Compile summary Your adoring CSO -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2406.10.23 (USS Gunnel - Telan Raynar-ships counselor-0901) ------------------------------------------------------------ Stardate: 2406.10.24 (Raelleus IV -Dreamscape - Dr. Riven Mias- 0301) (Raelleus IV - Palace - Dr. Riven Mias - 0303) (Raelleus IV - Palace - MO Alesia Trenor - 0304) (Raelleus IV -Palace - CSO Ketal- 0305) (Raelleus IV, Palace, holding room- Dr. Riven Mias- 0310) (Raelleus IV -Palace - TASC Keswick - 0311) (Raelleus IV -Palace - Dr. Riven Mias- 0315) (Raelleus IV - shuttle –Telan Raynar-ships counselor - 0316) (USS Gunnel - Rear compartment - Dr. Riven Mias- 0318) (Shuttle, MO Alecia Trenor - 0325) (USS Gunnel - Rear compartment - Dr. Riven Mias - 0326) (USS Gunnel - OPS - Dr. Riven Mias- 0345) (USS Dian Chang - Personal quarters - CO, Captain Jaelle - 0355) (USS Dian Chang - Bridge - CO, Captain Jaelle - 0358) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Begin compile Stardate: 2406.10.23 (USS Gunnel - Telan Raynar-ships counselor-0901) As Telan slowly sank into the darkness on Nurse Jones mind he began to sense differences than when he was here last. Normally when drifting through a patients mind it was like drifting through swirls of light and color and sound. This time it was like sinking through ever darkening swirls of mist. The swirls seamed to gain substance to where Telan felt as if he were having to fight and claw his way through them. It was almost like trying to swim through an ever thickening kelp bed except here the kelp was alive and trying to entangle him with thoughts of madness and insanity. He knew that if he allowed himself to become entangled in these thoughts he too would share in her madness. Down, down. Deeper and deeper he went until once again he was at the core of thought. Now he was in a vast amphitheater like space. Steps circling an enormous pit like blackness. Somewhere in the center was where Sherri’s sanity lay trapped. As Telan started down toward the darkness, he could hear whispering around him faint at first unintelligible but getting louder. Words forming just to fade before being understood. As he entered the blackness he felt strands of black thought encircle his legs, drawing him down. For a moment he considered trying o withdraw but this was the direction he needed to go. The blackness was thicker now, Telan felt as if he could almost float. The whispering grew clearer. Join us, be with us. Let go …. He hesitated for a moment wrapped in the mesmerizing voices. Just as he was about to succumb to the hypnotic sounds he saw for a brief moment a dark shape moving toward him, blacker even than the surrounding swirling fog of madness the shape drifted in, reaching for him. ~NO!!!~ Telan roared to himself and hurled a blast of sheer willpower toward the form and watch repulsed as it shattered into a thousand shards of inky blackness. Downward he continued, now aware of the traps that would be awaiting him. Traps created from the insanity of Nurse Jones’s mind. After what seamed like an eternity Telan broke into a much lighter area. It was still gray but much lighter than the horror of madness he had traveled through. He had reached the edge of the core now and stepped through grayness into a circle of brilliant white light, light from a column extending from an infinite height that hadn’t been obvious before when he had first entered. ~Odd~ he thought~ and stepped to the circle only to find a wall of force. This was a thing he had encountered before when treating madness, he encircled himself with a sphere of “self”. Repeating to himself ~“THIS IS WHO I AM, I WILL NOT BE CHANGED” ~over and over again like a mantra he was able to force his way through the light to the cage in the center. There she lay, still in the cage just like he had left her when he had eased her wildly running mind. Unfortunately her mind had waken again as had the wild fear within it. Telan sent forth waves of calm thought and emotions speaking to her directly. Snatching at wildly drifting thoughts he showed them to her, pictures of a life with meaning, happiness and purpose. Slowly the light of reason began to show within her eyes. Like a swimmer emerging from cold water Sherri Jones blinked and shook herself as if flinging off drops of icy water. She grasp the bars of the cage trying to escape. :Can you help me!!!?: the thought came to Telan as he had started to grasp the bars as well. Already close to being exhausted himself Telan hurled his will at the bars and they started to bend, slowly at first but steadily until with a sudden motion one gave and fell from the cage. Sherri emerged from the cage and started forward until Telan stopped her. : To survive this you must trust me and allow me to guide you. It is a long climb but we can make it if you trust me: She held out her hand as Telan began to form a field of will pulled from them both and they began to climb the stairs again, the gray falling away and the blackness fading the closer to the top of the pit they climbed, until they surfaced at the top and the blackness faded away completely. Still holding her hand Telan began to rise into the swirling colors of light and thought bringing the now sane woman with him allowing himself to dissipate as he went. : Sleep now Sherri, I will be with you when you awaken: his thoughts echoing in her mind as she drifted toward a peaceful healing sleep. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2406.10.24 (Raelleus IV -Dreamscape - Dr. Riven Mias- 0301) Riven recoiled from the blow and the disgust in Aesia's eyes as she walked past him toward Hanaldine who had relaxed and was now smiling at his victory. With Alesia now completely belonging to the Prince Riven felt his hold on her mind slipping like sand through his fingers. The last he saw was her kneeling before the Raellean as he threw back his head and began a bout of hideous, mocking laughter which echoed in Riven's mind for days afterward. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2406.10.24 (Raelleus IV - Palace - Dr. Riven Mias - 0303) Riven's eyes stung with tears and he rubbed his left cheek in automatic reflex at the memory of the slap Ms. Trenor had given him as she stepped around him and knelt before Hanaldine. As the beaten and despairing Doctor watched she knelt before him as he unsnapped the lead from her collar and replaced it with his thus marking her as his property. ~To think I opened up to her so, transferred my affections to her and now lost her so completely.~ "Now, " Said the Prince. "I have need of you two no longer. Guards escort Dr. Mias and his friend from my presence. I have unfinished business with my new concubine." Riven knew just exactly what "business" the Raellean planned and the numbness of his mind began to subside and was replaced by a growing anger. "No!" He shouted. "I will not let you have her!" Riven heard the guards begin to move behind him and the whine of Ketal's phaser as he lashed out at Hanaldine. The white winged and furred Raellean sneered as he met Riven's attack almost contemptuously and Riven felt his muscles lock, taking away his mobility. The phaser continued to fire but it was as though the three were in another world as little as the activity touched them. Riven tried to move but could not and his brain felt as though it were packed in cotton as he looked at what superstitious beings of old might have thought looked quite angelic but Riven knew that at his heart Hanaldine would more resemble a devil. ::Are you senile Riven?:: He heard in his mind. ::You know you are not powerful enough to best me. You live at my sufferance and my patience is wearing thin.:: In times of great challenge and despair it has been well documented of people displaying enormous capabilities far beyond their normal capacity and here on Raelleus Riven's capabilities as has been documented had grown noticeably. As Hanaldine began to smile down at Riven he felt pain began to tear through him and opened his mouth to scream at the suddenness of it.. ~Mother help me!~ He cried out in his mind. The pain seemed to go on forever though it was only seconds, within his being Riven retreated to the center, his source, that place deep inside him at his core where he knew there was something special about himself, where he knew he was different, a child of the goddess. There at the core of himself he found as it were a shimmering well, a basin of power he had never tapped into before that awaited such a time as this to be used. He tapped into it greedily, like a baby at its mother's breast and felt it begin to flow through him like a torrent. Hanaldine stepped closer to the out worlder as he continued to pour pain into him. The Prince's smile disappeared though as he felt his mind begin to be forced back, his hold loosened on the Betazoid like fingers clinging to a precipice that were being forced one-by-one to lose their grip. His eyes opened wide as Riven opened his eyes also and took a step toward him. ~What is this?~ The Raellean wondered as he stepped back and bumped against his throne. ~How is this possible?~ His thoughts were cut off as agony exploded inside him, it felt as though every nerve ending had been dipped in acid or as though he had been thrown into a furnace but was unable to die as the pain consumed him. Hanaldine's hold on Alesia's mind was lost though her memories were now twisted and corrupted by his touch and she cried out at the feedback that came for an instant through the link before it was broken. Hanaldine opened his mouth to scream but couldn't, the agony was too intense. Riven looked down at his opponent as he sank to the floor, his eyes glazed and his limbs slack, his mouth was open but only a rasping gurgle came out. Riven wanted to kill him, wanted him to burn alive in his own pain. He heard the voice of Ketal behind him. "Stay where you are Ms. Trenor. I have no wish to stun you." Riven could see her crouched, hissing like a cat as she prepared to hurl herself at Riven to protect her master. (Reply: MO Alesia Trenor. As much as you would like) As she sprang the phaser whined again and Riven's rage rose more as he looked down again at Hanaldine, the Raellean was stirring weakly. "Where are our companions Hanaldine? The ones called Jansen and Keswick." As the Raellean pointed to a door and collapsed Riven felt the power begin to drain from him leaving him almost limp. He walked to the door and opened it leaving Ketal to cover the Prince who was no longer concious and he walked down a hall. His phaser was in his hand as he searched with his mind and finding the right door flung it open revealing the two other members of his party. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2406.10.24 (Raelleus IV - Palace - MO Alesia Trenor - 0304) Her Master began to lose. She could sense that, and fought back, against the help that was being offerred to her. Consequently, in her own battle, she missed her Master slumping to the ground. When she realized it, she prepared to attack Riven. Rational thought was beyound her now, and so she sprang at him, her body remembering the marine moves that her mind did not. She heard something but as her fingers were about to conenct with Riven's unguarded face, she fell into a well of blackness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stardate: 2406.10.24 (Raelleus IV -Palace - CSO Ketal- 0305) Ketal winced at the pain in his left side and put his hand there encountering a shaft of wood which sent waves of pain through him. Using all of his limited discipline as his mother had taught him he managed to quiet it to a dull ache, as he lifted his hand before him he saw it was covered with green blood. The half-Vulcan was having tunnel vision as he looked carefully about the chamber. The five guardsmen as well as the well dressed one he took to be an aide to Hanaldine, Hanaldine himself and Ms. Trenor were all unconscious and Riven had left to find the remainder of the group without sparing Ketal a glance. Ketal turned his phaser back on Hanaldine as he was the only unknown for how long he would be unconscious, the rest would be out for hours since he had used the weapon on heavy stun. He looked at the doors quickly before examining his wound, it was about midway up his left side and had probably just missed his secondary heart and the wound was bleeding profusely. A wave of dizziness washed over him and he managed to blink it back, a chair at the table beckoned invitingly but he spurned it and forcing himself to move he walked to the marine while transferring the phaser to his left hand. A bit of blood was transferred also and as he took her wrists in his right hand and began to pull her into the center of the room they were slippery. He had to stop for a moment to rest and get a better grip before he resumed moving her. After he had her there he fought back a wave of nausea and blinked his eyes hard as he held on to consciousness, after the spell had passed he gingerly extracted the transport beacon from its hiding place beneath his embroidered shirt and jacket intending to activate it when the others arrived. Ketal found himself looking at the floor and before he could consider it he was sitting down hard, he choked a pained cry down to a deep grunt and just managed to keep from falling over on his injured side which would have driven the quarrel deeper.. After what seemed like a long interval but he judged to be only a few minutes he heard voices from the other side of the door Riven had gone through, he relaxed as he realised it was the Doctor as well as Jansen and Keswick. As the three entered he lost conciousness and slumped forward, the transporter beacon rolled from his right hand and the phaser in his left hand clattered to the tiled floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stardate: 2406.10.24 (Raelleus IV, Palace, holding room- Dr. Riven Mias- 0310) "Jansen. Keswick, hurry!" He said. "It's time we left this hell hole." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2406.10.24 (Raelleus IV -Palace - TASC Keswick - 0311) Keswick as he sat slumped over drifted in and out of consciousness his uniform covered in blood has he coughed up more blood. The horrifying images that were placed in his mined by Kel-jinn as he tortured Keswick trying to gain information where still strong in his mind he tried to block them out but with little effect. As The Doors slowly began to open Keswick tried to get to his feet but as he tried he got light headed from the loss of blood and the burned flesh around his temple where he was struck by the guard. He sow Riven walk " Riven am I glad to see you" Travis sead as he lost consciousness falling on the ground all his strength and energy leaving his body. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2406.10.24 (Raelleus IV -Palace - Dr. Riven Mias- 0315) Riven stepped once again into the meeting room and as he did he heard the distinctive sound of a phaser hitting the tiles of the floor, looking around he saw Ketal slumped forward on the ground beside Alesia near the center of the hall. Riven rushed toward them and getting beside Ketal he looked down at the crossbow quarrel buried deeply in his side, the half Vulcan appeared to have lost a lot of blood and Riven cursed himself for not noticing his injury earlier. As the others neared him he picked up the transporter beacon Ketal had modified as well as his phaser; both now had green blood on them and he called out to Telan as he readied the beacon. :: Telan! This is Riven of course. Ketal has a crossbow quarrel embedded in his side and will need immediate medical attention. Also Ms. Trenor will have need of our services, her will was broken by Prince Hanaldine. I am about to activate the transport beacon now.:: (Reply: Telan Raynar) After speaking with Telan Riven activated the beacon, after a moment he felt the tingle of transport and heard a growing hum then the hall disappeared to be replaced by the interior of the shuttle. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2406.10.24 (Raelleus IV - shuttle –Telan Raynar-ships counselor - 0316) Telan shook himself after regaining his sense of self. He was exhausted from the mental struggle of freeing Nurse Jones. ~That is defiantly something I do NOT want to attempt every day~. He walked back forward to the front of the shuttle intending on resting a bit he heard a voice with in his mind call out to him. ::Telan:: ::Riven, is that you?:: :: Of course this is me:: he said. Rivan gave a run down on the various injuries the party had sustained as well as the new mental aberrations sustained by Ms Trenor. ~Next time we take a med shuttle, I’m about out of places to put people~ He muttered to himself. ::Ok, activate the transporter beacon and stand by:: He rushed over to the small transporter control consol and began working the controls; soon the familiar hum began followed by several of the away team shimmering on the pads. Ketal, Keswick and Jansen formed. Take the controls he told Keswick as he carried the Vulcan to the nearest folded down seat and began to run a medical tricorder over him. (Reply Keswick) He heard the hum begin again and the rest of the party shimmered into existence, he saw Rivan as he and Keswick strapped Ms Tenor to one of the seats amidships. Telan turned his attention back to the wounded Vulcan. ~missed the hearts and most of the vital organs, nicked the under side of the lung though~, Telan picked up and activated the laser scalpel and severed the Bolt about three inches from the Vulcan’s side knowing that if he tried to remove it here Ketal would probably drown in his own blood. Just as he finished spraying the wound with a temporary sealant he heard a loud commotion from behind. Turning he was just in time to see Trenor wrench a hand free and smash it sidelong into his face. Telan dropped to the deck, his vision blurred hearing the woman threaten to have them executed unless she were freed. Knowing she was a Marine and that he him self was no fighter Telan reached for a hypo spray but after seeing the others reaction to her still skilled movements he choose not to rush her as his thoughts had first told him but instead threw the device at her. As it left his hand Telan gained control of it with his mind and directed it to the center of the wild woman’s back and jammed it home with a hiss. She turned to meet the un-noticed attack, wavered for a moment and dropped like a rock. As he stood to asses the situation Telan noticed the room start to waver slightly. “Rivan” he called out and then slumped to the deck as well having used up the last of his reserves of strength. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2406.10.24 (USS Gunnel - Rear compartment - Dr. Riven Mias- 0318) The small group materialized on the transporter pad and Riven slumped in relief at their escape from the palace, he saw Telan instantly as he rushed forward to take control of Ketal. As he knelt down to check the Vulcan's wound with Commander Belinia standing by to help move him Riven gestured toward the two they had just retrieved. "Would you two gentlemen please secure Ms. Trenor? Her memories have been twisted and she believes she belongs to Prince Hanaldine and she might pose a threat to us. She will have to be confined until Telan and I have an opportunity to treat her." (Reply: Jansen or Keswick) After the men had seen to restraining her Riven got up and went to check on nurse Jones, he found she was now resting peacefully and Sergeant Peters looked much better also, he smiled at them and returned to the others; anxious to be off this accursed planet. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2406.10.24 (Shuttle, MO Alecia Trenor - 0325) She woke up, bound down to one of the chairs. Her mind told her not to move, but both of the Counsellors knew immediately. She hissed angrily at Riven, a wild thing. She glared at Jansen, traitor to her Master. "I demand that you let me return to my Master, the Prince." She said in a haughty voice. "You will let me go, or he will see you executed." She declared. She felt the pity of the others and struggled harder against the bonds, managing to get one hand free. She kept it down, trying to get the other one free. Her Master had shown her how to shield her thoughts from ones such as these. As one of the Counsellors came close she flung out her free hand punching him aside the face, and then pulling against the bonds, managing to get the other hand free. "Let me go." She said, her memories of the Mystique now completely gone, and she only a Raellian Courtesan, loyal to her Master. She stared as Riven moved up to her, there was something about him that was naggingly familiar to her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2406.10.24 (USS Gunnel - Rear compartment - Dr. Riven Mias - 0326) Too much was happening at once, far too much. In addition to Alesia and Ketal he and the pilot had had to half carry Ensign Keswick to the meeting hall which left only he and Ensign Jansen unwounded. After beaming back to the shuttle he had forgotten about the young security officer's condition and asked him to help secure Alesia and had walked off, the young man had then collapsed and now Alesia was stirring even though she should still be out from the hit she took from the phaser and Telan appeared to be more then a little wobbly on his feet also. "I demand that you let me return to my Master, the Prince." Alesia said in a haughty voice. "You will let me go, or he will see you executed." Before the horrified Riven could intervene she had punched Telan in the side of his face as he turned then freed her other hand, Riven stepped forward and as she turned to look at him he saw a flicker of recognition in her eyes which caused his hopes to rise. ~He hasn't drowned out her memories completely, there are still enough there to build on. ~ Riven opened his mouth to speak to her and saw the hypo flashing through the air, it struck her in the back below her neck, there was a hiss and her eyes began to grow dark as her struggles weakened. "Ales..." He said then saw her slump forward unconcious. ::Riven!:: He heard then Dr. Raynar melted to the deck of the shuttle, completely drained. "My god!" Riven turned and saw Commander Belinia come up behind them. "Dr Mias we don't have enough beds for everyone, I'll have MCO Peters take the tactical station while you, I and Jansen carry Mr. Keswick to the other bed, he appears to have some internal damage so we'd better be careful." (Reply: Jansen) After moving the young security officer to the bed with difficulty they took stock of the situation. "Telan appears to be all right except for being completely exhausted, if we move him we'll wake him so find a blanket and cover him please, I'm sure he could use the rest." Riven agreed with the FO's assessment and as he moved to a compartment to do so he heard the Commander speaking again." "Report Mr. Jansen. How are you feeling and what happened to you and Keswick?" (Reply: Ensign Jansen) Riven also fetched a hypo after making Telan more comfortable and took it to the sleeping Keswick. He wasn't as conversant with a medical tricorder as he would have liked but a pass with it showed him the obvious, the young man had several cracked ribs and a punctured lung. The internal damage was beyond the facilities that they had to make use of like Ketal's wound and would have to wait till they returned to the Mystique but he gave him the hypo anyway. The syringe had in it not only a sedative to help him rest better but also a vitamin mixture to help strengthen his body till he got better care. After administering the shot he walked back to the two other officers as Jansen was winding down his report. "Just great." Muttered Commander Belinia. "We have three wounded, two unconcious and a wounded marine to help us operate the shuttle. Mr. Jansen prepare to lift off, I want us off this planet ASAP, Mr. Peters at Tactical and Dr. Mias take OPS again." (Reply: Pilot Jansen) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2406.10.24 (USS Gunnel - OPS - Dr. Riven Mias- 0345) After all preparations had been made the shuttle lifted off with a low whine and ascended smoothly into the atmosphere encountering a small amount of turbulance as it reached 10,000 feet and when they had reached the outer atmosphere Peters spoke up. "I have one Akira class starship on sensors now but as of yet no signs of wreckage. The ship is near the projected position of the Mystique but I don't yet have a positive ID." "Dr. Mias raise shields and maintain radio silence till we have positively identified the ship." Commander Belinia ordered. "Understood Commander." Riven said as he activated the shields then watched the board. Another few seconds brought a flood of information. The configuration of the ship was of a warship, not an explorer. Riven stiffened at the signal he saw and he grated. "Transponder shows it is the Dian Chang Commander!" Peters called. "No signs of wreckage, it appears the Mystique has left orbit." "Damn!" Commander Belinia said. "Mr. Jansen take us back down to the planet. Now!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stardate: 2406.10.24 (USS Dian Chang - Personal quarters - CO, Captain Jaelle - 0355) Jaelle was in a pensive mood as she lay awake in her bed. She had gotten very little sleep since the Mystique had cloaked and moved off, her mind refused to shut down for long and kept waking her up at odd periods.She had been unable to communicate with her marine contingent and there was not a clue as to where the Mystique had retreated to. On top of that sensors were nearly useless for getting any information on the planet and it appeared the interference was worsening. If Captain Winters had left anyone on the surface they would be nearly impossible to find. She gritted her teeth and tried to go back to sleep again. =^= Captain. Sensors show a shuttle has lifted off from the planet and is now approaching the upper atmosphere. Orders Captain.=^= Jaelle sat bolt upright in her bed and hit the intercom button. "I'll be right there! Hold position and sound yellow alert!" =^= Aye Captain." She heard as she threw on a wrap and rushed for the door. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2406.10.24 (USS Dian Chang - Bridge - CO, Captain Jaelle - 0358) As the turbolift opened she rushed onto the bridge and picked out the shuttle quickly silhoutted against the planet. "Is the shuttle shielded?" "Yes Captain." She smiled. "Move into tractor range fast! I want that shuttle and whoever is on board!" "Aye Captain." Her Conn officer began to press the appropraite button. ~Finally! Maybe they will know where to find our missing starship.~ She thought as she settled back in her chair with a sigh. The long wait might be coming to an end. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End Compile