> Captain Michael Terrano - CO of the starship
> Phoenix, and Dr. Serana
> D�amondra�s... boyfriend? - arrived at the
> starbase. He knew he was breaking
> protocol by bringing his starship here, but
> ever since he had felt jolted by
> his connection with Serana, he had been feeling
> almost a sense of nagging to
> come here. And, recent events involving the
> Venasians seemed to have
> amplified the urgency. So, not quite under his
> own volition - so it seemed
> - he had startled his navigator into breaking
> off their nebular mapping and
> coming here.
>
> He was still confused as to the events, but he
> knew the first thing he had
> to do was find Serana and find out what had
> happened to her. He checked his
> starship in with base Ops, and beamed aboard.
> A harried deckhand gave him a
> sketchy outline what had happened, and directed
> him to a Sickbay. The quiet
> captain felt his stomach sink as he entered
> sickbay and learned Serana was
> not in charge, but rather a patient. In little
> time, he found her, or what
> he couldn�t believe was her. Most of her
> petite body was covered in
> bandages. Her face was also wrapped up, except
> for one eye and her mouth.
> In briefly scanning her medical chart, he
> learned she had been caught in the
> blast, several bones broken, exposure to
> radiation, severe burns, smoke
> inhalation. The only reason she�d survived is
> because she had been shielded
> by another body, enough that her major organs
> had been protected. Another
> doctor, whose name wasn�t on the chart, had
> treated her. Recovery would be
> slow, and it was actually recommended she be
> taken to a Venasian facility,
> which would have the best-suited equipment to
> treat her.
>
> �Excuse me,� he called to a passing nurse, �Who
> operated on Dr. D�amondra?�
>
> �Oh, that would be Selara D�amondra,� the nurse
> replied, somewhat shakily.
>
> He frowned. �The criminal?�
>
> �Yes. She�s apparently a doctor.�
>
> �What was she doing on the station?�
>
> The nurse shrugged. �They don�t tell me these
> things, sir.�
>
> Terrano shook it off. �Where is Selara
> D�amondra now?�
>
> �I don�t know, sir. We haven�t seen her in a
> couple hours.�
>
> Michael went back into the room where Serana
> lay and sat down next to her,
> his face grieved.
>
> �They say talking to them can help, sir,� the
> nurse said from the doorway
> gently, �She�s not out of the woods yet, you
> know.�
>
> He nodded. �I can tell. Thank you, nurse.�
>
> The nurse left. In the quiet room, Michael
> took Serana�s hand, the one that
> was amazingly unscathed except for a few light
> burns. The moment their
> skins touched, he felt a slight click, as if
> the urgent feeling he�d had
> finally found its resting place. �Come on,
> baby,� he murmured, �It�s me,
> Mike. You can beat this.�
>
> To his complete surprise, he heard her reply,
> as clearly as if she was awake
> and talking to him. [It�s about time you got
> here] her voice said crossly.
>
> So startled, he could only stare at her. She
> had not changed or moved
> position, however, and it gradually dawned on
> him that she was speaking to
> him telepathically. He shook his head,
> wondering if it was just a figment of
> his imagination.
>
> [Stay with me, Michael,] she warned, and he
> suddenly heard the strain in her
> voice, [I don�t know how much time I have, and
> there are some important
> things I have to get through to Lucas, and some
> of the top brass, and you�re
> the only one who can deliver the messages for
> me.]
>
> [How... are you talking to me? I thought
> you�re unconscious.]
>
> [I am, love. But the Venasian mind works much
> differently that your human
> ones. I don�t have time to explain, but let�s
> just say you�re talking to a
> very deeply protected part of my brain.]
>
> [Okay.] He decided it wouldn�t be prudent to
> ask how she was able to talk to
> him telepathically, either. [Tell me, first,
> are you going to come back?]
>
> [That remains to be seen. Anyway, tell me what
> happened to me.]
>
> Michael gave her the few details that he knew.
> It seemed to be enough.
> Afterwards, he told her what had happened with
> the Venasian government, at
> least, what he could surmise from the skewed
> statement A�amon had made to
> the press. He didn�t think it was important in
> her recovery, but she at
> once grew quiet, for so long he thought he had
> lost her.
>
> [This complicates things,] she said, [And it�s
> good you told me. Here�s
> what we�re going to have to do...]
>
> ****
> Some time later, (ooc: don�t know where the top
> brass are right now...)
>
> A communication came in to Spacedock Ops from
> the Starship Phoenix, on a
> secure, scrambled channel, one with a rather
> out-of-protocol request by one
> Captain Terrano to speak with the chief of
> Starfleet Security, or with
> Starfleet CinC, or anyone else in authority who
> might need information
> regarding the Venasian situation...
>
Ops took the call, and put the Captain on hold.
"Admiral Renaud, Captain Terrano of the starship Phoenix is on the line.
He insists on speaking with Chief of Fleet Security or the CinC. He says he
has information on the Venasian situation. What do you want us to do, sir?"
{response}
