Julian yawned as he walked into sickbay. He had another medical report he was supposed to write up but he couldn't concentrate. He hadn't had a decent sleep for days. The Defiant had been on patrol for over two months now without putting in at any stations and with barely any contact from the outside world. The whole ship was exhausted and needed a break. Julian sighed as he flopped into a chair and put the PADD down in front of him. He started writing but only got a few sentences before his eyes started to droop. All he needed was five minutes sleep...
Julian was woken abruptly by someone shaking him. His head snapped up from the desk to see Dax standing next to him.
'Julian, I've been trying to get hold of you for five minutes! You weren't answering your combadge; I was getting worried'
Julian groaned and ran his fingers through his tangled hair. 'Sorry, Jadzia, I just fell asleep...' He trailed off. She pulled up a chair and straddled it. 'Don't worry about it, the whole crew is exhausted' she sighed. 'We need a break from these endless patrols.' She stood up and offered a hand to Julian. 'Come on, we need you on the bridge'.
A few more days of the same patrols passed with Klingon opera playing to keep everyone awake. One morning when everyone was starting to wonder if Starfleet had forgotten about then, Benjamin came out of the ready room with a big grin on his face. He sat down in the captain's chair and pressed his combadge. 'This is Captain Sisko with a crew announcement. Good news everybody: In 4 hours the Lexington will be here to take up our patrols.' A cheer went up on the bridge. 'Starfleet has decided we have been on the border long enough and we need some well deserved shore leave. Sisko out'. There were general sighs of relief and Bashir announced 'I don't know what you're going to do for the next 4 hours, but I'm going to bed'.
Once the Lexington had arrived, the senior officers sat down to decide where they would take their shore leave. 'Well,' said Sisko, 'I'm open to suggestions'. 'What about Pacifica?' suggested Kira. O'Brien chipped in 'I dunno, the Pacificans might be a bit worried about a heavily armed Starship suddenly turning up'. The other officers came up with more suggestions but they couldn't seem to agree. Eventually, Sisko suggested 'How about that planet the Xanthe made a report on a few months ago? It hasn't been explored much but all they found was a variety of plant and animal life. Completely uninhabited'. This sold it for the others officers and within an hour they were on course to their unexplored shore leave destination. 'So what's this planet like then?' asked Bashir. 'Well, the Xanthe didn't have much to report' replied Sisko. 'Just that they couldn't detect any other alien life signs, apart from a few animals. It's all tall trees and green grass'. 'Sounds perfect' sighed Dax. 'Personally I don't understand the human need to 'rest' by running up and down and frolicking about' said Odo, standing arms crossed again wall. 'For me, resting is just that; stopping activity'. 'Well I'm not human and I can certainly see the appeal of spending a few days on a peaceful planet without duties and patrols' said Dax.
'We've arrived at the planet, sir' announced the Chief. 'Slow to impulse' commanded Sisko. 'Dax, Bashir, O'Brien; you're with me. We'll conduct a primary check of the planet and then we'll start sending parties down. Mr Worf, you have the bridge'. Worf nodded and sat down in the captain's chair as the landing party walked into the turbolift.
As the officers materialised on the planet, they were taken aback at how quiet it was. They couldn't see any form of animal or birds anywhere. Dax scanned around, frowning at her tricorder. 'Captain, I'm not registering any types of animal life.'Perhaps they were wiped out by a natural disaster?' suggested Julian, also scanning around. 'Hey, my tricorder's not working'. 'Give it here' said O'Brien. He stared at the screen. There was jut static. Julian took back tge tricorder and shook it. 'Mines out too' said Dax frustratedly. She closed and reopened it as the Chief prized the back off Julian's tricorder. 'There's nothing wrong with the circuits' he told them, peering inside. 'There must be some kind of interference. Benjamin frowned. He tapped his combadge. 'Sisko to Defiant'. Worf's voice came through but it was crackly and they could barely hear him. 'Mr Worf, there's some kind of interference messin with out tricorder's and communication. Beam us up'. 'Sorry, Captain,' Worf's voice crackled through, 'Our transporters are too unstable for more than one transport. Whatever is stopping your tricorders must be affecting us too. We have started to-'. The line crackled then went dead. 'Damn!' exclaimed Sisko. Dax sighed and put her tricorder back on her belt. 'I guess we should split up and try to find whatever's causing the interference?'. 'You got it' said Sisko. 'Chief; you stay with me. Dax and Bashir-' Sisko trailed off as a figure started beaming down next to them. 'Who's that?' asked Bashir. The pattern started to flicker. 'I'm not sure but they're having trouble' observed Dax. After a few more flickers, the pattern solidified and Kira practically fell out of the beam towards them. O'Brien caught her by the shoulders. 'I thought Mr Worf said no-one could use the transporters safely?' questioned Sisko. Kira straightened up. 'Worf did that, but doesn't mean they aren't operational. I can assure you, it was a bumpy ride'. She straightened out her uniform. 'I figured you could use some extra help'. Sisko let out a little sigh. 'Well I guess you're here now whether we like it or not. We all are until we can find whatever's interfering with our equipment. Kira; you go with Bashir, Chief; you're with me. Sorry, old man, you're on your own'. Dax smiled. 'That just means I'm the most responsible I guess. Rendezvous here in 30 minute?'. With that they split up and headed in different directions; Sisko and O'Brien away through the trees, Kira towards the nearby lake with Julian following, and Dax whichever way the others weren't going.