Title: "A Man, a Tribble, and a Baby"
Author: Lieutenant Commander Benton
Stardate: 2460466
Earthdate: June 19, 2383
Location: USS Virgo

Benton was standing by one of the large forward windows in the Day's End Lounge gazing out at the sparkling stars. His hands were clasped behind his back and he seemed lost in thought. Who knew what deep
musings were passing through that unfathomable Kelvan brain of his? Spot was stuck on the ceiling above Benton's head musing his own unfathomable thoughts.

Suddenly, Benton was startled out his reverie by a voice from behind him.

"Hi, Benton. How've you been? Whatcha been up to?"

"Oh. Hello Francesca. Very well, thank you," said Benton, turning to face her. "Well, I recently replicated a new lamp for my cabin."

"Really? A lamp?"

"Yes. It's very good for reading."

"Is that what you do at night?" asked Francesca. "So, what are you reading with this new lamp?"

"Well, I've been reading fiction from late twentieth century Earth."

"Alone?"

Benton opened his mouth to reply, but realized he wasn't quite sure he knew what Francesca was driving at. He was spared getting in any deeper by the timely arrival of Doctor Maruu and a baby. The baby was pointing in his general direction.

As Dana walked up, she said, "Benton, I'd like you to meet the newest member of our crew, T'Lan Lataro."

"Hello T'Lan. Welcome aboard," said Benton to T'Lan, smiling.

"Goo," said T'Lan, wiggling his fingers and reaching out to Benton.

"I think he likes you," said Dana. "Here, you hold him."

"Oh no. I couldn't... I mean, I don't..." stammered a suddenly flustered Benton to the amusement of the Doctor and Ensign Milano, who was still lingering nearby.

Just then, Sitto Lan walked up with a report for Benton, and Benton seized the opportunity. He grabbed Sitto and dragged him between himself and the proffered baby. "Perhaps Sitto would like to hold T'Lan."

Dana had a devilish look in her eye. She said, "That's a great idea! Here you go Sitto. Be careful!" She handed the gurgling T'Lan over to a completely startled Sitto, who took T'Lan purely out of reflex, as he was completely unprepared for this bizarre and unexpected turn of events. Sitto held T'Lan awkwardly over his shoulder, gently but uncomfortably patting him on his little back a few times.

"No, no," said Dana. "Hold him like this." She tried to maneuver T'Lan into a better position.

T'Lan gurgled, hiccuped, then burped nice and loud.

"Oh yuck! Gross!" exclaimed Sitto. T'Lan had thrown up on Sitto's uniform. He looked like he was about to drop T'Lan on the floor. T'Lan started crying. Benton knew Sitto would never actually do such a thing, but he quickly retrieved the baby (just in case). T'Lan stopped crying as soon as Benton picked him up.

"That was interesting," commented Francesca.

"No it's not interesting, it's *VOMIT*! Get it off me!" exclaimed Sitto. Francesca went off to find a towel for Sitto.

Just then, Spot unstuck himself from the ceiling and plopped down right on top of Sitto's head and stuck there. T'Lan squealed with delight and tried to clap his hands. He made reaching motions toward Spot.

"Benny?" said Sitto.

"Yes?"

"Why is your tribble squatting on my head?"

"Well, I'm not sure Sitto. It could be he's just making sure you don't mistreat baby T'Lan."

"What? The tribble has a thing about family values?"

"Well, most tribbles do," said Benton. He cradled T'Lan in the crook of one arm and plucked Spot from Sitto's head and placed him in T'Lan's eager, outstretched grasp with his free hand. T'Lan giggled and cooed at his new toy. Spot trilled softly. Benton continued his story, "Surely you've heard of stories of tribbles raising children
that were abandoned in the wilderness."

"Those are not historical accounts, Benton. Those are holo-movies."

"Myth springs from truth, Sitto. Most half-tribbles form very strong loyalties and will kill to defend them. I know. I've experienced it."

"Oh," said Sitto. Francesca returned with a towel and Sitto began wiping off his shirt.

"Well, I think we've had enough fun," said Dana. She retrieved little T'Lan from Benton's arms. "Let's go, little guy. There's plenty more people to meet."

"Goo."

"Thanks Benton," called Dana as she headed for another clump of people. Francesca went with her. As they withdrew, Benton noticed that Spot was still nestled in T'Lan's embrace. He turned his attention back to the view outside the big window.
 

Title: "Back into the Swing"
Author: Commander Jonathan Lataro
Stardate: 2460466
Earthdate: June 19, 2383
Location: USS Virgo

It was 0600 and Commander Lataro was sitting in the command chair. He had been commanding the gamma shift for almost a week now, and now it was starting to affect him. T'Lan had been a little terror in his short time in the world, and this beloved little "terror" was keeping Lataro up during the times he was watched. After all K'Lara was on shift and all that there was was the two of them: father and son. So when big Lataro would want to sleep, little Lataro kept him up. So in the week's time he only got about 24 hours sleep.

At the chair, Commander Lataro had his chin propped up in his hand as he tried hard to concentrate on the viewscreen through the fog of fatigue. But it was no use. He dozed up numerous time only to be awaken by different reports of anomalous readings or slight course deviations. This time so "late" in the shift, his eyelids now were heavier then he could stand and sat sound asleep.

In his blissful sleep, Lataro dreamed of beautiful Risan dancers in search of ultimate pleasure. They approached the relaxed commander calling his name. "Jon," they said softly...

"Jon," again they said as they approached him seductively swaying with the wind to the barely audible music. "Commander."

Lataro was now snoring softly.

"Commander Lataro!" The beautiful Risans yelled, but no longer was there voice soft and angelic but rather harsh, manly. It even sounded angry. "Commander Jonathan Lataro!" Lataro recognized the voice suddenly, and, as the harshness of the last beckoning reached his ears, he shot upright in the chair only to be face-to-face with Captain Maruu.

"Captain!" Lataro said, darting up from the chair. He was so embarrassed. The entire bridge crew was laughing at the ashamed first officer.

"Commander Lataro.  How long have you been out?"  Maruu asked.

"Sir.  I am very sorry.  It is just that T'Lan..."

"Jon. Relax. I understand. I think that when I and Dana have children (may the Prophets permit), I just might be like you."

"I know, sir. But still, I was negligent."

"Did anything happen?"

"No, sir."

"Then you weren't."

There was a moment of silence as Lataro sat at his chair and looked over the morning reports. He began to doze off again.

"Jon. Go get some sleep," Maruu said.

"Thank you, sir," Lataro said as he stood up and headed for the turbolift. As he entered he remembered something. "Captain. There is a PADD containing some information about the T'rais incident. I think you might find it interesting."

"Okay, Jon. I will read it. Now go get some rest. That is an order."

"Yes, sir," he said as the turbolift door whisked shut.
________________________________________

"He's just curious about all these people. He wants to go meet them all."

Dana smiled as she saw the concern in the half-Klingon's eyes. "I'll take him on a tour while you eat, K'Lara. I'm betting that the crew is curious about T'Lan as well."

K'Lara smiled, "That would be great. I'll pick him up when your shift starts again."

Dana returned the smile as she took T'Lan in her arms. The baby was already pointing in the direction he wanted to go. The doctor laughed as she took him to see Lt. Commander Benton.

K'Lara shook her head and returned to her meal. She closed her eyes and sighed. It was nice to take a break for awhile, but it was even better to return to work.
________________________________________

In the corridor, Commander Lataro passed a few crewmembers casually acknowledging them and greeting them as headed for his quarters. Just as he rounded the corner he noticed Lt. Tomme heading for him. She looked him straight in the eye and smiled. "Good morning, Commander."

"Good morning, Lieutenant. How are you feeling?" he responded, stopping her in the middle of the corridor.

"Besides the morning sickness, the constant headaches, and even the fatigue, I am doing just fine."

"I am glad to hear that. Listen, if you need anything let me know. I think K'Lara would be happy to help you answer questions or anything. After all, she just had a baby."

"I know, Commander, but I don't think she would really want to talk to me even if I was the last person standing."

"You think so?"

"Yes, sir. I do."

"Well then, suit yourself. But I don't think that my wife is anything like that."

"Well I d..."  There was a sudden look of disgust in Tomme face. Her stomach seemed to turn as her face turned almost a pea green. "Excuse me, sir. I have got to go!" she yelled as she grabbed her stomach and put a hand to her mouth. She ran to the nearest restroom.

*Poor girl*, Lataro thought as he continued on.

He neared his quarters where as he entered, noticed that his wife and son were not there. After a quick deduction and the realization that their replicator has been on the fritz ever since the *Virgo* returned to space, Lataro figured that they were at the DEL for breakfast. So immediately he headed there. *I hope I catch her before she leaves.*
________________________________

K'Lara was just finishing her meal when Lataro entered. She was sitting at the table when he approached her from behind. "Hello, sweetheart."

"Jon. Hi. You're off a little early," K'Lara said with a smile.

"Yeah. Stephen let me off early. Where is T'Lan?"

"Dana took him to show him around."

"Really?"

"Yep," she said as she took a sip from her coffee.

"So then I can back to the room and sleep!"

"Yeah really. I would take advantage of this as much as you can."

"Cool! Then I am going back to our quarters."

"Okay. I will see you tonight."

"Okay." he leaned over and kissed K'Lara. "Lataro to Transporter Room One."

"Jon, what are you doing?" K'Lara asked in amazement.

[Go ahead, Commander.]

"I am not going to waste anytime. Initiate a site-to-site transport to my quarters."

[Sir?]

"You heard me, Chief."

[Aye, sir.]

"Jon, you are crazy," K'Lara said with a smile.

"You know it. That is why you love me so much," Lataro said as his atoms began to scatter.

"That I do," she whispered as the last of his atoms disappeared. "That I do."
 

Title: "Another Idea"
Author: Lt. Commander Garek Loran
Stardate: 2460466
Earthdate: June 20, 2383
Location: USS Virgo

It had seemed like ages since he had last seen her. Her beautiful shape and seemingly glowing skin. He had dreamt about her on those eerie nights on Xenon III, and wondered if he would ever get back to her. Now, the one lady of Lieutenant Commander Garek Loran's life sat in front of him.

"I've missed you," Garek said, as he ran his fingers over the glistening finish of the *Lambda Flier*. The paint was spotless, even the scratch that she had gotten during a small tangle with an alien ship was gone. The Borial gods knew how to clean up. Many would call Garek a lonely guy for the way he spent times with his machines. Garek thought of himself not as a lonely person, but a dedicated one, spending multiple nights taking apart different pieces of equipment, and then repairing them, making them run better then ever. It was his job, and he thought he was pretty darn good at it.

As he rounded the port nacelle, he looked for any imperfections that he could spot with the naked eye. None were to be seen. Finally, he came to the entrance hatch. He entered his command code, and sure enough, the door opened to reveal the inner personnel/cargo area. "Ah, that new shuttle smell." Garek grinned, and stepped into the shuttle. He opened the overhead matter/anti-matter reactor assembly to check the dilithium crystals. Even the crystals were shaped perfectly. He closed the assembly and made his way forward into the cockpit area.

The door whooshed open to reveal the cockpit area. Everything was just as he left it except for one thing. The pilot and co-pilot's chairs, instead of being normal Federation standard upholstery, were covered in a nice, polished off leather. "Thank you, Kalmar," Garek said quietly to himself. He smiled, and looked out the viewports of the shuttle bay. Not a soul in sight. *Might as well see if the Borial gods have done anything to the propulsion system as well.* Garek entered the startup sequence to be greeted with the sound of a clean
M/ARA warp core powerup. The panels flickered on, and all instrumentation turned out to be perfect. "Sweet. First the *Virgo*, then the shuttlecrafts, and even the *Lambda Flier*. Is there anything they can't fix?"

After the crew was brought back onboard the *Virgo*, Captain Maruu had asked Garek and his teams to sweep the ship, and make sure that everything was back in fine, and working order. Over the next few days, Garek, and the rest of his engineering teams, had turned the *Virgo* inside out checking for any imperfections in every system, both in the *Virgo* herself, and in the shuttlecraft carried onboard. Everything was up to par. However, Garek left the *Lambda Flier* alone for his own expertise, and as he had noticed, everything was working perfectly.

With a smile of satisfaction, he powered down the *Lambda Flier* and turned all of the systems off. He then made his way to the back of the shuttle, and exited. As he exited the *Lambda Flier*, he heard the door leading into the shuttle bay open.

"...and this is Shuttle Bay One," the person said. "Some of the shuttles are kept in here. Look over there, there's a Type 12 Cochrane shuttle. And over there, there's another one. And over there... is our Chief Engineer." Commander K'Lara Lataro looked up from T'Lan and over to Garek. "Hello, Garek."

Garek closed up the *Lambda Flier's* entry ramp, and walked over. "Good afternoon, Commander. It looks like you brought a little visitor with you." Garek smiled, and looked down at T'Lan. "How are you today little guy?"

K'Lara smiled. "I was just giving the *Virgo's* newest passenger a little tour on my day off. I figured the shuttle bay would be a pretty good spot to start with since it's usually nice and quiet here."

"A good choice," Garek commented. He looked around. "Not a soul here besides the ones in the shuttles. I just finished making my inspection of the *Lambda Flier* and everything seems to check out nicely."

K'Lara nodded looking down at T'Lan.

"Well, I guess I'll be on my way. I might as well let you and the little one enjoy the serenity in here." Garek smiled, and made his way past the two.

"Thanks Garek," K'Lara called over her shoulder.  Garek exited the shuttlebay.

Arriving in Engineering, the normal hustle and bustle needed to maintain the ship was going on. With all of the extra supplies the Borial gods had stocked into the cargo bays onboard, the *Virgo* would have enough dilithium and tridanium to be able to keep transwarp drive onboard as a permanent option as opposed to normal warp.

Ensign Antilles and the rest of the Alpha Team stood on the right side of the newly installed Main Engineering Master Situation Display Table in the middle of the main "corridor" in Engineering. Beta Team was on the left side. The Engineering staff had renamed the engineering display table the "craps table" in reference to it's shape. It was roughly a square table about six feet long, three feet wide, and about four feet off the ground.

"Alright, let's see," Jennifer Antilles started. She began reading from the PADD she had in her hand to Ensign Jacob Celchu who was directly across from her on the other side of the "craps table". Warp core efficiency is at 96.3 percent. EPS manifolds have been flushed out and are at peak efficiency. No anomalies to report, and everything seems in good condition." She handed the PADD over to Jacob. "Be sure you and the boys have a good shift." She shook hands with Jacob, and the two crews exchanged handshakes. It was a type of "changing of the guard" ceremony that had caught on in Engineering. Garek didn't say anything to stop or change it. He just let it be, seeing as though it seemed to make the teams work well together, and keep them in high spirits.

As the last of Alpha Team made their way out of Engineering, Beta team took over. It was now 1200, and they were fresh as a daisy, ready to conquer any tasks assigned to them. Celchu handed out the assignments for the shift, and the team split up going to work. Garek made his way over to Jacob who was standing at the "craps table".

"Good afternoon, sir," Jacob said, not looking up from the table. He was monitoring the power distribution system, making sure that there weren't any "brownouts" through the ship.

"Good afternoon, Jacob. I hope you're enjoying the table." Garek grinned. It was more or less a rhetorical  question, since Jacob, and a few other engineers had been asking for a Master Situations Display Table for a long time. Mostly, these displays were only found on Galaxy-class starships, but Garek thought they needed one as well. Besides the fact, it was a gathering place in Engineering, and it could access all of the information needed for a system and such, and put it in one spot. Essentially, all the work in Engineering could be done in one spot instead of drifting from panel to panel to gather information.

Jacob looked up and gave a grin. "I certainly hope that's a rhetorical question, sir." He tapped in some more info, and then went over to another terminal. "How did the *Lambda Flier* check out?"

"She's looking good," Garek replied. He punched up some information on a small display screen on the "craps table" and then cleared the screen. "Just came in to check on how things were doing. Do you have Antilles's status report?"

"Oh, sure." Jacob looked over, and handed Garek the PADD that Jennifer had handed him.

Garek scanned it quickly, and then handed it back. "Very nice. As an added assignment, I want you to make sure to get warp core efficiency up to 98 percent, and to get the rest of the hull laced with that tridanium already. Depending on how much is left, we'll see if we can equip this ship with ablative armor."

Jacob looked up from his panel. "Are you serious?"

"If there's enough, I don't see why not. I still have to do some calculations and such, but it's always a possibility. I'll be in my office. Oh, and short of a warp core breach, all hell breaking loose, or the ship being eaten by a giant space creature, I'd like to be alone for the next ten minutes please."

"I'll be sure you're not disturbed at all."

"Thanks, Jacob." Garek entered his office, and began looking over the tridanium inventory and how much surplus was projected. If he plays his cards right, he might just have enough to put 18 inches of ablative armor on this ship yet. He plopped his feet up on his small desk, and began looking over the PADDs of the cargo inventory onboard the ship.
 

Title: "Nap Time"
Author: Lt. Commander K'Lara Lataro
Stardate: 2460466
Earthdate: June 20, 2383
Location: USS Virgo

Lt. Commander K'Lara carried her tired son back to their quarters. She smiled as she listened to him snoring softly. It was such a lovely sound to here after such a long day of tending to him.

*I really must send Dana something for taking care of T'Lan,* K'Lara thought as she entered the room. *He's such a hyper little boy.*

She expected him to return with several exciting stories to tell, but he only slipped into her arms and went to sleep. She had given Dana a surprised look and the doctor only shrugged and said that he had met nearly every person on board. He played with almost all of them.

K'Lara set T'Lan in his crib and covered him with a blanket. She then went into the living area and sat down to read over the reports from the other pilots.

*I can't wait to get back to piloting,* she thought with a sigh. *I miss it.*

After awhile, the words began to blur and blend into each other. Her eyes got heavy and the data PADD fell out of her hand. Her head bent toward her chest and soon she was sound asleep.
 

Title: "Lessons from the Master"
Author: Yeoman Lucy Harper
Stardate: 2460468
Earthdate: June 20, 2383
Location: USS Virgo

The Day's End Lounge was just starting to get busy as Yeoman Harper sat at the bar drinking a juicy drinks of sorts. She was waiting for Lieutenant Wallace; he was a little late.

The two were to work out together in order to help teach the young yeoman how to handle different battle situations. *Come on, sir, hurry up! Well, he more or less has reason for being late.*

"Sorry, I'm late. I had to run some tests for the captain," Lt. Wallace said as he walked up behind Harper.

She stood up and gave him a smile. He didn't return the smile. "That is all right, sir. I understand," she said, walking over to edge of the bar, waiting for Dweezle to give something to Lieutenant Wallace.

Wallace and Harper walked up the stairs that led to the DEL's upper deck and into Holodeck One, and Lt Wallace began instructing at once. "Alright. Computer, Dojo Wallace program." An old earth dojo appeared. "Listen up. Have you ever had hand-to-hand fighting skills?" Wallace asked.

Harper shook her head.

"Okay. First rule in hand-to-hand fighting is to fight dirty as hell: bite, kick, stab, or throw dirt, mud, sand, or whatever you find into their eyes." Wallace then walked over to the punching bag. "Listen up. I want you to punch at this 12 times with your right hand, and do the same with your left."

Harper took off the gray and black tunic leaving her in her gold shirt. She punched the bag as much as she was instructed.

"All right, I will do 25 pushups as will you," Wallace said.

Harper scratched her head. She was a little confused and felt free to speak her mind. "Sir, I thought you were going to teach me to fight, not to sweat."

Wallace put his hands on his hips and tried to speak with out growing angry. "Lucy, the best way to survive a fight is to be stronger then your enemy physically and, most of all, here." He tapped her forehead.

Three hours later, Lucy and Richard walked out of the DEL hot, tired, and sweaty. At least, Harper was. Wallace sat down and ordered something to eat and asked if Harper wanted something. Harper declined and left for a sonic shower.

Wallace sat alone for awhile, then Major Chee sat down. "So how's the training going?" Major Chee asked.

"Fine. Yeoman Harper will make a good NCO. Excuse me, sir, I have to clean up." Wallace walked out of the Day's End Lounge and went to his quarters.