The class work was difficult. He didn't miss all the studying and cramming the night before an exam. No, he didn't miss the work. But he did miss his classmates. He experienced a camaraderie that he hadn't felt in his elementary and high school years. He made friends that he thought he would have forever. But most of them had better grade averages and had already left for their first assignments. Even now, Reming wishes he had worked harder at his studies. He realized that those who graduated near the bottom of their class never seem to have memorable careers in Star Fleet. What about those who graduate last in their class? "Well" he told himself, "somebody had to."

"So why was he in the Admiral's office?" he thought. Reming felt uneasy, as if he was standing in the Principal's office. "Did I do something wrong?" he wondered. "Oh God. I hope I don't need to take summer classes. I wonder if Star Fleet offers summer classes?" He quickly gained control of his wild imagination as the Admiral walked in.

"Hello Ensign." Reming shook the admiral's hand. The Admiral was an elderly man with white hair. He didn't appear to be an unhappy man. In Reming's life, it seemed to him that all elderly people were angry. Reming assumed it was because they were old. It seemed to him that growing old was something to avoid. At any rate, the admiral did not seem to fit the mold. Although he seemed nice, he also seemed to wear a look of forgiving disappointment on his face. "Was that for me, or did he always look like that," Reming wondered.

The Admiral motioned for him to have a seat. Reming took a seat positioned at the front of the huge desk. The Admiral took a seat behind it. "I'm glad you could make it," he said.

"Where else would I be?" Reming thought to himself. "All my friends are gone and I haven't even been offered one assignment". "Yes sir." He finally answered out loud hoping it was an appropriate answer.

"I suppose you are wondering why I asked you here."

"Well, yes sir." he answered nervously.

"Let me honest with you. Your time at the Academy hasn't been stellar to be sure. Most students in your position either change their commission or drop out of the program all together. However, you are still here and you are holding on to your Command commission of study." He looked the ensign in the eye as he spoke. It made Reming feel uneasy.

"He stopped talking. I guess he expects me to have some kind of answer." Reming thought. "What to say..." Now out loud, "Yes sir. I have always been fascinated with Command. I always hoped to follow in the footsteps of Kirk, Pike and Picard." They were the only Captains he could think of off the top of his head.

The Admiral leaned back into his chair before answering. It seemed like an eternity had passed before he finally did speak.

"Well then, a command you shall have. You are hereby promoted to the rank of Captain."

The Ensign, now Captain, almost passed out.

Act One

Admiral Thompson nervously asked, "Are you all right, son?" He knew the young man would be surprised. He didn't expect the young man to brace himself on his knees and put his head down as if he was about to be sick. "Can I get you something?"

Reming raised his hand as if to request a minute before speaking. Then methodically, he raised his head to speak. A little more composed, but still visibly shaken, "What?...What did you say? Captain?"

Relieved to see that the officer hadn't completely lost his faculties, the Admiral quickly began speaking again. "Yes. Yes, you will be taking command of the USS Tree Weasel. It's a small ship with a small crew. She is primarily used as a test platform for new Star Fleet technologies. However, she spends a lot of her time on planetary surveys of newly discovered worlds."

At this point, Reming was barely listening. The words were passing through his head but they didn't seem to be sticking to his gray matter. "Did he say, Captain? Was Star Fleet that desperate for Captains?" he wondered. He knew the war with the Dominion wasn't going that well but he didn't realize how bad.

The admiral continued speaking, "...You will need to be on a transport shuttle at the station in a few hours. I suggest you get yourself ready. A complete list of crew information will be transferred to your personal information pad..."

A question popped into Reming's head and jumped out his mouth almost without him even noticing. "What happened to her previous captain?"

The Admiral was taken by surprise. "What?"

"Her last Captain? What happened to the ship's last Captain?"

"Oh, well Captain Peterson was called up to take command of a ship in the Battle for DS9 and was killed in action. Tragic, really. We lost a lot of good people and in that fight."

The term rang in Reming's head: Battle for DS9. That's how a lot of people referred to last big push by the Federation. One of the few victories for our side. He wondered if he'd ever have the chance to die in battle.

The Admiral stood up and Reming did as well. "Well, let me be the first to congratulate you, my boy. Good luck on you first command."

The Admiral extended his hand and Reming shook it. He then turned and walked out of the office. Once the door closed behind him, he looked back at the door. This has to be some kind of a joke. He looked around the empty waiting room for a holocamera but couldn't find any. Reming wondered if he was having one of those dreams where he goes to one of his Academy classes naked. No, he was dressed. Then it all started to sink in. In a few hours he would be in command of a starship.

***

Reming found himself running to the shuttle station. The Admiral told him he had time to get some things together before his shuttle. As it turned out, he only had about ninety minutes. He spent most of that looking for is personal information pad. He managed to pack a few things before running out for the station. As he stepped on board the large shuttle, the doors behind him closed. It was more than half full with passengers. The captain was making an announcement to take your seats. Reming took one. According to his notepad, this shuttle would rendezvous with a shuttle from the Tree Weasel before it continued to its trip to New Berlin on the Moon. The first leg of his trip should take about thirty minutes. He hoped it was enough time to look over some of the biographical information on his crew. Reming's head was still spinning. "His crew", he thought to himself. All the rushing around didn't give him time to be nervous. As the shuttle lifted off, he picked up the notepad and started reading:

Helm : Ensign Nicholas Smith
Age : 26
Species : Human
Home Planet : Earth
Notes : (none)

As he looked over the Biographic information, Reming was surprised by many things. First, he noticed that all the bridge officers were human. Very few Federation ships had an all human bridge crew. Secondly, he noticed how little information was present. He expected to see some information on how long they served on the Tree Weasel as well as some of their outstanding achievements. Now Reming was more confused than before.

He leaned his head back on the softly cushioned seat and closed his eyes trying to make sense of everything. A voice interrupted his thoughts. "Are you all right sir?"

He looked up to see a beautiful female shuttle flight attendant looking at him. "What? Oh, no I'm fine, thanks."

Noticing his uniform, "Are you in Star Fleet", she asked.

"Oh, uh yes. Yes I am", he answered with a smile. It didn't bother him if a pretty girl was interested in him because of his uniform. "As a matter of fact I'm on my way to my very first command of a starship."

Taking a seat next to him, "Oh really. You're so young. Is this a first?"

"Because of my age? I don't know".

"What class is it? Is it a Miranda or Intrepid class?"

"No it's an Challenger class. The USS Tree Weasel."

In an instant her mood changed to disappointment. " Challenger class? I've never heard of it. And that name: Tree Weasel."

"The classification hasn't been around very long. It's a science vessel It's-", Reming was cut off.

"I got to go. Other passengers may need me." She then stood up and left down the aisle.

Annoyed, he continued speaking to her from his seat. "It's a science vessel. What's the matter, science isn't interesting enough? You know it's been refitted with quantum torpedoes. I could see some action. Who knows." Reming stopped shouting to the long gone attendant once he realized that the other passengers were looking at him. He sank low into his seat wishing he could be transported outside the shuttle and into empty space.

He tried to forget the whole ugly incident and went back to reading the ship specs. But as he read, it seemed like information was missing there too. "What the hell is going on here", he said to himself. His thoughts were again interrupted, this time by an announcement. "Could Ensign Phillip Reming please report to the transporter room. We are ready to send you to your shuttle."

"That's CAPTAIN Phillip Reming" he said out loud, but mostly to himself as he walked to the transporter room.

When he entered the transporter room a transporter operator was working at the console preparing for the transfer. "We're ready to transport you, Ensign."

Again annoyed, "That's Captain. Captain Phillip Reming."

"Whatever, sir. Please go stand on the damn transporter pad."

He stepped up onto the one-person pad and faced forward. "Energ-" Reming attempted to gave the command to begin transport but before he could get the word out, the obstinate operator had already initiated the process.

Moments later Reming found himself aboard a type six Star Fleet shuttlecraft. Out of the forward window he could see the shuttlecraft he had just left drifting away. Out from the pilots seat stood a tall thin woman with dark hair. From the front, her hair appeared to be short. That would prove to be a little misleading. A braid, nearly a half meter long, traced down her back. As Reming stepped off the transporter pad, the woman introduced herself.

"Hello, sir. I am Commander Reed of the Weasel. You are Captain Reming I presume." She said with a polite tone of voice.

Smiling politely, "Ah finally someone who knows my rank. Yes. It's good to meet you, Commander." Reming didn't realize how strange it would feel to have someone call him captain. He knew it would be something he'd have to get used to. They both walked to the front of the shuttle and took a seat. She in the pilot seat and he in the co-pilot seat.

"So, how was your trip, sir?" She asked him.

"Uneventful." He answered. He couldn't help but stare at her. He kept trying to force his eyes back at the stars and the moon, but it was no good. For some reason he felt in awe of her. She seemed to brim with confidence. A quality he sometimes lacked.

"Fresh out of the Academy, I understand?"

"Yes. Yes, I just graduated only a few days ago."

"Admiral Thompson appointed you for the job of commanding the Weasel."

"Yes, you're right again. You seem to know more about me than I know about you." The Commander couldn't decide if he was being truthful or if he was simply tying to pick her up. She decided to ignore the statement.

The Commander decided to change the subject. "The Tree Weasel is currently holding a synchronous orbit around the far side of the moon. We will be in visual range very soon."

"Tell me about that name: The Tree Weasel. It's a bit...unique"

"Well, as you know, she is a scientific vessel. After the refit about three years ago, her intended primary mission was to study environmental systems of various different types of worlds, hence the 'nature' type of name. Considering the other names they had in mind, this one isn't so bad."

"What were the other choices?"

"The first name considered was 'The Gore' after a late twentieth century leader who was a proponent of environmental issues. Then they considered the name 'The Quail.' I couldn't find much on anyone named Quail in the historical database. Apparently this individual is lost to history. They finally settled on the current name."

"Maybe I can put in for a name change. Let me see what I can do."

"Oh no, sir. I'd prefer you didn't. We, the crew and I that is, like the name. At first we hated the name. We all thought it was ridiculous. But now...now..."

As she struggled for the right words, Reming decided to put her out of her misery. "Whatever you say, Commander. The name stays. Forget I mentioned it." He could see the relief in her face.

Then, an awkward silence comes over the small shuttle. As if poked by a pin, Commander Reed suddenly spoke. "Oh! There she is." She startled Reming so much he visibly jumped.

"Where", he asked. "Oh, wait I see her"

Initially, the small ship was difficult to spot against the moon's dark side. But soon enough the ship grew larger as they approached. Framed against the blackness, the only real evidence of the ship's presence is her illuminated windows and glowing nacelles. Reming gazed in wonder at the ship suspended ahead of him. Reming was stunned by its beauty. It wasn't the biggest ship in the fleet. As a matter of fact, it was probably the smallest. But that didn't seem to matter any more.

Act Two

As their shuttle approached the ship, it seemed to grow larger and larger. To Reming, the ship didn't feel so small anymore. He began to feel small.

The Commander then taped her comm. badge and spoke out loud. "This is Commander Reed requesting clearance." A new voice filled the cabin. "Hello, Commander. You've got clearance. Come on in."

The Commander turns to Reming. "Would you like to do the honors, Captain? Why should I have all the fun? Be my guest."

He wasn't sure what to do. Is this a test? He decided to take the offer. "Well okay. You'd better hold on. I've only done this before in simulations. Your life insurance paid up?" he joked. She attempted to hide her fear behind a forced laugh.

Reming looked at the controls in front of him for the first time. Everything appeared to be just where they were in the holo-exams. He tried to remember his scores in this exercise, but he couldn't. He hoped he remembered what he had learned.

"Here goes nothing." he said to himself. He worked the controls while keeping an eye on his view. Reming glanced at the Commander. To him, she looked more nervous than he felt. Slowly, he swung the shuttle around to the rear of the vessel and maneuvered it until it was lined up with the shuttle bay. He then decreased his speed and slowly piloted the shuttle between the nacelles and into the bay. As the shuttle came to a stop, the bay doors closed behind them and the area outside the shuttle re-pressurized.

"You can breath now. We're in. That was fun." he said the to Commander.

After exhaling, she spoke. "good...good flying sir."

Reming stood up. "Shall we go?"

"Where? Oh, yes. Let's go."

Once outside the shuttle, the Commander regained her composure. "I planned to give you a tour of the ship. If you want, we could do that now."

"By all means, lead the way. Where to first?"

"Main Engineering. It's closest. But, you know everything's close on a ship this small." While she spoke, they made their way to the nearest turbo-lift and enter it.

"Main Engineering." She said. Immediately the lift began on its trek.

"Lieutenant Commander Smith is the chief engineer, right?"

"Right. She is highly skilled. We are asked to test many different experimental systems. She has her hands full trying to manage power and system resources while also keeping the ship running."

At that moment the lift doors flew open to engineering. Reming was surprised at all the activity. As he exited the lift, he is nearly knocked over by a passing officer. Slowly, he and the commander make their way the warp core and over to Lt. Cmdr. Smith.

The Commander began speaking first. "How's the upgrade coming?"

Smith turns to face the Commander. She is thin and athletic like the Commander but not as tall. Short Blonde hair frames her fair skinned face. Her uniform appears a little disheveled. At the moment, she is wiping some kind of grease from her hands. "Oh fine. Just fine. While you were gone, we nearly had a core breach. But now things are a little more under control now." Now the lieutenant noticed Reming. She stared at him with piercing green eyes, "What? What's the matter with you? Don't you have anything to do? Damn it, can't any of you junior officer's think for yourself? Look, go take a look at the-", The Commander cut her off.

"Lieutenant, this is Phillip Reming. Our new Captain."

The lieutenant's shoulders dropped as she looked down and shook her head and then looked up. "I'm..I'm sorry, sir."

"No problem, Lieutenant. Think nothing of it. I was just noticing the warp core. It's very interesting." He pointed to the massive energy system used to power the ships warp dive system.

"It's a new design. As you can see, the antimatter flows freely in globs throughout lower antimatter chamber. As power is needed, matter from the upper chamber and antimatter from the lower chamber is forced into the matter-antimatter reaction chamber. Unused matter and antimatter then flows back to the bottom of their respective chambers."

" The way the matter and antimatter globules float around. The design reminds me of something. One of those twentieth century novelty items..."

"A lava lamp."

"Yea, that's it."

"I get that a lot."

The Commander finally spoke up. "We better be going. Captain. There's more ship to see."

"It was nice meeting you, Lieutenant." He reached out to shake her hand. Smith went to put her hand out but stopped.

"Sorry sir. Greasy hands. Wouldn't want to get you dirty."

"Right." He replied.

The Commander now back at the lift called out to Reming. "Coming Captain?" Reming headed off for the lift. As he walks to the Commander's position, the lift doors opened. The two stepped in.

"Were to now, Commander?" Asked Reming.

"Sickbay." She answered. The turbo lift, believing the Commander's statement was directed toward it, began moving. "We don't have a large medical staff on the ship. Just one doctor and two medical assistants. Lieutenant Edward Tedmoore is our chief medical officer." The lift stopped. It had reached its destination. The Reed and Reming stepped out. Reed led the way down the corridor to the medical bay.

The medical bay wasn't very large. It reminded Reming of the medical office at the academy. Only one individual was present. A man with jet black hair that looked painted on his head, stood working at a console. As they approached, the man looked up and smiled.

"Lieutenant Tedmoore, let me introduce you to Captain Philip Reming. The new captain of the Weasel."

"Well it is good to meet you sir." Tedmoore said in a rather loud tone. He shook Reming's hand. The man's personality made Reming nervous. Reming was afraid the man was about to sell him a used hover-car or something. Even his handshake was annoying to Reming. The lieutenant seemed to hold his grip a little too long.

"Good to meet you as well," Reming lied. "Is it always this quiet in here?"

"Yes it is. We don't see any action so we don't have any personnel wounded in battle. At most I'll see one or two plasma burns from down in engineering or the occasional holodeck injury. Nothing more serous than that."

Reming looked around the empty room trying to think of something to say. "I suppose Star Fleet keeps you just as busy as Lieutenant Smith in engineering."

Still smiling but with a furrowed brow, the doctor asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well since Star fleet sometimes tests new technologies on the ship, I just though that maybe they had you testing new medical equipment as well."

"Oh yes. Yes sir. I do sometimes. Yes sir."

"We'd better get up to the bridge Captain." The Commander interrupted.

"I'm sure we'll have time to get to know each other Lieutenant." Said Remming.

"Oh I'm sure of that sir." Replied Tedmoore.

As both Reed and Reming left Sickbay, Tedmoore made his way to a communications panel and quietly pressed a single switch.

***

Once again Reming and Reed were in the turbo lift.

"Now for our last stop: the bridge." Reed said. The lift began moving once again. As she spoke the words, as shiver went down Reming's back. It was almost time for him to actually take command.

At last, the lift stopped and the doors opened. Reming stepped onto his bridge for the first time.

The bridge was of a configuration somewhat unfamiliar to Reming. Along the back of the bridge was a wall of different consoles. Just a few meters ahead of that and in front of a chrome railing were the captain's and commander's seats. So far things looked fairly ordinary. What really got Reming's attention was the semi-circular station just to the left of the Commanders chair. The station was labeled 'Science and Operations'. He then realized that a science vessel such as this would require an elaborate science station. To the right of this another station that Reming assumed to be helm control. Both stations were manned. The men turned around to face Reming and Reed.

Reed led Reming to the S&O station. "Lieutenant Commander Michael Parks I'd like you to meet Captain Reming." She said.

The nervous lieutenant extended his hand to Reming. "Nice to meet you sir. I'm Lieutenant Commander Michael Parks"

Reed looking up at the ceiling in restrained exasperation. "I just said that."

"Oh yes. Sorry sir. I'm a little nervous."

"No problem, Lieutenant. To be honest, so am I," said Reming.

"And this is Ensign Nicholas Smith." Reed said.

The short, muscular man with blonde hair stood up from his post. "Good to meet you sir."

"And how are you, young man?" Reming asked. He wasn't sure why he added the 'young man' part. The ensign wasn't more than a year or two younger than he was.

"Um...fine I guess. Why?"

"No reason. I was just trying to make polite conversation. Forget it."

The Commander interrupted. "The Captain just met you sister, Nick."

"Really! When were you in Pennsylvania? How's she doing? What grade is she in now? I haven't seen her in a while."

"No! No, Nick. Your other sister. The one in engineering?" Said Reed, now almost losing her patients.

"Oh right. Well, how is she doing?"

"Fine Ensign. Carry on." Replied Reming realizing now that the man wasn't as dumb as he looked. He was dumber.

The Commander walked about two meters behind the Smith's station to the captain's chair. "Here is our very last stop on the tour, sir. The Captain's char." She leaned her head in the direction of the seat as if to let Reming know it's exact location without actually pointing it out. Reming sat down in it. "Incredible". He said. He looked to around the bridge in a slow and methodic manner. His eyes settled on the view screen directly ahead. The moon with city lights all aglow was to the left of center. The rest was all stars. Incredible" He said again not realizing he just repeated himself.

The Commander, now sitting in her seat replied. "Yes it is."

"You forgot to show one last thing."

"What's that?"

"My quarters"

"Oho well, I thought you'd want us to get underway first. After that, there will be time for you to settle in."

"We have urgent orders?"

"The power transfer upgrade in engineering. The Federation wants us to take it out for a spin around the block a few times to test it out. I thought you were informed."

"I wasn't"

"The tests will take a few hours. You should have time to get settled while the test are performed."

Hesitating a moment before answering, "Fine...fine." He paused again before speaking. "All right. Here we go. I'm about to give my first order as a captain. Wish me luck, Commander"

"Luck, sir."

Speaking to the air. "Bridge to Engineering, we are about to start the first test. Are you ready down there?"

The filtered voice of Lt. Cmdr. Smith replied. "As ready as we'll ever be."

"I'll take that as a yes. Helm, break orbit. Set course for the far side of the solar system at warp one."

"Breaking orbit. Course set." Answered Ensign Smith.

"Engage"

At that moment something odd happened. Ensign Smith and Lt. Parks placed one hand on a panel in front of them and closed their eyes. Suddenly the ship went into warp. Without touching the controls the ship jumped to warp speed seemingly by their will alone. Reming was about to ask the Commander what that was all about, but decided against it. That would be his first mistake as captain.

Act Three

Captain Phillip Reming stood alone in his new personal quarters. It was small, but larger than he expected. He could see the stars rushing past through the large window behind a desk. The few personal items he managed to pack before he left were sitting on the desk. A personal food replicator was present in the wall on the far side of the room. Near the replicator area sat a small table and two chairs. Beyond the eating area stood a doorway that led to the sleeping area.

"What to do first?" he thought. He walked over to the desk and picked up the personal information pad he had with him on the shuttle. He again looked at the crew information. He wondered if he missed anything the first time he looked at it. He searched all the available information that would point to the crew's odd behavior on the bridge. "Is it part of some experiment?" he said to himself. The only thing he found throughout the pad was big holes. "It seemed as if something was purposely deleted." He thought. He couldn't decide whether to go to his first officer or not. "No," he thought, "I'll try to figure things out for myself." He walked over to the replicator and went over the day's events in his mind.

"Root beer." He said.

"There is no such food item on file." Said the computer.

"No root beer?" said reming in a disappointed tone. "Fine. Ice water. You have that, don't you." Seconds later a small glass of ice water materialized in front of him. He picked it up and took a drink. He went back to thinking about the problem that occupied his thoughts but got nowhere. He decided to question the computer.

Reming Spoke out loud. "Computer, please list all current experiments being run by the Weasel."

"Current list of experimental technologies running on the USS Tree Weasel are as follows: An experimental matter/antimatter power transfer system; A new random shield modulation program; A..." Then the computer whirs a moment before continuing. "End of list."

The computer's hesitation concerned Reming. Was information missing from the ships computer as well? "Computer, was any information deleted recently from the computer database?"

"Data was last removed from the ship's database at fifteen hundred hours of current Star date"

"That's just a few hours ago. Computer, who made the deletions?"

"Access denied"

"Access denied?" Said Reming. "First the root bear and now this. Computer, who am I?"

"You are Phillip Reming. Captain of the USS Tree Weasel"

"Good. Now, tell me who made the deletions to your database. Authorization...uh" He fumbled through the information pad for his authorization code. "uh..Reming- alpha-zero-one."

The computer quickly responded. "That information is classified."

"I'm loosing my patients, Computer." He said angrily. After calming himself a little, he continued. "Okay. Can you tell me where the data modifications were preformed?"

"Your request is not clear"

"Were the modifications done by someone on board the ship?"

"Negative"

"Ah! Now we are getting somewhere." He said to himself. However he wasn't sure if he was right. "If the changes were not made by someone on board the ship then where?"

"Data modifications were made from a remote location."

"Sure! Fine! Great! But from where?"

The computer wined before answering. "The Tree Weasel database was modified from an unknown location on the surface of Earth's moon."

Now he had something, but what exactly he did not know. "What does it mean?" He couldn't piece things together. Could these mysterious data modifications be related to the odd scene on the bridge?" he thought.

He finally made up his mind. He tapped his comm. badge. "Captain Reming to Bridge. Commander, we are changing course. Put us on a course-" His statement was interrupted by the red alert claxon.

"Warp core is losing containment. Complete warp core containment failure in nine minutes." The computer calmly announced over the ship wide announcement system. After a moment, the announcement repeated. Reming dropped his glass of water and ran out of his quarters. As he headed for the turbo lift, he slapped his comm. badge and spoke out loud. "Commander, meet me in main engineering."

Her filtered voice came back. "On my way."

As he approached, the turbo-lift doors flew open. There he met the commander already in the lift.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked.

"I don't know exactly. I know the new power transfer upgrade was not going as smoothly as we would like."

"What's our current status?"

"We are traveling at warp six and increasing. We can't get the warp drive to shut down. Whatever the problem is, it seems to have locked the control systems."

"If this ship explodes while at warp, the debris field will be spread out over hundreds of light years. Can we launch the life pods while at warp?"

"No sir. The life pods would be crushed by the force."

"Complete warp core containment failure in five minutes." Announced the computer.

Just then the lift doors flew open. Reming and Reed ran into Engineering. The scene was near chaos. Many crew members were running around and giving orders to one another. Reming grabbed an ensign running by.

"What's going on here? Report." Shouted Reming.

"There is some kind of conflict between the ship's systems and the power transfer systems. The matter/antimatter injectors are locked in an open position. We are attempting to manually shut-off the injectors but that could take hours."

"We don't have hours."

"Complete warp core containment failure in two minutes." Announced the computer.

"Where is Lieutenant Smith?" asked Reed.

"She and two other engineers are at the warp core. They are trying to take control in their own way."

Reed and Reming ran over to the warp core control system. Reming was shocked at what he saw. There, Lt. Smith and two other officers stood at equal distances from each other around the core. All three were motionless, with both palms down on the control panel in front of them. All three looked like they were in a trance.

"Oh, she's communing with the warp core systems." Reming shot a look of confusion at Reed. She attempted to explain again. "She and the others are using their minds to gain control of the ship's systems."

Reming looked back at the three. The warp drive continued churning away. The hum was getting louder and louder. Then the ship rocked and rumbled.

"Complete warp core containment failure in one minute." Announced the computer voice.

An ensign shouted over the noise to the Commander, "We are reaching warp nine. The hull is beginning to buckle."

"Whatever they're doing, it's not working. Has anybody tried to eject the core into space?"

The same ensign replied. "We can't. Those systems are not responding either."

"We have to do something. Commander, where are the new power transfer control systems located?"

"Over there. The control systems are hard wired to those conduits there." She said, pointing to a large network of glowing tubes and circuits.

"Complete warp core containment failure in thirty seconds." Announced the computer voice.

Reming then ran over to a nearby compartment and opened it. Inside were two phasers. He picked up one and pointed it at the conduit. Reming pulled the trigger.

Reed shouted "No!" and knocked Reming's arm. The phaser burst missed Reming's target and struck a nearby bulkhead, vaporizing it. The sudden depressurization caused the entire ship to change its attitude. The sudden change in atmosphere in engineering forced many to fall to the floor. Some lost consciousness. Only seconds had passed before the emergency force fields took the place of the missing bulkhead.

Reming pulled himself off the floor and spoke. "What's our status?"

Reed managed to stagger to a working control panel to search for an answer. "We've stopped. The sudden loss of pressure in engineering caused the emergency shut-down procedures to kick in. The warp drive is completely shut down."

As she spoke, the conscious crewmembers tended to the injured and unconscious.

"Good. I guess we're safe for now." Reming said.

Reed, now reliving the previous events, glared at Reming. "What the hell were you thinking? You were about to blow that power conduit!"

Reming is taken back by the Commander's attack. "I thought that would cut the power to the control systems - removing the system conflict."

"That's a secondary plasma conduit. If you opened it, plasma would have filled the compartment. You could have gotten us all killed!"

"Someone had to try something. The ship was about to blow up anyway."

"Captain! Commander! Over here. It's Lt. Smith!" Shouted another officer.

Both Reed and Reming moved over to the officer's location. There they found the officer down on one knee beside an unconscious Lieutenant Smith.

"What's wrong with her?" Asked Reming

Reed knelt beside the fallen lieutenant. "Her sudden mental disconnection from the warp systems must have been too much for her body to handle. She's in shock." Said Reed. "The other two look the same." Said Reed, referring to the other two officers that were communing with the warp core with Smith.

Reming hit his comm. badge. "Medical team to Engineering." He shouted.

"Reming to Bridge. Where are we?"

The filtered voice of Ensign Smith replied. "We are approximitly two light years from where we should be."

"How long will it take to get us back to Earth?"

"We don't have warp drive. At full impulse, about three years."

"What?" shouted Reming.

"Huh?" Over the communication link could be heard the voice of Parks disagreeing with Smith. "Oh, sorry Captain. I mean about three days."

"That's better. Set course for Earth's moon. Full impulse."

"Ready, sir." Ensign smith answered.

"Enga-." Reming is interrupted by Smith.

"Hey Captain, may I ask what just happened? We're reading a hull breach up here. Is my sister all right?"

"Uh...She's...she's all right. She's going to be fine. You have your orders, Ensign?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Engage."

Immediately the ship started moving again, but now at a much slower rate than before.

While the conversation was taking place, Tedmoore and his two assistants arrived at Engineering. His assistants began attending to the injured. Doctor Tedmoore walked over to Lt. Smith and began scanning her with his medical tri-corder.

"The sudden disconnection was a shock to her system. I need to get her and the others to sickbay. He then tapped his comm. badge and spoke out loud. "Four to transport directly to sickbay." Seconds later a transporter beam enveloped the doctor and his three unconscious patients.

Reming turned to Reed. "We need to get the warp drive back on line. How long will it take to get our original power transfer system reinstalled?"

"I think about three hours."

"Good. Get started. I'm going up to sickbay. When you've got things under control down here, meet me in my ready room. We've got things to discuss."

Act Four

Captain Reming walked into Sickbay. There he found the three unconscious engineers lying on the only three bio-beds present. Doctor Tedmoore was running tests on Lt. Smith when Reming arrived.

"Tell me, Doctor. What is going on here on this ship?"

The Tedmoore glanced up at Reming and then went back to tending the lieutenant. Without looking at Reming, he began to speak. "Only one day as captain and you already damage the ship. You're better than I thought."

"I want some answers." Demanded Reming.

It's a new technology developed by Star Fleet. A cybernetic chip connected to the mid-brain."

"What's its purpose?"

"It allows a crewmember to control key ship systems using their thoughts. Star Fleet developed it from Borg and Dominion technology. We believed that a crew controlling a ship with their thoughts alone would increase response times. Such a ship would have an edge over an attacker in battle."

"Does it work?"

Doctor Tedmoore looked up at Reming. "It works too well." He them turned his attention back to the lieutenant. "The others should be fine in a few hours. However, Smith's chip was severely overloaded. I hope I can save her."

"Why don't you remove it? Remove the chip!"

"I can't! Once it's connected to the brain, it cannot be removed." He then moved to the head of the bed and placed a device over her forehead.

"Once the warp core is back on line, we can take her back to Earth. We can beam her down to the Star Fleet medical center. Perhaps they can help her."

"No. That would kill her too."

"What? Why?"

"As I said, the chip works too well. Once someone with the chip is able to commune with any ship system, a symbiotic bond forms between that person and ship. Consequently, that person cannot spend more than a few days off the ship. If she leaves the ship, she dies."

"So if a crewman tried to have the damn thing removed, the crewman dies. If the crewman tries to leave the ship, the crewman dies. Those kinds of risks are not acceptable, Doctor."

"Look!" Tedmore said, slamming his hand down hard on the side of the bed. "Star Fleet is willing to take these risks, Captain! The war is not going that well. It needed to be tried."

"How many?"

Acting confused, Tedmoore replied. "I don't understand."

Reming merely repeated his question. "How many?"

"Oh. Most of the senior staff only. Lieutenant Parks and Ensign Smith. His sister here, of course. Down in engineering: Lieutenants Terry and Masters."

"Not Commander Reed?"

"No. In case something went wrong we decided to have at least one bridge officer on board with out the chip."

"Last question, Doctor." Reming spoke that last word with distaste. "Why wasn't I told?"

"I suppose you should bring that up with the Admiral. He selected you."

"I want to hear it from you."

"Well to put it bluntly, you are not the brightest student to graduate Star Fleet Academy."

"That's the second time today I've heard that." Interrupted Reming.

Without acknowledging Remings comment, Tedmoore continued. "And you are young and naive. Star Fleet finds that officers like you take orders the best. For those reasons, you were selected."

"I can be controlled, you mean."

"That's not true, Captain. We wanted someone who can think on their feet. A leader, not a puppet."

Reming ignored the Doctor's last statement. "I would like to state for the medical record that I feel this great advancement in science is wrong. Treating this crew as lab rats trapped in a flying Skinner Box for the rest of their natural lives violates the civil rights granted every Federation citizen."

"Great speech." Tedmoore said sarcastically. "Your statement is duly noted."

"Will Lieutenant Smith survive?"

Tedmoore looked down at his patient. "Yes. The treatment seems to be working. In a day or so she'll be fine."

The filtered voice of Commander Reed filled the Sickbay. "Captain, we have completed the repairs to the warp drive."

"Fine. I'll meet you on the bridge." said Reming.

"Will that be all, sir?" Tedmoore asked.

"For now."

Reming turned and stormed out of the Sickbay. He made the trip onto the turbo lift without even realizing it. As the lift headed for the bridge, Reming went over the whole episode he just had with Tedmoore. He wasn't sure what upset him more: what Star Fleet was doing here or the fact that he was kept in the dark. Once the lift doors opened to the bridge, Reming had decided on a course of action.

"Commander, are we ready to get underway?" Asked Reming as he stepped onto the bridge.

"Yes sir."

Without missing a stride he made his way to his ready room. The entrance to the office was located to the right of the helm station. "Good. Helm, Set course for Earth. Warp Six."

"Setting course for Earth. Aye sir."

"Do it." At once, the ship jumped into warp.

Reming took two steps into the ready room for the first time. A second or two later, he turned back and stuck his head out the open doorway. "Commander...uh...come in here, please."

At that, the Commander left her seat and entered the Captain's office. Parks stood up from his seat and assumed to role of commanding bridge officer until Reed or Reming returned.

***

The office was plane. No creature comforts were present. Only two chairs and desk. On top of the desk sat a computer terminal. When Reed entered, Reming was just sitting down behind the desk.

"Commander, sit down."

Reed did so.

"Let's talk freely here. Off the record." All Reed could do was nod. "First of all..." Reming took a breath and slowed things down a little before continued. "How long have you known? How long have you known this mind control business Star Fleet is testing on this crew?"

Reed was taken back by Reming's question. "About the communing? For as long as I've been on board. About three years. Like you, I was offered a quick promotion out of the Academy. When I got here, the tests were just starting. The Doctor Tedmoore was implanting the chips into Parks, Carol Smith and her brother."

"Why did they agree to it?"

"Well they too were offered quick promotions and an assignment on a starship if they went along."

"And you said Doctor Tedmoore performed the surgery?"

"Surgery? I was hardly surgery. The chip itself is microscopic. All the Doctor needed to do was place the chip onto exposed skin. After that, the chip itself enters the body and uses the blood stream to make it to the brain. The whole process takes only a matter of minutes. Once the process is complete, the individual doesn't feel any different. Not until the bond with the ship if formed does the individual know anything has changed."

"But the risks. I can't believe anyone would agree to be part of this."

"I don't think anybody knew the risks until after the test were started. Once the experiments got underway, it was too late. This is all in the report the Admiral gave you, isn't it?"

"No it isn't. The Admiral didn't tell me anything."

"You joking. I thought you knew from the beginning. And then on the bridge when we left orbit, you didn't say anything. I was sure you knew."

"I should have said something to you then. It was a mistake. As it turned out, I played right into the their hands."

"Captain, we've reached Earth." Came the filtered voice of Ensign Smith.

"Good. Take us out of warp and put us in orbit." Replied the captain. He turned his attention back to Reed. "I plan to confront Admiral Thompson. I would like you to be present when I do."

Reed nodded. "What are planning to say to him?" She asked.

"I have no idea. I guess I'll wing it. Computer, get me Admiral Thompson. His office is at Star Fleet Academy."

Moments later, the face of Admiral Thompson appeared on Reming's computer terminal.

"Good evening, Admiral."

With a fake smile, the Admiral spoke. "Hello Captain Reming. Good to see you, son. I understand you had quite a trip."

"Quite a trip? You mean with the warp drive? But how did you know?" Reming looked at Reed a moment then back at the screen. The light bulb went off in his head. "Ah! The good Doctor must have told you. He's been keeping you informed all along. Hasn't he?"

"It's not quite that cloak and dagger that you make it out to be, Captain, but yes. He's kept me up to date."

"I'd also like to commend you on your thoroughness, sir."

"Hum?"

"You went all out to keep me out of the loop for as long as possible. Deleting files from the ships computer remotely was quite a feat."

"Not really, son. Rank has its privileges."

"Why didn't you tell me about what's happing here, sir?"

"Well, that's simple. If I had told you what the primary experiment on board was, would have taken the assignment?"

"I don't know."

"I do know. You would not have, Captain. That's what it all boils down to. That's why I did what I did."

"I could blow the whistle. I could go to Star Fleet Command and tell them everything I could tell them about the experiments and how I was treated."

"Go ahead. But it won't do any good. Son, the communing chip and the experiments are no secret to Star Fleet. It's not a secret to the Federation offices for that matter. I'm not saying that the way things have been handled so far haven't been a source of embarrassment to Star Fleet. More experiments in the lab would have been done if we knew the risks before hand.

"And as far as you've been treated, well what can I say. You were my last choice for the job. I told all my other selections up front about the communing experiment. Once they heard, they all turned me down. Star Fleet wouldn't allow me to order anybody to take the job. So I decided to trick you. I'm sorry for that. But it worked. And Star Fleet Command was just glad I finally filled the spot."

"And what about my predecessor?"

"I told you. Captain Peterson was killed in battle."

For the first time, Reed spoke up. "Umm, excuse me, sir. That's not completely true. I learned from the doctor that he died en route to battle. He had the chip in him as well. Once he was off the Tree Weasel, the symbiotic bond was severed. He died five days after leaving here."

Reming was infuriated. "Another lie, Admiral?"

"The Doctor felt that Peterson would establish a new bond with his new ship. He didn't."

Reming barely heard the Admiral's answer. He was now thinking of the long handshake with the Doctor when they first met. It is possible the doctor passed a chip to him at that moment? "Admiral, do I have it to? Is there a chip in my head as well? Is that how you plan to keep me here?"

The admiral took a long time to answer. "No. You don't have one inside you. We decided against it." The admiral decided to change the subject a little. "Look, I'm going to spare you the 'we need you' speech. You wanted a command, Captain. And now you got it. Will that be all? If it is, then I advise you to head for the ship yards. It looks to me like you're in need of repairs."

"A name change." Said Reming.

"What?"

"This ship will no longer be treated as the joke of the fleet. I want the ship's name changed."

"I just can't grant a ship's name change."

"Oh come now, Admiral. Rank has it's privileges. If the nature kick is the way to go, then I suggest the name 'USS Condor'.

The Admiral gave a steely look to Reming before answering. "Fine."

Once the screen went blank, Reed turned to Reming. "Excellent job, Captain Reming."