The turbolift doors opened onto deck six. Commander Kirk stepped out as two Marines ran past him completely naked. The one in behind was weilding a towel like a samurai warrior trying to snap the rear end of the one in front. Loud rock music, from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries was blaring throughout the halls. On the floor, down the hall and by the enlisted mens' quarters, were several marines in their skivvies playing poker. The scene reminded him of his time in boot camp almost twenty years ago. Shaking his head despite the memories, he turned to the left and headed for the officers' quarters. At the end of the hall, he came to the quarters of Colonel Prichard. He pressed the chiming button next to the door.

"It's open," despite the muffled sound of his voice, his southern accent was unmistakeable. The door slid silently open.

The way Colonel Prichard decorated his living space surprised him. It looked more like a situation room than a living area. There was a large table in the middle with a number of chairs scattered about. Two mobile video screens separated the tactical area from a lone, small couch directly next to the wall-mounted display on the other side. The Colonel, dressed down, was putting some unidentifiable objects on a shelf. He quickly put them down, rubbed his right hand on his pant leg, and extended it to Stephen. "Well, well, well... Commander Kirk. What do I owe this pleasure?"

Kirk looked around, noticing he still had several boxes on the floor with unpacked items. "We've been in space for almost two weeks, Colonel. You're still unpacking?"

Prichard shrugged. "Some days, I'm a Colonel. Other days, I'm a babysitter for these kids. I've been too busy getting these kids settled in to worry about my stuff. Now that they're comfy, I can concentrate on myself." There was a sudden thud against the wall near the door. Prichard shook his head with a smile. "I hope you don't mind the ruckass."

Kirk shook his head. "Doesn't bother me, Sir. I went through a lot worse than this during my zero-g training near Jupiter."

Prichard smiled, then got back to business. "I take it you're not here for a social call, Commander." He grabbed a couple more items to place on his shelves. "What's on your mind?"

"We have an issue," Kirk began cautiously. Prichard slowly craned his neck around. "We received a call for help and were given a set of coordinates. They're in the Orias system."

He put his handfulls of knicknacks down, then fully turned around to face Kirk with folded arms. "Go ahead."

"There's been some suspicious behavior going on lately with the Cardassians. Anyway, Warlord can't just head over to the Orias system and check things out... AND since we don't have any shuttlecraft yet, either..."

Prichard finished his thought. "You want one of the 'Vettes to go have a looksee, is that it?"

Kirk nodded. "We already got clearance from the Cardassian government for both 'Vettes to perform some warp tests. We've also got a list of restricted places where they can't go. Orias isn't on it."

Prichard eyed him curiously. "And we ain't got a single idea what's out there, right?"

Kirk shrugged. "It could be nothing."

Prichard considered for a moment, then smiled. Normally, he wouldn't want to waste his people on wild goose chases. However, he needed to get his people engaged in something. He worst fears had started coming true recently. Without something to drive his people, they started losing focus and discipline. Some fun was perfectly fine... it came with the territory. Unfortunately, there was entirely too much idle time. "Okay... I'll have my men check it out. When do we leave?"

"Whenever you're ready," Kirk answered with a smile.

"Okay... tell your captain we'll be ready to launch in thirty."

"Thanks, Colonel. I'll let him know." He headed for the door with Prichard right behind him.

As he headed back to the turbolift, he heard Prichard's voice screaming down the hall, "I need Connor, Thackery and O'Shea in my room on the double! We actually have something to do!" The entire floor cheered.