Cmdr Ayers

Nick follows Lt. Hawke out of the Captain's office but whereas she moves towards the congregated group, he boosts his mental shields and steps towards the Observation lounge doors. He steps silently through the door as it opens and it's only when he hears the doors slide shut behind him does he allow himself to relax. He steps over to his chair at the table and turns it to face the stars outside the window as he sits down. He settles himself into a comfortable position and closes his eyes. It wasn't like him to be as open to people about certain things as he was a few minutes ago with Lt. Hawke but then he chose to be so for two reasons. He needed to tell someone that could hope to understand what had happened and that was either Hawke or the Doctor for the most part. If only so they didn't think it was a recurrence of the prior...incident. Secondly..and with a certain amount of regret over the deception, he told Hawke because he realized that if he didn't she would proceed to be more inquisitive to the point that she would mind him constantly or have Muon or someone else mind him. And right now what he needs is time alone, to do some thinking and to do some searching. He carefully clears his mind as he runs through the mental exercises his mother had taught him. Slowly he stretches out his senses, searching for the thread of the contact..the voice that had called out to him earlier. For a brief instant the wash of emotions of those in C&C and the others elsewhere on the station and even the emotions of the aliens threatens to swallow him and it takes him some effort to maintain his sense of self-identity against the tide. He's stretched his senses out as far as he can when he peripherally becomes aware of activity near one of the alien stations. Through his mind's eye he watches the events unfold, the alien station exploding, the attack by the Cardassian ship, the response of the alien ships and finally their departure. With some relief he notices the particles that had caused so much trouble be dissipated by the solar winds from Cardassia's star. With one last futile attempt he tries sensing the thread of the voice from earlier. It's during that attempt that he notices the sudden spike of emotions from those in C&C, especially the Captain's sudden increase in erratic thoughts and emotions. He blinks his eyes open and it's only when he tries standing does he realize that he's freezing to the point of being numb. He tries standing again to no avail so he tries tapping his commbadge but his arms are as numb as his legs. His voice dies in his throat even as he tries saying the words. A momentary sense of panic rises up within him. Of all the scenarios he had envisioned him dying in, going out alone without even the ability to attempt to rectify the situation was not one of them.

Sky Harbor Aegis May 16th, 2003 10:00 pm est

Nick arrives on the CT slightly out of breath. He privately decides that it was a good thing that one of the programs he had included on the data chips governed the turbolifts, the station was much too large to go around climbing through all the time. He steps over to the console he had been working on earlier while replying to Lieutenant Hawke on the way. He doesn't feel himself freeze or hear his voice cuts off, he just suddenly finds himself somewhere else. He finds himself on what is obviously a bridge of a Starship. He barely has time to realize that none of the people before him has a face, that their faces are shrouded in shadow, before he feels the deck beneath him buck violently. Somehow he manages to keep his feet as the alarm sirens wail. As the rocking of the ship grows more violent he watches the control stations simultaneously explode and a huge fireball engulfs the bridge. Just as it fades to black he swears his name being called out in fear and horror. The voice is familiar to him though for the life of him he can't identify it. He tries to place it but it's like it's being blocked in his mind. Nick blinks his eyes open and is shocked to find himself staring down at the utilitarian carpet that someone in the name of cheap low quality had installed on the CT. He shakes his head slightly in an attempt to will away the mental cobwebs. As he pushes himself into the chair he's leaning against he feels a blush crawl up the back of his neck. He looks up to find the Captain and Lieutenant Hawke looking at him with some concern. Keeping his voice as steady as he can he says "I'm fine, just tired is all. My apologies for making you concerned." Though he says that to the Captain his eyes never stray from Hawke's face. As if daring her to call the bluff he repeats "I'm fine, really."

SKy Harbor Aegis May 9th, 2003 10:00 pm est

S.H. Aegis Chat Log May 2nd, 2003 10:00 pm est

I suppose it would help if I actually included the file with that. So here it is.

This is the Chat log for the April 4th, 2003 S.H. Aegis game.

Nick pinches the bridge of his nose and tries willing away the last remnants of the headache that hadn't entirely disappeared. Before the Doctor came up with that concoction that seemed to be working, the only thing that was keeping Nick from acting similar to the Captain was willpower and discipline forced to it's limits. The problem with such concentration is it's need of a focus and it's tendency to be mentally exhausting. And in hindsight, using Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe as a focus wasn't the best of choices to use as a focus considering it's mixed use of arcane Saxon-English, Norman-French and Latin. Concentrating in one language was hard enough at the moment, but having to deal with three others had turned out to be more trouble then it really was worth. Nor was it helping that some mental switch in his brain had decided that it should play along. Twice now he had caught himself about to answer some medical question in a language other then English. He knows that he really should try getting some sleep but the nightmares he's having every time he tries doing so were enough to make even a Klingon skittish. And it is always the same nightmare or some variation of it and they always ended the same...with him watching the grandmother, cousin and aunt he had never met being reduced to atoms by a Borg drone come not to assimilate...but to kill.

Under normal circumstances, Nick didn't mind being empathic or being part of a race of "good listeners." Of course...that was under normal circumstances and now hardly qualified as that. The headache and the mental pressure Nick could handle, he had enough training and discipline to block out whatever the particles were trying to do to him, at least for a while. However, the particles were nothing to the general hostility rolling off the Captain. Nick doesn't even have to focus his attention on the Captain to sense the anger mixed with a shot of paranoia. He glances up from the data Padd copy of Ivanhoe he's reading to watch the Captain pace around the inside of his force field. Nick sighs to himself before saying "Sir, enough is enough. Pacing around the interior of that forcefield is not helping the situation and to be perfectly honest, it's bloody annoying. We both know this crew well enough to know that the last thing they're doing is pulling a mutiny. Besides if they were going to do so don't you think they would have done it at the highest moment of chaos? In other words when we were evacuating the station in the bloody first place. We're being affected by something emitting from the Cardassia system, the last thing I remember before waking up in Sickbay was you trying to get your hands around my throat and me trying to return that favor first. I would suggest that you calm down and try thinking through the situation with your head and not your temper. Because with the way you're acting right now you bloody deserve to be cooped up in that forcefield....sir." Nick returns his attention back to the data Padd before the Captain can reply. And whatever the Captain does say in reply is blithely ignored.

Nick feels the Captain's words "I can't believe Starfleet sent me someone who was partially El-Aurian...Borg should have done us all a favor." and the chuckle burn into his mind. He feels himself stand up to his full height and take a long stride towards the shorter Andorian. As if from a distance he hears himself say in a tone from the grave "And perhaps we should have led them straight to your planet since we knew about your race long before you knew about ours." The Captain's fist crashing into his jaw is what causes Nick to toss aside the last vestiges of control against his rolling emotions. As the two fall to the deck, Nick tries getting his hands around the Andorian's neck. When that proves unsuccessful he kicks the Andorian off and kips to his feet. He settles into a defensive stance as he watches the Captain likewise get to his feet. He doesn't even notice Quark intervene herself as he lunges for the Captain, intent on finishing what the Andorian had foolishly started. Before he gets that far he once again finds himself falling to the deck with the darkness rushing up to claim him. His last conscious thought upon noticing the Captain hitting the deck first is "At least we were enough of a threat that they tried destroying us instead..." Before he can finish that thought Nick finds himself seemingly transported to a planet's surface. He picks himself up from the ground and looks around wildly, expecting to find the Captain rushing towards him. He gasps and stumbles backwards when his attention focuses on the crystalline buildings and the wide expansive roads and parks before him with all the people milling about. Even before he can begin to appreciate the beauty of the vista before him a bolt of green lightning lances into the largest of the buildings from above. As the crystalline tower explodes spectacularly, Nick looks up and he gasps when he notices the huge green tinged Borg Cube hovering in the upper atmosphere, blocking out part of one of the two suns. The arrival of several more Cubes darkens the sky considerably as the first continues to fire into the surface, killing scores with each hit. Soon the other Cubes join in and what light the Cubes don't block out is soon swallowed up by the fire and debris. A blast from the Cube overhead strikes near enough that Nick can feel the heat of it wash over him. Suddenly the Cubes stop their firing and just when he's starting to think it's over, Nick hears a sound far worse.....the sound of marching drones. The whine of discharging personal energy weapons draws his attention to a cluster of homes nearby. He notices the Drones mercilessly blowing apart the buildings and any inhabitants they find within. Vaguely he remembers that the Borg hadn't come to enslave the El Aurians...but to slaughter them. As he rushes for the buildings, intent on fighting the enemy before him, he activates the small metal solid that just appears in his hand. It elongates into a polearm type weapon with an energy blade humming at one end. He fights through the small group of drones before dashing through the door of the home. He makes a quick sweep of the ground floor before heading upstairs. As he reaches the top of the stairs he hears a sound from the room at the end of the hall. He opens the door and steps through, tripping over something in the process. He catches himself before he falls head first into the floor but he finds himself staring down the barrel of a phaser type weapon. It's not the weapon though that holds his attention but who's holding it. He finds himself staring into the face of an older version of his mother. He gasps "Aishra." The woman's eyes widen and then focus on something behind Nick. He turns to find a Drone standing in the doorway. He has just enough time to register that it is an Andorian before an energy bolt lances out over his shoulder and strikes the drone in it's midsection. Nick turns to find the woman looking at the fallen drone with anger and grim determination. He quickly glances over the two other El Aurians present, a young boy and a woman about Nick's age in appearance. He breathes "Eshen, ni awa larin." The older woman, the one that Nick referred to as "Aishra," nods and together the four of them get ready to leave. That is when the Borg cubes resume their bombardment. Several near blasts rattle the house hard enough that it seems to Nick as if it is about to fall apart. They've made it downstairs to the back door when, with a thunderous roar, a shot from one of the Cubes blows the house apart, leaving nothing but blackness...and a brain-splitting headache.

Muon heads to the mess hall to have a bite to eat before reporting for duty. When she arrives, she notices Commander Ayers sitting at a table, looking lost in thought. Deciding to join him, she walks over to his table, "Mind if I join you Commander?" she asks. "Please do Lt." Nick responds and waves to an empty chair. Muon settles herself and begins eating. Glancing up at Nick, he still looks lost in thought. "So Commander, what do you think will happen next?" Nick blinks and feels a blush crawling up the back of his neck when he realizes he had let his mind wander. He swallows the bit of salad that he had been absentmindedly chewing then says "To be honest, I am not entirely sure. I imagine we'll be busy trying to find the refugees a new home planet and moving them there and once that's done orders will come down on our new assignment." He hesitates for a second then adds "Most likely, Command will shift some personnel to different assignments and bring some new people in. However, for right now, all we have to do is wait for the end...to befall Cardassia Prime and the Station." Though he tries to say that with as much of a professional tone as he can, some of the frustration and sorrow over the situation that he's feeling leeches into his voice. He studies the Lieutenant for a few seconds, wishing that she didn't appear to him as the empathic equivalent of a brick wall. When one had spent a lifetime using a gift it was at times disconcerting to have to make do without it. Finally he says "My apologies for getting lost in my thoughts just a minute ago, Lieutenant. I'm still trying to get a feel for this place." Muon nods, understanding. "I know what you mean. This..." She waves an arm to indicate the station, "is not at all like Fereginar. Very different. Also, it goes against my nature to hang around and wait for a planet to blow up." She grins and adds "Normally, a Ferengi would be light years away by now." For a brief second, she thought Nick smiled a little. Deciding it would be prudent not to mention it.... "Anyway, you're right. We'll just have to wait and see." Just then, a shipwide announcement is heard. *Senior personnel report to Command.* Nick begins to rise. "I must be going Lieutenant. Thank you for the company." Muon smiles and nods. "Sure thing Commander." All across the ship, people are lost in their own thoughts. What would become of Cardassia? What would become of all the people? Only time would tell.

Nick makes his way to the Bridge of the Pandora's Box, threading his way quietly through all the people taking up space. Reaching the ship's bridge he moves to sit down in the First Officer's chair. He glances quickly over the displays before looking up at the viewscreen showing Aegis floating nearly dark against the backdrop of the stars beyond. It's a long minute before he draws his attention away from the viewscreen. He glances at Lieutenant Quark and tonelessly says "Lieutenant, set course for Starbase 405 in the Canar system, warp 7. We'll leave as soon as the Captain is ready." He knows he really didn't have to say the last but then Aegis had been the Captain's home longer then it had been his and the Captain was likely to not be in such a hurry to leave. Not really wanting to see the station or the planet beyond floating across the viewscreen again, Nick fishes a Padd out of his bag. Leaning back in his chair he calls up the Padd's keyboard function and types silently. =Personal Log, Commander Nicholas Ayers.= "In a universe that doesn't seem to contain many, if any miracles, we managed to pull one off regardless. We somehow managed to evacuate everyone from Cardassia Prime and the station and even somehow managed to do it ahead of schedule to boot. I would list all the people who deserve commendations in my official report but I'm not entirely sure the Admiralty would like a list that long. Still, it was a trying and exhausting effort and once we make sure everything and everyone is settled at Starbase 405 I intend to catch up on what feels like six months worth of lost sleep. Then I intend to find something to eat and after that catch up on the other six months of sleep that I lost. I'm pretty sure that my poor mental defenses have more holes in them right now then the Swiss cheese that Mom uses in her Shrimp Versailles. Which reminds me, I never did get around to programming that in the replicator. Suppose it's just as well now. Of course Mom would nag me, saying that food tasted better when it wasn't "conjured up by a machine." Of course, trying to find real shrimp out on the frontier is like trying to find a sane Q....some things are just better off not attempted." "For being a member of a race of wanderers, this departure is saddening in ways the other moves were not. It's partly to do with the nature of it with it being a planetary evacuation but it's also due, I think, to it being a forced move. It hits far closer to home then anything else, it hits closer to areas that not even Mom and the others are able to talk about much without being overwhelmed by emotions and memories better left buried, if not completely then as much as possible. Though it's safe to say that the fact it is a planetary evacuation is bothering me on enough levels that Freud would have a field day." "Of course, everyone is being affected by the evacuation and their emotions concerning it are close to the surface and easy to pick up on even if most of them are trying to remain inscrutable about it." Nick pauses and glances at Lieutenant Quark for a few seconds. Smiling faintly he returns his attention to the Padd. "Though some of my compatriots are better at remaining inscrutable then others. Score one for Ferengi physiology. "Unfortunately, the Captain was vague when explaining what we'd be doing once we got to Starbase 405. Though I suspect he is right when he said hit had to do with Command being swamped with dealing with all the affects of just the evacuation. Still, part of me is concerned and even worried. Though, I suppose I should try to keep in mind part of a song I heard once." Whatever lies beyond this morning Is a little later on Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all Nothing's like before* =End Personal Log= Nick puts the Padd away and settles back in his chair as he closes his eyes. (*Simple and Clean by Utada Hikaru)

Nick sighs quietly as he watches the sleeping gas take affect on the near riotous Cardassians contained within the confines of the forcefields. Some of the security guards present cast uneasy glances at another. Nick sympathizes but doesn't allow the concern to affect him outwardly. Riot control measures was one of those things that Starfleet Security taught out of necessity, not out of actual desire to use it as it went against what Starfleet was supposed to be about. Trying to remain dispassionate about the situation is starting to become a losing battle as he watches what's going on beyond the force field. Exhaustion was not helping him from becoming annoyed and angry at the mob's action. The near riot happened because the Cardassians wanted off the station but their very actions only delayed the timetable of getting them off the station and out of the system. As a result, in some dark corner of his mind, a voice was telling Nick that perhaps it would be just as well if the Federation cut it's losses now and left the planet and it's remaining inhabitants to their fate. Nick taps his commbadge and says "Lieutenant Shaharin, have medical and security send as many teams as they can spare down here. We'll need the help in order to get as many of them on the ships before they do wake up. And lord knows what's going to happen once they do wake up. "

Nick takes a momentary break from stacking containers on a hover sled to stifle a yawn and work a crick out of his back. Several hours have passed since they started clearing out the medical equipment and Nick is fairly sure he hasn't felt this physically tired since the Academy marathon. He helps finish loading the hover sled and watches as one of the medical technicians guides it out of Sickbay, taking it to Shuttlebay 4 where the Runabouts had been moved to. He's about to turn to help with the next piece of equipment when a male voice says behind him "Commander, I know you're busy but we have a...situation out in the hall." Nick turns to find a young Ltjg standing there and it takes his tired mind a second to recognize Ltjg Shaharin, one of the security guards, standing there. Nick nods and reaches for his uniform jacket. As he pulls it on he says "Lead the way, Lieutenant." The Lieutenant leads the way out into the hall and as they round a corner Nick spots the problem. The medical technician that had just left with the hover sled had found his path blocked by a Cardassian male, an annoyed looking Cardassian male. Nick also notes a female Cardassian behind the male and as Nick approaches he notices that she's cradling a small child in her arms. As Nick approaches he hears the Cardassian male loudly say "Go get someone in charge, Federation." to the medical technician. Nick steps around the medical technician as he says "I'm Commander Ayers. What seems to be the problem?" Nick feels as if he's been physically slapped when the male Cardassian focuses his attention on Nick, the fear, frustration and anger washing over him like a strong wave. It causes him to backpedal two steps into Lt. Shaharin before he can push the sensation away. He hears Shaharin quietly ask "Are you feeling ok, Commander?" Nick nods slightly and then says to the Cardassian "Please, we are trying to help. Now if you will calmly say who you are and what the problem is I promise I will do what I can to help." The male Cardassian says, with slightly less anger, "I am Tolan Remara and this is my wife Mila and daughter Sorala." Nick switches his attention to the female Cardassian, nods by way of greeting and is about to say something when Tolan's anger and frustration gets blocked out by Mila's concern about something. The question of what that something is gets answered when he notices how pale Sorala is." Nick switches his attention back to Tolan as he says "She was injured during the riots and when we get here your people are all busy. Then we find out that we have to wait for an evacuation ship. And here you are loading up your runabouts with equipment." The anger in Tolan's voice rises as he says the last. Nick glances at the medical technician "Mr. Hagan, take Mr. Remara and his family into Sickbay and check over their child. And check over her parents as well. Contact Doctor Korialis if her injuries are more then minor." He switches his attention back to Tolan and says calmly "We are trying to do our best, Mr. Remara. However, no one has attempted to evacuate a world the size of Cardassia before. On behalf of my crew, my apologies for the lack of attention paid to you and yours. As for our removing of medical equipment from the station, that is being done so the supplies and equipment necessary to treat the evacuees that we are currently taking out of this system will be available. I promise you, we will get you and your family to safety, just please calm down and be patient. While I can understand your anger, it is not going to help the situation. Now, if you will please follow Mr. Hagan here, he will see to it that your family is tended to." Nick watches the family get taken to Sickbay before turning his attention to the hover sled. He's about to take it to Shuttlebay 4 when Lieutenant Shaharin says "Are you sure you are feeling well, sir? Perhaps you should get checked out by Sickbay." Nick shakes his head "I am fine, Lieutenant though I do appreciate the concern, I just am feeling the effects of a lack of rest. Unfortunately, we have entirely too much work to do for me to see about correcting that. Now, let's go. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can solve some other problem."

Nick ignores the looks thrown his way as he enters Ops and angles for the door leading into his office. He knows he looks like he got into a pit fight with a Klingon with the bruise forming above his right temple. the dried blood from a cut behind his left eye and several tears to his uniform but considering what had happened to cause the injuries, they could have been far worse. He enters the office and when he chair he removes the body armor and lays it aside next to the phaser which he removes from it's holster. Fingering a control on the force staff it retracts down to something that resembles a small metal solid and he sets it down on the desk before him. He never had carried it before but when one was facing a potential riot scenario one usually didn't worry about such civil niceties about weapon restrictions. Besides, the Klingon he had to use it against displayed no compunction against pulling a knife out and brandishing it at Nick. He slumps down into his chair and says "First Officer's personal log, Commander Nicholas Ayers. Stardate 0211.26." The computer beeps, indicating it's recording. "Eighteen hours...it's been eighteen hours since the Chancellor's speech and ever since it's been eighteen hours of pure unadulterated chaos...some of it controlled, most of it not. I can't remember when I last got any sleep and so far I've been involved in three...altercations. Security is getting stretched thinner and thinner and not having anything more immediate to do I and a few others from the other departments tried to assist where we could. The first two altercations were people trying to get off the station and not liking being told they would have to wait. The last one...the one that actually resulted in fighting involved the crew of a Klingon scout ship, which has been taking leave here for the last few days, deciding that since Cardassia Prime was apparently about to blow up then naturally the Cardassians must be to blame. They and a small group of more militant Cardassians who thought along the same lines in reverse decided to have a fight down in the lower nether area of the Station. Before we managed to break up the fight, two of the Cardassians had been stabbed, one seriously and one of the Klingons had his arm broken. That's what they managed to do to each other and lord knows if the two Cardassians are going to make it with the way medical situations keep cropping up. The uninjured ones are all down in the brig sleeping off the effects of being stunned by Federation phasers while the injured ones are being tended to by the medical personnel. Considering how full the brig is getting and how backed up the Sickbay's are I can only hope that Starfleet keeps their promise of sending as many ships here as possible, preferably large Galaxy and Sovereign class ships." Nick pauses to rub the bridge of his nose, trying to will away the pressure spreading from his forehead. He continues "Neither I or the members of the security team that responded were seriously injured though I doubt the glancing blows I took to the head from one of the Klingons is going to help my headache any. As weak as my empathic senses are, I can feel the emotions of everyone on this station trying to pierce through my shields. From the stoic determined control of the Captain and the controlled emotions of the Station's crew to the anger, fear and growing panic emanating from the others onboard. I can even pick up, to a small degree, on the chaos, panic and fear on the planet below because of the sheer numbers involved and the riots. It's taking a large portion of what I got now to summon the control and discipline necessary to keep from getting lost in the emotional stain forming around this place and I can only hope that I have the stamina, both mentally and physically, to keep my mental blocks in place for as long as it takes to get through this situation. I'd hate to be Mom in this situation but damn do I wish I had her empathic fortitude. Lord knows how the Betazoids manage to keep their sanity and self-identity in situations like these." Nick pauses again, trying to decide whether to continue or not. He instructs the computer to end recording as he pushes himself to his feet. He exits his office and steps down to where the Captain is standing. After a minute he says quietly "I can mind the store if you want to get some rest, sir. Granted, I'm not an expert on Andorian physiology and emotional cues when it comes to extreme situations like this but you look beat." If Nick notices the irony of his words he doesn't show it.

Nic steps into his quarters and, with a tired sigh, notices that the stuff that he hadn't unpacked earlier hadn't unpacked itself in his absence despite his wish to the contrary. "Amazing how many things one can accumulate despite only having quarters the size of a fair-sized apartment onboard a Starship," he muses to himself. He brushes a hand through his silver-white hair as he tries to decide if he wants to take the time to put the rest of his belongings away. The decision is made for him when Diamante bounds in from one of the other rooms and runs up to Nick. Nick scoops the puppy up, getting a lick to the face for the effort, and pets the squirming dog. He murmurs "I suppose you're hungry. Well, let's see what we can find for you and then we'll take a walk to get better acquainted with our new home. How's that sound?" Another lick to the face and a yapping bark is the reply Nick gets. As Nick watches Diamante quickly tend to his supper, Nick muses over the day. As the image of the beetles floats before his mind's eye and what they would have done had they gotten aboard the station he involuntarily shivers. He murmurs "Amazing how little species learn from their past and how childish of them to seek to repeat old mistakes for the stupidest of reasons." The Klingon liaison in the Cardassian system had vehemently denied any knowledge of the insects when Nick had contacted him about it. From there it went onto near threats and it was only when confronted with the recorded images of the insects that any headway had been made. Even without concentrating Nick could tell the Klingon only reacted with anger in an attempt to cover up the lie. In the end, the liaison had promised that the Klingon government would take care of the problem. Nick wasn't exactly prepared to trust that promise but as the Captain had also informed Command of what had happened he was also sure the Klingon's wouldn't be able to sweep the incident under the rug.

Nic leans back in his chair at Dankum's and lets his gaze wander the room. It was quite a crowd and they were noisy. "In more ways then one" he thinks as he takes a moment to rub the bridge of his nose. He shifts his attention back to his dinner companions and listens to their conversation and banter. It was obvious that the three, Lt. Hawke, Lt. Griffin and Ensign Quark, were friends and on one hand Nic was pleased and honored to have been asked to join them at Dankum's. On the other hand, it also serves to remind him that for the time being he is the outsider and will be for a while. Of course, that was short term and he realizes that. It was exactly the same on the USS Venture before and on Starbase 315 before that. Still, it was just a smaller part of a feeling of being alone while standing in a crowd that he sometimes felt. When Ens Quark had mistakenly thought that he was part Betazoid, Nic had considered, briefly, saying that he was just human as it would make his transition into being part of the station's crew a bit easier. Some people got a bit edgy when dealing with a race that had become known for being long-lived, long-memoried and having an inherent talent for picking up on things that other races didn't. Of course, Ensign Quark and the others would eventually have found out the truth and possibly would have been offended at being lied to. Not a good way to build trust all in all. And to be perfectly honest, part of the reason he sometimes felt alone in a crowd was his own doing and Nic would be the first to admit that. As his mother had told him, it was going to take time and experience for him to develop the emotional shields necessary to live a life likely to span several centuries while those around him and closest to him lived and died and yet not become cut off from those people. Well, there are worse things...like being a Q.