The USS Aries Stardate 2260.44

Smoke billowed out from a broken conduit. Hot steam came from it and filled the bridge with smoke. An Ensign who was standing in as the communications officer moved away from his console and grabbed hold of a fire suppression device. He sprayed the conduit and then cranked a control arm that rerouted energy that had been flowing through it. Commander Tetniar, acting Captain of the Aires was in the Captain’s chair. Her hair was folded back into a complex braid but her hair was dirty and damp from sweat just like the rest of her. As was the crew that was left. Those interdimensional aliens had been trying to find a way to get to them for months. They had developed a way to keep them at bay by creating a verteron shield around the ship. The aliens, when they attacked in the same place weakened the shielding there and the crew were forced to fight them with phasers.

“Captain...we’re going to lose another conduit!” Liam said as he tried to reroute power. He was at a console in engineering and his face was covered in soot and sweat as he spoke to the bridge on an open comm channel. Jeni looked up. “Don’t let that shielding fail Liam or its our asses!” She growled. A few of the aliens had been attacking a shield near the port Warp Nacelle. One had been able to strike at it while another charged into it. An electrical pulse cascaded through the Warp Nacelle and the ship lurched into Impulse power. Everyone on the bridge was tossed forward and a bulkhead support crashed down upon the bridge crew.

“Captain...Captain!” Liam yelled. He had managed to keep hold of the console he was at. From his console he initiated a distress beacon and then fired it. The aliens came again and several portal opened up in Engineering. “Everyone, arm yourselves!” he said urgently and everyone drew their phasers. The aliens attacked and the starfleet personnel fired…

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Kirk sat on his chair. After several weeks, Alpha shift was fully manned again and Amara was back at her station behind him. They had just come from an Away mission on Torgon V. THe Torgonians had developed warp and they had been willing to meet with them. They were a deeply religious people and Kirk wasn’t certain at all if they’d make a good addition to the Federation because of that. That and Scarlett, the only female that was in the away team had unintentionally insulted their Consular. Their women wore veils but Scarlett had none and she had smiled at him as she looked at midsection. They wore loose, fitted clothing and it didn’t do much to hide their rather large, sexual organs. Scarlett had been caught looking and that was a grave insult to the mailes, who were very much the dominant species. Their women do not work nor are they allowed to wear clothing. They had not seen any women during their whole trip.

Fiona was very curious about their ‘organs’ and she leaned over toward Scarlett. “So...how...uh, big are they?” She asked in a hushed whisper. “I mean...you did get a pretty good look right?” She asked.

Jeni hadn't wanted to initiate the mutiny, but she and Dr. Bradley, had not believed there was any other option. It would have taken years for the Aires to make it back to Earth with the low power that they had been left with...and Jeni didn't have years. She and Owen were unexpectedly expecting and she had no intention of giving birth in the middle of space. No one except Owen knew she was pregnant and she had no plans on telling anyone...not when she was sitting in the Captain's chair. Levi Turner would have been sitting here, had he cooperated, but he had chosen death...just like Captain James Brown. Jeni was fierce and ambitious. Owen called her a Jaguar. They had plans, the two of them, and she wasn't going to die on this ship at the hands of these aliens. Having no idea that Liam had initiated a distress beacon, she picked up her phaser and began to fire.

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Amara was benefiting from being back on duty. She needed structure and a sense of purpose. She, James, and Leonard had all talked about the nanobots and he said that he was close to a solution. Amara just clung to that hope. She knew that the nanobots couldn't be removed, but she would feel much better knowing that Section 31 couldn't kill her with them. 

She was sitting at her station listening in slightly to Fiona and Scarlett when suddenly something else caught her attention.

"Captain, I'm picking up a distress beacon."

Kirk enjoyed the banter between his officers. Fiona and Scarlett leaned toward one another discussing the mission...he supposed. Or perhaps the aliens particular...anatomy? He doubted that Scarlett would engage in such a thing. Until she spread her hands apart about 12 inches and then Fiona's eyes goggled. Kal just grunted and dared a glance at Elyse who nodded at him with a grin. Which only made him grunt again.

Hearing what Amara said. He turned his chair. "A distress call? From where" He asked. Scarlett and Fiona's conversation cut off abruptly and Scarlett pulled her scanning visor toward her.

"Captain, it's a Federation signal, I think it's Starfleet," She said and fed the data to Fiona so they could set a course.

"You did WHAT?!" Jeni growled at Liam and nearly lunged at him. Owen had to hold her back. "You initiated a distress beacon?! Now we're going to have other Federation Starships headed our way!" Dead aliens lay all around the ship. The Aires crew had won this battle, but they knew that more would be coming soon. Jeni's mind raced as she tried to figure out how to remedy this situation. The Captain and the First Officer were dead. An idea then came to her and she turned and looked at Owen. "Maybe we can claim that the aliens killed Captain Brown and Commander Turner."

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Elyse didn't know why, but she suddenly got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach when she heard that they had picked up a distress beacon. Fiona quickly set a course and the ship turned  and then lurched into Warp. Amara continued to monitor the channels and frequencies for any communications. Several hours later they came out of Warp and Elyse's eyes widened when she saw it was the Aires. Amara was ready, but she waited for James' signal to try and contact the ship.

Kal turned the ship and the Enterprise went into warp once more. As they got closer, there was alot of speculation on what kind of ship it could be. There were several different Starfleet ships but not many would be do out here. Kirk could have had Spock do an investigation but they'd learn who it was, soon enough. As they got closer Scarlett was able to get a reading on the ship's subspace transponder.

"It's the USS Aries," She said and Kirk looked right at Elyse. Fiona began to get telemetry from the ships onboard computers but what was odd was that she wasn't getting that. Normally when a Starfleet Vessel approached another one, their shipboard computers would share data but in this instance, it didnt. But if it were in distress, likely the ship was damaged.

"Take us out of warp," kirk said and Kal complied. "Put her up on screen," Kirk said but it was very tiny. "Maximum magnification," Kirk asked. The ship was a dead stop and one of its Warp Nacelle's had some kind of plasma leak. Green plasma escaped off into space from it. The lighting was intermittent.

"Sickbay, be prepared to accept injured crewman," Kirk informed McCoy. "Scotty, I'll need an Engineering Team to go over to the Aries," Kirk said. "Elyse, assemble an Away team," Kirk said.

Elyse felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest it was beating so fast and hard. She just prayed her brother was alright. She had never had a close relationship with her father or eldest brother, Holden, but she had always been close with Levi. Levi was more like herself, wanting to forge his own path. He was supposed to be getting married in a few months. She saw Jim look at her, but she knew she had a job to do. She needed to remain calm. She nodded to Jim when he instructed her to assemble an away team. “Yes, Captain.”

She normally would have chosen Amara, but Jim had said that Amara was not to go on any away missions for the present time. Elyse chose Nathan, Diana, and Scarlett to go with her. Down in Engineering, Sofia prepared to go with Scotty and Silas. She didn’t know what equipment they might need so she packed as much as she could. She looked over at Keenser before they left. “Keep out of trouble,” she told him with a smile.

It was no secret that Elyse’s brother served aboard the Aries, and Scarlett tried to be supportive to Elyse. It was clear she was unsettled. Diana too showed concern and gave her arm a squeeze as they moved to the teleporter pads. The Engineering team waited for them to clear the pad.

Once they materialized in a clear, hall corridor, it was clear the ship was in very bad shape. Conduits were exposed through the walls. Here and there the ceiling bulkheads had busted loose and were into the hallway. Diana with her tricorder in hand bent down and touched the neck of a crewman. He was covered in burns and soot and she shook her head and they continued on. There wasn’t much light so they had to use their wrist torches.

“What happened, they were in a serious battle?” Diana asked. Nathan looked at the scorching on the wall. “Several and over a period of weeks, maybe months,” He said. “They were delivering Medical supplies to a colony,” Diana said. “The Aires is a science vessel for the most part but they’re often dispatched for that kind of thing. They are not built for any serious battles,” Nathan said as they made their way through. The turbolift ahead didn’t appear to open when they approached it.

Nathan had a small hand PADD and he pulled up the floor plans. They were all unfamiliar with the Saladin Class Starships though Elyse had served on an older version of it. “This way jeffories tube 38 beta,” he said as he turned down another hallway. Two more crewman, a man and a woman were burned to death. Their bodie swerve up against a scorched wall. Nathan could feel Elyse’s concern growing.

It was all Elyse could do to not go running through the halls looking for Levi. Seeing the dead bodies made her feel...sick. She told herself not to panic and to remain calm. That was the only way she could think clearly. She knew about the types of missions the Aires went on. She knew from her last communication with Levi that they had been preparing to deliver medical supplies to a Federation colony. The Aires was not built for battles, although all Starfleet ships were prepared for them. 

Elyse looked over at Scotty, Sofia, and Silas after they all studied the floor plans of the ship. "Ok, you three head to Engineering and see what it's going to take to get the ship back up and running. We're headed for the bridge."

Diana was feeling distraught. Every crew member they came upon was dead. They hadn't yet found one that was alive. She just hoped, for Elyse's sake, that they weren't all dead. Although Elyse was claustrophobic, her worry about her brother overcame her fear and she quickly climbed up towards the bridge. Everyone else followed behind her. Elyse couldn't seem to move fast enough. That terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach continued to grow by the second. 

When they came down onto the bridge Elyse's eyes immediately fell upon the figure of a Trill woman sitting in the Captain's chair. She appeared to be injured and the ship's doctor was tending to her. She saw several bodies laying about, but she didn't see Levi.

"I am Lieutenant Commander Elyse McCoy of the USS Enterprise. We received your distress signal."

Jeni coughed as Owen was repairing a deep cut on her forehead. She was leaned back in her chair and her uniform had stains of sweat, dirt, grime and blood all over it. Owen himself was bleeding from a cut on his cheek and a gash down his shoulder but he ignored it. Jeni was carrying their child. He loved her desperately and they had been through alot together. Especially recently.

The mutiny did not sit well with any of them but Captain Brown was a fool. No one wanted to spend years trying to get home. Years where they had no way to contact Starfleet. Their subspace transceiver had been completely destroyed when the ship fought against raiders they had never seen before. They managed to escape but not before taking heavy damage. Finding those interdimensional aliens had been both a stroke of luck and a curse. But Liam and Naoko had figured out a way to contain them and use their crystallized biomatter as a fuel source under the direction of Jeni herself and Owen, their chief Medical Officer.

No one liked killing the aliens. It went against everything they had been trained for. They were scientists and explorers but that had changed when they began to run out of food. Replicators became inoperative over time and they had all been on strict rations for weeks. No replicators or showers. And no help from Starfeet had changed them. That and the mutiny in which Jeni killed Levi Turner herself. She had liked Levi. Everyone did. He was their First Officer and she had looked up to him. But he sided with the Captain along with alot of other officers and crew. But not nearly enough for them to repel them. Those that opposed the mutiny were murdered to a man though it took alot of effort to kill Levi. He had been particularly difficult to find and pin down but eventually they found him in an Engineering crawl space. He and Jeni fought hand to hand but eventually she was able to get a hold of her phaser and she killed him. They kept his, Captain Browns and a few other’s bodies as proof of the raiders and the aliens. And they all knew that, upon their return home, if they told anyone anything about the mutiny, they’d be arrested and imprisoned for the rest of their lives most likely.

“The...Enterprise?” Jeni said weakly. “I’m...Captain Tetniar,” Jeni said. Owen flinched when he heard Elyse’s name. And he paused in what he was doing but started the dermal regenerator again on her forehead. The bridge was a complete mess and as Scarlett came upon another survivor, he looked up at her. He blinked. “Are,,,are my legs still there?” he asked. There was a large beam from the ceiling bulkhead that had come down upon him and laid across his legs.

“I haven’t felt my legs for...days...I think,” he said as he coughed. The air was thick with smoke and dust and smelled of burned rubber and conduit insulation. Elyse turned down her torch as the light seemed to hurt the Captain’s eyes. “I’ve found another one,” Nathan said as he shined a light on more rubble. A woman’s hand waved. “I’m here!” A small voice said in desperation. “Oh god...please...help me!” She begged. Nathan came down onto one knee. “We’ll get you out, just keep still, my name is Lieutenant Nathan Quinn,” He told her as he held her hand.

Owen would feel Jeni tense up when she heard Elyse's name. Although she was married to Dr. McCoy now, she was still a Turner and everyone knew their names. She felt Owen's fingertips brush her neck in an attempt to soothe her. They needed to be calm and careful here. Their lives were on the line now. 

Diana quickly began to work with Nathan to help the survivors that were on the bridge. Her job was to stabilize them before they would be transported to Sickbay on the Enterprise. Scarlett looked at the man who spoke to her and nodded when he asked about his legs. "Yes, they're still there. We'll get you out of here as quickly as possible. Just remain calm. My name is Lieutenant Scarlett Wright."

Working together, they freed the woman trapped in the rubble and then Nathan helped Scarlett lift the beam up enough off of the man that they were able to slide him out from under it. Diana stabilized them both and then pulled out her communicator. She notified Dr. McCoy before contacting the transporter room on the Enterprise and having the two injured crew members beamed directly to Sickbay.

Elyse approached Jeni. She recognized her as a Trill. The doctor she knew was Dr. Owen Bradley. Leonard had spoken highly about him. "What happened here?"

“We’re being attacked by some sort of interdimensional aliens. They started attacking us when we were boarded by raiders of a race we’ve never seen before. We have one in the morgue, in sickbay,” She said. “No offense Commander, but I’d prefer to speak to your Captain directly,” Jeni said as she swallowed. Her voice was very dry and Scarlett knew they are were borderline malnourished and all of them were dehydrated. When you spoke a lie to too many people, it was too easy to make changes without really noticing.

“Please, see to my crew…” She said as she tried to stand up. Indeed she wasn’t faking it when she felt woozy and landed back down into her chair. “Captain...please…” Owen said then looked at Elyse. “Please, take her to sickbay. She is a conjoined Trill. No internal scans, just make certain it’s heart rate is strong,” Own said as he put his hand on Elyse’s arm. He sounded almost desperate and forlorn to the point of over exhaustion. He looked very tired.

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Liam woke when he heard voices and movement. When he shifted he felt a sharp pain in his side. He was thrown into the wall and he looked down to find a jagged piece of metal sticking out of him. ‘This is MY ship and I’ll be damned if I let raiders take it!’ He thought as he groaned as he slowly pulled himself forward off of the metal. His blood left a trail behind along the metal. He fell forward onto his face and breathed in dust that was on the floor. He coughed as he turned his face to the side. His whole body ached and he put his hand over his wound. He felt the dampness of blood right away. With his right hand he fumbled around. When he felt the coldness of metal he grabbed hold of it and pulled it toward him. A micro spanner...it would do for a weapon. He flopped around for a bit until he could get his legs under him enough to stand up. His legs weren’t working right but he was able to get to his feet. ‘I won’t die on my back!’ He decided. He gritted his teeth as he went toward the noise.

Sofia had likely never seen an engine room this badly damaged and patched and re-patched. “Tough ship,” Scotty said as he shined his light up at the ceiling. The bulkheads were holding here, thankfully. When they heard a noise both of their lights flashed over to the corridor that led to the impulse engine control room. A man stood their and shielded his eyes from their lights.

Liam was delirious from loss of blood, dehydration, hunger and fatigue. He growled almost farrelly, “This is MY ship!” And then he flung himself at Scotty. Scotty just took a step back and Liam flopped onto his face on the floor. He didn’t move after that. When Sofia bent to turn him over. He was awake but just barely conscious. Liam saw Sofia’s face. She was clean and well, quite beautiful in his estimation. He smiled. “Oh...an angel…” He murmured and then he passed out.

Scotty tapped his comm badge. “Transporter room, I have 2 to beam directly to sickbay.Sofia looked up at him in surprise. “Just make sure he’s alright, ok?” he asked. When she agreed he told them to energize.

Elyse had so many questions that she wanted answers to, but the biggest one was where was her brother. Deep down inside of her, she already knew the answer, but she refused to allow herself to believe it. He had to be alive...he just had to! She looked at Dr. Bradley and then at Jeni. She could tell that they were both malnourished and exhausted. Something about the way Dr. Bradley looked at Jeni made her believe that something might be going on there. For a moment, she thought about pressing Jeni for answers, but she could see that Jeni wasn't going to talk to her. She looked at Nathan and Diana. "Continue to search for any survivors and have them beamed over to Sickbay. I will be back." She pulled out her communicator. "Transporter Room, 3 to transport directly to Sickbay," she said and a moment later she, Jeni, and Dr. Bradley were transported onto the Enterprise. They were in Sickbay and Leonard quickly came over to help. Elyse looked at her husband. "This is acting Captain Tetniar. She is a conjoined Trill," she told him. She then pulled out her communicator.

"Captain, this is Commander Turner. Your immediate presence is requested in Sickbay."

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Sofia couldn't believe the damage that had been done to this ship. She was surprised it was even still in tact. She and Scotty immediately checked the bulkheads and thankfully it appeared that they were holding...for now. Sofia started to open her mouth to speak to Scotty when she suddenly heard someone. She looked over and saw a very injured man fling himself at Scotty. Scotty moved back and the man dropped to the floor on his face. Sofia immediately knelt down beside him and turned him over. He was bleeding badly and needed immediate medical attention. She saw the young man's eyes open for a moment and he looked at her. She very nearly blushed when he called her an angel. She was surprised when Scotty told the Transporter room to beam 2 to Sickbay, but she nodded when he told her to make sure he was alright. They were beamed directly to Sickbay and immediately Nurse Anderson rushed over.

"Dr. McCoy!"

“Spock, take the con,” Kirk said as he went down to sickbay. When he arrived, McCoy had Jeni and several others on beds and even more on the floor on pads laid out for them. There were groans and moans as nurses moved from patient to patient. “This one’s got internal plasma burns in her lungs, treat her with….” Diana murmured to another nurse.

Kirk came up to Jeni. Owen was right there, shirtless and a nurse was repairing the cut on his back. “Well, you and your hitchhiker are both going to be fine Captain,” McCoy said. Owen couldn’t help but look relieved. Jeni as well.

“Captain?” She said as she looked at him. “Captain Tetniar...what happened to Captain Brown?” Kirk asked her directly. Jeni knew this question was going to come. And she settled herself for it. “He was killed by raiders,” she said and her eyes flickered to Elyse then flinched away. “The Captain and our first officer, Commander Turner,” She said. “They beamed right onto the bridge and killed the Captain right off. When Levi...when Commander Turner tried to stop them, they killed him too before we even knew what was happening,” she said. They came for mainly food and medical supplies and took several of our torpedoes then left. It was quick. We tried to chase them but some kind of interdimensional alien started to attack us. We lost over one third of the crew until we figured out how to stop them from coming. And then, over the next few weeks, they kept trying to break through the special shields we developed. We lost nearly half the crew in all Captain. Maybe more now...I don’t know,” She said as a Nurse pulled a sheet over the head of a woman that had just died. Jeni did tear up then.

“That was Ensign Barns,” she said as tears welled up in her eyes. She had flung herself in front of Jeni as an alien attacked them. “She saved my life,” she said. Kirk felt horrible for Jeni. He shifted and took up her hand and he didn’t care if it was filthy or not.

“We’ll do our best to help everyone, Captain, you have my word,” Kirk assured her. But he heard what she said and he looked over at Elyse. He didn’t know quite what to say. McCoy heard as well and he closed his eyes a moment at the horror of it happening to his wife. He wanted to go to her but he had wounded to attend and stepped away instead.

Elyse didn't hear anything after Captain Tetniar confirmed her worst fear...her brother Levi was dead. She felt as if the air had been sucked out of her lungs. She didn't realize just how pale her face had become. She needed to get away. She felt as if she was suffocating in that room. She quickly turned and walked out and then just stood in the hallway as tears began to stream down her cheeks. How was she going to tell her parents? How was she going to tell Holden? Levi had always believed in her and told her he would support her no matter what she decided to do. Now he was gone and the universe felt...empty. 

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Genevieve had no idea how long she had been stuck. She had been desperately trying to keep the special shielding they had developed up and the hatch had gotten stuck. She no longer felt hungry, but she was so thirsty. She was feeling weak and was starting to believe that everyone on the ship must be dead. But just as she had lost all hope, she heard voices...or at least she thought she heard voices. It was very possible she was delirious, but just in case she was actually still sane she began to bang on the underside of the hatch and yell out.

"Help! Someone help me!"

McCoy saw her step out and he could hardly blame her. He knew she and levi were close, he only wished he could have met him. Kirk noticed as well and looked back toward Jeni. “Well, Captain, we’re doing everything we can for your ship and your crew. Rest now, get a shower and a hot meal, we’ll talk again,” Kirk said though he definitely wanted to know more about what happened and these aliens she spoke of. He left sickbay and the doors closed behind him. He saw Elyse and when she saw him she tried to clear her tears away as he came up to her. He didn’t say anything, he just put his arms around her. “I’m so sorry Commanded,” Kirk murmured as he held her to him. Elyse had become more than just a good Officer, she was a friend.

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Silas’s eyes bulged when he heard someone bang, metal against metal and call out in a faint voice. He shifted up to the hatch. “Hey…” he yelled and banged on the hatch. He tried to open it but it wouldn’t budge. He saw that the metal had been pressed down here, likely from the shift in the hull supports.

“Hey, I’m going to cut you out! Just sit tight!” He yelled through the door. He put on his goggles and then got to work.

After several minutes the harsh door clanged to the floor. Someone small and lithe with dark hair folded herself into and extended her hand to him. Silas gently helped her out and she lost her balance and they fell together to the floor. Ofcourse she landed right on him with his face between her breasts. Her dark curls spilled over his face as his hands instinctively grabbed hold of her hips. He was surprised, but she definitely felt nice where she was though she shifted up and straddled him with an abashed look. Even with dirt and grime over her face he thought her beautiful. Maybe more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen.

“Are you hurt?” he asked as he sat up on his elbows. Neither of them saw Keenser there. He was about to come and help but Silas had the hatch off before he could. He raised his eyebrows as he wondered what was going to happen. Humans were so...predictable, he thought as he lifted his goggles.

Elyse always tried to be strong around everyone, but especially Jim. She knew that he needed her to be strong. She started to wipe away her tears when she heard him come up, but when she felt him put his arms around her and pull her toward him, she just buried her head against his chest and wept. She couldn't believe this was happening. Levi was supposed to be getting married in just a few months. She had just spoken to him not that long ago. And now he was gone forever. He had never even gotten to meet her husband. He was still so young and full of potential. He would have made an incredible Captain one day.

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Genevieve had never felt relief like she had the moment she heard a voice call back to her. She knew then that she wasn't going to die here...not today. Her muscles were cramped from the way she had been sitting and when a hand was extended to help her she took it. She tried to stand, but she lost her balance and fell on top of her rescuer. She looked down to see a handsome, young man with blonde hair looking up at her. She felt his hands on her hips and she blushed when she realized the compromising situation they were in. She quickly shifted off of him and looked over at him.

"No," she said in her French accent. "My muscles were just a little cramped. I cannot tell you how relieved I was to hear your voice. I had been trapped in there for so long I thought I was becoming delirious."

Jim just let her cry. Sometimes, tears were good to cleanse the strong emotions that people like them felt. Jim was one of those men that held in his pain. Channeled and used it to keep going when the worst comes to pass. He wanted to let her just go and rest but he needed everyone now that there might be a murderous race of aliens that want to kill them all. "Go, take a moment Elyse...then report back when you're able," Kirk said as he kissed her forehead tenderly. He let her go then moved back into sickbay. He looked over and Saw Sofia there talking to a young man, obviously one of the Aries crew.

"Captain, we'll get you and your people quarters, some of us will have to double up but we'll make do,"Kirk said.

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Silas helped her back onto her feet. "I'm Silas, it's nice to meet you," He said as he shook her hand politely. "I was happy to help," he said as he showed her out of the Engineering section. "You all must have been through some tough fights. I've never seen bulkheads with this much stress in them before," he said. "I'm not even certain she's salvagable," he told her but then saw her glum expression. "Uh, I mean...that's not a certainty...we'll do everything we can to get er fixed up," he assured her. He plucked a power bar from his pocket and extended out his hand to her to take it. "Its cranberry, maple," he said.

Elyse was relieved to have Jim's support and strength. All she wanted to do was to go back to her quarters and cry, but she knew they had a job to do. They had to help take care of the Aires crew, and ensure that the Enterprise didn't get attacked as well. Furthermore, they needed to figure out if the Aires was even salvageable. If not, that would be another issue. She nodded and then stepped away to pull herself together. Levi would be counting on her now to take care of his crew and she wasn't going to let him down. Her parents would need to be notified, but that would have to wait until later. 

Jeni looked over at Captain Kirk when he walked back in to sickbay. She knew him by reputation only, but he wasn't an idiot. In fact, the man was extremely intelligent and not one that could be easily fooled. She just hoped that they could pull this off.

"Thank you Captain," she told him. "After what we've been through I know any hospitality will be very much appreciated."

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Genevieve was realistic about the ship's chances of being salvageable. The damage was extensive and a lot of the crew were dead. "I'm Genevieve Auclair, the ship's pilot," she said as she introduced herself. She gratefully accepted the power bar he offered her. "Merci, I didn't realize how hungry I was until you pulled this from your pocket. Do you have any water? I'm so thirsty."

"Oh, well no, I'm sorry," Silas said. "But lets get you to sickbay so the doctor can have a look at you," Silas said as they walked toward the transporter room. That, actually was working but not much else. "I hate ration packs, I don't know how you ate those for so many weeks," Silas said. Genevieve had not been part of the mutiny and had been taken early and held under guard. Her choices were sit in the brig or help keep the aliens from killing her shipmates, mutinous bastards or not. She decided to help.

"Or a holodeck," Silas said. The Enterprise's Holodeck was now well known in Starfleet. Ship Captain's and Admirals were covetous for it but that would involve reverse engineering the one they had and the Enterprise's mission took priority. Even so Scotty and Sofia sent manuals on how to build one when they had time.

"You'll probably have to bunk with someone but we've got the new sonic showers, replicators, a real Chef that makes a mean Croque Madam sandwich if you asked him to make you one," He said with a smile.

Genevieve had not asked Silas which ship he was from, but when he mentioned the holodeck she knew it was the Enterprise. The Enterprise was probably the most well known ship in the fleet and that holodeck was something that many other Captains wanted. She knew that Captain Brown had been thinking about asking for the manual so they could build one on the Aires. They weren't on a 5 year mission, but they were out in space for months at a time so having something like that would have been nice. Taking a shower and getting some sleep sounded wonderful, but she smiled when Silas mentioned Croque Madame. 

"I might have to try that. I haven't had a good one since I left Paris."

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Jeni was worried and Owen would have been able to see that in her eyes. Jeni was cleared to leave sickbay and they had been given their room assignments. Owen followed her down to her temporary quarters and they headed inside.

"I'm worried Owen...what if Genevieve or Liam come forward and reveal the truth to Kirk?"

They beamed over and Silas spoke to the yeoman who had been reorganizing living assignments. He showed Genevieve to her quarters. "So, I hope that I'll see you again Genevieve, If you need anything, I'm on deck 6," Silas said then took a step back and the door closed in front of him.

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"I'll go talk to Liam but we both need to clean up," Owen said. "We can replicate new uniforms, food and drinks. WHat do you want?" He asked. "I also heard they have some kind of holodeck," Owen added as he moved to the bathroom and began to take off his shirt. "God, how long since we've had a shower or a bed?" He asked.

Genevieve was grateful to Silas for all that he had done for her. She had been given Sofia's quarters since Sofia and Scotty were unofficially sharing quarters anyway. Not many of the Aires crew were still alive so only minor shuffling had to happen. 

"Thank you Silas," Genevieve said with a little smile. "I hope to see you again soon as well."

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Jeni was exhausted, not just from the fighting and trying to survive, but the pregnancy was taking a toll as well. Only Owen and herself knew. She was only about 7 weeks along and not showing yet, thankfully. If she and Owen could just make it through this then they could return to Earth, get married, raise their family, and put this whole mess behind them. 

She walked into the bathroom and stood behind Owen. She wrapped her arms around his middle and kissed his bare shoulder. "I love you so much Owen."

Own turned and kissed her back. In the shower, they decided on using hot water instead of the sonic, things had become heated after they had washed one another. Owen had washed Jeni's hair and he knew how she liked to be touched and so he touched her like that in order to get her turned on. She liked him to take charge and so he turned her around and made her hold out her backside for him. Owen was exhausted but with her, he had a family and he loved Jeni more than anything. More than anyone. He proved that in how he made love to her. They crashed hard on the comfortable bed. Owen had replicated all sorts of dishes. Several were among her favorites.

Kal had agreed to accompany Elyse back onto the Aries. Jeni had told McCoy that she had kept Brown's and her borther's corpses in the morgue. The Enterprise had Engineering teams crawling all over the Aries trying to fix it. They replicated most of the parts they needed but some could not be replaced and Kirk allowed them to take from the Enterprise's stores. Starfleet didn't have so many ships that they could mothball this one unless Scotty said it couldn't be repaired. he did not say that and was there now with Sofia and Silas. Spock was there as well as Scarlett and they were looking at the shielding they had developed to fight those aliens.

"To lose over half of her crew has to be difficult," Spock said as he took a few scans of the console. It was redesigned to emit a low ban Tetrion wave. "I've never seen anything like this," Spock said. "What do you make of Captain Tetniar?" Spock asked as he began to reverse engineer the console.

Between making love with Owen, the shower, a belly finally full of food, and a comfortable bed, Jeni knew she should sleep well that night, but her mind was still thinking about everything that could go wrong in their plan. She had been starving, but Owen wouldn't let her over stuff herself and get sick. He was always taking care of her like that. She laid there in the bed with him and smiled at him a little.

"I still can't believe you and I started out disliking one another and now we're going to have a baby."

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Elyse wasn't certain she wanted to see her brother's body, but she knew they needed to get Levi and Captain Brown's bodies onto the Enterprise. Unfortunately, because they were so far out into space the bodies wouldn't be able to be returned to Earth. They would be shot out into space. Elyse knew that it would be what Levi would want anyway. He had loved being in space. Thankfully, Kal was with her. Things had been awkward between them for a while after he had tried to get her to sleep with him, but he seemed devoted to Fiona now and Elyse felt like she had her friend back. 

As they reached the morgue, Elyse stopped and her hands began to tremble. "I...I'm not sure I can do this."

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Scarlett and Spock had agreed to go over to the Aires to help Scotty and Sofia with the repairs. There was a lot of work that needed to be done and the more hands they had, the better. Scarlett was also surprised by the results of the scanning Spock had done on the console. However, what surprised her even more was when he asked her what she thought about Captain Tetniar. "To be honest, I think she's hiding something," she told him. "Her and Dr. Bradley."

Spock turned to face her. "You're becoming quite intuitive...for a human," Spock said with a small grin. "Perhaps though, as a Captain in that situation, they did things they might not be proud of. Who knows what people might do to survive," Spock said.

"Ok, you stay here, I'll go look for the bodies," Kal said and continued forward with his wrist torch. He looked through each bin until he found Captain Brown's corpse. Then he continued and pulled out Levi's. He tagged them but took a good look at Levi's body. "Elyse...You should come and at least say goodbye," Kal said.