never had," he continued, only realizing after the fact that he had likely mentioned something that would hit Ya'Han on a very sensitive point. The Nylaan woman never seemed to have anything nice to say about her family as a whole, that was when she actually said something about them at all. The subject had clearly been taboo for obvious reasons which Jayson had been more than happy to respect.

Ya'Han took in a slow, deep breath as she gathered her thoughts before actually allowing a faint smile to appear on her lips, a reaction that took her companion by complete surprise. From a family of 12 other siblings, she had become a loner, a runaway desperately trying to survive in a world that quickly shown itself to cruel and unforgiving. Maybe, just maybe, things would have been different had she had a twin sister by her side during all those lonely days sitting at the back of some dirty cargo hold.  Then again, it would have been more likely that any *twin* of hers would have suffered just as much, both before their escape as well as during, and that the Nylaan found herself unable to accept as something she would have allowed.

The Sec/Tac smiled again as she discovered something even more interesting. Ya'Han had without having realized it, gone from not trusting the alien life form who had found its way on board the ANUBI to actually considering it as possibly being an honorary member of her family. Granted the reason for this change of heart had been entirely selfish but the fact remained that this was how the black and red-haired Nylaan found herself handling the situation of seeing herself walking in front of her as if this had been perfectly normal.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han

Lieutenant JG Ya'Han [Access Character BIO for Ya'Han]
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P036: USS ANUBIS: Maya: Day 02 - 1700 ("Scientific Curiosity")
---
"Scientific Curiosity"
(Previous Post: "Another Sister")
---

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Exo-Biology Laboratory
Stardate: 32016.1700

"Glad you are here," Maya announced as Commander Shar'El and several other members of the senior staff entered the science lab. "There are a few ideas that I wanted your opinion on. Although we do have some basic information about the alien life form, such as its being invisible to our sensors and of course its shape-shifting skills, we know very little about it as a living organism. I mean, let's face it, we can't even confirm that it is a carbon-based life form, let alone understand what kind of cellular transformation matrix it uses. The simple fact that it is able to take on the appearance of an entity by simple physical contact hints to our intruder possessing a highly sensitive and developed tactical and possibly neurological system."

"Maya?" Shar'El said trying to interrupt the train of thought of the Shillian Chief Science Office.

"Yes you are right," the scientist continued as if the Commander had said something completely different.  "That is why I have been working on trying to isolate the living environment of the alien life form. Again, there was not a lot of data available so I had to extrapolate quite a bit while adding some educated guesses to fill in the remaining blanks. Still, I believe that I have been successful in getting the list of possible environments down to a more manageable size. The current 38 variations may seem large but given that the initial list started with several hundred I think we have made some notable progress. What I need now is your opinion as to which you, as well as the others of course, might believe to be more likely. That said, you will notice that I am not yet trying to associate actual known worlds to these environments as there is still a mathematical probability that the life form could have originated from another dimension. Of course this would only exponentially increase the possibilities that we would have to explore and consider, and that is taking into account that this other dimension actually follows our most basic environmental rules. Imagine if our intruder came from the dimension from which Species 8472 came from, or one very similar to it. We are still trying to figure out the most basic concepts of fluidic space. Now, if we could manage to get an actual scan of the intruder we would be able to further reduce the list of possibilities, or at the very least narrow down the chances of it having come from another dimension, but I am guessing that getting that scan may not happen for a while."

The other Ya'Han blinked several times as the alien life form looked at the First Officer before turning to repeat the gesture while facing Counsellor Dima. Needless to say that the verbal barrage had proven to be more than the other Ya'han could have ever experienced.

"Yes," Shar'El softly said while grinning and nodding her head in mild amusement, "that is the way she normally is, especially when faced with a unique mystery." The Commander smiled and moved closer to the verbose scientist, placing her hand on the shoulder of the Shillian to insure that the group would be given her fullest attention. "Commander Maya, there is someone here that might be able to answer some of your questions. I believe that this would go a long way to further reduce your list of possible environments."

Intrigued,  the Chief Science Officer turned to fully face the woman and quickly noticed the black-haired Nylaan standing next to the Commander. "Off course," the Shillian exclaimed, "since you were one of the last individuals touched by the alien, so that it could copy your appearance, it is possible that your body could have residual bio-energy from the life form. I could scan your body, and after comparing that scan with you last transporter record I should be able to identify any abnormal residual energy that would have been left behind. By the way, the black hair does suit you well, you should use it more often. Now, if you would stand still for a moment, I will calibrate the instruments to perform a full bio-scan. I am sure that i do not need to tell you to remain still while I do this, as I will need the data collected to be as precise as possible in order to have an accurate comparative base against the transporter record."

"Maya," the First Officer sighed in exasperation. "You could just ask her, she is..." Shar'El continued before being interrupted by an overly excited Chief Science Officer.

"Ask you?" The Shillian inquired as she suddenly looked straight into the eyes of the black-haired Nylaan.  "Do you actually remember the moment that the alien life form physically made contact? I for one am unable to recall that specific moment and believed it to be some sort of side effect to the bio-energy discharge it must use to shield the target from sensors. Anyway, was there some if of knowledge exchange between the two of you? So far we have considered this transfer of knowledge to be unilateral in the favour of the intruder but if it is indeed bilateral, this could prove immensely useful at helping us figure out what the life form is and how to find it while it is on the ANUBIS. It would be amazing to be able to get even the smallest idea as to how the intruder actually thinks, not only about us but about the environment that it is currently in. Is the inside of the ANUBIS familiar in any way or was this the first time it ever found itself having to deal with technological surroundings? Just knowing if this was the first time in an oxygen atmosphere would be of tremendous help in my research."

"The alien is closer than you realize Commander," the Nylaan with the black and red hair said from the back making the Chief Science Officer realize after a few seconds that there were actually two Ya'Han in the room.

"What? How? Is this a trick? Which one of you is the real one?" The Shillian inquired, evidently flustered by what she had just discovered, not that the hints had not been right there in front of her this entire time. "Never mind, it has to be you. The black hair, the expression in your eyes. I can see the thirst for knowledge although you do seem to be a little tired. Does taking on the appearance of someone else cause you to experience some sort of fatigue? I know that for me, the act of transformation can be very demanding, and it was only through a great deal of practice that I was able to increase the length of time I am able to maintain my chosen form. Do you have the same time restriction, and if so is it based on increased physiological requirements or because of something else? I mean, there are hundreds of possible reasons why a shape-shifter might be forced back into their original form or to take on another shape," Maya unleashed before turning her attention onto Commander Shar'El to continue. "How did you manage this? Did you trick it through some other means that scientific curiosity?"

"No tricks were used," Commander Shar'El happily confirmed. "We made first contact in the observation lounge and we are now showing our guest around the ship in the hope of establishing an exchange of information and knowledge. We thought that it would be nice to start here. As a shape-shifter yourself, as well as a woman of great scientific curiosity, it seemed to be the logical choice. I am sure that the two of you would have a great deal to talk about."

"Indeed," Maya said, the shortness of her statement causing several amongst those present to wonder if this might have been a bad idea. The goal had been to show the alien life form that they meant it no harm and simply wish to engage in an exchange of knowledge. Hopefully meeting the Shillian in this way would not lead to their guest to believe that it was being put through some sort of interrogation or torture as some of the other officers would have been quick to claim.

The other Ya'Han gave the Commander and Counsellor a quick glance as it was being escorted deeper into the Exo-Biology Laboratory by a nearly silent Chief Science Officer.

"This might not have been such a great idea," Nicole stated as she leaned in towards the First Officer.

"I am starting to see that," Shar'El agreed, hoping that the situation could still be salvaged in some way.

---
Jessica Solarik

Lieutenant Commander Maya [Access Character BIO for Maya]
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS

&

Captain Selene Fiona Iverson [Access Character BIO for Selene Iverson]
Commanding Officer
USS BASTET

"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
M08-P037: USS ANUBIS: Paquette: Day 02 - 1930 ("Old Movies")
"Old Movies"
previous post was "Scientific Curiosity"

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Main Engineering
Stardate: 32016.1930

Thanks to the help and expertise in the field of robotics of the Oltharian giant, the Avatar had been restored to her complete reassembled self much faster than had been anticipated. In retrospect though, having the redhead Chief Engineer constantly nagging at the towering engineer to get things done faster might have had something to do in the established scheduled having been surpassed.

"THROW THE SWITCH!" Sonja called out in a maniacal manner, mimicking some of the old horror/science fiction movies she had once seen. The Chief Engineer had expected some sort of reaction, but instead the giant Oltharian said nothing, only looking back at the woman in a perplexed manner that indicated he had no base of reference allowing him to understand what it was the woman had wanted to do with her outburst.

"You've got to be kidding me?" Sonja gasped in disbelief. "Young Frankenstein?" She asked drawing nothing more than a faint shake of the towering man's head. "I would even accept you having only seen 'Igor'. As much as it may not be my style of entertainment, I can easily see you enjoying it if only based on the similarities between you and 'Eva'. Let's face it, you are both oversized and as harmless as it gets."

"I am sorry, but I still do not have any idea as to what you are speaking about," Elan admitted, clearly feeling bad for not having understood the significance of the Chief Engineer's words and actions.

"You and I will need to sit down and have a lengthy discussion about the obvious lack in your education," Sonja huffed as she pressed a control on the nearby panel which instantly made the Avatar come to life.

"ALIVE! She's ALIVE!" Sonja said using the same tone and exuberance as before, this time targeting ANI with the movie reference.

"Surely you believe me to be more than a simple clockwork automaton," the Avatar offered to the Chief Engineer. "Also I would like to point out that despite the complexity of my inner components, I do not fit the official definition of being 'alive'. The best that you would be able to claim is that I am an extension of the ANUBIS' computer able to function independently thus allowing for a wider range of interaction with the crew."

"Why do I bother?" The redhead Engineer huffed in despair as she made her way to the robotics diagnostic station.

"She seems upset," ANI stated to Elan who had come to stand next to the unclothed Avatar.

"She might simply be tired," the Oltharian theorized. "We have been working on completing your upgrade at quite an accelerated rate."

The Avatar tilted her head suddenly, as if she had been receiving some sort of remote message. "Commander Shar'El and several other members of the senior staff are heading this way," she announced. A few seconds later the doors to the Robotics lab opened allowing the First Officer and her group to enter

"I hope that this is not a bad time?" Shar'El asked, scanning the room knowing that the Chief Engineer had been present, somewhere. "We are giving our guest a tour of the ship and thought you might want to explain some of the mechanics behind our propulsion system." The First Officer paused for a moment before continuing, "Nothing classified of course."

"First, I am not some tour guide, or an Academy Engineering instructor," Sonja objected looking directly at the First Officer. "Second," she continued having turned her attention to the other Ya'Han, "Why the black hair? Did Jayson say or do something? Nevermind, the question should be *what* did he say or do, and how do you want me to make him pay for it?"

"It was not my doing," the Chief of Operations stated from the back of the group causing Sonja to look in his direction to see a black and red-haired Chief of Security standing next to him.

"Oh!" Sonja softly gasped as she refocused her attention onto the other Ya'Han, understanding that their *guest* had been the intruder they had all been so desperately searching for and that it had currently been in the form of their Chief of Security. "Sorry, I was not expecting any visitors," the Chief Engineer said in a clearly displeased tone as she turned to look at their First Officer once again.

"After nearly two hours of speaking with Maya, we thought it would be nice to visit a location where it would be able to ask the questions instead of being bombarded by them," Shar'El explained, keeping the wandering alien in sight as it moved towards ANI and Elan.

"Your vessels, I mean your bodies, are so different from one another despite that you relatively look the same," the other Ya'Han said, scrutinizing the light grey skinned 7'6" giant.

"I swear to you," Sonja angrily whispered in a Scottish accent to Shar'El, "if she says that we all look the same and can't tell us apart, there is no shape in this universe it will be able to transform into that will save her."

"She's just here to have a look and ask questions," the Commander reassured. "In addition to being very curious, this life form seems to be very intelligent as well. The one thing we have noticed though is that its knowledge of humanoids is very limited and actually appears to have been gathered only recently. I would not be surprised if the first humanoids it came to deal with were the ones who found it and brought it back to NEW ALEXANDRIA."

"So this would be the first time its seeing an Oltharian?" Sonja chuckled. "This could get interesting, and I am not entirely sure which side of this meeting will prove to be more entertaining," the Chief Engineer added, having turned her attention to the towering giant and the black haired 5'6" woman standing right in front of him.

The two aliens gazed through the two feet of height that separated them for what seemed to be minutes, neither one saying anything having instead opted to study the other in awe stricken silence.

"I am sorry to interrupt," ANI stated appearing somewhat confused. "It appears that the upgrades you completed are malfunctioning. Although I am able to see everyone currently in this room, I am unable to detect, using the internal sensors, the individual currently standing in front of Lieutenant Commander Fairborn who appears to be a visual copy of Lieutenant Ya'Han. Furthermore, I am unable to identify the source of this specific and rather strange malfunction."

"No need to worry ANI," Commander Shar'El offered. "Our guest, in addition to being able to change its appearance to become whoever it touches, is also able to remain invisible to sensors, that is why you are only able to perceive her presence through your optical scanners."

"Most interesting," the Avatar added, looking to the other Ya'Han with increased interest.

"You are not like the others," the other Ya'Han said, her attention having shifted from the giant Oltharian to the artificial unclothed woman.

"You are correct," the Avatar noted. "Although I was constructed to appear as a full humanoid, I am actually an android, which acts as an extension of this ship's computer."

"Computer?" The alien repeated with distinct uncertainty. Through all of the knowledge it had absorbed, the word used had meant something, but with an obvious lack of experience, the concept of a computer and its purpose on board the ANUBIS had been beyond its immediate understanding. "You are a part of this ship?"

"Although your statement is overly generalized, it is nonetheless accurate," ANI explained.

"She is far more than that," Sonja added feeling somewhat hurt for ANI. Maybe it was because she was the Chief Engineer,  or maybe because the Avatar was her creation, but Sonja felt bad for the artifical woman.

A general hush washed over the group as they watched the other Ya'Han cautiously reach out to touch ANI. For obvious reasons many,  including the Chief Engineer, were concerned about this gesture but everyone found themselves too stunned to act.

"You feel... cold, empty," the shape-shifting alien said sounding surprised and even a little disappointed. "Your body, like this ship, is without life."

"Looks like the alien's abilities are limited to other biological living organisms," Stark noted for all to ear.

"It does appear that way," Dima agreed, thinking that this latest piece of information about their guest would be welcomed by both Commander Maya and Doctor Doyanne.

=====
Lorraine Paquette

Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
M08-P038: USS ANUBIS: Morningstar: Day 02 - 1930 ("Back On Board")
##########
"Back On Board"
Previous post "Old Movies"
##########

"Throughout history, misunderstandings and harsh reactions have been the seed for war. Why continue to hold on to those seeds? Should we not strive to cultivate peace instead?"
- Nagao, Champion of Kamigawa

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Level 6, Administrative Section
Stardate: 32016.1930

The Native American read once again the report from his First Officer. The intruder had not only been found but the senior staff had taken on the daunting task of establishing the foundation of what appeared to be a promising first contact situation. Despite what might have happened before, Commander Shar'El and the others had skillfully managed to win the alien's trust enough to open a productive dialog with it.

As great a news as this might be though, Captain Morningstar understood all too well that this would not be as well received by Admiral Koniki. The orders received from the man in charge of NEW ALEXANDRIA had been set around a first contact protocol, more to avoid problems than anything else. That said, Erik knew that it had been expected that once found the alien had been expected to be returned to the station. Instead, Command Shar'El had moved forward with establishing a dialogue, following the instructions that her Captain had relayed to her without him having said those specific words.

Now Erik needed to confront the Admiral, trying his best to play the diplomatic card that would place him directly in the middle of what the head of Starfleet Intelligence wanted and what was currently happening on board the ANUBIS. Normally the Native American would have tried to avoid this situation, but that had not been an option at this time. Going face-to-face with Koniki would happen that he liked it or not.

"The Admiral will see you now," Allyson said, the blonde hair receptionist and secretary to the base's CO smiling as she always did. How she managed to never stop smiling despite working for Admiral Charles N. Koniki had been one of this universe's greatest mysteries, a mystery that unfortunately would have to wait for another time to be solved.

=====

Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Level 6, Koniki's Office
Stardate: 32016.1932

"You received the report from your First Officer," the Admiral said barely allowing the Native American to fully step into the office. "I thought I had made myself clear. The alien life form was to be contained and returned to NEW ALEXANDRIA as quickly as possible."

"You were perfectly clear," the Captain replied, knowing all too well that allowing any sort of emotional outburst would only make a bad situation worse. "You also instructed me and my crew to approach this situation as a first contact, which they did. According to the *confidential* report I received, which you obviously intercepted and read, Commander Shar'El and the rest of my senior staff were able to contain the alien without the use of force. She also goes on to describe that the alien life form is very curious about its environment. Addressing this curiosity as they did will only serve to increase its trust which will not only allow them to bring the life form back to NEW ALEXANDRIA, but to do so in a manner that will be far less traumatic for all parties involved."

"You are playing a dangerous game Erik," Koniki hissed, slamming his firsts onto the black onyx marble desk. Although the Captain did not know exactly why this turn of events had upset the man as it had, it was beyond evident that the situation had not gone the way the Admiral had expected.  "I am authorizing you to return to your ship to personally oversee the alien's return to NEW ALEXANDRIA within the briefest possible period of time. Your job is not to make friends with it, but to see it back where it belongs."

"Yes Sir," the Native American acknowledged before pivoting on his heels and making his way out of the Admiral's office. Arguing with the Admiral had been pointless at the best of times, and given his current state any objection, be them voiced or not, would only turn this meeting into a full blown out conflict.

As soon as the doors closed behind the ANUBIS' Commanding Officer, Koniki's demeanour changed, his anger vanishing as if it had never been there to start with. Like the skilled actor no one knew him to be, the man took on an entirely different persona, actually appearing pleased with himself based on the manner in which his latest performance had gone.

=/\= The events have unfolded as predicted, =/\= one of the unseen sisters announced through the opened communications channel, all six of them having been listening in on the conversation as per the Admiral's expressed wishes.

=/\= There is a 88.6 percent chance that Captain Morningstar will delay returning the alien to you for as long as he can, =/\= another of the sisters stated.

=/\= Although there is only a 14.1 percent chance that he will discover your true intents, there is a 82.2 percent chance that he will be able to discover enough to question your reasoning. =/\=

=/\= The remaining 3.7 percent points to Captain Morningstar fully opposing you, and refusing to turn the alien over back to you, =/\= the fourth sister said following the statement made by the third sister, all of their voices coming across as nearly identical.

"I can live with those odds," Koniki grinned as he leaned back into his chair. If there was one thing the man had learned during his time as Commanding Officer of NEW ALEXANDRIA and Head of Starfleet Intelligence was to never allow anyone to see or even guess as to what sort of game he was playing. This insured no one could accurately predict what would happen next and devise any sort of countermeasure.

=====

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, outside Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.1955

Tracking the alien had been impossible, but luckily doing the same to Commander Shar'El and the rest of the senior officers had been child's play for the Native American CO. Given that the group, along with their guest, had already visited Commander Maya and Lieutenant Paquette, it made sense for them to make their way back up and stop in Sickbay which is where Erik was heading to.

"Captain Morningstar?" A surprised Chief of Security said in a mixture of joy and disbelief. "I thought the ANUBIS was on lockdown?"

"We still are," the Native American stated with a nod of his head. "Admiral Koniki allowed me back on board to deal with our guest."

"*Allowed* you back Sir?" Ya'Han asked, never having expected anyone to be able to 'allow' the Captain to do anything.

"The Admiral likes to keep things under control," Erik admitted not wanting to unload his feelings on his Chief of Security, after all was it not what Counsellor Dima was there for? "I am guessing that everyone is in there?" The Native American inquired pointing towards the door leading to Sickbay.

"Yes they are Captain," Ya'Han confirmed. "I just needed to take a break. There is just so much of looking at one's own self I could take," the woman with the black and red hair casually admitted.

"A rather unique situation indeed," Erik laughed. "From what Commander Shar'El has reported, you have expertly handled the situation. You should be proud," the Captain added before making his way into Sickbay to join the others.

"Thank you Captain," Ya'Han said with a smile, no having expected such a compliment at this time.

=====

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.1958

With Commander Shar'El busy with their guest, Lieutenant Stark had opted to remain by the main entrance, likely to make sure that he would be there should the Chief of Security decided to rejoin the group.

"Captain, glad to see you here," Jayson stated, drawing the attention of the ANUBIS' latest addition. "Please allow me to introduce to you our new Flight Control Officer."

"Ensign Tanith Jones," the unassertive woman said as she came into view, the Native American not having noticed her until she had actually come to stand in front of him. "It is a pleasure to meet you Captain. Given all that has happened, I was not entire certain that I would ever get to properly introduce myself. Things got busy quickly around here."

"Speaking of which, how are things going?" Erik inquired of the two officers closest to him, everyone else appearing to be rather preoccupied by the discussion the chief Medical officer and alien shape-shifter currently in the form of their Chief of Security were having.

"We are just waiting to see how long it will take for the alien's head to explode," the Operations Officer said in jest. "With all of the questions that have been thrown its way, I am surprised that it's still going. I think the idea was to break its will right from the start by having it meet Commander Maya, but that failed. We actually had to drag it away so that the Commander could stop asking it questions faster than it could answer them."

"So, am I to gather that our first contact with this life form is going well?" The Native American inquired, wanting a simple confirmation of what he had so far witnessed.

"As well as could be hoped," Tanith offered, silently retreating back out of the Captain's way. Obviously, he had better things to do than to continue interacting with an Ensign.

Erik remained in place, not wanting to interrupt whatever discussion and exchange of information had been taking place. By the looks of this, Doctor Doyanne was having a grand time trying to understand the alien while their Chief Science Officer offered her insights from nearby. With a movement of his hand, he drew his first Officer's attention while managing to not disrupt the others.

"We were not expecting you to be here Captain," Shar'El expressed. "Why were we not notified that the lockdown had been lifted?"

"Because it was not," the Native American clarified. "The Admiral has sent me here to personally handle the situation with our guest."

"He was not happy about our pushing the first contact protocol as far as we did," the Intelligence Liaison Officer noted with a smile, showing that she understood the man even better than her position on board the ANUBIS permitted her to. Having been under his direct command before coming on board this ship had granted her insight that few others possessed. "Are you still sure that we are doing the right thing?"

"We are," Erik nodded. "There is something about this entire affair that just doesn't add up and I am relatively certain that the answers are with that being," the Captain added, looking at the other Ya'Han with puzzlement.

"So far, Commander Maya and Doctor Doyanne have managed to gather a great deal of data on the life form as well as its home environment, but we have yet to identify what system it was taken from," Shar'El explained. "What we do know is that it likely had never seen any humanoids before them."

"The mystery surrounding this life form is not a simple one," the Native American admitted, "and I can't help wonder if there isn't even more than what the Admiral has hinted to. His wanting the shape-shifter back the way he does points to there being more than a simple scientific oddity."

"Would you like to speak to it?"

"I am guessing that it has not provided you with a name to call it by?" Erik chuckled causing Shar'El to simply shake her head. "No, not yet. Continue with your work and research. As soon as you have a moment, I would like to see Commander Maya, Lieutenant Paquette, Doctor Doyanne, Counsellor Dima and yourself of course in my office. There we can talk in private and see how we are going to handle this situation."

"Will that not anger the Admiral?"

"I'm sure it will, but there is never any certitude when it comes to first contacts," the Native American pointed with a smile before making his wait out of Sickbay followed by the two officers who had greeted him upon his arrival.

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 1, Observation Lounge
Stardate: 32016.2125

The Native American sat at the end of the elongated table with a smile on his face. It felt good being back on board the ANUBIS even if he had only been away for a short time. By the expressions on the faces of the four officers he had asked to meet with him, the feeling was mutual.

"Nice to have you back on board Captain," the Counsellor offered. As much as the two had not spend a great deal of time together, it was easy to see that Nicole knew her way around people and how to make them feel at ease from the get go.

"Thank you Counsellor," Erik replied. "As great as it is to being back, it looks like you all have done a remarkable job managing the situation.

"Things were not as easy as they seem," Shar'El amended, not quite willing to admit to the Captain that she had been fooled not once but twice by the alien's shape-shifting skills.

"Since the Admiral is pressuring us to get this situation wrapped up, let's get started. What have we learned from our guest?" the Captain inquired, curious to see what had been discovered and if it would help figure out what Koniki's end game had been.

"The life form utilizes a neuro-triggered cellular polymorphic in order to take on the shape of whatever bio-organism it touches. Because of the complexity and sensitivity of this nerve system, it is capable to tapping into the most recent memories of its target," Doctor Doyanne explained.

"That is why it was unable to recall various details about the jobs or even duties of the officers it took the form of. From what we were able to gather, the most prominent thoughts and memories were what the life form would pick up on," the Counsellor further detailed.

"That would make it to be extremely limited as an infiltration agent," Erik muttered out loud to himself, still trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together.

"Whatever it is," Sonja jumped in with, "it's even more curious than Maya, although I will say that it is far more naive and innocent."

"I'm not sure how to take that," the Shillian said, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Come on Maya, you have to know that about yourself," the Chief Engineer chuckled. "You may be a walking brain, but when it comes to social interactions I think ANI has a better grasp of things than you do."

"We can discuss each other's interpersonal skills at another time," the Captain interrupted. "We need to figure out this life form and how we are going to handle things from here on out."

"Sorry Captain," the redhead offered. "All I can provide is my observation while it interacted with ANI. As great as the life form's transformation abilities might be, it is limited to biological shape. It touched ANI and found itself surprised at not being able to do anything. No transfer of knowledge or change in appearance. My guess is that wherever it is from, it's a place that is as far away from technology as can be."

"The environment it described as being its home is present in this universe and appears to fall within the realm of an older L-Class planet, one where fauna has evolved into more complex organisms," the Chief Science Officer began. "When speaking about predators, it focussed mostly on ground dwelling creatures, although it did mention other tree dwelling as well as flying predatory species that it needed to avoid. Its first and only encounter with anything resembling a humanoid was just before it was captured and brought to NEW ALEXANDRIA, at least that is where I believe it was brought to as the description given of the laboratory it was in does not match anything I know of.  My guess is that one of the crews operating from this base came across this life form and after having witnessed its transforming skills decided to bring it in for observation."

"That observation quickly turned into scientific testing by the sounds of things," Commander Shar'El added. "It refers to 'white coats' keeping it isolated and trying to force it into changing its form. Given the negative experience it had, I am shocked that it is this willing to be around other humanoids."

"It might not have been so willing had we been wearing 'white robes'," Nicole theorized. "We were lucky that it did not place every humanoid in the same category following what it was forced to endure. According to its own admission, that was why it tried to escape."

"It likely touched someone who knew about the ANUBIS being here and knew enough to find its way on board," the Chief Engineer added. "From there it just tried to make sense of our world. Coming from a planet with nothing but plants and animals, it had to be a shock to find itself wandering on a ship. How it managed not to go completely loopy is beyond me."

"That is another unique aspect of this life form," Nicole continued. "It is very intelligent and is able to learn very quickly."

"As a survival skill, it is one that is extremely useful as it permits it to rapidly adapt to its environment," Maya pointed out.

"It would also be a very useful skill for a deep cover intel operative," Shar'El countered. "If this is a test, why keep us all in the dark about it? What purpose would it serve to have us be unaware of what was happening?"

"I am sure that the Admiral has a reason," Erik sighed. "In fact I am pretty sure that he had a room full of reasons for having acted the way he did. Our concern now though is to figure out what it is we is hoping for and for us to go the other way."

"Although I do not know the Admiral as well as you," the Counsellor offered, "I am getting the distinct feeling that it will be easier said than done."

"Isn't that the usual way of things for this crew?" Shar'El chuckled.

"We still need to figure what it is that we will be doing with this life form," the Captain said. "Koniki wants it back ASAP, and I have the feeling he would be happiest if we managed to do this by shoving it into a box."

"There has to be another way to handle this?" Dima pleaded.

"I am counting on it," the Captain said, very pensive. "Where is our guest now?"

"On the bridge, speaking with Tanith I believe," Shar'El replied.

"Let's go rejoin them," Erik said as he stood from his chair causing the others to do the same. "I might have an idea."

--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette

Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501

AND

Lt. Commander Elan Fairborn [Access Character BIO for Elan Fairborn]
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
M08-P039: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 02 - 2135 ("Game of Trust")
=-=
"Game of Trust"
[previous post was "Back On Board" by the accommodating Francois]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.2135

Following their return to the bridge, the ExO / ILO stood at the back and watched as the other Ya'Han and Ensign Jones casually chatted. The sight was odd to start with, seeing the likes of their Chief of Security and Flight Control Officer talking about navigating through the immense emptiness of space. Although the native environment of the alien life form had been identified, the actual location of its home had yet to be determined. The problem was that even if they could identify the planet from which the life form had been taken, there was no way for them to bring it back, at least not without calling forth Admiral Koniki's wrath.

"You appear to be lost in your thoughts," Counsellor Dima said as she came to stand by the raven-haired woman. The situation had not required the accumulated knowledge of a joined Trill to figure out, but as the Ship's Counsellor Nicole had an invested interest in understanding the woman's position and feelings on this matter.

"I am trying to figure out the game," the ExO / ILO answered absentmindedly, her attention locked on the two individuals located at the flight control station.

"The game?" Nicole echoed. With multiple lifetime's worth of experiences to call upon, it sometimes made understanding others more difficult as expressions varied.

"Before being on the ANUBIS as its ILO and later as its ExO, I worked directly under the jurisdiction of Admiral Koniki," Shar'El explained. "I was his go to girl when he needed to get into someone's head."

"That could not have all that pleasant," the Counsellor noted with sadness, silently extending her support while at the same time feeling positive in the fact that the ExO / ILO had felt comfortable enough to speak this way with her.

"It was not," Shar'El confirmed. "There were times when I even wondered if the Admiral was doing it on purpose to get me to scan the memories of the darkest and coldest souls he could find. What I did learn through all of that though is that the man works on an entirely different level.  Do you know the game of chess?"

"Of course," Dima nodded. "I actually use it in some of my Counselling sessions to help focus the thoughts of a patient. For some, it is easier to talk when their attention is on something simple yet requiring a certain level of concentration."

"Well the Admiral loves the game, not literally but figuratively," the ExO / ILO explained while keeping her eyes on the two officers. "The man thinks several moves ahead, so much so that there are times when I actually suspect that he was on the *next* game without having finished the one everyone else was on."

"That would seem to be a required skill for the Head of Starfleet Intelligence, not to mention an advantage for the Commanding Officer of a base like NEW ALEXANDRIA," Nicole stated.

"It is, there is no denying that," the raven-haired Commander agreed reluctantly. "It allows him to plan ahead and make sure that the interests of the Federation are always well protected, but it also means that there are times when no one around him knows what is actually happening. The man appears to barely be able to trust his own people and seems to enjoy testing them even when he knows exactly what they are going to do."

"I guess being paranoid comes with the territory that he is in the middle of," the Counsellor theorized, both wishing that she could speak to the Admiral and remain as far away from him as could be all at the same time.

"I am not entirely sure that paranoia is what he suffers from," Shar'El amended. "I would suspect that there is more at play. The way he seems able to predict

There were times when I wondered if he had some sort of temporal device allowing him to see into the future."

"You suspect that the presence of the alien on board the ANUBIS was not an accident as he claimed it to be?" Nicole asked, not having expected to discover so much so quickly about the man in charge of their base of operations.

"I'm not sure," the ExO / ILO admitted. "Maybe it was planned from the start or maybe something happened and he came up with a plan to make the best of it. Both possibilities are valid, and both raise just as many questions as the other."

"Commander, can I ask you a question?" the Counsellor inquired, thinking it wise to announce what she wanted to do instead of just springing it on the Commander.

"Your question should be more accurate by asking if I would be willing to answer your query," Shar'El grinned. "You are always welcome to ask about whatever is bothering you, but I do reserve the right to not answer."

"So noted," Nicole said, softly shaking her head from side to side in amused disbelief. "Do you trust the Admiral?"

"Do I trust the Admiral?" the ExO / ILO repeated, allowing her voice to trail off as if she would question the validity of her own reply. "I trust him to do what he believes to be required to insure the safety of the Federation and its citizens. I trust him to play this game to the best of his skills and abilities in order to achieve his goal. Beyond all that, I trust him to find a way to turn any situation to his advantage. The fact that he stepped down as the Head of Starfleet Intel to take on the NEW ALEXANDRIA project only to be reinstated to that same position after the fall of the Neo-Essentialists is no coincidence."

"So trust with a dose of caution," Counsellor Dima nodded with understanding.

"I will tell you this," Shar'El added. "As plotting as he may be, I do trust that the Federation is better off with him where he is. Some people were meant to be in certain roles, like the Captain and the Admiral. I could not see them being anywhere else or doing anything else than what it is they are doing now."

"I suspect that others feel the same way in regards to you," the Counsellor said, a soft smile gracing her lips. "You seem to know quite a bit about this *game* as well as the players in it. I am sure that many could not imagine you being anything other than the Intelligence Liaison Officer."

Shar'El laughed. "My being the ExO as well as the ILO point to you not being entirely correct about that Counsellor, still I appreciate your words. Now, all we need to do is to figure out what part our guest is meant to play in this game."

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P040: USS ANUBIS: Ya'Han: Day 02 - 2135 ("Living Mirror")
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Living Mirror"
[previous post was "Game of Trust"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.2135

Jayson had returned to his station, wanting to make sure that everything was alright with the ship. Given that the ANUBIS had been docked inside the massive asteroid that hid their base of operations, it was unlikely that something had happened, but still his dedication to his work and duties had been commendable. Normally, Ya'Han would have done the same, but with the intruder that they had been searching for currently right in front of them talking to their FCO, there had been no need forte Sec/Tac to check her instruments. Just keeping the life form that appeared exactly like her in sight had been enough to meet the immediate requirements of her duties.

"Still having trouble with this?" Jayson asked as he laughed. It was easy to see that he found the entire situation overly amusing.

"Imagine looking at yourself knowing that it is not you," Ya'Han explained. She could feel her need to be on the defensive mounting, which would have caused her hair to turn bright red, her the confusion over the sight had been more then enough to ward off that change. "I can imagine that Nicole is going to want to talk to me after this, even if it is only to make sure that it is me that is still here and not our guest who is standing over there."

"That is a very likely possibility," Jayson laughed. "Although you seem to be safe for the time being, the Counsellor seems busy with Commander Shar'El at the moment. Can just imagine how that conversation is going," he added, having a good idea as to what, or more accurately whom, they were talking about.

Ya'Han ever so slightly nodded her head in agreement, her mind returning to a time that seemed to belong to another life while her eyes were still locked on the black-haired shape-shifting alien.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
FLASHBACK
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

Setting: Freighter
Stardate: 20249.1

It had been eight days since she had boarded this freighter, eight days since she had felt solid ground beneath her feet, eight days since she had been able to enjoy doing anything but sitting during the day and fearing for her safety during the nights. It had been eight long days and nights that her hair was made to be as black as the emptiness that surrounded the ship, an emptiness that reflected how she felt inside.

Escaping from the Imperial palace had been the only way the youngest daughter could save herself from marrying that Ferengi troll Daimon Ardax and the wrath of her father following his learning of her disobedience.  Forcing herself to display the hair color of the commoners had felt strange, almost sickening, but it had been the only way to insure that the fewer possible questions would be asked as to the reasons for her seeking to leave NYLA IV.

Over those eight days, the daughter of the High Sovereign became more accustomed to the solid black color of her hair, no longer finding it a distraction when a lock would fall into view. She knew that in time she would come to accept this as being a reflection of the person she had chosen to become, an outcast from the royal family, an insult to the proud name and legacy of her family. As much as she might have regretted having become such a failure in the eyes of her siblings, the young Nylaan had no other choice but to act as she did.

Maybe one day she would be able to reclaim another color for her hair, but for now, the black of the commoners would be hers to claim as her own without any respite. Despite being cold and hungry, the self-exiled daughter of the High Sovereign found some way to be grateful about one thing. In the cargo hold of this freighter, there were no mirrors or reflective surfaces for her to accidentally look into and see the extent of her fall. Of her own free will, she had descended into the darkness that had been her one and only way of escape, and that would become the reality she would have to learn to live with, hopefully for more than a few miserable days.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
End of FLASHBACK
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

"Ya'Han?" Jayson called out once again, his first two whispered attempts having been completely ignored by the apparently daydreaming Sec/Tac.

"Sorry," she replied, realizing that she had lost herself in her own memories. Quickly glancing over to Shar'El, the Sec/Tac was surprised that the Ullian had not noticed this latest personal historical broadcast. It seemed that her friend and First Officer had either been too busy or had simply chosen not to make an issue of this, at least not at this time. "I was just remembering something," she offered in a soft voice, adding shortly after a weak smile.

"Must have been one heck of a lousy memory," Jayson pointed out, knowing that he was not being given the full story. "You look like your doppelganger now," he stated as he gently brushed her now solid black hair, bringing a lock forward so that she would be able to see it for herself.

"I was just a memory," Ya'Han clarified without any display of emotion, moving her had so that the lock of hair would return into place. "Nothing more than that. A memory like hundreds more like it."

"You know something?" Stark grinned. "You and I have spent *hours* talking and I am just now realizing that I still don't know you. Despite everything that you have told me about youself and your family, I can honestly look at you and feel like I have no idea of who you really are."

"I'm sorry," the black-haired Nylaan offered, saddened by this admission and certain that she had managed to find a way to hurt Jayson yet again.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," he quickly reassured with a smile. "I understand that your personal history is far more complex than mine, as well as that of the greater majority of those on board the ANUBIS. When I said that I did not know you, it is only to say that there is a lot of work for me to do in order to understand you the way that I feel I should, the way that I want to."

She smiled back at him, thinking how sweet and supportive he was being. Following a long deep breath, the Sec/Tac returned her eyes onto the other Ya'Han and smiled thinking about how far she had come since being that scared and naive black-haired runaway.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han

Lieutenant JG Ya'Han [Access Character BIO for Ya'Han]
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P041: USS ANUBIS: Stark: Day 02 - 2145 ("Concerns for Her, and Her")
"Concerns for Her, and Her"
[previous "Living Mirror"]

[/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.2145

As much as his attention was on the black-haired woman standing by his side, he could not help but glance in the direction of the other similarly colored haired Nylaan woman, the OPS Officer finding himself concerned for both. Maybe it was because the alien had taken on the form of Ya'Han that he felt what he did for it, or maybe this entire adventure had hit a nerve with him. In either cases though, Jayson found himself wanting to help them both in whatever way he could.

"What can I do to help?" He asked the Chief of Security, getting a softened smile from the closes Ya'Han.

"I'll be fine," she replied, her smile growing as she did so.

"I have no doubts that you will be fine," he confirmed. "In fact I am as certain of that as I am that you will be flipping me on my back at some point in the near future during another sparring match. I was actually wondering what we are going to do with *it*?" Jayson specified, shooting a concerned glance at the black-haired Nylaan still talking with Ensign Tanith Jones, their new FCO.

"So you care more for her than you do me?" Ya'Han whispered as if she had genuinely been angered by his words, the fire in her eyes quickly transferring to her hair which caused the OPS Officer to actually take a step back fearing that his being thrown onto his back would happen a lot sooner than he had anticipated.

"That's not what I meant," he quickly said, trying his best to avoid the wrath of the Chief of Security. It seemed that whatever he did, whatever he said, he found himself each and every time on the receiving end of someone's anger.

"So,what did you mean?" Ya'Han questioned in all seriousness, keeping her voice to nothing more than a whisper making Jayson suspect that she was even more angry than he had initially gagged her to be.

He began imagining his broken body being found hours from now by Doctor Doyanne, dismissing the possibility that whatever had happened had been caused by their Chief of Security based on the extended of the physical damage as well as the simple fact that no one had seen or heard anything.

"Nothing," Jayson finally heard himself answer, chastising himself immediately afterwards for the sorry state of his effort. "I mean, It was not my intent to say anything against you. I was just saying that I wanted to help. I can see that the alien has managed to get to you in a way that no one else could. Taking on your likeness was one thing, but sharing your thoughts and memories making it have black hair means something more to you. All I want to do is to be there for you and helping it seemed to be a way of achieving this. Apparently, it was the wrong way, but it was the way that I was thinking at that time. Please don't kill me." His frantic efforts to undo whatever it was he had done through his words had likely been comical to see, luckily no one else appeared to have been aware of what was happening at the Operations station.

"You're sweet," Ya'Han said with a smile, her hair returning to the black and red mix that it had been not so long ago. "Why would I want to kill you?" She asked in a teasing manner.  That was enough for him to understand that he had been played like a fiddle, something that honestly by now he should have been used to. "To be honest though," she continued turning her attention to the other Ya'Han, "I am not sure what it is you or any of us can do to help it. From what Captain Morningstar said, the endgame of this situation is unavoidable. That we like it or not, the alien is going to be taken back to NEW ALEXANDRIA, in whatever form it may be at that time."

"You would think that with that kind of transformation ability it would be able to find a way out of here," Jayson mused. It was evident that both Ya'Han and he wanted to help, but their respective positions on board the ANUBIS left them with limited possibilities, this despite their having access to a great deal of resources.

"Its ability to take on the form of anyone it touches may be the key to helping it," Ya'Han said. "The problem is that it is also the one thing that everyone knows it can do and will be on the lookout for. In this particular instance, its greatest skill is also its most notable weakness. Whatever form it takes, someone will be looking for it."

"Whatever form..." he repeated, his voice trailing into an odd silence that Ya'Han found both curious and intriguing.

"You have that look on your face," she indicated. "Why do I have the feeling that this is not going to end well for any of us."

"Just an idea," Jayson clarified. "Granted it's a wild idea that would require a a great deal of luck, and even if we did have that kind of good fortune there would not be any assurances that it would actually work. The worst part is that I fear it would only serve to delay it being returned to whatever place it has escaped from."

"Your ability to be as vague as possible is truly dizzying," the mixed colored-hair Ya'Han chuckled.

"Sorry," Jayson offered, his thoughts clearly still on whatever fraction of a plan he had been thinking about. "I have the feeling that even if I spoke with Captain Morningstar and Commander Shar'El, they would instantly dismiss the idea by pointing out that it would be nothing more than a waste of time"

"You do realize that you would not be alone, right? I would have to be there to see just how bad the presentation of whatever your idea is would be," Ya'Han chuckled once again. "I think you have been spending too much with around Commander Maya, you are starting to ramble when you talk. At least she actually says something when doing that, you just appear to be locked in a circular pattern while going at high warp."

"My ramblings are not entirely useless," Jayson smiled as he looked directly into the eyes of the Chief of Security. "It made you forget about whatever it was that was troubling you earlier, and that in my book is a 'mission accomplished'."

"You are unbelievable," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I still want to hear about that idea of yours, regardless of how crazy or impossible as it may be. At least that way I won't feel like I have lost the last few minutes of my day for nothing," Ya'Han added adding a teasing grin.


[/\]
Jayson Sousa

Lieutenant JG Jayson Stark [Access Character BIO for Jayson Stark]
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P042: USS ANUBIS: Dima: Day 2- 2150 ("Empathy")
“Empathy”
(Continued from “Concerns for Her, and Her” by the ‘rambling’ Jayson)

=/\=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 1, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.2150

The ILO/ExO and Counsellor finished speaking, and the petite woman let the gears of thought turn in her head as she stood respectfully a few feet away from the alien and the rest of the crew. The youthful officer shook her short hair into place and stood at ease, her hands clasped behind her back. She was the fifth host of the Dima symbiont. Large swatches of four other Trill lives were preserved in the memories of a worm-like creature that lived in her abdomen. The sum of her experience was great. But in light of their guest’s stowaway arrival, Nicole realized she had a lot more to learn.

So much information was missing, and time was running short. They had managed to communicate with the being, but as of yet she couldn’t correlate why Koniki wanted the entity back so badly. Likewise, the gelatinous form only expressed curiosity for them and their ship, and wariness toward its confinement in the lab aboard the station. It was entirely possible that both were holding cards that had yet to be played. In fact, judging by the assessment of the Native American CO, he seemed certain there were unknowns.

Shar’El and Erik understood more about Koniki than she did. That was to be expected. Nic was still thinking it might end as an either/or scenario, meaning either the alien would be returned to NEW ALEXANDRIA, or the crew would be reprimanded or become criminals for harboring the unique creature. The possibilities in both outcomes made her adopt a worried expression. She had come to care about the being’s lonesome and perhaps tortured existence in the laboratory and felt the need to allow it to be free, although the consequences of those thoughts plagued her desire to be attentive to her duties.

Nicole was aware that neither Morningstar nor Shar’El could communicate telepathically with the other, but they shared an instinct that seemed to offer a glimmer of hope that something more would come of this unexpected diversion between missions.

Ensign Dima reviewed what she did know from the time their visitor had come aboard. It had an innate ability to absorb both form and inflections, even expressions of organic life. It was highly capable of learning from anyone that it touched. It might eventually be able to operate machinery but could not assimilate into it. Even highly developed forms of mechanically simulated life forms like ANI provided no reaction to the creature’s touch, although it was able to ask the embodiment of the ship questions and continue the learning process. But, perhaps more importantly, it was only able to interact with ANI once it had assumed a form that could handle that communication. “Could it be that simple?” she said softly.

“Could *what* be that simple?” The Ullian had easily heard the Counsellor’s open question, while Nicole had not realized the excitement with which she rhetorically asked it.

“The only thing our guest responds to is life forms, of all types. And Koniki for whatever reason has kept this specimen in a lab for who knows how long? Wouldn’t he have realized by now the only way to develop its potential would be to give it access to other *real* people to interact with?”

“In the controlled environment of a ship on lockdown,” Shar’El mused.

“Maybe we’re meant to do more, regardless of what the Admiral told Erik,” Nic guessed. She then moved close to those who had been talking with the mirrored Ya’Han, addressing her directly.

“Excuse me, I know you might know my name from those you have met while aboard the ship, but I am the ship’s Counsellor, Nicole. May I ask if you have a name?”

The entity masquerading as a Nylaan princess-turned-officer looked puzzled. “You mean what do I call myself, or how do others address me?”

Nicole nodded. “That’s right.”

“I am referred to as a series of numbers and letters as I am studied, but I see that is not really a name as you are explaining it. How do you beings get your names?”

“Usually parents name their offspring.” The subject of procreation was a little beyond where Nicole wanted to go, but she did wonder for a moment if the being would be able to replicate itself in the future. Or, if it truly was the last of its kind.

Ya’Han’s doppelganger looked... wistful, perhaps?. “I am not aware of how I came into the world. But I would very much like a name. May I choose one for myself?”

“Certainly.” Nicole pulled up basic information on a console- nothing sensitive of course, but a way to search for names. “Do you identify as female, such as Ya’Han, or male, such as Jayson?”

The entity looked down at the feminine form it had adopted. “This is very pleasing, but no less so than the other. Both fascinate me. I would like to have a name that could either be used for a male or a female.”

Nicole filtered the results for unisex names. “Here, take a look.”

The alien perused the list with an expression that might have been able to be called enthusiasm as the crew watched. The room dissolved into polite yet quiet conversations, allowing time for their visitor to think and process what was in front of it.

A few minutes later, Ya’Han’s double raised her head and looked around, pleased. “I have chosen- my name is Kai. From the Hawaiian word for “sea”.” Kai stumbled over the pronunciation of ‘Hawaiian’. “I am clear as water in my unaltered form, so I believe this suits me well. Is Hawaii a place, or a race of people?”

“It’s an island chain on the planet EARTH. Hawaiians are of the Human race, but they are an indigenous people.” Ensign Jones accessed the geography to give Kai a better idea of where her new name originated.

Captain Morningstar approached the Cns. “What made you think of this?”

“It’s Koniki’s fault,” she admitted.

“What do you mean?” Erik asked, thinking at first she meant in a legal way, but realizing she meant a much gentler admonishment.

“I don’t know that I will ever be able to fathom his motives as well as you and Shar’El do, but I feel as though this being *deserves* a name, and *deserves* some measure of freedom to grow and develop. It may well be irrational, but I will be willing to put that on my report.”

“Duly noted, Counsellor,” the CO replied with a small smile. He didn’t think she was alone in her assertions.

=/\=
Susan Ledbetter

Chief Counselor
USS ANUBIS NCC-18501
M08-P043: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 02 - 2200 ("Inner Conflict")
=-=
"Inner Conflict"
[previous post was "Empathy" by the caring Susan]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.2200

The moment the alien had taken on a name for itself, the path of the crew of the USS ANUBIS had been set. Returning to the Admiral a nameless entity would have been difficult in many ways, given how the members of the crew seemed to have bonded with the being. Now that the shape-shifting life form had come to be in possession of a name to call its own, the task set by the Commanding Officer of NEW ALEXANDRIA would prove to be nearly impossible to complete.

What troubled Shar'El the most was that she found herself in silent conflict about this. In many ways, she agreed and supported what Counsellor Dima had done. The creature had proven itself to be innocent and naive to an extreme which only made their involvement that much more important. On the other hand though, the ExO / ILO could not help but worry about what this would mean for Captain Morningstar and the crew of the USS ANUBIS as a whole. Admiral Koniki may have been considered to be a great many things, but as the head of Starfleet Intelligence and the CO of NEW ALEXANDRIA he was not a man to be taken lightly or  underestimated in any way.

Now locked in the path set before them, the ExO / ILO thought it best to return to the IGC and check on a few details which could make or break the final outcome of this latest journey into the unknown.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Turbolift
Stardate: 32016.2210

Alone with her thoughts as the small pod rushed to the ship's array section, the ExO / ILO could only think of Kai as well as the journey that had brought it to be here on the ANUBIS. Hesitation and even apprehension had been the common feelings upon its arrival, but once the crew had come to see the shape-shifting life form for what it was, everyone it seems had found a place in their heart for their guest.

Shar'El actually chuckled as she thought of how the Admiral would react had he witnessed this first hand. Officers working under the cloak of Intel were meant to be as cold and distant as possible. They needed to display an unparalleled desire to accomplish their given orders without question or hesitation, always keeping the good of the Federation about any personal feelings. There was no doubt that Koniki would have found a way to see his own hair change as that of the Chief of Security often did, the only difference being that his would actually become hot, burning flames.

Despite knowing that they would incur the Admiral's wrath, the crew appeared ready to see this to the bitter end, placing Kai's innocent needs well above their own safety.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, IGC
Stardate: 32016.2215

As soon as the doors whooshed open and Shar'El stepped into the IGC, a feeling of peacefulness washed over her, causing the ExO / ILO to actually stop in mid-stride. The sensation had been simple in its significance and yet complex to a point where she would be unable to explain it in any other way than this: She was home.

All of the discussions and deliberations about their guest wanting to return home had apparently caused the ExO / ILO to be more receptive to her own feelings about this very matter. Yes, the raven-haired woman was originally from the Ullian home planet, but NEW ALEXANDRIA had become her home by proxy while directly working for Admiral Koniki. Later, after having been assigned to the ANUBIS, the IGC had become the place where she always found herself returning to, even if only for a little while. Within these walls, surrounded by the countless number of surveillance monitors, Shar'El had found both a purpose and a tranquility that had escaped her until then.

As little as they actually knew about Kai, Shar'El could easily imagine that their guest would experience the same feeling upon setting foot back onto its home world. After having taken on so many humanoid forms, and sampled their emotions, it only made sense to believe that the shape-shifting alien would now experience life through the sensations it had so recently discovered.

"Station 3, give me a ship-wide sensor sweep and locate by any means available Lieutenant Ya'Han," the ExO / ILO ordered as she made her way to the central station from where she could supervise the whole of the IGC.

"Lieutenant Ya'Han is currently on the bridge," the IGC technician reported. "Sensors are only able to get a partial confirmation though as there are still some senor dampening residual effects from her contact with the alien life form.

"Review all sensor logs and identify the exact moment at which point Lieutenant Ya'Han vanished from sensors and when she was again seen by our instruments," Shar'El ordered. As strange as the line of her research might have been, the ExO / ILO had a very specific goal in mind, one that would set the timeline for them to achieve their ultimate goal.

"Lieutenant Ya'Han vanished from sensors while in the Observation Lounge on stardate 32016.1603 and reappeared 68 minutes later, this time on the bridge," the same technician reported after a few seconds to gather the requested information.

"Just over an hour," Shar'El mused to herself. "That does not give us all that much time. We might have to find a way to improve that delay if this has any chance to work."

"The sensors are as sensitive as we can make them," another technician stated, having overheard the mumblings of the ExO / ILO.

"I am not working on reducing the stated delay," Shar'El stated in a way that only the raven-haired woman could. "We need to find a way to see that delay increase, especially when taking into account that the internal sensors and portable instruments found on NEW ALEXANDRIA are all going to be focussed on the exact same target."

"Commander?" the second technician inquired, not at all understanding why the Commander wanted to see this delay *increase*, especially after all of the work that had been done by the IGC staff to see it reduced to its absolute lowest possible value.

"No worries," Shar'El dismissed as she made her way back to the turbolift in a hurried fashion. "I'll be in Sickbay if anyone is looking for me. I need to speak to Doctor Doyanne about finding a clean way to disrupt the bio-signature of an individual."

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P044: USS ANUBIS: Ya'Han: Day 02 - 2245 ("Leaving Nothing To Chance")
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Leaving Nothing To Chance"
[previous post was "Inner Conflict"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.2245

=/\= Shar'El to Lieutenant Ya'Han, =/\= the unexpected call from the First Officer actually startled the Sec/Tac who had been lost in a world of her own creation. Watching her black-haired twin speaking with Tanith and later with Jayson had left Ya'Han thinking back to a time belonging to a completely different life.

She could not complain about the way her life had turned out, in fact she found herself proud of her accomplishments. As hard as the journey had proven to be, it now all seemed to have been well worth it. Still, the former daughter of the High Sovereign could not help wonder how different things would have been had she come across a helpful soul long before reaching the Federation orbital outpost of PARASIDIO. Likely, she would still have found her way to EARTH and to Starfleet Academy, but her emotional journey would have been quite a different one.

In some ways, Kai and Ya'Han shared many personal details although their lives had been as different as could be. Through countless hardships, both had found their way into a part of the universe they had never dreamt of and were now trying their best to find their place in it. As difficult as the journey might have originally seemed though, both had apparently found what they had needed to make this far easier than it could have been.

"Go ahead Commander," the Sec/Tac replied after an extended silence, forcing herself to return to the here and now.

=/\= Is our guest still on the bridge? =/\= Shar'El inquired, having identified the Chief of Security as having been the best person to contact to get a quick and precise answer.

"Yes she is," Ya'Han confirmed. "Jayson and Tanith appear to be debating with Kai the possibilities as to which planet she came from. By the looks of things they have narrowed the list down quite a bit."

=/\= Excellent, =/\= Shar'El said, her joy in the news she had received being more than evident. =/\= As soon as possible, please have Kai report to Sickbay. There are a few things Doctor Doyanne and I need to do rather quickly, and the help of our guest would come in very handy. =/\=

"I will inform the others," the Sec/Tac acknowledged. "Do you require Kai to have a security escort?"

=/\= She is still our guest, =/\= the First Officer clarified. =/\= Of course that does not mean that Lieutenant Stark, Ensign Jones or yourself are not encouraged to provide companionship during the long trek here. =/\=

"Understood, Ya'Han out."

"Everything all right Lieutenant?" Captain Morningstar asked as he and Counsellor Dima emerged from his Ready Room, having only heard the last part of the conversation between the First Officer and Chief of Security.

"Commander Shar'El would like for our guest to be escorted to Sickbay," the Sec/Tac briefly explained. "Apparently her assistance is required for some urgent task."

"Sounds like Shar'El has a plan," Nicole said with a grin as she glanced over to their Commanding Officer.  It seemed that although no official word had been given, everyone had found themselves on the same page in regards to offering their guest some help in avoiding being returned to he glass cage from where it had escaped from.

"Doesn't she always," Erik grinned back. "No reason to keep the Commander waiting," the Captain added, motioning to his Chief of Security with a quick nod of his head to proceed as had been requested.

"Would it be a problem if I came with you Lieutenant?" Nicole asked. The joined Trill had not expected to receive a negative reply but it still seemed the right thing to do to ask instead of simply assuming that she could tag along. Spending a little more time with Kai would be the official story, looking into what the Commander's plan had all been about had simply been a bonus. Curiosity seemed to belong rather well on an Intel vessel such as the ANUBIS.

"Of course Counsellor," Ya'Han replied without any hesitation. "The Commander was actually very clear that we are all encouraged to provide our guest with companionship during the journey down to Sickbay."

"See, now *that* worries me," Nicole teased, the smile on her lips clearly displaying no concerns or worries of any sort.

"The ANUBIS is a large ship," Ya'Han countered, trying to sound as serious as she could. "I am sure that Commander Shar'El had simply wished for Kai not to become lost while trying to reach Sickbay. Although I am certain that she has accumulated a fair amount of information on the layout of this ship through all of the forms it has taken, there is still the possibility of our guest taking a wrong turn or simply arriving on the wrong deck."

"I think you would have made a fair diplomat," the Counsellor offered. "You were able to justify with impressive skills the reason why we should all go with Kai, and this without accusing our guest in any way."

Ya'Han offered a smiling sigh. "An odd occurrence I assure you Counsellor. I am quite sure that I would not be able to do something like that on a regular basis."

"Especially given that it would require you to display a hair color that you have made great strides to distance yourself from," Nicole added, curious to see how the Sec/Tac would react.

"Seeing myself this way," Ya'Han said as she glanced in the direction of her black-haired twin. "I have been made to see my own struggles in a different light. Certain parts of my journey have, shall I say, taken on a different perspective."

Nicole looked at their guest before returning her gaze onto the red and black-haired Sec/Tac. "This will certainly fall under a unique experience. It is not everyone that someone gets to see himself or herself as someone completely different. Maybe Kai will understand one day how lucky she was."

"I am sure she will," Ya'Han offered with confidence. "It took me some time, but I believe that I am being made to see this more clearly with each passing day. For now though, we should be heading to Sickbay with our guest."

"Lead the way," the Counsellor offered, inviting the Sec/Tac to make her way to the Flight Control station where Kai, Tanith and Jayson were.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han

Lieutenant JG Ya'Han [Access Character BIO for Ya'Han]
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P045: USS ANUBIS: Paquette: Day 02 - 2310 ("The Shape of Things to Come")
"The Shape of Things to Come"
previous post was "Leaving Nothing To Chance"

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 22, Main Engineering
Stardate: 32016.2310

The central control island had always been a place where people could gather around to talk about whatever issues needed to be addressed. This usually meant that Sonja was there with the leads of the various engineering teams and shifts. This time was different as the redhead was the only member of the Engineering department to be standing at the workstation.

"Since we are running out of time, I will get straight to the point," Shar'El announced after having confirmed that everyone who needed to be here was in fact present.  Everyone's attention shifted onto their guest who had maintained the form of their black-haired Chief of Security. That by itself would not have been all that problematic except that the real Ya'Han stood right next to the copy, their hair colour being the only way to tell them apart.

"With all due respect Commander," the Chief Engineer interrupted. "We are docked at our base of operation and under lockdown, which means there is nowhere for us to go. How can we be 'running out of time'?" Sonja asked, adding in air quotes to further make her point.

"The Captain would like this matter dealt with quickly," the First Officer explained somewhat miffed that she needed to take time to explain herself. "My guess is that the Admiral is expecting our guest back and the longer we delay, the more he may grow suspicious that something is being planned."

"I'm sorry," Maya interjected appearing rather puzzled. "I was under the impression that we *were* planning something."

"We are," Shar'El confirmed with dismay. "That is why we are all here."

"Main Engineering has been flooded with Alpha and Beta radiation," ANI announced. "This will insure that no listening devices will be able to pick up on your conversation while appearing as if we experienced a malfunction with the primary warp-core cooling system."

"So that's why the vent was open," Sonja gasped. "Might have been nice to let me know. I might have closed it because that's what I do. I fix things, plus I am not overly happy with having Main Engineering flooded with anything. Well, I might make an exception for wine, but that would lead to an entirely different set of problems. Cleaning the injectors and conduits would be a nightmare."

"As much as I would love to see our Chief Engineer scrubbing each and every corner of this section of the ship for whatever reason, I am currently more concerned about this radiation ANI mentioned," Jayson said. As the Chief of Operations, his concerns had been primarily for the equipment that surrounded them, but the tone of his voice indicated that his concerns had been somewhat more personal.

"You have nothing to worry about," Doctor Doyanne reassured.

"There is nothing dangerous about those types of radiation," Maya confirmed.  "In fact, I suspect that as soon as the results of this 'malfunction' is detected by the Control and Command center of NEW ALEXANDRIA, they will quickly look into it to make sure that the problem is indeed simple and contained."

"Hence why I started this meeting by saying that we were running out of time," the First Officer reiterated. "Now, can we get back to the reason why we are all here?" Shar'El snapped as she felt the strain of the situation as well as the late hour working against her patience.

"That's right people," Sonja stated with gusto.  "Focus!"

Following a silent agreeing nod from everyone, the Commander was able to start the meeting that she had herself called for. "First, I need you all to understand that what we are about to do goes directly against our orders."

"We are going against the Captain?" Sonja asked, shocked by the possibility.

"No," Shar'El clarified. "The Admiral."

"Well, that's different," the redheaded Engineer chuckled. "Carry on."

"As I said, we will be going against the orders of Admiral Koniki. If this is a problem for anyone, you can leave now and the record will show that you had nothing to do with what we are about to do," Shar'El offered.

"I am assuming that the Captain has already taken steps to claim responsibility for what we are about to do," the real Ya'Han said, not able to imagine their Commanding Officer asking them to do something while distancing himself from the deed.

"He will do what he can, but there are no guarantees that the Admiral is lijely going to throw the proverbial book at anyone and everyone involved," the Commander further explained. "That is why I am offering you all to step back now before I reveal the details of this plan. No one will think any less of you if you chose to remove yourself from this."

Everyone glanced at everyone else, most spending those few extra seconds studying the confused and yet hopeful expression on the familiar features of Kai. As much as the shape-shifting alien life form understood that this was all about it and its freedom, the entity appearing as another Ya'Han clearly understood that those around it were facing possible harm on its behalf.

Tanith Jones, the new Flight Control Officer, stood slightly behind the rest, listening in on the conversation without being noticed or even considered. The woman's singular ability to remain unseen appeared to be working in full force as the others debated what mounted to insubordination. That alone should have been enough to make her consider the offer made by the First Officer, but instead the Ensign elected to remain. As long as no one noticed that she had been there to start with, she could always claim that she had in fact never been there.

"Looks like we are all here to stay, las," Sonja announced in a distinct Scottish accent. "So why denna just tell us what is expected of the lot of us so that we can get busy with this mysterious plan of yours," the Chief Engineer paused for a moment as she met the gaze of those gathered around the engineering control island. "Let's face it, the faster we get this done and over with, the faster I get to go back to my quarters and drink myself into forgetting that this ever happened."

"Please proceed," the giant Oltharian added.

"Are you sure you want to be part of this?" Sonja asked. As much as she enjoyed giving the imposing man a hard time in anything dealing with engineering and ANI, the redhead had grown fond of the walking tower. Not that she would ever admit to this out loud.

"It is one of my people's greatest belief that all lives are sacred," Elan explained as he offered a heart-felt smile to Kai. "I will assist in whatever way I can."

"Perfect, " Shar'El noted. "We are going to need everyone if this is going to work."

Kai could not help but smile. From having experienced what could have been described as the darker side of these strange creatures, it seemed that it was now witnessing the opposite as all of them came together to help it find a way to return to its home.

=====
Lorraine Paquette

Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
M08-P046: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 02 - 2320 ("Things To Do")
=-=
"Things To Do"
[previous post was "The Shape of Things to Come" by the amazingly funny Lorraine]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Main Engineering
Stardate: 32016.2320

With the meeting finally on track, the ExO / ILO could explain what needed to be accomplished in order to hopefully see their guest gain the freedom that it had sought this while avoiding, if at all possible, for all of them to land in a court-martial. As fun or interesting as it may appear to be, going against the direct orders of an Admiral was never an easy thing to do, and this Shar'El knew perfectly well having herself been on the opposite side of Admiral Charles N. Koniki.

"We will need to get a lot of things done quickly," Shar'El explained in a quasi-whispered voice. "So listen carefully."

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay

** First, we are going to need a way to extend Kai's ability to shield someone else from sensors. This will be crucial to the plan in order to give us the window of opportunity required to have everything and everything in place. **

Doctor Doyanne knew exactly what she needed to do but there was a lot to accomplish in very little time in order to meet all of the requirements established by Commander Shar'El. Finding a way to hide someone from internal sensors while not putting them into some sort of physiological suspension would require some fancy work. Luckily for the CMO, she had not been the only one assigned to this particular task.

** The challenge is that we have to do this without using any equipment or sensor tricks. Everything has to appear as if Kai was directly responsible for this. Right now, the sensor blocking effect appears to last a little less than an hour, we need to find a way to at the very least double that. The more time we are able to add the better. Doctor Doyanne, I believe it wise for you to work on this with Commander Maya. **

The shape-shifting Chief Science Officer handed over a set of vials filled with her own blood. Having been one of those Kai had taken on the form of, and having been the one most affected by the unique ability of their guest, it had made sense for the Shillian to be proverbial guinea pig.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge

** Next, we will need to be fully aware of everyone's location until such time as the ANUBIS leaves the docking bay. This, unfortunately, includes the base's command staff and the Admiral himself. The last thing we need is for anyone of them to be somewhere unexpected. The margin for errors will be exceptionally small, so knowing where everyone is will greatly increase our odds of success. **

The Chief of Security and Chief of Operations were working side by side, sharpening the resolution of the internal sensors. The real challenge was to find a way to track the movements of the Admiral without NEW ALEXANDRIA's Command and Control being aware of this. The hope was that the security systems *inside* the base of operations were not as extensive as those meant to protect the the secret facility from the rest of the universe.

** That is where Ya'Han and Jayson will need to call upon their respective knowledge and expertise. You two will also need, at some point, to coordinate with Tanith to make sure she understands that once we are free from the docking clamps, the ANUBIS will need to make its way out as quickly as possible without raising any suspicions. Although we will not be out of the proverbial woods, being able to reach open space will be a sizable victory on its own. **

Although she had not received any specific orders, the quiet woman had already figured out what her role in this affair would be, so while the Chief of Security and Chief of Operations were busy with their part, the Flight Control Officer concentrated on her. Following the lengthy discussion she had with Kai, it felt almost natural for the Ensign to join in on the work to see the alien life form returned to its home world.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Captain's Ready Room

** The Captain is going to need our fullest support during all of this. Most of you may not fully understand how difficult it is to deal with the Admiral, so take it from me and my own personal experience. Someone should be there, by the Captain's side during this little insubordination of ours, just to make sure that he is not alone when things get complicated, and I can assure you that they will. **

Counsellor Dima sat on the couch set a fair distance from the desk of the Commanding Officer, where the man sat as he read some report contained on the PADD held in his hands. If he was nervous about the current situation, he was not letting it show in the slightest way.

As she continued to study the man, taking full advantage of the opportunity this situation had provided her with, Nicole could see that the Captain had not been the typical Commanding Officer. Having read his personnel file, she knew what everyone else knew about the Native American, but watching like this had provided the Counsellor with far more than she could have ever hoped to get from his dossier.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Main Engineering

** While everyone else is busy with their respective tasks, it would be best for Kai not to be alone. I am not saying this because of a lack of trust, but rather to insure that nothing unexpected gets in our way. Each and every part of this plan has to happen without issues. **

Elan had pulled a chair so as to not be towering over the black-haired Nylaan while she and the ship's Avatar chatted. It was truly interesting for the Oltharian to observe them, both trying in their own way to understand what it meant to be a humanoid.

** Beyond keeping an eye on our guest, it will be beneficial to our plan for Kai to get to know as much as possible about you both. So please, don't be shy. You two will not have a lot of time to have Kai be as familiar as possible with the basic systems of both the ANUBIS and NEW ALEXANDRIA. **

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, IGC

Shar'El sat at her station, her monitors closely following the progress of each team. There was a great many things that could go wrong at any moment, but the risks had been deemed well worth it by the actions of the members of the ANUBIS' senior staff.  Blindly obeying orders had been an excuse used far too often to justify someone doing something that had been at the very least morally unjust or at worst flat out cruel and criminal.

In this particular instance, the senior officers would stand as one to insure as best they could to see the right thing being done for a life form that had not deserved the hardships it had been forced to endure.

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P047: USS ANUBIS: Stark: Day 02 - 2330 ("For the Right Reasons")
"For the Right Reasons"
[previous "Things To Do"]

[/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.2330

This had not been the first time he worked by her side. As the OPS Officer, his duties often required him to coordinate with the Chief of Security. For some reason though, Ya'Han had been behaving differently, more focussed, more driven. Jayson was not complaining about this, far from it, in fact he found it interesting to see that she was able to work on a level even higher than what he had been accustomed to seeing her at.

"The encryption protocol of the internal sensors of NEW ALEXANDRIA were created to insure that no one would be able to gain access to them," the black and red haired woman sighed, never taking her eyes from the display she had been focussing on since the start. "Trying to break the encryption would most certainly trigger more alarms than we care to know, and even if we managed to circumvent the security system, it is a forgone conclusion that someone in the Command & Control would notice the tampering."

"Makes sense to have the internal sensors heavily secured," Jayson noted to no one in particular even though they were the only ones on the bridge. At least as far as he had figured, their new FCO having an unreal ability to remain unseen even when she was right there in the room. "What if we used another way to track everyone's movements?"

"How do you plan on doing that?" Ya'Han sarcastically asked. "The sensors of the ANUBIS may be very powerful but using them to scan the base would trigger just as many alarms as if we tried to gain access to their own internal sensors. The only tool we have at this moment are the passive sensors and the..."

Ya'Han's voice trailed into an extended silence leading Jayson to wonder if something had happened or if the Chief of Security had come up with an idea.

"You're hot," she smiled before returning to the console, tapping controls at a furious rate.

"Why, thank you," he acknowledged. "I'm glad that you think so, although I don't understand why you felt the need to say so at this very moment."

"That's not what I meant," she rapidly corrected, adding a soft growl while doing so. "I meant that you are emitting a heat signature, as do most living beings. Since we are unable to use active sensors, all that remains is the passive array, luckily for us the thermal sensors are part of that array. All we need to do is to fine-tune those particular elements. We might not be able to know for sure who each heat signature belongs to, but it should give us at the very least an advance warning should someone head towards an area that we do not want them to be at."

"There is no way that the heat sensors are going to be able to penetrate the full depth of the base," the OPS Officer pointed out.

"They don't have to," the Chief of Security happily noted. "All of the areas and people we need to keep a watch on are located near the base's docking area. We can determine with a certain level of accuracy who is where through simple logic. Perfect example, there is a single heat signature in the Admiral's office which we can assume to be the admiral himself. Now I can ask the computer to track the movements of that heat signature. We can do the same with the officers currently in the C&C."

"The admiral is not one to rest, is he?" Jayson noted with a sigh of concern. "My guess is that he's waiting on us delivering Kai to him. Even if the first part of this plan actually works, which with all due respect I do have my doubts, he won't just allow the ANUBIS to leave."

"That is highly probable," Ya'Han agreed, "but we can't let that stop us. We have to try our very best."

"Try our best at going against a direct order," the OPS Officer chuckled. "Bet none of our Academy professors would ever believe that we are doing that right now. Well, maybe one."

"Professor Jol'Darra'Kihl," the Chief of Security said with a smile, nodding her head in complete agreement. "He would actually be proud of us right now for doing what is right and not what is expected. In every one of his classes, he presented the cadets with a social dilemma, which grew increasingly more complex as the semester progressed. Whatever the scenario was though, he always managed to split the class right down the middle during the debate."

"As I recall you and I found ourselves on opposing views more than once," Jayson grinned. "At first you were always quick to jump on the side of the socially acceptable solution, while I was the one pushing for following orders."

"I remember," she agreed, turning to face Jayson. "Because of our respective past and hardships, we would both start on opposite sides of these debates.  By the end of the class though, I think we found it within ourselves to understand the other's position, so much so that we ended up arguing from the other side."

Jayson laughed aloud. "That was amazing. The look on Jol's face that time when I actually started arguing on the side of the socially acceptable course of action was priceless. I think that the majority of the class believed he was going to call security because he feared that some sort of shapeshifer had taken my place. You would think that he would have anticipated that change of opinion given that it was his goal, or at least that is what it seemed like it was."

"Not everyone changed their way of looking at things," the Chief of Security pointed out. "I clearly remember some of the Cadets aiming for a security posting actually digging in their heels on the side of obeying orders, no matter what those might be. Bet they are the perfect officers now, following orders without ever asking any questions as to why."

"In hindsight, I see that they are the ones who missed out on the significance and importance of that class," the OPS Officer stated with admiration. "The Federation is more than a simple military organization with pawns who follow orders against a stated opponent regardless of appearance."

"What I find funny now is that we are doing all of this for a shapeshifting life form, very much like the one he almost accused you to being," Ya'Han stated, allowing herself to think back to those days. "Whatever the reason is though, he would be thrilled to know that we are now on the same side and what he would have unequivocally claimed to be for the right reasons."

[/\]
Jayson Sousa

Lieutenant JG Jayson Stark [Access Character BIO for Jayson Stark]
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P048: USS ANUBIS: Maya: Day 02 - 2330 ("The Scientific Point of View")
---
"The Scientific Point of View"
(Previous Post: "For The Right Reasons")
---

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.2330

Doctor Lillie Doyanne along with Maya, the Shillian Chief Science Officer, had been tasked with finding a way to make the sensor cloaking ability of their shapeshifting guest, who had been given the name of Kai by Counsellor Dima, to last longer. Although the details of the overall plan had not been divulged to those directly involved, it had been clearly stated by Commander Shar'El that being able to increase the duration of this particular effect would greatly help in the achievement of their final objective.  The goal, as simple as it may have sounded, was to at the very least double the nearly one hour duration of this bio-energy field which rendered any and all types of sensor useless to lock on those affected.

While the Chief Medical Officer carefully studied the blood sample provided by the Shillian woman, the scientist opted to talk about the alien instead of allowing the peaceful tranquility that reigned in the room to remain undisturbed. After all, if Maya was not directly involved in some sort of research, her mind would need to focus onto something else in order to avoid the mind of the scientist to possibly find the surrounding silence enjoyable in some way.

"Kai is truly a remarkable being," Maya offered, reviewing her own notes on the alien life form using the PADD that she had brought into Sickbay along with the blood-filled vials. "For the record, I am not stating this simply because of my personal admiration in the displayed transformation abilities of this being, but also because of the strength of character it has demonstrated up to this point. I mean we have to acknowledge that to be taken from its home world and brought into a completely alien environment where it was unethically studied would have been traumatic enough, but Kai appears to not hold any ill feelings towards those responsible for its captivity."

"Kai only appears as a humanoid," Lillie explained without taking her attention away from her research. Doctor Doyanne had hoped to discover something in the sample of blood provided by the Shillian that would help them in better understanding how the effect displayed by Kai actually functioned.  "Feelings," the physician continued, "be them good or bad, do seem to be something that it is still struggling to understand on the most basic of levels."

"I am well aware of this," the Shillian noted without hesitation. "This was evident when Kai took on the form of our Chief of Security Ya'Han. By its own admission, Kai did this in order to explore the emotions and sensations normally reserved for what would be considered a more intimate moments. This curiosity as well as the ability of Kai to take on other forms allows it to explore the widest possible range of emotions. This is why I find it interesting that it chose to focus on what would be classified by some as being weaker emotions."

"There is nothing weak about love," Doyanne countered with a disapproving sigh. "Many would claim the opposite, in that love is in fact one of the strongest, if not *the* strongest of emotions in this universe. Even the mighty Vulcans eventually fall under its inescapable power."

"Once every seven years," Maya said understanding that the Doctor was making a reference to Pon Farr. "The overpowering drive to mate, as claimed by many Vulcans, completely strips their logic and self-control from them, but to call this *love* does seem to be somewhat of a stretch as the emotions involve do fall more in line with pure biological needs as well as what many humanoids would call lust. Still, I do see your point in claiming that love is a very powerful emotion, but you have to understand that my opinion on this, which is solely based on scientific observation and research, is that emotions described as being more on the negative side do appear to be far more powerful as they do not require a very specific set of variables to be met.  I mean, one does not need to find someone specifically attractive to be angry at them. All that is required is for the target of these negative emotions to have in some way caused harm or pain to someone else in order to have them feel some sort of targeted negative emotion.  Given the scale of this pain or harm caused, the negative emotion grows accordingly and often in a disproportionate augmented scale, something that is not usually observed in the more positive emotions."

"Maybe Kai does dislike, or maybe even came to hate those responsible for its having been taken from the home it had known all of its life to be brought here for scientific experimentation," Lillie agreed with a hint of disgust. "Maybe it discovered these negative emotions you keep speaking of and chose to ignore them to instead focus on the more positive and pleasant ones which it discovered while being on the ANUBIS. In the end, I might even agree with you that anger is a more powerful emotion, but it is an emotion that eats at you from inside like none other can. Love on the other hand makes you and those around you feel like there is nothing that cannot accomplish, this regardless of the odds you may face."
"I will admit that I had not considered that possibility, namely that the actual sensation of the emotions would be taken into account by Kai in selecting which one it wanted to further explore," the Shillian Scientist admitted. However interesting the alien had been to the scientist, Maya had found yet another way to be curious about the life form who had become their guest.  "With this in mind, it now makes far more sense for Kai to have wanted to explore anything and everything to do with love, likely finding the emotion and sensation of it far more tantalising. Being a highly intelligence and even more curious creature, which was demonstrated on numerous occasion, it makes perfect sense that it chose to take on the form of Ya'Han again. This was the only way available to it at the time to allow the exploration of these feelings and sensations."

Lillie smiled to herself thinking that the most recent shapeshifting alien to have boarded the ANUBIS had likely a much better understanding of humanoid emotions that the Shillian shapeshifter did, this despite Kai having experienced these feelings for only a very short period of time.

"Commander," Lillie said, actually hoping to change the subject matter that they had been on. "Have you managed to identify the home planet of our guest?"

"Unfortunately I have not," Maya admitted with a distinct tone of sadness. "The list of possibilities has been greatly reduced, but without more specific details about the planet or the star formations visible from the surface, there is little more I can do. The best we can hope for at this time is for Kai to remember something while investigating some of the planets on the current list."

"Even if we end up visiting a few wrong planets, I suspect that kai will not be the one complaining," Lillie grinned. "From having been in captivity for who knows how long, I can imagine that it will enjoy being able to see other worlds, even if only for a short period of time."

"I agree Doctor," the Shillian offered with a short lived smile. "Unfortunately, we need to get Kai off NEW ALEXANDRIA first before we can enjoy the possibilities of it visiting other worlds, a task that according to Commander Shar'El heavily counts on you being able to successfully increase the duration of the sensor cloaking effect."

"I just might have found something in the electro-static residual charge in your blood," the Doctor announced with clearly reserved optimism. "I will need to perform several more tests, but it might be the break we were searching for."

"The electro-static charge you have discovered does appear to be too faint to account for the effect we have observed, but I can officially state that it is not a natural part of my blood chemistry," the Chief Science Officer confirmed, matching the cautious tone of the Doctor. As great as the discovery might have been, it was still a long way from them understanding how the effect worked and even further to finding a way to increase its duration to double or more.

---
Jessica Solarik

Lieutenant Commander Maya [Access Character BIO for Maya]
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS

&

Captain Selene Fiona Iverson [Access Character BIO for Selene Iverson]
Commanding Officer
USS BASTET

"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
M08-P049: USS ANUBIS: Dima: Day 3 - 0015 ("Best Little Mutiny Ever")
=/\=
“Best Little Mutiny Ever”
(Continued from “The Scientific Point of View”)
=/\=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Captain’s Ready Room
Stardate: 32017.0015

Erik Morningstar, the CO of the ANUBIS, continued to work in efficient silence, as their plan to free Kai from NEW ALEXANDRIA was still in the development phase, and beyond the senior staff, no one else was aware of their machinations- especially the all-too-covert Admiral Charles Koniki. If this particularly bothered or upset the Native American man, it did not show. His calmness was reassuring as the young woman seated across from him tried to imagine each of the others working on the tasks Shar’El had directed them to perform if they had any hope at success.

At first, it was easy for Nicole to follow the man’s lead. She had to review Tanith Jones’ file. And study all the observed data regarding Kai. And ensure her personal and professional logs were up to date. And scrutinize the elements of their plan for when the Admiral came calling on them to return his living property. But she felt her mind drifting towards the decision they had made and whether or not she was strong enough to deal with the consequences of that decision. She felt good about trying to get Kai to an approximation of her home, and that overpowered the concerns she had for herself and her co-workers, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t worried at all.

She stood up, placing the PADD aside, stretched, and went over to the replicator. “Do you need anything?” she asked her CO.

“Risian tea latte, please.”

A few seconds later, she placed his beverage on the desk, while she took a cup of the same tea prepared with only bergamot and sugar back to where she was sitting, taking a sip before placing it on a small side table. “Can I ask you a question?”

The man who bore the heritage of the Okanagan Nation nodded. “Of course.”

“Are these types of situations ‘typical’ when it comes to the ANUBIS? We’re not even on a mission now… but we’re *on a mission*.” Her blue eyes reflected a rare, bemused innocence as serving on such a specialized vessel was something her previous lifetimes had not quite prepared her for.  Even her prior Starfleet experience was from an entirely different vantage point.

Erik laughed. “I doubt it would have taken you much longer to figure this out, Miss Dima, but nothing about this ship or her purpose is ever typical. Exciting, yes?”

She nodded, allowing her dark brown hair and the random pattern of spots along the sides of her impish face to catch the light. “Yes, but a little… unnerving.” She clutched her tea, the warmth and citrusy notes soothing her.

“There is a second truth that I should tell you about, then. There is one thing that *is* typical which makes all the other things a great deal less important to be concerned about. Care to take a stab at what i’m thinking of?”

“Until today, I was going to guess ‘job security’ but that’s kind of gone out the window.”

Erik stood. “Hundreds of years ago, on EARTH, there was a great gathering of the Native American people, including those from my tribe. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip made a declaration which people from both sides of the old borders between countries and a group representing twelve tribes in all came to witness. His impassioned speech can be summed up in one sentence: ‘It is time to work toward Unity amongst us all.’”

“Unity. Like among the Federation of Planets? Starfleet?”

“I was thinking of something a little closer to home. As in, Unity among the senior staff of this ship. You work together toward the goal, whatever that is. Every single time.”

“Teamwork isn’t something to be assumed, I guess,” Nicole said.

“No, but here it *is* a given. If you’re here, it’s for a reason. It may not be able to be defined, but it comes through when it is most needed.”

“Like sitting here, waiting for something to happen while everyone else works to help Kai *disappear*?” Although neither of them could forget that ‘something’ was a large imposing Admiral with more secrets than Houdini’s diary.

“Certainly you’re familiar with patience? After several lifetimes, this can’t be your first time waiting.”

Nic hesitantly agreed. “Oh no, but the side effects are impossible.”

His brown eyes reflected amusement. “Waiting is *not* a disease. I’m sure Lillie can confirm this if you’d like a more professional opinion.”

Ensign Dima finished her tea and put the cup in the reclamation unit. “Yes, but waiting leads to thinking, which leads to guessing, which leads to second guessing, which leads to doubt.”

Erik folded his arms, adopting a serious look. “We have no choice but to wait… but nobody said you were required to think.” He then smiled again.

The young woman lowered herself to her seat again with a little bit of wonder. “I thought it was my job to ease *your* mind, not the opposite.”

The CO glanced at his console, which could chirp at any time with a call from Koniki. “We’re waiting for that, remember? I know you’ll owe me one when the time comes.”

“Yes, Sir,” The Counsellor said with a friendly smile as the Captain went back to his reports.

=/\=
Susan Ledbetter

Chief Counselor
USS ANUBIS NCC-18501
M08-P050: USS ANUBIS: Ya'Han: Day 03 - 0015 ("Blind No More")
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Blind No More"
[previous post was "Best Little Mutiny Ever"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32017.0015

Ya'Han smiled absentmindedly as she recalled her Academy days and some of the more interesting discussions that took place in the Ethics class of Professor Jol'Darra'Kihl. The man had a gift in making the Cadets have very opinionated view on the issues he would present to them with. Thanks to her own personal journey to EARTH and Starfleet Academy, the then black-haired Nylaan had a rather unique take on many of these scenarios.

Unlike most Cadets, she had not been brought up with the ideals of the Federation and the promises of a an exciting life within Starfleet. Her upbringing and the ethic lessons she had received, had been based on an entirely different way of life as well as a very biased point of view of the universe around her.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
FLASHBACK
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

Setting: NYLA IV, Imperial Palace, Observation Tower
Stardate: 14059.1445 (Ya'Han is 7 years old)

From the observation tower the entire Imperial city could be seen. The large curved windows gave a nearly perfectly unobstructed 360 degree view. The youngest of the High Sovereign's daughters enjoyed behind here to look at the distant mountain range and ocean, especially at night when she would be able to add to this magnificent display the reflection of the stars on the gently moving waves. Of course she had never been permitted to do this, reaching the top of the tower by sneaking out of her room and avoiding the patrols.

Today, she had been brought here by one of her instructors who had wanted to use the display that surrounded them as a way to further make the point he needed to pass on to the daughter of the ruler of NYLA IV. He knew that failure to make the young woman understand what he needed to explain would result in his life coming to a painful end.

"What do you see?"

The question had been simple enough, but the tone in which it had been asked hinted to there being more. Without knowing exactly what had been intended or required, the daughter of the High Sovereign decided to answer as best she could based on the words used and not the implied idea of which she had no ideas about.

"The Imperial city," Ya'Han replied with nervousness, certain that as detailed as her answer would be, it would not be sufficient to meet the instructor's wishes. "From here I can see the Eastern Market Plaza as well as the freighter landing platform. Beyond the city's walls, the Imperial Mountain range as well as the Ancestral Ocean. If I turn around, I could see..."

"Enough," the instructor snapped in anger, indicating with little effort that the answer had been, as expected, far from meeting his expectations. "You claim to see, yet you show that you are blind. Everything that you see from this tower is under the High Sovereign's control. He is master of everything and everyone you see here and beyond. His will his supreme and that is what you must learn to understand."

"My father may be powerful, but he does not control the mountains or the sky," Ya'Han challenged, her youthfulness and naive understanding of the political world that she was an unwilling part of all too evident.

"You know nothing," the instructor growled in disappointment. "Should your father, the High Sovereign wish it, he could have the Imperial Mountains reduced to nothing but rubble. He could darken the sky so that none would ever again see the sun and stars and if he so wished it, the Ancestral Ocean could be drained to the very last drop. The sooner you realize that the High Sovereign is Master over everything that you see, hear and understand, the sooner you will be able to move ahead with your training and avoid becoming the target of his anger."

"I understand," the young Nylaan stated with distinct hesitation. "I think," she added. This had not been the first time that she had been told this, but something in her mind refused to accept these claims of supremacy. Ya'Han had been willing to accept that he was their ruler, a man of great importance and power, but she could not simply embrace the concept that his power over all was absolute. If so, why had he required the assistance of so many to do everything everyone claimed him to be responsible for doing?

"What do you see?"

The question was repeated but this time Ya'Han knew better than to give a reply based on her senses, instead she would need to formulate an answer based on what she had been told, what she had been required to understand.  "I see a world that belongs to the High Sovereign, my father, and which is shaped by his will. The people of the Imperial Capital, as well as all of the inhabitants of NYLA IV are his to do as he wishes with, and they are grateful for his benevolence."

"Well said little one," the instructor smiled. "Next time though, you will need to say this in a way that will convince others in your believing this.  Like your eyes that see nothing, your words equally said nothing. To say what is expected is not enough, you must believe it in your heart and soul. Your world is now and will forever be shaped by the will of your father, the High Sovereign and ruler of everything you will ever know."

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
End of FLASHBACK
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

The black and red-haired Sec/Tac turned to look at Jayson, tilting her head to one side every so gently. The world that she had been born into possessed a great many things, but the moment she had begun to look beyond the limits set by her station within the hierarchy of the Imperial family, there had been no turning back.

Likewise, Kai had been placed in a position that he would never be able to escape from. The life that he had known had been forever changed the moment the alien life form had been taken away from its home. That life was even further changed when it found its way onto the ANUBIS and began to take on the form of the members of the senior staff. By the looks of things, the greatest change was when it became another Ya'Han, causing the shapeshifter to experience something that had been well beyond anything that it could have understood.

At that moment, its eyes were open and a whole new universe opened up before the alien life form, not entirely unlike the Nylaan woman whom the shapeshifter had taken on the appearance of not that long ago.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han

Lieutenant JG Ya'Han [Access Character BIO for Ya'Han]
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P051: USS ANUBIS: Jones: Day 02 - 2430 ("Poor Career Choices")
"Poor Career Choices"
Continued from Hanali's "Blind No More"
* * *=(/\)=* * *

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.2340

“Ensign Jones?” The Counselor’s voice stopped Tanith in her tracks as she was leaving the meeting. Tanith turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. She knew she was due for a meeting, but this hardly seemed an opportune time.

“Counselor? Can I help you? I did mean to come talk to you, it just never seemed quite an opportune time-” Tanith asked politely, searching the Trill’s face for some sort of sigh as to what she wanted.

“No, it’s not that. I wanted to ask you if you were sure about what they’re asking you to do. You’ve only just become reintegrated back into normal duty, and this seems like a rather large step to commit, well, mutiny or whatever it is what we’re doing counts as.”

Tanith considered this for a moment.

“No, just being back probably makes it easier. I have no idea who the Admiral is, and I have no particular loyalty to him, and after seven years undercover with the Orions, well, quite honestly it feels good to be doing the right thing.”

“You did a lot of the wrong things?”

“Orion. Syndicate. I would say there are very few wrong things that I have left undone,” Tanith felt awkward? Ashamed? Ashamed that she was not ashamed? She hesitated. The counselor at the station had said that these feelings would come, but Tanith had hoped it would take longer than this. Tanith coughed and shuffled her feet. “Besides, things will turn out alright, they nearly always do for me.”

“How so?”

“Well, this situation reminds me of this one time, a couple years ago. The syndicate was supposed to transport some minor princess off of some crap planet in the briar patch to marry some minor prince to broker some sort of deal. Problem is the princess had other ideas, and once we got her onto our ship, she stole a shuttle and ran off. Of course myself and the rest of the crew weren’t about to go back to the Orion Syndicate and our bosses and tell them that we’d lost the girl, but we couldn’t find her at all. So one of the female muscle we’d got decided that the only thing for it was for her to dress up and for us to present her to the Prince as the princess. Well, we *know* no one’s going to buy that, but what else can we do? So we show up and we present her to the royal court, and lo and behold, everyone keeps up the pretense! Everyone wanted the deal the marriage was supposed to cement so badly everyone ignored that the ‘princess’ we’d presented them with wasn’t even the right species! Anyway, this sort of reminds me of that situation, I’m not really sure that anyone *wants* Kai in the first place, it’s more for appearances.”

“Why do you say that?” Nicole blinked.

“Well, it wasn’t a very efficient recapturing effort, I mean, if I was the Admiral and I *really* wanted Kai, I would have transported all of us off the ship, and then used the ship defense systems to seal off sections of the ship, and then I’d send pairs of security officers to clear each section. Way more efficient if you ask me. But I’m probably overlooking something pretty obvious. Xenobiology isn’t my thing.” Tanith glanced to the waiting turbolift.

“Go on,” Nicole smiled slightly. “This is probably the longest conversation I’ve had with a crew member that wasn’t under duress, and you probably want some time to refresh yourself on the flight systems. We’ll talk later.”

“Absolutely, I’m not avoiding you. I look forward to talking to you counselor,” Tanith said, bobbing her head.

* * *=(/\)=* * *
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32017.0015

Tanith’s hands caressed the Anubis’ flight console. If it was in her nature to be nervous and jumpy she would have been, but as it was she moved with the same sedate, languid speed she always did. Haste makes waste and all that. Better to give herself time to see how things were going than to jump into action prematurely and end up in a worse situation than it could have. Better to give herself time to think things through, rather than going with her first instinct.

“Something wrong, Ensign?” Commander Shar'El asked from behind her.

“No Sir, just been a while since I did this. Trying to remember which button is go,” Tanith tried to inject enough levity into her voice to let the woman know she was joking, but as the silence stretched on a moment she felt the need to say something. “That was a joke.”

“I gathered. I know you’ve not flown a Starfleet vessel in some time, if you’re worried-”

* * *=(/\)=* * *
Flashback
* * *=(/\)=* * *

Setting: The Orion Syndicate Vessel, ZHEVAR
Time Index: five years ago.

“Come on, Tammy-Jo!” Terrence whined in Tanith’s ear. The man was sweating profusely, his nervousness showing. “We have to get OUT of here, if those Starfleet vessels figure out what our cargo is, or if they get curious-”

“If they get curious we’re going to have a lot more to worry about than the cargo,” Tanith responded, shoving her own misgivings into a little ball and stuffing them down into the back of her mind. Their cargo wasn’t cargo, it was people, destined to become slaves on distant planets, courtesy of the Orion Syndicate. Tanith half wished that the Starfleet ships that had suddenly entered the system *would* board them, would find theit ‘cargo’. Heck, she was more than half tempted to alert them herself, if it wouldn’t have torpedoed her mission, and if she thought there was a chance in hell they would believe that she was an undercover agent. “This ship is full of pirated Starfleet technology, if they come on board, they’re sure to notice, and then questions will be asked, and then the Syndicate will be breathing down the back of our necks for the rest of our lives, which won’t be very long because they won’t be happy that we’ve shown the Federation their technical hand.”

Of course, she also rather wished the Federation would find out about this ship, it was eerily similar to a Starfleet vessel, right down to the controls. Almost as though the Syndicate had built the thing off of Starfleet blueprints, with minor cosmetic changes to the outside so it wasn’t obvious. Heck, the navigation console was nearly identical to the one she’d learned on in the Academy.

“Yeah, so get a move on!” Terrance gulped, one hand wiping his brow. “You’re dithering like we have all the time-”

“Listen, the moment we *look* like we have something to hide, is the moment they suss something’s up with us. If I speed out of here like our tail is on fire, they’re sure as hell going to notice, and probably pursue us. So instead, I’m going slow. Flying casual, as though we don’t have a hold full of contraband. Got it?”

“Right. Got it. Fly casual,” Terrance let out deep breath. “Uh. How exactly do you do that?”

“Like this,” Tanith grinned and began to move the ship in a ponderous, slow turn.

* * *=(/\)=* * *
End of  flashback
* * *=(/\)=* * *

“No, sir, no worries. I’ve flown things configured almost exactly like these recently,” Tanith tried to sound commanding, rather than like she was soothing the Commander patronizingly but she wasn’t exactly sure she managed that. “Do we have a destination in mind? It will be easier to come up with a course if I know. I figure three or four drops out of warp and changes in direction should be enough to muddle our signal so they can’t track us.”

* * *=(/\)=* * *
Alix Fowler

Flight Control Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P052: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 03 - 0100 ("Tactical Review")
=-=
"Tactical Review"
[previous post was "Poor Career Choices" by the skillfully piloting Alix]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, IGC
Stardate: 32017.0100

At this early hour of the morning, one would have expected the greater majority of the staff on board the USS ANUBIS to be in their quarters sleeping. This could not have been further from what was happening on board the ship, each and every senior officer being busy with their respective tasks to secure their guest's escape and freedom.

Having worked directly under Admiral Koniki on many Intel missions, the ExO / ILO considered herself to be knowledgeable in the ways the man thought. That said though, it was a far stretch for her to claim to know or understand what the employed methods and goals were. It was evident that the man completely trusted only a very select few, always finding ways to test those around him without them even realizing it. With that in mind, Shar'El could not help but wonder if this entire affair with the shape-shifting alien had not been something designed to see how the crew would react, both as individuals and as a team?

Emotions had ran high when the alien life form had been identified as being on board causing the ANUBIS to be on lockdown without its Captain on board. That alone would have provided many opportunities to test the crew as they dealt with an unexpected situation. Discovering that the life form was a skilled shapeshifter had instantly raised the bar, leading some to distrust others as well as themselves. In hindsight, the ExO / ILO had to admit that the crew had weathered that part of the issue far better than other individuals she had come to know during her previous Intel missions.

Thinking of those particular officers and how they would have gone completely off the 'deep-end' had they been dealing with a similar situation, Shar'El thought back to Jayson and Ya'Han. The amorous couple had become the focus of their guest's attention and yet both managed to deal with the intrusion into their private lives far better than anyone could have hoped. If the Admiral had wanted to test the abilities of the Chief of Security and Chief of Operations in separating their professional and private lives, there would have surely been better ways to do so. That said though, the Admiral had never been one to do things simply or on a small scale.

The ExO / ILO paused her thinking as she scanned the monitors of her station. Elan and ANI were still keeping their guest busy, Kai still displaying an uncanny curiosity towards the ship's Avatar although it did seem that the Oltharian had begun to draw a certain amount of the attention on himself, that he had wanted to or not. Given how interested in other life forms their guest had been, it was only a matter of time before the shapeshifter diverted her queries onto the blue-skinned giant.

On the Bridge, the amorous couple had made some notable progress in being able to keep track of the base's key personnel using the ANUBIS' thermal scanners. Not only had this permitted them to follow the movements of those who might end up causing trouble during the later parts of their plan, but they had achieved this without tipping their proverbial hands to those they were actually observing. Shar'El smiled as she was pleasantly forced to admit to herself that they made a great team, both personally and professionally.

In Sickbay, Commander Maya and Doctor Doyanne had still been working on figuring out how the sensor blocking effect of Kai's assimilation of biological and neurological information worked in order to increase its duration. Normally the pair would have been tasked with the opposite, trying to find a way to pierce this natural defence cloaked meant to protect the shapeshifting life form from being easily discovered. This of course made Shar'El once again consider that this had been another part of the Admiral's plan to see if they would be able to solve this puzzle. Being able to find solutions to unexpected problems had after all been an unstated requirement for a vessel working under the mission profile of the ANUBIS

Shar'El found herself once again thinking about the Admiral and his way of doing things. As crazy as it might have sounded, this entire thing felt more and more like a well-orchestrated set-up meant to test the crew on as many different levels as possible. Every member of the senior staff had been personally affected by the presence of the shapeshifting alien, some by having been duplicated while others had to deal with the reality that they had been so completely fooled by the life form's exceptional skills and abilities.

Now, the crew were being tested as a whole, likely to see if they would band together to achieve a single common goal or if they would find themselves on opposite sides of the ethical line, arguing against one another as to what needed to be done.  There were no tangible proof that this was a test as the ExO / ILO suspected, this despite the possibility making a lot of sense, but still Shar'El had to again admit that he crew had come out of this far better than many others would. As a team, the crew had learned to trust their Captain's insight, knowing that he would step forward to insure, this to the best of his abilities, that he would claim full responsibility should things not go as hoped.

Hoped? What was it that they were actually hoping for? Sneaking Kai out of the NEW ALEXANDRIA complex was a test of their skills and ingenuity, but it would not take the Admiral long to discover what had happened. From there what would he do? Would he send the other SCARAB-Class cruisers after them? Of all the ships in the secret fleet under his command, those were the only ones capable of locating, track and catching up to the ANUBIS. The question was what would happen after that? Would the Admiral actually give the order to engage in live combat? As interesting as that would be to witness, the ExO / ILO could not bring herself to image that Koniki would give such an order, not to mention that Shar'El had no intention of testing the full combat capabilities of this ship and crew in such a manner. Going against an opposing force threatening the well-being of any part of the Federation and its citizen was one thing, to go up against an ally was not now nor would ever be an option to her or Captain Morningstar. So what would happen?

Captain Sangolo of the SEKHMET would never engage that much she was certain, Walter having known Erik for far too long to not want to know the full story from the Captain of the ANUBIS first hand. The Captain of the HORUS though, a man by the name of Paul Harris, was known for following the Admiral's orders without ever asking why. If ordered to do so, there was no doubt in Shar'El's mind that the HORUS would not hesitate to open fire on the ANUBIS without holding anything back. The only other option would be for the Admiral to take the USS SCARAB out himself and pursue the ANUBIS. Since the ship had been passed over for many upgrades, it was a foregone conclusion that Captain Morningstar and his crew would have the advantage in that instance.

Shar'El allowed a sigh to escape from her lips, the exploring of these worst-case scenarios having gone much farther than she had expected it. Keeping in view all possible outcomes was part of her duties as the ship's First Officer, and as the Intel Liaison Officer, she possessed knowledge that only added to the details she could see in each of these possible course of actions.  That said, it made little sense that the Admiral would risk a full-blown internal conflict all for a single alien life form, this regardless of how skilled a shapeshifter it might be. So Shar'El once more returned to this having been nothing more than a test to see how the crew performed when faced with some truly unique set of circumstances and limited options.

Yes, this had to be it, everything else not making any sense, but without any solid proof that this was as she suspected, the senior staff of the ANUBIS had to continue as they had been going, thinking that what the were doing was in direct violation of orders given by Admiral Koniki. They would have to wait until the very end to see if the suspicions of their ExO / ILO had been accurate in any way.

The ExO / ILO's attention was brought back to one of the monitors, as she noted some heightened activity from the Chief Science Officer and Chief Medical Officer, both appearing to be celebrating something. It appeared that the two had finally managed to find a way to increase the duration of the sensor cloaking ability generated by Kai. Now all that was left to do was to set the plan in motion and see just how this story would actually end.

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P053: USS ANUBIS: Stark: Day 03 - 0130 ("Feeling The Heat")
"Feeling The Heat"
[previous "Tactical Review"]

[/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32017.0130

He was actually pleased with their progress. Being limited to using only passive scanning techniques had greatly reduced their range and precision, but following some tweaking of the thermal sensors, the Chief of Security and Chief of Operations had been able to identify no less than 21 base personnel including the Admiral himself.

"I will be honest," Jayson began, "I don't like the fact that he has been in his office the entire time. It's as if he was waiting for something."

"Like our telling him that we are bringing Kai over?" Ya'Han teased. "Given how badly he wants it back, I'm surprised that he has not made his way here and broken down the Captain's door. The Admiral has displayed a remarkable level of patience."

"That also concerns me," the OPS Officer admitted as he glanced at the woman by his side, hinting by the expression on his face that he pretty much disliked everything to do with their situation. To have a shapeshifting alien on board was bad, but to have it take Ya'Han's appearance had been unsettling to say the least. The reasons why Kai had done this was something that Jayson had done his best not to think about.

If that was not bad enough, they were now going against the Admiral's orders for the sake of doing the right thing. Now, he agreed that this was needed to be done, but the prospect of a court martial had not been all that appealing. Even if the Captain took the full blame, they would all have a permanent mark on their personnel records showing that they went along with this instead of siding with the Admiral.

"Looks like Maya and Lille have succeeded in their work," Ya'Han said, noting on the internal security sensors that the pair had been heading out of Sickbay.

Jayson had been about to explain that maybe they had only needed to go for a walk, but just as he was about to say this he noticed someone else moving. "The Admiral in on the move."

"Coincidence?" The woman by his side asked, the timing having been simply too perfect.

"I am not to believe in coincidences," he admitted, "especially not in this line of work. I can only guess that he somehow knew what they were working on and that he knows they have found something."

"If he knows what we are planning, why let us go through with it?" Ya'Han continued with her questions. "Would it not make more sense to act before and insure that Kai doesn't risk slipping through his fingers?"

"Maybe he just wants to see if we would actually go through with it," Jayson proposed. "He might hope that he won't have to throw us all in the brig."

"That makes no sense," she pointed out.

"Really? that's the part you think doesn't make any sense?" Jayson rhetorically asked, sounding both amused and upset at the same time. "This entire thing makes no sense. From putting the ANUBIS on lockdown to having us treat this as a first contact scenario to demanding that the alien be returned to him and the Captain setting all of us to mutiny against the Admiral. So please tell me, what part of that made any sense?"

Ya'Han smiled as she appeared to be remembering some part of her past. As well as he thought he knew her, Jayson understood that there were still numerous details and events from her past that he had not been told of. Maybe in time she would open up to him, but right now had definitively not been the time to do so.

"People do not always act in their best interests," she explained as if relating to both the present as well as the past. "In fact, people do not always act in a way that makes sense, even to themselves."

"Of course not," he sighed. "Life would be way too boring and predictable if it was that way. Think of all the problems we would be able to avoid."

"Think of all the fun we would also be missing out on," she teased back before forcing their attention back on the situation at hand. "Where is the Admiral going?"

"Actually, he looks like he is just wandering around in his office," Jayson reported as he observed the heat signature identified as being that of the Admiral pacing back and forth."

"So maybe it was a coincidence," Ya'Han proposed. "If he actually knew, or even simply suspected what we are doing, he would not be pacing in his office at the moment. Maybe he just needed to stretch his legs?"

"Maybe," Jayson accepted with audible reluctance, his gaze locked on the thermal image of the person walking back and forth, feeling as if something was not right while being able to specify why he felt that way.

The Ops Officer did not even look over his shoulder when the door to the turbolift opened and Ya'Han greeted the CMO and CSciO. It was clear that they had come here to see the Captain and did not require his input or acknowledgement. What was important, at least to Jayson, was trying to figure out why he felt as he did about the now moving heat signature.

"You looking at that screen like that is not going to change anything," the Chief of Security pointed out, finding his insistence and focus comical.

"There is something wrong, I can feel it and I need to figure out what it is," Jayson explained.

"Let me help," Ya'Han offered, certain that she would not see anything out of the ordinary but thinking it would be nice to not make him feel like he had completely lost his mind.

For the next few minutes, both Ya'Han and Jayson watched as the heat signature moved back and forth through the office of Admiral Koniki. If the man had indeed wanted to stretch his legs, he had decided to do so by walking a few kilometers by the looks of things.

"What is he doing?" The OPS Officer asked voicing his thoughts. "Thinking and walking is all nice and dandy but there is not a single break in his steps."

"Nor any fluctuations in the heat signature," the Chief of Security gasped. "It's a decoy!"

"What? How?"

"You said he got up," Ya'Han explained. "He could have trade places with whoever or whatever it is that we have been following for the last few minutes. This would have given him the opportunity to move without being followed, which hints that he knows what we are trying to do."

"This is not good, not good at all," Jayson announced as he reached for the communication controls on the workstation. "Bridge to Captain Morningstar, looks like the Admiral is on the move. He left a decoy in his office that we have been following for a few minutes; we have no idea as to where he is now or where he may be heading."

"Wherever he is going, I am pretty sure that it won't be good for us," Ya'Han added.

=/\= Looks like the time for action is upon us, =/\= The Captain stated through the open channel. =/\= Inform everyone that we are moving to the next part of the plan, and do your best to get a fix on where the Admiral is. Of all the those who can truly make things complicated for us, he's the worst. =/\=

"Understood Captain," Jayson said before closing the channel and turning to face Ya'Han. "You picked up on the lack of differences in the heat signature, you are better at this, so you work on figuring out where the Admiral is while I contact the others."

"This is where the fun truly starts," Ya'Han offered, already focussing on the various heat signatures being displayed on their screen.

"Better enjoy it while we can," he gulped. "Might be the last bit of *fun* we will be enjoying for quite some time."

[/\]
Jayson Sousa

Lieutenant JG Jayson Stark [Access Character BIO for Jayson Stark]
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P054: USS ANUBIS: Paquette: Day 03 - 0145 ("Time To Shape Up")
"Time To Shape Up"
previous post was "Feeling The Heat"

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 22, Main Engineering
Stardate: 32017.0145

"Alright giants, aliens and bears, it's time to rumble," the redhead Engineer announced as she quickly walked into the area where the others had gathered. "Looks like the Admiral in on the move, and so must we." 

"What are *bears*?" Kai innocently asked. Although the term had been familiar following the shapeshifter taking on Humanoid form, Kai could not associate the name with the beast in question, and following what Sonja had just said, it wanted to know how the animal had been relevant to what they had been speaking about.

"Bears are a large carnivoran EARTH mammal covered completely with, fur, belonging to the Ursidae family," ANI replied, as she looked at the Chief Engineer with a distinctly unimpressed expression. "An animal that I would like to point out that I have absolutely nothing in common with."

"You have been hanging with Elan too much," the Chief Engineer playfully sighed. "You always get overly sensitive when he's around." Before the towering Oltharian could add anything, Sonja turned and began to wave a warning finger in his direction. "I don't want any excuses from you. Just nod in agreement and stay quiet."

As much as he wanted to defend himself from the implied accusation that he had somehow been responsible for the Avatar's behaviour, Elan remained perfectly silent and did as he had been instructed, nodding his head in silence.

"Good giant," Sonja grinned. "Now you all know what to do, so let's get going. Everything has to happen as we discussed if this little plan of the Captain has any chance to remotely fool the Admiral. So come on you three, time's a wastin. ANI, you're up."

The Avatar silently acknowledged with a gentle motion of her head as she closed her eyes. This was the only outward indication that the artificial woman gave when accessing any of the ANUBIS' systems, but it was more than enough for those who knew her.  As soon as ANI's eyes reopened the redheaded Chief Engineer sighed and turned her attention to their guest.

"Alright, time to get moving. Doctor Doyanne is expecting us."

"Do I have to go?" The shapeshifter inquired, her voice and demeanour making the strong-willed Chief of Security sound and appear as a black-haired child worried about being punished for some wrong doing.

"I am afraid that there is no other choice," the Oltharian stated in as peaceful and reassuring a voice as the giant could, which to his credit he had achieved beyond well.

=====

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Corridor

Stardate: 32017.0155

Sonja had taken point, closely followed by Kai and Elan while ANI brought up the rear, the Avatar keeping a more than diligent eye on the three individuals ahead of her. ANI had positioned herself to insure that not a single movement of theirs would go unnoticed, and so far she had kept a record of their guest's growing reluctance as she drew increasingly closer to Sickbay and Doctor Doyanne who would be waiting for them.

"If you would be so kind as to enter," the redhead stated having opened the door to usher their guest inside. Kai hesitated for a moment but when she saw the real Ya'Han coming up behind Sonja, the alien shapeshifter's shoulders sank having realized that there was no other option for it.

=====

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Sickbay

Stardate: 32017.0156

"I hope that you know that I am truly sorry about this," Doctor Doyanne said to Kai once everyone had entered Sickbay and the door had closed behind them. The black and red-haired Ya'Han had opted to remain by the door, just in case. Although the possibility had been minimal, there was still the unlikely event that their guest would try an escape, an outcome that had been visible on everyone's faces. In some cases this concern had actually been joined with a hint of hope as this would lead to them not having to deal with what was to come.

"Everything will be alright," Elan offered to the alien life form with whom he had spent quite a bit of time talking to and sharing some of his most intimate secrets.

Despite the Otharian's reassuring words and tone, everyone could see that fear was mounting inside their guest. Given what was about to happen, everyone understood all to well why this reaction had come to be.

"Just lay down on the examination table," the Chief Medical Officer stated. "I will run a few scans and then we will be able to proceed. I assure you that the entire process will be painless."

Kai took a moment to meet the eyes of everyone in the room, as if wanting to say her final farewells to them. She offered a grateful yet apologetic smile to the Chief of Security, making it evident that the alien had been happy with having shared the Nylaan's appearance for as long as she had been permitted to. Then she turned to look at the giant Oltharian before offering him a silent acknowledgement from his home world. The Shillian received a beaming smile as the two shapeshifter gaze locked for an instant, both recognizing that each could have learned so much more from the other. Sonja and the Avatar standing by her side were each given a simple nod of thanks.

With everyone else having been visually addressed, Kai turned its attention back onto the Chief Medical Officer. "I'm afraid," the other Ya'Han said in an odd contrast to what would have been expected from the woman whom the shapeshifter had taken the appearance of.

"Don't you worry none lass," the Engineer offered in a gentle Scottish accent as she stepped forward leaving ANI alone by the far wall, where she would be able to see everyone currently in the room. "As the big giant said," the redhead added, "everything will be alright."

Kai appeared as if it was debating the words of encouragement that had been spoken against the mounting feelings of fear and dread it was experiencing. By the looks of things, the balance had begun to shift on the side of trust as the shapeshifter made its way onto the examination table, but that suddenly changed as the alien took hold of the Doctor's wrist.

In a matter of seconds, the black-haired Nylaan was replaced by a three-inch taller blonde-haired Tarellian who appeared to be ready for a fight.  Maya and Sonja quickly moved in to catch the weakened Chief Medical Officer while the imposing blue-skinned Engineer motioned for the Chief of Security to not draw her weapon.

"I know that you are scared," Elan began trying to insure that Kai's attention remained focussed on him and him alone. "No one here wants to harm you, but you have to understand that we do not have a choice. We spoke about this at length and you said that you understood. We must do as we are meant to."

"I can't," Kai said sounding as if it had been on the verge of tears while in the form of Doctor Doyanne. "I won't."

"You explained to me while we were talking that you are able to pick up on the emotions of the person you touch as you gather the needed information to take on their form," the Oltharian said as he managed to draw closer to the nervous alien. "Touch me, take my appearance and feel that what I am telling you now is true. You will be safe, I will return to NEW ALEXANDRIA with you and I will personally make sure of this."

"You cannot allow her to touch you," Ya'Han screamed from the door. That the alien had taken on the form of their Chief Medical Officer had been one thing, but to allow it to become another giant had been an unacceptable risk.

"Elan," Lillie jumped in with, "you can't."

"Healer, you of all people know that this will actually make things easier," the Oltharian explained. As a extreme pacifist, the Robotics Engineer knew that even if the Alien took on only a fraction of his most defining characteristic, it would find itself unable to harm anyone in anyway. "Please," the giant continued having returned his fullest attention to the nervous shapeshifter. "Trust me," he added as he extended his imposing hand towards Kai who slowly, very slowly reached back before making contact.

Again, in a matter of seconds the transformation took place, the copy of the blonde-haired Chief Medical Officer having been replaced by an even taller blue-skinned towering Robotics Engineer.

"Great," Sonja sighed with dismay, "now we have two of those walking mountains. We're going to need a bigger ship," the redhead said as she rushed to Elan's side to make sure he was alright.

"I am sorry," Kai said in the deepest voice it had experienced since having come onboard the ANUBIS. "It was never my intent to cause any problem," the alien added as it turned to look at the now kneeling Oltharian who was doing his best to quickly recuperate from the draining effect the transformation had caused. "I will do as you wished me to. My life is in your hands."

With both the Doctor and Robotics Engineer being helped back to their feet, the alien shapeshifter effortlessly brought itself onto the examination table where it simply laid down and waited for what it knew would come next.

=====
Lorraine Paquette

Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
M08-P055: USS ANUBIS: Ya'Han: Day 03 - 0200 ("Clearing The Way")
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Clearing The Way"
[previous post was "Time to Shape Up"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 32017.0200

Seeing their guest in the form of the giant Oltharian had been weird. Granted not as weird as seeing it as a black-haired mirror image of herself, but still weird enough. What truly took the Sec/Tac by surprise though was the fact that the alien life form had suddenly and so completely lost all apparent will to fight. Obviously, Kai had taken from Elan far more than his simple yet very imposing appearance.

"Are you two alright?" Ya'Han asked of the Chief Medical Officer and Robotics Engineer, her hand still very much at the ready on her sidearm. As per the Oltharian's unspoken request she had not reacted as her training had demanded, that had not meant that the Sec/Tac had not been ready to jump into action should the situation demand it.

A notable credit to their selfishness, both Lillie and Elan confirmed that they were alright as they quickly made their way to the shapeshifter currently lying on the examination table. It was clear to see that they both had been far more concerned about their guest rather than themselves. To be honest, the Sec/Tac did also feel a certain level of concern for Kai but her duties and responsibilities on board the ANUBIS had left her with no option as to which course of action she needed to follow.

While the majority of the gathered officers showed their concerns for those implicated in this short-live altercation, the bright red-haired Nylaan turned her attention onto the ship's Avatar. "With the alien life form now secured, I want to make sure that there is nothing in our way as we head to NEW ALEXANDRIA. I need the corridors between Sickbay and the umbilical connection on Deck 8 cleared of all personnel. After what happened here, I also want level 10 force-fields to be established at every junction between those here and our destination. I also need you to lock the turbolift so that it can go nowhere else other than from this deck down to the one below. Nothing comes in or out of the path we will be following. Can I count on you to do this?"

Looking straight at the Sec/Tac, ANI smiled and simply closed her eyes for a brief moment before reopening them. "The security order has been transmitted and the force fields will be in place as soon as the quickest path between Sickbay and the nearest umbilical connection to NEW ALEXANDRIA is cleared of any personnel. Shall I disable the transporter system during that time?"

It was Ya'Han's turn to smile. "Yes, take them off off line for the duration of our trek. I think we have had more than enough surprises for one day."

"Once more ANI closed her eyes for a very brief moment before reopening them. "All transporter have been taken off-line."

"Thank you," Ya'Han offered before making her way to the examination table, under the untiring watch of the Avatar. "Everything is set," the bright red-haired Sec/Tac announced, we can proceed as soon as you are all ready."

A moment of hesitation was shared between those gathered around the examination table. An expression of concern could be clearly observed on the face of the towering Robotics Engineer as he looked down at himself, obviously less than happy to see the other Oltharian restrained as he was.

"There has to be another way to do this?" The Doctor argued. Her Hippocratic oath forbade her from doing any harm and as far as she had been concerned this course of action was dangerously skirting that.

"You have nothing to be concerned about Healer," the restrained Oltharian said, having picked up the Robotic Engineer's mannerism when it came to speaking to someone belonging to the medical field. "All will be fine."

Lillie glanced up at the standing Elan who flashed a reassuring smile. She might not have liked what they had been forced to do but it was evident that she had no alternative but to do what had been required of her.

"Fine," the Doctor sighed heavily. "Let's get this done and over with."

"This is Lieutenant Ya'Han," the Sec/Tac said after having tapped her communicator. "The alien is under control and the pathway has been remotely secured by ANI. We are heading our of Sickbay and heading down to the umbilical connection on Deck 7."

=/\= Stark here, =/\= Jayson acknowledged. =/\= Sensors are tracking you, Commander Maya and Lieutenant Paquette. Heck I'm even able to pick up ANI on internal sensors but I am unable to get any signal from Commander Fairborn or Doctor Doyanne. =/\=

"We had a little incident," the Sec/Tac reported. "Everything is under control but both Commander Elan and Doctor Doyanne were touched by Kai.

=/\= Great, =/\= the man in charge of Operations sighed. =/\= I can't see them at all. You will have to report all of your whereabouts so that I can confirm that everything is going according to plan. =/\=

"No worries," the bright red haired Nylaan said as she glanced at the ship's Avatar. "ANI is keeping a close watch on us all and will be able to provide a visual account of our progress."

=/\= This is Commander Shar'El up in the IGC. We are receiving ANI's visual transmission and the signal if perfectly clear. Proceed as ordered, I will be monitoring your progress from here. =/\=

Ya'Han nodded her head to the others. There was no turning back now. That they might have liked it or not, their next stop would be at the Docking Port linking the ANUBIS with NEW ALEXANDRIA.

[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han

Lieutenant JG Ya'Han [Access Character BIO for Ya'Han]
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P056: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 03 - 0215 ("Face-To-Face")
=-=
"Face-To-Face"
[previous post was "Clearing The Way" by the always professional Hanali]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, IGC
Stardate: 32017.0215

Lieutenant Stark was scrutinizing with a certain level of concern edging on panic the heat signatures coming from their base of operations. His task, which he had earlier shared with Lieutenant Ya'Han, had been to keep track of the Admiral as well as several other key personnel. The fact that Admiral Koniki had used some sort of trickery to exit his office without being noticed could only meant that he was at best suspicious of what was happening. In a worst case scenario, the Commanding Officer of the entire NEW ALEXANDRIA complex did not suspect but in fact knew for a fact what the crew of the USS ANUBIS had been planning.

Helping Kai would have been the right thing to do, even if it had meant for the crew to risk their careers and maybe even their lives in order to do so. Many had not been convinced that the alien shapeshifter had been worth all of this trouble. Yes, everyone could see and understand the situation that it had found itself in, but the truth of the matter was that it had never been their responsibility to correct the wrong that might have been perpetrated against that one, single, isolated life form.

The more certain members of the crew thought about the full repercussion of their actions, the more they questioned the suggested course of action that they had been asked to follow. The Captain had made it perfectly clear that this had not been an order. Those who wanted to take part in this foolish deception and rescue effort would do so of their own free will.

The expression on the features of their Chief of Security as she escorted the shapeshifting alien, the imposing Oltharian and the Tarellian physician made it clear to see that she had been performing the duties prescribed by her role and position on board the USS ANUBIS. There was no doubts in anyone's mind that Ya'Han had decided to follow orders to the strictest letter and the Avatar who had been observing this entire scene would be able to impartially vouch for this. ANI had made a pint to record everything she saw, everything she heard, and to insure that no one could question the validity of her recordings, the files had been secured beyond even the ExO / ILO's reach.

All that Shar'El could do was to watch the scene unfold either by accessing the internal visual surveillance system or directly through the eyes of the Avatar. In either case, the scene was the same and their shapeshifting guest would soon find itself back in the complex that it had been so desperate to escape from

=/\= Bridge to Ya'Han, =/\= the Chief of Operations called out, Shar'El closely monitoring what was about to be said. Had Jayson changed his mind in regards to the role he had elected to play in this affair, and if so would he actually admit to it openly for all to hear?

=/\= Go ahead, =/\= the chief of Security calmly replied, not allowing anything including the voice of the person she had become romantically involved with to distract her from her duties and responsibilities.

=/\= Just received an access notification. Admiral Koniki's personal clearance code has just been used to released the lock-down on the starboard side umbilical connection. Given your current position you two should meet in just a few minutes. Looks like you are going to reach the access port almost at the same time. =/\=

The possibility of the Admiral coming over to supervise the crew's activities had always been there. Most had hoped that he would wait in his office for the report but given the sensitive nature of the matter, not to mention the apparent insistance he had displayed, it had not been completely unexpected to see the man be here to see what was happening.

The woman with the full bright head of red hair appeared unfazed by the news. Again, the Chief of Security had been performing her duties according to the orders that had been given by the man she would soon come face-to-face with, so there had not been any reason for her to fear. Shar'El inwardly smiled as she considered the unlikelihood of Ya'Han showing fear in any situation. Even while on MARKALA PRIME, at such time as her life had been within mere moments of being terminated, the woman had not displayed the slightest hint of fear.

Shifting her attention onto the face of the Chief Medical Officer, the ExO / ILO could see a nearly perfect opposite expression. Doctor Doyanne was scared, terrified even at the news of the Admiral coming to meet them before they could reach NEW ALEXANDRIA. Shar'El could see that Lillie would have much rather done all of this without having to face the man responsible for them acting as they were currently.  The CMO took a moment to glance down at the restraint Oltharian who said nothing and simply smiled back causing the woman to look at the other towering blue-skinned alien walking by her side who reflected the exact same smile and feelings. As much as she might have hated it, the matter had been taken out of her hands and her fear had solely been based on how she would react to being face-to-face with the Admiral.

As the group reached the docking port, the door hissed opened to reveal the imposing form of the 6'2" Polynesian man who appeared less than pleased. Now all that the ExO / ILO could do was watch from her chair in the IGC to see how this undesired meeting would unfold.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 8, Starboard Docking Port
Stardate: 32017.0225

"Admiral Koniki," Ya'Han said as she respectfully nodded her head to the high ranking officer. "As per requested, the alien has been secured and is being transferred over to your care."

The man did not appear convinced in the least, despite his eyes confirming that there were not one but two giant Oltharians in front of him. Had it been anyone else other than Elan, Koniki might have suspected some sore of cosmetic surgery to account for there being two of someone, but in the case of the 7'6" giant had made that possibility nearly impossible.

"Why the delay?" The Admiral demanded, looking at the Chief Medical Officer who clearly appeared ready to confront the man on some level.

"There were some complications in Sickbay," Ya'Han explained. "The alien refused to follow your orders and it was only after having taken on the form of Commander Fairborn that we were able to resolve the situation."

"It decided to take on the form of the largest and strongest amongst you and *that* is when you were able to regain control the situation?" The Admiral questioned, obviously cynical of the story he had just been told.

"Admiral," the standing Oltharian offered in a calm and respectful voice. "We have discussed my unwillingness to inflict harm in anyway on more than one occasion," Elan explained. "Kai simply inherited this as well as my physical form when it decided to adopt my appearance."

Koniki glared at the man, not used to looking up at anyone under his command. It was true, the two of them had shared on a few occasions such a chat, and given what he had come to learn of the alien, the story did make sense.

"Why are you so unable to trust anyone?" Lillie snapped, her fears taking on form through her display of anger. "You've won. That poor being is tied to a bed because of you because you just could not accept it gaining its freedom."

"Doctor," Koniki chuckled not at all concerned about the woman's outburst. "As always you jump to conclusions without knowing all of the facts. I simply wanted our friend here to be in a safe environment. Do you know how many people would stop at nothing to capture and study a being possessing the skills displayed by this creature."

"That creature has a name," Doctor Doyanne said unable to maintain her emotions under control. "It's Kai."

"Of course it is," the Admiral acknowledged dismissively. "I would be most interested in seeing the sensor logs concerning this incident that occurred in Sickbay," he added as if he had played the winning card in whatever game this had been.

"Admiral," ANI offered as she stepped forward from the back. "As there were some concerns, and as per the instructions of Lieutenant Ya'Han, I kept a complete audio and visual record of the events leading to and following the mentioned incident. As I am sure you are aware, the actual sensor logs would have been of little use given the shapeshifter's ability to shied itself as well as others from any and all types of scanning system."

"Lieutenant Ya'Han," the Admiral began as he quickly turned to face the bright red colored haired woman. "Escort everyone to the infirmary while I review the data collected by the ANUBIS' Avatar."

"Yes Admiral," the Chief of Security acknowledged.

"There is a full security detail waiting for you on the other side of the umbilical connection," Koniki added with a completely unemotional manner. "The base is big, I would not want for any one of you to get lost along the way."

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, IGC
Stardate: 32017.0230

All that Shar'El could do was to watch the group make their way off the ANUBIS. Whatever precautions had been taken in order to insure that Kai would reach the docking port would likely pale in comparison with what the Admiral had setup at the other end of the umbilical connection.

Once the door closed behind them, the ExO / ILO confirmed that the lock-down had still been in effect forcing everyone to wait and see how things would unfold.

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P057: USS ANUBIS: Morningstar: Day 03 - 0235 ("Following Orders")
##########
"Following Orders"
Previous post "Face-To-Face"
##########

"In the world of Intel, everything is true, especially the lies."
- Admiral Charles N. Koniki, Head of Starfleet Intelligence and CO of the NEW ALEXANDRIA Complex

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Captain's Ready Room
Stardate: 32016.0235

=/\= They have disembarked, =/\= Commander Shar'El reported from the IGC. =/\= The Admiral is not taking any chances though. The lockdown is still in effect. =/\=

"The Admiral is a cautious man," Counsellor Dima noted. Although she did not know the man as well as the others on board the ANUBIS, the way events had unfolded pointed to her statement having been a simple and safe one to make.

"Being cautious has nothing to do with anything," The Native American countered. "The Admiral is nothing short of a man suffering from extreme paranoia bordering on psychotic episodes."

"Surely you are exaggerating," Nicole gasped concerned that a man in the position of the Admiral would be extremely dangerous if he indeed suffered from the mental conditions described by the Captain.

"Maybe a little," Erik softly grinned. "Not much though," he added before contacting the Operations Officer. "Lieutenant Stark, report."

=/\= Kai and the others are not displaying any heat signatures, luckily I can follow the rest of the security detail escorting them. They seem to be on their way to the infirmary.  The Admiral appears to be taking ANI back to his office. =/\=

"Guess there is nothing else for us to do but to wait," Nicole sighed, still a little concerned about the way Captain Morningstar had described the Admiral.

"You would think that after all of the Intel missions we all have been on, I would be used to waiting," the Native American offered, clearly wishing that there was more he could do.

"No matter the situation," the Counsellor offered with a smile, "waiting will always be the hardest part."

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section C2, Level 1, Infirmary, Observation Room
Stardate: 32016.0250

Doctor Doyanne managed to remain silent during the entire trip to the base's medical facility. Elan and Kai had both appeared calm, almost content in the way things had unfolded while Lieutenant Ya'Han did not seemed in the least bothered by what she was doing. For someone who had been so willing to help their guest, the brightly crimson coloured haired woman now seemed almost pleased to be doing the Admiral's dirty work.

The half dozen security officers assigned by Koniki to escort them had been as cold and distant as one would have expected them to be. In a way this had proven to be beneficial to them as they avoided the Doctor's rage by keeping to themselves.

Following their escort, not that they had any other option, the group found themselves in one of the observation rooms, a single now heavily guarded door leading in and out.

"I hope that you are happy Ya'Han," Lillie snapped, finally allowing her anger to come out.

"I did what I needed to," the Nylaan stated without hesitation. "I did what was expected given the orders we received."

"Do not give me that BS about simply following orders," the Chief Medical Officer unleashed, appearing more than ready to physically confront the Chief of Security. The difference in their skills and abilities in hand-to-hand combat had beyond favoured the Nylaan, but that had not stopped the Doctor. What did bring the woman to a stop before the CMO could do something that she would likely all too quickly regret though was a single large arm belonging to the blue-skinned giant which descended to be in her path.

"There is no need for this," the towering Oltharian stated, the gentleness of the giant's voice acting as it had been meant to defuse the Doctor's anger enough for her to reconsider what she had wanted to do.

The door to the room opened allowing for one of the many base's Doctor's to walk in. "Is this the shapeshifting alien?" the man inquired, obviously making reference to the giant strapped on the transport medical table.

"Of course not," Doyanne snapped, rolling her eyes. "The woman with the red hair over there is the shapeshifter, we just managed to find a set of twins and strap one of them on this table to distract you. Of course the one on the table is the *alien shapeshifter* you half witted imbecile, and his name is Kai."

"The name is irrelevant, as is your anger," the man said, the tone and cadence of his words making it almost sound as if he had been part Borg. "I am simply here to perform tests to confirm all of your identities."

Complete silence suddenly flooded the room as the base's Doctor reached for his tricorder and began to scan the occupants of the room, one by one.

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Level 6, Administrative Section
Stardate: 32016.0255

Sitting at his desk, the Admiral was reviewing the video and audio recording provided by the ship's Avatar, a distinct air of suspicion engraved onto his features.

"Remind me again who requested you to make these recordings?" The Admiral inquired, finding himself playing back certain portions of the recording over and over again as if trying to pinpoint the specific detail that seemed to be bothering him.

"Lieutenant Ya'Han, Sir," the ANUBIS' Avatar replied. "The same answer I gave you the previous three times you asked."

"I can see Lieutenant Paquette modified your interpersonal protocols," the Admiral unhappily sighed.

"My apologies Admiral," ANI offered, the mechanical words not at all carrying the emotion that would have been expected with those specific words. "I can confirm that the Lieutenant has in fact performed modifications to some of my base programming."

"I can see that," Koniki admitted, his attention still very much focussed on the images being displayed on his desk monitor. "We need to tackle one problem at a time though. Can you confirm the integrity of the recording you have provided me?"

"Yes Admiral," the Avatar quickly replied. "The highest possible security encoding was used placing it above the reach of both the Captain and Intelligence Liaison Officer."

"Ani?" The Admiral said as he reached for a set of controls to his right. As he pressed a button an unexpected smile appeared on his lips, one that appeared almost evil in nature. "Walk me through the playback, scene by scene."

As artificial as the android might have appeared to be through her mannerism and speech pattern before, whatever the Admiral had done had transformed her into nothing more than a walking computer deprived of any sort of personality. As a simple automaton, the Avatar recounted the events that she had recorded, not leaving a single detail untouched.

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section C2, Level 1, Infirmary, Observation Room
Stardate: 32016.0310

The medical scans had been thorough, or at least that was what everyone thought given how much time it had taken for the base's Doctor to scan each and every one of them. What truly bothered the Chief Medical Officer of the ANUBIS was the fact that the other Doctor had not said a single word during the entire procedure, this despite having been asked repeated questions.

"I am done," he announced while closing his tricorder. "I will make my report to the Admiral directly. You can all wait here until a decision is made."

"A decision?" Lillie exploded with. "We are all living, breathing beings here, not something whose fate can be defined or decided by a single word."

"Thank you Healer," the restrained Oltharian offered, knowing better than to allow this to escalate into an argument that they would all lose in one way or another.

"Thank you for your thoroughness Healer," the standing Oltharian followed with, sounding exactly as the one laying on the table causing Doctor Doyanne to look at the two Elans for a moment, as if trying to remember which one had been the real Robotics Engineer and which one had been the shapeshifting life form who had come to them seeking nothing more than its freedom.

Ya'Han stood by the door, thanking the base's Doctor with nothing more than a nod of her head as he walked past her. Now all they could do was wait.

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.0315

Sonja Paquette, the Chief Engineering Officer stepped onto the Bridge, the redhead having had enough of waiting for news. Her usual dislike of the Chief of Operations was momentarily put aside as she walked up to him and looked over his shoulder at the display of the heat signatures.

"Everything appears to be quiet over there," Sonja noted, not truly wanting to start any sort of conversation with Jayson.

"The Admiral seems to be drilling ANI, neither one of them has moved for a while," the Chief of Operations reported. "As for the others, they are waiting. My guess is that the person that just left the room they are in is heading to report back to the Admiral with their findings."

"What is he doing to my ANI?" the Engineer huffed, not liking the idea of the Avatar being there alone and defenceless.

"Whatever he wants I would guess," Jayson replied absentmindedly. "Bet he has ways to make her sing and dance to whatever tune he wishes. You might have done a lot of modifications on her behavioral and interpersonal subroutines, but the core programming is all his, and I am pretty sure that's the way he likes it."

Sonja didn't like what she heard. Granted he had been right, but that had in no way made it easier for the Chief Engineer to hear what had been the truth. Since the first time the CEO had tinkered with the Avatar, Lieutenant Paquette knew that there were things that had been beyond her ability to change. Hopefully whatever the Admiral was doing now would not leave the artificial woman broken in far more than in the physical sense.

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, IGC
Stardate: 32016.0325

Monitoring the data gathered by the passive thermal scans, the First Officer had been able to follow the events as they unfolded, but like Jayson and anyone else tapping into the feed, there had been no way for any of them to know exactly what was happening. So far, all they could see was that those brought to the base's infirmary had been visited by someone now heading to speak to the Admiral who had been busy with the ANUBIS' Avatar, likely trying to pry from her cold artificial body whatever secrets he believed her to have.

It was evident that the Admiral did not want to take any chances. The return of Kai had been something he wanted to make sure happened on his terms and without anyone trying to 'do the right thing'. Although many would have claimed that there had been but a single life at play in this Intel game, those on board the ANUBIS would be quick to point out that their lives as well as that of Kai had been thrown into the mix. Their actions had the potential of severely affecting the quality and number of days to come, forcing everyone to make a choice between duty and morals.

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Level 6, Administrative Section
Stardate: 32016.0335

"Thank you ANI," the Admiral offered as he reached once more for the controls that he had earlier used to turn the Avatar into a completely mindless piece of equipment. "Your report was very thorough and will prove very useful as I consider what my next move will be."

Unable to recall what she had said during the time of her giving the report mentioned, ANI was left to question what had actually happened. Her internal chronometer did show a substantial amount of time had passed, but she could not access any memories for that specific time period.

"Doctor," the Admiral said, welcoming the new arrival into his office. "I gather that all went well."

"Of course Admiral," was the simple answer given as a PADD was placed on the imposing onyx black desk. "Here is my report on the complete biological scans of those currently in the infirmary as well as my own personal observations. Doctor Doyanne does appear to be in a rather foul mood."

"I would not have expected her to be in any other mood," Koniki nodded before dismissing the medical officer so that he could read the report that had been handed to him, all under the troubled and concerned watch of the ANUBIS' Avatar who seemed to still be trying to understand the inexplicable gap in her memory.

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Captain's Ready Room
Stardate: 32016.0345

"Would you like another cup of tea?" Nicole asked. "I'm pretty sure that the one on your desk is long cold by now."

"Thank you Counsellor," the Native American offered with a forced smile. "I fear that any new cup would suffer the same fate as this one."

"There is an old EARTH saying that as I recall states that 'No news is good news," Counsellor Dima said, attempting to ease the troubled mind of the ANUBIS' Commanding Officer. Just as Erik had been about to offer some sort of counter argument, the sound of a chim indicating an incoming communication echoed through the room. Upon seeing the point of origin of the signal, the Captain quickly opened the channel.

"Yes Admiral?"

=/\= I want you in my office, now. We have certain matters to discuss. =/\=

"On my way," Erik offered, keeping any outward reaction to after the channel was closed.

"That didn't sound good," the joint Trill offered, concern lacing her words as it did her features.

"No," the Native American confirmed. "It did not."

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section C2, Level 1, Infirmary, Main Area
Stardate: 32016.0350

Without as much as an explanation, the group was escorted out of the observation room and into the main treatment area, the access doors being just as heavily guarded as they had been in the previous location.

"You know I am truly tired of being treated like some sort of criminal," Doctor Doyanne said loudly, almost screaming at whoever cared enough to be listening in. "You would think that this would be easy enough. We get ordered to bring Kai back, little miss fiery red hair over there decides to 'follow orders' and here we are. What is so damn complicated about that?"

"Are we permitted to leave?" Ya'Han inquired of the nearest security guard.

"You are," the Security officer replied, casting an unwelcoming glare at the retrained Oltharian. "That on the other hand is not."

"That?" Lillie snapped. "THAT!" The Doctor repeated looking once again as if ready to jump at the man who had uttered those words to teach him a lesson in manners.

"Maybe we should all leave," the redheaded Chief of Security proposed. "It might be safer for everyone."

"If you two want to leave, go right ahead and leave," Doctor Doyanne dismissed with a grand gesture of her hand. "Someone has to stay here and make sure that these lowlife barbarians don't suddenly decide to rip poor Kai to pieces just to see what would happen."

"Healer," the towering blue skinned-Engineer offered with a smile of tranquility. "Maybe we could speak with the Admiral and see if this matter could be resolved in a more amicable manner."

"You are too sweet and naive," Lillie stated as she looked up into the giant's grey eyes. "That is something that I truly like about you," the Chief Medical Officer added before taking hold of the Oltharian's hand in both of hers.

"Who knows," Ya'Han offered, "maybe the Admiral will have a change of mind and allow us to take Kai back."

"I would not count on that," Doctor Doyanne said with a sigh, letting the Oltharian's massive hand slip from her grasp before watching the two officer make their way out of the Infirmary.

"Healer," the restrained giant said drawing the woman's attention onto him. "All will be fine."

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Level 6, Administrative Section
Stardate: 32016.0400

"Come," the Admiral ordered, sounding somewhere in between disappointed and aggravated.

As the Captain cautiously approached the massive onyx desk, Erik's eyes drifted towards the ship's Avatar who appeared puzzled to the point of being possibly worried about something. Of course seeing this only made the Native American that much more convinced that he would soon find himself on the receiving end of a less than pleasant exchange.

"I carefully reviewed the recordings provided by your ship's Avatar as well as the results of the medical scans done by our own Doctor," the Admiral announced. "I have to admit that I am surprised," he added as he leaned back into his chair.

"Surprised?" Erik echoed, knowing all too well that the Admiral had been fishing for more information than he already had.

"Yes, surprised, and maybe even a little disappointed," Koniki admitted.

The two men stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds before the doors to the Admiral's office suddenly flew open.

"I am sorry Admiral," Allyson, the Admiral's secretary offered as she rushed in behind the two officers who had just barged in.

"It's quite all right," Koniki said as he dismissed the blonde hair woman who exited while closing the doors behind her.

"No it is not *quite all right*," Doctor Doyanne exploded just as the doors were closed behind them. "I want to know why it is so important for you to have that shapeshifter be a prisoner here."

"Doctor Doyanne, please calm yourself," the Admiral offered from behind the massive desk that provided more than an ample barrier against the woman's rage. "If you want an explanation, I will give you the same one I gave earlier. You have witnessed with your own eyes just how skilled that shapeshifter is. Now imagine how many hostile forces would actively hunt it down to get a hold of those abilities. At best they would try to enlist it into their forces, at worst they would study it extensively both as a living entity and a corps to be able to discover how it is able to do what it does. I am only offering it a safe place to be."

"Don't you dare give me that 'only wanting to help' story," the Chief Medical Officer stated in return. "You are no better than any of those people you claim to be protecting it from."

"Fine," Koniki offered as an alternative, "Consider this instead. The devil you know is better than the one you don't. At least here on NEW ALEXANDRIA you would be able to check in from time to time to make sure that everything is fine."

"So you want us to trust you?" The blonde haired woman demanded, not appearing at all convinced.

"Doctor," Ya'Han jumped in with. "You have to agree that this is a far better option."

"Anyway," the Admiral continued, turning his attention back onto the Native American. "The recordings from your Avatar confirms the report given by your Chief of Security and since there is no way for our instruments to confirm beyond what our eyes can see, I am forced to accept the facts as they have been presented. You and your crew can return to the ANUBIS."

"What about the lockdown?" Erik inquired, not entirely certain as to what had just happened.

"The ship can't be on lockdown for ever," the Admiral chuckled, "especially given that I have a mission for you. I need you to leave right away," Koniki announced as he tossed another PADD towards the bemused Native American Captain.

"Are you getting rid of us?" The Chief Medical Officer demanded.

"Not at all Doctor," Koniki smiled broadly. "It is just that your presence is required elsewhere. You will just have to inquire about your guest upon your return. For now, you are dismissed and the ANUBIS is cleared for departure"

The Doctor appeared stunned and confused but the Avatar quickly stepped in and escorted the woman out of the Admiral office followed by the Chief of Security and Commanding Officer.

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.0420

The Captain stepped onto the bridge and immediately focused on their Flight Control Officer. "Set a course out. We have been cleared to leave for a new mission."

"We are being permitted to leave?" Tanith asked, not having expected things to have progressed this way.

"We have been given a new mission, so if you would, please take us out."

"Clearing all moorings," the Chief of Operations announced. "Umbilical connections have been detached and are retracting."

"Setting a reverse course out of the docking station," the Flight Control Officer followed up with, Ensign Jones added looking forward to putting all that she had learned and reviewed into practice.

"Well, if we are leaving I'd better get back to Main Engineering," the redheaded Engineer stated as she made her way to the turbolift followed by the ship's Avatar

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Turbolift en route for Main Engineering
Stardate: 32016.0425

"The Admiral was very thorough in his review and examination of the recordings I provided him with," ANI stated. "There is even a portion of time that I am unable to account for while I was in his office."

"He probably used some sort of administrative override," Sonja huffed. "I just hope that he didn't mess up any of your systems while he pried the truth from you."

"You have nothing to be concerned about," ANI said, actually smiling as she did so. "As per your instructions I only allowed a fraction of the modifications to be active while I was in his office. Although they were enough to make him be less than pleased with you and your tinkering."

"Well, ain't that a shame," the Chief Engineer chuckled in a southern accent before allowing for a moment of silence to spread through the small pod. 

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32016.0445

"We have cleared the asteroid field," Tanith reported. "What course should I set?"

"Commander Maya?" The Native American said as he turned towards his Chief Science Officer. "Any suggestions?"

"There are a few options, but some have a much higher mathematical probability of being the planet we are looking for," the Shillian replied.

"We don't know where we are going for our new mission?" The Flight Control Officer inquired with puzzlement.

"The new mission may have to be delayed a little," Ya'Han offered with a smile, an expression that she had not been able to display for far too long.

"Welcome back," Nicole said as Lieutenant Paquette walked back onto the bridge.

"How is ANI?" the Captain inquired, his curiosity having taken the best of him at that moment.

"Running a full diagnostic but the preliminary reports are promising," the Chief Engineer reported. "Whatever override we expected the Admiral to use did not appear to have done any damage to her systems. It's too bad though that Elan is not here, at least he would be able to help me make sure that Koniki didn't do any damage that I might not be able to detect."

"I suspect that Commander Fairborn will be quite busy for some time," the Native American stated.

"I would not worry too much about him," Jayson pointed out.

"I have the feeling Doctor Doyanne is going to be the one giving the base's personnel a run for their money," the Chief of Security added.

"Speaking of Doctor Doyanne," the Native American said as he stood from his chair. "There is something I should be taking care of. Commander Maya, please provide Ensign Jones with the coordinates to our first stop. I will be in Sickbay."

Maya smiled as she and the rest of the gathered officer watched their Commanding Officer leave the bridge with a certain bounce in his step.

"I will admit that I am a little confused," Tanith admitted.

"Bet you won't be the only one for a while," Sonja laughed as she made her way to the Engineering station.

=====
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 32016.0500

"How are you feeling?" The Native American asked as he walked into Sickbay to find the Chief Medical Officer softly caressing the examination bed.

"I am fine," the Doctor replied, "and most grateful for all that you and your crew did for me. I hope that the price you will be made to pay for what you did will not be too high."

"Don't worry about us," Erik countered with. "The ANUBIS has set a course to the world that we believe most closely matches the description you gave to Commander Maya. It might take a few tries, but we will return you to your home."

"Again, I am most grateful for what you are doing."

"It's our pleasure," the Native American said with a casual nod of his head. "In the meantime relax. There is no need for you to hide anymore."

=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Level 6, Administrative Section
Stardate: 32016.0530

"Admiral," Commander NabuS said as she presented herself to the Commanding Officer of the secret base. "It seems that we have lost track of the alien shapeshifter. Internal sensors are tracking Commander Fairborn and Doctor Doyanne but neither seem to have any clues as to the creature's whereabouts."

"Erik, Erik, Erik," the Admiral said as he shook his head and smiled. "Well played my friend, well played indeed."

"Shall I order a base wide search?" The Chief of Security asked, not quite understanding the Admiral's reaction.

"No, don't bother. What we will need to do though is to provide quarters for Doctor Doyanne. I suspect that she will be staying here for a while," the Admiral stated, dismissing the female Andorian before turning his attention to the now vacant docking station where the ANUBIS had been. "I'm proud of you Erik, as well as your crew. For a moment I thought that some of them were going to turn on you but they respect you and your ideals. That is what I was hoping to see. Allyson, can you come into my office for a minute please."

A few seconds passed before the smiling blonde-hair secretary walked into the man's Office. "Yes Admiral?"

"Was the file I requested downloaded into the ANUBIS' computer?"

"Yes Admiral," Allyson confirmed. "It was placed under a special security lock which you alone can open."

"Thank you," Koniki smiled. "Guess I should unlock it now. Wouldn't want them to be overly delayed in getting to the mission I need them to be on instead of galavanting through the universe looking for a specific planet."

--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette

Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501

AND

Lt. Commander Elan Fairborn [Access Character BIO for Elan Fairborn]
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
M08-P058: USS ANUBIS: Shar'El: Day 03 - 0815 ("Change of Atmosphere")
=-=
"Change of Atmosphere"
[previous post was "Following Orders" by the Mastermind Francois]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 2, Corridor
Stardate: 32017.0815

Following a quick nap and an ever quicker shower, the ExO / ILO was back, this time travelling the corridors of the ship as if the events of the last couple of days had actually never happened. Although the cloud of the consequences of their action still heavily hung over their heads, the atmosphere through the ANUBIS had been far more relaxed than it had been. The crew it seemed had adopted a 'Zen' mentality towards what would come to pass, unable to affect it beyond what they could do today to help their guest return home.

With that in mind, Shar'El headed for the bridge. From there she would be able to check in on their progress and make an appearance as this ship's First Officer, something that she had not done as much as she should have over the last little while.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 32017.0825

"Good morning Commander," the Shillian Chief Science Officer said as she greeted the raven haired woman onto the command deck.

"Good morning," Shar'El replied, glad to see that the more lighthearted feeling she had picked up in the corridor had made its way here. "How are we doing in finding our guest's home."

"The ANUBIS is currently travelling at warp 7.5 en route to the fourth planet of the LESATH star system. Based on everything Kai mentioned about its home world, that planet is the one that best fits. Of course, we have to consider that the description given by our guest is rather limited as it dealt with only a small fraction of the planetary environment making our search far more problematic. I mean, I am basing the odds on the premise that the planet we are searching for has an abundance of the environment described, the problem is that in reality Kai could be from a small isolated island on a world where the stated conditions are the exception to the planetary natural conditions."

"I am sure that we all have the utmost confidence in your ability to narrow down our search," the ExO / ILO stated, hoping that this would put a stop to the woman's explanations which in all honesty had been far shorter than most she was known to give.

"Thank you," Maya smiled. "Now if you will excuse me, I need to cross referrence of the details with the latest planetary surveys that were received by NEW ALEXANDRIA, there might be some planets that had previously been omitted that we should now consider," the Shillian said as she left the forward section of the bridge to return to the science work station.

"Thank you Commander," the FCO whispered. "That woman could talk the ears of a Ferengi."

"As I recall there is a mention in her personnel file as to her having done just that," the ExO / ILO joked. "Where is the Captain?"

"He left to go to Sickbay to check up on our guest and never returned," Tanith reported. "I suspect that he went straight to bed after that to catch up on some overdue rest."

"I know the feeling," Shar'El admitted. "What is our ETA for the LESATH system?"

"At our current speed and heading, and given that we do not have to make any drastic course correction based on more updated information from the Science department, we should arrive at the system in just under 6 hours," the Flight Control Officer reported.

"That gives you more than enough time to get some rest yourself," the ExO / ILO pointed out while glancing over her shoulder at the Chief Science Officer who appeared buried in some sort of research.

"I'm fine," Ensign Jones stated. "Unlike most of you who were running on edge, I pretty much sat around and waited to see what would happen. Plus, I'm used to not getting that much sleep or rest. Bad things tend to happen when you close your eyes for too long."

Shar'El had wanted to learn more about the Ensign as well as what she had said. Although her records had been provided when the FCO had joined the crew, there had been a large segment that had been highly classified, a nine-year segment to be exact. As curious as she might have been though, the raven-haired woman figured that there would be many more occasions to pry into the woman's past when she would be ready to open up in that regards.

"I will head down to Sickbay and check in on Kai as well," Shar'El announced. "Looks like you and Commander Maya have things well under control.

Tanith quietly sighed at the thought of being once again left alone with the overly talkative Chief Science Officer.

"Don't worry," the ExO / ILO reassured. "I will not be gone for too long."

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 32017.0845

Shar'El had actually taken her time to reach Sickbay; somehow the need for urgency had no longer been there, something that proved to be a very welcomed feeling. After all that had happened, after what the crew had come together to accomplished, it seemed that enjoying the meant as bet they could had become more important than ever before.

"Good morning Commander," the joint Trill said, greeting the ExO / ILO as she stepped into the main treatment area.

"Good morning Counsellor," Shar'El offered in return. "Everyone seemed to be in an exquisitely happy mood this morning. Did Lieutenant Paquette modify the food replicators to add in a little spike to their breakfast?" The ExO / ILO asked in jest.

"While we were on lock-down, the crew felt trapped," Nicole explained. "Then it was the discovery of Kai and her story that made us all feel trapped but in an entirely different manner."

"Agreed," Shar'El nodded. "Speaking of Kai, where is she?"

"After having returned to the ANUBIS in the form of Doctor Doyanne, Kai explored in more depth the medical files, specifically her own. Well, I mean that of Lillie. I think it gave our guest the ability to better understand the form that it took. I am guessing that she is like a bird that has been given the opportunity for the first time to understand how its own body works."

"You two seem to have everything under control here," the ExO / ILO offered. "We are expected to reach our destination in less than 6 hours. Although the odds are in our favor, it might be a good idea to see if Kai can provide us with more details about its home world, just in case the planet we are heading for turns out to not be the right one."

"Of course Commander," the Counsellor offered. "I will do my best."

=/\= Paquette to Commander Shar'El, =/\= came the voice of the Chief Engineering Officer.

"Go ahead," the ExO / ILO acknowledged, curious and a little concerned that the CEO had contacted her this way.

=/\= Could you come to the Robotics Lab? I have something to show you, it's about ANI. =/\=

"I will be right there," Shar'El confirmed before nodding her farewell to Counsellor Dima in order to address whatever situation the Chief Engineer had come across.

=-=
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 21, Robotics Lab
Stardate: 32017.0900

"What's the problem?" Shar'El asked the moment she stepped into the room where the Avatar had been standing in the middle of the diagnostic chamber.

"Not really a problem, but something that is sure to make you wonder what is going on," Sonja explained as she called up a list of files on the nearest screen. "I was running a complete system diagnostic on ANI's core programming as well as her link to the ANUBIS' core memory, and then this showed up," the CEO said pointing to a specific file.

"It appears to be a set of coordinates pointing to a specific location on a planet," the ExO / ILO noted trying to see what had been so strange about this discovery.

"The file was not there before," the Avatar explained. "When comparing the backup archive to the current list of files, that particular set of data was not there before our departure from NEW ALEXANDRIA."

"Someone added that file," Sonja continued. "What bugs me the most is that there is no way to identify where it came from."

"The lack of any data trail would suggest that the file was there all along," the ExO / ILO proposed.

"There is only one man who would have the clearance and the access to hide a file that deeply into our system," the Chief Engineer said. "Why would Koniki want to hide a set of coordinates inside our system only to make them appear after we left? I mean it makes no sense unless..." Sonja paused for a moment as she considered her own words and their implications. "That rotten son of a toothless targ, that sorry excuse for a penniless Ferengi, that lower than low despicable melanoid slime worm, that three legged sterile piece of..."

"I think we get the point," the raven-haired interrupted before the insults became more than the ExO / ILO wanted to hear.  "Commander Shar'El to the bridge. Commander Maya, we are sending a new set of coordinates for you to investigate. We strongly suspect that they are the location of Kai's home world."

=/\= May I inquire as to where these coordinates came from? =/\=

"You may," Shar'El smiled as she glanced over to the still fuming Chief Engineer. "I would suggest that you wait a little while before asking Lieutenant Paquette though, she is currently debating the best course of action to properly thank the source of the information."

=/\= All right, =/\= Maya replied, the scratching of her head in a gesture of puzzlement having been almost audible.

"I'm heading back to the bridge, see you soon. Shar'El out."

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS

Lieutenant Commander Janeel [Access Character BIO for Janeel]
Intel Liaison Officer / Mission Specialist
USS BASTET
M08-P059: USS ANUBIS: Stark: Day 03 - 0930 ("Venting Anger")
"Venting Anger"
[previous "Change of Atmosphere"]

[/\]
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Gymnasium
Stardate: 32017.0930

The news of the hidden file containing a set of planetary coordinates had spread through the ship like wildfire. Some had been grateful that the information would make finding Kai's home that much easier, others had not been so pleased, in fact they had been pissed. For them, having been lied and played the way they had was a sticking point that they simply could not let go, not that anyone could blame them. Yes, the shapeshifting alien would find its way back home in no time, but the manner in which this had been accomplished left some fuming with rage.

Wandering crew members had been quick to point out that if you listened carefully, you could hear the continual enraged venting of the ship's chief Engineer, this no matter where on the ship one might be. Of course this had been a story that Jayson had found extremely hard to believe given the lack of open air conduits that would have permitted sound to travel such a distance. Still, the OPS Officer could not help but wonder if this might have actually been possible. If there had been a way to make that happen, the CEO had defensively been the woman to find it.

Another officer who had been beyond mad at the discovery of the file and its content had been their own Chief of Security. She had been not in the least pleased to see all of her work and efforts to secure Kai's freedom be turned around the way it had. Judging by the way she had slammed her sparring partner on the floor mat, it was impossible to not see the extent of her anger.

"Aren't you going to get up?" Ya'Han asked, looking down at the man who had been once again sent crashing flat on his back.

"If you don't mind, I think I will stay here for a few minutes," Jayson answered. "Just go through the movements, it's not like i would end up anywhere else, not the way you are feeling right now."

"What do you mean the way i am feeling?" She asked as if actually unaware of her own anger.

"It takes me longer to get up than it takes you to send me back down here," he pointed, gently tapping the map belong him. "Usually you have a little bit of fun, or at least give me the fleeting illusion that I might have a chance, but today you just want to drive me into the decks below. So, I'm taking a break," he explained. The OPS Officer had been about to add that this made sense given that they were without the services of their Chief Medical Officer, but he quickly reconsidered picturing his words actually increasing the fiery redhead's rage instead of easing it.

"I'm sorry," Ya'Han sadly offered, extending a friendly hand down towards the downed man. "I just can't believe that we went through all that for nothing."

"Can I say something without you sending me crashing through the nearest bulkhead?" Jayson asked, hesitantly taking the woman's offer of assistance to return to his feet.

"No promises," she replied with a playful smile, sending her hands behind her back as if the split second delay that this would provide would actually made a difference in how any confrontation would end.

"What if we had turned Kai over to the Admiral instead?" Jayson proposed while standing in a clearly defensive position. When no attack came, he continued, still wary about the reaction of the woman with the bright red hair. "Somehow I doubt that he would have said 'Never mind, here are the coordinates, you can take it home'. I think he wanted to see what we would do. Would we side with the Captain and risk court martial or follow his orders and go over the Captain's head."

"So you figure that these coordinates are our reward for having done the 'right thing' instead of simply following orders?" Ya'Han questioned, both wanting a confirmation on what had been said and to make sure that Jayson had not suddenly gone completely off his rocker.

"I realize that it founds far-fetched," he admitted, unwilling to lower his guard for fear that she might lunge at him without warning. "Those on the ANUBIS, heck all of the people working under in NEW ALEXANDRIA and the units that operate from it are not exactly your standard Starfleet regulation, play by the book, keep your noses clean, kind of guys and gals. Each and everyone one of us have something from our past that makes us dangerous in some way, if not to others at the very least to ourselves. It makes perfect sense that the Admiral would want to make sure where our loyalties would be when faced with a difficult situation like the one we just dealt with."

"I'm still not ready to accept that we were used in such a fashion for nothing more than a test of character and loyalty," she countered before turning around and making her way to the towel rack.

"Ya'Han," Jayson cautiously called out. "Then why are you so angry? If this was not a set-up orchestrated by the Admiral, then the coordinates are just a lucky coincidence. What it does leave us with is the fact that we did what many thought to be impossible, that is for us to leave with Kai without being blown out of the sky or have the other SCARAB-Class cruisers on our tail."

"There is still no proof that we are not being followed or tracked by our own people," Ya'Han pointed out, desperately trying to justify her point of view.

"I have the feeling that had the Admiral contacted the Captain to rip him a new one for what we did, we all would have been told by now," he explained with a hint of humor in his voice. "Let's face it, being on board and Intel ship means one thing about anything else."

"Which would be?"

"That no one is able to truly keep a secret," he clarified.

Looking back at how quickly the news about the discovery of the coordinates had travelled, the bright red-haired woman had no other option but to agree with her sparring partner.

"We should be heading to the bridge and see exactly where those coordinates are taking us," Ya'Han suggested. "It's either that or we can continue sparring for a little while longer."

"I think my back is straight enough for today," Jayson cautiously chuckled. "right after you," he added inviting the Chief of Security to walk ahead of him for numerous reasons, the main one being that he felt a great deal safer walking several steps behind her.

"I'm still angry," she noted out loud as if warning Jayson and anyone else around them to keep their distances.

"I can see that," he said pointing to the woman's bright red hair. "Maybe I should just meet you on the bridge," he quickly noted, the idea of being in a small turbolift pod with Ya'Han having caused him to question his own sanity and will to live a few more days.

"Don't wait too long," she smiled after having boarded the turbolift and turned around to look at the man while the doors closed between them.

"She is going to be the death of me," Jayson chuckled to himself. "That woman could make any man turn into a masochist and loving every second of it.

[/\]
Jayson Sousa

Lieutenant JG Jayson Stark [Access Character BIO for Jayson Stark]
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
M08-P060: USS ANUBIS: Tanith: Day 03 - 0830 ("The Relative Merits of Planets")
"The relative merits of planets"
(cont. Venting Anger by Jayson)
* * *=(/\)=* * *

Setting: USS Anubis, Bridge
Stardate: 32017.0830

“You don’t talk much, do you?” The woman called Maya said abruptly after a twenty minute long stream of consciousness on the relative merits of several of the planets they were looking at. Tanith blinked, paused, and waited for Maya to start talking again. After a moment Tanith realized that she wasn’t going to continue, and awkwardly rushed to fill the gap.

“So I’ve been told,” Tanith leaned back. “Nothing personal, I assure you. I’m just more… a listener than a talker. Besides, you seemed on a roll, and your method for finding a planet seemed like it had a plan behind it, and I didn’t want to derail that. Especially since my method is more which one feels right, and go and check.”

“Are you an intuitive person?” Maya cocked her head. “You know, many times intuition is actually based on a robust unconscious algorithm, and is just as reliable as deductive reasoning. Scientifically speaking-”

“If you mean do I usually have good outcomes following my gut, then yes, I’m a pretty intuitive person,” Tanith jumped in quickly, not wanting to hear a ten minute lecture about the scientific evidence of the efficacy of deductive reasoning. It wasn’t that she found the scientist annoying, it was more that it was far more information that she needed or wanted, and information tended to lodge itself in Tanith’s mind like an earworm, repeating over and over again, and this was certainly information she didn’t need to know.

“Well, why don’t we incorporate that into our decision making process? You tell me which ones your gut says are right, and then we can apply my line of reasoning,” Maya said chirpily.

“Ohhhhhkay,” Tanith looked over the planets that Maya had narrowed it down to, her finger going down the line. “Well, it’s not those three, those aren’t actually uninhabited, there’s a pretty robust black market that meets there every so often, so I imagine Kai’s people would have been found already… This one’s too barren, I figure if Kai evolved to be able to take the form of other creatures, then there would have to be a substantial amount of life-forms on it’s planet for it to imitate, otherwise why would you have the ability to change shape? This one is too… Floral. I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem right, I mean, Kai probably would have mentioned 20 foot flowers that glow in the dark, right?”

“Maybe, but you’re from where?”

“Janus VI,” Tanith made a face. It was less a planet and more a mineral rich hunk of atmospheric rock.

“Right, so when describing your homeworld, would you necessarily describe all those hoodoos on the surface?”

“No, I suppose not, they’re everywhere, so I suppose when describing it I might forget them,” Tanith said thoughtfully. “But my gut still says no.”

They continued on for several more minutes until between the two of them they had a handful of probable planets. Suddenly the comms beeped.

=/\=Commander Shar'El to the bridge. Commander Maya, we are sending a new set of coordinates for you to investigate. We strongly suspect that they are the location of Kai's home world.=/\=

Tanith’s eyebrows shot up, and she looked at Maya who had the same look of consternation on her face.

“May I inquire as to where these coordinates came from?” Commander Maya said carefully. There was a slight pause.

=/\=You may. I would suggest that you wait a little while before asking Lieutenant Paquette though, she is currently debating the best course of action to properly thank the source of the information.=/\= The XO’s voice was dry with amusement.

“All right,” Maya replied,  sounding confounded.

=/\=I’m heading back to the bridge, see you soon. Shar'El out.=/\=

“... Well, at least the coordinates they’ve given correspond to one of the possible planets we’ve identified. What do you think?” Maya passed Tanith a padd with the full details of the planet the coordinates matched.

“It seems probable, but it also seems awfully convenient. We abscond with a wanted life form and then suddenly we get the coordinates to the planet it came from, from someone, I can only assume, on New Alexandria? Either there are leaks on New Alexandria, or this is a trap,” Tanith frowned. “Maybe having lost our trail, he’s trying to lure us back to somewhere he can jump on us and-”

“You’re… Awfully paranoid, aren’t you?” Maya cocked her head. “I’d wait to jump to conclusions until the Commander gets up here to explain things. I doubt she would have sent us the coordinates if she thought it was some sort of ruse.”

“Sorry,” Tanith took a breath and let it out. “This is my first regular assignment after being undercover for a very long time. Covert work cultivates paranoia, partially because everyone probably is out to get you, and I’m afraid it’s something of a way of life for me. I’m sure Shar-El will explain everything when she gets here.”

* * *=(/\)=* * *
Alix Fowler

Flight Control Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501

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