Raxsah: Hello all! Hope you had a lovely valentines day…
Jeck: Why yes, I was very happy and single. Thanks for asking.
Raxsah: If you're being sarcastic, I have no sympathy for you… I'm single too.
Jeck: That's okay because we had an awesome singles weekend. Even if I did make everyone in your house sick…
Raxsah: Yeah… shit happens. ANYWAY, We're back with another chapter, filled with suspense and action. Maybe, romance… I can't remember…
Jeck: More action and suspense kind stuff. The fun stuff. The sex stuff comes later. :3
Raxsah: Right, Well… there is more to the story than just sex. There is fluff too, that tends to be my department though…
Jeck: Mmmmm fluffy marshmallows… like mmmmm… oh, speaking of fluffy deliciousness, THANKS FOR THE REVIEW PATDfan2012!
Raxsah: Yes, thank you. Normally we would write a reply at the bottom… but there wasn't a whole lot to reply to. lol.
Jeck: Yeah, I'm glad you liked the chapter. There will be more. Enough said. Not that I'm trying to be mean or anything, it was a lovely reply.
Raxsah: Yes, So… we obviously don't own Star Trek, or anything associated with it. We only own our OC's
Jeck: Yeah, what she said. Cause there's not much more I can say 'cept read the chapter and don't take buttsex from strangers.
Raxsah: Uh… don't have sex with a strangers in general. Thanks again for those who added this story to their favorite and alerts lists. We hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 3: Breaking the Silence

"Welcome back, my good friend," Oliver greeted as Ryan walked into the engineering room, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He had taken Griffin's advice and took a short nap before his shift started.

"I would kindly like to point out that you were ready to hurt him last time for looking at 'your woman' funny, if I remember correctly." Rupert called from across the room as he began recalibrating one of the machines. Oliver turned around to face the Englishman.

"No one asked you!" He snapped, causing Ryan to jump at the starling noise. Rupert was about to say something back, but decided that Oliver wasn't worth the air and turned back to his machine. Oliver gave Rupert a smug look as Ryan sighed.

"Oh, because I totally didn't miss this…" He mumbled to himself, causing Dom to snicker. Oliver rounded on him.

"I heard that! What's that supposed to mean?" He shouted, grabbing Ryan by the collar.

"Dude, Oliver, you're like mildly bipolar," Dom said from his spot on the floor, rewiring one of the main computers.

"BRING IT, VINCENTINO!" Oliver let go of Ryan and slide across the floor to Dom. Dom tossed a screwdriver at him, hitting him in the head and stopping his attack. Oliver fell back across the floor, holding his head in pain. Ryan ignored him and turned to Dom.

"Vincentino?"

"That would be my last name. Dominic Vincentino."

"Oh, that makes sense," Ryan replied, unconsciously running his hand through his hair. It was so obvious, and yet the thought never occurred to him. Dom was obviously Italian considering he had a dark tan, dark brown hair that almost looked black in the right light, and a very unnoticeably accent. How could he have missed it before? It was just one surprise after another for him.

"Oh good, Ryan is joining us again tonight. Where's Griffin? He can't just keep passing his shift off to you," Colleen asked as she entered the room. Like everyone else, she ignored Oliver rolling around on the floor in pain. Dom and Rupert never even looked up from their jobs.

"He's at some meeting with the other senior officers." Colleen raised an eyebrow.

"They've been having a lot of those lately… weird. Anyway, since you have a fully working hand, you can help Dom with whatever he's working on," Colleen told him.

"And what would that be?" He asked.

"It's supposed to attach to a torpedo; supposedly it makes the thing invisible until it hit's its target." Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that the Science department's job?" He inquired.

"It is, until it begins to be built. Then it's our territory." He nodded and walked over, sitting at the working table next to Dom.

"Hey, I'm supposed to help you." Dom nodded and handed him a pile of junk.

"Try and figure out what the hell this is," he said. Dom nodded and they sat in silence for a minute.

"So… how long have you been on this ship?" he asked.

"I don't know; a year or two. Why?" Ryan shrugged.

"It just seems like all the senior officers are… weird." Dome paused and looked at Ryan, watching as he quickly began to search through the wad of junk.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"I don't know… all the meetings they've been having. It's all so secret. They've got to be up to something," Ryan muttered. Dom shrugged.

"Dude, in this place, sometimes it's better just to nod your head and just do as you're told," Dom told him, going back to his job.

"And you just… go with that?" Ryan asked. Dom sighed.

"Look dude, you seem cool. I like you, and I wouldn't mind being friends. You just have to realize that there are some things you just don't ask questions about," Dom explained as he turned back to the junk parts. Ryan just starred down at the floor now feeling slightly uncomfortable being around Dom. "I'm just looking out for you." Dom continued, trying to place two parts together.

"Err, thanks Dom," Ryan responded as an uneasy and uncomfortable silence filled the room as the two men worked. Somewhere in the corner, Oliver was still crying in pain.

"Ugh, my feet are killing me!" Claire cried out as she collapsed on a nearby medical table. Alex walked in, checking over a patient's chart.

"Problem?" He asked without looking up from his clipboard. She shot him a nasty glare from her position on the table.

"I've had the night shift two days in a row now, haven't had a wink of sleep, and have been working my butt off. You try dealing with every little problem that walks in here with only coffee and Pam's bad attitude for two days!" She rambled, practically pulling out her hair.

"Does that mean I get your pudding cup again tonight?" Alex asked, flipping to another page on the clipboard. He briefly glanced up to see that Claire had disappeared from the bed. "Ummm… Claire?"

"Boo!" She screamed from behind him. He jumped and turned around, fixing her with a nasty glare.

"What are you, five?" he snapped. Claire laughed and sat back on the bed.

"Sorry, I just wanted to see if you'd notice I was gone. I blame the sleep deprivation," she said, falling back on the bed. Alex rolled his eyes and sat down on the bed by her feet, even her boots looked worn out.

"Maybe you should call out sick or something," Alex suggested.

"Oh yeah, how am I going to do that?" she asked, turning over on her stomach.

"Pretend to be sick," he told her, going over a few things on his patient chart.

"Oh yes, let's try and play sick to the Chief Medical Officer. Let's see how well that goes over." Alex rolled his eyes and watched as the head nurse walked over to them.

"Doctor Conaway," she said, looking down at her data pad.

"What?!" Claire said, giving a muffled scream into the bed.

"You have a patient asking for you," she replied. Claire looked up, her eyebrows furrowing.

"What do they want?" she asked, getting off the bed, making sure she didn't hit Alex.

"I'm not sure, he just said he had a pain in his chest and you were the only one who could help him." Claire rolled her eyes as she straightened out her uniform, still thinking it was much too short of a skirt.

"Fine, I'll check it out," she said, grabbing her data pad and beginning to walk away.

"So… about your pudding cup…" Alex said.

"Sure… you can have whatever desert I get. Just stop asking me," Claire muttered.

"Thanks Claire!" Claire rolled her eyes and she pulled the curtain back of her patient.

"Hello, what seems to be the problem?" Claire asked, looking up from her data pad. As soon as her eyes landed on him, she had the sudden urge to simply turn right back around. Instead, she was rooted to her spot. Though, she contributed that to the fact that he was giving her that killer Kirk-smirk, and he was shirtless.

"Well hey Claire," he said, putting his muscular and well toned arms behind his head, causing his abs to flex. Claire briefly wondered if her nose had begun to bleed, but shook her head. She couldn't rid her mind of the dirty thoughts that were currently swimming around in her head. Part of her didn't want to, after see his chiseled chest.

"Hey C-Captain. W-What seems to be the p-problem?" Claire asked, trying to force the words out of her mouth. If possible, his smirk got wider.

"We've been over this, Claire. Just call me Jim," he told her, sitting up on the bed and coming face to face with her. For a moment, Claire thought that her heart had stopped beating as her nervous grey eyes met his playful bright blue ones.

"I-in the sickbay, s-sir, I'd prefer to call you the C-captain," she replied, forcing herself to take deep breaths. She was not going to pass out in front of the shirtless man sitting before her.

"Suit yourself. So, I have this problem…" Jim started, placing his right hand over his chest, right above his heart. Claire finally got herself under control as he realized that there was something wrong with Jim.

"Okay, describe this problem," Claire asked looking down at Jim's patient chart. According to the chart, he was having severe pains in his chest. She was able to control her raging hormones as she realized that the Captain could be in danger.

"You see, I get this pain in my chest every so often. My heart just hurts and aches uncontrollably," he explained, rubbing the area covering his heart. Claire nodded, ignoring the seductive smirk that Jim was giving her.

"I see. Is there any pattern to when the pain starts?" Claire asked, checking a few other sheets that she had with her.

"Actually, yes. Every time I see you, the heartache starts. I'm not doctor, but I think the only way to cure it is for you to go out on a date with me," Jim told her in his normally smooth fashion. She looked confused before she suddenly realize where this was going. She placed the chart down and crossed her arms.

"Seriously? You bothered me at work for this?" she asked. He chuckled and moved himself to the edge of the bed in order to get closer to her. She simply took a step back and continued to glare at him. She hoped her glare was convincing, because she was quite sure she wouldn't be able to hold it if she looked down at his chest.

"Would it really be that bad to go on a date with me?" he asked.

"Yes, it would!" she snapped. She looked over and realized a few people in sickbay were looking over at them, causing her to blush. She turned around and closed the curtain, not wanting anyone to get any ideas. She turned around to the Captain standing up and walking toward her. She quickly moved so there was a bed between them, and continued to try and glare at him.

"Why would it be such a bad idea to go on a date with me?" he asked, placing his hands on the bed and leaning forward.

"For one, you are my boss! Sleeping with your boss is one of the worst things you could possibly do," she explained.

"Even if your boss is drop dead sexy?" she turned red and took a deep breath.

"Look… it's just a bad idea," she told him. He stood up straight and crossed his arms, causing the muscles in his chest to flex.

"That's it? Because I'm your boss?" she placed her head in her hands and gave a frustrated groan. Why did he have to be so damn good looking? And why the hell did he have to make her feel like an idiot when he was around?

"I don't want to date a womanizer, especially one I hardly know!" she told him. When it came to dating, Claire was baffled how someone could date another person when they just met them, let alone be 'in love' with that person at the same time.

"I'm not a womanizer, just a very passionate man," Jim said, trying to defend himself, but Claire knew better.

"Just go, please. You're not ill and you're fine. Just go," she instructed him, crossing off everything that had been on his chart. While she was distracted, Jim walked around the bed until he was standing right in front of her. Claire looked up and froze, distracted by his alluring smile. He took her lapse in thought to grab her pen, push her chart aside, and lean forward. His warm breath tickled her nose, but she couldn't move.

She felt a sort of fire run through her body, and her stomach was busy doing summersaults. Even her lips tingled with anticipation of what was about to happen. She knew that she wanted this, wanted to feel his soft lips caress her own, but she knew it was wrong too. Just as his lips were about to graze hers, the curtains were yanked back and the CMO stood glaring at his friend and his cadet. Claire jumped back, causing Jim to stumble forward.

"Damn it, Jim, stop trying to seduce my doctors. Conaway, go help Chambers with his patient," he snapped. Claire rushed away, trying to clam her racing heart. The Captain had almost kissed her. She had almost swapped spit with none other than James T. Kirk. What the hell was she thinking? She walked over to Alex and grabbed his patient chart out of his hands. Alex just raised an eyebrow and began to give medication to his patient. It was only when he realized she was just staring at the chart.

"Claire, you alright?" she looked up and pressed her lips together, debating on whether or not she could tell Alex. He was her friend, right? They had been pretty close over the past week, she could trust him, right?

"Claire!" Alex shouted. She jumped and looked behind her, watching as the Captain began to walk out of sickbay while placing his shirt back on. She quickly walked over to Alex, causing him to give her a confused look.

"I have a problem," she said, moving even closer to him. Alex turned back to his patient and gave him a sedative, watching as he soon went to sleep. "Alex, are you paying attention?" Claire asked.

"Claire… you have a lot of problems, you might want to be specific," he told her.

"I do not!" she snapped. Alex rolled his eyes.

"Uh yeah, you do. That's not the point, what is you're issue this time?" Claire frowned and crossed her arms.

"You're an asshole," Alex rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to tell me your problem or not? I'm not one of your girlfriends who will stand around and gossip with you all day."

"I don't understand how you can be so nice one minute, and such a jerk the next." Alex smirked.

"It's a gift." Claire sighed but continued on.

"I have this huge problem with the Captain." She whispered.

"I hate to break it to you, but stuff like that tends to happen when you sleep with your boss," Alex told her, grabbing the patient charts and writing down his patient's stats.

"I am not sleeping with the Captain! I'm not sleeping with anyone," she snapped.

"Maybe that's your problem."

"Are you still angry because I won't sleep with you?" She asked in one of the most annoyed voices that Alex had every heard from her. Even Pam didn't make her that crazy.

"I'm not angry, just horny," Alex said without regret, though the glare Claire gave him almost made him reconsider his words. Almost.

"Ugh, look, I'm trying to be serious here and you're the only person here who doesn't cause more drama in my life than I need. If you're seriously for like, five minutes, I'll give you half of my dinner tonight." At Claire's words, Alex's ears perked up. He dropped everything that he was doing and sat down on a patient's bed facing her.

"Now you're talking. What's wrong, Claire-bear? How can I help?" He asked sincerely. He was sincere about getting her food. Claire debated smacking him, but decided that she didn't have the energy.

"You're still an asshole, but that's not the point. The Captain will not leave me alone. He just keeps coming onto me no matter how many times I say no!" She cried out, falling backwards onto a bed next to Alex. She threw her arms out and became dead weight.

"Well, why is that a problem? I mean, he's obviously not a good-looking as me, but he's okay looking. What's wrong with sleeping with him?" Alex told her, flexing his arms to emphasize how good looking he was. Claire rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her hair which was sprawled out on the table.

"Because he's the Captain. He's like our boss!" She shot, but Alex shrugged.

"Well no, Dr. McCoy is our boss. Kirk is the boss of the ship that you just happen to live on. Think of him like the president or something," he explained, but Claire shook her head.

"You're not helping, Alex, and tonight we're having steak." Again, Alex's face got serious. With steak on the line, it was like a life or death situation.

"In that case, get a fake boyfriend," he suggested. She raised an eyebrow.

"A fake boyfriend? What is the point of that?" she asked.

"Well, if he thinks you're taken, he might back off." She paused and sat up, thinking over the situation.

"Oh my god, maybe you're right," she whispered. He raised an eyebrow.

"I am?" he asked. She nodded and pulled him across the room where there was a supply closet. She pushed him in and closed the door.

"I have an idea," she told him.

"Usually I don't have sex in closets, but if you'd really want to-"

"You can be my boyfriend!" she said, totally ignoring his statement. He paused and gave an awkward cough.

"Um… are you crazy?" she rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm a little sleep deprived and haven't had enough caffeine-"

"Nor enough sex apparently." He told her. Claire grabbed the front of his shirt.

"Alex, I really need help. I'm not sure I can resist much longer, and if I sleep with Kirk, not only will I not be able to set foot on this ship, I'm pretty sure that my brother will kill me. I need help!" she begged. Alex's hazel eyes continued to stare straight into her tired grey. She looked a mess. Strands of her blonde hair had fallen out of her bun, and fell over her shoulders. Her skin was a bit paler than when he first met her, and the bags under her eyes were a bit more prominent. She was still pretty though, just not model gorgeous that he knew Kirk was known for going after. He briefly wondered why he was perusing her so much.

"Please, Alex. I'm so tired, I have so much work, I have to deal with Pam on a daily bases. And to add to the list, I haven't heard from my brother in four days… I can't deal with this too. Please, just help me." She said, letting her head fall onto his chest. Unsure of himself, he placed a comforting hand on her back and gave her a few smoothing pats.

"Fine, just stop begging. It's not too flattering on your part," he told her. She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"You're an asshole, but you're pretty awesome too," she told him as she gave him a hug.

"So, considering I'm your fake boyfriend, do we get to have 'fake' sex too?" He asked as they walked out of the closest.

"Don't push it, Alex. Or I might not give you my pudding cups anymore," Claire warned, causing Alex to shut up on the spot.

One Month Later

A month aboard a starship was beginning to have it's toll on the new recruits, and Ryan wondered if he would ever see land again. Griffin assured him that he would get over it, and once he was back on earth, he wouldn't be able to wait till he got back on the ship. Ryan doubted that would ever be true, but nodded and gave a smile toward his friend, or at least, he thought they were still friends.

It was a bit difficult to tell, since all the senior officer meetings, Griffin had been different. In fact, almost all the commanding officers had seemed different. Every time Ryan tried to ask about it, but Griffin just brushed him off, leaving him feel a little let down. This had been his friend for years, and he was just brushing him off like he was nothing. It wasn't exactly a feeling he wanted to be left with.

"Ryan, you almost done?" Colleen asked, causing him to jump a bit. Ryan nodded and handed her the device.

"Yeah, here it is…" she nodded and looked it over.

"Good job," she said, offering him and Dom a smile. She turned around and began to walk away, but Ryan followed her.

"Wait, Colleen, can I ask you a question?" she rolled her eyes and turned toward him.

"I don't date other engineers," she stated. He ran a hand through his hair.

"I wasn't going to ask you that," he told her. She turned a bit red and gave a small nervous chuckle.

"So uh… what were you going to ask me?" she asked.

"Um…" he stepped closer to her. "Do you know what's going on around here?" he asked. She looked a bit confused.

"You know, with the senior officers. Something just seems so off about them." Colleen frowned and shook her head.

"I've noticed it too, but no, I don't know. Just keep your chin up, Ryan. Things are fine, I'm sure," she assured him as she took the device that Ryan and Dom were working on and left. Dom turned to Ryan and was just about to say something when a voice came over the loudspeakers and echoed through the engineering deck.

"Will all engineers please report to the meeting room immediately!" The voice boomed. Ryan looked around as the other engineers put down what they were working on and exited the engineering deck. Ryan and Dom followed. Rupert ran up to them.

"Any idea what this is all about?" He asked, earning lost looks from his friends.

"None what-so-ever," Dom replied. Before Ryan had a chance to speak, he was thrown forward by an unknown weight.

"WHAT THE HELL?" He shouted, earning a few glances from the other engineers. Dom started laughing as Oliver's face peeked around Ryan's head.

"It's just me," he said, giving Ryan a 100-watt grin.

"I don't think you're doing much to help yourself," Rupert said from beside Ryan. Ryan was shoved forward again as Oliver launched himself from Ryan's back to Rupert.

"Has anyone been keeping track of his medications?" Dom asked as Rupert shoved Oliver off and into a wall. Oliver fell to the floor with a look of pain on his face.

"That fucking hurt, man!" He shouted as he held his head in pain.

"Oliver, shut up. We're here," Rupert said as they entered the meeting room. All the engineers were cramped together. Griffin pushed past Oliver and Rupert as he ran up to the front of the room.

"Gentlemen and Colleen, take a seat and be quiet!" Griffin called out, his voice loud and demanding. A silence fell over the room as everyone's attention turned to him. Ryan noticed Oliver on the side, sitting like a frog and hopping up and down. It was days like today that he wondered how Oliver passed his mental health test to get into the academy. A few more senior officers entered the room and stood next to Griffin, one of them being Paul.

"I'm glad I have your attention. Now men, and Colleen, we're going to be engaging an Aenar ship in less than one hour. We have orders to engage and destroy this ship. We're going to need you all to be on your toes. Damage might occur to the ship and we need you prepared for what we're about to face. This meeting was called because the Berlin has never before engaged a ship in combat and a lot of you have never dealt with a situation like this before. Just remain calm and do what you know how to do!" Griffin instructed, causing a mixture of confused and determined looks from around the room.

"That's strange. Aenars are a pacifist race. What could they have done to anger the Federation?" Rupert said. Ryan shook his head as Dom shrugged.

"I don't ask questions, I just do what I'm told," he said as he left Rupert and Ryan alone.

"I'm starting to think that something really wrong is going on…" Ryan said, earning a nod from Rupert. Oliver sprung up in front of the two men.

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty, and witty, and-"

"Let's go," Rupert said as he grabbed Oliver by the ear and drug him back to the engineer deck. Ryan walked slowly, trying to let the information sink in. in the back of his head, it just didn't seem right. Why would they just start attacking an Aenar ship? It was like beating up a blind alien. Well, it actually was beating up a blind alien.

"Hey, you alright?" Colleen asked. Ryan sighed and stopped, pulling her aside.

"This isn't weird at all to you? We're just randomly going after a Aenar ship, just like that. It just… doesn't feel right," he said, running a hand through his hair.

"I know, but what are we going to do? Let's just… go with it for the time being," she told him. Ryan nodded and watched as she walked away. Her ran a hand over his face and gave a very heavy sigh. He had no idea what was going on here, but he didn't like it one bit.

"Conaway, let's get to work!" a officer shouted. Ryan nodded and ran off to work. Maybe if he just kept busy, he could ignore the horrible feeling in his stomach.

"Alright, we're approaching the Aenar ship, everyone get ready!" Griffin shouted. Ryan continued to monitor the torpedo bay, just like he was asked, and looked up, waiting for his orders. This wasn't right, he knew it, but what was he going to do?

"Conaway, are the torpedoes ready to be fired?" Ryan nodded.

"Yes sir," he answered, his voice monotone. He couldn't find himself to be excited like the rest of the crew. He glanced over at Dom, who was giving him the 'Just go with it' look. He pressed his lips together and looked back at his monitor.

"Firing torpedo one!" the computer read. Ryan watched hopelessly as the shot was fired and the machine got ready to fire once more.

"Direct hit, get ready for another one! Conaway, make sure you reload the torpedo holder, we wouldn't want to run out of weapons." Griffin told him. Ryan nodded and looked at Colleen, who looked just as troubled as him.

What were they doing? This was a species that was completely peaceful! Never in his life had he heard an Aenar pick a fight, and here they were just opening fire on them.

"Firing torpedo two!" the computer said. Ryan felt his heart clench as another torpedo went toward the ship. He took a deep breath and looked at Griffin, who seemed completely unaffected by the situation. Rupert walked over to Ryan and looked him in the eyes. He saw a sadness and an uncertainty that he felt, along with utter confusion at the situation.

"Firing torpedo three!" the words seemed to physically strike him. He looked back up to Griffin, who looked down at him. Their eyes met and he only had one question. Why?

"Enemy ship destroyed."

"Good job everybody! We did well today!" Griffin called out. There was a wave of weak cheering, but most of the engineers seemed upset. Ryan looked over at Dom, who was congratulating a few upset engineers.

"We got rid of a threat to the Federation. You guys should be happy," he told them. They gave him a weak smile and walked away. Griffin walked down to where Rupert, Colleen, and Ryan were.

"Good job, guys," he said, giving Ryan a pat on the back. Ryan shook Griffin's hand off. He couldn't feel good about the job he just did. Griffin looked around at the sad faces around him. "Why does everyone look like their dog just died?"

"Griffin, don't- " Colleen pleaded, but Ryan put a hand on her shoulder. He knew what they just did was wrong and he wasn't going to hold his tongue anymore.

"They didn't even fire back. They did even try to defend themselves. You know why? That ship wasn't armed! Griffin, we just destroyed an unarmed ship and took hundreds of innocent lives!" Many of the other engineers looked up, having heard something shout their very thoughts. Dom glared while Rupert nodded. Colleen bit her tongue, not wanting to make the situation worse. Oliver in the corner holding a conversation with an empty torpedo shell. "And Mr. Ruffles told me…" But no one really paid much attention to Oliver.

"Ryan, come with me," Griffin snapped, grabbing Ryan's arm. He dragged him out of the engineering deck and into the hallway.

"What? How can you justify what we just did?" Ryan spat, pulling his arm out of Griffin's grip. Griffin glared down at Ryan.

"Ryan, you're my best friend, but you're a Ensign. It isn't your place to question Captain Shay's orders. And as your friend, I'm going to give you a piece of advice, don't ask questions," he said with a warning tone, but Ryan wouldn't listen.

"That's what everyone keeps saying, but what we just did was wrong. That was an unarmed ship of a peaceful race of people!" Ryan shouted, shoving Griffin into a wall. Griffin shot forward and grabbed Ryan by the collar.

"It was a cover! We received some reports on an Aenar ship planning to attack the Federation. This attack has been debated for the past month. We weren't going to do anything until we were sure. We know what we're doing, Ryan, and you need to trust us. I'm your friend and I would never lead you astray," Griffin told him, giving him a rough shake. Ryan said nothing as Griffin let him go.

"It still feels wrong," he said, straightening out his shirt. Griffin nodded.

"Killing people always does, but think of how many lives we're saving. What if they planned on attacking the Enterprise? Your sister could have been in danger. You're protecting her." Ryan paused to think it over. He ran a hand through his hair and looked down.

"Griffin… I can't. I just… this isn't right," he muttered. Griffin sighed and pressed his lips together.

"Ryan, just… don't worry about it." Griffin told him. There was a silence between them before Griffin walked away, leaving him alone. Ryan let his head rest against the wall and look up at the fluorescent light. He wished his sister was here. Then maybe he wouldn't feel so alone.

"Ryan, you alright?" Ryan looked up from his dinner tray into Colleens green eyes. He shook his head and she sat down next to him. He knew she had nothing to say, and he honestly had nothing to hear.

"You're not eating with Griffin?" Rupert asked, sitting across from him. Ryan shook his head and glanced at his normal table, where he saw Harry and Paul get into yet another fight. Liam was sitting with them, yet seemed very distant, almost as if he was lost. Griffin sat across from them, laughing at their friend's fighting and acting like the previous battle didn't happen.

"Why not? I thought Griffin was your best friend?" Oliver asked, sitting next to Rupert and shooting Colleen a wink. She rolled her eyes and looked back to Ryan.

"He's sure not acting friendly," Ryan whispered. Rupert and Colleen looked at each other, then looked back to Ryan.

"You sure you're alright dude?" Rupert asked. Ryan stood up straight and pushed his tray away.

"No, nothing feels right anymore. I just witnessed the murder of over three hundred Aenars, and got chewed out by my best friend." Oliver frowned at his sandwich.

"Man, I hate bologna, it always has to argue with me." The group watched Oliver begin to glare at his sandwich, while throwing some pretty nasty insults at it, before turning back to their previous conversation.

"I don't like it any better than you do, but there is nothing we can really do about it," Rupert told him. Colleen nodded.

"Maybe if you tried to talk to someone outside the ship about it, you'd feel better," she suggested. Rupert nodded.

"Yeah, try calling Claire, I'm sure she'll help you out a bunch." Colleen raised an eyebrow, this was the first time she heard anyone by the name of Claire.

"Oh, who is Claire?" she asked. Rupert raised an eyebrow, picking up the hint of jealousy in her voice. Ryan seemed to not catch it and answered her question.

"She's my sister. I already tried to call her, the Berlin isn't letting any messages or calls in or out," Ryan told them. The group exchanged looks of confusion.

"Why would they do that?" Colleen asked. Rupert shrugged.

"I don't know, that's really weird." There was a very brief silence among the table.

"WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER ME!" Oliver screamed, causing a few tables in the cafeteria to glance over. One of those tables was Griffin's and he looked over to see Ryan eating with the night shift engineers.

"God damnit, Oliver. Why do you have to attract so much damn attention?" Ryan whispered furiously at Oliver. Oliver held up his sandwich angrily.

"Oscar Mayer wouldn't answer me…"

"Oliver, it's a sandwich," Rupert told him, but Oliver slammed his sandwich down on his plate and pointed a finger at Rupert.

"You're racist!"

"Has anybody been keeping track of his meds?" Rupert asked Colleen and Ryan, but they just shook their heads.

"Hey Ryan, it's a bit lonely without you eating with us." A voice said from over Ryan's shoulder. His hold body became tense as the man causing him so much stressed put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Ryan wanted to pick up his tray, turned around, and smack Griffin right across the face with it, but he knew it wouldn't bring back those 300 lives. Griffin was just following orders anyway.

"I just figured I would try something new," he mumbled back. Griffin nodded and removed his hand, knowing the confusion that Ryan was going through.

"Okay, well, come see me when dinner's over," he offered, trying to sound friendly and welcoming.

"Alright," Ryan replied without looking at Griffin. Colleen shot him a look of sympathy as Griffin headed back over to his table.

Ryan had secretly hoped the Griffin would just leave him alone and not bother him, but he knew better. As soon as he was out of the cafeteria and onto the lift he saw Griffin had followed him and gotten onto the lift with him. Ryan simply looked down and let his eyes memorize the designs in the metal floor. After a minute Griffin stopped the lift and turned toward him.

"Ryan…" he said. Ryan looked up and his grey eyes met his friends icy blue. He looked back down and closed his eyes, not wanting to hear what his friend was going to try and convince him. It wasn't right, he knew it, half the crew knew it, yet Griffin was standing here trying to convince him otherwise. He hated it.

"I know you're confused, I would be too. I mean, spending your whole life thinking there isn't anything wrong, that everything is just sunshine and daisies. It's weird to come onto a ship and see things like this. But you have to realize that out here in space… things are different. There are species out there that won't think twice before killing you, or worse. We're just protecting our people, Ryan." Ryan looked to the door and whished he hadn't stopped the lift.

"It doesn't feel right, to just fire on a ship without them even firing back. It's not right Griffin," Griffin frowned.

"That ship was a threat to us, and Starfleet. Just because it didn't have a chance to fire back doesn't mean that it wouldn't have. Any other ship would have done the same. We're just doing what Starfleet would've ordered us to do." Ryan took a step back and lightly let his fist fall on the wall. None of this made sense. He was confused, and had no one to talk about it with. He was so mad that they weren't letting him call Claire, he just needed to talk to her, even for just a second.

"If that's true Griffin, then why aren't you letting any messages or calls be sent out to Starfleet, or any other ship?" he asked. Griffin paused, at lost for words.

"Ryan…" He warned, but Ryan wouldn't let it go.

"I just want to call my sister and rant. Is that such a bad thing?" Griffin took a step forward as Ryan tried to move as far back as he could. He had a sick feeling in his gut that just wouldn't leave him alone.

"Ryan, despite how you might feel right now, I'm your friend. You can talk to me. I know that things are hard and confusing, but you have to trust me." Ryan nodded, but the sick feeling just wouldn't go away. Griffin nodded back, realizing that there was nothing more he could say to make the Ensign feel better. Griffin sighed and hit the button to make the elevator resume its course. Before they reached the engineering deck, the lift stopped. The doors opened up to reveal none other than Captain Shay. The Captain smiled at Griffin and Ryan, his perfect white teeth shining in the fluorescent lights. Ryan felt uneasy as he noticed the contrast between the Captain's smile and his askew attire. The Captain's outfit was winkled and slightly lopsided while his normally slicked back platinum blonde hair was greasy and stuck out all over the place. His chocolate brown eyes seemed tired and boarded on something that Ryan just couldn't explain. The Captain stepped into the elevator and placed a hand on Griffin's shoulder.

"I'm glad I ran into you, Griff. We're having another meeting tonight. The Federation has asked us to carry out another mission." Griffin nodded and smiled.

"Shay, this is Ryan." Shay turned Ryan and gave him a nod.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ryan. I heard you did some good work today. I'm glad we have good men aboard like you for when we blow up the Klingon exile planet tomorrow." The Captain told him. Ryan didn't want to appear rude, but he couldn't help his jaw practically hitting the floor.

"What? We're killing a planet of Klingons tomorrow?" He asked in disbelief. Shay nodded.

"We haven't fully discussed it yet, but yes. Klingons are our enemy anyway so it seems only right to start taking them out with those in exile first. We live in harsh times, Ryan. We need to destroy these races making trouble before they have the chance to destroy us first." Griffin noticed Ryan's unsteady look and glanced back at the captain.

"No need to scare him Richard, he's still young." Richard Shay nodded and smiled at the young man.

"You'll get used to it, hang in there Ensign," Shay said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Ryan smiled politely, but it was very forced, and he was sure he wouldn't be able to keep it there. The lift stopped once more and Captain Shay smiled at Griffin.

"I'll see you later Griffin. Ensign, nice meeting you," Ryan nodded his head and looked back at Griffin, who smiled at the captain. When the lift started again, Griffin glanced over at his friend, who looked very lost.

"We're doing what is best for the universe, Ryan… you'll see it soon enough." Griffin said before exiting the lift when it stopped. Ryan watched as the doors closed then glared at the wall in front of him.

"What's best for the universe… yeah right," he said softly.

Ryan looked up from his work as he saw Colleen sit across from him. Her face seemed just as troubled as him, but she seemed to be a little more in control of her emotions. Ryan, on the other hand, looked as though he was about to break down in a fit. She placed a hand on his arm and offered him a small smile.

"Everything is going to be alright," she told him. He put down the small machine part he was fixing and look at her.

"We just watched our commanding officers commit murder, and we did nothing to stop them. Now we're just going to do the same thing when it comes to a Klingon planet? How is everything going to be alright?" he asked. She frowned and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know… maybe it won't. I just… I don't want to feel like this anymore," she confessed. Ryan placed his hand on hers and gave it a friendly squeeze.

"Saying it will be alright won't help it, Colleen." She nodded.

"I know, I know. This just sucks," she muttered. Ryan let go of her hand and continued to work on the small part he was before.

"I don't like this… not one bit," he said. Dom sat next to him and shot him a look.

"Don't ask questions, that's the best thing you could do," he said, getting started on his own work. For a moment Ryan was silent.

"You know what, no. I'm going to ask questions. I'm going to do what I think is right. This is wrong. How many innocent people did we kill today? And tomorrow? We're going to end up starting a war with the Klingons! How can any of that be good?" Ryan screamed. Colleen rose from her own seat to pull Ryan back down. Dom just glared at him.

"It's not your job to question what we do. It's your job as a Starfleet officer to follow the orders of higher ranked officers," he told him, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"This is ridiculous, I can't take this anymore!" Ryan yelled, standing up again.

"Ryan…" Colleen warned, but Ryan refused to pay any attention to her.

"No, Colleen. I can't stay silent anymore," he said, glaring down at Dom. He opened his mouth to say something else, but a hand pulled him back. Ryan whirled around to face Griffin. Griffin glared down at him, having a few inches of height to his advantage. It was then that Ryan realized that all the other engineers in the room were staring at him. Some looked as if they were happy with what he was saying, while others were glaring at him angrily.

"Ryan, I'm relieving you of duty tonight. You can resume work tomorrow morning. We're going to need you tomorrow when we go after the Klingon bastards." Ryan's mouth pulled into a tight line as he looked up at his friend. They glared at each other before Ryan walked back him.

"Fine," he hissed. Colleen watched as he walked out of engineering. She looked over at Griffin, who had his icy glare fixed on her before she turned around and began working on the broken part. When Griffin turned away, Dom shook his head.

"That's what he get's," he muttered. Colleen threw nasty glare his way then glared down at the part.

"Shut up, Dom. Just… shut up."

"Ryan, I need you over here!" Ryan looked up to where Griffin was standing and begrudgingly nodded. He passed Colleen, who shot him a sympathetic look before turning back to her work. Ryan made his way to where Griffin was standing and looked down.

"Sir," he muttered.

"You're going to monitor everything that goes on. You'll help answer calls from other decks, you'll see how a chief engineer works." Ryan nodded and relieved the assistant officer. He sat down on the tall stool and began to work, his movements less than enthusiastic.

"Bridge to engineering," a voice sounded. Ryan looked up at Griffin who pressed a button.

"Engineering," Griffin responded.

"We're in front of the Klingon planet, get ready to fire phasers and torpedoes on my mark," the captain's voice sounded.

"Understood," Griffin said. He then turned to Ryan. "Alert the torpedo bay to be ready to fire." Ryan paused for a second before turning back to his computer and alerting the torpedo bay. Griffin placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"Good job," he told him. Ryan said nothing as the picture of the planet came on screen and his eyes went wide.

"What's this?" he asked.

"This is for the Chief to see what he's up against. That way we know what to expect when we get hit," Griffin told him. Ryan looked back to the screen and his face paled. He was going to see the destruction of this planet. He was going to see his own ship kill hundreds of people, and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Sir… I don't think-"

"You are ordered to be at this post, Ensign. Not only by me, your commanding officer, but by your captain. You are going t sit there and do as you're told. Is that understood?" Ryan clenched his teeth together and nodded. "What was that there?"

"Yes, sir," he said through clenched teeth. Griffin nodded. Before anything else could happen, red alarm lights started blaring throughout the deck. The ship gave a sudden lurch and Ryan was thrown from his seat, not expecting the sudden movement. Griffin grabbed on a pipe to support himself.

"What's going on?" He asked his communicator as the ship jerked again.

"We've been intercepted by another Federation ship. They've caught us in their tractor beam and are pulling us away from the planet." The Captain's voice said from over Griffin's communicator. Griffin sighed.

"So what are we going to do?" Griffin asked as Ryan looked up at him.

"This mission wasn't cleared by Starfleet, was it?" He asked, his face going pale. Other engineers stopped what they were doing to look at Griffin who paled as well. Colleen ran to Ryan's side and helped him off the floor.

"This ship is interfering with our mission. We have no choice, but to engage them in battle." The Captain said over the communicator. Silence filled the engineering deck.

"W-What did he just say?" Colleen asked as she held onto Ryan's arm. Griffin put his communicator away and turned to all of the engineers.

"You heard Captain Shay, get into your positions." Most of the engineers went back to work, but a few didn't budge. Rupert was in the corner trying to remove Oliver who was caught in a vent, trying to save a princess from a dragon.

"This is not the time, Oliver!" Rupert scolded as he yanked at the younger boys arms.

"I WON'T LET SONIA DOWN!" Oliver cried out.

"I won't repeat myself again. All of you get to your positions now!" Griffin yelled, forcing the other engineers to return to their posts. Colleen let go off Ryan's arm and returned to her station with a look of fear, but Ryan didn't move.

"No," he said, glaring up at Griffin. His stony grey eyes were filled with rage. Griffin sighed and reached into his pocket.

"There is no room on this ship for rebels, Conaway," Griffin said in a monotone voice as he pulled out his phaser and shot at Ryan. Ryan flew back into the wall and hit the ground, stunned and confused. A small trail of blood fell down Ryan's face from where his head hit the wall. A moment later, he lost consciousness.

To Be Continued...

Jeck: DUM DUM DUM! CLIFFY
Raxsah: Yeah, a cliffhanger is fun every now and then. You know what is even funner? Reviews. They are so fun, they brighten up the day!
Jeck: So do light bulbs.
Raxsah: What's your point?
Jeck: There's a point? I just roll with the punches. :D
Raxsah: Anyway, hope you liked the chapter. Hopefully we will have another chapter up next week. We're a little busy next week though so it's iffy.
Jeck: Yeah, but we'll see what we can do. We're magic, bitches.
Raxsah: Right, so leave a review and show some love. Hopefully we'll see you sometime next week. Not that we're actually going to see you… but you get my drift.
Jeck: Well, I mean if they're using Alex's secret stalker system that hasn't been mentioned since sophomore year… then yes, they might see us. They might also watch us in the shower… or masturbate, like Jesus does.
Raxsah: … You scare me sometimes…
Jeck: PLEASE REVIEW! I'll hug your kittens.
Raxsah: Or puppies. Anyway, this has gone on long enough. R & R!!!