7

The funeral service for the slain members of the student research group was held on the third evening after_Nightwing_ and Se'nika landed on Irenda, the name given by the Fansq to the world they currently lived on. It was a beautiful evening--the sky was clear and the rings were plainly visible. The star of the neighboring system where the ill-fated research trip went was just rising up above the eastern horizon, casting a glow in the gas and dust clouds that permeated the local star cluster.

The families of the dead, the students of the school, the faculty members, and a handful of government officials had gathered for the ceremony. When the crews of_Nightwing_ and Se'nika took their place walking at a slow, solemn pace, in a semi-circular formation around the raised bier where the bodies lay, wearing their full-dress uniforms, the attendees became silent and still. In unison, both crews turned slowly to face the dead, taking the "at ease" posture.

A few people spoke--one representing the families, one representing the school, and one representing the government. The government representative formally thanked the two crews for answering the call for help, preventing more loss of life, and for returning the dead and the living. The most moving part of the ceremony was when the surviving students, led by Elí, came forward and knelt before the bodies of their friends. Having been told beforehand that this would be the most important part of the ceremony, both crews slowly came to attention in unison, grasped their hands in front, and bowed their heads. The attendees watched this display of respect very carefully, for it carried a strong message that they would remember. After a short period of silence, the crews raised their heads and saluted in slow, measured unison. Music began playing softly, growing stronger, and then Elí lifted her head--what happened next tore at the hearts of every crewmember.

Elí's clear voice rose in a beautiful and moving prayer[1] song with the other surviving students blending their voices in with hers in places. As they sang, they released personalized softball-sized luminaries into the air, each containing a holographic image of one of the slain, which rose up within the column of multi-hued light that surrounded the raised bier, symbolizing their spirits rising upwards towards the stars, carrying the song with them.

The only dry eye among the two crews were those of Moira's android avatar, and that was only because she could not produce tears.

With the public ceremony over, the families of the slain quietly thanked both crews for returning the remains of their loved ones, and then took custody of the bodies. When the last one had been taken away, the crews slowly came to attention, turned, and walked in step to a nearby pavilion where Elí was waiting for them with the surviving students and their families.

"Elí, that song you sang, it...it was_beautiful_! I had no idea you could sing like that!" Mindy exclaimed tearfully, giving her a hug.

"Yeah, that and those ball things floating up in the light, really got me," Lilly added with a sniffle, joining in on the hug.

"You like my singing?" Elí asked shyly.

"It was absolutely beautiful, Elí," James replied, giving her a friendly hug. Glancing quickly at the others, he added, "I think I can speak for my crew--we'd love to hear you perform someday, if it would be possible."

"My own crew and I agree with Captain James Daugherty, Elí--we would be honored to attend a performance, if you should ever give one," Rhuw-Rha'an sent, placing a hand on Elí's shoulder, which was joined by the other members of the_Se'nika_'s crew.

"Y-You...would? But, you live so far away...!" Elí asked, surprised by the attention.

"It'd be worth crossing the galaxy for, girl," Lilly said with a smile.

Feeling embarrassed, Elí blushed, though she was pleased that they liked her singing, even if it was for a sad occasion.

Elí's family, and the other Fansq witnessing it, were surprised by the way the two crews showed what seemed to be their affection towards Elí and those of her student group.

Meyleh worked her way towards the Mûr Tua'ansa healer, Frer-Sha'an, of whom she found to be at once frightening and curiously beautiful, bringing Elí with her to interpret.

"Healer Frer-Sha'an, my friend Meyleh wishes to say something--is it permissible?" Elí asked carefully, with her friend looking hopeful.

"Of course, it is," Sha'an replied with a warm smile.

Elí quietly interpreted to Meyleh, who flushed in mild embarrassment.

Taking in a quick deep breath through the breathing slits in her neck, Meyleh said shyly, "E en'cha'U kho ne'EM hu'win'A n'amí, suan MEH'o, renHA quen ha'EN e'IN."

"Meyleh says, 'I do not know how to thank you for what you did, for healing me,'" Elí interpreted.

Sha'an smiled, made brief eye contact with Elí, and then said aloud while facing Meyleh, "Tell her that knowing I was able to ease her hurts, and seeing her alive and well, is thanks enough for me. I hope that all of you live long and happy lives."

Sha'an gently touched the side of Meyleh's face where she had been injured while Elí interpreted. Meyleh blushed, and then slowly stepped forward, and with arms straight to her sides, touched her forehead against Sha'an. The healer gently stroked Meyleh's hair and wrapped the end of her tail around the girl's for a moment. When Meyleh stepped back, she repeated the move with Mindy, who wrapped her arms around Meyleh's shoulders and hugged her.

"I'm glad that we heard Elí's call for help in time," Mindy said with a sniffle.

After her friend finished interpreting, Meyleh said, "Yu ahniLEH nam sira'DNÍ n'amí...menDHI."

Elí looked quizzically at her friend for a moment, and then said, "Healer Mindy, Meyleh also wishes to visit your world."

Given what they had learned so far about the Fansq--the gentle, easily panicked, herd-like race of herbivores who were at best wary of strangers and terrified of "being caught"--this surprised both Mindy and Frer-Sha'an, and the others, too, who had overheard the conversation. It might have been an anomaly if just one person had said that, but Elí had said, "_also_wishes", implying that one or more others wanted to visit Terra.

"She would certainly be welcome to visit, as would any of your people," Mindy said with a smile.

Elí and Meyleh conferred briefly in hushed tones, and then Elí asked, "Is it permissible for us to leave your company for a short while?"

"Of course, Elí," Sha'an sent with a slight nod.

Elí smiled, said something quietly to Meyleh, and then they held their hands up palms outward, bowed their heads respectfully, and then disappeared into the crowd.

* * * * *

For the next five planetary days that both crews were on Irenda, there were many discussions among the populace concerning their strange visitors. There were those who were wary of what their true intentions might be, though as the stories told by the surviving learners spread, the doubters began to be pushed aside to the fringes. No one had ever offered to help the Fansq to find a permanent world where they could live and be reasonably safe, plus have their own voices heard with equal measure along with many others. The young adults of Elí's generation, particularly those pursuing an extended education, picked up the song of hope for a future where they would not have to run and hide anymore.

* * * * *

Music, and singing in particular, were important in Fansq culture along with art in general, which the crews discovered as they learned more about their hosts.

Shauna and Ksen-Mir'ta, her equivalent on the_Se'nika_, became curious about the enclosed cities that all of the Fansq lived in, for there were no individual homes to be found outside of them. The planet of Irenda was not barren--it had ample plant and simple animal life in and around its seas, lakes, and waterways, though there were areas of vast rocky deserts and mountains. The star which the planet orbited was whiter than one would normally expect to find a habitable planet. Elí explained that her people generally only went outside during the evening and early morning--if they absolutely had to go out during the daylight hours in the full sunlight, they protected themselves with long clothing and eyewear that would block the intense light. The cities, on the other hand, were climate controlled with dimmer, more yellowish light, lush gardens, and fountains that mimicked babbling brooks.

"It's like living inside a habitat dome," Shauna quipped.

"It does give one that impression," Ksen-Mir'ta agreed. "At least their light levels are tolerable."

Elsewhere inside the city that was named_Fansq'enaí H'ensna_, Thavi, Carmen, and Yris-Nir'an were being shown around by Adehleh N'geniv, one of the learners in Elí's group. Adehleh knew a lot about the different plants within the city and how certain ones had influenced the architectural designs of nearly everything they saw. Being a structural engineer, Thavi was quite impressed with the organic forms of the structures--she was even more impressed with the materials used and their age, according to the readings her hand scanner was discretely gathering. When an opportunity presented itself, Thavi got Carmen's attention and showed her the data.

"Hey Carmen, check this out..." she said quietly.

Taking the hand scanner from Thavi, Carmen sneaked a look at the display--her jaw dropped.

"Nah...can't be..."

"Is so! Thavi checked calibration before leaving ship."

Carmen scratched an ear in thought for a few seconds.

"But...this says this whole place was made..."

Thavi nodded her head.

Yris-Nir'an picked up on the stunned excitement of her companions and sent, "Is there something amiss?"

"Yeah...well, maybe. Check out the readings on Thavi's hand scanner..." Carmen sent back.

Nir'an raised an eyebrow when she glanced quickly through the scanner's data.

"This is...most curious. Save this--we will discuss this further after our tour is over. I suggest you keep scanning--discretely, of course. This raises some interesting questions."

Thavi nodded her head just enough to show that she understood, and clipped the scanner to her belt.

Before they had left their ships to be shown around, Moira and Shen-Lir'an had updated everyone's translator devices to include the Fansq language, which was less time consuming than having to give a number of Fansq volunteers Terran Standard English via Mûr Tua'ansa telepathy. The Fansq language used some low frequency vocalizations that no one of either crew could make, let alone hear properly.

Miss Ja'f'darwe, James, and Rhuw-Rha'an, arranged a meeting with a representative of the Fansq government, Enlena N'yiva, after receiving a message from Ambassador Ja'f'darwe Nael'saroon concerning the question of a possible permanent home for the Fansq.

"Given our history, surely you can see why we have difficulty understanding why your people would do this," Enlena said cautiously, using the translator device.

"We can understand the reluctance the Fansq have towards trusting those of different races from what we have learned," Miss Ja'f'darwe acknowledged. "If the distance was not such a factor, I would suggest sending representatives to see for themselves what we have to offer. However, given the distance, we are willing to provide you with the means to communicate securely with our own government--you may discuss the offer to your content, exchange news that might be of interest, cultural information, or anything else that may be appropriate."

"And you will not bother us if we wished to be left alone?" Enlena asked.

"If that is what your people wish, then we will, of course, not trouble you," Miss Ja'f'darwe replied.

Enlena leaned back in her chair and considered what had been discussed during the meeting.

"Returning our people to us as you did, that...has not gone unnoticed by our citizens, or our leaders. The learners, particularly, are taking every opportunity to openly discuss their story and their impressions--this is causing quite a stir among their elders." Enlena looked at each of her visitors. "I will advise my superiors."

"We thank you for taking the time to meet with us and hear us," Miss Ja'f'darwe said respectfully, standing and then bowing. James and Rhuw-Rha'an followed Miss Ja'f'darwe's example and the three of them withdrew from the room.

"So, what do you think?" James asked quietly after they had left the building.

"She was genuinely impressed--and understandably concerned. It is sad that these people have endured such at the hands of so many others," Miss Ja'f'darwe replied.

"Indeed so. We have been, perhaps, the only strangers in their living history to have shown them kindness and respect. They are a pleasant people, and quite artistic, though very sensitive. It would be a loss to all if they were to simply cease to be," Rha'an added.

James looked up at Rha'an and asked, "The house would be missing something, wouldn't it?"

Rha'an cocked her head slightly to one side for a moment and then smiled, remembering another conversation she had had with him months earlier.

"It would."

* * * * *

"You cannot dissuade me--I am coming with you!"

Elí looked at Meyleh with resignation for she knew her friend was stubborn once she made up her mind to do something.

"It will not be easy..."

"But we cannot continue as we have, and you_know_ why!"

Elí slowly let out her breath through her neck slits. She understood Meyleh's argument--it has been discussed in private by a growing number of the older learners when none of the teachers, or especially the Elders, were around. It had been the nature of the Fansq to run and hide whenever they felt threatened, but there had always been a few among them who dared to think perhaps they should learn how to resist. Why make a home for themselves somewhere just to run away again whenever anything or anyone appeared to threaten them? After all, eventually they could run out of places to hide, and then what? Others would counter with the argument that if they stood their ground, they would all be slaughtered--it_had_ happened before in the past when some stayed behind. The latest incident, however, brought up new items to consider. However oddly they did it, these new strangers from far away showed genuine care and respect--and they were strong, too, though they were willing to leave the people in peace, asking for nothing in return for providing their help. If these strangers who were wildly different in appearances, yet all acted together as equals, could be kind to those they did not know out of respect for life, might there not be others among the stars that would hold similar values? There was one way to find out, and both Elí and Meyleh were willing to risk everything to learn if it were so.

"What is the worse they would do to us?" Meyleh asked.

"You have seen what they can do..." Elí started to say.

"And they could have slaughtered the Pliq without hesitation, but they showed restraint," Meyleh countered.

"They left the Pliq stranded..."

"They left them with one vessel to escape with, and a firm warning that they would not tolerate such terrible behavior. I am quite certain that they could have easily destroyed the Pliq where they were, but they told the Pliq to leave us alone. The new strangers came as if they were the Guardians in our legends. They saved who they could of us..." Meyleh said, lightly touching her jaw at the place where the healer mended it.

Elí could not argue with that. Despite their physical differences, she saw the tender sadness in their faces when the bodies were being made ready for transport. The tears of the furry healer spoke more than any words to Elí and the surviving learners.

"Then we will go together. Whatever happens..."

"I know..." Meyleh said quietly.

* * * * *

Keeping their promise, James had Shauna and Sylvia construct a subspace transceiver from spare parts and gave it to the Fansq technicians, overseeing its connection, and providing technical information on its use, maintenance, and repair, along with specifications for parts should they ever needed to fabricate them. In addition to the transceiver, Ksen-Mir'ta provided the Fansq government with additional communications equipment that would be capable of contacting both the_Se'nika_ and Nightwing using the more advanced Mûr Tua'ansa technology.

The last evening the crews were on Irenda, the government representative they had met with before, Enlena N'yiva, offered a parting gift of food and other items as a way of showing thanks by the Fansq people for rescuing the surviving learners from the terrible fate the Pliq would surely had subjected them to. Since_Nightwing_ had more available cargo space, James accepted on behalf of both crews. Sonya took the forward boarding lift up into the ship and headed to the MT room so that she could transport the cargo containers into one of the holds. Just as they materialized, an indicator beeped on the control panel.

Sonya looked quizzically at it and thought aloud, "What the frak is_that_going off for?"

She was just about to check the contents when another, much more urgent, alarm sounded. Sonya promptly forgot about the indicator as she ran to Fire Control.

"James, I detect multiple vessels approaching--they match the configuration and power signatures of the Pliq raiding vessels we encountered before," Moira said via her android avatar.

James' face immediately became serious.

"How many?"

Moira's android avatar cocked her head slightly and after a pause of only a second or two, she said, "I count a total of six approaching in two groups of three."

Enlena's face paled after the translation device rendered Moira's words into the Fansq language.

"That is the way they come to attack us! Quickly, we must hide!"

"Not if we can help it, Ms. N'yiva--those bastards are about to get their butts kicked.Hard." James spoke into his comm set, "All hands, this is the captain--we have incoming. Six raiders approaching in attack formation. Prepare for immediate lift--battle stations!"

Rhuw-Rha'an similarly sent the alert to her crew.

"My own, attention! Madam Moira has detected six raider vessels inbound to attack the Fansq--we lift immediately to intercept. Combat stations, all!"

Rha'an delayed briefly while her crew promptly teleported themselves back to their ship.

Placing her hands on Enlena's shoulders, she sent openly, "We will protect our friends." To James she sent, "Once more into the fire."

"Let's go kick some tail," James said with a feral grin that made Rha'an grin in return. To Enlena he said, "Sorry to cut this short. Apparently, those eejits didn't take the hint--we'll make sure they do this time. Take care." James gave Enlena a quick friendly hug, which surprised her, and then he turned and ran to his ship.

Enlena and the other Fansq who were gathered about quickly retreated as the two ships powered up for immediate lift. In a very short amount of time, both ships were airborne and heading skyward at full thrust. Enlena watched as they quickly sped away, hearing the booms as the passed from subsonic through hypersonic, and then escape velocity, heading upwards as streaks of fiery light to do battle among the stars. They stood there, looking up, wondering in which direction the two ships headed once they hit space--it wasn't long before they saw flashes of light in rapid succession.

"They fight for us..." one person said.

"But they are outnumbered..." another said.

"They must be very brave..." said another.

"...Or foolish," another countered.

"I cannot believe they would do this for us."

There were several murmurs of agreement among the group.

Enlena thought for a moment and said, "It is as in the old legends...The Guardians of Light have returned."

The group of Fansq all became quiet, and then one began singing the song of the legend--and they wept in awe.

* * * * *

"Syl, open a channel and tie in that translation matrix the Fansq gave us--I want to see if these bloody eejits have any more sense than their friends," James ordered.

"Aye, sir...channel open."

"Pliq vessels, turn around and leave this system. You are not welcomed here. Failure to comply_will_ result in your vessels being destroyed. Leave.Now."

James waited several seconds and then looked back at Sylvia.

"They received it, sir."

"Well, let's hope it made sense to them," James said.

"If they have any sense..." Tanya muttered.

"I'm detecting active sensor sweeps," Zach announced, looking at his screens. "Even without our stealth field active, I doubt they can see us."

"What about the Se'nika?" James asked.

"She has a low enough cross section that would likely make her hard to see at long range, given their technology level," Zach replied.

"How close are they now?" James asked.

"Seventy million kilometers and closing. They're heading straight for Irenda."

"That's not going to happen," James said with grim determination. He repeated his warning one more time--still no response. "Syl, contact the_Se'nika_, tell them that we're going to fire a warning shot to see if those eejits take the hint."

"Aye, sir," Sylvia acknowledged.

While she was doing that, James called down to Fire Control.

/* "Redhill here, sir." */

"Sonya, get their attention--they don't seem to be very quick on the uptake. Get it close enough to rattle their cage, but not enough to do any major damage."

/* "Got it, sir...a little egg on the windshield, sunny-side up." */

Tanya snickered when she heard Sonya's response.

"She is one crazy kot, da?"

James glanced over at Tanya and smiled.

"You got that right, luv...but she_does_ kinda grow on ya after a while."

"One crazy person in family is enough, moya lyubov."

"I'll tell Lil you said that," James said with a snicker.

Tanya was just about to fire off a snarky comment when a streak of light headed towards the direction of the Pliq raider ships.

"Hold that thought, luv...show time."

The torpedo headed straight towards the lead formation, and then detonated close enough to cause the three ships to shake violently from the shockwave.

"Pliq vessels--you will not be warned again. Turn around and leave this system. You are not welcomed here. If you are caught entering this system again, you will be destroyed without warning. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" James demanded.

The Pliq responded by opening fire in the direction the torpedo came from.

"Bloody eejits...!" James said through gritted teeth as he took evasive action. "Rha'an, I don't think these guys want to play nice," he sent to the commander of the_Se'nika_.

"Then let us make quick work of it," she sent back.

"We'll take the first three, you get the others," James sent.

"Tres-Sal'an will undoubtedly thank you for the opportunity," Rha'an sent back with a bit of humor.

"I look forward to it..." James replied.

Bringing his full attention to the task at hand, James accelerated ahead, lined up on the closest Pliq ship, and opened fire with the pulsar canons at close range. It was a good solid hit and the raider disappeared in a plasma fireball. Flying through it, James made a hard-left turn to come around on the next Pliq vessel. Coming from behind and slightly below, James fired another devastating volley at close range, which did not give the raider time to take any evasive action. Streaking by the third of the first three Pliq vessels, Sonya and Ivor strafed it with the dorsal and ventral emitters. When it went up in a fireball, Sonya let out a whoop and pumped her fist.

"Eat plasma, assholes!" she shouted gleefully.

Thir-Bre'an dove the Se'nika down on the closest of the second formation, and then Tres-Sal'an opened fire with the forward disruptors. The weapons' energies tore into the Pliq vessel, violently ripping the atoms of the ship apart along with all within it. One of the remaining two Pliq vessels managed to fire off a shot at the_Se'nika_, but the relatively simple particle beam weapon had no effect on her greatly advanced shields. Tres-Sal'an responded with the disruptors, directing them along the aft section of the vessel. It's engine core promptly detonated, taking the rest of the vessel with it. The last remaining ship sent out a signal, which Shen-Lir'an intercepted and put through the translator.

"Madam Commander, they are signaling that they are under attack, with five of their ships already destroyed with no survivors before the last could get but one shot off. They are saying...'the prey have invincible protectors--one stabs in the dark and the other burns in the light'. They are afraid."

"And well they should be, after what their kind has done to the poor Fansq." Rha'an thought for a moment, studying the Pliq vessel that was trying to evade the_Se'nika_, but was no match for her speed and maneuverability. She reached out to James and sent,"James, tell them to abandon their ship or they will be destroyed with it."

"What are you thinking, Rha'an?"

"If they will abandon their ship, we will let them live, but we will destroy their vessel. In return, we will take them back to their space where they may be picked up by their own kind, but they must deliver a warning to leave the Fansq alone--if they do not, then they will all be destroyed."

"I take it that you plan on playing some mind games with them?"

"We can convince them to believe what we want them to believe, if that is what you mean."

"Rha'an, remind me to not play poker with you," James sent with a bit of humor.

"You would lose, my friend," Rha'an sent back.

"Hey, whatever happened to 'we don't walk where we're not invited'? I thought you weren't supposed to screw with someone's mind?"

"Your people have an appropriate saying, I believe--'all is fair in love and war', is that not so?"

"Rha'an...I'd say 'bite me', but you probably would!"

She smiled and sent coyly, "I may consider that one day, James."

James rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly, for he knew what it would mean in Mûr Tua'ansa culture.

The captain of the remaining Pliq vessel made the mistake of turning and charging at the_Se'nika_, firing all of his available weapons. James was able to turn_Nightwing_in time to slice the engineering section from the vessel using the forward beam canons, and then tow the forward section away so that the_Se'nika_ could destroy the engineering section. Without the main reactor, the weapons mounted on the forward section were useless, and no longer posed any threat. Rha'an's people convinced the surviving Pliq crewmembers that the only reason why they were spared was to deliver a message--leave the Fansq alone or be destroyed. After wresting the location of their space from the minds of the Pliq,Nightwing and Se'nika struck off to deliver the captives and the message, and then return to pick up the trail of The Heart.

Once they were underway for Pliq space, James happened to remember something.

"Hey, Zach...is our 'friend' still out there?"

"Give me a sec..."

Zach turned to his instruments and searched for the strange alien wolf ship that had been quietly following them at extreme sensor range.

"Still there," he announced.

"Hmm. Hey, just curious--are we still picking up that tracker Syl put on that one ship we left back were we found Elí's group?"

Zach raised an eyebrow and started scanning for it. Sylvia and Tanya were interested in knowing, too.

"Um...nope, I'm not getting a thing on it." Looking up from his display he added, "It's not there."

"Can you pick up anything from that world from here?" James asked, growing more concerned.

"Checking..."

Zach studied his instrumentation, touching controls, and running a computer analysis on what he could detect.

"Jeezers..." he said quietly, getting everyone's attention.

"What is it?" James asked, wondering if he wanted to hear the answer.

"There was a huge energy spike after we left, just like..." Zach looked up with a shocked look on his face, "...like what hit that rift before we got yanked out here."

"Frak..." Sylvia said quietly, pulling her ears back. James switched the main holo-display to aft view, and zoomed in at maximum magnification on their companion, with it circled in red. It was barely visible, and there seemed to be an odd up and down oscillating movement to it as it followed them, but then they all thought of the same thing at the same time--it was_running_.

* * * * *

Once things calmed down on the ship, the handling bots began working on organizing the recent onloads. Since some of the containers contained fresh foods items, they would have to be put in the refrigerated stores after decontamination. Moira, of course, "oversaw" the procedure by watching through both the bots and the overhead cameras. When one of the larger containers began to be moved, the handling bot's sensors indicated something as not right. Moira alerted Sonya who finally remembered the indicator on the MT had come on after transporting the containers aboard. Grabbing McElroy, the two headed off to meet Moira's android avatar in the cargo hold.

"Are ya absolutely sure, Moira?" Sonya asked.

With a totally straight face and a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice, Moira said, "Yes. Protocol dictated that I have ship's security personnel at hand--that would be you. And Ivor."

Sonya looked blankly at Moira for a moment.

"Oh...yeah, well...okay, farm boy, let's pop this thing open and see what jumps out."

Ivor gave a quiet little snort and pulled his stunner. Using his other hand, he helped Sonya and Moira undo the latches. Moira lifted the top off and set it aside while Ivor pointed his weapon inside the container. Something moved underneath the packaging.

"Come on out, and don't make any sudden moves or you'll be stunned," Sonya ordered.

Slowly, a hand worked its way out, then another...and then two more.

"Aw, shit!" Sonya exclaimed as the two apprehensive individuals began to emerge.

Ivor shook his head and muttered something in his native Scots Gaelic.

"I'll call James," Moira said.

"You're yanking my chain..."

/* "I'm quite serious, James." */

Tanya, Zach, and Sylvia, all stared incredulously at James.

Slapping the palm of his hand to his forehead and then slowly shaking it, James muttered, "Bloody hell. Of all the_boneheaded_ things to do...and on me own ship..."

It was one of those moments where James' Irish ancestry decided to assert itself...and if anyone had been able to compare the two, he sounded at that moment suspiciously like his twentieth great grandfather whose memories he carried.

"Where are they now?"

/* "Mindy is attending to them in Sickbay." */

"Are they okay?" James asked, becoming suddenly worried.

/* "Mindy said they have stage one hypothermia and she is giving them some hot tea and extra oxygen, though otherwise they appear to be well." */

"Understood. I'll be down there shortly." Letting out a sigh and drumming his fingers on the console for a few seconds, James looked over to his mate and said, "Tanya, you've got the con--I have to go deal with this."

"Don't be too hard on them, da?" Tanya said, gently putting a hand on his arm.

"My hair is going to look like uncle Kenny's by the time we get home, I swear...if I still_have_ any left by then."

Tanya smiled and gave his arm a little squeeze.

* * * * *

"Give us a few minutes," James said to the others in the room as he stood before the two stowaways.

Sonya and Ivor stepped out into the passageway and stood on either side of the doors, while Mindy, Moira's avatar, and Læree'ahn went into Mindy's office. When they were alone, Elí and Meyleh stood with arms to their sides and heads bowed low, still with the warming blankets about them. James had thought of several things to say to the two stowaways on his way to Sickbay, though when he stood before the two young Fansq women and saw the look on their faces, he couldn't bring himself to rant at them. Instead, he asked softly, "Elí...why?" He gently lifted her chin with a finger so that she had to look him in the eye to answer.

Elí and Meyleh both were clearly nervous--neither of them had ever done anything like this before in their life. Not even remotely.

"Y-You...caught me..." she struggled to say.

Part of James wanted to say, "Yeah, what did you expect, sneaking aboard a military starship?" but then he remembered some things she had said when they had rescued her.

"Do you mean when we got you out of that small vessel you were trying to escape in?"

She nodded her head, which she had learned to do from watching the others over the past several days.

"Elí, we have been over this before--you are_not_ our captive. You called for help and we came. You have been, and still are, a free person."

"But...you have caught me...I must come with you."

"Elí...you do understand the concept that you're a free person, do you not?"

"Yes."

"So, why do you keep insisting the we caught you?"

"You caught me."

"I don't understand," James said, feeling rather perplexed by her insistence.

"You are...leader of this...how do you say...?"

"The crew of this ship?"

"I...do not know your word for 'lenilí'."

"Describe it to me," James prodded gently.

Elí struggled to put the concept into Terran words.

"You are...strong leader, you attracted these others to you because...they want to be with you. You are a wise Elder, people come to you, you look out for their...needs. You are stronger than any Elder of my people...you have caught me. I come with you now."

James wasn't quite sure what she was saying, but it was starting to sink in. At first, he hoped it wasn't because of some strange alien mating desire, but then another, and likely more probable, reason came to mind as he thought about the observations they made of how the Fansq lived. He remembered when Shauna blurted out in exasperation during their discussion one evening, "Jeez, it's as plain as the nose on your face--they act like herd animals!" Leave it to a Clydesdale to have noticed what everyone else had missed.

"So, you're saying that...you feel_drawn_ to put your lot in with the rest of my crew?"

Elí nodded her head again.

"This is a military ship, Elí, and...you...have no concept of what a military is, do you?"

Elí looked at him in much the same way as one of the wolf cubs back home would, expecting to receive some token of favor from a higher-ranking individual.

"We really should take you two back home--your families will be worried about you."

Elí's face became distraught.

"If...if we are pushed out...no one would accept us. Do you...not..."

James could sense where this was going. If they took the two young women back home, then their society would see that as them being rejected and not worthy of inclusion.

"We...left explanations why we chose..."

"And why did you choose?" James asked gently.

Elí explained as best as she could about how some among the Fansq, particularly those of her generation, had been questioning the reason why they should always run away and hide instead of keeping what they had worked so hard at. They wanted a place they could truly call their own and not have to worry about anyone trying to take it away from them, or to take them away from it. She also explained that their people were fearful of everyone they had met long their journey to a permanent home because of how they had been treated, and there was a growing despair that they were running out of places to hide.

"And then we came along and showed you a different way," James stated.

"We are...distrustful, because everyone before has hurt us. We_want_to believe you, to trust you--you have shown us you care, you have offered us a world where we can be safe and happy and be among others who will respect us. You came and drove away others who hurt--our oldest legends speak of Guardians who protect good people. You came and protected us, respected us and our ways, you wish to learn for no reason other than the joy of learning. We want to learn, too! Meyleh and I...we want to learn about you, your people. Our leaders...they will talk, but we want to see for ourselves, to_prove_ there is a place for us, to_prove_ there are other good people! Please, do not push us out!"

James could sense the passion in Elí to find something better than just maintaining the status quo. Elí saw her people being slowly ground down, and took this unthinkable chance to find out if there was any way all that she valued could be saved. Her friend, Meyleh, had come along so that Elí wouldn't be alone...and also because of the strangers that had come and saved her. Everything he knew said that he should return the two civilians to their home--that would be the_correct_thing to do, according to the regs. But the _right_thing...

James hugged Elí and then Meyleh.

"You can stay..."

They were relieved and excited.

Holding a hand up, he added, "...But there will be certain rules you_must_follow without question, and there are some places on this ship that will be strictly off limits--those are mostly for safety reasons. I'll have Moira provide you with a list of what can and cannot do. This is a relatively small ship, and things can get rather boring--at other times you may be scared out of your wits. My crew has been carefully selected and trained to be on this type of ship and far away from home for long periods of time--you haven't been, so it might be hard on you after a while. We'll try to take good care of you, though, providing food and medicines for you..."

"We brought seeds!" Elí said happily.

"Seeds."

"Yes, of the plants we eat. We are very good with plants--you will see!"

"Okay, those will take time to grow, once we can get something set up to grow them in. What are you going to do in the meantime? You have to eat_something_, and you'll need personal items, clothing..."

"We will...how do you say...get by?"

"Okay, we'll see how it goes. I'll have Petty Officer Canberra assign you quarters..."

When James saw the confused look on Elí's face he added, "...that's where you will sleep and keep your things at."

"Ah."

"Another thing we will need to do is to have one of our Mûr Tua'ansa friends teach Meyleh our language like Frer-Sha'an did you," James said.

"To do something in her head?"

"Just to give her our language, nothing more. It'll be a lot quicker and easier than learning it the old-fashioned way. Just trust me on that."

James reached into the shoulder pocket on his left arm and pulled out his comm set.

"Captain to Canberra."

/* "Canberra here, sir." */

"You're needed in Sickbay...and bring a PAD with you."

/* "Aye, aye, sir. Anything else, ey?" */

"Just get in here."

/* "Aye, sir, on my way." */

When Felix walked into Sickbay, he stopped dead in his tracks in shock the instant he saw Elí and Meyleh.

"Ah, Petty Officer Canberra, I need you to assign quarters for these two ladies--it looks like they'll be with us for a while. They'll need appropriate clothing and personal items, and they brought seeds of whatever plants they eat, so you'll have to get with Miss Eriksson to make a hydroponics system somewhere, and you'll have to set them up with limited access to the ship's library database. The XO will get with you later to assign something useful for them to do. Got all that?"

"Uh...yes, sir...I'll get right on it, ey," Felix replied, quickly coming out of his shock and creating a checklist on his PAD.

"Get them quarters first--Chief Sorrel will contact you when she releases them, and then work on the rest," James instructed.

"Aye, aye, sir."

Felix hurried off to carry out his unexpected assignment.

"Chief?" James called out loud enough for Mindy to hear him.

"Yes, sir?" she inquired, walking out of her office.

In a quieter voice, James said, "Looks like you're going to be busy with these two for a while. When you've finished getting them entered into the medical system, page Canberra--I've tasked him with getting quarters and such for them."

"Understood, sir."

Mindy gave James a questioning look, and he added, "When Canberra is getting them settled in, come up to the bridge."

"Yes, sir."

James gave a slightly strained smile and sent, "This mission just keeps getting weirder as we go along. I just graduated from captain to herd leader."

"Should I write you out a script for some TLC?" Mindy sent back with a wry smile.

"I might be getting a case of 'mouseitis'..."

"Too bad we don't have a hot tub onboard."

"At the rate things are going, I may have to talk Shauna into making one."

James gave Mindy a mental kiss and then headed back to the bridge, dismissing Sonya and Ivor, who were still standing in the passageway on either side of the doors.

* * * * *

When Mindy entered the bridge, the senior members of the crew, the head of the science team, and Miss Ja'f'darwe were present.

"Now that Chief Sorrel is here, I'll fill everybody in on our latest situation. I'm sure everybody has probably heard about our two stowaways by now..." James began. He continued with what Elí had told him when he questioned her in Sickbay, and that he had decided that--given what they've learned about the Fansq so far--the right thing to do was to allow them to remain aboard for the duration. "We'll just have to treat them as if they're part of us...with certain stipulations. I've instructed Moira to provide them with a list of where they can and cannot go on the ship, and what they can and cannot do. They have restricted access to the ship's library database, which Moira will be keeping tabs on what they do access. If they try to get into anything they don't need to be in, Moira will make sure they can't--and then alert us to the attempt. First chance we get, I'll ask one of our friends over on the_Se'nika_ to "teach" Meyleh our language so she can understand us without an interpreter or a translator. Canberra is getting the ladies situated with berthing assignments, personal items, clothing, and so forth. Phil, perhaps your team might be interested in teaching a couple of students--and get a feel for what they know in the process."

"I'll bring that up with them. We've got two professors, an engineer, a chemist, a physicist, a linguist, and a sensor tech, so between us we should be able to cover some science, mathematics, and language, at least," Cdr. Williamson said.

"One other thing--we all know how to fight to some degree or another, but Elí and Meyleh absolutely do not. It may be a biological or cultural thing, I can't say for sure, but we need to see if they can learn how to defend themselves if they have to. I'd hate to have to tell someone's family back home that their loved one on my ship got hurt or killed because somebody either did nothing or ran away to hide."

"Maybe we can get them to join in during PT[2]. If they're that concerned about not being excluded, then we can use that to get them to learn at least some basic self-defense moves, and maybe work up to where they can use a weapon," Sylvia suggested.

"That's worth a try," James agreed. "Anybody have something else they'd like to add?"

"If I may, Captain?" Miss Ja'f'darwe asked. With a nod by James, she said, "Whether we wanted it to be or not, this has progressed from a First Contact situation to one of cultural exchange. Elí and Meyleh will be learning about us as much as we'll be learning about them. Assuming that at some point they will want to go home to at least visit their family and friends, they will undoubtedly tell what they have learned about us. Their relations with other species have been abysmal at best, for at least the better part of their history. As I see it, we have this chance to prove that we're worth their trust, and that there is something worth continuing the struggle for. The young adult generation of many species are often the ones that spur changes within their society, and if things are as Elí said, then this could be their chance."

James had to admit that Miss Ja'f'darwe brought up a good point that needed to be considered.

"This isn't what we expected to be doing when we started looking for The Heart, but...it seems this is something we're going to have to do along with trying to_find_ The Heart," James mused aloud.

"And we still have our mysterious 'friend' out there pacing us," Zach added.

"Has there been any change?" Tanya asked.

Zach turned in his seat, touched a control, looked at his instrumentation, and then turned back.

"Same as before, following at extreme sensor range, not doing anything different."

"I sure wish I knew why they're dogging us," Shauna quipped, looking over Zach's shoulder at his display.

"I don't know, though I'm sure we'll find out eventually...and probably when it won't be convenient," James said.

* * * * *

The two ships entered Pliq space--the_Se'nika_ held back while Nightwing, with her stealth field activated, pushed towards the nearest Pliq outpost. EW2 Cara Bronski jammed all attempts by the crew of the broken raider vessel from contacting others of their kind. Once they got close enough that the remains of the raider vessel could be readily reached, James ordered the towing beams disengaged, and then moved his ship away. Once the raider vessel was clear of_Nightwing_'s stealth field, it seemed to magically appear out of nowhere. Sylvia broadcasted the warning to leave the Fansq people alone or suffer dire consequences, hoping that it would be understood_and_ taken seriously. The ship stayed in the vicinity long enough to see that another Pliq vessel came to the assistance of the broken one, and then quietly slipped away. After rejoining the_Se'nika_, the two ships headed back to where they could pick up the trail of The Heart again and continue their mission.

Naoia, however, wanted to make sure the Pliq "got the message" as it were.

The First One had been discretely eavesdropping as only one of her kind could, as she had been all along. While she found the actions of the two crews towards the Pliq understandable, she wasn't about to let them get off scot-free for what they had done.

"Char'ena, dear, I think we need to put a little emphasis on that nice warning."

/* "What do you have in mind, Mistress?" */

"While subtlety would likely be lost on these fools, I don't want to be_too_heavy-handed--they won't learn anything if we simply incinerate their carcasses. We'll have to be a little more creative."

They considered the possibilities for a moment, but then Char'ena had an idea.

/* "Perhaps a game of 'fetch the outpost'?" */

Naoia laughed at the thought.

"That is a splendid idea! Give them a few shakes and then a good toss--make those fools in that ship chase after it!"

/* "I can do that, Mistress. Afterwards, shall I resume following our young friends?" */

"Absolutely, dear...and make me some tea, would you? Some of that brew A'aleen likes."

/* "Certainly, Mistress." */

The mug of hot salfarel[3] tea, sweetened with a little honey, materialized on the table before Naoia.

"Ah, thank you, dear."

/* "You're welcome, Mistress. I have diverted course to the outpost and we shall arrive momentarily. Will you wish to say anything to them first?" */

"I think I'll leave that up to you--I'm going to have a chat with Sa'leh while you're having fun."

/* "As you wish, Mistress." */

When Char'ena returned to normal space, she streaked towards the Pliq outpost in a rainbow-hued blaze of light in the shape of a huge beast the likes of which none of the Pliq had seen before. Trotting beside the vessel that had rescued their fellows from the remains of the raider, Char'ena looked down upon them and growled.

/* "This is your punishment for invading Fansq space. There will not be a next time." */

Char'ena leapt ahead and pounced on the outpost, grabbing it in her jaws. She shook the outpost like a ragdoll, and then flung it deeper into Pliq space.

/* "Want outpost? Go fetch! Don't come back!" */

And to make her point, Char'ena grabbed the Pliq vessel and threw it after the outpost. She stood and watched for a sort while, to make sure the vessel was able to catch up with the outpost. When she was satisfied, Char'ena looked to see where their young friends were, and then ran off to join them.

* * * * *

It was going to be a long haul, if the trail left by The Heart took them all the way to the nebula commonly referred to as Thor's Helmet, so the two crews, the science team, and the two young Fansq women, settled into routine shipboard life. Elí and Meyleh quickly adapted and were eager to learn--with one hitch. When it came to learning basic self-defense, it proved to be difficult for them to overcome their passive natures. They took readily to exercising--that was not a problem; striking another person was another story. Sylvia worked carefully with Elí and Meyleh during her off hours, beginning with the philosophical teachings of the martial arts she was trained in, and then progressing with basic tai-chi. The two young women seemed to enjoy the fluid, easy moves and the meditative quality of the slow pace. One evening in the ship's gym, though, they got quite a demonstration when Sylvia took on James, Zach, John, Ivor, and Felix, all at the same time--and promptly had them all on the deck in under two minutes.

"This...is what you can do with proper motivation and discipline," Sylvia said, reaching a hand out to James.

Taking Sylvia's hand, James grinned slightly and then simultaneously yanked hard and swept with his leg, pulling Sylvia down onto the mat, quickly getting an arm around her neck in a choke hold.

"And this is what you can do if you grew up with an uncle who commanded a Fleet Special Warfare unit," James told Sylvia with a sly grin. When she hit the mat with the palm of her hand, James relaxed his hold enough so that she could breathe.

"Sneaky bastard..."

"Damn straight he is--thought you would know that by now, Syl."

"I meant you."

"Heh, my momma might take exception to that remark!" James sent with a chuckle.

He licked behind Sylvia's ear before letting go, and then quickly rolled away and bounced up onto his feet.

Seeing the expression on Sylvia's face made James laugh.

"Ooo, you wanna try that again...sir?"

Ivor looked at James and said, "Ah think ye git her a bawherr riled, sur."

While James went a few more rounds with Sylvia, Elí and Meyleh looked on in shock.

"Why are they doing this?!" Meyleh asked her friend, not believing what she was seeing.

"I do not know!" Elí replied, shaken by the apparent violence.

"How bad is he getting his tail stomped?" they heard a female voice say behind them through the cheering.

When they turned around, Elí and Meyleh had to look up--way up--to see the face of the ship's engineer.

Seeing the looks on their faces made Shauna snicker.

"Lucky for him, Sylvia is holding back. There's only two people on this ship she can't give a good stompin' to--Thavi and Moira.

Elí quickly interpreted to Meyleh what Shauna said, and then asked with great concern, "Why are they hurting each other?"

Shauna laughed and replied, "Oh, they're just having_fun_! They're not actually hurting each other...much." She saw the shocked looks on their faces and added, "We're military--it's our job to fight, if we have to. We try not to,but we still have to keep our skills up on hand-to-hand combat. This is just part of our training. We all have our abilities, I guess you could say, the things we're good at."

"What...are you good at?" Elí asked nervously.

"Aside from keepin' the ship hummin' and drinkin' people under the table, she's got a mean kick...runs like crazy, too!"

The two Fansq women turned to see who spoke--it was the black and white furred female, Lilly.

"Do...do you fight, too?" Elí asked.

"Only if I hafta. I have my own way of convincin' people to leave me alone," Lilly said with a wink and a smile.

*Snort* "If Lilly ever tells you to NOT get behind her when she has her tail sticking up, you'd better be upwind from her," Shauna warned.

"Why is that?" Elí asked.

My cousin John and I--that's him up there with the white mop and bushy tail like mine--we're skunks, and we come equipped with our own 'special weapon'," Lilly said, the last in a conspiratorial tone.

"I do not understand..."

"Ask Moira sometime to show you images of how skunks defend themselves," Shauna suggested with a bit of sarcasm.

"I...will do that," Elí agreed hesitantly.

A cheer went up by those watching the match between James and Sylvia, followed by rowdy applause. Their curiosity overcoming their apprehension of violence, Elí and Meyleh moved closer to see James face down on the mat and Sylvia straddling his waist and holding his wrist at an odd angle.

"Give?" she demanded.

"I...OW! Get your knee off my elbow...and..."

"Nuh, uh--give it up!"

"Bite me, Syl!"

She looked at him with a wicked grin.

"That I can do..."

"MEDIC!!!" James yelled, half laughing and half wincing when Sylvia moved her knee.

Everybody but Elí and Meyleh laughed.

Lilly worked her way over to be near James' head.

"You can let him go now," she said quietly, flicking her tail up.

The talking and laughing came to a stop.

"Lilly, we're just..."

"Fun's fun, and you proved your point, now let him up. He's my mate," Lilly said in a very calm, low voice, giving her upright tail a slight twitch.

"Hey, cuz, don't be thinking what I think you're thinking..." John cautioned.

Everyone began edging back.

Sylvia looked at Lilly and started to say something, but decided against it. She let go of James' wrist and lifted her knee off of his elbow. Sylvia stood up slowly, keeping her eyes on Lilly, and then helped James up. Once he was on his feet, James and Sylvia faced each other, bowed, and then shook hands.

"Good match, Syl. Kicked my ass...again, but I got at least one over on you this time," James said with a slight smile.

"I'll remember that the next time," Sylvia said with a "later for you" look.

"C'mon, let's get ya a hot shower and a good rubdown," Lilly prompted, giving a tug on his arm while looking coolly over her shoulder at Sylvia.

James and Lilly walked to the door to the ship's gym in silence--when the door opened, Lilly paused momentarily, pumped her fist and then...

"PSYCH!!!"

...and let the door shut behind them. It took a second or two to sink in, but then the room erupted in laughter, whistles, and howls. Sylvia stood there, staring at the door while everybody laughed and patted her on the shoulders. The insides of Sylvia's ears turned dark pink when the realization hit.

"That...ooo!"

* * * * *

Zach kept a careful track of the trail made by the passage of The Heart. From when they first encountered it to the present, it seemed to have grown slightly stronger. He, Lt. Cdr. Murrali H'alwa, and Jhan-Kri'an, all marveled at how it had affected space-time by its passage. When ST1 Carmen Li had looked at the graphic, she commented on how it reminded her of a "skid mark". Zach agreed that that was about as good of an observation as any.

"Think that will ever smooth back out again? Carmen had asked the officers.

"I think it will eventually," Murrali replied.

"Space prefers to be smooth, though like any smooth rock, depressions may be made in it. Put that rock in running water, and over time, it will become smooth again. Time is similar to water--it has currents, eddies, and moods of its own. To us it may seem to take a great deal of time for space to smooth itself back out, though to it, not so much. Indeed, it is at once as it is now, as it was, and as it will be again, though we, the poor beings that we are, may only infer its nature from our particular point of reference, at this particular juncture of place and time that we find ourselves in," Kri'an explained.

"That's getting a bit deep for me," Carmen said with a chuckle.

"The universe is stranger than we know, and perhaps simpler than we make it out to be. There is still much it can teach us about itself, and perhaps even of ourselves. We, and the universe, are part of each other. There is much space between the tiny bits that make our bodies--the same space that is all around us now, and is within and around everything else, including the stars themselves," Kri'an added.

"So, what about these 'First Ones'...if even a fraction of the stories collected about them have any truth to them, how are_they_ able to do the things told about?" Zach asked, taking a different, though related, line of thought.

"They came to our world long ago--where they have walked, something lingers still. We believe they are not part of this universe. Whether they come from some other part of the multiverse, or from some realm removed from it, we do not know--only they can answer that,_if _they may ever be inclined to do so. We know that they gave our people certain gifts, such as the ability to heal that Frer-Sha'an has, or the ability to self-levitate that Thir-Bre'an has, for example. Why they did so, we are not certain, though we endeavor to use them in the spirit we think they were given."

"Well, they sure didn't do anything us," Carmen said.

"I would not be so certain, Carmen Li. They have been to your world."

"Huh?"

"Wherever they have visited, something of them lingers. We know they had been to that location on your captain's family land. Aren-Tal'an sensed it--she is never wrong about such things. None of the Khea are."

"They've been to the glade?" Zach asked incredulously.

"Yes. We think that may be one possible explanation of how your Felix Canberra was able to see us in his vision, or how some people of your world felt the ending of the colonists on that poor world we stumbled upon. As I remember, Zhir-Chi'an was quite shaken when Felix Canberra shared his vision with us, for it was_she _who he saw most clearly,_she _was the one of us who he went to first, and_she _was the first among us to learn your language."

"I didn't know all that," Carmen said with a surprised look. "That's one heck of a coincidence!"

"Is it? We are not so sure."

* * * * *

The two ships continued making their way towards NGC-2359, a nebula called "Thor's Helmet", where the trail made by The Heart was leading them. It was still a long way off--at least another ten thousand light years. If they could not discover how Shauna's brother, Cameron, got there in a short amount of time, it would take the crews a year and nine months, non-stop at maximum speed, to reach the nebula. But ships require maintenance, and other things would likely come up that would delay them further. Knowing this, they still pressed on--they had their mandate to find The Heart and, if possible, return it.

Due to the distances involved, messages were becoming increasingly delayed when using normal subspace communications. However, since the_Se'nika_had a transceiver that worked on the principle of quantum entanglement and tied to Imperial Command, and an Imperial Communicator Ship had been working on establishing permanent communication channels between the Mûr Tua'ansa Star Empire and the Sol Federation of Worlds, the first real-time messages began to get through. This set a record for long-distance nearly instantaneous communication by a Sol Federation ship.

The Fansq government sent a message to_Nightwing_, using the subspace transceiver given to them, and announced that the Pliq had made no further depredations against their people in the past month (ship time), and they again expressed their gratitude for the help given. On the matter of Elí and Meyleh, James confirmed that they had snuck aboard his ship for the reasons the two learners had given him, and that they were being well cared for. The two young Fansq women were allotted time to send video messages to their families on a regular basis, and in one of them, they showed off the hydroponics system that was efficiently growing a variety of fruits, leafy greens, and vegetables, from the seeds they had brought with them. The crew of_Nightwing_ had to admit that Elí and Meyleh definitely had a "green thumb". Shauna reported that the plants seemed to have been helping the air quality by reducing the work of the atmosphere generation system, which Zach confirmed by conducting an experiment--the alien plants proved to be much more efficient at converting carbon dioxide into oxygen than any Terran plant. Rhuw-Rha'an was impressed enough that she allowed some of the plants to be grown on her ship. Not all were found to be edible by most members of_Nightwing_'s crew or by any of the Mûr Tua'ansa; however, they grew the plants anyway for the additional oxygen as well as for aesthetic reasons. Miss Ja'f'darwe an Læree'ahn greatly enjoyed having the plants onboard, as did the science team's chemist, Lt. Armus Slis'issa. With Zach and Mindy's help, Armus discovered compounds in the plants that had intriguing properties with potential medical applications, such as reversing the effects of ionizing radiation.

While stopping to check out an interesting binary star system, they discovered an asteroid belt, and that gave James an opportunity to teach Thir-Bre'an some interesting combat maneuvers using the shuttle,Talon-1, and provide Lt. Cha'rhu'ez and Ens. Donnelson some flight time to further hone their skills.

Life onboard military starships involves frequent drills, that is a fact of life all crews accept as standard operating procedure. There will be drills at oddball times. The first drill that Elí and Meyleh experienced was a fire drill--at 0318 hours. As soon as the alarms went off, they panicked. Hysterically. Shauna had recently given the two Fansq women training on how to don protective gear (which had to be specially modified for them, given that they breathed through a slit on either side of their neck where it met their shoulders), how to quickly determine what type of fire it was, and what to do. Since the ship's crew was specifically trained to deal with fires, they were expected to help evacuate personnel, provide basic emergency aid until more skilled help could arrive, and otherwise stay out of the way of the crew and damage control bots. The holographic projection system provided realistic flames and smoke to further add to the simulation--and the hysterics. When the drill was over, Mindy had to administer a mild sedative to Elí and Meyleh to help calm them down. Miss Ja'f'darwe and Læree'ahn used their empathic ability to further calm the two young women so that they could get back to sleep. After lunch the next day, Tanya went over the post drill analysis with the crew, and after that, Mindy called Elí and Meyleh into her office in Sickbay for a counselling session.

Over time, the two young Fansq women gradually learned to overcome their tendency to panic. The crew had no idea that, in the long run, this would have a significant impact on not only Elí and Meyleh's personal growth, but also on the shaping of Fansq culture.

* * * * *

"Ai-a, Donnelson, you're Runway's cousin, right?" Lt. Cha'rhu'ez asked, stepping up to the coffee urn in the crew's mess beside Lilly.

"Johnny?"

"Yeah, sorry--used to using his call-sign."

"He says you call him 'skunk butt'..."

"That, too...um, it's just kinda...a little joke thing between him and me, ya know?"

"Uh, huh."

Lilly finished filling two mugs and slid over to add some sugar and creamer.

"Anyway, um...I wanted to ask ya a question..."

"Does he have a mate or girlfriend?"

"Yiezwa, how did you...?"

"He's a guy, you're a gal, he's cute, and you're askin' about him...not hard to figure out."

"Oh..."

Lilly put down the spoon she was using, and turned to Lt. Cha'rhu'ez.

"As far as I know, Johnny doesn't have any girlfriends, and he definitely doesn't have a mate--if he did, his sister Jo wouldn't hesitate to blabber about it. If ya don't know by now, Johnny's a lot like his dad when it comes to doin' what he's supposed to be doin'," Lilly explained. After a moment, she added, "Ya got the hots for him or something?"

"I...was just tryin' to figure somethin' out on him,' Diwenzi replied.

"Uh, huh. If he wants ya, he won't beat around the bush about it. I wouldn't ding on him too much, though--he doesn't go for pushy types. Just sayin'. Well, I gotta get back to work--Bronski is probably getting a crook in her neck by now. Maintenance stuff."

"Oh, sure, by all means."

Diwenzi watched Lilly head out of the crew's mess, and then went about making herself a mug of hot tea.

Later, when it was near time for lights out, Diwenzi peeled out of her flight suit and crawled into her rack. She was beginning to doze off when John walked in.

"Hey, Diz."

"Hey, skunk-butt. How was it?"

"The movie wasn't bad. Watching Elí and Meyleh's reactions were more fun than the movie. They have a weird laugh."

"Yeah."

John opened his locker to get his personal kit out. On his way over to the sink he glanced over at Diwenzi and noticed she was watching while trying not to be obvious about it. After brushing his teeth, and clipping some of the fur in front of his ears, he walked back to his locker to finish getting ready to hit the sack.

"So, what did you do this evening while everyone was watching the movie?" he called out from behind his privacy curtain while peeling out of his uniform.

"Not much, just hung out in the hanger bay for a while."

"What were you doing back there? We've got our maintenance all caught up."

"Just sitting in our bird...thinkin'."

John pulled the curtain aside and looked over at Diwenzi. Already in his sleep shorts, he walked over to her rack and sat on the edge.

"What's up, Diz? I thought I'm the one who is supposed to do all the thinking..." he said with a slight grin, but then his face became more serious. "Talk to me, Diz...what's up? I've known you long enough to tell that something is eating on ya, so spill."

"Nah, I'm good...just..."

"Just what?" John prompted softly.

"Nothin'."

Diwenzi rolled over onto her other side so that her back was to John, and she pulled one of her two pillows up next to her body, hugging it.

"'Night...John."

Before he realized what he was doing, John reached over and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"'Night, Diz."

After the lights went out, Diwenzi hugged the extra pillow even tighter.

---

[1] "A Prayer" by Sylia Twolands was the inspiration for this scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjaLNvEehss

[2] PT - Physical Training.

[3] Salfarel - the fragrant flowers of a low bush that grows in the northern part of The Great Forest on Y'Nahra.