Isabeau Delevan

The Midway was starting to come alive again, Isabeau thought with satisfaction, as she strolled along the thoroughfare on level 2 of the 3-deck Concourse which joined the two pylons together. Merchants selling goods and services had reappeared and there were now some restaurants open, too. Still...a lot of the shops remained shuttered and Isabeau paused to peer into a window of a storefront that while still very clearly closed, showed some signs of activity. Cupping her hands around her eyes to get rid of the glare from the Concourse lighting, she was able to make out display cases that appeared to have items in them. "What's so fascinating?" He stepped forward and tried to see into the darkened shop, wondering what drew her interest. She knew that voice, and smiling, she dropped her hands and turned to face Daniel Hawkins, taking an involuntary step back, to adjust for his height. He had a good ten inches on her. "You come up with a Get Out of Jail Free card or something?" She asked with a grin, recalling her conversation with him yesterday that had concluded with him threatening to charge Medical with unlawful imprisonment. "Not at all. As it turns out, Dr. Lepage is a very reasonable man. I can see why he's in charge." He doubted he'd get a rise out of her; he hadn't managed it so far and he'd actually gone to some pains once or twice. He liked the way her hair looked down, around her shoulders. Much less severe than how she wore it when in uniform. Isabeau chuckled, thinking of the times she'd seen Nick when he was being less than reasonable. He was at his funniest then. "Oh, he is the most reasonable of men but when it comes to him setting you loose, all it means is that your test results finally came back negative for any signs of infection," she answered mildly, enjoying the humor she saw reflected in his deep blue eyes. It was gratifying how little he resembled the man brought back from the colony by Lieutenant Dabi. "Well, I guess we'll chalk it up to what a difference a day makes then, eh?" He caught her raised eyebrow and smiling disarmingly, added, "And expert medical care." "Ok, tell me what you've done with Daniel Hawkins," she asked with a laugh, before leaning towards him, as if to confide, her voice dropping to a near whisper, "I promise I won't tell anyone." "All right, enough," he responded good-naturedly. "You haven't seen me at my best, I'll admit. Near death experiences bring out the worst in me." She patted his arm and stepped away from the window, glancing sideways as he followed her. "Benefit of the doubt, Daniel. You've got it," she assured him solemnly, before breaking into a grin. "So, what brings you to the Midway? Wanted to rub it in that you'd escaped my clutches?" "Ah but have I, Isabeau? You threatened me with a Chinese proverb, as I recall." He fell into step beside her as she began strolling. "You saved my life and now it belongs to you, I believe is how that one goes." "Threat? That was a promise! An undeniable piece of luck for you, Dr. Hawkins," she teased him, smiling to herself, thinking it was funny that he even remembered that. He'd been drifting off under the influence of heavy pain meds. "I'd be interested in knowing what that promise entails, Dr. Delevan," he answered, his tone earning him a look from her at which he spread his hands wide, adding disingenuously, "You've already done so much for me." "I certainly have!" she stated emphatically, about to expound on how much work he'd been, when something up ahead caught her attention. She tugged his sleeve, bringing him to stop and causing him to turn and meet the unmistakable sincerity in her eyes. "I know how you can pay your debt before it becomes an intolerably heavy yoke; before it brings you to your knees with regret that I saved your life." "Oh, really?" he asked dryly. "Well, let's hear it. I'm a man who honors my obligations, but I'm not known for my patience." "No? Really? What a shocker!" Her voice dripped with good-natured sarcasm and she burst out laughing at the look on his face. "All right, already," he scowled ferociously. "You clearly don't realize your good fortune in having had me fall into your debt, so tell me how you're going to bargain basement such a treasure away, hmm?" Her smirk told him she saw through the frown. "Ah, there's the man who kept the nurses running. I've been wondering how long you could keep him under wraps." "I thought I could make it to the next shuttle but you'd try the patience of a saint," he smiled. "And in fact, if you want to collect your debt, you'd better hurry—it leaves within the hour. I actually came to find you to say thank you and goodbye. It's time to get back to work" She looked at him in surprise. "But Daniel... It's not known yet if the shields around the colony will hold. If they don't, everyone from the colony will be evacuated back here. That's twenty-four hours from now." She looked at him with great seriousness, her worry plain. "One day isn't going to make that much difference and it's not as if you can work on excavating it anyway." "No, we can't work on it until the problem of the trilithium resin is solved, but I know Engineers—they eat this kind of thing for breakfast." His smile was warm as he bent his head to look directly into her eyes. "You don't have to worry that all your work will go to waste. The excavation will go forward." She searched his expression and realized he didn't know. "You haven't heard yet..." "Haven't heard what?" He immediately looked worried. "The others at the site...they're all right? Dr. Lepage said everyone was doing very well, correct?" "No, no, it's nothing like that!" she hastened to assure him. "They're fine and will only have to come back if the shields won't be made to hold and if the resin can't be contained safely." "Then what haven't I heard, Isabeau?" He watched her intently, she was clearly uncomfortable and that meant it wasn't going to be something he wanted to hear. "A state of emergency has been declared with regards to the excavation site, and will be in effect for the next ninety days," she answered him matter-of-factly. "The colony lies outside the bounds of this declaration but the site itself has been restricted." "Declared by whom?" "Ambassador Drankum." She watched him, surprised by his restraint; a bitten off oath his only reaction. "You're taking this better than I expected..." "Ninety days is nothing, " he said casually, and with a hint of a smile. "You don't know Hannah McDowell the way I do." "No, I don't." She suddenly grinned. "You think a Scotswoman is a match for a Ferengi?" "I think this one is." He smiled back at her, and then shook his head slowly. "Don't think I'm going to let you distract me from settling the debt between us." "The debt... Ah..." Comprehension dawning, Isabeau took his arm and started walking him up the Concourse. "Are you sure you have time? That shuttle won't wait you know." "After what you just told me, my schedule has become more flexible," he replied sardonically. "What exactly do you have in mind, anyway?" She drew him to stop next to an ice cream vendor's pushcart. "Don't sound so nervous, Dr. Hawkins. I have no designs on your virtue." "More's the pity," he answered automatically, looking from the vendor to her expectant expression. "Ice cream? He shook his head. "This is what you think my life's worth, eh? A scoop of ice cream." "Don't be so hard on yourself. I want three scoops with the works and a cherry on top." "Very affirming," he answered and looked at the vendor. "You heard the lady."

"...showing marked improvement as toxicity levels have fallen and no longer present a future danger to the patient or surrounding environs, although further tests will be needed to see if any permanent damage has been incurred. The 3% solution of Trellium-A and saline has successfully bound itself to the resin molecules that have wreaked havoc in the patient's bloodstream and were successfully vacated through his urinary tract. Dr. Hawkins' digestive system has been successfully repaired-" "I am laying right here. I can hear every word you're saying." And sounding a bit grumpy about it, Isabeau thought, although the English accent certainly dressed it up a bit. She checked her watch. Right on time. She enjoyed that kind of predictability in a patient, especially one that she'd had to wrest from the Grim Reaper's greedy clutches. Pausing her recording, she set the tricorder on the workstation and stood up, turning immediately and walking the few steps that brought her to Dr. Daniel Hawkins' bedside. "Good morning, Sunshine," she smiled brightly, noting bloodshot blue eyes narrow at her from below thick black brows as a ferocious frown creased a forehead made just a little too broad by a receding hairline. His long, black hair, shot through with grey, was captured at the base of his neck in a ponytail to keep it out of the way. The hair, coupled with the full beard, gave him the look of a mad scientist. Or a cranky pirate. Or, she supposed, the geoarchaeologist that he was. "I'm not on the Colony." The lights were too bright, and he looked around, noting the equipment placement, before squinting back up at her, recognizing her as one of the physicians who'd been doing the pre-flight physicals. She hadn't done his, and he was rather glad of it as he gritted his teeth against her too cheerful tone. His head was bloody well killing him! "Computer, lower lights thirty percent." Isabeau picked up a medcorder and sensor wand. "No, Dr. Hawkins, you're not on the colony. You're back on Aegis, as you may have guessed, and I have no doubt you are still feeling the effects of having been gravely ill. I'm Isabeau Delevan and I've been treating you." "We all came down with a fever..." It was easier to focus with the lights not so bright. He looked at her sharply, trying to remember, struggling to sit up. "Hannah...Dr. McDowell? Dr. Asgar? The others?" "Easy now, be careful," Isabeau cautioned gently. "You had surgery not so very long ago and are still healing." She dropped the medcorder and scanner, placing one hand on his arm, while using the other to tap the bed controls to elevate his head and shoulders to a more comfortable position. "They're still on the colony and from what I hear, they're doing very well; they were in much better shape than you and Dr. Kryzanski." "Jenny? What's happened to her?" Daniel tried to think when he'd last seen her. In the lab, going over the latest scans? He remembered bringing her tea and soup. She had looked like the very devil. He looked at Delevan and shook her hand off his arm. "Is she dead, then?" "No, she's going to be fine! In fact, she's already been removed from the quarantine area and is resting, getting her strength back. She's got an upper respiratory infection but it's being treated." Isabeau picked up the medcorder and sensor wand again. "I need to run a couple of tests, Dr. Hawkins. I know you have questions but I need-" "What happened to us? What the hell do you mean, quarantine? Is it some kind of virus? How soon can we get back?" Daniel flopped back, his frustration evident, and then he pressed his hand to his abdomen, suddenly aware of a flare of pain. "Damn it! What is wrong with me?" Meeting his blue glare calmly, Isabeau once again set the medcorder and sensor wand aside, answering him quietly, "All of you were exposed to Trilithium resin, but you and Dr. Kryz-" "Trilithium resin! My God, that's astonishing and very-" Daniel bit off what he was going to say and eyed Isabeau. "What's being done about that? The Colony has shielding..." Isabeau eyed him right back. "Yes, Trilithium resin. Been there for at least 250,000 years near as our Science team can tell." He did seem surprised, Isabeau thought but did he seem surprised enough? She recalled her conversation of a few weeks ago with DJ. That the Colonists seemed more like a search party than anything else. "Yes, a quarter of a million years, a good long time in some respects, in others...a blink of an eye," Daniel answered impatiently, and then repeated his question. "Can it be contained? Is the colony still viable?" "Well, I'm sure property values are still plummeting as we speak," she replied sarcastically, "but our Chief Engineer is on the case. If it's solvable, he'll figure it out." For the third time she picked up the medcorder and sensor wand, and activated both before he could interrupt her again. "I'm curious as to whether or not your cerebral cortex has suffered any permanent damage," she mentioned absently, while running a quick scan to check his visual acuity. "Now that you're awake I can run the neural tests to rule that out." "Hmmm...?" Daniel was pondering what it would mean if the colony had to be shut down. Hannah had spent a long time putting this together, and to be so close... "What? Is there a chance of that?" He'd just realized what she said, and he renewed his glare at her. "You're just curious?" Isabeau tossed the medcorder on the table next to the biobed and smiled at him, flipping and deftly catching the sensor wand a couple of times before putting it with its teammate. "Well, I've never seen trilithium resin poisoning before and I've got to tell you, there's not a heck of a lot about it in the database." She tapped the bed controls and keyed a request for a hyperencephalogram to be followed by a neural imaging scan, as she whistled under her breath. "I may even get a paper out of this!" "Paper! Are you joking?" Daniel was appalled. 'Yes." "What kind of physician are you?" Daniel raged at her and then caught himself up short. "Yes, what?" "Yes, I'm joking," Isabeau replied with a grin, "And I'm a terrific physician and better surgeon." The bed chirped that the first of his scan results were complete. "Well, I have only your word for that, but based on this damn headache and bloody pain in my belly..." "Now, now, Dr. Hawkins. Don't go making snap decisions," Isabeau replied cheerfully, while looking over the new data. "Your headache is the result of your blood pressure being elevated—although it's come down quite a bit; you suffered cardiac arrest and that sort of thing tends to leave a mark for a couple of days after the induction procedure. And the pain in your abdomen?" His hyperencephalgram was perfect, she noted with delight and mentally crossed her fingers that the neural scan would be, too. "I had to repair what was left of your digestive system—and you can rest assured that your intestines are a thing of beauty, and no doubt a joy forever. Well, for as long as you live anyway and treat them right. Fiber and all, you know what I mean." She winked at him and then looked back to the bioreadout. "I...uh, thank you." Where was her boss...? Lepage his name was. Maybe a second opinion wasn't a bad idea, Daniel thought, and then looked at Isabeau warily as the bed dinged again. "You're very welcome," Isabeau replied warmly, and looked to see what the results of the neural imaging scan were. Daniel watched her face, trying to read her expression as she looked at the screen and tapped at it. Comparing this scan with the one taken during his physical last month, showed that Nick's solution and the aggressive follow up treatment had managed to stem and reverse the neural damage wrought by exposure to the trilithium resin. For the first time since he'd been brought aboard, Isabeau felt that certain something inside her relax. In almost all ways she was an optimist but when faced with a case as serious as Daniel Hawkins had presented, she knew that the odds were often stacked against the patient. She was careful not to proclaim victory too early; Death liked to play his little tricks. Hah, this time he could eat her dust! "Well?" He saw her smile as she looked from the computer and as he met her eyes, he knew and he no longer thought a second opinion would be necessary. "You're going to be fine, Dr. Hawkins." She loved saying that. It never got old. It would never get old. Today, she was victorious. She had battled and he had won. "It's Daniel, Doctor." He leaned back and for the first time wondered just exactly how close he'd come to not making it. She had a breezy way about her but he suddenly realized, looking and listening to her, that he'd been very close, and the thing of it was, he couldn't really remember even being that sick. Just the coughing and confusion... "Ok, Daniel it is." She smiled as she tapped the bed controls and adjusted his medication. "Now that I've been able to run those tests, I can give you something that's going to make you a lot more comfortable. You'll fall asleep and I can just about promise that the next time you wake up, you'll feel a lot better." He could already feel it working, and he relaxed, thinking she was moving further away but then realized the bed was being lowered and she hadn't moved. She would be here when he woke up; he was convinced of that, because she would make sure he woke up. "I guess I owe you my life." "Oh, no need to guess, Daniel, you do, and you know what the Chinese say," she teased gently as she watched the bioreadout, making sure the pain medication went about its business. "I've made worse bargains." Isabeau glanced down at him in surprise and then smiled, he was out for the count. Hopefully, by the time he woke up again, they'd have some real information from the colony.

Nick was standing in the doorway to one of the labs just off sickbay, talking to one of the med techs responsible for toxicology. "So this is the second test that comes up negative?" he asked her, scratching his head. The Vulcan tech nodded. "Yes, that's correct. However, this does not mean there is nothing. We might just not be looking for the right thing." Nick considered this answer and frowned. These results didn't get them one step closer to finding out what was wrong with Sato and Douglas. The former had regained consciousness fairly soon. It turned out he had suffered a concussion from falling and hitting his head on a table. "Ok, thanks T'Pau." With that, Nick turned and went looking for Isabeau. It didn't take him long to find her. She was talking to Sato so he headed over to them, smiling at the young man as he approached. "Doctor Delevan, would you have a minute, please?" Isabeau glanced away from Sato, her eyes searching Nick's expression for whether or not this was good news or something else. It was noncommittal. She turned back to Sato who was now looking curiously between her face and Nick's and smiled reassuringly. "Daichi, I'll be back in a few minutes. Please continue thinking over the past week or so, thinking of where you were and what you did in as great of detail as possible." "Will do, Doc." Daichi leaned back and closed his eyes; the lights still seemed too bright, even after Doctor Delevan had ordered them dimmed. He hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. He and Jerry Douglas had carried out the usual slate of tasks. Isabeau looked sideways at Nick as he steered her towards the lab, and asked him, keeping her voice low, "What is it? Have you found anything?" Nick shook his head. "No, and that's the problem. We still have no clue what is wrong with them. Did you find out anything that would give us some idea of what we're dealing with?" Instead of entering the lab Nick walked to a desk just right of the doors and activated a console. Then he looked expectantly up at Isabeau. Frowning at Nick's answer, Isabeau looked down at the padd in her hand and read over the notes taken from Daichi's recounting of his activities over the past few days. "Nothing really sticks out. Daichi and Jerry...Ensign Douglas, they work together most days and the past few were no exception." She scrolled through, reading back what the two engineers had been up to. "Three days ago they were called up to the CT to work on a console not performing to Mr. Porter's high expectations. After that, they broke for lunch and then spent the afternoon crawling through the j-tubes trying to ascertain where a malfunction in the EPS relays was. That evening, Sato went to listen to a concert featuring a string quartet-" Isabeau looked at Nick. "Did you know Aegis had a string quartet?" She looked back at the padd without waiting for an answer, continuing, "And Douglas had a date and took her out for dinner to the Replimat." Again Isabeau looked at Nick. "Ensign Douglas was most vocal that it's hard to impress a girl when all you can do is take her to the Replimat. He's wondering when or if the Midway shops and restaurants are ever going to be open again, and frankly, I wonder that, too." Again, not waiting for any response from Nick, she looked back to the padd. "Ok, two days ago, they were down in waste recycling performing normal preventative maintenance and that took their whole shift. Sato and Douglas ate dinner with a group of friends in the mess and then played poker with them." Isabeau grinned at Nick, "Lt. Haggerty from Security cleaned up and Sato is convinced that he must have been getting ill then, because normally he beats the pants off of Haggerty. Yesterday, they both felt a little off while they worked in the j-tubes again, but the environmental controls were acting up and the heat was higher than normal in there. They each say they had something light for dinner and went to bed early." Isabeau dropped the hand holding the padd to her side and shrugged to Nick. "And that brings us to this morning and their work on the replicator unit." Nick had taken notes while listening and now he was frowning. "So, we have no clue what happened and when it happened. You know what bothers me? It could be something they got in touch with weeks ago and while we're sitting here making wild guesses at what it could be, it might be spreading throughout the station. Damn!" Their focus right now was on finding out what had gotten those two men sick. So Nick repeated all they knew. "Alright, symptoms...dizziness, ataxia, vomiting and slurred speech. Since neither of them is drunk, I'd hazard a guess at cerebellar dysfunction." At this point he pulled up the results of the neural scans. "There is a decreased activity in those neurons leading from the cerebellum to the cerebral cortices. I just have no clue what's causing it." He looked back at Isabeau with an expression of frustration on his face. She looked past him to the screen, noting the affect on the cerebellum appeared to be progressing. That was not good news, she thought, her expression reflecting her worry. "It's something they both came into contact with but I don't think it's airborne. No one else has come in with any of the same symptoms, at least not yet, and if it was being spread via the respiratory system we'd see other signs of that in the men and we'd have other complaints." Isabeau took a deep breath and absently tapped the padd in her hand against the side of her leg as she examined the possibilities. "I really think we're looking at a toxic agent, here, Nicolas. These guys end up in every nook and cranny of the station. I just wonder if they came upon something growing on its own, like a particularly nasty mold of some sort or if some hazardous chemical ended up in the wrong place." She looked from the screen to Nick's face. "Needle in a haystack is a phrase that comes to mind." "That's about right. We might have to send people to scan every place where the two have been in the past week. Taking samples might be a good idea, too. What do you think, Isabeau?" "I think you're right of course," she agreed. "It's a hunt, but the thing of it is, we could be scanning, be right on top of it and not find it. We're going to have to program the parameters very broadly. I don't see why we can't enlist Engineering's help in this. They already do comprehensive scans for everything from metal fatigue to vermin control." He nodded slowly. "Yeah, and we should advise them to wear protective gear in the J-Tubes until we know what it is. I've already sent a note to Chirakis, informing her of the situation." Nick shrugged and a faint grin spread on his face. "Feel like spending the afternoon in the sewers?" "Ah, Nicolas, it's no wonder that DJ finds you irresistible. So few men know how to extend an invitation like that with real panache," Isabeau replied dryly. She took one last look at the neural scans on the screen. "I guess it's a biosuit and a tour of the waste recyclers for the afternoon." She stepped back and tapped Nick lightly on the shoulder with the padd she was still holding. "You know, I'm pretty sure this kind if thing never makes it into Starfleet's recruiting materials." Nick couldn't help but laugh. "Right. But at least you get out of sickbay for a while," he said teasingly, knowing how much Isabeau enjoyed adventures. Though he was pretty sure searching the sewer system was not what she had in mind. "I'll come with you." "Ah, my Hero."

The last few days had been so busy with drills, Colonists' physicals and then some more drills that the lab seemed like an oasis and not just because of the artificial humidity level and the rows of plants. It was very quiet and peaceful. She sat, eyes on the work screen in front of her, ostensibly reading a soil analysis report. In actuality, she was just vegging. Not really thinking of anything, just letting random thoughts coalesce. When you took time to let your mind do its own reordering, it usually clarified- "Isabeau, I'm going nuts up there!" Walking into the lab, Nick didn't bother with politeness and such. He just started talking as soon as the doors opened. He strode in and leaned against a worktop. "I have no idea what they are thinking," he added, throwing his hands up in the air. It seemed to her for a split second that even the plants themselves recoiled in distress at the sudden and loud invasion into their peaceful existence. Resisting the urge to comment that she already thought he was nuts was not too difficult and she made an effort to look sympathetic and concerned. "Um...what? They are thinking?" All right. So it wasn't that much of an effort. With his arms crossed, Nick still stood there, glowering at the plants around him as if they were the cause for his bad mood. "Yeah, you're right. They are probably not thinking at all! Tell you what, I'll go up to the CT to Chirakis and resign my commission right now!" She watched him steadily for a moment, unblinking, and counted to herself, one...two...three...wait for it... "No, better still! I'll take the PADD with my resignation and whack them over the head with it. Yes, that's it! It's impossible to work like this. First the drills, then I have to tell some of my people to go packing and then they refuse to assign new personnel to the station. We have to 'weed out' those we think are not able to handle their post out here and then we're told we'll have to do with the people who'll be left. That's outrageous!" Nick paused; taking a deep breath but somehow it didn't calm him down very much. "You'll whack them collectively or one at a time?" Isabeau turned her seat away from the workstation to face him and tilted her head, giving his statement some thought. "I suggest you whack Commander Chirakis first--you'd still have the element of surprise--although, I'm pretty sure she could take you down if she wanted to and then go for Ambassador Drankum. He's got that bad leg and can't scuttle away too quickly and being short, doesn't have much reach. I think you just need to avoid the cane. Oh, and be careful-I've heard Ferengi bite." "Ha ha, very funny, Isabeau." Still glowering he turned his attention from the plants to her. "Wouldn't that drive you mad, too?" He didn't like the drills. He didn't like being short staffed, but she knew that wasn't what had him so angry and he was mad enough to spit nails. She looked up to meet his eyes, understanding clear in hers, no longer teasing him. "You're a practical man, Nicolas, logical to a fault at times, but you also have a big heart. It killed you to have to recommend Rachel Garrett for transfer. And you will feel the same for each subsequent transfer." Nick sighed and nodded, his anger had dissipated and he felt only frustration. "Yeah, well. It would be hard enough if they had done a bad job, you know. I just have to keep telling myself that it's best for them in the long run." He shrugged, not really knowing what else to say. "It's not just about them, you know." That reply surprised Nick. "What do you mean, it's not just about them?" "We're all in this together and we're out here, on the edge of unexplored space, and anything can, and most likely will happen," she replied, steadily meeting his gaze. "Every person on this station has to react in a way that will not jeopardize their own safety but also that of the person next to them. If someone's not up to that challenge, then they need to go for the safety of everyone on the station." "Oh, yeah, I know. But it doesn't make it any easier. Anyway, how is your work coming along?" Now that he had vented his frustration Nick didn't feel like pursuing the subject of his job. "These plants have grown quite a bit." She stood up and walked to his side where he stood looking down at the trays of plants. She reached out and gave his sleeve a little tug; her own eyes on the green stalks that were just starting to show signs of budding. "I know it's not easy and I didn't mean to imply that it should be. I'm going to miss the ones who leave and I'm glad I'm not the person who has to make that decision. I'm sorry that you're having such a rotten time of it." "It's ok," Nick said, smiling weakly. "I should stop complaining. I knew I'd eventually have to make difficult decisions. It comes with the job. So, now, how about your research? I don't remember getting any reports from you lately." He was teasing her, knowing full well she didn't have to write any reports to him for her research. She gave him a sideways glance and then looked back to the plants. "They'll be blossoming within the next twelve days and I anticipate pollinating just after that. A couple more weeks after pollination will see the venom begin to develop and then I can start testing and see if the new soil mixes have affected the potency at all." "Remind me not to tick you off." He paused to think for a moment and grinned. "That reminds me, maybe we could use the stuff to...well...you know." Nick shrugged and lowered his voice to a whisper. "We could get rid of some people who get on our nerves." She gave him a chiding glance, although her eyes were sparkling. "Nicolas, please. Our motives are of the purest." She reached out a fingertip and gently tapped the throat of one of the plants, causing it to sway back and forth. "Letum Bellum is not a run-of-the-mill, everyday, household poison," she said fondly. "And besides, it causes complete paralysis and extends rigor by several hours. It would be a real inconvenience when disposing of the body." "Good point. We should still tell our new chief of security about these, though. If he gives you any trouble, send him my way. I'll deal with it." He leaned closer to one of the plants and eyed it carefully. "Yes, with everything that's been going on, I haven't sent him an update. I had sent Commander Riley a report but who knows if Lieutenant tr'Jeth will have seen it." Nick nodded. "Yeah, it won't hurt to tell him again. Well, I need to get back to sickbay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled again at her and then turned around and walked out of the lab, feeling much better than when he had entered.

Nick was sitting in his office. He had only slept a couple of hours last night. Now he sat at his desk, writing another report of yet another drill and he wished he could just lie down on his sofa and take a nap. But the reports piled up on his desk wouldn't file themselves. At least the department's response time was satisfactory. There was still room for improvement but they were making progress. On top of that DJ had voiced her concern that Starfleet would soon realize that Aegis was not really in need of a doctor for the diplomatic staff. Unfortunately she was right. He feared it would only be a matter of time until she'd be transferred. And then there was this memo he had received from Commander Chirakis. He was to make sure everyone in his department was up to the job out here. Everyone he thought was better off somewhere else would be reassigned to a post closer to Federation territory. There were several people in medical that would probably have to leave the station. It was a difficult decision but he couldn't put it off much longer. Nick leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and sighed. He'd have to remember to take some time for himself every now and then. A good workout, dinner with DJ, reading a good book...anything that would take his mind off the job would do. Isabeau woke early and worked out. Her usual routine. She was surprised that Porter wasn't in the gym; they seemed to be on the same schedule as far as the gym went. Too bad, she enjoyed his acerbic observations and they made the time go faster. Running on a treadmill too often made her feel like she was getting nowhere fast. She showered and changed in the locker room and grabbed breakfast in the mess. She expected today's shift to be quiet since they'd completed the Colonists' physicals yesterday. It had been nice to meet the twelve souls who were off on what she considered an excellent adventure. Dr. McDowell had been very pleasant, even considering how she'd happened along just in time for a drill. Isabeau finished her juice, her expression darkening as she recalled how Dr. McDowell's physical had also been interrupted by Nick. That had been completely unexpected, she thought, and not for the first time, as she carried her tray to the recycler. The rest of the afternoon had passed quickly, all of the staff very busy and they'd not spoken again. She wasn't looking forward to today's shift as she left the mess. Normally, she anticipated the coming day, looked forward to what it would bring, good or bad. Today felt like it was just going to be something to get through, she thought as she walked through Medical's double doors and went directly to her workstation to see if anything had happened over Gamma shift that was going to cause any ripple effects. Through the open doors of his office Nick saw Isabeau enter sickbay. There was something else he had to take care of. He had to apologize to her after telling her off for doing a physical during a drill yesterday. He had definitely not handled the situation well. No matter what had made him treat her like that it was unacceptable and if he had caught anyone in his department talking to someone else like that they'd have been in some real trouble with him. He got up and walked to the door. "Isabeau, would you please come over for a minute. I'd like to talk to you." She kept her eyes on the screen for a moment, before standing. She'd been expecting it and figured it was better to get it out of the way sooner, rather than later. Walking over, she stopped just outside his door, giving him a level gaze, accompanied with a polite, "Good morning, Dr. Lepage." Nick resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He had been a jerk and Isabeau was still mad at him, he deserved it. "Alright, Isabeau, I'm sorry. I was way out of line and I am genuinely sorry. I'm not even trying to find an excuse for how I handled the situation because no matter how stressed, tired or whatever I was I shouldn't have done it." He watched Isabeau closely, trying to read her expression. He was serious and he hoped his tone had conveyed it. She responded in the same polite tone with which she'd greeted him. "I agree with you." "Good, I hope you won't require I throw myself out of an airlock to make up for it." Nick hoped his attempt at humor would actually work but he wasn't too sure of it. "Your death, would in no way mitigate your actions of yesterday and would put a burden on the rest of the staff, so in fact, it would actually be a selfish and grandiose act on your part and would reflect badly on myself to derive pleasure from it." She let a moment's pause go by before smiling, as she added, "Not that I would." She motioned past him to his office. "A moment of your time if you wouldn't mind?" Nick nodded and let her enter. "Sure, now that I feel fairly confident you won't kill me I guess it's safe." He almost regretted saying this the moment he had but now the words were out and he couldn't take them back. "It's entirely possible that you are overconfident, Nicolas but no matter how impetuous you think me, if I wanted to dispatch you it wouldn't be in your office in full view of rest of the medical staff." She took a seat in front of his desk and smiled faintly as her eyes fell on the little statue of the reptile from Najera, recalling that Nick had been miserable on that trip. She waited while he sat himself behind his desk, her expression more cheerful than before. "Yeah, I'm sure you'd lure me into some remote jungle and just tell everyone it was an accident. I'm really sorry, Isabeau. It won't happen again. As a matter of fact, it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Had I caught anyone else talking to someone on my staff like that I'd probably have put it in their file. Feel free to file a complaint with Commander Chirakis." He was actually serious about her filing a complaint. He definitely deserved that as well. However, he smiled at her as he took his seat behind the desk, knowing she'd probably have other ways to make she he wouldn't forget what an idiot he had been. "Please, Nicolas, a little credit. It would be an unfortunate lab accident," she teased gently before leaning forward, her expression very serious. "You know very well I won't be having a conversation with Commander Chirakis about this or anything else anytime soon." He knew exactly how she felt about Starfleet Intelligence even though she had nothing personal against the XO. "Our paths are not likely to cross with any real frequency, and I didn't come in here to complain about how you spoke to me. My concern is with the why." Nick had completely forgotten that Chirakis was SI. He decided not to comment on that for now. "Well, as far as the why is concerned...I don't know. Maybe I'm losing it." He shrugged slightly, not entirely sure what exactly she meant. She watched him for a moment and wondered if she should be worried about him. "Maybe you are but I doubt it," she replied a little dryly. "You were very angry and you're not usually quick to it. You were furious because I proceeded with Dr. McDowell's physical and I have to tell you, that right now, if the circumstances were the same, I would do so again. If she'd been a regular crewman, she would have excused herself and gone to her emergency station. But she was a civilian, who told me when I suggested she forego the exam to be with her people, that the eleven of them were already on their way to Medical. At that point, knowing baseline scans and the ten exams take only eight minutes, I went ahead and proceeded with the physical." She looked at him, not caring about how he'd spoken to her the day before so much as worried that he questioned her judgment in an emergency. "Nicolas, I spent eighteen months on the Spector, an Akira class, which spent that entire period seeking out new places to wage battle and new ways to injure our Marines. We were at red alert so often that it was worrisome when we weren't in the middle of either getting or giving an ass kicking. I'm telling you this because I want you to understand that I know how to deal with a red alert situation. I've just gotten in the habit of multi-tasking during them. If you're not comfortable with my reaction then I have to know that." She smiled and verbally poked him just a little. "Preferably not in the middle of Main Medical with your face the color of those beets you like so well." "Isabeau, I wasn't questioning your ability to do your job. I guess I was just frustrated with the way the first couple of drills went and well...look at this pile of paperwork." He indicated the PADDs on his desk. "After every drill I have to send a report to the XO within one hour. I have to do a quick debriefing to make sure everyone knows what we still need to improve. And yesterday I got the order to send everyone packing who doesn't seem to be up to the job. I have some candidates in this department and I'm not looking forward to telling them. Do you realize that I was the one who suggested Rachel Garrett get a new assignment? Right now there are more things I hate about my job than things I like. This whole thing yesterday had nothing to do with you or your performance. I trust your judgment and I know you're more than capable to do your job." "Ah...punching bag not incompetent." Somewhat relieved, she leaned back and looked from the stack of padds to the frustration written across his face. "The drills are for a reason. We're in the middle of this asteroid field for a reason and yet...we have twelve people heading out..." Isabeau checked her watch and continued, correcting her previous statement, "...who've already headed out to a planet for God knows what reason." She tilted her head, still watching Nick, her expression thoughtful. "Clearly the powers that be think we're going to have some trouble. If they are actually removing any staff that might not be up to this potential threat, then I think we may have more to worry about than crushed hopes and lowered expectations." Nick sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "That's exactly what worries me. It's not the drills I'm complaining about it's the whole situation. All those little things just add up to a point where it gets difficult to even know where to start." He fell silent and looked up at the ceiling. After a few moments he looked back at Isabeau. "I'm not sure how much longer DJ will be here either." Isabeau was startled. The dip wing was empty for right now, it was true, but DJ McKinny was such a part of Aegis Medical that just thinking of her not being here was a tremendous disappointment. Poor Nick. He loved her so much. He'd be losing a lot more than an incredible physician. "I'm so sorry, Nicolas. I hate to hear that. We're out here in the middle of nowhere, maybe it won't happen very quickly or at all." Struck by a thought, she had to ask, "Does DJ want to transfer? Is she feeling at a loose end? Her skills are such that she would be welcomed anywhere and has probably turned many posts down." "Well, she didn't want to come back to Aegis in the first place. She had a great job on Earth. So she got this assignment and now the only diplomat we still have is Joy and she'll hardly ever need a doctor. Well, there's Drankum but he can just as well come here. We'll close down the diplomats' sickbay for now. We could probably use it as an additional ICU seeing as it is better equipped than this sickbay. For now DJ will work Lilly's shift but that's just a temporary solution. I wouldn't blame DJ for wanting to leave, actually. There are nicer places than Aegis." But none of those places have you, she wanted to say to him but didn't. He knew DJ loved him. They would find a way to be together at some point. Or they wouldn't. It was none of her business but she felt for both of them and deciding not to say anything more about it, tried to lighten his mood. "Places nicer than Aegis? I can't imagine them," she joked. "It's all about location, location, location, and look where we are—in an asteroid field and about to become a ship building facility. Hmm....we're living in the middle of an industrial area now, Nicolas. Does that qualify us as a slum?" At this point Nick couldn't help but laugh. "You know, I could just add DJ and me to the list of crewmen I think are not up to the job out here. Oh, just imagine that. We'd get a post somewhere close to Earth, somewhere where things don't blow up and the Breen, Borg or whoever do not lurk in every nebula to attack you. I'd send you a postcard every week." "More and more Nicolas, you talk like an old man which I find distressing since you're eight months younger than I am." She leaned back and smiled at him. "I don't need postcards of the rings of Saturn or Jupiter's moons. How about if I keep you updated on the Aegis titanium works? I'll send you and DJ a gilded celebratory rivet or whatever we have to commemorate. Maybe there'll be a t-shirt. You know Ambassador Drankum won't forget about the souvenir concession." "Hey, a man may dream, no? I have no intention of leaving this place. A little more sleep and less paperwork would be nice though." At this point Nick stifled a yawn. He was definitely getting too little sleep. "I don't know how to get through the day. I feel like I haven't slept for days." Once again eyeing the formidable stack of paddwork waiting for him, she got to her feet. "I would suggest a little black coffee for the workday and an early night tonight." She walked to the door and turned to look back at him, seeing how exhausted he was and wishing she could make him feel a little better. "Nicolas, my mother used to have a saying: La journée s'achèvera assez tôt et demain tient sa propre promesse," she quoted, smiling at the memory. Today will end soon enough and tomorrow holds its own promise. "It's true, you know."

Nick frowned as he watched Jorahl and Rachel troop out of sickbay. He was a little confused. They had been beamed directly into sickbay, it was an emergency beam- out and yet neither of them had more than just a few scratches. Well, I suppose it's a good thing they're not hurt, he thought. Still, it was a strange. She watched them leave Medical and turned to look at Nick. "They are going to be going out into the field again-I think it might be a good idea to see why they were beamed here and not the shuttle." She shrugged and added with a mutter, "Maybe the comm system needs tweaking." Having ascertained that Rachel was ok, Isabeau had returned to her workstation to complete her entry to Drankum's medical file. The Ambassador had slipped away before being officially released while Rachel and Jorahl were undergoing their post AT exams. Their conversation regarding current and past treatment of his leg injury had been interrupted and she felt it required a follow up to his exam. Nick shrugged as he walked to another workstation to add a quick note in Rachel and Jorahl's files. "Well, I got some kind of explanation but from what Mr. Porter said I was expecting them to be half dead. I guess I should just be glad they were ok. How did things with Drankum go? He was unusually nice to me today." "Maybe Porter thought there was more of an emergency than there was. Definitely better to err on the side of caution but if there's a problem with communications when out in the asteroid field it should be addressed." Isabeau turned in her seat to face Nick, watching as he tapped the screen in front of him. "I thought the Ambassador was charming. Is he usually rude to you? I've heard a lot of stories, but based on my experience with him today, I think they may have been grossly exaggerated." For a second Nick thought Isabeau was joking. He looked at her and grinned. Her expression, however, indicated she was completely serious. As he realized that, Nick couldn't help but laugh. When he had calmed down a little, he looked back at her. "Drankum is the rudest and least diplomatic diplomat I've ever seen. Granted, I haven't met him often but today was the first time he was actually nice to me." He paused and shrugged. "Maybe it's me." "Maybe it is you, Nicolas," she replied teasingly, "Or maybe it's just that the Ambassador no longer only represents the interests of Ferenginar and has to look at things from a different perspective." She glanced back at the still open file and frowned. "Whatever the reason for his pleasant demeanor today, I didn't like the results of the bone density scan or the microRNA scan of his muscle tissue." "Let me take a look." Nick stepped over and glanced at the various parameters. "No wonder his leg is hurting. Did you give him something for the pain?" She shook her head, answering, "No, I never got a chance to talk to him about palliative measures--Rachel and Jorahl were beamed in just as I was talking about the option of limb replacement." Looking up at Nick, she continued, "I never really got the chance to talk to him about beginning a course of meds or finding out how his other doctors have been treating it." Nick nodded as he perused the file. "I have a feeling Drankum won't even think about limb replacement. We should definitely talk to him about doing something to ease his pain, though. I'd like you to talk to DJ about it. After all, she's his doctor. Maybe you two can work out a treatment that he can agree to." "You're right about that, Nicolas. He's not interested in a prosthetic." Isabeau recalled her conversation with the Ambassador regarding replacement. He knew the leg was damaged beyond repair and had decided to live with the consequences to his mobility and the not insignificant amount of pain. That had become very clear to her as he'd made a joke about the 'profitability' of the damaged limb and the look in his eyes when he'd said '...and it's mine.' "I'm sending DJ notice to check his file and look at the scans and my notes. I'm going to leave the follow up entirely to her, as well as any meds that she prescribes and can get the Ambassador to agree to take. If his leg continues on the current progression, and there's no reason to assume it won't, DJ may, at some point, want to do a consult with me regarding a prosthetic bio-integration." "I have a feeling he will not be very cooperative." Nick shrugged. "I might be wrong, who knows. Talking about being uncooperative, care to explain the note you left me about Lilly?" "He decided a long time ago to live with the results of the Spore attack. The mind has a lot to do with treatment--if his mind is made up that he can never be free of what happened to his leg then you're right-he won't be cooperative." She closed Drankum's med file and sent the note to DJ before glancing back to Nick, responding quietly, "I didn't say Lilly was uncooperative." "No, I said it. I tried to talk to her earlier but she was...let's say evasive. So, what happened?" Nick was a little concerned about Lillian. Somehow she took the temporary loss of her telepathy harder than all the others. Or was there something else? "Just after Mimi left to join the away team, I found Lilly asleep in one of the storage rooms and it was clear that she'd cried herself to sleep. I woke her up and gave her a quick exam. She had a severe headache and I treated it and noted in her file that her psilosynine levels are starting to return." Isabeau stood from her workstation and turned to face Nick, the concern apparent in her expression and voice. "I told her the next two weeks would be difficult for her because her telepathic senses would begin behaving erratically as the psilosynine levels normalized and that she might want to think about using a chemical block to minimize the effects. She's decided against that for now." "Hmm...I can understand, it's a difficult situation. I'm not sure what to do. I can't let her return to regular duty like that. Maybe I'll ask DJ to let her work in the VIP facilities. They have fewer patients over there. What do you think?" "I don't think she should be treating any patients until she feels better physically and mentally, but I also think you're right that being at work would be beneficial to her. I guess a kind of restricted duty might be the best way to go. Between you and DJ, you should be able to find enough for her to do where she doesn't overtax herself." Nick leaned against the desk, crossed his arms in front of his chest and sighed. "I just hope she will realize that it's necessary. Did she say anything? I mean something that would give you a clue as to why she's having such a hard time?" Isabeau thought for a moment and then shook her head, responding slowly, "No, I don't think she said anything other than her head hurt. She was very hard hit by this virus, Nicolas and she hasn't been quick to verbalize what she's been going through." "That's what worries me, Isabeau. She knew she had medical problems but didn't get any help. I can understand she didn't want to tell me but she didn't talk to anyone else either as far as I know. And now she's having such a hard time dealing with it. I wonder if there's not something else, you know?" "Well, you can't force her to talk about it," she answered matter-of-factly. "Lilly has reacted very emotionally compared to the other Betazoid patients but we've only had twenty-three so it's not as if there's a huge statistical pool we can draw on for information." "Yes, I realize that. If it didn't affect her duty I would leave it completely up to her to talk about it or not. Like this, I might have no choice but to tell her that she'll either see a counselor or consider a leave of absence. I'd hate to have it come to that. But we need to find a solution." "We've never seen this virus before. Her psilosynine levels will be back to normal within the next two weeks. If you were asking me what I would do, I would say that she should be restricted from treating patients and assigned those tasks that won't put too much strain on her mentally or physically. Then, if she doesn't seem like her normal self once her telepathy is restored, I would have to say that a leave of absence might be considered." Isabeau gave him a faint smile. "It's her career, Nicolas. I'd ask her to see a counselor as an option for dealing with the emotional toll the temporary loss of her telepathic senses has taken but I would make it part of current treatment and not part of an ultimatum." "It's a difficult situation," Nick said shaking his head. "I don't like this at all. I want to help her but what if she doesn't want it? What will I write in her next evaluation?" "That's entirely up to you, mon ami, but as her Chief you will be evaluating her performance as a whole. Lilly's current behavior appears to stem from being ill. Perhaps another conversation where you aren't interrupted by the station CO and emergency transporting might be in order. You can tell her your concerns and maybe, she will tell you hers." Isabeau held his gaze and smiled. "At any rate, I hope she will." Nick nodded. "Yeah, I was planning to talk to her again. And now I have to get back to my paperwork." With that he pushed himself off the desk and smiled. "Lots of fun." "You make it look easy, Nicolas," she answered him with a grin. She watched him walk to his office before she retook her seat at the workstation. She hoped his upcoming conversation with Lilly would put his mind to rest. She hoped it would help Lilly, too.

*This takes place after the Belar/Lepage log entitled "Colorless". Nick turned a corner and finally stood in front of the doors he'd been looking for but they didn't open. At first he thought there was a malfunction but then it dawned on him that this must be a secure lab. For some reason this surprised him but considering the toxic plants it would eventually contain he should have expected it. He entered his command code into the small panel beside the doors and walked through them as they swished open. It only took him a fraction of a second to spot Isabeau working on...something he didn't recognize. He'd never been much of a gardener. Looking around the lab, he walked up to her, hoping to get the explanation he wanted. She heard the doors open, but wasn't able to look up right away for fear of slicing off her fingers. A laser scalpel was not the recommended tool of choice for cutting tubing but she enjoyed its efficiency. She raised her eyes, her hand stilled as her visitor drew close. Only command staff had access to this lab because of the safety protocols so she wasn't surprised to see Nick standing to her side. She raised an eyebrow in greeting, and looked back to her irrigation system. "What do you think about Lilly Belar's condition?" "Wow, you stole her ability to read minds, did you? That's exactly what I've come here to talk to you about," Nick answered as he stood next to her and watched Isabeau work. He never knew scalpels were used for growing plants but as curious as he was, that wasn't one of his concerns right now. In fact, he was mildly irritated at her question. "How come you didn't tell me about it?" he asked, his tone a little harsher than he had meant it to be. Now both eyebrows were elevated but her voice stayed mild as she responded, "Yes, Nicolas-that's exactly what happened. I cast a magic spell and I can now read minds and have given Lillian my somewhat unfortunate ability to purchase items right before they go on sale." She deactivated the scalpel and set it aside, shifting her stance so that she now faced him, her expression serious. "Lilly had some sort of...episode on the Midway today when we were just starting our sweep. She told me she'd lost her ability to sense others and it was patently clear that she was on the ragged edge-she was terrified. I asked her if she'd spoken with you about it and she said no, whereupon I escorted her back to Sickbay so that she could do so and get started on the neuroscans. I then went back to the Midway to finish what we started." Nick ignored her first comment; he was used to Isabeau's sarcasm and knew it didn't mean that she didn't recognize how serious the situation was. He sighed before answering. It wasn't Isabeau's fault Lillian hadn't come to see him earlier but that didn't change how he felt about it. "I just don't know why she didn't come any sooner. Did she say anything about that?" "She was impatient, almost angry with my questions-and told me she could no longer hear, and then after I asked what that meant, clarified that she couldn't sense those around her. I told her she needed to speak with you and she said none of us would be able to understand what it was like. I told her that even though we couldn't experience that kind of sensory deprivation we were still capable of medically treating her." Isabeau turned from Nick and looked unseeingly down the length of the lab, murmuring almost to herself, "I don't think I could stand to 'hear' what everyone around me was thinking or feeling, but Nicolas..." She turned back to him, continuing, "I don't think she said anything to you or anyone else for fear that there might not be a solution. If you'd seen her expression, and maybe you already have since you've talked with her, then you know how desolated she is-and not just mentally. This is also taking a physical toll on her." Nick rubbed his temples. He could feel a headache coming on. "I can understand why she's afraid but she's a doctor for heaven's sake! I mean she must have known this is not just something that's going to go away if you ignore it long enough. And it's not only that. It was irresponsible. What would have happened if there had been some kind of emergency, if she'd had to make a difficult decision? How can I trust her to take care of others when she refuses to take care of herself?" She understood he was talking to her as a trusted friend and not as one of Lillian's fellow medical officers. "If the sort of situation you're describing had come up, I think it would have forced her hand and she would have acknowledged her current inability to function adequately as a physician." Isabeau met his frustrated gaze calmly and with understanding. "I think that you have to take into account the level of terror she's currently experiencing. It's been three days she said since it began and it came on gradually. I think it was just this morning that she woke up and her telepathy was completely gone. I know you'll take into account how she must be feeling-you're nothing if not fair." He took a deep breath and made a grunting noise in reply. Isabeau was right; she usually was and she was being reasonable. But he didn't want to be reasonable just now. Nick was frustrated and angry...more at himself than at Lillian or Isabeau. Somehow he blamed himself for Lillian's reluctance to confide in him. "The last thing that'd help right now is if I blamed her for not telling anyone sooner. We need to figure out how to help her and telling patients they are unreasonable would get us nowhere. I've done some scans and the preliminary results don't look very good." She tapped her work screen and found herself looking at the most recent soil analyses she'd requested and resolutely filed them away-the seriousness of Lilly's condition took precedence over the research project. She brought up Lilly's medical file and took a quick glance at the scans and then a slower, more thoughtful one. The hyper-encephalogram she was looking at was of Lilly's para cortex located in her telepathic lobe, something unique to Betazoids. It showed no activity. None whatsoever. She raised her eyes to meet Nick's, her expression now as grim as his. "The para cortex-if it's not used, it will atrophy." The headache started to throb just behind his right eye. "I know, I also found some antibodies in her blood. It looks like she has some viral infection. Whether those things are related, I don't know yet." Another tap to the screen brought Lilly's neurotoxicity panel results to the fore and she turned her screen so Nick could look at it with her. "She has no activity in her para cortex but her psilosynine levels are elevated-not dramatically but higher than they should be if they're not being actively used by the para cortex." Psilosynine was a neurotransmitter unique to Betazoid telepaths and it was generally understood to be the 'juice' that powered the synapses triggered by telepathic activity. "I noticed that but it doesn't make any sense. If her psilosynine levels are elevated there should be activity in the para cortex. My best guess right now is that something's blocking the post-synaptic receptors and therefore the brain produces more of the neurotransmitter. So far, none of my scans have confirmed that, however. I'll need to run some more scans tomorrow. Got any other ideas?" Nick looked at her almost pleadingly. He would welcome any possible explanation for the symptoms. She turned away from the screen and looked blankly at the soil trays that would soon hold seeds that might one day help restore motion to limbs rendered useless by catastrophic injury. There was nothing here to help with Lilly's situation. She looked over her shoulder, and returned to his previous comment. "What about this viral infection? How long has she had it? Onset of noticeable loss of telepathic senses was 72 hours ago. We've been on Aegis for just over that-did she pick it up on the Mercury or is this something that was waiting for her on Aegis? And Nicolas...what about the other Betazoids?" All those were good questions and Nick had been asking them himself over and over again. "I have no idea. Like I said, I'll do some further scans tomorrow and we need to test all other Betazoids on the station. I don't like this one bit, Isabeau." "No," she answered him quietly, "I don't either. This is something different; something altogether new and is devastating to its victim. We don't know anything other than the para cortex will atrophy from disuse and once begun the process cannot be reversed. We have a time constraint."

I've been using a Mac since 1995 and bought the iMac G5 20" desktop that I'm currently using 2.5 years ago. With my usual excellent timing, I bought it 4 months before the Intel processor models came out but that turned out to be Ok, since none of my old games would have been able to play on the new one. I am now experiencing some *very* occasional problems with overheating and after researching this problem have found that it's not uncommon for the iMac G5 desktop model and popular opinion seems to be that the casing design is just too tight for the machine and eventually will lead to logic board demise. I am also planning on buying a new iMac desktop within the next couple of months because I want this current model to continue to work for old games and I don't want to kill it but I want to find out about the overheating problem first--have they fixed it? Ok, to finally answer your question: I have no problem accessing the STSF or any other Java based chat rooms on Tiger version 10.4.11 and don't anticipate any problems when using Leopard. And I love the Mac computer--I use Windows at work but have always used Mac at home. I also use Microsoft office for the Mac because I bring work home and have no problem doing the work on either computer and sending it back and forth. I guess the most important thing is what do you use your home comp for? As Sam said, if you are a gamer then you might want to stick with PC. They're writing more games for the Mac but nothing like what is available for PC users.

She could hear Nick--she just couldn't see him. Isabeau carefully picked her way through the haphazardly heaped cartons that contained the guts of Aegis' Sickbay until she arrived at Nick's office. His chair was turned away from the door and it sounded like he was busy talking with someone in Engineering regarding power fluctuations to the dedicated grid used by Medical. She folded her arms across her chest and waited for him to finish. She'd helped pack Sickbay up--a couple of times and knew that right now was the calm before the storm. Once they got started, they would work steadily through until the basic equipment and supplies were in place and ready for action. The nice thing about this unpacking was that it might be the last time they had to do it for a good long while. Nick sighed as he deactivated his commbadge. He was starting to get frustrated and they hadn't even begun unpacking yet. This was going to be a long day...probably one of many. As he turned his chair around he saw Isabeau standing amid the boxes and crates that hopefully held the contents of his office. "What's up?" he asked, hoping she didn't have any bad news. His face told the whole story, and she gave him a sympathetic smile, "Nothing, just wanted to say good morning before beginning to tackle the beast." Glancing to his office window, she wasn't surprised to see his view blocked by crates and noted that one of them was marked 'Medical-Small/Surgical'. Medical instruments. She made a mental note and turned back to him, "Anything you want us to do first? I thought maybe get one surgery completely ready just in case? Although, we do have the Mercury available if anything happens before we're finished. "I'm sorry, Isabeau. Good morning. But you know, remembering your manners is not easy in a mess like this. How about we just make a hole in the bulkhead and space everything?" For some reason the image of all those boxes floating around the station amused Nick. "I guess with Drankum in charge of the station, however, we'd have to pay for everything ourselves. We need a couple of biobeds operational and one surgery unit. If we need more we'll have to use the Mercury's sickbay. I just have no idea where to get started." Nick looked around his office and felt a little desperate. He should have taken some leave and come back once everything was cleaned up again. Isabeau lowered her eyes and bit her lip, willing the grin trying to break free to behave itself. He ran a complicated department with ease and could handle the most delicate surgery while a life hung in the balance without turning a hair but the thought of having to unpack everything clearly had him wanting to rip that hair out. "I guess we'll start with clearing space around two exam stations and getting one surgical suite stocked. We'll concentrate on making sure those three sections have green lights on all diagnostic tests. If we do that and get the drugs stocked and re-inventoried we'll be back in business." "Yes, we'll be back in business," Nick agreed with a nod. "I'll be glad when this is over. You'll have time for your project, too...and flying lessons." Now it was Nick's turn to grin. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on between Isabeau and Riley but he was determined to find out. She smiled pleasantly, ignoring the wise-ass quality of his grin and the reference to flying lessons with very little trouble. "Thank you for reminding me, I still have to check with Lieutenant Feretti to see which lab she can spare for the project-I don't want to bother her right away since Science has its own unpacking to do." Nick nodded. "Yes, I'm sure they are busy at the moment just like everyone else." Nick's grin spread a little wider as he realized Isabeau was trying to avoid talking about Riley. Well, he'd let her have her way for now. But he'd definitely come back to it eventually. "Remind me, what exactly is that project of yours?" He felt bad for not remembering but there had been so much happening on Aegis lately that he kept forgetting some details. "The Maelefica Project" she responded, her expression brightening. "It feels like it's taking me a long time to get back to the research centered around a particular plant that was discovered on the planet of the same name. The plant itself is called the letum bellum. It produces a very virulent toxin of which even a tiny amount is an incredibly powerful paralytic but when distilled and combined with several other elements has the effect of restimulating brain activity. There's three of us working on it and my portion is experimenting and trying to develop optimum laboratory growing conditions. This plant is pretty picky and hasn't been any too cooperative." "Ah, yes, Beautiful Death. It sounds like a very interesting research project. If I remember correctly I already offered my assistance." Nick smiled as he said this. He was indeed very intrigued by the reports he had read so far. This new stimulant, if it was ever developed for regular use could be quite useful. "Yes, you did, Nicolas, and don't think I won't hold you to it," she smiled, making the words a promise. "I'm looking forward to getting into the lab and setting up the first trials, but before that can happen...we have some unpacking to do." Nick sighed as he looked around his office again. "Yeah, unpacking, right," he said, getting up and walking towards the door.

The Mercury's gym was well equipped but Isabeau missed running on a track. The treadmills got the job done but she preferred the scenery to change a bit. The holodecks were currently in use and she needed to get some exercise. Medical was sure not being over worked these days and she had to get rid of some excess energy or she’d never get any sleep tonight. She left the locker room, wearing a tank top and shorts, carrying a towel over her arm and a water bottle in her hand. The gym wasn't too crowded and she picked a machine in the middle, not even bothering to stretch before stepping on and activating it, choosing a strenuous program that should leave her nice and tired and wanting nothing so much as a hot bath and bed. The gym locker rooms had real water whereas her quarters only had the sonic shower. After his shift had ended, Porter had taken half an hour to relax some and then started to get ready for the gym. For some reason he felt restless and needed to work out. He guessed it was because he had hardly gotten a chance to go to the gym lately, because he had been way too busy. As always he had changed and stretched in his quarters and jogged to the gym. He would have preferred to do his running in the corridors, but the Mercury was fully staffed and full to the brim with stuff from Aegis, so the corridors were usually too crowded. The run to the gym had been short and he hadn't even started sweating when the doors of the gym opened in front of him. He quickly located the treadmills and walked over to them without really paying attention to who else was around. With his towel draped around his shoulder he programmed the treadmill and started to run. The machine next to her started up and Isabeau glanced over, recognizing Damian Porter. Somehow, he'd managed to tear himself away from Ops. "Mr. Porter, glad to see that ankle's not giving you any more trouble." She wondered if he'd remember her name and figured the odds at 60/40 against. Frowning he looked over to the machine next to him. "Why should," he broke off as comprehension dawned on him, " oh right, the sprain, I had already forgotten. Yes, Doc, you did a good job on that." He smiled at her. Again he frowned, as he didn't remember the last time he had smiled at someone. Looks like it improved his mood not to have to work constantly and not having weapons aimed at them anymore. The smile was a surprise and she smiled back, noting he still hadn't proved he knew her name so her private bet with herself remained open. In fact, she rather thought the odds were now 70/30—that he didn’t remember. "Well, it wasn't much of a challenge, Mr. Porter. Next time go for a compound fracture and make me sweat a little." "I'd rather not, I like my body to be in full working order, and so should you, by the way." If only he could remember her name. He knew it was something starting with D... Devin or something like that, oh well, it was easy in Starfleet, either use their rank, or call em doc. "So, how's Medical dealing with everything? The move, the new system? I tell ya, it looks cool out there. Have you already been briefed about any of the new developments?" Porter was getting more and more surprised at himself, but also pleased; he had been afraid his social skills had disappeared somehow as soon as he'd set foot on Aegis. The grade shifted under her feet and she leaned into it as the program now had her jogging uphill. She glanced at Porter for a second before looking back to the holodisplay on the walls before them. Someone had set all the screens so it was just one big picture of an anonymous beach on a sunny day. The water and sky were contrasting shades of blue and she found herself wishing the Mercury had a pool. “Medical is finding that the time drags a bit and no, we haven't been briefed on any new developments." She quickly turned her head back to meet his glance, feeling her pony tail bounce as she did so. "What are the new developments?" The first drop of perspiration ran down Porter's temple as he continued with long strides at an even pace. He kept looking at the computer display in front of him, as always he liked to be in control and know exactly about his speed, pulse and what the computer simulated. "It looks like we might have found a new home for ourselves. Of course, we're still scanning the place and Science is going over the data. Maybe Commander Brown will send an Away Team out some time. He hasn't said anything about that, yet, but I imagine it to be a possibility and give Medical a chance to stretch your legs a bit, too. We found a moon with an atmosphere which looks suitable for Aegis to go in orbit around." He wondered if the doc would think this to be good or bad news. He certainly liked knowing where they were going to settle, and that there actually was a suitable place. She kept pace with the program without thinking about it, her respiration increasing but not enough to preclude a little conversation. "A moon with an atmosphere? Is there anyone already living on it or hasn't there been time to find out?" Porter was talking about an Away Team--if that was the case maybe the Prime Directive wasn't a factor. He shook his head. "No, the moon's uninhabited, but we found a class M planet on the other side of the system with a pre-warp society. Naturally, the Commander decided to be careful, but I think he wants to find out whether the Breen made contact. I'm not 100% sure about what's going on with that, though. But things should get a bit clearer in the next few days." "Pre-warp but post-industrial, I take it?" If the Breen had already made contact then maybe they would be able to do so, also. If the Breen had treated the denizens of the planet the way they treated those stowaways...they might have real need of their help. Porter shrugged. "I dunno, an ion cloud's made scans somewhat difficult. But I'm sure we'll find out soon." He wondered what awaited them in this system. Not much seemed to be happening here at first glance, but they were close to Breen territory. With the Breen gone he was sure they'd all get their fair share of 'action and adventure'. It was not going to be a quiet job that much he was sure of. "I hope we do get to go take a look see before too much time goes by. I appreciate you telling me, Mr. Porter." Isabeau smiled as she spoke and her imagination took off. She loved the idea of being the first Federation ship to visit the area. He looked up from the computer display and over to the doc. "It's just Porter, by the way. Everybody calls me that." She was starting to really feel the workout in her legs and she nodded a little breathlessly. "Ok, Porter it is and I'm Isabeau, Beau for short." She slanted him a grin, adding, "That's pretty easy to remember." She was damn sure he could not remember her last name. He grinned back. "Beau as in beautiful, easy to remember indeed." She took a swallow from her water bottle and raised an eyebrow, catching herself as she almost tripped over her own feet. "Careful there, Porter--your charm is showing." Porter just laughed as he stepped up the pace a little to get a bit more serious about his workout. She set the bottle back in its holder and settled in for the most grueling part of the run. Conversation wasn't easy but she was curious and when she was curious...very little precluded her quest for more information, even respiratory failure. "You said there's an ion cloud? Is it stationary--a normal part of the scenery or is it on its way to dissipating, left over from a previous event?" The sweating was now getting worse, but Porter enjoyed every second of his run, he would just have to make time for this more frequently. "I have no idea, as I said, Science is still working on the sensor logs trying to find out. There's a lot of data to go over. It's nothing threatening, just messes with the sensors if they don't have enough power. Nothing a good Operations Officer," he winked, " couldn't handle." "Piece of cake, eh?" Smiling, Isabeau shook her head at the wink and felt the treadmill shift into cool down mode. "Porter, I think this is where I get off." She slapped the stop button, hopping off so she wouldn't get tossed. "Thanks for the update-I appreciate hearing what's going on." She grabbed the water bottle and towel, wiping down her face and arms. "Anytime Beau, I'll see you around, just hopefully not in that sickbay of yours again." With that his gaze returned to the computer display. "Well, like I said, Porter," she threw over her shoulder teasingly, starting for the locker room, "if you do come to Medical--make it worth some time and effort."

Nick was sitting at a table in the main lounge, contemplating the drink standing in front of him, oblivious to his surroundings. He had agreed to meet Isabeau that evening. She seemed to think he needed to get out of sickbay every now and then and she was probably right. Now he was waiting for his friend, wondering how to break the big news to her. Entering the lounge, she paused and glanced around looking for Nick. Most of the tables were taken and she finally spotted him sitting at one by a window, his back to the room. She skipped the bar and went to one of the replicators and ordered an orange juice. She walked to his table and took the seat across from him, greeting him with a smile. "Good evening, Dr. Lepage. How's my favorite CMO tonight? Did you have a good day?" He'd been off shift since yesterday. Nick was a little startled as Isabeau sat down. He had been lost in his thoughts. "Hey, good to see you. I had a great day. I got up late this morning, went jogging and this afternoon I actually got to read a book. And now I am here with you and looking forward to spending a nice evening with you." "Sounds like a very nice day, mon cher-I'm glad you did something besides work and worry about the Portas system." She leaned back in her seat and looked past him, unconsciously noting who was here and whom they were with. "Nothing to report from today's Alpha shift; everything's quiet-everyone's healthy." She looked back to him and smiled a little ruefully. "You're going to remind me of this at some future time but it's just too quiet." "I'll blame you if the ship breaks apart tomorrow. Besides, quiet isn't too bad. Maybe that way you'll be able to hang on to that new pip of yours," he said teasingly. He knew Isabeau deserved her promotion but it wasn't the first time she'd made this rank. In fact, she'd already been a Lieutenant at one point. She swallowed her juice before she choked on it, the dirty look she threw him echoing her thought that it would serve him right if he'd gotten sprayed with it. "Very amusing, Nicolas. Somewhere, the stage at a comedy club is empty right now because you're here." Setting her glass down, her glare at him faded to bemusement and she shrugged. "I'll try not to get too attached to it--easy come, easy go." Like Hell. "You must get so tired waiting for the other shoe to drop--you really do seem to think I'm always on the verge of a disaster." It was difficult for Nick not to burst out laughing at Isabeau's expression. "Well, I remember you saying something about an old legend. I'm not sure what to think about that. I know how you enjoy going off on your adventures. And remember what I told you, I am your friend but I am also your boss and I won't treat you any differently than all the others in my department." He hadn't meant to sound so harsh, especially since he knew Isabeau didn't expect any special treatment from him. However, he felt he should remind her nevertheless. She was now wishing she'd gotten something a little stronger than orange juice. She listened to him with a mixture of frustration and amusement, and decided there was no point in letting him get her riled up. "All I said, was that there's an old legend, story, whatever you want to call it and the particulars place the events within this area of space. From that simple statement you have managed to extrapolate a scenario that has me abandoning my post, probably while in the middle of surgery, to go on what you no doubt feel would be a wild goose chase," she finished dryly. "Actually I had extrapolated a scenario that had you hijacking a runabout but that hardly matters." Now Nick was grinning widely again. He was only teasing his friend. Though Isabeau got easily excited over old legends and stories, she was very reliable. So he wasn't really worried there would be any problems. "I'm not certified to pilot a runabout." She knew he was only teasing and had a hard time keeping a straight face. "Oh, but not being certified to pilot a shuttle didn't keep you from flying one last time," he remarked dryly. She couldn't argue with that and wisely decided to move on. "Water under the bridge, mon ami. The past doesn't concern me--only the future." Her smile and the sparkle in her eyes showed there were no hard feelings--he knew her a little too well. "Talking about the future," Nick said with his grin firmly back in place. "DJ and I had a talk a few days ago." His expression told the story and she smiled expectantly in response to the happiness she saw there. "And?" "I think I didn't make a fool out of myself," he said, not really answering her question. "I've never known you to make a fool of yourself, Nicolas," she answered quietly. Isabeau remembered the conversation she and DJ had shared the first time the crew had taken the Mercury out. Their conversation had been about Nick and it was during it that Isabeau had become convinced that DJ was in love with him. She'd known how Nick felt about DJ for years. She watched him, waiting for him to go on--he was happy so this talk with Dr. McKinny must have been what he'd hoped for-and what she hoped for him too, for him and DJ. Nick smiled as he thought back to that evening after he'd been hiking with Isabeau. The talk with DJ had seemed to go wrong at first, not so much because their plans for the future were very different but more because he had misunderstood her at first. "Well, we both want to be together so I'm going to propose to her as soon as...you know, I need a ring and I want to talk to her parents first." He paused and frowned. "Do you think that's too...dunno, old-fashioned?" "No, I don't think that's too old fashioned, I think it sounds just right," she assured him. She thought it sounded exactly like Nick. He was a traditionalist in many ways. "So you haven't proposed yet, but I take it you're pretty sure she's not going to turn you down?" Now it was her turn to tease him just a little bit. Isabeau's question took Nick by surprise a little. "I...euh...no, she's not going to turn me down...I think. We love each other and I really want to do this, Isabeau. I've always been scared about the thought of getting married but with DJ it's different. I'm convinced it's the right thing." She realized he was so preoccupied he didn't know she was teasing. "I was just kidding, Nicolas-of course she's not going to turn you down." Nick looked up and studied Isabeau carefully. "I'm sorry, of course you were teasing. It's just... I guess I'm nervous about all this, you know." He was nervous she realized. "I can see that but what is making you so nervous?" It seemed to her that the hardest part for Nick might have already come before. He'd been in love with DJ for years not knowing that anything would ever or could ever come of it. "What do you mean 'what's making me so nervous?' I haven't met her family yet and you know how it is, I want to make a good impression. And then there will come the time when DJ will meet Mamie...oh, boy, I feel sick only thinking about it." He took a sip of his drink, trying not to imagine what his grandmother would say to DJ when they met. "Mon Dieu, Nicolas, your grandmother is going to be over the moon with joy! She's been trying to get you married for years so that you can start producing more Lepages. She's going to fall in love with DJ on sight, as will your whole family!" Isabeau sat back and contemplated him fondly. "They just want you to be happy and you know something else? That's what DJ's family wants for her. You'll make a great impression because you're a great guy." Nick smiled gratefully. "Thanks Isabeau. It's just, I'm worried they won't be very...thrilled to see I'm in Starfleet, you know." He knew Isabeau would understand what he was referring to. "Well, yes. There's that." She knew that DJ's first husband had been a Starfleet officer and had been killed in action. "But Nick, DJ's also a Starfleet officer--her family knows she faces the same risks her husband did and I'm sure they're as proud of her as your family is of you." "Oh, well, you know my dad wasn't very happy about it. He'd always counted on me taking over his place at Levesque Memorial Hospital as a psychiatrist. But I think he was just worried. Anyway, I just want this to work out. I want my family to like and accept DJ and I want her family to accept me. So, yeah, that's why I'm nervous." "Your father has twelve other children and surely one of them can step into his shoes-and though I’m sure he's worried, I'm also quite sure he respects your decision and is proud of the path you chose. And there's no reason for your family not to love DJ and as for DJ's family--only time will tell but why don't you let DJ worry about her family? The important thing is that you and DJ love each other. Everything else will follow from that." Isabeau decided it wasn't worth mentioning that since neither he nor DJ even saw all that much of their families, and though she couldn't fathom it, if the families didn't approve, did it really matter? Nick finished his drink and put down the glass. "You're right, thanks." After a few seconds of silence during which he contemplated his empty glass he looked back up at Isabeau and frowned. "Now where do I get a ring?" She met his look feeling a little nonplussed. "That's a very good question, Nicolas. All of the civilian shopkeepers packed up and fled when we pulled up stakes." "Yeah, I thought about that. Well, I'm sure something will come up." Actually Nick hoped something would come up more or less quickly. He was a patient guy but DJ's conditions gave him a good reason to hurry a little more than he usually would have. "It will. I'm sure people get engaged in the Portas system-hopefully it still involves beautiful jewelry." Isabeau turned in her seat and looked out through the window behind the table. "Who knows what we'll find?"

Medical had been very quiet the past few days and Isabeau was looking forward to when they would be back aboard Aegis. Part of the reason she'd been excited about accepting a posting to Aegis was that it offered the opportunity to treat civilian patients. The Mercury was a beautiful ship but time on duty tended to drag a bit. She was hoping they would receive an updated report on the Breen stowaways in the next few days. She thought about them often-especially young Kevin and his mother. She knew that DJ had taken a special interest because she’d treated them and the young boy had stolen her heart. Porter's good mood had evaporated quickly after lunch with CPO Wills. He shouldn't have gone to the gym right after lunch, even though he had only had a light snack. His current discomfort wasn't exactly due to lunch, but he had not had his mind on what he was doing. After a light workout he had decided to do some laps, and that's when it had happened. He hoped it was just a sprained ankle or a torn ligament and nothing worse. Something the docs could fix right away. Finally he approached the doors of sickbay and slowly limped inside. Hearing the doors open, Isabeau looked up from her workstation, where she'd been doing her best to find everything she could on the Portas system. There wasn't a whole heck of a lot but she had found something interesting. She was surprised to see Damian Porter limping in. She rose from the console and went to meet him. "Hello, Mr. Porter. What happened?" He had to restrain himself from saying something he'd later regret. It wasn't Dr Delacour's fault that he had not paid attention. "I did some laps and I sprained my ankle or something." Yes, cheerful as always. She'd only talked with Porter a couple of times and each time he'd appeared to be in an impatient mood. Still, he did an excellent job and a great Ops manager was probably worth his weight in latinum. Isabeau resisted the urge, with some difficulty, to make sympathetic clucking sounds because she knew it would annoy him. That's why it was so difficult to resist. "I wish you hadn't walked all the way here, Mr. Porter. You probably have aggravated it even more. We could have come and fetched you," Isabeau added cheerfully. "Please sit down on this bed and I'll take a look." She patted the closest biobed. Porter raised his left eyebrow as he imagined some meds ‘coming to get him'. Definitely not an option. "No need to make a fuss, doc, it's nothing, It just hurts and I don't want to be limping all over the place." The pain didn't bother him all that much, but the thought of everybody asking what had happened did. He just hoped the Doctor would hurry up, he had to be back on the bridge in 30 minutes and he still wanted to take a shower. "I'll try to restrain myself, Mr. Porter." Isabeau smiled pleasantly, adding "I was merely pointing out that you may have made it much worse by stressing the initial injury. On the bed if you would and I'll see what's going on with it." He climbed on the nearest biobed and took his shoe and sock off. God, he was glad he wasn't a doc, having to be nice all the time and listening to all the people whining. He'd probably make way too much use of sedatives. "So, how's the move going for you guys? You got everything you need down here?" He thought he should at least make an attempt at some small talk. A tap to the work screen brought up his medical file and she prepared it for another entry. "I guess we do. This a very nice facility." She picked up a medcorder and set the parameters. "Things have got to have calmed down for you. Must be nice for you to get a chance to catch your breath before everything has to be moved back to Aegis." She gave him a wry smile and then scanned his obviously swollen right ankle. She had to remind him. "Honestly, I can't wait to get back out of this can and back on the station. Just sitting here and waiting is annoying, and gets me in trouble, apparently." Yep, Type A personality. She really was looking forward to treating some civilians. "Well, all you've done is twisted your ankle, Mr. Porter. You're not in trouble." Other than being a prime candidate for an ulcer, she thought to herself. Isabeau dropped the medcorder to the side and went to get a hypo and a muscle regenerator. "I can get you fixed up and on your way." Thank god, he hated to waste his time with stuff like this. "Thanks Dr Dumas, I appreciate it," he said in a tone that didn't sound like he did. The truth was that he was annoyed with himself, he didn't mind Dr Deneuve, and she was decent enough. "Dumas wrote The Three Musketeers, Mr. Porter. My name is actually, Delevan," she responded mildly as she walked back to him and injected his neck, which he angled for her. Delevan, right, at least he got the D right. "Sorry, doc, I'm horrible with names." Actually he wasn't, he just usually didn't care enough about other people to remember their names. "I shall try to remember it this time." "I don't want to add to your no doubt already immense burden," she replied dryly. "What I would appreciate is your giving this ankle of yours a little respect for the next day or so." She activated the deep muscle regenerator on a light setting and ran it over his ankle. "I'm taking down the swelling and repairing the muscle now, but there will be a weakness present for the next 24 to 36 hours and it needs to be allowed that time to heal completely." "Don't worry, I will sit most of the time during my shift anyway, which starts in 20 minutes, by the way. And after those 8 to 10 hours I plan on getting plenty of sleep." He was certainly not going to do anything different than he usually did, but he didn't feel like getting into this with the Doctor. As usual, I am talking to myself, she thought and mentally shrugged. She'd already learned, as every other doctor in Starfleet learned--repairing the physical malady was usually the easy part. Behavioral modification--not so much. She set the muscle regenerator to the side and stepped back, looking at Porter thoughtfully. "You're all done, and you only need to come back if it starts to throb. I'm going to give you a couple of tablets to take in 6 hours. The analgesic I gave you in the hypo will be wearing off by then. Any questions?" Porter shook his head as he got up from the bed. He figured that hopping off would not be a good idea. "Thanks doc, no questions, tablet pills in 6 hours, be careful in the next 36. I'll see you around, hopefully not in here anytime soon." She took the tablets from the dispensary and handed them to him in an envelope. "Yes, to all of that." She doubted he'd do any of it. "And hopefully not in here anytime soon, Mr. Porter. Take it easy." Might as well spit into the wind, she told herself and not without some amusement. "Take care of yourself--enjoy the downtime." "See you doc." With that he turned and walked out of sickbay, it felt decidedly good to do that without a limp.

Nick was sitting in his office on the Mercury, reading a PADD, feet up on his desk. He was enjoying a moment of peace and quiet now that the move of sickbay was finished. Isabeau finished checking and rechecking the medical file transference from Aegis to the Mercury and rose from the console to let Nick know. Approaching his office, she saw that he was just sitting there with his feet up. "You look swamped, Nicolas, should I come back later?" She smiled, knowing he hadn't had a minute's peace for the last week. He smiled in response and waved her in. "It's all right, you know I always have time for you, Isabeau...well almost always," he added with a grin, sitting up straight and taking his feet off the desk. "What can I do for my favorite doctor?" Raising her eyebrows in mock surprise, Isabeau walked into his office and stopped at the front of his desk. "Favorite doctor, eh? You are in a good mood, mon ami. Very nice to see," she responded and found herself distracted by an open carton on his desk. "What's all this?" Peering in, she could see that it was full of the personal things he'd kept in his office on Aegis. She recognized most of it but one item caught her eye, and she looked from the box to Nick. "You kept it..." Nick gave her a questioning look. "Kept what?" he asked as he leaned forward to peer into the box. Smiling with delight, Isabeau reached in and carefully pulled a small, carved figure from the box. Only six inches high, the green stone reflected the overhead light dully and appeared to be the form of some reptile. She ran her thumb affectionately over the totem, murmuring half to herself. "I'd almost forgotten about Najera." Grinning, Nick looked at the small figure and nodded. "Yeah, I just had to keep a souvenir of the second time you almost got the two of us killed." His tone was teasing and his broad grin showed he was not quite serious but he knew how Isabeau would take it. "Najera...oh the memories." "I almost got us killed? Second time?" Isabeau was genuinely puzzled. "What are you talking about? Najera was beautiful!" She looked at him with mock irritation. "You never did thank me for letting you come on vacation with me." Nick laughed out loud. "Well, remember when we met...that huge Bolian with his huge disruptor? And Najera...well, I remember the cliffs where we almost fell down like a couple hundred feet. Oh, and that snakebite I had. I thought I was going to lose my hand." "Mon Dieu, Nicolas! Not that tired old 'I saved you from Big Bad Bolian Blue blah, blah, blah, blah, blah'. You'd think you'd get tired of hauling that out...and those cliffs? Thirty-forty feet, tops and you were roped in." Isabeau thought for a second, remembering back. "I did tell you not to move so quickly... You scared that snake." *** Eight years ago on Najera... Nick was standing on the bank of a river and looked at it, somewhat desperate. After tramping through the jungle for hours and almost being eaten alive by mosquitoes, he was tired and drenched in sweat. He sat down and carefully placed his machete next to him in case there was another vicious snake trying to bite off his hand. "So, what now?" Hands on hips, Isabeau casually waved away what looked like some kind of stinging insect. The river was only about twenty feet across and moving very slowly. She glanced down at Nick who looked very hot. She was enjoying the heat and humidity. "Feel like going for a swim? The current looks almost non-existent." Nick looked up at Isabeau. The idea of going into the water kinda appealed to him. He couldn't remember ever being this hot before. However, he was still a little skeptical and looked around. "Are you sure there aren't any...crocodiles or alligators or whatever there is on this planet that would enjoy sneaking up on us when we're in the water and tear us apart?" "No, of course I'm not sure. How could I be sure?" She gave the murky brown water a thoughtful look and then glanced down the riverbank, tapping him on the shoulder excitedly. "Look, a couple of trees have fallen. We can get across on those." He turned his head to look in the direction Isabeau indicated. Secretly he was relieved they didn't have to swim. Getting up took a deep breath and shook his head. "You know, I could be with my family, playing with Jacques, Sébastien, Marie, Julie and Céline. And instead I'm out here, hoping those giant mosquitoes will leave at least some blood in my veins and chasing after some treasure you've heard of." Completely surprised, Isabeau looked back over her shoulder, and stopped. She turned around to face him. "You mean you'd rather be visiting family than looking for the fabled treasure of Najera?" Her tone was completely disbelieving. Again, she waved an insect away, diverted by his comment on mosquitoes. "Are you being bitten? I don't think I've gotten a single bite." She slid her pack from her back and rummaged in it, pulling out a small spray. "Try this. I haven't felt the need for it, but it might keep the bugs off you." She held it out to him. "I can't believe you're not having fun. Why did you ask to come with me?" Nick took the spray from Isabeau with an incredulous look on his face. "Why didn't you tell me you had this before? I am scratching myself half to death! And, what do you mean I'm not having fun? Look at me! I'm out of my mind with joy! My hand feels like it's going to fall off," he raised it to emphasize his point. "I have blisters on my feet, and I feel like I'm being roasted alive! Of course I'm having fun! And just so you know, I only came with you because I feared you might get yourself killed!" "I told you not to move so quickly around the snake!" Isabeau exclaimed. "I'm the one who had to suck the venom out and do you hear me complaining? No! Of course, you don't, because I realize that when you travel you have to expect that there will be unusual discomforts and compromises to be made." Frowning, Isabeau looked Nick up and down from head to toe. He did look miserable. Had he really come along just because he thought she would be at risk? She lifted her chin and met his irritated gaze. "Why would you think I would be in danger of killing myself? I grew up in conditions very similar to these. What made you think it would be dangerous, anyway?" For a few seconds Nick didn't know what to say. He didn't know whether to be irritated or amused but he decided to go with irritated. He felt giddy from the heat and he had a hunch the snakebite might have something to do with it, too. "You know the first clue that this trip might get you in trouble was the fact that we had to lie to get here. I'm a medical student, same as you are, not an assistant botanist for crying out loud!" He started spraying the bug repellent all over him. "And why the heck is it only me that gets bitten by these damn mosquitoes? Oh, and by the way? Discomforts and compromises, I can deal with but dying is definitely way beyond discomforts and compromises. You do realize that it's somewhat final, don't you?" "Dying? You aren't anywhere near to dying--yet!" Her tone made it clear it might only be a matter of time before that happened and it wouldn't be because of snakebite, either. "And it wasn't a lie! Well, not exactly a lie, anyway," Isabeau qualified. "Najera is a Federation protectorate because of the flora and fauna and only qualified professionals and graduate students can get permission to come for field study." She threw him a jaundiced glance. "May I remind you that I am pursuing a graduate degree in Botany? And you could be of some assistance if I weren't having to constantly step in and save your life." "You step in and save MY life? That's preposterous! You just said I wasn't dying...yet. And yes, Isabeau Delevan, it was a lie. I am neither qualified professional nor a graduate student, Heck, I don't know anything about plants other than that they are green! Besides, do I really have to point out that we're not here for the wonderful flora but some sort of...of...fabled treasure you're after?" "Well we don't know if that snake was poisonous, do we Nicolas Lepage? No, we don't, so I risked my own life to save yours when I sucked the 'venom' out. And it tasted horrible! Not that it matters to me, I would do it again," Isabeau added virtuously. "And so what if you're not a botanist? You’re still a medical student and that's sort of in the same realm and I don't know if you've been too self-absorbed with your personal discomfort to notice but I have been taking samples!" She smacked the side of the sample case, which hung from her shoulder for emphasis as she glared at him. "And so what If I wasn't completely 100% honest in getting us here? We're here and that's what matters! Najera hasn't been inhabited for millennia. The treasure doesn't belong to anyone, anymore." Isabeau smiled, her irritation falling away. He really hadn't been enjoying himself and it was his vacation, too. Her tone softened, changing from abrupt to cajoling. "Nicolas, think of it... Something lost for ages and then rediscovered...by us! You can't tell me that doesn't appeal to you?" Nick rolled his eyes and threw up his hands in a gesture of defeat. "You know what appeals to me? The idea of getting out of this green hell and back into the civilized world. So let's get this over with and make sure it's not us who'll be lost for ages and rediscovered by someone else after millennia." With that he picked up his machete and made his way down the river towards the fallen tree trunks Isabeau had pointed out earlier. *** A few days later... Nick was trudging along behind Isabeau. He had long since given up counting his mosquito bites and his arms and face were scratched in several places. He also had a deep cut on his thumb from tripping and accidentally cutting himself with the machete when they’d been caught in a torrential downpour, the likes of which he’d never seen before and hoped to never see again. They'd been drenched by early morning rain, which Isabeau had found refreshing. It had come down so hard and so furiously that she'd felt like she was taking a shower. She was only just now starting to dry out a little. They were still in deep jungle but yesterday they'd entered an area with natural rock formations. Just like the map said they would. She was sure they were very close, and said so aloud, over her shoulder to Nick. Nick gave a grunt to indicate he'd heard her. He was trying to keep up as they were clambering over the rocks and at the moment he didn't care for anything anymore. Looking around he scratched his beard and tried to find any indication people had lived here thousands of years ago. Nick's grunt was not the enthusiastic response she was hoping for but she generously overlooked it. You certainly learned a lot about people when you traveled with them, she thought to herself. Clearly, Nicolas preferred the hotel and guided tour way of doing things. She congratulated herself that perhaps this trip was broadening his horizons. Some day he would thank her, she was sure of it. She stopped suddenly. "Look!" She turned excitedly to Nick and yanked on his hand, forgetting until she saw him wince that he'd gotten a nasty cut on his thumb earlier. He seemed to blame her for that, too. Odd. "Oh, sorry, Nicolas, I forgot you cut yourself.” She smiled apologetically but then grinned as she pointed to something up ahead. “Doesn't that look like some kind of lizard?" She indicated a natural rock formation which to her looked very much like an angry crocodile with a foreshortened snout. "It's a rock, Isabeau," he said somewhat resignedly. However, he got a PADD with a map of the region out of his bag. While he studied it, he added calmly, "And yes, I did almost chop off my thumb this morning. Let's see...according to this map this might be the place. Didn't your legend say something about a lizard being the signpost to the entrance or whatever?" "Yes, it marks the gateway!" Isabeau was ecstatic and forged ahead. "Nicolas, I want to always remember this moment!" *** Eight years later...on the USS Mercury... "Well, Isabeau I know I have never forgotten it," Nick said with a chuckle as he remembered their first and last adventure in the jungle. She set the green stone figure on his desk, remembering that her own souvenir was packed away and at her brother Andy's home for safekeeping. "Admit it, Najera was fantastic." "Yes, it was fantastically green and mosquito infested," he agreed. "And may I remind you that we never actually found anything." He still had the ability to surprise her. "How can you say that? We found the series of caves and we could clearly see the empty niches which once held something wonderful, I just know it." She nodded to the little reptilian figure on his desk. "We found those." "Yes, we found those. But why do you always believe there's some kind of a treasure? I mean, honestly, Isabeau, you're obsessed with this." "Because Nicolas, there always is some kind of treasure," she responded quietly. "Even though we weren't the first to get there, doesn't make it any less amazing that we did so." She smiled, adding, "You know for me it really is the journey. It's not always about the destination."

Down on Cardassia only two days and she could see that a lot had happened in the station during that time as the final preparations for the move neared completion. Nowhere was this more obvious to her than in Sickbay; everything that could be taken apart and moved had been. Isabeau was off duty but other than packing a few personal belongings for the move to the Mercury, she had nothing else to do, so she decided to give Nick her report in person. Walking to his office, she saw his chair turned away from the door, and rather than scare him half to death as she was wont to do on other occasions, just gently rapped the door frame with her knuckles. "Hey, there, Chief." Nick sighed. He recognized the voice and usually he enjoyed Isabeau's company but right now was not a good time. He had hoped to go and eat something soon. He smiled nonetheless and looked around with an expression of mock surprise on his face. "What's this, no Cardassian security guards?" That earned him a dirty look. "Of course not, Nicolas. They turned me over to station security as soon as the shuttle docked and I managed to give our own guys the slip a couple of decks up." She folded her arms across her chest and just shook her head at him, unable to keep a smile from breaking out and spoiling her severe expression. "Honestly, you have the poorest opinion of my ability to keep on the straight and narrow." "Quite to the contrary, Isabeau, I have the highest opinion of your ability to get yourself into impossible situations." With this Nick got up and walked toward the door. "I'm looking forward to your report but I'm also incredibly hungry. So either it'll have to wait or we talk while we get us some lunch. What do you say?" Isabeau turned and followed him out of his office. "You know me, I can always eat and by the way, I don't think there's any such thing as an 'impossible' situation. A possibility always presents itself, except that sometimes it asks a higher price than we might like to pay." She thought of a couple of bills that had come due in the past, which had seemed very steep at the time. "Where do you want to eat?" Nick walked out into sickbay, turned around and looked her up and down. She was wearing a pair of old, faded jeans and a DuFresne University sweatshirt with a few small holes in it. He shrugged. "Looks like it'll be the Replimat. But I don't care as long as they have food." She caught the inference that she looked less than her best and mimed stabbing herself in the heart, accompanied by a dramatic gasp. “A palpable hit, Monsieur!” She followed him into Main sickbay. “Need I remind you that I’m off duty? And I'll tell you this, in spite of the air filtration and ventilation systems, this station is a lot dirtier since everything's been turned upside down." She continued following him, this time into the corridor. "You definitely need food. You get so crabby when you haven't eaten," she teased him. "You're lucky I'm not easily offended." Nick grinned and tried to give Isabeau an innocent look. "I get crabby when I haven't slept and haven't eaten." As they arrived at the turbolift, Nick entered, waited for Isabeau to follow him and ordered it to the Replimat. "So, wanna tell me about Cardassia?" She stepped into the turbolift. "Ok, I'll cut you some slack because being a department head during this busy time has to bite." Isabeau leaned back against the lift wall, a satisfied smile on her face. "Hmm...Cardassia. Where to start? I covered a lot if ground in two days." "Hmmm...how about you start at the beginning? How was the situation in the hospitals?" Nick had been looking forward to hearing the reports. It was important for them to know whether Cardassia would still need some support and if so to what extent. Of course, he also needed the information for his report to Captain Quark and Starfleet Medical. The lift doors opened and Isabeau walked out with Nick. "Well, to start with, I had a wonderful visit with my friend, Gilani Narak, you remember...the botanist? I'm so glad I got the opportunity, Nick." She gave him a sideways look as they walked to the bank of replicators in the self-serve diner. "I was left with the definite impression by her husband, that the opinion of the Detapa Council is that we can't be gone fast enough." She recalled a few of the comments dropped by Mr. Lakar as they'd traveled together. "Actually, I think that's probably the prevailing opinion." Nick stood in front of one of the replicators and paused a moment to make up his mind about lunch. "A chicken sandwich...no, two chicken sandwiches and a glass of water." He turned to look at Isabeau who was standing beside him and gave her an apologetic look. "I skipped breakfast," he said with a shrug as he took the plate and the glass and stepped aside to let her place her order. "So the Cardassians are actually happy to see us go. What a surprise!" Ignoring his sarcasm, she looked at his two chicken sandwiches and glass of water. "You really know how to live, Nick." Turning to the replicator she ordered a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and tomato and a diet soda along with two chocolate chip cookies. She grabbed a tray and loaded her items and then turned, seeing him looking at it. "Don't worry, one of the cookies is for you." Nick laughed as he made his way to a table. "Hey, I love chicken sandwiches but I'm glad you're letting me have one of your cookies. You know, I don't get to do as much workout anymore. I have to watch what I eat...and drink." After sitting down he contemplated his food for a moment then looked back to Isabeau. "So, how is the situation at the hospitals? Do all patients get the treatment they need?" Setting her tray on the table, she took the seat across from him. "It's actually very good in the three districts I visited. Doctor Jurel is the administrator for Culat's main medical facility and she's been in place since before the fever broke out. She was very helpful and able to supply me with complete inoculation schedules for the surrounding areas. By the way, she was very voluble with her gratitude towards the Aegis Science and Medical team that formulated the antigen. “In fact,” Isabeau added dryly, “She was bitterly disappointed that I had nothing to do with it." She started eating her sandwich, mentally going over her notes to make sure she hit all the important points. She would send him her official report later on today. Nick took a bite of his sandwich as he listened to her. "I'm glad to hear that the medication reaches the people who need it. Did anyone ever mention something about a shortness of supplies?" Isabeau wiped her hands on a napkin and leaned back in her seat. "Dr. Jurel gets her serum supply routed directly from the production facility in Cardassia City and then handles the dispensing to the area surrounding Culat. She never experiences any problem with getting serum but she did mention that it could take a while to requisition new equipment. She's been waiting for a phoretic analyzer for quite some time. She goes through the government's health organization for supplies. I don't know what the delay is about but it sounds like a bureaucratic tie up and nothing to do with the Federation supply side of things." Isabeau shrugged a little ruefully. "I think red tape is the same anywhere you go. Oh, and I did a random sampling of the serum on hand and it was all viable—nothing past code." Nick nodded as he turned his attention to the second sandwich. "So, to sum things up, we're doing our job and things on Cardassia are quite normal. I went over the statistics and it looks like over the last month only 56 people died of the Fever. That's good considering that during the first week after the breakout over five thousand Cardassians died. Talk about progress." "Maybe at some point, the fever will be eradicated. It'll take generations though." Her sandwich finished, Isabeau contemplated the cookies. "You're probably right but I'm glad we could do something to help. I'll make sure Leilani gets the report so she can see the result of her work. I don't know about her but I always find it somewhat satisfying." Nick finished his sandwich and leaned back in his chair. "Anything else I should know about?" "I mentioned Lieutenant Feretti's name specifically to Dr. Jurel. I'd be amazed if she didn't receive some kind of citation from Cardassia itself." Isabeau picked up one cookie and resolutely set the remaining cookie on Nick's plate. She felt very noble and self-sacrificing about it. "I know this has nothing to do with the fever but it is a medical issue, if only indirectly since it deals with nutrition. My friend, Gilani, is working on a stronger strain of grain that would be grown on the planet itself but she told me that currently, almost all grain that Cardassia Prime imports comes through Federation suppliers. I don't know if Aegis' leaving affects dispersal or not. Cardassia Prime really doesn't have any natural resources left--everything comes from off planet." At the mention of plants Nick raised his eyebrows. "I'm sure the Federation will make sure that Cardassia gets enough resources. Hang on...do you want me to suggest in my report that Gilani get some money for her research?" "I wasn't worried that the Federation would cut off resources, but only wondered if Aegis was responsible for disseminating them." Isabeau leaned back, brushing cookie crumbs off the front of her sweatshirt. She glanced back to Nick and her smile was warm with appreciation. "No, I’m pretty sure that she has the complete support and all the resources she needs from the Cardassian government, but how nice of you to suggest it, mon cher." Nick picked up the cookie. "Are you sure you don't want this yourself?" "Of course, I’m sure. It's all yours," she lied smoothly, her smile patently fake. "When are Lilly and Mimi due back?" With a big grin Nick took a bite of the cookie before answering. "Mimi will be visiting the lab just outside of Cardassia City. I expect she and Lilly will be back sometime later today. I can't believe I let you three get off that way while I stayed here to move crates." “Too bad I left the violin in my quarters or else I could play accompaniment to that river you're crying me," Isabeau teased. "Hey, that's not fair! I'm an old man. Seriously, I can't wait for the move to be over and the regular chaos to resume." Finishing the cookie, Nick got up. "I'll have to get back to sickbay. Unlike some, I am on duty." "Old man? I'm a year older than you and you know it!" She stood, and taking his plate, stuck it on top of hers and carried the tray over to the recycler, throwing the whole pile in. She fell into step with him as he turned to the turbolift and gave him a gentle elbow in the side as they walked. "I'm looking forward to getting where we're going, too, you know."

*Special note of thanks to Samantha Kent for playing Gilani & Joret Narak. Thanks, Sam :) Isabeau arrived on Aegis thinking it would only be a matter of time before she had an opportunity to visit Cardassia Prime and finally meet, in person, Doctor Gilani Narak. Gilani, a Cardassian botanist with whom she’d begun corresponding professionally almost two years ago, had become a friend. Preparations on Aegis for the move and then the Breen situation had brought her to the disappointing realization that she might not manage a meeting after all. Nick asked the medical staff for volunteers to go planetside to do final inspections to see what holes, if any, Aegis’ leaving might cause from a medical supply and services standpoint. She’d immediately volunteered and had wasted no time in contacting Gilani to ask if she might be available during the small window of time she'd be in Cardassia City. She was leaving for Culat first thing in the morning and so would have only a few hours in the capital the first evening. Gilani and her husband lived on the outskirts of the capital in a residential district and luckily. she and her husband were free at that time. The shuttle ride down to the capital had been eye opening. From the air it was very obvious what sections of the capital still lay in ruins from the Dominion occupation; a stark contrast to the towering and tiered trapezoidal shapes that dominated the skyline in the rebuilt areas of the city. Isabeau wondered what she would find in Culat. Lillian Belar would be traveling to Lakat, while Mimi would stay in Cardassia City. Isabeau was looking forward to visiting the Narak home and she dressed with care; she wasn't visiting them as a Starfleet officer but as a friend. The heat and humidity cried out for something light and cool and she'd packed a short-sleeved tunic and trousers made of a very fine fabric in a deep shade of garnet. Cardassians seemed to prefer rich but dark shades so she figured it was appropriate. She was so looking forward to meeting Gilani in person, and she was very nervous about it going well. Isabeau left the floor where their rooms for the night were. There were no signs of the three security guards that had accompanied Mimi, Lily and herself to the surface and she assumed they were off entertaining themselves. The Security officers and Mimi had been very clear that it would be smarter to go nowhere alone since they weren’t familiar with the city. There was no problem with moving around the capital so far as she knew and she’d let both Nick and Mimi know she was having dinner with friends. ‘Friends’ plural was probably stretching it. She’d never spoken with Gilani’s husband Joret and she doubted he was overly thrilled to have to pick up his wife’s human friend and have dinner with her. She entered the lobby area and took a seat, not wanting to keep Joret waiting when he arrived. She worried a little uneasily that a Detapa Councilman was probably too busy in general to act as chauffer. Joret Narak had not been thrilled when his wife asked him to travel to the capital that evening; a member of the Federation station forces was not his ideal guest, but Gilani had seemed pleased at the notion of meeting this...Delevan was the name she had said. Human, a doctor and scientist...no wonder Gilani expressed such enthusiasm. It could be worse, he supposed; she was most likely not directly involved in the political shambles he and his fellow councilmen still labored every day to try to rebuild. So it was with a certain resignation that he pulled his hovercar to a stop outside of the government hostel where some of the medical Fleet officers had been placed prior to their work with the fever vaccines. Joret stepped through the sliding doors of the building and looked once around the room, his dark eyes scanning the people of various races moving in and out and finally lighting on the human woman seated as if waiting for someone. He approached her and looked her over once appraisingly before addressing her. "Doctor Delevan?" At the sound of her name, she rose to her feet, looking inquiringly at the tall, dark eyed Cardassian. "Yes, I’m Isabeau Delevan.” She hesitated, although there was really no one else he could be unless someone else had been sent. Her smile tentative, she asked questioningly, “Councilman Narak?" Joret nodded once in acknowledgement that this was indeed his name, and glanced sideways, back towards the door he had come from. "My transport is outside." She was at least respectful. Some of the Starfleet officers had shown a tendency to come swaggering into Cardassian cities as if they owned the place. Isabeau tried to recall the last time she’d felt this burdensome and couldn't but she knew it wasn't personal. Cultural differences not withstanding, many husbands would be less than excited to drive clear across town to pick up a complete stranger after putting in a hard day at the uh...council chamber? "I appreciate your coming to pick me up, Councilman, thank you," Isabeau murmured and moved towards the doors. She saw the hovercar was under the hotel’s overhang with some relief. When she'd packed this outfit, she really hadn't thought that there would be a driving rain-Cardassia was considered somewhat arid in spite of its humidity. If this tunic got wet, it was going to shrink like nobody's business and she could say goodbye to any kind of personal dignity. Joret gave a faint, slightly self-deprecating smile. "You may thank my wife. I am merely her emissary." He popped the rear door of the hovercar open and gestured her inside, then took his own seat at the controls and started the vehicle's small engine. Isabeau stepped into the car and glanced around curiously. Small, but compact and comfortable, she thought as she leaned back. "You can be sure I'll thank her when I see her," Isabeau responded warmly, Joret Narak's smile doing a great deal to make her feel more relaxed. "I'm looking forward to seeing the Torr District lit up for the night." The Naraks lived in the Paldar District so they would actually see a good bit of Cardassia City from the ground before they got there. Joret steered the small vehicle away from the hostel's overhang and began to quickly direct it through the crowded streets of the city. "It's something of a sight," he said with a curt nod, watching the road rather than looking back at her. He had long since gotten past any inclination for sightseeing in this city, but he supposed to an outsider such as Delevan it no doubt held some level of the exotic. "Yes, it is," Isabeau, agreed pleasantly, able to tell from his tone that he didn't think it was anything to write home about. Clearly, the Councilman hadn't signed on to be tour guide as well as chauffer and she was more than willing to let, if not a comfortable, then at least a polite silence fill the space between them. Besides, her knowledge of Cardassian politics was limited, and she assumed he wanted to hear about medical inspections about as much as she felt like talking about them. There was always the weather, but since it never changed from hot, humid and overcast, it would be a very short conversation and she might have to save it in case the dinner table talk went south and she was clutching at the proverbial straw. The drive passed fairly quickly and Joret took the opportunity to examine their visitor in the rear mirror of the hovercar. She was clearly feeling a little awkward, but she had a respectable level of composure and personal restraint which made the excursion much more bearable than it could have been. He let the silence stretch between them for a while before breaking it as they began turning into the smaller residential roads near the Narak home. "Gilani was very pleased to hear you would have the opportunity to visit," he said, glancing at her sidelong. "I understand you share her botanical interests?" She smiled, her eyes lighting up as she met his glance, appreciating being thrown a conversational ball. "Yes, I do; it's how we first became acquainted. Before Gilani started working with crop applications she was part of the team that published the definitive work describing the medical benefits derived from the juice of the Edosian Orchid. I was very excited when I read it because it echoed something similar that I'm involved with and I contacted her and we began to correspond. I don't think that we really expected we would get a chance to meet in person." Isabeau sighed happily and glanced through the rain spattered side windows, seeing the lights in the homes, and thinking how ordinary it all seemed and yet how completely extraordinary it was for her to be here. Joret almost laughed at the expression of pleasure Delevan got when he opened the conversation, and he nodded slightly as she accurately described some of Gilani's work from the last two years with definite enthusiasm. Yes, it was no surprise his wife was excited about this visit. "I know she misses the medical work," he said after a few seconds. "But she has done great work with the crop advances; this is a difficult world for such things." He pulled the car to a stop outside of a small but comfortable looking house buried in one of the side streets of the district. "She's gifted, Councilman," Isabeau responded simply, and pressed the door release, exiting the car. The rain had stopped so she was spared an embarrassing dash to the front door and she stood for a moment, breathing deeply, savoring as she always did the chance to breathe actual atmosphere. The station and ships were all so sterile. It was always good to walk on solid ground and breathe unfiltered air. Well, so long as you weren't being chased or poisoned, she mentally qualified. Isabeau fell into step at Joret's side as he walked to his front door, her eyes tracing the elegant lines of the home and noting the attached greenhouse. She couldn’t wait to see Gilani’s setup and what she kept at home. "She is indeed, Doctor," Joret replied, and his smile grew from polite to honest for a moment. He was very proud of the work his wife had done, although his own scientific knowledge lay somewhere to the left of minimal. Then he let out a tired sigh and climbed the few steps to the front door, unlocking it and pushing his way through into the outer living room. "Gilani!" he called as he proceeded further into the house. There was half a second's pause and then his wife emerged from a room further back in the house. Gilani Narak had been busy preparing for the arrival of their visitor and was certainly much more pleased about it than her husband; she stepped into the room with a smile and immediately focused on Isabeau, moving towards her and extending a hand. "Beau!" she said, then glanced at Joret with a teasing expression. "Oh, and you too. Hello." Looking back at Isabeau she gestured for their visitor to move into the house. "Come in, please." Isabeau stepped forward, her smile wide and warm, left in no doubt about her welcome from this particular Narak. She took Gilani's hand, squeezing it briefly. "Gilani, it's so good to see you!" One of the great pleasures of knowing someone only through subspace transmissions was when you actually got to meet them in person and for Isabeau it felt doubly sweet because she’d never really thought she'd get the chance to meet her Cardassian friend in person, let alone in her living room. Gilani's smile widened and she nodded vigorously several times. "Likewise...I'm glad you were able to find time to stop by. When I heard the Aegis crew was planning to depart I was very disappointed." Her eyes flicked almost imperceptibly towards her husband; she knew his feelings regarding the presence of the Starfleet crews and teams on and around their world and had wondered how he would react to Beau's presence, but he gave her a slight tired head-shake, the silent communication of a long marriage in full force. No, I won't spoil your good time. With a polite look at Isabeau, he nodded at the two of them. "I'll leave you two to talk then. The dinner will be ready soon." Turning, he moved towards the rear of the house. Isabeau returned Joret's nod with a pleasant smile and watched him walk away before turning back to Gilani with a raised eyebrow and a wry grin. "I don't want to know what you had to promise to get him to come pick me up and then have me in for dinner." Gilani smiled cheerfully and quirked an eyebrow to match Isabeau's. "Nothing I wasn't willing to pay. We have enough politicians coming in and out through this house as if we lived in a revolving door, anyway; it was the least he could do." She gestured Beau towards one of the chairs in the living room. "Please, make yourself comfortable. Can I get you something to drink?" Chuckling at Gilani's expression as much as her comment, Isabeau walked into the living room and then turned, giving a slight shrug and a smile that was anticipatory. "I don't know. How about whatever you're going to have? We had lunch at the hotel today and it was nice but a little bland, probably geared to a generic Fed palate if there is such a thing." "Ah, well, here you'll get none of that; only the best Cardassian cuisine comes out of my husband's kitchen," Gilani said, shaking her head in mock-disapproval. "Zabo steak and rulat grain bread..." she paused, then grinned. "Courtesy of the latest updates to my seed genomes. And I think I may have convinced Joret to get out the best kanar, unless you would prefer red leaf tea." She looked pensive for a moment. "I can't recall if you ever told me if you drink." Isabeau started to laugh. "I don't think that ever came up, and I think I'm glad that if it did it's not in a way that strikes you as memorable, but I do enjoy a drink if the occasion warrants it, and this qualifies. If Joret doesn't mind, I'd love to try the kanar. Just one, please, because we're up early tomorrow and I'll be heading to Culat." Gilani smiled and disappeared into the rear rooms, reappearing a few moments later with a bottle of blue liquid and two glasses. "Yes...you never did tell me exactly what it is that brought you down here -- is that classified Starfleet business?" Isabeau turned away from a shelf that held a beautiful glass sculpture of some kind of animal she didn't recognize and some holopics of family and friends. Two of the holos, each one that of an older couple, probably Joret and Gilani's parents. She knew that Gilani's parents had been living in Lakarian City and had perished when it was destroyed. "No, but if it was, it's the worst kept secret ever." Isabeau smiled and sat down. "It's part of Aegis' withdrawal from this sector. I'm down here with other members of the medical staff doing a final evaluation of what might need to be done to continue the smooth production and dispensing of the hemorrhagic fever drug as well as any other supplies that are normally funneled through Aegis." Gilani poured a glass of the kanar and held it out to Isabeau. "I suppose that's worthwhile enough business to forbear spending too much of this on you," she said, nodding slightly, then laughed. "After all the botany talk it's sometimes easy to forget you do other work. No doubt things are quite chaotic for you these days; moving an entire station..." Isabeau took the glass with murmured thanks, thinking the blue liquor was really pretty. She looked back to Gilani. "It's just a final wrap up. My understanding is that there is pretty good infrastructure in place now and all that we really need to do is make sure that any gap left by Aegis' leaving will be covered either by Cardassia or Fed ships in or coming through the area regularly." Isabeau took an experimental sip and smiled a little weakly. "Strong." She only sounded a little hoarse, she thought as she felt the liquor burn down her throat and then the resulting warmth spread outward, adding, "But very good." The stuff was lethal. She took another sip. "I think you may find we're quite capable of taking care of ourselves." Joret had re-entered the room and had caught the tail end of Isabeau's speech and answered her conversationally, his voice not particularly confrontational but the firm tone of a politician with a position to hold, one he had spent countless hours discussing and rediscussing in various forums for years now. Gilani glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow and he shrugged, then looked back at Isabeau and continued, "Your departure is well-timed -- for both parties. It is time Cardassia learned to stand on her own legs. And, no doubt, for Starfleet to expend their resources elsewhere." He gestured in the direction he had come with a host's air and said with a slight smile at his wife, "Dinner is served." Isabeau rose smoothly to her feet glass still in hand and with a faint smile nodded her head to Joret, quietly answering, "It does sound like admirable timing, Councilman.” Isabeau smiled and met Gilani’s eyes. “Dinner being served that is. It smells wonderful and I have to admit that I'm very much looking forward to a traditional Cardassian meal presented with what I've been told is always unmistakable Cardassian style." No way in hell was she going to ask what Joret thought Cardassia would have done if the Breen had actually arrived and Aegis and the Federation Fleet had been off being resourceful somewhere else. Besides the Fleet wasn’t actually leaving—just Aegis was. Gilani sighed, grateful that Beau had not decided to take offense at Joret's bluntness, and nudged her husband in the ribs as she passed him into the dining room. "Behave," she muttered. "You're not in the council now, and she is not a politician." Without waiting for an answer, she moved on into the dining room, where the evening's meal was already spread out stylistically on the small table. For all his lack of enthusiasm about their guest, Joret had definitely done his part as host. She looked over at Beau as they sat down. "Well, I don't know what stories you've been told but I hope we manage to live up to them." Joret settled himself quietly at the head of the table and began serving the food, which was still steaming fresh from its preparation -- dark zabo steak with yamok sauce, the rulot bread loaf sliced at the center of the table, and a tossed salad constructed of various vegetables both native and imported which Gilani had been testing in the difficult Cardassian climate. All in all not a bad spread for Isabeau's introduction to Cardassian culture, Gilani thought with some satisfaction. She just had to keep the conversation off politics Isabeau followed Gilani and Joret into the dining room and looked from the table and its contents to her hosts. "I heard that if I was lucky enough to experience a Cardassian meal then I was in for a wonderful treat and from what I can see and smell, they were right." She took the seat indicated by Gilani and set her glass of kanar to the right of her plate. She twisted slightly in her seat so that she was facing Joret. "Gilani has told me that when you were younger, you studied architecture. Have you found that to be useful as the rebuilding continues?" That had to be safer than politics. *** Isabeau looked around Gilani's greenhouse with something approaching real envy. She was used to working in a lab and no one appreciated more than she did the convenience of using the finest equipment available in a totally controllable environment but this...this was something else again. if she ever settled on terra firma...she would have one. Dinner had been wonderful. New and exotic tastes and good conversation. They hadn't drifted back to politics and even if they had, she wouldn't have cared. She wasn't political. This evening was satisfying on so many levels that she took it for what it was--a gift. She was watching as Gilani packed orchid seeds for her. She grew them here and they were amazingly, strikingly beautiful. Of course, if mishandled they were also poisonous. She had no idea if she would be able to grow one--the Edosian was very particular. “Gilani, You haven't mentioned how the new rulot strain is progressing. You haven't had a setback have you?" Gilani didn't look up from the seeds she was carefully enclosing in a small airtight container; they were somewhat fragile and she didn't want to provide her friend with defective merchandise. "Ah, you know this kind of work, Beau...it's all setbacks," she said with some amusement. "Sometimes it seems like the plants are deliberately getting my hopes up just to dash them. I think I told you last month about how the last strain decided after an entire season of health to suddenly contract...I still haven't found a name for it but I've never seen a plant shrivel that fast." She shook her head and laughed. "It's a fungal agent in the soil that causes me no end of trouble. But I think I've found a strain resistant to it and I'm working on a stronger hybrid -- I can send you some of the data if you'd like to have a look." "You know I would." Isabeau walked to the end of the greenhouse. It was time to get going but she was loath to leave. She looked into the glass panes and because it was so dark outside, could only see the view from behind her reflected back. Gilani at a workbench and then the interior to the house...home. She turned and walked towards Gilani, her smile and tone teasing, "Think Joret's ready to take me back?" Gilani chuckled. "If you're sure you can't be convinced to stay another day or so. I'm sure we could find space for you." There were few enough botanists -- and certainly few enough Federation ones -- with whom she got to interact and converse on any sort of personal level and she was really enjoying the opportunity for face-to-face discussion. She looked slightly hopeful as she glanced up and proffered the box of seeds at Beau, but she doubted she would make much impression. From what she knew of the other woman's "real" mission on Cardassia, it was not one that could really be allowed to wait. She took the seeds, thinking that as souvenirs went you couldn't get much better, while she met Gilani's hopeful expression with one of true regret. "You don't know how much I wish I could stay, and thank you for asking me. I'm sure Joret would be thrilled if I did, but as it is, I was lucky that I didn't have to leave directly for Culat upon arrival.” Isabeau's smile was slightly lopsided. “Besides, you never know, I might be back this way again. That's a wonderful thing about Starfleet; you’re always in motion—even, as it turns out, if you are posted to a station." Gilani sighed. "Please don't be offended by Joret; he hasn't had time to get to know you, and he's...very opinionated. I assure you he has nothing against you personally. Things are merely...complicated here." She smiled faintly, but brightened at the suggestion that Beau might return. "I hope that's the case, and in the meantime there's always subspace. It would be nice to have you around when the crops are high, perhaps; a good walk in a Cardassian field with a tricorder in one hand and a sample box in the other...there's nothing like it." She winked conspiratorially at Beau, knowing that her friend understood the kind of appeal that their kind of research had. "I was teasing about Joret. He's been very nice and I'm glad I had the chance to meet him, but as for being back by next harvest, I think that might be stretching it. I'll have to bask in your success as reflected by subspace." Isabeau smiled at the box of orchid seeds in her hand and then met Gilani's eyes. "I don't know where we're headed but if I find anything interesting, and you know I'm going to find something interesting, I'll send it to you." Isabeau paused for a moment, her smile sliding into a smirk, as she added, "After, I ascertain it won't cause some horrible blight and undo all your good work, of course." Gilani laughed. "I expect to hear all about it in glorious detail -- you've never failed me yet." She patted her friend lightly on the shoulder. "And do take care of yourself. Wherever you're going, I have no doubt you'll see your share of excitement." Isabeau’s eyes gleamed as she followed Gilani from the greenhouse back into the living area, murmuring, almost to herself. “Aegis hasn’t disappointed me yet.”