Stardate: 2365.02.07
USS Peregrine. Mess hall. 0545hrs.
The door slid open and John stepped into the mess hall. A quick glace around found Lt. D'rai Sa'eridon seated alone at a corner table looming over a tray odd colored meat covered in a cream colored sauce.

A smile cross John's face as he thought he heard a low purr coming Karri as she indulged in her meal," Ah, a carnivore" he murmured.

Stepping to the replicator he stated his order, perhaps bit louder than necessary:

Sixteen once Prime Rib, ..medium rare,.. Au jus and horseradish.....

Red Skin Baked potatoes with sour cream and butter...

German style Sauteed Red Cabbage...

Asperagus steamed with lemon juice, salt and pepper...

Two Parkerhouse small rolls.. warm with fresh butter on the side...

German Chocolate cake...

Coffee....Black.
When the door opened he slid out the tray. Grabbing the tray John turn and walked across the room to Karri's table.

"Lieutenant, would you mind if I joined you."

Before she could answer he set down his tray and seated himself. Smiling slightly,"It so nice to occasionally order up something that reminds you of home."

The aroma of beef and Au jus fill his nose.

Slicing a piece of the beef he dipped it in the Au jus and slathered a bit of horseradish on the bite. Chewing down on the bite he closed his eyes and exhaled a satisfying sigh that rolled to a low growl of pleasure. As he opened his eyes he saw the Catian looking at him.

In a smooth Midwestern drawl John voiced,"Mighty fine!"

Stardate: 2365.02.07
USS Peregrine. Bridge,. 0735hrs.
""Rock, I want a security team on hand before we open that pod. Mister Tesenblen, I want a science representative there when we open it, and I want you to proceed with utmost caution. The containment field stays up until we are absolutely certain that the pod is safe, is that clear?"

"Aye Aye Sir"

=/\= Rockatansky to Ensign Agris =/\=

=/\= Agris here =/\=

=/\= Assemble Myers and Wright and head for the shuttle bay, provide security for science personal as they bring is a escape pod and any other personal on hand. =/\=

=/\= Aye Aye Sir on my way =/\=

As the Rock gave his orders Lt Tochi spoke from behind him.

"Lt Rockatansky, I'm going to see the Old Man for a moment. The bridge is yours."

"Aye Aye sir I have the bridge"

Stardate 2365.02.07
USS Peregrine, Bridge 0805

Lt. Tesenblen turned to Lt. Rockatansky. "Sir, we may have a problem."

"What type of problem Lt?"

"From what I can tell, there seems to be two containment units aboard the escape pod. Which normally wouldn't be a problem, but I believe the flucturations in our lifeform readings are coming from one of the units. They appear to be specimen containment units and one of them..." he glanced at his monitor again, "is failing rapidly. Based on my readings, there are indicators of bio-mimetic gel coming from the failing container, as well."

Thinking quickly Rock gave new orders;

=/\= Rockatansky to Engineering =/\=

=/\= Engineering here =/\=

=/\= One of the incoming canisters aboard the escape pod is some type of specimen canister and its ccontainment field is failing rapidly. I need you to increase power to our own shuttle bay defense field and if possible produce a seprate and mobile field for the pod itself. If that is undoable eject that pod back into space till we can safely bring it on board. =/\=

=/\= Aye Aye sir =/\=

All the Rock could do now was wait............

Stardate: 2365.02.07
USS Peregrine. Mess hall. 0545hrs.

"Lieutenant, would you mind if I joined you."
Karri started at the sound of john's drawl, swallowing the bite of steak she was chewing.

"It so nice to occasionally order up something that reminds you of home."
Eyeing John's plate Karri smirked, seeings how his plate seemed to mirror her own.

" Galaxies an races may differ but good food is good food. even if it's only passable replicator fare." Karri smirked her fangs peaking out of her lopsided grin. As she swirled a piece of kumara in the steak dregs an cream coating it thoroughly before eating it.

chewing quickly she licked her lips an eyed johns' plate. " though the cake is a nice touch. Catian desert would be a Gwar fruit preserved in Agar jelly topped with more Sonta cream."

pausing she thought. "human equivalent would be umm... mandarin orange in Ahh... i think it was called J-ello? with whipped cream. Though i don't think the humans pallet would be comparable to the same. Most Catian food is a ...acquired taste." Karri chuckled softly.

Stardate 2365.02.07
USS Peregrine, Cargo Bay One - 0755
Eric split his attention between the pod being slowly maneuvered toward the yawning entrance to the bay and the readouts from the waiting containment field, alert for any indication of instability in the field. Seeing none, he looked again at the pod nearing the outside of the bay's force field. He pondered the best way to keep the pod contained and quarantined once it was in, between the bay doors and the static containment field they'd set up and then strengthened with the field enhancers. Arriving at a decision, Eric tapped his combadge. "Thorson to Flight Control. I'm going to have to keep a mobile containment field around the pod after we get it into the bay, until it gets into the static field. I'm going to need to control the tractor beam from here so I can sync up the mobile field."

((OOC: Assuming agreement and directive to proceed from the bridge))

Eric configured the interface before him to a control panel for the tractor beam. =/\= Local tractor beam control established, =/\= said the computer. With a deft and sure touch, Eric switched from the external tractor beam to the bay's internal one as the pod reached the force field. "Computer, establish a localized and mobile Level Five containment field around the pod. And give me manual control of it." An elongated, capsule-shaped field of energy flared to life around the pod as Eric used one hand to guide the tractor beam and the other to control the containment field around it. The mysterious pod floated gently through the air as it was maneuvered toward the larger box of the static containment field. The globe of containment energy around the pod merged seamlessly into the purple, glowing energy that made up the walls of the static field. With a final adjustment, Eric guided the pod to a soft landing on the floor of the cargo bay, onto an antigrav torpedo dolly that had been hastily pressed into service. The dolly would keep the pod cushioned and secure in the event of any unsightly jostling.

Puffing out a quick breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, Eric took a step back from the panel and tapped his combadge again. "Thorson to Bridge. Pod is secure, containment field is stable; we can be on our way when you're ready. I'll start looking things over down here and will have a preliminary report ready for the 0930 briefing."

((OOC: Assuming acknowledgement))

Eric stared at the strange pod resting within the containment field for a moment. Something was giving him a vague sense of unease. It was an instinct that his grandfather had told him came from his Viking ancestors, and from the gods; an instinct that had saved the life of many a brave Viking warrior in ages past. He had learned not to ignore it.

But at the same time, his fascination was still boundless. The level of cybernetics he had seen within the strange lifeforms was beyond what Eric thought was even possible. He kept up with the Starfleet technical journals, and had read a paper by Wesley Crusher, son of Jack Crusher, a fondly-remembered but passed-on crewmate from the Stargazer. The paper was about nanites, highly sophisticated microscopic worker machines created by young Wesley himself aboard the Enterprise. Eric had been thoroughly impressed by the technology. Jack would have been proud of his son's outstanding work. These lifeforms, however, were a whole different animal. In just the preliminary scanning done so far, Eric could see that this level of seamless integration of organism and machine was light-years beyond young Crusher's nanites.

I will have your secrets, he silently told the pod.

Eric continued his relentless scanning and probing until it was time to head for the 0930 department heads' briefing, trying to squeeze as much information as he could out of it and to get a firmer handle on its technology; technology he would have to become familiar with if he was to repair the containment systems for the pod's canisters and their baffling microscopic contents. He really had no choice on that count; the Peregrine couldn't drop its containment field, thus getting the pod off the ship, until he could guarantee that those canisters wouldn't be releasing anything harmful.

There's engineering to be done! he thought with a wry grin as he bent to study the data more closely.

Stardate 2365.02.07
USS Peregrine, Captain's Ready Room - 0805
Commander Silas Drake, captain of a Federation starship, was normally a private man. His career had been built on crafting an image of competence, of resourcefulness, of control. Normally, the largest chink in that armor was when he lost his temper; now, he found himself pouring out his soul to his executive officer, sharing self doubt and weakness that he liked to pretend didn't exist in the first place.

It had been three and a half years since that fateful day on the Alexander. He had spoken to professional counselors several times since then - immediately after the incident, then again after he elected to not have the scars removed (and had to practically fight for the right to make the decision), plus a couple of Starfleet-mandated follow up appointments. One of them had even been an empath.

Yet, for whatever reason, he had never truly opened up to those people the same way that he was doing with Tochi Zai. Perhaps the passing time was entering into the equation, allowing time a chance for the wounds to heal somewhat... but Silas knew that a great deal more had to do with the fact the his XO seemed to genuinely care, yet had no expectations at all of him.

Silas had turned that day over in his mind again and again in the time since those fateful events; indeed, rarely a day went past that he didn't think of the incident, at least briefly. Whenever he allowed himself to dwell on it, he inevitably came to the same conclusion - if he had it to do again, he would have acted in the same way. For some twisted reason, rather than give him comfort, that knowledge made him feel terribly guilty. He had caused her death, and he wouldn't change things? How sick was that?

But the XO's words spoke directly to the heart of the matter.

"What if," the Trill proposed, "someone else had been in your position aboard that ship, Captain? And what if they had made decisions that were radically different to those you made? Would it have saved more lives or, perhaps, would it have cost more lives?" He shrugged in answer to his own question. "We don't know," he said, "and neither does anyone else."

"What happened, happened, Silas," he continued, "and regardless of what anyone thinks of it or, in hindsight, suggests that it could have gone differently, nothing changes that. You did what you thought to be the right thing, then, and, now, all these years later, as you look back, you still know that your actions would be the same and that you would still feel right in pursuing that course of action."

Tochi rose from the seat, then, reached across the desk, and clasped the Captain's shoulder. "Who can question that? Who can claim that, in a moment that they didn't experience, that they would have done differently?"

As Silas listened, an odd notion pushed itself into his consciousness. He had done the absolute best he could in the situation. No matter how he re-examined the scenario, no matter what sort of "what if" games he played, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was truly nothing more he could have done.

Was it, then, possible that he could actually forgive himself for doing his best? The very thought seemed to remove a great weight from his shoulders.

Tochi referenced the Captain's ancestor - once again, making terrible amounts of sense - and professed his friendship as he moved towards the door.

"If you'll excuse me," Zai smiled, "I've got reports to gather from Science and Engineering. See you at the briefing, sir."

"Understood," Silas replied. "0930 it is. Oh, and Tochi?" he queried.

Drake paused for a long moment and cleared his throat.

"Thank you."

Stardate: 2365.02.07
USS Peregrine. Mess hall. 0545hrs.
Eyeing John's plate had Karri smirked.

John knew he'd been a bit forward by inviting himself to sit with Karri, but it seemed to have work, she hadn't gotten up and moved, or asked him to leave,. or thrown food at him. In fact she spoke to him.

" Galaxies an races may differ but good food is good food,. even if it's only passable replicator fare." There was even a bit of a smirked as her fangs peaking out of her lopsided grin.

She swirled a piece of kumara in the steak dregs an cream, coating it thoroughly . She chewed it quickly, she licked her lips an eyeed Johns' plate. " though the cake is a nice touch, Catian desert would be a Gwar fruit preserved in Agar jelly topped with more Sonta cream."Pausing, then. "Human equivalent would be.. umm... mandarin orange in, Ahh... I think it was called J-ello? ..with whipped cream,. Though I don't think the humans pallet would be comparable to the same. Most Catian food is a ...acquired taste." she chuckled softly.

"You clearly know more about humans than I do about Caitians. Perhaps you can teach me, this assignment has left us with a lot time to fill and I'm off duty ,, So what were your plans for today?" John gave her his best boyish smile.

Stardate 2365.02.07
USS Peregrine, Bridge - 0755-0810
=/\= Lieutenant Tesenblen, I can confirm your readings that the containment for the lifeforms is failing. That's why our readings are sketchy; the containment keeps flickering, and it obscures the readings during those intervals that it's functioning. Our containment field should keep whatever it is from spreading beyond it until we can get it where it's going, but we'll have to shore up the field on the pod's containers themselves before we can drop our containment field again. =/\= Came the voice of the Chief Engineering Officer over the comms.

=/\= Our field is holding stable, bridge. You can bring it in when you're ready. =/\=

Lieutenant Tesenblen monitored the stations with Ensign Maize as the pod was slowly brought aboard the ship, scanning for any further fluctuations or potential problems.

=/\= Thorson to Flight Control. I'm going to have to keep a mobile containment field around the pod after we get it into the bay, until it gets into the static field. I'm going to need to control the tractor beam from here so I can sync up the mobile field. =/\=

(OOC: Assuming bridge's authorization to do so, per Thorson's last post)

Horatio blinked quickly, trying to maintain focus on the monitors. Why am I still so dizzy? he thought randomly. As he reached over to steady himself, he missed, visually, the corner of the station and his hand caught nothing but air. Stumbling, he realized he was seeing stars.

Ensign Dalia saw the Lt. stumble out of the corner of her eyes. "Lieutenant, are you ok?" she whispered.

"I'm not sure, Dalia. I've been dizzy for the last 20 minutes or so..." Horatio said quietly to her, his voice low to keep from being overheard by the bridge lead.

"Sir!" She began tersely. "That's symptomatic of a concussion! You need to go to medical!"

"You're probably right." he whispered. Raising his voice to a normal level, he turned to Lt. Rock, "Lieutenant, I apologize, but I believe I've had a concussion and am not currently fit to perform my duties. I will be sending Ensign Dalia down to the cargo bay to scan the pod, she is perfectly up to the task and I have the utmost faith in her and her abilities. I, however, will be going to medical, per Captain Silas' orders, to see Doctor Synklar."

Ensign Maize, though very pleasantly surprised, had the presence of mind to appear worried about her CSO's condition.

(OOC: Assuming Bridge acknowledges and authorizes everything stated)

"Thank you, sir. I will not let you down." Ensign Maize said respectfully, her smile seeming to make her purple eyes even brighter, to Horatio as he made his way to the turbolift.

"I know, Dalia. That's why I'm sending you." He turned and winked.

Horatio stepped into the turbolift. "Deck 4, sickbay."

Minutes later, Horatio stumbled into sickbay, using the wall to maintain his balance.

"Doctor Synklar, I apologize for not scheduling an appointment," Tesenblen began jokingly, "but I believe I need to see you." Walking in, he showed her the head wound he had given himself nearly an hour prior.

Stardate: 2365.02.07
USS Peregrine. Mess hall. 0550hrs.

So what were your plans for today?
Karri leaned forward an lightly resting her chin on her hands, half watching john eat his meal an half watching absently out the observation windows lining the seating area of the commissary.

"My plans? ...humm. Nothing really important. I was going to see if the holodeck was open. go for a training scenario or run, an just blow off a little stream."

Karri's tail flicked in anticipation. Karri smiled sweetly at john her fangs poking from beneath her lips giving her a impish look.

"Though having just ate such a large meal sitting here a while, works for now?"

((OOC: Before anyone thinks I've spoken for Dox, he and I discussed this via pm's and he gave me his answers there. I did not take control of his character))

Stardate 2365.02.07
USS Peregrine, Sickbay - 0710-0810
Lana had just finished getting everything ready for any injured coming from the escape pod when she heard a voice cutting the silence,

"Doctor Synklar, I apologize for not scheduling an appointment but I believe I need to see you" Lana gasped when she was shown the wound on his head and quickly went over to him and helped him to a bed,

"What happened?" She listened as she grabbed a dermal regenerator and began to close to the wound,

"Ah, I made a pretty fascinating discovery about the couraciousness of a new plant species, and in my excitement I ‘jumped' both figuratively and literally for joy straight into the corner of a low hanging cabinet in my lab." Lana frowned as she continued to work

"How long ago did it happened?"

"I'd say it was about an hour. Give or take." Lana finished repairing the wound and clicked her tongue,

"You waited that long to come to me.. Did you lose consciousness at all?"

"Yeah, not sure how long I was out for though." Lana narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked him over,

"Did you experience any dizziness?"

"I did, while I was on the bridge monitoring the science stations."

"How bad was it?

"I stumbled and lost my balance while I was standing there. It was.. Different. Never had a feeling quite like that one before."

"Was it a quick second, or did you have to lean against something for a few minutes to regain your balance?"

"well, Doc, the dizziness lasted a good 20 or so minutes, but when I lost my balance I realized I was seeing stars."

Lana frowns slightly,

"First off, you should have come here as soon as you regained consciousness. Second, you have a slight severe concussion. Which means, you need to do minor things, nothing that will put stress on you that will make things worse. I'd recommend not being alone if you can help it."

((OOC: Assuming that he doesn't argue))

"Then you're done. Take things easy for a few days, if you find yourself getting worse, come see me as soon as possible or if you are unable to contact me or have someone else contact me, no putting things off for an hour again. Am I clear?"

Stardate 0365.02.07
USS Peregrine, Sickbay - 0810
"First off, you should have come here as soon as you regained consciousness. Second, you have a slight severe concussion. Which means, you need to do minor things, nothing that will put stress on you that will make things worse. I'd recommend not being alone if you can help it."

"Understood, Doctor."

"Then you're done. Take things easy for a few days, if you find yourself getting worse, come see me as soon as possible or if you are unable to contact me or have someone else contact me, no putting things off for an hour again. Am I clear?"

"Crystal clear, Doc. I'll behave myself and set up a check in with Ensign Maize."

With that, Horatio left sickbay and made his way back to his quarters for an hour of rest before the Captain's meeting at 0930. He didn't bother Ensign Maize about the check ins just yet, hoping Doctor Synklar didn't find out he was going to delay it an hour. He wanted peace and quiet, figuring he can set up the Doctor's directives after the Captain's meeting.

At 0910, Lieutenant Tesenblen left his quarters and made his way to the meeting.

Stardate: 2365.02.07
USS Peregrine. Mess hall. 0550hrs. "My plans? ...humm. Nothing really important. I was going to see if the holodeck was open. go for a training scenario or run, an just blow off a little stream."
John barely noticed Karri's tail as it flicked. Karri smiled sweetly; her fangs poking from beneath her lips giving her a impish look.

"Though having just ate such a large meal sitting here a while, works for now?"
The two sat, having finished their meals, engaging in ideal chitchat, mostly referring to the relative inaction on this assignment.

"I've spent most of my time getting to know this ship. I have to understand the Peregrine's strength, but mostly her weakness to keep her safe,." Glancing around the room, " The safety of the crew is in my hands" then quickly adding,"and others." Looking back to Karri and getting caught up again in her deep blue eyes, "I haven't gotten to know the crew, but I must admit from the first day I saw you, well.. you are so different, but there is something so the same." John blushed a bit, "Sorry,. How about we go to the holodeck and take me on walk of Caitia?"

Stardate 0365.02.07
USS Peregrine, holodeck - 0810

How about we go to the holodeck and take me on walk of Caitia? john suggested, Karri inclined.

Karri taped the holo panel. "Caitia prime D'katharr Forrest early spring, non poisonous Flora only, mid level animal ambiance." Karri smirks at john. "Don't want you stumbling into something an dying."

Karri an john enter the holodeck an the humidity hit them like stepping into a green house. Lush foliage an ferns cover the leaf littered ground an the smell of peattish decay fills the air. large trees with draped vines canopy the ceiling. Karri takes john by the hand leading him in to a dense patch of leaves.

Karri points out several types of medicinal plants quickly letting go of john's hand.

John explores grabbing a vine an tugging gently on it a couple times, didn't feel it creep around his ankles.

(Karri's voice softly in the background)
"theirs a type of pitcher plant that grows in crooks of the trees, the vines which hang down from the trees when touched in a repetitive manor or touched for a prolonged time quickly ensnare the target an recoil pulling them 8-10ft into the air"

As john was half listening to Karri explain about that particular type of pitcher vine.

With a startled yelp John was dragged up into the air, yelling for Karri to help him between fits of laughter.
Karri covers her mouth in mirth an stairs up at john who is dangling from the canopy.

being a boy scout john pulls a knife an dose a curl to try an cut the vine.

"STOP!" Karri yelled at john. "the vines are filled with acidic sap! ... its not poisonous but it'll still hurt you..."

Karri grabs a cat-tailish looking plant an pulling it from the ground rolled in in the leaves crushing it to make it weep a dark red sticky sap. Nimbly scaling the tree she drops the bulb into the pitcher giving the pitcher a swift kick as you hear the slosh of the pitchers collected acid bath. the pitchers lid drops an karri hollers at john.

"get ready to land!"

the vines relaxes an in a second it lets go completely dropping John to the ground

Karri jumps down an helps john to his feet, look him over.

"welcome to Caite, you've been initiated." karri chuckled lightly, brushing the dirt an leaves off of John's back an shoulders.

"you feel up to light sparring?"

(assuming a yes)

"computer Caitian light training grounds, light training clothes"

(the forest fades an large expanse of stubble grassland appears with semblance of a boxing gym an archery dummies sprawl across the room. Karri's clothes shift into a half halter top woven out of green leaves an a long loin cloth. John's out fit shifts into Capri~ish drawstring pants made of a soft cotton like plant.)

Karri grins an walks over to a pile of weapons picking up a several small Caitian blades and a chakram.

(http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd316/terencemartin/FrozenChakram.pngkatarish )

currling her tail around the Chakram Karri did several streches an cart wheels, talking to john all the while.
"this is our basic training most Caitian youths begin training in their 8th summer males an females."

Karri did a one handed cartwheel.

"Only one in thirty Caitian warriors are able to tail wield the chakram."

Karri landed next to a cream striped melon headed training dummy flicking her tail. for a moment nothing seemed to happen then the melon slowly slid apart with a dark blue ooze seeping from the cut.

"I'm only the third female know to be able to wield it."

Karri caught the top half of the melon drawing a cutting blade from her hip she sliced the melon into several large pieces.

"i'm told it tastes akin to human's water melon, theirs only few seeds try not to eat them. their not poisonous but they can cause strong flatulence. OH!"

Karri quickly handed the fruit to john.

"computer one plate of two nitro thallon ants an several Sonta grubs. an two large ice waters."

(a plate appears with two massive evil looking ants an several large cream an white speckled grubs)

Karri pulled a second dagger an expertly baited the ants to bit the dagger using her claws to quickly squeeze the ants which sprayed a hissing liquid onto the grubs seeming to freeze them. quickly waving john over she motioned for him to hold a piece of fruit benith the grubb which she pressed with the dagger blade spooling out a mouse like whipped cream substance from the grub.

Karri noticed johns' hands trembling slightly an looked up at his plaid face.

"its ok, its tastes like whipped cream. But that one can be mine, you can have your's plane." Karri purred softly licking her fingers off.

Karri an John sat a bit chatting about the comparisons between the earth an Caitian home worlds.

Karri an John sparred for a bit each going easy on the other accessing the others skill levels in comparison to the other. But only seemingly in turns to toss each other in the dirt till they were both covered in a fine coating .

Sitting beside one another catching their breaths an drinking the last of their ice waters, karri giggled looking at John.

"you look like a mud pie." poking him lightly where a trickle of sweat had congealed into a muddy streak. then looking down at herself, her fur tinged a light reddish brow an matted in places. Karri laughed at herself
"I look a right mess myself. I look like a kitt after falling in a mud-wallow."

Stardate 0365.02.07
USS Peregrine, holodeck - 0810
The two junior offices entered the holodecks control space, Karri entered her sim request.
"Caitia prime D'katharr Forrest early spring, non poisonous Flora only, mid level animal ambiance." Karri smirks at john. "Don't want you stumbling into something an dying."
A dubious smile crossed John's face, "Oh I appreciate that..really I do!"

The inner portal door whooshed open on a steamy lush tropical jungle. As the warm humid air hit him John felt Karri grab his hand to nearly drag him into the forest. It seemed obvious to John that Karri may have felt a bit of an outsider with so many humans among the crew. Now it was a thrill to be the one on familiar ground. He was really glad that he was the one with whom she was comfortable sharing.

As they walked John could understand better the instinctive actions of the Caitian woman. An environment like this required a survival skill to get through every day. Admiring the vines hanging from the trees he was caught off guard when the plant wrapped his ankle and whisked up off the ground. "Whoooo Nellie," John laughed as he flew up the tree.

Fishing into pocket he pull a pocket knife, he'd carried one ever since he'd passed his Toten-Chip as a Tenderfoot Scout. Opening the folding blade he bent up slice the vine from his leg.

"STOP!" Karri yelled. "the vines are filled with acidic sap! ... its not poisonous but it'll still hurt you..." "Oh yeah,wel I think you sorta left out."
Down below he watched Karri grab a cat-tailish looking plant an pulling it from the ground rolled in in the leaves crushing it to make it weep a dark red sticky sap. With feline grace she scaled the tree dropping the bulb into the pitcher and gave the pitcher a swift kick.
"Get ready to land!"
"Thanks for the warning,.. This time," John laughed.

The vines relaxes and John drops to the ground.
Karri jumps down and helps John to his feet. With a bit of a twinkle in those blue eyes and brushing the dirt and leaves off of John's back and shoulders,"Welcome to Caite, you've been initiated."
There was strength and tenderness in Karri's tough. There is something comforting in tactile contact.
"You feel up to light sparring?"
"Oh sure..that wasn't nearly enough exercise," he laughed.

"Computer Caitian light training grounds, light training clothes" (the forest fades an large exspanse of stubble grassland appears with semblance of a boxing gym an archery dummies sprawl across the room.)

Karri's clothes shift into a half halter top woven out of green leaves and a long loin cloth that formed to her and enhanced her muscular yet feminine form.

Karri grinned as she walked over to a pile of weapons picking up a several small Caitian blades and a Chakram.
The Chakran was circular double bladed weapon with the grip in the middle.
Using her tail Karri curled it around the Chakram's handle. The lithe female did several stretches and cart wheels, talking all the while.
"This is our basic training most Caitian youths begin training in their 8th summer males an females." Karri did a one handed cartwheel.
"Only one in thirty Caitian warriors are able to tail wield the Chakram." Karri landed next to a cream striped melon headed training dummy flicking her tail. For a moment nothing seemed to happen then the mellon slowly slid apart with a dark blue ooze seeping from the cut.
"I'm only the third female know to be able to wield it." Karri caught the top half of the melon drawing a cutting blade from her hip she sliced the melon into several large pieces.

John was impressed.

"I'm told it tastes akin to human's water melon, there's only few seeds try not to eat them. They're not poisonous but they can cause strong flatulence. OH!" Karri quickly handed the fruit to john.

"Computer one plate of two nitro thallon ants an several Sonta grubs. an two large ice waters." (a plate appears with two massive evil looking ants an several large cream an white speckled grubs)

Karri pulled a second dagger an expertly baited the ants to bit the dagger using her claws to quickly squeeze the ants which sprayed a hissing liquid onto the grubs seeming to freeze them. quickly waving John over she motioned for him to hold a piece of fruit beneath the grub which she pressed with the dagger blade spooling out a mouse like whipped cream substance from the grub.

Johns' felt his hands trembling slightly as he watched.

"Its ok, its tastes like whipped cream. But that one can be mine, you can have yours plane." Karri purred softly licking her fingers off.

Smiling, "Oh.. ok.. sure, the way things have gone so far,", he just let it trail off as Karri laughed at him.

As they eat the fruit they continued about the comparisons between earth and Caitian homeworlds.

Place the remains on the ground the Caitian invited him to spar for a bit. They each were going easy on the other, accessing the others skill levels in comparison to the other. Seemingly in turns they tossed each other to the dirt till they were both covered in a fine coating dust. Sitting beside one another catching their breaths and drinking the last of their ice waters, karri giggled looking at John.

"You look like a mud pie," poking him lightly where a trickle of sweat had congealed into a muddy streak. Then looking down at herself, her fur tinged a light reddish brown and matted in places. Karri laughed at herself.

"I look a right mess myself. I look like a kitt after falling in a mudwallow."
Rising to his feet John reached down to help Karri up too. "I haven't had such an enjoyable time and laughed so much in a long time. It has been work, study ..repeat, seeming endlessly since graduating. "Karri rose up and stood close John; once again he felt himself swimming it those fascinating blue eyes.

After a moment he said, "Next time we visit Earth, we don't have man eating plants but I hope you'll find it as beautiful as I do."

He found he was still holding her shoulders.

((OOC: In the interest of keeping the main plot rolling, I am pushing on to the staff meeting. If you are involved in some scene earlier in the day, feel free to backpost to wrap it up!

Also, note that I am assuming that all department heads are present and on time for this meeting. If that is not the case, please let me know, and I will edit. In all cases, I'm assuming that Drake will receive positive responses to direct orders.))


Stardate 2365.02.07
USS Peregrine, Captain's Mess - 0930
Captain Drake sat at the head of the rectangular table and let his gaze drift to each officer seated there. To his right was Lieutenant Zai - his Executive Officer - followed by Lieutenant Chell and Doctor Synklar. To Drake's left was Lieutenant Rockastansky - his Second Officer - followed Lieutenant Tesenblen. Lieutenant Commander Thorson, busy with the escape pod, had requested permission to attend via videoconference, and so was not physically present. There was room for one more person at the table beyond the Engineering chief, but since there were no other department heads on board, the foot of the table remained empty.

The Captain's Mess was a cozy little space tucked away on deck two, and it served two functions. First, it was the space reserved for private meals hosted by the Captain; most often, these would be handpicked officers, guests, diplomats, or other VIPs. Second, it was used to host meetings such as this.

On larger ships, staff meetings would typically take place in larger observation lounge, but a Saber class vessel had no such luxury.

One of Drake's first acts as commanding officer was to have a tabletop holographic projector installed here in the Captain's Mess. He had originally intended to mount a proper viewscreen, but the cramped quarters prevented doing so in any spot where at least a few people would not end up with their back to it. So, instead, he had gone with the tabletop unit, and it had proven to be wise decision.

Everyone was present and on time, not that Silas was surprised; discipline and punctuality had not been issues since he had assumed command. Silas knew that he differed from his predecessor in that he did not believe in daily staff meetings; such gatherings of the senior staff were usually reserved for shipwide efforts, the discussion of new mission orders, or other matters of wide import. The Captain felt that officers senior enough to be qualified to run a department should be trusted to do so without endless meetings and red tape, believing that his department heads would come to him if anything required his personal attention. Instead, he chose to meet with each in one on one situations every two or three weeks to stay caught up. However, Drake made it a point to stay very well informed about the state of the ship; he read every bridge watch log, daily department summary, incident or exception report, and kept a close eye on all of the critical system readouts. When the time came for one of the "face to face" meetings with a subordinate, Drake almost always knew exactly where a given project stood. The joke around the ship was that the Captain had unseen eyes everywhere, and truth be told... Silas liked it that way.

Clearing his throat, the Captain started the meeting. "Thank you for joining me. As you have certainly heard by now - and surmised by our course change - Starfleet Command contacted me at oh seven fifteen this morning to give new orders to the Peregrine."

"Our new assignment," Silas continued, "is to proceed to Starbase 118, where we will rendezvous with the USS Coronado, a Miranda class diplomatic vessel. We will escort the Coronado as she flies to the Gamera system in an attempt to broker peace between the Kuldar and Rytain peoples." As he spoke, the holographic projector came to life, displaying a three dimensional model of the Gamera system in relation to Starbase 118.

From what we understand, the Kuldar and Rytain have been at war for generations. Peace will not only serve humanitarian ends, but also potentially make a new source of Dilithium available to the Federation - so our mission is considered to be very important. I have been told that we will not have any direct contact with the foreign diplomats; that is the sole purview of the Coronado. We are here strictly in escort capacity, to show some Federation muscle."

Silas paused for a moment, and the holographs changed to depict Kuldar and Rytain vessels, along with tactical readouts for each. "From my preliminary investigations, it would seem that both the Kuldar and Rytain are close to a century behind us, technology-wise... at least in terms of combat effectiveness. Their primary shipboard armaments appear to be laser cannons, and their shielding is likewise inferior to our own. Our presence should be enough of a deterrent to ensure that both sides honor the truce for at least the duration of the summit."

"With that said," Silas noted, "neither society is a stranger to conflict, so we need to be on our guard. While the Rytain are somewhat sympathetic to the Federation, the Kuldar do not share that sentiment."

Drake clasped his hands. "We will be at Starbase 118 in around eight hours. I doubt that we spend much time there, so don't expect any furlough. This is supposed to be a milk run type of mission... which is why I want us prepared for worst case scenarios."

The Captain turned to his left. "Lieutenant Rockastansky, I want you do further research the capabilities of the Kuldar and Rytain vessels, any known battle tactics they may employ, that sort of thing. If this thing does go south, I want us ready; put together a tactical assessment and a recommended attack plan, in case it does come to that. Be sure that we plenty of torpedoes available on standby."

((OOC: assuming some reasonable response))

Next, he looked to his right. "Lieutenant Zai, I know that you are still short handed. I have asked Starfleet Command for another helmsman; in the meantime, what is the status on Petty Officer Owen?"

((OOC: assuming mention that she is getting close))

Drake nodded. "I wonder if we can accelerate her progress any. Perhaps allow her to sit a helm watch or two when you have the Big Chair? Assuming, of course, that you felt she was ready enough in terms of piloting. I obviously do not want us sacrificing our standards, but if her impact skills - such as actually flying the ship - are ready, but she's working on supporting coursework... well, perhaps some on the job training is in order. As it stands now, we're running Tactical and Operations short handed, and I'd like to have relief where we can get it."

((OOC: assuming some reasonable response))

"Lieutenant Chell," he spoke to the Bolian Ops chief, "once Lieutenant Rockastansky has his threat assessment, I'd like you to look it over to see if we need to do any special modulation with the shields to maximize our resistance to a potential attack. Also, please review your Damage Control plan to be sure that we are ready, and coordinate that with Commander Thorson."

((OOC: assuming some reasonable response))

His eyes darted back across the table. "Likewise, Commander, I want your people ready, just in case the talking turns into shooting. Also, I noticed that our total power output numbers were about three percent lower than we've been running - is that something that can be addressed?"

((OOC: assuming some reasonable response))

Drake nodded. "Doctor Synklar, while we're on the theme of worst case scenarios, I'd like you to put together a plan for dealing with high casualty and injury numbers. Assemble a list of non-medical personnel that may have cross training as corpsmen, or even those with first aid training, as well as a plan on how to employ their skills. How would you triage large numbers, how you could handle sickbay overflow, that sort of thing. Keep your fingers crossed that we never need it, but let's be prepared."

((OOC: assuming some reasonable response))

He glanced to the Chief Science Officer. "Mister Tesenblen, there are no immediate scientific goals on this particular diplomatic mission. Until we get to Starbase 118, I want you to focus your efforts on the anomalies around the escape pod we picked up this morning. It appears that the Serapis is currently docked there, and seeing as they are a science vessel, they will be better equipped for long term study of the pod than we will be. Once we transfer the pod, continue your normal duties, but please make yourself available should Doctor Synklar or Lieutenant Chell require your assistance."

((OOC: assuming some reasonable response))

The Captain sat back in his chair, and the holographs dissolved. "All, right, then. Are there any questions regarding our new orders?"

((OOC: if you have something to ask or discuss in character, let's insert it here. Once that is done...))

"Very well. Now then... who wants to get me up to speed on this escape pod?" Drake asked.

Horatio listened carefully as the Captain discussed what he had planned for the meeting.

Captain Silas clasped his hands. "We will be at Starbase 118 in around eight hours. I doubt that we spend much time there, so don't expect any furlough," A tinge of disappointment flickered through Horatio. "This is supposed to be a milk run type of mission... which is why I want us prepared for worst case scenarios."

As the captain spoke to each officer in turn, Lt. Tesenblen thought over various situations in which a science expert might be called on in disaster type situations, before he knew it, he saw Captain Silas glancing at him. "Mister Tesenblen, there are no immediate scientific goals on this particular diplomatic mission." Another pang of disappointment, this one he allowed to slightly show visible on his features. "Until we get to Starbase 118, I want you to focus your efforts on the anomalies around the escape pod we picked up this morning. It appears that the Serapis is currently docked there, and seeing as they are a science vessel, they will be better equipped for long term study of the pod than we will be. Once we transfer the pod, continue your normal duties, but please make yourself available should Doctor Synklar or Lieutenant Chell require your assistance."

"Aye, Captain."

The Captain sat back in his chair, and the holographs dissolved. "All, right, then. Are there any questions regarding our new orders?"

"Captain, I'll assign Ensign Maize to the scans in the cargo bay on the escape pod we picked up. I'll monitor things as well from the lab, but Doctor Synklar," Horatio nodded respectfully towards the doctor across the table, "has ordered me to light duties because of my injury in the garden."

((OOC: Assuming a positive affirmation and statement about easy recovery))

"Thank you, sir. " Horatio leaned back in his chair and turned his attention to the doctor.

"Doctor Synklar, would it be against your orders to spend time in the cargo bay to visually inspect the craft?"