Star Trek: Starbase 777

She came out of the airlock into the starbase and looked around. This was her first time over here, and it was a little daunting. After all, this was a whole starbase!

Styre arrived at the airlocks and entered his codes in order to gain access. The doors opened and he walked through.

Tema entered the starbase and was tempted to throw a glance into the jefferies tubes, but then decided against it.

15:33

She entered the lifts again.

Vialara wandered down the airlock towards the starbase she hoped to call her home for the near distant future, large bag slung over her shoulder that contained all the clothing and items she had needed for the long journey to the outer edges of federation space. She paused for a moment to catch her breath along the long corridor before hiking the heavy bag further up her shoulder as she pushed on further down the airlock.

Crossing into the airlock after the assistant chief, Mona casually proceeded to get lost after realizing this was not the airlock she had crossed into previously, the woman sighed and frowned semi-annoyed at the prospect of still being somewhat new to the station and instead referred to the neighborhood master-systems display.

Also stopping at the master-systems display, and looking up directions to her quarters, Vialara tapped at the display with a rather lack of any progress, glancing over at the figure next to her as she did so. "Good evening, Captain. You look about as lost as me here..." She said with a chuckle. "Do you know how to work these things? I can't seem to locate my quarters."

She only made a quick glance toward Dreaxa before returning her attention to the display with a confused squint. “Unfortunately I’m more versed in the ways of starship MSDs than I am starbases. It’s actually quite confusing, for example, I take it these small objects here,” she pointed to an obscure section of the display that was sealed in by four walls and seemed to have little objects that represented either people or furniture, “they must represent some kind of secret society of some sort, it appears as if they’re having a meeting.” The Captain joked which was followed by a dry chuckle. “Any how, if you look under personnel directory you’ll find quarters there, at least that’s how it used to be. I swear they put new circuitry in these things and the U.I goes haywire.”

She tried and tapped a few more times before giving up. "I'll just wander and see if I can find anything. Where are you heading, if you don't mind me asking?" She said as she again struggled to haul her heavy back back over her shoulder and moved to head further up the corridor.

“Well, if I find it again tonight, the bar. It’s nice and quiet around this hour which is almost unsettling for a bar but I like it, it’s a good place to get work done other than the office. I’m actually off duty right now.” Mona saw she was having a hard time with that bag. “Do you maybe want to join, me? I mean I don’t have any plans at the moment I could use a person to talk to, and you seem to need a break yourself.”

She smiled and gave a gentle nod "Thanks for the offer, but I don't drink. Not anymore, at least. If you can help me find my quarters I'd be willing to get a coffee with you? Assuming that's alright with you?" She said, taking a couple of steps up the corridor as if to motion that she was leaving and giving the captain a chance to follow.

“Well, I’m sure the two of us can put our heads together and find your quarters. Then afterward you owe me a coffee. I think I’ll take a Vulcan mocha, extra sweet.” Mona chimed she smiled tagging along. “Oh god, I keep forgetting to give people my name, if I keep doing that no one’s gonna know who the hell I am. Caddel, Mona Caddel.” She had abstained from mentioning her rank perhaps as a notion that they were dropping ranks here, after all they were both senior officers off the clock.

She smiled and gently put a hand out to the other, as she walked alongside her. "Vialara Dreaxa, I'm going to be your new assistant chief medical officer aboard the station here. I'm assuming you're the captain of that new fancy starship I saw docked on the way in? She's a very lovely looking ship." She said with a smile.

Mona took the hand into a firm handshake then continued. “Why thank you, and yes I am she’s a Somerville class fresh off the line. Maximum cruising velocity of warp 9.984 I believe, it’s wonders what they can do with technology when they make it user friendly. Would you believe it was my first command, not bad huh? But enough about me, how about you how long have you been in the fleet?” She asked curiously hands and arms had automatically gone behind her back in a sophisticated nature almost like she was almost always thinking critically, to her it was a symbol she was actually interested in the conversation. She had never got to speak with crew personally one on one, and it was almost like a rare treat to be able to do it now, so she was definitely invested.

Vialara smiled in return and slowly made her way further down the very long corridor that lead from the docking area to the main hub of the station. "Let's see... I was on the Luxrow for four years, Hawthorne for what six maybe? And then a long nine years at Starbase 271... So cutting it close to twenty years in the fleet now. But I didn't actually graduate into Starfleet until I was in my thirties! Five years of med school, two years studying as a junior doctor... Only then did I do my two years of basic training at the academy. Didn't consider myself brainy enough for those entrance exams back when I was younger."

“Wow.” Mona said reasonably impressed. “You don’t think about heading up your own starship someday? You’ve got a lot of experience, I’m surprised you aren’t posted on a long range exploratory vessel, what made you want to continue serving on bases?” She said continuing down the hall, which was relatively quiet, that was to be expected it was semi-late and people were beginning their night shift and finding their places so Mona really didn’t expect to find anyone roaming in and out of the airlock.

"I spent a great deal of time aboard Starships, the Luxrow was quiet, far too quiet for my liking if anything. And then there was the Hawthorne, I don't know if you know it well but it's a medical ship. The whole purpose was to help people, I spend a great deal of time there helping all sorts of systems who needed assistance. But after a while you get bored of all the action, you want familiarity, you want people you know and people you can spend your time with. Starbases are a lot more calm, there's always a good balance between work and free time. Plenty of people aboard for medical to help out and plenty of time inbetween to settle down and start building up a life for yourself."

“I think I understand you, after serving for nearly twenty years I’d want to start settling down too. However not yet, I applied to command that ship so we can keep doing what we’re doing out here, and I’m glad you’re wanting to assist all those people aboard the base. You’re parents must be very proud to have someone out here in the unknown. When I announced to my mother I was joining the fleet, she was more confused at first.” She said stepping out of the airlock and into the #deleted-channel.

Styre walked through the airlock in all of its vacancy. He continued towards the Turbolift.

Once it had arrived, she continued down the airlock. When she arrived she pushed in her authorization codes and was granted access, Mona then continued into the ship’s airlock.

She hurried into the airlock from the corridor and then on into the ship.

[D]What a time to be alive. Still in his civvies and a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, Captain Logan Clarke looked up at the sound of the yellow alert. And then at the waves of people going into a nearby airlock. Immediately his brain went into Captain mode and he hurried over, ushering people into the airlock and helping any of the stragglers. Looking completely out of place while he did so.

1

She walked through the airlocks onto the ship for the fist time.

When the alert sounded Logan instinctively went to the tubes to get to the Command deck. He practically ripped the door open and scrambled inside, pulling the door closed behind him.

"Yeah... you never think it'll turn out this way... but trust me, you did great."

"Does this sort of thing happen often? You were so calm. You knew exactly what you were doing... They told me this was going to be a quiet assignment, where I could focus on my schoolwork and stuff." Hop said, worriedly.

Maybe she’d go visit the ICU, the nurse on duty would probably want a break and it might be nice to put her thoughts out there to someone who could just listen.

Styre walked towards the airlocks, waiting and slowing down his speed so that Ava could catch up.

Again, Ava had to hurry to keep up. “Why are all my friends so much taller than me?,” she muttered under her breath while she also thought that it was a pity Styre didn’t know Kira. (edited)

2

After exiting, she made her way directly to the base lift.

He walked onto the ship.

Styre walked through the airlock towards the lift.

Heading for the turbo lift, her thoughts got caught up on Holly and Molly. Who knew, maybe she could contact them? She entered the lift.

Lilian made her way onto the Eventide.

It was here she continued the trek through the airlock.

To the Eventide.

He crossed into the Eventide.

She walked over to Eventide.

Across to the Eventide!

She made her way to the Eventide for the second time today now.

[D]Finally some action. Well, more action really but he needed the buzz. Ughaz'udan marched through the airlock along with some of the other starbase crew.

[Comm] "Hill to @Deleted User. Sir, would you like me to report to the tactical deck or to the bridge seeing my posting as advisor and strategist."

"Are you participating in the mission?" He paused just beyond the airlock to speak.

[Comm] "I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't participating, sir."

[Comm] "Report to the Eventide's bridge. I expect to see you there shortly."

[Comm] "Understood, Hill out."

For the first time, to the Eventide he goes!

aboard he went.

Styre followed the airlocks until he reached the stations lift.

He continued to follow.

She made her was to the turbolift.

She headed over to the Eventide.

Crossing over into the station’s airlock, she made her way to the lift.

She went to the lift.

She made her way to the turbolift.

He crossed over to the eventide.

Sauk stepped back onto the station from a transport ship, sighing contentedly. He would see Jack soon, and his...maybe two friends? And he could catch up with everyone, and he no longer had to watch himself around his father.....things were good!

[D]Weber appeared at the airlock, probably one of, if not the first, to leave to leave the Eventide. He had a even rougher appearance than usual, he regretted saying what he had to Odessa and he really didn't want to talk right now... And he quickly disappeared through the locks and into the hall without so much as a glance to Sauk

@alexsolo25 ))

04:56

just letting you know :)))

Upon entering the airlock Jack had his head hung low. He was mad at how he had acted but the worst part is he probably would've done it again. He was pissed that he hadn't even learned a lesson from his cowardice. Even with his head low his eyesight never failed him. He spotted Sauk across the room. His face immediately contorted into a wide smile as he yelled. "Sawk!" He ran over and threw himself onto Sauk to give him a big hug. A few tears flung from his eyes as he wrapped his arms tightly around his anchor.

3

She exited the airlocks, smirking slightly as she couldn't resist the opportunity to whistle and cause an ensign to get flustered. Hey. It was a healthy past time considering what the other tactical higher ranking officers did. "Oooooo. So this is the flirty boy. You two compliment one another." She winked once before leaving towards the lifts.

3

He walked in and groaned a little before stretching his arms out, walking without wanting to interrupt the friends.

Eshen left the ship, glancimg at Jack and... Aw, he really does say 'Sawk'.

3

2

Upon entering the airlock Jack had his head hung low. He was mad at how he had acted but the worst part is he probably would've done it again. He was pissed that he hadn't even learned a lesson from his cowardice. Even with his head low his eyesight never failed him. He spotted Sauk across the room. His face immediately contorted into a wide smile as he yelled. "Sawk!" He ran over and threw himself onto Sauk to give him a big hug. A few tears flung from his eyes as he wrapped his arms tightly around his anchor.

@Ensign Jack McLellan | CMD (@alexsolo25) - jump “Jack!” Sauk’s eyes lit up, and he hugged back fiercely, grabbing at the back of Jack’s shirt .This welcome home was unexpected, but not unwelcome. “I missed you,” he whispered, resting his head on Jack’s shoulder.

2

Jack rubbed sauks back with his hand still desperately clinging to him. All Jack had wanted to do the entire mission was hold Sauk again. "I was so scared..." He whispered so that no one else would be able to hear, especially not the senior officers.

“You’re alright now, ashayam,” Sauk whispered back. “You’re safe, I’ve got you…” he pulled back some and smiled at Jack softly, brushing his tears away with a gentle thumb.

3

He paused for a moment as tears continued to roll down from his eyes. He tried to bury his fears now that he had Sauk back but he found himself unable. "Can we go somewhere private..." He was made nervous by all they eyes on them.

4

“Of course,” He wrapped an arm around Jack’s shoulder loosely, guiding him to the turbolift. “We can go to my quarters,”

Jack kept his body around Sauk as they went towards the lift. Jack continued simply trying to breath as a way to control his emotions.

Into the turbolift.

Even without getting a reply from her son, Ellara was determined to visit him for his birthday. She made sure to check the station manifest to confirm that her son was definitely on 777. Bajoran transports to 777 were less frequent than Deep Space Nine, but somehow she managed to book passage on a merchant vessel. At first the captain was reluctant to let a Renjen onboard, but after hearing her story he pitied her and agreed. The vessel was carrying self sealing stembolts, apparently the finest in the quadrant. The journey was longer than Ellara expected, with a lot of bumps. She stayed calm though and remembered the teachings from the prophets. She was dressed in her Renjen attire, owning no other pieces of clothing, Her robes were orange with a green cardigan on top. The embroidery was elaborate, it was clear she was a woman of faith. Her clothes could be likened to that of an earth Abaya. Long and flowy and most of all, modest. Her head was covered with a head scarf with two holes for her ears. She wore her Bajoran earring on her right ear as was customary. The same earring that Baby Nalas wore, it was the Ratana family symbol.

Eshen had been hoping to source some ingredients for Bajoran food, or possibly a cat, but apparently all this merchant vessel was selling was 'self-sealing stem bolts'. Eshen had no idea what the hell those were, but he assumed it was something like an advanced nail, perhaps important for engineering things like warp cores and transporters. He was bored, about to leave, when he caught a glimpse of a Bajoran earring on a woman, and felt an odd sense of familiarity. Did he know the person wearing it? Surely not. He never forgot a face. She seemed a little lost, so he approached and said excuse me in Bajoran, then, "Are you lost?" in English.

Ellara turned when she heard the voice and almost got a shock when she came face to face with the large Klingon-Vulcan boy. She was taller than most Bajoran women, but she was still shorter than Eshen. This boy spoke Bajoran? Ellara didn't understand Federation Standard at all so it was a relief to have someone who spoke her language. "Hello, do you work on this station? I am looking for someone."

"I do. Who are you looking for? I love your earring." Was it Nalas' earring? No, his had Cardassian influence. This is more like... No, it couldn't be. Wouldn't Nalas have told him a family member was visiting? Maybe he was just assuming all Bajoran earrings looked the same. How regressive of him.

Ellara had to resist the urge to grab this boy's ear. He looked so kind, a gentle giant. She could tell just by looking at him he must have had a strong Pagh. However she knew off of Bajor grabbing another person's ear without consent was considered rude. Instead she just bowed. "Thank you so much, if only my son thought so too," Ellara said, thinking about her baby Nalas who refused to wear their family earring in favour of a more... Cardassian one. It bothered her, but she didn't let it show. "I am looking for him. It's his birthday soon, his name is Nalas. Ratana Nalas. My name is Ellara, and what may I call you?"

He was right? Eshen smiled widely. "Nalas? I know him! He's my - friend." Who didn't tell Eshen it was his birthday. Aw. "I'm Ensign Eshen K'Tann, but you may call me Eshen, and he and him."

"You know him?" What a coincidence! Ellara smiled brightly and bowed once more to Eshen. She didn't know what made her happier; the fact that Eshen knew Nalas or that her son had a friend. Unfortunately due to the chaos on Deep Space Nine she never had the chance to see Cecil there. In fact, it had been nearly three years since she last saw her son. He wouldn't even video chat with her, only short letters. Maybe Eshen could help her get in contact with her son. "It is nice to meet you Eshen," She stepped forward. "I can feel your Pagh, you are a man of good morals, the Prophets are smiling upon you," She said in a soft tone. "Can you help me find him? I sent him a letter, but he never replied. Actually... He rarely replies to my letters at all. I was beginning to think I had been mistaking the Starbase numbers."

So Nalas didn't want to talk to her? Hmmm. Well, he could understand that. He would ignore his parents' letters if they cared enough to send any. But he also knew Nalas had a habit of denying his Bajoran heritage, and not necessarily because it - or she - had done anything wrong. "Ah, thank you, and I'm sorry to hear that. I don't know exactly where he is on the station right now, but I could message him and tell him you're here?" At least then Nalas would get some warning.

"That would be lovely, thank you so much Eshen. I just want to see him. Even if it is just for 10 minutes, I haven't seen him in 3 years," Ellara said, clearly sounding a bit distressed by this. She wouldn't have been so upset had Cecil not made multiple trips to Cardassia. In fact, that was the only place Cecil went on holiday. All the time they spent together when Cecil was in the academy, only for her son to lose his way once again after graduating. Ellara just wanted her Bajoran son back.

"I'll be snappy, then!" Eshen said, pulling up his PADD.

Ellara nodded and stood there waiting. She wasn't sure how long this would take, she really wanted to see her son. She watched Eshen typing on his PADD, a bit of anxiety washing over her. Did Cecil get her letter? Was he okay? Was he working? What was he thinking? Ellara just wanted to see her son for his birthday.

Eshen's face fell as he typed. He sighed and looked at Ellara. "He says... He doesn't want to see you. And if he won't tell me where he is, I have no way of finding him." Actually, he could ask his comm badge for Nalas' location, but he wasn't sure about doing that. He wanted Nalas to agree to see his mother, not to force it upon him.

The worst that she feared has happened. Cecil didn't want to see her? Why? What was so bad about seeing your mother? She didn't think she had done anything to warrant her son hiding from her. When Cecil was in the Academy he would gladly take trips with her to Germany and things were fine. She did not think she was overbearing or controlling, she supported her son in all his endeavors and never judged him. "Wha... Why not? Did he say why? Is he mad at me? He sent me a letter a few weeks ago," Ellara took out a PADD from her purse and showed Eshen. "He asked me for some Bajoran recipes. It didn't seem like he was mad?"

"Nalas is... Working through some things. That letter was... I made him some Bajoran recipes. But it took a long time to convince him to let me do that." He smiled bitterly. "Hey, you know what? I think I have some leftover Hasperat I made in my quarters. Why don't you come by and we can eat and I'll tell you how Nalas has been doing?"

Going through some things? Why didn't he tell her? It was hard to hide the disappointment on her face. She was very worried now. What hurt her more is knowing that her son was probably still having regular communications with his father. It was times like this that made her question her decision to leave her Cardassian husband. It was a toxic environment, but had she stayed maybe she would have been able to talk to her son more. Honestly... She would have. She would have taken the pain as much as she could had she known this would be the path her son would follow. "You made Hasperat? Y-Yes I would love that. I'm so sorry to put you in this position," She felt bad that Eshen had to be the middle man in all this, but she really wanted to see her son.

"Alright, then. Let's be quick." The roleplayer has a lot of transition scenes to write.

02:06

He escorted her to #deleted-channel. (edited)

Herat stepped off her transport ship, scanning the area with tired eyes for her son. She hadn’t slept much in the past week, but she always had time for her baby boy.

Sauk spotted his mother and rushed up to her, embracing her. “Marnah!” He grinned.

Herat returned the hug, looking down at Sauk. “Hello, my sweet Tral,” She smiled. Her son looked so much happier than he had on Vulcan, or ever with his father…it hurt, but she was glad he was doing better.

2

“Come with me, Marnah, I’ll take you on a tour!” Sauk said enthusiastically, pulling his mother by the hand towards the lift.

He crossed onto the Eventide, never once giving up his stoic march. He kept his head high as if he was somehow confident.

Cecil was waiting at the airlocks for his mother and Eshen.

Ellara stoped out of the turbolift and immediately rushed to hug her son. "Oh baby Nalas, I'm going to miss you-- and Eshen too!" Ellara was so sad she would have to leave her son behind, but hearing he would be visiting Bajor next gave her some hope.

Cecil hugged his mother back and gave her a warm smile. "I'll miss you too, Marnah. Take care," Cecil said as he looked to the Bajoran freighter captain who took Ellara's bags and headed into the ship.

Well, he was still calling her Marnah. And hopefully would maintain contact with her. Baby steps. But just in case - "Wait! Um, Ellara, can I write to you? Like Nalas does?" Well, should do, anyway. "Sorry, Nalas, if that's weird, but..." (edited)

"Oh no that's not weird at all, please!" Cecil said, happy to hear Eshen still wanted to talk to his mother. She needed more friends, actually, Cecil had been telling her all these years she needed to step outside her Temple and socialise.

"Oh of course Eshen!!"Ellara said as she dug out her PADD from her purse. "I will transfer my COMM codes to Nalas!"

Eshen beamed. "Okay! Thank you so much, Ellara."

She waved to Eshen and her son before heading to the ship. She was really going to miss them, but maybe Cecil would convince Eshen to come with him to Bajor one day.

When his mother had left Cecil looked to Eshen. "Well I guess it's time to get back to normal. Thank you so much for everything, Eshen. And write Marnah a lot, she could really use the company."Cecil said as he walked back towards the turbolift.

Eshen took Nalas' hand as he followed him. "Kyamo, vokau," he pleaded, "My dear, remember what we talked about? Come to the doctor's with me."

Cecil blushed when Eshen took his hand and walked with him towards #deleted-channel "Doctors? Why? Is there something wrong?" Cecil asked, confused why Eshen would suddenly mention it.

"A little bird told me a plant bit your arm," Eshen said, raising a brow to let Nalas know he wasn't fooled. "So we should get it checked out."

To the lifts.

Stepping off a transport ship, the Vulcan archaeologist, a spritely 20 years old, boarded the station. Her first impression was how similar it was to all other Federation structures. Gray walls, smooth surfaces, loud, beeping panels. She walked on, knowing exactly who she was here to find.

3

Walked into the lift.

He stepped into the airlock.

After a delightfully short trip from New Romulus, Valleka arrived on the station at the airlocks just as agreed. She arrived with two Romulan guards at her sides who stood behind her. Her mission was to see the station and negotiate about some self sealing stembolts. Valleka wore the Romulan Republic dress uniform. Dressed in black and gold, she didn't look much different from any other Romulan. Pointed ears and forehead ridges with black hair tied back in two French braids because she refused to sport the ugly bowl cut her people were known for,

Mo's fit was... Just the regular station uniform, but with a long coat over the top. This was a meet-n-greet, not a party. Why would he overdress? He was the station commander of a military base, not some flamboyant diplomat. His otherwise sharp eyeliner blended into his smoky Ferengi-style raccoon eyes, his blood-red hair was neat and tidy as he could get it, and his pale countenance was as sharp as usual. To be honest, with his pointy features and ever-furrowed, highly-arched brows, he could pass as 1/8th Romulan or something, but he wasn't; he just looked like that. Plus his ears were just plain and round (with simple black piercings), not pointy at all. "Senator Valleka T'Rylov," he said, as formal greeting. Then again, with his blank tone and straight-backed posture, you might theorise he was partially Vulcan, but that would also be wrong. The man was a mess of mixed signals. "I hope your trip was not too turbulent."

She greeted the commander with a warm smile when she stepped out of the airlock. He was definitely not what she was expecting, but with the name 'Mephistopheles Mo' what exactly was she expecting? A true diplomat, Valleka did not show her surprise on her face, she was calm and collected, she had a mission to complete. "Greetings Captain Mephistopheles Mo," She greeted him in flawless Standard, something he had been practicing for a while now. The Federation and the Republic were friends now it only made sense that she learned how to speak their language. As per Romulan custom she offered the Captain a polite nod of the head, not a handshake. Her two guards stood at attention behind her, their expressions not changing and their gaze fixed on the human Captain. "It was a lovely ride. Your traffic control is very helpful, there were no issues docking. I am glad we were able to arrange a time to meet, I have been dying to visit this wonderful station of yours."

No handshake, as he'd expected. Romulans and their thing about touch. With the way he acted, you'd expect him to be almost as hesitant about it, but actually, Mo didn't mind it at all. That's what happened when you grew up in close shared quarters with a dozen annoying bunkmates. He just didn't initiate contact with people outside of standard formal greetings because he assumed everyone found him repulsive by default. "Well, it's certainly got an assortment of things to experience," Mo replied, as though he hadn't also arrived on the station recently and knew what he was talking about. "I would recommend giving the Utility Ring and the Environmental Ring a visit while you're here." He was especially impressed by how she'd not only said his full first name, but pronounced it correctly. Part of the reason he gave himself such a long name was to see who would bother putting in the effort.

She took note of the other's posture and stance, especially when he did not make a move to shake her hand. Of course the station commander on a base situated between Romulan and Klingon spaces would know at least the bare minimum about both cultures. She studied the man's features carefully, he had slanted eyebrows, and sharp cheekbones. He could almost pass as part Vulcan, maybe. But alas, he had round ears. "I am looking forward to it, Captain," She spoke in a polite tone before turning to face her two guards. She gestured for them to take a few steps back. Being Romulan, Valleka and her guards stood well over six feet. With her guards standing at six foot four and Valleka herself at six foot two. The trio easily towered over the shorter human. "I will make sure those two places are on the top of my list after I get settled into my quarters," Valleka said.

Mo had no reaction to the bodyguards. He was annoyed by people taller than him, not scared. Besides, they were Romulans, not Klingons. He would be far more wary of any beverages or snacks offered than strength or height. "If you need an escort, I offer myself, if you've not already organised one," He asked, in Ferengi-accented Rihan. It was their way to learn as many languages as possible for optimal trade negotiations, though none were as effective as the Trading Tongue; he wished more civilisations would adopt it. He'd also had to speedrun a lot of languages when he switched to command, since it was practical for the job, but he could never shake the accent. He was conversational, but obviously not native enough to be writing Romulan poetry any time soon, but he absolutely had to speak to her in her own language this time because he was NOT risking the translator misinterpreting the word 'escort'.

A subtle shocked expression crossed Valleka's face when the human began speaking her native tongue to her. She knew Federation officers studied other languages, some even learned Rihannsu, but never thought a station commander would speak to her in it. "I would be delighted to have you as my escort," Valleka said back in Rihannsu. Her words were smooth and fluid, she really had a calming voice despite her resting bitch face. She motioned to her guards and told them she would be going with Mo. They nodded and gave the Captain a bow before walking back to the ship to get some stembolts or whatever they were doing. "Your Rihannsu is very good, Captain,“ An honest compliment, she was impressed. It was just her and Mo now. "I must say this is one of the first times I've heard a Starfleet officer say more than just Jolan tru."

Oh, she left her bodyguards? Risky. Well, actually, no, it was fine. What was he gonna do? Take her on in hand-to-hand combat? He probably needed bodyguards more than she did. Maybe this was a move on her part to balance the scales of power a little. If it was, he appreciated it. "Thank you, though I apologise for my accent. I enjoyed learning it." Linguistically, it wasn't close to Ferengi at all, but they both cared a lot about subtext and subterfuge - it's just that a slip of the tongue in Romulan society was likely to get you shanked, whereas in Ferengi society it was more likely to get you tricked into an MLM, and not the gay kind. If a Ferengi and a Romulan ever drew up a trade contract, they would both have to spend at least five hours analysing it and getting it peer-reviewed before they signed anything. "This way, Senator T'Rylov," Mo said, then walked in The Direction. As well as Ferengi, though, a little of the Cockney accent slipped through as he talked, though not as much as when he spoke Standard or English. It must make his Rihannsu sound bizarre.

As soon as he stepped onto the base, he dug his sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on. Finally, the bright lights were no longer burning craters into his eyes. He kept his neutral composure and headed towards the turbolifts.

Mo exited the turbolift, pursued by phantom dinosaurs, on his way to the Eventide.

He stepped into the airlock and off to the ship for his assignment.

He did the same as above.

Mo exited the Eventide airlock, pursued by a bear this time. Just kidding.

Finally they both got here, and off to Viola they went. He gripped his bag just a bit tighter.

Hopping right after, holding his satchel to gain balance.

A humming sound filled the room as the doors to the airlock opened and out stepped a very serious looking Vulcan man. Whilst most officers would choose to enjoy their break to the fullest, Alizati was not interested in holidays. He headed straight to the turbolifts.

[D] Adill had finished his shift right on time, wasting no minute to get out of his uniform and into more appropriate clothes; a traditional Klingon leather outfit with metal shoulder pieces and a broad belt. He’d been eager to get to the airlocks. He knew that there were two ships on an away mission and he should probably busy his mind with that. However, his mind was somewhere else right now. He hadn’t allowed thoughts of his old friend to distract him during work, but now that his shift was over, well… Now, he was here, waiting for A’Ruk to arrive. He’d put on his warrior face, a deep frown decorating his forehead. That helped with hiding his nervousness.

A’Ruk entered the airlock. His eyes scanned the scene and found Adill quickly. The man hadn’t changed too much, safe for his slightly longer hair. A’Ruk had come prepared for this. He’d told himself a million times he’d make this simple. But right now, standing in the crowd and watching Adill try to hide his anxiety… It took him back a couple of months, back into the war. He feared suddenly that things wouldn’t be simple, no matter how hard he tried. He noticed now that he had frozen on the spot and he urged himself to start walking again. Into Adill’s direction.

3

And there he was, only a few feet away from Adill. Colonel A’Ruk Lukak, the boy he’d grown up with, the warrior he’d fought with, the man who’d stolen his heart. Figuratively speaking of course. If he’d literally done that, Adill would be a medical emergency right now. Though, judging by the way his heart was jumping in his chest, Adill feared he was actually becoming a medical emergency right now. Frankly, this was embarrassing. He swallowed, pulled himself together. A’Ruk could probably see through the charade. He’d try to sound firm anyways as he said, “Hello, old friend.”

4

A’Ruk could indeed see through the charade. He spotted that crease in Adill’s forehead and the way his right hand was twitching slightly, giving away his nerves. Adill had nerves of steel when it came down to it, A’Ruk knew as much. He also knew that he wasn’t in any place to judge Adill for his nervousness now. A’Ruk didn’t feel nervous, not really. He felt… sorry, in some weird way. But that wasn’t a warrior’s feeling. He pushed it away and forced himself to nod in greeting. “Adill!” Had he looked forward to saying that name again? If so, nobody would ever know, so nobody could blame him for it. “No greeting committee for a Klingon Colonel? Your people from the Federation are slacking,” he joked.

Adill felt himself relax at the easy sound of A’Ruk’s voice. His friend was making this easy for him on purpose. He was being humorous. Kind. Why did he have to be kind? Adill chuckled. “It’s only me. You don’t have any objections, do you?”

“Don’t be foolish! You know I don’t.” And then he thought to himself, what the hell? Yes, he was officially here as a Military Colonel. Yes, he had had a fall out with Adill. Yes, he’d come all this way thinking he’d be able to finish this once and for all, because it was too complicated. Who cared? Who the hell cared anymore? The war was over. A’Ruk stepped forward and drew Adill into a firm embrace, patting his hand on Adill’s shoulder.

4

Adill heard the soft sound of metal clacking against metal and then he felt A’Ruk’s arms around him. For a second, he fell out of time and froze, unsure what to do. But then his brain powered up again and he raised his arms to hug A’Ruk back. He didn’t want to seem like he was clinging on for dear life — because he wasn’t, really! Honestly! — but he couldn’t deny that this was nice. Grounding. Something in that hug told him that they were still okay. No matter how today ended, they would be okay. They would remain friends at the very least. Adill inhaled the scent of leather and iron for a brief moment. “It’s good to see you again,” he muttered.

4

“Well,” A’Ruk muttered back, lingering in the hug for a second longer. “Someone had to make sure you wouldn’t go out of practice with that old Bat’leth of yours!” Then he drew away again and grinned a little, showing off his small, sharp teeth.

4

“Old?” Adill narrowed his eyes. Suddenly it felt easy to fall back into their familiar banter. The ice was broken by that warm hug and Adill pointed an accusing finger at A’Ruk. “We’ll see who of us got old! You owe me a fight.”

4

“Ah! And I’m a man of my word as you know,” A’Ruk gave back. “I would fight you right here, but this isn’t a Klingon station.” He sneers dramatically, looking around the airlocks.

“Stop pretending,” said Adill with a small smirk, “I know you don’t hate it as much as you let on.” He put a hand on A’Ruk’s shoulder. “Come, Colonel. I’ll show you around.”

4

A’Ruk growled a little in response, a sound somewhere between amused and offended. However, he willingly followed Adill towards the corridor. “Very well, Doctor.”

If that growl sent a shiver down Adill’s spine, nobody would ever know. It needed a bit more than that to throw him off his track. He led A’Ruk out of the airlocks into the turbolift.

4

Branch arrived, looking around. You could tell a lot about a place from it's airlocks, he thought. Or maybe he was just old-fashioned. Probably not, seeing as he was on the station to endorse his old student's Booty Shorts Machine. Why not? He didn't see any harm in them, and they may actually be comfortable. He began to move to the turbolift, beginning a PADD message to Risren to let the Ensign know he had arrived. And perhaps that Allen boy as well, he was equally involved in the project (Plus Branch knew Risren well enough that from the way he cared for the man).

1

Allan had received a PADD message to meet Captain Branch at the base airlocks, which made enough sense. He was excited for this business partnership opportunity, after all, and he knew Risren was too, which made him all the more want to go through with it. The engineer brought the small machine with him, for good measure, in his trusty satchel and was wearing his usual tank top and Starfleet Shorts with some simple converse-style casual shoes. He wasn't on duty, so ... no reason to dress up like anything else. When he saw what must have been Captain Branch, he walked up to the man and lightly tapped his shoulder. "Sooo, you must be Captain Branch, right? I'm Allan."

Branch turned, taking in the younger man. He gave Allan a polite smile. "Ensign Allan Allen. Quite the name. Your parents must've felt proud of that," He said, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "You're correct, I'm Captain Branch. Pleasure to meet you, young man," He greeted. He registered the fact that the man clearly hadn't dressed up to meet him, which definitely gave him an insight into his personality. He seemed very laid back, despite being a full blown Starfleet officer. He was really the perfect friend for Risren. "I see Risren couldn't make it. No matter, I'm sure I'll see my old pupil later on."

Allan laughed a bit nervously at the bit about his name. "Eh, more or less, but thank you. Nice to meet you as well," he said in response. "Yeah, he's on a date with this French guy? Which is like, whatever, but he sounded pretty excited to see you, so..." Allan explained, recalling the events from earlier that day. He shrugged his shoulders.

Oh? Perhaps Branch had been wrong with his suspicions? But then again, Risren had never really stuck to one person with his advances, as he'd witnessed in person. Yes, Risren was that guy, the one who flirted during class. Luckily, never with the teacher. "I see. Well, I'm sure he will eventually. So, you have something for me to endorse?" He said, partly because he really wanted to hear Allan say the words 'booty shorts' or 'Booty Shorts Machine'.

3

"Yes! This right here, sir," Allan said, as he pulled the machine out of his satchel and held it in both his hands so that the Captain could take a look at it. "We haven't come up with an official name for it yet, but it turns Starfleet pants, or any pants for that matter, into top-tier Starfleet Shorts." For some reason, he at least had the professionalism to not go right to the term 'booty shorts' quite yet.

“Starfleet Shorts. Catchy,” Branch nodded, leaning forward just slightly to examine the machine. It was well constructed, for a combination of multiple devices. “And you’ve programmed this to hem the shorts, I assume?” He asked, gesturing to the part Risren had programmed.

"Yes! That was Risren's genius," Allan explained, still holding the machine in his arms. "I had no clue how to hem anything, so he took care of that bit, and it does it super well too!"

“I see. Do you have an example of the result that I could look at? I would like to know what I’m endorsing,” Branch asked, beginning to walk torward the turbolift.

"Yeah! Right here," Allan just put the machine back into his bag and gestured to the shorts he was wearing. "These are cut just a bit shorter - well, a lot shorter than would be the standard uniform-allowed cut, but they're made from the same machine. An example of the uniform cut, um.." He got out his PADD, and brought up the photos he had taken of Risren and himself in the holodeck.

Branch’s eyebrows shot up and an amused smile graced his face as he looked at the photo. It seems he had been right, after all. “I see. Well, I’d like to see it in action, of course, but I’d be happy to endorse it,” He said decisively, stepping into #deleted-channel and holding the door open for Allan.

2

Trevor quietly stepped off the transport, carrying two things with him: a backpack on his back and a cardboard box in his arms. His clothing was tattered and looked unwashed, and the bags under his eyes gave the impression that he hadn’t slept in over two days. Which was accurate. He looked around, figuring out how the station worked, then stepped into #turbolift .

She went all the way over to the Eventide.

He made it to the airlocks and crossed over to the Eventide, wringing his hands nervously.

Walking and walking though the airlock and towards the Eventide…

He walked from the airlock to the ship.

[D] At some point in the time stream, Comet decided to go check out the Eventide shuttlebay. It wouldn’t have Icarus, but maybe there would be a good one there.

To the lift!

He walked onto the station and headed to the lift.

He followed a little while later.

Walking to the Eventide…

He sprinted onto the Eventide.

Styre walked through the airlock onto the Eventide.

And back to the 777 lifts…

She gave a sigh once she was alone in the airlock, leaning against the back wall for a half minute as she gave a breath and relaxed her body. She pressed the button for it to open the airlock onto the Eventide.

Right behind her, a little blue fluff ball with four hoofs and wiggling antennae.

He had to wonder - how did Amelie go all the way to the Eventide, of all the places? Did she follow someone? She had to, there was no other way an epohh could've entered the ship. Sneaky, he thought, somewhat proudly. He entered the #deleted-channel, a twinge of anxiety in his stomach - Saren didn't know who to expect on the bridge. (edited)

Mo walked to Airlock Seventeen-Bravo.

As Mo arrived a multitude of Starfleet personnel were actively leaving the docked ship via Airlock Seventeen-Bravo, the majority of which seemed like Security officers as they were armed with rifles and Type-2 phasers. After the majority of the traffic had calmed down a Command division officer exited the docked ship, holding a boatswain whistle. They were quick to stand next to the airlock at attention and blow it, before announcing "Admiral on deck", as the figure of a person started exiting the docked Steamrunner-class ship.

After the whistle was blown Xaav'ax made his way aboard 777 on cue, wearing the standard admiralty uniform you'd expect him to be wearing. The hybrid immediately recognised Mo and headed over to him with an outstretched hand to shake. "Captain. I'm sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances."

Mo shook the hand briefly and firmly, wondering how the Admiral put up with all that pomp just getting in and out of the ship each time. Maybe the same way he did, which was reluctantly. "Aye, same as well. Please let me know if you need me to do anythin' for you. Your role in all this beyond being head of Starfleet Sec would be good, too."

The Admiral gestured for the Command officer with the whistle to leave, before turning his attention back to Mo. "I feel like this needs a head on approach, one where I'm not in an office millions of kilometres away. I will be working with the JAG Corps and Security officers aboard this station to hopefully bring an end to this as soon as possible. I'll be holding a press conference at some point, but for the time being I don't want anything associated with you-know-which-organisation discussed publicly. I'd like you to inform your senior staff to keep quiet about it, and I want your Press Officer notified to keep all associated information from leaving this station as best as possible. Press asking questions cannot be given honest answers at this time, and I want them to be told that this is simply an ongoing investigation." He instructed, before glancing around briefly. "I will be taking up residence in the Conference Room if that's fine with you. I need somewhere large to work."

Hands-on approach. Mo liked this man. Too often it seemed like once you became an Admiral you existed solely within the real of calls and hails. "Keep it hush-hush, got it. And yeah, that's fine. D'you need me to show you there or can you make your own way, sir?" Wow. Been a while since he had to call a superior officer sir.

"I think I can figure out my way around this place, but thank you for the offer, Captain." Xaav'ax responded with a smile. "If you didn't notice, we've brought some extra Security officers to assist as of right now. My presence being here, along with the impending court martial makes 7-7-7 a target. Oh, and don't get me started on previous bomb incident as well."

"I hear that. I might need to borrow a few." If 777 was a target, then so was the guy that ran it. "If that's all you need me for, I'll be off to do some informin'."

"Yes, I'll let you get on with what you need to do. Thank you for your time, Captain. I look forward to working with you and your people." Xaav'ax said with a smile.

Mo didn't smile back because that always made him look kinda evil, but gave Xaav'ax a nod. "And thanks for yours. I'll be seein' you, sir." Then he left to go inform all the relevant people all the relevant things.

2

The hybrid nodded back, before heading off himself, two Security officers quickly catching up to escort him as he walked off.

1

The Catian woman stepped off the transport shuttle she'd taken from her home on the colony Possibility, green eyes taking in the new environment. The ex-assassain couldn't help it-- already she was scanning the scene for places an ambusher could hide. Her ears were pricked and her muscles were tense, she was ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble. She walked gracefully to the turbolifts; here to see her son-- child. That was what Xavier had said in his last communication to her, years ago. She frowned. Child. Not son.

2

Once again, someone was arriving on the station - was it the tenth, the hundreth time that day? A somewhat unremarkable occurrence for those who worked here, if this familiar stranger had to guess. He stepped inside the airlock, looking around with unhidden curiosity and wonder, like a child would gawk at an elephant in a zoo; he never had the opportunity to visit a Starfleet station before, and while he has been told about how big the place was, it was a whole different thing, seeing it for yourself. He sticked out like a sore thumb in the crowd, but also somehow blended into it. The visitor was a Romulan man, though his forehead ridges were hidden under his locks, comparatively short in stature and of a stocky build, his calm green eyes slowly scanning the uniform-clad crowd, searching for that someone with an equally inquisitive gaze...

And here he was, the transporter operator Renakir Solait Torre'vnau here to greet the guest. Well, he wasn't exactly a greeting party, he was just the officer in charge of overseeing that guests knew where to go and give them access to resources to help them get around the station. He approached the stranger, PADD in hand. "Jolan tru,"He greeted, immediately recognising the man as Romulan. His dark sunglasses hid his eyes, but aside from that his uniform was standard. He had his fringe pulled back to show his twin forehead ridges as well. Black fingernails clicked against the buttons of the PADD as he registered the arrival of the newcomer. "Welcome to Starbase 777, I am," Renakir looked at the man curiously, pausing for a short second. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Solait ir-Biscae Tr'Torre'vnau."

He saw someone moving towards him, so the man turned towards Renakir, hopeful: "Sa- oh?" he blinked, his face a sequence of emotions - confusion, realization, then an embarrased smile. He laughed, hand slightly raised in an apologetic gesture: "Oh! I apologize, in my haste I've got you confused for someone else! Jolan tru to you too, kind stranger!" Renakir probably could've recognized the familiarity of those green eyes. Though, his friend's ones usually didn't glint with such sincere and open emotions. "Torre'vnau, eh? I've heard that name before," the Romulan grinned, briefly fixing the collar of his long, white cardigan, "In my work field, you grow to know pretty much everyone who lives on Mol'Rihan, at least by their Houses. Both kinds, heh. Talai i-Dartha tr'Morvar, pleasure to be acquainted, Solait."

He stared at the man, blinking right back at him (but Talai couldn't see his eyes) when the man almost called him-- "My father is Cerrub Torre'vnau and my aunt is Senator Meruvix," He said, careful not to give too much information. However judging from the fact that Talai already knew his name, he had a feeling the other knew very well that he was Reman. Plus, his floppy ears and grey skin weren't exactly subtle. The way the man laughed made him nervous, he was too friendly. It wasn't until the man gave his own name that everything clicked. *"It is quite a coincidence we are meeting, your son Saren is my daelhen," *He said, choosing not to say dinam for fear that Talai would get the wrong impression. Well, daelhen was already going to raise questions. "I assume you are here to visit Saren? His quarters is in the middle habitat ring," Renakir was not going to let his guard down, but he did allow himself to relax just a little. (edited)

"Haven't had the luck of meeting them personally. I believe they're great people, though," he replied evenly, unbothered by Renakir's ashen complexion or the floppy ears. Talai did some minor political work while living in the Flotilla, and quickly found himself among those Romulans who held some less... harmful, conservative views. Learned some new things that were carefully hidden from him in his youth, too. Renakir's next words did pique his interest, though. "You're a friend of my son?" he tilted his head then and, yep, there's the Morvar resemblance, the gesture was almost eerily identical to Saren's, "I hope he's not causing you too much trouble with that temper of his, does he? Being aggressively protective, for example?" Daehlen! Interesting, interesting. Did his grumpy introvert of a firstborn (affectionate) finally decide to open up and socialize? Talai was glad to hear that - and while he didn't know the officer before him personally, the tall Romulan-Reman man seemed to be fine, both to him and to his son. And Talai trusted Saren to be a good judge of character, even with all the paranoia, so ingrained in their species. The younger Morvar always was cautious about letting people close to him. "Oh, speaking of visiting, we were supposed to meet here or in the... utility ring, was it? Care to come along? I do not insist, of course! But I also wouldn't mind," Talai offered, still an easy smile on his face.

Renakir raised an eyebrow to that comment that his family were probably nice people. How could this man make such a statement without eve speaking to them? Did he know that Cerrub Torre'vnau was a murderer? Or that the Torre'vnau family made all their wealth and power on the backs of thousands of Reman slaves? Surely he didn't, this was a red flag to Renakir. A Romulan who seemed to trust so easily, make general statements. Oh this was definitely some hidden agenda, right? The man's movements were eerily similar to Saren's. Aside from the more round shape of his face, the resemblance was obvious. He was about to point the man in the direction of the turbolifts when he suddenly invited him to meet Saren. An invitation first meeting?'Stay on your toes, Renakir,'__ he thought. He inhaled, clicking a few buttons on his PADD. His shift was almost over but... perhaps this would count as work. "Alright, please follow me." (edited)

The Romulan, unaware of the inner turmoil that he just caused for Renakir, clapped his hands in delight: "Ah, fantastic, thank you so much! Shall we go then?" Talai had so many questions that he could bombard this young man with - both about the station, the Starfleet, but most, of course, being about his dearest boy. "How did you two meet? Saren hasn't told me much about the people of this station," he inquired, looking up at Solait. "He's not the social butterfly type, I'm delighted to hear that he's forging relationships here-- oh, but don't tell him that." He chuckled warmly, finally having an opportunity to be unapologetically Dad.

Renakir lead the man to #deleted-channel , the station's favourite for some reason. He was facing forward as they walked to the lifts, but was closely monitoring the other. He kept his distance as well, well beyond stabbing range. He did not trust this man, even with his trusted friend's warning. Sure, Talai seemed nice and Saren said he was nice, but Renakir's father was also nice. Renakir would tell people his father was a good man, but did he trust his father? Not on the grave of Shinzon and Reman Turbo Jesus. No way in the Halls of Erebus. "Funny enough, turbolift malfunction. I am the turbolift officer," He told the man as he stepped onto the lift. "Your son and I have a lot in common. I was born on Remus, but after the Supernova my father took me to Rator III. Your son is excellent at Romulan 3D chess, a bright boy," Was it normal to compliment people on their subterfuge? For Romulans, yes. "I suppose we both have a similar attitude and naturally gravitated towards each other. There are not many Romulan-Romulans after all. Many of the Romulans here are those who reunified with the Vulcans, many of those from the Republic still choose to serve the state over Starfleet."

1

He walked through to the lifts.

Stepping off her transport and into the airlock, Lalisa was accompanied by a couple traders and civilians who were also there to visit the station. The nice Starfleet transport operator (not Renakir) gave them each a PADD with some basic station information and Lalisa headed to the lifts.

He shrugged. "The books really aren't even the most interesting thing about my quarters. I've been working on setting up a bunch of pictures."

“Oh? Well now I wanna ask, but don’t spoil anything!” They went to #deleted-channel.

To the lifts!

He quickly transitioned into the lifts.

He walked over to a shuttlecraft, frowning. He realized now that he had absolutely no clue how to even open the door things. Two sighed, resting his forehead on the side of the shuttle “See Two?! You couldn’t do it! You couldn’t even do a task as simple as opening a door! How would you have been able to actually drive the thing?! This is exactly why the crew on the O’Leary… Why the… Why….” He stopped talking, looking around, wondering if anyone was paying attention to him. Without any hint that anyone was, he practically sprinted back out the room. If he had the ability to produce tears, he was certain he would be crying now. Two took the same path back to his room.

Elwyn exited the turbolift and headed towards the airlock the Eventide was docked at, before walking through it and onto the ship.

Home sweet base, Renakir walked towards the lift.

Here he was, Mr. Sunshine. Renakir got a request from someone for a.. Dog? The terran animal. He couldn't help but miss his little epohh at home, it had only been ten minutes but oh how he wished he could bring her to work with him. Sadly she was still very much untrained and even if she was, she wasn't a service animal so she'd just get in the way. Renakir picked up the dog along with some items for them and headed back to the turbolifts. (edited)

She stepped into the airlock and took a look around. After the ride through the vast expanse of space, she was happy to have something a bit more sturdy to call home. She was excited to work and help people on this starbase.

Waiting for her at the airlocks was a familiar face! Mr. Sunshine yet again, full uniform as always since he was on duty. Sunglasses on, hair neatly combed. "Jolan tru, welcome to 777," He greeted the new person, pulling up her record on his PADD and approaching her. Sometimes Renakir wondered what people thought about being greeted by a Romulan first thing on a Federation Starbase, but then he remembered their location and it didn't feel quite odd. In fact, maybe it was even more fitting that the first person to greet someone on a base on the edge of Romulan space was a Romulan. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Hal-sn Horowit, correct?" He attempted to say the name but his French accent seemed to blur all the sounds together.

“Halcyon Horowitz? Yeah that’s me. Happy to be here.” She said, a bright smile on her face. She was wearing a red leather jacket over her uniform, and had many ear piercings. Her hair was very messy, like it had been cut with scissors at 3:00 AM in front of the bathroom mirror (it was).

"Yes, sorry Halcyon Horowitz," Renakir repeated the name perfectly once she said it the first time. He noticed her casual style to her uniform and actually-- it was pretty cool. "Nice piercings," He complimented, always admiring various body accessories of others. It was something he had always wanted, but due to his physiology such accessories would be near impossible. His ears were too floppy and thin to support any sort of jewelry and face piercings were cool but would definitely cause safety hazards. Oh and not to mention Romulans did not really like piercings in general, something something, stranger coming at you with a needle bad. "Oh and I'm Lieutenant Junior Grade Renakir Solait Torre'vnau, you can call me Renakir or Solait," He introduced himself in a terran-friendly way of course, no need for his insanely long name.

“Thanks. I got them done in the Academy, might get another if I can. And, it’s cool we have the same rank!” She said. She was glad she had the jacket, the airlock seemed a bit cold to her.

"Oh cool, I've always wanted piercings but it's not really something we do in Romulan culture," Good, he didn't mention murder, but he totally wanted to add 'because coming at someone with a sharp objects only happens for murder', but no he was not going to scare this human. "Same rank, yea. What's your department? I'm the transport officer, well, you probably know that now," Renakir gave a nervous chuckle, covering his mouth as he did so. Why was he so terrible at talking to people. He had an aura of calm around him despite his clumsiness with socialisation.

“Medical department, Pathologist! I joke that one of the reasons my eyes are so bad is because I look through a microscope all day!” She replied. She was very energetic and optimistic, the exact opposite of Lorin.

"Oh, bad eyes gang rise," Renakir said, gesturing to his sunglasses. Although for him it wasn't that his eyes were bad, his physiology was just adapted to a different environment than the standard M-class of Starbasese. He liked her enthusiasm and attitude and also the fact she seemed to be pretty chill with Romulans. It was always a gamble with humans, most of them accepted Romulans in Starfleet, but there were some who were skeptical about their honesty. Renakir was super honest, very open, at least he considered himself to be. "Your quarters are in the middle habitat ring, you can take the turbolift there. We also have a utility and environmental ring for leisure. I highly recommend the restaurant Surak Snacks in the utility ring, my dad works there as a waiter. His name is Tiravurik," Renakir told her, hoping to get Tiravurik some more visitors. He felt bad his uncle was pretty much confined to the restaurant.

“That sounds really good, actually. Maybe we could go someday, if our free time aligns- I’m trying to gather myself a new friend group.” She said. Always an extrovert, her first goal anywhere new is to make friends and then worry about everything else. Hell is being alone.

'We could go someday', w-what was... Oh no, Renakir's mind immediately went to suspicion. A human meeting a Romulan-Reman man, inviting him to go to Surak Snacks, there was definitely some ulterior motive. No one tell Renakir extroverts exist and some people are just genuinely friendly. "Oh uhh.. Yeah, maybe," He looked away from her and towards the doors that led to the turbolifts. Interaction with people, always a mixed bag. "You can find my name on the comms list so you can message me whenever," 'But please don't, I'm socially awkward,' he thought soon after he spoke.

“Well, I’m gonna check out my quarters! Hope to see you soon!” She said, stepping into #deleted-channel

1

"Jolan tru," Renakir bowed his head and let Halcyon head to her quarters. Another welcome well done. He did hope that she visited Surak Snacks, Tiravurik needed more company because clearly Renakir was not visiting him.

1

[D]C'Telle warily stepped onto the station, blue eye sweeping across his surroundings, unblinking. He had a small pack slung over his shoulder, and was dressed in the typical Starfleet uniform, except for the fact that his large paws (his feet were more digitigrade than human) stood bare on the ground, which put him at 6'3". He found that searching for shoes that fit his feet was fruitless. His fur prickled at the atmosphere; it was warmer and thicker than he was used to, even after being on Earth. He thought back to the harsh, cold expanses of his home district, bare except for the field around his home that his parents worked hard to maintain. He sniffed the air, ears swiveling back and forth, and felt terrified, but on the outside this translated into a look of irritation. The black void that was the left side of his vision was horrible. He relied mainly on hearing and smell. He curled his claws, tensing up. New station, New threats.

Doing his duties at the airlocks, Renakir was preparing to welcome another new officer. One good thing about being in OPS is he got first look at the new arrivals. He read the roster daily, although reading a file and meeting someone in person were two completely different things. The Romulan-Reman officer stood behind his console as he saw the towering furry form of the Caitian officer. Renakir stood a couple inches taller than him, but it was hard to tell from a distance. As soon as the officer was a few steps into the room, Renakir approached him, PADD in hand. "Jolan tru," He gave his typical greeting. "Ensign C'Tellè Hsashey?" He read the the foreign name that was displayed before him although he was not familiar with the Caitian language enough to get the sounds right perfectly. Instead he just defaulted to a French style of pronunciation and hoped it wasn't too far off. He would wait for the officer to correct him.

He murmured something, a mix of a low rumbling grow and a hiss, in the Catian language as a greeting. C'Telle watched and listened to him for a moment, before his mouth opened to reveal his fangs that were rather dull from frequent use in his past. "Hsashar." This might not have helped at all. His last name was intelligible, but at the same time almost unpronouncable to those who did not share a Catian's physiology. His last name came out as almost a hiss, not in a tone kind of way, but in an actual hiss, with tall vowels and a slight rolling of the r. Realizing this, he spoke again. "C'Telle is fine." His blue eye bore into Renakir's silver ones, and his fur stood on edge at the sight of someone taller than he was. Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it... C'Telle, you idiot, stop acting like a scared child. His tone was cold and had aggressive undertones. Maybe he came here to kill me. Maybe he doesn't like Catians. Well that's fine, because I don't like you either! Whatever you are. Just try and kill me. We'll see who comes out on top. Why does he need to know my name? Because you're a Starfleet officer, dumbass. This string of jumbled thoughts raced through his head and he scowled at Renakir. "Where are my quarters?"

1

1

Surprisingly, Renakir was not unfamiliar with the hissing noises. They were actually quite common in Havrannsu, although hearing another language that shared such a similar sound system made Renakir tilt his head ever so slightly. Renakir had a Caitian roommate and one of his dear friends was also Caitian, but the man before him shared no traits with either of them. Renakir hadn't read his file, but he had a feeling this man's experience differed wildly from his friends'. The sight of the other's similarly sharp teeth was actually calming. It meant he didn't have to be self conscious of his words to avoid any sounds that may show that particular Reman feature. Their gazes met, reminding Renakir that his sunglasses did not obscure his eyes completely. "C'Telle," He repeated the man's name back at him, trying not to pick apart ever detail of the other's form. The bag slung over his shoulder, the way his fur seemed to fluff up (was it the atmosphere?), the confusing mix of tone in his voice with his expressions. Something was off. Did he not like Romulans? Remans? Maybe he shouldn't have said 'Jolan tru'. They were right outside of Romulan space, it would be stupid if he had any sort of aversion to the Romulan people as a whole, right? His mind shifted gears now, trying to confirm if the Romulans had ever war crime'd Cait. After a couple seconds of shifting through all his Academy history lessons he came with nothing. Good. "Middle habitat ring, section one. Do you have any questions about the base?" Renakir asked, deciding to just go with the standard greeting script in hopes of learning more information about their newest officer.

1

He lapsed into another off-putting silence, the marred left side of his face rippling as several emotions passed across his face. Suspicion, fear, anger. A dark, warped scar obscured his left eye, reaching up to his left ear and stretching down to his muzzle. His ears twitched back as Renakir observed him. Ugly scar, isn't it? Wouldn't you like to know what I got it from. Pathetic. This last thought was unclear. It could have been directed at the other person or himself, as many of his thoughts could be. "No." His voice rolled over words, with a slight lilt to it. "He merely acknowledged Renakir's politeness with a flick of his long tail.* "I am not a child. I can find my way. I don't need your help or anyone else's." He refused to accept help from this man, or from anyone. It only gave them an opportunity to betray him. The difficulty of telling what the other officerwas thinking put C'Telle on edge. We're alone. Maybe he's planning on killing me.

1

Being Reman, the Caitian's appearance was hardly shocking to him, but his demeanour was certainly off putting. The long stretches of silence, the harsh attitude, the Romulan-Reman officer couldn't even begin to pin point anything about this stranger. He only had a name and a species. So much for having a relaxing day greeting the new arrivals, he thought. "You are always free to ask if you do. I'm Lieutenant Junior Grade Renakir Solait Torre'vnau, feel free to contact OPS for any requests or troubles regarding your quarters," Unlike with some of the other arrivals, Renakir did not say 'contact me', rather 'contact OPS' because he got the feeling opening his door for this guy would be.... Not the best. He hoped at least giving him his name would help ease whatever tension was building in the room. "The turbolifts are to the left," He gestured towards the corridor connected to the airlock, looking forward to this whole meeting being over. 'Man, who spit in his Romulan ale this morning?' was the only thing going through Renakir's mind now.

"Perhaps." Was his only reply. He uttered a harsh 'thank you' that felt completely wrong in his throat, thorny and hard to get out. He quickly pushed passed Renakir, paws thudding on the ground, heading towards #turbolift . His ears swiveled back to make sure Renakir wasn't going to try anything.

1

Yep, someone definitely tried to poison his ale, or whatever Caitian term there was for being grumpy. Renakir stepped the hell away from the man as he passed him. He caught the way the man looked back at him as if there was any reason to distrust the Romulan-Reman officer. It was best not to think about it too hard so Renakir returned to his console and attempted to busy himself with checking the rest of his duties for the day. Strange guy. Renakir didn't respond with his typical 'jolan tru', nah this guy didn't seem like he wanted to exchange anything but grunts and hisses. Whatever. (edited)

1

Renakir stepped into the airlocks with his epohh in his arms. Well, after he was done with his first task he would take her to the biosci lab to meet up with the epohh trio. He put the epohh down, trusting her to follow him without her harness. At the airlocks he collected a package and when he saw the recipient of said package his face lit up. Tral! his friend! This was going to be great, he knew it. Renakir held the box in his arms and headed back to the lifts with his epohh following right behind.

C’Sara stepped onto the starbase. It was big, they thought- and very interesting. They checked where their quarters were, and stepped into the turbolift.

The trill walked nervously through the airlock and onto the ship, she had no idea what exactly was in store for her, but she hoped it wasn’t a worst case scenario. Though with this mission, it seems being tied to intelligence operations runs in the family.

The silent, solemn Romulan wasn’t far behind, bringing very little and only what she knew needed to be brought. Unfortunately, that knowledge was tied to an experience she didn’t like.

Hal, Lorin, and C’Sara all walked onto the ship.

The Andorian walked slow, as she looked into space, as if looking for someone, as she continued down the airlock.

He walked with a frim grip on his cane, looking around. Voris wasn't too surprised as a medical doctor he would have been invited. Might be a dangerous event.

Sam made her way down the airlocks and onto the ship. Time to do some secretive shit!

Elwyn stepped out of the turbolift and made her way down to the respective airlock where the Eventide was docked, before heading through excitedly.

Down the hallway to the ship.

Allan walked out of the turbolift, heading to the airlock and onto the ship!

Maggie was a few steps behind him as she walked out towards the ship.

Eshen left the turbolift, through the airlock, and into the ship!

[D] Since getting the message about the mission and being briefed further in private Dagis had been planning non-stop for her upcoming assignment, wanting nothing more than for it to go right. As she walked towards and through the airlock she had a look of determination and 'don't mess with me' in her eyes, and her PADD in its yellow case under her arm.

If Renakir wasn't pushing the trolly he would have certainly face palmed in this moment, he barely had any time to cover his ears! Not that he could really cover them very well with all the PPE gear on. Anyway, he carefully pushed the trolly off of the lift and towards the airlock. Were the new sensors installed? For some reason the lift seemed smoother than usual. "More like if you don't wanna become a supernova. I swear the amount of trilithium could destroy a thousand suns," Actually he wasn't sure if it could, but he handled the box like it could. He made his way down towards where the transport was waiting at the airlocks. "Alright this is where we hand it off, merci beaucoup, madam," Renakir said, bowing his head. If he wasn't Romulan maybe he would even offer Maggie a hi five, but no, even with PPE gear on he did not want to touch anyone.

Maggie nodded as she walked down the hallways and helped the man walked their trolly down the hallway, Maggie offered her own bow as she walked the trolly down and into the shuttle with a small wave to the shuttle crew. “All right! That was fun! Call me you ever wanna transport deadly chemicals again!” She said before moving at cartoon levels of speed down to the lift. Waving goodbye as she did.

3

1

Just then a ship docked letting out a group of civilians and merchants from Mol'Rihan who were here to visit! The group seemed very unassuming, most of them were tall with terrible hair cuts, definitely Romulan. Except one, a short man not even 5'8 with the shiniest forehead, not a single bump. He followed the group towards the lifts, whoosh lets-a-gooo!

3

After finishing up his work for the day, Alizati made his way towards the airlocks to meet his brother who was supposed to meet him there. At least, that's what he assumed. Dressed in his full Starfleet uniform, Alizati looked like a typical Vulcan-Romulan man except for his cobalt blue hair. He stood in front of the airlock, perfect posture with eyes forward. He wondered what his brother was planning to do on the station, it seemed like an odd holiday spot.

There it is. The entrance to the station he will work now. Interesting. He's never been in direct contact with anyone of the federation.. or.. any living being of the federation since there are many different species. For now that doesnt matter tho. He arrived with his ship onto one of the airlocks of starbase 777, still being in his uniform of the romulan republic. As the ship docked on the station he made its way to the airlock itself together with his belongings. As the airlock opened itself, he started to see someone but.. was this a romulan? Or a vulcan? He walked into the starbase and started to speak to the Lt. Cdr. in his deep, calm voice: "Greetings.. my name is S'Teo tr'Solius. I am Arrain in the fleet of the romulan republic. Here to serve as exchange officer. So this is starbase 777?"

Alizati was ready to greet Lun when a man in the Romulan Republic uniform approached him. He wsa confused, but Vulcan as ever, his expression was completely neutral. Deep voice, calm, he wondered if this man had any dealing with his brother? Or maybe he really was just a stranger? Alizati was not one to be suspicious over every little thing but the absence of his brother and the presence of this stranger was... Odd. He recalled Lun told him that he was going to be on this transport. "Jolan tru," Alizati bowed his head in greeting, hands clasped behind his back. "I am the chief engineer of 777, Alizati ir-Okinawa tr'Kota," When he said his name he realised this was the first time he had given his Romulan name since his name change. It felt... Strange. He did not recognise the name Solius, maybe that was a good thing. Hopefully this strange did not recognise his name, but he wasn't the only Romulan on the station coming from an uncomfortable background. "What is your assignment here?"

This seemed to be the at least partly correct, even tho there was no direct contact he had been given to when he should arrive. At least there was someone here, no matter of that person should greet him or not. S'Teos face seemed to be surprised when he heard the second name of this now obvious romulan because normally romulans dont exchange their second names at first contact with someone else. Also he did not remember any name of the house of Kota. After all he greeted the chief engineer the same way he was greeted. "I was assigned here as melee combat trainer of the tactical division." a short pause in between his sentences occured before asking. "May i ask why you have given me your second name? Im sorry because i dont remember any place in romulan space being called.. Okinawa?" From there on he loosened his pose slightly.

Tactical officer. Hm. Alizati was thoughtful as his eyes stayed fixed on S'Teo, just staring at the stranger in front of him. He did not blink nor did he breathe, he just stared with an expression void of all emotions. If it weren't for his forehead ridges and the name he had given, he would have easily passed for fully Vulcan. Alizati was a follower of Surak, logical, methodical, constantly curious and thoughtful. "I am aware Romulan culture has multiple interpretations, the second name is not something to hide within my family. For your second question, Okinawa is a place on Earth, Japan to be exact. That is where I was..." Alizati paused mid-sentence, very un-Vulcan of him, now wondering how much information he should give this officer. S'Teo seemed very Romulan. But did he also hold the same prejudices? It was time to find out. "That was where I was created, in the Daystrom Institute," He said, expression unchanged but in the back of his mind there was fear that S'Teo would be skeptical of androids, especially knowing that the chief engineer was one.

the way this person spoke, they way the federation member acted. Why didnt he see it? It could not have been more obvious than it is. Its an android. This must ive been a far more strange encounter for this being. But for now he wanted to avoid anything that has to do with this - for S'Teo very serious topic. Of course there is prejudice but does that account for androids of the federation? At least now it has become clear to the romulan that the answer who this crew member is, is far more complicated than expected. He changes into a more serious facial expression. "Japan.." for a second he seemed to be thinking about what this place Japan could look like. "An interesting name for a region but i dont recall ever having heard of any place on.. Earth? So. In exchange for you telling me your second name.. ill tell you mine. In the hope you dont tell anyone." This is a test for the Android.. if it can be trusted. Hard to actually see this reason for telling him the name. "When you know what romulan second names mean, then you should know the name of i-ch'Rihan." the second reason why he told him his second name is that he wants to know if the android has any information about the romulan history the last 40 years, which is a more personal reason than just his prejudice and the usual romulan mistrust.

There was a gap of silence before the Romulan repeated the terran country name. Alizati was well aware that 'Japan' sounded very foreign. Earth countries often had strange names, but then again that is probably what aliens thought about Vulcan or Romulan place names. Especially Vulcan with their weird apostrophes and mismatched letter combinations. He listened attentively as S'Teo gave his second name, Ch'Rihan, so just.. Romulus? Well that gave away this man's age, not that it meant anything. Little did Alizati know him and S'Teo were the same age-- technically Alizati was older, but anyway. The way the other framed this presentation of his second name was... Curious. As if he was unsure if he could trust Alizati. To be honest, it made the android feel uneasy to know this man seemed to be hesitent around him, but he told himself it was just the Romulan way. Judging from how S'Teo spoke, the man had never left Romulan space. Alizati was also thankful to have downloaded Standard Rihannsu into his spoken dictionary, it would have been awfully embarrassing if he could only speak in his country accent. "This is Starfleet, all officers here take a vow to hold the truth above all and to respect one other's privacy. I will not reveal your second name. I take it this is your first time outside of Romulan space?"

he thought about what this android could think of him after all. Did Alizanti mistrust him or not? He now wanted to go away of the topic just like the android did with his latest question. Not to mention that truth above all is a very important matter. For S'Teo even more personal that people would expect from any romulan. He asked himself if it was that obvious that this was the first time ever being outside of romulan space.. because it was the first time leaving romulan starfleet at all. No matter if it was in the service of the empire or the republic. "You did guess right. It is the first time i have left romulan space.. either if its the republics or the space of the empire in which i had my compulsory service but that happend over a century ago.. would you mind accompanying me to my quarters as we continue our conversation?"

Alizati was not here for the Romulan 3d chess and was glad that S'Teo did not take his question as offensive. Or maybe he did? The android was not here to try and read other people's minds and was dedicated to giving S'Teo a professional welcome just like he would any other Starfleet officer. Although there was still a question in his mind of whether or not his brother would show up after all. Maybe Lun had lied to him? A Romulan? Lying? No way. Anyway, Alizati gave S'Teo a nod and reached into his pocket so he could pull out his PADD to look up the man's quarters. "Your quarters are in the beta module, please follow me," He said as he gestured for S'Teo to follow him to #deleted-channel .

The romulan began to follow the android on the way to the quarters into the turbolift. -> #deleted-channel

Stepping into the airlock, Tyhr carried his padd loaded with an interactive map of the station, not wanting to get lost on the massive station. Rapture was a large ship, but nothing compared to 777. He powered off the padd for a moment to use it as a mirror, wanting to look good for Ace, he tried to tame his mop of ice-white hair, and adjusted his tight white turtleneck sweater that molded perfectly to his toned, muscular physique, and a pair of black skinny jeans...he looked acceptable. He moved to the antechamber of the airlock to wait for Ace, looking intently at his padd as he tried to memorize the routes to and from the airlock.

Ace wasn’t far behind. His hair was curly as ever, and he had a bright smile on his face. He got to see Hal again! And of course, Tyhr was here with him and they could go exploring. He was dressed nicely, a blue and red sweater with dark jeans. Once he saw Tyhr, he waved to him. “Hi! I can’t wait to go exploring. My sister works here too, so I’m excited to see her again.”

Looking up from his padd, he sent an appreciative look toward Ace, looking rather fetching in his comfy outfit, he stood, walking over to the Human, a small smile on his face, before bumping his head on Ace's shoulder and walking along with him. "It would be most agreeable to meet your sister, if she is anything like you, she will be quite plesant to be around. It is very nice to see you again, I will admit to missing you quite a bit, this past week was rather...dull." He said with a slight blush on his face at the admission, holding his hand out for Ace to grab if he should like to do so. "I have been memorizing the layout of the station, if there is anywhere you would like to go, just tell me and I will guide us there." He said with a small smirk, having been proud of learning the layout of the station so quickly.

“She was telling me about a sushi place. Do you like sushi? Maybe we can go there” Ace loved sushi, really. He wasn’t no vegetarian, that was for sure. He and C’Sara once got banned from a barbecue because they had tried to eat all the ribs. Worth it, in his opinion. He was also an absolute fiend when it came to lobster.

He pulled up the listing for Nizzie's Sushi Nibbles, looking over the menu and grinned, eyes wide, the food looked quite spectacular. He turned to look up at Ace and nodded enthusiastically. "That place looks quite good, let's go. I have never eaten 'sushi' before, but I am a fan of fish. I went fishing with my father every summer when it got warm enough." He said, making sure Ace was walking along with him as they walked toward the turbolift. Turning every so often to look at Ace, to the casual observer it may seem like nothing more than Tyhr appreciating Ace's looks, but in reality he was somewhat nervous, antennae twitching in exictement and anxiousness.

“I love sushi! I’ll tell Hal to meet us there.” And, while following Tyhr still, he pulled out his PADD from his bag and sent a message to Hal to meet the at the sushi place.

"Let's go then." He said as he walked alongside Ace to #turbolift

Right after those two stepped out of the airlock, Sakkath stepped into the airlock with T'Asha. They had not been on a station in a while, things looked quite spacious already. "I was having my weekly sleep so I did not have time to review the station layout, is there a particular shop or area you would like to visit first?" Sakkath asked, walking with their hands clasped behind their back. They were looking forward to exploring the various amenities on the station, in particular the Vulcanoid restaurants 'Surak Snacks'.

“Perhaps we could visit that restaurant, Surak Snacks? Then I could get some shopping done, I need to get together some presents for friends. Is there anything you would want that I would not be able to make by hand?” Because T’Asha could make a fuck ton of stuff by hand. She could crochet, make jewelry and small wood crafts too. She didn’t have the space for the big machines she wanted. Oh, to have a room devoted to saws, lathes, and various other wood-related tools. But for now she had some chisels, a woodburning tool, sandpaper, and a dremel with several attachments. It was enough. T’Asha walked with her hands at her sides, her newly painted gold nails on display. She had also done her toes because, well, why not?

"I was thinking about Surak Snacks actually," Sakkath raiesd an eyebrow at T'Asha, wondering if they had made a telepathic bond or-- well it was probably just a coincidence. Naturally two Vulcans would want to visit the Vulcan restaurant, right? "And I do not require any gifts, I have everything I need," Sakkath had really only received a couple gifts so far and already that was overwhelming. They weren't sure what they would do with anything else, especially as T'Asha had already gifted them the necklace. "Your jewellry is lovely and I treasure the necklace you made," Sakkath said as they touched the pendant around their neck. They didn't smile. but their gratitude was evident in their eyes. "Shall we go to Surak Snacks first then?" They asked as they stepped out of the airlock and into#deleted-channel .

She stepped onto the Starbase. She’d been on starbases before, but she’d never worked on one. She had underestimated how HUGE they were. “Well, anywhere you want to go? Maybe we can check out the environmental ring, I’ve heard they have a lot of gardens here.”

"Umm... I would like to see my brother but the environmental ring sounds good," Rai said as his eyes darted around the airlock nervously. He really wanted to see his little brother, for some reason his big brother senses were tingling, like maybe Solait was in danger? He shook his head quickly as if that would shake the thoughts away. He was probably just nervous about being in a new place. "Actually.. Yeah, let's go to the environmental ring," Rai said with a nod, breathing in slowly. He was not going to cling to his brother like his lifeline, no. Rai was a grown ass adult and he had his own friends and own duties. He was not going to burden Solait anymore than he already had.

“Are you okay? You seem a little nervous.” She stood by the doorway to the lifts without much expression on her face. She still had to visit Sickbay to get her eyes tested, she couldn’t see anything close up to her.

"I... I guess I'm just nervous being on a station even though I've been here before," Rai began to rub the backs of his hand, clearly still uncomfortable and his mood only plummeting the more they walked. He made his way to #turbolift , eyes trying to stay focused on the task at hand. "This is going to sound rather silly but.. I miss my brother. A lot," Rai frowned, standing here a 41 year old man, missing his brother. He spent most of his life without even contacting his brother and never had any problems. However this time.. He was in alien territory, a fish out of water. "But I want to try and explore a little without him. Maybe we can see him after we walk around a bit? Can we go to the environmental ring?"

T’Kastrir walked through the airlock from the Rapture and headed into the corridor and towards the nearest turbolift, his hands clasped behind his back.

He walked through the airlock as fast as he thought wouldn't make him look funny, ready to get some 'fresh air'.

Alan walked through the airlock. He breathed in then slumped his shoulders as he let out a sigh.

Walking in, Nokkul moved off to the antechamber and turned off his padd to make sure he looked alright. He was wearing a tight black leather cropped sleveless turtleneck with bright metal spikes ringing the collar, a pair of tight, dark red short shorts with silver spiky studs lining the seams, and a high heeled pair of black leather boots, sporting the same spikes as the rest of his outfit, all topped off with dark red smoky eyeliner, dark red lipstick and a bright red leather handbag...he was ready for this ball. He walked toward the lifts, ready to enjoy what the station had to offer.

1

T’Lal couldn’t cease her beaming smile as she walked through the airlock, quite visibly excited. She made a point to try to brush off any wrinkle that may be on her outfit. She was wearing a pink romper with a translucent long-sleeved blue dress on top. Accompanied by this were several necklaces, and her hair was in an half-up style with two small plaits on either side of her head curling up to the top in some gravity-defying Cindy Lou Who-esque style (for you humans out there who would get that reference). With that, she walked out the airlock in search of the fun.

3

Cottoball seemed a bit eager, darting out before Grivix did in her emotional support vest. She was wearing a small fake rose on the vest, Grivix's attempt to at least her her fit in the formal theme. The hybrid slowly walked in, wearing a classic black tuxedo with a black bowtie. The dress shoes has been fitted for their unique anatomy thanks to being half Kelpien, and have been polished. Grivix also wore a pair of black gloves and silver studded earrings. Their hair also had been slicked back this time and didn't look untamed as its usual style.

2

[D] Walking into the airlock, he looked down, making sure his outfit was just right. He was wearing a tight pink cropped tank top, with the word 'baby' rhinestoned over his pectorals, a pair of pink velvet short shorts, and each of his razor sharp looking head and neck spines painted in a bright pink polish. He carried his favorite antique pink birkin bag containing his padd, and some basic medical equipment...afterall one never knew when he would be required to help. He walked toward the lifts, trying to remember where the party was.

The Orion hummed as she looked around, already starting to feel right at home. After all! She grew up on a Starbase! And deep down, she missed the atmosphere that she was truly used to. With a heart-shaped bag by her side, and a puffy dress on her person, she walked towards where the event was held.

4

Rai walked through the airlock to Rapture.

Rai watched the two link arms and nodded, now understanding what this custom was. "I.... hmm, I would be open to trying that. It would disable one of my arms, I would need you to help defend me if we run into danger," Rai's eyes shifted left and right as if looking for some hidden assassin. He had his fair share of political enemies in the Romulan Republic for having some hot takes about the way the Navy was structured.

Zero let go of Zadki's arm, to their relief. "Hmmm. In that case -" They linked their flesh arm with Rai's gently, leaving their metal arm to be the one they would use to fend off potential attackers. They flexed it with a grin. "Any foes try mess with us, they get a faceful of metal!"

Rai linked arms with Zero, his face instantly turning a bright green. He was-- touching!!! Someone!!! Consensually!!! And said person was not related to them either!! He could feel a surge of emotions running through his body like electricity and wondered if that was from Zero or himself. "Thank you, Zero. Shall we?" Rai stepped forward, trying to control his feelings but he was so very happy! It was nice to touch someone and not be fighting them. He headed towards #deleted-channel.

He walked through the airlock back on to Rapture.

[D] Having made his way through the station...only getting lost twice, he crossed through the airlock back on to Rapture, ready for a nice nap under his heating lamp.

Off to the Rapture he goes!

Kraxtaayaal ignored the funny mullet man and walked straight to the lifts.

Funny mullet man returned to the station, and went straight for the lifts.

2

1

He headed through the airlock back to Rapture.

Nokkul, carrying Mish walked through the airlock back to Rapture.

[D] T’Lal walked through the airlock and back onto the familiar Rapture.

[D] After the excitement of the ball, Sakkath headed towards the airlock to escort their uncle back to his transport to Mol'RIhan. The journey from the ball to the airlock was silent, they were still frustrated with how the man had treated the two Morvars, especially Saren who otherwise seemed like a perfectly reasonable fellow.

"Oh, before I go, T'Lora said she had lined up a conspirator for you? I assume this person is Vulcan?" Hanaj stopped right before stepping through the airlock. Interested to hear if Sakkath had plans for marriage soon. Since they were head of house it was important that they take a couple of conspirators. For Romulans, marriage did not have to be romantic. It could be friends or trusted associates, but it was important that the head of house at least have two.

"I do and no, the person is Romulan. After how I treated my father, my mother decided I would be... To dangerous with a Vulcan," Sakkath replied, wondering if they should tell Hanaj just who they were engaged to. For fear of worsening their already rocky relationship, they decided to hold their tongue, but they were not going to lie. "I am still unsure if I want to go through with the engagement so... I will tell you if I do," T'Lora and Hanaj were siblings, surely she knew what she was getting Sakkath into when she arranged for a Lareth and a Rllaillieu to marry. Maybe this was all some sick joke or a way to punish Sakkath. Even when they weren't living under their mother's roof, her control was suffocating. "Have a safe trip back home, jolan tru," They said, bowing their head and turning around to head back to the lifts, not even giving Hanaj a chance to answer.

Hanaj wanted to ask more questions, but Sakkath did not seem in the mood to answer them so he simply turned around and headed onto his transport, off to go back to his epohh farm.

1

Sakkath stepped through the airlock with T'Asha and looked around to see the station was exactly as it was when they left. The airlock was still, not many people as most of Rapture crew had already returned to the ship. "I want to ask the Reman waiter something when we see him again. I.. Think he may have known my uncle," Sakkath said, a hint of concern in their voice as they stepped into #turbolift to head to the food court ring.

[D] They had been going about and minding their business... It was not too often they would be at a station or starbase! Grivix would like to enjoy a different scenery whenever they could. It was definitely interesting. They sighed before they headed their way to the airlock... Unfortunately they froze just as quickly when they saw a familiar silhouette. Ah fuck no!

1

[D] Almost in an ominous manner in Grivix's perspective, the other hybrid was towering over the poor Denobulan-Kelpien. Though he had been running around the station (to the best of his ability) trying to find them. The doctor felt as if it took him literal hours. Usually half of the time he had a resting bitch face, though this was the other half... One of his signature smiles was formed on his face this time.

Their blank expression was quickly replaced with a scowl. "Hey do you mind, some of us are trying to get back to our posting." Grivix's tone was hushed, but clearly agitated by the presence of Voris. Cottonball stayed behind Grivix. She was a bit confused why they stopped walking. They tried to regain a neutral face again, though clearly was seething at the sight of him...

The vibes felt oddly rancid suddly... though that wasn't really going to stop him. "You're uh... not usually this tense! I heard you might have been coming by so I wanted to get you some gifts!" He let out a slightly nervous chuckle as the other's eyes pierced at him. Are they seriously still mad after all these years?

They slowly narrowed their eyes, adjusting their glasses. After staying silent for a good, long minute, they responded with a scoff. "Whatever. Just hand it over and let me get back to my tribbles." Grivix said with an almost icy cold tone. They kept Cottonball behind them, absolutely not wanting Voris to see her. As if growing impatient, Grivix guestered with their hands as if to tell Voris to hand the gift over.

1

He blinked a few times before handing the gift bag over to Grivix. "Come on, it's not like this one teensy gift is going to hurt you...?" Voris wanted to see Grivix's reaction to the gift, though it was evident to him that the hybrid wanted to ball out of here. He ended up moving aside to let Grivix pass.

Not even looking once at the bag, they locked an uneasy gaze at Voris. "Cottonball. Let's go. We're done here." The silkie ran past Voris, Grivix then slowly walking onto Rapture after her, not oaying any mind to Voris' shocked expression to the chicken.

1

She followed Sakkath into the airlock. She was a badass in heels, obviously experienced. “Perhaps we could go to that shop you told me about. I would like to see exactly how overpriced it is, and if anything is worth buying. I need a new incense holder anyhow.”

Sakkath was not in heels, but they were still quite tall. They made sure to match their strides with T'Asha, not wanting to walk too fast or slow for her. "Delta Delights? We can visit there," Sakkath stepped towards #deleted-channel as they thought about where the shop was. It was in the commercial centre with the rest of the shops and oddly enough it was right beside a law firm. They kept their typical Vulcan calm about them until T'Asha said 'incense holder', causing Sakkath to blush and stifle a laugh. They quickly turned their head so T'Asha couldn't see. 'Sy, you veruul, I cannot concentrate with your stupid voice in my head,' they thought as the memory of their betrothed calling 'incense' -- 'stinky sticks' passed through their mind. "Ah, an incense holder. My betrothed had gifted one to me earlier," Sakkath forced themself to focus once again, straightening their posture and acting like nothing had happened. "Any thoughts about what material or design you would want?"

She idled around the airlock, not much on her mind, perhaps so she wouldn’t overthink this. She glanced around, no one was there, but she could not be no paranoid. Was this right? Would it be a mistake?

[D] And Hanaj was here, just when he said he was going to be. Arriving on a transport straight from Mol'Rihan, the tall and calm looking Romulan stepped through the airlock and looked around for the woman he was supposed to meet. A few other people from his transport disembarked alongside him, meeting up with their friends and family members, but Hanaj was still looking, wondering. Should he send a message to Am'el? He was starting to regret not asking for a photo of her. Hanaj was dressed in casual attire, long dark trousers tucked into high boots. He wore a dark green tunic with golden accents on the sleeves and a black vest. He looked like every other Romulan civilian, just another dude with pointy ears and a funny forehead.

It wouldn’t be so hard to spot her, being the only pointy eared officer near the transport. While she didn’t seem very Romulan, it was the little things that would give her away as, like her slightly on-edge expression and twitchy eye.

Once more of the crowd had cleared, Hanaj could see the people who were left. A couple security officers who were performing safety checks for everyone wanting to come onto the base and a few other officers who were loading up items onto the transport to take back to Mol'Rihan. With a clearer line of sight, Hanaj spotted the one Vulcanoid there and approached her. "Jolan tru, I assume you are Am'el? I am Hanaj, your... I suppose you could call me your uncle as I am not sure how to describe our distant relation on a family tree."

“Oh.. um, Jolan Tru. Yes, I am Am’el.” She bowed slightly, her arms somewhat jittery, it was highly unusual for her, considering that once a upon a time, she hated what her family stood for. Now, she was actually speaking to them. “I suppose so, I believe my mother is your distant cousin, so that would make you my Uncle.”

Hanaj noticed the jitteriness in the other, but he was calm and collected. "Sakkath tells me that your family fled to a colony? As you were aware most of us were banished to Remus," Hanaj told her, eyes downturned as he said it. It wasn't the shame and dishonour for their family that made him sad, but the loss of their family. He began to walk towards the exit of the airlock, nodding to the security officer would was doing scans of all the visitors to ensure they weren't bringing weapons. Of course Hanaj had nothing on him, just a PADD and a few copies of the Rllaillieu registry to show Am'el. "I hear there is a Romulan restaurant on board, would you like to speak there?" He asked Am'el, thinking of a good civilian location for them to talk.

“That would be lovely.” She nodded, and began to follow Hanaj. There was still an air of questioning in the air, but the Romulan did her best to pay no mind to it.

Hanaj walked to #turbolift down the corridor from the airlock. "Sakkath told me a little about your upbringing, but I want to hear it from you. What was the colony like? Were you living with your mother?" Hanaj asked with much curiosity, his eyes stayed fixed on the younger Romulan, but more in curiosity than judgment. Hanaj was a man who walked with just as much confidence as he spoke with. As someone trying to win a senate seat, he couldn't afford to look timid or shy. He wished Sakkath was here to speak with Am'el, but they were busy with their duties on Rapture. Having two of family members in Starfleet was certainly a bit concerning, not really because they were serving another faction, but because they would be far from home. Am'el may have been close now, but as Hanaj understood it, most officers didn't stay at a post longer than a couple years.

“My home was nice. As for my parents… it wasn’t as nice.” She let out a little sigh, following her uncle towards the turbolift.

Stepping through the airlock coming straight outta Mol'Rihan was the station's resident gangly bitch, Renakir Solait! He was accompanied by his very friendly Reman father Tiravurik and his fiance Kianarix. Soon after the lovely Torre'vnau family stepped through the airlock, Tiravurik bid his two sons goodbye to head off to Surak Snacks as he had work starting soon. Renakir admired his father for being so hardworking. He may not have been commanding fleets of Reman and Romulan ships, but he was still working to promote Reman culture at Surak Snacks. With just Kianarix with him now, Renakir gestured towards the turbolift. Renakir was still unsure about if he was going to work so he dressed more casually that day. Loose grey button down shirt with a textured blazer and dress trousers. He looked like the son of a Korean businessman, actually he was the son of a businessman, technically, he was the Torre'vnau heir and was wearing the latest Romulan Gucci suit.

Today Kianarix looked freshly bathed with his green hair a little longer than before and a little curlier too. Who knew his hair was naturally curly under all the grease? Anyway, he wore some tan thongs, black shorts and a tank top, looking ready for the beach or something. In reality he was simply Reman so he was always warm. He stood much taller than Renakir, but with his terrible posture he didn't look that much taller.

[D] Ahead of Rapture docking, Lhi stepped through the airlock and onto the base for the first time. Dressed in his uniform, he was ready to take on the day! Well, he wasn't working that day at all actually, but he didn't have anything else to wear. Lhi looked the same as he did any other time, silky purple braid paired with his light green mechanical eyes and a few bits of implants that were visible around his eyes and on the back of his hand. He looked around the room, seemingly trying to find someone.

And here he was!! Lhi's father, a very tall Vulcanoid man, just shy under seven feet. He had an athletes build and was clad completely in civilian clothes. He wore a silver and purple bomber jacket paired with a tight and shiny pair of black leather trousers. Tall boots that looked oddly like the terran 'Timberland‘ brand only made him appear even taller. He was an eccentric looking guy with red tassle earrings and dark green eyes that sparkled with excitement.

And, Ace also stepped through the airlock, onto 777. He was peeved he didn’t get to drive the transport. He knew now he had to take every chance he could to drive something. It wasn’t guaranteed like back on his beloved Rapture. Ace actually didn’t have much with him, just a suitcase and a duffel bag. Most of his favorite model airplanes and ships could be taken apart to bring along. He’d just have to put them back together later. Ace was dressed in his Command uniform. He was smiling, he did like 777, plus he’d get to hang out with his big sister later! But, he saw Lhi. So, he decided to walk over to him and wave. “Hi, Lhi!”

In stark contrast to Ace, Lhi had no stuff with him. Not that he even had much stuff, well, he had his alcove but that wasn't something one could transport in a shoulder bag. Lhi's hair bounced along with him with each step he took, only to stop when he heard his name. "Ace!" His cracker munching friend and new roommate! Lhi waved his hand to greet his friend, no smiling, but he looked relaxed and calm. "It is nice to see you again, umm.. I am here to meet my father. He is... Very tall," Lhi stood still and looked around the room trying to find a tall Romulan. Easier said than done, there were a lot of Vulcanoids around and they were all pretty tall. It also didn't help that Lhi did not 'see' like everyone else did. A lot of small details and even colours were lost on him. "He.. .Does not look like me. I think," Lhi attempted to provide more information but he didn't know how else to describe his father.

Anticipating this to be a difficult task to find his borg son, Vrilh came fully armed-- with a PADD that he wrote, ’69' on. Just like Lhi had been, Vrilh was also completely unaware that this method of finding his son may have been misinterpreted by random passerbys. Vrilh was a bit further away from both Lhi and Ace, standing closer to the doors of the airlock as he was sure that was where his son would be.

“Uhh, is it that tall guy over there with the PADD that says 69 on it?” He pointed to Vrilh nearby. Ace was actually quite observant. Sure he was silly, but he also had a keen eye for detail. He could pick out a bug in a line of code or an anomaly in a scan like nobody’s business. But Ace was definitely excited to be Lhi’s roommate. They could get up to chaos together. Maybe even make a blanket fort to eat crackers in. It’s not like anyone would stop them, after all.

"Yes!" Lhi said as he wiggled a hand in front of Ace's face as if to gesture to him to follow. The liberated Borg then made his way over to the tall man who was surprisingly taller than Lhi and greeted him with a double-handed wave. "Jolan tru!" He said, not smiling but the rise in his tone was enough to show his excitement upon seeing one of his parents. "This is my roommate, Ace, he is also from Rapture," Lhi introduced Ace by wiggling his hand in the general direction of his friend.

Upon seeing Lhi approach him, Vrihl put his PADD down and threw his hands up in the air. "DELETHAM!" He exclaimed, rather loudly, earning himself a few dirty looks from the other people in the airlock. That's right, Vulcanoid hearing, people hated noise. Upon the introduction of Ace, Vrilh gave the nice helmsman a smile and a thumbs up. "Hey Ace! It's nice to meet you! Also from Rapture? Are you also a scientist?"

Ace returned the thumbs up, also giving a bright smile. “Nice to meet ya! Yep, I’m also from the Rapture. I’m not a scientist though, I’m a helmsman. I’m glad I got to transfer here though, I have family here, plus I heard the Eventide’s a good ship.” Ace sounded excited to be here, which he was. This place seemed great to him. Plus, there were so many restaurants to choose from! He hadn’t even come close to visiting them all. And he could be a part of the Winter Ball every year, which was amazing for him and his wonderful sense of fashion.

"OH! I‘ve always wanted to be a helmsman! Never passed training, but maybe it was a good thing. To think if I had continued training I'd probably be on trial for war crimes now, HAHA!" Vrilh said rather loudly, but he didn't seem to care. He was specifically takling about the Romulan War College and the Imperial Navy, endeavours that he had once strived towards but clearly never achieved. "Instead I ended up peddlin' sausages out of a van for six years," Vrilh told Ace, still talking rather loudly as he made his way towards #deleted-channel . Despite him and Lhi not visibly looking similar, the two shared a similar walking style with a bounce in their step. "So how'd ya meet Deletham anyway? I didn't think divisions had much interaction?" Vrilh asked, wanting to strike up some conversaation.

1

Lhi let his dad talk to Ace knowing that he loved meeting new people ,especially if they were Lhi's friends. Before he transferred to Starfleet, Lhi didn't have many friends, which worried his parents and was probably why Vrilh seemed so excited to meet Ace. Lhi walked beside his friend, bouncing a little with each step.

[D] With three massive duffel bags slung over his shoulder, Nokkul walked through the airlock PADD in hand, grateful he had visited the station before as he dutifully followed the directions to his new quarters. He made his way to the to the nearest turbolift and stepped on, immediately grateful for the higher ceilings and doorways.

As soon as the turbolift arrived at the airlock, Rai zoomed to the transport so he could get down to Mol'Rihan and go home.

[D] Now clad in his uniform, having changed on the shuttle back to the station, Parker walked back in through the airlock carrying his duffle, and made his way to the turbolift.

1

[D] He had just finished another mechanical bull riding session at GalaxyGrill on one of his off days, when he was notified of a new officer that had just arrived that required a tour. Realizing he had no time to change into his uniform, he had simply figured they likely wouldn’t be too put off by his rather garish outfit of a black suede cowboy hat, a cropped and cutoff dark red pearlsnap shirt, his usual tight pair of worn and slightly faded wrangler jeans and his favorite pair of faux-snakeskin cowboy boots that looked like they’d walked halfway from 777 to Texas. He had taken a moment before getting off of the lift to straighten his posture, hauling himself up to his full height of 7’1, and squared his shoulders, not wanting to make a bad impression on the new arrival. Walking toward the airlock doors, he pressed the control to open them and leveled a bright, friendly smile on his face, mentally cursing the fact he hadn’t brought his translation subroutine with him.

The ensign was met with, surprise! Another ensign. Though Crane dressed far differently than the mock-cowboy. Perfect Star Fleet regulation uniform, looking as if it had never been worn before. And in comparison to the warm, friendly demeanour of Lovell, Crane had a resting glare that could cut glass. Though that may have been an effect of his overall appearance. A massive scar, starting just below his left eye, ending at the bottom of his jaw tended to get him thrown into the catagory of 'weirdly intimidating'. Though currently he appeared somewhat... perturbed. The man was barely 5'5", and was standing on his tip-toes and craning his neck up in the hopes of actually meeting the man at eye level. It was a fruitless endeavour. "...Greetings." He spoke in English, thankfully. No translation necessary. Though it was oddly accented- It was difficult to place what planet or country though. Oli's gaze flicked up and down Lovell, sizing him up.

He too ended up having to crane his neck to see down to the other Ensign, the smile never wavering. With an exaggerated wave, Randy went to introduce himself, his thick Texan accent clear in his deep voice. “Howdy partner! Welcome to tha’ station! I can take any of ur’ bags if you’ve got em’!” He exclaimed happily, having been especially tickled to be given the task of meeting the new arrival and showing them around. “How’s bout’ a tour ‘round this tub?” He asked, taking in the new officer, particularly the scar that ran across his face, idly wondering what he had gotten it from, as well as just how much smaller he was than himself, though, he wasn’t particularly surprised, knowing that he was quite a bit bigger than most other Humans on the station.

"No, I can carry them." Crane's reply was slightly hurried as he slung his duffel bag over his shoulder. Whether it be from new-post nerves, or a simple defensive nature. He clearly disliked other folks handling his stuff, even if it would probably be far easier if he accepted the help. Aside, he looked a bit overwhelmed with Lovell's mannerisms. Maybe not overwhelmed- just. Incompatible. His expression was knit with slight irritation, though it was just a hint under a surface of neutrality. He gave nothing but a short nod in response to the Ensigns offer to tour. While Oliver may not particularly enjoy other people, getting lost on a star base would be far more embarrassing, and rage inducing.

Randy shrugged, sensing that the other Ensign was likely not the type to appreciate help unless it was strictly necessary. “Sounds good! Let’s skidaddle! Tha’ turbolift is our first stop on this tour I reckon’!” He said, before gesturing to the relatively small chamber around them. “Well, as you know, this room here is tha’ airlock alcove, tha’ main onboarding spot other than tha’ shuttlebay n’ tha’ transporter rooms, though, if ur’ time onboard is anything like mine, you ain’t gonna’ come down here much at all!” He said happily, trying desperately to speak in clear enough standard that Oliver would understand him without his special subroutine. He caught the look of irritation on the other’s face, but figured it might be rude to ask, or mention it, especially since his admittedly happy, and loud mannerisms could be grating to quieter folk sometimes. While he walked, he tried to think of a good route through the station that would have him seeing all the important places, but also ending up at his quarters.

Oli blinked a couple times, trying to keep up with the lads speech, but he seemed to get the gist of it. He followed behind Randal, though having to take twice as many strides in the same time to keep up. Crane somehow managed to make it look a little dignified. “Yes. We has similar where i was previously stationed.” Crane had somewhat of a flat affect to it’s tone. Meaning it was a little hard to tell if he was being sarcastic, or simply stating an observation. Considering his expression was more ‘bored neutral’ and less ‘visibly pissed’, it was probably the latter.

Randy nodded, slowing down slightly to make it a little easier for Oliver to keep up. “Oh, ain’t that handy! Where were ya’ stationed ‘afore?” He asked with a curious tilt of his head, stopping short of the turbolift as he knew it would take some time for it to arrive being so low in the station.

"USS Godspeed. It's a Reliant class." Oliver shifted slightly in place, as he waited for the lift. He didn't exactly enjoy talking with others, but the silence between his clipped sentences was worse than filling it. "It was mostly shadowing senior officers. JAG Corps don't do a lot unless theres a major issue, and more experienced personnel have priority on important cases." God. He hoped the lift would come faster.

“Oh, a Reliant class! Ain’t that a cool’un! Ma’ last ship a’ served on was one of them big ol’ Presidio-class, called tha’ Rapture!” He exclaimed, thinking back happily to his time aboard the ship, grateful he had been able to serve there the same time as his brother…fun times. “Woah! Nice! Ma’ brother is a JAG officer on tha’ T’Plana-Hath! I wonder if y’all ever had classes together?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth the lift arrived. With a genial smile, he gestured for Oliver to follow him into #deleted-channel .

1

While it had not been all too long since he'd been here last, the last few months had been the most difficult, tumultuous and unpleasant time in Parker's life, but, here he stood, back aboard a station that not only proved to be one of the most pleasant places he'd ever been to, but also held his best friend, and a slice of Spruce hundreds of lightyears away from the dirt of his homeland...oh and his twerp of a little brother (that he dearly loved and missed, as much as he'd not admit it easily). His tall, broad form, now clad in civilian clothes stretched over his muscled form, stood in the airlock, momentarily caught up in the miasma of emotions running through his mind at the familiar sight of what would be his home again.

Someone else came off and walked out of the airlock not too long after. It felt like a lifetime ago that she was working in Starfleet before she had to take a break from a loss. Lyda's antennae hardly moved, despite how much she moved her head as she walked. Unlike most Aenar, she didn't have enough telepathy to make up for her blindness. She wore a visor with gold trimming to match the operations colour. The hybrid glanced around with her visor for a bit before realising someone else was there. Lyda wasn't the type to just walk by though. "Hey hello!" She greeted Parker with a chipper tone.

He’d been so caught up in this thoughts, that he hadn’t heard the tell-tale sounds of someone approaching. At the sound of a chipper voice, Parker startled ever so slightly, and turned, brows shooting up in pleasant surprise at the sight of another person wearing a visor. With a bright grin, Parker turned fully to her and waved, excited to run into someone so soon after arriving. “Howdy! You come off tha’ transport too?” He asked in polite curiosity, accent as syrupy thick as ever.

[D] After having a pleasant conversation, the two made it a point to share contact information and plan on meeting again once they've settled down into their lives aboard 777, before parting ways.

1

2

In the quiet airlock, a loud hum ran through the space as the doors swooshed open. Out of the doors stood two figures who were stepping through along with a couple of others who were rolling large crates of something very fluffy.

"Where is our greeting party? I was told we were going to be greeted by someone!" The captain of the vessel that had just docked spoke up and put one hand on his hip as he turned his chin up.

"We do not typically do greeting parties for merchant vessels, but I am the officer on duty to help with your," Renakir paused and glanced at his console of the ship's manifest to check what the ship was bringing in. "Exotic tribble furs," Renakir read what was printed and then looked at the two commanding officers.

"We are representing the Delta quadrant, be nice to this officer," Beside the Tak Tak stood a very broad shouldered Kobali man who seemed to be a lot less short-tempered. "Thank you, yes, I only sell the finest tribble furs. You can also see records of the farms I have harvested them from, it is all sourced ethically. Tribbles are shaved in the summer months and their furs are spun into wonderful yarn," The man explained as he stepped up closer to Renakir. "Thank you for your assistance, Mr....?"

1

"Lieutenant Renakir," Renakir said, happy at least one person from this crew was not going to give him an attitude.

"Renakir? That's a Reman name. Why do you have hair?" The Tak Tak did not take his hand off of his hip, but spread his legs in a weird sumo-wrestler like stance and narrowed his eyes.

"Shush, Captain. You can't just ask people why they have hair," The mild mannered XO waved a hand at Orlo. "Thank you, Lieutenant Renakir. These furs are very delicate, they have to be handled manually, so no transporting. The SS B'Ald has come a long way, we need to make sure our merchandise stays in mint condition," Rurak said, speaking in a firm but soft tone. He didn't want to sound too picky with how the furs were handled, but he also wanted to enforce that the furs needed special care.

"Uh I'm half Romulan," Renakir said awkwardly, feeling bad if he didn't give an explanation. "We'll be careful with the tribble furs, we do need to scan them so if you could just leave the crates here it'll only take a few seconds," Renakir said as he gestured to the open area in the middle of the floor.

"Putting hair on a Reman, that's almost as ridiculous as putting pineapple on pizza," Orlo said not-so-subtly. He was quickly shushed again by Rurak and shook his head in response. He was going to keep his mouth shut for now and let the nice officers do their scans.

3

"I got my hair from my Romulan father. It goes without saying that I did not have much choice in the matter," Renakir said as he quickly scanned the crates with his tricorder. There was no suspicious materials inside, but there was a weird odor that began to permeate through the room. "Alright, I think we'll need to open the crates up. You haven't done anything wrong, but I just want to confirm the smell is just a property of the furs and not something rotting," Renakir told the two of them, trying not to seem too insulted by the captain's comment. Of all the things people said about him, he didn't think he'd be told he shouldn't have hair.

"Of course, we have nothing to hide," Rurak stepped towards the crate and unlocked the latches and that's when the smell really hit. It smelled like rotting fish, very unpleasant and all of the unlucky officers in the room looked visibly uncomfortable by the smell too.

"Umm.... Yeah I don't know about this smell. It's a little strong," Renakir peered into the crate to see piles of tribble furs. They didn't look dangerous, but the smell was definitely not tribble or if it was, a very dirty tribble.

"Oh the smell? It's Kobali onions. We also trade those, very delicious!" Rurak replied, not seeing anything wrong with the smell. "But if you don't like it the smell clears up after a few hours, it's harmless," He reassured the OPS officer that there was nothing fishy going on, just the onions.

"Alright, well let's get moving to the commercial ring," Renakir helped Rurak put the top back on the crate. He could see the Tak Tak looking at him with a disappointed look. Was the hair really a problem? Well, at least Rurak was nice. He grabbed the handles on the trolly and began to push the crate towards the turbolift with the other members of the SS B'Ald following behind him with crates.

After the crew had headed into the lift, the fourth forgotten crate lay on its lonesome with the latches unlocked. Slowly the top began to lift up, revealing a small fluffy ball that rolled out, followed by two more, then three more....

5

1

[D] And here Renakir was, closing off where they started. He led both Orlo and Rurak to the airlock, sadly without any latinum in their pockets. "I'm really sorry your visit wasn't very fruitful," Renakir said, feeling bad that both of them lost all of their merchandise to the tribbles.

"It's alright. What matters most is everyone is safe and there were no serious injuries. This also taught us to be more diligent in the rules of other factions. If I had know the Federation allowed neutered tribbles, I would have rinsed the furs down before we came," Rurak said, feeling like it was him at fault for the whole fiasco that now in hindsight was easily preventable.

"Thank you for understanding, Mr. Renakir. And, I'm sorry about asking you about the hair. Your beautiful with hair and that was a very ignorant comment I made," Orlo said with a bow of his head and then an arm wiggle. "And tell your father, the very friendly Tiravurik, to stay in touch, he's just as beautiful," And someone Orlo would want to meet with in the future. He clearly loved any bald humanoid. "I hope you all have a relaxing time on the starbase. Maybe we'll be back with less... Dangerous goods. Alright now, Rurak, shall we perform our goodbyes?" Orlo said as he nudged his first officer.

"Do we have to?" Rurak looked uncomfortable at the propsal, actually face palming.

"Come on, we need to be polite to these kind officers," Orlo gave Rurak a pat on the back and a rub on the head. He then turned his back towards Renakir and squatted down. Rurak followed suit and the two began to twerk, slowly turning their bodies as they did so. "And THAT is a real Tak Tak goodbye! Thank you Mr. Renakir and tell your captain Mr. Mephistopheles Mo, that we appreciate his hospitality despite the circumstances. Yo mama tru!" Orlo waved both of his hands with Rurak doing the same and then the two were off!

1

The Elaysian had just been walking through the airlock, after hitching a ride to the station aboard the Kon-Tiki, when out of nowhere the power fluctuated and the lights flickered. With a sigh, they rubbed a hand across their temple, muttering to no one in particular. "...Already?"

[D] Almost out of nowhere, a silvery, hazy energy field, softly crackled into life in the middle of the airlock, zapping power from every electronic device it touched. Thankfully the station had an abundance of power to feed back into the drained consoles to have them operational again after mere seconds...for now...

Eloras had left, making their way to engineering, leaving the ghost to its own devices.

Copia and Snake scurried into the airlock. Copia straightened her uniform, keeping it neat and tidy. "We shall wait for the other divisions to arrive before doing anything," Copia said. "Unless instructed to do so otherwise." Copia looked out past the airlock - yup, that was the Kon-Tiki.

Snake could barely keep up behind Copia, he was already out of breath. "Couldn't you...Huff... Just go a... Huff... Little bit slower?" He panted, trying desperately to keep his composure. This was off to a great start.

1

Antonio had just taken the turbolift to get here, he still couldn't believe that this was happening. Just minutes before he had been violently woken up by the yellow alert and the power surge across the entire station. His knees still a little shaky and the tiredness clear as day written in his face, he now stood there toolbox in hand, ready for his first away team.

1

T'she exited the turbo lift and walked towards where a group seemed to be forming, their medical kit slung over their shoulder. They stood on the sidelines for a time, watching the group and not quite blending in -- but they were used to that.

Vara'l, having popped out of a tube a little bit away from the airlock after having acquired the needed equipment for a tactical officer on a away mission, moved toward the rest of the group once he spotted them. The Romulans face impassive as he observed each person, his currently stormy grey hues something that..happened to be fairly unreadable at present. Experienced in such things as this, Vara'l smoothly started to check his equipment as he proceeded through additional pre-away mission checks to keep himself calm and focused.

Kaylee arrived in the airlock from the turbolift, her girlfriend in tow. Ready for her first away mission since arriving on the station. She kept a hold of Essen as she walked in and found a place to stand as she tried to resteady Essen a bit. Hoping that she might be able to stand by herself. Not that she minded helping and supporting her girlfriend.

1

Essen managed to stay upright as much as she could, but Kaylee helped tremendously. Once they were stopped, and Kaylee found a place to resteady her, Essen kept herself against a wall. "Thanks, baby girl." Then, Essen noticed Vara'l standing there with the group. "Oh! Uhh... Hi Lieutenant... Sorry I'm not in the... Most presentable state. Had a little medical run-in. While we're here, I want you to meet my baby girl. My princess. My girlfriend I told you about. Ensign Kaylee Valkyrie, Engineering."

1

[D] Having not appeared in the RP at all 'til now, Eshen had full clearance to narratively and literally whoosh right into the airlock, which is to say he transported here. He loved away missions and wanted to make especially sure he was on time! Perhaps they could deal with the ghosts diplomatically? If he absolutely had to punch a ghost, though, he wouldn't deny himself the opportunity. Put that Mok'bara and Suus Manha to use. Or phaser them. "Heee-llo! What a beautiful menagerie of people. It's away mission time! How are we all feeling?" It was a valiant attempt at keeping the mood up despite the lights and technology still going haywire in the background.

3

Vara'l's initial response to the sight of Essen in their current state happened to be a very brief flash of what couldn't be mistaken as anything other then concern that happened to push past his emotionless mask. The concern replaced with a slight smile when he realized who happened to accompany the Ensign. "As long as you're alright now and able to work and not in a state that you should rather have reported to sickbay, I..think I can excuse the look given the medical run in Ensign." Vara'l responded affably before he looked to the other Ensign. "Hello Ensign Valkyrie your other half mentioned you, in a good way I assure you, I'm Lieutenant tr'Hara.. its good to make your acquaintance." He continued with another smile. (edited)

2

Kaylee nodded at Vara'l. Oh she hoped that Essen had said all good things. Not that she had anything bad to say of course. "Nice to meet you, sir. I'm sure Essen has mentioned you also once or twice."

1

Noticing the much more confident Lieutenant, he figured that it probably was a good idea to talk to someone to distract himself from the fear, he was feeling. He walked up to Eshen, wondering how to start a conversation: "Hello", he said with a shaky voice, "I am quite new here and I just wanted to ask, how you manage to stay so calm? I don't think it's hard to notice that I am a little scared." Antonio decided to approach his issue head on, as he had done countless times and it always proved to be the easiest solution.

4

2

Ten was standing to the side listening to people he overheard Vara'l and Essen talking. He approached the three interjecting. "Hello sir, and yes I examined her I believe she is fit for duty. Thou I will continue monitoring her."

2

Eshen gave Antonio a gentle smile which reached his warm, golden eyes. "Vulcan techniques, experience, and a conscious sense of irreverent optimism, my dear. I'm afraid the Vulcan stuff isn't something I can teach you right now, but hopefully my attitude will prove infectious?"

"As long as it was in a reasonably good or not too bad way Ensign, I'll be happy." He smiled and half chuckled before he looked to the other Lieutenant and nodded. "Hello and understood...and thank you for that." He paused then as he realized he'd not met this other lieutenant before. "Also, I don't believe we've run into eachother before, I'm Lieutenant Vara'l tr'Hara, its good to meet you Lieutenant ..."

1

Antonio had read a lot about the Vulcan techniques but had never tested them himself, they must work wonders he thought judging by the lieutenants attitude. But a big part of it was probably the experience or at least he thought. "I hope so", * Antonio said, trying to sound less scared and a little more confident before he shuffled back into a corner trying to deal with it by himself for now.*

2

"Lieutenant Junior grade Ten of Four Five. And no we have not met yet which is a good thing, you would only meet me should you get injured. I have not been on the station very long. I transferred here straight from the academy for my residency." He akwardly extended his hand out to shake.

T'she looked up when they heard Eshen's voice, their head tilting slightly to the side as they tried to remember where they had heard it before -- that was, before it came to them. They never had been able to have tea together, a shame. Perhaps they would be able to do that now that they were both at the same post once more.

"No need to hide yourself away! Sticking with others is a good way to improve one's confidence tenfold. Strength in numbers. Also, I'm a good bodyguard." He flexed a bicep, like the jock peacock (peajock?) he was. Then he waved at T'she. "Good to see you again, my friend!" Or, at least, friendly tea acquaintance.

4

"It is good to see you as well. A pleasure to be working together on this mission," They commented with a brisk nod before they ran their hand through their hair again.

Copia's eyes darted around at all of the new people around her! "So many new faces! Unfamiliar souls! And... I do not know you all yet! I am unable to re-establish my link to the starbase mainframe... Those who have not yet done so, can you please introduce yourselves?"

2

Snake, being the smartass he is, responded... "Alan Snakebyte Grayson. The station's most lovable jackass, and regional actor extravaganza. Nice to meet you, Coh-pii-uh!" Smartass. Smartass? Smartass!

3

Essen snickered mockingly at Snake. Immediately, she knew this guy was a grade-A asshole. "I like this guy! He gets it. Humor is good in moderation." Essen gave a smug smile to Snake. This would be fun.

1

Antonio who was running around the airlock like a tiger in a cage, trying to find an outlet for his nerves said: "Ensign Antonio Contio, definitely not at all scared."

3

Vara'l accepted the hand the other ex-borg offered for shaking, shook said hand, listened to what others happened to say, nodded slightly in agreement with some of it. Then responded to Ten of Four Five. "Its good to meet you Lieutenant Junior grade Ten of Four five." Moving to speak again before another proceeded to speak and drew his attention. That ensign there happened to be scared. "First time on a away mission, Ensign?" Vara'l asked the engineering ensign who'd just pretty much announced he was scared.

1

"Lieutenant Tamura T'she, General Nurse." They answered, looking over for a moment. They did not quite get why everyone was adding so much to their introduction, but... perhaps it was just a custom.

Ah, a fellow smartass. "Eshen K'Tann, though I go by other names sometimes. Just call me Eshen for today. I'm a diplomat, but I have an array of skills beyond what my occupation requires - as do you all, I expect!" His vanity extended outwards of himself to others, too. How excellent was it that not only was he incredibly talented and handsome, but so was everyone else!

Kaylee clicked her tongue and gave Copia a wave. "Kaylee Valkyrie, Engineer! Call me Kaylee, or Valk, whatever floats your boat, my friend!"

1

"Is it that obvious", Antonio tried his hand at joking, maybe he could laugh his fear away. "Seriously, any tips are welcome." He decided that he would mentally collect all the ways to cope with fear before an away mission and so far he had already acquired Vulcan control methods which he would definitely try to learn for the future and experience which would obviously also have to wait.

The Lieutenant chuckled slightly at the Ensigns attempted joke, partly so he didn't add that awkwardness that happened to be nobody reacting to your joke to the fear that already existed. "I'm sure a good few of the people here have tips that they could give you for away mission related stuff, mine Ensign would be to get into conversation while you wait and perhaps also occupy yourself a tad with equipment checks and the like as well." He suggested then as he then continued to say. "Can also confirm though if it helps that away missions become a tad less daunting after your first." The Lieutenant looking around as he informed them of that as he internally hoped that some of the other Lieutenants would pick up what he was putting down so to speak. Pick up that this ensign happened to need to be talked to, helped through this early part of the away mission and the fear that accompanied it. "I'm Lieutenant tr'Hara by the way, I don't believe we've met before, Ensign..." He smiled at Ensign Conti as he asked that.

He was right talking to everyone present just helped the most getting his mind of the mission. In addition to that he would definitely put equipment checks on the list and maybe he would even try that later. "Oh, I am so sorry. Ensign Conti." Antonio introduced himself, reaching out his hand for the other to shake.

Vara'l accepted the ensigns hand and proceeded to shake it. "No need to apologise, Ensign Conti, its good to meet you by the way." He responded with a smile as he turned to finish off his equipment checks. "Met a good few new people today"

Five has arrived! With their headphones around their neck, carefully regaining their composure. "Thank you," they told the person behind them (Syrax!) again quickly, quietly, not wanting to keep him. "for everything. Sorry you had to see..you know." They cleared their throat awkwardly. "I hope I can make a bit of a better impression sometime."

2

Vara'l looked to the SCPO with the air of someone who happened to consider the other ex-borg as a individual who happened to be sufficiently high enough in his regard for this to not at all have effected how he regarded them. Their look one tinged with slight concern as he smiled a greeting. "Hello SCPO Five."

1

Mokath arrived via the turbo lift. He had just been with the Intelligence officers when he heard the call. As he arrived, he offered everyone a nod of his head. He hoped he wasn't late to the party. "Perhaps the group has room for one more?"

"There's no limit, as far as I know," Eshen said, waving to the very covered-up newcomer, then five, then anyone else who arrived that I forgot. "So, everyone: opinions on ghosts?"

"My grandmother believed in such things, though I believe she saw Ghosts as something much different." They thought for a moment. "I do not personally believe."

Their attention darted to Vara'l, and they lit up just a little at the sight of someone familiar. If they were allowed, they'd definitely be latching onto his side for the whole of this mission, and they moved to stand beside him now. T'she too! They waved politely at them. "Neutral, mostly negative," they chimed in.

"As far as my son's concerned, I shot either a ghost or a monster that used to hide under his bed once." Vara'l chimed in. "But bar that encounter, neutral with a lean to the negative." He remained where he was as he sat that and smiled a tad at Five as they moved on over.

Syrax, who technically wasn't supposed to be here yet here he was, a whole unit of support for his brother and new buddy, towered behind Fives while looking around curiously, noting the large mass of people who were meant to be an away mission. "Huh... I dunno, I think you made a damn good impression there," he grinned, mimicking putting on headphones as he said that. "I would even go as far to say that your first impression was one of the better ones that I remember having lately!"

4

4

He followed right behind them, trailing until finding one very specific person - and orbiting closer to him like a rogue asteroid to a planet: "Negative," he replied to the question, short and simple, choosing to stand right besides Eshen. His hand was offered for holding, a gesture that he would be too shy to make in public not that long ago now done in a very crowded space. "But, we won't dwell on that. Let's help these ones get off of this station."

He followed along and simply listened to everyone as they conversed. He found them all very interesting to say the least. He pondered now on what they may find on the Kon-Tiki. Hopefully the solution to this issue would be there.

Eshen threaded his fingers with Saren almost unconsciously, his hand moving on its own. "Enough things have happened that I believe ghosts are real. The real question we should be asking, I suppose, is these things - ghosts or not - are they friendly? Can they be reasoned with? Or must we seek other solutions? We'll find out... once we step foot on the Kon-Tiki." Cue ad break.

5

"Let's hope so." Five crossed their arms, subconsciously running their thumb back and forth where their mechanical arm began. They felt a lot better, actually, but still on edge. Had to be. They shuffled to stand a little closer to Vara'l. "It depends on who they are— or who they were, I suppose. I've found a few are...lost. Confused." Their brows knit gently together, glancing briefly to Syrax, remembering his mention of the encounter he'd had with the paranormal. "I just hope they aren't hostile." (edited)

Vara'l absentmindedly proceeded to rub a hand along a specific are of his head that happened if one was close enough to have noticed as said thing was revealed by his rubbing, metal that marred it. Married it handedly in a pattern that spoke to borg implants on his skull accompanied by other things. Other things concealed alongside said implants as he removed his hand once more. "Those I've encountered have been a.. fair old mix, if those were actually something that could be called ghosts, I'm...also hopeful these ones wont be hostile..though as has been stated, we'll find that all out on the Kon-Tiki."

"Hm, hopefully nothing attacks us," he said. His head was on a swivel as he kept an eye out for any unusual activity. He also held his tricorder, which he used to passively scan and monitor their path. His training as a field tactician showed as he was on red alert. "I wonder if this is a first contact situation."

"There's been many documented cases of paranormal spectres and the like before," Five reasoned, tugging their mask up. "I believe the situation has been confirmed to be of that variety."

"It's one of those things that has a mundane explanation if you understand it, probably. Which I don't! So it might as well be magic to me." He may think of himself as talented, but that didn't mean he thought he had every talent. Physics was beyond his grasp.

"Magic is science we have yet to explain." Ten interjected. "I hope we can find the explination to this magic over there."

"I expect we'll be dealing with fairies and unicorns next," Five attempted to tack on as a joke. They abandoned it and cleared their throat. "As curious as I am about just about everything, it's fun to look at things through a mystical veil from time to time..!"

"Wow, physics and engineering are magic to me, then. Which means our -" He coughed, glancing at Saren. "I mean, my boyfriend, Allan, is some kind of wizard."

5

4

4

5

"Are there not Fairies and unicorns in the holodeck already?" Ten shruged his hands a bit (edited)

"I am not a believer of magic," he said with a sigh. The glowing eyes of his mask remained focused on his tricorder as he walked.

"Unicorns are plausible. Just find a horned horse," the biologist injected helpfully, voice casual and delivery blunt in a way that made you doubt if he was joking or not. "As for the ghost explanation... there can be multiple versions, really. Some more complicated than others..." Now, Eshen's little comment... was there a smirk on his face? If it was, it disappeared just a split second after Saren looked back at him, a knowing glint in his green eyes. "Oh? Then he might be, yes. A very magical one."

3

Meanwhile, Essen was just sitting back, regaining her strength, and laughing at everyone else's jokes when appropriate. "I can see now why the captain put us all together," Essen said. "We're unhinged as a unit."

"I assure you all of my hinges are tightened" Ten said without missing a beat

5

"I don't believe my hinges are undone," he said while he stowed his tricorder. (edited)

1

In order to test their hinges, Five swung their arm, then raised their leg a little. Their hinges seemed to be in perfectly working order. "Mine as well."

2

Ten looked Essen dead straight faced, playing like he didnt understand. "We are unsure what you mean by unhinged. Do you need me to examine your hinges? are some of your joints sore?"

2

Copia's eyes twitched slightly around, but quickly stopped. "I am unable to access the definition of unhinged utilized in your previous statement, Ensign Essen," Copia said. "Would you mind educating me on its meaning? I am curious to ascertain its place within the standard English lexicon." Well, this turned out to be a blessing and a curse for Copia.

Snake snickered. He thought he'd step in to be the asshole yet again. "Unhinged is exactly what they're saying, Coh-pii-uh," Snake mocked. "They have hinges. They're called bones. They work in skeletons." Smart. Ass.

Vara'l experimentally proceeded to test out the 'hinges' on some of his implants moving fingers. He played this off as he checked his gear and concealed a smirk.

Essen rolled her eyes at Snake. "Yeah, sure, that's exactly what I meant, to the word, of course, Snake," Essen huffed. "I'm not gonna go to your little stand-up comedy routine every weekend if that's what you're looking for us to do. Ugh... Babe?" Essen turned to Kaylee. "Snake is being annoying."

Snake could only close his fist in victory and mouth the word 'yes!' "See this?" Snake began. "She likes me! You gotta admit, my humor is flawless!"

Copia also managed to roll her eyes. Clearly she wasn't having this. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Grayson," Copia said. "I believe I will also not be attending your stand-up comedy routine. Please, refrain from comments like that again, that's an order."

Vara'l turned slightly and simply proceeded to observe the smart ass who had decided to seemingly mock a Ensign in Tactical. He continued to observe them for a time before he turned to the Ensign. Turned and graced her with a curious eyebrow raise. "Comedy routine?" He inquired.

1

"For the confused, to be 'unhinged' means... To be disordered and unexpected, in this context, I suppose." Their shenanigans were entertaining, but he thought he'd clarify for the people in the group who didn't get it and felt left out.

4

4

5

Essen caught onto Vara'l and sneaked a smirk into her face. "Heh! I was just kidding! Snake's humor is too bad for a weekend comedy routine! He isn't even able to get one!" After a few snickers Essen turned to Kaylee. "This guy. He radiates big brother energy. But I suggest we keep an eye on him."

Copia thought about silencing Essen for her rebuttal, but for some reason, that just didn't happen. Instead, Copia's mouth curled up into a smile, and she covered her mouth to hide her smile. Yep... Sibling energy between those three crazies!

Vara'l mouthed a slight ah, suppressed a smile of his own though he angled himself slightly so he probably betrayed a element of it to Essen. He'd noticed that sibling energy. He wasnt going to squish that by a order that silenced her. Essen needed to build some confidence up as she worked to better herself in the manner he had seen evidence she'd committed too. In a less formal sort of banter situation,stuff like this could be allowed up to a point. ..That and he had mocked the ensign and a command Lieutenant. Or at least it had felt a tad like that, his humour. So he wouldnt call either side out on that. He instead appreciated the sibling energy and considered the other comment. "I'd say it does mean that Aye.." Vara'l then used the opportunity to glance briefly at the scared ensign again as he checked to see if they were okay.

Snake looked at Copia and Vara'l with a big of a betrayed expression on his face. "Y'all are just allowing her to roast me?" Snake said. "Hey, bruh, I'm just trying to lighten the tension. So what if I don't have a comedy routine yet? I'll get one. Just you see. And, uh... Uh... I'll make Essen run lights for it? Uh...and uh... I'll make Copia be the emcee! Yeah! Uh-huh!" Flustered, Snake was an absolute train wreck.

Copia now let out a laugh of her own. The emotion was too much for her to keep it in. "The likelihood of such event happening from a standpoint based on statistics is less than 0.389%."

"Hmmm. You know, it's not stand-up exactly, but I am part of a little group of theatre enthusiasts, and on occasion we do improv nights. Would you be interested in joining?" He asked, addressing Alan, but also keeping an eye on that ensign. He wished he'd had more actionable advice for him, but unfortunately there was little they could do right now but stick together. "The rest of you are welcome as well, of course."

1

The second Snake heard Eshen say that, he turned to Eshen as if he has just spoke a sacred truth. "You do theatre??" Snake asked. "Dude! Award-winning actor over here! You know I'd be totally over that! Improv or not! No freakin' way, I had no idea you did that!" Snake was like a kid in a candy store - who had just been handed the keys.

Essen was about to make another retort back to Snake, but stopped. This made her rethink what Snake was like. She contorted her face in pensive thought. "Hmm! I think I'll take you up on that too," Essen said. She turned to Kaylee. "What about you, babe? Want to join me? Acting lessons and stuff? Might be fun!" Then her eyes went to Vara'l. Perhaps this could be a way for Essen to better conduct herself professionally as well! (edited)

1

The Lieutenant watched the Lieutenant junior grade with storm grey eyes that analysed every inch of the other as he considered what they said. Considered a retort that highlighted the earlier order or something else and then decided against that as another Lieutenant proceeded to speak up. Did so in a way that seemed to defuse any issues anyway..for now. No instead he just watched and listened for now as he finished his own equipment checks...and started all over again. "..Improv sounds intriguing."

02:29

Not that this meant he wasnt prepared to step in. It just meant he happened to watch both parties through the disguise of full focus on the equipment as he listened, content to trust the other Lieutenant to keep more of a ...open eye on Essen

1

He grinned, sharp canines glinting, delighted by Alan's enthusiasm. "We do! And roleplay of various kinds. Tabletop RPGs, LARPing... Anything that lets us put on funny voices, really." He hadn't won any awards, since he'd never had an opportunity to (joining Starfleet had been a way to escape his parents, so he hadn't really ever had the leewy to consider other career options), but he was still a damn good actor - it was part of being a diplomat, after all. It used to be that his whole life, including his personal life, was an act. He hadn't slipped into his old ways for some time, thankfully; that was the strength of finding people you could truly and completely trust. He squeezed Saren's hand, but also thought of Allan, Nalas, Aella, and all of his friends.

5

3

Copia pondered this. Such an intriguing discovery! "I would like to participate as well, lieutenant," Copia said. "Partly to monitor the behavior of Lieutenant Junior Grade Grayson... But also, I have never pursued a theatrical appearance! Will my being an android be a hindrance to natural or realistic performance?"

"Will it be a hindrance? An interesting question. Well..." He tapped his chin, his gloved hand covering clawed fingers. "I suppose that's up to you, my dear. We are what we make ourselves into."

3

Without saying a word, Copia's eyes widened. Eshen was right - holy shit... We are what we make ourselves into...? Were there deeper philosophical questions to be answered from this? Was theater connected to all this? Was there some ancient cosmic connection between theatre and philosophy and-- Yup... another Curious Copia™ rabbit hole.

1

Five listened quietly once they'd shaken themself from their little daze, blinking a few times to reorient themself to reality. A theatre group? Improv? Their brows furrowed gently in confusion as to how the hell they'd gotten here, but it wasn't bad. They made no contribution to the conversation at hand, no say whether or not they'd like to join. "I think Lieutenant Copia is making some very important realizations," they said instead.

3

Essen looked at Eshen with profound respect. Whoa - he knew what he was talking about! "Aight, massive respect, bruh," Essen told Eshen. "You have this all figured out. I am one hundred percent down for this." Essen, the star actress... That had a nice ring to it. Of course, if Kaylee was by her side they'd be dueting the night away. Then Essen noticed Copia's reaction. "Did you just break Copia?" (edited)

1

Ten sat on a a crate next to Essen. He had a slight grin on his face he liked seeing people make jokes. He knew that humor was a sign of good health. He pulled out his PADD preparing a bit for the mission but also listening to his crewmates socialize. (edited)

4

"Break Copia? No, no. That was simply... The power of words in action!" Eshen declared, punching the air and then putting his hand on his hip. One could imagine him standing on a pedestal, about to make some sort of speech. "They can change hearts and minds! Start and end wars! Inspire, enrage, anguish! And that is why I'm a diplomat!"

If Copia's mind could explode, then it would have done so just now. Copia's eyes widened even further, her jaw practically on the floor. Never before had she computed something so profound... Something so layered... Something so inspiring! And all the while, it was a complex, intertwined iota of thought, that she was still trying to process it. Perhaps Copia wasn't broken... Just mind-blown.

...Five looked around just to make sure they hadn't crashed landed in some magical girl cartoon, with the over the top speech Eshen began. They didn't have a skirt on yet, so they guessed not. They opted to politely clap instead. "Very inspiring," they mused genuinely.

1

Snake went up to Copia and shook her around. "Hello? Starbase 777 to Copia? Anyone home?" Waving his hand in front of Copia's face, Snake let out a chuckle. "Well, that's the peace and quiet I think we all needed," Snake retorted. "Anyway! Theatre! If y'all didn't know, I played Spock in 'Kirk: The Musical' back in 'Frisco. So! Definitely qualified for the job here."

Essen rolled her eyes. Ugh, this guy was such a dork! Was he always like this? She felt the answer to that would be a resounding yes. "Okay, I saw you live once, you do have the singing voice," Essen said. "I'll give you that." She had to admit, Snake was talented. But that didn't excuse him from being a jackass. Still a loveable jackass though.

Eshen gasped. "Wait! I knew you looked familiar! I just assumed we'd met at a party before or something." He did that a lot. Go to parties, meet someone, get very drunk, do things we can't mention on the server, then see them around the day after and be like oh, hey, it's you, what was your name again? He hadn't slept with Alan, though. Wrong number of Ls. "I watched that play. Thought your acting was great in it." He quietly didn't mention that he thought the casting of Alan as Spock was a bad choice, though. No shade to his skills, but he'd be a better Kirk.

5

"I'd like to watch," Five popped in again, fumbling just a little. They glanced down in embarrassment, red in the face. "All of you, acting, I mean. I don't have any faith in skills of my own, but you all seem so happy, I'd love to see what comes of such passion. If - you don't mind, that is."

2

"Of course, darling. What is theatre without an audience?" Just a bunch of people in a stage performing to a crowd of empty seats. A depressing thought.

2

Showing up to the airlock for the away mission was the detective himself, Lama! "Hey gang, here to fuck around and find out, my specialty," Lama's hair looked especially straw-like today, freshly dyed strands of blonde spiked up to make him look like some anime protagonist. He was happy to see some familiar faces! "Eyy my dudes. Oh Eshen we meet again! Love your music btw," Lama gave his fellow Vulcanoid hybrid a thumbs up and a silly smile. "And hellooooo everyone else, it is I, Lama. Let's go investigate stuff! I've been practicing my melee skills, no one stands a chance against my out of this world combat skills!" Lama then proceeded to punch the air. Although he had been taking some self defense classes in his free time, it would probably come as no surprise to anyone that his combat was in fact, not out of this world.

Also there was Rilek, who was just standing around. Wearing finger guards on all her fingers, obviously gotta be fully armed here although the finger guards weren't that sharp. They could still do some damage if used in a stabbing motion.

People around him were talking, and doing that a whole lot - and he let that conversation flow go past him, for participating in such an amount outside of work hours felt a bit too overwhelming for him, especially in the face of uncertainty that would soon be upon them. He stayed, though, content in the place he chose for himself - with Eshen by his side, his enthusiasm at the topic seeping through and making him feel content with his happiness, and Syrax hovering somewhere nearby, out of his field of view yet still undeniably there, as if to keep an eye on him. As soon as he left his hand being squeezed, he did it right back - offering his conspirator a warm blanket of acceptance and sincerity in return, a simple confirmation to Eshen's thoughts. Then he let his eyes wander for a bit, noting the new appearances. A couple of Romulans, notably. His gaze did linger of them, a habitual thing really, recounting the announced House names and not finding a match for them. Hm.

3

Light yellow eyes scanned the room for any familiar faces. Their eyes were quickly drawn to the pretty android standing beside the handsome Vulcanoid. Decided to try socialising, Rilek made their way across the crowd towards Copia. This also forced Rilek to step in front of a couple strangers. She knew a few names from the roster and the PA announcement and addressed one of them with, "Jolan tru, epohhpadre, Lareth-Morvar I assume?" Rilek only remembered the names announced, otherwise they'd have addressed the other by his first name. "I will discuss the knife with you after this. I am GanmadanSlayer, Rilek Khellian on the roster," She said, thinking the other would probably want a real name to their face and not just their username. GanmadanSlayer was fun, but they'd much rather be called by their name. She glanced at the handsome Vulcan-Klingon again and waved. They didn't know him, but they hoped their gesture would communicate their openness to make friends. As they turned to walk towards their android friend they acknowledged the others in the airlock briefly too. A liberated borg with very fun orange hair, a Vulcanoid with a unique scar and pretty hair, a second liberated borg of a species they were unsure of, and a Romulan who.. Another liberated borg? Interesting. "Oh hey Snakebyte," Hidden behind the others was someone else they recognised. They clicked their finger guards together and smiled at the human officer. Soon they reached Copia and bowed their head. "And my friend, Copia," Rilek smiled at her. After greetings were done, Rilek stood beside her friend and gave the room another glance. Interesting, there was another person of a species they did not recognise. One with a mask and tubes and... A unique head shape. A very unique head shape. Maybe they should be wearing a helmet? A hat? Rilek wasn't exactly sure what bald species did to protect their heads but that person's head seemed like it would need protection.

Hearing the name of the Kon-Tiki from the captain's announcement, Maya very quickly sprung up from to take up the opportunity to explore more of the vessel, remembering her last encounter with it whilst on the U.S.S Rapture. She smiled walking into the airlock, a bit out of breath from running her way here, but excited in seeing everyone else here. "Hello everyone! did I miss anything?"

2

"Hey my homie G, Maya!" Lama waved to the friendly engineer he remembered from a few months back. She had helped him with some disruptor parts he needed for an investigation. It was nice to see familiar faces! "Nothing much, we're still waiting for everyone to gather for the fucking around and finding out. Uhh, like the exploratory fucking, not the other meaning," Lama realised that the terran vulgarity had multiple definitions and he wanted to be very specific this was not anything inappropriate!

1

He was staring at a very peculiar shape of some unfamiliar officer's helmet and head when he noticed some movement approaching him; green eyes shifted back and up (and up...) to look into yellow ones, noting the height and the finger guards of the Rihannsu stranger. A weapon, some part of him thought instinctually, holding his e'lev's hand just a bit tighter. They addressed him by his chatroom handle (an outdated one by then, but only just recently), and both of his House names; Saren just nodded and blinked, digesting what was being said to him, but it was hard to do when they had suddenly introduced themselves as a Khellian. Having your brain trained to memorize such fine details had it's perks, definitely. Saren just wished that his breath didn't hitch as much when he realized that he had met a Khellian before - Valak. The memory of their encounter and the almost deadly consequences of it in Alizati's office were not forgotten. "... Sure," he replied dryly, a tone of voice that could be blamed on general Romulan unfriendliness with people they've just met. "Hlleistau bar would be just fine, yes?" The choice of of his uncle's bar was made in a split second, an instinct. Saren felt a bit silly for that - a childish act, like he was once again that cowardly teenager from the Flotilla, hiding behind Jin's back. He said nothing else, though. Just offered Rilek a polite nod, watched carefully as they gestured at Eshen, and then followed them with his stare as they left. The Lareth exhaled.

5

[D] Allan walked into the room, yeah, short shorts, yeah, jacket unzipped, although he'd zip that up soon, with Elwyn, most undoubtedly one of the best security officers on the station, with him as both of their excited and confident vibes infiltrated the room. "Yooooo engie squad, where we at!?" If he could, he'd add some emojis at the end of that sentence. But he definitely could not speak in emojis, nor breathe fire, so he simply scanned the room for his fellow engie squad before anything else.

4

When Kaylee heard Engie in Engie Squad, she looked up and over to Allan. She looked to Essen before shouting out. "Engie Squad! Right here, Sir!" Allan's excitement was clearly contagious. Oh no...Kaylee was infected! She will die of excitement soon...Essen...Dearest....I love y-... Wait up, excitement isn't a disease, silly. Anyway, Kaylee was excited because Allan was excited.

2

1

Antonio observed Allan enter the airlock from his corner and at first wasn't going to approach him but when he shouted Engine Squad, Antonio felt his fear at least somewhat drop as he chanted back: "Engie Squad! Engie Squad!" With his new gained confidence, he packed up the last of his recently checked equipment, threw it the bag over his back and was ready to go.

2

Five waved somewhat sheepishly compared to the excitement that fizzled out through everyone. They weren't as bubbly as most of the team, but still happy to join the engie squad, even if it was on a technicality!

2

He watched the trio of engineers hype each other up. His attention soon turned to examine his gear. He made sure he had everything for the trip on to the Kon-Tiki.

Allan laughed instantly, grinning as Kaylee confirmed his phrasing of 'engie squad' and even seeing Antonio chant it back - wow, that was a reaction he wasn't expecting, but one that he was absolutely delighted with as he moved over to the three engineers (Five was absolutely an honorary engie squad member, of course) and waved. "Okay, yeah, this is what I call a fucking solid lineup, wow." He looked across the three of them and figured he'd check his own bag, honestly half as a distraction to avoid getting too excited about #engiesquad, he had to keep his logic about him after all, "you all got everything ya need? 'Cus like, I can toootally go and get you something, like, um," he looked back at Elwyn and her Juice ™️. "A drink, a snack, some uh, equipment you might be missing, a hug, a last-minute makeup touch-up, any clarification on what we're doing?" The last, of course, being the most critical, but the others were all totally easy too!

4

5

Kaylee smiled as Allan approached, and also took a step forward to the rest of the Engie squad. "Uh, if you have a spare hyper spanner I'd like it. Gave mine to someone else and they haven't returned it yet." Kaylee was glad to be a part of the Engie Squad™️. Exciting. Maybe excitement was a disease? Maybe she should think of some good last words? Nah, she'll be fine.

3

"No need for a snack! One's just arrived!" Eshen said, grinning and approaching Allan and looking around at the Squad. Ah, if only he had some modicum of engineering knowledge, but he was pretty much here because of his previous experience on missions like these. And emotional support, of course.

6

5

7

Essen giggled as she saw Kaylee get as excited as she did. This was so fun, seeing her getting so happy and staying positive in such a frightening time like this. There truly was a lot for their relationship to grow and expand - and Essen couldn't wait. "Hey, but wait," Essen said. "Y'all have the Engie Squad, what do we get? Tacky Squa-- wait never mind..."

2

"Well, hardly a need for a snack at all when we've got a full-course meal, no?" Allan said with a sly grin as he leaned over to kiss Eshen's cheek, and then nodded at Kaylee. "Spare hyperspanner, toootally," he said as he went and got one somewhere, handing it over, "there ya go, ensign! We can uh, talk about whoever has yours later." He tilted his head at Essen's question though, "yeah, uh, tacky squad sure isn't it, unless you really own it," he shrugged. "Which, to be fair, you totally could. The confidence is what matters."

3

T'she was standing on the sidelines, watching the excitement with curiosity before they shook their head, a small smile on their face. At least they were having fun, but T'she would have to hope that this squad would remain careful in the face of Unknown Encounters.

2

Kaylee accepted the hyper spanner and set it on her belt. Yes, she had a tool belt. Why? Because its cool. "Thank you, and I'll see if I can't get mine back after we finish." Kaylee reached out to Essen for her hand. Hopefully, somehow, she can help Essen feel happy too. Just for now at least.

2

Essen saw Kaylee reaching her hand out - and immediately took it. No hesitation. She looked into Kaylee's eyes, so innocently and true, and indeed she did feel happier, almost like the happiness traveled through Kaylee's arm through Essen's. Was Kaylee like a happiness fairy or something?? Because if so, she was doing a damn good job at being one!

4

3

As the Engie Squad™️ hyped themselves up Elwyn watched on from just behind Allan as they sipped their special juice order, enjoying the positivity the room, or, well, airlock was flooded with. Having been on duty when they had been zapped earlier, they still had their phaser on their belt ready. It wasn't as charged as it was, the weird situation having draineed it somewhat, but it was still within regulation power requirements for the remainder of their shift.

3

To round the team out, one last minute addition came in the form of the Betazoid/Tellarite CTO. Carrying his phaser, tricorder and flashlight, Tevis was more than ready for the mission. He was quick to wade through the mass of people stood in the airlock, and approached the other senior officers in the group, nodding to Allan and Saren, before turning to the larger team, giving them a few more moments to chat and prepare as he ran through the plan in his head and surveyed all those assembled, making sure everyone was adequately prepared.

He heard Allan before seeing him. It was something that occurred often, he thought, following behind Eshen to the small group that had managed to gather around the redhead by the time they had arrived. Saren didn't mind though, for this particular human's chattering and personality was one of the rare instances that had never, ever overwhelmed him. The reality was quite the opposite. "Hey, don't eat him," he tutted at Eshen quietly, his slightly squinted gaze lingering on the "snack" in question - a discreet smile. "It can wait until he's done leading his little yellow ducklings around a ghost infested ship." And while he was of no help there, engineering wise, he could at least be of moral support. Maybe. Saren actually wasn't sure how good he was at that, but considering how these two had carried him all throughout the Kinaen mission, the least he could do is god damn try.

4

4

Upon hearing the analogy about yellow ducklings Elwyn's face lit up with joy. "Aww! Am I a little yellow duckling too?" They asked enthusiastically, very clearly wanting to be a little yellow duckling.

4

4

'No, no, please, I insist that you do,' was what Allan nearly said quickly in response to Saren, before Saren said that it would have to wait until later, which, of course, was what caused him to laugh. Again. The laughter was contagious in this airlock, okay? "Yes, absolutely, it can wait, but only for so l-" he was cut off as he heard Elwyn's excited tone, and spun around to look at her, "of - of course you are, Elwyn, if you'd like," he really couldn't stop grinning at their enthusiasm, but he did for a quick moment as Tevis entered the room, zipping up his uniform jacket realll quick as he gave a nod to the more senior, senior officer. "We can all be... little yellow ducklings, yes."

7

Briefly confused as he attempted to process what his artificial ears had just been subjected too, Vara'l looked around and half smiled before he signed a brief. "What, did I hear that correctly, Yellow-Ducklings?." By way of a Interrogative before he realized that not everyone probably happened to know Romulan sign and then repeated himself in Standard Sign as he commenced equipment check numero 4.

5

Glancing over at Vara'l out the corner of their vision, Elwyn was quick to silently nod in response to his SSL with a big smile on their face. Little yellow ducklings were great! So cute! So fluffy! So tiny! They didn't feel the need to respond with anything more than a nod.

3

"You can," he nodded at Elwyn, after staring at Allan for just a few seconds longer, that man's rushed thought process oh so visible on his face which was endlessly entertaining to the Romulan. For no reason, of course. "Considering that your division is also yellow, it only fits."

3

3

Vara'l started to smile then, that was indescribably cute. Also happened to be something that created a image that happened to be impossible to not smile at. Who wouldn't smile at the image that created, even in the setting of a ghost ship, he wondered to himself as he considered what Saren said and then proceeded to say. "My son isn't going to believe me when I tell them that yellow ducklings came up in a conversation between officers."

4

Allan nodded at Vara'l's question, doing a silly little theatre-worthy curtsy along with that nod, "absolutely, sir, that's exactly what you heard," he said with a chuckle, "please, tell him about the ghosts, too! Maybe make a little story up about a ghost duckling, even, just for some spice." Why'd he look at Saren and Eshen when he said the word spice?

Don't eat him? Hmmm. "Maybe later," he whispered to Saren, before addressing everyone else: "What are tactical, then? Cardinals? No, that's confusing, makes us sound like a clergy. Robins? Not entirely red, but they are cute. Oh! Allan! Opinion on ghosts?" Still holding onto Saren's hand, he swung their arms a bit.

4

3

Lente came running, a little on the late side as was not unusual for her. To be fair though, she'd had to come from pretty far! She wasn't the most qualified person to be helping here most likely, but all hands were probably helpful and she wasn't clueless when it came to fixing larger systems, even if it wasn't what she specialised in. "I'm here," she panted, before realising the conversation was currently about ghosts, and... birds?

4

"I'll be sure to try and come up with something." Vara'l responded softly before he proceeded to add. "He'll probably appreciate it with that additional spice included, though I still doubt he'll believe the ducklings bit." He chuckled then. "Or that bit about robins and clergy."

2

[D] Hearing commotion, she trotted over to her station and grinned big. Even with the weirdness gong on in the station and it being on yellow alert, it was nice to see some familiar yellow colors! She mouthed ‘birds?’ with some…confusion and followed the ensign who ran in past her. “Cardinals would absolutely to tactical! I mean, just look at them!”

2

"But he'll believe the ghosts?" Allan said to Vara'l, surprised to hear ducklings were unbelievable, but not ghosts. Huh. "And my opinions on- hmm, honestly? Pretty good? Like, okay, we've got a 3-1 score on like, good to bad ghosts on this station, although, I mean - I don't know if these ones have any malicious intent, that's what we're here to find out? But like, hey, if they're anything like the 3 Rennie and I dealt with, we'll be juuust fine," he said with a smile, and then, holy shit, two new engineers! "Yooo, are we - fuck, this team is stacked, damn! Okay, yeah, bet, we got this- Summer, hey, that's great, just," he lifted his hand up beside his face as he looked at Summer, after she had walked in panting, taking a deep inhale and then lowering his hand as he exhaled. "You're totalllly good, didn't miss a thing, same to you," he gave a nod to the Lieutenant as well.

Lente went a little pink in the ears, nodding at Allan as she took a deep breath, trying to calm her heartrate down. This was the first time she was meeting him and she was already embarrassing herself.... Augh, she could kick herself! But she didn't, and instead remained as calm as possible, waiting for orders.

1

"He's got very set opinions on what officers talk about and ducklings and ghosts happen to not be on that list so...its more the situation in which the things were heard and less does he believe this or doesn't he." He chuckled then in response as he finished up his work and started to commence his fifth equipment check before he decided that that probably happened to be a bit much! "I imagine we'll discover the ghosts intentions during this away mission or..I hope we will." He then paused then, considered things and then started equipment check numero 5.

In all their almost-40 cycles, Five had never been referred to as a little yellow duckling before, and they tilted their head just a little at that, curious and confused. "Quack," they piped up extremely helpfully, wanting to tag in to the joke, even if they were a little late.

16

11

10

9

9

After taking that deep breath together with Lente, he smiled at her and did that little head tilt that Five and himself were so accustomed to doing, "again, ensign, totally good, you need anything? Anything at all," he said as he took a last minute glance over the #engiesquad, but he had to clasp his hand over his mouth to muffle the sound of the absolute cackle that left his mouth when he heard Five fucking quack. "I- Five, fuck, I-" he laughed and laughed, shaking his head with the biggest grin on his face, "oh, you're amazing, I hope you know. Please. Never forget that. And - I mean- quack?" He definitely laughed right after that, too. Contagious.

7

6

7

8

6

2

Lente shook her head, not wanting to hold anything up anymore. She breathed deeply again, and then replied to Allan. "No sir, I'm good." The best remedy to combat her embarrassment was probably just to get on with things, at this point. She was horribly confused at the conversation going on anyway, so she was more than ready to just go.

Copia also tilted her head at that. She had not ever heard Five or anyone on the team make that noise. So fascinating! What could she do to make that sound? "Quack!" Copia parroted Five. Just to sound helpful. Maybe she could make it sound more realistic? That's when Copia quacked again, but it actually sounded like a duck. She pulled an audio file from her memory bank and played it back. Yep... The argument could still be made that Copia was broken now.

6

4

1

All Essen could do... Especially at Copia... ...was facepalm. And she even did it twice. "Kaylee... Are you sure I'm doing okay or am I actually hearing and seeing all this happen?" (edited)

She nodded back and internally cringed when she finally realized that yeah, she was also late. But, it seemed to not be that bad as she heard three quacks, laughs, and facepalms around her. Maybe this is why they were talking about birds...?

Thiru hadn't expected so many people to go on the away mission but the situation was urgent after all and every pair of hands could be useful. As she entered, she just heard a quack. Of everything she had expected to go on, this wasn't on of it. She started cracking up immediatly and it took every fiber in her body of strength to not burst out laughing.

3

"If you're hearing and seeing things, then so am I. But I think we're both okay." Kaylee explained, before feeling the inexplicable urge to quack also. "Quack!"

3

2

Whoops. Technically, this was all his fault - but Saren pretended that it wasn't, and turned his face so that the least amount of people would notice him smiling at the Silly, all the while continuing to swing his and Eshen's hands.

4

Essen's eyes popped open at Kaylee's quack. "Wha-- oh no, babe, not you too! Not you too!!!" Essen facepalmed again. Yup... She had just opened herself up for pranking by Kaylee. And pretty much everyone else.

2

Elwyn all but blinked in response to Copia legitimately sounding like a duck, their smile still on their face as they enjoyed the duck vibes everyone had going on right now. "Quack!" The android exclaimed, deciding to join in with the fun before sipping some more of their juice.

1

His thoughts were now occupied trying to think of every red bird ever. Vermilion flycatchers. Scarlet ibis. Summer tanager - ha, what a coincidence - and then he chuckled at Five's little quack. "He's right. You quack me up, five."

6

5

6

5

Having connected to Comms but not wanting to interrupt until their shenanigans were over, Mo chimed in: "Alright, folks, it's time to quack on. Get yourselves on that ship. I'll be on comms to keep an ear on you if there's any trouble."

7

9

Shliox looked around once more before grinning and joining in with one Quack before sputtering as the Captain called on the comms. Brushing her uniform down, she looked by the airlock doors. "If this ship looks like a swan, I'll loose it."

Upon hearing Mo's transmission, Essen's eyes opened again, before she let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, goodness, sweet relief," Essen said. "Thank you, Captain!" In truth... The only one she didn't mind was Kaylee. She never minded Kaylee. She just was worried the Quackening™ would be upon Kaylee and eventually everyone else, and then her.

5

"Quacking on, Captain," Five chipped in, absolutely delighted at the chain reaction they'd accidentally caused.

7

“Aye Captain.” Tevis said in a calm, measured tone, before addressing the officers in the airlock. “We will proceed to #deleted-channel and then split off into teams there. No quacking about.” He relayed with a soft smirk, promptly turning on his heel and heading for the Kon-Tiki.

7

Allan had to take a solid few seconds to recollect himself, taking a deep breath after laughing so much with all the quacking. Of course this was how his first 'away' mission as the ACEO would go, go figure, but hey, he was enjoying every second of it. On to the ghosts, though. After the slightest of chuckles at everyone's equally as great quack puns, he nodded at Tevis, gesturing for his... his yellow ducklings to follow himself as he followed the Commander to the #deleted-channel . "Sounds like a plan, sir," he said simply, but mostly because he didn't really have any duck puns, "let's dive in."

After Kaylee had collected herself, she triple checked all of her equipment. Once she was sure she had everything, she grasped Essen's hand tighter and made a move towards the ship, muttering a 'quack' only really loud enough for Essen and herself to hear.

3

2

3

"Don't let this ruffle your feathers, Allan," he murmured to the engineer as soon as he caught up to him. A pun but also a good luck wish, even though he trusted that the fellow young assistant would do just fine. With that, the Romulan followed everyone into the #deleted-channel.

5

3

Thiru quickly followed them on the Kon-Tiki. It was important for her to be one of the first people on the ship. She believed that there would be vital information that Starfleet definitely would like to have in their archives, so intelligence should be on of the first aboard. With almost every muscle tense and ready for anything Thiru stepped into the #deleted-channel.

Essen's eyes popped open again at Kaylee's very small quack. "Wha--" she started. "Am I the only one who hasn't said it? Please tell me I'm not the only one. I'm not crazy. Y'all are pranking me. I just know it. Especially you, babe." Of course Essen wasn't mad at Kaylee - just... The puns and noises were really starting to ruffle her feathers. In a hugely comedic way as she went with Kaylee to the #deleted-channel.

1

"Soar long, 777!" Currently attached to Saren by the hand, Eshen also naturally entered the corridor.

3

Antonio was a little reluctant at first but as he observed the entire Engie Squad enter the corridor, Antonio quickly followed.

4

Double checking her equipment and getting in the mindset to see some ghosties, she followed the EngieSquad and trotted into the #deleted-channel.

2

As everyone started heading their way aboard the Kon-Tiki Elwyn took a moment to take a (temporary) final sip of her juice before putting it down safely in a corner of the airlock. She'll be back for that later! After putting it down she headed on aboard the spooky ship with everyone else.

4

Following behind most of the group, Lente also entered the #deleted-channel , not entirely sure what they would encounter there and exercising a fair bit of caution as a result. Which meant in this case that she was going to let everyone else enter first, and then once they seemed fine, she'd follow after.

3

Five took a deep breath to steady their nerves. Ghost ship. Awesome. Thrilled about that, actually. They glanced to Syrax, if he was still there, offering him a last little smile before following the duckling line to #deleted-channel. (edited)

5

2

He was, indeed, still there! And a soon as they looked at him, Sy shoot them a quick double thumbs up and mouthed "good luck!", all the while watching the whole team slowly disappear into the familiar emptiness of Kon-Tiki...

3

Ten stood up with diligence. He checked his belt and made sure he had everything he needed. He fastened his phaser in it's holster. He tightened a tricorder around his shoulder. Then secured a couple sprays to his belt as well before tossing a full medical backpack on his back and tightly fastening it. With a nod he followed the group to the #deleted-channel . "Quack quack sir" (edited)

2

T'she, trying to keep up, walked into the unknown without saying another word.

Vara'l, as he allowed himself to walk at a pace that allowed Five to keep close if they still wanted to stick close to either him or tr'Morvar, picked up his equipment and moved. Moving as he walked into the corridor as he followed the group into the #deleted-channel

2

1

[D] Just as ordered, Tyrah waited at the airlock for the MC of the soon-to-start event, PADD in hand even though he knew exactly who he was to be escorting. When the brightly adorned Ferengi stepped into the airlock, he bolted forward, taking the bags and grinning brightly at the Ferengi. “Hello Mamma Supernova! We’re so excited to have you here! I’ve been a huge fan of yours since I first watched your program! You’re going to love it here! The people are so cool! I’ve heard so much buzz around the station about your visit! Is this the outfit you’re going to wear? How many sequins are on your jacket? How was your trip?” He babbled out as he followed the celebrity to the turbolift, walking fast to keep up with her quick strides.

4

“You better calm down before you have some sort of attack sweetheart!” She said with audible amusement in her voice as she handed the overexcited Aenar her bags with practiced ease, striding to the turbolift as she already knew exactly where she was going.

1

[D] Kalo walked through the airlock, pulling a couple suitcases behind him. He'd spent 5 years in his last posting and had become pretty established there, so it was almost weird to be moving again, but also, he had grown up in Starfleet and was used to it. He was wearing his medical uniform, pristine as ever, and anxiously raked a hand through his long white hair as he looked around. Definitely a lot bigger than his last ship. He pulled out his PADD to see if he could check the map.

Having read through the daily intelligence reports and noted that one of the new arrivals was Aenar, Ayr decided to take the initiative and go down to the airlock to personally welcome them onto the station. The large, statuesque Aenar, covered in the delicate lines and curves of Aenarii script tattooed into their skin, as well as what some considered the foreboding purple of an intelligence unifom waited patiently for Kalo to arrive, and upon seeing him, made their approach. They kept their psionic presence contained and close to their chest, just open enough that the fellow Aenar would be able to recognize them for greeting, and their tone as low and gravelly as was typical of a species whose primary communication method was non-verbal. In this case, the officer being new, and with his background, Ayr did decide to actually speak out a greeting rather than telepathically at first. “Lieutenant Kalo, perhaps I could escort you to your destination?”

Kalo had sensed the other Aenar and waved at them, offering a smile out of habit from primarily communicating with beings who use vision as their main sense. "Thank you, that would be... very helpful, Lieutenant...?" He trailed off to let them provide their name. Another Aenar. A bit of a surprise, but he knew how to act Aenar enough from spending a few years in school at the Northern Wastes.

While they didn’t show it, they appreciated Kalo’s greetings, as alien as they were compared to their people’s more traditional ones, something that they had endeavored to do more, especially given their renewed efforts to socialize more after being assigned to the station, and for the sake of their roommate. “Lieutenant Ayr th’Islador.” They said simply, flashing their mental presence briefly in greeting. “Welcome aboard, I imagine this is quite the change from your previous posting.”

"Nice to meet you," Kalo said, attempting to also do the mental introduction. He wasn't awful at it, though more than a bit out of practice. "Indeed, it is. I spent 5 years serving on a crisis response ship. It was often intense, but worthwhile. But I'm excited to learn about what happens here, as well. A culture exchange starbase could be interesting. I actually grew up among Klingons, you know."

“The cultural exchange element can be…substantial sometimes, especially for those of us who are telepathic, but I have found it is in equal measure rewarding. I myself am quite fond of trying other culture’s cuisines.” They said, nodding along as Kalo continued to speak. “Klingons? You must have quite the repertoire of stories then.”

"Oh yes. I also grew up in Starfleet, so even more stories from that. Somehow, I thought I was just a regular Klingon until I was maybe... 7 or so." He chuckled. "I'm also partial to trying new types of food, and I enjoy music as well." He looks down at his PADD, like he forgot why he was holding it, and then was reminded by seeing the map. "Anyways, I was trying to find my quarters, but this starbase is huge."

Ayr’s response was a well-timed raise of their eyebrow and a slight twitch of their antennae, to an outsider, it would seem highly unemotional, but to a fellow Aenar, Ayr was practically guffawing. “Music is interesting, I am still getting used to so much auditory stimulation at once, but I have found it to be quite moving at times.” They said, before nodding. “You are medical…if I recall correctly, the quarters for your division are in the beta section…” They said, before pausing and looking up to the ceiling. “Computer send directions to Lieutenant Kalo’s quarters to his PADD and display turn by turn.” They said, before returning their attention back to Kalo and offered him a small nod of their head. “This should be sufficient. I once again welcome you aboard, and wish you the best of luck in your time here.” They said before bowing slightly and departing.

Kalo had become familiar with the nuances of Aenar expressions, thankfully, and caught it. "Interesting. When I visited the Northern Wastes, it definitely took some... adjustment for me to get used to not communicating verbally as much. I learned to control my telepathy from Betazoids when I was much younger, though." It was interesting meeting Aenar who were so obviously... Aenar in Starfleet. He couldn't imagine having grown up without music.* "Thank you, I really appreciate it," he said when they had the computer give him directions. He mimicked their bow, and began to follow the directions to his quarters

1

[D] Sure enough, Vara'l turned up at the relevant airlock following the PA notification and proceeded to make his way onboard the Eventide. Having grabbed his away mission go bag on the way, Vara'l moved with a sure purpose as he went, a slight smile plastered on his features as he affected his normal calm expression and masked how he might have happened to actually feel.

Ensign Tennibrook Balmossie, phaser specialist fresh out of the Academy, had spent the last two or three weeks on Starbase 777 doing fairly menial but important tasks like calibrating the armory's phasers and doing practice drills in case the starbase was attacked. Along the way, she'd met a few of her crewmates. Upon hearing the PA announcement, she packed a bag of essentials, and rushed down to the airlock to board the Eventide.

Oh, you didn’t have to tell Lisa twice. A distress call? Of course Lisa would be here. Lisa was a seasoned officer and the perfect person to help in a time like this. She had spent six years aboard a rapid response ship- dealing with distress calls all the time. Lisa was cool under pressure and was definitely willing to rise to the situation right now. Lisa didn’t have to mask any actual expression. She was just like this normally, unfazed by most things, toughened up by her time in Starfleet and with the scars to prove it.

[D] Senang hadn't been busy, so when the request for officers to report to the Eventide was sent out, he quickly made his way to the airlock as instructed. He nodded at Vara'l, recognising his commanding officer from his file, before standing to the side, tapping his leg as he waited for further instructions.

Gregor quickly arrived to the designated area after he had gotten the PA notification like so many others had. It had been quite some time since he had dealt with a distress call, he was quite new to Starbase 777 and his urge to get on a ship again seemed to have reappeared the moment he got the PA notification. And his years of service as an Engineer would certainly be of more use here than dealing with regular tasks that almost any Engineer could or should be able to do.

A little hesitant, but mostly curious, Mirrim showed up in the airlock. The away missions she’d been on so far in her time in Starfleet were limited, but she felt that she could probably be helpful here and had been a little bored lately. Carrying a bag that she'd thrown a first response kit into (Yes she knew the ship had those, but better to be too careful and all that.), she just stopped in the vague vicinity of where people seemed to be gathering and quickly bound her hair up in a bun that'd keep them out of her face.

Sadhbh exited the turbolift and strode out, the picture of authority she stood tall and held an authoritative yet relaxed posture, she hoped her body language would keep everyone calm and professional. "Alright folks, grab your gear and load up we don't have all day here." Sadhbh said as she strode toward the Eventide's airlock.

Vara stepped into the room dressed in her black uniform as she rolled her shoulders. Yawning as she got ready to head into the ship.

Having spotted the Lieutenant as he moved past, Vara'l smoothly turned as he walked and nodded back to them as he settled into a at ease position as he himself waited to see what was going to occur. A wait that happened to not be too long in length as, as the commander arrived, Vara'l first adopted an at attention stance before he proceeded to follow the commander toward the airlock.

Lisa grabbed the gear she might need and also headed toward the airlock. She was still calm and composed, ready for whatever this missing might throw at her.

Copia exited the turbolift, looking around at all of the new and unfamiliar - and some familiar - faces! She was just as excited to meet new people as being on the mission itself! "Aye, sir," Copia replied to Sadhbh, just catching what she was saying as Copia stepped out of the turbolift. Copia grabbed her gear and made sure it was all packed neatly, ready for the mission. PADD and gear in hand, and flower in hair from Rilek, Copia headed toward the airlock.

[D] Hearing the announcement, he made it way to the airlock from wherever he was, his uniform neat and his hair in a similar bun. He had a first aid kit full of hypos and other emergency supplies just in case it was needed, as well as the regular gadgets - a phaser, a tricorder, etc. It was all in a little square messenger bag, surprisingly compact. It wasn't any fancy medical equipment you'd need to be an EMT to use - just stuff for emergencies that most people were taught to use in the academy, but when he wasn't doing anything diplomatic, he'd like to have some other small way to be useful. Hearing Sadhbh's words, he said, "Yessir. Off we go, everyone!" Then made his way into the Eventide.

Gregor grabbed his repair kit that he always had with him during shift and then proceeded to head towards the airlock, he was as calm as ever and of course still cheerfully and quietly humming the tune of the song, he wouldn't dare to sing it out loud not when there was a group of people nearby.

“Oh okay we’re going now.” Vara said as she walked into the ship with a small yawn.

As tempted as Allan was to walk in the airlock and call for the #EngieSquad again, he realized that this was not one of the times where they lounged about before boarding, and they were just straight up boarding, so - that he did.

Senang followed after the others, watching quietly as everyone arrived, and boarding once most others had done the same. He preferred keeping track of the people around him, making sure everyone was looked after and kept safe. That had been his priority since coming back to Starfleet, and it had served him well so far. He nodded as Allan passed by him, and followed after the ACEO.

[D] Having heard the alert for the distress call Quinn had made their way to the airlock sans labcoat and whatever the opposite of sans is medkit. Sound dampening earplugs in, they felt little need to socialise, and as such made their way aboard in silence.

Coming off of a trasport from Mol'Rihan, Xuan stepped through the airlock onto the station. They had gotten themself all worked up over this trip only to find the process of coming aboard the station to be much simpler than what they had imagined in their mind. Even though it was highly unlikey, Xuan pictured some very burly security officer carefully inspecting their data and suplexing them if they spoke out of line. Of course none of that happened, Xuan was simply just ✨ anxious ✨ . They received a total of 0 looks so far and had been suplexed 0 times. Well, that was a good start. Xuan glanced at a couple of families who were reuniting and at some merchants who were chatting with what they could only assume were OPS officers. Xuan felt less out of place with their gold uniform. What they did notice is everyone was somehow... a little shorter and the chatter from others was all blurring together, it felt like they were trying to walk through a cloud of noise.

The burly security officer had in fact been behind them all along. Farrah had taken a bit of a roundabout way to the station, as it had been the fastest even if perhaps not the most efficient. She only took with her what she could carry, though, which was a lot. She walked behind a Romulan around her own height, one of the few. She didn't particularly want to disturb them, but she was also used to a faster pace than this. Something she'd had to learn at the Academy, as both her Arabic mother and French father were... ils se promènent, rather than marchent, to put it simply, and that was something that had carried over to her that had been a tough habit to break. As a result, though, she now tended to stick to that speed; switching was difficult. "Excuse me," she asked the Romulan in her most polite French, "could you walk a bit faster? At least until we're out of the crowd?" No matter what she tried, the bluntness never left her. She didn't usually try very hard though, as not getting to the point had never made much sense to her. She did usually make an attempt to soften her words, in order not to scare people off, but it rarely actually fully cushioned her communication style.

Xuan did not even pick up that someone was talking to them before the voice got a little louder and they-- contrary to the stranger's request, stopped dead in their tracks. What language was this person speaking? Xuan thought as they looked at the person as if she had three heads. It then occured to them that they did not have their UT on, which was why they thought this stranger was speaking in tongues. Xuan quickly switched it on, but by that point they had missed the majority of what the person was saying. "Sorry, can you repeat that? I didn't quite hear you," They asked with an equally polite tone. Finally, someone as tall as them! Xuan was not used to towering over people like this and it made them feel quite awkward. Ironically Xuan's height was mostly from their Trill father, their Romulan mother was actually on the shorter end, even for humanoids, if one could believe that. Xuan stared right back at the stranger's blue eyes with their pitch black Elachi ones.

Farrah wasn't exactly unused to being stared at, the blue markings on her face marking her as clearly nonhuman despite everything else about her looking very human. That, and her very tall and broad frame, left people confused regularly. So when the Romulan- correction, Romulan-Trill- looked at her strangely, it was hardly a new experience. And then, when they turned their UT on, she understood that they weren't, in fact, looking at her strangely for her looks, but instead for the language she spoke. She didn't have a great grasp of Rihannsu, so she wouldn't try. French seemed to be a viable option now, though. "Please walk a bit faster. I would prefer to set these down somewhere I will not risk anyone's feet," she said, nodding down to her suitcases, which were large and, despite the relative ease with which Farrah was carrying them, pretty heavy. She needed to set them down in order to look at a map, and she needed to look at a map to know where she actually needed to go to drop them off before changing into her uniform and reporting for duty. Her transit had been fairly long, all things considered, and she was expected to report soon.

Xuan wished they spoke more languages, but linguistics was not where their skills were. Perhaps because linguistics did not have a lot of tangible results, with medicine they could see people get better or with ballet or fencing they could see the results. Anyhow, with the UT it wasn't necessary to learn every language, not that anyone ever could. Xuan caught sight of the security officer's suitcases she was carrying and realised they had made a mistake stopping in the middle of the crowd. Without another word Xuan nodded in acknowledgement and shuffled forward so they were out of the crowd. Xuan was now wishing they had been suplexed instead, because felt bad for already inconveniencing someone else. They remembered their briefing before the exchange about how they were to represent the Republic and to make sure to listen to others. "I apologise for stopping, I can help you with your bags," Xuan offered, not that they thought the other officer needed it considering her build looked stronger than their own. "I see an open area over there," Xuan pointed towards a wall off to the side where no one else was standing.

"You are too kind, but there is no need. I was built to carry heavy things. I do, however, need to look at a map." Farrah moved where Xuan was pointing with ease, her large frame making it so people tended to move out of her way. This was another perk of her appearance, and one she enjoyed taking advantage of. Things did usually end up going smoother if she vaguely intimidated the people around her just a little bit. She didn't mind. She set her suitcases down easily when it was safe to do so. Then, she immediately procured a small PADD from her pocket, to look at the map to see where she needed to go. Then, she looked back at Xuan. "Do you need to check where you need to go? I have a map of the station here, with the way to the crew quarters highlighted." She figured this new person was probably also a new officer on the station, and they'd probably need to go to their quarters at some point.

Hearing the other's choice of wording, Xuan deduced she was probably an android or some other artificial being. It made sense why she could move with such ease and Xuan was mentally kicking themself for thinking they had just met a very buff woman. Regardless, they were still very impressed. They did wonder what the face markings meant though if not tattoos. Xuan was aware that face tattoos had different meanings in different cultures, maybe they'd find out what significance they held for the security officer. They stood beside the android off to the side. "Oh, I already know where I am going," Xuan had meticulously planned out the route in their head and even did a virtual tour of the station to ensure they would be on track to their quarters. "I am an otorhinolaryngologist so medical, and you?" Xuan said the word easily in Rihannsu which was even crazier than the standard translation if one could believe it.

"Smart," Farrah commented when they confirmed they knew where they were going. Then, she looked up from her PADD, and squinted her eyes as if processing something strange. "I don't know that word," she admitted. "I am a security officer myself. My sister is a medical officer though, she specialised in thoracic surgery. Heart and lungs and things like that. I never had the brain for it." Farrah may have hinted at the fact that she was in fact an artificial lifeform, but she did neglect to mention that she technically didn't have a brain, not in the traditional sense. It didn't make her statement untrue, though; she truly had never had a gift for the sciences the way Ayah did. She was flawed in ways her sister wasn't, and vice versa; it would make them boring, their mother used to say, if they were the platonic ideals of what people should be.

"Ears, nose, and throat. Essentially anything having to do with the head and neck," Xuan explained with a smile. Even Romualns looked at them funny when they said the word, it was not a specialty a lot of people thought about, it was usually hearts or brains or bones. "I have worked with thoracic surgeons before, there is a lot of overlap between the two fields," Xuan told her, surprised to hear that her sister was a medical officer. So were they both created at the same time or something? Or maybe Xuan's earlier theory of the security officer being an android was wrong. "Where are you transfering from? And my name is Xuan Nhat, two word first name, it was my father's decision," As if Romulans didn't already have a million names.

Farrah paid attention as Xuan spoke of their specialty, and tried to commit the information to memory, as she usually did with Ayah too. She didn't tend to retain too much of what Ayah told her, but figured she could probably commit "otorhinolaryngologist" to memory, if only to impress her sister with the big words she knew. "Ah, that makes sense. I don't know much about the medical sciences, or any sciences for that matter, but I appreciate your work, even if I will never need your services. Not that I know anything about engineering, either, to be honest." Whatever Farrah did know was a mystery. At least it was clear now that she was an android? To Farrah this fact was as obvious as anything, from the fact that her breathing was solely to drive air through her artificial vocal chords to the glowing blue spots and stripes all over her everywhere, so she tended to forget that it wasn't something people were inclined to assume about others. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was raised better than this, I promise; I'm just distracted. I am," she paused for a second, debating whether or not to rattle off her full name as she usually did, or just sticking to Farrah. The decision was fairly easy though, as Xuan had only listed their given name too. "Farrah, and I just transferred from the USS Santiago." (edited)

So this individual was an Android, Xuan was right! No that it was very hard to figure out, but Xuan was someone who always second guessed themself. That would also make Farrah the second Android security officer they remembered from the roster. Xuan was a person who wanted to know everything about anything so of course they were going to go through the entire roster beforehand to see who they would be working with. They were going to be in a new environment so it was important to try and make friends with people so they wouldn't be too lost. "I hear our chief engineer is an android so I think you are in good hands, medical wise," Xuan stated, although they assumed Farrah probably already checked in with engineering or at the very least engineering knew about her. "It's alright, I will admit this is my first time outside of Romulan space aside from my early childhood. I don't mind the chatting," They reassured her. Some Romulans disliked casual conversation, but Xuan didn't mind it at all. "It's nice to meet you Farrah," Little did Xuan know, Farrah was also an incredibly long name haver. "Oh, a ship, was it nice? I hear Starfleet ships are a lot less... dank? Than Romulan ones. I think that's the word," Xuan had studied a few things in Standard before coming on this exchange but was clearly not the expert on the hip slang.

"Very true, that's relieving at least. My last posting had no roboticists, so I had to tell people what to do whenever I had diagnostics run. They're very lucky I didn't malfunction at all." Farrah pocketed her PADD, now aware of where she had to go, at least sort of. Instead she turned to Xuan, wanting to converse a little longer before starting to move again. She enjoyed social interaction, far more than she enjoyed walking. She thought for a second about what "dank" could mean in this situation, as she only knew it as moist or humid, unpleasantly so. She didn't know if that was what Romulan ships were like, so she didn't correct Xuan. "It was fine, not much different from the first ship I was on, except for the crew size. The crew on the Santiago was kind, and I liked working with them. What was it like in Romulan space? I've never been outside of the Federation."

"Really? None at all? At least they were nice, but like imagine if a ship didn't have a single doctor," Xuan was surprised to hear that, but then again they supposed perhaps there were other engineers that had robotics-like specialties? Still, it would be like having a ship full of neurosurgeons expected to treat people for broken bones. "It seems like you're in good hands here, we have plenty of engineers," Xuan stated with a smile. They stretched their arms up and readjusted the golden cuff on their ear as they turned to see if the crowd had died down. A few ships had just left so the only people remaining were small groups of people chatting just like Xuan and Farrah were doing. "It's dangerous and that's probably why so many people either switch factions or do exchanges. In a way, it's a good thing for doctors because it seems like we only get the worst of the worst, but sometimes I just wanna do some ear cleanings or treat a snoring problem," Xuan laughed and shook their head. "I take it you know where you're going? I think we should be heading in the same direction if you wanna walk to the lifts."

"Well, there were engineers of course, so I wasn't left completely helpless. But nobody who'd been specifically trained to deal with complicated machinery like myself. It was fine, in the end." Farrah wasn't worried about it; she didn't need doctors, and had very little frame of reference for what any one doctor could and couldn't do. As far as she remembered, Ayah had to memorise a lot of anatomy for many different species that all didn't seem very specialised. She didn't know what her sister could and couldn't do. She listened to Xuan as they explained what Romulan space was like. Her knowledge of modern Romulan history was poor at best; she'd been alright at History, but current affairs and foreign relations were not her best subjects at the Academy. "I think I'll stay in the Federation for now, then. I hope you get to do some ear cleanings now that you're here, too," she said, before nodding and picking up her luggage as Xuan asked to go. "Lead the way!"

"I am glad to hear it was alright and I am sure you will have all the support you need here. I am also aware of another Android security officer, I haven't met them, but I noticed their name on the roster," Xuan stated, nodding slowly. They wondered what it was like being an android and not have to deal with the same ailments that affected organic beings. There were probably just as many android 'heath' issues though so maybe it wasn't much better than being organic. "I would advise it, but if you wanted to visit Mol'Rihan it's quite nice. There's not much danger there anymore," Xuan agreed with Farrah that it was probably best not to venture into Romulan space, at least, not too far from Mol'Rihan. "I do too, oddly enough. It's very satisfying," They stated, knowing very well they were probably in the minority of people who enjoyed just watching ear cleaning videos. Anyway, they watched Farrah pick up her luggage and then headed towards the lifts so they could get to their respective quarters!

1

Reporting for duty! Five was curious just what exactly the state of this ship would be, and just hoped everyone on board was doing okay in the meantime. He fiddled absentmindedly with his little tool box, thumbing over a cat sticker he'd put on it.

Lapan too walked in carrying his toolbox. His hair was thrown up in a haphazard bun that he'd forgotten to take down from when he was wrestling his son into clothes earlier today, but at least he was ready to go! "Oh, hi chief," he chirped (literally) at Five, noticing they were the first two to arrive.

Five flashed Lapan a bright smile and wave. "Hello, Lieutenant. I hope you're well— and I hope this crew is, too," he said, gesturing inside with a little jerk of his head in the general direction of the sealed airlock, waiting for them to be cleared for entry.

When she heard the announcement from the PA system, Maya grabbed her tool kits and rushed down to the airlock. the engineer re-adjusted her gloves as she arrived to the airlock and glanced around to see who else was there. "Hello peeps!" She greeted them with a light smile as she looked through her tools.

Lapan smiled back at Five, and then at Maya too, as he whistled another greeting, then shrugged. "I don't see medical officers yet, so I'm only gonna worry about the ship so far," he decided, chirping noncommittally.

The chief engineer walked onto the scene. Being half Romulan himself and quite well read in the latest Romulan ship specs, he was here to oversee and assist with whatever repairs needed to be done. "Jolan tru," He bowed his head, no smile, but he was happy to see so many people gathered.

"Hopefully it isn't anything too serious, but it did sound urgent though." Maya shrugged as she finished up inspecting her tools before she turned over to the chief engineer as he arrived to the Airlock. "Jolan tru, Commander." Maya greeted with a slight headbow.

Despite not being from neither Engineering nor Operations, when the alert rang out of a docking Romulan ship needing repairs Sodor sprang at the change to document Starfleet’s finest at work. Heading down to the designated airlock, Command red satchel over one shoulder and holocamera hanging at their front from a supportive harness, the relatively short Ferengi soon found themself in the right place, an excited grin on their face as they approached the others, overhearing the famous Romulan greeting as they did. “Jolan tru, how do you do?” The Holodocumenter greeted. “Oh, hey, that rhymed! I’m a poet and they aren’t even paying me to know it!”

Serin entered, glad for an opportunity to work his magic, and for others to dazzle him with theirs. Translation: he was excited to complete the ship repairs as a team. "We shall vanquish what ails her."

1

"Jolan tru. It did not rhyme?" Alizati turned his head at the Ferengi who approached them. The rhyme did not work the same in Rihannsu or Vulcan, which is what Alizati's UT was set to. "I am doing well, thank you. And yes, I hope the damage is not too bad," He said, responding to Maya. Alizati then turned to look at his fellow brother in blue hair and greeted with a ta'al. "Indeed. The personification of ships and technology in general is still beyond me, but I believe we shall succeed in assessing and tending to whatever damage the ship has," Alizati, a whole ass android, said.

While the people were gathering, the sounds of RRW Kinaen docking to the station could be heard.

Five perked up, attempting to get a closer look. "Yeah, for sure," he muttered thoughtlessly, listening to the CEO. His curiosity and concern was getting the better of him for the moment. "Vanquish the.. wait, what?" (edited)

“Oh, did it not? My bad!” Replied the Ferengi, chuckling sheepishly at the mistranslation on their part. “I must have mispronounced it in my head.” They added. Hearing the noises of the ship docking the excited little gremlin grin on Sodor’s face only grew, looking forward to what was to come. Taking ahold of their camera, they began tweaking a few setting last minute to make sure all was well and ready. “I should probably say, everyone here should completely ignore me unless you need to tell me to get out your way. I’m just here to document your fine work!” (edited)

Allan walked in, took a brief glance around the room, and then despite having heard the announcement very clearly, seemed surprised by the amount of yellow uniforms in the room. "Wait a sec," he said, edging just a slight bit closer to Five as he said it, "is this a room completely full of ducklings this time? Is there a special name for that?"

Lapan, who had a rather imaginative four year old at home, was completely on board, unlike his ACOO. "The demon of destruction shall be excised!" he proclaimed enthusiastically, lifting his toolbox.

6

"Bunch of quackers," Five shot back near-instantly, his expression softening. "But a group of ducks is called a flock, since they're birds, I think.."

"I'm a full-grown Swedish blue, thank you," he said, in response to Allan calling them all ducklings. "We'll cure the ship of her ills, is what I meant. Is there someone on the crew of the ship who could tell us more about what needs repairs, like a high arcanist - a chief engineer, I mean?" (edited)

High archanist? Did being ACOO make them a high archanist? He hoped so. That sounded sick as hell...

"Quackers!? Is that really-" he started to say, but then Five continued and his mouth formed a little o shape and he nodded in understanding. "Gotttt it, okay, flock... there isn't a special name just for ducks? I like quackers, but it sounds a bit too much like c-" he looked at Serin, and thought for a moment about what a Swedish blue duck would look like. "No clue what that is, but hell yeah, that you are. Also, does that make me like.. a less high arcanist?"

4

“Are there red ducks? Because if not I think I’m the odd one out. The gosling or whatever they’re called.” Sodor replied with a slight chuckle, listening in while tweaking their camera.

"The actor?" Allan said nearly immediately when he heard Sodor, looking towards the Ferengi and tilting his head at the camera. "Whoa, wait, is that - are we being - is this a documentary? A training film?"

Lapan didn't know what a high arcanist was, so he probably didn't qualify. Instead, he heard the word "duck" fly around a few times, and before he could stop it, he ticced. A loud QUACK left his mouth, followed by an embarrassed chirp as he smacked his free hand over his mouth.

7

7

7

7

6

He felt no need to explain what a Swedish blue is. From context clues you could probably figure out it was some breed of duck, but he didn't really care if people thought he was Swedish now. His colour scheme was close enough to the IKEA logo anyway. "You could be a high arcanist, and the chief over there -" He nodded to Alizati - "Could be the supreme high arcanist instead. All the other engineers here are just regular arcanists unless they smoke marijuana."

6

Five nodded a little to Lapan— it seemed involuntary, but they were now sealed in a pact of feathery yellow brotherhood, no backsies. If he had a nickel for every time someone quacked in an airlock..

5

7

Looking over as Allan reacted to their holocamera, neatly strapped to their body with a supporting harness, Command red satchel over one shoulder, the fairly short Ferengi responded with a grin. “Oh, hi! I’m a Holodocumenter so my job is to record what everyone else does here, which includes repairs to damaged Romulan ships! You don’t need to worry about me, I just want everyone to do their jobs and pretend I don’t exist!” They replied to the ACEO cheerfully. “I’m Sodor, by the way!”

So they were being filmed? He didn't remember signing a permission waiver for that. He whipped out a comb and made sure his ponytail was silky enough for the camera.

8

Kaylee had definitely been here the whole time. Definitely. Kaylee had a few of her tools and tried to prepare herself. She wasn't expecting to be much help though, this was a ship, and she fixed equipment, like...like tools, and padds, and...not ships?

At some point, the low hum of a docking ship has stopped, indicating the end of the procedure. After that, it didn't take long for the fifth airlock's doors to slide open, revealing the camo green and grey of the Romulan Republic uniforms. Judging by the looks of the RRW Kinaen crew that was present in the airlock, the Captain was not lying about their condition. The exiting Romulans and Remans seemed to be fine, if a little ruffled up, probably an aftermath of being tossed around a ship during the pursuit. Nothing a hypo and some good rest couldn't fix. The arranged repairs team earned some cautious and curious glances their way as the people passed them by, but no one stopped to engage in the conversation. No one, except for a comparatively short, round-faced Romulan, who beelined towards the yellow-striped Starfleet officers with all the excited awkwardness he could muster: "You're the repairs team, yes? Why do I have a feelin' I recognize some of ya?.."

7

"Jolan tru," Five greeted politely, parroting Alizati's greeting from earlier. His concern eased only slightly at the sight of the crew. At least nothing looked too serious.. "That's us, the repair team. I hope you all are doing alright.."

"So it is a documentary... Sodor, awesome, I'm Allan," he said, more subconsciously fixing his own hair when he saw Serin brush a comb through his ponytail. Just before he said something to Kaylee, his eyes trailed over to the airlock and - a crew, and- was that..? "Holy shit, J- Juler, right?!" He said with a grin at the man, and his face fell just a tad with the connection in his head that it was the Kinaen was the ship in 'pretty bad condition', remembering how it was the last time, her and her crew.. "Yeah, is - everything's okay...?"

As Maya gathered and prepped her tools, she also took a brief glance towards Sodor and just gave a subtle to the holocamera with a light smile before she turned back to the others. *"What happened? Looks like ya'll had a rough time." *Maya asked, both curious and concerned, as she observed the state of the exiting crew and tried to catch a glance of the interior of the docked vessel from where she was standing.

Ah, just the person he'd wanted to see. "Any chance of a damage report to let us best assist you with repairs?"

"Allan! Nice to meet you!" Sodor replied to the ACEO with a toothy grin. As soon as the airlock had opened Sodor immediately looked over, waiting for anything and everything to take pictures of. Of course, they weren't just going to take photos of some bedraggled Romulans, that wasn't polite. Instead they waited for something more interesting, or for the crew to get to work.

He turned his head towards Allan, brows furrowing as the head engineer racked his brain trying to remember just where has he seen this guy... until his face lit up and he straight up grinned: "Oh! Oh, you're the human that helped me fix the singularity core! I re'mber now," Juler also nodded towards Alizati, suddenly feeling much more relaxed around the somewhat familiar Starfleet faces. "Again, sorry for the spontaneous kidnapping, wasn't planned! But, uh, let's see..." Allan's concern received a somewhat dismissive wave of Juler's hand, the slightly Borg'd Romulan quick to reassure: "Oh, we're good, we knew this would've happen'd. Dunno how much I can talk about it, but we've had a rendezvous with some of our old acquaintances, if ya get what I mean. Busted their ass-- I mean, we got them apprehended, and that's what matters! But, yeah, the ship got messed up a lil'..." Juler hummed a little at Serin's question, dotting his points down by counting them on his fingers: "Let's see, what me an' my people didn't cover... most damage was gone to the wings but that's got' fixed... singularity core needs checking just in case there's stress damage, weapon firing systems received some damage as well... but, right now, the most important thing is getting all the systems back online, so we can reach the bigger issues."

8

The call having come through for the Romulan ship suddenly arriving had admittedly left Dagis a bit frazzled. Having been overseeing some very nice (in her opinion) upgrades to the mess hall's replicators, she had been on the exact opposite side of the starbase when the call had come through for a repair team. Having transferred supervision to another officer, the slightly shorter Ferengi had made her way to the airlock as quickly as possible, trying her best to not sound out of breath upon arrival. "Hello, sorry I'm late. I was quite literally on the other side of the starbase." She said, offering a sheepish smile to the duckling squad (plus Sodor) as she pulled her PADD out of her pocket.

"Yeah! That'd be me," Juler's grin was awfully contagious, coming to his own face quite easily and staying there as he lightly shook his head at the man's apology, and then he nodded with a slight tilt of the head when Juler mentioned a rendezvous with old acquaintances. Huh. There was immediate laughter from the redhead when Juler said the words 'busted their ass', though, trying hard not to focus on that as the chief enginner continued on to list the things needing attention. "Right, right, God- fuck yeah, honestly, get their asses, but ah- " he turned to look at the other engineers in the room, "singularity core seems kinda like the first step to check through, yeah? Might interfere with getting the other shit online if that's not in order."

"May I assist you? I can work with singularity cores - I've not has as much opportunity to handle them as I'd like, as the Federation uses warp cores, but I will treat her beating heart gently." Yeah, when it came to engineers anthropomorphising ships, he was no exception.

"First step? I can assure you that..." he then paused, a thoughtful look on his face as he stared off into the depths of the airlock he recently walked out of... only to shrug and nod, "Actually, yeah, yeah, you're probably right. Core's the first stop! I trusted ya folk once, might trust you a second time with it. In that case, uh... are we good to go inside?"

2

"I'd say so, yes." The Ferengi replied cheerfully, moving her way to the front of the pack slowly without barging past anyone. "Hello, Lieutenant Dagis, Chief Operations Officer." She quickly greeted. "Please lead the way. We'll do everything in our capabilities to get your ship as close to brand new as possible." The woman added.

Dagis received a polite nod and a smile: "Sure! Juler tr’Keirianh, head engineer. You can follow me." With that, the Romulan lead the Starfleet officers into #deleted-channel of Kinaen...

Lapan followed easily. He wasn't quite a warp core engineer, but he figured there'd probably be more than enough smaller repairs to be made that he could dedicate his time to. If they contacted 777 without issue, maybe not the comms systems, but he was a man of many talents! He could help fix.... stuff.

He followed Juler into #deleted-channel , gears in his brain turning. Excellent. The first step of his plan. The second step was to do such a good job with repairs his superiors were impressed. Eventually: promotion. It was all part of the long game to become the supreme high arcanist. Would he use this power for evil? Maybe. "My name is Serin-Eshi Ser Fah’Mohrs Ed Signor Seroth Seira Fandall Serin-De-Sieth. Nice to meet you." People sometimes asked him if the Fah'Mohrs part was a Romulan name.

4

With a friendly smile, Dagis followed the head engineer aboard the Kinaen and into its corridors, unfamiliar with Romulan technology but eager to make sure everything went smoothly.

With a grin, Sodor followed along with the group, camera at the ready, eyes peeled for any opportunities to document Starfleet's work helping their allies. Overhearing Serin's full name, the ever so slightly tallker of the two Ferengi couldn't help but think it was both quite impressive and a mouthful all the same.

Just a few minutes after the group headed into the belly of the bird to get to work, the junior lieutenant burst into the airlock in a hurry, his mechanical assistant clinging to his back like a koala. He had been held up with performing maintenance on his assistant and thus was not able to arrive as soon as the others. Scanning the room and realizing that he was seemingly alone, he let his assistant down onto the ground before pulling out his tricorder and performing scans of the docked warbird. When the scans came back with little standout information on the ship, he decided to exercise his authority a little and take a peek inside, his assistant staying outside in case anyone else arrived.

3

1

In and out, air entering and being expelled, as Rajan Quinn laid on the bed in her soon to be former quarters. The USS Shinano had been in the area and her soon to be former Captain had offered to see her off personally. A slight part of her was terrified: she had established a measure of normalcy in her life with her assignment on board the vessel that she had come to call home, but it seemed Starfleet had other ideas for her career. She just hoped that she could perform as well as she did. Her hands moved to remove her gloves as she hopped out of bed, as the PA chimed, before that ever familiar voice spoke. “All hands, we are nearing Starbase 777. Lieutenant Quinn, please report to docking.” She nodded, gently grabbing two slingover duffel bags as she exited her quarters. Pressing a hand to her combadge, she spoke with that usual tone the Shinano crew had grown accustomed to. That tone of relative calm, indifference. “Copy, Shinano. I’m on my way to docking now.” As the Excelsior II class Starship approached Starbase 777, the Bajoran Lieutenant smiled as she saw her mentor and perhaps closest friend: Captain Viviana Vantay, commanding officer of the Shinano. A Russian woman from Earth, who still retained her distinct accent. Sighing, she spoke. “Well, Captain, I suppose I will see you soon for those usual drinks.”

05:03

”I suppose so, Lieutenant Quinn. Try not to ruffle as many feathers as you did here. And remember: there are always people who will help you, and I’m not just referring to Tetra. I’m referring to..” She moved to gently gesture to Quinn’s ocular implant that replaced her left eye. The laser was off, but it was still feeding her brain information. Part of the various surgeries Quinn had undergone to heal herself. “I know, Captain, and I will do my best. Tetra’s still depending on me. I’ll be damned if I give up on her.” Both women shared a lasting hug as the airlock attached to the Starbase, and the corridor opened. Sighing, she nodded as she walked through. From home, into the unknown. She only hoped that her quarters had been prepared as she requested: no doubt whoever got her quarters was looking forward to having the alcove removed. Her boots left an audible sound of the hard metal against her steps as she stepped through. Behind her, two Ensigns she had been close to carried through the chest of her items that she'd packed up. Nodding to them as they departed, she sighed as she plopped herself down on her chest, a hand producing a PADD as she ran through her assignment details, as well as the research she'd done on her new post. Starbase 777, with attached ship USS Eventide. It wasn't an Excelsior II, but it certainly was a tough little ship. It almost reminded her of the Bajoran Interceptors she'd seen on her return trip home. Knowing full well she'd have to get to work, she stood up. Pocketing her PADD, she grabbed the chest, dragging it as she began her walk through towards where she thought her quarters would be.

Captain bread was leaving his post on the Eventide since he was done with his shift for the day. It was mostly routine work to make sure nothing crazy happened when the civilians had to save the day. Rai looked the same as he always did, beautiful mustard coloured Republic uniform and a full face of make up. Dark green eye shadow matched well with his freckles and hyperpigmentation. He had received a lot of compliments on his make up over his couple years in Starfleet and it was something he was proud of! His hair was quite long at this point, way past his shoulders and although he considered getting a trim, he thought the long hair made him look prettier than his short hair. He stepped through the airlock to see a Bajoran officer walking right in front of him and he thought she looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place where they had met, if they had met at all. Rai slowly walked up to her, unaware that at first glance it may have looked like he was creepily following her but he was curious! "Jolan tru, this... Is strange, but I feel like we have met," Rai began to consider perhaps this woman was the sister of someone he knew? Or just coincidentally had similar features to a person he had met in the past? Rai was extremely tall, well over a foot taller than the Bajoran tactical officer. Rai was a whole seven feet tall and very lorge.

Hearing the distinct sound and tone of a Romulan, or at least someone akin to a Vulcan, Quinn stopped her pace. Setting down her chest gently, she turned, the first thing the Captain could see was a distinctive Bajoran earring on the right ear lobe. Next, and perhaps more frighteningly, was the appearance of what seemed to be two Borg implants, one where her right eyebrow would normally be, the other on her right cheek. Turning, she offered a small, professional smile, as she spoke. Fully turned to face the Romulan Starfleet Captain, Rai could see the distinct ocular implant normally seen by Borg drones that covered her left eye. "You would not be the first person to say that to me, surprisingly, sir." Looking up to be able to fully face the Captain, she noted his physical stature, eyebrows, or what could be considered her eyebrow raising in surprise. Needless to say, she hadn't ever known Romulans to be this tall. However, as quickly as she had been taken aback, she recovered. Blinking for a moment to consider his statement, she realized the likely scenario: her resemblance to Rajan Tetra. "It's certainly possible that we've met before, Captain, in passing most likely." Gently, her right, black gloved hand extended forward, offering a handshake. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Rajan Quinn. Formerly assigned to the USS Shinano, but now assigned to Starbase 777. Weapons Specialist, former Guerilla, and as you can no doubt tell by the facial ornaments, formerly a Borg Drone. It's a pleasure."

Rai was unfazed by the Borg implants or really anything about the other officer. He immediately felt dumb for bringing up that he thought she looked similar. This wouldn't be the first time Rai had an awkward encounter, actually it was a miracle when his encounters weren't awkward. He laced his fingers together, looking down at the much shorter woman in front of him. He didn't return her smile, Rai was awkward with emotinos so to save himself even more embarrassment he kept his expression relaxed and professional. "Perhaps," He responded before realising she was extending a hand to him. Oh no, the dreaded handshake offer. Rai politely bowed his head. "Apologies, handshakes are a bit too intimate for my species. It is nice to meet you though, Quinn," Rai said, defaulting to her first name as he knew Bajorans did surname, then given name. Rai typically addressed people by their first names as was common amongst the crews of his former ships within the Navy. "Welcome aboard, and I think your facial ornaments are very pretty on you. Your earring is also pretty," Rai thought everyone on the base was attractive, for real! "Oh, interesting. One of my younger siblings was a former neiirh, they swapped bodies with one for a week or so. I assume the same happened to you?" Rai asked, having the most bread moments of bread moments. Here he was, thinking this nice Bajoran officer had once been a terran gorilla.

"That is quite all right. I don't think you'd want to grab my hand anyhow." She removed the glove, revealing Borg webbing along her hand. Gently slipping it back on, she exhaled as she looked around. Her demeanor shifted to a more indifferent, professional outlook, the standard since her liberation. "You honor me with the proper usage of my name, Captain. But to answer your question, it's presently not possible for me to switch places with my twin sister. As far as I know, she's lost somewhere, perhaps dead. It was the will of the Prophets that I be propelled forward 30 years in time to find her. I can only hope that I might be able to reunite with perhaps the only family I have left." She sighed, gently producing a photo of her and Tetra when they were children: before Quinn gave the nickname Dahkur meaning, and before her life took a turn for the worse. "You'll have to forgive me, Captain, I don't believe I caught your name. I don't suppose you are, in fact, my commanding officer that I'll be reporting to?" Shockingly, she hadn't researched everyone on Starbase 777: only the history of the station and the USS Eventide. That was enough to give her an idea of what she would be walking into. A diverse, vibrant crew, all with different stories. It would prove interesting, she remarked, but part of her still wasn't sure she was ready for this. Orders were orders, nonetheless. She'd do her duty, like she did as a Bajoran Militia officer. "I can presume, judging by your unique physical indicators, that you are either.. Vulcan or Romulan? You'll have to forgive me if I'm incorrect: I am a woman who's out of time and still trying to get used to this time."

"No no, that is not it at all," Rai suddenly felt bad for rejecting the handsake, He was frustrated that his culture considered such an act to be intimate. He was all for exploring new cultures and practices, but anything involving hands crossed his personal boundaries. Even if Rai was not Vulcanoid, he was uncomfortable with physical contact outside of trusted friends and family. "We have many liberated Borg on this station and I value the experiences and insights each person brings. As a cultural exchange starbase we support infinite diversity in infinite combinations," Rai told her, his voice soft and gentle. Rai naturally had a deep voice that sometimes felt like a soft rumble when he spoke in an empty room. The airlock was far from empty, but with their close proximity his voice could easily be heard. "We all have things that are unique to us, they are our charms. When it comes to implants or even facial differences," Rai pointed to his own hyperpigmentation, a giant patch of green that covered the entire left side of his face. "It's what makes you perfectly you," Rai said, repeating the very same words his mother said to him when he showed her his hyperpigmentation for the first time. He then turned his attention to the photo that Quinn presented to him. Two girls that he.. wait.. Rajan... Quinn... "Excuse me if this sounds odd, your sister, Rajan Tetra, is an anthropologist on this station. I am sorry to hear about the loss of your family, but Tetra is here," Rai wasn't entirely sure if he was breaking protocols or anything by saying that. Probably not since Quinn was sent from the past and clearly not planning on going back if she joined Starfleet. On top of that, the roster was public for all Starfleet officers, just putting in the name 'Rajan Tetra' would give her the anthropologist's file. divider

07:27

"My name is Riov Rai tr'Torre'vnau. Captain of the Eventide. You may just call me Rai. I prefer given names, and I am glad it seems Bajorans do too?" He assumed, considering Quinn said she was honoured to hear her name said correctly. "I am actually an exchange officer from the Romulan Republic," Rai stated proudly. "I am coming up to my two year anniversary serving on this exchange, and it has been extremely fulfilling. I have had some of the best experiences of my life here and met some amazing people," Rai said, actually smiling this time as he thought about his friends. "And yes, I am fully Romulan. I am from a mixed family of Romulans and Remans though, my brother is half Reman," Rai told her. "As for your boss, I believe you will be reporting to Vara'l tr'Hara, another Romulan. He is a respectable man, I recommend reading his service file."

"I'm not particularly sure I'll have much to offer outside of my Bajoran heritage, Captain. I've never been an explorer: I've been a soldier, through and through. That is how I've lived, and I've not really an intention of changing that any time soon. What is unique to me is experience: the way we all choose to live our lives." Her hands moved to clasp behind her back, her usual posture whenever she was not in need of using her hands. It was habit, but it was a good habit, she convinced herself. In contrast to Rai's deep voice, Quinn spoke often with a more higher pitch in her voice, though nowhere that would cause discomfort. Her pronunciations were often blurred, with her Rs usually being dropped. There was significant potential behind her voice to be louder, but she often restrained herself. Nonetheless, her world, and train of thought, would come to a screeching halt at the mention of her sister. The notion that her sister was alive, and present on the station caused her to stumble back, right back onto the chest. The air escaped her lungs, leaving her gasping for a moment as her hands came to rest on her knees. "Tetra's alive? And she's here, on board? I..." She stopped to wipe a tear from her right eye before she spoke. "I didn't know. I chose not to do my usual research before I came on board. I figured it wouldn't be a huge loss, but.."

08:32

It took her two minutes to collect herself and recover from her temporary break in the usual outlook and demeanor. Taking a deep breath and temporarily expelling her emotions, she stood. Her eye opened with a renewed purpose behind it, as she spoke. "I see. I'll have to find her as soon as I've settled in. To answer your question, Captain Rai, most Bajorans will accept the altering of their given names in order to assimilate. My family raised my sister and I to not conform to such. Proper Bajoran naming culture has the family name first, given name second. I will certainly take steps to make sure this isn't a problem with my colleagues and superiors, but to differentiate, it is acceptable to call me Lieutenant Quinn. Especially since there are two Rajans on board." Hearing of her boss being a Romulan, she nodded, making a mental note. She would certainly read all of the service files she needed to in order to do her job. It would take a lot of time, but she had time, especially with her sister being here. There'd be time for everything to be settled. "Of course, Captain. I'll definitely make sure to read his service file. I can only imagine every officer will read my file in order to understand the kind of officer I am. I just hope there will not be assumptions made too early."

"You and me both. Before transferring I was also in a similar position. I had never travelled outside of Romulan space," Rai told Quinn in his gentle and much slower cadence. Rai was someone who believed in taking things slowly to ensure he was doing everything right. He was a perfectionist at heart and often struggled with analysis paralysis, which was evident in the way he choice his words., "Everyone on this station is extremely kind and I think you will be pleasantly surprised," Rai reassured Quinn, hoping that she'd meet up with some of the other liberated Borg onboard and see how much diversity there was, even amongst liberated Borg. "Ah I should also mention, your boss. Vara'l, is also liberated Borg," Rai said, the detail nearly slipping his bread-filled mind. Rai wondered if he should have told Quinn about Tetra. She had been convinced she was dead or something, right? Maybe Rai wasn't the best messanger. A flurry of self doubt filled his mind before the Bajoran woman spoke again. "That is fine, I can call you Lieutenant Quinn. I understand being here with your sibling. I am thankful I do not share a surname with my sister, but my brother shares the Torre'vnau name," Rai stated, thinking how dreadful he would have been had he been a Khellian. Nothing against Rilek, but the Khellian house as a whole had been nothing but hostile towards Rai since he escaped the womb. divider

"We have a lot of people onboard, I do not think everyone will read your file, but I am sure many people will be curious. It sounds like you have had quite the bizarre adventure. Quinn's bizarre adventure," Rai said, unaware he was making a reference to a terran TV show. "And I am unsure what people would assume. If anything, I think people would be interested in hearing about your experiences. We have androids, Klingons, Vorta, Delta Quadrant species, we are a very diverse base and very welcoming. I assume you would like to find your sister now? I a

09:03

m unsure her shift pattern as my duties are focused to the Eventide, but I am sure you can message her or you can check out the stationwide chatroom. All officers and civilians have access to it."

"Captain, I mean no disrespect, but you would have a lot to offer. There is so much that Starfleet doesn't know, or quite understand about Romulan culture. Even I understand very little, but that is to be expected: the time I lived, the Romulan Star Empire was still an entity, and now I'm grappling with the fact I won't have to worry about entities like the Obsidian Order trying to kill the notorious Dahkur." She stopped for a moment, considering that Rai might not know what the Obsidian Order is. Trying to come up with a simple explanation, she stammered for a moment. "The Obsidian Order is, or was, Cardassia's intelligence branch. As for the people, I'm sure, but I've never been exactly.. one for getting too close to people. Life experiences, I imagine you can gather as to what I mean." Discussing her time in the Resistance wasn't something on the table just yet. Especially when she barely knew Rai, and as a result, didn't see much gain, or reason, to sharing one of the most trying times of her life. "Captain, I'm aware that Quinn's Bizarre Adventure is a reference, but for the future, Bajorans aren't Terrans. You might be surprised to find we're drastically different cultures. And.. yes, I'll find my sister shortly. I owe her that much, but I don't think she's going to be happy to see me boasting Borg implants. I can only imagine she might have thought me a drone still." She sighed, recalling her time getting those implants mostly removed. It wasn't a fun time, but then again, three quarters of her life classified as "not fun." "If there's no other questions I can answer, or nothing else you would wish to discuss, Captain, I'll take my leave. If you could just point me in the direction of the living quarters? This Starbase, unfortunately for me, isn't the Shinano. I imagine finding my sister won't be too difficult: I do share her face in many regards, so..."

"Thank you, I am flattered you think so. To be honest, when I transferred here, I felt very behind compared to my colleagues. I have lived a short four decades, but there is still so much of the universe I have never seen. I learned so many things in just two years, like how to participate in a street fight, how to do the worm, don't lick random ice sculptures, there are too many to count," Rai said, counting the things on his fingers as he listed them off. Quite an odd list of things to learn, but Rai was taking the 'social learning' aspect of his exchange very seriously! Anyone could learn about how Starfleet worked by reading logs or history books, but learning the culture and how people interacted was something that only first hand experience could teach. He nodded slowly when Quinn explained the Obsidian Order. "I understand. If I recall, we do have a Cardassian Defense force here, he is a very innovative guy," Rai said, remembering the guy from his younger brother's wedding. He knew nothing else aside from the dude liked bayblades, clearly, and was very funny! "I do not know Bajoran history extensively, but I am familiar with the pivotal parts of your people's history. We have a multi-faith temple on the starbase, I attended a Bajoran service and it was very calming," Rai stated plainly. (edited)

14:03

"I am confused, I know that Bajorans are not terrans, did I say something to imply that?" Rai was now questioning everything he had ever learned ever. Maybe he could ask Solait? What did he say that implied Bajorans were similar to humans or any other species? This was exactly what Solait had predicted would happen to him. Rai could deal with the ice sculpture thing because that was specifically a him problem, but he hadn't been speaking to this tactical officer for even five minutes and already she was telling him 'you might be surprised we have drastically different cultures'. Rai was far from being Mr. Intergalactic, but he liked to think he understood basic cultural sensitivities. Rai's body tensed up and his eyes darted towards the ground and then to the side before looking back at Quinn. He was going to push his thoughts of self doubt and embarrassment away for the time being. "I think she will be glad to see you are alive, implants and all. Your quarters will be on the crew quarters deck, just one deck below. The turbolifts are down that corridor," Rai said, gesturing with his whole arm. "And if you and your sister do decide you want to live together, you can always put in a request with OPS. It was nice to meet you, Lieutenant Quinn. Jolan tru," Rai bowed his head and headed off on his way, probably to tell Solait (and Allan) they can collect their bets on how long it would take for him to unsuspectingly commit a faux pas and insult someone. (edited)

1

Lun quickly rushed out of the airlock and onto the base. He was wearing tha typical Romulan civilian outfit as to try and blend in with the rest of the travellers on his Mol'Rihan transport. Lun's blue hair stuck out though, along with his undeniable green Kota eyes. He whipped out his PADD and sent a quick message in hopes that his 'brother' would come pick him up.

3

And here Alizati was to meet his brother who did not give him any warning aside from a vague message about seeking asylum. Either way, Lun was here as a visitor and Alizati had no intention of helping him seek asylum as he did not see any benefit considering Lun was Romulan and the Republic were allies of the Federation. Asylum was only for people who were actively being persecuted by their homeworld and as far as he knew, the Republic had been treating Lun well. Lun was employed and was still working, righht? "Jolan tru. In the future I would like more of a warning," Alizati stated, looking neutral, yet his eyes did reflect his disappointment. He wasn't sure what trouble Lun was in, but he had no intentions of sheltering him from the law if that was the reason behind this inpromptu visit. "However, I believe this conversation is a private matter, please follow me," And with that, Alizati led Lun to his quarters.

1

The transporter ship finally docked; it had been in a holding pattern for over an hour due to unusually high visitor rates. It was a small vessel and had been considered low priority due to only carrying a few people. The airlock doors slid open, and a small group of people dithered out into the station. After some time, a Cardassian man stepped out of the airlock. He was part of Starfleet, particularly he was a science officer, denoted by the blue stripe that wrapped around his uniform. He seemed unkept and tired, standing with a slight hunch, and an emotionless expression. Tiliqua always struggled to sleep on transport ships, something about the way starships moved messed with his head. He sighed and looked around the corridor trying to make heads and tails for where he was, as he tried memorising the station layout on the long trip over. “Brilliant, just brilliant.” He muttered under his breath. Looking down at his duffle bag that was slung from his shoulder, he began digging through it and pulled out a PADD. He fidgeted with it, trying to pull a map up. He became quickly frustrated, gritting his teeth and letting out a frustrated sign. He took a few steps over to the wall and leaned on it, while still looking at the PADD in his hand. He gently placed his head against the wall, and his expression changed from anger to bitter annoyance.

Sakchai was hanging out at the airlock on his mandatory break from the command deck. Naturally, being a space traffic controller was a taxing job on the mind so they weren't permitted to work an entire shift at a single station. They typically worked on teams, with those who were 'off' doing other tasks like scanning the air space or what Sakchai was doing, coordinating with other officers to ensure things at the airlock were functioning smoothly so they could keep traffic moving. As Sakchai was trying to find the helmsman of the transport, he spotted another Cardassian who was not looking very good. He approached the stranger with his PADD in his hands, his seven fingers gently clicking against the back. "Jolan tru, are you alright?" Sakchai waved his little two-fingered hand at the scientist to get his attention.

He looked up at the man in the distance and took note of his rather strange appearance. His eyes moved from his uniform, to his strange hands, to his face. He could tell he wasn’t fully Cardassian; However, he couldn’t quite put his finger on what else he was. ‘Jolan tru,’ he thought to himself. Romulan, a Romulan saying he had heard before. That must be the other half he concluded. Up close Tiliqua was very tired-looking, and he was clearly annoyed already. He finally spoke, “I’ve been better.” He straightened up and quickly combed his hand back with his hand. “I’ve been waiting for this stupid transport ship to land for over an hour! Ridiculous!” He crossed his arms. “Whoever is running this place is doing such a nasty job…” He trailed off with a little headshake of disapproval.

Sakchai blushed a little at the other's outburst of anger. Whether it was intentional or not, he did find a bit off fiery anger attractive. Sakchai remembered during his exchange officer briefing that one thing CDF officers should be weary about his flirting via arguing, however this guy was Cardassian so surely a few witty insults wouldn't hurt, right? And if he wasn't down, surely he'd understand what Sakchai was going for. Hoping he was not about to make the biggest faux pas of his life, Sakchai said, "Oh Mr. impatient are we? What, do you have a date or soemthing?" This guy was wearing a Starfleet uniform so he was in Starfleet, but surely he knew at least a little about Cardassian culture, right? He spoke the language and... it actually just hit Sakchai that he absolutely towered over this guy. Sakchai had gotten used to be a giant everywhere he went, but next to another Caradassian who was honestly normal sized, he looked real tall. Like Sakchai was a whole ass 40 cm taller than this guy sorta tall.

Tiliqua took a moment to analyse the situation. He liked the stranger's stark confidence and the way he quickly matched his own anger. It made him feel an immediate connection. It was quite attractive to him. He noticed the man's blushing which made him smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know!?” He fired back, “Why do you care? 'You looking for a date?” He chuckled very quietly to himself. “Or did no one teach you to mind your own business?” He hoped he wasn’t about to scare this stranger away. It hadn’t even been five minutes and he was already causing trouble. He was a bit intimidated by how much taller this guy was, but that wasn’t going to stop him. Intimidated or not, he was going to win wherever this argument was going. He did wonder if this guy knew how he was coming across. There was a chance that he’d never seen another Cardassian, or at least interacted with one. Maybe this was about to turn into the most awkward situation of his life; However, his sleep-deprived brain was talking before he could think things through. He only hoped this wasn’t going to end in a disciplinary meeting about cross-cultural communication on his first day.

The returned anger made Sakchai's pointy little ears twitch. So this guy was willing to play! How lovely, so Sakchai retorted, "Do I look like a guy who would need to look for a date," Sakchai spread his arms out to the side so this dude could get a good look at his get up. Cardassian uniform with the broad shoulders, tight trousers, and very cool looking boots. Honestly, Sakchai was far from being 'the rizzer', if anything people didn't want to date him because he was loud and had a big personality to match his tall height. "And if I was, trust me, I would not be talking to someone like you," Sakchai was trying hard not to giggle because he did think this dude was cute! Small, but cute! "And mind my own business? Well, sooooorry I was just doing my job as Space traffic controller to ensure everyone on your transport got here safely," Sakchai's blush grew deeper the more he spoke. Green blush, actually, because Sakchai was half Romulan and he had green blood!

2

Til’s smile grew wider and wider the more this guy spoke. His eyes wandered, taking in the man as he showed himself off. He was certainly interested, and happy to see his flirtations matched. The green blushing made him very happy, and he thought it was very pretty. In fact, he felt the same way but was able to hide it and keep up the act for longer. “Well… I must say, you certainly do look like you need a date.” He took in a deep breath and shook his head dramatically. “But since ‘someone like me…’” He spoke while gesturing quotation marks, “…Is just too good for you, I suppose you'll have to find someone more on your level.” He had a big mocking grin on his face. * “However, as you’re an officer of this station, it is your duty to show me to the nearest bar and buy me a drink to celebrate my arrival. Is it not? Good impressions matter after all. Wouldn’t want to let me get lost on my first day.” *He ordered as if he had any authority over this man. He was getting far too into this to back out now, so he decided to fully commit to charming this man. He was going for the world record for the quickest date set-up on the station.

1

"I--" Sakchai could not keep up the act much longer and he let out a few laughs and covered his face when the other said he looked like he needed a date. Sakchai did, in fact, need a date. "Oh you're mistaken, I think you mean you're not on my level, well anyway," Sakchai crossed his arms in an attempt to show anger, but Sakchai was honestly having so much fun and it showed. He couldn't understand how Cardassians could be completely straight faced the entire time when flirting. Maybe he was just young or Vulcanoid and had stronger emotions than normal, but he laughed a lot. "Oh what, I am supposed to be a tour guide now?" Sakchai lifted his two-fingered hand and clicked his fingernails together. "If you did want to go to a bar, there's a nice place in the nightlife and liesure section called Supernova bar. I'm working right now, sadly, but.... I suppppoooose if you happen to wander into there at 1700 hours tomorrow, there's a possibility I may be there with an open seat next to me, you know, just maybe," Sakchai said with a little glimmer in his light blue eyes, same colour as this guy's surprisingly! "And what's your name by the way? I can't believe I'm asking that, but I gotta put a name to such a stupid face. I'm Sakchai, Sakchai tr'Valdore, uh, Brekorr is my Cardassian name, but if you call me that, I'll drop kick you into the 69th century."

Tiliqua looked to the side when Sakchai laughed, it made him break character too, and he had to let out a little giggle. He looked back and spoke. “I suppose I can call you ‘Sakchai’ instead of ‘Dumbass.’” He thought both ‘Sakchai’ and ‘Brekorr’ were cute names, but he concluded it was about time to show a little respect and go along with what he liked to be called, and Til was very aware that this guy could absolutely dropkick him through time. “Im Tiliqua, Tiliqua Scincoides, the new Linguistics Officer.” He sounded very proud of himself. “And working? Doesn’t seem like it. Do you slack off around here often? ‘Just want to know so I know not to come here anymore of course.” He laughed again and began blushing slightly. He was too tired to keep up the act for much longer. He was flattered that Sakchai asked him out, so much so that it made him blush more just thinking about it. Unlike Sakchai’s blush, his was a light shade of pink. “Well anyway, If I just happen to remember, then I perhaps I could consider coming along. No promises.” Til was very happy that his plan had worked. He was going to be there despite his ambiguousness; Although, he realised he didn’t know where that bar was. He was sure he could find out between now and then, and if not, he would simply insist for that tour.

Sakchai was happy to see Tiliqua breaking character too, it made him feel less bad at being Cardassian. "Un... Unpleasure to meet you Tiliqua," Sakchai was still trying to flirt argue, but it was evident he had run out of insults. Maybe he'd replenish his supply the more he got to know Tiliqua. "Linguistics, coulda fooled me, you don't seem nearly smart enough for that," Sakchai laughed, bending over and slapping his knees for a good few seconds before standing up straight again. It was unclear how Sakchai got so tall, his sister was surprisingly normal sized, but she was fully Cardassian. "Oh I work a lot, I know I sit in a chait the whole time but without my, your stupid ass wouldn't even be on this station!" Sakchai clicked his fingers together and shook his head. "Well I do hope you don't show your face at the bar, but knowing you I would be surprised if you can find your way out of this airlock. Anyway, welcome and... Don't let the doors hit you on the way out, dumbass," Sakchai said with a cheeky little wink at the end of his sentence.

3

Bellona normally wasn't one to seem excessively angry or stiff. Granted, she was already pretty formal in her day-to-day life, especially with how long she normally spent on duty - but today, standing at the airlock in dress uniform, she looked like she were about to go into battle to the death - except, of course, she carried no weapon at her side. She glanced sideways to her right, wondering where the person supposed to join her was. Surely he couldn't need that much time to get ready?

It didn't take long for Paco to finally arrive to the airlock, still fixing himself and his dress uniform up as he approached Bellona with a warm smile on his lip. Although his usual work around 777 as an Anthropologist normally gives him a lot of exposure to various cultures around the Khitomer Alliance and beyond, it is a very rare occasion for Paco to participate in these kinds of diplomatic outreaches, let alone be the one personally welcoming and speaking to them about his field and advocacies for cultural preservation and exchange. "Hallo Lieutenant! It's been a while since we saw eachother during the Cultural Festival, huh?" Paco greeted Bellona as he stood next to her, straightening his uniform. "Sorry if I took long, I'm a bit nervous... This sort of thing is kind of rare for me, you know?"

The sight of the much shorter human arriving loosened Bellona's posture just a fraction - now she looked a bit more rock hard than steel hard, so to speak. "It will be one of several in your service. Expect more to come as you gain repute as a science officer - and anthropologist." She stated stiffly. Yep, Bellona clearly wasn't having a good time at all with this visit. She turned woodenly to face the airlock, almost as if she expected some kind of enemy to burst through the circular metal door and set itself upon them. "Ask all the questions you'd like. My mo- the Senator loves to talk - about herself or our people or our history." Bellona set her jaw. There almost seemed to be a 'the more you ask, the more she'll not talk to me' left unsaid there - interesting. "Do you have any questions or concerns before we proceed?"

"Is there anything I should know that would be considered... uhh offensive or insulting to..." To Paco, both as a general compliment and as a clear bit to her downfall, Bellona speaks very clearly, so it was quite easy for him to pick up on that slight moment on hesitation when she spoke. "Your mother?" When Paco finished that sentence, he turned to look at her with an inquisitive look. As interesting of a fun fact as that was, he could feel that it is likely it was probably a sensitive topic. "...You think... the Senator would like a fruit basket? I prepared a fruit basket. In most Earth cultures, it's symbolic of prosperity, health, and good fortune... and also a bottle of wine, 'cause I thought that would be nice."

Bellona blinked and glanced sideways at him. "I... suppose she would." She responded hesitantly. "And the wine would be a good gift, yes." Bellona suddenly found herself confronted with the reality that, despite having served so much longer than this young human man and attended dozens of other functions as a Starfleet officer, the one thing she'd neglected to do was to bring a bloody gift. This was a diplomatic meeting, for all intents and purposes, wasn't it? Protocol. Her mother was an elected senator. She would know this. The Magna Romani made a mental note to thank this short, cheerful human boy later, when all was said and done and her mother was out of earshot. "Now. Offensive? No... I don't think so. Nothing more than what would be considered offensive to a human." She added, absently, right before the airlock opened, and a well-dressed Magna Roman man with blond hair stepped through. "Lieutenant Juventus and lieutenant junior grade Umali, ma'am." He announced, as the airlock hissed open once again...

"...Gods save me." Bellona muttered to herself in Latin as the Senator herself stepped through the airlock, dressed in an elegant white dress in the traditional Magna Roman style. The resemblance between her and Bellona was striking - the two women were nearly indistinguishable if one decided to ignore the former's crow's feet, greying reddish hair and willowy yet elegant frame, in contrast to Bellona's cut yet feminine. "Thank you, Pontus." God, the senator even sounded almost like Bellona. She approached with her arms held open, particularly to poor Bellona, who seemed to have turned to stone in the space of three seconds. "Oh, my beautiful daughter! It is so good to see you after all these years. My, how much you have grown. Come. Give your mother a hug." She said.

Bellona looked so very much like she wanted to run away and hide. Or morph into a cloud of fists and fury. Or something. Yet, against every bit of her being that screamed at her not to do this, she remained woodenly still as the older woman embraced her anyway. "Senator Juventus. Welcome aboard." She stated, equally as woodenly. "How did you find-"

"I have my ways, my dear. And who is this?" The older, red-haired woman turned to look at Paco, studying him with what (at least) seemed to be genuine curiosity. Whether she'd not heard or simply ignored her staffer was unclear. Or maybe she just wanted Paco to introduce himself. Who knows? (edited)

When he actually saw the both of them standing side by side to eachother, there was a very obvious and understandable look of brief confusion as it was very very much made clear that the two of them practically look identical to one another. They could probably switch clothes and he wouldn't tell the difference... the fuck??? He knew, through basic genetics, that children look SIMILAR to their parents, but this was something of a completely different level! That was fascinating... and sort of creepy. Thank the prophets they aren't doing the simultaneous speaking thing. After a moment, he snapped out of it as the older woman approached him. "Mabuhay (Greetings and Long Life), Senator!" Paco greeted the senator with a warm smile as he put a hand on his chest and bowed slightly before he offered to shake her hand. He hoped the UT got the Mabuhay bit. "I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Paco Umali, one of the Anthropologists of the station, and I was assigned by Station Command to welcome you to Starbase 777, the heart of cultural exchange in the Khitomer Alliance." Paco said very warmly as he handed her the gift basket of fruits and wine. Filipino Hospitality numbah 1! "We in 777 are very honored to be the first destination of your diplomatic tour, and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to be with a fellow advocate for the arts and cultural preservation."

"Oh, how sweet of you." The senator clearly shot Bellona a sort of dirty look, fleetingly, as she accepted the basket of fruits and bottle of wine from Paco. "Advocate for cultural preservation, you say. We may have much to talk about, you and I." She said with a kind smile that certainly looked very much practised. Ah, yes. The hallmark of a classic politician: putting on the right face for the right situation, even if you don't feel that way. "We have ourselves a gift from Magna Roma, too. A mutual token of goodwill." She looked to the airlock, which hissed open once more...

"By the Gods." Bellona's eyes widened as two ops crewmen came shuffling through the door, carrying what appeared to be an artisanally crafted solid stone stele, at least a metre wide and a metre and a half tall, depicting the starbase floating in a sea of minuscule stars. The entire thing was polished till smooth. Another two crewmen rushed to help them as they passed Bellona, Paco and the senator, huffing and puffing all the way. "A stele that size-"

"Paltry change to the senate." Octavia stated, smirking as she watched the four crewmen disappear down the hallway. "You don't have to worry about compensation, dearest. A few hundred thousand denarii is a small price to pay for goodwill."

"O-Of course. Senator." Bellona cleared her throat and motioned to the hallways behind them. If she didn't swallow the giant ball of feelings in her throat and move things along, they'd all be here all day. "This way, please."

"By the Prophets..." The anthropologist muttered under his breath as he witnessed the OPS officers bring out the stele. He felt very grateful he took up the sciences instead of operations when he first enlisted into Starfleet; he still felt sort of bad though, that looked heavy. "I'm sure the Station Commander will be very pleased to receive this, Senator." Paco said with a warm smile, assuming that since he remembered that Mo had a snake ornament, racoons, and a cat-shaped furnishings around his office, the Captain would also be the type of person to be really into this. Paco was very much impressed by the workmanship put into making the stele. "Indeed there is so much to discuss, Senator. We would be delighted to show you around 777" Paco said with a genuine smile before he briefly turned towards Bellona with a nod. "Forgive me for being curious, but I have always wondered what life was like in Magna Roma. I haven't really gotten the opportunity to travel beyond the station." If Bellona was right about the Senator loving to talk about her people and history, then that seemed like a good starter to get things started. Plus he was actually curious to get her take on it.

"Oh, it's lovely really. Quite simple, and with a greater focus on tradition and the arts. Come. We can discuss it as we walk." Octavia smiled and shepherded the entire lot of them through the airlock and into the corridors beyond. Clearly she was quite excited indeed to get things moving along. Bellona was left to sigh, shake her head and follow along. She'd always known her mother to not like wasting time, and it was clear this time around too.

1

Through the airlock came -- Ellara! It had been about two years since she last visited the starbase far from home, but she was here! She was with a few other monks who would be helping her with the festivities. She was dressed in her dark purple and red robes with a small duffle bag of stuff for the party!

"Jolan tru. Welcome to Starbase 777. OPS has already set up the temple for you," Renakir greeted the nice renjen and bowed a full 90 degrees. He was not a very religious man, but he liked the work Bajoran faith leaders did. Just like Remans, Bajorans also suffered under an occupying force on their homeworld so he felt like he had a lot in common with them.

"Thank you Renakir. You are very kind. I am sorry Nalas was rude to you," Ellara told Renakir as he walked her to the lift.

"No no, not at all. He explained the situation and we're cool now. I know stress can make people say things they otherwise wouldn't say," Renakir responded, referring to how him and Nalas once got stuck in a turbolift and Nalas had a full on panic attack. Renakir was quite annoyed at the time, but later Nalas had reached out to explain he had claustrophobia and apologised for the harsh words he had said. Renakir was not an easily offended person (unless you said something completely out of line like joked about the destruction of his homeworld), so he understood.

1

Appearing at the airlock was Riov Raha. She was the first one to dismbark from the ship and she instructed one of the security officers accompanying her to tell the rest of the crew they were free to hang around the station. It wasn't uncommon for Republic ships to dock at 777, especially those bound for Federation locations. The RRW Benzar was one of those ships and they were heading to Vulcan to drop off some Romulan artifacts for research purposes. The Benzar was a smaller ship, a T'Liss retrofit in fact and even though it was small, it definitely turned heads. Raha had gotten quite a lot of compliments from space traffic controllers and helmsman alike that it was quite an honour to be flying such a legendary Romulan ship. The T'Liss graphic on the bottom was bright yellow, truly a beautiful ship!

And T'Sareth was there to meet her. He was dressed in the uniform he wore in his gallery, it was just a long apron with a dark t-shirt. "Jolan tru, ri'ranov," T'Sareth bowed a full 90 degrees to show his respect. "It is nice to see you again."

"Oh, Tolaris, it's nice to see you too. You don't need to be so formal with me," Raha put a hand on T'Sareth's shoulder and stepped closer to him. "You look well, I apologise for interrupting you at work. I could always go exploring and we can meet up again later?" Raha said, not quite sure why T'Sareth had told her to meet him in the middle of the day. She was hoping to meet up with T'Sareth's husband, Haru, and take the two out for dinner or something.

"I have yet to tell Haru about our connection," T'Sareth admitted, standing up straight, his expression stoic, but his anxieties were clear by the way he looked back at his former guardian.

"... I see," Raha frowned at the thought that T'Sareth was still hiding things from Haru. She didn't want to pressure the young Vulcan, but she also had the impression that she would be formally adopting T'Sareth (and Haru) into the Merrus house during her visit. Haru and Raha knew each other, so that wasn't the issue. The issue was Haru did not know that Raha had been T'Sareth's guardian when he was an infant. "When were you planning on telling him? You know I don't have a long time here," She stated, referring to her duties as a Republic officer with a task to complete.

"I am unsure... I will tell him before you leave though," T'Sareth looked away from Raha for a moment and sighed.

"I will be direct with you, Tolaris. I do not think you should hide things from your husband. You are Vulcan, but truth is something Romulans value. Often more than our very lives. I remember seeing you and Haru interact and I think it is unfair that he has shared his entire life with you and for 9 years you have yet to do the same," Raha was not someone to sugarcoat things or mince words, especially when it came to her own children. She had been equally frank with her nephews, the infamous Ehweia triplets. Imin in particular caused the most trouble, although the three of them made for quite a rowdy house. "You have my comms code. Stay well, jolan tru," And with that, Raha gave T'Sareth a stern look and walked away.

1

A transport docked, carrying some cargo and passengers to Starbase 777 from nearby Romulan Space. The airlock opened and people filed out, mostly minding their business and making their way to whatever destination was in their future. As the crowd parted, the silhouette of a tall, lean Vulcanoid appeared, clad from head to toe in a pink suit with a magenta buttoned shirt under the jacket, and a pink floral scarf tied around his neck. His chin-length black hair was slicked back and straight as a pin, and golden hoop earrings dangled from his Vulcanoid lobes. He was smiling, pearly white teeth glinting in the low light, and his deep green-gray skin tone was enhanced by all of the pink he was wearing. Xal had a large bag slung over one of their shoulders, also pink of course, and they dug their PADD out from the depths and quickly typed a message to an old friend. They figured he was probably already around, but it couldn't hurt to send a reminder that he was arriving. After he sent the PADD message he dropped the device back in his bag and paused, scanning the crowd for a familiar face.

It was only a matter of time before more of them would come to Starbase 777. There was also the undeniable possibility that perhaps it has happened already, the very real chance that a handful of them already dispersed through the station levels like stardust upon his call - but it's not something that you, dear reader, would ever come to know. So, currently, for the sake of simplicity, there were just the two of them. Rojin idled by the airlock, letting people pass him by until the buzz of a message prompted him to abandon the warm spot near the wall and move. Spotting Xal was not a hard task - trust a person who wanted to attract attention to do so masterfully. Something about bright coloration being a signal brain understands instinctively, he remembered a certain scientist say. "Are you sure that's enough pink?" is his greeting as soon as Rojin approaches the half-Cardassian, military grey a sudden stark contrast. "I almost didn't see you." Deadpan delivery and a pokerface, save for a slight curve of the corner of his mouth. Safe to say, the older Romulan was glad to see him.

2

2

It didn’t take long for Xal to spot the familiar silhouette appearing almost out of thin air, but really the anonymity of a crowd. It suited the older Romulan, Xal thought. Much like standing out suited himself! And he knew that if Rojin had wanted to take him by surprise it wouldn’t have been difficult. Thankfully, they were on the same side. The hybrid laughed happily at the playful jab. “Oh, darling, is there an optometrist on board? You might need glasses.” They said with a laugh and a short pause. “Oh yes, frames could suit your face nicely. Make you look even moodier.” They raised their eyebrow a bit and then burst out into another laugh. And then they took a step forward toward Rojin and opened their arms to hug him. “It’s been so long,” they said, squeezing him gently. “Too long. You’ll have to tell me how you’re really fairing over a drink one day in the near future you know.” He said softly and then let go, not wanting to suffocate Rojin. “Yes, we have so many things to discuss.”

2

Rojin made a sound best described as a short, deep huff. "I think in my case it's easier to poke the other eye out and replace it as well," came a dry response, as he briefly cocked his head to the scarred side. Despite that, his eyes were squinted, ever so slightly - indicative of amusement the Romulan was feeling. The invitation for a hug was reciprocated with a pull, his hands around their shoulders and back in a strong yet gentle motion that was familiar to many of the younger resistance fighters; the shepherd often was there to support them. Xal was shorter than him, yet seeing the Cardassian up-close reaching his nose level, while Jin still remembered the wide-eyed kid from over 20 years ago, was sobering in a "time has passed and so much shit has happened, yet here we are" way. "There's a good bar I know for that," he stated nonchalantly when they separated, briefly reaching up to squeeze Xal's shoulder like he usually did as a reassuring gesture. "In all seriousness, we do - though, with the amount to discuss and also, the things I need to tell you about this station... it might be drinks. Plural."

1

"No, no, no, no! We certainly can't have a universe without your dashing grey eye now can we dear? It would be a much dimmer place, what with the shine that remains just here," Xal said, looking up at the glimmer of amusement in the older man's eyes, and pointing a pink-manicured finger at Jin's eyes. Xal let Rojin wrap him in the familiar embrace, even after he'd let go of the taller Romulan. Emotion washed over him, one he'd felt many times over the years, one that reminded him of the strength of bonds forged on purpose, bonds forged in compassion and love and righteousness. Yes, things had certainly happened and they were both somehow still alive. What a life! "Oh? Really? Is it dark and moody?" He asked, another small giggle bubbling from his mouth. "You know how much I detest dark and moody," he said with a mock pout followed almost immediately by a smile. "Yes, I anticipate there is much to learn about this little city in the sky, as it were." He said with a nod. "You'll have to tell me everything."

His eyes... Rojin proceeded with a slow blink as they hugged. He remembered the day he was given the choice between an artificial implant, or regrowth - the latter a slow, complicated, even risky process, given how fickle and complex the lost organ was, a bundle of nerves directly connected to his brain... Rojin chose the artificial route, hating the idea of being confined to the medical bed any longer, and hating how absolutely vulnerable he felt when left half-blinded. He got used to it, eventually - though could never have it in the same grey as his living eye. It looked... too dead. Too lifeless. Xal was one of a few who saw him before and after the incident. And for all it's worth, he appreciated the way his people chose to be casual about this topic. He gave their shoulder a light pat: "Of course it's dark and moody, how else will people know it's a safe space to brood over a drink?.. Though, I must admit, my patrons on this station are everything I could wish for, behavior wise." He set out a path and started to move, slowly, keeping a pace to fall step-in-step with Xal as they made their way to turbolifts, "But the starbase itself is just a massive magnet for weird shit, so... you'll have to get used to that quickly. Not that I have to teach you how to do that."

4

It had been ten years since Rojin lost his eye. Xal was casual about it because, as devastating as it was, it snapped him out of an all-encompasing self-destructive streak that nearly got him killed. Xal had happened to move back to Romulan space and join the resistance because of Rojin that same year. And the result was months of watching Rojin slowly implode until one day he was in the hospital and Xal wasn't sure he would survive. Standing over his sleeping form in the Flotilla Medical Bay, Xal didn't care if Rojin had one eye or two. It was far more important to him that the man who had tried to save his mother's life, and who succeeded in saving Xal's and his father's, was alive. And that one day he could heal, Tal-Shiar be damned. He deserved it. In the present, Xal beamed at Rojin, taking in all of the older man's features. His face had grown a tad older, but his features were...softer. Xal passively wondered if the man had perhaps found some peace. It had also been quite some time since they'd been in the same place for any real length of time and Xal would enjoy every moment of it. "Of course, of course, why would your bar be anything other than broody?" They playfully rolled their eyes and wrapped an arm around Jin's back as they walked in step with him out of the docking area and into a new life aboard Starbase 777. "Oh, you know I live for an adventure!" Xal said, and they kept chatting and walking as the two made their way to some other place to settle in and catch up for however long it was a pair of old friends needed.

1

2