Just Another Day in ...

T'zark sat fuming in his quarters. His thoughts a turmoil of annoyed disappointment. The alarm he'd set on his communicator went off warning him of his duty shift starting in 5 minutes. Sighing he left his quarters and went down to the Hanger Flight control area, got vacc-suited up and reported to his duty station in work bee duty....

This had been his pattern of fuming self exile to his quarters or duty station for the past week. The recent disappointments and personal failures piling up that he would not ignore or forgive himself. All of them were ... in someway or another due to uncontrollable circumstances wholly out of his ability to change or have done differently...but still, he held himself to a higher standard of EXCELLENCE! Continued failure or just plain inability to show his fine qualities as a minor officer grated upon him and put him in a foul mood. Risa had been the final breaking point, so to speak, the death of a senior officer... regardless of the fact T'zark had been instrumental in retaking the Solace... Captain Pike's words of not even disappointment in him but self-justified disdain had stung his pride deeply.

Even after being cleared from medical with the understanding both he and H'suur had been drugged and completely controlled by 'the Androids' T'zark had not been given a single shift of duty anywhere important and it seemed as if Pike was going to indeed carry out his threat to transfer him, at least, to another ship.

T'zark began wondering if he was right for Starfleet at all. The inflexible, unrelenting, drone of 'by the book', 'don't get creative', 'you don't need to think ...just follow orders', was getting to him. It reminded him of the dogmatic Vulcan philosophies he endured year after year. The shame of failure brought back old memories of Vulcan and his troubled and tumultuous youth. One thing T'zark knew... he could not go back home in defeat! He'd written his letter of resignation of his commission with Starfleet but it remained unfiled on his room's data-padd still sitting on the table. Perhaps the Orion Starleague could use a good helmsman? But he did not want to abandon his friends H'suur, Liara, Soong, Selar... and even HER.

But his pride had been hurt, everywhere he went on ship it was the same - crewmen murmuring behind him ...forgetting he was quite capable of hearing them all laughing at H'suur's and his misfortune. It was intolerable!

So to his duty station, to the mess to grab a small tray, and back to his room were his route and the only amount of the ship he saw day after day as he awaited his transfer and resignation. Anger was not becoming, but it was what he felt with each day. Each day he meditated... strangely enough some of the Vulcan philosophies actually helped to calm him... T'zark decided no matter what he would not be defeated he would NOT return home in failure... if not Starfleet ...then somewhere else he would be triumphant... or die trying.

...and so another day of unrealized potential as T'zark made ready to move more parts and cargo in the workbee. Perhaps he should ask H'suur if his 'pirate' family might be interested in a helmsman, at least it would be more excitement than the insulting drudgery of the monotony of his skills being wasted on mundane tasks...

...'Confined to Quarters'.

H'suur's self-alotted 24 hours of frustration and anger were up. His ears weren't quite back up to full staff, and his tail still twitched now and then, but his black mood was gone, allowed to burn off in duty drills and in-quarter exercise. That, and silently cursing Pike to the infinite Caitian hells for cowardice and pettiness. But the timer had gone off, and H'suur had barely looked up from his PADD, buried in the paperwork of normal and extra duties.

Signing off on some minor bit of bureaucratic make-work, he turned to a document he'd been crafting off and on when his mood wasn't too sour. New clarity let him page through it, editing a word here and there, making sure it was as comprehensive as possible.

"...these androids are of a type unknown to the Solace's database (barring possible corruption), and their capability should not be underestimated. Fully resistant to stun effects, shielded against standard thermal damage, they should be engaged with Type 2 phasers at minimum, with the power settings in the upper 50% of the range. From our limited experience, a 60-75% setting seems adequate. This, however, presents problems, especially in shipboard or urban environments, which are the most likely in which to encounter these machines. I hesitate at the use of the term 'machine'. While they are mechanical, they can pass quite easily for humanoids through almost any examination, and Starfleet-standard sensors read them as Risan females. They are quite advanced technologically, and display a disturbing ability to utilize Federation computer systems from a distance..."

"...Mudd appeared as surprised as we were that the fight turned deadly so quickly. This did not fit with his previous MO of beaming Solace personnel down to the planet's surface. Had he been willing to kill from the outset, he could have easily had his androids do so from the moment they entered the ship with little resistance possible. The amount of initiative taken by the androids is unknown, and that fact should make and further investigation cautious; Starfleet should be on the lookout for this kind of infiltration..."

"...a further question remains: Why Solace? My conclusion is that we presented a near-perfect target: a half-shut-down ship with a skeleton crew, and two officers who fit their target profile. While it would be flattering to think that Ensign T'Zark and I were the specific targets of this, as was Solace herself, it presumes a level of conspiracy that does not follow. If he wanted Solace specifically, he gave up rather quickly. With two androids remaining, he could have given us much more of a fight. So, why Solace? His stated goal, selling the ship for parts, is plausible; a Starfleet vessel, parted out, would bring the possessor a very large amount of money. But the Solace, while not at full strength, was still not an easy target if money was the point. There were ships at Risa that would have been far easier to steal. Perhaps he needed an ERV, specifically - but for what purpose? There is nothing that Solace can do that properly fitted out civilian tug or rescue vessel cannot do - and Mudd would not have had to deal with determined Starfleet personnel. So what did Mudd want? Reviewing the comlogs, the only demand that Mudd made was for the command codes for the ship. Would these be useful for other Starfleet vessels? If so, what did he intend to do with the codes? And if not, what was he planning on doing with Solace?"

H'suur checks over the file once more, then sends it to select friends and colleagues, appending "Going to send this to Pike in lieu of grumpier measures. What am I missing?"

Grimacing at the last swig of cold coffee, he sighs. Maybe Markie could come by his quarters for a checkup, see if the pheromones had any lingering effects...

Liara stepped into the mess hall, PADD in her right hand, her left shoulder and arm in an brace, and sling. As she began to get in the chow line, the mess chief, waves her off. "Grab a seat Ensign Shran. I'll have your try brought out" he says with a smile. "Thanks Chief" says with a grin. Gingerly tucking her PADD into the sling supporting her injured arm, she grabs a cup, and pours herself something to drink before heading to the table, that has become the usually spot for her and her friends

Mealtime! It may be that he's supposed to take his meals in his quarters, but H'suur is in the mess hall nonetheless. He enters with laughter and a group of other security personnel, along with Ensign Ramart. A few slapped hands and farewells are given to his fellow redshirts, and a wink is reserved for Ramart - who rolls her eyes and shoos him off, her smile reserved for his swishing tail. Tray retrieved, a veggie stick of some odd provenance stuck cigar-like in the corner of his mouth, he saunters across the mess hall to take his place across from Liara. "Hey, cripple-chick," he purrs with a grin, happily adulterating his coffee with half-dozen spices from as many worlds. 'Moody H'suur' is apparently gone, with normal 'Jaunty H'suur' back in his proper place.

Liara looks up from her PADD. "Not today H'Suur please? I'm not in the mood, for your witty repartee. It's hard enough dealing with this pain, until they get the bio-beds fixed, and do the surgery" she says, a strained look on her face. A deep purple bruise, can be seen on the left side of her neck, disappearing beneath the collar of her uniform, and beads of sweat dot her brow. She's done a pretty good job of fooling everyone else around, that she is fine, but H'Suur knows her to well, and sees right through the facade. She is in a lot more pain than she is letting on.

T'zark enters the galley his shift of monotony ending he swings by the mess hall to grab his tray of food to take to his quarters.

Seeing his friends ... he hesitates to leave immediately, but it has been several days since the indecent with Mudd's "Angels" and he is concerned at the hurt look on Liara's face.

He decides to walk over though he does not take a seat...

"Liara, H'suur... how are you two doing?"

His tone is reserved but his interest in his friend's plight is obvious. Solemn and somewhat somber is his demeanor though he does manage to give them both a tired smile.

H'suur nods to Liara, watching her carefully over the rim of his mug. "Sure thing," he replies quietly, his cocksure grin replaced by a fainter, but warmer smile. As T'zark approaches, his grin broadens again as he replies before laying into his food. "Spec-tacular, T'zark. Have a seat, take a load off."

"Thank you" she says to H'Suur with a nod and a faint smile.
"Hi T'zark" she says , still trying to fool everyone she is fine. "I think I can honestly say, that I have never been worse." she says, rubbing at her eyes with her good hand. "I suppose it was worth it though. I mean somebody had save H'Suur from being shot by the evil robot woman right? I just need to come up with a less painful solution next time is all."

"Shot again," H'suur emphasizes, then pauses. "No, it was the one we destroyed that shot me, Eve." He winces a touch at the memory. "Y'know, I should suggest an addition to Academy curricula: By The Way, Beware of Female DeathBots. The bacalon radiation was enough, but those things...brrrr..." He shakes his head, tail given over to a moment of twitching.

Liara smirks. "Whatever pal, you still owe me. Andorian Ale will suffice as payment." One of the mess cooks walks over to the table with Liaras tray. "Hear ya go Ensign. We got some fresh Tuber Root from Risa. I hope I prepared it right." Liara smiles, inhaling the aroma of the dish "Mmmmm!" Her smile widens, as she takes a bite. "Perfect Jensen" she says between bites. "Thanks a bunch."

T'zark looks toward the door leading to the crew quarters... obviously he had no intention of staying.

"I'm sorry you both got injured but you both did a fine job... I'm sure you will both make fine officers. I just wanted to say hello before returning to my quarters."

Emony walks into the mess hall, grabs atrey of entirly random foods. She then walks over to the table she then says "Hey Liara, How are you?" in a very quiet voice. You see that she is making a conscience effort to speak slowly and clearly, as she walks over to Liara and sits at the vacant chair there. She gives an acknowledging nod to H'surr. She sees Liara's condition and says "Ouch. That looks like it really hurts. Why is everyone so tired all the time now? I get the physical exercise, that's exhausting, but the studying isn't hard at all. I enjoy it actually, spending hours and hours of learning things you never thought you would of had to. It is all just so interesting to the point that there are not enough hours in a standard day to learn and cross-train" She takes another look at H'surr and Liara, then starts eating very quickly.

Liara smiles as Emony sits down. "I'll live to fight another day I suppose. The pain is really messing with my sleep though so that's my excuse. Sure wish they'd finish that level 8 on the bio-beds. I gotta be the first person in history, to be looking forward to surgery" she says with a smirk. "And I did learn not to body check robo-women into plasma coils, so after surgery, I'll have a new study lesson to teach."

Emony stops eating, taking a last swallow before responding, looks up from her food, smiles sympathetically and says "I'll be sure to come. I wouldn't to miss out on you telling everyone how not to use flesh and bone against the securly fastened metal of a robot to shove them into plasma coils. I'm sure engineering and repair crew will be just as interested." Then immediatly starts into her food again.

The Caitian looks quizzically at T'zark, one ear twisted out to one side, the opposite eye squinted almost shut. "Huh?" He is distracted for a moment by Liara and Pren's conversation, interjecting, "Yeah, but it was a pretty cool explosion, though." Another grin appears. "And the 'not getting shot' part was kinda neat, too."

Liara rolls her chuckles. "I was kidding Emony. I think anyone who has seen me the last couple of days, has figured out on their own, that it's a bad idea." She pauses long enough, to get in a couple of bites of tuber root. "And believe me, the repair crews have let their feelings be known, about killing robots with their plasma coils."

Emony looks up from her food again, puases, nods, and looks down at her food. Her tray is now nearly entirly empty so she gets up, goes over to fill her tray back up and comes back with an assortment of entirely different foods. This time when she sits down she looks at H'suur. "Aren't you supposed to be in your quarters at all times except for when you're on duty?" she asks, giving him a quizzical look.

H'suur idly scratches at the side of his face, looking up at the ceiling for a bit. "Hmmm...good question..." Tugging at his short beard, he mulls this over - then breaks into a smile. "Maybe. Could just be on a meal break during duty."

Liara smiles. "I just figured you saw the updated duty roster, and wanted to grab a bit before covering my shift on the bridge." Entering several keys on her PADD, she slides the device across the table to H'Suur. "You two" ,she says indicating both H'Suur, and T'zark, "will be covering me while I'm out getting this mess that used to be a shoulder fixed. Basically it's 4 hours extra duty at the tactical station, and the training will do you both good. You're the back-up on this H'Suur, and I really need you to know the systems." Turning here gaze to T'zark, she continues. "And it'll do you good, to understand why I'm so nit-picky about how you handle the helm during combat sims T'zark. Kind of a "Walk a Mile in my Shoes" scenario. Chief Cavanaugh will give you the specifics when you report to the bridge for your shift, and expect the Captain to be there as well. I don't think he's left the bridge since Lt. Cmndr Cartwright died."

The ships intercom system blares to life with a single high pitched whistle. "Ensign Shran report to the medical bay. Ensign Shran report to the medical bay." Liara takes the last bit of her food, washes it down with her drink and stands. "Well that's my cue" she says with a grin. "I went out on a limb for you guys, so do me a favor, and give Chief Cavanaugh your "A-game" if you please." Turning to Emony, she smiles. "Keep these two out of trouble for me till I get back Emony." With that, she heads off to sickbay.

OOC Okay, somebody start a new thread

OOC: Sorry guys ...my interface with this site has been wonky... could not see any change or new posts...plus I speant all last week at Gencon...sorry fro leaving you hanging there...