John Randall

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate May 24, 2161) The mission team passed through the airlock and boarded the Columbia. An ensign met them as they came onto the ship, and requested they follow him to the cafeteria. He led them there, and they stepped in to be greeted by a man wearing a captain's uniform. He smiled as he arose. "You must be the crew sent from Starfleet HQ," he said, and John stepped forward. "That's correct, sir," he said. "I am Lieutenant James Reynolds, commanding officer of this team." The captain stared at him. "Reynolds?" he said. "Are you the one who was on board the Melbourne?" John adopted a downcast expression. "I am, sir," he said in a low voice, and every eye in the room was instantly upon him. John's cover story (provided by Hastings and Baldwin) was that he was to assume the identity of a Lieutenant James Reynolds, who was chief engineer of the USS Melbourne, a ship that been attacked by three Romulan warbirds in an ambush not far from the disputed area of space between the Romulans and Earth. The ship had been destroyed, and all aboard were assumed dead. The story was that Reynolds had become trapped in a alcove in the engineering department, and was discovered alive by a rescue and salvage team. He was taken to Starfleet General Hospital in San Francisco where he underwent numerous surgeries to repair his battered frame. Plastic surgery had been required to repair his facial features, and the Starfleet operatives that had been sent ahead of the mission team had been able to upload John's face and updated story into the main computer. John supposedly had spent nine months in the hospital, and was only now returning to duty. The man wearing the captain's uniform stepped forward. "I am Captain Mark Sherman, Lieutenant," he said, placing a hand on Randall's shoulder. "It's a damned miracle you're still with us. I can see where they had to rebuild your face, you don't look anything like your previous ID shows." John nodded dejectedly. "Longest nine months of my life, sir," he said, and there was instant sympathy in the room for the man who was the sole survivor of the Melbourne. "I can't imagine what you have went through, Lieutenant," said the captain. "But I'll bet you're eager to jump back into the fire, eh?" John looked up and met Sherman's eyes, his own turning ice-blue; the captain dropped his hand and actually took a step back from Randall as John assumed a very angry expression on his face. "You have no idea, sir," he growled, and everyone in the room looked at each other, even the mission members. John was allowing his natural hatred for the Romulans to come through, and at this point, even he didn't know if he was acting or if it was real anger. Sherman then said, "Well, let's not waste any time then. I'll accompany you to engineering, Mr. Randall, I'm eager to see this new technology myself. Disperse your team, Lieutenant." "Aye, sir," said Randall, and he turned to face the mission team. "Major Hunter, take your team and assume your duties." "Aye, sir," said the blonde-headed Marine, and barked an order to her team. They left the cafeteria. Randall turned back to the captain, and indicated Sara Edwards with a gesture of his hand. "This is Lieutenant Sara Edwards, Captain," John said. "She is your new navigator, and has an elementary knowledge of the new technology we are about to install." Sherman nodded to her. "Good to have you aboard, Lieutenant." "My pleasure, sir," she replied. "Take your station, please," said the captain, and Sara nodded. She caught John's eye as she turned, and he nodded at her. She gave a brief smile, and left the room. John then turned to the big Andorian. "This is Shrav, Captain," he said. "He will be assisting me in the installation, and he is also representing the Andorian people." Sherman regarded the blue-skinned being, who was at least a head taller, and Sherman was about six-three himself. "Welcome aboard," he said. "We are indebted to your people for providing us with this technology." Shrav regarded the captain impassively for a moment, then said, "We are glad to assist you. Someone has been needed to step up and teach these people a lesson. Frankly, we were surprised it would be you pink-skins. We have watched you fight them for almost 5 of your years now, and we felt that, since you have shown the fortitude to clash with them, it was only right that we help put you on a 'level playing field', as I believe you humans put it." Sherman glanced in surprise at John, who merely smiled. "Shrav has been around humankind for a little while now, Captain," he said. "He's actually starting to pick up on the nuances of our language." The captain shook his head. "Just caught me by surprise, Lieutenant," he said, his eyes never leaving the big Andorian. "It's a common reaction, sir," replied Randall. Sherman smiled. "I'll bet it is," he said. "Come on, let's get you two to engineering." "Aye, sir," said John, and he and Shrav accompanied the captain to the engineering department. ********************************************** The three men arrived at engineering, and they stepped through the door. All activity stopped as the crew saw the captain and the strange human with him, then they were all taken aback as they saw the big Andorian. An officer stepped forward. "Captain," he said, wiping his hands on a cloth. "What's going on?" Sherman turned to John and Shrav. "Gentlemen, this is my chief engineer, Lieutenant Commander Jerry Omen. Jerry, these two are from Starfleet HQ. They're going to show us how to install and operate the new technology." Omen looked at the two men. "Just what are you about to do to my ship?" he said. John said, "We're about to improve it, Commander. This technology will help you, or I should say, us, against the Romulans. This technology has been in development for the last year and a half," and the crew looked at each other at that statement. "It was classified at the highest levels," John continued. "That's why you haven't heard anything about it. Commander, we're about to make the Columbia the lead vessel in this war. Our technology that we have brought you today," and he paused for a moment, aware that every eye in the room was upon him, and every ear was listening. "We are about to equip the Columbia with shield technology," he finished, and there was stunned silence in the room for the next ten seconds. Omen took a step toward John, his mouth open in disbelief. "Did-did you just say shields?" he whispered, and Randall nodded. "Covering the entire ship?" asked Omen, and John nodded again. "You can thank the Andorians for this, Commander," he said, gesturing toward Shrav. "If it weren't for their contributions, we'd still be in the labs trying to figure it out." Omen looked at the big Andorian. "I-I don't know what to say," he said, and Shrav returned his gaze. "Your gratitude is evident, there are no words needed," he said in his deep bass voice. Omen looked at Sherman, who was regarding him amusedly, then let out a loud whoop. "Well, all I can say then is, it's about damned time!" he shouted, and the entire room began laughing. Sherman got them calmed down after a few moments, then said, "Gentlemen, I think we're ready. Let's see what you got." "Has our package arrived, Captain?" asked John, and Omen said, "Follow me." He led them toward the rear of the room where a huge box rested on a plastic pallet. John nodded. "That's it," he said. Omen grinned hugely. "Then I suggest we start work, Lieutenant," he said. "And, as of right now, you are the commanding officer here. I want to learn this backwards and forwards, so we are at your command, sir." John nodded, glancing at Shrav, who was keeping a smile from appearing on his own face. "All right then, let's get started," he said. The box was opened, and Randall and Shrav began explaining the technology to a very attentive engineering crew, not the least of which was Lieutenant Commander Jerry Omen. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11510.10) A little while later, the announcement came over the ship's comm that the Altair was getting ready to make the jump to the late 22nd century. John stretched out on the sofa in his cabin and got ready for the jump. He laid there for a few moments, then gradually felt himself losing consciousness as the ship made the time-travel jump. A little later on, he woke up and knew the ship had transitioned to the past. He then heard Captain Creighton-Ward's voice over the comm summoning the members of the team to the conference room of the Altair. John got up and exited his room, coming out as the same time as Sara. She smiled weakly at him and John caught up to her. "Are you okay?" he asked, and she gave a wan nod. "My first time travel jump," she breathed, and John smiled. "It's all right, you don't ever get used to it," he assured her as they walked to the turbolift. They entered the car and Randall said, "Bridge." The lift whisked them away and stopped a few moments later. The doors slid open, and the two officers stepped out onto the bridge. They walked across the top level to the door on the left of the bridge, which slid open, and they walked into the conference room. The captain was already there, and smiled at them as they sat down in nearby chairs. The rest of the team arrived within moments, and, after all were seated, the captain went to the head of the table, and sat down. "Good to see all of you," she began. "You know why you're here, so there's no need for me to repeat it. Here's what's gonna happen. After we are done here, we will go to the shuttlebay area. We have a shuttle that has been reconfigured to look like an NX ship shuttlecraft. We will use that shuttle to take us to the Martian spacedock, where the NX-05 starship Columbia is being refitted. "The shield technology that we are giving them will be installed by their engineering team with Lieutenant Randall supervising. The technology will ostensibly have been provided by our Andorian representative," and she nodded to the huge being occupying a nearby seat. The captain continued, "The Starfleet Marines here will be under the command of Lieutenant Randall. When he is not around, I understand Major Hunter will be in command," and she raised her eyebrows at them, a blonde woman nodding back at her. The captain said, "Lieutenant Edwards, your position will be as a navigator on the bridge, as I understand it," and Sara nodded to her. "I will be accompanying you as far as the spacedock," Creighton-Ward said. "For this mission, I will be going by the name Commodore Michelle Bronson, and I am the commanding officer. I will not be on the starship; that is your domain. If you run into any trouble, simply ask to contact me, and, through our coded language, I will attempt to assist you. "I want to remind all of you again; please be very careful what you say or do. Any slips could have grave ramifications on the timeline as we know it. We are 'messing around' with it enough, as I believe the slang term goes. I am confident, however, that we will all do our jobs, and the mission will be a success. We must stop this, for want of a better term, terrorist group from achieving their objective, or our timeline will disappear forever." The members of the team looked uneasily at one another at that statement. The captain said, "Your 22nd century uniforms will be in the quartermaster's office. You will have a half hour to change into them before we meet in the shuttlebay. Any questions?" When no one spoke, the captain said, "Dismissed." The members filed out of the room, and went to get their uniforms. A half hour later, the group was assembled in the shuttlebay. The captain ordered them to board the shuttlecraft, and, a few moments later, flew out of the Altair, heading for the Martian spacedock. ********************************************** The shuttlecraft arrived at the spacedock, obtained clearance to land, and touched down a few moments later. The captain led the way out of the 'craft, and they walked through the airlock into the spacedock. The place was bustling with activity, and no one spared them a second glance as the captain led them down a nearby corridor. The group came to a wide room with a circular desk in the center, manned by a group of personnel performing various functions. The captain walked up to the desk and asked for admiral Michael Thomas. The secretary asked the captain her business, which was reported, and the secretary spoke into a microphone which was contained in a headset she wore. She nodded to the captain, who nodded to the group, and they followed her to a door onthe west wall of the room. The captain pushed the button for the door chime, and a voice said, "Come." The group walked in and was met by a white-haired man who stood up from behind a desk. The captain said, "Admiral Thomas, I'm Commodore Michelle Bronson from Starfleet HQ, and this is my team." The admiral nodded and said, "You were sent by Admiral Forrest?" The captain nodded. "Well, I'm damned glad to see you," Thomas continued. "It's about time somebody developed some new technology to use against those Romulan bastards." The captain said, "That's why we're here, sir. My team will be led by Lieutenant Randall here," nodding to John as he stepped forward, nodding to the admiral. "He has a full understanding of the new technology, and will be overseeing the installation aboard the Columbia. The Andorian will be accompanying him; he is the official representative of their government." Thomas nodded to the blue-skinned being. "We are very grateful to you for agreeing to share your technology with us," he said. The Andorian regarded him impassively for a moment, then said, "My people are very curious to see how you pink-skins will use this technology." The admiral stared at him for a moment, then gave a small smile. "Yes, I see how you would be," he said, then turned back to the captain. "Commodore, if your team is ready, there's no time like the present." "Aye, sir," responded Creighton-Ward, and turned to John. "Lieutenant, take your team to the Columbia, and begin the installation." "Aye, sir," replied Randall, and he turned to the team. "Fall out," he ordered, and the team left the admiral's office, heading for the airlock which would take them to the starship. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11411.06) The next morning aboard the Avenger, John was sitting in his cabin going over the information in his packet. After an hour or so, his stomach growled softly, and he knew it was time to go grab a bite from the mess hall. He got up, and left his cabin, striding down the corridor toward the mess hall. He arrived, went through the door as it opened, and made his way to the ordering wall. He gave and received his order, and turned to find a seat. As he walked toward an empty table, a female voice cried, "Lieutenant!" John stopped and looked to his left. Lieutenant Sara Edwards was smiling at him, and crooked a finger at him. John gave an inward sigh, then walked over to the table where the navigator from the Bismarck sat eating. Edwards beamed at him as he sat across from her. "Good morning, Lieutenant Randall," she said, a mischievious twinkle in her eye. "Good morning to you, Lieutenant Edwards," he replied as he began preparing his food. "I have a deal for you," she said, and John looked up from preparing his food. "I'll call you John if you call me Sara," she continued, her eyes coaxing him to accept her proposal. Randall shook his head as a smile popped onto his face. "You don't give up, do you?" he said resignedly, and the female officer giggled. "Just stop fighting me, John," she said. "It will go a lot easier." John actually laughed out loud at that remark, and Edwards grinned happily. "Very well, Sara," he said. "And, if I didn't say it before, which I don't believe I did, nice to meet you." He held out a hand to her, and she took it happily. "I'm very pleased to meet you, John," she said, and her eyes were boring into his. There was an intensity there that the assistant chief engineer from the Challenger actually found slightly unnerving. "Well, now that we've been formally introduced," he said, "would you please answer my question from yesterday?" "What was that, John?" she answered as she took a bite of food. "Is this your first undercover mission?" John asked, watching her intently. To his surprise, she was actually cringing a little at his scrutiny. Then, she squared her shoulders, and looked him full in the eyes. "Yes, it is," she said a little defiantly. "Why do you ask?" John shrugged casually. "Just curious," he said, and took a bite of food himself. Edwards seemed stunned at his answer. "That's it?" she said. "Just curious? You're not gonna jump on me because it's my first time? Let me ask you: is this your first mission?" John looked at her, and shook his head. "No, it's not," he said, and Edwards' eyes widened. "It's not my first one." "How-how many have you been on?" she whispered, stunned by his answer. "Let's just say more than one," replied Randall, taking another bite of food. Sara appeared to be having trouble processing the information she had been given. She finally looked up at him after a few moments. "You must think horribly of me," she said, and the tone of her voice was so wistful it made John look at her. To his surprise, her lower lip was quivering. "Why would I think that, Sara?" he asked. "Because of the way I've been acting," she said. "You probably think I'm just looking for a man to latch on to. You don't think I'm serious about this mission. You think I'm just an airheaded, empty female who------" "Now, hold it right there, Lieutenant," growled John, and Edwards' eyes widened again. "Let's get something straight right off the bat," he continued, and his eyes turned into chips of ice as he stared directly right at her. Sara knew she had angered him, and cringed away from him in her seat. "I make up my own mind about people," he said. "And something I really, really hate is someone trying to tell me what feelings I have. I don't know you, so, at the moment, I really don't have any feelings about you one way or the other. I will tell you this, however: you keep this up, and I'm not going to have a very good impression of you. You just be yourself, and don't worry about my feelings. I'll make them clear when the time is right." He leaned back in his chair, and the ice slowly melted from his eyes. "You have a good day, Sara, and I'll see you later," he said, getting up from the table. He walked over to the recycling wall, and disposed of his tray. He then walked straight out of the room, and strode down the corridor to his cabin. Lieutenant Sara Edwards watched him go, then buried her face in her hands. It was all going the wrong way. She had actually upset John, and that was the last thing she had wanted to do. She had been drawn to him from the moment he had walked into the conference room yesterday. He was a man unlike any she had met before. But, she was doing everything wrong around him. He clearly was a man who knew what he wanted, and what he expected out of other people. She made a resolution to herself right then; she was going to act differently around him. The carefree personality she had tried on him had backfired mightily, and she knew she had her work cut out for her if she was going to get to know him. She told herself to slow down and start over with John. ********************************************************************************* Later that day, Sara went into the mess hall to grab a bite, and saw John sitting at a table by himself, a PADD in front of him. She grabbed her plate, and went over to him. "Is this seat taken?" she asked, and John looked up. He smiled slightly, and shook his head. "Have a seat, Sara," he said, and she was encouraged by the tone of his voice, which was actually friendly towards her. She sat down, and beamed at him. "How's it going?" she asked, taking a bite of her sandwich. John sighed, then smiled and shrugged. "Okay, I guess," he said resignedly. "I've always hated to study. I know it's important we learn this, but," he finished, and Sara smiled at him. "I know exactly what you mean, John," she said. "I don't mean to barge in if you were really making an effort here," she continued, and he held up his hand. "Actually, I'm glad you came along when you did, Sara, you have good timing on this one," John said, and was rewarded with another of her blinding smiles. "I needed a break." "Then I'm glad I could help," she replied. "When you finish eating, would you like to go up to the observation deck with me?" he asked, and she smiled hugely. "I'd love to, John," she said softly, and he smiled. "Great," he said. "I'll look over some more of this while you eat. Take your time, don't rush." "All right," she agreed, and inwardly she was thrilled. 'This is more like it,' she thought to herself as she ate her sandwich, watching John study his PADD. ********************************************************************************** The next four days on the ship went by fairly quickly, and on the morning of the fifth day, the mission personnel gathered in the conference room once again. John and Sara came in together, and they sat side by side at the table. The admirals came in about five minutes later, and proceeded to grill the mission members on their characters. When it was done, Hastings stood at the podium. "I would like to say, well done, everyone," he said. "You have proven that you are serious about the task at hand. You will be transporting to another ship in a few moments, the USS Altair. Captain Creighton-Ward and her crew will be transporting you to the time jump coordinates. You will make the time jump aboard the Altair. It has a cloaking device which will be critical to the mission. "The ship will remain cloaked for the duration of the mission. It should emerge from the time jump very near the Martian spacedock on May 17, 2161. The Altair will beam you aboard Port Lowell, which is on Mars. You will then join the crew of the NX starship Columbia. Operatives have already made the jump to 2161, and your personas will have been entered into the proper places in the Starfleet computers. "If you play your parts correctly, the transition should be a smooth one," finished Hastings. "Questions?" There were none as he waited, so he then said, "Very well. Grab your gear, and report to the transporter room. Good luck to all of you. The Federation is depending upon you. Success to you all. Dismissed." The mission members got up from the table, and proceeded to their respective cabins to get their gear. They then made their way to the transporter room of the Avenger. John and Sara arrived together, and went into the room. Sara stayed very close to him, and John knew she was nervous, probably even a little terrified. He knew he had been before his first covert mission. He leaned down, and whispered above her head, "Hey, take a deep breath, and relax a little." She followed his instructions, then whispered, "I'm really glad you're here now, John." He squeezed her shoulder gently as the mission members ascended the dais of the transporter. The officer at the panel made the adjustments, then nodded to Baldwin. The admiral said, "Good luck again to all of you. Energize." The group shimmered out of existence, materializing on a different transporter dais in a markedly different transporter room. John recognized it instantly, having been on the Altair before. He looked down at Sara, who was nervously looking around. She instinctively looked up at him, and he winked at her. She almost instantly relaxed as she winked back at him. "I've been on this ship before," John whispered to her. "This is definitely the Altair." "I'm so glad I'm with you, John," she whispered back as they descended from the dais. A blonde stepped forward as they stepped onto the floor, and John knew it was the captain from England, Creighton-Ward. "Hello to all of you," she said in her distinct British accent. "We have quarters for each of you. This way, please," and she led the group out of the transporter room. John and Sara discovered their quarters would be next to each other. As the engineer from the Challenger prepared to enter his cabin, the British captain cocked her head. "You seem familiar to me," she said, and John smiled at her. "Yes, Captain," he said. "I was part of the crew from Challenger aboard your ship a couple of years ago." The captain nodded. "Yes, I remember now," she smiled. "Engineer Randall, the one who showed us how to incorporate the cloaking device into our engines to keep my ship hidden longer. I never got a chance to thank you for that, so," she finished, and they both laughed. "Glad I was able to figure it out, Captain," he replied. "Good luck to you and your fellow teammates, Mr. Randall," the captain said, and John thanked her. Creighton-Ward walked toward the turbolift, and John turned to find Sara staring at him from her cabin door. She shook her head. "The captain knew you," she said. "A prior mission?" John nodded. "Not a covert one," he clarified. "That one involved the whole Challenger crew." Sara shook her head. "You're just full of surprises, Mr. Randall," she said, and John laughed. "Wait until you really get to know me," he teased, and it was her turn to laugh. "I look forward to that, John," she said, and disappeared into her cabin. John stared after her for a moment, then went into his cabin. He deposited his duffel bag onto the sofa, and sat down beside it. 'Well, we're about to take off,' he thought, and wondered what the future held for him. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11411.02) As John finished his meal in the officers' mess, and was putting his tray in the recycler, he was hailed by an ensign. "Lieutenant Randall, the captain is calling for you, sir," she said. John nodded thanks, and pushed the button of the wall 'com next to the recycler. "Randall to the bridge," he said, and the voice of Captain Ja'Lale answered. "Lieutenant, report to my ready room," it said. "On my way," replied the assistant chief engineer. He turned, and strode toward the door of the officers' mess, which swooshed open at his approach. He walked through it and made his way down the corridor to the turbolift. "Bridge," he said as he entered the car, and the lift sped off. He arrived a few moments later, and exited the car. He walked across the upper level of the bridge, not making eye contact with any of the personnel on the bridge. He approached the door of the captain's ready room, and pushed the button for the door chime. "Enter," said the captain's voice, and John walked in. He stopped abruptly, however, as he made eye contact with Admiral Jason Baldwin of Starfleet Intelligence. He looked back to the captain, who, from its demeanor, was not pleased about something. "Sit down, Lieutenant," said Ja'Lale, and John sat in a nearby chair. He knew from the tone of the captain's voice that Ja'Lale was in a foul mood. The admiral cleared his throat. "John, good to see you again," Baldwin said, and Randall responded, "Likewise, sir." He then looked straight at Ja'Lale. The captain said, "Lieutenant, against my wishes, the admiral is here to recruit you for a mission. He insists that you join his team because he needs your engineering expertise." John nodded, and the captain continued, "As I said, and as I told the admiral, I do not want you to go; we need you on our current mission. However, the admiral is pulling rank on me this time, so there is nothing I can do but to let you go with him, and hope that you will return to us very shortly." John nodded again, and Ja'Lale said, "That is all, Lieutenant. Dismissed." John turned to Baldwin, who said, "Meet me in transporter room one in five minutes, Lieutenant. You will need your toolkit, your tricorder, and wear a sidearm." John raised his eyebrows at that last, but only nodded, and walked toward the door of the ready room, which opened at his presence. As the door slid shut, just as he started to walk away, John overheard the beginning of a confrontation between Baldwin and Ja'Lale. He quickly walked across the upper portion of the bridge, and made his way to the turbolift. As he stood waiting for the car to arrive, he caught the eye of the Challenger's executive officer, Commander Erica Rinax, who was in command on the bridge. She raised an eyebrow at him, and Randall mouthed, "Starfleet Intelligence." She raised both eyebrows sharply at that, but said nothing. As John prepared to enter the car as it arrived, he also caught the eye of navigator Lieutenant H.G. Reed. He gave her a quick smile and raised his hand. She smiled quickly back at him, but her eyes had a concerned cast to them. He entered the car and said, "Deck 12." The lift whisked him away, and, a few moments later, arrived. He exited the car and went to the equipment room, collecting his toolkit and engineering tricorder. He walked back to the turbolift, and stepped in. "Deck 3," he said, and the lift took off. It arrived moments later, and he exited the car, striding down the corridor to his cabin. He entered and walked straight to the bedroom. He threw some things into a duffel bag, and grabbed his phaser, clipping it onto his belt. He left the bedroom and walked straight to the door. As it opened, he went through it and walked briskly back to the turbolift. "Deck 10," he said, and it sped off. Arriving a few moments later, he exited the car, and walked the short distance to the transporter room. He strode through the door and found Admiral Baldwin waiting for him. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting, sir," he said as he approached the admiral. Baldwin smiled. "Not at all, Lieutenant," he said. He turned to the transporter operator as the two men ascended the dais. "Energize," he said, and the men shimmered out of existence. The men re-materialized in the transporter room of another ship. Baldwin said as they descended from the dais, "Welcome aboard the Avenger, John." The assistant chief engineer nodded. "I thought this room looked familiar, sir," he smiled, and the admiral grinned back at him. "Go stow your gear, John, and report to the conference room in ten minutes. You have the same quarters as last time." "Aye, sir," Randall responded, and he turned left as they walked out into the corridor. He made his way down the hall and arrived at the cabin he had used on his previous mission. He walked in, deposited his bag on the sofa, then went to the head to splash some water on his face. He looked at himself in the mirror as he dried his face with a towel. 'Well, here we are again,' he told himself. He replaced the towel, and left the cabin, heading for the conference room. John strode through the door of the conference room, and found some men sitting around the table. Then, his eyes involuntarily widened slightly as there was also a female at the table. They all nodded to him as he sat down, and John returned the nods. A few seconds later, the door swooshed open again, and in walked Baldwin, along with a man John recognized; Admiral Chuck Hastings. The two admirals walked to the head of the table, and Hastings stood at the podium. "We're all assembled, I see," he began, smiling around the room. "All right. The first order of business is to inform you all this meeting is classified. You each have before you on the table a PADD. Please use them now, and when you finish, replace it before you on the table." Each one present picked up their PADD, and accessed the data. As he read, John's eyebrows slowly climbed. A few minutes later, he finished reading, and replaced the PADD on the table. He made eye contact with both Baldwin and Hastings, who merely gazed back at him. A few minutes after that, everyone had finished reading. Hastings said, "All right, you now know the outline of the mission. Anyone who does not want to participate, this is your chance to leave." A bearded man sitting to John's left arose. He looked around for a second, that walked without a word to the door of the conference room. It opened, and the man left. Hastings looked around. "Anyone else?" he asked, but no one moved. The admiral nodded, satisfied. "Okay. As you read, this mission is going to involve time travel. We will be prepping each of you for a trip back to the late 22nd century. You will become involved in a situation you learned about at the Academy; the Earth-Romulan War. A renegade group from this century has already sent operatives back to that time period. Their objective: to reverse the outcome of the final battle of the war. We have it from reliable sources that they plan to introduce technology not yet available in that time period to assist the Romulans in winning the war. "Our objective is to stop the gang from achieving theirs. We plan to introduce shield technology to be fitted into the specs of the NX class starships of the era. Our studies of the Federation timeline have concluded that this will have a very small, if any, impact on the timeline as we know it. That is why we contacted very specific operatives of our own to carry out this mission. Each of you will have a very vital role in the upcoming mission." He began pointing at each individual seated around the table. John looked around the table as Hastings described each being's role. There was an Andorian, from whom the shield technology would be introduced; Andoria and Earth had already been on good relations prior to the Earth-Romulan War. There were five Starfleet Marines present; Hastings told them they would be going as security for the other members, and would also join the security team of the ship that they would be assigned to. The female of the group was a navigator from the USS Bismarck. Her name was Lieutenant Sara Edwards, and she would be responsible for teaching the other navigator of the ship they would be assigned to the intracities of the shield technology. Then Hastings came to Randall. "John, you will be responsible for the installation of the shield technology aboard the NX class ship," he said. "You will teach the other engineers how to install and maintain it, and all the other adjustments that come with it." John nodded, and Hastings looked around the room. "Everyone knows their assignments?" he asked, and each responded in the positive. "Very well," continued the admiral. "A packet will be delivered to you in your cabins. It will allow you to brush up on the history of the time period we are sending you to. Study them carefully and thoroughly. Your cover depends on how much you are familiar with the late 22nd century. If you let anything slip, it could have grave ramifications, so be on guard at all times. You will have five days to 'cram', as I believe the slang term goes. "All right, that's it for now. Remember, this meeting is classified. Go to your cabins, and begin studying. We will meet back here in five days, and expect a quiz. I expect nothing but your best from each one of you. Dismissed." The admirals left the room, and John was the second one out behind the Andorian. He strode down the corridor, but quickly turned as a female voice called out. "Hey!" it said, and Edwards caught up to him. "I didn't catch your name in there," she said a little breathlessly, and John gave her a small smile. "Lieutenant John Randall, assistant chief engineer, USS Challenger," he said, and the brunette's eyes widened slightly. "Challenger, huh?" she said. "I've heard a few tales about that ship. You must be proud to be aboard her." "Best ship in the fleet, far as I'm concerned," John replied, and Edwards smiled. "Spoken like a loyal officer," she said, and John gave her another small smile. She cocked her head at him. "Hey, is something wrong?" she asked. "You don't seem to be very enthused about this." "Is this your first undercover mission, Lieutenant Edwards?" asked John, and she frowned. "Are we really gonna be formal here?" she replied. "I would love it if you would call me Sara." John regarded her a few moments, which made the pretty brunette frown again. "You are really reserved, aren't you?" she said softly. "I'll get you to talk to me, Lieutenant John Randall of the USS Challenger. You'll see; we'll be old friends soon." She reached up quickly and kissed him on the cheek, then walked rapidly away. John stood there stunned as she left; he watched her walk away for a moment or two, then turned to walk to his cabin. He knew she had avoided his question, and that wasn't sitting well with him. He entered his cabin, and sat down on the sofa. A time travel mission; he hoped this one would go better than the one the Challenger had taken part in about 2 years ago. He stretched his legs out in front of him, and exhaled deeply, trying to relax. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11410.26) John assisted Ensign Sabin in setting up the portable generator for his use, then enlisted the help of the two engineering ensigns to begin repairs on one of the generators on the outpost. He called the ship, and had some tools beamed down to help in the repair work. Some 45 minutes later, the engineers finished installing the new panel, final calibrations were made, and ensign Thomas hit the "on" switch. The buildings that were still haphazardly standing lit up with light as the power was restored to the section of the outpost where the away teams were investigating. John told the ensigns to return to Challenger; he himself would stay behind and work on the antiquated oxygen supply tanks. The engineering ensigns beamed back to the ship, and the assistant chief engineer dialed his comlink to the suit frequency. "Randall to Rinax," he said, and the executive officer responded almost immediately. "Rinax here," she answered, and John gave her a status report. Rinax gave him permission to try to restore the air supply to the outpost, and John signed off. He walked over to the building which housed the tanks,and took out his tricorder. After scanning a few moments, he located the valves to the tank, and began repairing them. About an hour later, he finished, and looked over to the gauge. It told him that the tank was operating, and there was air going through the lines to the other buildings. He waited a few minutes longer, then unsealed his helmet, and cautiously took it off. The air was a little stale, but it was breathable. He took his suit off, and was surprised that the building wasn't really that cold. He took his communicator from his belt, and contacted Rinax again, giving her the news. She thanked him for restoring the air supply, and he signed off. John walked over to the second tank, and began repairs to it. About ten minutes later, however, he became more and more convinced that he was being watched. He whirled, and stared out into the darkness. He deliberately stepped over to the switch on the wall, and turned off the lights. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he suddenly saw what he thought was a humanoid shadow standing beside a wrecked building some 10 yards away. He drew his phaser, and whipped out his communicator. "Randall to Rinax," he said in a low voice. "Rinax here, what's wrong, Randall?" she answered. "Commander, I think I'm being watched, and I believe I have spotted who it is," he reported. "I am in pursuit. Randall out." He flipped his communicator closed, unaware that Rinax had tried to respond to his report. He dialed the volume down on the device, and left the building, making his way stealthily toward the shadow. He made his way around several piles of rubble, then came to an abrupt halt as he glimpsed the shadow he was chasing standing beside a building some five yards in front of him. He remained motionless, watching the shadow from his position. A few moments later, John cautiously peered around the corner of the pile of rubble which was his hiding place again, but, to his consternation, the shadow had disappeared. He muttered a curse under his breath, and broke from his cover, moving swiftly to the corner of the building. He arrived at the spot, but stopped abruptly as he saw a body lying on the ground a few yards in front of him. He approached the body, which was intact, and lying face down. He knelt down and turned the body over. There was an insignia on the left breast of the uniform; it appeared this had been some kind of officer, possibly the commander of the outpost. Just then, his communicator beeped; he flipped it open, and heard the voice of Commander Rinax. "Rinax to Randall," she said. "Please return to our location so we can all go back to Challenger safely." John answered, "Commander, you might want to come to my coordinates. I think I just found the ranking officer of this outpost." "Pull back and hold your location until we get to you," the first officer replied. "No going alone today, everyone goes home." John answered, "Acknowledged, Commander, I'll stay put. Randall out." As he flipped his communicator closed, there was a slight rustle to his left, and Lieutenant Dyan Sylvanis walked into view. She nodded when she saw John, then stopped as she saw the body on the ground. She looked over to Randall, and said, "Friend of yours?" John nodded back to her, and simply gestured at the body. The Marine lieutenant walked slowly around the body, touching the helm of her suit every few seconds; John knew she was sending images of the body up to Challenger for analysis, and received confirmation of that a few seconds later as Sylvanis spoke into her suit comlink. "Challenger, images coming your way," she murmured, and John gave the lieutenant plenty of room to do her work. He didn't know the new lieutenant very well, so he made no attempt to engage her in conversation. About all he knew of her was she had the reputation of being a very, very good pilot. She and Hunter Matheson were the security officers of the away team, and she had been the pilot of the shuttle that brought the away team to the outpost. Rinax's voice then came over his communicator again. "There seems to be some confusion here," she said. "I need confirmation on the person near Randall. I'm getting two different answers. Please confirm and report." She then said, "Randall, we are coming up on your six." "Acknowledged, Commander," John replied. "Lieutenant Sylvanis is at my location as well." A few moments later, the away team arrived at his location. Rinax walked up to him, and whispered, "Where are you seeing this body?" John pointed to it, and said, "Here, Commander. The body is quite dead." The first officer nodded, and and began issuing orders, taking charge of the situation. The ship's doctor, Gretchen Hanson, knelt down, scanning the body with her tricorder. John asked, "Doctor, I would inquire if you are picking up an energy signature from this body?" The doctor straightened, and turned to him. "Not a thing, Lieutenant," she said. "Just ran out of O2." Rinax had overheard, and, after issuing an order, looked at John. "What's this about an energy signature?" she asked, and the assistant chief engineer replied, "I was only wondering if he had come into contact with a Klingon disruptor, but apparently not." Rinax nodded thoughtfully. "I see; thanks, John," she said, and Randall nodded. The first officer then ordered everyone back to the shuttle; John raised a mild objection, stating there might not be room for him, and he would beam back. Rinax told him since the other two engineers had beamed back, there would be room for him. John nodded, and the away team returned to the shuttle. They took off from the outpost, and arrived back at Challenger a few minutes later. John exited the shuttle, and made his way to the turbolift. "Deck 3," he snapped as he stepped in, and the lift sped off. It arrived a few moments later, and he exited, striding down the corridor toward his cabin. He arrived, the door swooshing open as he neared the entrance. He stripped off his uniform, and went to the head to take a shower. Twenty minutes later, he stepped out, toweled off, and went to the bedroom to change into a fresh uniform. He completed dressing, and left his cabin, heading to the officers' mess just down the corridor, intending to grab a bite before returning to duty. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11410.11) John arrived in engineering to begin his duty shift. He nodded back at the crew that acknowledged his passing as he made his way to his station at the main console. He accessed his inbox to see if the mission e-mail had been sent out yet, and it had been. He pulled it up, and read it. The Challenger had been assigned to travel to the nearby planet of Tyrellia, which was located at the junction of the Federation, Klingon, and Romulan borders. An outpost was located near the planet there, and there had been no word from the outpost in several days, a fact which had the Tyrellian government concerned. The government wanted the Challenger to investigate the outpost, and determine what, if anything, had happened. There had also been reports of increased activity inside both the Klingon and Romulan empires, and that was the secondary reason for the Challenger to go there. John finished reading the e-mail, closed it, and put his monitor back on its homepage. He got up from his station, and looked around Engineering. It looked like he was in charge for the time being, so he began to walk around the department, checking on the crew. As he neared the warp core section, he detected a decrease in the whine of the warp engines, and knew Challenger had dropped to impulse speed, which meant they had arrived at the Tyrellian system, and were about to go into orbit. He ordered a crew to do a routine inspection of the warp engines, and went back to his station at the main console to watch the display. Not long into the inspection, John spotted a discrepancy in one of the baffles on engine two. He promptly contacted Lieutenant (j.g.) Steve Davis, who was the supervisor of the crew inspecting the engines. "Randall to Davis," John said as he punched the comm button. "Go ahead, Lieutenant," came the prompt reply. The assistant chief engineer told his friend what he had spotted, and Davis assured him they were on it. John nodded, then punched the comm again, and contacted Lieutenant (j.g.) Jeff Michaels, ordering him to take a team and purge the plasma manifolds while they were in orbit. Michaels acknowledged the order, and signed off. John looked back at his monitor, and suddenly realized he would have to be at the engineering station on the bridge to finalize the purge of the manifolds. He contacted Michaels again, and put him in charge of engineering. Michaels acknowledged, and John got up from his station, heading for the engineering doors. He went down the corridor to the turbolift, and stepped into the car as it arrived. "Bridge," he said, and the lift sped off. A few moments later, it arrived at the bridge, and he exited. He stepped out onto the bridge, and made his way across the upper section to the engineering station. He logged in, gave his passcode, and watched the display as it came up on the monitor. Out of the corner of his eye, John saw Captain Ja'Lale turn to look at him, and he spread his arms out in a "safe" sign, which meant he was there on a routine matter only. Ja'Lale nodded once, and turned back to the viewscreen. As John turned his attention back to the monitor, he noticed a familiar figure at the science station: Lieutenant Anastasia Poldara was back aboard Challenger. He didn't try to get her attention, as she appeared at the moment to be very busy. He focused his attention on the display, waiting for the code that would signal the purging had been finished. He heard the conversation going on between the captain and someone on the planet; he didn't turn to see what was going on, it was none of his business, really. The code then appeared on the screen signalling the end of the purge program, and he entered the code, telling the computer it was safe to shut it down. He sat back in his chair, and smiled to himself; he then logged out of the station, and stood up, preparing to leave the bridge. He walked back to the turbolift, and punched the button. As he waited for the car to arrive, he looked around the bridge, but no one caught his eye. The car arrived, and he stepped in. "Deck 12," he said, and the lift whisked him away. It arrived a few moments later, and he exited; he walked down the corridor to engineering, and strode through the doors as they opened. There was a beep from his communicator, and he unclipped it from his belt. "Randall here," he said. "Lieutenant, the baffle has been repaired," came the voice of Steve Davis; almost at the same time, the whine from the warp engines increased. "Acknowledged, Steve, just in time, I'd say," John answered. "Randall out." He replaced his communicator on his belt, and went to his station at the main console. The Challenger arrived in orbit above the outpost, and the captain ordered an away team to take a shuttlecraft to the outpost. John was contacted by the captain, who told him to assign two engineers to the team. John acknowledged the order, and sent Stan Thomas and Bart Jenkins to join the team. They were two up-and-coming ensigns in engineering, and Randall liked them both. He continued in his supervisory role aboard the ship, occasionally helping out crew as they called for his assistance. A little while later, John's communicator chirped, and he again unclipped it from his belt. "Randall here," he said. "Lieutenant, we need you on the surface, sir," came the voice of Thomas. "We are examining a couple of generators which were badly damaged in an apparent attack of some sort here. There is an energy signature coming from them, but neither Bart nor I can identify it. Also, the science officer here is requesting a portable generator to be sent down." John had raised his eyebrows at the news of an apparent attack. "Very well, ensign; conditions there?" he asked, and about the same time, his comm beeped on his monitor. He punched the button. "Randall here," he said, and the voice of Captain Ja'Lale came over the comm. "Lieutenant, you have been requested to beam to the surface of the outpost to assist the away team," it said. "Acknowledged, sir, I am in contact with them now," replied the assistant chief engineer. "Randall out." He got back in touch with Thomas, who informed him of the gear he would need. John told him he would right down, and signed off. He got up and went to his locker to grab his toolkit, then went to the engineering equipment room to get a suit. He put it on, then went to the cargo bay to grab a portable generator. He put the generator on an anti-grav cart, and told Michaels to assume the conn. He then made his way to the turbolift, and stepped into the car. "Deck 10," he said, and the lift sped off. The lift arrived, and he exited the car, going down the corridor to the transporter room. He guided the cart to the pad, then ascended the pad himself. He gave the officer the coordinates, and a few seconds later, the officer nodded to him. "Energize," John said, and he shimmered out of existence. He re-materialized on the surface of an outpost that had definitely had something happen to it. He spotted lights off to his left, and made his way over. He arrived at the group, and the two engineering ensigns sighed with relief when they saw him. John looked around, and nodded to them. "Ensigns," he said. He looked to his left, and caught the eye of the science ensign, Derrick Sabin. "Ensign," he said, and Sabin nodded to him. John looked to his right, and caught the eye of Marine Sergeant Hunter Matheson. "Sergeant," he said, and Matheson replied, "Lieutenant Randall, sir." John then looked back at Sabin. "You requested this, I believe," he said, and the science officer nodded. "Yes, sir," he replied, and Randall quickly showed him the basic functions. Matheson then said, "I'm going to step back, sir, for a good security sweep. Com if you see or hear anything stranger than we've already seen." "Acknowledged, Sergeant, and you do the same," replied Randall. Matheson nodded, and began his sweep. Sabin said, "Can you rig up something to get some power into the station for the inside team?" John looked at him, then said, "This generator doesn't have the power for that." He then stepped over to the two ensigns. "Let's see what you have, Mr. Thomas," he said, and the ensign handed John his tricorder. The assistant chief engineer looked over the data, made an adjustment, then suddenly gave a low whistle. "Well, well, well," he said almost to himself, then clicked the tab on the comlink on his suit. "Randall to Rinax, come in, please," he said. Commander Erica Rinax, the Challenger's executive officer, was in charge of the team currently inside one of the buildings which was still standing on the outpost. "Rinax here," she answered. "What do you have, Lieutenant Randall?" John said, "Commander, adjust your tricorder scans to take into account a Klingon disruptor energy signature; it's all over the casings of these generators." Thomas and Jenkins looked at each other as their boss informed the first officer of his findings, and even Ensign Sabin was a little wide-eyed as well. "Adjusting now," said Rinax, and John turned his comlink again. "Sergeant Matheson, adjust your scans to include a Klingon disruptor energy signature," he said, and Matheson, after a few seconds, said, "Done, sir; it seems to be everywhere." John then looked at the two ensigns from engineering, and smiled. "You boys just stepped into the big time; congratulations," he said, and smiled again as the two ensigns looked distinctly uncomfortable. He then contacted Matheson again. "I believe we're scanning the aftermath of a Klingon ambush, Sergeant," he said, and the Marine replied, "Copy that, sir." John looked around the debris scattered throughout the outpost as far as the eye could see, and thought to himself, 'Well, wonder what they're up to THIS time?' And he also wondered what part the Romulans were playing in all this. Were they simply reacting to the Klingon activity, or were they also in the midst of planning something? You just never knew with those green blooded bas-, er, beings. He shook his head as he continued to gaze around. 'One thing about it,' he thought. 'This was definitely not random. This was carefully planned. But what was their objective?' END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11409.16) John had just awakened from a nap in his cabin (he had inadvertently nodded off while watching a movie on his holovid player) when a voice came over the comm at his computer terminal. "Ja'Lale to Randall," it said, and John moved over to the terminal in a hurry. "Randall here," he said. "Lieutenant, report to my ready room in five minutes," the captain said. "Aye, sir," answered Randall, and the captain said, "Ja'Lale out." John closed down the comm, and hurriedly went into the bedroom to change into a duty uniform. He then left his cabin, and walked quickly down the corridor to the turbolift. "Bridge," he said as he entered the car, and the lift sped off. A few moments later, the lift arrived, and he exited the car. He stepped onto the bridge, and strode across the upper portion to the captain's ready room. He pushed the button on the door panel for the chime, and heard a voice say, "Come." John walked in as the captain looked up from his chair where he was seated behind his desk. "Ah, Lieutenant Randall," he said. John nodded, standing at attention. "Oh, sit down, John," Ja'lale said, waving toward the empty chair. "Thank you, sir," replied the lieutenant as he took a seat. "John, I called you up here to hear about your meeting with Admiral Baldwin," continued the captain. The assistant chief engineer nodded. "I thought as much, sir," he admitted, smiling slightly. "I take it he tried to recruit you again," said Ja'Lale, and John nodded again. "Guilty as charged, Captain," he answered. "Well, fill me in, Lieutenant," said the captain, and John took him through the details of the meeting. Ja'Lale sat staring at him for a few seconds after John had finished. "Well, he really gave you a pitch, didn't he?" the captain asked, a smile playing at the corners of his beak. "I have to admit, sir, I was intrigued," John said, and Ja'Lale actually did smile this time. "Of course you were," he said gently. "That's his job, to 'sell' you on the mission. But, I am curious about one thing, John," and he leaned forward, his gaze now squarely fixed on his engineer. "Baldwin could have just pulled rank, and taken you away from us. Why did he want you to clear it with me? Why did he feel that he needed my permission to let you go on that mission?" "Permission to speak freely, sir?" asked Randall, and Ja'Lale nodded. "Sir, you remember what happened on the first mission they 'borrowed' me for," John said, and the captain nodded, a frown appearing on his face. "All too well, Lieutenant," he said. "We were without your services for close to two months, as I recall." "That's correct, sir," replied Randall. "The second one went better, but I was injured in it as well." Ja'Lale sharpened his gaze at that revelation. "I wasn't aware of that, Lieutenant," he said. John shrugged. "It was just a minor disruptor burn, sir, nothing serious," he said. The captain nodded again. "Yes, I read your report about that," he said. "You were lucky on that one, as far as I'm concerned, John." "That makes two of us, sir," smiled Randall, and the captain smiled with him. "Sir, I think that, especially after the first mission, Baldwin felt responsible for what happened to me. He practically admitted it to me when he recruited me for the second mission. So, I think that, because of those circumstances, he wants your permission before he 'borrows' me from now on. I told him how you felt about it, and he said not to worry; he would contact you on my behalf should it be necessary to do so," John concluded. Ja'lale said, "He has taken sort of a personal interest in you, hasn't he?" John nodded. "He and my father were colleagues, so he says. I don't remember ever seeing him around Dad, but my father never brought his work home with him, so to speak," he said. Ja'lale nodded. "So, you're leaving the decision up to me, then?" "You are my commanding officer, sir," replied the engineer, and the captain smiled. "Well, then, here is my decision: you will stay aboard Challenger; we have a mission of our own to fulfill. You are a valued officer of this crew, and I need you in engineering. Are we clear?" "As a bell, sir," answered Randall. "I will inform Baldwin of my decision," said the captain. "You are dismissed, Lieutenant." John stood up, came to attention, and said, "Sir." He then turned, and strode toward the door. Just before he reached it, the captain said, "Lieutenant." John turned, and Ja'lale said, "I know Starfleet Intelligence thinks pretty highly of you. Rest assured, you are thought of the same on this ship." "Thank you, sir," replied Randall, and the captain nodded, turning his attention toward his computer. John exited the room, and as he strode across the upper portion of the bridge, he briefly met the gaze of the first officer, Commander Erica Rinax. She arched an inquisitive eyebrow, and he nodded, smiling a little. The first officer nodded slightly back to him, then turned her attention toward the viewscreen. Just before he entered the turbolift, John also caught the gaze of the navigator, Lieutenant H.G. Reed. He gave her a quick smile, which she returned, then he entered the lift. "Deck 12," he said, and the lift sped off. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11409.08) John and Rick took the family groundcar to the terminal of the Centauran spacedock. Rick's craft was docked there, and the brothers caught the next shuttle to the spacedock after a fifteen minute wait. They disembarked, and the brothers walked over to the airlock which would allow them to enter the craft. They boarded the craft, and John headed immediately for the small engineering compartment. Rick followed behind him, and watched in awe as his big brother found the problem in the plasma manifold in about 90 seconds. John directed Rick on what tools he needed, and, about 1 hour later, had the problem repaired. The Starfleet engineer then went to the forward compartment, and directed the craft's computer on the purging of the manifolds. When it was all said and done about 30 minutes later, Rick, sitting in the co-pilot's chair, shook his head at his brother. "I gotta hand it to ya, big brother," he said. "You really know your way around an engine." John smiled. "Sometimes the training comes in handy when I'm away from Starfleet," he said. "Come on, I'm famished. Mom's supposed to have dinner waiting on us." "I'm all for that," smiled Rick, and the brothers left the craft. They rode the shuttle back down to the terminal, and took the groundcar back to the house. There was another groundcar parked outside the home as they pulled up, and the brothers looked at each other as they exited the groundcar. They made their way into the house, and both men stopped dead in their tracks. Sitting on the couch beside their mother was their sister, Victoria. The Starfleet Academy medical trainee smiled at Rick, who entered first, and then screamed when she saw her big brother, John. The two siblings hadn't seen each other for almost 4 years, and John stood there in total shock at seeing his sister. Vicki then ran to her brother, and threw her arms around his neck, sobbing with joy, and holding him tight. John was overwhelmed himself, and stood there holding his sister. Denise and Rick were standing beside each other, watching them. Both were wiping away tears as well. Vicki finally released him a little, her arms still tight around John's neck, and kissed him soundly on the cheek. "Oh my god, I can't believe you're here, Johnny," she said through her tears, and her brother returned the kiss. "Right back atcha, sis," he replied, and Vicki laughed. "Oh, it's been ages since I've heard you say that," she said, and hugged him again. "Come over here and sit with me," she continued, leading him to the couch. They sat down, and Vicki put both arms around his midsection. "Now, I want to hear about your travels aboard the Challenger," she said, and John laughed. "I was so proud of you when you graduated from the Academy," she said. "And, I was even prouder when you told Mom you were going to serve aboard Challenger. There's a lot of stories floating around about that ship, and I relish the moments when I can say, 'My brother is on that ship.' You should see some of the looks I get," she finished, smiling, and John laughed again. "Well, what do you say we hold off until after dinner," he said. "Right now, I'm starving. Let's go eat." Vicki laughed. "Same old Johnny, always hungry," she teased. "I have to admit, though, to being a little hungry myself. And, I don't want to hear anything out of you," she said, shaking a finger in mock anger at Rick, who immediately adopted a hurt look on his face. "But, I didn't do anything," he said with a downcast expression, and both of his siblings burst out laughing. Denise stood in the kitchen doorway, smiling. "It's been a long time since I've heard my children laugh in this house," she said. "Come on, it's on the table." Vicki went to Rick and gave him a big hug as they all got up out of their seats. She linked arms with both her brothers, and they went into the kitchen together. They all sat down at the table, which was full of food. "Mom, you've got enough here to feed an army," gasped Vicki as they sat down. "No, that side of the table is all for Rick," said John, and they all burst out laughing. "I'll get you for that, big brother," Rick said, and his brother only grinned. As the meal commenced, John looked over to his mother. "Mom, when's the last time you heard from Jimmy?" he said. Denise sighed. "It's been close to a year now," she said. "I worry about him." The three siblings looked at each other. Their brother James was a pilot of a ship in the Starfleet Border Patrol, one of the most dangerous jobs in Starfleet. John knew some of the horror stories firsthand, and kept his thoughts to himself as he ate. Vicki asked, "Do you know which border he's on, Mom?" Denise sighed again. "The Klingon side," she said, and Vicki and Rick both looked at John, who kept his gaze downward as he ate. The atmosphere in the house changed noticeably as the family ate. After the meal, Vicki helped her mother clean up, and the brothers went into the living area. Rick turned on the holovid, and said, "That's right, Game 3 of the Centauran World Series is tonight. You came at a good time, big brother." John grinned. "Actually, I knew it was coming on tonight," he said. "I accessed the McIverton website before I came here." Rick shook his head. "I should have known," he moaned, and John laughed. The women came into the room, and Vicki put her hands over her eyes. "Oh, lord, null-G ball," she mockingly moaned, and both John and Rick regarded her with amusement. She sat down beside John on the sofa, and asked resignedly, "So who's playing?" Rick answered, "New Athens vs. McIverton, Game 3." Vicki perked up a little at that. "Does New Athens have Gary Rappaport on their team?" she asked, and both brothers looked at her. "Yeah, they do," said Rick, making eye contact with John. "Oh, well, this might be interesting, then," Vicki answered nonchalantly, and John looked at her until she felt his gaze on her. "What?" she asked innocently, and her brother smiled. "Nothing," he shrugged, turning his gaze back to the holovid, and Vicki elbowed hm in the side. "Don't you start, John Marcus," she warned, and he looked innocently at her. Denise and Rick were both grinning. "I didn't say anything," he protested, and his sister eyed him narrowly. "I'm stopping you before you do," she said menacingly, and John burst out laughing. "All right, all right," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. Vicki smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm really glad you're here, Johnny," she said, and snuggled against him on the sofa. "That makes two of us, Vicki," he replied, kissing her on top of the head. "I have really missed you, sister mine," he concluded, and Vicki squeezed him. The family watched the McIverton Druids win a close contest 14-12 in the null-G ball game, cheering and groaning at the same time. When it was over, John let out a tremendous yawn, and tried to cover it, unsuccessfully. Denise smiled at him. "You are ready for bed, my son,"she said, and he nodded. "It's been a full day," he agreed. "It's bedtime for all of you," Denise continued, and both Vicki and Rick nodded, smiling. "I can't remember the last time my children were under the same roof with me," said their mother. "It's wonderful to have all of you here." The three siblings got up out of their seats, and went to their mother, each hugging her. "Now, off to bed with you," Denise said. "I'll see you all in the morning." The family said their goodnights, and each went to their room. Vicki hugged both her brothers outside their rooms, holding on to John a little longer. "It's a dream that I'm going to have breakfast with my handsome brother," she said, smiling at him. "How long are you staying, Johnny?" "About another day and a half," he replied. "Then I have to report back to Challenger for our next mission." She nodded, then tears came into her eyes, and John looked at her, concerned. "Oh, I promised myself I wasn't going to do this," she moaned, biting her lip. She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. "I worry about you," she whispered, her bottom lip quivering. "I'm so proud of you, and what you've become, but sometimes, Johnny, I get so scared something's going to happen to you," she continued, and buried her head in his chest. "Hey, now," he soothed. "You know me, I'm always careful. And, I'm serving with a good crew. We look out for each other." Vicki raised her head, and looked at him. "You're not always careful," she said. "I know better than that. You were always too much like Daddy, but I learned to live with it. You made me a promise before you left that you would be careful. After hearing some of the stories about Challenger, I want you to promise me again that you'll be careful. You swear it to me, John Marcus Randall," she finished sternly, and he smiled. "I swear by all that's holy," he said, and she nodded. "I'm holding you to that, big brother," she said, then smiled. "Good night." "Night, sis," replied John, and she walked down the hall to her room. He entered his room, and closed the door. He took off his clothes, put on his pajamas, and tumbled into bed. He lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling. It felt really good to be home. He then turned off the light, and went to sleep. The next 45 hours went all too swiftly for the Starfleet engineer, and it was time for the tearful goodbyes. Vicki and Denise both hugged him tightly, crying, and both admonished him to be careful. He reassured both of them, and waved goodbye as he and Rick climbed into the groundcar. The brothers made their way to the Centauran terminal, and caught the shuttle to the spacedock. They boarded the craft, and sped toward Earth. They arrived a few hours later, and Rick shook hands with his brother. "Be careful, J.R.; call as soon as you can," he said. John nodded. "I'll see you around, brother mine," he said, and climbed out of the craft. The brothers waved to each other, and Rick sped off. John watched the craft for a few moments until it merged with the stars, then pulled out his communicator. "Randall to Challenger; one to beam up," he said, and a few seconds later, the transporter beam took him. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11408.28) John returned to engineering as Challenger eased into its berth at Earth Spacedock. He sat at the main console awaiting the arrival of the spacedock engineering team. The team arrived minutes later, and he gave them their assignments. He then got on the engineering comm, and told the crew that shore leave had been authorized by the captain while the ship awaited its next mission. John then turned, and sighed as he saw the pile of PADDs that had accumulated, as he had been too busy to log them during the last mission. He cracked his knuckles, and put the first PADD in front of him, pushing the button to display its data. He pulled the keyboard toward him, and began typing. Lieutenant (j.g.) Jeff Michaels passed by him, then turned as he saw his friend was busy typing. "Hey, John, you taking leave?" he asked. Randall shook his head. "Got to file reports, Jeff," he answered, never lifting his head from the keyboard. "I'll be on duty for a while; you go ahead, have a good time," he continued. "You need some time, too, Lieutenant," Michaels replied. "Don't spend the whole leave on board the ship." "I don't intend to, Jeff," John said. "But, I gotta log these before I can go anywhere. I'll see you later." Michaels sighed. "All right, Lieutenant," he answered. "See you later, I hope." He walked away as John lifted a hand. The assistant chief engineer labored away at the keyboard, logging report after report, occasionally glancing up to ascertain the status of the spacedock engineering team. The pile of PADDs slowly began to dwindle as John pounded away at his keyboard. A little while later, the voice of the chief engineer, Eddie Freeman, was heard in the engineering department. "Anyone still here?!" it called out, and John lifted his hand as he continued to type. Freeman saw him, and made his way to the main console. He raised his eyebrows as he saw the pile of PADDs next to Randall. "Need a hand?" he asked as he sat down at a nearby station. John shook his head, never looking up, or slowing down. "No, I got this, Chief," he said. "Why don't you go ahead and take your leave? I'll be a while longer here." Freeman raised an eyebrow, which Randall never saw, and shook his head. "You say so," he replied, pulling a keyboard toward himself. "I got some stuff to wrap up here anyway." John shrugged, never taking his eyes off the keyboard, or slowing down the tempo of his typing. "It's your time, Chief," he said. "I have to get these logged, or the captain will have my head." He and Freeman typed away on their respective keyboards for a few minutes until, suddenly, there came a loud crash from the vicinity of the warp core. Both men started at the crash, then John swore under his breath. "I got this, Chief," he growled as he got out of his chair, and strode toward the warp core. When he arrived, he stood there for a moment, taking in the scene. A team of spacedock engineers had actually managed to ram a corner of an anti-grav cart against one of the consoles surrounding the warp core. "What the hell is going on back here?!" he said forcefully, and listened incredrously to the explanation, stammered out by one of the team. Freeman had also wandered back to the scene, and was shaking his head. John then said, "All right, all right, I don't need every detail! Just be more careful!" The team acknowledged him, and went on their way. He looked around, and spotted a couple of ensigns who were still on duty. "Get on this, all right?" he said wearily, and the ensigns nodded, taking out their tricorders. "That's actually impressive," he heard Freeman say behind him, and he turned. "I didn't know you could even lose control of one of those things that badly," the chief engineer finished, staring at the dent in the console. John's eyes turned ice-blue as he caught Freeman's eye. "Trust a spacedock team, every time," he growled, then stalked back to his station at the main console, where he resumed typing. Freeman stayed at the console, watching the ensigns work, and thinking to himself that his chief assistant had a bee in his bonnet about something. John continued to type away, unaware that he was slipping into a really nasty mood. His eyes continued to hold their ice-blue shade as he typed. A few minutes later, however, he reached for another PADD, and his fingers came away empty. He sat back in his chair, and blew out a long breath of tension, which instantly made him feel better, and improved his mood. He saw Freeman returning to his station, and got up from his chair. "Chief, I'm gonna go EVA, and check on the team recharging the port nacelle," he said. The chief engineer nodded, staring at the display of a PADD in his hand. John headed for the equipment room, and put on a spacesuit. He then walked to the engineering airlock, and stepped out into space. He looked around, and spotted the team that was recharging the nacelle. He gave tiny bursts to his rocket jets on his suit, and headed toward them. He watched the team work, communicating with them over the spacedock frequency in the suit comlink. The team finished about a half hour later, and waved to him. He put a thumbs up, and moved in to inspect the work. Pleased by what he saw, he turned and nodded to the team leader. "Well done," he said, and the team grinned at him through their helmets. He and the team then headed toward the airlock, where they all reboarded the ship. He went to the equipment room, and took off the spacesuit, redonning his uniform. He then made his way back to engineering, and strode toward the main console. He sat down at his station, and logged himself out, officially going off duty. He stood up, and looked around for Freeman. Not seeing him, he took out his communicator. Flipping it open, he said, "Randall to Freeman." Almost instantly, the reply came. "Freeman here, go ahead," the chief engineer said. "The port nacelle is fully charged, Chief," John said. "I should tell you, I'm going off duty. Admiral Jason Baldwin wants to see me." There was a pause, then Freeman said, "Really? All right, then. Thanks for letting me know, and good luck with Baldwin." "Acknowledged, Randall out," said John, flipped the communicator shut, and headed for the engineering doors. He strode through them and went out into the corridor, heading for the turbolift. "Deck 10," he said as he stepped in, and the lift whisked him away. A few moments later, he arrived, and exited the car. He went along the corridor to the transporter room. He strode inside, and made his way to the dais. He stepped up onto it, and looked at the transporter officer. "Beam me to Starfleet Intelligence HQ in San Francisco," he said, and the officer nodded. Seconds later, John shimmered out of existence. The assistant chief engineer materialized on a sidewalk alongside a huge glass and metal building. He knew it was SI HQ; he sighed, and strode toward the door, which opened at his approach. He went up to the receptionist desk, and stated he had an appointment with Admiral Baldwin. The pretty brunette secretary spoke into her headset, then smiled sunnily, and told him to go right in. John thanked her, and strode to his left. He went down a small corridor, and came to a door marked 'J. Baldwin.' He gave a small knock, and a deep voice from inside told him to enter. Admiral Jason Baldwin stood up as John entered. He smiled, and waved to an empty chair. "Lieutenant Randall, thank you for coming; have a seat," he said. "Thank you, sir," John answered, walked over and sat down. He then looked the admiral squarely in the eyes. "So, why am I here, Admiral?" he queried. Baldwin stood up, and, to John's surprise, handed him a fairly thick folder, with actual paper documents inside. "Open that and read for a few minutes, Mr. Randall; then we'll talk," said the admiral. John nodded, opened the folder, and began reading the paper documents inside, which turned out to contain some rather interesting, even startling, information. The admiral watched the lieutenant as he read, looking for any type of reaction. After a few minutes, John closed the folder, and looked up at Baldwin. "This is some...interesting...stuff, sir," he said. "Where do I fit in, or come in, or whatever?" "Well, Lieutenant, that really depends on you," Baldwin answered. "Your ship is in between missions at the moment; do you anticipate any problems if you were to come aboard?" John said, "Well, I would have to get permission from the captain, sir; that might prove to be a little difficult, as he wasn't too happy about my coming to see you." The admiral carelessly waved a hand. "You let me worry about your captain," he said. "What do you think, would you be game to try?" John raised his eyebrows. "So, you are recruiting me for this mission," he said, and Baldwin smiled. "Let's say you wouldn't be here otherwise, John," he said. "All right, sir, I'll have to contact the captain, and get his permission," replied Randall. "I should warn you, though, he'll probably insist on talking to you face to face." "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Lieutenant," said the admiral. "Let me know something within the next 24 hours." "Aye, sir," John said, and stood up, giving the folder back to Baldwin. "Dismissed," said the admiral, and Randall stood briefly at attention, then exited the office. He walked toward the lobby door, which swooshed open as he approached, and stepped back out onto the sidewalk. He looked around for a moment, then took out his communicator. "Randall to Challenger; one to beam up," he said, and replaced the communicator. As he waited for the beam to claim him, he thought to himself, 'I'm not sure that the captain is gonna let me go on this one when I tell him about it.' The beam claimed him, and, a few seconds later, he materialized on the transporter dais of the Challenger. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11408.20) After the reconfigurment of the probes had been accomplished, the Challenger had actually been contacted by the beings who had been monitoring the data from the probes. They were called the Bolians, and they had been waiting to see what the Federation ship would do about the civil war on the planet Bolarus. The Bolians expressed their gratitude to the Challenger for helping bring an end to the crisis without the Federation starship getting actively involved in the fighting. Captain Ja'Lale declared the mission over, and ordered the ship to set sail for the Sol solar system, known throughout the Federation as Sector 001. John was still on duty in engineering, but it was mainly routine now as the ship was cruising through space en route to Earth. The assistant chief engineer was very glad Challenger had not been asked to take part in the fighting on the Bolian planet. He watched the crew for a little while, then decided things were running smoothly, and called out to his friend Lieutenant (j.g.) Jeff Michaels. Michaels came over, and John gave him the conn, saying he would be in his quarters if needed. Michaels nodded, and John left his station, heading for the engineering doors. They swished open as he approached, and he made his way down the corridor to the turbolift. "Deck 3," he said as he entered, and the lift sped off. A few moments later, it deposited him at the deck, and he exited, going down the corridor toward the officers' mess. He strode in, and walked up to the ordering wall. He gave his order, and out popped a tray of food. He took the tray over to a nearby table, and sat down to eat. A group of officers came in, got their trays, then came over to him, asking if they could join him. He nodded, and they sat. He knew most of them, and small talk was exchanged as the group ate. John finished eating, and bade farewell to the group. He deposited his tray and the remains of his meal in the recycler, and left the mess, heading for his cabin on down the corridor. He arrived, and strode through the door as it swished open. He stripped off his uniform, and made his way to the head. He activated the shower, and stepped in. About fifteen minutes later, he stepped out, and toweled off. He strode to the bedroom, and put on a fresh uniform. As he came back into the living area, his computer terminal beeped, signifying he had a message/e-mail. He walked over to the terminal and sat down. He entered his codes, and was surprised at the e-mail that popped onto the screen. It was from Admiral Jason Baldwin of the Starfleet Intelligence Corps, whom John knew from two previous covert missions. The e-mail was brief and to the point. Baldwin wanted John to contact him as soon as the Challenger came into communication range of Earth. He sat back in his chair, and thought to himself, 'Oh boy, are we really going to do this again?' He decided the captain should know about this from the start, and punched the comm button. "Randall to Ja'Lale, come in, please," he said, and almost immediately came the answer. "Yes, Lieutenant, go ahead," it said. "Captain, I have received an e-mail from Admiral Jason Baldwin," John said. "He's asking me to contact him as soon as we're in communication range of Earth. Would you like to speak to him first?" Ja'Lale said, "I hope he's not borrowing you again, Lieutenant." John heard the emphasis on the word 'borrowing', and gave a small laugh. "As usual, he didn't say, sir," he replied. "When I saw the e-mail, I thought to myself, you better tell the captain about this." "Well, thank you for letting me know, Lieutenant," said the captain. "No, go ahead and speak with him, find out what he wants, and let me know. Plus, we're almost back to Earth, so you should be in comm range now." "Acknowledged, sir," said John. "I'll let you know what he has in mind. Randall out." He released the comm button, then gave orders to the ship's computer to set up a relay with the computer at SI headquarters in San Francisco. He waited a few minutes, then the computer announced, "Link established. Communication is possible." A few moments later, the face of Admiral Jason Baldwin swam onto the screen, and John nodded to him. "Hello, Lieutenant, good to see you again," the admiral said. "Another successful mission, I hear." Randall smiled. "We're still in one piece anyway, sir," he said. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Baldwin said, "If you are given any shore leave when you reach Earth, Mr. Randall, drop by my office. I have something I think you might be interested in." John nodded warily, his senses on full alert. "Subject to my captain's approval, of course." Baldwin smiled, nodding. "Of course, Lieutenant. I assume you informed him of my contacting you?" "That I have, sir, as per his and my XO's orders," John replied. Baldwin smiled again. "If you have time, John, come see me," he said. "Baldwin out." The admiral's face disappeared from the screen, and John sat back in his chair. He ruminated on the conversation for a few moments, then contacted the bridge, and informed the captain of the conversation. Ja'lale thanked him, and John again sat back in his chair, thinking. He swiveled the chair, and stared out at the stars as they swam by, thinking hard. He was almost sure that Baldwin was going to try to recruit him for another covert operation, and wasn't sure how he felt about it. His father had been avenged with the help of SI, and now John wasn't quite sure where he fit in with Intelligence. He brooded about it until the announcement came that Challenger was initiating docking procedures, and knew it was time for him to return to duty. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11408.15) John sat with his friend and colleague, Lieutenant (j.g.) Jeff Michaels, at the main console in engineering. "There's no doubt about it, Jeff," Randall said. "Someone has hacked into our data stream from the probes, and it's not anyone on the planet." Michaels looked at him for a few seconds, then said, "Can we reconfigure the probes, John?" Randall sighed, then said, "We could try again, I suppose. Ok, get a team on it, and I'll monitor from here." Michaels nodded, and got from his seat to assemble the team. John sent an e-mail to the science station on the bridge, then, as an afterthought, also sent one to the communications station. Michaels and his team began work on the reconfigurment of the probes, and John monitored for a little while from his station. He then had an idea strike him, and quickly typed in a series of numbers and symbols onto his screen. He studied the data string for a second, then, pleased by what he saw, he looked over to Michaels, getting his attention. "Jeff, I'm sending you a data string to be included with the reconfigurement as an encryption code," he said, and sent it to Michaels' terminal. His friend acknowledged receipt of the string, and the team worked speedily to achieve their objective. After a few more minutes, Michaels looked up from his monitor. "Ok, Lieutenant, think we've got it," he said, and sent the program to Randall's station. The assistant chief engineer looked it over, and nodded. "This looks good, Jeff; well done, everyone," he said to the team, and they all smiled at him. "I'll see if I can raise anyone on the bridge," he continued, and punched the comm. "Randall to bridge," he said, and a few moments later, the voice of the communications officer, Ensign Dvokr chim Hok, answered. "Hok here, go ahead," it said. "Ensign, inform the captain that we have reconfigured the probes," said John. "I have installed an encryption code as well; maybe that will hamper the efforts of the unknown third party to monitor us. Sending you the program now," and he did just that. "You can also tell the captain that we have direct evidence of tampering; a shorted-out panel from our generator from the nav shields," he continued. Hok said, "I have it, thank you. Lieutenant, are you saying the tampering is on our own ship?" Randall answered, "No, Ensign, the method used to hack into our data stream from the probes caused a transtator feedback into the panel, thus shorting it out. Randall out." He heard Hok say, "Understood," and sat back, satisfied they had done all they could do to help the bridge for now. He then looked over to his friend. "How's it looking, Jeff?" he asked, and Michaels smiled, giving him a thumbs-up. "So far, so good, John," he said. "No evidence of tampering or data loss at the present time." John nodded, and said, "Keep an eye on it for me. Send me your tricorder data on the panel you guys found. I want to run an analysis, and see if I can pinpoint anything that might help us figure out where the tampering was coming from. A set of coordinates, or something." Michaels nodded, plugged his tricorder into his station, and sent the data to John's terminal. The assistant chief engineer began the task of breaking down the tricorder data. A thought occurred to him, and he looked over to where Ensign Susan Maloney was working. "Ensign Maloney, your assistance, please," he said, and the pretty blonde ensign came over to him. He handed her the shorted-out panel. "Run an analysis on this panel for me, please," he said. "I know you have some expertise at this sort of thing." "Of course, sir," she said, smiling at him, and he nodded. She went back to her station with the panel, and he resumed his tricorder analysis. A little while later, he suddenly grunted in triumph, and ran back the analysis program, zooming in on a data string that was decidedly not Starfleet. He then began the task of separating the data, and, a few moments later, had two separate blocks of data. He immediately sent the alien data block to the science station on the bridge, and alerted Ensign Derrick Sabin that this should be the data they were looking for. He recommended that the science officer translate the data block using the universal translator program at the science station. Sabin acknowledged him, and John cut the transmission. He sat back in his chair, pleased with the events that had just occurred. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11407.21) John awakened from sleep in his quarters. He checked the chronometer, and was surprised to see he had slept for 11 hours. He got out of bed, and headed to the shower. Fifteen minutes later, he exited, toweled off, and went to the bedroom to put on a fresh uniform. He made his breakfast drink, and sat down at his computer terminal. He logged in, and requested a status update on Challenger's current mission. The fighting had escalated on the planet, and Captain Ja'Lale was trying to get the leaders of the opposing nations to sit down for a negotiation, but wasn't having much luck. John also read that the probes sent to the planet to try to shore up communications were having problems again, and swore under his breath. He now knew what the day had in store for him. He logged off, and left his cabin, heading for the turbolift. "Deck 12," he snapped as he entered, and the lift sped off. He arrived at his destination, and exited the lift. He went along the corridor toward engineering, nodding at crewpersons along the way. He arrived at engineering, and strode through the doors. The crew greeted him as he made his way in, and he acknowledged them. He made his way to his station, and sat down at his terminal. He logged in for duty, and took the conn from Lieutenant (j.g.) Steve Davis. He pulled up the reports from the delta shift, and read them. He then requested a status update from the computer, but nothing much new had occurred. He then arose, and made his way to the main console, sitting down at a terminal. An ensign showed him the current status of the probes, along with the engines and systems, and he nodded thanks. He was gratified to see that his idea of using the navigational shields to help shore up communications was still holding up, but the probes themselves were in need of reprogramming. Ensign Susan Maloney was in charge of that task, and John nodded to her, asking if she required assistance. The ensign nodded gratefully, and John smiled at her. They began working together to reprogram and realign the probes. A little while later, Randall and Maloney completed the task, and the female ensign thanked him for his help. John smiled at her, and told the rest of the team to carry on. He went back to his station, and pulled up the program showing the status of the nav shields. To his dismay, the port side nav shields were down 25% over the last three hours. He sat there thinking a moment, then looked over to the main console where Lieutenant (j.g.) Jeff Michaels had reported in, and was helping the team there. John arose from his terminal, and walked over to his friend. "Hey, Jeff," he said as he approached, and Michaels looked up briefly at his friend. "Hey, Lieutenant," he said. "Jeff, the nav shielding on the port side has dropped 25% in the last three hours," said Randall. Michaels looked up at him, puzzlement on his face. "How did that happen, John?" he asked, and Randall shrugged. "Not sure at this time," he answered. "Take a team to the upper deck of engineering, and check on the generator." "Aye, sir," replied Michaels, and quickly pointed a t three of the ensigns. The team headed for the warp core elevator, and John sat back down at the main console to supervise the remainder of the team. Around a half hour later, Michaels' voice came over the comm. "Michaels to Randall," it said, and John answered. "Lieutenant, the panel regulating the generator was completely fried, sir," the junior grade lieutenant reported, and a frown appeared on John's face. "That's not all, John," continued his friend. "We analyzed the panel, and it was fried by some sort of a transtator feedback through it, shorting it out." John sat up straighter in his chair at that report. "Transtator feedback?" he queried. "Source?" "Unknown at this time, sir," answered Michaels. "Very well," replied the assistant chief engineer. "Report back to your stations." "Aye, sir," said Michaels. "Team returning. Michaels out." John sat there, a puzzled frown on his face, which was making the ensigns at the main console nervous, though he was not aware of it. They kept sneaking glances at their commanding officer, who was obviously deep in thought about something. John was turning over in his mind the possible causes of transtator feedbacks. A few moments later, an answer hit him like a phaser bolt, bringing him bolt upright in his chair. The ensigns around the console reacted to him, but he waved his hand, letting them know they were all right. He wondered for a moment about contacting someone, and then came up with an idea. He would send an e-mail to the navigational officer of the Challenger, Lieutenant H.G. Reed, to modify the short range sensors. A scan needed to be done to verify the possibility of some sort of tracing beam that was locked into the data stream coming from the probes to the ship. 'Someone is monitoring our communications,' he thought to himself as he composed the e-mail, then sent it to the navigation console on the bridge. 'It's incompatible with our data stream, and that's what caused the transtator feedback,' he thought. The team headed by Michaels re-entered engineering, and went to their stations. John caught his friend's eye, and beckoned him over. Michaels went over to him. John motioned him to sit down, then leaned over to him, speaking in a low voice. "Jeff, someone is monitoring our communications," he said, and his friend's eyes widened. "You're sure, John?" he asked, and Randall nodded. "And it's not coming from the planet," he finished, and the two friends sat there, staring at each other. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11404.26) John resumed his duties aboard the Challenger. His return was never acknowledged by any of the crew, and he had come to accept that as the norm. Covert agents didn't want to be known; if they became too well-known, their status as a covert agent was pretty well ended. Randall took solace in the fact that his father had been avenged, and the family could, at last, begin their final healing. 'And,' he mused to himself while on duty in engineering, 'it's probably just as well that I returned while the away team is on Qo'noS. I wouldn't be too well received down there if any of the Klingons found out who I was.' * He got caught up on his work, then went into the chief's office to help catch up there as well. Freeman was down on the planet with the away team, and part of John's job now was to assist his boss in his duties. It was pretty much standard duty in engineering, until John happened to take a reading of the radiation levels outside the ship. He noticed they were becoming a bit high, and immediately thought to himself, 'Uh-uh, not this time,' remembering the mission a few weeks ago inside that nebula, where the radiation levels got so high they actually inflicted harm on the crew of the Challenger. He took a few readings from his station, then realized he would have to go to the bridge to implement the changes needed to the shields. He put Lieutenant (j.g) Steve Davis in charge of engineering, and exited the room, heading for the turbolift. "Bridge," he said as the car arrived, and he stepped in. The lift sped off. The lift arrived a few moments later, and he stepped out onto the bridge. Captain Ja'Lale saw him as he exited the lift, and nodded to him. John nodded back, and went to the engineering station. He put in his passcode, and was granted access. He set to work implementing the changes to the shield harmonics, and, a few minutes later, was satisfied with the results as the changes took hold. The bridge crew were having a discussion about how to shield some of the radiation from the Klingon homeworld. John listened for a few moments until an image formed in his mind. On his homeworld, Centaurus, the scientists there had had to come up with a method of bringing a day/night circle to Alpha Centauri B, known to the Federation as Centaurus. In the early days of colonization, several Earth plants and flora had been brought to Centaurus, along with some trees. The early attempts at seeding the planet failed, however, because of Alpha Centauri's binary system. Centauri B was continually being bombarded with light; by the main star, Alpha Centauri itself, and Proxima Centauri, the tiny dwarf star in the system. The scientists finally came up with a way to block the Proxima star's rays from hitting Centauri B; a huge device was built on the planet which generated a hyperpolarized field that blocked the rays from the dwarf star from hitting Centaurus; thus giving the planet a day/night cycle, and the plants and trees from Earth were finally able to grow, then flourish, on Centaurus. John thought to himself as he listened, 'I believe that could work here.' He looked over at the discussion taking place for a few seconds, but then thought better of it; it really wasn't the place for him to be offering opinions. His mannerism had not gone unnoticed, however; Marine Captain Cassidy Granger had seen him. A few seconds later, there was a break in the discussion, and Granger said, "Mr. Randall, you have something to contribute to our discussion?" All heads turned toward John, who looked up from his station on the bridge. He gave a small smile, and said, "Well, I couldn't help overhearing, and a thought did cross my mind." Captain Ja'Lale said, "By all means, Lieutenant; share your thought with us." John nodded, and said, "Well, sir, I was thinking; this is sort of the problem the early settlers of my homeworld, Centaurus, had." He went on to explain how the problem had been solved; when he finished, the bridge crew looked at each other for a few seconds. The captain said, "And you think the same concept would work here?" "I do, sir," replied Randall. "It would take some modifications, of course, but, essentially, sunrays are radiation, also; I believe the concept would block a great deal of radiation from the Klingon planet. However, it would cost some credits to have the building necessary to handle the hardware built, and, from what I've heard, the Klingons simply can't afford it." The captain nodded. "Thank you for your input, Lieutenant; that's an idea I'm sure hadn't occurred to anyone else." John nodded. "Always happy to help, sir," he replied, and turned back to his station. The discussion resumed behind him; a few minutes later, his work was done, and he logged out of the engineering station. He turned, and left the bridge, catching the eye of navigator Lieutenant Reed as he began to walk toward the turbolift. The two officers exchanged nods, and John arrived at the lift. "Deck 12," he said as he stepped in, and the lift whisked him away. He arrived at the deck, and stepped out of the lift. He made his way down the corridor to engineering, and went in. Davis gave him back the conn, and John went to his station, resuming his duties. He found out later on, as the mission concluded, that his idea had been rejected by the Klingons for the same reason he had stated; it was just too costly for their budget. The Challenger arrived at the starbase that was their destination, and the crew was granted limited shore leave while they awaited their next assignment. END LOG * - This is in reference to John Randall's first covert mission, available in the Challenger logs section.

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11403.28) John stood on the transporter dais of the USS Avenger, awaiting transport back to his home ship, the USS Challenger. While the covert mission had turned out to be a success (aside from the disruptor burn on his right leg), he was glad to be getting back on board the Challenger. Routine duty in engineering would be a welcome change, he thought to himself as he stood on the pad. The transporter chief of the Avenger looked up from his panel. "We have received acknowledgment from the Challenger, sir," he said. John nodded. "Energize," he said, and the Challenger engineer shimmered out of existence. He materialized in the familiar transporter room of the Challenger, and nodded to the transporter chief. "Welcome home, Lieutenant," said the chief as Randall stepped off the dais. "It's good to be home, Chief," replied John, smiling at him. The two men exchanged small talk for a few moments until the door swished open, and in walked the executive officer of the Challenger, Commander Erica Rinax. "Welcome back, Mr. Randall," she said, striding over to him. "How was your trip and your mission?" "Hello, Commander," replied John, smiling at her. "Let's just say it was a very rewarding mission, and I hope I never have one like it again." The first officer raised her eyebrows. "Oh?" she said. "Did the Admiral have you bouncing through hell and high water?" Randall nodded and grinned. "That would be an apt description, Commander," he answered. "Are you ready to get back to duty so soon?" asked Rinax. "I've heard there are a few repairs just waiting with your name on them, or did you want to get some chow?" John dropped the grin, and became serious upon hearing of the repairs. "Well, if the repairs are dicey, Commander, I'm ready to go on duty, of course," he said. The first officer shook her head. "I don't think we are in a rush," she said. "I was heading for some chow, if you'd care to join me." John smiled at her. "I would like that, then, Commander," he said. Rinax informed the bridge of her status; when she finished, John looked at her. "Permission to swing by my cabin and drop off my bag, ma'am?" he said, then his right leg chose that moment to slightly buckle underneath him. He hoped the first officer hadn't noticed, but his hopes were dashed a few seconds later. "Then we are off," she began, but broke off when she noticed John's slight stumble. "Your right knee," she said, her eyes sharpening as she looked at his leg. "Everything ok? Would you like me to carry your bag?" At this, John was so surprised he actually let Rinax take his bag. It was the most concern the executive officer had ever shown him. He looked resigned as he answered, "I was hoping anyone wouldn't notice, Commander; I was slightly injured during the mission. Thank you for the offer, though." She nodded, and they began to walk out of the transporter room, Randall limping slightly on the right leg. "What happened?" she asked as they went out into the corridor, heading for the turbolift. Randall frowned again. "Well, the mission ended with the team I was part of having a firefight with a group of Romulans. Would you like me to give you a formal full debriefing, Commander?" This time, it was the first officer's turn to frown. "Yes, I would suspect that is in order," she said, taking a PADD from her belt. She made a few adjustments on it, then nodded to him as they reached the turbolift. "Deck 3," said John, and the lift took them there. They exited the lift, and, as they reached the door of his cabin, Rinax handed him his bag. John took it inside, deposited it on the sofa, and came back out. Rinax nodded to him. "We'll start the debrief in a moment," she said, but John held up a hand, and she raised her eyebrows. "Commander, I first have to tell you that Admiral Baldwin has classified this mission top secret before I go on," he said, and Rinax nodded. "Then we better debrief in your cabin, or in the conference room," she said, and Randall nodded. "Yes, ma'am, either is fine with me," he said. "We'll have food delivered to the conference room," she said. "Let's head there; it has better recording equipment, and you can pull up star charts or anything you need for visuals." John nodded. "Aye, Commander," he said. "Permission to change my uniform?" "Granted, I'll wait here for you," she said. John nodded, went into his cabin, and headed for his bedroom. He quickly changed into a new uniform, relishing the feeling, and rejoined Rinax. They walked back to the turbolift, and stepped inside. "Bridge," snapped Rinax, and the lift sped away. They arrived, and exited the lift; they made their way along the back of the bridge to the conference room. Rinax made a call to the mess hall to order them food, and John sat down, relieved to stretch out his leg, but took pains not to let it show. The first officer sat down across from him. "Computer, new file: Randall debriefing. Begin recording, please." "Working," said the computer, and the first officer nodded to him. John took Rinax through the entire mission, leaving nothing out. "So, the admiral now fears there may be some sort of Vulcan-Romulan collusion here, and that's why he classified this as top secret, in my opinion," he finished. Rinax was silent for a few seconds, obviously digesting what she had just heard. She then looked John squarely in the eyes. "The captain will have to be informed about this, Lieutenant," she said. "I'm glad you are back, and are relatively safe. After you eat, I want you to report to sickbay for a full physical workup. You do not go back on duty until you do." John looked at her a moment, then nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he said, and she nodded. The food arrived, and the two officers ate in silence. John left the conference room, and Rinax informed him she would accompany him to sickbay; she needed to see the doctor herself. They rode the turbolift to deck seven, which housed sickbay. The two officers exited the lift, and made their way down the corridor to sickbay. Rinax went to find the chief medical officer, Dr. Gretchen Hanson, and John went over to a medtech, telling her of Rinax's order. The medtech nodded, and gestured him to a biobed, telling him she would be with him shortly. Randall went over and sat on the bed. The medtech arrived a few moments later, and took John through the examination. When they got to his right leg, the medtech removed the sparkling bandage, and her eyes widened at the rainbow of colors accompanying the huge darkened area on the engineer's leg. She looked up at him. "What is this?" she asked. John said, "Er, a disruptor burn, Doc." She shook her head. "I don't even want to know, do I?" she said, and Randall gave a small grin, shaking his head. "I thought as much," she said. "Lie back on the bed, and I'll be right back." She left, and John stretched out on the bed. A few moments later, the medtech returned. She sprayed a solution onto his leg on the area of the burn, and John's leg began to feel better almost instantly. She then wheeled a cart over on top of which sat a machine. She placed John's leg into the open tube directly underneath a glass plate. She switched the machine on, and a purplish-looking beam played over the area of the burn. "Make yourself comfortable, Lieutenant, you'll be here for about fifteen minutes," the medtech said. "I'll be back to check on you." John lay on the bed, and his leg continued to feel better and better. After a few minutes, the medtech returned, took a look at his leg, and switched off the machine. "All right, you're done," she said. "You are hereby released for duty, Lieutenant." John swung his body off the bed, noticing his right leg was pretty much normal now. "Thanks, Doc, and see you later," he said. He walked over to the sickbay door, which swooshed open, and he went out into the corridor. He walked to the turbolift, and stepped in. "Deck 12," he said, and the lift whisked him away. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11402.28) The next morning after the meeting, John and the team assembled in the living room of their house on Vulcan. The plan was to return to the ambassador's home for an update on the perceived matter brought to Shrvan's attention by Hastings. Sometime during that meeting, John would informally accuse Shrak of deliberately withholding information from the ambassador. He would then suggest a mind meld between Shrvan and Shrak. It was thought the Romulan would refuse, and then whatever was to happen would probably take place. The men piled into their groundcars, and zoomed away. They came to a stop at the residence of the governor, disembarked, and were immediately shown inside. They were taken to the same antechamber where yesterday's meeting had taken place. A few moments later, the ambassador and his aides came into the chamber. John noticed as soon as he entered that each of the "aides" immediately looked at him, and none of the expressions were friendly; Shrak's least of all. He nudged Taylor, who was standing next to him, and the commander gave an imperceptible nod. "Admiral Hastings, thank you for returning," said Shrvan. "We have looked into the matter you brought up yesterday, and there are indeed discrepancies in some of the residual logs." He then turned to Shrak. "Shrak, you have looked into the matter further?" The Romulan impersonator nodded. "I have," he said. "The Federation admiral is correct, though I am curious about one thing, Admiral," and he looked directly at Hastings. "How is it that you came by this information?" Before Hastings could reply, John stepped forward. "Perhaps you could explain why you did not know about this matter beforehand, Shrak." The lieutenant's tone was cold, and Shrak immediately narrowed his eyes at Randall. Shrvan, however, was looking at his aide. "A valid question, Shrak," he said, and Shrak's head quickly snapped around. "Why did you not know, as this is supposed to be included in your duties." Shrak was momentarily at a loss to answer, and John swiftly stepped in again. "Perhaps you should find out yourself, Ambassador," he said, and every eye in the room immediately focused on the engineer. "What are you suggesting, Lieutenant Randall?" asked Shrvan. John shrugged slightly, but his eyes were chips of ice as he stared at Shrak. "Perhaps this would be a good time for a mind meld, Mr. Ambassador," he said, and the room was deathly silent. The ambassador raised his eyebrows. "A valid suggestion, Lieutenant," he said, and Shrak suddenly paled visibly beneath his green-skinned exterior. "No!" he shouted, then instantly looked contrite as the ambassador stared at him. Everyone in the room knew a true Vulcan would never have raised his voice as Shrak had just done, and the Romulan knew the game was up. The meddling Federation men had done the unthinkable; they had actually foiled the plot against the ambassador. Shrak instantly went for the disruptor hanging on his belt, and the other "Vulcans" in the room did the same. "Mr. Ambassador, take cover!" shouted Taylor, as the Federation men drew their phasers. The Vulcan tried to do just that, but as he tried to dive behind his chair, he was caught by a blast from a disruptor, and was vaporized. A fierce fight ensued between the Starfleet men and the Romulans. John kept dodging and diving, his only focus was Shrak. The Romulan was dodging blasts himself, and Randall had no illusions that the Romulan was ignoring him. The two maneuvered for position to try to get a shot at one another, and a few moments later, Randall tried to dive to his left, felt an intense stinging sensation in his right leg, and he knew he'd been hit. Instead of feeling pain, a new surge of anger went through him, and he readied his phaser, setting it to 'kill.' He waited for the Romulan to make his move as phaser and disruptor bolts filled the air. There were grunts of pain as someone took a hit, then a flash filled the air as one of the Romulans was vaporized. Shrak then lunged to his left, rolled over, and fired a bolt toward Randall's position. The engineer, however, had rolled to his right, and bounced to his feet, ignoring the stab of pain that went through his right leg. He had Shrak dead in his sights, and the Romulan's face filled with terror as he knew the Federation man was about to shoot him. John growled at the Romulan, "This is for my father, you green-skinned bastard," and he pulled the trigger. The Romulan's body was caught up in an incandescent glow, then winked out of existence. The Challenger engineer then slumped to the floor, unconscious. **************************************************** When John came to, he was lying in a bio bed in a sickbay on a ship. He thought at first he was back on the Challenger, but as a doctor's face came into view, he realized he was still aboard the Avenger. The doctor said, "Welcome back, Lieutenant Randall; how are we feeling?" John took a quick inventory of his bodily sensations, and said, mildly surprised, "Not bad, Doctor. Surprisingly good, as a matter of fact." The doctor nodded. "You took a glancing blow from a disruptor bolt, Lieutenant; there was not much damage at all. You have been unconscious for about twelve hours, as I administered a local antisthetic as soon as you were beamed aboard." John nodded. "I appreciate all you've done, Doctor." The doctor said, "I was to inform Admiral Baldwin as soon as you woke up. I will do that now. Do not get out of bed, Mr. Randall." "Aye, sir," said John, and the doctor went to a console to get on the comm. Randall lay back in his bed, and closed his eyes. 'It's over now, Mom,' he thought. 'I got him, and Dad is avenged.' A few moments later, the sickbay door hissed, and the face of Admiral Jason Baldwin filled John's view. "Lieutenant, good to see you awake," he said, and the Challenger engineer smiled. "It's good to be here, sir," he said. Baldwin said, "The doctor tells me your wound wasn't that bad, and I was relieved beyond words at that information. If I had returned you to the Challenger in the same shape as last time, your captain probably would have torn my head off." John grinned. "I doubt he would have been pleased, sir; I agree with that," he said, and the admiral grinned back at him. "Well, you have time to recuperate, Lieutenant," he said. "Your ship is currently on its way to Qo'noS, and we're about six days away. The Avenger will take you there." At the mention of the Klingon homeworld, Randall's eyes had widened. "I'm sure you'll be informed when you arrive, John," Baldwin continued. "In the meantime, you are ordered to do nothing but rest. I want you in top shape when you return to your ship." John nodded. "Sir, are we close enough to Centaurus for me to send a subspace message?" he asked. The admiral thought a second, then nodded. "I believe so, Lieutenant," he said. "I would like to contact my mother, sir," John said. Baldwin narrowed his eyes. "Remember, this was a classified mission, Lieutenant," he said, and John nodded. "I know that, sir," he said. "It doesn't have to be a visual or a live linkup. I simply want her to know that I am well, and I have resolved a great personal burden. She'll know what I'm talking about, sir." The admiral nodded. "I see," he said. "Yes, that will be satisfactory, Lieutenant. I will have a PADD sent to you, and you can dictate your message. We will then send it out." John nodded. "Thank you, sir," he said. Baldwin straightened. "Thank you for your help on this mission, Mr. Randall. Hopefully, it will be a while before, or if, we call upon you again. And, from myself, well done." "Thank you, Admiral," said John, and Baldwin turned, heading for the door. Randall then closed his eyes, a warm glow of satisfaction enveloping him. This moment was one he had long dreamed of, and he was going to savor it to the fullest. Six days later, the Avenger came within hailing distance of the Challenger, and told the starship their engineer was waiting to be beamed aboard. Baldwin then contacted the Klingon homeworld, and reassured Chancellor Azetbur that this was a routine transfer of personnel. She was mollified, and accepted the Starfleet admiral's assurance. John stood on the transporter pad of the Avenger, waiting to return to his ship. He was, for the most part, fully healed; he was still wearing a sparkling bandage on his leg underneath his uniform, but was walking without a limp. He told himself that, as fulfilling as the mission had been, it would be good to return home to Challenger. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11402.25) ****Ambassador Shrvan's Residence, Shi'Kahr, Vulcan**** After the Starfleet men left, Shrak took the ambassador to his office in his home, and set him up with his daily appointments. He then asked Shrvan if he could be excused for a little time, as he had some personal business to conduct. The ambassador gave him leave, and Shrak exited the residence, making for his personal groundcar. He was furious as he entered the car, programmed in his destination, and the car sped off. Who did those Starfleet humans think they were kidding? To bring in the engineer from the Federation starship Challenger, and to try to pass him off as an aide to the admiral. After the incident last year at Beta Octavious Four, the Romulan underground had been ordered to compile a dossier on the young human from the Federation who, much to the Romulans' (who were present) surprise, had actually held his own in a fight against the Klingon Krenn. Randall had actually knocked the big Klingon out before he succumbed to his own injuries. The Romulans present had been so impressed with the human's showing that they had let the Argonian present remove Randall from the scene without further incident. When Shrak had learned of the incident, he himself had started delving into the Romulan underground archives to try to learn more about the young human. What he found shocked him to his core. Earlier in Shrak's career, he had been the leader of an espionage mission against the Federation that had resulted in the discovery of a Federation spy present on the Romulan homeworld, Romulus. The spy, whose human name turned out to be Marcus Randall (he had been posing as Ral tr'Rojhn), had tried to escape back to Fed space. A Vulcan secretly assisting the Romulans learned of Randall's whereabouts, and Shrak (Tel ra'Hajruillu, he had to constantly remind himself) had led the team that had cornered the human near the Martian spacedock in Fed space. A phaser/disruptor battle ensued, and Randall was killed, but not before the human spy killed three of the Romulans. The Romulan had learned that Randall had three children, but only one was the biological child of Randall and his spouse. The son was in his first year at Starfleet Academy (his first two weeks, to be precise) when his father was killed. Tel had obtained a holo of the young Randall child; today, a little older, but still the same, the son had made eye contact with him. Tel could see the anger in the young human's eyes, and the eyes had turned progressively colder all during the meeting. When the Federation men left, Tel had seen the young Randall look back over his shoulder, and the look he gave the Romulan impersonator actually shook him up a bit. It had been a look of pure hatred, and Tel would never forget that look as long as he lived. 'That human is a very dangerous man,' he thought to himself. 'He must be dealt with.' The Romulan arrived at his destination, and exited the groundcar. He walked to a door, and put his palm up to the doorplate. His palm print was recognized by the computer security, and the door opened for him. He walked down a short hallway to a door, opened it, and went inside. Three Romulans, also disguised as Vulcans, arose hurriedly when they saw him. "You dare to come here now, Tel ra'Hajruillu?!" shouted one of them. "You will jeopardize our entire mission, and the Praetor will not be pleased!" "Silence!" thundered Tel, and the Romulan fell silent. "I have just learned of a shocking development myself. There is a Federation team on this accursed planet, and I have recognized one of them." The other Romulan sneered. "So, who is this mighty human you seem so apprehensive about?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Tel turned, and looked him straight in the eyes. "The human is Marcus Randall's son," he said, and all three Romulans were taken aback. "Randall?" the other Romulan said more quietly. "The one posing as a Romulan, whom you killed in Fed space? But, that was long ago, Tel. The son could know nothing of that." "Don't be so sure, T'Vel," replied Tel. "He was with the Starfleet admiral Hastings, and you know which branch of the Federation Hastings deals in." The other Romulans reacted to that news as well. "We must assume the son has learned how his father met his fate, and I tell you, when I looked into his eyes a short time ago, there was nothing but pure hatred in them. It unnerved even me, I must admit," continued the Romulan impersonator. "He is a dangerous man; if he has even a little of his father's ability, it spells trouble for us, make no mistake about it. He must be dealt with!" Tel finished, slamming his fist onto the table, making the others jump. "Very well," said the other Romulan, sitting down at the table. "You have something in mind?" Tel nodded. "I do indeed," he said, sitting down himself. "Here is my plan," and he talked for over ten minutes, filling in the details for his men. **************************************************** Hastings, Taylor, and John arrived at the Starfleet embassy. They were let inside after their IDs had been confirmed, and Hastings led them to the room reserved for them. The men walked in, and found Janson, Hughes, and Thomas waiting for them, sitting at a conference table. The other men sat down, and Hughes said, "Admiral Hastings, Admiral Baldwin is listening on the comm." Hastings nodded. "Jason, here's what happened," he said, and proceeded to give Baldwin the synopsis of the meeting with the ambassador. "John, are you there?" came the voice of Baldwin. "Aye, sir," replied the Challenger engineer. "You think the Romulan knows who you are?" the admiral asked. "As I told Admiral Hastings, sir, I'd stake my career on it," John said. "Alex?" said Baldwin. "I agree as well, Admiral," replied the retired commander. "He stared at John too long during the meeting." "I see," said the admiral aboard the Avenger. "Chuck, this changes the mission some." "No doubt about that, Jason," said Hastings dryly, and a small chuckle went around the table. John just smiled back at the men. "Chuck, I propose we go to phase two of our mission," Baldwin said, and Hastings grinned. "I said as much to the men myself, sir," he said. There was a chuckle from the comm. "All right, Lieutenant Randall," said Baldwin, "this is where it gets a little hazardous for you. Are you still willing?" "You bet I am, sir," said Randall, and the venom was undisguised in his voice. The men around the table looked at each other, not without concern. "John, I try to impress upon you again; please try to hold your anger in check," said Baldwin. "I know how much you hate those men, but we need you focused. Can you do that?" John swallowed hard, and bowed his head for a second. The men regarded him in sympathetic silence, knowing the young lieutenant was fighting an internal battle with himself. After a few seconds, John raised his head. "I can do that, sir," he said, and the men around the table nodded and smiled at him; Taylor, sitting next to him, clapped him on the shoulder, and Randall smiled at him. "Good man," said Baldwin. "You know what you have to do, lieutenant," he continued, and it was not a question. "I know, sir," John answered. "You realize you will probably be abducted," Baldwin said. "They will not be easy on you, Lieutenant." "Let them come, sir," said Randall, and this time, there was steel in his voice, not anger. "One thing about him, Jason," Hastings spoke up. "We know he can handle himself. It's not every human who lives to tell about a one-on-one confrontation with a Klingon." Again there was a chuckle from the comm. "That's for sure," agreed Baldwin. "All right then, if we're all agreed, phase two will commence later this evening, planet time. You all know what to do, and where to be." There were murmurs of assent from all present. "We'll do the best we can for you, Lieutenant," said Baldwin. "Good luck to you. As a last resort, we'll keep a transporter lock on you. If you get into real trouble, like a life-threatening situation, wave your right arm up and down. If any of you men see John do this, request a emergency beam-out at once. Understood?" "Aye, sir," answered the men. "Baldwin out," said the admiral, and the men got up from the table. They changed into various styles of clothing, and left the embassy. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11402.21) The Avenger arrived at Vulcan some two days later, and the ship slipped into an elliptical orbit around the planet. Baldwin would remain aboard to coordinate the mission. The rest of the team assembled in the transporter room. They were given clearance to transport to the planet, and shimmered out of existence. Materializing on the planet, the team found themselves in a port just outside Shi'Kahr, which had once again became the de facto capital city of Vulcan. John remembered Vulcan as being a very hot planet, and gravity heavier than Earth's; but the team was in luck this time, it was early spring on Vulcan, and it was early in the evening when they beamed down. The team quickly got its bearings, and made its way through the relatively deserted port to waiting groundcars outside. The team got into the cars, and were whisked to a house on the outskirts of town. They disembarked, and carried their gear into the house. They each took a room, and then met in the dining room to discuss the mission further. Some two hours later, Hastings told the men to get some sleep, and they would begin in the morning. John went to his room, and sat down on the bed. He could look out the window from where he was sitting, and stared in fascination at the landscape outside. The view was always changing on Vulcan, or so he had always thought, and he continued to stare outside until the sun went down. He then went into the head to take a shower, and felt refreshed afterwards. He had just toweled off and put on his robe when a knock sounded on his door. He opened it, and found Alex Taylor grinning at him. "Come in, Commander," said John, and the old man shook a finger at him as he entered the room. "Call me Alex, John," Taylor said, then grinned again. "But I thank you for the rank; I don't hear that much any more." Randall grinned back at him. "I always have respect for higher ranking officers, sir," he said mischievously, and Taylor roared with laughter. "You're Marcus' son, all right," he said. "That's exactly what he would've said in a situation like this." Suddenly the old man sobered, and John was a little taken aback by the change in the demeanor of the retired commander. "John, it's only for you and your father that I'm doing this," he said, looking Randall straight in the eyes. "I still feel bad about what happened to Marcus, and I tell you, son, when Hastings made that announcement about tracking down the Romulan responsible for what happened to him, it came as a shock to me the rush of anger that surfaced. I could barely hold myself in check the rest of the time on the ship. I want to get this dude bad, Mr. Randall, and I'll do anything I can to help make it happen. You got my word on that, John," he finished, and held out his hand, which John took and shook immediately. "I appreciate that, Alex," the engineer said softly. "I know you mean every word of it, and I'm glad to have you here, and to be working with you. It's great to be here with all of you, though I'm not sure how my captain's gonna feel when I get back to Challenger." "Don't you worry about that, John," replied Taylor immediately. "I'm sure that if you get any flak from any of your superiors, both Baldwin and Hastings will intercede on your behalf. I will as well, should it come down to that." John smiled and nodded. "Thanks again, Alex, it means a lot," he said. Taylor smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "All right, let's get some rest," he said. "We got a big day tomorrow. Sleep well, Lieutenant." "And you, Commander," replied Randall, and the old man let himself out. John thought to himself, 'Boy, it's good to have someone like that in your corner. He's still almost as angry as I am over what happened to Dad. Mom, the time is finally here. I'm gonna avenge Dad. This is for the family.' He then put on his pajamas, and slipped under the covers of the bed, falling asleep almost instantly. ****************************************************** The next morning, the team was assembled, and ready to go. They got into their groundcars, and zoomed toward the city of Shi'Kahr. A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination: Ambassador Shrvan's home. John and Taylor exited their groundcar, and Hastings exited from his. The rest of the team took off further into the city, heading for the Starfleet embassy. Hastings, Taylor, and Randall marched up the steps of the porch, and the admiral touched the control for the doorchime. They were shown in, and Hastings confirmed he had an appointment with the ambassador. They were shown to a room with several chairs, and a small sofa. A few seconds later, Ambassador Shrvan entered the room. John was immediately struck by the presence of the Vulcan. Shrvan was definitely into his latter years as a Vulcan, as his face was lined deeply, and a shock of white hair adorned his scalp. A finely honed mustache completed the ensemble of his face, and if Randall had to guess, was probably around 170 Earth years old. The ambassador was around six two in height, and carried himself with all the sureness and confidence that Randall had come to be accustomed to from Vulcans. Then, his eyes fell on the man accompanying the Vulcan, and a surge of involuntary anger came to the surface of his skin. This had to be Shrvan's chief aide, the Romulan calling himself Shrak. John stared involuntarily at the man, until the aide turned to lock eyes with him. An eyebrow went slowly up as the man looked at Randall, and John had the sudden thought that the Romulan might actually recognize him. In fact, that was the reason he had been brought along for this meeting. The aide then turned to the ambassador as the Vulcan greeted the Starfleet officers. For the purpose of the mission, Taylor had been temporarily reinstated into Starfleet, should any background checks be run on him. "Greetings, Admiral Hastings," came the deep voice of Shrvan. "I am honored by your visit, but I must confess to being a little curious as well. It is a well known fact that you rarely leave Starfleet Headquarters, so this indeed must be a special occasion." Hastings inclined his head. "I am honored you took the time to see us, Ambassador," he said. "May I present my aides, Commander Alex Taylor, and Lieutenant John Randall." At the mention of the engineer's name, Shrak's eyebrows went sharply up, and the ambassador noticed it as he turned to his aide. "And may I present my chief aide, Shrak," he said, and the Romulan, having somewhat recovered his equilibrium, nodded at the men. "I am honored, gentlemen," he said smoothly, and an ice cold feeling ran down the spine of the Challenger engineer. "Shrak, I could not help noticing your reaction at the mention of Lieutenant Randall's name," said Shrvan. "By any chance, do you know him?" Shrak quickly shook his head. "No, Ambassador, I do not," he said, looking again at Randall. "But, I have the strangest feeling that I have seen him somewhere before," he continued, and John thought to himself, 'Pounce on this.' "If you'll excuse me, Ambassador," he said, "I was just thinking the same thing as your aide; that we have met before. It's very strange." The ambassador looked at Randall. "No doubt you have probably met at an official function somewhere," he said, and John quickly nodded. "That must be it," he agreed, and the Romulan again was staring at him. John returned the gaze squarely, but he knew his anger was beginning to surface; he could literally feel his eyes turning cold, and he was sure the Romulan had picked up on it. "So, Admiral, what has brought you here today?" asked the ambassador, and he waved the men towards the empty chairs. They all sat, and Hastings launched into the cover story the team had agreed to bring up to the ambassador. Shrak and John rarely took their eyes from each other; the Challenger engineer was convinced that the Romulan knew who he was. When the admiral finished, the ambassador looked at him. "This is a very serious matter, Admiral," he said slowly. "I was not aware of any of these alleged doings. Shrak, have you heard anything about this?" "No, Ambassador," replied the Romulan. "Very well, then," continued Shrvan. "I am due to attend a conference on Earth in 3.4 days, so I have a little time to look into this matter. Admiral, I thank you for bringing this to me, and I give you my fullest assurance it will be looked into with all due haste." "That's all I ask, Ambassador," said Hastings. "Thank you for your time, sir." The ambassador inclined his head, and the Starfleet men arose from their chairs. As they were led to the door, John sneaked a quick glance backward over his shoulder, and caught Shrak looking at him as the lieutenant exited the residence. The men piled into the groundcar, and sped away. Hastings looked over at Randall. "What do you think, John?" he asked. The engineer gave a wicked smile. "He knew who I was, sir, I'd stake my career on it," he answered. "Alex?" asked the admiral. "I'd have to agree with the lieutenant, sir," replied Taylor. "I was watching him the whole time, and I'm with John; he knows." "Then I would say phase one is complete, gentlemen," said Hastings, and both Randall and Taylor said, "Yes, sir." Hastings smiled. "I'll inform the others, and we'll proceed with phase two," he said. John and Alex looked at each other, and smiled. Randall knew he was closer to getting revenge for his father. He was also slightly overwhelmed at the rate it was now happening. He told himself to slow down, and try to savor some of this; after all, he had only been waiting almost all his life for this, and now, it was finally in motion. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11402.17) Admiral Baldwin and John materialized on the transporter pad of the Avenger. The two men stepped off the pad, and Baldwin led the way out of the room. He took Randall to his quarters aboard the Avenger, then told John to report to the conference room in ten minutes, and the admiral let himself out. John deposited his duffel bag on the sofa, and sat down, looking around the cabin. 'Well, here I am again,' he told himself. 'Wonder what this is about.' He got up and went to the head to freshen up. He then exited his cabin, and rode the turbolift to the bridge. He exited the lift, and strode across the top part of the bridge to the conference room. The door slid open as he approached, and he walked in to find three men staring at him. John didn't know any of the men, so he simply nodded to them, and took a seat at the table. Barely a minute later, Baldwin walked in, and he was accompanied by a man whom John did recognize. It was retired Commander Alex Taylor, who nodded and grinned at Randall as the older man caught John's eye. Taylor sat down next to the engineer, and Baldwin remained standing at the head of the table. "Well, I see we are all present and accounted for," he said with a grin. "Let's get down to it. This mission is classified by order of Starfleet Intelligence. I will now turn the floor over to Admiral Hastings." John raised an eyebrow, then turned slightly as Hastings walked in. The admiral nodded at the men, and took his place at the head of the table. Hastings said, "Gentlemen, here is the situation. For a long time, we have suspected that the Romulans have managed to infiltrate our network of Vulcan contacts by posing as one of them. We now have solid proof that one of them has been found out. Computer, activate holoviewer." An image of a man's head appeared in the center of the conference table. It was the face of a Vulcan, or so you would think. "This is one of the infiltrators," announced Hastings. "He has been posing as Shrak, a confidential aide to Ambassador Shrvan. We have concrete proof that Shrak is indeed a Romulan. "I cannot tell you how we came by this proof, as that is also classified," the admiral continued, and there were glances traded between the men. "Suffice it to say that he is at the top of our most wanted list, if you will. At the moment, we have a prime opportunity to capture him in Federation space, and that is the basis of this mission. Our trump card in this mission will be our engineer friend from the Challenger, Lieutenant John Randall," finished Hastings, and everyone immediately looked at the engineer. "Lieutenant, this mission will have a personal meaning for you," said Hastings. "We have reason to believe that it was this Romulan, posing as Shrak, who was instrumental in blowing your father's cover on Romulus," he finished, and John could not believe his ears. He stared at Hastings, unable to speak. Hastings gave a small smile. "We knew this information would knock you for a loop, Lieutenant," he said gently. "But, you remember what I said to you that day you came to see me. I told you then I would continue the investigation into the matter of your father, and this is the culmination of 13 years of investigation. I want this," and he had to pause briefly to collect himself, "being as much as you do, John. That's why I had Jason bring you in on this. "We have a plan set up, and ready to implement. We will be going to Vulcan, as that is where Ambassador Shrvan is now. He will soon be leaving for a conference on Earth. We want to apprehend the impersonator before the ambassador leaves, which gives us about five days. You have noticed there is a PADD before each of you on the table. The PADD explains your role in the mission. Please review it now." The men picked up their individual devices, and began reading. John's eyebrows climbed steadily as he read, and when he was finished, put the PADD down gently. He could not believe what he had just read, and looked up to find both Baldwin and Hastings staring at him. They both gave a small smile, and nodded to him. After a few minutes had gone by, all the men were finished. Hastings looked around the room. "If there is any man here who does not want to be involved in this, this is your cue to exit the room now. Nothing will happen to you, you will simply return to your life." He waited a moment or two, but no one moved. He then smiled. "I had to know," he said. "Now, it seems some introductions are in order. Lieutenant Randall, will you stand, please?" John did so, and Hastings continued, "This is the man I mentioned earlier from the Challenger. This is also Lieutenant Commander Marcus Randall's only biological son." At that statement, the men all looked at Randall again, but this time, it was a different look, thought John to himself. "John, you know the man next to you, of course," said Hastings, and John nodded, smiling down at Taylor, who grinned up at him. "The man next to Alex is retired Commander William Thomas," continued the admiral, and John nodded to Thomas, who returned it. "The next man is also retired, Admiral James Hughes," said Hastings, and John's eyebrows rose again at the mentioned rank. He nodded with respect to the former admiral, who returned it, along with a grin. "And finally, the next one is still in Starfleet," said Hastings, and a chuckle went around the table. "Meet Commodore Keith Janson, Lieutenant." John nodded to the commodore, who looked back at him. The man was older than John, and he soon proved it to the young lieutenant. "Marcus Randall's boy," the commodore said, shaking his head. "The last time I saw you, young man, your daddy had you in his arms," Janson continued. "How old are you now?" "Thirty-five, sir," replied John, and the commodore's eyes widened. "Thirty-five years, my god," he said, shaking his head. "I am getting old," he finished, and the men laughed. Baldwin clapped Janson on the shoulder. "You're not ready to be put out to pasture yet, Keith," he said, grinning. Janson looked back at him. "I'm not so sure about that, Admiral," he said, and gestured at John. "It's the boys like him that make you take a long look at yourself. The first thing you think is: where the hell did the time go?" Another chuckle ran around the table. "I might just put in my papers after this one," Janson said moodily, and John sat down, Taylor patting him on the arm. Hastings said, "All right, gentlemen, I believe we are in agreement. Operation Retrieve is hereby commenced. We'll set course for Vulcan, and put the plan in motion. So, you have time for a good, long sleep. Take full advantage while you can. I remind all of you again: this mission is classified. Dismissed." The men got up from the table, each pocketing their respective PADD. Baldwin caught John by the arm as the lieutenant was about to pass by. "A word, Mr. Randall," he said, and John nodded. The men all filed out, and Baldwin gestured for John to sit down. Tha admiral sat next to him. "John, I would like to know your feelings right now," he said. Randall thought for a second, then looked Baldwin in the eyes. "A little overwhelmed, sir," he said, and Baldwin grinned. "I dare say you are," he breathed. "John, to be honest, we thought this day would never come. But Hastings was a bloodhound on this, and it amazes me how he found the Romulan chiefly responsible for the events that happened to your dad. I'm sure you've already had some vengeful thoughts run through your head," he finished, and John nodded. "I'd be lying if I said otherwise, sir," he said. Baldwin nodded. "Completely understandable," he said. "I would like to know for sure that you could keep your emotions in check during this mission." John bowed his head for a moment, then looked the admiral in the eyes. "I can only promise to try, sir," he said. "Any farther than that, I can't go." Baldwin nodded. "Acknowledged, Lieutenant," he answered, then put his hand on the lieutenant's arm. "I wanted you here for this," he said gently. "I hope, after this is all over, that you and your family can finally put some closure on this." John nodded, but did not trust himself to speak. Baldwin looked at him a moment longer, then said, "Thank you for staying, Lieutenant. Go try to get some rest." "Aye, sir," said John, and got up, exiting the room. Baldwin stared at the door as Randall left, trying to put himself in the engineer's shoes. After a few seconds, he decided he wouldn't want to be there, because he knew how he would feel, and probably act. He sat there ruminating on his thoughts as the Avenger jumped to warp, heading for Vulcan. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11311.03) John stormed into his cabin after the mini-confrontation with Commander Rinax on the bridge. The lieutenant had been on the bridge fixing the comm problem between engineering and the bridge. While he was there, Randall had also found some other problems with the comm, and had been coordinating with his engineering crew from the bridge. The problems were taken care of, and John had reported as such to the female XO. But, Rinax had made a comment that Randall and the engineering crew might just be temporarily fixing the problems so that they could take shore leave on the starbase Challenger was currently docked at. John had taken immediate offense to that remark, and had told the XO as such. Rinax had been about to say something, then apparently changed her mind when John requested to be dismissed. The XO told him he could go, and Randall angrily entered the turbolift, and rode it down to the deck where his cabin was located. He contacted his friend, Jeff Michaels, and told him to take charge of engineering. John sat down on the sofa in his cabin, and expelled the breath from his lungs in a loud, audlble sigh. He almost immediately felt better. He sat there for a few moments, his eyes closed, his head propped back on the back of the sofa. The tension eventually drained from his body, and he opened his eyes. He sat there a few moments more, then a thought came into his head: he knew just what he needed; a call to his mother. He got up from the sofa, and went to the computer terminal at his desk. He contacted the starbase, and got the computers of the starbase and the Challenger to coordinate with each other to send a subspace call to his mother's terminal on Centaurus. After a few minutes, the computer beeped him, and told him the link had been established. John sat in front of the monitor, waiting for his mother's face to appear on the screen. A few seconds later, the face of Denise Sharon Mulder Randall swam into view, and John smiled. His mother then smiled widely as her son's face came over her monitor screen. "Johnny!" she exclaimed happily. "Oh, son, it's good to see you! How are you, my angel?" John smiled again. "Hi, Mom," he said. "I'm doing great, thanks. Rick sent me a e-mail on how you were doing, and I am very happy your health has improved." Denise smiled warmly at her son. "Thank you, my son," she replied. "The new doctor has really worked wonders, I must admit. I didn't like it at first when you and Richard stayed on to me about seeing him, but, I have to admit, you boys were right. He has helped me a lot." "Well, from what I understand from Rick, Vicki kinda stepped in there, too, Mom," grinned John. Denise made a wry face. "All my kids ganging up on me," she pouted, and John laughed. "Yeah, Mom, you really hated it," he said sarcastically, and it was his mother's turn to laugh. "I know, but I have to blow off some steam to my oldest once in a while," she said, and Randall laughed again. Then, his face changed as his eyes involuntarily blazed, and his mother caught it immediately. "Johnny, what's wrong?" she asked, her eyes now boring into her son's with immediate concern. "What do you mean?" he asked innocently, and Denise's eyes blazed this time. "You know you can't hide anything from me, son, don't start trying now," she said sternly. "Something's wrong with you, and I want to know what it is, so start talking, my angel." John sighed heavily, and his mother's face grew even more concerned. "Johnny, I haven't seen you like this since your father----," she faltered, then squared her shoulders. "Out with it, son," she said. "You cannot keep this bottled up, like you so often try to do. Talk to me." John looked up at his mother's face, and there were tears in her eyes now. He closed his eyes briefly, then began to speak. It all came out, and his mother listened patiently. The lieutenant talked for almost five minutes; when he finished, Denise leaned in a little closer to her monitor screen. "Now, don't you feel better, son?" she asked gently, and John's lower lip quivered. "Are you alone, my angel?" she continued, and he nodded. "Then let your emotions out, son," she said gently. "It's going to eat you alive if you don't." With that, John buried his face in his arms, and muffled sobs arose. Denise watched her son on the screen, aching to be there with him so she could hold him. A few minutes later, John raised his head, and drew his sleeve across his eyes. "Thanks, Mom," he whispered, and his mother's eyes shone with love. "I'm always here for you, my angel," she said gently. "Now, let me say something to you. You stand your ground with that commander. You've never let anyone intimidate you, don't start now. When you stood up to her, as you described it to me, the first thought that went through my head was: your father would have been proud. He didn't take anything from anybody, and I'm glad to see some of that trait was passed on to you. You keep going like you are, my lamb, and you'll be just fine." John nodded. "I will, Mom," he said. "Thanks for talking with me, it's time for me to return to duty. I'll call again when I get a chance." "You call any time, my angel," said Denise. "Take care of yourself, and remember what I said." "I will," promised John. "I love you, Mom." "I love you too, my darling," replied his mother. "Bye for now." "Bye, Mom," said Randall, and he put his hand to the screen. His mother did the same the same, then John touched the key that severed the link. He felt much better, and there was also a new resolve about him. He got up from the desk, and went into the head to take a quick shower. He stepped out, toweled himself dry, and went to the bedroom to put on a fresh uniform. He exited the cabin, and went down the corridor to the turbolift. "Deck 12," he said, and the lift whisked him away. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11310.20) John made his way back to engineering. As he arrived, the headache that had all but been removed in sickbay came back with a vengeance. He knew he had to inform the chief that the radiation was stronger in the upper decks of the ship than the lower ones. He entered engineering, and went straight to the equipment room to put on a rad suit. He had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, however, that it was already too late. Too late for what, he wasn't sure. He made his way to the main console, and looked around for the chief; as luck would have it, Freeman wasn't there. John sighed, and made his way to his station. He sat down in his chair, and noticed suddenly he felt very tired, and his strength seemed to be leaving him. He activated his panel, and pulled up the reports that had accumulated at his station since he had been gone. Unknown to him, his friend, ensign Jeff Michaels, had watched him the entire time since he had returned to engineering, and was watching him now. Michaels was very worried about his friend, and he thought that Randall wasn't acting like himself. He thought John was hiding the fact that he himself was sick. As he continued to watch his friend, Lieutenant Commander Eddie Freeman, the chief engineer, strode through the doors. He went up to the main console, started to sit down, then, for some reason unknown to him, turned and looked at Michaels, who was opposite him at the main console. Michaels was intently staring at something, and Freeman didn't like the look in the ensign's eyes. "Ensign?" he said gently. Michaels' eyes flicked to him briefly, and then returned to whatever had his attention so raptly. Freeman studied him for a second, then sat down in his chair, and turned. He saw Randall at his station, and his eyes narrowed at John's posture in his seat. The lieutenant was hunched over at his station, and, to Freeman's eye, looked as if he were in pain. The chief engineer swiveled back to Michaels, whose eyes had never left his friend. "Ensign, what's going on?" he asked softly. Michaels' eyes again found his for just a second, then flashed quickly back to Randall. "Sir," he said, "I think the lieutenant is a very sick puppy." Freeman's eyes narrowed. "What led you to think that, Michaels?" he asked. "John never sits like that, sir," replied the ensign. "He also puts a hand to the back of his head every so often." His eyes made full contact with Freeman. "I think he's a very sick man, Chief," he said somberly, and the engineering chief could hear the worry and concern in the ensign's voice. Suddenly, Michaels jumped out of his chair. "Damn!" he exclaimed, and left his station in a hurry. Freeman swiveled in his chair just as a scream came from a female engineer whose station was in close proxmity to Randall's. The chief took one look, and was out of his chair in an instant as well. John had fallen out of his chair, and was lying motionless on the deck. Michaels got there first, and then drew back, horrified. Freeman arrived, and looked at Michaels. "Ensign, what's wrong?" he asked. "Look at his face, sir," answered Michaels, and Freeman turned over his assistant chief. He, too, stared in horror at the huge red splotches on Randall's face. "Contact sickbay, stat!" he ordered Michaels. The ensign gulped, nodded, and took out his communicator. "Engineering to sickbay, medical emergency!" he barked. A few seconds later, the voice of the ship's chief medical officer, Dr. Gretchen Hanson, answered. "Sickbay here, what is your emergency?" "It's Lieutenant Randall, doctor," replied Michaels. Freeman silently mouthed at him, "Possible radiation poisoning." Michaels' eyes widened, then he relayed the information to the doctor. "Transport him immediately via intraship!" barked Hanson. "Acknowledged, Doctor," said the ensign. "Engineering out." Freeman indicated he had heard, and the two men picked Randall's limp body up off the deck. They carried him over to the transporter pad that was used for intraship beaming. They placed John on the pad, and Michaels went to the control panel. He scanned the panel briefly, entered a series of commands, then nodded at Freeman. "Energize," snapped the chief engineer, and Randall's body shimmered out of existence. John's body rematerialized in sickbay. Hanson and two orderlies were waiting. "Get him to the hazardous biobed, stat!" she ordered, and the two orderlies quickly took Randall's body there. They assisted the doctor in taking off John's rad suit, and Hanson stared in dismay at John's head. The red splotches had just about covered his entire face, and the back of his neck was beet red as well. Hanson then noticed there were also red patches of skin on John's forearms. She gave the order to one of her medtechs who had joined them for the proper medications to be used on the unconscious lieutenant. The medtech hurried off to get them, and Hanson looked back down at the lieutenant, her friend. "John, John," she whispered. "What were you doing to get a dose like this?" She stared at Randall's body lying motionless on the biobed, and suddenly felt a surge of empathy for her friend. "We'll get you better, John," she whispered again as the medtech arrived with the medicines. The doctor quickly loaded three hyposprays, which she then proceeded to inject into the lieutenant's body. She stepped back, and nodded to the medtech. "Now, all we can do is wait," she said. The medtech nodded, then, seeing the look on the doctor's face, discreetly withdrew. Hanson stared at her friend for a few moments. She knew John was a risk-taker. He wouldn't ask anyone to do what he couldn't do himself. Gretchen suddenly felt a rush of anger toward her friend. She thought to herself, 'John, if you would delegate some responsibility instead of doing everything yourself,' then she stopped, and composed herself. She knew Randall would never do that, and there wasn't any sense in wishing he did, or getting angry about it. She sighed, then actually smiled to himself. "And you wouldn't think so much of him,' she admitted to herself. She took one last look, and noticed on the medical panel that John's vitals were slowly strengthening. She whispered, "I'll be back later." She then turned to check on her other patients in sickbay. John remained unconscious on the biobed. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11308.13) John returned to his station in engineering after slipping out of sickbay. The radiation levels continued to go up throughout the ship, it seemed like, and Randall was determined to find out where the weak point of the shields was. He sat down at his station, and saw chief engineer Lieutenant Commander Eddie Freeman walk through the engineering doors. He quickly gathered up the reports that had been sent to his computer, and put them all into a massive e-mail, forwarding it to the chief's computer. He then called up the shield monitoring program, and frowned as he read it. The radiation levels were definitely climbing inside the ship; he raised his head and looked around engineering, noticing many of the crew were showing signs that the radiation level was getting to them. John's headache, which had been pretty much taken care of by the machine in sickbay, was remanifesting itself. And, it was coming back with a vengeance, as far as he was concerned, massaging his temples. He sent an e-mail to the chief's computer, informing Freeman that the 'comm was down; he would have to use his communicator to contact anybody. A few moments later, the chief appeared in his office doorway. "Hey, Randall!" he called, and John looked up. "On my way, Chief!" he yelled back, and left his station, moving toward the main console as he saw Freeman heading that way. Freeman turned to him as they arrived at the console. "Shields dropping," he muttered, just loud enough for John to hear him. "Comm's down, nothin' disastrous just yet, but.....", he trailed off as the men sat down at a couple of terminals. "Yep, this nebula is not exactly our friend, chief," replied the lieutenant as they activated their monitors. Freeman squared his shoulders. "All right," he said. "Gotta beef up the shields, then maybe cut some of this radiation," he continued. John said, "Chief, I should inform you; Steve Davis and I have erected a level three force field around the warp core. It should protect the warp engines from the radiation. We may have to start re-routing power as I have the generators already at maximum, sir." Freeman nodded, glancing at him. "Good work," he said. "All right, reroute it is. We might want to mess with the shield frequencies a bit; let's configure 'em for stopping radiation instead of disruptors." His fingers were already playing over his panel, rerouting power as he spoke. "Aye, sir," responded Randall, and he, too, began to reroute power. He looked over at Freeman briefly. "Chief, if you need to contact the bridge, you'll have to use your communicator. The radiation doesn't seem to be affecting them....yet." Freeman nodded, and began massaging the left side of his head, which was not lost on Randall. "Yeah," the chief replied. "This keeps gettin' worse, we'll have to designate a runner...."; he trailed off again, massaging his temple. The two men worked in silence for a few minutes, then Freeman glanced over to Randall. "Going to want to----"; he suddenly broke off, and stared hard beyond John. "What the---?" he exclaimed, and the lieutenant turned to see a crewman staggering toward them. The man was holding both hands tightly to his head, and seemed to be trying to stay out of the light. He moaned, "I need to get to sickbay....", and he staggered even worse. John quickly left his chair, rushed over to the man, and caught him as the man was about to hit the deck. He looked over at Freeman. "Permission to transport him to sickbay, sir," he said, and the chief nodded quickly. "Do it," he said, then narrowed his eyes at his assistant. "And Randall, were you starting to get a headache too, just before we saw him?" John nodded. "Now that you mention it, chief, I was," he said, not bothering to mention that he had already been to sickbay. "The radiation may have begun seeping through the hull," he continued aloud. "Fan---tastic," groaned Freeman. "I'll see what I can do, you get going with him." Randall nodded, and he and the crewman left engineering. John assisted the man to the turbolift, and they stepped in as the car arrived. "Deck 7," snapped Randall, and the lift sped off. They arrived, and John assisted the man down the corridor to the sickbay doors, which swooshed open as they approached. The men went inside, and John looked around for a medtech. "I need a medic here!" he exclaimed, and, a few seconds later, a technician arrived, and, right on his heels, came Dr. Gretchen Hanson, the chief medical officer. They relieved John of his burden, and Hanson told the medtech to place him on a nearby biobed. As the medtech began working on the crewman, John grabbed the back of his head, and rubbed it, an action not lost on Hanson. Eyeing him, she suddenly turned to him. "You, too?" she asked, and indicated a nearby chair. "Sit here before you fall down," she said kindly. John had noticed that his headache had not intensified until he came to sickbay, and he thought, 'The radiation is worse in the upper decks.' He waved the doctor off, and said, "Not yet, Doc; I have to contact the chief." Hanson frowned at him, and pointed at the chair. "Call from your backside, Mr. Randall," she said sternly. "Doctor's orders." John looked at her for a second, saw she was serious, sighed, nodded, and sat down. He took out his communicator. "Randall to Freeman," he said, and the answer came back almost immediately. "Freeman here, what's up?" asked the chief engineer. "Chief, the radiation seems to be stronger in the upper decks of the ship," said John, who then looked around sickbay, noting the number of crew who were obviously affected by the radiation. "There are several of the ship's crew here in sickbay, and they have the same symptoms as our crewman." Freeman replied, "Noted," then watched another of the engineering crew slump over at her station. "It's not exactly a picnic down here, either." "I'm sure it's not, sir," said Randall. "What I mean is, the forward deflectors may be where the leak is, and the radiation is seeping through the hull." He put his hand to the back of his head again as he finished speaking. Randall suddenly felt drained; he slumped in his chair. 'It's definitely stronger up here,' he thought to himself. He sat there for a few moments, then took a deep breath, and summoned all the will power he could muster. The headache actually receded a bit, and he got up out of the chair. The doctor was nowhere in sight, so he called over to a medtech. "Tell the doctor I'm going back to engineering, we have to stop this leak," he said. John didn't wait for an answer; he turned and walked to the sickbay doors, stepping through them as they swished open. He made his way down the corridor to the turbolift, and waited for a car to arrive. He stepped in as one did, and snapped, "Deck 12." The lift whisked him away, and a few moments later, deposited him at the deck. During the ride, John took out his communicator, and contacted Freeman. "Chief, suggest you and the crew put on rad suits," he said. "Randall out." He stepped out of the lift as he arrived, and made his way down the corridor to engineering. The doors swooshed open as he approached, and he strode inside, heading straight for the equipment room. He put on a suit, and exited the room, going back out into engineering. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11310.06) John returned to the main console after working on the generators. He sat down at a station, and called up the program to see the efficiency report on the generators. He read the chart, and sat back, satisfied with the results. A few seconds later, he was tapped on the shoulder, and looked up into the face of ensign Steve Davis. "Hey, Lieutenant," he said, and John grinned at him. "Hey Steve," he replied. "I guess you can report to the warp core station, huh?" Davis grinned back. "Wherever you need me, John," he said. The lieutenant nodded. "All right, off with you, then," he smiled. Davis grinned back, and left for the station. Randall then turned to look at his friend Jeff Michaels, who was only a couple of seats over. "Jeff, I'll be in the chief's office," he said. "Probably need to check his computer. You have the conn." "Aye, Lieutenant," replied Michaels, and shot John a mischievous grin. Randall grinned, rolled his eyes, which caused Michaels to laugh, got up, and made his way to the chief's office. He went inside, and sat down at the computer. He began to sort through the reports and e-mails that had accumulated in the chief's inbox. After he finished that task, he pulled up the diagnostic reports for the entire department, and looked through them. He then pulled up the sensor logs, and was studying them when a stray thought went through his head. He started to push the 'comm button, then shook his head, and whipped out his communicator. "Randall to Davis," he said. Almost immediately, his friend answered. "Davis here." "Steve, the shields are doing a pretty good job holding back the radiation, but I'm still kinda worried about the engines. I would like you to erect a level two force field around the warp core," said Randall. "Set it up, and execute." "Aye, lieutenant," replied Davis. "I will contact you when it's set up. Davis out." Randall replaced his communicator, and went back to studying the sensor logs. About fifteen minutes later, his communicator beeped. "Randall here," he said. "Davis here, sir," said his friend. "The force field is in place, if you'd care to have a look." "Acknowledged," said John. "I'll be there shortly. Randall out." He switched off the chief engineer's computer, after saving everything, got up, left the office, and headed back to the warp core. He noted with approval the slightly diminished appearance of the warp core, which meant the field was in place. He turned to Davis, and smiled. "Well done, Steve," he said. "This looks good." Davis smiled back. "Thank you, sir," he said. "This should stop any radiation, should it start leaking through the outer hull." Randall clapped Davis on the shoulder. "Keep an eye on it for me, hm?" he asked. "No problem, John," replied Davis. John nodded, turned, and went back to the main console. He brought up some more reports, and began looking through them. As he read the reports, he became aware of a steadily growing headache. He looked up from his monitor, massaging his temples, and that's when he noticed it wasn't just himself that was apparently suffering. Just about all the crew he could see had different expressions on their faces, and none of them were pleasant. John thought to himself, 'This may mean the radiation is starting to build so powerfully it's actually bleeding through the shields.' About that time, chief engineer Eddie Freeman came through the engineering doors. He looked around, spotted John, and came quickly over to him. "Status report, Randall," he said. John led him to the main console, and pulled up the reports for him. Freeman sat down at the console, and began reading. Randall took a station next to him, and pulled up the reports on the radiation from the science department. As he got ready to read them, he suddenly heard Freeman exclaim, "What the---?" John looked over at the chief, who was staring at a crewman who had suddenly left his station, and was weaving back and forth. John rapidly left his station, and rushed over to the crewman, grabbing him before the man hit the deck. "What's wrong, crewman?" he asked. The man had both hands held tightly to his head. "My head," he moaned. John then saw the back of the man's head and neck was beet red. He quickly looked at Freeman. "Chief, we need to get this man to sickbay, now," he said tersely. Freeman started to punch the 'comm button at his station, and Randall said, "Chief, the 'comm's down. You'll probably have to use your communicator." Freeman muttered an oath, and whipped out his communicator. As he readied it for use, he looked over at John. "Radiation?" he asked, and Randall nodded. Freeman spoke into the communicator, and was advised by sickbay to use the intra-ship transport. He affirmed, looked over at Randall, and nodded. John braced himself for the transporter effect, and, a few seconds later, he and the crewman materialized in sickbay. Dr. Gretchen Hanson, the chief medical officer, was talking with the executive officer, Commander Erica Rinax. When she saw the two men on the sickbay transporter pad, she immediately dispatched two medtechs to the pad. The techs took the sick man from Randall's grasp, and led him over to a bio-bed. John watched for a couple of minutes, then, satisfied the man was receiving treatment, turned to leave. He stopped short of the door, however, as a shout from Hanson reached him. "Hold up a second, Lieutenant," she said. She made her way over to him. "Are you feeling all right, John?" she asked. Randall nodded. "I just have a headache, that's all," he said. Hanson narrowed her eyes. She gestured around sickbay, and Randall noticed then that the department was nearly full of crew, who were in obvious distress about something. "That's how the rest of them responded," said the doctor. "Why don't you step over here, and let me check you out?" John started to say something, then thought better of it as he noticed a worried glint in the doctor's eyes. "All right, Doc," he said, and he allowed Gretchen to lead him to a nearby station. She entered some data into the computer panel, then picked up a scanner. "This won't take but a minute, Lieutenant," she smiled. Her eyes, however, were telling a different story, and John began to realize the doctor was worried about him. They had become friends over the last year, and John held a lot of respect for Hanson's medical abilities. The doctor finished scanning him, and frowned at the results. "You say you have a headache, John?" she asked, and Randall nodded. "Has it gotten worse in the last five minutes?" she continued, and the lieutenant stared at her. She nodded as he looked at her. "I thought so," she said. "Why don't you sit over here, and I'm gonna hook you up to this machine here." She led him over to a machine which had a chair at the end of it. She sat him down in the chair, and wrapped a sleeve around his right bicep. She then attached a couple of pads to his head, and connected wires to them. She then punched some data into the panel on the machine, and looked down at him. "This won't take long," she smiled, and turned to go to her office. John sat there for about ten minutes, then, suddenly, people began arriving in droves, or so it seemed that way to him. The medtechs had their hands full, as well as the doctor, and it was rapidly becoming too crowded for him. He removed the sleeve from his arm, took the pads off his head, stood up, and powered down the machine. He made his way over to the sickbay door, and, as it swooshed open to admit yet more crew, slipped out into the corridor. His head was really hurting now, but it seemed that what time he had been hooked up to the machine, he had felt better. 'It really didn't hit me until I left sickbay,' he thought, and knew then that the radiation was seeping through the shields into the ship. He knew he had to get back to engineering, and tell the chief. He stepped into the turbolift car as it arrived. "Deck 12," he said, and, as the car got underway, almost immediately felt better. The headache was still there, but it wasn't as bad. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11309.21) John awoke from a deep sleep in his bed in his cabin. He looked at the chronometer, and was a little startled to see he had slept nearly 10 hours. 'Man, I needed the rest, though,' he thought to himself. He got out of bed, stretched, took off his pajamas, and strode to the head to take a shower. Some 20 minutes later, he finished his shower, stepped out, toweled off, and went back to the bedroom to put on a duty uniform. He then went to the small galley, took his breakfast drink out of the mini-fridge, poured a glass, and drank it down. He replaced the concotion back into the mini-fridge, and strode to the door of the cabin. It swooshed open as he approached, and he strode down the corridor to the turbolift. The car arrived, and he stepped in. "Deck 12," he said, and the lift whisked him away. The lift arrived, and he stepped out, striding down the corridor to the engineering door. It whisked open as he arrived, and he strode into engineering. He acknowledged the hails from his fellow engineers, and headed for the chief's office. He sat down at the desk, and activated the computer, pulling up the reports that had accumulated while he was away. He frowned at one report that said the radiation outside the ship was higher than normal; he remembered they had gone into a nebula to look for a planet that was reported to be there. It could have been the destination of the ship they were trying to find: the USS Copernicus. He reached over, and thumbed the 'comm button. "Engineering to bridge," he said. He waited a few seconds, getting no answer, and tried again. A few seconds passed, and there was still no answer. He shook his head, got up out of the chair, and exited the office, heading for the main console. His friend Jeff Michaels was there, and he sat down next to his friend. "Hey, Jeff," he said, and his friend turned to acknowledge him, smiling. "Have you tried to contact the bridge?" John asked. Michaels nodded. "Yeah, tried to about an hour ago," he replied. "Didn't get a response, they must be working on the 'comm, or something." Randall nodded. "Well, I hope they've noticed the increased radiation outside the ship," he said. "If it begins to leak through, the doctor is gonna become busy." Michaels nodded. "Yeah, but when the 'comm's down, it's hard to tell anybody," he said. John nodded. "Yep, know what you mean," he said. "What's been going on down here?" Michaels started to answer, and the 'comm crackled with a very faint transmission. "Well, well," said the ensign. "Go ahead, Lieutenant, I can wait," he finished. John thought the transmission had come from the bridge, but, as he started to punch the button to try to answer, a roar of static came over the 'comm, and he pulled his hand back, looking wryly at Michaels. "Hm, maybe not," he said, and both men grinned. "Well, let's see what you got, ensign," John said. Michaels nodded, and pulled up the reports on his monitor. John moved his chair over to have a look, and saw one or two that hadn't made it to the chief's computer yet, and he read those. As he finished, his communicator chirped; he reached around, and brought it out, flipping it open. "Randall here," he said, and the voice of his friend Steve Davis came over the speaker. "Hey, Lieutenant," he said. "I'll be on duty in a few, sir," he finished. "Take your time," replied Randall. "No rush. Randall out." He flipped the communicator shut, and looked at Michaels. "Well, the communicators seem to be working, anyway," he grinned, and Michaels grinned back. "Yeah, must just be us," the ensign replied. Randall returned the grin, and said, "I guess they've got it took care of on the bridge. Oh well," and he trailed off as he suddenly thought of something. He reached over, and activated the department 'comm. "This is Randall," he said, and the engineering crew looked up from their stations. "Be careful, everyone, about getting too close to the outer hull walls. There is increased radiation outside, so try to stay as much to the interior of the ship as you can. If you have to be near the outer hull wall, it might be a good idea to put on a rad suit. That is all, Randall out." He then looked at Michaels. "Is there any indication that the shields have been raised, Jeff?" he asked. The ensign pulled up a program on his monitor, and, a few seconds later, nodded. "It says here that the shields are at 95%, John," he reported. "Maybe they did raise them." Randall nodded, and shrugged. "Well, with the 'comm down, we're in our own little world down here," he said. "Tell you what, I'm gonna grab my kit, and go check the generators. When Steve gets here, send him to the warp core panel, all right?" "Will do, Lieutenant," replied Michaels, and John nodded at him. He got up from his chair, and went to his locker to grab his toolkit. He strapped it on, and went to the warp core elevator. He ascended to the top deck of engineering, and went out into the narrow corridor. He strode down it to the generator room, used his engineering card to gain access, and went inside. He approached the port side generator, and studied the panel for a few seconds. He then selected some tools from his kit, and bent down to the generator. About 30 minutes later, he straightened, and looked at the panel. He nodded, and walked over to the starboard generator. He repeated the same procedure, and, another half hour later, straightened to look at the panel. He started to push the 'comm button, then realized he probably wouldn't get through to the bridge, and shook his head. He whipped out his communicator, and turned the dial slightly. "Randall to Michaels," he said. A few seconds later, his friend answered. "Michaels here." "How's the shield efficiency now, Jeff?" asked the lieutenant. "It says 98% now, sir," replied Michaels. John nodded to himself. "All right, Jeff, that's all I can do here," he said. "Returning to the main console. Randall out." He flipped the communicator shut, replaced hs tools, and exited the room. He strode down the corridor to the elevator. He stepped in, and descended to the ground floor of engineering. He then made his way back to the main console. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11308.11) John finished up working at his station, then reached over and punched the 'comm. "Randall to Davis," he said. The ensign answered almost immediately. "Davis here," he said. "Steve, I'm leaving you in control of engineering; I've put in 12 hours, and am going to catch some sleep. Randall out." "You got it, Lieutenant," replied the ensign. "Davis out." John logged off duty, and got up from his chair. He strode toward the engineering doors, acknowledging hails from various crewmembers. He reached the doors, they swooshed open, and he went out into the corridor, heading for the turbolift. "Deck 3," he said, as he stepped inside the car, the lift door closed, and sped off. A few minutes later, the lift deposited him onto deck three. He stepped out of the car, and strode down the corridor toward his cabin, again acknowledging hails from various crewmembers. The cabin door slid open as he approached, and he went inside. He let out an exhausted sigh, took off his uniform, and strode into the bedroom, where he put on a pair of pajamas, and tumbled into bed. He was asleep almost immediately. What seemed to be only minutes later, he was awakened by the computer, which informed him he had an urgent incoming transmission. Groaning, he sat up in bed, and rubbed his eyes. He slowly got out of bed, and tottered to the computer terminal. He sat down in the chair, and punched the 'comm. In a voice still thick with sleep, he said, "Randall here, go ahead." "Uh, Lieutenant, Davis here," said the ensign. "Um, Commander Rinax has called a meeting of all department heads in about five minutes, sir." John sleepily regarded his monitor for a few seconds, then said, "All right, Steve. You better call the bridge, and tell them I'll be late." "Will do, Lieutenant; sorry about this, sir," said the ensign. "Davis out." John sat there a few seconds, his head in his hands, then, muttering under his breath, stood up, stripped off his pajamas, and strode to the head to take a shower. About 10 minutes later, he stepped out of the shower, toweled off, and went back to the bedroom to put on a fresh uniform. As he checked himself in the holomirror, he suddenly became angry. 'Getting to where you can't even get a good rest on this ship,' he thought darkly. 'And where the hell is the chief, anyway?' He strode back to the head, and splashed some cold water on his face. It did little to refresh him, or better his mood. He dried off his face, and again looked at himself in the holomirror. He was getting angrier by the second, and that was what was bringing him up from the depths of slumber. He whirled abruptly, and strode to the door of his cabin; it slid open, and he stalked angrily down the corridor to the turbolift. Crewmembers watched him pass by them, and they could tell he was not in a good mood. He reached the turbolift, and stepped into the car as it arrived. "Deck 1," he snapped, and the lift sped off. A few minurtes later, the lift arrived; he stepped out of the car, and made his way down the corridor to the briefing room door. It swooshed open as he approached, and he strode in, his eyes straight ahead, and his face set in stone. His eyes were chips of ice-blue as he sat ramrod-straight in the chair, staring straight ahead. The others in the room apparently picked up on his mood in a hurry, for no one bothered him as he sat there. He heard Rinax's voice saying something about someone filling him in afterwards, but he wasn't really paying attention. All he could think about was waiting until the meeting was over, and then going back to bed. No questions or comments were directed at him, or anything having to do with anything related to engineering, and he sat there wondering what the hell he was doing there in the first place. To his relief, a few minutes later, the XO dismissed the meeting; he got up, and marched straight out of the room, heading for the turbolift. The car arrived, he stepped in, and snapped, "Deck 3." The lift whisked him away, and deposited him a few minutes later at his requested destination. He strode out of the lift, and went down the hall toward his cabin. A couple of crewmembers greeted him along the way, and he nodded curtly. He reached his cabin door, it slid open, and he strode inside. He stripped off his uniform, and went to the bedroom to put on his pajamas. As he was about to climb into bed, he suddenly paused, and said, "Computer." "Working," answered the metallic voice. "I am not to be awakened for anything less than the ship about to be blown up," snapped Randall. "Understood," answered the computer, and John climbed into bed. He was again asleep only moments later. END LOG

OFFICIAL LOG LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL USS CHALLENGER (Personal Log Stardate 11308.09) John was in engineering, supervising the repair and replacement of a warp coil that had somehow gone bad. He had been ordered to report aboard Starbase 184 for a briefing on the ship's next mission, but, as he had been about to board the turbolift, he got an urgent message from his friend Steve Davis, whom he had left in control of engineering, about the damaged coil. John immediately informed the captain, and Ja'Lale excused him from the meeting to go fix the ship. John's communicator beeped, and he opened it to find a text message from the chief of engineering, Lieutenant Commander Eddie Freeman. The message informed Randall that Freeman would be attending the meeting, and a wave of relief went through the assistant chief engineer. He closed his communicator, and refocused his attention on the repair crew's efforts. The repair team extracted the damaged warp coil, and Davis handed it to John, who stared at it in disbelief. A long, narrow crack ran down the entire length of the spiral-shaped coil. 'How in the universe we made it here, I'll never know,' thought John as he stared at the piece of equipment. He looked over, caught Davis' eye, and the two men stared at each other grimly for a few seconds. Davis knew how lucky they had been, also. The repair crew took the new coil from the anti-grav sled, and began to maneuver it into position for the installation. John placed the damaged coil onto the sled, and nodded for the engineers to take it to Freeman's office. He watched the two engineers take the sled away, then heard Davis' voice behind him. "Hey, Lieutenant, care to give us a hand back here?" he said, and John turned. "Okay, Steve, be there in a sec," he said, and walked back to the coil station, intending on rejoining the repair crew. As Randall started to walk towards them, the engineering doors swooshed open, and in jogged Starfleet Marine Hunter "Kal" Matheson. John spotted him, and walked toward him. "Hello, Kal; what's up?" he asked as he reached Matheson's side. The Marine jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Hello, Lieutenant," he said. "Thought you'd be on station. Something wrong? Need an assist?" Randall grinned at him. "Normally, I would be," he said. "But we're in the process of installing a new warp coil, it was kinda an emergency. Come over here, and I'll show you the old one." With that, he led Matheson to the chief engineer's office, and took him to the anti-grav sled containing the damaged warp coil. Matheson nodded to some of the crew as they walked, and, during the walk, said, "Not much on warp coils, but I can furnish manpower if you need it." As they arrived, Randall said, "To be honest, Kal, with the coil in this bad of shape, I don't see how we got here." He showed Matheson the damaged coil, and the Marine recoiled a little at the sight. "Whoa," he said. "Even I could tell there's something wrong with that, sir. Think I'm with you on that one." Randall nodded. "Yeah, I think the space gods were watching over us, to be sure." "So, what can I help you with?" asked the Marine. John thought for a few seconds, then said, "Well, the repair team's got everything covered, pretty much; if you're in the middle of a workout, don't let us get in the way." Just then, Davis' voice rang out. "Hey, Lieutenant, could you come back here?!" Matheson said, "I can stand by, LT. No problem with that, engineering was my last stop." John nodded, and clapped the Marine on the shoulder. "Thanks," he said. He took Matheson over to the main console, and indicated a panel to him. "I'll be right back," John said. "If you don't mind, watch this panel here, okay?" Matheson nodded, and Randall turned toward the back of engineering. "On the way, ensign!" he shouted, grinned at Matheson, and strode back to the warp coil station. He arrived at the station, and went up to Davis; the ensign showed him the problem, and Randall saw it immediately. He nodded to the rest of the team, and issued orders. The team went to work, and, a few minutes later, maneuvered the coil into place. John studied it for a second, and turned to Davis. "Hm, something's not right," he said. "It should fit better than that." About that time, he heard Matheson's voice. "Lieutenant Randall!" shouted the Marine. "We got action in the core!" John moved a little distance away, and could see the outline of the Marine's form at the main console. "What's up, Kal?!" he shouted. "Got a light here, sir!" shouted the Marine. "I'll let you diagnose!" "Color?!" shouted back Randall. "Red as rubies on a bright day!" replied Matheson, and John swore under his breath. "Thanks, Kal; keep watching, please!" he shouted back, and went to rejoin the repair crew. "I knew that alignment wasn't right," he said to Davis, who nodded. "All right, guys, let me in here a second," said Randall, and the repair crew made room for him. The assistant chief engineer scanned the coil with his eyes, and then pinpointed the problem. He backed out from the station, and looked at the repair crew. "Okay, guys, what we need to do," he began, and described in detail what he wanted. The repair crew nodded, and went back to work. After a few minutes of remaneuvering, the coil suddenly snapped into place, and Randall and Davis looked at each other, smiling. The repair crew finished securing the coil in place, and John stepped to the panel, entering a series of equations. As he finished inputting the numbers and symbols, there came a shout from the main console. "We're spouting green, LT!" called out Matheson. The Marine raised a thumb, and John saw it as he stepped away from the station. He returned the gesture, and shouted, "Thanks, Kal! And thanks for your help!" The Marine waved, and shouted back, "Any time, sir!" as he grabbed a towel he had brought with him. Randall waved back at him, and stepped back to the warp coil station. "Okay, guys, let's wrap it up," he said, the repair team acknowledged him, and John strode back to the main console, sitting down at his station. "Computer, run simulation on new warp coil," he said. "Working," replied the computer. A few moments later, the computer said, "Warp coil is operating within normal parameters." John said, "Acknowledged," and reached over to punch the 'comm. "Randall to Davis, report," he said. "Green across the board here, Lieutenant," answered the ensign almost immediately. "Roger that, good to hear, Steve," John replied. "Randall out." He sat back in his chair, and mopped his brow. 'At least the ship will be ready when the captain returns,' he thought, as his eyes watched the monitor in front of him for a few seconds. He then changed programs, pulling up a diagnostic program, and began running it. A few minutes later, he completed the diagnostics, and reached over to punch the 'comm. "Engineering to bridge," he said. "Bridge here," answered a voice. "This is Lieutenant Randall. Let me know when the captain is back aboard," John said. "Acknowledged," came the reply. "Thank you, Randall out," said John. He glanced at the chronometer, and thought, "The meeting should be adjourning about now.' He wondered briefly what their next mission would be, then his monitor showed a message from one of the ensigns on the engineering staff, requesting help at her station. John answered it, got up, and went to help the ensign. END LOG