It is early in the morning on the USS Knight. For the most part the crew is still asleep. With the exception of the skeleton crew that runs the ship, no real signs of life normally found aboard a large starship seem to exist. As 0600 hours approaches the morning crew begins to stir and prepare for the day. For some people waking up in the wee hours of the morning is easy, but not for Lt. Kira Markos.
<The time is 0600 hours, do you wish to wake up?>
A muffled groan emanates from beneath the pillows and sheets of a bed near the window in the small quarters that Markos calls home. He opens his eyes trying to get them to adjust to the darkness of his quarters. Space can be too dark at times. Being used to the sun to wake him up in the morning, Markos still hasn't quite adjusted his sleeping patterns to accommodate the vast darkness of space. With a slight quirk of a smile Markos stretches out to his full body length and reaches high above his head. Time to make the donuts. With that last thought coming from somewhere in his past life, Markos swings his body so that he can sit up in bed with his feet dangling over the side and simultaneously announces in a hoarse morning voice, "Computer, lights at fifty percent."
So much has changed for the young Lieutenant in the past year. His previous assignment aboard the USS Ilion was cut short by some very strange circumstances. Looking back on those events, Markos wonders why he ever chose to go out into space. His first time traveling aboard a starship and, lo and behold, a spatial anomaly forms that throws the ship and crew into the Andromeda galaxy. To top it off, they landed right in the laps of the Kelvans, a race of beings who are devoted to bringing the universe under their control. It was those set of circumstances that caused Markos to reevaluate his silence on his capabilities. Through him, most of the crew of the USS Ilion was able to return back to their own galaxy. True, the ship didn't survive, but that wasn't entirely his fault. Now after a year of rest, and a promotion to Lieutenant, he was being recommissioned to the USS Knight and given the position of Chief Medical Officer. Today is his first day in that position.
During his leave of absence Markos didn't have a lot of time on his hands. After Starfleet Medical had learned about his capacity to control energy they requested that a thorough physical examination be performed in addition to some tests of his abilities to be placed in his medical records and personnel file. Some of these tests were performed on Bajor with a joint scientific cooperative from Starfleet Medical. Some tests were simple, see how much energy you can absorb, create a ball of light. Some of the tests they came up with involved energy transfer and manipulation that Markos would have never thought of on his own. In fact, toward the end of the study they were experimenting with having him create photonic light, the same energy form used and manipulated on the holodecks of major starships. On the last day of the study he was able to create solid geometric shapes, and had some success with forming humanoid life forms. There was only one problem, creating the shapes took time, a continuous supply of low grade energy and a lot of concentration. He could only hold the forms for about ten minutes, but it was a start. The doctors and scientists theorized that as Markos practiced this ability he could probably create whole three dimensional images in a ten foot radius, but that was a long way off. Another thing that the experiments helped Markos with was the knowledge of how much energy he could store and still maintain subliminal control over its transfer. Markos didn't know why but officially that information was deemed classified. After these tests were completed he was getting closer to controlling his capacities as he never had before, also he was becoming more comfortable with the notion of using them in public. Still, he didn't want to rely on his capacities on a day to day basis. If he were an engineer, that would be a different story, but as a Doctor he felt that he could refrain from using his abilities unless it was absolutely necessary.
As he slowly moves about his quarters in preparation for the day, he contemplates how he is going to meet the crew. He was actually looking forward to this moment with mixed emotions. On the one hand he was excited about seeing many of his former crew mates from the Ilion. It had been nearly a year and he didn't keep in contact with any of them. The thought of seeing familiar faces in better circumstances brought light to his eyes. Yet, on the other hand, there was the issue of how he was going to face these people with the knowledge that many of them knew what he was capable of doing. Markos still could remember the look of shock on Ensign Linn Haakon's face in the briefing room after his little "demonstration" had ended. Granted, with most of the crew having seen strange and exotic life forms before his arrival, he wouldn't be ostracized for being what he was, yet it wasn't his differences that brought reproach upon Markos' head. It was the fact that he didn't disclose his capabilities to his superiors and, in the process of non-disclosure, basically lied about who he was. It was bad enough having to stand before the Starfleet Inquisition Board and explain his capacities and why he hid them, but to have to repeat that process on a one to one level with his friends among the crew was going to be a long process.
Finally, Markos is ready for the day ahead of him. As he pauses to look at his reflection in the mirror, he sees a different person from who he was one year ago. Before, he was always hiding something, afraid that he would be rejected by others if they knew what he really was. Now, with his life and his secrets exposed, he felt liberated, able to take on the galaxy, or at least the duties placed before him.
"Well," he mumbles to himself as he turns to exit his quarters, "here we go again."