Nicolas Lepage

I'd say definitely LEGOs and my Matchbox cars and the one thing I still cannot do without... a soccer ball!!!

By Drs. McKinny and Lepage All through the main course and dessert the conversation remained casual. Both DJ and Nick tried to avoid talking about her new assignment and the fact that the chief would be leaving. DJ had a good laugh when Nick told her various stories about his family...how David, Jean-Pierre and he had caused a major disturbance at school, resulting in several damaged toilet seats and a very angry principal...how Jacques had gotten into trouble for going to school wearing his sister's dress and how Jean-Pierre had confided in him that he had split up with his very first girlfriend because she had actually dared to kiss him. After the meal they took their wine and retreated to the sofa. At first Nick didn't speak for a few moments. Then he looked up. “I should have done this a year ago. I really wish you weren't leaving, DJ.” He sighed. This comment was not meant to try to convince her to stay and he hoped that his tone conveyed that. He had simply stated a fact. DJ glanced at Nick then quickly looked away. The expression on his face was easy to read. Worse yet, she knew exactly how he felt. "Had I known you could cook like this, I would have insisted you show off your talent," she said lightheartedly. Gauging from Nick's weak smile, her feeble attempt to lighten the mood hadn't worked very well. DJ leaned over and set her glass on the coffee table. "What do you think would have happened had you tried to do this a year ago?" she asked softly. It was a rhetorical question and Lepage made no effort to answer it. DJ shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "The primary reason I was able to accept your invitation is because I'm leaving day after tomorrow. For all intents and purposes, I'm not your supervisor anymore." She paused a moment and smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, things tend to get very complicated when the boss starts socializing with any one particular member of the staff." She reached over and clasped Nick's hand. "We were in the wrong place at the wrong time," she continued. "I wish things had been different. I really do." Nick looked into DJ's eyes for a long moment. He could tell she was sincere. For a fraction of a second he was not sure what to say or do before reaching out and gently running his fingers along DJ's cheek. She leaned in to his touch and closed her eyes, leaning in Nick closed his eyes and kissed DJ. She willingly returned Nick's kiss and allowed it to continue a bit longer than it should have. Pulling away from him slightly, DJ smiled and lightly caressed his cheek with the back of her hand. It had been a long time since she'd been in this situation. She was torn as to what she should do next. DJ really liked Nick Lepage. She knew it would be easy to stay....to allow all of this to continue. She also knew where it might lead and for a second, the thought was quite enticing. But through it all, she couldn't forget that by this time day after tomorrow, she would be on a transport on her way home. That's when it hit her. Accepting the new assignment would be more of a sacrifice than she'd ever realized. Here was a charming, handsome, intelligent man she could easily fall in love with. She had no doubt they could establish and maintain a long term relationship that would prove meaningful to both of them. She also knew it wasn't going to happen.....at least not now.....not in this place. DJ smiled at Nick, her eyes misty. This was where her sweet memories of this special evening with him would end. "We really are in the wrong place at the wrong time," she whispered, smiling gamely. "I think I'd better go now. If I stay, we may both regret it in a few days." Nick swallowed hard before answering. For a brief moment he was ready to tell DJ he'd resign and move back to Earth with her. Fortunately, he came to his senses before he could say anything. Granted, he was far away from home and missing his family. He'd miss DJ even more once she would be gone but he couldn't go and give up everything he'd been working for all his life, no matter how much he wanted to right now. He smiled weakly and nodded almost imperceptibly. “I guess life is just cruel that way,” he said hardly above a whisper. DJ nodded. "Nobody said life was fair. But I've never gotten used to the hits we sometimes have to take." They both stood. Nick reached out for DJ's hands and pulled her gently closer. She wrapped her arms around him and he held her tight, closing his eyes and wishing he'd never have to let her go again. After a long moment he drew back and gently wiped away the single tear running down DJ's cheek. “Thank you for the great evening,” he said smiling. “Let us try not to regret too much all the things that could have been but remember the good times we've spent together.” “I'm the one who needs to thank you," replied DJ softly. "You went to great lengths to make this a special evening. I just want you to know, you succeeded. I'll never forget tonight....or you." With that Nick let her go. She smiled at him and turned to leave. Just standing there watching her leave was probably the hardest thing he'd had to do in a long time. DJ stopped at the door and glanced back over her shoulder. Nick hadn't moved. His expression mirrored her own. She was sorely tempted to turn around and run back into his embrace. But she knew she couldn't. So, instead, she smiled once again, blew him a kiss and left, fighthing back the tears until she reached her own quarters. When the doors had closed behind DJ Nick let himself drop onto the sofa. He sat there for what seemed like an eternity and stared out of the viewport, certain that this hurt and the feeling of emptiness he was feeling now would be with him for the rest of his life.

By Drs. McKinny and Lepage It took him only two minutes to heat some olive oil and saute the onions and peppers. Adding the olives, spices and lemon juice he stirred the sauce briefly and turned down the heat to let it simmer. Turning up the heat for the water he turned around. DJ was standing a few feet away, watching him. Nick smiled and started putting mushrooms on the two plates he had already prepared.. "I hope you are hungry," he said as he picked up the plates to carry them over to the table. Stepping aside to allow Nick to pass, DJ then followed him the short distance to the table. "How could I not be hungry?" she quipped. "Even if I ate fifteen minutes ago, the smells in here would be enough to jump start my appetite." She stood beside him and smiled. "And don't get the idea I ate before I came," she warned. "I had a bagel this morning. I haven't had a bite since." Lepage bowed slightly and pulled out the chair for her. As she sat down, DJ suddenly felt an unexpected wave of regret. It took her a moment to identify the emotion and once she did, she was more than a little surprised. She was leaving Aegis in two days. After the initial shock that followed her transfer notification, DJ had found herself excited and very pleased that she was going home. So, why the sudden feelings of regret? She glanced over at Nick as he took his seat. He looked at her, grinning impishly. He was special. She'd known that almost from the day she'd met him. But he was one of her subordinates. There were rules against becoming too close to the people who worked for you. DJ looked down at the plate in front of her. "That couldn't be it," she thought to herself. "You can't start regretting something like that...not at this point in time. And what would Nick think? That sort of thing would probably put him off big time." She quickly forced the unwelcome emotions back into the recesses of her mind. She didn't want them to get in the way of this evening, especially after Nick had put so much effort into their dinner. Carefully placing her napkin in her lap, DJ picked up her fork and took a small taste of the mushroom appetizer. It was....wonderful. "This is fabulous," she gushed. "I haven't had anything like this since....well....I don't remember when." Sitting down at the other end of the small table Nick wondered why DJ looked a bit troubled. He hoped it had nothing to do with him or the dinner. While he ate some of his own mushrooms he kept glancing over at the CMO. ”Thanks for the compliment. But wait until you taste the fettucini and salmon.” He smiled as he said this, still wondering what troubled DJ. He looked at her and his smile widened ever so slightly. DJ was about to pop another bite into her mouth but stopped abruptly. "Salmon," she stammered, looking around the room as though fearful they'd be overheard. "Where did you get salmon out here?" Now she did feel bad. Obviously, salmon could be purchased somewhere on Aegis but it had to be super expensive. No doubt about it, Lepage had gone over the top preparing for this evening. She wondered if there was more to this than a farewell dinner for the boss. The situation was somewhat ironic. Nick had tried to ignore his feelings for his chief all this time, knowing it would be inappropriate for the two of them to have any relationship that went beyond friendship. Now DJ was leaving and he had finally had the courage to ask her out on a date. It would be their first and last. Suppressing a sigh Nick quickly took another bite. At least they would be able to spend one evening together and he was determined to make it enjoyable for both of them. “So, are you going to tell me which appointment is so tempting you that you are willingly leaving this station at the end of the universe?” He chuckled. At first he, himself, hadn't been very thrilled about going to Aegis but with time he had come to feel quite at home here and they would have to offer him a pretty good post in order for him to leave the station. DJ set down her fork and dabbed her lips with the napkin. She returned Nick's smile inspite of her growing concern that he'd spent a month's salary on one dinner. "Okay," she said lightly. "I guess it's safe to tell you, now that I know for certain it's really going to happen." She leaned back in the chair and looked at Nick coyly. "I'm taking over as CMO at Eglin, in Pensacola, Florida. I'm told you can see the Gulf of Mexico from my office window." DJ's smile broadened. "It's a major medical facility with a prestigious reputation. I'm very lucky to have been tapped for the job." "It's funny," continued DJ, again picking up her fork. "When I first arrived on Aegis, I was convinced I'd be fortunate to finish the tour. But now, I feel like I belong here. It's like I'm leaving home instead of going home. There's a lot about Aegis I'll miss, primarily the people." She looked at Nick and smiled sadly. "And I'll miss some more than others." Nick held DJ's gaze. He did notice her sad expression and wished he could say something to make her feel better. But he knew there was not much to be said. Getting a new post was always the same. It opened up new possibilities but it was never easy. “I guess life's just like that. You have to move on even if it means you'll have to leave some of your friends behind. I hope you'll think of us when you're standing at the window looking out on the sea.” He lay down the fork beside his plate. “We'll miss you out here... I mean I'll miss you.” Trying hard not to get too sentimental Nick quickly added, “Do you think you could get some good maple syrup and send it to me? The stuff you get out here is...well disgusting.” He grinned despite himself. “I'll see what I can do," quipped DJ. "But the maple syrup isn't the only disgusting thing out here. I gave up on finding real ice cream. What they call ice cream is just plain nasty." Seeing that DJ had finished her mushrooms Nick got up and put their plates in the kitchen. He quickly tried and drained the pasta before he added the salmon, sour cream, yoghurt and blue cheese to the sauce and tossed everything with the pasta. “'Wine,” Nick reminded himself. “I hope you like Chardonnay,” he said putting the plate in front of DJ. “Personally I prefer red wine but since we're having fish...” It took him only a few moments to get the bottle out of the fridge and serve the wine. “You lucked out, replied DJ with a grin. "Chardonnay is the only wine I like." She paused a moment before adding, "Maybe I should say that I lucked out. If you'd served something else, I would have forced myself to drink it." Sitting down he glanced at DJ. She looked stunning in the soft light of his quarters. Nick allowed himself another moment to just look at her before he picked up his fork. “Tuck in. And don't be afraid to be honest if you don't like it. I have to admit that I'm not quite sure whether the olives really are olives. They looked like it so I bought them.” DJ looked closely at the contents of the plate in front of her. The suspect olives were clearly visible. She stabbed one onto her fork and lifted it a few inches above the plate. Studying it carefully, she hazard a glance at Nick. "I think these are real olives," she observed softly. Bringing the fork to her mouth, she nibbled at the olive and was pleased she'd been right. "Yep, these are olives," she announced with a giggle. "Now tell me," continued DJ, turning her attention to Nick. "What about the salmon? Are you sure it's real?" Nick grinned. “Affirmative. This is real salmon. There is this guy on the midway who sells stuff from Earth. He's got this huge fish tank full of pretty much any seafood and fish you can imagine. You can go pick the one that looks best and he'll have it delivered to your quarters.” He refrained from explicitly mentioning that the fish had still been alive when he had picked it. DJ immediately knew where Nick purchased the salmon. She'd seen the big tank a couple of times but hadn't realized the fish swimming in it were available for sale. She chided herself for never having taken the time to properly explore all the shops on Aegis. Heaven only knew what else she'd missed. Glancing at the salmon on the plate in front of her, she silently thanked the red fleshed fish for giving up its life so she could enjoy such a terrific meal. Then she promptly put all thoughts of the hapless animal out of her mind. All through the main course and dessert the conversation remained casual. Both DJ and Nick tried to avoid talking about her new assignment and the fact that the chief would be leaving. DJ had a good laugh when Nick told her various stories about his family...how David, Jean-Pierre and he had caused a major disturbance at school, resulting in several damaged toilet seats and a very angry principal...how Jacques had gotten into trouble for going to school wearing his sister's dress and how Jean-Pierre had confided in him that he had split up with his very first girlfriend because she had actually dared to kiss him.... To Be Continued....

By Drs. McKinny and Lepage Nick stepped out of the shower and reached for his clothes. While getting dressed he went over the menu in his mind. He had decided to keep it simple. Stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer, then salmon fettucini with blue cheese and olives and banana sorbet for dessert. "Alright Nick, make a plan... the sorbet is as good as ready, you need to make the mushrooms and the pasta." Talking to himself when trying to organize his thoughts was a habit of his, one he had tried to get rid of but never quite managed. Nick walked over to the tiny kitchen area and started to get busy. He still had two hours until DJ would turn up. Enough time to prepare the food and lay the table. About two hours later the mushrooms were baking, the onions and bell peppers were chopped and the rest of the ingredients for the sauce were ready to go into the saucepan. The sorbet was just perfect. Nick walked over to the table to put some finishing touches to the decorations. Still, something seemed to be missing... "Wine glasses!" He was going to serve white wine with the fish. The Chardonnay was already chilled. Placing the glasses on the table he checked his chrono. Just then the door chime sounded. Nick hurried to open the door. DJ was standing there, looking him up and down, her gaze finally resting on the dish towel in his hand. Nick smiled back at her. "Please, come in," he said, moving a bit to the side to let her enter. "Why don't you sit down on the sofa while I get something to drink? Dinner will be ready in about 5 minutes." DJ stepped into Nick's new quarters and allowed him to show her to the small but ample sofa. He'd received an upgraded apartment upon his promotion to Lieutenant Commander. She assumed the sofa was fairly new. His old apartment wouldn't have been large enough to accommodate one. "Gee, Nick," she said while sniffing the air. "Something smells good. I had no idea you were such an accomplished.....chef." Nick smiled at that comment. "Well, we never had replicators at home. My mother hates them so she always had to cook. You can imagine that cooking for 14 people is quite some work so I helped her a lot. After a long day in sickbay i love cooking. It poses its own challenges." So far things were going great, Nick thought. DJ had been just on time which allowed for them to sit on the sofa together for a few minutes before dinner. Just enough time to establish conversation and make sure they didn't feel rushed. Standing in front of the replicator Nick turned to DJ. "I promise the drinks, except the wine, will be the only replicated things tonight. What can I get you?" The soon to be ex-CMO smiled brightly at her associate. "If you're serving wine with dinner, I'll start off with water with a lemon twist." She leaned forward a bit and took a long look at the small dining table. It was set perfectly, complete with a linen table cloth and what appeared to be real china, silver and crystal. The cloth napkins were folded to look like miniature tiaras and strategically placed in the center of each plate. There was even a cut glass vase of spring flowers on one end of the table. Obviously, Dr. Lepage had some experience at this sort of thing. She found herself feeling a little guilty about all the time and effort he was putting into this dinner. "I'm really impressed," said DJ as she accepted the glass of water from her host. "But you shouldn't have gone to all this trouble. A hamburger and fries would have been okay." Sitting down on the sofa, too, Nick took a moment before answering. "I'm not a fan of hamburgers actually. Especially for a guest, its not an appropriate dinner." He paused and contemplated his glass for a moment. "You know I'm from Montréal. My family can be traced back to the early 20th century...all French Canadian. That means I have French roots. We don't do hamburgers and fries," he added with a broad grin. "You don't know what you're missing," laughed DJ. "A good hamburger smothered with mustard, sweet relish and onions," she paused and grinned. "Well, it can be something special.....even if it isn't French." He chuckled as he saw DJ's amused expression. "Alright, the real reason... I wanted to impress you and make sure you miss at least my cooking...which reminds me. I need to check on the mushrooms or we'll have to skip the appetizers." "Mushrooms?" asked DJ. "You've fixed mushroom appetizers?" She shook her head slightly. "Wow, you're going all out." With that, he sat down the glass on the table and got up to walk back into the kitchen area. Opening the oven he took a quick look at the mushrooms. "Almost done," he called over to DJ. "Alright... sauce and water." DJ stood and made her way over to the tiny kitchen area. She surveyed the range with it's pots and pans. She was starting to feel a little embarrassed. She hadn't expected Nick to prepare such an elaborate dinner. It took him only two minutes to heat some olive oil and saute the onions and peppers. Adding the olives, spices and lemon juice he stirred the sauce briefly and turned down the heat to let it simmer. Turning up the heat for the water he turned around.... To Be Continued....

I'm in Germany, too so let's see...times for Academies are usually 4 am except on Tuesdays, Fridays and the first one on Sundays, those are at 3 am. The Red Star is at 5 am and the Academy at 6 am... have I forgotten one??? The advanced sim that's easiest to attend for us here in Europe is Aegis cos it's on Saturday mornings 4 am. Welcome to STSF. Hope to see you around.

Same thing happened to me two years before I finished highschool...no fun. Hope things will work out for you as they did for me.

You'll live forever and be healthy thanks to the antibiotics you eat every day with your meat...unless of course you catch one of those bugs that are already resistant to most antibiotics... or you catch a virus, or you have cancer caused by the preservatives or......

Erm...too many Cs and only a few Bs. Well, I try to think positive, my immune system is prepared for pretty much anything that way.

Wow...I'm gone from the boards and acads for two weeks and all these new cadets pop up. Great to have you guys. I hope you'll enjoy simming with us.

Nick entered Sickbay with a very unhappy civilian in tow. The man was complaining at the top of his voice, brabbling something about manhandling and court martial. The Doctor tried to ignore the threats and convince the man to stay in Sickbay with the other civilians. He had given up trying to reason with the man who obviously did not want to understand that in a crisis, civilians too, had to put up with certain inconveniences in order to ensure their safety. It was the noise that attracted DJ's attention. She'd just stepped into Sickbay to make certain her staff was aware the station was now at red alert. She couldn't miss the excited chatter coming from the far end of the room where the emergency shelter was located. Nor could she miss Nick Lepage as he finally unhanded one of those civilians. It appeared one of them had gotten away and the ever dutiful Dr. Lepage had tracked him down and retrieved him. When the man had started to tell his fascinated audience the story of a Starfleet Doctor holding him at phaser point and fighting him to the death, Nick decided it was safe to leave the lot and attend to his regular duties. DJ kept her distance as Dr. Lepage attempted to quell the unrest among the civilians. She quickly determined there were only a couple who seemed genuinely unhappy. Of course, the escapee was one of them. Although uncertain of the circumstances, it annoyed DJ to hear a station resident tell the story of how he was forcibly returned to Sickbay, at phaser point, by one of her staff. And he was loud about it too. Nick turned around only to see a very unhappy Doctor McKinny beckoning him to join her in her office. Nick hung his head. He had a feeling he knew what this would be about. He could already hear her accusations of abandoning his post. Nick knew he had done the right thing in order to prevent the situation from getting out of hand but, somehow, he felt like it was his fault something had gone wrong in the first place. So, with a deep sigh he walked over to the Chief's office, bracing himself for anything DJ might have to say. At least this time, he hadn't been any farther than the nearest turbolift and had not gotten into a bar fight over a woman. Nick grinned. That was already something. Entering the office, Nick walked past DJ and stood in front of her desk, waiting for the doors to close. Doctor McKinny walked around her desk and sat down in her chair. She looked at him for a moment before she started to speak. "Did you really chase that guy down with a phaser?" she asked skeptically. "And if so, whatever possessed you to do such a thing?" Lepage shook his head. He had to admit that the image of him chasing down this man with a phaser did quite appeal to him but he would never do such a thing. He sighed before answering. "Well, that's his version. He complained about being held in Sickbay and I tried to tell him this was the safest place. Then he went on about how he wanted to get his blanket. All I did was tell him to stay. He went off to complain to the Captain. I thought I should let him go and try but then 5 or 6 of the others wanted to go after the guy, so I decided it would be best for me to get him back to Sickbay before anyone got hurt. I caught up with him right in front of the turbolift. Yes, it is true that I might have lost my patience at one point but never did I get violent and I didn't even have a phaser. He's just trying to make his story sound really good." DJ leaned back in her chair and watched Lepage squirm. "I was wondering where you got the phaser," she stated nonchalantly. "Thought for a minute you'd stashed one in your emergency medkit." Nick ran both hands over his face. He couldn't believe this was happening. He was, after all, just trying to do his job and here was a civilian, whining about not having his blanket and probably getting him into some trouble. "I'm pretty good with a phaser but I never saw much use for one in my med kit," Nick replied. "Look, I could have been nicer but we are at red alert and this guy goes on about how he wants his blanket. I know it might cause some people to ask questions but I assure you, I didn't do anything to that guy." Lepage hated having to justify his actions especially when he knew he had probably not handled the situation very well. He just hoped DJ would not make this a big deal. Granted, this was not the first time he had abandoned his post but this time was different. "Sometimes," said DJ calmly. "Diplomacy doesn't work as well as we would like it to. I'll bet the diplomats on this station can testify to that." She shrugged her shoulders. "Everyone has 20/20 hindsight. So what do you think you could have done to better handle that situation?" Being glad DJ was obviously not trying to make a big deal out of this little incident, Nick seriously considered her question. He refrained from voicing his thoughts about strapping the guy to a biobed or using a forcefield to keep the civilians under control. He was a little annoyed that they had to babysit a bunch of civilians while the station was at red alert. But those were his orders and there was nothing he could do about it. "I should have tried to take the man's concerns seriously and told him that someone would get his blanket as soon as the crisis would be over. It would have calmed him down and given him the feeling that someone was listening to his concerns. I acted out of frustration and the man's reaction was only logical...spite. He was doing exactly the opposite of what I told him in order to make me take him seriously." He sighed again. People were so easy to understand if you only took the time. This thought worried Nick. When he had still been in med school he had sworn to himself that he would always have enough time to listen to his patients' concerns no matter how trivial they seemed to him. In theory this was an easy enough thing to do. In reality, however, time constraints made it difficult to hear everyone out. He had to find a compromise. DJ shrugged her shoulders. "I doubt there was anything you could have said that would have satisifed your escapee, other than telling him he was free to leave. Here is a grown man making a big deal out of a blanket. I could understand that if he was seven but this guy hasn't seen childhood in a very long time." She chuckled in spite of herself. "He was just acting out, probably a little scared and not sure how to handle it. Unfortunately, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time." The CMO abruptly stood and started toward the door. "Why don't you check on the status of the other emergency shelters on the station. Heaven knows, there are a slew of them. I wouldn't be surprised if we could transfer most of our guests into one of the other shelters. It's my understanding they have security officers in place should the natives get restless." She turned as she stepped through the door and offered Lepage a grin. "I'm sure one of them would love to help Mr. Whiney deal with his blanket separation anxiety." Nick smiled gratefully. He was glad, DJ didn't make a big deal out of this whole business. On top of that she offered him the opportunity to get rid of the civilians. Her suggestion was the best solution anyway. Sickbay was not a good place for the civilians to be in case they had to deal with casualties. He got up and walked out of the office. Passing DJ he turned to her. "I'll get on it right away. Thanks," he said smiling. He walked to his desk to call up a list of emergency shelters and the people in charge of each of them.

I was at school at that time...it was round 3 pm and I was in my English class. I remember at one point our janitor came in and told us what had happened. We didn't believe him. We thought he had finally gone mad. We could see across a small yard into another classroom and some people were watching TV there. That usually never happened so our teacher let us go watch TV, too. Only one tower had been hit at that time. We watched the news and I remember seeing the plane approaching the second tower. When it hit the tower I really couldn't believe what I was seeing. We went on watching the news and then the towers collapsed. I remember there were about 30 or 40 people in the room but it was completely silent. Our teacher sent us home after that. Even over here, streets were less crowded...everyone was watching TV, trying to find out what had really happened.

Actually, first thing you learn about stab wounds (and basically this would have been one) where the object is still in the wound is that you do NEVER pull it out. The reasons are that the object usually seals the hurt blood vessels somewhat and bleeding is kept to a minimum and of course you can never pull anything out by the exact same way it went in so you'd only make the wound worse. The poison of a sting ray is not necessarily lethal. It can, however lead to complications depending on how strongly you react to it. I bet when he pulled the barb out he did more damage to his heart than there had been before but then again it's not really good to have something sticking in your heart. So, either way he probably didn't have a chance. I'd guess he either died of cardiac arrest or extensive blood loss.

Owen signalled for Rieve and the others to follow him down the stairs after he had made sure the Romulans were all stunned. He kept looking around in case there were others down the hall but it seemed deserted. Marine Captain Hanna-Beth Rieve followed behind Owen, quickly bringing her team down the stairs. The basement room appeared darker than the upstairs rooms, with a few flickering lights on the ceiling. "I don't know why, but I'm almost sure there are more of them hiding somewhere." Slowly Owen's eyes were adjusting to the dim light and he could see farther down the hall. He could swear he had seen something move just a moment ago but everything was still now. "Left or right?" He asked, shooting a quick glance at Rieve. "Of course there are, these guards we've seen are too inexperienced. Probably the base's rookies." She looked around the room. "Mendez, hold position here." The sergeant followed his order. "Buddha, it looks like there are more rooms down that hall." She pointed in the direction where Buddha had seen the motion. "And, it's darker. That must be where they're hiding." Matthews nodded and pointed his rifle down the hall. He tried to make out some details while he waited for Rieve to give him the order to move on. "Buddha, take the left side of the hallway. We'll take the right." Rieve pointed her rifle forward and went into position. It was door kicking time. Owen nodded curtly and took his position at the left side. This was getting better by the minute. After all this was why he had chosen to become a marine in the first place. He took a deep breath. "Alright let's teach them a lesson." Rieve liked the new Marine's enthusiasm. She went forward to the first door. She stood to its side while Lance-Corporal Dobson butted it hard with the rear end of a rifle. But, whoever was on the other side expected it. Just as the door collapsed, a green disruptor bolt passed the Marines and hit the dark ceiling. Owen ducked instinctively as he saw the green flash. He pointed his rifle at the now empty doorway. For a second he was not sure whether or not to advance. Obviously the Romulan who had fired the shot had taken cover before any of them could take a good aim at him. Owen looked questioningly at Rieve and shrugged. Rieve didn't wait for the less experienced Marine to act. She immediately turned to the door, facing the rifle inward and began peppering the room with phaser fire. She hadn't yet acquired the target, but, at least she'd made it deepen its cover. Meanwhile, Lance-Corporal Dobson made his move, poking through the door and acquiring the target. The Romulan was hiding low on the ground behind a desk. Dobson began firing just above the desk to keep the Romulan pinned down. Rieve ordered "Buddha... fire forward, low to the ground!" Owen acted at once. He entered the room, crouched and fired. The Romulan didn't have the slightest chance to escape. Rieve moved in while Owen maintained fire and Dobson kept the Romulan from escaping. She dived into the room and quickly took position on the other side of the desk. The Romulan was still trying to poke his head and disruptor upwards to get some kind of aim at Dobson or Owen. A few choice shots made sure he wouldn't even think of it... or anything else, for that matter. Before the Romulan realized what hit him, he was on the floor in a pool of green blood. "All Clear!" "Nice shot." Owen got up and looked around the room. They had done a thorough job. Almost everything in there bore marks of their phaser fire. "Guess he won't be telling us much anymore, eh?" Rieve looked back at Buddha, he sure was wise. "No, but, the room might." It was darkened, but, it looked something like a mix of a lab and an assembly line. There were canisters of unknown substances all over. But, it didn't look active. Owen walked over to the canisters. "I wonder what this is. It definitely looks like they were building something." He turned back to Rieve. "Somehow I'm glad we didn't find out what happens when these things," he jabbed his thumb at one of the canisters. "Are hit by phaser fire." Rieve ordered Dobson to secure the room's entrance. He complied. She attempted to scan the canisters. The sensor damping field was still in effect, and strong. They were close to its source. Despite the differences in technology, there was one thing she did recognize. "Disruptor cavities," she said, as she looked at a haphazardly placed pile of what might have been this room's finished product. Owen frowned. "You mean they were assembling weapons?" He let out a low whistle. "If that's true they better pray we won't take prisoners. Somehow I get the feeling they wouldn't enjoy our... special attention." He went on looking around the room, trying to find more evidence that this facility was used to make weapons. Rieve responded. "It's possible. And, it would all make sense. The Romulans could be using these base facilities to arm themselves and bring in an invasion force or to rearm the population. They may be preparing a full scale rebellion against the Empire!" "Bad move. Well, lucky we found them before they achieved their goal." Owen would probably never understand why some species were stupid enough to try a rebellion against the Empire. Rieve nodded. "Now, all we have to do is get past these subordinates to find - and punish - the leaders." They had done all they could in this room. The Marines moved on down the hallway.

Ramson is right, there are no Europe based sims...at least there were none last time I checked. I think the reason for that is that recruiting players in Europe is not quite as easy as it seems. For one thing in many countries the internet is not as readily available to people as it is for people in the states. (Everyone might have internet access but it is expensive. Some still pay per hour or per MB so they would not 'waste' money on simming) Another reason is the language issue. There are more than 20 languages spoken throughout Europe (only counting official languages of the different countries) and it is, by no means, normal that people are fluent in English. So recruiting Europeans would mostly mean trying to get some British players and the few who speak English well enough to participate in a sim. I know that's the reason why some of my friends haven't tried simming. So, while I haven't changed my mind about the topic (I still think trying an Academy sim at a decent time for those who do not live in America) I am aware that the whole thing might not be very successful for various reasons.

I use Trillian, too so I clicked 'yes' for all three. There are a few things that Trillian can't do but it's good enough for the basics so for me there's no need to have three or four different programs.

I could sell you my extensive TNG collection on VHS....that is if you don't mind watching them in German. One of the advantages of DVDs are that you usually get the movie in several languages.

Since you're getting scientific here...peptides are chains of amino acids with peptide bonds. All proteins are peptides for example. To get back on topic... "Romulan Ale should be illegal." (since my favs have already been mentioned)

Hey, I'm used to people not getting it even when the joke is really obvious. You must remember that I do live in Germany. The way we tell jokes here is a bit different. You have to warn people first: This is a joke. It is funny and you will laugh!

Before anyone gets worried...it was a joke. I don't think it'd be a good idea to have a sim run by non-GMs. There are reasons why you need to fullfill certain requirements before hosting a sim and I find the current policy quite reasonable. Also, the unofficial get togethers are a bit problematic. I know that there were some 'unofficial sims' before the academies when there were enough people waiting. Let's just say that I realised why GMs should be experienced players and older than 18.

There's an idea. Meet Lepage and Finn in the Holodeck, a sim run by non-GM players who aim to destroy the universe. The crew would wear Lederhosen, eat baguette and belgian chocolate all day and we shouldn't forget the trailer in which we store the Prosciutto di Parma and we definitely need a Holodeck programme of Mallorca so that we can sometimes act like barbarians.

I think your approach to this is pretty reasonable. There is no point talking about this for half a year before we actually start to make decisions. I also like the idea of a kind of training ship. It would definitely solve the problem that you might come up with a great idea for a sim just to see it cancelled after a few weeks for lack of attendance. The problem I see is that we don't give this thing enough time. In order to get more people from Europe to join STSF and this sim eventually we'd have to offer it for longer than just a few weeks. I mean, honestly, how many of you just kinda stumbled across STSF? I know I did. So, it would probably take a while for a reasonable amount of European players to join STSF. To answer Vatric... a sim in the afternoon is just as inconvenient for Europeans as it would be for Americans.

I think it's a great idea to do a poll about it. (And the fact that is is a great idea explains why I didn't think of it.) Personally I'd be all for a sim which I can attend at a 'decent' time. I don't think anyone should be planning anything like an advanced sim just yet. I fear it's not very likely we'll get enough people simming on it just now. (I might be wrong.) Also, if you find someone who has a great idea for another advanced sim it would be really frustrating for them to see that there isn't enough interest for simming at 9pm GMT and see their sim cancelled. Anyway, if there were two GMs willing to host an Academy it would certainly not hurt to try how it goes. If the GMs end up to be the only ones attending it well...cancel it.

Well, how many people are there who are not in North Amrica five...six maybe?So, my guess would be that there is no activity because it's no use looking at the boards during the day (for us) since there are no new posts. I think if there were Academies during the day there might be more people joining us who are not living in the Sates or Canada. The problem is that there'd have to be more than one Academy and at least one sim to make it really interesting. The problem with that certainly would be that most GMs work or go to school so, it looks like we'll have to continue getting up early/staying up late. While I think it'd be worth trying to run an Academy during the day I fear Fred and A-9 definitely have a point when they say it might prove that there is no real need for it.

Nick just materialized in sickbay along with the Rixian. Time was of the essence if he still wanted to save the man's life. He had run some preliminary scans in the brig and they had not yielded promising results. "I need some help here," he called out. Within seconds DJ was at his side, looking at the readouts on the monitor above the biobed. Nick looked up briefly to see who had come to help. "It looks pretty bad. All his organs are slowly failing one after the other. I get some strange readings but I haven't yet found out what exactly it is." He keyed some commands into the control panel of the biobed, picked up a hypo and administered it to the Rixian in an attempt to stabilize him. DJ studied the readings as Nick tried desperately to stabilize his patient. Lepage knew more about Rixian physiology than anyone else in the Federation but his efforts were proving futile. It didn't take an expert to see what was happening. The refugee turned assassin was dying. The CMO took a step back and allowed Nick to continue working on his patient. Those strange readings were probably caused by some type of poison. She didn't bother mentioning that to Lepage. There was no need. He'd probably come to the same conclusion when he first examined the Rixian in the brig. DJ was willing to bet the Rixian brought the poison with him when he arrived on Aegis. It must have been well hidden. No one on her staff noticed it while the Rixian was in Sickbay and security had apparently missed it as well. That was most unfortunate. Because now that it had been ingested, the chances of finding an antidote were slim and none. The poison had to be Rixian in origin. The Federation knew very little about their society in general much less the types of poisons one would use to commit suicide. And that's what this was....suicide. This assassin came to Aegis with no intentions of returning home. He may have failed to murder Captain Ayers but he would undoubtedly succeed in killing himself. DJ stepped up beside Nick Lepage and rested her hand on his arm. "He doesn't appear to be in any pain," she whispered. "If you agree with that, then I recommend we allow him to die in peace. We both know there is no cure for what ails him." Nick looked at DJ for a moment then angrily tossed the hypospray onto the tray next to the biobed while displaying his knowledge of a wide variety of French swearwords. He new the CMO was right. Even if they managed to find out what kind of poison the Rixian had taken there was no way they'd be able to find and replicate an antidote in time to save the man's life. He looked at the Rixian's vital signs. They were getting worse by the second. "Coward." Lepage turned back to DJ. "I'm sorry, it's just... well, I hate just watching people die. I became a physician because I wanted to help people. I never thought I'd meet anyone," at this he jerked his head toward the Rixian, "that did not want my help. I mean... I think I know what you mean." "It seems a lot of his people don't want our help," replied DJ quietly. "By refusing it, they are, for all intents and purposes, committing suicide." She looked at Lepage and shook her head slightly. "But we can't loose sight of the fact that some of the Rixians may be willing to reach out to others for assistance. We have to be there for them. Obviously, this one falls into the first category. There was never anything we could do for him." Nick sighed and hung his head as another alarm go off on the biobed. It probably indicated another of the Rixian's organs failing. He ignored it. DJ was right. There was nothing they could do. Nick looked back up into DJ's eyes. She had been watching him and now she was looking back at him and Nick thought she seemed a bit concerned. He forced himself to smile reassuringly. "I'm alright. I just hate losing patients... especially this way. But it was his decision so..." He trailed off and shrugged. He had meant to say 'So I don't care' but that would have been a lie and he was sure DJ knew him well enough by now to know that he actually did care. Besides, his obvious display of anger and frustration when he had tossed away the hypo had given him away anyway. "Just because it was his choice," said DJ, "doesn't make it right. And it certainly doesn't make it any easier to accept." She turned away from the biobed and again shook her head. "To say this whole affair has been bizzare would be the understatment of the year. I'm not sure this Rixian would have coughed up any information during interrogration, but I'm sorry we won't have the opportunity to find out." She turned toward Nick and patted him on the shoulder. "Stay with him if you will," she continued. "I'll notify the Captain." She paused a moment. "Not that there's anything he can do." DJ started to walk away but stopped and again looked at Lepage. "After this Rixan has breathed his last, I recommend a full autopsy. Mabye we'll learn more from him in death than we would have had we been able to keep in alive." Nick nodded. "I'll try to find out something that will help us identify the poison." He turned to the monitor above the biobed and noted that the Rixian's breathing had become extremely shallow. Even the computer could hardly register it. "I suppose it's best if I do the autopsy myself. I'll ask Mary-Alice to prepare everything." Lepage tapped a few commands into the biobed's controls. He heard DJ walk away. Doors opened to his left. Just before DJ could walk through them Nick called after her. "Doctor McKinny," he didn't wait for a reply, "We should ask someone from security to check the cell. He must have kept the poison in a vial or a hypospray. Maybe they can find it and make it easier to indentify the poison. I'll check his clothes." DJ nodded and continued on her way to her office. As soon as she stepped inside, she closed the door behind her and contacted Captain Ayers to apprise him of the situation. She informed him the Rixian had ingested a poison of some kind, was comatose and would not survive for more than thirty minutes, if that long. She also suggested the prisoner's cell be thoroughly searched, something she was fairly confident was already being done. Hopefully, security would find the container the poison was carried in. Or perhaps Lepage would locate it when he searched the Rixian's clothes. Then again, it might never be found. The post-mortem would likely identify whatever agent the Rixian used to kill himself. But even a slight trace of the raw chemical would be if great help. DJ wasn't going to hold her breath. This entire situation had been one mess after another. She had no reason to believe things would change now.

Nick woke up suddenly and ran a hand over his face. He tried to remember the dream he'd just had. There had been a Rixian and a giant bacterium brandishing a knife trying to stab the Rixian who had kept running away. Out of nowhere a few Gorn materialized and stood between the bacterium and the Rixian. And then there had been Patti, one of the nurses. She had stood next to Nick, talking relentlessly, blaming him for the bacterium's attack on the Rixian. Suddenly, Commander Hawke had come running towards the scene. She had just stood there and looked at everyone in turn. As soon as her eyes had fallen on someone their head had exploded...first Patti's, the the Gorns'. Sickbay had looked like a war zone with blood stains on the walls. The bacterium had still been running around amid the chaos, randomly stabbing at medical personnel. The sickbay doors had opened and Captain Ayers had entered. There had been a blood stain on his chest. When the bacterium had seen the Captain it had run toward him but before it had reached Ayers Commander Hawke had looked at it. Her face had looked strained and then... the bacterium had exploded, too, drenching Ayers in water and cell organelles. Nick had tried to run, hoping the Commander wouldn't look at him next but his feet seemed to be made of lead. He couldn't move. This was when he had woken up. Nick sat up, looked at the chrono and groaned. For once he had managed to go to bed at a reasonable time. After his shift Finn and he had gone to the midway to drink a beer and talk about the day. Then Nick had gone straight to his quarters, taken a shower, eaten something and gone to bed. It hadn't taken him long to fall asleep. And now it was 2 am and he was already awake. He got up and walked toward the replicator. 'Water 4°C'. Nick picked up the glass that materialized and sat down on the couch. He drank the water and put the glass on the table in front of him. Then he leaned back, closed his eyes and massaged his temples. What a stupid dream. Nick opened his eyes and got up suddenly. He had to get some sleep. There was no way he'd be able to survive another day like the last. He fell into bed drew the blanket up to his chin and fell asleep almost at once.