Episode 1: Raiders among us

A little time had passed, it was nice to see his former commanding officer.

(OCC: Decided to skip the JP, story was not advancing)

She seemed as eager as Dom was to get a tour of the Phoenix. The ship was very impressive, to say the least and a little older than the Lavie. Despite being older, she was being retrofitted to meet the current specs.

Dom had enjoyed his tour with Yuka, now he needed to focus on getting the Phoenix ready to depart drydock. The military needed every ship out in space, protecting its borders against the FSF and other potential aggressors.

He learned from Yuka tips and tricks on command and how to engage with them. He knew he could not be completely rigid around his crew, but he knew he needed to keep his distant in part. This was a military vessel, and they had a tough job to carry out.

While on tour, he was given a pad by the bridge duty officer. The pad contained ship specs, key areas for a tour and a crew roster. Now that Yuka had left the ship, he was going over the logs. He was the first command officer to board the ship, next up was Kourtney Helliwell.

He remembered watching the news regarding her. Apparently she is scrapper, she started a bar fight to release some emotional steam. Dom was not sure if he really wanted her on his crew. She was a great science officer, and she was recently demoted for her actions. He needed officers who could keep their cool while under pressure.

He took a long look at her service record prior to the death of her husband, she was an outstanding officer, worked her way up the ranks pretty smoothly. In the laws eyes she had 18 months of bench probation, because she was a military officer during a time of war.

He needed to decided if he was going to take a chance on her, she had a good track record. He tried to place himself in her shoes, how would he feel if lsot the love of his life? Granted Sarah and Dom where not together, but she was the only lady to ever grow close to him.

He hated the idea of being apart from her, he would probably go angry too if someone killed her. He would have no doubt, he would be in a dark place. A place he may not be able to crawl out of. Luckily for him, Sarah was a live and he did not have to bare that.

He walked over to the quartermaster.

"How is going Chief" asked Dom.

"It's going great, Captain" said the Quartermaster.

"I want Lieutenant Helliwell quarters asssigned right next to me" ordered Dom.

"Aye sir" said the Quartermaster.

Dom could tell that he wanted to say more, but he knew this was not the place or the time for that. The Captain gave him a lawful order and he would have to carry it out. Despite sounding a little strange.

"please notify me when she arrives" ordered Dom.

"Understood captain" said the Quartermaster.

He left the area and headed back to his quarters.


***

Drydock Station
August 25, 4566 (pending)
1100 Hours

Kourtney's shuttle was on final approach from Earth 1. She was dressed in her military uniform. The uniform felt a little bare. She reached up to the neck line and felt the new rank pips, one appeared to be missing. But the missing rank was the least of her problems. Most of the military officers were avoiding her like the plague. It was very annoying, all of her so called friends had abandon her, her family had turned there back on her, she felt all alone. A feeling she hated with passion.

Her shuttle had boarded the station and not the DFS Phoenix. The ship bay at the moment was full, most of the junior crew were being redirected to the station airlock, she felt like this was another form of punishment, to have to board with the junior crew. She hated everyone treating her like a criminal.

She did her best to keep her head up, and with a little bit of attitude on her shoulder. SHe strolled passed everyone, she did not waste any time getting to the airlock and got in the short line to board the ship. Everyone around her avoided her, which was fine with her, she was doing her best to avoid them as well.

It did not take her very long to get to the airlock. She made it past the duty officer and walked over to the quartermaster to get her room assignment.

"Name" asked the Quartermaster.

"Lieutenant Kourtney Helliwell" she said.

The Quartermaster began to work on a data pad. "Here you go ma'am" said the Quartermaster.

"Thank you" said Kourtney as she followed the instructions on the pad to get to her quarters.

After Kourtney left, the Quartermaster contacted the Captain, as ordered, and notified him that Kourtney had arrived on the DFS Phoenix

It did not take her very long to get to her quarters, as she approached her room, she noticed a sign on the living quarters right next to her. This annoyed her very much, the message was clear to hear, the captain did not trust her, so he wanted to keep an eye on her.

She hated the fact she was assigned to a small raider, she should be on a science vessel, discovering new r&d to help fight and win this war for them. Not serving on a small raider. To top it off, now she was being neighbors with the Captain.

Could this day get any worse, wondered Kourtney. How long would she have to pay for her crimes?

Kourtney was trying to decided how best to avoid the captain, before and after hours. She just wanted to be left a lone. It was clear that people were going to mess with her and make her pay for getting into a fight/ Non of them knew how she felt. How could they? Non of them where married to a great guy, then to loose him in a senseless war.

She really did not know the new captain, he was pretty young, he advanced up the ranks in record time. She hoped the military knew what they were doing. He was a young officer and now a captain of a starship, luckily he store wore the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

DFS Phoenix
Quarters @ 1215
August 25, 4566 (pending)

She begins to unpack in her quarters when strange sounds start to come from the walls of her room that shares a wall with the Captain's room. It sounded like music, but music that she never had heard of. What was it, wondered Kourtney.

She wondered for a moment, if this was his way of torching her like the rest of the military has done since her conviction. She listened to the music. "I seldom feel the bright relief....It's been the worse day since yesterday..." this lyric caught the attention of Kourtney as she walked out of her room to tell him to turn it down. But when she walked to his quarters the music was loud and his door was wide open, she walked in.

Kourtney stood in his room, he looked at her and she looked at him, she was more focused on the song than him. She listened carefully to the lyrics. The lyrics brought a smile to her face. "damn, ain't that the fucking truth, sir" said Kourtney as the song completed.

"Computer pause musical selection" said Dom as he debated on what to say next.

"We all have bad days, Lieutenant" said Dom.

"very true, I am not familiar with this musical group" said Kourtney, the lyrics really reached her.

"its from the 21st century, Earth 1" he said.

"I did not realize you were feeling this way, Captain" said Kourtney, as she hoped he would tell her why he was listening to this type of music.

"I'm not, I just happen to like the lyrics, and honestly I had a feeling this song would be more helpful to you" suggested Dom.

Kourtney was a little defensive at first. She tried her best not to be. "how so" asked Kourtney with a defensive tone in her voice.

"When I served on the Falco, I lost several fighters pilot in the opening days of the FSF Wars, so many cocky son of bitches, they were unprepared and died, loosing my team, really put me in a dark place" said Dom, as he started to recall those vidid memories.

"How did you bounce back" asked Kourtney.

"Music and time to think" said Dom.

"The more I think about, the more angry I get" said Kourtney.

"Good" said Dom.

"Good" asked Kourtney.

"Anger is a good emotion to face, it's first stage of acceptance" pointed out Dom.

"Not according to a judge its not" said Kourtney.

"Correct, starting fights is not the answer" said Dom.

Kourtney would defend the Galactic Federation with her dying breath. It was the main reason why she took the assignment on the DFS Phoenix. She can make a difference on a ship, versus being in a brig. She hated the fact that most of the military commanders rejected her application, but it appeared that Dom was going to give her a chance.

Part of her was anger that the others lost faith in her. It was only a damn bar fight, she felt like an escape goat. Part of her liked the physical interaction of the bar fight, it felt good to let off steam, despite the fact that it was wrong. But her temporary lapse of judgment was just that, temporary.

Now she needed to get her career back on track. She was still a military officer, and she was a widower. She needed to come to face with that fact. It was painful, but their was an old earthling saying "what does not kill you, only makes you stronger"[\i] or so the quote went. And it in this case, that quote was very true.

She wanted to make Darius pay for taking the love of her life. And she also wanted to make sure that the captain of the Trinity also paid for taking her Husband's life. She angry at him. She had no idea he was killed recently. All she knew for certain was the FSF Trinity was responsible for the destruction of the DFS Comanche and the loss of her husband.

Dom knew that at some point the odds of running into the FSF Trinity were favorable. They were a strike ship a small raider, a new prototype raider, being re equipped with 200 drones. And he wanted to make sure to throw all 200 drones and every weapon the Phoenix had and take it to the Faith Services Fleet.

They needed to be stopped at all cost! He felt that his mind was dancing around in circles, thinking about the same thing over and over again. He needed a break, he decided the best way to do that, was to blow off some steam. He had a feeling that Kourtney would need too as well. But he did not want to fight her.

***

DFS Phoenix
Hollodeck 1 @ 1230
August 25, 4566 (pending)

"Captain why am I here" asked Kourtney. She wondered why the Captain had her dress in very tacky looking clothing that he hand picked out for her, and for him as well.

"Too vent off some steam" said Dom.

"last time I did that, I ended up in the brig" pointed out Kourtney.

"I am not going to fight you, I brought you here to try out something new" suggested Dom.

"Okay, what are you getting us into Captain" she asked.

"Do you know how to dance" he asked.

"Dance" sarcastically asked Kourtney, her tone was rhetorical.

"Is that a yes" he asked.

"No, never saw a point in it" she said.

"Try it, what do you have to loose" he asked.

"my dignity" she suggested with a giggle.

"you'll be fine, I promise not to laugh" he suggested.

"are you ordering me to participate" asked Kourtney.

"no, just trying to show you alternative ways to release stress" suggested Dom.

"okay, lets give this a shot" she said, she was a little skeptical.

"There are many forms of dance, I am going to have the holodeck show you different styles, then we can narrow it down to something you may enjoy" he said with a grin.

"oh boy" she simply said, she wondered what in the hell did she get herself into?

A little time had passed.

Dom and Kourtney where watching different dance styles, and she honestly thought a lot of dance styles where silly. But like Dom, she found mid 21st century dancing a little erotic and fun. But she was not really in a playful mood. But it was a dance style that interested her non the less.

She was really interested in swing dancing, only one big issue, she did not want to dance with anyone on the bridge crew, a holographic partner would have to do for the moment.

"Have you made a decision" asked Dom.

"Swing" she said.

"Swing" said Dom with a tone of surprise.

"It looks fun" said Kourtney.

"It can be, I assume 21st century swing, you seemed to really like it" asked Dom.

"So are you going to teach me to dance, Captain" rhetorically she asked.

"I will, but the first lesson you need to learn, dance is a form of expression, we will learn to express your feelings through dance" pointed out the Captain.

"Okay, I don't understand" she said.

"You will, shall we get started" asked Dom.

"yes" said Kourtney.

DFS Phoenix
Messhall
August 25, 4566 (pending)

1325 Hours.

"Where have you been the past few days, people are asking me if I knew where you flew off too" asked Peyla.

"Home to Risa" said Ritoy. She loved the last few days on Risa, what a great way to unwind from the stresses of loosing the DFS Comanche and a good portion of the crew.

"I wish I could call Risa home Bajor is to far to travel for the small R&R" said Peyla. She spent most of her time on the station, trying to familiarize herself with the DFS Phoenix.

"You should have come to Risa" said Ritoy, she would have loved the company.

"I should have, being on the station, was horrible, nothing to do, but face boredom and my emotions" said Peyla. She hated being alone with nothing to do. Her personality and her mind can get the best of her. She tried to study up on the new ship, but her thoughts were lost in all of the lives that were lost.

"Can't change the past, as much as I want too, we can't" said Ritoy as she was trying to change the topic. She could tell that Peyla was suffering more on the outside, versus Ritoy who kept it bottled in.

"The Phoenix is a small vessel, I hope the mess hall is big enough to support everyone" said Peyla as she saw the doors to the mess hall in front of her. They were typical doors, nothing to fancy. Just the DFS symbol and the wording "mess hall" written in English. She wondered why was everything always written in english?

The two ladies walk into the mess hall. Ritoy looks around the room. It was nothing like the DFS Comanche's mess hall. The room was very different than a typical DFS ship. It appeared to be more alien like in nature, well alien like in comparison to other DFS ships. The design was from the 31st century. The walls looked like the outside of the ship, smooth, clean, sharp looking edges with blue lights tucked into the wall a big oval like ship celing light that was also tucked in. The room looked amazing. She could not believe how cosmetically appealing the room looked to her.

The room was very soothing for Ritoy in a small way it sort of reminded her of home. She recently came from home. The interiors of home, simplistic but very soothing on the eyes. She knew she was going to like it on this ship after all. She followed Peyla and they both walked over to the replicator and then over to a table after ordering a plate of food and a drink.

"I've seen that look in your eyes before" said Peyla, as she went on "you like this room".

"It is very appealing, even you have to admit that" said Ritoy, as she continued to look around.

"It is nice, but you should eat your food before it gets cold" pointed out Peyla.

The two ladies began to eat their food and after a short time, Peyla went to recycle her plate when she noticed a young officer, she looked like she can straight from bootcamp. Approach her. "Hello Lieutenant Toran, I am Ensign Samara, one of your new operations officers" said the young Bolian officer, with a smile on her face.

"Despite starfleet protocol Ensign, I prefer to go by Lieutenant Peyla not Lieutenant Toran" said Peyla with a hint of aggression in her voice. She was annoyed that most cultures tried to refer to her by her last name.

Samara was a little embarrassed, she did not want to meet her new co like this. "I am so sorry Lieutenant Peyla" said Samara with an apologetic tone in her voice.

"It was simple mistake Miss Samara" said Peyla. "don't let it bother you, I have to go now, we will talk soon" said Peyla as she tried to walk back over to Ritoy.

"Yes Ma'am" said Samara, she was still annoyed that she screwed up.

Peyla walked back over to the table area.

"You okay" asked Ritoy, she could see that Peyla was a little annoyed.

"I'm okay" said Ritoy. She decided it was time to change the topic.

"So you know how I feel about the new ship, how do you feel about the Phoenix" asked Ritoy.

"That's a dangerous question to ask" suggested Peyla.

"I know" said Ritoy with a grin on her face.

"Small, definitely not a carrier" pointed out Peyla, being a smaller ship meant less officers under her command and the potential for either really long days or short days. Smaller ships need less maintenance.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, but that does not answer my question" said Ritoy.

"Ask me after a month, ship is still pretty new to me" said Peyla, realizing that she was not going to let it go.

"Okay I will hold you to that" said Ritoy with a grin. She ate some food as the scene starts to fade.

DFS Phoenix
Airlock
August 25, 4566 (pending)

Blish joined the sea of people trying to rush to their new assignments, he was really in no real hurry he just wanted to get away from everyone. A lot of races seem to have this notion, that all Bolian's loved to chat. Well they are wrong, in the past he would try to argue the point, but it was hopeless. People naturally gravitated towards him to talk.

He was Bolian, but he hated talking to everyone, but he felt like he was trapped in this racial profile image of being the talkative race. When in reality he was far from a talker, he preferred to be left alone, but that rarely happens outside of his quarters. He learned how to keep people at bay and to full their need of a talking Bolian. He would strike up close ended surface level conversations with people. After a while they would get the hint and leave him alone.

Luckily for him the line to the Phoenix was a short one, not a lot of officers and enlisted so boarding the ship would be going a lot faster than his last command on a carrier. He looked at the line and noticed it was moving at a faster pace. He was relieved.

He noticed that he got the attention of the duty officer. "Sir, officers are in front of the enlisted" called out the duty officer.

"I'm okay, I prefer to wait my turn, good sir" said Blish, as he did not want to create a scene or bring more attention on himself.

"Sir, you need to report to the officer's line, the Captain wants all senior officers to board the ship and get their departments ready as soon as possible, he just came across my combadge, apparently the Phoenix's first mission has been updated the ship's crew needs to board quickly, so please come here, sir" said the duty officer.

"well in that case, permission to come board sir" asked Blish. As he walked up to the front of the line with his two bags in hand.

"Granted" said the duy officer.

"Great, I will be in engineering, uplink my quarters to my office" called out Blish as he briskly walked passed everyone and made his way to the engineering bay.

He continued to walk down to engineering, he started to think about all of the engineers that gave their lives on the DFS Comanche, and made it possible for him and others like him the chance to escape. He walked down the corridors at a brisk pace and he went down the turbo lift to the main engineering bay.

The room was very small and the engineering room was very different, it was not like most standard rooms. He knew he needed to catch up and read all of the specs of the engine, and quickly. He had a feeling the Captain would want to leave as soon as possible. He needed to be ready, he did not spend any of his R&R reading up on tech manuals.

Blish was hoping to get a few days to study up on the new engine, but it seemed like he was only going to be given a few hours at most, he hoped he remembered his academy trainings on 31st century engines.

V'Lur made her through the corridors of the DFS Phoenix, her mind was lost in thought, she was still thinking of home. It was nice visit, she had wished she left with the full support of her loved ones. She had the support of Sypek (Daughter) and T'pek (Husband) but it was clear that her son was not in favor of her returning to the military.

Flashback: "Mother, it is agreeable to see you again" said Sypek.

V'Lur walked over to her daughter and gave her a warm embrace. "I have missed you" said V'Lur.

"You have been around aliens for to long, you learning their cultural customs" suggested T'pek.

"Indeed, but given the circumstances a warm embrace is appropriate, after all I almost lost you all" said V'Lur.

T'pek gave his wife a hug.

She could see that T'Lev was keeping his distant.

"Something on your mind, my son" asked V'Lur.

"No mother" said T'Lev who reached out in a traditional vulcan greeting of embrace. He reached his hands out and prepared to interlock his hands with his mothers, but she grabbed his hands and gave him a hug. He returned the embrace. He was shaking a little bit.

V'Lur, could tell that he was an emotional wreck. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. "What is on your mind my son"

"A lot mother, but nothing I can not control, it's not wise nor logical to speakout my feelings" suggested T'Lev.

V'Lur could tell that he was in pain. She placed her hands on his head and reach in with her forhead and gently touched his forhead. "a great Vulcan once said, What is necessary is never unwise."

"Ambassador Sarek of the 23rd century" said Sypek.

"Yes" said V'Lur as she moved her head away and looked to Sypek and then went to sit down on the sofa. The living situation on Vulcan was tollerable, a little warmer than she last remembered. It could be the simple fact, that she had been living with Humans for to long, most species did not share the warm of the Vulcan Homeworld.

V'Lur noticed that he was not ready to talk, but it was clear that her daughter was ready. "Congratulations, I heard the science ministry is very pleased with your academic performances" pointed out V'Lur.

"Thank you Mother" said Sypek.

"Have you given any thought on your career once you leave the academy" asked V'Lur.

"Xenobiography has a lot of open positions, I have applied to live on Qonos, and study the empire" suggested Sypek.

"The Klingon Empire" rhetorically asked V'Lur.

"Yes Mother" said Sypek.

"They are a very agressive race to work with, full of emotions and temptations" suggested V'Lur.

"I understand, but they are also a world that has a lot of sub races intergrated into their society, the medical wonders I can learn are limitless" suggested Sypek.

"What about you Mother, are you going to stay home now" asked T'Lev.

"I have signed an 8 obligation, I still have 3 years left" said V'Lur.

"Surprise your not asking for an early release from your contract, after the destruction of the Delta Force Starship Comanche" said T'Lev, he wanted his mother to see that staying in the military was hazarderous to her health.

"The Comanche was lost, but I am ready to head back out" said V'Lur.

"I would ask you to reconsider, Mother" said T'Lev.

"We are at war my son, there is nothing to reconsider" pointed out V'Lur.

"I would disgree, your needed hear Mother" said T'Lev.

"Where is this train of thought coming from" asked T'pek.

"Mother has asked me to speak my mind, I am honoring her request" suggested T'Lev.

"I appreciate it, my son. However, the military is at war against the Faith Services Fleet, people like Darius Maximus needs to be stopped, for the good of the galaxy" suggested V'Lur.

"There will always be another Darius Maximus. Our society is as a whole is an aggressive one, their will always be a need for a military presense or defense of the galaxy, the real question here is, have you Mother done enough to satisfy your own moral consniousness, the war with the Faith Services Fleet is not about ideology mother, its about moral obligation" suggested T'Lev.

T'Lev was studying to become a vulcan physcologist.

He had researched this topic a lot. He wanted to understand why his mother left to go to war. He really worried for her, he wanted to protect her, like she protected him, when he was growing up.

"My moral obligation goes to the oath I took when I joined the military" said V'Lur.

"Don't change the topic, Mother" said T'Lev as he went on "your decision to join the military is about your moral responsibilities and feelings" said T'Lev, as the flashback scene fades away.

DFS Phoenix
Conference Room
August 25, 4566

V'Lur was approaching the conference room. She noticed she was the third to last person to arrive into the room. She looked for an open chair and sat down. She silently observed the room, while she was trying to get the thought of her son's objections out of her mind.

As she sat down. She hated the replicated uniform, she had on. It was very itchy and felt like the dimensions were a little off. It was clear to her, that she had lost some weight. The uniform did not fit right. It was a minor inconvience she would take care of later on tonight, when she had time.

V'Lur noticed that Miyoko, Blish and Dlanet, where deep in conversation. She just listened in.

"All the diagnostics look ready to go, I assume the captain is wanting to launch the Phoenix ahead of schedule" said Blish.

"So the engines are ready but we have no bridge to fly the ship with" said Blish in a jokeful manner.

"Bridge operations can be operated in engineering, but I assume your comment was meant for humor not for facts" asked V'Lur.

"Correct Lieutenant" said Miyoko with a grin. She thought to herself, V'Lur must like pointing out the obvious.

"We can talk shop talk in a minute, how was your trip to Vulcan" asked Miyoko.

"It was enjoyable" said V'Lur.

"Enjoyable, that's high praise from Lieutenant V'Lur" teased Blish.

"Your on a roll today" said V'Lur in a cold tone.

"Yes" sarcastically responded Blish.

"How was your time off Mister Blish" asked V'Lur.

"Not bad, gave a few lectures at the Mars Orbital Training Center, apparently new cadets want to what a rookie officer in the miltary has to say about war time scenarios" suggested Blish. In reality he hated that speech, and hated being used as a pawn. He kept those feelings to himself.

"You poor soul" sarcastically teased Dlanet, he hated public speaking.

"What about you Commander" asked V'Lur, as she looked to Miyoko their new executive.

"Me" simply replied Miyoko.

"Yes ma'am" said V'Lur.

"Spent it with my husband" said Miyoko. Her tone was a lot like V'Lur's cold and to the point. She hoped that V'Lur would get the hint that she did not want to talk about it.

"How is Captain Carrington doing" asked Dlanet.

"He is doing well" said Miyoko.

"I miss him, glad he survived the destruction of the Comanche, hard enough loosing Lieutenant Helliwell, pour Kourtney, I heard her lawyer had to call in a lot of favors to keep her out of prison" said Dlanet.

"Isn't that a little overkill if that rumor is true, you get in one big bawl room fight and they want to imprison you" asked Blish.

V'Lur being the tactical officer wanted to add her two cents. But this was not really the place to speculate or talk about topics of this nature. She remained silent.

"We're not doing this gentleman, Lieutenant Kourtney Helliwell is our fellow shipmate and was our friend, she made a mistake, she deserves a second chance, drop the rumors, if you don't you will feel my boot dropping into your ass for insubordination" called out Miyoko, a little annoyed at the two gentleman.

"Understood" said both men.

Audlas walked into the room. She took a seat near Miyoko. She sat in her chair for a moment then said "Jolan Tru, my friends"

Everyone smiled in her general direction.

"Cutting it close" teased Miyoko, as she looked to Audlas.

"Sorry Commander" said Audlas.

"Important thing is, you made it before the Captain" said Miyoko.

***

DFS Phoenix, Temporal Raider
Corridors leading to Conference Room
August 25, 4566 @ XXXX Hours

"Well that was different, are my legs suppose to be soar, Captain" asked Kourtney. She had never danced like that before. What a strange sensation thought Kourtney. Domenic Martinez was teaching her 21st century dancing style, in today's generation, dancing was much more simple and not as tiring.

"Your body will get use to it" replied Dom, as he tried not to grin.

"Good, I am not sure if I can take this much stiffness and soreness on a regular basis" said Kourtney.

"When your body adjusts, it will be less painful, I promise" said Dom.

"Yes Captain" she said, she took a big sigh.

"Don't worry over it" said Dom.

"I'm not, worried about seeing the crew" said Kourtney.

"Afraid they are going to mach you or reject you" asked Dom.

"More like judge me, Captain" said Kourtney.

"The legal system did that, not on my watch will that happen" said Dom.

"Thanks again" said Kourtney. They continued down the corridors of the Phoenix.

"Your best bet is to talk to them, the good news is, you were friends with almost everyone on this ship, prior to be assigning to her" pointed out Dom. "They will forgive you and give you another chance" suggested Dom.

"I hope so, Captain" said Kourtney.

"They will" said Dom as he arrived with Kourtney to the conference room.

Dom and Kourtney walk into the conference room. There was small chatter going on, but as soon as Dom walked into the room everyone got really quiet.

DFS Phoenix
Conference Room
August 25, 4566

"Captain on deck" called out Dlanet. Everyone stood at the position of attention.

"At ease everyone, please have a seat" said Dom. He walked over to his chair, and took a seat.

Dom had a data pad in his hand and typed in a few codes, the lights dimmed a little bit and the main view screen in the room turned on. A picture of Jim Olend, PH.D, came on the screen. Everyone in the room immediately recognized him.

"in six hours there Phoenix will be rendevousing with the Lavie, we are going to oversee the prisoner transfer of this man, Captain Layton and President Carian, has ordered us to assist in making sure the echange goes without incident" said Dom.

"Isn't this dangerous, the Phoenix use to be his command, aren't we a little concerned he might try to take it over again" asked Dlanet, he knew of the history of this former Q like creature.

"The Phoenix has been stripped down and rebuilt, this is not the same Phoenix that he remembers, only the shell of the ship is the same" pointed out Blish.

"We are safe from any hidden computer programs, as Ensign Blish has stated, the Phoenix was rebuilt, Delta Force did not want to take any chances of any hidden backdoor programs" said Miyoko, as she backed her new captain.

"Lieutenant Audlas you will board the Lavie with a small security force, you will cordinate with their security forces and provide extra protection detail, meanwhile Lieutenant V'Lur will scan the area for any enemy contacts" said Dom.

"Understood" said V'Lur.

Audlas was not happy to be assigned a babysitting assignment, but she knew how dangerous Jim was. She would suck her pride and make sure this transfer goes smoothly. "He is a crafty one, I will brief my security force as soon as we are done with this meeting" said Audlas.

"Thank you" simply said Dom, as he went on to say "We are not expecting any dangers, but to be on the safe side, we will keep the ship at yellow alert, until Jim Olend is safely secured" ordered Dom as he looked to V'Lur and Miyoko.

"I would suggest a few battle drills but the bridge command deck is not ready" said Miyoko.

"I have already spoken with the corps of engineers, we should be able to board the bridge in two hours, feel free to conduct a battle simulation, at your descreation" ordered Dom. He wanted to be surprised to see how he and his crew respond to an unknown battle drill scenario.

"Yes Captain" said Miyoko. She is not happy that the ship is leaving before she is ready, she could not help but think this was a mistake. But the decision was already made. Now she had to carry out the mission, and prey they make it back safely, and without any incident.

Flashback: The pain she felt was real, it was direct emotional wound to the heart, her body felt like it was being torn apart as she gazed down at the lifeless body of the man who was her husband. Tears rushed through her face, the pain was sereal. "no no no, don't leave me" cried out Kourtney, there was fire and smoke in the area, which did not bother Kourtney at the moment.

"Commander we have to go" called out Blish, his voice sounded very distant, even though he was hovering over her. She trying to get her to stand up. But her head was slightly ringing, and she was very dazed and in emotional distress. Blish knew this room was starting to come apart and they needed to get out of the room as soon as possible.

"Baby, please no" said Kourtney as embraced his lifeless body in her's.

"Commander we have to go" again called out Blish. The room started to shake under the pressure of the ship being torn apart, weapons fire from the FSF fleet was tearing the DFS Comanche apart. Blish forceably pulled her up. "We have to go" yelled out Blish as the two of them made their way to the airlock.

The reality of the situation was, she wanted to die with him, but she was forceably saved against her will. She was to emotionally distraught to fight back, her body and her mind was to weak to resist. Her weakness, prevented her from dying with the man that she loved.

---

DFS Command, Housing Unit 12
Temporary Quarters of Kourtney Helliwell
August 25, 4566, 0400 Hours

Kourtney woke up from the nightmare she was just dreaming about. In her dreams and in her reality, she was reliving the final moments, the most painful moments of her life. Her whole world ended on that dreaded night.

She layed in bed, and slowly rose up. "Computer lights, low setting" said Kourtney, her body was covered in sweat. She could feel her heartbeat pounding, her senses where a little out of allignment. She was scared and felt trapped. She was alone now, and she hated that feeling. She also hated being away from the front lines, she wanted to fly to Betazed and kill Darius Maximus for giving the order to try to kill her, and the one that she loved.

Her anger and agression was focused on the man that gave the order to try to end her life and to end the life of her husband. The rage she felt, was not helping her healing process, their was a price that needed to be fullfilled to bring justice in the eyes of Kourtney. Only a few days had passed since her court martial and her demotion, which was another factor in her agression towards Darius Maximus and this blasted war of his.

Kourtney tried to get a decent night's rest, but the emotional scars were to much for her mind to handle. She barely felt in control over her emotions. Her rage seemed like it was in control and her moral compass was struggling to keep her together. As she sat up in bed and looking around at the silent, slightly dark room, she noticed how empty it felt. She did not bother unpacking any of the items that reminded her of her late husband.

So far the DFS Phoenix was in a holding pattern, waiting for clearance to leave the dry dock facility. She knew today was going to be a big day. In a few short hours the shuttle to board to the DFS Phoenix, was going to be taken off. Kourtney was all packed up. She was told by several members of the admirality and command this was her second and only chance to redeem her career. She had made a big mistake, but she was going to be given a chance to redeem her career.

She sat in bed thinking about what happens next. In her mind, only one thing happened next. The assassination of Darius Maximus. But in the eyes of the DFS Command, what happens next is; Kourtney boards the DFS Phoenix and serves as Chief Science Officer and rebuilds her career.

She wondered, what kind of career can she have without her soulmate? There was a whole in her soul, and her aching moment focused on it. She was slowly being consumed by it. She was not sure what she could offer the crew of the Phoenix, given her current state of mind, she did not consider, that maybe she could gain strength and heal from her tragedy, thanks to the crew of the Phoenix and her new founded Captain. The scene fades away.

DFS Phoenix, Temporal Raider
Command Center ~ Bridge
August 25, 4566, 1800 Hours

The conference room meeting had ended and Kourtney noticed the senator as she walked in. She was an earthing senator, she was not very pleased with them. But then again her captain was also an earthling, she had spent most of the afternoon with him and picked up on his earthling traits.

She was trying not to be judgemental, she was a teran. And Terans, unlike earthlings, were more agressive and less likely to forgive any who have done agressions against them. It was in part, why she could not simply let the hateful feeliings of Darius Maximus go. She wanted to stop him at all cost.

She was reminded several times by several members of the delta force command, to put aside her agressions towards Darius, and they tried to re assure her, that he will be delt with. She wished she believed them. He was winning the conflict at the moment. Even though earthlings and terans were allies and have been for several generations, the animosity was still there.

She knew in order to grow as a person, she needed to incorporate the earthling customs into her owns. They are distant cousins that all started out on the orginal homeworld, among her people is called Tera, and among the earthlings its called Earth or Earth 1.

She wondered what was a earthling senator doing on a small raider style vessel. She was unaware of the friendship between Dom and Senator Sarah Gillman. She knew of the senator. She was married to a senator from her birth home world of Tera Captha 2. As a child though she was spent her childhood on Tera Nova 3.

"What does the senator want with the captain" asked Kourtney.

"Is it our place to speculate" asked Dlanet.

"Yes" simply replied Blish.

"Stow it folks" said Peyla the second officer. She wondered why she was not in the room with the captain.

"We are all curious, but Peyla is right, best not to speculate" said Miyoko as she chimed in.

"Yes Ma'am" said Kourtney, Blish and Dlanet in unisense.

"We have our orders, let's prepare for departure" ordered Miyoko, who was trying to keep the crew minds off the Captain and the Senator. Like the crew, she could not help but be curious.

The captain and the senator came out of the conference room after a few minutes and reported to Miyoko that he was going to give the senator a tour, and to prepare the ship for take off. Miyoko acknowledge her orders and watch the captain walk off the bridge.

"Sorry Commander, but I have to ask" said Ritoy as she went on "Are they an item" asked Ritoy.

"They sure seem friendly towards one another" said Kourtney with a grin.

"Doubt it, the Senator is married" said Blish.

"Okay, how do you explain her unannounced visit" asked Ritoy.

"Maybe she is giving him new orders from the senate" said Dlanet.

"Change of orders come from the command center, not a senator" said Peyla.

"Speculating is not gonna help" said Miyoko. She went on "I suggest we drop it for now, but observe future interactions" suggested Miyoko as a compromise.

"It's so strange for a high ranking senator to visit a low ranking vessel and a low ranking captain" said Peyla, she was very curious.

Kourtney looked in the database and said "They went to school together, they are probably friends, she is probably just congradulating him on getting a command, it makes sense" said Kourtney.

"That's probably it" said Peyla. She could tell the others guessed that was the reason. But honestly, no one really knew for sure.

"Dlanet plot a course for the DFS Lavie, so when the Captain arrives we can depart" said Miyoko. Might as well do their jobs, if they were going to gossip. She did not want the crew to get in trouble.

"Course plotted, gem drive ready for jump" said Dlanet.

"Ensign Blish, make sure all gem drives are in the green" ordered Miyoko.

"Commander I aready did that" said Blish, he was a bit of an over achiever.

Captain is coming up to the bridge soon, I want you to double check" said Miyoko.

"Diagnostic underway" said Blish.

"Very well, Lieutenant Helliwell, please recalibrate sensors" ordered Peyla.

"I'm on it" said Kourtney.

"Commander I am running an inventory check on the torpedeoes and completing a weapons diagnostic test" said V'Lur, who already anticipated what Miyoko or Peyla was going to order her to do.

"Thank you Lieutenant" said Miyoko. The scene starts to fade with the bridge crew completing their assigned duties.

DFS Phoenix
Ready Room
August 25, 4566

Dom was in the middle of it now, this was his first command, his first action, his first choice that could possibly impact the universe as a whole or very little. He was not certain. Being in command, and having to make the tough choice was a little more difficult than he thought it would be.

He hid his feeling from his crew, they were knew, and they needed a strong leader, and Dom was good at hiding his emotions. "Have a seat" said Dom as he wanted to skip formalities.

Miyoko was a little surprised but did as she was asked to do. She took a seat at the couch he was motioning at.

"I know you don't know or trust me, I have no doubt you probably think you should have been given command of the Phoenix, and your not wrong for thinking that way, but I want you to understand something, I am hear for a very specific mission, a mission that can either break me or make me" pointed out Dom as he went on.

"Command did not tell you everything about our mission, your not serving in main fleet, the DFS Phoenix is transferring her flag over to the president's fleet, code name Trinity Fleet, do right by me and by this crew, I will do everything in my power to make sure your name is placed up for the next open command in trinity fleet, the Lavie and the Phoenix are not going to be the only two ships in the fleet" said Dom, as he gave Miyoko a few minutes to asorb in what he just said.

Miyoko was a little surprised that Dom just came out and told her all of this information. She had a feeling that Dom was in a situation where he needed to prove himself, she does not know the details, but it sounds important. She wondered what the real purpose of this new fleet was, what role would you place a junior officer in command over a starship?

"Why do I get the feeling you made a deal with the devil" asked Miyoko, who knew her comment was a little out of line.

"In the privacy of my office or when we are alone you are welcome to speak your mind, until I make my decision, now with that said, YES I made a deal with the devil" suggested Dom.

"Command wants to win this war, the fact is, we are slowly loosing" said Dom.

"But I see the reports, it shows we are winning" said Miyoko. She just got a copy of the latest battle front.

"Command is only highlighting victories, more commanders are losing the war front, to keep up moral we are only publicizing victories, its a cheap tactic, but if the fleet believes we are winning they will continue to fight" said Dom.

"Thats not right" demanded Miyoko.

"This is war, I was not very happy either, but Command has authorized me to give you this debriefing for a couple of reasons, one if anything happens to me, you know what to do, and the second reason, because of your husband" said Dom as he paused.

"What about him" asked Miyoko.

"Command was worried about a security risk between the two of you" said Dom.

"That's a bunch of bull" demanded Miyoko.

"Agreed, however this concerned allowed me to convince command to debrief you, that way, their is no secrets between the two of you, now with that said, can I count on you" asked Dom.

"Yes Captain" said Miyoko.

"I am going to have all classified files you are authorized for, sent your ready room, review them later, right now we have a pirate to catch, and I was not joking about getting you, your own command" said Dom.

"I understand and appreciate the help" said Miyoko. She wondered what was burried in those files.

"I'll see you on the bridge shortly, dismissed" said Dom as he stood up and walked her to the door.

"Thank you Captain" said Miyoko as she left the ready room.

After the doors closed, Dom walked back to his desk and took a seat in his chair, he opened a top secret data communications channel with someone at Delta Force Command, the scene starts to fade.