Compile March 09-15 (USS Rosenante) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mission: A Fine and Private Place Day: 8 Stardate: 2408.01.22 Compile Summary (Vulcan - Vulcan Psionics Institute - Personal Chambers - T'Larah Sullivan - 0400) (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge -SEO LT Matrix. - 1000) (USS Rosenante, Briefing Room – CEO - Lt. Bird - 1001) (USS Rosenante, Briefing Room – SEO - Lt. Matrix - 1001.5) (USS Rosenante – Observation Lounge -FO- Lt. Cmdr. Ahmed Ibn Salid-1045) (USS Rosenante – Observation Lounge - CMO Lt (jg) Josh Caskie - 1048) (USS Rosenante – Observation Lounge -FO- Lt. Cmdr. Ahmed Ibn Salid-1049) (USS Rosenante - Personal Quarters- CONN- Lt. Dralar - 1050) (USS Rosenante – Observation Lounge - CMO - Lt (jg) Josh Caskie - 1052) (USS Rosenante – Sickbay - Sec.O Ensign Ro'Dal -1126) (USS Rosenante – First Officer's Office-FO- Lt. Cmdr. Ahmed Ibn Salid-1130) (USS Rosenante – Transporter Room One- FO- Lt. Cmdr. Ahmed Ibn Salid-1140) (USS Rosenante – Transposter Room 1 -1144) (USS Rosenante – Transporter Room One- Sec.O Ensign Ro'Dal -1148) (Davros III, Mining Complex, The Colonial Pool Chamber– Carrie Lawson-1150) (Vulcan - Vulcan Psionics Institute - North Garden - T'Larah Sullivan - 1202) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Vulcan - Vulcan Psionics Institute - Personal Chambers - T'Larah Sullivan - 0400) T'Larah woke exactly at 0400 hrs local time, as she had for the past few months, looking at the same IDIC symbol. She came to Vulcan to... heal her mind from the emotional scars of seeing so much pain. For the first time in what seemed like ages, but in actuality was only months, she was able to meditate and wake with out first in some way reliving that memory. She began her morning regimen, a six mile run followed by a bland breakfast of plomeek soup. After her personal hygiene she changed into her robes, a natural off white with embroidered Vulcan letters in black on the outer lapel. The lower hem hung just above her sandaled feet. "Meeerrow" Norman exclaimed in muted tones. The gray tabby had lost some girth on Vulcan and was not so flabby anymore, the higher gravity then Earth norm had made him heavier, but now mostly muscle. No Vulcan bound small critter dared enter T'Larah's open aired chamber, while such a guard was on duty. Norman also dared not leave the domicile except at night, Vulcan's harsh sun was too much for the Terran animal. T'Larah stroked him lovingly from head to back, the only show of emotion on her part for many months. She then went about her daily routine. (reply none) (Posted by Todd) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge -SEO LT Matrix. - 1000) The FO made his way through his discussions and assignments and arrived at Matrix. "Lieutenant Matrix, I'd like for you to work with Medical and sciences to come up with a way to better detect these nanites from a distance. I'd also like for you to compare them to know Borg nanite models and see if you can determine how they differ." Matrix smiled, "Aye Sir. I'm familiar with Borg technologies and our own Federation data on the subject." (Reply any, none) (Posted by Steve) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Briefing Room – CEO - Lt. Bird - 1001) Paul was surprised when Ahmed started the briefing with out the captain present , but the F.O. quickly explained the situation . At the mention of the 2nd officer not being present , Paul had looked at Janeway and frowned , momentarily being caught out . He was still not used to Rhinehart being in that position , ~ Nothing against the man , but it feels like it should be Jono, still . ~ Salid quickly ran through what had happened and what so far they had found out . After coming out of decontamination , where he had got a bit of a power nap , something some of those present looked like they could use , he had gone to engineering to confirm his readings , before coming here and so had no idea who this mister Raschen was , but from what he quickly gathered , he was a new ensign who had turned up at just the wrong moment . ~ How do they find us in an emergency situation like this ? ~ Paul remembered his own first assignment , turning up to the USS Champlain in the middle of a crisis. Salid paused as he asked the officers to present their findings , starting with Janeway .Paul listened intently , and when Jono had finished decided he would speak then , getting in before the others who were normally quick of the mark. " The engine room was a mess , but I saw no indication of the Borg's handy work . What I did find was interesting , it looks like two different groups were at work here .The first was someone with an intimate knowledge of the engines and its systems , my guess is the ship's engineer himself , who with great precision disabled the engines making them virtually useless with the minimum of fuss . The second group either in frustration or rage , by the looks of it , took to smashing up the room with a vengeance . It looked bad but was just vandalism ." ( Reply Any With Questions ) Paul listened to the other officers give there reports . When they had finished , Salid went around the room giving out assignments and asking for supplementary information . To Paul he asked , " Mister Bird , you got a little time to take a look at the damage on the Sky . What was your assessment of the ship ? And can she be repaired ? I'd like for you to conduct a detailed damaged control survey of the vessel . " From what I saw and examined , the ship is in quite a good condition , it just looks real bad and beat up . If the rest of the ship is like the engine room , most of the damage is easily fixable and just need a good clean up . However what is a concern is the Dilithium crystal chamber . Who ever disabled that did a brilliant job , and its going to take some precision and awkward work to fix . " Here Paul turned to T'kron and Matrix , " You guy will be a big help to me there . " ( Reply Matrix and /or T'kron ) " As to the damage control survey ,I'll get a team on it right away , Sir . ( Reply Salid ) "Mister Raschen I'd like for you to assist Lt. Bird in assessing the damage to the freighter , and hopefully in recovering anything of value from either ship's log or emergency buoy . " This caught Paul of guard a little ~ Guess I'm going to find out who this guy is right away . ~ The meeting continued ending with the 1st officer informing them that there would be an away team going to the colony itself , before he opened the room up to questions. ( Reply any present ) ( Posted by Paul ) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Briefing Room – SEO - Lt. Matrix - 1001.5) The PADD Matrix reviewed held the scan and imaging materials of the survey teams. While others talked Matrix reviewed the material for details and didn’t find what he was looking for. He hoped he was wrong, but something told him there was something else besides ruined technology, something dangerous. " From what I saw and examined , the ship is in quite a good condition , it just looks real bad and beat up . If the rest of the ship is like the engine room , most of the damage is easily fixable and just need a good clean up . However what is a concern is the Dilithium crystal chamber . Who ever disabled that did a brilliant job , and its going to take some precision and awkward work to fix . " Here Paul turned to T'kron and Matrix , " You guy will be a big help to me there . " Matrix had been listening intently to the discussions. The CEO’s account of the damage was acutely accurate and he was impressed with the level of detail that everyone brought to the discussion. Matrix placed his PADD on the table in front of him as he took his turn in the discussion. “I’ve reviewed the scan records and visual images of the engine room. I’m sure we can get things working again...but I’m concerned that we might run across something we’ve overlooked. Why take the time to precisely disable the useful technology only to go back and run through it like a bull in a china closet?” said Matrix. Matrix sat up in his chair, “Yes, it looks like we can fix what needs fixing. The Dilithium chamber should be repairable, or if not we should be able to replicate one based on a detailed schematic scan. If the power conduits are intact and no other power systems are damaged or sabotaged this should only take about 10-12 hours to complete.” ( Reply T'kron, Any ) (Posted by Steve) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante – Observation Lounge -FO- Lt. Cmdr. Ahmed Ibn Salid-1045) Ahmed had listened intently as the Officers contributed their experiences on the away team and this gave him a better understanding of what they might be facing on the planet's surface. To say that he was not apprehensive in the slightest bit, would be untrue. If nothing else, Ahmed was very worried about what may well happen to any away team that might be beamed down to the surface. "Sir I have one final recommendation to make. The Sky is a derelict, no-one is now left alive on that ship. It seems from the away teams report that it has become infested with something. Given what we know my recommendation would be to destroy it now." Caskie offered. He considered the CMO's recommendation to destroy the freighter. It was clear that she felt strongly about it, Ahmed valued her opinion, but considering her recent state of mind, he was hesitant at this point to destroy the freighter outright. "Thank you for your recommendation Doctor, but at this point we may still be able to gather important data from the freighter, albeit for the moment from this vessel. Considering the risk of infection to our own crew I think it prudent that we activate the quarantine beacon. Mister Bird and Mister Raschen will have to conduct their surveys from here. I will consider that since you recommend the destruction of the freighter that you feel it is an unnecessary risk to have a team reboard her. So until further notice, that ship is off limits." "I'd like to know everything we can about our mysterious researcher doctor, including any information about a possible domicile or lab site on this colony, please see what you can find." (reply Caskie) "As to the damage control survey ,I'll get a team on it right away, Sir " Paul replied once Ahmed assigned him to perform a damage control assessment. Then Ahmed turned his attention to Raschen, "On these ships you encountered, please put together a brief report of the encounter for my review Mister Raschen. I'd like to know as much as possible." (reply Raschen) “No problem sir. I have to speak with Lt. Janeway for a moment after this meeting and then I’ll be ready to go over it.” "That will be fine." Ahmed replied. With no questions, Ahmed then decided that the briefing was effectively concluded. "Everybody knows what they need to do, so let's hop to it. Dismissed." He waited a few moments for the group of officers to rise, before adding one last thing. "Doctor Caskie, could you stay for a few minutes?" (reply Caskie) Once the remaining officers had left the room to undertake their individual assignments, and only Josh and Ahmed were remaining, he spoke to the CMO. "Doctor, please have a seat, I have something I'd like to talk to you about." (reply Caskie) "This is a delicate situation, so please bear with me. I am aware that you had some difficulties once the war ended and that you'd been rotated off duty for medical reasons." "I don't need to know the details, those are between you and Counselor Rhinehart. Olen has provided me with a recommendation at my request concerning your state of readiness to return to duty." "I've read his recommendations and given it some thought. Mister Rhinehart believes that you are fit for duty, but has also cautioned that you should maintain a regular counseling session with him to follow up on his recommendation. It was originally his recommendation that you avoid particularly stressful situations for the moment, although I can't see how that could happen given your position on this ship." He watched her reactions carefully. "So Olen's recommendations aside, I want to know what you think about returning to duty. Are you ready to assume the responsibility of CMO again? Are you ready to come back to duty at full speed or do you need more time?" "Your answer won't affect my judgment of your competency. I know you’re a fine doctor and an excellent department head. All I need to know is are you ready or do you need more time?" (reply Caskie) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante – Observation Lounge - CMO Lt (jg) Josh Caskie - 1048) Josh listened to the First Officer sum up at the end of the meeting and as he turned to her to discuss her suggestion of destroying the ship she realised that he had not quite taken her as seriously as she had hoped. "Thank you for your recommendation Doctor, but at this point we may still be able to gather important data from the freighter, albeit for the moment from this vessel. Considering the risk of infection to our own crew I think it prudent that we activate the quarantine beacon. Mister Bird and Mister Raschen will have to conduct their surveys from here. I will consider that since you recommend the destruction of the freighter that you feel it is an unnecessary risk to have a team reboard her. So until further notice, that ship is off limits." Ok, it was better than nothing, but Josh knew that if the nanites in the hand were anything like the nanites left on the ship, she herself would give it a wide berth. As for the quarantine beacon, ok most normal ships gave them a wide berth, but there was always one person who thought that they knew better. One person, who considered themselves indestructible and was either too stupid or too greedy to pay attention to any warning beacon. There was always one idiot who thought themselves indestructible and would actually board anything to see what they could salvage, so Josh, made a note on her padd to bring this up later with the FO. She was particularly worried about the cargo bay that Jono and his team had found and as much as she wanted to send a team across there she realised that it was far too dangerous. What she needed to do was send a probe back over there and the only way to do that was to liaise with Ops. Making notes on her padd she almost missed the FO end the meeting, only looking up in time to hear him give her her orders. "I'd like to know everything we can about our mysterious researcher doctor, including any information about a possible domicile or lab site on this colony, please see what you can find." Josh nodded, I already have everyone I can spare on it, but it's a big planet Sir. To be honest, she could be anywhere." With no questions, Ahmed then decided that the briefing was effectively concluded. "Everybody knows what they need to do, so let's hop to it. Dismissed." He waited a few moments for the group of officers to rise, before adding one last thing. "Doctor Caskie, could you stay for a few minutes?" Josh nodded and waited whilst everyone else filed out of the room. "Doctor, please have a seat, I have something I'd like to talk to you about." Josh nodded, pulled out a chair beside him and sat down. Fixing her eyes on him she simply waited for him to continue. Josh wasn't stupid, she had a fairly good idea of what he wanted to say, she simply was not sure which way the axe would fall, to be honest. So she simply sat there and waited for the FO to continue. "This is a delicate situation, so please bear with me. I am aware that you had some difficulties once the war ended and that you'd been rotated off duty for medical reasons." "I don't need to know the details, those are between you and Counsellor Rhinehart. Olen has provided me with a recommendation at my request concerning your state of readiness to return to duty." "I've read his recommendations and given it some thought. Mister Rhinehart believes that you are fit for duty, but has also cautioned that you should maintain a regular counselling session with him to follow up on his recommendation. It was originally his recommendation that you avoid particularly stressful situations for the moment, although I can't see how that could happen given your position on this ship." He watched her reactions carefully. Josh smiled and then out and out laughed. Smiling at the FO she apologised. "I am sorry Sir. I do not dispute the Councillor's recommendations or his take on my condition. But he has only looked at this from his perspective and not mine. "So Olen's recommendations aside, I want to know what you think about returning to duty. Are you ready to assume the responsibility of CMO again? Are you ready to come back to duty at full speed or do you need more time?" "Your answer won't affect my judgement of your competency. I know you're a fine doctor and an excellent department head. All I need to know is are you ready or do you need more time?" Josh smiled, "I am more than ready to come back to full duty. I won't say it was easy after the war. To ignore that would prove that I still wasn't competent. I had a hard time sir and didn't find it easy at all. But I am confident that I am ready. There is a saying we have in Medical. Those that can, do. Those that can't go into research.. I am not ready to go into research just yet". (Reply Daniel iyw, but none needed.) (posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante – Observation Lounge -FO- Lt. Cmdr. Ahmed Ibn Salid-1049) Josh smiled, "I am more than ready to come back to full duty. I won't say it was easy after the war. To ignore that would prove that I still wasn't competent. I had a hard time sir and didn't find it easy at all. But I am confident that I am ready. There is a saying we have in Medical. Those that can, do. Those that can't go into research.. I am not ready to go into research just yet". Ahmed smiled. "Alright then , Doctor, on the recommendation of the Chief counselor and your own assurances that you are ready to return to duty, I'm reinstating you. " "On another matter, I will be speaking with the captain about destroying the freighter as you recommended. I think it is only prudent, but first I need to be certain that there isn't any other as yet undiscovered information on board. This situation is far from over, but I assure you, we will be destroying that vessel when it is concluded." "You'll be accompanying me on the away mission, so I'd like you to make arrangements to see to it that the Nanites are exceptionally secured. I want a destruction protocol in place." (reply Caskie) "If you have nothing else, that will be all Doctor Caskie." (reply Josh) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Personal Quarters- CONN- Lt. Dralar - 1050) Dralar had technically been off-duty for a few hours, and with no need to return to the bridge, he had simply decided to the return to his quarters for a short break. Sendam was waiting as expected, the trimmers ready to trim and manicure the massive talons on the ends of this toes. "Is everything well, my prince?" the body servant asked as Dralar stepped into the room. "All is troubled my dear Sendam. It appears that we have responded to a distress signal that may have something to do with the Borg." There was a sharp intake of air from the other Skorr and Dralar continued. "I know, as do we all the kind of threat that the Borg represent, but these are not like any Borg I have ever heard of before. These Borg seem to dismember their victims and animate their extremities." Dralar said carefully. "That sounds very gruesome, " Sendam commented, "What is to be done?" "There is a colony that has gone silent, nearby. The First Officer is assembling an away team to investigate." Dralar concluded. "Does he not know how dangerous Borg are?" Sendam asked. "I'd say he does, but he is duty bound to investigate. If it were a Skorr Colony we could not abandon the colonists either." "No I suppose you are correct." There was a few moments of silence. "What do you think they will find?" Sendam asked after a moment. "Blood and death, Sendam, Blood and Death." (reply None) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante – Observation Lounge - CMO - Lt (jg) Josh Caskie - 1052) The FO smiled after listening to Josh's own reasons for allowing her back, and, after stating that the Chief Councillor had agreed, and had indeed finally certified her as fit for duty. "On another matter, I will be speaking with the captain about destroying the freighter as you recommended. I think it is only prudent, but first I need to be certain that there isn't any other as yet undiscovered information on board. This situation is far from over, but I assure you, we will be destroying that vessel when it is concluded." Josh took in a deep breath. "Thank you sir. To be honest I have changed my mind. Not about destroying it, that ship most certainly needs to be destroyed before we leave, but now, no." "Is there a way we could set up a remote device that could blow it up from here even if we were compromised sir? I would like to send a probe over to the cargo bay that Lt Janeway discovered to find out what was going on in there. However I would prefer to have this set up as a remote link so that we do not have to endanger any of our personnel. (Reply Salid iyw) (posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante – Sickbay - Sec.O Ensign Ro'Dal -1126) Her eyes had remained fixed on the hand ever since she'd left the Observation Lounge to stand guard over it, only flickering away for the blink of an eye to make eye contact with the other security guard across the room. The stimulant she'd received when she'd arrived made her feel as if she could run a marathon all day long, so standing still on guard duty was hard to do. The hand lay on it's back, fingers curled inwards slightly and it reminded her of a giant dead carrion beetle she'd found once as a child, only it wasn't copper red like the beetle or red with blood as it had been. It had been cleaned up by the doctor when she'd examined it. The dead beetle had turned out to be very much alive, and just waiting, pretending to be dead, for something edible and curious enough to come close enough to ambush. When it had struck it had done so with lightening speed, sinking it's large mandibles into her left calf and taking a meaty mouthful out of it. Ro'Dal still bore the scar. It itched, now that she was reminded of that terrifying moment. She had learned a hard lesson that day when she'd run shrieking and bloody, back to the militant religious sects' institute only to receive a good beating for venturing out when she should have been in the kitchen helping the cook prepare the main meal of the day. She had learned that she was only person she could count on fully, and had become self-reliant, never complaining when she was ill or in pain. Fortunately she had been neither very often during her childhood and had run away from the sect to join the Takaran Security Force's Cadet program, at the age of thirteen. Her years of drudgery in the sect, lifting heavy weights and working for hours on end, had made her physically strong. ~Did it move?~ Her eyes were playing tricks on her but Ro'Dal felt that if she took her eyes off the gruesome thing it would suddenly become animated and pound itself against the force field that surrounded it, desperate in it's determination to rip off her face and tear her apart. When her commbadge chirped she jumped and made a small eep sound, startled out of her obsessed concentration. It was the FO contacting her and several others telling her she was to equip herself with a hand phaser, Type III rifle and a tricorder, and meet in fifteen minutes in the transporter room. It sounded like there would be several security members. Abernathy, Carson, T'nar and Hezan were all of lesser rank than her, and apparently Janeway nor Moto were going with them, so it looked like she would be in charge of the security team, but they were all good at their jobs and more often than not they anticipated any orders they were likely to be given before she opened her mouth. ~What a relief, no more hand watching.~ There came a groan from across the room. "You lucky devil, I wish I was going." Her human comrade said in a half joking manner but looking positively envious. "If you had seen what I saw on that ship, perhaps you would not wish to be going to the planet. I fear the same fate has become of those colonists." Ro' told him. "Just keep close eye on that thing and make sure nobody gets near it without authorization." He simply nodded, sobered by her words and she left to go to the Armory with a short stop at the 'head' before getting the weapons. One thing she was sure of, she wouldn't be able to use the facilities down on the planet, nobody was to travel alone. --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante – First Officer's Office-FO- Lt. Cmdr. Ahmed Ibn Salid-1130) Once Ahmed had finished his discussion with Josh, he had spoken with the Captain to make certain that any concerns that she may have had were addressed. They had both agreed that there was little else that they could learn from orbit, and that an away team would be necessary to determine the fate of the colonists. He'd poured over the report that Charlie had provided him, as well as the damage assessments that he and Bird had completed. A remote uplink to the freighter's logs proved fruitless. There did not seem to be any chance for the captain or any other member of the Freighter's crew to record so much as a single thought. The onslaught had to have taken place quickly. That did not make Ahmed feel any better. He turned his chair so that he could look out of the large window that was perfectly placed to reveal the dark splinter of the freighter floating over the blue sky of Davros III. It was a beautiful planet from orbit, but somewhere in the back of his mind Ahmed wondered if her would see things on the surface that would ruin this vista for him forever. Time was running short, he still had to notify the selected members of the Away Team, so that they could all assemble ready to head into the unknown horrors that lurked on the planet below. With a deliberate slowness, Ahmed tapped his Commbadge. "Salid to Raschen, Bird, Ro'Dal, Caskie, Matrix, Carson, Abernathy, T'nar and Hezan. Please report to transporter room one in fifteen minutes. Come equipped with a standard hand phaser and a Type III rifle in addition to tricorders." (Reply all mentioned) It had been decided that Jono and Sam would remain on the Rosenante to secure the nanites that they had aboard under the watchful eye of Nurse Fisher. T'kron would watch over engineering while the other engineers were away. With Abernathy, Carson, T'nar and Hezan as security, led by Ro'Dal, they should be safe enough. At least that was the hope. If these things were as nasty as the Borg, they'd need to withdraw quickly. But with any luck, they'd find the Colonists alive and well. --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante – Transporter Room One- FO- Lt. Cmdr. Ahmed Ibn Salid-1140) Ahmed entered the room, pleased to see that some of his away team had already arrived. He nodded in agreement and turned to the transporter chief. "You have the coordinates?" he asked her. "Yes, sir, they're dialed in." She replied "Excellent, maintain a transporter lock on all members of the away team at all times." "Aye sir." (reply All away Team members) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante – Transposter Room 1 -1144) Josh had reporting to the transporter room with her type three phaser rifle slung over her back. She wasn't happy about a type three phaser rifle. She, to be honest would have a hard time with it, but she did understand the need for it. With that all said and done she felt overburdened. She understood the need to carry this amount of fire power, but, knowing her fire ratio she would have a hard time hitting anything. An image crossd her mind of somone, she could not remember who, describig a severed had crawling towards them and Josh dialed up her phaser rifle from stun to kill. ~Josh, pay attention. You will come back from this.~ Josh smiled slightly. ~yeah~ (reply any) (posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante – Transporter Room One- Sec.O Ensign Ro'Dal -1148) The rest of the team had been preparing for the mission when she had got to the Armory, so they all arrived at the Transporter Room together and they were among the first to get there. Ro'Dal was quietly briefing her team when Cdr. Salid entered, looking pleased when he saw the security team and others waiting. He nodded in greeting and turned to the transporter chief. "You have the coordinates?" he asked her. "Yes, sir, they're dialed in." She replied "Excellent, maintain a transporter lock on all members of the away team at all times." "Aye sir." (reply All away Team members) (posted by Sal) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Davros III, Mining Complex, The Colonial Pool Chamber– Carrie Lawson-1150) The silver liquid was slightly warm to the touch and Carrie felt as if she was floating. The quicksilver pool that was nestled in lowest reaches of the mine was perfectly still as her new friends restored her body. It was an amazing thing, The pain was gone now and even her hair had grown back. She couldn't remember the last time that she felt so well. Her mother stood behind a console, a slight glazed look in her eye, which meant that she was speaking to the others. She didn't know who the others were, but they had helped her mother heal her body and become a normal little girl again. And besides, she enjoyed floating in the soft silver pool deep beneath the surface of the planet. It was as if the mine was a secret place now, somehow the entire center of her universe. Her greatest wish, the one that she had shared with her mommy just weeks before was coming true. She'd be able to run again soon, and already the pain had gone. The terrible disease that she had contracted and that had ravaged her body was being destroyed by the others. It was amazing to her that she could move her fingers again after so long, or that she could feel the silvery liquid sliding between her toes, when just a few weeks ago she couldn't even hold her head upright without help. She had always thought she was going to die, even the doctors at Starfleet had said as much. They used words like incurable, terminal and untreatable to describe her, but what did they know? Her mother had known differently though. She had moved here, where the specialized conditions existed to continue her work. The abandoned leg of the mine had made a good lab, free from the harmful radiation of the planet's sun. It was the perfect place to conduct special experiments. At least that is what her mother had said. Then one day, her she had returned home joyous from the lab, and had carried her daughter here. She had given her a shot of something silver, and Carrie had fallen into a deep sleep. When she had awakened, she had been in the pool. She had been afraid at first, unable to move at all because of her condition and afraid of drowning. But the others hadn't harmed her. They had spoken to her, with the voice of an Angel and had promised that they would cure her if she would only allow them to stay with her forever. Her mother had been excited at first at the result, then she had grown worried, and tried to take Carrie from the pool. The girl had begged her mother not to move her. She wanted to be with the Angels, and that's when the others convinced her mommy that they were to be Carrie's friend. Mommy had not understood the words, she had screamed and jerked and cried and fallen into an unmoving lump on the floor. Carrie had been frightened, but her Mommy had awakened and stood up again. She smiled at her daughter and in an odd voice that Carrie almost heard in her own head, promised that she'd return. There were voices, distant voices, that Carrie could almost hear, and at first there was only one, then two and eventually many. And then members of the colony were coming down into the lab and building things and they had expanded the quicksilver pool. And all the while Carrie floated and healed, knowing that soon she would be a normal little girl again. (reply none) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Vulcan - Vulcan Psionics Institute - North Garden - T'Larah Sullivan - 1202) ::T'Larah, I need to see you in my office.:: Not being a full telepath, and only being able to respond because of the link that she and Master Tuvril shared with him being her healer, she sent the healer the feeling of understanding as she stood up. Master Tuvril was assigned to her upon her arrival to the VPI, because of T'Larah and Tuvril's mixed heritages. Though T'Larah was half human, and Tuvril was half Betazoid, him being the only mixed heritage healer, he was deemed to be the best suited to help T'Larah with her psychic trauma. Tuvril's first healing meld discovered the root of T'Larah's trauma, the flair of psychic energy generated from the battle effected her dramatically because she didn't know how to handle a city's worth of emotions all at once. Tuvril changed all that. He taught her to erect psychic barriers and walls to protect her own mind while he helped heal the damage. T'Larah's leather sandals made little noise against the sandstone Mosaic path as she walked toward the main building. She was used to the stifling heat coming from the 40 Eridani system's Suns. Her Vulcan blood and months of stay here have fully acclimated her to their oppressive rays. A few minutes at an easy pace brought her to a smallish room with a stone slab roughly in the center that served as the master's desk. A PADD and a rack of isolinear chips were the only signs that this was not ancient Vulcan, and it also served as one of the only links to the modern world. ~Most people would swear that this is the Vulcan way of telling a joke, calling that a desk.~ She thought off handedly. Her hand split in the classic "V" of the Vulcan greeting. "Live long and prosper..." she spoke. His weathered hands split in the same greeting and nodded, :: .. peace and long life.:: Having never spoken with his own voice Master Tuvril always spoke through psychic projection. If it was ever brought up in conversation, how he lost his voice he would respond that he has always been this way. ::T'Larah, please, sit.:: The bald headed master instructed. His robes would have been simpler then T'Larah's own if not for the jewels on the front, symbolizing his achievement. The master sat cross legged on the floor inviting T'Larah to do the same. T'Larah sat with out question, knowing that if he summoned her here there was definitely important matters to discuss. ::T'Larah, I have summoned you here because, I believe that you have fully recovered from your trauma.:: he paused letting the silent announcement sink in. :: You have a strong mind, and I believe that with what I have taught you to do, you can now protect your mind from the kind of experiences that can cause future trauma.:: "Thank you for your confidence, master, I shall endeavor to ensure that it was not misplaced." she responded evenly. :: I told you that when you were finished here, you will have a choice.:: he paused and produced a small case from behind his workspace. ~Where did he hide that?~ she asked herself in thought rhetorically. He placed it on his desk and slid it forward, motioning for her to open it. Her hands eased to the biometric clasp, and the small case opened, revealing a Starfleet uniform trimmed with tactical gold. A communicator and two gold pips completed the picture. :: I Master Tuvril here by declare on this date you have a clean bill of mental health, and offer you the chance to return to your former life.:: T'Larah thought for a moment, and found the longing for her future in the stars still there, she nodded her affirmative knowing that Tuvril already knew her answer. ::Behind the uniform you will find a PADD and a single isolinear chip encoded with your orders to a USS Rosenante, under Captain Rivers. There is a transport warp shuttle that can take you there soon. I wish you well T'Larah.:: "Thank you master." she said and left to pack for her new assignment. (Reply None) (Posted by Todd) --------------------------------------------------------------------- End Compile ---------------------------------------------------------------------