Episode 2: FACE TO FACE Conclusion

Episode 2: Face to Face Conculsion - Marine Preperation

A Mission Post by Gunnery Sergeant John Stryker II & Captain Collin Styles

Mission: Episode 2: Face to Face Conculsion

Location: Marine Deck

Timeline: Current

Gunnery Sergeant Stryker looked up from checking his Type III-C Phaser Rifle. ‘Well’, he thought, ‘a hot spot after all.’ “Aye Skipper. Let’s get a move on people. Check your power packs and square away the rest of your gear. Side arms, rifles. And no forgetting your helmets!” He barked. “‘bout ready Sir.”

"Thank you, Mr, Stryker, " Styles said, readying his own rifle and gear, "I'm going to head towards the upper decks with a squad and work my way up, I want you and the rest of your unit to work your way down"

"Roger that Skipper." Stryker then looked around at the waiting squad. Though he was new on board, he was confident in the Marines looking to him. He looked back at the Captain. "Sir? Intruders? Damage? Anything special you'd have us on alert for? We've but five decks to search, so we'll head upward once we've covered those spaces."

"Anything, Stryker, I want you to be prepared for Anything," Styles replied, "Alright, Let's move out, people!"

"Roger that Sir. See you topside." Stryker replied. Turning to the squad he nodded in the direction of the lift. As they moved out he continued; "We've got it to do people, so let's be thorough and let's be safe. Doubt very much we'll find anything, but damned if we won't look."

Episode 2: Face to Face Conculsion - New world

A Mission Post by Captain Phoenix Lalor & Avalon & Commander Liselle Qwyyn & Commander Gary Taylor & Commander Aurelia Holmes & Lieutenant Commander Matias Grronkil & Lieutenant Commander Sthilg & Lieutenant Arrianna Salannis an Vantar & Lieutenant Wynter & Lieutenant Ian Murphy

Mission: Episode 2: Face to Face Conculsion

Location: Unknown

Timeline: MD5 13h00

The Elysium glided into high orbit. The mysterious planet below them was an M-Class planet. The scanners were running overtime.

Lia's hands moved fast as she switched things back on, "Re- initializing main deflector and engaging closed down sensors, Captain we have full capability on our sensors, defector is 100% effective".

Phoenix looked around the bridge. "Commander Qwyyn, set us in a stable orbit, avoid any residual debris. Lieutenants Murphy and Salannis an Vantar, Find me the rest of that ship."

"Scanning." Murphy replied. And then, "Bloody hell. The whole planet's covered in khelbonite deposits and the atmosphere's lousy with ion storms." Which made it a miracle that they managed to get a signal out at all.

Arri nodded. "Fascinating... Ian... The Khelbonite is reacting with the planet's magnetic field in unpredictable ways. It's effecting space and time in such a way that everything around the planet is in various degrees of temporal flux. I'm also picking up unique Metaphasic and Anaphasic signatures on the planet below."

Murphy glanced at Arri, and then shrugged. "It's possible that the planet's geophysical composition and rotation is generating all of that. Like copper wire and magnets in an old electricity generator, converting either its own internal heat and radiation or that of its sun. Or both." He fiddled with his console a little. "It's even possible that it created this pocket dimension via the same process."

"Avalon, Ship wide Comm's please."

[Yes Captain.] the AI Said.

[["ATTENTION CREW OF THE USS ELYSIUM. For the past few hours we have been following a debris field. This debris field, led us through a wormhole like event, and we are currently in orbit around an M-Class world. All senior Staff are to report to the briefing room. All crew are to remain at red alert until otherwise told by the Command team."]] Phoenix announced before turning to her bridge crew. "I want scans of that planet. I want them now."

"On screen." Murphy replied, showing her the nightmare landscape that the scanners were reading while he looked for the proverbial needle in the haystack.

Matias came into the briefing room. He was still in shock. Was he down there? Were there two of him now? And where was Liselle?

As she entered the briefing room, Lia pondered over the images she had seen on the bridge. Just what awaited them below on the planet, god forbid she met herself.

Gary entered the briefing room. He wasn't one to speak or act rashly but with this current situation he was unduly quiet. There was something vaguely familiar about some of the images of the teenagers they had seen but he couldn't pinpoint it. he sighed silently, just another question atop all the questions they already had.

Seeing Gary, Lia turned and spoke to him. "So what do you think? I mean are they children of survivors or local kids? And just how do we handle this?" She was keen to get his opinion before the meeting started, so at least they would be on the same page.

Following Gary in, Ian shrugged, finding himself a seat. "If this is a pocket dimension, the laws of temporal causality might not necessarily apply." He grunted and scratched his head. "Frigging temporal dynamics. It's like falling down the Penrose stairs and smacking your head on every step Over and over, forever."

Gary looked at Ian, listened to his explanation and then turned his attention back to Lia. "I don't believe they are local kids Lia. I believe they are children of the original crew. As to how we handle it...... my recommendation is very carefully. if they are children of what in essence is ourselves, we don't have to worry about opening Pandora's box, it's already been opened. The question we need to address is how do we deal with other versions of ourselves if there are any? An away team needs to go and recon the ship and the area so we have a firsthand idea of what we're dealing with.''

Arri spoke. "The first step would be to make contact. They've obviously have gone through a lot of trouble to make contact, and if they are temporally displaced, they may have known we were coming."

Liselle entered the room then, her replacement for her station having finally arrived to relieve her. "Kids..." she said to herself, her eyes darting about the room in wonder. Finally they settled on Lia and Gary. "Gods, some of those kids down there could belong to the two of you! Is -- is that even something you're prepared to deal with?"

Gary's eyes darted to Liselle as she made her observation. He gave a reluctant nod of his head. "You may well be right Liselle." He admitted after a brief moment of hesitation. "As for dealing with ..... the kids we've seen. We're trained to deal with the unknown but I admit I must have missed this chapter because I'm not prepared. I guess I/we just take it has it comes."

"Right. You're right, of course," Liselle said. "Sorry. It's just so...weird to think about." She slumped down into her chair. "Gods, we'd all be so...old." She considered each person in the room: Arri, Matias, Gary, Ian, Phoenix, Lia. Secretly, she found herself a little excited by the prospect of seeing how they had all aged.

Gary offered her a wan smile. "Weird." He repeated, "Liselle, you have a gift for understatement." He countered not unkindly, "Old is one way of looking at it and you'rer right we will be...." He paused as he considered his words and who he was with, "Um, definitely older." He replied trying to be as diplomatic as possible.

She nodded, her fingers pressed to her lips as a dozen thoughts filled her mind at once. What if some of those kids didn't belong to the obvious couples? What if the crew had paired off in unexpected ways? Gods, what if some of those kids were hers?!

Gary watched as Liselle nodded back silently. it was obvious she was thinking on the scene they had just viewed involving the "kids" as to what she was thinking he couldn't be entirely sure but he imagined it was along the lines of "Are any of those kids mine?"

Phoenix entered the briefing room and brought up the images Ian and Arri were sending from the bridge and placed them with the holographic ability, in the centre of the table. She also added the images for the group of younger people, that had come through the tight burst comm.

She didn't say much as she let the images roll through. No sign of where the vessel was, though she knew that using the correlation software they had, it would not take long.

Her own gaze was drawn to the tall male teenager and the brunette beside him holding what looked like a knife. "That's my favorite Dagger" she muttered, but didn't say anything more as she turned to the others. "The Prime Direction may or may not have bearing on this, the TEMPORAL prime Directive may be the one we need to follow. They could be direct descendants or several generations later for all we know."

Phoenix paused.

"Commander Taylor. Two away teams. It is currently the planet's night cycle in the area where the call came from. Once we get the co-ordinates, one team will go there, shuttle craft, the other will take a shuttle and scan the rest of the forest around there, see if they can find any settlement or such. If they do, recon only."

"Aye Captain." Gary quietly acknowledged. "Any recommendations on the make up of the away teams? Further I think in regards to the Temporal prime directive, we're looking at an alternate timeline in play on the planet below us. Of course we'll know more once we do a recon of the ship and planet."

Phoenix nodded. "Small teams 2-3 people each. Once we know more we can look into expanding that." She looked at the senior staff. "Volunteers only." She didn't want to send people down if they were uncomfortable with the situation.

"Teams of three is good." Gary agreed, "I'll only make one request. Liselle you're with me on the ship team. You know the bridge systems and their workings, we can study them and see just how long that ship has been down there."

Liselle perked up at the request. “Absolutely. Consider me volunteered,” she said eagerly. This was too exciting of a prospect to possibly miss out on.

Gary smiled gratefully at Liselle and her eager acceptance onto the away team. He waited to see who else would volunteer for the mission. "Thank you Liselle." He replied relief evident in his voice.

"Count me in on that team." Ian said. He was terribly curious about what all was going on down on the surface. And he wanted to avoid being put on a team with Arri, which looked like a distinct possibility given the numbers involved.

"Count me in as well." said Matias. "And, it looks too fuzzy to make sure, but Liselle, does one of them look like it could be our child?"

Liselle’s eyebrows hit her hairline at that observation. It took her several moments before she was able to speak. “I — I suppose it’s possible,” she stammered. “Although the likelihood of our two races ever conceiving a child are incredibly low.” More than that, Liselle had never had any desire to ever have children of her own. She had a difficult time imagining a scenario where she would invite science into improving the genetic odds of such a child ever being born. She found herself drumming her fingers on the table in front of her as the prospects tumbled about in her brain, no matter how improbable.

"You're right, Liselle, it was just wishful thinking on my part. I doubt if we would be physically compatible to have a child anyway." said Matias. Then, he thought, it was doubtful if he was even fertile. He knew he and his former mate had tried to have a child but never succeded.

"Very good Mr. Murphy, you're with Commander Qwyyn and myself. Mr. Matias you'll be with the away sent to recon the planet." Gary replied.

"I will be there to recon, sir." said Matias.

Lia sat silently listening to everyone, she felt a chill run up her spine. In the back of her mind she heard the words, (don't go there). Standing up she headed for the door, "I'll man the bridge, I'm sure I can find someone to assist me". She looked at Phoenix, "I take it you'll be leading the second recce team?" Her demeanour was one of calm and control, but inside she was a turmoil of emotions. At these times was when it became unavoidable, she was still the outsider. After all this time and a budding romance, she still felt as if she was outside looking in.

Gary spoke up, "No Lia, the Captain will be staying on board with you." He faced Phoenix, "I'm sorry Captain, it's too dangerous for you to go down there. I can't allow you to go there when there is so little we know." His voice calm and level but there was an undercurrent of firm resolve in his voice. He wasn't going to budge on this.

The gorn had been sitting quietly looking over the data for what felt like an eternity before finally raising his hand. " I'll go if someone wantsss me. It'sss highly unlikely I was able to reproduce with anyone on the ssship without extensssive medical aid ssso it doubtful I have descendantsss running around. "

Gary acknowledged the CMO, "Glad to have you Doc. You and Matias will be on the planet recon team."

Gary's statement made Lia stop, "That's a step too far Commander, a Captain has the right to lead an away mission if they so choose. And even though you may object, you can't stop her". She didn't want to seem to be starting an argument, but Gary tended to jump in before others had made it clear as to the order of things. They had had their own problems in that regard, and she didn't think Phoenix would take to kindly at being told what to do even by her XO. "I understand your concerns, but our Captain is in command. And you know how she does things, in her own sweet style", Lia turned to leave for the bridge, "But just for everyone's information, I agree with the XO on this".

"That's where you're wrong Lia. It is the duty of every First Officer to protect and if need be to prevent their Captain from entering a dangerous,volatile situation which we know little about. Which this is. A fact you'll better understand when you become a First Officer." Gary countered before adding, "Thank you."

Lia turned her head and winked at Gary, "You're welcome Commander".

"Have you both finished?" Phoenix asked with a smile. "I will not be going down to the planet this time. Commander Holmes, you and Lieutenant Wynter will join the recon team. Lieutenant Wynter your expertise in surveillance and infiltration will be a good thing. Oh and I want all of you inoculated before you go down, you especially Liselle. That is a rain forest and that equals insects."

Wynter nodded. "Yes Captain." He turned to Holmes. "This should be interesting Commander."

Turning to face Wynter, Lia simply replied. "We need a third wheel Lieutenant, any suggestions?" She bit her tongue at the sharpness of her reply, "Sorry Lieutenant, but this is not my idea of fun. Something down there isn't right, and I can't explain why I have no wish to find out what it is". She looked at Phoenix, "I obey with reservations Captain, please note I am not exactly volunteering. I have my reasons, but I'm a Star Fleet Officer and I obey orders". She then turned and left for her cabin, she needed to compose herself and change before leaving.

The gorn noded. " I'll have the ssstandard inoculationsss done before we go. I'll also make sssure one of the quarantine baysss is ready just in cassse." he stated calmly.

Phoenix looked at them. "No Contact until we know what is going on. Those heading to the Communication point, do not make contact with those young people unless there is no other choice."

"No problems there, Captain." Murphy assured her. "I don't imagine that any of us want to have a heart-to-heart with Catnip Evertween and the Biguns." He had zero expectations of finding kids descended from himself on the surface of the planet, and honestly wanted nothing to do with kids of any sort.

Arri kicked Ian's leg under the table, hard, and then made it appear like she didn't move.

Murphy sighed, raising an eyebrow at Arri, wondering if every briefing he had to attend with the woman would be devolving into childish antics. At least he wouldn't be stuck on a shuttlecraft with the woman for this assignment. Thank goodness.

=/\=

Leaving on a .....shuttle

A Mission Post by Commander Gary Taylor

Mission: Episode 1: Face to Face A - Prime Crew

Location: Gary's Quarters

Timeline: Current

Gary stood in his quarters and looked around, taking in each and every detail as if he was never coming back. He had a few minutes before having to leave for the shuttlebay and take a shuttle with Liselle and Murphy to the crash site of this very ship and try to piece together just what they were dealing with. he wasn't a scientist. His specialties were in tactics, codes and languages. None that he expected to be in high demand for this mission. However he was an explorer and this was the perfect opportunity to explore a subject they were all familiar with.

He walked into the bedroom and his eyes fell to a picture of Catlin and himself, smiling, looking at the camera, their arms around each other. He picked the picture up and sat on the edge of the bed. "Going on an away mission to this ship." He paused, shook his head and chuckled. "Yep, you heard me right Catlin. Seems on that planet we're orbiting there's the wreckage of this very ship. We're suppose to go and see if we can piece together what's going on. Sounds like fun huh?"

His hand came out and gently caressed the picture. "I miss you Catlin. Not a day doesn't go by that I don't but I have Lia here to help me. You'd like her. I think you would have been good friends. She's smart, attractive and gives as good as she gets in an argument. Just like you. We argue like cats and dogs sometimes but we make it work. I think because the bottom line is we also respect each other and makes a difference." He sighed and took a deep breath, "I'll always love you Catlin. Always. I want you to know that but I can't live in the past. It's not fair to Lia. I don't want her to compete against a memory. I have to look to the present and the future and that's with Lia. I'll always cherish the time we had together and I wish we had more." He bowed his head. "But we didn't. You'll forever live in my heart and mind Catlin. I do love you." He caressed the picture a final time before standing and exiting the room. He had a shuttle to catch.

Episode 2: Face to Face Conculsion - I’ve Always Liked Ken

A Mission Post by Commander Liselle Qwyyn & Senior Chief Petty Officer Ken Waters & Chief Petty Officer Feyth Railli

Mission: Episode 2: Face to Face Conculsion

Location: Flight Control Offices

Timeline: MD 5 13h30

“And try your best to get someone from Engineering to run through the diagnostic again. If that really is our ship that crashed down there, there’s a good chance that our department had a hand in it. I’d like to avoid that mistake this time around if we can.”

Ken Waters stopped short of collecting more PADDs into his arms from Liselle’s desk. “Well, in that case, try your best to get the story of who was flying at the time things went bad from those kids down there. No annual bonus for her.”

“Or him.”

Liselle and Ken looked to the far door to see that Feyth Railli had arrived, her swollen belly entering the room moments before the rest of her. “It might have even been you,” the Bajoran said, leveling a pointed look at him.

But Ken was having none of it, his lips twisted with a small grin. “Not in this timeline or any other would I let anything happen to this ship while I’m flying her,” he promised. “Which reminds me, I’m due back on the bridge.”

Liselle selected one last PADD and handed it to Ken, who struggled to find a place for it in the teetering pile he already carried. “And I have to get ready to leave for the planet’s surface.” She pointed a finger at Ken. “Keep the Elysium in the air.” And a finger at Feyth. “And no having any babies until I get back. That’s an order.”

Feyth‘s hands moved subconsciously to cradle her belly. She looked up at Qwyyn with shimmering eyes. “No promises.”

“Take care, you two.”

“Wait.” Feyth said, reaching for Liselle’s arm. “Whatever you see down there, good or bad, I don’t want to know, okay? Not right now. This pregnancy has been an emotional nightmare enough on its own, the last thing I need is the pressure of what’s in store for me.”

Liselle placed a gentle hand on Feyth’s own. Ian seemed fairly confident that whatever was happening on the planet below was an alternative timeline, not necessarily some predestined future. Still, the spirit of Feyth’s request was clear. “You got it. I won’t spoil any surprises.”

Ken was suddenly standing on Liselle’s other side, his arms full of the PADDs she had loaded him down with. “And when you run into future Phoenix,” he said gravely, “tell her that I captain my own ship now. And I’m rich. And incredibly fit. And breathtakingly beautiful.”

Liselle cocked her head at him. “I’m sorry, did you think you were off the hook with me?” When he wisely chose not to answer, she pressed on. “Tell you what, I’ll tell her that you’ve gained a lot of weight and that nobody likes you since you stopped bathing. And that in this timeline she barely remembers you.”

“Maybe you don’t bring me up to her at all?”

She patted his cheek. “We’ll see.”

“Thanks...”

Liselle left the room, making her way to join the away team already prepping for their trip to the surface.

“She’s still pretty mad at me, isn’t she?” he said, watching her go.

“I think a lot of people are.”

He sighed. “Prophets, has Phoenix turned every woman on this ship against me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” she said. And she looked over at him. “I’m sure there’s at least person on board who still likes you.”

“Everyone likes Ken!”

“I’m sure they do,” Feyth said charitably. “Lately they just don’t like to show it in public. Or private.”

He scowled. “I’ve always liked Ken.”

“I know, dear. I know.”

OFF

Stocktake

A Mission Post by Lieutenant K'Trau

Mission: Episode 0: History Speaks

Location: Cargo bay 10, Deck 33

Timeline:

ON:

The door hissed open and K'Trau quietly slipped inside. Stacked on high shelves around her were rows of large crates. According to the PADD in her hand, the crates should be full of medical supplies and emergency rations. The only problem was, K'Trau had found crates of medical supplies in cargo bays 2,5 and 6, and she hadn't found any emergency rations yet. She moved to the nearest crate and read its label, "LZ-3294" She checked her PADD, LZ-3294 should contain Duranium Ore and should have been in cargo bay 7. She opened it and sighed, yep, Duranium Ore.

K'Trau made a note on her PADD and moved on to the next crate, this one labeled as "FW-1006" She frowned as she checked her manifest, FW-1006 was a Warp Plasma container in cargo bay 3. This was the wrong sort of crate for warp plasma. She placed her PADD on a shelf and opened the crate. Inside was several bundles of fiber optic cables. K'Trau made a growling sound, deep in her throat and slammed the crate closed. She adjusted her manifest.

Moving along again she found crates FW-1007 up to FW-1029, all fiber optic cables labeled incorrectly as warp plasma. K'Trau growled again. Whoever had been in the Quartermaster before her had done a terrible job. There was no sense of any order to anything, and the majority of crates were incorrectly labeled or in the wrong place. Cargo bay 8 had been a nightmare. It was overflowing, with crates stacked dangerously on top of each other, and several of the crates had been left open. Cargo bay 9 had in someways been worse. It had been mostly empty with only six crates stacked against the back wall. Three had been full of spare hull plates. The other three had contained Photon grenades, Tactical Assault Vests and Phaser Rifles, all of which should have been in an armory.

K'Trau was dreading reaching the lower cargo bays, they were all supposed to be empty, ready for anything that the Elysium might need to deliver. However, considering that a fair amount of the manifest was still unaccounted for, she suspected that many of the missing items would be in the lower bays.

She continued through Cargo bay 10, growing steadily more disappointed as she continued to find items incorrectly labeled.

K'Trau stopped and swore as she saw another open crate. She approached it and her eyes widened, inside were eight phaser rifles, and impressions where two more should have sat. As she stared in horrified shock at the missing weapons the doors hissed open. Her ears swiveled round as she heard two voices approaching. She whirled around to see a pair of gold collared men, an Andorian and a Human, walking towards her. They were both much taller than her and were deep in conversation, with the missing rifles slung over their shoulders. They stopped speaking as they noticed her glaring at them.

"Rankss and namess now!" She demanded, looking them directly in the eyes "and give me thosse rifless."

The two men shared a glance and slowly surrendered the weapons. The human looked slightly nervous as he spoke "Petty Officer, second class Kyle Sullivan", the Andorian however, didn't seem to care about the anger directed at them "Petty Officer, second class Arabiahr Th'shyrheq."

K'Trau glared at him, furious at his nonchalant attitude "Why did you take thesse weaponss?"

Sullivan glanced at his companion "I...we didn't think anybody would miss them, it takes too much time and paperwork to check weapons out of the armory"

K'Trau's ears flicked in annoyance and her tail whipped from side to side as she struggled to not yell at them "So you decided that you would jusst take a pair of rifless out of the cargo bay?"

Th'shyrheq nodded "Yeah, we did, so what? Nobody even knew they were here!"

K'Trau took a deep breath, her lips curling back to reveal her fangs as she growled "They don't live here, they live in the armory." She placed them into the open case and slammed it closed. She thrust the case into Sullivan's arms and glared at Th'shyrheq "You will take thesse to the ssecurity chief, you will explain where they were and you will check them into the armory, properly, filling out all the correct paperwork. I will be reporting both of you, and recommending that you are told exactly why you sshould check out your weaponss in the correct manner, after that you will both be assisting me in organizing the cargo bayss correctly. Is that understood?"

The two men mumbled something under their breaths and started to walk out.

K'Trau growled "I said IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!!" She yelled.

Sullivan instantly snapped to attention "Yes Lieutenant" he said loudly

She glared at Th'shyrheq who shrugged, looking down at her "Yeah, I understood"

"Do you need a lessson in how to addresss a ssuperior officer, Petty Officer ssecond classs Arabiahr Th'shyrheq?" yelled K'Trau

"I...err...no Ma'am" He looked slightly confused and rather nervous "I'm sorry, I understand"

"Then get out of thiss cargo bay"

The two men hurried out, lest she lecture them further. As the doors hissed closed behind them K'Trau let out a hiss of her own, annoyed at the two men, and the way she had lost her temper. She picked up her PADD, she would need to finish her inventory quickly so that the two men could start putting everything back where it belonged.

OFF:

LTCMDR Tate Sullivan Ph.D.'s Personal Log - On Temporal Pins and Needles

The following is a personal log from LTCMDR Tate Sullivan Ph.D..

For the record, this log is intended to be more of a distraction than a historical record of what is happening aboard ship. The truth is, there is still so much we don't know anyway that I'd be hard-pressed to know what to offer in the way of facts. All I really know is, the not knowing is doing a number on me, and if we don't get answers soon, I know it will do a number on the crew as well. Temporal issues tend to have that affect on a group.

As hard as I try, I can't seem to focus on any of the daily routine while we await to learn more. As Starfleet officers, we are taught to expect the unexpected and there's certainly no shortage of missions that are the epitome of that very sentiment, but something about temporal issues sets even me on edge. I suppose it's because I recognize the potential psychological implications of the crew encountering versions of themselves in a reality they could never imagine. It's one thing to confront parts of the self in a therapy session, it's another thing to be confronted with a physical representation of an entire other self that thinks and seats. Of course, the goal is to do as little damage as possible, but I don't think any of us are naïve enough to think we can achieve that goal entirely. History has taught us too many times to expect just the opposite.

No pun intended, but only time will tell.

1LT Arcadia Eruption 's Personal Log - why?

The following is a personal log from 1LT Arcadia Eruption .

Diplomatic Protection Office Suite

Senior Offices Office

Arcadia sat in her chair occupying her office. Coffin the large komodo dragon, the closest DNA to coffin growing to a maximum length of 3 meters (10 ft) in rare cases and weighing up to approximately 70 kilograms (150 lb), the largest pure Komodo is 3.13 m (10.3 ft) long and weighed 166 kg (366 lb), including undigested food. however Coffin was 7 meters and weighing up to approximately 201 kilograms. The Komodo dragon has a tail as long as its body, as well as about 60 frequently replaced, serrated teeth that can measure up to 2.5 cm (1 in) in length. Its saliva is frequently blood-tinged, because its teeth are almost completely covered by gingival tissue that is naturally lacerated during feeding. It also has a long, yellow, deeply forked tongue. Komodo dragon skin is reinforced by armored scales, which contain tiny bones called osteoderms that function as a sort of natural chain-mail. This rugged hide makes Komodo dragon skin a poor source of leather. Komodo was found in the far reaches of the Beta quadrant, actually to be honest it was found beyond the final barrier of the Beta Quadrant a gift from the Ogivsal race. Instead of the standard outside covering, Coffin had a camouflage outer skin which could change depending on her location. Coffin lay to her right between the desk and the wall of her office.

Baby a large black feline, more a combination of tiger, cougar, jaguar, and a handful of other species that weren't known. Giving to Arcadia from the Portal 3, one of the remaining Portal Guardian's which were left to guard the Tkon Empire. The Tkon Empire was a massive empire that existed over 600,000 years ago. The Empire had a population of trillions and was highly advanced technologically. The Tkon had the ability to move entire stars, using planets as outposts for defence. They employed guardians known as portals to defend these outposts and to act as gatekeepers for those seeking entry to the Empire. Historical eras for this civilisation were described as Ages measured by the Tkon using galactic motionary star time charts. The latter ages of the Tkon Empire were Bastu, Cimi, Xora, and Makto. It was during the Age of Makto when the central star of their home system destabilised and went supernova, ending the Empire.

Starfleet thought the only Portal left was Portal 63, but Arcadia knew better, there were 11 Portals left, and a large population had been moved before their home system destabilised and went supernova, ending more than 93% of the empire. Arcadia kept the secret of the survivors for many years, not even telling BW what she knew. Baby lay under the desk only her tail visible.

Which left Daisymae, a pure bred Teacup poodle who had larger than normal teeth and bit down bloody hard. Arcadia stroked the apricot poodle another gift, given to her from a scavenger, who was thankful not to die at Eruption's hands. The fact Coffin, Baby and Daisymae had form a relationship which was very strange.

Sipping the lemon slushie she's poured from her slushie machine, she continued to stroke Daisymae. "So why the hell are we here? We're not needed, they have security, and marines and definitely don't need mercenaries for diplomatic protection, and as the three most senior officers on overwatch. Going to check with the Security Chief who happens to be the second officer. Bringing up the files for all three of the overwatch, she studied the RO, then the XO and finally the SC. "There has to be another reason we're here. I wonder what would happen if I pulled the overwatch and saw what happened. I think everyone out of cryostasis should happen first, along with a check with the quartermaster if they still have any of our gear.” Putting Daisymae on the floor near Babies tail and watched it curl around the teacup.

“Let's see what happens when we kill the overwatch. If all of us are up then we'll be able to watch the three plus the diplomatic and fleet command.” Eruption headed to the vault and entered, beginning the process to awaken everyone left in their cryostasis tube.

Episode 2: Face to Face Conculsion - Away Team 1: To the Wreck we go

A Mission Post by Lieutenant Ian Murphy & Cassandra Murphy & Captain Phoenix Lalor & Commander Liselle Qwyyn & Commander Gary Taylor & Liam Lalor & Liselle Lalor & Daniel Salannis an Elysium & Feyth Yaanalla & Augustus McKinley & Kai McKinley & Niamh McKinley

Mission: Episode 2: Face to Face Conculsion

Location: Shuttle Bay 1 - Then the Wreck

Timeline: MD5 1430

[ON]

The prepped shuttle stood waiting for the away team. Beaming down was next to impossible so, a shuttle it was.

Murphy lugged a portable generator onto the shuttle and stowed it in one of the storage niches. Guessing from the minimal lighting on the bridge from the brief video they'd received, the crashed Elysium might only have emergency power available, and the away team might need to access the computers or the Avalon AI. He'd also brought a heavy duty tricorder loaded with genetic data from the Elysium's present crew complement -- Just in case they needed to figure out whose kids they were dealing with.

Although, at this point, it seemed like lurid speculation about how torrid the sex lives of the crew would become if they'd crashed on a jungle planet and became terribly horny or something.

Liselle turned about in the pilot's seat at the sound of his approach. She watched him struggle with the generator, her thoughts still too erratic to make the obvious gesture to help him. "I can't explain it but I have a really uneasy feeling about this," she said to Ian. "It feels like....dread....or something."

Ian cocked his head at her, then walked over to sit in the ops chair, hanging his tricorder by its strap from its arm. "Liiike being afraid of meeting yourself and disappearing in a whiff of cataclysmic paradox, or just that you don't want to find out what might have happened to you if the ship crashed in a steamy jungle hellhole and you had to survive there for a couple dozen years?"

"Gods, you're right. I don't think I could manage to live like that," she said. Liselle placed her fingers on her lips, her eyes darting about in thought. "Oh Gods, what if some of us are dead! What if I am?"

"Just give yourself and the people around you credit for what you and they know and are capable of doing." Ian said pragmatically, reaching down to tug on the lever that let him lean his seat back. "And don't worry if some of them are dead because they're not the people you know and care about. Technically speaking, if they've been on that planet for several years, every cell in their bodies will have died and been replaced, probably with cells constructed from ambient matter, and they will have racked up years' worth of experiences to differentiate themselves from us." He concluded, crossing his arms behind his head. "The people you care about are on the ship, alive and well."

Liselle blinked, her eyelids practically fluttering as she digested Ian's prognosis of their situation. A smile pulled at the corner of her mouth even as she tapped out the preflight sequence on the console in front of her. "You have a very interesting perspective on things, Lieutenant," she said. She hadn't spent any real time with Murphy since he had come aboard. In the few minutes they had shared alone together so far, however, she already knew that she liked him. Her eyes watched her fingers. "I'm glad you volunteered for this mission."

Murphy chuckled. "Outsider's perspective more than anything else. I'm sure, if I were here longer, I might feel the same way you do." Or not, because he was a cynical, sarcastic jerk at heart. "And I volunteered to get away from Lieutenant Salannis, because there's just so much manhandling I can take before I reach for the nearest phaser or blunt object."

"That's just self preservation.Mr. Murphy." Gary answered, a smile in his face having just arrived after a short detour to see Lia off. He climbed into the shuttle. "Sorry I'm late." He nodded in satisfaction at seeing Liselle had already keyed in the preflight sequence. "Good thinking Liselle." He said honestly, knowing it would cut their departure time by half. "How long before we can lift off in this crate and we're ready to go exploring?" He asked in a light, jesting tone.

Liselle spread her hands to either side of her. "Hey, the moment the two of you tell me you've built up the courage to stare into your wrinkly old faces, we're out of here and on our way," she teased.

"Ahhhhhh. I see." Gary answered with a smile as he slid into the right seat. "Wrinkly and old indeed." He teased. "The word is given Liselle. Lets get out of here and see how many old wrinkly faces we can find."

Liselle smiled to herself as she guided them up from the deck of the shuttlebay. "Don't worry. No matter how repulsive you turned out to be, we'll tell Lia she didn't look a day over twenty-six."

Gary laughed in good humor. it was rich and deep. "It's a deal Liselle. I do like the way you think. Command thinking at it's finest. Now let's see if we can find our doppelgangers without bringing attention to ourselves."

"Aye, sir."

Murphy looked between the two of them. He'd read enough to know that most, if not all of the senior staff were younger than him by at least a decade. "Psssh. Old Other-me will probably try to chase you around with his cane, yelling, 'You kids get off my lawn!' And I might join him in a chorus or two. Impertinent little snips." He added with a 'Hmph!'

Their shuttle slipped from the Elysium and after a slight drift to starboard her thrusters engaged, jolting it forward and on its way down to the site of another Elysium's wreckage.

Moments after they had penetrated the exosphere, Liselle sat forward in her seat, her brow furrowed. Her fingers darted across her console. "The ion activity in the atmosphere is nothing to laugh at, guys." She turned to them, her expression serious. "You might want to hold on to something."

Gary bounced in his seat as the shuttle bounced in the upper atmosphere of the planet like a raft riding raging waves. "Now Liselle, I know you can handle this. I'd hate to have to revoke your pilot's license because you crashed us into the planet." He teased all while he looked for something to grab onto.

Murphy braced himself against the Ops console, his knuckles growing white as he held himself in place. "Increasing inertial dampers." Because he didn't want to redecorate the viewscreen and his console with his lunch.

"Should just be another few seconds," she assured him. Her fingers continued to work the controls, more often than not she was confirming the computer's suggestions for autopilot guidance, sometimes she was overriding them and directly entering in her own course corrections, relying on her gut to see them safely landed, as all seasoned pilots eventually learned to do.

With a violent jolt they finally touched down. Liselle lifted her hands away from her console, like a piano player having completed a well practiced piece. "Phew," she breathed. "Please join me later for part two, where I manage to get us back to the Elysium again."

"It's a deal." Gary replied as he relaxed only now realizing just how tense he had been on their descent. "Did we suffer any damage to the shuttle when we landed?" He inquired. he had no desire to be stuck down here with who knew what.

Liselle ran a quick check, shaking her head almost immediately. "Everything checks out fine."

"Good to know Liselle. A testament to your skill as a pilot." Gary replied paused then added, "Or it could have been luck." As he winked at Liselle.

Ian ran checks from his own console. "All passenger seats read as dry, that's what's important." He mused, because snarky humor was his go-to coping mechanism. "There were some fluctuations in the EPS conduits, possibly a side-effect of the ionization. I'll figure out what we need to do to compensate for the trip back up. Meantime, I'm ready for the more surreal part of the mission." He added in a chipper tone.

Gary shook his head at Murphy's commentabout dry passenger seats but otherwise was silent. "I'm sure you will Mr. Murphy. No doubt in my mind." He stood up. "All right folks everyone remember where we parked and lets go exploring."

Murphy set the shuttle's scanners to do periodic scans of the area, and synched it with his tricorder before rising and heading towards the exit. "I'll set the computer to lock out all functions just in case the kids spot it and are desperate enough to resort to grand theft to get off this planet." He opened the rear hatch and instantly regretted it as he got an immediate face-full of hot, dank, unpleasant-smelling air. "Oof! Smells like the locker room of the academy in peak parrises squares season."

"I wouldn't know," Liselle assured him. "The ladies locker rooms always smelt of lilac and jasmine." As she brushed past him, her eyes caught Gary's and she shook her head, pinching her nose as she mouthed the words *Nah. Way worse then the men's. Waaaaay worse.*

Gary nodded at Liselle's pinching of her nose and mouthing of her words, his eyes twinkled in agreement and his mouth opened in a loud, boisterous guffaw.

Ian's tricorder ululated as he began scanning. "I'm getting massive interference, even using the shuttle's deflector to boost the range. Lots of lifeform readings -- creatures that seem analogous to insects, mammals, reptiles, fish... Cursory glance says that most of the humanoids on the Elysium could survive here indefinitely, but it wouldn't be an easy life. I'm getting distant readings of technology approximately eight kilometers in that direction." He said, pointing. And then his Tricorder began chirping at him urgently, and he swiveled, pointing it at the crashed Elysium. "And we've just been scanned by the wreck."

Gary stopped, his hand reaching out to lightly tap Liselle on the shoulder. "Hold up Liselle." He said as he turned to face Murphy. "You said scanned?" His eyes turning towards the wreck before returning to look at Murphy. "How is that possible Mr. Murphy? I would have thought with the wreck, the ship's systems would have exhausted all power long before now."

Murphy shrugged, scanning the wreck. "Well, starships have dozens of conventional reactors aboard. Backups of backups of backups. If someone like, um, Matias or Ephraim survived the crash, they'd be able to rig something up to give them power to send out a big burst transmission like the one that was sent, and still have a few megajoules to play with." He frowned at the thought. "Even I could probably do it if hard-pressed. But we're talking about burning out reactors to power up something like this. Like a last resort type of thing. They might not have had a plan B after doing something like this."

"I'm familiar with a starship's redundancy systems Mr. Murphy. I'm just surprised they had any power to work with." Gary answered, his eyes still on the wreckage of what for all intent and purposes was their ship. "So then they used what remaining power they had to send their message. Gutsy move."

"Pretty ballsy, alright." Murphy said, lifting his tricorder to face level. "Wanna see something funny? Voice override Murphy seven Cookie four spanking three." He tapped at a few of the small icons, then said, "Hi, kids!"

---

Daniel waited for their away teams to land in what used to be the former Auxillary Control Room. He predicted accurately what the Elysium's Away Teams will do. They would avoid contact, following their vaunted prime directive, and attempt to download the Elysium's records. He also managed to conceal the Control Room behind debris, so his foolish sister and her tribe could not get in.

Even if they made contact, they wouldn't take anyone on this planet. The temporal prime directive was clear. The ground work for his plan should be in place when they download Avalon into the other Elysium's computers. Avalon will become his sock puppet and he'd be able to undock the Elysium's Captain's Yacht without them noticing it.

If the plan went wrong, he would; of course, have to kill everyone. He would not be trapped in this limbo for eternity with his sister. His sister and that damnable toilet seat she wore around her neck!

Such wasted potential. He was meant for greater things than to linger here for eternity. But one thing was clear, he was going to get off this planet even if he had to kill every single one of the Elysium's crew.

-- On the ruinned bridge, Niamh was looking out the viewport. "Hey guys.." she called out. "Look!!!" She began jumping up and down pointing. "It worked!!!!"

"You what, mate?" Cass asked, mid-pour of her third glass of wine, and turned to look at Yaanalla, brow creased. That was way faster than it should have been. "It's probably one of the hoppers from the village. Somehow Jenn figured out we were up to no good and sent someone out to bring us in for a heart-to-heart with Gary." Even if the Starling was parked in orbit when they'd sent the message, they'd be tied up in staff meetings and other procedural crap for at least a couple hours before actually doing anything.

Niamh shook her head. "Ah nope.. not unless Liselle has learned the secret of de-aging."

Liam moved over and looked out and all but dragged her back from the window. "Well she is right about it." he said.

Cassandra walked back to her mother's console and powered up the old ship's sensors, and the main viewscreen, heedless of just how low the remaining power was, putting up an image of the three people walking up to the crash site. "Fuck!" She swore, shaking her head. "We stopped the crash. We just created a huge fucking paradox." She said, walking over to the viewscreen and looking up at her father. "I'll never be conceived now. I'll never be born."

Yaanalla stepped up alongside her. "Hey! Don't say stuff like that!" she said. The young Bajoran hadn't exactly been a superstar at school, despite her efforts, and any topics beyond the most basic physical sciences were well beyond her abilities. She could never find the truth in the mumbo jumbo nonsense the way the other students did, particularly Liam and Cass. Right now, she was having a hard time discerning between joke and dire warning from the other kids on the bridge. "What do we do? Should we hide or something?"

On screen, Murphy turned to look directly at the Elysium, and Cass walked up to the screen, touching the image of her father. His hand. "Alea iacta est. The die is cast." She said wistfully. "Their Phoenix is still alive, Yaanalla. Their version of your dad, too. And all the other dead people that people in the village keep going on about. Their Gary doesn't look like the world gave him a shit sandwich and told him that every day, he's gotta take another bite."

Liselle Lalor pushed herself to the forefront of the gathered crowd, bodily knocking people aside so that she could stand alongside Cass and get a better look at the screen. The young Erisian's eyes shimmered with disbelief and pain. Her voice trembled on the edge of tears and she barely managed to breathe out a word: "Mom?"

Liam grabbed his sister. "Not down there she isn't. Come on, we have to hide" He ordered the group.

At that moment, the main viewscreen crash-zoomed onto Murphy, Gary and Liselle, and Murphy said, in a manic voice, =^=Hi, Kids!=^=

"Holy shit!" Cassandra swore. "He took over control of the ship's sensors! They can probably see and hear us!"

Liam cursed in fluently Erisian, and pointed to the open hatch. "RUN" he snapped out, "Now!" Liam gave his near catatonic sister and the bajoran beside her a shove to get them moving, then grabbed Cass by the arm and pushed her after them.

Niamh grabbed her brother's hands and bolted in the direction indicated. She didn't say a word as she pulled her brothers towards the hatch.

Cass ran, alright, diverting from the direction Liam nearly flung her in to snatch up the bottle of wine. Then she stopped and turned to face the screen defiantly. "My name is Cassandra Morrigan Murphy Hi, Daddy!"

Outside, Murphy's tricorder tumbled from fingers gone numb with shock. =^=What did that girl...=^= The rest of what he had to say was garbled by the sound of the tricorder crashing to the ground

Inside, Cassandra giggled gleefully. "Sorry, had to do it." She said to Liam, continuing to giggle as she ran. In a world gone mad, why not go mad as well?

Liam groaned and rolled his eyes. Why did he have be involved with the craziest girl on the planet? He didn't say anything just followed the group to the hatch.

=/\=

Outside, Gary looked at the shocked Murphy. "I believe she called you Daddy Mr. Murphy." Gary said softly, "Now that's a kick in the pants to be sure." As he bent down and picked up the tricorder, handing it to the still shocked Murphy. "Come on. Don't you want to meet your daughter? Now that both groups know about the other."

Murphy closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying to compose himself and sternly reminding himself that these kids were the children of some other Murphy. But, goddamn, the thought of it was screwing with his brain. "We might as well." He said, and then chuckled. "Hey, now I'm dying to find out what young lady on the ship has standards so low that she'd want to have my baby."

Gary nodded, "It is an intriguing question to be sure and one we are all anxious to find the answer to." He finished with a smirk. "So 'Daddy' Lets go meet the family." Yet even as they headed toward the wreckage, Gary couldn't help but wonder what surprises waited for the rest of them? He hoped nothing as shocking as what Murphy was dealing with.

"You say that now." Murphy said, shooting the XO a look as he scanned for a rift in the hull that would give them the best route to the kids, and nodding in the direction of the opening the kids had most likely gone through. "I counted half a dozen kids from the visual, and I can't have fathered them all. Well, I could have, but it's unlikely. Just sayin' is all."

"Now Mr. Murphy, an officer of your caliber? Don't go selling yourself short." Gary smirked as they headed for the wreckage and whatever awaited them inside.

-=/\=-

Episode 2: Face to Face Conculsion - Away Team 2: Lets Look around

A Mission Post by Captain Phoenix Lalor & Lieutenant Jaeih t’Noramei-McKinley & Miran Lalor & Triston Montgomery & Commander Gary Taylor & Commander Aurelia Holmes & Lieutenant Commander Matias Grronkil & Lieutenant Commander Sthilg & Lieutenant Wynter

Mission: Episode 2: Face to Face Conculsion

Location: Shuttle Bay 2 - Elysium Village once found

Timeline: MD5 1430

The prepped shuttle stood waiting for the away team. Beaming down was next to impossible so, a shuttle it was.

Matias had gone to get some equipment and then came to the shuttle and entered it.

Wynter arrived dressed in an all black outfit, with a few black ops perks. "Commander." He said with a nod as he boarded the shuttle.

The gorn stepped out of the turbolift next. A medical kit was slung over his back along with a phaser. Walking towards the shuttle he grinned at everyone as he stepped up the ramp. " Well, ladiesss and gentlemen ssshall we find out what's down there." He said politely as he took his seat.

Commander Lia Holmes stood looking at the shuttle and wished it gone, it stayed right where it was. Taking a deep breath she entered, "Ok kiddy winkles, is everyone ready for our visit to never never land? Mr. Wynter, I wasn't aware this was a fancy dress affair?" Lia grinned at him, "Are we expecting trouble?" She took her place in the right hand seat and began getting the sensors and scanners up to speed, "I don't know who's flying this thing, but it sure 'aint me".

Wynter chuckled for an instant before his face turned serious. "When entering an unknown situatio, especially one on an Alien planet where, our systems are not fully operational always expect trouble. It would be foolish not to Commander." He sighed once more and moved to the cockpit. After a brief preflight check he turned his head to the personnel behind him. "Buckle in this could be bumpy."

"Mr. Wynter, you have a sense of humour. As for bumpy rides, it won't be the first", Lia smiled as she spoke. This could be a long recce mission, no use upsetting people just yet.

" Ha." The gorn replied as he strapped himself in. "Here we go again." He'd been in more bumpy rides than most of the crew combined.

Before he went to his shuttle, Gary had a stop to make first, one he needed to make. Entering shuttlebay 2 he walked to Lia's shuttle and stuck his head in. "Pardon the interruption, Um Lia er... Commander Holmes, could I see you for a moment?"

Gary suddenly appearing made Lia's heart jump, "Ah, yeah.... sure Commander". She glanced quickly at Wynter, "Excuse me Lieutenant, I shouldn't be to long". She exited the shuttle and walked over to where Gary was standing, "Did you get lost or just miss me?" She asked, smiling as she spoke. Now this was unexpected, she thought. "Don't do anything stupid will you, we may find our offspring down there you know". She placed a kiss on his cheek, "If you find anything bad, don't tell me. Let me find out myself, that way you won't feel involved in it".

Gary smiled at her, "Sage advice. I'll remember it ." He quipped. "Make sure you do the same." He grew quiet for a moment brfore speaking again. Looking down for a moment before raising his head, his eyes locked on hers. "Please be safe. No unnecessary risks. I want you coming back." He didn't say to me as he thought that was a given. He placed his hands on her shoulders and bent forward and kissed her full on the lips. The kiss delivered all the love he felt for Lia but didn't have the words to express the depth of his feelings. He caressed her cheek, "Lia, don't be a hero."

Gary's reaction caught Lia by surpries, "Hey flyboy it's a recce mission, I have no intention of landing on that rock pile. I'm comming back, to you. I promise, no heroics". She placed her head on his chest, "What do ya know, you do have a heart". She raised her head and returned his kiss, "I still don't know how to love someone, but I'm willing to learn". She pulled slowly away from him, "You'd better get going, take care my love". She re-entered the shuttle, "Mr. Wynter make ready to launch, we have a job to do".

" Your doing very well. Keep doing what your doing." Gary answered in regards to Lia saying she didn't know how to love someone. He gave a short nod of his head, "Will do." he replied softly, his gaze lingering as she turned and head back into the shuttle. After a few moments he turned and left the shuttlebay. He had a shuttle of his own to catch.

"Commanders I hate to break up the love fest, but we are ready to go here." Wynter sighed, as he started the launch sequence.

As she sat back down in the right hand seat Lia looked at Wynter, "I think it's me that should apologise Lieutenant, there's a time and place for personal commitments. This isn't one of them, so lets launch and get this damn recce over with". She re-started her sensor sequence and waited for launch.

Matias was glad the shuttle was finally in launch sequence.

The gorn leaned back in his chair as he felt the shuttle began to thunder into life and head towards the planet. " Anyone have any idea how long the ssships tech could have sssurvived on the planet?" he asked inquisitively.

Lia turned to face the Gorn, "I've not heard anything Doctor, Mr. Wynter do you have any information on that subject?

Matias was looking at the PADD where he had downloaded any similar time warps. "It appears something like this has happened before. Commander William Riker of the Enterprise once encountered his doppelganger on a planet, and there were two of him on the ship then. It is interesting what happened with that."

"Depends on how often the tech was used, weather conditions, amongst other things." Wynter shrugged as the shuttle started down towards the planet, bouncing all over the sky. One moment it was thrown up the next it plummeted, it was an incredibly rough descent. Wynter was almost bounced out of his seat repeatedly before they landed. "Everyone alright?"

=/\=

Episode 2: Face to Face Conculsion - What Dreams May Come

A Mission Post by Commander Liselle Qwyyn & Commander Gary Taylor

Mission: Episode 2: Face to Face Conculsion

Location: Gary's Treehouse

Timeline: (Timeline B) Just before the timelines merge

Liselle Qwyyn stood outside the door to President Gary Taylor's treehouse, oversized suitcases weighing down each hand. Liselle Lalor had helped her bring her luggage here, alleviating the efforts of both age and her injured foot.

At Qwyyn's insistence Lalor had since left, allowing the older woman a chance to approach this moment with the full presence of mind it seemingly demanded. Matias was gone now. She had ended that. Or they had. Perhaps permanently.

There weren't so many years left ahead of her anymore for second guesses...

With the toe of her boot, she lightly kicked Gary's door several times.

From inside the treehouse, came Gary's voice. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" A moment later the door swung open and he gazed at her. "Liselle!" He greeted her happily, a bright smile lighting up his face. "Here let me get your suitcases. You didn't carry them here by yourself did you?" Casting a suspicious eye at her. Grabbing the suitcases he moved out of the way, glancing at her foot as he did. "Do you need help?"

Almost subconscious in her reaction, Qwyyn looked over her shoulder to where Lalor had once stood beside her. "Ummmm....no. I mean, yes. Yes, I would certainly appreciate the help. That is the reason I'm even here, right?" she asked with an uncertain smile.

"It most certainly is." Gary agreed enthusiastically the smile still on his face.. He set one suitcase down and extended his arm to Liselle so she could use it for support. "I just finished rearranging. Not that there was much to rearrange." He explained as they entered the treehouse. "You'll have my room." He held up a hand to ward off any protests not that he expected it to do any good.

"You're room?" Her eyes belied her immediate confusion. "But where will you, ummmm, you know...sleep?"

He grinned, "Liselle, my dear Liselle. I will sleep on the couch. It's surprising comfortable and if that doesn't work in my visits to the wreck, I found an air mattress. So, I'll be fine. No worries."

Liselle's eyes softened, her head falling to one side. "Gary. That's not fair!" she protested. "Who knows how long it will be before I get back on my feet. You can't be expected to give up your bed for that long! Look, I'll take the couch. And you'll be my dutiful servant, responding to my every beckoning call." A wry smile spilled out across her wrinkled face. "Deal?"

He shook his head, "Liselle, I want you to feel comfortable here. I want you to relax. Not worry about anything. I'll be your dutiful servant and respond to your every beckoning call." He bantered back, "But you're taking the bed. It's the right thing to do. So there." Sounding like a little boy without sticking his tongue out at her.

"You mark my words, Talyor," Qwyyn said with more than the hint of joviality, "I'm getting you back into that bed someday."

He laughed, it was full of good humor. "Liselle, I'm sure you're going to try." He quipped. "Now, come sit down while I put your suitcases is your room." He started into the bedroom, stopped and looked back at her, "I'm glad you're here Liselle."

In that moment she truly believed that giving herself permission to come here was both the best decision and the worst decision she had ever allowed herself to make. Time and time again she had proclaimed her love for this man, and time and time again he had waved her love away. How many more loops could she relive in this cycle before it finally broke her? This would be the very last time she gave her heart to him. She promised herself that. "I'm glad I'm here, too," she said.

He looked into her eyes, "No, I mean I'm really glad your here." He said with absolute sincerity. No more was he going to skirt around his feelings. Liselle had encouraged him to be happy and by God he was going to be. Of course the same went for her to be happy.

*****

The smell of burnt eggs filled Gary Taylor's kitchen, a thick black smoke accompanying the aroma mere moments later. Overwrought with panic, Liselle pulled the pan from the stove and stuffed it quickly into the sink, her free hand pulling the tap open to full pressure. As the water poured out across its surface, the pan only served to splay even more charcoal smoke up into the air.

Gary came stumbling in from the back of the house (not that far a journey.) "Whoa." He said as he came up behind her, "Turn the pressure down and sit the pan in the sink. So we don't have anymore smoke in here." His voice calm and even. "You didn't burn yourself did you?" His voice full of concern for her. The hell with the eggs or whatever she was trying to cook.

Liselle sighed, her anger saturating the exasperation of her exhale. "I wanted to surprise you!" she said, her disappointment clear. "This is unbelievable! My host has the training to hand stitch Klingon hearts closed in under four minutes, my earlier hosts were masters of mediation and focus, but Liselle Qwyyn can't manage over-easy eggs." She turned the pan over and immediately she snapped her hand back with a yelp of pain. "Gods damn it!" she cried. "And now I've burned my stupid fingers!" She pressed her hand against her waist, alongside her ribs, the pain already throbbing its way up the length of her arm.

Gary felt her disappointment. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Liselle, it's the thought that counts and I thank you for your thoughtfulness." He took her hand and could already see the redness of the burn on her fingers. "Come to the couch. I've got some salve. it will stop the pain and get rid of the redness." He finished as he led her to the couch even as the smoke began to clear out of the treehouse. "For what it's worth you did surprise me. I thought you burned the kitchen down." He teased.

A chuckle escaped her unbidden, and it nearly upset her all over again. Gary's amusement at her overreaction almost ha