~\\_               
          \\\\_             
          `\\\\\            -----------------------------------------
           |\\\\\           Starfleet Command, Eighth Fleet (OOC)    
            \\\\\|__.-~~\   
         _--~         ~~/   Defenders Task Group 85.3, "Whitestone"  
       /~         _-~~~'    Embarked on U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901   
      ('-//////-//          Rear Admiral Tebrun Lora Kor, Commanding 
       ////// }}-)          -----------------------------------------
     /////~                 Simulation Teaser                        
  _///~                     Stardate 240306.14                       
 `                          
 _______________________________________________________________________ 
/ Simulation Teaser                                                     |
/ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 

 Homeworld Starbase was a tiny facility compared to Starbase One in
 orbit of Earth.  The living and recreation areas spanned only 10
 decks in the Administration towers above the docking facilities
 proper.  Some 300 people -- most of them Braids -- lived on the base. 
 But visiting ships, packets, and fighters could push the population
 to 500 at any given time.  As a result, there was a need for
 recreational areas.

 In particular, there were two bars on the station.

 Because of the Starbase's orbit, one of the bars perpetually faced
 Reor'sa.  This one, Pounder's, was loud.  There was no other word for
 it.  The mechanized, electronic music favored by the dock workers and
 the cords blasted from Pounder's many speakers at all hours, day or
 night, driving four dance floors and the people on it.  You could
 order anything you wanted, as long as what you wanted was alcohol. 
 Tables were few, and were built to stand next to -- or on, if you were
 a cord or a Braid -- rather than sit.

 The second bar, Starlight, faced away from Reor'sa and befitting its
 view, was much quieter.  You could order a steak or a burger at
 Starlight, or many other food items, as long as they were a little
 old-fashioned.  Music, when it was played, was a little subdued, and
 there wasn't a dance floor.  The proprietor preferred it that way.

 There was no question which bar Tebrun Lora Kor would choose for his
 meeting.

 Tebrun sat at one of the corner tables in Starlight.  The Whitestone
 packet he was riding had stopped here to pick up cargo bound for
 Penthia.   The Trill had found this a convenient diversion and had
 taken advantage of it to arrange his meeting.  He spotted Dr. Kennedy
 almost immediately.

 The doctor, for her part, didn't have any trouble finding Lora Kor and
 approached his table.  Her review of the former Admiral was almost
 automatic; if Lora Kor were in pain -- and he almost certainly was --
 he was hiding it well.

 "Please, doctor, have a seat," Lora Kor said, indicating the chair
 across from him.  Kennedy nodded and sat.

 "Your message was a little cryptic, Admiral," she said, folding her
 hands on the table in front of her.

 "Tebrun, please," Lora Kor said, "I'm not an Admiral any more.  And
 was it?  I wasn't trying to be cryptic."  He took a sip from a cup in
 front of him.  Kennedy smelled mint tea of some kind.  "It just
 surprised me a little when you elected to leave Coronado."

 Kennedy didn't take the bait.  "You didn't invite me over here to talk
 about that," she said, then gave the approaching waiter a smile and a
 shake of her head to tell him she didn't want anything.

 "No, you're right," he said.  "I didn't."  He took another sip of his
 tea, then continued.  "Chappy Morgan tells me that you're kind of
 rattling aimlessly around her boat.  She's already got a Chief Medical
 Officer, and he doesn't seem to be going anywhere, and a ship
 Swiftsure's size doesn't need two doctors with your qualifications." 
 Kennedy nodded but said nothing, so Lora Kor continued.  "I thought
 I'd see if I could interest you in a leave of absence, either
 immediately, or in 45 days time," he said.  "I'm... in need of your
 assistance."

 The doctor didn't say anything for a moment, then turned in her chair,
 got the waiter's attention, and waved him over.  "I'm going to need a
 drink after all, I think," she said, "and once I have it, you can tell
 me what you have in mind."

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

 "Will you do this, Doctor?  For me?  For... us?  It won't make any
 difference in the end... you know that.  We've both known for months
 that I was a walking dead man."

 Tebrun came awake in the bunk he'd been given aboard Whitestone Packet
 3, his own voice echoing in his head, a sense of deja vu surrounding
 him.

\_______________________________________________________________________ 
\ End Simulation Teaser                                                 |
 ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 

 *Former* Defenders Task Group 85.3, "Whitestone" Staff:
    Civilian, Retired Admiral: Tebrun Lora Kor           (Jester)
    S-1, Group Adjutant:       Capt. Sieven Drexler      (Brad)
    Commander, RSS Blackrazor: Capt. Jarod Bentall       (Alffred)
    ????????:                  Capt. Savant              (Savant)
    ????????:                  Brig. Jeremy Ironside     (Fraser)

 U.S.S. Coronado Crew Roster:
    Commanding Officer:        Como. William Daren       (Chris)
    Executive Officer:         Cmdr. Velorna Tal         (Aggie)
    Chief Flight Operations:   LCdr. Maiko D'Rall        (Farrell)
    Command Yeoman:            CPO Zachery Prentiss      (Prill)
    Civilian Liaison:          Zunite Oswald             (Sonya)
    Battalion Commander:       LCol. Jacob Prescot       (Prescot)
    Flight Leader:             1Lt. Edward Somansky      (Somansky)
    Flight Leader:             2Lt. Savin Frazier        (Styx)
    Chief Tactical Officer:    Lt. Derek Canterbury      (Spuzzum)
    Chief Engineer:            Cmdr. Jack C. Farley      (CCC)
    Assistant Engineer:        LCdr. Aramis Skylooker    (LewisSharp)
    Assistant Engineer:        Lt. (JG) Brandon Gannsen  (Lefty)
    Chief Science Officer:     Lt. Anna Brooks           (Kari)
    Chief Medical Officer:     LCdr. Rachel Kennedy      (Santiago)

 On Extended Leave of Absence:
    None!

 Positions Available:
    Watch Tactical Officer:                              (---)
    Flight Leader:                                       (---)

------
Jester

Rear Admiral Tebrun Lora Kor
Commanding, Defenders Task Group 85.3, "Whitestone"
embarked on U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901
http://www.jestertrek.com/coro2400/