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From: [e-mail] (Alan Sepinwall)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: Donovan's Enterprise: _Spare Parts_, Prologue
Date: 13 Dec 1993 21:54:00 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania, School of Arts and Sciences
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         Star Trek: Donovan's Enterprise (Beyond TNG)
                            _Spare Parts_
                            by Alan Sepinwall
(The following is copyrighted, 1993, by me, Alan Sepinwall, and may not be
resubmitted anywhere without my permission first.  But if you ask, I'll
probably say yes. :-))

CHARACTERS:
Capt. Kate  Donovan
Lt. Cmdr. John Daniels - First Officer
Dr. Steven M'Roko - Ship's Counselor
Lt. Cmdr. Sovek - Chief Engineer
Dr. Felix Runningbear - Chief Medical Officer
Lt. Gaia - Chief of Security
Lt. Mardak - Science/Operations Officer
Ensign Jen Weiss - Helm

PROLOGUE

Captain's Log: The Enterprise has arrived at station Deep Space
9 to pick up our final crew complement, including  my First
Officer and Chief of Security. Following crew  billeting, we will
be heading through the famous Bajoran  wormhole on a mission
to explore the Gamma Quadrant.  The entire crew is bristling
with excitement over the  prospect of finally doing some
exploration again. The war  with the Cardassians proved long
and costly - it's time we  started.....

        "Why do you always have to be so formal with those
things?"
        Capt. Kate Donovan swiveled in her ready room  chair to
face her inquisitive guest. "And what do you  mean by that,
Counselor?"
        Her ship's Counselor, Dr. Steven M'Roko, smiled. "It's just
that you have to do so damn many of them - one  would think
that you would try to have some fun with them to break up the
monotony."
        "Oh, one would, would one?" Kate smiled at her counselor
for a moment. If anyone else had walked in on her while she
was doing a log entry, she would have been upset. But Steve
M'Roko was a special case. "I'll have you know that Starfleet
doesn't brook deviation from the standard log format, *Dr.*"
        "'Doesn't brook deviation'? Listen to yourself, Kate! You're
turning into a bureaucrat in your old age!"
        "'Old age'? If you think I'm so old, why'd you marry me?"
        "Oh, I don't know....isn't there an old adage about sleeping
your way to the top?"
        "You're incorrigible, you know that, Steve?" With her thick
Irish brogue, the name "Steve" came out sounding like "Staive".
        "I guess so. Shall we explore the Promenade?"
        "Why not? We've got to meet Mr. Daniels at Nog's,
anyway."
        "Excuse me," said the Counselor, "did you say 'Nog's'? Since
when do you meet your new XO in a bar?"
        "Since he asked me to, luv! Care to join me?"
        "Why, Ms. Donovan, was that a proposal?"
        "Actually, Dr., I proposed to you ten years ago. Or had you
forgotten?"
        The Counselor laughed at that. He had a big booming
laugh, inherited from his father, a Bantu tribal chief. It  was one
of the things that had attracted the captain to  him in the first
place. "I can't forget that or else you'll  keelhaul me."
        "Come now, Steven! Keelhauling went out with Captain
Ahab. I'd just toss you out the airlock."

                                * * * * * *

        "Captain! Captain! I need to speak with you!" Lt. Mardak,
the Chief of Operations for the Enterprise-F, ran down the
corridor after the captain and the counselor. It was an
interesting sight - Kate had never seen a Benzite try to run
before.
        "Yes, Mr. Mardak, and what can I be doing for ye
this mornin'?"
        "Well, Captain," Mardak had to pause to catch his  breath.
Kate wasn't quite sure what to make of him yet. He was eager,
but he also seemed to posess the streak of arrogance common to
most Benzites. But he was a brilliant scientist. Frost blew off
Mardak's respirator as he resumed his question. "I wanted to
know if we would have a chance to explore the wormhole
itself...because I have been working on some fascinating
programs..."
        Kate had to cut him short. "I'm sorry, Mardak, but one of
the
agreements that we have with the...entities that occupy the
wormhole is that we only use it for transport, not study."
        "But, Captain..."
        "Mardak, say someone had to ride past your house in order
to get
wherever it is they're going. Would you want them to start
sniffing 'round your front yard?"
        Mardak knitted his brow - as much as his anatomy
allowed. "I don't understand, Captain. Front yard?"
        Steven smiled. "Don't worry, Lieutenant, the captain just
likes to lay on the Irish folkisms every once in a while to keep
us from thinking she's high and mighty."
        "I see....." Mardak didn't, but he wasn't about to question
either the captain or her husband. He walked off to wrestle with
the concept of a front yard.
        Kate had to stifle a laugh. "Think we confused him, enough,
Steve?"
        "Kate, you realize that you've just added to my workload!"
        "Oh, hush up, you blighter! You're a workaholic if ever I
saw one!"
        "Let me tell you about a workaholic I once knew, Kate. She
was a starship captain..."
        "I've heard this one before, Steve. Has a dull ending."
        "Only if she wants it to."

                                * * * * * *

        "Give me a romulan ale. Rocks."
        The Ferengi behind the bar looked up. He knew how to
make every drink in the known universe, but this was a
method of making Romulan ale that he had never heard of.
"Rocks?"
        "That means with ice."
        "Ice? You don't put ice in Romulan..." The Ferengi, Trin,
stopped himself. The customer, although human in appearance,
was big. Huge in fact. He looked like he could tear Trin apart if
he got the drink order wrong. "I'll go look for some." He couldn't
resist adding, "But it will cost extra!"
        The customer didn't blink. "Whatever." While Trin went to
ask the boss how to make ice in the replicator, Lt. Commander
John Daniels scanned the bar. He was out of uniform, as he
always was when off-duty, because he preferred not to be
noticed. His build - 6'6", 240 lbs., all muscle - made that a tricky
proposition, but he had learned over the years how to vanish in
a crowd. It was part of his "programming."
        The bar was reasonably crowded for a mid-afternoon.
There was a table of Cardassians in one corner, but everyone
stayed as far from them as possible. Daniels felt that the
dumbest part of the new treaty was the right of the Cardassians
to frequent this station and use the wormhole again. He had
only been at DS9 for two days, but already he had seen several
near-fights between the Cardassians and the Bajorans.
        "Are you John Daniels?" Daniels looked up to see Capt.
Donovan and Counsellor M'Roko standing behind him.
        "That would be me. Pull up a chair, Captain. You too, Doc."
Kate and Steven sat down, one on either side of Daniels.
        "You know us?" asked Kate.
        "Captain, a good XO familiarizes himself with the entire
crew before coming on board. I memorized all the crew profiles
this morning."
        Kate stared at him for a moment, trying to get a feel for
the man. Was he joking or not? The previous reports on Daniels
had been.... interesting, to say the least, but none really talked
about whether he had a sense of humor or not.
        Daniels caught her staring. He pointed to his head.
"Photographic memory. Comes in handy now and then."
        "Interesting choice of meeting places, Mr. Daniels," opined
Steven.
        "Call me John. It was either this, or meet you on the ship. I
figured you might like a non-syntheholic drink before we ship
out." He looked around the bar again, as if to let them know that
the place was okay, and spotted out of the corner of his eye that
a few Bajorans had gone over to the Cardassian table. Trouble
sign, thought Daniels. Better keep an eye on that.
        "Not a bad idea, John." Kate turned to Trin, who had just
returned with a glass of Romulan ale - with ice. "Barkeep, give
me a pint of Guiness!"
        "Guiness?" Trin was really not liking this customer - or his
friends.
        "Oh, nevermind. Give me a glass of Klingon fire wine. What
about you, Steve?"
        "I think one fire wine is enough for both of us."
        "Good enough. So tell me, John," said Kate, "I read in your
file that you were the first student in Academy history - other
than James Kirk - who beat the Kobayashi Maru. How'd you
manage that one, if you don't mind my asking? The reports
don't say. They're afraid some student will hack onto the
network and use your idea."
        "Time warp."
        "Excuse me?" Kate wasn't sure if she'd heard right. "Did
you say 'time warp'?"
        "Yes." He allowed himself a grin. The Kobayashi Maru test
was one of the more pleasant experiences he had had at the
Academy. He had caught a lot of flack from some of the more
close-minded cadets because of his background. "I figured out
right away that the Klingons were monitoring the transmission,
so I said I'd be there right away. Then, I had my science officer
calculate the time-warp factor so that we would be able to
travel into Klingon space, grab the Maru in a tractor, and cross
back over the Neutral Zone at the exact moment we left. The
Klingons weren't ready for us, and we got the Maru out fine."
        "How, may I ask," said Steven, "did you come up with that
idea? I don't know anyone who even remotely approached the
scenario that way."
        "Well, one of the few advantages of being what I am is that
I tend to think originally when it comes to tactical situations."
        There was an uncomfortable pause. Neither Kate nor
Steven were sure how much they should bring up of Daniels'
background. It was well-documented in their records.
        Steven decided to break the silence. "Soo, John, how's it
feel to be the First Officer of the Federation flagship?"
        "Not too bad, not too...."
        Daniels was interrupted by a scuffle at the other side of
the bar. The "discussion" between the Bajorans and the
Cardassians had come to blows. The Bajorans outnumbered the
Cardassians, but the Cardassians were bigger.
        Kate jumped out of her chair and activated the mental
trigger for her communicator implant. "Security..."
        "Wait a minute, Captain. This looks to be interesting." Kate
looked at Daniels as if he were nuts. "Besides, from what I've
seen of the station security chief, he doesn't take kindly to
Starfleet involving itself in his problems."
        "Alright, Mr. Daniels. I'll wait. But if a station security
officer doesn't show within a minute, I'm calling in the cavalry."
        "Be my guest."
        So they watched. The Bajorans were faring remarkably
well, considering that the Cardassians were military and trained
in hand-to-hand combat. It looked as if the fight was going to get out of
hand
when....
        "Gentlemen!"
        A hush fell over the bar, as all heads turned to the figure
standing in the doorway. The naked figure. It was an Orion
female, thought to be the most desirable species in the galaxy.
This one was no exception. The crowd, including the brawlers,
all stopped to stare at this gorgeous creature. Kate had to keep from
laughing.
        The Orion strode into Nog's quickly. She reached the first
two combatants, who were still frozen in their gazes at her, and
quickly applied the Vulcan nerve pinch to both, then continued
walking. The rest of the crowd saw what she had done. Several
of the Bajorans - and one of the Cardassians - charged her. She
disappeared under the swarm of bodies for a second, before,
one by one, her attackers flew away. To be more precise, they
were thrown away.
        All this had taken less than thirty seconds. There were still
a Bajoran and two Cardassians standing. As the woman
advanced towards them, the Bajoran reached into his tunic and
pulled out a Gorn disruptor - a most lethal weapon. He grabbed
the nearest Cardassian and held the disruptor to his head.
        "No one come any closer! I will kill him!"
        Kate had seen enough. She triggered the communicator
again. One of the advantages of the new implant was that one
only had to whisper to be heard by the other party. "Security to
the Promenade - Code Alpha"
        Daniels had seen enough as well. The Bajoran had a crazed
look in his eyes. Daniels was sure that he was going to try to kill
the Cardassian, regardless of whether anyone approached him.
He hopped off his bar stool, and in quick movements that belied
his size he passed the Orion woman and stood in front of the
Bajoran and his captive.
        "I said, come no closer! I *will* kill him!"
        "Why?" asked Daniels. "Why kill him?"
        "He's a Cardassian! That's reason enough!"
        "No, it's not. Vermin like him think like that. You
shouldn't." Daniels realized that he might be offending the
Cardassian, but he had to get this man's attention. Besides,
would the Cardassian rather be insulted or dead?
        "But....."
        "But what?"
        "But a damned Cardassian like him killed my wife!"
        "So you're going to kill him? He wasn't the one who killed
your wife."
        The Bajoran clearly was not in the mood for logic. His
finger started to push the fire button of the disruptor.
        The room was frozen. Then, suddenly, the disruptor was
pointed at Daniels' head instead of the Cardassian's. No one in
the bar saw Daniels' arm move to grab the Bajoran's arm and
swing it around to his head, but he had.
        The Bajoran stopped himself short of firing the weapon.
        "What are you waiting for?" challenged Daniels. His voice
was so calm that it sent a chill down Steven's spine. "You were
about to kill someone. Why not me?"
        "Because you're not Cardassian! He is!"
        "What's the difference? He didn't kill your wife. I didn't
kill your wife. You were ready to kill him, why not me?"
        "Because....because.....be...."
        He released his grip on the disruptor, and it dropped to the
floor. The Orion woman quickly picked it up. He fell, sobbing,
into Daniels' arms.
        Daniels' voice was more soothing now. "Yeah, yeah, I know
how it hurts. I know."
        "What the hell is going on here?"
        Kate turned around and saw Odo, the familiar Chief of
Security for DS9, scowling in the doorway. He wasn't pleased.
(Then again, Kate had been to the station plenty of times during
the war, and she had NEVER seen Odo looking pleased).
        The Orion woman turned to face Odo. "There was a minor
problem, sir, but I took care of it," she turned to face Daniels
and smiled, "with a little help from Goliath here."
        "Did Nog have anything to do with this?"
        "How dare you accuse me, Odo!" A middle-aged Ferengi
charged down the stairs from the holosuites. "I have no desire
to have my reputable establishment damaged by
these....hoodlums!"
        "Hoodlums, eh? I was wondering why you fit in with them
so well."
        Nog stalked off behind the bar, and Odo followed, needling
him all the way, while several of his security officers entered to
carry off the brawlers. The Orion offered her hand to Daniels.
"Lt. Gaia. Soon to be ex-head of Starfleet security at this station.
And who might you be, handsome?"
        That smile was very tempting, but Daniels couldn't allow
himself to be seduced by it. Women were off-limits for him. "Lt.
Commander John Daniels. Soon to be your ranking officer,
assuming you're the same Lt. Gaia who's transferring onto the
Enterprise as Chief of Security."
        She smiled again. "That would be me."
        The captain and the counselor had wandered over. Steven
was trying hard not to gawk in amazement, while Kate was
trying hard not to hit him.
        "Lieutenant, I'm Captain Donovan." She offered her hand.
        Gaia shook it. "Sir."
        "Tell me, Lieutenant, do you often work au naturel?"
        Gaia didn't even blush at this mention of her nudeness. "I
find that when faced with a beautiful female figure, men often
forget how to fight. Besides, it's the best way to get a crowd's
attention"
        "Well, you certainly qualify as a beautiful female figure,
Lieutenant," said Kate. She turned to Steven and Daniels. "And
don't even *think* of commenting, you two! Lieutenant, I would
appreciate it if you got dressed before reporting for duty on the
Enterprise."
        "Aye aye, sir. I have no problem with my body, but
apparently, not all species feel comfortable with it." She grinned
and strode off, carving a swath through the crowd on the
Promenade like Moses parting the Sea of Reeds.
        Gaia's departure led Steven to think back to Daniels. "John,
can I ask you something?"
        "Go ahead, Doc."
        "You could have easily taken away that Bajoran's.disruptor
when you grabbed his arm. Why didn't you?
        "Doc, if I had done that, he would have continued hating.
He would have stayed angry, and who knows what might have
happened somewhere down the road. Hopefully, I did
something to defuse that anger."
        Steven's numerous degrees in psychology told him that
Daniels was right, but he wasn't telling the whole story. "But
what if he had pushed the fire button?"
        Daniels grinned, but it wasn't a very convincing effort.
"Sometimes you've gotta take some risks in life, Doc. See the two
of you on board. Captain. Doctor." He nodded his head towards
both of them and walked off.
        Kate and Steven exchanged glances. They had been
married long enough to be able to communicate non-verbally.
Kate's gaze said, "Should I be worried about him?", while
Steven's said, "I don't know."

                                * * * * * *

        The next morning, Kate found herself on the way to
sickbay. Starfleet regulations state that all command personnel
must undergo physicals before the start of any long-term
mission. Kate didn't mind physicals all that much; plus it gave
her a chance to talk with one of her oldest friends on the ship,
CMO Dr. Felix Runningbear.
        As she walked into sickbay, she saw that one of Felix's
doctors, an Andorian named Patel, was busy examining Sovek,
her Chief Engineer. Sovek was a Vulcan, but a most atypical one;
whereas most Vulcans who worked on multi-species ships
remained relatively isolationist, he was something of a
Terrophile, studying Earth culture whenever possible. Kate had
always assumed that it was due to the large number of humans
that he worked with on board (despite rapid growth of the
Federation, a large percentage of Starfleet personnel
were human).
        Sovek noticed the captain and raised his right hand to give
the Vulcan salute. "Peace and long life, Captain."
        Kate returned the gesture. "Live long and prosper, Sovek.
How are you today?"
        "Fit as a violin, Captain."
        "Fiddle, Sovek. The phrase is 'fit as a fiddle'. You should
know that one. I'm surprised."
        "I'm sorry, Captain, but I've been working on a Dilithium
equation for the past thirty hours, and I just can't get it."
        "Sovek, there is more to life than dilithium crystals."
        "True. There are John Wayne vids."
        Kate chuckled. She had given Sovek one of her ancient
John Wayne holodeck programs as a gag for his name-day a few
years back, and Sovek had fallen in love with it - at least, as
close to love as a Vulcan can get. It had taken a month of
pleading just to get him to stop wearing a Stetson while he was
off-duty, though at times, Kate was pretty sure that he was
doing it to gauge the reaction of his fellow crewmembers.
        "Sovek, what do you need John Wayne for? You've got
yourself a fine Irish hero right here!"
        Dr. Patel unlocked the diagnostic field and Sovek sat up.
"Ah, yes, Captain, but truth doesn't always hold the same appeal
as fiction."
        "Sovek, are you sure you're a Vulcan?"
        "You have been asking me that for 5.73 years, Captain, and
the answer is still 'yes'. I find it most illogical that you continue
to...."
        "Alright, alright, I give," she proclaimed, "You're a Vulcan,
alright. Although at times I just think that you're a very good
actor with an ear job."
        Sovek stretched several times to get over the stiffness
from having been on the diagnostic bed for a while. "If you
don't believe me, you can always check the results of my
physical. Good day, Captain."
        "Good day, Sovek." As Sovek walked off, Kate felt a strong
urge to have Mardak focus the ship's sensors on Sovek; she had
this weird feeling that her engineer was sneaking a smile while
no one was looking.
        "I'll tell Felix that you are here, Captain."
        "No, I'll go tell him myself, Doctor." Kate went off into the
inner recesses of sickbay, where Felix Runningbear kept his
office. In truth, it was part doctor's office, part wigwam. Felix
was the son of a Kiowa medicine man, and his father had
bequeathed all of his cures to his son. At times, when the
Enterprise's modern medical equipment couldn't find an answer
to a patient's problem, Felix would try to find a more mystical
solution, and more often than not, it worked. Felix was in fact
only a few years Kate's senior, yet he seemed to be a thousand
years old at times.
        "Felix, you old goat, where are you?" she asked after his
office turned out to be empty.  "Felix? FELIX?"
        "You don't have to yell. I'm right behind you." And, in fact,
he was - although Kate had no idea how he'd gotten there
without her noticing.
        "Would you stop doing that, Felix? It undermines my
authority to have you sneaking up on me all the time."
        Felix ignored the request and promptly changed the
subject. Kate knew she could never win an argument with him,
because he would often refuse to acknowledge that any of it
was taking place. "So, it's time for your physical, right?"
        "Why else would I be down here, Felix?" It looked like it
was going to be one of those days with Felix. He could either be
the most charming man in the world or the most annoying. This
definitely had the makings of an annoying phase. Knowing Felix,
she thought, he's going to get me locked into the diagnostic field
and give me a two-hour lecture on hygiene.

                        * * * * * *

        "You wanted to see me, Doc?"
        "Yes, John. Come on in and have a seat."
        Daniels walked in and sat down on one of the bean bag
chairs that Steven kept in his office. They were an oddity that
he had picked up on Rigel VII - they gave off a soothing hum
whenever someone sat in them.
        "So, what's up, Doc?"
        "Just a routine counseling session. I like to have them with
all new crewmembers when they come onboard."
        "Okay, then. Shoot."
        "Well, for starters, tell me a little something about
yourself."
        "Such as?"
        "I don't know...anything. Likes, dislikes, favorite style of
cuisine, lifelong ambitions, anything. I'm just trying to get to
know you a little better."
        "Let's see....I like astronomy, I don't like to do paperwork,
my favorite food is Aldeberan Gekko, and I always wanted to
grow up to be a starship captain." He stood up. "Is that it? Can I go?"
        "Come now, John, you don't want to make a bad impression
with me on your first day! I might have to tell my wife!" He
smiled; Daniels didn't.
        "Can I go?" Daniels repeated.
        Steven dropped the friendly tone of voice that he usually
used. "John, it's my job to do a proper psychological evaluation
of you, and I'm going to do that. So sit." Daniels was tempted to
just walk out, but there was something in the look on the
counselor's face that told him to sit. He did.
        "Okay, then, Doc. What other fascinating questions do you
have to ask me?"
        "John, I know that this seems useless to you, but sessions
like these can prove extremely valuable."
        Daniels smirked. "You mean it'll tell you if I'm due to
crack."
        "Oh, and what makes you think I think you're going to
crack?"
        "Doc, let's not pussyfoot around here. Just ask me the
question."
        "And what question is that?"
        "'The same damn question I've been asked by every
shrink in the Federation since I defected: How does it feel to
have been bred as a killing machine?'"
        "Is that what you think?"
        "That's not what I think - that's what I know, Doc. The
Maltusians genetically engineered me to be the ultimate player
in their - in our - wargames. I was supposed to be the big draw
- the man who would get people watching on vids throughout
the quadrant."
        "And how does that make you feel?"
        Daniels stood up and glared at Steven. "How does it make
me feel? How does it make me feel?!? Doc, every inch of my
body is a weapon. I could break you in two in under five
seconds if I wanted to. And my mind? It's trained to kill
anything in site, in the most 'entertaining' way possible! I know
the pain centers of almost every species in the galaxy and how
to use them to the fullest." He grabbed Steven by the shoulders
and pulled him in close until they were literally face-to-face.  "I
am a living goddamn engine of death and destruction! How do
you think I'm supposed to feel?"
        Steven had been a Counsellor for nearly twenty years, but
this was the first time that he felt truly threatened by a patient.
"Easy, John. I'm not the enemy! I'm trying to help you!"
         "Doc, there's no one in the galaxy who can help me but
me." And with that, he released Steven and stormed out of the
office.
         "Well, that could have gone a lot better..." muttered
Steven.

                            * * * * * *

           Daniels sat in his quarters and tried to calm down. He
had always hated these sorts of counseling sessions, but usually
he was able to control himself a lot better.  Not only had he
blown up in front of the Ship's Counselor, but he had done it in
front of the captain's husband.
          The comm system beeped. "Daniels here."
          A 3-D holographic image of Dr. M'Roko appeared before
him. "John, I..."
          "Look, Doc, I want to apologize about what happened
before."
          "Don't worry about it, John. Nobody gets cured in one
session, you know. But can I expect to see you back in my
office?"
          "I'll try, Doc."
          "Good. Now, the other reason I called. Do you play poker?"
          "A little. Why?"
          "Well, me and some of the other officers...."

                              * * * * * *

        "So, how'd your physical go?" Kate and Steven were
enjoying a romantic dinner on the second moon of Jaglom Beta -
courtesy of the holosuite in their quarters.
        Kate bit down hard on a piece of crabmeat and chewed
longingly before answering. "Just fine. Apparently, Felix had
himself a fine old time down on Bajor. He thinks he's found a
kindred spirit. Claims they've been oppressed as long as he has
or something. So, how was your session with Commander
Daniels?"
        "Not too hot. He walked out halfway through. But I think I
made some progress. He acknowledged how he feels about his
heritage."
        "And how is that, exactly?"
        "He hates it."
        "I knew that, Steve! I've read the evaluations that every
previous commander has given him:  'extremely loyal, brave,
intelligent, hard-working officer, but emotionally troubled'. I
need to know: how troubled is he?"
        "Kate, if you thought he had problems, why would you
have chosen him as your First Officer?"
        "Because if he can keep his head on straight, he has the
potential to be the best XO I've ever had. The man is a genius,
regardless of why. But watching him deal with that Bajoran
yesterday has me wondering if he can keep his head on
straight."
        "What are you getting at, Kate?"
        "Does Daniels have a death wish?"
        "I don't know, Kate. I honestly don't know. But I think I
can get through to him. Just give me some time."
        "Alright, Steve. I trust your judgement. But I need to know
if there's trouble." The computer beeped. "Oh, damn! We're
going to be late for the game! Computer, end program." The
moon of Jaglom Beta disappeared, leaving Kate and Steven in
their regular dining room.
        "Oh, by the way, Kate, I invited Daniels to sit in. I figured
we would need someone to take over for T'Shon - in the game, that is."
        "That figures."
        "What?"
        "I was thinking the same thing, so I invited our Lieutenant
Gaia to join in. Gonna be a crowded table tonight, Stevie boy."
        "All the more credits for me to win!"
        "In your dreams, pally!"

                                * * * * * *

        "You seem agitated, Captain. Would you like a beverage of
some sort?"
        "Shut up and deal, Sovek."
        "The fact that I am winning handily does not entitle you to
insult me, sir."
        "Yeah, well the fact that I'm the captain does. So deal
already!"
        Kate had been involved in a weekly poker game on board
her first ship, the Constellation. The captain had originally
invited her to sit in for a night because one of the regular
players was sick, but she played so well that she became a
regular. She found that a relaxed atmosphere like a card game
was a perfect place for a captain to interact with her crew on an
informal level. She knew that at times she was *too* informal,
especially with the people who had served with her for a long
time, but that was her style.
        Seated at the table were Kate, Steven, Felix, Gaia, and
Sovek. Daniels had yet to show. They'd only played a few hands,
so Kate wasn't too concerned. What she *was* concerned about
was the men's response to Gaia's presence. The three of them
were trying very hard not to stare at her as they played. Kate
could understand on a mental level; Gaia was devastatingly
beautiful, and Orion women did give off pheromones (although
some did it stronger than others), but her three senior-most
officers (aside from Daniels, who hadn't shown yet) were acting
like love-struck teenagers in front of her. Even Sovek, and he
was Vulcan!
        Gaia noticed that Kate was staring, and asked, "Is there
anything wrong, Captain?"
        "In part, Lieutenant, but that's nae entirely your fault. Let
me ask, on your previous assignments, did your male
crewmates...."
        "All lust after me?"
        "Well, I was going to phrase it a wee bit more delicately,
but that's the gist of it."
        Gaia pushed aside the dark curls that kept falling in her
eyes as Sovek dealt her a card. "Captain, I cannot help what I
am, and what I am is Orion. Nature has seen fit to make me
desirable to men, and it's my opinion that there was a reason
for that. There aren't many other Orion women who choose to
be in Starfleet, and most of those that do choose to deliberately
make themselves appear unattractive. I do not. I am proud of
who and what I am."
        "Well, that's good enough for me, Gaia." Kate was beginning
to like this woman. She was forthright without seeming
obnoxious about it. Now if she could only get Steven to pick his
jaw up from off the floor......
        The door chimed.
        "Come in!" called Sovek, since it was his room that they
were using this week.
        The door opened, and Daniels walked in. "Sorry I'm late,
sir. I, uh, had some personal business to take care of."
        "No problem, Mr. Daniels. Pull up a chair. Gentlemen - and
lady - I say that since we have a new player just arrived that
we cancel all debts incurred so far this evening and start with a
clean slate."
        "Not a chance, Kate," said Felix.
        "A good try, sir," offered Sovek.
        "You're on your own with this one, hon," said Steven.
        "Well, fine! Make your captain a poor woman! See if I
care!"
        Felix turned to Daniels, who had just sat down and layed a
stack of credits on the table. "Don't mind her, John. The one
thing you'll learn quickly about our captain here is that she is a
very poor loser."
        Sovek cocked an eyebrow at that. "Doctor, Kate is not the
only one who complains openly about losing. I distinctly recall a
time when you thought you had me defeated with a straight,
and I turned over four Jacks."
        Felix's smile vanished. "This is why I don't like playing
with Vulcans! They remember every hand you've ever played,
and they're impossible to bluff!"
        Daniels leaned over toward Steven, who was sitting closest
to him. "Is it always like this around here, Doc?"
        "Usually, yeah."
        Daniels turned to Gaia, his fellow newcomer to this inner
circle. "Well, at least we won't get bored..."
        "You don't strike me as a boring man, John Daniels,"
remarked Gaia. Daniels looked away. He had never been
comfortable around women - partly because he was afraid that
he might physically hurt them, and partly because he felt that
he wasn't deserving of a relationship with a woman.
        Gaia noticed the uncomfortable look on Daniels' face and
decided to leave him alone, for now. She didn't know much
about him, but he was definitely the most intriguing physical
specimen to come her way in quite some time, and she wasn't
about to give up on him.
    Sovek shuffled the deck efficiently and tossed out five
cards to all the players.
    Kate groaned. "I think you're markin' the deck, Sovek!
That's what I think!"
    The game continued on into the late hours of the evening.
                                         * * * * * *

        One of the problems with being a pacifist who's genetically
programmed to enjoy killing is that there's quite a lot of
aggression that gets bottled up. Years ago, John had thought that
he could just keep it in check, and use it if he needed it, but he
found that his control of his temper wasn't *that* good, so he'd
taken to spending at least an hour a day wreaking havoc in the
holodeck. Today, he was facing off against a group of Tellarites -
not the galaxy's most creative fighters, but strong and stubborn
as all get out.
        There were about twenty of them to his one. He would
have added more, but the holodeck wouldn't allow any more so
long as he kept the safeguards turned on. The first two
approached, one from either side. John tensed. His pulse wasn't
any higher than normal. His "creators" had deemed it inefficient
for him to get too worked up just over the prospect of fighting.
He would occasionally break a sweat after an hour or two, but
at the moment he was dry as a bone.
        The first Tellarite lunged with his spear. John caught it and
flung him through the air into the other one. They were
momentarily stunned, but got up quickly and charged again,
this time joined by two more. Tellarites are notoriously
predictable that way, always attacking in increasing powers of
two - if Daniels stopped these four, eight would try next. The
first two somehow managed to get a blow in - Daniels was about
to decapitate both when...
        "Computer - freeze program."
        The inhabitants of the holodeck all froze. Daniels was
placed in the awkward position of having the necks of two
Tellarites placed in his hand, with his grip about to tighten
while his new captain looked on.
        He let go, and the Tellarites remained frozen in mid-air. "I
had the privacy lock put on, sir."
        "Yeah, well one of the perks of being captain is that I can
override all that sort of stuff if I want to. We need to talk, John."
        "Look, Captain, this isn't exactly the best time. I was in the
middle of..."
        "Yes, I know, you were blowing off steam. Captain Ewing
told me that he once walked in on you going toe-to-toe with two
dozen Gorns, and winning handily. That's why I came out of
uniform." It was then that Daniels noticed that she was wearing
a bright-red jumpsuit. "It's been a while since I had a good
sparring partner. Care to give it a try?"
        "Captain, with all due respect, I'd take your head off with
one punch."
        "Ye have to touch me first, Johnny."
    "Captain, I'd really rather not, if it's all the same."
    The usual gleam in Kate's eyes disappeared. "Consider it
an order, Mr. Daniels. I order you to fight me." Maybe
challenging him wasn't the best idea, but Kate had to know for
sure about Daniels.
        Daniels wasn't sure exactly what the captain was trying to
accomplish. Had her husband divulged much of what they
talked about? Was she trying to see if she could provoke him
into a rage, to see if he was unfit for duty after all? Well, he
thought, this is the best shot you're going to have to show her
that you're *not* a nutcase.
        "Okay, Captain. Computer - end program." The Tellarites
promptly vanished. "Run program Jannick 1." The scene shifted
into a relatively old-fashioned boxing ring. "I got this from an
old friend of mine from back when I was in Security. It's
supposed to be an exact replica of the place where Rocky Balboa
beat Apollo Creed for the Earth boxing title in the late 20th
Century. It was a very famous fight, I understand." Kate really
had to fight from laughing - she was something of an
afficionado of late 20th century earth, and she knew exactly
who - or rather what - Rocky Balboa was. But she kept her
mouth shut. Why embarrass Daniels like that? " And don't
worry - I'll try and pull my punches a little."
        "I appreciate that, John.If I get my head knocked off, I
don't know if Felix will be in a good enough mood to sew it back
on."
        They squared off, and as they did, boxing gloves appeared
on their hands, presumably as part of the safety precautions.
Neither made a move, choosing instead to feel one another out.
        "Yeah, I noticed that Dr. Runningbear's a little eccentric,"
commented Daniels as his subconscious "computer" was rapidly
working to figure out Kate's weaknesses. He tried to ignore it,
but it wasn't easy. 'Maybe this was a mistake,' he thought.
'What if I lose control?' He had to continue, though. This was
going to be the best way for him to gain the trust of his captain,
and there was no way he was going to let himself screw up.
        "Oh, Felix is just a pain. Just because his people were
persecuted 500 years ago, he thinks he has the right to
complain about everything to me. Damn fine doctor, though."
Kate contemplated a jab, but the problem was, where the hell
could she hit him? Every inch looked like granite.
        "I've noticed that about you, sir.
        "Oh, what's that?"
        "You're not afraid to have people in your command who
don't exactly fit the standard profile, so long as they get the job
done."
        "Are you that way, John?" She threw a right hook; he
moved out of the way almost before she threw it.
        He smiled, partly at his easy evasion, and partly at the
question, "I like to think I get the job done."
        "Well, that's good." She went for a jab - it didn't come close.
"Because I don't tolerate excuses when it comes to performance.
I give my people a long leash, to do with as they please, but
when it comes down to crunch time, I expect them to perform."
        "You insinuating something, sir?" he threw a punch, but
pulled back at the last second - he wanted to see which way she
went (left).
        "I just wanted to let you know that I don't give a good
goddamn about your background, about your impulses, about
anything, so long as you perform your duties to my
expectations. I'll leave everything else to my husband and you
to work out." She faked a right cross and hit him with a left
body blow. He didn't flinch. "Mr. Daniels, are you dogging it for
me?"
        Daniels smiled. "Captain, I never dog anything I do.
Including this." And before Kate knew what hit her (literally),
Daniel's fist was in her face. It seemed like his glove picked her
up by her face and deposited her on the other end of the ring.
"You don't have to worry about me, sir. I don't like to let people
down."
        Kate rubbed her jaw, and said, "Good. Then how about
helping me up, Number One?"
        "You got it, sir."

                                * * * * * *

        Captain's Log: We have finally achieved complete transfer
of all new crew personnel, and are ready to depart DS9.
Following our trip through the wormhole, we will begin
mapping the Kaleb star cluster, a stellar phenomenon
discovered by an Andorian science vessel shortly before the
Cardassian War.

        Kate turned around and scanned the bridge. This was a
fairly new crew. Most of the Enterprise's command team had
been reassigned after the war ended. It was strange to see
Mardak at Ops instead of Thomas Akiro, to see Gaia (now fully
clad in a regulation uniform) standing over the Security/Tactical
station instead of Targ, to see Daniels seated next to her instead
of her old friend T'Shon. T'Shon had gone on to her own
command, and Kate wished her well, but it was going to be
difficult to be able to automatically trust Daniels as implicitly as
she had T'Shon.
        She turned to her new helm officer, Ensign Jen Weiss.
There had been more qualified candidates, but Kate always
tried to have at least one young crewperson on the Alpha shift
with the command crew.
        "Ensign, lay in a course through the wormhole."
        "Course laid in, sir. And sir?"
        "Yes, Ms. Weiss?"
        "You've been through the wormhole. What's it like?"
        Kate smiled. This was Weiss' first assignment out of the
Academy, and here she was, piloting the Enterprise. "Have you
ever been to the flooms on Stanar, Jennifer?"
        "Uh, no, sir." Weiss was more than a little surprised to have
the Captain addressing her by her first name. Not exactly
Starfleet protocol, but Kate Donovan liked to run a friendly ship.
        "Well, they're the closest thing I can think of to the
experience of being in the wormhole. Why don't you take us
ahead at half-impulse speed and you'll find out."
        Mardak swiveled in his chair to face her. "Captain, if I
might ask again..."
        "Persistence is a virtue, Mardak, but there's such a thing as
overdoing it. The "owners" of the wormhole don't want us to
study it - or them - so we won't."
        "Aye, sir." Mardak turned back to his station, but he wasn't
happy. Benzites didn't take rejection very well.
        "Half impulse at your command, Captain," reported Ensign
Weiss.
        "Donovan to Engineering. We ready to roll, Sovek?"
        Sovek's voice came loud and clear over the comm system.
"Captain, I find it odd that you have the need to ask me this
question every time we depart on a mission, despite the fact
that every time I tell you in advance that the engines are fine."
        "You know me, Sovek, I'm a creature of habit. So, are we
ready to roll?"
          "I could spend several hours going into intricate detail
about the status of the warp and impulse engines, but I think
this answer should suffice: I was born ready."
        Kate smiled. "Well, okay then." She looked around at her
bridge crew. "This is where the fun begins, people. Are you
ready for some adventure?"
        "Ready, willing, and able, sir," replied Lt. Gaia.
        "Good. Let's roll. Engage."
        Ensign Weiss hit the impulse controls, and space opened up
as the wormhole appeared, and the Enterprise made it's way
into undiscovered country........

TO BE CONTINUED