USS Spectre Compile - December 1st-31st 2007 by Alan Reading ========================================================================= Mission: Emissary on the Edge of Tomorrow Day: 80 Stardate: 2407.07.03 (USS Spectre - Holodeck – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 19:54) (USS Spectre - Holodeck - Ensign (SG) Jynea Kreung - 20:07) ========================================================================= Mission: Emissary on the Edge of Tomorrow Day: 85 Stardate: 2407.07.08 (USS Spectre - Recreation Room - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 05:41) (USS Cathay - Computer Core - Ensign Gerome (Gerry) Trinnek - 10:07) (USS Cathay - Sickbay - Commander Dinnica Roil - 11:12) (Starbase Valhalla - Captain’s Ready Room – Captain Gwazi Mutobo – 14:35) (Starbase Valhalla - Main Bridge – Captain Gwazi Mutobo – 19:35) ========================================================================= Mission: Emissary on the Edge of Tomorrow Day: 86 Stardate: 2407.07.09 (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Holo-Marine Jose Rameriz - 14:59) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Williams - 15:03) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Holo Lance Corporal Jose Rameriz - 15:07) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO Williams - 15:10) (USS Swansea - Bridge - Captain Ahab - 15:16) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor & TAC/SC Lnt Yelena Vasilyovna - 16:20) (USS Spectre - Deck 17 - Technician Suri Rapeet - 16:21) (USS Spectre - Bridge - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 16:21) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 16:22) (USS Spectre - Deck 17 - Ensign Alex Goldsteen - 16:24) (USS Spectre – Torpedo launcher – Corporal Houseman – 16:24) (Spectre – Security Station Gamma – Security Officer Smith - 16:24) (USS Spectre – Main Engineering – Ensign Bys’At and TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 16:25) (USS Spectre - Deck 17 - Security Officer Smith - 16:27) (USS Spectre - Deck 17 - Ensign Goldsteen - 16:28) (USS Spectre - Deck 17 - Corporal Houseman - 16:29) (USS Spectre – Turbolift (headed for Deck 17) – Ensign Bys’At and TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 16:30) (USS Spectre – Deck 17 – Ensign Bys’At and TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 16:32) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 16:32) (USS Spectre - Deck 17- Corporal Houseman - 16:33) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO Williams - 16:36) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – Ensign Goldsteen - 16:37) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 16:37) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO - Williams - 16:38) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor & TAC/SC Lt Yelena Vasilyovna - 17:01) (USS Spectre - Bridge - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 17:02) (USS Spectre – morgue – CMO Williams - 17:15) (USS Spectre - Bridge - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 17:40) (USS Spectre – CMO’s Office – CMO Williams - 17:50) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 18:10) (USS Spectre - Bridge - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 18:11) (Starbase Valhalla – Main Bridge – Captain Gwazi Mutobo – 18:30) (Starbase Valhalla – Main Bridge – Captain Gwazi Mutobo – 18:44) (USS Spectre – Main Engineering – Ensign Paul Morphy - 19:10) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor & TAC/SC Lt Yelena Vasilyovna - 19:20) (USS Spectre - Bridge - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 19:21) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 19:30) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 19:30) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 19:35) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO Williams - 19:37) (USS Spectre – Brig, Holding Cells – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 19:40) (USS Spectre - Auxiliary shuttle deck - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles - 19:45) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles - 19:50) (USS Spectre - Deck 3 - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles - 20:00) (Starbase Valhalla – Battle Bridge – Captain Gwazi Mutobo - 20:02) (Starbase Valhalla - Subsection 14, Temporary Command Center - Commander Dinnica Roil - 20:14) (USS Spectre – CMO’s Office – CMO Williams - 20:30) (Starbase Valhalla – Battle Bridge – Captain Gwazi Mutobo - 20:35) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO – Williams - 20:45) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – TAC/ASC Ensign Goldsteen - 20:50) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO Williams - 20:53) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – Ensign Goldsteen - 20:54) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO Williams - 20:56) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 20:59) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign Alex Goldsteen - 21:00) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:00) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO Williams - 21:01) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:02) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Alex Goldsteen - 21:03) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:03) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Alex Goldsteen - 21:04) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 21:05) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:06) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO Williams - 21:06) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Goldsteen - 21:07) (USS Spectre - Transporter Room - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles - 21:07) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson – 21:20) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:22) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO Williams – 21:22) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson – 21:24) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:25) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Williams - 21:27) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:30) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 21:30) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:32) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 21:32) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO Williams - 21:36) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:38) (USS Spectre - Crewman Rapeet's Quarters - Captain T'Vhor - 21:40) (USS Spectre - Holodeck 1 - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 23:03) ========================================================================= Stardate: 2407.07.13 (Earth, San Francisco, Starfleet Academy - Academy Grounds - Admiral Robert LoDona - 09:00) (Earth, San Francisco, Starfleet Academy – Ruins of the Grand Reception Chamber - Admiral Robert LoDona - 09:20) ========================================================================= Mission: Emissary on the Edge of Tomorrow Day: 149 Stardate: 2407.09.07 (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 07:14) (USS Spectre – Bridge, Tactical Station – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 7:24) (USS Spectre – Bridge, Tactical Station – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 7:44) (USS Spectre – Captain’s Ready Room – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 07:46) ========================================================================= Mission: "Docked" Day: 1 Stardate: 2407.09.07 (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 07:35) (USS Spectre - Captain's Ready Room - Captain T'Vhor - 07:47) (USS Spectre - Captain's Ready Room – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 07:50) (USS Spectre – Main Engineering – Ensign Bys’At - 07:50) (USS Spectre – Jynea’s Quarters – Ensign Paul Morphy - 8:00) (USS Spectre – T’Pia’s Quarters – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 08:30) (Earth - First Beach, Vancouver BC - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 09:30) (USS Spectre – T’Pia’s Quarters – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 10:02) (USS Joseph Lister - Transporter Room One - CMO Williams - 10:30) (Earth, Ireland, Huntmans Pub, Tower, - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 11:10) (Earth, Ireland, Huntmans Pub, Tower, - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 11:34) (Earth, Ireland, Huntmans Pub, Tower, - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 12:15) (USS Spectre – Holodeck 4 (Control Hub 1) – Ensign Paul Morphy - 13:00) (USS Joseph Lister - Mess Hall - CMO Williams - 13:10) (USS Spectre – Paul’s Quarters – Ensign Paul Morphy - 16:00) (USS Joseph Lister - Theatre Nine - CMO Williams - 18:34) (Earth – Scotland – Edinburgh – Security Officer Smith - 21:05) (Earth, Toyko - Outside the Transport Centre - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 22:30) (Earth, Tokyo - Danpa Dansuhooru - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 23:00) ========================================================================= Mission : Docked Day : 2 Stardate : 2407.09.08 (USS Joseph Lister - Jay’s personal quarters - CMO Williams - 05:12) (USS Joseph Lister - Theatre department - CMO Williams - 05:18) (Earth, Tokyo - Murayama Commune - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 07:30) (USS Joseph Lister - Mess Hall - CMO Williams - 08:40) (Earth – Temple of Tranquility, Tibet – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 10:00) (Earth – Pembrokeshire – St Govan’s head – CMO Williams – 11:00) (Earth – Pembrokeshire – St Govan’s head – CMO Williams – 12:00) (USS Spectre – Sickbay - CMO Williams – 14:29) (McKinley station – docking port 24 - CMO Williams – 15:25) (Earth, West Vancouver - Private Residence - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 22:30 ) ========================================================================= Mission : Docked Day : 3 Stardate : 2407.09.09 (Earth, Rawlings, Wyoming - Clarke Estates - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 01:00) (Earth, Rawlings, Wyoming - Clarke Estates - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 07:00) (Earth – Central Park, New York – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 07:24) (USS Spectre - Transporter Room One - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 10:15) (USS Spectre - Carrow's Quarters - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 10:20) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 11:30) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 11:45) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 11:47) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 11:49) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 11:51) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 11:53) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 11:55) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 11:58) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 12:00) (USS Spectre - Goldsteen's quarters - Ensign Alex Goldsteen - 13:00) (USS Spectre - Corridor - Captain T'Vhor - 13:05) (Earth – Central Park, New York – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson – 23:00) (Earth – Central Park, New York – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson – 23:05) ========================================================================= Mission: Docked Day: 4 Stardate: 2407.09.10 (Earth – ‘Hotel Qui Gong’ near Central Park, New York – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson – 9:00) ========================================================================= Mission: Docked Day: 5 Stardate: 2407.09.11 (Earth, Alaska - Mount McKinley - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 08:00) (Earth, Alaska - Mount Mckinley - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 17:00) (Earth, Alaska - Mount Mckinley - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 18:20) ========================================================================= Mission : Docked Day : 24 Stardate : 2407.09.30 (USS Invincible - Bridge – CMO Williams - 10:00) (USS Invincible - Sickbay – CMO Williams - 13:00) ========================================================================= Mission: Docked Day: 26 Stardate: 2407.10.02 (Earth, America, Denver - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 10:00) (Earth - Russia - Baikonur - TAC/SC Lt Yelena Vasilyovna - 11:42) (Earth – Temple of Tranquility, Tibet – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 18:00) ========================================================================= Mission : Docked Day : 27 Stardate : 2407.10.03 (USS Spectre – Transporter Room One – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 05:00) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO Williams - 11:00) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 11:02) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 13:00) ========================================================================= Mission: Docked Day: 123 Stardate: 2408.01.07 (USS Spectre, FO's Office - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor and Counselor, Lieutenant (jg) Sella - 10:30) (USS Spectre - Counselling Department - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 12:00) (USS Spectre - Counselling Department - Counselor Lieutenant (jg) Sella - 12:03) (USS Spectre - Counselling Department - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 12:05) (USS Spectre – Mess hall – CMO Williams – 13:00) ========================================================================= Mission: Emissary on the Edge of Tomorrow Day: 80 Stardate: 2407.07.03 (USS Spectre - Holodeck – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 19:54) Chuck stood in a corner drinking alone. He took a sip of the “Blood Wine” and licked his fangs. ~T’Pia’s prosthetic teeth feel almost real … I wonder how they look?~ he thought. holding his glass in one hand he felt his implant with the other. He wished he could use a mirror to see if the holographic overlay was working properly. A partially visible Borg implant would ruin the whole ensemble. Annoyed, Chuck sat his drink on a nearby pedestal and pulled on his waistcoat. It continued to ‘ride up’ in the front despite his best effort to pin it down. Chuck would’ve worn something different but he had already taken other liberties with his attire. Apparently, 18th Century Earth men thought it was ‘keen’ to wear socks up to your knees. Chuck had voted for a ‘traditional court dress’ from the waist up … but a lengthier pant and taller boot below. ~I wonder if the white silk coat with silver overlay is too much?~ he thought. Jynea had helped with that selection … Chuck felt like a bride in pure white. He wondered how long it would take the femdoms in the room to spot him. (reply any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Holodeck - Ensign (SG) Jynea Kreung - 20:07) Jynea was looking down at her costume dubiously. "Okay, and being things that suck blood is supposed to be sexy?" she asked, somewhat confused but getting used to the fangs. "Absolutely, death and life is what sex is all about!" Suzette Maryisica agreed, finishing the ties on her own black leather corset. Jynea had to say she was mildly impressed at the cleavage the strange dress created. She didn't have much to brag about in that department normally, but apparently these corset things could give boobs to a twelve year old boy. "So, er, what do we do exactly?" Jynea asked as she followed the weapons tech out through a curtained door and into a strangely draped in velvet club. "We dance, we drink, we mingle, we have fun!" Suzette replied with a wide gesture and big smile. Jynea wasn't quite sure how she'd ended up agreeing to take part in the "Creatures of the Night" annual party. She'd been happy to arrange their holodeck time and square away the energy usage for the event, she'd even taken up the task of organizing the menu, the music and the costumes. However, she lost track of exactly where she'd gone from organizer to participant. Really, she'd been perfectly happy to spend another evening in her quarters reading books with Mark for company. He was undemanding and simple. He didn't make her live tough decisions and outside her comfort zone. He didn't make her take command courses, sit on the bridge, try to get command officers to do things they didn't want to do, get her pounced on by athletic and enthusiastic Caitains and a bunch of other stuff. He didn't want anything but hugs and pets and snuggles. At least SOMEONE wanted those things, she was feeling very withdrawn and lonely. Maybe that's why she'd agreed to put on this ridiculous get up and stand around in a murky holodeck dressed up as an 18th century human dance club, hall, whatever it was. Maybe that's why she'd agreed to pretend to be some sort of blood sucking creature of the night who was supposedly a creature of romance but Jynea really couldn't get past the whole ick factor. Just think about the diseases you'd pick up wandering around drinking people's blood! Maybe it was the whole bad girl/boy factor. Perhaps you were supposed to be attracted to something that made your skin crawl. She really didn't see the charm of it, even if her crewmates were standing around drinking wine that was made to be the colour of human blood. A few were doing some archaic dance to a pipe organ. "Would you care to dance?" A voice asked her. Jynea was startled to see the holo-person standing over her with interest. It had to be a holo-creation, anyway, she didn't recognize the man and she was pretty sure she knew everyone on the ship. Okay, so she didn't know most of the marines even still, but she was pretty sure no marine would want to be in some daft holoprogram drinking wine and dancing. "Er, okay?" she offered as the man took her gloved hand and led her towards the dance area. The shiver up her spine told her this was either one well developed holo-character or a real live member of the crew. Going several months without sapient contact had made her extra sensitive to it all. Fortunately the archaic dance seemed to be simple in its basic steps, so she didn't have to worry about tripping over her own feet. Jynea was graceful by nature, she rarely missed a step or tripped over anything. Her body was her natural self and she had no shame or trouble with it for all that she had problems with violence and sudden, vicious movements. She could probably pick up the advanced movements from her partner as easily as breathing if he'd tried any of them. But either he wasn't that confident in his own abilities or wasn't that confident in her's. "And what brings a lady of your lineage to Rhesus Negative on this misty night?" the human asked, standing almost a foot over her. Jynea couldn't imagine she was a good dancer for anyone of his height and breadth, though he probably had a good view of her improved cleavage from up high. His raven hair was tied back into a pony tail but she couldn't tell if it was a wig or not. The poorly lit lanterns and candles made him look exceptionally pale. She could only imagine what it was doing to her own complexion. She wondered if there were any green skinned "vampires" in the story books. "Uhm, Suzette?" she answered, really not sure how to play this game at all. "Ah, the lovely Suzette, is she your mistress then?" He asked as he turned her about in time to the music. "No!" Jynea replied hastily, and then caught the amused look that flashed across his face before retreating back to the stoic 18th century gentleman's expression. Apparently that word meant something different to the players of the game than it did to Jynea. Hmm, perhaps she should have done research.. The music came to an end and he bowed to her and kissed her gloved hand. "Allow me to get you refreshment, M'Lady." He said as he led her off the floor to a nearby table. He released her hand to pull out the chair closest to the wall. She wasn't quite sure if it was so he could be between her and the rest of the club or so she could watch the crowd while he was away. Jynea chewed on the inside of her lip, before she could figure out how to say 'Nothing alcoholic!' he was gone towards the bar. Drat. Not even a plant nearby to feed instead. (Reply any, all) (Posted by Lorna) ======================================================================= Mission: Emissary on the Edge of Tomorrow Day: 85 Stardate: 2407.07.08 (USS Spectre - Recreation Room - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 05:41) Ardena would be the first to admit she was avoiding both Suri and Captain T'Vhor. She was sure the Captain wouldn't call their discussion of ideology an argument, but then it wouldn't be a logical label in his world. But to her, it was. And the fact that her abilities were alternating between wide-open and completely shut down around people she had an emotional connection to was even more frustrating. If she didn't go near them, she wouldn't be reading their thoughts, feelings and souls. Captain T'Vhor could claim he had no emotions till he was blue in the face, but she'd sensed different. Why did so many of the hard core Vulcans claim no emotion rather than suppressed emotion? Or did they believe that if you were successful in the true Vulcan way (whatever that REALLY was!) you had no emotions or so close to not having them or being influenced by them in any fashion? Ardena slammed the handball back to the wall with what was probably more force than necessary. The Rec room was deserted at this hour. Those coming onto Alpha shift were probably not even waking up for another twenty minutes and gamma shift wouldn't be coming off shift for another hour and a half at best. She, of course, was wide awake because the dreams were back and disturbing her sleep. Oh, no, not nice simple erotic dreams about Technician Suri Rapeet, now she was having dreams about the Captain. Dreams about the Captain and Suri. Or even dreams about herself, the Captain and Suri. It was disturbing in more than one manner she wasn't exactly going to waltz up to T'Vhor and say "Oh, by the way, how do I block *these* dreams?" Well, she supposed death by embarrassment would solve some problems, but hardly following his predicted path for logic if she couldn't even talk straight. What would be even worse would be he would just treat it all as casually and clinically as everything else in her falling apart world and probably wouldn't care if it was erotic dreams about him or his cactus. Well, *she* cared and she refused to be anywhere near the man until she could manage to look at him without wanting to crawl under a desk. Really! Did she have no self-control? How did Betazoids deal with their powers? Were their abilities so very different from her Vulcan lineage's that they could have emotion when Vulcans couldn't? Is that why T'Vhor chose the Vulcan path over the Betazoid? Damn, he'd probably even patiently explained that one to her several times and she'd forgotten it. It wasn't like she wasn't TRYING, it was all just so alien. It was like trying to eat with her feet and walk on her hands. Sure, it could be done, but it would never be natural to her. Slam went the ball against the wall again. Maybe when this was all over, this senseless war, this senseless destruction of life, she would retire her commission and take up a position at the Vancouver Aquarium for a while until she got herself sorted out. She didn't want to give up the stars, but she didn't particularly want to give up her sanity either. (Reply any, all) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Cathay - Computer Core - Ensign Gerome (Gerry) Trinnek - 10:07) "Well smoke my butt and call me bacon!" Gerry said as the computer came back online with a minimal of fuss. "Commander O'Conner," he said into the ship's communication system, working for the first time in three days, "If you ever want an apprentice to follow you around and worship the padds you type on, sign me up!" (Reply O'Conner if any) "Yeehaw." Gerry said under his breath, happy that the computer was cooperating and reset. "Looks like we're ready for that database transfer again Calvin," he said to his partner over on the Spectre. "Remind me to buy you a beer or six for all of this." (Reply Capps, if you want) He was more than happy to give Ilena her computer core back to oversee and organize. He had to go recaliberate every personal replicator on the ship to specifications. He figured the less grumbling before a battle the better, so he'd been sure to save everyone's settings. Who wanted to not be able to get a coffee the way you like it on the morning of your perchanced death? "All yours, darlin'" Gerry said with a mock salute to his non-existant hat. Ilena scowled at him, "You sound like a horseboy when you get all stressed out and short on sleep. It is not endearing." "I think you mean cowboy, and of course is. The single ladies love it and me." He gave his biggest, teeth white and shining grin. Ilena rolled her eyes and shoved him out the door. "Go back to destroying the ship. I have a computer system to coddle back into good behaviour." "Aye Aye Lieutenant Leonova." Gerry said with reasonable humour. Damn, he wished they weren't going into battle and he could just pick their CO's brain for several hours. The stuff the man thought was trivial was a minor miracle to Gerry. He'd been shoved through training and out on his cadet cruise and then off to the Cathay. He got about half of the stuff he probably should have. He could fake it with natural talent, but natural talent plus knowledge? Of course, if he kept following O'Conner around with stars in his eyes the poor man would think he was in love with him or something. He could, however, start on the CO's replicator. Commanding this bucket of bolts, as much as he loved the Cathay he knew what she was, couldn't be easy on any man. Especially when it came to arguing with Dinnica about allowed more people in her precious sickbay! (Reply any, all) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Cathay - Sickbay - Commander Dinnica Roil - 11:12) The medical database was online, the EMH was almost working, the medical replicators had never gone off-line, thank the stars, and Dinnica was glaring at the gaggle of blue shirts who had invaded her sickbay. She turned to the NCO in yellow, "Knock down that wall." "Ma'am?" He asked, startled. He'd become more than used to Dinnica over the years, she was a damn fine doctor and had a heart a mile wide and soft as puppies, but sometimes he thought her head was equally soft. "I am not insane." She snapped. She saw the glower forming, "Oh for the love of all that's shiny, I am not reading your mind, I am reading your body language which any first year medical student could do. I want you," she pointed at the tech, "to take down THAT," she pointed at the wall, "so I have more room to put THEM." "But.." His first task upon coming on the ship had been to put up the new bulkhead at then Lieutenant Dinnica's insistence. He remembered quite clearly the order not to take it down or she'd remove his spleen and suture it to his forehead. "I know what I said." She growled impatiently, "But Lieutenant Commander Michael O'Conner has decided that the way I have my sickbay set up is not sufficient so I get to lose my lovely storage area and research desks in the name of progress." The sarcasm on the last word dripped. The NCO was vaguely surprised it didn't etch the flooring. Dinnica turned her back on the man as he sighed and started calling for what he needed to do his job. That task taken care of she proceeded to move on to the next. "You lot, welcome to the Cathay. Glad you're here, all that. Your first job will be clearing out the lovely area next door in preparation of the installation of four biobeds and all the surgery implements that go along with it. I'm sure you all suffered through Professor Admanati's emergency sickbay setup course just like me, the EMH has emitters and will be snotty to assist you at any time." Surprised and confused faces looked at her. "Unless you'd rather stay in here with me?" The dragon lady asked with an arched eyebrow. The coterie scattered almost immediately. Nurse Samuel Donnavan was smiling as he leaned against the bulkhead watching the show. "What?" Dinnica snapped at him. "Have you asked him out to dinner yet?" He asked airily. "Who?" Dinnica replied, taken momentary off-stride by the seemingly out of the blue question. "Lieutenant Commander Michael O'Conner. You only use ranks of those you like." He smirked. Dinnica opened her mouth to say something scathing, shut it again to consider the matter and then shook her head, "He's human, I doubt he'd want to have sex or relationship properly, so I shall just stick to trying to obey his orders turning my sickbay on it's ear." Before Samuel could continue, she gave him the hairy eyeball, "And since the database is back online, you can check inventories against actual fact and scrounge up any supplies we need. Doctor Williams over on the Spectre seems competent, I'm sure he'd spare anything we'd need." "Er, Yes Ma'am." No arguing or teasing Dinnica when she was in full dragon mode. =/\= Engineering to Sickbay, =/\= "Dinnica here." She replied, not much for protocols or ranks. =/\= We have a couple plasma burns. One of them was thrown a good distance, I don't want to move him and I don't want to use the transporter because.. =/\= Dinnica cut off the engineer who was probably about to launch into a fit of technobabble that would make her want to slap him. Twice. Why not announce the emergency from the get go? Plasma burns were nothing to mess around with. "On my way!" she growled, grabbing the portable med kit. She turned to Samuel who was already making faces at the terminal. "Get one of those techs who were sent over to follow me. I'm sure I'll need the second pair of hands." "Yes Ma'am." he said, not looking up. Which was just as well, since her booted foot was just the last thing out the door when he finished speaking. (Reply any, all) (Posted by Lorna) (Starbase Valhalla - Captain’s Ready Room – Captain Gwazi Mutobo – 14:35) Gwazi sat unreclined in his newly acquired ready room. The PADD in his hands left him chilled. The prospect of an impending attack on the Valhalla’s position was neither happy … nor completely unexpected. A wave of anger spread across Gwazi’s face. He stood from his chair and leaning across his desk threw the PADD against the opposite wall. A loud thud and the PADD tumbled to the floor. Gwazi maneuvered around his desk and picked up the PADD. A large dent on one side and the makings of a crack along the PADDs face were evidence of his outburst. The door chimed. “Come in.” Gwazi ordered. The twin doors opened and an ensign stepped through. “Sir, are you alright, we heard a noise.” Said the concerned party. “Thank you, Ensign, I am just fine … you may leave now.” Gwazi ordered. “Yes, sir.” Blurted the Ensign turning on his heel. The doors closed behind him and Gwazi found himself once again left alone. Gwazi stood facing the door for a moment and then seated himself on his desk. His perch was sturdy but he sat the PADD on the desk and kept his balance with both hands anyway. On the wall there were several outstanding achievement awards and a pair of Nigerian tribal masks hung beside them. Gwazi wished he had never entered Starfleet. He longed for the days of his youth when all he ever desired was to run. It never seemed to matter where. When he was young he would run barefoot along stretches of dirt road. He remembered closing his eyes and letting the feeling of the clay on the soles of his feet guide his steps. He closed his eyes in response to the memory. Now … it seemed … there was nowhere to run and closed eyes might mean the deaths of countless crew. The prattling of intel told him he needed help. A ship or two willing to ‘stand in the gap’ might be enough. But there was nothing. The stations defenses would put up a good fight but their ‘winning chance’ is as good as rolling snake-eyes on a pair of dice. Or maybe … seven … the hard way. Gwazi opened his eyes and gave a half smile at the clever pun. ~exactly the situation … having to roll a few sevens in a row to win.~ (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (Starbase Valhalla - Main Bridge – Captain Gwazi Mutobo – 19:35) “And you’re sure.” Said Gwazi shifting his left hip outwards to more easily face the communications officer. “Yes, sir, three friendlies headed our way.” Said the officer. “That oughtta be enough to hold out.” Said Gwazi. “Tell me, what kind of ships?” “Two Defiant Class and an Akira … looks like cavalry, sir.” Said the officer smiling. “Well, not the heaviest cavalry charge … but their presence here to supplement our other ships and defensive systems should make this effort … do-able.” Said Gwazi smiling. ~Thank you Captain J’Tan.~ thought Gwazi. Finally someone listening to his cry for help. Maybe this thing could be done after all. “They’re within communications range.” Said the Comm. “Hail them … and put them onscreen.” Ordered Gwazi readjusting himself to face the four viewscreens of the Valhalla . “Sir … the Akira is hailing us with the name USS Barstow.” Said the officer pushing buttons quickly on his console. He couldn’t see Captain Mutobo’s face … but he knew the man wouldn’t tolerate a delay, “They’re on screen.” At that moment one of the four viewscreens became the picture of a Vulcan man in a Starfleet captain’s uniform while the others remained a view of nearby stars. “Greetings from the USS Barstow, Captain Mutobo.” Said the Vulcan “Captain J’Tan, you’ve arrived to the party just in time.” Said Gwazi. The Vulcan lifted an eyebrow and cocked his head slightly. “We are answering your call and I’m to understand that the … party guests … aren’t coming bearing gifts.” Said Captain J’Tan inquisitively. “That’s right … I’m going to ask you to take up some of the slack from the ships already in formation around us.” Said Captain Mutobo allowing his tensed shoulders to droop slightly. “I’ll let the other Captains know what you need.” Said Captain J’Tan turning slightly (obviously looking at his communications officer). “Oh, and Captain …” “Yes?” asked Gwazi tensing in his shoulders again. “We’re here on direct orders … Starbase Valhalla must not fall.” Said Captain J’Tan. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) ==================================================================== Mission: Emissary on the Edge of Tomorrow Day: 86 Stardate: 2407.07.09 (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Holo-Marine Jose Rameriz - 14:59) There was a battle going on and he wasn't allowed to participate. Rameriz was sitting on a spare biobed, with clear shot view of the entrance and nearest Jeffrey hatch, kicking his heels against the base. Well, more accurately, he couldn't participate because the Spectre didn't have holo-emitters on all decks and rooms like a good civilized ship. Not that Jose Rameriz, fake or otherwise, would have given it much thought previous to his current situation. The EMH had handed him a phasor rifle and said to make himself useful and told the security chief her security team could stay *outside* Sickbay, thank you very much. Rameriz wasn't quite sure why the Russian beauty had listened to a lowly EMH, perhaps the head doc had given the EMH backup. "STOP THAT!" snarled one of the pretties in blue. Rameriz had nicknamed her "Nurse Ratched" though he honestly couldn't say whether she was a nurse, doctor or medical tech. Rameriz held still for about three seconds before bouncing off the biobed to bounce up and down on spot. He thought being a marine was dead boring at times, all the hurry up and wait, but being a holo-marine was ten times worse! He couldn't leave the room, he couldn't go find some fun, he couldn't do anything but watch people in blue do their part in making sure the heroes of the battle would and could win the fight. Behind the lines was not the place for Mamma Rameriz's little boy! A man stumbled in with blood dripping from his nose all over his pyjama yellow uniform. "Hey mans! That doesn't look so bad." Rameriz said cheerfully. "I tink I bwoke my nose." The man grunted and stumbled towards the nearest biobed. "Hurts like a bitch, doesn't it?" Rameriz said cheerfully, helping the man along. Really, sidelined by a little broken nose, how wimpy were these Fleeters? And he was probably more worried about a little blood on the carpet than he was more important things. Really, their strange and backwards priorities! "Mrrrrgh." was the grunted reply when Rameriz rough housed him up onto the biobed. "Oh leave the man be," Nurse Ratched growled at the holo marine. "Hey lady, just tryin' to be a help!" he backed away hands up in the classic surrender pose. Some ladies sure got their panties in a bunch whenever they could. Rameriz mentally added her to the 'too pretty to bother with' list he had in her brain. Give some chicas good looks and they went all nasty. He checked his phasor rifle for the fifteenth time. Yup, still there, still working. Man, being a blue shirt babysitter was BORING! (Reply any, all) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Williams - 15:03) Andrew sat on a stool in front of the injured crewman. His broken nose had been pouring with blood was still dripping on the floor by his feet. He ignored this and looked back at him. "Okay does it feel numb?" "Mrrrrgh." Andrew took that as a yes. "okay I'm going to more it back into place and then use the dermal regernorator to repair the damage. Okay?" "Mrrrrgh." He placed his hands firmly on either side of the cartilage "Okay now don't move." There was a sickening grinding sound as the tow bits of broken cartilage crunched together as it slid back into place. "Good now hold still." He activated the dermal regernorator and carefully repaired the brake. When he was finished he stepped back. "Now that's looks like it." He helped the crewman to his feet. "Okay remember the painkillers will wear off in a few hours. Don't try and blow your nose for about twenty four hour. The brake is mended but try not to put any unnecessary stress on it Okay." He paused for a moment while the crewman took it all in. "Okay you can go. if you have any problems come strain back okay." The crewman nodded and headed out of sickbay. Andrew watched him go and wished all his problem were so easy to solve. He looked around and found who he was looking for. As he crossed over to the holo-marine he thought about his options. The holo-marine who he thought was called Rameriz had been driving his staff crazy. He realised that he could easily shut down his program but that was just rude. he would talk to the marine first and then he would decide what to do. "Mr Rameriz could I have a word with you for a moment?" (reply Rameriz) "Mr Rameriz you have been annoying my staff would you please stop. We have patients that need our care and it would be good of you if you remembered that you are not the only patient in this sickbay." Andrew looked at the holo-marine and waited for his reply. (reply Rameriz) (reply Rameriz, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Holo Lance Corporal Jose Rameriz - 15:07) "Mr Rameriz could I have a word with you for a moment?" "Sure doc!" Jose replied as cheerful as a hyperactive squirrel, bouncing up and down on spot. "I ain't got nowhere to be!" "Mr Rameriz you have been annoying my staff would you please stop. We have patients that need our care and it would be good of you if you remembered that you are not the only patient in this sickbay." "I'm not a patient.. I'ms a guard!" He puffed out his chest and tried to look mighty. Then seeing the general unimpressed look of those around him he deflated, "I'm sorry Doc, I'm goin' a bit nuts in here.. I didn'ts mean to take it out on everyone arounds me. I'll try to be a good marine from now on, seen but not heard.. unlesses something needs shooting." (Reply Williams) "I was gonna work on the 'what fires at us gets fired back at' principal, but in all udder situations, I'll await your order." He thought half a moment, which was probably a record of some sort. "Unless you're shot, of course. Or down. Or in surgery and.." He tilted his head to one side and sighed the sigh of someone who is about the give the hangman the end of the noose's rope. "Maybe's you should just puts Nurse Dowsy, in commands of sickbay self-defense. She'd probably have da bad guys cleaning da walls an' carryin' bedpans as soon as dey walked in." (Reply Willaims) (Reply any in sickbay :) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO Williams - 15:10) "I'm sorry Doc, I'm goin' a bit nuts in here. I didn'ts mean To take it out on everyone arounds me. I'll try to be a good marine from now on, seen but not heard.. unlesses something needs shooting." Andrew nodded. “Thank you. I would really appreciate it Mr Rameriz.” "I was gonna work on the 'what fires at us gets fired back at' principal, but in all udder situations, I'll await your order." "Unless you're shot, of course. Or down. Or in surgery and.." "Maybe's you should just puts Nurse Dowsy, in commands of sickbay self-defense. She'd probably have da bad guys cleaning da walls an' carryin' bedpans as soon as dey walked in." Andrew gave Rameriz a sly grinned. “I know what you mean.” “You both better believe it.” Andrew turned at the sound of the voice to see Douwsy walking past. Andrew nodded to Rameriz and then got back to work. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Swansea - Bridge - Captain Ahab - 15:16) Ahab looked as the Retribution as it joined the defense line. ~Damn it~ He slammed his fist onto his chair console and swore under his breath. As he saw the many ships and knew that there was no point in trying to get the Retribution it would be suicide. He looked over at Rebecca. “We’ll get him another time. For now we need to get back to the others.” He saw Rebecca’s face twist in frustration as she realized that he was right. “Helm come round to course 163.56, full impulse.” He watched the ship turn to its new course. “Tactical sing out if anything comes close.” “Well Captain we do have a squadron of fighters that we will intercept before we reach our task force.” Ahab gave a slight grin. “Lets get to work. Helm plot an intercept course. Evasive pattern gamma two. Lets see if we can give them a nasty surprise and drive them towards the others.” (Reply Any) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor & TAC/SC Lt Yelena Vasilyovna - 16:20) The meltdown & destruction of the platform section had not gone unnoticed & it had indeed registered on everyone's consoles, including the Spectre's Tactical station. Vasilyovna shook her head in the negative as it went up in spectacular fashion, then she turned to the CO. "The Ha'Quj is gone sir", said Yelena, her voice trailing off now as the reality of the loss of one of their own contingent set in whilst other ships continued to target & acquire as necessary. Captain T'Vhor took the information as any Vulcan would have done, it was not good news but to dwell upon it now was an illogical act that would never bring her crew back, he fell silent for a second or two, then he returned his attention to the viewscreen. It seemed a futile gesture considering that this was a Klingon vessel with a crew driven by honour but he made the order anyway, just in case. "Scan for evidence of lifeboat launch prior to the explosion Lieutenant", he ordered knowing already that this was probably a pointless exercise. "Aye sir, scanning for escape pods", said Vasilyovna as the bridge crew continued on with their evasive maneuvers in their attempts to avoid incoming torpedoes. "Negative on the lifeboats sir", said Vasilyovna predictably as the ship was rocked yet again by another hit from one of the Akira's that had seemingly made it it's goal to destroy the Spectre class ASAP. Vasilyovna was thrown to one side as the ventral shields went momentarilly offline, then as she hoisted herself back to her console, the alarming reality of a point contact upon their ventral hull made itself very much evident. "Sir!...Sir I have hostile contact at deck seventeen, subsection nine!", cried Vasilyovna as she attempted to glean more information as to the nature of the contact via her now flickering console. "Ops, balance our shield energy & close that hole now", said T'Vhor urgently. (Reply Capps, Any) "It's no good sir, I am now showing a small breach at our ventral aspect", said Vasilyovna as she immediately opened a channel to both the Marine CO & her own security teams. "Vasilyovna to all Marine & security teams, we have point contact at deck seventeen, we HAVE been boarded by hostiles, repeat, we HAVE been boarded by hostiles", said Yelena as Lieutenant Commander Capps succeeded in his attempts to transfer the shield energy to their ventral aspect, albeit just a little too late to prevent the boarding team that had just managed to sneak in whilst their shields had been compromised. ~Not good, definately not good~ Her own thoughts aside, the security chief continued in her active targetting of any hostile vessel that came into range, her fingers stabbing aggressively at her board as she wrestled with the failing console, then, all at once she unleashed the Spectre's weapons batteries to score an immediate hit on one of the Nova class vessels that had just had the misfortune to begin it's attack run. That run was cut short in an instance as four of the Spectre's quantums took her forwards shielding to zero percent, whilst a fifth decimated her external hull to effectively remove her from the gameboard entirely. "Yesss!", cried Yelena emphatically as the Nova class lost all power & then began tumbling listlessly in space with only inertia for guidence. The previously pursueing Akira quickly took it's place as Vasilyovna's console flickered briefly once again, then it corrected itself to allow the chief to continue targetting the new incoming. But what of the Spectre's boarders, what indeed?.... (Reply Goldsteen, Capps, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Deck 17 - Technician Suri Rapeet - 16:21) Suri was trying to reconnect the fried connections when she heard the whine of the transporter. Who the hell would be suicidal enough to beam in beside interrupted power relays? Within ship transportation was bad enough without adding in power fluctuations and radiation! She slid out of the tube to give the lazy idiots a piece of her mind when she realized the beings in black weren't crew of the Spectre. She swore in Arabic and went to grab her phasor but the enemy was faster. She dived for the debris of fallen parts from the last hit they'd taken, what she'd been here to fix. ~What kind of idiots board a ship in a shield blip? They won't be able to get back out again!~ She should just surrender. But she didn't think these guys were going to let her. She slapped her communicator to get help but got a fzzzt instead. She swore more as she could hear and feel the enemy closing on her position. She fired off some shots, but she was firing blind. Damn radiation from the earlier broken coupler relay. She'd thought she'd fixed her communicator. She should have asked Bristed to look at it, that woman could spot any finicky and stupid problem. Suri's phasor chose that moment to suddenly drain of power. "Humpless camel!" she cursed threw it at the enemy who appeared as soon the phasor fire stopped. Damn radiation had gotten it too. She'd have to remember to report everyone to double check their energy storage units. The being towered over her, masked and ominous. He grabbed her by the arm and hauled her up. Not one to do anything without a fight, Suri immediately launched into a serious of self-defence that would have done a security officer proud. However, three against one weren't great odds, especially when this was obviously a well trained strike team. One of the attackers, strange how they all seemed male, slapped some sort of device against her temple. Every nerve screamed agony as she fell to the deck twitching. ~Disrupter!~ was one of her last coherent thoughts. Long since banished even in the Romulan empire, a disrupter was a painful and slow way to die, why the hell would any boarding party have it? She was proud she didn't scream, she didn't think she could scream. Her mouth didn't seem to be working and the bastards just seemed to want to stand around and watch her suffer. She heard the security team arrive and start firing as her world turned to a pinprick. One of the bastards fell over her now only slightly twitching body, covering eyes that had since become sightless anyway. (Reply none) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Bridge - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 16:21) The Spectre once again took another heavy hit. The strike was powerful enough to knock officers off their chairs and on to the ground. Calvin was one of those officers. Getting off the carpeted floor more slowly than he normally moved, he returned to his console. He began typing in commands and quickly noticed that half the panel was no longer working. With only part of the panel working now Calvin scrambled to get the correct programs back up and running. He summoned another officer to take up any computer he could at the back of the bridge as an OPS 2 station. The Lt Cmdr now was working in dim lights. If being shot at, knocked out of chairs, and screwed up panels were not enough Calvin noticed blood on his panel as he was attempting to push and receive data. He had no idea where the blood was coming from, but it didn't matter to him. It was enough to prevent him from seeing the board, but it wasn't gushing out like old faithful. He took the end of his sleeve and wiped his board. It was clean enough, but still wasn't great. It would have to do. "Sir!...Sir I have hostile contact at deck seventeen, sub section nine!", cried Vasilyovna. ~Ah, DAMN!~ Calvin shrieked in his own head. He had missed it. How could he have missed it. He scrambled around his board for the data. "Ops, balance our shield energy & close that hole now", said T'Vhor urgently. Calvin already working on it, but quickly getting a response in as he never looked up or stopped moving his fingers on the board. "Aye Captain." He hated it, he hated it with passion. He made a huge mistake. He should have seen it failing and stopped it before the boarders were able to beam over. His training and experience stopped him from beating himself to death about it. There would be plenty of time for that after, if there is an after. For now he needed to get it out of his head and continue to do his job. So he did. "It's....no... good..... sir, I am now showing a small breach at our ventral aspect", said Vasilyovna. "It's.....completed....sir", Calvin said. Both officers talking at the same and over each other. They muttered what each had to say, but Calvin knew it was too late. Calvin had to see the eyes of T'Vhor and Vasilyovna. He had the need to do so. He wanted to look at them and with his eyes he would apologize for his mistake. So he turned his head and glanced at T'Vhor. He stared at the Captain's, his friend's eyes. Had T'Vhor seen Calvin look at him. The Lt Cmdr didn't know, and it didn't matter. While looking in that direction Calvin was distracted by the fall of Ensign Carrow. He felt himself move a little towards her, but he realized that he couldn't abandon his panel. It was too risky. In the chance that no one else noticed he called for immediate medical team to bridge. Calvin knew that there were already was one on the bridge, but he made known to the rest of the crew of what just happened with their science officer. In all, the OPS officer returned to his half working panel, and shifted his fingers over his board. (reply any, all) (posted by Calvin Capps) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 16:22) Lieutenant Nollys was in Science making sure the computer prioritizations were keeping things straight for the battle at hand. Ardena was just glad it wasn't her, since her working knowledge of the computer systems were enough to tell someone else what to do, but she had no clue on how to do it herself. Ardena was on the bridge, trying to ignore the hundreds of deaths happening around them. She was trying to not think about the blood, sweat and tears of engineers being blown up in the name of politics and power. She was trying to overlook the whole senselessness of it all. Why were they here? Why hadn't humanoids advanced far enough to get beyond this type of self-destructive stupidity? Vulcans may try and claim a lack of emotion was more civilized, but Captain T'Vhor was here. There were plenty of Vulcans on both sides. Emotions don't make for conscience or moral guidance. Lack of emotions didn't make your path any clearer or more correct on the grand scale of things no matter what their superior selves liked to think. Ardena was keeping track of the vessels not in their immediate area. She was making guesses on vessels that were cloaking and uncloaking, but she supposed a green outlined guess was better than no data at all. She had no idea how Vasilyovna was keeping track of everything in ship and outside She wondered how Ensign Black was doing with his strike team, or whatever Security called themselves in such a situation when her every nerve let out a burst of pain. Once, when she'd been a toddler, she'd done the insensible act of putting palm to old fashioned glass covering of a fireplace. She'd known better, she'd known it would hurt, but she'd wanted to feel the pretty flames. This was like that but all over her body, every fibre of her being feeling like it was being charred. She heard herself scream as she collapsed to the floor beside her station. At least, she thought it was her scream, it was hard to focus. She felt hands grasping at her, her telepathic gifts surging and scrambling. She could only hope she wasn't sending this pain and emotional anguish onto whomever was trying to help her. "Suri!" she managed to gasp as she tried to move away from the hands she was probably hurting more than they could help. Then the world went blissfully black and pain free as she fainted. (Reply none) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Deck 17- Ensign Alex Goldsteen - 16:24) "Vasilyovna to all Marine & security teams, we have point contact at deck seventeen, we HAVE been boarded by hostiles, repeat, we HAVE been boarded by hostiles" Alex said nothing at the news but instead took off at a run toward deck seventeen phaser in hand. Along the way he was joined by two other security members who had also received the message. The first thing that Alex saw was 5 human males in a tight semi-circle. He wasted no time in analyzing the situation, instead he used the advantage of surprise and stunned one of the boarders. His two compatriots attempted to do the same, but only proved that having adequate aim was not a requirement to graduate from the academy. The ensuing firefight seemed much longer than the three minutes it took. Alex's two compatriots managed to redeem themselves but were killed in the process. Alex managed to stun one of the final two boarders but the last one charged and managed to tackle him before Alex was able to stun him as well. ~I should have seen that coming. But a charge is a move driven by blind desperation, he should have simply shot me. ~ Alex did not bother telling his assailant about his lack of tactical sense. Instead he concentrated on holding on to his phaser and quickly stunned, but before he managed to do so the boarder manged to stab him in the leg with something sharp. "Ensign Goldsten to bridge" he said tapping his combadge. As he spoke he examined the object that he was stabbed with. To his irritation he found that it was a needle, and any fluid that had been in the needle had been injected into him. He sighed before he spoke again. "Boarders are neutralized, but we have sustained two casualties and I have most probably been poisoned. Requesting a medical and security team-" (reply T'Vhor) He cut off as he began to heave a rather large amount of blood, and calmly settled against the wall in between heaves. When he was able to he glared at the man who stabbed him with the needle. ~You came on a suicide mission specifically to stab somebody with that needle. Probably some strange tradition that you felt you had to do before you die, which is why you tackled me. Well the whole story behind the needle, and the antidote to the poison, is something I will enjoy the forcing out of you. And I swear you won't be mentally fit to clean yourself by the time I am done. ~ (reply any/none) (posted by Dan Black) (USS Spectre – Torpedo launcher – Corporal Houseman – 16:24) He had been watching the torpedo crew as they fired their torpedoes. They were working like maniacs as they fed their hungry machine. ~They must be busy upstairs~ =^=Vasilyovna to all Marine & security teams, we have point contact at deck seventeen, we HAVE been boarded by hostiles, repeat, we HAVE been boarded by hostiles.=^= ~Time to earn that amazing hazard pay that I get~ He checked the power cell of his weapon and then moved it into the ready position. “Enjoy lads.” He gave a glance at the torpedo crew as he headed out the door and towards the boarders. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Spectre – Security Station Gamma – Security Officer Smith - 16:24) =^=Vasilyovna to all Marine & security teams, we have point contact at deck seventeen, we HAVE been boarded by hostiles, repeat, we HAVE been boarded by hostiles=^= Jo's head snapped up. ~not good~ She stepped over to the weapons cabinet and stabbed in the code. As she opened it she looked over at Castell. Who looked scared to death. "Come on Castell this is no time to be standing around." She threw him a phaser rifle as she grabbed the second one. As she headed for the door she turned to see him standing there shakily holding the rifle. ~Got to get him moving~ "Castell. You work security. You have a responsibility to the crews safety so get your stuff in order and came on." She turned and ran towards the turbo lift. She was relieved to hear Castell's foot falls hurrying behind her. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Main Engineering – Ensign Bys’At and TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 16:25) The problem with being out of phase with the rest of the fleet was that any re-supplying from another vessel was impossible. Bys’At had been trying to remotely reroute the power relays on deck 17 for quite awhile now. The system had locked every console out except those actually on deck 17. ~I have no way of knowing whether the intruders did this or it’s just a malfunction.~ The dangerous reality hit Bys’At. “I’m going down to deck 17.” Said Bys’At to nobody in particular. He gulped a little hoping someone else might volunteer. “Hold on just a minute … I know you’re trying to get the power relay rerouted through that deck but you heard Vasilyovna.” Chuck said standing by the door to main Engineering holding a phaser rifle. “There’s a security detail here to make sure our guests don’t put us out of commission.” “Yes, I know, but if that power isn’t put back on … crewman on surrounding decks won’t be doing their jobs efficiently.” Said Bys’At folding his arms in frustration at his antagonist. “Fine, if you want things fixed I’ll go down there with you. I don’t want anybody getting any dumb ideas like going off alone.” Said Chuck. Chuck nodded to the three other security officers standing around in Engineering and headed out the door. Bys’At unfolded his arms and smiled. ~A companion.~ Bys’At thought happily. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Deck 17 - Security Officer Smith - 16:27) Smith and Castell pelted around the corner with their weapons ready. Jo saw five enemy soldiers at the junction being guarded by two security officers. She saw Ensign Goldsteen laying against the wall with blood coming out of his mouth. ~Ow hell~ He rushed over and knelt beside him. “Ensign can you hear me?” (reply Goldsteen) “Need to get you to Sickbay.” She turned to Castell. “Castell give me a hand with Ensign Goldsten to sickbay.” She and Castell helped Goldsten to his feet and then helped him towards sickbay. (reply Goldsten, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Deck 17 - Ensign Goldsteen - 16:28) Activity raged all around him, but he was barely able to register it. The poison was making the room unpleasantly dizzy, and the naseau only made matters worse. Gradually Alex became aware that someone was talking to him, and he forced himself to focus on the words. “Ensign can you hear me?” "Barely" he mumbled as more blood began to come out his mouth. “Need to get you to Sickbay.” Too tired to even make a sarcastic reply, Alex felt someone lift him to his feet, and he slowly and painfully made his way to sickbay. (Reply None) (Posted by Dan Black) (USS Spectre - Deck 17 - Corporal Houseman - 16:29) Houseman came round the corner with his weapon raised and ready. He saw five enemy soldiers lying on the floor guarded by two security officers. As he approached he saw a pool of blood on the floor. “What happened?” One of the security officers turned and looked at him. “Ensign Goldsteen has been taken to sickbay. He was poisoned by that one.” Houseman looked at the man who had poisoned Goldsteen. He saw the man’s hand twitch. Houseman realized that it could either be an involuntary response of the nervous system or the man was waking up. He brought his weapon up, flicked it to heavy stun and fired at the man. When he was certain that the man was stunned he looked back at the security officer. “Lets get the unconscious ones to the brig and the others to the morgue.” With that he went to work. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Turbolift (headed for Deck 17) – Ensign Bys’At and TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 16:30) “So, where are you from?” asked Bys’At. He had been twiddling his thumbs in silence waiting for ‘ASC Donaldson’ to start the conversation but could wait no longer. The turbolift doors opened with a metallic groan, apparently from damage to the exterior turbolift doors. A man in starfleet uniform turned to face them. On his shoulder was an emblem marking him as an officer loyal to Doenitz. The man reached up with a phaser but Chuck fired first and the man fell to the ground. “I think now isn’t the time for small talk.” He said stepping out of the turbolift with phaser rifle ready. “Hmm, I suppose you’re right. He didn’t want to talk.” Said Bys’At eyeing the dead officer on the floor as they passed. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre – Deck 17 – Ensign Bys’At and TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 16:32) There she lay, motionless and fast turning cold. Bys’At stood at a console nearby fulfilling his duty as an Engineer while Chuck, leaning on one knee and still holding his rifle, contemplated the face of Suri Rapeet. He had only spoken to her a few times. His fondest memory of her was her aiding him when he had sustained injury to his shoulder and was laying half-unconscious bleeding to death. Her words had mingled with the words of his wife in his mind. “Camel.” was all the coherent speech he could muster as he regarded the connection he had felt to her. As Bys’At busily tapped away at the console ... apparently finding it difficult to perform his duty without clacking the tips of his fingers on the console … shadows appeared behind Chuck. He whirled around quickly to take stock … and to take aim. In the doorway were the figures of two Spectre Security Officers. (reply Smith, Castell, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 16:32) Jynea hadn't quite been hiding for most of the battle. She'd been in the way in engineering when she'd tried to be morale support. She'd been in the way in Science who were doing who knows what to come up with ways to get the shields, phase cloak and weapons doing whatever it was the engineers wanted it to do. She'd been in the way in Strat Ops, where they were tracking the mess all around them. She'd eventually retreated to the counselling department where the lights were lowered and there was not a soul to be found. Of course, with only two counsellors on the ship, and the real one being on the bridge, there wasn't much call for the department to be in use. So, instead, Jynea had gone into Saxia's office and sat on the floor to watch the space battle from his view window. There wasn't much she could but pray. =/\= Jynea, meet me in sickbay! =/\= Had been the harried communication from Saxia that had sent her scrambling off the floor and into Andrew's domain. She was shocked to see the blood and mayhem of sickbay, the careful orchestrated dance of the healers. She found Lieutenant Saxia in one of the alcoves with an almost translucent Ensign Carrow. "What happened??" Jynea asked. The scientist had no visible signs of injury. "Suri was killed by boarders, she got a telepathic and empathic soulbond snapped on her and what tenuous hold she had of her gifts is gone. I'm barely keeping her mind out of everyone else's on the ship." Saxia didn't seem happy with something more than the situation at hand. Jynea laid a hand on his arm in sympathy and waited for him to unload. The two counsellors were far from close, but this anger wasn't healthy and wouldn't do his patient any good. She didn't know much about the mind's other abilities, but she knew that while anger gave strength in the short term, it sapped it in the long. "The Captain, in his infinite wisdom," Saxia said, almost growling, "has been trying to help Ms Carrow overcome holes in her training of her abilities." Jynea failed to see how this was a bad thing. "He was trying to teach a cat to sit up and beg!" He vented. Jynea guessed after the last set of arguments the chief counsellor had with the command team, he'd learnt his lesson about starting battles best saved for later in the middle of battle. "What can I do to help?" Jynea asked instead. "Get up to the bridge, be the CCo while I try and keep Carrow together and alleviate some of the stress around here. It shouldn't be hard, the Captain doesn't seem to have much use for us anyway." Saxia seemed extra bitter. Jynea suppressed a shudder and patted his arm before getting out of Sickbay. She didn't think there was much she could do to help on the bridge, but there was even less she could do in sickbay but get in the way. (Reply None) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Deck 17- Corporal Houseman - 16:33) Houseman moved cautiously towards the group of enemy soldiers. This was not the first time he had come across the tactic of ‘playing dead’. He frowned as he noticed that one of them had four legs as he moved closer he saw that there was a person underneath one of the soldiers. ~What the hell~ He put caution to the wind and sprinted over. He pulled the enemy soldiers away to find a female engineer lying underneath. He could see by the lifelessness from the woman’s eyes that she was dead. ~Damn it too late~ He was about to pull off his glove and feel for a pulse just to make sure. When he noticed a small device on the woman’s temple. Remembering what the other security officers had said about the ensign getting poisoned he pulled out his tricorder and scanned the device. He studied the data as it appeared. ~Hmm so it’s some kind of injection device~ Houseman looked at the engineer and shook his head. He had been witness to death many times a lot by his own hands but deaths of non combatants was always the worst. As a marine he was prepared to die but as he looked at the woman he just felt sadness for her. ~That’s no way to die love~ He then stepped back and he tapped his comm badge. “Houseman to Lieutenant Vasilyovna. I have an engineer down. She appears to have been poisoned. I am securing the area and the body until relieved.” (reply Lieutenant Vasilyovna) “Yes Sir.” (reply Lieutenant Vasilyovna, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO Williams - 16:36) “Doctor Williams.” Andrew looked up and saw Jo and a security guard ran into sickbay carrying Goldsteen between them. He had blood running down the front of his shirt. ~Ow hell~ He ran towards them. “What happened?” Jo and the security officer put Goldsteen onto a bio-bed. “We have been boarded. He has been poisoned and is coughing up blood.” Andrew nodded as he activated the bio-beds scanners. “Alex its okay I’ll sort you out.” He looked at the scans. ~Looks like his esophagus is bleeding~ “Okay Alex your throut is bleeding. I need you to hold very still. This may feel uncomfortable.” He took out a small tubular device. He activated the device and moved it slowly over Goldsteen‘s neck. He checked the scans as he stopped the bleeding. “Okay Alex I’ve stopped the bleeding. Your mouth is going to be sore for a bit. Where were you poisoned?” (reply Goldsteen) Andrew nodded he grabbed a laser scalpel made a slice in Goldsteen’s trousers and then ripped up its length. He stopped as he came to what looked like the puncture sight. There was a small hole with a trickle of blood oozing out of it. Surrounding it was a dark bruised looking skin. ~Oww that looks nasty~ He took a small vile from the nearby trolley. “Alex I need a blood sample. Is that okay.” (reply Goldsteen) Andrew placed the vile near the puncture site and watched it fill up with blood. He looked back at Goldsten and nodded. “How do you feel now?” (reply Goldsteen) (reply Goldsteen, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – Ensign Goldsteen - 16:37) “Okay Alex I’ve stopped the bleeding. Your mouth is going to be sore for a bit. Where were you poisoned?” "In my leg" Alex said less dizzy then before but it was still supremely difficult for Alex to make the room stay straight. “Alex I need a blood sample. Is that okay.” "Do whatever is required" Alex said as he was painfully aware that without a blood sample, the chances of the doctor coming up with a cure were small. “How do you feel now?” "Dizzy" Alex mumbled falling back, "very dizzy." (reply Williams) (posted by Dan Black) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 16:37) The bridge was just about the mess she'd expected. The officers seemed to recognize her presence and ignored it as irrelevant to the tasks at hand. She saw there was a scientist at the bridge station, where she assumed Ardena had been serving. She wished there was something she could do beyond sit in the spare seat on the bridge and try to look calm and knowledgeable. Really, she'd rather have been hiding under her bed with Mark. (Reply any/all/bridge) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO - Williams - 16:38) “Okay Alex I’ve stopped the bleeding. Your mouth is going to be sore for a bit. Where were you poisoned?” "In my leg". “Alex I need a blood sample. Is that okay.” "Do whatever is required" “How do you feel now?” "Dizzy" "very dizzy." “This should make you feel a bit better.” Andrew nodded as he filled a hypospray and injected into Goldsteen. (reply Goldsteen, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor & TAC/SC Lt Yelena Vasilyovna - 17:01) The moment the blast wave had hit them, the shields were impacted substantially leading to a sudden cascade failure throughout the ship. In any other circumstances this would have rung every alarm bell in a command crews repertoire, the ship had been compromised yet again but nobody had accounted for the unpredictability of the situation that was now evolving at a quantum level many decks below. "Damage report, all decks", said the Captain & the reports began rolling in, the first of which was Engineering. =/\=Sir, I don't know what the hell that was that hit us but it's affected both main & tertiary Engineering, we are losing power all over the ship but the phased cloak is now acting...... very strange=/\= "Strange Lieutenant?", enquired the Captain as the bridge began to shake. =/\=It's gone online sir, but it's supposed to be offline, all I can assume is that an electromagnetic surge of some kind has initiated startup, it makes no se.....=/\= It was then that Helm control failed along with both the internal comms & SIF/Inertial damper control, resulting in a ship that now began pitching & yawing along it's previously projected course, which just happened to be towards the very vessel that had just been responsible for the damage they had just endured. "Sir, the Akira class is coming about", cried Vasilyovna as she tried desperately to gain control of the targetting scanners, which were completely unable to lock now due to their own rotational skewing. "Unless we can control our spin sir, I can't coordinate targetting", she added turning towards the Captain to throw yet another spanner into the mix. "The Akira has just lost impulse control & is maneuvering via thrusters only, three metres per second at best" "Understood Lieutenant", said the Captain, the vibration of the bridge now increasing to affect the cadence of his voice as he held on tight to the armrests of the command chair, whilst the bridge continued to fall foul of the now unbounded laws of physics. "Sir, we are on a collision course, impact IS imminent", said Vasilyovna. Could it possibly be any worse? The Captain addressed the Ops Officer. "Do we have power to ANY of our systems Lieutenant Commander?", said the Captain, the urgency in his voice now showing despite his usual Vulcan calm. (Reply Capps) It was better than nothing but it still didn't help their current situation, careering out of control as they now were & on a seemingly unstoppable collision course with the Akira class vessel that had maimed them. The seconds ticked inexorably by, each one taking them one step closer towards their expected doom whilst the Captain tried to figure the problem logically. Then it hit him. "Lieutenant Vasilyovna, are you able to confirm initialization of the phased cloak?", said the Captain clutching at straws now with his sudden query regarding the earlier report of the cloaking devices unusual startup. Vasilyovna immediately saw the Captain's line of reasoning. If the phased cloak was indeed online, then they could put the Spectre out of phase with normal space & thus avoid the imminent collision. It was a long shot that was entirely dependant not only on the cloaks ability to engage, but also the EPS systems ability to transmit the actual commands with their present loss of power. This long shot however was all that they had between them & certain death. Vasilyovna wasted no time at all as she accessed her console & then turned to the Captain, a glimmer of hope appearing now upon her face as she spoke. "The cloak IS online sir, we should have phase shift capacity in fifteen seconds", said Yelena. "Time to impact with the Akira?", said T'Vhor. "Twenty two seconds sir", said Vasilyovna, "it'll be close, but it's possible, there's no guarantee that the power will hold out long enough though" "Initiate the cloak the second we have the ability to do so Lieutenant", said the Captain. "Aye sir, initiating in....seven, six, five, four, three, two....... the cloak is active sir", said Vasilyovna. "Brace for impact!", hollered the Captain as he took hold of the armrests of the command chair himself along with every other member of the bridge crew, just in case.... "Contact is imminent sir, two thousand metres, One thousand metres...... impacting", said the Tactical chief as everyone held their breath & whatever there was that was sturdy near to them. Then it began........ The actual contact with the Akira class vessel was bizarre to say the very least. There was no explosion, no gutteral tearing of metal & bulkhead or atmosphere venting via structural decompression. In fact there was almost no response or sound at all. The Spectre of course was now invisible to the other vessel & also completely out of phase with it. Had normal communications been possible throughout the ship, there would no doubt have been some strange & unusual reports coming in now as the ship & it's entire crew, bathed now as they were in the pulsing red glow of the alert annunciators, passed through the hull & the solid structural bulkheads & internals of the enemy vessel, to finally emerge in a flat spin directly aft of it's current location. Due to the Spectre's free inertia, it had taken only a few seconds for flesh, blood, bone & metal to slip effortlessly through one another & every other element present within the two vessels component makeup. For a brief moment or two, every single deck, bulkhead support & sentient being within their line of trajectory passed visibly through the Spectre's bridge, to the shock of those that were assembled there. It was indeed, a bizarre experience..... They had however all lived to tell the tale. Now it was time to reevaluate their situation & turn it all to their advantage. (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Bridge - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 17:02) It happened again and again. It was becoming very tiresome. Spots in the sheilding aroun the Spectre continued to fail. It was up to Calvin to fix them as they came, but with another OPS station running now in the back of the bridge. He placed Ensign Roberts there to primarily focus on those holes. Little did Calvin now that in a minute that all his worries about the shielding would no longer matter. "Do we have power to ANY of our systems Lieutenant Commander?", said the Captain. "Minimal sir, most of it has now been redirected to the phase cloak. I am unable to just pull the plug sir," Calvin said the first thing that came to mind. After a hard beat down from an Akira class starship all shielding went offline as the ships phase cloak came on line. The Captain had a plan, and it seemed the tactical chief knew exactly what T'Vhor was going to do. The OPS officer had an idea of what was going on, but he only served on the ship for a short period, and in that time he had never actually been on the ship while it had been in phased cloak. In the middle of a battle, with no shields seemed like it would be the best time for the first time. "Brace for impact!", was the last thing the Lt Cmdr heard from his friends voice. In fact he heard nothing afterwards. The phase cloak was now online and fully operational, and the Akira class ship came closer and closer to the Spectre. Calvin's eyes were open as wide as possible and his pupils dilated fully. His breathing stopped as he held it, as the ship, phased, passed through the enemy vessel. His pupils grew small and large again as they passed through dark decks, well lit corridors, and dark abandoned rooms of the internal side of the Akira ship. It was something Calvin never experienced before. It was something he would probably never experience again. It was something he didn't want to experience again. The Spectre was beginning to leave the ship after its last noticeable area to Calvin was Engineering. Once passed the ship was 100 percent cloaked and could no longer be seen by anyone. With it impossible to take the cloak offline they would have to leave the battle and repair. (reply any, all) (posted by Calvin Capps) (USS Spectre – morgue – CMO Williams - 17:15) Andrew looked down at the body of Technician Suri Rapeet. He had been brought there by security after it had been found out that she had died from being poisoned. Andrew drew a sample of blood from her arm and put it to one side. He carefully turned her head to one side to see the device that had been found on her temple. It was a small disk shaped device that had four claws which clamped it to her temple. He then picked up his tricorder and scanned the device. ~Hope this gives me some leads~ He looked at the results. ~Hmm not as conclusive as I would have liked. at least I know how the poison was administrated~ He got a laser scalpel and began to prise the device from Rapeet's skin. it fell into a small metal dish with a soft clank. he could see that in the centre of its underside was a small nozzle like the end of a hyposray which meant that the poison could be administrated fast. He placed the device in a sealed container which he locked in a secure cabinet. ~One last thing~ He picked up a dermal regenorator which was beside him on a small trolley and activated it. He slowly passed it over the wounds that the device and caused. When he was happy that she was healed he placed the dermal regenorator back on the small trolley. He shook his head sadly and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I will be back soon. I promise." He touched a button and the table slowly regressed back into the wall where the status chamber activated. He gave a sigh and paused for a moment looking at where Rapeet's body was being kept. He then turned and headed back to sickbay. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Bridge - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 17:40) As always the Lt Cmdr sat in his OPS chair. he was now successful in getting his board working at 100 percent, but the blood on the console was still stopping him from seeing it properly. He needed to delegate many repairs, and fix things himself. After the medical teams had help Carrow off the floor, and proceeded with any requirements for medical attention she needed. After that the same medical team approached Calvin. he stopped working on his board for a second, while the nurse quickly took a look at his face. "We need to get you to Sickbay to fix that, Lt Cmdr." "What is that I require at Sickbay," responded Calvin irritated that the nurse was attempting him to leave his post at a time like this. ~No battle experience~ he thought further. He knew that she was doing her job, and probably does it extremely well. "Sir," she said sternly. She knew the sound of the voice coming from the Lt Cmdr. She has heard it from a number of officers today and in past battles she has served in. ~Why do officers always want to be hero's.~ She had always believed that the best medicine was for the patient to be in a proper place for medical treatment. "We need to clean the wound then it looks like a job for the re-dermal generator." "If I am not mistaken that can be done from here. Can we do that?" Calvin now asked, but made it clear that is exactly what he wanted to be done. "Yes sir, Lt Cmdr," the nurse said with irritation in her voice now. She placed the medical kit down beside her and opened it up. Calvin turned to his board and began working as the nurse cleaned and fixed his wound on his head. (reply any, none) (posted by Calvin Capps) (USS Spectre – CMO’s Office – CMO Williams - 17:50) Andrew looked at the data in front of him. The angry flashing signal had appeared again and again. He slammed his fist into the console. “Dam it.” He had been working on trying to find out what virus is. He ran his hands through his hair. He looked at the blood sample from Goldsten and Rapeet sample which he had taken when she had arrived at the morgue. “Computer run the samples again. Increase the micro filters and cross match the samples.” [Working] He watched as the computer ran its program. ~Come on, Come on. Give me something~ The computer came back with nothing. “F*****g hell.” He sighed deeply and then looked again at the data. “Okay computer run a comparison sample with the samples of Goldsten and Rapeet cross reference samples with their last medicals and take the transports buffer data.” [Working] An imaged flashed across his console. “Got yah.” He looked at the information and grinned. He was one step closer to getting a result. He put his head down and carried on with a hope that the answer was just around the corner. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 18:10) The USS Spectre had just spent the last few hours irrevocably stuck in a phased cloaked state & completely unable to return to normal space, whilst it dealt with it's own internal problem of hostile boarders. The Engineering crews of course had been working flat out to sort the problem out but until only five minutes ago, the capacity to disengage had been completely lost to them. Now it had been returned. Whilst within phased space however, contact, along with many other things had been completely lost with the rest of the fleet since it was operating now on another plane to the Spectre entirely. The battle had continued to rage on all around them of course but their ability to interact in any way at all had been completely negated. The flip side of the coin however had been that they had been able to regenerate their shields & effect repairs to such an extent, that the Spectre had been returned to an almost fully battle ready condition. So, with the Spectre now having assumed a safe distance from the conflict in preperation for it's decloaking, it was time now for their imminent return, it was time now to hopefully finish this thing once & for all. "Disengage the cloak Lieutenant, verify range to all targets upon return to normal space", said the Captain. "Aye sir, disengaging the phased cloak now", said Vasilyovna pausing briefly now in order to confirm via her console that they HAD actually decloaked. "We are back in normal space sir, verifying range to hostiles & performing telemetry linkup with the fleet", said the security chief as she re-established all channels & then executed the necessary protocols for their re-engagement. All at once the coms channels were alive with fleet chatter, most of which was new to the Spectre's bridge crew. It seemed that the lead ships of the 52nd had formulated a new & very dangerous plan. "Sir, I have an incoming message from the Boudicca, Captain Stakes is requesting immediate assistance from all fifty second fleet vessels still able to comply", said Vasilyovna. The Captain spun about immediately, then he addressed the Communications officer. "Open a channel to the Boudicca, inform them of our status & that we are ready to assist", said T'Vhor. "Aye sir, opening a channel.... Captain Stakes is responding", said the coms officer as the face of the Boudicca's CO appeared upon the viewscreen. "Captain Stakes, how may we be of assistance?", said the Captain. Stakes then outlined in no uncertain terms that they were now going to assault & occupy Valhalla itself with the remaining vessels & the Marine boarding teams that accompanied them. He then signalled their Tactical Officer to liase with the Spectre's in order to transfer their tactical data under secure linkup. Captain T'Vhor nodded his assent, then he waited for the nod from Vasilyovna to confirm that this had been accomplished before continuing on. "Understood, telemetry linkup is confirmed & the Spectre is standing by", said the Captain as his counterpart on the Boudicca acknowledged & closed the channel. It was a daring plan indeed, both the Champlain & the Boudicca would probably be lost in it's execution but if it succeeded, Valhalla would indeed fall & once it had done so, Doenitz's stay in the carpetted corridors of power would soon be drawing to a rather abrupt end. All they had to do now was make it happen. "Helm, set a new course.... Heading One ninety mark, four zero, engage at one half impulse & take us into the required position, evasive maneuvers as required. Tactical, maintain active targetting of any vessel coming into range", said the Captain. "Aye sir, heading is one ninety mark four zero, preparing for evasive maneuvers", came the reply from the helm as the Spectre re-engaged into the battle... NRPG: More to come... (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre - Bridge - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 18:11) With a little more than enough repairs finished, the Spectre was ready to go back into battle. Although engines, boards, turbolifts, sensors, propulsion was all now working properly, information was something the Spectre lacked now. With the phase cloak online it was not possible for the crew of the Spectre to hear what the status was on the battle outside of them. They were also far enough away from the battle, a safe distance to make repairs, not able to see the battle as well. It was planned for the phase cloak to be back online in a few minutes. If no drastic changes have been made then the Spectre would dive right back into battle. Calvin checked over his readout one last time, and everything seemed to be as good as it was going to get. The phase cloak was turned off, and the Spectre returned to normal space. Surprisingly, there was less chatter than expected. Indeed there had been a drastic change. Immediately after their return to normal space they were hailed by Captain Stakes. A Captain Calvin had only heard of through stories of others. he had never met the Captain before. New orders had been given for all 52nd ships to help with one last attack at Valhalla. Calvin couldn't be certain, but a gut feeling was telling him that Valhalla would be the last stand. (reply any, none) (posted by Calvin Capps) (Starbase Valhalla – Main Bridge – Captain Gwazi Mutobo – 18:30) Gwazi had his eyes glued to the four viewscreens. One of the screens was a revolving star-scape image of surrounding space, one was a ‘preparedness analysis’ Starbase diagram report by Engineering, a third was a long-range sensor readout pinpointing various portions of the MDP, and a fourth showed a continuing stream of vessel damage reports. Gwazi knew he couldn’t keep up with the entire stream of textual data but his eyes danced on it anyway. Had there been an important report one of the officers aboard the Valhalla would have the information when needed. Gripping the command chair Gwazi resisted the urge to micromanage and demand departmental reports. As things stood every half hour he was getting reports routed directly to a PADD built into the armrest. Gwazi recalled the live video feed of the conference J’Tan had called regarding a cloaking vessel. ~“It’s time to earn our pips, Gentlemen.”~ the words had rolled repeatedly in Gwazi’s mind since J’Tan had said it. Something about the sensibility of the Vulcan Captain had almost eased Gwazi’s mind. The pressures of commanding a Starbase in the face of a dawning threat were still very apparent. However, the great burden he now carried came with a form of resolve he hadn’t experienced before. He loosened his grip on the armrest. His eyes narrowed in renewed determination. ~The eye of a Mutobo is watching for you.~ Gwazi ‘said’ to the oncoming enemy forces. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (Starbase Valhalla – Main Bridge – Captain Gwazi Mutobo – 18:44) “Sir.” Said the Tactical Chief at her station behind and starboard of the command chair. Gwazi shifted to his right and eyed the brunette. “Yes, Lieutenant?” he asked. “The enemy forces are a sufficient distance to warrant a primary bridge crew move to the battle bridge, Captain.” Said the woman. “Good call, Chief. I’m ordering the bridge crew to accept your recommendation.” Said Gwazi smiling at his Tactical Chief. So saying, he stood up and waited for his order to be followed. “Sir, I’d like to stay behind at the primary tactical console when the replacement main bridge crew arrives.” Said the Tactical Chief. Captain Mutobo eased over to beside the Chief and whispered, “Are you sure about this, Grace?” “Yes, sir, I’m sure … I have more control of the defense systems from up here” Tactical Chief ‘Grace’ responded, not moving one hand from the console – she pointed with the other hand to the viewscreens. “And you can’t beat the view.” “Alright then, people, let’s move this thing to the Battle Bridge.” Said Gwazi waving his arm forward. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre – Main Engineering – Ensign Paul Morphy - 19:10) Paul had spent most of the ‘crisis’ in Engineering. The crowd forming made it difficult to look busy without actually doing much work. Shirking work was like an art form to Paul but with the extra security standing around he was nervous. The last several minutes had seen Paul ‘fixing’ an unbroken computer console. The other Engineers either didn’t notice or assumed Paul wasn’t working as usual. He just kept waiting for a senior officer to grab him and put him to work. His gut twisted at the thought, he just knew he’d be deputized as a gaffer for somebody. Designing weapons was his specialty but he had to do this tour or he wouldn’t have a shining star on his resume for the boys in Research and Development. Paul ran a tricorder along the frame of the computer console. It wasn’t even on but nobody noticed. Then the boss walked by … all seven foot of him from toe to tendril. The Andorian Chief Engineer’s eyes met Paul’s. “Lieutenant?” enquired Paul trying not to let the tone in his voice be as high pitched as it wanted to be. (reply H’Chir, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor & TAC/SC Lt Yelena Vasilyovna - 19:20) For the moment, their approach was slow & unhurried. As much as they had expected a negative response on the prior plan, it seemed that the visual communications that the Boudicca's CO had imparted to the opposing fleet had worked to some extent, either that or the enemy commanders had simply chosen to move aside which was about as likely as a snowball's survival in hell itself. The Spectre's CO however was now running calculations regarding the Starbase defensive systems, whilst the helmsman took up station at a reasonable distance as requested. This was going to be one helluva nut to crack that much went without saying, but the Boudicca had already taken up a position facing off against one of Valhalla's defensive batteries, using it's own shields as a battering ram in an attempt to weaken those of the section. The calculations of course were not adding up at all & T'Vhor could tell that the Boudicca was only buying time, something else had to be done to even the score but there was no time now at all. The moment the base shields actually failed though was the very moment that Stakes ordered the Boudicca to come about one hundred & eighty degrees & fire it's aft torpedoes into the now exposed underbelly of the beast, the resulting explosions following the layed down laws of Newtonian physics by shunting the Boudicca violently to send it careering out of control & away from the station itself. "She's done it sir!", cried Vasilyovna, "the stations shields are down at the specified point" "Inform Major Kowalski his team is go for launch", said T'Vhor within a second of the announcement, Vasilyovna of course wasted no time at all. Immediately, everything swung into action, all of the Marine dropships launching from their relevant positions either on ship, or via their dedicated stations, the Spectre's own squad quickly departing along with them. "The Trojan is launching sir, Martini's are away", said Vasilyovna as she immediately began targetting the stations defensive batteries so as to provide covering fire for both the Marines & the now helpless Boudicca as it began to take massive hits along it's unshielded hull. "Do we have enough shield energy to extend shields to protect the Boudicca?", said the Captain, clearly clutching at straws now but hoping nonetheless. "Negative sir, the best we can do is put ourselves inbetween the Boudicca & the station to buy her some time", said Vasilyovna. "Do it", said the Captain quickly, "continue targetting all weapons batteries & remain on station for as long as we are able", he added. "Aye sir", came the replies from both the helmsman & the TAC/SC, following quickly by the announcement that Captain Stakes had just given the order to abandon ship, the escape pods already in evidence streaking towards the already liberated sections of the station itself. "Give them as much cover as we can until the escape pods are safely at the station breach", ordered the Captain as he maintained a close visual watch on their status indicators. "Shields are falling rapidly sir, we have taken down four of the defensive batteries but three are still active & will drain our shields in approximately two minutes of sustained fire", said Vasilyovna. "Understood Lieutenant, maintain fire.... Helm, prepare to take us to a safe distance on my mark", said T'Vhor, the helmsman had simply nodded & then confirmed that he had pre-empted the order & had done so already. The seconds ticked by, the small but nimble little vessel doing it's best to keep the stations weapons occupied until the last of the Boudicca's fleeing pods had reached the safety of the station. After that, they would be on their own but at least by then, they would have their own Marine forces to protect them. Better their chances there than on board the mess that was now the Keltoi sitting off their port & full of holes. "Shields are at forty two percent sir, the last of the escape pods HAVE reached the breach", said the TAC/SC, her words prompting swift & immediate action from the Captain. He had barely raised his arm before Rodriguez was responding accordingly. "I'm on it sir, we - are - gone", he said, emphasising his last three words in relief now that they were finally heading away from the stabbing blasts of the stations phasor batteries, whilst the Captain called for damage reports from all decks. (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre - Bridge - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 19:21) "She's done it sir!", cried Vasilyovna, "the stations shields are down at the specified point." Those words were like magic to Calvin. There was no doubt that there was still a lot of work to be done. As the fire fight continued, and the shields are down the Spectre's marines departed the ship. There job was to take the station, and Calvin knew that they wouldn't stop until they did. The Boudicca was hurt, and with all the battle damage done to the Spectre there was no way the Spectre would be able to save the Boudicca by expanding their shields. T'Vhor's alternative was to bring the Spectre between the Boudicca and the Station. A plan that would give Boudicca the extra time they need, but it was also a high risk move. The risk involved was probably calculated carefully by the CO, and he deemed it safe. Every crew member on the bridge trusted their Captain, and no one hesitated to make the adjustments in order to withstand the hits from the station in order to give the Boudicca their needed time. Shields draining rapidly, Calvin attempted to do the best he could by compensating wherever he could, but the constant fire power of the station would eventually beat the Spectre's ability. It seemed the bearer of good news lately was Vasilyovna and it didn't come to Calvin's surprise when she was the first to report that all of Boudicca's pods were saved. In an instant, Helm moved away from the fire of the Station to move off to a safe distance. It the Spectre didn't it would have been small bits of junk floating in space. Once again Calvin found himself rerouting power from the shields back to propulsion and engines. It was a never ending task. (reply none, any) (posted by Calvin Capps) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 19:30) It seemed every time she tried to find anchor, to try and find control in the mess that was this emotional storm, she was stopped by a firm wall and shoved back into the middle of the mess. Every time she was starting to figure out which way was up, things fell apart again. There was nothing to hold on to, nothing she could touch or feel with body or mind. Where was she? She was pretty sure she knew *who* she was. She was Ardena Carrow, scientist, daughter of Lita and.. and.. she blanked out for several long minutes, swirling amongst the eddies of this strange place, trying to connect a male name and face to herself. Sarded. Her father was Sarded. Sarded was a Vulcan. Is a Vulcan. That wasn't a Vulcan mind she could fuzzily feel holding her together. Who or what was it? It didn't seem able to reach her, or help her, just hold in her in this state of between and nowhere. She liked water. Why was there no ocean here? Why couldn't she smell the spray and freedom of the great wet beyond? There were no sea mammals sing. Why wasn't there any song? She had to find a way out of here, she had to find balance, to find reason.. to find.. herself. (Reply none) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 19:30) T’Pia, after having come off a shift as medic, entered sickbay to find the quiet Taxia carefully exiting. “Rough day counselor?” T’Pia quipped in her human-ish style. The strange Taxia passed her and exited without speaking. T’Pia shrugged and layed down her medical kit on a computer console. Then she noticed a patient in one of the force-field containment units. The woman lay quietly with a single laser aimed at her forehead. ~Brainwave monitor, I wonder what’s wrong with her?~ thought T’Pia. Moving to the edge of the containment field T’Pia grabbed the patients chart off the wall. ~Ensign Ardena Carrow, some sort of psychic lapse. Subject out of control.~ T’Pia skimmed the file. With hesitation T’Pia put her hand on the scanner. ~It looks like Lieutenant Taxia had no luck. The Captain could help her but he’s … a little busy. Looks like I’m ‘it’ by proxy.~ said T’Pia gulping. “Open containment field, authorization T’Pia-beta-epsilon-6-22-9” she ordered the computer. In response to the adequate code the field lowered with the characteristic static effect and T’Pia entered the small room. She could feel the waves of energy emanating from the young woman. Standing over the woman she knew there was only one way to help her. Interlocking her other fingers T’Pia touched the tips of her index fingers together and held her arms in front of her chin. To help the patient she would have to suppress her human side temporarily. She closed her eyes for a moment and allowed the mental block to take effect. Opening her eyes swiftly she prepared for the meld. Opening her hands in the characteristic ‘C’ she placed them on the woman’s face. “My mind to your mind ...” She began. (Reply Carrow) (Posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 19:35) A landscape lay before the mind’s eye of T’Pia Pelletier. Her Vulcan logic accounted for the primitive mindscape as simply a contrivance of Taxia to keep Ensign Carrow together. The half link between them grew every moment T’Pia spent in this place. The Vulcan didn’t want another person in her mind and assumed Ardena wouldn’t want that either. The place needed consistency, and with the presence of a superior mind of a Vulcan – it shouldn’t take too long. There was a storm brewing overhead but the ground seemed hot and mobile. The rhythmic movements of the surface made it extremely difficult to stand but the resolve of the female Vulcan kept her balanced. “Ensign Carrow!” T’Pia shouted, calling the woman whose turbulent mind was creating this ‘paradise’. (reply Carrow, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO Williams - 19:37) Andrew was irritated with him self as he crossed sickbay. He had not realised that Carrow had been admitted. He liked to know each of his patients especially when the patient had a relationship with Rapeet. Things had been so busy in sickbay dealing with the patients from the battle and Goldsteen’s frustrating condition. He had lost track of who had been admitted. He came to the containment field entered his pass work and entered the room. He was already about to apologise to Carrow about why he had taken so long to see her but he stopped dead in his tracks as he saw what was in front of him. “What the ….” He saw Pelletier leaning over Carrow who appeared to be unconscious with her hands in the position of a mind meld. His first desire was to yell at Pelletier for doing something that could be classed as physical and mental assault. He stopped him self as he realised that shocking Pelletier from a mind meld might damaged hers and Carrow’s minds. ~Ow you are in so much trouble. First discharging patients with out my approval and then performing treatments on unconscious patients with out consulting me. We need a very serious talk but not now and definitely not in front of Carrow~ He looked at them both and he then looked at the brain wave data that was displayed on the screen. It seamed to be shifting and changing. He stepped closer to monitor and scrutinised the readings and to be ready for any developments. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Brig, Holding Cells – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 19:40) “Please, understand my position. Several of the crew were killed or wounded and at least four crewmembers were poisoned.” Said Chuck. He stood outside a holding cell, only inches from the forcefield that separated him from a captured marine. The marine lay on a standard brig bed attached to the rear wall. He kept his face hidden and said nothing. “I know you’re not sleeping. You’re scared of what’s going to happen to you. Trial by a military court isn’t going to be fun.” Said Chuck. The man turned over to face Chuck but stayed on the bed. “Adding another death to the charges isn’t going to help your plea bargain. Do you know what they do to Marines like you in prison, anyway?” Chuck remained calm and kept his voice monotone. “I’m tryin’ to get some sleep in here. Hey, stop buggin’ me will ya?!” said the marine annoyed. Sensing that now might be a good opening Chuck allowed his fingers to play over the forcefield release pad and twisted his face in a frustrated look. “No!” Chuck said, sounding something like ‘Nyo’. “There won’t be any sleeping for awhile.” The marine sat up and slipped his legs off the edge of the cot. “Fine, okay, I’m paying attention.” Said the marine sarcastically. “The poison, what is it?” asked Chuck. “I don’t know.” Said the marine quickly. The man closed his eyes in mock contemplation. “What is it?” repeated Chuck. Hitting the button to release the field while the man played his little mocking game. The man opened his eyes and frowned. “That was on Jeopardy LAST night ...” The marine began emphasizing the word ‘last’. He stood up from his perch and walked around the cell still mocking. “Let me see … Alex said …?” the man’s voice trailed as he stopped in front of Chuck. “Fiddlesticks, I just can’t remember.” The man stood only inches from Chuck on the other side of the now non-existent field. “You know, this would be a whole lot easier if you’d just tell me what the poison is and how to cure it.” Said Chuck. “What are you going to do if I don’t make things ‘easier’? You …” Chuck cut the man off by reaching into the cell and grabbing the man by the shoulders. Chuck threw him against the wall of the cell face first. Chuck could hear a crunching sound as the man fell to the floor and began to moan holding his face. “Break your nose.” Chuck answered. Before Chuck could say more the trained marine was back on his feet recovered from his surprise. He took a swing at Chuck but the Security Officer backed up a step and hit the switch for the field. The man’s body was first engulfed by the field and then was thrown into the floor of the cell. “You bastard! You broke my nose!” yelled the flustered Doenitz loyalist. “You endangered the lives of this entire crew. I’ll break something more every five minutes until you tell me what will cure the poison. And God help you if Goldsteen dies.” Announced Chuck. “You can’t do this! I’m a Prisoner of War! I have rights!” yelled the man. “So does Goldsteen and so did Suri.” Responded Chuck. “I’ll be back in four minutes and thirty-eight seconds.” (reply any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Auxiliary shuttle deck - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles - 19:45) Shadow was very surprised to have heard the voice over the comm tell her to just relax, she was being picked up by the USS Spectre. She'd never heard of the Spectre before, she wasn't even sure which side it was on.. but surely the bad guys wouldn't shoot at life pods would they? At worst they'd lock her in a cage until the sent her back home or something equally bad? She was greeted by name, which startled her. The Petty Officer smiled and said they'd a copy of the 52nd fleet's roster and asked if she needed to go to sickbay. "Uhm, I don't know. A doctor on the Champlain said I wasn't allowed to sleep?" And that cold strawberry food icy thing wasn't sitting well. "Computer guidance is down, think you can remember some directions?" Shadow's tail looped in amusement despite it all. "I can remember anything and everything." She replied with confidence for the first time in she didn't know how long. Directions through a ship, no matter how many detours due to damage, was easy peasy. Maybe she'd get to fly through a turbo lift shaft or two again. The petty officer seemed to be humouring her but recited off the directions and routed her comm badge into the Spectre's sensor net. "It'll beep if you go anywhere you're not cleared for." What an odd thing to do and say. Did they not trust her at this camp? But, she supposed.. why would they? (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles - 19:50) Sickbay looked to be in the clean-up of a major battle unto itself. The smell of blood and other things hit Shadow like a hammer and she whimpered and covered her nose. It wasn't like she much minded the smell itself, but it was just so *strong* A sullen looking marine was standing by the door at attention. "Exxkkuse me," Shadow said tentatively. "Yes, Crewman?" He said, looking through her. "I am to s-seek medical tr-e-eatment for m-my head?" Shadow asked, wondering if she could just go back to her lifepod no matter how cranky her tummy and head spinney she was feeling. "Oh. Tell the nurse, Crewman." He gestured towards a busy green skinned woman in a blue uniform. The nurse turned around when Shadow slinked towards her, tail pressed against her leg. Maybe she could just crawl under a biobed. (Reply Dowsy) Shadow nodded, "I kuh-know the docktor is busy." She hated her stutter. She had just gotten secure and comfortable on the Champlain and now it was gone. Her ears flattened and her whiskers drooped in her misery. "Something fell on m-my huead, a docktor - I think he was a docktor? - said I was not to sleep. I had f-food on the lifepod, my stumuck feels unhappy." (Reply Dowsy/Williams/whomever) (Reply any/all) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Deck 3 - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles - 20:00) Shadow escaped Sickbay, feeling much better excluding the lecture she'd received from every medical person who talked to her. She ate enough! She was still upright, wasn't she? She still had energy and her fur and teeth weren't falling out! Silly healers, they worried about EVERYTHING. You'd think they'd have enough to do with all the blood, guts and gore hanging out in the place without trying to find more problems to work on! Her tail looped in amusement at the silliness of them all, letting the shame and guilt go. Starfleet people kept trying to say she was an adult, but every time she turned around, they treated her like a child just like her people! Starfleet people weren't very self-aware. Their subconscious knew she was a child, even if their rules tried to say different. Shadow's tail drooped. Not that shouldn't wouldn't like to be an adult, sometimes. She would like to see her children, to finish her bardic training, to hold rank and opinion in society. Respect would be nice. But it wasn't to be and one had to eat what the river gave you. Shadow was distracted from her philosophical thoughts as a Caitain in security yellow walked past. Or at least, she assumed it was security, most Caitains seemed to end up in Security, just like Eeaiouns tended for science and engineering and Siaovans in.. Shadow paused, she actually wasn't quite sure where her people would "normally" go. The corridor curved, Shadow didn't. She walked straight into a bulkhead and whapped her nose. A mewl, more of surprise than hurt and she fled the concerned look of the handsome felenoid. Couldn't she get ANYTHING right? Shadow stopped outside a turbolift. Where was she to go? What should she do? She'd never been picked up in a lifepod before. Tail twitching, Shadow considered the matter and decided her duty was to find Letty and get back to her. That meant either going to a transporter room or a shuttle room. She didn't think they'd really want to be launching shuttles at this point in time, but she wasn't quite sure that the captain was about to lower shields for one lowly Crewman either. But! She should probably wait somewhere convenient to being beamed out. Wherever that would be. Well, she'd try the transporter room and wait wherever they told her to wait. (Reply None) (Posted by Lorna) (Starbase Valhalla – Battle Bridge – Captain Gwazi Mutobo - 20:02) =/\= Make them useful members of society again, making them realize that they can't butcher those that they have sworn to protect. =/\= Gwazi remained quiet but squeezed the back of his command chair during the little speech given by Archibald Stakes. His face remained calm while the gears in his mind turned furiously. “Computer, end communication to deck 54.” Said Gwazi. [Communication with deck 54 terminated.] said the computer. Gwazi no longer wished to continue the conversation with the insolent Stakes. Any further communication between them would be at the point of a phaser rifle. Gwazi tapped hiscommbadge. “Captain Mutobo to Marine Commander Larry Osmond.” Said Gwazi. =/\=Yes, Captin.=/\= answered Larry “What’s the update on those Marine dropships?” asked Gwazi. =/\=Two of the dropship crews aren’t anywhere near a primary target but we’re trying to seal up the deck just below you, sir. The last dropship crew is making real progress through the base.=/\= reported the Marine Commander. “At any rate, Commander, I want defenses tightened up. One dropship crew full of marines having free run of this base is one too many.” Said Mutobo. =/\=Yes, Captin.=/\= answered Commander Osmond briskly. “Ensign Franklin.” Said Mutobo looking at the young man at the tactical station on the battle bridge. “Sir?” said the young man. “Dispatch three full security teams to take care of the third dropship crew.” Ordered Gwazi. “Yes, Sir. The dropship crew is on the deck below us. Should I turn the battle bridge defenses on?” asked the Ensign. “Yes, activate the forcefield and the proximity mines.” Said Gwazi. “Will do, sir.” Said Ensign Franklin smiling. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (Starbase Valhalla - Subsection 14, Temporary Command Center - Commander Dinnica Roil - 20:14) It seemed forever for them to get through the reforming of the transporter beam. The Cathay was dead in the water, her surviving crew had headed for somewhere where they could hopefully do some good. Dinnica wasn't sure where their Captain had gotten himself to, but she did know it wasn't Gerry running transporters. He'd never have allowed that bumpy a ride even in the midst of a war. She wasn't surprised to find herself at the edge of a gathering of bodies. She looked around for whomever seemed to be in charge. "I'll go and chat up he in red, you lot get treating the patients." She then seemed to notice the phasors and hostile looks. "Uh, if they'll let you." She gave a glare to the nearest marine. "I'm Commander Dinnica Roil, CMO of the Cathay. Take me to your leader." Sometimes rank had its privilege, but it seemed security wanted to settle in for an interrogation. "No weapons, just medical junk I'm happy to leave behind. I can go naked if it'll make you feel safer around me?" (reply any IYW) Dinnica rolled her eyes and strode up to Commander Stakes. He seemed to be finishing with some very young looking officers. The very short Betazoid looked up at him with steel in her green eyes. "Commander. I'm the CMO from the Cathay, I would like my team and I to begin treating wounded. Your marines seem to think we're here to poison the lot of you." (Reply Stakes) (Reply any present) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre – CMO’s Office – CMO Williams - 20:30) “Doctor Williams there is a communication from the USS Joseph Lister.” “Thanks I’ll take it in my office.” Andrew went into his office and sat down in front of his table console. He tapped the access code and the screen changed to an image of a female Bajoran with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. A grin grew on her face as she recognized him “So it is you.” A smile spread across his face. “ Jay.” “I thought it was you. So your doctor on a starship good for you.” He smiled and nodded. “Lieutenant Commander you’ve not done to back your self.” “Yeh that and I’m also a surgeon.” “Oww getting to play with peoples insides all day that must be fun.” Jay nodded. “Well we can have the social chat later. I got your blood sample data that you sent. I let the labs lot take a look at it and they were over the moon. I think a couple of them are thinking about there next papers to the Daystrum institute.” Andrew gave a tired grin. “That’s nice for them.” Jay nodded. “We have extrapolated the make up of the viruses. It’s extremely complex. They are working on an antidote but its going to take some time. I’ll transfer the data I have to you.” Andrew sighed and nodded. “Thanks Jay I ow you one for this.” Jay nodded. “I know.” She paused for a moment and then carried on. “How are things with you. You look tired. Been working you hard over there?” Andrew nodded “Yeh we are packed like sardines over here. I can’t remember when I last had a cup of coffee.” Jay gave a small grin. “Ow Andrew not coffee what is the world coming to. Things must be really bad then. But you love it don’t you.” Andrew flashed a smile and gently shook his head. “Yes I am.” “Good. Come and visit me when your free. See you later.” With that the screen went blank and Andrew looked at the data which Jay had transferred. ~I so hope we find the cure soon~ (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Starbase Valhalla – Battle Bridge – Captain Gwazi Mutobo - 20:35) Gwazi had been ordering the remaining torpedo salvos to continue pounding the enemy ships and ordering the security teams to keep holding off the stubborn marines. The image of an Andorian woman appeared on the battle bridge’s viewscreen. =/\=Captain Mutobo, are you sitting down?=/\= asked the woman. Mutobo had finally taken a moment to sit in his command chair, so the answer came quickly. “Yes? Who are you?” asked Mutobo. =/\=My name is Commander Sajh of the Orion Syndicate. =/\= Said the Andorian woman. “I’m in the middle of defending my starbase.” Said Mutobo a little annoyed. =/\=Don’t worry, this won’t take long. Doenitz should have treated his friends better.=/\= said Commander Sajh. Without another word the viewscreen went black. Captain Mutobo went to stand out of his command chair when he heard a beeping noise from above his head. He turned upward just in time to see the explosion. “Wha …?” Gwazi started. A section of the ceiling encompassing the command chair collapsed and, pylons and all, it landed on the floor of the bridge. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO – Williams - 20:45) Andrew put down the dermal regenerator and nodded to his patient. “You will be fine. It will be stiff and sore for a little bit but the pain killers should cover that.” He handed the patient a hypospray which contained the pain killers. He paused for a moment thinking about where to send the patient. “Go to the mess hall for the moment there will be some one there to look after you. If you have any problems please don’t hesitate to come back.” Andrew took a step back as the patient left. He slowly looked around at his domain that was sickbay. It was full. The crush of people was tremendous. There was hardly any space to move let alone work now that they were doing search and rescue the patient load had increased ten fold. The EMH was working in ICU and HDU which were full to capacity. Dr Mackenzie was in triage he had not heard from her for what seemed like hours so he expected that she was up to her eyeballs with patients. He glanced towards the doors that lead towards one of the isolation rooms. He knew that Ensign Goldsteen was there. He had not seen him for what seemed like a while which was not good. He had controlled the bleeding but it appeared that whatever poison he had been injected with was slowly shutting down his body, which he was trying to slow down by pumping him full of drugs. He paused as his mind returned to Technician Suri Rapeet. He had wanted to go and perform the last offices to her but he had been swamped with all the patients. He would to it when he had enough time to do it properly and not rush it. He had removed the device from her temple and scanned. He had also taken a sample of her blood which he had sent for analysis. He had sent it to science labs as well as the Hospital ship Joseph Lister who had promised to send the data to the McCoy and the other hospital ships so that he could pool the results. He had wanted to ask Kreung but as Rapeet had been a close friend he did not think it was appropriate. “Doctor your needed.” He turned to see that one of his staff was trying go get his attention. Andrew nodded and headed over. ~No rest for the weary~ (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – TAC/ASC Goldsteen - 20:50) Alex had been in an isolated room for hours and he could feel himself getting weaker. He desperately wanted to put his mind to the problem, but the irritating dizziness persisted making it impossible. Frustrated he signaled for CMO Williams' attention. "Could you please give me something that may help me focus for a bit?" he asked once the doctor arrived. "I need to ask you something, but I want to be able to focus on the answer." (reply Williams) "Thank you," he said as his mind began to sharpen. "Now, in your professional opinion, what are you're chances of finding a cure in time for it to be effective enough to help me?" (reply Williams) (posted by Dan Black) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO Williams - 20:53) "I need to ask you something, but I want to be able to focus on the answer." Andrew nodded he knew what was coming. “Okay.” He fitted a vile into the bottom of the hyposray and injected it into the side of Goldsteen’s neck. “That should kick in, in a few seconds.” "Thank you," "Now, in your professional opinion, what are you're chances of finding a cure in time for it to be effective enough to help me?" Andrew paused for a moment trying to work out the best way of saying this bad news. “I don’t know Alex. We have the best scientists and doctors in the fleet working on it. We are make in progress. I just need you to hold on.” He knew that his words did not sound encouraging but he was not in the process of lying to his patients. (reply Goldsteen, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – Ensign Goldsteen - 20:54) “I don’t know Alex. We have the best scientists and doctors in the fleet working on it. We are make in progress. I just need you to hold on.” Alex nodded as he took a minute to process the information. He began to think outloud, an uncommon habit for him but even he was not able to take news of his impending death without some sign of being shaken. "You avoided the question entirely, which means that you really do not want to give me an answer." he mused quietly "So we will have to force the antidote out of one of the boarders on the assumption that they have it, but it is the only chance. I suppose that it is a small blessing that not of all them were killed." Alex frowned and made an effort to stand up. The strain on his weakened body brought sweat of effort to his forehead and drained the color from his face. Clearly the poison was progressing much faster than even the Doctor wished to admit. "I am too weak to interrogate," he continued not realizing that he was speaking outloud "And given my reputation as the ship sadist I can't trust that one of the other security officers won't intentionally botch the job just to have me killed." (reply Williams) Alex was annoyed with himself for revealing private thoughts. "Doctor I would think that I serve as a prime example that the myth that every Starfleet officer is a saint is not completely accurate. So I need someone who can get the job done if I give them very clear instructions, and who I also trust." He thought for a second, "which leaves no one." Suddenly an idea came upon him. Normally he would have regarded this idea as both strange and dangerous, but while he refused to show it, Alex was in a desperate situation. "Doctor, would you be so kind as to get Counsellor Kreung to come here? I reccomend that you do not tell her that I am the one who wants to see her." (reply Williams) (posted by Dan Black) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO Williams - 20:56) "I am too weak to interrogate," "And given my reputation as the ship sadist I can't trust that one of the other security officers won't intentionally botch the job just to have me killed." ~You think I'm such a push over you have another thing coming my friend~ Andrew folded his arms and gave him a hard stare. "That and there would be no way that I would let you out of sickbay." There was a pause as he watched Goldsteen. "Doctor I would think that I serve as a prime example that the myth that every Starfleet officer is a saint is not completely accurate. So I need someone who can get the job done if I give them very clear instructions, and who I also trust." "which leaves no one." "Doctor, would you be so kind as to get Counsellor Kreung to come here? I reccomend that you do not tell her that I am the one who wants to see her." Andrew nodded. ~If he thinks that it will help I'll give it a try~ "I'll see what I can do." He stepped away from Goldsteen, until he was out of ear shot and activated his comm badge. "William to Kreung." (reply Kreung) "I hope that I am not disturbing you? I have a patient in sickbay who would like to speak to you as soon as possible." (reply Kreung) (reply Kreung, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 20:59) She wanted to be under her bed hiding, not sitting like a bump on a log on the Bridge. She hated this. She wasn't doing anyone any good. She wished David would let her leave or go do something useful. =/\= William to Kreung. =/\= ~Oh thank the fates!~ "Kreung here." she replied. =/\= I hope that I am not disturbing you? I have a patient in sickbay who would like to speak to you as soon as possible. =/\= "On my way!" she replied eagerly and got up from her seat, remembered to ask the officer on duty for permission to escape and fled. (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:00) Jynea was happy to see Sickbay was also recovering along with the rest of the ship. There was no longer lines of people getting treatment, and even the stoic officers of "Its just a flesh wound" seemed to have been forced down here, treated and kicked out. "Andrew!" she said spotting the overworked and underslept chief medical officer. She had something pithy in mind and he turned her around. "You look like crap!" she blurted out. (Reply Williams) Jynea blushed purple, "Yeah well, that's me, Ms Morale at her best. What did you need?" She eyed him, "Besides a week long nap, four extra arms with hands and a few minor miracles and heart balm?" (Reply Williams) Wondering what all the mystery was, Jynea followed him to the sickbay bed. She was very startled to see a certain Security Ensign. "Are you dying??" she blurted and managed to blush all over again, "I'm sorry, Ensign.. it's just.." She shrugged, "I'd have thought I was the last person in this universe you'd have wanted to talk to. What can I do to help you?" (Reply Goldsteen) (Reply Williams, Goldsteen, Bridge, Sickbay) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign Alex Goldsteen - 21:00) Wondering what all the mystery was, Jynea followed him to the sickbay bed. She was very startled to see a certain Security Ensign. "Are you dying??" she blurted and managed to blush all over again, "I'm sorry, Ensign.. it's just.." She shrugged, "I'd have thought I was the last person in this universe you'd have wanted to talk to. What can I do to help you?" "I have been poisoned," Alex said bluntly, "and it seems unlikely that a cure will be developed before I succumb to the poison. I am hoping that the man who poisoned me will know the cure, or where one can be found. However I am in no condition to get the answer out of him." He took a moment to draw in a breath then continued. "I understand that you, along with every other person who has met me believe that I am a sadist. I also know that belief compels you to wish that I was lost somewhere in deep space. However, I believe that I can trust you not to intentionally botch the job just to get rid of me. I can not say the same for any of the security officers. Furthermore standard interrogation techniques will not work on this man. He went along on a suicide mission, which means that attacking his emotional state will require a knowledge of psychology that I do not believe the others have. Unfortunately I do not see a way to get the answer from him besides such an attack. He grinned grimly. "So counselor, are you willing to become an interrogator in order to try to save the life of a man you despise?" (reply Kreung) (posted by Dan Black) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO Williams - 21:01) "Andrew!" Andrew looked round to see Jynea walking towards him. "You look like crap!" ~Love you to~ He gave her a slight smile. “Thanks for the morale boosting comment there Jynea!” "Yeah well, that's me, Ms Morale at her best. What did you need?" "Besides a week long nap, four extra arms with hands and a few minor miracles and heart balm?" Andrew grinned at her as he tried to stifle a yawn. “That would be lovely but no. If you would follow me.” He showed her through sickbay as he headed towards Goldsteens bed. He stopped in front and stepped aside. He moved to one side and let Jynea and Goldsteen. "Are you dying??" He gave a mental grin. ~Way to go Jynea. That’s a good way to start~ "I'm sorry, Ensign.. it's just.." "I'd have thought I was the last person in this universe you'd have wanted to talk to. What can I do to help you?" ~Well we are about to find out~ (reply any) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:02) He took a moment to draw in a breath then continued. "I understand that you, along with every other person who has met me believe that I am a sadist. I also know that belief compels you to wish that I was lost somewhere in deep space. However, I believe that I can trust you not to intentionally botch the job just to get rid of me. I can not say the same for any of the security officers. Furthermore standard interrogation techniques will not work on this man. He went along on a suicide mission, which means that attacking his emotional state will require a knowledge of psychology that I do not believe the others have. Unfortunately I do not see a way to get the answer from him besides such an attack. He grinned grimly. "So counselor, are you willing to become an interrogator in order to try to save the life of a man you despise?" "Nope." Jynea replied, smiling. "Because one, I don't believe you're going to kick the bucket. Two, I don't believe that your brand of interrogation is the only way to get answers from a prisoner and three, your lack of faith in your fellow Star fleet personnel is appalling. You think I hate you, yet I came down here, why would one of your fellow security officers not want to find answers to protect life?" (Reply Goldsteen) "For the record," Jynea offered, "I don't hate you. I fear you, but I don't hate you." (reply Goldsteen) (posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Alex Goldsteen - 21:03) "Nope." Jynea replied, smiling. "Because one, I don't believe you're going to kick the bucket. Two, I don't believe that your brand of interrogation is the only way to get answers from a prisoner and three, your lack of faith in your fellow Star fleet personnel is appalling. You think I hate you, yet I came down here, why would one of your fellow security officers not want to find answers to protect life?" "Well, first answer your first objection, that being that you don't believe I am going to die," Alex said as close to amused as he was capable of being. "Possibly you are basing that diagnosis from my current appearance of energy, however that is only a temporary measure the doctor devised. But I think this is a better indicator of my current health, keep in mind I was about 185 pounds before this." With visible effort Alex forced himself to sit up coughing as he did so. WIth trembling fingers he removed his shirt, revealing that he looked emaciated, a far cry from the heavy pounds of muscle that he carried just a short time before. "I don't know if this a direct result of the poison, or just a result of my body's attempts to fight it, but I believe that it does not look good in either case" he said easily. Unbenknownst to him, Alex had just revealed numerous scars that resulted from third degree burns. He had not thought about the scars since he was a teenager so he had forgotten about them, but to someone else they made his torso seem like a scarred battlefield. That had been the reason that up till now Alex had made sure not to let anyone, even a physician if possible, see him unclothed. (reply Kreung, Williams ifw) "I will leave your second objection for last. In answer to your third objection, there are only one person I trust and I haven't seen him since I joined Starfleet. And if you have a better idea of how to get the answer out of the prisoner I would love to hear it." (reply Kreung) "For the record," Jynea offered, "I don't hate you. I fear you, but I don't hate you." Alex stared at her for a long moment "generally," he said with the knowledge of prevous experience "fear, even if unfounded, is a prelude to hate." (reply kreung) (posted by Dan Black) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:03) "Well, first answer your first objection, that being that you don't believe I am going to die," Alex said "Possibly you are basing that diagnosis from my current appearance of energy, however that is only a temporary measure the doctor devised. But I think this is a better indicator of my current health, keep in mind I was about 185 pounds before this." With visible effort Alex forced himself to sit up coughing as he did so. With trembling fingers he removed his shirt, revealing that he looked emaciated, a far cry from the heavy pounds of muscle that he carried just a short time before. "I don't know if this a direct result of the poison, or just a result of my body's attempts to fight it, but I believe that it does not look good in either case" he said easily. "Actually, I just think you're too stubborn to die and Doctor Williams is too skilled to let you." Jynea replied, ignoring the show. She wasn't sure if it was an intentional unintentional show or not. Tell someone they were going to die and they might believe you and the same went for telling them they were going to live. Besides, how would he turn into a worthwhile member of Starfleet if he kicked the bucket? How would Doentiz have turned out if someone had caught his problems early on? (reply Williams ifw) "I will leave your second objection for last. In answer to your third objection, there are only one person I trust and I haven't seen him since I joined Starfleet. And if you have a better idea of how to get the answer out of the prisoner I would love to hear it." Jynea shrugged, "I'm not in Security, but I'd imagine that the infiltration team wouldn't *know* .. too many Betazoids on our side, especially after the destruction of their world." She tried not to show how much it hurt her that the planet of beauty and art had been so damaged, she didn't think it would help much with the unemotional officer in front of her. (Reply Goldsteen) Alex stared at her for a long moment "generally," he said with the knowledge of previous experience "fear, even if unfounded, is a prelude to hate." Jynea looked at him for several heartbeats in return before answering, "I grew up in the middle of the Orion empire, Ensign. I know hate, and I know fear. While often intertwined, it is because of the actions of that which causes the fear that gets it to grow to hate. No, I fear you because you seem to have no empathy for those around you, no appreciation for the ends not always justifying the means and you have a very 'here and now' focus. Such beings end up the greatest of leaders or the most evil of destroyers. Call me melodramatic, emotional and all those other things if you like, but I don't hate you, I just fear what you may become." (Reply Goldsteen) (posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Alex Goldsteen - 21:04) "I'm not in Security, but I'd imagine that the infiltration team wouldn't *know* .. too many Betazoids on our side, especially after the destruction of their world." Alex suppressed a wince at that. He had actually considered that possibility, but since it left him with no options he chose to act under the assumption it was wrong. "I grew up in the middle of the Orion empire, Ensign. I know hate, and I know fear. While often intertwined, it is because of the actions of that which causes the fear that gets it to grow to hate. No, I fear you because you seem to have no empathy for those around you, no appreciation for the ends not always justifying the means and you have a very 'here and now' focus. Such beings end up the greatest of leaders or the most evil of destroyers. Call me melodramatic, emotional and all those other things if you like, but I don't hate you, I just fear what you may become." "I am so sick" Alex practically snarled, "of people trying to get me to live up to their moral standards." He fell back against the pillow and began to dismiss Kreung when a thought came into his mind. For a brief moment his face was alight with excitement at uncovering a piece of a difficult puzzle, but that moment was quickly gone and he was back to his normal self when he explained his epiphany. "They made it themselves" he said confidently. "No one in his right mind would have ordered them to try to assassinate some crew members with poison, it is pointless and a blaster set to kill is an obviously better choice. So this poison and the entire action, has a special meaning toward the infiltrators they to tell their captain about when he ordered them to act like a normal boarding party. So chances are they made the poison, and know the cure." Alex ended visibly tired from the long speech. "Now either decide to help me or don't. If you do we'll plan out exactly what you have to do. Otherwise, even I want to be able to die with some peace and quiet." (reply Kreung) (posted by Dan Black) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 21:05) It was a sad day today, a day that would no doubt go down in history as a turning point. Many ships though had been lost in this conflict & many more souls had passed on to wherever it was they passed, once departed from the flesh. Immediately off to the right & almost dead ahead of them, the twisted hulk of part of the Champlain's saucer section, the markings 'NCC-21....', clearly visible upon one of the broken sections of hull plating, floated aimlessly amidst the debris of the rest of her component parts, her own crew having now been thankfully & mercifully picked up by other vessels searching nearby. That one sight however had caused the Captain to think back to a time before they had left Geneva when he had welcomed the Champlains CO, Captain Rivers aboard for a tour & had enjoyed a brief lunch with her. They had parted that day with the sentiment that they would again share lunch someday & Captain T'Vhor had mentioned that perhaps the next time it would be on the Champlain. Looking out onto that fragmented registry now however had negated that possibility somewhat & the Captain could only hope that Rivers herself had not gone down with the ship. As the Spectre meander'd it's way slowly through the twisted & still smouldering wreckages of once proud starships though, it's Commanding officer dwelled heavily upon the personal losses with a great sadness. Regardless of his Vulcan heritage, it could not be denied that there was another, more passionate side that lived within him & it was this part now that was engaged in 'feeling' those losses. Some of the drifting lifepods had of course contained crewmembers that were still alive & those had been duly beamed aboard & then passed on to the ever reliable Doctor Williams for medical attention where necessary. Their own losses however numbered many, amongst them the young engineering officer Ensign Suri Rapeet who had only joined them a matter of months beforehand. The news of her death had been felt by all of course, as had those of the others that had persished in this insane battle. Now though it was over, at least in this part of space anyway. As for those ships still capable of engaging the enemy at Earth, perhaps even the Spectre amongst them if it could recover from the damage it had sustained, they would head off soon & finish what had been started here. The Captain looked about the battered bridge of the Spectre, his crew were silent in their continuing duties, their thoughts clearly elsewhere as they contemplated friends & family. His own friend, Lieutenant Commander Capps sat quietly also, his own very personal losses having been recently relayed to him by the CO himself the moment he had been made aware of it. It seemed that during the recent conflicts, facility 23 had been hit & destroyed by forces loyal to Doenitz, taking the souls of both his parents along with it. The man was understandably in turmoil of course but even though the Captain had suggested that he leave his station & perhaps compose his thoughts in solitude, he had chosen to remain at the OPS console, a testament to his inner strength if ever there was. For the moment, there was little more to do than just take stock of what had just occured, loved ones would need to be informed of their losses back at home, reports would have to made & arrangements set in motion in regards paying appropriate homage to those that had made the ultimate sacrifice. The MDP had fallen of course, the Marines having now quelled the remaining forces within & taken over Valhalla, thus ensuring that the dominoes were now falling so to speak. It was now simply a matter of time before the last block fell. Looking back out onto the starfield vista before him though, Captain T'Vhor took stock again of what lay all around them, then he ordered another sweep of the area for any signs of escape pods that might be harbouring precious life. (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:06) "I am so sick" Alex practically snarled, "of people trying to get me to live up to their moral standards." He fell back against the pillow in a sulk. "When everyone says it's raining, maybe you should consider getting an umbrella." Jynea replied amicably. ~Oh the poor psychopath, everyone judges him. Go eat worms in the garden. Wah wah wah. Should I cry over the bodies of those you torture in the name of your search for truth?~ She was about to stalk out when for a moment his face lit up in glee before returning to its usual morose vision. ~Probably thought of another way to try and torture someone." "They made it themselves" he said confidently. "No one in his right mind would have ordered them to try to assassinate some crew members with poison, it is pointless and a blaster set to kill is an obviously better choice. So this poison and the entire action, has a special meaning toward the infiltrators they to tell their captain about when he ordered them to act like a normal boarding party. So chances are they made the poison, and know the cure." Alex ended visibly tired from the long speech. "Now either decide to help me or don't. If you do we'll plan out exactly what you have to do. Otherwise, even I want to be able to die with some peace and quiet." "Idiot." Jynea said. "You're not dying, you're not my superior officer and you don't own sickbay. You don't get to summon and dismiss me like you would a servant. And even if you were dying, it wouldn't guilt me into helping you just because you demanded it. For someone who claims he's the universe's best interrogator you really suck at manipulating people. Or are you just so used to judging the world by your own view you can't comprehend the views of others?" No one in their right mind yelled at a dying man, so he'd better live. Or come to the conclusion that she was mad. Either or. Possibly both. (Reply Goldsteen) ~Blah blah blah~ Jynea thought, ignoring the ensign and turning to Andrew who seemed to watching them like a handball match. "I'll call David in to look in on this prisoner, if anyone can read the answers, it will be him." (Reply Williams/Goldsteen) Having turned her back on Goldsteen, Jynea rolled her eyes at the melodramatics. ~Dye your hair black, dress in black, paint your face white and go moping around and by how no one in the world understands you and only you understand the world. Bfeh.~ She walked out of the room. Really, why Captain T'Vhor accepted his transfer in the first place was completely beyond her. She couldn't decide if he was a twelve year old trying to be a man or truly a soulless, conscienceless being. (reply Goldsteen/Williams) (posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO Williams - 21:06) Andrew had been listening to the conversation. He was trying to be far enough away as to not be intrusive but be close enough to be there if he was needed. "I don't know if this a direct result of the poison, or just a result of my body's attempts to fight it, but I believe that it does not look good in either case" he said easily. "Actually, I just think you're too stubborn to die and Doctor Williams is too skilled to let you." ~I’ll do my very best~ Andrew nodded. “That’s true.” "I will leave your second objection for last. In answer to your third objection, there are only one person I trust and I haven't seen him since I joined Starfleet. And if you have a better idea of how to get the answer out of the prisoner I would love to hear it." "I'm not in Security, but I'd imagine that the infiltration team wouldn't *know* .. too many Betazoids on our side, especially after the destruction of their world." Andrew felt some on walking near by. He saw Douwsy walk past on her way to a patient with a hypospray in her hand. "I grew up in the middle of the Orion empire, Ensign. I know hate, and I know fear. While often intertwined, it is because of the actions of that which causes the fear that gets it to grow to hate. No, I fear you because you seem to have no empathy for those around you, no appreciation for the ends not always justifying the means and you have a very 'here and now' focus. Such beings end up the greatest of leaders or the most evil of destroyers. Call me melodramatic, emotional and all those other things if you like, but I don't hate you, I just fear what you may become." Andrew heard a soft sigh behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Douwsy had stopped and was looking at Kreung. He saw the pain and sadness that he had just seen in Jynea eyes were reflected in Douwsy’s. She saw him looking at her and she turned and went back to work. ~Might talk to her about it~ He realised that Goldsteen was talking again and looked back to hear what he was saying. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Goldsteen - 21:07) "Idiot." Jynea said. "You're not dying, you're not my superior officer and you don't own sickbay. You don't get to summon and dismiss me like you would a servant. And even if you were dying, it wouldn't guilt me into helping you just because you demanded it. For someone who claims he's the universe's best interrogator you really suck at manipulating people. Or are you just so used to judging the world by your own view you can't comprehend the views of others?" "Generally people die when they are injected with a poison and the antidote is not known" Alex pointed out reasonably, "and I am to weak to manipulate you properly. I am simply giving you a choice, and isn't it a courtesy to let a man, who at the very least may die, some peace is what is possibly his final hours?" "I'll call David in to look in on this prisoner, if anyone can read the answers, it will be him." "Thank you very much" Alex said with no hint of sarcasm. A thought entered his mind as the counselor began to stalk out of the infirmary. He could simply ignore her and go on with his life, but he suddenly began to be curious as to what she would find if he let her delve around his mind. Or rather, he wanted to know what the effect would be on her. He already knew that nothing she did would have any impact on him. "I do it because I don't remember" he called after her. (reply Kreung) "I mean what I said" he answered honestly. "I feel like I've forgotten something important, and not just one memory but many. IAnd when I am interrogating I keep getting these hints at the back of the skull that tease I am about to remember, but I never do. But I feel like I am getting closer every time, that's why I went into interrogation." (reply Kreung) (posted by Dan Black) (USS Spectre - Transporter Room - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles - 21:07) Shadow was sitting against the bulkhead in the transporter room, ignoring the gaggle of officers and enlisted in the room. The transporter chief seemed fine with everyone standing around and waiting for the Captain to give his okee dokee for them to get to where they were supposed to be going. She sat still, only the tip or tail flicking back and forth to indicate her impatience. How much longer could it possibly take?! She realized that the transporter chief was probably working by rank, but it seemed no matter how many people were beamed out, the crowd never actually thinned. It seemed an eternity and a half before "Crewman Shadow to .. uh, heading to the USS Hypatia?" Shadow stood up from where she was sitting and headed up onto the platform, she was the last body to leave the Spectre's transporter room.. well, this one anyway. Maybe one day she'd become an adult and get some privilege of order. (Reply any/all) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson – 21:20) Chuck had done it. After a few phaser burns and convincing the stubborn Marine that ‘two heads were better than one’ Chuck had persuaded him to reveal the nature of the poison. He was not proud of having to resort to the ‘unclever’ barbarism … but he recognized the occasional value of the direct approach. Goldsteen was no doubt giving someone a hell of a time in sickbay. ~Probably Doctor Williams.~ thought Chuck. With PADD in hand detailing the ingredients of the poison Chuck burst into sickbay. The good doctor would not doubt be able to verify whether the listed ingredients could produce the ill effects experienced by Goldsteen. Chuck hoped he wouldn’t have to break another of the Marine’s joints … but with Doenitz fanatics who could tell? The first thing Chuck noticed was an apparently ongoing battle between Goldsteen and Jynea. ~What’s she doing in the middle of all this? I’ve never seen her angry before … Goldsteen is indeed good at pushing buttons.~ Chuck thought as he surveyed sickbay from the entrance. ~I see Andrew is keeping his nose clean and staying out of it, good man.~ “Doctor, I need you to take a look at this.” whispered Chuck gliding over beside Andrew. (reply Williams) Chuck could contain his curiosity no longer … after handing the PADD to Dr. Williams he moved over to beside Jynea. Elevated tones and annoying glances between the two combatants was hardly inviting to a third party but Chuck had always been elbow deep in trouble so it was ‘home-y’. Then of course there was the Orion. “Alright, what have WE been up to lately?!” asked Chuck obnoxiously emphasizing the word ‘we’ and glancing from one face to the other smiling in mischief. (reply Kreung, Goldsteen) (reply Williams, Kreung, Goldsteen, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:22) "Doctor, I need you to take a look at this." whispered Chuck gliding over beside Andrew. Jynea was halfway out the door when Chuck showed up, well, curiosity always got the better of her so she turned around and received the latest ranting of the ill security officer. "Alright, what have WE been up to lately?!" asked Chuck obnoxiously emphasizing the word 'we' and glancing from one face to the other smiling in mischief. Jynea looked up at the smug and smiling security officer. "HA!" She said and shook a finger at Goldsteen, "HA times two! You AREN'T going to die and you AREN'T the only interrogator on the ship who can get things done. I shall enjoy this moment in time when I am entirely right and you are entirely wrong!" She tilted her head to one side, "If only because it'll probably never happen again." (Reply Williams, Goldsteen, Donaldson) "TOLD YOU SO." The Morale Officer said happily with a complete lack of professionalism and maturity. "Try Sudoku puzzles for concentration, distraction and focus." (Reply Williams, Goldsteen, Donaldson) "Okay, yes, I was being facetious, I'll give it some thought. After all, you have plenty of time while you get better!" Jynea was not one for subtly at the best of times. (reply Williams, Donaldson, Goldsteen, any) (posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO Williams – 21:22) “Doctor, I need you to take a look at this.” whispered Chuck gliding over beside Andrew. Andrew to see that chuck was standing beside him. he frowned a little trying to keep on top of two conversations at once. "Okay." He took the PADD and begin to read it quickly. ~Ow my this might be it. This is amazing I can't believe it~ "HA!" Andrew looked up at Kreung "HA times two! You AREN'T going to die and you AREN'T the only interrogator on the ship who can get things done. I shall enjoy this moment in time when I am entirely right and you are entirely wrong!" ~What on earth are you on Jynea~ "If only because it'll probably never happen again." "Jynea?" "TOLD YOU SO." ~Ow Jynea no.~ "Try Sudoku puzzles for concentration, distraction and focus." ~Not in front of the patient~ He turned to Kreung realising this was getting out of hand. "Miss Kreung." "Okay, yes, I was being facetious, I'll give it some thought. After all, you have plenty of time while you get better!" He paused for a split second and then looked at Donaldson and Goldsteen. "Will you excuse me for a moment." (Reply Kreung, Donaldson, Goldsteen, any He then looked at Kreung and said politely. "Can I have a quick word with you in privet please." (Reply Kreung) He ushered her into his office and motioned for her to take a seat. He gave her a long look as he sat down beside her. He waited until the doors had shut and that they were alone. "Jynea. What's the matter. Are you okay? IO just can't believe you just did that" (Reply Kreung) (reply Kreung, Donaldson, Goldsteen, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson – 21:24) "Will you excuse me for a moment." Said the doctor excusing himself. ( Reply Kreung, Goldsteen, any) Chuck simply nodded. "Can I have a quick word with you in private, please?" Doctor Williams looked at Kreung and asked politely. ~Wow, I guess the doctor has had enough of the green nymph.~ thought Chuck. Ever since Goldsteen had come onboard Chuck had been ignoring him and if Chuck had anything to say about it that spell would continue. He stood silently for a moment not knowing whether he should wait for Dr. Williams and Jynea to return. (reply Goldsteen, IYW) Chuck had had enough … he left Goldsteen alone. Jynea headed his direction with a strange look on her face. (reply Goldsteen, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:25) "Can I have a quick word with you in private please." Jynea raised eyebrows and shrugged and followed the chief medical officer. He ushered her into his office and motioned for her to take a seat. He gave her a long look as he sat down beside her. He waited until the doors had shut and that they were alone. "Jynea. What's the matter. Are you okay? I just can't believe you just did that" "Did what?" Jynea asked, head tilted to one side, "Gave a dying man a focus on that even with an antidote - and I know Chuck wouldn't have been so cheerful and showing up in Sickbay without one - he may die anyway?" (Reply Williams.) "Only the mad yell at the dying and make fun of them. So, therefore, I'm either mad or he's not dying." She frowned, "Though, considering Ensign Goldsteen's opinion of me, he probably will just think me insane. But, that's still better than a marshmallow he can manipulate and send off to do his dirty work when he's unable." (Reply Williams) "Have faith Andrew, I may not be a true counsellor, but I do know what I'm doing." Well, most of the time. Sort of. Kind of. ~But let's not tell him that!~ (Reply Williams) "Now, since I'm done tormenting, harassing and denying supposedly-dying wishes, is there anything I can help *you* with? I might not be good at medical stuff, but I can pass tools like the best of them and will leave Dowsy to help your very full beds of patients." (Reply Williams) Jynea paused, "Lets just not tell Charles Donaldson I called him Chuck in a moment of weakness, k?" (Reply Williams) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Williams - 21:27) "Gave a dying man a focus on that even with an antidote - and I know Chuck wouldn't have been so cheerful and showing up in Sickbay without one - he may die anyway?" Andrew gave a strange look and sighed slightly. "Jynea. The man still has a very good chance of dying from this. Do you think that yelling and laughing in his face is a good way to help him?" "Only the mad yell at the dying and make fun of them. So, therefore, I'm either mad or he's not dying." "Though, considering Ensign Goldsteen's opinion of me, he probably will just think me insane. But, that's still better than a marshmallow he can manipulate and send off to do his dirty work when he's unable." Andrew shrugged. ~Can't really disagree with that~ "I suppose you have a point there." "Have faith Andrew, I may not be a true counsellor, but I do know what I'm doing." Andrew gave a sly grin. "Well if you keep going this way you will be a fully fledged counsellor in no time." "Now, since I'm done tormenting, harassing and denying supposedly-dying wishes, is there anything I can help *you* with? I might not be good at medical stuff, but I can pass tools like the best of them and will leave Douwsy to help your very full beds of patients." Andrew nodded. "Okay but stay away from Mr Goldsteen. He's had enought fun for one day." He was about to get up when he saw Jynea pause. "Lets just not tell Charles Donaldson I called him Chuck in a moment of weakness, k?" Andrew grinned. "Your secret is safe with me." He stood up and followed her out of his office into the busy sickbay. ~I am so looking forward to a brake~ He gave a silent sigh at the mass of patients. ~No rest for the every weary~ With that he set to work. (reply any) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:30) Jynea spotted Chuck coming out of Goldsteen's room and bounced up to him, grabbed the collar of his uniform and hauled his head down. Okay, so if she hadn't caught him by complete surprise and he didn't resist it would never have happened. She'd probably have ended up hanging off him like a deranged green neck tie. And good thing he was trained, and good enough not to backslap a friend out of surprise. There were some downsides to being friends with those whose job it was to protect others. She planted a big smooch on Chuck's cheek. *Mwaaah!* "My hero!" There wasn't really a diplomatic way of saying "Thanks for saving me from having to tell a dying man why I wouldn't go torture prisoners for him!" or "Thanks for helping me be right!" Though she'd probably broken half a dozen Starfleet rules by giving him a peck on the cheek. Jynea blinked, Why could they create starships that could cross a massive section of space in days, but they couldn't create a lipstick that didn't transfer onto other people's skin? (Reply Donaldson) (Reply Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 21:30) Jynea came closer and grabbed the collar of Chuck’s uniform. He knew her well enough not to bother resisting – whatever she was doing wouldn’t hurt – too much. Without a lengthy wait Chuck realized what Jynea was up to as her lips curled around his cheek. *Mwaaah!* after finishing the ‘peck’ she exclaimed "My hero!" ~good grief, Jynea, right here standing in sickbay.~ Chuck thought. ~green nymph indeed.~ Chuck couldn’t help but smile as the Orion eyed him. He felt something on his cheek and reached up to feel it with his hand. He viewed his hand as he pulled it away. Green lipstick … sure enough. ~Aren’t Orion’s skin green enough without green lipstick?~ Chuck thought. He frowned only slightly between bouts of giddy smiles. How was he going to wipe it off? He’d have to retreat to his quarters or somewhere else and wipe it off (and in the process endure the stares of the other staff). He couldn’t just leave the excitable Orion standing there though … he had to say … something. “I think you’ve left a little something behind.” Chuck said still smiling. (reply Kreung) Chuck’s feelings of awkwardness were certainly being covered well by his sense of humor. He resisted the urge to dance the tango and simply remarked ... “Next time … please buy me a drink first.” He smiled widely. (reply Kreung, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:32) "I think you've left a little something behind." Chuck said still smiling. "Mmph." Jynea said and fished a cloth out of her pocket to wipe Chuck's cheek, pulling off the lipstick. "Last time I buy that brand!" she said looking at disapproval at the remains on the cloth. The cloth had been turned to lace in places by small lagomorphic teeth and probably ended up in her pocket when she was removing it from his sight. Ah well, good for recycling now! "Next time . please buy me a drink first." He smiled widely. Jynea closed one eye to give Chuck a hairy eyeball look. "You can have all the alcohol you like, *I've* sworn off the stuff!" ~And here's hoping I can get off the ship before O'Conner realizes I was drinking, if not on duty, during a yellow alert. Like I had any way of knowing he'd drag me on an away mission!~ (Reply Donaldson :) She looked over her shoulder to where Andrew had not so subtly gone into the lab, "Anyway - I promised my two little hands to our Chief Medical Officer, I'd best go assist before he decides to cut them off and animate them away from the never closed mouth." (Reply Donaldson, Sickbay) (posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 21:32) "Mmph." Jynea said and fished a cloth out of her pocket to wipe Chuck's cheek, pulling off the lipstick. "Last time I buy that brand!" she said looking at disapproval at the remains on the cloth. "Next time . please buy me a drink first." Chuck said still smiling. Jynea closed one eye to give Chuck a hairy eyeball look. "You can have all the alcohol you like, *I've* sworn off the stuff!" “Welllll, when the war is over you should celebrate. Drink at least one glass for me, Counsellor.” Said Chuck giving her a wink. She looked over her shoulder to where Andrew had not so subtly gone into the lab, "Anyway - I promised my two little hands to our Chief Medical Officer, I'd best go assist before he decides to cut them off and animate them away from the never closed mouth." Chuck turned to leave and remove what was still on his face. He didn’t like leaving Sickbay on such a somber note (or letting the talkative counselor get the last word). “It’s better than a foot.” He mumbled under his breath as the doors to sickbay closed behind him. Something as simple as a peck on the cheek had him thinking about his wife … and now thanks to Jynea’s comments he was thinking about drinking. (Reply Kreung, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO Williams - 21:36) "Anyway - I promised my two little hands to our Chief Medical Officer, I'd best go assist before he decides to cut them off and animate them away from the never closed mouth." Andrew grinned as he heard what Jynea had said as he passed them. “I can do amazing things with a needle and thread and a pair of seizures. Don’t you know?” (reply Kreung,Donaldson) “Jynea if you have a moment I need a hand with a patient?” (reply Kreung) They walked over to a bio-bed with a crewman sitting on it. “Mr Jacob this is Miss Kreung who will be helping me is that okay?” The crewman nodded and Andrew turned to Jynea. ”Mr Jacob has shattered his shoulder and Jynea I need you to hold his arm so that we can fix it Okay?” (reply Kreung) Andrew moved around the bio-bed so that he was standing behind the Jacob but facing Jynea. He had just picked up this dermal regenerator when a sharp voice called out. “Hey you with the crewman. When am I going to get treated? I have been waiting for hours? Far longer then that crewman?” ~there is no need to speak to people like that~ Andrew put down the regenerator and looked over his shoulder. He saw a lieutenant commander sitting on a bio-bed a few feet away. “I’ll be with you when I have finished with my patient.” He then turned back to Jacob and Jynea. “No I am a senior officer. I demand that you treat me now.” ~Not now. It's been a long day~ Andrew gave a soft sigh and rolled his eyes and looked at Jynea. “If you both excuse me for a moment I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.” (reply Kreung IYW) Andrew turned and walked over to the lieutenant commander. “About bloody time.” ~What’s your problem then Mr…~ With out a word Andrew picked up his medical PADD and quickly skimmed it. He realised quickly that apart from a few minor injuries this patient was not in any immediate danger of losing life of limb. He put down the PADD and looked at the lieutenant commander. “Well Mr…” “Its lieutenant commander Boxer to you lieutenant.” ~Whatever!!!~ “Yes, well Mr Boxer. You appear not to be in any serious condition. I have a seriously ill patient that I need to get back to.” “I am a senior officer my health takes priority over others.” ~Not in my sickbay it doesn’t~ “You may be a senior officer but you are not in a critical condition like some of my patients. So you will have to wait a bit longer.” Andrew realised that Boxer was getting to him and did not want to lose control of himself. Not in sickbay any way as it would not have been professional. ~Come on Andrew calm yourself don’t let him get at you~ Andrew watched as Boxer stood up in front of him. His face had gone bright red. “HOW DARE YOU. You can’t talk to me like that. I have connections. I’ll have you scrubbing…” Andrew had tried to keep his calm but the combination of a long and tiring day as well as the death of a few of his patient meant that he totally lost it. He gave a low snarl and took a quick step forward so that Boxer fell back on to the bio-bed. ~To late~ “I don’t give a flying F**K about your connections. Can’t you get it into your thick head that your rank will not give you privileges in my sickbay?” Andrew stared angrily at Boxer who looked like he was going to explode. “I’ll speak with your captain. You can not treat me like that.” Andrew put his face inches away from Boxer. ~Take it easy Andrew. Killing him will make a mess for sickbay~ He fought to control his anger. “You have two choices. One you can stay here and shut your face until I am ready to treat you or…” Andrew pointed to Rameriz who was standing at the far end of sickbay with what Andrew thought was a slight smile. “Or I’ll have my marine throw you out of sickbay. You have until he gets to you to make your decision. Good day.” With that Andrew stepped back and turned away from Boxer. He stood there for a moment and realised that people were staring at him. ~Ow bullocks~ “Every one, back to work please.” He as he stepped back to Jynea and Jacob to took a deep breath and calmed him self down. He looked at as he got to the bio-bed as he remembered the conversation he had had with her earlier about sickbay etiquette which he had just broken. ~Hell Andrew look at what you’ve just done. Pot calling the kettle black~ “Sorry about that. Let’s sort your shoulder okay.” He picked up the dermal regenerator and began to get to work. He knew that he might be having a chat later with Kreung and as well as the Captain. (reply Kreung, Donaldson, any one in sickbay) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 21:38) "I can do amazing things with a needle and thread and a pair of scissors. Don't you know?" Andrew seemed more amused than anything else. "Just don't run with them." Jynea replied. She was more than happy to help Andrew with the patient he indicated, but was very surprised at his reaction to the Lieutenant Commander refugee. She could only wonder which ship HE had come from, because he didn't seem to be from any of the 52nd's ships. God's little brother had less arrogance and narcissism. Jynea wondered if she should step in and perhaps say or do something when Andrew threatened the man with Rameriz and came back over. "Sorry about that. Let's sort your shoulder okay." He picked up the dermal regenerator and began to get to work. Jynea was stunned by the whole thing. He'd gotten upset at her for tweaking on Ensign Goldsteen and then he flipped his lid at a patient. Well, sure, the patient was an obnoxious so-and-so but still. Not to mention, she was pretty sure Andrew outranked the S.O.B by chain of command anyway. She chewed on her lip, she wanted to ask Andrew if he was okay, but she really didn't want to do it in front of his patients. She also wanted to smack him upside the head and order him onto mandatory R&R ASAP, but that probably wasn't quite practical. At least she got to *touch* someone, even if it was an injured being, and actually feel grounded and focused once more. Well, she'd just deal with one problem at a time.. and this problem she was going to punt upstairs to David. He could order the Chief Medical Officer into R&R without twitching an eyelash, she'd have to do paperwork and get the Captain's backing. (Reply whomever) (posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Crewman Rapeet's Quarters - Captain T'Vhor - 21:40) This was one of the tasks that perhaps every Captain felt ill at ease in, it was a necessary step though, a closing as such & an act of homage to a crew member that had served under him. The Captain had hardly known the young crewman in the time she had been aboard, but he knew that she was a well liked member of the crew that almost everyone seemed to gravitate to & as he entered her quarters, he paused to take in the decor that symbolised the life of this young woman. Clearly, she was a cheery soul & one that seemed to have had a great fondness for colour & plants, if the various shades & potted plants gracing the place were anything to go by. T'Vhor however, now felt a duty to make sure that the plants were passed on to someone who would continue their upkeep, but as he reached out to touch one of the leaves that seemingly strained towards him, he felt a sudden thud against his left foot. It made him move back to look down at what it might have been but there was nothing there to see. Then it happened again... This time though, the furry foot of a small feline creature had immediately made itself visible to the Captain just before it had retracted out of sight. T'Vhor raised an eyebrow in typical Vulcan curiosity, then he squatted down upon his haunches in an attempt to spy the owner of the somewhat mischievous clawed appendage. The moment the feline had set eyes on him of course, it was off, scurrying across the carpet like some fluffball banshee with the Captain standing up straight again in order to advance towards it. By this time of course it had entrenched itself beneath a small chest, but in so doing it had inadvertantly backed itself into a corner & thus ensured it's inevitable capture by the Vulcan hand that was now quickly reaching in to take hold of it's scruff at the back of it's neck. In an instance the Feline was aloft, it's back legs pulled upwards & tucked in to it's belly as it dangled there from the Captain's grip. All activity of course had ceased, it was a conditioned response programmed into the cat that once it had been lifted in such a manner, the game was over & it mewed gently as it would have done if it's own mother had retrieved it in the same manner. "Hello", said the Captain, "And what is your name?", he added rhetorically. "And more importantly, how did you get in here?" The Cat of course would not give anything other than the mew that it had given beforehand & T'Vhor knew this of course. He also had a fair idea as to just who the Cat belonged to & with that in mind, he looked around the room one last time, cradled the Cat in his arms whilst stroking it & then departed to return the squirming ball of fur to it's rightful carer. After that, he would return again & deal with the unenviable task of gathering crewman Rapeet's personal belonging's together for storage. (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre - Holodeck 1 - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 23:03) Calvin left his station 3 minutes. It had been a very long day. The Lt Cmdr saw things that he never even would have thought of, and he had done things that he never knew he could do. As the fog of war cleared, the OPS officer didn't think it couldn't get any worse, but a couple of hours ago his friend T'Vhor had to break horrible news to him. His family was murdered directly or indirectly by the civil war. Calvin still didn't know. As of yet he still did not have the time to view any files. In fact it may be a long time before he will have a chance to look at any files. If there were any to look at. The Spectre had been picking up escape pods from other ships for the last few hours, and Calvin stayed at his station his entire shift, but he had to leave as soon as it was over. During his time at his OPS console he was fixing various things, and one of those areas was Holodeck 1. It wasn't the most important room to start with, but Calvin felt like it was. Calvin now stood in the middle of the holodeck. "Computer, access my files. Activate the visual image of facility 23." Around Calvin the holodeck did its magic. The emitters produced exactly what he asked for. He stared forward. Memories instantly produced inside his mind. He slowly turned on his heels, rotating his himself 360 degrees untill he stopped back at the point were he began. Calvin saw a younger version of himself. It was when he was 7. He was chasing his pet dog, Rufo, down the stairs of the facility that lead to the main research room. Calvin became unbalanced and feel. He began to cry the pain in his harm was to much for a 7 year old. As Calvin remembered his past he then saw his parents run to his aid. Picking him up and calling for a medical team immediately. In the end it was a broken arm, but Calvin will never forget that day. He will never forget how his parents made him feel comfortable during such a shocking time in a little boys life. He will never forget how his father told him to be strong, and how his mother told him that everything was going to be ok. The present Calvin walked around the holodeck projection of the main research room. He touched things, picked them up and sat them back down. He found his father's chair, his father's favorite chair. He walked over to it remembering his father not allowing any one else to sit in it except for Calvin. He said down, spun around once in a circle as used to do when he was a kid. But then Calvin began to cry. At first it was soft, and quiet. He firmly put his feet down onto the bare floor. He placed his elbows on his knees and cried into his hands. The more he cried the more angry he became. His body started to jerk wildly, his rage was beginning to go to a new stage that Calvin never knew he was capable of. Still sitting, he jerked, and began to cry aloud. Almost screaming and crying. He was unable to keep any emotions within himself now. There was no turning back to a sane state. "WHY, NO!" He yelled as he stood up. He ran his hands threw his hair quickly. Tears flowing like a waterfall down his checks. He stood and grabbed the chair. "NO," he bellowed as he tossed the chair in no direction in particular. The chair hit beakers, and other glass ware that broke instantly. He didn't move, he only stood completely still at the place he threw the chair. He tilted his head back, extended both arms out from his sides so his forearms were showing forward. His fist were clenched as hard as he had ever done it before. "NOOOOOOOOO, NOOOOOOOO" He yelled with all his voice, with all his gut, with all of any energy and emotion he had left in him. The last word came from him, and he fell to his knees. His crying began to quiet down. He opened his eyes, and wiped the tears from them, so he was able to see. What he saw was something that he hadn't done for a long, long time. His skin was the color green. He smirked, and let out a one sound laugh. As he sat there he began to laugh more, and more until it became like a laughing hyena. He couldn't stop laughing until it once again turned into crying. With no more tears left in him, he continued to sit on his knees. He stopped crying, he stopped moving. He just sat and stared at the empty room. (reply any, none) (posted by Calvin Capps) ========================================================================= Stardate: 2407.07.13 (Earth, San Francisco, Starfleet Academy - Academy Grounds - Admiral Robert LoDona - 0900) Robert crossed his arms behind him as he looked around the ruin that had been Starfleet Academy. The fighting had taken its toll, the buildings that had taught so many thousands of young men and women the Reve la detoil, the Dream of Stars, were rubble. But they could be rebuilt. What was left of the 52nd fleet was still in-system after the final battle against the possibility that any ships loyal to Rodrigo Doenitz would come barreling in for a suicide mission to destroy the reformed Federation Council and rescue their commander-in-chief. But other loyal ships were coming to replace them. All that was left was to tend their wounded, see to their dead, and send the ships back to be repaired. Basically. He crossed his arms behind him and looked out upon the buildings that had housed and trained the faithful for generations. Yes, they were rubble, but they would be rebuilt. And the dream would be rebuilt with them. “Admiral, it’s time.” One of his aide’s said. The Admiral nodded. This was the first time he’d been out of doors in days, he’d been buried in meetings with Starfleet Admiralty and the President- along with those Senators of the Federation who were still on Earth. Hundreds more were inbound in a hurry, being escorted at High Warp from their home planets, all to answer the emergency call of Present Rondar Nell in reconstituting the Government of the Federation. Still, there were things that had to be done before that government could ever reform. Robert looked once more at the sky, filled with soot. Earth was in tatters. … but it could be rebuilt. (Reply None) (Posted by Jeremy Trout) (Earth, San Francisco, Starfleet Academy – Ruins of the Grand Reception Chamber - Admiral Robert LoDona - 0920) Robert LoDona, Fleet Admiral of Starfleet, stepped onto the Podium with the President of the Federation and nodded once. He was ready. Present Rondar Nell looked exhausted, his face had more lines in it then even when they first met on the Talons after he’d been saved by the Spectre. And his work was still cut out for him. LoDona took a deep breath and uncrossed his arms. Only by severe force-of-will did he not rub his Borg implants as he took his place at the podium and cleared his throat. The speaker picked it up, and every Captain and observer in what had been the academy main grounds fell silent. So many CO’s, friendly and unfriendly to LoDona, had gathered. LoDona’s own commanders were in the front lines, the hierarchy of the 52nd fleet and the Rebellion. Any who could be there, was there. Robert opened his mouth, but nothing came out. HE closed it again and clenched his fists for a moment on the podium as he looked down and fought with his emotions. After a few seconds he believed he had full control and looked back up at the faces of those who had fought for him… and fought against him. "Admirals, Commodores, Captains." he began, "Shipmates." he paused again at the formality, then shook his head and continued. "No words can express the last year. Nothing can explain away the loss, the death, the pain or the grief we have each endured. We have ridden the foul winds of war, we've reaped the whirlwind and come out... not victorious, but successful. No more innocents will be murdered, no more children will be left without parents due to the viciousness of battle." "Now begins the great task of rebuilding. Never in history has the Federation been dealt a greater blow, the rebuilding of so many worlds and the reconstruction of the government. Yet in this, we will also succeed. We are stronger unified, we will again stand strong... that I vow." LoDona's face was grave as he looked over the crowd, "We have all spat in the eye of fate, we have fought our demons. No greater sacrifice could ever be asked of you. For that, I honor you all. All of you have tasted the bitter brew of duty, you have held onto the tail of the tiger and refused to be thrown off. We, the living, all paid the price in blood, sweat and tears. Many more paid with their lives. Yet, even so, we persevered. For that, too, I honor you." "So for those living, and those lost..." LoDona stepped back from the podium, and in the grandest Marine traditions that he had been raised in Starfleet with, snapped a sharp salute. The kind of salute the Corps maintained for only the greatest honor, the kind given very rarely. Almost immediately several captains also raised in Marine tradition stood and returned the salute, all in absolute silence. And then, slowly, more stood. A few aped the salute, but most simply stood. Many long moments reigned before LoDona let the salute slowly drop. He stepped forward again. “With the goal of Unity in mind, I have surrendered myself to the Admiralty. The 52nd fleet, or most of it, will withdraw to it’s former base of operations. There will be court-martials, there will be blame and accusations. Please, remember what we have fought for. Let us not have more needless fighting… that is all I ask.” He stepped back again and came to rest, giving room for the President to step up. The President faced the admiral for a pregnant moment before turning to the podium. All the Captains were still on their feet, though none were still saluting. The president cleared his throat and looked around. "I was in Starfleet, many years ago. I served my time on the fringe, much like many of you, before stepping out into public life. I spent much of my childhood in these halls..." he raised his arms to the Academy grounds. "To see this destruction makes my heart bleed, to see each and every home that was leveled... to think of the evil which could have perpetuated such actions, turns my very core to ice. But..." he paused and lowered his arms. "These stones can be raised again. Those homes will be rebuilt. We will mourn. And like a phoenix, we will step from the ashes stronger. We can, we will, vow that this shall Never happen again! We will rebuild, we will go forth from this moment with the knowledge that our faith might be shaken... but it will never be shattered." The president nodded, "For your dedication, I too, honor you." "There are no words to express the horror we have endured, but I and the Federation owe all of you a great debt of thanks. As such, one of the first items on the emergency agenda was the immediate grant of amnesty of all Captains and crews that took part in the long-supposed rebellion. There is so much to do to reassemble the fleet, and even more to reassemble the Federation... let us not begin with a witch hunt of those who saved us." The President stopped, “We have before us the momentous task of reconstructing that which our fathers spent their lives and blood building. We have re-consecrated those ideals, also in blood. Let us never forget who we are, and what we stand for. The dream of freedom lives on- and shall always live on- in each and every one of us. Never forget it, Never forget.” (reply: any, none) (posted by Trout) ======================================================================== Mission: Emissary on the Edge of Tomorrow Day: 149 Stardate: 2407.09.07 (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 07:14) The arrival of the USS Spectre into sector Zero One was not exactly predictable by anyone's standards. It went without saying of course that the planets they had passed on route had been the same as ever they were, their orbits were the same, their appearance, as predictable as any other time a Federation starship meandered nearby. The difference today however was the sheer amount of evidence of the catastrophe that had recently occured throughout the entire Sol System in it's subsequent liberation. Following the conflict at the Mars Defence Perimeter, the battle had raged onwards of course with those ships still capable, taking the fight to Admiral Doenitz's doorstep in their final deliberation to bring to an end the rule of the aforementioned tyrant. The past two months had seen many changes, the fall of the MDP & then the systematic disassembly of Earth's final militaristic regime amongst them, it had not been an easy task though by any standards, for hundreds of vessels had been smashed to atoms in the war that had followed & the sentient cost a hundred times that at least. Passing beside the destroyed & blackened hulk of a starbase in orbit of Venus, the Captain gazed out at the twisted wreckage that had once housed thousands of personel, it's navigational lights & multitudinous interior lighting now extinguished by the blasts of a thousand phasor & torpedo strikes against it's once proud heart. Now it stood silent & unmoving amidst the smaller wreckages of both Klingon, Federation & 52nd fleet vessels, it was a saddening vista but a necessary one all the same. "Helm, slow to three quarter impulse, maintain course & heading & prepare to signal McKinley", said the Captain as the Spectre continued on in towards Earth. The sight however remained the same throughout, the carnage all around clearly visible as the Blue & Green orb of Earth loomed larger in the viewscreen upon their final approach. The bridge crew remained silent throughout of course, apart from the one or two commands & responses passing from the CO to each of them at the prescribed & proper times. It wasn't until they were arriving at apogee however that they could see the true extent of the damage Earth had endured in it's final liberation. It's surface bore gouges that were clearly visible from orbit, the marks of a number of what could only have been starships having fallen out of the sky so as to impact with predictable, catastrophic loss of life. The Captain could sense the feelings of all of the bridge crew, it didn't take an empath to read the dropped jaws or the sheer disbelief that was now registering upon their faces after all & even his next command took a little while to register. "Prepare to establish standard orbit, signal McKinley that we are ready to dock on subsequent authorization & clearance", said the Captain. The response was not immediate, a few seconds or so passing before the requisite bridge officer came back with his reply. "Aye sir, establishing standard orbit", said the Helm, followed closely by the reply from the comms officer. "McKinley is responding sir, we are clear to dock at will.... additional message reads as.... welcome home Spectre". The Captain breathed a heavy sigh at the words, this was not his own home world of course but it was still the centrepoint of the federation he now represented. His next words however were pondered briefly, then he issued his own responce. "Signal McKinley, it's good to be home at last", said T'Vhor, the words echoing in his own mind as he spoke them for indeed it was, good to be home... (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre – Bridge, Tactical Station – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 7:24) "Signal McKinley, it's good to be home at last” said the Captain. Chuck couldn’t help but reflect on his true home DS14 as the Captain seemed to heave a hypothetical sigh. The Vulcanoid wouldn’t dare show tension to his subordinates. Chuck knew the order to get some R&R was coming but he just couldn’t decide where to go. He hadn’t set foot on Earth for a long time. He preferred the bustle of a starship or starbase to the ‘wide open spaces’. Oh, well, there was time to think about it anyway. (Reply None) (Posted by Anton) (USS Spectre – Bridge, Tactical Station – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 7:44) “Bridge out” said Captain T’Vhor. The Vulcan CO headed to his ready room and O’Connor took the command chair. Chuck was still avoiding the “Mean Green” as he had heard the FO called. The report on the away mission while not recommending disciplinary action was certainly not flattering. As Chuck thought of what he might say to the FO … or indeed if he should say anything … T’Pia entered the Bridge. Only glancing his way for a moment the half Vulcan stood in front of the Captain’s ready room until she was beckoned in. ~I wonder what she wants with the Captain?~ thought Chuck. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre – Captain’s Ready Room – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 07:46) T’Pia entered the room with the grace of her gender but with the expressionless face of a Vulcan. She stood at attention as the Captain regarded her sudden appearance. “Captain, I’m glad you consented to see me.” Said T’Pia. (reply T’Vhor) “I’m sure by now you have heard of my treating the young woman, Ardena Carrow.” (reply T’Vhor) “Since I treated her mental anguish with a melding technique she has gotten progressively better.” (reply T’Vhor IYW) “Sir, as a fellow Vulcanoid … I felt you might understand what I need … that is …” T’Pia was not certain how to say it. (reply T’Vhor IYW) “Sir, I was forced to take a portion of the young woman’s pain within myself.” T’Pia paused, “I have managed to contain the anomaly on my own for now but the result is a suppression of my human half.” (reply T’Vhor) “I require the aid of a fellow Vulcan to fully rid myself of the residual mental energy. Since you are Ensign Carrow’s tutor … I could not think of a more logical candidate.” Said T’Pia (reply T’Vhor) (posted by Anton) ======================================================================= Mission: "Docked" Day: 1 Stardate: 2407.09.07 (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 07:35) "Maneuvering thrusters only Mr Rodriguez, one metre per second, prepare for umbilical lockup on my mark", said the Captain, his voice unwavering as ever as the Spectre began inching it's way into the docking brackets more or less under it's own forwards momentum now. A second or two passed by & then the reassuring clunk of the reciprocal arms lowering & clamping about them made their retort to signal completion of their docking procedure. "Mark", said the Captain & the umbilicals began latching, the automatics coming online to guide most of them into place, whilst the tiny maintenance tugs moved slowly around the Spectre's scarred & burned outer hull attaching the minor ones & making sure that everything was ok. Once that had completed, the ship went over to station power, the warp core having already been taken offline by the CEO of course. After so many difficult command decisions beforehand, the Captain's next one was an easy one, this one came effortlessly to say the very least as he opened a channel to his crew. "This is the Captain, we have now achieved lockup & are hereby cleared to stand down", he began. "All crew apart from those volunteering for rotational duties are now on extended leave", he added, his voice trailing now as he contemplated his next words carefully. "you are ordered now to do as you will, to take the break & the rest that each & every one of you have earned a hundred times over, go now & reforge your lost friendships, mourn those that you have lost & return to those that you love. It is time now to rest, for later..... we will rebuild". "Bridge out", said the Captain as he stood, handed off to the First Officer & then headed for his ready room with a sudden & completely uncharacteristic emotion regarding the very mention of love & the subsequent thought of his departed wife, almost causing a single tear to appear in the corner of his left eye. He wiped it quickly away of course, quite sure now that nobody had witnessed the highly un-vulcan appearance of a possible emotional reaction. The Captain of course would have blamed it upon his Betazoid half anyway, for a Vulcan to admit such a thing would have been intensely distastful to say the least, even a part Vulcan at that! Perhaps he needed this upcoming break as much as his crew did, perhaps a return to his patriarchal homeworld was now needed also. This though would come later, for the moment anyway, T'Vhor stood at the viewing port of his ready room, hands clasped behind him & looking down upon the surface of Earth below... ~So many lives.... So many lives~ (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre - Captain's Ready Room - Captain T'Vhor - 07:47) The chime had broken the Captain's attention from the carnage he had been observing far below on the planets surface, it was quite clear to him now that the fight to reclaim the Federation had been far from straight forwards, for the scars of the conflict were clearly evident now. Turning towards the door after acceeding to the call, the Captain took note of the arrival. One of Williams's nurses stood framed within it, her manner slightly perturbed as though something was clearly on her mind that needed adressing. Captain T'Vhor moved towards his seat & then bade the young woman enter, which she duly did before taking the offered chair. "Captain, I’m glad you consented to see me." Said the Nurse. "It's not a problem Nurse Pelletier, if I cannot make time for Doctor Williams finest when I'm needed, then I would be failing both him & my crew", said the Captain, "how can I help you?", he added, his hand clasping together in front of him as he spoke. “I’m sure by now you have heard of my treating the young woman, Ardena Carrow.”, said the Nurse. Captain T'Vhor simply nodded in the affirmative & then asked her to go on. “Since I treated her mental anguish with a melding technique she has gotten progressively better.”, said Pelletier with just a just a hint of concern now appearing upon her otherwise straightlaced, Vulcan facade. "If she is getting better Nurse....", said the Captain with a quizzical raise of his left eyebrow, ".....then I fail to see the problem, isn't that the required outcome, or is there another matter yet to come to light in regards this?", he added. Pelletier shifted slightly in her chair, then she continued on. “Sir, as a fellow Vulcanoid … I felt you might understand what I need … that is …”, said the Nurse, apparently anguishing now over exactly how she should articulate the sentiment that was forming in her mind. "You are practicing the Kolinhar in order to supress your own emotions?", asked the Captain as Pelletier went on. “Sir, I was forced to take a portion of the young woman’s pain within myself.” T’Pia paused, “I have managed to contain the anomaly on my own for now but the result is a suppression of my human half.” The Captain nodded, then he looked her directly in the face once again. "What is it that you are actually requiring Nurse Pelletier, I sense that it is assistance of some kind. Would that be correct?", said the Captain. Pelletier simply nodded & then elaborated further. “I require the aid of a fellow Vulcan to fully rid myself of the residual mental energy. Since you are Ensign Carrow’s tutor … I could not think of a more logical candidate.” Said T’Pia "That is a logical assumption. However, if you were requiring this assistance immediately, then I would say that it is not a good time. I would suggest that for the moment we wait until such time as we are fully disembarked & the ship is secured", said the Captain. "There is still a lot to be done but I am sure that I will be able to accomodate your request when the time is available", he added. (Reply Pelletier) "Then we shall arrange to meet at the appropriate time, until then however, I would suggest that you take advantage of the downtime we are now due", said T'Vhor. (Reply Pelletier) The Nurse then turned about & left the room. (Reply Pelletier) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre - Captain's Ready Room – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 07:50) "That is a logical assumption. However, if you were requiring this assistance immediately, then I would say that it is not a good time. I would suggest that for the moment we wait until such time as we are fully disembarked & the ship is secured", said the Captain. "There is still a lot to be done but I am sure that I will be able to accomodate your request when the time is available", he added. “I concur with your judgement, Captain.” Replied Pelletier with a blank Vulcan face despite her chagrin. "Then we shall arrange to meet at the appropriate time, until then however, I would suggest that you take advantage of the downtime we are now due", said T'Vhor. “Indeed I will … I’ve never seen Earth.” Said Pelletier pausing for reflection. “Could you recommend something to visit while we are docked?” (reply T’Vhor) “I may just take some ‘downtime’ and visit there.” Said Pelletier musing with the raise of an eyebrow. T’Pia then turned about & left the room. NRPG: T’Pia’s mother was living on Vulcan and her Starfleet training was there … so she’s never been here before. RPG: (Reply T’Vhor) (Posted by Anton) (USS Spectre – Main Engineering – Ensign Bys’At - 07:50) He could almost see her now. So happy to escort him around on the Spectre’s ‘holiday’. He knew that Therul was her passionate ‘friend’ but it didn’t matter. She was the best friend he had onboard - besides Ensign Morphy and Mark the bunny (who he still visited occasionally). But neither of those fools possessed the pure joy Bys’At could sense in her. He could see them speaking with one another. Jacqueline appeared to be speaking in a raised tone and Gorlan seemed quiet as usual – not getting too many words in edgewise. Ensign Morphy had told Bys’At that Bristed and Therul were planning a trip together … he would need a truly convincing speech to persuade the lady to be his guide. As the two lovers came into view Bys’At could hear the makings of a one sided conversation but didn’t really notice the words. He was ‘walking on a cloud’ as it were. As he came within just a few feet of the pair they both seemed to turn in his direction. It was his moment of action. “Jacqueline, are you still planning on guiding me around during the downtime?” asked Bys’At confidently not really noticing Gorlan. ~The words are perfect … that will convince her.~ thought Bys’At. (reply Bristed, Gorlan, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre – Jynea’s Quarters – Ensign Paul Morphy - 8:00) Paul was on his hands and knees scrubbing. Apparently the ‘genius’ Bys’At had yet again ‘fed’ the rabbit. Naturally, since Paul was the known prankster he was blamed – again (okay, so maybe he had used Bys’At to pull a few pranks, so what). ~I should be getting ready to go and yet I’m stuck here for another few days … and on top of that I’m playing janitor again.~ Paul thought. H’Chir had called it ‘character building’ or something like that. It turned Paul’s stomach. In the name of all that is holy and good … he’d never eat another French Fry as long as he lived. The tooth brush and bucket had both began to smell like they too had been fried in grease and Paul’s uniform clothes bore the stench (three sets so far). A day and a half of scrubbing and the floor still looked like a mess. This was going to take forever. He threw the brush in the bucket and truned over on his back. He lay on the clean surface of the floor and folded his hands behind his head. “I bet the Captain never had to scrub a floor in his life.” Said Paul out loud. “Him … or the guy who invented the pet rock.” Paul lay quietly for a moment just staring at the ceiling. All he ever wanted to do was sit in a lab and create new weapons for Starfleet. Instead he was at the bottom of the barrel doing grunt work. He wondered if the ‘Peter Principle’ had something that explained his situation. He was supposed to have read it at the academy but in patented Paul style had ‘reinvented’ portions of other people’s papers instead. At any rate, the floor wasn’t going to clean itself. (reply any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre – T’Pia’s Quarters – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 08:30) With no downtime as yet scheduled T’Pia sat in silence on her bed. Missing her human half did not really sadden her but the ‘hole’ in her soul had given her Vulcan side a logical dilemma. Her arms and legs were folded and her eyes were closed. Candles burned around the room and no artificial light illuminated her quarters. She was deep in meditation and sweat had just begun to form on her face. Try as she might she could not extricate her human half from its cell without also unleashing the pain of Suri’s loss. Tears began to flow from her eyes. “Suri!” she cried out opening her eyes and unfolding her arms. She clasped her hands across her hair as the river of sobs continued. ~Why was Suri so … so … stupid!?!~ she thought. Her questioning turned the grief from sadness into anger. A chant began repeating within her mind. ~Suri … Suri … Suri … Suri … Suri … Suri …~ The noise continued and twisted her perceptions. Her eyes were now open but she couldn’t see her quarters. The beautiful face of Suri Rapeet was all she could see. The single voice chanting filled her ears. More voices were added to the mix. Some voices she recognized … some she couldn’t. The tumult became more of a thundering of bees than a group of voices. Still the image of Suri danced in her eyes. The same few seconds of Ardena’s memory replayed over-and-over. She wanted to hit Suri … to stop the voices … to KILL Suri. In a rage she began to flail wildly. Striking out everywhere she could see Suri. She could hear items breaking and crashing to the floor but Suri remained. “Suri!!” She screamed. Her Vulcan heritage allowed her to again seal away the pain and in exhaustion she crumbled onto the floor. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (Earth - First Beach, Vancouver BC - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 09:30 ) She'd been released from Sickbay. She still felt hollow and not quite in touch with herself but T'Pia, who had bullied taking over her care despite growls from Andrew, David and possibly the Captain, had helped patch things mostly back together. Mostly, now, her main feeling was survivor's guilt. It was bad luck that Suri had been where she was when the boarders came in. It was stupidity on her part that she hadn't gone forward with phasor blazing. It was carelessness that she hadn't checked her communicator was working before she left the safety of engineering. Ardena was angry at Suri for being so.. clueless! She knew the Captain would tell her she had to conquer the anger and gain control over it, Taxia would say the anger was natural and she should work her way through it. Jynea would probably offer her cookies. Andrew would ask her questions about his sand beetles and try to distract her. T'Pia just stood as an oak tree, not making judgements or suggesting her views of the universe. She was sitting on the seawall, hugging her legs and watching the tide drift in. She wasn't sure if she would be going back to Space, she wasn't sure she was strong enough for the Starfleet life, but so much of Earth was burned and tortured, she wasn't sure if she could stand to be here either. The sun was attempting to break through the overcast sky, but Ardena was morosely glad that the world seemed as gloomy as she felt. She sensed him coming and turned around. She was surprised to see him in Earth Casual rather than his usual robes, but she still scrambled to her feet with a glad cry. "Pappa!" She ran and wrapped her arms around his frame. He'd always been thin, but he seemed little more than skin over bone. Vulcans weren't known for being ones to display affection, but Sartek insisted that the humans around him had corrupted him. He had never been to one to stint physical affection from her daughter in any stage of her life. He returned the embrace, leaning his cheek against her hair. She wasn't sure how long she stood there before pulling back, wiping eyes and nose on the sleeve of her uniform. "Momma?" she asked, fearing the answer. "She is at Vancouver General Hospital, but well. As is your stepfather and brothers. I felt you needed me more than they at the moment." Crap. She really was weakened if her father had been sensing her from however many kilometres away. "I.. bad things happened." What an understatement. And from the look of things, it hadn't been any easier on her family here on Earth either. Either? It had obviously been worse trapped in the domain of a madman. She could only imagine what had happened to the families of notable officers. "Come, we will work on your centering and control." He walked towards the grass, seemingly as at ease amongst the rain forest of British Columbia as he would have been the deserts of Vulcan. Shaking her head, echoes of the past all over the simple command, Ardena followed her father with faith in her heart. (Reply none) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre – T’Pia’s Quarters – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 10:02) T’Pia awakened still huddled onto the floor like a sack. Several joints ached from the awkward position but she wouldn’t allow herself to complain. Or rather, her now Vulcan dominated mind wouldn’t let her. Without saying a word she hoisted her slender frame up off the floor. A small patch of saliva was the only biological evidence of her lapse but several of the decorations throughout her quarters were in disarray. Had she not suppressed her human half she would have been devastated. As things were she simply regarded the scene as reality and accepted it. She turned towards the little alcove of personal hygiene with a resolve to shower among other things. The logic of hygiene outweighing the immediate state of mind. There was no telling how long these lapses were going to continue. The Captain had basically refused to help her (at least for the time being). She wouldn’t try to connect with her human half again without assistance. Stepping out of the sonic shower she quickly dressed and headed out of her quarters. There were a few people she would like to see before departing to the planet’s surface. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Joseph Lister - Transporter Room One - CMO Williams - 10:30) Andrew materialized on the transporter pad. He stepped off it with a couple of nurses, techs and two cadets who had come up from McKinley. They all looked tired and worn out and the cadets looked a little bit scared. Andrew grinned to himself knowing that he probably looked worse. ~Hope I don’t look that bad ~ A female Bajoran with the rank of Lieutenant Commander began to speak. “If the staff would please follow Ensign Jennings out side she will show you to your quarters. Cadets if you would stay here for a moment.” Andrew held back as the rest of the group left leaving him, the cadets, the Lieutenant Commander and a transporter chief who was trying hard not to grin. “ I am Surgeon Jay. You have been placed here for your medical tour. It is going to be hard. You are going to work harder and longer than you have ever done. You are going to do night shifts, be on call. There will be times when you will be too tired to move, or even think. You are here to learn from the Surgeons. Do not bother them with your problems or what you think you know. You are here to learn how to be Doctors. Now outside the door is Ensign Bunzig. He has your quarters and your duty assignments.” ~Nice and moral boosting~ Andrew watched as the cadets trooped out to the waiting Ensign. He then looked back at Surgeon Jay. She had been his room mate while they were at the academy and they had formed a close friendship. She had always been the joker of the class usually at his expense. He stepped forward, placed his shoulder bag on the floor and gave her a big hug. She hugged him back. “Andrew thank you for coming. I know its only twenty four hours but we are a bit stuffed here.” Andrew nodded. “Thanks Jay its good to see you. Thank you for asking me” She had sent him a message as soon as the Spectre had docked asking if he could come and work for 24 hours with her before she went back to Bajor. She had said that they were understaffed and over worked. She had also said that he might learn some ‘proper surgery’ rather then the stuff they taught ship doctors while he was there. He picked up his shoulder bag and slung it on to his back. “Nice pep talk. ” She nodded and gave him a nod. “Jay, I seem remember Chief Surgeon Huwin giving us that same lecture when we were cadets. Didn’t he gave it to us when we were started that Kirk era course? I really enjoyed that term.” Jay’s smile widened. “Andrew you only liked that because I wore that era medical uniform and you could see my cleavage when I bent down.” ~I can’t believe you just said that~ Andrew’s face went bright red. He saw the transporter room operator tried to hid his grin. She gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Come on lets get you settled in.” Andrew followed her quickly out of the Transporter Room. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Earth, Ireland, Huntmans Pub, Tower, - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 11:10) Michael had decided that going to the surface in uniform might not be the best idea, so he left it all behind, in favor of civilian clothes. Everything but a backpack, his PADDs and his commbadge, hidden in his pants pocket, had been left on the Spectre. Today he was just Michael O'Connor, the village of Tower's prodigal son. The Transporter Chief left him out in front of his parent's house in Tower. He looked up and down the quiet road, and took a deep breath. It was the first non canned air he'd breathed since the Dyson's Sphere. There weren't and ground vehicles out on the road, which wasn't necessarily odd, but it was nice to have quiet. He walked through the front gate and up the path to the house, taking his time. Nothing had changed much since he was home last, the only thing he spotted was the lack of flowers in the garden, but he couldn't really blame his parents for not having the time to plant anything. Elizabeth had said they'd all gone into hiding, he only hoped they'd been home since the end of the war. Opening the front door, Michael walked inside the house, and immedately had to catch his breath. Someone, or a group of someones had searched the house at some point in the recent past, his only solace was that it looked like someone, parents or neighbor, had started to clean up. He slowly walked over to a table in the hallway and picked up a picture frame, a spiderweb of cracks ran over the glass front. There were his sisters and his parents standing on either side of him. The picture had been taken almost a year prior, just before he'd graduated from the Academy. It was fairly obvious no one was home, as he put the picture back down on the table. He was about to turn when he was rudely interuppted. "Hand where I can see 'em," a voice from behind him said. The voice was older and most definately familiar. Deciding he'd rather not have to explain a serious injury, he raised his hands slowly over his head, and very slowly started to turn around. "Nice and easy, Boy, any sudden movements, and I'll put a hole through your chest the size of my boot." The Voice said. By this point Michael had just finished turning around putting him face to face with the barrel of a rather archaic looking gunpowder powered gun. On the other end of the gun was an older man who Michael recognized, and it was clear, the man recognized Michael. "My my, what a warm welcome I'm getting on my home coming," Michael said with a smile. "Quite the attitude for a man with a gun pointed at him," The man said with an equally big smile, already putting the gun down, leaning it against the wall. "Come here Boy, Abigail would beat me dead if I couldn't tell her I'd seen you up close." Michael moved in and gave his old neighbor a hug. "It's good to see you too Mr. Crowley," Michael said as the two moved away. "Saw someone walk into your folk's house, I've been keeping an eye on it while they've been gone. Law and order's been left to the locals, of late." Mr. Crowley looked around, "They sure did a number on this place looking for your folks. We'd gotten your Ma and Pa and Elizabeth out just in time..." Mr. Crowley said before stopping, and Michael knew why. "Elizabeth is ok, they tried to use her as a hostage a couple of months back, we rescued her. She's on Star base Geneva waiting for a ride back here right now." "Thank the lord, when we'd gotten word that the Foley's sold her out..." Crowley said, leaving the statement unfinished. "Has there been any word on Mary?" Michael asked, anxious to hear about his other sister. "She's fine, went to ground in Paris with Risal, and Colin," Mr. Crowley said, listing off his brother in law and nephew. "They made it back into town yesterday actually." "Where is everyone then?" Michael asked, now determined to find his family. "Everyone's down at the Huntsman. No one's really been working that hard since the dust up," Mr. Crowley said, officially qualifying for the Understatement of the Year award. "The place has been fairly packed the last couple of days. Everyone been watching the news feeds there, or they're out of town with their families. You're folks and Sister are staying there until they can get the house back in order. They should be there now..." Mr. Crowley said, picking up his rifle and standing back from the door, his face adorned with a knowing smile. (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Patrick.D) (Earth, Ireland, Huntmans Pub, Tower, - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 11:34) Michael walked up to the front door of the pub. It was a place he knew well, having spent hours of his youth here with friends. It was a meeting house, restaurant, bar, and living room all rolled into one. Michael could hear sounds of laughter and talking as he neared the door and stepped inside. No one looked up at first, it was just another neighbor walking in to most people, to Michael it was coming home. He recognized nearly every face in the crowded bar room, all huddled around the bar, tables, and booths, pints of drink half finished in their hands. Video screens hung around the room normally showing the latest match, or highlights, all showed the local news reports. At one end of the room, instruments leaned against the wall or on chairs, their owners missing in the crowed as they took a break from supplying entertainment. Laughter would erupt at one table and spread, almost nervously at first, as six months of oppression and fear slowly gave way to happiness once more. Eventually people started to take notice of the six foot tall man standing next to the door. It started with one person looking up, then the rest of their table turned to see what their companion had turned to look at. Then another table, a shout from one of his old high school friends, and then the entire room was looking towards him. It was then and there he heard the sound he'd been looking for. "Michael!" his mother cried from the far side of the room. The crowd parted, whether from fear of their mortal lives, or respect, Michael didn't know, but neither did he care. His mother, diminutive as always, rushed across the pub and pulled Michael into a rib cracking hug, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I thought I lost two of my babies to this war," She said her voice muffled against her chest. Michael looked to see his father and his sister and her family standing behind his mother. "Mom," Michael said, taking hold of his mother by her shoulders and holding her at arms length, "You haven't lost any of your children. Elizabeth is, at this very moment, sitting somewhere on Starbase Geneva, safe, sound and pissed at me because I, and I quote her direct words, was babying her." At this news, his mother nearly collapsed before regaining her footing. "She'll be home on the next ship that makes the trip from Geneva. We rescued her during a mission on the Paladin. She's been safe for the last seven months." There was another round of hugs, his father and sister and brother in law. They were practically herded by the crowd back to the table his family was sitting at prior to his unannounced arrival. (Reply None/Any) (Posted by Patrick D.) (Earth, Ireland, Huntmans Pub, Tower, - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 12:15) "But I don't understand how you are even here," His sister was saying. "The word was that the Paladin was involved in the liberation of Betazed." The drinks had been ordered and food brought to the booth by the barman, and the family had settled into their chairs. His mother on one side of him, his sister on the other. Colin was sitting quietly in his fathers lap, and Michael's dad sat across the table from him. "She is, but I got transfered to the Spectre about five months ago," Michael said, sipping his water. "They needed a first officer..." Michael said then took a large bite of his sandwich, and didn't make eye contact. "First officer?" his dad asked, "But eight months ago you were an Ensign." "Promotions were coming fast, during the war. I'm a Lieutenant Commander now. I was even in command of the USS Cathay for the battle at Mars." Michael said. The patrons of the pub had gathered around, at a respectable distance from the talking O'Connor family. Neither Tower nor Cork were hubs of activity, and Michael assumed that with the world communication networks and Doenitz rebels just being sorted out, most people hadn't had much news. The vid screens were now just a low buzz Michael and his family were the main attractions. "Mikey, how long are you home for, do you have to go right back?" his sister asked. "No, with Earth secure, and the rest of the Federation basically back in friendly hands, the Earth fleet has been given shore leave for the indefinite future. I may need to take a day here and there to check on things on the Spectre, as I doubt Captain T'Vhor will be sticking around the entire time, but I'll be on Earth and on leave for at least the next few months," Michael said. "I'll try and get word through to Geneva to see when Elizabeth will be coming home." "Michael, do you think you could get word from Bajor?" Moras Risal, his brother in law asked. "I'll do my best, there are a few crew members heading out on the USS Eight Fold Path, in two or three days, I'll see if they can get a message through for you." Michael said. To say his parents had been surprised when Mary brought home a Bajoran from the dig on Tenaris III, would have been an understatement. But the man had grown to be part of the family over the last few years, and was just as much a part of the clan as any other member of the Family. "Thanks, I've been trying but the nets are completely clogged with traffic." Risal said, bouncing his son on his knee. "Well, we'll see if being a Starfleet officer has any perks," Michael said finishing off his food and leaning back and looking over at his mother. "It's good to be home." (Reply None/Any) (Posted by Patrick D.) (USS Spectre – Holodeck 4 (Control Hub 1) – Ensign Paul Morphy - 13:00) After finishing cleaning the mess in Jynea’s quarters Paul was informed that his punishment wasn’t yet complete. He had been ‘sentenced’ to cleaning the cache memory for every holodeck. Each individual memory segment was to be scanned, the usage catalogued (for security purposes), and then the motherboards were to be ‘magnetized’ (Paul never understood why they called it that … it was a ‘harsh manual overwrite’ using a microwave bath). At any rate it was boring except for the viewscreen. Through the screen he could see random segments of the holodeck programs that had been run since the last cache cleaning. He saw the occasional officer he recognized but all the dirt he could get on most of them was harmless (ACEO Bristed had a holodeck program featuring a roller coaster … not very useful for the prank war). For an instant an image passed before his eyes that he couldn’t believe. “Computer pause archiving process.” He ordered. [Process paused.] answered the computer. “Computer, rewind video rendering of motherboard surface approximately 1.25 seconds.” In response to Paul’s order the ‘scenes’ from the cache rewound … and there she was. A ‘developed’ image of Jacqueline Bristed stood alongside the images of Counselor Kreung and Lieutenant Vasilyovna. Paul’s mind raced. ~Have I found something the ACEO would want to hide?~ he asked himself. “Computer, what is the source of this image?” Paul asked. [Image is a viewscreen rendering from cache memory.] said the computer. “No, I know that … I mean what holodeck program is it from … and who does the program belong to?” Paul enquired somewhat frustrated at having to ask twice. [The holodeck program rendering is that of “Chuck’s Angels” a holodeck project belonging to Assistant Security Chief Charles Donaldson.] Paul smiled with mischief … he might lose his vacation time for ‘redistributing’ this program … but it would be FUN! (reply any) (posted by Anton) (USS Joseph Lister - Mess Hall - CMO Williams - 13:10) Andrew sat at the table watching the slowly spinning form McKinley through the window as he sipped his drink. The Joseph Lister had been taking on patients and was now almost full to capacity. They were getting unwell patients and shipping out well patients at an incredible rate. He had put his things in Jay’s quarters and she had shown him around the Joseph Lister. She had some work to sort out so that they had suggested to get together for dinner. “So how do you like the Joseph Lister.” Andrew looked up and saw Jay was standing beside him. She handed him a plate of stew as she sat down beside him. “It’s a wonderful ship. I’ve not been an a hospital ship before its a lot bigger then I expected.” Jay smiled as she sipped her drink. “It is isn’t it. I have spoken to chief surgeon McDonald. She’s happy for you to stay for the next twenty but thinks you’re a bit mental for wanting to.” Andrew smiled. “That’s nice to think that your boss thinks I’m mental. Thanks. ” “Yes. Just like old times I can order you around.” Andrew sighed and began to dig into his food. “At least you wont be wearing a low cut uniforms.” Jay giggled as she ate her stew “You have not seen me in scrubs.” Andrew smiled at her trying to keep his thoughts clean. “So what are you involved in here as your a surgeon?” “Well I’m on the emergency crash team. So that means that were are on call.” Andrew scowled at her. ~Ow wonderful thanks for not telling me~ “When was the last time you up dated your emergency incident training?” Andrew thought for a moment. “Well I had my annual mandatory update but nothing else.” A sly grin crossed Jay’s face. ~Ow no~ “Well I’m shore we can set up a quick refresher.” ~Yeh when some one goes off~ “Ow grate. This is going to be fun.” (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Paul’s Quarters – Ensign Paul Morphy - 16:00) Paul entered his quarters holding only a small clear diskette. He threw the disk onto a table just inside the door. ~It was a good idea to wait until more people were onboard. Now, the next problem … just how to ‘distribute’ the video feed. Good thing I’m an engineer.~ Paul thought pulling off his uniform jacket. “Phew.” He said. A person can really work up a sweat doing actual work for a change. Paul entered his bedroom holding the uniform jacket in one hand. The first thing he did was make sure to send the jacket down the laundry-chute. It would later be reconstituted into someone else’s uniform … Paul didn’t think about it and mentally crossed his fingers that his clothes weren’t contaminated by the other members of the crew. Shrugging off the thought he fell onto his bed and turned his face to the ceiling. Putting his hands on the back of his head he glared up at the ceiling. The viewscreen he had installed in the ceiling was black. “Computer, check messages.” He ordered. [Four messages … one is a recorded video message.] responded the computer. “Play video.” Paul ordered. The viewscreen on the ceiling came to life and the image of a freckled young woman with black hair and natural curls appeared. “Hi, Paul.” Said the woman. “Computer, pause screen.” Said Paul eyeing the woman. “What do you want, Sarah Morphy?” He lay there just staring at the image for several minutes. He could just delete the message and not bother with it. “Computer, play.” Said Paul finally. “I thought you might not want to talk to me. I mean, since the last time I saw you …” the woman paused and her eyes fell. “Anyway, I heard you might be in range to receive this so I ordered a relay for this message.” Said Sarah. “You see, it was my mother …” She began. “Your mother wasn’t even involved when you disappeared.” Paul groaned. “She didn’t think it was good for me to keep in contact with my half brother, ya know?” Sarah again drifted into sad silence. “Anyway, Dad said I should send you a message. I just thought maybe we could make up for the missed time when you’re ready.” Sarah moved her hand and the screen again went black. “Computer …” Paul paused … it was time to decide … he could just write her off and forget, Dad would understand. “save message.” (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Joseph Lister - Theatre Nine - CMO Williams - 18:34) Andrew passed the dermal regenerator over the wound. The operation had been successful and he was glad. ~Nice to know I still have the touch~ He handed the dermal regenerator back to the scrub nurse. “Thank you.” He then looked over at the anesthetist. “That’s us were done.” He stepped back from the table and took off his sterile gown. “Thank you every body.” He picked up the PADD and began to write his post-op notes. As he finished the patient was being taken to recovery. He looked at the anesthetist. “I’ll be there in a moment.” He looked up as Jay walked in with a grin. “So Doctor Williams you finally finished. I did not realise that you were that rusty.” Andrew shook him head and sighed. “Thank you Surgeon Jay.” Jay had been doing this since he arrived. The surgical team tried to hid there smiles. Jay looked at the anesthetist. “Dr Munjaz is Doctor Williams behaving him self?” “Yes he is Surgeon Jay.” Jay nodded and walked over to the scrub nurse. “Jacky. Is he good enough to work with this team.” Jacky smiled. “Yes he’s good enough.” Andrew shook his head and sighted. “Good. Andrew I have some thing I need you to do for me.” She motioned for him to follow her. He handed his PADD to Munjaz. “Dr Munjaz if you need me just call me.” He walked over to Jay as they headed to the changing room. “What do you need me for Jay.” She gave a sly smile which made Andrew worried. “I have decided that you should have a cadet shadowing while your here.” Andrew groaned “It will be good for you. You can mould them into a small version on you.” “What some one who is half out of it due to large amounts of caffeine and lack of sleep.” Jay grinned as they reached the changing room. “No they are that already.” Andrew shook his head and went off to get changed. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Earth – Scotland – Edinburgh – Security Officer Smith - 21:05) Jo had just made it over the rise of the hill and looked down the street. She knew where she was going. She had started in princess street where she had left the family in princess street gardens. She then walked up Lothian road and finally arrived at holy corner. She had walked across the cross roads which had a religious building on each corner. It was where she always went when she came home and she headed off down the street to her wards her destination. She looked into the various shops as she walked past. She walked past a old pub and a few shop further on came the one the she was looking for. It this had the old sign the she remembered as a child. She smiled to herself as she walked into the shop and instantly her stomach growled as the smell hit her. She walked up to the counter and looked at the man behind the counter. “One haggis supper with salt and sauce please.” The man grinned at her as he got her order. “Open or wrapped?” “Open please.” Jo grabbed a fork, picked up her supper and nodded to the man behind the counter. She walked back up the street she stabbed the chips and battered haggis. She grinned to herself as she began to eat. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Earth, Toyko - Outside the Transport Centre - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 22:30) Jynea had stayed on ship long enough to see those leaving off and to make sure they all knew they were cared for. She reviewed the duty roster to earmark her own schedule and then got the hell off the Spectre. She supposed she should go look up her Mom and the Admiral. She'd been sent to the Spectre either by accident or some rebel's designs, she doubted she even appeared on their copies of the rosters. She just hoped she hadn't been reported dead or something to her family. She suspected, after thought while waiting in the line at security, that maybe the Admiral had organized for her to go to the Spectre and all the mess and bureaucracy was because he'd had to do it under the table and without his name being attached. She really hoped so, she didn't want to think of her father figure as a President donuts supporter. She came out of the Tokyo transportation building and looked around at the mile high towers and buildings. There wasn't much sign of damage here, unlike some of the other major cities on the planet. But, she'd heard Tokyo had centuries upon centuries of experience of patching itself up after wars. It could have been hurt worse, she'd probably never know. The people seemed to be of the extremes of stoic survivor to determined to live life to the fullest. And frankly, the second group was the reason she'd come here. Her student days had taught her if you wanted to be anonymous and have fun, this was the place to be! (Reply Any) (Posted by Lorna) (Earth, Tokyo - Danpa Dansuhooru - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 23:00) It hadn't taken Jynea long to find a dance club to her liking, she'd just asked the first teenager who'd wandered past her random wanderings of the downtown streets. The music was very strange to her, but it was danceable, and that's what she was interested in. Even better was that it was an L rated club, meaning she was allowed to drink and anyone coming close enough to her to get past the pheromone filter the door provided, were on their own. Getting a drink from the bar was a bit of a challenge. She was short in the crowd, but eventually managed to get her credit chips traded for a wand that would operate the club's replicators. She claimed a stool and a small, high, round table at the edge of the dance floor and demanded a Long Island Iced Tea from the table. It materialized in a chilled glass with straws. Her civilian clothing would the opposite of her uniform, it was silky, flowing, diaphanous. It showed hints of interesting things without giving anything away. It was far from professional or counsellory. She could be an anonymous soul in a crowd of people who wanted to forget their worries and live in the now, which really was what she wanted too. She wanted to forget death, blood, trauma. She wanted to be touched and touch back. She wanted to not worry about every little thing being proper or by regulations. She didn't want to feel out of depth, she wanted to feel in control and not concerned about anything but herself. A vague guilt that she wasn't being a very responsible Starfleet officer was shoved aside as she smiled at a tall, handsome man who was working his way over. (Reply any who'd like!) (Posted by Lorna) ====================================================================== Mission : Docked Day : 2 Stardate : 2407.09.08 (USS Joseph Lister - Jay’s personal quarters - CMO Williams - 05:12) Andrew sat bolt up right a scream clawing out of his mouth. In that brief instant he wanted to run away from the horrid things that he had seen. It took a couple of minutes for him to realise where he was. “Still having those bad dreams?” Andrew looked over and saw Jay sitting by his bed with a cup in her out stretched hand. He nodded as took the cup. He had been bunked with Jay on her spare bed. It was something about space but he did not mind. “Yeh. What’s new. What is it?” “Some thing my mother would give me when I was feeling bad.” Andrew nodded and took the cup. He noticed what Jay was wearing. “Its nice to see that you’ve kept your cadet’s scrubs.” Jay smiled. “Yes its nice to have a pair pyjamas.” He sipped at his cup trying to force the remains of his nightmare from his mind. =^=Emergency crash team call. On call emergency crash team report to theatre one immediate. Repeat emergency crash team report to theatre one immediate. This is not a drill =^= Jay leaped out of her seat. “Come on Andrew that’s us.” She opened a draw and pulled out two sets of scrubs. She through one pair at him as she got undressed. “Come on Andrew no time for being shy.” He quickly got undressed and changed into the scrubs. Jay was standing by the door grinning at him all ready to go. ~She really dose look good in scrubs~ “Andrew, I know that I look good in scrubs but keep your mind on the job will you.” Andrew grinned back. “Give me a brake ah.” They both ran out of Jay’s quarters and towards the turbolift. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Joseph Lister - Theatre department - CMO Williams - 05:18) Andrew and Jay dashed into the theatre department and sprinted into theatre one. He found two cadets standing by the operating table scrubbed up and ready. One of them was the cadet Jay had shadowing him. ~How the hell did they get here so fast~ “Um Jay why do we have cadets with us? arn't they alowed any sleep?” Jay turned and quickly looked at the cadets. “They are the on call the same as us. I told you were going to be shadowed. Anyway its good for them, you know character building.” “Yeh it will be building something all right.” Jay seamed to ignored his comment and turn to the nurse in charge. “What are we looking at?” “Surgeon Jay there is a ruptured aneurism coming around from the emergency room.” ~Ow nasty. Just what I need at this time in the morning~ With seconds of entering he had stepped over to the scrub areas and was beginning to put on sterile gowns and gloves. He paused as he heard the muffled sound of voices and the rhythmic thudding of running feet. The doors barely slid aside as the trolley steam rolled into the theater. ~fingers crossed for this one~ The theatre erupted into controlled chaos as he, jay and the rest of the team went to work. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Earth, Tokyo - Murayama Commune - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 07:30) Jynea crawled out from the pile of bodies and found her clothes of the chair with a few other people's. Several were already dressed and gone, some getting prepared for the day, the rest seeming able to, and happy to, sleep until noon. Even though Jynea technically had no where to be, and she had liked sleeping in a pile of people like a pile of puppies, she couldn't say she could just lie in bed and sleep all day. No matter how tempting it sounded. The partner who had brought her back to the commune appeared from the cleansing room and gave her a warm kiss. "Good Morning Jynea." He said fondly, "Will you be coming back this evening?" No expectation, just curiosity. It was vaguely refreshing. While they didn't practice multiple partners, they didn't have any monogamy clauses to their relationships and certainly no delusions about love and all that junk. Not that Jynea didn't believe in love, she'd seen it too often to discount it, she just had no particular use for it. "I'd best find my family, I'm not sure when I'll be back." She hadn't told them she was Starfleet, just that she was a space worker. They might assume merchant who was stuck away behind the blockade, they might assume Starfleet, but what wasn't said, wasn't acted upon. "You are welcome any time." He told her and stood aside so she could get freshed and get on with her day. The advantage of terran silk clothes was they rolled up small without wrinkling. She could, and did, store an entire day outfit in the small fashion knapsack. It didn't take long for her to get ready, there were some advantages to skipping cosmetics and complex hair. She stepped outside and winced at the sight of Earth's once crystal blue skies. It would probably be years before the damage of the war left the atmosphere. Well, probably the Federation has some sort of fancy atmosphere cleaning mechanism, but for now, it reminded her of more than one industrial Orion world. She was somewhat surprised to see the anti-grav train still running. Apparently even with the world blowing up around it, the train still arrived on time. Of course, Jynea figured cynically that it had been used to move troops when a hurry wasn't needed. Energy may be plentiful, but why waste it? The train pulled into the station, heading back towards Tokyo, only a few moments after Jynea had gotten a coffee from a food cart. Yawning, she wandered a board to find a seat. She didn't think it was going to be terribly fun finding her mother and the Admiral. (Reply any who'd like!) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Joseph Lister - Mess Hall - CMO Williams - 08:40) Andrew sat down at the small table with Jay and the cadets. They both looked absolutely exhausted. It had been a difficult case but thay had managed to save the patient. He glanced a Jay and gave her a slight glance. “You both look like you could need these.” He pushed over two cups to them which they both began to drink slowly. ~They both look absolutely knackered. They got a long way to go~ He then looked back at Jay. “So what’s next?” Jay looked at him. “We have a couple of rounds to make to day and then we can start our down time.” Andrew nodded as they got up. He looked at the two cadets. “Come on guys lets get going. It only gets better from now on?” His cadet looked at him with dark patches under his eyes from lack of sleep. "How's that Sir?" He gave him a smile. "Well now you'll get to give the boss a run down on our last patient and if your realy, realy lucky you might even get some sleep after that." The Cadet muttered something under his breath and Andrew's grin grew wider. ~Yep thay still have a lot to learn~ With that they headed back to the wards. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Earth – Temple of Tranquility, Tibet – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 10:00) “She’s a Vulcan … but she seems troubled … she’s here to find an inner peace that she feels she has lost.” Said Master Mien, addressing his ‘page’ Tsuche. “Her meditation technique is flawless, Master Teacher.” Said Tsuche quickly. “Not all happiness is found in meditation, Tsuche. That is a lesson you must learn. Go, speak to the woman.” Said Master Mien. “I will, Master.” Answered Tsuche. He approached the meditating female Vulcan cautiously not wishing to rouse her during the connection to the universe. T’Pia sat cross-legged on a matt of lossely woven straw. Her eyes were closed but her mind was perhaps more aware of the things surrounding her than what was going on within itself. Her connection to the inner self had been fruitless … she could not focus … she simply sat and listened to the sounds within the temple. She couldn’t bring herself to enjoy the locale, her emotion suppression prevented almost every hint. She heard the hesitant footsteps in front of her and decided that it must be a pupil of the temple’s master. The steps were so cautious, when Master Mien approached the steps were shallow and quick with confidence … this was another person. Even though she was not connected in meditation she gave the appearance by the three circle and line handsign and opened her eyes. The stranger sat an equally worn straw mat a few feet in front of her and sat down. He used his hands to fold his legs unlike some of the other monks she had seen. “My name is Tsuche. The Master instructed me to speak with you.” Said the stranger. “Well, Tsuche, how may I be of assistance?” T’Pia asked frowning. “What is troubling you?” asked Tsuche wishing to be direct in order to further his spiritual education. “I was not aware I was troubled,” responded T’Pia, “I have simply been in meditation since I arrived.” “You wish to be a monk?” asked Tsuche. “No … I have no desire to be a monk. I am a Vulcan, I have no desire for much at all.” She responded. “Then why meditate so strenuously?” asked Tsuche. “I … it is hard to say.” She spluttered. “It must be that you are troubled. What happened?” asked Tsuche, ever the direct ‘country’ Tibetan monk. “A person was injured and I helped the only way I knew how.” Said T’Pia. “Doing a good deed weighs heavy on you? I don’t understand.” Tsuche’s eyes seemed to dance between T’Pia’s face and the ceiling. “The young woman’s pain has tainted me.” Said T’Pia. “Vulcan mind meld? … I see … she is some part of you now. Instead of curing her you have simply transferred the disease to yourself.” Said Tsuche raising an index finger in resolute thought. “A crude way of thinking … but that is the basic process.” Responded T’Pia. “Perhaps if I knew the circumstances …” Tsuche began. “I do not have need of a monk … I think it might be best if I return to my meditation.” Said T’Pia cutting him off. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (Earth – Pembrokeshire – St Govan’s head – CMO Williams – 11:00) Andrew stood at the edge of the cliff where the rock meets the sea. He could hear the faint crises of the sea gulls just over the crashing of the sea as it smashed into the rocks far below. He felt the fleeting grip of the wind as it tried to pull him over the edge as he walked along the costal path. He saw a small gap that had appeared in the cliff face. As he came nearer he saw that the gap opened slightly and he found that he was at the top of a set of narrow stone steps. ~Looks like this is it~ Andrew looked around at the deserted and baron landscape. He pulled the straps of his back pack tight to him and then he began the long climb down. As he climbed down he remembered that his parents told him that if he counted the steps on the way down it would be different on the way back up. Below him the slate tiles of a small building appeared out of the solid rock face. He had read from Jay’s guide PADD that it was a chapel of St Govan who lived there along time ago. ~Must have been a bit chilly in winter~ He stepped into the small chapel through a narrow door way. He looked around the small chamber which was eerily quiet as well as dark and damp. “You could not fit a shuttle pod in here.” To his right was another door way which he then exited on to a rocky beach. He then carefully worked his way down to the water and stood on a large boulder. He looked out to sea watching the waves roll in and listening to them crash all around him. He felt his mind clear and all the tension that had built up over the last mission slowly ebb away. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Earth – Pembrokeshire – St Govan’s head – CMO Williams – 12:00) Andrew had moved a short way up the side of the cliff face. He had found a comfortable perch where he could look over surrounding coast line and the sea beyond. He opened his back pack and pulled out the sand wedges, a small bottle and a shaped device the size of his finger nails. He placed the device into his ear. “Computer play track five.” A slight smile creped across his face as the soft opening bars of Schubert’s Ave Maria begin to play. He realised that he was far more hungry then the he had suspected and began to devourer his sand wedges. He enjoyed it here. The carm and tranquillity was a wonderful changed from the manic life that he had on the Spectre. His parents had come from this area and he had only visited once when he was very small. Although this was his family home it felt foreign to him. The only place that he really felt home was first the Storm Chaser and then the Hepburn. Although he had not been on her for a long time. He put away his sand weges and now empty bottle and stood admiring the view again. He remembered the old saying that he had Audrey his sister would say when things were tough after there parent’s had died. “That what dose not kill you makes you stronger.” He gave a slight grin to him self as he began to clime back up the steep steps. Leaving the crashing waved and the screeching sea gulls behind. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Sickbay - CMO Williams – 14:29) Andrew stepped into the quiet sickbay. He gave a slight smile as he look around the quiet sickbay. “Can I help you Doctor?” Andrew turned and saw nurse Marshal sitting by the nurse’s station. He gave her a smile. “No I’m fine thanks. I just popped in to get some of my stuff before I head planet side.” He paused for a moment. “What are you doing here? I thought all of you were getting time off.” Marshal gave him a slight smile. “I’m waiting for my ride home. I’ve got a transport at 1900. So I’m here until then.” Andrew nodded. “I’ll just be a moment.” He quickly entered his office and grabbed his personal med kit. He placed it into a small rucksack that he had with him. As he headed across sickbay towards the door he looked at Marshal. “Have a good holiday. See you when you get back.” He then headed out of sickbay. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (McKinley station – docking port 24 - CMO Williams – 15:25) Andrew stood in the waiting area as he watched the other people embarking on the shuttle which would take them down to planet side. He had asked that the bridge officer informed him of there was any medical problem. Although he was on holiday he was still the chief medical officer and would drop every thing for his patients. “Glad to see that you made it.” Andrew turned to see a woman standing beside him. He took a second to realize that it was Jay as she was not wearing her Starfleet uniform. “Thanks Jay. When are you heading out?” “My transport is due to leave in a few minutes. I thought you might like this.” She handed him a padd which he activated. It the screen flashed into life and showed an image of the slowly rotating earth. He frowned a little as he looked at Jay. “It’s a guide to earth. As you wanted to explore earth I thought you might want a guide.” She gave a sly smile. “I would go to the fleet ship museum before you get back though?” Andrew gave a quizzing look. “Why.” “There is a ship called the USS Invincible it’s an enterprise refit?” “Why so that I can get you a Kirk era nurses uniform Like the one you wore last time?” Jay leaned closer and spoke softly in his ear. “Why would you enjoy that Doctor?” She gave a quick laugh as Andrew blushed slightly. “What you want to do with your nursing staff is your own business.” Andrew shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Thanks Jay.” She gave his shoulder a playful shove. “Come on Andrew, live a little. You can’t be a stuffy doctor all your life. Look I have to go or I’ll miss my ride.” “See you soon Jay. I’ll get in tough when I get back.” Andrew smiled and nodded as Jay walked away with a wave. As he watched she was swallowed by the crowd.He then turned and headed for his shuttle which would take him down to earth and the start of his holiday. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Earth, West Vancouver - Private Residence - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 22:30 ) It had been a long day. Her mother had been released from the hospital, so she'd helped her step-father and step-brothers get her home. She'd stayed with her Mom feeling guilty and miserable until her mother had kicked her out, saying she should go visit friends. Ardena figured she was probably just bringing her Mom down. At least her step-family had been spared the Gestapo squad. So, she'd contacted her old school yard friend and immediately been invited over for dinner. Tanya refused to release one secret about her life until she'd dug through Ardena's stories of her life for the last year. Ardena had been able to keep it fairly edited for Tanya's three children, not that she'd think they'd understand a whole lot of it. Her friend had tried to apologize for their rambunctiousness, but in all honesty, Ardena was happy to see simple joy and fun on the run. "So.." Tanya said after Ardena finally reached the last of it, "What you're saying is.. In the middle of a war, all hell breaking loose around you, you went through Vulcan puberty?" It was delivered with such a straight face, Ardena took two heartbeats to catch on to what had actually been said. She picked up the pillow she'd been leaning against and threw it at her friend. Tanya, laughing, managed to catch the pillow before it hit her in the face and threw it back. "Your humour aside," Ardena said recovering from laughter, "Essentially, yes. And I didn't have the training or ability to deal with any of it.. Then Suri died and.." She sighed, morose. Tanya threw her own pillow at Ardena, smacking the scientist squarely in the side of the head. "Ow!" Ardena protested the rough treatment and threw the pillow back. "Snap out of it!" Tanya said, rolling to her knees. "Look, yes, you had a girlfriend. You had fun. You tried to have a relationship but there were just a few complications like getting trained in stuff that was like teaching a cat to walk on its hind legs. THEN you were in the middle of a war. THEN she dies, which I hear happens to a lot of people in the middle of a war. It's NOT your fault. Its not YOUR fault your family was prosecuted. Its not YOUR fault that you belong to an organization that got taken over by a mad man. You tried to do the right thing, you did your best.. and hey, sorry you're not perfect.. none of us are." "You make it sound so.. OW! Stop throwing things at me!" "You started it." Tanya, aged twenty-five, stuck her tongue out at her friend, much like a six year old would. "Nyah." Ardena threw the pillows back and proceeded into a very silly and childish pillow fight. Unfortunately, Tanya had greater experience being the mother of three. "Yield! Auntie! I surrender!" Ardena panted, rolling over onto her side. "You STILL don't fight fair!" Tanya laughed, flopping over onto side as well. "Why should I? Honour is what the losing side cries for when they've figured out they can't win." That was a bit cold, but Ardena wasn't going to argue the finer points of morality at this hour. Tanya suddenly rolled over onto her stomach, kicking her feet in the air, looking mischievous, "So about that hunky Captain.." "Oh GAWD." Ardena hid her face in her arms. "I made such an ass of myself! I can only home several weeks separation means he won't be so easily able to read me on my return to the ship!" Tanya snickered and then stopped suddenly. "I thought Vulcans believed in that whole 'Infinite diversity in infinite combinations' thing?" Ardena looked at her friend with puzzlement, "Sure, its one the basic tenants of the various philosophies. Even *I*, the most hopeless of half-breeds know THAT!" "Well, why was he so gung-ho to force you into the path of the unemotional and logical then?" Tanya asked. Ardena had wondered the same thing and more than once. "Well," She said carefully, "I think its because its the only path he can see any being with Vulcan gifts following." She frowned, "Maybe he thinks one of the reasons for the path of logic is BECAUSE of the development of all the mental stuff." How technical and scientific. "I honestly don't know if it was or wasn't, but my Da seems confident in my ability to handle stuff and still feel. He suggested I find a Betazoid, since they have to learn to shield and separate if they want to serve in Starfleet." "Are there any other senior officer Vulcans on your ship?" "Er. I'm not really a senior officer.. I mean, I suppose, technically, I'm a sub-departmental head, but since its a staff of one .." she shrugged, "But, no, I don't think so." "Maybe he's just lonely and was looking for a student to teach." Ardena raised one eyebrow in a perfect Vulcan imitation, "Loneliness is an emotion and illogical." "Yeah, good thing we beings of mortality are never inconsistent, hypocritical, blind, ignorant or illogical." There was a long silence as the two women thought to themselves. "Well, I'm going to bed since my little darlings will be up in less than five hours demanding breakfast. You're welcome to sleep in as late as you like!" Ardena watched her friend go and rolled over onto her back to stare up at the arched ceiling of the home's living room. She could always request a transfer off the Spectre, there were plenty of ships that would be in desperate need of a scientist, even one who specialized in marine biology. A nice exploration vessel, maybe. She got up, who was she kidding? The Spectre was home and she'd go back, embarrassment or no embarrassment! (Reply none) (Posted by Lorna) ===================================================================== Mission : Docked Day : 3 Stardate : 2407.09.09 (Earth, Rawlings, Wyoming - Clarke Estates - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 01:00) Jynea yawned her way out of the taxi. Sure, she'd only technically been awake for a few hours, but she'd only had four hours of sleep before that and it was the wee hours of the morning in eastern North America. Her very confused body clock was insisting she should have a midnight snack and just go to bed until the sun started making sense. She'd been happy to find out that Admiral Clarke's home was still standing and her mother was still listed as being in residence. She hadn't managed to get much more out of the terminal in Tokyo's transportation centre, but she figured that was her own incompetence with computers cropping up more than anything else. She waved off the driver and headed up the steps. While she supposed her mother was staff and she as staff's daughter should probably use one of the side or back entrances, the Admiral had never had the uppity attitudes of some of the estate owners in the area. Family was family, whether paid to work or not. The house was dark and quiet, which didn't really surprise Jynea considering it was effectively the middle of the night and she hadn't been specific as to when she'd be home. She'd tried to do the time zone math, but failed, and then wasn't sure what the transporter schedules and things would be like, so she just ball parked and put it in UTC. Someone would probably figure it out. She entered her security code on the pad on the door and was immediately greeted with all the lights coming on. "Crap!" You'd think SOMEONE would have removed the 'teenager late home' program! With a sigh, Jynea flipped the lights back to their night settings and hoped she hadn't woken anyone up. To the back of the house and into the suite she found her old bedroom pretty much as she'd left it. A little tidier, a lot less dust, but pretty much the same as the last time she'd visited coming home from the academy. (Reply None) (Posted by Lorna) (Earth, Rawlings, Wyoming - Clarke Estates - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 07:00) She wasn't quite sure how she managed to sleep another six hours, but she did. Finding t-shirt and leggings she slouched her way into the kitchen to find her mother already hard at work. "Oh, there you are." Lina Kreung observed, passing over a plate of scrambled eggs, sausages and hash browns without even looking. "I'd thought you'd be out in the roost at dawn." Jynea took the plate and sat at the island on one of the stools. "No, I seem to be catching up on sleep." She watched her Mom suspiciously. Normally she was one to greet Jynea with a big hug and smiles, but she just seemed tired and distracted. Eventually Lina came over with two cups of tea on saucers and placed them on the counter before sitting on a stool beside her daughter. "Daniel was taken by the other side three months ago and we have heard nothing. Sasha was at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco when it was bombed. The Estate lawyer says everything is mine till they return." The Orion woman looked somewhat lost and confused amongst all the wealth. Jynea gave her Mom a one armed hug, since she knew she'd just be told off is she stopped eating. She wasn't sure what to think. Admiral Clarke had always been a solid figure in her life, the father she wished she could have had. His wife Sasha was always kindly and generous to her, seemingly spending all her maternal instincts on one young Orion girl. "I don't know what to say." She didn't have to play counsellor for her mother, she could just be herself and speak from the heart. "Me neither." Lina said, resting her head against Jynea's shoulder. "The lawyer says if they do not return in 180 days, then it is all mine for keeps. I do not want it for keeps. I shall keep it for them no matter how many sunrises it takes." Jynea was having trouble eating the breakfast, digesting food while trying to digest your surrogate parents were missing, presumed dead, was too difficult. (reply none) (Posted by Lorna) (Earth – Central Park, New York – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 07:24) The remodeling of Central Park in 2222 had left it an even greater mixture of architectural wonder and natural majesty. The sole exception was a granite statue of Admiral Doenitz that had been erected in the park upon his rise to power. After the regime fell the statue had been toppled. Now little of the statue could be seen. All that remained was a two foot by three foot face atop a mountain of granite rock. The initial crashing must have created pounds of dust but the granite powder had been carried away some time ago by the wind. It was terribly windy in this exposed portion of the park. However, it was the wind on his face that Chuck loved most about the spot. He had originally come to the park in an effort to ‘hustle the hustlers’ but his reputation had preceded him and so he simply enjoyed the park. A gray trench coat hung down to his ankles and he had bent the collar upwards to hide his face. The borg implant over his left eye remained out in the open. He wasn’t ashamed of it and an eye patch would look even more suspicious. Starfleet security patrolled the park. The military state hadn’t changed since the fall of the regime. It was just different faces, that’s all. Chuck recalled the bureaucratic conversation he had had with Jynea on Starbase Geneva. It seemed that both sides had a little bad in them. If Chuck could only find Judith, his wife, he’d take her somewhere and forget about the whole thing. She was a drone now but if he could get free he knew his wife could. ~She was always stronger than me.~ the thought invaded the quiet breeze. “Ain’t we a pair, Admiral.” Chuck said to the face of granite. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Transporter Room One - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 10:15) So she hadn't been sensible and gone to sleep, instead she'd left a thank you note to Tanya and used the personal transporter to go up to the ship. The wonders of planets and time zones, put her in the middle of alpha shift what was the wee hours on the west coast of North America. She supposed she should think in UTC, but it was hard when the sun rose at 0100. Covering a yawn she stepped off the transporter pad, "Morning Chief." she said with a vague wave. "Morning Ensign," the transporter chief replied, "Don't suppose you're heading back down to Earth any time soon?" Ardena turned in her halfway to the door, "I was just stopping in to feed and water the plants and birds, what did you need?" She asked, turning. "I've got a package for Lieutenant Commander O'Conner that requires hand delivery, and no one is scheduled to go down till 1600." "Oh, sure, I can pick it up on my way out again. Probably be about an hour." She smiled, "Do me a favour, and find out where our first officer *is* before I get back." "Sure thing, Ensign. Thank you!" She waved a hand and headed out into the strangely empty and quiet corridors. She supposed she could have trusted maintenance with caring for her trees and birds, but then there would be the risk of the forest in her quarters being reported and she really didn't want that. (Reply None) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Carrow's Quarters - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 10:20) The bed looked so very tempting. If she hadn't promised the chief she'd make the delivery, she probably would have allowed herself to fall face first onto it and fallen into a coma. She was sorely tempted to call down to the transporter room and say "Sorry, change of plans!" Alas, her mother would throttle her if she knew she'd broken a promise just for a nap. Fetching out her watering bucket and the bird seed from the cabinet in the bathroom, Ardena got to work. (Reply any) (Posted by Lorna) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 11:30) Ardena had been to Dublin once, as part of her graduation drinking tour. She couldn't really remember much about Ireland other than they had some damn fine ales. The air alone was practically intoxicating, she could smell abundant life with each breath in, even with the atmosphere as clogged and miserable as it was. Whomever had described the country as having forty shades of green hadn't been able to do basic math, she considered forty thousand to be somewhat more accurate. The town seemed quiet from the outskirts and her jeans, hiking boots and plain t-shirt weren't out of place. It didn't occur to her to wear camouflage, she was off-duty so she wasn't in a uniform. She strolled down the road, package in her knapsack, wondering where she should begin to look for her first officer. If she were him, she wouldn't be hiding in some house or shop, she'd be out in the fields, or down at the beach, or anywhere that had limitless sky, wind and had no walls to be seen for kilometres. "Why hello beautiful, is there anything I could be helping you with?" called a male voice. Ardena turned to spy a man in coveralls leaning on the fence, some horses behind him. By his paraphernalia, Ardena guessed him to be a veterinarian. While it was far from her official job, she found herself in the role regularly on the Spectre. Looking at him, she wondered if she could request veterinary courses from the Academy whenever it was rebuilt. Hopefully the libraries and databases hadn't been destroyed. She realized she was staring at the man. "I'm looking for Michael O'Conner." she replied. The man seemed amused, "His gain, my loss, I suppose. The O'Conner place is second left down the way, take the fork at the tree and you can't miss it. They should know where to find him if anyone does." "Thank you." She replied simply and decided to get out of range of whatever his amusement was based on. Did she gave a green leafy thing stuck between her front teeth? She felt relaxed for the first time in she didn't know how long, just stretching her legs and walking along a road. Flora, fauna.. it was a wonder she ever left planets. She supposed there would come a day when her wandering feet would settle down and she'd find a permanent home. But until then, she'd enjoy what she could get. She found the O'Conner place easily enough, the directions being accurate and easy to follow. Now, hopefully someone was home that she could make her delivery to. Fresh air or not, she hadn't slept in 29 hours and getting horizontal was sounding nicer and nicer. (Reply O'Conner/PC/NPC) (Posted by Lorna) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 11:45) Michael picked up a wall panel and quickly got it positioned for his father to hammer into place. Michael and his father, both engineers of some persuasion or another, knew there were quicker ways to repair the house, newer building methods that didn't involve hammers and nails, but some things just needed to be done the old way. As his father pounded in nails, Colin watching from his play area away from pounding hammers, and Michael just barely caught the doorbell over the sound of the hammer. "Mom! Can you get the door?" Michael said, unable to let go of the board right away. Cait O'Connor, came walking out of the kitchen and looked at her husband and son. "Fine, but finish up, you need to break for lunch, and I need a break from the noise." Cait walked to the door and opened it to see a taller Blond standing at the door. "Can I help you miss?" (Reply Carrow) "Please come in, he's in the other room helping his father." Cait said and led the young woman into the living room. Michael had just finished holding the board for his father, and put down his hammer and nodded at a job well done, or at least done as well as two computer engineers could be expected of doing. Michael turned and smiled. "Ardena welcome to Casa de O'Connor. Sorry for the mess, but apparently Doenitz had a whole squad who's specialty was busting holes in perfectly good walls," Michael said, gesturing at the holes, patches, and new wall board. (Reply Carrow) "This is my father, Sean, you've meet my mother Cait. The junior construction worker in the corner is my nephew Colin," Michael said with a smile, as Colin shrunk behind his grandmother's leg. "Everyone, this is Ardena Carrow, one of the Spectre's Senior Science officers." (Reply Carrow) "So, what brings you by our humble abode?" Michael asked with a smile. (Reply Carrow) (Posted by Patrick D.) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 11:47) Cait walked to the door and opened it to see a taller blond standing at the door. "Can I help you miss?" ~Miss?~ Ardena wondered. "I'm looking for Michael O'Conner?" Ardena asked. She could hear the sounds of construction within more clearly with the door open, she could only wonder at why all the activity. "Please come in, he's in the other room helping his father." Cait said and led the her into the living room. Her first officer turned out to be one of the carpenter ants. He turned with a friendly enough smile, "Ardena welcome to Casa de O'Connor. Sorry for the mess, but apparently Doenitz had a whole squad who's specialty was busting holes in perfectly good walls," Michael said, gesturing at the holes, patches, and new wall board. "Well, if its any conciliation, my Mom's house is at the bottom of a landslide though my Dad's cabin seems to have survived for all that it was infested with humans for the duration." Her green eyes danced with her teasing. "Actually, Vancouver was fairly untouched, I consider myself blessed to be able to come home again." (Reply O'Conner.) "This is my father, Sean, you've meet my mother Cait. The junior construction worker in the corner is my nephew Colin," Michael said with a smile, as Colin shrunk behind his grandmother's leg. "Everyone, this is Ardena Carrow, one of the Spectre's Senior Science officers." "Which is similar to being somewhere in the middle of a dogsled team." She said greeting the individuals named and giving her best smile to the young Colin. "So, what brings you by our humble abode?" Michael asked with a smile. "Our is it?" Ardena teased, "Hmm, I don't see much of the world of one Lieutenant Commander about here, seems more the work of his parents.." She spotted a finger painting tacked to the wall, "And nephews, I'd imagine." (Reply O'Conner) "Harassment of superior officers aside, Chief Monroe asked me to deliver this cargo to you. Apparently requires hand to hand transfer." She tugged off her knapsack and pulled out a PADD transfer case. It could hold anywhere from one to five PADDs securely, though it was beyond Ardena why anyone would need to send more than one considering the storage capacity of the average PADD. (Reply O'Conner) (Posted by Lorna) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 11:49) "Well, if its any conciliation, my Mom's house is at the bottom of a landslide though my Dad's cabin seems to have survived for all that it was infested with humans for the duration." Her green eyes danced with her teasing. "Actually, Vancouver was fairly untouched, I consider myself blessed to be able to come home again." "I think those of us who can, feel the same way." Michael said, then realized he should probably play the good host and introduce everyone. "This is my father, Sean, you've meet my mother Cait. The junior construction worker in the corner is my nephew Colin," Michael said with a smile, as Colin shrunk behind his grandmother's leg. "Everyone, this is Ardena Carrow, one of the Spectre's Senior Science officers." "Which is similar to being somewhere in the middle of a dogsled team." She said greeting the individuals named and giving her best smile to the young Colin. "So, what brings you by our humble abode?" Michael asked with a smile. "Our is it?" Ardena teased, "Hmm, I don't see much of the world of one Lieutenant Commander about here, seems more the work of his parents.." She spotted a finger painting tacked to the wall, "And nephews, I'd imagine." "Most of my more creative moments are stored in a computer memory bank somewhere. But much to my parents dismay, this is still my official place of residence when not on ship. I'm sure they'd love it if I got my own place," Michael said with a grin. "However, those brave words don't answer my original question, which will get you put to work if you aren't careful." "Harassment of superior officers aside, Chief Monroe asked me to deliver this cargo to you. Apparently requires hand to hand transfer." She tugged off her knapsack and pulled out a PADD transfer case. It could hold anywhere from one to five PADDs securely, though it was beyond Ardena why anyone would need to send more than one considering the storage capacity of the average PADD. Michael sighed, "if I promised to promote you to a full lieutenant, would you throw that in the ocean and pretend neither you nor I ever saw it?" (Reply Carrow) "Yea, I didn't think so. Let me see it, I'm pretty sure I know what it is." Michael said taking the box and putting it on the nearby table. He quickly opened it with his thumb print and took out the two PADDs inside. He quickly read over the headers of the PADDs contents then tossed them back in the case. "Yep, exactly what I thought they were. Starfleet in it's infinite wisdom has decided that it doesn't have the time or energy to press charges on me for not telling Captain Straton I was being black mailed. What they fail to mention is that they'd lose, or so my JAG rep has told me." Michael said his face a look of disgust, before taking a deep breath and turning again. "Sorry about that, Ardena, why don't you stay for lunch, unless you have other plans. And that's a friendly invitation, not an order, I'm not giving any of those for as long as I can manage." (Reply Carrow) (Posted by Patrick D.) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 11:51) Michael sighed, "if I promised to promote you to a full lieutenant, would you throw that in the ocean and pretend neither you nor I ever saw it?" "And do all that paperwork?" Ardena asked, mock-horrified. Ardena listened to Michael meander to himself about legal woes, JAG and a bunch of other things that went completely over her head before he turned back with a rueful smile. "Sorry about that, Ardena, why don't you stay for lunch, unless you have other plans. And that's a friendly invitation, not an order, I'm not giving any of those for as long as I can manage." "Shucks, and I haven't ignored an order all week, either." Ardena replied, "I have no plans beyond eventual find something horizontal and hold it down for eight hours, so lunch sounds heavenly to me." (Reply O'Conner) Ardena was sure she wasn't at all subtle in sitting in the chair nearest the window so she got the ocean breeze. She might have had a crisis of conscience if it had been the head of the table, but as it was a side chair and she'd been invited to 'sit anywhere,' she took what she considered the best spot. Looking at the collection of chairs around the farmer's table, Ardena looked vaguely impressed, "Dare I ask how large the O'Conner clan is?" (Reply O'Conner) "I can't even begin to imagine." She couldn't. Even if she had her step-brothers and father, she still felt very much an only child most of the time. Probably from her alone time with her father. She normally didn't go to her step-family's family events for the holidays. The image of the house full of family members for holidays, events, births, wakes.. rather boggled her mind. (Reply O'Conner) "You sure I can't help?" she asked Michael's mother, feeling vaguely guilty about sitting on her ass while those around her worked. "I can't cook but I can chop and pour with the best of them." (Reply O'Conner(s) (Posted by Lorna) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 11:53) "Shucks, and I haven't ignored an order all week, either." Ardena replied, "I have no plans beyond eventual find something horizontal and hold it down for eight hours, so lunch sounds heavenly to me." "Well then grab your self a seat and we'll just see what my mother threw together. I doubt it's much, dinner will probably be bigger, Mary and Risal should be back from Blarney and Cork by that point." Michael watched as Ardena found a seat near the open window. Even a dozen or so miles from the ocean, there was still a breeze coming in the window. Michael hadn't seen the ocean in ages, he'd always been more of a forest person, but he missed going to the beach. Looking at the collection of chairs around the farmer's table, Ardena looked vaguely impressed, "Dare I ask how large the O'Conner clan is?" "Well lets see, the immediate family consists of my parents, myself, my sister Elizabeth who is, hopefully, on her way back from Starbase Geneva now that the fighting is over. My sister Mary and her husband Moras Risal, and their son Colin," Michael said spotting his nephew standing at the door to the dining room. "Extended, we add a couple aunts and uncles on my per parent, Risal's family on Bajor, a numerous number a cousins both by blood and marriage. All told if you pare it down to my family, and my aunts, uncles, and first cousins, I'd say a good thirty folks, give or take." Michael said. "I can't even begin to imagine." "Eh, we rarely see them all at any one time, and if we do, it's an entertaining enough time," Michael said, just as his mother walked back into the room with a tray of bread, some sliced veggies, cheese, and meat and put it down on the table. "You sure I can't help?" she asked Michael's mother, feeling vaguely guilty about sitting on her ass while those around her worked. "I can't cook but I can chop and pour with the best of them." "Very kind of you to offer, but we're doing just fine. Besides, it's mostly a help yourself meal, just something to restore some energy, which frankly is something you look like you need," Cait said with a look Michael had come to know as the sign his mother had switched from just plain old Mother, to 'Doctor Mom'. "You look exhausted. First week off in lord knows how long, just won a war, and they won't even let her get a good nights sleep," Cait said to her self, yet, still audible as she walked back into the kitchen. (Reply Ardena) "She's a Doctor, not much can stop her when she slips into the 'I know what's best for you' mode," Michael said only to recieve and 'I heard that' from his mother in the kitchen. "She also has a long ear, and a sense of humor, so we can give her a ribbing and won't get tossed out of the house for it. Be glad you're not family, I got a full medical check up when I got home. I have a feeling the rules of hospitality were the only thing that stopped her from grabbing a tricorder and sending you to bed." Michael said with a good natured grin. (Reply Ardena) (Posted by Patrick D.) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 11:55) "You look exhausted. First week off in lord knows how long, just won a war, and they won't even let her get a good nights sleep," Cait said to her self, yet, still audible as she walked back into the kitchen. Ardena smiled a bit wistfully, she wished her Mom was up to the nagging of children. "She's a Doctor, not much can stop her when she slips into the 'I know what's best for you' mode," Michael said only to recieve and 'I heard that' from his mother in the kitchen. "She also has a long ear, and a sense of humor, so we can give her a ribbing and won't get tossed out of the house for it. Be glad you're not family, I got a full medical check up when I got home. I have a feeling the rules of hospitality were the only thing that stopped her from grabbing a tricorder and sending you to bed." Michael said with a good natured grin. "Well, best not to tell her that ship's crews consider each other family in deep space then." Ardena said, tucking a yawn behind the back of her hand. "Honest Mrs O'Conner," she said raising her voice a little, "Its self-inflicted, time zone jumping across a planet to visit friends and family, stopped up on the ship to water flora and fauna and got caught promising to make a delivery in a moment of weakness. I'm sure the ship's doc would conk me over the head and throw me into my quarters for twenty-four if he caught me." She wondered where Williams was and what he was doing with his sand beetles. Well, okay, she and the Commander both knew she was fresh out of sickbay, still technically recovering from a major trauma and her electrolytes and other fun stuff were still completely out of wack, but she wasn't about to tell his mother, and she didn't think he would either unless she fell face first into her pudding. (Reply O'Conner(s)) "Of course, I didn't do much for the war, just scanned energy readings, your son commanded a ship." her eyes dancing as she happily changed the subject and ignored Michael's expression. "One of the few non-52nd fleet ships to make it Valhalla in one piece and with minimal loses." She gave Michael a sympathetic look, even 'minimal' loses were too many, but still, he should be proud of her accomplishments. Of course, he was a good command officer, which meant he'd probably be wallowing in guilt. A happy hungry hypocrite when it came to such things, Ardena had no troubles dumping the matter into his mother's lap to lecture him out of the mood. (Reply O'Conner(s)) (Posted by Lorna) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 11:58) "Well, best not to tell her that ship's crews consider each other family in deep space then." Ardena said, tucking a yawn behind the back of her hand. "Honest Mrs O'Conner," she said raising her voice a little, "Its self-inflicted, time zone jumping across a planet to visit friends and family, stopped up on the ship to water flora and fauna and got caught promising to make a delivery in a moment of weakness. I'm sure the ship's doc would conk me over the head and throw me into my quarters for twenty-four if he caught me." "Well then once we're done here, I suggest you become a living example of the first of the two 'R's" Cait said from the kitchen. "Just what did they have you doing during that war anyway?" "Of course, I didn't do much for the war, just scanned energy readings, your son commanded a ship." her eyes dancing as she happily changed the subject and ignored Michael's expression. "One of the few non-52nd fleet ships to make it Valhalla in one piece and with minimal loses." Michael kicked Ardena in the shins under the table and shot her a scything look. "We all lost too many, however it's time to start to live our lives again," Michael said, even though he knew he had to do one more thing before he could move on for real." Michael's mother and father finally walked into the room with the last of the food stuff for lunch, Cait giving Michael a "We'll talk later" look. "You risked your life just like all the rest," Michael's father said to Ardena, "However, enough talk about death, and risk, and mortality, those that died would not look kindly on us not moving forward. So today we eat, and drink and smile, and we celebrate the lives they lived, and the lives we have now," Sean said before sitting down. "And celebrating is hard to do on an empty stomach," he said with a grin and started serving himself. Michael shot Ardena an apologetic look, knowing her lose had been a little closer than others, but didn't say anything as he started filling his plate. (Reply Ardena) (Posted by Patrick D.) (Earth, Tower, County Cork, Ireland - Ensign Ardena Carrow - 12:00) Michael shot Ardena an apologetic look, knowing her lose had been a little closer than others, but didn't say anything as he started filling his plate. Ardena felt vaguely guilty all over again that she didn't feel .. more? .. at Suri's lose. She remembered on the bridge it had felt like her heart had been ripped out and her soul sucked down with it, but now it was like there was only an echo of the pain. The pain itself, the hurt, the storm, had been washed away, only leaving debris behind. "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may die." Ardena mumbled, remembering her mother's aunt's fatalistic look on life. She waited for the O'Connor's to serve themselves before taking a little of everything. It all smelled good and looked fairly foreign to her. She was probably familiar with the ingredients in different forms, it wasn't as if she was a vegetarian Vulcan, per say. She didn't believe in eating the flesh of once living beings, but replicated meat didn't bother her any. And since the doctor of the family didn't say boo about what she was taking, she was fairly secure in her choices. (Reply O'Conners IYW) "So, if Mrs O'Conner is the family, and stray being over the threshold doctor, what do you do, Mr O'Connor?" Ardena asked, hoping that there wasn't a taboo against talking during dinner. There didn't seem to be a Betazoid gong, at least. She was quite curious, it was true, but she also feared if she didn't keep brain moving, she'd follow over into her mashed potatoes. At least, she thought they were potatoes. (Reply O'Conners :) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Goldsteen's quarters - Ensign Alex Goldsteen - 13:00) Alex had not spoken since the antidote for the poison that he was injected with had been found. He could have survived with someone else getting the antidote, yet Kreung's words kept echoing in his head. "you aren't the only interrogator on the ship who can get things done." Normally he would have dismissed what she said as the ravings of an immature woman glad to have proved Goldsteen wrong. But somewhere between the time that she was mentioning Sodoku puzzles and gloating that Alex was not going to die, another voice began to speak in the back of his head. The most annoying aspect of that new voice was that Alex did not recognize it, but it felt agonizingly familiar. It was almost as if he was simply remembering words that had been said to him before, but he had no idea when or where. ~What good are you~ ~Useless~ ~You don't even have the benefit of being liked!~ For days the voice incessantly repeated itself chipping away at Alex's self-confidence. Alex knew that he was a decent officer even without his interrogation skill, but he soon convinced himself that besides his ability at interrogation, he was mediocre at best. He knew that he was being irrational and he soon tried to drown the voice out. Perhaps he could have gone to one of the counselor's for help, but even if he could have overcome his previous aversion to them, the idea of asking for help after Kreung's performance filled him with dread. Instinctively Alex knew that his inability to express, or even truly feel his emotions was at the roots of his problems. A normal person would have a tantrum, cry, get into a fight, something drastic that would make him forget all about the voice's words. In fact Alex no longer even heard the voice, he simply remembered what it said and tortured himself with it. Alex soon decided to simply grin and bear it. For a day he managed to ignore and bury the incessant doubts and insecurities that had sprung up within him. Obviously such a situation could not last, and within a day later Alex had his own unique version of a nervous breakdown. While he still performed his shifts the rest of his day was spent inside his room. But inside his room the walls were covered with hastily scribbled notes about various cases in the past twenty years that had never been solved. Alex did not know if he was simply trying to drown out the statements about his uselessness or prove them wrong, he simply had an overwhelming need to solve these cases. He worked for seven days, stopping only to perform his shifts and hastily force food down his throat. He collapsed and fell asleep on the third day, then got back up and went back to work. By the sixth day he was surviving on cups of coffee, and it was at one in the morning on the seventh day that Alex actually spoke to someone. He heard the ring signifying that someone was at the door and absently told them to come in. (Reply anyone who can get Alex into counseling) "I am in the process of solving cases that have gone cold," he said his eyes never leaving the notes scribbled on his walls. I think that these " he pointed to five robberies "were connected, but never realized because they happened on two different planets. But they happened exactly a year apart from each other, and to the same company. " (reply any) "Sleep takes to long" Alex responded dismissively "I can work while drinking coffee and their is no chance of becoming addicted as their is with stimulants." (reply any) (posted by Dan Black) (USS Spectre - Corridor - Captain T'Vhor - 13:05) The Captain had been performing perfuctory duties throughout the ship as a prerequisite for his own arranged departure for Vulcan. The ship of course would survive without him, Kreung would have told him that at the drop of a hat & would probably have gloated as she did so. It didn't matter though, any CO would have told you that to leave the ship before satisfying him or herself that matters were indeed, in hand was quite unthinkable. After all, he WAS taking the holiday that Kreung had insisted upon. Whether it was taken on the paradise planet of Risa or the sandstormed landscape of Vulcan was neither here nor there. Moving on down through the corridor however, the Captain suddenly sensed disarray. A break in the normally ordered & alligned situation that was at the heart of a starship. It wasn't that he was actively sensing via empathic ability of course, that was something he tried not to do at the best of times. No, this was something different. The thought patterns being sensed were erratic, abstract & not entirely, 'Normal'... The Captain allowed himself to be guided by the feelings until he came to a halt outside one of the crew quarters, then he allowed the sensations to wash over him. It was not his place to simply grant himself entry into whoevers quarters this was of course for that would be unthinkable, he might be the Captain but that certainly didn't give him carte blanche to invade the privacy of his crew. T'Vhor pressed the chime & then he waited for an answer from the occupant beyond. The voice that returned was male, abrupt & clearly in a state of some anguish but at least it had been positive in it's intonation. The Captain entered the room at the mans request, a single crewman standing almost immediately centre in the room with pieces of paper held in his hands whilst he apparently 'studied', others much like it upon the walls of his quarters. "Ensign Goldsteen?", said the Captain in an enquiring tone as he himself glanced about the room, wondering now as to precisely what demons were troubling the man. "Is there anything wrong?", he added taking note of the situation about him. "What exactly are you attempting to do here?", he asked. "I am in the process of solving cases that have gone cold," said Goldsteen as he continued unperturbed to analyze the why's & wherefores of the seemingly abstract scribblings adorning the pieces of paper. The Captain stepped forwards & examined one of the notes as Goldsteen went off on a convoluted attempt to bring reason & order to the obviously, unintelligable text. "Perhaps it would be better if you rest a while", said the Captain in attempt to be helpful. "In my experience, things are often clearer & more logical after sleep", he added. "Sleep takes too long", said Goldsteen, obviously a tad irritated at the CO's lack of grasp of what it was that he was attempting to glean from the scraps of paper. "I can work while drinking coffee and their is no chance of becoming addicted as there is with stimulants.", he added. The Captain raised an eyebrow at the man's response, it was clear that he was not seeing reason at all, his mind, troubled as it clearly was to the empathic Vulcan was quite obviously, singlemindedly locked on resolving the goal that he had set himself. In time he would simply burn out. The Captain took a deep breath & again attempted to rationalize the thoughts coming at him, then he moved towards one of the walls in order to scrutinize one of the notes closely, shaking his head as he did so. It made no sense, none of it did... The man's mind was fraying. T'Vhor straightened himself up, then he addressed the Ensign curtly. "Ensign Goldsteen, I am ordering you to report to one of our Councillors for evaluation", said the Captain, "it is clear that whatever it is you are engaged in here is affecting your mind adversely", he added, thinking as he spoke that he was begining to sound just like Jynea in his advice. (Reply Goldsteen) (Posted by Alan) (Earth – Central Park, New York – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson – 23:00) As the deepest night falls on Central Park the truly depraved sort of hustlers take control. A few bribes to local security buys a window of pure extravagance for the highest bidder. Chuck was proud to be a part of it. They call it the “North East American Kumite” … what they really mean is … “Martial Arts Gambling”. It was the kind of scene where instead of sticking out Chuck could blend. Although he was neither a Yakuza Tiger nor a Triad Assassin his Style of fighting was well known … and feared. Terra Dokkodo Niten Ichi Ryu at this time in history was a rare breed of Martial Art. Chuck’s teacher had been the last master to travel beyond Earth. At any rate, here he stood in the midst of the crowd of ‘Tsume’, or ‘gamblers’. He held only a Wakizashi offered to him by the white robed gamblers. Across from him stood a woman not above the age of 24 holding a Chinese sword. The Black robed gamblers were betting heavily on the woman because of her swords reach. The organizers were taking money from the spectators and exchanging them for wooden ‘tags’. The tags were used as currency during the bout and all the gamblers would feverishly throw their tags at one another to make a bet. Chuck waited for his man in the crowd to communicate the take. Depending on the highest value bets Chuck could either throw the fight or win. Either way the ‘Honorable Contest’ would make Chuck a lot of money. It was going to be fun. NRPG: ‘Tsume’ is Japanese and is roughly translated ‘Problemist’ … as in a “Tsumeshogi man” … who composes Shogi problems for money (Shogi being a Japanese form of Chess). RPG: (reply any who wants to be spectators) (posted by Anton) (Earth – Central Park, New York – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson – 23:05) The gamblers continued throwing tags at one another in the form of wagers and the Chinese woman stood poised letting the edge of her blade sit on the stoney ground. Chuck made few movements only turning his head from side to side gauging the bets and receiving non-verbal signals from his man out there. He frowned a little. ~They’re not betting enough … the wagers are too close to even … let’s make things more interesting.~ Chuck thought. He raised his Wakizashi (or short bladed ‘sidearm’) and put it upwards in full view of the crowd. He turned to a white robed gambler and handed the man the weapon. A roar began. Many protested that the contest rules required both contestants to have a weapon. Chuck pulled a Jette out of a black robed gamblers sash. “What do you say? Can I beat her with this?!” shouted Chuck to be heard in the already buzzing crowd. “The Starfleet warrior is certainly a ringer … perhaps everyone would like to see him fight before parting with their money.” Said the young female opponent. “At your readiness.” Chuck said bowing his head. The woman made an arc through the air like a half moon with the tip of her blade. Chuck was aware that this form of Chinese sword was more dance and technique rather than strength … if he could get inside her guard he’d win. He gripped the Jette tightly. Pointing the end of her blade in Chuck’s direction the woman moved forward in a quick-quick-slow timed motion. The gamblers continued their betting but there were still a few resolute souls who were waiting for a first contact. ~They want a floor show first I’ll give them one.~ thought Chuck. Chuck advanced on the woman and deliberately ‘slapped’ her blade with the Jette. The ‘hook’ didn’t connect with the blade and the woman was free within Chuck’s guard to make a single advance. Chuck kept the woman’s blade high by blocking with the jette but his face was a target. The tip of the woman’s stabbing blade came towards Chuck’s face. He leaned back and tried to apply greater pressure on her blade with his wrists but she succeeded in making a small cut on his forehead. As with most face area cuts the wound bled far worse than it actually was. Chuck was simply thankful the blood didn’t run into his eyes. The woman backed away before Chuck could retaliate. Chuck would be a little more careful in the next encounter, the woman was very skilled in her art. “Sennichite?” enquired the woman with a smirk. “Not this early.” Remarked Chuck. He could see his man in the crowd smiling broadly. The gamblers were being taken in … a small cut on the forehead was going to lead to a real big win … if he won. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) ====================================================================== Mission: Docked Day: 4 Stardate: 2407.09.10 (Earth – ‘Hotel Qui Gong’ near Central Park, New York – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson – 9:00) “You’re really amazing … all that judo stuff … man you can kick butt.” Said a Japanese-American man wearing sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt. “It’s not Judo … I’d think a Japanese man would know the distinctions in martial arts.” Responded Chuck. “Hey, man, not everybody Japanese is Sonny Chiba.” Quipped the plucky man. “I suppose not … anyhow … what’s the take?” asked Chuck. “Don’t sweat it, Jack, you should take the opportunity to reinvest.” Said the man. “heh, no thanks … I’ll just take my cut now, Kang.” Replied Chuck. He kept his hand ready near his phaser just in case Kang decided to get violent. A good partner was hard to find. “Relax, Tselu Kang is your friend … I’m your personal Saint Peter.” Said Kang holding one hand up to heaven. With the other hand he held out a Cred Card. ~Just don’t be a Judas.~ thought Chuck taking the Card and scanning it with a device in his other hand. “We gave a nights work for reasonable pay … you shouldn’t be so greedy.” Said Chuck. “I guess that means your not going to stick around for a few more days?” inquired Kang. “Nah, I need to move on … the games up in this town.” Said Chuck. Kang settled on a couch and spread his arms wide. “Yeah, well, you’ve made me enough money in one night that I’m a believer. Is it true you used to be in the game full time but then you retired?” asked Kang. “Something like that … don’t dwell on it too much. I have a friend in Queens who might need a shill. You want a longer gig?” asked Chuck. “I always wanted to see the World’s Fair.” Remarked Kang. “Just don’t let the Triad see you slip out of town too quick. Wouldn’t want an accident on my conscience.” Said Chuck. “See ya around, Kang.” Chuck called as he moved to the hotel rooms exit. “Hey, remember Confucius, eh? ‘Don’t go off the rails on the crazy train’.” “That’s Ozzie, you nit.” Muttered Chuck as he closed the door behind himself. ~Nutty Japanese – quoting, err, misquoting Confucius - must be a round palmed Otaku.~ thought Chuck. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) ====================================================================== Mission: Docked Day: 5 Stardate: 2407.09.11 (Earth, Alaska - Mount McKinley - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 08:00) Calvin fluttered his eyes, and began to wake up. It took him a second to realize that he was not in his warm comfortable bed. He remembered that he had chosen to climb one of the highest mountains in one of the coldest states on Earth. He raised his hand toward his eyes to wipe them, but was unable to reach his eyes due to the protective goggles he was wearing to protect his face from the harsh winds whilst he slept. He unzipped the best winter sleeping bag he could find and slowly slid out of it. His toboggan on his head, his gloves on his hands, his extra clothes on, and he still had his many pair of socks on with winter boots which he all slept in so he could keep warm. One he was out of the sleeping bag he rolled it into a somewhat perfect shape of a short cylinder, and hooked it on to his pack. Inside of his pack he grabbed a standard winter food pack. Calvin ripped it open on one corner and began to eat the contents out of the small hole that he had created. Its texture was interesting to him and not good, but he continued to eat it. He could only best describe it to himself as a apple sauce that tasted like cardboard. It didn't take him long to finish the pack, he placed the wrapper in a secure place in his pack, and began to preparing to set off for a full days hike up the mountain. With any luck he may make the rest of the trip, but he thought he still had one more night he would have to stay the night before he made it there. All of his things put away, and his hiking stick and spikes back on his boots, and covered every part of his body to protect himself from the freezing wind he began to make his way up the mountain. There were many reasons why Calvin decided to go on such a challenging hike. First he had only gone on such a hike once before. It wasn't as challenging as this one has proven to be, but it was close enough that he felt comfortable climbing. The climb took place on Vulcan. His father took him there so that they could spend time together alone, and so his father could explain a few things to him about the Vulcan path (which Calvin never took part of.) Calvin never lived on Earth, except when he attended to the Academy, and he had no family on Earth. In fact Calvin no longer had any family left. He was the last person to hold the name Capps that he knew of to be part of his family. The Spectre was in R&R and at Earth so he decided that he would still visit a planet so he could once again put his feet on real solid ground, with real gravity. The reason that brought Calvin to Alaska the most was that he wanted to be alone. There had been major changes in his life in such a short time of his life. The most recent were that the war was over, his parents passed away, and his rare color changing skin had not returned to its normal color since he weaped the loss of his parents. The war was over. It was long, and Calvin remembers everything that he had experienced from it. So when the Spectre returned to Earth, there was no 2nd thought that Calvin wanted to get away from a starship. He needed some time way from it. So on the third day the Spectre had arrived, and Calvin finished up his last duty shift he immediately left for Alaska. His parents passed away, but he had already mourned his loss. He wasn't over it and he of course never would be, but Calvin has come to terms with what happened. Or at least he thought so. He hadn't seen a counselor yet, but he knew that he would need to, and more importantly he also wanted to. Calvin's genetics were altered with by his parents that had mixed his blood between Human, Vulcan, and vulcan's cousins Romulans DNA. It was never understood why, but because of the unusual genetic structure Calvin's skin occasionally would turn to the color of green. Much like the color of an Orion. Since the night Calvin opened his feelings out on the holodeck about his families death, his skin turned to the Orion color, but this time it was different. Calvin's skin was still green. It had not turned back to its normal color. His skin had never kept the color this long before. The most ever before was 2 days. It was quite a shock to the crew on the Spectre has Calvin showed up to the bridge and other duty shifts with his new green skin. He had to tell the story of his skin many times. It seemed that the color was permanent. Calvin hadn't seen the doctor yet about it, but he thought once he got back to the Spectre, and once the doctor got back that he would make a visit to the doctor. (reply none) (posted by Calvin) (Earth, Alaska - Mount Mckinley - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 17:00) Calvin's feet trudged through the heavy snow on the ground. With every step he had to lift his feet higher than normal in order for him to step forward over the large amount of white substance on the mountain. He had been hiking up for the past 9 hours except for about a 30 minute lunch that he took at 1300 hours. The hour amount was the only similarity that hiking on Mount Mckinley had with a normal work day. The differences were a list long. As hoped he was going to make it to the top of the mountain in the time he was hoping for. He only had about an hour left. His body was aching, his legs felt nimble, and it seemed that the snow was beginning to come at him at a harder speed. But he knew he was so close to finishing. He couldn't see the logic of stopping and resting for one more day. He needed to finish, even though finishing in one hour or tomorrow made no difference. (reply none) (posted by Calvin Capps) (Earth, Alaska - Mount Mckinley - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 18:20) It had taken him a little longer than expected, and he was now paying for it as his chest puffed in and out at a much faster rate than safe for a human body. He was at the top of the mountain, but he was lying on the ground trying to slow his breath. He took a deep breath and let it slowly. A few minutes passed and his heart began to beat at a much slower rate. When he felt better he stood and looked out at the scenery. It was beautiful to him. He had never seen anything exactly like it. The sight brought peace to Calvin's thoughts. It made him think of happy thoughts. A smile came across his face. He had done it, and he felt great and alive again. He once again took a deep breath, but this time he did it because he wanted to breath the fresh, wintery air of Alaska. Calvin was satisfied with what he had accomplished both physically of climbing the mountain, but also mentally by all of the thinking he was able to do whilst he climbed. He tapped his combadge. "Bring me back down," he asked the transporter staff member at the bottom of the mountain as he did not want to make the trip back down by foot. (reply none) (posted by Calvin Capps) ======================================================================= Mission : Docked Day : 24 Stardate : 2407.09.30 (USS Invincible - Bridge – CMO Williams - 10:00) Andrew entered the bridge as the doors of the turbolift opened. “Ah there are the rest of them. Gather round every one. Gather round.” Andrew stepped to one side as the rest of the tour entered the bridge with was now filling up with people. Their tour guide stood in the middle of the room Andrew noticed a flash of irritation cross his face as the late group Andrew had been with eventually hurried over. “This Ladies and Gentlemen is the bridge of the USS Invincible. The bridge is at the top of the ship on deck 1 and is the brains of the ship.” Andrew looked at their tour guide who was wearing an officer’s uniform of the time. He was a small portly man who had darting eyes and ability of not being able to stand still. He stepped to one side and dramatically swept his arm around the room. “This is the command chair where the gallant Captain Moore sat when he commanding the...” He was cut short in mid flow when a small vice piped up. “Is this where Captain Kirk sat?” Andrew watched as the eyes of the tour guided locked onto a small child who was leaning against the handrail. “No little boy. Captain Kirk was on the Enterprise. Although this ship is identical to the Enterprise Captain Kirk did not captain this ship.” He quickly carried on before the boy could ask another question. “The Invincible is a constellation class starship. It is 288.6 meters long. With a breadth of 127.1 meters and it’s a height of 72.6 meters.” Andrew noticed that the boy was getting ready for another question but the tour guide steeped back over to the science station. As he began to go into a long winded explanation of how the bridge stations worked Andrew took his time to look around the old bridge. ~Well it’s a lot smaller then the Spectre’s that’s for sure~ He slowly walked over to the command chair and sat down in it. From his position he could see the important stations on the bridge. ~This is what its like for T’Vhor when he’s in the hot seat~ A strange feeling of apprehension came over him as he remembered his time in the bridge. He was shaken from his thoughts by the loud voice of the tour guide. “Right now no time for sitting around Sir. We have a lot more of the ship to look at.” Andrew nodded as he got up out of the chair and headed for the turbolift. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Invincible - Sickbay – CMO Williams - 13:00) They had arrived in sickbay after seeing other parts of the ship and having some lunch in the rec-room. Andrew looked around the intensive care unit that they had all walked into. “This is the sickbay. Where the doctors and nurses of the fleet work tirelessly on our poor wounded crew mates.” Andrew had wanted to see sickbay since he had arrived. As he looked around he saw a trill step into the room. She was wearing the uniform of a medical ensign which did hug her curvy body a little too closely. “Ah this is Doctor Moonshine. She will tell you about sickbay. I’ll leave you for a bit in her capable hands.” Andrew noticed that his eye lingered slightly long on Moonshine as he left the room. Moonshine’s face flashed with anger and then became calm. “Hallo I am Doctor Moonshine and I will be telling you about this sickbay.” She gave them a smile. “We have two intensive care units. As well as medical labs, dental and obstetrics units. Also a convalescent ward and rooms for the duty staff.” Andrew nodded and looked around as Moonshine explained some of the equipment hat was in sickbay. ~Looks like that can cope with most surprises~ “Sir would you like to lie down on the medical bed please.” It took a split second for Andrew to realise that she was talking to him. Andrew nodded and lay down on the bed. He listened to Moonshine’s explaining the different readouts that appeared on the monitor above his head. As Moonshine explained the other equipment in sickbay Andrew saw a small trolley lying beside him. He sat up and began looking at the equipment on the tray. ~Looks like she’s preparing for surgery~ He picked up what looked like a surgical scalpel and turned it over in his hand. ~Well they have certainly changed a lot over the years~ “Can I help you?” Andrew looked up to see Moonshine standing beside him. “Ow sorry I was just thinking how old these scalpels look.” Moonshine gave him a slight smile. “Have you had much experience with the modern one’s then. Are you a Doctor?” “Ow yes I am a Space Jumper.” He gave a slight grin as her confusion of the slang word. “I am a certified Senior Emergency Medical Rescue Practitioner.” He had decided not to tell people that he was a doctor on a starship that had attacked earth. He felt that it might not be the most brilliant think to say but he was not lying to Moonshine as he did have the SEMRP qualification. She was about to say something when he saw her tense as someone called out. “Have you finished with them Dr Moonshine?” Andrew turned and saw that the nasty tour guide had returned. “Yes I have.” Moonshine said coldly. “Good, everyone follow me.” Without a word the tour guide turned and left and watched as the rest of the tour hurried to catch up. Andrew hopped off the medical bed he paused before looking back at Moonshine. “Dr Moonshine. There is something you can do for me?” She gave him a slight quizzing look. “I have a friend who is a doctor and is fanatical about this time era. I was wondering where I could get her a real uniform like yours and also I would like to get away from him.” ~Jay’s going to kill me but it will be worth it~ She gave him a smile and nodded. “Sure follow me. I’m sure there is a replicator that still works. And if you want I can show you parts if the ship that are not in the tour.” Andrew smiled back as they headed in the opposite direction from the tour. “Thanks, that would be great.” (reply any) (posted by Robbie) =================================================================== Mission: Docked Day: 26 Stardate: 2407.10.02 (Earth, America, Denver - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor - 10:00) Michael walked up the path to the small house on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado. He was wearing his dress whites, although it was deviod of medals, bearing only his rank. The Trinnek residence was small and humble, but well maintained. He slowly made his way up the path, not quite knowing what to say when he got to the door. **Flash back 2407.07.09** The Cathay shook as she took another hit. Michael gripped the arm rests of the captain's chair as the bridge began to get hazy with smoke. Their shields were getting hit hard, and they were getting cut off from the rest of the battle group. "We need to break back through to the Spectre, we can't keep getting hit like this," Michael said then turned to the Tactical officer. Focus torpedo fire on any ship trying to cut us off, use phasers to catch any harassers coming along side. Helm," he said turning back around, "do you best to work us through this mess and back to some friends. We'll try to open a hole. Use your best judgment, just don't fall into a trap." Michael said. They moved quickly the helm dipping and dodging as best she could as tactical opened up a small hole, but they were still getting hit. Michael was doing his best to back up Ops and was keeping an eye on the power. They had nearly made it through when Michael saw the problem. "Gerry, what are you doing, your console is showing a massive power buildup, get away from there." Michael said. "Can't Captain, the relay in the station is blown, capacitor is going to overload in a few seconds, but I need to finish rerouting Aux power to shields or we won't make it through." Gerry said not taking his eyes off his console. "Finish it at the back up ops station," Michael said standing up. "Don't have the time to get there, need to finish this now...Almost got it...almost...There, Shields back to 90%." Gerry turned to look over his shoulder at Michael. "It's been an honor sir," he said with a sad smile, then leaned forward and pressed his body against the console as the power capacitor finally overloaded releasing a surge of power through the station causing it to blow out. Gerry's body absorbed most of the explosion, Michael watched as it was tossed back into his seat. He sank down into the command chair an realized why he'd done it. With the Helm officer sitting only a foot away, she would have been injured by the shrapnel, had Gerry not done what he did. "The honor was mine," Michael said before he couldn't allow himself any more time. "Helm, keep going, Tactical, punch us through, I'd rather Gerry died for a reason," Michael already saw the beta shift ops officer at the auxiliary station and sighed. **End Flashback** Michael sighed, and knocked on the door. He'd grown to like Gerry in the short time he'd know him. He was eager, and knew his stuff. He lacked some of the self confidence that would have come with more experience, but he had the makings of a fine officer, which was only proven by his sacrifice. Michael straightened up as the door opened, and woman Michael's mother's age, looked out at him. "Mrs. Trinnek?" Michael asked. "Yes?" she asked quietly. Michael knew she had already been informed of Gerry's death, but he also knew he was only reopening a wound that was near closing. "My name is Michael O'Connor, and I was the Acting Captain of the Cathay the day Gerry died. May I come in, I'd very much like to talk to you and your husband." Michael said. The door opened the rest of the way and the now teary eyed Mallory Trinnek let him pass. She led him to a sitting room and offered him a seat. "Joseph, this is Lieutenant Commander O'Connor, he was the Captain of the Cathay when Gerry died." She said. "Commander," the man said with a gruff nod. Michael wasn't surprised, he didn't expect to be welcomed with open arms, but he had to do what he was doing. "Mister and Mrs. Trinnek. I wanted to come and talk to you in person, because it's what you deserve. I know I only knew Gerry for a short time, but I got to know him and I liked him. What he did on that day...you deserve to know." Michael said, not sure at all how he would explain everything. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Ma'am, Gerry was a hero," Michael said, pulling out a black velvet box, opening it and handing it to Mrs. Trinnek. "He's been awarded The Starfleet Cross of Fire for Extraordinary Heroism in the face of the enemy and with full knowledge of the risk to his life. The full citation reads 'For heroism and gallantry during battle with enemies of the United Federation of Planets. During the Battle at the Mars Defense Perimeter, Ensign Gerome Trinnek, after being ordered away from his overloading console, stayed at his post to ensure his ships survival, and then placed himself in harms way, sacrificing his life, to protect the Helm officer of the USS Cathay to ensure that his ship would return to it's battle group after being cut off by enemy forces. Gerome Trinnek showed a selfless act of sacrifice, knowing and acknowledging the danger to his own life. His actions were deemed, by his Captain, to be necessary and vital for the ship and crews survival.'" Michael read from a piece of paper. "Mrs. Trinnek, There is nothing I can say that will make this feel any better. I don't know what side of the conflict you were on, and frankly it doesn't matter. Your son gave his life to help ensure the lives of his crewmates. He knew full well what he was doing, and he knew what the outcome of his actions would be. Be proud of him, and honor his memory. I will never forget him, and neither will the Crew of the Cathay," Michael said, standing up. Mrs. Trinnek was crying now, and Mr. Trinnek was doing his best to comfort her. Michael just took a deep breath and walked out of the room. There was no need for him in that room, he was just a reminder that their son was dead. He was a walking talking reminder that their child was gone from their lives, and they didn't need that standing in their living room. No, if they wanted to find him, they had his name, that would be enough. Michael walked out of the house, shutting the door securely behind him, and then walking down towards the street. He'd only been in the house for 15 minutes, tops, but in that time, it had started to rain. He found the weather sadly fitting ad he walked through the gray rain, away from the Trinnek house, not feeling at all better for having done what he did, and knowing full well that he probably never would. (Reply None) (Posted by Patrick D.) (Earth - Russia - Baikonur - TAC/SC Lt Yelena Vasilyovna - 11:42) ".... and what of you Alexei, what did you do when the starships began falling out of the sky?", asked Yelena, pausing briefly to take a small sip of Kubanskaya from the glass in her hand. Alexei shrugged & pursed his lips. "I got out of the way fast Koshka", he answered, "some of course were not so lucky... my colleagues amongst them", he added lowering his head in thought, his furrowed brow clearly visible in response to the painful thoughts of watching his comrades perish. "But let's not talk of this now", said Alexei reaching towards Yelena now & gripping her shoulder warmly. "You & I are here now, we are amongst those lucky ones, da?", he added with a smile. "Enjoy your Vodka" Her uncle always did have that ability to turn chaos into some sort of celebration, some said it was a unique ability amongst her kin but nonetheless, it drove half of them, including Yelena's father Vasily positively insane. "You always have your head in the sand Alexei", her father would tell him, & Alexei would nod in agreeance & just purse his lips. Vasilyovna settled back against the smooth rock & stretched out her legs, a smile forming upon her lips at the thought of her somewhat erstwhile father. If he could see her now drinking as she was with his elder brother he would not have approved. Alexei had encouraged her taste for the clear fire water even before she had joined Starfleet, her father however felt that it was not the done thing for a woman to imbibe a mans drink & often frowned upon Alexei for encouraging her. Swallowing a larger mouthful of the said fluid however, Yelena screwed up her face & closed her eyes tightly as it took effect upon her delicate, although seasoned membranes. "Budem zdorovy!", she cried, her senses taking just a while to recover. "This Alexei, has a kick like a Siberian mule", said Yelena, "for so long I have had to put up with that mediocre synthehol on board ship.... you are a blessing in disguise", she added, seemingly addressing the glass in her hand now rather than her now laughing uncle before finally joining in with him in his gutteral sense of humour. "Ahh, you always were more like a man than a girl Yelena & I'm sure health will remain with us all no matter what", said Alexei recovering from his bout of the giggles & taking another sip of the fire water from his own glass as he reminisced over old times. "And you Alexei, you were always more like a mother than an Uncle", offered Yelena in rebuttal before laughing again at the joke she had made. Alexei thought little of it, he simply continued reminiscing of old times. "Whatever happened to that old Wolf you kept, what was his name..... Janik?", he asked, "I have never seen an animal so devoted, followed you around like a lost lamb", he added. Yelena nodded, as the image of her devoted childhood companion appeared in her head again. "Da...da he was that", said Yelena, "I miss him, he was perhaps my only true, loyal friend", she added as Alexei once again changed the subject. "You never married Yelena, why is that?", he enquired. Yelena laughed & then took another sip from the now diminishing contents of her glass. "Uncle, do shut up.... neither the time nor the chance ever presented itself", said Yelena, "I'm a career girl, married to a starship", she added. "It behaves itself, mostly. It does as it's told, mostly & it makes no adverse demands upon me that I cannot realistically accomodate within a given timespan...... much more preferable than a husband if I say so myself" Alexei nodded, the woman always had been stubborn, just like her father. "Let us hope then that your starship does not require any more from you than you can humanly provide", he quipped whilst upending his glass & draining the last of his Vodka in one to the time honoured accompaniment of a Russian toast to his niece. "It's good to have you home again Koshka, if only for the short time I know you will stay", said Alexei, "before you have to return to the replacement husband that seems to important in your life these days.", he added. "Oh uncle, you never change. Always the complainer", said Yelena downing the last of her own drink with a screwing up of her face once more. "I don't suppose you have any more bottles of this in your cellar do you?", she enquired with a knowing wink. Alexei smiled & nodded, then he stood to go fetch it. (Reply None) (Posted by Alan) (Earth – Temple of Tranquility, Tibet – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 18:00) “So, that’s it then … you’ve really decided to leave us.” Said Master Mien. “Yes, good master, my time here is done. I will simply return to my ship early.” Said T’Pia. “But … you are not ready to le …” Tsuche protested looking at T’Pia puzzled. “Tsuche, be quiet.” Master Mien instructed and turned to T’Pia, “When you came here I agreed to let you stay as long as you liked. I was curious to know why such a vibrant young woman … a Vulcan … might have to gain from the experience. Now that I know, to be quite honest I wish I did not.” “I am sorry I disappoint you master.” Said T’Pia bowing her head. “Silly girl, I only wish you well on your journey … in all its forms.” Master Mien said stroking his white beard. “Thank you, Master.” Said T’Pia turning to leave. “You may leave, but keep Tsuche in your thoughts … you are students on diverging paths.” Instructed master Mien. T’Pia continued on her way to collect her belongings in silence. Tsuche turned to follow her but with a quick movement Master Mien grasped his arm. Tsuche turned backwards in surprise. “Do not follow her, Tsuche … remember … DIVERGING paths.” Master Mien emphasized the word. “Yes, Master.” Responded Tsuche. (reply none, any) (posted by Anton) ===================================================================== Mission : Docked Day : 27 Stardate : 2407.10.03 (USS Spectre – Transporter Room One – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 05:00) T’Pia stepped off the platform. The shuttlecraft ‘Samael’s Anvil’ had taken her within transporter range of the docked vessel and she had gotten off. She did not wish the delay of the docking bay and so … beamed onboard prior to the shuttlecraft docking. T’Pia wished to get back to work as soon as possible. There was likely work for her capable hands to do. She would just have to keep the suppression of emotions intact while she worked. So much to think on … and so much to NOT think on. “Welcome back, Nurse Pelletier.” Came a voice from the transporter controls. T’Pia glanced up to see the young face of some over-eager cadet. “Thank you, Cadet.” Responded T’Pia. She couldn’t remember the cadets name but vaguely recalled his face. She thought it pointless to continue in a non-expedient conversation and so continued her pace out the doors of the transporter room. Without hesitating she entered the nearest turbolift. “Sickbay.” She ordered coldly. With any luck Andrew would not be around to enquire any further into T’Pia’s affairs. (reply any) (posted by Anton) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO Williams - 11:00) Andrew walked into sickbay with a PADD in his hand. He had decided to return to the Spectre and catch up wit some reading and reports. It was boring and tedious but it had to be done. While he was here he might get some bridge time even though they were not going any where there was still an officer of the watch. As he looked around the quiet sickbay he pulled his mind to the task that he was there for. He saw Pelletier working in sickbay. He had been going back over his reports and some thing had popped up that he felt needed to be addressed. ~Now is a better time then ever. I have put it off for to long~ He walked over to her. “Nurse Pelletier could I have a word with you in privet in my office please.” (reply Pelletier) Andrew ushered Pelletier into his office and offered her a seat. “I would like to talk to you about Miss Carrow’s care. How do you think her recovery is going?” Andrew knew that she had been discharged from sickbay but apart from that he did not know who Pelletier had treated her. (reply Pelletier) Andrew nodded. “The resign why I asked you here is that I had to find out about the treatment that you were giving by looking at her notes. Would you please explain why you did not come and talk to me.” He looked at Pelletier hoping for an answer. (reply Pelletier) "I am not adverse to different forms of treatment depending on the circumstances would you please tell me what you did?" (reply Pelletier) (reply Pelletier any ) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – Nurse T’Pia Pelletier - 11:02) T’Pia had been reviewing reports catching up on the patients under her collective care. Everything had been relatively quiet other than the occasional tennis elbow and broken leg. ~Why would someone turn off the safety protocols and white water raft in the holodeck?~ reasoned T’Pia skimming a PADD. “Nurse Pelletier could I have a word with you in private in my office please?” came the voice of Dr. Williams. “Of course, Doctor.” T’Pia responded placing the PADD down on a nurse station counter and turning to follow the doctor. ~He wants to talk about Ms. Carrow.~ thought T’Pia. Andrew ushered Pelletier into his office and offered her a seat. She sat down, careful not to move the chair about too much. “I would like to talk to you about Miss Carrow’s care. How do you think her recovery is going?” asked the Doctor. ~He’s going to grill me … it’s not going to be a nice chat.~ “She seems to be doing just fine. Her speedy recovery led to her quick discharge.” Responded T’Pia. Andrew nodded. “The reason why I asked you here is that I had to find out about the treatment that you were giving by looking at her notes. Would you please explain why you did not come and talk to me.” The Doctors eyes seemed filled with questions, T’Pia didn’t blink. “As one of the lead nurses on the ‘floor’ I’m not necessarily required to ask your permission on every little treatment. My care of Ms. Carrow was within the expected parameters of my job description. I’m sorry if you feel that I should have come to you in this case, but I made a quick decision which led to the patient’s survival. (reply Williams) “While it is my right to determine emergency treatment - I understand your duty as the department head.” Responded T’Pia trying to remain calm. "I am not adverse to different forms of treatment, depending on the circumstances. Would you please tell me what you did?" quizzed Dr. Williams. “If you must know I used a Vulcan mind technique to make contact with the patient, who was in a comatose state. It was the only form of treatment that could have helped her in a longer term. The only other option was to further sedate her and I did not see the need for further delay.” Responded Pelletier. (reply Williams) “I think before this conversation goes too much farther you should interview the patient. If I made the right decision she should be feeling much better, much less be in a coma. If I made a mistake I am more than willing to take responsibility.” (reply Williams, IYW) “My mind is clear in the case. As a member of the medical personnel aboard the Spectre I took an oath to do whatever I could to protect the crew. My decision was based on that duty, sir.” (reply Williams, any ) (Posted by Anton) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - OPS Lt Cmdr Calvin Capps - 13:00) Calvin was excited and also nervous that the doctor had come back to the Spectre. He was eager to talk to the Chief Medical Officer about his recent color change of his skin. He was also concerned of what the doctor may discover. The Lt Cmdr had already made his decision to see Lt Williams. Calvin stepped into Sickbay and was actually greeted by the doctor. (reply Williams) "Good afternoon. I am here to see you doctor," Calvin did notice the reaction of the doctor to the different skin color. (reply Williams) "It is sort of a long story, would you like to talk in your office?" (reply Williams) The both of them made their way to the doctors office, and had a seat. "I am not for sure how much you know of my DNA genetic structure, but it is in my medical files. My father and mother both altered it, and in reaction to that my skin did occasionally turned green. It usually just lasted a few hours maybe. But this time my skin has been this color for months. I don't think it is going away. I thought I could get your help on this mystery?" (reply Williams) (posted by Calvin) ==================================================================== Mission: Docked Day: 123 Stardate: 2408.01.07 (USS Spectre, FO's Office - FO Lieutenant Commander Michael Ian O'Connor and Counselor, Lieutenant (jg) Sella - 10:30) Michael put another PADD down on his desk having signed off on the report. He'd returned from leave earlier than most of the crew. There was work to be done, and the ship needed to be ready when the crew got back, so he sat at his desk reading over the repair reports, the tests, and most importantly the crew transfers and new assignments. Nearly ever ship in the fleet that was still functional was short of staff. The Spectre was no exception, but as it wasn't being mothballed, it was being rapidly assigned crew to be replacements. Michael looked up from the latest update on the rebuilding of the Federation, when his door chimed. "Come," Michael said, putting the PADD aside and muting the news feed that had been running constantly. Doenitz had done a lot of damage to the Federation and not just to the Core worlds. Even nearly six months after, refuges were still a major issue as was resource allocation, the news had been running none stop. Looking up Michael watched as a young woman walked through the door. Michael knew she was an Aenar, as race he'd never seen in person. She was short, and thin, her shoulder length, white, hair pulled back in a braid. She had a dancer's figure for lack of a better description on Michael's part, and moved carefully and gracefully into the room. Her eyes were a pale blue, and her blindness caused her to look as if she was staring off into the distance "Lieutenant Sella, reporting for duty sir," the woman in the medical/science blue uniform said. Her voice was soft, but not unforcefull. "Welcome to the Spectre, Lieutenant. Please take a seat," he said and nearly rising to help her to one, stopping only when he saw her reach out a hand and sit down in the chair across from his desk. Michael quickly shuffled the PADDs around on his desk and pulled out the new transfers and assignments list and started searching for the name. "You won't find me on your list, Sir, at least I don't think so. Admiral Grinmar said I was a late addition to the crew roster." Sella reached down into her bag and pulled out a PADD and placed it on the edge of the desk and nudged it towards Michael, who quickly took it. "Ah yes, we were expecting another counselor for the ship, as I'm sure you can see..." Michael said then stopped, his face blushing. "I'm sorry, that was a silly thing to say." Sella just smiled a knowing smile and 'looked' at him. "As I can see, we are a profession in high demand. Commander, we are not uncomfortable with our blindness, nor do we find it a disability. Our cousins might think we are a little different in the head, but we have managed to survive just fine being blind. We have our adaptations." Michael smiled and moved on. "Well then, sorry for being sorry...I think, oh never mind, lets move on. Yes, as you put it, counselors are being put to frequent use right now, especially with Star Fleet being ready to ship back out. The people serving here lost a lot of friends during the last year, and shipping out again is going to cause some of them to react poorly. I'm correct in assuming Star Fleet Medical gave you...how shall we put it...a more in depth briefing than I just did, about the situation?" "They did sir. We've all been given a post traumatic stress disorder refresher course, on top of the standard grief counseling that's part of our standard training," she said absentmindedly brushing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. "Good, obviously I'd like to know of any issues with the crew, if you find out, or at least anything you can report that isn't excluded by patient confidentiality. Other than that, you'll have the standard counselor responsibilities. I'm sure you'll meet our morale officer Jynea Kreung when she gets back from leave." "Are most of the crew still gone?" Sella asked. "Yes, some have made it back already, but most will be returning starting tomorrow morning. Truthfully, if you wanted to take the rest of the day on Earth or Mars, that wouldn't bother me at all. No reason you're R&R should be cut short." "No, that's fine. It's probably better I learn my way around the ship with fewer people here. Too many moving object tend to overwhelm my senses." Sella said. "If I may ask, how do you find you're way around. You obviously found your way in here with no trouble, but you are blind by your own admission." Michael said, feeling it was a fair question. Emergencies would be an issue if she was going to be stuck waiting for someone to help her. "I am blind in most sense of the word. I can't see anything visually. The Aenar developed, at some point, a kind of psychic echo location. I can 'see' what I describe as shadows of objects within 20 feet of me, give or take. There is some degree of blurring if I or the objects are in motion, and I don't get any detail. Think of them as silhouettes, there's no real detail, only the outline of the object. Outside 20 feet it's just...nothing. It's enough to get around, and once I know the layout of the ship, it will just keep me from bumping into people in the corridors." Sella said. "For instance, on your desk I can see what I assume to be your terminal, and some other object I can't quite guess at, but there is also, a box shaped object next to your left hand. I think it's a stack of PADDs as you were searching through them earlier. If I hadn't see you moving them earlier, I'd only be able to tell you it's a rectangular object sitting on top of your desk." Sella shrugged and gave Michael a small but sincere smile. "It's enough for me, if you've never had sight, there really isn't anything to miss." Michael nodded, "Also, the report says that the Aenar are strong telepaths?" "We are, although we have very strict rules preventing us from reading another's mind without their permission." She said a little more forcefully. "Fair and reasonable, I just wanted to make sure everything was accurate," Michael said. Her record detailed her as a pacifist as was the rest of the Aenar. The Admiralty had granted her leave not to carry a phaser, nor be ordered to take any aggressive actions against her will, so Michael decided he didn't need to question that, at least not right then. "Unless you have any questions for me, you're free to find you're quarters and familiarize yourself with the ship. Holodecks are first come first serve at the moment, and the mess hall is open round the clock. My door is always open, if you need anything just let me know. Even a counselor needs someone to talk to from time to time," Michael said. "I don't think I need anything at the moment. You should know however that I have orders for the counseling department that there are going to be full and mandatory psych evaluations for the senior crew and any other members of the crew that Counseling or Command feel warrant them," Sella said with a sympathetic smile. "Starfleet worried we all lost our collective minds?" Michael said with a smile that was heard if not seen by Sella. "Not quite, just worried that after the amount of tragedy and violence everyone has seen in the past year, that some might balk at any conflict what so ever. At least that's the majority of the worry." Sella said with a shrug. "And the minority of the worry?" Michael asked. "That officers and enlisted alike might have trouble working with folks from the other side of the line." Sella said. "In my opinion it isn't necessarily a bad idea no matter what the ulterior motives might be. Everyone has been through a lot of emotional turmoil and it's best to be checked out by a professional, and you and the captain are no exception, lest you think you can worm your way out of this." Sella said. "The three people that, in general, resist talking to the Counselor, Captain, First Officer, and the Chief Medical Officer." "Don't worry, I'll relent in the end. And we'll make sure the Captain is taken care of, I leave Doctor Williams to you and the rest of Counseling." Michael said. "Once you're settled, let me know when we can take care of mine, I'd rather get it out of the way before the rest of the crew gets back." "Of course sir," Sella said then stood up with a smile. "If I may?" "Of course Lieutenant, feel free." Michael said, standing up. He watched Sella walk slowly if confidently across the room to the door and turn out of sight. Sitting back down his shook his head, wondering just how well a Blind officer would adapt to life on a starship. (Reply None) (Posted by Patrick D.) (USS Spectre - Counselling Department - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 12:00) The ship's rumour mill was alive and kicking. It very successfully got her up from the planet and back aboard when she'd heard David had been transferred off and a new chief counsellor had been transferred on. She was sure Starfleet's logic was they didn't want those involved counselling their own ships, since counsellor non-involvement only went so far. She was vaguely expecting to receive new orders herself, if only so Captain T'Vhor could get a new voice nagging him for a year. Jynea's entire description of the Lieutenant was 'She's a white Andorian!' from an awed transporter technician. Jynea hadn't had more than the basics on Aenar, the fact of the matter, not a whole lot of them was known beyond their telepathic ability and blindness. She only knew what the Federation diplomat on Andoria knew, which wasn't a whole heck of a lot. She wasn't hugely surprised to find her new boss in what was once Andrew's office. Someone in maintenance had already changed the sign on the chief's door to her name. 'Lieutenant (jg) Sella' is proclaimed, 'Chief Counsellor.' Well, at least she had a name. Someone had also put it in raised lettering and since the other name plates were missing, Jynea guessed the others were having similar treatments. The Morale Officer wasn't quite sure what the navigational ranger of an Aenar was, but she would think their sense of hearing and spatial awareness was as fine, if not better, than an Andorian's. Still, she stood in the doorway and waited to be invited. (Reply Sella :) "I open my mind to you and welcome you to my home." Jynea said formally, with the appropriate bow of shoulders and head. (Reply Sella :) "I do mean literally and ceremoniously," Jynea explained, entering the Lieutenant's office. "Well, okay, the ship being my home, not this specific room, which is yours." she extrapolated with good humour. "I have no problems with my senior counsellor's knowing my upper and surface thoughts and communicating to me telepathically. I'm afraid I have no ability to respond beyond hoping you're listening though." (Reply Sella.) Taking the more comfortable of the unoccupied chairs, Jynea relaxed into its plushness. "Is there any questions I can answer for you about ship or crew?" (Reply Sella) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Counselling Department - Counselor Lieutenant (jg) Sella - 12:03) Sella was sitting at her desk going over reports, the ear piece reading out the files for her. Suddenly she tapped a button on the ear piece pausing the report reading and 'looked' up. "Do you ever have the feeling you're being watched?" Sella asked the room, which she was now convinced had a second occupant, swearing she had heard someone breathing. "I open my mind to you and welcome you to my home." a woman's voice said formally, with the appropriate bow of shoulders and head. "Please come in," Sella said, "And you should explain whether you meant your last statement as a literal of figurative statement." Sella said, still completely unaware who she was talking to. "I do mean literally and ceremoniously," the woman explained, entering the Lieutenant's office. "Well, okay, the ship being my home, not this specific room, which is yours." she extrapolated with good humour. "I have no problems with my senior counsellor's knowing my upper and surface thoughts and communicating to me telepathically. I'm afraid I have no ability to respond beyond hoping you're listening though." ~~So, she's a member of the department, but that doesn't necessarily narrow it down too much.~~ "Well as far as my telepathy goes, I'll keep it to emergencies or special situations, but I thank you for your openness none the less. Please come in and take a seat." Sella said motioning to where she had specifically placed the chair earlier. "Is there any questions I can answer for you about ship or crew?" "Well first things first, you have me at a slight disadvantage," Sella said with a smile, looking towards the woman's general direction. "With whom am I speaking exactly?" she asked in a friendly tone. (Reply Kreung) "Ah, our Morale officer." She said once the introductions were finished. "It is good to meet you, I was going to ask to see you, but I was under the impression you were still on leave." Sella said taking her ear piece out and putting it in her pocket. (Reply Kreung) "As to you're original question, anything you think I need to know. I have reports on most of the crew from Starfleet, but we all know those tend not to tell the whole truth." Sella said with a smile. (Reply Kreung) (Posted by Patrick D.) (USS Spectre - Counselling Department - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 12:05) "Well first things first, you have me at a slight disadvantage," Sella said with a smile, looking towards the woman's general direction. "With whom am I speaking exactly?" she asked in a friendly tone. Jynea was grateful for a moment she was talking to a blind woman, whose senses were obviously less than she'd guessed, since her face turned bright purple in embarrassment. "I am *so* sorry Lieutenant, I got too used to Lieutenant Taxia, a Betazoid. I am Ensign Jynea Kreung, your morale officer." "It is good to meet you, I was going to ask to see you, but I was under the impression you were still on leave." Sella said taking her ear piece out and putting it in her pocket. "I'm still doing half-shifts, keeping my finger on the pulse of the crew and all that." It sounded so *arrogant* but .. well, David had featured on the senior staff, she'd had the rest and she didn't feel right about just taking off for several weeks without checking in with the crew and seeing how all were doing. "As to you're original question, anything you think I need to know. I have reports on most of the crew from Starfleet, but we all know those tend not to tell the whole truth." Sella said with a smile. "No kidding." Jynea muttered, she could only imagine what her own said since she'd been effectively smuggled into the 52nd fleet. "Okee, starting at the top, I guess.." She realized this would probably reveal more about her than it would any of the officers, but she really did have nothing to hide from her new department head. (Reply Sella IYW) "Captain T'Vhor is an overcompensating Vulcan. It's my opinion, due to his Betazoid heritage, he tries to be what he views as the ideal Vulcan. He seems to have a slightly skewed view of what that is. While a good commanding officer, he seems to have nothing outside of his command. If he has personal relations, relaxation time or anything else, he hides it well. I know he requested his leave to spend time on Vulcan and would be very surprised if he's doing something other than renewing the principals of Kolinahr." (Reply Sella / Discussion) "Lieutenant Commander O'Connor is a talented officer and is good in command. He is young and has risen through the ranks quickly and this is displayed in a mix of quick decision making and second guessing after the fact. As far as I can tell, he has good instincts if a bit of 'old earth' view set." (Reply Sella) "I mean.. the etiquette of provinces of Earth that were once part of the English Empire? The whole, stand when a lady comes into the room, carry their luggage, mind set? It's not *bad* just.. antiquated, I'd think. I can't see it interfering with his on duty performance or responsibilities, just something I've noticed." (Reply Sella / Discussion) "Lieutenant Andrew Williams is an overworked, under slept, dedicated man. Past trauma that I really am not of the ability to effectively counsel keeps him working long past the point where he should sleep. He is reluctant to deal with it and I don't know how to pursue the matter. I made a full report to David, but, the gist is he saw his mother killed before his eyes in a ship accident and I don't think he's ever fully processed it and has survivor's guilt on top of it. He is, however, a damn fine doctor." (Reply Sella / Discussion) "Lieutenant Commander Calvin Capps is a skilled operations officer and dedicated officer." Which, really, his record could tell her. Jynea shook her head, "I wish I could tell you more about him, but I've only ever seen him on the bridge. I couldn't begin to tell you what he does on his off-duty time. He seems to be the loner and doesn't socialize with the crew." She felt guilty she didn't know more. Saying he was senior crew and David's problem was a weak excuse since she should have tracked him down when she realized she knew nothing about the man who influenced and ordered people who were under her care. "Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna I will admit I do not know well. She is a very competent and capable officer, but she intimidates the void out of me and I haven't approached her more than casually. I suspect she copes through alcohol." How to qualify THAT hypocritical statement? "But I suspect many of us did during the atrocities of the war." (Reply Sella / Discussion) "Ensign Charles, AKA 'Chuck,' Donaldson is a dedicated security officer. He masks pain behind humour and is very much a 'will do what is necessary to get the job done' officer. He will bend the laws of Starfleet but not the morals or spirit. He will take shortcuts if he thinks unnecessary bureaucracy interferes with the benefit of the completion of the task. He doesn't trust easily, but once his trust is earned one keeps it. He is loyal to the ideals of Starfleet even if he doesn't think so. He believes, in his conscious mind, that he joined Starfleet as a means to an end to find his wife. Reality, its my belief, that he knows deep down she is gone and he wants to save others from the pain he went through and Starfleet is the most readably available vehicle to that end." (Reply Sella / Discussion) "Ensign Alex Goldsteen.." Jynea let out a breath, "I'm not even sure where to start with him. He has some sort of emotional blockage and seems to only channel negative or obsessive emotions. He doesn't relate to other's, he seems to have trouble identifying moral or immoral behaviour, tending towards the amoral. He seems to have no personal goals or motivations beyond the visceral glee he gains from enforcing his will and view on other's. He enjoys physical and mental manipulation of other's. He seems to have no conscience, no shame and no regrets of the harm he's put on others. I, personally, have no idea how he got into Starfleet or manages to pass counsellor exams. I'm just glad I am not qualified in dealing with him because beyond my ability is a drop in the bucket. The best I could manage was making myself a target so he wouldn't target other crew." Not exactly the wisest course of action, but she could only hope when she'd started that he'd not consider her having anything to gain, just an irritant to try and ignore. (Reply Sella / Discussion) "Lieutenant H'Chir.. as far as I can tell never leaves the Jeffrey Tubes. I know he exists since the other engineering officers and personnel speak of interacting with him, but I honestly have never seen him or conversed with him in any shape or form." (Reply Sella / Discussion) "Ensign Jacqueline Bristed is a dedicated engineer of talent. She is a good departmental assistant and leads well when H'Chir is not to be found. She is a woman of humour if less patient than some would desire. She is a risk taker, for adrenaline highs, is my guess, in her off-duty activities. She tends to be stand-off'ish in personal interactions and I suspect a heart break of some magnitude in her past." (Reply Sella / Discussion) "Ensign Ardena Carrow is another Vulcan hybrid, although she seems to follow her human mother's path. She recently lost control of her mental abilities. I'm not sure if the catalyst was her girlfriend's death or if that was the one weight too many, but she's on Earth in her mother and father's care at the moment." (Reply Sella / Discussion) "And, I suppose, that brings up around to the counselling department." Jynea said with a smile, "I'm lacking in self-confidence, ambition and tend to speak before thinking. Which, I'm sure, you've already noticed. I'm very happy being a morale officer and have no wish to do any other task or job. I enjoy the observation and interaction and most of all, being able to legitimately dump major problems onto the much more capable shoulders of fully ranked, educated and trained counsellors. But, I make up for that in being cute, perky, friendly and having a good sense of humour and the ridiculous." (Reply Sella) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre – Mess hall – CMO Williams – 13:00) Andrew was standing with his hands on his hips and had a deep frown across his face. ~This does not look right~ He looked from one to the other. ~But I followed all the instructions~ He picked up the PADD which contained the galactic cookbook that he had bought when he was planet side. He leaned closer to the pan that was bubbling away. He looked from the image on the PADD to the bubbling mass that was supposed to be Klingon stew. He had gotten the Targ meat from a Klingon deli on the station. When he had told the Klingon what he was going to do, the Klingon gave him a toothy grin and had said that he hopped that Andrew would survive the experience. ~Well it looks okay and does not smell bad~ He leant closer and picked up a spoon. ~Well here goes nothing ~ As Andrew put the spoon to his mouth he realised two things. First was the fact that his head was about to explode due to the amount of spices that he had put in. The other was that like all the males of his family, cooking was not some they were renowned for. ~Ow hell not good~ He dropped the spoon and grabbed for the glass of water he had near by. He grabbed the counter top and coughed trying to suck in as much air as possible. “Ow definatly need some gungin milk to cool that down.” He picked up the bottle and powered a lot in. He watched it carefully as he mixed it in. He tasted it again this time very tentatively and when the burning sensation did not return he gave himself a slight grin. “See even I can cook.” He paused and looked again at the stew.. “Well something like that any way.” He looked around the room as he saw the mess that he had made ~The chefs going to kill me if I don’t tidy this up afterwards. Well I better finish this first~ He picked up his PADD again. “Okay now what’s next. Ow yes dumplings.” (reply any) (posted by Robbie) ========================================================================