Mreh K'hal

The sheer scope of the Federation, not to mention its principles to lend a helping hand so long as the Prime Directive isn't being infringed, meant that there was usually a medical emergency somewhere. Today was no different. The Hippocrates was zooming its way at warp 9 to the homeworld of the Renoteth to assist with an outbreak of a troubling virus that was eating its way through that species' youth. With the ship's figurative lights and sirens on, they were breaking the warp speed limit under the emergency clause of the law designed to keep subspace from breaking through into normal space from degradation by warp fields. Commander Mreh K'hal sat on the bridge in the big chair as per usual, because Captain Holman preferred to organize and do the mission planning, leaving the dark-haired Cait to deal with ship's business. This suited him just fine, because he'd given up actively practicing medicine a while ago to concentrate first on operations and then entering the command training that eventually netted him his first executive officer position. It was this combination of medical knowledge and ability to run the ship tidily that interested Holman in the Cait when his previous XO moved off to a reasearch lab on Betazed. The Olympic class vessel was fresh from an overhaul at Earth Spacedock and was running like a charm. Which meant that for a change Mreh didn't have a bucket load of complaints from the department chiefs. Though the Chief Medical Officer still wasn't happy that they didn't add more beds throughout the various wards on the ship. Both the Captain and Mreh had lobbied for them but the designers said "more beds would disrupt the workflow of the areas." Considering they weren't medical types it was a silly statement as they had no experience doing the work. As most doctors would complain their mouths (or equivalent) off about cramped conditions but would still prefer to have the beds anyway so no one was happy about it. It's much better for doctor and patient to treat the wounded or sick on a biobed than on the floor. In any case the Hippocrates wouldn't arrive at its destination for a little over two days, and until the situation was further assessed on site they wouldn't be putting the overhauled wards to the test for a while so he had time before the CMO started her tirades anew. Being so fresh out of dock and traveling through the safety of the Federation also meant Mreh didn't have much to do save read the occasional memo from Holman, so his time in the chair today wasn't taking much of his brainpower. It gave his mind a chance to drift back to his youngest brother. Shortly after arriving at Earth for the overhaul, his family contacts had alerted him that the Excalibur was taking on a little bit more than it was doing on the record, though what exactly they didn't know and Mreh himself wasn't able to ferret out. Considering what he had been able to learn wasn't pleasant, and involved characters out of his own past on board his old ship, he did what any protective older brother would do and damn the regulations. He'd had a good long chat with his youngest brother as both their ships were being worked on at the same time, albeit in different quadrants. "Hopefully the info is helping him," Mreh thought. He hadn't heard another peep about the Excalibur or its crew since the Hippocrates set out. At this stage it was too early to increase the worry level any higher than it already was, but he couldn't help thinking that Rhan would've been better off following his sister's pawprints by staying a civilian. Though the trouble probably came from the posting to the Excalibur, which seemed to guarantee trouble. After all his eldest younger brother Hakran has led a perfectly safe (and probably boring) life being a science officer on the Copernicus. There are some ships that probably shouldn't get another letter after limping into port for the last time (or not even making it that far and just blowing up), and Mreh though the Excal was one of them. With a sigh he turned his thoughts back to his own ship and crew. "Lieutenant Stavros, let's get engineering on their toes. Cue up an emergency drill, dealer's choice," Mreh ordered with a grim smile on his feline face.

Fresh from a workout of his hybrid Caitian Morahk'ta/Terran Tai Chi regimen, Rhan lounged upon his spiffily made up bed in the room he shared with fellow operations guru Ensign Gene Thurman. The room was small and sparse, but each occupant had forcefully stamped what personality they could in the shared space. For the Caitian it was with rich colors and bold angles, along with various holophotos of his family. The human's side was much more eclectic, with various reproductions of old posters from various late 20th to mid 21st Century science-fiction entertainment. Most prominently displayed was a rather distinct looking young woman in an outfit an Orion slave girl would feel right at home in as she stood in front of a creature Rhan likened to a an evil, oversized (and overweight) Trill symbiont. The title of it was Star Wars The Return of the Jedi. Whatever that was. The young Cait had thus far steadfastly refused invitations to watch it. Moments after washing up from his workout he received a notice of an incoming transmission from home. He waited while the subspace communique from Earth was relayed through, rolling his eyes at the little spinning waiting indicator beneath the same ol' screen indicator was displayed on the PADD he transferred the call to. Starfleet, he thought, could really use someone to spruce up the LCARS GUI one of these days. It was an unexpected but welcome call, as his eldest brother Mreh had always been a humorous but steadying influence on Rhan during his formative years. Hakran had always been the rival, and being the biggest of the siblings, the one more likely to pounce on the unwary. His sister Mren, when not busy studying, was far too involved in her own social life to want anything to do with her young brother. Finally that annoying little circle stopped spinning and the screen popped up to show the elder K'hal offspring grinning between his paws. Mreh's jet-black hair had recently been tidied up and cropped from the unruly mess he usually kept it in, yet it still seemed to want to fall over his eyes. "I heard through the grapevine that the Excalibur just finished a mission, and you're still alive!" "Not through lack of effort on other people's part," Rhan replied, rolling his eyes. "I really thought you had been kidding when it came to this ship's reputation." "If only that were true," Mreh said. "I wouldn't have to keep visiting sickbay for tune-ups on my back." The older brother narrowed his eyes, looking over his brother's image. "Whatever it was, looks like it took some of the green off of you." "Like I was ever that green," Rhan responded. "I knew better than anyone what it meant to join Starfleet and then take starship duty after graduation from the Academy." "True, but it's still not the same, Bro. But I'm glad you made it through your first one without leaving any pieces behind... You didn't leave any pieces behind, right?" Mreh asked. "Everything is still attached," Rhan said with a chuckle. "Maybe some of my internal organs are flatter than they were before I started, but that's about it." "Oh?" "Chief Science officer decided to use me as a bouncy castle from about 3 meters up," Rhan replied, speaking of course of Ithene's rather ungraceful landing. "She's heavier than she looks." "Typical," Mreh said after a sharp laugh. "Though what did I tell you about physical intimacy with senior officers." "Hah, as if. She's not nearly furry enough, though I suspect part of that is regular shaving, but otherwise she is so not my type. Weird as hell for a department head though," Rhan said, shrugging at the thought. "Seems to actually know her stuff, but definitely not your run of the mill officer, she's very... familiar." "Sounds like someone else I know," Mreh replied with a pointed glance through his viewer. "But that's the problem with being born with a pip on your ass. You're just as comfortable around a strange admiral as you are with Grams." "I'm probably more comfortable with strange admirals, had those over for dinner more often than Grams visited," Rhan corrected. Mreh shook his head, though couldn't conceal the smirk. "So what are you doing back on Earth, anyway?" Rhan asked his brother. "Hippocrates is in Spacedock for a minor overhaul to the cargo bays. Which will be good, should be able to carry more medical supplies so we don't have to drive all over the quadrant picking them up," Mreh replied. "Won't take long, but we'll get a few days leave out of it." "I'm sure Dad's thrilled to see you, and I'm sure Mom's thrilled to have a chance to corner you on the prospect of grandkittens." Rhan grinned at his brother's defeated sigh. "You'd think she'd be too busy to think about that with all the expansions they're doing down at Medical, trying to keep the facility secure with all the construction going on. But no. I'd barely materialized on the front stoop when the door swung open and she looked around to see if I'd brought a girl home." Mreh's bemusement seemed secondary to his resignation. "That's what you get for being born first." "Yeah," Mreh agreed. "But your time is coming, don't think you're immune." "I could always donate," Rhan said with a laugh. "Then tell her there are potentially dozens of little Rhans running around... somewhere." "She'd tie you upside down by the tail from the ceiling," Mreh warned. "If things hold true to form on this ship," Rhan said, "I might already be used to that."

I can sit on a fence and yowl if you'd like more noise.

(( :: performs a drive-by captioning :: )) "Live long and... ROCK!"

Coming in 2011... Milwaukee's Best Ninja v Klement's Racing Sausages Only one shall live to see the 7th Inning.

Friday Academy runabout wants in on the action too!

Will is certainly on to one method. Imagine wireless communications if you could have transmit petabytes of data through the planet without even worrying about the mild delay of light speed transmissions? I'm sure Google is working on this in a back room somewhere right now. I wouldn't be surprised if military research could open the door to subspace as well, probably under the stealth category. Trying to find some way of hiding some offensive weapon until the kaboom point and voila! There's subspace. Whether subspace needs to be theorized first or not, I don't think it matters. There have been discoveries in our science that have completely out of the blue during research into something else. Or possibly looking into something even something as relatively mundane as the neutrino could spur the discovery of subspace. Which can make Starfleet's "subspace tech required" commandment quite variable in the technological quality of the species they can contact.

Look how much science has changed the "truth" about the T-Rex just since Jurassic Park came out. I'd say they'll need another 100 years of more wild speculation and quite a few more fossils before I put too much stock in anything but the bones themselves.

Director (off-camera)> CUT! Come on guys, you're supposed to act as cheesy as the costumes! Dumb it down a little, this isn't Star Trek!

:: Thinking: "I don't know, I give leeway on yellow outfit, but I say something about shoes?" ::

I dunno, I'm pretty sure I belong to that loony bird population most of the time. :P Anyway, Happy 8th to the site and warm huggles all around for a great community.

I know you were eager for a ship upgrade, Deanna... but this is taking it one step too far.

Rugby may come in second place to footie around the world but it shouldn't be that hard to find a human opponent.

<p class="birthday_greeting"> <?php $str1="Happy Birthday"; $name="Sam"; echo $str1 . " " . $name . "!!!"; ?> </p> :)

Happy Birthday Will

Every time I see this Class I want to rearrange everything. It just seems wrong.

:: nod nod nod :: All excellent points, Admiral. I could never get into it myself, though there was the occasional really good episode here and there. My whole take on it, especially since the release of the JJ Abrams Star Trek, was that at least he made no secret that he was doing it differently and it wasn't going to be the same old Trek, however one may feel about it. Enterprise was calling itself a prequel but was essentially trying to reboot too and that I'll never forgive it for. Honestly even if Gene himself had come back from the grave to make a prequel series it would've been really hard to pull off without infringing on what was already to be done (I need that book on time-travel grammar from Hitchhiker, because I have no idea how to put that lol). So the universe continuity errors (not to mention any infractions of in-episode continuity) can really be irksome. I suppose anyone who came to Star Trek via Enterprise though wouldn't know all this and it was probably entertaining enough for them. I'd actually like to hear about it from that perspective if anyone fits.

誕生日おめでと Happy Birthday, Sakura-chan! :: then goes to save picture of donut cake so he can send it out to family near his own birthday, wants:: :: drool ::

Users can disable their PMs by clicking on "My Controls" up at the top, then selecting "Board Settings" in the sidebar after the My Controls section loads. Look for the header "Personal Messenger Options" and select "Yes" in the box by: "Disable your personal messenger? If you disable your personal messenger, you will not be able to make or receive personal messages." Edit: Be sure to click the "Change my Account Options" button at the bottom to save the change! Of course this way you can't get any legit PMs until the feature is enabled once again (change that back to "No") but as the volume of spam messages continues to increase it may be worth it.

Add VaughnWhite to the list.

Happy Birthday Admiral! I'd offer more than that but Jami said it best. :D Have a great one!

Dr. Rue Wydown was the new Excalibur Executive Officer. One part of Mreh thought perhaps Corizon had completely lost his marbles, not because it was a bad decision but because the often chipper, certainly outspoken medical doctor just didn't seem to be quite the companionable fit for the Dameon. The rest of the Caitian was too pleased to give that one part much heed, however. That made the Dubois woman the new CMO, and since he'd only briefly made her acquaintance he couldn't say how that would work out, but one thing was for certain, with Wydown in the XO seat medical wouldn't be the hind end of the service on the ship anymore. As for the bridge, Mreh looked forward to the coming atmosphere. He had a feeling the new Commander Doctor would handle anything that comes up, up to and including the frosty chill that always came up whenever Teykier and Victria occupy the same space. Eager to sample it he'd already restructured the flight control schedule, putting himself back on the Alpha shift as primary. With Ensign Waters, no it was Lieutenant JG now, having put her flight time in with distinction he felt comfortable that she could take the seat whenever necessary. Now he'd see how she handled paperwork up to her eyebrows with the upcoming cargo transfer at their next destination, though he foresaw no problems on that score, she was nearly as organized as a Vulcan but without snooty attitude. The last leg had been more exciting than planned, with the rescue of that freighter. But the Caitian flier was pleased that they broke their usual trend of getting the snot pounded out of them, either before or after sending a crew over. He hoped that meant that Corizon's Curse was history, but too much of a realist, he doubted it. Well, however it turned out in the end, Mreh thought, one thing was for certain: with two medical doctors on the bridge Corizon wouldn't be able to wiggle out of physicals with ease anymore. With that pleasant though spreading a smile on the newly minted Lieutenant Commander's face, he headed out for his duty shift.

864-ZC-JKO-5412 — Commander Mreh K'hal Personal Data Name: Mreh K'hal Gender: Male Species: Caitian Age: 31 SY Place of Birth: San Francisco, Earth; UFP Marital Status: Single Fur Color: Gold + Cream Mane Color: Black Height: 1.73 m Weight: 67.1 kg Starfleet Data ID: 864-ZC-JKO-5412 Rank: Commander Specializations: Flight Control, Navigation, Operations, Life Science, Medical Assignment: Hippocrates NCC-8741-A Position: Executive Officer Certifications: Pilot's Certification Lvl α, Medical Clearance Lvl γ, Medical Certification 1st Class, Operations Clearance δ Medical History Conditions: None Distinguishing Marks: None Past Procedures: See File Last Physical Examination on SD 112014.02 Score: 94.5% of Starfleet Physical Fitness Index Last Psychological Examination on SD 072013.15 Score: 99.1% of Starfleet Psychological Fitness Index Education History Primary: Haven Falls Elementary School » San Francisco, Earth Secondary: Andrew Ermine Middle School » San Francisco, Earth Johnathan Archer High School » San Francisco, Earth Tertiary: Starfleet Academy » San Francisco, Earth B.S. Biology (Chemistry Minor) Pilot Certificate Lvl δ Starfleet Medical School » San Francisco, Earth M.D. Emergency Medicine & General Practice Family Information Parent(s) Cdr JoLan K'hal (Male, 61 SY) » Professor of Astrophysics Starfleet Academy, San Francisco, Earth, UFP Cdr Kharril K'hal (Female, 52 SY) » Chief of Security Starfleet Medical, San Francisco, Earth, UFP Sibling(s) Lt Hakran K'hal (Male, 29 SY) » Science Officer U.S.S. Copernicus NCC-21509 Mren K'hal (Female, 26 SY) » Student (Doctoral Research, Archaeology) Oxford University, Oxford, Earth, UFP Ens Rhan K'hal (Male, 24 SY) » Operations Officer U.S.S. Excalibur NCC-2004-C Summary Both JoLan and Kharril K'hal are Starfleet officers, as were their parents. Able to retain posts in or around the Starfleet facilities in San Francisco since their graduations, all of the K'hal children grew up in the area. Visiting Cait only on rare vacations, all of the K'hal children consider Earth home. Mren is the only female child, and the only to decide not to follow in the family footsteps. Mreh, an intelligent and outgoing individual, performed well in his primary and secondary schooling, earning Salutatorian honors at Jonathan Archer High. He was involved with various extra-curricular activities, including the debate club as well as the lacrosse team. Upon graduating, he immediately applied to SFA, and after passing the entrance exams with little difficulty, was admitted. A sociable but brutally honest individual, he had the occasional rebuke from instructors. His performance, however, was exemplary, so other than the occasional remark in his file, and one full reprimand, and he was given some degree of leeway. Often surrounded by friends during his off hours, he was considered somewhat of a party animal, and was known for his skill on the dance floor. As far as his career went, from the very beginning, he intended to be a physician, though rather than taking the more streamlined pre-med track, he chose to study biology and chemistry as his main focus, while also completing the required courses that he would need to enter SFMA. Graduating in the top 10% of his class, he then attended Starfleet Medical Academy, concentrating on emergency medicine as well as standard practice. Upon completion of his work at SFMA, he then completed his residency there, and was then licensed to practice medicine in any Starfleet facility or ship. Mreh then took his accrued leave time of three months, and relaxed first with his family, and then took a short stint on Cait to visit his more distant relations. Returning to Earth, he then applied for a ship posting. However, there were no positions currently available, so he was posted at the small clinic facility at SFA, and was assigned there temporarily while he awaited an opening. Serving eight months performing physicals and providing basic care for the cadets, he was then transferred to DS9 to serve at the infirmary there, but remained only a few weeks before being sent through the wormhole and on to Camelot Station. He was kept busy in the gamma quadrant, especially when the Scorpiad problem became acute and the wormhole was unavailable. His skill at emergency medicine and calm under fire meant that he was often temporarily placed aboard ships during forays. Eventually, as things calmed down to some degree, he requested a more permanent posting, and was placed aboard the Excalibur. After some time on Excalibur, Mreh began to feel uncomfortable in his role as physician; this caused clashes with his co-workers, and pushed his stress level high. Having his pilot certifications up to date became a career-saver for him, as the need for an officer at helm arose on the Excalibur. He applied for the position, and was granted it, moving him from sickbay to the bridge. However, he was not there long before moving off the ship again, to the USS Raleigh, where the need for a navigation officer was even greater than the Excalibur. He remained on the Raleigh until the Excalibur was heading back to the Alpha Quadrant and Earth, where he resumed his role. With the restructuring of the science, operations and command departments, K'hal has been able to increase his experience with operations and protocol. He has kept in close contact with Sgt Morris of the Marines, acting as informal liaison between the 26th and the bridge staff. Mreh took the re-assignment of Cdr M'Vess "Left Ear" JoN's with difficulty, and it was necessary for him to see the Counselor to put him back on track emotionally. Since then he has resumed his usual take of being the chipper (if not somewhat irreverent and/or sarcastic) member of the bridge staff. With the re-addition of a dedicated Operations Officer (Faeona Waters), Mreh has spent the recent pair of missions training all new personnel in the re-organized department of Operations and Flight Control (OFC) to the dual roles of Operations and Flight Control. He is also working on training himself and the sub-department in tactical control for emergency situations. Post Excalibur Mreh experienced one too many bridge consoles blowing up in his face aboard the Excalibur, and took the opportunity to transfer out after the ship once again limped back to Camelot. After some much needed vacation time, he returned back home to San Francisco and took a position in Starfleet Operations handling various tasks both on and off planet. Eventually he got the itch to serve on a starship again and requested shipboard assignment. To his surprise, he was given a promotion and was assigned as the Hippocrates' XO when that position came available. Both his medical and operations experience serve him well aboard the hospital ship, and while the crew has come to know him as a strict task-master, they also know him to be unfailingly fair. Service History Initial Assignment: USS Excalibur NCC-2004-B » Medical Officer Promotion: Lieutenant Junior Grade from Ensign, SD 10704.01 Position Change: Flight Control from Medical, SD 10706.11 Transfer (XLOA): USS Raleigh NCC-75661 » Flight Control Officer, SD 10706.23 - SD 10711.11 Transfer: USS Excalibur NCC-2004-B » Chief Flight Control Officer, SD 10711.12 Promotion: Lieutenant from Lieutenant Junior Grade, SD 10804.20 Promotion: Lieutenant Commander from Lieutenant, SD 10910.18 Transfer (OUT): Starfleet Operations, SD 11103.12 Promotion: Commander from Lieutenant Commander, SD 11305.21 Transfer: U.S.S. Hippocrates NCC-8741-A » Executive Officer, SD 11306.03

Updated to reflect promotion to LCdr and recent activity aboard the Excalibur.

Thanks for the heads-up Kasta. I haven't noticed any issues myself (but then again I keep my browser locked down like Alcatraz), but I'll keep an eye on it. I have noticed a lot more in the way of invasive ads, annoying screen-crossing surveys and the like, though. I know it takes $/£/¥/€/etc. to keep a site of that nature up and running but geez. They've boldly gone where no one should go, site-wise.