Kelly stopped in briefly on the Bridge. She casually stepped in and told Lt. Lauren Langston that she was back, but was going to be busy in the meeting. Giving a new course to be laid in, she clarified, "Stay cloaked and bring us to warp four. This system is pretty busy right now and I don't want to attract any attention by leaving a warp trail that stands out."

Langston instantly complied, but then stopped Kelly to ask, "Captain?" Kelly paused and turned, giving her respected crew member her attention as the Lt. hesitated, but had to know, "Is it all true? Is it confirmed?"

Kelly knew exactly what was being asked and with a sober expression, she gave a nod and replied, "Yes, I'm afraid it is. I'll send out an intelligence briefing soon. I'm sorry. There are countless refugee areas, scattered across several sectors, so even if I don't want you to get your hopes up, there is still perhaps hope to be had."

Langston took a deep breath and looked away, "Thank you."

The Captain knew that every single crewmember on the ship was in some way affected by what had happened, but it was her job to keep things moving and hold the crew together. She said no more for the moment and headed off to the Briefing Room.

As Kelly entered the Briefing Room, she saw that Tull had already arrived. He was standing next to his chair, looking over some data on a PADD. There was a simple acknowledgement tossed her way, "Hey boss…" He had barely looked up from whatever he was scrolling through. She didn't say anything in return. They had become fairly informal over the years. She didn't want to break his train of thought. If what he was staring at was holding his attention that intently, it was better that he finish it without interruption.

She strolled over to the small replicator that was in the corner of the relatively cramped room. Unlike the luxurious feel of most ships, with their spacious accommodations, a Defiant was forced to cram everything into a small amount of space. The Briefing Room was no exception. After a couple of key strokes it produced her cup of coffee. She let out a long sigh as she raised it to her lips and took a sip. It had been a busy day, and was still far from over.

The door swished open and in stepped the Chief Science Officer, Morian Dax. He glanced around and asked, "Where are the new guys? You didn't push them out the airlock already, did you?"

Kelly chuckled, "No, but Tull threatened to kill your new assistant."

Mori gave a disappointed look to Tull and scolded, "Tull! Come on now, we've talked about this."

Kelly continued, "He said he didn't like the smell of her."

Tull looked like a child being talked about by his teachers in class, mumbling, "She didn't smell like a human should. How was I supposed to know she had prosthetics? She still didn't smell right to me. It wasn't a wrong smell, it was that there wasn't enough smell."

Mori gave Kelly an odd look and Kelly smiled back, "I'll explain it later."

Tull gave a narrow eyed expression of disapproval, "I can't do my job if you keep secrets from me."

Kelly's look turned more sympathetic and she said, "Roll with it for now. You aren't wrong, but I need to respect her privacy issues for now. That's a very personal issue and I don't feel right being the one to discuss it first. That needs to come from her."

Tull gave a small grunt, "What's the big deal? Your smooth talker has a cybernetic eye, at the very least, maybe even more. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It isn't like people think of them as Borg anymore. The fear of those days is behind us now."

Kelly sipped her coffee and slowly began to walk toward her seat, "Very true, but I still need to respect her right to be the one to bring it up, unless it becomes a mission priority."

Tull gave up, "The way you people dance around such things drives me crazy. I'll leave it alone for now."

Mori looked at Tull and was lost in a flood of memories about the man. Alorian had watched him for years and sometimes had been envious of how he didn't pretend with his feelings. He was often brutally direct, but that raw honesty could be refreshing. He tended to say what he meant and didn't pull his punches. At the same time, she had often thought of him as a very smart version of the family dog. He was loyal beyond question and would not hesitate to kill in defense of his family. His empathy and ability to read a person was almost like a Betazoid at times.

As if to punctuate that thought, Tull looked at Mori and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Mori snapped back from the trip down memory lane and returned to living in the moment. Blinking briefly, he replied, "Sorry, I was just thinking about how long I've known you. Even though I am as young as I am, the part of me that has known you as part of this crew has known you for almost 20 years. You guys are about the closest thing I have to family."

Tull gave a small grunt that was almost a snort, meaning he was mildly amused, "I understand what you're saying, yet I look at you and I think of how I am still getting used to the smell of you. You look like a stranger to me…yet…when I listen to your words, I know who you are. You're a strange creature, but I'm glad that you're still with us."

Mori grinned, "Thanks, I like you too. Don't forget, I know where your favorite spot is, to be scratched. You know the one. It makes your leg twitch."

Tull narrowed his eyes, "You swore you would never tell about that."

Kelly chuckled, "He actually has two spots." Tull tossed her a look that bordered on a threat, but Kelly quickly added, "Though he swore me to secrecy on that as well. I can't blame the guy for wanting to have a few personal secrets. I used to know a few places that Alorian liked having scratched as well, especially by that guy at the spa on Risa."

Mori raised a finger and said defensively, "Hey, at least mine was real. You like that holographic guy massaging your…"

Kelly swiftly countered, "Hey, his name is Antonio and he gives a great massage. I feel very relaxed when he is done."

Mori smiled and added, "You know, you never did let me borrow that program."

As Kelly talked, Mori was thrown into other memories of Alorian's. He remembered another person, named Thrawn, that she had a short but meaningful relationship with a long time ago. It had been decades since Alorian had been with him, but it had been a very powerful period for her. He had been lost to her forever as part of a temporal jump early in the development of the ship. That was something Kelly hadn't prepared her for back then, but it could not have been helped. It was a painful reminder for Alorian of what might have been.

Kelly gave a slight blush and said across the top of her coffee cup, "Well, there are some things I just don't like to share. I created Antonio and I like to think that he is all mine."

Tull cautioned, "One should be careful of making too close of an attachment to such holographic programs. I've never understood the use of them."

As they spoke, Sam walked in and stopped in the doorway, "What program is that? You would be amazed what can be done these days with programs."

Kelly took advantage of the moment and changed subject, "Oh, just one I use to massage out some stress now and then. Please, come in and take a seat. Did you find your quarters?"

Sam smiled and replied, "Yes, thank you. I've already started to personalize them."

Valentine had walked in behind Sam, though truth be told he had been listening in intently in the hall around the corner. He had wanted to see what he could glean from the conversation, but mostly he was just following old habits. When he walked in he shot a not so subtle flirtatious wink at Kelly, then looked at Sam and said: "Programs are great but nothing beats the real deal. If you ever need some tension relief let me know. I actually studied to be a masseuse in case my career in the fleet didn't pan out. Offer goes to any of you on the senior staff."

Tull continued to stare at his PADD, but commented, "I'm not sure how I would feel about you massaging me. I tend to be picky about who I let touch me."

When Valentine tossed Kelly the flirtatious wink, she only rolled her eyes and said nothing. She thought it was better to not even give it the credit of being commented on. She suddenly felt a bit like his baby sitter, which made her feel even older than she was.

Valentine made his way to the replicator and made himself a vanilla chai, inhaling the aroma then finding a place to sit. Unlike their first encounter, Valentine seemed to be more serious save for the flirtatious wink and to the Captain's amazement kept his feet on the floor.

He muttered, "I wonder where Kat ran off to? She was right behind me on the way."

As if on cue Kat walked in. Like Tull, she was carrying a pad and seemed totally absorbed in what she was reading. She stopped and looked up, a blank expression on her face, as if what she had read had put her in shock.

Valentine looked at her with a concerned expression, "You ok? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I...I'm fine...I just..." Kat couldn't finish her sentence as she looked up at Kelly, the look in her eyes betraying some terrible information that had been imparted to her. The normally vibrant engineer seemed almost subdued as she sat down. She sighed and looked at Valentine, "I'm fine, but I am sure the Captain will discuss this during the briefing. I took a minute to jog to engineering to find my office and meet the some of my team. We'll talk more after the meeting."

Valentine simply nodded as his eye whirred again. He thought to himself as he leaned back, She is seriously spooked. What is it that has her shaken so bad? Ah…I wonder if news finally got to her about the attacks. I guess we'll soon see. He waited for the meeting to start, and to find out what his role on this ship was going to be.

Talea Vong and another woman were the last to enter and as they did Kelly felt it safe to open with commenting on the information that seemed to be bothering Kat, "Now that everyone is here, I'm going to rip off the bandage and get this over with…the rumors are true. Sol was attacked, which we already knew, but the extent of the damage is even worse than we had originally thought. To put it simply, the planet is currently uninhabitable. The Vulcans have been investigating the debris in the system and searching the planet for any possible survivors, but it is impossible to know anything for certain right now. We have access to the raw data, but there is so much to go through that…"

Sam spoke up, her voice almost timid, "What do you want to know?"

Kelly wasn't used to being interrupted so early in her briefings and gave an irritated look, "Excuse me? No, I said we have access to the data, not that we've gone through it."

Sam had retrieved a glass of water and taken her seat. As she sipped her water, she said in the same tone of voice, "No, I understood that part. I've already reviewed the data and can give you a preliminary report. I will need to confirm several conflicting elements, but given that some of it is eye witness statements and not sensor recordings, it is not uncommon for such small deviations to be found. What do you want to know?"

Realization dawned on Kelly and she sat back a moment considering the matter before inquiring, "How did it start?"

Sam looked at her glass of water a moment and then replied, "The Romulans dropped out of warp within range of the planet. Such a tactic insinuates there was some form of beacon in place that they warped in on, but that boarders on speculation. They began firing and the planetary defense platforms engaged. The Federation fleets reacted, reserves were brought in and a heated battle in orbit resulted. It is believed that the reserves were closer than the Romulans had planned for and were almost enough to turn the battle, but the Federation forces were too outnumbered. Once the Romulans were no longer taking heavy losses, a large Klingon fleet arrived. The focus turned from bombardment of the planet to an orbital engagement once more, allowing more people to escape from the surface."

Kelly nodded, "That explains the second wave of evacuation ships. Were the Klingons able to defeat the Romulans?"

Sam hesitated, "It's unclear. During the engagement, there were several boarding actions. A number of shuttles carrying warheads appeared and made suicide runs at ships, as well as ships detonating from internal damage inconsistent with damage inflicted from other ships. The chain reaction of several warp cores detonating within a very brief period caused a ripple effect. The planet was bathed in the shock waves and what wasn't killed outright, suffocated after most of the atmosphere was ripped away."

Tull gave a grumble of curses under his breath. The short woman that had entered with Talea, gave an audible gasp and then covered her mouth to silence herself, but a tear still made a small path down her cheek. Kelly calmly asked, "Where did the shuttles come from?"

Sam looked up and met Kelly's eyes, "Unclear…"

"What kind of shuttles were they?"

"They varied widely…"

"Do we have any readings on the pilots of any of the ships?"

"Inconclusive…"

Kelly's eyes narrowed now, "What do you mean inconclusive?"

Sam paused and then replied, "I mean that the current data is sketchy and it is hard to draw any conclusions from what we have. Some appear to have been unmanned, while others had varying degree of life signs on them with only a few showing defined life forms."

Kelly countered, "Of those defined, what were they?"

Sam replied, "Human…"

Kelly seemed satisfied and leaned back, her mind deep in thought. She absently asked, "How many shuttles are we talking about?"

The reply came, "At least 43."

Kelly locked eyes again, "How many?"

Tull spoke up now and added, "That's quite a suicide assault force. Where the hell did they come from?"

Sam blushed a little, "I'm sorry, but I don't have that information. The data reflects at least 43, but possibly more. The incoming warp trails are distorted by the high level of radiation from the detonations. I have a couple of trails, but they are from within the system. The points of origin are illogical and unconfirmed because of the damage to the sensors within the system by that point in the battle."

Tull looked around and said the obvious, "So there could have been even more than 43."

Kelly said, as if she were talking to the ship's computer, "Speculate on the number of shuttles used."

Sam tried to protest, "Captain, I don't feel…"

Kelly's tone turned more firm, "I said to speculate."

Sam was obviously uncomfortable with the situation, but after a moment replied, "Approximately 60 shuttles."

As Sam finished, Mori was brought back to reality. He was still getting used to how memories from past hosts would sometimes wash over him and consume him briefly as he tried to assimilate them with his own. Sam gave the Captain what was obviously some pertinent information on the attack of the Sol system and although he had heard it, it was only now sinking in. The room hadn't been that comfortable since everyone arrived. Now, it was positively electric.

Mori asked, "How long have you been studying this data? I have a brief introduction to it here and it doesn't cover these details nearly as well as you're pointing out. Have you been working with the Vulcans on this the entire time?"

Sam blushed and looked very nervous, hesitating before replying, "Um…no…I'm sorry…I…It's in the ship's database now and based on my access I've been given…I reviewed it on the way to the briefing…analysis is what I do…I thought…"

Kelly broke in and saved her, "Right, so she's a bit of a wizard when it comes to data." Sam smiled and gave Kelly a grateful glance before returning her attention to the PADD in front of her.

Valentine sat silent as the data was being reviewed. He had been told some of the information, knowing it might be relevant to his assignment to the ship. Kat sat there, looking shocked and numb. That was when it occurred to Valentine that her entire family had been on Earth. He remembered Kat telling him her family was from Ireland and save for a single cousin, all of her family lived on Earth.

Talea spoke up, "This doesn't make sense. If they were going to declare war on the Federation, Sol is a strategic target, but why didn't they hit other systems? Why didn't they target Vulcan, or Andor, or Tellar for that matter? If you wanted to cripple the Federation why strike at one key member why not all? This action has put the rest on high alert and though this was a crippling blow it was hardly a death blow. Also, I thought the relations with the Romulan Star Empire were improving? What would cause them to act this way?"

Valentine raised an eyebrow at Talea's astute observations, but it was Kelly that replied, "First of all, it makes perfect sense, to a point. It is a typical tactic for the Romulans to talk peace while planning war. Such deceptions are almost expected at this point. After all the centuries of various cultures dealing with them, this is more the norm than the exception. They were obviously secretly building a very large fleet, intended for destruction on this level. Given what they thought was the defending force, they should have been easily victorious. Someone must have gotten wind of the impending attack, and had ordered hidden defense forces to be standing by closer than the enemy anticipated. The Federation is always trying to stay in step with the covert operations being conducted against them, so in the world of spies, this is again no big shock."

Kelly paused before continuing, "You can't expect to take on everyone at the same time, so instead, they picked the biggest and best target to get their edge. They cut off the head of the beast they were facing. Yes, each of the others are powerful, but they also have a long history of fighting among themselves. Look how long they had been trying to combine forces, yet it wasn't until the humans from Earth managed to make things work and the UFP became a reality. They are now back to arguing about who should be in charge. Obviously, the current chaos was anticipated and would have been to their advantage. The big question that I have is who else is hiding in the shadows. The Klingons jumped in, but waited until they would have been the only survivor on the field of battle. Granted, that would have left all the glory for them, but that means they didn't so much try to come to our rescue as to strike the final blow to the Romulans. The bad blood between them goes back a long way…but that wasn't how the party ended."

Kat finally spoke up, bringing the topic back to basics, "I guess my question is what are we expected to do now? What are our orders?"

Kelly pointed at her and replied, "A very good question. I like that. You're direct and staying on point. One of the things that people are whispering about, but not sure about is what else happened besides the attack on Sol. The truth is that they didn't just attack Sol. There were attacks all over the Federation, but mostly efforts to disable stations, cripple outposts and destroy communications. They had mercenaries or spies, who knows who, but thousands of communications relays were destroyed across the entire Federation. This has isolated hundreds of worlds that depend on the Federation for supplies and protection. They are now unable to be heard from and are at the mercy of various pirates and warlords who wish to exploit them. It can take months for a signal to reach Vulcan from many of these worlds. As a result, there are ships that are working very hard to begin replacing the relays, but it will take time and they suspect that there will be people still trying to keep things as they are right now."

Tull commented, "It is going to be very difficult to bring peace and stability back to such places without a fleet to do it with. They're going to have to start building ships again."

Kelly nodded, "Yes, but it takes time to build ships, train crews and get back out there. This brings me to our current orders, though. To help speed up this process, they need some of the best minds available to help rebuild. We're being sent to a special colony to try and see if they are willing to help. Like everyone else, they've lost long range communication. Despite all efforts, the Vulcans have still not been able to make contact. Even with the delays, there should have been a reply and there has not. We're to go to the colony and establish a dialog with the community there on behalf of the Vulcan Science Academy and the Federation. We will even deploy a few secure relays to help establish a private link. I've already had our course laid in."

The short and curvy medical officer that had walked in behind Talea was staring at Sam with a puzzled look on her face. Her dark eyes were fixed on the woman as if she were trying to read something written across her features in very small print. When Sam noticed the stare, she didn't retreat from it, but instead gave a friendly smile and in a near whisper, extended a hand across the table and introduced herself, "Samantha Waters…"

Returning the smile, she accepted the offered hand with her own smaller one and replied, "Nancy Nichols, medical…"

Sam inquired, "Are you the Chief Medical Officer?"

Nancy wrinkled her nose, "Nah, I'm just filling in for the meeting, but I'm the closest thing we have to a ship's counselor, being the resident Betazoid and all."

Sam's expression showed the dawn of understanding, "Ah, yes. Perhaps we should talk, after the meeting."

Mori looked around the room at the people who had been assembled there. He didn't know everyone in the room, but it was clear that the news that Sol had been attacked and the possibility that loved ones might have been killed was a huge shock. He wasn't sure how to read most of them, as he was just meeting them, and he wondered just what their "particular" skills were.

When the Captain had finished informing them of their orders, Mori asked, "Captain, I would like to ask a little more about this special colony that we are going to. Specifically, what would you like us to do until we get there? Where, exactly, is it we are going? What type of colony are they? Would it not be prudent for us to begin putting together some probes to send out along the way to find out who else is out there? As you have stated, the Federation is in chaos right now and we should find as many survivors as we can to at least point them in some direction that would be of benefit."

He paused, taking a deep breath, and then continued on..."I can see from this room that each of us brings to this group a particular set of skills to maximize the success of the mission, but I am unsure of what that is exactly. I am not trying to get you to break Operational Security, but I think we need to know a little more than what is being said."

Mori turned and looked at Sam and added, "As soon as this meeting is over, we're going to have to have a little conversation about exactly HOW you do what you do." Sam looked wide eyed at Mori pointing to her and didn't say a word in reply.

Kelly smiled, "I'm sorry Mori, I'm still getting used to this young man that sits in front of me. I guess that I have grown too comfortable with how you had a knack for anticipating such things when you were joined with Alorian." She turned to the new crew members and explained, "You may have noticed that our Chief Science Officer is a Trill. He is the current host to a member of the crew that has been with me for almost 20 years. It is just that until a couple of months ago, the host had been a woman, so I'm still adjusting to the current circumstances. Alorian Dax had been my First Officer and I have yet to find a replacement that I feel entirely comfortable with."

She held up a hand and looked at Tull, preventing his objections before he could even begin, "You're doing a great job, but we both know that you are not fond of command. You make a great Second Officer, but I need someone I can not only trust my life to, but this ship and crew as well. That is not something I take lightly."

She looked around the room and took a sip of her coffee before continuing, "The colony is special in that it is one of a number of critical settlements that are almost entirely comprised of scientific minds. I guess you would call it a think tank of a massive scale. I'll spare you their manifesto, but they are dedicated to independent scientific thought and research. They must have some pretty important brains to pick if the Vulcans are eager to get them on the comm."

Mori gave her a look that said he was still waiting for the rest, so Kelly continued, "It is about half way from here to Ferengi space, or something close to 40 light years. At warp six, it would take us just over a month to get there, but they're in a bit of a hurry, so I thought that once we were settled in and got some rest, we would let our new engineer wet herself and we could get there in about nine hours once we hopped it up to warp 11."

Kelly's expression turned a bit more serious as she looked at Mori and said, "You're right. We could do a great deal of good, taking a slower approach to our destination and setting out sign posts for people to follow. The fact that there were hundreds of thousands of craft that escaped the planet means that there are lots of refugees out there and possibly a great many distress signals. In fact, there are so many that we would almost certainly be able to spend more than a year just lending a hand to people on our way to our current destination…but that's not what we're here to do. We're trying to save those people and more by doing even bigger things. This ship is not equipped to rescue very many people at a time. I'll remind you that on more than one instance, we had to kill people that even knew about this ship, so bringing civilians onto the ship is really a bad idea. We can certainly record our sensor readings as we pass through the areas, so that the Vulcans are able to use the information to help map signals and prioritize rescue efforts and determine where to send technical assistance."

Sam spoke up once more saying in a timid voice, half raising her hand for attention, "Currently 26 and counting."

Kelly's brow furrowed, "Currently 26 what?"

Sam's voice was unsteady as she looked down at a PADD and clarified, "Signals. The ship is currently picking up 26…no, now 27 different distress signals. Several are quite faint, indicating they have been sent from a shuttle, small civilian craft or similar size transmitter. The ship is not really configured to pick up the signals, but I applied a simple filtering algorithm to indicate the specific subspace frequency range used for…"

Kelly held up a hand, "Thank you…Lieutenant Waters…you've helped me make my point."

"Sam"

Kelly barely heard her as Sam had started to lower her voice as she said her name, "I'm sorry, what?"

Speaking up a little, she tried again, "Sam…I prefer to be called Sam. This isn't my first time working with people with…special skills. I find that it is a very dangerous thing we tend to do. Given the intensity of such assignments, it becomes very common to become more informal, at least with each other. If our lives are going to be so interdependent, I would like to think of you all as my friends and family, though I know trust takes time. Still, if I were dead tomorrow, I would have you say you knew me as Sam and not Lieutenant Waters. Statistically speaking, the faces in this room are likely to be the last some of us see before we die. I'm sorry, I'm nervous and I tend to ramble a little when I'm nervous."

Kelly chuckled and said with a big smile, "Very well…Sam…you're quite right."

Sam surprised Kelly again by commenting, "I must say that you look very good for your age. It's uncommon that someone with your mixed bloodlines has the good luck to benefit from them in such a way. I suspect it is being half Vulcan that keeps you looking half your age."

Kelly chuckled again, "Then why does your saying so, make me feel so old?"

Sam gave a confused look, which caused Kelly to shake her head as she took another sip of coffee before trying to return to topic, "Where were we?"

Valentine raised an eyebrow at the comment about Kelly being half Vulcan. A grin crossed his face and he chuckled. Talea shot Valentine a knowing look and simply shook her head. They seemed to enjoy some private joke on the subject. Valentine looked at Kelly and said, "You remind us of a previous CO we shared, that's all. Getting back to our orders, I'm quite concerned about the lack of communications with this colony. I am going to assume this isn't exactly a top secret community. As you pointed out they went to cut off the head of the beast. If these guys are as smart as you imply, and must be if the VSA is sending us out find them, then it would make sense to attack them as well, further crippling us. We should definitely proceed with caution. Either the colony has been destroyed, or communications could be actively blocked. There is a good chance this could also be a trap, to catch ships trying to reach them. What are our tactical capabilities? I am going to assume that this isn't a standard Defiant Class."

As irritated as Talea was with Valentine she was glad to see him all business, and remembered why he was a valued member of the last crew they served on. Following suit she asked, "What do we know of the colony and the planet? If we need to send an away team, what are our objectives going to be? I can help coordinate the efforts either from here on the Spectre or on the ground with the team, but I would like to assist in setting up the away team and being prepped. I would also recommend that if you need someone at the helm or the tactical console that you would allow Valentine to do it. As inflated as his ego is, he is one of the best pilots and gunners out there, and when it comes to his duty it's one of the few things he takes seriously."

The genuine look of shock that crossed Valentine's face was priceless, and it caused Talea to smirk a little. She knew he wouldn't expect her recommendation but the facts were the facts. He was damn good at what he did.

Kat had sat silent for most the meeting and was slowly getting over the shock, "Warp 11 you said Sir? I still don't think it can be safely done, but I'll do everything in my power to make it happen, and see if I can push it a little further. If we are going 11 why not gun for 12 or 13? I'm sure once I get to know her the Spectre is going to be better than before with me handling her. When do we start?"

The Captain's smile widened as she leaned back and let the questions flow from the new people. She raised an eyebrow at being compared to some previous CO they had known, but once they calmed down, she looked at Kat and replied, "Well, let's cover the easiest first. TAs I mentioned to you before, this ship is capable of higher than warp 10 and can actually reach warp 13. We might be able to push 14 for a very short burst, but we can talk about that another time. I'll let you get familiar with the ship first. I know her limitations because I designed her. The exception being the cloak was designed by Mori."

Looking to Valentine, she said, "We've got 4 pulse canons, an omni-directional standard phaser bank, quantum torpedoes, standard ablative armor as well as self-replicating armor plating that can be deployed and a secondary shield generator that creates another layer of shielding outside the main shields, though it is not quite as strong as the primary shields. If hypothetically faced with Romulan Dreadnaughts, if they outnumbered us two to one, it is almost an even fight, but I would still give us the edge because we can fire and use shields while cloaked…at least initially."

A cold smile crossed Vanentine's face, "With that I can rain hell upon our enemies like an avenging wraith, truly an omen of death for those who would wish us or our allies harm."

Looking to Talea, Kelly said, "Talk to Tull about preparing for an Away Team. We don't know what we're going to encounter, so be prepared for anything. The colony is not working on secrets that we're aware of, but they are low key and are very independently minded. The fact that they are such a specialized colony is very secret. The Vulcans went to a great deal of trouble to try and help hide their true purpose, knowing that they might eventually be able to benefit from the future discoveries made there and had hopes of creating another elite science academy someday. The scientists, like many such colonies, rebelled against being run by bureaucrats and manipulated by political agencies, so they broke away. I respect their ideas and need to be free to research, but such people tend to have trouble defending themselves when it hits the fan. It is possible that someone found out about their secret. I'm worried that they might be exploited by those who would do others harm. They are idealists and everything that can be used for good can also be used for evil, but that's part of why we're on this ship. We try to help keep such secrets and defend them if necessary."

Kelly stood and removed her leather jacket, placing it on the back of her chair. She had a curved knife at the small of her back, much like those Valentine carried. She also had a small phaser on her belt, but the most unexpected thing that the new crew saw was a device hanging in a sheath under her arm, so that it had been hidden inside her jacket. The old crew that knew her were familiar with it, but the new crew were seeing it for the first time. Valentine was well versed in his weapons and recognized the folding sword at first sight.

Quickly refreshing her cup of coffee, Kelly took her seat once more and then said, "Maybe I'm being too hasty. If there's trouble to be found, I need you all to have a firm footing. I'm going to give you all an extra day to catch your breath. You're of no use to me if you're off balance. Rough ETA in the system will be about 36 hours from now. You'll all be updated as the time draws closer. I'll be sure to give you plenty of warning. Until then, use this time to get to know the ship, your crewmates and catch your breath. This could be a milk run, or we could drop out of warp into a trap and enemies up to our eyeballs."

Tull pulled a small pouch from a pocket and popped something small into his mouth. He began to chew it quietly as he was listening to Kelly. He nodded now and then, glancing around. Finally he said, "So, same as always then? Well, plus a day to sleep in. That works for me. Once in a while, I would like to be able to get in a day of relaxation. We've been on the move for so long I can't remember the last time I got to relax."

Kelly smiled, "Well, you did get to kill a man today, so that must count for something."

Tull smiled, showing the tips of his fangs as he continued to chew, "Well, the job does come with an occasional perk."

Sam made a disgusted face and asked, "What is that you're eating? It smells horrible."

Tull, swallowed it and replied, "Sorry, it's something that calms me and helps keep my teeth clean."

"It smells like some sort of cured meat."

He nodded, "I make it myself, but I'm almost out. I'm down to just a few pouches of chips made from treated hide."

He set one on the table. It was the size of a small coin and made a hard sound as it hit the table. Sam made a face again as she looked at it, "The pattern on it looks familiar. What kind of beast is it from?"

Tull smiled and picked it up as he replied, "Gorn."

Kelly asked, "That isn't that one that…"

Tull tried to look innocent and said, "Hey, you said to dispose of him. You didn't say how."

Kelly frowned, "Yes, but I didn't expect you to…oh, never mind…"

Nancy took the opportunity to say, "Captain, T'Kai apologized for not being able to make the meeting, but she was treating Billy for some burns."

The Captain looked worried, "Billy? Nothing too serious, I hope. Our new Engineer is going to need him in top form if she is going to learn all of his secrets and keeping this ship purring like he does." Looking to Kat, Kelly added, "I swear that he knows some things about this ship that even I don't know. Maybe you can get him to tell you how he does it."

Nancy looked at Tull and wagged a finger, "You didn't bring anything back with you, did you? You're always eating things raw and coming back covered in blood. Don't make me put you through decontamination."

Tull held up his hands in mock innocence, "Nope…nothing came onto the ship with us."

Kelly was about to correct him, but he pointed at her and said, "Hey, that body stayed on the shuttle and is long since burned to a cinder by now."

Nancy narrowed her eyes and scolded, "That explains the blood on you. What kind is it?"

Tull sounded like a scolded child again as he replied, "Um…Vulcan…"

She seemed mildly satisfied with that answer, "Fine, at least they don't tend to carry parasites. You didn't ingest any of it did you?"

He licked at the sides of his mouth reflexively and lied, "No, of course not."

She didn't look like she believed him, but cautioned, "Keep it that way. Learn to live on replicator food, like the rest of us."

Tull made a disgusted face, but said nothing. Sam leaned toward him and whispered, "Talk to me later. I think that I can help you with that."

Sam got his attention with that. Tull grinned in a mischievous way. He then seemed distracted, sniffing at the air for a moment. He glanced around the room as if he were trying to determine something, but was unable to figure it out.

Nancy knew what he smelled, but kept it to herself. She had caught Kat staring at Tull almost the entire briefing. She grinned as the unprotected thoughts from the redhead told her how fascinated the woman was with their Chief of Security.

Kat had been watching Tull with rapt interest and it wasn't until she noticed Nancy looking at her that she realized that she had been staring. Kat began to blush, her cheeks turning almost as red as her hair. He was so...primal, yet that very aspect fascinated her. His hair reminded her of her pet husky, Willow. His color pattern and the way his ears moved made her imagination wonder what Willow would have looked like if she had been humanoid. Kat had grown up with that animal and some of her best memories revolved around Willow. She had not just been a pet, but had been her friend and constant companion from early childhood until she had left home. She often wondered how she would have ever made it through her turbulent teenage years if she had not had Willow to talk with and cuddle.

Snapping out of her own trip down memory lane, Kat looked at Nancy. The smirk on Nancy's face told her the Betazoid knew what she had been thinking. Kat decided it was time to change the subject.

"So who is Billy?" She asked, hoping the color was fading from her face.

Valentine noticed when Kelly took off her jacket that she was as well armed as he was. That sword could cause a problem if the need to deal with her. She could be even more trouble than Tull. I hope I don't get that particular order. Against my better judgment I am starting to like her. This ship and mission are definitely intriguing. I also wonder what made Kat blush so badly she almost looked like a tomato?

When told they had 36 hours to get to know the ship and get some rest, Valentine spoke up, "Ma'am, not to sound dense, but my orders for what I should be doing here still aren't clear. If I am to utilize this time wisely, could you perhaps give me an idea of what you would like me to do? Point me in the right direction and like a great ass I will tarry forth to my labor."

Talea groaned as Valentine began to get into his flowery speech patterns, which meant he was getting comfortable with Kelly and the others. That was fast. Then again this is more his forte. Hopefully he doesn't fall into old patterns, or I may shove him out an airlock with or without the Captain's permission. She adjusted her uniform and waited for the dismissal. Talea wanted to talk with Tull one on one, to start working out details, but first she needed a few hours of sleep. She had already been up 27 hours and though she had gone longer, she knew if she was to be at her peak she needed the rest.

Kelly laughed, "Great ass? That's a new one. Well, Mister Ass, I thought you would have deduced it by now, but let me make it clear. Your eagerness to rain hell upon our enemies will serve you well on the Bridge. You will begin familiarizing yourself with the weapons systems of this ship and her flight capabilities. Get with Lieutenant Lauren 'Legs' Langston and see what you can learn. We're in dire need of someone with deadly piloting skills and the ability to make ship to ship fighting look like art. You came highly recommended, so I'm counting on you to not disappoint. Is that clear enough for you?"

The Captain stood with her hands on her hips and looked around the small room at the people in it and nodded slowly, "This might work. I like the feel of this. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've had a long day. If anyone has anything else, you know where to find me."

She then grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair, picked up her coffee cup and walked out the door. Mori slowly stood and cleared his throat, "Well, if you hadn't guessed, that is her way of declaring the meeting to be officially concluded and you are all dismissed."

As Nancy stood, she said to Kat, "Billy is in reference to William Littlebear. Most call him Billy, but his friends call him Bear. He tends to be a quiet man, and his approach to his profession is a bit unusual, but you can't argue with his results. He got a little singed earlier and the CMO is making sure he is good to go. She likes to take the time to do things right, when given the chance. As a result, I expect that he will be as good as new by now. You'll almost always find him in Main Engineering. I'm honestly not even sure if he sleeps or not."

Sam continued to sit and watch everyone. She was in no hurry and enjoyed watching everyone interact, seeing the conversations and new relationship blossom around her. She took note of all the countless non-verbal elements going on and it made her grin. Of all the ships she had been on, this was certainly one of the most interesting. The crew was very highly skilled in their various fields and there was a kind of excitement in the air, in spite of the bad news. She worried if any of them would be killed during this mission. The ship was traversing deeply troubled waters and the records of previous missions so covert that she wondered what they were really doing out here, but only time would answer some questions.

As everyone else began to leave, Sam eventually stood. She returned her glass of water to the replicator and decided that perhaps she should return to her quarters and check on the progress of her automated redecorating efforts. This ship was her new home now, be it ever so humble. She wondered silently how long it would be before she was forced to begin revealing her secrets, but for now would do her best to fit in and do what she had been brought here to do.