Title: "Solacetta" (Part 1 of 5)
Author: Ensign Johnathan Valdago
Stardate: 2459836-59838
Earthdate: November 1-2, 2359
Location: USS Virgo

November 1, 2359

The senior staff was arranged in the conference room. It was a basic meeting to give the captain an idea of the ship's status. It was normal procedure, unless in an emergency situation, for the captain to simply read reports given to him by his staff, but he had found in his personal history and in the history of the Federation that many minor problems experienced by different departments added up to one big problem. And, to be honest, Maruu didn't want to be in charge of doing all the adding. His roommate at the Academy had told him an old Earth proverb: "Two heads (or, in this particular case, nine) are better than one."

"Well, not to bore you but," said the Helmsman, "nothing is happening. We haven't even encountered a Class M planet in a few days. I've been keeping a standard survey course plotted. I wish I had something to report on that subject."

"How's the shuttle doing?"

K'Lara's eyes lit up with that question. "Well, that's a different story. We've got most of the main hull components ready. I think we'll be able to begin assembly in a day or two." The captain had decided to go ahead with Loran's suggestion. With the loss of the *Cochrane* and the *LaForge*, *Virgo* had no top notch shuttles. They were in need anyhow.

"I've got the cloaking device for it nearly built as well," the Chief Engineer mentioned.

"That's right, you think you can build us one now," Maruu said.

"I know I can. I've got most of the final testing done. I've been having a few energy problems still though. I can't seem to get the power usage small enough but I've got a promising theory that I'll work on today in my free time."

Lataro laughed a bit. "I didn't think you had 'free time'."

"Well, you know, that span of time between going to the bathroom and leaving the bathroom." They all joked about the man's busy schedule, but they also knew that it was an exaggeration. He had plenty of free time. He could always be found in the holodeck with Valdago. The two of them had come up with a number a holographic stories that were quite advanced. "I plan to test it today in Holodeck One before I put it on the new shuttle."

The Captain smiled. He really liked this engineer. "Well, it's your project and your shuttle. You've got full jurisdiction. Just keep me informed. How are our engines doing Mr. Ek'Ra?"

Torias Ek'Ra had been given the job of making sure the engines and major systems were in good condition while Loran worked on the cloaking device and new shuttle. He had been doing a fine job.

"The engines are working fine. The only thing I could say is that we are only running at 94% efficiency in the fusion reactor." It was customary for Ek'Ra to fuss over the ship. He had become one of the most picky engineers Maruu had ever worked with. He was making sure that he did a perfect job while he was running engineering. The captain loved it. He had never met an engineer who was so concentrated. He knew that the ship was always running at the best possible performance. Of course, he had to control the man a bit, otherwise he would spend days working on minor power fluctuations without sleep. The man had to set some priorities.

"But, Ensign, I thought this ships fusion reactor was only 93% efficient by design?" the captain asked.

"That is true, Sir, but it's a little known fact that, in order to be considered a genius miracle worker, designers purposely put ship expectations an average of 1% below what their plans are possible of so that after it is built and tested they can say, 'I guess I'm better than I thought.' So, it's up to the engineers to push is up one more percent. It standard procedure."

"Of course, you have to push it up to 95% efficiency in order to be considered a genius miracle worker yourself, right?" suggested Lataro.

"Exactly, Sir."

"Lt. Valdago," the captain turned to the Senior Operations Officer, "have there been any strange use of the replicators and holodecks to account for a one percent loss?" he asked have jokingly. But, he got no answer. Valdago just seemed to keep starring at the stars. "Lieutenant!"

Suddenly Valdago jumped as if awoken from a dream. "Oh, sorry, Sir. No, there hasn't been any unusual crew activity lately." He was extremely tired. The captain and First Officer had noticed this pattern over the last few days. It used to be expected, but ever since he had undergone the metamorphosis, he had been very prompt and a model officer. Of course, his tiredness had not interfered with his work, which he had been doing a lot of lately, but all the same, they wanted to make sure he would be on the top of his game should an emergency arrive.

"Well, I think we're all a bit tired. Everyone, head to bed. I know that's where I'm going."

The senior staff all left the conference room and went to bed.
________________________________

November 2, 2359

Valdago woke up sick. Again. He was constantly sick lately. Usually it was just a mild case of the flu or a cold, but it was starting to get annoying. This time he had a rashes on his arms and chest. But, he only had an hour until his shift began and he wasn't going to be late anymore. And, he had his own way to deal with sickness. He took his sonic shower and ordered two helpings of his breakfast number two.

Valdago entered the bridge at 0748. *Twelve minutes early?* thought Lataro. *This is gonna take some getting used to.* "Morning, John." Valdago just nodded. He looked very pale. Then he noticed a huge red patch on the back of his neck. "John, it's been two months since you last saw the doctor.  Maybe it's time for a checkup?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"John, I want all the officers in peak condition. You go see Dr. Nori." *My God!* he thought. *I just ORDERED Valdago off the bridge! This is gonna take a lot of getting used to.* "Don't make me have you sedated."

"Yes, Sir," said Valdago as he walked over to the turbolift.
________________________________

After a small asthma like attack, Dr. Nori sedated Valdago to help keep his breathing normal. She was using her tricorder and reading the information off of a nearby wall panel.

"I can't believe this. I've never seen anything like this before." The Chief Medical Officer was looking at a virus that was attacking Valdago's system. "Computer, identify the virus in Valdago's blood stream."

<The virus has been identified as Bahr 242.>

"Computer, show detail on Bahr 242."

The computer brought up schematics. <Bahr 242 was first identified by Frances Bahr in 2338 at the Pasteur Institute of Mars Colony. Symptoms of the disease caused by the virus are redness of the skin, difficult breathing, and some loss of hair. The virus effects only sheep, goats, and other closely related species. It can also be carried by certain bacterial and insects. While Humans may carry the virus as well, it will not create symptoms under normal circumstances.>

*Normal circumstances?* "Computer, what would cause those symptoms to occur in a Human?"

<Immune system deficiency.>

"Computer," the doctor asked as she ran the tricorder of Valdago's chest, "run a level three blood examination of the patient and give me current status of white blood cells."

<White blood cell count is down by 25%.>

"Could that be a result of his DNA restructuring on August 21, 2359."

<Negative. The results were compared to reading taken on August 30, 2359.>

"Computer, is the patient's immune system working at all?"

<Negative.>

"Captain Maruu, will you please come to sickbay. We have an emergency on our hands."
________________________________

"What can we do about this?" the captain asked his fellow Bajoran. Valdago, who was awake now, listened to the possibilities.

Dr. Nori answered, "I see two options. I think that I could create a mutagen like the one in Valdago's system. It would change the DNA of the white blood cells. But, instead of producing more mutagen and RNA strands, it would create the same cell wall in the rest of his system and then multiply. Those would then work on the other diseases and the mutagen in his body may even disappear. The problem is that, until all the infected white blood cells died, he would still be a little susceptible to opportunistic diseases. And, the new white blood cells may be inactive or somehow not work. That would leave him totally open to infection."

"What are the chances of that?" asked Maruu.

"Not very high. It's based a little on the process that eliminated the HIV virus in the early 21st century. So, theoretically it is sound. I'd have to run some simulations to be more accurate than that though."

"You said there was another option?" Valdago said.

Dr. Nori looked at the floor for a moment and then looked into his eyes. "I've been working on a way to reverse the assimilation process as you know. I think it's possible to create an anti-mutagen that will do the opposite of the original one."

"How do you mean," asked her patient.

"When the mutagen entered you system, it was able to infest the white blood cells, make a new RNA strand that attached itself to your DNA. Then the cell divided and the old, human cell died and the new, Kirusan cell remained. I think I can synthesize a mutagen that will remove the RNA strand and divide. This would, in theory, return all of your cells, including your white blood cells to normal. I think it has a better chance of success than the first option because that is based on 300 year old data and this is based on a mutagen that we have in large quantities."

It was silent for a while. Then Valdago spoke up. "I heard the word theory a lot in your discussion. Do you mind if I think about this for a while?"

"Not too long, who knows what it'll will be next. In this state, a case of the flu could kill you. I've been able to neutralize Bahr 242 but it's only going to get worse."

"It's already been worse," he said. The doctor gave a quizzical look. "I've had the flu about three times in the past two weeks."

"How did you survive? You haven't been down here?"

"I used...well, to be honest I've been using Rendex Geor." The look of astonishment on the faces of the captain and the doctor were all they could manage. "I know it's illegal, but it's the only way I could keep up with my duties."

"Where did you get it? Not from a crewmember?" asked the captain.

"No, I synthesized it myself."

The doctor didn't believe it. "Where did you get that kind of knowledge? The computer sure as hell doesn't hold that kind of information!"

"Well, I may as well let it all come out." Valdago took a deep breath. "I learned to make it from a few members of Red Squad back in my Academy days. It was rumored that some of them were using it to achieve more physically and I was sent in by...well a special agency to uncover them. I learned how to make it, how to use it, who used it, it's exact effects, and I even gained a small tolerance for it. You'd be surprised what your body gets used to after a few months. With help from the agency I was able to only loose 2% of my brain cells."

"You've got to be lying," the captain said. "No Federation agency would force a cadet to kill off his brain for months just to expose some cadets they knew about all ready. That isn't the way Starfleet works!"

"That's where you're wrong. They needed more than proof. I thought at the time I was chosen it was because I was the most qualified. I realized when they threatened to erase my memories and...remove some specific people from my life, that I was chosen because I was failing classes, I would be easy to convince, I would never be suspected as a spy by Red Squad, and I was the perfect guinea pig to test their antidote. Either way, I know how to make it and did. I never knew the formula for the antidote though."

"This has to be a holodeck simulation. They actually threatened murder? I want to know who it was, what organization, and the names of those Red Squad cadets."

"It won't make a difference. They didn't give me any real names, those Red Squaders probably aren't anywhere to be found, at least not with a memory of their lives intact, and I've all ready practically signed a death warrant by telling you this much. Just because we're a year away from the nearest Starbase doesn't mean they don't have a tag on us. I bet there are members in this crew." No one spoke.

"Captain to Anya Zano. Lt. Valdago will be coming to your office for a session. You will take a statement from him then report to me in person."

[Understood,] answered the Betazoid.

"Doctor. Keep Valdago in medical isolation until he chooses what to do. And get some readings," he said as he walked out the door. "Get me something to prove his story."
________________________________

Two hours later the reports were in. As far as anyone could tell, Valdago's story was 100% true.
 
 

Title: "Solacetta" (Part 2 of 5)
Author: Lieutenant JG Johnathan Valdago
Stardate: 2459841
Earthdate: November 3, 2359
Location: USS Virgo/LaForge

September 3, 2359

The past two months hadn't been too exciting. Even though it was more difficult to sneak an entire shuttlecraft, even with a cloaking device, into *Virgo* than it had been to get herself in, it wasn't too demanding a task. She was able to route the necessary power from the *LaForge* to *Virgo* so that the power usage of the transporters was virtually undetectable.

That only took until late September. The next month was filled with boredom for Solacetta. Things were happening on the ship, granted, but as far as the shuttle bay was concerned, nothing. The only daily activity she had was making sure no one would detect the cloak in the shuttle bay. She had to also make sure that the power drain was hid well enough. She managed to only use 1% of the fusion reactor's power to keep the ship cloaked and attached to the shuttle bay ceiling. She hadn't yet had to worry about any crews coming near her since the shuttle bay was empty.

It gave Solacetta a little satisfaction that the *Cochrane* had been destroyed in order to kill her, and then she had turned around and stole the remaining shuttle. Sure, they had a few small shuttles and such, but nothing closely resembling a runabout. And, nothing, to say the least, with a cloaking device.

As the time went by, Solacetta watched the databases and reports to see if anything helpful happened. She could have easily stayed on Kirus, but she didn't want to leave without Valdago. Finally, her patience had paid off. She got her chance, but she had to work in the science labs for a few hours before she was ready for a visit.
________________________________

Loran had come up with the idea for a new shuttlecraft shortly after he got the go ahead on his cloaking device theory. He had wanted to be able to make a test device for a shuttle, but all the remaining shuttles were not powerful enough. Also, he needed a shuttle with warp power so he could test how the power drain would effect the cloak so he could modify one for the *Virgo*. He asked the captain shortly after his return if he could build a new shuttlecraft. He said yes.

He had been running holographic test after test. Finally he had gotten the models to work, it was time to build the actual shuttle.

Of course, he was supposed to be in the shuttle bay in a few minutes to help K'Lara begin assembly, but he had gotten so intrigued by the fusion reactor that he was currently up to his ears in parts of the reactor. Ek'Ra had been working on it, and to get his mind clear he decided to put in some time on it. He decided to dismantle it and reassemble it to see what happened. He was just a little overzealous when he began to work on it with only one hour left.

"Thomas!" he yelled. The leader of the Alpha team was Thomas Galen. The man was very good. He had a wonderful knack for surprising Loran. Granted, they had completely different styles, but they both worked wonderfully. Whereas Loran was the kind of man that spent an hour cleaning out minor control panels and running tests and diagnostics to solve a problem, Galen usually just kicked the broken machine. Amazingly, it worked far more often than one would expect. And, it saved Loran lots of time. If kicking didn't work, and no other immediate quick-fix discovered the problem, then Loran took over. He could find any problem with enough time.

"Sir," the young Human asked.

"I want you to go to Shuttle Bay Two. I'm suppose to work with Lt. K'Lara on the Lambda Flier. I want there to be a little lambda, the Greek symbol, near the rear entrance to the shuttle, and 'Lt. Garek Loran' painted under the left and right windows of the shuttle. Unfortunately, I'm a bit busy and so is Ek'Ra."

"I told you to kick it." He smiled. "But, no, you decided to take the whole damn thing apart." The two got along great, that's why Loran and changed sides and joined Valdago's baseball team, he and Galen worked great together.

"Well, I think I'll have better luck this way." The truth was that he had tried to kick it, but just couldn't bring himself to do that. He treated the *Virgo* like a lady.

"No problem, how long will you be?"

"Not too long. But, if you don't stop bugging me I'll never finish." Thomas stood straight as a board and gave small salute. It was the salute of the old navies of many Terran cultures. Now it was simply a way of making a joke. As long as it was only between Galen and he, Loran had no problem with a little joke now and then. Galen had shown that he knew when it was time for play and time for work. Galen turned on his heel and marched out of Engineering.

Then Loran remembered he, himself had enough work to do. He got back to cleaning and reassembling the fusion reactor.
________________________________

Security was just as busy. Lataro had a lot to do.

He was looking for someone to replace him. With his promotion to First Officer, he was in charge of choosing the replacement even if he didn't want to.

He was having trouble deciding. Lt. Garza was a very trustworthy man. He was very good at his job. But, he had his own style. Lataro didn't know if he wanted that to happen. He wanted a little more security. That's why he was looking at Sitto Lan. He had shown promise, but was very green. He could be trained to be more like Lataro had been.

He put the PADD down and rubbed his eyes. He looked at the chronometer at saw that he was due in Shuttle Bay Two shortly.

He decided that he would give each man a chance and see who worked the best.

"Lataro to Lt. Garza."

[Garza here. What can I do for you?]

"I need you to go Shuttle Bay Two for a bit. I'll be there to help construct the new shuttle in a little bit, but I'm overloaded with paperwork right now. Can you do that for me?"

[Of course I can. I'll go right now. Garza out.]

*Now to get some of this work done. I think I'll talk to the captain about my replacement.* He picked up another PADD and began to work.
________________________________

K'Lara was in the shuttle bay. Jonathan had become more confident since the theft of the *LaForge*. Lt. JG M'Terrn walked into the shuttle bay with Thomas Galen and Garza. Thomas said, "I'm suppose to apologize for the absence of Lt. Loran. He's going to be a bit late. He's working on the fusion reactor, and he was right in the middle of putting it back together. He's really a fine tuner. He asked me to come down here until he arrived."

"How odd, I'm here for Lataro for the same reason," said Garza.

"Really?" questioned Galen. "Commander Lataro is putting a fusion reactor back together too?" Galen smiled. Garza rolled his eyes.

"All right, let's get to work," K'Lara interrupted. She walked over to a nearby piece of tritanium and began to haul it to the center of the shuttle bay. Hopefully they could finish in the next month.
________________________________

Ensign Julia Yosh was finishing up a few things in Sickbay before her relief came in. She had taken a seat at Dr. Nori's desk and was working on an experiment she was supervising. Lt. Richardson was due any second now. The doors opened. Julia began to shut down the monitor.

"Not much to do I'm afraid. Valdago's sleeping and there aren't any other patients. Dana said she was going to try and make it in here at..." she stepped out of the office. She suddenly remembered that she had to get her PADD off the desk. She turned around to get it.

A phaser fired. Julia laid on the unconscious on the floor in the now empty sickbay.
________________________________

Lataro was headed the the bridge to talk to Maruu. He had decided that he would present both men's profiles and see what he thought. He had grown to respect the captain's decisians very highly. He was sure that whatever Stephen thought would be best would be best.

The klaxon sounded as Lataro entered the bridge.

Maruu turned in his seat after hearing the report from Tara. He stood up and nodded at Lataro. "Good to see you, Jon. Now turn around and get to sickbay. Our favorite Kirusan is missing."

"Never a dull moment. Is there, Sir?"

"Not aboard this ship."
________________________________

When Lataro entered sickbay, he noticed Dr. Nori and her patient Ensign Yosh. Nori was healing the wound on Yosh's arm. Evidently she had been shot by a phaser. Lt. Richardson had been discovered in his quarters. His neck had been broken.

"Dr. Richardson was dead when we found him. Whoever snapped his neck knew exactly what they were doing." She felt a slight embarrassment at her unemotional report of the death of a co-worker. "I'm sorry if I seem a little inconsiderate, but as a doctor I've tried as hard as I can to repress the regret of a death."

"Understandable. I've tried to do the same. Is there any other information you can give me?"

Ensign Yosh jumped down off the table. She looked a bit nervous. Of course, she had just been shot. Fright wasn't an odd feeling after that type of occurrence. "Not anything more than Lt. Valdago is gone and his com badge is sitting right here." She handed the badge to Lataro.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to keep you posted." He went to his office.
________________________________

Valdago slowly began to wake up. He had a slight feeling of disorientation when he opened his eyes. He was onboard a shuttlecraft. It was the *LaForge*. "What the hell?"

"I see you've awoken. I guess we can start," the android said.

"Start what. Dismantling you?"

Solacetta shook her head. "After all I've done for you, and this is how you treat me."

"All you've done for me? Like try to kill me?"

"Oh," said the android, "that wasn't personal. I was going through a lot of hard time and emotions. The weapon was only going to stun you so that I could do what I'm going to do now. I don't have any worries that you'll come around. It's time to start your restructuring."

"You want to make me Human too. Do I threaten you or something?"

"You think so small. You don't understand what we have. My positronic brain was enhanced when I was transformed. You received a fraction of the physical abilities that you could have. Together we are one. I posses the strength naturally but was given Kirusan emotions. You had the emotions and was give the Kirusan physiology. We are each half-Kirusan, neither of us is whole."

Valdago looked back into the blank stare of his ex-crewmate. "As you said before, I'm not even half-Kirusan."

"That's what we're going to fix. I can make you fully Kirusan. Fulfil your destiny." She held up a hypospray. "This is all you need. I know what Dr. Nori has planned for you. And, I can tell by your reaction that you weren't very fond of that plan either. You don't want to loose your new status."

"Bull sh..."

"No. You enjoy the power. The respect. Tell me, how did you feel when Lt. Commander Lataro apologized to you. You saw the fear in his eyes, didn't you. I saw it too. I was watching. You people went on with you lives not knowing that I was onboard the whole time. I was only cloaked outside of the ship for a few days."

"You mean, we're still onboard?"

"Yes. We are not ready to leave yet. I need to wait to be sure the transmogrification goes correctly before I leave. Or, before WE leave."

"I will not go with you."

The two shared a silence before Solacetta spoke up again. "I do not understand your rebellion. But, either way, I will not force you to go. I simply wish to fulfill your destiny. You have to either become fully Kirusan, or revert to your puny Human state. Don't you want to know what it's like to shoot with those eyes. They have the ability, you know. You just can't do it. Maybe if you had been allowed to convert for one more minute? Who knows. You know the way people look at you now. With respect. With fear. Do you want to go back to that worthless state you were in before? Do you think Garza would have turned you in when you tried to leave the ship if you had that body? No, he wouldn't dare. You can not go back now."

"Maybe I don't have to. Dr. Nori says it may be possible to fix me without changing my current status."

"You know that is not possible as much as I do. Her theory is a...a fantasy. Remember how hard he pushed her to discover a cure? Do you really think she would waste her time on another option? The truth is that you don't have much time. You're getting sicker, sicker than even Rendex Geor can fix." Valdago looked at Solacetta, and she could see his thoughts in those slits for eyes. She had opened his mind. "I will let you think about it. We will talk again in a few hours. I have some more surprises that may help you change your mind."
 

Title: "Solacetta" (Part 3 of 5)
Author: Lieutenant JG Johnathan Valdago
Stardate: 2459841
Earthdate: November 3, 2359
Location: USS Virgo

Once Lataro had reached the privacy of his office he began the investigation.

"Computer, replay visual from sickbay, time index 1114 hours."

The visual that was displayed confused the First Officer. The door opened but now one was there. Ensign Yosh stepped out into the main room, turned around, and a phaser shot came from nowhere. If she hadn't moved at the last second, she would have been vaporized. The klaxon went off. Then the containment field around Valdago was deactivated. Valdago's body disappeared, and the door opened again. It was then only a matter of seconds before the security team arrived.

Lataro was very confused.
___________________________

Valdago ran down the corridors of the *Virgo*.

"CLEAR THE WAY! ENEMY APPROACHING!" He tapped his com badge. "Security to Deck 10, Section 14." He ran into a turbolift. "Security." The turbolift doors opened again. Valdago ran down the corridor right into Lataro's office. Lataro seemed to be going over a security visual of sickbay. He quickly turned around as the out-of-breath, half-Kirusan ran in.

"Solacetta was right behind me with a phaser rifle!"

Lataro ran to the wall and opened a panel. Behind it was a row of five phaser rifles. He took one and threw it at Valdago and then took one for himself. "Good to see you're still on our side. These are set for stun, make sure to adjust it to kill." He began to work on his. Valdago simply raised his rifle to Lataro's chest.

"Stun you say. Good, drop your weapon." Lataro starred at the Senior Ops Officer in disbelief. "NOW!" Valdago fired a shot right over Lataro's shoulder destroying the wall panel and setting off the klaxon. Lataro dropped the rifle.

*If I can only hold out for a few minutes a security team will be here. Though I don't like the idea of getting caught with my pants around my ankles. At least not because of Valdago.*

"Do you really believe you can get away with this?"

"No," said a voice from nowhere, "but WE can." Solacetta decloaked in another corner of the room. "As you can see, you not only gave me a cloaked shuttlecraft with a full weapons array, but also a wonderful piece of technology. I've been able to adapt it quite well to my circuitry. But, that can wait. Right now we have an escape to make."

"Computer," Valdago said, "execute program Purity One."

<Executing. Initiating transport.>

The trio disappeared just as a security team made it's way up from the false alarm on Deck 10.
___________________________

Loran had been working on the fusion reactor so long that he had almost forgotten what he was trying to do. But, everyday after his shift, he would head down to the reactor and work. Sometimes he only used the computers to adjust settings or use simulations. Today he was trying the oldest engineering trick: the Reboot.

He opened up the side panel. He had made some repairs and adjustments in there. This time, he began to shut the reactor down. He had already tapped power from the warp engines to compensate once the reactor was down. There was a slight dimming of the lights that was to be expected.

[Maruu to Loran. I take it you've successfully shut down the fusion reactor.]

"Yes, Sir. I was hoping to transfer power better so the power dim wouldn't be so obvious, but I'll have something to shoot for next time."

[You don't think this is too much trouble for 1%. I don't want to be caught with the reactor down if something were to happen.]

"No problem, Sir. It'll be back up in two minutes. Of course there will be a slight power surge this time."

[I'll be waiting. Maruu out.]
___________________________

Captain Maruu smiled to himself. His Chief Engineer was a perfectionist about the ship. But, of course, that was a job requirement.

"Sir, we've got something very strange readings in Shuttle Bay Two," Tara told him. "It looks like a ship, no, it's the
*LaForge*, has decloaked down there." Immediately, Maruu knew that trouble was going to begin. But, he had no idea how much.

"Explanation," Maruu demanded.

That's when the klaxon sounded.

"Captain," said Ensign Tara from his station at Tactical, "I'm getting reports from security. A phaser was fired in the Chief Security Officer's office. The security team has not arrived at the scene yet."

*By the Prophets! Solacetta got to his second First Officer. He couldn't afford to loose any more.* "Maruu to Lataro."

Nothing.

"Lataro, Acknowledge!"

Nothing.

Hopefully he had not been present when the phaser was shot, but the evidence wasn't promising. "Find out if anyone is in that office."

"A security team just arrived. They report that the office is empty," the Tactical Officer told his captain. He was just as worried as Maruu was. Lataro had been his friend and role model since this mission began.

"Damn it. I'm going down to Shuttle Bay Two." *I will stop her from taking anyone else away from me. No one else may die!*

[K'Lara to the captain. The *LaForge* has just decloaked in Shuttle Bay Two and now there is phaser fire in Lataro's office!]

"I know, Commander. I'm headed down to your position now. Just don't let Solacetta away if she's in there."

Captain Maruu headed for the turbolift. "Mr. Tara, you have the bridge."
___________________________

K'Lara had just begun to assemble parts of the hull when the power flashed for a second time. Suddenly, a ship began to decloak inside the shuttle bay. It was the *LaForge*. It was hovering above her, but when the cloak was disengaged it began to fall. K'Lara and the other crewmen dove to the floor. K'Lara covered her head with her hands as if they would protect her when an eight-ton shuttlecraft landed on her.

The shuttlecraft got closer and closer to the floor until, only two feet away from K'Lara's head, it stop and regained it's hover. The Klingon rolled out from under it and pulled out her phaser. That's when a klaxon went off.

"Garza," since they had become friends through Jon, they always ignored titles, "turn that alarm off. We know what's going on." He ran to the nearest panel and stopped the alarm.

The klaxon went off again.

"I told you to turn that off, Garza." Immediately, he began a more thorough search of the ship's systems.

"It's a...it's a ship wide alert. There's been phaser fire in Commanders Lataro's office."

*Oh God! This is not happening. Not to my Jon!* thought K'Lara.

"K'Lara to the captain. The *LaForge* has just decloaked in Shuttle Bay Two and now there is phaser fire in Lataro's office!"

[I know, Commander. I'm headed down to your position now. Just don't let Solacetta away if she's in there.]

Thomas Galen started taking some readings. "According to my readings, the ship is empty."

That's when three forms began to materialize in the air where the *LaForge* was. It was Lataro, Valdago, and Solacetta. Lataro seemed to be in a bad position with Valdago holding a phaser rifle and Solacetta standing near them. When they were fully materialized and the ship's artificial gravity could affect them again, they fell down and landed on top of the *LaForge*. Solacetta and Valdago were able to land fairly well, but Lataro's
body crashed limply upon the roof of the shuttlecraft.

K'Lara aimed her phaser at Valdago who held a rifle. She fired and had a direct hit, but it had still been set on stun and the effect was only an extremely angry Valdago. He aimed his phaser rifle and took out all four crewmembers one at a time in a matter of seconds.

"We've got to hurry. We won't have much time," the android pointed out. She jumped off the shuttlecraft. Valdago handed the body of Lataro down to her. "Cover me while I open the shuttle bay doors."

Valdago aimed his rifle at the main entrance while Solacetta dragged the First Officer into the *LaForge*. After a short while, the captain came running into the large room.

"Where's Solacetta?" he asked immediately. Then he turned and saw the other crewmen, then he turned back to Valdago and saw the phaser rifle in his hands. "So, it's come to this. I thought you were with us."

"You don't understand. I need to do this." The shuttle bay doors began to open. A force field held the air in place. The two looked at each other for a second. Solacetta quietly looked out of the shuttle to see what was happening. Then, utilizing his more advanced eye sight, Valdago noticed a twitch in the captain's phaser hand. He fired his weapon. Maruu fell to the ground unconscious.

"I knew where you stood. Let's go before another security team comes down here," the android told her companion.

Valdago walked into the *LaForge*. As it started to rise, a security team entered. They fired at the shuttle, but it's
shields were up. The *LaForge* then flew through the force field (the shield harmonics were set to match) and flew into space. Once there, Solacetta lowered the shields and engaged the cloaking device.
 

Title: "Solacetta" (Part 4 of 5)
Author: Lieutenant JG Johnathan Valdago
Stardate: 2459844-59874
Earthdate: November 4-15, 2359
Location: USS Virgo/LaForge

K'Lara was angry. She had let Jon and John slip through her fingers. She should have realized that a phaser set on stun would be pointless and changed the setting, but she had let her anger take control. She was too worried about her lover to think.

A large Kirusan ran towards her. She readied her weapon and slammed it into the creature. It blocked it with a staff that it carried but was noticeable knocked a little off balance. It regained its strength and attempted to trip the woman with his weapon. She was prepared and jumped. On her descent, she managed to bring her staff down square on the Kirusan's back. It managed to know him off balance and send him to the floor. K'Lara moved in to make the kill when the Kirusan fired a blast of pure energy from his eyes into her gut. Immediately the Kirusan froze.

"Damn!," yelled the Lt. Commander. "Computer, restart program." The Kirusan disappeared from its place on the ground.

K'Lara readied herself for another attack. This time, she would find a way to win.
_________________________________

Lataro could feel the engines when he awoke. He opened his eyes and looked around. Valdago and Solacetta were in the seats in the front of the *LaForge*.  He could see *Virgo* outside of the view screen. He tried to get up, but the manacles on his hands made it fairly difficult. The other two heard the ruckus and walked over to him.

"Glad to see you're up. You were out for quite a while. Those phaser rifles sure are something else," the android told Lataro.

"What are you doing? This ship is cloaked. What good am I?"

"Now, now, now. You should know better than that Jonathan. It's always helpful to have a hostage. Well, not necessarily, but the Kirusans would like a Human, for some tests. Granted, they had Surok, but they never had any Humans. I'm simply waiting for them to come get us."

"Why wait?"

"Do you think the power cells in this heap can keep the ship cloaked during warp? Of course, they can't. That's what Trent was trying to fix. Loran didn't even think about the problem. If we jumped to warp, the *Virgo* could follow the trail, and capture me. That will not be allowed. I still have to finish the job on Valdago that I started."

"You're going to make him fully Kirusan?"

"It's always another question with you. It's true. He will be given what is rightfully his. What that doctor took from him."

"If you're so sure he wants to be fully Kirusan, why isn't he? Why haven't you fixed what was done?"

"Because time has not allowed. We have just now escaped. First he must study my systems. I can't fly around the quadrant without a repair team to back me up, can I? John has to learn all about me and the cloak so he can repair me when I'm down. Together we will be invincible. Until then he's preparing for the transfer. I've injected him with the first mutagen, that will destroy the old one still in his system. His system can't have too many conflicts if this is going to work." A rustling came from the back of the ship. It was Valdago waking. "And here he comes now." Valdago entered the main cabin. Lataro wanted to get up and move to him, but he was still immobile from the phaser shot. He was hardly conscious.

"I'm ready for the transfer now." Lataro glared at him. Valdago's eyes stared back, blank.

"Good," said Solacetta. "You'll have to excuse me, I've got to go get the final hypospray. Watch the pig, will you John?" She began to leave the main cabin.

"Oh, Solacetta, just one thing," said Valdago as he grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. He pulled her in for an embrace. Lataro couldn't believe what he was seeing. The two moved closer and closer. Valdago brought his face closer to Solacetta's lips and then, they passionately kissed. Then, suddenly, her entire head dropped.

Valdago removed his hand from Solacetta's deactivation switch. Solacetta dropped, unconscious, to the floor.

"Good work, Johnny, you even fooled me."

Valdago walked to the transporter panel. "I'm going to drop the cloak and beam the three of us straight to engineering so that Solacetta can be dismantled. Unless, you need to go to sickbay," Valdago said to Lataro with a menacing smile.

"Engineering will be fine. I'm almost back to normal," Lataro said as he began to stand. "I never should have doubted you. You pulled the exact same trick here that you did on the station."

"Not exactly," he said. Valdago decloaked the *LaForge*. Commander Lataro dematerialized. Valdago reinitiated the cloak and moved the ship to avoid detection. He and Solacetta were alone."
_________________________________

"Maruu was sitting uneasily on the bridge. He was getting sick of loosing crew members."

"Sir," said the secondary Ops officer, Lt. JG Alysa Sinclair, "I've got a ship decloaking of the port side of us."

Maruu immediately stood up. "On screen." The view screen changed to reveal the *LaForge*. Then, a form began to materialize on the floor of the bridge. It was Lataro. "What's going on here?"

"What am I doing on the bridge? Where's Solacetta and Valdago."

"Answers, Lataro. Now."

"Valdago was just about to beam Solacetta, himself, and I to engineering to begin dismantling Solacetta. But, I wound up here. Lataro to Loran. Is Valdago or Solacetta down there?"

[No, Sir. Why would you think that?]

"We'll get back to you later. Lataro out."

"Sir," the Ops officer said as she looked at her montior, "the *LaForge* has recloaked and moved. All I got was a slight movement before it was totally gone."

Maruu walked toward the Ops station. "Open a channel. Audio only, that way they can answer and still stay cloaked. They're too smart to expose themselves."

"Channel open."

"Valdago. Solacetta, answer."

Nothing. The bridge was quiet.
_________________________________

After Valdago moved the *LaForge* to a new position he began work on Solacetta. That's when Maruu called.

[Valdago. Solacetta, answer.]

Valdago stood up. At first he planned to ignore the hail, but then, he realized that he could not be detected with a simply audio reply. "Valdago here. Solacetta is still inactive. I need you to trust me. Just this once. You'll notice the weapon systems are powered down. I just need a few minutes."

Silence.

[You have two,] replied the captain, [and then you will return to *Virgo* with the *LaForge* and Solacetta. That's an order.]

"Yes, Sir." He lied.

He walked over to Solacetta and continued his work. With the full knowledge of her systems in his hands, he was able to do anything he wanted. First, he created a self destruct system on the internal cloaking device so that it would disengage and self destruct in 48 hours. That would give her time to get away from *Virgo* safely. He also erased all files containing information about the cloaking device. Then he inserted a private message from him to her that would replay in her positronic brain until she awoke. He moved the transporter controls.

"Goodbye, Solacetta. I'm sure we'll meet again. I hope it's under better terms."

He initiated a transport. She was transported outside of the *LaForge*. Valdago engaged the tractor beam and used it and the *LaForge* to slingshot Solacetta back towards the Kirusan homeworld. He uncloaked the ship and returned to the shuttle bay of the *Virgo*. Captain Maruu was waiting for him when he exited the *LaForge*.

"She's gone. Isn't she?"

"Yes. I had to. You should understand."

"Understand nothing. I'm sorry I have to do this, but I have to. Lataro, take ENSIGN Valdago to the brig." He held up a phaser and shot Valdago. Stunned, the ensign fell to the floor. Maruu dropped his head in shame. He had to do it, partly to get Valdago safely to the brig, and party for some punishment that would work. "He shouldn't give you too much trouble now."
_________________________________

November 15, 2359

Inside his ready room, Maruu, Dr. Nori, Anya Zano, and Lataro were having a meeting.

"What's the news?" the captain asked.

"Well," said Dr. Nori, "He's fine physically. When Solacetta removed the mutagen, his system started to return to normal. It'll be a while before his white blood cell count levels off, but he'll get there. As far as anything else goes, he refuses to return to his Human state. That's his choice, but I'm still working on an anti-mutagen for anyone else we might come across."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. How about you, Counselor?"

"He's very stable. He never lost his devotion to Starfleet. He doesn't believe that, other than disobeying your order to bring Solacetta back, he's violated any regulations."

"In a way, Captain," Lataro noted, "he hasn't. Precedents have been set that in a situation such as his, steps that do not seriously affect Starfleet Intelligence, the Prime Directive, or any Federation members are valid. Since he only did minor damage to the ship's systems, he only stunned you, me and a few crewmembers, then rescued me, and he did delete all cloaking information from Solacetta, he did very little that would hold up in a court martial. Except where Solacetta's fate was concerned, his best interest was always set on us. He only kidnapped me to get access to the *LaForge*."

"Well, it's damned unorthodox," the captain stated.

"But, as far as Starfleet would be concerned, and as far as he is concerned," added the counselor, "he is still working for us. Solacetta is his only family out here. Psychologically, I believe it would be easier for him to kill you than her. I cannot blame him for his actions, or hold it against him. They are both modeled after the same Kirusan. They are like brother and sister, separated by morals. And, like I said, since he believes that everything he did was best for *Virgo* and Starfleet, I have no doubt that he is fit for active duty. He has shown loyalty to this crew many times over."

"I would also like to add," the First Officer said, "that time in the brig will not punish him. I really don't think that a demotion will either."

Anya broke in. "He's right. In fact, demoting him and giving him more time in the brig may push him away from us. As far as he is concerned, he did the right thing and should be rewarded. The more time he spends in the brig the worse he'll get. Next time Solacetta may win him over if we treat him like this."

"I know," mentioned the captain. "The demotion is simply to show him I mean business. And he's only in the brig until his REAL punishment is ready. I'll give him his pip back when he gets done."

"May I ask what this punishment is?" questioned Anya.

Maruu turned to Lataro. "If I'm not mistaken, Lt. Loran is a sort of expert on holodeck programs." Lataro nodded in
agreement. Maruu tapped his com badge. "Maruu to Lt. Loran, meet me in my ready room. We have a program to write."
_________________________________

The inactive body of Solacetta moved through space. She was undetectable to anything that passed by her. The only thing that was going on in her brain were five words: "We'll always be family. Johnathan."
 

Title: "Solacetta" (Part 5 of 5)
Author: Lieutenant JG Johnathan Valdago
Stardate: 2459844-59874
Earthdate: November 16-21, 2359
Location: Interstellar Space/USS Virgo

November 16, 2359

Suddenly she became active. She immediately realized that she was no longer aboard the *LaForge*. She was confused. She calculated her position from the stars. She was moving at approximately full impulse speed. She was heading for the center of Kirusan space and was about two days travel from where the *Virgo* had been. The worst thing about her travel was that she had no control. Without a significant amount of matter, she had no way to propel herself. And, at this speed, it would take more than she had to alter her course.

That's when she noticed something. A distant point of light. It had increased 0.045 percent in size in the last few moments. It was getting closer to her faster than she was moving. She hypothesized that it was a ship heading in her general direction. It was not a star and no comets would fit its location. It would be about one day before the ship and her came within range of each other. She only needed to wait.
__________________________

November 21, 2359

The Lambda Flier was in its beginning stages. They finally got the *LaForge* back but the Lambda Flier's constrution would go as planned. He was going to have to look very closely at that to see what else he could learn. (Although he was aware that the Klingon cloak was unable to work fully during warp speeds.) He had been busy programming a holoprogram for the captain and Valdago as well. He was almost burnt out. Luckily he had gotten to trust Ek'Ra and Galen so much that he had been given permission to, and felt confidant that he could take a vacation for a few days. After the holoprogram was successfully run. He had just finished his last test on the program.

[Are you ready, Loran?] the captain asked his Chief Engineer.

"Yes, Sir. Is Johnny?" he replied.

[Dr. Nori gave Lazarus a sedative he slipped in his Vodka. He should be out for another few hours. Prepare to transport him to Holodeck Two. If this doesn't teach him his lessen, nothing will.]
__________________________

Valdago woke up. His head felt like it was going to explode. "Personal note, never try to out drink Kox. Computer, two, no three helpings of Valdago breakfast number eight." So much food was being replicated that he had to remove the two trays and let the computer make another one before it was done. He sat down and began with a pill he had learned to replicate during his Academy days. He immediately began to wake up a bit and his head cleared.

Although this morning he was a bit sick, he was improving a great deal since his immune system began to correct itself.

A voice came from nowhere. "I'm not that stupid. You think you got rid of me? We're coming." It was Solacetta's voice.

A klaxon went off. He ran out into the hallway wearing only his boxers. Two Kirusans began to head his direction. They stopped when the noticed him. Valdago stared at them. Ssuddenly, he could tell that one was about to fire his eyes. Valdago jumped to the floor and a phaser shot flew past his head, but it hadn't been aimed for him. It hit Lt. Garza in the chest. The phaser in his hand fired into the air. Valdago ran over to his friend.

"Garza! Just hold on," he said to his friend. But, it was too late. William was dead. Then, the two Kirusans lifted him up and began to drag him to the nearest turbolift.  As he entered, he noted something odd, the Kirusan's eyes were like his. Slits that went from side to side instead up up and down. Suddenly it began to become clear. He looked at everything. Upon close examination he could tell that all was not perfect. Fine details were missing. And, everything was perfect. There were no dark spots, no dents or chips. He was in a holodeck simulation.

"Computer," he said, "End program." The two Kirusans looked at him strangely. The turbolift doors opened to reveal the bridge. Captain Maruu stood at the front view screen barking orders. He looked up at the two Kirusans.

"Ensign! Stop those two!" Maruu ordered.

"Computer." No reply. He tapped his badge. "Valdago to Maruu, I know what you're up to."

"I don't know what you're talking about ensign." said the captain. Valdago was a bit puzzled.

Then an arch formed in the middle of the bridge. *It was a holodeck! I knew it.* The door opened and Maruu ran in. The other captain looked back at himself. "Damn Loran! That thing doesn't look at all like me."

"You mean I'm not really me?!" asked the other Maruu.

"No time," the whole room shook, the hologram stared destabilizing and Valdago could see the grid come through in some parts. "We've got a major problem. Two Kirusan ships are attacking. Sadly, it real this time. I'm on way to the bridge now. Computer, end program." The holographic bridge disappeared. Now, a distant klaxon could be heard. A real one. The two ran out of the holodeck.

"Why didn't the program end?" asked the Ops Officer.

"We set it to not interrupt you for anything. It was my idea of punishment, who'd have thought 'reality mocks fantasy' would ever be so true." They entered a turbolift. "Bridge." The turbolift didn't move. "Bridge," yelled the captain. The doors reopened. Solacetta stood facing them with a phaser.

"Solacetta. What do you want?" asked *Virgo's* Commanding Officer.

"What I've always wanted. My family. Come along, John. I'm not trusting you this time."

[Lataro to the Captain. The shields just went down. Some troops have beamed near your position.]

"Hello, Lataro," the android said. "Remember me? I'm going to take your little captain on a holiday. And, Valdago too. You know what? I think I'll take the *LaForge* back. Just to piss you off. That's when the security team arrived. Solacetta whipped around and shot at them, but they managed to get a shot in and take cover before she ducked around a corner. Valdago and the captain were trapped in the turbolift. *What a time to be without a phaser,* Valdago thought.

After a fairly short battle, Solacetta had won. In a final desperate attempt, Captain Maruu dove for a phaser. Solacetta wasn't prepared. Maruu got in a shot, damaging Solacetta quite a bit. Unluckily, the phaser was drained as Solacetta aimed hers at Maruu.

"John, you will repair me onboard the Kirusan battle cruiser," said Solacetta. "But, I'm afraid I can't let this wound go unpunished." She set the phaser on kill. "I've got enough for another shot, and it's going to kill you."

"No!" Valdago walked in from of his Commanding Officer. "I can't let you do that."

"Move it, John!" yelled the captain, not willing to face anymore death on his account.

"Yes, John, please, step aside. I wouldn't want to have to kill you."

"You know as well as I do that a phaser blast hardly affects me," answered Valdago.

"Yes, but you also know that a phaser set on kill will still kill you. But it won't be as simple as vaporization. You'll die slowly, with pain. I'm going to shoot. If you're in the way then I could never trust you anyway. Five." He didn't move. "Four. Three. Two." Valdago held his ground. Solacetta's counting did not falter.

"One." She fired. The blast totally surprised Valdago. He never expected that Solacetta would have fired. He was forced backward and tripped on the body of Maruu, who was lying on the floor. He fell to the ground.

He couldn't begin to explain the pain. It just sort of was there. Overwhelming in a way. His whole body just felt numb. Then, he became more and more numb. He looked at Solacetta. Her face was plain. The world began to darken. Slowly until he could hardly see anything. He closed his eyes and experienced the silence. He no longer heard the sounds of the klaxon, or people running, or even the engine running. Then, a light appeared. It blinded him. It grew bigger and bigger until a form appeared. It floated closer. Valdago reached for it.

"Didn't know if you had it in you," said Maruu to his crewman.

Suddenly, Valdago became aware of what was going on. It wasn't dark, he could see the grid lines of the holodeck. He had never left! "You mean this was all a big..."

"Game? Yes. I thought that since you didn't respond to the brig, maybe this would do some good. Also, we needed to know if you were really devoted to the *Virgo*."

"So, the first time I thought we left the holodeck? The two... well, two yous?"

"All a part of our program. We knew that you would figure it out, so we let you. You never noticed any inconsistencies after you and...well, me, ran out of the holodeck, did you?"

"No, but..." he was at a loss for words.

"Stand up, Lieutenant." Captain Maruu threw the black pip back. Valdago caught it. "And next time remember to follow orders, all orders. If you ever get in a situation with Solacetta again, you will not let her go. I don't care if you run away and whistle dixie to Lataro. You will not provider her an escape route. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir." He placed the pip on his collar. "I won't disappoint you again."

"Good, let's go play some baseball. I understand Lataro found a pitcher that could strike you out." Lataro, Lan, Garza, everybody began to enter the holodeck. Valdago felt a little stupid and stood up immediately.

"Well," he said addressing Lan as he walked by, "I don't intend to let it happen again. Computer, run program...uh...Wrigley Field sound good to you, moron?" he asked Lataro.

"Sounds perfect, stupid!" the man answered back with a smile.

"Computer, run program Wrigley Field." The holodeck changed from a boring, systematic grid pattern to a beautiful grassy field. The stands were full, as always. *I love this game.* He ran to the dugout with the rest of his team.