Game was 9/3/20; Alec was absent due to illness.

Ssleestak and K'tral focus on the repair work, and K'tral ensures that her notes are easily accessible and cross-referenced. She does take a break to meditate and reflect on recent events, and then she starts packing for the transfer. In their cabin, Phillip looks up to see Peel glaring at him and he admits, "I didn't plan that." Peel growls, "Then you can make it up to me. Bed. Now!" Meanwhile, Jessa returns to her office for an hour but gets restless, so she heads over to Starbase 212 to get lunch at the Klingon butcher stand.

Mel heads up to Operations and the same Bolian lieutenant simply points to the admiral's office. She hits the door chime and hears the admiral reply, "Enter." She enters T'konra's office and is immediately hit with the dry heat and the 1.4 Gs of Vulcan. The admiral's desk is covered in padds and she does not look up as she says, "Yes, captain?" Mel outlines Galan'naar's offer of a navigator and quickly relays the information he passed on to her about the ruptures in subspace. The admiral stops working to contemplate Mel's suggestion for exactly one-point-two seconds before replying, "Your opinion?" Mel admits, "As a security officer, I understand that we are under alert status and this is a potential security breach. However, as a captain, this is a resource I believe we should use. We are essentially going in blind to this region."

T'konra agrees, and informs Mel, "Starfleet Security has deployed to all of the major population centers on Earth. The power grid remains offline." Mal frowns and replies incredulously, "The grid's still down seventeen hours later?" T'konra nods and says simply, "Your request is logical. I authorize it." The admiral goes back to work, and Mel departs her office. She heads down to the Federation Diplomatic Corps and enters their suite. Her new friend Declan is working the front desk, and he looks up and greets her warmly. He informs her that almost all the paperwork is in order, and he will be transmitting it to the appropriate subcommittee within a few minutes. He adds, "They're scheduled to meet in forty-five minutes. However, due to the ongoing… situation on Earth, I'm not sure how long it will take for approval."

Mel nods in understanding and asks for Captain Galan'naar. Declan directs her to Galan'naar's temporary office and Mel heads that way. She enters the designated office and Captain Galan'naar looks up and says blandly, "I assume you're poaching my navigator?" Mel retorts, "Yes, but you offered." Galan'naar smirks briefly at admits, "This benefits me. She's so bored she threatened to dismember me." He taps a command on his vambrace and says, "Daughter, get in here." Mel raises her eyebrow, and Galan'naar asks innocently, "Did I neglect to mention that?"

A moment later a female Wabai enters the office. Mel estimates her to be in her mid-twenties, and now once she and Galan'naar are standing close to each other, she recognizes the family resemblance. The young woman still wears the black, formfitting uniform of the Wabai Unity, but her color swatch is green. Mel also notes the gold streaks in her hair as Galan'naar introduces her as Lieutenant Merek'miir. Galan'naar says, "Captain Deline has allowed your request, so there is no need to dismember me." Merek'miir turns to Mel and formally introduces herself and lists her six tours of duty. Mel listens carefully, but groans inwardly when she realizes the area of space they're going to scout is called the Rupture Zone. She doesn't know the other locations, though.

Merek'miir turns to Mel and asks, "Orders?" Mel explains the rough situation and states, "Report to Ensign Dade. He is my flight control officer, so he will be overseeing you." Merek'miir asks, "Am I expected to wear your uniform?" Mel shakes her head and replies, "Nope. You can wear your uniform without issue." Merek'miir hesitates for a split-second before looking to her father. She makes a subtle hand gesture and her father nods. She then turns and exits the office to prepare for the transfer. Mel looks curiously at Galan'naar, and he says, "I've noticed your Federation Starfleet does not salute senior officers?" Mel explains, "Not traditionally, no. Some captains insist, but it's mostly personal taste."

Galan'naar nods and admits, "That might take some getting used to. Military protocol is how my daughter and I don't kill each other." Curious, Mel asks, "Has she served a tour with you before?" Galan'naar admits, "She served her off-CZ tour with me." Mel asks, "How long is a tour?" Galan'naar explains, "A rotation is three tours, each tour lasting one year. We have several areas we designate as combat zones, mostly along the border with the Tizit Consortium, but the Rupture Zone is also designated a combat zone due to the piracy. A member of our military typically spends two tours in a CZ and one tour elsewhere. This was supposed to be her off-CZ tour, but she was placed on my spy ship at Kordikar."

Phillip and Peel are in the middle of 'business' when Elias Vaughn calls out over the comm, "Ensign Dade, report to SI." Peel lets out a terrifying growl, and Vaughn quickly adds, "In twenty minutes?" Phillip replies, "OK." They finish seventeen minutes later and then Mel hails Phillip, "Ensign, Lieutenant Merek'miir will be reporting to you shortly. She is the Wabai navigator who is familiar with the region." Phillip replies, "I'll meet her as soon as I'm free. I got called to the SI office." Mel demands, "What did you do?" Phillip replies, "Technically, nothing…" Mel snaps, "Are they putting you in a box? Or are you coming back?" Phillip hedges, "I'd like to say I'll be back." Mel grumbles, "If you don't come back, I'll look for you."

Phillip dresses quickly and disembarks from the Solstice. He crosses over to the starbase and takes a turbolift down to the SI complex deep in the bowels of Starbase 212. The turbolift noises sound sad on his behalf, and then the doors swish open to reveal double doors made of frosted glass and a male Bolian lieutenant sporting a phaser rifle. Phillip holds up his empty hands, and then the frosted doors open and female human in medical blue steps out. She instructs Phillip, "Hold out your arm, please." Phillip complies and the woman takes a sample of his blood. She swishes the blood around in the capsule, and nods when it remains liquid. She and the Bolian step aside and wave Phillip in.

Phillip enters the SI complex and a tawny female Caitian greets him and directs him to Vaughn's office. Phillip follows those directions and enters the appointed office, which he finds surprisingly small. Elias Vaughn looks up and says, "Take a seat, ensign." Phillip again complies, and then Vaughn leans forward and asks, "Anything to report, ensign?" Thinking quickly, Phillip relates the information about the attack on the Enterprise-E at Starbase 375 but is careful not to say how he got this information. He notes that Vaughn never asks either. After he finishes, Vaughn says, "I am sorry about interrupting… that."

Before Phillip can reply, the female Caitian hurries in and whispers something into Vaughn's ear as she gestures to Phillip. Vaughn nods, and the Caitian departs. Vaughn then looks at Phillip and asks, "What did you do?" Phillip looks at him blankly, and Vaughn states, "There is a determined Betazoid counselor waiting outside for you." Phillip groans, and the ghost of a smile flickers across Elias Vaughn's face. He asks Phillip gently, "Should I beam you back to the Solstice?" Phillip replies, "Yes please. Actually, make it the Varich." Bemused, Vaughn says, "You know she'll just find you there, right?" Phillip shrugs helplessly and asks, "Any chance this meeting can stretch for ninety minutes?"

Vaughn shrugs and replies, "Not unless you want a detailed briefing on the Orion Syndicate near Starbase 375 and the connections we've made with the Orions operating here?" Phillip replies, "Great!" Vaughn looks at him and realizes he is very serious, so he drawls, "OK ." He takes a few moments to gather the data and then starts presenting Phillip with a detailed breakdown of the Orion Syndicate, their localized operations, and a list of the crimes that his uncle Samuel is wanted for. Phillip listens attentively, hoping to stay as long as he can. Partway through the briefing, Vaughn receives a message, and tells Phillip, "Counselor Jasra remains outside, waiting for you."

As the tour of the Varich nears, Mel tries to send Phillip a text message, but a SI firewall bounces it back. Mel grumbles and then sends a text directly to Elias Vaughn, "Did you impound my ensign?" Vaughn texts back, "I have not impounded your ensign, that is the Capellan's job." Mel is startled at the flippancy, and texts back, "Is he being held against his will?" Vaughn replies, "Not at all. I can't get rid of him. There is an implacable predator waiting for him outside." Mel was confused for a second, and then texts, "One of my counselors?" Vaughn replies, "Yes." Mel shrugs and lets the matter lie.

Jessa enters the Concourse and heads right for Kelrok's butcher stand. The Klingon looks up and his face falls when he recognizes her. Jessa says, "Were you expecting someone else?" Kelrok replies, "No, counselor, but chaos follows you." Jessa makes a show of looking behind her before turning back and announcing, "No one is following me right now!" She then feels a tug on her pants leg and looks down to see little Kel. The Klingon toddler looks up and asks, "Where is shark-lady?" Jessa replies, "She doesn't leave the ship very often. It's hard for her to get around without water." The boy insists, "Go swimming?" Jessa does her best to explain that she can't go swimming right now. Kelrok's head hits the top of his stand and he growls, "Get out of the slop bucket."

Jessa looks over to see little M'Bara hide some entrails behind her back. Still with his head on the counter Kelrok announces, "No swimming, no eyeballs." The little girl gets a calculating gleam in her eye and says sweetly, "No eyeballs. Got it." Jessa giggles as her father growls, "No eyeballs. No entrails. No bones." Kelrok lifts his head and stares at Jessa as he gets an idea, and a sly grin crosses his face. He asks, "What meat would you like, counselor?" Thrown a little off guard, Jessa replies, "Surprise me, but I would like a few of those bone-pies for my Gorn friend." Kelrok replies, "Of course. Question for you. Your ship has waste extraction, yes?" Confused, Jessa replies, "Yes it does. Why?" Kelrok asks, "Perhaps you'd like to small slaves… I mean children… to help clean up?" Jessa snorts and replies, "Nope. We're good."

She then turns to Kel and asks, "Your sister attacked you with bones?" The little boy solemnly replies, "She put bones in my bed. It pinched my butt." Jessa tries desperately not to laugh, and tells the children, "If you promise to be good, and actually behave for your father, next time I'll bring my dog for you to play with. Both children immediately try to install loopholes, but Jessa remains firm. Kelrok packs three skewers in a container and a half dozen small bone-pies in another container. He then adds an order of complementary gagh. He holds out his padd and Jessa places her thumbprint to authorize the transaction. She takes her food and returns to the Solstice.

Her first stop is sickbay, and she finds She-Who-Swims in her office. The Arcadian slithers out of her office and Jessa holds out the package of gagh. She-Who-Swims decrees, "You may live," as she grabs the Klingon worms. Jessa adds sweetly, "Can I ask you for a favor?" Swims lifts the food and retorts, "Is this a bribe, then?" Jessa shakes her head and replies, "No, not at all. You have a little fan. Do you happen to have a holo of yourself?" Swims stares at her blankly, and Jessa explains that Kel asked for her. Swims shrugs and replies, "I suppose I can get one. Should it be in motion?" Jessa nods eagerly and replies, "Yes, please. Thank you. Kel will love it, and he'll probably hide it in his sister's closet." Swims' body language indicates confusion, and Jessa insists, "Just be flattered." The doctor shrugs and returns to her office with the gagh.

Jessa's next stop is engineering, and she walks straight up to Ssleestak. She tells him, "Thank you for the cinnamon buns," and she hands him the package of bone-pies. Ssleestak's face lights up as he enthusiastically replies, "You are most welcome!" He grabs the pies and pops one in his mouth as he continues to issue orders. His teeth crunch through the bones, and he offers a pie to any of his staff who wants one. Unsurprisingly, no one takes him up on the offer. Jessa leaves engineering snickering, and heads to Two-Forward to eat her food. She pulls out the three meat skewers and finds the first one very tangy, the second one Indian-curry-level hot, and the third one rubbed with Trill spices. She enjoys all three skewers and devours them quickly. Meanwhile, Sola gives Ssleestak and K'tral a fifteen minute warning, insisting that she will beam them directly to the observation platform for the tour. K'tral grumbles under her breath, but Ssleestak immediately plans for exactly fourteen minutes and forty-five seconds of work.

Phillip exits the SI complex at 1450 hours and stops when he finds Armina waiting for him. The Bolian eyes them both, and then casually slides back into the complex so he's not in the middle of this. Phillip mutters, "Coward," but Armina smiles and then says, "Ensign, let us walk and talk." Phillip nods miserably and follows her as she heads for the observation platform. She asks him bluntly, "So, come into any contact with bloody knives?" Phillip rocks back and demands, "Who told you that?" Armina just eyes him, and Phillip mutters, "Right," as he immediately realizes who the culprit is. Armina demands, "Whose blood was that?" Phillip retorts, "Like you don't already know?" but swiftly realizes Armina does not actually know. He mutters something about some privacy, and Armina says blandly, "You get one privacy as a treat."

Phillip groans but realizes he can't wiggle out of this one. He explains that he had a second temporal disjunction when beaming back from the 29th century. Armina frowns but remembers, "Oh, right. Ssleestak brought back that gold tunic. So, whose blood is it" Phillip hedges, "Technically, I don't know. I never got a name." Armina growls, "Best guess." Phillip replies, "The patriarch of the Atuun clan." Armina rears back in surprise and demands, "Have you told Peel?" Phillip retorts, "I'm still breathing, aren't I?"

Armina sighs and says, "Very well. It's time to go Ferengi on this. I will make you a deal, ensign. You will remain as chief flight control officer, but only if we meet for at least thirty minutes per day." Phillip protests, "That's not fair!" Armina replies, "How is that not fair?" Phillip mumbles. "Because I don't like it?" At this point they reach the observation platform as the last two crew members to arrive. As everyone sees them approach, Armina stops, turns, and embraces Phillip. She then whispers softly into his ear, "I outrank you, bitch. 1615 hours tomorrow. See you then." She releases him and walks away, her expression perfectly neutral. Jessa grins from ear to ear at the exchange, especially when Phillip gives her the stink eye.

Oblivious to the exchange, Mel mutters, "Oh good. He's here, unmolested." She raises her voice and introduces Lieutenant Merek'miir to the entire crew. She explains that the Wabai navigator will be working with Phillip to help them navigate through a potentially dangerous region in space on their patrol mission. She says nothing else, but Lieutenant Merek'miir heads over to Phillip and salutes him before saying, "I look forward to guiding you through the Rupture Zone." Phillip definitely does not like the sound of that!

Shan'taar calls for everyone's attention end leads them over to the edge of the observation platform. The entire crew looks down on the USS Varich, cradled below. Mel finds it strange to look at a Nova-class Starship that has no blemishes on the hull, while the crew notes that the Varich has a phaser turret on the dorsal hull, but this one has integrated power feeds, thus making it much more durable in a firefight. They also note the slightly smaller warp nacelles. Shan'taar leads them down to the umbilical and they board the Varich on deck four. Immediately, they hear the low, ever-present sounds of an active warp core. Although subtly different from the Solstice, the sound is still reassuring.

Shan'taar declares, "We are going for a top-down approach, so starting on deck one and working our way down." Due to the size of the group, he quickly breaks the crew down to smaller groupings and lets his security team conduct the tour, one after the other. He leads the senior officers to the bridge, and they step in to find it a very different beast then the Solstice. The paneling is darker, and instead of the open wireframe stations, these stations are protected by a burnished chrome structure, giving it a much hardier look. Flight control remains at the front of the bridge but only has one seat bolted in for it; Phillip notes it and quickly passes on a requisition to have two seats installed. Mel notes the other two obvious differences: the command pit is the original two-seater instead of three, thus putting her executive officer on her left. Mel immediately decrees, "We're swapping that!" The other big difference is the operations and tactical consoles now swing out instead of being flush against the walls. They jut out in front of the command pit, fairly close to flight control.

As the senior officers explore the new bridge, Mel hears Ensign Thal'tirian exclaim, "Uh, OK?" She looks up to find the Andorian studying the dedication plaque, so she heads over. Thal'tirian swiftly shifts out of Mel's path as Mel reads the plaque and realizes it says, "Congratulations, Mel. You finally stole the whole ship! Cidhela." Mel grumbles, "Well, they're definitely going to have to remove that after we get back." Wisely, Commander Hall decides not to say anything. Everyone notes a couple of personal touches, including two doggie beds already installed on the bridge.

Shan'taar continues the tour, and Mel checks out her new ready room. It has a different configuration than her original one, including a boomerang-shaped table and a couch built in under the windows. They move on and quickly visit a nearby transporter room; Chief Edgly announces, "You all can move on. I think I'm going to stay here for a bit." They do so, and find the security complex on deck three is identical to the one on the Solstice, as are the locations and layouts of the various laboratories on decks two, three, and four.

Sickbay on deck four is a standard layout with two biobeds, and the one emergency surgery suite to the left. The CMO's office and a small medical lab are on the right. However, what is most noticeable about sickbay is the fact that there is someone in it. When they enter, they find someone under one of the consoles softly swearing as they're trying to repair or upgrade something. Ssleestak immediately scuttles over and slides under the console to help; he finds the sole occupant to be a male human wearing gold with lieutenant's pips. The officer in question doesn't fully register the people in sickbay, and distractedly asks, "Oh good. Can you hand me the flux coupler?" He then turns his head to actually see Ssleestak and cries out, "Oh God! That's many teeth!" Ssleestak tries to smile reassuringly as he clambers out from under the panel.

The hapless lieutenant slowly slides himself out to look up to all the senior officers standing over him; he awkwardly introduces himself as Lieutenant Park and explains his trying to reconfigure sickbay for She-Who-Swims' physiology. Ssleestak immediately offers a few suggestions, but Park explains, "Thanks, but the problem is that Cidhela used to recycle the water to use as a backup coolant. It ended up coincidentally matching the precise oceanic temperature of her specific home region on Arcadia Prime." Park explains he's trying to replicate those exact specifications for She-Who-Swims. The Arcadian doctor remains expressionless, but those who know how to interpret her body language can see that she is touched by the consideration.

Shan'taar leads the tour into the secondary hull, and Mel comments about the different design aesthetic. She notes that the Varich is somehow sleeker, and Shan'taar agrees. He points out, "The Solstice was originally outfitted as a pure science vessel; we turned her into what she is now. One of the reasons the Varich kept getting delayed was every time we came back with more data, the SCE would immediately apply that to the ship." He moves the group through the rest of the tour, ending in main engineering. Ssleestak looks around to find main engineering to be smaller on this ship; there is no master systems display table, only four workstations before the steps up to the warp core. There is no chief engineer's office either, the space around the warp core is open for greater access. Ssleestak shrugs and says, "No big loss. I rarely used it anyway."

With the end of the tour, the senior officers break off to check out specific parts of the Varich or locate their temporary quarters. Thri'shayn finds Phillip and asks, "Hey boss, if Merek'miir is going to be your navigator, do you want me to return to shuttle duty or still report to the bridge?" Phillip insists, "Still report to the bridge. While three people won't fit at flight control, I still want you on hand in case of a problem and also to learn how to navigate this region." Thri'shayn agrees and muses, "Maybe we can convert one of the six rear stations to mirror navigation." They return to the bridge and decide to ask Mel if they can convert Mission Operations. They submit the request, and Mel approves; she notes to herself that her crew never uses the Mission Operations station.

Ssleestak decides to remain on board the Varich to examine the engine's, every inch of the EPS grid, and in general to touch everything. He also starts a Level-2 diagnostic to examine later; without Sola, the Varich lacks the self-awareness to truly realize when something is wrong. K'tral follows Ssleestak, taking notes, and wiping his fingerprints off every surface he touches. Meanwhile, Jessa decides to visit the New P'Jem colony while Peel eyes Phillip with open lust, clearly intending to christen the new quarters. Phillip argues that they should start moving their stuff over first, but Peel retorts, "But I like the simplistic, minimalistic look." Mel thanks Shan'taar for arranging the tour and then looks for Phillip to get the lowdown on what happened with SI. She spots Phillip and then registers Peel's body language and decide later is a better idea.

Mel walks the corridors of her temporary new ship until Lieutenant Merek'miir finds her on deck one and croaks, "Captain, there has been an error in cabin assignments." Mel jokes, "Let me guess, too small?" knowing full well that the Wabai lieutenant was assigned the VIP quarters. Missing the sarcasm, Merek'miir shakes her head and leads Mel to the VIP cabin. They enter and Merek'miir insists, "This cannot be a cabin for a soldier." Mel assures her that she understands, and admits, "I have no use for this much space either. A few of my science officers are remaining behind to conduct experiments; I can see if we can place you in one of their rooms instead?" Merek'miir shakes her head and insists, "I do not wish to disrupt anyones assignments. I shall remain in the guest… palace."

Mel points out, "Technically, you are a visiting dignitary." Merek'miir retorts, "Perhaps, but I wear clothes that don't clash." Mel smiles briefly but reminds Merek'miir, "Zug simply has a different eye structure." Merek'miir replies, "I know. Honestly, he is the first Tizit that hasn't tried to kill me. I do appreciate that, but I wish he hadn't found your replicator." Mel smiles again and points out, "He'd have found it anyway. Did you need anything else?" Merek'miir shakes her head and states, "No, captain I shall move my things over." She looks around and says, "Done." Mel grimaces, knowing that each of the Wabai only have the uniforms on their back. She returns to the Solstice to pack a few things to move over to the Varich.

Jessa beams down to New P'Jem with a bottle of cranberry juice and finds it to be early afternoon. She heads straight to the Romulan enclave and is not surprised when the centurion Hana steps out challenge her. The taller Romulan looks down on her, and then grimaces as she admits, "For once, I don't actually have anything to complain about you." Jessa jokes, "No worries. Give me five minutes." Hana says softly "I'll give you ten minutes; I'm bored." Jessa boggles at the unusual Romulan generosity before bypassing the centurion and heading right for the Jannek's house. She taps the door chime, and hears the ambassador call out, "Enter."

Jessica enters the house and greets the ambassador, who was clearly not expecting her. Before he can say anything, Ion Storm Desrai comes rocketing out of her room and slams directly into Jessa's knees. She starts babbling in her mishmash of tlhIngan Hol and Rihannsu, but with a few words in Trill thrown in. Jessa is surprised but praises her for learning and take the time to correct her pronunciation on a few things. She also teaches the little girl how to emphasize certain syllables to indicate insults and profanity. Desrai demands to know where Jen is; Jessa replies, "She is very busy and won't be able to come down this time. I'll try to get her down next time, I promise." She talks with the little girl bit, and then Desrai starts telling her a Trill bedtime story. Amused, Jessa listens to the story and snickers when she realizes Ambassador Jannek has taken the opportunity to fall asleep.

She spends a few hours with Desrai and the little girl takes her out to the market. Jessa stifles several outbursts of giggling as the little Romulan girl leads her through the market, clearly having figured out who here are suckers for small children. She collects an impressive haul of sweets from several Bajorans and humans, although she avoids the Vulcan quarter. She does head into the Klingon quarter and proudly tells stories to some of the other children. Jessa keeps her face blank as she recognizes several of these children having been rescued by the Solstice and many are from backwater colonies with little to no contact from the greater empire. She sees several adults listening to the stories, not fully convinced their actually accurate, but having no frame of reference to counter it either.

While listening to Desrai's stories, Jessa sees and waves to Gopal Patel, who greets her in the stiff formality of a teenaged boy. She asks him how he is doing, and he replies, "I thrive!" Jessa stifles another snicker as she realizes Gopal is still working out to get strong enough to challenge Phillip for Peel. He's also started hanging out with some of the older Klingon children who are helping him get stronger. Gopal moves on with his new friends, and Jessa brings Desrai back to her home after their walk and bids her goodbye.

She then heads over to the Ra'vin'ka enclave and heads to the townhouse the survivors have chosen. Tor'Mina'Ka greets her warmly as do the two other women and Rav'Mor'Vin. The monk asks, "Any news about the rest of our people?" Jessa explains the technical difficulties as best she can and realizes this is what Chief Edgly meant in his counseling session earlier. The Ra'vin'ka are clearly disappointed that no progress has been made, but Rav'Mor'Vin assures her that they understand completely Starfleet's caution.

Jessa chats with them for a little while before leaving, and Rav'Mor'Vin escorts her out. As they walk away from the town house, Rav'Mor'Vin says softly, "I need to ask you about something, away from the others. This is a distasteful subject, you understand. What can you tell me about the Holy Ra'vin'ka Imperium?" Jessa admits the only contact with the Imperium was made before her arrival, but she shares as much as she's gleaned from the rest of the crew. Rav'Mor'Vin thanks her for her time and Jessa walks out of the enclave before calling for a beam-out back to the Solstice.