A Certain Quadarite's Quarters, Somewhere Around 03:45 Hours

In the darkness, something brushed up against Sabaqwa Isth's furry leg. In a blinding instant of kicking, flying sheets and pillows, small, desperate whimpers, and something else that got knocked to the floor in a loud thump, Sabaqwa sits straight up, legs entangled in his sheets and his bluish black mane of hair sticking up in an even wilder "Albert Einstien" than he'd had in ages. If one could have set cups of tea in his eyes, they would have made perfect saucers.

He sat there perfectly still for a few seconds, looking like an exploded dandelion. As sleep took over, he began to slide sideways as though the air had been let out of his spine. Just before he lost balance over the side of the bed, he shook himself, focus returning in a terror to his eyes, and squeaked like an impaled bird. Blinking perplexed, shocked at himself, but too sleepy to think, he slumps backwards into his bed with a 'thunk'.

Sabaqwa lays there, almost asleep at last, when his eyes fly wide open.

"And what the living cracks is an 'Albert Einstein' anyways!" he yells at everyone and no one at all, the memory of being teased by Starfleet humans searing him awake. Not a place he wanted to be. Not at 03:45 am.

With a grumpy growl, Sabaqwa rolls to the side of the bed, thinking to swing his long legs over the edge and catapult himself back upright. But in his tussle with whatever in the world had awakened him so rudely, he misjudges his position in the bed, and flips back around with a hard 'whap'. His head now at the foot of the bed, his feet where his head used to be, and sticking out most awkwardly, claws and toes extended like fans.

Now, he not only had been awakened rudely, but had to bear the memory of previous insults without being fully awake, now was dizzy, angry on top of it all, and fully basakwards in his bed.

Sheets and pillows went flying in all directions, none of them surviving without deep holes and rips in them.

Deafening Silence.

A single pillow feather floats innocently down and lands on Sabaqwa's nose. His eyes, not quite able to focus nor cross correctly at this time of morning, merely makes him quite nauseated in the attempt to look at it close up. Somehow, (and anything is possible at 03:45 in the morning), he accidentaly inhales the feather up his exceedingly sensitive nose. His eyes go unevenly wide, one eyelid quivering uncontrollably and a terrible grimace evolving on his spotted feline face.

There is nothing like a cat sneeze, until a Quadarite has a go at it.

Eleven decks up, below and in all directions around his quarters, people are jolted from their collective sleeps by the most bizzare and inexplicable cacophanies of sounds. Hacking like a dying goose, ripping, splattering, wheezing, mewling piteously and several other spasms later, Sabaqwa Isth finally gets control of himself. Sort of..

In the quarters next to Sabaqwa's, a man sits straight up in his bed, the sound having jolted him from his sleep.

"Damned cat at it again." He mumbles and flops back into his sheets.

Three decks up, a little girl wanders into her parent's bedroom, rubbing her sleepy eyes and hugging her teddy bear, "Mommy? Daddy? What was that sound?".

Her parents sit up and look at each other a little startled. They'de heard it too, but couldn't have guessed what it was. The woman looks all around, rubbing her eyes too,

"Well, no red alert, no yellow alert... I'de say..."

"We're ok." the sleepy parents say in perfect unison.

"Mommy? Can I go back to sleep now?" The little girl says with a pout. Her parents gladly grant her wish as they snuggle back down to sleep themselves.

Back in Sabaqwa Isth's quarters...

A very small creature, small enough to fit in one's palm, scuttles slowly from the remnants of Sabaqwa's bedding. A mini hedgehog, the innocent author of this morning's adventure.

Sab, turns suddenly in the bed, sensing and hearing movement.

"LIGHTS!" he shrieks to the top of his lungs. Sleep deprivation, personal calamities and nerves having taken over completely, he begins to shake. The neighbor next door bangs on the wall hollering for him to keep it down. Sab's chin begins to quiver, so he curls up, hugging up his knees and snuggles into himself.

Just out of Sabaqwa's field of vision, the tiny hedgehog drops to the floor and finds a nice warm remnant of what had previously been a pillow. It happily burrows into the warm fluff for a comfy doze.

As the realization sinks in that he just isn't going to get anymore sleep tonight, Sab's whole expression melts in dismay, his ears going limp, one at a time.

"I still don't know what an 'Albert Einstein' is." He says with a very soft pout.

Captain Rakurai Stryker - Dot's Diner

Sabaqwa looked frazzled, possibly meaning he'd not slept too well.

There he was, looked on at the unreal scene in front of them. The CO and XO of the ship was sitting at table 21. On the table, six half eaten limes and lemons plus the remains of Trill hot peppers. Commander Khetrha and Captain Stryker was crying their eyes out and eating the peppers on a dare, adding to the mess on the table. The blueskinned waitress, Kwai Tsuta was laughing. "I win." she declared.

Sabaqwa Isth stepped in when Khetrha almost grabbed Kwai Tsuta by the collar. "Sir, Ma'am. Please. Why don't you turn in for the night. You don't look so good."

"A little too late for that." Stryker said, wiping at his face. "The time is 0530 hours. Daytime shift starts in thirty minutes."

05:30 Hours, and somewhere on the Pretoria, Kiya searches for a hollodeck not in use, to no avail.

Dressed in her best thigh-length silk running shorts and slim silk running top, all in deepest royal blue, and in her customary running fashion of being barefoot, black hair loose and free, Kiya jogs to the next holodeck, hoping this one isn't in use like the other nine so far.

She checks the status bar near the holodeck's door, and as all the others have been, this one's in use too. She sighs, "Well, at least I'll get in a good jog today if all of them are unavailable." She shrugs and begins her jog to the next deck. A few passing crewmen look at her and smile. Kiya smiles back and continues onward not thinking again about it.

As she nears the next deck, she decides to take the turbolift, jogging in place to keep her metabolism running hot. Just as the doors start to sigh shut, a science officer dashes in, barely missing the doors as they close.

"Morning Doctor." The man says, a little out of breath. Kiya nods a hello and deciding not to be chatty, simply smiles and keeps her eyes ahead, continuing to jog in place.

The man smiles softly, then looks ahead too, shuffling his stack of various reports into the other arm. But after a moment, his curiosity and need to speak override her cues for no conversation.

"Pardon my rudeness Doctor, may I introduce myself?"

He looks downright drop dead gorgeous. The blue of the uniform going quite appealingly with his startlingly blue eyes, blond, short-cropped hair and narrow, close-cropped beard and moustache. Kiya can't help but notice his smile is handsome all by itself. It fairly radiates. She swallows as her voice has suddenly fled the scene.

"O- oh, yeah." She nearly sqauwks out at last, a little embarrased at herself, realising too late her manners have taken a leave of absence too.

The quick increase in his smile was a glory to see, one of the most incredible smiles Kiya had observed in ages. She swallows again wondering where did she ever loose her professional grip in the presence of any officer, especially such a ...handsome one.

"The pleasure's all mine Doctor, my name is Lt. Kevin Talboth, Chief of Stellar Cartography." He extends his hand for a friendly shake, the smile even more devastating to Kiya now. She feels giddy as her palms have gone suddenly moist.

She struggles for a foothold on her normally cool venere, "Uhm.. Lt. Cdr. Kiya Black Wolf, I'm your friendly neighborhood CMO." She says, trying not to stammer. She also tries to smile her regular smile, but instead colors a deep red as his hand brushes into hers. She swallows again and shakes his strong, warm hand quickly, wishing with all her being that he would let go of it before the rest of her melts like a silly schoolgirl. Her grin becomes terribly sheepish and the color of her reddening face is only accentuated by her natural Native American olive complection. A perfect clash now with her brilliantly deep royal blue athletic clothes.

"So nice to meet you Lt. Commander Black Wolf." He says formally, still, with that incredible smile, and a fondness that made her quake to her bare feet.

The turbolift comes to a soft jolt as the ride is over. As soon as the doors begin to open, Kiya quickly excuses herself and resumes her jog for the next nearest holodeck. Strangely enough, it looked more like she was running instead.

From the turbolift, Lt. Talboth grins softly as he watches Lt. Cdr. Black Wolf run, her athletic clothes completely inside out, the tags waving behind her.

Krone - Lieutenant Krone's Quarters

Krone woke up to the sound of the Computer's voice, The time is 0530 Hours. And to it, he got up and rubbed his head.

"Uggh... I cannot believe I chose to be on this ship."

Krone walked into his bathroom and began brushing his teeth. Looking through the mirror, he saw how tired he was. "I do not even feel like going into work today."

Corridors

He stepped out his Quarters and bumped into Kiya Black Wolf. She was jogging and had accidentally hit him in the shoulder.

"Oh! Excuse me!" She said apologetically and then continued on running before Krone could respond.

"Ugghhhh..." he responded to himself.
"Krone! How's it going?" One of his officers, Ensign Zetachi, joined him in walking.
Oh great, Krone thought. Can't I go one day without walking into this guy?
"Sir, you're not answering me. Are you in deep thought again?"
"Errsorry. I was just admiring the walls."
"No... no you weren't," Zetachi said. "I think you don't like me!"
"What? That's preposterous!"
"I can't believe it! I've been so nice to you lately, and now out of nowhere you decide to not like me!" Zetachi was starting to feel hurt.
"No, no. It's not like that at all! I really was admiring the walls. Look at that grey!" Krone stopped and gestured towards a blank spot on the wall.
"Fine then sir. If you don't like me, well I guess it's not required in your job."

Zetachi turned his head, having been hurt inside, and then walked away.

Krone was left, still gesturing at the wall. He didn't have any clue to what the hell just happened. In bringing down his arms, he began grumbling. "Ugghh! All I want is another Lethean Coffee."

He entered a Turbolift and took it up a few Decks.

Commander Alice Brangwin

Alice woke up, immediatly noticing something is wrong. The bed was huge, the lack of the warp core 'heartbeat' was noticable. The room was the third clue, it was huge, and made of stone.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed. Alice brought her left hand to rub her eyes, but halted it inches away to stare at the four fingers tipped in shiny gold polish. Then, ever-so-carefully, she touched her face.

Alice found that her forehead rose into a row of thin quills that swept back like a tiara. Instead of eyebrows, she had thick ridges. Alice found she has a beck, her cheekbones high with a pert nose.

She looked at a full length mirror, taking in the promising curves of calf and thigh, the ballerina-arched talons, a pair of spurs rising from her knees.

Shifting her shoulders, she heard and felt wings moving against her back. First left, then right, she extended them, then brought them around her body like a cloak. All of it in deepest indigo. More shock followed when she discovered another apenange. I have a tail !

Sure enough, a tail attached to her backside coiled like a tropical serpent lounging on a branch.

Alice hugged herself, then ran her palms over her torso. "COOL!", she exclaimed. "I AM A GARGOYLE."

She tore the window open, suddenly bathed in a swirl of icy air, and dove headlong into the night. She glided, every now and then doing a giddy little loop, "I don't think this can get any weirder."

She glided over the castle's courtyard. In the center of the sparkling pool was a statue composed of many figures. Three identical gowned women faced outward in a ring, pouring endless streams from silvery urns. Two taller figures, a man and a woman with unusually angular features and royal garb, stood on a pedestal above and between the three women. Nearby, another pool, stood a stone unicorn, a column-ringed structure around that pool.

Then her bedside alarm went off ...

Krone - Science Lab 4

Krone entered the Science Lab and was met by Ensign Theda.
"What's the matter Lieutenant? You don't look so good," she said.
"Argh! It's that annoying Zetachi. I ran into him this morning and let's just say things are not good between us."
"Oh no! You didn't get angry and hit him did you?"

Krone went to the main desk and activated a few computer stations. "No, not at all. I just happened to let my mind wander while he was speaking and he suddenly claimed that I did not like him!"
Theda was surprised by this and placed her hands on her hips, "Well do you?"
"What?"
"Like him?"
"I find him annoying at times! Especially at this time in particular!"
Theda suddenly broke out laughing, "Hehehe! Oh come on Krone. Just give the guy a chance. He works under you, so obviously he wants you to like him."
"I am sorry. But are we back in Lethean Pre-School here?"
Theda shrugged her shoulders, "It's Basic Command Structure 101. Everyone looks up to thier commanding officers in some way or another. And on a side note, you're the only one on this ship that went to Lethean Pre-School." She poked him in the chest.
Krone became annoyed at even this. "Alright, alright," he gave in, "I'll give Zetachi a chance to enter the books of who-Krone-tolerates."
"Good. Oh, and I was just wondering... what do you think of me?"

She smiled politely at him, but Krone just rolled his eyes and left the desk area.

06:10 hours

Commander Alice Brangwin - Quarters, Bed room

Alice shook off the weird and vivid dream she had. Then the red haired woman got up automatically at her usual time, 0530 hours, and headed towards the shower.

She didn't wake up when she stubbed her toe, or even when she turned on the bright fluorescents in the bathroom, only when the first sprays of cold water hit her body did she fully regain consciousness.

When it came, it brought memories with it. Stryker did not come home last night. There is something I was going to tell him last night, she thought.