Stardate 52036.5 Oblokoni'Slyt Enoz stood on the bridge, watching the stars on the viewscreen glide by in streaks. It was 0300 in the morning, and she had the bridge night shift. Regulations stipulated that the shifts be rotated equally among senior officers, but Captain Winston had allowed Enoz to carry many of the night shifts. She enjoyed doing them, because there was little to do but think. She could fulfill a command obligation and devote brain time to her ambitious project involving interspecies procreation in her home system. Her sleep cycle was very different than that of most humanoids, allowing her to cover two, sometimes three nights in a row. It was against regs, but Captain Mason had continued Winston's policy. Nice boring night shifts, except tonight. Normally she'd sit in the XO's chair on her shift, rather than the Captain's. Ming's seat was a little more uncomfortable, and Enoz could concentrate better. Also, though she was not at all superstitious, she didn't like the Captain's chair. She had no personal problems with the Captain, and he'd done nothing wrong so far as she could tell, but she felt very eerie about him. Since Mason had come aboard, Reman had disappeared, several decks were blown off, renegade Cardassians had murdered Doctor L’vant, dozens of science, medical and engineering personal were dead or MIA, including Carter...and the list went on. An independent Starbase investigation had pinned most of the happenings on Enoz's former friend, Lieutenant Kalamarina, whose body was en route to Vulcan. Her death was a mysterious end to mystifying events. Enoz hated Command for pushing paperwork through like that on Kal, but with the war, it wasn't important to them. It was different under Winston. Enoz and Syxx had watched as friends had died, disappear or change. The only one really left was Ming, and she had grown distant in order to maintain her professional relationship with the new CO. Enoz wasn't sitting because Ming and Mason were in the Ready Room. She couldn't imagine what they were up to this late at night. She had already read through the war updates, hoping for some insight from Dominion weapons or technology to get her stalled project going again. Desperate for distraction, she addressed the computer. "Is Mr. Syxx still up, computer?" "Please specify relative origin of geometry to determine spacial orientation of stated individual." One of Enoz's eyes blinked in dismay. "Computer, where is Syxx?" "Main Engineering." Enoz thumped her PADD against her leg twice and then tapped her commbadge. "Syxx, why are you still up?" "Enoz! How delightful to hear from you. We're trying to get engine efficiency up but we're missing an officer. Bruder hasn't answered my comm calls and there's no sensor information on her. Can you have Security initiate a search?" "In the middle of the night? With their lack of personnel? I'll inform the Captain, Syxx. He can decide." "Mason?! He'll just get the rest of them killed!" Shocked looks from the bridge crew convinced Enoz to cut the channel immediately. She stepped over and pressed the doorchime to the ready room. She stuck her head in the door and informed Mason and Ming of the situation. Mason merely sipped his drink and said "I'll handle it, I know who she's with." but he didn't move. Enoz glanced at Ming, who also didn't move. Enoz then just left. Sitting at the science station, it occurred to her that Mason was probably sending Ensign White to take care of it, and that Ming knew so in advance. Enoz understood the need for an XO to back the CO, especially in times of war, but if Ming had been influenced that much.... ***************** Ensign White clambered through the Jeffries tubes of the Equinox, swearing to herself. This wasn't the relationship she was supposed to be having with Mason. His son shows up and now she has to find him and Bruder? Her tricorder beeped, signaling weak life signs further down the tube. She crawled slowly, noting the rise in humidity and temperature. White peered around a corner and then whipped her phaser out. Lopez was laying still on a grate, beside-she blinked twice-Carter?! White scrambled to check on both of them when Lopez begin to rise, partially assimilated. She was going to fire her phaser when both Lopez and Carter were beamed out... ***************** The individual assumed to be Mason's son grinned to himself as he manipulated the transporter controls in a cargo bay. He scanned the two patterns in the buffer, one Borg, one in the process of assimilation. The drone, Carter, was of no use to him; he'd only get in the way of everything. Lopez on the other hand, was at a point where nanoprobes might could be rewritten. The impostor rematerialized Carter in a plasma vent, where he was instantly vaporized. Lopez's pattern was stored in a secure file. The impostor hoped that the transport of those two would keep Mason and White busy for a while, at least not long enough to bother him. Posing as the Captain's son had gotten him aboard, and now he could proceed. Reman had wronged him on a business deal very badly once, and the Ferengi would pay for it with his life and his latinum. The impostor strolled out of the cargo bay to began his search. Etely lay slumped behind a cargo container with a strange mark on her forehead.