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Parallel Universes - "What if?" / Re: [2376] Entanglement of Chaos
Last post by RyeTanker -
[Ensign XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Ens. Zark) | Cardassia Prime] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

Ensign Zark tried to not groan under the pressure of her ascent back to relative safety as the sound of massed energy fire screamed behind her. It was hard though despite the effects of the pain killer running through her veins and an occasional whimper would escape if her exhaled breath couldn't hold back the pain. Her head was sort of swimming, but not enough to induce nausea as she focused on putting one foot in front of the other while the motorized clamp assisted pulled her up the high tensile polymer rope.

The battered Andorian also didn't mind when she reached the lip at the top and was pulled over the side onto nice safe flat ground. A pat on her shoulder instinctually told her it was Enyd, and she gave the hand a solid grip as she reached it. Her mind wondered at the feeling of just lying there for a bit, but she had to roll over to relieve the pressure from her abused front.  Lying there for a moment, she breathed of a moment, enjoying the few seconds of tranquility she had, then set to painfully coughing as smoke and dust hung in the air.  This was soon lost a crying rogue tech was carried up and unceremoniously dumped on the ground. "This would go a lot faster if you untied me and let me walk." Trooper Eset snorted his disdain of this idea. "And give you some tools to escape, hardly."  The chubby looking soldier gripped the back of the alien's shirt and picked her up.  "That's enough relaxation, time to go." He took a moment to look at the laid out Andorian. "Sorry sir, but that goes for you too. No time to waste." Ensign Zark nodded at this and summoned her strength to get moving as more Cardassian commandos made their way up the lift shaft. The sound of fighting was definitely getting closer, so Ghin Tolran's counter attack hadn't quite broken the will of the enemy into a full retreat. Said officer soon came up, and looked back down.  "Come on Sevet!! I'll cover you!" He unsung his rifle to get ready. Zark took off with everyone else, but there was a muted scream from the bottom of the shaft and the Ghin let out a stream of invective. "You can still make it!" Zark didn't hear the reply, but a short while afterwards, a loud pair of explosions reverberated from the direction of the lift, and Zark said a silent prayer for the man who'd blown himself up to cover their withdrawal.

The group quickly made their way out of the building, being delayed briefly as they discovered their original exit route had been collapsed from a hit that got close enough.  It was still a relief then they reached the exit and were treated to the sight of a wrecked base that was once again smoking and burning. Several had collapsed and new craters dotted the moonscape with some smoking while others had set other bits of detritus on fire.  "Enough gawking, let's go!"  Ghin Torlan commanded and the group rushed out.  Ensign Zark was unsure if artillery was still going to fall on the base, but she needn't have worried as a bright lance of fire descended from the sky and smashed a location not too far off in the forest.  Whatever fireball would have erupted from the target was lost in the space grade explosion over the tops of the trees that signalled the annihilation of their tormentor that had set the entire fiasco in motion.  A massive pressure wave roared over the forest, shaking leaves to the ground in great sheets while animals bolted in every direction in terror.  Zark felt herself get buffeted by the blast and her body complained eliciting a grunt of protest a she held up one arm in front of her face and gritted her teeth waiting for the pressure wave to pass.  Lowering her arm for a moment, she saw the rising fireball turn itself into a mushroom cloud and her lips twisted into a grimace at whatever had been on the receiving end.

Shaking her head, the group ran into the tree line as fast as their legs could carry them. This was not that easy since they now had a couple of reluctant prisoners, one of which who was actively trying to free himself from the two big troopers dragging him bodily, letting his feet create tracks in the ground. The Ompayan was mostly trying, but it was hard with her hands tied behind her back. Ensign Zark was trying, but having gone through the equivalent of a one sided boxing round versus male heavy weights left her panting and coughing. About three quarters of the way, she could feel the pain killer and stim start to wear off and she collided with a tree in an attempt to catch her breath. Her body wretched a few times as her head swam for moment, and the sound of her being violently ill followed. She was on her knees, hanging onto the wood, breathing putrid bile, a string of mucous stubbornly clung to her before she snorted a bloddy glob and spat it off. Wiping her mouth, someone helped her up, and she groaned as her torso and neck sent throbs of pain through her nervous system. Thus it was a relief when they reached the vehicles and she threw herself into the seat and buckled the safety harness. Zark gritted her teeth when the straps pressed against her body and she tried to steel herself one more time for the bumpy ride ahead.
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Main OOC Board / Re: Main OOC Thread
Last post by Dree -
Wow!  I'm so sorry!  Hoping and praying that you get better quickly.  If, in the meantime, there's anything that we can do, don't hesitate to let us know.
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Main OOC Board / Re: Main OOC Thread
Last post by Griff -
Apologies to people waiting on me. I'm dealing with an illness that, to be frank, is kicking my arse, and makes it extremely difficult to stay on the computer for any length of time. I'm scheduled for a hospital stay in June, where the doctors will hopefully work some magic.
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Alternate Universe Stories / Re: Star Wars: The Wanderer and the Teacher
Last post by Ellen Fitz -
[ Eny’dInraln Mirwirr “The Mureyca di Grezme” (The Kiss of Danger) | Command Bridge | Sojourner 2 ] ATTN: @Griff

It was quiet. Too quiet. Eny’dInraln Mirwirr, Eny for those she deemed close enough to drop the formalities, sat alone, contemplating finding some space debris to blow up to pass the time. Her mentor/boss/friend had opted to finally take that vacation he’d been complaining about putting off, leaving her in charge of the Sojourner 2 (named the second as a jest since there’d never been a first) until his return in three weeks. That left plenty of time to be driven mad with boredom. Or find something to blow up.

To put off the temptation to burn unnecessary fuel and send new coordinates to Khanak for when he decided to return, Eny dropped her booted feet off the console and shimmied out of the pilot’s chair. She could check on the plants in the hydroponics bay and maybe feed the fish. When she’d first come aboard about eight years prior, Eny had mistakenly named one of the more colorful and personable fish. Khanak had found it more than a little amusing at dinner one night, telling her she was eating Davin. Only after she’d eaten had Eny found it amusing as well.

Hooking her boots over the ladder rungs, Eny slid down, hands protected with black gloves. She preferred to wear a light-weight, form-fitting black suit at all times, something suitable to wear as the base layer under her armor. Even before taking up with Khanak, Eny had learned the necessity of remaining vigilant.

The Soujourner 2 echoed with a salacious drinking song as Eny went to work. She knew every bolt and joint of this ship like the back of her hand now, having helped Khanak make repairs in the middle of more than a few skirmishes and even adding on new modifications as they came available on the market, whether legit or black. The mimicked VT-49 Decimator base had been built in the shipyards orbiting Fondor. While Khanak hadn’t been able to install the two sets of quad laser cannons, he had four laser cannons, two atop the main hull and two below. He had been able to keep with two concussive missile launchers like the Empire’s official Decimator boasted. The YT-1300 Corellian light freighter modular aspect for additions and maneuverability had been manufactured in the Corellian shipyards, with the Firespray-31-class patrol craft wing shifting and hull stabilization capabilities and class 1 main hyperdrive and 0.3 back-ups installed at the Kuat shipyards. Capable of docking and carrying two smaller starfighters or shuttlecraft at the airlocks on either side of the wings, Khanak kept one heavily modified N-1 starfighter, the Saina, docked for personal use, leaving the other open for visitors. He’d taken the Saina for his vacation, destination uncertain, though he’d at least given her the frequency he’d keep open for communication.

With enough hull space to transport six full-sized Empire speeder bikes along with their drivers and supplies, steerage for six passengers aside from pilot and co-pilot, and storage for consumables last up to a month between hubs, the Sojourner 2 was a nomadic base of operations for the nefarious and do-gooder alike. It just so happened that Khanak was a bit of both, depending on the contract, and Eny was happy to go along with either aspect as well, so long as they got to end idiocy in whatever form it was manifesting. As a former Jensaarai apprentice, she was well-equipped to live happily in the borderlands between so-called good and evil.

Khanak Ris was Myr Rho, a subspecies of the noble Cathar, so while he possessed some feline aspects in his appearance (fine golden (hair covered him from head-to-toe, maintained retractable claws, and stood at 1.9 meters tall) and reflexes, he did not possess the exact drive for high morals as the Cathar. Khanak was just as passionate and quick-tempered as a Cathar and an efficient hunter and fighter, but he was rarely plagued with moral questions. He took jobs that aligned with what moral compass he did possess and ignored the rest. Having a hydroponics unit on the Sojourner 2 and a vast network of allies across the galaxy allowed Khanak to focus on jobs for the sake of jobs and not just for the sake of profit.

When they’d first met on Susevfi, the Jensaarai home planet in the Suarbi system, he’d found her feline-influenced armor “adorable.” Having never met a Jensaarai before, being among the majority in that regard, Khanak hadn’t known that such a term could be deemed offensive to a Jensaarai apprentice. Though they abhorred the Jedi and their faux perfection, they did have in common with them the development of light sabers as a part of completing their training and, like Mandalorians, the development of customized armor. Over a generic cortosis-imbued flexible frame reminiscent of ancient Sith battle armor, the armor took on the style of the animal the apprentice felt most kinship to. The chosen animals were typically not overly aggressive but were capable of fierceness when threatened, showcasing a typical Jensaarai mindset.

Eny had always felt an affinity for the sand cat common in the savannas of Susevfi, the fel’tro’ik. This was why she’d installed retractable claws into her armored gloves and boots, dual hand spears that could extend from the gauntlets, and feline-like ears atop her atmospheric breathing capable helmet with built-in macro binoculars that acted as UV and IR sensors. With the cortosis elements of the armor, an element that had
unusually high energy absorption and transmission coefficients, to the point where many energy weapon blasts dissipated along the fibers without damaging the fibers themselves, she could walk through a barrage of blaster fire for limited time periods without risking injury—unless the bastards targeted one of the weaker joint areas repeatedly.

Her preferred armament was an energy short sword and a blaster, along with multiple pouches that she kept filled with various metallic debris of numerous shapes and sizes. In the few times she’d been disarmed, the fools had left these pouches alone to their own detriment. Eny, like most Jensaarai, possessed ballistakinesis, a Force power that allowed her to accelerate objects at lethal speeds. She could also use mechu macture, a Force power that allowed her to deactivate and destroy machines through a purple stream of pure energy. With these abilities, along with Force push and thrust and an unprecedented ability to mask her presence in the Force, Eny presented herself to Khanak as the perfect partner for his growing business.

As a not-quite bounty hunter, not quite marshall for hire, he presented himself as a jack-of-all-trades problem solver, and with Eny’s Jansaarai background, he could expand the types of jobs they took and their working area. At the time, Eny had been more than keen to leave Susevfi. Years prior, her parents had been killed by the Jedi when they’d murdered the Jensaarai’s first leader, Nikkos Tyris, and her cousin, the son of the Saarai-kaar, the leader of their people, had then been cut down by Darth Vader himself, with members of the Inquisitorius coming to Susevfi soon after to destroy the remaining Jansaarai. But just as they’d masked their presence from the Jedi many years before, they did so again, and while many were lost to both attacks, a foundational number remained to build back. 

Though Eny believed in the tenants of her people, she no longer felt tethered to them. Her cousin had been the last tether keeping her there, and with his death, she’d been left adrift, no longer focused enough to finish her training to become a Jansaarai defender. Khanak’s arrival had been timely and beneficial to them both. The eight years since had been filled with more than a few near-death experiences, jobs that pushed Eny far past the reaches of her Jansaarai training. Khanak had been the one to bestow the nickname “Kiss of Danger” on her, telling her that every great entrepreneur required a moniker for further success. While Eny knew the name stemmed from the tendency for things to backfire on her, therein requiring her to use all her abilities to get out of the hole she inadvertently dug for herself, Khanak claimed no one else would. They’d think she was a sexy fighter. This had earned a heavy sigh and eye roll from the former Jansaarai apprentice.

Eny was still sipping from a portable packet of Sullustan ale when she meandered into the shared office space just below the command deck. With a wall-sized viewing glass, it was the perfect place to kick back and –

“Oh, what have we here?” Eny rose from her near attempt to sit on the plushy sofa they’d acquired on a recent job and deviated to the communications console.

It took her only a few minutes to read, deliberate, and decide. The job seemed simple enough, the location not too terribly far that Khanak would be hard-pressed to join her here if it took longer than three weeks to solve, and the reward was humble enough to tell her that the people were desperate and the idiocy level of the nefarious circumstances were high. Quickly sending off a message to the sender that The Mureyca di Grezme would arrive in less than a day to take the job, Eny then sent off another message to Khanak updating him on the job and coordinates. She was fairly skipping as she returned to the helm, no longer so bored that she felt the need to blow up space junk.
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Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH 2: S [Day 01 | 1435 hrs] When Trolls Dance, Vulcans Growl
Last post by EnigmaTales -
[ Lt. JG V'lana | Sickbay Lobby  | D. 21 | V. 2 ] Attn: @Ellen Fitz  

"I think I can clear my own schedule to accommodate.", V'lana mused. She had been grabbing every shift available - yes, against the medical advise to take it easy - and didn't really have any other plans other than sit in her quarters and look at the not-very-interesting wall. Which sounded bad, but was essentially just what V'lana had always done after depleting her social batteries either in the company of friends or patients. That, and reading badly written novels.

"Those things are not bad to vent.", she grinned at the remark on the journal idea. "Just make sure no one ever finds it, or you earn yourself mandatory counselling for the next ten years. But usually, your brain is pretty good at filtering out what matters. Even chewing too loudly might be an indication of what is going on. Vulcans have a keen sense of smell and better hearing than Bajorans, so that, too, could be the cause of your headaches. I suppose I just want to exclude the minor stuff in case it's a relatively easy fix."

She closed down the console, sending a follow-up appointment to his personal calendar.

"Is there anything else I can do for you? Reasonable requests only, please. Oh, and can you recommend a counsellor? Apparently I have to meet with one, and I need someone who won't judge me for putting it off as far as I already have."

7
Interregnum 01-02 S2 / Re: Day 17 [2200 hrs.] Aftermath's Embrace
Last post by EnigmaTales -
[Lieutenant J.G. V'lana | Recovery Ward | Main Sickbay| Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Dumedion

V'lana had not the slightest idea what a Fluffernutter sandwich was, nor was she entirely sure what the main ingredients - Peanut butter und marshmallow fluff - were. But she knew bread, so there was that.

"I think I would like to try it.", she nodded at Arven's offer, and then considered his question. "No physical differences, no. The lights are still always too bright, the sound still always a little too loud. I have come to terms with that never truly going away. Starfleet in general is very accommodating, but when you have so many different species and personal preferences, it's not reasonable to expect everyone is entirely happy. What do they say? Compromise is when the one person wants one thing, and the other person the other - and they agree on a third thing that makes both equally unhappy?"

She finished her order, placing the menu to the side.

"But enough work today. I will come by tomorrow and bug you with ever single question I have. I promise."


Right now, however, she very much wanted to stop being the "stasis-person" and concentrate on being herself, and figuring out how she fit into the story that had unfolded.

FIN

8
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH2: S [Day1|1900hrs] Show us what you got!
Last post by Krajin -
[ Dominic Winters | Holodeck 3 | Vector 2 | Deck 21 | The Ranger ATTN: @Dumedion @Pierce

The big guy was starting to get just a tiny, itty bitty bit annoyed by the two women, though it was more leaning to in part his own pride, experience and understanding that they seemed to assume he had no idea what they were going through. He did know, he was briefed and understood the life-and-death situation they were all in. “I do not need a realistic life-or-death-scenario. I have been briefed on your situation before I took the assignment.” Dominic responded to Goldeneye as she explained the situation. He was about to say something further when he watched Goldie start skipping around the place like she was missing a few fries from that happy meal there.

He did his best attempt at a smile that Humans would recognize. “A little.” At the response to the challenge. “I do appreciate the chance for the flight pattern to get a feel of the ship in its basic form. I don’t mind flying a ship raw with no experience and have done it. But this deployment requires that trial run at least.” He added. Tail tip slowly started to twitch as he relaxed some.

Dominic looked over to Shadow and tilted his head slightly when she spoke her piece. “Firstly, ego has no play here. However I do have some play here, as I am learning to fly and operate a craft in eight hours and be able to trust I can perform at expectation and support my wingmates confidently.” He responded with a touch of sharpness in his tone.

Walking over to the Valkyries with her, Dominic looked at the one he had generated with the altered specifications and walked over to it. “I do appreciate what you are trying to do, understand that. But a few laps will be very beneficial for me, otherwise you’re going to watch holo-paint peel with my frustration when I am trying to figure out aspects of the craft midflight and getting vaped.” There were other reasons to it, the Dominion war was not something Dominic enjoyed reliving in any form and this mission being picked sported stark similarities to missions he had undertaken which were of similar suicidal danger.

He started walking down the side of his ship, running a gauntlet-covered hand down its hull. He understood it wasn’t real in any form here beyond photons and forcefields. But there’s always a certain magic to being introduced to a new ship and learning to fly it. “Every ship is different, each has a personality in its quirks.” There’s a possibility that Dominic might be an aerophile or astrophile in some form. Boys and their toys right?

“Unless the weapons have changed drastically my qualifications for the majority, bar the fancy tetryon cannon should still stand. That is a different story.” He added as he removed the helmet from under his arm and stuck it on and began to climb into the cockpit. He appreciated the explanation of how the ship’s systems worked and functioned, a little bit like a salesman in approach but otherwise a lot better than the manual.

“Is there anything about the system I need to be wary of, bugs, glitches, quirks and things not to do?” He asked, looking to Shadow as he settled into the cockpit. Bringing up on the right-arm PADD the pre-flight checks he had noted down, Dominic did a check out of sheer habit for everything else inside the cockpit that is meant to be there.

Phaser Rifle, Medkit, Rations, knife, Water, shelter. Standard kit. There’s a ritual to it that he had inherited from flying the Peregrines and always needing to make sure everything is present. Even in a Holodeck where it would be likely to an almost certainty that it would be there.

“I like being hands-on, it’s how I learn better. Alrighty. Let's start walking through it and get the first go around finished.” Forearm PADD up and reading with her the steps on this. Dominic is a fairly quick study at least and knows his way around enough that he is figuring things out.
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Interregnum 01-02 S2 / Re: Day 09 [15:30 hrs,] Once Upon the Island
Last post by P.C. Haring -
[ Lt. Cmdr. Hathev | Pirate vessel qu'DuHSum | BIQ'a'bIng Ocean | Unnamed Island | Qo’Nos] Attn: @Ellen Fitz‍ 

Hathev found herself in the rare position of being caught off guard when Cross took her and kissed her.  She felt the sense of being dipped and the even more welcome sensation of his strong arms supporting her.  Despite the danger she almost…purred…under his touch before he fell on top of her, when the Klingons opened fire over the rail.

“We survive this,” he whispered at her, “and I’m going to fuck you.”

He pulled away from her but she grabbed him and pulled him back on top of her.  “We survive this, and I’m going to hold you to that.”

As he scrambled away, they fired at him.  Their shots had no chance of finding their target given the angle, but it did provide Hathev the opportunity to make crawl to the deck gun and pull herself into position.

The weapon was as old as the rest of the ship, but it’s age also made it a bit easier to figure out.  Throwing the switch, Hathev heard the weapon hum to life.  The hand controls were somewhat intuitive, a logical design choice given the intended usage.  Even so, they took a little finessing before the turret responded as she desired.

One of the Klingons on shore took notice of the movement on the deck and turned, his disruptor raised.  Hathev squeezed the trigger, opening fire the first round missed, exploding on the beach, but Hathev kept the trigger depressed while she adjusted the aim and before the fifth round fired, the first Klingon exploded.

She continued firing, strafing the beach line as her targets either fell under her fire, or retreated back inland.  Vengeance, she knew was illogical but she also had no desire to allow them to regroup so she continued her assault, using the deck gun to chase her would be attackers back.  Only then did she cease her attack, all the while keeping the weapon trained on the path they had used.  Occasionally she fired another volley to discourage anyone from trying to charge again.  She had them well pinned, but even so she continued to watch the entire shoreline to make sure they did not try to circle back around and hit her from a different angle.

All she needed to do now was make sure no one else tried to advance and wait for Cross to get the engines on line so they could get the hell out.
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Interregnum 01-02 S2 / Re: Day 17 [0845 hrs.] (R)idiculous (I)nconvenient (O)rnament
Last post by P.C. Haring -
[ Lt Reggie “Gemini” Suder | Wolf-13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @rae‍ 

For a moment Reggie was back there; back at Tac-CONN Omega, watching the engines of her student’s training craft; burning from the damage they had sustained from Reggie’s own friendly fire, fire she had delivered to save her other students from a pilot who had lost his grip on reality and suffered a psychotic break.  His craft careened out of control, away from her students and straight into…

Her attack killed so many more than she was trying to save.

She heard Janus in her com his words slowly pulling her back to the moment and giving her the needed leverage to push that disaster down and she, not for the first time, wondered what it would take to make peace with that incident and be able to move on.

“…you asshole’ speech you’re cooking right now, it is helpful to watch you do a combat…”

The Betazoid’s mind locked in when he called her an asshole, only for her to realize he wasn’t actually calling her one.  He wanted to see her perform.  Oh she would perform.  She would kick his ass.  Maybe then, she might be able to put it out of her mind for a bit.

“Hold on to your neck ridges, Janus.”

She triggered another TVD simulation and watched as three holographic target bouys appeared to launch from Theurgy. 

“Engaging.”

She cut to starboard  and fell in behind the formation of targets.  Her target locked immediately she pulled the trigger on the phasers.  Her shot hit home and the number three target disappeared.

Predictably the remaining two split off, one arcing to port, the other to starboard.  Tactically her best option was to stay on the target which required the least amount of course correction to pursue.  Instead, she cut hard to port a harsh, sharp maneuver that might have been ill advised, but did well to show off just how sharply the Valravn could maneuver.

She executed a wingover roll as she maneuvered, and settled into position, the nose of Wolf-13 gently leading the target before she launched a simulated torpedo.  Target 2 cut hard to port as expected, but Reggie was already there, her phaser beams cutting through the simulated engines.

Target 2 disappeared.

The engagement only lasted a handful of second, but in breaking for Target 2, Reggie had left herself open for Target 1 to swing around and settle in behind her.  She did not need to check her sensors, nor did she need telepathic contact with her Rio or the enemy pilot.

Without a wingman in the sky with her, it would take more to lose the target.  She cut hard towards Theurgy, weaving between the nacelles before cutting hard under the ventral hull.  The maneuver opened enough of a gap and she fired the RCS, flipping her ship in a hard 180 and opened fire, wiping Target 3 from the simulation.

She flipped Wolf-13 around again, resuming a ‘forward’ direction along her current course vector.

“What do you think, Janus?”
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