Ruminatings on God, Pizza, and Pigtails "
By: Krystal, Hologram, [RNPC]
M'Ressha Mikaht, Fighter Pilot, [RNPC]
Maxine Lucinda Tapert, Computer Specialist, [PC]

Stardate: 58205.28 1400

Several long hours had passed since the transmission from the Federation's Sovereign class ship, the USS Yamato. Blitzer was leaned back in his chair watching the view port and his control panel. He looked relaxed but ready to spring into sudden action. His tail was draped over the arm of his chair and hung down, almost touching the deck. The tip of his tail swung back and forth rhythmically like some pendulum in slow motion.

Maxine was not unaware of the movements of his tail. As a matter of fact, she was *very* aware of them and kept glancing at it out of the corner of her eye.

Blitzer broke a long silence, "how are you coming on that code?"

Maxine glanced over at him and there was a light frown creasing her brow. "T'blighters 'ave forty-two levels of encryption on this thing... I've got thirty-nine sequences down... Should 'ave th' other three in a few minutes." She hoped.

Suddenly a proximity alarm blinked on Blitzer's console. He sat forward, his paws working the LCARS panel. "Its one of the Galors. They've moved near us." He said looking up as if he'd be able to see the cardassian ship.

Suddenly cabin glowed a strange hue of green, even the pixie shimmered in and out of existence.

"Oh blimey..." Max worked at her own panel and her frown deepened. "They're using some sort of strange polyphasic scanning device," she told him. "Oh this is not good..." she murmured as her hands hovered over the controls and her interface blinked rapidly.

"I've got to find a way to multiplex th' cloakin' device to compensate for th' way they're scannin'," she talked as she worked, telling him what she was doing. "I think if I just set it up on an oscillatin' frequency... toss in a random variable... and keep it within operatin' parameters... that might keep them from getting a lock on us.. I read once how they did something like this with radio wave frequencies to keep them from bein' jammed or detected," she kept talking. "Interestin' way to detect a cloaked ship though... Keep your fingers crossed..."

Blitzer studied his monitor, "The way they've moved, looks like they've been doing routine sweeps," he said looking up.

She made the adjustments to the runabout's cloak and held her breath as the scans in their direction intensified. "I think we might 'ave been detected for at least a moment," she looked over at him and chewed a bit on her bottom lip. "But I don't' think they realize it's us because of our size though...."

"Size indeed," how he wished he were in his fighter instead of this big old bus. Blitzer reviewed his tactical data. The runabout was no match for the Galor, but then it wasn't cloaked either. With its sheilds down, two microtorpedos detonating on their bridge might just stall them enough for a getaway. Blitzer held his breath and closed his eyes.

"We could try an' make some kind of distractin' counter measure..." she said thoughtfully. "I might be able to modify th' shields by focusin' th' shield generators an' harmonically modulatin' them to create a subtle eddie or wake in th' atmospheric ions..." she told him. "If it works, it would make it look like some sort of naturally occurrin' ionic turbulence and th' Cardassian ship might move off in its direction..."

The Cardassian ship had moved to with in 1,000 meters of their runabout. Blitzer opened his eyes and let out a breath, "yeah...yeah, that sounds as good as anything right now."

"A'roight then.... Makin' th' modifications now... Crikey they're close..." Max spoke softly, as if the Cardassian ship could hear her if she spoke too loud.

Blitzer watched as the Galor moved slowly to the starboard side of the runabout. "Its working" he whispered.

The Cardassian ship continued to sweep the area for another 15 minutes, slowly moving away. "The Cardassian is now 4,000 kilometers." Even though that was still within attacking distance, somehow it was a much more comforting measure.

Blitzer took a deep breath and nodded at Max. "Good work."

"Thank you... M'just glad they're movin' away," she admitted

"You reprogrammed the cloaking matrix and the shields in just a few seconds..." he said, "It would have taken an engineer at least five minutes to do that, that was amazing..." he said.

Max's cheeks pinkened at the compliment and she smiled a bit, shrugging one shoulder out of embarrassment. "I've been talkin' to computers an' manipulatin' them since I was little," Max offered. "Krystal did all the calculations," she nodded to the pixie hologram, who grinned and preened her wings. "I just .....saw th' code. I can't do what engineers do though." She gave him a small smile and went back to hacking at that transmission.

Blitzer watched the computer girl continue with her work. He thought about their conversation with the Bynars. Whether she knew it or not, Blitzer had the feeling she was as amazing as them. They had much in common, to the Bynars their computer core was central to their way of life...their god.

Blitzer turned his head slightly sideways as he continued to regard Max, "Do you believe in a god?" he asked.

Max blinked and looked over at the Cait, surprised at the question. "I dunno... I believe in *something*," she admitted. "Not sure I'd call it a 'god' though," she added and looked at him speculatively. "Do you?"

"I was never much on religion," confessed Blitzer. "My sister is though, she's like a priestess or something," he said with a shrug. "I guess I sort of do believe in....*something* too." He smiled at Max.

Blitzer continued, "On my world we don't really personify a god. We believe in the 'Great Circle.' We believe that our indvidual existence is owed to the greater forces which interweave the universe, and that some how, we are all connected to it."

Maxine nodded in both understanding and agreement. "Roight... It's like we're all part of th' same, massive code," she put it into her own terms and flashed him a smile. "I tried to write th' code for "god" once. It was impossible, too many variables... Us.."

Krystal stood up and *ahem'd* as she looked pointedly between them, her eyes leveling on Max who almost jumped. "Oh... roight... Got that transmission de-coded," she told Blitz.

Blitzer leaned toward Max, his eyes grew wide with anticipation.

"It said.. 'We smell pizza'," she deadpanned and looked at him with wide green eyes that couldn't hide the fact she was teasing.

His jaw dropped until he realized she was joking, then he began to laugh loudly. He pointed at Max as he continued to laugh. It wasn't even so much what Max said as the fact that Max had said it.

He shook his head and composed himself back together, he chuckled as he raked a lock of his main back behind his ear. "That was very funny," he said, "I couldn't help myself."

Max couldn't help the wide grin at his amusement, nor the way her eyes followed the movement of his paw. "S'alroight. I was sorta goin' for a joke... wasn't sure it'd work though. I usually fail at makin' good ones," she admitted. And then she took on a more serious look.

"I'm feedin' th' data into your panel now... and I've captured their encryption code. M'hopin' we can pick up some more transmissions to see if it's th' encryption's th' same or if they change it every time..."

Blitzer studied communique, "The Yamato is transmitting that the armda was delayed by a Maquis ambush but they resistance has been squashed and the armada will arrive shortly." Blitzer looked at Max, "That isn't true is it? Why would they lie?"

"Big fat liars is what they are," Max snorted and shook her head. "Propaganda, I'll betcha," she told him. "They aren't gonna tell everyone we sent them runnin'. That wouldn't be good for morale."

"Go Cappy Go! Ra! Ra! Ra!" Pixie was back in her "cheerleader's" outfit, complete with pompoms. "Cap'n Hunter kicked butt and took names," Krystal informed them both when all eyes fell on her.

"I like 'er pigtails," Maxine commented in an off the wall manner.

Blitzer looked at Krystal a surprised look crossed his face, "Huh?" He leaned forward, "what are you supposed to be?"

"I'm Cap'n Hunter's official Pixie Cheerleader," Krystal told him proudly, strutting a bit and wiggling her butt and pompoms.

"I like 'er pigtails," Maxine offered again. "Those are pompoms," she pointed to them helpfully.

Blitzer leaned back and arched his eyebrow. "Pom..poms... I see."

Max actually chuckled. "You have about the same response I did..." she told him. "But I do like the pigtails." Max pulled her own hair up into two pigtails and then grinned at Blitz as she held them there.

"That is cute." he said

"Cappy needs a cheerleader," Krystal told them, sounding all wise and knowing.

"Just don't call him Cappy to his face..." Max told her and dropped her hair, gathering it at the back of her neck in a knot.

"Aww. I like the pigtails," said Blitzer with a grin.

"Hah! You're teasing me," Max laughingly accused him..

"No, I'm serious!" said Blitzer defending his remarks, "look how cute Krystal looks with them."

Krystal struck a pose and shook a pompom.

Maxine looked at Krystal rather critically. "Roight... But she's a pixie," she pointed out, as if that made all the difference in the world.

"The little dress is is cute too. You got one of them too?" said Blitzer with a wink to Krystal, making the little pixie giggle.

Maxine blinked and looked at Blitz as if he'd just sprouted horns to go with his tail.

"I can replicate her one," Krystal offered.

"Oh Crikey." Maxine turned crimson and looked at both of them like they were in league with the devil himself. "I don't even 'ave a dress... and something like *that*..." she indicated Krystal with a flick of her fingers. "What's the point of it? There's 'ardly anything there."

Blitzer looked at Max with a twinkle in his eye and grinned, "mmmm..." he said almost purring. He studied the pixie and then looked over Max again, "...mmmmm, well," he said trying to conceal his smile with his paw, "I think you'd be adorable in it."

Max glared at him and snorted softly. "You are a very strange man, y'know that?"

Krystal giggled and shared a conspiratorial look with Blitzer. "Don't worry.. I'll get her one," she whispered overloud.

"An' stop givin' m'pixie ideas," Max glanced between the two of them. "You're a bad influence," she told him.

"Me?" protested Blitzer with a chuckle, "she's the one with pigtails and pompoms," he said.

"Ra! Ra! Ra! Go Blitzy Go!" Krystal cheered and giggled.

"Aaaaccckk!!! SEE!" Max blinked at Krystal's antics and gave Blitz an accusing, 'it's all YOUR fault' look.

Blitzer feigned a submissive look, his ears drooped over, he turned to face the controls. His smile was incongruent with his body language.

"Look what you did," whispered Krystal as her wings drooped to match Blitzer's ears.

"Oohh... uhhh..." Max frowned as she watched Blitz, more in tune with his ears and body language than his odd smile. "I didn't... uhh..." she reached over and touched an ear, trying to push it back up. " 'Ey... M'sorry... It's really not your fault... She's th' one that keeps readin'..."

Blitzer's ears cocked forward when a beep sounded on Max's console.

Max's total attention was turned to her console, all thoughts of Blitz's ears and tail gone as her fingers caressed the panel before her. "Pickin' up another transmission..." she told Blitzer. "M'runnin' it through the same decryptions process as th' last one. That'll tell us if it's the same or not... Should take just a moment if it is."

Blitzer watched patiently.

"Got it... M'sendin' it to you now. Looks like a request for more ground troops an' assistance from th' Cardassians..." she told him.

"Did they answer?"

"Yeah... I'm runnin' it through now..." she told him ad her fingers seemed to caress the panel's buttons rather than pushing them. "Got it... Th' Cardassians are only gonna send in a hundred more... S'pose that means they've sent in more before?" She looked over at Blitz as if he had all the answers.

Blitzer mouthed the words of the message a couple times to himself. "I'd say it sounds like we could expect more cardassians on the planet."

"Huh... Wonder why..." Max mused thoughtfully. "I hope our intel Chief can find out what's goin' on... And I wonder if that means we can expect more ships..."

Blitzer looked out the view port at the big blue planet below them. He new Northrop was somewhere down there, trying to stay out of trouble. "Yeah..." said Blitzer.