Disclaimer: I do not own any franchises, only the original characters. Everything else is owned by their respective companies.

Chapter 11:

Captain's Log, Stardate: 64561.68

It has been two hours since Admiral Kalaghata had disappeared through the wormhole. After being attended to by Doctor Smith, Captain Ratula and his crew have also gone through to search and apprehend the runaway after delivering Ms Eri's message. Hopefully their respective governments will be willing to open up negotiations. Meanwhile Starfleet Command has ordered both the Arcana and Thunder Child back to Earth for debriefing. Until I receive further instructions I have placed Ms Eri in the guest quarters and given her general access to the ship's database.

Ambrosio pressed the door chime, having decided to check up on the red headed Jedi. A few moments later the girl let him in, a small scowl on her face when she saw who was visiting.

"What do you want?" She asked, flopping into the chair by the desk.

Ambrosio took a quick glance at the computer display behind her before sitting down on the bed to answer her question.

"As security chief I must make sure that every person on this ship is accounted for. I just came to check up on you. It is rare to have a guest aboard this ship, even rarer to have one from another galaxy. I see you are reading up on Captain Kirk?" He inquired, nodding to the image that was currently displayed.

Eri nodded, her scowl lessening a bit as she turned around to look at the file.

"Not so much reading as listening to your computer talk about him. Thank goodness your systems are voice controlled. I am barely able to read this stuff."

Eri sighed, glancing up to examine the face of the past Starfleet Officer.

"The man's record is pretty impressive for someone who has no abilities in the Force. I am also intrigued by his former partners. Admiral McCoy seems a lot like your doctor Smith and Ambassador Spock seemed rather ambitious to attempt reunification between his people and these…Romulates?"

Ambrosio chuckled.

"They are Romulans and yes, he was rather ambitious. I had always wanted to meet the Ambassador, too bad he went missing. I even remember as a child wishing to be like him, so calm and collected and capable of handling the crap life threw at him…" he drifted off, a small look of admiration and nostalgia on his face.

Eri glanced back at the security officer, surprised at how the small smile seemed to change the man's image significantly. For the few hours that she had known him, he was always snapping at others and or just smirking in the background. To see a genuinely happy smile made him look more…like a kind older brother she thought, fully examining his features.

The man had golden hair, but with the amount of gray interwoven, it looked almost pale. His skin was marked with a few very faint scars. So faint in fact that no one could notice them without looking for it. But what was really startling was the look off his eyes. Their blue color was dulled, close to lifeless, yet one didn't need to be a Jedi to see the soul behind them. It seemed gentle, caring yet at the same time with a kind of determination and confidence. There was another feeling that she could barely see, leaning in for a better look, something that seemed hidden, what is it…?

"What are you doing?"

Ambrosio snapped out of his thoughts with a raised eyebrow. Eri blushed, realizing how close their faces were, staggering back in embarrassment and tripping over her own feet. Chuckling, Ambrosio extended his hand out and the Jedi reluctantly allowed him to help her up.

"S…s…sorry. I didn't mean to invade your personal space, I…I mean…"

The man just raised his hand to silence her.

"Let's just pretend you didn't do anything. Okay?" He smiled slightly.

He took a look at the Jedi before him. She was now wearing a combadge on her recently cleaned clothes. Without the dirt and grime, the bright tunic seemed to exaggerate the colors of her hair and eyes more. With the confused and somewhat scared look in them, Ambrosio couldn't help but notice she bore a resemblance to…

Eri gulped a bit, feeling uncomfortable. Why was he looking at her so intently now? Panicking as he stared her down further, she summed up her courage and Force pushed him off the bed. However in her panic she used a bit too much and sent him skidding a few feet across the deck.

"What the…?" Ambrosio winced as his back burnt slightly from the friction.

"I'm sorry!" the Jedi apologized, leaning over the bed. "You were kind of scaring me with your staring so I kind of panicked…"

"Don't apologize. I'm the one who should be sorry. I never realized how much you looked like…" he trailed off again, closing his eyes and turning his head away.

"Like who?" Eri asked, still worried about his back.

The security officer stood up, wincing slightly, before heading back out the door.

"Nothing, just forget about it. Sorry to bother you."

Eri watched as the doors shut, strangely feeling upset that he left.

-AO-

Horace sat in his office, grimacing at the workload that his staff had dumped on him. Sighing, he picked up a PADD and began transferring the data into the computer before picking up the next.

"Might as well get these things downloaded into the system. Otherwise my desk will be overrun with PADDs…again." He spoke to himself as he tossed another PADD into a tray behind him. Looking up at the hiss of the doors, he watched as Doran walked in with the Captain.

"Captain? Commander? What are you two doing here?"

"Has Fintan seen you lately?" The pink-haired first officer asked, concern evident in his tone.

"Lieutenant Ambrosio? No. I haven't seen him since the Imperialists left. Why do you ask?"

Red sat down on a nearby bio-bed, running his hand through his somewhat messy hair.

"The lieutenant seemed a bit more depressed than usual after he went to check up on Ms Eri. He has this dazed look and is barely pays attention to where he is going. I had already bumped into him several times while on my rounds."

Doran nodded.

"I also found him in the holodeck after our shift was over. He was replaying that program."

Both of the other officers looked up at that. Horace's eyes widening slightly as he realized something.

"Now that you mention it, Ms Eri does sort of look like…" he gasped, setting down the PADD he was holding.

"Now this is concerning…" Aka'ula spoke up, catching on. "I remember reading his history when he was first assigned. It took him years to get over her death. Now we have a look alike on board and that will no doubt be unhealthy for his mental state."

Horace keyed into his console, taking a look at the display.

"The lieutenant is safely in his room according to his combadge signal. I'll arrange for a consoling session with him as soon as it is convenient."

With a shake of his head, he turned off the display and turned back to the other two.

"Things are getting out of hand. Too many people around us have problems. You, captain, with your own mental conditions, the commander with his childhood amnesia (the Captain glanced over to his first officer, now remembering the reports he read), Ambrosio with his depression and now we are dealing with a refugee and an insane admiral from the remnants of a galaxy spanning empire. And that is just the personal problems!" He spoke, rubbing his temples to soothe his headache. "This morning my sonic shower malfunctioned, several of the chronometers in my instruments were desynchronized, and the replicators burnt my fruit salad! A salad! Had to go to the mess deck just to grab a piece of toast. What the hell is going on here?"

"I really don't know." Aka'ula replied, standing up. Stretching a bit, he turned to his first officer.

"I want you to work with the engineers and complete a thorough examination on all of the ship's systems and equipment. We will be entering Spacedock tomorrow so I want to get this ship repaired and scrubbed clean from top to bottom."

'Yes sir"

"Doctor?"

"Yes captain?"

"Notify me of the results of your session with Ambrosio. I will be back in my quarters reviewing the personnel files if anyone needs me. I also want to know what is going on."

"Aye captain."

Author's Note: Sorry that my chapters are getting a bit shorter. But this plot is going through a roller coaster, or should I say IS a roller coaster and this chapter itself is very important. Sorry that I had thrown Doran's amnesia at you, but I had realized that I haven't included it in any earlier chapters, so it will be explained in the next update. Until then, read and (hopefully) review.