I have updated this chapter along with the others to change the stardates to later times. Enjoy as usual.

"Captain's log stardate 40468.9. The Australian has received orders to begin a patrol of the Federation/Breen border. Reports have been coming in of strange activities. We have been assigned to investigate."

The observation lounge was empty except for captain Jackson staring out of one window. As he stood there watching the stars as the ship traveled at warp speeds, he simply stopped being captain for a moment. His workload had been tremendous since the ship was released to join the rest of the fleet eight days ago. He pondered over why Starfleet had taken so long to let him have the full reigns of his ship. It had to be something with Admiral Drake. His court-martial was a joke. He hadn't even received a slap on the wrist for his involvement, and his grandson, Jeff Bell, never made it back to headquarters for his court-martial.

Jackson laughed at that thought. 'I didn't have any control anyway. I'll bet my accusation never made it to the records.' He let his gaze return to the stars. standing alone gave him the time he needed to order his thoughts again.

The doors at the far end of the observation lounge opened to reveal Lt. Com. Alex Blizzard. He walked slowly towards Capt. Jackson.

"Yes commander?" Jackson asked not removing his eyes from the stars.

"I have an article that needs your endorsement sir?" Blizzard spoke slowly as he stopped two meters from Jackson.

"What?" Jackson turned. He was slightly confused at what the Chief of Ops needed him to endorse.

"The name change for Ten Forward sir. It needs your endorsement before it is official." Blizzard stated.

"Why didn't you say so?" Jackson took the PADD from him and read over it. "Brisbane. Interesting. Why Brisbane?" Jackson handed the PADD back.

"According to my research, in Australia, the city Brisbane has interesting districts, a good café street scene, and a busy cultural calendar. What better name for the place where everyone gathers for such events?"

"Well then, you have my endorsement. I chose the right person to have look into renaming the place." Jackson then returned his attention to the stars.

Blizzard took this as his cue o leave. As he walked towards the door he was suddenly stopped by the captain's words.

"Call the senior staff together. I want to discuss a few ideas with them."

"Yes sir." Came the reply as Alex Blizzard exited the observation lounge.

An hour later the senior staff was sitting in the observation lounge. Each member was wondering why a meeting was called. Jackson had been staring at the stars since they had come in. After two minutes of waiting, Jackson turned to all of them.

"I called you in to get a general feel of how the crew is now interacting." He began. "How is the comradeship coming along?"

Rem Norland was the first to speak. "Several performance art groups have started and begun rehearsals. I believe there is a classical music group that is preparing a concert."

"Lieutenant Commander Marlon created the classical music society aboard. He is the head of Stellar Cartography." D'Kut chimed in.

"I recently began teaching self defense classes." Evergreen spoke up. "15 crew showed up for the first session."

"Any others?" Jackson asked. He looked from each member briefly.

"A small skiing club has started to form as well Captain." Barbara Hewett mentioned. She laughed slightly at the last 'meeting' and how it had ended.

"There is a chess tournament slated to begin tomorrow." Stryfe spoke up. She had been waiting for some competitors in the game.

"It appears that life on this ship has survived." Jackson said with a laugh. "With that, I would like to begin a tradition aboard this ship."

Each member turned towards the Captain. Each of them had their own experiences from traditions started by previous captains.

"I want the senior staff to have dinner together once a week in Brisbane." He said. Jackson scanned his officers for their initial reactions.

"Which day sir?" Blizzard asked.

"Wednesday at 1800." Jackson looked at his chronometer. "That would give us four hours before dinner. Any objections?" He once again looked at each person present.

None of the senior staff voiced any objections and Jackson took their silence as that. "Then return to your stations. I will see you all in Brisbane." Jackson stood up signaling them to be dismissed.

As each person filtered out of the room, Blizzard remained behind.

"Something on your mind?" Jackson asked.

"Yes sir." Alex began tuning back towards the Captain. "I don't know how to explain this." He seemed to be timid.

"Spit it out. That usually works." Jackson laughed off.

"I'm not comfortable in non-professional settings." He began. "I never really had a personal life sir."

"Alex," Jackson began. He understood how Blizzard felt. "There are many great leaders that are shy."

"Really sir? Do you know any?" Alex returned.

"Nope, but I am sure there are some. Let me offer you some advice."

"Yes sir."

"One, in a setting such as this one, call me Josh. Two, you just need to relax a bit." Jackson offered.

"If I screw up in a personal situation, I would be looked down on in my position." Alex began showing his insecurities.

"You're afraid of making an ass out of yourself." Jackson stated. "From personal experience, its better to make an ass of yourself when you're not in a professional setting. I'd prefer it to be done then rather than on the bridge." Jackson paused for a minute to allow his words to sink in. "When was the last time you had a date?"

Alex reeled at that comment. His love life was certainly not anyone's business. However, he knew that Josh was only trying to help. "Four or five years."

"Get one. You will feel a lot better afterward." Jackson glanced at the chronometer again. "You can talk to me anytime. If you don't mind, I have to go beat someone at nine ball." Jackson started for the doors. "Let your confidence build up at the senior staff dinner. Treat it like a briefing and you'll be fine." Jackson stepped out of the doors.

After the doors closed, Alex stood alone in the room. "Easy for you to say. Silver Stryfe is the one that I don't want to be an ass in front of." As he heard himself say her name, he cursed.

The recreation deck was full of officers and crew alike. The big attraction was the Captain playing the First Officer in a game of nine-ball on the ships pool table.

The crowd was bustling with excitement. There had been a betting pool before the match began and the crowds speech showed it.

"I've got it all on the Captain!" One crewman said.

"Commander Norland is a good trick-shot player though." Another crewman stated.

"They're not playing trick-shot. This is nine-ball." A third chimed in.

The whole challenge came about when Norland was hustling officers and crew about 7 hours earlier. As the Captain walked in, she had claimed to be the best on the ship. Captain Jackson had called her and the match was decided.

Norland and Jackson approached the table to decide who would break first. It was decided by a coin toss that Norland had won.

The designated referee was a civilian. He approached the table and quieted everyone to state the rules.

"The balls must be struck according to the lowest number in play, you have 20 seconds to take a shot, one extension per game, alternating break, and first to seven wins." He stepped forward to rack the balls. After placing them and shuffling them slightly, he removed the rack and stepped away from the table.

Rem walked towards the table and placed the cue ball where she wanted it. She delivered a powerful hit for the initial break that pocketed the 3 ball in the side. As each ball came to rest, she looked over the table. The cue ball rested between the 6 and 2 balls with no clear shot at the 1 ball. She decided to play a safety. She knocked the cue ball out of its previous predicament trying to place it in a worse place. Her plan didn't work because she did not strike the ball hard enough to get it behind the 7 ball. Josh stepped up to the table and pocketed the 1 ball from his position. He then proceeded to pocket the remaining balls for the first point of the game.

Two hours later on the twelfth rack, the score 6 to 5 with Rem leading, Josh had the break. As he struck the cue with his force, the ball spun slightly and did not hit the 1 ball head on like he wanted. The result was a break that had no pocketed balls. The worse part was that Rem was given great shots at the rest of the table.

"I think I just handed you this one." Josh said as he walked towards his chair. "But this isn't over yet!"

Rem walked towards the table. The crowd was silently waiting for the outcome. Rem began to place each of the balls into the pockets until she reached the 9 ball.

"Game over Captain. I win." She said smugly.

"You have to sink it first!" Josh returned.

Rem placed her cue-stick between her fingers and began her wind up for the last shot. As her stick came forward, she struck the cue and moved it on one of her wind-ups.

Rem's eyes went wide as she realized what she had done. "Oh no! That was stupid! I suppose I just handed you this table." She walked back to her seat as Josh stepped up and sank the ball easily.

"6 to 6. Last game, Commander Norland has the break." The referee said aloud.

The entire room was quiet as the balls were racked up again. This game was to decide the winner. The betting pool had grown since the start of the game. Everyone present had no idea how it would end.

As Rem stepped towards the table, the ships intercom came on. "Bridge to Captain Jackson." Alex Blizzard was on the other end.

Jackson knew that if he were being called this game would have to wait. "What is it Bridge?" He responded.

"We are picking up another ship on long range sensors."

"Can you identify it?" Jackson called out. It was evident that everyone present wanted to see this game end, including Jackson.

"Not at this range sir." Blizzard called back.

"Inform me of any changes until then, Jackson out." The intercom shut off and Jackson looked towards Norland. "Break Rem."

Rem once again took her stance to strike the balls. She knew that if she could keep Josh from the table that she could easily win this game. After she struck the cue and sent it hurling towards the rack, she thought about where each ball should land. After watching the 4 and 6 balls pocket, she concentrated on where the 1 ball went. It resided between the 2 and 8 balls giving her a difficult, yet playable, shot. Josh look at his opponent while she took careful aim.

The murmurs in the crowd could be made out.

"She should play a safety. Its better than trying for that shot."

"Whenever she played a safety, the Captain turned it on her."

"If she makes it, she stands a good chance at winning."

Rem closed her eyes as she lined up her cue-stick. When she opened them again, she saw only the 1 ball. As she struck the cue ball, it narrowly missed the 8 ball but struck the 1 ball and pocketed it into the corner. She let out an audible sigh as she then proceeded to sink each ball with confidence. On the last ball, she made no comment to Josh about winning before taking the shot. That turned out bad last time. As she struck the ball, everybody watched it go into the pocket.

Cheers and applause erupted throughout the recreation deck. Half of those present were extremely happy, while the other half looked like they were regretting the bet they made.

Josh walked up to Rem. "Good game. You are the best on the ship."

"There might be someone to beat me." She returned a smile.

The intercom came over the crowd once again. "Bridge to Captain Jackson." It was Blizzard again.

"Jackson here, go ahead bridge."

"The ship is a Breen ship sir. It appears to be dead in the water sir."

"I'm on my way. Plot an intercept course and engage at present speed." Jackson looked towards Norland.

"Short lived victory." Norland said as both of them headed out of the area.

"Oh no. I won't live this down until we have a rematch." Jackson replied as they walked towards the turbo lift.

Capt. Jackson and Com. Norland entered the bridge from the turbo lift. There was a ship on the main view screen. The Breen Frigate that appeared was a series of crescent shapes that resembled a ship that was a breed designed entirely for war.

"Hailing frequencies." Jackson ordered as he sat down.

"No response sir." Evergreen called to him.

"Tactical analysis. What do they have?" Jackson ordered again.

"They have four torpedo tubes, and apparently no beam weapons." Blizzard began. "The ship seems to not be using any power right now."

"What do you think Commander?" Jackson looked towards Norland.

"I say we should go to yellow alert." She responded. "All of our relations with the Breen have been hostile in the past."

"Good idea. Any answer to communications yet?" Jackson glanced back towards Evergreen.

"None yet sir." The console below him jumped to life and he started to read the displays. "Sir three more Breen frigates are coming towards us."

"What is their status?" Norland called out.

"Captain their shields are up and weapons online." Blizzard yelled back from his station. "They will be within attack range in fifteen seconds."

"Red alert! Shields up!" Jackson called out as the klaxons began sounding and the red light from the panels started flashing. "Why didn't we pick them up before?"

"Sir the crippled ship is powering up. I'm reading that all of their systems are functioning." Blizzard reported.

"Weapons online, let's be ready to defend ourselves." Jackson called as he gripped the sides of his chair slightly.

Ok that was chapter six. I left another cliffhanger. Expect this set of missions to last a few chapters. Please review. I hope to have a new chapter sometime in the next couple of days. Just be patient.