S1-M7 The Danger of Secrets

[K-5]

[Shield Computer Room]

K-5 stood  motionless in front of the console, having finished the scan and test already. She sifted through each and every one of her databases, eyes closed, intent on finding out what this new feeling was.

As she sifted, she made sure not to dwell on any file too long. If she did, then going through all of her data would take years, possibly even an entire lifetime. So she just skimmed through the information.

Eventually, she found the 'tip of the iceburg' as it were. One thing stood out. LCAR.

"You alright there, K-5?" A warm voice chuckled. K-5's eyes snapped open and her files all closed. She turned and saw Takur (NPC) standing in the open doorway. She smiled back at him.

"Yes, I was just taking a moment to collect my thoughts." She felt, what was it called? Nervous. Takur smiled and walked towards her. His smiled was enough to light a dying star. K-5 felt like she was missing something. He grabbed her hand.

"You find all of 'em?" He asked, leading her towards the door. She grinned back at him.

"Yes, I did indeed, thank you." Now she knew this feeling was indeed an emotion. She didn't know what it was, but now she had three puzzles to solve; the feeling Takur gave her, the one she gained from her encounter with the captain, and the one associated with LCAR.

"Good, We've still gotta see the weapons rooms!"

[Hallway]

"So," K-5 began, unsure how to word this. "I saw a couple things in the coding that are puzzling to me." Half truth, it was in code, but not in the shield.

"You did? Is there anything we need to correct?" Takur looked worried. K-5 laughed.

"Oh, no. I just wanted to ask, what is LCAR? I saw it more than twice in the code and I can't help but wonder what it is?" Takur started squirming a bit. That strange feeling at the back of her head got worse, started crawling around her files. Now she started to squirm.

"I'm not completely sure, actually. I just use the buttons on the console, not code them. Funny you should ask though, I know of someone who might be able to answer that. You'll meet them at dinner." K-5 didn't catch his wink.

"Excellent!"

[Weapons Room 1]

K-5 stepped into the weapons room and saw a console to the right, and a few stores weapons, photon torpedoes, the like. K-5 stepped up to the console and began sifting through the files on each weapon type they had. She asked a few question, but was largely distracted by the feeling in the back of her mind.

After a while, it was all she could think about. LCAR.

[Ardyn Jaeger]

Glancing over at Ardyn and Steve, Caelene hesitated slightly as she took in what the Flight Control Officer had requested. "Ardy, hello. Sure, I can take Steve. The Captain just asked me to temporarily take command while the away team takes care of their mission, so I should be here, barring anything out of the usual."

Of course, out of the usual seemed to be normal around the Shran, but still. Caelene reached for Steve, petting him before removing him from Ardy's arms. She took hold of the leash, then let him hop out of her arms and onto the floor. "Good luck; we'll see you later on," the Trill said, offering an encouraging smile.

[Bridge]

"Thanks a ton. I definitely owe you one." She said, smiling as she handed over Steve before she headed to the transporter room. She tugged on her uniform jacket once more. Despite being tailored to her size, it never seemed to fit quite right in the shoulders, or perhaps it only seemed that way because she wasn't exactly what one would call diplomatic.

Looking around at the others in the transporter room  she nodded. "I'm ready. Let's get this over with."

[Transporter room]

Blinking twice , Ardyn shook off the momentary feeling of being Transported to see a group of people, most likely the Station Attendants, waiting for them. The Lady in charge, Carol, seemed friendly enough, though perhaps a bit too friendly. She glared at the woman almost warily as the woman kept smiling  at James in her overly cheery manner.

A sudden revelation occurred to  her. She was feeling jealous. Quickly putting on a neutral expression to try  and hide her thoughts , she saw a young woman coming over to her , practically with a skip in her step. (And perhaps a bit too much caffeine in her system.) "Hi, I'm Kinzi, one of the engineers here. I'd be glad to show you to the escape pods, if you'll just follow me.!" Ardyn smiled at the overexcited Engineer while trying to stay as businesslike as she could . "That'd be great, Kinzi. Let's do this."

[Fala Awen]

[Bridge]

Caelene watched as the last of the away team members left the bridge. She didn't particularly envy them, but at the moment she wasn't sure if she would rather be in charge of the entire ship or dealing with another crew diplomatically. Neither were particularly in her area of comfort. She was getting more used to being in command though, since her promotion to Chief Engineer.

"Ma'me.  Do you have any orders for me?  Science diagnostics have all come back in the normal range" the Deltan said.

Hearing the bridge's Science Officer address her, Caelene turned her attention to the Deltan woman. James hadn't left any specific instructions for her regarding what the crew should be working on - they were basically just waiting for the away team. Caelene tried to sit up a little straighter as she addressed the woman, "Thank you for the update, Ensign. For now, continue with regular scans of the system - concentrate on any unusual particle buildup and anything else you feel might be helpful, scientifically."

It wasn't that she expected them to find anything unusual, but this was a science station. If the inspection didn't go as planned, perhaps the scans she'd asked for would shed some light on the situation. Hopefully everything would be fine and they'd be gone by morning.

Leaning back into the chair, Caelene nearly jumped as Steve suddenly nuzzled her hand. She silently chastised herself for being so on edge, and then offered the holographic raptor a smile as she stroked his head. As odd as it sounded, it was somewhat calming to have the little predator nearby. Caelene frowned slightly; she should really go through his lines of coding to make sure nothing was amiss after the mishap in the holodeck.

=/\=Engineering to Bridge.

Surprised at the comm message, Caelene tapped her comm badge to respond, =/\=Bridge here, go ahead Engineering.

=/\=Lieutenant Tam, I'm sorry to bother you. In the grand scheme of things it seems unimportant, but...well...with our recent holodeck issue and the timing... We've gotten some reports of malfunctioning replicators - not working at all or producing something other than what was requested. There have also been two reports of holodecks pulling up the wrong program.

Caelene answered quickly, =/\=Thank you for notifying me. Go ahead and send teams to investigate. Take the holodecks down for maintenance now rather than waiting and run full diagnostics. Check the replicators involved, but also run some spot checks and keep me apprised.

=/\=Of course, Lieutenant. Engineering out.

Right now Caelene wished she was down in Engineering, looking into these issues. It was where she was most comfortable, solving puzzles and issues to keep the ship running. Not running the ship. But for the time being, her place was on the bridge. Hopefully nothing else came up while James and T'Ra were away...

OFF: Tag Zex, others on the ship

[T'Ra Jones]

[Civilian Outpost Beta 12 - Hallway]

Higgins while holding the Captain's arm continued walking and commented "Captain Hawke, I expected Starfleet Captain such as yourself to be a little bit older or Balder.  I'm pleasantly surprised, you must be quite accomplished to have reached your position for someone so young"

James smiled back and responded "Thank you, if I may say so, you look really young and accomplished to be in your position"  James continued smiling and they walked together.

Higgins continued walking and then looked at Commander Jones and said "Of Course Commander, I understand you Vulcan are always straight to business and I do appreciate that"

Higgins then turned around and still kept holding Hawke's arm "If you follow, Outpost Beta 12 is one of the main civilian outposts in the Federation.  We currently have the best and brightest minds in computer software and codes working for us.   In short, most of LCARs updates, computer analysis originate in this lab."  Higgins continued.

[Civilian Outpost Beta 12 - Hallway]

T'Ra could have rolled her eyes, but instead she maintained what Evan called her "Vulcan mask", a placid neutral expression that revealed nothing of how much the sprightly young scientist was beginning to get on her nerves. Miss Higgins was really laying it on thick with the flattery. True, it was not common for captains to be so young, but it was not unheard of either. T'Ra knew the cost of such progression all too well, having risen all the way up to the admiralty by the time she was 25. But she didn't feel like getting into a debate about that just then.

Something pulled her from these thoughts. Maybe it was the slight twinge of pain in her stomach, or more likely it was the fact that Higgins was still talking, addressing her specifically. T'Ra nodded, commenting, "Computer science is not my strong suit, but I have no doubt what your team is developing is cutting edge, and I hope we will be able to get a glimpse of it before the day is through."

She then continues looking at Jones "We also do a couple of fun projects like holodeck improvements. Food improvements, speaking of which"  Higgins stopped.  She turned around and looked Hawke directly in the eyes. "I understand that one of your crew members is an Android is that correct?" Higgins asked.  At the same time, she held both of his hands.  Her face was inquisitive

James then responded, "It's true one of my crew members is an Android".  James figured that she already knew the answer to the question.

"Can I meet her?  I would love to run a diagnostic and figure out how real they are"  Higgins asked.  She leaned closer to Hawke.

"Umm...I don't think so, she is a member of my crew and I don't subject them to any unnecessary test or experimentation, even if she is an Android, I treat her like a sentient being.  So I'm afraid I can't force her to do anything against her  will,"  James said standing his ground

Higgins then turned around half James arm again and leaned her head on his shoulder.  "I guess meeting her would have to do"

She then looked at T'Ra almost as an afterthought and continued "I thought you might enjoy our main Lab, as you can see is one of the most Powerful Computers in the Federation.  Every day we come here and update its code making it quicker than any other computer.  The analysis portion of your Federation ships and advanced holograms were born from this Computer"  Higgins explained as she pointed the room filled with scientists looking at a big square block.  James figured that it was the main computer.

T'Ra could sense the Hawke's unease when the conversation shifted to the android member of their crew. The captain answered well, and she would not have expected any less, but Higgins did not appeared to be satisfied, seeming to seize upon T'Ra as her target once again. Arching a brow, mildly intrigued, she turned her head in the direction indicated to find a large open room filled with a tizzy of scientists scurrying around what must have been the computer.

"I am keen to see what has them excited," she commented, "if the schedule permits?"

[James A. Hawke]

"I am keen to see what has them excited," she commented, "if the schedule permits?"

Higgins continued walking while holding Hawke's arm.  She heard the question by the Vulcan and she smiled and said "Of Course if you come this way, we have something amazing to show you"

[Mess Hall]
As she entered the Mess Hall she then opened a bottle of wine and explained "This wine was imported from Earth, it's a red Merlot" She placed the glass on a table.

She then turned to the first replicator and said "Wine, Merlot...2390 Vintage, Nappa Valley, San Fransico"   She then took the glass of wine and placed it "This glass of wine is what you normally get from a replicator is full of Synthehol instead of Alchohol and it tastes a little different"

Lastly, she went into a different replicator and said "Wine...Merlot...2390 Vintage, Nappa Valley San Francisco"  A glass of red wine appeared.  She placed the glass next to the other.

"C'mon Captain, Commander see if you can taste the difference between a real thing and our replicated system"  Higgins suggested. Higgins explain "This is created by a new subroutine that analyzes the taste buds in organic beings, you bring an original and it will break down the taste and the computer will the "learn" and I am using that term loosely the exact taste configuration, replacing the want or organic food"

Higgins then smiled and continued "So, sadly Captain...the want of carrying liquor of Earth into the ship might be obsolete, even the Legendary Montgomery Scott could not tell the difference"

Commander "Computer system is the key to everything and will replace the need of Science Officer like yourself one day, but don't worry Captain, we will always need dashing heroic figures such as yourself in space"

James then looked at the wine and said "Thanks for the compliment, but sadly I'm just ordinary"

Higgins then winked and said "ohh Captain, something tells me you are a lot of things but ordinary is not one of them"

[K-5]

[Hallway]

Even if she was thinking about LCAR, this puzzle was not going to solve itself simply by thought alone. Another thing that could be solved was her questions about emotion. And Takur (NPC), seemed the perfect person to ask, especially on their slow-walking tour of the lower decks.

"Takur," She started, knowing full well he would listen. "I have a few questions. Regarding emotions." At this the man gave her a knowing look and crooked grin.

"I thought you Soong androids came with emotion chips now?" He questioned. K-5 smiled back, giving the same knowing look.

"We do, but we are given the chancce to download emotions ourselves as we find them. And I have a few I just can't seem to... what is the word? Pin down." She kept walking alongside Takur and they shared a smiling look, into each other's eyes.

"And what, pray tell is your question?" He asked, dramatically bowing low then continuing alongside K-5. She laughed and asked, doing it before she could stop herself.

"There is an emotion that I felt earlier today. My facial panels heated up, my Cardial pump sped up, all I wanted to do was crawl under a rock, and I don't know what that feeling is. Can you tell me?" She stopped walking and turned to him full on, he followed suit. He thought for a moment. All while they talked, K-5 didn't feel the thing at the back of her mind slowly reaching out and grasping her programming.

"Only thing I can think of is embarrassment. It's when you see, say, or do something that isn't flattering to your person, and you get all flustered and want to, how you put it, hide under a rock." He chuckled and they kept walking, passing another crewman along the way. K-5 thought of another question.

"Alright. I have one more question. I've spoken with a few of my crew-mates, and they all say the strongest emotion one could feel is love. Yet I have not felt it. It is almost as if I have not discovered it yet. But you have." She grinned at him. He gave her a puzzling look. She returned his gaze with a knowing one.

"I have seen you looking at me. They way your pupils dilate, your breathing hitches, your slight twitch in the left side of your lip just so that you smirk every time you stare into my eyes. You heart rate jumps slightly and your posture falls blank. Obviously you have felt this love I have heard so much about. Care to tell me how it feels?" She asked, becoming very serious. Takur rubbed the back of his neck for a second, then looked into K-5's eyes. They had stopped in front of a door, with K-5's back to it. He smiled.

"Why don't I show you?" He asked.

"How?" K-5 replied. He smirked again and pushed her against the wall in a kiss. His hands fumbled for the door switch and it opened. He rolled to the side and fell into the door, pulling K-5 with him.

Oh. So this is what it feels like. I think I like it...

K-5 didn't feel the thing at the back of her mind gripping her programming, then her protocols, or her security systems. She didn't feel anything inside her mind. Until it was too late.

[Kirok]

[Bridge]

Caelene watched as the last of the away team members left the bridge. She didn't particularly envy them, but at the moment she wasn't sure if she would rather be in charge of the entire ship or dealing with another crew diplomatically. Neither were particularly in her area of comfort. She was getting more used to being in command though, since her promotion to Chief Engineer.

Hearing the bridge's Science Officer address her, Caelene turned her attention to the Deltan woman. James hadn't left any specific instructions for her regarding what the crew should be working on - they were basically just waiting for the away team. Caelene tried to sit up a little straighter as she addressed the woman, "Thank you for the update, Ensign. For now, continue with regular scans of the system - concentrate on any unusual particle buildup and anything else you feel might be helpful, scientifically."

It wasn't that she expected them to find anything unusual, but this was a science station. If the inspection didn't go as planned, perhaps the scans she'd asked for would shed some light on the situation. Hopefully everything would be fine and they'd be gone by morning.

Leaning back into the chair, Caelene nearly jumped as Steve suddenly nuzzled her hand. She silently chastised herself for being so on edge, and then offered the holographic raptor a smile as she stroked his head. As odd as it sounded, it was somewhat calming to have the little predator nearby. Caelene frowned slightly; she should really go through his lines of coding to make sure nothing was amiss after the mishap in the holodeck.

=/\=Engineering to Bridge.

Surprised at the comm message, Caelene tapped her comm badge to respond, =/\=Bridge here, go ahead Engineering.

=/\=Lieutenant Tam, I'm sorry to bother you. In the grand scheme of things it seems unimportant, but...well...with our recent holodeck issue and the timing... We've gotten some reports of malfunctioning replicators - not working at all or producing something other than what was requested. There have also been two reports of holodecks pulling up the wrong program.

Caelene answered quickly, =/\=Thank you for notifying me. Go ahead and send teams to investigate. Take the holodecks down for maintenance now rather than waiting and run full diagnostics. Check the replicators involved, but also run some spot checks and keep me apprised.

=/\=Of course, Lieutenant. Engineering out.

Right now Caelene wished she was down in Engineering, looking into these issues. It was where she was most comfortable, solving puzzles and issues to keep the ship running. Not running the ship. But for the time being, her place was on the bridge. Hopefully nothing else came up while James and T'Ra were away...

OFF: Tag Zex, others on the ship

[Bridge]

"Yes, Ma'am" Zex replied.  She turned back to here station.  She started tapping in commands.

"Setting up to look for particle build up now" she called out.  She tapped a few commands into her station.  "It's cycling up now" the Deltan added.

[Ser Conley]

[Bridge]

"Thanks a ton. I definitely owe you one." She said, smiling as she handed over Steve before she headed to the transporter room. She tugged on her uniform jacket once more. Despite being tailored to her size, it never seemed to fit quite right in the shoulders, or perhaps it only seemed that way because she wasn't exactly what one would call diplomatic.

Looking around at the others in the transporter room  she nodded. "I'm ready. Let's get this over with."

[Transporter room]

Blinking twice , Ardyn shook off the momentary feeling of being Transported to see a group of people, most likely the Station Attendants, waiting for them. The Lady in charge, Carol, seemed friendly enough, though perhaps a bit too friendly. She glared at the woman almost warily as the woman kept smiling  at James in her overly cheery manner.

A sudden revelation occurred to  her. She was feeling jealous. Quickly putting on a neutral expression to try  and hide her thoughts , she saw a young woman coming over to her , practically with a skip in her step. (And perhaps a bit too much caffeine in her system.) "Hi, I'm Kinzi, one of the engineers here. I'd be glad to show you to the escape pods, if you'll just follow me.!" Ardyn smiled at the overexcited Engineer while trying to stay as businesslike as she could . "That'd be great, Kinzi. Let's do this."

[Transporter Room]

Ser landed with the rest and immediately tugged at the collar of his dress whites.  He didn't remember the damn thing ever been if so tight.  The uniform wasn't choking him just remind him it was there with every movement.

He nodded when his name was called, then took stock of the people in the room.  The person that caught his eye was the blond in the little black dress.  It was really the dress that caught his attention.  It was distracting

"or a better way to put it meant to distract." He thought then dismissed the notion as paranoia

"One too many crazy missions." He almost said out loud, but luckily he caught himself.

So when the young engineer walked up to Ardyn and him, Ser gladly let Ardyn take the lead falling in a step behind her to give her leeway.

Ser still felt like he as missing something and replayed the meeting in the transporter room again when he hit on it.

"So lieutenant, what's going on between you and the captain?"

[T'Ra Jones]

Higgins continued walking while holding Hawke's arm.  She heard the question by the Vulcan and she smiled and said "Of Course if you come this way, we have something amazing to show you"

[Mess Hall]
As she entered the Mess Hall she then opened a bottle of wine and explained "This wine was imported from Earth, it's a red Merlot" She placed the glass on a table.

She then turned to the first replicator and said "Wine, Merlot...2390 Vintage, Napa Valley, San Francisco"   She then took the glass of wine and placed it "This glass of wine is what you normally get from a replicator is full of Synthehol instead of Alcohol and it tastes a little different." Lastly, she went into a different replicator and said "Wine...Merlot...2390 Vintage, Napa Valley San Francisco"  A glass of red wine appeared.  She placed the glass next to the other.

"C'mon Captain, Commander see if you can taste the difference between a real thing and our replicated system"  Higgins suggested. Higgins explain "This is created by a new subroutine that analyzes the taste buds in organic beings, you bring an original and it will break down the taste and the computer will the "learn" and I am using that term loosely the exact taste configuration, replacing the want or organic food"

Higgins then smiled and continued "So, sadly Captain...the want of carrying liquor of Earth into the ship might be obsolete, even the Legendary Montgomery Scott could not tell the difference. Commander, the Computer system is the key to everything and will replace the need of Science Officer like yourself one day, but don't worry Captain, we will always need dashing heroic figures such as yourself in space"

James then looked at the wine and said "Thanks for the compliment, but sadly I'm just ordinary"

Higgins then winked and said "Ohh, Captain, something tells me you are a lot of things but ordinary is not one of them."

[Mess Hall]

T'Ra followed, quiet and pensive, as their tour guide led them away from the room where the scientists scurried around excitedly and into what must be the mess hall. Whether Higgins had intentionally ignored her request or not was unclear, but T'Ra couldn't help but feel like the overly vivacious young woman was trying to hide something and distract them with something else.

Higgins led them to a row of replicators, something T'Ra would hardly classify as exciting. In any case, she preferred to prepare her own meals with fresh ingredients when possible. Normally she didn't mind ordering from replicators, after all the primary function of food was to serve as nourishment and not to enjoy the taste, but for some reason the notion really rankled her at the moment.

"I think I'll abstain for now," T'Ra replied, politely refusing the drink. 'No doubt, scores of officers will be one day drinking in your honour, Miss Higgins, though it does take out some of the enjoyment that comes from preparing it yourself." If she wanted a dish that tasted just the way her father used to make it, then she would simply prepare it herself the way he taught her. But maybe she was just old fashioned. And while she would have to agree with Higgins analysis of the captain, she did take issue with something else the young woman had said. "Oh, there'll always be a need for scientists, Miss. Not even your supper computer is infallible."

[Ardyn Jaeger]

[Transporter Room]

Ser landed with the rest and immediately tugged at the collar of his dress whites.  He didn't remember the damn thing ever been if so tight.  The uniform wasn't choking him just remind him it was there with every movement.

He nodded when his name was called, then took stock of the people in the room.  The person that caught his eye was the blond in the little black dress.  It was really the dress that caught his attention.  It was distracting

"or a better way to put it meant to distract." He thought then dismissed the notion as paranoia

"One too many crazy missions." He almost said out loud, but luckily he caught himself.

So when the young engineer walked up to Ardyn and him, Ser gladly let Ardyn take the lead falling in a step behind her to give her leeway.

Ser still felt like he as missing something and replayed the meeting in the transporter room again when he hit on it.

"So lieutenant, what's going on between you and the captain?"

[En route to escape pods ]

Ardyn slowed her pace and let the very enthusiastic engineer lead the way.  Looking at Conley  with a slightly embarrassed look, she said . "It's... complicated, to say the least. Sure, we've gotten drunk a few times, and despite what the rumors say , nothing improper happened afterward. We're... working on stuff let's just put it at that." Ardyn said dropping the subject

Kinzi stood at the end of the hallway , still bouncing from excess energy or the mug of coffee in her hands, from what source, she wasn't certain . "Here they are Lieutenants!  Check away!"
Walking into the escape pod, Ardy noticed at once how uncannily clean and well kept these were in. "Wow, Kinzi. These are really good quality escape pods."

The hyper young woman beamed with pride . "Thanks! It gets boring from time to time , so I like to work on these. And on the side , I help the scientists out with testing a new blend of coffee. Its great! I've hardly slept for days! You want some? It's one of the breakthroughs we've made here on the station." Before Ardy could say anything , the bubbly engineer switched topics once again. "By the way , I've heard you guys are some of the best pilots in the fleet , is that true?"

[Ser Conley]

[En route to escape pods ]

Ardyn slowed her pace and let the very enthusiastic engineer lead the way.  Looking at Conley  with a slightly embarrassed look, she said . "It's... complicated, to say the least. Sure, we've gotten drunk a few times, and despite what the rumors say , nothing improper happened afterward. We're... working on stuff let's just put it at that." Ardyn said dropping the subject

Kinzi stood at the end of the hallway , still bouncing from excess energy or the mug of coffee in her hands, from what source, she wasn't certain . "Here they are Lieutenants!  Check away!"
Walking into the escape pod, Ardy noticed at once how uncannily clean and well kept these were in. "Wow, Kinzi. These are really good quality escape pods."

The hyper young woman beamed with pride . "Thanks! It gets boring from time to time , so I like to work on these. And on the side , I help the scientists out with testing a new blend of coffee. Its great! I've hardly slept for days! You want some? It's one of the breakthroughs we've made here on the station." Before Ardy could say anything , the bubbly engineer switched topics once again. "By the way , I've heard you guys are some of the best pilots in the fleet , is that true?"

"Well that certaintly true."  Ser answered the wired engineer in a flat bored kind of voice.  "But I would argue that we're the best FC department in star fleet.  Period."  Ser added a touch of steel to his last word and give the engineer a look that could pierce concrete.   The young engineer's smile faltered for a second until Ser winked and smiled at her.

"Sorry I could help myself.  But I still believe what I said.  I was lucky enough to be hand the best FC department there is.    Though I think, the lieutenant and I, will need to establish who the better pilot before along."  Ser didn't look at Ardyn when he said it.  He just let the challenge hang there moment before continuing.

"So kinzi tell me more about this coffee."  Ser said.

[K-5]

[Maintenance Closet]

K-5 deepened the kiss with Takur (NPC) and they battled with their tongues. After a while, it deepened further.

K-5 pulled Takur's shirt off and then hers, leaving her in only a tank top and pants. They kicked off their shoes and K-5 pushed Takur against a wall, kissing him hungrily.

He kissed back equally as hungrily. But as soon as K-5 started to enjoy this, really enjoy it, she felt somehting at the back of her mind. It was pulling away at the edges of her programming. She pulled away and Takur started peppering her neck and jaw with kisses as she gasped for air.

"Somehting is wrong, Takur." She warned. This wasn't right. He kept going.

"What are you hungry? There's a whole banquet waiting for us when we're done." He kept going, heading back towards her mouth. She took his face in her hands and held it firmly in front of her own.

"No, something is wrong, Takur. Something is trying to-" She felt it grab hold of her processor and it fizzled. Now system diagnosis confirmed it; something was very, very wrong. Takur grabbed onto her wrists in concern, still breathing heavily form their row.

"What's wrong? What's happening?" His voice was laced with fear and concern. K-5 found it sweet. She felt it reach out to her, pulling. It let her hear its thoughts. But it didn't think so much as process, unlike herself. Takur rubbed her arms gently.

"You- You have to- leave-" It started to pull more aggressively. What ever it was doing, it was damned well determined to use K-5's body.

"It want's to- take the- ship-" She let go of Takur's face and grabbed her head, her fingers clenching her brown hair in tight fists.

"K-5 you have to tell me what's happening! Maybe I can help you- I- I can-" K-5 pushed him away from her.

"No! You have to promise- me, promise- you'll go get Captain Hawke- and Commander- T'Ra. They'll- Help me. I- I have to do a Hard- System shut down." Takur looked helplessly at K-5, longing in his eyes, but the look K-5 returned his with made him leave the maintenance room at a sprint. But he didn't go find Hawke and T'ra, he went to tell Higgins.

K-5 let all her concentration go to defending her systems against the attack, which meant all bodily functions paused. She fell to the ground and growled in frustration and strain. God, this hurts. She started the shut down sequence and let it do it's work. She just hoped it would stop whatever was attacking her systems and the Captain was not so gullible to reboot her when he came back.

[Hallway]

Takur (NPC) ran through the hallway looking for Carol Higgins. He stopped when he saw her talking with Commander Jones and Captain Hawke. He caught Carol's eye and motioned for her to come closer. As soon as she was close enough that she could hear him whisper, he told her everything.

"I was with the Soong Android. She's been integrated to LCAR's systems and it's trying to take control of the android's body. What should we do?" He was nervous, out of breath, and shirtless. He waited patiently for a reply and tried to calm himself down. His conflicting emotions for K-5 and for his orders were setting him on edge and he shuffled from foot to foot anxiously.

[Kirok]

[Bridge]

A few minutes had passed and the system had failed to cycle up.  The Deltan shook her head and tried again.  But she got the same results.

"Ma'am.  I'm having some system issues over here.  Permission to move to another station" she called out.

[Fala Awen]

[Bridge]

For the moment, everything seemed to be okay. Ensign Zex had begun the particle scan systems and for the time being, Engineering was addressing the other issues that had arisen. Caelene tapped at the controls next to the center chair and glanced through the system readouts. Nothing concerning.

Feeling a bit better, the Trill glanced over at Steve who was still on the chair next to hers. She frowned and looked a little closer. Unless she was mistaken, Steve had been programmed to be a couple shades of striped brown, but now it looked like there was some green and black mixed in. Had he been that way before? Were her eyes playing tricks on her?

Her attention was drawn away by Zex's voice.

"Ma'am.  I'm having some system issues over here.  Permission to move to another station" she called out.

System issues? Caelene's frowned deepened as she replied, "Of course, Ensign. Try another station and let me know if you continue to experience problems. I'll run a diagnostic on the console that's having issues."

After Zex switched to a different console, Caelene headed over to the one used by the Science Officer previously. Sliding her fingers over the console quickly, she brought up the diagnostic screen. She selected a level four diagnostic, transferring the diagnostic results to the Engineering console before starting the tests, which would also shut down the console being tested.

As she moved to the Engineering console, she let her mind ponder the possibilities. Either the issues between Steve and the holodeck and crossed over into other systems on the ship or something else was causing issues. While it was possible that the holodecks, replicators, possibly Steve, and either Science systems or bridge consoles being affected could be a coincidence, Caelene had a bad feeling it wasn't. Even if she discounted the holodecks and Steve as conflicts from before, the other systems affected weren't directly related.

Had a virus gotten into the ship somehow? Had there been sabotage? Was there something about this station that was interfering with their systems?

While she didn't want to bother James and T'Ra unnecessarily, or show that she wasn't competent enough to be in charge, Caelene would soon be at the point where she would have to inform them of what was happening. She would wait to see if the diagnostics revealed anything and perhaps run a diagnostic on either the Science systems or bridge consoles, depending on what Zex discovered along with her results. After that, Caelene knew she would likely have no choice but to alert her superior officers...

OFF: Tag Zex, people on the ship, etc

[Ardyn Jaeger]

"Well that certaintly true."  Ser answered the wired engineer in a flat bored kind of voice.  "But I would argue that we're the best FC department in star fleet.  Period."  Ser added a touch of steel to his last word and give the engineer a look that could pierce concrete.   The young engineer's smile faltered for a second until Ser winked and smiled at her.

"Sorry I could help myself.  But I still believe what I said.  I was lucky enough to be hand the best FC department there is.    Though I think, the lieutenant and I, will need to establish who the better pilot before along."  Ser didn't look at Ardyn when he said it.  He just let the challenge hang there moment before continuing.

"So kinzi tell me more about this coffee."  Ser said.

[Escape pods ]

Kinzi grinned at the two lieutenants "Our special blend is grand! Twice as much caffeine as a Raktaijino! And really tasty too!" Ardyn laughed just a little bit at Kinzi's excitement. "Maybe later, when I actually need some ."

Smirking at Conley, just a little bit  she grinned.
"And you're totally on, Man. Though , you might be having to eat my engine fumes . Though I digress. Let's get back to the main group . I can say these pods are pretty much perfect on my list."