USF PADD APRIL

Posted on Sat Apr 29th, 2023 @ 4:16pm by Commodore Mardel Shayron-Connor

7,569 words; about a 38 minute read

USF PADD
Editor: Mardel Shayron-Connor
Staff: Lt Jg Thea Queen

Fleet News: The AHA is working on possibly doing a fleet wide sim this summer. So if any of you have any ideas for a plot, please provide them to a member of the AHA, which means your hosting team, so we have a lot of ideas to choose from. This is your chance to add to experience we have all come to love called Simming or role playing.

SIM DATES/TIMES/AVAILIBILITIES:
SUNDAY:
USS Excelsior – 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT – Assistant Department Heads and other Officers.

MONDAY:
USS Columbia – 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT – Assistant Department heads and other Officers.
USS Aldrin – 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT – Assistant Department heads and other officers – Especially Science.

TUESDAY:
USS Roddenberry – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT – Assistant Department heads and other officers.
USS Hermes – 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT – Most departments opens, including XO.

WEDNESDAY:
None

THURSDAY:
USS Independence – 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT – Most departments open, including intelligence.

FRIDAY:
USS Penumbra – 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT – All Departments Open.

SATURDAY:
Starbase Everest – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT – All Departments open as well as Civilians.
USS Odyssey – 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT – All Departments open as well as Civilians.
Star Fleet Academy – 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT – All who want to be a Cadet as well as Professors.

SIM SUMMARIES:
USS Aldrin:
We have solved the problem on the planet where Doctor McCoy accidentally left a communicator. We set up a native of the planet to be the Godfather of the planet and gave him source material on civil and human rights to hopefully better integrate women into place of power on the planet.

Now we are headed to Starbase 395 to patrol the sectors around it. There might be a chance at a meeting with the Tamarians. But as reported, we are also having a pregnancy boom on the Aldrin and in some months, a population boom as babies are born. Makes for some interesting times.

Submitted by Commodore Mardel Shayron-Connor

USS Columbia:
With the return of the Excelsior, civilians who have been staying with us have been heading home. Negotiations with the Tsenkethi have taken an unfortunate turn after a suicide bomber sought to eliminate several government officials. With Commander Gar severely injured, Commander Waters has struggled to handle the situation. But with the assistance of Commodore Holden, the two hope they can conclude negotiations to everyone's satisfaction. Meanwhile, Lola, the spaceborn lifeform the Columbia has been protecting, has grown increasingly hungry and is struggling to understand the presence of the Excelsior.

Submitted by: Commander Waters

USS Excelsior:
The Excelsior has successfully completed its mission, in the alternate universe, dubbed the "M-5 Universe." On their return to their universe, they come to the aid of the USS Columbia, which is involved in a budding civil war, situation, in the Tzenkethi Coalition.

Respectfully submitted,
Commodore Michael Holden

USS Hermes:
No Report Received

USS Independence:
The Independence has found two, unexpected allies, in its battles with the M-5-controlled ships, threatening the Delta Quadrant. Three officers, from the USS Excelsior, have taken a slip-stream jump, to lend their "expertise" to the Indy's crew. Also, a ship, believed missing for the last two decades, has made its presence known, and has agreed to assist. This team must, now, locate and infiltrate three communications relays, in use by the M-5 network.

Respectfully submitted,
Commander Travis Cloud
Executive Officer

USS Odyssey:
The Odyssey had been assigned to carry an "Ark re-population" compliment of flora and fauna to the planet Vile I. To expedite the process, an attempt to use a Transwarp drive was used. However, when the Odyssey arrived at the far end of the Transwarp conduit, they arrived 125 years in the future. Several attempts were made to return to the correct time, with each attempt dividing the time disparity be 1/2, and an encounter with a different variant of the Odyssey.

During the last attempt to return to the correct time, the Odyssey had just witnessed a 2nd Odyssey (dubbed Odyssey II) emerge from the far end of the current Universe's worm hole, and, after the worm hole closed, it opened up again, but nothing occurred. Capt Craven, the Captain of the Odyssey II, had just hailed our Odyssey for the 2nd time, and was awaiting a response. Captain Calvin responded, at which point the Captain of the Odyssey II responded with "Yes, the USS Odyssey, on a mission to deliver supplies to Vile I." Capt Craven's response was "That is interesting, as I just picked up supplies from Vile 5 to deliver to the space station."

In the interim, LtJg Okieek, upon command, created static on the comm link, giving LtJg Peel time to scan the Odyssey II, noticing they had slightly more advanced weaponry, and forwarded that information to the Captain's arm console. Scans also indicated that there were similar crew members aboard the Odyssey II. The worm hole started emitting tachyon particles near the Odyssey II, then closed. Following orders, LtJg Peel requested Thelim to scan all of the ship's personnel for temporal signatures again, beginning with the Bridge crew. As he scanned each crew member, Thelim verified that they were indeed the original crew. After a moment, Thelim realized that he had not scanned himself. Upon scanning, he determined that he was not of the same crew. Thelim's comm badge chirped, which was Captain Craven trying to contact this Thelim. After several attempts, Lt Ozimov was able to transport the original Thelim from the Odyssey II back to his original ship, whereupon this Thelim disappeared. Almost instantly the Odyssey appeared back at their space station just as if they had not left at all.

Submitted by

Captain Floyd Calvin
Captain, USS Odyssey

USS Penumbra:

The *Penumbra* is deep into territory claimed by the Holy Order of the Kinshayans at a planet called Tepesi 2. An Away Team consisting of Patterson, Den, Kat, T’Lin, and Hines took the *Cerberus* and landed at a bustling space port on the outskirts of a large city. Unfortunately, shortly after they landed, an extremist group calling themselves “the Purity Faction” attacked two locations on the edge of the space port causing two huge explosions and massive damage. In response, the local authorities erected a powerful shield over the space port blocking all transporters and apparently preventing any ships from leaving or arriving. On the ground, our Away Team quickly responded to the situation, providing first aid to the injured. Eventually, a squad of Kinshayan soldiers finally arrived at the scene and after a short, and tense, interrogation, the Kinshayans have taken over the scene, and their leader told the Away Team “Stay out of the way. We’ve got this now.” Although he did mention “Be ready to talk to the Vicar when he calls for you.”
On the ship, the Commodore decided to break cover and announce our presence, even going so far as to offer himself as sort of a hostage as he attempts negotiations with high-ranking members of the Holy Order. He has been beamed off the ship and onto one of the orbiting spherical starships of the Order. Cmdr. Relok has command of the *Penumbra* and the Commodore’s command codes have been revoked. After several minutes of trying to figure out what to do, and after failing to make communication contact with the Away Team, Carter, as Acting XO, suggested they actually bring the *Penumbra* down and land on the planet, arguing it was the only option to fulfill the Commodore’s last order to “Get our people back.” He managed to fly the huge ship down through the atmosphere and land in a large open field a couple of kilometers south of where the Away Team was located, just outside the space port's shield. He deliberately flew right over their heads with the landing gear deployed in order to give them notice.

Submitted by:

Commodore Zak Taylor
CO, USS Penumbra
United Space Federation

USS Roddenberry:

~/~ Last time on the Roddenberry ~/~

The Roddenberry continues toward Earth, the crew was mostly doing whatever, it seemed there was downtime. Laurel was upgrading O2NOT, Jericho was just enjoying the vibe that was engineering, and Toulaine was taking her daily dose of pain killer that allows her to function throughout the day.

The captain ends up running into Muffy and the two have dinner together, while Laurel is so involved with upgrading O2NOT that Casey has to call and see if she's too busy for dinner. All in all without the drama of pirates attacking the Roddy, it was a relaxing day for most of the crew, either sitting and talking, or working on something that wasn't battle stations ready; a day in the lives of the crew so to speak.

Until Next time...
It's short but there wasn't much last sim

Submitted by Lt JG Thea Queen

Starbase Everest:

Life on a starbase can bring about many exciting, and/or unusual, visitors. The latest such, is a Catonian merchant shipper, whom claims to have won a Klingon disruptor in a card game, and the Klingon bird-of-prey captain, whom is Stokor-bent on getting his weapon back.

Respectfully submitted,
Commander Malachi Styles
Executive officer

Starfleet Academy:
The Cadets have been put in charge of what what seemingly a routine repair on Mars. The Cadets have been assigned the USS Exhibition with Some instructors along in case of emergencies, but the Cadets are fully in charge of the ship and the mission.
One of the generators has been damaged in what has been identified by the Mars colonists as a meteor storm. The dome in which it was located was severely damaged and the cadets are replacing the enclosure and replacing the generator. The engineering cadets Moore, Fyrstk, and Noir under the Command of Cadet Talon have begun the repair and inspection of the area along with Cadet Tripannex in the worker bee to facilitate removal of debris before the new generator can be installed.
However, upon closer inspection, the meteorites seem to be too uniform. The team on the planet believes the impact crater damage is not consistent with a celestial meteor shower. And constant scans of the surrounding area on the Exhibition show no evidence of any such events in the recent history or close proximity.
Cadet Gibb’s who was placed in charge of the overall mission, felt it prudent to recall the cadets back to the ship after coming to a startling conclusion that this was not a natural event, but an attack on the colony with a possible Breen involvement. However, it was their assigned mission to make repairs and get the power generator up and running again, and while making sure to keep a close eye on the space around them, he sent the engineering cadets back down to complete the repairs.

Respectfully Submitted
Lt Cdr Eirual Esrom, Provost SFA

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts,

I’m a new science officer on a starship and people are misjudging me because of how I am. I guess I should be used to it, but I was hoping that once people mature a little they stop judging so much. But then I guess Walt Whitman had it right when he said, “Be Curious, Not Judgmental.” and Martin Luther King Jr. expanded on that with, “The more we learn about them, the less we are separated.”

Anyway, the first day I was there some idiots playing at being space pirates interrupted a party given for the departure of a much beloved crew member and to welcome the new crew members. And it made me angry and I always speak my mind, so I told them they were idiots and that we didn’t have anything they could steal. I didn’t think of any danger, I honestly didn’t, I was just angry at having the party interrupted by such uncouth persons. Anyway, I distracted them enough so that they were all taken care of by other new crew and the Captain, so all's well as ends well.

But now everyone expects me to be an idiot who will charge into anything. I still always speak my mind, but I do know how to behave in social settings and such. I am not a complete bohemian, even if everyone else thinks I am. So here is my question; how long until people start to take me seriously?

Feeling lonely and ostracized in space.

Dear Miss Feeling Lonely,

I can see you are a very well educated person and are very sensitive to others around you. All I can say is continue to be who you are. Those who understand you will gravitate to you and those who will never understand will continue to avoid you and think what they will. It seems to me, however, that you have a good sense of self and so while you do want the good will of those you work with, you don’t let good or bad opinions stop you from doing what you believe is right. One day, people will see you for what you are, give them time and stay curious, my friend. You seem like someone I would get along with famously.
Miss Lonelyhearts

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts,

I’m a head nurse on one of the best ships in the fleet. We have a well-oiled sickbay and are able to deal with anything thrown at us without a hiccup. I’m rather proud to be part of this. That isn’t my problem. My problem is, I have a mate and together we have four beautiful daughters, two sets of twins, born within a few minutes of each other. Yes, my mate is also female like I am and we used ancient techniques blended with today’s technology to produce the embryos that we implanted in each of us to have this happen. I will admit that I had a rocky start with my mate, I was actually very attracted to a man on the ship, but due to many different events, I ended up with my mate now. My mate is a very strong and strong willed woman. She is beautiful and graceful and full of life and laughter. Yes, she has a dark side, but then we all have dark sides. And our daughters love each of us as much as we love each of them. So my problem is, while we are mated, we haven’t actually been married. I’m just wondering if it’s something we should push for or just let well enough alone. That is my problem. I want to make her happy and I want to be happy and I don’t know if marriage will do that or not, but I don’t know. Any advice from you would be helpful.

Confused and Wondering

Dear Confused,

You appear to be confused about the wrong thing. Marriage isn’t a solution to anything. In fact, it usually makes things harder because now you look at decisions differently and believe that you have to give up part of yourself to make such a partnership work. When the truth of the matter is, you shouldn’t ever base decisions on anything but the facts and how it will impact those you care about. And as you have stated, you are already mated, sharing each other’s lives and have a family together. For you two a marriage would just be a formality that you don’t need. If you want, fine, but that is like putting sprinkles on an already beautifully decorated cake. But as you say, if your mate feels that marriage is needed, then you have to decide if making your mate happy is worth going through a formality that you really don’t need. And no, I have nothing against marriage; I am married myself and feel that it has enhanced my life. But I didn’t look for marriage to solve any problems in my life or to fit into social conveniences. I did it because it made me and my husband happy. So my advice to you is, if it will make you and your partner happy, then do it, and if it doesn’t matter to either of you, you don’t need it because you already are mated. I hope that helps.

Miss Lonelyhearts

APRIL’S LOG AWARDS:
Best Duty Log:

=/= CMO Duty Log =/=
Chief Medical Officer's log, Stardate 202304.09:
Dr. Noah Fyrstk recording

Ah have completed the autopsy on the, suspected, bomber. As Ah do not know her name, and yes, she is female, Ah will be dubbing her, "Tzen1." Even if a name, was provahded, it is lahkely a false one. Agents of the Tzenkethi government are quahte notorious for such subterfuge.
Tzen1 was the most severly torn apart, bah the blast. Her head had been completely removed. The only, true, bones in her body, which are along their spahne, have all been fractured. Ah found traces of Sodium Chlorahde, on her internal organs, which is common to fahnd traces of, when Tzenkethi weapons are in use. Hence, mah conclusion would be that the bomb was a sub-dermal implant. Ah also found traces of another devahce, which Lt. Commander Stabler has taken custody of, and he believes it is a scrambler, of sorts, which could have prevented the transporter from detecting the bomb, and therebah, deactivating it, and rendering it harmless. Ah've also removed whatever fragments of the explosice devahce, and Stabler has taken custody of them.
One, additional, thing that gives me pause, and Ah will be conducting a thorough scan of Tzen1's skin, is that they, sometahmes, deliberately carry a disease, in their dermal layer. If such was the case, Commander Gar, and any of the other talk attendees, could have been splattered with fragments of Tzen1's skin, thereby assuring success in stopping any talks. In other words, if the blast didn't kill them, whatever disease Tzen1, was carrying, would finish the job. It is for this reason, Ah aim strictly adhering to safety protocols, and restricting access to this room.
This really is sad to see. The Tzenkethi body is, truely, a thing of beauty to look at. Their colors are vibrant. Their skeletons, withthe exception of their spahne, is made up of fluidic sacs. This allows them to be extremely limber, and when they sit, they can wrap their legs around their bodies, making it look lahke they have been cut in half. Ah did have to unwrap Tzen1's legs, to lay her out on the table, as well as the other Tzenkethi who managed to remain seated during the blast.
As a medical professional, Ah'm apalled bah the senselessness of this kahnd of action. Fraknkly, Ah thought the Tzenkethi were aboave this sort of thing, but Ah guess desperate objectives call for objective measures.
Ah will be getting to the other bodies, and will also be paying close attention to their nostrils, to determine if there was, indeed, any diseases imbed Another amazing thing, here, is... Ah scanned Tzen1, before actually physically touching her, with mah hands, or any medical tools. Her skin still maintained a slight charge to it. Normally, they have enough of a static charge to allow a typical humanoid, such as mahself, to feel a tingle if we touch them. They can, even, increase that charge to actually hurt anyone who mahght deem to touch them, Ahm'm guessing it is a self-preservation method, much lahke a Terran porcupahne has quills, or even a skunk's ability to spray a predator, with that odor.
into Tzen1's skin. Ah'll also alert mah staff to be watching Commander GAr, as well as any of the patients for any such, possible, disease spread.

=/= END LOG =/=

Best Personal Log:
Personal Log LtJg Ens_Beval Pe'el SD202303.26

At the SCI station Ens_Beval's dark green eyes suddenly widened in surprise at the image of an identical USS Odyssey bursting forth from the mouth of the worm hole. Before she could catch herself, she exclaimed "A second Odyssey??!"

Her vision swam momentarily and she blinked rapidly to get her eyes to focus as a sharp pain lanced the side of her skull. She let out a low moan and dipped her head waiting for the pain to pass. These headaches and loss of vision were becoming more frequent as they hopped through time. As the second Odyssey returned clearly in her sight and the headache subsided to a dull throb, a wave of nausea churned her stomach. 'If it's not one thing, it's another ' she thought.

Ever attuned to the crew under his charge, Thelim appeared next to her w/ a hypo in his hand. He pressed the medication into the side of her neck and said, "This should last an hour, Lt." Almost immediately she felt relief and looked at him w/ a grateful expression, "I owe you one, Doc!"

The Bridge crew debated hailing the new Odyssey. The Temporal Prime Directive strictly forbade them from directly interfering w/ historical events. Would this cause a disruption of the timeline? Wasn't the presence of both Odyssey's already causing a temporal disruption in this time? Each time they entered the worm hole they jumped back halfway in time. Wouldn't jumping again bring them home or even at least half way closer to their correct timeline?

Ens_Beval thought about her other "self" aboard the Odyssey 2. What would it be like to meet herself? What was she like? Would they get along? Did they have the same mannerisms? Likes? Dislikes? She began to get very curious.

'Wait!' she thought suddenly. Was she even ON that ship?? Was she in StarFleet? What if she never fled the Tal Shiar?? Her curiosity was replaced by panic. What if this alternate Ens_Beval Pe'el WAS still Tal Shiar and on that ship or the station?! She glanced over at the other officers on the Bridge who were still deep in discussion. It didn't appear they noticed her panicked rapid breathing and if they did, it could have just been due to the temporal sickness she had been experiencing. Was she in danger here? In her timeline she had her features altered, a bio-implant to slightly modify her DNA and even surgery on her vocal cords to adjust the pitch of her voice. No one, save one person, knew anything of her former life, she made sure of that. The endless sessions of therapy she endured to restructure her way of thinking, to try and cope w/ the horrors she experienced as an agent of the Tal Shiar, the exhausting biofeedback rehabilitation to become someone different and live her new life as a functioning member of society. All of it could end now…

The one thing she had not been able to cure herself of was the silent debilitating panic attacks she experienced. She glanced around needing something else to focus on to root her to the present and stop her spiraling downward descent of terror.

A loud disturbing chirp sounded out across the bridge signaling a hail from the OTHER Odyssey as her eyes fell on her XO. Commander Benson was motioning throwing something over her shoulder as she said, "Out the window with the temporal prime directive!" The sudden humor of the situation dawned on Ens_Beval and it helped thrust her back into the present. Her panic receded as she took deep calming breaths. Then she chuckled out loud realizing all of their discussions on interference was for naught, since it was the other Odyssey who initiated contact after all.

Although, she wasn't sure the defense of "Wasn't me!" was going to hold up in the court of temporal law. If we ever get back…

Best Joint Log:

Lt Laurel Lance — 03/31/2023 2:56 PM
=/= Joint Log =/=
Lt Cmdr Toulaine & Lt Cmdr Laurel Lance
LOCATION: Sickbay
Laurel was still trying to get up to help her team. To hear that two of them were past help sent a chill through her. How did this happen, the area was supposed to be closed off. Blood dripped into her eye, which was mostly swollen shut from the pistol whipping from the intruder. “I should never have taken them down there,” she said sadly as she lay down. She was feeling like she deserved that she hurt so much right now, her face throbbed, her scalp was just aching from having her hair pulled, and her neck didn’t feel all that great either. But others on her team were dead, and those who weren’t could be hurt worse than she was.

Toulaine watched the emotions that passed over Laurel’s face and said dryly, “I could always give you that concussion again if you wished to suffer. But as you can see, none of your team are suffering, they are all tended and most will be able to return to duty in a few minutes, a few will take an hour or so, but they too will be able to return to duty. The choice is yours, Chief. Do you want your injuries back? Or do you want me to finish fixing you up so you can return to your duty? Either way, I don’t care.” She did care, she wanted to take the pain from Laurel even though she didn’t know the woman, but that part of her that wouldn’t let people close to her kept the wall up and in place.
*
Laurel looked at the doctor with shock at first. But as Toulaine continued Laurel had to give it to the woman, she had made her point quite well, “Doctor, I think you care more than you let on.” She let a hint of a smile cross her lips before she took a deep breath, “I should have held back on the repair team. But with a Red Alert they would have gone to that location for battle stations anyway. I just didn’t think we would come face to face with one of the intruders. I thought they were in the shuttle bay.” Laurel closed her eyes fighting back the tears that threatened, “I put them in unnecessary danger. All because I wanted to make sure Casey and 02N0T were safe. Some Chief I am!”

The Doctor in her drove her to be gentle and to care for all her patients. The Andorian in her drove her to loathe such self-pity. But she had worked to reinvent herself. She looked at Laurel again, blood stained cloth in her hands and met her eyes. “Tell me, Chief, what is your job on this ship?” She said calmly and without inflection to make it either supportive or judgmental, just a simple question.

Laurel looked at the doctor, “My job is to make sure the ship is able to work and keep her maintained, and to lead the engineers under my supervision to do as such.” She stated it matter of factly, almost as if she was reading the line from a job description, “But right now all I care about is that my team was hurt, and that’s on me.”
*
“No, Chief, it isn’t. Your job is to make sure the ship works, no matter what it takes. People get hurt maintaining a starship, a million and one things can go wrong and often do go wrong. It isn’t your job to care if your people get hurt or not and what to do with them afterwards. Granted, it makes you a complete jerk if you didn’t care, but that isn’t your job.” Toulaine pointed out. Then she took a breath and let it out. “My job, on the other hand, is to take care of the crew and make sure they all at the peak of health. It’s my job to pick up the pieces and put them back together better than before. It’s my job to care if people get hurt doing their jobs. And believe it or not, I’m very good at my job and I take it very seriously. Now look around. Do you see any of your people, aside from the two who were dead when they arrived who are not back on their feet and able to go back to work?” She motioned for Laurel to look around the wellness center and see for herself. “I can assure you, I and my staff are very good at what we do. Now, before you beat yourself up over something you don’t have to, why don’t you check the facts first.”

Laurel narrowed her eyes at the doctor for a moment before she actually did look around and saw that her team, or what was left of it, was indeed up and about and looking none the worse for the wear. With a heavy sigh Laurel lay back down and looked at the doctor, “Can’t you just let me wallow for a moment?” A smile started to form on her face, which was quickly followed by a grimace of pain from her own injuries. “I hope that sonofab got what was coming to him!”
*
“Sorry, Chief, I don’t do “wallow”. I can show you to the counselors office for that…or one of the nurses might allow for that. If you want a gentle bedside manner, you came to the wrong doctor. I heal people’s bodies, not minds, and I will give it to you straight. Where does it hurt now? I healed the concussion and the lesions and have given you the pain killers for the pulled hair. What did I miss?” She ran her scanner over Laurel and watched the biobed for a bit. “Ah, there it is.” She took out her bone regenerator and ran it over her wrist a few times and then her collar bone a few times. “Seems your ‘sonofab’ was a bit rough with you. And you will have an interesting bruise between your shoulder blades for about a week until that heals. Sorry, only time will heal bruising. Ice it if you need to and I will add an analgesic to your food for the next week to help with the pain. If it makes you feel better, security got the ‘sonofab’ and he’s stewing in his juices in the brig. And lord help us, they put Muffy in control on the bridge.” She shook her head as if trying to deny that fact.

“That’s putting it mildly, and the guy was an ape,” Laurel said with a small chuckle. She visibly relaxed now that she wasn’t hurting so much and could think straight. “I guess I’ll just have to remember not to lean back on anything while it heals. But it’s nice to know that sonofab is spending some quality time in the brig.” After the doctor finished with the instructions, Laurel shook her head slightly, “I’d rather not take anything unless I really need it. What’s a little discomfort? I am sure I’ve had to work with a lot more pain than this. And, no, it’s not to punish myself. I just don’t like taking something if I don’t really need it.”
*
Toulaine nodded. “I can understand that.” She tapped on the padd a moment. “I changed it to have your replicator dispense a very mild analgesic should you ask for it for a week and then it will stop. And by mild, I mean it’s also safe to give to children. The choice is yours.” She then looked up at Laurel. “Are you ready to return to the grind?”

Laurel chuckled slightly, “As ready as I was the first day I set foot on this ship.” She sat up and swung her legs off the biobed, “And just for the record, Doc,I sort of like your bedside manner. I like it when I know the score and not some vague answer that doesn’t mean much.” Laurel had no idea how much damage had been done, or if repairs teams had already seen to it. “I guess I should go see how much work is left for me to do.”

Toulaine nodded. “I find that most people prefer the truth over whitewashed sunshine up the wazzu. You are free to return to duty, Chief. It’s been an honor to meet you.” She held out her hand to shake with Laurel.

Laurel took the offered hand and smiled, “While I would have preferred a less traumatic meeting, the honor has been all mine, Dr Toulaine. I, for one, am glad to have you on board.”

“Thank you, Chief. Now go and keep the ship running.” She spared a grin at Laurel and then went back to her padd, leaning heavily on her cane as she limped into her office.

Laurel slid off the biobed and stood for a moment watching as the doctor made her way to her office. Laurel gave her head a bit of a shake and then headed out of sickbay. As the door closed behind her she wondered if there was something she could do that would help the doctor in some way. But that would have to wait. She had to replace her combadge first, and then check to see what their current situation was.

=/= END LOG=/=

Most Creative Log:

=/\= Duty Log =/\=
Ens. T'Val; Helm Officer, USS Independence
T'Val was what you could say displeased with the current situation. The M-5 ship had apparently managed to infect their ship and now helm controls were totally unresponsive. T'Val had attempted several times to get any response to no avail.

She had glanced to the forward viewscreen when it was announced that a vessel was entering the area from a corridor and had heard the hail to the Indy.

“@Hail > ++ Indy ++ Independence. this is th' Belaya, from the USS Excelsior. We've come ta give ya a hand, though it looks like ya got things handled.”

T'Val's eyebrow had lifted as she commented mostly to herself, "If by handled he means incapacitated, then yes, we have it handled." She gave a slight shake of her head before she returned to her attempts to regain control of the helm.

She could not get the helm back online and she felt unusually displeased with that fact. So much so that it was even evident in her normally calm facade.
=/= TBC in Sim =/=

Most Emotional Log:
LtCdrToulaine — 03/29/2023 3:12 AM
Rehabilitation Realities
Personal Log
Toulaine

Toulaine wiped the sweat from her face and grit her teeth and pushed through the pain to take the next step. She had been in the rehabilitation hospital for the past two weeks and she was already taking steps, weeks ahead of schedule. The counselors had helped her with the early onset of menopause, the loss of her fiance, and the injuries to her body. She was fed up with everyone pitying her. She didn’t need pity, she needed a long knife to put into Shessir’s back for casting her away like that. She knew that where there was a will there was a way, but he wouldn’t see beyond the imperfections.

“Toulaine, I think it’s time to stop for the day and for you to get something to eat. Maybe a massage later to help with the pain.” The therapist was saying. He was a tender hearted Terran who didn’t like to see her pushing herself so hard.
*
“Are you insane? I am still upright. I still have twenty more minutes with the walking bars. I’m going to use them. I will walk again, I will not let this hold me back.” She said, determined to push through until the bitter end. Then she forced herself to take another step. The rebuilt ankle rolled and she fell. She slammed her fist into the padded flooring and struggled to get up. She ignored the hand of the therapist, needing to do this on her own.

Then two orderlies came in and lifted her up and put her in the anti-grav chair. “You are done for the day.” The tall, red-haired man said and pointed to the observation room and the doctors up there looking concerned for her. “Their orders. You are to spend some time in the whirlpool and then have a massage and then some dinner and sleep.” He finished and nodded to the therapist who looked relieved and nodded to the orderlies.

She added the bleeding heart doctors to her list of people she wanted to stab in the back. But she held all that in. She didn’t really want to stab anyone, except Shessir. She was just frustrated. She wanted to be back to her old self, the self she lost when she helped everyone else survive. Being the hero at the academy and in Starfleet didn’t feel like much of a trade off for her leg, her face, and her ability to have children. Shessir had been right, she was broken. Could she ever be whole again?
*
In the observation room, the doctors and counselors watched as Toulaine pushed herself harder than any therapist could want. She was determined to active duty as soon as possible, like she had something to prove.

“What do you think?” Her main doctor asked the others.

“She hasn’t cried, not once. She didn’t cry at the beginning and she hasn’t cried even with all the pain she is in. I can feel she has the tears there, but won’t let them flow. She even went through the menopause change with the loss of her ovaries and uterus in a few weeks instead of the normal years it would take. She hasn’t grieved and we still haven’t told her about her family and what they have done. I don’t know how she will deal with that.”

The therapist came in through the door and sat down. “I want to cry for her. I can see her struggling, but she won’t slow down. At least she is willing to do the whirlpool and the massage to help.”

The main doctor nodded. “Okay, we need to slow her down and make her grieve, make her cry. It isn’t healthy the way she is suppressing everything the way she is. So,, we add something to her evening meds to make her sleep longer each day. And then we make sure we book up the items she needs every other day, so she can’t do it every day. I’m just not sure how to make her cry.”
*
The Andorian specialist shook his head. “Most Andorians don’t cry, it’s considered a weakness. We do have a drug that releases emotions, but it’s rare and I would have to get permission to use it.” He said, shaking his own head. He was proud of her strength and her ability to bear so much pain and not show it. And the Klingons thought they had the market on stoicism.

“Do what you have to do. We need her to let go of some of that pain or it will eat her alive from the inside out and she will be dead in a year.” The main doctor said. The Andorian nodded and left to make the arrangements and get the needed permissions.

Later that night, when given her nightly medications via hypo, they had put in the sleeping agent and the Andorian medicine to help her release her grief. Toulaine fell into a deep sleep and started to dream. When she woke the next morning, the sun was cresting, it was noon, and her pillow was wet from her crying in her sleep. She immediately grabbed one of the clothes she kept nearby and washed her face and threw the wet pillow onto the floor as if it had fallen into a puddle rather than her crying. Then she called for the nurse on duty to help her get to the bathroom to take care of nature, shower, and get dressed for the day.

The therapist came into the room after she had eaten with a padd in hand. “Okay, today we are going to….”
*
“We are going to work on the bars so I can walk again.” She said firmly.

“I’m sorry, Toulaine, we can’t do that today. It’s booked up. We had a new patient come in who is learning to walk again as well and he’s on it. So today we are going to go to the pool and try some water work.” He said and was ready for her to explode.

Toulaine thought about it and nodded. “Okay, I can do water work. I will change into swimming clothing.” She then wheeled herself into the bathroom and changed and then came back out. She had long since learned to control the anti-grav chair and wouldn’t let anyone push her in it, she would drive it. “Lead the way.” She said and was ready to follow.

The months passed and finally she was walking again with just a cane. They had used the medication enough that she had cried during her sleep for over a month. She didn't know why she was crying in her sleep. So, if they ran into her ex, she could face him without any trouble. The only problem, she was now addicted to the drugs that helped her sleep and cry. If she didn’t get them, she became violent and out of control. But she was ready for her first assignment.

While doing the rehab, she also studied and passed the tests to allow her to be a doctor and not just a medical technician or nurse. Her first ship awaited her to join them as junior doctor. It was the USS Potemkin. But before that, she had gotten permission to return home and see her family and talk to them. If the doctors had known about her planned trip, they would have told her not to go home. But they didn’t know and she did.

End Log

Most Humorous Log:
Free At Last
Duty Log
Lieutenant Muffy Harringon
USS Roddenberry

Muffy had never felt more relief than when Commander Queen returned to the bridge and let me go back to my own duty station. Honestly, I hated sitting in the big chair, I do NOT want command, ever. I like science.

I was able to spot a shuttle hiding and with my new friend Thea, we thwarted their plans. I so love putting the bad guys down. When we get off shift, I want to invite Thea to my quarters and show her the pictures of my horses. Oh, I know, they belong with Aunt and Uncle Thompson, but I’m the only one who can ride them. Well, Aunt Trudy could ride Brave Heart, Snow White, and Ruby Diamond, and so could Alice, but no one else, they were women’s horses, strong, fast, sassy, and enjoying being cosseted.
I shouldn’t be thinking of my horses. I’m watching the stars now. They are so beautiful and have so many treasures. But I’m not looking for the stars, I’m looking for what shouldn’t be there. Well, after sending the ion trail signature for the one ship that warped away. The other ships were still there, in the stand off, or rather the showdown at the corral. I’m sorry, I had to and it’s worth a giggle or two.

However, they are not going to be able to sneak another ship in, I’m watching carefully. I know that Thea is also watching, so two sets of eyes are on them and their bags of tricks. Nothing was going to get through both of them.

End Log

Recipes of the Month:
Terran Pasta with Jumbo Romulan Mollusk Sauce

Serves: 4 Romulans

16oz Terra linguini, cooked and held hot (tossed w/ a little evoo* and 1 large clove crushed garlic)

For the Sauce:
2 dozen jumbo Romulan Mollusks, shuck & chop the meat (catch the juice & save it)
8 cloves of garlic, sliced very thinly
1/3 cup good evoo
¼ cup Romulan wine, white
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Zest from ½ of a lemon
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
salt & white pepper to taste
2 tablespoon butter

In a skillet sauté the sliced garlic in the evoo until slightly golden. Add the dried oregano and crushed red pepper, then stir in the chopped Romulan mollusks and simmer gently for 1 minute. Add the wine, lemon juice, reserved mollusk juice and the zest. Cook until the liquid is reduced by a quarter and the mollusks are done. Adjust seasoning by adding s&p. Finish sauce by whisking in the parsley & butter.

Add Terran linguini to the pan and gently stir until fully coated with the sauce. Serve immediately.

*evoo = extra virgin olive oil
Submitted by: LtJg Beval Pe'el

Romulan Ale
Ingredients:
2 oz blue sports drink
1 oz white rum
1 oz blue Curacao
Ice
About 3 oz lemon-lime soda, or to taste.

Directions:
Add the sports drink, rum, and curacao to an ice filled tumbler, top up with lemon-lime soda. The recipe can also be scaled up and served in a pitcher for larger gatherings. Can garnish with a slice of star fruit.

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