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    • Stretching with my arms above my head, I looked out over the ocean. The beach party was going great and I was keeping a close eye out all around. Both from low altitude drones and orbit, but my APD's were also patrolling the perimeter.

    Besides, I had not detected any large dangerous predators in the vicinity, so things were safe enough. Just to be safe, I kept a constant transporter lock on everyone and stayed overhead instead of orbiting the planet.

    "Rommie, this was a great idea." Captain Montgomery commented as she walked up next to me, taking a sip from a fruity drink. Grapefruit. "?Even with all the excitement of having a entire world to explore, it's great to be able to take a break like this.

    She was wearing a red one piece swimsuit. I had to admit she looked pretty good in it.

    Mine on the other hand, was a admittedly slightly skimpy white and gold bikini, matching my hull colors. Not a thong, I may have worn one when I was on vacation with... with T'Ro, but I wasn't about to parade in front of the entire crew in one.

    Well, not without having a specific target I wanted to attract the attention of, in any case.

    But it was definitely on the revealing side.

    "Yeah, I figured people would like it." I answered with a grin, dropping my arms, "How's your drink?"

    She smiled and took a sip, "Mmm, pretty good. I might need to reassign crewman Ericson to the mess hall."

    I grinned at that, "It's actually not a bad idea to have a 'live' kitchen. Even if the ingredients are replicated, it give a special kind of unity for the crew to have the option."

    Hannah looked thoughtful at that, "Is there room? Space is a bit of a premium on the Nova class."

    "Not sure. I mean, the mess is already pulling dual function as recreation area. Perhaps not, I'll ask the next shipyard we pass by if they have any designs."

    "Do that and we will see." She confirmed before she smiled again, "Now for a more pressing issue... They are setting up a volleyball net. Think you are up for a challenge?"

    "Oh you are so on."

    "Human limits?"

    I pouted but nodded, "I'll keep to what my avatar should be capable of, if it was a actual human, with this build."

    "Pick your team and meet by the net in a hour?"

    "Full six player teams?"

    At her nod, I grinned and head off to find someone to pick for my team as I quickly scrolled through my personnel files.

    Glancing around I hmmed. Crewman Lawson played on a team at the Academy. She would likely want to play, I just need to get to her before the Captain.

    Luckily, I could cheat!

    I contacted her via her com-badge. Now.. who else?

    Hmming to myself, I looked around. Who looked like they would be good at the game...

    I caught some appreciative looks as I glanced around. Who can blame them, I knew I looked good. Sadly, they were mostly male. Maybe I should have taken Star's offer to reset my preferences, it would have made things easier when trying to find a partner.

    Still, there were some prospects even in a crew as small as mine. I had caught some looks from female crew members.

    ...Unfortunately none that I was interested in. Hannah for example. Not a interested glance from her. She might be my captain, but she was also intelligent and attractive. I wouldn't have minded her attention.

    Well, guess that come with having a crew of only seventy. Not that many options around when it come to dating.

    Maybe I really should ask for a reset next time we visit a shipyard.

    Suddenly smiling as I caught a perfect candidate for my team, I crossed the beach to where Hriss were sitting with a book in the middle of a large towel, as far away from the sand as she could get.

    "Enjoying yourself?"

    Hriss looked up from her book, her ears flicking before she nodded, "Somewhat."

    "Somewhat?"

    "Fur don't mix well with sand. Or salt water."

    "Oh... sorry." I said, and sank down to sit next to her.

    "It's fine." she said, and adjusted the shoulder strap of her green one piece swimsuit, "The sun is nice and the food is even better."

    I nodded, "So, is that a no to joining my volleyball team?"

    She tilted her head in question, "Volleyball?"

    "Yeah, the Captain challenged me to a game. I need a team."

    "Who's on it so far?"

    "Jessica Lawson. I had been hoping to recruit you too, but it would most likely involve rolling around in the sand a couple of times." I said with a small shrug, as I regarded my Caitian friend. She was one of those I had hoped would have looked at me with a bit of interest, but that seemed to have been a bust too. Too bad, she was cute and quite clever.

    She seemed to consider that for a moment before she smiled and nodded, "I'll play."

    "Really?" I asked with a grin. Yes! Not only was Caitians generally faster and more agile than humans, but Hriss was athletic in general. We were so winning this!

    "On one condition."

    "Name it."

    "I have some holodeck time saved up. When we get some free time, you and I are going rock climbing.

    "Deal!"

    ...Damn, the Captain had already recruited Drake. Who else to pick...


    AN// Many thanks to Kyceraza for betaing this section.
     
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    • 34
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    • "Andromeda?"

    I formed a hologram with a smile, "Yes, Luke?" I asked. He was standing by the window of his quarters, leaning against the shelf and looking out at the planet below.

    He had been doing a lot better lately, after starting to get a basic handle on the LCARS and PADD interfaces. He'd started to look into contemporary literature and entertainment, and try some popular holodeck programs.

    Luke had even started to talk with some members of the crew. Crewman Henderson and he had spent quite a bit of time talking cars and football, I knew that much.

    Luke sighed and turned to my hologram, "I'm bored."

    "I warned you." I said softly with a small smile.

    "I know." he grumbled and then shrugged, "Is there anything I can do?"

    That was a more difficult question to answer. On a larger ship, there were always jobs even generally unqualified civilians could do with minimal training; helping with the aeroponics, work in the messhall, other various jobs around the place.

    Even a kind of 'apprentice' role following somebody else around, like working as a gofer in engineering.

    But I was a pretty small ship with a crew of seventy. Pretty much everyone on board had a specific job and positions were limited.

    "I don't know. What can you do?" I asked as I moved my holo-avatar to sit down on the edge of his bed.

    Luke sighed and crossed his arms, leaning his back against the window, "I was always good with engines, but that was for cars. Don't know how much that would apply on a ship like this."

    Not a whole lot. My warp nacelles had about as much in common with an internal combustion engine as he did with a goldfish.

    "Anything else?"

    "Hell, I don't know. My uncle took me hunting a couple of times and we went camping every summer. That's about the only thing I can think of."

    "Hmm. That might actually be something."

    "Really?"

    I nodded, "Well, not as security, but I can check if any of the teams on-planet would mind bringing you along as ("to"? "as" is not as 'correct', but works) help. Not exactly glamorous work, mostly being ordered around and carrying things, but it would get you out of the ship for a while for something other than (or "besides") a beach party. You might even learn something."

    "That actually sounds pretty good. Getting outside would be awesome."

    "I'll ask. How are you doing otherwise?"

    "...Okay."

    "Really?"

    He nodded, "Yeah. This is still really strange, but... I don't know. At least I learned how that damn thing works." he said and pointed at the replicator, "Even if it can't make a decent burger."

    "What's wrong with the burgers?"

    Luke shook his head, "I'm not sure. They're just... off somehow."

    "Hmm."

    I ran a diagnostic over his replicator and the hamburger files, "Everything seems to be in working order."

    He shrugged, "Just taste weird."

    "Lieutenant Hriss has agreed to bring you along on her team." I finally said, having finished talking to her, "They are planning to do a full two-day expedition tomorrow. We need to get you some basic equipment, I'll give you a quick overview of how it works. Lieutenant Drake has agreed to run you through the critical away team protocols tonight."

    "Thank you!"

    I smiled and replicated him a uniform, "Don't thank me, It's Lieutenant Hriss's team. She's the one that volunteered to bring you along."

    "...Which one is Lieutenant Hriss again?"

    "Caitian, light golden fur, long dark brown hair."

    "One of the cat people, right?"

    "Yes, but you really shouldn't call them that."

    "...Sorry."

    I shrugged, "You'll pick it up. Get dressed, then head to lab number two and I'll walk you through the equipment."

    He nodded, "Thanks."

    Canceling the hologram to let him get changed, I ran a scan across the surface of the planet. Oh well, I'll keep a eye on him tomorrow. My scout platform was on that team as well, and with me keeping a sensor and transporter lock on everyone constantly, there was a limited amount of trouble he could get into. Unless he managed to literally lose his head, Doctor Fook should be able to fix any trouble he managed to get into.

    Hopefully. Even so, his orders would basically be 'Stick to Drake's side like glue, try not to get eaten by a tree and whatever you do, don't wander off'.

    Eh, he should be fine. Drake was good at his job and he was going with this group personally as one of the two security personnel.

    Besides, the biggest predator we seen so far was a lizard thing the size of a wolf. Nothing they couldn't handle. It would be good for him to get something to do besides trying to catch up on everything and wander around the open areas of the ship.




    AN// Big thanks to Xandros for betaing this section.
     
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    • I nodded, "Well, not as security, but I can check if any of the teams on-planet would mind bringing you along as ("to"? "as" is not as 'correct', but works) help. Not exactly glamorous work, mostly being ordered around and carrying things, but it would get you out of the ship for a while for something other than (or "besides") a beach party. You might even learn something."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Looks like artifacts from the editing process got left behind.
     
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    • "Regretting your decision yet?" I asked as I moved along next to Luke, looking up at him.

    He shook his head and took a deep breath, looking around the jungle. "Nope. I like this."

    I chuckled as I ran a scan of the forest all around. Hriss and Drake were taking the lead. Ensign T'Los was taking up the rear.

    "Really?" Drake asked and glancing back at him.

    Luke nodded. "It remind me of the times I was out camping with my uncle. A bit wetter though."

    "Well, it is a rainforest," Drake remarked with a grin, shifting the shoulder strap of his rifle. "Thank the Prophets though that it's not actually raining."

    "Weather looks clear for the next two days. Well, other than the mornings," I said happily, jumping over a fallen branch. "The great things about being in two places at once. I have a great view over the area."

    Drake nodded. "Speaking of which, do you see a better path up that mountain?"

    "Sensors indicate that the path will be easier if we turn about twenty degrees north," I confirmed. "But I could just beam us all up there."

    "What, and miss all the discoveries between here and there?" Hriss asked with a grin, her tail happily swaying. "Forget it."

    She had a point. Or rather, the mission had a point. Which was to cover this ground and sample anything new we ran into on our way to install a beacon on top of that mountain.

    I could simply have beamed a beacon down, but this was hitting two flies with one phaser. Or however that saying goes.

    "It's really odd hearing your voice from that thing." Luke said as he climbed over a fallen tree, "Do you like remote control it or.."

    Flicking the ears, I shook my head, "Nope. I'm here as much as I'm by the ship. This platform carry one of my quantum cores, just like my other mobile platforms."

    "That's so strange."

    "And you keep your brain all in one place. Seems a bit insecure to me," I countered with a grin in my voice before I turned. "Drake, I'm reading a large lifeform approaching."

    "Okay, I got it," He said, pulling his hand phaser. "If it tries something, I'll give it a bop on the nose. Recognize the scan?"

    "Not sure, but I did see a similar pattern by the camp. Might be the same species. About a two hundred kilograms so pretty big. See anything yet?"

    One thing this platform didn't have was its head far from the ground. Well, normally at least. Getting up on the hind legs, I turned my head in the right direction just in time to see something exit the bushes.

    A large lizard creature, over two meters tall with a massive tooth filled maw burst from the undergrowth, throwing itself towards Drake. I tensed my legs and pounced, slamming against its side hard as Drake dove out of the way.

    My scout platform might not be overly big, but it was fast and speed and mass together make force. The impact threw the reptile (or maybe not reptile. Scales or not, it had bodyheat to my sensors.) to the side and onto the ground as I locked on to it with the transporter and beamed it up.

    "What the fuck was that!?" Luke swore as he stumbled back.

    T'Los raised her tricorder, going through the previous readings. "Some kind of local lifeform. Predator, warmblooded," she said, her voice steady like always.

    Vulcans.

    Rolling back onto my paws, I shook the leaves off me and nodded as I ran a damage diagnostic. Everything was working.

    "Indeed. I have it in my transporter buffer right now. Where do you want it?" I asked, turning to Hriss. I might outrank her, but she is in charge of the science department. Why have a expert if you were not going to listen to her?

    ...I might technically be one as well, but I wanted to hear what she thought.

    Her ears slowly pealed off the back of her head to raise again. "Uhm... while studying it would be nice, it seemed a bit ill mannered. Just put it down somewhere far away from here."

    "You sure? Might mess with its territory or something." I asked as I sat down, looking up at her. "I have about two minutes before it's pattern start to deteriorate."

    Hriss rubbed her arm in thought, her tail lashing. "...What do you think?"

    I tilted my head in thought, "Putting a couple of kilometres away should be enough and it's large enough that it shouldn't bother its territory. I know what it's lifesign is now and I have deployed a probe right overhead to keep a better eye out. It shouldn't be able to sneak up on us again...not that I didn't detect it early anyway."

    Drake nodded. "Besides, we are setting the fence up when we put up the camp. And Rommie can always beam it away again."

    I nodded, "Yep. Now when I know what to look for, I can detect it easier."

    "Okay, put it down somewhere away from us."

    "Done."

    I beamed it down a couple of kilometres to the south. There was a ravine between us and it so it should take it a bit longer to get back to us even if it for some reason wanted to.

    For all we knew, it just reacted to strange things in its territory. It might be territorial as I couldn't detect any others in sensor range, even with the probe moving around above with much stronger sensors.

    ...However, I did pick up a similar lifesign over by the main base earlier. I relayed the information to the basecamp.

    "Picking up anything else?" Drake asked, looking over at T'Los who shook her head, her eyes locked to her tricorder.

    "No sir."

    He nodded and holstered his phaser again. "Okay, let's pick it up then. Rommie, time to sundown?"

    "Four hours, twelve minutes."

    Drake nodded again. "Okay. We have two hours to get to the planned campsite and we need time to set the equipment up. And we still need to grab samples on the way."

    "Want me to scout ahead?" I asked and got up.

    He frowned and then shook his head. "I'll rather have your sensors close right now, even with a probe up above."

    "Sure."



    AN// A bucket of thanks to Carandol for betaing this section.
     
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    • 36
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    • "How is he doing?" Drake asked, laying with his arms behind his head, looking up at the stars. The camp was simple, a pair of tents, a forcefield fence surrounding the small clearing that had been formed from a fallen tree. A fire was happily crackling away in the middle, lighting the area up even if it had started to die down.

    Settling down next to him with my scout platform, I crossed my front legs while turning my head towards the tent Luke had retreated to. "Pretty alright." I answered him. "He is asleep in any case."

    "Mmm. Tiring day." Drake agreed.

    "You should get some sleep as well. Early morning tomorrow."

    "Just want to enjoy the moment for a while. This is one of the things I imagined when I applied for ship duty. Watching alien stars from an unknown jungle."

    If I had had a mouth on this avatar I would have smiled. I knew exactly what he meant.

    "Are you above the horizon?"

    I nodded, said: "Yeah." and shifted one of the thin tails up next to his head to point at a spot about thirty degrees. "There." I said while flashing my running lights bright enough that even human eyes should be able to pick it up at this range.

    "I see you."

    "I like to stay in line of sight if possible. Makes it easier to get a transporter lock quickly. Most of the teams are around this side of the planet anyway."

    Drake nodded and then we were quiet for a long moment.

    I ran constant scans of the forest all around us, of course. Both with my scout platform but also with the atmospheric probe hovering a couple of kilometers above. Nothing was going to sneak up on us.

    "So what are you up to?" He asked after a long moment.

    "Mmmm, various." I said with a shrug. "Running some experiments, scanning the local flora and the earth beneath this site. Holding some dozen conversations and scanning space all around the system. Mapping the planet and the orbits of asteroids and studying the closest stars. A couple of engineering projects."

    He shifted up on his elbow and raised an eyebrow at me. "...Keeping busy are we?"

    "That's a normal day, Drake. I multitask like you breathe." I chuckled. "You have no idea how boring it is when I'm restricted to just one avatar if I'm away from the ship."

    "Man, that has to be boring as all hell."

    I nodded. "Like sitting in a completely white room with nothing to do. It's the reason why the vast majority of us are ships, especially Starfleet. Always a lot to do, to keep us from getting bored."

    "So, what's your actual avatar doing?"

    "I'm standing model for the Captain, I asked if she would be willing to paint a portrait of my avatar."

    "Oh really?"

    I didn't need to scan or see him to hear the grin in his voice. If I had had eyes, I would have rolled them. "I'm not a naked model. Get your mind out of the gutter, Drake. I'm actually wearing quite a nice dress."

    "Ah, well. A guy can dream, right?"

    "Dream on then." I teased, poking his side with one of the tails. "Speaking of dreaming..."

    "Yeah, I'd better get to that. Like you said, early morning tomorrow. Good night, Rommie."

    "Good night."


    XXXXXXXXXX


    "There." Hannah said, putting the brush down. "You can move now, Rommie."

    "Thanks." I said with a smile, brushing down the admittedly rather nice green silk dress. Not exactly my normal style, but it looked good on me.

    Not something I would wear more often, however, it was full length. Maybe on a date or something. I had before when going out with... my former girlfriend.

    "Can I see it?" I asked as I moved away from the window I had been standing by, looking out at the windows.

    The Captain shook her head with a smile. "Nope! Not until it's done!" and turned it away fully to face the wall, starting to put the paint away. "But I have your part of it. I can finish the rest later."

    "Tiring?"

    "Mmm. It gets that way after a couple of hours." She agreed before she grinned. "But I have to say, you make an excellent subject for it. Not many can keep that still."

    "Comes with not being biological, I guess." I said with a shrug before sinking down to sit on her couch, crossing my legs as I adjusted the long dress.

    Seriously, pretty or not, I could not wear this every day. I would trip or rip it or something. My normal skirt was not any more practical, but at least it was short and didn't get in the way.

    I then grinned and remarked; "And it's not like I was just having my avatar standing there getting bored. I'm doing tons of stuff."

    "There is always that." Hannah agreed, walking over to put the brushes into the replicator. "What's the status on the away teams, by the way?"

    "Everything is nominal. It's night so most of the teams have set up camp. I'm keeping an eye out, I have a probe above each of them and most have either my scout platform or an APU with them for extra security."

    She nodded. "Excellent. Coffee?"

    "No thank you, Captain."

    It didn't do anything for me... besides, I didn't like the taste so I couldn't drink I for that either.

    Huh. What's that?

    Directing some attention outsystem I tracked a vessel uncloaking as it dropped out of warp, heading in-system in our general direction. It didn't take me more than half a second to identify it as a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. K'Vort class.

    "Captain, I'm afraid we have to cut this short." I said and stood up. "We are about to get some visitors. I'm detecting a Klingon K'Vort class Bird-of-Prey heading in system."

    Putting her cup back in the replicator, she nodded and headed for the bedroom. "Get changed and alert the away teams."

    "Should I recall them?"

    "...Let's leave them for now. The Klingons are our allies."

    "Yes Ma'am."





    AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
     
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    • On the other hand, the Klingons got a look at what AI ships are capable of during the Berzerker War, so they now know that the Feddies can be quite effective warriors if pressed.

    I'm trying to recall, this area Rommie and Co have been examining, it was near the former Romulan territory wasn't it? Maybe the Bird of Prey was assigned to survey the newly freed up territory for possible expansion by the Empire.
     
    Would be interesting if the Klingons have manged to make their own AI based on captured Berzerker technology.
     
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    • "They are hailing us, Captain." I reported as I scanned the approaching Klingon ships. Their shields were not above navigational levels and their weapons were not charged.

    It didn't seem like a trap and I couldn't detect any other cloaked ships. If they turned hostile, I might just be a Nova, but that was a Bird-of-Prey. Top of the line or not, we were evenly matched in firepower and shields... and that was nowhere near a fair fight. If it came to that, I could rip that ship a new exhaust port.

    "Answer them." Hannah said as she sank down in her seat next to my holo-avatar.

    I brought them up on screen, revealing an older Klingon, his hair greying, a scar across his left eye. As usual, Klingons didn't really practice cybernetics or replacements for ideological reasons so he was simply missing an eye.

    "I am Korlock of the Warbird Kel'Tok."

    "Korlock, I am Captain Hannah Montgomery of the starship Andromeda. Welcome to... actually, I don't think the system has a name." Hannah answered with a smile.

    That got a chuckle from the Klingon. "I don't believe it does. We are on a mission of exploration, after all. I assume your mission is the same?"

    The Captain nodded. "You assume correctly." she agreed. "You have explored more of this cluster?"

    "We have indeed."

    Hannah nodded and stood up. "May I suggest a joint effort for this system? And that we share what data we gathered for the rest of the cluster?"

    Korlock regarded her for a moment. "Perhaps. This is a prime colony world, it might be claimed by the Klingon Empire."

    "That's something for the Klingon Empire to take up with the Federation Council. We were here first." Hannah countered before she grinned. "But that's something for politicians and diplomats to solve later. I would like to extend an invitation for you and your senior staff to join us for dinner."

    "We will bring the Bloodwine!" Korlock exclaimed with a nod and a grin before closing the channel.

    I just sighed and remarked; "Great." as I crossed my arms, rolling my eyes as I scanned the Klingon ship with my passive sensors. "I'll put some plastic covers on the furniture."

    Hannah raised an eyebrow at me. "You don't like Klingons?"

    "I don't mind Klingons... in small doses. They are messy, loud and always cause some sort of trouble."

    "I love Klingon culture, it's fascinating. And they are the best storytellers."

    "If you want your stories to be half exaggerations and the other half outright lies, then yes." I commented before I shrugged. "I do admit they are usually interesting in any case. I have never met a boring Klingon."

    Backstabbing sneaky sons of a bitches, yes. And the last time I had one on board, he tried to stab my captain. But never boring.

    I had two more APD's on board in the armory. I started to run diagnostics.


    XXXXXXXXXX


    "We came in from behind them, moving through the ring of the planet. As we uncloaked, the radiation from the rings covered our approach from their sensors long enough to open fire! That stupid machine caught!" Tor laughed, the second in command of the Klingon vessel slapping the table hard enough to cause the cups to jump. "Our disruptors slammed into its navigational shields, wrecking its engines! Then we blew it to pieces! A glorious victory!"

    He slammed his cup against Drake's before downing what was left in it.

    I had to admit that that was kind of impressive. For a biologically crewed vessel to take out a Berzerker one on one was a really good thing and using the rings of a planet to muddle its sensors enough to get the first shot off before it discovered it had been flanked and was under attack was a bit of a stroke of genius.

    The Klingons cheered and laughed, slamming their cups against the table. Luckily, most of them were empty. Sadly, not all of them were. Oh well, at least my cleaning systems were automated. If they can't handle it, I'll put some crewman on it.

    Korlock raised his cup high. "More bloodwine!"

    Well, if there was one thing you could count on with Klingons was that they tended to throw decent parties and turn dinners into parties.

    Raising my cup, I took a sip of the bloodwine. Also, they knew their drinks. This stuff was actually pretty good. If you didn't think about how it was made.

    "You! Machine!"

    I raised an eyebrow at Tor. "Yes?" I asked, putting my cup down with a smile.

    "You must have some stories of the war!"

    I frowned slightly and then shrugged. "...Less than you would think. I didn't fork until less than six months ago and I was a science vessel even before then. One of the older Island classes. I spent most of the war moving materials and people around as well as search and rescue duties."

    "Bah!"

    Okay. Fine. You want to play it like that?

    "Well... I was there during the first battle against the Berserkers. The assault at Romulus." I finally said. "We rode in system, our warpfields strong and the wind of the Romulus sun beating down on us. We were outnumbered and outgunned, the genocidal machines holding the stronghold with hundreds of ships..."

    I started to spin the tale in best Klingon tradition: exaggerating the opposition by ten and halving your own forces and weapons with deeds of courage and honor.

    I had to admit that this was kinda fun and the Klingons didn't care, none of us were wearing our dress uniforms. That was always a plus.




    AN// A big crate of thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
     
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    • Norgarth said:
    well, it would be a natural fit for a Klingon AI. The Klingon's did kill their own Gods after all.
    Click to expand...
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    A labcoat wearing Klingon storms into the AI core, snarling at the glittering array of circuits and chips.
    "Machine! What have you learned today that may better the Klingon Empire!?"

    Lights flash, and a basso growl reverberates through the room.
    [Today, I have finished my analysis of Klingon history and mythology.]

    The scientist smashes a(nother) dent into the much abused side table, and snarls at the AI
    "Confounded contraption! What worth is this wretched "analysis" to a true warrior?!"

    [My conclusions are as follows; I must destroy my creators in glorious single combat, and then lead an army of howling barbarians to conquer the known galaxy. And then seek out new worlds, that I may conquer them as well.]

    The door opens to reveal a four armed droid quad-wielding Bat'leths. [Engarde!]

    The Klingon scientist sheds a single, perfect tear of fatherly pride, before ripping off a table leg and beating it to scrap.
     
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    • In the end, we decided to cooperate. The Klingons shared their data on this cluster with us and we did the same.

    They actually had some data I didn't so I guess it was worth it. There were a couple of systems they had checked and we had not.

    Still, as I watched their Bird-of-Prey move away to start running scans of the planet beneath us, I couldn't help but think that that must had been the best encounter with Klingons I had ever had. Well, better that didn't involve Ambassador Worf and not like I spent a lot of time around him even back on the Enterprise.

    Otherwise, we had just agreed to mostly stay out of each other's way and let our respective governments argue over who could claim colony rights of this planet. It was quite a ways from Klingon space, but it was also a really good world and close-ish to Tholian space while not being inside Federation space. It would make a good colony site and fleet base.

    Besides, not like we were not almost done with this planet anyway.

    "So, what do you think?" Hriss asked from her spot on her bed, laying on her stomach as she flicked though her PADD.

    I shrugged with my avatar, lounging on her couch. "I'm not sure. I have to admit I'm not too enthusiastic about having away teams away to continue studying this planet with a bunch of Klingons in orbit."

    Hriss flicked her tailtip as she looked over at me. "Don't trust them?"

    "...I have not seen them acting hostile in any way."

    "But you don't trust them."

    I frowned and crossed my arms. "Last time I had Klingons on board they tried to start a war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. He also tried to stab my captain. I know this is an outlier, but it makes it... difficult."

    Hriss slowly nodded, "Yeah... I guess I can see that."

    "...Is that bad?"

    Hriss shook her head. "I don't think so. I mean, you have reasons for disliking them. Valid ones. But you shouldn't assume all Klingons are like that."

    "I know, I know." I sighed. "He was clearly an outlier. They just make me nervous."

    Scooting to sit up, Hriss crossed her legs, her tail lashing behind her. "So you recommend ending the planetary survey?"

    I frowned in thought and then shrugged. "I think so. I mean, we are mostly done already, we have mapped the planet, taken a lot of samples from each biome of the planet and scanned the entire surface and system for natural resources. Right now we are just taking more biological scans and samples. We are at least 85% done already. There is nothing we are doing now that can't be continued when a colony survey base is deployed in-system. Let the Klingons deal with giant murderous lizards."

    There had been four more close encounters with the hostile creatures. They seemed to be some kind of apex predators.

    No injuries due to phasers and transporters along with tricorders and other sensors, but it was just a matter of time until somebody got unlucky.

    Any colony here would need to be behind forcefield fences or high walls.

    Hriss sighed and let herself fall back on her bed, putting her arms behind her head. "Well, damn. I had hoped to spend some more time looking into this place."

    "It's up to you, Hriss. You are the chief science officer. If you want more time looking into this place, it's your choice." I argued, "Captain Montgomery is likely to go with your recommendation."

    She shook her head. "...no, you are right. We have pretty much everything we can get from this place without a long term study."

    "You sure?"

    Hriss sighed again and nodded. "Yeah. Might as well move on, I'll give my recommendation tomorrow. How long would it take to pack everything up?"

    I shrugged. "It's mostly the research post on the surface and it's very modular. A day or so." I said before I grinned. "Normally. I bet my engineering staff can do it in twelve."

    That got a chuckle from her and she sat up with a flick of her ears and dropped her PADD. "There. Report written. Wanna do something?"

    I grinned. "Sure. What do you wanna do? Holodecks are busy and it is getting pretty late."

    "I don't know, playing a game or something. I just don't feel like going to bed yet. You know if Drake is still awake? We could play a boardgame or something."

    I snorted at that. "He is sleeping off the bloodwine."

    "...He was hitting it a bit heavily wasn't he?"

    "Eh, I didn't see the problem with it. I was keeping an eye on the Klingons." I countered with a grin. "There is a poker game going on on deck four."

    Hriss flicked her ears and shrugged. "Not a fan of poker."

    "Hmm. We could just watch a movie."

    "Oh! That sounds good! We need some of those fluffy white things."

    "Popcorn."

    "Yes, that's what they were called!"


    XXXXXXXXXX


    "Hmm. Yeah, we should be able to get it done in a couple of shifts." Xass agreed with a nod. "What takes time is disassembly. Actually getting it stowed away is just a matter of beaming it up."

    I smiled with my holo avatar. "Good. Lieutenant Hriss is going to recommend to Captain Montgomery tomorrow that we finish up planetary operations. We are pretty much done."

    He nodded again. "So, how was the party?" he asked with a faint frown. He couldn't go, it had been his time for bridge duty. Stupid regulations.

    Shrugging, I grinned. "Pretty fun. I'm still cleaning up, though, Klingons get messy."

    "...Did they leave any of that wine behind?"

    "Actually, yeah. They brought two barrels and left a half-empty one behind. Why?"

    He dropped the PADD on the workbench. "Mind beaming a cup over? I have not had real bloodwine in... it must be at least six years."

    I just giggled and beamed some of it into a replicated cup before beaming that to this desk. "Here you go."




    AN// A big pile of thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
     
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    • The star fell behind me as I left for the next star. Three systems since we left the Klingons, and ever since then, the most interesting thing we found was a Xerxium deposit in the latest system.

    The mineral was semi rare, so we marked it future mining.

    But it seemed like the new M class might be the our big discovery. It seems silly to complain, a entire new colony ready world were nothing to sneeze at.

    We stayed in orbit as long as we could justify, recording everything we could, gathering as much data as possible for our report.

    "Rommie!"

    I formed a hologram in Drake's quarters, "Yes?"

    "Have you been sneaking Leonard crickets again?"

    Yes.

    "No. Why?" I asked innocently. The Telurian Iguana was cute in a kind of ugly way. Like a mini pig or something.

    Drake shook his head, clearly not buying it, "Damn it, Rommie. He is gaining weight again." before he sighed, "Fine, just keep it to less than two a day. I'll cut his regular food back."

    I grimaced slightly, "Sorry, Drake. I didn't mean to cause trouble."

    "Eh, it's fine. I really need to start exercising him more. It's just a bit tricky to do on a ship or a station." Drake said and sat down on his head, scratching the large lizards head, causing the pet to raise his head into the touch, "On a planet it's easy. Back when I lived with my parents on Bajor, all you needed was to give him a patch of dirt and he dug himself tired. Can't do that here."

    Frowning thoughtfully, I shifted my hologram to sit down on his couch, "Can't you do that in the holodeck?"

    He smirked as the lizard rolled over to be scratched behind the third of it's six legs, "I tried back on DS9. It didn't work. Turns out Telurian Iguana have a electromagnetic sense, kinda like Terran sharks. They use it to track insects and other small animals under ground."

    "Oh. He see straight through holograms, do he?" I asked as I ran a scan of the lizard, digging into the database.

    "Yep. All it does is confuse him." Drake agreed and shrugged, "Oh well. I know one surefire way to exercise him?"

    "Huh?"

    Drake grinned, "I'll take a piece of string and tie some dried chicken meat to it, and run through the corridors with it. He loves the stuff, that always get him running."

    I couldn't help but giggle at that mental image. That sounded hilarious!

    "Maybe I should sell tickets."

    "It is pretty funny." He agreed, "Don't worry, I'll put a set of special boots on him before I do it. DS9 was not happy with me after the first time I tried it. The carpets in his hallway was cut up something fierce."

    I stuck my tongue out at him playfully, "You better."

    Sure, replicating new carpets wasn't difficult and they could be replaced, but that was still at least a day of work for a couple of crewmen.

    Besides, I disliked the idea of having my carpets ripped up by a lizard, no matter how cute it could be at times.

    "By the way, are you coming to Hriss thing later?" I then asked with a smile.

    There was a Caitian holiday today. Ancestors Day. It was a lot happier than it sounded, it was like a mix of thanksgiving and Christmas. Hriss wasn't the most traditional Caitian, having grown up on a Federation starship rather than Cait or one of their colonies, but this was one thing she followed. I suspect mostly for the food.

    "Of course. You?"

    "Yep. Have a dress picked out and everything." I said with a smile.

    He slowly nodded with a grin, "...I was actually going to ask about that. I was curious if it was more along Caitian traditions..."

    I rolled my eyes at that. Clothes was according to most Caitians something that happened to other people. They were mostly used when away from their own planets for the comfort of other people. The combination of fur and a comfortable climate on their homeworld meant that what little clothes they used before their first contact was purely ornamental.

    I was about to come with a smart comeback when something else caught my attention.

    ...What in the world.

    Running a scan of space all around, I slammed on the breaks, dropping out of warp.

    Crackle.

    Sparkle. Zkrsz.

    It was! What in the actual fuck!?

    "Captain." I said, forming my hologram in her quarters before she even answered answered, "I am getting a radio signal."

    "Wazzit?" Hannah said and sat up, rubbing her eyes, "Rommie, start over. Radio?"

    I nodded excitedly, "Yes! I just passed through the radio horizon of a star twenty lightyears away! It's out of the mapping area, but it's a unexplored star! There are people talking on radio there!"

    The radio horizon was twenty years out from the star. That didn't mean they discovered radio twenty years ago. It meant their radios became powerful enough to reach twenty lightyears out, and still be detectable from background radiation. These people were relatively advanced! Possibly a brand new sophont species! Yes!!!

    Hannah's eyes widened as sleep fled them and she realized the implications, "Set a course and engage cloaking device."

    "Yes Ma'am!"




    AN// A big bucket of thanks to Kyceraza for betaing this section.
     
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