Subject: Grail: The Great Brightness - Arda

OOC: Sorry if you all get this twice, but I just want to make sure it

goes through. If you didn't get this twice, there's a problem somewhere.

Let me know if you only get this once. Thank you! :END OOC

"The Great Brightness"

Lt Arda Kaje

Kaje awoke about half way through Beta Shift, or Yellow Shift, as

Mr Hunt had renamed it. Kaede was awake and gurgling away in her own

room. The mother rose and went to her.

Upon her entrance, the daughter looked up, slightly aprehensive.

"Momma?" Kaje smiled.

"Yes, dear?" She reached down and took Kaede up into her arms.

The little girl did her best to wrap her own arms around her mother's

neck.

{{{{Mommy okay?}}}}

"Mommy's fine, now." There was a mental sigh of relief from the

little girl.

{{{{Dada no okay.}}}}

"What? Why?" Kaede gave her mother a confused look and a mental

shrug. Kaje sighed. "Where is he?" A picture of a swarm of Klingons

fighting flashed through her mind. He must be in the holodeck. She

thought about it.

{{{{Mommy go?}}}}

"No," she said. "I don't know." She brought Kaede into the

living area of their apartment and set her down on the floor. She then

got them both.....well, lunch.

After feeding Kaede, Kaje ate and then decided to bring her

daughter to the arboretum. There, they enjoyed the trees and plants,

Kaede wanting to pick every single flower and bring it home. Kaje

smiled. The chime signaled the shift change.

Kaje took Kaede around the ship, showing her things. Her

daughter's eyes were side with wonderment as she took her almost

everywhere. They ended in Ten Forward Lounge. There, she got them both

something to eat, then they headed for the Observation Lounge.

As Kaede tried to touch the stars through the windows of the

Lounge, Kaje sat behind her and thought about tomorrow. Tomorrow would

begin their trek through the Great Brightness. She had to have her

department ready for any kind of emergency, even possible evacuation.

She settled herself on a couch, listening to Kaede's little palms

slapping the window as she tried to catch a star, and read through all

the information they had received so far on this unusual star cluster.

Arda's crew had to be ready to get everyone off the ship if

necessary and get them out of the gravity wells. Of course, that was the

hard part. There were some points that the forces would have just torn

the poor little shuttles and runabouts apart along this route that

DeMontigny, Firespray, and Singh had planned and plotted for them. If

they got stuck in one of those, they were doomed.

Kaede let loose with a yawn that caught her mother's attention.

Kaje looked at her, still trying to catch the stars that floated past the

window. She smiled.

"Come on, Kaede. Time for bed."

{{{{No!}}}}

"Yes, sweetie. Mommy's got an early day tomorrow." She scooped

up the protesting little girl in her arms. By the time she got back, she

was asleep.

Kaje put her daughter in her crib and covered her with the small

blanket. She then got herself ready for bed and climbed in. She fell

asleep, still reading about the Great Brightness.

OOC: For those of you who are wondering, this takes place just before

the bridge log about entering. I'll be attempting to write one about the

brightness itself shortly. :END OOC