EXETERRPG: CO, Captain Trip Williams, FO, Commander Ailynn Bracken, aFO, Commander Alex Jones, SOPS/3O, Lt. Commander Tyrek Na’Rel, CFO, Lt. Ire Williams, aCTO, Ensign Jori, CEO/2O, Lt. Commander Keira Merek, CSO, Lt. Erin Cortez, Dir. R&SE, Ashlyn “The Real Boss” Williams

[Will Banowsky]

Mission: A new day dawns
Day: 2
Stardate: 2446.01.29


(Earth- Home of Trip and Ashlyn Williams- CO, Captain Trip Williams, FO,
Commander Ailynn Bracken, aFO, Commander Alex Jones, SOPS/3O, Lt. Commander
Tyrek Na’Rel, CFO, Lt. Ire Williams, aCTO, Ensign Jori, CEO/2O, Lt.
Commander Keira Merek, CSO, Lt. Erin Cortez, Dir. R&SE, Ashlyn “The Real
Boss” Williams - 2130)

“I think this warrants a toast,” Trip said as he raised a freshly opened
bottle of beer up. “A toast to those we’ve lost, a toast to the new
beginnings, a toast to the best damn crew in Starfleet.”

As Trip sat down, he felt a buzz coming from his pocket. Curious, he
reached for his personal communication device. All he could see on the
display was that it was coming from Starfleet Headquarters and that
underneath it said it was on a secure line.

“Excuse me a moment,” he said as he got up from the table and answered the
call. He put an earpiece in so that only he could hear the audio.

“Good evening Admiral, no, no you aren’t interrupting,” he said as he
walked down the hallway. “What can I do for you?” Suddenly Trip stopped,
the sounds of his feet pacing no longer echoed down the hallway. The
silence was then broken up by a concerned voice wafting down the hallways
where unintentionally those gathered around the table could hear Trip say,
“Is this accurate? What you just told me about Commander Ravok, have you
verified it?”

At that moment Trip could feel as if people’s attention were being drawn
his way and he stepped into a bedroom and closed the door.

Ire looked over at Trip at the mention of Ravok’s name and saw that he had
moved away out of ear shot.

~Ow no what’s happened~

"Been around the block enough times. Bad feeling in my water." Alex said
quietly to Tyrek.

" I have never heard those expressions before, but nonetheless I understand
them with extreme clarity." Tyrek remarked back to Commander Jones.

After about 10 minutes Trip returned to the dining room with a solemn and
sad look on his face.

Ash knew Trip better than anyone, she instantly knew that something was
badly wrong. "Trip? What is it?"

“Umm…that was Starfleet HQ, Rear Admiral Raymond St. James. He works
directly with Starfleet Chief of Staff Admiral Jana Bell. He was overseeing
the team that was searching for Commander Ravok. They found him.”

Keira placed her glass on the table, her hand was still on the glass.
~Lathuel?~

Ire paused for a moment before asking the question that he had been
dreading.

“Is he alive?” Ire asked.

Erin could hear the discussion going on around her but didn't say a word.
There was an almost buzzing in her ears. She knew what was coming, sensed
the answer to Ire's question.


Trip shook his head. “The Exeter’s captain's yacht was a wreck. Seemed to
be attacked by pirates. Lots of disruptor scarring, phaser scarrin, was in
quite a few pieces. Cockpit was relatively intact. Stripped for parts and
tech. They found, according to the forensics, the remains of a
disintegrated male romulan killed with a disruptor. The radiation exposure
caused massive decay of the remain’s cellular structure.”

"A male Romulan… there are thousands of those still roaming the galaxy,
could it be the remains of one of these pirates? Ravok had fought a Romulan
desperate enough to resort to piracy before." Keira offered a plausible
explanation.


Listening to Keira, Erin knew she was holding out hope that this could be
the case. After all, some knew, some had forgotten and some didn't know
that Ravok was like a brother to her and he treated her as such.

“His DNA was found all over the cockpit, blood, spit, and his right hand.
The area of Space they found him in, near contested Romulan space, there is
a pirate group whose MO is to chop off the right hand of their victims
before, well finishing the job. Why the right hand, I’m unsure.” Trip
pushed his plate away from him. “But the hand was a match, it is Ravok’s
hand. It still had his Academy ring on the right finger. As far as
Starfleet’s concerned, the matter is closed. Lt. Commander Ravok Shara is
officially declared dead.”

Ailynn said nothing, but sat back in her chair, pushing her drink away.
Sighing deeply ahead considered what had been said, another layer of pain
was added to all the others.

"Laehval Hveihtaeul Mosefvir …" Tyrek said softly but loud enough for
others to hear him. "The Shadowed Hand Syndicate. They strike fast and
indiscriminately, leaving no survivors." Tyrek informed them, the republic
fleet has had several run-ins with them. A small and evasive group of
pirates.

Jori sat silently, unmoving, her face blank. At her first opportunity, as
acting chief of tactical, she was going to get a copy of the official
report. There was also going to be research done on the Shadowed Hand
Syndicate. This would be the first interaction with her new mentor. Shara
was a resourceful man. Because of this, it was clear in Jori's mind this
was staged. Ravok Shara was still alive.

“By the Prophets.” Ire muttered softly to himself as he took a calming
breath.

~I am so sorry. That this is how it ends for you~

"Is there any way we could look at the evidence, their files at least? Find
something they missed? Seems too neat for me." Keira asked.

“Apparently they’ve had the evidence for a week. I’m sorry, some of
Starfleet’s best forensic minds were on this. I can ask that the findings
be made available. I don’t think you will get the physical evidence. But
again, they analysed the data for over 100 hours before making the final
determination. But if you would still like to look it over, I will do my
best to get them for you.”

"Using the death certificate as justification I could claim Right of
Vengeance under Klingon law and go after these pirates myself." Keira
announced.

Tyrek shook his head and scoffed at Keira.

"You have anything to add? Say it." Keira gaze now on the Romulan.

Tyrek nodded. " Besides the obvious? You are not a klingon and the laws of
the klingon empire don't supersede your responsibilities to starfleet.
These pirates are dangerous Commander Merek. "

"Oh, really? Perhaps a history lesson is in order. Ravok's stepmother was a
Klingon named Kora matriarch of Klingon House Kalberoth, having been
adopted by her formally that gives him rights under Klingon law. Those
rights extend to his family."

Tyrek was about to respond to her but could feel that he was overstepping
his place in the situation.

“ENOUGH!!” Trip said, shouting, banging his hands on the table in
frustration. “Just enough, ok.” Trip said as he got up. “You can have this
discussion on the finer points of Klingon law on your own time. Not when
emotions are high for those of us who knew and loved him. Ravok was my
brother and I was still holding on to the hope he would have come to his
senses.” Trip paused, he had hoped that he would have had the time to find
Ravok, to offer a path to redemption. “Keira, if you want to invoke the
right of vengeance, we can have that conversation when you are ready, but
given what it will entail, you do so on your own risk, on your own time.
What that means for your career, I don’t know. If I recall correctly it is
a duel, you don’t know who actually dealt the final blow. If this vengeance
means going after the whole organization, you will not be doing so as a
member of Starfleet. Weigh that for what it is.” Pausing again, Trip took a
deep breath. “I think it is best that we end this evening formally. Finish
what you want, eat what you want, stay if you want…. I need some air.” Trip
then got up and made his way out the door.

Watching Trip leave, Erin glanced at the table, said nothing, wiped her
eyes, stood and headed out of the door. Not following Trip,  not wanting to
intrude on his grief  she went outside the front, sat down on the porch
steps and, with her head in her hands,  closed her eyes.

~damn it, you stubborn … who's going to watch over me now, hey?~

Keira downed the remaining wine in her glass and with some restraint placed
the glass on the table. "Excuse me." She said before leaving the table, she
followed the chief science officer outside.

Alex turned to Ailynn and opened his mouth to ask about a couple of things,
there was a dynamic at play here that he didn’t altogether understand.
Cortez seemed to have taken the news hard, alongside Commander Merek.
Bracken however, nodded toward where Trip had gone. “Thats the direction
you need to go at the moment. First Officer always needs to be a sounding
board even at the worst of times.”He nodded and after leaving the table
with an apology, picked up a couple of beers and followed the Captain.

Many emotions were flooding Jori after seeing the reactions from the
others. She felt badly for them, as they lost a dear friend and fellow
officer. She began to feel guilty for how she was feeling, as she
essentially barely knew Shara. Mostly, she felt for the captain. He had
prepared a wonderful evening for them and that was ruined.

Tyrek watched as others left the room. He stood from his chair and left the
dining room and headed back outside to the side patio of the house.

Ire stood as he watched the others leave the room and followed Tyrek
outside to see if he could get some air and calm his mind and control his
feelings.

(reply none)
(posted by Jackie, Mark, Renee, Robbie, Rob, Todd, Will)
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