== Deck 8=== Keylor leaned against the wall as he breathed rather rapidly. Sweat pouring from every pur of his body, he struggled to get his breath. The morning run had been rather quiet. With most of the crew enjoying time on the starbase, the ship was rather empty and there was not a sole to get in his way of jogging about his favorite running track. As his respiration began to return to normal he slid down the wall and sat on the floor. His thought wer of the two officers he had talked to the day before and their performance during the exercises of the previous couple of days. Acheson seemed to be shaping up to some degree. Though as ODA co his performance was not under expectations, Keylor was pleased to see the increased vigor that Acheson seemed to take in his new duties. Though most might have seen the move form ODA commander to Chief tactical a kind of demotion, Nathan Acheson seemed to find it a challenge to over come. All in all it was a good move for the ship. And as far as his performance during the exercises, Keylor had no worries. Even though Nathan had left the ship, it would not have been the first time the person in charge of the ship had left, He himself was guilty of that on more than one occasion. Keylor's thought then drifted to Jack Walsh. Though Jack was new to the ship, barely a day on board and not familiar with her crew, he still had the nagging thought in the back of his mind that the shooting of the CEO was more than a case of mistaken identity. For now Keylor had to take Jacks word on it, and hope that there was nothing more to the incident that Keylor's imagination. With his pulse finally slowing and his breaths becoming more regular, Keylor pushed himself off of the floor and on to his feet. He glanced down at his wrist chrono. Though he was now the captain of a starfleet starship, and he could command the computer to tell him the ships time from anywhere on the ship, Keylro still liked to wear his chronometer. An old habit form his days running junk freight with his father, it gave him a sense of security, of knowing what time it was at any moment he desires. He noticed the time and realized that his duty shift was fast approaching. Wiping some sweat form his brow he slowly started to move to a turbo lift. == deck 5 == Keylor stood at the back of the turbo lift, head bowed looking at the floor. He had not realized where the lift had stopped. Whit so many of the crew on the base, the ship was more like a ghost ship than a ship of the line. And since not having seen even one technician during his run, he assumed that the lift had stopped on deck 3. Oblivious to his location, he walked out of the life, not even looking up to read the placards on the wall that signaled the deck number. He started down the hall when he finally looked up to see that the passageway seemed some how different. As he looked up, now 2 meters form the lift, he realized his mistake and quickly turned about to try to catch the lift before it left the deck, he was too late. Muttering under his breath he stopped short of the lift and waited for its return. Unnoticed by Keylor, a wet black nose poked around form a corner down the hall from where Keylor was standing. Soon the nose was joined by a set of eyes and two pointy, furry ears. It was Maikai's pet and friend, Kaine. Kaine looked cautiously around the corner, unsure which direction to turn. Kaine has some how secured his release for Maikai's quarters after she had left for work. He was a dog, and being a dog, wanted to explore his surroundings, and if he was lucky secure a treat or two. That is when Kaine spotted a rather strange looking man. Kaine sniffed the air, {That is not a smell I have noticed before} Kaine thought. He then sniffed the floor as another scent floated by him. {But that is her scent! I know it!} Kaine thought. Blindly Kaine started to follow the familiar scent, leading him in Keylor's direction. Sweat still dripped form Keylor as he waited for the lift to arrive, a few drops fell in to his eyes. The sweat stung his eyes like the rancid smoke form a smoldering pile of rubbish. Still un aware of the stealthy animal approaching him,. Keylor tried to wipe the sweat form his eyes, only making the stinging feeling worse. Meanwhile Kaine; nose to the floor, slowly walked down the hall directly to Keylor. As Kaine approached the lift Keylor took a step back, blinded form his sweat. Kaine, more preoccupied in finding his owner, was disturbed at the unfamiliar scent that now blocked the way. Kaine stopped a mere meter from Keylor and let out a low guttural growl. The growl startled Keylor, un aware an animal of any kind was walking in the halls. Rubbing his eyes one last time he squinted and looked in the direction of the noise. He expected to see some crew member of one sort or another to be standing with the animal, but to Keylor's surprise there were just the two of them, Him and the animal. Keylor froze in his tracks, unsure of the animals' intention. Keylor could tell clearly that the animal was not in a good mood, but not sure why. Now able to see fairly clearly, Keylor looked directly at the animal. Kaine did not like the strange being that blocked his way. The scent of his owner seemed to pass beyond the strange man, but whit his way blocked, he would not be sure until he could sniff the floor beyond and continue following the trail. Making a faint step forward, Kaine though that he could intimidate the stranger in to moving so he can continue his journey. The stranger did not budge, and he placed his paw back in its original place, Kaine was at a loss for how to get around the person. Now in a stand off, the two were statues, both unsure of the others intentions. Keylor, not known for his success with animals, chanted in his mind, {Hurry up lift, Hurry up lift}. He was unarmed and not dressed to take on an animal of any kind. Just then the animal growled and bared a few teeth. {Gees! That thing has some fangs! If it bites me it will leave a mark.} he thought. Remembering was a human in boot camp once told him about animals back on earth, Keylor put on his old marine stone cold face. Echoing though his mind was the comment about how not to show fear when confronted by an animal. Seconds passed by, the air filling with the tension. Tension form Keylor not wanting to have to fight the animal and tension from Kaine, longing to find his owner. Whit every passing second Kaines growl would grow in to the most menacing thing he could muster. At the same time Keylor , anxious to avoid the conflict plastered his emotionless expression on his face, waiting for the lift. When the lift door finally opened up both creatures' concentration was broken by the hiss of the door. Kaine was the first to break his stance by Barking at Keylor, showing all of his teeth. Keylor followed suit by quickly moving in to the lift and placing his back to the wall of the lift, almost sure that the creature as going to attack him. As Keylor braced himself for a charge by the animal, he noticed noting but a blur of fur passing by the lift door. The doors closed with out incident. Keylor tapped on the control panel of the lift and activated a comm channel. "Bretam to security." He called out. "Security here sir." The reply came. Keylor took a deep breath and leaned against the turbo lift wall. "Security, there is a good sized animal loose on deck 5. I suspect some ones pet has gotten loose. Can you subdue the animal and find its owner?" "Aye sir will send some one up there immediately." The un-named person replied. Keylor added, "Oh and be careful, it does not appear to be in a good mood." Yes sir. We will. " came the reply. Keylor closed the communication channel and then called out to the computer, "deck 3". Back in the hall way, Kaine returned to his old self. Happy he has sucessfully made the stranger move so he might find his owner, he not bounced down the hall as he followed the scent. ===End log== Col Bretam Keylor Captain USS Chimera