DrDMatthews

Just got back from the movie and all I have to say is.......WOW!!! I've been a die hard Trek fan for almost 43 years. TOS was and still is MY Trek. And by heaven....I'm a VERY HAPPY CAMPER!!! I am so pleased they chose to reboot the franchise with the original NCC 1701 and Kirk/Spock/McCoy and company. Karl Urban as McCoy was totally awesome!! I'm sure De Kelly would be very pleased. Chris Pine as Kirk was great and I liked the new Spock too! Bruce Greenwood did a wonderful job as Chris Pike. An alternate time line might upset some folks. But I thought it was a great idea....a perfect way to allow the original characters to return for new adventures in the final frontier. Of course we can nitpick this movie to pieces. At the same time, I'm hopeful Trek will be around for a long time to come thanks to this movie. Have to see this one 3 or 4 times. Can't wait until tomorrow. ;)

Have seen the Burger King commercial with the "Kingons." Nearly fell off the chair. ;) And the dog named Tiberius....nice touch.

A joint log by Tabor Nansk and Rocco Studly. The Bajoran male sat stoically on the biobed patiently waiting his turn. As Rocco Studly approached him, he thought how much this one looked like all the others....dazed and confused. Heaven knew, they all a right to feel that way. Glancing around the Sickbay as he walked toward his patient, Dr. Studly was pleased to see the crowd had thinned out considerably. The only doctors missing were Debbie Matthews and Merina which meant the rest of them, himself included, had been killed when the alternate Reaent exploded. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of it. He forced his attention back to the present. Walking up to his patient, he activated the biobed's built in scanners and looked the man in the eye. "For the record, please state your name and rank." "Nansk...Tabor....Ensign," came the immediate reply. Studly nodded approvingly. No hesitation, he thought silently. That's a good sign. Rocco studied the data provided by the scanner while wondering what this man's story was. His medical record indicated he was one of the fighter pilots. He could only imagine what they went through during Reaent's encounter with the Romulans. "According to your DNA, you are who you claim to be," announced Studly with a slight grin. "Now just relax and let's make sure you're okay. It looks like you've been through quite an ordeal." Tabor put up with Studly's poking, prodding and seemingly endless scanning. It was all surrealistic. None of these people seemed to grasp it was THEY who were the odd ones. They were all dead. Or at least they should have been. The Reaent DID explode. Most of the escape pods WERE destroyed. If anyone needed scanning it was these folk. Oh well, soon it would be over and he could escape for a while to his quarters. There would be questions, endless questions, and for now he had no answers...or even speculations. At least it would take the ship several days to reach the star base. Perhaps in that time he could sort out his thoughts and try to make some sense of all this. Other than bruises and minor contusions, Mr. Nansk was in remarkably good condition, at least physically. As far as the psychological aftermath of his ordeal, the Bajoran fighter pilot showed no outward evidence of anything more than routine stress and exhaustion. "You can sit up now," said Rocco, switching off the scanner. "You might be a little sore for a few days. Other than that, you're in pretty good shape." He waited until Tabor was sitting upright, his legs dangling off the biobed before continuing. "I'm releasing you but you need a couple of days off followed by a couple of days light duty. I'll note in your file" Tabor nodded his appreciation. A couple of days off sounded just about right. Was it worth even trying to figure out what happened? It wasn't like he could change anything - or even want to. He was alive. His friends and fellow crew were alive. The ship was still flying. The only nagging thought was that someone need to do some pretty good explaining what this mission was all about. It was wrong from the start, and save for a miracle anomaly, a total disaster in the end. Where things would go from here was anyone's guess. Rocco Studly couldn't repress a grin as the fighter pilot slipped off the table, nodded silently and purposefully strode toward the exit. By the time Studly completed his entry to the file, Tabor Nansk was well on his way to his quarters. Rocco looked around and spotted yet another escape pod survivor leaning against the wall near the main doors. "Come on over," he called with a wave of his hand. "You're next."

Hey Grom!!! Congratulations on another year around the sun. And Double Congratulations on your wife!!! You mess with her, you'll have to answer to ME! And that's a bad thing. ;)

A Joint Log by Commander Ridire and Dr. Matthews Studly didn't attempt to reason with her. He simply stepped away and nodded. A moment later, Deb was startled as a hand came to rest on her shoulder. She whipped around to find her husband standing behind her. She had no idea how long he'd been there. Rocco surely saw him but gave no indication the XO was nearby. Aidan looked directly at the attending physician. There was a question in his eyes that he didn't have to verbalize. Dr. Studly simply nodded in understanding. "We have confirmed this woman is Deborah Matthews, the Chief Medical Officer of the USS Reaent - NCC 3345-G." Rocco walked away leaving Deb looking over her shoulder at Aidan Ridire whose hand still rested on that same shoulder. She saw him swallow hard upon hearing Studly's proclamation and then a slight smile appeared....... He murmurs "That I already knew." Clearing his throat he says to Dr. Studly "Excuse us, Doctor." He slips his hand down to the small of Deb's back and gently pushes her off the biobed. He guides Deb towards her office and follows her inside. She hesitated as her feet touched the floor. Glancing down, she could see her knees shaking and wondered why they waited until now to act up. Drawing a deep breath, she quieted her nerves and followed Aidan into her office. It looked exactly as it had immediately prior to the final attack on the Reaent. Deb walked to her desk, turned and leaned against it, more to keep her balance than anything else. Her husband stood an arms length away but she was still having difficulty comprehending he was alive. Once again, she felt her control slip another notch. "I thought you were dead," she whispered, her voice failing her in mid sentence. "I thought my worst nightmare had come true." He frowns slightly and steps into her. Slipping his arms around her waist he pulls her tight against him. Leaning down he kisses her warmly for a minute. Breaking it off he murmurs "But I'm not dead, your worst nightmare didn't come true. You can feel me against you and I'm going to remain here with you until you're sure you've collected yourself." He kisses her forehead before tucking his head against hers. The entire crew could walk into her office right now and he wouldn't care. This was by far the most important thing to him right this moment. She didn't resist nor did she relax. She leaned against him, her cheek pressed against his chest and her eyes wide with concern. This seemed so real. The man holding her was bona fide flesh and blood. She could feel the warmth of his body and the faint aroma of his cologne. Her husband was alive and well and trying his best to comfort her. But if this was reality, what was it she had experienced? She and all the others who escaped their ship on those tiny pods now tucked away somewhere on this version of the Reaent. Was it a dream....a nightmare shared by all of them? That's nonsense," she thought to herself. "You don't wake up from a nightmare battered and bruised and wreaking of smoke." Something had happened that she couldn't explain. And she hated mysteries....especially the type that reaches out and tries to kill you. In spite of her doubts, the longer Aidan held her, the less she felt the need to maintain her stoic attitude. He'd always had that effect on her. Why can't you accept this? she questioned herself silently. "It isn't the first time you've experienced some inexplicable. Can't you take this at face value and move on? It wasn't as though she had much choice. She felt the fear and the grief gathering forces deep in her chest. Try as she might, she could no longer keep them at bay. The tears rushed forward, staining her cheeks as they fell. But along with the despair and anguish, another emotion slowly emerged to dominate all else. Relief....sheer undiluted relief. Her whole body heaved as she buried her face in Aidan's chest and sobbed. Oh God, she pleaded silently. Please let this be real. It doesn't escape his notice that it takes her a few seconds to return the embrace and the reluctance behind it at first. Nor did he miss the fear and confusion that was in her eyes. But he also knows that her stoic reserve was only a facade behind which she was hiding from her own worst nightmare. He feels her clutch to him as that reserve crumbles. He holds her tightly to him as he feels the movement of her body against him as she cries. He closes his eyes as he feels several tears of his own run down his face. When it was reported that she, along with several others, had just mysteriously vanished from the ship it was as if something ice cold had reached into him and ripped out his heart and like her his emotions were barely holding under control by the merest thread. He murmurs "Everything will be all right my village idiot, my aingeal." "Village idiot." Those two simple words got her immediate attention. Deb hesitated a moment and then pulled back just far enough to look up at Aidan. Freeing her hands, she wiped her tear streaked face and stared into his eyes. Nobody else would have known she had once referred to herself that way. It happened during their honeymoon....on a rainy day while they lounged on the veranda. She and Aidan were alone. He was the only other person who would know. The words confirmed it....this was real and so was Aidan. "Village idiot," she whispered, a small grin tugging at her lips. "Thanks....I needed that." His voice takes on a mischievous tone. "Perhaps, in return, you could remind me of why you called yourself that." He brushes a hand against her face before letting his expression soften. "It will be a pleasure," she replied softly. She cupped his face in both hands and kissed him warmly then dropping her hands, took a step back. "What happened? Can you explain what happened to us?" "I'm only guessing here but apparently the wormhole was not exactly stable. And either when we went through it played with the time line or just some alternate universe and created a situation where from, the perception of you and the others in the pods, the Reaent was destroyed and the others and I...." He frowns and shakes his head, murmuring. "Thank God that isn't what turned out to be. Anyway, from the perception of myself and the others who you thought died, you and the others just disappeared without any indication where. And when we came through the wormhole we detected the escape pods and the debris of the..." His hands balls into fists briefly. "...the debris of the Reaent that you saw destroyed. And fortunately the task force arrived behind us. Personally, I'm hoping the Captain takes my suggestion and gets us back to the Federation as fast as possible. I want away from this place...this field of ghosts." The explanation was short and sweet and presented in terms a medical doctor could comprehend. Debbie nodded in understanding but the entire scenario was more than astounding. What were the odds of such a coincidence occurring? No matter how one looked at it, they had all survived by the skin of their teeth. To say they were lucky was putting it mildly. "What now?" she asked, taking his hands in hers. "What happens now? Do we have time to clean up before the debriefing or what?" "We have a little while. Let's just go and get cleaned up and such." He kisses her forehead before murmuring "I want some time alone with you. I nearly lost my most precious treasure, I would like to have it within my arms as much as I can get...to reassure myself." He closes his eyes and tries to hold back one last tear. "Sounds good to me," breathed Deb while gently brushing his face with her fingers. Then she stepped back and started to move around him toward the tiny restroom inside her office. "I can't go out there like this," she stated flatly. Let me clean up a bit." The image staring back at her in the mirror actually startled her. "I knew I looked awful, but this is ridiculous," she groaned, damping a towel and wiping the sooty streaks from her face. She glanced toward the door where Aidan waited patiently. The expression in his eyes gave her a momentary glimpse into his fear and trepidation. They'd both been scared to death. She dropped the towel into the recycle bin and met him at the bathroom door. "Just one more thing," she said with a lopsided grin. Walking past him, she returned to her desk and opened the bottom drawer. Removing a small box, a gift from Aaron Scherer, she surveyed the contents then reached in and retrieved a chocolate Tootsie Pop. She looked at Aidan and shrugged. "After this ordeal, I'm entitled to some chocolate." She held the box out toward him. "Would you like one?" He smiles and takes one. He offers his hand to her and says "Come on, lets go home. We'll get cleaned up and then I'll see to supper which I think will include a rather large chocolate sundae for dessert. And then we'll...well I'm sure we'll find something to occupy our time with. Though don't be surprised if I have several proper kisses in mind." "Proper kisses?" she asked, taking an extra lollipop and returning the box to the drawer. "My good man," she continued as she took his hand with an innocent grin. "Have you forgotten already? You have a date with the village idiot." From the quiet privacy of her office, they stepped into the controlled chaos of Sickbay and Deb instinctively surveyed the room. Everything seemed to be functioning normally....or as normally as they could under the circumstances. She casually noticed Jon Shamor, padd in hand, hovering near Anna O'Halloran who was sitting on a biobed. As they crossed the room, she caught sight of Ensign Mark DeFalco heading for the exit. He glanced in her direction and she smiled. "Until you're better rewarded," she called to him, tossing him the extra Tootsie Pop. The young engineer caught it in one hand and grinned. He offered her a casual salute and then quickly made his exit. Aidan looked at her questioningly. "I'll explain later," whispered Deb. "Right now, I just want to go home." He smiles and purrs "Well I didn't want to presume what the "village idiot" was thinking of. But yes, lets go home. Very much want to forget everything but who I'm with." He brings her hand up to his lips and kisses it gently after saying that. As they walked out of Sickbay, Debbie took comfort in the security of Aidan's hand tightly clasping hers. Neither spoke after they entered the lift he ordered it to Deck 4. Just as the doors swished open, a startling realization occurred to Deb. Through it all, she hadn't been afraid to die...not once...not even for a second. What terrified her was the thought she might have to live....live without Aidan. She squeezed his hand as the exited they lift, grateful they had both been spared and wondering how soon they would again have to stare into the face of death.

Spoken like a true TOS fan!!! Sure brought back fond memories.

Happy Birthday to my dear CO.....the one and only Fred....AKA...."Annihilator!" Hope you had a great day! But if you didn't, please don't take it out on Reaent. You've already put her through enough.

Sitting on the biobed seemed peculiar. She was usually the one standing beside it, monitoring the readouts and guiding the conversation. Not this time. The CMO was the patient and it was her long time associate, Rocco Studly standing beside the bed, monitoring the readouts and guiding the conversation. Although he hadn't said two words since approaching her. That was okay. She knew what he was looking for and she was just as certain he'd found it when they finally made eye contact. The scanners had just verified her identity and none too soon. She'd managed to keep tight control of her emotions since this ordeal began. Now, surrounded by this familiar environment and the people she knew were dead, she felt herself slipping a little. "Where's your chief?" asked Deb quietly. Rocco never blinked. "Apparently, she sitting right here in front of me." She smiled gamely and nodded. "It's good to see you Rocco. Half an hour ago, I was pretty sure I'd never see you again." "Half an hour ago you were talking to a group of us right here in this Sickbay." Deb canted her head slightly and asked. "Then what happened?" "You and bunch of others......disappeared." Studly shrugged and shook his head. "I mean to tell you, all of you simply vanished right before our eyes." He looked toward the injured housed in the far corner of Sickbay. "Even some of the patients disappeared. It was freaky!" "Yeah," whispered Deb. "Freaky is a pretty accurate description." The other physician took a step back and folded his arms across his chest. "What the heck happened?" He looked around the crowded Sickbay as he continued. "You guys look like you've been through a wreck." "That's another accurate description," quipped Debbie wondering where to begin. She looked up at her friend and shook her head. "We came through the wormhole....into Romulan space....right back where we started from." Studly nodded in agreement. "That's right. And the Romulans were waiting for us. Fortunately, that task force was almost here. If it hadn't been for them, I don't know what would have happened to us. " Debbie stared blankly at her fellow physician. "I do," she stated flatly. She drew a deep breath and rubbed her temples. Her head was pounding and her body ached all over. "The task force wasn't close enough. The Romulans attacked. The ship was already damaged. It didn't take long for them to break through our shields." She looked at Rocco while fighting back the tears. "Half of Sickbay was blown away. Only the force field saved the rest of us." "Deb, that didn't happen." asserted Rocco. "Not to you, no," insisted the CMO. "But it happened to us. I don't know how or why but it definitely happened to us. We were ordered to abandon ship. Merina and I and a few others made it to an escape pod. Within a couple of minutes, the Reaent exploded. We felt the shock wave.....we saw the debris....the Reaent was destroyed." A couple of tears managed to escape and slowly wandered down her cheeks. "You didn't make it off the ship, Rocco. You and Russ and Lyle and Gracie....and most of the others were killed....including most of the bridge crew and the Captain and Aidan." "But I'm here, Deb. We all are." Studly stepped closer to her and again checked the biobed's readouts. "You're in shock. Let me give you something...." "No," argued the CMO. "I don't want any drugs. I want to remain clearheaded. I need to remember everything, at least until after the debriefing." Studly didn't attempt to reason with her. He simply stepped away and nodded. A moment later, Deb was startled as a hand came to rest on her shoulder. She whipped around to find her husband standing behind her. She had no idea how long he'd been there. Rocco surely saw him but gave no indication the XO was nearby. Aidan looked directly at the attending physician. There was a question in his eyes that he didn't have to verbalize. Dr. Studly simply nodded in understanding. "We have confirmed this woman is Deborah Matthews, the Chief Medical Officer of the USS Reaent - NCC 3345-G." Rocco walked away leaving Deb looking over her shoulder at Aidan Ridire who hand still rested on that same shoulder. She saw him swallow hard upon hearing Studly's proclamation and then a slight smile appeared.......

Confused was putting it mildly. Once again, the haggard band of survivors from escape pod 612 were escorted out of a transporter room and into a long corridor....under guard. This time, they had company. All of the remnants of the Reaent's crew had been gathered together for this particular parade. Debbie Matthews silently trudged along behind the lead guard. Merina was beside her. She glanced over her shoulder to find Ensign Tkar, her delicate Vulcan features reflecting a total lack of emotion. Beside Tkar was young Mr. DeFalco, the engineer who had taken the controls on pod 612. The others shuffled along behind them... exhausted....some injured.....and all of them thoroughly confused. At least there was no brig awaiting them at the end of their march. They were on their way to Sickbay.... for complete physicals....not because their hosts were overly concerned about their health although that was part of it.....but because their hosts didn't really believe they were who they claimed to be. That was understandable. Deb was just as confused. She wasn't sure their hosts were who they claimed to be either. She knew the Reaent had been destroyed. She saw it....felt it....she was absolutely certain of that much. But now she and the others were here....walking down a familiar corridor toward an even more familiar Sickbay....her Sickbay. They'd been rescued. But their saviors claimed they were now on the Reaent. How could that be? The Reaent was gone....blown to bits by the Romulans less than half an hour ago. Deb tried to focus on the evidence as they approached the lift. While still on the escape pod, their sensors detected a wormhole opening. She didn't know all that much about wormholes other than they were temporal distortions. If stable, they could be used as a conduit from one area of space to another very distant location. She also knew the Romulans were fooling around with a wormhole. Reaent made her escape through it. That's how the ship ended up in the Gamma Quadrant. It was also how they wound up back in Romulan space. Just a short distance out from Camelot Station, the Romulan wormhole suddenly reappeared. In the blink of an eye, Reaent was back where she started....badly damaged and staring down who knew how many Warbirds. Was the wormhole they detected while on the escape pod related to the one that brought Reaent back? And the ship that came through that wormhole....it squawked as the Reaent.....an Ambassador Class Starship....the USS Reaent - NCC-3345-G. How could that be? Reaent was her ship and her ship was gone. Then they appeared in the transporter room only to be greeted by Captain Michaels.....and Aidan. They looked like the Captain and her husband. Everything about them was the same. But how could that be? Michaels and Ridire were on the bridge when the Romulans destroyed the Reaent. They couldn't have survived. And if they did, why were they here, in this transporter room rather than in one of the escape pods. She leaned against the cool metallic surface of the lift car as the portal closed with a soft whooshing sound. Was that Aidan? It looked like him. But how?. She glanced at her left hand, the one Aidan held for a few brief seconds. He was looking at her ring but his expression, though seemingly hopeful, was laced with doubt. She could only imagine the incertitude her own eyes betrayed. Ensign DeFalco stood directly in front of her in the lift. "Ma'am, what's going on?" he whispered. "They don't believe us?" Deb looked at him and smiled. "Are you certain this is the Reaent?" The young engineer glanced away momentarily before again meeting her gaze. "Yes and no," he answered with a shrug. "I guess they feel the same way about us." "I guess they do," replied Deb softly as she studied the haggard faces packed into the lift. "But don't worry, we'll settle this once and for all when we get to Sickbay." She reached over and patted his arm. "They'll figure out who we are....and we'll figure out who they are. Just remember....we're a lot better off now than we were ten minutes ago. Let's be grateful for that much and deal with everything else as it comes." The lift doors chose that moment to open and DeFalco turned around to face forward. As the passengers filed out and down the hall toward Sickbay, Deb saw a couple of her staff standing just outside the medical facility's main doors. One was Lieutenant Grace Allen, the Chief Nurse, whom Deb was certain had been killed when half of Sickbay was blown away. The nurse was scanning the incoming crowd, searching for familiar faces. Their eyes met and Deb couldn't help smiling at Gracie. Nor could she ignore the look of shock and disbelief on her friend's face. Grace came forward to meet Debbie while the tattered band of survivors were still in the corridor. "Is this for real? she asked hesitantly. Debbie Matthews took her friend's arm and smiled as the two entered Sickbay. "I hope so, Gracie. I really hope so."

Log presented with permission from Captain Michaels. "Whoa! What's that?" The pilot's question snapped Deborah Matthews out of her maudlin reverie. It seemed to have a similar effect on everyone else in escape pod 612. Suddenly, he had everyone's attention. The young engineer who was manning the helm looked behind him.....directly at Debbie. Why wouldn't he, she thought silently taking another quick glance around the pod. She was the senior officer aboard. "You need to see this, Ma'am." By now, he had turned around and was again studying one of the instrument panels. See what? she wondered as she slowly unbuckled her safety restraints. More death and destruction? Deb pushed her negativity aside and carefully made her way forward. "What is it, Ensign?" she asked as she leaned over his shoulder. "Look at this!" he whispered. He was pointing at a small navigational console that clearly showed they were not alone. There were indications a huge vessel or multiple smaller ones were headed in their direction. There seemed to be one smaller blip a little ahead of the others. "Who are they? she asked cautiously. "Can't tell...not with these limited scanning capabilities." "Romulans?" she asked forcing the pessimistic tone from her voice. The Ensign shrugged. "Could be but they aren't the ones we've been dealing with. They're over here." He pointed toward the lower quadrant of the screen where seven clearly identified bogies appeared to be at full stop. "They're the ones who blew us to bits," continued the engineer, his voice barely above a whisper. "They're probably scanning the escape pods and beaming the survivors over to their ships as we speak." Of course they are, she mused as she straightened up. But she opted to keep her thoughts on that subject to herself. She knew it was just a matter of time before they became prisoners of the Romulan Star Empire. What time they had left on the escape pod should be used to attempt to identify whatever it was heading their way. "Are they approaching from the neutral zone? Can you determine their velocity?" She asked the questions in rapid succession. He looked up at her again and she could see the spark of hope in his eyes. "They're approaching from the neutral zone. I don't think they're Romulan.....but I can't be sure." Turning back to the screen, he continued. "I can't tell what speed they're traveling. But they're coming in fast....warp seven at least." Warp seven.....from the neutral zone.....could it be the cavalry. "Maybe it's the cavalry," added the young engineer causing Debbie to wonder if he'd read her mind. So what if it is. They're too late. The damage has been done.....the lives have already been lost....the future snuffed out for hundreds of her shipmates.....and for the survivors.....their futures have been irrevocably altered.... nothing would ever be the same. "That would be nice," she quipped ,her voice steady but less than positive. She stepped around to stand beside the Ensign chair. "What's your name? He looked at her, surprised by the question. "Mark DeFalco, Ma'am." Debbie smiled gamely. "Mr. DeFalco, you know we don't have much time. See if you can figure out if that's the cavalry or Romulan reinforcements." She patted him on the shoulder and hurried on. "And make sure our beacon is active." "It is, Ma'am," came the immediate reply. "I still can't confirm who or what is incoming but they don't seem to have the type of signatures we're picking up from the Romulans." Debbie was about to assure DeFalco that she knew he was doing his best and urge him to keep trying. She never had the chance. She felt the familiar yet peculiar tingling of a transporter beam and knew they'd run out of time. A moment later, she, DeFalco and all of the passengers on escape pod 612 found themselves in an alien transporter room, starring down the barrels of Romulan disruptors.

Like a wobbling baseball, the explosion hurled the little escape pod far way from its point of departure. The front window, though small, was large enough to allow the passengers to see the thousands of pieces of debris race by, the remains of what had been their ship....the place where they worked....where they played....where they lived and loved. The explosion marked the death of the USS Reaent. Dr. Deborah Matthews looked aft and closed her eyes as the pod heaved in every direction while fighting desperately to keep her stomach where it belonged. She had no desire to see the skin and bones of the Reaent tossed aimlessly through space. She counted to thirty before daring to open her eyes again. There were only twenty-three beings on this particular pod. The majority were from Sickbay. Merina sat across from Deb. The Caitian physician leaned forward, her paws clasped tightly, her eyes closed. There were six or seven other members of her staff along with several patients they'd managed to rescue. The remainder of the passengers were from various departments....a couple from ops and science and three engineers. One of the engineers had taken the helm. All of those in this escape pod were breathing. Their hearts and lungs and other bodily functions were performing within acceptable parameters. They had survived. But one look in their eyes showed they weren't really alive. The former CMO of the late USS Reaent understood how they felt. She had no idea what horrors some of the passengers had witnessed. But if they were as horrific as what she and her staff had just gone through, there was no telling when or if they would recover from the trauma. They'd called all of the medical staff to Sickbay immediately after Deb was notified of the Romulans sudden re-appearance. A few who had been off duty managed to make it but most did not. She had no direct knowledge of how seriously the ship was damaged. But she'd been around long enough to know they'd been badly compromised. She assumed many of her staff were unable to get to Sickbay because of the destruction. And then half of Sickbay disintegrated in flash of smoke and light. Many of the patients who were still in the medical facility as well as a good number of her staff were killed before the force fields engaged saving the rest of them from the vacuum of space. Before they abandoned ship, she'd taken a long look at what remained of her Sickbay to insure nobody alive was left behind. That was just a few minutes ago. It wasn't until now that she was able to recall who might be missing. Rocco Studly, Russ Eckert and Miles Linkowitz....three of her top physicians were in Sickbay prior to the blast. They didn't exit with the survivors. Neither did Grace Allen, the Chief Nurse and one of Debbie's closest friends. There were so many others whose names flashed through her consciousness. She could only hope some of them made it to escape pods from wherever they were when the order came down. But the greatest fear for Debbie Matthews wasn't her staff or her patients. Though she cared deeply about them, her thoughts quickly turned to her husband, the ship's XO, who undoubtedly was on the bridge during the attack. Did anyone on the bridge live through this ordeal? Did Aidan survive? Had her worst nightmare just come true? She forced those questions from her mind. There were more pressing issues to worry about. They were deep in Romulan space, that much she was sure of. The ships responsible for Reaent's destruction were nearby. There would be no escape from them, not in these little pods. They would be captured by their enemy and interrogated... all of them....some would be tortured. She wondered if perhaps it would have been better to die with the ship. But Deb Matthews had managed to live. She was a lieutenant commander in Starfleet. After their capture, many of her shipmates would look to her for guidance. It was essential she maintain her composure in order to survive. In spite of her best efforts, her thoughts again turned to Aidan. Would he be among the prisoners? If he was, would she ever know? Would she have an opportunity to see him.....to speak to him? Or he would be among the first to undergo interrogation......interrogation he probably wouldn't survive. Her eyes misted and she squeezed them shut to prevent any tears from escaping. But there was no way to quell the fear and grief cinching her heart like a powerful vise. She was breathing...her heart was beating....but she wouldn't be alive until she was again with her husband. And Deb knew that might never happen. Again she wondered if she would have been better off dying with her ship.

I saw that episode last Thursday right before the Reaent sim. I laughed a lot. Ron Moore and company didn't hurt any either. I thought it was handled quite well....something of a tribute to both Trek and BSG. And perfect timing what with the movie coming out in a couple of weeks. Did I mention that I laughed a lot. It was great fun. Go to CBS.com and take a look for yourselves

I've watched the trailer at least 20 times.....and I'm still drooling!!! I am SO there!!!

We're not different. We were always scary! ;)

Debbie Matthews rushed toward the conference room but paused a moment before entering. She took a deep breath then stepped a bit closer allowing the portal to open with its familiar swishing sound. The senior staff meeting was well underway by the time she arrived. Everyone stared at her as she made her apologies and quietly slipped into the vacant chair beside Aidan. "That's what happens when you arrive late", she mused silently. To make matters worse, she looked like the wreck of the Cairo. The CMO wasn't sure how many of the department chiefs had already presented their reports. She tried to listen attentively while Aaron Scherer finished his presentation but her thoughts kept drifting to the casualty report she would have to give. Aidan already had a general idea. But the others didn't have a clue and that included the Captain. And then the Captain looked at her. "How bad is it?" he asked, a tinge of dread in his voice. She couldn't bring herself to even glance at him or anyone else sitting around the highly polished table. "I'm afraid it's bad," she replied, activating her padd. There was no point delaying the awful news so she plunged ahead doing her best to keep her voice from quivering. "We've suffered a total of 264 casualties," she began. "Of those, 58 are fatalities. That includes 34 MIA. We presume they were lost though the hull breaches." She looked up to find everyone was again staring at her. The expressions on their faces reflected their shock. The Captain looked like someone had just stabbed him in the gut. "Of the 206 wounded," she continued. "62 are in critical condition. That includes the 6 in stasis who were so severely wounded, we haven't yet been able to treat them. 98 were treated and released although some of them have been confined to quarters. There are still 46 hospitalized in serious condition. We're hoping to release most of them within the next ten days." Deb closed the padd and slid it onto the table. "In short, about half the crew is either deceased or unfit for duty. Those numbers will undoubtedly change as time goes by....hopefully for the better." The room was so quiet, she could hear her own heart beat. She looked at the Captain who was visibly shaken by he news. "One more thing," added Deb. "We're quickly running out of supplies and I mean everything from syringes to medications to surgical gowns. If it weren't for the generosity of Excalibur's medical department, we would be in even worse shape. As it is, we're rationing everything." Fred Michael's met her gaze and frowned. Then he looked at Aaron Scherer, the Chief Engineer. "See if you can free up more power for the Sickbay replicators." Aaron nodded and Deb breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Sir," she said softly. "That will be greatly appreciated." For a moment, no one said anything. Then the Captain's demeanor transformed. Once again, he was all business. He turned to Annabell O'Hallaran, representing the Science Department and asked for her report. The meeting continued and Deb settled back in her chair trying not to be distracted by what awaited her in Sickbay.

Debbie Matthews took her seat at the conference table. It was the same place she always sat....second chair on the right. No one else sat there. Even when she was late for these meetings, "her" chair was always waiting for her. She leaned back and closed her eyes, her fingers softly tapping the padd resting in her lap. She was tired, her back ached and her feet hurt....the incontrovertible consequences of being awake for the past twenty-four hours. The constant flow of patients through Sickbay only exacerbated the problem. Most of the wounded suffered relatively minor injuries. Unfortunately, there were a couple of exceptions. The details were all neatly recorded on the padd she held in her lap....just in case someone asked for a casualty report. The CMO had only basic knowledge of their situation. She knew they'd slipped into the Romulan Neutral Zone, a clear violation of treaty. She also knew they'd located the Proxima....or at least it appeared they had. From there on, things were a bit fuzzy. They had good luck sneaking into the neutral zone undetected. They had managed to locate a sizable fleet of Romulan ships gathered in an area where the Proxima's signal was coming from. Most of those ships were science vessels but there were a few Birds of Prey stationed there as well. It didn't take a warp theorist to figure out the Romulans were up to something and the lost Federation starship seemed to be at the center of their attention. Reaent's fortunes changed dramatically once they approached the area of interest. Deb wasn't sure how they got close enough to positively identify the Proxima but a couple of the walking wounded who had wandered into Sickbay had been on the bridge. They swore it was the Proxima. Deb also knew a battle ensued.....Reaent against who knew how many of the Romulan ships. Some claimed there were three or four while others insisted it was more like a dozen. She knew the ship had taken damage but she wasn't sure how badly they were hurt. She'd been too preoccupied in Sickbay to worry about that. There was one more thing she'd been told. The Reaent and her crew had escaped the Romulans by flying into a wormhole. They were now somewhere in the Gamma Quadrant. It appeared the Birds of Prey opted not to follow. Deb found the whole scenario somewhat unbelievable. The persistent rumor about the wormhole was troubling. There were painfully few naturally occurring wormholes in the entire galaxy. The neutral zone had been scanned and clandestinely explored for generations. Had there been a naturally occurring wormhole anywhere in or nearby the neutral zone, the Federation would certainly have known about it long before now. So where did this one come from? And when did it magically appear? The universe contained innumerable mysteries. Only a handful had been discovered since mankind stepped into space. There were far more secrets yet to be found, much less explained. So, it was quite possible the Romulan wormhole was a natural phenomenon...it just....suddenly appeared. The CMO desperately wanted to believe that but even she had to admit the odds of such an occurrence were nominal......like slim and none. The alternative was far more frightening. Somehow....someway....the Romulans had figured out how to create one. If that was the case, the potential threat of their new found knowledge was off the scale. Deb's eyes popped open as her stomach growled. She was hungry, along with everything else. She glanced to her right as an energy bar suddenly appeared on the table in front of her. Aidan had taken his seat next to her and was studying her curiously. She smiled gamely, chagrined that she hadn't heard him sit down. "Thanks," she whispered, picking up the bar and stripping away the wrapper. Her husband nodded with a smirk. For a moment, it looked as though he was going to say something but he was interrupted by the sound of the door swishing open and the unmistakable voice of Captain Michaels calling the meeting to order. She gathered up the padd and the energy bar and stood as he entered hoping for real answers to the questions she had and wondering how she could eat the rest of the energy bar without the Captain noticing.

The VFW traces its roots back to the Spanish American War. It came into its own around 1915. In those days, there weren't any benefits for servicemen who came home from the battlefields with injuries and illnesses. The VFW was organized to push the government to provide medical care, pensions, etc. to the veterans. They probably called themselves veterans of "foreign" wars because there were a lot of civil war veterans still living in the early 1900s.

Well said, Kansas! We must all remember something. This movie is the best hope we have of resurrecting interest in the Trek franchise. In a way, it is for those of us who proudly call ourselves "Trekies." But it's also for those who know absolutely nothing about Star Trek. We shouldn't allow ourselves to get too hung up on cannon. As a matter of fact, we might start preparing ourselves for some major editing of cannon. For example, it appears the young Spock is in command of the Enterprise and Kirk is picking a fight with him. Where is Captain Pike? Seriously injured? Dead? That's all speculation but you never know. I'll be disappointed if they kill off Chris Pike but if they do, then new cannon has been established. I'm not going to turn my back on the franchise because of something like that. I may not like it but I'll deal with it and move on. ::tosses in one coin into the pot:: Sorry, I'm short of change.

Work related expenses.....just another word for "real life checkbook."

Happy Birthday to youuuu......Happy Birthday to youuuuu......Happy Birthday to yooouuuuuu.... Okay, stop throwing that stuff at me.....I'll quit singing!! I'll quit singing!! Anyway, Happy Birthday Eagle. And here's to many more! ::hands him a cherry Tootsie Pop::

Hey Fred! That image of the Kelvin......I swear.....that looks a lot like the design of the original Reaent!!! I realize the Reaent had two "warp nacelles." The Kelvin has one under the saucer and an engineering section above it. But the similarity nearly knocked me off the chair! Am I right about this or has time clouded my already clouded memory.

I saw a bootleg version of the trailer online. Now I am really and truly upset. This is SO not fair!! May is six months away!! I don't know if I can stand it!! I agree with Mr. Anderson.......this film looks like it could very well be EPIC!

Maybe somebody in STSF would volunteer to help design a site for you. I wish I had the skills but all I know how to do is type the URL into the little box and hit "go."

So that explains it! I always thought it was too good to be true that these dogs don't shed. I guess the reason we don't see the hair on our Shih Tzu and the two Lhasas is because we cut 90% of it off every few weeks. Nothing wrong with a cat but the kids were promised a dog. I think it will be good for them to have one too.

I couldn't agree more! My husband happened to be taking our Lahsa Apso to the groomer that morning. (Yes, we cut off all of her hair too.) He saw a small dog (10 lbs.) running up the road toward the highway as though her tail was on fire. He stopped and tried to catch her but she was too fast for him. She was almost run over crossing the highway but managed to make it to the other side. About that time, my husband called me in a panic. The dog seemed to be afraid of men. So I met him across the highway and we spent another fifteen minutes wearing her down before we were able to pick her up. She had been freshly groomed and was wearing a brand new collar but had no ID. Long story short.....the vet estimated she was between 6 and 8 years old. She had not been spayed and it was obvious she'd had several litters. The vet suspected she was used as a breeder. Turns out, they will breed dogs until the animal is about 6 or 7 years old. In this case, the breeder didn't want her anymore so they tossed her out on the side of a road like yesterday's trash. Of course, she came into heat two days later. She has been with us for just over 2 years. She was spayed and had several teeth pulled and has become a treasured member of our family. As far as the folks who threw her away......there is a special place in hell for people like that.