USS Galaxy: The Next Generation Sim Log
Stardate: 60811.16 - 60811.22 |
Weekly Summary |
Number of posts this week: 34 On ship: As requested, Valentina Kyznetsova sends a list of personnel who have knowledge of her situation to Director Elaithin. Arel Smith visits Victor Krieghoff to congratulate him on his recent promotion and also to deliver a 'souvenir' she picked up for him while she was in the wilderness survival competition. Krighoff in turn recruits her to the ship's baseball team (with the promise that she may be able to inflict violence on the opposing team, of course). Siebur, the assassin hunting down Suder and Bental, makes it on board in the guise of a newly transferred Lieutenant. He tries to get his physical so he can report for duty, but gets into an argument with Ben Maxwell, and Max decides to deny him the physical. Siebur thinks this is even better than planned, since if he can't report for duty that gives him even more time to do what he really came to do. Once back in his quarters, Siebur sends a signal to his contact, which informs her that they're now at T-minus 18 hours. Victor Krieghoff and Federation Marshal Mel Daughtery meet with Ayanna Hinanat so that she can sign off on the arrest warrant for Ophelia Zamora. Given the speed of the Federation bureaucracy and Krieghoff's desire to shield Zamora's son Logan from seeing his mother arrested, they will monitor Zamora until Starfleet signs off on the warrant and Logan is taken into protective custody, which will take a few hours. Samantha Widdlestein tries to give some "helpful advice" on how Brian and Andy should decorate their new shared quarters. Brian is initally apprehensive, but agrees to let Sam help out as long as he and Andy get the final say on everything that she wants to do. Allison gets a moment to take a shower, since Dr. Burton thinks that it will be easier to treat her if they can actually see what they need to treat under the layers of dirt and grime. While she is showering she brushes against a painful spot on her shoulder, and the nurse who is supervising her thinks there is something embedded in the bone itself. It turns out to be a fragment of metal, specifically the tip of a knife, the makeup of which is most likely Klingon. The knife point is easily removed with the medical transporter, and while Allison is recovering, Arel Smith appears needing to be patched up after her encounter with Spengler. Allison attacks Arel and insists that Arel killed her mother. Victor Krieghoff separates the two, getting Arel's omnipresent knife away from her before something bad happens...and then he realizes that the tip of the knife removed from Allison's shoulder is the exact same blade as Arel's knife. Ben Maxwell meets with Kimberly Burton to ask for her help devising a long-term treatment plan for Branwen London. During their meeting, Max reveals that he actually has information about how the Hydran doctor did what he did to Branwen, information that could have helped treat Branwen if he'd shared it with Medical instead of keeping it secret between himself and Saul Bental. Needless to say, Dr. Burton is NOT amused. Afterwards, Kimberly burns off some steam and gets ready for her event in the Games by practicing some zero-g maneuvers in one of the holodecks. Jaal Jaxom is interrupted from a daydream about his less than stellar performance in the springball competition. He spends a few minutes chatting with his old friend Captain Daneel Olivaw, and just as that call finishes, he gets a call from K'aa (no doubt about the mission to the communications array). Ayanna Hinanat gets a call from a friend/colleague of hers, Lt. David Webber, inquiring about a possible opening for a JAG position aboard the Galaxy. What she doesn't realize is that her assistant, Charlotte Dooley, has been knocked out in her quarters and replaced by none other than Faylin McAlister. Tarin Iniara finally sucks it up and goes to apologize to Branwen London for not fighting to keep her on the ship after she was rescued from Hydran captivity. Since Branwen's children are now with her sister, Iniara vows to help Branwen see her kids whenever possible. Off ship (in the Dodekatheon system): Somewhere, a figure known as the Agent reports to another figure known as the Operative, reporting that several upcoming events in the Starfleet Games have been sabotaged, but that the sabotage of Alexandra Lee's swimsuit in the swimming prelims was not his doing. This makes the Operative nervous, and he asks the Agent to investigate further. Ensign T'risia participates in her first match in the Games' chess competition, easily defeating her opponent, despite the fact that her mind keeps wandering to things other than the match itself. After the conclusion of the marksmanship preliminary rounds, Tarin Iniara again encounters Aron Vira, the man who randomly struck up a conversation with her before the final qualifying round. Iniara is less than amused with him, but finally agrees to have a drink with him after he promises to leave her alone afterwards. Alexandra Lee is surprised one evening when her old roommate and friend Amy Jensen stops by to apologize for her behavior earlier in the competition. They catch up on things, and will next see each other in the 400 meter relay. The next day, Alex takes the gold in the 100m butterfly, but all she can think about is the 400m relay. Chris Daniels meets up with his sister Ezzie for some dinner and catching up on things. While they converse, a pair of mysterious men watches Chris and Ezzie, and later the men get into a heated conversation which sparks a restaurant-clearing fistfight. Arel Smith is having a drink in one of the bars on Epsilon Five when she's somewhat accosted by Jan Hoffman Spengler. Spengler has a group of newbie Security officers who he's attempting to train/educate, although it's not going so well. Spengler uses Arel as sort of a training tool, which irritates her to no end, but he suggests he will make it up to her...somehow. Tarin Iniara and Arel Smith run into each other in the early rounds of the marksmanship competition. Arel was eliminated early, and she reveals that she's bet on Iniara to win her next match, even though Iniara's opponent is heavily favored. The two engage in some gossip, revealing that the rumor mill aboard the ship is very much alive and well, though it's, as always, far from accurate. After one of the baseball games, Victor Krieghoff is washing up when he is joined in the showers by Angelienia. The pair is interrupted by a call from Ensign So'ka, who notifies him about an anonymous tip received regarding someone (possibly McAlister) trying to gain unauthorized access to Galaxy, as well as a notification that Captain Rebecca von Ernst has been listed as MIA. 8-ball Hunter begins the billiards competition, though she's beginning to regret her decision to participate because of all the people around-- people whose thoughts she has to filter out of her own mind. In order to focus she concentrates on one voice out of the many, which turns out to be that of her naive opponent Marco...which is annoying enough, but at least it works. In the mixed weapon competition, Arel Smith draws Jan Hoffman Spengler as her opponent, although the match-up of epee versus mek'leth is a little strange. The battle is an interesting one, but Spengler keeps scoring touches on Arel's foot, which she considers dishonorable (even though it is a valid point in the competition). Eventually this pisses Arel off and she attacks Spengler, beating the crap out of him on the mat, and being disqualified from the match in the process. Recovering from a sound thrashing in the mixed martial arts competition, Adrian An'quinsos spends some time with his older sister Jaina. They discuss the various aspects of his bat'leth match, and how he is expected to fare in the upcoming El-Aurian Baguazhang matches. Jaina mentions something about the outcome of the matches possibly being influenced by the bets made for or against the favored competitors. Wyldfyre operative Raikar Thaimus receives information that Camboro Cartel operatives have fixed the shuttlecraft races, so he takes advantage of some technicians' displeasure with the pilots to "alter" the shuttlecraft in order to bring attention to the Camboro modifications. Unforunately this leaves Ella Grey with a decidedly pimped-out ride, although given what happened to the other shuttles, she definitely got off easy...especially since the new paint job did call attention to some ignition system modifications that definitely would have caused problems in the race. Off ship (outside the Dodekatheon system): Jaxom, Elessidil, K'aa, Kyznetsova and Matthews are assigned to a team to perform upgrades/maintenance/resupply of a communications array that has suddenly gained a high militaristic value for Starfleet. Once they arrive at the array, K'aa is working on a sensor grid for the array when he is confronted by one of the array's assigned crewmembers. The woman wants to take her revenge on K'aa because her sister was K'aa's first victim when he was possessed by the Messenger entity, but with a little ingenuity K'aa is able to subdue the woman. Aboard the USS Zeus, Teresa "Panic" Church wonders and worries about where her captain has disappeared to, which leads her to think back to the days when she had first encountered von Ernst (as well as her other handmaiden Olivia "Fear" Chenevert) at the Wolf 359 Tactical School. A call from Fear brings Panic out of her thoughts; apparently a USS Galaxy crewman by the name of Allison Jimsdottir just sent a message to von Ernst simply requesting communication. Panic tells her to pull up any information on Allison and forward it along to SFI. On the USS Einstein, Tias L'hari collects his few belongings from his wrecked quarters in preparation for his transfer to the USS Galaxy. There aren't any transports heading his way for a few days, so he's going to be stuck in a runabout for the journey. (events taking place in the past) On Alpha KS-128, the Marines under For'kel Arvelion's command successfully ambush their Breen attackers, but then are ambushed right back, and driven nearly against the walls of the Alamo. All almost seems lost when the Petreus-model tanks arrive just in time to save the day, blasting any Breen targets in the vicinity. At the end of it all, the Breen find that they have actually lost ground.
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Logs |
"The Agent Reports"***** Somewhere, a conversation was taking place. As they had always done in the past, and as they would no doubt do again in the future, the two participants in the conversation were communicating simply by text on a screen. Naturally, each one assumed that the other had camped out somewhere at a public access terminal, or that they were some place private but still bouncing their data transmissions off the public network, greatly increasing the chances that the conversation wouldn't be traced. And of course, both parties had assumed correctly. On one end of the line, a being known as the Operative sat in a dark, unremarkable room found at the end of a rarely used, equally unremarkable hallway. Nearly everything about the Operative was unknown: age, height, weight, species, assigned sex, designated gender...where he was born, where he grew up...relationship status, favorite flavor of ice cream...favorite sport to play, favorite sport to watch...the list could go on. All that was known about the Operative, at least from the perspective of the conversation he was now having, was that he preferred to type in Standard and was rather meticulous about it. (The pronoun 'he' being used in this situation for simplicity, of course, as Standard doesn't have many options for a pronoun of uncertain gender, and the author has never been comfortable with 'it'.) On the other end of the line was another being of similar ambiguity called simply the Agent. Although he didn't know it, the Agent had picked a location that was the complete polar opposite of the Operative's current location. Nestled in a semi-private alcove in a bustling cafe in the middle of a large spaceport city, by the very act of exposing himself so widely, the Agent was guaranteeing his almost complete anonymity and unremarkability. [Good day, Agent,] the conversation began. [hello] Even if he hadn't been assured of the Agent's identity by a series of security measures designed to protect both parties, the way the being on the other end communicated was a dead giveaway. Short, to the point, hardly any punctuation, never any capitalization. In the past the Operative had wondered if perhaps the Agent was using some sort of transcription or translation software that wasn't quite top-of-the-line, and that was why his replies sounded more like those of a 12-year-old girl who'd just been given access to the public datanet than those of a trained, intelligent, and very well paid Syndicate agent. But, over the years he'd come to realize that the sometimes maddening cadence of fragmented sentences, proper nouns left uncapitalized, rampant and unnecessary ellipses, and occasional phrases that cried out for a well-placed Oxford comma to save them were this agent's signature. Although, whether it was pure laziness or simply the Agent's preferred way to communicate, the Operative had yet to figure out. [Status report, please.] [everything ok...enjoy ball broom...city will fall] [Understood.] "Ball broom" was his way of saying curling...technically the piece involved was called a stone, but the image was close enough. And he said "city will fall", which meant that he should be looking for a ship named after a city. The Operative called up a list of teams scheduled to compete in the next day's semifinals, along with the betting odds on each match. The all-Andorian team of the USS Alberta was heavily favored against the team from the USS Silversides; that must be the match the Agent had fixed. No, not fixed...altered. [Go on.] [three game, watch out for the spots. you seen the splits on the fence lately? damn kinky...oh, and zoom zoom, watch out, get dirty, two by two, hands of blue] The Operative nodded to himself, watching the text flow across the screen. A Trill, or maybe a Kriosian, would have a bad time of the triathlon. "Splits on the fence" meant gymnastics, the beam or maybe the bars, and "damn kinky" referred to either a Bajoran's kinky nose or the kinky hair of a Klingon woman. And in the two-man Argo races, the team with the blue skin would lose. He wondered how many Andorians or Bolians would be competing in the next few days. Probably not many. [You've been busy.] No new text appeared on the screen for several seconds, long enough for the Operative to start to get a little nervous. But, just as he was getting ready to sever the connection and get out of there, a single word appeared on the screen. [yes.] There was another pause, then the Agent's typing continued. [splish splash, take a bath but be quick, don't crawl away] Hm. That meant swimming, specifically a short freestyle event. The Operative checked his event schedule again. The men's 50m freestyle finals were tomorrow...and now he had a feeling there was going to be an upset in the medal race. [i expect a bonus for that, op man] [Certainly. By the way, that was a nice addition to the show earlier.] [striptease?] The Operative supposed that was the Agent's way of referring to the unexpected shedding of clothes by Alex Lee of the USS Galaxy. That scandal had been all over the news feeds, especially when it had been determined that the woman's suit had been sabotaged by fabric-eating nanites a former friend and rival of hers had applied to Alex's suit just before the race. It wasn't the most subtle way to approach things, and the Operative had been a bit annoyed when he'd seen it plastered all over the screen, but eventually he had to admit that it had been a damn fine show. [Yes.] There was another long pause, this one even longer than the one that had made the Operative so nervous the first time. [wasn't me.] [What?] [said it wasn't me] [You're kidding.] [do i need to say it again? wazza, op man, you deaf?] The Operative frowned, removing his hands from his keyboard. There was a chance it was nothing to worry about, that the nanites had been used by someone who was just looking to get back at a rival. But the Operative knew better; even if it was a coincidence, he'd better keep an eye on it just in case. Well, make the Agent keep an eye on it, that is. [Alright. Keep on the lookout, though, and see if you can find out anything.] [hah.] Another pause in typing, followed by, [fine. bonus bonus bonus.] [Not a problem; just do it.] [done.] Abruptly, the window of text winked out; the signal that the connection had been terminated on the other end. The Operative frowned as he began to pack up his own equipment; the Agent's continual rudeness was something he'd never grown accustomed to, not even after a decade and a half of correspondence. But, he supposed as long as the Agent continued to deliver results, and as long as those results continued to generate significant profits for their employer, he would just have to deal with it. Slipping out of his hiding place he made his way down the hallway back to the more populated areas of this complex (although even those weren't that populated, even though it was the middle of the afternoon here) and towards the expansive shuttle bay. It was time to hop to another rock to make his report. "The List" "News Update" ***** "Good evening and welcome back to continuing coverage of the Starfleet Games. I'm Kaina sol Sorassi, on location." This time, the young Kriosian reporter is dressed in a plush red parka with a wide tuft of brilliant white synthetic fur lining the hood's opening. The wind whips around her head, causing a few stray strands of deep brown hair to break free from the confines of the oversized hood and blow around her face as she talks. Behind her, tall, snow-capped evergreen trees stretch as far as the camera can see. "We're currently awaiting the conclusion to the men's ski jumping event," she continues. She slowly turns her body, the camera angle changing until a small roofed structure-- the starting point of the event-- comes into view. About a dozen people are standing nearby, including two obvious competitors, their bright, skin-tight suits and aerodynamic helmets causing them to stick out from the crowd. "Crowd favorite Karellathen th'Voreth of the USS Senanga is expected to bring home the gold. But, he will face stiff competition in the form of newcomer Morin Elorim of the USS Adelphi. This is Elorim's first appearance in the Games, and thus far he has come from virtually nowhere to become a real force of opposition in these Games." "While we wait, lets bring you up to speed on some of the recent happenings here in the Dodekatheon system." The picture shifts on the screen as a wide bar appears at the bottom, containing a scrolling list of events that have already concluded, and the medal winners in each. "Several of the swimming events have already concluded; most recently was the women's 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay, which went to the team from the USS Iscander. The Iscander's men's team also took the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay two days ago. As expected, Norah Willensen of the USS Orobourous once more emerged victorious in the women's 1000 meter freestyle, and Arjin Kelo, also of the USS Orobourous, brought home the gold in the men's 5 km open water swim just a few minutes ago. "Elsewhere, Mara Hennessy of the USS Mondial narrowly defeated V'Las of the USS Krotus in the women's winter biathlon. An unexpected upset came in the kal-toh event, where the favored competitor, Sovel of the USS Silversides was defeated by Satok of the USS Gorgon in a match that stretched well over four hours. Another upset came in the two-person 1000 km Argo race held just this morning on Planet Artemis, when the heavily favored team of ch'Thon and sh'Zeran were easily defeated after their craft broke down early into the endurance race. Expected to easily win the event, the pair from the USS Nath'qu finished in eighth position. "Well, it looks like the competitors are just about ready to begin, so let's turn our attention to the starting blocks, where th'Voreth has elected to go first. If his performance in the preliminary rounds is any indication, we are in for a treat..." "Check" by Ensign T'risia The slender Vulcan woman entered the room, with many chess players seated at various tables. Since she was representing the Galaxy, and thus in an official capacity, she wore her uniform, and further, a very sedate accoutrement, Her headband was black and white checkered, as was the chess board, and her ornamental pin a metallic profile of the Knight. Her expression was solemn as she shtrode efficenetly to her table, bowing slightly with respect to Borssk Hyla, her opponent in this early round. As she regarded the male, with his fairly standardized set of humanoid features, she noted his enlarged cranial index, impliying great cognitive potential, and somewhat purplish skin tone. Without a word, she sat down in her chair, and composed herself. "Whenever you would like to start the clock," said Hyla politely. He smiled slightly, and seemed genuinely pleased with the prospect of the game, as was T'risia, in her emotionless fashion. She nodded, to begin. The computer randomly selected one player to be white, and thus go first, and that player was Borssk. His opening proved to be impressively aggressive, which the vulcan was hard pressed to deal with. As her computer like mind weighed probabilities, course of action, and so on, she found that her thoughts wandered along parallel tracks. She considered that her commander, Mr. Krieghoff, had recently professed that they were friends of some kind. Having not had friends before, she was most unsure whether his assessment was correct, although clearly, he had more experience in that matter. Pieces moved across the board, entering preordained orderly structures as she considered this matter, and what it meant. "Check," she announced. As her opponenet responded, she considered further. Friends did things together. Activities of sorts. Dinner, various social things of which she did not indulge. By that definition, Krieghoff and she were not friends in any way. Pices flurried from harm, dancing their dance, representative of the give and take of power and influence on the board, a microcosm for relations between people. All give and take, guesswork and probability. "Check." The thought of dancing brought her to the parallel track of Ms. Hunter. T'risia thought of Ms. Hunter often, and wondered as to what she might mean to the other woman. She was most fond of the person known as 8-ball, she thought as she moved her Queen to a threatening posture. She found the other woman stimulating in many ways, and hoped that 8-ball found her of equal interest. She wondered if 8-ball would wish to watch her play...she noted that most Terrans found chess less than exciting. "Check," she said again, as she pressed the timer control with stern authority. Looking to her opponent, she could see that the man was troubled, his purplish brow wrinkled in concentration. He moved intelligently, dealing with her continued, relentless assauly, as her mind wandered. Perhaps she needed to bring her assets together, as she would assets on the chessboard. Terrans had a tradition, the Doubling of the Date, that friends engaged in. Perhaps she would pose the riddle to Mr. Krieghoff. "Check," she said, once more, in her cool voice. As her opponent responded, she wondered what sort of friend activities that Krieghoff engaged in. "Check." She wished to play The Billiards again with Ms. Hunter. "Check." She wished to practice the kissing, as well. "Check." She wished to end the game, and see Ms. Hunter again. "Check" Looking to her opponent, and his board status, she realized the endgame was upon them. T'risia thought of Ms. Hunter, and her symmetrical pleasing features. Bringing her knight into position to support her queen, she made a rapid flurry of moves, finally announcing.... "Checkmate." T'risia stood, and bowed once more, pleased. The outcome was satisfactory, and she saluted in the Vulcan fashion. These early rounds were always unchallenging. She hoped that her friend, and Ms. Hunter, would be pleased despite that. Wordlessly, she left the room, first round over. "How Not to Ask a Woman Out" Tarin Iniara, USS Galaxy ***** "Hey." Iniara paused mid-stride, almost certain that the voice was addressing her, yet hoping that it wasn't. But, even though she'd only heard it once before, she recognized the voice, along with the quick mental tickle accompanying it, and she just knew she wasn't getting out of this one quickly. Great. Him again. "Hello, 'Commander," she replied, turning to face the man. As expected, he was leaning against the corner of a building in what she assumed was supposed to be a rakish pose, with arms folded across his chest and a half-smile on his face. The half smile quickly grew into a full one. "You remembered me!" he exclaimed, unfolding his arms and pushing himself off the wall. "That's terrific!" Iniara watched him, unsure how to react. His choice of words definitely indicated sarcasm, but there was nothing in his body language nor the emotions she could sense coming off him that would corroborate that. As always she couldn't sense much on psi-blockers, but what she did sense from him was almost pure enthusiasm. "Are you following me?" she asked after a moment. Aron shrugged. "Not particularly. I mean, I saw you leaving the complex so I figured I would say hello. Congratulations, by the way." At that, Iniara raised an eyebrow. "How did you know I made it past the qualifying rounds? The results haven't even been posted yet." "I just knew. One-- you're too skilled to be taken out before the real competition begins. And two-- if you had been eliminated, your body language would be very different from what it is now. So tell me...was it close, or...?" "It was not close," Iniara admitted after a moment. "I passed the final round with, I believe the expression is 'flying colors'?" Aron nodded, seemingly satisfied with what she'd just told him. "Good. Then you'll no doubt make it far in the competition. Maybe to the finals, even." "Perhaps." Iniara paused, then looked at him again, this time with a more critical eye. "Why are you taking such an interest in how I perform in this event?" He shrugged again. "No reason." Her eyes narrowed and she moved toward him, closing the distance between them in three steps. "Tell me," she ordered in a low, almost hissing tone. "Fine, fine!" he responded almost immediately, taking a step back and holding his hands up in a protective gesture. Once he saw that she was calming down a bit he lowered his hands, his demeanor relaxing and becoming more serious. "It's because, well...you pay so much attention to others, making sure they're on the right path, watching to see if they'll succeed...wouldn't it be nice if someone did the same thing for you?" He watched her for any signs of a reaction, and was pleased to see that the gamble he'd taken had paid off. Whether the problem was real or only perceived, what he'd said had struck a chord within her. But, just as soon as the tension within her had begun to dissipate, it snapped right back into place, and he found himself once more being stared at by a woman who was struggling with the decision to say something neutral, say something bad, or just simply walk away. Thankfully, for the moment, she hadn't decided on any of those options. His expression fell slightly; pure acting, of course, but still rather convincing. "I can see you want me to leave you alone." Iniara snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Wow, you must be at least a P2 to have picked up on that," she commented with no small degree of sarcasm. Aron did his best to look wounded. "P7 actually...not that it really matters...or that you could tell with those psi-blockers you're on right now. But whatever." Iniara's eyes narrowed again. "*That* is none of your business, 'Commander," she practically growled at him. "I'll ask you one final question. What do you want from me?" This time, he looked her right in the eye, and answered in a straightforward tone, "Companionship." Iniara blinked, almost flinching, her reaction showing that she was quite taken aback by this revelation. "Excuse me?" "Companionship, plain and simple," he repeated, although in the back of his mind he wondered if the woman wanted to punch him. Maybe. "What I mean is, would you like to go have a drink with me?" "No." "Just one?" "I said no. Now leave me alone." "Come on...have a quick drink, and I promise you'll never see me again if you don't want to." Iniara looked at him, trying to decide if he was being serious or not. After several seconds she realized she couldn't tell one way or the other, so she decided to figure it out the low-tech way. "Are you serious about that?" "I am," he said with a nod. "So, what do you say?" She sighed, weighing her options. If twenty minutes of aggravation meant she'd be free from this annoying man from then on, she supposed she could endure it. After all, she'd been through far worse things in the past. "Fine." "Great!" he exclaimed with a smile. Then, as if reading the thoughts out of her mind, he added, "I'll make it worth your while, and I'll keep the aggravation to a minimum. Promise." "We'll see about that." "Amends" Ensign Alexandra Lee Alex laid on her bed in her temporary quarters at the Athlete Village Complex, attempting to relax. She wondered what had happened to her roommate and her best friend, Amy. They had been close friends during the Academy and during competition, they were nearly unstoppable when swimming together. The Sports networks had even went and named the two the 'Dynamic Duo" due to their sensational ability to work together and train together. She had hated the label but the networks had stuck with it nonetheless--now here they were, hating each other. 'Damn this competition,' Alex thought as she stared at the spartan ceiling above her bed. The door chime sounded. Standing, she opened the door and was greeted by the very person who had been on her mind--Amy. "Chris' Break from the Action" Pt. II "Signing Arel" Victor Krieghoff **** USS Galaxy Arel stomped into Victor's office in black sweat pants and a red tank "Interesting outfit," he said with a smile. "Is that the latest undress "Laundry day," She deadpanned. "I hear congratulations are in order." Congratulations? Victor resisted the impulse to look down at his LCARS "I might give them if you weren't such a pthak." "Now that, I know what the response is supposed to be to: 'You're Arel glared at him for a moment and then fished into her pocket, grabbed Victor caught the object, looked at it, turning it over in his hand, as Arel sat down and moved the other chair to prop her feet on. "No, I "I'm just about positive that I don't need to add anything to the office "Coffee. Black," She replied. Arel waited until his back was turned to "Baseball team?" Victor asked as he poured her a cup, and then refilled "Yeah?" Arel took a sip and almost smiled. "Better hide this stuff from "No," he confirmed. "No tackling. I imagine that it's not the most "I guess there's that," She said doubtfully. "I suppose its bad form to "Generally, yes. And you're not allowed to hit the other players with "Disappointing," Arel sighed. "On the other hand," Victor offered, "you are wearing shoes with metal She nodded. "I could do that. Okay, where do I sign up?" Victor looked at her for a moment. Arel? Baseball? But she... well, who Arel shrugged. "Mark said I should try being more social. And if there's "Okay, you're in." Victor wasn't turning a player away - but he was glad "Thanks. So, you're positive there's no tackling allowed?" Victor considered that. "Well... there are historically known moments Her eyes lighted up. "Let's have one of those." "Its good to be King" Commander Arel Smith (Mek) **** Epsilon Five "Poseidon" **** Arel missed the bars of Qo'Nos. Somehow when Klingon men and women got The people in this bar were driving her batshit crazy. Women were Which was why when the crowd suddenly hushed, Arel looked up from her The commotion started in the back of the room, furtive commotion seen Someone met by a mixed reception of hard glances and backhanded Spengler. It had to be by the way the crowd parted as he walked over to the bar. There were some He was tall….a good two meters, and somewhat thin to her eyes. Still, He wasn't alone either, Arel could see. A cordon of plain Ignoring his incompetent escorts, the blond man slid up onto a stool His expression was at once grim and calculating, unfriendly and at the Not that men hadn't looked at her legs before but ... a full minute of The question seemed to surprise Spengler, and he considered it, Arel blinked, trying to decide whether she was amused or pissed off. She shrugged and yelled at the bartender for another drink. Her order was interrupted by the sound of running feet finally Arel easily pulled her arm from his grasp and barely restrained "Aye…uh…I'm sorry but the King…..he uh….geez lady this is a security "No weapons on her." the second agent announced and ran off tricorder "Security issue?" Arel repeated, still a bit stuck on Spengler being "Niles…." a soft accented sigh from Spengler interrupted the exchange. Arel could almost see tears in the kid's eyes, and the death grip on Arel gave Spengler a look that said he'd better spontaneously combust "A..Aye sir." Niles retreated…but kept his eyes up this time, making "What's all this about you being a king?" She'd get to that escort Settling back onto his stool, Jan Hoffman waved a dismissive hand. He motioned to the plainclothes officers. "Starfleet Security you see. She nodded, not entirely happy about agreeing with him. "They could "Indeed." he tipped his own glass. "I am Spengler." he stated simply, She opened her mouth to reply only to find herself shushed with a "No. Galaxy." "Galaxy yes…." he frowned at the correction and handed the device back "So hard to find good help yes?" "Can be," She said dismissively, taking a sip of her drink. "So.." he began, eyes again trailing down her body. "You are athlete ja? Here for the games?" "Yes." "I see....a gymnast perhaps?" She scowled. "Are you trying to pick a fight with me, Spengler, or do "Nien." he protested. "A compliment fraulein. You have a grace about you." She flashed him the finger in silence. They sat together for a while longer sipping their drinks before at length Spengler "Well, Mr. Grant." he began, not taking his eyes off of Arel, still He silenced Arel's protest with a small motion. "What are you actions as Chief of the Detail to prepare for this event?" Resisting his urge to bite his lips, the kid did some quick mental The kid blushed. "Her highness the Queen must not be allowed to learn Half smiling at Arel, Spengler shrugged, "She's ever so picky about Niles licked his lips and continued, "Finally we need to arrange a "Penthouse suite. I want a view of the harbor and a king sized bathtub." Spengler added, not taking his eyes off his companion. "Wine and chocolate too." Her eyes narrowed. He was setting a trap for the kid and Arel was "Right….scan the wine for poisons….microphones. Ummmm that's it I think." "I see. So assuming this is all done Mr. Grant you are ready to leave "Ummmm yes sir. Aye sir. All ready. Well leave the two of you alone whenever you're ready to go." "Ach…that is too bad." Spengler's face hardened again. "You've killed Well, shit, Arel thought. "Armed? What? But we scanned her….." Pushing the boy aside, Spengler blurred into motion, grasping Arel "Damn," Arel said with a sigh. "A knife? But we scanned…owwww shit! You cut me! " The kid protested "A SkinBlade you swine!" he held the bloody tip before him….do any of Many shakes of the head negative, Grant cradling his injured face meekly. "Ach…the education never stops." Spengler shook his head and settled "Go frell yourself," Arel suggested. "…..a Skin Blade is just that…Skin, verstanden? The human body sheds about 1.5 "Too long for the second's use it got. You know it's going to be He placed the small dagger on the counter and refilled his and Arel's "That is what a Security Officer would have done……that is what you did not do." "Okay kids," Arel interrupted before he could continue. "Go review The keystone kops didn't need a second invitation. Bumbling and When they were alone again at the bar Arel shot Spengler a dirty look. "Would not be the first time, my dear." he replied reaching again for the bottle and pouring a sparkling amber glass for Arel and sliding it Arel ignored the glass. "I doubt there's anything you could do that "Perhaps." Spengler drew out a cigarette and calmly lit it, taking a "Cute," She replied, taking the SkinBlade and sliding it into the Taking her arm and leading her away into the night he could only reply. "That my dear is a deal….the night is young and this looks like the start of a beautiful relationship." "The Contract, Part III - On Board" "Arresting Ophelia" Consul Ayanna Hinannat Lt. JG Ophelia Zamora Lt. Victor Krieghoff Deputy Marshal Mel Daugherty Location: Hinannat's Office ============================ Protocol. It screamed at her as she sat behind her desk. Standing as the "Gentlemen. I've been informed of the situation that brings you here. As From her spot against the back wall, Marshal Daughtery glanced over at "A polite way of saying it," Victor observed. "But unnecessary, since She sat, arching her eyebrows very highly at the particular man in front "One, you authenticate the warrant, inform Starfleet of same, and sign "That is?" "Informing the in-place security detail of the impending service of "Your choice on that matter." Her eyes drifted downwards to the warrant. "That won't matter," he replied with a shake of his head. "She'll know "Honestly, I wouldn't know. I know nothing about the security "Then she'll know." Victor nodded to the Marshal. "That's why we'll Mel pressed her thin lips together. She preferred the more direct route "Why watch? Why not just arrest? I'm positive that you have enough "Do you have a son?" Victor asked quietly. "Or a daughter?" "No, thank god," she muttered. "Neither do I," Victor returned. "But she does. He's seven. And after I "I'll leave the decision in when up to you, but I am only granting you "Fair enough...24 hours will be plenty." Mel agreed, fingering her "Understood," Victor nodded. "The Marshal and I will pick up "I don't have any of 'my own.' I have staff. What the staff does on "I'm probably the last person aboard ship to talk to about friends," "Friends are over rated in my opinion." She muttered. Taking the padd Her posture straightened somewhat as she adjusted her body. "Is there... "I'm sure that you'll find something if you look at my personnel "That sounds like something for the medical department to handle, "No, nothing like that; it's illegal, that's all," he stated, as if Beside him, Daugherty raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask the question "Okay, then. I'll have a look and arrange a time to meet with you to ~~Finally.~~ Mel uncrossed her legs and stood. Years of working with "Business as Usual" Arel Smith **** Epsilon Four "Demeter" **** "Hello, Commander," Arel said, sinking down into a hard chair with a "Commander Smith," Iniara replied, turning to face the ship's Arel looked around for one of those annoying food vendors. "No, I was "Well, that's unfortunate," Iniara commented, even though it wasn't "Martial Arts, Individual Hand to Hand Combat, and Climbing. I took Iniara let out an appreciative whistle through her teeth. Many of the "Thank you." "As for me, this is the only event I've entered. Although, if there "If it involved setting the paperwork on fire I might participate," "She is. Top marksman on the USS Senanga, if I heard right." "You'll beat her, of course," Arel said confidently. Iniara nodded, watching another pair of competitors walk past. By "I've got money on you. So you will." "Oh?" Iniara said with a chuckle. She looked back at Arel. "Oh, "Always." The XO let out a low whistle. "In that case, prepare for an upset," "Good." Arel waited few minutes while they watched a fairly even match. "So I Surprised, Iniara coughed loudly. "What?" She smacked a hand against "Samantha tells me things. I try not to listen but she has a way of "Geeez." Iniara shook her head. "Four years aboard this ship and you "Okay." "What?" Arel shrugged. "If you say so." "And I do." "Who you recreate with is none of my business." "Good." Iniara paused, deciding where to go with this. On the one "I mean, it's not like you have much room to talk," Iniara continued, "I ... what?" "You and Jaxom still an item?" "Me and Jaal?" Arel repeated. Individually the words made sense but "Or what about that new engineer. The one from..." Iniara snapped "The Titan? Oh for the love of Kahless! What stupid ko'tal has been Iniara shrugged, yet remained silent. "Iniara," Arel said almost sweetly. "I'm not going to kill anyone. "Very true. However..." She paused once more for dramatic effect. "I Arel was surprised there was no mention of Spengler but was smart "And...now it seems we've fully regressed to high school," Iniara Arel considered. "Maybe I will wait until you have finished." "Good plan." "Feathering the Nest" Brian Elessidil **** USS Galaxy **** So far, co-habitation suited the Galaxy's chief counselor well. True, In addition to the usual demands of duty, there were plans to be made. Oblivious to everything but his thoughts for the moment, he barely "No, not Nighthunters," Andrus corrected. "Just the most tenacious And with that, he fled. Brian entered the living room to find Samantha Widdlestein sitting on He understood now why Andy was running. "Hi, Brian!" Samantha said cheerfully. "Ready to decorate?" "No...no, actually I'm not," he honestly replied. "Have you noticed "Hmmm ... we can do that with purples, blacks, and reds." "Purples, blacks and reds?" he asked somewhat incredulous. "You've "Brian, hush!" The girl replied. "I am a natural at interior Brian regarded her for a moment, then grinned. "Samantha dear, we may Samantha put her hands on her hips. "Oh, yeah? Well, I bet I can out "I'm not willing to concede the issue, but if you think I'm going to "Come on, Brian! I'd do a really good job. I was only teasing Andy "Well let me see...people who get professional decorators usually "You can't be serious. You want to see a PORTFOLIO?" "You want to practice your technique on my quarters, I'm first going "Come here, you disbeliever," Sam snarled, gesturing to a small space "Not a bad start," he acknowledged, studying the PADD carefully. "But "Color combinations," she glared, digging around until she found some "Well we're in agreement on that count," Brian stated. He studied "Got it!" Sam yelled in triumph. "Don't worry, Uncle B! I won't let "I hope not," he said with a smirk. "You know, beneath that "Oh I know. You should see how huffy he gets when I misshelve one of Brian sighed lightly. "Okay, you have your work cut out for you. "Aftershock" Starring : Allison von Ernst (age 20)
She didn't know how long she'd been in the shower. She didn't know how long it had been since the last time. She didn't know how long it would be until the next time.
The cascading spray of warmth stabbed her bruised and battered skin, shedding away layers and layers of dirt and grease. Shedding away layers of pain and frustration Shedding away layers of fear and cold.
Allison von Ernst shivered in spite of the warmth. She was exposed here….no weapons….no way to retreat. Who in their right mind builds a shower with no backdoor exit in case you have to run again? Who broadcasts their position by leaving bright lights on overhead, leaving her thin naked body nowhere to hide against the white porcelain tiles. Best to splash quietly under the rubble in the dead of night. Quick furtive attempts at personal hygiene while a buddy watched your back just in case. A buddy? Allison jerked the curtain aside in a panic….where was her backup? The bored nurse was still sitting there flipping through a holozine. "Don't go anywhere." Alli told her for the tenth time. "Watch my back." The nurse smiled pitifully and assured Allison that she wouldn't leave her alone. "Take your time honey….Dr. Burton and Mr. Krieghoff told me to treat you like gold. Enjoy your shower."
~~Uncle Vic~~ Allison jerked back behind the curtain, allowing the sinfully warm water to dig deep into her matted hair. Grease and who knew what else spun around the drain at her toes. Gawd how long had it been? It had been on the Enterprise. 2 years ago. Was that it? She flicked the curtain open again. "I had a shower on the Enterprise." she announced to the nurse. "Its….its been awhile since then." Again with the polite nod. The nurse noted the bruises and scars on the mud spattered skin and sought for something to say. "That's nice honey…..The Enterprise….I hear its real nice." "Nice?" Allison was confused. She'd never heard anybody refer to those murderers as 'nice'. Retreating back under the water she sorted through her thoughts. Uncle Lysander's final warnings….. The Starships burning in space…..
Starfleet closing in on their position……they had to hide…to run away!
Screaming through time…..again?
She'd arrived on the shuttle….Uncle Vic' shuttle too late. She couldn't stop herself from leaving…..she'd already gone. "Where's my mother you bastard?" She wasn't sure if she said that out loud or not…..Uncle Vic asked her to keep quiet. Things got blurry. The medical bay. Bright lights. Dr. Burton…..alive again? Then the shower and the nice nurse. Lifting her chin, she allowed the water to spray off her face in a rhythmic drumming of hot needles. Her face was bare for the first time in ….how long? No makeup. No mud. No camouflage paint. White Nordic skin with a hint of pale freckles. She used to hate the horrid little things…..covering them up with the latest in skin care products. Now they were all she had left of her mother. Allison ran her hands up her torso, feeling the bumps and bruises of the four years since she'd been gone. Skinny. Too many ribs. Dr. Burton told her she was malnourished. So good to see her alive again. She touched at a scar on her shoulder and winced a bit, gasping in unexpected pain. Hearing the noise the nurse was at the curtain in an instant inquiring what was wrong. Her patient had been through a lot it seemed. Many old injuries…but not raped thank god. The tricorder scans and Allison's furtive shakes of the head had confirmed that. Ignoring the spray, the nurse probed the injured shoulder. Dr. Burton was all set up to fix up the bumps and bruises, but it was decided that a good scrubbing up would be in order first…make it wasier to treat the injuries afterwards……maybe they had missed something though.
"Oww…spuffit!" Alli winced as gentle fingers found the tender spot. "Sorry", the nurse winced in sympathetic pain. "Looks like this scar never healed properly….something's wrong with it." Alli nodded, shivering slightly as the water was shut off to allow a better look. Shy arms caressed her nakedness. When the water is running you are showering…when the water is off…you're just naked. Vulnerable. Why oh why wasn't there a escape route? Allowing herself to be clothed in a blue fluffy robe with a small STARFLEET MEDICAL emblem at her breast, Allison settled down on the side of the tub to rest. The whirring of the nurses tricorder already humming over her shoulder. "Honey….what happened here?" the woman asked in shock, "You have something imbedded in the bone." Alli closed her eyes at the memory. "On the Zeus……it happened on the Zeus." "Astronomica Nova" Captain Thomas Fitsimmons, CO USS Kepler USS Kepler, Nova Class Science Vessel Captain's Log, Stardate ……….. The Kepler is currently enroute to the Tangnagel Array in the Tycho Compounding the problem is the array's sudden militatistic value - To assist the array's crew, we have been fortunate to be assigned some =============== Captain's Ready Room, USS Kepler "Gentlemen", Thomas Fitsimmons began affably as he sat in his chair. Commander Jaxom looked up from the PADD he was studying with a The only Engineering Officer in the room, Ensign Enrique Matthews, "The 'hardware' is probably the least of our concerns", Fitsimmons Jaal looked to Fitsimmons confidently, "I was raised in ops. That kind "I agree with the Commander, Captain. I've been assigned to this "I think the captain might be referring to another kind of As the sole representative for Intel present, Valentina held no doubts The captain leaned back in his chair, letting the stress that had been Brian nodded in sober understanding. "Much too long for a crew to have "I can't see where letting them have a week off while we update and Ensign Matthew's thought about the Commander's reply. ~Maybe they're "Captain?" "Yes Ensign?" "What's our time of arrival at the Tangnagel Array? I still have to go "At warp eight we'll arrive in approximately forty-one hours", the "I'd like to use lab to call up schematics of the array's systems so Commander Jaxom's request gave Enrique an idea. "Commander, if you "As long as your projections don't interfere with the Commander's Enrique's face conveyed a surprised look, shortly followed by a slight "Well... I suppose that's our cue to attend to the tasks at hand", "Echoes of a Strange and Distant Time" Lt. Commander Th'Khiss K'aa, Chief of Operations, USS Galaxy Tangnagel Array, Tycho Epsilon System “So… you’re the infamous Commander k’aa.” Looking up from the sensor module he was installing to the array’s “Funny, I always imagined you… bigger.” Th’K’hiss K’aa was the Chief of Operations on the Galaxy, but his “Jocularity aside Gloria" he geated dryly. "Having known your sister Hard, deliberate steps preceded the arrival of a furious Gloria Anna- “Murderer, you have no right to mention her name! NO RIGHT!!” Her “You killed her!!” “Yes, I did”, K’aa said slowly, keeping his eyes on the menacing swing “Her… and sixty-one others.” “And they let you live?” Gloria southern drawl was almost a laugh as “If you call *this* living”, K’aa answered, reaching deeper into the “Regret??” She grinned a feral, manic smile. “Skinny, I’ve been Finding what he was looking for, K’aa stood and snarled at the “Yea, what’re you gonna do Skinny, bleed on me?” The blackness seemed to strobe pure white light as he caressed the [==^== Kepler to Commander K’aa – we’ve read a dip in the array’s Reaching over the prone woman’s form K’aa saw her chest heave with Standing and hefting the bulky spanner, K’aa looked down at the Beneath a solitary peach tree in the Miranda’s lush arboretum Th’Khiss Its first victim was Susan Emily Beauregard. "Hope" Lt. Victor Krieghoff **** <Planet> For Victor, showering was, even after all this time, a luxury. The century plus that he'd spent as Chulak had made that a part of his psyche now, since water aboard the colony ship Talvalen had been a recycled resource, and sonic showers had been the norm, as they were aboard the Galaxy. Even though he'd taken them all his life before becoming Chulak, and, in a way, he'd never actually spent that time as Chulak taking sonic showers, he couldn't shake the feeling that each and every water-based one since then was a stolen bit of luxury. Today, he welcomed that luxury without a second thought. When he'd agreed to play on the baseball team the Galaxy was fielding, he'd never suspected that he could get as tired as he was after nine innings of crouching and batting. Dhani had run the bases for him - and done excellently at it in truth - so she'd done the real work, but he was still exhausted. As he stood and let the hot water fall over him, running across his skin and washing the tiredness from his muscles like sediment washed from a rock in a stream, he closed his eyes and sighed. They'd done well - winning the game in fact, thanks to some fast pitching by Elrin and a few equally fast plays by T'risia, Nathan, Arel, and Man'darr - and were going to advance to the next round. They hadn't even needed to field their secret weapon, Le'on, which was good, because as soon as they did there would be strategies developed to deal with him. He laughed silently, realizing that he was thinking about more games and winning them, something that would have been impossible for him before living Chulak's life... ...and a pair of warm, familiar hands slipped around his chest, their owner pressing herself against his back so that the water ran over the two of them as one, reminding him that baseball wasn't the only thing that had been impossible for him before living Chulak's life. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you," he said as Angelienia slipped one leg around one of his and rested her cheek against his back,"but these are, in theory, public showers." "No one's scheduled for this locker room until 1900," she replied. "We've got it to ourselves for at least an hour. It would be more, but since you waited for everyone else to finish...." "They're all trying so hard to make this work, despite the fact that most of them are still affected by my presence," Victor replied quietly, soaking up her presence as greedily as he'd luxuriated in the hot water a moment before. "Why make things harder for them than they already are?" "Mmmmm... Now there's a thought," she murmured, one hand starting to slide down his chest. "Making things harder than they already are sounds... good... to me." "Chatriz..." he growled softly as her fingers explored lower, stirring the reaction she was after. "I...." =/\= So'ka to Lt. Krieghoff. =/\= Angelienia stopped, sighed in unison with Victor, and then laughed softly. "Go ahead, dear." Victor reached out and tapped the combadge he'd laid in the soapdish. =/\= Krieghoff here, go ahead, So'ka =/\= =/\= We've had an anonymous tip come in over the Interfleet Tip Network, sir. Not a lot of information in it, but it concerns someone attempting to covertly board the Galaxy while we're here at the Games. I know we got a report that McAllister was dead, but... =/\= Victor straightened up, Angelienia pulling back so she wasn't in the way as the words registered. =/\= You did right, So'ka - good job. Notify Hinnant, the XO, Marshals Hux and Daughtry, and put everyone on alert. I'll beam back up ASAP. =/\= =/\= Will do, sir. =/\= "She's not dead?" Angelienia asked softly, worried. "But I thought...." "No, she's not," Victor replied, reachig for his towel. "I knew that, but I didn't have proof." "You knew?" "Yes," he nodded, toweling off. "I knew." "How?" she asked, reaching for her own towel. "Because I didn't kill her, Chatriz. If I'd killed her, then she'd be dead. Anything else is... suspect." He paused. =/\= Anything else, So'ka? =/\= =/\= Just a moment, sir - I'll check your message queue. =/\= Victor finished towelling off, picked up the combadge, and stepped out of the shower to start dressing, Angelienia a few moments behind him. =/\= Nothing significant in your queue besides a personnel status change notification for someone you had flagged to watch, sir. =/\= Victor looked over at the combadge and then back at Angelienia. He had monitor flags on a lot of people, family, friends, and otherwise, to keep track of them. "It's not... your Aunts or your cousin is it?" she asked, concerned. "No, not them, I'd know," he assured her. "Not my parents, or Captain M'Kantu or any of the others I can think of either. =/\= Who is it, So'ka? And what's the status change? =/\= =/\= Captain Rebecca von Ernst, sir. They've changed her status to MIA - wait a moment and let me pull it up. =/\= "Rebecca... Who is...?" Angelienia started to ask, and then stopped. "That's Allison's mother, isn't it?" she whispered. "Or... would be her mother?" "Yes," Victor nodded,a sudden sense of worry coming over him. Whatever had happened to Allison in the future had been bad - so bad that she still hadn't really talked about it yet, even to him. There' been incidents of violence related o things that had happened in the future, but nothing that he hadn't been able to clear up so far. If something had happened to her mother though, any bets might be off. =/\= Here we are, sir, =/\= So'ka's voice spoke up. =/\= The report says that she... vanished out of her quarters on the USS Zeus, sir. Not a casualty, no sign of transport or anything like that. She just... vanished. =/\= And with her vanishing like that, there would have been a search too - a comprehensive one. Starfleet, as a general rule, didn't like it when their Captains went 'poof.' =/\= Thaks, So'ka. Flag that to keep me updated and see if you can get a copy of the investigation report. I'll read it once I'm back aboard. =/\= =/\= Aye, sir. So'ka out. =/\= Vanished. Rebecca vanished. Alive. Faylin alive. Victor sat down on the bench, and stared at the floor, trying to sort his thoughts out. Faylin... Faylin he knew what to do with. That was why he was here, what he was - he stood between killers and the people that he chose to protect. When she cam, he'd do what he had to do, what he knew how to do, and stop her. And this time there wouldn't be any doubt this time as to her survival. Allison, though, that was a mystery. How was he supposed to tell her that her mother had... vanished? What did you say to someone that had been through the things she'd obviously been through when the time came to tell her that her parent was gone, just gone? Even in his life as Chulak he'd never had to do anything like that. "What's wrong?" angelienia asked, slipping down onto the bench and sliding her arm around him. "What do I tell her?" he asked. "How do I tell her? How do I tell her that, after everything she's been through, her mother is just... gone? That she'll never be born now? That her whole life has been... a lie? What are the words for that? *are* there words for that?" "I don't know," she answered softly, restig her head on his shoulder. "But you'll find them; I know you will. I believe in you, and... and so does she. You'll find a way." "Let's hope I'm capable of living up to your faith," he sighed, looking down at his hands. "Let's... hope." "Mantras" "Never Keep Secrets From The Boss" Doctor Kimberly Burton ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ USS Galaxy - Sickbay ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Taking work home was a bad habit that Max had developed years ago. While In the middle of a report on an incidence of Blue Fever Rash, Max suddenly =/\=Doctor Burton is currently located in Sickbay,=/\= came the female - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Hey, Doc," Max greeted in the doorway. "You have a moment?" "Sure, several. As long as you're not bringing work though." She mock "Well, there goes my master plan to pawn off some of my work," he replied, a Looking around Kimberly checked to see who was in ear-shot, but seeing only "No, I don't think she needs that," he replied, entering the office and Leaning back in her chair Kimberly nodded, she had half expected this to "Well, what I was mainly looking for was an outlined treatment plan from Calling up Branwens notes she scanned the file quickly, "Let me look over "Basically," Max explained, "I did a comprehensive exam and compared the "Her latest DNA scans are appended to her file," she mused as she read, "but Looking up she let her frustration show for a moment. "I've been looking at "Right," Max replied. Then after a pause, he added, "Well, we're not quite "Well, if we're not sure how this was done then anything we do to try and "I hate to say it but for now, we cannot predict exactly how she'll react to Max thought about Branwen suffering even more than she had, and came to a Closing the file on her PADD Kimberly placed it down on the desk slowly, "Well, I did share the information with Saul Bental, who instructed me to Never taking her eyes off Max she picked the chip up, idly turning it over Max was uncomfortable, but he knew he had to answer. "I wanted to use the Standing she put the chip carefully in a pocket, all the while maintaining Stiffening, he uttered the only words that he could. "Yes, Ma'am." "And you're damn right that I will be considering disciplinary action for "I have always had the best interests of my patients, my team, and this Indicating the door she cut him off as she turned her back on him, "Get Walking out of the CMO's office, Max felt a strange sensation. Despite And then there was Branwen. As soon as she entered his thoughts, he felt as "Getting Into The Spirit of Things" Lieutenant Kimberly Burton - CMO ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ USS Galaxy - Holodeck 5 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Rubbing her shoulder Kimberly kicked off the wall (Ceiling, floor, whatever, Once or twice a week might be enough to help keep her trim and keep her time It probably didn't help either to try this when you were still pissed at "Damn you Maxwell!" She bitched to the empty room. Letting her momentum carry her to the far side of the room she grabbed a bar Dragging her mind back to the here and now she looked around the room, the The computer would randomly pick a path and the bars would flash up once to It was an exercise in coordination, judgement, timing and skill. And as After artificial gravity made its début the game faded away for a while as Stretching for a moment to settle the bodysuit she wore she adjusted the And since the bars were in no way padded, it damn well hurt when you were "Computer, Arch!" Kimberly ordered. At her feet part of the wall faded and There had been a brief moment when she'd contemplated entering herself and Clearing the competitor list with an angry stab at the controls she typed a ~ Damn you Maxwell! ~ "Computer, set up an advanced run," she ordered sharply, snapping at the As the start bar flashed she kicked off and pulled herself in the direction THUD! Suddenly and painfully, Kimberly found herself wrapped around a bar halfway "Damn it!" "Computer, end program and restore gravity at zero point five percent a Picking herself up off the floor she peeled off the pads she wore and tossed "This, is not turning into one of my better days." She muttered sourly. Starfleet Third Echelon: The Bainbridge Chronicles Away Team: Bainbridge Crew: *** Per the Captain's orders, Sannek and Linnis kept the two shuttles in McKibben breathed a sigh of relief when Sannek reported that they had The pilots set the shuttles down behind a sandy dune to more conceal By the time they'd crossed the two kilometers to the structures, the Valdis low crawled over to him, took out a hypospray from her emergency McKibben and Clayton were both chuckling as they were looking through Odan snorted. "I'm older than you are and I observe the Standard "SSPT is for wimps and desk jockeys." Clayton said, looking back at the "Define 'higher physical standard'" Odan said. "Well, let's put it this way. Leger's torture at the hands of the Breen "Indeed." Tarik said, who'd been silently observing the compound the Valdis was shaking her head. "Those are foot soldiers. They appear to "And all we need are a few T'kith'kin to make the Triad complete." "Already on the listening in part Capt'n" Barents said. He'd pulled out "How-?" Clayton asked in amazement. "I came up with the device that Mister Barents is now using." Valdis "I'm behind on paperwork." Clayton said. He then turned to the two Damant, the Andorian security officer, frowned and his antennae McKibben and Clayton exchanged looks. "Ten strips of Latnium says that "No bet." McKibben chuckled and tapped his commbadge. "Bossman to Big B." He "Jerry here, go ahead." He was careful not to use direct names or rank "We need some party favors down here. Think you could accommodate us by "Hmmm." Leger thought about it. "Sparklers are still doused with water. "Your family' secret recipe at Havras would be nice." Leger laughed. "Haven't had time to mix that up in awhile, but I'll get *** Leger closed the comm. channel and looked over at Le'on. "Tell Zim that "I wish I could sir." The Caitain female said. Leger found it hard to "Do you at least hiss back?" Leger asked in wry amusement as he pictured "I'd say shuttles," the Selelvian female, Jaheria Tethyr, at Science 2 "Could we just land the ship instead?" Heather, Leger's wife at Science Leger arched an eyebrow. "Without being detected by the guys in orbit However, Heather's face fell. "Oh. Guess not then." "So you're pretty much telling me that with transporters shot and both "That's pretty much it." Heather said, gesturing to her console for her Leger stood up straight and ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. He His gaze then settled on Le'on, standing on the security console at the Both Heather and Jaheria looked at each other and then up at him. "Uhm. "I mean why not put the pack into a probe or torpedo casing and then "With both the pack and a person, there'd be no way it'll all fit unless "Or the size of a small housepet perhaps?" Leger said, grinning. The two ladies then turned in their chairs and looked in the direction Le'on, at this point in time, felt the gaze of the trio over at Sciences Leger nearly bolted across the bridge and grabbed Le'on by the scruff of *** Le'on covered his eyes with his paws as Commander Leger ran breakneck "Cause you're the only one small enough to fit..." Leger said without "Oh... is dat all?" Le'on groaned. He hated this part. Leger tore through the doors; the torpedo he'd ordered up was already The cat only went in half-way. Leger frowned. "Time to cut back on the snacks there buddy." he said "So sue me already..." came the Caitain's muffled response from inside "Plunger..." Leger said, holding out his hand. "PLUNGER!?" Le'on howled, starting to really struggle and pull his way "Hold still." Leger said as the length of plastic and rubber was slapped "Ow! Ow! Ow!" Le'on yelped in pain as his head repeatedly hit the inside "If ya prefer, I'll use Crisco next time." Leger said with one last "Later," Leger said, tossing in the Caitain's phaser, tricorder, The torpedomen were valiantly trying to suppress grins as they executed "Zim to Leger" the call then came in over the commbadge as the Red Alert "Leger, here. I'm heading back up to the bridge, whatd'ya got Zim?" "We got company sir." Leger froze. He closed his eyes and covered his face with his hand. Zim though, confirmed his fears. "We were. but I you got to remember "Origins" USS ZEUS Delta IV Sector Deep Space
Panic stood alone on the bridge of the Zeus and considered the white ceilings and walls around her. The bridge, nominally designed for operations by a bare three person team was on a mere skeleton crew arrangement, thus only necessitating the presence of the XO herself to monitor the soft whistles and beeps of the automatic monitoring equipment. It was lonely here in this snow-white room. The Captains seat was empty of course. Despite her recent appointment to temporary command of the USS Zeus, an unspoken agreement between her and Fear had relegated the 'holy' shrine of the previous captain's chair to vacant status. Neither would sit there, preferring instead to maintain their usual post to the left and right to the big chair respectively. Sighing a bit, Panic scanned the newly installed holoscreen depicting the blackness of interstellar space around her. The captain…..when there was a captain….had previously used a bank of over a dozen tiny tele-monitors to relay raw sensor data, ship vectors and dizzying mathematical displays directly to her central command chair. Such detail was useless to Panic who graduated with a B- in math.
Still, the blackness of space seemed an obscene scar on the usual pristine white walls of the bridge. An aberration. Just like the empty chair. "Captain….where the hell are you?" she whispered to herself.
Commander Teresa (Panic) Church had not initially been thrilled with the assignment to the USS Zeus. She remembered the first time she had met Captain von Ernst almost five years ago at the Wolf 359 School for Advanced Tactics. The floating space station was the brainchild of the late Admiral Hoth who deliberately constructed the school in the tumbling debris field of dead starships ruined by the passage of Locutus of Borg on its way to ravage Earth. Any student of the school who doubted the importance of learning their lessons need only look out a portal to the shattered starships outside to realize the gravity of their situation. Commander Church had been one such student. Nobody called her Panic back in those days. She had been attending a semester at the 359 school, digesting the lessons of the recent battles with the Dominion and the Sona' when she had been introduced to a tiny redheaded girl about her own age. This was Commander Rebecca von Ernst. Most recently the XO of the USS Galaxy under Daren M'kantu and now on temporary assignment to the school. Rumor had it a promotion was in the works for the freckle faced girl, and that she'd be getting her first command soon. Church, couldn't help but to be instantly jealous. It didn't help matters that Commander von Ernst was one of the weirdest people she had ever met as well. Shy and socially inept to the point of retardedness, Panic could remember rolling her eyes at the girl's endless stuttering or soft spoken words that one had to strain to hear at all. Not that there was anything worth hearing. Von Ernst it seemed was a remarkably dull girl. On one of the few occasions t the school when they'd been forced to sit together in the galley, Panic recalled snippets of boring conversations regarding dairy farming, the general stupidity of some guy named Lysander, and a few rambling on some mathematical concepts that went way over Church's head.
On the bridge Panic smiled into the darkness. Four years of service together, and she still barely had a grasp of what went on in that redheaded noggin, but their time together at the 359 School had opened her eyes in one fashion. It was the combat simulators. Holy crap but that woman could fly a simulator.
The burning metal of her holographic starship had barely finished exploding around her before Commander Church realized that the dull little girl from Minnesota had just kicked her ass……again. It didn't take but a half a dozen more ass-whupping to realize that this wasn't a fluke. Commander von Ernst was a freak. But she was one of the most brilliant combat tactician Church…or anybody else….had ever seen. It had also been apparent that she'd never get a starship though. Frankly…..Rebecca was a failure as a captain. Personnel management. Diplomacy. Social graces. Fairness. Bravery. Devotion to duty.
Rebecca had none of theses skills. In essence she was a one trick pony. A retard that could compute 50 billion significant digits in how she'd kick your ass…..but didn't know what fork to use when hosting the Vulcan ambassador.
That's when Zeus was commissioned.
The latest Prometheus class starship, the Zeus was at the same time one of the fastest, and most heavily armed starships int eh fleet. Designed during the Dominion war when combat power was prized over scientific capacity, the Zeus was the ugly stepchild in a fleet devoted to peace and exploration.
It was also the ship that gave Commander von Ernst her purpose in life, and Commander Church a new assignment. In stead of merely allowing Rebecca to stomp all over the other students in competition, the 359 headmasters began teaming her up with the others in an attempt to smooth over her rough edges, and make something useful out of their freak-show attraction. Most of the others resented it. First of all Rebecca was much younger than most of them, having been promoted through the ranks clearly before she was ready. Second of all, none of them could understand the wild erratic maneuvers Rebecca demanded, and often found themselves countermanding her orders….orders that to them made no sense.
Church was different. Though she didn't understand the math, she did see the potential, and could not argue with results. She devoted herself to blindly following orders, thrilling at the stunning victories that rocketed both von Ernst….and herself to the top of the 359 class standings. In diplomatic simulations, Church found a secondary purpose, being able to subtlety influence her bone headed partner into making semi-coherent decisions that basically amounted to successfully faking it. The one trick pony had a partner. Eventually another student was added to the team. Lt Commander Olivia Chenevert, a specialist in psychology who could monitor von Ernst erratic behavior. Together the team was unbeatable. The other students quickly dubbed Rebecca herself as the 'God of War' and Chenervert and Church respectively as her 'handmaidens'. Fear and Panic. Phobos and Deimos.
Von Ernst's promotion came through 6 weeks later. John Q Bhrode himself came to the school to pin the fourth pip on her skinny little neck, and three weeks after that Zeus had a new command crew. The mechanical monstrosity and its half-crazy mistress were forged into an unbeatable team straight out of a Lovecraftian nightmare.
Panic sighed again, and turned away from the holoscreen, turning back to face the silent bridge, and the big empty chair in the center of it. It was like an engine with one of its parts missing. =/\= FEAR TO PANIC =/\= the intercom chirped softly, the voice of the third musketeer drifting across the room. "Whats up Olivia?" =/\= HEY, I'M DOWN HERE IN THE INFORMATION CENTER, AND YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT COMM SIGNAL WE JUST RECIVED?=/\= "What?" =/\= MESSAGE FROM THE USS GALAXY UNDER A CAPTAIN T'VARA. SOUND FAMILIAR?=/\=
"Galaxy?" Panic frowned, "That's the boss's old ship." =/\=THE SAME.=/\= "Okay…so what's Captain T'Vara calling about?" =/\= ITS NOT THE CAPTAIN THAT'S CALLING. HECK NOT EVEN A MEMBER OF THE SENIOR STAFF OR AN AOFFICER FOR THAT MATTER. THE CODES TRACE BACK TO A MERE CREWMAN. ONE ALLISON JIMSDOTTIR ASSIGNED TO THE SECURITY DEPARTMENT. AN ARMORY SPECIALIST….AGAIN SOUND FAMILIAR?=/\= "No…why would I know about a mere crewman who…..wait a minute?" Panic thought hard, digging back into her memory. "Wasn't she the little blond kid who escorted the captain over to tour the Galaxy a few months back? Hyperactive little thing? Whats her message?"
=/\=NO MESSAGE….JUST A REQUEST FOR COMMUNICATION. THE COMPUTER NATURALLY FILTERED IT OUT….YOU KNOW HOW THE CAPTAIN HATES JUNK MAIL….BUT WITH HER GONE AND ALL…..=/\= Panic nodded silently considering it all. Might be just a random message, but then again von Ernst never got much mail. Weekly telegrams form her mother back in Minnesota, and the occasional love letter from that same weirdo Lysander Hawksley that she'd been grumbling about all those years ago at 359.…… "Allright….see what you can dig up on this Jimsdottir chick and forward the file to Star Fleet Intelligence. Probably a dead end, but might as well follow up everything. Panic out." She turned to lay her hand back on the empty chair. Where was she? "All's Fair …" Jan Hoffman Spengler **** Epsilon Four "Demeter" **** Dust particles danced in the lights as the late afternoon sun streamed His second match during the quarterfinals had been a more "Es gut." he smiled. The more frenzy and hatred he induced the better Snapping open the little silver locks on his weapons case, her removed "Perfekt." he smiled. ::::::::::::::::::: A hiss went through the audience and Arel didn't even have to look to "I was hoping I'd get to fight you," Arel said earnestly as Spengler "Liebchen." he replied in all surprise, not expecting to see her here. She nearly laughed. He had the arrogance of a Klingon; it would be "I want a good match," Arel stated. She got into stance and held her "A girl?" he repeated. "Ach For shame fraulein, you wound me. I would She snorted. "Dream on, Sparky." The referee gave the signal and the match began. Moving his shoulders a bit to settle into the tightness of the sport You couldn't stab with a mek'leth….you chopped. The epee' on the other hand was the epitome of a lunging weapon. More Arel circled him, taking in his weapon and stance. The crowd had Well, who was she to keep them waiting? Arel attacked. Spengler retreated. It was simple really. By bringing his epee up to mid guard and She obliged him with a wild leap and a snarl that would do Kahless proud. BUZZ "Point Herr Spengler!" the match judge called out as the blue crackle Her foot!!??! He stabbed her in her frelling foot? Arel swore and jumped back. The point was valid of course, the entire body being a target in epee Arel circled slowly, while a blank faced Jan Hoffman merely watched Feinting left, and then diving into a roll to the right, Arel Instead the blond hopped backwards executing a cavere under her BUZZ "Point Herr Spengler." The epee stabbed her foot AGAIN and the first thing she felt was A faint shadow of a smile almost passed his blank expression, but The dark haired warrior spun in this time, catching him a bit off Arel smiled, ignoring the snap to her side, instead relishing the feel BUZZ BUZZ "Double touch…Point for Herr Spengler. Point for Smith be'HoM. " If this had been a real fight, he'd have been disemboweled while she Unfortunately from there it was all downhill. Jan Hoffman managed to keep his distance this time and score point She tried a couple more moves but Spengler managed to keep her at bay They both went crashing to the floor in a heap, blue sport shield "Foul Smith be'HoM!" The judge started to warn….. ….and that was when Arel slugged Spengler in the gut, grabbing his She straddled him, pinning him tightly against the floor, arms raised. "Disqualification for Smith!!!" She smiled down at his unshielded face…..and had the satisfaction of Starfleet Third Echelon: The Bainbridge Chronicles Act I: “The Last Note of Freedom” Scene 8: “Hitting the Fan…” Lt. Commander Jeremiah Leger, Second Officer/Chief Tactical/Security Lt. M’Parr, Assistant Chief Operations Officer Lt. Michael Zim, Security Officer Lt. (JG) Heather Leger, Assistant Chief Science/Communications Officer Ensign Pr’Kat, Conn Officer. MCPO Jordan Raleigh, Command Master Chief/ Hazard Team CWO Jaheria Tethyr, Intelligence Analysis/JAG Officer CPO Casey Ryan, Ship’s Cook Stephen Gummer, Civilian Bartender ********** Main Bridge – USS Bainbridge Leger mentally kicked himself for firing a torpedo while under cloak and too far away from the planet as he reentered the bridge. However, he didn’t have any other choice in the matter. What’s done is done. “Report.” He said as he sat in the command chair. “Two Hydran cruisers bearing down on us. They have shields and weapons ready.” Zim called out. “Holding steady in standard orbit.” Ensign Pr’Kat, the last of what Leger called ‘The Caitain Trio’, reported from the Conn. “Still under cloak, our shields are down.” M’Parr called out from Operations. “Weapons Fire!” Zim called out. “Probing shots. They’re firing all around us. No hits yet.” “Sonofabitch…” Leger cursed under his breath. “Korleth… I hope your toy works.” He said, leaning forward in the command chair and praying to God, Khaless, and whatever other deity that might be out there listening. “Quantum Torpedoes. Full Salvo. Target the lead ship and fire.” “Torpedoes Away!” On the viewscreen, multiple streaks of blue light jetted from the ship and impacted on the forward shields of the Hydran Cruiser on the left. The shields flared, but held. “Hit ‘em again!” Leger roared. “Full Impulse! Jet right between them!” Pr’Kat didn’t disappoint Leger. He even rolled the ship in order to fit through the space between the cruisers. The cruisers both fired at the space that the Bainbridge had just occupied. The left cruiser’s shields flared under the impact and then collapsed. The last of the salvo hit hull and multiple explosions erupted all over. “Direct hits… and… uh… we got company…” Zim said. “What? More cruisers?” Leger asked. “No…. Transporter Activity!” “Aw hell… All hands, stand by to repel boarders!” Leger said, standing up and drawing his phasers. “Shoot to kill.” As a Third Echelon ship, they couldn’t afford to do otherwise. It was all they were trained to do. ********** Deck 3 Corridors As soon as Master Chief Petty Officer Jordan Raleigh heard the call to repel boarders, she’d left the Gunnery Control station in the Weapons and Warhead Control Room in the care of her subordinate and rallied the Hazard Team members on Deck 2 just outside of the WWCR. She then divided the team into four parts, one for each of the decks that would be the obvious choice of targets (no one ever went down to the supposed Deck 5 at the bottom of the ship anyways), and then sent them all on their way. The beauty of being Hazard Team on the Bainbridge is that one was always in a Hazard Team suit at all times with one’s helmet and phaser rifle nearby. She knew that Leger himself kept his stowed under the Tactical/Security board on the bridge and encouraged everyone else to do the same. With their job description, they had to be always at the ready in case something like this happened. So with her ad-hoc squad ready, Jordan led her team down to Deck 3. It wasn’t long before they ran into the Hydrans. Thankfully, they hadn’t decided to go into each of the rooms in this section. She didn’t even want to think about the mess of mixing it up with their civilian refugees. Jordan didn’t need to shout orders. These were Third Echelon Hazard Team personnel that had her back. They were the Elite out of the Best of the Best. They all knew each other (in some cases, intimately) and they all knew what to do. So as she dove for cover off to one side, one of her comrades fired and then took cover themselves. This is what she lived for. Federation-Klingon War, The Dominion War, The Borg Incursions… she’d survived them all with flying colors. These Hydrans would be a piece of cake. She aimed and fired. The fight was on… ********** Main Bridge The first of the Hydrans beamed right in front of Leger. Leger, already having his phaser out, shot it dead without a second thought. A phaser beam from behind him shot over his left shoulder to take down the next Hydran. Leger noticed Pr’Kat starting to turn around to defend his station from an impending attack. Leger shot that Hydran square in its back, making it fall forward into Pr’Kat’s waiting claws. It was short work after that. “Keep flying Pr’Kat!” Leger shouted as he and Zim continued firing. “Get us out of transporter range of those cruisers!” “Aye Capt’n!” Pr.Kat said at once, spinning in his chair and turning his attention back to his console. A squeal from Leger’s left then erupted. He spun around and saw that one Hydran had been felled by Jaheria, but she’d paused when a second Hydran had backed himself up against the Science 1 console and was using Heather as a shield. “Drop it human…” the Hydran snarled at him. He had one hand fisted in her hair, another hand wrapped around her chest, and the third holding a disruptor into the side of her head. Stone faced, Leger’s aim did not waiver in the least. He simply glared at the Hydran. “I said drop it! All of you! Or the female dies!” the Hydran hissed, pressing his disruptor into Heather’s neck. “Turn command of this vessel over to me or I will shoot.” Everyone reluctantly looked at the two Legers; one helpless in the Hydran’s three arms and the other one who looked extremely pissed. “Come on honey…” Leger said calmly. “Tell me you’re not going to stand for that, are you?” Right as Heather moved, the Hydran clutched her tighter. “This is your mate is it?” he chuckled. “Even better…” he said, laughing as he interrupted Heather’s attempt at escaping. “I shall enjoy making you both suffer after I have command of this ship!” “Ok…” Heather squeaked out… The Hydran was on the verge of crushing her ribcage. “Plan… B…” Leger fired, shooting her in the shoulder. Heather slumped unconsciously in the Hydrans arms. The Hydran looked bewildered from Heather then to Leger. “But… She’s your mate!?” he exclaimed. “So?” Leger said as he fired again, shooting the Hydran square in the face, killing the Hydran instantly. He then holstered his phaser. “Lock down the bridge!” he commanded as he walked over to check on his wife with his tricorder. “Zim, as soon as weapons bear, finish off that crippled cruiser. M’Parr, what other areas are problems?” “Decks Two and Three, sir.” M’Parr reported. “Hazard Team has isolated the Hydrans in the corridors on Deck 3, and it seems that Hydrans are all over the place on Deck 2.” Leger pulled out the emergency medkit from under the Science 1 console and began first aid on his wife. He didn’t bother looking up. He knew where everyone was at and that they were back to doing their jobs now that the bridge was clear and secure. “Lock down Deck 3, contain the civilians in their quarters. Tell the Hazard Team to go to individual life support and engage their grav boots. Then blow the airlock on Deck 3 in their section.” ********** Deck 3 Corridors Things were going good and going bad all at the same time in the Deck 3 Firefight. Jordan had yet to lose anyone and they’ve dropped a couple of Hydran Marines, but yet at the same time they couldn’t advance. They were at a standstill and it was infuriating, especially since they were thinned out the way it was; tracking down Hydrans on all decks. So flanking them was out of the question for now. Jordan then paused, listening to the command from the bridge in her head set over the din of the raging battle in the corridors. She nodded once and acknowledged the order. Orders like that came from Leger and it made her proud that she served on a Hazard Team under his command. The man knew how to think outside the box and wasn’t afraid of going out on a limb to complete a mission or objective. She waved her arm above her head, clenched her fist and then pulled her arm down like she was elbowing someone on the ground; it was the sign to dig in. “Visors Down! Lock in people! They’re letting the air in for our friends!” she yelled out. There were chuckles all around as everyone clamped down the visors to their helmets and then secured themselves to both the deck and whatever piece of bulkhead that happened to be nearby. Seconds later, a loud BOOM resounded from behind the team and then the atmosphere started rushing out as the doors to the airlock flew open at once. The Hydrans ahead of them, who’d been unprepared for such a thing, screamed in terror as they were then pulled forward and out into the vacuum of space. Some died instantly, some it took a few moments before their bodies succumbed to oxygen depravation and loss of pressure. Either way, it was a hideous way for anyone to die. Smiling, Jordan tapped her commbadge. “Hazard Team to Bridge. Deck 3 is secured. You can close the airlock now.
********** Two-Forward Lounge/Mess Hall Bartender Stephen Gummer crouched behind the bar… His. Bar. He didn’t care what the ship’s cook thought. This part of the forward lounge and newly refurbished mess hall was his. And he was going to defend it. He’d heard the whine of the transporters outside just moments after he heard the Second Officer call to repel boarders. Well… repelling creatures and other things that go bump in the night was something of a family specialty. As the Hydrans were on either end of the lounge, attempting to break in the doors on each side, Gummer silently grabbed the UHC-920P “Streetsweeper Deluxe” Plasma Shotgun that he now kept under the bar. The shotgun was a holdover from the World War III era, but it still packed one helluva punch. The gun had been in the Gummer Family for centuries and it was the only thing that he had left ever since evacuating the USS Courageous. The Hydrans busted in, but Gummer waited. He kept silent as the ‘walking calamari’ made their way into the lounge. Then, when the two groups converged in the center and were looking confused. That’s when Gummer popped up. He chambered the first round and fired. The report was deafening in the room and it served its purpose of throwing the party into disarray. He chambered and fired another, two, three, four, and more times until all eight Hydrans were on the deck, dead. “HAHA!” Gummer cried out in victory. “BROKE INTO THE WRONG GODDAMN REC ROOM, DIDN’T YA YOU SLIMY BASTARDS!?” It was then that the Ship’s Cook, CPO Casey Ryan, busted in with a couple of security officers in tow. He looked around at the carnage and then glanced at Gummer with a surprised look. “This was your work?” he asked in his typical soft voice, but Gummer could hear the shock in it. He holstered his phaser as he stepped in. “I’m impressed.” Gummer grinned from behind his moustache. “I wasn’t always a bartender son.” He said with pride. “That’s great.” Ryan said. “Could you move your head over a bit?” he asked, motioning with his left hand as his right suddenly produced a large knife almost out of nowhere. In one deft move he flung it forward and caught a Hydran square in its face that had struggled to its feet right behind Gummer. Now it was Gummer’s turn to be shocked as he had ducked to look over his shoulder, then straightened up to look at Ryan. “Wasn’t always a cook.” Ryan said calmly. Gummer grinned once more. “We should definitely talk over a drink.” He said. ********** Main Bridge “Hydran One destroyed.” Zim reported as the ship shuddered once. “Glancing blow on the port nacelle. We’re venting…” “Dammit!” Leger cursed as he pounded the arm of the command chair. He’d since let the medics take Heather off of the bridge for medical treatment so he could focus on the battle at hand. He looked over at Jaheria who was now operating both Science stations until a replacement officer could get to the bridge, which was hard when there were boarding parties swarming all over the ship. “Engage ECM and EWS.” He ordered, having the Selelvian bring up the Electronic Counter Measures and Electronic Warfare Systems thus effectively jamming anything. “Prepare to drop cloak and raise shields. We’ll hit them with everything we got.” “May I remind the captain…” Jaheria started to say. “Yeah yeah yeah…” Leger said waving her off. “I know that we’re a state secret, but they’ve got a target with us venting plasma. Besides, the Hydrans here aren’t going to be around long to tell anyone, now are they?” he said with a sly grin her way. “Helm! Bring us about, emergency HET Maneuver, full reverse. Tactical and Ops! Drop cloak, raise shields and fire all weapons!” The Bainbridge, seeming to defy the laws of physics, spun in place and continued on their heading yet was now going full impulse backwards. At the same time, it shimmered back into existence right in front of the Hydran cruiser. The Hydrans seemed to pause in their firing just long enough to take in the fact that the Federation seemed to have a ship that could cloak. It was long enough for the Bainbridge to unleash hell. Space lit up as the small ship fired every weapon it had; Rapid Fire Pulse Cannons, Standard Type X Phasers, Pulse Fire and Standard Fire Torpedo Launchers all unleashed their deadly salvos of blue, white, and orange light. The shields of the Hydran ship flared, then buckled, then collapsed all together as it endured the onslaught. “Hit ‘em again!” Leger roared. “I want debris!” Zim obliged him. The deadly fire rained out once again. This time Zim kept firing until the cruiser erupted into a massive fireball. Despite their training, the bridge crew cheered. Leger smiled with gratification; after all, it wasn’t every day that a crew bagged its first two kills in one battle. It was a feeling that he hadn’t felt since he served in the Dominion War. “Good job people. Go to yellow alert and return to silent running. Dispatch damage control and med teams where needed.” He ordered. The bridge crew all nodded and turned to do their jobs. Soon M’Parr turned in her chair to look at Leger. “Question from the Hazard Team sir; they have a couple of live ones below that survived and are requesting orders.” Leger knew that Hydran Marines would be worthless and they didn’t have the time or the resources for prisoners. “Tell them that they know the policy: Trespassers will be shot, survivors will be shot again.” “Aye sir.” M’Parr said, turning to relay the orders. Leger rubbed his chin as he started looking over damage reports that were flashing up on the CO’s console. He knew the ‘official’ Federation policy regarding POWs, but he also knew how the Triad handled their ‘guests’. He had firsthand knowledge and experience in the matter. Hell, probably a full third of the crew did as well. And besides, officially Third Echelon didn’t exist except to those who were privy to such knowledge. Black Operations always did enjoy certain… leeway in the rules. “Helm…” Leger said, “Return to standard orbit. Let’s return to what we were doing…” "A Conversation Aftermath" Lt. Commander Adrian An'quinsos Ambassador Jaina Norana "Don't move the bed woman, one of you just split into ten of you!" "I was looking for a good place to sit."" "See that chair over there?" A hand pointed in the general location. The humanoid female opened her mouth to say something, and then shook "Better?" "Much… so… how did I do?" "Well… let's just say that today wasn't your best day. But…" "But?" "You're not out of medal contention yet." "Oh… joy." "And someone really needs to sharpen Mok'bara if they're really going "Yes coach, I'll get on that right away as soon as I can walk a straight line." "Ah but little brother," She chimed ever so sweetly. "I thought you In 2270, Adrian touched down on Qo'Nos, and stayed there for almost "Mok'bara isn't exactly a linear art oh Fearless One." He glowered, Though Adrian continued to study Mok'bara (along with other techniques "I never called you incompetent, just said your footwork needs "Yes…" He trailed off, almost biting his lip to say something, but "For a double master of your art you better be," She responded, So, speaking of which, how did I actually do?" He frowned slightly. "I "Adequately described." She noted. "You gave the Ouroboros lieutenant "I hit the ground saying goodbye cruel universe?" "Yep; you attempted… something…. stupid." She frowned. "He looked like "Well, it not as though I should be expected to make some kind of "And El-Aurian Baguazhang?" He slowly smiled. "Two words: Family Pride" " "I understand you're a favorite at least, in fact." She pulled the "And how does a… respectable representative of Betazed and the "Let's just say I have my ways." She whispered back. "You never know "You'll feign senility I take it?" He raised a brow. "Being over "Just get some sleep little brother." She replied, standing up slowly. "Good luck and be safe… the both of you." He replied, imparting a hug He frowned slightly; she had gone as fast as she had arrived, and with "The Legend Continues… Sort of" Cmdr. Jaal Jaxom ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There once was a legend of a legendary springball player whose skills He would travel from planet to planet in search of worthy foes to == The sun rose slowly in the east. A lone figure carrying nothing but a The city was a cesspool of corruption. Robbers and pirates ruled ruthlessly. The lone figure entered anyway as he was hungry and was searching for He found an acceptable establishment and entered. The restaurant was The stranger sat and ordered a bowl of dumplings. When the server served the meal, the stranger ate in silence. About half way through his meal a half dozen denizens of the city "I see you like to chew," the nefarious character mused out loud. The stranger said nothing for it was impolite to speak with a mouth Angered at being so brazenly ignored, the nefarious one raised hand, The stranger still said nothing… at least until he finished chewing. With his lips not quite matching the words he spoke, he answered That got the attention of everyone else in the restaurant. Suddenly, The stranger lept onto his table pulling his own racquet from it's When the hordes came after the stranger he fought off every attack, When the fighting was over the stranger stood alone with the two "You're so awesome!" one exclaimed. "And attractive! But how can we ever repay you?" the other swooned. The stranger replied simply, "There is no charge for awesomeness… or… "We should hang out!" the first one exclaimed. "In our hot tub out back." The stranger smiled. "But first you have to take this incoming call," the first one said as "Huh?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Commander, you have an incoming call." Jaal Jaxom shook himself from his daydream. Unfortunately, he was leaning back in his chair and when he shook "Sir?" his aide asked with a perplexed expression on her face. "Are "I'm fine," Jaal told PO Stanton as he brushed himself off and stood up. Once the Trill was back in his chair, properly this time, he looked up "You have an incoming call from a Captain Olivaw?" "Oh yeah," Jaal's expression immediately brightened at hearing the "Still thinking about the springball tournament sir?" PO Stanton asked. The Betazoid petty officer was referring the Bajoran springball Jaal had been so disgusted with his poor performance that he simply "Maybe," he admitted with a sad half-smile. "I'm sure you'll do better next time sir." Jaal rolled his eyes. She had to be the most sympathetic, empath he'd "Thanks," Jaal told her. PO Stanton knew by his tone that it was time Moments after she left, Jaal's screen winked on with a familiar logo. "Dany, what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" he asked. "Tough luck in the tournament huh?" Daneel asked. Jaal's eyebrows furrowed, "How'd you know?" "Had a quick chitchat with your new aide. How is it you always get the "How would I know?" Jaal teased back, "You were always the one that Daneel shrugged sheepishly, "What can I say?" The Trill folded his arms across his chest, "Yeah, what 'can' you Daneel's expression clearly relayed joy at the mention of the "I know, I should call her more," Jaal admitted, "But in case you "All the more reason to keep in touch more often," Daneel countered "All right, all right," Jaal held his hands up in surrender. "I'll Daneel smiled, "Now that you mention it, it 'is' a social call…" ==About Twenty Minutes Later== Just as Jaal and Daneel closed their connection, a beep announced "Pimp My Ride" Lt. Ella Grey **** Epsilon Four "Demeter" **** Raikar sipped his drink, taking the moment to assess his "corrections" Nothing was coming to him at the moment but Raikar wasn't worried. "God, I'm sick of these hot shot pilots," A man to his left suddenly grumbled. "Tell me about it," Another piped up. "This jerk today expected me to Raikar nearly smiled. "And I thought I had it bad with the macho security officers," Raikar "Yeah," The man agreed. "Don't get me wrong, security is bad too but "Pricks," Raikar agreed, nodding enthusiastically. "Hey, let me buy **** Epsilon Four "Demeter" **** "Oh my god!" "Did you see?" "Never seen anything like it." "The clean up is going to be a bitch." Ella winced. She'd been hanging out in one of the local dives - Naturally hers had been called; Ella would have been surprised if it "Heh, I have to find these guys so they can detail my mother-in-law's "I can't wait to see this race." "Does anyone have a camera?" She rounded the corner slowly, trying to come up with all the "Oh my," Ella said. The row of pristine, top-of-the-line shuttles issued exclusively for The first had mostly been covered with names of important Starfleet "I'm not sure whether to fly it or open shop," Its pilot said as she passed. "You could use it as an instructional manual," A tech replied said. They both tilted their heads. "I know what the first word means but what is a wagon?" The second shuttle looked fairly normal (not counting the unnatural Ella stopped in front of her own shuttle and tried to put her feelings In addition to the purple, giant flames had been added along the The piece de resistance was was the fuzzy red dice they had The good news was that the other pilots were in later heats and would The bad news was the Master of Games absolutely refused to let people Ella shook her head. All she needed was to be caught in little pink She let out a long sigh and then walked resolutely towards her Ella called out to the other two pilots and warned them to check their Now she'd only look like a complete idiot while flying. “New Beginnings” Ensign Ty L’hari Location: Ty’s quarters, USS Einstein Soundtrack: Nickelback “Photograph” Completely absorbed in his search behind the sofa, Ty didn’t hear the “Enter.” The blackened doors hissed open slowly, before shuddering and halting “Wow, when you said they’d scored a direct hit on your quarters, I The female human was interrupted as a black and tan blur shot from “Shadow..off…OFF…no…stop it…ewww….TY!!!!” His head reappearing once more from behind the sofa, Ty shot the dog a “Shadow, down.” Obediently, the dog lifted itself off Erika and dropped back onto all “You see, I warned you about this when you came onboard. Those Ty’s voice was distant as he focused on the task at hand. “Uh-huh…” Finally loosing patience, Erika moved around to stand beside the “Oi! What are you doing under there?” Ty’s groping under the wreckage stopped for a moment. “It’s alright, I think I’ve found it…” Pulling his arm out, Ty shook the cushion stuffing off the large “Mr. Squeaker! Couldn’t go anywhere without finding Shadow’s favourite Rolling her eyes, Erika’s gaze fell on the singular shipping crate by “Yup, that’s everything that was still in one piece after the attack.” He wrapped a friendly arm around Erika’s shoulders and gave her a hug. She smiled back and him and nodded. “If you’re sure you’ve gotten Ty’s shoulders slumped. “Great, a runabout… five days stuck in a Erika gave him a sharp prod in the chest. “Now don’t you start going Stepping back and rubbing his chest, Ty smiled at her and then held “Well boy, looks like we’ve got a little trip ahead of us…” He knelt ~~~Still, life never closes a door without opening a window…~~~ Gesturing to Shadow to heel, Ty looked back over at Erika and smiled. "Through Someone Else's Eyes" Lt. Commander Fredrick Allerdyce 'Fast' Freddie, 'Loose' Freddie, the quickest man on two feet; yeah, "Fighters to your places." The slightly taller, older-looking man did as instructed and then "Fighters to the center." As they drew closer to the center, he noticed more things, this time "You may begin." The whispers died away along with the smirk on Frederick's face; this He observed carefully; the blonde-haired 'kid' brought his hands up, And after several seconds he struck. The strike was met not with a block, but with a catch. Before Freddie But this could only go on for so long. Seeing an opening, Freddie drew everything he had, ranging from what Were this any other tournament he might have been smiling. The blonde-haired younger-looking guy spun several steps backward on But in the midst of thinking he didn't get the chance. However fast Freddie was able to move, his blonde-haired opponent There were injuries; he could feel them without needing a tricorder. His opponent, stilled himself, palms calming up from his side ad then "You with honor and skill, you're teacher would be very proud of you." "Thank you." He replied; after all what do you really say to that. "You're welcome." His opponent nodded with respect, watching him as he At least it wouldn't be a total loss, Frederick considered as he "Reopening Old Wounds : Shoulder"
Alison Von Ernst (Age 20) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ USS Galaxy - Sickbay ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Dr. Burton. there's something I think you need to see." The quiet interruption by the young nurse spun Kimberly Burton around Transferring the data to her desk Kimberly rotated the view to study "She didn't tell me much about it, or how it happened" the nurse "I believe so," Kimberly agreed, "and I think she's assigned nearby, In this case though a fair amount of force and leverage would have
"Should I send to the Zeus for medical records or something else to
Shaking her head, "No," Kimberly replied, "Not yet, we have a security Letting the nurse set up the equipment required Kimberly turned back ~ But then, who can understand the mind of a warrior, let along a Victor watched from the sidelines, his frown threatening to tip over The signs were all there, from the nervous tics of muscles constantly It was, he wondered, surprising that Dr. Burton couldn't feel it too, The fear of people that you cared about was like that. And he did care for the lonely, injured girl, he realized. She was, in Even if he wasn't the man she remembered, he could be that man, that Walking up behind the Chief of Security Kimberly held out a PADD as Victor took the padd and examined the readings. "It's made from the "She said this happened on… the Zeus?" Possible, although not likely "If you could check, I'd appreciate it. I know you've restricted "Wait one." Victor suborned the padd for a moment to log onto his ****
From her spot atop the biobed Allison watched the silent forms of Vic Pulling the flimsy hospital gown a bit closer around her, Alli rubbed When the nurse had mentioned detecting some sort of metallic object in Alli closed her eyes again, against the bright glare of the medical She could almost hear her mother's voice.. "Allison, are you okay dear?" Her eyes snapped open at the woman's voice, hope rising in her heart… "Reopening Old Wounds : Soul "
Alison Von Ernst (Age 20) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ USS Galaxy - Sickbay ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ It was time for the procedure apparently. "Hey Alison," Kimberly greeted the young woman warmly, "Helen and I Sliding the equipment tray Helen had assembled into view she left it
Alli shook her head. She still felt a little weird in light of all this attention, and her skin itched after being scrubbed clean in the She had to remind herself that she was safe. "Okay then, sit back and this shouldn't take long." She promised Setting a small dish to one side Kimberly watched as the transporter Leaning back Alli allowed herself to drift away. <...Later...> The procedure was done, and Allison was alone again sitting cross-legged on the end of the biobed. It felt good. In fact most of her body felt good. How weird was that? Things almost seemed back to normal. That is until the doors hissed open and a new customer appeared. "Can I get some help over here or do you want me to bleed all over the floor?" Turning to the new voice Kimberly raised an eyebrow as she saw Looking around Gabrielle saw the commander and immediately headed to "German asshole," Arel replied as if that explained everything.
Not two beds away, an alert pair of ears were burning. It was her. It had to be. Younger… prettier. But it was Arel Smith. The bitch. Unaware even of Allison's presence or her hard eyed stares, the As she moved, Arel's tunic fell away from her legs, and flash of metal A knife. Allisons eyes narrowed. The bitch was armed! AGAIN! Allison was sliding off her bed before conscious thought even formed, She was glad her shoulder was strong again. She was glad that Dr. Burton had given her an energy tab to reverse She felt young again. Strong. Strong enough to reach out and with all her might shove the dark Unprepared, Arel crashed into the floor. She reacted quickly though, jumping up from the floor and leaping over Relishing the one good blow… even if it was a cheap shot, Alli fought The blond girl was hopelessly outclassed by the Klingon trained woman, "You killed her!!" Alli croaked through Arel's grip, "You killed her "Who in the name of Kahless are you talking about, you psychotic Victor's head snapped around at the first sound of violence. "Dammit," Almost blacking out, Allison nevertheless managed to grab the dagger As underweight as she was, Allison was tossed aside like a pillow into "Dor-sho-gha!" Arel snapped. "She assaulted me!" Startled by Allison's ferocity Kimberly grabber her shoulders, gently Arel shoved the girl back. "pujwI' HIvlu'chugh quvbe'lu.' But if the "You… you killed her." Allison panted, completely exhausted, and Possible, even likely, Victor had to admit. "Calm down," he said, Bending, he retreived the fallen dagger from the floor, eager to remove any possible temptation of escalation. Something about the shiny blade reminded him of something but he couldnt quite place it. "No more violence or I can "Whatever," Arel spat. "I'm not afraid of you." "Then you probably shouldn't make me prove why you should be, Arel," Arel crossed her arms. "Yeah, who did I kill?" "My mother you bitch!!!" Alli's scream echoed off the medical bay It was then in the shocked silence that Victor looked down at the Arel's blade in his hand. That was why the metal looked familiar. Smith had killed Rebecca von Ernst....and apparently tried to do the same thing to her blond haired daughter. "Sucking It Up" "History Unfolding" Part Three The Marines flung photon mortar rounds at the Breen, and combined with small arms made the Breen grenadiers pay for every inch their armored comrades gained. She paused while the massive turret revolved around her taking a moment to glance at her newly 'recruited' loader. "Still with us Ensign?" Folded into the tiny alcove that some designer called a fighting position, Ensign Bob Franks gave a bleary thumbs up. "No problem Sarge....Glowworm loaded...." In truth Franks was a as sick as a dog. He never realized how much he depended on the inertial compensators aboard starships. Here in a bumpy, sweaty metal coffin, and absolutely no visual reference to the outside, he found himself quite seasick. With a whirring motion the entire room rotated, and Franks bit his cheek while the young private next to him called out "TARGET IDENTIFIED" "FIRE!" Bledsoe ordered while the gunner almost simultaneously replied "ON THE WAY!!" WHAMMO!! The entire room shook, and the massive metal breech that dominated the forward portion of the turret recoiled into the back wall. Bravo Zulu 2-2 had been firing for over an hour now in their hell-bent charge to relieve the embattled d Marines, but Franks still jumped every time. The ten ton breach whooshed past him missing only by inches, threatening to smash him like a bug if he so much as strayed from his station. ~~~Must be a good way of keeping men from abandoning their posts,~~~ he thought miserably. "LOADER WAKE UP" the sergeant kicked him in the back of the head. "Give me an AMAT Round now!!" "Right...loading Antimatter.....UP!" The controls were remarkably similar to the Quantum torpedo mechanism back on his beloved starships, part of the reason Franks was able to fit in so quickly despite a few glaring differences. First of all.... WHAMMO!! ....first of all the Torpedo tubes didn't threaten to recoil back into your face every time they fired. Second of all..... "Missed! ...Reengage with AMAT! Move it Ensign!" ...second of all the Captain of the starship couldn't kick you in the back of your head from her central perch like the tank commander could. "AMAT UP!" Franks called again, as he closed the hungry breach. Huge meter long round went in the back end and..... WHAMMO! The room recoiled. ....and got spat out the front by the 152mm railgun. "TARGET...good Job, we got em on the run now!" Bledsoe pumped her tiny fists in the air. There was something appealing about the idea of a 100lb girl commanding a 80 ton behemoth. "Reload GlowWorm."she cried excitedly Franks slammed a magnetically sealed slug of neon plasma into the barrel. The so-called GlowWorms were the primary anti-tanks round carried, for their ability to literally burn through almost anything they hit at hyper velocity. "Stand by....Searching for Targets." Bledsoe called. The metal room rotated again causing Franks to hold onto his cookies. Spinning was not fun when you cant see it actually happen. He wondered if they were even hitting anything. ====================================================== The Marines outside cheered on their big brothers in the Petreus tanks. Man, she might have been huge, clonkey, and had a nose that put an elephant to shame, but when those 70 ton girls let rip with their rail guns, there wasn't a sexier sight outside of the Orion system. Now they weren't guaranteed to die. There weren't any death warrants signed yet... now at the very least the Marines had a fighting chance. And that was 'all' a Starfleet Marine needed. The Breen tanks turned their turrets to face the new Starfleet arrivals, but in the second or two it took them to do that, the Federation Column let go of another full volley, scoring a number of hits and destroying practically the whole left flank of the Breen battle-line. The Breen tanks, despite their terrifying numbers, lit up like cigarettes in the darkest of nights. The Breen fired off another salvo of disruptor rounds, though the burning hulls of their compatriots obscured more than one targeting sensor, and the strong point-defense capability of the Federation tanks allowed them to essentially shrug off the hits with little actual damage. The Federation tanks fired again, taking out several of their Breen counterparts, APCs, and just under two-dozen of their disembarked infantrymen. The Breen recharged their disruptor coils, ready to deliver another barrage of fire when the Marine artillery gunners, previously focusing on defending the battle-space from Hydran fighters, had finished retraining their guns on the Breen tanks and let loose with their own devastating barrage, their rounds homing in on targeting and blasting the Breen right flank straight to hell. The Breen Grenadiers, in a testament to their heroism, tried pushing forward... aiming their heaviest weapons at the Federation tanks and readying to fire. Unfortunately for them they were met by a newly revitalized Marine infantry force that cut them down where they stood. Their lines had been extended near to the breaking point in the offensive, their permitted reserves had been committed and exhausted in the offensive. The dogged Marine defense had spent them completely, and faced with this new threat the Breen soon came to realize that even if they destroyed the Marine force in front of them, they would be too weak for an assault on the enemy base, and dangerously exposed to a counter attack. "Retreat." The Breen next in command sounded the order as calmly as he could, even as panic began building. The Breen started pulling back, looking for a better line of defense to hold, the Grenadiers scurrying in hopes of avoiding the fire being spat at them seemingly from all directions. In the midst of the Battlefield, the Marines and Armor met, the 80 ton hovering monster drifting up to stand athwart the road leading to the Alamo. Its massive turret swung slowly back along the lines of retreating Breen, ready to spit hot death at any who dared return. With a squeak of metal and a resounding CLANG, the top hatch popped open and a soot-stained woman appeared in the opening. "Hey." called Sgt Bledsoe with a cheesy white smile plasterd across her grease blackened face , "Anybody here order a pizza?" A relieved laugh washed over her ground-pounding leatherneck compatriots, the Colonel included. In every war there were a few absolutely iconic moments that would be forever captured by your mind's eye. Sergeant Bledsoe's soot-stained face and white as the newly driven snow definitely counted as one of those moments. The energy was infectious, and he couldn't help but smile himself. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Sergeant." "A beautiful one at that!" Ugahlo added. "Marry me?" Before she could reply to Ugahlo's oft spouted one-liner, a green disruptor beam shot their way, striking the side armor of the tank. It didn't do much more than scuff the paint... but it let the Marines know that the battle wasn't quite over 'just' yet. For'kel fired his last shot, slung his rifle over his shoulder, and grabbed a disruptor rifle from one of the fallen Breen troopers. The more space between the Alamo and the front lines they had, the better off they were. Besides, there was no telling when their big brothers were going to be called away on more important matters, and after a battle this hard fought the Colonel was determined to send a message to their adversaries. "Marines, Forward!" Everyone knew that when you were on a date with Ms. Destiny, and you were lucky enough to get her drunk... you pressed your advantage. With a wall of fire moving ahead of them and mopping up any Breen rear-guard actions, tanks firing heavy rounds into their formations and killing hard and soft targets alike, and the lethal accuracy of Marine marksmen, what had started off so promising for the Breen Naval Infantry became a complete and utter route, whole companies worth of men breaking and running back. For all their success... their very near victory... for all the losses that they'd sustained, the Breen found themselves only a little further than right back where they started from, having essentially gained nothing at all. The Marines reoccupied their old positions, and went about the arduous task of resupply, and rebuilding their defenses. Tomorrow, after all, would be another day. "Making Amends" Lt. Cmdr. Tarin Iniara ***** If there was one thing Iniara had been keeping tabs on in the past several weeks, it was who came and went on the ship each day. The unexpected (and unsupervised) visit by Admiral Akaar had come back to bite her, and she had no desire to repeat such an incident. So, in addition to the dozens of people coming and going for the Games, it was no surprise to her that several key figures had left, and others had returned, all on lengthier trips than just a quick hop down to one of the Dodekatheon planets. For instance, Victor Krieghoff and Allison Jimsdottir had departed on what was listed on the shuttle requisition form as a short personal trip, and had returned not too long ago. Saul Bental had been temporarily reassigned by Commodore Jordan Elaithin, one of SFI's directors, who was remaining on board for several weeks. The Marines had been reassigned as a unit to the defense of Alpha KS-128, and had returned not too long ago. Corporal Cianan Tierney had decided to cash in on some leave time and return home to Angosia. And in addition to that, the 118th's former XO, Man'darr Maivia, had been reassigned to Galaxy's Security department, and had returned home at the same time as his wife, Branwen London. All of these arrivals and departures were noteworthy, but were all pretty much standard things and none really required her personal attention. Except for that last one. Although, technically, return of Marine personnel fell under Colonel Arvelion's watchful gaze, Iniara had sort of become acquainted with Lieutenant London before the mess in the Vered Cluster, and so it made sense that she should eventually welcome the young woman back. But, she wasn't quite sure how to do that. After all, Iniara was one of the people who let Branwen get sent away in the first place. Iniara wasn't very proud of the fact that she'd stood by and let Branwen, recently rescued from a Hydran POW camp, immediately be whisked away to some secret SFI facility so she-- and the three hybrid babies she was carrying-- could be studied. When last they'd spoken, Iniara had delivered the news to Branwen and then left her to deal with it. That was months ago, so time may have helped heal the wound of betrayal...but then again, it might not have. And that was precisely why it had taken her nearly three days to work up the nerve to head down to Marine Country and say hello. Finding Branwen's office was easy enough, now that she'd been down to these decks a few more times. The door was open, so she paused just outside the threshold and rapped her knuckles softly against the door frame. "Hey." "Hello, ma'am." Branwen said looking up. This morning she had been busy redecorating her office. In the six months she had been away the space had been used by someone else of course and she was bringing it back to the taste she liked. So far getting back in to the swing of things wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. The colonel was civil and her marines kept her busy. The new ones needed to be shown the ropes and a lot of the old guard came around to talk. They had been through hell as well and they trusted her. Many would not go to a navy shrink but had no problems talking to Branwen. She had mixed feelings towards the XO. Bran really liked the woman and yet was dissapointed that Iniara had not done more to keep her here on the ship. The feeling that she would have tried harder if she had been navy niggled at the back of her mind. "Come in, ma'am." She said, and cleared some boxes from the easy chairs. "Thanks," Iniara replied as she slipped into one of the available chairs. She wasn't quite sure where to begin; after all, she'd never been good at opening up to people, apologizing, stuff like that. In her mind, it was almost always easier to just forget things like that, rather than risk opening old wounds and causing uncomfortable situations. Something at the back of her mind always nagged her, told her that easier wasn't always better, but most of the time she was able to ignore that little voice. But, she was always trying to be a better person, and even if she should have learned these sorts of social skills decades ago, late was better than never. "I...ah, wanted to offer my congratulations...and apologize for...well, for not fighting to keep you here." There. Rip it off like an adhesive bandage...it still hurt either way, but at least this way it was quicker. Branwen watched her for a little while. "You know." She finally said. "I think you are the first one of the high brass who has actually apologized for what happened. Yes, for a while I was very angry, at you as well. I felt completely abandoned. Of course I saw myself as the center of the universe and you should have saved me." Another pauze. "But coming back and seeing what the marines have gone through…. Well I guess that has put matters in perspective for a bit. You didn't have the time to look out for one person. And that would have been wrong. Thank you for apologizing, ma'am, it does mean something to me." A relieved smile crept onto Iniara's face. That was easier than she'd thought. "So, the notification I received upon your return didn't contain many details," she continued, shifting gears a little. "How are you and the children doing so far?" "One of them died." Bran said sadly. "He died in my arms, my little Ifor." She fought against the tears. His death was still too raw." Iniara's expression fell; the death of a child was something that no mother should ever have to experience. Unfortunately, as she had learned over the years, it happened all too often. "My heart aches for your loss, Branwen." "They convinced me that I could not take the kids with me. My husband is not going to accept them and with a busy job I could not give them the care that they need. My sister has taken them in. She is higher in rank and can give them better care. And I am going to visit them as often as I can." It was clear that she was still pretty emotional about it. "I know it hurts, but I think you made a good decision. The children will benefit from the stability, and if your sister is even half as strong and caring as you, they'll grow up to be good kids," Iniara added with a slight smile. "She is. Both that, strong and caring, Shanna raised me when I ran away from home so I know she will do right by my kids. And she has a little boy of her own, he is about seven. Will you help me get to see my kids as often as possible? And their godparents? Victor and Dhani. I haven't spoken to Dhani yet but Victor is certainly willing. He has already given me some good tips." Bran smiled at the thought. Iniara nodded. "I'll help in any way I can. It's the least I can do." Branwen watched her and was starting to feel like a counselor again. "Tell me ma'am. With hindside, is there anything you could have done different to help me." She could see the guilt in the XO's eyes and Bran didn't want another person to suffer over this. Iniara shrugged; she knew where this was going, and she wasn't really in the mood to go down that road. "Sure; there's always things that could have been done differently. But that's all in the past, so there's not much point dwelling on it; I'd rather just accept the consequences and move on." Placing her hands on the arms of her chair the XO pushed herself into a standing position. "Not to be rude, but...I should be going. The next round of the Marksmanship event is supposed to begin in about two hours." "Ma'am, before you go I have one more question and please don't get mad." Branwen watched her. "Are you afraid of counselors?" That was an interesting question, Iniara mused. "If I was, I'd be spending far less time with Counselor V'Lot than I do now." "I do not recognize that name, ma'am. Is that a new crew member? And I am glad you are seeing someone and my gut feeling was wrong." Bran grinned. "V'Lot has been on the ship probably as long as I have, but she doesn't see many patients, at least not regularly like she does with me. She's a specialist in telepathy and telepathic races, which is why I sought her out when I had some...problems," Iniara explained, the memories of her experiences with the Dithparu floating to the surface once more. They were much less severe than they had been in the past, so that at least was a good thing, although she wished that they would one day leave her alone for good. "Since then, I see her every two weeks, right on schedule." "That is good to hear, ma'am." Bran smiled. "And if you ever just need a friend to talk to, I am here." Even through the difference in rank she did feel some kind of connection to the other woman. Had from the first time they talked. "Thanks; I appreciate that," Iniara replied, smiling slightly. "Well, I'd better get going. Take care of yourself, Branwen, and hopefully I'll see you around sometime soon." "Count on it ma'am." Bran said. "And thank you for checking on me." 6748 |