<Lt. Cmdr. Max Mortimer, Officers Lounge>

Mortimer stares at the pills offered by Rhine for a few seconds, then decides he has nothing left to lose by actually taking them. The effect is almost immediate. His dripping head begins to clear.

"er.. just give me a few seconds"

Mortimer heads to the replicator and orders a towel, wipes his head dry, and returns to his chair.

"Well, I seem to have more problems than a Vulcan at the arctic at the moment. Where do you want me to start?"
"Seven years ago to this very day, my family received a message from Starfleet Intelligence, telling them that my older brother Alex was M.I.A.  One of my contacts there managed to find out where he was assigned at the time: ch'Rihan, one of the Romulan Homeworlds. Starfleet have always refused to comment. Every year, since, I've tried to find out what happened, but I never find anything. Thats my first problem."
"My second problem is Vice Admiral McCarthy. She seems to have a grudge against me because I decked a Vulcan a few years back. Well, he was my First Officer, but the officious git was really %!$$ing me off. We were being followed by a cloaked Romulan vessel. It was obvious that they weren't paying us a social visit, and were committing an act of war by being in Federation territory. Anyway, this Vulcan, Lt. Cmdr. Solek, had put me in charge of the bridge while he and the captain were discussing our mission. When the Tactical Officer informed me of the Romulan ship, I ordered him inform them of their mistake and to fire the aft photon torpedo launcher. Well - you know Romulans - there wasn't any point asking them to surrender. Solek must have been monitoring bridge communications while he was in his meeting, because he immediately countermanded the order. I mean - these pointy eared $*ds seem to be able to multitask like a 12th generation LCARS. I must have been the only person on board who could see what was happening. It was obvious that he was a spy for the Romulans. Did you know that there is an underground group on Vulcan who are actually working for the Romulan government? Starfleet seem to be covering it up pretty well - probably something to do with all those Vulcan Admirals at Starfleet Command."
"Anyway, where was I, oh yes - this Solek rushed to the bridge immediately, so I punched his lights out before he could do any more damage. " Mortimer looks at the wreckage of his arm. "Guess that thing was of some use after all. Anyway, the captain wasn't far behind, but Solek managed to turn the whole thing around into an assault and subordination charge.
Ever since that incident, McCarthy has been making my life hell. She has overlooked me for promotion on numerous occasions, making noises about 'Diplomatic relations with the Romulans'. Heck - we don't even have contact with the Romulan government, let alone any diplomatic relations. Still, command just retaliate with how it could damage 'future relations'."
"As I said, McCarthy keeps overlooking me for promotion. There was a first officer position on the Tintagel which my last captain had reccommended me for. As usual, she just found someone else. I'm pretty sure she has someone on this ship 'keeping an eye on me', but I don't know who. Didn't stop me telling her I know who it is, just to make me feel in control of the situation"
"Thirdly, that thing, " Mortimer gives his ruined arm a black look, "that thing has been falling apart at the seams recently. The power supply runs down after a few hours, and it keeps twitching whenever I don't concentrate on controlling it."
"Finally, on top of all this, I was, er, hoping for some company in here tonight." Mortimer turns a bright shade of red.
"But she, er,  hasn't shown....."

"Well, bet you wish you hadn't asked, now"