A/N: Thanks for the reviews and the birthday wishes last week-they really made my day! Now here's an extra long chapter for your reading pleasure.

Game Time

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2280.165, 2145 hours. Game point. If they sunk this shot they'd win for the first time ever.

No pressure.

Except he just had to get past Uncle Jim first.

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2280.151, 1832 hours. They may have lived and worked out in space but the people aboard the Enterprise weren't without culture; in fact, because the ship was such a small, diverse community many of them were multi-talented and liked to share their gifts with others through various annual events. There were all kinds of activities that the ship set-up throughout the year—sports games, food festivals, music concerts—and crewmembers from all specialties contributed, as did their families.

Tonight the topic of conversation in the Mess was last week's art show and all Se'tak wanted to do was face plant right into his dinner. Selas presented his sculpture of a visiting Kerralian scientist and everyone was oohing and ahhing over it so much Se'tak wanted to gag. Yes, his brother was blind, yes he'd done the piece without once 'seeing' the young woman, yes it was amazing…yes yes yes. It's not that he wasn't impressed by Selas' work but he was just so sick and tired of hearing about.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Ensign Ulrich said as she sidled over to their table, "But I just wanted to tell you what an amazing little boy you have. I loved the show last week, and your son's piece in particular." Addressing his brother, she added, "You're very gifted, Selas."

Ugh, another one. He rolled his eyes and went back to stabbing at his carrots while Mama and Selas thanked her. Sa-mekh and T'Alora merely nodded along and went back to their meal.

They were getting ready to leave when he spotted John Henry sitting alone at a table near the door, and that in and of itself was strange. If anyone on the Enterprise was the embodiment of a high school quarterback it was John; he was quite literally the golden child with his father's height and build, his mother's good looks, and the easy charm of both. Everybody loved him. His parents were both engineers and he was supposed to start his own studies at the Academy in the Fall. John was cool, smart, athletic—everything Se'tak wanted to be…

…and it looked like he was flagging him over to his table.

Se'tak quickly trotted over to see what he wanted.

"Hey, Se'tak, how're you doin'?"

He bit back the goofy grin that threatened to split his face in two. "Not bad, John, and you?"

John smiled. "Can't complain, just enjoying my last few weeks aboard ship. Hey, I was wondering, you're fifteen now, aren't you?"

Se'tak shook his head. "Not for another three months, why?"

"Oh man, that's too bad. I've seen you play ball in the gym and I was going to try and recruit you for the CVC* Games." The CVC Games?! Was he serious?! It hadn't even occurred to Se'tak that he might get asked to play and now here John was inviting him personally! This was awesome! "But you have to be at least fifteen."

"Oh." And there was the rub. Damn, damn, damn, damn…

John must've seen the disappointment written all over his face because he added thoughtfully, "Maybe if your folks said it was ok and signed a waiver you could still join the team?" He brought up a screen on his PADD, showed it to Se'tak, then transferred it to his in-box. "Think about it and talk it over with them. If the Commanders say yes then come and join us Thursday night in the gym. We've only got two weeks but we're going to try and get some informal practices in in-between then." Instead of shaking his hand John held his palm up in the ta'al. "Take care, buddy. Hope to see you there."

Se'tak returned the greeting and this time didn't bother to hide his grin. "Thanks!" He ran out into the corridor to catch up with the rest of his family, yammering on the whole way home about the invitation he'd gotten and how excited he was to get the chance to play. Only Selas offered up words of support.

"I believe the civilian basketball team will be very fortunate to have you play for them, sa-kai. Perhaps this year they might even win against the crew."

They entered their quarters with T'Alora nodding in agreement before heading to her room. She had competed in swimming events in the CVC in years past and done fairly well, winning the 100m freestyle last year against Lieutenant Fajia, the crew favorite. Se'tak was about to go to his room and retrieve his PADD for his parents to sign when Mama stopped him and asked that he stay in the living room a minute with her and Sa-mekh and talk.

Uh oh. Selas must've picked up on it too because he quickly fled the premises without even being asked. His parents picked a seat on the sofa and rather then sitting down Se'tak chose to stand before them. "What?"

Mama looked anxiously over to Sa-mekh and began. "I know how excited you are about the games but I won't be signing that waiver for you. It's too dangerous, Se'tak."

He balked and glanced from Mama to Sa-mekh, neither one moving. "You're kidding, right? You let me play pick-up with the guys all the time!"

"You play with your friends and you play for fun—playing in the CVC is different. You could get hurt, or worse, you could hurt others."

"Mama, this is so unfair! Just because…"

But she just barreled right on through. "You've seen how aggressive everyone gets during the Games! Last year in the basketball game alone Lieutenant Deng got a black eye, Lieutenant Commander Plin-Yee bruised three ribs, and John Henry twisted his ankle—and those aren't even the worst injuries!"

"He landed funny after a jump shot, it's not like someone tripped him up on purpose or anything," he muttered darkly in John's defense…not that Mama was buying it.

Folding her arms in front of her chest she said, "I don't care, it's still too dangerous and I won't see you get hurt. You're still a growing boy."

"So T'Alora and Selas can do what they want to do but I can't do what I want to do because you're afraid I might get a little beat up or not know my own strength?!" He threw his hands up in exasperation and fled the room screaming, "This is so FREAKING UNFAIR!"

1907 hours. He sat on top of his bed, fuming and reading a comic from his PADD, when someone knocked at the door. Thinking it was Mama coming with even more excuses he rolled his eyes and mumbled "Whatever" only to have Sa-mekh stroll in instead.

As his sa-mekh took a seat at his desk Se'tak let out a huff of annoyance. "What, did she send you in here to finish telling me all the reasons why I can't compete?"

Sa-mekh looked him over coolly, hands resting in his lap. "On the contrary, your mother and I are in somewhat of a disagreement over your participation in the Civilian vs. Crew Games. She believes that you should not be allowed to compete while I believe that you have ample skill and should be afforded the opportunity."

Se'tak set his PADD aside and sat up straighter. "Really?"

He canted his head to the side, as if there were any logical reason to doubt him. "Yes. It is quite an honor to be asked to join."

Well this was totally unexpected. But what did that mean for the CVC Games? As if in answer to his unspoken question Sa-mekh held out his hand, waiting for the PADD which Se'tak readily handed over after calling up the waiver. While Sa-mekh gave it his signature Se'tak asked, "But what about Mama?"

Sa-mekh rose. "I will discuss the matter further with your mother this evening and work to 'bring her around'."

As the PADD was handed back over to him he stared at it in disbelief. He still couldn't get over the fact that Sa-mekh thought he could really do this. "Thanks."

He stood at the doorway and nodded. "You are most welcome."

The minute the doors closed behind him Se'tak leapt off his bed whooping and hollering as he did a happy dance around the room.

Despite it all Mama was still pissed at both of them the following morning and refused to speak to either him or Sa-mekh directly, preferring instead to comment under her breath about how it served him right if he ended up in Sickbay and not to come crying to her. Se'tak didn't care—he was on cloud nine—until he walked in to the first practice. The team that year comprised of himself, Tilk, Egil, John, Marcy Keene, Ahorangi Taura, Louisa Henlish (his teacher's daughter), Juliranaya (the same visiting Kerralian scientist his brother had sculpted), Grell Smeed, Mark Johansson, Gia Ramos—and Cole Granger.

Frak.

Oh well, so much for a winning team, he thought to himself as Cole strode into the room. They made eye contact and Cole turned his nose up in the air but didn't bother with him after that; that was good though, he could handle being ignored. John moved to the middle of the floor with a ball in his hands.

"Alright," he said, slapping the side of the ball and calling the team to order, "Before we get started I want to thank everyone for coming out. I think we've got a great team this year and a real shot at the title." Everyone cheered and John smiled. "Anyone have any questions before we get going?" Cole's hand shot up. "Yes?"

"Who died and made you captain?"

John's face fell slightly. "I'm sorry?"

Se'tak shot Tilk and Egil a look and they all stifled their groans as Cole repeated himself. "I said who died and made you captain? Why can't somebody else lead the team?"

The rest of the group looked a little shocked while John's cheeks turned slightly pink. "You know what, you're right, I just kind of came in and took over. Let's put it to a vote, shall we? First off, who else would like to be considered for team captain?" No one was surprised when Cole's hand shot up in the air. At the sight of it Ahorangi whispered something in Marcy's ear causing her to laugh out loud; she quickly threw a hand over her mouth as Cole glared in their direction.

John carried on. "Ok, all in favor of Cole as captain raise your hand." Juliranaya looked around to see how everyone else voted and when not a soul moved she kept her hands down as well. John had the good grace not to look smug when he next asked, "All in favor of me as captain raise your hand," and ten hands shot up. Cole just grumbled under his breath but then fell into line.

The practice ran surprisingly well. Ahorangi and Egil weren't the best of players but what they lacked in skill they made up for with heart. Juliranaya showed up more out of curiosity then anything else, wanting to experience everything life on-board the Enterprise had to offer, and although she'd never played basketball before she was a quick study and one of the best all-arounds Se'tak had ever seen. But it was Grell that really surprised him; the gray guy was small but he had quite a jump. He was also so unobtrusive that nobody noticed him until WHAM! the ball got smacked out of their hands and he was off and running with it in the opposite direction. Se'tak knew Grell was going to be there secret weapon.

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2280.165, 1359 hours. The next several practices continued to go well and before they knew it it was the afternoon of the game.

"Good job everybody!" John called out, gathering them over. "Now before you all go get ready for tonight I want you to come and collect your uniform shirts." He opened up a bin and reached in, pulling out the first one he could find. "Taura!" John tossed the shirt at her then reached for the next one. Reading the name on the back caused him to scratch his head. "Uh, Sag-"

He'd heard his clan name butchered enough times to know the shirt was his. "Got it." Se'tak came up beside him and grabbed his shirt, lucky number 11, before John embarrassed them both any further. The uniform top was nice, decent quality and all, but was it really necessary of Uncle Jim to make their team wear red? It had to be some kind of cruel joke meant to psych them out.

"Klassen!"

Egil collected his top and stood beside Se'tak admiring it, smirking all the while. He was number 23. "Not bad, not bad…"

"Maybe we'll actually win this year," Se'tak said hopefully.

"Maybe," his friend agreed. "After all, last year's team did come close."

"You call a 20 point difference close?"

Tilk headed toward them, his shirt in his hands. "It was better than the year before that; the final score then was 97-49."

Ouch, that's right; he'd worked hard to make himself forget all about that game—but this year the tides were going to turn.

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2280.165, 1956 hours. Se'tak sat on the bench in the locker room, legs bouncing and head hung low, as he fidgeted before the start of the game.

"Guys?" John's voice brought all eyes in the room on him. "I'm not really good at those 'Win one for the Gipper' speeches—"

"Who's the Gipper?" Juliranaya asked.

"—but, and I really mean this, I think we can take the crew this year and for the first time in the CVC's 15 year history. We've got talent, we've got heart and we want this so much more than they do we can taste it! So what do you say? Is this the year we're gonna knock 'em down a peg or what?!"

As far as speeches went it wasn't very eloquent but Se'tak (and he assumed his teammates) would've followed John into battle if he asked so it wasn't hard for them to scream "YEAH!" with such force that the walls shook. Suitably whipped into a frenzy the announcer chose that moment to call them out into the gym and they trotted onto the floor to further whoops and cheers from the crowd. Out of the corner of his eye Se'tak spotted his family: Sa-mekh and T sitting ramrod straight with neutral expressions on their faces as they clapped while Selas stood next to them both and cheered with abandon. Mama sat next to Selas looking cool and giving him the stink-eye the minute he set foot on the court, sending a chill running up his spine. As they were introduced and each one stepped out on the line he tried to put her out of his mind and return his focus to the game.

The crew team was brought out next and even though Se'tak knew most of the people who they'd be playing seeing them standing opposite him (and in their matching blue uniform shirts) made them look more imposing than he remembered. Uncle Jim, who created the Games and had been on the basketball team every year, surprised no one when he emerged from the locker room first as he was, in work and in play, the team leader. He was followed onto the court by Lieutenant Russell Deng, Lieutenant Commander Plin-Yee, Lieutenant Commander Duronan th'Neferan…

"Your DAD'S PLAYING?!" Egil hissed down the line at Tilk.

Their friend leaned over and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, so? I thought I told you?"

Se'tak was as pissed as Egil about this turn-of-events. "You didn't!"

….Lieutenant J.G. Neil Coro, Ensign Ramiro Vugteveen, Lieutenant Danuta Williamsen, Commander Conrad Lauze, Commander Shayla Wahlen, Ensign Tana Gott, Ensign Hosea Calixtro and Lieutenant J.G. Toney Mihalco.

He forced himself to keep breathing normally and not swallow down the abnormally large lump of nerves that lodged itself in his throat; he didn't want to show fear in front of his—for the next ninety minutes or so, at any rate—enemies. The referee, a Lieutenant Commander Summers, stepped forward and signaled the start of the game. John and Uncle Jim moved to the middle of the court while everyone else either took up their positions or headed for the bench. After an amicable handshake the ball was brought out for the toss up. Se'tak hadn't even moved from his starting position and already sweat was dripping down into his eyes.

The ball was thrown into the air and the passing seconds seemed interminable as it slowly moved upward. Uncle Jim and John both leapt up to grab it and despite the odds John just managed to tip it back to his teammates. Play erupted from there and suddenly everyone moved as if in double time. Se'tak was so focused his eyes never left the ball, whether it was traveling up court or down court, in the hand's of a teammate or a rival player—the whole of the gymnasium was tuned out and the only time he became aware of his surroundings was in the few precious seconds when the ball was in his hands and he looked about for an open teammate or the basket.

They were three minutes into the first period and the score was 7-12 when he got subbed out. John made it clear beforehand that he wanted everyone to have a chance to play and so he and Louisa took their seats while Tilk and Marcy jumped in. Mr. th'Neferan had a wicked grin on his face as his son left the bench and Se'tak shivered in spite of himself.

"TAK!" He turned to see Tabby sitting a few rows up on the bleachers, grinning like mad and giving him a double thumbs up.

That was weird; she didn't she even like basketball all that much, did she? He couldn't recall seeing her at the CVC basketball games before at any rate.

Beside Tabby sat her father, with a medkit strapped across his chest and a grimace on his face. Following Uncle Len's gaze back to the court Se'tak soon discovered why. This game was getting intense! There really were a lot of hard blocks and elbows and things. He knew he could take it but no wonder Mama was reluctant to let him join. He always knew Lieutenant Deng was scrappy but Commander Lauze didn't look to be any better…and it wasn't just the crew team either, the civvies were giving it their all too. John was relentless and Tilk was wicked aggressive, even when it came to blocking his own dad.

All of a sudden John got hold of the ball and gave Juliranaya the signal. This was a move they'd worked out in practice and it was flawless; Se'tak only hoped it worked half so well now.

John dribbled the ball down the court, Uncle Jim hounding him the whole way, with Juliranaya following the play from the side. Once he passed the center line he faked a move like he was going to go one way and pass the ball, with Juli following through and miming that she'd received the pass. Uncle Jim fell for the fake out and John swooped around him to make the 3 point shot, bringing the score up 10-12.

"WOO HOO!" the whole bench cheered, jumping up and down. Uncle Jim looked completely stumped. Maybe this really was going to be there year after all…

2050 hours. Halftime saw them bounding into the locker room like a pack of energetic puppies. They'd manage to keep the score within five points the entire game thus far and the crew didn't look like they knew what hit them.

"Great job team!" John crowed.

"Yeah!" Gia added. "We're gettin' 'em good!"

Marcy was so excited she started running around the room slapping everyone on the back and giving them high fives.

John took a quick drink of water and said, "But we have to remember to keep the pressure up. We've got 'em scared now but it won't mean a thing if we lose our momentum."

"Maybe when we go back out we can do a Haka to help throw them off?" Ahorangi offered up thoughtfully.

This time the cultural misunderstanding was universal and Se'tak beat Juliranaya to the question. "What's a Haka?"

His teammate looked at him in disbelief. "It's a Maori war cry dance ritual." She looked around the room for support but saw everyone staring back at her in confusion. "Seriously, none of you have ever heard of a Haka before?"

But before anyone could answer there was a knock at the door and all necks craned around to see who it was. Tabby slowly stepped in looking very uncertain of herself until she saw him sitting on the bench sandwiched between Tilk and Egil. "You guys!" she screeched, rushing over and throwing her arms around all three in a massive hug, "You're awesome!"

Egil's cheeks turned bright pink, Tilk turned his antennae toward her and Se'tak grinned sheepishly. "Thanks Tabs, but we haven't won yet."

"No, but you will, I just know it!" She gave him an extra squeeze then turned and darted out of the room, her face all scarlet; no sooner had she left then Cole started making fun of him by way of goofy kissy faces. Annoyed, Se'tak threw his sweaty towel at him. "Oh quit it."

"But Tick," Cole snapped back in a high-pitched girly voice, "You're just so perfect…"

John stepped in-between them. "Knock it off guys and keep your focus on the game."

2117 hours. Mid-way through the third period was when things started to go wrong. Tilk made the tying shot but took a hard jab to the ribs from Lieutenant J.G. Mihalco for his effort.

Uncle Len said he had to sit out the rest of the game or risk more serious injury. "You take another hit like that, Son, and you'll have to spend the night with the osteo regen, you hear?"

Tilk nodded and shuffled to his seat to a round of applause from the whole gym. When he was seated John pointed to Se'tak. "Tak, you're in." He immediately leapt from his chair to help fill the gap and keep the momentum going.

Play resumed and he could not only see the crew team's fatigue—he could feel it. They were just as aggressive as before but they were getting sloppier in their passes and shots. At that moment Grell swiped the ball from Lieutenant Wahlen and shot off down the court with Se'tak in hot pursuit.

"TAK!"

He caught the sideways pass easily and gave himself an extra little kick to get to the net. John was there, angling near the basket with only Ensign Calixtro—by far the weakest player on the crew team—guarding him. Se'tak passed John the ball and he made a beautiful 2 point jump shot that had the whole gymnasium up on their feet cheering. This was literally the first time ever that the civilian team had a lead over the crew team (47-45) and it was brilliant.

Then things went very, very wrong. Lieutenant Commander Plin-Yee saw John about to take the shot and tried to block him; her timing was off and instead she crashed into him as he was landing. The Lieutenant being denser than him John fell backward onto the court hard, hitting his head on the hardwood with a resounding crack that made everyone cringe.

A hush fell over the crowd and Se'tak rushed over to his fallen teammate. "JOHN!" No response. He sank to his knees to find his friend unconscious on the floor. He knew better than to move him but he felt helpless sitting there as all the other players crowded around them full of concern.

"Let me through!" he heard Uncle Len cry out as pushed through the throng of players. "G-ddamit, I said let me through!" The doctor was by their side running a tricorder over John just as he started coming around. He tried to sit up but was forced back down by his physician. John squeezed his eyes tight and ran a hand over his face.

"Did I make the shot?" he moaned.

"Yeah man, you made the shot," Se'tak replied.

"Good."

"Idiots, all of you," Uncle Len mumbled. Turning back to his patient he asked, "How're you feeling?"

"Not good. My head hurts like hell 'n I feel alil dizzy…but jus gimme a few minnuts 'n I'll…" John tried to sit up again and was urged back down same as before. This time even Se'tak knew something was seriously wrong from John's slurred speech.

During the exam Uncle Jim stood behind Uncle Len's shoulder patiently waiting word. "Well, Bones?"

"He's got a concussion, a bad one." Turning back to John he added, "Under no circumstances are you playing again tonight, you understand? This is serious. You're coming with me to Sickbay."

"Butthe team…"

Uncle Len grimaced and rolled his eyes. "They'll survive. Now just sit tight 'til transport arrives, and for Heaven's sake don't go to sleep!"

John took a deep breath and tried to buck up while the Sickbay was comm'd. After a moment he looked over and attempted to focus his eyes on Se'tak. "Lead 'em to victory, Buddy…"

"What?!" Was he serious? Did John really want him to take over? But he was the youngest on the team, there was no way—"But they won't listen to me!"

John smiled and closed his eyes. "They will…"

"HEY!" Uncle Len yelled. "What'd I say about going to sleep?!"

His friend just kept grinning away and blearily opened his eyes. "I'mup."

The Doctor shot a dark look at a very worried looking Uncle Jim. "Idiots."

As John was escorted off the floor in the hover stretcher Se'tak returned to the bench to consult with his team. "Well guys, John put us in the lead, and now he wants us to keep going. We just have to hold the crew off for—" he glanced at the clock "—fourteen more minutes of play. Now when the game starts up again I want…"

"What the—!" Cole spat out incredulously. "John gets knocked out and suddenly you think you're in charge?"

"John left him in charge, I heard him," Mark quietly chimed in.

With that vote of confidence and murmurs of assent from the rest of the team (and despite the daggers Cole was staring at him right now) Se'tak soldiered on. "Ok, so I want Grell, Juli, Mark, Ahorangi and Cole to take the floor; we'll switch off in quick bursts after that to keep everyone fresh and on their toes…"

2144 hours. The score was 65-66 with twenty seconds left on the clock and everyone was one the edge of their seats waiting to see what would happen next. Se'tak glanced down at his hands; he was so anxious he'd bitten his nails down to nubs and he'd barely even noticed. He looked back up at Cole's back and waited for the toss up. This was their last chance…

The ball was thrown and Lieutenant J.G. Coro tipped the ball back to his side. Se'tak saw their chances of victory slipping away until Lieutenant Commander th'Neferan's hands slipped and Gia scrambled for the ball. She barely laid her hands on it when she thrust it at him and he took off down the court. Ahead of him was Uncle Jim, arms out, ready to keep him from making the winning shot, and he was shooting him a hard look that would make even a Klingon think twice.

In that split-second Se'tak considered his options. He could make the shot, but there was a good chance Uncle Jim would get the better of him and he'd miss. Cole was nearby, covered by Ensign Vugteveen, and while he had a slightly better angle on the basket he was getting sloppy; he'd only sank 2 of the last 12 shots he'd thrown this period.

And then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted salvation in the form of Grell.

Se'tak feigned a move to Uncle Jim's left, then turned to his right, threw the ball to Grell and held his breath as the clock wound down and play moved almost in slow-motion. Ensign Gott had (unwittingly) been in front of Grell facing her own basket and as she saw the ball head her way made an awkward dive backward to snatch it only to have it slip through her fingers. Grell grabbed it, dribbled once as if he had all the time in the world, then jumped and shot it out at the crew's basket in one long, graceful arch.

The ball hit the rim, circled, tottered on the edge…

Behind him Se'tak heard Lieutenant Deng suck in the first gasp of disbelief as the ball finally fell through.

The entire room froze, the only sound coming from the scoreboard as the final tally went up: 67-66, Civilians-Crew.

They won.

They WON!

"WOOOHOOO!" Egil whooped with glee. He leapt off the bench and tore off his shirt, waving it over his head like a victory flag. Once the shock wore off the rest of the team soon followed suit and swarmed the floor, jumping and cheering…Marcy and Ahorangi were so happy they were hugging each other and crying.

Girls. Go figure.

The upset was as stunning as it was complete and Uncle Jim good-naturedly came over to him and clapped him on the back. "Good game, Se'tak," he said with a wink and a smile. "I'm looking forward to next year's re-match." The rest of the crew team offered their congratulations while family and friends soon joined the press on the court. Tabby side-swiped him with another hug and he looked at her cross-eyed as she joyously babbled on about what a great job he did. She was only shaken off when Louisa called her away and as she moved along he spotted his family coming toward him.

"Your athletic prowess this evening was unparalleled, sa-kai."

He beamed in the face of T'Alora's compliment then punched her lightly in the forearm. She rolled her eyes and he bit back a chuckle; it was just like old times. "Thanks."

"I too concur with your sister's assessment. You played very well indeed," Sa-mekh added.

All this praise was making the tips of his ears go green. "Thanks, Sa-mekh."

Suddenly Selas was beside him and he had a hold of the game winning ball. "I was not impressed," he uncharacteristically declared.

One eyebrow shot up. "Really? Why?"

"Because I knew all along that you would play very well," his brother finished, grinning up at him.

Se'tak rubbed the top of his head, mussing up his hair just because he could. "Thanks, Squirt." Selas squealed and ducked out of the way behind Mama as he tried to set his hair back to rights. They looked at one another for a long moment when something in her expression changed. In spite of the sweat dripping off him she threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you," she whispered in his ear.

His grin widened. "Thanks Mama."

"I always knew you could do it but I…"

"…you just didn't want to see me get hurt, I know,I get it now," he finished. She stepped back and looked at him with misty eyes.

Suddenly something was thrust in his hand and he looked over to see Tilk holding one side of the trophy and lifting it over his head. "CIV-VIES, CIV-VIES, CIV-VIES…" the whole gym started to chant and with all the adrenaline running he punched his free fist into the air.

In the midst of all the excitement Se'tak looked down to the other end of the court and saw Cole. He wasn't alone but he wasn't with the rest of the group either, and the dark look on his face spoke of more disappointment and anger than simply not making the winning shot. He didn't know what and he didn't know when but Se'tak knew this moment was going to come back to haunt him someday soon.

John heard about the win while in Sickbay but wasn't allowed any visitors other than his parents until the next day. When he awoke late the following morning the gleaming trophy was in a place of prominence on his nightstand.

* Civilians vs. Crew