CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

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CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

February 27, 2019, 08:35:46 PM

CHAPTER 05: BATTLE LOG [ DAY 06 | 1120 HRS. ] DROPSPACE

[ Vigenary Model I-9 Surgical Android | Bridge Module | The Versant ]
^{Attn: @Triage @BZ @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow @SummerDawn @Brutus @patches @Fife @Masorin @Absinthe @chXinya @Numen @Zenozine}
[Show/Hide]

For over forty minutes, the specimens on the bridge of the Versant had managed to stay in command of the ship, the odds of which V-Nine had estimated to be quite low. Nonetheless, she certainly did find the working environment of the bridge easier without the Antes or the Scions having pushed their way inside. Key to the survival of the specimens had been their collaborative spirit and the photonic being that had taken control of the ship's computer networks. An A.I.... that had done something to V-Nine that she couldn't quite put to words. The twp words Thea - which was the A.I.'s designation - had used were Synthesis Code, but V-Nine did not have access to the stand-alone Machine Intelligence Lab, so she did not know the significance.

V-Nine had spent her time running self-diagnostics, and treating these specimens. That was the purpose she had originally been programmed to do. She was supposed to belong to the specimens, and aid them in undoing the Corrections. That was her purpose... at least until her upgrade.

"Captain!" called Thea, and V-Nine raised her cranial unit - zooming in on the figure from afar. "Energy accumulation complete. The quantum slipstream drive is ready. The ship's sensors, however, suggest that the Theurgy is no longer alone at the coordinates of the jump. I am reading a Borg signature, as well as a lot of Klingon ships."

V-Nine watched how the Aspect-Maker walked towards the A.I. "So it's true." The surgical android thought there might be a lot of emotion behind those words, but the detection of such was quite new to her. The next thing the humanoid said was a simple question, easily understood. "Can this ship cloak?"

"Aye, Captain," said Thea, "but then we don't have enough energy to make the jump."

"So be it," said Ives, sighing. Resignation? Bored? No, surely resignation. "So, what happens next?"

"I'm running a diagnostic of all slipstream components. The quantum slipstream drive has allowed the Savi to travel across vast distances far exceeding conventional warp range. I have determined that they are using a Benamite Reactor, which allow for travel equivalent to a conventional warp factor of 9.99998477. To put this in perspective, that is 300 light years per hour."

Ives glanced towards the officers behind him. "Do we... need to buckle up?"

"No, Captain, but to to maintain the slipstream, the phase variance of the quantum field has to be constantly adjusted or the slipstream will collapse, violently throwing the ship back into normal space. This, I need assistance with, at that alcove over there."

Ives nodded, and looked towards the human that V-Nine had treated earlier. "Lieutenant O'Riley, can you please take care of that?" Ives turned back to Thea. "Anything else?"

"The graviton particle actuator will begin stripping gravitons from the Benamite crystals in the core. Through exposure to the quantum field, the gravitons will become charged with quantum energy into a uniform flux state. Once enough particles are charged, they will be fed through graviton transfer conduits, leading from the Benamite reactor and then fed directly into the slipstream initiator, which is located in the slipstream components in the two navigational deflectors. From here..."

"Thea, please, If there is a Borg cube at those coordinates, we don't have time for all the data. Do you need more help?"

"No, but O'Riley needs to understand. The charged gravitons will be projected out in front of the ship through the deflector dishes, which creates a narrow subspace field. This will split the subspace domain open for the ship to travel through. O'Riley, if the phase variance of the field ever goes beyond 0.42, the field will collapse... and there will be a catastrophic failure in the ship’s attitude control. I cannot stress the importance of keeping the phase variance below 0.42." Thea then turned her eyes back to Captain Ives. "ETA is calculated to one minute. Shall I begin?"

"Yes," said Ives, and turned to V-Nine and the rest, "I'd call Red Alert... but I don't think we have that feature. When we arrive, there will be a Borg cube there. If there is any ship that may be able to destroy a cube, this is it. Be ready for battle."

"Activating quantum matrix," said Thea, her eyes distant as she slowly walked up the the multi-faceted viewscreen. Her positronic brain in her arms, with a makeshift power supply that the one named Blue Tiran had assembled. "Graviton particle actuators online. Graviton transfer begun. Charging slipstream initiators. Aligning navigational deflectors for graviton projection. Activating slipstream initiators in three, two, one..."

A gaping blackness opened before the Versant, and the next moment, they were travelling through a tunnel of blue lights.

"Quantum slipstream initiated."

V-Nine had seen it before, how the Precept ship crossed the slipstream threshold. The voyage, which might be a grand term for the mere minute it took for the ship to reach the Theurgy's coordinates, had begun. She wrung her metallic hands for some reason... unsure what begot the gesture.

After the slipstream jump, the sight upon the immense viewscreen of the Versant's bridge was hard to ignore. The Borg were catalogued and known to her, and a vessel of their was surrounded by a debris field. There were multiple small craft and Klingon ships in the debris as well, and the cube was destroying them all one by one. On that very same viewscreen, V-Nine could see how there was a antimatter cloud entering a thick debris field, released by the larger of the two Federation ships, moving towards the cube and sparking detonations as it went. The same ship, plus another one, farther away, was sending blue beams from their sensor arrays upon something hidden beyond the debris field. The Aspect-Maker, who had told her to designate him 'Captain Ives', opened a hail to a ship called 'the Theurgy'. She surmised it had to be the photonic A.I.s hull.

"This is Captain Jien Ives, we've taken command of this ship, and while the presence of Borg is disconcerting enough, we need a report on the situation now." Then, Ives turned to the Vulcan specimen seated beside him. "Lieutenant Cross. Fire!"

The Versant's three main cannons had already powered up, and three lances of light shot straight through the debris field. The massive beams, wider than the Allegiant, entered the closest side of the Borg cube. The graviton beams cut through the bulk of the cube like an exoscalpel through dermal tissue, and within the span of three seconds, the beams burst out on the far side - continuing into the debris field beyond. V-Nine found herself raising her hand to the front of her cranial unit in reaction. "Oh, dear," she said. Why? Reason, unknown. Likely because of the change in her software?

When the lights faded, a new figure had appeared on the Theurgy's bridge, in the far back. [I am unarmed! I could not let myself be assimilated, and I had to escape from my cell. Irrelevant. Captain! Hear me! That subspace tunnel, a Borg invasion force will come though it any minute now! It is one of the deciding steps in the enemy's plans. They have enabled the Borg, and mean to exploit the Collective as a means to further their own plans.]

The aperture was open. This was when V-Nine saw one of the specimens on the Versant, behind the Captain's back, having some kind of seizure. She made her platform run to the specimen's side, starting to scan him. He seemed to be muttering, raving, while the conversation continued with the Theurgy's bridge. When she glance up anew, the aperture was larger. By her estimate, it had to be at least five kilometres wide. [No! You can't do it that way!] shouted the specimen on the screen with the artificial hand and the charred uniform, [I have tried to tell you! In the other Cycles, there was a singular object. A device that could rend subspace asunder. Well that is a subspace tunnel! In one cycle, it almost stopped the invasion. It's supposed to be a secret in Starfleet, but the Borg call it Particle 010! Do any of you know what it is?]

Reserved as Ives might have been, the development and what the specimen was saying held his attention. "I know what it is," he said, and shifted... to her female form. Ives tilted her head and looked at the man through the vid-link between the Versant and the Theurgy. "It's called an Omega device. Are you saying it will seal the tunnel if detonated?"

[Yes... and no,] said the strange one with the ruined uniform, and for some reason, he laughed, which V-Nine found even more odd. [It's not like you can get the detonation needed by just blowing it up. It won't be enough. The device needs to be activated. It is supposed to be some kind of box, with a mechanism you have to solve by hand. The one who opens it... will die. Warp speed within several light tears will become impossible, and subspace communication will no longer work within that radius, but the subspace tunnels... they will all wither and be destroyed - all of them - stopping the Borg invasion.]

Ives paused, before she spoke anew. "We have this device in our possession. Here, on the Versant. We also have a tablet that details the locking mechanism."

[Captain, I request to be the one that stays behind,] the specimen said, [to activate it, while the Theurgy escapes at maximum warp. I know you will need to leave at a speed higher than warp nine. Then, you'll make it.]

Then, V-Nine looked down at the specimen that she was scanning. Mid-seizure, he spoke. "Aventine" he spoke the name, and V-Nine determined that the seizure might be ebbing out. He tried to sit up, so she shifted her hand back to its normal settings, helped him, steadying him, so that he might say what he needed to say.

"The invasion of 2381 began here," said the specimen, being much calmer, "The Borg fleet sweeping into the quadrant, throwing every major power into chaos and reshaping the geopolitical structure of the galaxy in its wake. And that Captain, is the way history was supposed to go. But the Aventine was supposed to find them, not the Endeavour nor the Cayuga. Or Theurgy." V-Nine's scans had been inconclusive, but the specimen was in apparent pain while he spoke. "And she was supposed to have slipstream. It was the key to winning.... and they fucking suppressed it."

Who were 'they'? V-Nine wondered, but focused on resuming scans of the human specimen - her thumb and index finger split upen and running over the man's head.

OOC: This is the main Supplemental thread for activity on the Versant's bridge in Chapter 05: Battle of the Apertures. Here is the sequence of events, for sake of guidance: A) Thea announces that they have the juice to make a slipstream jump to the Theurgy, along with a lot of techno babble. Before this point, it has been a constant struggle to keep the Savi from reclaiming command of the Versant. B) The slipstream jump is made, which lasts for a mere minute. This minute may be used for whatever. Some final words before the arrival to battle? Up to you guys. C) They arrive at the battle, and the multi-faceted viewscreen shows the Borg cube and the debris field, the Theurgy and the distant Cayuga. The fighters and the surviving Klingon ships. D) A hail is made to the Theurgy, and Ives order Lieutenant Cross (seated next to hir) to fire against the cube. E) Nicander appears at the back of the Theurgy's bridge, giving context to the battle. F) Sarresh Morali has another of his seizures, and reveal what may happen if the Borg aren't stopped.

Plenty of fodder to use, right, guys? Want more? Here are some Battle Objectives! Please check off one objective each, and you still have full liberty in setting up details. Have a look! [Show/Hide]

Battle Objectives | Drop Space

The floor of the bridge is ruptured, the hole made by graviton rifles. Armoured Antes climb into the bridge. Send them back where they belong.
The Scions mount another attack through the ruptured back bulkhead of the bridge, having managed to override Thea's forcefields.
Using the access Thea has granted in one of the alcoves, set up remote-controlled sabotage of the Versant's engines. This sabotage needs to be prepared for when the abductees beam aboard the Theurgy.
Using the access Thea has granted in one of the alcoves, set up remote-controlled sabotage of the Versant's tactical systems. This sabotage needs to be prepared for when the abductees beam aboard the Theurgy.
Someone should have used Thea's access in one of the alcoves to get control of the Savi's Ventrak cloak. In order to keep Savi tech from being assimilated, the cloak should be activated when the abductees beam aboard the Theurgy.
Someone with personal interest might manage to establish communication with the leader of the Antes - Sclergyn - either to negotiate, warn her or give her a piece of their minds.
Someone might download all the specs and data for the quantum slipstream drive the ship is using.
Someone might wish to exact some kind of revenge upon the Antes (unbeknownst to Ives, and perhaps Thea is too busy to notice), this also via remote control from the bridge alcoves.
Someone might use the systems to hunt for Scion life-signs, and do something about them (also unbeknownst to Ives, and perhaps Thea is too busy to notice)
Then, of course, there is also the people on the Theurgy's bridge for your characters to personally react to (because of prior affiliations). These seen on the viewscreen during the hail. They are Captain Wenn Cinn, Commander Natalie Stark, Commander Ranaan Ducote, Lieutenant Nator, Lieutenant Derik Veradin, Commander Vivian Martin, Commander Vael Kaeris, Lieutenant Okafor, Lieutenant Vanya, Lieutenant T'Less, Lieutenant Salem Martin, Ensign Cameron Henshaw (unconscious), Petty Officer Morgan Song, Ensign Faye Eloi-Danvers and Selena Ravenholm. Oh, and Lucan cin Nicander, of course, whom some might know in different ways...

If you want to set up concurrent Supplemental threads set on - or adjacent to - the bridge of the Versant, it should have the naming convention CH05: S [D06|1120] Insert Title. If you guys want to set up Supplemental threads that lead up to the scene here, it can either go into the thread To Arms!, or it can be a Supplemental that belong to Chapter 04: True Nature. You can use the naming convention CH04: S [D06|1005] Insert Title in that case.

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #1 – February 28, 2019, 05:08:23 AM

[LCdr Blue Tiran | Busy Hands | Busy Minds | Hallucinations | Can't We Just Take the Savi Ship?]
@Auctor Lucan

It was hard to restart.

To take yourself away from the chaos of the lower level and then come back to it. Cross had been needed and Blue had stayed behind because she had wanted to boot up Albert. Okay, that was shit, and she knew it. She knew that she wanted to stay behind because it was easier to lose herself in the pain of what was going on in her mind without a fucking audience. She didn't need a fucking Hallmark Movie level tear fest, she didn't need some mother fucker asking her a shit ton of questions that she didn't fucking want to answer. No, she didn't need sympathy or pity. People could shove that up their collective asses and get bent sideways with the weight of their little stares. She didn't need people to tell her to be strong, that she would be okay, she wouldn't be okay.

She probably never had been.

He had been a bandaid, a bandage, a skin graft. It was gone now and the raw wounds that had been hidden underneath such a perfect form of aid .. were even larger and more heinous than they had been before. Swallowing heavily she had made her way back down below, the heavy foot falls sounding on the metallic stairwell as she worked her way down below. She had given Thea the battery pack that she had created, it would last her a good while and could be recharged by plugging into an external conduit if the battery light went on. Thea had been given all the instructions but Blue figured it was redundant telling an AI how to get shit done.

It was already shit.

They hadn't even fucking arrived here, where ever the fuck here was, and there was already a shit storm that she didn't even want to fuck with. What caught Blue's attention though was this mention of a slipstream. Some kind of engine that would allow them to move faster than they had ever done with the Federation. This was something that pulled Blue out of her misery because only work would be able to do that at this point. She tilted her head to the side as she listened and took in all the information that was given about the engine.

But it wasn't enough.

No one but a fucking engineer could actually understand the level of badassery that she was dealing with right now. I need this fucking information. I could use this back in the Federation, I could push our ships harder, faster, better. With this kind of output I could really make something for the Federation and we would be unprecedented. This is an opportunity that I can't waste. she thought to herself as she chewed on her thumb nail, it was all ready ragged from the teeth that had chewed it, along with the other nails, down to the quick. They were bloody, dirty, and nasty but that didn't stop her from putting the appendage in her mouth and munch on it, not even really feeling the pain but almost reveling in the slight tinges that came and went as she nibbled at the skin there.

[Miss Blue, your heart rate is showing elevated and your hormone levels have increased. I would dare say you seem excited.]

Blue had almost forgotten about the now familiar weight on her shoulder, and the clamped down talons on the bruises of her shoulder. She found that the pain, the discomfort, was a pleasure, and it helped her focus. Albert sat on her shoulder with his Blue eyes, his head swiveled slightly so that he could look into the dirty gaunt face of the Lieutenant Commander. Her brow rose.

“Fuck right. I'm going to steal some shit.”

[Miss Blue, it is unbecoming of a Starfleet officer to abscond with any material objects.]

“Oh Albert, I'm not taking anything material, I'm taking blue prints, codes, and some really great fucking numbers with me.” she grinned as she turned on her heels and marched to one of the consoles.

[Do you believe it wise to infiltrate the Savi computer systems after violating their ship in such a manner?]

“Violate their fucking .. what now? Albert Tiran, you mother fucking shit piece of metal! They're the ones that violated every fucking person on this mother fucking Bridge, so yeah, I think it's okay if I fucking take what I want from it. Screw them, twice from Sunday, and over again.”

[I do not quite understand your verbage of choice.]

“You know what, it doesn't matter, because it's not going to be me anyway.” she grinned, as she reached up and touched the small button on his talon which released them so that she could pull Albert down from her shoulder and begin what she wanted to do. “You are.”

[Miss Blue, I am unsure that I am equipped with enough storage capacity to take on the amount of data you wish to install.] he quipped quickly.

“Are you scared Albert? Don't be a fucking pussy, lets do this, besides you were programmed by the Savi. So not only are you going to download this shit but as you do, you're going to translate it into Federation standard so that I can fucking use it when I get back to the real world.”

The sheer shit eating grin on her face because of her sheer genius was awe inspiring really. She had no attention to give to the view screen, she had no attention to give to the hole in the floor, the weapons being fired or the chaos surrounding them. Oh no, she used her wrench, Thor, and beat a nice dent into the side of the console outer casing. Reaching in she pulled out some wires, unaware that a certain Commander may be watching her dirty, pale, overly thin form working it's ass off. She rose one of Albert's wings where his conduits were stored and brushed the feathers out of the way as she began to plug the wires into their spots so that he could do what he wanted.

His eyes blinked three times before they returned to steady.

[Miss Blue, I am set up and have initiated the download and translation of the files you have requested. To be safe, I am downloading all that have anything to do with the SlipStream mentioned earlier.]

“You're talking dirty to me Albert, I love it.” she grinned a bit and brushed a stray curl from her face and behind her ear.

[Miss Blue, I do not, once more, understand your verbage. Speech is neither dirty nor tainted it merely is a form of communications.]

“Sure, just download your shit Albert, I want all of it.” she said as she pulled up a stool and parked herself on it. Watching the way that his eyes shimmered. There was a slight progress bar built into the outer iris that ticked off and the more colored it became the closer he was to done. She hoped that they had enough time to do what needed to be done.

The bird chirped and she grinned, that beautiful mischevious grin that said she was up to no fucking good. The dark circles under her eyes lightened, just a hair before they returned to a darkness that rivaled her hair color. She unplugged Albert.

[Miss Blue, my storage capacity is at an alarming eighty-eight percent.]

“Oh no, Albert, what will we do?” she asked sarcastically.

[The first order would be to compress some files or delete them all together. I see some older messages to be left to the Commander Ducote in the event that some-]

“No.” Blue said harshly. Her face stone cold.

[Miss Blue you could merely record them again at a later da-]

“No.” she said firmly. “You have enough storage to run optimally, you won't need to hold anything else and if you do I will figure it out but don't you touch a single fucking file.”

[Affirmative, Miss Blue.]

=============
Objective 7, complete.

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #2 – February 28, 2019, 07:57:44 AM

[ Lt jG (until told otherwise) Hi'Jak | Bridge Alcove | Behind Ida | A Little Tied Up] Attn: @Triage @BZ @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow @SummerDawn @Brutus @patches @Fife @Auctor Lucan @Absinthe @chXinya @Numen @Zenozine
[Show/Hide]

From the alcove of the bridge Jack could see very little, but he could hear a lot. The order to activate the slipstream drive, the following few moments where they encountered both the Borg, and The Theurgy. A small thought crossed his mind about trying his luck with the Borg, the imaginary situation being transporting onto the damaged cube, finding an alcove with life support, dying of hunger or old age as he very clearly was not worth anyones time.

But then came the information from the Doctor, whom it turned out was a parasite. That information was new to Jack, he had a physical but it wasn't with this Nincander, it was impossible to think you could know everyone on a ship that you barely stood on for more than three days after all. Still the thought they had an extra of that creature, He shook his head, they were going to use the omega device as a weapon, he was the one who had spent the better part of three days trying to open that thing, he had been the one to grab the combinations off the Savi database, he heard the line about the PAD, and he felt some elation.

HIs data got to be useful after all.

It wouldn't restore his honor, it wasn't worth the words of apology, his name would not be remembered after he was handed to the empire and killed, but it was something. Even if he was the only one whom could look at that and say 'I contributed' He would at least have that small moment.

Then came Moralli's ranting and raving, the man from the future, Hi'Jak's only... friend? among these people. Morali had told him how painful the seizures were those few moments that he got to remember the full scope of whatever his life was like. Again the mention of Slipstream tech, and the mention of suppression by them, the parasites. He laid back quietly for a moment that sounded really familiar for some reason.
[Show/Hide]

"Son of a bitch!" Jack slammed his head against the ground for a moment, letting out a sharp ow before he sat up. "Those assholes! They stole my paper! They took my masters! I wrote a paper about how you could theoretically stabalize an artificial transwarp drive, and they had my research ripped from the record, stained my reputation, and nearly tossed my ass out of the academy."

"It's not just slipstream they messed with, it's advancement across the board!" He looked at Ida, and shook his head. "Every single time I find a glimmer of something important I'm told to shut up and halt all research. I was put on 84, under a plagiarist thief denied all my transfer requests because I was marked! Had I taken even a moment to stop and think about what was going on, had I ever actually done my job and gathered fucking intelligence or even tried to do my own research... I am the worst officer!"

He shook his head sighing letting the anger pass over him. His pathetic life was almost over.

There was a moment where he got to layback for a few seconds, then he felt something shake, He was laying on the ground so he was more connected to the ship, his body felt the trembles in the metal, something like a bending or breaking.

Then the rupture was made.

There was no explosion, but it felt like Jack was lifted off the ground before he was dropped back onto the floor, he could finally see the majority of the bridge, a section of the floor had broken open, it took him a moment to realize he had been flipped around and his face was nestled between Ida's legs, but his eye was focused on the ground.

It had been torn apart from below, metal jutted out in various directions, and armored Savi Ante's were climbing through the breeches.

"Ida! Please, untie me!" It was dumb, he knew, there was no way she would. There were other security officers, they didn't need a one eyed, one handed scientist. "Please, Ida, I want to help!"

And what was she gonna do give him a weapon? A gun wouldn't do much in his hand, He had lost his main hand in the acid bath on SuD Lang.

"Please give me a tablet, I might be able to do.... something!" He was a science officer, he may not be a Klingon, but he refused to die without doing something. Had he ever done his due diligence he could have perhaps done something, at least realized why he always failed. He had fallen into a trap and become lazy, with all expectations removed from him Jack had spent his time content to simply exist by a pool, never once had he earned his commission or provided intelligence.

Ida was right about a lot of things.

First and foremost he hadn't deserved his commission.

But... now he was determined to put his life to something, now at least he was going to try and set things right, and step one was trying to help.

OOC: Objective #1

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #3 – February 28, 2019, 08:31:17 AM

“Jien Ives stood for the standards of the Federation, and upheld it in the most trying times, sometimes against anyone's perceived better judgement. Peace is something worth fighting for. But sometimes, the sword must be laid down, and words must be the shield, or the white flag, to call for an end to the bloodshed and the perpetual chaos that surrounds us. Jien Ives was uncompromising, and understood the time for either option. I believe we can afford to do no less, and must uphold the same ideals, or sacrifice it, and sacrifice our humanity. I will stand for the Federation, and for peace. Will you stand with me?”

- Cameron Henshaw, Fading and Rebirth

[ Lt. JG Sinead O'Riley | Bridge Module | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @BZ @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow @SummerDawn @Brutus @patches @Fife @Masorin @Absinthe @chXinya @Numen @Zenozine
[Show/Hide]

She felt herself breathing easier, and she moved with greater confidence. People who knew her well would say they saw a bounce in her step that they hadn't seen in years. But Sinead showed little expression on her face beyond a greater level of sharpness, as if the chip had all this time been hampering her faculties, and perhaps it had. But now, it was all clear and wonderful to her. They were on the Versant, they had commandeered it in a desperate bid to reach the Theurgy on time.

“Aye, captain,” said Sinead when she was ordered to assist Thea with adjusting the quantum field. Slipstream technology. She would need to learn about it fast, and had appropriated another PADD for herself, attaching it to her left wrist as before. She began to receive a data feed from Thea, and she quickly adapted to the controls used by the Antes. Built for somewhat taller individuals on average, the Bringloidi moved her arms animatedly to reach certain controls. She didn't hesitate to shoot her arms out when needed, as she began to realize she had split seconds to react once the slipstream was activated.

She nodded when Thea stressed out the importance of maintaining the field's phase variance. It was the longest one minute of her life as she feverishly watched the variance on the display and when she saw it even starting to shift, she compensated the field and brought the variance back down. And then they were back in normal space. It was hard not to be unnerved by the sight of the Borg cube, and she beheld the results of a valiant attack against it and the apertures. So many ships destroyed. She almost wished that Task Force Archeron was around now. For once they'd be forced to cease their relentless hunt and assist with the greatest threat any living being ever faced.

Since the time they'd taken over the Versant, a thought, a desire had grown in the auburn-haired woman. There were civilians on board this ship. Families, children. They had to make it right. While she understood Jien's urgency and the choices made to expedite an acceptable result to the benefit of the Starfleet officers, this was a ship belonging to a society that the Federation had never met. It was First Contact, and they had conducted themselves very poorly. They had to make it right.

She listened to the captain as they communicated with the Theurgy, she could make out people on the bridge that she recognized, and a tiny smile appeared on her. It felt good to see them alive. Battered, but alive. But then Captain Wenn Cinn was something that made her face lose colour. She understood well what he was implying, especially after Lucan cin Nicander explained what happened to the one who stayed behind. When they finished, she turned to the captain and said in no uncertain terms, “We must make righ' wi' th' Savi, moch as we cain. There be families an' children on board this vessel. I will speak t' their leader. We have t' at least try.”

She left the captain and returned to an alcove, where she began to master the controls to establish a communications link within the vessel, and she spoke, addressing Sclergyn, “This is Lieutenant Sinead O'Riley of th' USS Theurgy, representin' th' United Federation of Planets. I wish t' speak t' Sclergyn qi Versant of th' Antes.”

She waited, and then established a screen message, her face becoming visible should the Antes choose to open their own screens. “We canna begin t' make amends for th' appropriation of yeh vessel, and cain only beg yeh forgiveness, but th' need be urgent.”

She let the screen show the Antes who watched a good view of the battlefield and the Borg Cube. “Sooneh or later, th' Borg becomes all our enemies. But we understahnd tha' this no be yeh fight, and we will be takin' our leave of yeh to fight our battle. Yeh will be free t' reclaim th' ship. All I ask is give us th' time to make ready our preparations. I promise yeh, we no will endanger yeh family, and children, and please no be attackin', we do no' desire t' cause more harm than has already been done. For the sake of peace, and no more loss o' lives.”

While she spoke, she also sent Thea a message on the PADD quietly, to suggest a brief locking mechanism to prevent the Versant from targetting the Theurgy, or any allied vessel until all were safely away. She was hopeful, but she also believed in prudent course of action. And it was logical to cultivate multiple options in the events her plea fell on deaf ears.

OOC - Objective 6 completed

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #4 – February 28, 2019, 08:24:44 PM

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne | Lateral alcove | Bridge Module | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]

Att: @Auctor Lucan @chXinya

Having coordinated the measures to keep the Savi away from the Aerodrome with Thea, Shar had settled into one of the side alcoves, with the excuse of monitoring the Savi attempt to take control of that deck and freeing their figthers. Reality was that she had other ideas in mind. That's why she had left the bulk of the group. That was why she had asked Selh to stand guard in the narrow dintel, allowing her to immerse herself in the work without interruption. That was why she had dragged Shall with her, if he had allowed it, because although the young chan could have different plans from his own, he could work in parallel with her. He could be protected by the same privacy.

What was her goal? Revenge, of course.

Bitter revenge.

Sitting with her back against the wallplates and cradling the Padd in her lap, Shar studied the starship's plans with full attention. She took good care of avoid interactions with other network's users and, mainly, of drawing too much attention from the AI that had the vessel control at that moment. She just needed to be patient. And subtle. More than she had ever been. More than what her nature impelled her to be.

So she waited. She waited calmly, until someone knocked down the firewalls around the slipstream data. She waited patiently, observing how that user selected the most important files and she memorized the routes to access them. Without doing anything else, she became a mere witness of others' work. But it served her purpose. The attack had weakened the archives protections and now it was easier collect the data she need. And exploit them.

Three hours.

Three hours was what the engine needed to recover the energy necessary to make another successful jump.

So she will force one. In two hours.

Shar's fingers danced on the surface of her Padd, forcing a programmed jump into the starship routines, knocking down the security measures that prevented it from being carried out without enough energy. Within two hours, if nobody did anything about it, the Versant would jump into the Delta quadrant, without being able to reach its destination. The abductees would be away from that shithole by then. Or dead. In any case, they wouldn't be there to check how far the jump would drag to the starship.Far from the Federation. Far from their families, from their friends. Far away, where they wouldn't hurt anyone else. Adrift in the middle of the void between the stars. Alive but harmless. It was the only thing she needed. She didn't want to be a mass murderer. She didn't need the weight of so many lives over her consciousness. But converting the Versant in a innocuous menace was more than enough.

It was revenge. Her revenge.

In the main section of the bridge there was a cacophony of gunshots, cries, moans of battered metal. It seemed that the battle was raging again. Shar looked away from her Padd and directed her gaze to Selh. The pilot had barricaded himself by the door keeping the muzzle of his rifle pointed outward, following enemies that the shen couldn't see. However, he did not fire it. Whatever was happening outside, it seemed that it didn't directly threaten them. Shar nodded to herself and plunged back into her Padd.

While her first intrusion fulfilled her wishes, the long countdown left open the possibility that the Savi would discover the sabotage. That they would dismantle her attack and the sabotage ended being nothing. So she prepared a second attack, something more subtle, more hidden.

She studied the technical specifications for a long time, until she found what she was looking for. The slipstream jump was an engineering wonder, a delicate job that worked only under a very specific conditions. It seemed that the value of the phase variance was key to the success of the jump. A small deviation at the critical moment could spoil the entire jump. So the Andorian began to schedule her revenge. A dormant program, only triggered if a jump began. A trojan that would destroy the phase variance controls, leaving the Versant losing energy and subject to move only using low WARP jumps or in sublight speeds. It also could comply with her plans.

Shar's lips twisted in a smile. A crooked smirk. The smile of someone who didn't know how smiles worked. A grin of a shark.

OOC: Objetive 4.

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #5 – March 01, 2019, 10:32:49 AM

[ Deacon | Bridge Module | The Versant ]
Attn: @Triage @BZ @Auctor Lucan @FollowTomorrow @SummerDawn @Brutus @patches @Fife @Masorin @Absinthe @chXinya @Numen @Zenozine

He sat not far from Ives, but his attention, to be honest, was not on the affairs of his patriarch, but on the broken form of his mate who lay on a makeshift stretcher that he had been able to piece together from one of the larger, mostly flat panels that remained from the wreckage in which she'd been found.

Deacon had taken several long moments to trust the Savi-crafted unit to tend to K'Ren as he worked to pry the debris free -- an effort that had taxed his waning strength and tolerances to their limit, leaving fresh cuts in the soft meat of his hands and fingers. Yet he would not be deterred; he would suffer any pain to spare K'Ren further suffering.

Once free, he carefully laid her on the smooth side of the platform, moving her with as little jostling as possible. Were his ears still capable, they would have folded back in rhythm to the slightest groan or agonized wince, but he'd remained resolute, ensuring the... what was it exactly? Robot? Android? Whatever it was, so long as it remained dedicated to ensuring K'Ren's survival, he did his best to give it a wide berth as it worked until announcing that it had managed to stabilize K'Ren's condition pending their return to the Theurgy. What she needed now, only a full sickbay could provide.

The medical unit then turned its attention to him, noting his own failing health, muttering something about rejection syndrome, a failure to complete his conversion. Truth be told, Deacon in that very moment cared nothing for her words or his own medical status. It had insisted on providing him with some sort of injection -- a booster of some sort, and acquiescence seemed the most convenient method to silence the prognosis and gain himself and K'Ren the peace and quiet he desired.

It was a decision that he had to reluctantly admit had provided him with some sense of relief, dispelling the fever that had been burning through him, and settling the stomach that had grown more prone to discharge than digest. He had moved K'Ren away from the battle zone, managing to find a small but secure area near what appeared to be the command seat, urging his wife to rest, that he would be there if she needed anything.

As he sat, he busied himself. The weapons, the datapads that he had spent so much time earlier harvesting from the alcoves, had been sorted through by several members of the crew in their efforts to repel the antes from reclaiming the bridge or, as he understood it, to undertake some additional seizure of critical data from the primary systems. This gave him some small amount of pleasure, but it all seemed intangible, ephemeral, as if it could, as it had so many times already, simply wink out of existence with the barest effort.

Stripping the cloth that adorned some of the nearby seats, he set himself to re-purposing the fabric, stitching the sides together and another long strap for portage. Securing the remaining datapads and several of the weapons into his makeshift tote made their bounty at least seem real, the weight of the devices comforting against his shoulder. It wasn't everything, even had he been as he'd been born, he couldn't possibly carry everything at once, so he'd left two more of the slap-dash bags with the rest of the devices should another member of the crew take the hint.

And then, the ship emerged from its charge, decelerating into a battle field that drew Deacon's eyes towards the view screens before which the captain now stood. Broken ship husks floated amidst the faint blue gases of the nebula, their hulls sparking their death throes or flickering with some spiteful defiance. These weren't their ships -- this was not something the Versant had wrought... klingons. He could easily discern the faintly green-gray metal that dominated the imperial fleet.

His searched for the signs of who had so decimated the klingon fleet. "We are the Borg..." the greeting echoed in his ears, a nightmarish harmony of memory layering over the present, the ship around him burning, the bulkhead of his parents' quarters... his home... collapsed, and beneath the rubble, his mother's body broken. He couldn't breathe, each effort to inhale catching in his throat, his heart racing as his hand shakily sought out K'Ren's...

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #6 – March 01, 2019, 10:34:24 PM

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Back to Back | No One Stands A Chance | Distractions Down | It's Time to Stand]
@Auctor Lucan @Numen

Everything down below their little paradise had been going just fine, until they actually arrived where the Theurgy was. The ship was massive, definitely the biggest Starfleet vessel that Zeph had ever seen much less thought to serve on. She truly hoped that Khorin was right and that they would let her onto the ship. At some point she would have to really meet his Captain. She had seen hir, of course, when they rescued hir in the large chamber s/he had been held in. However, while she had given her name and rank and what not it was a completely different thing to actually give her a job. Especially considering her paste. Still, the hope was there and sometimes, hope was all you needed. Something to keep you stepping forward, something that would keep them moving towards a goal. She would figure out what to do when and if the answer was no. Right now, she would hold onto the hope that everything would be okay and she could serve on the same ship as Khorin. She didn't even mind sharing Quarters with him, whatever made it easier for the ship to take her own.

The mere thought of going back to the Azurite station scared the living shit out of her.

They had arrived, Zeph looked up at the view screen where a Bridge of people stood, not a single person that she knew. Which was perfect because if they knew her then it was likely not going to be a good thing. She turned as she realized that there was noise, a lot of it. People were rushing about getting some tasks or whatever personal projects they wanted to get taken care of out of the eway. Zeph wasn't sure what to do but she could see one thing... the massive hole that she and Khorin had held together earlier was being assaulted again.

I don't think so.

She wasn't sure where Khorin had gone to. She had lost track of him at some point but he had given her one of his rifles before he had headed off. Probably to talk to some of the friends that he had on the ship. She didn't know anyone and so she didn't need to talk to anyone else at the moment. However, she refused to hold him back what so ever.

Shouldering her rifle she dodged through the various people. Trying to get over towards where the force field had been. It sure as heck wasn't there now though, as she realized that some of the Savi were coming in quickly. They were going to battle the Bridge and try to take it back. They couldn't let that happen though. No they had to help the Theurgy, the Borg were there, the Klingon were there. She needed to help hold the Bridge if she could. There were some other officers there, she didn't know any of their names or ranks and at this point in time neithe rof them should matter. They had jobs to do and it needed to be a group effort. Zeph was trained, better so at hand-to-hand than anything else, but she could hold some of it on her own but she would not be able to hold the entire door way on her own without help.

“Come on, the Scions are coming.” she said quickly to a group of people. She didn't know if they would come along or not but she wasn't going to stop and beg them either. She quickly tossed her Medkit to the side because it was likely going to be needed. She only had one sleeve, and it was the shoulder that she didn't shoot with so that was lucky for her. Raising her rifle she went down on one knee so that she could support the rifle better and line up the sights. She began to fire towards the Scions. They weren't going to be easy to take down though because they were already on the offensive attack which meant that the crew here was on the defensive because they wanted to keep the Bridge on their own.

Fire shots were coming over her shoulder and beginning to take some of the Savi down, she didn't dare look behind her but she could feel them. She could feel the minds of several officers behind her taking their shots as well. Blue blood sprayed against the metallic walls behind the savi as the rifles and pistols in the hands of those well trained began to find their marks.

The Scions were not without their own hits though, they weren't ill trained either, and their aqua beams cut across the Bridge to take out one of the men behind her. The scream was cut short and she could feel the life bleed away behind her. Even before the body thumped down to the floor, the mind was dead. It was nearly distracting, she swallowed hard. Feeling the death of someone in your mind was a completely different kind of thing. It was like someone was dragging iced fingertips down your mental walls. Like they were reaching out for you to help them one last time, their last breath, and that simple blankness.. the void of being that came when the spirit went.

It was something that always brushed against her subconscious even though she tried not to let it bother her, it did, sometimes anyway. She didn't know the man that died, even though he had fought with her, but she felt the sorrow of his loss of life. That he likely had a family, maybe children, or someone out there that cared for him. Now they would know the sorrow of loss. The kind of sorrow that you could not just get back from.

“Focus!” called a voice over her shoulder.

She looked up at the masculine man beside her, he had a bit of silver laced in his beard. She hadn't noticed him before but the way that he stood there with his rifle on his shoulder and fired down range towards the Savi with the clear eyes of a man that had seen battle many times in his life.

“Sitting there doing nothing will get you killed like that guy.”

“I wasn-”

“you were, I can tell what you are Sister, and if you want to help then help otherwise go get your medkit and wait until it's your turn.”

Zeph nearly rolled her eyes but instead she lowered her cheek back to her rifle butt and started firing down range. “I know how to take care of myself.”

“That's all well and good until the moment you forget because you have your brain opened and not focused.”

“Oh get bent old man.” she grumbled as she began to fire again, another Savi went down because of her rifle shot. A crumpled white form on the deck among others but there were still more heading into the door way. It was like a never ending stream.

“Don't die, Sister. I'll buy you a drink when we get somewhere less dangerous.”

=====

Objective #2 complete

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #7 – March 05, 2019, 12:16:35 AM

[ Khorin, son of Margon, of House Mo'Kai | Upper levels | Bridge Module | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]

Att: @Triage @BZ @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow @SummerDawn @Brutus @patches @Fife @Masorin @chXinya @Zenozine

Khorin rushed through the door to the elevated walkway, from their small pocket of paradise to the chaos that was raging again on the bridge. Grabbing the graviton rifle with both hands, he assessed the current situation, taking advantage of his position. The savi seemed to have returned to the bridge with renewed strength. Willing to take back what was theirs. To retake control of their starship. The Klingon swept the wide room with his eyes, taking mentally note of the points where the conflict intensified. However, when his gaze stopped on the main screen, the rifle trembled in his hands for a second. The pilot looked away from the peephole and looked at that with his own eyes. The multifaceted viewscreen showed a space battlefield. The dark form of a Borg Cube loomed over it, between the remains of several ships, most of them reduced to amorphous wreckage. The unmistakable shape of the Theurgy appeared in another section of the screen, as well as another vessel with an obvious Starfleet design that he didn't recognize. The familiar shapes of the Valkyrie fighters flew over the battlefield, like glob flies attacking a Minn'hor. But most importantly, there were klingon ships out there. B'rel, K'vort, Negh'Var... still fighting against the Borg or reduced to pieces, still spining in the outer space.

The Klingon's eyes searched among the mutilated remains for the flagship of his House. There were Mo'Kai out there? Would the fierce warriors of his grandfather's House have found their way to Suto'vo'qor that day? Would his own Grandfather or his Uncle? Would his half-brother? Or were they still fighting out there, facing death with a smile on their faces and a song in their chests? Khorin stood there still, his gaze fixed on the development of the battle for a long time. More than he ought to. Behind him, some footsteps sounded,. In the bridge main section, far under the footbridge that he occupied, he heared the roar of the battle. Someone screamed, surprise and pain interspersed in a dying cry. The floor moaned, muffled sound of metal bending, and the bang of metal hitting metal followed. It seemed that part of the deck had collapsed to the bottom one, opening a wound through which enemies could sneak in.

However, the pilot's eyes did not move away from the screen.

It was then that it happened.

The screen lit up with a blinding aquamarine light. It was so bright that it was hard to look at, but still Khorin kept his eyes fixed on what was happening. The Versant's cannons produced three beams that went through the Cube like it was made of wet paper. Khorin roared enthusiastically and looked for the author of such a shot. And what was his surprise when he found out that was no other than Cross who sat in front of the weapons console. Seeing his brother-in-arms on charge only expanded his grin. It seemed that Cross was more useful than he seemed after all. Then, he rushed to the lower level, jumping the steps two at a time to get down there as soon as possible.

When he reached the bridge main section, he soon found himself in the middle of the skirmish. The Savi had intensified their attack again and, although it seemed that the helm and tactical consoles still seemed under the abductees' control, the Antes had made them lose ground and retreat. Several starfleeters had sheltered in the lateral alcoves or behind the remains of a fallen walkway. A quick glance showed him that their enemies tried to access the room through a new hole in the floor and that the position that Zephyr and he had been barely protecting an hour before poured armored Savi again.

So, he charged forward, firing a dense graviton barrage. Most of the impacts didn't hit any enemy, but they allowed him to clear a narrow path. A close passage that leaded where he wanted to go. Khorin didn't think it twice and advanced forward with long and quick strides. Before he knew how he made it, he stood next to the floorplates' hole. A quick glance allowed him to see the huge amount of Savi that swirled under them. There were simply too many. A myriad. The pilot started fired them at will, with no need to aim, due almost any shot hit an enemy. A helmet, an armed arm, a shoulder. It did not matter. As long as he helped to kept their enemies down there and the abductees up in the bridge.

Without looking away from the mass of bodies that meandered at his feet, Khorin roared "HEY !!!! CROSS !!!" . His bombastic voice reverberated in the wide hall. He dared to look away of the gap when he felt the vulcan's glaucous eyes on him, his expression annoyed and bitter as usual. "That fucking thing is three kilometers wide and you still almost missed!!!!" He teased between laughter, still shooting. He dared to looks at Cross and gift him a shit eating grin, averting his eyes again from the enemy.

That was a mistake.

A hand came out of the hole in an attempt to reach the bridge, grabbing his ankle. The Klingon bent and hit the Savi in the helmet with the butt of his weapon. The white-faced-alien lost consciousness under his blows. Maybe he was dead. But he didn't release his grappling. Khorin roared frustrated and leaned dangerously over the edge trying to get rid of that dead weight. Then, the floorplate collapsed under his feet and Khorin fell to the bottom floor.

"Backtag!!!" he barked just before he disappeared.

OOC: Objetive 1 (not completed)

baktag -> Garbage or Shit

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #8 – March 05, 2019, 08:11:45 PM

[ Lt. Cross | Bridge Module | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Numen @BZ @steelphoenix @Triage @FollowTomorrow @Brutus @patches @Masorin @chXinya @Zenozine @SummerDawn
[Show/Hide]

At the command of Captain Ives, Cross had initiated the firing sequence of the Versant’s main weapons. It had taken him some time to grow used to the setup of the Savi tactical console, and more still to grow accustomed to operating the console with only one hand. Now he sat grim faced and watched as the three aquamarine beams lanced forward, easily carving swathes out of the Borg cube. The sight was more than satisfying after the horrific attack they had suffered aboard the Endeavour not long ago, though the magnitude of the Savi weapons, and the damage they wrought upon the Borg, was unbelievable.

Cross thought back to the Borg attack on the Endeavour, the worried commands called across the bridge, the skillful manoeuvring of Ensign Okhala, his own frantic firing of the Endeavour’s weapons. He had accomplished little, some small damage on the first volley before they had adapted. Remodulations had yielded some small hits scored, but even with those small strikes from the Nebula-class starship had proved vastly insufficient. The engagement had been decidedly one-sided, the loss of life on their own side horrific. The last Cross had seen of Captain Amasov, the man had been seated in the Captain’s chair, the last one alive aboard the bridge, staring defiantly at the Borg vessel displayed on the viewscreen. He had ordered them from the bridge, calling for them to abandon ship. He alone had remained, hoping to buy them some time, knowing he was doomed. Now, as Cross watched the aquamarine beams tear through the cube with ease, Cross’ thoughts turn to his fallen Captian.

Rest easy, Amasov, Cross thought as he watched the weapons lay destruction to the hated shape of the cube, we lost many, but now we make them pay.

As the Versant’s massive weapons fell silent, Cross dropped his gaze from the viewscreen and looked over the readouts, his right hand moving over the controls as quickly as he could work it. ”The Versant’s weapon recharge sequence in initiated, Sir,” Cross informed Captain Ives, ”sensors are showing massive damage to the cube.” The Vulcan’s eyes darted back and forth, taking in the readouts on the unfamiliar display. ”The Allegiant and the fighters are moving for an attack run on the cube, sir. They’ll have more than enough time to get clear before the weapons are charged and ready to fire again.”

It was then that Cross heard it. Indeed, the obnoxious boom of the idiot Klingon’s voice ensured that all present on the bridge would hear. ”HEY!!! CROSS!!!” The words caused the dour Vulcan to tense, suspecting the Klingon would soon follow them with some stupid remark or another. As Cross turned his head from the console, his pale eyes falling on Khorin, his suspicion was proved correct. ”That fucking thing is three kilometers wide and you still almost missed!!!” The Klingon’s booming laughter resounded throughout the bridge module as Cross glared at the man and sighed softly. ”Idiot Klingon…” Cross muttered to himself as he continued to glare at the oaf.

Cross’ glare turned to a raised eyebrow as, while Khorin had turned to direct a shit-eating grin in Cross’ direction, a hand had reached up and grasped his ankle, pulling the Klingon into the hole that had opened in the bridge deck. Cross heard the massive man bark out the word ”Backtag” before he disappeared down the hole. Cross stared at the opening Khorin had disappeared though for a moment with a mixture of amusement and disbelief painted across his face before finally letting out his own barking laugh. That laugh died as quickly as it had started as more Antes began crawling up into the bridge module in another attempt to retake their ship. Cross uttered a curse as he turned back to his station to check on the status of the main weapons. Cross was sure the Klingon would live, despite the dire circumstances. There were others fighting with him to hold the Savi back. If nothing else, the desire to torment Cross and make the Vulcan’s life miserable would probably drive the insufferable Klingon to survive.

As it was, Cross would do nothing to help the man. He had his own role to fulfill at the moment, and it required him here at the tactical console.

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #9 – March 06, 2019, 04:10:40 AM

[ K'Ren | Bridge Module | The Versant ] Attn: @steelphoenix All
[Show/Hide]

K'Ren's ears flicked a little as a second voice, this one metallic sounding, made it's presence known, asking her mate to move away. She had no idea what this thing was, she'd not noticed any androids among the survivors so this one's presence was a little surprising to her. But Deacon seemed okay to do as it asked, giving her hand one final squeeze before the android stepped in, the metallic hand, cool (and soothing) to the touch. She whimpered a little as V-Nine touched the area around her abdomen, but the pain seemed to go away almost as quickly as the thing applied a local anesthetic around her wound. It was a relief, though she could still feel broken bones all over, deep tissue bruising, internal tears, her abdominal injury at least she felt little pain. She glanced down at the robot worked, a small laser scalpel cutting off the bulk of the railing that lay impaled in her. She knew it would take a full surgical team to repair the damage but for now, trimming the metal fragment, allowing her to be pulled free of the debris and properly assessed, was key to her survival. Her tznrrow was close, she could hear him moving around the pile of debris, looking for stuff to move, trying to open a small enough hole she could be dragged out of once she was stable.

Keeping as calm as she could, waiting for V-Nine to finish, she mewled a little as despite the painkillers, she could still feel the injuries to her body, bones grating against each other, internal tearing of tissues stinging. She knew from experience however, that she had to wait, that her mate and this medical robot were working to free her and only when she was free could they tend to the injuries beyond the intial one's keeping her from being moved to safety. She at least had the use of her hands, that much was a small consolation. The rest of her body felt usueless, felt like it would fall apart if she tried to move. She couldn't help but think back to the crash in flight school, the accident that nearely cost her her life, and even with the miracle of 24th century medicine she was still sickbay bound for several days, and had a good solid few month of physio to bring her back to peak physical condition. She'd bee n flight cleared in a week but wounds like this took time to fully heal.

As Vee-Nine pronounced her fit to be moved, Deacon came around again, having cleared some debris from the pile, enough that they could lift the pile enough to get K'Ren free. This wasn't like the crash however, where once they'd confirmed her location and removed debris, could use a transporter to pull her into an evac shuttle. This time they had to do it the old fashioned way, dragging her out by her arms, with as much help as K'Ren could muster from her broken body. She mewled a little as she was dragged free, it didn't matter the drugs being used, it hurt, a lot. She held onto Deacon's hand, refusing to let go as she lay there, free of the debris, but not out of the woods. She knew she'd need to spend time in sickbay recovering, there was no escaping that, and the robot confirmed that as it worked. She listened as it worked, nodding at times, wincing from time to time, a mewl or two escaping her lips in protest as it worked to set bones, put them back in proper alignment, fixing deep tissue bruising as it could, and stopping bleeding in her abdomen, though the full extent of her injuries would not be clear until they got back to the Theurgy.

She's gotten a little rest, how long she wasn't sure as between the lingering pain and the firefight going on around them time felt like a blur. That ominous voice she'd heard once before during academy training came over everything. Her heart sank as she heard it, it wasn't enough she'd survived two years away from Starfleet, being branded a traitor, her human side stripped from her, now this. She looked to Deacon, hoping for his hand, hoping he'd be some comfort, but as their hands touched, she could feel the raw emotion of the bond, her mate's emotions and thoughts pervading her own.

She'd read the report, could imagine the moment but as she grasped his hand, the full horror of what her mate experienced began to between them. She closed her eyes, hoping to focus and clear her thoughts, but as she opened them, she found herself lying on the deck, her broken body dying, she looked to Deacon, seeing only a small cub in the hallway, clear of the debris and fire that began to engulf her. The cub is screaming, crying out for his mother, for her. There's nothing she could do in that moment, she'd done everything she could to protect him. As her vision began to fade, K'Ren watched a women, somebody from medical or sciences pick her cub up and run off, taking him to safety even as he fought to stay beside her.

K'Ren opened her eyes, blinking as she came back to the present. Deacon was still there, sitting beside her, his hand tightly gripping her's. "Deacon," she softly called out, hoping he would hear her through the pain he was reliving. She knew he needed to focus on now, come back to the present. "I'm here. I'm not leaving. Come back to me please tznrrow, I need you beside me."

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #10 – March 07, 2019, 05:43:59 AM

[Ens. Irnashall “Shall” ch’Xinya | Lateral Alcove | Bridge Module | The Versant]

Resting on the floor across from Shar, the chan was trying to relax, still unsure of just what had happened over the past hour. At the very least, he’d calmed down from his earlier outbursts with some help from the shen. His attention shifted between the walls and her blue face, laser-focused on whatever it was she was doing on that PADD. His fingers had tapped aimlessly on his own, but there just wasn’t much for him to do that Thea hadn’t already done or is doing.

After a period of awkward silence, Shall sighed and sat up, catching Sehl’s attention. He waved the thaan off, everything was fine, his leg had started the pins and needle sensation from blood loss. Settling back down, Shall noticed the grin now decorating Shar’s face, and he froze. That was not a pleasant smile. “What are you working on?” he asked, growing concerned already. Before she could respond though, there was a lot of noise coming from the main bridge.

Glancing outside next to Sehl, both Andorians could see the captain standing near the main screen talking with another ship. It took him a moment to realize that he was looking at Theurgy’s bridge, and his antenna snapped up in surprise. “We’re back!” He stood there listening to the conversation, trying to keep up with what they were saying (which wasn’t much.) Morali had some sort of nervous breakdown and started spouting off nonsense, but the Andorian didn’t pay attention to it. “Shar, be ready to move, I think we’re about to leave this damned ship at last.”

Things continued to develop outside, and that was when all hell broke loose. The floor erupted with a major gravitation shockwave that washed over the chan, nearly throwing him back as his sense of balance was thrown off. Armored Savi clambered out of the new hole and didn’t hesitate to start shooting. Shall grabbed Sehl and pulled him inside the alcove and out of sight. His blood was already starting to burn with the call for violence, but he knew running out there would just get him shot.

Watching the battle unfold, movement out of the corner of his eye caught Shall’s attention: more Savi started to break through the rear bulkhead. “Damn, forcefield is down!” Pressing himself up against the wall, his mind raced, looking for anything that can be done to help. “We’ve got to get in this fight!” he hissed to the others, wishing he had a weapon. Then, the opportunity came. A counterattack pulled the Savi’s attention away from the alcove putting most of their backs to them. Spotting something on the deck nearby, Shall knew what to do.

Jumping out of the alcove like a Tiberian bat, all anyone could see was a blue and white blur as Shall picked up the metal rod without breaking stride, running at a full tilt. Quickly assuming the proper grip, the chan channeled all of his pent-up rage into his first swing, catching the Savi right at the base of the neck. A sickening crunch answered him and the alien dropped to the ground like a sack of katheka pods. Kicking the fallen rifle towards the alcove, he spun around with the swing’s momentum to angle the lower half of the rod into the back of another Savi’s knee, driving it to the ground where the end of the pole smashed through the neck with a brutal downward thrust.

Through it all, Shall started to laugh harder than he had in months.

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #11 – March 09, 2019, 02:12:09 AM

[ Lieutenant ThanIda zh'Wann | Bridge Alcove | The Versant ] Attn: All
[Show/Hide]

When the Savi made their move, and tried to breach the bridge, Ida bared her teeth where she stood in the traitor's alcove. Not on my watch, she thought, and she put her phaser rifle on top of the railing, using it to steady her aim.

"Be silent, pinkskin," she snapped silently at the yapping traitor behind her, while her dark blue eyes sought targets along the sights of her weapon. The surviving abductees were putting up great resistance against the rightful owners of the ship, and it was unfortunate that the Antes had to be wearing armour. It meant they couldn't be stunned, and she had to use the highest setting on the replicated Type-III rifle. She fired several times from her elevated position, sniping the Antes that climbed into the bridge. Hi'Jak must have failed to hear her, since he was still going on about something wrong done to him. He pleaded with her to be freed so that he might help... though that was the nature of treason. Traitors could no longer be trusted. That was why it was such a serious offence across the whole Galaxy. "You want to help? Then shut your lying mouth and let me concentrate!"

When the Scions came from the back end of the bridge, Ida curled her lip and stepped out from the alcove. She descended the steps with her rifle raised, and saw the means in which the Antes were able to crawl unto the deck from the hole they'd made. It seemed they had stacked things in order to make a kind of makeshift stair to the bridge's level, and once she saw it, Ida raised her rifle towards it, and with the vaporisation setting of her weapon, she decimated it, preventing more Antes from climbing up. Unfortunately, one of the Lone Wolves fell down to that level, but being Klingon, Ida had faith he'd put up a great fight against the Antes. If the Scions weren't making another push, she would have gone down there to aid him.

A warning chirp came from her weapon, and while she checked the energy level, her descending steps passed by the alcove that Sinead O'Riley occupied. She was trying to appease Sclergyn qi Versant - the one that had violated Ida - and she could hear the answer from the screen. The head of the female Ante could be seen there. [You have revealed our existence to the Borg. They will mark us as a species due for assimilation. They have seen our technology. You have given them a demonstration of our graviton tactical systems. You may just have sealed our fate. By the new Code and the old, the Archive will detail how you doomed us all.]

Ida could not afford to linger on those ominous words. She threw away her depleted rifle, and drew the hand-held graviton pistol she had collected from the Savi. She spotted Shall using the blunt force of a metal staff against an armoured Ante to great effect, the blows not being cushioned within that black suit. Ida's eyes moved to the next target, and raised the pistol with a two-hand grip against the Scions in the back of the bridge. The overgrown bugs with pale chitin bodies were chittering and their sharp limbs clattered against the deck, tearing their way towards the abductees. Ida used the aquamarine beams she fired to the same effect that the Versant used them against the Borg cube. She punctured and sliced the bugs, aiming for their heads, cleaving their exoskeletons or decapitating them.

While she fired, she stepped out unto the deck of the bridge. Behind her, the Captain was speaking with those on the Theurgy, and she heard... how it was decided that Wenn Cinn would end his life in order to stop the Borg invasion. Ida's eyes widened, and she turned around, her antennae rising in part ire, and part despair. Cinn... No...

They would escape through some opening that could lead anywhere, and Cinn would stay behind, and use the Omega Device to collapse all the present subspace tunnels. Ida could not see them on the viewscreen, only the two opened ones beyond the disintegrating Borg cube. On top of it all, Thea was saying that the Archeron and its task force were due to arrive. Captain Ives were dealing out orders, and though she couldn't stop thinking about what Wenn Cinn was about to do, Ida returned her attention to the Scions and the remaining few Antes, opening fire again - face twisted in checked emotion.

In that last shoot-out, she could see the abductees all around her beginning to vanish, Thea transporting them back to the Theurgy. One by one, in rapid succession, they were returned to safety, while Ida and a few others held the line. She saw them all vanishing from the bridge in flares around her, while she deterred the Savi together with just a handful of other armed officers. In the end, she heard Ives addressing her, when the last of the Scions collapsed, and fell into the rupture in the middle of the deck. "Lieutenant zh'Wann," said Ives, "collect the device, and bring it over there, along with the instructions."

"Aye, Captain," she said, winded and with her face was drawn in a grimace. Her thoughts were on the unfairness of it all. It was Cinn who protected the Theurgy crew since the ship was commissioned. She would give her life for the ridge-nose. The Theurgy had been tethering on destruction while Cinn had been gone, a mutiny rising, before Cinn had killed Declan Vasser. Cinn was the kind of superior officer Ida looked up to, and inspired her to be better. How could the Captain just agree to him sacrificing himself? With her jaws clenched shut, she walked up to the prone form of Sarresh Morali, giving the Savi android barely a glance, and she retrieved the satchel with the device from the ex-Ash'reem pinskin. She didn't deign giving either of them a word, before they were transported to the Theurgy as well. Ives was talking to Anya Ziegler, not even looking at Ida. Had circumstances been different, she might have spared the former First Officer on the Theurgy a glance. Instead she looked at Thea. "One to beam over, but I need that datapad."

"Stand by, Lieutenant," said Thea, and handed over the tablet that the traitor had brought to the bridge. Unlike the other abductees, Ida suspected that she wouldn't end up in a transporter room, but one of the shuttle bays. "Energizing."

By the time she vanished from the Versant, it was only Thea and the Captain left, new force fields raised to protect the elevated dais of the bridge.

OOC: @Fife will write how Cross gives the Queen's cube another wallop before he is beamed to the Theurgy. Then, you can all write your characters being beamed onto the Theurgy, ending up in either of the transporter rooms. Before they go, as might be hinted at in this post, it can be seen on the multifaceted viewscreen that the Theurgy has set a course towards a newly opened aperture, while there is a long procession of new Borg cubes approaching through the first subspace tunnel (which was opened shortly after the Versant dropped out of quantum slipstream). The Klingon fleet is going to warp, leaving the area, and so is the Cayuga in the distance, after Ives has finished talking to Ziegler (a conversation that will be featured in Chapter 05: Battle of the Apertures). Upon arrival to the Theurgy, it is welcomed that the tension still lingers. The Borg invasion force is arriving, and the Theurgy needs to clear the subspace tunnel behind that second aperture before the Omega Device is used, and the tunnel collapses. This is something your characters ought to know by the conversation that just happened between Ives and the bridge of the Theurgy, so use it to sustain the tension until they are all clear at the ship's new destination. You can end your posts in the transporter rooms.

If you want to set up concurrent Supplemental threads set on - or adjacent to - the bridge of the Versant, or the transporter rooms, it should have the naming convention CH05: S [D06|1120] Insert Title. If you guys want to set up Supplemental threads that lead up to the scene here, it can either go into the thread To Arms!, or it can be a Supplemental that belong to Chapter 04: True Nature. You can use the naming convention CH04: S [D06|1005] Insert Title in that case.

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #12 – March 09, 2019, 06:33:35 PM

[ Lt jG (until told otherwise) Hi'Jak | Bridge of the versant- Transporter Room- enroute to holding cell ] @Auctor Lucan
[Show/Hide]

When Ida told him to shut up Jack knew he wouldn't get any chance to help here. His eye scanned the bridge and saw everything that was happening from his vantage point under Ida, he saw the mass of Borg cubes coming through the rift in space, he knew that the team was organizing a second one, and that the omega device would collapse them both once the Theurgy was through. He felt his heart sink into his stomach.

He had no words at this point, in truth he would have rather done literally anything to help, but he realized far too late the mistakes he had made, and now there was nothing he could do to set anything right. Jack useless as he was in the current situation was one of the first teams beamed aboard the Theurgy. The last thing he heard the bridge crew talking about was his pad having the instructions to activate the device, and that the pad would be destroyed in the explosion.

Taking with it the only copies of the device's research as far as he knew.

He felt the familiar sensation of being sent off to another place, and when his eyes reopened he was laying on a transporter pad. He was picked up, and tossed aside for a moment roughly he may add for the next wave of people.

His remaining good arm had been tied to his thigh at the wrist, and his ankles had been tied together assuring that the prisoner could not move, and apparently someone had gotten the memo of what to do with him, which was surprising, cause not even Jack had that memo.

He felt the wires that had tied his ankles cut, and Jack was dragged to his feat. He was escorted by someone from security out of the room, both because they needed to make way for triage teams, and for other people arriving, the entire ship was claustrophobic and tense after all that happened. Jack however was exceedingly calm.

At this point, live or die, assimilation or explosion, none of these things mattered for him, nighalistic as it was he could be calm because Ida had assured him many times over that the only thing to await him on any ship was death, so what did it matter the form it came in?

As much as he would have liked to know what the hell was happening outside of where he stood, Ida had told him, the only way he could help now was to shut his face.

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #13 – March 09, 2019, 07:37:50 PM

[ Deacon | Bridge Module (The Versant) -> Transporter Room (USS Theurgy) -> Sickbay (USS Theurgy) ]
Attn: @Triage @BZ @Auctor Lucan @FollowTomorrow @SummerDawn @Brutus @patches @Fife @Masorin @Absinthe @chXinya @Numen @Zenozine

He felt the grip on his hand. All around him, there was chaos from within and without. Panic pervaded his senses, dulled though they were, only to be met with fear behind his own eyes. And still there was the grip on his hand. "Deacon."

Slowly, almost mechanically, he turned his head, eyes wide and ears struggling to place the voice that was at once a point of calm in the storm and at the same time, a hand reaching up from the storm tossed torrent needing salvation. His hand. He looked down at it, almost through it, as if he was uncertain if his own hand was real, let alone what he held with it, the color of his eyes swirling wildly from gold to blue and back. "I'm here. I'm not leaving."

Focus. Focus! A flash of reality. A moment of truth managed to assert itself against the backdrop of memory. A voice called him, someone needed him, and he reached out, his mind determined to make sense of the moment, to drive back the blind fear that had a cold grip on his heart. "Come back to me please tzinrrow, I need you beside me."

Sharp pain. His senses reached out only to feel agony, his bones broken, the raw memory of serrated metal tearing through his flesh, the crushing pain of the wreckage, the very real feeling that only death waited at the end of the next breath. He inhaled sharply, eyes pure gold, focused, drawn to K'Ren's face. He struggled to find the necessary words as what held him in the now was instinctive, primal.

Cupping his free hand against her face, his breathing forced but regular, jaw set, he nodded. He was with her.

As the curious tingling sensation of the transporter beams consumed the two of them, the Versant bridge was replaced with a transporter room -- Theurgy? Were they... safe?

The nearby door opened and several crew members entered carrying tricorders. It was not as if their conditions weren't already self-evident, but analysis took time and Deacon had enough of the answers. "M... m.." he struggled, knowing that opening the door to rational thought risked releasing the momentary barricade of focus he'd erected, "Medical e... emergency!"

He grabbed the teal sleeve of one of the new arrivals. "K... K'ren was in an accident. Sh-she needs to be in sickbay..." he advised, indicating the interim suturing that had been done in the field.

With a nod, the triage nurse reviewed her tricorder as she passed it across K'Ren's wounds, her face steadfastly professional. She signaled the transporter control, and again, they were gone...

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #14 – March 09, 2019, 08:15:48 PM

[ Lt. Cross | Bridge Module | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @BZ @Numen @patches @SummerDawn @steelphoenix @Masorin @Triage @FollowTomorrow @Brutus @Zenozine @chXinya
[Show/Hide]

Cross had been focusing his whole attention on the console as he watched the progress of the fighters on their run through the cube. He half-heard Ives as s/he spoke to the Theurgy, and didn’t spare a glance for the viewscreen. He knew nobody aboard the Theurgy, and had little interest in studying new faces when he had the cube to contend with. His eyes glanced between the progress of the fighters and the Versant’s power readouts as he waited for the main weapons of the behemoth ship to charge back up. It was then that a thought occurred to him, and he set to work arming the Versant’s other weapon systems. The process was slow, the Vulcan being unaccustomed to operating the Savi console, and equally unaccustomed to doing so with one hand.

Several moments later, things happened in quick succession. As he finished arming the Versant’s launchers, he glanced at the display showing the progress of the small craft in their tunnel run. ”Captain, the fighters and the Allegiant are exiting the cube. They will be clear in a moment.” His pale eyes shifted, taking in the readout from the Versant’s charging main weapons. ”Main weapons will be charged and ready to fire in twenty seconds.” Ample time for the fighters to get clear. ”There appears to be an antimatter cloud about to make contact with the cube.” Cross watched as the cloud approached, then came into contact with the Borg vessel. ”Sir,” Cross said, not having looked up to see which form Ives was in at that moment, ”the antimatter cloud has decimated the outer plating of one of the cube’s faces. The cube is adrift, and does not seem to be taking action to correct their course or regenerate.”

Cross turned his attention to another display, seeing the other surviving ships taking advantage of the cube’s current vulnerability. ”The Theurgy and the remaining Klingon vessels have opened fire on the cube. I’m also picking up multiple detonations inside the cube.” Cross reported, though his words were hardly adequate to describe the scale of damage wrought by the multitude of detonations. ”The cube’s weapons and power are completely knocked out for the moment. It’s structural integrity is failing.” Cross’ eyes lit up as the console chirped at him, a dark smile spreading over his features. ”The Versant’s main weapons are charged and ready to fire, Captain!” The Vulcan’s hand worked furiously at the console as he spoke, ”Firing!”

A moment later, the Versant’s main weapons fired again, the three aquamarine beams streaking forward to carve destruction through the cube once more. The Versant’s weapons again cleaved through the Borg vessel, the damage once made worse by the cube’s rolling movement. The devastation of the Versant’s weapon, added to the barrage of fire from the Theurgy and the Klingon vessels and amplified by the internal detonations of the torpedoes embedded by the fighters, was truly a sight to behold. Cross’ thoughts once again turned to those they had lost aboard the Endeavour, their comrades dead or assimilated. Their revenge seemed almost complete as Cross watched the cube break apart, splitting into nine separate pieces.

Yes, their revenge was almost complete.

Anger surged in Cross’ chest as his hand worked at the console once again to bring the Versant’s torpedo launchers to bear on the tumbling pieces of what had once been a cube. Seeing the cube torn apart was not enough. Cross would have it erased from existence. ”The cube is in pieces. Locking on with torpedoes.” Cross’ voice carried with it a cold fury, barely restrained. He thought of Captain Amasov, sitting defiantly in his chair as he fought to buy time for his crew. Of Ensign Julbi, murdered by the Savi after the Borg had destroyed their ship. C’Rusar, killed in the Borg’s initial attack. He saw the Bolian Lieutenant who’s name he hadn’t know, screaming as she was assimilated. He thought of Vael and Kobol . He saw in his mind the smiling faces of Kai and Annika, his friends, now dead. Commander Ducote, who’s loss had all but crippled Blue. ”Firing torpedoes!”

Cross watched with a mixture of hatred and jubilation as the storm of tri-cobalt torpedoes rained down upon the cube, each detonation tearing into the remnants of the cube and ripping the torn and crippled ship asunder until naught remained but drifting debris. The cube, once the deadliest of foes, had been reduced to scorched and scattered pieces, melting into the debris field like so many of it’s victims. Cross let out a soft sigh before finally turning away from the console to look at Ives. ”The cube is destroyed, Captain.”

It was only then that Cross realized the chaos on the Versant’s bridge module, so consumed had he been by the destruction of the cube. Savi were trying to push their way up through the hole in the deck which Khorin had fallen through, as well as through the corridor which the abductees had been defending. He saw those same abductees vanishing now as the Theurgy’s AI beamed them off the Versant. A wave of relief and hope washed over Cross as he saw the transporter beams take hold of them, his eyes searching for the other members of the Endeavour’s crew among those being beamed out.

He couldn’t find R’Rori, and could only hope that s/he was alright. Then his eyes fell on Blue as he felt the transporter beam take hold of him. She was in an alcove, seated at one of the consoles across the bridge, perched on a stool with Albert and being surrounded by another transporter beam. She was alive, and would be safely off the Versant in moments. That knowledge brought with it a fresh wave of relief, the feeling washing over the Vulcan as Blue disappeared just moments before he did.

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #15 – March 09, 2019, 08:28:34 PM

[ Lt (jg) Sarresh Morali | Bridge Module | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
[Show/Hide]

There was so much going on that Sarresh found it impossible to focus or concentrate. He'd delivered the important part, he was sure of that, but there were other details that were there now, screaming to be spoken, and he lacked the context to understand why they mattered. "Janeway. The Borg Queen ....she became one...poor woman." But that wasn't right, was it? Admiral Janeway was just fine. "Another abbreviation, but why?" Was anyone listening?

He let his gaze sweep about the room from where he lay on the ground (not remembering how he got back down there), before turning back to the main screen. They thought him crazy. He knew this, though Sarresh knew that they also held his 'gift' in high value. Did Jellico feel that way? He was the Commander in Chief but - but he wasn't. And he didn't know who the hell Sarresh was. Did anyone know...know about....

"Columbia," he murmured softly, as he saw, Ida zh'Wann come into view before him. "The poor crew, all gone. All but the Captain. She's out there now," he turned his head to the apertures, to the Borg cube as more and more firepower ripped it apart. Graviton beams....They'll remember this. If they can tell the collective they'll remember this. What would Erica do? Her ship trapped, slung to another quadrant of the Galaxy, lost for all time...well not all time. I know of it after all. He let out a mad little giggle before shaking his head.

"Wait, you need to be - " he called out to her, but then there was a new flash of light, one that seemed to emanate all around him, instead of from the view screen.

For the second time in the last ten minutes, reality broke down for Sarresh. This time however, it pulled him back quickly, barely a blink of the eyes. Human eyes, still. Light blinded them, and then faded, colors returning ,focusing in. A sense of enclosure, unlike the vastness of space and time that he had been starring down. Nor the open expanse of the Versant's bridge.

Empty hands curled into fists as his head whipped around, suddenly pressed in on all sides by bodies. Standing, when before he had been sure he'd been on the ground, laying. Like a can of sardines he thought, then wondering, just for a second, what in the great galactic hell's a sardine was, and why they would be crammed into a can?

"This way, this way," he heard someone calling out. "Everyone out of the Transporter room. Clear the pad for the next batch." They were security, he saw. Gold shirt. That meant he had to be back on the Theurgy. The Borg were coming though.

"Bridge," he croaked, the walls hemming him in, a shudder running down his spine. "I need to get to the bridge." He wasn't sure who he was talking to as he stumbled off the transporter pad, leaving the android behind. He bumped into the gold shirted humanoid and turned, starring into its eyes. They were the wrong color. They weren't hers...where was she?

"Where is Ryuan Sel?" he asked the guard, a hand gripping the arm of the being in front of him tightly.

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #16 – March 10, 2019, 04:06:35 AM

[LCdr. Blue Tiran | Safe at Last | Spent | The End of a Rope Already Frayed | Breathe Another Breath | One at a Time | One Step at a Time]
@Top Hat @Fife @Auctor Lucan

There was nothingness.

Then she could feel it, the tingle that came all over her skin as her atoms were deposited on the new ship. She could feel the tingle long after the beam had finished with her. The way that she stood there for a long moment. She felt as though everything she had been through suddenly threw itself at her being. She felt as though there was a giant pressure on her chest. On her shoulders. Pressing against the temples into her brain, lancing the pain of all the days that she had been gone and in danger.. that she had fought and held on by the skin of her teeth.

There was a loud ringing.

She couldn't quite place it at first. For a moment; her eyes glassy and listless shifted around the deck to the others. They didn't seem to be hearing what she could hear. The intense ringing in her ears, everything else was muffled for a long time. Her vision was swimming and she felt cold. She felt so cold but there was some kind of fluid, sweat, that was beading on her forehead and slipping down to mingle with her already dirty curls.

Cross. He was there, on the pad right beside hers. The ringing was fading slightly after reaching a pitch that was particularly painful. She swallowed, her mouth dry, she had no tears any more. She had nothing left to give, she felt as though her entire body was shaking. It was, she was trembling, she was likely raging with fever or perhaps it was just that her over spent body was finally giving up what it had left. Cross made eye contact with her, she swallowed heavily, she noticed the worried way that his eyes slid over her body. She probably looked like shit. There were other people.. people she didn't know in the room. Rushing from the corridor from beyond likely where they were headed.

“I feel like shit....” she whispered, before her began to collapse.

Suddenly, arms came around her, or rather, a full arm caught her quickly and the other one, the stub, supported her underneath her arm pit helping her get her feet underneath her again. "Easy Blue," Cross said, his voice soft as he held he upright. She looked pale, the ghostly pallor of her skin worrying him. "Let's get you to sickbay. You look like hell."

"Your stunning observation is really fucking appreciated." she said without her usual flare or bite, as she leaned heavily against him while they stepped off the transport pad. He was helping her, every step he was there supporting half of her weight. She leaned against him more heavily than she wanted to. The step off the actual pad was hard for her, and she trembled slightly in his arms. Her body was done. It had been starved, neglected, and the grief of the loss of Ducote was something that she didn't want to face or deal with. It had all taken a huge toll on a young Engineer that normally had more than enough bites to go around. She swallowed heavily again as they began to creep their way to the door.

"Always the charmer..." Cross chuckled at Blue's remark, which had lacked it's usual scathing quality. The lack of heat in her words only served to worry him more, and caused him to quicken his pace to get them out of the transporter room. "Come on, just a little further and you can rest. You did it, Blue. We're off that..." Cross' words ended abruptly as he glanced down the corridor ahead of them and saw an all-too-familiar figure striding down the halls ahead of them.

Every step hurt. Each muscle in her body ached. Things that she had been pushing through out of sheer determination and the fact that she had to live. One more day, one more breath, one more step. To save everyone. To make all plans come together, to have that alliance with Echtand. All of that had to happen and she had been at the center of all of it. Then Thea needed her help, and then after that, battery packs and conduit hook ups. There were so many things to keep her busy and now.. now there was none of it. The adreneline her body had been pumping out for a while now was gone and she was getting to the point where she was shocked she was moderately up right at this point. As they stepped out into the corridor she had her head on Cross' shoulder for a long moment. She was trying though, Blue was nothing if not a fighter, she was tough as nails in the worst situations and while her body was currently betraying her she was trying so hard to stay up right.

They stopped.

Why had they stopped.

Her blue eyes, still glassy and listless in their own way shifted upwards to see what the situation was. She was so tired, so bone tired, she didn't know how she was going to make it to Sickbay. Would it not have been wiser to just transport them to Sickbay in general.

No.

He was there. Storming down the corridor. Towards her.

It can't be.

Her heart stopped. That or it was the sound that currently occupied her ears. She couldn't be sure.

He's dead. My cruel fucking mind is fucking me over again. she thought to herself as she watched him. Ducking around people. Moving towards her. Her eyes tracing him. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. His face, that worry, those familiar creases in his forehead, the ones that she loved so much. Those stormy dark eyes...

“I'm.... hallucinating.” she whispered softly. Her voice shaking because it couldn't be real. He was gone. She had seen the ship explode. She had seen it. She had known it. He was on that ship, and so he couldn't be here. He couldn't be dodging people .. he couldn't be making his way to her. He couldn't be all right.

Her lower lip quivered.

Every time she blinked. He was still there. She tried to rub her eyes with her hand but it was weak, and dirty, and didn't change the fact that there he was. Ranaan Ducote.

“I don't think....” Cross said softly. “Now who am I going to nap with.” he muttered under his breath.

“Y...you see him too?” her voice was filled with a painful amount of hope. She stood up straight, using all that remained of her entire body's strength. She stood up so that Cross could let her go, she felt his arm fall from her realizing she was holding herself up. Her eyes were on Ranaan and not a single other person in the corridor. She swallowed as tears that she thought she had no water left to make began to stream down her cheeks.

A step.

A single step towards him. Blue stumbled unable to stay up right, but then there he was. It was his scent. His scent more than anything, as her face burrowed into his chest only because that was where she landed. He grabbed her, and held her for a moment. She shifted her face upwards, and looked up at him. She was so thin, and dirty, she had all sorts of wounds that he could see and many he couldn't see. But it was clear she had been through hell and back. The dark circles under her eyes would probably take some time to go away. There was hope in her eyes, for the first time in a week, there was hope budding in those crystalline blue eyes.

She was shaking, trembling in his arms, but her eyes never left his. As much as he could tell that she was in pain, in bad shape, and her psyche had taken about a decade's worth of a step backwards. All of the work that he had done, all the little things he had done to open her up little by little, she was shut tight. There were things he could only feel in a muffled sense. There was.. though, a massive all consuming darkness at the center of her core. Something that was quivering waiting for the truth. Was this really Ranaan Ducote or was it someone else.

~Hey, Trouble.~

That was it. She was done for. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't get her lungs to inflate. Or rather they were but so fast that she couldn't quite get everything to work right. As bad a shape as she was in, she began to hyperventilate right there. Clinging to him trying to get something out, her breath sticking in her lungs she tried to get words out but she couldn't. Her mouth and lips worked, and her lungs began to heave even more so before.

=======
OOC: Cross written by and permission given by Fife.

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #17 – March 10, 2019, 08:52:18 PM

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne | Lateral alcove | Bridge Module | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]

Att: @Auctor Lucan @chXinya @Fife @BZ @patches @Top Hat

"Shar, be ready to move, I think we're going to leave this damned ship at last."

The young shen averted her eyes for a moment from her tablet to stare her pale blue eyes on the chan. She nodded slightly and gathered her long legs under her body, ready to stand up at any moment. But she simply didn't do it. Not yet. Turned her gaze againt to the tablet, concentrated on the flickering Savi script, her fingers tappind like crazy spiders over the device. She had to take advantage of the time she had, however little it was. She had to erase her tracks if she could. Hide what she had done after layers and layers of redundant code. Random infobabble that pointed to nowhere. Only a few more minutes. She just needed a few more minutes...

"Damn, forcefield is down!" We've got to get in this fight! "Shall yelled, and again her eyes looked for her bondmate's face, just time to see how he disappeared through the alcove's door, submerging himself in the havoc that reigned in the bridge Selh sweared under his breath and followed him and Shar suddenly found herself alone in the small room. Her gaze went from the door to the Padd that she held in her hands a couple of times while she nipped the inside of her lower lip. There was no other choice...

With a sudden movement, Shar crashed the Padd against the floorplates. The screen shattered in a myriad of small, sparkling pieces. The Andorian trampled the remains of the device, reducing the delicate electronic components to tiny, useless shards. Nobody would know, except her. No one would know until it was too late. Nobody would know what she had done. But she would. And that would comfort her on those nights when remorse would prevent her from sleeping. When the anguish would keep her impotent and motionless, looking at the ceiling, fearing both sleep and wakefulness.

A shout of dozens of voices rose on the other side of the lintel, but Shar couldn't discover what was going on there. Before she could take two steps towards the door, she simply vanished...

... and she was rematerialized in a transporter room, mid step. She stumbled forward before falling painfully on her knees. Wary, the Andorian looked around and found herself between the ragtag Endeavour survivors again. In front of her, Cross and Blue leaned against each other, as two schoolkids gossiping. Shar felt nauseous just from seeing them. She really loathed their BFF bullshit.

A human goldshirt tried to help her to come back on her feet, urging her to leave the transport room as soon as possible. She refused his help, antennae wringling suspiciously over her scalp. As soon as she was able to, Shar hurried toward the exit, ignored by the unknown crew. The tension was like a living creature. Something that breathed and coiled around those strangers, urging them to move fast, to clear the transporter room, to keep going. Shar didn't know what was going on there, but she felt that restlessness stuck in her skin. Like a disease.

Without knowing how, she found herself in the middle of a corridor. White. Starfleet white. And, in spite of that, alien. Hostile. Shar felt lost, not knowing where to go. So despite how much she wanted to avoid them, she latched onto Cross and Blue, following them to... somewhere.

Few meters later, they abruptly stopped, and Shar almost chrased against them. She looked into the corridor, shearching for what had provoked that sudden reaction. Or who.

Then, she saw him. A ghost of the past. A ghost with full black eyes.

"Shelat" she cursed when she saw her former XO approaching.

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #18 – March 10, 2019, 11:33:55 PM

[ Cmdr Ranaan Ducote | Corridors | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @BZ @Fife @Numen et al

He felt as if he was in the way. He flattened himself against the bulkhead in a position to see the exits from transporter rooms 1 and 2, conscious at all moments of those around him in order not to waylay some stretcher team or triage group or damage control person. And still he felt more useful than he had been on the bridge... for all that he complained about the nonsense of his personal Kobayashi Maru and the things Command generally expected of its officer contingent, he didn't deal well at all with being stuck on a ship whose command chain outside of which he had to subsist.

All of the people beaming in registered vaguely with his empathy, cut off by the metallic walls as they were for now, but so many of them felt unfamiliar. A few felt almost like people he knew, but not quite, which he just chalked up as wishful thinking - especially while mostly everyone was being guided away to the turbolifts or a hastily-arranged aid station away from him. Should he go? Just head back to the bridge, apologise for temporarily losing his sense of duty, and retake his borrowed station?

He nearly did.

But then he felt her. Blue. It had to be. She felt distant, like hearing a sound underwater, or a voice at the end of a tunnel. But she was unmistakable. And with her- he frowned. Cross? Maybe?

The hybrid made an exasperated noise before moving off towards them, dodging blueshirts and goldshirts, ignoring the smell of smoke in the air and days-old sweat from the survivors. More than once he had to juke around an AG stretcher or swinging medkit, but his gaze remained fixed on the middle distance, his attention focused on the points of consciousness at which he aimed himself. His advance was inexorable, and every step convinced him further that the people he approached were who he thought.

And then he saw them. It was all he could do not to cry out in joy. It was as if someone had eased the gravity plating by twenty percent. He felt giddy. There she was, leaning on Cross... To a man, every one of the black-clad abductees looked like hell, but Blue somehow seemed even worse - even above the not inconsiderable discomfort Cross was experiencing himself.

Troublingly, the closer he got, their connection seemed to grow no stronger. He could barely 'hear' her at all, truth be told. Cross was a bundle of intensity, somehow above and beyond the baseline for the Bajoran-Vulcan, and though he couldn't quite divert the process time to think about that right now, he wasn't projecting loudly enough that Ducote could expect him to be drowning out the engineer. And even if he had been, she was still familiar enough to him that he should have been able to pick her out.

What happened to you? Had her defences, which he had spent months relentlessly and patiently picking apart, been raised anew? What flavour of bastard did he contend with now? There was a thankfully-small part of him that demanded some medieval, violent retribution for what must have been done to Blue... but mostly his heart wept for how far back she must have been knocked. She didn't deserve it. Not one bit.

Disbelief was written on her face, as he finally approached to a social distance. He couldn't blame her; he could scarcely believe it himself. She stepped towards him, her face crumbling into tears that sundered his heart anew. He glanced at Cross, acknowledging, unable to say anything to either of them just yet. Blue stumbled, and Ranaan reached out to catch her without thinking. His voice had deserted him at some point back along the corridor.

~Hey, Trouble.~

Her arms crushed him, wiry as she was, and he was forcibly reminded that he'd had a couple of his ribs cracked not two nights ago. But all he could do was wrap his arms around her suddenly-small shoulders as they heaved. "It's-" he started, his gravelly voice thick. "You're okay, Blue. I got you." He looked back to Cross, finally registering that the man looked different (missing arm - ! - aside). "I don't know h- thank you," he said, trying not to stare at the bridge of his nose. "Sickbay. Go. Elro's there; he'll be glad to see you."

Luckily, someone had already ordered that the computer light the route, a glowing teal stripe decorating the bulkhead and leading away down the corridor. Behind Cross, lurked another of the Endeavour alumni - Kelleshar sh'Zenne. She didn't seem happy, but he could hardly blame her; even on their home ship she had been irascible and comfortable with her own company. "Shar," he said, smiling genuinely. "I'm glad you're here."

Ducote blinked rapidly as he looked back down at the top of Blue's head, trying to clear his vision. Facile statements about being glad to see his old crew were all good and well, but he found himself mostly incapable of thinking much else at the moment. Luckily they were already at the side of the gangway, or they'd likely be in the way of all the medics and ops staff trying to do their jobs at this moment. "C'mon, Blue," he murmured. "Let's get you to the infirmary. I can tell you're hurt."

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #19 – March 11, 2019, 12:28:21 AM

[ Khorin, son of Margon, of House Mo'Kai | Unknown corridor | Under the gap | The Versant ]
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Att: @Triage @BZ @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow @SummerDawn @Brutus @patches @Fife @Masorin @chXinya @Zenozine

Khorin fell.

He fell into the darkness full of murmurs.

Down.

Down to the lower deck.

If he survived to write the opera of his life, Khorin would sing that he launched himself into the unfathomable abyss by his own free will, and that he fell into absolute darkness for a long time, before falling steadily on his feet, defying the multitude of enemies that awaited him down there.

Reality was that it was a short fall. And he mostly stumbled and tumbled until he fell flat over the motionless body of his enemy accompanied with a wet splash. He panted over his back, breathless, watching the bluish glow that seeped through the hole in the ceiling. He looked at the shapeless gap for a moment, dazed and confused.

Someone barked an order, weapons hummed. Khorin rolled to his left, grabing the body under him as a shield. The Savi body shook like a puppet when the graviton blasts peppered his body. The Klingon threw the mutilated remains of the corpse against his attackers and stood up, hitting the wall with his rear. He was between a sword and a wall. Or between the wallplates and a hundred of enemies. Maybe more. And he was disarmed. Even someone as dim as Khorin could see it was a hopeless situation.

An Ante's voice raised again, and several muzzles pointed him. The ominous buzzing sounded again. Before the shapeless corridor lit up with turquoise flashes another time, the pilot dove forward, between the legs of his attackers. He dodged the first burst, and crawled over hands and knees trying to reach an open space. The butt of a rifle hit his temple. A reinforced boot kicked his jaw. Khorin bellowed and bit that outrageous limb. His sawed teeth pierced the fabric of a jumpsuit and he tasted blood. His enemy yelped and waved his leg, trying to get rid of him. Khorin put both hands on the ground and shoved his shoulder against the injured leg. It cracked. The enemy fell. A way out.

Khorin ran. Graviton shots sang around him. One bit his shoulder. Another the back of his knee. He tumbled again and crashed against another Savi group. He dragged them with him in his fall. A skein of arms and legs and long braids. The Klingon hit, punched, headbutted. His teeth ripped fabric and flesh. His elbows and knees shoved in guts and helmets.

A flurry of gunfire hit him this time. Khorin howled. The air was impregnated with the smell of burned hair and ozone. Locks of hair fell on his eyes. A hot liquid ran down his cheek, thick and sticky. He fell dizzy. Maybe it was pain. The world around him looked flat, without depth. He stumbled again until his shoulder hit a wall. He saw nothing on his right side. Only darkness.

Another graviton blast buzzed to his left, without touching his flesh. The air smelled metallic and sweet. Blood. Something more. But mainly blood.His face burned. In spite of that, he turned around again and attacked. He may not have a weapon any more. But he had his fists. And the ridges in his forehead. And bloodlust in his hearth.He needed to live. And came back to her. To Zephyr. Up there. It was the only thing that occupied his mind as he plunged into the sea of enemies. He must go back to her. So he kept hitting, kicking, howling as a madman. As a true Klingon Warrior ....

"We have another!"

Light.

Too much light

White.

Too much white.

It hurted. His left eye hurted too. He didn't feel the other.

He could barely see anything, accustomed to the darkness of the corridor where he had been fighting bare seconds before.

So, he charged forward.

His body crashed against another. Soft. A blur of teal. A puff of air brushed the shaved side of his head.

Khorin kneed. Someone moaned. He grinned and advanced again.

Someone grabbed his arm. Several hands.

"Calm down!"

“HoS lI' Dalo'Ha'chu'!!!” He answered.

The pilot hit again and heard the satisfying sound of teeth breaking.

He was free.

He ran forward again.

A step. Why he had not seen it?

He stumbled. More hands tried to stop him.

Khorin howled enraged and hit again.

His enemies blew away around him, those on his left scattered on the floor pad.

He could not see what happened with those on his right.

"WHERE IS SHE !!!!" he bellowed.

Nobody answered. He would find out by himself.

He went through the door and crashed against the wall on the other side, unable to calculate the distance that separate him from it.

It didn't matter.

He turned to the darkness on his right, until it lighted under his left eye sight.

"Sec to transporter room 4! We need help to reduce to an abductee! "

Khorin ran again.

HoS lI' Dalo'Ha'chu' → You are a total waste of good energy!

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #20 – March 11, 2019, 09:57:01 PM

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Klingon Tantrums | Hurt Bodies | Connected Souls | Taming the Beast]
@Numen

The fire of Savi bolts continued to rain down on her and the men around her. No longer were they exchanging banter at the moment because this was getting serious. She heard the cry and felt the pain of the man behind her and to her left. She didn't try to close herself off from the whole room, she didn't want to mess with putting her efforts into it and she was rather used to hearing and feeling the emotions around her. She hadn't always been telepthic but she was born with her empathy and it wasn't hard. She just wanted to protect the people behind her.

“Are you okay?!” she called out as she swung her rifle around and leveled the Savi with a shot through the chest. The Scion crumpled to the floor, a puddle of blue growing around him and sliding down the front of his garments.

“I'm... okay. Just .. just a shot.” the pain from the woman behind her was fresh and sharp. She could feel every pulse, every beat, everything that was happening behind her.

“I have a medkit.” Zeph said though she didn't drop her rifle right away, she looked up at the old man. “Cover us.” she said to him.

“You got it sister, you take care of the girl.”

Zeph nodded quickly and shifted back as the older man stood in front of her. She looked down putting her rifle down beside her. Shoving the medkit off her shoulder she lay it down and with one hand undid the clasps while her eyes were taking in the wound. “That's not an 'I'm fine' kind of wound.” Zeph told the young woman softly.

“I've had worse.” she grunted.

“Really? When?” Zeph said with a grin on her face, the woman coughed with her bark of laughter and shook her head.

“Almost died once.” she hissed out as Zeph leaned down and inspected the wound. Using her medical scissors she removed the fabric of her clothing from the wound. Another hiss from her patient but it had to be done.

“You mean today?” Zeph teased trying to keep the tension light.

She smirked. “No, when I was little.”

Zeph kept the woman talking while she disinfected the wound and began to use her hypo to administer pain aid. “You're not going to be able to shoot anymore until we get this actually fixed.” she told her as she wrapped it with a bandage helping the woman sit up. “What's your name?”

“Circe.” she replied her voice more relaxed now that the pain meds were taking hold.

“I'm Zephyr, nice to meet you Circe.” she said with a bit of a smile as she let the woman relax again on the hard, cold, deck. The fire fight was still going on around them, and then.. all of a sudden, blue light seemed to surround her. Both Circe and Zeph looked at each other with widened eyes.

“It's like.. heaven.. has come.” Circe said in admiration for the blue light before she beamed away from Zephyr's care and then Zeph was taken as well.

== == == The ~~Promised Land~~ Theurgy == == ==

“I got one!” Called a voice, it was really loud, probably because it was right next to her ear. As Zephyr came back into being as she knelt, as she had been on the Versant, med kit in her hand, having through to grab it at the last second.. she sat there for a moment surprised to see more Teal.

“I'm fine.” Zeph said as she worked on standing up, pulling her medkit with her closing it because it had her samples from the spiky plant in it.

“You need to be checked out.” the medical officer beside her said quickly.

“No, I'm fine. I'm a doctor, I'll seek help la-”

The screams from the other side of the room. Her eyes widened as a nearly feral Klingon began to attack the Teal and other officers trying to get himself out of their care. She didn't know why he was freaking out but he was hurt, wounded, and bleeding. He was covered in Savi blood and there was some blue in on his chin, in his hair, and he was enraged. He stumbled off the transporter pad and began to bash his way through the people trying to stop him from getting away.

“I have to go.” Zeph said urgently. “I'll head to sickbay okay!” she told the teal shirted woman beside her and jumped down without waiting for an answer.

“Wai-!” called the woman but Zeph was rushing out into the corridor where she watching Khorin slam into the corridor wall still screaming, others were calling for Security. She turned to look at them.

“I got this.” she told them quickly.

She stepped in front of Khorin so that she was in his line of sight and in the direction that he was looking to travel in.

”Khorin Douglas! You shush it right now!” Zephyr's voice boomed across the corridor.

Suddenly, she could tell that he could hear her because his entire body just froze. She put her hands on her slender hips after replacing her medkit on her shoulder. Many in the corridor were watching her with awe. She stepped right up to the large oaf. She wasn't upset at him, but her eyes were the fierce eyes he had known only in battle. She watched as his breathing was hitched, he was in pain, which wasn't likely going to help him calm down. She walked towards him smoothly and carefully. She could see the whites of his eyes, he was enraged at the situation and wanting to find her. She had heard his scream, and she could feel what he was looking for.

~I am fine. Khorin, I am here.~ she said directly into his mind using their connection.

She reached up and cupped the Klingon's large face with her slender hands, thumbs brushed against the apples of his cheeks. She could feel him calming down and relaxing against her. He brought his forehead down to hers and she smiled softly.

“There you go, you need to let these people help you, Khor.” she whispered softly brushing her fingers against his cheek. “Lets get you to sickbay okay? I'll come with, I'm a doctor after all. It's where I belong.”

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #21 – March 12, 2019, 12:59:47 AM

“I like to think, that no matter happens here, whatever fate throws...life will find a way to go on. Somehow.”

- Heather McMillan, Beginnings and Endings

[ You have revealed our existence to the Borg. They will mark us as a species due for assimilation. They have seen our technology. You have given them a demonstration of our graviton tactical systems. You may just have sealed our fate. By the new Code and the old, the Archive will detail how you doomed us all. ]

Sinead's heart sank as she heard Sclergyn's response, though she was glad that the Savi responded at all, it meant there was room for an exchange of words. She drew back on everything she had observed thus far about these people. She had seen how Echtand qi Versant had addressed Jien Ives and anyone that tried to negotiate with him initially, such as Faye, the Betazoid diplomat, and the captain himself. Then there was the time she had attempted to call for a cease fire with the armed warriors that had rushed to Semathal's aid.

They were stubborn, and very certain of their superiority and the surety of their knowledge over the other races, whom for the most part, they viewed as lesser beings, like animals in a zoo. They care a great deal, or almost only about their precious code.

“Nae,” said Sinead abruptly, defiance in her voice, “we have given yeh a chance, a fightin' chance.”

She observed the captain issuing his orders and instructions to fire, and she picked up on the conversation about apertures and the Omega Device. Turning back, she looked at Sclergyn, “do yeh know how th' Federation thrives? We share knowledge, experiences. One thing we know for certainh, no matter how yeh tryh t' hide, sooner or later, th' Borg would'a foun' yeh, and come fer yeh all. At leas' this way yeh know what t' expect. Yeh cain make ready. See it in wha'ever way yeh wanna, but yeh shoul' take a look at th' data from our ship memory banks, yeh have the copies. See for yeh-self if we be lyin'. There be a greater danger than th' Borg. Look at th' footage of our fight wi' Semathal.”

She leaned closer to the screen, letting her face fill up the view, “They are among yeh. Be watchful.”

They were being beamed back to the starship. Sinead slung her rifle over a shoulder and picked up the one that Ida had abandoned. There were benefits from learning what they could and reverse-engineering the weapon. She had a Graviton pistol hooked to her waist, a specialized aid kit that she filched from a downed Savi, and a new PADD, as well as the stealth suit that Echtand had provided them with. All of this would go a long way in technological advancement. She gave Sclergyn this parting message, “It is me hope yeh will see reason an' understandin' for all that has transpired t'day.”

She raised her right hand in the Vulcan salute and said, “Live long, an' prosperh.”

There was a familiar nauseating sensation and she was on a transporter pad on the Theurgy. Laden with all the Savi treasure she had, she decided to go for the R&D labs first chance she got to submit these things before even bothering to get checked up.

[ PWO Heather McMillan | The Versant ]
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It wasn't long before Heather was herded with the other officers to be beamed back to a ship, the Theurgy? Yes, the Theurgy, it had to be. Heather's memories weren't entirely restored, and it was only mostly instinct rather than coherent cognitive memory. It felt...disjointed. As if she were another person stealing the life and experiences of another person.

Then again, wasn't that the case? She looked down at her hands, feeling dissosiative with them despite that they were under her control. Her face was not her own, her eyes...she was both stronger and weaker than before, more...and yet less, all at once. It made her want to cry, it made her want to scream, and it made her want to lie down and hope to wake up from the nightmare.

She felt her light like a article of clothing that swam around her rather than flowed in and out of her like a smooth, fluid river as it once did, and how did she even know all these things? There was a nauseating feeling and a light that blurred her vision and when it cleared, she was somewhere else. She very nearly threw up, except someone was in front of her. So instead she listlessly shuffled off the transporter pad and limply settled on the ground against a corner, staring into space, trying to come to terms with everything.

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #22 – March 12, 2019, 06:37:22 PM

[LCdr. Blue Tiran | Home at Last | Andorians Can Burn | Hurt in More Ways than One | Never Letting Go]
@Top Hat

He held her.

It was tight, and close, and filled with his scent. She could hear his ragged breathing, she could tell in the tensity of his body that he likely could tell just how much weight she had lost. He had no idea, no idea the horrors she witnessed, the things this crew had been through. She had been saved from death, and saved from their experiments, but Blue's survival was nothing short of a miracle regardless. He looked past her, to Cross, and told him thank you. He didn't know, he didn't know the story, he didn't understand the bond that she and Cross now bore together. She knew that he could probably feel it, he was always in tune with her. Always the sort that knew what was on her mind so easily. But, here, she knew that he couldn't begin to fathom. Still, she was glad for Cross. He had been someone that had helped her take another step forward when she wanted nothing more than to give up. When she was so tired she could barely think straight, when everything had settled, when she needed a pillar for a short time, Cross was there.

Then, there was Shar.

That heinous bitch was the only person that could get Blue to open her exhausted eyes. The death glare that she leveled at the pale-blue skinned woman would kill lesser people. The one that said she would get her back for all the words she had spouted on the Versant. That if Shar was anything more than a fucking pile of coagulated blood puddle, she would be lucky. The level of hatred was unsurpassed. She and Shar had never gotten along, they had never liked each other, but Ducote would know that this... this level of hatred for Blue was borderline what she felt when she thought about her family.

Shar was as good as dead to her.

Suddenly, lips pecked the top of her head and Blue closed her eyes and relaxed. They were off to the side, somehow. Blue wasn't sure if she had actually fallen in that direction or Ran had pulled her over to the side but she didn't give a fuck. Of course, she also didn't give a fuck if someone had to walk around her. She wasn't going to let Ranaan go. He told her he could tell that she was hurt, he had no fucking idea. But he wanted to take her to Sickbay. She gave a tired nod, and looked up at him. She tried to get up, but her legs didn't want to work any more, they wouldn't move and continued to collapse even though she tried multiple times. Ranaan let her try, a few times, before he just grabbed her and held her to his chest raising from his position on the ground as though she weighed nothing. Blue had yet to let go of his uniform. She had a fistful of his crimison and black garb and had yet to release it.

She just stared at him as he carried her throughout the ship following the teal lights and the others that were going on around them. They passed the raging Klingon with a wake of destruction in his path and the young nosy Betazoid that tried to reach Blue the night before. Blue didn't have any brain power to give to them right now, she was just focusing on Ducote's face. She had barely blinked, only when her body made her.

It wasn't long before they stepped into the infirmary.

“Another from the Versant.” called out a nurse that was standing at the door. “Name, rank, etc.” she asked Blue pointedly.

Blue just stared at Ranaan. She didn't even hear the woman.

“Name, rank, ship, etc.” said the woman a bit more exasperated.

“Lieutenant Commander Blue Tiran, Chief Engineer of the Endeavour.” Ranaan spouted equally as exasperated with the situation. Finally, the woman nodded, and wrote down the information before she pointed to an empty biobed.

“Bed seven, someone will be with you shortly.”

Ranaan carried her over to the biobed and lay her down. She didn't let go of his shirt though, and so he had to stay bent over a moment. “Blue, can you ju-.” he took her hand off with some effort, but not as much as normally would require. It was then he would see all the puncture wounds all over the palm of her hand of varying depths. He hissed as he looked at her but clasped her hand anyway holding it as though it might break. She didn't even care that it hurt she clutched his hand as tightly as she could. Her tears were dry, little clean rivers against her soiled skin. But those blue eyes of hers never once left his.

“I thought you... all this time... “ she whispered softly still in wonder that he was here, beside her.

“Blue, I-” Ranaan began before.

“Hellooooo.” said an overly chipper doctor accompanied by a nurse as they stepped in. He was tall, lanky, and dark haired. She was short, portly, and blonde. “I see we have a Lieutenant Commander Blue Tiran, from the Versant refugees.” he said as he looked up at her but she, again, only had eyes for Ducote.

The nurse began to run a scanning device over her. Blue hadn't looked away from Ranaan yet. As the device chirped the nurse began to read it off. “Dehydration, malnutrition, exhaustion, exposure, neglect, severe weight loss, severe depression, anxiety, wounds to her hands and arms. There is a recently healed wound on her thigh within the last twenty four hours.” the nurse reported quickly.

The doctor stepped up closer to her. “Hey there Commander Tiran, I'm Doctor Savor.” he said cheerfully. He waited for recognition of his words but she had not yet, stopped looking at Ranaan. It was as if she feared to look away meant he would leave. “I'm just going to have to ask you, uhh Commander.” he said reading Ducote's pips, “to step to the side so we can assess what is going on with Blue.”

Ranaan pulled his hand out of hers and lay it softly on the bed. Already, her chest began to heave, already her heart rate on the screen above the bed sky rocketed, her blood pressure accompanied it. “Shit!” Called the nurse as she began to try to figure out what was going on.

Savor reached up and grabbed the sleeve of her black Savi style uniform and began to cut it away baring the extent of the damage she had done to herself. The cuts were gnarly and made with something that while sharp was not sharp enough to be a razor. It was something that she had dug through her skin with effort. “Those are.. self inflicted!”

Blue was having a full on panic attack. Her eyes began to widen in the fear that he wasn't really real. “No!” she screamed out in a high desperate pitch. Her hand lashed out and clawed at the doctor's face, three red welts began to appear with blood seeping slowly from them down his cheek. She fought, as the doctor cursed and tried to hold her down which only made her fight harder. Her legs were kicking and her body was contorting trying to get away. Her hand, reached out for Ducote, the bloody scabs beginning to open and beginning to seep as well dripping blood onto the floor.

“Ranaan! No! No you can't leave me! You can't go! No you're real! You have to be real! I can't do it again... I can't do it again, I can't lose you again” her voice grew in desperation and in absolute abject fear. In all his years with Blue he would have never felt this kind of anguish. This kind of pain and heartache. She reached for him as the Doctor looked at the nurse.

“Sedate her now!” he cried out.

The nurse began to prep the hypo. Blue fought harder. “No! No I don't want to sleep! If I sleep he won't be here anymore! He'll be gone. Another dream. Another vision. I can't do it! I CAN'T DO IT! RANAAAAAAAAN!”

He was there, his hand on the top of her head, and she stilled, instantly, her wild eyes boring into his as tears fell down her cheeks and into her dirty hair. She was still breathing heavily as her vision blurred. “You're really here.... right? You won't leave me... you won't leave me right? I can't.. I can't go.. I can't do it... not anymore.. I tried so hard Ran.. I tried so hard but I can't breathe.” she hiccuped as she spoke. He leaned down close to her, and pressed a kiss to her dirty forehead. While she was distracted the nurse swooped in with the hypo and administered it to her neck. Blue jumped at the sound of the drugs being injected into her system. Her eyes widened.

“No! NO! He'll leave! He's going to leave if I sleep He... he....do...don't... please don't … “ she pleaded with Ranaan her eyes saying things her mouth could no longer. She fought, oh she fought the drugs in her system. Her eyes fighting to stay open.

“Rest, Commander, you need to heal.” Doctor Savor said while the nurse quickly healed the welts on his face.

Blue's lower lip quivered as she tried desperately to stay away. But finally, the drugs took hold and her eyes closed. Her breathing and vitals began to level out.

“Doctor she has no record of self harm before today.” the nurse said having accessed Blue's Starfleet medical records.

“Who knows what crazy shit they did to them on that ship. Mark her down for counseling though whatever happened to her, she's going to need help.” his eyes contacted with Ranaan's “and a lot of support.”

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #23 – March 13, 2019, 12:59:52 AM

[ Khorin, son of Margon, of House Mo'Kai | Unknown corridor | The Versant? The Versant for sure... or not? ]
[Show/Hide]

Att: @Triage @BZ @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow @SummerDawn @Brutus @patches @Fife @Masorin @chXinya @Zenozine

"Khorin Douglas! You shush it right now!"

Her scream echoed in the hallway. Clearly, lively as a clarion call. Imperative as a command. It penetrated into his skull like the beating of a drum. Of a thousand drums. It crossed the dense red mist that clouded his mind.

He froze in place. His instinct shouted him to move on, to continue the trail of destruction he had begun. The bloodbath needed to continue, weaklings must perish. But his heart did not allow it. It had been SHE who had called him. She, whose heartbeat was his own. She was there. Alive. And safe.

Part of the mad rage that bubbled under his skin suddenly cooled down. He turned his thick head to see her, hands on her hips, eyes flashing, fierce and dark. She approached him, slowly, without fear, without hesitation. He watched her approach, his breath uneven, the muscles of the jaw tense, trying to stifle his instinct to keep fighting, now more than ever, with her in his side as his sister-in-arms. Protecting his flank. Together they would make those pale-faced pujwI' pay for their sins.

Her mental voice, resounded inside his head. Her hand cupped his cheek and Khorin bowed his face to that contact, to that touch that he had feared he would never feel again. He let a puff of air escape between his clenched teeth. His shoulders relaxed. The Klingon leaned toward her, until his ridged forehead leaned in her smooth one.

"There you go, you need to let these people help you, Khor." she whispered softly. "These people... who?!?!?! Those white bastards!?!?!?" he bursted out, confusision leaking from his voice. He opened his eyelids and looked to the left. White. White corridor. White light. Starfleet. Starfleet design. They were on another ship? They have reach the Theurgy? These... these weren't the corridors around the Versant's labs? Then... he... they... then.... "toH ghe''or" he muttered to himself, as the memories of the last few minutes struck him like a sledgehammer.

Quote

Khorin ran through the corridor. After negligible opposition from the last group, no one had tried to stop him. Who could dare to face a Klingon warrior at the peak of his strength?He was unstoppable. An apex predator. The best warrior, son of the best warrior specie in the galaxy.

He howled. Bloodlust run wild on his veins. Adrenaline numbed his wounds, the thrill of the battle like a drug burst in his body.

Then he saw her.

Alone in the middle of the corridor. The short shrub of bluish hair contrasting with the pallor of her complexion.

She turned around and looked at him.

She said something and raised her hands. The words were hasty and pleading.

Khorin just growled.

She ran away.

Khorin chased her.

She tried to dodge him.

He cornered her.

She screamed.

He grinned.

She cackled her name.

He didn't pay attention to her begging.

He punch her.

She tried to escape again.

Her struggles only doubled his vicious assault.

Soon, she stopped screaming.

She only whimpered.

He didn't cease in his violent endeavour.

At the sudden end, only a couple of wet blows resounded in the corridor.

A plate detached from the wall and hit the floor.

A dark pit.

He threw her remains there and resumed his path down the corridor.

Something exploded on his back.

The smell of burnt wood flooded the hallway.

Blood dripped from his hands. But it wasn't truly blood. It was something else. Something gooey and sticky. Non-metallic.

Someone turned the corner and saw him. And what remains of her.

"Seize him! He'd killed Doctor Saugn!"

The Klingon ran again.

"Oh, darlin', what have I done?" He rumbled, his voice thick with guilt.

The Sec detachment fell on him at that moment, immobilizing him on the floor.

"What have I done?" whispered him again, without opposed his detention.

pujwI' → Weakling
toH ghe''or → What the hell

Re: CH05: BL [D06|1120] Dropspace

Reply #24 – March 16, 2019, 03:33:59 PM

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Klingon Whisperer | Calming the Storm | Separated Again]
@Numen

He calmed to her.

The way he surrendered to her blew the minds of those around them. She was short, and petite, but she had stood in the way of this raging Klingon and called his name. She had stood there shoulders squared and hands on her hips as she demanded that he stop all this business before more people got hurt. She didn't realize he had killed anyway, he didn't even realize it at the moment. She stood before him and brought his forehead down to her own allowing them to meld for the moment. He relaxed, the air and tension leaving his large massive body. A slight smile danced across Zephyr's lips as she felt him surrender into her. She spoke into his mind and knew that he could hear her, knew that he was going to be all right now. Leaning against her, just breathing her in.

“There now.” she whispered.

There was something going on though, in his mind, they were connected enough she could feel what was happening. She couldn't see the images that replayed in his mind now that he was done with his rage. She could feel the sinking in his chest, the realization of whatever he saw there, the horror at his own rage. She could feel all of it but she knew not what he had done. She couldn't see his images, she couldn't replay the imagery in his head. She could only stand there in silent support as the large Klingon man grew heavier as his body weighed down with the weight of the truth.

He realized he was on the Theurgy now, and she hoped that it would soothe his soul. Only she knew that it wouldn't. Whatever was in his mind, whatever she couldn't see, weighed on him heavily and it made her heart ache. She brushed his braids behind his ears and looked up at him with those dark eyes of hers. He asked her what he had done, and his voice, his voice alone nearly broke her heart. The way that all the pain and knowledge of what he had done was evident in the tone there.

“Oh Khor... it will.. it will all be okay.” she whispered softly.

Suddenly she was pulled, foreably away and shoved behind a Security officer. They grabbed Khorin and held him tightly.

“What are you doing!?” Zephyr screamed as someone put his hand on her shoulder to keep her away from Khorin. “He's one of us!” she cried out.

“He's a murderer.” said a cold voice from beside her.

Zeph looked up at the tall Security officer, dark hair, sharp nose, dark eyes. She didn't like the way this guy felt and how he looked at Khorin.

“What? You mean the .. the Savi?!” she asked incredulously. “If that's the case lock me up too! I took out just as many.”

The man leveled her with a gaze, but she didn't cower before it. “Of course I don't fucking mean the Savi, I mean, that that fucking Klingon just mutilated a doctor from this ship while he was on his rampage.”

“What?” Zeph's voice was softer now, shocked, quieted.

“Yeah that fucker you were just cuddling in the middle of the corridor is set up for the Brig.” he said with a viscious smirk on his face.

“You shouldn't take joy in the pain of others you sick bastard.” Zeph said as she looked up at him.

His eyes narrowed further. “Oh sweetheart, you don't even know.”

“Oh, asshole, I'm Betazoid, and I do.” she said with a grin as she pulled her shoulder out of his hand and stormed over to the men holding Khorin down.

“Ma'am don't get too close, this one is dangerous.” another larger muscular man said looking up at Zeph.

“Not to me, and give me just a moment.” she said as she knelt down on the floor next to a dejected and forelorn Klingon. “Hey.” she whispered looking at the vacancy of weight behind his eyes. “I believe in you, always.” she whispered gently brushing his braids away from his face. They had fallen loose when they took him to the floor.

“I'm going to see if they need help here.” she said gently her fingers brushed over his cheek as her heart broke. Because she needed to stay behind, because she could not follow him, and because of how heartbroken he was himself. “But, I will come to see you as soon as I can Khorin. We will get through this together.” she promised.

She looked up at the muscular man, his pips read Lieutenant Junior Grade. “Be gentle with him, please? He knows what he has done, there is no need to treat him like garbage.”

Of course that's when the asshole stepped up next to her and sighed. “Shame he is garbage. Otherwise he wouldn't have murdered a doctor.”

Zeph looked over at him, chin raised in defiance. “You know nothing about what has happened to us on the Versant and if you think for one minute that a single second of it was easy then I will happily ask Thea to accommodate your new favorite vacation spot.” she said there was a bite in her voice that made the man blink, though he only sneered. Likely, seeing her challenge and not being a fan of it. The dark look, the darkness in his mind, didn't scare her so much as worry her.

“Yes yes you poor Versant people...” he looked her up and down. “... you certainly look like you haven't suffered.” the smirk on his face, the feel of his mind was enough to make her sick to her stomach.

Zephyr didn't even think, she just moved. She kicked her knee up to the back of the man's own. He lost his balance and she took the moment to connect her fist beautifully with his nose. He jolted back from the impact, and his hand went up right to his nose which was now bleeding, his eyes were watering and she could feel his pain. With the momentum she spun and sent her elbow right into his stomach. He doubled over.

“'ou oke ey ose” he said looking up at her.

“I'm not even going to fix it, I hope you find another doctor that isn't busy but it looks like they all are, such a shame. I'm sure a broken nose is low on the roster considering that all these kidnapped victims have been through hell and back for over a week or more. But hey, you're in pain right, surely you should come first?” Zeph said with a dark grin and turned to head off to go help with Doctoring the other Versant victims.

A thick hand grabbed her shoulder as she tried to pass by. “Sorry. You're going to have to come with us ma'am. I don't know who you are, you're not on our crew list, and you just attacked my officer.”

Zeph looked up, all back to herself now that she was dealing with someone normal. “That's fine, I can walk along side.” she said with a shrug as they began to lead her and Khorin back to where ever they planned to hold them at. Zeph felt bad, only because she knew that she should help. That the patients around her should have come first, but she couldn't let that asshole get away with his attitude. However, she knew that telling someone why she had punched him like she had wouldn't be taken well... probably.. but that was fine she didn't often have history of beating people up. But, she was tired, spent, and he had needed a proper ass kicking.

She looked over her shoulder to see Bloody McAsshole trying to find someone to help him take care of his nose. He glared at her, and she shot him a grin before turning around as they made it to the lift.