I was reminded just now, as I re-read it, that there are some pretty fun bits in here, though, and since the story itself is too specialized to be readily recycled, I think I'll toss a few of the choicer bits in here over the next few days.

In this first one, Kei has turned up at an impromptu-task-force rendezvous with the Intrepid, the "modern-capability starship that looks like a Mk I Connie" special-ops sleeper ship mentioned waaaay back in the ancient WDF Technical Readout (an idea I had 15 or so years before such a thing actually turned up as a playable ship in Star Trek Online), a bit to Gryphon's surprise, as there hasn't been enough time since he put out the call for her to recruit a crew of the size required to operate such a vessel:

	Kei pivoted in the center seat and grinned.
	"Weren't expecting to see me, were you?" she asked.
	Gryphon laughed.  "No, I wasn't at that," he said.  "Where'd
you ever find a crew for this old beast on such short notice?"
	"Well, all I really had to find was a command staff, and with
everybody hanging around waiting for B5 to be ready, that wasn't
hard," she said, patting a metal box bolted to one arm of the conn.
"Our old friend technology handles the rest."  She flipped a toggle
switch on the box, causing a green light to flash, and said briskly,
"M5 terminal link."
	A booming metallic voice replied from the conn's intercom
speaker, "M5."
	"Ship's status?"
	"ALL SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL.  ALERT STATUS GREEN.  M5 STANDING
BY," the voice replied.
	Gryphon blinked.
	"You can't be serious," he said at length, but Kei only
grinned.
	"M5, system status?"
	"M5 MULTITRONIC UNIT FEELING MUCH BETTER NOW," the computer
replied without hesitation.
	Kei nodded.  "OK, stand by."
	"M5," the M5 acknowledged.  Kei switched off the interlink
unit.
	"M5 and I have an understanding," she said to Gryphon's
continuing baffled look.  "It involves him doing what he's told and me
not popping down to Engineering to explain my point of view with an
axe."

--G.
"LOOK, KEI, I CAN SEE YOU'RE REALLY UPSET ABOUT THIS. I HONESTLY THINK YOU OUGHT TO SIT DOWN CALMLY, TAKE A STRESS PILL, AND THINK THINGS OVER."
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.