Kyp looked at the woman in front of him. She was attractive to him, although she didn't have his elongated ears.

"Lt Arda. What questions are you asking?"

"...I'm not sure who's in charge here, but I need to make a huge request of your commanding officer. Could you possibly contact him for me?"

"That will not be necessary."

Lt. Arda and Kyp Firespray both turned at the approach of a tall woman who wore the uniform skirt of a Ships Counselor. The green of her uniform was only slightly darker than her eyes. She was slender. Willowy. But she seemed possessed of strength. Her head, her entire body it seemed, was free of hair.

"My name is Lorelei, Mr. Firespray. I am the Ships Counselor. I am to conduct you to the auspices of our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Miranda St. Clare." Then, the woman looked to the open shuttlepod that brought the young Alterian here. "Ensign Prexis. You will accompany us."

The Vulcan female nodded once, quickly completing some scan of the pod. Lorelei conducted Kyp by his elbow. Prexis fell in behind. Lt. Arda hurried off to concerns of her own.

As they left the Shuttlebay, a pair of Security Officers fell in behind them.

The five of them entered a turbolift. "Deck 12.", Lorelei ordered. The vehicle moved without inertia.

When the doors opened again, the five of them, Kyp in the center, walked a short way to a pair of doors labeled Sickbay. The doors opened at their approach. The two women and Kyp entered. The Security Officers flanked the doors on the outside. One, a man, gave Lorelei a

conspiratorial nod as the doors closed. Lorelei simply smiled.

"Mr. Firespray.", came yet another female voice. A blond woman, closer to Kyp's height than the towering females who escorted him here, came to him with an instrument in hand.

"My name is Dr. Miranda St. Clare. I hope you don't mind submitting to a battery of tests that shouldn't take more than a half hour. We have never before met....", she consulted a notepad. "..an Alterian.. before. If I am to treat you while under these auspices, I will need to know a little about your physiology."

Without a seconds hesitation, she began to wave a whistling device over his skin.

"Feel free to talk to the Counselor while I work. It will not affect the tests. Sit. Make yourself comfortable."

The Vulcan, Prexis, also used her own scanner to study the smaller male.

"So tell me about your parents" asked Lorelei.

"Well, let's see. My father Draven Firespray was the Prime Minister of my homeworld, Gamma Alteries. My mother, Celest, took care of me mostly as my father was usually dealing with the planets needs" said Kyp.

"What is your governmental structure like?" asked the Counselor.

"Well, my father is the ruler. He appoints sub-ordinates in every field, and they appoint assistants and so on."

"What happened that you had to use an escape pod?"

Kyp's face grew cold, as if he didn't want to talk about that subject. "We were attacked by the Borg. Our space fleet was winning for a while until they called in reinforcements. My father ordered a planetary evacuation. From what the computer on my pod tells me, an artificial wormhole opened around my pod and I fell very far from home." Kyp looked at her. "I need to access your Celestial Charts so I can locate approximately where I am. Is this permitted?"

The Counselor looked at him. "Well, I'll have to clear it with the Captain before we can let you wonder about the ship."

"Ah yes, the Captain. I have a very vital request of him."

"What is it?"

"Only your commanding officer can answer it."

Dr. St. Clare looked up from her scanning at Kyp and asked, "Your ears. Do they allow you to hear into the subsonic and ultra-high frequencies?"

"Yes. Our ears come from the 'Protectors'. They have also given us a very special gift. Our ears allow us to hear messages sent by other Alterians over vast distances. In essence we are telepathic, but only amongst each other."

The counselor asked, "When you speak of the 'Protectors', to whom do you refer?"

"The Q Continuum."

The Vulcan, Dr., and Counselor looked at each other in shock. They stared for a few seconds at each other before the counselor said, "Could you please elaborate on that?"

"Many millenniums ago, a strange being visited our world. He brought with him a terrible plague that swept across our lands like a brush fire. Our race would have been wiped out if the Q had not stepped in and restored the land and health of all."

"Well, my scanning are complete." said the Doctor.

"May I go now?" asked Kyp.

"Well, first off we need to get you some quarters." Tapping her commbadge. "St. Claire to Terrakian."

His voice came in over the com, "Terrakian here."

"Sir at your earliest convenience could you please report to sick-bay to see to our new...um...guest?"

"Acknowledged."

St. Claire looked back at Kyp. "Well, in the mean time, why don't you just sit here and relax until the Captain sees fit that you can move about the ship."

"Sure." said Kyp as he laid back on the Bio-bed making himself comfortable.

Written by

Sam Esposito

Kyp Firespray, Independent Advisor

&

Rachel Masterson

Lorelei, Ships Counselor