The Federation Tribune - May 2005

[Rob Versteegt]

                  ==== The Federation Tribune ====
                           ==== May 2005 ====

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Chief Editor's notes:
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Thank you all once again, for submitting articles to the Federation Tribune,
and of course for reading them! However, we could use some more interesting,
fantastic, wonderful, or just plain silly articles.

And now that I'm writing this anyway, I'd like to say to you all of you that
in August, Frontier Fleet will be in existance for 5 years already! This
special occasion calls for a special newspaper, of course! So I would like
to ask everyone to write or create an article, story, poem, ASCII drawing,
and/or whatever else you can think of that has to do with Frontier Fleet and
its fifth birthday, and send it to chiefeditor at frontierfleet.com. That way,
I can put it in the August newspaper (or I'll even create a special edition
for it, if there are enough articles,) which will be by the players, for the
players, celebrating FF's fifth birthday. So everyone, start thinking and
writing!

For now though, enjoy this newspaper!

Rob Versteegt,
Chief Editor.
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USS CALHOUN / DELTA ONE STATUS REPORT, by Kelley MacKinnon.
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Star Date : 2391.06.10 - 2391.06.12

LOCATION OF THE CALHOUN
Dark Sea, close to the Tal'miinian territory in the North continent,
Ah'tinni Second


STORY

With the rescue attempts on the way the crew of the Calhoun are forced to
deal with the memories that have been imbedded  into thier minds, trying to
discern which are real and which are not.

Meanwhile back on the station,  a young 16 year old boy is murdered and the
only one who saw or knows anything is under the murderers power and control.

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USS Odyssey Status Report, April 2005, by Dennis Church.
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Location: Deep Space Nine
Stardate: 2391.05.10

The Odyssey crew begins practicing to prepare for the festival; deciding to
split into two separate ensembles to better accommodate the varying musical
styles of the crew, as the non-musicians begin their investigation into the
"Dah Ebom", the Bajoran militant group.

Location: Dinwor V
Stardate: 2391.06.18, 2391.06.19

The preparation for the festival is down to is final stages; the Odyssey
groups must perform well enough to get by the initial "qualifying" rounds
against many talented professional groups invited by the Jerwasi.

Preparations both public and subtle are made for the arrival of Jerul Revar,
the Cardassian keynote speaker who the Dah Ebom are allegedly targeting.

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USS Valkyrie Status Report April 2005, by Brandon Allard.
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Stardate: 2391.05.01

Location: Alpha Quadrant, Northern rim of Betreka nebula. (relative to
Federation standard orientation)

FO's log: Our shuttle crew is alive. In fact, apart from Mr Gnone's injury,
the rest of the away team is already back on their feet. That's the good
news. The bad is that the Ferengi are expecting at least one ship full of
Orions to come looking for their phase cloak. While we are equiped to defend
ourselves, the Orions have not lasted this long by being weak. As an added
complication, the Ferengi first officer is convinced there is a deal to be
made with us. Or more accurately, with the Romulan spy. (*suspected* Romulan
spy of course) At least we haven't run into any Borg. Log ends.

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Pandora Station Status Report April 2005, by Rob Versteegt.
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Stardate: 2391.05.28
Location: Pandora Station, in orbit of Pandora II

Summary:

The damage control teams who had gathered on deck 39, to find out what
caused this explosion, had some unbelievable news. It seemed that a thruster
assembly, which had been offline for repairs, had been activated. This had
caused the explosion. Further investigation confirmed that there had been no
order to fire these thrusters. It wasn't clear though how these thrusters
could have fired, since the computer was offline, and not accepting commands
anymore.

In another Jeffries tube, a security team, lead by Ensign Mera, made a
remarkable discovery: they found some sort of device, which was attached to
some of the ODN relays. This device seemed to have access to the computer
systems! While investigating further, Mr. Ded'jol, a member of Mera's
security team, was shot by an unknown assailant. Unable to pursue, Mera
initiated a transport to Sickbay, where Mr. Ded'jol would be treated.
Luckily, the injuries weren't fatal.

At about the same time, Captain Kane, while at Main Ops, discovered that
although nobody had given the order, and the computer didn't know about it,
most of the thruster assemblies of Pandora Station were active. . . causing
the station to move closer and closer to the planet below.

But when Kane wanted to do something about this, the situation only got
worse. A hologram of General Egim, a General in the Dholari military,
appeared. It told Captain Kane what nobody had expected: the station was now
under control of the Dholari military. Kane, enraged about this, ordered an
evacuation of all non-essential personnel to the planet Pandora II.. It was
estimated that the station would crash into the planet in two or three
hours. If the Starfleet crew couldn't stop the thrusters from crashing the
station, then it would be destroyed by the atmosphere of the planet they had
always been orbiting.

But Kane didn't only order an evacuation. He also ordered aSTC Keening to
bring the Dholari who had rescued Jalando from prison, to Main Ops. Also,
Kane ordered the senior staff to the Briefing Room, for a meeting.

During that meeting, Counsellor Aslam played an incredible game of bluff,
knowing that the Dholari might be listening in on their conversation. Hoping
to have scared the Dholari into releasing control of the station back to
Starfleet, the Pandora crew could only wait and hope for the best.

However, word of another tragedy reached the crew's ears. Ms. Keening and
Petty Officer Linden had been shot, by the Dholari. These Dholari were now
on the run. They couldn't have picked a worse time. Not only was the
computer in the Dholari control, but there was also the chaos of the
evacuation to think about. Still, Commander Jalando, Lt. Nel and Ensign
Stone were ordered to go down to deck 145. . . the place where Keening
contacted Kane, before she passed out.

When these three officers arrived at deck 145, and saw Keening lying there
unconscious, with her knee shattered, Nel and Stone walked towards Keening.
. . but Jalando didn't. Instead, he pulled a phaser on these two officers,
and initiated a site to site transport. Nel and Stone could do nothing else
but transport Keening and Petty Officer Linden to sickbay, and wonder what
happened. . .

Meanwhile, in Engineering, Jalando rematerialised. He faked a generator
overload, causing everyone in Main Engineering to clear the area. ACEO
Morabulu was the last one to go. . . but he noticed that Jalando stayed in
Engineering, and seemed to have control over the computer! Jalando stopped
the overload with a simple command. But that wasn't all: He also erected
forcefields around the room, and transported in the Dholari!

Captain Kane, who quickly got contacted by Morabulu about the whole
Jalando-working-with-the-Dholari matter, took OPS Nel and ASTC Sobra with
him to Engineering. There, it became painfully clear that Jalando and the
Dholari were not only in control of Engineering. . . but of the entire
station. And there seemed to be nothing that any of them could do about it.

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USS Atlantis Status Report, April 2005, by Ben Versteegt.
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Stardate:
- 2391.05.28

Location of the (crew of the) USS Atlantis:
- (Holding position near) derelict ship.

Summary:

2391.05.28:

The Gamma Flyer Borhyas was unable to dock at the derelict ship at first,
due to the lack of power on the alien vessel. Lieutenants Jomorr and
Montgomery beamed aboard with a portable generator and after they supplied
the docking ports with power, the Borhyas was able to dock. The away team
disembarked the shuttle and began to investigate. The ship, however, didn't
turn out to be so devoid of activity as it had appeared. Strange lights
appeared, strange shrieks were heard and all the while, the tricorders
picked up nothing. Two security officers died -- the cause of death:
unknown. Lights went out, a ghost appeared, corridors seemed to be moving on
their own, while a recording laid bare the final screams of another doomed
crew. On top of that, when the away team returned to investigate the body of
one of the dead security officers further... The body was no longer there.

Contact with the Atlantis had been lost, on the Atlantis, the away team's
life signs were no longer detectable. Torn sent two other away teams to the
derelict ship to find out what had happened. They set foot on the derelict
vessel, determined to find out what happened to the first away team -- but
they, too, begin to understand why this alien vessel may with good reason be
called... A Ghost Ship.


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Public Relations Status Report, April 2005, by Rob Versteegt.
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In April 2005, there were only 11 signups... and of those 11 signups, 2 were
the same. This means there were 9 persons signing up. Of those 9 people,
only 4 were good enough to enter the Academy. I'm still waiting for a sample
post from one of them.

Here is how they found STFF:

5: Search Engine (like Yahoo, Google, etc)
2: Browsing on the net.
2: Banner exchange / voting site.
1: A friend told him
1: A link to FF on another site.

All I can say is: let's hope for better times.. ;-) Although we don't have
to hope: you can help to get new signups! Just vote at
http://www.frontierfleet.net/comm/vote, (be sure to vote every day, if you
can,) and I'm sure the signups will simply come running to us!


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SF Academy Status Report, April 2005, by Rob Versteegt.
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Instructors: (7)

Chief Instructor Sedaq, played by Adrien Rodd
Instructor Joran Moore, played by David Susman.
Instructor Vivienne Creenan, played by Rob Versteegt
Instructor Miranda Winter, played by Ben Versteegt
Instructor Sophie Jaune, played by Rob Verlinden
Instructor Liz Bronson, played by Laura Elliot
Instructor Abena Kwanu, played by Jeremy Beeler

==================
Instructors leaving: (1)

Instructor Hernan Ortiz, played by Aaron Langston. Thanks for helping out
Aaron, and we hope you'll be back soon.

==================
Cadets lost: (1)

Cadet Sumina Doe, played by Whitney Peters.

==================
New Signups: 11 (7 useless, leaves 4 new cadets. One hasn't mailed me back
yet.

==================
Individual Cadets: (10)

Cadet Lichfield, played by Mike Hutton (Adrian)
Cadet Callum Armour, played by Callum Armour (Laura)
Cadet Adam Grey, played by James Clarke (Bobby) (About to be kicked)
Cadet Dimitri Volkov, played by Dimitar Besovski (LOA)
Cadet Ariennye Alexis Arie Nokomis, played by Tiffany Porter. (Adrian)
Cadet Mario Five, played by Marjan Petrovski (Ben)
Cadet Trenton A. Forrester, played by Adam Davis (Bobby)
Cadet Pierce Mitchell, played by Phil Parrott (Rob007, but will go to the
list soon)
Cadet Ramon Vos, played by Ramon Vos (Bobby)
Cadet Zach'ry Kru'nech, played by Daniel Clamp (David)

==================
List Cadets: (6) (List instructors: Bobby, Aaron, John, Bram)

Cadet Alisa Alexander, played by Tiffany Boggs. (LOA)
Cadet Aleana Netal, played by Selin A.
Cadet Job Lavigne, played by Joseph Wood.
Cadet Michael Webster, played by Phil Cooper.
Cadet John Harmondale, played by Jovan Gegov


(]Mission Summary:[)

Stardate 2389.04.29

Finally, the Cadets found Instructor Creenan's team. However, now they have
to get back to the shuttle again. Will they succeed?

==================
Graduates: (1)

Cadet Sobra Rena, played by Noel S. => Ensign ASTC Sobra Rena, Pandora
Station.

==================

Well... let's hope to have more graduates next month! ;-)

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Promotions in April 2005, by Rob Versteegt.
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>From Cadet to Ensign:

Cadet Sobra Rena, played by Noel S, => ASTC Ensign Sobra Rena, on Pandora
Station.

Congrats! ;-)

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Posting Stats April 2005, by Rob Versteegt.
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Top 10 Posters in Frontier Fleet, April 2005.

10. Ben Versteegt: 20 (Ody 4, Panda 10, Atly 6) PC: 6

9. Adrian Rodd: 20 (Cal 9, Atly 11) PC: 9

8. Mark O'Bannon: 21 (Cal 18, Atly 3) PC: 11

7. David Susman: 27 (Ody 5, Panda 8, Valk 14) PC: 7

6. Matt Brown: 27 (Ody 8, Valk 17, Panda 2) PC: 13

5. Richard Clogston: 28 (Ody 6, Valk 22) PC: 17

4. Bram Peeters: 29 (Ody 5, Valk 1, Panda 8, Atly 15) PC: 5

3. Laura Elliot: 40 (Cal 40) PC: 10

AND THE NR'S 1 AND 2, WHO HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF POSTS, ARE:

2. Rob Versteegt: 74 (Cal 13, Ody 8, Valk 12, Panda 21, Atly 20) PC: 4

AND

1. Kelley MacKinnon: 74 (Cal 74) PC: 14

Congratulations!


Posting Stats:

1. Kelley MacKinnon: 74 (Cal 74) PC: 14
2. Rob Versteegt: 74 (Cal 13, Ody 8, Valk 12, Panda 21, Atly 20) PC: 4
3. Laura Elliot: 40 (Cal 40) PC: 10
4. Bram Peeters: 29 (Ody 5, Valk 1, Panda 8, Atly 15) PC: 5
5. Richard Clogston: 28 (Ody 6, Valk 22) PC: 17
6. Matt Brown: 27 (Ody 8, Valk 17, Panda 2) PC: 13
7. David Susman: 27 (Ody 5, Panda 8, Valk 14) PC: 7
8. Mark O'Bannon: 21 (Cal 18, Atly 3) PC: 11
9. Adrian Rodd: 20 (Cal 9, Atly 11) PC: 9
10. Ben Versteegt: 20 (Ody 4, Panda 10, Atly 6) PC: 6
11. Ruben Hilbers: 19 (Valk 19) PC: 9
12. Sussie Andersson: 15 (Panda 12, Atly 3) PC: 5
13. Aaron DeLay: 14 (Cal 14) PC: 11
14. Gael Imaddedine: 13 (Valk 2, Panda 11) PC: 4
15. Abby Leib: 12 (Ody 12) PC: 12
16. Jeremy Beeler: 11 (Cal 9, Atly 2) PC: 3
17. Aaron Langston: 11 (Panda 9, Atly 2) PC: 5
18. Jake Hanlon: 9 (Cal 9) PC: 9
19. Andre Thomas: 8 (Atly 8) PC: 8
20. Rob Verlinden: 8 (Ody 8) PC: 8
21. Patrick Buidin: 7 (Cal 5, Atly 2) PC: 3
22. Chris J.: 7 (Valk 7) PC: 3
23. Dennis Church: 6 (Ody 5, Panda 1) PC: 5
24. Matthew Cobble: 6 (Ody 6) PC: 6
25. Martin Miller: 6 (Ody 4, Atly 2) PC: 3
26. Brandon Allard: 5 (Valk 5) PC: 4)
27. Hanna Brunefeldt: 5 (Atly 5) PC: 5
28. Yugoslav Zingovski: 5 (Ody 5) PC: 5
29. Ann Montague: 4 (Valk 4) PC: 4
30. Angelic Noble: 4 (Cal 4) PC: 4
31. Alonzo Soban: 4 (Atly 4) PC: 4
32. Guido Dorssers: 3 (Valk 3) PC: 3
33. Dawn Johnson: 3 (Ody 1, Panda 2) PC: 1
34. Rickardh Karlsson: 3 (Atly 3) PC: 3
35. Daniel Balding: 2 (Ody 2) PC: 2
36. David Church: 2 (Ody 2)
37. Jonathan Hardy: 2 (Valk 2) PC: 2
38. Mike Sheinin: 1 (Atly 1) PC: 1

Top 3 Posters of the USS Calhoun:
3. Mark O'Bannon: 14 Posts.
2. Laura Elliot: 40 Posts.
1: Kelley MacKinnon: 74 Posts.

Top 3 Posters of the USS Odyssey:
3. Matthew Cobble / Richard Clogston: 6 Posts.
2. Rob Verlinden / Rob Versteegt / Matt Brown: 8 posts
1. Abby Leib: 12 Posts.

Top 3 Postes of the USS Valkyrie:
3. Matt Brown: 17 Posts.
2. Ruben Hilbers: 19 Posts.
1. Richard Clogston: 22 Posts.

Top 3 Posters of Pandora Station:
3. Gael Imaddedine: 11 Posts.
2. Sussie Andersson: 12 Posts.
1. Rob Versteegt: 21 Posts.

Top 3 Posters of the USS Atlantis:
3. David Susman: 14 Posts.
2. Bram Peeters: 15 Posts.
1. Rob Versteegt: 20 Posts.


Posts per dutystation:

1. USS Calhoun: 195 Posts.
2. USS Atlantis: 106 Posts.
3. USS Valkyrie: 94 Posts.
4. Pandora Station: 83 Posts.
5. USS Odyssey: 81 Posts.


Total posts in FF in April: 555

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Beyond the Starfield: A Look Behind the Scenes by Clare Bradley.
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In the Cage, Spock smiles, since his emotionless demeanor hadn't been
devised yet. Even in the following episode, Spock displays some emotion,
while saying that Earth emotions are foreign to him. Spock was the only
character from The Cage to make it into the series.

An early idea for the Voyager series equipped the ship with a cloaking
device.

Stardates were intended to keep the exact year of Star Trek's adventures
somewhat vague, although it was later decided what dates they correspond to.
Dialog references in the early episodes suggested various timeframes,
ranging from 200 to 800 years in the future.

Tarbolde's love sonnet in Where No Man Has Gone Before was actually a poem
written by Gene Roddenberry as a pilot speaking of his beloved airplane.

Roddenberry requested a camera test for the Orion dancer's make-up in the
Cage, since things don't always look the same on film as they do to the
naked eye. Majel Barrett allowed herself to be painted green for the test.
When he viewed the test the following day, Barrett looked completely normal,
and was not green at all. Roddenberry requested another test with more
green. Again, Barrett did not appear green at all. During the third test it
was discovered that the technician who developed the film wasn't told that
she was supposed to appear green, so he corrected her coloring when he
developed the film.

Phlox's nude scene in 'Doctor's Orders' began as a joke. John Billingsley
joked with writer Chris Black at a party one night about Phlox operating
naked, and crew members walk in and faint dead away, and later people are
walking around the ship in awe of him. Black didn't believe Billingsley
would do a nude scene, but he said he would, so Black wrote it as a sort of
a dare.

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Trek Trivia #7, by Clare Bradley.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

==========
Chief Editor's note: Possible spoilers ahead!
==========

In honor of Enterprise's final season, this month's trivia questions will
all focus on the series. :> As always, please avoid researching your
answers.

1. Trip was once impregnated by a woman of what race?
A. Axanar
B. Denobulan
C. Xyrillian
D. Kriosian

2. What was the name of the freighter vessel on which Travis Mayweather grew
up?
A. Corsair
B. Fortunate
C. Saratoga
D. Horizon

3. What race imprisoned innocent Suliban in detention camps?
A. Torothans
B. Xindi
C. Tandarans
D. Kreetassans

4. A group of Vulcans were stranded on Earth prior to the official first
contact of the two species. When did the two races first meet?
A. 1986
B. 1974
C. 1957
D. 1943

5. Trip once rescued Kaitaama, a member of the royal dynasty of what planet?
A. Kreetassa
B. Krios Prime
C. Andoria
D. Akaali

6. How many people were killed when the Xindi probe attacked Earth?
A. 7 million
B. 5 million
C. 2 million
D. 1 million

7. Phlox once cloned which crewmember?
A. Reed
B. T'Pol
C. Trip
D. Mayweather

8. Who sabotaged the Xindi weapon test?
A. Gralik Durr
B. Degra
C. Jonathan Archer
D. Shran

9. Who was the Xindi scientist that developed their weapon?
A. Jannar
B. Damron
C. Dolim
D. Degra

10. In an alternate timeline, after the Xindi destroyed Earth, to which
planet did the survivors go?
A. Ceti Alpha V
B. Alpha Centauri
C. Vega Colony
D. Cestus III

11. What century was Crewman Daniels from?
A. 24th century
B. 27th century
C. 29th century
D. 30th century

12. Who helped the Germans win WWII in an alternate timeline?
A. Silik
B. Tarquin
C. Vosk
D. Degra

13. Who did Phlox compare to a Draxxan cloud viper?
A. T'Pol
B. Hoshi
C. Trip
D. Reed

14. Who was killed when Earth's Embassy on Vulcan was bombed?
A. Ambassador Soval
B. Admiral Forrest
C. Admiral Gardner
D. Ambassador V'Lar

15. Who invented the transporter?
A. Emory Erickson
B. Captain Jefferies
C. Henry Archer
D. Arik Soong

16. How many Enterprise NX-01 crewmen did not survive the mission in the
Expanse?
A. 9
B. 15
C. 27
D. 50

17. What member of the Enterprise NX-01 crew worked for Section 31?
A. Hoshi
B. Trip
C. Mayweather
D. Reed

18. Where did the Syrranites hide from the Vulcan High Council?
A. Fire Plains
B. Mount Seleya
C. Mount Tar'Hana
D. The Forge

19. Who was the mother of Shran's child?
A. Talas
B. Jhamel
C. Tarah
D. T'Pol

20. Who took over Trip's position on the Enterprise NX-01 after he
transferred to Columbia?
A. Kelby
B. Massaro
C. Jenkins
D. Mayweather

Email your answers to grozit at gmail.com by 2005.06.10, with the word 'Trivia'
in the subject line. Remember to check the Newspaper Forum for bonus
questions throughout the month!


Here are the answers to last month's quiz. The difficulty rating indicated
the percentage of responders who answered the question incorrect.

Trivia Quiz #6:

1. Which of the following was NOT written by renowned 22nd century Bajoran
Poet Akorem Laan?
A. Kitara's Song
B. Gaudaal's Lament
C. Anslem
D. Call of the Prophets
Answer: C. Anslem is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Jake Sisko.
(difficulty: 77%)

2. What was the name of Trip's childhood pet dog?
A. Porthos
B. Butler
C. Bedford
D. Scruffers
Answer: C. Trip's childhood dog was named Bedford. He was so big Trip could
ride him like a horse. Porthos was Archer's dog, Butler belonged to Kirk,
and Scruffers was a dog that Phlox read about once. (difficulty: 84%)

3. On the ancient Vulcan artifact the Stone of Gol, which symbol separated
the symbols for war and death?
A. Love
B. Fear
C. Honor
D. Peace
Answer: D. The artifact is a telepathic weapon that only works when the
opponent fights. If your opponent peaceably puts down their weapons, the
artifact does not function. (difficulty: 50%)

4. Which Platonian did not have telekinetic powers?
A. Alexander
B. Dionyd
C. Parmen
D. Philana
Answer: A. The same genetics that made Alexander a midget prevented him from
absorbing the kironide that gave the Platonians their powers. (difficulty:
77%)

5. Who flooded the Forest of Forever?
A. Naomi Wildman
B. Samantha Wildman
C. Neelix
D. Kathryn Janeway
Answer: D. Janeway flooded the Forest of Forever when she was 6. Flotter
said they were in a dry spell, so Janeway diverted the river. (difficulty:
16%)

6. Where did Miles O'Brien's father want him to go to school?
A. Starfleet Academy
B. Vulcan Science Academy
C. Aldebaran Music Academy
D. Trinity College
Answer: C. O'Brien's father wanted him to attend the Aldebaran Music Academy
to become a concert cellist. (difficulty: 84%)

7. What is Dr. Lucas's first name?
A. John
B. Lucas
C. Jeremy
D. Martin
Answer: C. Dr. Jeremy Lucas was a human colleague of Phlox, who worked on
Denobula with the IME and later on Cold Station 12. (difficulty: 50%)

8. William Riker was once charged with the murder of what scientist?
A. Dr. Lewis Zimmerman
B. Dr. Reyga
C. Dr. Paul Manheim
D. Dr. Nel Apgar
Answer: D. During the course of Riker's trial, it was discovered that Dr.
Nel Apgar had inadvertently killed himself while trying to kill Riker.
(difficulty: 77%)

9. Who said: "In this galaxy, there's a mathematical probability of three
million Earth-type planets. And in all of the universe, three million,
million galaxies like this. And in all of that-- and perhaps more-- only one
of each of us. Don't destroy the one named Kirk."?
A. Leonard McCoy
B. Spock
C. Scotty
D. Uhura
Answer: A. McCoy said this in the episode "Balance of Terror." (difficulty:
33%)

10. Where are the Axiana Lakes located?
A. Bajor
B. Earth
C. Betazed
D. Talax
Answer: D. The Axiana lakes are located in the Godo Mountain Range on the
planet Talax. (difficulty: 50%)

11. While studying at Starfleet Medical, Julian Bashir fell in love with
Delon Palis. What was her profession?
A. Doctor
B. Ballet Dancer
C. Marine Biologist
D. Waitress
Answer: B. Delon Palis was a ballet dancer. (difficulty: 16%)

12. The Borderland is located between which two political groups?
A. The Klingon Empire and the Orion Syndicate
B. The Federation and the Orion Syndicate
C. The Klingon Empire and the Romulan Empire
D. The Romulan Empire and the Tholians
Answer: A. The Borderland is a volatile area between the Klingon Empire and
the Orion Syndicate. It attracts the most dangerous elements from both.
(difficulty: 50%)

13. What was the name of Deanna Troi's sister?
A. Kamala
B. Kestra
C. Shannara
D. Hedril
Answer: B. Kamala was a Kriosian empathic metamorph, Shannara was Troi and
Worf's daughter in an alternate reality, and Hedril was the daughter of
Cairn Ambassador Maques, who reminded Lwaxana of Kestra. (difficulty: 33%)

14. What was Zefram Cochrane's favorite food?
A. Pizza
B. Steak
C. Cheese Pierogis
D. Kielbasa
Answer: C. On First Contact Day, Neelix served Cheese Pierogis, which he
claimed were Cochrane's favorite. (difficulty: 84%)

15. Kor, Kang, Koloth, and Curzon Dax swore a blood oath of revenge against
the Albino. Who killed him?
A. Kor
B. Kang
C. Koloth
D. Jadzia Dax
Answer: B. Kang killed the Albino. (difficulty: 33%)

Bonus Question #1: Shon Ha'lock is considered the most dangerous emotion by
Vulcans. What is it?
A. Grief
B. Love
C. Jealousy
D. Humor
Answer: B. Shon Ha'lock means love in Vulcan. It is considered the most
dangerous emotion of all because it produces other emotions, such as
jealousy, shame, rage, and grief. (difficulty: 16%)

Bonus Question #2: A bantaca is a stone spire built at the center of ancient
Bajoran cities. What was its purpose?
A. It was a historical monument.
B. It was a storehouse of ancient knowledge.
C. It was a site for religious ceremonies.
D. It marked the city's place in the cosmos.
Answer: D. The bantaca were said to mark the city's place in the cosmos. On
each side of the bantaca are ancient Bajoran symbols that indicate the
city's location. (difficulty: 16%)

Bonus Question #3: What disagreement caused the Holy War among the Triannon?
A. They disagreed on the number of days it took to create the spheres.
B. They disagreed on the number of spheres.
C. They disagreed on the color of their tattoos.
D. They disagreed on the date when the Makers would return.
Answer: A. Although the different sects did have different color tattoos,
the Holy War among the Triannon occurred because one group believed it took
the Makers 9 days to create the spheres, and the other group believed it
took 10 days. (difficulty: 33%)

Bonus Question #4: How many Starfleet ships were lost at Wolf 359?
A. 1
B. 16
C. 29
D. 39
Answer: D. 39 ships were lost in at Wolf 359. (difficulty: 16%)

Scores:
1. Merijn Donders: 10 + 4 = 14 points
2. Rob Versteegt: 9 + 2 = 11 points
3. Ben Versteegt: 9 + 3 = 12 points
4. Bram Peeters: 5 + 4 = 9 points
5. Brandon Allard: 5 + 3 = 8 points
6. Rob Verlinden: 4 + 3 = 7 points

Cumulative Rankings:
1. Bram Peeters: 77 points (6 quizzes)
2. Rob Versteegt: 70 points (6 quizzes)
3. Rob Verlinden: 67 points (5 quizzes)
4. Merijn Donders: 62 points (4 quizzes)
5. Ben Versteegt: 51 points (4 quizzes)
6. Pat Buidin: 32 points (2 quizzes)
7. Sussie Anderson: 28 points (3 quizzes)
8. Adrian Rodd: 27 points (3 quizzes)
9. Rickardh Karlsson: 12 points (1 quiz)
10. Martin Miller: 10 points (1 quiz)
11. Brandon Allard: 8 points (1 quiz)
12. David Susman: 5 points (1 quiz)

Rankings based on average:
(only includes people who answered more than one quiz)
1. Pat Buidin: 16 point average
2. Merijn Donders: 15.5 point average
3. Rob Verlinden: 15 point average
4. Bram Peeters: 12.8 point average
5. Ben Versteegt: 12.7 point average
6. Rob Versteegt: 11.6 point average
7. Sussie Anderson: 9.3 point average
8. Adrian Rodd: 9 point average

--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Alpha Centauri Mystery - Part 22 - Out of Breath, by Ben Versteegt.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary: The samples have been lost. After eluding the Iapetus and the
Romulans, Captain Ayer and his team have not been able to return to Alpha
Centauri before the Iapetus caught up with them. Now, Captain Donovan of the
Iapetus has beamed the crystals and Ayer aboard his ship, and left Sandra
Burke, Zaag and Zjavick on a shuttle to die. They, however, managed to
transport to the wreck of the Aquinas just in time, before the shuttle
exploded. Without a ship to follow Ayer and the samples, they have no chance
of rescuing their Captain. One other problem is also staring them in the
face: with Zjavick unconscious, they have no engineer handy to repair the
life support system, which is off line. Breathing is already becoming
difficult, and it is only a matter of time before all breathable air is used
up... Unless Sandra and Zaag can bring life support back on line.

And now the continuation:

Sandra struggled for air. She and Zaag had rigged all tricorders they could
find to the life support generator on the Bridge and were only one step away
from activating the life support system. They could both use some fresh air
right about now. Both had difficulty breathing, and both knew they didn't
have much time left.

Drawing increasingly more shallow and short breaths, Sandra nodded to Zaag.
"Ac... Activate tricorders." Even talking was becoming too difficult due to
the lack of breathable air.

Zaag only nodded in reply and pressed the button on one of the tricorders
that would activate the rest as well. The tricorder displays burst into
life, all beeping like crazy. For a moment, a very short moment, the console
that controlled life support came back from the dead state it had been in.
It died out again quickly, despite the chirping and beeping of the very
active tricorders. They did supply power to the system -- it just wasn't
enough.

"Damnit!" Shouting, Zaag used up more than a fair share of the shrinking
supply of breathable air that was still present on the Bridge. "Why won't it
work?"

Sandra shook her head. Her eyelids were growing heavy, and she felt she had
to lie down. She also knew that if she did that, she would probably fall
asleep and never wake up again. "What... happened?"

Zaag was feeling the effect of oxygen depletion as well. He felt
light-headed, almost to the point of being unable to focus, and slumped down
on the ground next to where Sandra was sitting. She seemed even more
exhausted than he was. "Don't... know," he told Sandra in short and heavy
breaths. "Just won't work."

"Can't you..." Sandra began, but didn't continue. She was going to suggest
re-routing some of the wiring to make a more direct connection from the
tricorders to the life support system, but it was as if her mind couldn't
hang on to those words. They just seemed to fade away. It was difficult to
think clearly -- she felt like her mind was clouded in a mist that seemed to
grow even thicker when she tried to think about it. The words had left her;
her suggestion was gone. She didn't have the time or energy to worry too
much about that, though. "...do something?" she finished.

Zaag nodded almost unnoticeably and stood up, moaning and almost collapsing
as he did so. He watched as Sandra suddenly seemed to find the floor
extremely interesting; she lied down on it and closed her eyes. Zaag felt
something break inside him -- it was as if the connection he had felt
between him and Sandra was fading away. Sandra had given up, he knew, and he
too was contemplating to simply lie down. The floor seemed so inviting.

Barely able to keep his eyes open, Zaag struggled to reach the life support
console. He tapped it once, but there was no response from the console. He
didn't have the strength anymore to be disappointed, and simply closed his
eyes when he realised that he wouldn't be able to fix whatever was wrong. He
wanted to give up, too, just as Sandra had done. He was so enormously
tired -- it wasn't wrong to just close his eyes for one second, was it?
After all, Sandra had done so too, he told himself, and she was perfectly
all right. Just a little dead.

He opened his eyes with a shock. Dead? The love of his life, dead? He
quickly kneeled beside her, desperately trying to fight the exhaustion that
he was feeling. Feeling Sandra's pulse, he concentrated on the throbbing of
the blood. She was still alive. "Sandra," he said with a hoarse voice.
"Sandra, wake up." He began to shake her when she didn't respond. "Sandra,
please. Wake up, Sandra, wake up, please wake up!" But she didn't wake up.
She just lay there, as if in a deep, dreamless sleep -- a sleep from which
she would never wake up. Not without life support.

Slowly, Zaag stood up again and reached for the console -- but lost his
balance and fell down to the floor. Sleep approached him like a good friend,
a lover, an opportunity for profit. All he had to do was close his eyes and
stop fighting the fatigue. That was all there was to it. He just had to rest
his head on the comfortable floor and stop resisting the natural instincts
of his body. He was already beginning to lose the feeling in his arms and
legs -- they had already gone to sleep.

But there was still something inside the Ferengi that kept him going.
Something inside Zaag fought the exhaustion. Was it his love for Sandra? His
anger towards her upcoming death? He didn't know, nor did he care at this
point. It was probably both. But whatever it was, it drove Zaag to stand up
again and force his legs to co-operate. Using the last of the breathable
air, Zaag took a deep and difficult breath, before doing the one thing that
the feelings that soared inside him urged him to do: vent his anger at the
inoperative life support system. He kicked it, hit it and continued kicking
and hitting it until he had no strength left. He slumped down onto the
console before falling to the ground, unconscious. Zaag had joined Zjavick
and Sandra in their never-ending sleep.


Captain Ayer wished he was asleep right now. A calm, soothing and refreshing
night's rest was just what he needed. He also knew he wasn't going to get
it. Instead, he was on the receiving end of a fist that impacted quite
rudely with his stomach. Ayer slumped to the ground, his legs suddenly
devoid of all strength.

"Pathetic," he heard Donovan say. Not long after Ayer had been thrown into
this room -- an empty room, save for the desk and chair at the far end of
it -- Donovan had arrived here as well. He seemed to derive great pleasure
from watching his security officers pound the life out of Ayer. Donovan
sniggered as he walked closer to the fallen Captain. "I thought Starfleet
Captains these days were capable of taking much more than a little beating.
You disappoint me, Captain Ayer."

Ayer was still clutching his stomach and gasping for air, but nevertheless
had a reply ready. "You just caught me unprepared, that's all." He looked up
at Donovan as blood trickled from his nose. "I'll pose more of a challenge
next time."

Ayer's defiance told Donovan that the Captain of the Aquinas still had a
will that wasn't broken, despite him seeing the shuttle with his crewmembers
in it explode. What Ayer lacked in physical strength, he made up for it in a
very resilient will. Perhaps, Donovan thought, he would pose a challenge
indeed.

"As I understand it," Donovan continued, seemingly ignoring Ayer's comment,
"Starfleet takes a dim view on violence, isn't that so?"

"Apparently," Ayer retorted, "not all Starfleet Captains do."

Donovan smiled at this. "Ah, yes. Well, I have found over the years that
violence is the key to opening doors that diplomacy cannot unlock. Violence
brings enemies, like yourself, Captain, to their knees. It is a powerful
tool, Ayer. Why should we fear to use it?"

"So now I am your enemy?" asked Ayer, wiping the trickle of blood away. "I
thought you said you and I were on the same side?"

"We were," Donovan conceded. "But then you decided not to co-operate. That
made you an enemy."

Ayer looked at him with cold, defiant eyes. "An enemy of whom?"

Donovan looked back, not intimidated by Ayer's fierce look. "An enemy of the
Federation."

For a moment, Ayer was too surprised to say anything. That moment quickly
passed. "*I* am an enemy of the Federation?" he asked loudly, his surprise
and the contempt for Donovan's statement apparent. "Last time I checked, *I*
wasn't the one to fire at Federation vessels. *I* wasn't the one who killed
dozens of Starfleet officers just to steal some samples. If there is an
enemy of the Federation in this room, it is you, Captain Donovan!"

The Iapetus' commanding officer just smiled. "That is where you are wrong. I
am part of an organisation that protects the Federation by any means
necessary... But you wouldn't understand. You are too caught up in
Federation values to look beyond them. Diplomacy, trust, respect? A
Captain's greatest allies, indeed!" Donovan sneered. "There is an entire
galaxy out there, filled with species who fire first and ask questions
later -- species like the Romulans. Someone has to protect the Federation
from them, Captain. Someone who is able to step beyond the boundaries of the
sacred Federation values, in order to protect exactly those values."

"And that someone is you?" Ayer asked. He knew what the answer was.

"Yes," Donovan replied. "Me and the organisation I work for. Without us, the
Federation would have seized to exist centuries ago. Without our continued
efforts to keep the Federation safe, Earth would have fallen to the Klingons
or the Romulans, humanity scattered over the galaxy as slaves and cheap
labourers, and the Federation's values, the same ones you hold so dear,
would exist only in the dreams of the oppressed." He paused for a moment and
walked around the room, visibly upset with Ayer's resistance to see him as
an ally. "You live in a utopia, Captain Ayer. *I* help make that utopia
possible. For the greater good of the Federation, its citizens and its
values, I must deviate from those values in order to secure the existence of
the Federation in the future." He paused again and rubbed the bridge of his
nose. "If you only knew everything that we've done and everything that we're
doing for the Federation... If only you could see how dependent the
Federation has become on us... You wouldn't think our methods were
appalling. You would see that what we do is necessary for the survival of
the Federation. You would be grateful for what we do!"

"So you want my thanks, is that it?" Ayer asked him, the defiant look still
present in his eyes.

"I want your understanding!" Donovan shouted. "I need you to understand that
what I'm doing is in the best interest of the Federation."

"Oh, I understand, all right." Ayer said with fierce anger and got to his
feet with great difficulty, but all the while kept staring at Donovan. "You
destroyed my ship and murdered my crew, and all that for a bunch of crystals
that may give you the most powerful ship in the quadrant! I understand
perfectly." He spat out the last words, his voice and the words filled with
painfully apparent sarcasm.

"I see." Donovan turned his back to him and smiled, glad that Ayer was back
on his feet again. It gave him the opportunity he wanted to knock the
Captain back to the floor again. Without warning, Donovan spun around, his
arm stretched out. His elbow connected to Ayer's jaw, after which the rest
of his arm pushed him down to the floor. Donovan's victim found himself
having barely enough time to turn around while falling, so he could land on
his side instead of his face. It prevented him from losing consciousness at
impact. Sadly, his manoeuvre did expose his stomach, and Donovan found great
pleasure in kicking Ayer there with his foot. For a few moments, Ayer
couldn't breathe.

"I am not doing this for myself. Haven't you been listening?" Donovan
shouted. "I'm doing all of this for the Federation. For you! Everything I
have done was necessary for the survival of the Federation!"

"Explain to me," Ayer managed to say while gasping for air, "why the
destruction of my ship was necessary for the survival of the Federation."

Donovan rolled his eyes. He had explained all of this to the stubborn
Captain before. Why, he thought, couldn't he just accept that explanation?
"I told you. You were carrying the samples. The samples are of the utmost
importance to the survival of the Federation, and you know it. Romulans had
attacked the outpost, there was a Cardassian planning to steal the crystals,
hell, I've heard news that even the Klingons were going to send a ship to
steal the samples. They were slow, though. As usual."

"But why attack my ship?" Ayer demanded, still clutching his stomach. "Why
not simply contact us and ask us to beam the samples to you?"

"Because you wouldn't have trusted me, Ayer," Donovan replied. "You heard
rumours about the samples as well. Their incredible power was already known
to you through those rumours. You weren't going to give me those samples
simply because I asked you to. You would have scanned my ship, asked me why
I was so coincidentally in this sector. You would see that the Iapetus
doesn't even exist in Starfleet records. You would start asking questions,
you would contact Starfleet, who would naturally deny that they have any
other ships in this sector. You would think that I'm some sort of spy, that
I want to steal the samples from you to use them for my own benefit.
Starfleet would think that way, too. Before I would even get the chance to
contact my superiors to make it clear to the rest to Starfleet, you would
have already been ordered by the top brass to proceed at maximum warp to the
Starbase, and I would have lost my opportunity to obtain the samples. On top
of that, the Romulans would have attacked your ship." He paused after his
monologue and looked Ayer squarely in the eyes. "So you see, Captain, I
really didn't have any choice in the matter. I had to attack your ship
before the samples had escaped me completely. Destroying your ship was the
only course of action, and so I pursued it. I think it all turned out pretty
well, don't you?"

"You bastard," Ayer cursed. He understood Donovan's line of reasoning, but
didn't agree with it. True, he had heard rumours about hideously powerful
energy crystals found near Alpha Centauri, and of the possibility of an
enemy attack. After he heard the news, he had immediately ordered his ship
to Alpha Centauri space, to see what he could do there. When he arrived
there, it had already been too late: the Starfleet compound was destroyed.
By some strange luck, though, the Romulans hadn't been able to find the
samples. By an even stranger stroke of luck, it was Ayer's niece who was in
possession of the samples.

It all seemed so simple back then. 'Back then' was only half a day or so
ago, actually. All Ayer had to do was to get the samples safely to a
research facility on Starbase 67. There was hardly anything that could go
wrong... But their luck had turned. The Aquinas had been attacked and
crippled, its crew wounded or killed. And all because of Captain Donovan.

Strange enough, though, Donovan seemed to be sincere. As far as Ayer could
tell, Donovan really saw himself as one of the saviours of the Federation.
His mind drifted off to a discussion he had with his First Officer a long
while ago -- his late First Officer, now. She had conveyed to him a rumour
about a mysterious group of Starfleet officers, who was willing to do
whatever it took to protect the Federation. Operating in the shadows and not
adhering to the boundaries of Federation ethics and values, this
organisation was supposedly comparable to the Cardassian Obsidian Order or
the Romulan Tal Shiar. It had no real boss inside Starfleet, or so the
rumours went, and because of that it wasn't bound to the bureaucracy
inherent to large democratic organisations such as the Federation. It was as
Donovan had said: they stepped outside the values of the Federation in order
to protect those very same values. Could Donovan be part of this
organisation? Ayer had always dismissed the rumours as just that -- rumours.
Operating above the law and in the shadows was a Romulan tactic, at best.
Starfleet would never allow such an organisation. But, he realised,
Starfleet probably didn't even know this organisation existed. Or even
worse -- what if Starfleet did know about its existence, but chose not to
interfere in its operations?

"So what do you want from me?" Ayer had regained his breath after a while,
but he wasn't standing up yet. He wasn't about to make the same mistake
twice. "You stole the samples, you got what you wanted. Why beam me off that
shuttle?"

"Because you, Captain Ayer, seem like the perfect man to know where I can
find more of the samples." He looked at him with his nearly expressionless,
almost bored gaze, as if answering that question was the most normal thing
in the entire universe. To Donovan, it probably was.

Ayer was stumped. "More?" If it was known among Starfleet scientists where
the crystal samples had been found, then they certainly wouldn't have passed
that knowledge on to Ayer, an outsider to the whole project. It was possible
that Sandra knew, but as far as he knew, she had never told him where they
had found the samples. He didn't even know if she knew where they came from.
"Look, I don't know where those scientists at Alpha Centauri found those
samples. Go ask them, not me."

"I will," Donovan replied. "But for now, you'll do nicely. Now, I ask you
again. Where did the scientists find the samples?"

Ayer looked at him as if the other Captain had gone crazy. "I already told
you, I don't know!"

"Ah," Donovan said with a smile, "but if you *did* know, would you tell me?"

Looking at the ground, Ayer scowled. "Probably not, no."

"You see?" replied the other. "Then I can't really be sure you don't know,
can I? For all I know, you do know, but you just don't want to tell me."

Captain Ayer rolled his eyes at this paranoid logic. "So either I tell you
the information you want to know, which I don't have, or I don't tell you,
but then you'll assume I do have the information but don't want to tell
you?"

Donovan nodded, smiling. "That's basically it, yes."

Ayer let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed his forehead. "I'm really not in
the mood for that kind of logic right now, Donovan." He wiped away some
under his nose. "Can't we do this some other time?"

Alarms went off inside Ayer's head when Donovan, suddenly enraged with
anger, dropped to his knees. Before Ayer had a chance to respond to any of
this, Donovan grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against a bulkhead.
He didn't push hard, but hard enough for Ayer to know who was the stronger
of the two in this situation. "You *will* talk," Donovan told him.

"But I don't know anything about the samples," Ayer responded through
clenched teeth.

"Liar!" Donovan shouted. It took great effort to restrain himself from
breaking Ayer's neck right here, right now. Instead, he pushed Ayer against
the bulkhead harder, up to a point where the Captain could barely breathe.
"Tell me what I want to know!"

"I told you, I don't have that information..." Ayer was struggling for air
now, his hands clenched around Donovan's arm, trying to push the aggressor
away. When he saw that Donovan wouldn't budge, he knew he needed to come up
with a different strategy. "Is this really about the info, Donovan?" he
asked. "Or is this about the fact that I proved to be more of a problem for
you than you gave me credit for?" Feeling Donovan's strength decrease for
less than a moment, Ayer knew he was on the right track. "That's it, isn't
it? This has nothing to do with the original location of the samples. This
is simple revenge, and nothing more. I hurt you, and now you want to hurt me
back. And you say it's all in the best interest of the Federation. Well let
me tell you something, Donovan. I don't buy that."

Donovan let go of Ayer's throat and stood up, knowing that the Captain of
the Aquinas realised which of the two was in control here. "You don't
understand what's at stake here!" Donovan replied angrily. "You lead the
Romulans to the Iapetus, Ayer. You were the one who gave them the means to
track down our warp signature. You aided a potential enemy in localising a
Starfleet vessel! By doing so, you didn't only endanger this ship, you
endangered the entire Federation!"

Ayer clenched his fists. He knew what was coming -- Donovan wanted to punish
him for what he perceived as betraying the Federation, and now that Ayer was
a prisoner on the Iapetus, there wasn't anything he could do to stop that
punishment from taking place. In this situation, Donovan had made himself
judge, jury and executioner. Before this moment, Ayer hadn't thought that
Donovan, still a Starfleet officer, it seemed, was capable of killing him.
But now he feared for his life; what if Donovan was actually delusional
enough to actually kill him?

"Then take me to the nearest starbase and have me face a court-martial,"
Ayer suggested, realising that it was very likely that this would turn into
a plea for his life. "Turn me over to Starfleet Command and let them decide
how I should pay for my 'crimes'. Don't sentence me yourself, Donovan. Don't
do this. Not like this."

The grin on Donovan's face only grew. Clearly he was enjoying this moment.
"One of the advantages of operating outside Federation law," he reached for
the desk and grabbed a metallic pole that was laying on its surface, "is
that I can deal with enemies of the Federation in whatever way *I* see fit."

He showed his teeth in a smile that sent shivers up Ayer's spine, and paused
for a moment, his hands clenching the pole high in the air. He lashed out
before Ayer could respond.


"Zaag?" The voice sounded distant, unreal in a way, but the Ferengi clung
unto it. "Zaag, wake up." It was a female voice, Zaag realised. And not just
any female voice: it was Sandra's. The words were almost tangible, and Zaag
struggled to grab hold of them, to use them as a life line that would lead
him back to consciousness. Finally, he opened his eyes and saw Sandra and
Zjavick standing over him. "Zaag, you're awake!" Sandra sounded thrilled and
very relieved.

Zaag, however, felt confused. "I'm not dead?" he asked hesitantly. How could
he not be dead? He hadn't been able to bring life support on line and he had
lost consciousness. By all rights, he was supposed to have died from lack of
breathable air. Then why hadn't he? Or had he died, but was this some weird
and twisted form of the afterlife? No, Zaag thought, that was impossible.
This was hardly the Divine Treasury, and it couldn't be the Vault of Eternal
Destitution either, for he hadn't even attempted to bribe the Blessed
Exchequer yet. This, then, had to mean that he was still alive.

Sandra smiled, and as usual captured Zaag with her lovely smile. "No, you're
not dead."

"You saved us all, mister Zaag," Zjavick said, also smiling. "Somehow you
managed to bring the life support system on line before you passed out."

Zaag was stumped. "But all I did was hit the damn thing."

Zjavick chuckled and shrugged. "Take it from an engineer: hitting something
is often a good way to make that thing work. It certainly worked here."

"Now there's an anticlimax if I've ever heard one," Zaag muttered in reply.

Before he could say anything else, Sandra kneeled down next to him and
hugged him tightly. He enjoyed the feeling of Sandra's embrace and hugged
her back. "You had me scared for a while," Sandra whispered, glad that Zaag
couldn't see that she was crying. "I thought I had lost you."

"The only thing that kept me going," Zaag whispered in reply, "was the
thought of you. Your eyes, your voice... Everything. My love for you is what
kept me on my feet, Sandra. I would have lost consciousness long before I
had if it wasn't for my feelings for you." He sighed deeply and breathed in
the air from the life support system while remembering how Sandra felt about
him. "I'm sorry, Sandra, but I love you. That's not going to change."

Sandra closed her eyes and smiled as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I
wouldn't have it any other way."

They stayed in each other's arms for a long time, and Zjavick wisely did
nothing to interfere, until their comm badges emitted a chirping sound.
Evidently, they were being contacted. Startled, Sandra and Zaag got to their
feet as Zjavick tapped his communicator to open the channel.

=/\= This is Captain Kellin of the USS Sophocles to anyone aboard the USS
Aquinas. We have come to get you to safety. Please respond."

Zjavick's face cleared up and he looked at Sandra and Zaag, who were both
wearing a mixed expression of surprise and joy. Starfleet had finally acted
on the distress call and had sent a ship to rescue the survivors. "This is
Lieutenant Commander Zjavick aboard the Aquinas, Captain. We're glad you
could make it."

=/\= Any time, Commander, =/\= came the reply. =/\= How are you holding up?
=/\=

"Fairly well, under the circumstances. Our injuries are minor. The Aquinas,
however, is an entirely different story. She's unsalvageable, I'm afraid."

=/\= I look forward to hearing your report, Commander, =/\= Kellin said.
=/\= For now, though, you've earned your rest. Your adventure is over -- you
can look forward to some well-deserved rest now. =/\=

Zjavick sighed and exchanged glances with Sandra and Zaag. "Begging your
pardon, sir, but there are still some things we need to take care of before
we can even begin considering rest. I'll fill you in when we get on board
your ship."

There was an almost awkward pause in the conversation. =/\= Be sure that you
do, Commander, =/\= Kellin finally replied. =/\= Prepare for transport.
Sophocles out. =/\=

The channel was closed, and Zjavick went to stand near Sandra and Zaag. He
swallowed as he looked around the badly damaged Bridge. Dead bodies were all
over the place, among them officers and crewmen he had known. Blood stained
the carpet next to the Vulcan first officer's already cold body. There had
been life on this ship, Zjavick knew. The crew had laughed here, cried here,
made important decisions on this ship. Over the years he had served on the
Aquinas, he had watched the crew grow closer to each other and to the ship.
They had formed relationships, got used to the particular quirks of this
starship and its crew, and they had shared life-altering experiences
together.

There had been life here, but now there was only death. The bridge, which
had once been alive with chatter, was now stained with death. This was no
longer a place of the living. Zjavick glanced around the Bridge of his ship
one last time as the transporter beam locked on to him and his companions.
An almost sad whining sound accompanied the blue glow of the transporter,
which removed the last living souls off the battered vessel. After the
transport was complete, there was no creature alive on the Aquinas anymore.
There was only death.


To be continued...

======