There's a new board game coming out from the people who made the first Red Dragon Inn game a few years back. The original was a after-adventure card game and this one is a co-op dungeon crawl.

I have nothing to do with the game, but thought some people in here might be interested like I am. Here's a link to their Kickstarter:

Tales from the Red Dragon Inn

Stardate 2365.05.15 - Impact minus 73:02

USS Peregrine, Deck 4, Sick Bay - 1640

A few minutes later Lieutenant Veen, now fully in control of himself, stood outside the Sickbay door. He waits for the Chief to arrive and beckons her to enter.

Chief Cook came down the hallway with her PADD in hand; she nodded to the doctor as she continued past him and into Sickbay. 

Amris took a deep breath, followed Cook inside and headed straight to Nurse Adama. He called in the staff members on duty with him as well. The Doc looked everyone in the eye, before speaking out.“The Captain has just briefed the senior officers about the situation on Calican II, or rather in its immediate vicinity.” The Doc cast a look at the clock on the wall while he considered his next words and fought down the emotion of despair of his own.

“In the next 73 hours all sentient life on Calican II will cease to exist. There is an asteroid called…”, Amris glanced at his pad. “2365 C41A3 DN17 heading straight at the planet. It is over 30 kilometres in diameter, so the impact will be an extinction level incident. Now, we all are very well aware of the Prime Directive. We cannot let the Calicans know of our presence and following the directive to the letter, it would indeed be forbidden for us to intervene. The General Order 1 clearly states, that the Starfleet is prohibited from helping a society escape a natural disaster known to the society, even if inaction would result in a society's extinction, unless the society had warp technology and had formally requested aid. Unfortunately the people of Calican II do not possess warp-level tech and as they are as of yet unaware of our presence, could not formally request aid anyway.”

The Doc sighed. “So according to the Prime Directive we cannot do anything… But the Captain is not willing to let the people on the planet perish. His plan is to find a solution that allows us to do both: save the Calicans without breaking the PD. So any ideas that could help us accomplish that are most welcome. My mind seems to be still in shock and I cannot think of anything useful on that department.”

Cook noticed the Doctor’s apprehension, and she wasn’t a Betazoid; that thought brought a faint smile as she remembered her conversation she had yesterday with the Doc about emotions and telepaths.  She had no such reservation about what the Captain planned to do; saving the lives of billions of people was the Right thing to do.  The Prime Directive made sense, but it was crazy to think that a bunch of aging Admirals, and leaders back on Earth could understand the decisions that had to be made out here.  Easy to sit at home and blindly decide the fate of other planets, without knowing the facts, and watching whole planets die when you could have done something to stop it.  She liked the Captain, and this was a good decision he was making regarding the fate of this world. 

“The XO has asked us to prepare for quick response. I am therefore putting the Sickbay into Yellow Alert. While there is no combat to be expected, things may go wrong in many ways when we try to stop the asteroid from destroying Calican II. We need to be prepared for anything that may come down our way and we need to be as ready as possible until the alert is over. In roughly 72 hours we have either saved the planet or watched 7 billion people die. I would very much prefer the first option, PD or no PD.”

“Questions?”

Cook looked about and let any questions from other people be spoken before she would speak up.  She had no questions, but actions to put into place.

“Okay,” Cook began as she addressed everyone, “the Doctor has declared a Medical Emergency Alert.  We have done this before, and so all I had to do was replace some of the staff names with the new personnel.  We will be working four 6 hour shifts per day; and since we only have 4 nurses, other than myself, it won’t be a difficult schedule to remember.  The Doc and I will be the working 12 hr shifts along with the nurse on duty.  As always, be aware that everyone will be on-call, if an emergency does occur.”

She lifted her PADD and made a few taps and then with a swipe on the screen, she continued.

“I have just sent you the schedule,” she said as she watched them all refer to their own devices, “I will notify those not currently present of their assignment.  The lab personnel will remain on their normal schedules, unless an event occurs that requires their assistant.  PO Barrett will begin watch immediately on the Charlie Shift; alongside of me.”

“All yours Doctor,” Cook finished as she turned to Lt. Veen, in case he had anything to add to her orders.“If anyone has any issues,” She said after giving them time to look at the simple schedule, “let me know.  For now, be alert and be ready.  Make sure all trauma supplies are ready for immediate use.  Let’s hope for the best, that our services won’t be needed, but be prepared in case they are required”

The Doc looked at the schedule, thought about it for a while and nodded at his PADD before raising his eyes to meet Cook's. "Looks good, Chief. As everything seems to be clear to everyone, as expected of course, the Sickbay is yours."

Amris looked around the room at everyone present. "I will be in my office for a while longer before I head out for dinner. If you have any questions or anything you wish to say, do not hesitate to drop in."

Stardate 2365.05.14

USS Peregrine; Deck 4 - Sickbay - 18:50 – 19:00

 Chief Dana Cook walked into Sickbay at her usual 10 mins prior to the start of her shift, and paused in place.  The new CMO was walking about the sickbay looking at everything as if appraising the readiness of the Medical equipment.

Look all you want, you will not find anything out of place. She thought as she continued into the room; her pride in the efficiency and training of her medical staff was shown in the rising of her shoulders slightly.  If anything were out of place, she knew it would be the newly arrived staff.  She had instructed them on what she expected of them in regards to the Sick Bay and staff's readiness, but thus far they had proven themselves just as reliable as the old staff.

“Evening Doctor,” Cook said as she walked in and approached her workstation.

Amris looked up from the scanner and smiled to the Chief. He had felt her approach a moment earlier, but sensing her irritation, he had kept his eyes on the devices. “Good evening, Chief.” Waving with his arm around to indicate all the equipment around the room. “I was just admiring the impeccable state of everything. I was not expecting anything less of course… To be honest, I am actually fairly hungry and was simply biding my time until the end of my shift.”

Logging into her station, she looked over the day’s medical log of patients and saw that it had been mostly minor injuries, and such. Her eyebrows narrowed as she saw the appointment of one crewmember with the Doctor for a ‘consoling’ session.  Her eyes darted up to glance at the Doctor then quickly back to her screen.  She wondered if his sessions consisted of his probing the patients mind; though that might help in the treatment, if given voluntarily, but she suspected that Betazoids often did it without permissions.  This was the reason she was uncomfortable with the new Doctor; he seems a decent fellow so far, but she had a distrust of people who could read your thoughts.  She took her privacy, especially her thoughts, very seriously.

“Any instructions,” she spoke up and said to him, “or anything I should be aware of before you leave?”

Her tone might give it away; but she seems anxious to have him gone from sickbay.

Dana had not really interacted much with the new Doctor, only seeing each other at meetings or shift changes, since he came aboard.  Her behavior at their first meeting was not the warmest; she had not wanted a new CMO, she did not want to lose Dr. Reine, and then she had learned the new Doc would be a Betazoid.  She did not like that one bit.

Their first meeting had been professional and punctual, and she no doubt knew the Doc could not miss her stiff demeanor when talking with him.  They had not discussed the ‘issues’ yet, but Dana knew that the Doc could not put it off for much longer.  He was not blind, even without his ‘abilities’, and if he had even once ‘scanned’ her emotions, he would know that he had a problem with his Head Nurse.  A personal problem.

The Doc smiled again and nodded to Dana. “Well not instructions as such, but I did actually wish to speak with you.” Amris beckoned her to sit down and pulled a chair for himself as well. He wasn’t sure how the human would react if he looked her straight in the eye as some of her people were not comfortable with direct eye-to-eye contact. He decided not to test her preference and only briefly glanced at Dana’s face before speaking out.

Dana seemed taken aback with the doctor’s desire to sit and talk with her, but she shrugged slightly and pulled her chair from her workstation around to face the doctor, then she sat.  Looking at him she didn’t need to be a telepath to read some sense of unease in his current appearance.  She raised an eyebrow and wondered if they were finally going to get to the crux of the problems between them.  It was about time she figured. 

“Chief… and I say this with total understanding and with absolutely zero judgement… I am aware of your… discomfort with my… abilities and I want you to know, that you are by no means alone. And that is perfectly ok.” The Doc raised his hand to stop any comment the Chief may or may not have had on her mind. “I would very much like to put your mind at ease as much as possible. Now, I do not expect you to trust me completely right away after you have heard what I have to say. But I hope in time, you and everyone in the Sickbay and on board can learn to be at ease in my presence.”

The corner of Cook’s mouth lifted slightly when he raised a hand to forestall any response just yet.  She hadn’t be thinking of making one just now; she preferred to hear what people said and gather her words into a coherent reply before giving them.  She continued to listen with interest.

The Doc took a deep breath, smiled again and continued. “As you very well know, my people have the ability to sense emotions and even thoughts of other people. What you perhaps are not aware of is, that not all of us are on the same… well, level, in our abilities. Most Betazoids can sense strong feelings, but only a small number of us are actually telepathic. My empathic ability allows me to feel your joy, your sadness and your irritation.”

Another smile, just as genuine as the previous ones, appeared on doctor Veen’s face. “While it is possible for me to block, in the absence of a better word, the feelings of people around me, it is tiring in the long run. I do not know if you are aware, but emotions are actually quite strong and easy for my people to sense even across distances.  In that sense, as your feelings are.. well, outside of you in a way, my empathy is not breaching your personal immunity.”

The Chief was considering this as he spoke, and while she knew the Betazoids all sensed emotions; she guessed she could agree about them sensing those feelings, and it not being an invasion of Privacy.  After all, most humans carried their emotions outside anyway.  Once could look at someone who was happy, or sad, or irritated, and usually see it in his or her posture, or face.  That wasn’t what concerned her though and she guessed that the Doctor was getting to the part where she felt some anxiety.

Letting it sink in, Amris continued: “Telepathy on the other hand… Reading someone’s thoughts… That is definitely a violation. Yes, I am among the few who have the ability to communicate telepathically. And no, I am not allowed and would never do it without another person’s consent, unless it would be ordered by my superior and it would be the only way to stop something terrible from taking place. And even then I would be forbidden to read the thoughts separate from the purpose of the reading.”

“The Betazoid actually have a thing called the Code of Sentience. It is not exactly a law, but in fact something far beyond any legislation. The main idea of the Code is that reading the mind of another being without permission is taboo and that we must respect all sentient life as sacred.”

At that moment the Doc turned his eyes to his hands and shook his head before looking the Chief right in the eye. “So, Chief. Even if I for some reason I cannot even fathom, would want to enter your mind. I could not. It would be the worst thing I could do to a person, apart from taking a life.”

Amris raised his arms slightly from his lap and beckoned to Chief Cook with open palms facing up. “But please, Chief. I have talked for a long while denying you a chance to comment. Go ahead and ask me anything. Permission to speak freely.”

Chief Cook returned the gaze into those dark eyes and didn’t flinch or shy away from them.  She could understand how some might see such things as intimidating, or fearful, but she had seen far worse.  Lifting her head slightly as she composed her thoughts, she let out a slow sigh before she began.

“Doctor, I just want you to know that my .. feelings towards you are not personal,” She began slowly, “I know most of what you have just told me about your people and their abilities.  I already knew much already about Betazoids, and when I learned you were coming aboard, I made it my mission to learn all that I could, especially regarding your telepathic abilities. I will admit that I have been suffering some unwarranted anxiety about you.  But I have a reason for that, though it isn’t really an excuse for my behavior.”

Amris nodded to the Chief. He hadn't really expected anything else. Although he got the suspicious gaze pretty much anywhere he went  even within the Starfleet, not once had he met any hatred or anxiety aimed at himself personally. But despite the fact that he could sense other people's feelings, he wasn't without emotions himself. In fact the Betazoid had very strong feelings and due to his empathy he could experience the same feelings as the person he was talking with.

So hearing Cook say aloud that her feelings were not personal, even if it was not a surprise for hime, still made Amris feel relieved. But as the Doc understood emotions probably better than most, he could "recover" from his own reactions quickly. And yet he was no stoic god, even if he had learned to control perfectly how his own emotions showed on the outside a very long time ago. Amris Veen had been slightly nervous about this meeting with the Chief no matter how absurd that was.

She paused and seemed to be gathering some courage before continuing. 

“Back when I was stationed aboard the Aries,” she began, as her eyes became unfocused as she thought back to that time, “we recovered an injured man aboard a disabled shuttlecraft.   He was a Cairn, and as you are probably aware, they have don’t really have a spoken language, but communicate entirely by telepathy, and then mostly in images.  They consider it a more efficient form of communication.  He was unconscious when brought aboard, and I was treating his injuries, which weren’t too serious.  When he came to, he naturally attempted to tell me what had happened by projecting images of an attack upon his shuttle.  The sudden intrusion into my mind, of images so real, and not my own, were a severe shock to my mind.”

She paused and took a deep breath as her eyes refocused on the Doctor.

The anxiety was clear even if the Chief managed to keep it quite well under surface. And at the moment Amris felt it radiating from her, a wave of compassion ran through his body. He wanted to give the Cook a hug and to tell her everything was alright. But this was the Federation Starfeelt and he didn't know the Chief Petty Officer well enough yet to know, if hugging would be ok with her. So Amris gave her a reassuring, warm smile instead and nodded softly again.

“He didn’t intend any harm,” Cook continued, “but harm was done.  My mind had never experienced anything like it, and it was difficult to separate those images and sensations from my own memories. It was as if it had all happened to me.”

“Since that day,” her eyes dropped for the first time, a look of .. what? … embarrassment maybe, “I’ve found it hard to trust being around any species which can get into my mind.”

“I know it’s not your fault, Doctor,” she said as she raised her eyes back to meet his, “and I know my fears may seem ridiculous, but they are buried deep within my mind.  However, I promise I will make every effort to get past these irrational fears, and learn to trust you and work efficiently with you, as you deserve."

The Chief's shoulders visibly relaxed as she got the reasons for her mistrust about the Doctor off her chest. She just hoped that they could work together, and she could made progress in getting over her fears of telepaths; or at least this telepath.

Veen watched the tension leave Cook's shoulders and forehead. The anxiety had been replaced by relief. She had been very open with him, which was not really rare when people talked with him. But from what she had told him and how she had opened up on her terrible experience, Amris knew it had not been easy and he felt gratitude and honor for being worth of her trust.

"Chief... I had no idea." The Doc held her gaze, now slightly softer he imagined. "You have experienced something so very few of us ever have. Conversing with the Cairn, I am sure, must be quite unsettling for most people. Even for me, their way of communicating with visions takes some getting used to before I can feel comfortable with it. And being hit by a projection of the terrible moments he had gone through and especially unprepared... I can only imagine what it must have been like."

The smile was still on the handsome, bearded face as Amris continued. "Thank you for sharing this painful memory with me... Chief. I am honored by your trust in me and I want you to know that I do not mind, if you cannot completely trust me yet. That is quite natural. But I also want you to know that you can always, and I mean always, let me know if you do feel uncomfortable. And you can always come and have a chat with me even if you do not. We will be working together hopefully for a long time and getting to know you better would make me very happy."

"And Chief, if it is ok with you, I would very much like you to call me Amris at least when we talk in private. I do respond to Doc, Doctor, Lt, black-eyed dude, hey you and various other names as well." The Doc chuckled slightly at his stupid attempt to lighten the mood.

"As you no doubt have noticed already, my former colleagues, especially Neiman and Peter, often use Amris in the Sickbay and definitely do so off-hours. During an operation I prefer Doc or doctor for clarity's sake, but outside any situation requiring my full concentration, that is not needed. But, I can also totally understand if you do not wish your relationship with your superior officer to be too casual. Your call of course."

I'm sorry guys. RL's been really busy and exhausting for the last week. Again. COVID-restrictions, shopping for the old folks, helping my eldest with her university studies, server updates at work, studying works stuff in the evening as the webinars are in US-time, etc... I haven't had the energy to even read the posts yet. I'm really looking forward to do some reading today once I get the works stuff finished. And I'll try to catch up asap.

I thought this was pretty cool even if it's missing a lot of stuff/

Enterprise virtual tour

EDIT: Seems I spoke too soon. There's plenty of these to go through and some are far better than that one.


Enterprise virtual tour 2

Another:

Enterprise virtual tour 3

Cook's rotation list works just fine. I had the same trouble you had with such a small number of people, but I think it was doable somehow having three shifts rotating every 18 hours. BUT! Never mind that. Veen gave the task to Cook and she came through with a solid plan. We'll definitely go with that.  

And the table works well too.  

And ofc the moment I wrote that, it started slowing down for me too. But what's funny is that the slowness seems to be very consistent and it happens with every single click for me too now.

That's kind weird to hear, again. I still haven't experienced any kind of slowness on the site. 

Pushing the rock... That might do it. We probably need to alter its course only slightly for the asteroid to miss Calican II.

But... Even with 70's or 80's technology, would they not be able to see us do it? Unless ofc we would be able to do it by hiding behind the thing, latching into it well enough to stay connected when pushing and the firing the warp engines to give it a shove?

Could we use the holodeck to simulate different kinds of results? Or are the holoprojectors on the Bridge powerful enough to visualize the effects of different things we can try?

Breaking the asteroid apart with torpedos would possibly leave us thousands of smaller asteroids to destroy with phaser arrays, right? And those would be flying in all directions.

Posted I have. Twice. Finally.

Stardate 2365.05.14

USS Peregrine; Deck 4 - Sickbay - 18:50

 Chief Dana Cook walked into Sickbay at her usual 10 mins prior to the start of her shift, and paused in place.  The new CMO was walking about the sickbay looking at everything as if appraising the readiness of the Medical equipment.

Look all you want, you will not find anything out of place. She thought as she continued into the room; her pride in the efficiency and training of her medical staff was shown in the rising of her shoulders slightly.  If anything were out of place, she knew it would be the newly arrived staff.  She had instructed them on what she expected of them in regards to the Sick Bay and staff's readiness, but thus far they had proven themselves just at reliable as the old staff.

“Evening Doctor,” Cook said as she walked in and approached her workstation. 

Amris looked up from the scanner and smiled to the Chief. He had felt her approach a moment earlier, but sensing her irritation, he had kept his eyes on the devices. “Good evening, Chief.” Waving with his arm around to indicate all the equipment around the room. “I was just admiring the impeccable state of everything. I was not expecting anything less of course… To be honest, I am actually fairly hungry and was simply biding my time until the end of my shift.”

Logging into her station, she looked over the day’s medical log of patients and saw that it had been mostly minor injuries, and such. Her eyebrows narrowed as she saw the appointment of one crewmember with the Doctor for a ‘consoling’ session.  Her eyes darted up to glance at the Doctor then quickly back to her screen.  She wondered if his sessions consisted of his probing the patients mind; though that might help in the treatment, if given voluntarily, but she suspected that Betazoids often did it without permissions.  This was the reason she was uncomfortable with the new Doctor; he seems a decent fellow so far, but she had a distrust of people who could read your thoughts.  She took her privacy, especially her thoughts, very seriously. 

“Any instructions,” she spoke up and said to him, “or anything I should be aware of before you leave?”

Her tone might give it away; but she seems anxious to have him gone from sickbay. 

Dana had not really interacted much with the new Doctor, only seeing each other at meetings or shift changes, since he came aboard.  Her behavior at their first meeting was not the warmest; she had not wanted a new CMO, she did not want to lose Dr. Reine, and then she had learned the new Doc would be a Betazoid.  She did not like that one bit. 

Their first meeting had been professional and punctual, and she no doubt knew the Doc could not miss her stiff demeanor when talking with him.  They had not discussed the ‘issues’ yet, but Dana knew that the Doc could not put it off for much longer.  He was not blind, even without his ‘abilities’, and if he had even once ‘scanned’ her emotions, he would know that he had a problem with his Head Nurse.  A personal problem.

The Doc smiled again and nodded to Dana. “Well not instructions as such, but I did actually wish to speak with you.” Amris beckoned her to sit down and pulled a chair for himself as well. He wasn’t sure how the human would react if he looked her straight in the eye as some of her people were not comfortable with direct eye-to-eye contact. He decided not to test her preference and only briefly glanced at Dana’s face before speaking out.

“Chief… And I say this with total understanding and with absolutely zero judgement… I am aware of your… discomfort with my… abilities and I want you to know, that you are by no means alone. And that is perfectly ok.” The Doc raised his hand to stop any comment the Chief may or may not have had on her mind. “I would very much like to put your mind at ease as much as possible. Now, I do not expect you to trust me completely right away after you have heard what I have to say. But I hope in time, you and everyone in the Sickbay and on board can learn to be at ease in my presence.”

The Doc took a deep breath, smiled again and continued. “As you very well know, my people have the ability to sense emotions and even thoughts of other people. What you perhaps are not aware of is, that not all of us are on the same… well, level, in our abilities. Most Betazoids can sense strong feelings, but only a small number of us are actually telepathic. My empathic ability allows me to feel your joy, your sadness and your irritation.”

Another smile, just as genuine as the previous ones, appeared on doctor Veen’s face. “While it is possible for me to block, in the absence of a better word, the feelings of people around me, it is tiring in the long run. I do not know if you are aware, but emotions are actually quite strong and easy for my people to sense even across distances.  In that sense, as your feelings are.. well, outside of you in a way, my empathy is not breaching your personal immunity.”

Letting it sink in, Amris continued: “Telepathy on the other hand… Reading someone’s thoughts… That is definitely a violation. Yes, I am among the few who have the ability to communicate telepathically. And no, I am not allowed and would never do it without another person’s consent, unless it would be ordered by my superior and it would be the only way to stop something terrible from taking place. And even then I would be forbidden to read the thoughts separate from the purpose of the reading.” 

“The Betazoid actually have a thing called the Code of Sentience. It is not exactly a law, but in fact something far beyond any legislation. The main idea of the Code is that reading the mind of another being without permission is taboo and that we must respect all sentient life as sacred.”

At that moment the Doc turned his eyes to his hands and shook his head before looking the Chief right in the eye. “So, Chief. Even if I for some reason I cannot even fathom, would want to enter your mind. I could not. It would be the worst thing I could do to a person, apart from taking a life.”

Amris raised his arms slightly from his lap and beckoned to Chief Cook with open palms facing up. “But please, Chief. I have talked for a long while denying you a chance to comment. Go ahead and ask me anything. Permission to speak freely.”

Stardate 2365.05.15 - Impact minus 73:12
USS Peregrine, Deck 1, Officers’ Lounge - 1630

During the Captain’s briefing, the doctor remained silent and gazed the black emptiness outside with unfocused eyes. He did hear everything that was being said, even registered most of it. But all the while the Betazoid concentrated on keeping the voices of the emotions out of his core. The mind block itself did not strain the man very much anymore, but the thought of a whole planet being rendered uninhabitable in a beat of a heart wore him down terribly.  

That said," the Captains said, coming to the end of the actual briefing portion of the meeting, "I am not willing to let seven billion lives end when I could have prevented it.  My ideal scenario would be to come up with some way to save the inhabitants of the planet and still uphold the Prime Directive.  So I have called you here to help me figure out how we can do both."

Three of Commander Drake’s words stayed inside of Amris’s head and began to roll around again again: seven billion lives… seven billion lives… seven billion lives… The Doc let out a quiet cry of anguish and grasped the frame of the viewport, visibly shaken. He took a deep breath forcing himself back together. He wasn’t he sure could take the pain of seven billion sentients perishing simultaneously. 

The cacophony of emotions radiating from Calican II would go silent in a single instant and would be a relief as such, but the torment would be replaced by another. As an empath, Amris Veen felt everything a lot stronger than anybody else on board, with perhaps the exception of his fellow Betazoid crew members. He might not be able to bear the thought of so many deaths without losing his mind.

When the XO spoke to him, it took the Doc a couple seconds to bring himself out of his dreary thoughts. He turned from the viewport and nodded to Lieutenant Commander Zai. He tried to hide his own emotions from his handsome face, but to a sharp eye he probably failed utterly. 

“Of course, Sir. I have a feeling Chief Cook may already be ahead of us in her preparations. She seems to be very efficient. But I will naturally make sure the Sickbay is ready for anything and everything, Sir.”

Once dismissed, Amris gave the Captain and the XO a nod and headed out with his hand on his comms unit.

“Veen to Cook and Adama.”

OOC: Assuming a reply from Cook.

=/= Adama here. Can I help you, Sir? =/=

“Chief. Mr. Adama. The Sickbay will be on Yellow Alert from now on. We will begin preparations for an emergency response and will change the rotation from 12 hours shifts to six hours for the next 73 hours. Chief, make sure the rotation is as efficient as possible with either you or myself as the backup for the nurse on duty. Minimum 12 hours of rest for everyone. Two nurses on duty at all times. Meet me in the Sickbay as soon as possible.”

=/= Acknowledged. =/=

OOC: Unless there’s an objection from Cook:

A few minutes later Lieutenant Veen, now fully in control of himself, stood outside the Sickbay door. He waits for the Chief to arrive and beckons her to enter.

Amris took a deep breath, followed Cook inside and headed straight to Nurse Adama. He called in the staff members on duty with him as well. The Doc looked everyone in the eye, before speaking out.“The Captain has just briefed the senior officers about the situation on Calican II, or rather in its immediate vicinity.” The Doc cast a look at the clock on the wall while he considered his next words and fought down the emotion of despair of his own.

“In the next 73 hours all sentient life on Calican II will cease to exist. There is an asteroid called…”, Amris glanced at his pad. “2365 C41A3 DN17 heading straight at the planet. It is over 30 kilometres in diameter, so the impact will be an extinction level incident. Now, we all are very well aware of the Prime Directive. We cannot let the Calicans know of our presence and following the directive to the letter, it would indeed be forbidden for us to intervene. The General Order 1 clearly states, that the Starfleet is prohibited from helping a society escape a natural disaster known to the society, even if inaction would result in a society's extinction, unless the society had warp technology and had formally requested aid. Unfortunately the people of Calican II do not possess warp-level tech and as they are as of yet unaware of our presence, could not formally request aid anyway.”

The Doc sighed. “So according to the Prime Directive we cannot do anything… But the Captain is not willing to let the people on the planet perish. His plan is to find a solution that allows us to do both: save the Calicans without breaking the PD. So any ideas that could help us accomplish that are most welcome. My mind seems to be still in shock and I cannot think of anything useful on that department.”

“The XO has asked us to prepare for quick response. I am therefore putting the Sickbay into Yellow Alert. While there is no combat to be expected, things may go wrong in many ways when we try to stop the asteroid from destroying Calican II. We need to be prepared for anything that may come down our way and we need to be as ready as possible until the alert is over. In roughly 72 hours we have either saved the planet or watched 7 billion people die. I would very much prefer the first option, PD or no PD.”

“Questions?”

Well not premonitions as such, but kind of perhaps? Probably will not happen ever again, so I thought it might not be too much for Star Trek. And there is an explanation anyway.  

But if you feel it's too much or too powerful, do let me know and I'll tone it down. I don't mind.

Stardate 2365.05.15

USS Peregrine, Deck 2, CMO Quarters - 1415

Saturday was doctor Veen’s day off. He loved his free time, but he also hated it. No, hate was too strong a word for it;  Amris Veen disliked his free time as it was the time he got to spend alone, without his friends, without his colleagues. He was a man who savoured the company of others, even if it was just to share the space, or a cup of coffee, or a meal… even in complete silence. 

Sitting on the edge of his bunk, eyes closed, shower fresh and stark naked, Amris thought the times he had spent naked with an Earther colleague and friend of his time on the USS Jigonhsasee. Somehow the devious and persuasive Dr. Katariina Sorri had managed to convince their boss, the captain of the medical frigate Commodore Sho’wan, of the importance of having a traditional Finnish steam room or sauna on board. Sure, the enormous starship had numerous holodecks that could’ve easily simulated the experience, but the Jigonhsasee also had a ton of storage rooms and not all of them were really needed.

The lieutenant shook his head and laughed at the memory. He really, really missed Katariina, her wife Aki and even their silly dog, Jussi. The sauna had become an instant success and after only two months of use, the Commodore had ordered three more to be built. Hailing from a subtropical part of Betazed, Amris had spent the earlier part of his life in a nearly sauna-like environment. So the humid and hot air wasn’t anything new to him. And yet, the relaxing, gentle heat of the room accentuated by a scoopful of water on the hot stones of the stove every now and then had totally taken him by surprise. He loved the sauna.

Stardate 2365.05.15

USS Peregrine, Deck 2, CMO Quarters - 1417

“Maybe I should…”, the thought was cut off by a sudden, though soft, deceleration as the Peregrine dropped out of warp. The second the slowing down ended and could no longer be felt by the doctor, he was hit by a cacophony or a storm of emotions. The Betazoid’s whole essence was invaded by waves of hopelessness, desperation, panic, anxiety, sorrow, pain… 

Amris felt actual physical agony and fell on the floor shaking in a fetal position. A searing hot pain stabbed his brain again and again and again, and he wasn’t even able to cry. He had never in his life felt anything like it. Little by little, Amris managed to force his breathing to settle down to an even, though still very quick rhythm. With great effort he transformed the exhales first into syllables and then into the words of the mantra his mother had taught him as a child. 

The Doc knew that by concentring on the mantra, he would be able to push out and block all emotions around him. So he tried and tried again until he got the words through the chaotic mass of emotions. “I… I… I am… I am the f… I am the fire.. I am… burning brighter.. I roar… like the storm.. I am… the one I have been waiting… for.. I am alive… I am… burning brighter… I am the FIRE!”

With the last fire-word, the emotions died around him, all emotions, all-around him, even those of the crew of the Peregrine. Amris was still shaking and now also covered in cold sweat. He pushed himself on his back on the cool floor of his room and took a deep breath, all the while chanting the mantra. The words became clearer, the pace slowed down and his voice got quieter with every recitation. 

Some time, what felt like a quarter of an hour or more to him, later, the Doc was back to pretty much his normal self. He didn’t have to recite the mantra anymore, but part of his presence was still concentrating on keeping the world (literally) of emotions at bay. Lying on the floor in his birthday suit, Amris heard his communicator badge call out: 

=/= Varin to Veen. =/= 

=/= Varin to Veen. =/=

Even without his empathy, Amris could hear the anxiety in Neiman’s voice. After the second call, there was a chime at the door. 

=/= Amris. It’s me. Are you ok? =/= 

He didn’t feel like getting up yet, so the Doc sighed and called out to PO Varin: “Yeah… I guess. Come on in.” Amris pushed himself up to a semi-seated position against his bed just as Neiman entered the room.

“Oh you’re… naked. If everything’s ok, I can come back later? It’s just that the computer alerted us… Well, nurse Adama and nurse Miraan really… to you having what looked like a stroke… ” If the Risian was in anyway embarrassed by his nakedness, neither her voice nor her face revealed anything. And right now Amris had really no other way of knowing for sure. But having known the woman for a long time, quite intimately even, he trusted she wouldn’t be shaken quite so easily.

“No, no. Please stay. If you are not in a hurry, please make us some tea. I will put something on and explain.” Amris got up, rolled his shoulders a couple of times, grabbed his towel and headed to his closet. 

A couple of minutes later he was wearing the dark grey pants of his gi and a fairly tight-fitting Starfleet t-shirt as he made his way to the lounge/kitchen area of his quarters. Amris sat down beside Neiman and gave her a big, fake smile. “So the computer thought I might be dying and Petty Officer Adama, despite of being in charge, thought he could not be… how is that the humans say it… arsed? to come and decided to send you in his stead?” 

The Doc was trying to make it sound like a joke, but failed miserably. If anything, his tired voice made him sound like he meant it. Shaking his head, Amris raised one hand to stop Neiman’s comment before she said it. “Yeah… I am sorry. That was just… bad.”

He looked the deep into the beautiful Risian’s bright blue eyes and sensed her worry even without his super powers. The Betazoid wasn’t sure if he’d ever felt so weary before in his whole life. “This place… The Calican system. There is something terribly wrong in here. When we dropped out of warp, I heard… no, what I felt was like the fear of thousands or even millions or of souls all at the same time.” He took her hand softly and a single tear ran down his cheek. “Neiman, they were all afraid and in despair! But… but it is not possible! Nothing could make so many people feel the same way so powerfully at the same time... Right?”

Neiman squeezed his hand. “Amris, it’s your day off. Maybe you should drink that tea and try to rest for a while. Maybe it was some kind of an anomaly? There’s very little info in the Starfleet’s archives about the Calican system.” She smiled to Amris and very genuinely. “Take some Triatsolame, half a Halcion should be good for a Betazoid, right? It’ll help you sleep and you’ll be just fine in a couple of hours, yeah?” The nurse pulled a small pill case from her pocked, fished out a blue pill and cracked if half. “Doctor’s orders?”

Amris was too tired to object and nodded. She was right of course. He was tired, but there was too much going on inside of his mind for him to get any sleep done without the drug. The Doc washed the Halcion down with the tea and sighed again. Neiman touched his cheek and stood up. 

“Ok into the bed with you, mister. Chop chop.” She helped the sluggish Betazoid shamble into his bedroom and practically pushed him into his bed. She didn’t look strong, but just like all nurses, she knew how to move people twice her size. Neiman covered up Amris like a child and gave him a kiss on the head. “You gave a proper scare for me there, Amris. Don’t do it again, you hear?”

The Doc mumbled something unintelligible as a response and closed his eyes. The Traitsolame was pretty effective, especially for Betazoids and soon he drifted away into the dark and fell deep into slumber and dreamed… But the dreams created by the combination of the recent memories of the terrible attack of emotions and the Halcion were anything but peaceful. As he slept, some of Amris’s blocks fell away and a bit of the emotions of the Calican people slipped through his guard into his mind. 

He was floating in a star-filled black sky. Below him was a surprisingly Earth-like world and he could hear quiet voices calling him from its surface. But as he tried to concentrate on those voices, something else caught his attention. He turned his gaze into the darkness, but it was no longer dark. There was a tiny flaming sphere coming towards him from the depths of the space at great speed. “Amris…”, a voice called again from below.

And suddenly he was on the surface of a low-tech, by Starfleet’s standards at least, world. The voices he had heard earlier were now louder and they were all crying… Some where afraid, others disappointed or anxious. Everyone’s heart was crying out for something to save them…

Glancing up to the sky, Amris saw the ball of fire grow and grow until it’s heat felt warm to his fa….

Stardate 2365.05.15

USS Peregrine, Deck 2, CMO Quarters - 1540

The LCARS beside his bed kept on ringing. It was probably the third or the fourth time it rang, before Amris managed to open his eyes. And it took a couple of more chimes for him to understand what was going on. He jumped of the bed and immediately fell on the floor as his legs were still somewhat weak from the sleeping medicine. That was when it happened again. A slight pain in his ankle removed any traces of concentration that he may have had unconsciously left on the sense blocks he had built. The terrible tsunami of emotions hit him immediately and pushed him back to the floor. 

“I am the fire… I am burning brighter..” This time the chant came more easily and Veen managed to block out the emotions once more. He then did something he almost never did. Lieutenant Amris Veen swore. He uttered the worst words he had learned during his service in the BAF and they were pretty bad. Pushing himself up, he called the computer:

“Computer. Where is the Captain?”

=/= The Captain is in his Ready Room =/=

“Thanks.”, he said to no one really as the computer was not listening. 

Amris made his way to the bathroom and took a quick shower. He dried his hair and beard and for some reason felt like brushing his teeth too. As he wasn’t on duty, he put on the casual attire instead of the Starfleet uniform. On his way through the door, almost as an afterthought, he grabbed his blue and black light suede leather jacket from the hanger and put it on top of the grey and black turtleneck. He then removed the Starfleet pin from the shirt and clipped it into the front of his jacket instead.

Stardate 2365.05.15

USS Peregrine, Deck 2, Starboard corridor - 1606

“Computer. Is the captain still in his Ready Room?”

=/= Affirmative. =/=

Lt. Veen walked towards the turbolift and wondered what he would say to the Captain. Would Drake even believe him? Naturally the Captain knew of the Betazoid abilities and the level of his own, but he couldn’t help the feeling of unease. His empathy probably sounded like a fairy tale for members of species who did not have telepathic abilities. 

=^=Lieutenant Veen, an emergency staff meeting has been called in the Officer’s Lounge at 1630 hours.  Attendance is mandatory.=^=

“Huh.” Amris checked the time from the LCARS on the wall beside the turbolift doors. The meeting would start in 24 minutes. There would be plenty of time to visit the Captain’s Ready Room before the emergency meeting, but the Doc could imagine the Captain was busy right now. He could also imagine what the emergency was. Calican II was in danger. 

Amris didn’t really believe in premonitions and he certainly hadn’t experienced one before. But he believed that what he had seen in his dream was real. His empathic skill could not have read the vision from anyone’s mind, but perhaps the overwhelming amount of emotional pressure had broken his control over his telepathic abilities as well. Maybe he had invaded the thoughts of the Calican people, even if not on purpose or even consciously. The thought made Dr. Veen shiver with fear. Losing control was the worst thing that could happen to him as a Starfleet officer and as a representative of his people. He would have to let the Captain know about it, even if it meant that he had somehow broken the Prime Directive… or especially in that case.

Waiting would be difficult, but Amris decided to postpone his announcement to the meeting. He turned around and headed to the mid section turbolift instead. Going up to the Bridge and then leaving it right away would have seemed strange, so he would be taking the detour instead.

Stardate 2365.05.15

USS Peregrine, Deck 1, Officers’ Lounge - 1610

(OOC: Please correct if this is wrong.)

Doctor Veen was the first to arrive. It was the first time he had been in the Officers’ Lounge officially. He had visited the room once on his visit a month and a half ago, but there had still been repairs going on and hadn’t really gotten a proper view of the lounge. Too nervous to sit down, the Betazoid walked around the room and ended up standing by the viewport looking at the space around them. 

As his fellow officers poured in, Amris stayed by the viewport, but greeted everyone accordingly. There was fear and worry written clearly on his face and from the way he moved it was clear he was very anxious about something.

Stardate 2365.05.14
USS Peregrine; Deck 4 - Sickbay - 18:50

Today’s shift had been a fairly tedious one work-wise. The Sickbay had gotten only four visitors, three of which had been patients of sorts and the fourth one the catering assistant Natasha from the Observation Lounge. She had, despite of his attempts to reassure her it was totally unnecessary, insisted on bringing Amris the takeaway breakfast he had ordered. Yes there were replicators in both his office and around the Sickbay, but once he had found out the Obs Lounge had Uttaberry Crepes and Jestral Tea on the menu, doctor Veen had made it his habit to enjoy both as his Friday shift kick off. …If one could call something that had occurred once a week for just three weeks a habit, that was. This had now been the second time Miss Pierce had offered to deliver the meal. 

Stardate 2365.04.31
USS Peregrine; Deck 4 - Sickbay - 07:05

On his first Friday on board, Amris had woken up early. He’d decided to stop by the Aerie after his morning gym just to see what they had available for breakfast. The food served at the Mess was just fine and he didn’t mind eating it most of the time. But sometimes Amris wanted to taste a bit of luxury instead. He’d already visited the place once before and had been pleasantly surprised by the variety of meals they offered. But that Friday morning, the Doc had to his great disappointment learned that the lounge staff had mistaken the sweet crepes and the simultaneously sweet and savoury tea, a dessert, while they in fact formed together a traditional breakfast meal. Therefore neither was listed or available for breakfast.

But Amris Veen was not one to give in so easily. It had been close to the start of his shift and the end of Natasha’s, but the Betazoid had decided to risk being late from work to correct the terrible wrong. Blabbering in his customary way when he was really excited about something, the handsome doctor had barely given the catering assistant a chance to comment. But in the end, whether it had been just to get the black-eyed man off her face when her shift finally came to an end, or because she actually wanted to do the “right thing”, Natasha had given  in and added the Doc’s favourite meal also on the breakfast menu.

Stardate 2365.05.07
USS Peregrine; Deck 4 - Sickbay - 18:50

A week later, Amris had called the Aerie at 6.30 and asked Natasha to prepare him another set of Uttaberry and Jestral for pickup. But she had probably feared the Doctor would start another senseless prattle, as she had suggested she would make a delivery instead. Her shift had been ending, so she had offered to bring the food over on her way to her quarters to save them both the time and the trouble. Natasha’s offer had taken the doctor so much by surprise, that he hadn’t been able to bring himself to decline it. He knew some people considered him handsome and that his voice was soft and, at least according to one Marsian nurse, velvety. But he couldn’t really imagine his looks or the sound of his voice were the reason why Natasha wanted to be so kind to him.

Stardate 2365.05.14
USS Peregrine; Deck 4 - Sickbay - 18:50

Both today and week before, the Doc had sensed anxiety in the woman. She had clearly felt the need to speak with someone, perhaps even with Amris himself. But despite him asking Natasha about it, even if not so directly, she had admitted nothing and he hadn’t pushed it. Before she had left, Doctor Veen had made sure that Natasha understood she could come back to talk to him about anything at anytime.

The three patients of the day hadn’t had any serious injuries, which was naturally a good thing, but they hadn’t really employed the doctor much either, or frankly at all. The staff of his department was very, very skilled and certainly didn’t need him getting involved in taking care of a sprained knee ligament or a minor concussion. No matter how much his fingers ached for something to do, Amris would never willingly undermine the nurses’ work by taking over when there was absolutely no need for him to do so. 

The third patient had come for an appointment with the Doc. He had, like so many on board, felt terrible pain and sorrow for the loss of his team members and colleagues. Amris had of course studied psychology in the university, but it was not his specialty. And yet he had an advantage over most psychiatrists and psychologists, his ability to sense or feel what his patient was going through. Once the patient accept that fact, the acceptance seemed to open the flood gates of speech and made talking to him much easier. And in this case, like so very often, simply talking to or with someone was enough to ease the troubling thoughts.

Walking around the Sickbay to examine its general state, but in all honesty more just to pass the last minutes of his shift, Amris was going through the discussion with his patient. He felt very good about the end result of the chat and the fact that they had agreed on a second session in a couple of weeks time. It was very important for him to get to know the whole staff, not just the officers and what better way to do it than a private talk.

Yeah ok, so collaboration posts between Dana and Amris should be on the way, but yay! fate decided it's RL time! And it's not happening today or probably even tomorrow.

When I started working for the local university two years ago, I thought my hectic work days were over. 17 years of trying to make someone more money or to save someone else's money is over. My foray into the game business didn't exactly take off big either. Not that it surprised me. Our company is still alive and the guys are making a VR Hunting game, but I'm not very much involved anymore. So no more stress and it'll be happy life until retirement some day in the fourth millennium!! Yeah right.

You thought admins wouldn't be needed anymore? Yeah so did I. I was supposed to be obsolete in a few years time. Cloud services, automation and all that. The Great White Boss (TM) thought so too. We've lost five people (from 20 or so) within a year and a half. How many do you think have we been allowed to hire to replace them? Yeah you guessed it... <CENSORED>!!! 

If anything, the clouds; Azure, AWS, Google, Redhat, etc. are creating more work, not reducing it. They also need moar monies we don't have. Or probably would have if the GWB hadn't decided we need to be numero uno of the universities in Finland in something... We've "saved" the most money! We're doing IT with the smallest staff! We won! Fecking bastard!

</rant> Sorry about that.

What I'm trying to say, I'm something that the word busy isn't quite enough to describe. BUT! After tomorrow it'll be better. Should be... Well, could be?

I feel your pain Keeper. Same here. No room left for snow and ofc we got another 10 inches today and maybe 6 expected for tomorrow before the temp goes up and it stop snowing... for now.

Still rolling on the floor at that half an inch shutting everything down in Alabama! I'd already forgotten all about it.  
That flamethrower might indeed come in handy, Rob. There's another 8 inches on the way tomorrow.  

Yesterday we got some more snow in here and by some I mean about 10 inches. So I spent a good part of my sunday showling sh.. snow. Yay! 

To be honest, it's good exercise and now that it's fairly cold (-15C or 5F) outside, the snow is light and powdery. So it's light/easy to showel and here in Finland we have all kinds of specialist snow plowing tools, scoops, showels, etc. to help us. I'm trying to say it wasn't really that bad. Thanks for the nice physical exercise, Mother Nature.

Come today. My wife heads off to work and my daughter to school. I work happily at home. Then it's 3pm and I decide to go outside and check the snailmail. What do I find waiting for me outside? Another 8-10 inches of fresh snow. FUUUUUUUU! Thanks a bunch Mother Nature. I didn't like it that much. FFS.

Effin snow

Moar snow

Stardate 2365.05.12
U.S.S. Peregrine; Deck 5 - Gymnasium – 0655

Lieutenant Amris Veen, wearing his customary dark grey gi, was sitting in a position the humans called seiza on the tatami mats in the martial arts corner of the Gymnasium. His legs were folded underneath his thighs, ankles straight and one big toe was on top of the other. His hands, resting in his laps, formed an open cup. His back was naturally straight and his shoulders were relaxed. Amris was breathing in through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. There was a short, perhaps 10 second pause in the middle on every breath. The LCARS on the nearby walls would’ve told anyone watching that his pulse and blood pressure were very low, very much as if he was sleeping. But there was no one watching. The Doc had the gym all for himself, for now.

Instead of music, there was an ambient world of rainforest and sea sounds playing softly in the background in the Gymnasium. Deep in his meditation, Amris could imagine the shores of his hometown Garah in the Southeastern Andorian valley on the Khazaradian continent. The smell of the salty water came with the sound of the softly crashing waves. The beautiful soft mewing cries of Flanarians flying above mixed with the chirps of the local eight-legged red and white crickets. Every now and then there was a hoot or two from the primates that lived in the tall forests surrounding the city. And whomever had put together the track, had also added some howls of Wanani hounds into the background.

The pulse on the screen rose slightly and a smile formed on the Betazed’s face. Oh how he loved the place. Loved and missed. The sounds, the smells, the views. He missed the architecture, the lights, the clothes. And especially he missed the stars, which was somewhat strange for someone who’s life was spent mostly amongst the innumerable suns of the Universe. But he longed for seeing certain stars; the ones that were visible from his terrace bed of his quarters on the 17th floor of the House Veen Palace. 

What he had no real desire to see really were the people of Betazed, or more precisely his people; his family, servants, guards, acquaintances. It was another contradicting feature in the Lieutenant. He loved people of all species, of all colour, size and shape. There were few things in life that intrigued Amris more than meeting new people and and few things in life that made him more happy than conversing with friends and colleagues. But despite of the image his own people had on the outside; the kindness and helpfulness and caring, which all were true, there was constant scheming, negotiating and even backstabbing (mostly business-wise) under the surface. Especially the lower houses, the ones not allowed to participate in the Council’s meetings and of which House Veen was the highest in order, sometimes fought in the shadows of the business and bureaucratic world for fame, standing and better opportunities. 

Just thinking about it broke Amris’s reverie and made his heart beat faster. It was simply disgusting. There was rarely any violence amongst the Betazoids, let alone homicide, …at least in public. While not quite the paradise the Risian homeworld Risa was, Betazed was still a stunning place filled with love and joy. And it was most certainly one of the safest places in the Universe, as long as one knew the dangers hidden in its wilderness. But the Betazed were not angles or perfect creatures. While they were able to sense the emotions of those around them, they still had petty thoughts, felt jealousy, anger, hatred and fear. And as they couldn’t show those in the public, the worst of Amris’s kind acted in the cover of darkness to hurt others.

The doctor emptied his lungs with a deep exhale and tried to regain his composure, but at that very moment the door between the gym and its changing room swooshed open. There was no chime in the door or at least he didn’t register one, but the sound of the opening door brought Amris back to reality. The ambience was broken by a bellowing laughter the Doc knew well. Whenever he heard it, he had a hard time resisting laughing himself. Even now the gloomy thoughts in his mind were wiped away immediately. 

Pieter! 

Just to challenge himself, Amris kept his eyes closed and tried to recognise the other person in Pieter’s company from their voice and the emotions they radiated around them. The other person was definitely feeling happy too, but the emotion was somehow “quieter” than Pieter’s. And when the person stepped inside the gym and noticed Amris, the happiness dwindled down almost into nothingness. Yet no other emotion took its place. A Vulcan then… Must be Toriak. The Doctor hadn’t learned to know Crewman Toriak very well as of yet and couldn’t recognise the Yeoman with absolute certainty based on his emotions alone. So he opened his black eyes and found himself looking directly at the the Vulcan’s chiseled face.

“Chief Veen… I apologise for disturbing your meditation. Mr. Postma and I were not aware of your presence in the gymnasium. Would you like us to come another time?” The Vulcan stands in almost attention at the doorway while Pieter walks past him with a laugh. 

“Naah, Toriak. Amris won’t mind. Just come on in and do whatever you came here to do. I’ll just head to the weights.” Walking towards the weight racks, the huge Dutch human threw up one hand as if he just remembered something and stopped in his tracks. The lab tech turned halfway around and gave the Betazoid a wave. “Hey boss, I thought you had the day off? What’re you doin’ up so early?”

It was Amris’s turn to chuckle. He waved away Pieter’s question and nodded to the Yeoman. “Yes, you can take Pieter’s word for it, Mr. Toriak. I do not mind.” He took a long breath and without using his hands, stood up. Amris rolled his shoulders a couple of times and beckoned with his hand for the Yeoman to enter. “Do come in. Please. I have already completed my morning meditation, but I would reserve the tatami for another 15 to 30 minutes, if that is ok with you?

Toriak nodded in agreement. “As your exercise has begun before mine, Sir, it would only be logical for it to be completed first as well.”

This time Amris was prepared and swallowed the chuckle trying to make its way out of his mouth. He tried his best to keep a straight face and returned the nod. “Agreed.”

To a person uninitiated in martial arts, the Lieutenant’s kata as the earthlings would’ve called the solo exercise comprised of a specific sequence of pre-arranged movements, would probably have brought to mind a Japanese martial art called Karate. There were however some subtle differences: in Tanae the kicks and the strikes were slightly softer and the movements were clearly more defensive in nature than in Karate. The kata lasted for 10 or so minutes and was followed by another 15 minutes of exercise with a wooden practice sword Amris had brought in with him. The weapon kata was very precise and used a lot of body motion to give strength to strikes and blocks against an invisible opponent. 

Lt Veen preferred “fighting shadows” in the gym over the holodeck and real opponents. Although he was clearly very skilled in what he was doing, Amris was training more for himself than a possible hand-to-hand combat situation. In fact he had only been forced to rely on his self defence -skills once in his life. Even then Amris could’ve used his telepathic abilities instead to force the Orion in his drunken stupor into submission. But he had considered the situation not to be dangerous enough to justify using the powers of his mind. The situation hadn’t really been life-threatening and after a simple block, twist and lock, he had been able to leave the scene without being hurt or hurting anything but the Orion’s pride.

Once he was done, Amris picked up his gear and moved to the side. “Computer, run the tatami cleaning procedure.”

=^= Executing. =^= 

=^= Please step away from the hand-to-hand combat training area for the duration of the cleaning. =^=

=^= Area clear. =^=  

=^= Commencing. =^= 

There was a quiet, high-pitched whirring sound as the tatami mats dropped down about 20 centimetres. They were then swept to the side under the floor only to be replaced by a fresh, clean set. Ten seconds later everything was back to normal and a cleaned training area was once again ready for the next training session.

Going through his customary could down and post-workout stretching, Amris watched the other men go about their personal exercising programs. He was happy to see Postma being accepted by Toriak with seemingly no reservation. Of course the Yeoman was a Vulcan. The Doc had not expected otherwise. And out of them four, Pieter was probably the one who was the easiest to accept. Or in fact, Crewman Postma didn’t generally accept a no for answer when he had made up his mind to become friends with someone. The Dutchman wasn’t rude, far from it. But any excuses people might give, even blunt ones, he totally ignored. The man seemed to have some kind of an invisivble duranium shield, that deflected all bad moods or nasty remarks completely. 

Oh how he loved Pieter.

I'm totally with you on the female captain part and Janeway herself wasn't a problem for me. It was just the whole premise of Voyager I got very bored with. It became clear very quickly that these people would never end up finding their way back home. 

To me the stretching of every series to match TNG's seven seasons was a wrong move. With Enterprise they finally realized it. Remains to be seen what happens to Discovery. So far, apart from a couple of episodes, Discovery has been very much to my liking. Could that last for seven seasons? I dunno. Probably not. 

Such amazing posts by everyone. Amazing!

I finally managed to post too, but I'll have to admit I had some trouble getting into the character while reading tons of ST material online. We'll see how the Doc turns out. 

I even started watching the Enterprise. After six episodes, I'm still not convinced. I'm probably as far into it as I got on the first try, roughly one million years ago. But I've decided to push on  through... eventually, even if it takes some time. 

Stardate 2365.04.01

USS Peregrine; Deck 5 - Aft Docking Port - 0915

The aft docking port’s hatch hissed open with a chime to alert anyone nearby to the fact that someone was entering the ship. Johan Berg, a Starbase 118 craftsman repairing burned couplings behind an LCARS-screen he’d just replaced, turned his gaze from the laser welder, pushed up his mask and stood up. In the doorway stood a handsome, bearded and brown-haired human of perhaps 40 years. He was wearing the black trousers of a Starfleet officer’s outfit, a grey and black turtleneck and an half-open hoodie in the black and blue of the medical department. 

Johan noticed two golden pips on the collar of the man’s shirt. His mind worked furiously trying to figure out the officer’s rank, but in the second or three he had, it just didn’t happen. He unconsciously switched off the welder in his right hand, clipped it in his utility belt and took a step closer to the officer. Johan was confused. His boss had told him and his teammates that they’d be able to work in peace without any interruptions from the Starfleet.

The terrible incident that taken place only a month or so ago had been so traumatising that even the Peregrine’s Engineering Chief would not be overseeing the repairs. There were some rumours about a quarantine due a virus or something. Johan didn’t know the details and didn’t really care to either. All he wanted was to be able to do his work to the best of his abilities. 

“Sir…” The craftsman raised his hand as if to stop the other man.

But the officer wasn’t actually moving. He was looking around entrance saying nothing. His gaze scanned the hallway to the right, then it passed over Johan to the hallway on the left before finally turning forward. His eyes were looking straight at Johan and yet they seemed to be looking straight through him.

Something compelled craftsman Berg to look directly into those penetrating eyes and what he saw shocked him, if only for a heartbeat. Whatta hell? The irises of the officer’s eyes were completely black! Johan then noticed the man’s mouth was slightly open and his head was cocked to the side as if he was listening to something.

“Excuse me… Sir?”

The black eyes closed slowly, the mouth closed and the head straightened. Johan half-expected the irises to be “normal” when the eyelids retracted once again from in front of them. But they were still just as black as they had been. A betazoid…, he thought. Aren’t they supposed to be mind readers? Anger flashed through Johan and he clenched his fists. A smile appeared to the officer’s face, a somewhat sad smile. He raised his hands with open palms towards Johan and spoke with an even, if not also a bit sad voice.

“I can sense your anger, my good man. Please, there is absolutely no need for that. I assure you. It is… forbidden for my people to enter anyone’s mind uninvited.” The betazed looked down the port-side hallway again. 

“I… Entering this ship, I.. I felt echoes of what happened here.”  The black eyes returned to the electrician. “You know… It is as if there are still ghosts of the crew’s feelings still lingering inside of these walls, behind the corners, in the air… I know it cannot be so, so it must be just my imagination.”

Craftsman Berg didn’t know. He had no clue what the other man was talking about. But nevertheless, he nodded. The smile broadened on the betazetan face and the sad black eyes glinted with kindness and love.

“Once again, please do not worry. I would never violate your privacy.”  The officer opened his arms to emphasise his words and Johan felt somehow at ease. His fists opened and the tension in his shoulders went away. He was still somewhat confused, but found himself smiling too.

“But sir… I was under the impression that your kind… I mean you… Starfleet people wouldn’t come here before the 20th?”

The betazoid nodded and then shook his head with a smile still on his face. “Yes you are correct, and yet I am here now... But please forgive me my manners. I am Amris Veen, Peregrine’s new doctor. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Dr. Veen offered his hand to the younger man who hesitated for a second before grasping it.

“Berg is my name, Johan Berg.” Indicating at the sad-looking LCARS on the wall, he continued: “I’m an electrician with the 118’s MX.”

“If you don’t mind me asking Sir, why are you here now when the re-launch is still three weeks away?” Johan knew it wasn’t his business and even if something had changed in the schedule, he’d probably be the last one to know. Management never speaks to grassroots… The bastards. Yeah, yeah… we don’t need to know… But the sudden appearance of the doctor was a nice change to his boring daily rhythm. The LCARS could wait a while, they wouldn’t go anywhere.

The doctor nodded to Johan. “No no. Sure… Sure. You know, I just felt that I needed to come and have a look at the ship and especially the Sickbay. I like to prepare for a new job as well as I can. Yeah… I have seen the blueprints and it is not the first medical department I will be working in. But nothing beats seeing the thing with your own eyes, right? Say, you would not mind taking me there, would you? I mean, I know where it is located on Deck Four, but I think I would feel much safer with an expert leading me there in the middle of this worksite. Just so that I do not break anything, yeah?”

The betazoid’s familiar, even chatty way of talking took Johan totally by surprise. This dude wasn’t one of those tightasses the Starfleet people usually were. Cool. “Yeah sure, I can take you there. It’s my coffee break anyway and we can grab a brew on the way. We’ve setup a temp canteen in the lounge on this deck. The replicator makes pretty bad coffee, but it’s black and hot, you know. Oil for my engine. I hear the tea’s pretty ok though.”

Stardate 2365.5.14

USS Peregrine; Deck 4 - Sickbay - 1030

Amris was sitting in his office next to the Sickbay as he felt the ship accelerate into warp speed. He raised his black eyes from team roster in the screen embedded his desk, closed them slowly. He then undid the blocks he had built around his mind in order to get a general feel around the ship. Sensing no noticeable anxiety or fear, the Doc kept his eyes closed for a moment longer and forced his mind shut bit by bit. It was not easy for the betazoid to completely close his mind from all the emotions around him, but since the re-launch of the Peregrine he had felt the need to do so.

There were too many damaged souls and crying hearts on board. Taking in all the pain from all the loss simultaneously could prove to be devastating for him. Yes… he was fairly certain he could handle it. The power of his mind made him stronger than most of his kind, even if he was far from being the strongest. So yes, he probably could endure the pain… for some time. But it would certainly inhibit his ability to work in the long run.

Opening his eyes, Amris let out a deep sigh and pulled up the current situation report on his LCARS. He preferred operating the touch screen to voice commands just because it felt strange for him to talk to someone or something without any feelings. A repair mission to Calican system? Good. It will help ease the crew back into a mission mode and give them something else to think about instead of the terrible fate of their former teammates and friends… And it will help us newcomers fit in too.

Dr. Veen turned his attention back into the roster. The medical department had four new names out of its total of nine, himself included. As the CMO, the Doc had had the power to hand select the best from the list of applicants. Well, if he was totally honest with himself, he had no absolute certainty that they really were the very best on all counts. But Amris knew they were the absolute best for him and his new team as he had worked with all three of them before. 

Before being appointed to the Chief Medical Officer position on the Peregrine, Lieutenant Veen, Petty Officers Varin and Barrett as well as Crewman Postma had all been part of the crew of Surgery Unit 2 on the Hiawatha-class hospital ship USS Jigonsaseh. Both the SU2 and ICU on Jigon had been overseen by Amris. His total team had been much larger than what the whole of Peregrine medical department was, but he had applied for the job nevertheless. And he had been able to convince three of his trusted team members to do the same.

The hospital ship probably would’ve offered the betazoid better advancement opportunities in the future, but that would’ve meant staying in the same job and in the same environment for decades longer. Amris had not fancied the idea. The idea of serving on a light cruiser on missions around the known space had sounded a lot more exciting than what the huge flying hospital ever could offer.

Now that the four of them had been serving on the Peregrine for roughly three weeks, they’d had the chance to get to know the team a bit. As he had expected, Amris had noted varied reactions towards himself and the other “replacements”. For that was all they seemed to be for some of the team at the moment; Amris, Neiman, Yaanna and Peter were people who were trying to replace their dear friends and colleagues, but would never be able to do that.

That was how some of the team clearly felt, even if none of them let it show. They were too professional for that. But the Doc could “see” deeper than anything anyone appeared to be on the surface. He could feel the mistrust and suspicion. 

Most of the distrust was aimed at himself, as he had known would and as was only natural. Just like craftsman Berg a few weeks back; just like nearly everyone he ever met, the team along with Chief Cook felt uneasy around their new CMO. Amris had avoided that conversation with the team as he did not enjoy trying to convince people again and again and again that their fears were needless and that his intentions were pure. But he would have to have that talk very soon, preferably first with the Chief as she knew the team far better than anyone and only after that, with the rest. 

But far stronger than the feelings of mistrust, the medical team like just like the rest of the surviving crew of the Peregrine, also felt pain, sorrow, despair, longing and guilt. All were quite common in a situation they were in especially after the horrendous thing they had gone through, even the guilt. Some of those feelings might ease up during time, some even fade away, but the sorrow would always remain in one way or another. The first four most people could deal with or at least push enough into the background to allow them get on with their lives. But guilt… guilt was another matter. It was uncalled-for and if untreated, it could eat up a person inside. Something needed to be done about it… at some point.

So far Amris Veen had mostly been avoiding socialicing with the rest of the crew. He’d been spending his off-duty time in the gym training his kata or meditating in his room or on the holodeck or studying Peregrine’s medical records. Having gone through the whole crew’s roster many times, he had noted that he was not the only betazoid on board. There were actually three others. There was one in TAC, another in Engineering and a third in the Operations department. Perhaps he would have a chat with at least one of them before walking before his own team, unarmed and with his guard down, or perhaps he would not. Now was not the time to decide.

Moving from the roster to the day’s schedule, the Doc noticed there wasn’t much for him to do. He swiped his hand over the screen to lock it, stood up, checked his blue and black outfit from the mirror on his office’s wall and walked through the door on the right to main stage: the Sickbay. The always smiling PO Varin was chatting with Lab Specialist Bachman who held a PADD in his hand and was clearly explaining something on the screen to the beautiful Risian. The human was standing with his back towards the CMO office and didn’t immediately notice Dr. Veen who stopped to observe the interaction for a few seconds. 

Neiman raised her eyes from the PADD without moving her head and flashed Amris a conspiratorial smile. Oh how he loved her. Well, to be fair, he loved many people. Amris’s love for PO Varin wasn’t the true love -type shared between partners. Sure, they were both single and quite open-minded, and they had had a relationship of sorts back in the day, but nowadays the two were more like best friends forever, as human younglings had a habit of saying.

The Doc grinned back at her and gave her a two-finger salute. Neiman’s chuckle alerted Bachmann to the doctor’s presence and he straightened up into attention and turned around. “Sir! I didn’t notice you there. Is there something I can help you with?” 

Amris shook his head and gave the Specialist a smile. “At ease, Bachmann. Carry on.” He cast a quick look at the PADD. “Sub-molecular analysis? Very useful for picking out strain neutrons in say… tropolisine atoms before they start breaking out in a patient’s blood stream and release toxins. A very interesting technique. Make sure you listen carefully Petty Officer.”

The betazed took a couple steps towards the door into the hallway before turning back. “I am going to grab myself a brew and a bite, would either of you want anything? Risan Red, Neiman? With a couple of chocolate biscuits?”

Nurse Varin nodded with a smile. “I would love one. Doesn’t seem to be programmed into our own replicator. Yet.” She turned her blue eyes to Bachmann. “You should try it Ryan. It’s the best tea you’ve ever tasted.” Not waiting for the man’s reply, she looked back at the Doc and Risian grinned. “Make that two, Sir.”

Someone killed the resident Finn!   

May he rest in peace. 
Senior Chief Petty Officer Martti Kekkonen

Yeah so this thing called Star Trek...

There's a ton of stuff to read. I mean I've watched nearly everything there is to watch. (No Enterprise, I'll still ignore you. You had your chance.) And I'm fairly fluent in Star Wars, Forgotten Realms, etc. For some strange reason ST knowledge just hasn't stuck with me.

I've managed to come up with three new members of the Medical Department, but as I needed to go through all (or most... or many) of the possibilities, it took me a ahile. Lt Veen's background isn't ready yet and I wish to flesh out some of the new team members AND post.  

Yeah, yeah, the extra details can wait.