Parker

Parker Anderson
I sat on the edge of my bunk. My roommate had gone out for the evening. I was dreading the Final Engineering exam that was coming in the morning. I knew the test and knew it well. There were a dozen or so variations and I had aced them all over and over to make sure I would be prepared. Today in the last class the instructor stated a change in the final. It would be different for everyone and nothing like the pre exam simulations I had spent the last several weeks working on. I was devastated. It was not just the exam that was on my mind, I was lost. Colin had dumped me several weeks ago and I couldn’t get over it. I threw myself into my studies and for the most part was able to ignore the broken heart but now the feeling was back with a vengeance. On top of that, as soon as my exam was complete and before I would receive my final grades I had to meet with my parents as I had been selected for joining. This was going to be rough as I was not sure what to expect after the joining. All my life I had wanted to be joined and graduate Starfleet academy. The final exam, assuming I pass, will be the first goal met. The Joining…that’s another story. It would either work or it wouldn’t. I didn’t want to lose my romantic side and prayed that I would be host to a more opened minded symbiont. Only time would tell for sure. If the joining failed it didn’t matter. I would either join with a different symbiont or die. I decided to let fate decide and turned in so I could be well rested for the exam in the morning.

I woke up. I was well rested and ready to get things under way. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my roommate was still sleeping. He too had an exam in less than an hour. I went into the bathroom and got ready for the day. Strolling over to the replicator I tossed a cushion from the couch at my sleeping roommate. “Coffee, Black” I said loudly. The machine produced my perfect cup of coffee. “Water” I said to the replicator again. When the cup of water appeared I walked over to the sleeping mass and poured it on his head and then quickly exited to the hallway. I had the exam on my mind and was nervous and excited both. I entered a turbolift and stated my destination. I finished my coffee as I walked into the classroom. Nobody else had arrived yet. The instructor was sitting at his desk reading a padd and didn’t notice me walk up. “Sir, I am ready to take the exam. When can I get started?” I asked.

“Parker! I didn’t see you come in” he exclaimed. “If you are ready you can go to Holodeck 24, key in your ID and select exam 106. I have created a special exam for you. You will find it most challenging and not what you expect it to be. It should take you under an hour to complete, come see me when you are done.”

I was surprised by this. “I thought the exams were given at random” I said.

“For everyone but you” he stated and went back to his padd.

I arrived at holodeck 24 keyed in my ID and read the list of exams on the screen. I selected exam 106 and pressed the engage button. I walked to the doors and they opened to reveal a devastated ship. IT was dark with the exception of the computer panels and those were only flashing. I looked down and saw a tool kit had been placed in the doorway. Picking it up and grabbing my tricorder I began scanning for power panels. “Computer, what is the ship designation?” I asked. No response. I opened the tool kit and took out a small power cell and stuck it onto one of the flashing screens. It lit up as did several others in succession. I could now see that the ship was an Excelsior Class Cruiser. This was my favorite ship model of the entire fleet. This one was slightly different. The warp nacelles were shaped different and larger. The saucer was a bit thicker. It almost looked like two saucers stacked. I quickly started punching in codes to call up a damage report, crew compliment and where I was. I was near engineering so I snatched the power cell off the screen and headed for the door way leading into the warp core room. As I entered I noticed there were dead bodies lying everywhere. This crew did not escape whatever had happened. I needed to restore power in order to get the computers functioning so I could figure out what other systems I needed to get on. I went to the warp core panel and keyed in a series of codes. The core started up and then failed again. Examining the dilithium chamber I noticed the crystals were out of alignment. Tacking on a power cell I began to realign them. I heard a noise coming from above me as if someone or something had thrown a large piece of metal to the deck. I grabbed a phaser from the warp core control panel storage and made for the lift. Attaching another power cell to the lift control I headed to the deck above me. Who or whatever it was, was looking for something. Then I saw it...

Gorn
There it was...7 feet tall, green and scaly. It was in fact Gorn, tearing off access panels and shredding through consoles like nothing. I aimed my phaser at it and activated stun. It had no effect. Stepping up the power to 5 I attacked again. This time it staggered. Just behind the enormous Gorn I caught a glint of light then noticed an Ensign drawing a bead on the Gorn's back. I rolled to the side just as the Ensign triggered the rifle. The Gorn vaporized. The Ensign was wounded, badly and had just saved my life. I rushed over to assist and asked him for a situation report.

"Plasma Conduits, exploded" he cried. "The Warp Core...eject it..." His last breath was cast as he looked at me and passed. I glanced around for a console that was in seemingly working order. After gently setting the Ensign down I found what I was looking for and quickly attached a power cell. The console lit up and seemed to be in working condition. I started punching command codes in and the display read...Working... ... ... ... I heard a rushing sound as the Warp Core was sucked out into space. Looking around the room I felt the air getting sucked out of my lungs. Engineering was decompressing! I spotted a Jeffrey's Tube hatch and made my way to it. I struggled to open the hatch but managed to open it and climb in. As I was closing the hatch, and struggling to do so I saw the Ensign's body floating across the floor. He was being sucked out. I closed the hatch and activated my flashlight and began making my way through the Jeffrey's tube.

I came to a junction and was able to access another panel. I figured out where I was and was able to get a damage report only to learn that the safest and closest place on he ship was Medical. It was directly above me...2 decks. I quickly made my way up. I cracked open the hatch as quietly as I could to find it had full power, lights and working consoles. I quickly scanned for and found 1 life sign, Human. I pushed open the hatch continuing my scans and found the life sign. I recognized this Ensign. I had classes with him. "Aden?" I asked. "Are you ok"?

"Yes I am fine. You don't look so good though" he said, "I mean...you are a sight for sore eyes but...you're...wounded." He said grabbing a med kit. He scanned me and started attacking me with hypo sprays. Within seconds I was feeling good.

"We have to get to the bridge" I stated. Accessing a console I found the quickest route. I tapped into engineering and accessed power control. The batteries were holding steady. The ships internal sensors were functioning so I scanned for life forms. It seem there were 77 life forms on board. Mine, Aden's and the rest were Gorn. "We have to secure the bridge and now! Let's move" I shouted grabbing a couple phaser rifles from the Medical bays weapon locker. Aden grabbed one from my hands and motioned to the door. We crept out in the hallway, it was deserted. The bridge was on the same deck but about the length of the ship away or so it seemed. As we crept along we heard noises, like that of someone or something ripping through metal with phaser. 3 Gorn appeared in the hallway in front of us. I tapped a panel on the wall and checked our route to see if we could go around. The Gorn were right where we needed to be. I looked and Aden and nodded, we opened fire before they had noticed us. We managed to kill two of them before the third one took a swipe at me. Aden fired just as the Gorn wrapped his claws around my neck and began to squeeze. The Gorn staggered and dropped me turning to attack Aden. I fired just as the Gorn swiped at Aden's head. The Gorn had evaporated. We headed up the hall and made a quick left, we could make out the doors to the bridge and the path was clear. No idea what was on the bridge. I tapped a panel and made a quick sensor scan of the bridge. No Life Forms! The ship shuttered and shook violently. We forced opened the bridge doors and the ship quaked again. This time the power flashed several times.

The bridge was in a state of red alert. I attached a power cell to the nearest console and another on an adjacent console. The bridge lit up. Another sensor scan revealed Gorn headed this way. 60 of them. I turned to look at Aden. "We need a distraction so I can set up the self destruct sequence. Can you find something to bar the door?" I asked Aden knowing the answer already. He set his rifle to full power and set up near the doorway to attack the first intruder to come through it. In the meantime I was busy bypassing all kinds of security protocols to manually set self destruct. I had it! I tapped a code to set the timer to 30 seconds. The numbers lit up on the console. They didn't start to count down. I bashed the console Kirk Fashion, I was going to have to manually destroy the ship. "Get to an escape pod, I have to blow it manually" just then a stream of Gorn entered the bridge. I pressed the panel to destruct knowing Aden and I would both be dead as soon as I took my hand away from the console. We looked at each other and I winked as I pulled my hand off the console.

Results
The bridge lit up and the smoke was sucked out of the holodeck. An exit appeared and there stood the professor. He entered the holodeck, "end program" and looked around. Aden and I stood next to each other eyeing the professor. "This is the first time anyone who has taken this test committed a murder suicide." He stated. "You pass. Now I believe you have to meet your parents." I looked at Aden grabbed his hand and shook it. "Lets get together when I get back I owe you dinner for allowing me to blow you up". I cried running out the door.

I ran to the Transporter room and met my parents. Of course they already knew I passed. We stepped onto the transporter and beamed up to their ship. I found out that this is where the joining would take place as they wanted to be here for my graduation and orders. I was nervous and my mother knew it. My communicator buzzed as a signal from the ground was patched through. It was Aden.

"Why did you run out so fast?" He asked
"I am sorry it is my joining today. I am quite scared and nervous. If it fails I may never see anyone again. I don't know what to expect. Perhaps you would come up to our ship and keep me company until the procedure takes place? I asked innocently.

"I am a medical graduate" he stated.

"But have you ever performed a Trill joining before?" I asked with a laugh. "I'll meet you in the transporter room, I hope your ready to beam up." I headed to the transporter room and took over the console. Tapping my badge "Energizing" I activated the transport and brought him up to the ship.

Aden and I had known each other through classes. We had become friends over a short period of time. I was attracted to him on several levels and found it comforting that at least someone I knew a little bit would on hand during the procedure. With a flash of yellow sparkly light he was there on the pad in mid sentence. "I hope you had a safe trip" I said smiling at him. I grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room and down the hall towards my quarters. "You can bunk with me until I am recovered. I will introduce you to everyone at dinner in 3 hours."

We entered my quarters the smell of lavender filled the room. I loved the fragrance and so tended to over use it. I stepped up to the replicator and requested a Saurian Brandy and an Irish Coffee. "What will you have Aden? I asked innocently.

"The same" he said. He liked the combination I had introduced him to several weeks before. The warm Irish coffee with the kick of the Saurian Brandy made for a wonderful warming feeling.

JOINED

Aden and walked toward the medical facility. I had arranged for him to observe and assist if needed. It was a very quiet, solemn walk. Neither of us was over nervous but there was a tinge of it in the air. After all I could be dead in a few hours. We entered medical and I went to prepare in the next room. I 'forced' Aden to go with me as I was starting to become a little anxious. We entered the private chamber and I began to disrobe. As soon as my ass was bared Aden pinched one cheek and then slapped the opposite. I turned to face him he could clearly see that I was nervous. He grabbed me and pulled me to him. We stayed in the warm embrace for what seemed like an hour but really was two minutes. We separated and I sat down on the gurney. Aden covered me with a thin blanket and hit me with a knock-out hypo. I was immediately out.

"He's out" Aden stated after tapping his communicator. He touched a panel on the gurney and it began to move with the slightest touch towards the doors. "They are both ready" Stated the Doctor.

"Aden would you like to make the incision?" Asked the Doctor.

"No I will monitor vitals and adjust as needed. I prefer not to cut into him." Stated Aden.

The incision was made and the join process started...

When I woke up the room was lit softly my vision slightly blurred but I recognized my surroundings. I was in my quarters. I felt pretty good for the most part so I tried to sit up. As I was sitting up I felt a little discomfort and then I started to see images and had new thoughts. This was going to take some getting used to. I would meet the Guardian soon and then we could finish this process. Aden entered the chamber dressed in his night attire and motioned for me to lie back down. He had brought with him a steaming mug of something and had a book in his hand. He loved to read. We once took a quick holo trip back to 20th Century earth and visited a market. He was fascinated by all the labels and contents of the various packages on the shelves. I was more interested in the old fashioned way they used to cool or heat food or buildings so always found my way to the engineering section of the market. He had said he knew how bored this made me and to go off and find engineering and enjoy myself with all the relics here as he was doing. That was the first time I realized my attraction to him.

Command
I woke up suddenly in a haze. I was on the bridge of a ship, my ship. My head was fuzzy and I wasn't sure what was going on. My XO was hovering above me trying to bring me back to this reality. I gained my bearings and asked for the sit rep.

"Sir, the warp core was ejected moments ago, we are running on emergency batteries, there will be a breach in moments. If we don't get outta here we will all be dead."

I scrambled up and made for the nearest console. No engines. We're done I thought. I glanced around the bridge. There were no signs of movement from anyone except the XO and myself. The breach timer was still visible with the countdown at 10.

9...
8...
7...
6...

Suddenly there was a flash of light and as I looked at the commander I saw the brilliance of a transporter beam.

5...
4...

The bridge was on fire and consoles were discharging electricity. There was an explosion very near me and then I was engulfed by the transporter beam and pulled from my bridge. When I materialized I caught a glimpse of my surroundings. It was unfamiliar. I collapsed on the floor. While I was unconscious the rescue ship had barely escaped the warp core breach and was damaged slightly before reaching a safe distance. I opened my eyes and looking into my face was a Vulcan. I had met many Vulcans in my life but this one was different. While his presence was stern he lacked the typical Vulcan superiority. I gasped and tried to sit up. The Vulcan immediately restrained me with his powerful grasp. I relaxed somewhat.

"You are safe aboard my ship the U.S.S T'Rokk" He said.

I realized, suddenly that I was completely naked. I looked around the room and didn't see anyone else here. "Commander Resoli, did he..."

"The commander is fine. He was fixed up and is now assisting in engineering. Our escape from the breach was a close one and the ship has suffered some minor damage. Your commander is lending a hand" he said tapping his combadge. "Commander Resoli, the Admiral is conscious"

"Thank you Captain" Resoli replied. "I will come to sickbay once we have repaired the ruptured conduits".

"The crew?" I queried.

"Safe", replied the Vulcan. "I am Koruk, Captain of this vessel. What's left of your crew were all beamed aboard and are set up in Cargo Bay 6. There, the doctors and nurses aboard my ship are tending to their needs. We saved 250 souls. How many were part of your compliment?"

"390" I stated and began to cry. "I knew every member of my crew. Most were fresh out of Starfleet Academy."

He placed a hand on my bare shoulder and as I looked up into his face his eyes changed and he wept with me. A few moments later the doors opened and Resoli appeared. He was disheveled and dirty he approached us and also began to cry. He knew why. He just knew.

"Ok" I said. I need to get up and get to cargo bay 6. Resoli find me something to wear."

Koruk took out a hypo spray, "Something to help you" he said quietly. He turned and left sick bay.

Resoli helped me sit up and replicated me a uniform. Koruk reappeared and handed me my pips. "It was the only thing I could save from your previous uniform." He said and turned away. I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. He returned the squeeze and left to command his ship.

New Orders
We arrived at ESD and the crew had departed the U.S.S T'Rokk. Admiral Koruk escorted me to the Admirals Office. I was depressed, having lost so many lives and my ship. The Admiral was not going to be pleased. I had disobeyed orders and gone into that battle alone without waiting for help. I was sure I was going to be busted down to Ensign for this. We stood at the door. I turned and looked at Koruk silently pleading for him to take me away from here. "Later." he voiced. "But now you must go face the music, alone." I did not like that he could read me so well in such a short amount of time. I quickly embraced him. He tapped the door chime and turned and walked away.

As I entered the Admirals office I noticed several other command officers in the room. I began to sweat.

"You lost how many crew men, Admiral?" He stated gruffly not waiting or wanting an answer. "Not to mention an Ambassador star ship. You went into that fight without assistance, against my orders. You did manage to Destroy 3 Tholian vessels. Your surviving crew have all been reassigned to Star base 625 under the command of Admiral Nicholas John. This Star base will eventually be your new base of operations and is located in the Eta Eridani sector. As you know the Romulans are looking for a new home world and the Federation has decided to assist them with that endeavor. As have the Klingons. For the next six months your first officer and chief of engineering have been assigned to retrofit an Regent class Assault Cruiser for you. During that six months you will be assigned to the U.S.S T'Rokk to assist Admiral Koruk with his engineering refits. As long as his reports to me about you are positive you will rendezvous with your new ship at New Romulus. From there you and Admiral Koruk will assist the Romulans and try to get as many of them as possible to ally with the Federation. Your rank for the next six months will be Commander and you will temporarily be Koruk's Chief Engineer. A little time in his engine room will give you some time to think about your actions of late. Koruk is not going to be easy to work for. I have given him explicit orders as to your treatment while on his ship. It will not be easy. You will have to earn his respect as well as his crew. They risked their lives to save you. The Phantom will be ready in six months. You have that much time to pull your head out and get it together. There will be medical tests and psychiatric tests that you must pass each month. Fail just one and I will bust you so low that you will be cleaning plasma injectors for the rest of your life. Now, get outta here."

I turned and walked out. Did Koruk know about my orders in advance? I guess I would find out soon enough. I made my way to ESD Engineering to catch up on any new technology we might be preparing to deploy. I realized I was starving and changed my course to find a turbo lift to the lower levels. As I rounded the corner I saw Koruk. I stopped to observe him. He was talking to Commander Resoli. The commander saluted and then headed off to whatever it was he was doing. I was feeling rather low being demoted to commander. How would I face anyone. I turned around and decided I would find a dark corner somewhere. I could feel the tears coming.

"Commander!" I heard someone shout. "Commander, just a minute."

I recognized the voice suddenly, it was Koruk. This was too much to bear. I sat down at the nearest couch and rested my face in my hands. Koruk approached. He touched my shoulder and as I looked up at him he stated "Two to beam up."

Duty

Koruk had shown me to my quarters I was busy putting away my stuff. I glanced over at my desk and noticed several pad's sitting there. I was really in no mood to go over duty rosters and maintenance plans. I took the last thing from my pack which happened to be yet another pad. I touched the screen and it illuminated with a picture of 3 young cadets; Myself, Colin and One before he had been assimilated. Anger coursed through my veins and I hurled the the pad across the room it hit the doors and shattered just before they slid open. A young Romulan entered the room and began to pick up the pieces of the pad. "Leave it!" I stated crossly. he dropped the remains back onto the floor.

"Sir, I am Centurion D'van and I will be assisting with familiarizing you with this vessel. You may like to start with a...." I cut him off.

"I do not require your assistance at this time." I stated softly. "Perhaps we can start in the morning?"

"Sir, if I may?" He queried and approached my desk. He touched the corner and a holo-image appeared. It was a Chronometer. The image showed it to be 0600.

"Oh Crap!" I stated and headed to the bathroom. I needed a shave but didn't have time. A shower would have to do. "Find me a clean uniform please." I stated entering the bathroom and stripping off once in the sonic shower. Shower finished I headed for the main living area to get dressed. D'van quickly turned and faced away from me.

"Don't be so innocent I am sure you have seen a naked man before." I stated. I was now already dressed and seeking out my 'Temporary PIPS'. He turned back and reached his hand out revealing my PIPS. "Thanks." I said and began to fasten them to my collar. Dropping them entirely. D'van bent down and picked them up, "If I may, sir?" He quickly fastened them to my collar.

"I thought you would like a tour of the ship starting with the Bridge?"

The doors slid open to reveal room set up with consoles and the Captains chair. The bridge officers were busy with their duties. I was ushered to an engineering station. I touched the screen and entered my id. The screen changed to show me various systems and their states. I looked around for Koruk. He was not here. I tapped the system and logged out of the console. "Take me to the engine room please. I prefer to work their if the Captain does not require my presence on the bridge." I said quietly. The bridge was peaceful...too peaceful.

"Commander, I thought you would like to stop by the mess hall and have some breakfast. The Captain has his breakfast there every morning at 0700, it is now 0645." D'van stated with an air of command. "Lead on." I said. I could use something to eat but I prefer to dine alone normally. D'van's voice seemed to want me to dine in the mess hall as if he was showing off to the Captain that he was performing his duties as required. Typical, I thought to myself as we entered the mess hall. It was a very large room. This pleased me. I liked large rooms. It was also empty, save one. Captain Koruk. I was suddenly overcome by the desire to leave the room. Nervous energy began to course through my veins. I felt small and insignificant. I should just go to engineering and and work out the duty rosters. I turned to leave but D'van grabbed my arm and ushered me toward the Captains table. As we got closer I saw there were settings for two and he was not eating, just a cup of tea in front of him. I could barely make out the aroma. D'van showed me to my chair and I sat down looking nervously at Koruk...

Breakfast with the Captain

D'van left quickly and quietly. A Citizen walked up carrying a tray of food and drink. Koruk sat in silence, his gaze fixed on me. He glanced at the tray and then back at me as the citizen placed it in front of us. I selected a few items that I recognized and happened to be my favorite choice for early dining. I silently poured myself some coffee and broke the silence. "Sir, I am not sure what I am doing here other than I was ordered here. I will do my best to satisfy you as your Chief engineer for my time here, but I am curious, where is your chief?

"On Leave", Koruk stated softly. "Admiral, it is imperative that you get through this assignment in one piece."

I tapped my PIP's.

"You will still be addressed as Admiral on this ship regardless of what your collar shows. I intend to make this as easy as possible on you as far as the workload goes. My main concern is that you recover completely from...recent events, shall we say? To that end I have decided to personally help you with your mind and body."

I relaxed and sipped my coffee. A smile formed on Koruks face. "We will have several counseling sessions each day each followed by rigorous exercise. My Crew will handle the ship and you will be on hand for any 'emergencies' that might arise. While I disagree with the Admiral's decision to demote you because of your effort to subdue the Tholians before it got out of hand. I do think you should have waited for assistance to arrive. And then I think what would I have done in your situation?" He spoke softly and precisely.

"Thank you Captain, I do appreciate the help you can offer. I am sure that the next six months will prove that. I do need to keep busy so I will maintain my duties in engineering." I said.

We ate our breakfast in silence. The Citizen returned and cleared our table leaving us with fresh coffee. He also left a pad next to me. I picked it up and identified it as my schedule. It gave me the daily breakdown for when I would be working, in counseling and in the gym. Koruk had figured that I would want to work and scheduled me in Engineering for two hours every two hours. The one hour between would be spent with Koruk. There were 5 daily 2 hour shifts in Engineering with an hour between each of those...

Red Alert!

The ship shuddered and rocked slightly as the first barrage of torpedoes met the shielding and the hull.

"Shields down to 20% Captain!" I shouted across the bridge. "I will compensate with Auxiliary power." I quickly rerouted power to the shields using the Aux connector. Koruk gave the order to fire at will as the first officer targeted the weapon arrays and engines of the nearest Tholian ship. Success. It was weaponless and set adrift in space. The XO targeted the next ship and sent a barrage of quantum torpedoes into its facing hull and with a focused phaser beam at the same location the ship exploded. Koruk shouted to the comm officer, "Hail them!"

"No response, sir. Their communications arrays could be damaged."

"Open a channel" Koruk demanded. The ship shuddered again. "What the hell was that?" he asked looking at me. I quickly scanned the space around us and tapping an interface put the attacker on-screen. "Borg" stated the captain. "Bring us about and slice that ship in half!" he demanded as the T'Rokk began to turn. Tactical prepped a quantum spread and immediately fired the red cutting beam into the hull of the Borg cube focusing it on the nearest bank of shield generators. Their shields started to adapt but the generators in that section exploded leaving the hull facing open to space. "Fire!" stated Koruk and the first obeyed. Eight quantum torpedoes fired at the exposed section of hull ripping far into it's guts. A series of internal explosions started like a chain reaction. "Helm get us out of here, warp 6, engage." Said the Captain quietly. We had escaped. The Borg cube was destroyed and the Tholians we stranded for the moment. "Set Course for New Romulous." Commanded the Captain.

I had been busy at my console working my magic rerouting power to this, that and the other, mostly the other and hadn't noticed that Koruk was now observing me closely. I looked up and caught his gaze. I smiled and said quietly, "Permission to go to Engineering, I think I am needed there."

"Granted" said Koruk, followed by. "Belay that. Please join me in my ready room."

I logged off the console and walked towards the Captains ready room he joined me at door...

The last six months had passed fairly quickly. During that time Koruk and I had become close. Perhaps a little too close on occasion. I was sad that our time together was coming to an end, at least our time on the same ship. As it was we had several Borg missions coming up not to mention the Tholian threats in several sectors, we would be working together for a long period of time.

Koruk went to the replicator and ordered us our usual beverages, coffee with milk and a hot tea. We sat on the couch and I looked out in space. It's hard to believe that I have been in space for as many years as I have and right now at this moment I feel all over again like I was fresh out of Star Fleet Academy. I looked over at Koruk who was fishing for something in his pocket, "I hope the new ship modifications are well received by your CE when he gets back. I have taken the time to make notations on all the schematics and included personal notes in the ships logs for him." I said with a half smile. "I know he will like the changes to the shielding and hull plating once he gets the hang of the modulators."

"He will be fine, I assure you." he stated handing me a small pewter box.

I knew what was in the box. I had never seen a box as eloquent as this though. It was beautifully crafted and had intricately crafted Vulcan symbols all over it. I opened it to reveal my VA Pips. "I would not accept these or transfer back to my ship and my grade if you asked me to stay aboard." I choked out. "I will give my new ship to your CE if that is to your liking.

"I think we both know that can't happen" Koruk stated. "You need to get back to your command and I need to set my mind on our new tasks and my crew. It has been an amazing six months but it's time for it to end. We will still be working together on our upcoming mission assignments and can meet up on either ship for the duration of our 24 month assignment."

I looked into his eyes and noted the same sadness I was feeling. I didn't want to leave but we both knew we would never be happy together if one of us gave up our commands. I grabbed his hand and held it in my own. "So what do you know about my new ship that you aren't telling me?" I asked.

"I don't really know anything" he stated. "But I can tell you my CE is in love with your ship...ooops...I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

I laughed, "Your secret communiques with him have not gone un-noticed. I may not be able to see the content of those messages but I can read the encrypted headers, as well as who the sender and recipients are. You forget, I know more about your ship and it's systems than you do now. But fine! keep your secrets, I know who I will blame if there are problems." and with that statement New Romulus came into view.

We had arrived at New Romulus 2 days prior. I was not allowed to go anywhere near the space dock as the ship was not quite complete. Koruk and I spent the time wandering around the wilderness taking samples of this and that. We came across a secluded pool of water and after completing several tests found that the water was fine. We shed our uniforms and dove into it and swam around for several hours. I enjoyed the water and thought it strange that I didn't choose an aquatic exploration path. We were just climbing out to dry off in the sun and have a little lunch (not really lunch but some sort of paste on dry crackers from our packs) when my comm badge buzzed. It was Commander Resoli, "Admiral Anderson, when you two are quite finished playing around would you kindly put some clothes on so I can beam you up to the Phantom. I have a problem and I need the two of you to help solve it."

"Give us 10 minutes then we will beam up, and stop spying on me or you will find yourself scrubbing the bulk heads in an EV suit! Parker Out!" I exclaimed and tapped the badge.

"You do not seem to be in too much of a hurry to see your new ship, Admiral." Koruk stated.

"The ship isn't going anywhere" I said, "I'd rather finish this last day on the planet enjoying your company and I intend to take as long as I want."

"Well, I think we should go now and make an appearance on your ship. It is likely they are not prepared for an inspection. I understand the crew is all on board now. The last batch from the academy took their stations yesterday." Koruk said with a typical Vulcan smile.

"Fine lets go" I said getting up and getting dressed.

We were surrounded by sparkling lights and within a few seconds materialized in what I assumed was the Captains Quarters. An announcement was made ship wide that I was on board. "Convenient." I stated and walked into the bedroom area stripping once again and stepping into the sonic shower. Koruk followed doing the same. After we had showered we replicated new uniforms; Mine was white with yellow gold shoulders and my rank across my right pectoral. "Ready?" I asked Koruk as I fit my com badge on the left pectoral.

"Yes, Admiral." He stated finishing up his own adornments.

We left my quarters and headed down a long corridor to the turbo lift that took us directly to engineering. The doors opened and I expected chaos, what I actually saw was perfection. The engineering room gleamed with newness and the crew stood at attention expecting my arrival.

"This looks like an inspection" I stated.

"It is, Sir." Resoli chimed. "If you will follow me I will give you the tour."

"No need. Send the specs and all modifications made to my ready room I will review them later. For now, introduce me to the team here and call my bridge officers." I stated and walked over to the warp core. "I have never seen this configuration before, and the crystals are out of alignment."

"Sir, that's the problem I can't quite get them, will you take a look?" Resoli asked.

I tapped on a console, sorted through the specs and called up the alignment program. Pulling a sonic alignment tool from my pocket I tapped a few interfaces walked over to the dilithium chamber and activated the tool. The crystal alignment took a few moments but was completed easily. "This is first year engineering." I stated. Just then the doors slid open and in walked several officers. I turned to greet them and they were standing at attention. "At ease! Good God is everyone going to be this stiff for the next 5 years?" I noticed a young officer with an optical device. I approached him. "You were assimilated?" I asked.

"Yes Sir, I was." he replied.

"What is your station, and how long have you been aboard ship" I asked

"Tactical, Sir. Three months. I have been fine tuning the ships weapon systems as well as organizing security" he replied.

"I want a complete report on your time here by 0500." I said. He produced a pad and handed it to me. "Thank you, I am sure you have duties requiring your attention, dismissed."

I went through the same process with each of my bridge officers and each of them had their reports ready. By the time I had finished I had 8 different pads. I handed these to Resoli. "Send these to my ready room along with yours commander."

Patrols

The ship was ready. The crew, well we would soon find out. It was time to pull away from the dock and complete a few trial runs for fine tuning. I gave the order to depart. Koruk looked at me as I got up from my seat. He was aboard for the maiden voyage, as well as his chief engineer, who had assisted in the refit of the ship. "Resoli, you have the bridge." I stated and with Koruk, entered the turbo lift. "Deck 7."

We entered my quarters which I had requested to be redone to include a private office apart from the living areas. In the office was a nice large desk, several chairs and a couch. Not too mention bookshelves several pieces of alien art and a replicator. I had intended on spending a great deal of time in here researching everything about New Romulus. I ordered us a coffee and a tea to our liking and motioned for Koruk to sit down. I sat down next to him and handed him his tea. The couch was situated so that it faced both inward to the office and outward to space. Basically my quarters were on deck 7 below the bridge but all the way forward so that when I looked out all I saw was stars. We sat in silence.

"So I suppose we should plan out our patrols of this sector" I said after about 20 minutes had passed.

"I think we should start with the systems closest to New Romulus and work our way to the outer systems, at least until the shakedown of the Phantom is complete." Koruk stated

"I think that would be best as well. We can start with Chaltok" I replied. "Helm set course for Chaltok, Warp 10." I added after tapping my combadge. "Estimated arrival time?" I inquired.

"2 hours, 10 minutes, Captain" responded the helmsman.

"So what should we do for the next hour and a half?" I asked with a smile. "How about we take a hike somewhere in the mountains of Colorado? Maybe do some fishing?"

"Better yet, why don't we go kayaking around the beach of Risa?" Koruk added.

"Deal. I will change and meet you at holodeck 7 in 5 minutes." I finished.

The kayaking trip was fun. The time had passed like the blink of an eye. We had gone to my quarters to shower and dress for duty when the ship shuddered violently. "Computer! Report!" I shouted, grabbing on to Koruk for stability.

"Port side structural damage as the result of a plasma torpedo hit. Hull breaches on Decks 12 through 15, all contained." the computer responded.

We quickly got dressed and headed to the bridge. When the turbolift doors opened I saw several Borg Drones. One drone had my science officer and was assimilating him. We drew weapons and began to fire. Red beams and bolts could be seen through the mayhem and smoke as the Borg attempted to subdue the crew. Koruk went left and I went right together we targeted each drone one by one and dropped them. Resoli was unconscious on the deck. The ship shuddered again as I reached the operations station. One of my officers had been able to raise shields but they were down to 30%. I reinforced Structural and rerouted power to the shields. The ship was caught in a tractor beam. Out of the corner of my eye I spied a drone with its tendrils tapped into a console. Koruk had managed to get to Tactical and was firing phasers at what we now knew to be a sphere. The turbo lift doors opened and several officers entered. They quickly assessed the situation and took the appropriate stations. "Helm! get us moving! Tactical target that sphere and launch torpedoes. Koruk! Take science and try and get us out of this tractor beam!" The chief got to me and saw the drone assimilating the nearby station. Took my weapon and began firing. The drone beamed out immediately. "Chief man this console" I said moving towards the helm. "Get that screen up so we can see what we are dealing with!" I yelled. As the ship came about we saw there were 3 spheres and several probes attempting to surround the Phantom. Phasers began to fire along with fore and aft torpedo spreads. I got to my chair and opened a small panel. Pressing a green button a bright pinkish orange beam began cutting into the nearest sphere. "Lock onto that sphere and take it out." I commanded. Phaser fire was redirected and torpedoes loosed. after the second volley the sphere exploded. The probes had been taken out fairly quickly leaving only the two remaining spheres attacking. One was badly damaged and attempted to retreat while the last immediately went to warp. another spread of torpedoes and the limping sphere disintegrated.

"All Stop" I said quietly followed by "Report"

Good story! I hope there is to be much more following this brief history. :)

Koruk and I entered the Captains yacht and detached from the underside of the enormous saucer. We quickly surveyed the damage, which didn't look all that bad. The outer shell had been damaged but it appeared we could fix it without returning to New Romulus. we continued around the entire ship and noted that there were some new additions to the ship. We drew up close to one of the objects. It appeared to be borg technology. I had seen these before. We quickly finished our tour of the exterior and docked with the Phantom. The crew was busy running around making repairs. We took the turbolift to the Bridge. To examine the console that the drone had been assimilating. After working over the console for several minutes we discovered that the pathways did in fact connect to the nodes attached to the hull and tied into the cutting beam that the Omega Engineering team had designed. It seems the console actually enhanced various ship functions. This led to the question: Why did the Borg help us by adding this tech to the ship? Also, why did they attack us and allow us to destroy them?

"Captain, incoming transmission from the Sarajevo, It's Captain Rys" The comm officer announced.

"Onscreen" I stated. "Captain Rys, a pleasure to see you"

"I am nearby and our scanners picked up the energy signatures of the Borg. Long Range scans shows they departed at high warp. Sensors also show a debris field near the Phantom. Everything Okay?" He queried.

"Captain, if you are nearby I request that you join us. I have some interesting new...well something to show you. I'd prefer to keep it out of subspace for the moment." I replied.

"Course is already laid in Captain. Is that Koruk with you?" he inquired.

"Yes, he is currently working on one of my damaged science consoles, or at least I think it is damaged, anyway I am sure he will be happy to see you when you arrive. Parker Out." The transmission disconnected.

"Sir, another incoming transmission this time from the T'Rokk." Stated the comm officer.

"Captain Koruk, this ones for you" I stated. "On screen".

"Sir, we have scanned your location and are en route. Do you require assistance?"

"Yes", stated Koruk. "The Sarajevo is also nearby and will be joining us momentarily. What is you ETA?"

"30 minutes" stated the ensign on the screen.

Rendezvous

Captain Koruk's figure dissipated into millions of bright white lights. His digital self carried from the Phantom to the T'Rokk. At the same time a tall figure started to form among the digital dancing lights of the transporter pad and there stood Captain Rys. He was a tall one to be sure.

"Captain, welcome aboard the Phantom. I understand you had a hand, albeit from a distance in the refit." I said

"Yes Captain, I am sure you have only begun to unlock the possibilities" Rys replied. "Where is Captain Koruk, I'd very much like to talk to him"

"He just beamed over to his ship, he will be back shortly in the meantime..." I stated escorting him out of the transporter room. "...I'd like to show you something we picked up during the fight with the Borg."

"I am aware Captain, we scanned your ship as we arrived. This technology was in place when you left New Romulus. It was shrouded so that it would not be identified. It seems to me that the Borg were here to take the technology as it is their design. We can fix the shielding to make it hidden from your ship if you desire. I assure you it is tech you will want to keep. I will have my Chief Engineer work with yours so that he knows how to properly deal with the technology. It is top secret at this point. There are only a few ships in the fleet with it. More and more ships are getting refitted with it everyday though. Now if you would be so kind, I would like a tour of this ship. I have not seen the interior since the refit started." stated Rys.

"Very well Captain, this way" I stated.

We wandered though the ship with out rhyme or reason. Something not even I had not done yet. In fact I had to call one of my senior officers to show us around. It took 3 hours to get to the bridge. The Phantom was amazing. When we entered the bridge I was amazed at how fast it was repaired. Captain Rys looked around and started looking at the "borgified" console. He made a few adjustments and then proceeded to show me how to cloak and de-cloak the technology on the hull.

"Captain please join me in my ready room." I said speaking to Captain Rys.

We entered the Captains ready room I crossed to the replicator and ordered a beverage. Motioning to Rys to do the same I took a seat on the couch.

"I sense that there is more to your visit than you are letting on." I queried.

"Yes Parker, we are setting up a task force to fend off the Borg. We have a total of 25 ships and Captains on the Roster assuming you join. This group will be headed up by Captain Aztroz and his ship the USS Turing. All I need is your assurance that when called you are prepared to transwarp at a moments notice." He stated.

"I am in. However I think that I would like to call on Aden and Alexander to be back ups in case I am not able to drop what I am doing to assist. Aden and the USS Belfast have enough Borg experience to be of use. The USS Spectre and Captain Dedov have little experience but I'd like to involve them as well. The more Captains we involve the better chances we have a fending them off indefinitely." I responded.

With the conclusion of the discussion Rys started to show me the ins and outs of my new ship. Explaining to me how the new systems now interact with each other. All of the improvements to the ship simply amazed me. It would take me a little time to understand. We said our goodbyes and he departed for the T'Rokk.

I picked up a PADD and started to review the status of the repairs to the ship. It was going to be a week of travel at full impulse before we could complete the repairs and get on with our mission.

The warp trails of the Sarajevo and T'Rokk had just faded from view. We were on course for DS9 and just entered the Regulus sector when the hail came in from a Captain Fitzroy.

"On Screen", I responded to hail.

"Captain, I am in the area and would like to take a look at the Phantoms new toys. Would you care to join me in a simulation?" He started, with a smirk.

"Ah Captain Fitzroy, how nice to see you." I replied. "I think we could hold position for a Brief visit. As for a simulation I'd prefer a more devastating display rather than just a simulation. If you'd like to accompany us we are heading to DS9 then I am sure we can scare up a cube or two to play with."

"Fine, Parker... We'll meet you at DS9 and you can show me your new toys then. Fitzroy out."

I was not really used to Capt. Fitzroy's ways, but I found myself liking him, just a little bit. We had worked together on missions prior but seldom spoke. Capt Brighton had a thing for him once but went about it the wrong way. You just don't kidnap another officer under any circumstances, even in the pretense of love or whatever. Fortunately I had aspirations of my own in that area. I have not crossed paths with him in several years. Jeremy has been off handling the Breen in the Orellius Sector and stationed on Deferi. After his assimilation he became known as 1 of 7, but in the last few years has readopted the use of his birth name, Jeremy Cross.

The memories fade as reality emerges. "Sir, we are being hailed by the Trinity." The comm officer stated.

"The Trinity? That ship was missing years ago!" I exclaimed. "On Screen".

The image that appeared on the screen was ghastly. It seems the lost ship has resurfaced as somewhat of a ghost ship. The captain was old and pieces of the flesh on his face had decayed away leaving only bare bone and tufts of hair. I signaled to the comm officer to cut the transmission and put the ship on screen. There it was, the long missing Heavy Cruiser. I signaled the comm officer to hail the ship.

...Silence...