Dr. David Fergerson was pleased at how his first dinner party aboard the Alliance was coming along. He had a small cooking unit atop a table and was preparing the finishing touches to his oriental orange duck. Tonight he would serve Plomeek soup, Bajoran noodles and the duck. For dessert, Betazed chocolate soufflé. He wanted to make a good impression on his shipmates.

Of course he had already met them, but that was on official duty. He knew that you couldn't really know a person by just observing them on duty. He read their basic Starfleet bios and knew a little bit about all of them. Maxine Taggert had him the most concerned. How would she react to him? It surprised him that she had even agreed to come, even though she had to leave early. From what he could gather she had scheduled an early retreat on purpose. But, the others seemed to be really nice people. He would have to be careful around Cam too, but not for the same reasons as Maxine. Cam had recently undergone a tremendous change with her soul or spirit exchanging bodies with a Vulcan! Imagine that. Well, he'd had plenty of experience dealing with Vulcans since his second wife was full Vulcan. His two kids might as well be full Vulcans as they had decided to ignore their Terran half. Just as well.

"Don't think of them tonight, Dave," he chided himself. "Tonight will be a very enjoyable evening."

The door chimed and he crossed from the dining table to answer it. He smiled warmly as the door opened to reveal the Chief of Security, Jesse Sanchez, and Cam MacLaughlin. They both had funny looks on their faces as if the door's opening had interrupted something. Dave mentally shrugged and said, " Come in! Welcome to my humble abode, Jesse, Cam. You are looking lovely tonight Cam. Jess, I see you are bearing gifts."

Jesse shifted the small cask under his arm

Dave reached out and too it from him, "Let me put this over here for you." He took the cask down on the black bar and turned back to his guests, "Cam, what can I get for you to drink? Maybe a Vulcan spring wine perhaps? Jess, beer?"

Cam looked a bit sheepish and replied, "Ehh well. I was really just thirsty for a Terran Coke Cola if you have one."

"That's not a problem," Dave nodded with a smile.

Jesse nodded and said, "Yeah I'll take whatever's cold." He glanced at Cam who was plucking uncomfortably at the heavy black velvet skirt she wore. It nearly touched the ankles of her soft black boots. Her glossy blue black hair was simply clasped at the back of her neck, covering her ears. The red silk shirt was dusky in the light of the Doctors quarters. He sighed wondering at her peevish mood and stretched his arms. He wore his old Forty-niners shirt, a comfortable pair of old blue jeans and a pair of boat shoes that he kept around for wearing on Iggy's boats. They were scuffed and tattered, worn and comfortable. He was going to be comfortable tonight, no question. It was the first real opportunity to relax with his on board companions in a long time.

Dave went to retrieve him the beer and Jess studied the hair. Blond long, flowing. Not Jesse personal style, although he had thought of having a wrapped queue put in his own, just to be different.

"Thanks," he replied as Dave went over to the refrigerator. The black tunic and soft pants were not Jesse style either, preferring that flowing fabric be worn by women.

"Are we too early?" he wonder politely noting that the others, Marlin, Taggert, Forrester and Sinclair were not here yet.

Dave assured him, "No, you are right on time. A coke and an Old English Ale, Jess?

Wonderful." The doctor continued to prepare the drinks, getting out glasses and ordering the Coke form the replicator. He pulled a beer out of the fridge and poured it into a tall pilsner glass. He rounded the bar and handed the drinks to his guests, "I'm so glad you decided to come tonight. Captain Forrester said he would drop by but can't stay for dinner, I'm sorry to say. And Lt. Cmdr. Taggert says she has scheduled an engineering drill for later tonight, but she will be by for dinner. So, how do you like my quarters?"

Cam glanced around the black, white and gold themed room with the tall plants and belongings. "It appears that you have managed to get settled in quite quickly," she remarked.

Jesse snorted and rolled his eyes at the ceiling, "Seems like I'm still unpacking."

Cam sighed, "Oh Com'mon, your more settled then I! Give me a break. You know if you didn't have your brother Iggy holding half your stuff back on Earth..."

Jesse shot her a peeved look, "Better there than here. Anyway Doc, how are you finding your staff? I mean this is assignment is different then a base. I found that when I took my first shipboard assignment.

Dave held up a finger, "Actually Jess, this is my third shipboard assignment. I served on the Magellan and the Trieste. But that was six years ago. While I love being on a starbase, I have always craved to get back on board a ship. It was an unexpected pleasure when Dr. Montgomery decided to switch jobs with me, I can tell you! I jumped at the opportunity. And I can say that I am beginning to fit in quite nicely now. My staff is a good one and Mira left medbay in good shape. The only thing is, I find I have a lot more time on my hands now. Starbase 114 is such a large facility that the infirmary is always full. While here, there is not that much to do. So, I have been pulling a 12 hour shift so far and I find that I like that. However, if things pick up, I may go back to the regular six hour shift."

"Twelve?" Cam shot him a raised eyebrow. "I suppose it makes sense trying to learn a new department, new staff and all. I remember doing that."

The door chimed again and the doctor excused himself.

Cam glanced at Jesse who was looking at her with a frown. "You really don't want to do this do you?" he whispered.

"No," she sighed. "Actually I don't. I don't enjoy being put on the spot. Not now."

"You worry too much," he observed.

"What of it?" she shook her head.

"Well you're in a fine mood."

"I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, that's all," she whispered sharply.

Jesse responded by rolling his eyes.

Maxine Taggert stood outside the doctor's quarters nervously glancing at her chronometer. She had timed her arrival precisely, hoping not to be the first to arrive, nor the last. Social situations were usually quite uncomfortable for her and her usual strategy was to make an appearance, sum up the situation and if she then felt uncomfortable, make a hasty exit at the earliest possible moment. But this situation was different. She didn't like the things she had heard about Dr. Fergerson and was only attending his party because she was expected to as a member of the senior staff. She didn't like or respect womanizing men and the Alliance's new doctor had quite a few notches on his belt from what she'd heard. She smiled to herself briefly knowing she had the situation well in hand, her escape plans were all laid out.

Suddenly, the door slid open in response to her hail. At first she was so lost in thought that the door's movement startled her but then she sucked in her breath involuntarily when her host came into full view.

"Good evening, Commander," Dave offered with a smile. "I'm glad you could make it. Won't you come in?" He stepped aside and waved his arm grandly, beckoning her to enter.

For once Lt. Cmdr. Maxine Taggert was speechless. There standing before her was the image of man who had just stepped out of a 20th century romance novel. His long flowing hair and loosely fitting attire was alluring and sensual. Her first reaction was to turn and run for her life but with a great effort she got hold of herself and answered, though she could not yet make her feet move.

"Good evening, Doctor. Thank you for inviting me, " she heard her voice say coolly. She leaned forward to take a peek inside and heard Cam's and Jesse's voices in muffled conversation. A sense of great relief flooded over her and she moved stiffly past her host and entered his compartment.

"Hello Maxine," Cam called out as she entered. Jesse gave a nod of recognition at the same time.

"Good evening," she answered.

"May I get you a drink?" the doctor offered.

"I'll be on duty soon. I'd appreciate a cup of black coffee," she answered , tugging at her uniform nervously.

"Coming right up." Dave strode off quickly to fulfill her request.

Maxine moved closer to Cam. She rolled her eyes taking in her surroundings and the doctor's retreating form, then leaned closer to Cam's ear. "Can you believe this???"

"What?" Cam asked innocently.

"This!" Maxine answered with a sweep of her arm.

"I think it's quite elegant," Jesse piped up mischievously.

Maxine fixed him with a killer look. "I wasn't addressing YOU!" she said emphatically.

Jesse feigned a wounded expression. "Sorry. I thought this was a free republic and everyone had a voice."

Maxine ignored him and pressed on, turning back to Cam. "The place is so...so...un Starfleet and the man is wearing PAJAMAS!!"

"I hardly think that he's wearing....."Cam began but was cut off in mid sentence by Dave's return.

"Here you go, Commander. I hope you like the blend. It's a very special Terran brew."

Maxine took the steaming mug from the doctor's hands. His fingers brushed the backs of her hands and she was shocked to find herself tremble at his touch. "Th...thank you," she stammered.

The door chime sounded again. "Excuse me." Dave turned and started back towards the door to greet his new arrivals.

Marlin Robins had been looking forward to this evening. Ever since his daughter Sarin had gone to the academy, he spent too many evenings with a replicated plate of food that was so nondescript he would have been hard pressed to tell anyone what he had eaten five minutes later. He knew Jess and Cam would be here, they were always good company, and Maxine Taggert could be fun if they could loosen her up just a little.

"Evening Dave, mmmm...smells good," Marlin said appreciatively as he stepped inside and caught a waft of simmering foods. He held up the Bolian wine he had brought to share and then gave an impressed whistle as he spotted Dave's own extensive wine collection, beautifully displayed in environmentally controlled cases. "Dave, now THAT is a collection!"

"Thanks, when you said you collected wines I knew you would appreciate some of these. And this," Dave read the label of the bottle he took from Robins, "this is a very nice find. From the Dlossen region?"

Marlin's smile grew, "Yep, before the blight of thirty-four." Marlin greeted Jess, Cam, and Maxine as he moved to take a seat near the engineer. She looked nervous for some reason. Maybe Jess had been teasing her again. He should know by now that Maxine had no sense of humor, Marlin thought. But Dave seemed like the perfect host, so maybe she would relax as dinner progressed.

Again the door signal sounded. "That must be the Captain." ---

In stepped Commander Rebecca Sinclair and Counselor Antos Bek. Rebecca was wearing a floor length deep purple skirt with a light purple, long-sleeved blouse. Her hair was down and lay softly on her shoulders.

Antos wore dark blue slacks and an off white shirt.

"Welcome, welcome!" said Dave, as he shook Antos's hand and gently raised Rebecca's hand to his lips and softly kissed the back of it. "My, you look lovely tonight, Rebecca."

Rebecca looked to Antos, who was smiling. "Thank you David."

"Call me Dave. David is so formal. Now, what shall I get you two to drink?"

"Anything for me," said Antos, heading over to talk with Jesse and Cam.

"Anything is fine," said Rebecca.

Dave went to get their drinks and came back with a Bajoran spring wine for Antos, and a deep, rich burgundy for Rebecca.

"This is very good," said Rebecca after sipping the wine.

"It's from the Picard vineyards on Earth," said Dave. "One of my favorites"

Rebecca turned to the black and gold bar where several glasses stood along with a large bucket of ice. Above the bar were four sketches of women; three were alien, one Terran.

"Nice portraits," she commented.

"Thank you. Those are my former wives."

"Really?"

"You seem surprised."

"Well, it's not often that a man chooses to display pictures of his ex-wives."

"Maybe not. But they are all wonderful ladies. Each unique and beautiful

in their own way." He said, remembering.

Rebecca sensed that this man still cared for his exes. Sensitive, she decided. Very good for a doctor.

"The artist? A local one?" She stepped closer to try and see the signature on the pictures. "D. Fergerson?" She turned to Dave. "You?"

He smiled. "Guilty. It's a hobby of mine."

"You are very talented. You managed to capture such vitality in their eyes."

"Thank you. Perhaps I could sketch you sometime?"

"Oh, well, I'm not one for setting still," she said, nervously. Being alone with Dave seemed like a dangerous idea to her just now. Not because of anything he might do, but it had been a long time since she had been in the company of such a charming man and well, she WAS still married.

"Please, think about it. It wouldn't take long."

"All right, I'll think about it.," she said, knowing it would probably be the ONLY thing she thought about that night.

The door chimed. "Now THIS must be the captain," said Dave. "Excuse me."

"Doctor, sorry if I'm late," said Captain Forrester as he looked around the room.

"Not at all, Captain. Come in."

Captain Forrester greeted everyone in the room. "Sorry I can't stay for dinner, doctor, but duty calls."

"I understand. Duty calls for more than one tonight it seems," he said, glancing towards Maxine.

"Can I get you a synthahol?" he asked.

"That would be fine," said Marcus.

Cam skeptically glanced at Jesse who was talking with Marlin and the Captain in soft tones. She looked again at the pictures which she hadn't really noticed before.

What was it about this charged atmosphere? She looked again at Maxine who had move near Rebecca. Something was defiantly up with Maxine. She was seeing something in the engineers eyes and she wasn't quite sure what. Cam speculated with a blink, was Maxine of all people somehow like, attracted to this guy?

She looked at the men and they appeared rather relaxed except that there was something in Jesse eyes as well. But what? He almost looked slightly angry. Well he had been rather moody lately. She felt funny about the whole thing.

She looked again at Dave. What a piece of work! Portraits of his ex wives? What were they, trophies of some sort? And his slick charm? Mentally she cringed. He was not her type. Something rubbed her wrong. Too many years of too many slick men? Xavier could do it and Scott certainly did (the jerk).

Thank heavens he didn't try the old kiss the hand trick with her, although if he had done it to Max the reaction could have been priceless! Becca could do the grace thing and pull it off well. Becca was naturally a charming person.

Cam moved next to Jesse and sipped her Coke. She shivered slightly under the silk of her full sleeved peasant shirt. Silk was not a warm fabric and she should have remembered that. She was always cold though. On duty she wore her jacket all the time. The ship's temperature was set for Terran normal not Vulcan normal which was about 20 degrees F. higher.

The men were discussing some holodeck program as Dave brought the Captain his synthahol.

Rebecca and Max moved in to close the circle. ---------------------------------------------

On a lower deck, Lt. (jgs) Vella (Hyper) Nor and Audra McKay were sharing a gooey pizza in the Junior Officer's Lounge. Audra smiled and eased back in her chair. "Do you think the good doctor's guests have arrived yet?" she asked her friend, a twinkle in her eye. Hyper smiled back. "Yes, I'm sure the festivities have started by now." Word had gotten back to the two engineers that their CO, Maxine Taggert, was planning a surprise inspection of Engineering that evening in order to make a hasty exit from the doctor's soiree. Since this was going to ruin the holodeck adventure that Hyper and Audra had cooked up they had planned a little secret payback for their CO. Working together they had tampered with the environmental controls in the pod of compartments that included the doctor's. The plan was to make things uncomfortable enough to require the return of Maxine to the very party she was trying to avoid. Nor and McKay were proud of the havoc they were going to wreak but were also wary of being caught. They had made a solemn promise not to breathe a word of what they had done to another living being and they were extremely careful to cover any tracks they might have left. Audra reached for another slice of still warm pizza and, holding it high, took a large bite. Some of the cheese oozed off onto her fingers and started to dribble down her arm onto her uniform sleeve before blopping onto her lap. She dropped the pizza slice and picked up a napkin wiping angrily at her uniform. "Oh great!! Taggert will love this at the inspection." Hyper held a finger up to her lips. "Shhhhhhhhh, we don't know about any inspection. Remember??" "Ooops, that's right." Hyper leaned forward and whispered menacingly, "Aud, we have to be extremely careful!! No more slip ups!! We can't afford it!" "OK OK, Hyper. You're right," Audra acknowledged. She was going to continue on and assure Hyper that she knew this was serious business but as she turned to look more directly at Hyper she spotted Terry Sauter, another jg, headed towards them. "Hi!" Terry called out. She finished making her way to their table and plopped unceremoniously down in an empty chair. "Can I have a piece?" she asked, eyeing the pizza remnants before them. "Sure," Audra and Hyper answered almost simultaneously. "Thanks. It looks great" She reached out and picked up a slice and took several small bites before speaking again. "So are you going to tell me about it?" Audra and Hyper exchanged confused looks. "Tell you about what?" Hyper asked innocently. "About what you two are up to. I know all about it." Terry took another bite of her pizza nonchalantly. Hyper threw a look at Audra that was as pointed as a dagger. Audra put her hands in front of her like a shield. "I swear, Hype. I never told anyone!!!!!!!", she protested. Terry looked quickly from Hyper to Audra. "It's true! Audra never told me. I figured it out myself!" Hyper turned her sights on Terry. "Just what DID you figure out?" "Well, that you and Audra must be making another one of those robot servants. I knew you got called on the carpet about that before and so I figured you were keeping it secret!" She looked worriedly at Hyper. She hadn't meant to get either Hyper or Audra upset. Audra sighed. "We aren't....." she began but was silenced by a sharp kick to her knee under the table. "Look Terry, that was pretty smart of you to figure out what we're up to, but you HAVE to promise not to tell another living soul. "Our careers could be at stake here," Hyper pleaded. Audra was momentarily confused. She could see why Hyper might want to throw Terry off the scent but to admit to doing something else that could get them in deep with their CO wasn't her choice for detouring their friend. And yet.....since they really weren't building a robot, it probably was safe. There was no evidence, just scuttlebutt and that wouldn't hold up if the gossip mongers ceased this story. Audra looked at Hyper with new respect and thought perhaps she should have been a lawyer. Terry took a deep breath. "Well, I kind of suggested to Twylla that you might be up to building another robot...." Audra adjusted her features to show extreme concern. "Terry, please. You have to convince her you were wrong, OK?" she begged. Terry nodded. "Sure. I'll tell her I checked it out and you two weren't really up to anything." She shrugged her shoulders. "I would never want to see you get in trouble because of me." Audra and Hyper exchanged looks of relief and began to relax again.

"Well, gotta go," said Terry, standing up. "I promised to meet Twylla at Jake's.

Audra and Hyper exchanged worried glances.

"Don't worry. I'll tell her you two aren't planning a robot or anything. Bye."

"That was close!" exclaimed Audra.

"Yeah, TOO close, said Hyper. "But I think we're okay for now."

---------------------------------------------------

Terry sat down at Twylla's table. "Twylla, I just talked with Hyper and Audra."

"And?"

"They're not building a robot after all. But they ARE up to something else!"

"How do you know that? Did they tell you?"

"Of course not! Well, not exactly anyway. But Audra can't keep a secret too well. I think she almost blabbed it out, but Hyper caught her with some secret signal or something. Anyway, whatever they are planning is going to happen soon, I can feel it!"

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

"Me? Absolutely NOTHING! In fact, I'm staying as far away from those two as I can until …"

"Until what?"

"Until whatever happens, happens. I don't want anyone to think I was involved in it, whatever it is. I almost got in trouble with them a few years ago and I think I've learned my lesson by now."

"Sounds safe to me. So, what do you want to eat?"

"Pizza sounds good."

-------------------------------------------------

Dave's dinner guests had all partaken of the two entrees he had prepared for them. Captain Forrester left after finishing his drink and now all were waiting for the main course.

"Dave," began Antos, "how did you managed to bring fresh ingredients aboard the ship? I am assuming you did as these Bajoran noodles and Vulcan Plomeek soup were definitely NOT replicated."

Dave smiled. "I could say, yes I did bring fresh ingredients aboard ship, but lying would not be a good way to start a friendship, now would it. And I do mean I hope to be friends with each one of you," he said. "In fact," he stood and held up his glass of wine "To friendship". He looked each of them in the eyes for a few seconds, noticing that only Maxine looked quickly away.

The raised their glasses. "To friendship," they said and clicked their glasses together.

Dave was sitting at the right end of the table with Rebecca, Antos and Maxine to his left and Marlin, Cam and Jesse to his right.

"Now, about the fresh food. This is all replicated," he said, sitting back down.

"I have Plomeek soup programmed into my replicator and it never tastes like this," exclaimed Antos.

"It's all in the mixing," explained Dave. In addition to my wine collection I have an extensive collection of spices and sauce recipes. They can make any replicated food taste like a gourmet meal."

"Obviously," remarked Rebecca.

"Thank you for your compliments," said Dave. "Now, onto the main course--duck with orange sauce!"

Maxine ate quickly and was the first one to finish. Wiping her lips with her linen napkin, she stood up. "I'm sorry everyone, but I must leave now. I have that exercise to attend to. I'll let myself out."

Dave got up too. "Nonsense, Commander. I'll escort you out. Never let a guest walk out alone," he said, coming to her.

Dave walked Maxine to the door, his hand lightly touching the middle of her back, which sent shivers up and down her spine.

"Thank you for coming, Commander. I hope we can do this again sometime?"

"Ah," Maxine looked back at the table where everyone had stopped eating and was watching them.

"I mean, all of us," said Dave, sensing her nervousness.

"Oh, sure another time. I had a nice … it was a nice … Good food. Thank you," she said as she hurried out the door.

Dave returned to his guests. "A fascinating woman, Commander Taggert," he commented.

"Ah, humm," they all mumbled with Jesse trying hard to keep a straight face until Cam's kick to the ankle helped him out.

"Please, continue with your meal," said Dave as he returned to his seat. Curiosity finally got the better of her. Cam looked at Dave, took a sip of her wine and said, "What precisely is it about Max that you find so interesting?"

Jesse glanced at her with a daring look she rolled her eyes slightly at him.

"Oh, " Dave settled back in his seat, "It just seems to me that perhaps she is, mmm, how to say this?"

"A pain the ass?" Jesse whispered into his beer.

Cam nudged him again with her toe.

Rebecca Sinclair finally over the initial shock of Dave's comment looked at the chief of security. She sighed and diplomatically said, "Its not my place to talk about someone behind their back but Yes Maxine Taggert is a multi faceted person, and to someone that doesn't know her I could see where fascinating might be a good description."

"Dave what is it you find fascinating?" Cam wondered.

"Jesse do you find her fascinating as a woman?" Dave looked at him with interest.

"No, she isn't my type, besides I think it might be fair to say that she and I don't see eye to eye on some things."

"That's too bad, I'm sorry to hear." Dave tisked, "But then you ladies agree that there is no one element that makes a man attractive, or fascinating?"

"Sure," Cam shrugged. "Antos? Its true that you can't just put a finger on the old chemistry can you?"

"No There is no cut and dry formula for it."

Cam humphed softly and drank her wine. She shivered again. She finally set her glass down, "Is it just me or is it a little chilly?"

Dave got up, "Ill check, sometimes the temperature is set lower when I go to bed, but I don't think that it would be affecting it now."

"Gee I just thought it was the wine." Cam sighed.

"You're always cold," Jesse shrugged.

"Yeah so?"

"I'm curious, what is it that people like to do for recreation around here, holodecks, hobbies?" Dave wondered as he returned from the small control panel on his desktop.

"I guess it depends on the person," Antos said gesturing around the table. "Jesse what is it this week Twentieth Century auto racing? Cam, reading literature? Rebecca, are you still climbing? It varies as I'm sure you've seen before."

"Most defiantly! Variety is the spice is it not? Speaking of spice is everyone ready for dessert?"

Cam glanced at Jesse for a moment, then looked at Dave, "I'll take a cup of coffee with mine if it isn't a problem, I just can't shake this chill."

"Not a problem I think I have a blend that goes perfectly," Dave smiled.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Rebecca leaned forward with a twinkle in her eye, "Can you believe him?"

"I'm trying not to," Cam grumbled.

"Did you see the way he was looking at Maxine?" she wondered with almost a girlish grin.

"Bec what about you?" Cam sighed.

"I think that he could be a lot of fun," she countered.

"I'm more interested in the way he handled Max. Where was her usual, you know, spark?" Jesse wondered. "Jeeze, I guess he took your word Cam!"

"Hum?" Cam wondered with a blink.

"Aren't' you guys like getting a bit warm?" Jesse wondered drinking his drink quickly and helping himself to another from the chilled bottle.

"We're fine," Rebecca assured him.

Dave appeared with the dessert.

"Ooo, Chocolate soufflé'!" Cam sighed. "I haven't had that in ages."

"Betazoid Chocolate," Dave smiled.

"Oh," Cam sighed "Tops of the old verboten list. Mira wouldn't let me near it."

"Tonight's special," Dave smiled. "You have my permission as CMO to indulge."

Cam sighed as she stuck her fork in, "This Dave could be the beginning of an interesting friendship."

"Dessert has always been your downfall," Jesse observed.

"Sweet tooth," Antos smiled.

"I remember devouring a few boxes between us!" Rebecca laughed.

"It's been a long while," Cam agreed with a laugh. "My compliments Dave, serve this instead of the green Jell-O and your patients, especially the gals, will be grateful."

The Engineering section chiefs were already assembled in the Main Engineering Conference room when Maxine Taggert swept into the room and slapped her padd down on the table before her. Nothing gave Maxine more pleasure, and her junior officers more fear, than one of her surprise inspections. Her eyes swept the table and landed on an empty seat. "Who is missing?" she demanded. As if in answer to her question the conference room door whooshed open and Terry Sauter rushed in. Her face was flushed and it was evident that she was a bit out of breath. "I'm sorry, Commander. I was in the middle of a line conduit repair when I got your page and it took me a few minutes to get out of the Jefferies junction." Taggert nodded as Sauter slid in to her seat. "Is the repair completed?" "Yes sir." Taggert nodded again and then turned her attention to the other officers in the room. "As you may have guessed I am now going to conduct a thorough inspection of this department. In addition, each of your sections will be tested and your people evaluated. I have come up with emergency scenarios for each of you. They have been programmed into these padds." She pulled a basket of padds out from under the end of the table where they had been hidden and hoisted them on to the desk top with a thud. "Follow the program to the letter. I will be roving and will watch your progress with interest. After the exercise is completed you will report back here and file a complete report . Are there any questions?" Audra McKay raised her hand slowly. "Do we have a time limit, Commander?" "No. Your efficiency rating will also be based on the amount of time it takes your to complete the task." Audra nodded. "Anyone else?" Maxine asked, her tone daring someone else to raise their hand. She waited a few moments and then, not seeing any hands, continued. "Fine. As soon as you are dismissed the exercise will begin. Assemble your emergency teams as quickly as possible and then begin your assignments. I expect all of you to operate at peak efficiency an......" "Commander Taggert, this is Commander Sinclair." The voice of Rebecca Sinclair came through the comm interrupting Maxine's motivational speech. Maxine looked momentarily surprised and then a little perturbed as she answered. "Commander Taggert here." "Commander, I am still in Dr. Fergerson's quarters and we are experiencing several problems with the environmental controls here. These are not small problems or I would never have bothered you. The temperature is swinging from tropical highs to arctic lows and I'm afraid it is quite intolerable." "I'm sorry, sir. I'll send Lt. Sauter right up to take a look at that for you, " Taggert offered. There was a pause and then a sigh. "I know you are in the middle of an exercise, Commander, but I think I would prefer to have you come up here and look at this personally. I'm afraid that if the temperatures swing any more wildly that we could actually have injuries from this malfunction. I'm sure your staff can carry on without you for a short time" Maxine's face turned white. Audra and Hyper exchanged looks. Their faces remained sober but glee danced in their eyes. All of this was not entirely lost on Terry, who sat directly across the table from Hyper. Something clicked and she filed the whole scene away in her memory for further consideration. "I'll be right there, sir," Maxine answered flatly. "Thank you, Commander. Sinclair out." Taggert's features changed and her staff could tell she was trying to control her rage. Audra swore to herself that she could even see little wisps of steam coming from her commander's ears. "Nor, I want you to take over and distribute the assignments," Taggert growled. "I won't be gone very long." Hyper stood up. "Yes sir," she answered quickly as she proceeded to the head of the conference table. Maxine surveyed her staff and waved her right index finger at them. "You had all better all give 110% on this exercise. I will NOT stand for any slacking off just because of my absence. Is that understood????" "Yes sir!" the room full of young officers answered quickly. "Very well. Carry on, Nor." And with that, Maxine pivoted on her right foot and exited the conference room. As the door whooshed shut everyone in the room let out a collective sigh. Inside, Hyper was just about doing cart wheels. Taggert was being trapped at the dinner party, just as planned. Outwardly Hyper damped all reaction and set to work. All the engineering teams moved off to begin their exercises. In fact, everyone was moving so smoothly that Hyper suspected that Audra and she were not the only ones who had anticipated a "surprise" drill. --------------

Maxine Taggert knew that there was some evil plot behind all this. The universe had some sick sense of humor, forcing her back to the quarters of that...that.... Descriptions eluded her. If it had not been a direct order couched in the form of a request from the First Officer, she would never have set foot in that man's presence again. Not even if she were dying! she told herself.

----------------------------

Standing in front of Dr. David Fergerson's door once again, Maxine brushed back her hair and straightened her uniform, shifting her tool kit from hand to hand as she fidgeted before she pressed the door chime. She hated to return here after finally making her escape before. But all department leaders were responsible for all the other department leaders when anything went wrong and well, she couldn't refuse a call from First Officer Sinclair. Although she did try.

"Come in," called Dr. Dave.

Maxine stepped into the cold room to find Dr. Dave with his arms around Rebecca Sinclair. A stab of pain went through Maxine's stomach at the sight. Then she realized that he was simply placing a jacket around her shoulders.

"Maxine," called Rebecca. "As you can tell, we are having problems in here with the environmental controls."

"Yes, I see. I'll need to check the access panel first," said Maxine as she moved over to where the bar was situated. The panel was located behind it and low to the ground. Maxine quickly removed the panel, opened her tool kit and began inspecting the circuits.

Dave moved over to the end of the bar and asked, "Anything I can help with Commander?"

"No."

"I really hate that we had to interrupt your engineering drill, but as you can see, it's pretty bad in here."

"Yes." I wish he would go away! Thought Maxine.

Not seeing anything wrong with the circuits she stood up and then the lights went out. It was black as a starless sky everywhere except at the table were two small candles still burned. Maxine took one step forward, forgetting that her tool box was on the floor and tripped. She fell right into strong arms which kept her from falling. Nice scent she thought--manly. Then the lights flickered back on and Maxine realized she was nose to nose with Dr. Dave. Quickly she pulled herself from his embrace and almost tripped again, backwards this time. Dave reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her.

The dinner guests were quite fascinated by this little scene as it played out. "What's wrong with Max?" whispered Cam to Jesse. He just shook his head.

Antos Bek, being part Betazoid knew exactly what was wrong as he smiled to himself.

I've never seen Maxine so fumbled footed, thought Rebecca. She's never been clumsy before. Could it be that she … No. That would be impossible. Not Maxine! Rebecca shook her head to clear it of the thought that Maxine could actually be attracted to their new Chief Medical Officer.

"I'm okay, Doctor. Thank you for your assistance," said Maxine as she quickly gathered up her tools. "I have to…I need to… ah, check the, I mean I need to get into a Jefferies tube to check the relays. The environmental controls and the lights are not on the same line, so the problem cannot be repaired in here." She turned to leave when the lights went out again. She froze, not wanting to stumble in the dark and fall into Dr. Dave's arms again.

"Computer, open door," called Dave.

The door opened and light shown into the room allowing Maxine to make her escape.

"Thank you Commander Taggert," called Dave as Maxine hurried down the corridor without looking back.

Dave turned to his dinner guests. "Now, shall we all tell ghosts stories?" he asked, playfully.

"Oh god I can't stand it!" Cam said softly in disbelief. "I think I'm going to bust a gut. Tell me, Antos, tell me I wasn't seeing Max flummoxed!"

Antos Bek softly cleared his throat, "Now Cam, you know that violates my ethics."

"Ghost stories," Cam sighed. "Anyone got marshmallows? …Like I could eat that."

"No, but I need another drink," Jesse snorted. "I think I've seen everything now."

"Truthfully Jess, the only thing funnier would have been if you caught her!"

"Oh yeah funny for whom? Id get my eyes scratched out!" Jesse snorted quaffing down more beer.

Rebecca smiled behind her wine glass and glanced at Dave with her ebony eyes. She had liked his touch and she liked the way he talked in his easy smooth manner. He seemed so at ease with the situation.

Jesse looked at his glass, "Hey! I think Max needs to check the moisture balance in here as well! We've got a terrible evaporation problem!"

"I wonder when Cmdr. Taggert will have the lights back," Dave wondered softly looking at the ceiling.

"I don't know," Cam chided him, "Seems to me like it makes for a rather…romantic setting."

Rebecca smiled again. Cam did have a point. The candle light glittered off the gold accents and made the contrast of the black and white more striking. It danced off of Dave's hair and softly illuminated his form.

Jesse glanced at Cam. She looked lost in thought, the candle light dancing on her features as well. He looked at Dave and at Rebecca. A frown crossed his features, what was with the women tonight?

And what were they seeing in the Doctor? It was something! He was having an effect on all of them, including Cam. Maybe it was the drinking, after all this was not synthahol they were ingesting. Cam had not talked in such an animated manner in a very long time.

"Romantic things…moonlit walks on the beach," Cam thought aloud. "What do you think Bec? Actually here's a question, what do you find romantic? What is romance?"

Cam looked directly at Dave as she poised her question.

Jesse looked away knowing that she was playing some elaborate game and he didn't like it not one iota.

Marlin Robins glanced at the young Security Chief. Jesse was acting as if his sixth sense was bugging him. He'd seen the rather tight pained expression on the bridge during the last few months, and it usually meant that Jesse suspected something but didn't quite know what to make of it, he just knew something was amiss.

Marlin studied the scene before him and quietly sipped his wine.

Jesse was watching Dave and Cam sparring gently. It was good to hear the sparring, it meant Cam was not doing her usual routine of playing wall flower, something had brought her out of her shell.

Rebecca was clearly enamored with their host and she was just having fun.

And their host for that matter was enjoying himself as well.

Maxine crawled through the horizontal Jefferies tube, mumbling to herself. This evening was not ANYTHING like the way she had imagined it. She should be striding through Engineering checking, chastising and spurring her crew on, but instead she was crawling on her hands and knees trouble shooting like a common crewman. And then there was that doctor!! Who did he think he was??? He acted like he was the social director on a cruise ship!! Where was his decorum??? And yet......there was something about him..... Quickly she shook her head hard to clear her thoughts. There was no time now to think about the doctor, she had duties to attend to. She found the junction box she was looking for and pushed the combination of buttons that opened its access door. She peered in and immediately saw the problem. It was a mess in there!! Worn circuits must have given way and fritzed others causing the whole panel to go out.....or in some cases, off and on. She was going to have to have a talk with Terry Sauter about this. Her team should have found this problem BEFORE the circuitry even blew. They were suppose to perform routine maintenance on all of the junction boxes to head off just this kind of problem!!!!! Huffing and puffing she temporarily rerouted the environmental functions for the 8 affected compartments until they could be fixed permanently. Then a thought occurred to her.....Sauter said she was late to the staff meeting because she was doing repairs in a Jefferies Tube junction box. Was this the box she had been working on??? Did she effect some hasty repair and not do her job properly??? "Oh yes," she said out loud to herself. "I'm going to have to have a talk with Sauter." Maxine closed the access box again, confident that her temporary repairs would hold. She touched her com badge. "Commander Sinclair...this is Lt. Cmdr. Taggert. How are things up there now, sir?" There was a pause and then Sinclair's voice answered. "The temperature has leveled out and the lights are staying on, but we appear to be having another problem now, Commander." "What would that be, Commander?" Maxine asked through clenched teeth. "Well, the doctor's compartment now appears to be fogged in." "What?!!... I mean, please say that again, sir." "Commander, the vapor density is so thick in here that we can hardly see each other across the table. It's gotten worse just in the few minutes we've been talking. " "Ask the doctor to turn his environmental circulation setting to high, please." "We already tried that, Maxine. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to return." "I'm on my way," she answered. "Taggert out." As soon as the com shut down Taggert began to swear and continued swearing all of the way out of the tube. Usually she abhorred using such language but at this moment it helped to release her tension and, as she was near the point of spontaneous combustion, this was a good thing. ------------- As each Engineering team completed their exercise the officer in charge returned to the Main Engineering Conference Room to file a report and check in with their C.O. As they trickled in, each of them was surprised to see that Maxine Taggert had not returned.

When Audra McKay came in, she looked around and smiled. "I guess Commander Taggert must have decided to stay at the party, huh?" she asked the room in general. Hyper shot her a dirty look and Terry Sauter looked up from the padd she was studying in front of her. "No, I don't think she's having much fun, Audra. She's having all kinds of problems up there," Terry answered. "She is?" Audra asked. "Have you heard from her?" Terry nodded. "She called down and wanted to know if I'd had any trouble in that pod of compartments with excessive water vapor before." Audra and Hyper exchanged quizzical looks and then Hyper asked with interest. "Water vapor?" "Yes, I guess the doctor's compartment is pretty much fogged in!!" This was too much, too fast for Audra. She started to chuckle and then laugh out loud and soon the whole room had "the giggles" . The young officers laughed until tears ran down their faces and their sides nearly split. It took several minutes for all of them to get themselves under control and regain their composures but when they finally finished their reports and returned to their quarters or their duties, they all had smiles on their faces. -------------- Maxine couldn't believe she was at the doctor's door again! Was she being punished for something? Did the universe have something against her for forcing her to return time and time again to this … this… den of iniquity?

She stood in front of Dr. Dave's door and hit the chime for the third time that night.

"Come in," called Dave.

When the door opened, Maxine's eyes beheld a sight she had never before seen. Dr. Dave and Antos Bek were seated atop the bar, their heads the only visible part of their bodies. Thick fog covered the rest. The other diners were seated on top of the dining table--all seeming to be enjoying themselves, talking and laughing.

"Sorry I didn't answer the door myself, Commander," said Dave, "but as you can see…"

"Yes, doctor, I can see the problem," replied Maxine, still standing in the doorway. "Computer, keep door open," she ordered.

"This should only take a minute," she said, stepping just outside the doorway. Maxine removed the door access panel. "Computer, reroute compartment 1016 environmental control #724 to this panel, authorization Taggert 973 Beta".

"Transfer completed," came the computer's reply.

Removing a tool from her tool case, Maxine adjusted several conduit circuits in the panel. In less than two minutes, the thick fog began to dissipate.

"Computer, return control of environmental control #724 to compartment 1016 and execute number three diagnostic."

"Working," replied the computer.

"Malfunction in number 23 duodynetic capacitor", reported the computer.

"I thought as much," said Taggert. She pulled one of her generic capacitors from her tool kit and replaced the faulty capacitor.

When all the fog was gone, Maxine stepped back into the room. "I replaced a faulty capacitor with a temporary one, doctor. I will install a permanent one tomorrow. I can do this when you're in Medbay so as not to disturb you. And I won't have to be around you again, she thought to herself. "That should correct your environmental problems."

"Thank you, Commander," said Dave, hopping down from the bar. "I appreciate your taking time from your schedule to personally work on this problem for me."

"All department leaders are required to assist all other department leaders, doctors. I was just doing my job." Heavens forbid he would think she actually WANTED to keep coming back in here!

"Still, thank you," said Dave, smiling.

"I can assure you doctor, this will NEVER happen again!" said Maxine, embarrassed that things had gone so wrong for him on his first dinner aboard ship.

"No problem Commander. In fact, I can honestly say that this was the most memorable dinner party I have ever hosted." His hazel blue eyes locked on Maxine's for just a moment causing her blood pressure to shoot up.

"Um…well," Maxine stammered as she quickly looked away from him. "I need to return to engineering now. Doctor, Commanders," she said, nodding to the other dinner guests and then heading quickly out into the corridor only to run into Hyper and Audra who just happened to be passing right at that moment.

"Nor! McKay!" yelled Taggert. The two stopped suddenly and turned around to face Taggert, who was standing just outside the doctor's door.

"What are YOU two doing here? Aren't' you supposed to be in engineering right about NOW!" Her embarrassment was starting to vent itself in anger at her two officers.

"We've completed the drill, sir," replied Hyper.

"What? You couldn't possibly---"

"Computer, close door," came Dave's soft voice.

It was then that Maxine realized that the doctor's door was still opened and that he had heard her bellowing at Hyper and Audra. She froze in mid sentence, her face turning a bright crimson.

Hyper and Audra thought the color of Taggert's face indicated great anger on her part, as they were familiar with that look. They were dead.

"Get back to engineering," Maxine ordered, quietly.

Maxine stood quietly for a few seconds after Hyper and Audra took off, trying to control her embarrassment at being caught by Dr. Dave.

He must think I'm a total ogre! She thought. He must hate me now. She started toward a turbolift. Suddenly she stopped. "Why do I care WHAT he thinks?" she asked, puzzled. I've never cared what anyone thought of me before, except my husband of course. Oh God! Could it be that I actually LIKE the new CMO??? No! No, it can't be! I'm just angry is all. Yes. That is what it is. I am angry with the incompetence of my staff.

"Sauter is really in trouble now!" growled Maxine as entered the turbolift.

-------------------------------------------

"Well, it has been an interesting evening, I must say," said Antos as he prepared to leave the dinner.

"I will definitely remember tonight," remarked Marlin.

"Me too," said Cam.

"It was a wonderful dinner, Dave," said Rebecca. "I AM sorry about all the malfunctions."

"Ah well, such is life aboard a starship," replied Dave. "But really, we all must do this again."

"Agreed," said Rebecca.

After his guests had left, Dave stripped off his clothes and headed for the shower. Afterwards he laid down on his bed, taking the picture from his bedside table. "There are some really interesting people on this ship, my love," he said to the picture of his first wife, Ashli. "I just wish you were here to share the adventures with me."

----------------------------------

"Sauter!" yelled Maxine as soon as she entered main engineering. "In my office NOW!"

Terry glanced quickly at Hyper and Audra who had just returned from who knows where, on her way to Taggert's office.

"Yes sir?" asked Terry, standing in front of Taggert's desk.

"Would you mind explaining how you missed a faulty circuit board in junction 420-B?" asked Maxine, standing behind her desk, fuming.

"Sir? I don't recall missing any faulty junction."

"Oh, is that right? Then how do you explain it, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, all circuits are prone to wear and from time to time we DO get faulty ones in."

"Why were you late for the engineering drill earlier?" Maxine thought maybe it was then that Sauter sabotaged the doctor's quarters, although she didn't know why she would do such a thing.

"I was repairing a malfunctioning conduit line on deck 14."

"Oh really? Can you prove that Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir. Just let me get my padd and I will, sir."

"Alright. Go, but come back immediately."

"Yes sir," said Terry as she hurried to her office. On the way there she saw Audra and Hyper whispering. THEY did this! thought Terry.

When she returned to Taggert's office she handed her padd to Taggert. "Hmm. This could have been falsified, Lieutenant."

"Sir, I would never jeopardize my career by falsifying a Starfleet report!"

"Then how do you explain the malfunction?"

Terry could explained it in two words. Hyper, Audra. Instead she said, "Malfunctions happen sir."

Maybe all this WAS just a malfunction, thought Taggert. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened and most assuredly would not be the last.

"Get back to work, Lieutenant," ordered Taggert.

"Yes, sir."

Terry took her padd and quickly left Taggert's office. She felt like smashing it on the top of a certain two lieutenant jgs! Terry said nothing until Taggert left her office, then she went over to Hyper and Audra.

"Can I see you two in my office?" she asked quietly.

Not wanting to discuss their misadventures, Hyper said, "Well, we're kinda busy right now, Ter, maybe---"

"Now please," said Terry through clenched teeth.

Seeing her friend's expression, she knew Terry wouldn't take no for an answer. "Okay, sure Ter," said Hyper as she and Audra followed Terry back to her office.

"Computer, close and lock door," ordered Terry.

Oh, oh! Thought Audra. Terry NEVER locks her door!

"As I am sure you heard," began Terry, I almost got court marshaled just now because of something you two did."

"Us?" asked Hyper innocently. "Why would you think WE had anything to do with that incident in the CMO's quarters?"

"Because I KNOW you two, that's why," she answered.

"Look Ter," began Audra. "We made sure you would be far away when we---"

"Audra, be quiet!" said Hyper.

"It's over, Hype. Terry knows we did it! What are you going to do about it Ter? Report us to Taggert?"

"I should, ya know. I really should! But no, of course not. Not even you two deserve her wrath."

Audra and Hyper both sighed a sigh of relief. "Terry, if we thought you would get blamed for this, we would never have done it," said Hyper.

"Oh, I know you wouldn't. But please guys, the next time you pull something over on Taggert, make sure I'm far away, like on another ship, okay?"

"Okay, sure Ter!" said Audra. "We're still friends then?"

"Of course, Aud, Hype. It would take more than Taggert to separate us."

"Great! How about joining us for lunch at Jake's tomorrow, Ter?" asked Audra.

"Sure. That sounds good," said Terry. "Now, you'd better get back to work before Taggert returns and thinks we're up to something. Computer unlock door."

Terry sat down at her desk and leaned back. "They're really gonna pay for this one," she giggled.