Stardate 52011.2

Captain Mason sat at the senior officers' table.  Almost everyone had 
arrived for the dinner he had decided to hold for the crew.  Holodeck 8 
was used since it was the only Holodeck large enough for everyone.  
Tonight it had taken on the form of an elaborate dining room, the kind 
you'd expect to see in a 19th century mansion.  Holographic waiters 
had almost finished serving everyone.  The crew was seated mainly by 
department.  All Starfleet personnel were in their dress uniforms, 
civilians in their best evening wear.  Mason looked around the table.  
Lieutenant Carter was sitting to his left.  He'd spoken with Carter 
a couple of times, and he seemed very laid back for a security chief.  
Unusual, but Winston relied on him and Mason decided to withhold any 
judgments until he saw his work performance.  Carter was talking to the 
chief engineer, Lieutenant Commander Syxx.  Both Carter and Syxx had 
served together on the Equinox for several years.  Mr. Syxx is one of 
the few Bolians on the ship.  He had blue skin and the characteristic 
Bolian ridge down the center of his face, and like all males of his race, 
no hair.  His race known for being perceptive and dependable, and Syxx 
had a good deal of engineering experience.  He made sure the upgrades to 
the deflector were completed quickly and the ship left spacedock on 
schedule, putting him in good favor with the new Captain already.  Next to 
Syxx was the Conn officer, Lieutenant Elea.  Mason was fascinated to have 
Elea on board.  He knew why she was here, Starfleet didn't want it's 
newest achievement anywhere near the warzone, and the Equinox's mission 
would be taking it safely away from the Dominion war.  He had read about 
the Elea project and was most interested by the fact that studies of Borg 
technology had proven extremely useful in her design.  "About time we 
assimilated a little of their technology," he thought to himself.  She 
wasn't talking as much as the rest of the officers were.  He noted that 
she seemed nervous about being at a dinner with the senior officers, a 
big contrast to Lt. Carter's overly relaxed attitude.  Also at the table 
was the Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Mull.  Mull Valen was 
his full name, a Bajoran who had just transferred to the ship.  Mason 
didn't know much about Mull, but he'd heard that he was a little 
resentful about being on a ship so far away from the war.  That wasn't 
surprising since the Cardassians were such a big part of the conflict.  
Most Bajorans were worried about the possibility of Bajor falling to the 
Cardassians again.  However, if he was resentful he didn't show it, 
and Mason hadn't seen any transfer requests from him.  Mull was talking 
to Carter and Syxx, but kept an eye on Elea the whole time.  Mason had no 
idea why, maybe he was fascinated by the technology behind her, too, or 
maybe it was just her appearance.  Starfleet had made her very attractive.  
The Captain looked up as the doors to the Holodeck opened, and the first 
officer walked in.  She and Doctor L'vant were the only officers who 
hadn't arrived yet.  Commander Rebecca Ming strolled over to the senior 
officers' table, smiling and waving to a few of the crew members as she 
walked by.  Mason had talked with her more than any of the rest of the 
crew since he came on board, and found her somewhat flamboyant.  She had 
a certain integrity to her, though, and kept a professional attitude 
toward work, and like the rest of the crew that served under him, 
Winston seemed to rely on her.  Tonight her hair was curled and more 
elaborately styled than usual.  As she walked up Syxx said, "Fashionably 
late, Commander?"  Ming smiled, "Would you expect any less from me, Mr. 
Syxx?  Oh, and I'm off duty so it's Becky, not Commander.  I guess I 
missed the appetizers, how were they?"  Mull answered first, "All very 
good."  Carter then said, "The caviar wasn't very good."  Mull looked at 
him, "It wasn't that bad."  Ming looked over at Elea, "How about you, 
Elea?  Enjoying everything?"  Elea answered quickly, "Yes sir, I am."  
Ming smiled, "Becky, remember?  I'm off duty."  Elea apologized, trying 
not to look as nervous as she was, "Sorry sir," she grinned, "I mean 
Becky."  Ming nodded, "Don't worry about it, sweetie.  You'll get the 
hang of things in no time."  Mason interrupted, "Has anyone seen 
Doctor L'vant?"  Syxx looked at the empty chair then back to Mason, "I 
talked to her just before I came here.  She may have just gotten held 
up."  Mason said, "Go see what's keeping her if you would, Mr. Syxx," 
he laughed to himself, "Tell her her food's getting cold."  Syxx smiled 
and left the Holodeck.  Ming took the initiative in the conversation as 
usual, "So, James.  How are all those new recruits they assigned you 
shaping up?"  Carter took a drink of his wine and replied, "They still 
need to work on their target practice, but fine so far."  Mull said, 
"I never saw the need for all that target practice when the weapons fire 
energy streams instead of projectiles.  If you miss, just move the 
phaser stream over to where it needs to be."  Carter said, "True, but 
there's still no replacement for . . " he was interrupted by the beep of 
the Captain's communicator.  Syxx was on the other end.  "Syxx to Mason."  
"Mason here."  "Captain, I found Doctor L'vant.  She's dead."