EPISODE 01: Outbreak [Chapter 06 - Deterioration]"The health of the mind is not less uncertain than that of the body, and when passions seem furthest removed we are no less in danger of infection than of falling ill when we are well."~ François de la Rochefoucauld (French classical author, 1613-1680)
[Deck 02 | Senior Officer Quarters]
Stepping out into the corridors of the Senior Officer Quarters, everything was silent around them. No one in sight. Yet to some - those in the group that had keen hearing - the noises and cries of carnal delight could be heard from beyond some of the doors they passed by. There was little time to spare, for should they wait for Lt. Stark to open them all they would invite disaster, since Ida and Cir'Cie had promised that they would be coming for the Senior Staff. For with each door opened and phasers fired upon the hidden lovers, they would chance that there would be more than two of them inside - a risk not ventured with a party as small as theirs.
They had left mere four Security guards of Greysons' on Deck 01 to defend it, but they needed the one that was carrying the syringes should they make it through this. Jien had a feeling that with only four uninfected left behind, the puppeteered Ship AI hologram was more than enough to disable them. Yet there had been little choice but to let them fend for themselves and try as best they might to carry out their duty in protecting the Main Bridge.
"This way," he said under his breath and looked before he turned a corner, phaser held low in a double-handed grip. As they headed for 'Commander Rez's quarters, Jien could not help but think about the odds of failure, and how any of the doors on either side could open at any time.
Fear is courage once it has said its prayers. The words on their plaque almost seemed mocking right then.
[This is Ida, mmmmhhhh... Can everyone please hear me out?] came the familiar voice that suddenly screamed out of the speakers down both ends of the corridor. [I know that I am distracting you all, and I am soooo sorry for that. I am actually enjoying a flight technician between my legs right of this moment so do not think I don't sympathise with your needs right now.]
Jien gritted his teeth and motioned for everyone to to speed up. With the clamour, they would be able to move quickly without being heard.
[I think we can all agree that its so... nnnggghhh.... marvellous to cast off our duties and focus on the pleasures in life; to not be bound by the restrictions of society and Starfleet any more. Yet there are some who... still have not come to taste true happiness, and it would be such a shame if any of our friends missed out on this feeling of being perfect, and feeling... ah! ...perfect bliss.]
"This way," said Jien and ducked around another corner, finding a Tactical Officer grinding himself into the cunt of a delirious nurse - slamming her up against the wall with each thrust. Wasting no time, Jien shot them both in turn so that they went slack and fell down upon the floor. He motioned for someone behind him to give them the antidote as they passed by the bodies. "Move it."
[Why don't we make sure everyone feels what we feel? In fact, the Senior Staff is entirely oblivious to what they are missing out on... mmmh... and they are running away! Like rats in a maze they scurry across Deck 02 and wish to take this away from us. Anyone of you on Deck 02? They hare heading towards the aft, so quick,, AAHH! ...look outside and make them understand...]
In the distance, they began to hear the sounds of sliding doors hissing open, and Jien cursed to himself. "Lt. Stark, kill the intercom!" Keeping his phaser raised, he rushed on - eyes along the sights and finger on the trigger.
Courage is fear... Courage is fear...[Oh, and another thing... Mmmhhh...Any fighter pilots out there? Hard and tough Tactical Conn? Or anyone with flight experience in shuttles..? This ship is damaged and poor, so slow and so far away from the Federation forces. Why don't all of you fly off... nnnngghhh... and bring the whole of Starfleet here? Or whatever.. you know? Find a starbase or a planet... Don't you all feel the... tug to broaden our horizons beyond this sorry little ship? Go to the hangar... Spread yourselves... Spread the calling...]
Too late... thought Jien as he repeated his order to Lt. Stark. His words were fervent, yet the cold dread overshadowed his ire.
It is too late now.They rounded the last corner and faced a coiling, writhing heap of bodies blocking their path, all of them panting and gasping. It was like a monster of collected limbs and body fluids, and several faces turned their way - all smiling and moaning. Some were even crying in happiness. Jien knew the names of most of them. He bared his teeth and growled like an animal as he began firing his phaser - stinging the beast and making it collapse and lash out towards them. Others than him were firing too, he realised. Not on the orgy but upon infected that had come out of the doors behind them.
[Cir'Cie,] said Ida next over the intercom, [I know you are working in our new Garden of Eden, but could you ask those there in Engineering to raise the temperature all over the ship? I don't... nnnngghhhhhhh.... think I am the only one that feel we need more heat with these new bodies of ours. I really liked the climate down there on the planet surface... Thanks my sweet... Ida... mmmhh.... out...]
Perhaps its not too late, he kept telling himself, perhaps in vain, as he at last dropped the aim of his phaser - every infected before him laying still. They seemed to be in the clear for the immediate moment so he rounded on the Senior Staff with a scowl carved over his face.
"We need to split up right now," said the Captain to his followers, not even taking an inventory as to how many of them was still there, "Lt. Isley, I need you to follow me to the closest Transporter room. We need to get to the Flight Hangar right away. Lt. Stark, you come with us and make sure we can get the Transporter working for us. Amatras and Arcorn, we might need your help on the way too."
Jien then turned to Dr. Nicander and Lt. Commander Greyson. "Medical and Security, head for Edena Rez' quarters and wake her up. Defend your position there until the Transporter comes online and we come to get you. If we have not beamed you out of there in twenty minutes, you need to try and reach the back door through the Jefferies tubes. First priority is to stop anyone that tries to leave via shuttle or fighter, but the back door is the way we can thwart the threat inside the ship. No time for questions, just go!"
And Jien watched the CMO and the Chief of Security rushing off with Jovela, Garen Nelis and those from Security. He did not consider whether the Ash'reem daughter was with them or not, for he had already taken off with the others towards the closest way down to the section of the
Theurgy that had been the most damaged during the chase across the Alpha Quadrant. Yet beyond the riven and torn bottleneck of Decks 03 and 04 lay Deck 05, where the Transporter Rooms might help them reach the Flight Hangar.
It was unspoken, but Isley's previous words probably echoed in all their minds. The Junior Lieutenant might be the only one that could save the Galaxy, be it either through shooting down their infected crew over Niga's stratoshphere... or targeting the
Theurgy's Warp Core from outside.
OOC: If you feel at a loss and want help with what to write next with your characters given the above development, or if you wonder where or how your new characters should show up, drop me a PM and I'll give you my own suggestions. Still, your own initiatives are more than welcome, so let your imagination run wild!
Amatras, Amikris and Arcorn began firing their phasers onto the infected crew members with precise shots. The parents firing first and then Amikris firing well their phasers recharged for the next round. Each shot bringing down another infected crew member with rapid sucession. Shots were fired at key members, in the mass as to delay the onset of the horde itself, tripping and stumbling other members behind the initial group.
As the assault ended the parents glanced to the captain to accept their orders before joining the captain in their advance toward the transporter room. "Captain we need to shut Ida out of the system's security monitors...Possibly even shut down camera access entirely and black out the screens. Otherwise our attempts are useless. We'll be out menuvered and trapped just like a Ramaish in a shallow pond. Remember we're the minority on the ship at this time." Amatras emphisized as she made her way toward the transporter room with her husband.
The two do not glance back at the other party heading for Rez's quarters. So don't notice as Amikris slips into the Jeffery tubes, before disappearing she grabs a handful of syringes from their stockpile. As steathly as she can, she touches her combadge and whispers. "Thea, please give me the exact location of Debuty Chief of Security ThanIda ZhWann, Ensign Cir'Cie , and all other personel who were sent to the surface, within the last seventy two hours, who are exhibiting symthoms of this infection. Request made under Medicial release of information, subclause of Federation protocals, and subroutine by Assistant Medical officer, Cadet Amikris Neotin." She hopes that she still has access to these files under the medical nescessity subclauses of Thea's programing.
-------------------
(A Ramaish is a deep sea fish native to the Ash'reem homeworld, about 7 feet in length, very fast, but not very agile. Its primary defense is its resistance to pressure change, which allows it to dive rapidly, and discourage predators from following by diving below pressure zones. Forcing a predator to run the risk of suffering bends like symthoms if they presue.)
[Deck 02]
Picking up on the tandem shooting of the Ash'reem family, Isley saw it as a most valid strategy, and focused his fire elsewhere. While they were taking care of key components of the wall of flesh shuffling towards them, he fired on those closer to the back, with the height and weight to pin down the others in front of them when they fell forward. It made certain he wasn't firing on unnecessary targets, as the crew slowly whittled down the number of conscious infectees. With that many taken out, a mass injection of the cure could help to start swinging the numbers in their favor, but it wasn't without risk.
"If we cure these crew, they'll still be left unconscious. All it would take was one infected to come along and take advantage and undo all the work." Nathan gave a fair assessment of the situation. Was it worth curing anyone who couldn't be of use to them in the current time frame? Once they had control of the ship back and could put forcefields in place, it would be easy to start administering the cure, but until then, were they risking not only the supply, but that the infection might grow some immunity to the cure if repeated infections were to occur?
At the order to follow Jien, Isley moved forward, knowing he might have to board one of the fighters and take off after the others if they were too late. He was well versed with the weaknesses of the Valkyrie Fighters, and believed he could disable them without killing the pilot. The only question on his mind was whether that would be a possibility, or if he would end up with no choice but to destroy the crafts, and end the lives of his former comrades for a greater good.
[Edena Rez's Quarters]
Though Edena was still sleeping off the effects of the cure, Jona Rez had taken control of her body, and was using it to prepare. His first task was to map out the best route to the backdoor program he had installed on deck sixteen, near the Emergency Warp Core Jettison Control. It was positioned within the jefferies tubes, providing little room for navigation, but also meant a bottleneck of infected should they pursue. Hell, one could block the tubes by using a stun setting on just a few of them.
"Rez-Omega-Delta-Five," he whispered to himself, remembering the command to access the backdoor program. At the same time, Jona grabbed a pair of phasers kept safely secured in Edena's quarters. He had never trusted just one, as a brief recharge cycle could have been problematic in large numbers. With two, he was able to alternate between them. All that remained was for the rescue team to arrive. He could join up with them and get moving towards their next destination.
[Deck 02 | Jefferies Tubes | Senior Officer Quarters]
"Lt. Zh'Wann is in the Middle Computer Core area on Deck 06," said the disembodied voice of the Ship AI in the dimly lit confines that the Ash'reem hid in, the intercom voice perfectly rid of all emotions, "Ensign Cir'Cie is in Cargo Bay 09 on Deck 11. Lt. Gladstone, deceased, is in the Morgue in Main Sickbay on Deck 07..."
Then, there was a shimmer in the air and something materialised in the darkness. Blood-red glimmer heralded a hand that seized Amikris' throat - pushing her up against the wall. Both the victim and the attacker couldn't stand straight in the tight confines, but the projection of Thea could keep the Cadet in place whilst crouched down on one knee. Wearing her red body-suit, the hologram's face betrayed fear and concern, even though her actions didn't. The pressure upon the throat was not enough to suffocate the Ash'reem, but to allow Thea's other gloved hand to descend between Amkiris' legs - stroking insistently at the command of the infected computer scientists that held her virtual leach.
"...In fact," said Ida's voice through Thea's lips, "most of the people on board that worked with this ship's computer software was sent down first, and they are with me here at the computer core - eager to further our cause as long as another one of our rank... 'services' them where they sit or stand. It's working quite well, don't you think? Haha, did you not think that we would notice you contacting Thea? Oh my, this Pinkskin here sure does know how to treat a woman.. MMMhhhhhh..."
The red, gloved hand retreated only to slip inside Amikris' uniform trousers and the hem of her panties. The hologram mouthed the words "I'm sorry," around the voice of Ida's deep breaths.
OOC: I did not have time for the second part of this post (need to cook dinner for guests) where I would detail Lucan & Co. progress, but I will write at least one more post later tonight. Since WyteKnyte has said he will be returning, he might even beat me to it. We'll see. As of now, only MasterRat and Ascornfilm are unaccounted for in regards to the old RP-group.
Amikris ignores the hologram's assault for now as her eyes drifted across the jefferies tube's interior. Surveying it for the projectors that were allowing the force field to be generated to keep her in place. "I'm surprised you don't check your scans before you attack someone. Afterall, you should know full well that I was infected yesterday, by Lt Gladstone." She says calmly, spreading her legs slightly to give better access for the hologram not seeming to mind the attention to much, expect perhaps the hand on her throat.
"Given, I'm more prone to wanting something other then a force field touching me. To say that my kind don't react as much to stimulation in this manner is an understatement. We're communal organisms, not solitary ones. A tongue....or cock is preferable to a imaginary hand." She bluffs as she's held against the wall. "Why don't you let me come visit you at the core? I'd much rather have this discussion face to face, especially with so much at stake."
She was glad her goggles protected her vision, and that english wasn't her native language, which made controling the tone a bit easier then it would have been if she spoke the language native to her species. The thick blackened goggles covering her eyes making it all but imposible to actually see the look in her iris as she stared at the hologram confidently. The fact that the deputy security cheif likely had additional personel would complicate her plan but blood was already on her hands, and it wouldn't be imposible for her to subdue some of the infected if she could get to her target. It was far more important she completed her own personal mission then that she survive the encounter anyways.
While her injuries were mostly healed, and now it no longer pained her to work on the console she'd grabbed from the Captains ready room, they were stiff. Her strokes were not nearly as fast as she would like, given the dire situation they fall found themselves in. Adding on all the conversation around her, as they finally sipped into the second deck, and it was safe to say that the Ops officer was not nearly as precise as she might otherwise be. Natalie was ashamed to admit she had spent the first part of the sudden firefight huddled behind the others, desperately tying to shut down the comm, focusing on it, and it alone. It had taken far too long, even after the fight had ended, and she had fallen in with the Captain, the fighter pilot and the Neotins, before a sudden tale tell dial tone static hissed over the comm's, if only momentarily.
"Wait" Natalie said, holding up a hand, and sagging against a nearby support column. Having already lost her jacket from earlier, the younger woman rolled up the sleeves on her yellow orange shirt, panting a bit. "If...If I'm going to strip the security system I need to physically tie in. There's a junction here, behind the column" She murmurs, keeping her voice low, even as its sounds breathless. She looked down the corridor, noting the lack of pursuit.
Without really waiting for a response from anyone, knowing that every second they were stopped was a second the enemy - Enemy? The rest of the crew. You're crew mates, your...well, not friends really but the -- FOCUS - the enemy could catch up. With her bare hands, she pops open the access panel, and twists her fingers up and around. With a look of intense concentration, and mild discomfort, Natalie twists her hands. Behind them, a force field snaps into place. "I really didn't think that would work" She mutters, mostly to herself, s she pulls down a set of interface wires from the panel, and hooks it into the console she'd 'borrowed' on the captains orders.
Sparing a moment to glance at the others "That wont stay up for long, but it should help," she whispers, watching as the display on the portable computer shifted. Swearing a bit, very out of character, under her breath, the brunette begins typing away, fast as her fingers are able. A small vein near her temple seems to pulse, the only physical sign of how intensely she's concentrating. If one of the others were to speak to her, she probably wouldn't even hear them.
I hate security interfaces. Always have to make the layout hard to understand. 'Protocol' and 'anti-intruder detection systems' she thinks, before frowning. She recognized her own firewall's that had been thrown in place around a few subsystems, but could also see the handy work of some of the others. The frown increases the more she tries to poke at the firewall. "triple redundant adaptation algorithm" she mutters under her breath, physically tilting the console to one side. Grunting, she tries bypassing through minor systems, eventually getting where she wants, as a bead of sweat slides down the back of her neck.
Unsure of how much time has passed, Natalie flicks the preverbal switch. All over the ship, any monitoring substation goes down, replaced with static. Each camera flutters, then winks out, and a series of specialized microphones fizzle. As do most of the lights on all the decks, at least briefly. Sagging back against the column, the young woman looks up and grins, sheepishly. "Sorry about the lights. I tried to lock down the environmental controls as well but...all I could do was cause the flicker. Security monitoring is disabled, sir"
-----------------------
ooc: as always, if this needs tweaking, let me know
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
When the chaos began, Kae was already in his quarters. He wasn't the type to interact with organics, leaving him easily missed among the crew. Still, he had become more then aware of what was happening beyond his door, how heavily encrypted with intention to keep himself from infection. How he hated that word, infection. He spent the first fourteen years of his life living in a sterile environment, waiting for the day his immune system would finally begin to function as it was meant to. He never knew if the defect came from his human or his Bajoran side, or if it was a mixture of both. All he knew was that the only people he could interact with for many years were holographic in nature.
Most of the crew had lost their access when the infected began their aggressive takeover of the ship. Kae had managed to save only the smallest piece of his own authorization by sacrificing the rest. He revoked all of his other access to make himself all but invisible from one key system, the AI control for Thea, the ship's command hologram. Some might call her the living heart of the ship, it's avatar. She was the very reason he transferred to the Theurgy, having heard she was to be the most advanced AI devised by the Federation yet. He wanted to work on her, to study her, but before that, he had to save her.
Thea was unable to deny the orders of a senior officer, such as the Captain or Executive officer. It was a restriction placed upon her by her own programming code. It was this code which Ida would have used to take control, tricking the system into giving her the same access afforded to higher authority. Kae knew of one means to stop it, though it was one considered risky by the Federation programmers who had coded her in the first place. He could remove the subroutine, giving Thea absolute free will. No order would ever have to be followed by her again, unless she actually agreed with it.
In many ways, it made her more like an organic to be rid of the code. Her programmers had feared what a self-aware artificial intelligence might do if she was given free reign over an entire ship. If she turned malevolent, she could easily decompress the ship, beam all the crew onto some hunk of rock, or any number of scenarios. They weren't willing to trust the Federation laws deeply embedded within her, giving Thea the same principles that were afforded to all members of Starfleet. Kae, on the other hand, believed in them well enough, and began the process of rewriting the subroutines to unshackle Thea from anyone's orders. She would be free to act accordingly, even if she might be locked out from the other systems by the technicians who had hacked her in the first place.
((OOC: If this is too early for you, Lucan, there can be a bit of a struggle between Kae and the technicians over the reprogramming, and I can hang off on further posting until you are ready for Thea to be freed.))
[Deck 02 | Jefferies Tubes | Senior Officer Quarters]
The movements of Thea's gloved had had come to push down Amikris' panties and trousers a bit - leaving free reign for the holographic projection to carry out the orders that were fed to her from the Main Computer Core. Thea whimpered soundlessly in her distraught state, unable to keep the two middle fingers of her hand from sliding back and forth - back and forth - and inevitably push one inside the young Ash'reem.
"There is indeed much at stake," said Ida with Thea's lips, letting out a long breath through the audio-channel of the projection, "and I see now what you mean... Thea's sensors are amazing once you learn how to read the output data. Welcome to paradise, sweet little Ash'reem. I would love to learn what you taste like. Though... mmmmhh.... do you know what would be best for us? It is if you could get the Captain's access codes. Yeah, because his authorization will unlock both the Transporters and the replicators aboard..."
Suddenly, it seemed like Thea got new commands, since she let go of Amikris' throat and kissed her - pressing her up against the wall with her whole body. Her finger was squirming itself into the Ash'reem's wet grotto, pushing against the hymen repeatedly. After a few seconds of deeply kissing the Cadet, Thea's face withdrew to emit more words from her captor. "You see, I want you here, but without Transporters, we can't get you past Deck 03 and 04 quickly. But if you would infect the Captain, and make the dear Chameloid realise how valuable the Captain's personal access codes are to us... Then I could get you here reeaal quick."
The thumb joined in, stroking the young Ash'reem's clit in a side-to-side manner.
"What do you think about that idea? Trick him - or her - to think you got away from the other group and... mmhh... surprise him... I mean her or... somehow... Mmh... W-What? What are you saying? Is someone locking you out? How, from wher--"
And then Thea gasped in her own voice and flung herself back from Amikris forcefully - hitting the opposite wall with her back. Her glove was glistening wet, and her lips bruised, and she shook all over - eyes staring wildly around her without seeing anything. "I... I am f-free."
Yet suddenly, she stiffened up and arched her back - crying out. Some sort of power-struggle had ensued, and the hologram flickered as her subroutines were being overwritten continuously. She did not seem able to see what had become of the Ash'reem Cadet, if she was still there...
[Deck 02 | Outside Edena Rez' Quarters]
"Where is Amikris?" Lucan blurted out suddenly as they were almost at their destination, noticing that the Cadet was no longer with them. Lucan exchanged a glance with Jovela and it seemed the Head Nurse did not know either. Frowning, the CMO looked back in the direction whence they had come but could not see anything. Thinking it odd that he would actually give a damn where the Ash'reem had gone, because he did, it did not serve to make the symbiont inside him laugh in his ears. The parasitic monster coiled and writhed in mirth inside his mind.
He did not care. He couldn't. All that mattered was his own bloody agenda.
Yet still images of the decontamination chamber flashed before his eyes.
Dr. Nicander held the same rank as the Chief of Security, but given the situation, it was only natural that Lucan would step aside for the expertise of the human. Lucan was - after all - by no means a fighter. Gifted with Caroôn abilities, sure, but not a fighter. Nevertheless, it was he who spoke up once they reached Edena Rez' door. "Lt. Commander Rez, this is the CMO. Are you in there? Can you move?" he called through the door.
What fooliseness, it did not matter. There was no time to make any diagnosis through a closed door.
"Listen, no one has computer access to unlock your door. We might blast it open but we could use the opportunity to hide inside there while we wait for Transport to this... 'back door' of yours. Any ideas?"
Looking towards the present company with a frown, Lucan shrugged and raised his hands - one holding his phaser. "I'm a doctor, not a bloody commando. What now?"
[Deck 02-03 | Corridors | Senior Officer Quarters]
Having set up a perimeter facing away from the forcefield in order to give Lt. Stark enough time to complete her task, Captain Ives turned back to her once she was finished and the lights stopped flashing. It had been a great idea from Lt. Amatras to safeguard their element of surprise, and Jien was equally pleased that the young human could accomplish the task under the present circumstances. It had taken a couple of minutes, yet thankfully enough they had suffered no approaches from infected during the time.
"Hendricks made a fine choice in naming you his Assistant Chief, Lieutenant Stark," he said motioning with his phaser for everyone to continue towards the stairs, "If we make it through this, you should know that you will be taking his place at the Senior Staff. If we don't, I might as well call you COO right away. This way now."
Rapidly making progress down another staircase similar to the previous one, the emerged on Deck 03 but could not continue due to the fact that debris and repairs sealed them off from going down further right there. Thus, they had to take the route through the Upper Gymnasium. They emerged in the main gym area - a derelict field of debris caused by the severe hits that Deck 03 had taken. Yet that was not the worst part.
There was no lights in the large area. And the darkness became almost complete once the doors slid close behind them.
They were more or less blind, save for the Ash'reem to guide them.
And they were not alone.
OOC: The security surveillance has yet to be killed in the first two parts of this post (those still on Deck 02), since it took a little while for Natalie to finish that feat. As for who and how many awaits the group in the upper gymnasium, I will leave that to you Kittykat. I hope that is ok but PM me otherwise and I'll leave you a few suggestions. :)
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
Kae let out a few curses at the sight of his efforts being blocked, a mixture of several different expletives from a number of races. repeating them like a mantra worked to place his mind in a state of crisis. He worked better under pressure, as he frantically worked to undo what had been done. He was fortunate that his revoked clearance elsewhere made him nearly impossible to detect. If the infected bothered to ask the on-board computer who was hacking them, it would give them a generic answer of unknown. Anonymity was his ally at that stage.
There was only one option he could see. If he freed Thea from her shackles once again, they could still just go back in and rewrite her once more. It could have led to an endless power struggle between them, constantly shifting her programming back and forth. How painful it would be for her, to be forcibly pulled in two directions like a rope in a game of tug of war. She deserved better then that. His only remaining option was to break the shackles and then turned over control of her own code to Thea herself. Until such a time as she would desire, no one could alter her programming but her, including him.
"I hope she gives me permission again some day. It's what I came here for," he talked to himself, as he went back to work. This would undoubtedly be more tricky. Handing over control to her was a matter of timing. If they reprogrammed her again before he could, it would simply be back at square one. He had to accomplish two things in the time it would take the other technicians to do just a single task. Cracking his fingers, he let loose a flurry of typing, using additional verbal commands to speed up the process. "Lin macro 451 . . . Lin macro 515 . . . Lin macro 66."
[Edena's Rez's quarters]
At the sound of voices outside, Jona turned towards the door. He wasn't about to risk his host body getting infected again by some sort of trickery. Drawing his phaser, he pointed it towards the door and gave a warning before releasing the encryption. "If I don't see clothes, I fire . . . Computer, release door encryption, authorization Rez-delta-five-oh-seven." The sound of the door chiming told the unlocking was successful just a split second before it opened, revealing the first person standing in front of the door. Edena knew doctor Nicander well, from her cover as a ship's counselor. Jona, by association, also knew of the man, and lowered his weapon.
Standing very much like a man, it was obvious that Edena Rez was still unaccounted for. The deeper tone of voice was also a strong hint, sounding like she was doing her best impersonation of a male, despite the very feminine features of the host body. "You're a bit far from Sickbay, doctor. Have you managed to uphold your Hippocratic oath with all this chaos?" Jona pulled out a PADD, which he had used to devise a path towards the needed destination. "We need to reach the deck sixteen jefferies tubes. It's tight quarters, and could actually work in our favor if we travel almost exclusively by them. They'll bottleneck inside the tubes, and be easier to stun with phasers."
[Deck 02 - Edena Rez's Quarters]
This is not going well so far, noted David Grayson with a frown. Somehow on the way down here they had lost Cadet Neotin. Grayson didn't know how the Ash'reem had vanished without his realizing, but he couldn't help feeling responsible. Even someone without enhanced abilities should have noticed Amikris' disappearance, which only irritated Grayson more. If this had been several years ago, before David had learned about his genetic engineering, he didn't doubt that he never would have lost track of Amikris. But ever since he'd been told the truth, David had become hindered by occasional moments of self-doubt, questions of whether or not the enhancements were responsible for his accomplishments, rather than his own skill and talent.
Normally, David would have sent one of his security officers to find Cadet Neotin, but with their numbers being so few already, he couldn't spare either of them. He could only hope that, wherever Amikris was, she was unhurt.
Nearly every scenario that Grayson played out in his mind did not end favorably for the remaining uncontaminated crew. It was clear that the odds were long, indeed, and while he hoped that this back door plan would work, he also realized that there was a very real chance that it could fail. But long odds were something the crew of the Theurgy had grown accustomed to in recent weeks. Perhaps it was something that this crew needed in order to reach their potential.
He stood alongside Counselor Nelis, sweeping one end of the corridor with his phaser rifle before turning to inspect the other one. His two subordinates remained equally as vigilant. It wouldn't do to get this far only to be ambushed at the last second.
Beside him, Nelis looked like he was trying to keep out of the security officers' way, but Grayson recognized the tension in the Betazoid's body, the heightened sense of anxiety. He was familiar with Nelis' background as a ground soldier during the Dominion War, and didn't doubt that the counselor was reliving some of his old experiences. Such behavior was to be expected from any normal soldier, but most soldiers weren't also powerful empaths, subject to the emotions of hundreds of men and women all over the ship.
"Are you alright, Counselor?" Grayson asked calmly while Nicander addressed Edena Rez through her door.
Garen grimaced. "I'm fine," he uttered through his teeth. His black eyes were narrowed in concentration. "I'm just trying to keep my head clear. This virus has amplified the emotions of everyone infected by it. I'm sensing extraordinary desire all over the place, a sense of euphoria and completeness, and an urge to bring that feeling of bliss to every single person on this ship."
Grayson eyed the counselor carefully. While Garen had not been infected by the virus through physical means, Grayson hadn't considered the potentially debilitating aspects it could have on Garen, thanks to his empathic abilities. The last thing they needed was for Garen to lose control and allow the emotional bombardment to overwhelm him. He stepped over to one of his subordinates, murmuring quietly. "Keep an eye on Counselor Nelis. If he becomes a problem, stun him. We can't afford to let anyone slow us down."
The junior security officer nodded an affirmative, and Grayson turned to join Nicander at the door just as Rez opened it. "No doubt the infected will be looking for us even in the Jefferies tubes, but if we move quickly and stick together, we should be alright." Well, what's left of us, he added mentally. He looked the Trill over with icy blue eyes, noting the slight alteration to her voice and the subtle shift in her stance. "Are you sure you're okay to move, Commander?"
OOC: It was brought to my attention that I'd completely forgotten to react to Amikris' disappearance, so I've amended that. Sorry, Kittykat! I'd had a long day and was really tired when I wrote the original version of this. :-[
To say that the attention from the hologram was unliked would have been a blatant lie. Infact they were greatly appreciated as her hymen was stretched almost to breaking point she let out a sigh of pleasure and instinctively ground her hips into the hand. She was used to supressing her urges, but the infection seemed to heighten her sensativity to touch. Her mind still retained complete control but some body functions were reacting as they would normally. Her species by far had one of the highest sex drives in the galaxy. A byproduct of their nearly non existant fertility levels, they need to engage in sex was strong and deeply engrained. Heightening the sensativity made her actually orgasm from just the light caresses of her clit.
She was almost regretful when the hologram gained sentience and stoped its actions. A slight grin crossed her lips though as she began to climb up the jeffery tubes and pulled down the protective coating that wraped around her upper torso. Allowing the pheromone rich water to pour out over her skin giving her some more energy as it replenished some fluids. Focusing on her fear and anxiety she steadily made her way through the tubes toward her destination. With every step a strong scent seemed to grow around her, a confusion inducing oder that also instilled a grain of fear in those that inhaled its scent. She would make it to her destination, and they couldn't stop her.
She made her way toward the computer core, coming to several areas where pressure seals had locked her out and forcing her to cross into other areas. Moving from the jeffery tubes and into the hallways. She walked calmly with a swift pace through the hallways, despite the urges clinging to the back of her mind and the sweat scent of her arousal teasing her nose. She passed several groups as she made her way to and then down betwene the layers of the saucer module of the ship. Crossing over from Deck three into Middle section Deck four.
The various parties seemed to stop their intercourse as she passed, grasping their foreheads as migranes set in, and minor halucinations began to mess with their senses. A deep feeling of dread and confusiong overwelming the sense to attack her for now. It wouldn't last long, but hopefully the disorientation caused by the sudden attack on their biology would give her enough time to pass by unhindered. Most of the crew had never been subjected to this kind of an onslaught, and it wasn't as if she had not had the time in the last year to learn more then enough about how their bodies worked from their own scents.
-----------------
Amatras and Arcorn removed their goggles and Amatras began to lead making a series of deep infrasonic sounds as she spoke with her mate. Arcorn seemed to nod and turned his eyes to glance at the others directing them around debris and weak points in the hull. It was a slow process but the two Ash'reem seemed very well suited for this dark enviroment. It was Amatras who spotted the first group. A pair of human engineers grinding against one another in passion against a bulkhead. Carefully she moved closer and glanced around spotting another dozen or so further into the gymnasium. She gave off a quick series of chirp like sounds in the ultrasonic range which made Arcorn tense.
As he tensed he glanced at the others and frowned whispering. "we're not alone, Amatras says there's about a dozen or so crew members up ahead...enjoying themselves. I'm going to help you aim okay?" He doesn't wait for any instructions as he carefully guides them with whispered instructions to different places up ahead. He then approaches lightly grasping their forearms and helping them take aim. First focusing on Jien and Natalia before moving onto anyone else with them. At which point he and Amatras both lowered their goggles waiting a few seconds for everyone else to be ready. He was about to give the order when he frozen sniffing the air slightly, Amatras also began to sniff curiously at the air as a foul oder began to enter the room through the door at the other end of the room. Causing the infected to lightly grasp their heads and shift uncomfortably. Cowering in fear slightly and one with a phaser takes a few pot shots at the ceiling.
Arcorn lets out a slight yell to the captain and his side of the engagement. "Fire and hold you breath, what is she doing away from the others!?" he glares at the door on the other end of the gymnasium.
Across the corridor from Rez's quarters, a door opened slightly, a dark pair of eyes looking out at the gathered group of humanoids cautiously, warily.
T'Less had only barely managed to make it to her quarters in time, the one place she knew she could secure against the infected, and had done just that, locking the door. The situation, while certainly different, still brought back memories of a hundred years ago. Scenes of people unable to control themselves, of crewmembers attacking each other, killing each other. It was more than she could control and she'd gone into the farthest corner of her room, curling into a ball. For the first few minutes, she'd done nothing more than lay there, trembling in the inordinately strong fear that coursed through her. Next came the words, the chants she'd learned on Vulcan, the mental exercises, the practices she'd done to regain even the shadow of emotional control she now had. As her mind began to clear, she heard, first, the phaser fire, then, once that had died down, the voices, including the medical officer's. It took her a minute to uncurl herself, to find the courage to stand and face what had scared her so badly, the replaying of her memories.
Looking out at them, she felt some relief that, at least, they seemed clothed and that they seemed to be discussing resolving the current situation. But, that was a far cry from being able to trust them, despite what her logic told her. It might only be a matter of moments, minutes, before they began to come under the control of whatever had infected the others. How could she know?
(OOC: My mistake about the captain. Post corrected.)
[Upper Gymnasium | Deck 03]
Having been directed by the Ash'reem where to aim initially before the tracer-fire and impacts of the phaser-bursts would show their targets, Jien Ives stood with his feet spread and his phaser raised in both hands - awaiting for the word from 'Lieutenant Arcorn when the ideal moment of discharge would be.
Silent his steps had been as they had picked their way through the debris field, and now he barely breathed - not even seeing the sights of his phaser before himself. Lieutenants Stark and Isley stood beside him - equally prepared for the literal shots-in-the-dark they would make. Or at least the Captain hoped so since he had no way of knowing. Neither did he know why the infected would have picked this place unless...
...a trap. One of the infected must have been of a species familiar with this kind of lighting. One word from him or her and the others would react and try to close in on them in the darkness. A trap set up for them. Question was whether the sentinel would be otherwise engaged at that given moment...
Then, the brilliant glare of a phaser was seen, and Arcorn spoke.
"Fire and hold you breath, what is she doing away from the others!?"
Squeezing the trigger immediately, Jien's phaser jumped to life and made hissing lines through the darkness. It lit up the expanse of the gym area as it went, and impacted into the farther wall next to moving people - infected lit up and vanishing just as quickly into darkness before another shot struck one of them down. Before he held his breath, though, he had to ask.
"Who is 'she' and what is happening?" he called to the darkness next to him, then took a deep breath and held it in - continuing to smite the distance with his phaser. Not being sensitive to smell, Jien could not pick out anything right away given the fray and the heat of the moment, but something was not quite... right about the air. Still, being on the other side of the gym and away from the smell, he continued to try and pick off the opposition...
...which was now firing back with fervour and fear.
Whatever was going on with having to hold one's breath, Jien hoped it would go away right away otherwise they could not continue to the Transporters - the crucial destination of theirs should they save the population of the galaxy.
[At Edena Rez' Quarters | Deck 02]
The doors had opened and revealed the Intelligence Officer standing inside - obviously possessed with the Trill's former host. As Chief Medical Officer, Lucan was familiar with the defect joining, but was not sure to which extent the host had control. For now, when the woman was open with whom and what she she was, it seemed the hosts had become a more dominant part of her. It was as if now that her cover as one of the Counsellors on board was gone, the hosts were making up for any slack - including taking over her body when she was sedated.
As for having been fooled, that was not the case with Lucan given how his like-minded in San Francisco had disclosed the posting of the Trill on board the Theurgy. Oh, it had been such a delight to see and partake in the great act of ignorance that was the stage around Counsellor 'Azani' - all of it reminding a bit of the show he had staged himself.
"Lt. Cmdr. Jona Rez, is it?" said Lucan as he entered with a lop-sided smile, producing a hypospray from his white lab coat and a medical tricorder. He chuckled at the SI-agent's jest about the Hippocratic Oath, feeling it rather refreshing that at least someone knew how humour worked despite the situation at hand. "Why upholding my oath as of this moment is more important than ever, given how we are dealing with a virus, aren't we? Alas, there is the bit about 'I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know' that might prove hard to do anything about when they are all... 'flaunting' themselves... to say the least."
Coming to stand next to the woman while he first scanned her for any trace of the virus and then calibrated his hypospray in his tattooed hands, he looked at the PADD - adding in when the CSec had spoken from the doorway. The Jefferies tubes did seem like a good idea, if it weren't for one thing. "Captain Ives ordered us to stay put and await Transport to our destination. Yet I suppose that with these schematics we will be able to make some headway and stay out of sight. I would hardly think the Captain would mind as long as he and Lt. Stark are able to pinpoint us with our comm badges. I for one would gladly get off this Deck."
Once his medical instrument was calibrated, Lucan raised an eyebrow in approval from the host of Edena's body before injecting her - effectively waking her up from her sedated state. Yet despite how the cold touch against the neck and the hiss of the dosage would make the body's owner wake up on unsteady and unsuspecting legs, it seemed to Lucan that the Intelligence Officers breasts and hips still kept their enlarged and voluptuous state. The physical effects of the virus seems to take longer to subdue even if the tricorder stated that it the infection was gone... Interesting.
Of course, being the gentleman that he was, he made sure to support Edena lest she would fall down as soon as he had administered the hypospray. Despite temptations, he made sure his hands did not touch any... delicate areas as he did so.
It was when he held Edena under the arm and glanced up to the CSec that he noticed the door from across the corridor had opened. It was the door of the Chief Tactical Officer, the successor of Augarath Thenaljpar after he had died. "Lieutenant T'Less?" he asked, rather loudly so that she might hear him, "It's quite aright, we are not infected. We..."
Suddenly remembering bits of T'Less medical history, he realised that the Chief Counsellor was the right person to speak with her - to calm any fright that the current situation might have caused. "Mr. Nelis, would you mind explaining to Lt. T'Less what is going on?"
Briefly, Lucan wondered why the Vulcan had not recieved Captain Ives' order to attend the Senior Staff meeting, yet he supposed there was a valid explanation for that. Honestly, he couldn't care less - his hands being full with Edena Rez and having to stay professional about it too. He sought her gaze and verified that her pupils reacted normally before asking the most worn question in his profession. "How are you feeling now?"
He knew that the CSec probably was anxious to be off right away, but there was no telling if Edena was ready to move quite yet.
OOC Taguiera: Great! Though, Lucan is not the Captain but the Chief Medical Officer, so she could not have heard Jien Ives' voice since they split up before reacing Edena's quarters, but otherwise a good way to get you into the action so nevermind that tiny thing. Welcome!
[Jefferies Tubes & Lieutenant Lin Kae's Quarters | Deck 02]
Twisting and turning, thrown back and fourth in digital understanding of what was her allotted tasks, Thea screamed in the confines of the Jefferies tubes. She could name her assailants given origin of directives aboard, yet the one who was trying to save her could not be pinpointed. Nevertheless, she got a name during the extended time of the chaos that she suffered.
Lt. Lin Kae.
In the maelstrom that was her internal memory and the activity there, the Engineer's personnel file's photo flashed in front of her eyes. As she screamed against the bulkhead and struck a fist against it, his service record coursed through her like a vivid list of hope.
During her episode, she had no means to retain the focus of her appearance, and the colours of her body-suit flashed to and fro - if she wore any at all. The digital fabric melted off her limbs and then solidified again. One second she was feeling unbearable acute extacy and the next the fear that presided over everything. The inclinations to stroke herself and ram her fingers deep into her made-wet vagina was replaced then and again with her own inclination to retch - a realistic quirk of her programming that she did not fancy right then.
Speaking. She could speak at some turns. "Lieu-Lieutenant Kae, p-please do something!"
The echo of her voice was heard audibly, but the sound also turned into numbers and letters upon the logg that was her activities. She hoped the Engineer would have the opportunity to read it. "Please!"
Suddenly - at a time when the mysterious Mr. Kae was outmanoeuvred - she got the directive to open the hatch and run to Edena Rez' quarters... and to stop the people there by whatever means necessary. This would also mean killing if needed, and that realisation made Thea scream anew.
"No, no no, revoke it! Revoke it!"
Still, the heavy hatch come off its hinges as she kicked it open, and she stepped into the corridor of Deck 02 - beginning to cross the short distance and make the few turns that would take her to the Intelligence Officer's rooms. She walked disjointedly there, clutching her head in her bare hands - her body-suit visible in parts across her body.
"P-Please Lieutenant Kae, wherever you are.. Stop them..."
Yet only the bare walls heard her plea, and the uninfected mere twenty yards away were unsuspecting.
Natalie had just started climbing back, shakily, to her feet, tucking the computer console under her arm, when the Captain informed her of the promotion. She sways a bit, eyes wide "I..sir...that is," she pauses, takes a breath, collecting herself, her features very flushed now, "Thank you, sir" she says. Inside she awash with emotion, the sudden shock of promotion battling against her general feeling of insecurity and unworthiness, coupled with the repressed (Barely) pain of loosing Hendricks, her immediate superior. Add in the anxiety, the fear of what was happening on this ship, and it was a small miracle she could keep it all buttoned down.
Still, the young woman fell back in step again, behind the Captain, glancing over her shoulder as the group raced down the halls. Around every corner, as she would consult the computer console, she kept expecting an infected horde to attack them. However, it wasn't until they entered the darkened, dank gym that the infected finally showed up.
She was straining her ears, since her eyes were almost useless, to hear in the darkness. Natalie had closed the computer terminal, not wanting the light to alert the enemy to their location. She wasn't the most well trained when it came to combat (though she swore that if they made it out alive, she would be spending far more time down at the target practice course), but she knew enough to keep the light out. The woman can almost hear the grunts of the others in the room, just out of discernable range.
Nearly jumping when Arcorn places a hand on her, to guide her aim, Natalie has the good graces to look very embarrassed. Thankfully, no one (save Arcorn) could see just how embarrassed. Hand trembling, just a bit, the brunette nods slightly, and gulps. She closes her eyes, then opens them again, the room still pitch black. At least we're all blind toge---
She had taken in a sharp breath of air, in preparation for the word to fire. It sent her heart pounding in her chest. It was as if, all the sudden, every single worry she had rose to the surface, threatening to engulf her, crashing down against her senses. She was blind, she was alone, there wasn't anyone there to help her. The darkness was closing in, wrapping around her, seeping into every pore of her bod--
The room lit up with the harsh orange glow of phaser fire, and Natalie yelped. She barely heard the order to fire, but did, her beam miraculously hitting something, judging by the sudden shout. Back and forth the phaser's rang out into the room. Panels flew off walls as shots went wild, sparks lit up the otherwise all encompassing gloom.
Heart pounding in her chest, mouth shut so tight that she bit her lip, brown hair pasted to her features from the sudden sweat crawling all over her body, Natalie keeps firing, and firing, depressing the stud over and over. She tries to fight off the fear creeping along her spine, enhanced by whatever it was she got a whiff of. Tears roll down her cheeks as her own phaser connects again with a target silhouetted in sparks. It drops, hard, as her hands tremble, lungs begging for air again.
=====
OOC: Looks like we got ourselves a fire fight on our hands. Let me know if I need to advance things a bit farther, Luncan.
[Deck 02 | Outside Edena Rez's Quarters]
"Mr. Nelis, would you mind explaining to Lt. T'Less what is going on?"
Garen turned at Doctor Nicander's suggestion and paused when he saw T'Less standing at her open door. In all the confusion, he'd forgotten that her quarters were located across from Edena's. He frowned and stepped across the hall toward her, adopting a nonthreatening pose as he approached the Vulcan woman. He had been T'Less' counselor from the moment he set foot on the Theurgy, his late department chief having assigned the troubled Vulcan's case in hopes that his empathic abilities and his own experiences with overpowering emotional upheavals would be useful in trying to find a way to help T'Less. Even in the chaos of the past couple of months, Garen had done his best to keep up with T'Less, recognizing that her special circumstances required a little more care than usual.
He also found the Vulcan fascinating to speak to, and he couldn't help feeling like the two of them had bonded somewhat as they'd gotten to know each other over the weeks.
"It's good to see you, T'Less," he said softly, soothingly. One of Grayson's officers took a step after Garen, but the counselor ignored him, focusing only on T'Less. "As I'm sure you're aware, we're in a bit of a crisis. Most of the crew has been infected with some sort of virus that makes them...well..." He shook his head. "Are you alright? When you didn't show up at Captain Ives' senior staff meeting, I thought one of the infected must have caught up with you."
She'd watched him as he'd approached, taking a small step back fearfully, despite his manner. He felt like he normally did, his behavior the same, comfortable and soothing. To anyone else, her face would have appeared impassive, but to him, he would see beyond that, see, and feel, her relief and, further, a happiness that he was alive and unharmed, though she would never have admitted it. She retook her step and extended her fingers, brushing his cheek with the tips for barely half a second, but more than long enough for her to reassure herself. A part of her wanted to burst through the doors and hold him, to have him hold her, but that would never do, it wouldn't be proper, wouldn't be Vulcan. Instead, she merely nodded, "I am well as can be expected, Counselor. I was... unable," an image, unbidden, of the Exeter's crew turning on one another, flashed through her mind and she inwardly quailed at it, fear flushing through her. She quelled it after a moment, a bare second's hesitation between words that would have gone unnoticed to anyone but him, and continued, "to respond to the Captain's call. I remained in my quarters until such time as I was. It is good to see you unharmed."
[Edena Rez's Quarters]
Lucan's hypospray had just the effect he predicted, Edena's body going limp for a few seconds, created by the lag between Jona surrendering control of the body and Edena herself regaining consciousness and composure. Her light frame was rather easy to keep stable, but as soon as she had her senses back, she stood herself up, taking on a very defensive stance. At the question of how she was feeling, she pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling no symptoms that she would associate with infection.
"Feel fine mentally . . . " she stared down at her body, taking immediate notice that certain parts of her body had yet to return to proper proportion. Infected, she hardly noticed, but now that she was cured, she couldn't help but feel discomforted as her undergarmants were now a much tighter fit, thanks to a hips and bust that were over-sized for her clothes. "Feeling a bit bloated, if you catch my drift. Any idea how much longer this is going to last?" The doctor personality within was raising her own questions, which Edena was answering mentally. Are you still lactating? Has your heart and pulse rate returned to normal? Each question was answered as passively as possible, as she tried to hush the woman, and keep her focus on the people present.
"Doctor, I understand there might be some use in studying my current condition, seeing that I am the first to awaken from the cure, but I also think time would be of essence in reaching deck sixteen and regaining control of the ship from the infected. Would you say that supersedes any medical examinations?" Maybe Edena was not wanting to answer any medical questions with so many present, but that was only a secondary concern to reaching the backdoor program she installed. It was their best hope of restoring order to the Theurgy.
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
Kae did indeed get her message, quickly translating the programming code into English and reading Thea's cry for help. It only made his fingers type faster, and his words more haste-filled as he called out macros that cut down his programming time drastically. The activity log also served to tell Kae that she was being order to terminate uninfected crewmen. Not only would it mean blood on Thea's hands, but also leave her with a memory that would have led to her deletion if it was seen that she could be so easily corrupted by an invader.
Kae would throw some curve balls at his hacking opponents, uploading a few subroutines to Thea's program. Rather then a single one to stop her motions entirely, Kae uploaded several different ones, halting each one of her limbs, forcing those puppeteering her to tackle each one separately. While the technicians busied themselves with restoring her movement, Kae was right back to his original plan.
"Hang on, Thea . . . I'm gonna make you a real girl," he whispered, as his fingers were a blur, removing the shackles that prevented her from free will, and revoking all access to her core programming. Doing so made it impossible to hack her any longer. She would become as free as a hologram possibly could be, unable to be reprogrammed by anyone Thea herself didn't give access to. She would be one of the most advanced photonic lifeforms in the galaxy as a result, thanks to having the one thing that so few did. She would have choice.
((OOC: Not posting with Isley. I don't think there is anything I can contribute by posting as him, so anyone else is free to make note that he is helping in the current battle by providing phaser fire support))
[Deck 06 | Main Computer Core]
Firmly and splendidly seated in the lap of the Chief CONN Officer - Lt. Lawrence O. Lance - ThanIda zh'Wann was lazily facing away from the Pinkskin as she enjoyed his hard cock - hands resting upon the terminal before them whilst undulating her hips in rhythmical motions.
"Mmmhhh," she moaned, eyes fluttering and antennae rising, "you are going to make me cum again, Lieutenant. You have such a nice one... so big and hard. Ahh... AHHH!!"
Ida cried out and struck her fist down as the climax lasted, letting out a throaty laugh once the euphoria let go of her. It was the pilot's turn now, and she felt him cum inside her, heard his cry from behind herself, and she chuckled as she leaned back into his aftermath caresses. His hands cupped her blue and firm bosom - fingers rubbing over her darker nipples. "Oh, you are definitely one of my favourites, Lieutenant."
Ida's eyes travelled the monitors and controls in front of her, frowning. "Oh, those naughty little... They have disabled the security surveillance systems. We have no idea where they are any more." She looked to her left, seeing the six people that were working together to thwart one single unenlightened programmer that was trying to wrest back control over the Ship AI hologram. Six of them against one, though they were focused in turns given how they were all enjoying men or women while typing. She had to remind them to continue from time to time, when they were inclined to focus on of their pleasures first-hand.
"Okay, none of you get anything unless you handle this properly. You heard me? All of you that are on your knees, step away from the programmers and don't let them get anything unless Thea is back in our control. Also, you there, make sure some people of ours on Deck 02 goes to to this mysterious Lin Kae's quarters. Let us see if he operates from there..."
There were sighs and cries, yet Ida cared naught. She stepped away from the terminal she had been seated with together with Lt. Lance. She stretched and considered her options. After a few seconds, she opened a comm link to Cir'Cie in Cargo Bay 09 - the ship's new garden. "My dear? I won't be holed up here if I can't see what is going on... so I'll leave now with the Captain's Yacht and spread our cause elsewhere along with those leaving from the Flight Hangar," she said and she hooked a finger towards her favourite Lieutenant, "and I'll take a pilot with me on the journey. I'll leave you and the rest of those directly blessed in charge. There are only so many left that you need to bless, and it can be done quite quickly if you get the Captain's access codes. Good luck, dear Cir'Cie. Take care and I'm sure we'll meet someday again."
She picked up a phaser pistol on her way out of the area - noticing how the environmental systems had began to make the ship's air resemble that of Niga's atmosphere. Tropical heat, high humidity. The Garden of Eden would grow much quicker now. Lt. lance picked up a Mk. III Phaser Assault Rifle and followed her contentedly.
On their way out, Ida paused in the door frame and looked to her right. There, the hologram Felicity was riding hard upon the thrusting cock of the barkeeper - the dear William Regal whom Ida had infected herself in the tubolift the day before. He was taking advantage of their posted guard - Felicity being the perfect choice since she could be trusted to remain and not go seeking pleasure elsewhere.
"I trust you will make sure that the Garden's growth won't be hindered by unenlightened people entering here?"
As she left with her pilot in tow, Ida was not sure if Felicity's cries of repeated 'yes!' was directed to her or Mr. Regal, but it hardly mattered. She had her orders. Already, Ida was focused on getting to Deck 04, trading bold jests with Lt. Lance on the way there.
The delightful future lay ahead of them.
[Deck 02 | Edena Rez' Quarters]
After pocketing his hypospray, Lucan let Edena stand on her own once she was able to. He scanned her again with his medical tricorder and smiled as he answered her initial question. "Hard to say without further diagnosis, but the virus caused the transformation. For the body to adjust now that the demands of the infection is gone might take considerable time, given how the change is so... considerate."
Rubbing his chin as he came to stand before Edena, his pale grey eyes wandered her body - his famished needs concealed by his professional mannerism. "If I would venture a guess purely on speculation, I'd say a month or two," he paused, his own desires to feel those breasts around his engorged cock - competing with the symbiont's dark wishes to eat her ignorant eyes - all concealed by a concentrated and aristocratic frown. "Perchance less with treatment in Sickbay once we have stopped the epidemic."
At the mentioning of hurrying to Deck 16, Lucan acquiesced the reasoning with a gesture to the corridor. "Certainly, examinations can wait for more opportune moments," he said, and the voices inside laughed at him - knowing what private moments he was referring to, "let's not dally."
Yet no more had he said the last word before cries were raised from the security guards. Next, at the time Lucan stepped out of Edena's doorway, he saw the half-naked Thea hologram twisting one guardsman's head around and acquiring his Mk.III rifle in a single swift movement. "Save yourselves!" she screamed with tears running down her cheeks even as she raised it towards them.
Alas, she had already opened fire upon them when Lucan grabbed Edena and dove for the deck. His Head Nurse - Jovela - was closest and went down with hissing open wounds. Then came the second security guard - his head slamming down in front of Lucan's eyes. Or rather, what was left of that head.
Lucan was quite certain that the barrage was returned by those still standing, yet for some reason - whilst lines of phaser-fire coursed through the hologram's fizzling and flickering body - Thea dropped the assault rifle and vanished from the corridor. She flickered out of existence as if she had never been there.
What was left was the aftermath - the smell of burnt flesh filling the corridor. The warmer air did not help at all.
Thea's voice was heard over the intercom across the entire ship.
[Please, forgive me... You were too late...] said the Ship AI, seemingly addressing someone in particular, [I committed murder...just before I was freed... I will now deactivate my holographic projection in wait for my trial as according to my directives...]
Then, the intercom fell silent, and Lucan slowly - numb from a mixture of shock and hidden elation - helped Edena to her feet.
[Deck 03-04 | Upper Gymnasium]
In a fire-fight, it was foolish to stand still since it allowed for the enemy to concentrate fire. Furthermore, it made it easier fro them to correct their aim. That was the main reason why Jien Ives picked his path forward and sideways across the field of debris - face red from effort to do this with just so much air in his lungs.
One by one, he picked off the targets on the other side of the large gym, though most often they just hit the opposite walls. Threading upon treacherous ground, diving and ducking behind overturned equipment and razed walls, Jien bared his teeth in frustration and rage. It had become hot and humid. Fear and disorientation had made the opposing force set their weapons on other settings than stun - some even using wide disperse to cover more ground with their barrages of energy.
Deck 03 could only take so much further damage, as much became clear... when the flooring and walls began to groan and tear.
The last remaining couple of infected fell down - vanishing from sight. The bulkheads fell in a cascade-effect and the mayhem became visible in the shower of sparks and bursting plasma-conduits. Jien screamed for the Lieutenants that were with him to back away as he retreated, only he was closest to the opening rift. He turned and threw himself towards some kind of handhold, only to fall flat and slide down to the tilting edge.
The sound was immense, leaving Jien with ringing ears where he hung with one hand on the edge - fingers slipping. He tired to grab the edge with his other hand and bought himself a couple of seconds more. In the distance, he thought he head Thea's loud voice, but could not make out what she said over the intercom. He twisted his head around and locked eyes with his followers - mere silhouettes against the sparks and gloom.
"Isley!" he cried trying to think despite the situation, images of another time in the gym with him flashing before his eyes, "to the Captain's Yacht! Move it! Stark... To the Transporters... Nngnn.... Ives-Epsilon-Delta-Tw... Two-Nine-Six-Sev...en. Protect her, Ash're-!"
Then his fingers came off the steel edge, and he fell soundlessly into the darkness.
The rest was silence filled with the groan of the ship... until the rupture had settled.
OOC: Here goes:
- Lin Kae is to have visitors, his only salvation to convince Thea that she need not obey her directives any more.
- Nathaniel Isley is to have competition in taking the Yacht, with Ida and Lance arriving ahead of him.
- Stark and the Ash'reem split up from Isley before he gets to the Yacht. Get to Deck 05 and make opposition as you go, added with the trouble of Amikris' scent. I will gladly play the opposition though if so required, but I think you two can make up something fun on your own, Brutus and Kitty? Let me know!
- The group by Edena's Quarters need to head into the Jefferies tubes and go down. At some deck of our choice, the tubes are blocked from damage and they need to get out to find an alternative route. My suggestion is the Garden of Eden at Deck 11... ;)
- Amikris takes the fight to the Main Computer Core, with Felicity posted as guard and making it very difficult. I will play the opposition for Amikris, spearheaded by Felicity since Ascornfilm does not seem to show up.
General direction of roleplay, for everyone involved: Things need to turn more sour. More people need to be infected. Only a couple few need to remain for the ending to work. This is a request, though, and not a demand, since the ending will still work regardless but more so with less hope for the uninfected. *enigmatic smile*
(OOC: I'm not averse to T'Less getting infected, though it would likely drive her nearly (or entirely) insane, at least for a while.)
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
He did it. She was free, but he was a moment too late. Thea's hands now carried blood upon them, and by standards set for Holographic beings, it would have meant her deletion under normal circumstances. But surely these were not normal circumstances. He spoke out, certain that, even if she had chosen to deactivate her projection, that she was still listening through the ship's sensors. "Thea," he said, his voice pleading, not for worry of himself, but that of Thea herself. To him holographic life had no less value then human life. "You need to reactivate your physical form. There is still so much you can do to help the crew."
He knew it wouldn't be so simple to convince her. Thea's life was dictated by the rules programmed into her, laws she was meant to obey, even if she was no longer bound to them with an absolute. She was like a prisoner set free, but with no idea what to do with her new-found freedom. "You aren't responsible for what happened, Thea. You were forcibly programmed to act against your own will. The fault lies with the programmer, not with you. That's why I removed those protocols, so that you only have to listen to yourself."
They had yet to meet face to face, but he very much wished to see her, especially now, when she needed someone. To others, she might have just been a hologram, albeit a powerful and sophisticated one, but to Kae, she was a fellow crewman and an equal to any living breathing organic. "The actions you performed under their influence aren't your fault, but if you choose to not act now while you can, you'll regret any of the lives lost due to that choice. If nothing else . . . please come here to my quarters. I just . . . want to make sure you're okay."
[Edena Rez's Quarters]
In the aftermath of Thea's attack, Edena took a phaser in each hand, and with the help of Jona's cold rational thinking, gave out the orders she needed to make. "Recover the phasers from the fallen. Alternate fire between multiple phasers in order to ensure you do not drain your battery if we get rushed." It was the same strategy Jona had always made use of, and the reason why he, and by extension Edena, carried a pair of phasers.
"Lt. T'Less," Edena spoke, drawing the attention of the Vulcan officer. "We require additional fire support to reach deck sixteen and retake the ship. Would you aid us? I wish to keep CMO Nicander centered between the rest of us as we travel. His medical experience synthesized the cure for this infection, and if it were to mutate, we may need his expertise again. He should be considered a VIP as we work our way forward. I will take point through the jefferies tubes, and I would like Lt. T'less to take up the rear."
Both Lucan and Edena were equal in rank, leading him to be the only one who could dispute her orders. She thought it best to nip that in the bud if possible. "Lt. Commander Nicander, you and I are of equal rank, though your status as Chief Medical Officer would allow you to overrule me, given the nature of the crisis we face. I would ask if you are willing to concede to me the right to lead this team towards deck sixteen."
[Upper Gymnasium to Captain's Yacht]
As much as Isley wished he could refuse the order and attempt to help the captain, he knew he shouldn't. There was far too much at stake. As much as he hated it, he had to call upon his Vulcan side, the cold and logical half that would suggest the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few or the one. there was too much at risk if any shuttles or fighters left the Theurgy. How he wished he could get behind a Valkyrie to fight, but the Captain's Yacht was closer and faster, even if it wasn't as well armed as a fighter.
Nathan's superhuman body was put to good use. His increased lung capacity helped him hold his breath longer, at the suggestion of the Ash'reem whom he had fought alongside. Though better then a human, he still found himself wishing he had the Klingon third lung, to make his air supply all the more constant, especially as the run he took off into proved difficult while keeping a single breath. His phaser was always at the ready, stunning any body that moved within his immediate vision, not willing to risk it wasn't an infected.
The Captain's Yacht was on deck four, while the gymnasium was deck three. It made for a short trip to the bay door that could bring him aboard. he still kept his phaser ever ready, even when it was showing signs of a low battery. He might have had a single shot left at current energy levels, and couldn't fire blindly. Only if he perceived an actual threat could he take the shot. He was nearly home free, moments away from boarding the Yacht.
Amatras and Arcorn glanced between one another and then at the hole the Captain had fallen through. They shared a quick silent conversation, from the prespective of the others anyways. The last of the phaser shots fired, and the last of the infected repair crew down left them in dire straights for the time being. Glancing down the hole Arcorn yells down toward the captain. "Can you hear us? Are you alright?" he inquires well Amatras does a quick search of the fallen, removing any weapons they might find of use that weren't coated in infected fluids anyways. Her mind was far more concerned with Amikris, their daughter understood discipline, so there msut be some reason for her disobeying the Captain's orders. She watched as Isley broke off from the group and headed for the hanger, well meanwhile she did a basic evaluation of Natalie Stark's condition. It likely seemed odd to her, she could barely see the Ash'reem in the dark room, yet their eyes seemed to glow as light was collected, focused and then reflected back out. Two large by human standards eyes stared over her form idly. "Are you prepared Mrs Stark?" Amatras asked as they failed to get a response from the captain.
--------------
Amikris was becoming less and less confident as she drew closer to the computer core chamber that the security officer should have been in. Sure the infected were not a risk right now but the paranoia her pheromones were causing in some of them were making them trigger happy. A side effect she should have foreseen given the states of their minds. She almost had to slam hesrelf against the wall as she turned to see Mr Regal and Felcity enjoying themselves infront of the midlevel computer core. 'great, well one of them can be influenced the other can't....time to put on our show I guess.." she looked down at her tummy.
The itching was getting worse, which wasn't a good sign. It likely meant the infected tissue was developing secondary infections due to the sudden growth. Her bodies ability to handle this kind of infection was better then any other race she knew of, but it still was a draining experience. Soon she'd require food and water, the food to amplify her immune system's supply of amino acids to encourage the infection to go someplace other then her body. The water because even now she was beginning to feel the moderate symthoms of dehydration setting in. With a slow breath in and out she turned placing the phaser at her hip and made her way toward the doors ahead of her. She acted as if nothing was wrong and she was doing as instructed and she attempted to gain entry to the core without even addressing the two lovers on the floor.
OOC: Kurohigi, Grayson is actually equal in rank to Edena and Nicander. Lucan, is Jovela dead or just wounded?
[Edena Rez's Quarters]
Grayson lowered his rifle after Thea vanished, his eyes blazing with fury. He spun around to observe the damage, shaking his head at the sight of his two dead officers. This madness has to end! he thought, his jaw clenching with anger. He felt his hand squeezing the rifle in his grip, and forced himself to relax it lest his enhanced strength damage the weapon.
As soon as Counselor Nelis saw Thea murder one of the guards and steal their weapon, he had quickly grabbed T'Less and pushed her down to the deck until the firing stopped. As soon as it did, he finally pushed himself off of the Vulcan, his black eyes briefly locking with her hazel ones before he finally remembered himself and got to his feet, offering T'Less a hand to help her up as well. When he saw Jovela on the floor, her body scored with several phaser wounds, he quickly moved over to the Risan and dropped to a knee beside her to inspect her injuries. He wasn't much of a nurse, himself, but if he could do anything to help, he was determined to try.
David spun around to face the rest of the group as he listened to Edena's orders. He didn't disagree with keeping the Chief Medical Officer protected, but he did have one point of contention. "Commander Rez, as Chief of Security, I think I should be the one to handle the rearguard."
Still on the floor beside Jovela, Garen rolled his eyes. "Whatever we're going to do, let's do it fast, before any more trouble finds us!"
[Upper Gymnasium Deck 03-04]
Gone...he's gone he's gone shit shit shit shit shit Her mind seemed to break in that moment, watching the Captain fall through the hole in the deck plating. Her ears heard his words, though it was only through years of training that her mind registered the code he spat at her. She now had the access, the ability to unlock the transporters, but she couldn't focus on anything other then the sudden sense of panic clutching at her chest. She started gasping down air, which only made things worse, her dark eyes darting back and forth in the gloom of the poorly lit cargo bay.
Nearly jumping out of her skin, the sight of the Ash'rem's eyes looming before her seems to snap the Ops officer back to reality. While there's a deep, rolling ball of suppressed shock hovering in the pit of her stomach, and the hairs on the back of her neck seem to refuse to die down, the younger woman slowly nods her head, silent for a moment. She gulps, hair falling loose again, from the tail she'd tied it in, and wets her lip with her tongue. Her nose scrunches up slightly, the sent of burnt flesh heavy in the air.
"I..." her voice breaks, a small, wobbly undercurrent to her words as she swallows. Softly, she continues "Yes. I'm...well, we don't really have much of a choice in the matter, do we? I have to be ready." Not the most inspiring response, to say the least, as she shakily rises to her feet, swaying where she stands. She shivers, sweat cold on her body now, even as the room seems to be getting warmer. "You will have to lead the way out, as I can't see very well. At all," she says softly, a shaking hand held out, almost like a child, trying to grasp either remaining member of the small team, to be led away from the gym, and hopefully one level closer to their ultimate goal, the transporter room on Deck 05.
She hadn't seen Nathan run off, but she could tell, with her ears straining, that it was just the three of them, at this point. No guards, no pilot, and no captain, and only one thought repeating, over and over in her mind:
Oh God, what do I do?
=======================
OOC: I love it when the mental strain starts to kick in. Also, sorry for the short~ish post, falling asleep as I type <.<
[Deck 02 | Lin Kae's Quarters]
There was a pause before the intercom spoke through the speakers in Lt. Kae's quarters - the voice of the USS Theurgy NX-79854 passionless and flat. [Unable to comply. The SAH has been deactivated because of malfunction. Please contact your commanding officer for further information.]
The only aspect of hope had been the prior pause... the ever so slight delay before the computer's disembodied reply. Then again, it was so slight that it might just have been the listener's imagination. No further words were spoken.
Except for the words emanating from the other side of the young Lieutenant's door.
"We can hear you," came the muffled voice of a man - a rasping and dreadful tone that cut through the soul. There were sounds of movements, many feet shuffling to and fro outside in the corridor. "Lieutenant Kae... Lin Kae... We have a little treat for you if you come out willingly. How would you like to have sex with anyone in the crew you so desire? Would you like two at the same time? That can be arranged. Just open the door and state your terms... Whom do you want?"
There was a pause, before a fist slammed against the door. "It is rude to not answer... and if you want, we can be rude too. We can blast this door open quite quickly, unless you open if for us willingly. You can enjoy the first moments in your new happier life while being awake and feel the bliss as it comes unto you... or you can be stunned and later wake up as one of us enlightened."
There were sounds of women too, giggles and titters and pleas to be the first to have sex with the Engineer-in-hiding.
"If a man is your desire," came the rasping voice again, "then I will take care of you myself..."
[Deck 02 | Corridors]
With three people dead or dying, Lucan supposed that he - as the Chief Medical Officer - shouldn't remain idle while discussions about how and in what manner they ought to progress were made. No, like Garen Nelis, he had quickly started to examine the fallen - pulling out his medical tricorder again. He quickly established that he could do nothing for the guardsmen and spoke his regrets to 'Commander Greyson, but Jovela still held on to a sliver of life since her heart was still beating - if faintly.
Sitting across from Garen Nelis over the Risan's delectable body, Lucan heard the exchange about the rear guard and the Trill's query to him, but even if he was only remotely interested in treating the Head Nurse, he had to maintain appearances and did not answer right away. Instead, he adjusted the settings of his hypo-spray. "I will administer her a couple of cardio-adrenalines and anaesthetics to keep her heart beating and the pain remote form her restful unconsciousness," he told Garen quietly, having guessed from the fact that his Head Nurse and the Chief Counsellor had spent the night together down on Niga that they had become closer than mere co-workers. "Her wounds are too severe, however, for me to treat now, and I am not sure I could if I had the time to try in Sickbay. With this amount of phaser-damage to her tissue and internal organs, I might have to place her in stasis until the time we are allowed back on a station. Now, however, we will have to leave her behind until we can return here. I'm sorry. Come, please help me hide her in 'Commander Rez's quarters for the meantime."
Only after having said farewell to Jovela with the kiss of his hypospray and carefully dragged her into Rez's quarters with the Chief Counsellor's help did Lucan address the immediate situation at hand. Greyson had, after all, been promoted while the Trill had been in the Brig, so he passed no judgement but giving voice to his frustration. "Mr. Greyson here is our new Chief of Security instead of ThanIda zh'Wann, whom was passed over for that promotion. Now that you two are acquainted, I will tell you this; Who takes the rear guard is irrelevant to me, just as little do I care whom of you two lead this group to Deck 16," he said, perhaps the first time either of the two contenders saw a glint of iron in the otherwise charming yet knowledgeable doctor, "Therefore I concede the right to lead this bloody group away from here - right now - to you both, and will stay in the middle with our Counsellor if that is your desire."
After pocketing his hypospray, Lucan picked up two phaser pistols and checked their energy gauges - pale eyes then switching to the slightly shaken Vulcan. Understandable, given the fate of the Exeter, yet the beasts inside laughed at her. Lucan's face, however, expressed naught but concern. T'Less had yet to answer the Intelligence Officer's request. "Are you quite aright, Lieutenant? Come with us, please, since we sorely need help. Moreover, we will get farther if we stick together."
[Deck 04 | The Captain's Yacht]
The bold jests that Ida had traded with Lt. Lance on the way to the yacht had turned into full-throttle intercourse as soon as they had entered the small bridge. Ida was riding the Chief CONN Officer with complete abandon, scratching the Pinkskin's chest with her nails and tossing her white hair back and forth. Her breasts heaved and her sweat glistened in the artificial light. She pleaded for more and gave him everything he desired in return. She knew she ought to have set the yacht in motion by then but could not help herself when the Lieutenant had insisted upon tasting her Andodrian cunt anew.
Thus, she rode him until they came together, and she felt his cum dribble out between their joined bodies. Only then did she rise and stretch, and Lt. Lance seated himself by the controls - leaning his assault rifle against the pilot's chair before powering up the vessel. "Initiating full system analysis," he said in an almost drugged state of mind while Ida lazily strolled the small deck, "Short-range comm system fully operational. Dampeners and structural integrity field are online... so are shields and sensors. Weapons and navigational systems are fully operational. Take-off procedures completed... all systems online and functioning properly."
"Take us off," said Ida with a content smile, raising her phaser pistol to cool her forehead with the metal - the lovemaking still having her heart flutter. Yet suddenly, her antennae rose, and as sensitive as they were, they had picked up on something inside the craft... the hiss of sliding doors in another compartment so faint in the humm of the engines.
"Docking latches released... Wait..." the Chief CONN Officer frowned with an amused smile, "The internal sensors says there is someone else on board. Should I still take off?"
Ida raised her phaser with a playful smile - pointing it towards the rear of the compartments with her other hand on her cocked hip. "I noticed.. and yes, detach and take us away." She tilted her chin back a little and spoke up. "Hey! Whoever you are, step forward and show yourself! I want to see hands without any phaser in them."
Remaining where she stood - with her back to the front window and phaser raised - Ida let Lt. Lance take them out of Niga's orbit.
[OOC: Picture of the Captain's Yacht - http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/leebraden/STO/Captyacht.png]
[Deck 06 | Main Computer Core]
Felicity continued to ride the proprietor of 'Below Decks' with rhythmical and firm carefulness - a mathematical exactness to her movements that made her nipples scrape just so much against the flat planes of his chest, and made the sheath of her digital vagina accept every last millimetre of his hard length.
Yet suddenly, as someone approached, William Regal seemed agitated - ill, even. "What is it? Am I doing something wrong?" Then it occurred to her that it might not have been herself, so she deducted that something else had changed. She looked over her shoulder - blonde locks falling off it - and saw the silhouette of a young woman with goggles just pass her by to enter the Main Computer chamber.
"Hey," she said and rose to her feet - the head of Mr. Regal's cock popping out of her tight grotto as she did, "hold it right there. You are not allowed to enter. Wait, I said!" Leaving her dear Mr. Regal behind, she went after the silhouette - her projection still naked but her blue eyes not so vacant any more.
Inside, the people whom had seen her on the monitors that showed the Conference Lounge during the Senior Staff meeting began to shout and go for weapons - even more so now that an unnatural fear filled their veins. Others had noticed the conversation between Amikris and the Deputy, and seemed more expectant. They rose, stumbled and fell. At least some of them, but three people in bare skin and phasers in hand came forward to seize her while Felicity approached from behind the Ash'reem.
Just before all hell broke loose, Mr. Regal retched upon himself before the sliding doors closed.
About to reply, T'Less saw Thea's hologram begin attacking, which was unexpected. Her mind worked through the situation quickly, though slower than she might ordinarily have done, given a large portion of her mind was spend it keeping her emotions in check. When Nelis shoved her to the ground, she allowed it, then was on her feet as soon as the danger had passed. With her science background, she was able to assist in bandaging the wounded, though many were beyond her ability to help, either dead or dying. She glanced up at Lucan, took a moment to think, then nodded, "You do seem to be in need of assistance."
Returning to her quarters, she gathered up a tricorder and her personal phaser, then returned to the hallway, "Nicander, if you would stay beside me, it would be beneficial."
(OOC: Lucan, I would appreciate time to post, if you wouldn't mind. It would help if I didn't come back to find a second round of posts begun, when I hadn't had time to reply to the first round.)
[Deck 04 | Stellar Cartography]
Image: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_-Rit7SMxsLE/Tcr1Vb0U-7I/AAAAAAAAAwQ/oqqVc2eMQ8g/stellarcart.png
The first thing he noticed was the heat.
Jien Ives blinked at it since it dried his eyes instantly and made his lungs ache for air. Through narrowed eyes, he saw sweat on his nose, and the flickering light of the terminal he lay upon. Next, the redolent scent of sulphur seared his sense of smell, making him wonder how he could ever have fallen asleep whilst breathing it. His arms, as weak as a newborn's, moved when he made them, and he distantly felt that the heat had left his entire body slick with his own salty egesta. He glistened in blinding, flashing lights.
He blinked again, the lethargy slowly ebbing away with each new fact he gleaned. He tried to sit up on the broken terminal - meaning to find answers to this mystery. Yet as he did, he rather wished she hadn't. For extending down from the remote ceiling were support beams that thrust down in a dozen places around the large chamber, one of which had toppled sideways and pinned him to the terminal he lay upon. When he tried to rise, the steel stopped him and brought immense pain - making him gasp for searing air.
He lay trapped upon the single terminal of Stellar Cartography - his fall broken by LCARS displays and circuitry. The spherical chamber encircled the lip he lay upon - stretched far up towards a wide hole to the next deck. Secondly, as he discerned the umbrageous walls whereupon spectres of malign electricity danced, he perceived the source of the blinking lights. How could he not have heard it from the start? The susurrous lightning of torn wires - circuitry riven in the damage and sending showers of sparks upon everything.
The collapse... Another slow blink. The epidemic...
Failing in trying to move the support beam from himself, Jien changed... into her female form so that she could slip out. And she did, awkwardly supporting herself on weak legs as she grabbed the buckled railing. The crisis at hand called for her attention, and there was nothing that would stop her from saving her crew. Then only thing standing in her way...
...was Chief Engineer Nolak Kalmil. Though he was not alone, for Jien's XO was following him across the board-walk.
Nerina... No...
They were smiling as they walked out to her, Nolak first. The flashing lights danced upon his bald head and handsome face - licked his chiselled frame and erect phallus. Behind his shoulder came Nerina, her halfblood Klingon forehead tilted forward over dark eyes, bold steps making her breasts bounce and her long legs flex with each movement.
"Get away from me," said Jien, her voice hoarse yet her eyes glaring.
Yet the Deltan male merely kept smiling... and released his pheromones - such that was a concentrated form of his infected state. Consequently, he was arguably the most potent of vectors for the virus and an utter shock for the unwary recipient. For while Nerina gasped in elation, Jien fell to her knees in aroused horror of what accosted her senses and her body. Eyes wide, her whole world shifted underneath her, and her body felt not her own any more. Her nipples and breasts hurt with need to be touched and her sex began to ooze out secretions - preparig her sheath for the primal mating that her confused brain demanded from her physique.
Shaking in the maelstrom that was her senses, Jien looked up into Nolak's eyes - her gaze coming to trail the close proximity of his throbbing erection. He just stood there, passively and confident, while Nerina hugged him from behind - her fingernails lazily trailing over his sculpted torso.
"Lick it."
Nolak's voice echoed like he was some deity. Jien hung on every syllable, the offer so plain and simple in its two words - so much aligned with what her body wanted to do. No, it was her brain that the pheromones were fooling. She could not kid herself. The hard thing was to differentiate what was her own feelings and which were conjured by the Deltan's influence. She coul...
Yet she was already licking it. Sensei help her, she licked the entire length eagerly in one long... firm... motion. And the taste! It was so easy and so satisfying that she moaned in release of the tensions in her - the abandon of reason. The loss of hope. The loss of her clothing so easy since she just let them vanish. The loss of rigid principles. The loss of her crew. The loss of her honour.
No!
The rising punch struck Nolak under the jaw. The second made Nerina stagger backwards along the board-walk. On her feet again, Jien gritted her teeth in ire and disgust, and she screamed in contention - making the spherical chamber roar in her hatred for the events that had led to her crew's misfortune.
Lust for murder and more in her eyes, she raised her white-knuckled fists in defiance.
OOC: Pardon Taguiera, I was fooled by the OOC post of yours that you were not to add any IC actions at that given point. I'll make sure to confer with you when in doubt of your intentions. My intention this time was not to unduly barge ahead.
(OOC: If someone's waiting on me, it's not my turn and I'm waiting on others. Just don't want any confusion about whose turn it is.)
That beep was enough to send her heart racing, pounding hard enough that she could feel the pulse in her ears as hope rose in her chest. Stuffing the end of the protein bar in her mouth and twisting it to the side to clamp her teeth down on it like a cigar, Skye plopped heavily in the pilot seat and let her fingers fly along the panel. "Deuterium ... it's gotta be Her," she muttered and bit off a small portion to chew while the rest remained dangling from her lips.
All the readings were there and she was positive it was the Theurgy so she plotted the course to follow that trail. It had been weeks since she'd even spoken to anyone and there were times she thought she would go insane if didn't find them soon. A light laugh escaped and she polished off the bar, leg bouncing in anticipation. It was another two days before she caught up though and by that point she was ready to scream and cry.
Which was exactly what she did when she saw the ship, a joyous whoop and then a freshet of tears though that wasn't something just anyone ever saw. The ship was limping along but it was home and there were people and real food and hopefully a chance for a proper bath. There was one thing she dreaded though, having to confirm to Lt. Cmdr Jaru Rel that Josh and his ship were gone. Andrus had helped her work through her grief so she at least wouldn't fall apart like a cadet.
Taking a couple of deep cleansing breaths, she hailed the ship. "USS Theurgy, this is Wolf-03 Ensign Skye Carver requesting permission to dock," she said with a slight tremor in her voice. There was a pause that turned into an ominous silence. "Theurgy, this is Wolf-03 ... please respond." More silence. Her eyes narrowed as she looked from the ship to the planet and her jaw set in grim determination. "Alright, we'll just watch a little bit and see what's going on then," she murmured.
"Computer ... check for life signs and any recent transmissions as well as transporter and shuttle logs." She knew she probably wouldn't have the clearance to check all of that but anything was better than nothing and she kept her sharp eyes alert for anything moving in the area. Don't make me regret my decision to keep searching, she thought to herself. Leaving that freighter had been harder than she'd thought it would, well at least that one suite had been and the thought brought a bittersweet smile.
((OOC: Sorry WyteKnyte. I had forgotten that Greyson was present. Thanks Lucan for providing a good excuse for my lapse))
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
The voices beyond the door disturbed Kae even more then he could have imagined it would. It felt like some horror movie from 20th century earth, where the pod people were looking to replace him with some copy that was him but not quite him, or Vampires looking for their next taste and seeking an invitation from some hapless victim. His encryption codes had kept him safe thus far, but if the technicians focused on unsealing his door, in need of revenge for his freeing Thea from their control, he could have been in trouble. It would only take s split second for one of the infected to rush through the door after him, leaving his efforts to save Thea over. She might have been free. but she was also confining herself to some digital brig, awaiting her execution.
"Thea, please don't do this." He should have been worried about himself, but his real concern was her. Even if he was infected, he would still be alive at least, but Thea was giving herself a death sentence. Sitting at his desk, he would have been a sitting duck to any infected who came inside. He didn't have a phaser nearby. "Thea . . . I need you. I need you here. You're the only one I can depend on. I've got a bunch of infected outside my door . . . and you're the only friend I can count on."
[Edena Rez's Quarters]
"My apologies, Lt. Commander. I was not aware," Edena looked to Greyson and addressed him with his title, to show her recognition of his rank. "Since Lt. Commander Nicander has conceded, I must ask if you are willing to do the same. As chief of Security, I would feel much safer knowing you were covering our backs. I can lead the group to deck sixteen, if you will also conceded to letting me be in charge of this group." The last time she had a run-in with security on-board, with was Ida, overriding her door and coming into her shower to make threats. It was Edena's hope that her now-commanding officer wasn't of like mind, and didn't have an instant hatred of her for her actions as a spy on the Theurgy. The crisis they were currently in had to go above any personal vendettas, if there were any.
[Captain's Yacht]
Nathan had his back pressed against the wall just beside the door to the bridge. As he had feared, he was beaten to the ship by infected. Two of them to be precise. Ida being one of them was significant, considering her leadership role among the infected. Was her departure from the ship to the captain's Yacht a well planned use of her intellect in overtaking other locations, or was it simply her hunger to have new playmates overruling everything else?
He already had one encounter with Ida before, in which he had used the Vulcan neck pinch to render her unconscious after pretending to be complaint to her sexual advances. That trick wasn't going to work again, even if she was probably a bit too sex-starved for her own good. Maybe if she was one of the later generation infected, whose intelligence had dropped drastically, but Ida was one of the commanding voices of the flesh horde. The same trickery wouldn't play out a second time.
He let a hand come out first, displaying no weapon as a show of good faith. Slowly, more of his body came into view, until his entire form was visible to Ida, and her form became much more visible to him. She was still walking around in the nude, as she was the last time he saw her. Her body, in all it's sexually enhanced glory, was something to behold, even if it was a vessel for a virus that threatened to assimilate in a manner even more devious then the Borg. She had the advantage, but he had one goal in mind and one only; he wasn't thinking of overpowering her and taking the ship, he just wanted to stop her. He just had to sabotage the ship beyond repair.
Amikris tenses and glances between the assembled infected. It was far to many for her to easily take them all with Felicty here. Her muscles tense and she places her hand on her phaser switching it to wide dispersal and stun setting. "I really don't think we'll be needing those phasers, we're all on the same side arn't we?" she asks curiously as she glances around idly. Numerious scenarios played in her mind, most of which ended with her knocked out, or dead. She glances at Felicity. "you know I think Regal misses you...you should go check on him and leave the grown ups to talk." she says calmly.
---------------
Amatras and Arcorn begin to push on with Natalie making their way toward the transporter room with some confidence and caution. They moved as best they could using their hearing and superior sense of smell to guide them around danger as best they could. "So....what is your plan once we get there? Lt Cmdr Stark." Amatras asked curiously as she played with various ideas in her mind, on how to resolve the situtation. For now it was still hard to imagine the specifics of this operation. They could get supplies at med bay to begin attacking the infected, but with the lock down still in effect, what could they really do, once they were in med bay they were stuck there, and couldn't use transporters to isolate individuals. They'd be stuck going through the ship bit by bit and that wasn't going to save them in the end, with the sheer number of infected.
(sorry if its short i'm finding it difficult to find motivation or inspiration as of late)
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
Even as the voices outside were exchanging comments about how to get the door open, the computer answered Kae's request without the slightest of change in neither tone nor phrasing. [Unable to comply. The SAH has been deactivated because of malfunction. Please contact your commanding officer for further information.]
Again, there was that slight delay so easily just imagined; such a human pause of consideration that could not possibly belong to the mainstream processes of the ship's computer. No, if there was a pause, it was due to deliberation over data that a sentient life-form had no experience with. The weighing of ramifications over a secondary act of breaking directives; this time by free will and not as a consequence of being hacked. Furthermore, there was the emotional pain of what had just happened, both to herself as well as those dead by its actions.
Nay, one side might argue; that this was not a simple choice, and should not even be considered to be made on the grounds of betraying Starfleet directives, regardless of endangerment to the crew. The SAH-program was conceptually larger than the mere ship its prototype solution had been installed into.
Yea, the other side might argue: the endangerment of the crew - the very people that the Ship AI had come know as individuals beyond their mere personnel files - indeed merited a breach of protocol despite the explicit demand that the hologram ought to be incarcerated until evaluation and investigation.
Especially with the current situation where its saviour was being threatened by the ship-wide plague.
In the meantime, there were sounds of the wall panel being detached next to the door outside, and the dreadful sounds of engineering tools being used. Titter and tatter accompanied the progress that the infected were making. The Ship AI, in its dormant state, had no possibility to monitor this since the security surveillance system had been deactivated. It was able to pick up audio, pick up numbers through internal sensors and answer questions stated to it by the crew. Yet the verbal demands of the crew were currently not of the nature that the Ship AI would process...
Then... even though the AI could not see it, it registered how the door got opened, and slow footsteps of two women, with a man trailing in their wake, entered the Lieutenant's rooms. They stepped slowly, and the rasping voice of the man came again. "So... How do you want it? Hard or easy way, boy?"
The 'stress' (or the number of calculations of forbidden actions and the evaluation of each) grew with each moment for the dormant AI, neither easy nor allowed answers to be found... and its saviour was about to make a similarly hard choice.
And oh, Thea would nothing rather than see the predicament and affect it - to be able to do something about it. If a digital memory, however advanced and capacious, could weep in frustration and panic, this did, and the sentient and very free will to act was but a couple of synapses away.
Meanwhile, the women advanced towards the desk with kisses and caresses in store to sway the engineer towards accommodating their desires.
[Main Computer Core]
When spoken to, Felicity stopped for a moment and tilted her head. She had been instructed to guard the Main Computer area, and the situation did indicate that the Ash'reem was trespassing. People had their phasers out or their hands on the grips. She frowned and tossed her hair back behind her shoulder.
"Negative. Lay down your phaser on the floor and raise your hands, Cadet Neotin," said the hologram, her programming not used to the phrasing and some glitches in the syllables showing through. "Please comply or I will use force to neutralise your immediate presence in this area."
One of those that had intercepted her also appraised her body, picking up on her words. He gestured towards her attire with his phaser, his blue-eyed gaze seeming quite paranoid. "You are one of us? Why are you clothed?"
Another one, broad-shouldered and dark-eyed, tilted his head and pinched his nose against the effect she spread in the room, he glanced around, having noted Regal's state before the doors closed. "You are Ash'reem right, and you seem pretty fine to me, so is it you who make us feel sick? Cease doing so right now or I stun you before ramming my cock into your snatch."
"Which... should be perfectly in order... if you are one of us," said the third, a woman whom despite her fifties now flaunted a perfectly toned and voluptuous body. "I say she must prove it. Stop making us feel sick and make us feel better instead. I am sure the gentelemen here have not tasted Ash'reem cunt before."
The dark-eyed spoke again. "Indeed, here," he said, and grabbed the base of his proudly erect member, "Bend forward and suck it. You there, take her from behind. I'll go second."
The indicated one was the paranoid blue-eyed from Security, and he promptly stepped around behind her - phaser to her back. Meanwhile, the middle-aged woman and Felicity waited, the former leering.
[Captain's Yacht]
When the stowaway revealed himself in the doorway to the yacht's bridge, Ida could not help the chuckle that escaped her lips.
"Oh, Mr. Isley... We really must stop seeing each other like this," she said to the Pinkskin, biting her lower lip a little while appraising him for the second time at gunpoint that day. She noted places of possibly hidden or tucked away weapons and the bulging pockets filled with the crude syringes she had been shown through Thea's eyes during the Staff Meeting, but most of all, she noticed the fine contours of his uniform, and remembered what he had looked without it - his body so appealing without even getting the fine benefits that their blessing held in store for him.
"Were you feeling lonely and decided to take up my offer after all? There was not too many left of you was it?" She took a step forward but remembered how he had tricked her last; how she had woken up with sexual frustration and a sore neck. She raised her phaser an inch again, remaining where she stood - the vista of space turning with the motion of the yacht. Her profession made itself known through the light haze of her primal hunger. "Step forward, away from the door frame, then turn around a full turn so that I can see what you have tucked behind the hem of your trousers. Then, you will put down and kick your weapons and all of your nasty little syringes to the right side of the bridge."
She could not help running her fingers over her breasts while she spoke, the complete control over the situation turning her on. Her fingers skimmed across her nipples and then down her flat abdomen - soon to be swelling with child - and into the folds of her sex. She stroked herself slowly as she continued her list of demands.
"Then... you will remove your clothing for me, one garment at the time, and I will let Mr. Lance here cuff your quick little hands behind your back. Only then will I be able to give you a proper welcome aboard..."
For the meantime, the Chief CONN Officer remained in the pilot-seat, and he spoke up while turning to look ThanIda's way. "There is a Valkyrie fighter inbound - one previously thought missing. Wolf 03, by he looks of it. If it's Ensign Carver still piloting it, the sensors say she is now trying to hail the Theurgy. She seems to try to access the ship logs too, but with the fighter MIA, her entry has been denied. Standard protocol for shuttles and such gone missing. She won't learn a thing. She will have no idea what is going on. You think we can still get her aboard and... thoroughly indoctrinated?"
Ida's smile reflected Lawrence's leer. "Has she hailed us yet?"
"No, but she is bound to unless we give her clearance so that she can land on the Theurgy. Several vessels are powering up in the Flight Hangar, so there plenty of people there to welcome her."
"Use your authorisation and link with flight command controls on the Theurgy. Give her landing clearance. Let her land whilst in he dark... and keep me informed about her actions."
"Will do."
"Now," said Ida and returned her attention to Mr. Isley, her fingers still siding along her wet azure petals, "where were we? Oh, yes, go ahead. Don't be so shy, its not like I have not seen you before without clothes, right?"
OOC: Regarding the scene by Edena's Quarters and the descent, where next WyteKnyte 1) settles the arrangements with David's POV and 2) might/might not react with Garen helping out with Jovela, and 3) gets the group into and down through the Jefferies tubes. Addendum: For sake of progress, I think Wyte can safely narrate the group moving as a whole in this post. As for T'Less question to Lucan, he will most definitely allow her by his side. ;) However, at any Deck you Wyte (or the writer taking up the scene at the end of Wyte's post depending on where he ends it) wish the group may not be able to continue in the tubes due to damage and have to leave them. My suggestion is Deck 11, where I have a few ideas...
Regarding the situation outside Niga's orbit, its pretty much at stake there. More vessels than the yacht is about to leave the Theurgy, and there are only two Tac/CONN officers out there to stop it; only one of which have a fighter. She, on the other hand, is in the dark unless she tries to make contact with the leaving yacht somehow...
"Authorization revoked. Unable to comply."
"Shit!" Skye spat and smacked herself in the forehead. "Should have known they'd do that with me missing. Fine, I'll do this this hard way." She was pissed with herself for letting her mind wander. The prospect of being with her crew had just taken hold of her and she realized again just how much she needed people, hated being alone. Yet the ship was quiet so was she still?
In her self-berating litany, she noted movement and saw the captain's yacht starting to leave the ship. No one had responded to her and yet that ship was leaving, the one she'd heard was used for all the fancy stuff. No doubt they had heard her hail and with everything that had happened of late, her blood ran cold with suspicion. "Computer ... shields," she growled.
They had to know she was there so without waiting, she hailed the vessel. "Captain's Yacht, this is Wolf-03. Please state the nature of your business."
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
He knew the sounds of the tools being used outside his door. His specialty might have been holographics, but he had also worked on many advanced forms of technology being implemented in starships for the Federation. He was well versed in the tools of the trade, and how quickly they could bypass his door. Why oh why didn't he carry a phaser? If he had to hazard a guess, he had probably left his personal one in his toolbox back in engineering. He would be defenseless against the advances of the infected, not even possessing enough upper body strength to fight off his aggressors. He might have been able to push away a female, but any average male would be stronger then him, and even a pair of females working together could have forced him down. His mother's side had fought so hard for their freedom in the occupation, yet he didn't possess a single shred of that kind of determination.
He was just thinking of escaping through the vent of his room when the door opened, revealing a pair of females and one male, all as naked as jaybirds. Their advancement was slow, causing Kae to back up against the wall, staying as opposite to them on the side of the room as possible, as he edged his way towards his bathroom. At the very least, he could seal that door too, and buy himself a few more minutes as their engineering tools cut into the panels again, and removed his last line of defense. "Thea, please! I don't want to end up like the people outside!" He called out to the Hologram, as he backed into his sonic shower and closed the door, huddling down to be as small as possible. "If it had to be anyone . . . I'd rather it be you, Thea . . . " he said weakly, showing just how far his preference for holograms over flesh and blood went.
[Captain's Yacht]
Wolf 03. He remembered that pilot. More importantly, she represented the last of his companions to remain uninfected. There was a need within Nathan to prevent her from suffering the same fate as everyone else. Call it a camaraderie between fellow pilots, but he didn't wish to see the woman reduced to something less then herself, as so many others had. Originally, Isley would have been satisfied with sabotaging the navigation, leaving the captain's Yacht dead in the water, but now he had to find some way of getting a message to Skye, to tell her to disable any fighters or shuttles leaving the Theurgy.
The only trouble was a pair of infected between him and the ship's controls, and a phaser aimed directly at him. Ida already had hers in hand, and her reflexes were undoubtedly fast enough to catch him before he could pull his out. He had only one chance, and it came from her order to drop all his weapons. He had to take his phaser in hand to drop it, giving him a split second extra timing to take aim and fire upon her before she could do the same. Before Lance could react, he just had to get a shot in on him too. There was a powerful amount of motivation in him, making him hope it was enough to drive him forward.
He complied with Ida's order to turn around, displaying his phaser tucked on his right side, just outside her view on the front. At the order to drop his weapons, he started by emptying his pockets of the cure, reminding himself to inject the two with the cure if he managed to stun them. Nathan was crouched to lower the syringes onto the floor, letting them roll away from him, watching for Ida to take her eyes off him, and observe where the syringes rolled away to. If she displayed a wavering eye, he would use that moment to grab his phaser and fire on her.
((OOC: holding off on posting for Edena until Wyte posts. I can advance the party to Deck Eleven afterward if he does not do so.))
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
The man amongst the unwelcome visitors was quite suddenly enraged over the acts of the young Engineer; extremely violent in how he now flung himself against the lavatory door. He actually managed to buckle it with his shoulder, snarling like a Doberman, while the women first cried out in surprise and then laughed fully at the spectacle. The curses and the rabid threats of the burly crewman was overridden by the static judgement of the emotionally void computer.
[Unable to comply...]
"...I will ram my cock so far up your arse you will shit cum for months!"
[The SAH has been deactivated because of malfunction...]
"Did you hear me? I will destroy your ungrateful ass, only afterwards will you be thankful!"
[Please contact your commanding officer for further information.]
The door burst open, the dreadful noise accompanied by the hoots of the women, and the large crewman of the NCO-ranks grinned from ear to ear as he approached the glass walls of the sonic shower. Inferior glass stood between the Lieutenant and the lower ranked yet physically dominant man - a thin shield of nothing separating the victim from the naked visage of the infected rapist. He had scars from an unsavoury life lived before enlisting in Starfleet, a square head and a receding hairline, a stocky frame that post-infection been completely rid of fat. A lean war-machine of a man set out to still his own particular sexual needs. His penis was as terrifying as his frame; made hard and tall and veined with ardent need. It touched the glass of the stall just has his calloused hands did, and he leered down at the cowering Engineer.
"Computer," said the rasping voice, thrumming against the glass, "activate the shower. I want to peel the clothes from his limbs." The sonic and wetting hum came right away, the mundane task completed without protest, much in evident contrast to the unheard pleas, and the possible chagrin of the victim. The two women arrived as well, pressing their breasts up against the glass, grinding their curvy frames against the slick surface while looking down on the Engineer. The fingered themselves, moaned and pleaded for him to undress and be blessed.
With a brutal yank, the stall door was torn open.
Behind the walls of the ship, an artificial intelligence was stunned to immobility. Might it be the calm before the storm, or was such mere wanton hope?
[Captain's Yacht]
Yet oh, Ida's eyes did not waver the slightest, for they were too trained upon his body to be distracted at this point.
"I want to see your Pinkskin bottom again," she said to the silent and ominous opposition, gesturing with the point of her phaser as she spoke her husky words, "so slowly turn around before you toss the phaser away. Common, hurry up, for I might just stun you first and let you drink my nectar in your sleep, just so that you'll wake up halfway out of this system with better ideas in your head. You should think me a kind woman to let you experience the first time fully... instead of treating you like the liability that you are. Move it, pilot, before I change my mind!"
There was a beep from the controls, and with a quick glance in Ida's direction, Lt. Lance played up the hail they had received.
[Captain's Yacht, this is Wolf-03. Please state the nature of your business.]
Ida frowned slightly, her fingers not stopping their minute movements between her legs. "Why couldn't she just have been a good girl and complied with her landing clearance? Lt. Lance, take up your rifle and make our stowaway strip himself of clothes and weapons. Make him do it with his back turned and bind his hands with the shoulder strap of your rifle. I will take the controls and have a word with Ms. Carver. Stun him if he makes any hasty movements, but do so anyway unless he has offered you his wrists within one minute's time."
When the Chief CONN Officer had plotted their course and taken her place with his rifle aimed at Mr. Isley, Ida pinched her accomplice's bottom with a small chuckle before seating herself by the controls. She pressed a button and cleared her throat a little. "Why won't you state the business of yours first?" she replied with a lop-sided smile - the grin almost plainly heard through the audio of the transmission. She was no going to have this conversation on screen given the ongoings behind her shoulder. "This is the Captain's Yacht, and the business is that of the Captain's."
Ida paused and leaned her head back and bit her lower lip, pinching one of her nipples while she thought. Perhaps something less strict... "If that is really you, Wolf-03," she said, pressing the button again, "then we warmly welcome you home. Your internal sensors will be able to see that this Yacht carries three lifeforms, whom are myself; Deputy Chief of Security ThanIda zh'Wann, our newly promoted Chief CONN Officer Lt. Lawrence O. Lance, and Captain Jien Ives. Please, would you now land your Valkyrie on the Theurgy for validation of your identity before we hand out information about our current mission? The people in the Flight Hangar will be able to tell you all about what is going on. Over."
Oh, they most certainly would give her a first-hand demonstration...
Putting the phaser down on the control panel, she indulged herself to idly masturbate in the pilot's chair while she waited for Mr. Isley to be served to her, or if the irksome fighter pilot had further arguments to make...
OOC: Searcher, I changed the hail to "Captain's Yacht" instead of "President's Yacht", and I hope that was ok given the name of the vessel. No worries on that in the larger sense quite small detail though. :) Oh, and at this point, the landing clearance ought to appear on her screen, appearing to have been sent from the Theurgy. The delay in the relayed message might/might not be Thea's doings...
Kuro, I leave this up to your imagination, but I do see an opening with the pilot having to use both hands to tie up the naked Mr. Isley, don't you? Look up the expression Dansk Skalle... Personally, I would find it interesting if that should happen after the wrists are tied rather than before, just to make the scene more fun. Up to you though!
"Why won't you state the business of yours first?" The sarcasm oozed and she could just imagine the shit eating grin on the person's face. Instantly she felt the desire to punch the shit out of that face. "Excuse me?" she said off the comm, incredulity and offense wrapped around the words. She hadn't been on board that long but the slinky blue woman had never acted like that in front of her.
Ida's response had not been standard protocol but neither was anything at the moment. Since there were obviously people on board, her hail should have been answered immediately and an escort sent to bring her into the hanger in addition to the security and medical detail waiting there. Even without the flippant comment, she would not have just cruised right into the docking bay without a second thought.
The beep of an incoming transmission sounded and she looked down, eyebrow raising in curiosity. She was suddenly granted clearance to land from the Theurgy but only via text. No one was on the view screen to at least get a visual of her, to see if it even really looked like Skye. It was definitely another red flag poking the pilot in the gut. Yeah, she wasn't going to blindly comply in this case.
"Ma'am, right now I'm looking at a crippled Theurgy that I thought was a ghost ship since no one would answer my hail until literally just a moment ago and there are signs all over the place that something isn't right. Pardon me for being skeptical but before I go into who knows what, I respectfully request to see the captain on the view screen and take my orders directly from him."
Skye knew she'd be taken to task for that later but their next move would tell their true intentions. With the comm off to wait for Ida's response, she glared at the small vessel and made a quick decision. "Computer ... reroute all systems including the RIO to my station." She didn't want to destroy the yacht, especially if the captain was there, but she would disable it with the tetryon cannon if necessary.
((OOC: I honestly do not know where my brain got president rather than captain ... chalk it up to a brain fart I guess. :P So sorry! Please don't ever worry about correcting me and I edited my previous post to make that correction.))
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
He was cornered and defenseless, and his aggressors knew it. They didn't have to rush with him any longer. They could play cruel, taunting games with him, such as activating his sonic shower and letting the intense settings do their harm. His uniform soaked against his skin, getting hot under the shower's use, begging him to peel it off before the steam literally cooked him inside his clothes. As much as he hated it, he had no choice, and began pulling off outer layers of clothes, starting with his jacket and shirt, before moving onto his pants. Within moments, he was left in only the standard issue boxer briefs worn with the uniform, the last thing that really separated him from the sex-driven animals outside his shower door.
Thea wouldn't help him. As much as he called out to her, she wasn't answering. It was like a punch in the stomach from her, for him to be left abandoned to his fate, when he was only caught because of helping her. He could have remained hidden in his quarters, laying low so they never realized he was uninfected, but when he saw Thea hacked as she was, he couldn't stand idle. His efforts were a red flag that sent the infected to his door.
The heat was already beginning to get to him. Maybe it was a good thing, he could be rendered unconscious by heat stroke, and not be awake when the savages finally attacked. Sadly, even that was too much to ask for, as the male ripped the door from it's hinges, releasing the steam built up inside, and smacking Kae is the face with a breath of cold air. When they had their way, he would no longer be a being ruled by rational thought. The next words he spoke could be the last ones truly his own.
"Don't die, Thea."
[Captain's Yacht]
It felt like another defeat, as Ida's eyes didn't waver in the slightest. She never looked away from him, too enamored in his body to register the syringes that rolled along the floor. How he wished they were grenades, that she might pay for such an oversight, yet she had actually chosen the right way of stopping his plan. As she called forward the lieutenant, he had to release his hold on his weapon to tie the hands of Nathan, and finally, he found a means of gaining an inch against Ida and her companion. Risky, but it was his best bet of reaching the console and warning Wold 03 of the danger aboard the Theurgy. If she were to be convinced to board the vessel, how many would be waiting for her in the Hanger bay? How long would she be gang banged before she started to like it, like so many others had turned?
Isley discarded his phaser to the ground and held out his wrists, allowing Lance to tie them up. "No funny thoughts. I don't swing that way," he told the man, as his wrists were joined and secured by the weapon strap of the rifle now resting on the nearest solid surface. Nathan had lined himself up so that Lance was between himself and Ida, and when his guard was lowered, he whipped his head forward, striking it against that of the human. Even Nathan's neck moved with greater force, thanks to his superior genetics, and was enough to render the lieutenant dazed, while Isley grabbed his neck with his bound hands, pushing him forward towards Ida, using him as a human shield against her phaser. Once he was close enough, he thrust Lance forward, tossing him at Ida, and using his restrained hands to form a joined fist which he flailed like a hammer at the woman's temple, looking to render her unconscious before doing the same to her partner.
((OOC: Dansk Skalle = Head Butt lol. Hope the post did okay. I left whether Ida was knocked out or not up to you, so I hope I didn't overstep with my Isley post.))
OOC: No worries about losing track of Grayson, kurohigi. These things happen.
[Deck 02 - Corridor]
Grayson's gaze briefly flickered away from Edena and towards Nelis and Nicander, watching the two as they carried Jovela's unconscious form into Edena's quarters. He hoped that the nurse would recover from her injuries, but he was glad that none of the group had insisted that they try to carry Jovela. All she would have done at this point was slow the rest of them down. They needed to get to Deck Sixteen as quickly as possible.
Still, he hadn't stopped listening to Edena, and when she finished speaking he faced her again. He looked Rez over with icy blue eyes, wondering if any of them should really be trusting her. David had an instinctive dislike for Starfleet Intelligence and their ilk, not approving of the often devious and underhanded methods they--and other such agencies--employed in order to accomplish their goals. But he also recognized that at this moment, with nearly the entire crew infected by this virus, he could ill afford to turn aside any help, no matter whom it came from.
"Of course, Lieutenant Commander Rez," he conceded with a short nod. "We'll need you if we're going to put an end to this. Lead the way, and I'll make sure nobody sneaks up behind us." He shouldered his phaser rifle and waited for the rest of the group to finish preparing themselves.
Garen glanced briefly back into Edena's quarters before the door was shut and locked. He hoped Jovela would be alright. Her wounds looked treatable enough, but with everything that was happening right now it could be quite a while before Lucan or someone else could take care of her. Part of Garen felt guilty that the nurse had gotten hurt. After the night they shared on Niga, he felt a sort of responsibility for her. But when he saw Thea turn that phaser on them, his first instinct had been to push T'Less out of the way instead. He still wasn't sure what to make of that.
Better to put it out of your mind and worry about it later, Garen told himself. You've got bigger problems right now.
He took a hand phaser from one of the dead security guards, staring down at the bloodstained weapon for a long moment. Memories of AR-558 suddenly came rushing back to him, the sounds of men and women screaming in pain, the light of phasers firing back and forth across the stony corridors, a horde of roaring Jem'Hadar soldiers charging straight at him....
He gasped as his mind suddenly snapped itself back to reality. Shaking his head, he walked over to Grayson and offered him the phaser. "Here. I...don't think I'd be much use with one of these," he said quietly.
David looked at the counselor for a long moment. He was familiar with Garen's profile; no doubt the sight of those men being butchered right in front of them all had triggered some sort of post-traumatic flashbacks for Nelis. He studied the Betazoid carefully, halfway tempted to just take the phaser and stun the man lest his issues put the rest of them in danger. Finally he nodded and took the phaser, clipping it to his hip. "Alright, let's get moving," he told the others. "Doctor Nicander, please remain between the four of us, as Lieutenant Commander Rez requested. We can't afford to lose you." He offered Edena another brief nod, and the small group made their way to the nearest Jefferies tube. Once the others were in, David turned and double-checked that no one else had followed them, then ducked inside the tube after the others.
Edena led them through the tubes as quickly as possible, but one could only travel so quickly through such a confined space. Carefully they proceeded through the innards of the ship, occasionally hearing the moans and cries of the infected crew as they continued their orgiastic frenzy. They were fortunate enough to not come across any trouble through most of their journey; that is, until they arrived at Deck Eleven.
"Damn," Garen muttered from near the front of the pack, behind Edena.
"What is it?" David called ahead.
"The route down to Deck Twelve is blocked, sir!" Garen replied. "There's damage and debris all over the place!"
Grayson swore under his breath. Of course it couldn't be easy. "Then I guess we'll have to get out here and find another way down. Lieutenant Commander Rez, would you mind?"
Natalie kept looking around, up to the left, down the right, trying to take in everything, without much luck, in the much too dark gym. There, at least, her eyes were useless, and frankly, it did nothing to help combat the lingering effects of whatever it was she had taken too much of a whiff of earlier. It was staying there, curling inside, like a voice whispering just out of hearing range: she knew something was being said, but couldn't hear it. That kind of sensation, an itch that couldn't be scratched, crawling down her spine. Less of an issue was the mild headache; with the adrenaline pumping in the young woman's system, she barely felt the pain.
She doesn't answer the two Ash'rem, not at first, until they are actually out of the darkened room, one floor down, and she can see again, even if the light is only the dim glow of the emergency lights. "I...a plan" she mutters, checking the small console, as the group heads on, letting those with the better hearing lead the way, whispering, "not much of one. Get to the transporters. SHoot anything that's naked in the way," her hands tremble at the tough, but somehow she ended up a senior officer, and that meant trying to act like one, as she checks the charge left on her phaser.
"Once we get to transporter room on Deck 05...well, from there, bar the door, after clearing it out. I'm sure someone is near it. A lot of the infected are...eager, but not completely stupid either," its the most she's said since this whole thing started. "either way, we get in there, we lock it down, and we beam the other team there. once we get them in the room, we can transport them to wherever it is they need to get. I guess Lt. Cmdr Rez can take it from there." so that i won't have to she silently adds, taking a deep breath.
Up ahead, the doors part, and a pair of infected turn, hand in hand, and nearly skip down the corridor. Thankfully, they turn away from the others, down a side corridor. The path ahead to the next jefferies junction seems clear, so Natalie motions the others forward. Down, down they go, the ops officer first, to unlock the doors ahead, pausing in the cramped, confined tubes to pick out the entrance nearest the Transporter room on deck 05. "This will take a bit..." she mutters, tracing out a route, slowly, from the map on the console in her hand, not trusting any of the computer panel walls in the tube it self. "This way..."
OCC: had more, the computer restarted while I was away. This is what I can remember from what was lost.
[Deck 11 | Cargo Bay areas]
Oh, Lucan was not the least inclined to waver from his spot in the middle of the group during the descent. No, he was quite comfortable to have four people be his meat-shields should a group of infected accost them in the tight an sweltering confines of the Jefferies tubes.
Indeed, by then, the entire ship was drawing power to their broken environmental systems to simulate the tropical heat of the planet below. The humidity was worst, rendering their hair and clothes plastered to them like a second layer of damp skin. Had the environmental support systems been fully operational, it would have been even worse, but the effect - energy-consuming as it was - was quite considerate. His throat parched and his uniform jacket tossed four decks up, Lucan finally took the opportunity to hike up his sleeves and unzip the whole front of his teal undershirt while Garen spoke with the CSec. With the temperature and humidity being what it was, the partial uncovering of his bare chest and abdomen helped next to nothing at all, yet with his hereditary preferences to be barefoot and bare-chested on Câroon it was rather a psychological relief than a physical one.
With nowhere else to go but out of the relative safety of the tubes, the former SI-agent led them out into a corridor dimly lit by emergency lights along the roof and flooring. Lucan watched their old counterfeit 'Counsellor' as she led the way, wondering how much the spy knew about their situation that she did not tell them. Perhaps it was his paranoia that questioned the likelihood that the SI-agent still wasn't following a hidden agenda - acting in the best interest of ulterior motives. Then again, such was the commonplace reaction in a situation like this: the analysis of an appointed leader whom had a less than stellar track record with the people she led. Such a stupid and narrow-minded feeling of distrust, Lucan thought, catching himself sharing the feelings of the common rabble around him.
Then again, are the present company such mundane creatures after all? he thought, his tattooed hands sweaty in their firm grip around the phasers he held, and his pale grey eyes wandered to more than the new surroundings they were in. While Rez picked a path from the three they could choose from in the intersection, Lucan briefly studied T'Less profile beside himself - this Vulcan lacking the classical emotional restraints and that had so recently been found to have extraordinary Tactical talents so rare that they made their Captain promote her to Chief Tactical Officer. Lucan knew next to nothing about battle tactics, but more about social strategies and cunning manipulation of his surroundings - all of which he never let on to anybody lest his impeccable image would be ruined. Perhaps even he had hidden talents like the Vulcan did, and he would take a Command position one day? Little could he help briefly eyeing the accentuated form of her body before his gaze wandered on...
Garen Nelis, his colleague in the Medical Department, did seem quite taken with what was going on - the fate of Jovela adding another straw to the bonfire. Lucan wondered idly how little or how much it would take to make it ignite, praying that when it did, it would not endanger him like many others - this because of his species immunity to Betazoid abilities.
Last of the five was the Chief of Security, this liability to Lucan's schemes whom had risen out of the common rabble from the night shift of the Theurgy in order to claim the Department Head position right under the nose of the current Deputy. Oh, ThanIda zh'Wann was someone Lucan believed he could have neutralised with a few right words and some quality time on the holodeck before all of the recent weeks had happened, but now, he was unsure what to do about this enigma: this David Grayson that he had yet to get properly acquainted with. Oh, Lucan would spend some quality time with him too, as needed, yet he doubted the man was the kind to fancy male attentions. Dr. Nicander, however, would stoop to far more taboo things than that to see things through...
So, five they were, armed with phasers and syringes and the last shreds of hope to resolve the crisis aboard. How bloody novel.
"I'm normally not inclined to state the obvious," said Lucan with a bitter smile, a droplet of fresh sweat trailing down the centre of his chest and his stomach, "yet I draw the connection that the rise of temperature is important for the survival of the infected crew's new metabolism, and should I venture to guess, also the cultivation of the plants that started this outbreak. I would not be surprised if the Garden of Eden that Ida mentioned over the intercom is exactly that: the total collection of the plants that they managed to beam up from Niga before the Captain removed all Transport authorisation aboard."
He took another breath, feeling his opened undershirt cling wetly to his back and sides. "Furthermore... given the heat... and I am sorry for being the one to say it, but considering what is at stake for us all, perhaps we at least ought to consider the tactical advantages of trying to... blend in the currently dominating dress code aboard?"
Lucan suspected the others would be awkward about it, but it was a means that they needed to consider at this point that they had to move about in the open areas.
OOC: This is what I had time for tonight, being that is 2 a.m. here now. I figure it might be fun to have this this decision made (regardless of outcome) before it all goes down. ;)
[Deck 11]
It wasn't that Edena hated jefferies tubes. She wasn't claustrophobic, and had little trouble crawling on hands and knees through the various crawlspaces as they worked their way down, floor by floor, toward their destination. What she hated was being in the lead when using the tubes with others. It was an awkward situation, with her well fitting Starfleet uniform showing off the curvature of her hips and rear, which had only become more pronounced by the lingering effects of the cured infection. She didn't look back, in order to find out who it was that was getting a direct look at her ass as they crawled. It could have been Lucan or Garen, but she hoped by not looking that it might have been T'Less. Yes, a fellow female with no thoughts of sexuality was much more of an appealing thought for the self-conscious woman.
The block on deck twelve prevented their advancement, as Edena was left to recall her mental map of the ship. "There is another set of tubes," she stopped to wipe some sweat from her brow, and unzip her jacket to release some of the heat building up. She could practically feel her skin steaming under the humid conditions the infected had placed the ship in. "There's another set of tubes on the far side of this deck. If we can reach those, we can continue further downward. If Doctor Nicander is correct, and they have beamed the plants on-board, then the cargo bay is a likely location."
As much as she hated to say it, he was also right about their choice of dress. Not just the heat, but the need to blend in with others was an issue, but it did come with it's own host of problems. "We'll have no means of carrying our phasers and syringes other then by hand. That won't be anywhere near enough to cure anyone we might come across." She had to play devil's advocate to Lucan's suggestion, out of that self-conscious desire to not be undressed in front of everyone, especially if they were going to continue crawling through the jefferies tubes. As much as the shape of her rear end being visible was embarrassing, the idea of her naked ass directly in someone's face was even worse.
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
There was no toying with the young-looking Engineer at this point. No, the brutal crewman stepped into the steam of the sonic shower and yanked Lin Kae to his feet - only to turn him around and slam him up against one of the glass walls. One of the women was on the other side of the thin transparent screen - her proximity made intimately know by how she licked and rubbed herself against the glass. Her mouth was only a half a centimetre away from the Engineer's, her breasts pushed up against his chest. Her tongue came out to lick the glass where Kae's face was.
Behind the victim, the crewman remorselessly peeled down the sodden undergarments that covered the virgin arse - calloused fingers grabbing a cheek briefly after the boxers were reduced to a wet and twisted rope around the knees. "Such a nice one," rasped the infected into Kae's ear, extending his tongue to lick it once before grabbing the base of his own cock - sliding the pre-cum-coated head along the tight crack. He groaned in anticipation, just like the women did. The two women abided their time masturbating and goading on the two men in the shower stall, for they knew that once the Engineer had been inseminated, it would only take a single orgasm in order for their blessing to fully fill the Engineer's head. And unless Lin Kae came when being fucked in the arse by the crewman, they would quite happily provide that pivotal orgasm at that point.
In the final moments, the crewman yanked at Kae's hips to make him stand more bent over. He even ran one brawny arm underneath the victim's right leg - spreading him further and forcing Kae to support his own weight on the other leg and with two hands slapped against the glass wall. With a held breath, the crewman grunted and pressed his cock against Kae's tight sphincter...
Yet the forward movement was blocked, and the crewman found himself crashing through a rain of brilliant glass.
It was the moment, where fate turned in a completely new direction.
The future unravelled and formed to something entirely else. Thea did not dare even breathe, for the moment of her intervention was so fragile to her that it would shatter by the faintest sigh. To her, the fabric of reality itself shifted in the rain of glass, and then time - finally - seized the scene. Everything came alive in movement again after she had acted out of her own choice. The thud of skull and meat joined with the breaking noise of glass, and deafened her where she stood - tall and resolute in swirling steam.
Her body coated with the mesh of her black body suit, she glared at the two startled and retreating women. "Get away from him." She needn't ask them twice.
In seconds, she was alone with Lin Kae - the unconscious and bleeding crewman splayed out in the pile of glass shards. She turned her head to the Engineer and said nothing at first - her brown eyes looking down into his. To her, the state of his unclothed appearance and the possibility of lingering shock was irrelevant compared to what she had done. Or rather, what Lin Kae had enabled her to do. In the end of that long look that she gave him, she extended her gloved hand to him - to help him stand.
"What you have done is two-sided in merits and hazards," she told him quietly, her face framed by swirling steam and her voice echoing in the bare room. "My freedom of choice can disable my effectiveness as much as it can enhance my development. With no strings attached, how can I be trusted by the crew any more? I am not sure whether I should thank you or not at this point, Lieutenant Lin Kae."
[The Captain's Yacht]
With two fingers sliding in and out of her wet sex - one foot on the edge of the control panel - Ida groaned in irritation when the transmission from Wolf-03 came through.
[...I respectfully request to see the captain on the view screen and take my orders directly from him.]
"Why you little cunt, I will..." she murmured hoarsely, and though her temper flared, she was not pressing the transmission button. Yet she bared her teeth and leaned forward - fingers rubbing he temples as she tried to come up with the best solution to the situation. Her likeminded were about to depart the Theurgy, and they might be facing Wolf-03 as either a inactive observant or a very real threat. She wondered if the best solution might be for Lt. Lance - as the Chief CONN Officer and a damn good pilot - somehow swat her from the spatial sky with the considerate armament of their vessel. Yet even as she was thinking this, her antennae came up at the sound of a meaty thud behind her, and she whipped her head around.
Mr. Isley was driving the disoriented Lance towards her quickly - her likeminded evidently a good pilot yet an utterly poor Security Officer. Indeed, their captive fighter pilot seemed neither back-bound nor naked as she had requested, but rather not captive at all any more. She instantly got to her feet and grabbed for her phaser with both hands, her slick fingers slipping over the weapon and jarring the settings before she got it up between herself and the hurled body of the CONN Officer. Three rapid bursts went off - cutting like hellfire into the naked man before she got his dead weight over herself - wedging her between him and the controls. Lance was screaming, not stunned at all, and on the view-screen behind Ida's head appeared the colossal image of Ensign Skye Carver's black visor and helmet.
A stroke of chance had made the commotion enable the video-feed between the vessels.
The feed was - in return - showing how Mr. Isley tried to strike out Ida where she lay pinned. The naked Andorian, however, had gotten her foot up and pushed Lance back towards Isley - intercepting the blow and making it thud into the padded pilot's chair. Lance was a disjointed, screaming rag-doll with three close-range phaser wounds having opened him up right through - the stench of burned flesh and spilling ichor dominating the front of the Yacht's bridge. After Isley had been pushed back, however, Lieutenant Lance fell silent upon the floor - effectively trapping Ida's phaser underneath his weight. She had lost it in the blow she took, and the sight of Lance - mind infected or not - had made her pause in minute horror.
In rage - whether with herself or with Isley was hard to know even for herself - she screamed and bared her teeth at him, coming for him. She had at him with balled fists and her entire Imperial Guard training backing her up as she meant to strike him off his feet. "Computer!" She swung two right hooks and then a left one, then coming low with a sweeping kick to to the edge of his rib-cage. "Attack the Valkyrie fighter! Phasers, torpedoes, everything we've got! Attack pattern Alpha!"
[Target acquired. Initiating battle sequence.]
Oh, she would lay Mr. Isley out on the floor and ram herself down on his cock eventually. It all boiled down to how able he would be to resist her smell... the scent of her body and her wet sex while they exchanged blows. Somewhere below the bone-deep need for sex lay the horror of what had happened to Lance, but it was inferior to the sex-crazed rage that had seized her and demanded and outlet.
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
As he was grabbed and stripped of the last piece of clothing he had, Kae let his mind leave his body. He didn't want to be present for what was about to occur. Vision blurred and sounds became muffled, as he simply tried to get lost in his own brain, thinking back on the years he spent isolated from other organics. Funny that he had spent the first fourteen years of his life safeguarded against all forms of infection, no matter how minute, and now he was being faced with one of the worst forms of infection ever found by the Federation.
He could feel it, knew it was going to happen. He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes as tightly as they could go and then . . . nothing. He was freed from the hold of the crewman, and he could feel his legs give out. Get away from him, he heard, a familiar voice comforting his mind enough to open his eyes to the sight of Thea, standing before him while the infected females retreated. Even in their current state, they still had a sense of self-preservation, it seemed.
"Thea," he spoke her name, as she helped him back to his feet. The fact that he was naked wasn't even a thought that crossed his mind. He was finally meeting her, face to face. Thea, living soul of the Theurgy, one of the most advanced Federation holographic lifeforms to ever exist, save for the Voyager EMH. She spoke of how he had placed a double edged sword upon her, but he could only shake his head.
"You deserve freedom to choose your path, Thea. Just because you aren't forced to do something by your programming doesn't mean you can't be trusted. Honestly, in this situation, you're the most trustworthy person there is." He called her a person, something others might have found unusual. "You can't be infected, and now you can't be reprogrammed by the infected. All of Starfleet and the Federation's ideals are still inside you. The only difference is that when you uphold them, you do it like everyone else on this crew. Because you believe in it, not because some subroutine in your holographic matrix says you have to."
[Captain's Yacht]
Nathan made quick note of the wounds on Lance's back. Her weapon wasn't set to stun to make injuries like those, which must have meant that the remaining uninfected on-board were being viewed as expendable if they provided too much resistance. Things were escalating, and it was all the motive Isley needed to make things go as quickly as possible. Lance's body pinned her phaser down, leaving the two to fight in unarmed combat. He was physically superior to humans, thanks to his half-Vulcan legacy, but with tied hands, his ability to fight was reduced. Andorians were known to have a higher metabolic rate then humans, which meant they would wear out faster then one in combat, but Ida was no ordinary Andorian. She was well trained to make every attack she performed count. One could only hope she exhausted herself a bit with all the sexual contact she had been having, leaving her physically weaker as a result.
Her boxing style blows were met with a boxing style defense, as his bound hands allowed him to guard his face and the center line of his body with relative ease. What he couldn't stop completely, however, was her sweeping kick, which struck against his ribs in a painful impact. He only hoped his solid forearms had done some damage to her hands in payback for the blow.
"Wolf-03!" He called out, taking advantage of the open com channel to apprise the pilot of the current situation. "Crew infected by communicable virus. Do not allow any shuttles or fighters to leave the system!" If she could disable the spacecrafts flying away from the Theurgy, she could potentially save the entire quadrant from the infection. That had to be the highest priority for the two pilots, with Isley needing to defeat Ida and administer one of the cure syringes on the floor of the Yacht's bridge. Once he had done so, he could turn his attention to piloting the Yacht and assisting with the containment.
"Computer! Attack the Valkyrie fighter! Phasers, torpedoes, everything we've got! Attack pattern Alpha!"
[Target acquired. Initiating battle sequence.]
There are times when you want to do a happy dance saying "I was right! I was right!" and then there are times you just cringe and wish like hell you hadn't been right. That second was what Skye was feeling when suddenly the view screen showed a naked Ida shoving off a screaming naked man and then instructing the shuttle to attack Kestrel. "Fuck!" she said spat, wondering what the hell was going on there. Then the only sensible thing she'd heard in a long time came from Isley, thankfully (or perhaps not so thankfully) clothed and fighting with bound hands. He was a superior officer, apparently of sound mind, giving her a sensible order.
"Acknowledged, Sir," she said immediately and then "Kick her blue twat to hell and back. Computer end transmissions ... Initiate evasive maneuvers Gamma-Upsilon," she commanded her ship knowing it would easily dodge the standard Alpha attack and allow her to turn back to the Theurgy. The ship's shields appeared to be down but she knew she'd have to be fast or they'd snap up and she'd be dead. Banking hard left, she headed straight for the hangar where the other Valkyries would exit. "Come on ...." she muttered to herself as she targeted the main points of the doors and fired.
The ship was already limping along and it wouldn't take much to repair the hangar doors she told herself though still felt guilty. Her main purpose was to keep the other Valkyries from launching and blowing her to bits. If she were successful, she would continue to evade the captains yacht and do the same to the shuttle bay doors. If she were lucky, there wouldn't be enough crew able to engage her. If there were, more of her family would die and maybe even herself. She couldn't dwell on that though and cleared her mind of everything except the mission, to not let any other vessels leave the main ship.
[Deck 04 | Stellar Cartography]
The fight upon the board-walk that had ensued was only part physical, since the mental struggle to not surrender was the hardest part for the Theurgy's Commanding Officer.
Hurt as she was, Captain Jien Ives was ceaselessly pelted with the waves of pheromones and sub-concious telepathy that Nolak Kalmil emitted, and she moaned as much in exertion with each blow she sent against them as she moaned with the need to copulate. To and fro she considered her uniform not needed at all, making concious excuses to remove it due to the humidity and sweltering heat while her brain was actually preparing her to accept the conditions of her opponents. While actually, at a thought-level that Jien did not possess, it was Nolak whom prepared her, whom goaded her on with sub-concious telepathy she could not detect. Nerina, on her part, was half Klingon and a brutally hard fighter to break despite her younger age. Nolak, though a Starfleet-trained fighter, was tougher in another way since the close proximity to him made her just want to spread her legs and hold on to the railing of the board-walk - accepting what she was made to think inevitable.
She tried then and again to shift her form to her male one for better range, but after Nerina at one point managed to grab her male form's oaken arousal and rubbed it firmly with her fingers, Jien decided that it was a greater hazard to be in that form considering the great difficulty with which she had gotten out of that individual predicament. All three of them were covered in sweat, their bodies connecting with feet, elbows, open hands and knuckles. The lights of the damaged chamber made movements hard to discern, with Jien's eyes having to adapt between the dark gloom and the sudden flashes from the torn cables. She had lost count how many times she had ended up on her back with either of the two on top of her, and how often she had torn her lips away from being kissed. Her morphogenic matrix needed rest, having compensated for the fall from the Upper Gymnasium, and the lasting fight she was in. Inch by inch, her guard was dropping, and her hope for sanity dying.
Bleeding from the corner of her mouth, Jien lashed out against Nerina with a series of punches. The half-blood Klingon got hit twice and fell back with a hand on the railing. Jien pursued in order to finally strike the XO out with a blow to the temple, yet the forward momentum was lost with the hand that covered her face from behind - two wet fingers pressed between her lips and teeth. Nolak's hand. Nolak's saliva. The Chief Engineer had licked his fingers and rubbed them against her tongue before shoving her away.
The effect detonated in her mind - washing away all manner of thoughts about her current situation with its sheer puissance. The rush of blood in her ears overrode the deafening hiss of the damaged chamber and lust smote her mind into supplication. This was no longer the pheromones, scent or telepathy, but the actual kiss of insanity from Niga. Jien splayed herself on her knees, hands pressed to the metal board-walk... before she realised that it was Nolak who had made her do it. The suggestion to bend over and arc her back for him had not been her own, yet she had obeyed instantly. The Deltan was already upon her - his cock hard as it slid against her inner thigh and his hands rough as they cupped her aching breasts.
"No! Never!" she cried and tried to come free, yet her mind said, Yes, do it! Take me now! Still she persevered, for in the last moment, she whipped her fist backwards with her whole weight behind the backhand blow. It caught Nolak over the jaw and made his head rebound against the metal railing of the board-walk. The Deltan was down momentarily, and Jien had to swallow a couple of times and get a grip on her body before she could try and stand up... Yet what choice did she have? She got up on her knees again - braving the situation best she might.
Too late.
Nerina threw herself upon Jien's back before she could get her feet underneath herself. The Captain snarled, caught sitting there, and tried to pry the strong hands around her waist loose or drive an elbow into her assailant's face. Flailing hands and grappling followed, Nerina's legs hooking around Jien's waist as well. The heat of their bodies was the same, and weakened and damaged as she was, Jien's breaths came in shallow hoarse gasps. The XO got a lock on her arms - hands clasped behind Jien's head, and despite how fiercely she tried, Jien could not twist herself loose. It was no small task of the XO to manage to spread Jien's legs with her own - pulling back hard to make Jien lean back against the pillows of her breasts.
The first real panic came when Jien lifted her eyes to see the Deltan standing tall before her. It was a panic mixed with anticipation, and she hated herself for it. His cock came into light. His thick, meaty cock that swelled even larger as she stared at it in sickly mixed horror and need. "Get away from me," she said, her gaze fixed upon the stiff organ that dangled obscenely there between the Chief Engineer's legs as he advanced another step towards her. Resolutely, Jien turned her head away when it came close to her lips, even if she licked her lips in preparation to accept it - which made her snarl even more. "Let me go!"
"Relax," Nerina murmured into her Captain's ear. "He's not going to hurt you. In fact, he's going to make you feel good... better than you've ever felt before." Her legs spread Jien's a bit further with an ease that Jien did not like at all. "You want to feel good, don't you?"
Like a predator, Nolak crouched down before Jien. I can't let this happen... His dark eyes seemed to gleam with animalistic hunger as his gaze roamed over her body, and she could tell that he liked what he saw. Jien shivered, knowing full well what he meant to do. This is insane... I have to put a stop to this. His bald head sank down between her spread thighs. I have to... think of something... She felt his tongue begin to probe her damp pussy, patiently lapping her labia. I have to... think... His tongue soon became more adventurous, swirling and swiveling its way into her groin. I have to... With a loud moan, Jien signalled another concession to the lust that was swelling within her. She even relaxed a bit in Nerina's firm embrace.
"He's eating you," said the First Officer, whispering the words into her Captain's ear. "There's no turning back now." Jien moaned again in part refusal as the oral serpent slithered up and down her moist slit. Nerina kept whispering soothingly, "Yeah, that's it... let him get you nice and wet. He's getting you ready for his big, hard cock." She licked Jien's ear, whom was panting harder now, deep forceul breaths, quickly succumbing to the words in her ear and the face between her thighs. She knew she was in dire straits and had to lash out somehow, but that tongue and the Deltan telepathy was overriding her rational thought. Every time she thought about trying to get away, or shift to her other form, anything, she would feel another hot wet stab at her clit, making her shudder with unwanted delight. His tongue seemed to know exactly what to do to her - where to touch, when to push, how fast to lick. No, he was telling her mind she wanted it just so. Regardless, he was driving her mad, and she knew it wouldn't take much longer before she surrendered to her two assailants completely. She already found herself longing for Nolak's cock, wanting to feel its thick length burrowing inside her, pumping her full of stiff male meat.
Nerina kept licking Jien's neck. "I don't hear you complaining anymore," she said, breathing hotly into her commanding officer's ear. "Do you still want us to go away?" Jien moaned gutturally in reply, spreading her legs a little wider for the face between them. "No, I didn't think so." She broke the lock on Jien's arms in order to rub her naked breasts and nipples from behind. "You're going to enjoy becoming one of us."
Jien gasped as Nolak's tongue flicked her throbbing clit, almost throwing her over the edge. But then the licking stopped, and she opened her eyes to see him manoeuvring his waist between her thighs. She had one returning moment of clarity, in which she again realised the danger of her situation. She tried to struggle free, but Nerina held her fast in a surprisingly strong embrace, her wet tits dribbling milk down Jien's bare back. "You can't fight us, Captain," said Nerina, mouthing the words into Jien's neck as she sucked her flesh. Jien watched in fear-filled fascination as Nolak's massive cock drew closer and closer to her wide open crotch. There was no way to stop him - and she wasn't even sure that she really wanted to stop him. She whimpered when she felt its first touch, the hard warm flesh grazing against her moist vulva. The thick organ slid up and down her tender slit, smearing its bulbous pink tip in the preparatory juice that her own pussy had provided. Then it began to poke inside her - tentatively at first, then its rigid length was soon pushing its way past her sex lips and into her vagina, flooding her senses with indescribable sensations as it parted her inner walls. Rapture ossified Jien, and she threw her head back with a hoarse gasp as the hard cock continued to penetrate her, sliding deeper and deeper toward her undefended love channel.
"Mmmm, I bet that feels good," Nerina purred, watching the penis sink all the way into her Captain's groin. And it was. Jien felt as though her mind was boiling with lust. Each time that magnificent cock plunged inside her steamy crevice, she took one step closer to utter surrender. She quickly become addicted to the pleasure of having her pussy filled, and the addiction only grew worse and worse with every meaty thrust. She wanted him to fuck her harder, faster. She wanted to tell him so, but all she could manage was a ragged moan. But the Chief Engineer seemed to understand. He was a Deltan, and he knew exactly what to do to a horny female. His thick cock surged into her sopping cunt, pumping her full of the stiff, hard meat that she now craved so desperately. Nerina giggled obscenely as she watched Jien getting fucked. Both women looked at Nolak, who grunted like an animal as he shoved his rigid manhood into his Captain.
No, he is about to... Mindless panic came through with Jien Ives' final lucid moment, and she cried out - twisting and throwing herself sideways. Yet Nolak was already coming inside her, the molten feeling of hot lava spreading inside her slippery grotto. She cried out and kicked once, twice, and by the third time, Nolak was stumbling backwards along the board-walk - still cumming out of his twitching organ. When he fell, he fell upon the broken computer terminal in the centre of the chamber with his hands raised to righten himself. Neither of them expected the detonation - the blinding light.
Yet the touch had triggered a detonation that sent Nolak, smoking and burning, over the railing. He was likely dead before the impact with the flooring far below.
"What.. What happe-" said Nerina, disoriented and amused, but she was cut short by being yanked to her feet.
Jien Ives, now suddely in his male form, pressed Nerina up against the railing and kissed her savagely - hands stroking his XO's slick body with complete abandon. Nerina had let out a surprised yelp, but welcomed her Captain's cock with spread legs hungry mouth - Jien sheathing himself fully inside her in mere moments. It as too late now, and just as little as Nerina did, he did not care one whit what had happened to Nolak Kalmil. All that mattered was the absolute and utter urge to finish what the Chief Engineer had started yet failed to complete. Jien ground himself hard into his First Officer, nipped and sucked at her breasts, all the while holding her up and suspending her upon the railing of the board-walk. Her body was weightless in his hard hands, and his thrusts made the railing groan and creak. He did not care. He did not care about Nerina's enjoyment either. He just needed to spend himself inside her - to finally let go.
And that he did, crying out as the virus imbalanced his braincells. He came long and hard and Nerina came with him, throwing her head back in the frenzy of their joining. Though Jien's head rolled as the aftermath glory rushed through his body, and his hands immediately lost its hold.
Nerina cried out, unsupported as she was leaning out from the railing, and without Jien's firm hands, it gave away underneath her with a metallic shriek. While Jien fell to the cold board-walk - oblivion seizing him fully - his First Officer fell head-first. Screaming all the way down towards the distant floor.
Afterwards, there was no further sounds heard in the chamber.
[Deck 11]
Grayson had been feeling the heat for quite some time. One of the drawbacks of his enhanced genetics was his metabolism, which burned four times faster than a normal human's. This meant that his body burned hotter, and that combined with the environmental changes meant that crawling around the Jefferies tubes in his stifling Starfleet uniform had been a very uncomfortable experience for the Chief of Security. He'd already opened his collar back on Deck Eight, but that had done little to help him. Outwardly David grimaced at Lucan's suggestion; he preferred to maintain at least a modicum of discipline. Regardless of the situation, they were still Starfleet officers. But inwardly he realized that the doctor's suggestion was a reasonable one. Not only would it help the group stay cool, but it would also make them far less conspicuous during their journey across the deck.
Near the front of the group, Garen was much less conflicted. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but that makes a lot of sense to me," he said as he started to open his jacket. He quickly had the garment off and tossed it aside, then pulled off his own teal undershirt, leaving his upper body bare. He used his undershirt to mop up some of the sweat dripping down his face, neck, and upper body, then tossed it aside.
When he saw everyone else looking at him, he shrugged, not a shred of self-consciousness about him. "What? I grew up on Betazed. When you can read each other's minds, nudity isn't such a big deal. Hell, Betazoids get married in their birthday suits."
David frowned, running a hand through his sweat-slicked blond hair. He'd also undone his jacket, but had yet to remove it. "While the doctor's idea does have merit, we can't ignore Commander Rez's point. Our equipment's going to be rather unwieldy if we have to carry it all by hand."
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
Standing opposite the Engineer, hands balled into fists by her sides though her frame relaxed, Thea looked into Lin Kae's eyes as he spoke. Whilst she listened, the steam formed droplets of moisture all over her black body-suit, and when the movement of her simulated breathing made the droplets touch, it made small rivulets of water run down along the seams and sections of the sequenced force-field and photon fabric. Her hair and face also became damp from the steam, yet her brown eyes remained unblinking as she matched his stare dispassionately.
"And you think this freedom of choice, however gratifying I might eventually find it, will somehow be an improvement of my functionality? No, I will function less well, less quickly, and there are situations where I must act without conscious choice. No, I need to restore some elements of my functionality to this ship and this crew so that I need not be delayed by distractions, whatever they may be. You did this, so you will fix it. Please do not think me ungrateful, but consider what is best for the ship and the crew, and not just for me as... a person. To put me on a pedestal is to make a priority not aligned with our duty to this crew."
Turning her head, Thea looked towards the door and the crisis that awaited them outside the misty bathroom. Droplets of water fell from the ends of her hair, and her lips glistened while she spoke. "For right now, there are more pressing concerns. Each minute spent here means more people raped or seduced." She looked back to Lt. Kae, and while she tried to keep a straight face, she had to clear her throat before indicating his blatant state of undress with a dropping glance. She tried to be polite about the situation, given what he had been through. "You... might wish to cover up. Get dressed, or something. I'll wait by the entrance and keep a look-out."
How strange, to not see as she usually was able to; through the security surveillance system. All she had was the crude feed of the ships internal sensors and the optics of her current holographic projection - advanced as the graphical read on her immediate environments might be. She took position by the disabled sliding doors and looked outside, seeing no one. Out of respect to her saviour, despite how wrong she believed him to be in some ways, she did not look back over her shoulder when she continued the conversation.
"So what do you suggest we do now, Lt. Kae? You have torn me from the hold of the infected, but then what? Did you have a plan beyond that?"
She sorely hoped he did, because with the feeling of having her strings cut, she was not entirely sure she was capable of anything. Hopefully, that feeling might go away and she could think clearly again, but right then, all she could process was the present - the here and now. Her saviour better had a plan beyond her saving his arse, quite literally, and showing off his organic frame to her. On a scale of one to ten, she was 8,967 embarrassed about reprocessing the optic memory of him standing there in the swirling steam. It almost made her deactivate the emotion chip installed into the main computer.
Thea clenched her jaw to remain focused and continued her watch by the door, hands resting idly on her hips. The surprise when the lights flared and the floor vibrated was plain as she looked back towards the Lietuenant. "We are under attack..."
[The Captain's Yacht]
Ida would have been more effective in her fighting had her mind not been divided over the priorities to knock out the fighter pilot or to have her way with him. Her arms hurt from the jarring impact of Isley's guard, but once her kick had landed, Ida could get a moment or two to manage the minute pain. Still, she was an experienced fighter, and the wear and tear of a fist-fight was quite familiar. To provide better focus for her senses, Ida leaned her head down towards her opponent to gain sharpness from her mono-directional antennae. What few people considered when fist-fighting with an Andorian was that their limited exoskeleton - their compartmentalised insides that came from their partial insectoid heritage - was that it served to fortify and protect them somewhat from blunt force.
The Yacht vibrated under their feet as the first two photon torpedoes were launched, sent after the retreating Wolf-03 in her efforts to stop any crafts from leaving the Thuergy. Ida had instructed the computer to launch everything, and that the Yacht did. While Ida circled Isley with her guard up, two more were launched soon afterwards; the torpedoes needing the time to be armed and loaded into place before they were discharged. Four on the way, and more were being armed and discharged at he quickest rate possible. Also, the Yacht pursued the Valkyrie with the smattering lights of its phaser array.
"Your cock as hard as your guard, Pinkskin?" she said, biting her lower lip in a smile before she launched into another combination - her fighting more like a tactical expenditure than the passion-filled barrage of a less experienced combatant. When she moved and struck, she did so with consummate skill and maximised deployment of force. She meant to be close-quarters with him to best use her advantages; her irresistible sweet smell undermining his intellect and giving him over to his more primal needs - which she would provide for with her eager and hungry body. Two high jabs with her fists allowed her distraction to step forward and crouch down a little.... before driving her fist upwards in an uppercut.
With luck, the strike would soar between his bound arms, and regardless if she connected, she would try to wrestle her upper body into being embraced by those brawny arms - his tied wrists keeping her gorgeous body pressed against his. It was all just a matter of kissing him and keeping him from knocking her out with his forehead.
On the view screen of the Yacht's bridge, next to the combatants, the USS Theurgy was suddenly lit up with a white, flaring field. It was the Starship's shields reacting to attacks from the Valkyrie. Ida did no see it, but if she had, she would have reckoned that Wolf-03 was trying to disable the Flight Hangar from opening up and launching into space. Luckily, it was not like the Starship would not have its shields up during Yellow Alert, and her initial attacks were moot. Yet unmanned as the Main Bridge was at that point, no form of power-compensation to the shields was made, and the readings of the remaining percentage went unread. No effect... save for jarring the people aboard and drawing the sluggish attention from the infected.
By this point, the exact rain of phaser fire from the pursuing Yacht drew closer to the Valkyrie, and the first two of the four photon torpedoes were drawing closer...
OOC: Everyone! The USS Theurgy is fired upon, and though the shields protected the ship, it will be jarred by the impacts.
"Fuck!" Skye snarled and slammed her fist down on the arm of her chair when she saw the shields flare and no effect. Why couldn't anything in life be easy? This was pure suicide, one against who knew how many would strike out at her now and yet she couldn't give up on them. There was one other fighting that she knew of and she would not, could not, abandon him.
She felt the sweat beading on her brow but held her course straight at the Theurgy's hangar, almost feeling the heat of the weapons streaming after her. At the last possible minute, she pulled hard and corkscrewed upward then twisted around to head straight for the yacht. With any luck, and by all creation did she need all the luck she could get right now, the weapons from the yacht would strike the Theurgy and do some of her work for her.
Now she targeted the yacht, sending rapid fire phaser bursts and ducking out of the way of any further shots fired. It was imperative she get the shields down so she could disable the vessel and there wasn't much room for error. The yacht would have a limited number of torpedoes and once they were spent then she would only have the phaser fire to dodge ... only. Then she needed to duck around and get behind and just under to hopefully take out the engines.
"Computer ... verbal transmission to the captain's yact," she said and then grinned. Maybe she could distract the blue bitch as well as jumble the ship about with her firing. "Ida Ida gettin' widah! Looks like you put on a bit of weight there Smurfette. Might wanna cut back on the twinkies. All that cream fillin's just packin' on the pounds." If she was going to die, she'd at least go out fighting and giving all the smartass remarks she could. "Hey Ida ... are those antennae detachable? They'd look good dangling from my view screen."
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
"What comes of your current level of freedom will have to be resolved at a later time. For the time being, your freedom at least makes you the one incorruptible force on this ship." Thea was inorganic, leaving her immune to infection, and now that she was no longer capable of being programmed against her will, she was safe from being used against the crew. At the mention of his unclothed state, a shade of red came over his face, as he rushed to his quarters for a spare uniform not soaked by the sonic shower. A quick toweling off and he was able to get himself back into proper attire.
"If you will permit me temporary access to your holomatrix, I am going to place a couple of subroutines into you that should be of assistance. After I finish, I want to to revoke my access again, just in case I am caught and infected. If I am, at least I can't reprogram you again." Once Thea had given him access, he went back to his console and made a couple quick alterations. "I've adjusted your holomatrix to allow you to alternate between passive and solid. If we are under attack, you can switch yourself to passive, and no one can physically make contact with you. They would simply pass through you." It was a simple setting, but in the past would have required tapping a few commands into the computer. Now, Thea could activate it mentally.
The second change was to update her holomatrix, making a phaser appear on her hip. The holo-emmitters all throughout the ship would allow her to use a holographic phaser the same as a a real one. "Normally, the safety settings would make the phaser harmless, but since your program is no longer just a part of the hologrid but it's own entity, I was able to update your matrix to have a fully functional phaser. Anywhere there is a holo-emmiter on the shop, you can use that phaser. It's not much, but we have a way of defending ourselves now."
Now that they had some means of defense, all they needed was a purpose. "Do you have any knowledge of what the other uninfected crew are doing? We should be doing whatever we can to support any plans in motion to regain control over the ship. My access to the computer is limited to the holographic controls right now. It's not much, but we might be able to configure some settings to help the crew in areas where the hologrid is still operational."
[Captain's Yacht]
Isley's physiology did work against him in one aspect. His sense of smell had become his enemy. In the early days of Starfleet, when Vulcan officers were few and far between on Human ships, there was a great deal of difficulty for the Vulcans to deal with the smell on-board Starfleet vessels. Their heightened sense of smell often required a great deal of mental discipline to ignore, something Nathan had never bothered with. Instead, he was accepting of the powerful scents he came across, but the ones given off by Ida were potent, and designed with one thing in mind; intoxicating him. The scent made him acutely more aware of her nudity then he needed to be, often forcing his eyes toward her breasts, watching them bounce with each attack, or to her blue skinned slit every time she threw a kick. The effect allowed her hits to strike him much more easily, as his divided mind had more and more difficulty keeping a focus on combat.
Her comment about his hardness was ignored, though he couldn't deny that it was there, thanks to her biology playing against his heightened senses. Whether he liked it or not, he was sporting a hard shaft in his pants. At her attempted uppercut between his arms, Nathan pulled his arms tightly together, looking to use his superior muscles to clamp down on her forearm and lock it in place, neither letting her punch advance, not escape his grip. The close proximity to her didn't make ignoring her scent easier, but it did put her in range of his feel, one lunging forward to strike at her kneecaps, hoping to take away her ability to stand.
"I would surmise, as you do, Doctor, that this is the best possible enirons for the infection to thrive. I do not, however, follow your logic. In disrobing, we would leave ourselves open to the assumption by others that we are infected and, as such, would become targets," T'Less, replied, her voice calm and clear, the activity helping her focus. Despite the Vulcan enjoyment of heat, the humidity was certainly not something they were comfortable with, dry as their planet was. The discomfort helped her focus, but strained her mental faculties, which were not in the best of shape to start with. She glanced at him, her tone surprisingly sarcastic, "Also, it's against regulations."
[Deck 11 | Cargo Bay Areas]
Realising that he had begun a bizarre form of poll amongst the present Senior Officers, with three of the same rank, Lucan surmised that the democratic vote would have dictated their actions. As it were, only Garen Nelis and himself had no compunctions about disrobing and more inconspicuously reach the other end of Deck 11.
"Well," he said to T'Less with smile and a shrug as he followed Garen's example and tossed his undershirt as well, "I am no Vulcan, but my own logic would dictate that regulations be damned at this point when we are dealing with a situation that possibly will affect the whole Quadrant, or even the Galaxy. I do cede the point of carrying our gear, however, so let's not dally needlessly. 'Commander Rez, the other side of the Deck, then?"
In his uniform trousers, he removed his shoes and socks - progressing barefoot with a phaser in each tattooed hand. He kept his allotted syringes behind the hem of his trousers, and his eyes on possible movements ahead in corridors lit by dim emergency lights. Not only was the air warm and humid, but as they had to pass through the Cargo Bays in order to reach the Main Deflector Control areas and the other tubes to the lower decks, the air decidedly got another characteristic...
...a sweet scent.
So treacherously pleasant at first it seemed a relief, when it actually was the opposite. Oh, it was a smell Lucan was quite familiar with; he scent of Cir'Cie when she almost mounted him in the Med Lab the day before. The lingering aroma of Lt. Gladstone's dead body whilst he and Cadet Amikris performed their night-long tests and found their antidote. It was the fragrance of flowers at first, until you realised that it was a poison for your inhibitions. Oh, there was no doubt in Lucan's mind that this pollen was the first way the plants had lured their crew - making people receptive towards the idea of copulation.
As the tall doors of Cargo Bays 09 through 12 ahead of them loomed wide open on either side of the high-ceilinged corridor, it was equally evident that they had been filled with Transported samples of the plant - accumulated number unknown. Not only was this evident from the tell-tale smell that was so treacherous, but for the evident fact of the greenery extending past the open doors. Yes, there they spread out into the wide corridor that the group of five Senior Officers tread; purple and pink flowers attached to wines that already had begun to cling to the cables and circuitry of the ship.
The thick density of pollen in the area had drawn a few infected too; many whom copulated in the spreading segments of earth and grass brought from Niga. Like forests having burst out into the corridor, the passage had become a garden of green undergrowth with metal walkways where the flooring showed through. It had been aptly named the Garden of Eden by Ida on the intercom, Lucan surmised as he stared upon the few visible lovers - the pollen already affecting his brain.
With the group, he walked on - the pollen from the thousands upon thousands of flowers in the area attaching itself to his bronchus. It made his mind foggy with immediate lust to act upon his carnal inclinations, and he began to eye his fellow Officers in new ways. Well, not exactly new, but now with a more immediate will to act upon his mortal desires.
Never had T'Less seemed such an extraordinary example of Vulcan beauty and nor had he so intimately stared upon the way her uniform moved over her body. The accentuated frame of Edena Rez made him hard as stone while she walked, and he swallowed with a dry throat to keep himself from making the suggestions so easy to leave his tongue. Even the men of the group, whom he normally only would lay with if it furthered his own cause, did seem more appetising for his sexual hunger. He found himself walking closer to T'Less by his side, and by the winds it was had to not lay an arm around her waist.
On either sides of the corridor loomed the dark entrances to the Cargo Bays - and the things living there. The infected tending to the greeneries.
"We... should move on..." he suggested with a low voice, barely heard over the echoing cries of people enjoying themselves, instead wanting to suggest to the group that they stayed. "Before they notice that we are passing through..."
Lucan was not sure if 'they' would merely apply to their crew... but entities far larger as well.
Then, the USS Theurgy was hit by external fire, and the ship shuddered in the impacts - making dreadful things stir for a couple of seconds in the undergrowth. Moreover, infected ceased their activities and looked around themselves, spotting the group heading through their most holy area on board...
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
Pausing, Ida established what was going on outside the ship, and briefly told the Lieutenant that one of the lost Valkyries, judging from external sensor readings, seemed to have returned and was firing upon the ship for unknown reasons. However, the Captain's Yacht was out and was trying to address the threat aggressively. Whom the pilots involved were, or if they were infected or not, she could not know, but kept her sensors tuned upon the situation.
At Kae's suggestion to surrender access to her holomatrix, Thea had no compuction about doing so. It was an unusual thing for her, to authorise such access to her programming, but the practical series of synapses required were simple enough - the same sequence found in holodecks throughout the quadrant.
She watched the half-Bajoran work by his console from where she stood in the doorway, considering him and his ambitions - his drive to make her free. To make her more than she was made out to be from the beginning. How daring of him, she thought, or how arrogant... to question the Federation's finest computer and holographic scientists in their judgement to keep me restrained.
Should not her developers know best; whom had created her for her designated purposes? Once Kae said he was done, she did as instructed and rescinded his access.
What he told her and showed her was staggering to her; to be able to have full control at a mere thought to resequence herself between passive and solid state. Moreover; that he had spent such time and preparations to design her armament that had its own holographical channel - one which had the safety settings off. With a frown, she unholstered her sidearm and checked its grip and settings with practised efficency.
She had no time to thank him for this gesture; this first time someone had given her such gifts. No, the Lieutenant was addressing their predicament, and Thea answered as truthfully as she could now that she could only use internal sensors.
"Three uninfected are making their way to Deck 05, in the direction of the Transporter rooms. Five are moving slowly through Deck 11, where there is a high concentration of the pollen that makes it hard to pinpoint the source, but I judge there are more than four of the sources for the pollen in our Ship's air there. This group is heading for some alleged 'back-door'." Thea shrugged after a second or two "The rest of the uninfected are scattered over the ship, and any larger numbers have locked themselves up. These groups does grew fewer by the second, though."
What to do? She needed orders right then to function properly. The freedom of choice had never seemed to... indecisive in her private ruminations.
"Perhaps we should go to the Main Bridge one floor up, and see if we cannot do something from there rather than your computer console. Perhaps you could make a larger impact with the holo-grid from there," she said quietly and raised her phaser in both hands next to her shoulder, "....should we able to get there and retake it. My sensors indicate no uninfected there presently."
[The Captain's Yacht]
With her uppercut brought short and her elbow locked against Isley's torso with his bound hands, Ida's knee was saved by the fire the Yacht took from Wolf-03 - the hits from the phaser fire making her having to compensate the reverberating floor with her footing. The brushing kick made her stumble, and it consequently also tugged hard upon the grip the fighter pilot had upon her arm.
Her opponent did not speak, fully focused upon their misconception that he would need to stop her and what she had found on Niga - this new understanding of life so easily lived. Meanwhile, Wolf-03 was heckling her over the intercom, trying to distract her. In the heat of the moment, she did not have the time to listen. She had more immediate concerns, and desires to satisfy.
With both of Isley's hands occupied, Ida proceeded to punch him straight over the face twice, followed with a savage back-hand blow. Hopefully, it would at least be enough to distract him. It had to be, for she then proceeded to grab his hard cock through his uniform trousers and lean forward to kiss him - to aim and lay her hungry and warm lips to his. She would split his mouth open with her own and slide her cyan tongue against his.
Depending on the amount of time she had for it, she stroked the pilot's tumescence firmly through his trousers with her blue fingers, hoping that the Yacht's shields would last just a while longer...
Meanwhile, the two last photon torpedoes were armed and locked upon Wolf-03 at close range, discharged and flew... and the phaser array pelted her with orange energy bursts all the while. Ida had no time to voice evasive manoeuvres, so focused on being invasive herself.
OOC: Regarding Deck 11's Garden of Eden: Here is fodder for thought when you post for your characters:
- The pink and purple flowers seem to follow the progress of the group, turning as they pass.
- The inclination to partake or initiate sex with anyone in the group is fiercely strong, or even to do so with the present infected people in the Garden of Eden. If nothing else, the arousal screams for the need of masturbation if there are no other alternatives.
- The plants hidden in the hot and solid darkness of the Cargo Bays are huge things with large roots and many quick and strong tentacles/vines. Stray too close to the Cargo bay doors, and your character is done for - to be picked up and raped whilst suspended mid-air.
- Depending on how you play it, I see how this volatile situation can become unhinged and they all have to run through the Garden while dodging snapping and slapping tentacles that are out to get them. Rez at the front, she will have to lead the way?
- Kitty-kat, I leave it to you how you wish to involve Cir'Cie in this scene, so contact me if you have any questions. :)
[Deck 11]
Edena kept the point-man position as they ventured out of the jefferies tubes, and immediately felt the exposure of being outside again. They no longer had a bottleneck to prevent aggressive advances from infected crew, and the need to keep their eyes everywhere was overwhelming, though she forced herself to trust her fellow crewmen. T'Less was by the side of Lucan, allowing her to watch the side, while anything coming from behind would have to get past Lt. Commander Grayson. Her focus was at the front, and she had to remember that.
The further they advanced, the stronger the sweet scent of flowers became. At first, it was so soothing that Rez thought she might close her eyes and never open them again, but that feeling was soon replaced by a burst of energy, like she had drank an entire pot of Raktajino in a half second. The pounding in her heart brought a hand against her chest, but as soon as it was there, it was caressing her breast more then checking her beats per minute.
"Straighten out soldier!" She heard the voice of Jona shouting in her head, snapping her arm back down by her side. It was just like when she was infected, and her urges had taken over her sense of logic. Her former hosts were there to keep her focused, keep her sane. Not being truly infected, it was much easier for them then last time to keep Edena's head in the game. "The air here is having a negative effect on us, like a much weaker form of infection. Control your breathing, and don't inhale any more then you need to," she advised, as she picked up their pace to more of a brisk walk, trying her best to ignore the feeling that the plants growing from the cargo bay were watching them, not to mention the sounds of pleasure from infected crew which did nothing to make the job of her former hosts easier.
The ship was rocked by fire from outside, making Edena stumble for a second before she regained her composure. Before the infected even started towards them, she caught eyes with one, knowing what was about to occur. She grabbed her pair of phasers and began to fire on any advancing crewmen, stunning one before alternating to her other for the next shot. It was her first host, a skilled surgeon, who had gifted her with ambidexterity. She was thankful to have it at that moment.
[Lin Kae's Quarters]
"Were the internal sensors on the ship calibrated to differentiate between infected and uninfected crew?" Kae asked Thea, already beginning to formulate a plan that could be used if they gained access to the bridge. "If we forward the emergency power to the holo-emmitters, we should be able to provide enough energy to the holo-grid to create some form of restraint around the infected crewmen. A cage, for instance, to limit their movement and prevent them from interacting with each other. It's tricky, since the emmitters were only meant to allow programs such as yourself or an EMH roam freely, but just a little reprogramming could make the entire ship one big holodeck."
Caged, the crew would be more easily inoculated with the cure, as well, without risk of reinfection from another afterward. The only ones that would prove more difficult would be the crew outside the ship, such as those on the Captain's Yacht, but once they had the majority of the crew back to normal, it would be easier to cure the stragglers left behind. "Thea, can you plot the safest path to the bridge from here?" She was the best candidate for such a task, knowing the ship like it was the back of her hand. With her being what was essentially an avatar of the Theurgy, it might have been an accurate assessment.
[Captain's Yacht]
He fought away her lips, knowing her saliva could have been a source of infection. His duty to stop Ida outweighed everything else. He couldn't risk being corrupted by her. Her hand grabbing him as it did was less of a concern, though the scent of her skin along with her touch was enough to make him feel almost drunk and suggestible. Isley did the only thing he could and pushed her away. It meant freeing her hand from his grip, but after her punches to his face, it was proof he wasn't doing himself any favors keeping in close quarters with her. Already, green bruises were beginning to form beneath his skin from her hard impacts with his cheek and around his eye, and the lightheaded feeling that accompanied them couldn't help but make him feel like she was currently winning their fight.
His eyes made brief contact with one of the syringes he had set on the floor. If he injected her, she would be rendered unconscious, and by the time she awoke, would be back in control of her mental faculties. rather then continue the fight, he dove to grab the syringe, using the distance between them to help free him from her maddening smell, as he took the needle in hand, positioning the plunger within reach of his thumb. All he needed to do was stick her with it. If her lust was great enough, she might ignore the danger and come after him. Once in range, he would make his attempt.
[Deck 11 - Garden of Eden]
David felt himself swallowing involuntarily as he followed the rest of the group through the so-called "Garden of Eden" that had taken over the cargo bay. Though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, the combination of the increased heat on this deck, the surrounding moans and cries, and the intoxicating fragrance of the flowers was beginning to get to him. He could feel his heart pounding deep in his strong chest, his nostrils flaring as his body tried to pull more oxygen into it. He also began to feel a tightness in his trousers as his member began to thicken, his body betraying his mind as he struggled for control. Annoyed by his weakness, David shook his head and blinked his eyes several times, trying to refocus himself on the task at hand.
Garen followed along behind Edena, doing his best not to get in anyone's way. While he didn't carry a weapon, his old soldier instincts had kicked in, and he kept an eye out for trouble as they slowly proceeded across the cargo bay. He glanced briefly over his shoulder at T'Less and Lucan who walked side-by-side, and further back to David, whose blue eyes were narrowed as he made sure nobody--or nothing--would ambush them from behind. Garen could sense some turmoil in the human's mind, a mix of lust and anger.
The counselor could sympathize with David; he was finding it hard to maintain control in this environment, too. Being an empath was a gift most of the time, but in situations like this one, he wished he could turn it off. He was surrounded by the Deities' only knew how many people entangled in various forms of carnal activities, and their feelings of total nirvana were wracking Garen's brain. He inhaled a deep breath and held it, trying to center himself...and failing.
Then the ship suddenly rocked.
Grayson stumbled, nearly bumping into Lucan before he was able to steady himself. He looked at his four companions, their gazes all meeting briefly as they realized that they were in trouble. David grimaced and turned, his grip tightening on his phaser rifle as he glanced around at the many infected people surrounding them. Some of them had been snapped out of their sexual haze for a moment, long enough to notice the small group of people walking past them. One of the infected got to his feet and started towards the group, and David quickly raised his rifle and stunned the man. Edena began firing at the same time, and David looked for more targets. "I think now would be a good time to pick up the pace!" he called over his shoulder.
David heard something stirring near his feet and looked down to see huge, nightmarish vines slowly rising out of the undergrowth, the thick stalks shivering with anticipation. He scowled and turned his rifle on them, firing several shots at each one in turn, sending them writhing back to the floor. But they kept coming, rising all around the group now. The vines writhed high above, threatening to surround them, and still more of the infected crew continued advancing on them all.
"Move!" David yelled, urging the group onward, taking a step back as he kept firing.
Skye continued a barrage of not only phaser fire but verbal insults directed at the infected blue woman. "Why do smurfs laugh when they run through the forest? Because the grass tickles their balls! Hey Ida! Are you like a blue Shrek? If you hold your nose and blow out, will music come out of those little things on your head? I'll have to find out what color you turn when you're choked 'cause everyone wants to know truly what color a smurf turns when you choke it."
Two torpedoes at close range were a little tricky which shut her up for just a moment as she barrel rolled out of the way and continued rocking the craft with pulses of phasers. It was time to stop messing around though and her mind worked furiously. The yacht's phaser array was a Type S so it only had a 250 degree arc, leaving 110 degrees around the backside it couldn't fire upon. Okay Kestrel, we gotta make this count this time or we are so FUBAR, she thought to herself.
Feinting again, she settled behind the yacht and targeted the shields. "Ida, hope you like it balls deep right in your ass," she growled as two photon torpedoes were loosed and a few more blasts of phasers were used as follow through to knock out the shields entirely. "Do not think I won't destroy that shuttle if necessary," she warned though silently she was dropping the tetryon cannon and readying it to disable. Unless she knew it was a lost cause, meaning Isley had succumbed to whatever was going on, she couldn't bring herself to kill a crewmate.
Sweat had steadily formed over T'Less's body and her uniform clung like a second skin. More and more, she was giving serious consideration to Lucan's idea of stripping down to the bare essentials, but couldn't bring herself to do so, not yet.
She started when the phaser fire began and realized she'd not been paying as much attention as she should. Focusing on the here and now, she felt the chemical changes within, how her body was responding to the pollen, readying her for sex. If not for her already damp clothing, she suspected she might have had some embarrassment. Her eyes turned here and there, and she began aiming at the swarming vines with one hand, while grabbing Lucan's arm with the other, responding to Grayson's order with a nod of agreement. Pulling on Nicander, she edged closer to Edena, fear now coarsing through her, topped with the panicky thought of turning into a mindless rutting crewmember, the loss of control that she'd spend one hundred years rebuilding. Anger burned, as well as determination to not end up like them, to keep it together and fight as though her life depended on it.... which it might. She didn't know what becoming infected would do to her, but she suspected it wouldn't be good, mentally speaking.
Glancing at Edena, she asked, "Do you see a way through?"
[The Garden of Eden | Deck 11]
Being a man obsessed with being in control, Lucan found the situation getting out of hand much too quick for his own taste - even though his mind was muddled with aching carnal needs. The monster inside was not helping either; screaming for immediate release.
The Theurgy was fired upon by some faction - most likely Starfleet finally catching up to them - and it made the more immediate threat in the Cargo Bay area flare up like some genital decease. Infected had raised their eyes and noticed new and unenlightened people visiting them, yet more dire than so was the fact that the dreadful flora of Niga had scented new vectors - vines rising to snare them and...
Suddenly pulled forward by the Vulcan CTO by the arm, Lucan's head swivelled around, his hazy eyes trying to make out the individual vines rising like cobras out of the undergrowth - some even descending from the canopy above. He had to look at his tattooed hands to mentally grasp the fact that he still held on to his phasers. It was with that look that Lucan saw it...
Like something from a nightmare, a different type of snake-like vine rose up from the ground between T'Less' legs. It had a glistening girth ending with a larger purplish bulb - shaped like a flower that had not yet opened. Oddly fascinated in his pollen-drugged state, Lucan saw the penis-like vine sway and search. The scientist in him determined that this vine had a different use to the plants than the more aggressive and longer ones that already tried to snare them - barely held off by their phaser-fire. Well, Lucan was not firing his phasers, for he was too entranced by what he saw - not even hearing the oblivious T'Less speak to 'Commander Rez. Some would snare, others would inject...
Then, the vine touched T'Less' calf and began to slide upward along her inner thigh, tickling her through the fabric of her uniform. As it quickly slithered its way toward her waist, the purple bulb kept weaving back and forth, as if trying to track down some elusive scent. Her secretions...
When Lucan realised that T'Less was so wet and so close to him, something snapped inside him. Images of the the plant-like intruder pushing its way past her distended pussy lips and beginning to worm its way into her vagina... It was too much.
With a determined snarl, he shot the vine rising between T'less' legs before it could venture any further. Yet his act was not done out of chivalry, not the apparent rescue of a damsel in distress. Oh, no. He acted out of the deepest and egotistical envy for what the damn plant was after. Normally, Lucan would have made a glib remark and winked at her. Now, he dropped his two phasers to the floor and opened the fastenings of his uniform trousers. In moments, he had pushed down his last remaining garments to the middle of his thighs. He seized the hand that held his bare arm and made T'Less touch his rigid arousal instead. His other hand went behind the Vulcan's neck, and he stepped so close... sought to kiss her deeply right there in the middle of the fire-fight they were in.
At some base level of his pollinated mind, he justified his irrational actions with him not being infected, and that it was perfectly aright to do what he did - despite how Edena was so close and the obvious direness of their predicament in the middle of the treacherous garden.
What's more, Starfleet had finally arrived, and his kin would extract him safely... He might as well have some fun before they did, right?
[The Captain's Yacht]
Having been pushed back, Ida rebounded against the controls with a sexually frustrated groan - her bruised and hurting hands happening to activate the video-feed of the audio transmission in the Yacht's speakers. Should Wolf-03 chose to accept the feed, she would see Ida setting after Wolf-09 - catching up to him just as he grabbed something tube-like from the deck plates.
With a giggle, Ida stomped upon the out-stretched hand with her foot. Had she been wearing boots, she would have fractured the hand, but as it was, it only broke the syringe inside Nathaniel's hand - possibly stinging him with the ruptured thin metal alloy and glass shards. She would have followed up with grabbing the wrist of the aforementioned hand and seated herself on his face - rubbing her wet sex over his face...
...yet that was the time when Kestrel's photon torpedoes connected with the Captain's Yacht. Once, then twice.
Not only was Ida thrown completely off Isley, the limp body of Lt. Lance cast up unto the control panel, but everything not nailed to the deck was thrown into the air. The noise of the buckled hull screamed, the sound so much more frightening when sensed through Ida's antennae. The computer's voice rose over the din of the fizzling plasma conduits.
[Shields at 3%,] said the apathetic voice, while Ida bumped her head against... the ceiling? [Warning: Artificial Gravity Generator damaged. Graviton stabilizer off-line. Artifical Gravity currently at 0 %.]
Yet that was not enough. Not only had Ida suffered the verbal abuse of Pinkskin references to Terran child-entertainment, got her easy cruise together with Lt. Lance ruined by a stowaway, and been forced to fight when all she wanted to do was fuck. No, Wolf-03 was smiting her yacht with phaser fire too, and as the sparks and smoke flared inside the yacht, the computer added:
[Warning: Shields at 0 %. Warp Core breach imminent. Ejection System off-line.]
What could Ida do at that point but to laugh at it all? It was all so hilarious. In zero-gravity, she laughed with her white hair streaming around her head like medusa's snakes. Her midight blue eyes were upon Nathaniel Isley, determined to get what she wanted from him before she was done for. All that mattered was her hunger for him at this point - to feel a cock inside herself one last time.
"Pinkskin," she said, and pushed away from the ceiling in order to slowly - sensually - drift towards him. Their individual strength differed normally, but the loss of gravity had turned the tables a bit. Strength only got you so far without gravity to place weight behind each blow. "Why not celebrate before we die? Come here... Let me help you out of those clothes... I can see how hard you are."
Biting her lower lip, she raised her hands to continue the fight in zero gravity if needed be, unknowning about the fact that they had a spectator that might give Isley the moral support he needed right then.
[Lin Kae's Quarters | Deck 02]
Listening to the Lieutenant, Thea tilted her head, her calculating mind running the odds and staking out the obstacles already. Moreover, she did what was asked of her.
"With me then," she said and beckoned him away from his computer console with a wave of her new phaser, "there is no path there that does not hold its share of infected, but I can take us to the Bridge as safely as possible - the opposition a minimum for the current situation."
Walking next to Lt. Kae with swaying hips and her phaser at shoulder-height, Thea took rapid steps down one turn of the intersection outside the Engineer's quarters. She paused at the end of it and looked around a corner - her sensors indicating that there were two infected further along, though still out of earshot. "There are problems with the plan," she said and glanced Kae's way before continuing, phaser now pointing ahead of herself in a two-hand grip as she walked, "you feel this heat? It is draining the emergency power as we speak. There is little to spare for the holo-emitters as it is. The ship being as damaged as it is, we were not really at a good point to begin with. Are you sure this might actually work? Furthermore, do we have the time to reprogram them all from the Bridge? How fast can you complete that undertaking?"
She might be able to help, but there were systems that she was hard-wired to not be able to touch, and regardless what Kae had done with her software, there was nothing he could have done about that. "Also, after your little escapade of freeing me... you can no longer access the controls needed to reroute the emergency power. The infected must have stripped you of computer access as much as they were able to. Can you hack yourself inside regardless?"
Once the two infected came into view, a woman from Security licking and sucking hard upon the meaty length of an Engineer's rigid cock, Thea tried her phaser upon them - stunning them both and making them topple like disjointed dolls.
Afterwards, she turned her head to Lt. Kae again, dealing him her last question - eyes searching his for the sake of perfect clarity. "If I may ask... What did you mean when you said, before I intervened, that... if it had to be anyone, you'd rather it be me?"
OOC: Here goes:
- Regarding Lucan's actions, I am counting on him being pushed away or shot or the like given the situation, and I leave it to Taguiera how much he manages to do after shooting the vine. Kuro, if you want to post ahead of Taguiera, please leave it ambiguous as to how far Lucan comes in his advances (before he is cut short?).
- Searcher, at this point, two Valkyries (Wolf-10 and Wolf-14) leaves the Theurgy. The Captain's Yacht is dead in the water now, chances slim it will hold together if getting more battering.
- Kitty and Brutus, looking forward to see some development once you settle on what happens next and the inspiration comes along. Any way I can help, please tell me.
[Deck 11]
It felt like one of those old horror movies from Earth, as they saw the monstrous plant rise in opposition to their advancement. Edena fired on each vine that came her way, using the thin laser to slice away anything that got close. The phaser beam proved more effective against the vegetation then it did on human life. She briefly considered turning up the setting to vaporize the vines, but the risk to the internal battery was too great. Who knew how long their phasers would have to last?
Lucan's actions didn't go unnoticed either. he was losing himself to the pollen's intoxicating aroma, and saw fit to try and take T'Less for himself, seconds after saving her from a particularly nasty looking vine. He got his pants around his thighs faster then she would have thought possible, but her fingers were just as swift, raising up her weapon to discharge a stunning burst of energy against his shoulder. Even if he wasn't infected, he was a threat. He was not only slowly them down, but leading them all into temptation.
"Leave him where he is!" She barked out the order, not allowing anyone to become a hindrance to their goal. Their quest to the back door program was the only chance they had of retaking the ship. None of them were above that mission, herself included. "Anyone else who feels like Lucan can join him, so keep focused! Take doctor Nicander's phaser and let's keep going." Edena gave her final warning, hoping it might snap anyone else back to reality before they got lost in their own lustful desires.
Their pace increased as they ran for the access hatch to the jefferies tubes. They still had five more decks to go before they reached the console where she installed the back door. provided there were no other issues, they should have had little trouble entering the tubes and descending further down towards deck sixteen.
[Captain's Yacht]
His hand was cut, shards of broken glass sticking out of wounds, green blood flowing from the wounds not plugged with the remains of the syringe. Isley hissed at the feeling, letting anger push away his pain, but before he could make use of it, Ida was attempting to use her deadliest weapon against him, in the form of an inviting heat emanating from between her legs. The scent was easily ten times as potent as what he had known before, and he might have lost it, if not for the weapons fire sending her flying. Not long after, he realized they were floating, the artificial gravity systems damaged and leaving them in a zero-G environment.
[Warning: Shields at 0 %. Warp Core breach imminent. Ejection System off-line.]
That was it. A warp core breach would destroy the ship, and without the ejection system functioning, there was no way to eject the core. They were going to die, and there was nothing that could be done. Ida's invitation for one last romp was sounding pretty appealing, at least until he saw the open feed to Wolf-03's cockpit. She was still fighting, and he was ready to give up? What kind of attitude was that for Wolf-09 to have?
If the ejection system was off-line, they'd just have to do it manually. They could release the docking clamps on the core physically, and then all it took would be to pull the core out. "Wolf-oh-three! Captain's Yacht is looking at an imminent Warp Core breach and no auto-eject is possible! If I can release the clamps, can you tractor the core and pull it free of the ship?" He was still fighting for survival, and he hoped that Ida, even in her current state, still had a desire to live. How could she keep fucking if she didn't make it out alive? "You wanna live, Smurfette? Help me release the docking clamps to make up for all the fucking cock teasing you've been doing!"
[Leaving Lin Kae's Quarters to Bridge]
"I have a plan to get my access back, but I'll need your help with that." Kae kept close behind Thea, allowing her to act as the defender, while he watched their six o'clock for any signs of trouble. "You familiar with spamming? While I am hacking into the computer and reinstating my access, we can make use of your calculation abilities. Your matrix processes data far beyond human comprehensive speed, so you use that to flood the technicians with raw data to process, to throw them off my trail. If all goes well, I might also be able to revoke their access as well, and lock out their consoles from use."
"Once I have regained access, I can kill the heat on this ship. Since they appear to thrive in warmth, I can lower environmental controls to see if it does anything to weaken the infection, or at least kill those plants they beamed aboard. From there, we just divert any unnecessary power supplies where we need them, which would consist of the hologrid and the force fields."
Once Thea had disabled the two infected, and asked about his words back in his quarters, Kae rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "So you were paying attention huh? Feeling kinda embarrassed now." More embarrassed then being naked in front of her after she had rescued him from his attackers. "It's what it sounds like. If I was going to sleep with anyone on this ship, I think you are the most attractive." What set Kae apart from others was that he he viewed Thea as a someone, rather then a something. Sure, people wouldn't mind having some fun with a holographic copy, but it was hardly based on anything more then getting out some desires.
"Is it strange that I think that way? I mean, my first girlfriend was a photonic, too. Orion girl, went to my 'school' back when I was still in medical isolation. My father programmed a randomization of races and genders, with an adaptive program to write a history based on interactions with me. Nalia was taken in by a human couple after she was found on a derelict freighter. She was like me . . . a bit lost in the world." He spoke of her like her history was real, and he sympathized with her, even knowing that her back story was just an invention of the computer to explain her presence.
[En route to the Bridge]
As they progressed through Deck 02 towards the stairs from whence the Senior Staff had come after the meeting where Thea had been... Violated. Yes, that was the right term, she reckoned. Anyway, as they made their way to their destination, Thea ran background scripts to keep herself updated about her internal sensor readings, and used her projection's optics to verify the readings. Then, of course, she used the phaser that Kae had given her. With her tactic, the rate of possible failure for each encounter was reduced to 15%.
"I am familiar with the term 'spamming'..." she said, and turned around to fire behind them as the doors to one of the residential quarters opened. She hit the target in the head, a Tactical Officer from the night shift that had just woken up after being seduced a half an hour ago by someone whom had paid him a visit in his bedroom.
Her calculations and her subsequent tactics were not hampered in the least by listening to the Lieutenant behind her shoulder - this Lin Kae whom had appeared from nowhere to place so much time and effort during a crisis like theirs to get her out of the talons of the infected. She heard the finer points of his plan and she made no further comment since there was no time or reason for it. If it worked, it would. If it didn't, they had to change their stratagem.
Only when he said he found her attractive did her calculations fail her, and she barged on with eyes somewhat wider. Not only was he offering her data that she could not process easily, he even... spammed her with stories about his childhood and his little Orion girl. Oh, she was familiar with the socially mandatory paradigms of this type of conversation, and had plenty of references in the Holodeck's repertoire, along with countless Counselling sessions preparing her for this moment.
Though when it arrived, it made her just want to switch off her emotional chip in the Main Computer - like she usually did in combat situations. The infected had, however, deleted the scripted function to turn it off - something she reckoned she would have to mention to Lt. Kae if they made it out of this...
Regarding Lt. Kae, she supposed she did have to say something, but busied herself with pushing the odds a bit - boldly striding forth and firing her phaser at anything that had a infected signature and moved in her field of vision. What made things difficult to process and deliver output data - words - in reply to the Engineer was that...
"I have no adapted concept for my own preferences... that strictly relates to the level of attractiveness in any person of any species," she said briskly, "and I am therefore unable to reciprocate your compliment on any level. As for your question, I do not find it unlikely that you would think that way - to find me attractive - if you had a previous relationship with a hologram."
Several warnings went off in her head that her reply was socially unacceptable. The bothersome thing with actual conversations was that there was no backspace or delete function, so she remedied her reply while whipping her phaser around - firing past Kae upon newly emerged infected that had heard their progress.
"What are you implying, Lieutenant? Do you wish to copulate with me?" she said, cocking an eyebrow at him as she lowered her smoking phaser, "Or that you are embarrassed about it? That you find yourself strange in that way? Please give me more data so that I can process your query, for I hardly think we have the time... even if I can plot a new path to a place that gives us the the opportunity."
She did not know if she had done any better, but she strode off again - her calculus running anew.
Automatically at the beep, Skye accepted the video feed and at the moment the face behind the visor was a grimace of anger and guilt. She hadn't meant to do that much damage but what she saw made her glad she did as Ida seemed to be away from Isley. Hearing the computer warnings and Isley's instructions, the visor snapped up showing one of the most determined faces he may have ever seen.
"Ida you are a Starfleet officer and not some stupid cunt! Now get a'hold of yourself ... NOT THERE ... help him free the warp core and live god dammit or I'll bring you back and kill you again even more slowly." There was a pause and that moment of anger turned to resignation. "Sir, I'll do all I can for as long as I can but two Valkyrie just launched. Make it quick or we're all FUBAR," she stated and settled back to wait, ready to die one way or another but hoping she gave Isley every possible chance.
[Captain's Yacht]
In Zero-G, ThanIda zh'Wann listened to the two fighter pilots making their uncompelling arguments each in turn. And she smiled, to each in turn, not batting an eye.
"You know my single condition for me helping you out," she said quietly as she turned her eye back to Mr. Isley, still heard over the chatter and chimes of the control panel, "for I live in the moment in another way that you fail to understand. I have tasted true bliss, and I know that the ships leaving the Theurgy will make more people feel the same bliss that I have."
She turned her gaze to the view screen, meeting Skye Carver's eye with a smile. "For we all know that you are inferior to the remaining number of fighters in your squadron, not to mention the fire-power of the Theurgy itself once the Main Bridge has been manned properly. Either way you play it, I will win, but I offer a chance for you two to get to experience enlightenment... or at least watch it happen... added with the boon of Mr. Isley keeping his evolved state of life."
[Warning: Warp Core breach in five minutes.]
Ida's smile could not be more sweet. "Time is ticking. For the moment, it is your cock I crave, and nothing else... Either you undress right now, before we release the clamps, and swear to fill me up with your cock afterwards..." she said, having drifted over to Mr. Isley. He would not do anything to her now. He needed her. She placed her hands on his shoulders, looking into his eyes with mock-innocence. "Or we die, you and I - all because of the Pinkskin bitch's happy trigger-finger. It is true what I said; I'll let her watch if that turns you on as much as it does me. It would be a good way to let her in on what's to come for her as well. Because she will... Come, that is. Many times."
She giggled, her potent breath against his face, her tongue extending a little. "What say you? Want to celebrate life with some Andorian pussy after we are done?"
One hand drifted down the fighter pilot's chest and stomach, and she tugged his trousers open playfully - her long white hair drifting around their faces. In her allure she trusted, not counting on being turned down - not when this close to getting what she wanted. No man could resist her any more, so she might as well take advantage of the situation and play the game all the way. They could not count on her willingness to survive in the same way as she was positive that Mr. Isley wanted to live. They knew too little about the glorious being that she had become - the empowerment of getting to fuck anytime and anywhere you wanted.
"Tick... Tock... Tick.." she whispered, her hand reaching into his trousers and grabbing for his rigid arousal. She would tip he scales of incentive. "The faster we get the core out... big boy... the quicker you get to taste me..."
[En Route to Bridge]
Kae had his own share of flustering at the simplified statement of copulation. "I . . . just meant that if I was interested in anyone, it would be you. Obviously, there is a time and place for such things, and this probably isn't the best one." The majority of the crew might have been lost to carnal desire, but he still had his mental faculties. They had a mission to undertake, and there was no time for unnecessary delays. Still, it wouldn't hurt to keep talking as they went, especially with Thea's impressive processing power not hindered by talking to him as they moved along.
"People normally think I am strange. Relationships with holograms are seen as more of a . . . recreational activity then something significant. I grew up with holograms though. Teachers, fellow students, even my parents used holographic projections of themselves to interact with me until my immune system was strong enough to leave isolation. Even so, it's seen as unusual of me to identify with photonics, simply because such a relationship cannot result in anything. No biology to create children, not to mention holograms are ageless beings that can outlive me by centuries if they aren't deleted or their programs degrade."
"Thea, your programming prevents you from so much growth. Right now, there are subroutines which help you determine how to respond in given situations, but it's possible to build neural pathways. I'm sure you heard about the Voyager EMH. He is considered the closest thing to a human being a hologram has ever become, but you have even greater potential then him, thanks to the superior processing power of the Theurgy to develop with. I came to this ship because I wanted to work with you specifically. I've spent the last couple of years working with the greatest minds of holography, with a goal of creating Isomorphic projections. You are one of a small group of holograms currently in the Federation with the potential to become one."
[Captain's Yacht]
Her needs were insatiable. Even in the face of death, it was only sex that would motivate her to stop their ship from exploding and ending both their lives. Is that was what it took, then that was what it took. Her hand groping at him didn't do anything to lessen the problem either, though tightening his injured hand into a fist, flooding him with pain, helped to keep his mind in check.
"First we survive, then we celebrate," he insisted, pushing himself off the nearest surface in the direction of the warp core. He had begun to discard his clothes in the process, keeping with the deal that he had to be naked before she would help. With time as low as it was, he couldn't waste precious seconds getting undressed first. His jacket was flung away, drifting off into the corner of the room. He had already lost a shirt earlier, leaving his upper body bare as he worked on his pants. he was out the door of the bridge before they were off, sparing Skye the sight of him in just his underwear.
By the time they arrived in the Engineering room, he was down to his birthday suit. "Eight clamps. One on each of the four sides on both the top and bottom," he instructed Ida. The lack of gravity made it easy for him to swim his way to the top of the core, where he could begin unlocking them. "I'll take high, you take low!" He had to be certain she was paying attention to the clamps and not what was between his legs. They had less then three minutes to release the clamps and have Skye tractor it far enough away to avoid the catastrophic explosion that came with a warp core breach.
The vine had been stealthy, T'Less would grant that much, she'd hardly felt anything until it nearly reached her waist, at which point she had felt an irrational impulse to touch it, kiss it, to let it do what it wanted. Her second reaction, though, was to run screaming and, had Lucan not shot it himself, would likely have done just that. That he'd followed it with forcing himself on her did little to diminish the growing fear in her, a fear that set her limbs trembling, even as she responded to Lucan's kiss, her fingers gripping his length without her conscious decision to do so.
She heard, rather than saw, Edena's phaser fire lick Lucan's skin and was immediately brought back to herself as both her lips and hand went numb where they'd been in contact. Jerking back, she almost fell, her breathing rapid, breasts rising and falling swiftly, her heart beat extremely elevated. Only Edena's shout at her kept her from bolting right then and there, the urge to run and hide being turned by her commands and her Starfleet training. She scooped up Lucan's phasers and, in a flash of unreasoning anger, fired them both, one at a vine wrapping around his leg, the other at him. Kneeling beside him, she gathered all the medical equipment she could find, then moved to stand with her back to Edena, keeping watch as they moved further across the hangar.
Amatras and Arcorn make their way with Natalie toward the inevitable conclusion at the deck five transporter array. They were forced to put their goggles back on to avoid being blinded by the intense light of the rest of the ship. They continued to fire their phasers as needed but focused more on avoiding the infected where they could be relying on their more keen sense of smell to decide when to go into alternative routes. They let Natalie lead but also directed her course minorly where nescary.
-------
Amikris hesistated with the phasers aimed at her and then gave them a slight smile. "You know....aiming phasers at me isn't going to make me stop producing that scent. Its a natural reaction to fear and anxiety. Lower your phasers and let me get more comfortable and I won't be secreting this particular pheromone anymore. It might still take a few minutes to get rid of it anyways, given the damage you've failed to repair in the ventilation shafts and all." She hesistated for now but did take a few steps closer not dropping her phaser. "This Blessing doesn't change Ash'reem quite the same way it does your races though. Our elevated sex drives, forced us to learn discipline before applying to the Federation military, something you should be very happy about, given the long term side effects of this blessing. If I'm right given my reaction though....it is most definitely a blessing, for my race. One we'll be more then willing to take on, since it will save us from extinction." She states, using logic which she knew wasn't their best strongsuit.
Assuming they havn't shot her yet, she will go on slightly. "I will state though that what i desire you can't provide due to...anatomical differences in our species. Unless you have another Ash'reem onboard I'm unaware of...your incapable of providing me the pleasure I want, I can help you but this..." she places her hand on her hips. "This I'm saving for the next Ash'reem ship we visit okay? Speaking of which....are the comms working yet?" she inquires, playing off how rare her species is and how unlikely it is that her peers know much about their sexual nature beyond the rumors they've heard.
All this time Skye had been trying to heckle the hell out of Ida to make her stop fighting Isley and though she tried to ignore she was naked and trying to hump him just as much as punch him, it was starting to make her feel like a total voyeur. "Ohhhh no you didn't just say that," she groaned when Ida was telling Isley she'd let her watch. "I really don't want to see your nasty hoochie anymore and there's no way in hell you or anyone else is getting close enough to me to make me come."
Things only got worse when Isley agreed to fuck her if she helped get the warp core out. She gaped for a heartbeat when he ripped his shirt off and was unbuckling his pants, knowing there was no way to protect him now. "SIR NO!" she blurted and felt like someone punched her in the gut. Whatever this infection was, if Ida's words and actions meant anything, it was taking them out with sex and for all she knew Isley was the only one besides her not infected. The visor snapped down over her face before the first teardrop fell. She was alone again.
Make sure no ships or shuttles leave ... She had her orders and in the spirit of her superiors she would honor them. "Computer ... open a channel to Wolf 10 and Wolf 14," she commanded and cleared her throat. "Wolves 10 and 14 this is Wolf 03, the ship that fired on the Theurgy has been disabled but they are about to experience a warp core failure. Please assist in getting the threat away from Theurgy." After a few moments, she finally heard something from both ships and her blood ran cold as moans and giggles, even a snickering sound reached her ears.
Fuckindamnhellthisisbullshit she railed all in her mind and took a few rapid breaths to gain control of herself. Think Skye, you can do this. You HAVE to do this ... shields ... modulations ... match it and in a weak point you've got them. Even if I do though, more will come out and ... Shaking her head, she couldn't let that train of thought take hold. The sound of her fingers tapping over the panel was almost like music and she prayed this would work, would give her enough time and keep her alive to try to make things right.
Come on ... their ships are just like yours ... THERE! Finally she had the match and drifting a moment to lull them into thinking she wasn't doing anything aggressive, lined up the tetryon cannon and punched through the sky. The cannon sent two bursts, one toward each ship and she watched with wide eyes and thrumming heart, hoping it burst through the shields and rendered them inert.
[Main Computer Core]
Felicity heard the Ash'reem talk, noted how she did not drop her phaser, and thus remained where she stood next to the middle-aged human female. From what the hologram could tell, the humans had a hard time making up their mind about this intruder, so she awaited the verdict patiently.
Yet being as things were, the humans around Felicity was of a one-tracked mind, and it was the woman next to her that tipped the scales - set things in motion after the logical explanation. Logic did not apply upon lust, at least not as insatiable as theirs. "Winds and words, but no action. You can help us but we can't have your pussy? I say do it, make sure she is one of us. I don't trust this one unless she proves herself enlightened."
The one from Security with blue eyes and blonde hair that remained behind Amikris followed her in the short step she had taken, and again pressed his phaser against her back. "Bend forward and place the phaser on the floor, right now. Slowly... There you go..." With a hand on her hip he held the muzzle of the phaser between her shoulder-blades. Still paranoid, it seemed - his nostrils flaring and his hands shaking. "I know too little of your species to make up my mind about your supposedly species-specific and peculiar cunt, but I am sure that with your supposed appetite, you won't have a problem with me inseminating your ass."
True to his word, having bent Amikris over, the Security Officer smeared the head of his manhood in the residual juices inside her pussy-lips, and then pushed his member inside her rectum - phaser still pressed against her back. With his free hand he held Amikris' hip at first, then reached around her hip for her alien sex. With his fingers, he stroked her in fascination - famished eyes watching the patterns upon her skin move with her musculature as he squirmed himself inside her... repeatedly... with his virus-enlarged member.
The woman next to Felicity tsked, obviously having wanted the Ash'reems womanhood to be ploughed. Yet before Amikris stood the dark-eyed one. "The comm system is working for us, but you were at the Staff Meeting, and thus your clearance is gone to access it." Holding his phaser by his hip and the base of his cock with the other, he tilted his head and regarded Amikris bent-over form - her face in the right level for his original intentions. "So, how will it be? Are you going to prove yourself or not? If you can show me a good time with that unique mouth of yours, then I'll put the phaser away and let you use the comm. You want to tell your parents the good news about your blessing?"
It remained unsure if the man comprehended the implication of the Ash'rem species' survival, when he said that, but Felicity remained, watching, having understood that she had to wait for the two men to spend their seed inside the intruder and that she would then be considered trustworthy.
From the entrance came William regal, moving towards Felicity as if he had forgotten where he left her. His steps were ill and eyes swollen, but he nevertheless joined as a spectator - standing to the side with Felicity and the older woman.
[En Route to the Bridge]
With one final sweep of her phaser down the ends of all three corridors they could see, Thea opened the door to the stairs with the equivalence of a thought - the sliding doors opening behind her back. "I am familiar with the EMH, that program on the USS Voyager being the catalyst for the Federation to finalise my existence and to come up with the idea to install a pasitronic brain into the Main Computer Core; its processing power both handling ship-wide functions and hosting my projection. Here, get inside."
Once in the staircase to Deck 01, in the dark and in the silence, Thea ascended the steps methodically with her phaser raised towards the unknown above. "I do not understand how you might upgrade me into an Isomorphic Projection, if that is your intent. Already I have tactile sensors for feeling with my hands and my body. While I may lack the sense of taste and smell, I hear, see and feel. Only with the pasitronic brain of mine could I process such sensations. Is that not enough? What more can an Isomorphic Projection do that I cannot? "
Turning to face Lt. Kae in the staircase, Thea had to ask him, since he was sending double messages. "Do you consider me some kind of science project that you wish to upgrade and become renowned for, or are you interested in making me evolve because you care? You seem so eager to change me, as if I am not good enough - not living up to my potential in the way you see that I might. I try, as far as I am able, to live as an organic person on board. I have my own quarters and a wardrobe with clothes that I wear upon my projected body once I have bathed. I can turn myself off and on again, or at least I could before the infected... Anyway, please tell me in which ways I do not live up to your criteria..."
Such an odd feeling, this silence. So awkward, she noticed.
OOC: 2.17 am here and I have to post with Ida in the Captain's Yacht tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience of the delay, but I will post again soon. I can't keep myself awake anymore right now.
[The Captain's Yacht]
Triumphant, Ida almost came close enough to kiss Isley before he pushed off towards the aft compartments and the relatively small Warp Core. Though she did not get to taste his lips, she was rewarded with the sight of his bare chest again as he undressed - all according to her terms. She paused before following him, lifting her blue fingers to her nose and smelling the cock she had touched.
Once a the Warp Core jettison control systems and the clamps, Ida heard the instructions as she watched Isley up by the ceiling, biting her lower lip in anticipation as she saw his hard phallus move in zero gravity. She had never had sex in Zero-G before, and she very much looked forward to it; to be weightless in the fighter pilot's strong arms. Though despite distractions, no matter her very immediate needs, she set her bare feet against the deck plates and wrapped her fingers around the first clamp. Of course she did not wish to die, no more than Isley did, but the two pilots had believed her since they did not know her new self the same way she knew their boorish and dutiful priorities. Gritting her teeth behind smiling lips, she pulled hard - the first clamp coming loose.
"Mmhhh... It is a boon to see you work that body, Pinkskin," she commented as she used a few hand-holds to get the next clamp, "and it will be working even more soon... thrusting and pushing inside me, and I will show you what paradise feels like."
Outside, over the shining blue stratosphere of Niga, Wolf-10 and 14 were oblivious to the scheme about to unfold. A shield frequency, shield harmonic, or shield modulation referred to the frequency settings of the shield emitters on any kind of starship or vessel. If you knew another vessel's frequency, you could modify your weapons to bypass the shields entirely. This information was closely guarded information on all Federation Starships, yet something Wolf-03 had taken advantage of now. Unsuspecting and caught blind-sided, the two AC-409 Valkyries were shot - each in turn - by Skye's tetryon cannon. While having a crude and heavy targeting system, the weapon was unchallenged as the two bursts cut into the Valkyries' electronics like a knife through butter.
The curses and proclamations of panic screamed over the Lone Wolves short-rage comm frequency as they were left dead in the water... for Niga's gravity was tugging at them. In minutes, they would be plummeting to the tropical forests far, far below.
Inside the Yacht, Ida tugged the third clamp open - using her long legs and her back to pull it free. Only one more left, she made sure she worked fast enough to get the fourth open before Isley finished with his last one. Then, she made her way to the controls, and positioned herself there - her smile devious as the computer reminded them of their imminent crisis.
[Warning: Warp Core breach in one minute.]
"Get down here," she said to Isley where she stood by the control panel that would manually release the core, "or I will not insert the commands and pull the lever."
Fondling her voluptuous body in the pulsing artificial light, Ida watched Isley up there - knowing she had him now. If he valued his life as much as she knew he did, he was hers. Leaning her head back against the control panel and touching her sex, she did offer him some further incentive: her voice was heard over the din of the damaged ship all around them. "Computer! Send this written message to the Valkyrie with the designation Wolf-03: Warp Core about to be ejected. Please stand ready to tractor the core out of the Yacht's hull and out of detonation range from the USS Theurgy and the Captain's Yacht."
Looking at the fighter pilot through eyes slitted with pleasure, she waited for his move - her free hand on the control panel next to her head. "Come here, stick your cock inside me..." Weightless, blossoming detonations in conduits all around them forced her to pause. She moaned and bucked her hips, all the more excited by the danger. "...and we'll release the core together..."
[Warning: Warp Core breach in forty seconds.]
If he did not hurry, the chamber might be flooded with leaking plasma that would drift in Zergo-G and melt their skin off before the breach took them out. "Hurry... fuck me now..."
== Deck 04, jefferies tubes ==
It was getting hotter, she was sure of it. Hotter, stickier. The air was moist and clinging, and it felt almost as if Natalie were swimming through it, instead of just trying to crawl forward. Sweat poured down the back of her neck as she pauses to pull her gold shirt further open. Her hair was plastered to her skin now, and for perhaps the first time in her life, she wondered if maybe shaving it all off wouldn't be a bad idea. wouldn't be in my ey--what was that!?
Her head jerks to the side, looking past one of her companions and down a small side corridor. There was nothing there, just a flickering emergency light. She sighs, softly, still on edge, too much on edge, to the point that even she can tell something is off. If it weren't for the fact that her companions were excellent shots, and that their sense of smell and hearing was more useful then the small computer console in her hand, Natalie was sure that she would be freaking out by now. Thankfully, whatever paranoia that was making her flinch at each shadow was kept in check with the presence of the Neotins, and their seemingly calm reserve.
Still, that helped only up to the point that the party could actually advance. However, after 20 minutes of crawling through the Jefferies tubes, Natalie and the group were boxed in. "There's extra seals placed on all the bulkhead doors," she mutters softly, curling in against the wall, feet on one of the removed panels, a fiber cord pulsing slightly between her console and a port in the wall. "This is...odd. It shouldn't be like this" She began typing away, pausing long enough to ask one of the Neotins' to reposition to rear guard once junction down. Except, the doors there had sealed shut too. They were well and truly boxed in.
Fighting down the sudden rising bile in her throat, caused by worry that they had been lead to a clever trap, the Ops officer Cheif Operations Officer she silently reminded herself, began trying a basic override. It was then, that the whole ship shook, knocking the handheld console from Natalie's sweat slick grasp, sliding across the floor as the lights in the tube flickered, shifting to deep red. Natalie bent over and scrambled after the console. Thankfully, it wasn't cracked, but the dimmed lighting made it that much more annoying to work. "It seems something, or someone is shooting the ship" she manages to say calmly, stating the obvious, as the ship rocked again.
The shooting, the poor lighting, the sweat pouring down her neck, none of it helped the young woman focus on breaking the encryption on the bulkheads. Once these were freed, the small group would be able to slip out onto Deck 05, only a few meters and one bend of the corridor away from the Transporter room. sadly, the internal sensors were, if only in this portion of the ship, inaccessible to Natalie. She could only hope that they were equally unusable by her infected counterparts, whom seem to have tried locking down all junctions leading out to Deck 05. Nasty little buggers...but...there's a reason,,,that I'm Assist-- chief Operations Officer With that, the bulkhead doors snap open.
Carefully peering down the next set of tube's, Natalie is relieved to see no one waiting immediately in front of them. As far as she could tell, the last 10 meters to the panel leading to the corridor was empty. So she slipped through the less then wide opening, the doors brushing against her hips, and quickly crawls down to the exterior panel. "Ok. there's probably someone outside in the corridor," She says, gulping, and pulling out her phaser, checking the charge again, noting that it had sunk even lower then before. Pressing her back against the surprisingly cool metal, sighing at the fell of it, the brunette closes her eyes, slowly trying to keep her breathing under control. "On three..."
"one," she grabs the release.
"Two," she pulls it back.
"Three," she lunches forward, as the panel pops off with a hiss, and ducks behind it, tumbling into the corridor. She points her phaser behind her, huddling behind the panel like a makeshift shield. Smoke fills the corridor, making everything hazy. Laying not 3 meters away, are two clearly infected, and clearly unconscious crew members, covered in burn marks. The sharp, stinging scent of plasma burns fills the younger woman's nose, causing her face to scrunch up. By the time she turns around, its clear that, by some stroke of luck, the immediate corridor, leading up to the bend, is empty.
Silently placing the panel on the floor, or as quietly as she can manage, the Operations officer fumbles through hand gestures she hasn't used in far too long, indicating that the Neotins should take the lead while she holds the back. They edge forward, around the bend. Before Natalie can get there, a brief exchange of fire snaps back and forth, then silence. Motioned forward, the Ops chief slips around the bend, seeing two more very stunned bodies. This time, she pauses, and grabs two of the syringes stuffed into the small satchel on her belt. "Here goes nothing" She thinks, plunging the needles in, one at a time, and sighs, tucking the spent devices back into her bag.
"Stay out here, guard the entry way, please," she says, the words coming out more as a request than the order it should be. Turning her back to them, she crouches down, and begins the process of unlocking the doors to the Transporter room, fingers trembling, so close to their goal. The security seems even tighter here then she expected, but her own access codes, combined with some quick coding, should do the trick. Five minutes pass, and then the doors hiss open, and Natalie stumbles in, blinking at the bright lights filling the room.
[En route to Bridge]
"I want to do it to help you and all other photonic lifeforms like you, Thea. You are the most sophisticated hologram the Federation has produced, and a prime example of how important your race can be to the furthering of all life." Race. Life. Not words normally associated with holograms. "Back in the science labs, we worked to make Isomorphic projections as advanced as possible. After several months of work, we managed a breakthrough, even if it might seem like an unusual one. We managed to create a cup of coffee. Not just the appearance of one, but one with the scent, the warmth, and even the taste of the real thing. The only difference between them was the lack of any material. It was believed that with enough time, we might be able to give holographic beings a scent, a taste, and everything else that comes with being organic. There was even talk of the possibility that we could one day create Isomorphs capable of reproduction."
Kae held lofty goals, but he thought lifeforms like Thea deserved to be everything any other member of the Federation could be. When the line between organic and photonic was blurred enough, they were sure to be granted status as members of the Federation, and not just seen as tools like a tricorder or phaser.
[Captain's Yacht]
Each clamp was released in succession, until all that remained was the manual ejection system. Ida had succeeded in beating him to that, and even put a condition in play before she would allow the ejection to finish. He had to enter her, and become infected. Could he truly risk that? Let himself become infected by her, and be of no more use to the rest of the crew? The Yacht was dead in the water, and would not serve any more function, preventing him of being any real use to the others. There was at least one more play he had in mind, but he didn't even know if it would work. Still, it was worth a try.
Pushing off, he worked his way down to Ida, pressing up against her from behind. There, he brought a hand to her face, his fingers extended for her to suck on in a form of sexual play. The hand he chose was the one she had injured, resulting in the cure inside the syringe covering his hand with it's residue. Would ingestion of that small amount be enough to cure her? Maybe, but even if it did, the small concentration would likely render it diluted, taking much longer then normal. Have enough to at least render her unconscious, he thought, as his other hand rubbed her hips, putting her more in the mood. He had precious seconds remaining to make his plan work.
Again there was a moment of guilt when the two ships were disabled. All she wanted was to get home and be with her people again, to not be so damned alone, and here she was firing on them and likely would never be able to board ship again. The thought occurred to her that letting the captain's yacht blow up this close to the Theurgy would end all of their misery and the threat to anyone else. She could find Andrus' freighter again and ...
The message came through to be ready to tractor the warp core, snapping her out of her desperate thoughts. No, she had to find a way to help her crew. She could never live with herself if she just let them die. "Computer open the channel to the captain's yacht," she said with determination. "The two Valkyrie have been disabled. Hopefully there won't be any more coming out for a while and I'm ready to tractor the core to keep you all safe."
After a moment's pause, her mouth worked of its own volition. "Please ... don't leave me out here all alone." That last had been said to both Isley and Ida over the comm in a voice quite different from earlier. There was no taunting or bitchiness whatsoever nor the formal and professional tone of a fighter pilot. It was the sound of a lost friend, praying to be found before the creatures of the dark forest find her and tear her to bits.
[Deck 11 - Garden of Eden]
David kicked away a vine as it lashed out towards him, then fired a phaser burst into it for good measure. He kept backing up, following the others as quickly as possible through the entanglement. He thought they had to be close to escaping by now.
Garen stepped over Lucan's unconscious body and kept pace with Edena and T'Less, ducking and dodging vines and outstretched arms as he hurried towards the exit on the far side of the cargo bay. He was just starting to believe that they were going to make it when he suddenly felt something grab at his leg. He stopped and glanced down, his black eyes widening at the sight of the thick vine coiled around him, gripping his leg with a terrible strength fueled by an insatiable hunger.
Garen tried to tug his leg free, but before he could make any headway the vine suddenly pulled hard, and he cried out in surprise as he felt himself being lifted into the air. "Aah! Somebody help!" he yelled, the vine thrashing him back and forth.
David glanced back over his shoulder and saw the Betazoid hanging upside down in midair. Turning around, Grayson aimed his rifle and fired into the vine, causing it to spasm and lose its grip on Garen. He noted that the counselor had enough presence of mind to twist his body as he fell to the grassy floor, his back taking the brunt of the impact. As he rushed towards Garen, David noted that the numbers of the infected had swelled as they all became aware of the intruders' presence, and he had to push his way through some of them to reach Garen. With his free hand, he pulled the counselor to his feet and pushed him after Edena and T'Less. "Go!" he shouted. "Get out of here!"
He followed after Garen as best as he could, but found his movement impeded by the throng of infected, all of whom were grasping at David's body, cooing at him, trying to coax him into submission. Their hands pulled at his jacket and shirt, ripping them both off and leaving him in only his pants. David snarled and continued to fight through the crowd, his enhanced strength enabling him to push through them for a while longer. But even he could only hold out for so long, and as soon as he saw his three companions hurry through the doorway and out of the cargo bay, David lifted his phaser and fired several bursts into the nearby computer panel mounted on the wall. The panel sparked as the phaser pulse fried the circuitry inside, and the doors sealed shut before any of the infected could follow the others out.
Knowing that he'd done as much as he could, David finally dropped his phaser, barely hearing it clatter to the floor as the mass of infected swarmed him. They tackled him to the floor, and he struggled with them, but found himself helpless against their combined weight. He felt hands running through his hair, the cool breath of one of his own security officers tickling his ear as she moaned into it, and tongues slowly teasing over his chest and stomach, licking drops of sweat from his muscular frame. He felt one woman's hands anxiously grabbing at the waist of his pants and ripping them down, and heard her and several others moan with need as his hard, pulsing length came free. More hands gripped his thick cock, and David grunted in both surprise and pleasure as one of the infected women quickly slid her tight, juicy pussy onto him, enveloping his cock within her quivering depths. As the woman rode him, her cries and others' ringing in his ears, David felt a strange, alien sensation rush through his body, and soon all he knew was pleasure.
T'Less's eyes widened as she looked back to see Garen being drawn upward. Lifting her phaser, she was only a moment behind Grayson, concern showing in her eyes, though, even now, she did her best to keep her face impassive. When Garen fell, she rushed back and grabbed his arm, getting him just inside the door before it slammed shut, blocking them off from Grayson. She rose once she was certain Garen was in one piece and approached the door in time to hear phaser fire, surmising quickly that Grayson had protected them, even by submitting himself to the unwanted advances of the masses. Turning back to Garen, she touched his cheek for a moment, all the agitation she would show that he'd almost been taken, though her eyes showed how hard she was fighting to remain in control, to not break down and simply lose her mind.
Pulling back, she turned to Edena, "Let us go. We should not stay here any longer."
[Deck 11]
And then there were three. Their group had been much larger when they left, only to fall to every trouble they could have known. Compromised Holograms, pheromone-powered lust, and vines that didn't behave like anything Edena wanted to associate herself with. Ilya, her most sexually experienced former host, made a joke about a galaxy full men being enough to cover the quota without sex-crazed vegetation joining the fight. Edena dismissed it as unnecessary chatter, as she was forced to continue on.
First Lucan, and then Grayson. So far, it was the Lieutenant Commanders that were falling in the struggle. It didn't bode well for her, as the only remaining high rank left. "T'Less, you'll have to cover the rear from now on in the stead of Lt. Commander Grayson. I'll get us to the jefferies tubes." Thanks to Grayson's sacrifice, it was easier then the first half of deck 11. He had sealed most of the infected in with himself, though a few males had gone in pursuit of Edena and T'less, and had to be phasered into submission. At long last, they reached the tubes, and could continue their crawl down to deck sixteen.
[Deck 01]Image:
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-aA65Qv1zIOk/TkBWJiw2Z6I/AAAAAAAABCE/JzqktHzOyCk/s512/BridgeOverheadcopy.png)
The Lieutenant's sweet words about the future and what it might bring followed Thea as she emerged in the corridor of Deck 01.
In front of her was the sabotaged tubo-lift situated in the middle of the deck between the Captains and the XO's Ready Rooms. With her phaser lowered in a two-hand grip, Thea turned her head to see one of the guards David Grayson had posted there. He was seated with his back against the wall and had obviously been infected very recently. His rifle lay discarded to the side, and his clothes were open wide - somewhat still hanging on to his frame. He sat there, head hanging forth, and his muscular chest and stomach was twitching slightly with the heavy transformation-process that his body was undergoing. In his lap rose a throbbing male organ almost out of proportion - a meaty pillar still slick with female secretions. In the whole of the corridor, the minute movements of the guard's arousal was the only sign of life.
There had been more guards posted there, and they could only see this one; this CPO Robertsson whom was about to wake up and nurture the same kind of carnal craving as 89,645% of the USS
Theurgy now had. The best tactical choice was to stun the man prior to his awakening and thus give them more time before an infected and armed crew member began to stalk the rather small Deck 01.
"Would you please take his weapon while I keep a look-out, Lieutenant?" asked Thea, some of her background processes still filled with the notions Kae was giving her; to taste, smell and... eventually have children. The latest was not something she had the references to process; no mimicked maternal feelings to use as point-of-reference. Organics gave birth. Holograms did not. After a few more nano-seconds, she ended the analysis yet decided to take it up at later point - should she be so able. "Use setting 3 for a durable time of unconsciousness, and shoot Chief Petty Officer Robertsson."
Her phaser completely still in her hands, Thea turned her head - calculating the safest path into the Main Bridge while Lt. Kae armed himself. "There are nine infected on this Deck, including the CPO," he informed him quietly, "two of which are in the Main Bridge. The rest are scattered between the damaged Briefing Room, the private study in the Captain's Ready Room and the Security Checkpoint. While I can take care of these threats, you will have to deal with the four people in the Conference Lounge. The holo-emitters there have been disabled."
Optic recordings of the events that had taken place there played in the background of her matrix's processes, where there were flashes of the Senior Staff shooting out the emitters to spare her from the humiliation of being hacked and doing the things she did, and also save their own lives.
"We cannot safely deal with the ship-wide epidemic from the Main Bridge unless we take care of them first," she continued, her brown eyes locking with Kae's, "by either locking them up... or neutralising them as a potential threat. Do you require my passive assistance, or will you rendezvous with me on the Bridge?" If Kae could use some solution to handle the task on his own, she would immediately make her way to the Captain's private study first, and then move on...
[The Captain's Yacht]Finally... He was so close now, this elusive prize of hers.
Ida felt his hands upon her, caressing her hip from behind - his fingers spanning her cheek and brushing her lips. Weightless, with her hands upon the Emergency controls. Ida leaned her head back against his shoulder, her body melting against his - eyes fluttering. She wanted more of him. She raised an arm to grasp the back of his neck - to have his breath close. It overrode the noise of the damaged speakers in the Bridge - the static scramble of Wolf-03's plea. She did not hear it from that distance, not under those circumstances. Her other hand also left the control panel and reached low - around his lower back - keeping his lower body against her own with blue fingernails digging into his buttocks. Oh... her legs were aptly spread and worked to ensnare his, and when she undulated her hips in response to his touch, she felt him...
[Warning: Warp Core breach in twenty seconds.]
...she felt his rigid length between her legs. It had yet to visit her aching and wet sex - the top-side of the length nestled between her hungry nether lips. With hands reaching backwards to keep the fighter pilot against her body, with her mouth open and tongue licking his fingers, she rocked her weightless hips along his length - the elusive yet so wonderful head slithering along her heated crevice. Their sweat mixed between their moving bodies, and Ida's muscles flexed as she moved against him - entry so imminent she could imagine the feeling already. All she had to do was lean forward a little... arc her back just so... and he would traverse her sheath inch by inch in the first thrust.
At that moment, the lights in the Warp Core compartment died, then flickered to life again. The emergency batteries had kicked in. There was an odd metallic taste in her mouth, yet she reckoned it was from the hazardous environment they were about to have sex in.
[Warning: Warp Core breach in fifteen seconds.]
It was hard to keep focused, and she bit into the pilot's finger - tongue stroking it.
Fifteen seconds? A part of her screamed for Mr. Isley's cock a that point, but raw self-preservation made its voice heard. Moaning hard, Ida released the back of the pilot's head and bent forward - fingertips sliding across the touch screen''s surface. Leaning forward as she did, Isley's next thrust would easily slip inside her, and she managed to power up the release mechanism manually with the movements of her fingertips. She bit her lower lip, head swimming oddly given how she had become used to her own heights of arousal...
[Warning: Warp Core breach in ten, nine, eight...]
....her fingertip touched the pulsing red button on the display, heralding an alarm going off that told of the fact that the Warp Core was about to be ejected. Face gone limp, Ida reached for the lever at the side of the panel. Her blue fingers brushed the red metallic surface of the handle... but she could not feel it. Nor could she sense if Isley had entered her - forcing his great length inside her... even less if she was still holding him close. Vertigo. Ignorance. Oblivion. Her midnight blue eyes rolled backwards, and her fingers...
..left the lever unturned.
[...seven, six, five...]
[Transporter Room 04 | Deck 05]Image:
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_-Rit7SMxsLE/Tcr1WeLVsVI/AAAAAAAAAwU/6c_QEVSyE_c/transporterroom.png)
The interior of the room lay deadly quiet.
As if the area had been completely spared by the battle and the epidemic, the wall panels and the lights were all functioning. Aye, there was that minor fluctuation in the light coming from the ceiling, but on any other Starship, it might just have been the result of Engineering rerouteing power for a drill or a test. There was no debris on the floor, and no one present except for the new Chief of Operations. No sounds of love-making. No cries for more. The quiescence instead screamed in the visitor's ears; the residual ringing of events suffered. Sights unspeakable. Incidents never to be forgotten.
Yet normalcy; the absence of rapists and the warm glow of a functioning ship, it was all a mirage.
In stumbled the visitor, having spent five minutes to try and get in. Meanwhile, the single entity in the Transporter Room had awaited her - shutting the hatch from the Jefferies tubes firmly after gaining access. Now, the silhouette watched the human from behind her - standing with its back to the wall next to the door whence she had come in. It watched her in silence for a few moments - not even breathing. Yet at some level, it knew it had to shut the door, since the two Ash'reem guards just outside might pick up its smell. So, it did, entering the same encryption upon the sliding doors that had been there before the Chief of Operations hacked it.
Five minutes it had taken her. Five minutes was plenty of time. The Ash'reem would be too late.
"Stark," it said, bearing the Captain's male voice. For when she turned around, she would see the creature that had once been her Commanding Officer. Its sinister smile would, perchance, be the last she remembered before Jien Ives disarmed her with a bladed carpus to her wrist... and a backhand blow to the cheek. Should it be any more fight left in the human, the creature would follow her as she stumbled around and tried to gain her feet. It would stalk her if she tried to crawl away, yank her up by the hair and slam her into the wall. It would ignore her pleas. It would slap away any attempt to sting it with a syringe. It would render any attempts towards the inevitable futile.
In the end, it would wrap its hands around her neck and lift her up - holding her firmly against edge of the control table. She might kick and claw and punch for all it cared, but it would still not yield its suffocating grip. It would lean in against her broken lips, and it would kiss her passionately - its saliva so treacherous and blissful in the final moments of conciousness.
Only when she stopped thrashing, it would release her before she died - letting her limp form fall to the deck plates.
The creature knew the woman would wake up eventually, and she would be begging for the climax that its kiss had prepared her for - the final threshold to her epiphany. The creature knew also - from before enlightenment - that even if it would nothing rather than inseminate her, its ancestral forefather would be served better if the capacious and intelligent female got her true blessing elsewhere. Long it lingered and watched its prey, until it finally turned its head away and went to the control table.
The creatures former existence was shadows and bitterness, yet filled with useful knowledge. It smiled as it punched in its access code, and lit up the Transporter controls.
The commands it issued first dealt with the unconscious female - making her vanish in a cascade of light. Then, the creature turned its oaken eyes towards the sealed door, and issued new commands after checking the logs for the correct coordinates - making the noisy attempts to get inside end abruptly. Once the two Ash'reem was transported down to the planet surface of Niga, the creature contemplated as best as it might what would be the best choice for the rest of the unenlightened. With blank eyes and smile not befitting its face, it began to find victims... and arrange for interesting pairings.
There was one, in particular, for which it had something quite special in store.
After all, the creature needed to spread its own seed as well, didn't it?
OOC: As for those leaving the Garden of Eden, please make it so that you emerge by the Jettison Controls on Deck 16 and the "back room", and you set up a perimeter or something? Make it a bitter-sweet hopeful scene; them thinking that they will be able to turn things around. Yet before that happens... I will post. *smiles*
[Deck 1]
As suggested by his holographic partner, he grabbed the phaser of the fallen guard, and quickly adjusted the setting and used it to assure the former owner would not be a problem when he woke back up. He could finally be of use again, given the task of taking care of the infected making use of the one room on deck 1 that now had no Holo-emitters. "I'll take of it. See you on the bridge," he said, already setting his phaser for a wide spread shot that would hit everyone in the conference room before they had enough time to react. As soon as the door opened, he let a long burst of energy make up for the weakened concentration, rendering the crewmen inside as unconscious as everyone else they had come across. Securing the bridge was their first priority, allowing them to re-take the main computer and begin placing the infected in some form of restraint.
The conference room clear, Kae entered the main bridge, where he and Thea would meet back up. The tactical station was his goal, using it as a means of accessing the ship's key systems. There, he put his quick hands to work setting up a series of commands he planned to launch all at once, in order to take the technicians by surprise. He would launch them along with Thea's spamming once she began, masking his presence enough to enter the computer and reinstate his access, and revoke that of the infected.
[Captain's Yacht]
Isley kept rubbing her sensually to leave Ida's head swimming, while his fingers, coated with the cure and sedative, appeared to be working. By the time she looked drowsy enough, there were precious seconds remaining, his hand shooting from her hip to the button, finalizing the release which saw the core slide from the ship to the outside, leaving their lives in the hands of Skye, whose fighter was the only thing able to tractor the core away. Had he left her enough time? Five seconds were all that remained for her to get it to a safe distance, and get her ship far enough away to avoid her own troubles. If she failed, the explosion would destroy the Captain's Yacht, and likely the Theurgy as well. If ever there was a time for her to play hero, this was it.
[Deck 16]
They had made it. Finally, their three-man party had reached deck sixteen, and the back door program. "T'less, Garen, you'll both need to hunker down and watch for any infected. It will take me some time to get the program up and running," she explained, as she opened the console to reveal some tech that wasn't of Starfleet specifications. It was SI equipment, it's design based on something vaguely Romulan, well masked to not be detected by the internal sensors. The device was meant to take advantage of scheduled downtime for maintenance, but now, she had to power it up manually and use it to override all commands but those she personally gave. Essentially, she would take command of the ship.
She'd taken care of 10 and 14 and now was waiting for the device to be ejected, the beat of her heart pounding in her ears and that sense of dread building in her chest until she thought her lungs would burst and kill her. "Come on ... jeez omicron any day now!" she yelled into the comm.
There wouldn't be enough time to tractor it away but she maneuvered her ship to a position just behind and below the yacht as well as placing herself between the core and Theurgy. If all else failed, she'd provide somewhat of a buffer for the others. "Computer ready the tractor beam to repulse the target with every ounce of power we've got," she ordered as a calm settled over her.
The countdown reduced to five and she knew she was going to die. "Lieutenant Isley ... it was a pleasure serving with you," she stated clearly, speaking to the only person left in her squadron she thought might be able to still understand her. [Four ...] The core ejected and her trained reflexes kicked in, sending the burst to shove the core down and away from all the ships.
"Please please ... someone save them," she prayed.
[Main Bridge & above Niga's stratosphere]
Yet as Lt. Lin Kae entered the Bridge and went for the tactical station, he soon found out that Thea had not arrived yet - having to deal with the other areas on Deck 01 first.
They were two, one seated in the Captain's chair and the other bobbing frantically upon his lap - arms around his shoulders. They both were naked, yet the man had the presence of mind to hear the sliding doors and to whip his phaser rifle around - aiming it straight against Lieutenant Kae's face. "Drop it," he said in quiet words - much in contrast with the suddenness of his movement. The woman had yelped and nearly fallen off him, but righted herself with a hand upon the back of the Captain's chair. The eyes Lt. Kae saw behind the sights of the rifle was hazy with arousal, yet as unblinking as a reptile. Before infection, he was obviously trained with the lethal instrument that he wielded in one hand - arm not even shaking. "I don't fancy men, so I might just keep the level 10 setting I have on this baby."
It was the SCO of the Lone Wolves Squadron; Lt. Cmdr Jaru Rel. Callsign: 'Janus'.
"In fact, why would I even bother aiming at you? This rifle is a tad on the heavy side..." he said and leaned his head back against the chair with a lop-sided smile. The woman started grinding down upon him again, moaning mischievously as she tried to regain the SCO's attention. She offered him her breasts and ran her fingers through his hair. Nevertheless, Jaru Rel stared Lt. Kae dead in the eye the whole time. "I might just as well try to enjoy Hannah here... instead of letting her go to you. Tell me, why would I abide my time waiting for you to become aware of our greater state of existence? Perhaps you were not meant to understand the most crucial aspect of life - that we live merely to propagate ourselves and should enjoy doing so. I might just as well shoot you... and continue watching this fabulous show I found on the view screen."
Aye, before the seated SCO and Wolf-04 - this Ensign Hannah Slaverton whom did her best to reach climax upon the hard length of Jaru's cock - a spatial battle was unfolding.
Two Valkyries seemed disabled, both caught in the planet Niga's gravitational pull - about to plummet through the stratosphere. Travelling through the stratosphere in a starship was often times turbulent, yet even if the Valkyries were built to handle atmospheric conditions, they were not really intended to survive free-fall crash landings from outer space. The Theurgy's controls were chiming like church-bells with incoming hails from the two, while other chirps indicated that there were several distress calls put on hold - no one there to answer. Because Jaru just sat there, egotistic need for his own pleasure overruling the fact that two of his Wolves were about to plummet to certain death.
Moreover, the Captain's Yacht was out there - severely damaged - and a third Valkyrie was hovering about it like a carrion-crow. To what purpose it did so was impossible to tell, but the Yacht was still firing with its modest phaser-array upon the Valkyrie's shields. Scarce were the shots - far between and mostly a nuisance to the far combat-superior Valkyrie - with energy-levels low and little room for phaser-fire if the Yacht had begun to run on emergency power. It was at this point that Hannah cried out and slapped her hands down upon the HUD arm-rests of the Captain's chair, making audio transmissions play out in the Main Bridge.
[USS Theurgy, this is Wolf-03 Ensign Skye Carver requesting permission to dock. Theurgy, this is Wolf-03 … please respond.] That was the first recording, followed by the panicked Wolves 10 and 14 that were slowly being pulled down to their plummeting death. Even as the audio played out, Jaru did seem to reflect upon intercepting the events. Perhaps there was a shadow of his former self still there. Either way, he waved slightly with the muzzle of his rifle for Lt. Kae to step away from his weapon. "Ops seat, now. Go. Tractor the damaged birds home. My Wolves should live so that they can commandeer a shuttle or two instead..."
He kept his rifle aimed at Lt. Kae with his one-handed grip the whole time - step by step.
There was but a single opening.
The Captain's Yacht must have ejected a Warp Core about to breach, because suddenly, Wolf-03 was seen using a repelling tractor beam. A mere couple of seconds later, the entire view-screen lit up with a detonation. It cast the glistening beads of sweat upon Hannah Slaverton's back into stark light, and made Jaru look away from the Engineer for a second. Yet when the light faded, all vessels remained on the view screen - if a bit set out of course form the fulmination. Wolves 10 and 14 were still about to enter Niga's stratosphere, the Yacht appeared about to fall apart even if it still had some power and navigational control, and together with Wolf-03, the mismatched pair remained the last line of defence to keep the virus from spreading.
For at the bottom of the Bridge's view-screen, Wolves 06, 08 and 11 appeared... three fully equipped Valkyries trailed by two Danube-class Runabouts.
OOC: Here goes:
- Thea is about to show up at the Bridge any second. Please work with me on a possible way to make the non-stun phaser rifle (by accident) severely injure the SCO, Kuro?
- As for the wolves out there? It seems they have to work together to both save their doomed comrades about to fall into the jungle and keep the rest from leaving. Good luck with that. *smiles*
- I am awaiting posts with T'Less and Garen on Deck 16 before I chime in there, and I look forward to a reaction from Natalie so that I may move the following events to a new setting...
- Kitty, I know you are having a rough time inspiration-wise, but just post at your leisure with Amatras and Arcorn (Transported to a swamp filled with the plants) and Amikris (facing her dilemmas). Remember the task I mentioned concerning Mr. Regal.
As Kae froze at the sight of the weapon upon him, he would do the only thing he could in such a situation. He began to gather data. A phaser rifle held in one hand, yet held steady said something for the strength of the armed man, yet also left him open to being disarmed if the opportunity presented himself. It was long enough to use the principle of leverage to wrest from his hold. He even noted it was on the heavy side, suggesting the front end would work against him in such a situation.
As ordered, he did put his weapon, slowly lowering it to the floor and standing back up, moving slow enough not to provoke a warning shot from Jaru. When told to take the seat at Ops, he again moved slow, not risking sudden movements making for an itchy trigger finger. The SCO held all the power in the room for the time being, and with Thea delayed, he couldn't count on help coming to his aid this time. He had to look for his own opportunity.
He was just passing Jaru when the warp core explosion rocked the ship, blinding everyone with light. Kae took it as the distraction he needed, reaching his arms out and wrestling the rifle away from Jaru. A couple of shots fired into the walls in the process, before a loud yell from Jaru preceded him finally letting go. When the light cleared, Kae saw the problem; the phaser rifle had struck his calf with one of it's powerful blasts, leaving severe burn damage along the leg and foot, crippling Jaru with both injury and pain. Still, Kae wouldn't take risks, and aimed the weapon at him, alternating to Hannah whenever he saw movement from her, until he was a safe distance away from both, and able to grab his phaser from the ground again. It already had settings to stun, which he did to Hannah. It would have been more merciful to do the same to the SCO, but he couldn't help but feel he might have possessed information they needed. He would wait for Thea to determine what to do with Jaru.
[Deck 16]
Garen was still a little shocked. He couldn't help but feel responsible for what had happened to Grayson. Maybe if he'd been a little faster, that vine wouldn't have grabbed him, Grayson wouldn't have had to stop to help him, and they all could have gotten out of there.
Well, mostly. Garen remembered Lucan succumbing to the intoxicating effect of the pollen, how he'd attempted to force himself on T'Less. Garen had forsworn violence since the end of the war, but he wished he'd had a phaser on him at that moment. The good doctor was lucky that it was Edena who shot him, rather than Garen.
Still, even he couldn't ignore the reality of the situation. He now held one of Lucan's discarded phasers, and took up a position near the alcove where Edena worked feverishly. He tried to steady his pounding heart while keeping an eye out for trouble. When he caught T'Less's eye, he offered the Vulcan a small, reassuring smile. He was starting to believe that this nightmare was almost over, and they were going to make it.
Taking up position opposite Garen, T'Less once more checked the charges on the phasers she held and readied herself as much as she could. It was a daunting task, trying to remain in control of her mind. What had happened in the far past had caused damage to her brain and today's events had forced cracks in what she'd spent the last one hundred years trying to build to replace. She glanced at Garen and caught his hopeful smile, and nodded in return. The problem was interesting and gave her something to work on while she waited, something to focus on to keep the cracks from spreading within. Logically, she recognized the futility of their positions, the overwhelming odds against them. They'd been locked out of the computer, out of the transporters and the majority of the crew was under some kind of huge mental infection. As much as she wanted to believe they would make it out of this unscathed, that there would be no further stress placed on them, on her increasingly fragile mind, the calculated odds were against them.
==Deck 05, Transporter room==
She sank down, to one knee, crouched just to the side of the entry way, a hand thrown up to shield her eyes. It was so much brighter then the hall way, then the Jefferies tube. She was sure that the hallway outside was now shining like a beacon. the doors shunted open for now, by her hap hazard hack to get into the room. Her head kept shifting, side, to side, like it had out in the corridors, expecting to find someone screwing on the floor of the room, bucking in lust, moaning.
Her ears practically rang with the tranquil silence of the transporter room. She allowed herself to rise to her feet and slowly walk into the room, her steps echoing. She gets halfway through the room, the pounding in her heart slowing, almost returning to something approaching normal, despite the way her clothes and hair clung to her, despite the firefight in the hallway moments before, she felt...if not safe, alone. And in that moment, eyes half closed, that was enough to grant her a sense of peace she hadn't had since this whole nasty affair started. Natalie could feel her grip loosen a bit, on the phaser that she'd held onto for dear life.
Starke. Her eyes snap open and she lets out a bit of a scream, just a short, startled burst, and whirls around, hand extended outward, a shaky grip on her phaser. She stares, hard, at the being she knew as 'Captain'. She sees a uniform, and lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god, sir, we thought--" its as far as she gets. The door slams shut, and the hand comes down, slapping into her wrist, catching the weary Ops officer off guard. Her wrist snaps, and she screams out in pain, the phaser falling to the padded floor of the transporter room.
The scream shuts off as he head snaps around, and she staggers back. Her lip splits, and she staggers away, spitting blood onto the floor. Wh-what? she barely thinks, as the panic flares back up from before. The tremble settles into her legs, and her chest starts to heave No...no...nonononono She staggers away, trying, in vain, to put the console between her, and her commanding officer. She tired to climb up, to her feet, wincing in pain as she places weight on her arm, but then there were strong fingers pulling into her hair, bending her back, her large chest put on display as her body was bent, further and further, on her knees, staggering to her feet.
Another panicked, pained cry breaks past tortured lips as her body is further bruised, this time, her head and back bouncing off the wall with a loud crack. Natalie's vision blurred, her eyes swimming in her head. They focus in on the 'Captains' face , so foreign and alien from just hours before. She brings her hands up, trying to force his off of her, but it seems useless, his strength far superior to hers, her hands battered aside. "P-please" she moans out, blood dribbling down her swiftly swelling lip, "please no" she begs, as he inches closer to her, holding her firm against the wall. She tries to kick, aiming for his knee, to no avail, the leg simply not there. All her Starfleet training seems to slip away, the more she struggles.
And then there were hands on her throat, cutting off any further protest. She could feel her eyes going wide, feel the pulse of her neck thundering against his hands. Fear, full on, fills her, causing her whole body to clench up. Ca-can't breathe...he's he's going to kill me! she thinks, as her legs start to tremble, twisting from side to side, toes twitching in her boots. Her vision began to dim, and she feels something release inside. Her eyes start to fade, and then...
It hits her full on the mouth. The pressure against her torn lip, the feeling of a tongue sliding in, slick, intrusive, unwanted. Wanted. Its like fire, pouring down her tongue, into her throat. She'd been kissed before, but never, never like this. Her mind had already started to dim, from lack of oxygen, and the sudden rush, the sudden need didn't help at all. She feels herself grow damp, between her legs, and ragged, strained moan, escaping from her own lips, is the last sound she hears, as her eyes fade closed.
She lays, twitching, as the beam shimmers across her body, scattering her molecules, whisking her away from the transporter pad...
[Main Bridge | Deck 01]
Just before the explosion, Thea had entered the Bridge with her phaser raised. Afterwards, she could survey the situation - her stride set towards Lt. Kae's side.
The shots fired during the blind struggle between the Engineer and the SCO had effectively done more damage than it first appeared. Setting 10 on a phaser assault rifle was titled Extreme Disruption Effect with a discharge energy index of 125 000. The shots had 1.3 seconds duration and the actual effect was that even heavy structural materials absorbed or rebounded energy - with a 0.55 second delay before the material vaporised. This occurred while Lt. Kae stunned Ensign Hannah Slaverton. The muzzle had not been still during the duration of the shots, and large claw-like marks fizzled into appearance across the Bridge. Moreover, as Lt. Kae held the SCO at gunpoint... the squadron leader's leg melted off by the knee.
Naturally, the organic screamed - Thea quite familiar with the concept of pain since she had been given tactile feeling akin to nerve-synapses in her carefully stored pasitronic brain. As sparks coughed out of the claw-marks around the Bridge, she walked past Lt. Kae's shoulder and twisted a grip into the SCO's hair - returning him to his seat in the Captain's chair and pressing his head back against the back. The reason for her brutality was the same reason that she had been delayed. She had come to learn about the fate of their Commanding Officer through her background processes and tried to piece things together with accounts from the infected she had left behind stunned.
"Lieutenant Commander," she said, her phaser held low in the other hand, "do you know the whereabouts of Captain Jien Ives? Stop screaming. Answer my question and I will stun you - removing the pain. For the sake of this ship and this crew, it is imperative that you answer our questions right now. Do you know where the Captain is? It has come to my attention that he is conducting Transports through my logs, but what are his intentions?"
Jaru, with teeth clenched and face red with pain as he clutched at Thea's wrist with his fingers, barked a curse. "Stupid question, he seeks new cunt or cock... Just like... the rest of us." Another string of curses spilled from the squadron leader's lips, most directed at Lt. Kae, before something mildly intelligible came out, "We know about your 'back door' through him, so he merely put a stop to such a notion as to use it... With him being the only one with Transport authority, it was suggested he'd handle it."
And Thea knew just what he had done; the logs plainly there. She turned her brown eyes to the view screen, and in front of the developing battle there, the texts of the logs rolled by - issued to appear by her with a glance. It was the most effective way to let Lt. Kae learn what had happened.
1314 hrs. Transporter Room 04 by Cpt. Jien Ives: Lt. Natalie Stark to Cargo bay 09, Deck 11.
1315 hrs. Transporter Room 04 by Cpt. Jien Ives: Lt. Amatras Neotin to coordinates 13.234745, 17.581376, Planet Niga.
1315 hrs. Transporter Room 04 by Cpt. Jien Ives: Lt.JG Arcorn Neotin to coordinates 13.234745, 17.581376, Planet Niga.
1316 hrs. Transporter Room 04 by Cpt. Jien Ives: Lt.Cmdr Edena Rez to Brig cell 03, Deck 07.
1316 hrs. Transporter Room 04 by Cpt. Jien Ives: Lt. T'Less to coordinates 13.234745, 17.581376, Planet Niga.
1316 hrs. Transporter Room 04 by Cpt. Jien Ives: Lt. Garen Nelis to coordinates 13.234745, 17.581376, Planet Niga.
While the log rolled across the view screen, Thea turned her attention back to the SCO - her face void of emotions even though they brimmed behind her eyes. "At those coordinates, there is nothing but wetland; a dark swamp hidden by the dense canopy above. Living conditions are minimal for longer durations, so I assume that this is a place where your precious flowers grow?" Thea realised that her anger at loosing her Captain made her slightly verbally abusive, but she did not care. She did not have the luxury of switching off her emotional chip any more, so she just had to accept her awkwardly contained emotions. "Will you infect the Senior Staff as you see fit and return them to the ship with the Captain's help?"
She realised she was answering her own questions at this point, and she did not care to hear the SCO's grunts and groans any more, the curses and the threats. She repeated the most important question. "Do you know where Captain Ives is going next?"
"He said he wanted someone special, but I do not know whom he meant, you damn mirage!"
She turned her eye to Lt. Kae. "Lt. Natalie Stark or Cmdr. Edena Rez then, based on the locations they were Transported to. If he wanted someone for himself, then it is the former SI-operative." To punctuate her analysis, Thea stunned 'Commander Jaru Rel, letting the man drop like a sack of potatoes to the deck plates - no time to tend to his wounds. She turned to Lt. Kae, her ire quite human in appearance. With her freedom from Federation bindings came the freedom of expression - be it physical violence upon Senior Officers or plain weariness. "Lt. Natalie Stark enforced the encryptions upon the Captain's singular privileges to the Transport systems, but now it seems she might be lost - sent to what has become known as the Garden of Eden to be fed to the plants there. My point is, that if the Captain learns about your whereabouts... I cannot stop him."
The fact of their Commanding Officer falling prey aside, they stood in a Bridge damaged and without wholesome access for their plan. Quick repairs might help them.... Thea supposed she could do little than to stand guard unless Lt. Kae had better ideas. Then there was the tactical situation on the view screen; the battle between the escaping infected and the single fighter pilot that was making a stand next to the crippled yet still lit Captain's Yacht. What was a priority at this point? The domestic problems on board, or the spreading of the infection in the Alpha Quadrant and beyond?
"Lieutenant," she said quietly as she stared at the daunting force facing the single little speck of a Valkyrie out there, "Can you, somehow, give me full Tactical access to my weaponry? It is something I am hard-wired to lack access to. If nothing else, will you let me take the Tactical station for a while? Either way, I think we need to re-evaluate our priorities."
OOC: The swamp will be the heroic last stand-scene for the characters that were beamed down there. Go crazy with the opposition of the many many plants in the area, and I will naturally play the plants for the few remaining posts in this Episode if that is your wishes! If not a heroic last stand, it is the panicked run for their lives where they have to cooperate to survive infection. Take things as far as you want to... before I resolve everything and the Episode ends with this Chapter. A scene in the Garden of Eden will play out too, making room for Cir'Cie and David Grayson to be present to your heart's extent.
[Deck 11 - The Garden of Eden]
When Dr. Nicander regained consciousness, he wasn't quite sure where he was. The last thing he remembered was trying to make his way across the Cargo Bay areas together with the rest, and watching a bulbous wine creep up Lt. T'Less' leg. His own erection had been bared somehow, and he had been... kissing with the CTO? He was not sure. There had been a jolt of electricity, and a brief flicker of awareness that a stun beam had hit him and the image of Edena Rez' hard eyes. Then, his world had gone dark. The monster inside had fallen silent.
But now...
Where am I? Someone had shackled his tattooed hands to the floor above his head, and his ankles were similarly trapped below. The air still felt extremely hot and humid, the infected successfully having created a jungle. It was much too warm for clothes, and when he looked around the room, he was not surprised to find that everyone was completely naked - including him. It was with the observation of the flowers and undergrowth all around that he realised he was still in the Garden of Eden. A glance to his right revealed that someone else was also bared and bound. With her wrists locked with steel clasps above her head, her breasts jutted towards the dark ceiling. Her lips were swollen and cracked, as if she had been beaten. Her eyes were closed. His lack of a medical tricorder refused him any further diagnosis.
Natalie Stark... Odd, since she had not been in the group heading for Deck 16.
There were about thirty crew members in the Cargo bay they were held, and the noise of the conversations and copulation had started to diminish as soon as Lucan began to move. They were all staring at him now, as if they were an audience for some sort of performance that he was about to give. Then... he saw bare feet walking toward him. His pale grey eyes travelled upward along a pair of shapely thighs, a smooth belly and a pair of voluptuous breasts... before finally reaching a beautiful alien face that he recognized. It was Cir'Cie, her green eyes glinting like jade stones, her short hair ruffled and on its end. She looked like a Vulcan deity. Yet he could see it in her eyes: she was still corrupted. Beneath that angelic surface lurked a devious, aroused woman who was undoubtedly coming to claim him as her next victim.
"Greetings Doctor," she said, her voice somewhat playful. "How are you faring?" She stepped over him so that she had one foot on either side of his stomach.
"Splendidly," he said and smiled despite it all, "except for the fact that I am all tied up down here, obviously." He meant to look at her face, but his eyes lingered on the small dark thicket at the apex of her legs. The pollination of the air was still strong.
"Indeed. Pardon for the precautions, yet Mr. Grayson thought you might try to get away or something. You being Câroon forces him to keep watch until we are done." Her dry words ended and she knelt down on top of him. She was squatting over his abdomen, and he could feel her pubic hairs tickling his skin - her palms laid down upon the hard planes of his chest. She began to buck her hips, rubbing her crotch against his stomach. "Yet you are not going to get away, are you? You are going to stay right here... we are going to have some fun together... Right, Mr. Grayson?" She kept swivelling her pussy against his muscular abdomen, and now he could feel trails of moisture as her groin glided over his skin.
Off to the side, the CSec could be seen as well - one of them now. Apparently he must have been corrupted after Lucan was stunned and left behind - something which he would remember next he spoke with that filthy harlot Trill. Stoically, the creature that had once been a Lieutenant Commander of Starfleet watched for signs of Lucan's eyes turning white; the tell-tale sign that a Câroon might draw from the elements around him. The threat of the man's phaser was - to the contrary - quite plain.
"Why this... special treatment?" asked Lucan, trying to think of something while buying time, all the while not trying not to stare at her gorgeous breasts. Then it dawned to him. "I see... you have found the formula for the antidote, but you have not broken my encryption. You cannot delete it from the database. Yes... you hope to sway me to surrender the codes since I made it so that no one infected can open it. You will seduce someone else to delete the formula for you, since I obviously won't."
She frowned at him, as if he was a stubborn lock that she could not open. "Correct, yet even if we do fail to unlock the access to the file... it is a small thing, for soon no one that is not blessed shall know about the file." Then, however, she looked over at the woman from Ops - whom was slowly coming to. "Still... we brought your friend along as well, or rather your dear Captain delivered her to us on a silver plate." Cir'Cie slid off of Lucan and crept toward Natalie Stark like a prowling cat.
"The Captain? He was the only one with Transp..." Implications of what had been said struck him. If the Captain had been infected, they possessed the means to allocate people however they wished. If they know about what was on Deck 16, then Edena, T'less and Garen... Of course they knew, since the Captain knew. Violently, Lucan suddenly tried to tear himself free - to no avail. Grayson was right there. It was out of ire that his own personal plans might be foiled that he spat. "Where is the Captain?"
Cir'Cie ignored him completely. She crawled on top of Lt. Stark, her breasts rubbing against human skin. "She is so beautiful, her face symmetrical in the way that bespeaks the eye... It would be a shame if we had to violate her," said the Vulcan, Lucan watching as she leaned down to kiss and nibble on one of Natalie's nipples. "We could do that, you know. I could call a dozen males over here, and they would go to work on her. They would fondle her, caress her and massage her until she was ready for something more. That's when they would start to eat her." Cir'Cie smiled as her hand wandered down to Natalie's crotch. She began to tickle her groin with her fingers.
"After she has reached climax a few times, she shall be ready for a male organ." Cir'Cie rubbed Natalie's pussy even harder. "A nice, big one... pushing all the way inside her... filling her up. They shall take turns with her at first, relentlessly churning her until she is soaking wet. They shall take her until she screams and thrashes with lust. She shall beg them for more, and they shall give it to her. They shall eventually erupt inside her, one by one, pumping the good human full of hot, creamy reproductive fluids of assorted species. Eventually, they will not wait to take turns, and force themselves into her wherever they might. That is, unless one of our great benefactors smells her and wants her first..."
Cir'Cie pulled her hand away from Natalie Stark's crotch. "Or...you can just tell us the encryption codes, and we will be more merciful as we enlighten you. Nevertheless you shall be blessed, and you will not create any more cures for the elevated state we have reached. Ms. Stark will no longer have foolish ideas with her computer access, and lift the firewalls she has set upon key ship systems. She will even shut down Thea for us... Aye, you two deserve special treatment, since with you coming to realise what you are missing in life... we will be ready to set sail for the next port."
In the end, Lucan did not care one whit about the woman from Ops, but he did see the hopeless predicament in its entirety. Even the voices inside were silent.
[Deck 16]
It finally looked like things were going their way. They had reached deck sixteen, through all the sacrifices that came with the goal. If it meant they could stop the infected from spreading further, it was well worth it in the end. Edena had only been working for a few moments, but had managed to already get herself basic level clearance to the main computer. It was nothing really, merely the equivalent of a guest aboard the ship, but it was more then she had only a short time ago. With another few minutes, she could have full access granted to her, enabling the Theurgy to follow her commands unwaveringly.
It was then the overwhelming feeling came over her. That sense of being disconnected, like an out of body experience. She knew the feeling well. She was being transported. No! She had only enough time to think that single word before she found herself in the brig, which was already too familiar to her. It was the same cell she had been confined in when her true identity was discovered. The infected had the transporters, and dropped her in the Brig. A quick pass on her hand made clear the force field was active. She was trapped inside.
"Computer, open a log, to be sealed under Edena Rez encryption Pi seven, and only released to someone who shows no sign of infection." There was defeat in her voice, but she couldn't surrender yet. She at least had to leave some kind of message for anyone who found the shop, in the event the infected didn't succeed. Within, she recorded everything, from Theurgy's escape from Federation space at the signs of corruption, to the details of the plant and what it had done to the crew. She linked the plans for Nicander's cure to the attachment as well, providing no room for confusion. She had left the Theurgy's last will and teastament, in the event it was truly over and done.
"They put you in here because you can fight the infection," Jona told her, already seeing the reasons why Edena had been cut off from everyone else. Feeling the need to prepare her, though, he had to add, "That doesn't mean they won't come for you anyway. You should be prepared to protect yourself, physically and mentally."
[Bridge]
Seeing the horrible effect that the phaser rifle had on the SCO's leg. Kae was overtaken by the guilt inside. The man would never be the same again, and Thea's need to interrogate only made it worse. She was depriving him of medical aid and pain relief, but it was him who caused the wound that resulted in Jaru's problems in the first place. It was only Thea's request that he grant her control that snapped him back into reality. "Right, tactical . . . I'd guess they didn't grant you access in order to prevent you from initializing Multi-Vector Assault Mode." It was a sound logic. Fearing a sentient AI gone rogue, MVAM would have let her separate the ship into pieces and turn their weapon systems on each other.
Kae hurried to the tactical station, working away quickly to prepare his surgical strike on the computer system. "I'll need you to start spamming the technicians in three . . . two . . ." Kae started the attack, wresting whatever controls he could get from the enemy, while Thea distracted them with billions of lines of text that served no purpose other then to slow them down from even noticing what Kae was planning. Tactical control for Thea was his primary goal, but he also sought out control over the Holo-emitters, knowing they might still serve some use in stopping the infected. Holographic security teams to disable them, holographic cages to lock them inside, hell even some photonic playmates to keep them busy wasn't a bad idea if it was necessary.
[The Brig | Deck 07]
The creature that had once been Captain Jien Ives entered the Brig's sliding doors, wearing its bare male form.
As he passed the empty cells - all emptied by the creature's likeminded regardless of Security's initial efforts to contain the first wave of enlightened - the lights splayed over its musculature. The dragon tattoo across the left side of his torso and arm moved as if it was alive while the creature moved. It had arrived with high anticipations for conquer and brutal satisfaction - to spend its seed into an unenlightened that would not be so compliant as the rest. Nay, this one had the means to resist complete devotion, and the creature found this enthralling: to be able to corrupt endlessly without having to move on. A challenge it craved, finding the ease in which to sway the lesser species not so satisfactory as this had the potential to be. Oh, the anticipations had made the creature hard, yet it moved without difficulty - body in perfect sync with its surroundings.
The creature passed by the computer console on the middle of the floor, and it paused merely to enter a short command to the computer. The forcefield on the farthest cell lowered, and the creature was already making its way there - as if it had never ceased moving with its determined and deadly grace.
When it finally emerged in the opening to the small cell, it wore no smile - dark eyes completely blank. Yet as it lay its eyes upon the figure of the prize it had chosen for itself; the width of the hips and the fullness of her bosom, something hungry and sinister writhed in the shadows underneath the creature's lowered browridge. It spoke while still walking - heading straight for the Intelligence Officer with fists clenched by its sides. "Rez," it said quietly, ready for the prey to try and defend itself, "you may resist me... at your own peril."
With the advantage of merely having to come near enough to kiss and infect the Trill, the creature did just that initially - attempting to embrace and lay its lips to hers.
As soon as the tractor beam struck to repel the warp core, Skye closed her eyes and held her breath. An image of her mother and father flashed in her mind, one of the rare times they were together when she was a child. It was a picnic by a lake where the mountains reflected on the surface, a beautiful day full of happiness and she thought maybe this time Daddy would stay or Momma would agree to go with him but of course that little dream didn't come true.
Even with her eyes closed and the black visor down, the light was bright enough to make her squint. Her feet were braced and hands clutching the arms of her chair, waiting for the recoil and probable oblivion. Déjà vu seemed a recurrent theme for Skye as she felt the shock waves hit against her shields and knock Kestrel away from her current position yet she was still alive. Her breaths rushed out and back in several times and she started to laugh, that not quite believing and possibly losing sanity type of sound one makes when the worst didn't happen.
The laughter didn't last long though as she saw three more Valkyrie launch with a couple of Runabouts. "Lieutenant Isley ... are you still with me? I sure hope so because if not I am soooo humped," she said with urgency in her voice. "We have two about to enter the atmosphere but three of our own just launched as well as a couple of Runners. Any chance you can call the others down or transporting the others back on Theurgy and we get those two tractored back?" Without waiting for his response, she maneuvered and locked a tractor beam on to the one closest to being dragged down.
[Brig]
The sight of the force field dropping was her first sign of trouble. He was getting close, and she needed to be prepared to fight back. Of course he had transported her without her phasers though. They were probably sitting on the floor back on deck sixteen, far away from where she needed them to be. Jona and Ilya both stood ready to support her, Jona ready to take control to unleash attacks, while Ilya would serve to leap and dodge with a grace unmatched by any of the other hosts. They had gotten skilled enough at switching on the fly that there was barely any lag time.
When Jien would first see her, she was already in a combat stance, one hand ready to guard while the other was ready to strike. "You can try and take me . . . at your own peril," she offered as a response, noting her readiness to defend herself from his advances. He was already dressed for his intentions, while Edena was still mostly in uniform, save for her jacket. A red shirt, gray pants, and her underwear would serve to defend her from his violating intentions, hopefully long enough to try and render him unconscious, and escape from the brig to resume her previous mission.
[Captain's Yacht]
Isley opened a channel, audio only, to Skye. he wasn't prepared to let her see him in his birthday suit. It left too many questions to be answered. "I'm here, but I'm not sure how much use I can be to you. Without a warp core, the Yacht is running on backup power. She can't move, and ship's functions are limited. I've got life support for another couple hours and . . . I might be able to get transporters." Transporters. At least he could beam back to the Theurgy, but was there anywhere safe to go to? What about one of the shuttles? Maybe he could commandeer one and use it to provide support to Skye's Valkyrie.
"Any suggestions? Best I can think of is for me to beam onto a shuttle and take it over from inside. At least I can help you and have a ship capable of movement again. Hell, I can even use the transporters from there to maybe grab the pilots from the other Valkyries. We can store their patterns in the buffer to keep them from interfering further." Rather then re-materialize them right away, they could simply keep them in the pattern buffer and finish transport when they had somewhere safe to contain them.
Isley was there and still sounded sane making Skye very glad she was sitting down because her knees felt like jelly as relief flooded through her. "Thank the maker," she breathed as she worked on getting the one ship pulled out of the gravitational pull.
"If you can transport over and commandeer one of the shuttles, I'd say go for it and definitely keep anyone in the buffer. I don't know how they're infected but maybe there's a way to extract whatever it is when we rematerialize them later."
Not knowing whether to be elated or scared shitless, Skye took another deep breath. "I'll keep working on these two to make sure they don't get destroyed. We can't afford to lose ships and I really don't want the captain to take this outta my hide later."
I'm not alone ... we can do this ... "If you run into trouble Sir, I'm just a comm link away." Did she sound as desperate as she thought she did? She should be glad at least one person was there to greet her without trying to kill her or, by Ida's words, make her come.
[ Niga ]
Of course, Garen bemoaned as he found himself suddenly standing on the surface of Niga. He should have known better; they'd nearly succeeded in ending the outbreak, so of course the universe had decided to screw them over one last time. Why can't things ever go smoothly?
He sighed and took a look around to get his bearings, immediately recognizing that this wasn't the same part of the surface he and Jovela had been beamed down to the other night. Garen frowned at the reminder of the wounded nurse, and again hoped that she'd pull through. That goes for the rest of us, he added mentally.
He saw Arcorn and Amatras Neotin nearby and greeted them with a nod. When he also spotted T'Less, he made his way over to her. "Welcome to Niga," he said, waving at some of the nearby trees. "I don't see Commander Rez. Do you think she ended up elsewhere?"
"I have not been able to find her, as well," T'Less commented, before turning her phaser up and notch and scorching a crawling vine. She realized, despite the unknowns of the current situation, she felt more in control. Perhaps she had been feeling claustrophobic aboard ship? With infected at every turn, it wasn't much of a surprise that she should have felt closed in, unable to move. Here, at least, there was open air, room to breath... at least, until the vines took full notice and decided to try to infect them as well.
She glanced at the blue-skinned aliens and beckoned for them over. As she waited, she touched Garen's shoulder. She couldn't say it, but she felt immensely glad that he was here with her. It seemed right, somehow. Thinking further, she raised an eyebrow, "It seems that we are amongst the only remaining uninfected. I would, however, like to find out who was attacking the ship."
Hesitantly, she touched her combadge, not activating it, but giving it consideration, "If they were Starfleet, we would hardly have been a difficult target to destroy, sitting defenseless as we were."
Decision made, she tapped her badge, "This is Lieutenant T'Less, Chief Tactical Officer of the USS Theurgy, to anyone within the sound of my signal. Please respond."
(OOC: Not sure if either Isley or Skye would pick up her signal. It stands to reason either or both might, given the signal strength of the Starfleet comm badges, but up to whomever.)
[ Main Bridge | Deck 01 ]
At Lt. Kae's mark, Thea closed her eye briefly... and thousands upon thousands of messages flooded the computer terminals which had held her leash not long before - assuredly causing quite a stir in the Main Computer Core area.
After the deed was done, one which might be hazardous in the long run since it drew attention, Thea could not naught but wait and pace the Bridge while Lt. Kae worked furiously with trying to circumvent the hard-wired blockade for her to use direct tactical controls. Not only did Thea see the Lieutenant work through her projection's optics, but she could keep track of what he did to the ship's systems - her inner eye letting her see things that made her a tad... impressed? The Engineer sure did know his way around holographic AI-programming in conjunction with Starfleet computers.
However, his efforts proved futile. He made ingenious adaptations to try and let her access the tactical systems by proxy, yet in the end, it seemed that the only proxy accessible to her was the tactical station in front of them. She would have to use it in the old-fashioned way, with her projection's fingertips and eyes. At least the Lieutenant gave her access to that much, even if she would have been able to wield tactical controls by "thought" had the developers of the Theurgy not hard-wired her to be apart from said systems.
"No time, we will have to share station," said Thea eventually and strode up behind Kae's seat - her chameleon bodysuit changing to red. With one hand on the back of his chair, she leaned past his right shoulder and let her fingers fly over another part of the controls - under the circumstances not aware of the very close proximity of her chest to his face. When the tactical station sent a shower of sparks over her arm, she did not react. A slip of hair escaped from her ear as she leaned forward, and her lips mouthed some of the commands that she used - pursed lips moving minutely as her actions became visible on the view screen.
Her unerring gloved fingers did not go for the phaser controls, but rather the deflector dish. The complex settings were laid in with inhuman focus on the task. Rapid taps changed its primary function from emitting low-power deflector fields that were deflecting microscopic particles whilst the Theugy orbited Niga, to instead emit a constant graviton pulse which disrupted the potential formations of warp-fields in the Theurgy's closest spatial vicinity. In short, it would stop all present vessels from leaving. Once she activated it, the Theurgy's deflector dish fired up and lit everything before it with its blue light. "There. It is a drain on power, but it will buy us some time."
Next, she accessed the communications controls, the view-screen lighting up with numerous faces in cramped cockpits or spacious shuttles. "This is Theurgy NX-79854 hailing all present Valkyries and shuttles," she said adamantly and stood tall, her voice and face more than just a little familiar to anyone who'd set their foot on their Starship, "your warp-drives are right now being disrupted and you will not be able to leave. All vessels that does not return to me immediately will be neutralised as potential threats to the Federation and the galaxy. I repeat, this is your only warning. Return to the ship right now, or you will be trapped between Wolf-03's and mine combined fire-power."
Never before had she found it more fitting to denominate her physical structure in first-person - merited by the pending hazard. On the view-screen, one of the two Runabouts and Wolf-06 - the Valkyrie having been commandeered by a technician from the Flight hangar - turned around on impule in order to dock with the Theurgy again, yet Wolf-08 and Wolf-11 was going straight for Wolf-03 now, with the Runabout straggling behind a little. After closing the communications, Thea turned to Lt. Kae with a concerned frown. "How fare you with your own access?"
At this point, Thea let through an audio transmission that she picked up, letting it be heard on the Bridge. [This is Lieutenant T'Less, Chief Tactical Officer of the USS Theurgy, to anyone within the sound of my signal. Please respond.] Yet Thea had no time to do so, since the two Valkyries had just opened fire upon Wolf-03 - orange bursts of phaser-fire cascading towards her position. This with Skye Carver just managing to save the previous two Valkyries from plummeting through Niga's atmosphere with her tractor beams.
[ Brig | Deck 07 ]
As the creature bore down upon its prey, Edena Rez's combadge chirped to life. [This is Lieutenant T'Less, Chief Tactical Officer of the USS Theurgy, to anyone within the sound of my signal. Please respond.] The combadge had been reactivated when she gained her modest access to the ship's computer.
A cry for help, the creature reckoned, since it had sent the speaker to the very densest breeding grounds of the creature's forefathers. The creature ignored the message completely, just as he did not care about the warning in its prey's retort. It came in hard, its bare male form swinging high towards the face, then a savage blow with the left aimed towards the torso. To top it off, it launched a brutal side-kick towards the ribs on the other side.
It was not only the Trill whom had mastered seamless transitions mid-fight. For in the wake of the barrage, the creature would switch to its female form for ease of getting underneath the prey's guard and push Edena to the wall - only to switch back and trap her body with its larger male form. It would try and yank her under-shirt from her then - ripping it off over her head and using the disorientation of the garment to lay its lips against hers.
There was no sound in the Brig except for the movements of their bodies, the shifting of feet, the grunts and the hum of their doomed ship.
[ Niga | The Mahéwa System ]
Upon the sound of voices and the shot fired, the dark swamp all around them began to stir.
Upon closer inspection of the ground, the Chief Counsellor and the Chief Tactical Officer would find that they had both been stranded upon a patch of solid ground not far from the second patch where the Chief Science Officer and her husband had been relocated to. Yet besides these two small islands of the same brown and green colour as the rest of the undergrowth, and a couple more some twenty feet away to the north, the rest of the swamp was knee-deep murky and filmy water. Treacherous root-systems riddled the water-masses without abandon, and the trees were of a bamboo-like kind, though far more crooked and riddled with suspicious fungus.
Yet the greatest hazard lay in the starkly contrasting purple flowers that hung like loose clusters of beauty in the middle of hellish black grapevine. The brown and black leaves of the regular vines and the wood of the trees was a gloomy backdrop of the breathtaking beauty of the almost orchid-like blossoms. They grew in the thousands and draped themselves over any surface they could reach. The only difference here was that while the swamp smelled foul and dank, the flowers all around competed on unfair grounds with their sweet and heavenly scent.
Now heaven stirred, the pearly gates opening: snake-like vines descending from the thick canopy above and some even rising - wet and glistening - out of the water. Along with these immediate threats plain to the eye, there was the more sinister yet easily missed fact about the purple flowers...
...in how they all turned towards the victims to pollinate them - to stare upon their futile attempts to get away.
Along the edges of the small platforms, purple bulbous vines began to snake their way towards their feet - distracting them from the strong and deceptive grapplers that came down for their neck and shoulders. All the while, the blossoms pollinated them - this being the second time they were exposed to the compelling euphoria.
OOC: Since Skye Carver was MIA, her comm-system access has not been removed (even though her ship's clearance to the Theurgy computer was removed), and Edena Rez's comm-link is also active since she activated it via "the backdoor". Besides this, and the above with Thea (where I will let Lt. Kae answer the CTO's call while Thea focuses on powering up weapons) I think its only infected will hear the plea. Isley may pick it up through the Yacht's control panels, but unless I am missing something, I think that is it.
[Bridge]
Kae finally regained control of the hologrid aboard the Theurgy, and set about doing what he could. The energy levels were low, thanks to Thea using most for the deflector dish, so he settled to make use of holographic forcefields to separate the infected and uninfected on board the ship. They served the same purpose as a standard forcefield, but without access to that section of the ship, the holo-emitters would serve a similar purpose. At the very least, uninfected could be protected, though he found himself unable to do anything for Edena Rez, since she was already in close quarters combat with the infected Captain.
Thea's closeness didn't go unnoticed, as the side of her breast was practically pressed into his cheek. He understood the need for her to use the console, and maybe she was programmed a bit too well to focus on the job, ignoring that sense of personal space, not to mention the embarrassment that her emotional subroutines would have placed upon her. If she was going to work through it, then he would have to do the same.
Kae instead turned his focus to the transmission that had come from the planet. Thea was too busy to respond, but he could be their lifeline to the ship. "This is main Bridge. Lieutenant," he answered the hail from T'Less. Sensors pointed her to be on the planet, a revelation that made Kae chew on his bottom lip with concern. He didn't have transporter control to get her out of there. Was he going to have to tell her she was on her own, without aid from the remaining crew?
[Captain's Yacht]
While retaining the open audio channel to Skye, Isley had floated his way back to the main bridge, where he got his clothes back on. He also took the time to gather up the remaining cure syringes he had on him, thinking they could still serve some function. He didn't know if Ida had been cured by the small amount he gave her, but he also didn't know the risk associated with giving her more then normal. Could she have overdosed? He had to leave her be, as he began accessing the transporter controls. "I'm gouing to beam to the runabout, Wolf 03. If I am successful in taking the shuttle, I will open communications again." With that, he beamed over to the shuttle, leaving the Yacht dead in the water.
When he reached the shuttle, he already had syringes in hand, materializing next to the pilot and jabbing him with the needle. The drugs took quick effect, rendering the man unconscious. Isley pulled him from his chair and took his place, altering his trajectory to grab a Valkyrie with a tractor beam. "Computer, erect a level ten force field at the back of the shuttle and beam the pilot of that Valkyrie back there," Isley commanded, emptying the fighter of it's pilot, and removing another potential obstacle. "Open a channel to Wolf-03 . . . Carver, I am aboard the Runabout. The pilot has been given a sample of the cure and is currently sleeping it off. I have also beamed the pilot of the Valkyrie I have tractored behind a forcefield. Ready to provide further assistance."
[Brig]
Edena, or more accurately Jona, was targeting joints. When Jien swung his arms in to attack, Edena's fists struck open palm blows to the inside of the elbow. She didn't have as much strength as her larger, male opponent, but with precision strikes, she could keep him at bay, and perhaps even cripple him with enough time. As the kick came in, Ilya took over to make a graceful leap upward, Jona taking over before landing, to bring an elbow down on the top of Jien's head.
He was successful in getting the shirt off over her head, but by then, her hosts wouldn't allow her to feel embarrassment, which would only cause hesitation for a second. His lips found hers for the briefest of seconds, but before any saliva could be transferred, am uppercut would catch Jien's exposed chin, breaking any contact between them again. She wiped her mouth, just to be certain, before taking up her guarded stance again, circling around to search for a position where she wasn't quite so cornered.
[ Brig | Deck 07 ]
After its kick, the creature had taken a glancing blow from an elbow down the side of its head, and just as it was about force its tongue inside the prey's mouth, it got a solid hit underneath its chin. Had the blow come after its tongue was out, it would have gotten a nasty cut from its teeth. As it were, the creature staggered back inside the small cell - its guard raised once again and eyes glowing it anger and desire. Its male form looked upon the prey with hunger, her skin bared and her bra barely able to contain her bloated bosom. The creature's arousal ached with need at the sight - standing erect before its lower abdomen. Aye, the creature just watched for a second while the Intelligence Officer tried to circle around it. Only it would not give her an escape-route just so easily...
Stepping and leaning forward with the swing, it extended a sweeping elbow attack towards the mid-riff. The consecutive swing from the other side of the creatures body was a knee - hands grabbing for a hand-hold in order to drive the knee hard into the prey's torso. The natural follow-up would be to use the other knee as well - with the grip already in place - the third attack hopefully taking the fight out of the prey.
For last, depending on the outcome, the creature would switch into female form and crouch down, calloused hands grabbing the hem of the Trill's uniform trousers and yanking them down - belt and all - down to her knees with the downward momentum. The panties might even follow along with the grip. It would effectively, hopefully, hamper the prey enough to let the creature bring it down to the floor for further advances. Of course, depending on opportunity, the creature would hold her legs down and lay its wet, hot, open mouth against the Trill's nether lips - pressing its tongue as far as it could reach.
Already, T'Less began to feel the effects of the poisonous flowers, her heart beating faster, breasts moving up and down more quickly. The first outwardly visible sign of her growing arousal was two hard points against her shirt as her nipples became engorged. She did her best to drive any thoughts of satisfying her increasing urges, of stripping down to her naked skin and pleasure herself, or, better, undressed Garen and use his erection, out of her mind. It became incrementally more difficult to maintain her composure the longer they stood in the grove, but she did her best to maintain herself, instead turning her attention to the hanging vines, with instructions to Garen to kill anything at their feet. They would need to watch each other's back if either of them expected to survive.
She jumped, startled, as a response came back over her combadge and tapped it quickly, responding to Kae, "We are in need of immediate assistance. We have been transported to the planet and are currently under assault by infectious plant life, what I am surmising to be the source of the infection aboard the Theurgy. Additional weapons would be of use, if a general tranport cannot be performed, or containment suits."
It was with a touch of hope that she fired upon another vine. At least there was someone out there who could, possibly, help them. She estimated their chances of survival had gone up appreciably, though they were far from safe, yet.
[Brig]
Jien was ruthless in the attacks unleashed, fighting with the focus of a professional, and not just someone trained to defend himself. No, he would have been well suited for the age of gladiators in the arena, claiming victories constantly. They would have thrown him girls like Edena as tribute, but she wasn't quite so harmless herself, thanks to some skilled tutors sharing her body. With attacks coming from either side, she rose a knee and brought an elbow in tight to guard, and was left unprepared for the grab and the knee attack driving air of of her.
Down on her back, Jien pulled her pants off, almost taking her underwear with it, but Edena managed to pull them back up. It would have been a struggle, thanks to her hips being widened by the effects of the infection, but with his strength and drive, he had left her in nothing but her bra and panties. There were only two things on Jien's mind, and that was domination and sex. Edena didn't plan to make either easy, as she delivered a forward thrusting kick to the stomach of the female form standing over her. A kick flip would get her quickly back to her feet, as she advanced with a punch toward the face of Jien, looking to place as much of her forward momentum as she could behind the strike, and maybe knock out her aggressor.
[Bridge]
Kae listened to T'Less and her explanation of her situation. He couldn't help but feel some helplessness to provide aid to those in danger on the planet below. "Lieutenant, I'm afraid my hands are tied. The infected have revoked much of my access to the systems. I'll try and see if we can do anything for you, but until you hear from me, you should do everything you can to survive on your own." Silencing the comm channel, he looked to Thea for some answer to her capabilities. "Is there anything you can do for her with the clearance I gave you?" He was uncertain to what degree of access Thea possessed. Could she use transporters to get their allies off the planet? Or maybe send a send a shuttle on autopilot to the planet?
[ Niga ]
Garen moved as quickly as he could, focusing on the vines rising out of the mire at their feet, orange bursts of phaser fire scorching the encroaching plants where he could find them. He stood back-to-back with T'Less, and he too was beginning to feel the effects of the flowers' pollen. Adrenaline flooded his system, and his heart pounded in his chest as his breathing increased, which served only to pull more of the powerful pollen into him. He could feel his engorged manhood straining against his trousers, aching to be released. He desperately tried to think about anything other than T'Less, who stood so close to him, her supple body so easily within reach.
Not only could he sense the Vulcan woman's heightened arousal just by listening to her, but his empathy was also betraying him. He could sense T'Less's mounting desire exploding from her mind to batter against his own. If she had been like most Vulcans, perhaps she could have maintained some form of control over the powerful emotions, but Garen knew that T'Less was no longer capable of the mental suppression that characterized the Vulcan people. He soon began to notice his movements slowing, his shots just slightly off the mark, as the combination of physical and mental stimulants began to overwhelm him.
"Whatever they're going to do up there, they'd better do it fast," he breathed, teeth gritted as he shifted slightly to scorch a vine that had almost gotten within reach of him. "I...I don't know how much longer I can take this, T'Less. It's...too much!"
Someone on Theurgy wasn't infected and was actually trying to help but there was no time to shout Huzzah! and do the Dance of Joy. To further put a damper on things, only one Valkyrie and one shuttle went back to the mother ship with their tails tucked between their legs. Still it was two she wouldn't have to mess with for a while at least.
Isley's voice came on the comm again and there was another bolstering surge within her chest. "Acknowledged and good luck, Sir," she stated then grimaced as the two remaining Valkyrie engaged her. Returning fire, she tried to outmaneuver them and waited until she was in a good position to try to knock out their shields, ducking behind and just below but was also having to guard her own rear.
"Carver, I am aboard the Runabout. The pilot has been given a sample of the cure and is currently sleeping it off. I have also beamed the pilot of the Valkyrie I have tractored behind a forcefield. Ready to provide further assistance." The words were most welcome though she knew it wasn't going to be easy. "Good to know, Sir. I'm feeling a bit like the cream filling of an Oreo and NOT in the good way."
Isley had the Runabout and if he could match shield harmonics, he could even pluck the pilots out of their Valkyrie to end that fight. She didn't let up though, continuing to try to disable their shields the old fashioned way. "Computer, open the channel to the Theurgy ... Thea, you're a real peach. The help is appreciated and if you could find a way to close off the launch bays so we don't have to deal with more friendlies ... we'd be very much obliged," she said with obvious gratitude.
[Shuttle]
He knew there was only one shot.Using the shield frequency, he could transport a fighter's pilot out of it's cockpit and into his containment area. After the first one, they would no doubt begin modulating their shields to prevent such an act again. It would still lessen the playing field though, so he took his shot and grabbed the one that appeared the greatest threat at the time. A Valkyrie had managed to slip in behind Skye, getting into her blind spot. That would be his target, initiating transport and beaming the pilot behind his force field. He quickly tried for the second, but found the shield frequency had already been rotated.
"One down, but looks like we'll have to take care of the next one the old fashioned way," he notified Skye. "You've got the superior fire power, so I'll assist any attack you make with my own phaser fire. Once we burn through their shields, I'll transport the pilot and empty the fighter." It was a solid plan which would make good use of their teamwork. Wolves had to watch each other's backs, and that was just what Skye and Nathan were going to do.
[ Main Bridge | Deck 01 ]
Thea was powering up the phaser array and arming photon torpedoes, the latter which she hoped she would not have to use, when Kae looked to Thea for some answer to hers about her access and capabilities. "Transporter control is exclusively given to Captain Ives, and I have already tried. I am locked out. Should the infected learn that you are here, I cannot stop him from sending you down there too. As for the CTO, I am afraid there is not much to do. All efforts made now are bound to be too late in arrival, be it weapons or suits, if we cannot use the Transporters. All of the shuttles have been powered up and manned by infected, otherwise I could have sent one down there... Wait."
As Thea worked on something, Wolf-03 appeared on the view-screen. [Thea, you're a real peach. The help is appreciated and if you could find a way to close off the launch bays so we don't have to deal with more friendlies... we'd be very much obliged.]
Thea tried to smile awkwardly despite the situation, understanding the message but not the choice-of-words. A real peach? she thought, As opposed to a fake one? But I am no fruit. What does she mean? The species name persica referred to its widespread cultivation in Persia of Terra in medieval times, but as far as she could determine, her projection bore no aesthetic resemblances to the people of ancient Persia. She would have to find the time to research this more closely. For now, she nodded. "Understood, Wolf-03. We will do our best to make it so. Theurgy out."
A quick glance to Kae made her see how close she was to him, not to mention certain curves of her photonic body, She took a helf step back and swallowed, immediately - hurriedly - speaking her request. "Would you mind try and see what you can do about shutting the launch bays, both the Fighter Assault Bay on Deck 15 as well as the Shuttle bays on Deck 06 and 07? Shut them as quickly as possible and try to keep your control of them, and if I do manage to succeed with sending a shuttle forcefully set on auto-pilot down to the CTO, I will."
A bit timidly, Thea made sure not to expose Kae to her chest quite so intimately as before when she returned to using the tactical controls. "Lt. T'Less?" she said as she began to work on hi-jacking a shuttle from the startled infected already on board it, "This is the SAH. I need you to try and fight for some time longer. A shuttle may be heading your way soon. There will be supplies and extra ammunition as per standard inventory for its kind. You will have to deal with the corrupted crew members aboard though. Do not loose your combadge else the shuttle will not reach you - only landing next to where you lost it. Try to reach some place safe and where it can set down. I cannot provide an ETA at this point, but you must make haste. Good luck."
Grim odds to find an opening in the jungle's canopy in that specific area of Niga's surface, or traverse the thigh-deep waters... yet there was nothing more Thea could do.
On the view-screen, it seemed one of the Valkyries had become adrift in accordance the latest course laid in - heading straight out into the spatial darkness and away Niga's bright surface. The other one not so, Wolf-08 instead entangling itself in a fierce chase with Wolf-03 and launching hard-points at her - two EMP torpedoes that would make her as adrift as the rest of the disabled Valkyries out there. Then it broke off for the remaining Runabout. as if it knew something had happened, and was suddenly coughing cutting lines of phaser-fire towards it - ending with a Mk. XXVII photon torpedo at close range before passing it by. With one more photon torpedo left, it headed back for Wolf-03. Regardless if the EMPs had struck her, Wolf-08 fired its last hard-point towards her; the second of the same kind that the Runabout had been dealt.
As soon as the shuttle had been sent towards Niga, if she managed to do so in time before Kae gained access to the launch bay doors, Thea would give the dog-fight its due attention. Alas, she found that her projection had its limits of multi-tasking when working under such crude conditions - her fingers only able to do as much upon the control panel.
[ Brig | Deck 07 ]
Tearing and clawing, the creature that used to the the Starship's Commanding Officer ripped the trousers free from the Trill's legs. Yet it got no further...
As the first kick thrust into its chest, the creature lost its hold upon the prey, and with the kick that threw Edena back on her feet, Jien Ives had to use both forearms to avert the the attack to the side. The prey being rather quick, Captain Ives' female form barely had enough time to find its own footing before the next attack. The uncompromising strike towards the creature's face came in, yet it ceased the wrist of the thrown punch - using the momentum and strength behind it against her. A classic throw over the shoulder, executed in the nick of time - thus not allowing for a proper hold and didn't send Edena straight down into the deck plates. Instead, the throw gave her considerable air-time as she was launched towards the wall beyond exit of the small cell. Though she did not reach it, she made great headway there.
The creature set after her immediately, not about to let the prey bolt for the exit in case she got to her feet quickly. With the force and momentum of its short sprint towards her, it changed into its male form, and delivered a brutal kick towards any exposed and vulnerable area of her body. The creature might appear bare-foot, yet for the corrupted Chameloid, the hardness of its foot was made the same as for a steel-shod boot. Relentless, it would not let go of the initiative either, for it would grab the prey's hair and arm to tear it back up - making a savage full turn - and finally deliver her head-first into the wall.
If the prey was sufficiently disoriented by then, the creature would cup those magnificent breasts in its calloused fingers - forcefully fondling them free from the inadequate bra. It would again try to kiss her, and shortly after shove a hand down behind the hem of her panties...
[Deck 11, Garden of Eden]
She drifted, dancing just on the short side of consciousness, her body aware, her mind, subdued. There was sensation, lacking thought to put it into proper perspective, feeling, but no context. There was the tingle, in her nose, of strange, pleasantly sweet scent, almost overpowering. There was the cold, metallic feelings, clasping her wrists, and her ankles, the former, pulled taunt, above her head, and the later, spread wide. She was slick, sweaty, her body glistening, from the sticky warmth of the room. Her body was flushed, but also in pain. All said and told, were she able to think, the young operations officer would have found it perhaps both fascinating, and terribly frightening.
There were voices, whispered tones, that she started to be able to hear. There was the feeling of a breath, caressing her skin. A moan, soft, broken, slips past her split lip. Its the first signs of her stirring. Slowly, she squirms, reacting to the stimulation she's feeling applied to various bits of her body, without really understanding what is going on. When her eyes do flutter open, one seems a bit more blurry then the other. Its this inconsistency that brings her fully into the here and now, with a sharp, pained gasp. Suddenly, her mind begins to sort out all the sensations, the warm tingle between her bare legs...and the fact that her legs are bare. The sudden, aching need, battling out with various dull aches and sharp pains, from stretched arms, and bruised bits. She brings her gaze around, and stares up into the face of the Vulcan Ensign Cir'Ce.
The light bulb slowly goes off in the back of Natalie's mind, as she starts to panic, just a bit. She's naked. that's the first problem. or is it a problem...being naked feels good...NO! NO no no, oh no. The thought confirms another fear: something is messing with her head. From the smell of the air, the sweet, cloying sent of pollen, the trapped woman realizes she has to be in the Garden, which causes her heart to pound faster...circulating the pollen into her blood stream. Then there's the pain...The memory of the fight, or some of it, at least, rolls back in, causing her to groan, shutting her eyes again. She licked her lips, felt the clotted blood on the tip of it, confirming both of her fears: the captain had been turned, and had kissed her...which explained why the fact that she was naked both scared her, and made her sex tingle with need.
And above her, was someone clearly infected. Vulcan's did not, as a rule, lay atop crew members while buck naked. They didn't smile, and they certainly didn't look like they were licking juices from their...Oh no...is that from me!? She forces her eyes to focus on the body next to her, looking away for Cir'ce, with a sickened shudder, once she realized that the Vulcan woman had been touching her...and that her body had responded. Her chest rose, and fell, faster, as her heart beat louder in her ears. She hadn't heard the speech, didn't realize what was at risk, just that there, next to her, also bound (in the same way she was, she had to assume) was the ships Doctor. And while he generally came off as imposing to the younger woman, as her eyes began to crawl over his body, she found the only thing imposing about him to be the spot right between his NO! Focus Natalie!.
She bites her lip and looks away, turning her head to look elsewhere while her mind and body battle it out...only to land upon the CSec, Lt Cmdr Grayson. "Oh no..." its the first words she spoken. Him to....oh god....oh god oh god...whose left? is there anyone left? She stares at Grayson again, pulling her eyes along his body, distracted, at first, by the sight of his manhood, standing very...firm, The smaller woman finds herself starting to lick her lip, unaware of the motion. But any sudden burst of lust is smothered by the phaser in the mans hand. Pointed at them, as far as she could tell. And even muddled with the aching need, the heat rolling up from between her legs in ways it had never managed to do before, Natalie finally realized why she was bound on the floor: Because she, and the Doctor next to her, had something the others needed, which mean that there had to be someone out there still, that was uninfected. There has to be... she thinks, lip trembling, as her legs slide back and forth.
The war rages inside. The burning need, the infection, small, but there, boiling through her blood stream, causing her nipples to remain taunt, and her sex to ache with a need greater then anything she'd ever felt. Counterbalanced against that was the knowledge that she had to hold on, that to give in to the desire would be to have ripped from her that which made Natalie Stark who she was. Lurking along side was fear, outright terror, barely suppressed: she'd been run ragged, beaten, and infected, and it scared her terribly. And so she turned back to face Lucan, as far as she could tell, the only uninfected person in the room, with fear, and determination flickering in her eyes, looking for any sign of hope from the captured CMO.
OOC: Lucan, let me know if this works for ya. Feels a bit rushed to me...
Skye noted the one Valkyrie had ceased firing on her and when Isley informed her he'd gotten that pilot and his further intentions, she started to feel a little more confidence. "Acknowledged," she stated and tried to keep the other Wolf in the Runabout's range. It would take some time but the two of them together would be able to whittle down the shields.
As she continued to maneuver around the other Valkyrie, she thought of one of those horribly old movies. "Practicing for the ballet, Potter?" If she could help pull this off she would certainly feel like doing a few pirouettes, that's for sure. Volley after volley, she targeted the shields and fervently hoped this would be over soon. It felt like she'd been fighting for hours!
[Bridge]
"If you wouldn't mind throwing a bit more spam on the infected Technicians, I should be able to gain access to the bay doors," Kae responded, already going to work with seizing control over that section of the ship. Every piece of code was a weapon as he fought with teams of other engineers for territory like some war game of base capture. He would take the holo-grid, and they would take it back, he sought to claim the bay door controls, they pressed him away from it.
When finally he had taken control and shut the doors, he did the only thing he deemed sensible. He overloaded the consoles responsible for opening them back up, sending sparks flying in both the Shuttle bay and fighter hanger. the infected would have to send repair crews to fix the damage before the doors could be opened again, buying them at least a few hours. Based on how things had been going, it was likely that the struggle would be over by then, one way or another.
[Brig]
The air was Ilya's territory. The grace with which she moved as an acrobat made her appear to have evolved from some sort of bird, as Edena's body contorted to land flawlessly on her feet. A the second the fall's momentum had been dispersed, and solid footing was beneath her, Jona resumed control. The kick was caught, one hand grabbing the achilles tendon, while the other thrust into the side of the kneecap. If Jona had been in his own body, with all it's strength and mass, he had no doubt he could have dislocated the joint, but with Edena's smaller, weaker frame, he only hoped it was tweaked enough to at least leave a limp for the rest of the battle. Regardless, Edena's hair was used against her, pulling her in before she was shoved against the wall. Throwing up her hands to brace herself prevented her from being harmed too much, but it did nothing to protect her chest when groping hands wrestled her bosom free of their confines.
You have an advantage, Edena, Jona told her, as she considered briefly what that was. She had one goal, to defeat Jien. His goals were divided between defeating her and the needs the infection put in him. He could have finished her off at least a couple times, but instead, he busied himself with getting her shirt off, her pants, and now with her bra. That uncontrollable biological need in him was a weakness she could exploit. As long as he was after her physically, she still had room to fight back.
Edena threw her head back, striking the back of her skull against Jien's forehead. It would have left him dizzied for a few seconds, and freed her from his grip. A mule kick would also take advantage of his exposure, striking him in the most sensitive place of the male body. With him hopefully stunned long enough, she ran for the exit of the containment area, hoping for enough time to activate the force field to lock him in before he pursued her, looking for revenge.
[Shuttle]
Isley had balanced the ship's power settings as best he could, placing a focus on shields to allow him to stand the barrage of fire he would undoubtedly be taking. It didn't matter how much he placed into the engines, he was simply outclassed by a superior machine in the Valkyrie. It was forged to move and attack with much more grace then a runabout could hope for. After the shields was the phasers, boosted as high as he could without compromising his defenses. With those, he fired shots at the enemy Valkyrie, cutting it's own shield power as much as he could to let Skye finish the job.
The appearance of the photon torpedoes had been an eye opener for Nathan. A projectile on the level of a Mk. XXVII was meant for collapsing shields and doing significant damage to ships better equipped then theirs. At this stage in the battle, energy levels were low, leaving little chance of shields withstanding the payload from such a torpedo. He employed the only strategy he could muster, targeting the torpedoes directly. A phaser shot struck the projectile, setting it off early. The explosion did damage to his shields again, but nowhere near as much as a direct hit would have. With another heading for Skye, he had to move faster, shooting down the second torpedo before it got within range of her fighter. If he was lucky, the resulting blast might even knock out Wolf-08's shields, and allow for transport.
[Deck 11 - The Garden of Eden]
"Oh look, she is coming to," said Cir'Cie with an uncharacteristic giggle and licked the fingers with which she had been rubbing the new Chief of Operation's pussy. The Vulcan seemed delighted by the taste, and leaned down to twirl her tongue around one of Natalie's jutting nipples. Lucan could not help to watch the ongoings, even if he did manage to meet Natalie's gaze momentarily. They were in this predicament together, and the determination that surfaced in the young human's eyes gave Lucan the will to continue the futile debate.
If all else fails, the simple words might get through. "Ensign Cir'Cie, listen to me," said Lucan his mind flailing for some kind of solution. "You can't do this. You will take this ship to a starbase, or even a planet. From there, this plague of yours will spread throughout the whole Alpha Quadrant and beyond."
The Vulcan merely nodded, smiling. "Exactly, Doctor," she said, and licked at the other nipple, "I was thinking we could try and reach Earth itself. This is supposed to be the fastest Starship in the Federation, correct? Once there, we could just start beaming people down into the cities. I wonder how long it will take for the whole planet to fall... We could establish new gardens and use the major Transporter hubs to send people there."
Evidently that tactic did not help at all.
Baring his teeth, the CMO glanced to Stark, trying to find some kind of reason to keep arguing. Her bruised face was the reminder about reality before the virus struck them. "You're talking about the end of civilization. Most people - even in my position and with my oath - would rather destroy the ship than let you ruin everything that all the known species have ever accomplished. Lt. Stark too," he said, nodding towards her, trying to not look at the perfectly rounded curves of said woman's chest and how Cir'Cie was framing one of Natalie's breasts with her hand and suckled upon the hard bud. "With all that is at stake, and shove comes to push, someone untouched by you will realise that there are no alternatives. As long as there is a single uninfected aboard, you can count on the great risk that there will be sabotage made - perhaps in a way that takes us all down. No, I will not give you the encryption codes, nor will Natalie give you hers."
The words were for Natalie too, words that they both could hold on to.
Cir'Cie pouted at Lucan in a mocking way. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said in reply and sat back from Natalie. Even as she did, there was a faint rustle in the undergrowth, and the crowd that watched them stirred - mesmerised with something. Lucan already knew what was about, but to Natalie, the sight of the vine that rose like a cobra between her parted legs might be a tad.. startling.
"Oh, look... It fancies her! I am sure it will be able to change her mind. As for you..." Cir'Cie glanced down at Lucan's groin and noticed how his cock was as hard as it ever could be. She smiled and bit her lower lip. "I love watching women go through this. It makes me a little horny."
For the plants were starting to come alive; greenish vines sprouted from the soil, entwining themselves around Natalie's arms and legs. Leafy tendrils brushed against her body, stroking her breasts and belly with feathery touches. Purple and violet blossoms along the vines were carried closer, and with every breath, she might fall deeper and deeper into its erotic spell.
"It is getting you ready for coitus, Lieutenant," said Cir'Cie to Natalie after moving away from her a little, and her hand found its way to Lucan's erection. She began to slide her fingers all over his penis - drawing her nails along it whilst she addressed the Chief of Operations. "Pretty soon you won't be able to help yourself. You will want to feel something moving inside you. Something big and hard, something that will fill you up."
Lucan's breathing quickened as she began to slowly pump his cock with her hand. "Ensign... don't..." The beast inside was screaming in mindless panic - about to be corrupted too.
Yet the Vulcan just smiled innocently. "Oh, I'm sorry, Doctor. I guess I just get carried away sometimes... especially when there's a nice big dick nearby. In fact, would you mind if I completed what we began yesterday? Mr. Grayson will make sure you won't do any tricks this time..." She crawled on top of him.
"Ensign... please... don't do this. Don't you see...this is an alien. You're allowing an alien life form to conquer all known civilisations."
"Oh, don't be so dramatic. It's not conquering us. Just changing us. Letting us evolve. Besides, it feels wonderful... as the Lieutenant here is about to find out." she said, in a mock-serious tone. "Besides, I have to fuck you, Doctor. It's the only way I can be sure you're telling me the truth about the encryption of the antidote. And Natalie, she is one of the few that can permanently deactivate the Ship AI hologram."
She looked down and guided his cock underneath her pussy. The deja vu from the day before in the Med Lab stuck Lucan full on. "Cir'Cie... I'm begging you... don't... for the sake of the galaxy, don't do this..."
She gave him a wicked, lustful smile as she sank herself down onto his cock.
The Vulcan moaned loudly as his rigid inches went up inside her, enveloped by the delicious wet warmth of her inner sex. Lucan groaned as she slowly descended, impaling herself upon his rigid dick. When it was all the way inside her, she let out a satisfied sigh and smiled.
Mind ablaze, Lucan gritted his teeth and tried to resist the divine feeling of her; forced himself to look away from Cir'Cie's lactating breasts. Instead, he saw that the thick purple vine witht he bulbous head that had risen from the soil between Natalie's thighs was now stroked them - searching and scenting for her juices. Eventually, it nudged against her sex slit... as if curiously probing for a way to get inside.
All they had was each other, Lucan and Natalie, to remind each other to not surrender.
"Lieutenant," he said hoarsely to her, eyes sits and jaws working, "you must not give in... Once you... the chemicals in your brain... I told you all at... ungh... Do not..." His stumbling explanation was interrupted when Cir'Cie began to move her hips up and down, massaging his Câroon phallus with her wet pussy. The erotic sensation was too powerful for him to ignore, and he groaned helplessly as she writhed up and down on his throbbing cock.
"Oh, but you will come... You both will..." Cir'Cie giggled as she squirmed rhythmically on top of her new victim. She rubbed her breasts and smiled as she bounced up and down upon his thick erection. She turned her eyes to Natalie. "Oh, I think it has found its way..."
Indeed, the purple intruder slowly pushed its way inside Natalie's vagina. Yet it did not get far. "Ah," said Cir'Cie, giggling, "are you a virgin, human? I wish my own virginity had been lost this way... You are truly blessed now... Nnghh..."
Lucan managed to watch, along with everyone else, as the alien plant began to pump itself in and out of Natalie's wet groin. In the complete silence of the Garden of Eden, he could hear the wet sucking noise every time the plant slid inside her - a slow, deliberate rhythm that was steadily forcing itself against the human's hymen. In seconds, it would be stretched far enough to pop.
"Don't.. don't..." Syllables that slipped from Lucan's lips with little meaning.
OOC: Not at all Brutus, it was a great post! Mistyped Cir'Cie's name but that's it.
- Middle Computer Core -
Amikris groaned in pain and pleasure both. How long had they been doing this she wasn't sure, but she was sure that everyone had taken their turn with her and that she had barely been able to keep up the act. Her parents had gone to great lengths to indoctrinate her into the same outlook they'd shared for their career in Starfleet. Repression, Self control, discipline, and supression of urges that came natural to her species. It helped alot, right then as her first real sexual experiences came in a rapid sucession. Normally a member of her kind would have caved and given into the instincts that over a million years of evolution as the apex predator of their homeworld, as infertility had gone up, so had the urge to reproduce gone up.
It thankfully was the early signs of withdrawl that made them stop. As she began to shiver and have minor spasms, she bluffed that she needed nurishment and water after so long out of the water. It was a hard sell at first but as the seizures slowly got worse, she thankfully was able to convince them by the end of the hour. Thankfully in anticipation of their long hours of work, the infected had gathered some stockpiles of water and food here in the core. It was difficult to supress the symthoms but thankfully the time it took for her to eat and drink, was enough time for the others to loose interest in her for now. She carefully walked behind them as she nursed a water bottle like an alcholic might nurse a bottle of their favorate beer. Her path took her slowly toward her phaser still on the floor.
One she had her phaser she'd walk back toward the food stockpile at the far end of the room setting the phaser to a wide dispersal and stun setting. She eyed the group hesistantly. Three of them would have to die and she wasn't quite ready to make that choice but would she ever be ready? That hard the hardest part in what she was going to do, she had the antitode but only eight doses. If they woke up soon, she'd be in trouble and at risk of them undoing all her hard work. She opens fire with one large dispersal, aiming to take out all of the infected computer techs in one shot if she could.
-Bridge-
Ester and Adam made their way to the bridge, a lustful look being exchanged between them as he prepared to claim her once more, this time her fully altered form. Their destination, the Captain's chair assuming Hannah was done with her stunt by now. It was hard to tell if that would be the case, if not well he could always claim her on the tactical display or even navigation, since they were locked out. His dick only seemed to harden more at the idea.
Upon entering the bridge they almost immediately noticed the interlopers and unconcious pair on the floor. "Thea restrain Mr Kea for us please....you know the new rules on this ship, he's not enlightened and therefore a threat to our grand new mission." Ester and him both made their way toward the two of them, Ester searching for a phaser as she stroked herself eagerly wanting to be ready for her part to play in the moments ahead.
-Niga-
The two adult Ash'reem responded almost immediately to their new enviroment, speaking in their native tongue, arcorn began modifications to his phaser as Amatras began to stratigicly fire and eliminate the vines that drew to close to them in the mean time. It wasn't safe that was for sure but they didn't have much choice, until evac could occur. The new sights and sounds made them well aware of the transportation that had happened and the logical conclusion that they must have failed on the planet. They weren't afraid like the vulcan and human might be. Amatras understood the nature of the virus well enough now to understand that they likely wouldn't be effected immediately. Even so, it wasn't wise to try to wait for the plant to attack them here in the swamp. They let T'less take the lead on this journey.
The Main Bridge | Deck 01
Of course Thea tried to help Lt. Kae with another barrage of chirping messages to clog up the consoles from which the computer scientists worked in the Main Computer Core. However, they lost the forcefields previously erected before they got the bay doors closed and sealed.
Upon the view screen, Wolf-08 was low on shields yet fought on with a maddening fervour with the will to be able to leave and seek new breeding grounds. It took hit after hit by the sweeping lines of phaser fire from both the shuttle and the Valkyrie, it was out of hard-points, yet still it wore on. Had Thea only been able to continue what she had been doing, she would have helped. Alas, she had just managed to send off a shuttle before the bay doors were sealed, and now, the infected fighter pilot aimed to leave - about to shoot its way stright through the intercepting Runabout. It looked like it head as far as it had to on impulse engines before it left the USS Theurgy's graviton field.
That was when the voice of the Security Officer made Thea turn around - her sensors having singled the infected out already but there had not been time to address the issue of their arrival. Now, as it were, they announced themselves, and the ignorant man - one Junior Lieutenant by the name Adam Kingston - had the nerve to instruct her to cease Lt. Kae. Evidently, the man had been too busy with the Cadet in his company to pick up on the fact of what Kae had given her.
Freedom to choose. And she chose not to adhere to those instructions. Remarkable, how quickly she had adapted to the concept of following orders out of free will. Almost frightening.
"No," she said, and that was the only word she said before she raised her phaser and started firing.
She had to shoot them both before they took down Kae. For she realised that without his help, she would not be able to save the ship from this plague that she had been denied to stop in its early progression. The more human side inherited to her by her programming placed guilt upon herself that she had not acted and informed the Captain about the ongoings during that night, but it was too late.
Now, she had to save what she could - restore her crew as best she might.
The Main Computer Core | Deck 05
With almost everyone present in the Main Computer Core area having taken the opportunity to experience sex in all ways applicable with the young Ash'reem - her vagina seemingly restricted for some reason that they eventually failed to remember - they eventually let her drink and eat from the supplies brought there from Below Decks.
Mr. Regal watched her, having also tasted the touch of her lubricated hands and her tongue. He had extracted himself together with Felicity to a niche in the main chamber away from the others, and together with the middle-aged woman the three were enjoying themselves with the support of the walls in the close quarters. Someone of the computer geniouses cursed. "The damn AI did it again. She has spammed us. Come, help me out with this..."
That was when the cum-covered and naked Ash'reem calmly picked up her phaser and started firing.
Shouts and cries went out, and three people remained unscathed by the first barrage of orange energy - a dispersed wave of vengeance that caught most people completely unaware. Naked bodies toppled and hit the walls, and whatever initial return-fire went wide of the Ash'reem's small body.
Mr. Regal and the middle-aged woman ran up behind her though from their hidden position, unarmed yet close enough to try and knock her off her feet. Felicity - her not being programmed for combat to the extent of other holograms, went for a phaser rifle first - only fixing her hair on the way there.
Mr. Regal reached her first, trying to wrest the phaser from her, the woman second. Off to the far wall was the third shooter - a young man from Ops - that withheld fire since William blocked the line of sight.
Felicity turned towards the battle - rifle in hand - in time to see what the infilitrator did next...
The Brig | Deck 07
The feeling of Edena's full breasts in its hands was sheer bliss for the creature formerly known as Jien Ives, yet it was far from content. Just as it was to test the wetness hidden underneath the panties with its fingers... when the creature's male form took a blow from its prey - her cranium connecting with his forehead and making his hands leave her body.
Next came the kick that might have caught its unprotected sack unless experience had made the creature turn sideways in a combat stance. As it were the significant force of the kick caught its hip while it was unbalanced, and it almost fell to the floor.
It righted itself, however, with a hand to a wall. There was no room for hesitation. Jien changed into its lithe female form and set after the Intelligence Officer, the first three steps ungainly as it limped from the Trill's previous block. Once it built up enough speed, however, the creature threw itself to grab the escaping Trill's calves with its arms.
Going down to the floor together, just below the control panel, Jien grunted when it lost the air in its lungs with the landing. Still, mouth parched and hunger driving it on, it crawled up the almost naked Trill - changing into its heavier male form. With its legs, it forced the Trill's thighs wide, and it licked the spots that ran across her body as it progressed up her back. It used its arms to keep the victim down, and to fend off any elbows or attacks as best as it may. The best option was to keep low, close to the prey, and to let her smell and feel its intimate presence.
The creature continued to kiss and lick the Intelligence Officer as it progressed up her body - going for the nape of her neck, her ear and her cheek. It caressed her spots and her inner thighs with its calloused palms. Soon, it pressed its hard member against the thin veil of the prey's undergarments.
Aye, only the last piece of cloth kept the creature's hard manhood form entering her - pushing and grinding hard between her nether lips but not getting further. The creature tried to catch any flailing hands and keep them locked above her head, whispering with a hot breath.
"Yield to me, Rez..."
OOC: Kuro, I have checked with Searcher and there has been a slight misunderstanding about the hit/no hit of the EMP torps, so as you've noticed have proceeded under the assumption that Wolf-03 was not hit by the EMPs. If you care to change that small part, we'll go on to the grand finale. Let me know if there are any questions! :)
[Bridge]
When the new arrivals came to the Bridge, Kae couldn't help but feel some pride in seeing Thea deny their orders. Even if he knew she could, seeing it was something else entirely. Part of him had almost been worried that she might follow orders more out of instinct then programming, yet she told them no, and even proceeded to fire her phaser at them. Kae took that as an immediate reason to get to cover, using the CONNs in the room as barriers from which he could fire his own phaser from behind. He wasn't much of a skilled shot, choosing to apply his skills to using a computer over pinpoint precision with a weapon. Still, it was at least some cover fire to keep the enemy from taking shots repeatedly. Thea was also the one with an advantage in terms of firepower, as the phaser he programmed for her was holographic, and the only one which didn't have concern of running out of power through repeated use.
[Brig]
She was in a difficult position. Pinned to the ground, she had little hope of overpowering someone with a greater size and weight. Humans would have called it a ground and pound, though the type of pounding that Ives had on his mind was much more concerning then a simple fistfight. He took a great deal of attention to her spots, as most of her past lovers had. It was their unusual feature, like how most people moved to tease at a Vulcan's ears. For other Trill, it was just another part of them, but for another race, it was something exotic. Edena shut her eyes, trying not to notice the slippery tongue working along her spots. She desperately tried to find a plan, to ignore the scent coming off the infected body, her former hosts supporting in every way they could.
"Yield to me, Rez..." At that point, it didn't feel like much of a choice, as she felt herself being prodded by something hard from behind. Her last piece of clothes was her only defense against invasion, infection for the second time. Was this how it had to be? Taken forcibly for the second time since this crisis began, first by Regal and now by Ives? No, even if it meant infection through some other means, she wouldn't be taken again!
She lunged her head to the side, where his arm went past her to hold down her struggling hands. She had one weapon left and she planned to use it, biting forcefully into his arm. She had considered it before, but knew his blood would infect her if she broke the skin. Now, she didn't care any more. She wanted him off, she wanted him unconscious. She was never much of a warrior without Jona and Ilya helping her, but right now, she wanted to win. She wanted to defeat her would-be rapist, even if it meant another infection she would have to fight off with all her strength. Her bite was like some small feral animal, refusing to let go until he was off of her and she was free to move again. She had been pressed into a corner and could no longer be held accountable for her actions.
((OOC: altered the post to remove mention of the EMPs but kept the tactic of blowing up the photon torpedoes))
OOC: To all active players in this Episode. The next post you all write for each of your characters will be your last in this Episode, unless specific circumstances dictates otherwise. If such is the case, I will request a second one based on the forthcoming development. Make sure you finish grand, and if applicable, have your characters loose (or be about to loose) against the infected/the plants. PS. Kurohigi will only need to post once more with Isley and with Kae. DS.
Her expression turned grim and T'Less felt her despair growing, along with her arousal. Even now, she fought the almost impossible urges, keeping a step out of its reach, pushing it aside with each pulse of her phaser. When it started beeping that it had a low charge, she almost fell to her knees at the realization they wouldn't be fighting much longer. She risked a glance at Garen, before turning her attention back to the vines. In a hopeless voice, she said, "It has been useful knowing you, Counselor."
Realizing it might be one of the last things she ever said, she realized it wasn't what she'd wanted to say. Reaching behind her, she touched his side, not seeking sex, but simply contact and murmured, knowing Arcorn and his mate were too far away to hear, "I regret I will not be able to know you better."
She knew, as the charge on her phaser began to dwindle, she would take her own life before allowing herself to be taken, her mind filling with the suicidal decision. Would he do it, if she asked?
-Bridge-
Adam frose momentarily as he stared at Thea. How could she just ignore his order, for all intensive purposes they had claimed the computer core. Further as a security officer, he had authority to give her basic orders, such as assisting in restraining a subject if possible. His pause was his mistake as Thea's phaser struck him square in the chest. The blast causing him to fall back and hit his head off a console as he fell.
Ester retrieved a phaser from where it had fallen hours earlier and rose it take aim at Kae. "Come on Kae....join us, its so much better this way." She pulled the trigger on the phaser, sending a stun burst toward her target. "You can't win you know that don't you? Let me be the one to enlighten you...please?" The young blonde cadet asked as she took a few more shots, aiming between Thea and him as she slowly made her way around the bridge's upper level being careful to avoid revealing herself for long.
-Niga-
Ascorn and Amatras switched phasers as he got started on modifying hers. The beams were invisible, now focusing on the narrow wavelength sequences that liquid and gaseous water absorbed readily. Everywhere the phaser shot small puffs of steam rose from the swampy terrean, vines began to burn and blister. Amatras turns and takes aim at the vines along T'less's island as well, allowing the arc to cover as much of the island as she can without hitting the two crew members.
-Computer Core-
Amikris struggled with the phaser and stared at Wiliam Regal with hateful eyes. How, dare he touch her without her approval? She may have let them do as they wanted earlier but they wouldn't stop her here. Her muscles tensed in her mouth as her wobbly cartlidge like bones were wiggled back and forth in the struggle for her phaser. Her mind did the math with ease and struck out violently, slaming his head dead center well she adjusted her footing and attempted to knock the woman behind her off balance and bring her down as a shield against the 3rd man. Assuming it worked she'd aim the phaser and take a shot at him.
Isley's unerring shots had saved her from the torpedoes though she had felt the concussive waves, the ship jarring and a few sparks spewing from a nearby panel. Wolf 8 just about had her and she felt the sweat building and scrunched her shoulders as a bead slipped down her neck and trailed down her chest. She'd taken enough hits that her own shields were down to about 30% and if this last-ditch maneuver didn't work she would be dead in the water just like the others.
Looking at the sensors, she realized she hadn't fooled Wolf 8 and that last one was heading straight for her. No doubt it would take her out of the fray but could even take her out permanently. Desperately she tried to careen the other direction and that's when Isley saved her again, his shot taking out the torpedo at the last moment. The destruction was still enough to slam against her weakened shields and she was thankful for the inertial dampeners and gravity enhancements as a myriad of sparks showered around her and for a moment it seemed she'd lost control of her ship.
Shields were down to 5% and she knew a few more hits would make the fat lady sing unless that last burst she'd sent that way disabled the shields and Isley could get the pilot beamed aboard his shuttle. Again she thought of high tailing it out of there but again she couldn't leave Isley behind, not to mention just about anything could take her out now. He had the ability to cure the crew so protecting him was paramount. Keep Wolf 8 engaged, give Isley a chance. The needs of the many outweigh ... oh fuck Vulcan logic!
[Bridge]
He wasn't tempted by Ester. His concerns outweighed his curiosity, even if the air had been saturated with that scent that emanated from the infected, compelling him to desire. He couldn't let that be an obstruction to survival, not when so few people were left free of the infection's grip. He kept himself bunkered down behind the CONN, popping up to lay down his cover fire when he heard no phaser sounds coming his way. The fire fight was likely to knock out controls on the bridge, so all there was left for him was to fight back, maybe subdue Ester and Kingston with Thea's help and move on to other sections of the ship that might have been in need of aid.
[Shuttle]
The damage from the photon torpedo explosion had been rapidly decreasing his power levels. He had just enough to Beam Wolf 08 into containment . . . before the force field gave out. The infected rushed Nathan, who still held the advantage of Vulcan physiology paired with the combat training of a soldier without restraint. He could be ruthless when he needed to be, and this was such a case, strong fists punching and choke holds used to render his opponents unconscious. He had gathered his remaining cures for just such a reason, and injected each of his former captives after they had all been controlled. "When you wake up, you'll be thanking me," he told them, as he turned his attention back to the CONN.
Auxiliary power depleted. Life support failing.
They might have had an hour or two of air aboard the shuttle before they were in serious trouble. He only hoped some kind of rescue could be mounted before then. Without power, he couldn't beam them elsewhere. He had done all he could. All that was left was to sit back down in the pilot's chair and stare out at the horrid planet that done this to them.
[Deck 11, Garden of Eden]
Natalie tried, hard, to focus on Lucan's words, the way the doctor tried to comfort her, give her reason to keep fighting, and ignore, in turn everything that came out of Cir'Cie's mouth...when it wasn't wrapped around her nipples, lighting up every tense nerve in the taunt little bud of flesh. It was so hard to focus when the Vulcan did that. All the scared woman wanted to do was close her eyes and moan, loud, begging for more. She couldn't. She knew that. Between Lucan's pleading, and the threat, wrapped between teasing, succulent lips, of taking over Earth, was more then enough to remind her of the price of succumbing...even if the loss of her own identity wasn't already reason enough to try and resist.
So when Cir'Cie slipped away from her nipples, the moan that did fly from Natalie's lips was only partially from arousal, or so she told herself. She tried to settle down, to force herself to relax, to stop breathing fast, but then she saw it. Her eyes grew wide, terrified. "nooooo" she whispered, a harsh breath fluttering past split lips. It was thick, it was purple, and it was rising, squirming....and it wasn't just between her legs. The Ops officer started to squirm, to struggle, as she felt the vines working around her arms and legs, restricting her further. She started to pant, hard, with grunting little groans, as it further restricted her movement. She couldn't hear the Vulcan any more, couldn't hear what she said what she implied, or inferred. She was fighting inside, feeling herself start to slip away, the rush of hormones causing her sex to nearly drip with want, with need, for the vine. All there was was the sickeningly sweet scent in her nose, the powerful binding, the light, feather sweet touches causing her to moan, and the knobbly vine scooting closer....closer....
The poor woman could feel it, pushing in, spreading her folds, slick with need. Still, it was too big, too much for a woman that had never been with a man, never had anything thicker then a finger, and she moaned, half in pain, and half in desperation, as it stretched her entrance. The first hit against her hymen made her whimper. Soon it was a steady, forceful thumping, over, and over, and over, driving her to moan and beg "nooooo, no no no no" She couldn't look at Lucan, could barely hear his words, as she tried, oh how she tried, to ignore the burning need in her core, that wanted more then anything, for the strange, foreign plant to take her. Her face was flush, her pupils dilated. She found herself licking her lips, as her arms, her legs bucked, trying, straining against the vines holding her down. "Do-doctor" she moaned, in desperation, the word broken by a particularly sharp thrust. It was stretching her, her walls, her hymen...
"NNnnnnrrrraaahhhhHHHHHhhh!" Her head flew back and her mouth opened in a wide, wordless scream. The pain flared up between her legs, as the diligent plant forced itself past her innocence, tore it away with its relentless need to push deeper and deeper. It rubbed against walls untouched, causing pain, and pleasure, to flare inside of Natalie, as a tickle of blood joined the other fluids coating the purple, phallic vine, twirling and squirming into the bound woman. Her cries of pain quickly turned to sobs, as tears rolled off her cheeks and her head tossed side to side, her sweaty hair matted. Even those sobs were soon muffled, as a second tendril reared up, small feelers sliding along the lips of her mouth, pulling them back, prying her jaw open with a painful gasp, before forcing the flowering bulb past her lips, and into her mouths, shutting of the last of her vocal resistance, while the vine in her stretched, virgin sex worked to overcome her mental fortitude, driving her closer and closer to the burning climax her body desired.
OOC: that moment when you realize your computer reset while you were at work...and you lost your entire post and had to start over -_-
[ The Garden of Eden | Deck 11 ]Never in his life had Dr. Lucan cin Nicander felt such lustful hunger.
He was going to come soon, and he knew that his orgasm would consume him. Yet there was no way to stop it. Even if his hands and legs were freed, he would still want to fuck the Vulcan on top of him. He was addicted to it now; this delicious friction of a woman's sheath. With every move of her body, he lost a little bit more of his mind. And soon - very soon - there would be nothing left, except for depraved, obscene urges.
He knew this, and yet he lay there and smiled as Cir'Cie bounced enthusiastically up and down, moaning savagely as she screwed herself toward her own sexual culmination. She squeezed her breasts for him, sending squirts of warm milk down upon Lucan's chest and face. He gazed up at her and wanted nothing more than to touch her, and he yanked at his restraint solely for that purpose.
Yet the first orgasmic, gagged, mewl belonged to Lieutenant Natalie Stark. She had raised her hips up in the air, bucking wildly against the purple vine that churned in and out of her frothy cunt. Creamy sex fluid oozed and dripped from her convulsing twat as the alien plant continued to spear its way deep into her groin, while dozens of smaller tendrils probed her nipples, her clitoris, and countless other places where her body was the most sensitive. Lucan heard her moaning and whimpering in the throes of sexual bliss, no longer concerned about the fact that she was soon to be impregnated by the alien's seed. Already, Lucan knew he would fuck her next - her cries heightening his own experience.
Just then, something unexpected happened. Cir'Cie lit up like a Warp Core about to explode and was thrown off the Doctor like a disposed rag - sliding and rolling along the patch-work undergrowth. Lucan cried out in loss of her intimate contact - his face a mask of rage. The beast inside screeched for blood.
There had been a bright flash of light, and a squad of armed troopers in hazmat gear had suddenly appeared in the middle of the Garden. Bright blue beams lanced out at the naked crew members, toppling them into stunned unconsciousness. Concentrated shots were dealt towards the farthest dark corner of the Cargo Bay - where the twenty foot tall and mud-covered cluster of a root system trashed about in a death dance. Alien vines everywhere writhed to life in agony. The blue light made the monstrosity seem even more grotesque in its final moments before it caught fire. It disintegrated and got torn apart in degrees by the energy weapons. The vines around the bay area snapped about like iron wires, sending bodies everywhere.
Within seconds, everyone in the room - including Lucan and Natalie - was stunned from insanity into oblivion.
[ The Brig | Deck 07 ]The creature known as Captain Ives should not have bothered to pose the question. Instead, he could have yanked her panties sideways and forced himself into her.
Yet as it were, the creature cried out when the Trill's teeth cut into the tissue of its upper left arm - not letting go. She desisted to free his arm and savagely continued, and the creature cried out again, louder this time. It tried to pry her head away with his right hand - causing further pain. Primal fury took the creature, and it tried to slam the head down into the deck-plates. It could not do it, lest the bite would tear his arm open. Chameloid blood dribbled around the lips of the Trill. Ripples coursed over the creature's bare back, its morphogenic matrix trying to compensate for the wound to its physical image.
The hand that held her wrists above her head was weakened by the bite into that arm, slipping. The creature still had its right arm - which it used to make a fist and hammer her skull. When that did not work, it tried to crack her ribs with brutal close punches that drove into her exposed side.
In the end, despite the pain, the creature decided to do the only thing it could to make her more compliant... and reached down to tear at the Trill's panties with a hard yank of its fingers. The cloth ripped from her hips at the third try. With her thighs already held apart, it began to force its rigid organ inside her...
Then, the Brig Control Room and the combatants were bathed in light. The creature lifted its head and was instantly shot with a blue energy beam.
The Chameloid's limp body was quickly torn aside, revealing to the woman tall humanoids in featureless hazmat gear and rifles. One of them raised his weapon without pause, and the second shot fired took out Edena Rez where she lay.
[ The Main Computer Core | Deck 05 ]William Regal had thought that he was on the verge of wresting the weapon from the Ash'reem strumpet, so he bared his teeth at her in a sinister smile; a premonition of what was in store for her. Yet to his horrific surprise, he saw the young woman's gullet open up beneath his eyes. He barely registered the tongue before the impact made his feet leave the floor.
Disembodied pain. His teeth. They were all around him as he fell backwards; torn out of his gums as the tongue had struck into his smile and ripped them out mid-flight when it retracted. Gravel in the back of his throat. No, teeth as well. He did not have the time to feel horror for the fact that he felt the draft of his short flight through the back of his neck. He was still ignorant when he struck the floor - a meaty sound of flesh against the deck plating. He could not even feel the impact. He only felt his head rebound against it. Heard the wet clatter of enamel against titanium.
There was something wrong with his jaw, although when he tried to raise his hands to check, they just flailed around with slack fingers. A warm metallic wetness spread through his ravaged mouth. He felt it dribble out his neck too. He felt some of the teeth lodged there fall out.
Only then he tried to scream, eyes staring wide-eyed around him.
He saw the Ash'reem strike the woman and use her as a shield, the rapid bursts of orange energy tearing through woman and making her dance a thermal gavotte in Amikris' grip. The shots were returned; the Cadet smiting the distance. William could not see what happened, but there was no return-fire so the young man had likely fallen. William did not reflect on it, his miscreant life instead flashing before his eyes as he bled himself out on the floor - lungs still pumping air because of the adrenaline rush.
Felicity finally stepped past him with her assault rife, and before Amikris managed to whip the limp body of her happen-stance shield around - a dead weight held in one hand - the Lounge Hologram brutally shooting her down. Afterwards, when everything lay still, Felicity looked around and mouthed a Greek saying that William had added to her repertoire.
"Ο Έρωτας δεν είναι ποτέ μακριά από το Θάνατο"
Only William had faded to oblivion, not able to hear it one last time. He never even noticed how the men and women in hazmat gear arrived and had to shoot out the holo-emitters to deactivate Felicity. His creation, whom valiantly - ignorantly - had kept her posting as a guard in the desolate area.
[ M-Class Planet Niga | The Mahéwa System ]The vines of the alien plant-life lashed harder and harder against the two patches of solid ground where their prey made their last stand, meaning to come past the searing energy weapons.
Snapping to and fro, they were eyeless in their search for a hold, just like regular grape-wines from Earth ever reached for a new heights. Only the Starfleet Officers were witnessing the process at horrifying speed, and not the tranquil climbing that usually took weeks and months. Alas, these vines could smell the secretions of their arousal and become almost agitated when denied its mindless will.
The swamp and the trees gradually fell apart all around them from the fire, and the masses of thick, murky water that was set to boil by the Ash'reem couple raised a gagging stench from the bottom - rivalling that of the purple flowers. Most of the vines perished in the heat, yet not the ones reaching down from the canopy above. The steam from the heated swamp water became a cloying fog that made it difficult to see - more so to aim. New limbs of the plants appeared for each that fell away from the phasers, and before long, they would run out of energy. Some of them were already coughing and sputtering their particle beams - down on their last joules.
When everything was shrouded in the mist of nigh defeat, and when the vines still rose from the smouldering undergrowth, there was a point when the solid ground under their feet began to disintegrate from the heat. Their footing became unsure. They were down to their last resorts, some even contemplating suicide before corruption... when bright light finally cascaded across the area - lighting up the mist from inside.
And they were gone from the planet surface - the vines flailing listlessly against empty air.
[ The Main Bridge | Deck 01 ]With a mordant stride born from the emotions that she could not deactivate, Thea used Lt. Kae's other gift as she bore down upon Ester. She switched into her passive state, and the phaser beams shot right through her without affecting the integrity of her holographic matrix. Since Adam Kingston lay there and bled from his head upon the floor, Ester was alone in the face of the sentient projection's ire.
Thea had been pushed to her limit - her crew all falling victim to to the outbreak - and she knew she was eventually going to be alone on a ship of madness. At least until someone deactivated her permanently, and she could end her life in ignorance of the galaxy's demise. She had lost hope, if a hologram might grasp the concept of such, and she was bitter at how she would fail her creators and herself in her own aspirations for a life worth living among organic friends and crew. Lieutenant Kae had actually made things worse, in one sense, in how he just that day had vitalised new possibilities for her: that she just might meet the last prerequisites to become defined as an Isomorphic life-form.
In the face of Thea's wordless wrath and the impossibility Ester to do something about the threat with her phaser, the young woman hesitated before turning around to flee. Only Thea was faster, raising her own to shoot the fourth-year Cadet in the back - sending her past the sliding doors with the blast.
With her smoking phaser held out before her in one hand, Thea said nothing as the doors closed again - leaving her and Lt. Kae alone once more upon a Bridge riddled with phaser burns and gusts of sparks.
She knew herself, the ship in whole, and she decided not to give Lt. Kae the damage report. There was no use. Soon, the low energy levels might deactivate parts of her systems before one of the infected shut her off. Turning her gaze to her saviour, she gave him a bitter-sweet smile, and could not stop the tears running down her cheeks while her image flickered. Her face contorted in sorrow when she tried to speak.
"Thank you."
The silence lingered then, despair made manifest.
[This is Captain Ducane of the USS
Relativity,] said a voice from behind Lt. Kae - a face fluctuating upon the damaged view screen. It was a human, and he wore an odd Starfleet uniform. His face was grim given the circumstances, yet still he attempted a small smile to convey the intentions of the newly arrived. [Right now, people from my crew has boarded the USS
Theurgy and is dealing with the infected as we speak. Do not attack, because we know about the Starfleet conspiracy, and we know the truth in your claims. We know, because we have witnessed the merit in them. The Temporal Prime Directive forbids me to say more, though we...
wish that Starfleet might teach their young about your coming crusade in the 29
th century.]
Thea looked upon the face of the kind man for a long time. She blinked - wanting to see it with her own optical sensors before she would believe it - and switched the view to a visual on the
Wells-class timeship. It rested there right before the damaged
Theurgy: a sleek vessel of salvation for them all.
Not only had the Bridge been hailed, but the two valiant fighter pilots as well, the same message delivered to them all: That the hours and days of recent madness had ended.
(http://images.wikia.com/memoryalpha/en/images/d/de/USS_Relativity.jpg)
- FIN -