Max led the way into Ten Forward. Sam, Jo and Kim followed close behind, but Lee had been diverted by one of her crewmates and said she would catch up in a minute.
The place was almost deserted, which made sense of course, since everyone was busy getting ready for the coming showdown. There were only two tables occupied, one by four young male Ensigns, the other by a pair of men one of whom looked Vulcanian.
The women chose a table apart from the others near the big forward windows and sat down to wait for their wing commander.
"Big ship," said Kim, impressed by her surroundings.
"Hopefully big enough," said Max in her usual dark disposition.
"It will be," said Jo trying to lighten the mood again.
Sam wasn't paying attention though. She was distracted by the table of Ensigns, who had "noticed" the newly arrived ladies. When she inadvertently made eye contact with one of them, she looked away, suddenly self-conscious. She stood suddenly to cover her embarrassment and said, "I'll get lunch. What's everyone having?"
"The usual," they all said in unison. Kim smiled and giggled.
Sam walked over to the bar, where a man was wiping down the back counter. She gave a little cough and said, "Um...."
The man turned around and noticed he had a customer. "Hi there. What'll it be?"
"Five chicken salad sandwiches and five coffees," Sam said softly.
"Coming right up," said the barkeep. He walked over to his behind-the-bar replicator and began punching in the order. Meanwhile Sam stood by, patiently waiting.
Suddenly, a voice coming from right behind her startled her and she spun to face the speaker. One of the Ensigns had worked up enough nerve to approach her. "Hey Lieutenant. You new in town? Can I buy you a drink?" he said.
"Well I... uhh...," stammered Sam. She knew he meant no harm, but she was unnerved by the Ensign's attention.
Just then, a hand clamped down on the Ensign's shoulder from behind him saving Sam from any further discomfort. It was Max. "We're all new in town, Ensign, and I believe the Lieutenant has already ordered our drinks for us, but thank you for the offer. Why don't you rejoin your little friends over there." At that, she released the suddenly frightened young Ensign. He quickly made his way back to his table.
The bartender reappeared then with two trays, one laden with sandwiches, the other with coffee. "There you go, Lieutenants. And I'm sorry about that little disturbance. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it."
"No harm done," said Max. Sam nodded in agreement. She picked up the coffee tray and Max took the sandwiches. Together they returned to their own table.
"Oh good, lunch is served!" said Kim. She hadn't noticed the altercation at the bar, as she had been too busy pouring over a PADD she had brought with her on the specs of the Genesis Device. Now she snagged a sandwich from the tray and took a huge bite.
"Hungry?" joked Jo.
"Mpffth," said Kim with full mouth, nodding her affirmation.
At this point, Lee rejoined the group. She sat down at the table with the rest of her team. They could instantly tell something had happened.
"What's wrong?" asked Jo. "How's your friend?"
"He's Bajoran, and he'd just heard about the destruction of Bajor. He wasn't taking it very well," said Lee.
"Ohhh. The poor kid," said Kim. "That must be terrible having your home and family destroyed! I wish I could do something. I feel so bad for him."
"There's more...," began Lee. She looked around the table at her friends, but her gaze came to a halt at last on Kim.
Kim looked up from her sandwich and noticed Lee's regard. "What?" she said.
Lee braced herself for what she had to tell her friend. "I just saw a report.... About the progress of the Battle Planet.... They've.... They've hit Starbase 74, Kim," Lee finally managed to get out.
"Oh no...," said Kim, stunned. "Mom and Dad..." Her hand holding her sandwich sank back to the tabletop. Suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore. Neither were the others.
The Kelvan Battle Planet pushed its inexorable way deeper and deeper into the heartland of the Federation. Inhabited planet were becoming more plentiful.
Miles beneath the surface, the Kelvan Commander squatted in his command pit and viewed the displays. According to the reports sent in by his tactical sub-commanders, the Battle Planet had just passed through a very dense cluster of systems. Protecting the area had been a space installation, the computers labeled it 'Starbase 74', but it had been swept aside almost as an afterthought.
The Kelvan Commander was growing impatient. His goal was a quick conclusion to his campaign. He looked at the chronometer display. Soon. Very soon.