Star Trek: Theurgy

Day 01 [1600 hrs.] The New Pack

May 10, 2017, 01:52:25 PM

Day 01 [1600 hrs.] The New Pack

[ Lt Cmdr. Jennifer Dewitt | The Allegiant Docking Bay | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: EAC, Steelphoenix & Kaligos (No PO)
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With a shuddering breath, Jennifer realised that they had made it. They were alive, and the docking latches had closed around the Allegiant. On the viewscreen, she saw the Theurgy going to warp, leaving the battlefield. No doubt about it. We made it.

The realisation dawned on the rest of the people on the small bridge too, gravity returning as well, both facts being evident when Sithick lifted their pilot from her seat and hugged her. "You beautiful creature, we are in your debt today, May your brood always be safe."

The sound of the Gorn's words and the sight caused Jennifer to chuckle despite herself... but she was still holding her phaser trained on their unexpected passenger. She glanced towards Morwen, seeing how she was still trembling where she stood at her console, but she would be fine. Jennifer got her something to do. "Forget the damage report. We can deal with that later. I need you to go check on Doctor Hernandez and see if the engineers made it down in the warp core room. The Theurgy's structural integrity field has re-pressurised the area by now."

Only then did she turn her attention towards the alien with the fur-covered face. She was no felnoid expert, so she didn't know exactly what she was looking at, but she raised her chin and trained her green eyes on him - fairly certain as she was that it was 'he'. The dim light of the nigh destroyed bridge caught his golden eyes, and she frowned. She'd heard him pray to some 'Amara' when Thorne had tried to catch up with the Theurgy, but that didn't tell her anything useful. She tapped her combadge with her free hand.

"Security to the Allegiant. We have a stowaway here. I need him dealt with," she said, then she stepped closer, phaser still held at her hip. Her eyes were unblinking as she gauged him. "Who are you and why did you board us?"

---

[ Upper Shuttle Bay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Joint-Post by DocReno & Auctor Lucan. Attn: Triage

As the cockpit of her fighter opened up, Lieutenant Talidenai zh'Idenna was already removing her helmet and taking a breath of fresh air as no matter how used she got to the independent systems of the exosuit, she still preferred fresh air over recycled.

The Andorian looked over at the broken and heavily battered shuttle that some of her people helped protect and escort into the bay as he eyes narrowed in concern as she saw the shuttle open and it's pilot come out, walking in a very worrisome manner as she pulled her helmet off to reveal that her face was now a partial crimson mask. Then, a figure in a brown cloak stepped out as well, talking to her, and looking just as bloodied. Before long, the woman sat down against the nearest wall to her shuttle - drifting off.

Tali quickly hauled herself up and out of her cockpit then hit the ground running with T'Zantha following her at a sprint. "Check on the shuttle, Sniper. I've got her!" Terror said as the two women quickly split in two directions with Terror sliding the last few inches to one knee as she quickly removed her suit's medkit and had the scanner out as she started to check the younger woman.

"DREN!" Tali snapped as she quickly set down the scanner and pulled out a small hypospray, selected a specific dosage and med before using it on the red-head before choosing another med and adding it as well as Tali hoped that her kit's small amounts of asionlyathin and benjisidrine would help her fellow pilot. She then pulled out the dermal regenerator and started to use it the best that she could as she wiped blood away from the more serious of injuries.

"Come on, open those beautiful eyes because by Lor'Vela we have lost enough today to loose another to this cruel joke." Tali begged in a concerned tone as she worked, waiting for the EMTs to arrive.

While the will to aid the fighter pilot that passed out in front of him was there, and Drauc had managed to move into a crouching position next to her, the Andorian female that emerged from one of the landing fighters was quicker and better equipped. His own blood stinging his eyes, he climbed back to his feet with the support from the side of the battered shuttle, and looked around to see if there was a triage team inbound.

Meanwhile, T'Zantha went over to the shuttle that the pilot had come from as well, and up close, she saw of all things that the figure in the brown cloak was a Romulan which made the albino Vulcan have the faint ghost of amusement cross her gaze for a moment. She tilted her head towards him. "Do you require aid?" she asked simply.

Hearing the voice, Drauc turned his attention to the second pilot, seeing that she was Vulcan. A white-haired Vulcan without the age to merit the colour. The relationship between his people and hers was strained, at best, yet he would not presume to act like his kinsmen in the Empire. He used to be Starfleet, his tolerance higher, and while he was not the most sociable, he did manage to incline his head to her, as much as his neck hurt from the beating he'd taken. Both she and the Andorian wore the same kind of figure-fitted exosuit that Krystal Tancredi wore. Same as K'Ren, whom he'd shared the cockpit of the Aerowing with.

"I require rest," he rasped to the pilot, tasting blood in his mouth. It was years since he held a Starfleet rank, but he knew what needed to be done. He would just not presume to give orders, but he was in no capacity to make any difference. "If you can locate the triage personnel, tell them this human needs them more than I."

Having said this, Drauc limped towards the direction of the massive bay doors, seeing the ship go to warp before they closed. The streaming stars told him they were leaving Starbase 84 behind. Wherever the ship was going, and what mission it was on, he did not know, but he had a feeling... that he had only taken the first few steps on the righteous path.

---

OOC note by DocReno: Asionlyathin is a pain reliever that was often times used as a muscle relaxer as well as seen in the DS9 episode "The Visionary" and the New Frontiers story by Peter David "Q'uandary". Benjisidrine is a medication to help prevent people from going into shock as seen in the novel "The Klingon Gambit".

Re: Epilogue: The New Pack [Supplementary]

Reply #1 – May 10, 2017, 02:53:25 PM

[ Petty Officer Phuc | Lower Shuttle Bay | Deck 21 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: 1) Burningtransformation 2) Esyel & 3) EAC (No PO)
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"Oi, you there," said Alessia Garcia, "I need to know who else from the White Wolves made it aboard.  And about two of your own, Miles Renard, callsign Iron Fox, and Thomas Ravon, Callsign Razor.  Tell me they're aboard..."

Petty Officer Phuc raised heard the accented voice and looked up towards the cockpit of the strange fighter he had rushed to when it landed. Not having seen the model before, Phuc was a bit distracted by the idea of somehow figuring out what it was and how he and his closest deck crew was supposed to handle it. Around them, more of the strange fighters were landing too, tractored into position since the bay was not made for fighters. It was an equally impressive and discouraging sight, seeing them settle on the Theurgy, because while they looked extraordinary in design, he wondered how the hell they were supposed to do maintenance on them. Phuc supposed they could be the result of the secret project on Luna Base, the model name 'Valravn' coming to mind, but he really had no idea what to make of them.

Pushing aside speculation, Phuc tried to help the agitated Tac CONN officer. Outside the bay closing bay doors, Phuc was relieved to see the ship going to warp - leaving the battle behind. "Thea? Are there more fighters like these aboard?"

[Yes. Three warp fighters of the same model have docked in my Upper Shuttle Bay. Their sensor designations are Terror, Sniper and Witch King. Five more have now docked where you are. Their sensor designations are Dragon, Strider, Angel, Catscratch and Shinigami. I am reading that they all have Rear Intercept Officers too.]

Eight of these? What will Covington do with them all? Oh, and if they are from Luna Base, I know he won't like them just because they aren't Valkyries... He never cared for James Knight's designs. Catching himself in idle thought, he tried to get the last bit of information about Iron-Fox and the Lone Wolves.

"Thank you, Thea. What about the Lone Wolves? Is Iron-Fox aboard?"

[Negative, my sensor readings showed Lieutenant Commander Renard vanishing in Task Force Archeron's torpedo ordinance before I went to warp,] said Thea, and there was a clear pause before she spoke again, as if the loss of the Vulpinian SCO even gave her digital soul pause. [Lieutenant Thomas Ravon, however, is in my Fighter Assault Bay.]

Phuc didn't know what to say, eyes dropping from the two standing in the Valravn's cockpit. The whole present team of fighter technicians paused, looking between one another. Iron-Fox is gone. Phuc did not even notice the Romulan pilot that approached from one of the Valravn fighters.

---

OOC: Waffles is next! This entire thread may be moved to the next Interregnum and made a Prologue.

Re: Prologue: The New Pack [Supplementary]

Reply #2 – May 12, 2017, 04:23:51 AM

 Jaya Thorne | The Allegiant Docking Bay | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Lucan, Steelphoenix & Kaligos
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It took time to process their ordeal: seconds for Jaya to feel the familiar pull of artificial gravity now that they were aboard the Theurgy, minutes for the exhilaration and despair of battle to settle in her gut, hours or days to sort through her emotions over their actions out on the battlefield.  Her trembling hands had barely released her restraints when one crewmate's celebration began.

Sithick gave her no time at all before lifting a newly unrestrained Jaya from her seat and crushing the daylight out of her.  It would occur to her later that this must be how Sithick perceived a human hug.  In the moment, however, she was too stunned to think.  Her body reacted naturally, with a hard flinch and a defensive push, but the Gorn seemed to be holding her body gently despite the sheer strength of his grasp.  Her body relaxed a fraction when she realized she was in no danger.  She still didn't like being so close to Sithick.  But the lizardman was overjoyed that they weren't dead, it would seem, and he said as much.  His raspy, gutteral native tongue was strange in the brunette's ear, but after a moment of confusion, she heard the translation. 

"You beautiful creature, we are in your debt today, May your brood always be safe."

Jaya couldn't help but crack a smile at that as he set her back down.  She was seriously rethinking her initial suspicions about Sithick.  Perhaps he wasn't sent to the Black Opal to kill her, and if not, then maybe he wasn't such a bad person after all.  Of course, in order to prove that, Jaya would have to spend a decent amount of time with him.  While it wasn't hard to do (she had a good idea where he would hang out on the Theurgy, and she had already been assigned to be his roommate yet again), she had little intention of actively trying to get to know the Gorn.

As he quickly pulled away and returned to his usual demeanor, Jaya noticed something viscous and sticky and green on her uniform.  It was all along where his arm had held her and she grimaced at the sight of it.  She had a good idea what it was, but she touched it anyway.  Slimy.  Wet.  She sniffed it.  Metallic.  Gross.  She held up her hand towards Sithick, scowling.  "Uhh.. are you.. bleeding??"

Then she saw it.  A good portion of his hand and arm were charred and the normally verdant green skin had blackened, cracked and was now leaking some kind of mint-colored slime.  It had to be Gorn blood.  She wiped her hands across her pants as Dewitt gave orders to Morwen and the trembling girl nervously complied.  Since her CO was taking care of the ship's survivors and the intruder, Jaya felt like she needed to do something as well.  Her eyes returned to Sithick's arm.  Someone should get the Gorn medical help..  Jaya tapped her combadge.

"Medical to the Allegiant.  We've got several injured crewmen.  We could use anyone you can spare."

[All Medical personnel are currently occupied.  If the injured parties are able to walk, please escort them to Sickbay.  I can direct you there.]

Jaya's brows furrowed, causing her to wince.  She'd forgotten that her head had seen some action during the fighting.  What exactly had happened out there?  Why were there so many injured crew?  Had the mission really been a failure?  What about the message that proved their innocence?  What about the message to her father?  Her brown eyes glanced up at Sithick towering over her and she heaved a sigh.  This was NOT what she wanted to do, but it was the right thing to do.  With a shake of her head, Jaya stepped up to Sithick's side and offered her assistance.

"I guess I'm your escort, seeing as I need to be looked at too.  You ready?"  The question was the nicest way Jaya could think of to say 'let's get moving'.  Her actions indicated as much, since she was already moving with Sithick towards the exit.

Re: Prologue: The New Pack [Supplementary]

Reply #3 – May 14, 2017, 04:15:29 PM

[Lt. Devyrie Okhala | Lower Shuttle Bay | Deck 21 | USS Theurgy ]

The landing had been a bit rougher than she had planned, but given the circumstances, it was a blessing to be on the ground. She took a moment to calm herself, heart thudding against her pressure suit.

"D, we going to introduce ourselves?" Vinnie's voice shocked her back to the present. The ship's gravity finally hit her, and the rage and roar of the battle's marks pounded against her. Chest heavy, Dev reached for the release, her restraints retracting to her jumpsuit with a simple *click*. She unsnapped her helmet, white locks still tied up in a bun, out of the way. Some sweat stung out her eyes, with the sudden exposure to air, and she wiped it away, best as she could.

"How many made it?"

"I've got at least four fighters that landed with us. Not sure what happened to the rest." Vinnie's voice was morose, and Dev could feel his pain, like a hot spike up her neck. She had thought that more would side with her, but pilots were a stubborn bunch. She was just grateful for some company.

"We'll assume they joined back up with the task force. No going back now, I guess."

"First steps, then?"

"Yeah..." she sighed through clenched teeth. "Keep her warm, alright, Vinnie? In case they are not as friendly as I think."

"Not a lot of fuel left."

Dev ignored him, pulled her sidearm and hooked it to her suit. She had no intention of using it, but her eyes flicked around the bay, taking the surroundings, calculating odds. She didn't like this at all.  But, no going back, and she lowered herself off the fighter to the deck. She glanced around, looking for some officer who might be in charge, and might help this transition. She glanced back at Vinnie, and moved forward to the nearest officer. Well, petty officer.

"Lt. Okhala, um, here to join the Theurgy. Please direct me your department head."

It was blunt, but this was unusual circumstance. How else do you approach this?

Re: Prologue: The New Pack [Supplementary]

Reply #4 – May 14, 2017, 05:26:43 PM

[ Ensign Minjae Soh (Callsign: Shinigami) | Lower Shuttle Bay | Deck 21 | USS Theurgy | Attention: Auctor Lucan, Burningtransformation, & Even Angels Cry (Plus anyone else that may come into play)

Well, fuck ....

Thinking back, Minjae Soh couldn't honestly say what he expected when he joined Starfleet and became a fighter pilot. Lots of challenges, sure. Tons of annoying tests to see how good his academic and other skills were? Most definitely. Pretty faces? That had been an amazing bonus he was blessed with. Of course, he kept that away from himself. Cheeky and cocky as he could be, he - usually - knew his limits. And right now ... he was at one of those moments, where his more immediate thoughts were not focused on the exotic woman beside him, but his future now sprawled out before him.

All in a very horrible, delicate mess. Specifically, the known better known by the name of treason, which he had literally just committed by turning his back on his former captain, Marcus Slayton.

What in the living fuck have I done?

Keeping his arm tucked under his left arm, Minjae lowered his gaze down at the floor, as if that had the answers.

"Kinda late to change your mind, don't you think?"

"Well, yeah. Remind me. I get why I turned my back but ... you did because ... ??"

Minjae was met with a smug grin.

"Oi. That's my gesture."

"Then do it already," the female water Câroon - First Petty Officer Karma ein Yueh - dared. "Goodness, Minjae. Your moods sometimes change faster than a set of white water rapids, let alone a fully developed woman. You did what you needed to. That's all there is to it. Now, why did I tag along?" Her grin widened, "Well ... if I weren't here, what would you do?"

" ... Fair enough," Minjae muttered, chuckling as he raised his right hand and ran it through his raven locks, sighing softly. "Okay. Point made."

Both turned, seeing their ship wasn't the only one around, which was good. It meant others had gotten out of the battle as well. Hopefully Razor, whom had been a good contribution to what assisted in making Minjae betray Marcus Slayton, was fine. He wanted to catch up, or at least find a familiar face.

But that could wait.

Right now ... Minjae needed ... something. No, someone. To find a ... leader? Definitely something to speak to, most definitely. It took a few, awkward steps of walking around. Luckily, he managed to hear a blunt and to the point request from one of the nearby figures. A female who, just by her facial structure and looks alone, was much more than a mere human. That much was easy to distinguish.

"I ... will need to follow her, I suppose. Ensign Minjae Soh ... reporting in and - hopefully - for duty."

Re: Prologue: The New Pack [Supplementary]

Reply #5 – May 15, 2017, 12:08:43 PM

[ Petty Officer Phuc | Lower Shuttle Bay | Deck 21 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: 1) EAC 2) Burningtransformation 3) Esyel 4) Auctor Lucan
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Still at a loss for words, Phuc and his fellow technican's unable to tend to the Valravn they were at, both because they didn't know the craft, and because of what Thea had just told them. The Squadron Commander of the Lone Wolves was gone. Phuc didn't hear anything from the Tactical CONN officers in the cockpit of the off fighter either - perhaps they knew Lieutenant Commander Renard too? - but he did hear a female voice behind him. "Lt. Okhala, um, here to join the Theurgy. Please direct me your department head."

Blinking, he turned around and saw a female figure in an exosuit. His eyes rising to her face, he was somewhat startled by the Romulan forehead ridges, but he answered readily enough. The answer was just fresh news to him, so it made him stammer in his reply. "M-My...? You must mean the Squadron Commanding Officer... I... He... It seems like he didn't make it back. He..."

Then, two more pilots in exosuits - one Asian male and a brunette with strange eyes - joined the Romulan one with the dreadlocks. They directed themselves to the Romulan, the female saying she was Petty Officer Karma ein Yueh, but Phuc was was pretty sure they all wanted to know where to go - the two first ones that had spoken to him as well. He looked around, seeing more gleaming pilots in exosuits emerge from the odd warp fighters in the shuttle bay. Phuc didn't know why they were aboard, really, since the ongoing of the battle was a bit above his pay grade, but he did reckon they needed someone to talk to.

"Lower Shuttle Bay to Ji," he said after tapping the combadge on his jumpsuit, not contacting Covington since he didn't know if he was back yet. Hell, at least Covington made it back, right? "We have a bit of a situation down here. I am counting five new warp fighters of unknown design - looks Starfleet though - and ten Tac CONN officers that wants a point of contact... but Renard is gone."

[This is Ji, I hear you. Same deal in Upper Shuttle Bay. Escalating this to Stark, hoping she'll be able to summon more people to your location. Do you know why they are aboard?]

"Um, Negative," said Phuc, looking between the pilots, eyes finally settling on the one that had asked for Renard and... Thomas Ravon? Razor? Wasn't he dead? "Hey, is Lieutenant Thomas Ravon there? Thea said he'd be."

[Yeah, I don't know how, but he is here. Why?]

"One of them were asking for him. Perhaps they can speak with him first?" The XO and the Captain were likely too busy anyway, with the battle and all. Phuc was not even sure they were out of the woods yet.

[Okay, coordinate with Thea, have them brought to the Tac CONN briefing room and I'll talk to Razor. Ji out.]

Phuc cleared his throat. He was not trained for this kind of situation, but he supposed these pilots didn't care. They just wanted to know what was next for them. He looked between them all. "Listen, I can set you up with one of our pilots to begin with, and I am sure the XO or the Captain will be speaking with you all soon. Right now, that's the best I can do. Is it okay if I ask the computer to make a site-to-site transport, taking you all to our Fighter Assault Bay?"

Re: Prologue: The New Pack [Supplementary]

Reply #6 – May 16, 2017, 05:23:17 AM

[ Deacon | The Allegiant Docking Bay | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Auctor, EAC & Kaligos

"You beautiful creature, we are in your debt today, May your brood always be safe."

Deacon's wary gaze followed the large gorn as he embraced the female and muttered her praise.  Unheard of.  Well, as far as kzinti were concerned.  Praising females.  The very idea.  But the Federation was filled with races that descended from the trees and they had an odd proclivity for considering their females equals, and now he was reliant on those very same monkeys and their females.  He took a deep breath.  This would take some getting used to.

"Security to the Allegiant. We have a stowaway here. I need him dealt with," she said, then she stepped closer, phaser still held at her hip. Her eyes were unblinking as she gauged him. "Who are you and why did you board us?"

He slowly turned his attention towards the one with the phaser trained on him.  Another female.  They did seem to be everywhere these days.  He narrowed his lids slightly, ears giving the slightest twitch.  "At the time, your vessel seemed infinitely preferable to waiting for my shuttle to explode.  Your warp cores are so fragile," he noted.  "You should look into that.  One might consider it a fundamental flaw in the technology."  His gaze lowered towards the tip of the phaser before returning to the female's face, his golden eyes keenly affixed on hers.  "I am called Deacon.  I had come to your... " he paused, searching for the word, ears giving another distinct flick, "Starbase 84 to give a warning to your Starfleet."  His tone grew grave and flat.  "They were less than receptive.  That being said, I took the opportunity to depart their company."

Crossing one leg over the other,  he seemed to forget his current predicament, rubbing his chin with the tip of one claw.  "Still, I have never been witness to such a conflict.  Everything we've learned of you monk... uh... your Federation... is that you are rather averse to pride wars.   What's next?  Klingons fleeing the battle field?  Ferrengi charities?  Vulcans eating meat?"  The final thought evoked a laugh.  "Vulcans eating meat... the strakh I'd earn for that one."

His laughter was brief and he rubbed his eye with the back of his hand before staring silently for another long moment.  "Are you planning to shoot me?  It would be most consistent with the events of my day."

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack [1600 hrs.]

Reply #7 – May 17, 2017, 07:37:01 AM

PO2 Sithick | The Allegiant Docking Bay | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Lucan, Steelphoenix & EAC
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Sithick had actually forgotten about the injury for the moment. The mix of adrenaline and glee he had felt at the sensation of touching down and being back on the Theurgy had made him forget that his arm was badly burned by plasma fire.

When he regarded the injury seeing how his flesh had cooked he actually brought the injury up to his maw for a moment sniffing his arm to see exactly how cooked the meat was. His yellow eyes split open as he let out a sharp whine from the shock of pain that ran through him a moment after that. He had probably had worse, but he would be hard pressed to tell exactly when that was.

Of course some of his attention went to the stowaway, happy that for the moment he wasn't going to have to pick some sort of... monster on monster fight. He honestly didn't want to resort to fighting for his career. He had done enough of that as a child.

When he had first come to wear his uniform most of his fellow officers had assumed the orange he had worn was for security. After all his body was naturally imposing for most to witness.

With no further orders from their CO, Sithick departed with Jaya to seek some kind of medical attention. "It's not that serious." His voice, a deep low groan, but still had a pathetic whine too it. He looked over the ship as he walked every part of it was broken, he had just spent the better part of six days putting this thing back together, and soon he knew he was going to be doing it again. Ah the life of an engineer... so rewarding.

Once they were off the bridge Sithick's eyes regarded Jaya for a moment. Trying to find out why she had shown such sudden interest. At the same time his good hand had taken to wrapping around his bad one using his considerably strength to apply pressure above the burns to try and stop some of the pain and numb his arm.

"Jaya, I know you would put in for a transfer." He said regarding their living arrangements. He knew that Jaya had never enjoyed being his roommate, his climate needs were testing to most humans. "Truth be told, I'd rather you not."

Maybe it was the pain talking at the moment, or the loss of blood which dripped against the floor and along his uniform covering his normally crisp uniform with drops of mint green blood. "You are the closest thing I currently have to friend on this ship. Though you have always been stalker, I'd rather have the mammal i know then the ones I do not. Theaurgy is not the Starfleet I signed up with. Not the Federation I like. They are hawks, their mission is good, but."

He kept his voice low, as he moved closer to Jaya of course he did not touch her, not after that hug. "I do not trust them, and we gave too much today. Stay near me in times of violence... I protect."

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack [1600 hrs.]

Reply #8 – May 17, 2017, 01:37:56 PM

[ Lt Cmdr. Jennifer Dewitt | The Allegiant Docking Bay | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: EAC, Steelphoenix & Kaligos (No PO)
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Not about to stop Sithick from getting his hand looked at, Jennifer Dewitt only gave a glance and a nod to Jaya Thorne when she departed with the Gorn. With security on the way, she could handle the matter that sat before her.

Eyes narrowed when the furred stowaway spoke, Jennifer couldn't help but feel suspicious about him. But as she began picking apart what he said as best as she might, it seemed he had come to the Federation with good intentions... only to be rejected? With so few words on the matter, she didn't know what to make of it. One thing was certain, if Deacon - if that was his full name - had meant to give warning to the fleet, defecting from whatever people he represented, and the corrupted fleet wouldn't acknowledge him, then his warning might just be something they chose to ignore.

"A warning," she said quietly, and she lowered herself down into the centre chair on the small, damaged bridge. She ignored all the rest, cutting straight to the chase. Knowing what she knew about Starfleet Command after what Ives and the Theurgy crew showed her, she had due reason to not get hung up on the passenger's comments about the Federation or its fragile warp cores.

"About what?" she asked simply, but as a gesture of good faith, she moved the muzzle of her weapon away from Deacon. She still had it in her hand, ready to take aim once more, but for the time being - with at least ten feet between them - she was reasonably sure she could get it up in time if he'd leap at her. She said naught more, hoping the passenger was willing to offer what he knew to her even if he'd been dismissed before.

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #9 – May 17, 2017, 02:19:02 PM

[ Deacon | The Allegiant Docking Bay | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Auctor

Deacon tilted his head slightly, his right ear twitching as he regarded his would-be captor.  Did she expect him to disclose his purpose here?  To her?  He sat silent, eyes narrowed as she lowered her weapon.  Perhaps this was a sign of good faith, and she seemed to hold some level of authority in this place, as perplexing as that might be among kzinti.  He shifted the tilt of his head to the opposite direction, taking a deep breath.  If he was to be damned for actions against the Patriarchy, confessing to a female would be the final cut, but he had committed himself in coming to the Federation in the first place.  All hope of simply playing it off as a ruse to return to the homeworld went out the window with an exploding run-about.

When he finally spoke, his tone was matter-of-fact, humorless.  "The prides grow restless.  The Patriarchy has sensed weakness in the Federation.... not just the Federation, but it should worry you first and foremost.  Three centuries ago, humanity humiliated the kzinti and now the kzinti hunger for vengeance."  His gaze became distant.  "It's already begun.  Small raids on Federation outposts, small colonies.  Had they been larger, some might have survived to serve, joined the slave pens, but the prides are full to the bursting with new warriors eager to whet themselves in combat."

He lifted his head.  "On homeworld, when a slave commits a crime against its master, it is hunted... and devoured.  No crime committed has ever been so great as what the humans did to the kzinti, and the kzinti mean to met justice.  The Borg, the Reman Rebellion, the Dominion War... the great powers fall sick, the powerful become prey, and all the while, the Federation has harbored a beast at its breast."

"I..."  Again he paused and considered his words, "I cannot say when it will happen, but the Patriarchy will strike at the heart of the Federation.  It's only a matter of time."  His golden eyes affixed on the female with fierce determination, taking her every measure, weighing her response to this news.  

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #10 – May 18, 2017, 07:23:14 PM

[ Lt Cmdr. Jennifer Dewitt | The Allegiant Docking Bay | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: EAC, Steelphoenix & Kaligos (No PO)
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At first, Jennifer had not been entirely sure if the furred passenger had any intention to divulge his warning to her. Whether it was because he knew the name of the ship he had ended up on, or if he was simply slow to trust someone he'd just met, she did not know. She was prepared to dismss him, to leave him to security and head to Deck 01 so she could learn what the hell had happened out there... when he actually did speak.

During the time he spoke, it was equally his deep tone and the meaning of his words that made a cold shiver run up her spine. The way he spoke of his people - the Kzinti - hinted at their savage nature, and while she could not begin to fathom his motivations, it was almost as if that savagery was the very reason he'd come so far. Oh, she had heard of the wars of old, the Academy giving her detailed accounts of how the Kzinti had been fought off, and at what kind of expense that had been. She wished she could remember the records like she knew them for her tests, but if Deacon's words would portend only half of what the Federation might be up against, then she knew why the shadow of what Starfleet once were might chose to ignore this Kzin.

The prides were instruments of society's downfall. Women and children hunted down the streets of Federation worlds, prey to teeth and claws. Eaten before their own.

Jennifer swallowed despite herself, taking a slow breath. With her phaser in her hands she leaned forward on her elbows, sorting through her questions. She arrived at the one that perplexed her the most, since the Kzin did not know how much time they still had. She turned her head and looked at him, green eyes staring at him through the tresses of her red hair. Her voice, lined by austere command of an outpost long forgotten, was quiet - rivalled by Thea's hum.

"Why do you betray your own species, Deacon?" she said, the question no challenge, not meant as any test of veracity. His motivations might be personal, but they might also tell her if he was still a threat to the crew in any way.

While she waited for the answer, her thoughts lingered on what she might say to Ives, and when it might be a good time for it after a battle such as the one they'd just survived. It might be days until Ives could hear this Kzin's words... She could but hope he did not have a change of hearts until then.

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #11 – May 18, 2017, 08:09:48 PM

[ Deacon | The Allegiant Docking Bay | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Auctor

He shifted in his seat uneasily as he sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees and cupping his chin with one hand, his gaze now cast at the floor some few feet to the right and behind the red-headed female.  Everything had made so much more sense to him in his head, at least that was what he told himself, convenient lies and falsehoods to avoid thinking too deeply on the matter.  But that was the point, wasn't it?  Kzinti don't think deeply on such things; they obey.  Even among the Black Priests, they follow a course set out aeons past unerringly, without question or deviation.

"I..." he paused again, painfully aware of how lost he sounded, before he shook his head, ears flat, tail hanging loose to the ground.  "Irony, I suppose," he offered at last, giving a faint laugh.  "All those battles, and the kzinti sat on homeworld, licking wounds and hungering for humans.  Ages past, it would have been the kzinti holding the line, eager for war and new challenges.  We are the hero people, and now we are nearly forgotten, unarmed, declawed, resentful."  He looked up at the female, "I... do not agree with the Patriarchy.  Three hundred years ago, the kzinti asked the Fanged God for a worthy opponent and we were given humanity and we lost."  His words came faster now, more heated, "And we did nothing about it.  We did not grow as a people.  We did not learn.  We did nothing to prove ourselves to the Fanged God and we have suffered and will continue suffering until we forge a new path."

He stopped suddenly, eyes wide at this sudden confession, prompting him to rub his face with his hand as he sat back in the chair.  "There, now I've said too much," he muttered behind his palm.  He lowered his hand but continued to stare at the ceiling, "But the Fanged God demands truth in all things, and that is the truth, though it cost me all strakh and assures I will never earn a name of my own and dooms me to a traitor's path."

Again, he sat forward, those his words were almost directed to himself, perhaps some form of self-justification, an effort to assuage a wounded ego.  "Bravery comes in different forms.  Facing the looming unknown, alone, with a true heart... is that not bravery?  I just hope it is enough."

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #12 – May 18, 2017, 10:04:28 PM

LT JG Alessia Garcia, Callsign "Angel"|Lower Shuttle Bay | Deck 21 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Burningtransformation, Esyel, Auctor Lucan, Nolan, Others
[Show/Hide]

Alessia stood in shock as the computer, Thea, answered the petty officer's questions.  About half of her pack had defected and made it aboard the Thuergy, which was a mixed bag of relief and disappointment.  But the real kicker was Miles. 

"De veras!¹  Iron Fox is the stubbornest cabra² I know.  Your computer is lying to you!"  The spanish spitfire would have said more, but a gentle tap on her shoulder gave her pause. 

"Angel, we're not alone.  Look."  Sehl th'Chilnes, her Andorian rear intercept officer, spoke with a calming tone as he pointed to the other pilots disembarking and heading their way.  Alessia turned, flooded with a sense of comraderie and comfort upon seeing Dev, Minjae and their RIO's.  Talon was right, they weren't alone. The rest of their defected pack was on another deck, and somewhere among the crew was Thomas Ravon. 

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Alessia approached them and passed out brief hugs.  It wasnt' every day she flew into a seemingly routine battle and only reunited with half her crew.  "Gracias a Dios,³ we're all here!  It's nice to see some familiar faces."  Sehl agreed, smiling at the others who were now clustered near the discombobulated PO. 

Reunion completed, it was time to get down to business and Dev was on the ball.  They needed to regroup ASAP and if Ravon was their contact point, then so be it.  He was a good man and had been a good friend to Alessia on the Kusanagi.  It would be nice to see him again in the flesh.  When the petty officer suggested a site to site transport, Alessia agreed.

"Do me a favor and don't touch my baby until I get back.  The Valravns are delicate.  Sehl, are you coming or staying?"  She asked in her accented, mezzo voice.  It ocured to her that perhaps leaving him behind would be wise, just to make sure her fighter was ok.

"You can't leave me behind, Angel.  Our bird will be fine.  Don't think these guys know what to do with a Valravn."  The Andorian smirked as he spoke and moved to stand beside his pilot.  He and Angel would look after their ship when they returned.  For now, this meeting was necessary for their peace of mind and to answer some rather unnerving questions.

---

1. "No way!"
2. goat
3. Thank God!

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #13 – May 19, 2017, 01:45:26 PM

 Jaya Thorne | The Allegiant Docking Bay | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Kaligos, Others
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Jaya walked beside Sithick, curious if the gash on her head was causing her to be scatterbrained enough to help the Gorn or if it was something else.  She thought back to the battle, to the moment she knew he was going to kill them all.  Instead he had saved them all.  More than once.  And though she'd never tell him so, it was his determination and faith in her that enabled Jaya to bring the Allegiant home.  But she had been so certain about him for so long!  It couldn't be a coincidence that he came from the very organization that she betrayed, or that he had arrived on the Black Opal station just days after she did.  He had even been stationed in the same area as she was, granted they were assigned different tasks, but still!  Plus, they shared a room! 

When she first discovered who he was and where he was from, she had been outright hostile towards Sithick.  But once she determined his secret, real purpose, she'd learned to be more careful.  Only... if she was wrong... if Sithick wasn't a Gorn assassin sent by the Syndicate to kill her, then why all the coincidences??

Confusion swam in Jaya's mind and she shook her head to clear it.  She could feel the muscles throughout her body rapidly flexing and relaxing, a sign indicating that her adrenaline rush was wearing off.  Her eyes opened (when had she closed them?) to find the corridor ahead tipping sideways as if she was walking through Alice in Wonderland: in Space.  She slowed her pace unintentionally as a wave of instability overcame her senses.  She swore she could hear the blood pounding in her head and making her eyeballs throb.  Her arm reached out for something stable to keep her body upright and help orient herself.  She felt for the wall, fingers grasping at the cold surface as she focused singularly on keeping her balance. 

One deep breath.  Inhale.  Exhale.  Two deep breaths.  Repeat.  At three breaths, she blinked her eyes slowly and tried to refocus them on the corridor.  Her vision was spinning and she felt  a bit like a top, but at least the corridor was upright and straight again.  Her headache was persistent now, like freight train idling itself in her brain. 

"..must've hit my head harder than I realized.."  No amount of blinking or shakes of her head made the symptoms any better, so Jaya resorted to trailing her hand along the wall.  At least if she fell, it wouldn't be because she lost her balance on purpose. 

"Jaya, I know you would put in for a transfer.  Truth be told, I'd rather you not."

Brown eyes glanced Sithick's way as he spoke, but quickly course-corrected to front and center when her entire body began leaning towards him.  She'd have to listen with her ears, instead of her eyes today.  Thankfully she seemed to be hearing him alright and perhaps she would be good for conversation like this. 

"You are the closest thing I currently have to friend on this ship. Though you have always been stalker, I'd rather have the mammal i know then the ones I do not. Theaurgy is not the Starfleet I signed up with. Not the Federation I like. They are hawks, their mission is good, but."  [Sithick] kept his voice low, as he moved closer to Jaya of course he did not touch her, not after that hug. "I do not trust them, and we gave too much today. Stay near me in times of violence... I protect."

The implications of what the Gorn was suggesting were beyond her comprehension at the moment, but she did try to consider his words.  "Sithick.  We're not friends.  But we're not enemies anymore, now.  We're pears.. and.. and apples.  We taste good.  And we work well together.  Like in a salad.  Fruit salad.  But only with the cream mixed in.  We need the cream.  It makes us yummy together cuz otherwise it's weird to eat pears and apples at the same time.  Be the cream.  No, not you.. you're a pear.  Pears are green.  Dewitt is.. no, it's bigger than Dewitt.  Everyone else.  Yes, they are the cream.  We need the cream, Sithick!" 

Jaya felt her world shift as her feet stumbled into one another and she tilted to compensate.  Her hand, now floating away from the corridor, reached for the next nearest thing: Sithick.  She gripped his uniform and held it until the pounding subsided to a bearable jackhammer.  "I don't hate you!  I had to protect myself!  Some of their best assassins are Gorn!"  The scent of charred meat reached Jaya's nostrils and she wrinkled her nose.  Her grip loosened.  With several deliberate motions, she was once again facing the correct way to continue their trek towards sickbay.

Her mind wandered back to what Sithick had said.  "Hawks eat eggs. I don't want to be an egg.  I want to be a friend.  I want a friend.  Not Dewitt, she's my CO.  It's different.  Morwen is a mess and she's weird.  I don't know anyone else.  You and Dewitt and that's it.  And the dead ones.  Can't befriend the dead.  So you, if you really aren't gonna kill me.. you're what's left.  Protect what's left." She nodded, mostly to herself.  "And lizard-friends."

In short order they would be at Sickbay, despite the both of them being worse for wear.  A nurse or attendant would look over them and treat them both for their separate conditions and they could go on their way.  For now, though, they continued walking with Jaya talking semi-nonsense.

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #14 – May 20, 2017, 12:14:06 PM

[ Lt Cmdr. Jennifer Dewitt | The Allegiant Docking Bay | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: EAC, Steelphoenix & Kaligos (No PO)
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Listening to the Kzin, it became apparent that his motivations for betraying his people sprung from a diviating opinion about what was best for them. Jennifer thought it noble that he would defy his Patriachy's old ways, especially if they were based on naught more than bloodshed and the conquering of other people. It also said something about this Patriachy, that the would make this Kzin rather go to their prey instead of trying to enlighten them about their shortcomings. Their unwillingness to co-exist with other species in the galaxy.

If what he said was true - and Jennifer could not guess why he'd lie about a warning - it meant that Deacon had come to the Federation at the risk of his own life. It meant his conviction that the Patriachy was wrong, or his compassion for their prey - or both - was great enough to take that leap of faith. It said Jennifer something about this Kzin... and it also made her feel shame for the kind of reception he got, that Starfleet would dismiss his bravery with such callous disregard. It fortified both her conviction that the Theurgy crew had told the truth about the parasites, as well as the idea that Deacon would pose no threat.

Clenching her jaw, staring at the deck and the signs of battle strewn across it, she pushed the grief about what Starfleet had become from her heart. She slowly powered down the phaser in her hands and returned it to the holster at her hip. She turned her head to look at the Kzin again. "On behalf of what is left of Starfleet," she said, without going further into what she meant, and her words were equally quiet as they were heavy with meaning, "thank you. You are brave indeed, and I leave you my personal guarantee, that what you have said will reach ears open to heed your warning. What you have done might save hundreds upon thousands of lives, perhaps more, and that is not something that should be dismissed. That the rot that is an alien conspiracy within the admiralty has spread so far horrifies me, clearly proven by the way you have been treated."

That was when the sliding doors opened, and four security officers stepped into the bridge, armed but with phasers holstered by their sides.They looked at the Kzin first and then to Dewitt, who shook her head. "Stand down. This passenger will pose no risk to the Theurgy crew. He is a civilian, and when things quiet down, he carries a message of great import to Captain Ives."

The security officers heeded her, but lingered with her. Jennifer's attention had returned to Deacon, however. "Whatever you might have head about this ship's mission, you have likely heard falsehood. There will probably be a briefing for you, where you'll hear another version than the lies that has been peddled by the admiralty and other officers on Starbase 84. You'll be free to roam the public areas of the ship, and all I ask is that you keep an open mind, and wait patiently for when Captain Ives can see you."

She stopped there, to gauge the Kzin's reaction, and to answer any questions he might have.

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #15 – May 20, 2017, 02:54:52 PM

[ Krystal “Meony” Tancredi | Upper Shuttle Bay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Talidenai zh'Idenna, Drauc T'Laus & T'Zantha
 
[Show/Hide]

Pleasant dreams were few and far between for Tancredi. Her whole life was fraught with pain beginning right from her birth. So it wasn't something she expected or sought or even hoped for. But when it did happen, it surprised her, and it also made her cry, because happiness was fleeting. She dreamt of a better time, when she and Captain Tristan Kendrick spent some time together at the holodeck, fishing. One of Kendrick's favourite pasttimes. Her head was hurting, and she couldn't hide the way she was nursing her temples, and it made the captain frown. "You okay, Meony? Need me to have a look at it?"

She grinned and shook her head at the man, “Nah, Ah'm all right,” she said, “Ah landed on mah head that last toss from Samuk.”

Kendrick chuckled, "When are you going to stop trying to wrestle with a Vulcan?"

“When Ah win.” Tancredi grinned. Then she fainted, and Kendrick found the tumour in her brain.

"Come on, open those beautiful eyes because by Lor'Vela we have lost enough today to loose another to this cruel joke."

Tancredi frowned. She was running through the tall grass on a habitable M-Class planet. The crew of the Resolve considered making a home of the planet when they thought no intelligent lifeforms existed, plus the Resolve was in severe need of repairs by then, and they were into their second year in their search for home. A friendly, habitable planet seemed a good alternative, until they met what could have been the ancestors of the Gorn. She was bleeding from a head wound, a stray barbed arrow that was over a meter and a half long, and as thick as a terran spear. Only her quick reflexes had saved her from a new head decoration, but she still bore the mark on her scalp. She had escaped from captivity and was now running. But she had found a sharp metallic object and was about to make a last stand, when Kendrick and the others came, and called on the ship's resources to fire concentrated bursts of phaser fire to help protect the remaining crew on the ground.

She collapsed on the ground, lying back, and laughing. She would live another day, it seemed. Smiling, Kendrick looked down at her, and reached out a hand. She frowned as she struggled to lift her hand up to grasp his. Her vision became blurry. Poison from the arrowhead that cut her. And when her vision cleared, she was looking an Andorian pilot. Weakly turning her head, she saw the Romulan, Ah'll call him Rommie, until I remember his name, she thought. And then she wanted to know why she felt like her bones were all broken and her head was on fire. There was a Vulcan woman nearby. So she was...somewhere in Federation space, for sure. They were home, probably. But hadn't she just been fighting off Federation ships and fighters? Aiding other Federation ships and fighters. It was all so confusing and didn't make sense. She opened her mouth to ask where Kendrick was, but all that came out was a weak groan and a whimper and she lay back, unable to even clutch her burning skull.

She hoped everyone was all right.

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #16 – May 20, 2017, 06:11:50 PM

[ Deacon | The Allegiant Docking Bay | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Auctor

Deacon bit his lower lip, his hand instinctively seeking out the scruff of his neck beneath his collar, kneading it in an effort to force some semblance of calm.  It was a kitten's habit -- a neglected kitten's habit -- and an obvious sign of youth and uncertainty among the kzin, almost as bad as sucking one's thumb or carrying a security blanket.  Whether the human understood this or not, he realized his actions and forced himself to stop, trying to disguise the act as one designed to adjust his collar.

His confession had cut too deep and left raw too many nerves, although there was one more reason he'd left unsaid, one more he just could not bring himself to confess, though he could not fathom his hesitation.  Once before, he'd been forced to abandon everything he was in order to live, and now he found himself in the exact same position, except reversed, with a chance to reclaim his life.

He placed his idle hand firmly across the other to keep it in place, his eyes turning back to meet the red-haired female's as she turned to meet his.

"On behalf of what is left of Starfleet," she said, without going further into what she meant, and her words were equally quiet as they were heavy with meaning, "thank you. You are brave indeed, and I leave you my personal guarantee, that what you have said will reach ears open to heed your warning. What you have done might save hundreds upon thousands of lives, perhaps more, and that is not something that should be dismissed. That the rot that is an alien conspiracy within the admiralty has spread so far horrifies me, clearly proven by the way you have been treated."

It seemed his warning was taken seriously at last, prompting his shoulders to slump with relief as he muttered, "Amara guides the way," under his breath.

He looked over his shoulder at the security team for a slight moment as the female gave her instructions to stand down, noting that she spoke of a Captain Ives, to which he gave a slight nod.  He turned back as she continued to address him.

"Whatever you might have heard about this ship's mission, you have likely heard falsehood. There will probably be a briefing for you, where you'll hear another version than the lies that has been peddled by the admiralty and other officers on Starbase 84. You'll be free to roam the public areas of the ship, and all I ask is that you keep an open mind, and wait patiently for when Captain Ives can see you."

"Truth be told," he said, "I know nothing about you other than the pride war I saw outside of your starbase."  He regarded her with an appraising eye, tilting his head slightly, some faint sense of reassurance finally sinking in.  "But if you are willing to listen, then perhaps I found the right pride."  He stood, looking down at the faces of the security officers.  Funny, he thought, to stand so tall next to the humans when he was considered a runt among kzinti.  He'd never really considered it before now.

"Computer... I require a public place where I can be alone," he said, his ear bending backward at the oxymoronic wording of his request, "if that makes sense."

[Many members of the crew utilize the Below Decks Lounge for such activities.  Take the turbolift to deck 28 and follow the lighted consoles.]

"Well, then," he said part to himself, part to those present, "that is where I will be."  He inclined his head again and moved to enter the turbolift that had only recently delivered the security team.  Whether they felt the need to escort him or not, he didn't care.  He only needed time to himself to rebuild the walls he'd so hastily torn down to avoid getting shot.  But the risk would hopefully yield appropriate rewards, as long as he held true.  Now, more than ever, he had only his faith to see him through.


---
OOC: On the off chance that anyone has ever heard a kzin speak Federation common, they might note that Deacon speaks it perfectly, where as other kzinti tend to require some effort to speak it just as humans find it quite difficult to speak kzintsu'ng.

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #17 – May 23, 2017, 12:54:26 AM

PO2 Sithick | The Allegiant Docking Bay | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Lucan, Esyel & EAC
[Show/Hide]

Little of what Jaya said made sense to the Gorn, who started looking at her with more confusion than understanding. However it soon became clear what was happening. The woman in front of him had been traumatized to the point of insanity, he had seen it many times on the battlefield when he was a child. The ramblings she gave the fact that she was bleeding from what humans would call hair.

Oh... Wait she's bleeding.

So this was not the battle insanity that was good, he had known the cure for insanity back among his people, a quick deft claw to the head crushing it. After all a battle mad, even one as tiny as Jaya would become a threat to those around her.

As she started to lean on him and speak he leaned downwards looking at her closely. The salad thing, he knew of the food of course, but perhaps this was some new language? He had been told by humans in the past that they had more nonsensical forms of conversing when it was casual or with friends. He had seen other members of the engineering team refer others as Brother and Sis, when not familial, so perhaps this was one to Jaya. That thought alone caused him to smile and brighten up, his jaw line perking as his predatory eyes widened in almost bewildered happiness. "Yes, we are the fruit salad."

When it became clear that Jaya would not support herself anymore Sithick bent down further and with his good arm moved her behind him, before pulling her up into a piggyback ride. For now it was clear that Jaya was far more fragile than him, bad arm or no.

With Jaya secured onto his back he walked silently taking her to a turbolift, and then to sickbay, finding people lined up outside of the place. He did not care for lines, and he was carrying a woman with a headwound. When one unlucky medical staff tried to tell him to wait in the line he simply let out a growl, and that silenced the man.

Walking into the over crowded main sickbay he sniffed the air. "We require a doctor, my fruit is bleeding on me, I fear she may have fallen to battle madness."

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #18 – May 25, 2017, 07:23:52 AM

[ Lahkesis Saugn | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ]  Attn: Kaligos, EAC, Esyel, & Lucan
[Show/Hide]

Though still not totally recovered from the events that had so altered her mind, Lahkesis Saugn was a thing of beauty in her natural environment, Sickbay. The petal like filaments that made up her hair had returned to their bright coral color and had a sheen and luster to them that almost seemed to give off more light than they absorbed. Her long legs carried her from biobed to biobed, the medical tricorder in her hand scanning lifesigns; those key signals that told her heart rate, brain activity, blood pressure, and so very much more. Her pupilless eyes barely needed to glance at the small screen to note them and move on.

Her mind was troubled with the events that had only just transpired, events that sent shockwaves through the whole of the sickbay staff and meant that they were not more undermanned then they had ever been before. Her colleague, her friend, had betrayed them and injured the highest ranking officer she considered herself truly loyal to, Doctor Nicander. And she did not know why, she did not know what had caused such a thing to happen. If she had known, if she understood, she knew she could do something with that information, but not knowing was far worse.

She had just placed the medical tricorder into the charging dock at the head nurse's desk to upload the information it had scanned into the main computer, a process much faster and more reliable when a direct connection was made than wirelessly, when the emergency entrance door slid open and the large figure entered.

"We require a doctor, my fruit is bleeding on me, I fear she may have fallen to battle madness." came the booming voice of the alien.

The large alien was carrying someone and in only a second she had begun to react, slipping her tricorder out of it's dock and moving closer to begin to scan the pair of them, separating the information into two new medical files. The computer would compare them with records and give more information if there was more to give, but for now it was up to her to make the initial diagnosis with nothing but the raw data and her observations.

The large alien was a Gorn, it appeared male and showed signs of severe deep tissue burns on it's right arm. The smaller one, human appearing female, appeared to have a minor laceration and a concussion. Though both would need to be treated quickly to avoid further injury or damage.

"Nurse," she said not turning to look at which nurses were nearby, but somehow knowing when one drew near, her eyes never left the pair of them and her tricorder readings. "Prep biobed 7 in the Primary Care Unit for subdermal regeneration and possible osteo-regrowth, move the patient there to the recovery ward, he should be able to sit or lay easily enough on one of those biobeds, and get the deep tissue burn kit. We'll start with the big one, once I have begun if you could please begin the treatment of the smaller one's laceration and concussion, a simple treatment with a dermal regenerator and a neuro-regulator should do the trick nicely."

She looked into the face of the gorn. Now she needed to determine the correct medicine and dosage to reduce the pain of the injury so it could be treated. "Please state on a scale of 1-10, in which 1 is a minor amount of pain and 10 is debilitating pain, how great is your current level of pain."

---

OOC : Woot~ First post of my return and it is a doozy. Hope it is ok~

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #19 – May 30, 2017, 06:48:14 AM

[LT Talidenai "Terror" zh'Idenna & LT JG T'Zantha "Sniper"| Upper Shuttle Bay| Deck 11| USS Theurgy] ATTN: Triage, Auctor Lucan, anyone else

Tali quietly thanked the powers that be in her life when the red haired pilot opened her eyes and one part of Tali's mind marked that the human did have beautiful eyes but then again Tali had always thought her own eyes wasn't her best feature.

Tali forced that thought out of her head as the human pilot looked around and let out a rather painful cross between a groan and a whimper which made the Zhen look on in concern for her fellow pilot. "T'Zantha, I need you over here!" she shouted.

Sniper had been watching the Romulan walk away before shaking her head slowly when she heard Terror shout for her and she quickly want over and knelt next to her wing man and partner while breaking out the medical scanner from her own kit and frowned at the readings.

Years of being each's other partner allowed Tali to read the albino's body language. "How bad is it?"

"Well my thrice uncle Soth would say that her body's pain receptors are doing a pretty good job of a human Christmas tree." Sniper said simply as she started to go through the two women's kits.

Tali weighed her options as she looked around the deck and noticed that people where busy elsewhere when the only option came to mind as Tali said very slowly "I have an idea..but you're not going to like it."

Just at hearing those words already didn't like it from the inclination. "What is it?" she asked simply.

"We only have one option and you know what it is, T'Zantha." Tali stated as she moved to support the human's head a little better. "You are going to need to meld with her."

T'Zantha's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, "You are asking me to do a rather personal thing, Tali..I have only melded with only two other people in my whole life and you know.." she started to say but a look from the andorian stopped her.

"Not a full meld, but can't you do something to help her with the pain?" Tali asked as she gently stroked the human's hair away from her face. "Just long enough for a medic to get over here?"

T'Zantha looked between the two, the Zhen fighter pilot and their human counterpart, and then weighed the other possible options for several seconds before slowly undoing her right gauntlet and setting it aside as she moved closer to the human's head.

"Forgive the intrusion, comrade..but I will only do what is needed to help you with your pain." Sniper said as she gently placed her hand to the red-head's face and gently used her strong, nimble fingers to find the right spots that she needed and quietly started to say "My mind to your mind, your pain is my pain.."

Suddenly Sniper's mind was awash with the intense fire that was boiling through every nerve bundle in the human's body like liquid magma was in her veins instead of her blood and she did not care for the feeling as she used what training she had to block out the majority of it.

Meanwhile a EMH started to make it's way over to them through the throngs of people.

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #20 – May 31, 2017, 11:50:48 PM

[LT Jg. Devyrie Okhala (call sign "Dragon")| Lower Shuttle Bay| Deck 16| USS Theurgy] attn: all

The PO's directions were sufficient for Dev's mind, at least at the moment, Alessia's own comments made the stand down a little easier to swallow, especially after so many losses they had dealt with today. The deck itself felt like the specter of death loomed around each stanchion.

"Hey, Vinnie. Lock it down and come with us." Her RIO gave a thumbs up sign, rather than shouting across the deck. The company of what remained of their flight was somewhat comforting, but her light skinned face still seemed to darken as she thought through the implications of what her choices would wrought.

She glanced around the deck, even as they gathered together and prepared to join up with the rest.

"What do you think, D?" Vinnie bumped up against her, dark hair and skin still tinged with sweat from the battle.

"That I better get some fvadt* answers before I jump back into that fighter and figure it out on my own."

"D, we put our careers on the line here. If you're having doubts, I'm not exactly sure what to tell you." His voice was even, but Dev could hear a rise in anxiety, possibly matching her own.  She placed her arm around him, shoulder to shoulder, and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"I just want to figure out what's going on."

"Me too."

*Romulan: damn

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #21 – June 09, 2017, 07:00:37 AM

 Jaya Thorne | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Kaligos, Esyel, Absinthe, Others
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The remainder of the trip to Sickbay (or rather, the corridor around Sickbay) was mostly a blur for Jaya.  At some point, her hand slid off the wall and she found herself floating sideways down the hallway.  She could not fathom what might be supporting her, but for now it didn't matter.  She was flying! 

She tried extending her arms, but found that they were confined by something.  It occurred to her that perhaps she should open her eyes and look.  (And again she wondered when had she closed them.)  But that required committing to the thought of telling her brain to open her eye lids, and then telling her muscles to comply and then making them do it.  So much hassle.  No wonder they were shut.

Instead, she told her brain to open her mouth so she could speak the words she wanted to say.  'I can fly and I navigate with my eyes closed. I am a bat! I am Batgirl! Go Batgirl!'  The muddled jargon that proceeded to exit her mouth resembled anything BUT words, and her confused ears failed to notice.  Or maybe she forgot to tell her brain to tell her ears to listen to what she had said.  Either way, to Sithick's ears, Jaya was vocalizing nonsense. 

Still, there was something about her arms being squished between something vaguely soft and something scaly that unnerved her.  Then she smelt it: something charred, tinny and wild.  It was familiar, and it took several seconds before she placed the memory.

"Sithick..?"

This time her mouth worked overtime to properly form the correct letters while her voice box struggled to pronounce the name.  What kind of a name was 'sith-ick' anyway?  Strange.  Weird.  Alien.  But wasn't he an alien?  Then was it common for his kind? She should ask him when she wasn't.. ... When she wasn't what?  What had she been doing?

"We require a doctor, my fruit is bleeding on me, I fear she may have fallen to battle madness."

Was that his voice? What was he talking about?

"Nurse, Prep biobed 7 in the Primary Care Unit for subdermal regeneration and possible osteo-regrowth, move the patient there to the recovery ward, he should be able to sit or lay easily enough on one of those biobeds, and get the deep tissue burn kit. We'll start with the big one, once I have begun if you could please begin the treatment of the smaller one's laceration and concussion, a simple treatment with a dermal regenerator and a neuro-regulator should do the trick nicely."

Oh.. Sickbay? But she was fine.  Better than fine.  She was flying! Her feet weren't even touching the ground!

Gravity shifted suddenly then as Jaya went from a mostly upright position to lying horizontal on a nearby surface.  It took significant effort on her part to tell her brain to make her eyes open, but after several attempts she managed to complete the task.  The new images didn't make any sense though.  Blurred out illumination from somewhere nearby cast double shadows on someone else who was above her.  She reached for them but her arm didn't move.

Suddenly, Jaya realized something was wrong.  Her arm should move when she wanted it to!  She shouldn't have to tell her brain to make her body do things, it should be automatic!  She tried telling whoever was above her, but the noises she made were unrecognizable to her ears.  And everything was making her tired.  So tired.  Right now, sleep seemed like the most pressing and best idea.  She would be just fine when she woke up, this was just some kind of nightmare.

Her brown eyes closed as something cold pressed against her forehead and began firmly massaging her scalp.  When it stopped, something else pressed against a tender area along her hairline and traced a series of lines.  After a short while, Jaya opened her eyes again.  She turned her head and watched a bevy of medical staff attend to an equally impressive amount of patients.  They seemed to be filling the room.  She pushed herself up onto her elbows and blinked a few times.

"Ugh.. what happened?"  Of course, she remembered the battle and the rough landing in the shuttle bay.  A blue cat had beamed himself aboard but Dewitt had him under control. Which was good because she and Sithick-

Jaya turned too quickly as her eyes searched for the Gorn and a wave of dizziness washed over her.  Bits and pieces of the journey to sickbay remained, like those misty remnants of a dream.  She tried to grasp them and cement them into her mind, but they warped as she tried to anchor them into her reality.  The harder she pulled them in, the more ridiculous they became until only two options remained: either she had flown into sickbay with Sithick and they two of them had shared fruit, or she had fallen asleep and dreamt about eating fruit salad with a lizard and a bat.  Since neither memory made sense, she stored them both for future analysis.

A sound drew her eyes to the blurry nurse that stood beside her.  Jaya blinked several times, and realized that she no longer had to tell her brain to make her body do things!  Her reactions were once again returning to normal.  As the nurse slowly came into focus, Jaya smiled.  "Thanks doc!  I know I hit my head in that battle.  Guess I didn't realize how bad it was since we were flying with the artificial gravity off.  Is, uh, Sithick nearby?  The Gorn?"

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #22 – June 10, 2017, 03:25:30 AM

PO2 Sithick | Main sickbay | deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Lucan, Esyel & EAC
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Sithick growled when the doctor said that he should be treated first. His wounds were just to his arm, true it was painful beyond anything he had experianced before but he was made of tougher meat than most humans. His salad however was bleeding from her brain cage, and that was far more dangerous than his own arm.

"Make her the priority." His tone was low even as he went to sit where he was indicated. He  grimaced and hissed when his arm came into contact with the chair and his growl was low and threatening when he tried his best to rest it so that it could be worked upon, but he didn't want to be worked on before Jaya. The smaller creature was more fragile than he was.

On a scale of one to ten it hurt but only when it touched the ground or something brushed against it. It was the worst pain he had ever felt, and it was like his arm was going to slide off the muscle. It also smelled over cooked in places which was repugnant. If anything he prefered his meat cooked medium rare this was more overdone.

The doctor on the other hand had a much more pleasant smell. One that was a bit like flowers. While she looked like any other one of the countless humanoids that he had served alongside since joining Starfleet she was also unique and smelled much different it put him at a sense of ease for the moment.

"Eight." He said calculating the amount of pain he was in. He had a strong inclination to it thanks to growing up in the care of Klingons, and having suffered more than a few disciplinary smacks of the pain stick back in the day. This was much much worse.

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #23 – June 10, 2017, 12:53:59 PM

[ Lahkesis Saugn | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ]  Attn: Kaligos, EAC, Esyel, & Lucan
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It seemed as if Lahkesis had been overridden by her patient in terms of triage protocol and she simply nodded to the nurse. "I can tend to him, please tend to her injuries," Lahkesis said making up her mind quickly about how best to handle the situation. The matter was severe, however she new better than to argue with the massive alien. Thus the female was placed on the now open biobed and she had the larger male sit in a chair in the small waiting room. It was not ideal, but it was the only other opening. Sickbay was still swamped from the attack and until the recovery ward could be emptied the beds in the PCU and ICU were fully booked. The nurse went to ensure the female was being taken care of and returned a moment later with the burn kit that was kept inside the biobed's storage compartment. Passing the kit off the nurse returned to handle the treatment of the female.

Lahkesis gave the large alien a tight lipped smile as she took the kit and opened it. Normally she would have prefered to work on a biobed, but she could work in this area just as well. "My name is Doctor Saugn," she said as she began to set up the medical equipment on the small table by the chair. "I'm going to numb the area and then I'm going to need to remove the damaged tissue. After that I will regrow what I can with a muscular and dermal regenerator and if need be we can implant some synthetic skin to cover the rest." She had always found it always best to tell the members of a warrior race such as Klingon or Gorn what you were going to do before you did it. It usually made the process go much smoother.

She started the process by loading up a hypospray with a high dose anesthetic. "Now, this should help with the pain and it should also prevent any muscular twitches while I work on your arm," she said as she administered a dose to the common carotid artery and then a dose to brachial artery.

After a brief pause of not much longer than a minute, something she timed on her tricorder as she scanned the medicines effectiveness, she took a laser scalpel and removed the burned flesh. The process was not dissimilar from a very careful carving of a piece of meat, only she took the pieces and placed them in a small medical disposal unit included in the kit. Thanks to the dose in the neck and in the arm there was likely no pain and if he expressed any at all while she worked, she simply gave another smaller dose.

Once the burned tissue was removed she began regrowing the muscular tissue with a muscular regenerator set to Gorn physiology. The process was slow, but she needed to regrow each cluster of muscle individually to prevent the musculature forming into a single large muscle. She took her time, knowing that the anesthetic should have done it's job and the freshly regenerated tissue would take a few hours to properly be accepted into the central nervous system.

Once the muscles were done she was able to set the dermal regenerator to Gorn physiology and she began the careful work of first covering the wounded area with a fresh layer of new skin, then came the almost artistic craftsmanship of the new scales. The end result has a cluster of slightly paler scales that almost blended in with the older ones, but not quite as the striations in the scales themselves seemed more regular and less natural.

At last done Lahkesis activated the biological material disposal unit and the burnt flesh disappeared in a shimmering light. "Not quite as nice as your natural scales, but I think they will due until you molt them and they are replaced with proper ones," she said with a look that could have been satisfaction with a faint glimmer of pride. "I expect they shall be numb for the next hour or so, so don't do anything to intense at least until the anesthetic wears off."

---

OOC: A bit long, but I wanted to actually write out what she did and how it was done. I don't know a whole lot about how such burns would be treated in the 24th century, so I wrote my own version of it. I hope it works.

Re: Prologue 03: The New Pack | Day 01 [1600 hrs.]

Reply #24 – June 12, 2017, 06:35:04 AM

[ Krystal “Meony” Tancredi | Upper Shuttle Bay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: LT Talidenai "Terror" zh'Idenna & LT JG T'Zantha "Sniper"
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Tancredi blinked, still confused. Where did Kendrick go? Oh, it was a memory...but an important one. Was the protective coil around the tumour in her brain rupturing? That would be bad. When the crippling headaches began, she chalked it up to repeated head trauma, and wouldn’t get herself thoroughly checked until she fainted on her captain. While he was a great doctor, the complexity of a surgery for  cancerous brain aneurysm was a little beyond him in surgical ability; ergo she would have half a brain left if he tried to remove it as it was so deeply embedded in her head. Instead, he put a temporal safeguard of a protective coil to stop its spread and prevent potential rupturing until they could get to a starbase or planet where a qualified brain surgeon could attempt the removal of the tumour. Assuming this wasn’t something contracted in the Unknown Region. Prior bioscans never picked up this tumour before.

“C-captain,” said Tancredi in a hoarse voice, “coil...rupture...?”

No, Keval ch’Rayya was not the captain...and he’s an Andorian. A very handsome Andorian. Wait...this isn’t ch’Rayya! It’s a woman! She squinted hard, trying to see more clearly, but the haze of pain made her vision swim. Weakly raising a hand she tried grasping the Andorian’s, “Who...? Wha-z...ya put in mah...head...? Ya look...green.”

She would have thought the woman an Orion if not for the whitish hair and the antennae. She was feeling so disoriented now, but she was supposed to go meet someone...and...oh where’s Rommie? Ronnie? Ronin? The pointy eared outlander, or whatever. She ought to stick by him. This close to the Neutral zone and with tensions high with Romulans, he would need someone to vouch for him...except she was in way too much pain to move and she didn’t know anyone right now.

Wait...there was another Andorian now...no...no antennae, but pointy ears. A Vulcan Andorian hybrid? Wouldn’t be strange anymore to her these days. She wanted to bristle at the unknown woman’s touch, as she brushed her hair out of her face. It was a gentle touch though, so she just let her do what she wanted; but she heard mind meld and her eyes widened. No this was not good. Nobody should know or feel her pain. It was her own. Her own!

Frantic desperation made her ignore the searing pain as she raised her hand to pathetically swat at the Vulcan woman’s approaching arm. “Mah pain...” said Tancredi, her voice a barely discernible slur, “...mah own...”

Vulcans had telepathic abilities and their infamous mind meld formed an intimate as well as invasive mental connection between two people. She did not need to subject anyone to her deviant nature or the collective pain, physical and mental, which would probably scar anyone that tried. Then again, there was Samuk, a Vulcan. The day that she told Kendrick she had landed on her head, was because she had been trying to help him through Pon Farr, by rigorous exercise and combat. In the end though, they had ended up in his quarters, and she discovered new heights of...well, it was eye-opening to say the least. Who knew Vulcans could be so creative in bed?

Her resistance to the Vulcan before her now might as well be something akin to a newborn swatting at a strong adult. “N-nooo...” she all but wailed in a failing voice. She felt numbed, or sedated all of a sudden, and then the EMH arrived, applying his skills to fix her up. She was grateful for all the help but at the same time alarmed. What secrets did the Vulcan take from her? Her insecurities began to flare, and she wished for her family to be around her now. She needed Captain Kendrick, she needed Keval ch’Rayya, hell, she could use Liam Herrold’s help right now! Marquez and Sharky would be solid. In fact, “Sh-Sharky...where’s Sharky?”