In the gym, Jay commanded the MACOs. "We're going to work on wind sprints. I want everyone going around the perimeter but then after a minute you're to give it all you've got and really run, flat out. Just go for it. But only do that for a minute, and then go back to regular running." He had a whistle around his neck. "It'll be on the sound of the whistle, all right? Now get ready; we'll do a little walking warm up first."
Chang made a face as he walked. "The Xindi aren't coming after us."
"Don't be so sure there aren't others out there," Hayes said, "There are all sorts of hostiles. We're still going through that database but I can assure you that the Delphic Expanse isn't exactly a safe neighborhood. Now let's get ready!"
=/\=
In Sick Bay, Phlox talked to Andrew Miller and Diana Jones. "It is going to become obvious that I will be needing some help," he said, "There are going to be children born on board."
"I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies," Diana said, and then she giggled nervously. "That's a line from Gone With the Wind. I actually know the basics. But unless there's more than one being born in one day, well, what would you need us for?"
Phlox sighed. "It's partly for that, but also for research. I don't know much yet, but there is going to be a great deal of needed research."
"It's those Ikaarans," Andy concluded, "I didn't marry one, apparently, so I don't have the facts on that."
"Well I do," Diana said, "I had a girlfriend, it turns out. And she didn't even make it to forty-three."
"Precisely," Phlox said, "they suffer from something that, in the records, is simply referred to as the decline. I do not have much more information on it."
"But if we cure it, won't we be messing with the timeline too much?" Andy asked. "Uh, sorry, Diana, but if a billion Ikaarans suddenly live twenty more years, won't that overwhelm their economy, or something?"
"Evidently, I agreed to work on it at all because of limitations," Phlox said, "and I will only work on this disease under the same circumstances. For example, if the ship meets a group of Ikaaran women, the captain believes that having a treatment for the decline might convince them to join us. I am not so certain I wish to use it as a bargaining chip. However, I can understand the captain's motivation in that area. After all, he is one of the men who took up with an Ikaaran. Since we cannot meet the same people, he will need to hope that lightning strikes twice – and so will a good twenty of the men."
"I have to have that hope, too," she said, resignedly, "c'mon, lightning."
=/\=
At the Tactical station, Malcolm conferred with Aidan and Karin. "Now, we'll need to go through the database and begin to piece together the strengths and weaknesses of all of the other species in the area. That's these Imvari, who we've already dealt with, Ikaarans, who are reportedly friendly, plus the Xindi, of course. I imagine we could run into them."
"Right," Aidan agreed, "plus who knows who else is out here. There's gotta be others. Maybe those Kovaalans are around here now."
"Or maybe even some of the other species we've been in contact with, like Klingons," Karin offered.
"Precisely," Malcolm agreed, "therefore we will need to be as well-informed as possible. We'll go over the database in shifts. Each of us will run one of the shifts, all right?"
"Me, sir?" she asked.
"Yes," he smiled a little, "I have confidence in you, Crewman Bernstein."
"Well, thank you, but I gotta wonder if some of that is related to what's in that database."
"A little, truth be told. You turned out rather favorably."
"I hope I can live up to the hype."
"I'm certain you can. Now, Aidan, you'll take Stephanie Ayers and Lucas Donnelly. Karin, you'll have Tara Balcescu and Ethan Shapiro. I'll take Victoria Dietrich, Cecily Romano and Bree Tanner," Malcolm offered, "As always, Aidan has the night, you, Karin, will have second shift, and I've got days. But to work on the database, it'll be for four hours after shift. I realize it's extra work, and I apologize in advance for that. But I think you'll agree that this is truly necessary."
"Of course," Karin agreed, "we'll do whatever it takes."
"Whatever it takes," echoed Aidan.
=/\=
At Communications, Hoshi made a call. "Yes, Maryam? Can you come up here? Can you be spared?" She glanced over at Travis.
"Uh, sure," he said, getting back to piloting.
Maryam agreed to come up and Hoshi cut the connection. "I wonder what to do with Sandra," Hoshi said, "seeing as Maryam apparently gets into Communications."
"Maybe Sandra gets the, uh, night shift," Travis speculated.
The doors swished open and it was Maryam Haroun. Nervous about being on the Bridge, she adjusted her hijab, the Muslim head scarf she always wore. "You wished to see me?" she asked Hoshi.
"Yeah," Hoshi said, "we, uh, in the database, well, apparently you moved from Navigation to Communications. And you did well enough that you were promoted and even got a medal."
"Truly?" Maryam asked.
"No lie," Hoshi confirmed, "So what do you say about switching over? Travis and I agreed, there isn't going to be a lot of navigating beyond more or less staying in the Expanse and avoiding being seen by the other NX-01."
"I need to pray five times per day," Maryam explained, "can that be arranged? I imagine I would be most free during second shift."
"I'll check the database," Hoshi said, "I get the feeling someone took nights."
=/\=
In Food Service, Will had Craig Willets in. "And the job is straightforward. It appears that a lot of programming was done on the replicators. I suspect most of that is intact, but we may need more. Plus we'll need maintenance work on the replicators."
"Understood," Craig said. He was slight and young, a little cowed by the chef, who was a large man with a booming voice.
"Plus I need some help with serving and cleaning," Lili stated.
"O'Day, this guy is specialized. He's not gonna be wiping down tables."
"No, it's okay," Craig said, "I don't mind. I can help Ensign O'Day. I just need to be shown what to do."
"Okay," she smiled at him.
=/\=
In Engineering, Tripp spent time with his people. "We'll need to study that database. I need to know how this ship was maintained and kept in decent working order for over a century. I need to know who we traded with, and what we fixed or invented ourselves. Kelly, Torres and Rosen – you're all on that, okay? Rostov and Carter, I want you to keep the Transporter in the best shape possible. Figure out how to make it more reliable and faster. Reese and Brodsky, you're on the warp containment field. You're to make it as easy to keep stable as possible. Whatever redundancies and subroutines you need to build in, you do so. Porter, Shelton and Andreiou, you're on the shuttles. We need for 'em to last. Any questions?"
=/\=
In Stellar Cartography, Dave Constantine, Shari Jeffers and Ingrid Nyqvist looked at each other. "I suppose we should be working on something profound," he offered, "but I've got no idea what. Did you look at your logs?"
"Of course," Ingrid replied, "I, uh, I ended up with Mark Reilly in Security."
"I got Anthony Vittorio," Shari reported, "I guess cartography and security go hand in hand. What about you, Dave?"
"I got Frank Todd in the MACOs," he noted.
=/\=
As for Security, many of them stayed at their posts, on high alert. Night shift personnel like Chip Masterson and Azar Hamidi were, of course, asleep, as was Mark Reilly, who also worked nights. Second shift Security personnel were busy reading their logs, guys like Robert Slater and Billy Dane and Tristan Curtis. Curtis was unsure as to why his logs abruptly ended in 2039. There was no information in the logs about his crime, arrest, trial, conviction, punishment and escape. Malcolm, who was in charge of Security, was unsure of how to tell them all.
The same was true of the MACOs, for Daniel Chang and the others had not been told of their wrongs, either, even as Jay and Malcolm wracked their brains trying to determine the best course of action.
Wind sprints done, the MACOs were resting and cooling down in the gym. "That was good," Jay said. He was as winded as the rest of them. "Tiburón, man, you're always in first. Good job. Great finish at second, Hamboyan. Money, Kemper, good effort. Ryan, Moreno, great coming from behind. Todd, Cole, McKenzie, good start out of the gate. You might wanna save a little for later as you might need it. Azar, Hodgkins, Parsons, really excellent form. Brown, Forbes, Woods, I liked the follow-through. Ryan, how you feeling?"
"Better, sir," said Rex Ryan.
"Well, the red face is a warning, you know," Jay said, "don't want you fainting. Go to Sick Bay and have Phlox take a look, okay? And maybe do some extras and be sure to hydrate."
"Yes, sir," Rex said, departing for Sick Bay.
Jay looked at Chang. "I need for you to make an effort, Private."
"Why?" Chang asked testily.
"As you have been told, Private," Jay emphasized that last word rather sharply, "there are hostiles in the area. You may not know who they are, but I assure you that the chain of command is well aware of who is out there. And we will work to get ourselves better and better informed. I suggest you train, and train hard. 'Cause if we go on a mission, I am not waiting around for you."
"Sir?" Julie McKenzie asked, as Jay glared at Dan Chang.
"Uh, yeah?" Jay softened his demeanor a bit.
"There must be stuff in that database. Maybe there's something we could use."
"Tactical's working on it to start," Jay said, "and then we'll get a crack at it. Everybody wants a peek, but the truth is, we need to be in physical condition, all of us. So that's the priority right now. McKenzie, Money, Todd, I wanna see you all afterwards. Uh, Cole, too. Everyone else is dismissed."
They filed out. The four turned to look at him. "I do want to look at that database. But I don't wanna be distracted. This is why I'm holding off. But we will start by looking at anything we can get our hands on about the physical characteristics of all of the species the other ship encountered in the Expanse. Friendlies, hostiles, I don't care. Individuals can differ – we all know this. We also need to do sharpshooting drills. Money, you'll be point on that."
"Yes, sir," she said.
"Todd, I need for you to keep an eye out."
"You think Chang will continue to be trouble, sir?" he asked.
"I, uh, I dunno," Jay admitted, "but this has gotta stop. I am all ears when it comes to discipline but also motivation. If Chang is the problem, then removing him may be enough to keep everyone going."
"Removing him?" Julie asked. "Where would he go?"
"I wish I knew," Jay sighed, "but there's gotta be jobs that will need filling. Some people are gonna shuffle around. I dunno if that would be the best solution. But I'm willing to consider it, particularly as I really don't need a locker room cancer right now."
=/\=
When Chris Harris came in to relieve him, Travis went to the Observation Lounge and asked his department to join him. Even the night shift people came in. "We've gotta look at that database," Travis said, "but our biggest concern is really gonna be keeping away from the other NX-01. Any ideas?"
Patti Socorro and Sophie Creighton shook their heads. Sterling Hutchinson said, "We should map out all of the really big planets and stars, maybe work with Cartography on that."
"Right," Bruce Chalfont said, "maybe we could do a lot of hiding."
"There's also," Cassandra Lester offered, "possibly hiding warp trails and such. We could work with Engineering on that."
Felicity Reese said, "Those spheres could also hide us."
"But then we've got other problems with the Xindi," Colleen Romanov reminded her.
"Oh, yeah. Hey, I'm just brainstorming here."
"No, that's good," Travis said, "every idea is a good one. We'll throw it all against the wall, and see if it sticks."
"Is Maryam leaving our department?" asked Sophie.
"I don't know," Travis admitted, "but there's a need in Communications right now. So maybe she will. I think we'll be all right without her. Let's keep thinking, okay?"
=/\=
T'Pol sent a note to her department about using the database. "There will be many occasions for Crewman Miller and Crewman Jones to work in Sick Bay. Crewman Pike will undoubtedly be busy with growing crops. Therefore, Crewman Warren and Crewman Novakovich, I am counting on you to assist with interpreting the database as needed. "
Nyota Warren wrote back, "What will we be looking for?"
The response was, "At the present, the only certainty is medical usage. However, there may be a need for finding a suitable planet for agriculture. There are two planets in the area that are suitable, but the other NX-01 will claim them, so we will not interfere. Therefore, we will research the other available planets in the area and determine if any of them are at least marginally suitable."
=/\=
T'Pol's Personal Log, July sixteenth, 2037
News about my children's parentage is admittedly unsettling. However, news of as-yet unborn children is, perhaps, the chief cause of that. I am still uncertain as to whether Commander Tucker truly sired them. And I am equally uncertain as to how that makes me feel.
=/\=
Maryam Haroun's Personal Log, July sixteenth, 2037
A new job! And I ended up with Azar Hamidi. Evidently, I asked Doctor Phlox to assist me in finding a suitable husband. From the records, it appears that he was as careful as my own father would have been, although he was also busy and, I think, at times, it was not his top priority. No matter. It appears to have been a good match. Perhaps we will speak of it soon.
=/\=
William Slocum's Personal Log, July sixteenth, 2037
I married Patti Socorro. But it did not work out. Why didn't I try harder? I don't get it.
=/\=
Chandrasekar Khan's Personal Log, July sixteenth, 2037
I suppose I should say more than three words to Hoshi if we are to marry again, like we did. How was I so fortunate as to win her?