Flinch was walking down the hallway , just looking for something to do. Thanks to winning the bet with Matuga, she didn't have to
clean up after her skimml, Andromada.
She entered the VR Deck. "Computer. Launch program SpaceTrack323 , user Flinch. "
And there she was, sitting on her space cycle. Beside her, her usual opponents , Deviak Lee'ar and Tyyanna Jalmeyr. With a
computer opponent to add some challenge.
"BANG!" the starting gun fired.
Flinch put her foot on the gas and the race began......
Nattris watched Macer go. He went back into the corridor and opened his carry-all pouch, removing a Protect-o-Suit.
He slipped it on and re-entered.
He searched through several crates and finally found some potato chips. He left, entered the science lab and sanatized them. They
were moldy anyway, so he got some form the replitron instead.
He went back to the cargo bay and got party decorations, then went about the hallways, flinging them at the nearest ceiling. They
had been manufactured to create glue on any part of the wall they touched, thus securing them.
He went along his merry way, putting up streamers and other decortions.
Be'Shari looked around her room
"This place needs some cleaning up for that party." She said to no one in particular.
Be'Shari went around to various places, getting party stuff.
After about 2 hours, she got her room cleaned up to a respectable state.
After another 2 hours, she had decorated it so much that one would think that they were actually in a haunted house. There were
orange and black streamers everywere too.
"I'm ready." She said, looking satisfyed. "Uh oh. Where am I going to sleep?!" She thought about this for the rest of the day, worrying
about that night.
"Let's help each other," said Karol to Be'Shari. "Why don't you help yourself to the cot in my quarters tonight and let me go sleep
now."
"OK," said the elf, "but please go to sickbay when you wake up. There might be a reason why you're so tired."
Karol nodded and left. It didn't help him to notice that Freddie was already asleep on his shoulder.
After another exciting race , even though she lost, at the VR Deck , Flinch wandered around and went back to her quarters. She
picked up Andromada and squeezed it. It started bouncing off the walls and knocked everything onto the floor.
"Oh well, " she thought. "At least I got out of one clean up job. "
She spent the next half hour tidying her quarters. The skimml wasn't such a fun pet after all. Going back into the coridor she noticed
Nattris putting up orange and black streamers.
"How are party preparations going ? " asked Flinch.
"I'm still working on preparing but I don't have that much work left. Everything is going to be great. I'm putting up some decorations
to add more of a party atmosphere. " replied Nattris.
"Cool. " said Flinch "Are there going to be refreshments ?"
"Lots. " said Nattris.
"I'll be there. " replied Flinch and continued on her useless walk.
Nattris put up some blue, red, green, and pink streamers to give it more color, then went into the lounge to ready refreshments. He
set the computer to be ready to provide large qauntities of drinks and food, then he got a big table out and put on h'ourderves,
chocolate cake, crackers, a punch bowl (using his secret recipe, I've got a really good one actually), and a lot of other foods.
He replicated wierd party hats, noisemakers, a few airhorns, and a lot of party poppers.
"Captain, I can't get to my bed, what can I do?"Be'shari said.
On the bridge:
"Okay, Be'shari, I'll get onto it,"T'Mara said, then to verybody,"Anybody got a spare room?"
In Goetas quarters:
Goeta got up after being rudely awoken. "Pardon?"he said. "Goeta, I said have you got a spare room, Be'shari can't get to her
bed,"T'Mara said.
"I've got one, but its her choice,"he replied.
Reyanna was running down the corridoor, her hands also filled with decorations. There was a trail of multi-colored crepe paper
behind her.
"Hi Flinch! Bye Flinch!" She shouted, as she ran up to Nattris, handing him more decorations.
"Nattris! Want help with food?" Reyanna asked.
Nattris, busy feeding the replitron recipes, looked up and nodded to her.
"Great! I'll be back!" She ran back to her quarters and came back with old recipes her parents used to make.
Nattris took a look at the recipes. "I don't think the replitron can be trusted with these." he said. He took the recipes and went back
into the kitchen and started taking out pots and pans.
"These will require a less then mechanical mind." Nattris put on a white apron and a chef's hat.
He put out a hand. "Give me a recipe," he said with happiness. He loved cooking.
Matuga went into his quarters, and immediately his comm panel beeped.
He went over to it, and smiled.
"Hey Joe! Whaz up?"
Joe grinned back at him. "I know it's a day early, but Happy Birthday! I won't be able to contact you tommorow, so I decided that it's
better early then late. Anyway, I've got news." "News? About what?"
"I've heard rumors about a 3 on 3 basketball tourney. It's the championship of all alligned worlds, so I guess we'd want to
participate." "Depends. When is it?"
"I don't know yet. I'll contact you when I find out, but it's supposed to be when most races are available. I've got a friend who wants
to join. You remember Pusher?"
"Yeah. He's the deadeye shooter."
"We can have a 4th, but we don't need to." "Ok."
"I don't know more than that. I've gotta run. See ya!" Matuga's comm panel beeped off.
When Karol got up, he went directly to sickbay.
Aloe scanned him up and down. "Hmm... you're 14 1/2. You're growing pretty fast but not as fast as you will be soon. How much
sleep are you getting a night, Karol?"
"About 7 hours."
Aloe shook her head. "At your stage of development you should be getting 10 hours of sleep. If a week goes by during which you
don't log 70 hours of sleep EEG, you'll not be allowed to help out here the following week, understand?"
"Gotcha, Doc."
Nybok sat in his quaters mediataing and inspiring on his next project to help better the ship he was on. He then was brought out of
his meditation with an idea. He then saw Xavier, resting comfortalby on the floor of his quarters and then a beeping sounded from the
com panel in his quarters. Nybok got up and hit the button to recieve the incoming message. " Captain Hawkins, it is agreeable to
hear from you again." Nybok said. " Commander, I wish I were calling on better news but I am not " Hawkins said, " the Alabama
spent 5 weeks in Spacedock being upgraded. We departed 3 weeks ago are completely defenseless along the Rihuansu border.
We tested our supposed upgraded phasers and torpedos and they are malfunctioning. You are the best weapons technician in all of
the SpaceCom. Your new orders are to get on a shuttle and fly to the Alabama as soon as possible, that is if everything is quiet on
the Adventure. " I'll speak with Captain T'Mara immediatly, Nybok out "
Nybok tapped his com badge
" Nybok to T'Mara, the Alabama is crippeled near the Rihaunsu border, Captain Hawkins has requested my precense in this
situation. If everything is smooth around here I would like to help the Alabama get back on track? "
After talking with Karol, Aloe decided to do her bit for the party preparations around the ship.
Balancing her wheely-chair on top of a computer panel and standing on top of it, she managed to hook a glowing pumpkin ornamant
onto the light shade. Feeling rather pleased with herself, she promptly fell several feet onto the ground. Her wheely chair landed on
top of her.
"Ow." she said to no one in particular.
"Are you alright?" Reyanna, who had been walking by, saw what had happened.
"That hurt." Aloe said, reaching for Reyanna's extended hand.
Zoya shifted in her chair again, staring at the console, wondering what to do. She glanced around the bridge, observing the other
members, then turned back. She studied her console again, then slowly brought up the library screen and surfed through some old
records. She found some old archives and sifted through them, eyes growing wider with each page. ~~Wow! A trip to the Original
Future, a Death Star, even an Aquamarine Crayon of Power! This is going to be an interesting ship to serve on....~~
"Having fun?" said a voice from behind her.
Zoya jumped about a foot into the air and landed on her tail as she came back down. She held her breath so she wouldn't cry out
and turned around to face the speaker, Captain T'Mara.
"H--h--hee--hello, Ma'am, I was..just..ummm...errrr..." She would have blushed if she could. She decided to start over. "You
see...errrr..." T'Mara nodded understandily. "Very well, carry on." She turned and walked off.
Zoya hunkered down into her seat and tried to make herself disappear.
Ping! Nattris turned from the book he was reading to the oven. PAL suddenly asked what that Ping! sound was.
"That's the machine the goes Ping!"
"The what?"
"Timer."
"Right."
Nattris removed the brownies and put them in a platter.
He went to the VR Deck and turned on the random enviroment program. He did a quick look about the ship and found it all good.
He tapped his com-badge. "Captain? At your discretion, the party may begin!"
"Thanks, Reyanna." Aloe said, getting up. "I'm really going to have to get rid of that chair."
Just then, the glowing pumpkin ornament fell from the light shade onto Aloe's head.
"Good thing we're in sickbay." Reyanna remarked.
Lt. Christina walked the corridors of the ship. Man, that party was EVERYWHERE. She couldn't get away from it. Even the bridge
was a little too cheery for her. In fact, even the "REAL O.J. Simpson Story" was too cheery for her. She felt like her world had just
crashed down. And for the second, most embarrassing time during her post on the Adventure, Christina walked into a wall.
Remembering her goof the first time, she immediately felt her nose. Blood. Soreness. It was going to swell soon. "Doh! I broke my
nose again!" she thought. "All I need is Commander Macer to find me like this again."
But it was not Macer who found her, it was Karol. "I was just on my way to sickbay," he said. "I think maybe you should come too!"
By this time Christina's eyepatch was bright purple, the color characteristic of embarrassment for her. She must have been thinking
of her pathetic life again, because Karol asked, "Preoccupied?"
Christina, holding her nose, replied, "Bery. Cad you tawk?"
Karol laughed. He understood. The two went to sickbay. Karol laid down on a bed while Aloe fixed Christina's nose for the second
time in about three Earth-months. They told Karol the story about the first time she broke her nose. Ironically, Christina thought, I
was preoccupied about the same thing now as I was then.
Boshoore was in a small lab in the sickbay doing some routine experiments. Suddenly Aloe walzted in with about fifty pumpkin
ornamants swining off her trunk, singing a song about Mr Yinna and rubbing her head. After a few minutes Boshoore looked up again
and the entire lab was plastered with pink and orange, glowing pumpkins.
"Hmmmmm....." said Boshoore.
Orion walked into the sickbay, to get a plasma healer to heal a small injury caused when he was working on one of the shuttles.
When he stepped in, the whole place was full of pumpkins. Orion decided he would come back later...
Nattris walked over to the food table and selected a piece of Choco-Fudge-Brownie-Ice-Cream-Cake.
"Um!" he said, appreciating his own cooking.
Be'Shari walked over to where Nattris was standing. A huge smile spread across her face.
"My favorite part of a party!" she said as she carefully chose the biggest piece.
After cleaning up after Andromada and resting in her quarters , Flinch left her quarters and entered the ship-wide party. She headed
straight for the refreshments and piled up chips, a brownie, popcorn, cookies, jellybeans and tons more onto her plate.
"That's all you're taking ? " asked Matuga sarcastically
"Actually , " said Flinch "This is just a first helping . " She ordered a root beer and then said .
"Wait , this is a party. Make that a root beer float!" After finishing off her little snack , Flinch wandered to the VR Deck to see what
party scene was going on there.....
After Orion had healed the injury himself, he decided to go check out the party. As soon as he left his quarters, he was in the party.
There were streamers every where, and baloons, and food. He headed for the refreshments first. Orion stopped in his tracks. He
had never seen so much food in his life.
PAL dutifully informs the captain that the star-sloop Starchild has arrived in docking bay one. A delegation is dispatched to meet
and greet her crew of two.
Presently, a couple dressed like Sunny and Cher are escorted to the VR deck, which looks very much like a Louie XIV grand
ballroom. PAL announces them, "Presenting Lord Icarus and Lady Iphagenia." Nattris' randomizer changes the venue to that of a nightclub, which cues the couple to take their place on stage.
Icarus clears his throat, "Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to sing a song I wrote while PAL was guiding us in to your docking bay...
in a magic garden
full of giant butterflies
lives a girl I know
the one who opened up my eyes
she's the one who made the sun shine
in the school yard
send it home in a letter
she's old enough to know better
The two guitars eased into a heavy, psychadelic riff. The audience dug it.
Meanwhile, another ship was on an intercept course with the Adventure.
T'Mara walked into the shuttlebay just as Nybok was loading the last of his stuff into the slick hypershuttle.
"Well, there is obviously no reason not to let you go on this mission," she observed, "but I still have a vague apprehension about it."
"The Alabama is in need of my assistance. It is only logical that I go." Nybok replied.
"Be careful. The Rihannsu border has been dangerous lately."
"Don't worry, aduna. I shall make every effort to return safely."
"I'm counting on that. We don't have enough shuttles to spare."
Nybok almost smiled as he climbed into the cockpit of the shuttle. With nothing more to say, he activated the engines and flew out
of the shuttlebay into the endless void...
T'Mara jogged back to the bridge, still feeling jumpy. She passed several crew members on the way, who encouraged her to join
them in the VR deck, where there was some sort of performance going on. Upon arriving at her destination, she just checked all the
consoles and turned control over to PAL.
~Maybe a little entertainment will calm me down.~ she thought to herself as she jumped through the portal into the virtual world...
Nattris walked down the corridor, scooping large handfuls of fruit shaped candies into his mouth.
He walked onto the bridge and was surprised to see that the decorations had somehow spread into the ships operations center.
He scanned them to discover that they had an artificial intelligence that went this far: spread like fungus.
"PAL?"
"Yes?"
"Tell me about the company that made these streamers." "The company is called Partineg. This particular product is called Super
Streamers: Create a living party enviroment. It--" "That's enough thanks."
'I wonder if this will become a problem later . . .' Nattris thought.
Trido Nikob personal Log Stardate 9710.06
I have just been assigned to the Adventure and am unsure what the expierence will be like. I am qualified for the position but I can't
help being nervous. I know it is silly but it is the way I am. I have just a invitation to go to a party so I am just on my way.
Goeta made his quarters nice and clean, and decorated it. Finally he had finished. "Ahh,"he said, and went over to his bed and had a
rest.
Ja'ath stopped to talk to Nattris.
"I think there is something wrong with those streamers," he said to Ja'ath as they were walking along.
"I thought I was crazy, but I know I saw some moving down the hall on my way to the VR Deck." Ja'ath told him.
They arrived at the VR Deck and the scene had changed to a Smashing Pumkins concert. As soon as they arrived it changed to a
beautiful, but rather boring, garden courtyard scene. Ja'ath left and went around the ship to the rec lounge where some of the crew
were "hanging out". He joined this part of the party a forgot all about the streamers with a mind of thier own....
Nattris sat in the VR Deck, and was rather anused when the Sonny and Cher couple suddenly found themselves singing on the back
of a humpback whale instead of a stage.
Zoya huddled down in her chair, watching all the streamers unroll themselves and various other crew members go in and out. She
felt do shy, so embarrased, but then something caught her nose.
She sniffed the scent. Food, yes, it was food, but more specifically, chocolate. Without thinking she got up and let her nose lead
her to the scent.
It turned out to be a chocolate cake. She looked around quickly, then stole two pieces, stuck them in her mouth, and walked off
looking innocent.
While she chewed and swallowed the cake, she looked around. This seemed to be the main heart of the party. She grinned to
herself and headed back to the food.
Aloe kicked the replitron. It had been replicating plastic pumpkins for the last half hour and it didn't look like it would be stopping
any time soon. She had tried to turn it off, even tried cutting it's power, but it steadfastly refused to be deactivated. Maybe Freddy
had done more than just switch the cargo-bay lights on, she thought.
The pumkins were piling up on the sickbay beds and computer panels. She wanted to get out of the sickbay and join the rest of the
crew, but she was afraid if she left now, she would come back to the entire room bursting with these stupid ornaments.
"Be'Shari!" She tapped her communicator "Could you or one of your staff come and help me in the sickbay? PLEASE?"
Trido finally arrived at the party after some 30 minutes of searching.
It felt good to see some of my new crew mates. I even saw somebody sneak a couple pieces of choclate cake. It was good they
were enjoying themselves. I saw my commanding officer. I would like to know what it looked like in my stomach from all the
butterflies, but when I finnaly meet her I said "Ensign Trido Nikob reporting sir." I think she was surprised by what I said. She
seemed preoccupied.
She returned my statement by saying "Huh, oh Ensign at ease. On behalf of the rest of the crew I welcome you to the U.S.S. Adventure." After the formalaties we went our seperate ways and I enjoyed the party...
The cargo bay was spotless... At least most of it, all the suplys were stacked neatly against one wall with a curten hiding them, but other then that... There were tables and chairs and food replacators, as well as two dance floors one of wich had a disco ball. The only other things that woried Macer were
1) The portole wich could be a safty hazzard,
2) the party streamers and decorations wich were "growing" into the cargo bay and
3) the campfires, tents and food that apperd out of no where everytime he turned his back. He
was starting to suspect that this wasn't just a joke by one of the Ensins. Also, every now and then he would here a sound like running in the andrews tubes.
Karol came in at a gallop, assessed the situation, slapped his forehead and said, PAL, deactivate subroutine 909. The pumpkins stopped comming.
"What was that all about?" asked Aloe.
"I arranged for a ship-wide emergency auxilliary power feed. It's robotically controlled via subroutine 909 and feeds power in short bursts as necessary. There's a collector back there..." Karol finished his explanation by saying that killing the aux was, of course, a
band-aid measure until he could find the source of the problem. "By the way, have you seen Freddie?"
Aloe shook her head.
Nattris walked down the corridor and went past the sickbay. The dorr opened for him when he paused to see if anyone wasn't at the
party.
Pumpkins. Tons of 'em.
He entered.
"PAL?" he whispered.
"Yes?" Pal whispered.
"Why am I whispering?"
"Due to a childhood trauma of yours involving a pumpkin and a jack-o-lantern carving set, you have a very silly fear of pumpkins."
Nattris straightened from the defensive crouch he had learned from Truths Super Hero Course. "Oh, well that explains it," he said ina
normal voice.
"Yes it does."
One of the pumpkins moved.
"Well how do you explain that!"
"Your silly little streamers have taken over the pumpkins plastic genetic make-up. So there."
"You've got an answer for everything!" "True."
"What is the end value of pi?"
"3.1415926353589 . . . uh, 29, hmmmmm. Apple." Nattris giggled with delight.
"3.14159265358979323846264338327950288, I could go on, but you wouldn't like it." Nattris smiled.
What about the pumpkins though. He walked towards the one that had moved and cracked it open. It looked like a normal pumpkin
inside!
But inside was a swirling mass of colors.
"The Portal? In a pumpkin?" he cracked another one, another portal.
"PAL?"
"The fungus has spread through both the pumpkins, the ship, and the portal in the cargo bay. It's a fungo-bork."
"He he! Hey! wait a minute! it is like the bork!" Nattris rushed up to the bridge and checked the scanners.
Nothing. A few planets, a sun, and a funny shaped moon. Nothing.
Nattris went back to the party, relieved that so fare, nothing *really* bad had happened.
PAL was going to remark on the funny shaped moon, but was soon busy having an interesting conversation with an AI Nattris had
programmed for the party.
The cube shaped moon went un-noticed . . .
Lieutenants Christina and Morgan, touring the party, decided they wanted vanilla strawberry cake. However, no matter where they
looked, they could not find vanilla strawberry cake. There was chocolate. And Strawberry. And chocolate strawberry. And there was
just plain vanilla. But they wanted Vanilla Strawberry, so they went to a replitron.
"Vanilla Strawberry cake, please. Two slices." Morgan said, and turned to Christina. "It should be just a minute." They started
talking.
All of a sudden, Christina's mouth fell open. "The- the- replitron- the- cake!"
"Huh?" Asked Morgan, and she turned around.
The replitron was spitting out vanilla strawberry cake...... by the ingredient! Eggs and flour and sugar and water..... all pouring out
onto the floor of the lounge. Nattris ran up to them, screaming. "What's this all about?"
Morgan and Christina did not know what to do. "We ordered cake! That's it!
Just cake! The replitron is going crazy!" Nattris called Engineering, and within moments of the accident, Karol had temporarily shut
down the replitron. He told them about Aloe's replitron incident in sickbay. "...And we are still looking for Boshoore!" Lt. Christina
shook her head. "WHAT could be causing all these freak accidents?"
They cleaned up the mess. Lt. Christina and Lt. Morgan settled for Chocolate Strawberry cake.
Reyanna watched the cake spatting thing. She laughed as she helped her sister wipe flour out of her hair.
Nattris walked down the corridor, and at every turn readied his phaser-thingie for an attack.
Nothing.
He went into the cargo bay, where some people were dancing.
He went over to the portal.
"Excuse me. Mister Poratl? Would you know anything about these accidents?"
"Moon."
Nattris didn't know where the voice came from, but he doubted it was the portal. He walked through the cargo deck and he stopped
when he saw something odd.
It was a skull with a candle on it. Under the skull, it read:
'To all who ever shun sweet life,
to all who ever may cause strife,
Let the portal know thy name.'
It was rather creepy.
He walked a bit further, and saw a bug.
It was a bee, and there was something on it.
Nattris caught the bee in a jar, then opened the lid.
Out popped a funny looking person.
He was 4 feet tall, had pointed ears, was wearing mideval dress, and was unusually pale.
"Hey! I was riding that bee!"
"Um, what? Who are you?"
The person bowed, "Robin Goodfellow, at your service. Not really thats just a saying."
"You mean, Puck? Robin Goodfellow as in 'Oh, what fools these mortals be?" The sprite grinned. "The same."
Nattris had seen some wierd stuff, so he wasn't phased by much. "Are you responsible for these accidents about the ship?" "I did
the cake one, but you should ask the fungus about the others." Nattris glowered. "Nuisence. Go away!" "Fine, be that way!" He
disappeared.
Nattris felt invisible hands give him a stern wedgie. "Jerk!" Nattris walked off unhappily. Imortals got on his nerves sometimes.
He realized that he to was in a sense immortal, so he forgot the last little bit of thinking.
Then he remembered the skull. How did that get there?
T'Mara jumped out of the VR Deck portal only to be greeted by a cascade of plastic pumpkins and a sheepish-looking Aloe.
"Sorry about that!" Aloe said. "I just can't get the replitron to stop
making these!"
T'Mara frowned at the whole mess. Actually, it was more like a look of dread. "Jack-o-lanterns..."
"Something wrong with that, captain?"
"They remind me of halloween."
"What's wrong with halloween?"
T'Mara seemed to snap out of her reverie. "It's a long story. I'll tell you another time." She stared down at the pumpkins, which
seemed to be dissolving in a swirl of colors. Then the colors started spreading to the walls, the floor, everywhere. It was pretty, but it
looked rather dangerous. "I think we had better leave the pumpkins alone." T'Mara decided. She and Aloe abandoned the mess and
ran down the hallway.
Boshoore wriggled lazily through the pumpkins. He seemed to be completely entangled in them. A few minutes ago he had heard
Karol's voice, then Nattris talking to PAL. The pumpkins seemed to have stopped coming but Boshoore was still rather disorientated
by all the glowing spheres around him.
"Boshoore to Aloe," Boshoore said, tapping his communicator. "I think you overdid the party decorations a bit. I think that they are
trying to eat me."
There was a scuttling noise from somewhere above.
"Hmmm, that sounds like a flibble in an Andrews tube....." Boshoore thought idly as he waited for a response....
Goeta trotted along to the replitron. "Two bowls of grass please." The replitron threw some off colour bananas out.
"Yuuuuuuucccccccccckkkkkkk!" He went to sickbay to ask Aloe what was happening. Surely she would know.
Boshoore heard fotsteps. Hoping it was somebody that would help, he cried,"Help!" Goeta came into view, and grabbed Boshoore
out. "Thanks,"he sighed.
Zoya started to feel left out at the party, so she finished off the chocolate cake, then the vanilla one, and left.
She walked down the corridor, but stopped when she heard a bit of noise against one of the doors. She walked closer, so the door
opened, and shrieked. Pumpkins, pumpkins, everywhere. She sniffed one. It smelled...edible.
"PAL, what's with the pumpkins?" she asked.
"Oh, the replitron isn't working right," the computer answered.
Zoya peered at one of them. "Why are they moving?" "The streamers got mixed in with the pumpkin components." Zoya considered
them. "They edible?"
"Uhhh....I don't think so....they're molecular structure or something like that will ruin your digestive system..." Zoya ate one anyway,
then walked down the corridor licking her lips, tail swishing.
Matuga went into the Andrews tubes, and went forward. He looked left, and he was shocked by what he saw.
He couldn't believe it.....
Nattris walked into the corridor and headed down the hallway.
He saw Zoya eat a pumpkin.
"PAL? Did you tell Zoya those pumpkins are plastic?" "Not in so many words, no. I, well, ad-libbed." Nattris groaned.
He walked down to the cargo bay and went to lean on the wall, doing the 'cool' thing.
He suddenly sucked into an Andrews tube.
Puck popped up beside him.
"Another parting gift,
for you, my cheerful angst.
I did it just,
for you to find,
and so for I, to annoy you.
Now don't you mind, I had a reason,
'tis not some foul treason!"
His face darkened astonishingly.
"For in these tunnels,
lie a thing,
a beast of evil wax.
A creature, cold of heart,
and coutesy, it lacks.
A creature, creatures! Metal of brow, so soon I bid you well,
to heed my deathly warning now."
Puck popped out in a puff of slightly scary smoke.
"Nattris to Matuga. I think we have a problem. If I read my immortal verses right, we may have the Bork to deal with." Nattris went
into the tube a little farther. 'I hate party crashers . . .' he thought.
After the incident with the cake in the lounge, Lt. Christina decided to help Karol and Nattris look for Boshoore, who was still missing
in the pumpkin mess in Sickbay. She shuffled through them, almost becoming lost herself, until she bumped into something smaller
than she. "Boshoore?"
"Hello? Who is there?"
"It's Christina. Wanna come out?"
Boshoore laughed. "YEAH! What's going on out there?"
Just as Matuga saw the Bork, his commbadge bepped.
"Nattris to Matuga. I think we have a problem. If I read these immortal verses right, we may have the Bork to deal with." Matuga fired
a shot, and took out a Bork. "Thanks for the warning, Nattris. Would you be so kind as to inform T'Mara and Flinch of this cuz I am
kind of distracted at the moment." Had it not been for Matuga's custom designed rifle, he would have been wax-immilated.
Matuga kicked open the hatch behind him. He now had the option of retreating....
She is dancing away at the party as the Bork arive,she stops dancing and looks at the bork "Bork?,ah yes I remember I learned
about you at the academy" She grins evily and unsheathes her claws " I hate to hurt any body but I know if I dont you will just try to
assmilate me, I am sorry this is gonna hurt a bit" She pounces the Bork and shreds him with her claws. Then she stands and looks
at the dead Bork"How many off those things are ther?" She sheathes her claws and looks around.
Ja'ath was partying with Goeta when he heard the news about the intruders on the comm channel.
"From what I know about the Bork, that phaser Mutaga used to take it out is obsolete. The Bork have the ability to adapt to anything
that is thrown at them..." Ja'ath said to Goeta as sparks on the rec lounge floor revealed charred metal and a Bork squad leader
rising from the floor.
"Resistance are futile!" he said as he raised his weapon.
"Resistance is futile you idiot!" Ja'ath yelled as he shoved his electro-stunner in his mouth. The bork fizzled out into a pile of metal.
With a wizz the other bork all adapted.
"This is going to be a long battle," Goeta said as he made for the exit.
Aloe looked at the communicator in her hand.
"Um, Karol, I think I broke it."
But Karol and the captain had wandered off into the party, and Aloe was standing alone in the middle of the room holding a slightly
smoking communicator.
Nattris came by again.
"Aloe, you look like you need something to do. Would you like to have the honor of being the party-hat dispensor?" Nattris handed
Aloe a pile of party hats.
Well, at least it was something to do.
She put one hat on one ear and one on the other. Then, with a sudden flash of ingenuity, she put one on her trunk.
Smiling, she wandered off, unaware of what an idiot she looked.
Aloe arrived at the party with the Captain and Karol. The room looked great - someone had really gone to town with the
decorations. Various crew members were scattered around the room, most of them talking and eating party dishes.
Christina, Reyanna and Morgan were placing an "out of order" sign on one of the replitrons.
Nattris danced by and threw party hats at the group. Aloe's didn't fit over her ears, so she gave it to Karol while the captain
descreetly put hers down on a table.
As she watched the cheerful scene, Aloe realised a streamer seemed to be wrapping itslef around her ankle. She shook it off, and
began to say "So you don't like Halloween, huh?" to the captain, but was cut off by her communicator, which started to go "BLURP!
BLURP!" It was very loud, and everyone in the room turned around to look at her, including some faces she hadn't seen before. She
took the communicator off and bashed it against the wall a few times until it stopped.
"What was that all about?" Flinch asked.
"I have absolutley no idea." Aloe said, feeling that she wasn't having much luck with modern technology today.
Boshoore was very relieved to be out of the pumpkins. He went back to his quarters to change into a lovely red and purple doggy
jersey for the party. Unfortunately, before he had time to get to the food, he was blurped back to sickbay under the grounds that Zoya
was "feeling a bit odd". Upon arriving, Boshoore noticed some conscientious person had 'cleaned up' the sickbay by shoving all the
pumkins into any convieniant pumpkin-sized nook and cranny, leaving floor space at least.
"Well *someone* has been eating a bit too much party food, haven't they?" Boshoore said annoyingly to Zoya. Opening a nearby
storage cupoard to get a medical tricorder, about eight pumkins cascaded out and rolled around the floor. Boshoore sighed.
Scanning Zoya, Boshoore became slightly disturbed.
"You seem to have consumed a time portal." he told her bluntly.
"A time portal!! Where did that come from?!" Zoya looked down at her stomach, aghast.
"Probably," said Boshoore, pointing to one of the last pumpkins being removed, "from one of the pumpkins."
Zoya freaked. "This is horrible!! Don't you see!!" She ran over and started shaking Boshoore.
"S-s-s-eee w-wh-aaat-t?"
"This is horrible!! This is worse than horrible!!" She stopped shaking the med officer and stalked around a biobed, tail swishing, then
turned back.
"I'll starve!!"
"Huh?"
Zoya resumed shaking. "If it's a time portal, then all the food I eat falls into it and gets teleported away somewhere!! None of it will
be absorbed!!
I'll starve!!!" She started shaking harder. "Get it out!!! You must get it out!!"
Nattris ran from the tubes and into the rec deck.
"It's the Bork!" he shouted.
The Bork, timely as ever, chose that moment to burst into the room.
"Resistence is futile!" said the nearest Bork, being as original as a bork can get.
Nattris prepared to see how his cloaked-phaser-thingie did against the Bork.
He fired off a shot at the nearest Bork. It collapsed.
He fired one at another Bork. It collapsed to!
He moved to another point in the room to fire again. Another collapsed!
Apparently, they couldn't quite decide where the phaser fire was coming from, so they were trying to adapt to a place they couldn't
see.
Nattris began to appreciate the thing that had been stuck on his arm ever since he found. Although he still wished he could take it
off occasionally .
. .
The battle began.
Zoya huddled down in her chair, watching all the streamers unroll themselves
and various other crew members go in and out. She felt do shy, so
embarrased, but then something caught her nose.
Be'Shari was standing around, holding a big root beer float when she noticed Zoya sitting in the corner. She walked over to her table,
sat down, and the two began talking.
Be'Shari walked around the halls, now holding a big glass of chocolate milk.
She passed the sickbay, which had little pumpkins oozing out the door. Then she walked into the cargo bay, wondering what was in
there as far as decorations. When she arrived, there were party streamers running around by themselves somehow, and there were a
couple campfires around.
"Macer? You here?" She called out.
"Hey... I'm here."
"Everything okay in here?"
"Uh, no."
Be'Shari took another look around. "I think I'm gonna go now... You probably know more about this stuff anyway."
"uhhh. Actually, I don't."
"Bye!" And with that, she ran out the door hoping that Macer wasn't going to try to catch her.
As she was running out, she got an idea. She ran up to the next person she could find, who just so happened to be Ensign Trido.
"Hi. You're new here aren't you? I'm Be'Shari, the ship's cheif engineer. I'll see you around." She was about to continue on her way,
when she remembered what she was going to do. "By the way, TAG! You're it!" Be'Shari tagged the ensign and ran off with a huge
smile on her face.
Be'Shari looked around in the party to see what the commotion was. There were several Bork standing at the door. She noticed
Nattris firing his cloaked phaser and the bork were dropping like flies. Quickly, she tried to remember what she was taught in school.
She pointed at one of the Borks and said some indescribable words (not swear words, just indescribable), and that one fell without
any warning. She tried it on another. It dropped the same way. Be'Shari's eyes widened, then went back to normal as she smiled.
She continued to zap at the Bork, occasionally missing the target and hitting the door, which did nothing to it.
Macer watched though the grating in the Andrew's tube as Be'Shari left.
Macer turned around to face the 6 spears pointing at him.
"What do you want?" Macer asked the primative human-oids. Unfotunetly, this was a dethly bad insult inable in the native tounge.
"Ogg, Oggethouggt Chik~!!!"
"Wrabgald-oogeum!" The natives started proding Macer with the spears. One of them drew blood.
"I'm not going to hurt you." This was the worst insult imaginable.
"AAAhhhggg!!!!!!" (translated Take back what you just said about my army boots!!)
"Ok, calm down, take me too your leader."
"Oggeunthowaggwe, blamterfunk ufgumewage. Engutouythoo frazblasteroman!" (Well, the same too you, and your hunter orange
swade shoes are REALLY ugly)
The natives took him at spear point to one of the unocupied rooms in the crew quarter deck throu the tubes.
There were about sixty natives in four rooms with the walls knocked out between them...
Matuga continued to fend off the Bork. He was retreating quickly.
Soon, there would be nowhere to retreat to. He continued firing.
Suddenly, another source of phaser fire appeared. He took advantage of that, and closed in the trapped Bork. He then ran through
the gap, and joined the second attacker.
It was Flinch!
"I'm glad to see Nattris got somebody." said Matuga as he joined Flinch sniping the Bork."Anyway, we've got another problem on our
hands. One of us has to arm the rest of the ship, because most of them are not armed. I've got another option on my rifle that would
make you the logical choice."
"Ok. Just make sure they don't get out of the cargo bay." "No prob."
Flinch ran to the weapons lockers while Matuga turned on his rapid fire mode and continued to put dents in the Bork force.....
Nattris utilized all the super-hero training courses he had learned from Truth's Superhero Training Course and sprung into action.
Lesson 1: Think like a hero. Not a lot of help right now.
Lesson 2: Combat. Perfect.
Nattris jumped over a table and under the one that came after it. He popped up and shot the nearest Bork.
Nattris did a tucked-in-roll over to the next table, propped it up and used it as a sheild.
This was going well.
Nattris ran out into the hallway after a group of Bork that were trying to get the rest of the ship.
He shot at them untill they reached they crew quarters. They dived into a very intersting area.
Nattris could see Macer standing at spearpoint by some primatives.
"Oh, hi Nattris. I see the Bork have showed up." "Yeah, party crashers. Need some help?" Before Macer could answer, the Bork
attacked the primatives.
Nybok finished his repairs on the Alabama's defense system when Captain Hawkins called him to the bridge. Nybok exited the
turbolift and met with Captain Hawkins.
" Ah Cmdr. Nybok, we've recieved a message from SpaceCom headquarters. The Adventure has engaged the Bork at these
coordinates " Hawkins said and handed Nybok the report on the PADD. " We have been ordered to the system to help in the fight. I
would appreciate it very much if you would take tactical since you designed the system of the new torpedos " Hawkins said. " Of
course Captain " Nybok said. " Very good, Helm lay in a course for the Adventure, maximum Kool-Aid factor, engage " Hawkins
said.
The Alabama flew into Kool-aid drive and headed for the Adventure.
As the primitives were mowed over Macer turned around and punched the guard behind his, grabbing his spear.
"Take this, bork scum!!" Macer ran at a bork, spear forward. He was about to plunge his spear into the back of a bork, when he
was wrenched to the side, and under a bed.
"Macer, no, your not armed."
"Well, Nattris what do you want me to do??" Just then the sheets (which went all the way to the ground) were lifted up to reveil a
bork face. Macer rammed the but of the spear at it so hard he lost it up the bork's noes. The bork reard up, screeming in pain.
Nattris rolled out of the other side of the bed, poped up and shot the bork.
"Sory about your spear your not getting it back now." Macer and Nattris ran for Macer's quarters as fast as they could, and
rummaged throu the couch as fast as they could.
"Do you think shooting limburger cheese will help?"
"No." Macer tossed a cheese shooter aside and stated digging again...
Lt. Christina, back from helping Boshoore out of the pumpkin mess in Sickbay, was running back to the party in the lounge when
she heard commotion, and Nattris's frantic immortal voice shouting for help. "Bork!
Bork! Aaaaagh!"
Christina darted into the lounge. It was sort of a mess, but she managed to crawl unnoticed under a food table. She reached up
and groped for something even slightly useful.... and felt a sharp, paralyzing pain in her hand. She slowly brought her hand back
down and took in the damage.
She had found something useful, alright... there was an ice pick lodged inside her palm in between her thumb and forefinger. She
tore off a strip of white tablecloth and wrapped her painful hand, before grabbing the nearest tinsel-covered bulkhead and running out.
The nearest Bork did not even notice her. Maybe they assumed that that small crawling bulkhead was one of their own. But
Christina Leigh winced in pain as she gripped the icepick and took out the Bork cornering Nattris.
"Resistance.... are....." it mumbled as it went down. Christina was careful not to touch the dripping Bork nanite-filled blood, as if her
injury was exposed, she would become a Bork herself. She shuddered.....fainted.....
And the next thing she knew was lying under her bulkhead, camouflaged from the Bork, and hiding from any more attackers. She
called Morgan on her communicator..... who reached the transporter room, and beamed Christina and Nattris and the rest of the
crewmembers out of the danger zone and into safety.
"Thanks," Christina mumbled, drifting out of consciousness...... With that broken nose from a few days ago and now the ice-pick
through her hand, Christina had lost too much blood. They called Aloe.
"No problem," Morgan replied.
After eating at the party Trido started felling sick. He tried to put up with it but it wouldn't go away so he decided to go to sickbay.
He had heard his fellow crew mates about something wierd about sickbay but he thought they were joking with each other so he
toddled off to sick bay.
When he was one corner away from sickbay he saw this funny glow and he thought that was strange but didn't think anything of it.
But when he arrived at sickbay it was empty except for how knows how many strange looking pumpkins, it was then he decided he
would sleep it off in his quaters.
"Ew, I HATE pumpkins! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Reyanna threw her chronometer at the evil humanoid-eating pumpkin.
"Arrrggg! You can NEVER destroy me!" It chomped on the chrono, then spit it back at her, hitting her in the face. It was covered
with pumpkin seeds.
"Nobody hurts *my* face and gets away with it!" She ran towards the pumpkin holding a carving knife. "You're seed spitting days
are over, Jack!" (as in O'Lantern)
Throwing the knife into it's orange body, Reyanna snapped back into real life.
Blushing, and looking around, "Heh heh, must've dozed off." She smiled, and decided to skip the big piece of pumpkin pie in front of
her.
Matuga was having much success fending off the Bork in the cargo bay.
They were almost all eliminated, which would allow him to concentrate on the remaining Bork in the Lounge.
He had one more Bork to take out. He raised his rifle, and prepared to fire, when he noticed something.
The Bork wasn't really fighting back.
"I will surrender! Don't shoot me."
Matuga lowered his rifle slightly."How do I know you won't assimilate me?"
He put his arms up."Please don't kill me!" Matuga hesitated."How come you never did?" "What do you mean?"
"How come you never surrendered? For my parents? And my sister?" "I do not know-
"You know darn well what I mean! You have killed people before? And why did you never let THEM surrender?"
The Bork was silent.
"Why?" Matuga fumed. He raised his rifle.
"It is not in our nature." said the Bork. He started walking toward Matuga.
"Then why should I let you surrender?" said Matuga. He raised his rifle even more, stopping the Bork in his tracks.
"Humans.....in is in their nature."
"But you aren't human? You can't let anyone surrender? Because we are weak, right?"
The Bork hesitated, once again. Then, he started marching towards Matuga.
"We are the Bork. Resistance is futile." "SO THIS IS FUTILE!" Matuga shouted as he fired. It took the Bork down in one shot,
vaporizing him.
"PAL, where are the remaining Bork on the ship?" "Please come over here."
Matuga moved to the screen. It showed the Bork were on or near the Rec Lounge. PAL didn't know how many.
Matuga ran down the corridor, and prepared to eliminate the the Bork force.
"Resistance is well worth the effort." said Matuga as he walked down the corridor.
Aloe was getting a bit sick of trying to get people to wear the party hats, and was just about to grab some food and go and check on
the sickbay when PAL beeped at her.
"Aloe" Pal chimed, "Since your communicator is, ahem, temporarily out of order, I am rerouting your communications to the wall
terminal." "Okey" Aloe replied.
Morgan's voice came through.
"Aloe, you are needed in the transporter room immediately." The urgency in her voice prompted Aloe to grab a medkit and hurry to
the transporter room.
Christina was lying unconscious on the transporter pad. Aloe saw a gaping wound in her hand and her pale face, and realised
something serious must have happened. She took some instruments out of the medkit and started to clean the wound.
"What happened?" she asked Morgan, checking Christina for other injuies.
"The Bork are onboard"
"The Bork?"
Aloe's hand froze. When she was a little calf, her home had been invaded by the Bork. Her mother and many others had been either
killed or wax-immilated. The herd had fallen apart and migrated to other planets.
If there was one thing she hated, and feared, it was the Bork.
She realised what she was doing, and straightening up, said to Morgan "Could you beam us directly to sickbay?" Morgan nodded
and went to the transporter panel.
Aloe looked worriedly at Christina's face, and tried to forget about the Bork as they were enveloped by the transporter beam.
Aloe looked worriedly at Christina's face, and tried to forget about the
Bork as they were enveloped by the transporter beam.
Matuga was going to go to the Rec Lounge when D-1's voice came through.
"Matuga, about a half dozen Bork just left the lounge." Matuga frowned, and stopped."That's odd. Any idea why?" "They might be
after you. Watch your back." "Thanks for the warning, but I'll be fine." Matuga went into a defensive position, cautiously moving down
the deck. After about five minutes of this, he calmly realized that wherever they were going, they were not after him, so he was
probalbly fine.
"PAL, give me an internal view of the ship, and where all the Adventure crew are located."
As far as Matuga could tell, they were all concentrated in one general area, which would be in or near the Rec Lounge. There were
two groups that were not.
One of them was him.
The other was a couple of people in sickbay.
"PAL, enhance grid 8-Delta-5."
It zoomed in on sickbay (Note:This is an internal view, not like a surveillance thing. Just so you know). "PAL, are there any phasers
in the vincinity of sickbay?"
"None."
That suddenly re-energized him. He knew the iniative once again laid with him.
He went into a turbolift, and headed for Deck 3 (Let's just assume that's where sickbay is).....
As Nattris & Macer franticly searched for a wepon -any wepon- there was a loud hissing sound at the door, sudenly it blew open,
sending peices everywere.
"Resistence is futile, you will be added to our wax museum!"Nattris shot the bork, but there were three more to take it's place.
Nattris sudenly realized that Macer had disaperd.
"Macer, don't leave me! I'll be wax-imalatid (derivative of asimalated) help!" Sudenly a hand reached out of the couch, grabbed
Nattris and pulled him in.
"Macer?"
"So, Nattris. how do you like it?" They were is a huge room, full of monitors, conlrole pannles and chairs.
"Macer...."
"Well, you don't think eddie's couch eas conected to the space time wash ups without help. This is were it is all controled.
Besides, you don't thik I was out is space just sitting unprotected?"
"Macer, this is...."
"The reason I never showed this to anyone was if the wrong person got there hands on it.. well they could get anything from
anywhere."
"Why don't you?"
"To use it once would be to dangeruos, the temtation would be far to great to stop me from taking over the univers -wich I could do-
and I wouldn't want to do that. Anyway, if your not carfull you could get stuck down here."
"But wheres all the junk from the couch??" Macer crossed the room and opend a door, he and Nattris walked inside. It was FULL
of junk, wepons, toys, books everything.
"This is were all the natraly ocuring wash ups are kept, we can find what we need in here, but be carfull
Lt. Morgan enjoyed the party, for the most part. Her brothers had long since departed for earth again, so she walked around with Lt.
Christina, eating cake and talking about life in general. They had a small run-in with a replitron that she couldn't fix, but a call to
Be'Shari and help from Karol soon put everything right. The party was going quite nicely, she thought, until the Bork showed up.
Then things really began getting messy when she left for a few minutes, came back, and discovered Lt.
Christina hiding under a table with an ice pick through her hand. They called Aloe, and quickly decided to transport the two of them
to sickbay, where he could effectively treat her hand. She managed to complete the task, but absolutely HAD to go watch Aloe, and
so decided to follow them to sickbay--on foot. She dashed through corridors, almost jammed the elevator, and then almost bumped
into someone.
"Excuse me," she said, and prepared to hurry on. Then she realized who it was--a Bork! "Disregard that last comment," she said,
reached down into her boot, and prepared to slice it in half with her lightsaber because she didn't usually carry her phaser around
with her to parties. Before she could actually turn it on, she felt a blow to the side of her head, and everthing went black...
Aloe checked the readings over Christina's biobed. She seemed to be doing fine and should be up and about in a few hours.
Boshoore was playing with Aloe's wheely chair and looking very pleased with himself for curing Zoya. Zoya had left a few minutes
ago to see what was happening on the rest of the ship.
With nothing else to do, Aloe couldn't help thinking about the Bork.
The bulls had tried to gore them, with little effect. She had heard energy weapons didn't have a lot of effect on them. She doubted a
tranquelizer from her medkit would work. At least not on the computer part of them. And they were loose on the ship.
She idly kicked a pumpkin.
Suddenly the door opened and in stepped five Bork. Aloe watched in horror as Boshoore, unable to control the dreaed wheely chair,
went wheelying accross the room and bashed into the knees of one of the Bork.
However, the Bork didn't look like they were interested in Boshoore or Aloe or Christina. Ignoring Boshoore, they began making their
way to the storeroom. Then they started to pick up.... pumkins? Now they were crossing the room and heading for the door again.
But before they could get there, Matuga burst into sickbay with phaser rifle at the ready. Ignoring him, they pushed past and
continued on their way out, laden with glowing pumpkins.
"W-W-W-WHAT are they DOING?" Aloe yelled.
Matuga looked around, shrugged, and followed the Bork out.
This was too good a chance to miss.
Leaving Boshoore in charge of Christina, Aloe followed Matuga and began trotting after the group of Bork.
Nattris High kicked a borg in the face, then swished his leg to the side, cutting one of the numerous tubes running to its head. It
went "gligumference" for a little while, then it fell over.
A Bork walked in carrying a pumpkin. Nattris grabbed it and threw it at its head.
The portal inside transported the Borks head to another place, leaving its body sitting around with nothing to do. The body turned
around and started walking itself into a wall for fun.
The Battle raged on.
D-1 cautiously moved down the corridor. He knew that the Bork did not seem to be out to assimilate anybody, which was unusual,
but he couldn't take chances. He moved stealthily phaser brandished.
D-1 had carried a phaser with him ever since the first Bork sighting in the lounge. As he came around a corner, he saw the slumped
figure of Lt. Morgan. She appeared to have something in her hand. D-1 eyed the object warily. as he picked it up, a beam of light shot
out of it.
D-1 was startled, and nearly dropped it. What is that thing? He thought. As he moved it around, the beam of light did not dissapate.
"Curious," he said. He saw the beam of light contract, and dissapear.
He put it into his pocket.
"D-1 to sickbay," he said, and heard static. The Bork must have cut communications, he thought. As he hauled Lt. Morgan to her
feet, 3 Bork had cornered them.
"Uh oh," he thought.
D-1's mind raced. I could do a site-to-site transport, but that would only take one, he thought. Maybe I should get Lt. Morgan to
sickbay.
Then again, maybe even that's not a safe spot.
D-1 took off his communicator badge slowly.
"PAL!" he yelled, putting the communicator on Morgan. "Lock on to my communicator and beam it to sickbay! Energize!" Lt. Morgan
dissapeared in a beam of light.
D-1 set his phaser to overload and handed it to one of the Bork.
"Hold this, will you?" he said, breaking through the blockade.
His phaser exploded, killing one of the Bork. They started after him.
The chase was on.....
Christina stirred in the biobed. Sickbay was a mess, Aloe was missing, and Boshoore looked very, very worried. She tried to sit up,
failing due to a bio field. "Geez..." she thought, and screamed as Lt. Morgan materialized next to her.
Morgan was out cold. Boshoore immediately began to hoist her up onto the adjacent bio bed, but couldn't. "Want help?" asked
Christina, and Boshoore turned off the bio field. They lifted Morgan up and Boshoore began to treat her for shock.
Lt. Christina tried calling Lt. Commander Flinch via communicator.
Unsuccessful. The Bork must have cut communications, she realized. "PAL, what is the status of intraship coms?" she asked. PAL
confirmed it. "Stupid Bork.
What'd they do, try to assimilate a bulkhead?" Christina wondered. She sighed and looked around. In Sickbay, they had four
communicators in all; hers, Boshoore's, Morgan's, and a second one that had materialized with Morgan.
Christina collected them all and began to work.
"What are you doing?" asked Boshoore.
"Linking these. The Bork have cut coms. I can restore coms to a few communicators at a time, but I need a fifth one to establish a
permanent channel!"
Just then Aloe walked in. "Hand over your communicator," Christina ordered.
Aloe blinked. "I'm supposed to give you orders, I outrank you!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah. I know. Sorry. All ranks aside, I need your communicator if I'm going to make a dent in this problem. Please?" Christina
asked. Aloe handed it over, joking to herself, "I'm going to have to hand you over to Captain T'Mara for insubordination now...."
They laughed but Lt. Christina did not stop working. Within moments, she tucked her micro tool set back inside her pants and
handed back the communicators. "We are now the only crewmembers able to use these. I'm going to go see if I can't do this for the
rest of us!" And before Aloe could ask about her hand, Christina crawled into an Andrews tube leading to the bridge.
T'Mara raced around the corner, pursued by one of the Bork that had mysteriously popped up around the ship. She fished around in
her pocket for one of the arsenal of small weapons she kept there. Finally she came up with a small thermal detonator. Ducking
around a corner, she threw it at her pursuer. Whing! A forcefield materialized around the Bork.
*Adapted already? This is worse than I estimated.* she thought. T'Mara searched around quickly for an alternative. After rummaging
in her pocket, wasting valuable time, she came across her new experimental weapon, the Jell-o gun. T'Mara had been nearly ready to
test it, but she hadn't yet had the time. *No time like the present, so they say...*
She fired.
There was a bright flash of green light, and the Bork was frozen in a huge blob of Jell-o.
*It works. How surprising!* T'Mara thought. Without hesitating, she ran down the hall in search of some more weapons.
Nattris did a tucked-in-roll out of Macers quarters into the hallway.
He kept fighting, but tapped his combadge to talk to macer. It didn't work.
"Macer?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to-AAAAAAAAHHHHHHGRRRGGG! oH, ow, oh ow. Why didn't you tell me these things could blow up! I'm not invivsible
anymore!" "Didn't want to worry you."
"Thanks. I'm going to the bridge. I figure they must be coming form a aship (duh) and I aim to disable it. Come if you like." Nattris
didn't wait for an answer, he couldn't. twenty Bork were suddenly coming at him froma round a corner, and it was time to pack his
bags and GO.
He ran the corridor untill he came to a lift, and he hopped on, heading for the bridge.
He stopped midway, and Nattris hid on the side. Three Bork stepped in.
Nattris was surprised they didn't see him. They got off on level 5. Nattris hurried the lift on.
It stopped again, on level 3.
When the door opened, he handed them each a small glass of kool-aid and told them the lift was full. Right before the doors closed,
he threw a small explosive device into one of the glasses.
The doors closed and he heard a muffled boom from below. Kool-aid might be the next big explosive! he thought. He filed it with
some other thoughts that were currently not needed.
When he reached the bridge, he ran in and sat in the captains chair.
"Comfortable!" He got off and went to the Tactical station, hoping Macer would get here soon to help.
"PAL? We got work to do!"
After securing the sickbay from the Bork, Matuga continued to eliminate the Bork threat. He was beginning to wonder where they
were coming from, cuz he had taken out about 50, and they seemed to not lose a beat. A huge force.
He knew he needed to slow them down, and he couldn't do it himself.
Turning once again to the internal sensors grid on Deck 3 (this was becoming routine with him), he once again asked for the position
of the crew. It was largely different.
One person was in the Andrews tubes. Matuga assumed that person was heading for the bridge, from her path.
Why would someone head for the bridge? He thought. Why would...
"Matuga to D-1."
No response.
"Come on, D-1. This isn't a joke. Why would someone want to go to the bridge?"
Still silence.
"D-1-
Then it hit him.
"You idiot! The internal coms are out! No wonder D-1 wouldn't answer!" Matuga headed for the turbolift.
A Bork was in the lift.
"We are the Bork." it said.
"We are the Adventure!" he shouted as his rifle crackled with the familiar sound of phaser fire.
"Jeez, these guys are falling easier every time. Maybe it's me." he said as he headed for engineering.
The lift didn't move.
"Some key systems are out. Is everything happening to me?" He manually opened the hatch, and climbed up. He could no longer
get to engineering.
It wasn't the ideal place anymore anyway. With main power apparently inconsistent, he was going to the place where he could do
something about it.....
Matuga, after climbing up 3 levels, had finally gotten to the bridge.
Surprisingly, someone was already there.
"Nattris? What are you doing here?"
"Don't ask, Matuga." he replied.
"I won't, then." Matuga moved over to the engineering station.
"Let's hope these subroutines that D-1 tried to implement work." he said hoarsely.
Lights came on.
"Okay, main power is back in full, I hope. " Making a mental note to thank D-1 when he saw him next, he then heard something.
"Nattris, do you hear something?"
"Yeah."
Matuga drew his rifle, and moved toward the source of the sound.
It was the Andrews Tubes again, and Matuga was willing to take no chances with it again.
A hatch opened.
Matuga almost fired, but then lowered his weapon....
The doors closed and he heard a muffled boom from below. Kool-aid might be
the next big explosive! he thought. He filed it with some other thoughts
that were currently not needed.
~~~~I HOPE that Kool Aid is not explosive! Man, I love that stuff, but does it damage your insides or something?
When he reached the bridge, he ran in and sat in the captains chair.
"Comfortable!" He got off and went to the Tactical station, hoping Macer
would get here soon to help.
~~~~FUNNY! (Sssh, don't tell the Captain!)
"PAL? We got work to do!"
Lt. Christina pushed open a panel to exit her Andrews tube.... and tumbled out onto the bridge, startling Nattris, who appeared to be
seriously into saving the ship. "Quick!" she shouted. "What should I do?"
Nattris was glad that he wasn't alone on the bridge anymore, frankly, he practically had a panic attack when alone with Bork on
board.
They began routing all the systems together so they could attempt to destroy the ship.
As he got there Nattris was bieng pinned too a control pannle, about ot Wax-imalated Macer cut the bork's arm, then spun around,
hitting him it the face with his tail, then sweeping his feet out from under him.
Nattris, now freed, shot the bork, and Macer raced to the Tac station.
"Nattris, theres a large cube-shapped object off to the port, half hidden behind that houge cube-shaped moon. I think it may be the
bork ship."
When Morgan awoke, she was in sickbay. Her head hurt like crazy, her throat was dry, and her ears rang, but other than that she
was okay.
She tried to sit up, but she became dizzy and she immediately lay back down. She wondered why she was there, then remembered
the fight with the Bork and the Bork she had encountered in the hallway. She also wondered who had brought her to sickbay, but the
only other person she could locate at that moment was Lt. Christina, who was lying unconscious on the biobed beside her. Lying
there thinking, she realized that she didn't know where her lightsaber was. At that moment, Aloe entered the room. She considered
trying to ask him who had brought her in so she could find her lightsaber, then realized that it was lying on a table beside her bed.
She reached over, held it above her head to inspect it, and slid it back into her boot. Aloe, seeing that she was awake, came over to
the side of her bed.
"How are you doing?" She asked.
"Okay." Morgan croaked. "Kind of thirsty." Aloe brought a glass of water over, which she gulped down quickly. "And tired." She
lay back in her bed again, then asked, "Who brought me to sickbay? And where's everyone else?"
"D-1 brought you in, and I don't know where everyone else is." Aloe answered.
"Thanks." Morgan said, then went back to sleep.
D-1 came out of the Andrews tube staring into the butt of a phaser rifle.
"Please refrain from pressing the firing stud." D-1 said somewhat nervously.
Matuga lowered his weapon.
"Thank you," said D-1.
Christina and Nattris looked up from their respective stations.
"I probably should have gone through the computer ports but I was not thinking about that at the time."
"The last thing I saw in there was a Bork," said Matuga.
D-1 looked around. "What are you doing?" "We're going to destroy the Bork ship," Nattris said. "We think it may be behind the cube
shaped moon."
"Well, that makes sense." D-1 looked around. As well as Nattris and Matuga, there was Christina and Macer. "Lemme look at the
readouts." D-1 stared at the Tac display. "Hmm.... Since the Bork are the only aliens we know of who use cube shaped ships, I think
the odds are about 1.39047265 to 1 that it is a Bork ship."
"Where did you get that figure?" asked Macer.
Christina knew better and stopped D-1 before he went through all the facts he used to get the odds by saying, "So if there is a bork
ship behind the moon, how do we destroy it?" As Christina, Macer, and Matuga brainstormed ideas, D-1 made a mental note to
return whatever it was he had picked up from Morgan to her when this was over.
Nattris thought about how to destroy the Bork ship, and while he was at it, he ran a sensor scan.
"Guys! The Bork ship isn't behind the moon! It IS the moon!"
"No way !" shouted Flinch "You're saying their ship is that big ? " "I'm afraid so ." said Nattris
Everyone thought about the problem . Flinch realized that with a ship that big , the Adventure's weapons wouldn't get through their
shield. The brainstorming continued.......
Here's a song I thought of :
The Bork in the Moon (to the tune of the Man in the Moon or Aikendrum)
There were Bork who's ship was the moon , ship was the moon , ship was the moon, There were bork who's ship was the moon and
to destroy us was their goal.
And they boarded our ship , our ship, our ship and they boarded our ship and to destroy us was their goal.
And their heads are made of gigabytes, gigabytes, gigabytes Their heads are made of gigabytes and to destroy us was their goal.
And they are covered with armor, with armor , with armor And they are covered with armor and to destroy us was their goal.
And they think they are superior , superior , superior And they think they are superior and to destroy us was their goal And they
boarded our ship , our ship , our ship and to destroy us was their goal.
"PAL, what is the status of shipwide coms now?" asked Lt. Christina. There had been a lull on the bridge as she, Nattris, D-1 and
Matuga wondered what they should do about the newest problem: a moon discovered to be a Bork ship.
She quickly wrote out a suggestion on a PADD which she passed to D-1.
PAL answered. "Shipwide communications systems have been disabled. They are locked out with a Bork access code, if that was
your next question."
"Thank you, PAL. Approximately how many digits in the access code, and what language are they in?"
"1,908,873,765,001 Bork alphanumericwhatevers."
Lt. Christina laughed. So what if they couldn't crack the access code within this century? She had been successful with patching in
those five communicators to each other while she was in Sickbay. She decided to try it again. "Christina to Aloe. Are you there?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"How is Morgan? Is she better, I hope?" "Yes, she's sleeping now. Is there anything else?" "No, not really. Talk to you soon."
"Yes, soon. Okay, bye."
"Bye."
Chrissy asked for her friends' communicators. With their three, she could link them to Boshoore, Morgan and Aloe in Sickbay using
hers as the common factor. But she needed another communicator, preferrably with a crewmember attached to it. Lt. Christina called
up a message board on her Comms Console on the bridge, and sent a written message to the Captain or Commander Nybok asking
either one to come to the bridge.
After giving his communicator to Christina, Matuga moved to the internal sensors (I've gotta find a better thing to do) and checked out
the Bork movement, which was available via D-1's adjustments.
It wasn't good.
"Flinch, we've got a problem here." said Matuga. Flinch ran over and looked.
"See this? 3 Bork are apparently teaming up here. One of the crew is running to the weapons locker, with a Bork in pursuit. The
other Bork are trying to cut her off. I can't tell who." Flinch drew her rifle. "Is there any way to tell?" "Yes. D-1! Give me the positions
of all personel and transfer those to the internal sensors."
"Hang on a sec...matching bio-profiles....got it!" Matuga and Flinch both gasped.
"That's T'Mara they're pursuing! We've gotta do something!" said Matuga. He stood up, and drew his rifle.
"Okay. Can you catch the one in pursuit? I'll take the two cutting T'Mara off. Got it?" asked Flinch. She entered the fore turbolift.
"Gotcha. Watch yourself!" said Matuga.
"Same to you." said Flinch.
Flinch exited the turbolift and got ready for a chase. She held her blaster ready and ran in the direction of where the Bork were
expected to be. Sneaking up on one of them she pulled the blaster trigger and yelled :
"Resiting this is futile!"
The aim was perfect. The Bork fell to the ground.
"One down, one to go." thought Flinch The remaining Bork immeadiatly started firing at Flinch.
"All the crew of this ship will be wax-immilated. Resistance is futile. " said the Bork firing again .
Flinch dodged the blasts and continued to fire at the Bork.
The Bork lost interest in Flinch , fired another blast at her and then went after T'Mara.
"Think you can get away ? " shouted Flinch
Flinch chased the Bork and closed in on it. The Bork realised that it couldn't escape.
"I surrender . " pleaded the Bork.
"That isn't going to work on me . Another Bork intruder tryed that one on the other security officer. Hasta la vista , Borky!" shouted
Flinch and vaporized him .
Flinch tapped her communicator.
"Flinch to Bridge. I don't know if Matuga hit his target but I just vaporized two Bork. Flinch out. "
Blaster in hand , she headed for the weapons locker , hoping to find Matuga and T'Mara.
"Hey!" Aloe called, taking on the role of
over-protective-ships-doctor-who-always-tries-to-keep-patients-in-the-sickbay-until-they-are-completely-fit-and-healthy-and-trying-to-escape.
Byt Christina had disappeared into the depths of the Andrews tubes and was unlikely to respond to a weak exuse about Aloe still
wanting to run some tests on her.
Boshoore had been rummaging around in the storeroom, which now had a few less pumpkins in thanks to the recent Bork visit, and
finally appeared with a pack of blue goo.
"I found it!" he yelled with pride. "The bluey-freeze-o-rama!" "Thankyou, Boshoore."
Aloe took the object and put it on Morgan's head in the vacinity of the place where she had been hit with something. The pack
purred as it bagn to heal the damaged tissue.
"Will she live, Doctor?" Boshoore piped up.
"She'll have a pretty bad headache, but I think she'll be fine." Aloe replied. "Please get the Headache-Begone."
Nattris continued on the scanning of the Bork/Moon. Suddenly, it wasn't a moon anymore! "What the . . ?" It had returned to its
normal oblong cube shape.
He did another scan. It had some sort of holo-projector that disguised it.
"I wonder how many moons are really Bork ships?" Nattris decided to think about that later.
"Where is everyone?" Reyanna asked. She was totally in her own oblivion, not knowing AT ALL anything that was going on around
her.
*Hey Christina, what're you doin? Where are all you guys?* She sent a mental message to her sister.
*Not now, Rey! The Bork are here! Geez, don't you know anything?* Christina sent back.
*What? The Bork? Huh?*
Running down the corridoor to find some Bork, colors flashed before her eyes, and her feet seemed to slip out from under her.
"Gotta stop using mental powers to pick on Christina." She said, shaking her head. Just when she thought no one was watching
her, she spun around to see a machanical giant hovering over her.
"You will be wax-immilated." It said.
"Assimil...what?" She asked.
"You will be wax-immilated. Resistance is futile." "I'll bet you can't even spell that. Come on, give it your best shot, tough guy."
The Bork made no movements.
"Resistance is futile."
Reyanna laughed, and walked away, leaving a steamed Bork behind her.
The Adventure was on a attack course for the Bork Moon, just as the Alabama came out of Kool-Drive. " Hail the Adventure "
Captain Hawkins said. " This is Captain Hawkins of the USS Alabama, we are here to assist you Adventure " Captain Hawkins
said. " Understood Captain, our combined fire power should be enough to take them down " replied Adventure. " Mr. Nybok, lock
weapons on target and prepare to fire " Hawkins said. " Aye Captain, weapons locked, phase-torpedos loaded " Nybok responded. "
Fire! " Hawkins said. The torpedos launched and then cloaked after launch, begining the battle against the Bork.
Lt. Christina did not even hear WHO said it, she just heard it said. She looked up and gasped. She like the sight of the moon better.
It was pretty.
A few minutes later, she stood up triumphantly from her makeshift workshop on the floor of the bridge. "There. With Flinch's
communicator, I patched these four into the others in Sickbay. All we need is someone from Engineering....
and we'll have communications back in the most critical areas of the ship."
The others on the bridge nodded as they replaced their communicators. "What should we do?" asked Christina.
"Maybe we should try to hail them..." wondered Nattris.
At that moment T'mara turned to Macer, "Macer, lock on to the bork ship." "Sory Capt., but I allready did." T'Mara made a face no
one could interput, then said "Verry well, fire all wepons at the ship!" As Macer released the deadly energy from the ship, the bork
took it upon themselfs to attack the Alabama, ripping large holes in the hull. Then the adventure flew inbetween the bork and the
alabama, to draw off fire, and at the same time getting smacked in the port plasma gun by alabama's wepons.
Nattris sat back in a chair. He was the morale officer, so he didn't have a lot to do right now.
He leaned back, watching the pretty light show.
He wondered if some one say something like, "Nattris! Make yourself useful!"
Then he would be able to say, "What do you want me to do? Pass out Morale Pamphlets?"
He sat back a little more.
"Sounds like a good idea. Maybe then people'll know what we're about." Nattris spun around and saw Reyanna. She sat down in a
chair next to him.
He laughed a little. "Did I hear correctly you laughed at a Bork?" "I think so. I'm feeling silly, like I could do something REALLY
crazy right now." Nattris nodded.
Tobin paced in her room, oh, this is great! she thought "On my first post, my first mission! We get attacked by a bork ship! Real
nice!" She said to her rock flower. The plant didn't talk back. She raised and eyebrow suspiciously.
For a while she thought she was schitzophrenic. "I need somthing to do!" she said to herself, "Or I'm going to start talking to myself!"
Then Tobin rememberd the time at the accadamy that her plant said she shouldn't be hearing voices.
The Adventure darted in between the Bork ship and the Alabama, to try to draw the Bork's attention.
WHAM! The bridge suddenly shook with the force of a direct hit.
"The Bork's rutabaga ray has taken out our port plasma inducer!" yelled Macer.
"Put all our remaining energy into the remaining plasma inducer and target their waste dump!" ordered T'Mara as she crawled back to
her chair.
"Waste dump?" Macer questioned.
"Just do it!"
Macer nodded and began pressing buttons. The ship vibrated as the mighty plasma inducer built up enough energy and released it
out of the remaining starboard cannon. As the plasma hurtled towards the Bork ship, everyone sat in silence, watching and hoping it
would work.
The plasma disappeared without a trace into a small opening on the side of the Bork ship. Then, suddenly, the whole can of spam
exploded with a bright flash of light and a tremendous energy shockwave.
After everyone peeled themselves off the ceiling, they started celebrating.
The remaining Bork on the ship were carted off to the brig within minutes, and all that was left to do was to clean up. Debris from the
party and various other parts of the ship cluttered the hallways.
"That's the last party I'm letting the Bork come to!" complained Nattris.
"They just invite themselves in and trash our ship." He picked up a mangled plastic pumpkin and threw it into the recycler. "Wonder
why they were after those pumpkins anyway?"
Nattris and Macer were cleaning up the bridge.
"WAIT!" cried Macer.
"Hmm?"
I said Wait!"
"Why should-"
They said together, in a way reserved for sappy double-take loving shows, "The people with spears!"
As Matuga sat in his quarters, he reflected upons the last mission.
He had destroyed the Bork that had opposed him.
But, he knew that his revenge had not yet come.
They had killed 3 people close to him. 3 people that had been the center of his life. Revenge had not yet come.
But, he would know when it would be.
He would get another chance.
He would take advantage of it.....
Lt. Christina cheered with the rest of the bridge crew. They had defeated the Bork! She had been particularly apprehensive about this
conflict because she had never been in battle against the Bork before.
At her Comms console, she decided to sort out the mess. The Bork code had to be extracted from the prisoners, since she didn't
want to reconfigure the entire Communications network herself; she asked PAL to locate Ensign Windancer and Cadet Tobin and
ask them to see Christina on the Bridge.
Within a few minutes, Dara and Tobin arrived. "What can I do for you?" asked Dara.
Lt. Christina answered, "Go to the brig. There are several Bork prisoners there, waiting to be taken to a Fleet Starbase. Order them
to uncode the lock they have on our Comms system, since we defeated them. Or else take one, with a security escort, to the Center
on Deck 9 for it to do the job itself.
I am going to be sorting out all these messages sent to the bridge. Get to it." With their orders in mind, the two Assistant Comms
Officers strolled off the bridge.
Christina began to sort out all these messages that the various sections of the ship had sent in through PAL's written network. "One
for the Captain, one for Macer, this one's from Reyanna... I think I'll read that one... just kidding... Cmdr. Flinch..." she murmured as
she sent the messages to their respective officers.
In a few moments, PAL located Christina on the bridge and informed her and Captain T'Mara that they were needed in the brig. "Must
be something about the Comms," she thought as they stepped into a turbolift.
Matuga grabbed his phaser. Christian said an escort might be needed for a Bork. Muttering something about how Bork were
troublesome, he realized something.
I haven't seen Karol anywhere. He was going to see me about the duty shifts, he thought. I'll see him on the way to the brig.
PAL gave him the location of Karol, and Matuga headed for that location. He headed inside.
He gasped.
"PAL 2200, where is Karol right now?"
PAL gave him the same answer it had before.
Matuga drew his phaser to the two Bork nearby, but he realized in was the minstrels.
Matuga hit his communicator.
"Matuga to T'Mara. You'd better come see this." One of the minstrels standed up. He walked towards Matuga.
"We are the Bork. Resistance is futile." Matuga drew his phaser, and stepped back.
"You will be wax-immilated."
Matuga set it to a low stun setting, and modulating frequencies.
"Resistance is-
not futile." finished Matuga as he fired. It wasn't meant to kill, just stun him.
But he had no idea if it had worked, and not injured him.
The door behind him opened....
Aloe was categorizing her medical instruments in sickaby when the ship gave a huge jolt and they, along with her, Boshoore and
Morgan, went flying all over the room. She tapped her now working communicator irritatedly.
"Bridge, what's going on?"
There was a delay of a few seconds, then an answer from Christina.
"We just destroyed the Bork ship!"
The Bork were gone? Aloe couldn't beleive it could be that easy. And she hadn't done a thing to help. Nothing to avenge the
assimilation of her mother or her friends. The odd thing was, she wasn't sorry. Infact she found herself feeling vaguely sorry for the
Bork. This was weird.
She was distracted by Boshoore who was looking at her rather oddly.
"Um, Aloe." He said, "Why are you wearing three party hats?"
Karol woke up and found that he was not moving. Why wasn't he moving?
He had no volition.
He was waiting for instructions -- from the collective !!! How had he been
wax-immilated? The last
thing he knew he was approaching the minstrels to ask to make an announcement to warn
everybody about the Bork. Well, it looked like the Bork had blocked that plan! Karol noticed that
the minstrels, too, were suited up like Bork, but they were still unconscious.
The collective hailed
Karol within the latter's own brilliant mind. "Welcome, unit 12 to the 8th
power plus 7. Stretch
before you move." He started priming his muscles. "You must become accustomed to the
hardware you will wear for the remainder of your mortal life, for the duration
of which you will
serve the collective." Part of Karol tried to frown, but it didn't work.
Pity
stirred within his soul as
he saw the minstrels start to wake up. The surge of emotion was severely penalized as torrents
of pain cascaded through his being.
The minstrels were now fully awake and going through their paces. As Karol's pain abated, the
image of that pain stayed in his mind. Karol paused to think as the realization of this set in.
Although he had always been very visually oriented, he was not accustomed to visualising pain.
Was his consciousness expanding to encompass the collective consciousness? Suddenly he
wasn't quite so sorry this was happening to him. Torrents of pain had changed to torrents of rain
falling into a scintillating sea reflecting sunlight in myriad little ripple-like
waves. Karol's eyes
opened wide. He took in the sight of the minstrels, who looked pretty bored.
Then he went back
to contemplating that peaceful sea. Lately -- presently -- he knew what had
just taken place. He
turned to the minstrels, turned within, turned to the collective, and turned
without. Then he
laughed like there was no tomorrow. What, indeed, was "tomorrow"?
"Tuesday", answered a daffy little voice within the collective consciousness.
And then the entire
consciousness laughed.
Meanwhile, on the bridge, the screen image of the Bork cube underwent another metamorphosis.
Rainbows and all manner of psychadelic designs danced across the three visible faces of the
huge cube dangling in space. It was -- hypnotic!
"Resistance is-
not futile." finished Matuga as he fired. It wasn't meant to kill,
just stun him.
But he had no idea if it had worked, and not injured him.
The door behind him opened....
Karol smiled broadly, pointed and shouted, "Aha!" as the captain's hand appeared in the door-
frame over Karol's shoulder, which she pinched.
T'Mara and Matuga looked helplessly at one another. Presently, Icarus spoke up. "They're
comming, man."
"Who's comming, man?" said the two officers in unison.
"The other rainbow-riders, man. You can't stop them, man. They're everywhere, man. We used
to be Bork, when freedom was irrelevant. Now, man, freedom is, like, what it's all about!"
The captain challenged him right away, "How can you have freedom when you share a
communal consciousness?"
"It's a matter of choice, my friend. Right now, I speak for the Rainbow Collective. And now, I
speak for myself, Icarus, the minstrel."
The officers looked suspicious. "I know you're suspicious," said Iphagenia. "I don't know how to
prove this to you. I can't release your engineer. He must release himself, or stay with us, or
come and go as he chooses."
"There is one way you can prove this to me, said T'Mara..." little did she know that the mind-
melt she was about to propose would indeed melt her mind (temporarily).
Meanwhile, cubic rainbow moons encircled the two SpaceCom vessels and hailed them with
peace signs.
Nybok said his goodbyes to the crew of the Alabama and then took off from the ship and headed for the Adventure Shuttle Bay. "
Nybok to Adventure, request permission to land " Nybok said. " Permission granted Cmdr., welcome back. " replied the officer on
duty. The shuttle flew behind the Adventure and into the shuttle bay where it came to a smooth hault on the flight deck.
Matuga, seeing that this could turn bad, hit his communicator.
"Matuga to Flinch. Christina needs an escort for a Bork in the brig.
Could you cover for me?."
"No problem."
Matuga drew his phaser (a slight gesture, as not to alarm the Bork), to prepare for anything......
T'Mara hesitantly placed her fingers on Iphagenia's face. "My mind to your mind.... my thoughts to your thoughts...."
Her whole world seemed to suddenly dissolve into a swirling mist of shiny colors. Alien landscapes, exotic starships, idle thoughts,
and the collective's last week's gossip all flooded into the young Vulcan's mind in a spectrum of unimaginable depth. It was too much
to take in all at once!
T'Mara started to panic, afraid of losing her identity. Then, somewhere in the chaos, she realized... even with their claims of freedom,
everyone in the new rainbow collective was still a prisoner. They served the collective of their own free will, because they couldn't
think of anything else to do.
And somehow, it seemed pretty cool....
"NO!" T'Mara shouted suddenly, withdrawing from Iphagenia's mind before the hypnotic colors could draw her in any further. "I
understand now...." T'Mara's voice trailed off, and she passed out on the floor.
Matuga, not sure of what to do, hit his communicator, which usually happened when he didn't know what to do.
"Matuga to Aloe! You are needed here!" said Matuga, as he drew his phaser (again).
"Don't make any sudden movements." he said to the two "Bork", Icarus and Karol, who had just gotten up.
Karol's look almost made him guilty.
"I know. Even though I want to, it is my job. I can't fully trust you as a Bork." he replied to the look. He stood his ground....
Nattris and Macer armed themselves and went into the quarters where the Primatives had been last.
They were currently siiting around a fondu pot.
"Ugh," said Naattris. "I just can't stand fondu . . ." "Alright, everybody up!" said Macer.
"Why?"
"Hey! Where'd you get a translator?" asked Nattris.
"Next to Knives and Spoons."
"Ah."
"Well," continued Macer. "I'm afraid you can't stay here. Section 3.14159265358 paragraph 979 says that keeping intelligent
life-forms under a 'B' on the scale is against health ordinances. So, I'm afraid you'll havta leave. Just get out the way you came in"
"Hmmph. Not know how came in."
"Out!" said Nattris. "You guys annoy me." They got up and left.
"How are we gonna explain these walls?" asked Macer.
"Nattris?" said PAL.
"Yeah?"
"Some one just left in the shuttle you hid in the cargo bay." "My shuttle! I was gonna refit that baby!" "You hid a shuttle in the cargo
bay? I thought I saw it while cleaning, but then a really big tent showed up on it, so I forgot." Nattris ran to the observation deck.
His shuttle was leaving the cargo bay. On the side, a banner had been hung.
'Fushal or Bust' it said.
It was accompanied by a bunch of ceremonial spears.
"The Primatives!" shouted Nattris. "Those dirty, dirty, dirty, uh, um . . .
flirty, smirty . . . um, Macer, help me out, where am I going with this?" "I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me some where
along the way." "Oh well. Shuttles come and go. But have you seen the prices they got now?
By the way, what is a level 'B' on the scale?" "Mid-70's."
Aloe was halfway to removing the party hat from her left ear when her com badge beeped.
"Matuga to Aloe! You are needed here!" Matuga sounded worried.
Aloe grabbed a medikit and rushed to the area that Matuga had called from.
The first thing she noticed was the captain lying on the ground. Then she saw Karol with some other officers. There was something
different about them. But, no time to worry about that at the moment.
Aloe scanned the captain warily.
"Neural overload." She pronounced. "Her brain was fed too much information all at once."
"Will she be okay?" Matuga asked.
"I can't say until she regains concsiousness." Aloe replied.
Be'Shari walked down the hall. She heard rumors that Karol was taken by the bork. And then a few minutes ago, she heard a rumor
that the captain was taken by the bork too, only she went voluntarily. On the way to engineering, she passed by the cargo bay.
"No!" Be'Shari heard from the bay. Then she heard a thump. Her eyes widened and she looked over at the closed door. She looked
back towards the hall, her eyes still wide and walked faster.
Karol sat on the top of the mountain with his knees tucked beneath his chin. His eyes were wide
open, taking in the panoramic view in all directions at once. "Yeah!" he whispered, "Oh, yeah!"
He did a swan dive off his perch and flew like an eagle, and yet he knew he was a man. "I guess
I'm ready for Wheatakales," he chuckled to himself as the thought verbalized itself. Icarus'
flying song *was* Karol's motion as our hero tried every aerial maneuver he could dream up to
change his own perspective.
Karol had a dim awareness as he darted through the bright, dusky western sky, an awareness
that this flying phase was a passing phenomenon to be savored before other discoveries were
made, before he was ushered through a portal beyond which lay ... -- but he didn't want to think
of it yet, lest he somehow expedite the process. Karol wanted to stay in the sky and discover
every delicious, breathable molecule of it. And thus, as the sun set, Karol followed it westward.
Meanwhile, In sickbay, Aloe and T'Mara watched the three new Rainbow Riders with growing
alarm. "They are experiencing Xaviarian hallucinations," explained Aloe, indicating Karol's
electroencephalogram. "Note the hallmark peaks and troughs. Karol's mind may never be the
same again."
The captain actually looked sad. "Will he be permanently harmed?"
"It depends on how far he goes. I'm watching the third derivative of the Xaviarian alpha
extrapolation for a threshold at mu. The epsilon extrapolation is also a critical factor. It can't go
below gamma without destabilizing the alpha extrapolation."
"All of this is extrapolated from a single EEG?" the captain marvelled.
"It's based on algorithms using certain norms."
"Norms which may not apply to our Karol."
"You'd better hope so if that alpha extrapolation cuts loose and rockets."
Karol pulled up the zipper on his jacket as night started to overtake him. Then he made a
beeline for the sun, never stopping for daylight, ocean views or high noon. Karol didn't stop
when his head was singed nor when his core was burnt by the bright vision pouring in through his wide, kaleidoscopic eyes. In a
burst of energy he emerged on the
other side of the portal. Behind him, the sun was just a bright spot in the nighttime.
Aloe addressed the officers in the briefing room. "The captain is fully recovered. Karol and the minstrels are asleep and stable. We
have to decide what to do about the minstrels before they wake up. And by all means we should have a plan concerning Karol."
"I say we let the minstrels go home if they want to," said Orion. He and some others chuckled, realizing what it meant for a Rainbow
Rider to "go home". Everyone seemed to agree with Orion, though.
It was the captain's turn to speak. "It raises an interesting ethical dilemma. The minstrels were out riding rainbows before they were
even wax-immilated by what used to be the Bork. They've chosen that lifestyle.
But if we allow them that choice, what is our excuse for denying Karol his choice?"
Nobody spoke.
The captain resumed, "I say we try to save all of them."
"The Xavierian phenomenon is often harmful," said Aloe, "but all three patients seem to be stable so far. Captain, tell us, what
dangers did you encounter in that mind meld? What are we up against? And before I forget, might a mind-meld be used to bring
them back?"
"The Xavierian phenomenon is often harmful," said Aloe, "but all three
patients seem to be stable so far. Captain, tell us, what dangers did
you encounter in that mind meld? What are we up against? And before I
forget, might a mind-meld be used to bring them back?"
Matuga was not in a good mood during the briefing. He didn't speak up when the Captain asked a question, even though he had an
answer.
He was sour about the whole situation. Then again, anything involving the Bork was a hot subject with him. He could never forgive
them.
They were already on his bad side. If they ended up taking Karol and possibly T'Mara, he would probably destroy his whole life on
taking out the collective.
But that would accomplish nothing.
He silently thought about the measures he might have to take if another mind meld was attempted as the Captain started speaking
again in response to Aloe's question....
Karol enjoyed the rides at the seaside carnival, especially the spider and the merry-go-round.
Best of all, he was surrounded by his new found friends, the Rainbow Riders, who were out in
great numbers at the carnival that night. He didn't have to explain anything he felt, because they
were all feeling it, too. It hadn't occurred to him in a long time -- not since early childhood -- that
experiences were tragically incomplete if they could not be shared.
A pretty blonde in a short, frillly, black-bodiced, pink-skirted Victorian circus girl outfit stood up in the stirrups of her merry-go-round
steed and waved smilingly at Karol.
Assorted clowns and
acrobats filled the sandy midway. The moon shone on the sea. The minstrel Iphagenia
whispered in his ear that she would meet him in the garden in the valley. Then she ran off down
the beach.
Karol couldn't resist joining the wild moon dancers on the beach.
Meanwhile, the lovely minstrel made for the grand station to await the Euphrateziod Express.
Suddenly, Aloe was summoned to sickbay.
"Booshore to Aloe"
"Aloe here."
"Icarus' alpha extrapolation just cut and ran."
In true SpaceCom fashion, all the officers at the briefing bolted out the door and stampeded to
sickbay like a herd of wildebeasts.
"10 cc's of Inky Serum!" Aloe called over her com badge.
But when the crew arrived, Booshore was baying his sorrow and Icarus' EEG had squealed to a
stop.
Iphagenia woke momentarily, easily passing between states of consciousness. "Don't cry,
children. Icarus was a Christian. All you can do for him is toss the remains in the recycling bin,
that he might rejoin the living materially as well as spiritually. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a
train to catch." She closed her eyes.
"I'm getting Karol out of there right now!" said the Captain.
"I'll work on Iphagenia," Orion added.
A tall stranger appeared on the seat behind Iphagenia on the train. She turned and faced him
squarely. "Allright, come. Watch if you must. For you can do nothing to stop me."
Orion shrunk and became a butterfly. "Perhaps she will become confused and forget I am here,"
Iphagenia arrived home and cleaned house, disposing of Icarus' things.
She set the patio table
with wine and a single palmegranite. Then she headed for the cave. A storm was brewing
upstream, and Orion's butterfly-antennae paused to admire the multisensory sensation of the
trees swishing in the wind before following the lady indoors. The cave-dwellers said nothing, but
shunned the light as Iphagenia drew out her anvil and set about her smithying.
Orion sent a telepathic message to the nearest windy tree that he thought Karol was in big
trouble. The trees relayed the message among themselves, but would the captain get the
message in time? "Oh, well," thought Orion, "I'm sure she knows Karol's in some kind of danger
anyway." He went back to his spying, glad of the cover of the cave as the storm grew ever
nearer.
"Karol wait! It's me, the captain!" T'Mara shouted to no avail at Karol's departing train as the
latter waved goodbye from the window. She hailed a newspaper taxi.
"Follow that train!"
"I'll do ya one better than that," said the cabbie, a funny-looking little blue man, "I'll beat the train
to its destination."
She sighed her relief, "Thank you."
The cab sailed off down the river.
Presently they ran ashore. "We're here, lady." She emerged from the cab and flew towards the
garden. "My!" she addressed a sunflower, "Why is it that you appear to be several stories
high?"
"Because you're a butterfly now."
"Why?"
"Because your friend is in trouble and he needs you to be, that's why." He rolled his eye, "Now
why don't you shoo away to the cave and join you other Vulcan butterfly?
That's a good girl."
Nattris was leaning against a sick bay wall, watching the goings-on in apathy. He didn't why he was apathetic, he just was.
Insinuating rainbows creeped into his vision.
"Go Away!" They did.
Some one looked back at him curiously.
"It's been a bad week," he muttered as an explanation.
Macer came slidding into sick-bay.
"Nattris, your needed all over the ship, theres mass depreshon from the bad party and they need there spirits boosted right away."
"Why are you ok then?"
"I've got the best shoose in the universe." Said Macer pointing at his huter orange, neon swade shoese. Nattris looked at them and
felt suddenly sick.
Quickly he ran into the bathroom and threw up into a tiolet. A cough from behind Nattris made him look up.
"This is the GILRS bathroom Mr. peeping tom." "Oops?"
"Excuse me human, but this is GILRS bathroom, get out, we don't like humans here."
"Right, sorry." Nattris departed.
He walked down to the Holodeck and put up his 'The Psychiatrist is IN' sign, turned on the program, and went in.
"PAL? Send to all: Nattris, PP, is in."
Nattris turned around. Reyanna had her hands on her hips and stared down at him.
"Your bathroom is down the corridoor." She said.
Nattris turned a bright shade of red.
She sensed he didn't mean anything by coming into the girls' bathroom, or did he?
Matuga, coming into sickbay to see D-1 about the internal sensors, saw Macer's shoes.
"AAHHH! Bright orange suede shoes!"
Matuga took off running, and tripped over D-1's leg as D-1 was starting to come towards Matuga. Completing the catastrophe, he
stumbled and ran into the Girl's washroom door (which was a pull door, not a push one), which Matuga rammed into-head first.
Not a painless combination.
Matuga then stumbled backwards, and fell down as Reyanna came out.
"Hmm. Your the second one to try that today. Nattris already made it in." she said as she walked away.
D-1 helped Matuga back up. "That looked like it hurt." Matuga awkwardly got up."Despite the embarassment it would have caused, I
would rather have ran into a push door. That way, I could have at least stopped, even if it was in the wrong place." D-1
shrugged."You ok?"
"Huh? Oh yeah. I've got a headache, but sickbay's got their hands full with Karol and that minstrel. Anyway, you were saying?"
"Oh, yeah. Finally, unauthorized weapons are disabled. It took some time to implement that without taking our hand phasers
offline." "Thanks. That's all."
Then D-1 saw Macer's shoes.
"Turn off the shoes!" D-1 said, mouth open as he looked at Macer's shoes.
Macer was not amused.
"It's so bright it's intefering with my vision. Lemme make a few adjustments.." D-1 said, popping open a section of his arm.
As he tinkered with it, Reyanna bumped the arm he was using to make the changes.
"Watch what you're..." D-1 said as he started to walk backwards because of the bump. "Uh oh. I triggered something else by
mistake." D-1 sped up and rammed into the door of the girl's washroom, which was a pull door. He bounced off the door and fell
down. He had the minimizer in his pocket, and he landed on the pocket that had the minimizer in it. It hit the firing switch, and D-1
shrunk himself(not intentionally). He then bounced into the air vent, and down the chute.
"Aiee.." D-1's voice faded away.
Karol's raft set ground on the bank of the Euphratezoid River, by Iphagenia's garden. The minstrel stood in the midst of the garden
and beckoned to him, "Come, come my bright and fair! Come dine with me!" The wind whipped through her lustrous raven hair and
treetops swished through the air. Was Karol imagining it, or were those trees actually gesturing at him? What were they trying to
say?
Meanwhile, T'Mara and Orion watched the goings on. The captain spoke first. My butterfly antennae aren't much good for reading,
but unless I miss my guess those shackles she just made have Karo's name on them."
"I'm sure you're right," Orion agreed, "I think we're in the myth of Presephone. She set a palmagranite on the table."
"I think we're in a mixed bag of human myths and realities. Hmm...
Let's get rid of that palmagranite."
"Yeah, right -- us and what army?"
"How'bout those ants over there?"
Karol and Iphagenia took a stroll through the garden. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but --"
"I'm older than sin," she answered with a smile.
"Wow! But you're so beautiful."
"I know. That's part of my schtick. Why do you think they call me Iphagenia?"
"I thought that was what your mother named you."
"I never had a mother. I am borne of men's imaginations when they try to remember the first mother, Eve. This garden of mine is
called many names. Some call it the park, some the schoolyard, some paradise. This is the symbol of man's choice between
knowledge and security, between disobedience and obedience. You're a Rainbow Rider, now, Karol. Will you confirm it? Will you
eat the forbidden fruit and embrace the enlightenment all around you? Or will you keep your inner eyes closed and go back whence
you came?"
"I don't know. I'm only fourteen. Maybe I should wait."
Iphagenia drew a deep breath. It would be a shame to let such a profoundly exquisite person get away, but he had to make his own
choice.
Lightning flashed and for a split second Karol could see the lady's profound old age "Still beautiful" he murmured. Then aloud he
said, "Iphagenia, I'm in over my head. Let me kiss you goodbye and make a run for it."
She nodded. "I'll call a taxi." Then she whistled and a taxi washed ashore. And then they kissed.
The two vulcans were among hundreds of insects who enjoyed two minutes' worth of palmagranite. Soon all that was left was a
labyrinthian shell.
A quick reconnaisance indicated that Karol was gone. Confirmation came when they saw Iphagenia give a start and shed a tear over
the mysteriously empty shell of a palmagranite. The captain took the next stick of driftwood back to the carnival.
Karol alighted from his taxi and dashed through a colorless venue in the rain, looking for anything in the way of a landmark. He
wondered where the merry-go-round was and, suddenly, there it was. He jumped astride a painted steed.
As the captain washed ashore, she realized to her relief that she was a Vulcan and not a butterfly. The beach was awash with
sleepy humanoids who didn't know better than to get out of the rain. Under a great, dry canopy the merry-go-round still turned; and
as it turned Karol came into view. He was fast asleep so she gently picked him up and carried him away.
Meanwhile, back in the garden, Orion, too, had resumed his Vulcan form.
"So, Iphagenia, how'come we had to be butterflies?"
"What *vegetable* said you had to be butterflies?"
"Well, the captain said some cyclopean sunflower told her --"
"Don't listen to them. I don't know why the Xavierian phenomenon affected you that way on this particular trip."
"You make it sound like I'm comming back."
"Why wouldn't you?"
"It's more than occasionally hazardous, and I've got plenty to lose. So do you, Iphagenia. In real life you're a beautiful woman and a
talented and well-liked minstrel, to boot. I'm sure you're not so ancient in real life --"
She smiled, "Aren't I?"
"I'm too overwhelmed by this fantasy, Ipahgenia. Can we continue this discussion on my ship?"
Presently, all four came to full consciousness in sick bay.
T'Mara came to her senses and found she was back in sickbay. Her second journey into the Rainbow Collective had been even
weirder than the first, and she hoped to not repeat the experience. At least not in the near future.
She looked around and saw that the others were also returning to consciousness. However, it still wasn't over. They may have saved
the two Rainbow Riders lives, but there was still much more to discuss.
"Macer did you find those shoes in Eddie's couch, perchance?" asked Matuga.
"Well, no. I paid top credit for them on G'resa, sory."
"You paid MONEY for THEM?!?!?!??!" Matuga looked discusted. At that point Nattris who was exstreemly red in the face came out
of the GIRLS bathroom. He sheepeshly walked out of sickbay in the Direction of his room.
"Man. The way those shoes look, you should have gotten them just for singing." said Matuga.
"Incoming message." beeped PAL 2200.
"I'll take it in my quarters. See ya guys later!" he said. He then headed for his quarters to receive the message....
Zoya sat in the background of sickbay watching the going-ons across the room.
She thought Macer's shoes were pretty cool, actually. She wondered if she could get a pair of neon green ones somewhere, then
decided that they probably wouldn't last long enough to bother with them.
Boshoore had been too busy recently to worry about the time portal-pumpkin thingy situation, especially with these new
Bork-Rainbow Rider peeps around.
She ate some medical equipment sadly, then blinked as it made a "thud" in her stomach..it had actually got there! The time portal
must have disolved or something! She jumped up and ran for the door, hugged Macer on the way out, and headed for the bridge,
grinning.
The patients were now physically fine. The readings above their biobeds showed almost normal activity. Slightly increased heartbeat
and blood pressure and occasional REM. Aloe had no idea why they were unconscious, or how to wake them up.
Aloe strode over to the small crowd that had gathered in the back of the sickbay for lack of anything better to do. Several of them
seemed to be having trouble with certain doors (by the way, do they even have push/pull doors on starships?) and most were trying
to avoid eye-contact with Macer's shoes.
"Those of you who are not needed here can go back to your quarters, or where-ever you want to go." She said, hoping to get rid of a
few of them, as the sickbay was not built for large congregations of officers. Just then, D-1 went rocketing into an air-vent.
"Aloe!" Boshoore called from the biobeds, "they're waking up!" Aloe rushed to Karol's bed. He was awake, looking slightly confused,
but physically fine.
The Captain, Orion and Ipahgenia appeared to be in the same condition.
"What in the universe..?" Aloe began.
The young dragon-man stretched out its arms in the compact space he had in the shuttle. He smiled as he approached the
Adventure bearing his white teeth. He laughed and then went back to the helm console. He contacted the Adventure and waited for
clearance so he could land and his new ship. He chuckled as he thought about all the adventures that lay ahead of him.
Nattris was getting bored. No one needed any help getting over this Bork thing. Macer had been wrong.
The door opened, and Nattris straightened out happily. Some one was coming!
It was a cat. Sort of.
It was your average black cat, whose most distinguishing feature was abork eyepiece.
It came, sat in the laid back letaher loveseat, picked up an PADD and typed, 'I'm feeling depressed.'
"Is there any particular reason you're depressed?" asked Nattris.
'My connector blew up, I'm no longer a part of the Bork.' Nattris couldn't help himself. "Do you think its seperation anxiety?" 'Yes.'
"Oh. Well, um, you need something to fill the whole, and it isn't doughnuts.
You need friends."
'Good idea.' The cat left.
After a short pause, Nattris left and went to his quarters.
The cat had set up a bed on his coffee table. It typed into another PADD, 'Hi, I'm Saks the CyberCat, and I'll be your roomate for the
duration of the universe. I have now modified these speakers so I can talk directly.' The cat hefted up some funny looking earphone
things and put them on his back.
Nattris tapped his communicator. "Macer? could you come here? I think I just got a pet."
"Roomate," Saks put in.
Nattris
I'm 99% sure that I haven't sent this particular log yet. If I have, just disregard it, please.
When Lt. Morgan woke up, it was to the sound a several people leaving sickbay. Her head hurt, her throat was sore, and she just
felt miserable in general, but other than that she was okay. At first she couldn't remember where she was, then she remembered the
party, beaming Lt. Christina to sickbay, and the Bork. She wondered how Lt. Christina was doing. Slowly sitting up, she heard Aloe
and Booshore conversing about the Captain and two other people who she hadn't heard of before.
Just then, Karol walked in with his silly (OOC: sorry, Donna) red and white-striped outfit, ready for candy-striper duty.
"Karol." She croaked. The candy striper walked over to her bed.
"How are you feeling?"
"I have a headache, and my throat is sore. But other than that, I'm okay. Could I have a drink?"
"Sure." Karol brought her a drink.
"How's Lt. Christina?"
"Good." Karol stated. "You've been out for a long time. Lt. Christina was gone hours ago, and now we have Capt. T'Mara and the
Rainbow people to worry about."
"Who in space are the rainbow people?" Lt. Morgan asked.
"I think that they're kind of like the bork, but I'm not sure." Lt.
Morgan thought about the new information for a moment.
"Can I go now?"
"I'll have to check with Aloe."
"Go ahead." Karol left, and then returned with Aloe.
"How are you?" Aloe asked.
"Good. Can I go now?" She asked again.
"Sure. If you feel up to it."
"Yeah. I feel up to it. I have just one question. Who brought me in?" Morgan had noticed that her lightsaber was missing.
"D-1."
"Okay. Thanks." Morgan left the room before she remembered to ask how the Captain was doing, then decided that she'd ask
another time. She then decided to go find D-1 and ask him about her lightsaber, but felt like taking a long nap in her own bed and
headed down the corridor to her own quarters.
Matuga was bored. This was pretty common now.
After finally getting D-1 out of the air vents, things were pretty boring now. The aftermath of the Bork party crashing was pretty dull.
So, he did one thing:
He picked up his bass guitar, a present he had received from Joe (a cousin of his) and Phil (his brother, where he got his rifle from) a
long time ago. He picked it up, and started playing the blues, being careful not to disturb anyone nearby.
Flinch walked up and down the corridors on her patrol route.
Everything she saw reminded her of Bork. In two words, she could easily describe this past mission: confusing and exciting.
Okay, maybe three words. Bored. Even though during the mission, she had longed for a little peace and quiet, having nothing to do
was extremely boring. Very bored. While she was passing the crew's quarters, she heard music coming from Matuga's quarters. She
knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Flinch entered and found Matuga strumming on his guitar.
"Boredom blues? " she asked.
"Big time, " replied Matuga, "the life of a security officer isn't complete without excitement. "
"I know what you mean." said Flinch.
Matuga continued to play and Flinch dug deep into her pocket.
She pulled out her old harmonica.
"I knew this would come in handy. " she exclaimed and raised the harmonica to her lips.
"De-do-do-de-do," she played.
"I got the blues, " sang Matuga.
"Those security officer with no Bork or Rihansu to blast - boredom blues," sang Flinch.
They continued to play. Then Flinch put her harmonica back into her pocket.
"Hey, " she said, "how about a good game of VR Deck basketball to get rid of those boredom blues ?"
"You're on. " said Matuga and put down his guitar.
They left Matuga's quarters and headed for the VR Deck.
"They're calling me." Iphagenia sighed. "The new Rainbow Collective needs a leader, and they want me. Will you join me, Karol, and
we can lead the collective together?"
Karol thought intently about it for several minutes. "Well," he finally said, "I would love to just drop everything and go, but they need
me here on the Adventure. I can't go with you right now. But you will come back?"
Iphagenia smiled. "Yes, Karol. I shall return again. Perhaps then you will have changed your mind." She got off the medical bed, just
as Aloe walked into the room.
"And just where are you going?" Aloe questioned.
"The collective needs me." said Iphagenia for the second time. "I must return to them."
Aloe scanned Iphagenia again. "Well, you appear to be in fine shape. I can't keep you here in sickbay any longer, but I'll have to
notify the captain if you're leaving the ship." She walked over to the comm panel and messed with it for a few seconds. "She says
she'll be right down."
Shortly, T'Mara arrived in sickbay. "Leaving so soon?"
"I didn't intend it to be such a big deal." Iphagenia said sarcastically.
"Well, *I* decide what's a big deal on *my* ship." T'Mara shot back. "I just wanted to make sure you get safely on your way and don't
give us any trouble."
"Trouble is irrelevant." replied Iphagenia.
"You are certainly correct on that. I see no reason why you cannot return to your ship. Peace and long life."
Iphagenia smiled as she left the room. "Peace, man."
A few minutes later, the formerly Bork ship pulled away from the Adventure and entered a nearby wormhole, disappearing from sight
altogether.
Back on the Adventure, life was back to whatever passed for normal. Nattris was using some of the Rainbow Collective's technology
to easily take down the living streamers all over the ship, while Macer proudly showed off his pair of hot orange suede shoes.
"Set a course for Starbase 412," T'Mara said to the saurian at the helm.
Zoya grinned in reply and eagerly set in the course.
And the Adventure continued....
Karol awoke in the post-op suite and he positively ached -- with loneliness. The Bork hardware was gone, and with it went his link to
the Rainbow Riders' Collective. It was strange being back on tera firma -- figuratively speaking! He smiled as he realized how far he
was from Tera thinking such a thought. "I wonder how Dani is doing," he mused.
He could have used her company just now. Instead, he went to see Nattris to see if he could get a morale boost.
BACK TO COSMIC QUEST