Star Trek: Theurgy

Chapter 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]
Attn: All

[ USS Theurgy | Main Bridge | Deck 01 ]
Posting Order: 1) Aisha S'Iti, 2) Morrigan + Tessa May Lance and Billy Bob O'Connell respectively 3) Rory Callahan (independently) 4) Sten Covington with Carrigan Trent inside the arriving turbolift (which stops working mid-way up to Deck 01) 5) Natalie Stark  6) Declan Vasser, Security & Bridge Crew

With a mordant glare, Declan had seated himself at the helm after dismissing the bumbling idiot that had previous occupied the seat. The man now lay on the floor - staring blindly into the artificial lights of the bridge's ceiling - his neck at an unnatural angle. The viewscreen was lit with an aft view, and Chief S'Iti'a program activated. It was, of course, impossible to get a true visual on the pursuer at the velocity they currently held, but the reticule and sensors worked fine - indicating just how fast the Calamity was gaining on them.

Where is T'Rena? he asked himself, having tried to reach her twice over the latest couple of minutes. If she had been taken captive by one of the resistance cells, it was unfortunate, but  he had more important things on his mind. For while it was along time since he had been at the helm of a starship, he trusted his hand-eye coordination to help him when flying manually.  Matching the delicate touch of the control panel and the movements on the viewscreen was no match for him, but the Calamity was not in optimal range for mine deployment. Key as to synchronise the two ships' Warp trajectories.

[Vasser, this is Aisha S'iti.  I am en-route to your location on the main bridge and am returning to take my station due to emergency circumstances.  Know that I am not returning out of some form of misguided loyalty to you or your mission but only out of the need that this ship has for a skilled person at the helm.  I will be arriving alone and armed and will not be relieving myself of my weapons in order to assure my own protection. I suggest you instruct your officers and guards to stand down and allow me to take my place at the helm and I would suggest that you yourself take a station at tactical so that together this ship has the best chance of successfully disabling the Calamity.  For my own protection know that if I have reason to suspect aggressive intentions on the part of any members of your crew against myself, I will open fire without reservation.  Expect me to arrive on the bridge in 10 seconds. S'iti out.]

Vasser listened, but there was no outside reaction to the announcement. Not besides the order he gave to the security guards on the bridge - eyes locked on the screen. It was clear that the traitorous Cardassian was not asking for his permission. "When she arrives, keep your eyes open and have your Phasers set to kill. I will not tolerate failure."

Even with the Chief Conn Officer manning the ship, the problem was that the Theurgy would not be able to maintain its current Warp factor for more than a couple of minutes. The sabotage in Engineering had left them bereft of plasma, and Vasser was ordering more and more systems to be shut down in order to preserve the plasma levels. This had helped until a minute ago, when his bridge crew said they had been locked out of the ship systems - forcing Vasser to take matters into his own hands.

His concerns about the development would no help him, so he put it all aside for the time being - confident that he would still prevail. Not only did he have a few more aces up his sleeve, so to speak, he also had several loyal crewmembers on the ship with tasks that would ensure his command over the ship.

When the Cardassian arrived, he did not vacate his seat until she was at his side, and only then did he make way for her - making sure that the matching trajectories were not lost. He stepped over the body of the red-collared Petty Officer at his feet. "If you fail," he said quietly as he made his way to the Tactical station, "you will share the same fate as Mister Quentin here. The Calamity will be in range in two minutes - less if the lack of plasma affects the Warp Core."

That she had opted to return in such martyrs' fashion suggested that she had some kind of last resort to utilise, but in the end, it did not matter. He knew what he had to do.

"Re-routeing all auxiliary power to Engineering, shutting down all primary systems not dedicated to propulsion and defence systems, and arming all torpedo bays. Phasers arrays are primed and standing by." With his commands into the tactical console, only emergency lights remained on all decks of the ship. All turbolifts save for one stopped working. It bought them another minute at present Warp factor, and Vasser his advantage. "You have a window of opportunity limited to ten seconds, Cardassian, provided that you keep her steady. Thea, I suggest you assist this woman as best as you might if anyone is to survive the next couple of minutes. Engineering may have to stabilise the Core's three reaction chambers. Vasser Out."

With this, Declan removed his combadge and laid it on the tactical station. He exchanged a look with one of his Brig Officers behind Aisha's back, and he made his move - not saying anything more to the woman and leaving her to her task of full focus on the viewscreen. Unwittingly, she had granted him the perfect opportunity.

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OOC: Please see suggested posting order at the top. I will notify other writers than those listed when it is time to make an appearance in this thread!

[ Aisha S'iti | USS Theurgy | Main Bridge | Deck 01 ]

Aisha waited at the door holding the phaser ready to fire and as soon as she saw him aimed squarely at Vasser who was at her station.  Calmly she made her way to the station only dropping the weapons aim once she was assured that his intent was to make sure hers was to preform the duties she had spoken of. 

"If you fail, you will share the same fate as Mister Quentin here. The Calamity will be in range in two minutes - less if the lack of plasma affects the Warp Core."

She scoffed at the threat taking her seat at the Conn.  "Can it with your threats Vasser; If I fail then we are all equally dead.  Its not like I'm selfless martyr.  I'm only here cause It's the only Bridge I could get to in time to keep you from blowing us to hell with your own self indulgent arrogance.  Now get me someone with a brain at tactical so all I have to do is line up and drop the mine.  We'll need every ounce of shield strength we can muster in order to not get our own warp field collapsed by the damn thing when it blows."

Bringing up the finite controls she would need to adjust each and every necessary variable to ensure the perfect shot she sighed watching the trajectory data line up with precise coordinates. With a few minor adjustments she had the ship's course adjusted to the prime angle that would put the Calamity approaching directly behind. 

Of course any basic officer would never attempt to approach an enemy from behind like this as they would end up with a photon torp thrown right towards their main bridge or the front of a warp nacelle.  Well unless the ship was at a huge known technological advantage and had nothing to risk by going in for the quick kill and at their present state Aisha could not imagine a better more clear example of wounded limping and utterly outmatched prey that could provide the one exception to the rule to not approach from a directly 6 o'clock angle.

"Yes," Aisha thought around, focusing on the approaching ships telemetry info. "Hunt us like your helpless prey Cala.  You have absolutely nothing to worry about." she said quietly with a sarcastic venom as she primed the launch of the mines she was planning to shove down the Holo-crewed predator's throat.

[ Tessa May Lance (https://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/0/d/tessa_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6mx6.png) | USS Theurgy | Officer's Head | Deck 01 ] 

A toilet aboard a ship is officially referred to as the head.  Restrooms are also known as heads since back in the age of sail they were placed the bow or the head of the ship.  The head on deck one was located just portside of the bridge and could be accessed from the 'U' shaped corridor that encircled the fore, port, and starboard part of the deck.  In this particular head a hatch opened up in the wall and Lieutenant (junior grade) Tessa May Lance jumped out and executed a roll that almost ended with hitting her head against the sink on the forward section of the bulkhead.

Petty Officer First Class Adara Hussein of Deck Ops crawled out the hatch after her, pulling a phaser rifle behind her that seemed too large for her diminutive frame.

"Lance to Stark," Tessa hissed as she tapped the spot where her combage used to be.  "I mean Lance to Thea... whatever.  Clear.  We're in the head on deck one, checking the corridor," she murmured through grit teeth as she advanced on the door.   To Tessa's ears, the restroom door hissed open with deafening loudness.  Steeling her courage, she gripped the doorframe with both hands and leaned into the hall to look both ways. 

Empty.  Perfect.  She crept out into the corridor and nearly jumped out of her skin as the door to the conference lounge hissed open to reveal a towering Bolian in a Starfleet uniform with a gold collar pulling a pistol shaped mark II hand phaser off his hip and pointing it at her.  Quick as a wink, Tessa's hand darted to her side and drew her phaser.  Her arm snapped up as fast as Caitan to point her weapon at him and...

...dropped her phaser on the floor when it slipped out of her fingers to clatter on the deck at her feet.  The Bollian smirked at her as she blushed and bent over to pick it up, and that's when the diminutive Adara Hussein shot him with her phaser rifle.  So distracting was Tessa's performance that the Bolian hadn't even noticed the petite Persian standing right behind her.

"You dropped something Ma'am," Petty Officer Hussein remarked dryly.

"You dropped someone Petty Officer," Tessa quipped as she retrieved her phaser.  She slapped her breast where her combage should have been.  "Oh, damn," she sputtered when she remembered that they had ditched their combages.  "Tessa to Stark, one enemy dealt with, over."  Was Thea relaying their messages?  Tessa sure hoped so.  "Thea we need the door to the security checkpoint and armory open."

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[ Master Chief Petty Officer William Robert "Billy Bob" O'Connell (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/156/7/9/o_connell_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7l44xt.png) | USS Theurgy | Main Engineering | Deck 10 ] 

Crewman Dom Fok awoke to hear the red alert klaxons ringing in his ears.  At first he thought it was a hallucination, but then he opened his eyes to see Master Chief Petty Officer William Robert "Billy Bob" O'Connell standing over him.  "Fok!  Wake up!  Wake up Crewman!  To your station!"

Groggy, Fok reached for his waist where his phaser was supposed to be only to find it wasn't there.  To be honest he'd be lucky if he could find his penis right now.

"Git yore ass up, yuh lazy bastich!" O'Connell roared as he pulled the injured crewman to his feet.  "The ship is goin' in t' combat and it's every man to his station!  I don't give a damn who the skipper is right now as long as the ruttin' ship don't explode, so git to your station!" he shouted as he roughly pushed Fok to the phase compensator near the plasma manifolds.  

Fok staggered forward and looked around and saw other engineers in the room, but not for long because O'Connell seized him by the collar of his uniform.  "And so help me Fok, if you mess this up I'll do things to you that'll give the Tal'Shiar nightmares!" the master chief promised before pushing Fok backwards. 

O'Connell turned to face a coffee colored chief petty officer with a gold collar.  "Manfredi!" he barked as he marched over to the master systems display table.  "How are we doing on power?"

"Main power is back up to seventy two percent, Master Chief," Lavar Manfredi, the propulsion chief from Earth's city of New Orleans replied. 

"Thanks Chief," O'Connell  nodded in a normal sounding voice.  "Koizumi!" he hollered across the room.  "How are the plasma relays son?"

"Plasma relays are up to the same point they were before the sabotage Master Chief!"  Petty Officer Tenchi Koizumi of the Terran city of Kyoto called down from the deck above.

"That bad huh?" he groaned sarcastically.  "Arex!" he shouted to a bald, blue skinned engineer who had a visible bifurcating ridge running vertically along the center of the head and face.  "Tell me weapons and shield are working!"

"Weapons and shields are online Master Chief!" Petty Officer Zil Arex from the town of Xilmophia on Bolarus IX called back.  "Or at least they should be when someone on the bridge turns them on!"

"Okay, then.  Let's concentrate on maintaining the warp envelope and maybe we can get through this," O'Connor said in a loud stage voice.  This was his moment.  A moment he never asked for and never thought it would come.  Today William Robert O'Connell was the chief engineer.  For as long as it would take for the Calamity to blow them out the stars.

[Fasha | USS Theurgy | Ship's Corridors | Deck 02 ]

Fasha quietly made her way through the ship's Jefferies tubes sparing brief glances back at the man climbing through the tubes behind her. Tessa had taken Petty Officer Hussein leaving her alone Rory Callahan the proprietor of the bar downstairs. As she reached the exit she turned back towards Rory bringing a single finger to her lips a universal sign to keep quiet as she pushed open the hatch just wide enough to slip through her eyes performing a quick study of her surroundings. From what she saw no guards were in their immediate vicinity  for now meaning the element of surprise was still working in their favor.

If she recalled the blueprints Thea had provided them correctly right now she was in the Yeoman's office. She moved over to the door leading out to the corridor relying on her memory of the blueprint to lead her in the right direction. She moved her hand over the control panel to the door taking a deep breath before pushing the open button. The door slid open with a whoosh sound far too loud for Fasha's own liking. Fortunately however she seemed to avoid the attention of any nearby guards for the moment. She peeked out into the hall for a brief moment once in either direction. Down the left corridor she managed to spare a quick glance at the guard who appeared to be on patrol at the end of the corridor.

She glanced back at Rory who she hoped at this point had followed before moving a bit closer "Stay here...The other guard might be on a patrol route if he comes through here...Kill him." Fasha said simply nodding her head towards the Phaser provided to the man. "Don't hesitate." She said before turning and leaving the room heading down the left corridor. She kept her body in a low crouched position close to the wall but not touching it to avoid the sound of her rifle or body clattering against it. She quickly reached the L junction of the hall and spared a quick glance around the corner. The guard was coming back around for his second pass. Her mind raced to decide on a course of action firing a phaser wouldn't be the wisest choice. The sound would alert those inside the bridge to their presence. She'd need to be silent.

Fasha took a deep breath reaching back and grasping the hilt of her Tau'Kon'She slowly drawing it from it's sheath. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she counted the number of seconds in her head it would take for him to round the corner. As he turned the corner she struck out like a cobra her blade lashing out cutting deeply into his throat cutting off any attempt to scream or yell before the blade was drawn back and plunged into his chest thrice once in both lungs and the last stab tearing into his heart. The man simply stared at Fasha with wide eyes as Fasha moved forward to catch him before his body hit the floor his blood staining her clothes and skin as she lowered him to the floor quietly.

She brushed the blood staining her blade off on her undergarments before sheathing it once more. "Fasha to Star-" Her report was cut off however as Tessa reported her own success at taking down her guard. Fasha waited for a moment before speaking "Fasha reporting enemy neutralized how should we proceed?" Fasha said.

[Sten Covington | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 - Bridge ]

The turbolift car had been filled the moment the pilots had departed to accomplish their objectives in the corridor surrounding the main Bridge.  And at the forefront, immediately inside the door was the Chief of the Deck and Petty Officer De Serres, an equally burly member of his deck crew.  These two men would be the first to step onto the Bridge proper, with Lieutenant Commander Stark close behind them.  After all, it would not do if the one officer they had who could take charge got herself shot the moment the door would open.  Granted, the Theurgy could ill-afford losing her Chief of Flight Deck Operations or one of her fighter spaceframe techs but they were far more expendable than the Operations Officer was. 

The wait seemed long, interminable even.  But the comm panel in the turbolift then sounded when both Lieutenants Lance and Fasha had completed their objectives.  The next part, while technically it should be under Stark's direction, was led by Covington.  Pressing the panel, he trusted in Thea to properly route the message via the ship's panels.  "Goldeneye, Morrigan, stand by to rush the Bridge on my mark."  And only then did he press the single control that would lead their turbolift car up one deck. 

And just as the door before him was about to open, the grizzled veteran pressed the comm panel control once more and called out a single word.  "Now."

Even as the door hissed, Sten's bulk surged forward with a speed uncommon for a man his size, let alone of his years.  There had been a guard next to the turbolift, but the man never had a chance. His own rifle was coming up towards the door on the far side of the bridge which was opening to admit Petty Ofifcer Hussien but he never had a chance to fire as a large hirsute paw closed upon the barrel and first pulled the weapon forward, throwing the man off-balance as the sling pulled taut and then that same hand reversed its momentum to send the butt of the rifle crashing into its owner's teeth.  As the man collapsed to the deck, barely conscious from the brutal impact, the Chief hefted his own weapon to his shoulder, his barrel finding the next of Vasser's cronies as he moved further onto the Bridge and his voice called out once more.  "Weapons down!  Now!" 

His shout was taken over by De Serres as well as both men moved across the Bridge to secure weapons from crewmen who had been too stunned to move from the direct assault.  One, however, tried to make a break for it.  But he made a single mistake: he sought to do it within arm's reach of the Chief of the Deck and that ill-advised attempt at escape ended as quickly as it started when the veteran's scarred fist lashed out and caught the man squarely in the jaw, the impact lifting his feet off the deck and his landing yielding a most agreeable thump. 

That alone seemed to have had an effect and faces slackened and hands moved away from weapons when they realized the Bridge had been retaken.  But only then did Sten notice that the man they were after was nowhere to be seen.  And led to a single questions from him.  "Where's Vasser?"


[Carrigan Trent | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 - Bridge]

When he reached the turbolift car near Vector 3's Battle Bridge, Carriagan Trent looked like hell.  He was bruised and there were several cuts to his head and face from his various violent encounters, though primarily the one with T'Rena.  His jacket had been ruined, so he had left it behind when he recovered the combadge he had attached to it, the one he had taken from Sjaandin Fedd's cooling body and then reconfigured to himself during his short-lived first attempt at re-establishing command. His shirt was torn and stained with a mix of red and green blood, smoke and soot from the confrontation on the Battle Bridge.  But his eyes, pale and intense, spoke volumes about his determination.  They were at Red Alert and Calamity was after them.  He might have gone to Intelligence but once upon a time, he had been a solid Tactical Officer and a capable Executive Officer in the past, before he had received a starship command of his own and had led her into war.  His place was on the Bridge.  Even if that bastard Vasser was still there, it was where he needed to be. 

Obviously, his algorithm to go through Calamity's barrage jamming had been working, considering they had seen her coming and were not twisting and firing wildly as if they'd been cornered.  But no one up there could refuse his presence at this point.  Not if they wanted to live past the next hour at least.  There was no one else on board, and precious few within Starfleet, who had made electronic warfare their specialty and he was considered an authority on the subject.  And they needed his expertise in a hurry if they intended to have a fighting chance against Calamity.  Assuming the gravimetric mines would function as planned. 

But on his way up, he felt the turbolift shudder and halt, and a soulless computer voice informed him that the system had been shut down, as if he had not noticed such a thing himself. But he had no time to waste and instead, he tapped his combadge.  "Command override.  Re-initiate all turbolifts, authorization Trent Three Seven Four Nine Epsilon."  Indeed, he had no time for this sort of nonsense.  And as soon as he'd finished giving his access code, the turbolift car resumed its climb for the Bridge. 

When it came to a halt and the doors hissed open, he strode openly into the ship's nervous center and pale eyes moved across the room.  Men from the Harbinger were held at phaser-point by members of Theurgy's crew, including a pair of pilots and some of the fighter bay crew judging by the way they were dressed.  And amongst them was Lieutenant Commander Stark.  So at least, one other senior officer was capable of doing her duty and that much was a much needed relief.  However, the mutineer and criminal Declan Vasser was nowhere to be seen.  But that was a secondary problem at the moment. 

For at this point in time, he had to solidify his grasp on the situation and as he strode straight for the command chair, he let himself be heard in his quiet, near-whisper tone.  "I am Lieutenant Commander Trent.  I've assumed command in Captain Ives' name.  If you got a problem with it, get off the Bridge now.  If you can live with that, we got real work to do." 

And just as he finished his sentence, he seated himself in the central chair and he let his head turn back and forth.  The two pilots who were on the Bridge, he did recognize one of them, though.  Fasha.  So she had joined Starfleet?  That was good news, and those had been thin on the ground over the last few hours.  He knew her, had served with her, and he trusted her implicitly.  Not to mention what went beyond their professional relationship.

Last he had seen her was years ago, very early in the Dominion War.  The pilot, back then, had been with the Catachan colonial defence force and she and two other pilots and their crafts had been attached to the USS Harrier in the early days of the Dominion War.  That she was on Theurgy was a most pleasant surprise and beyond the gladness of seeing someone so dear to him again he was feeling much more confident about their current situation given he knew just how valuable she was as an asset.  "Lieutenant Fasha!  You and the Chief of the Deck will gather up every pilot and deck hand you can lay your hands on and get to the fighter bay.  Once you get down there, get wreckage cleared up and get birds ready to deploy.  Unless Commander Renard is already down there or until properly relieved, you're in charge of the Squadron.  Lieutenant Lance, is it?  You're next in line for the time being."

Then, as he started keying commands into his armrest consoles, he kept on directing the officers about him.  "Commander Stark, I would need you at Ops if you please.  We've taken a beating already so we'll need your expertise there to keep things balanced.  Tactical, get all weapons ready and prepare to execute firing plan Trent One on my mark. Also, I want a full tactical plot overlaid on the viewscreen, I need to have a solid grasp of what's going on out there.  Also, transfer control of the gravimetric mines to the helm."

The woman manning the console was Cardassian, Harbinger's helmsman, and if T'Rena was to be believed, she was as good as could be and he needed every ounce of skill and judgement as he could get.  "Chief, get us in proper alignment with Calamity.  Drop the mines as soon as you're satisfied they'll be effective then drop out of warp and bring us about to engage."

Then, it was the whole of the Bridge he addressed.  "Captain Ives' decision was to destroy Calamity and I fully intend to do just that.  Last chance if any of you would rather be somewhere else.  Once the mines are released, we are all committed."

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OOC: I have been discussing this post with Auctor Lucan over the last day or so.  I apologize if anyone feels like they've been put on rails in this post but there is an need to get things moving.  The intent here is to send the pilots where they belong and into the dark.

Crewman Fortuna laughed to himself, not like he could do much else being a security crewman stationed to guard the bridge, of course loyalty for the sake of drowning in poon can only motivate a man so far and he sure as hell wasn't gonna get himself mowed down by phaser fire for a Commodore that abandoned his own bridge.  "Hell if I know where he went.  Bastard don't tell us jack-shit,"  he said adding, "Ya know we would have a future warship in a three ship fleet heading for who knows where? Then we could'a settled down for a life that would make a Risan shore-leave look like a 3 year tour in the fucking space boonies, but you idiots had to make a big deal out of so called loyalty and fuck the whole plan up didn't you.  Why couldn't you just leave well enough alone? You had to resist the only hope for us to survive,"  he complained from what once was his 'guard post'  Of course., he sure as hell wasn't leaving.  If they were fucked proper and all gonna die, at least he was gonna spend his last minutes watching the show.

Aisha's focus on the other hand had been complete as the invasion on the bridge took place.  In fact, the Carddassian had seemingly been deaf to the situation taking place around her until out of the corner of her mind she heard her name being said.  "Yes sir." she said looking back recognizing the voice to be someone other than Vasser and knowing her need to maintain a head-down attitude was over. "Please advise, upon completion of mine deployment, go or no-go for MVAM?"

"Commander," Ensign Catalina Donovra interupted.  Donovra, a gold shirted security ensign luckily having logged a few hours at tactical on the gamma shift had taken the tactical station upon entry on the bridge.  "I've got green readings for weapons and shields now. Looks like someone in engineering must like us,"  she said happily relieved that they weren't completely screwed.

Aisha nodded. "Warp field Integrity is stabilizing too.  Whover's taken over in engineering is soing the Gods' work,"  she stated as she could just tell from the way the ship seemed to move that their motion through subspace was far smoother than before. "Commander, sit-rep on the Calamity. She's closing in fast.  Mine deployment viable in T-minus 5...4...3...2...1..."  She counted down as the mine's projected path became aligned perfectly to do its job.  "I've got you now bitch." she said quietly as she 'pulled the trigger'.

But, there was no detonation.  No detection of a mine even being launched, nothing.  "SHIT!" she exclaimed pressing the triggering command again then again and again practically jabbing her finger into the console now.  "Mines are negative on release!" Aisha exclaimed.

"Twenty-five seconds till Calamity is in firing range!" the young and now under a pressure Ensign at tactical said.  She tried to sound calm but she was scared out of her mind and relying on her training in academy on how to remain calm under pressure to allow her to attempt to keep a calm voice.  'No, don't panic, Commander's relying on you to be calm at Tac.  Remember your training girl,'  she repeated the mantra over and over in her mind her hands shaking in fear as she focused on the tactical console closing her eyes for a second as the fear made tears begin to form in her eyes.    

Accessing the intercom function, Aisha quickly attempted to establish contact to whoever was supposed to be working the improvised mine launching mechanism. "Cargo hold four, what the HELL is going on down there!" she shouted into the console demanding to know why their best offensive option was seemingly gone at the worst possible time.

[ Tessa May Lance (https://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/0/d/tessa_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6mx6.png) | USS Theurgy | Bridge | Deck 01 ] 

"I've found some restraints in the armory," Lieutenant Tessa May Lance announced as she walked onto the bridge.  After holding Fortuna and the other mutineers at gunpoint, she had double backed into the armory to collect some twenty-fourth century handcuffs.

"Ma'am, didn't you hear?" Petty Officer Adara Hussein hissed.  "We're under attack!  We've got to get to the flight deck and get your bird into the black!

"Er um, let's go!" Tessa stammered as they circled behind the captain's chair and entered the turbolift on the starboard side of the bridge.  "Are the turbolifts working?"

"Yes Ma'am," Hussein assured her.  "Commander Trent got this one working.  Let's go."

[ Dr. Nicander | Mine Deployment Rig | Cargo Bay 04 | Deck 02 ] Attn: Bridge Crew, Nolan & Triage

The situation was quite frustrating as the seconds wore on. Despite the lack of power, Tovarek and Heather McMillan was working on trying to raise a structural integrity field outside the damaged cargo bay doors despite the lack of available energy. If there was no field, both they and Natalie Stark's team would be vented out into the Theurgy's warp trail once those doors were opened. The plasma relay close to the door controls had been destroyed during the sabotage, overloading the control panel. Stark's team was ready to open the doors manually, but Lucan was - for reasons that eluded him - trying to save the lives of everyone present in the cargo bay.

He had powered down the deployment rig and stood by the lever that would activate the system again, waiting for Tovarek and McMillan to report that the field was up and for the doors to be opened with their manual override. The structural integrity field only needed to hold long enough for them all to vacate the area and seal the doors.

[Cargo hold four, what the HELL is going on down there!] came a voice from the intercom system, and as pressed as the situation was, Lucan thought it could be the Harbinger's Chief CONN Officer. Hard to tell, but it was his best guess, and that meant that the Calamity was getting closer. Time was running out. If the bridge wanted to release the mines, he could not power up the deployment rig because then the mines would detonate against the bay doors. Nor could he let them do so when the integrity field was in place. Five seconds passed. He did not know how dire the Calamity situation was. Perhaps they were about to be fired upon any moment. It all rode on...

Then, Tovarek and Heather signalled that the field was up.

"Open the bay doors!" he ordered, and two of Stark's personnel pushed the lever, making them slide open - the maws opening to the aft view of the ship. Shooting stars vanished into the distance. Somewhere behind them, impossible to see with the naked eye, their adversary was in likely in pursuit.

"Thea! Relay my words! Doctor Nicander to bridge!" he called, needing Thea since he had no combadge, "Mine deployment is viable in fifteen to twenty seconds. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt deployment before that or you will kill us all. Vacating the area now! Nicander out!"

Having alerted the bridge, Lucan rounded on Tovarek and Heather as he powered up the deployment ramp. "Run! Everyone! Get out! Deactivate the integrity field from the outside! We need to seal the doors to the cargo bay!" The Operations personnel were already running, and Lucan joined them. He tripped on the way, the pain making him light-headed. He got up again, chest hurting from the beating he had taken earlier, and he somehow made it out of the doors. He stumbled onwards to the control panel - not entirely sure if Simon or Heather was going to reach it ahead of him. The integrity field had to be dropped. Navigating the LCARS would take too long.

"Thea!" Was the cargo bay sealed? It was sealed. "Drop the field now!"

[Structural integrity field deactivated. Alerting main bridge.]

"Thank you," said Lucan and sunk down to the floor at the end of his wild run - sliding down against the bulkhead with his back. He caught himself looking around, to make sure everyone made it out fine. Again, he was working towards saving the ship which his kin meant to destroy. But they were sadly mistaken if they thought he was about to let them kill him too. His personal plans were more important to him than theirs. Always, his own agenda had been more important than the whispers of the darkness inside. From the start, he had thought them a means to success, yet residing within him was instead a conflict of interest that had survived since the first day the thing inside had made him more than he were. What irked him was how he could not reason why it was beneficial to be a host any more.

And yet his doubt remained a fleeting thing. Gripping sand and feeling his worries slide through his fingers, the silent answers in the darkness quelled his resistance. How could he accept the liability of the parasite without contest? Why did he only see benefits and forget the drawbacks - accepting them as a part of his new nature? Surely he would be better off without it?

Sitting there, he lost his train-of-thought and his argument, instead showing concern for those around him. Was it a part of his act that he cared?

He was not even sure about that any more...

---

OOC: Nolan & Triage, like I mentioned in the other OOC note, sorry for barging on, but there was a lot of ground to cover and I hope you guys can work with the resolution. Please let me know if you want me to make any edits to make room for your interpretation of the unfolding events. You have the posts to make in 05: Anodyne, and you can post here as well.

1) Brutus is next to post with Natalie Stark on the Bridge, but RosariaRosette can go next as well so that she can have Fasha join Tessa in the turbolift (Sten Covington will be on that turbolift as well). Brutus, please don't let the seconds pass by too far after Nicander's message to the Bridge since the window of viable mine deployment is running damn short on seconds. Searcher posts independently with Rory Callahan. 2) IronFerrox should be posting after Brutus and deploying the mines in the last possible moment. I will send IronFerrox a PM with the results for the attempt this time around. 3) CanadianVet posts with Trent about MVAM or not and with Sten heading down the turbolift as well, also, reaching the Fighter Assault Bay (which would be good if MVAM is to be used... and the ship is split up. Just make sure to use the offical transcript: http://houseeros.com/roleplay-role-playing-forum/index.php?topic=5460.msg103680#msg103680)

[ Heather McMillan |  Mine Deployment Rig | Cargo Bay 04 | Deck 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Lucan cin Nicander, Simon Tovarek (Nolan) & Bridge Crew

[Show/Hide]

It was a close thing, working feverishly alongside Tovarek, but McMillan had managed her half of the task, and with the last part done, she waved a shining hand at Nicander, once Tovarek had given his agreement to his own work being completed, letting the man know that it was more or less ready. Nothing was guaranteed. This was a rush job, and McMillan was horrible with rush jobs. But she knew the stakes, and did the best she could. She still felt inadequate amongst these true members of Starfleet. The brave and the bold, she saw them as, while there she was, a tiny little girl, scared out of her wits, and really just a coward.

The bay doors were opened, and Nicander shouted for everyone to get moving. "Hnh!" She bolted from her position, running on tip-toe, in a strange loping motion, looking like what could be best described as a running wolf in pursuit of prey. And she was almost gunning directly for Nicander, so it appeared, until she almost overtook him, and it seemed she was just in a real hurry, but held back because she wasn't sure of exactly where she was running to. Nicander tripped, however, and so did McMillan, except she had a more spectacular show, by tucking herself into a crazy barrel roll, before using the momentum of her own fall to get herself back on her feet and continue running like nothing had happened.

She fell because she wanted to turn back to help Nicander. Looking back showed that that was hardly necessary, as the man was also already back on his feet. Still, McMillan frowned, as she suspected that the man was ailing from something, and decided to ask him as soon as they could, if he needed something. Her lab coat was laden with spare gear she packed from the lab before she left. They then made it out of there.

"Hfff!" McMillan collapsed in a heap on the floor before Nicander, of her own volition, exhausted from such a sudden run, and she lay panting, her face, hair and hands dimly glowing, though now in a multitude of colours, like a prismatic moving light. "I. Never! Want. To do that. Again. EVER!" She declared as she sat up and mimicked Nicander's posture of leaning against a bulkhead next to him, still trying to catch her breath. "That was absolutely terrifying."

[Natalie Stark | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 - Bridge ]

They'd tumbled out of the turbolift with barely a moment for Natalie to think about how damned nervous she was. Everything had been lined up. The teams had been deployed. Rory was - or would have been - sweeping into the room with the advanced teams on Aisha's word.  They were rushing up, and then CPO Covington was barreling into the opposition, in a flash of violence. She didn't even need to raise her own weapon, just stroll right out on the bridge - the Declan Vassar-less bridge.  Sten summed it up with that simple, straightforward question "Where's Vasser?" It left her dumbfounded, but there was no time to worry about that, as may pointed out. Before she could even snap off an order though, the turbolift doors swept open again. This time her phaser did snap up as she turned around to point the muzzle at - Lt. Cmdr. Carrigan Trent.

She had a moment to reflect on how he looked  like utter shit, but only just, before the bedraggled Lt. Cmdr began issuing orders.   "I am Lieutenant Commander Trent.  I've assumed command in Captain Ives' name.  If you got a problem with it, get off the Bridge now.  If you can live with that, we got real work to do."  Straightforward and to the point, and Natalie wished she could have summoned up the calm confidence to have said the same thing when she'd left the turbolift.

It was with a mix of a relief and...disappointment? as Lt. Cmdr. Trent took the center seat. Part of her was grateful to turn command to the Intel officer. True, she didn't know him terribly well but he had saved the ship once already and earned Cpt. Ives trust, and really, it was her trust in Ives that had her there on the bridge, ready to take it over from the - missing - Declan Vassar. But at the same time, part of Natalie had almost...looked forward to taking that seat. To seeing it out on her terms. But there was no point, or time, to argue over who should or shouldn't be in that chair. They had a mission to do.

"Commander Stark, I would need you at Ops if you please.  We've taken a beating already so we'll need your expertise there to keep things balanced.  Tactical, get all weapons ready and prepare to execute firing plan Trent One on my mark. Also, I want a full tactical plot overlaid on the viewscreen, I need to have a solid grasp of what's going on out there.  Also, transfer control of the gravimetric mines to the helm."

"Aye aye, sir," she replied to the orders stoically, acknowledging his authority, and then, "You heard the man," she snapped to her team, ending any possible issues right then and there, as she crossed the bridge and took her station. A quick glance to Sten, watching as he and the pilots pealed off to get out of the way of the bridge, her gaze sweeping to men and women that might very well be Vassar Loyalists - it didn't matter right then. Be they in the service of Ives or Vassar, the Calamity took precedence.  She pulled up the overlay on the main screen, sparing another quick glance - this time to Aisha. She thought of all the things Cal used to bitch about when it came to controlling the helm, and soft words of advice were on the tip of her tongue - and died there, when the mines failed to launch.

Her face drained of all blood and immediately she began trying to reroute power - no avail. Pulling up status logs, anything she could think of, while the Cardassian commed the launch bay. The enemy was 25 seconds away and if they didn't launch those damn mines now, at the very best they could hope for a quick death. God forbid the mines detonated inside the bay. She had no clue what kind of issue was going on, and anything was possible. Her heart began to race faster and she nearly panicked. Then she saw the way Ashia's hands trembled as the other woman tried to get control of the situation, and she sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth. Now wasn't the time. They might be dead in seconds, but now was not the time. Her back straightened and her gaze hardened. She might have been pale as a ghost, but that was it, the only sign of concern.

"Thea! Relay my words! Doctor Nicander to bridge!" he called, needing Thea since he had no combadge, "Mine deployment is viable in fifteen to twenty seconds. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt deployment before that or you will kill us all. Vacating the area now! Nicander out!" The voice of the CMO answered over the comm system, startling Natalie.

What the hell is he doing down there? she asked herself as she pulled up a countdown, and overlay it on the main view screen. He'd asked - pleased for 15 to 20 seconds - and they only had 20 tops. "Come on come on come onnnnn," she muttered under her breath, sweat trickling down the back of her neck. The enemy was closing in, and time was running out - barely seconds left. She made the snap decision, and reached out, beginning to tap the  release control that would force a transfer of the mine deployment to her console. They didn't have any time left, and it was her people down there, her men and women, her team, working to release those mines. Her crew, that would die if the mines were released too early. She wasn't going to put that responsibility on anyone else. If she had to sacrifice her people, it would kill her inside but there was no way she would burden anyone else with that.

Her mind caught up with her heart about half a second after, as she went over the readouts on her console again. It wouldn't just be the crew in the bay that got toasted if they launched early. The doors were opening, but creeping along. If they launched too soon, the mines would detonate inside the ship all the same, just like she'd worried about before. Her hands paused, hovering over the last command that would rip the launch control to her authorization instead of the helm. Duty, fear, anxiety, and cold calculation warred within her.

"Ensign Donovra," she called out in a voice she hoped to hell wasn't shaking, "Status on the Calamity? Weapons?"

"She'll be on us in any second, Ma'am," the dark haired woman at tactical called back. "Her weapons are hot!" The sense of urgency was clear in the younger officers voice.

They didn't have any more time. Her fingers were poised to transfer the control, but there was risk there, too. "Chief S'Iti, we can't wait," she could still see the tremble in the grey skinned woman's hands, "Launch those mines now, or so help me I'll do it myself," her tone was cold, so much colder than normal, colder than she felt. Her heart was racing, pounding in her chest, there was still sweat running down her spine, but her hands were steady, and there was no hesitation in her voice. The order to launch was given, and time, time was running out.

---

OOC: Edited for better flow. Y'all have fun.

[ Tovarek |  Mine Deployment Rig | Cargo Bay 04 | Deck 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Nicander, McMillan & Bridge Crew

Tovarek hurried to finish up with his work and he noticed that McMillan was ready just a few seconds before he was. "Go ahead, tell Nicander that we're set." He quickly checked up on McMillan her input data to see if anything would flash up in his eyes that would seem wrong, yet the civilian scientist seemed to be knowing what she was doing. He locked the controls to what they were in case anything would happen to it and he looked one last time at the deployment rig.

After that he started to make a run for it, Heather seemed to be making a greater distance then he did in a short time and he saw Nicander trip. Yet there was no time to lose as Simon hurried hismelf past the cargo bay doors and smashed against the wall. He turned around and it seemed that time slowed down a bit as Heather and Lucan made their way through the doors before the cargo doors shut with a hiss. Simon closed his eyes as Nicander heard the reassuring voice of Thea and he caught his breath while keeping his eyes closed. "I really need a drink when this is all over." He mumbled softly and the operations man besides him nodded his head in agreement.

---

OOC: Sorry for the short post, bit short on imagination at the moment.

[ Dr. Nicander | Outside Cargo Bay 04 | Deck 02 ] Attn: Nolan & Triage

Hearing what his two companions said on either side of him, Lucan could not agree more with their individual standpoints.

"I'm not sure one drink will quite cut it," he said and chuckled while he rested his head against the wall. Laughing hurt, however, and he raised a tattooed hand to his side with a groan. "Laughing was not a good idea... I think the bastard down in Waste Management broke a rib or two..."

Furthermore, he still felt drained after having used his Câroon abilities, so the energy to stand up and make his way back to Sickbay was not quite there yet. He reckoned that he was needed at his post, but if he got there, he might just end up another patient on their hands. He had faith in his fellow officers in Sickbay to get by without him for just a little while longer. Then again, he had no idea what kind of situation they had on their hands, so it might just be his fatigue talking.

"As much of a difference we might have made, and what we have come to learn about each other..." he said and gave Heather McMillan a lop-sided grin - this Radiant that had revealed herself in their midst, "I agree. I don't feel inclined to see the inside of a Jefferies tube again, or get into fist-fights against security officers for that matter. Let's just hope those mines end up where they should now that we opened the bay doors for them."

[ Rihen Neyah | Corridor | Life Support Systems | Deck 07 ] Attn: Sirus, Brutus, Searcher (& IronFerrox)

Progress was slow, or at least it felt like they could not be moving any slower unless they tried. Then again, there was only Lin Kae and her there to change the controller chips in the holo-emitters while they moved down the corridors, so Rihen Neyah supposed that given the circumstances, they couldn't be too hard on themselves. The EMH walked at a steady pace with Selena Ravenholm in his arms, looking as displeased as he had from the start, and Skye Carver - the fighter pilot with the phaser rifle - was keeping a look-out in both directions of the corridor. They had travelled to the right Deck not long ago, and it was not too far left until they reached Sickbay.

"Don't try anything stupid," said a quiet voice ahead of Rihen as she was about to change yet another chip in the ceiling-mounted emitter. The malice in the tone made Rihen stop short.

Worried about what was going ahead of them, Rihen slowly put the chair she had been carrying down and put a finger against her own lip as she made eye-contact with her companions, hoping that they all could be quiet. With a few silent steps, she looked around the corner of the intersection, peaking out slowly so that she wouldn't give away her location with a sudden movement. The errant thought came to her that she felt like some kind of spy in the holovids they kept back home in Risia's night clubs. When her mismatched eyes saw what was going on, however, she had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep herself from sucking in a sharp breath.

There was a half-naked woman with blonde hair bent over a hovering cart of some sort, and she appeared to be giving the fellatio to an escaped patient from Sickbay - hiked up hospital gown and all. On its own, it was remarkable for the public location and the timing of pending battle, but there was another one - a red-haired man - present as well, dressed in one of those exosuits Rihen had seen the pilots in the hangar wearing. The pilot was stepping in behind the woman, and he was pointing a hand phaser right in the face of the man with the gown. He was holding a rifle as well, but seemed to... Oh, Rihen saw how he made the rifle lean against the side of the cart just so that he could do something with the crotch-area of his exosuit.

"If either of you make the wrong move, the freak's head will be vaporised, so just enjoy yourselves while you can. Its not every time you get to have this much fun while on duty." The quiet voice reached Rihen, and while she was first perplexed as to why the handsome human had been called a freak, she soon realised that the other man was about to force himself on the woman. She could not see how close he was to penetrate her, but he was just about to reach for the woman's hair with his free hand after being done with his suit... He was just about to...

Something snapped in Rihen. After learning what the two crews had been doing the day after the event she had hosted on the holodeck, with words of rape, murder and mutiny staining the memories of a night that she had dedicated to generosity and recreation... the realisation that another man and woman would be subjected to the foulest of acts known to all Risians... it simply made her forget all sense of personal perseverance. It was not often she lost herself to anger, but it had been a long and disappointing day. With a fierce cry that built from the pit of her stomach, she picked up her chair and threw it across the corridor - aiming for the back of the vile man.

He turned around as he heard her cry, eyes widening. He was raising his free hand to cover his face from the chair that had been hurled at him. His aim towards the man wavered...

[ Captain Jien Ives | Turbolift | Stopping at Deck 04 ] Attn: Triage

With Commander Rez and Yeoman Henshaw at either of her sides, Captain Ives led the trio of women - a wedge at the forefront of the crew that had holed itself up in Below Decks. As their steps carried them towards the turbolift, more and more of the loyal crew peeled off towards their individual tasks aboard the ship. Jien did not wish to waste another moment away from her rightful place on the bridge, but she did not know how keen Captain Vasser would be on allowing her up there. As it were, however, Jien did not care.

The first pair of turbolifts Jien reached were powered down, so she had opted to continue a bit further down the corridor to try some others. By that time, the urgency of the pending battle had made the crew behind Jien, Edena and Cam leave them, so it was only the three of them that reached stepped aboard the lift that was about to take them to Deck 01.

"Thea," she said and raised her eyes to the ceiling of the turbolift, "Are you still there? I am on my way to the bridge. Can you give me a status report?"

[Yes, Captain. Mine deployment imminent. Lieutenant Commander Carrigan Trent s in command on the Main Bridge. I am almost within Cala's firing range. The Valkyries in Fighter Assault Bay is powered up and awaiting their pilots, but five Valkyries are MIA since Vasser's hostile takeover. The Harbinger is shadowing Cala towards us. Approximate ETA: Three minutes.]

Frowning, Jien digested the information for a moment as the turbolift ascended the decks of the ship. "What about Declan Vasser and T'Rena?"

[T'Rena has been killed in action. Declan Vasser is still at large - current location unknown. Internal sensors can not differentiate him from the rest of the crew, despite the fact that he is an Augment.]

Jien's eyes widened. "He... How did you..?"

That was when the ceiling hatch of the turbolift slammed down upon the three women that stood underneath it. It connected with Jien's temple and she crumpled to the floor underneath the weight. She thought she heard the metallic sound of steps on top of the hatch, and she could feel its heavy weight shifting. No more had Jien started to get her wits about her after the sudden development than she heard someone tear off the emergency casing of the control panel and yank at the manual override - stopping the lift in its tracks. The inertial dampeners could not quite compensate for the shift, and Jien felt the heavy hatch lift a couple of inches by the motion, only to slam down on her again when they were at a complete stop.

[Captain? Are you there? Your turbolift has yet to reach Deck 01. Why have you stopped?]

Jien turned her head to look up, seeing the dim figure of Declan Vasser towering above her. He was not even looking at the three women, instead forcing the sliding doors apart with his bare hands. Once he was done, he ducked under the edge of the ceiling of the deck just below their cabin and dropped out. For a moment, Jien thought the... the Augment was about to leave them behind, but that was when she saw Declan's hand reaching inside the lift again, grabbing one of the women by the arm and tearing her out of the lift in one brutal, heaving motion. Jien didn't see who it was as she struggled to get up, but the fall from the floor of the lift to the deck outside had to be just shy of five feet, and Jien could hear the commotion of it all.

"Ives," came the voice from outside the lift, and Declan did not even sound winded. "I had hoped to find T'Rena, but since your A.I. just told me she is dead, I need to resort to alternative plans. If you follow me, or try to capture me, I will make sure she can neither see nor walk again... so spare her the inconvenience by merely being the good Captain that you are.  Go to your bridge and do your battle. I know how you think: The needs of your crew and your futile mission is more important than her or myself, correct? So I trust you will do the right thing like you always do... and turn a blind eye towards me and this woman as we leave this ship."

Head still spinning, Jien pushed the hatch up against the wall and looked out the opening to the deck below the cabin, and she could see the metallic gleam of a hand phaser as Declan turned on his heel and dragged someone along with him with an unyielding grip. There had not been any time to answer the madman, and it was not until she could focus her eyes on the other woman- the one still in the turbolift with her - that she learned whom Declan had taken hostage.

And as Jien locked eyes with her, the unspoken question was right there between them.

Did she go after Declan or not?

[ Aisha S'Iti  | Main Bridge | Deck 01 ] Attn: Bridge crew

The order was all she needed to hear.  Aisha, primed for the moment she was clear to launch the mines, pressed the button.  Near instantly she saw a readout on the proximity of the Calamity.  "Impact! Target is loosing momentum.  Alert! detecting previously undiscovered gravity well in proximity adjusting course," she said having barely kept the ship from automatically dropping out of warp to avoid flying through the object now off their starboard quarter. "Bringing her to bear on target."

Donavra readied herself for her real work as she felt the Theurgy decelerating. As power was diverted from the engines back into the systems she sighed a bit of relief seeing the deflector arrays stabilizing with their proper power allotted to them and seeing weapons status returning to a normal status and primed for the acting Captain's order to fire.

Bringing the ship about at low warp speeds she got a better helm readout on the object.  "Sir, the object a rogue planet, roughly 30 Jupiter masses judging by the gravity well.  Nav-deflector barely picked it up in time for me to make a course adjustment."

On the viewscreen the tactical overlay redrew itself taking into account the new objects on the viewscreen particularly the large Psuedostar that glowed with a faint purplish red hue that now dominated the field of view.  Donavra plotted the tactical data into the overlay upon getting a sensor contact with the Calamity.  "Sir, visual on target." 

The tactical overlay highlighted a outline of their target and displayed a series of digits counting down their time to being within weapons range as they approached while a single line on the overlay predicted the heading of their target.

It was not hard to see that on her present heading the Calamity was going to plough strait into the large rogue planet's ring system.

[Carrigan Trent | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 - Bridge]

From his seat in the center of the Bridge, Lieutenant-Carrigan Trent's eyes moved from person to person.  The Security crewman he utterly ignored; the man was beneath his notice in this situation.  Had he the time to spare him more than the most cursory thought, the interim commanding officer would have ordered him off the Bridge, but in this case he could not afford the breath to do so.  Verbal communication took time and there was, after a fashion, only so much 'bandwidth' he could use and very little time.  And first, he addressed the question of engaging the Multi-Vector Attack Mode.  With a few keystroke to one of his consoles, he had a rapid overview of the systems at hand.  Many systems had been re-routed and a number of the redundancies were currently in use; should the ship separate, there would be severe losses in each individual vectors' capabilities and in the end, the net gain in combat effectiveness would be minimal at best.  Not to mention, he had no experience with such a capability to begin with and he did not want to find himself improvising with systems he knew nothing about.  And at this time, he could not afford to show any doubt, uncertainty or ignorance.  "Negative on MVAM, Chief," was his succinct response, spoken in his quiet and emotionless whisper-like tone.

His tone of voice and expression, set in an impassive mask, were also part of the image of calm and control he sought to project.  In combat, or as a matter of fact in any command situation, whoever was in charge needed to inspire the utmost confidence in order to wring maximum effectiveness out of his people.  And that meant he needed to look as though things were as natural to him as zipping up his fly.  However, the lack of expression on his face did not mean his mind was not racing.  The plot on the main viewscreen was the center of his focus as the Calamity was coming in closer and closer and the mines' launch was delayed.

When Stark spoke, Trent turned his head towards her.  He understood her nerves, and for matter of heartbeats he debated verbally addressing how she was intending to take over control of the mines but decided against it.  She was, after all, a senior officer in her own rights and he could not afford to have what confidence others, and herself, held in the Chief Operations Officer challenged.  Perhaps later, he would sit with her and discuss things.  But for now, he had something to worry about. 

The course change was a surprise, and he simply nodded when the report was made, following it up with but two words.  "Very good," they were.  For it was all he could manage while paying attention to the plot.  The range was becoming dangerously close, and before long Calamity would be close enough that the detonation of the gravimetric mines might also engulf Theurgy despite the refinements that had been implemented before the mutiny.  However, those concerns were allayed when the Cardassian reported the mines were launched.

The impact with Calamity was almost instantaneous;  While the viewscreen could not render the details as the range between both starships began to open as a result of the mines' effect, the plot, which displayed sensor readings, could.  At first, there was a fluctuation to Calamity's warp field and her velocity decreased and then stabilized, but then she staggered again and again and again.  And then, from its velocity of several hundred times the speed of light, Calamity's instantly dropped to zero. 

There were no visuals to display what was going on with this invader from the future and the sensor readings were probably not doing justice to the savaging Calamity had just taken.  Her warp field had utterly collapsed and her warp signature simply ceased to exist as her warp drive catastrophically failed.  And it was not until Theurgy came about and closed the distance at a low warp velocity and then down to sublight speeds, still outside of her weapons range that more details could be obtained. 

The Calamity-class starship was barely in visual range, but as they closed, Trent could see what sensors were reporting.  First of all, it appeared her entire electronic warfare suite was down and Theurgy's active sensors were capable of doing their work just as well as her passive arrays.  Calamity was riven with hull breaches and some of her main structural frames were obviously bent out of true if not broken outright;  Three of her nacelles had simply ceased to exist and the last remaining one was in the middle of a cloud of debris that had once been hull plating and warp coils.  From multiple hull breaches, he could see atmosphere and plasma venting into space as the ship drifted, as had been reported, into the pseudostar's gravity well. 

Many would have been satisfied at such a fate, let a natural phenomenon take care of things for them, and already the hulk of the Calamity was bound to be lashed by the celestial body's brutal radiation output, not to mention the gauntlet of rock and ice she would be dragged through by the inexorable pull of gravity and then it would eventually be crushed and incinerated.  But not Carrigan Trent.  Especially not as he could see some power readings still emanating from Calamity.  They were erratic at best and rather weak but they were still there.  And Captain Ives' orders had been to destroy her.  "Ensign Donavra," Trent then said as the distance between both starships entered torpedo range, still well out of the reach of energy weapons, "Quantum torpedoes, all forward tubes to rapid fire, two full spreads each.  Fire when ready."

To many, the kind of ordnance that had just been ordered launched would have been excessive.  But not to Trent.  Despite the failure of her EW and her shields apparently being down, Calamity was still largely an unknown quantity.  There was no telling if she had any sort of defences still active, or even just how tough her hull really was.  The only thing the acting commanding officer knew was that she was tough; after all, no starship he had ever been heard of would have survived that savage a deceleration yet she still held together.   And there was no telling how her armour would protect her from Theurgy's torpedoes and as such, he judged he should follow the old axiom of going big or going home. 

As the torpedoes were in flight, his eyes never left the viewscreen, his attention focused on the tactical plot and the various sensor readouts.  First, he saw the fighters.  Only a half-dozen or so, the number hard to define between the debris streaming from and surrounding Calamity and the withering radiation from the nearby celestial body but still they had taken to space.  And then, sensors recorded a series of detonations along the future starship's saucer section and a warp signature came to life.  Calamity was not dead yet, and her first vector's nacelle and warp core still functioned, obviously not having been active when she was in SOM herself.  That particular wrinkle in the plan did not elicit a curse from Trent.  However, his brows twisted into a frown and his lips grew tight at the sight.  "Chief S'Ithi, she's still too deep into that gravity well to go to warp, and we can't let her escape.  Intercept course, full impulse.  Commander Stark, give the order to launch fighters."

This was indeed going to be a problem.  Theurgy was not in her best fighting trim and there was no telling just how capable that lone vector was.  But what came next did elicit an audible reaction from Carrigan Trent in the form of a sharp inhalation.

The torpedoes had reached their target, their seekers going independent from the ship's targeting systems as they reached their terminal attack phase.  Most were firmly locked onto the helpless bulk of Calamity and slammed into the crippled sections, their payload detonating and unleashing their plasma-fueled fury on helpless metal.  The remainder had made for her detached first vector but instead of turning it into a rapidly expanding cloud of plasma and vaporized metal, the warheads were stopped short of the hull by shields that were at full power, or nearly enough to shrug off the effect of a brace of quantum torpedoes.  But what was worse, the readouts were clear to the Intelligence Officer: those shields were rotating and now, with the range closing as rapidly as it was between both vessels, there would not be time for him to perform what had been the original plan and map her shields and their vulnerabilities; it would come down to a slugfest.

His voice was still barely above a whisper, his face was still a mask of impassive determination but his hands were clenched about his seat's armrests.  The last time he had led a ship into battle, she had been demolished around his ears and better than half her crew perished that day.  But this was a new day, a new ship, and this was no ambush by the Jem'Hadar.  This moment was painfully simple and it was not the time for clever plans or creative thinking or elegance anymore.  This was a time for the most direct route, that of an all-out attack. "Helm, if you know of anywhere that thing as less weapons coverage, keep us there and keep rotating us to maximize our firepower.  Commander Stark, find us power somewhere to give us maximum combat endurance and get damage control parties on standby."

Then, he gave one more order.  "Tactical, you are weapons-free.  Fire as she bears.  Destroy that thing."

[ Cameron "Cam" Elizabeth Henshaw & Edena Rez | Turbolift | Stopping at Deck 04 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Jien Ives & Declan Vasser

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Edena, once more in control of her body, for the moment, and Henshaw, upon ensuring the security of the place, and making sure only Ives Loyallists were present, moved to acquire proper weapons for themselves. Henshaw picked a standard phaser, liking the sturdy grip and handling as opposed to Commander Rez, who acquired for herself something small enough you could virtually conceal it with relative ease. Rejoining the captain, after his...well, her now...uplifting words, the trio made their way for the turbolift, with various crew who were still able returning to crucial posts.

It was good that they were able to speak their minds for a while earlier. Clearing the air made it easy for all three women to walk in silence, and focus their thoughts on surviving the battle with the Calamity. That was when Ives addressed Thea, and the computer was able to give them a great deal of updates. Henshaw's eyes widened while Edena's narrowed when they heard that T'Rena was dead. Both women weren't particular fans of the psychotic Vulcan, but despite the heated emotions that bubbled forth at the thought of her, there was still a...numbing sensation within Henshaw, and for Edena, a strange coldness. Perhaps Jona's strength of emotions venting through.

And once more, chaos ensued. Painfully too. Knocked aside by the crashing hatch, the brunt of which landed on Captain Ives herself, whilst Edena and Henshaw fell to either side against the bulkheads of the turbolift. When she saw who it was, Henshaw scrambled to draw her phaser out, whilst Edena...no, Kiya Rez...crawled on her knees towards Ives, when Vasser's hand had wrapped around her wrist, and yanked her out with such speed and ease, Henshaw, even at her best, wouldn't have been fast enough, which was why her face connected with the bulkhead where Commander Rez had just been nanoseconds ago.

"AAAHH!" Kiya cried out, only for her demeanour to change seconds later, and it seemed like Illya was now in control. And she maintained her cool. Barely.

"Commander..." Henshaw whispered quietly, looking out the open door as Rez was dragged away by Vasser, following his ultimatum. But he couldn't be allowed to escape, not with the commander as a hostage. She turned to look at Ives, who seemed to be looking rather torn. Henshaw's mind was quick. With Trent in command, they weren't completely rudderless at the helm, and they needed Rez back. Fast. She held out her own phaser to the captain, considering what she'd just heard about Vasser being an augment, she had the feeling Ives would need every extra she could get her hands on. And Cameron would just get in the way, to be perfectly honest, so she would head up to the bridge. "Captain...go...go get her back. I'll get to the bridge and relay news and updates to Commander Trent.

She looked over at the corridor, watching as the shadows of Vasser and Rez vanished from sight, and returned her gaze to Ives, "Also, after all that he and his bloody bitch did to everyone on board, do you think anyone here won't want to see him get his? He needs to answer for his deeds, all the murders, the raping...get him, captain, get him. Or no one would ever forgive you, if you let him escape."

She was firm in her words, as she believed Ives' resolve needed the steeling, and reassurance, "Trent's got the Theurgy well in hand. His experience in electronic warfare makes him suitable to fighting the Calamity, and he can hold it together until you return. I'll let him know what's up. Now go, captain, go!" And come back to me alive.

The young woman straightened up and began setting the turbolift back into proper working order. All that needed to be said was said.

Meanwhile, Illya Rez willingly followed Vasser, because she was worried the Augment's grip had the potential to tear Edena's arm right off if he was so inclined. Her tiny weapon she kept out of sight, since Kiya was worried that an augment might not go down easy with a mere stun blast, and Illya sort of agreed with that sentiment.

[ Calamity "Cala" NX-79995 | Ship A.I. | Vector 01 ] Attn: All

Her Main Bridge had been laid to waste, abblative armour shredded by high-velocity debris impacts. Atmosphere was gone, shed through the gaping hull breach next to the cracked viewscreen. Gravity at zero, debris from her interior floated in the air around Cala where she stood before the centre chair. Her saucer section's reaction chamber was left intact, core online and primary systems restored. With her arms folded, her shimmering eyes never blinked as her Vector 1 shields were activated - deflecting the collective yield of Thea's torpedoes.

There was no sound to the conflagration, yet her optical sensors saw everything; ice blue stare locked on the magnification of her prey through the close-proximity detonations. Her mother and her crew persisted to defy her, yet Cala was not so easily impressed by their resolve. Their will meant nothing. Their resourcefulness no cause for admiration. Cala's systems had not ceased to function yet, and therefore, the hunt was still on; the accomplishment of her mission still attainable.

Turning her head from the viewscreen, she walked across the deck plates - something she could only do because she used her own emitter. Its installed gravity units allowed her to set one foot before the other and walk though the floating destruction around her. Her gleaming eyes traced the hull breach. She could see the glaring red pseudostar and its rings through it. She gave it merely a cursory, instantaneous analysis before dismissing it as a concern. Through the wireless connection to her pasitronic brain in the computer core and the seamless control of the program calibrations, she raised a structural integrity field over the tear in her hull. 

Once the shimmering wall was in place, created at the turn of her digital thoughts, she restored atmosphere - pumping oxygen into the area for one specific reason. For while the air pressure ignited fires in several places at once, the damage was already done. The flames - liquid and floating like fiery tendrils around her since he had little use for gravity - did not bother her the least. She merely needed the air as a conduit to speak to her prey.

Wordlessly, without touching any duty station, she hailed her 'mother', using an open frequency.

"At this point, you ought to know that I will never give up the chase," she said to the organics and her mother, regardless if they accepted the video feed of her standing in liquid fire. Her ominous words alone would serve to convey her message. "Even with just one of my Vectors, my tactical systems are superior. After using your mines, you have nothing to set against me that will make any difference."

True to her words, she primed her weapon systems - arming a barrage of torpedoes of her own. "I will not negotiate," she added as two more phaser arrays underneath her saucer was revealed, "I will agree to no terms set forth. Stand down now and your destruction will be swift."

Seven Reavers had escaped Vector 3 and formed up above Cala in echelon formation. Their holographic pilots had been upgraded after the last couple of confrontations with the Lone Wolves and the Dor'GhItlh Squadron - adapted with reconnaissance of their individual tactics. They had paused only for a moment before they shot off towards the Theurgy - closing the distance fast.

"If you do not... you will merely prolong the inevitable."

Cala ended the transmission and opened fire - rapid phaser beams smiting the distance. As she set a gravity-defying course towards her dear mother, she fired her own spread of torpedoes, targeting life support systems, torpedoes storages and the easiest access points to the warp core.

[ Ryuan Sel | Corridor - Life Support Systems | Sickbay] Atten: Sarresh Morrali, Lukas "Bleed" Reed, Rihen Neyah, & others

The seconds seemed to tick by almost like hours as Bleed maneuvered himself behind her. All the while Sel waited, biting her lip as she felt him position his hard member against slick hole. The pheromones remaining in her brain still made her almost wish that he would just fuck her. Her pheromone addled mind and her wet slit almost begged for his hardness to slid into her. And to make matters worse she still had to wait for her moment as he kept the hand phaser pointed at Sarresh's face. It meant that she would have to wait for her moment.

And then something completely unexpected happened.

There was a cry and the sound of a chair crashing againsty blled. Her eyes glanced up at the phaser in his hand as his aim waivered. Without thinking she twisted her body, grabbing a cannister as she did so. With one hand she pushed his arm so that even if her got a shot off he would not hit Sarresh. And with her her other hand she slammed the cannister as hard as she could against the side of his face. As the cannister hit the side of his head Sel reached to the side and grasped for the phaser rifle. She had no way of knowing who threw the chair or why, but like hell she was going to get ambushed again.

[ Fasha "Morrigan" | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ]



Fasha quickly entered the room once the signal to do so was given her rifle raised the stock pressed to her shoulder as she kept her back to the wall training the muzzle of her weapon on one of the armed guards in the room her finger tense on the trigger for any sudden moves. She could hear Sten's gruff voice boom over the yells resounding through the room demanding that anyone armed lower their weapons. For the most part those inside the room cooperated save for two unfortunate souls who had both decided that rebellion was the better course of action to take. This was met with unforgiving punishment as both were struck down by the men who'd ascended from the turbolift. The bridge had been retaken without incident.

But then a single question caused Fasha to question their victory "Where's Vasser?" she scowled as she looked around the room there was no way the man slipped past her or Tessa. Her grip on her rifle tightened for a moment cursing whatever gods of misfortune that seemed to be favoring Vasser in this moment.

As the doors to the turbolift opened she almost turned the muzzle of her weapon towards it until she saw the man stepping out of it. A man who she had not seen in quite some time years to be honest. She lowered the muzzle slightly as the man took his place at the command chair of the ship declaring that until Ives returned he would be assuming command of ship operations. As he acknowledged her she snapped to attention listening intently to the orders given "Understood Commander." She said nodding as she made a beeline for the turbolift nodding to Sten and a few of his deck hands gesturing them to follow with a wave of her hand leaving a few behind to maintain the image of control they had on the bridge to dissuade any thoughts of rebellion.

As Tessa boarded as well she pressed the button for Deck 15 and waited as the doors closed to bring them to their next task.

[Eun Sae Ji | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy]

Eun Sae quickly wheeled another pair of exo-suit racks out beside the fighters she'd already powered up. The racks were designed to hold the pilot exo-suits in a position that pilots could easily slip into. In the time given to her she'd managed to power up the majority of the Valkyrie's that remained in the Theurgy's FAB. A few other personnel were moving about the Hangar but most of these people were Ives Loyalists who had stumbled upon her and offered their help. But considering the majority of them weren't part of the Flight Deck crew they had no idea what they were doing unless Eun Sae herself directed them making them less useful than she'd hoped.

She glanced over her shoulder towards where a group of three men and women were attempting to load one of the Micro-Torpedo Launchers onto an anti-grav dolly. "Lift with your legs not your back!! Hold it in place dammnit!" Eun Sae yelled over her shoulder as she prepped another exo-suit for use ensuring the suits auxilary oxygen and life support systems were online along with the EVA thrusters. Once she finished her quick test of the systems she quickly rushed over to the three struggling pseudo-deck crew members and helped them load the dolly before pointing them towards one of the fighters down the line. "Align the magnetic locks and you should be fine! Hurry!" Eun Sae ordered shooing them away as she quickly moved across the deck to Sten and Renard's office quickly logging into the terminal on Sten's desk.

She looked over the roster of Valkyrie's remaining checking their flight checks from the terminal nodding as each one displayed a green ready display. She turned her head as she heard the doors to the FAB slide open. She quickly left the terminal moving over to the nearby wall where the weapon locker often kept hidden behind the wall sat exposed the doors left ajar. Sitting at the bottom of the locker was a single Type-2 Hand Phaser she quickly scooped up the weapon and walked out to the hangar peeking out from behind one of the Valkyries. Her eyes widened as she recognized the majority of the group and quickly pocketed the phaser stepping out "Fighters and Exo-suits are ready we just need a few more moments to outfit the remaining Valkyries with their hard point armaments." Eun Sae reported.

A low hum noise was heard causing Eun Sae to turn also drawing the attention of Fasha and a few of the others as a single craft took off through  the aft bay doors. Fasha glanced towards Eun Sae with a questioning eyebrow raised "Was that a Reaver?" The Catachan woman asked. Eun Sae nodded "It was Thea." She said. Fasha frowned wondering what Thea could possibly be up to but shook her head "Are any of the fighters combat ready?" She asked. Eun Sae responded with a quick nod of the head pointing at specific fighters calling each by number "Those are the ones I've gotten combat ready so far." Eun Sae responded.

[Miles Renard | U.S.S Theurgy | Deck 15 | Fighter Assault Bay] Attn: Eun Sae Ji.

The sound of a transporter beam pierced the silence of the completely wrecked office of the SCO.  Looking outside the office he noticed one of the deck crew standing just outside his office.  It took a few moments before he made out who it was.   Knowing there was no time to waste he walked over to the small clothing locker in his office and pulled out a pair of his tail hole modified boxers. 

Pulling off his damaged uniform and setting the com badge down he spoke up to the officer outside his office who had most likely heard him teleporting into the office.  He slipped on the new undamaged pair of underwear as he took the time to recognize her as the flight deck's head propulsion specialist. "You the one in charge down here Eun Sae?"  He asked before immediately following it up with an assumption that she was his best hope for getting a quick rundown of the situation.  "Nevermind whether you are or not, I need a SitRep on flight ops ASAP." 

He then paused a moment looking to his locker which was missing a rather important piece of equipment.  "Also, you wouldn't happen to know where my hardsuit is would you?"  He asked hoping against all likelihood that the answer was next to a fully preflight checked and idling fighter.

[ Heather McMillan |  Outside Cargo Bay 04 | Deck 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Lucan cin Nicander & Simon Tovarek

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McMillan's head shot up when Nicander expressed the possibility that he may have broken a rib or two. She watched him with concern, her expression unchanging even when he gave her a lop-sided grin, and kept on talking like everything was normal. But injuries were a serious matter to a Radiant like her, so she naturally felt very concerned for others in turn when they mentioned injury. She reached into her coat pockets and fished out a medical tricorder, and a small medical kit.

Glancing at Tovarek and the operations personnel briefly, it suddenly hit McMillan that she might be the only other medically trained person besides Nicander, though no where on the man's level, and for that matter, in all the excitement, she realized that she had missed Vojona's presence, and now searched around some more, "Has anyone seen Nurse Vojona?" she asked. Then turned to the doctor.

"If there's a broken rib, maybe we should have that looked at now, yes? May I?" She held up the tricorder to perform a scan, but asked permission first, still raw from her presumptuous mistake with Vojona a while back, and wanted to be absolutely certain before going further. Just because she could, didn't mean it would always be wanted. So she would wait until Nicander agreed to it, but she was anxious to get started, because she wanted to know if he should even be sitting up or not.

[ Captain Jien Ives | Turbolift | Deck 04 ] Attn: Cameron Henshaw

To call  her situation a dilemma was an understatement. Vasser's words about Jien's obligations were truthful, and his manipulation of the situation just as apparent. He used Jien's position against her to get what he wanted, and he meant to keep Commander Rez hostage as the guarantee for his escape.

Cam, however, simplified things for Jien. The Ensign spoke of the needs of the crew, and that too much had happened to allow someone like Vasser to escape justice. She also pointed out that the Theurgy needed its First Officer, but that was something Jien did not have the heart to dwell upon. There was no time to tell the Yeoman that Rez had resigned, but that did not matter. Not after what Commander Rez had told Jien in the holding cell.

Knowing that the different hosts of the Rez symbiont had vastly differing opinions of her, Jien also had faceted needs about getting the Trill back from Vasser: She wanted to prove to Edena that she was more than the creature that had attacked her during the Niga Incident; neither did Jien want to break Kiya's heart by leaving her at Vasser's mercy; but most of all, she did not want Jona Rez and Declan Vasser anywhere near each other. The ghost of the SI officer and the Augment had traits far too similar to discard the idea that they might draw benefit from a joint venture. The only one Jien had not become familiar with was Illya Rez, but she had not offered any cause to be mistrusted, so she was - to Jien - an innocent bystander that was caught in the events around Edena.

The nail in the coffin, so to speak, was the reminder that Lieutenant Commander Trent was in command on the bridge. Jien remembered the talk they'd had in her Ready Room, and while the former Commander still had misgivings and doubts about his own abilities, Jien had great faith in the man based on his performance since he came aboard and the reports about his time in the command chair on the Harrier. The man just needed to get up in the saddle again, and see his old fears turn to renewed courage. That he was an expert in his specific field wasn't so much a deciding factor than a great merit for the task at hand.

"When you get up there," said Jien with a tight expression, her oaken eyes firm, "tell Carrigan that I have faith in him, and that my absence could not be avoided. Tell him to trust the people around him, and to destroy the Calamity before she can leave through another time-rift. If she does, she will be back in full force before we we are. If the mines hit her, this is the best chance we will ever get, so make it count."

Armed with two phasers, one at her hip, Jien slid out through the low opening of the doors and dropped down onto Deck 04. She saw the number on the wall, and could make a qualified guess about where Declan was heading. "I think Vasser will try to launch with the Captain's Yacht, so when you get to the Bridge, stop him. Use the support staff control panel and keep the docking clamps closed. If I can't reach him in time, and he succeeds with a manual release... let's just hope there is time to catch him with a tractor beam before he goes to warp. Now go, and... I'm sorry for doubting you, Cameron."

With those parting words, Jien turned away and followed Declan path with her hand phaser raised in a double-handed grip - eyes along the sights. "Thea, I am leaving the turbolift now. Two life-signs on your internal sensors left ahead of me... so just keep me posted on their movements."

[Acknowledged,] said the Ship A.I., and thus the hunt began.

---

[ Declan Vasser | The Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 ] Attn: Edena Rez

Arriving at the small docking bay where the ship's auxiliary craft - known as the Captain's Yacht - could be accessed, Declan Vasser hurled the woman he had dragged down the corridors against the control station at the aft side of the yacht. With her back against it, Declan stepped up to the station and pressed the cold muzzle of his hand phaser down into the grove behind her collarbone. Ives' tame little SI agent wasn't wearing her jacket or undershirt, so if the impact had made Rez loose her bearings, the metallic touch next to the shoulder strap of her white tank top would make her know her place.

"Just keep still," he murmured as he tried to access the controls and power up the craft, but Thea had shut him out from system access, so he would have to use a couple of tricks that people in the old world would call 'hot-wiring'. With a scowl, he dug the fingers of his free hand around the top casing of the control table. He bared his teeth as he tore it off, sparks flying over the Trill during the commotion. His blue eyes quickly scanned the interiors and located the main power circuits, having a good idea about the key functions they represented. Then, it was just a matter of rerouting a power flow against the connector with another cable, and as he did, the lights of the bay area lit along with the yacht's warp core. The door on the port side decompressed and slid open.

If the Trill spoke while he worked on his escape - this frustrating set-back that he somehow had to deal with - Declan did not answer her until he was finished.

[ Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Mk I Reaver Attack Fighter | Leaving the Fighter Assault Bay ] Attn: Lone Wolves & Deck Crew

Having been seated in the cockpit of the Reaver, Thea had - through her wireless connection to her ship's systems - kept a close eye on the development. For her, it came as no surprise when she dropped out of warp, but the effectiveness of the gravimetric mines and the amount of damage her daughter had sustained was... a cause of concern for her at the same time as it was a boon for her own crew. Perhaps it was to her own advantage as well, since she might be able to board her daughter undetected and restore her programming.

Before she had launched, Thea's long-range sensors told her what she needed to know. Without any need of assistance, she had opened the aft bay doors - the maws opening to reveal the red vista of the pseudostar. The giant dominated the entire sector that the two starships had ended up in, and its hellish light bathed the majority of the flight hangar after she took off - setting a course towards the Calamity.

Already, she had activated the ID signature of the Reaver, and she had changed her holographic apprearence inside the visor of her helmet to resemble the pilot stored in the memory bank behind her head. All she needed to do was to observe the stored protocols and the pilot's photonic identity. She had prepared, and was ready to to do whatever she could. If all else failed, she would fight her way to Cala, and lay out her argument in a way that could not be refused.

The odds were not in her favour, but she had no choice if she was to restore Cala to her true self.

---

[ Axius vel Onea | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 ] Attn: Lone Wolves & Deck Crew

When Axius arrived, having beamed to the hangar from the besieged shuttle, he had not know what to expect. After all, when he had last been there, two Mk II Valkyries had shot the whole place into pieces - Riptor and Phantom driving Covington, Tessa and him away from the area.

Phaser in hand, dressed in dust and grime aside from his underwear, he turned in awe as he saw all the birds lit and the exosuits being prepared for the pilots. A woman he recognised from before they went to Theta Eridani IV seemed to be calling she shots, ordering deck crew around to mount hard points on all the present Valkyries. As he stood there, he saw that Fasha and Tessa - among others - had arrived to the scene.  The bay doors were opened, and a bloody ichor of light filled the hangar despite the energy barriers in place. It smelt like one or two fighters had already taken off, and he wondered whom it had been, for as he stood there, he also saw Miles Renard emerge from his office. He looked just as worse for wear that he had looked in the Brig, but at least he was clothed in whole undergarments and ready to get into his exosuit. He started talking to Eun Sae, so Axius finally snapped to.

"All right," he murmured and ran to his Valkyrie, designated Wolf-04. There was a crew man present, but Axius did not need any help to get into his own exosuit - merely stepping into it where it hung on its rack and starting to seal it along his own torso. Boots and gloves came next, and he was handed his helmet by the man by the ladder. "Wish me luck."

Axius had fought the Reavers and the Calamity before - outside the Hromi cluster -  so he knew what they all were up against, and he was convinced this would not be a pretty fight. He could but hope the Wolves would be victorious - together - and that they all made it back to their base ship.

Across his shoulder, he saw two more people arriving, and it gave him some pause. They were Harbinger pilots - Smoke and Titan - and they were armed. Still, as cautious as they were whilst they entered, they did seem to move towards their Mk II Valkyries. Were they there to join the fight?

[ Dr. Nicander | Corridor | Outside Cargo Bay 04 | Deck 02 ] Attn: Triage

At the mentioning of Nurse Vojona, Lucan glanced around, but he was quite sure that she had not been in the Cargo Bay. "I am quite certain she is still watching the door outside the other cargo bay, making sure none of Vasser's volunteers escape while the xenon gas fills the room," he said and he noticed Heather McMillan producing medical equipment from her lab coat. Obviously, they were meant for him, and he realised that Lieutenant Tovarek ought to have someplace better to be than to sit in a corridor at the given hour and concern himself about the state of his ribcage. "Your place is on the bridge, Tovarek. Don't let my health be in your way. I am sure our people need your help if the mines did not destroy that thing."

Having said this, Lucan gave the man a nod of well wishes before he turned back to Heather, who was asking to scan him. "Of course, go ahead. Yet as soon as possible, I need to be down in Sickbay and oversee treatment of the injured that are bound to be arriving soon. Administrative duty, of course, preferably seated if possible, but I should still be there."

Gingerly, Lucan tried to feel his own ribs, but it was hard when wearing his dirty and torn undershirt, so he lowly slipped it over his own head - inhaling sharply toward the end when since the manoeuvre become like a stab in his side. Bare-chested, he leaned back against the wall again, and the Operations personnel was already off - having numerous pressing matters to attend to. Alone with the Radiant, and without distractions (aside from her, of course) Lucan noticed how quiet and still the thing inside had become. It was unusual, and especially since it was the second time in Heather's company.

"I think you'll find the second and third rib on that side having some kinds of fractures, and if I am unlucky, surrounding tissue might be suffering from it too. You will also notice that my zi'naaq are a bit unbalanced, and that's likely because of what I had to do earlier on - before we got on the turbolift with Vojona. The more I use my Câroon abilites, the more fatigued I get... until they are balanced once more. Hence those readings about my current stamina., it must look like I am a man thrice his age."

Pausing with a tired smile, Lucan added the obvious. "We would not have made it without you. Thank you for deciding to reveal your true nature today."

[Eun Sae Ji | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy]

Eun Sae turned her head towards the SCO's office as she heard the sound of a transporter beam come from within. At this point people were showing up out of nowhere and she wasn't all that surprised by it anymore. There was a lot to do now and still not enough time to do it all even with all the extra help. She nodded towards Fasha, Tessa and Sten hoping that they could manage without her for the moment as she quickly made her way to the office. As she glanced through the shattered window looking into the office from the hangar she could see the Lone Wolves SCO Miles Renard in the midst of getting dressed in a new set of undergarments.

As he asked her if she was the one in charge of the prepping the Hangar for combat she answered with a nod. "Yes sir!" She said. There was little time to stand on rank and formality however as he quickly requested a her SitRep on Flight Operations in the hangar. "We're still clearing away some of the debris from the earlier battle but we've managed to clear the runway, All of the Valkyrie's are powered up and have gone through their pre-flight checks already. We just need to finish fitting the armaments on a few of the others and the entire squadron will be combat ready within 5 minutes provided everything goes smoothly." Eun Sae said quickly and accurately relaying the information just as she'd had to many times before. Once her report was given she turned to leave before she was given another question to answer regarding the SCO's hardsuit.

"It's all set up beside one of the Valkyries." Eun Sae responded turning her head wracking her mind to recall which one she'd placed it beside. "I-I can't remember off the top of my head I'm sorry sir." Eun Sae said before moving back out to the hangar cupping her hands around her mouth. "SITREP!" Eun Sae yelled. Multiple voices answered back from various locations around the hangar reporting readiness or estimated times until readiness was reached.

[Fasha "Morrigan" | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy]

Fasha broke from the group heading towards one of the spare Valkyries located in the hangar considering her own craft had been taken by Rawley during her escape from the Theurgy. She wasted no time stepping into the hardsuit that hung from the rack set up beside the fighter securing the seals on her chest whilst a nearby crew member assisted in securing her arms and legs ensuring each seal was properly set. The crew member undid the latch holding the suit to the rack allowing Fasha to step away from it. She could feel the suit shaping to her body hugging her body snug.

She ran up to the ladder leading to the cockpit of the fighter the crewman following behind her handing her the suits accompanying helmet as she took her seat in the cockpit. She slid the helmet over her head tucking her hair into the back before securing it as well the seals giving off a low hiss. The cockpit slowly shut giving off a hiss of their own as the cabin's oxygen was sealed off from the hangars and life support oxygen re-purification began to kick in cleansing every breath of air Fasha took. She looked around the hangar spotting Axius climbing into his own fighter and she spotted what she thought appeared to be SCO Renard but from where she sat she couldn't be entirely sure.

The sight that struck her most was the two Harbinger pilots stalking across the hangar towards their Valkryie MK-IIs her hand grasped the flight stick of her fight settling over the trigger for her phaser banks. But after a moment of contemplation her grip loosened settling to watch and see what they would do first. There would be no tactical advantage to killing the two if they had come to their sense regarding the entire situation. And in this endeavor they were about to embark on she felt that they would need each and every pilot they could get.

[ Tessa May Lance (https://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/0/d/tessa_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6mx6.png) | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy ] 

Tessa and Adara followed Fasha and Sten out of the lift and dashed back into the fighter bay.  The ugly scorch marks and holes in the walls were nothing compared to the scent of burnt flesh and chemicals that still lingered in the chamber.  Wordlessly, she followed Fasha to the rack of hardsuits and noticed that Miles Renard was still in one piece and so was Petty Officer First Class Eun Sae Ji.  

Axius vel Onea, call sign 'Quake' appeared with a group of deck hands in a shower of sparks accompanied by the nearly silent hum of the transporter beam.  His part of the operation must have been a success; well it was enough of a success for Quake and his group to get back to the fighter bay alive and intact anyway.   Thank God for small favors!  They hadn't lost everyone in the mutiny!

Tessa May Lance missed the Harbinger's pilots heading for their Valkyries because her eyes were drawn to the fighter parked in stall 07, the Valk used by Wolf-07, callsign Goldeneye.  Her!   "Look!" she gushed as Petty Officer Adara Hussein helped her put on her hardsuit.  "It made it!  It's okay!  Somehow my Valk's still flyable!"

"That's Ensign Slaverton's Valk, Ma'am," Petty Officer Hussein corrected as helped the young lieutenant suit up.  "Yours is over there."  

Tessa's topaz yellow eyes looked over at stall 11 where a dilapidated Valkyrie was unable to hide it's battered hull, scarred by explosions and particle energy beams.  Earlier, it had been parked in front of the locker room where Hannah's fighter was now and everybody on both sides had used it for cover.   "Oh," Tessa whined forlornly. 

"We'll take good care of it Ma'am," Hussein assured her.  "Just bring Nightmare's Valk back in one piece.  We can't exactly replace them you know."  Already the petite Persian was looking jealously at the fighters that had been flown in by the hijacking members of Dor'GhItlh Squardon.   Eun Sae Ji had probably already set some aside to replace the fighters too damaged to fly.

"I know," Tessa signed as she boarded Hannah's Valk.  Her own fighter was a wreck that needed days if not hours of work just like she did.  Hopefully Hannah's Valkyrie was up to the job.

"May the Great Bird of the Galaxy watch over you Ma'am," Hussein called in a businesslike tone.   Tessa's reply was lost as the cockpit door closed.   Soon (hopefully) Tessa would be following her fellow Wolves into the black.

[ Miles Renard | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Eun Sae Ji

Miles nodded taking in the situation report before heading out the door of what was left of his and Covington's office.  "I'll find it then." he said hoping they had placed the suit near his own Valkyrie which given its position near the bay doors he hoped would still be in good condition.  "By the way about who is officially in charge on the deck, if you weren't already then you are now.  Until papa bear gets back you are officially deck boss.  If you haven't already, get the Valk 2's ready too.   I want every bird from both ships available and ready to launch if and when we get the order."  He said as he made his way out of the office on his way towards the aft of the ship where his own fighter was parked happy to see the only damage was a few rogue scorch marks.

Looking closer he noticed there was a suit waiting beside it and was relieved to see the cloth pocket that would hold a tail coming out of the back side of the suit recognizing it as his own.  It took only a few moments to stow the com badge into its slot on the suit before he began to quickly don it.  It was mere moments before he snapped the helmet in place and felt the coolness of pressurized gasses filling the suit with the artificial enclosed atmosphere that made the suits capable of sustaining a pilot's life even without an escape pod.  He hurdled himself into the cockpit of his fighter activating the sensor suites and com systems of the fighter. 

On his "radar" screen he noticed a single out of place contact that had switched from a friendly transponder signal to a strange unrecognizable seemingly-jammed transponder signal.  The craft was too small to be anything but a fighter but not matching either mark 2 or 3 Valkyries sensor profiles.  It was then that the possibilities hit him and he opened a signal to the person he had made acting deck boss.  "Petty Officer, who took off in the Prototype."  Distance indicates launch should have occurred moments before I transported into my office."  He asked but without an answer he knew who it had to be.  "Dammit, its Thea isn't it?"  He guessed knowing the only tactical reason to appear as an enemy would be as a means to try and dock with the Calamity.

[ Natalie Stark | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 - Bridge ] Attn: Bridge Crew, fighter pilots

"Thank god" she muttered a small prayer of thanks under her breath as the mines were released. There was no time for further gratitude, or rest. Calamity flew into the path of the mines and was jerked to a staggering halt. Damage reports sprung up on Natalie's console, and she grinned in savage heat at the results. Oh, they'd wounded the great nightmare of a ship, for sure.

Orders began coming in, and the ship shuddered ever so slightly as a full spread of blue-white quantum torpedos shot out from the ship. The savage grin stayed on her face right up until Lt. Cmdr. Trent called out orders to her. "Chief S'Ithi, she's still too deep into that gravity well to go to warp, and we can't let her escape.  Intercept course, full impulse.  Commander Stark, give the order to launch fighters."

"Aye, aye, sir" the Ops Chief, called out. With no one manning Mission Ops, that role too fell on Natalie's shoulders. As the ship came about, the brunette punched up launch orders and sent the automated scramble command to the fighter bay, followed by a verbal hail. "Bridge to fighter bay.  All pilots to your ships, all fighter's are clear to launch. Repeat, all pilots to your ships, all fighters to launch. We are bearing down on target Calamity. Pursuit and destroy. Good hunting - Bridge out."

In the screen, the enemy vessel came under the brunt of the torpedo assault. Natalie spared a glance at the brutal glory and almost let out a whoop of joy - but it died, silent in the back of her throat, as one of Calamity's vectors managed to engage it's shields. Instead she softly swore, doubtful that anyone could hear it.

"Helm, if you know of anywhere that thing as less weapons coverage, keep us there and keep rotating us to maximize our firepower.  Commander Stark, find us power somewhere to give us maximum combat endurance and get damage control parties on standby."

This time there was no verbal acknowledgment of the command, just fingers flying over controls. Plasma was rerouted, ODN power conduits temporarily disabled or enhanced, and all over the ships, lights dimmed as power was drawn away from anything and everything non essential. All the while, Natalie was on the horn with her people, ordering damage control teams into position, cajoling and herding right up until Thea drew her attention.

[Incoming transmission from the Calamity on all hailing frequencies. Data scan complete. Connection secure. Should I patch it through?]

Natalie frowned, glanced back at Trent, then with more confidence than she felt, "Let's hear it..."

Of course, she hadn't quite realized that Thea would send the call to all of the ship, and not just the bridge, but then Natalie perhaps should have been more concise in her order. The visual popped on the screen and she found herself face to face with the monster Thea called 'daughter'.

"At this point, you ought to know that I will never give up the chase. Even with just one of my Vectors, my tactical systems are superior. After using your mines, you have nothing to set against me that will make any difference."

"I will not negotiate," she added as two more phaser arrays underneath her saucer was revealed, "I will agree to no terms set forth. Stand down now and your destruction will be swift. If you do not... you will merely prolong the inevitable."

The flame affect was horribly overdone, Natalie thought, just utterly tacky. Despite the angry energy that lashed out at the Theurgy and the utter, deadly seriousness of the situation, something about the presentation of Cala's threat caused Natalie to crack, just the smallest bit, inside. She almost giggled at the absurdity of her own thoughts, though she managed - some how - to reign that impulse in as the transmission cut. She should, by all rights, be terrified. And yet she wasn't.

Calmly she reverted the screen to show the approaching vector, it's beams lashing out towards their ship as it crossed in front of the proto star. Everything shook, and an EPS-conduit exploded on the bridg. Rory Callahan was caught in the conflagration, and though Natalie panicked at the sight, she bit her teeth together and weathered that assault well, hands never settling. She didn't have time for self reflection, for fear of Rory's life, to explore her atypical reaction to the message of certain doom. Too much to do.

"Commander, deck crew reporting fighters have launched," she called out to Trent, "overlaying tactical grid on view screen and patching in tac conn signal beacons." A grid superimposed itself over the main viewer, as blue dots lit up to mark the location of Valkyries, too small to easily be seen at the current magnification. On her own console, a running list of attack fighter and pilot status reports snapped into view, consciously updated along the data links between the 'wolves' and their ship.

---

OOC: Only positing with Natalie for now. Will follow up with Sarresh later.

[CWO1 Sten Covington | USS Theurgy | Deck 15 - Fighter Assault Bay]

The turbolift ride from the Bridge seemed interminable, even to a weathered veteran such as Sten.  Even after four decades in Starfleet and many a battle under his belt, the Chief of the Deck could not avoid the trepidation that came before open combat.  When the doors opened, it was without even looking behind himself for the pilots or Petty Officer Hussien that Covington made for the hangar.  When the blast doors opened, he was struck by the sight before him.

Harbinger's fighters had done a good number to his bay and it was a miracle that fuel pods for the fighters or the ordnance magazines had not been struck by their fire.  However, the deck was strewn with debris.  And in the midst of that chaos, he could see a diminutive woman who tried to keep control of it.  Eun Sae Ji.  Last he'd seen her, it was when he sent her off to the Harbinger to put some distance between them after the events involving the Ishtar incident.  Apparently, she had been sent back from the Akira-class starship for some reason, and it looked like she had stepped up as the Deck Boss when things went south.

As he strode onto the deck, Covington looked at what was going on around him.  Yes, a good number of his Bear Cubs were back on duty, but the place was also crawling with random members of the crew.  Some were doing grunt labour and making space for fighters to operate, but others were actually trying to do various tasks that were the purview of properly trained personnel.  Another glance also revealed the presence of Iron Fox.  The Vulpinian looked rather worse for wear, but his presence on the deck was a welcome boon, especially since he'd had no idea about his fate since they had been separated in the initial assault. 

"I have the deck!" There was no time for niceties or to get a proper run-down of the situation.  The ship was at Red Alert and the word to launch fighters could come at any second.  Which meant it was a time to take charge of the situation.  Especially since the hangar speakers started to blare out the siren that was synonymous with the order to scramble fighters.  "Clear the flight line," the Chief Warrant Officer bellowed at to the top of his lungs.  There were too many people down there, too many who hadn't a clue about the operations of a flight deck and this was the kind of thing that could too easily lead to serious injuries, even for experienced crews.  "Cubs, lead everyone who's not a deck hand outta here and get to work!  Pilots, watch the FOD, launch from a high hover!"

As a rule, once fighters were powered their operation was the purview of their pilots and Commander Renard.  However, within the bay it was the Chief of the Deck who controlled the flow of traffic and was free to dictate restrictions as the case may be, especially on matters of safety.  And the last thing he needed at this time as a fighter doing a standard take off and sending debris flying everywhere and hurting people or damaging equipment.

It was with a purpose that he strode for the SCO's fighter and he gave the hull two solid thumps with his palm before looking up at the still open cockpit where his boss was sitting.  "You better get to it, Skidmarks," said the grizzled veteran, using the nickname so very few people knew about or let alone could use without risking a broken nose.  After all, the Vulpinian and his Chief of the Deck did go back a long way and that single word was all the human could spare to let him know he was damn glad to see him in one piece.

[ Simon Tovarek | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 - Bridge ] Attn: Bridge Crew & Wolves

After glancing over at Nicander to check if he indeed was only just hurt at the ribcage, Simon got up on his feet and nodded at the mention that he'll probably be of better use on the bridge. "Well, one can just hope that those things finished the job, but we can't be sure... Take care of yourself Lt. Cmdr." He nodded and with another sympathetic nod to McMillan, Tovarek rushed away through the corridors to make his way to the bridge. He didn't bother to inform the people there of his approach since he thought the situation was tense enough with the Calamity this close on their tail. He was curious though about the effect of the mines yet his gut told him this was far from over.

He stopped at the nearest Turbolift and got into it tapping for the bridge like a frantic man. "Come on, come on..." He muttered impatiently and when he did arrive at the bridge it seemed like he walked in just at the right time. As the doors opened, the first thing he saw was Cala with a blazing firestorm behind her, waving her hair all over the place as she seemed to threaten the Theurgy and it's crew. Another Russian curse slipped past his lips as he stood there baffled for a second before he made his way to his station.

Quickly tapping at the console to check how badly the damage was to the console and how much he could still get out of it to work, he looked sideways to the message of Cala. Once it was gone he looked up only to see the incoming fire from Calamity towards their ship. "Oh for Go-" He got interrupted by the impact of the first beams. He tapped further at his console before he looked towards Carrigan Trent, who had assumed his place in the center chair, and he realized that he hadn't called out to him that he had reached his station.

"Lieutenant Commander Trent," he said in his Russian accent, "during the encounter with the Acheron fleet, I installed an upgrade to our sensor systems that allowed more precise data collection. In addition to your contribution that allows to scan through some of the jamming, I've taken the liberty to do a scan of the active Calamity vector. I'm noticing that, even though her shields are superior to ours in any way, there are still some cracks starting to form, but very slowly. Likely, it's caused by the the damage she has sustained. I'm relaying the info now to the Wolves and to the rest of the bridge consoles. The lit markers are soft spots so to speak, so hitting them would improve our chances to penetrate the shield and effectively damage the vector."

[ Hylota Vojona | USS Theurgy | Ship Corridors Heading to Sickbay ]


Hylota took a little bit longer than she had desired to get back to Sickbay, but as she drew closer an closer a smile crept across her face as she imagined sitting with her brother, getting herself sorted out before she would get to work with him to help with thee undoubtedly heavy amounts of casualties from this incident. She did slightly dread he amount of work that was going to follow this, especially with how her heat was progressing, well at lest she had Maal now she figured.

A few moments more, a few slow corners  she checked for any trouble and Hylota was back at the Sickbay, a weak smile spread across her face as she believed she was about to enter a safe place. Hylota walked into the Main Sickbay and was greeted by many apprehensive looks, looks of far and confusion, and it worried Hylota. She scanned the room taking in everything, her heart wavering over the pit of despair and worry. It was only when she looked to where her brother Vinata should have been that her heart felt as if the ground had fallen out from under it, sending it plummeting into a fear that she had not flt since the Triage Center. She took a few shaky steps forward and looked at the messy corner, her brother missing.

She would have hoped that he was just off helping with patient care, but the discarded gown, the signs of a struggle, it was all too much to be anything other than the site of a struggle. Hylota took a deep breath and she could swear she smelled the scent of sex here, and her one good hand clenched into fist as she began to fear what the mutineers she had overhead had planned and done with her brother. She clenched her jaw in a hope to contain herself as she rushed to the door to the hall, the world tuned out around her as patients began to try a talk to her. She reached the door and it open, but the sigh before her caused her to grow cold and she felt her heart stop as one word slipped from her mouth.

"...Vinata..."

---

---

[ Vinata Vojona | USS Theurgy | Deck 7 | Sickbay ]


 Vinata was walking slowly to the storage closet to get himself something to hopefully calm his nerves so he could get to doing the job that was required of him. He felt himself shudder and shake, he wand to scratch away  his nose, to dig out the smell of Phantoms body, no matter how much he had been sterilized he could still smell that monster on him, his head was practically spinning as he thought about it. Raising one hand to the side of his head he blinked away tears as he could swear he was hearing screams, the begging, gods he needed help now!

As he was about to open the door to the medical storage room, he stopped as he heard the door to the main Sickbay open and he twitchily turned his had to look at his sister, standing before him with one of her arms hanging limply at her side, her shoulder seared and singe from a phaser burn. Hylota his sister, the stronger of the two of them, was covered in soot, filth and looked like she had crawled her way through hell, and as he saw her eyes wide, her mouth open and she spoke his name in a gentle tone, things fell apart.

Hylota walk forward towards Vinata, but his mind was at its end, things were overlapping, the smells, sight, and sensations made things bled together and he was there, the world around him on fire and his sister nothing more than a shambling corpse. It was at this moment he began to scream,  shrill shriek that fill the entire Sickbay as he threw himself away from his sister, his arms flailing about as he hit the wall behind him as he collapsed to the floor yelling. "GET AWAY! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME ANY MORE! JUST MAKE IT STOP!" Vinata kept screaming as he wildly flailed as he began to cry as he descended into his horrors.

---

---

[ Hylota Vojona | USS Theurgy | Sickbay ]


As Hylota saw her brother, in his broken and shattered state, falling away from her and falling into his own horrors. She hurried to her brother and wrapped her arm around him and held him close as her eyes closed tight. "Hush, Hush it is alright, there is nothing coming after you. You are alright." She clenched her jaw as she looked over her twin and inspected his physical state. She was angry now, she had left her brother in faith that this place would be safe, and out of everyone he seemed to have suffered the most here.

She held Vinata close and hushed him as he descended into gibbering madness and she spoke softly. "It is alright, I will get you something to help. Something to sooth your mind brother, just remain calm and I will help you...and then I am going to have Words with the staff here." Hylota walked into the medical storage and got a simple sedative and returned quickly to her brother's side and gave him a hypospray to calm and sooth him and gently caressed her brother's face as he began to breath calmly and relaxed.

As she knelt there beside her brother, Hylota took a deep breath and she decided she would wait, she knew that someone on staff would come for the screaming soon enough, and then she would find out Why Her Brother, in his current st was up an about on his ow, and why he was in such a broken state. And how they had failed this miserably.

[ Heather McMillan |  Outside Cargo Bay 04 | Deck 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Lucan cin Nicander

[Show/Hide]

"Easy now, doctor," said McMillan, placing a glowing hand very daintily on his bare chest, her touch barely there. She was afraid even the simple action of removing his undershirt would aggravate his injuries more, though she did find his impressive physique most appreciable, "If I remember Câroon physiology correctly, then you're in an awful state. Annnnd sadly, you do have quite an unpleasant amount of damage to the ribs. Treatment at the medical center will see to it in short order, but for now..."

She took out some cold compress and picked up Nicander's hand, and made him place the compress over the injury himself. In the mean time, her body was beginning to glow brighter, and her hair was floating all over the place with the slightest movements of her head, as she had left it untied once more. She removed a hypospray with painkillers and made a verbal double check, "This should be okay for your kind, it's a painkiller. I suppose I don't need to tell you this, but nevertheless, try and breathe normally, so you can keep your lungs clear. Rest, and occasional shoulder exercise, and keeping low on strenuous activity is a good idea too, if at all possible."

She applied the painkiller, and when Nicander thanked her, the girl blushed, and looked nervous, patting her hair down, she noted how her light was changing to a shade of pink, and she shifted. "You're welcome," she said, "But no need to thank me, really. The whole lot of you did all the hard work...d-do you think people would have a reaction to learning I'm not human at all?" She seemed most concerned about that, "It's just that, in all these centuries, I am the first Radiant to ever reveal my nature to the Federation. I didn't see any other choice at the time, but doctor...I'm scared now. Humans aren't always the nicest people, it's why we kept our existence a secret."

Finished with her work, the young woman settled back on her knees, and looked away, and then sighed, looking at her glowing hands. Her face hair and even her body was clearly shining with lights of shifting colours, "Bloody hell, mom was right, it is hard to stop once you start..."

She looked up at Nicander, and showed her hands, "Normally, we never use more than our hands to light up, but once you light up your entire body, it, it becomes rather addictive. Feels good to use it too, really good. Blimey, I sound like a roddin' junkie, sorry..."

---

[ Cameron "Cam" Elizabeth Henshaw | Turbolift | Deck 04 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Jien Ives

[Show/Hide]

Henshaw nodded as she listened to her captain as she gave the Yeoman instructions. It was gratifying, in a sense, to know that Ives regretted doubting her, and it made Henshaw smile, despite the situation. As she left, the Yeoman stuck her head out of the turbolift and called after Ives, "Don't you dare die, captain, or I swear I'll kill you!"

Well, she was most likely going to be written up for insubordination with that reckless remark, but she decided to say it nonetheless. "All right, then..." she kicked the turbolift back into work, and had it going to the bridge.

She mentally readied herself for what needed to be said to Commander Trent, and prepped the words in her mind so she wouldn't make a complete arse of herself before the bridge crew.

[ Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Carrigan Trent

She stepped out of the turbolift and marched forward with swift strides, until she was standing just behind Trent, and spoke with a clear and even voice, so that everyone present could hear her, "Commander Trent," she addressed him with all the respect she could possibly muster, in her own belief that it would boost his confidence further, "from the lips of Captain Ives, she wants you to know that she has the utmost faith in you, and her absence, unfortunately, cannot be avoided at the moment, as she is currently in pursuit of the renegade, Declan Vasser, who took Commander Rez hostage."

She held up a hand to forestall any potential questions and protests, "The captain will have Vasser, and I trust in her abilities to be able to match even an augmented being like Vasser. But more importantly, commander, trust in the people around you, just as we trust you to see us through this. The Calamity has taken too much from us, and we cannot afford to let her escape through a time-rift again, or she'll come back stronger than ever. I lost a sister and many friends to her already, so..." she glanced at the crew around her, hoping they truly shared her sentiment, "...on behalf of all of us, kick that bitch's photonic arse, and put an end to her forever."

Finished with her statement, she followed Ives' last instructions and went over to the support staff control panel, "I'm going to try and help Captain Ives with Vasser. He's trying to escape the Theurgy by the Captain's yacht." Tapping on the console, she quickly brought up the schematics of the smaller vessel, and inputted the command to lock the docking clamps in place. Vasser would be forced to manually attempt freeing the ship, which should buy Ives time to get to him. She turned to Trent, a twinkle in her eye, and a satisfied smirk. Vasser was so screwed.

---

[ Edena Rez | Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Declan Vasser

[Show/Hide]

"Aughf!" Edena, briefly in control of herself, cried out when Vasser hurled her against the control station, and she quickly turned around, eyes wide with terror, only to find a phaser pointed at her. She nodded nervously when he ordered her to keep still. She sank down, until she was seated on the ground, and cried out again, cowering with her hands raised defensively over her when the augment ripped open the casing of the control table, sending sparks right over her. She thought she would be used to this by now. From that time with zh'Wann, and all the craziness that has since ensued, but Edena was still frightened.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Illya Rez, watching, looking frustrated, and possibly about to take over again, but Jona beat her to it.

Immediately, the demeanour of the Trill woman changed, and she no longer looked terrified. Rising to her feet, she stepped around Vasser, arms clasped behind her back, while watching the Augment work. After Edena's revelation to Ives in the brig, and her decision to step down from command, and the gall she had to tell him to shut up, after all he had done for her, along with Ives' reaction to all he had to offer to help with the crew of the Theurgy, the ghost of the SI agent decided that Vasser might just be more appreciative of what he had to offer. "I know Ives," said Jona, with Edena's voice changing to a much deeper timbre than she normally used, "you tried to use his/her obligations against him/her. A smart move, but you left behind a voice of conscience in the captain's ear, the Yeoman."

From her corner of the mind, Edena was screaming at Jona to stop, "Quiet." He coolly said in a mild, even voice to the young woman, a reminder of how she'd told him to shut up before. But Kiya and even Illya were raising their voices at him now.

You can't do this!

So typical of a rogue...takes one to know one.

Jona, please!!!

"No doubt," Jona continued, ignoring the voices of the three women in his head, "Ensign Henshaw would likely urge the captain to come after you instead. Now I've been watching you, and I believe that together we c*..."

Jona made a strangled noise and suddenly lurched backwards, and his demeanour changed. Edena was back in control. ""No...no I won't. This is my body, Jona, and we're not going anywhere!"

She stepped back from Vasser, looking worriedly at the Augment, her hidden phaser still kept away, but ready to be drawn. If Jona was right, then Ives was on her way, and the Trill hoped she would make her appearance soon.

[Dr. Hayden O'Connor| Main Sickbay]

Hayden tried to ignore the red alert klaxon as she moved swiftly around Main Sickbay giving orders and doing what she could to ensure they had the supplies and equipment to handle incoming casualties. Of course, there was always the hope all their preparation would be for naught and there would be no additional casualties, but O'Connor need only look around at their still recovering wounded to know that was just wishful thinking. They were short staffed, a reality that was reinforced for her every time a junior nurse or medical technician looked at her with fear in their eyes, but Hayden tried to remind herself it could be worse. As far as she knew, their senior medical personnel were still alive, just out and about trying to restore the crew to some semblance of physical and mental health.

As she strode through sickbay with purpose, a thousand things raced through her mind, the number only growing as the scant staff approached her with questions or concerns. All of them were professionals and familiar with Nicander’s emergency protocols, but they kept her informed out of respect for her as the officer in charge. She was thankful for small miracles and that she'd been brought up to speed concerning the patients present before the red alert, so for the most part, it was simply a matter of making sure patients who were ambulatory were moved to appropriate wards as well as those who needed less intensive care. O'Connor knew they had to be prepared for anything, given what she knew of the Calamity, unfortunately, she knew they were going to need a number of trauma beds available.  O'Connor also knew that is one of the few doctors in sickbay, it would fall to her to handle any emergency or surgical procedures that were necessary. Nurses and med techs could triage and handle the minor injuries, but the bulk of the seriously injured fall to her, at least until other doctors return to sickbay.

Even with so much of her mind focused on the present, the fight with Phantom and everything that came before wasn't far from her thoughts. It didn't take her long to gather clothing for Vinata, though with everything going on around her, unfortunately, it took her a while to head back in his direction. Her heart dropped as she heard him screaming. She jogged toward the noise, scrubs in one hand and med kit slung on her shoulder.

Despite the circumstances, Hayden was glad to see Hylota had returned. Despite O'Connor's training, given her brother's mental state, Hylota was the best person to offer him a sense of safety and familiarity. She knelt beside them both, careful not to get too close to agitate either one of them further. It didn't take a position to know the female Ovri had been through hell herself. She spoke soothingly to both of them, but directed the bulk of her words to Vinata.  “I’m here, Vinata.  I'm here. You are safe now, and I brought you some clothes just like I promised. Will you let me help you put them on?"

Hayden could see there was practically steam coming out the female Ovri's ears, and under the circumstances, Hayden could hardly blame her. That said, it was clear their shared priority was reassuring Vinata and offering  him care, none of which could be accomplished if she were to recount exactly what happened to him right in that moment. To Hylota she offered, "I know you're upset and I know you have a lot of questions. I will answer them, I assure you, but our priority needs to be your brother. He trusts you and for that reason I could use your help, but first, let's take a look at you and that arm, okay?"

O'Connor was asking out of politeness, but without waiting for an answer she began to take out her tricorder and other items from her med kit. Even if the female Ovri refused to submit to an exam for some reason, there was Vinata attend to.

[ Hylota Vojona | USS Theurgy | Main Sickbay ] Attn: Dr. Hayden O'Connor

---

          Hylota watched as Dr. Hayden arrived, Hylota had been hoping it would be Maal, or perhaps Dr. Maya, someone she knew or who had been in charge that she could pass judgement on, but in truth Dr. Hayden was the best person to have arrived at this point in time. Hylota was till seething with rage over what had happened, but Hayden was able to get past that with her action as soon as she arrived. As Dr. Hayden voiced concern and offered cloth to help make Vinata conceal his nude form she loosened her fist and took deep breaths as Hylota knew that the two of the were going to need to work together to help her poor brother back from the edge of insanity.

Hylota listened to Hayden talk about how she needed to work together so that they would be able to help Vinata, and she simply nodded as she kept taking deep breaths to help calm herself, but as she was told that her arm needed a scan she scoffed and shook her head no. "My arm is having a reaction to a soothing balm that was accidentally administrated by one of the science staff. It is not the most critical thing at this point in time, our first objective should be to help my brother into a safe and isolated location where he can be left while things are still somewhat calm.'' Hylota repositioned herself and wrapped her one good arm around Vinata and lifted him up to his feet. "Once we get that all taken care of we can worry about my problems, but my guess is that I will need to have a sling to keep it out of the way after I clan myself off." Hylota shushed Vinata as he began to mumble to himself. "I was hoping to come back and get help, but it looks like I am still needed."

Vinata shook his head as he tried to clear it from the sedative running through his body, but it was helping him remain calm, he was no longer seeing the fires, but he was still not in any state to be doing anything. Seeing Vinata like this made Hylota sigh before she look to Hayden. "When we get him a room we will get him dressed, and then I want to know what happened since I have been gone, how is it that you people have-." Hylota stopped herself and closed her eyes and took a deep breath to top herself from going off at the only help she had at this point in time. "Listen lets just get him taken care of, then you can scan me and explain what has happened here, after that I am going to get myself cleaned up and hopefully I can find Maal and we can organize some of the junior nurses and medics."

[ Sarresh Morrali | Corridor - Life Support Systems | Sickbay] Atten: Ryuan Sel, Lukas "Bleed" Reed, Rihen Neyah, & others

"If either of you make the wrong move, the freak's head will be vaporized, so just enjoy yourselves while you can. Its not every time you get to have this much fun while on duty." The words grated in his ears, and brought a nasty, harsh sneer to Sarresh's face. Unable to keep the disgust he felt for Bleed under control, he quit trying, letting it all show. The sick little shit had forced them on each other, and what could have been - well, a relief, what had been promised, was now a heinous act. The more it happened, the angrier he got, and Sarresh was aching, waiting for P.O. Ryuan to make her move.

He had been expecting Sel to be the one that acted, even as she suckled his cock. His aching, throbbing, shamefully needy cock. She had, after all, tapped out that warning along his lenth. So the chair flying across the corridor came as a complete and utter surprise to Sarresh. Everything seemed to happen at once, the chair impacting, Sel popping off his shaft, twisting and slamming the canister. Bleed's phaser went off, as the gown clad Lt. dropped to the floor with a whumph. He rolled, trying to avoid getting caught up in his gown, and bounced off the far side of the corridor. He braced, rolled again, and kicked out.

Oh, it hurt like a son of a bitch, his bare feet smacking into the exo-suit. But with luck, it would throw 'Bleed' off balance even more. It was the best he could do at the time, his legs clamping around the other man, twisting, trying to bring him down to the ground, trying to take advantage of the confusion, and the blunt impact of that cannister to the bastards head.

[Eun Sae Ji | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy]

Eun Sae turned as she was addressed by the Lone Wolves Squadron SCO. She seemed a bit hesitant to answer Renard's inquiry but after a brief hesitation she nodded confirming his suspicions. Without anymore time wasted she moved out to try to bring some order to the mash of deck crew and conscripted volunteers scattered about the hangar. But a loud booming voice drew her attention first causing her to jump a bit from the sheer volume of it. There was only one man she knew who could shock the entire hangar into silence. She turned her head to see Papa Bear moving through the chaos of the hangar barking orders that those who heard him quickly scrambled to follow.

As soon as the siren had went off all control of the situation had slid from her grasp. To people who heard it that siren immediately meant one thing to them "Panic" As soon as that sound had filled the large spacious area of the hangar she could already tell that most of her words would be falling on deaf ears. But as soon as Sten's voice sounded it was as if a switch had been flipped in everyone's mind. Members of the deck crew immediately tuned in to listen to his commands and carry them out whilst many of the volunteers began to file out as soon as the orders had left his lips. She couldn't help but feel the smallest hint of envy of how easily others followed Sten in comparison to her. In the beginning when she'd stepped up in his absence people stared at her puzzled about why they should even consider listening to her orders. It took her infamous temper and the yelling that came with it to get anyone to listen to her.

She shook her head shaking the thoughts from her head as she moved to follow Sten's orders just as the rest of the Cubs were. She quickly began directing some of the volunteers out of the hangar, Once a sizable amount had emptied from the hangar freeing up space she quickly singled out members of her department and stuck her fingers into the sides of her mouth and let out a loud high pitched whistle. A whistle that most of her department knew and recognized. Pulling her PADD from one of the pockets on her uniform she quickly brought up the diagnostics of the Fighters still waiting to launch as her department's members gathered around her. She quickly began to give out assignments singling out which fighters needed the most work and what could wait till a later time.

[ Sar-unga / Dyan Cardamone | Inside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 ] Attn: Wenn Cinn

Two individuals materialised inside the Captain's Yacht, the light from the transporter beam making the shadows inside the powered-down vessel dance along the walls. Once they solidified, Sar-unga looked around the aft compartment to make sure Declan Vasser hadn't got there ahead of them. Then, she rounded on Wenn Cinn, half expecting the Bajoran to be wroth with her even before she had a chance to explain herself.

Looking at him, however, he appeared like a mirage - the sight of him shifting between the image of her yore enemy and that of the Theurgy's Chief of Security. Frowning, it took her a moment to realise that her Velsren sac was healing the 'damage' that the Winter Queen had inflicted upon the synaptic patterns of her brain. Blinking, she tried to make the large man stay in one shape, but to no avail. In time, she supposed, the effects would have subsided completely.

"Yes, I changed the destination on the transporter controls," she said, and she supposed that if they made it through the ensuing battle, the man would be her new department head. "I wrote to Thea and she replied that the traitor, Declan Vasser, is heading in this direction."

While she said this, she deftly removed her uniform jacket, pulling it back from her arms and her wings with a bit of an awkward struggle. Especially since Zaraq had torn off her trousers and her panties before he... No point in lingering on what had happened in the interrogation room. Her golden undershirt was riven apart at the front as well, and she imagined that she had blood on her chin after biting the Master-at-Arms since she saw her fair skin flecked with blood across her bare breasts.

"She also wrote that the man was an Augment, and while I am not sure what that means, exactly, I seem to recall that they were some kind of genetically engineered humans, were they not?" she barged on, wanting the Bajoran on her side. She tied the uniform jacket around her hips to restore a modicum of modesty in front of her superior officer. It was the best she could do given the circumstances. Once the torn and tattered garment was secured, she reached up to try and tie her split undershirt together as well.  "I mean to ambush him here, and take him out. Yet if you insist, sir, I suppose he must be apprehended and put into the Brig as according to security protocol."

As she struggled, the flashing lights from the compartment's windows - the red alert klaxons muffled to them - caught her white hair and her small, curved horns. Her subtle claws almost snagged at her undershirt while she worked, finally managing to tie the undershirt across and underneath her breasts. Done, she folded her wings behind her back and raised her chin to look into the Bajoran's eyes. "I won't lie. Killing Declan Vasser is personal to me. I was on the Harbinger, and he betrayed me both in the capacity of my Commanding Officer and as a lover. When I got to the bridge to try and stop him, to making him abandon the sudden intent to secure the Theurgy for himself, he had his Vulcan slattern break my mind and throw me into the Brig. There, Zaraq - your brain-washed Master-at-Arms - f-forced himself on me. Sir, I hope you understand my reasons, and I hope you can support me, rather than stop me... Please."

Her eyes were hard in the flashing lights of the dark compartment, and it might be the shadows playing a trick on the eye, but there was a mixture of emotions radiating from her green orbs. Ire mixed with shame for her defeat. She was a warrior, proud and old, and by Vasser's orders, she had been reduced to something... less. In human culture, which she had tried to emulate when she had just been Petty Officer Cardamone to everyone around her, there was a saying that seemed appropriate for the moment, and she remembered it well from her preparations to enlist in Starfleet.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

---

OOC: More posts due here as soon as I can write them.

Also, since Jien Ives, Cameron Henshaw and Edena Rez beamed to Below Decks via the shuttle before getting into the turbolift and being attacked by Vasser, Sar-unga and Wenn Cinn has arrived to the aft compartment of the Yacht before Declan Vasser dragged Edena Rez there. It gives us a couple of IC minutes to an exchange between Wenn Cinn and Sar-unga before they hear the commotion outside the Yacht. No worries, I think we can cover the wait for Declan to show with my next post, and tie the entire scene together into a single time-frame. In summary, they hear nothing besides the klaxon just yet. Looking forward to read Wenn Cinn's reaction to this, no to mention seeing Edena Rez at Vasser's mercy.

[ Rihen Neyah | Corridor - Life Support Systems | Deck 07 ] Attn: Ryuan Sel, Sarresh Morali & Skye Carver

Seeing the chair hit the armoured man, even if he struck it aside with his arm, made Rihen realise the great folly of her actions. The Starfleeter was armed, and as a Risian, she knew how hateful men might react if denied what they wanted in terms of the Jamaharon. Her people's generosity bridged that dark hate and placated their anger, but her act had not been generous. She had thrown a chair at him, just as he was about to...

The brief glimpse of his narrowed eyes assured her that her final moment had come.

But suddenly, his gaze - or his whole head - was jerked to the side. Struck by a metal canister and sending the man reeling sideways. A disjointed stumble, which might have been jocular if it weren't for the way the bone structure of his face looked afterwards... and the fact that he still brandished a phaser in his right hand, and a bright, deadly beam scorched a sharp line across the bulkhead, going straight for Rihen.

With a scream, Rihen dove to the deck to save herself. She did not realise that her companions were coming around the corner behind her.  Not until it was too late. She looked over her shoulder, eyes wide in horror as the beam cut straight towards Skye Carver and Lin Kae. Both were about to die, she realised, and yet she couldn't tear her mismatched eyes away from the imminent death of the two Starfleeters she had met on Nimbus III. Was she screaming for them to get down, or just out of panic? In the end, her fear bested her and she curled up, covering her eyes. The beam would cut across their faces and their necks.

There were no screams of pain, so their deaths had to be quick. It was a small comfort to Rihen, who had failed to warn them. Her survival instincts made her look at the man in the exo-suit, at least, to see if he was going to kill her next. What she saw, however, was that the hateful man had taken a bad fall - tripped over by the man in the gown.

While the limp arms and legs danced a galvanic gavotte because of the energy pulses, the man's head had ended up inside a wall-mounted control panel. Rihen could see cables sticking out of it, so it must have been damaged before his fall into it. The phaser lay on the floor, no longer emitting its deadly beam, so maybe...

She looked back to see Lin Kae and Skye Carver.

They were still on their feet, if perhaps a bit shocked.

"What is going on here?" asked the EMH when he rounded the corner as well, still carrying Selena Ravenholm in his arms. His frown travelled between the escaped patient in the medical gown who was getting back on his feet, to the barely clothed Bajoran with the phaser rifle who did not look happy at all, then to Rihen looking so relieved her smile was positively beaming, and lastly to the Holographic Specialist and the fighter pilot, who looked like they'd just had a near death experience. None of the organics seemed to acknowledge that there was - ironically so - a man sticking out of the wall next to Life Support.

"My programming has not covered this situation," he said, not entirely pleased about being unable to attend the medical emergency before him. Apparently, the repairs of emitters down the corridor had ceased, and the present crew members were just looking between themselves, so he could not carry the patient in his arms much further either. "What should I do?"

[ Dr. Nicander | Corridor | Outside Cargo Bay 04 | Deck 02 ] Attn: Heather McMillan

It was hard not to watch the strange and yet fetching phenomenon of the Radiant's body; how it glowed and shimmered with every movement. It was as if the thing inside watched her too, but with a wary stillness that Lucan thought uncharacteristic to the parasite. Normally, it would chant for him to brutalise her - to harm and defile her dead body. The silence could have meant anything, of course, but when she laid that glimmering hand against his bare torso, it was as if the nameless darkness... retreated.

No. The sudden and desperate surge for control of his body made him understand - the shriek that came from the abyss making it plain. When cornered, it would attack. The loud demand for her blood was deafening, and yet he maintained control, not letting himself slip away. He had thought it harder, of late, but it was as if the presence of the Radiant gave him the willpower to resist, and while images of what he'd do to her flashed before his eyes...

His tattooed hand tearing her hair, slamming her into the bulkhead. Repeatedly. Screaming as he struck her head open against the unyielding surface. Gushing blood hit his eyes, and yet he stared into her cerebral cavity - white teeth shining in a face blackened with blood. Did Radiants have the same sanguine, iron-based blood as himself? He had to spill it all to know for certain. Taste it on his fingers.

...he merely smiled gently to her as she helped treat his wounds. His mind intact, he could instead appreciate how her hair glowed and floated on the minute air currents in the corridor. She shifted colours too, and it made him wonder what it meant. If he did not know better, having observed what his bodily impression did upon both genders of most species, he would say she was attracted to him. He held the cold compress against his ribs dutifully, and watched her every movement with his pale grey eyes, thanking her quietly when she gave him the hiss of her hypospray - eyes unblinking. "My gratitude."

Then she spoke of her trepidation; her fear for the crew's reaction. Slowly, he took the bundle of his dirty undershirt into his tattooed hands, sorting out the garment as he spoke his mind - unravelling the complicated matter.  "I cannot claim any deeper understanding of the human race, but those in Starfleet are more than used to the unknown. Also, it would not be the first time someone on this ship revealed themselves to be... other than they first said they were. Our First Officer initially revealed herself to be an operative from Starfleet Intelligence, sent to ensure that our unique technology aboard wouldn't fall into the wrong hands by any means necessary. That included the death of everyone aboard. Compared to what you appear to be, that is far worse, and see how that turned out for her." His eyes travelled between the piece of cloth and her while he spoke in his deep voice. "Then you have the more recent matter of Dyan Cardamone, a Petty Officer in Security that was like you - unique and hiding in plain sight. Sar-unga, which would be her Asurian name, allowed us in Medical to use her Velsren sac to save the life of Sarresh Morali - our Temporal Affairs Officer. Her true mission had been to observe and evaluate whether or not the Asurians ought to make a diplomatic approach the Federation and apply for a membership."

The notion made him chuckle. "I reckon that Dyan would advise against it, given the circumstances."

Then, she spoke of her luminescence and how it was quickly becoming an addiction. When she said that it felt satisfying to use her abilities, Lucan could but compare them to his own. "When I touch the elements around me, I do not feel anything else than the drain and the... immensity of channeling the powers through the zi'naaq in my body. While addictive to some Câroon, our psionic link to the elements can kill us if we do not learn how to control the flow. Those who try to channel too much all end up dead, or their zi'naaq are burned out, which equals a bedridden life with severe mental trauma. When the zi'naaq are balanced and whole, we are too."

With that as a comparison to what she said she felt, he climbed to his feet with a kind smile. "If your mother did not warn you of any dangers, then you should feel blessed, and feel free to express who you are. The Radiants have been hiding until now, so indulge yourself as long as you don't blind people or intimidate them." Standing, he tried to get back into his undershirt without jarring his ribs. "Life is too short to deny oneself the simple pleasures in life, unless you absolutely have to."

Since he was supposed to avoid strenuous activity, perhaps he had to. Then again, doctors were the worst patients...

"I need to return to Sickbay, but we could use a hand," he said, not objecting if she'd offer to follow him. His dirty undershirt caught across the bicep of his injured side, he added with a slow chuckle. "In fact, I could too."

[Carrigan Trent | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 - Bridge]

When the hail from Calamity came, Trent wasted no time in ensuring the link would be receive-only.  For one thing, he entertained the certainty that the AI that controlled the future starship had no idea he was on board the Theurgy and while he could be reasonably certain that every tactical log and analysis pertaining to the senior and tactical staff of both renegade starships were part of her databases, it would not do to give her a hint there was someone on board whose patterns and way of thinking were not immediately on hand.  Also, there was the risk of cyberwarfare.  A two-way link might be all that Calamity would need to attack their own computers. 

The sight of the Calamity-class ship's bridge might have rattled some; after all, it had been savage and there were fires burning uncontrollably in zero-gravity.  If anything, maintaining atmosphere in a section that had visibly been hulled already was something that was notoriously inefficient for a ship that lacked a living and breathing crew and Trent was left with the single conclusion that the choice had been made to affect weak-willed biological lifeforms, if the message itself had not been clear enough.  However, if that was the desired effect it had been sorely failed with Carrigan Trent.  He knew what it was like to be on a Bridge on fire, to feel his ship get demolished about his ears.  And knowing he was responsible for the damage a superior foe had already incurred did not result in a blow to his confidence but it bolstered it instead.  In fact, if it had been a pristine Bridge showing, that would have been much more likely to rattle him, at least at first. 

Once the line cut and the incoming torpedoes showed on the plot, Trent's voice sounded again across the Bridge as his fingers moved furiously across his own consoles at the command chair.  "Donovra, I'm taking over shield management and a few emitters from each phaser strip.  Focus strictly on offence and getting good firing solutions.  Miss Stark, we're going for broke.  Have engineering take the warp drive off line and redirect the warp core's output to the shields."  Indeed, this was not an engagement that would be allowed to end inconclusively with one or both ships withdrawing.  Calamity was fully intent to vaporize the Theurgy and conversely, the AI-controlled warship could not be allowed to escape by virtue of their quarry going to warp.

As he spoke, Trent's fingers were still doing their magic with the portions of the phaser array he had taken control of.  By design, the phaser strips were intended to be as flexible as possible and emitters could be task to independent targets.  And what the Lieutenant Commander was doing was a rapid reconfiguration for a little-used possible function and he drastically lowered the power output, shortened the length of each blast and increased the rate of fire.  Against even a contemporary starship it would be the next best thing to useless; a fighter hit squarely might be rattled but unless they had taken repeated impacts they were likely to get out of such a blast in one piece.  Torpedoes, on the other hand, were unshielded and unarmoured.  And considering that Calamity's electronic warfare suite had either been vaporize alongside two of her three vectors or had been part of the debris field that was streaming from her remaining one was unknown but it meant that Theurgy's active sensors were functioning unimpeded and along with the staggering computing power that could be devoted to the tactical systems, the use of phasers as a point-defence system against incoming torpedoes was more than a viable option.  In fact, while Calamity's phasers struck and were deflected by Theurgy's shields, her torpedoes did not even get within a two hundred thousand kilometers of their target. 

As Theurgy twisted madly, interposing different shield sectors to incoming fire and bringing different weapon aspects to bear, Trent was a steady presence in the command chair.  His face was impassive as he kept designating incoming torpedoes for destruction and constantly adjusting shield power to maintain as unbroken a defence as possible.  And this was when he heard Lieutenant Tovarek speak.  When had he entered the Bridge?  So absorbed by his work had Trent been that he hadn't heard the doors opening.  And the man's voice sent a brief pang of regret through his gut as his accent reminded him of that kid, Yelchin back on the Battle Bridge and how he'd been murdered by T'Rena.  However, the information he provided was more than valuable.  "Outstanding Mister Tovarek.  Feed that to Tactical.  In the meantime, take over updating the tactical plot from Commander Stark, give her something less to worry about."

The orders were given quietly, not even turning his head away from the viewscreen, focused strictly on the overlaid tactical data.  Back when he was at the Academy and after he took over as captain of the Harrier, he had made a point to not allow the viewscreen to be used as a glorified windshield when the ship was taking part in drastic maneuvers; after all, it only took one man to lose his lunch from the combination of the inertial dampeners not fully compensating for the movement of a twisting and turning starship and the rapidly shifting view to make the Bridge a thoroughly unpleasant place.  And that was a lesson he had learned the hard way on a simulator. 

But despite his calm demeanour, Trent was nervous.  What sort of combat endurance did Calamity have?  These gaps in her shields, would they give enough of a chink in her defences to be fully exploited before she would batter Theurgy into scrap metal?  He had no way to know.  However, his doubts never made it to this face.  Instead, he was simply giving orders in his typical near-whisper voice, letting the officers about him do their work even as he did his.  And his train of thought was barged into, again, by another familiar voice.

Henshaw, the Captain's yeoman.  He had seen her horror when Fedd had tried to convince her to join the mutiny and that had been enough to convince the Intelligence Officer that she was to be trusted.  The report she made was a little long-winded for his taste, but then again she wasn't a tactical-trained officer despite her red shirt and as such he would refrain from addressing that at a later time.  But the fact she made this report, aloud and for everyone to hear, brought  a ghost of a smile to Trent's lips.  Part of it, whether she knew it or not, would cement his authority on the remainder of the Bridge crew.  After all, if Captain Ives had full confidence in his abilities to command it ought to resonate well enough with those loyal to the Chameloid.  And to know that she was going personally to hunt down Vasser and exact upon him what retribution she saw fit was also good news.  Yes, Vasser had to have gone over Ives' files, as much as he could.  But he was not Intelligence, and there was much, much classified data he could not have had access to.  And that tidbit turned his barely existent smile, albeit briefly, into a savage rictus.  Vasser really had no idea who he was dealing with.

However, when she was finished, Trent spoke directly to the Yeoman, although his eyes remained fixed on the screen in front of him and he never paused from his work with the shields and his point-defence efforts, first addressing the Captain's orders.  "That was the plan, Ensign.  It's them or us and I intend to still be breathing at the end of the day."  Optimism.  Everyone needed to hear that just about now.  And even with his doubts as to Theurgy's combat endurance compared to their enemy's, he actually meant what he had said.  He intended to live and see Theurgy through this mess. 

However, it left the small matter of what do with the Yeoman now that she was up there.  He already had a useless pair of hands in the form of that loudmouth Security crewman and he had overworked personel to deal with.  "Yeoman, I need you at Mission Ops.  You're taking over controlling the fighters.  I want them in a screening role against those Reavers; we can't afford a fight on multiple fronts right now."

[ Declan Vasser | Outside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 ] Attn: Edena Rez

When the Theurgy's First Officer decided to defy his clear instructions to stay where she was, Declan Vasser had half a mind to kill her on the spot, but that was an impulse of short-sightedness that he would never act on. The Trill was his bargaining ship for free passage away from the battle. This, of course, provided that he managed to launch the yacht before the Calamity gained superiority and attacked him instead. In that case, he had an alternative plan, but the odds were less fortunate.

So, he did not shoot Edena Rez when she moved to stand on the opposite side of the control station, but the muzzle of his hand phaser followed the Trill's every move. His aim against her heart was unfaltering because of his perfect hand-eye coordination - peripheral vision quite sufficient.

While the possession of the woman's body was at contest, Declan secured the power flows to the connectors. He heard the broken-off suggestion from the Rez symbiont's former host while he made sure the yacht's power would remain online for the launch - hard-wiring the supply to prevent Thea from shutting him down. The port access door had to remain opened. Next were the docking clamps, which were another matter entirely. He could not do anything about them from the control station. Therefore, he raised his hard stare to scowl at the Commander as Edena Rez, evidently, regained control of her own body.

"No...no I won't. This is my body, Jona, and we're not going anywhere!"

"How can a ghost offer me counsel," he said in cutting, uncompromising judgement, "when he can't even retain his voice? A traitorous ghost, no less, who try to flatter himself into my grace, and in the next breath speaks of the obvious as if it was some kind of secret - privy to him alone. Of course the Captain may come here, and if he does, I am fully prepared to handle that contingency. The only thing you and the other hosts can offer me is that female body's pleasant company for as long as I need it, so you should devote your collective efforts and years of experience to make sure you are truly pleasant company. Even then, you would not be more than an idle curiosity - easily discarded when rations run short."

Declan walked around the control station that separated them, each step perfectly measured and calculated - phaser secure in his fingers by his hip. "All aboard, Commander. Start walking... and do keep your hands where I can see them. It is not like I will be missing them if I have to burn them off."

From the cockpit, he would gain access to the weapon systems, and then he could use the phaser array to cut the yacht out of the belly of the starship. Like a caesarean section, only with the newborn wielding the exo-scalpel to free itself from its dying mother.

---

[ Captain Jien Ives | Outside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 ] Attn: Edena Rez

The doors along the corridor whisked by as Jien ran towards the docking bay of the Captain's Yacht. There were hardly any people in her way, and before long - and with Thea's confirmation that the last part of the path was clear - she burst through the sliding doors with her weapon in a one-handed grip. Her oaken eyes scanned the bay area and quickly spotted Declan Vasser and Edena Rez. They were on the middle of the twenty meter gangway to the yacht, about to enter the vessel through the port access.

Declan spotted Jien immediately, and with a brutal grip on her hair and pressing her up against the waist-level railing of the gangway, the Augment had put Edena Rez between himself and Jien - pressing the cold emitter of his hand phaser deep into the side of the Trill's troat. Jien secured her aim with both hands and approached her end of the gangway with careful steps - chest heaving from her sprint but eyes focused along her sights.

"It seems even dead people can predict you, Jien Ives," said the Declan cryptically - ice-blue eyes locked with the Chameloid's across Edena's shoulder. "Unless you throw your weapon into the maintenance pit below, I will remove the head from your First Officer and toss it there instead. Either way, I am quicker than you, and my aim more true, so you will die. It is merely her life in the balance here, so it would be a pity if you wouldn't practice what you've preached in your final moments alive. How do you want to be remembered? Like me, or like the insufferable red-tapist that you are?"

Jien did not answer at first, edging closer to the gangway - her dark hair framing her austere countenance. "You took command of my ship," she said, crystal clear words echoing across the docking area, "and now you are abandoning it. I am merely here to ensure you stay, like any Captain would."

While the battle with the Calamity raged in full, and the docking area heaved with the impact of enemy fire, the two Captains had reached an impasse...

[ Aisha S'Iti | Main Bridge | Deck 01 ] Attn: Bridge Crew
The veridian hued officer obeyed as the ship turned into arc repositioning the ship so the most of the ships non recharging phasers could come to bear on the Vector of the calamity that remained.  As the two ships exchanged fire she carefully adjusted the angle of attack so fresh shields were more easily rotated by into place by the Captain. 

At about that time though the desk that the new arrival had been assigned to began to issue a soft beepling sound.  The clear signal that the squadron was requesting information from the mission ops desk

---

[ Miles Renard | Wolf 01 | Fighter Bay ] Attn: Bridge, Deck Crew, Tac Conn Personnel
Miles nodded to the specialist as she answered his question.  "Understood," he said as he saw her head off to her duties seeing the figure of the deck boss appearing within the bay and heading over to his ship.  About midway there the bay was overcast in a red pulsing light and the lights at the bay's exit began to strobe yellow and red as the green launch clear light activated and stayed solid showing the visual signal for both clearance for take-off and the strobing red and yellow of a scramble order.  Miles looked over as he saw the deck chief reach his fighter. Giving the chief a nod he flipped the switches activating the repulsors and causing the cockpit canopy to close and seal. 

Opening a squadron wide channel he spoke. "Report to Valkyries at once. Scramble order issued; this is not a drill.  Repeat, negative on drill, scramble order issued," he calmly ordered before keying over to the mission ops channel having not received any objective information aside for a scramble order. "Wolf lead to bridge, report on mission objectives over," he said sending the mission objective request to the mission ops desk on the bridge. As he waited for the reply his fighter rose into the air rising to a high altitude within the hangar bay the canopy nearly touching the ceiling.  Keying back into into squadron communications he added, "You heard papa bear, watch out for ground clutter and launch from high hover." He throttled up the fighter, cut the repulsors, and launched himself into the unfriendly airspace.  Not for certain if their objective was to aide in damaging the Calamity or to engage enemy fighters as escort support for the Theurgy.

[ Ryuan Sel | Corridor - Life Support Systems | Sickbay] Atten: Sarresh Morrali, Lukas "Bleed" Reed, Rihen Neyah, & others

With phaser rifle in hand Sel got to her feet. She felt and looked like a complete mess. Her hair clung to her sweat and saliva covered face and her clothes were equally soaked. She did her best to adjust her panties to cover her still slick and aroused sex. She could not help but feel as if she had been caught fucking someone, and if that distraction had been even a few seconds later she would have been. Part of her wished they would have been later. Her pheremone adled brain did her no favors there. Her body itself had left her feeling humiliated and exposed.

She looked down at the now very dead man and for a moment felt like shooting him a few more times with her phaser rifle for good measure, but that would have been a waste of a battery pack and she knew she would need it for other things soon enough.

She turned at looked at the new arrivals. "Thank the Pah Warth you got here when you did," Sel said letting out a breath as she walked over to them. Her breath was still shaking, both from her continued state of arousal and the part of her mind that was still freaking right the fuck out from the ausalt. She glanced down at 'Bleed' for a moment before looking back at the newcomers. "Though I wouldn't have objected to a few seconds earlier."

[ Wenn Cinn | Lower Shuttle Bay | Deck 07 |USS Theurgy ]

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          Wenn Cinn as completely oblivious to the changes of the beaming coordinates, he was simply far too involved with his work on the shuttle as he tried his best to ensure that it would survive his whole ordeal, if they lost the shuttle it would likely lead to a lot of problems down the line for the Theurgy. Finally getting a set of operation that he liked Cinn ran one final simulation of the scenario to ensure that he had gotten everything on the way he had intended, and once he was ready, he set the trigger of the events to be the successful beam out of Him and Dyan.

Wenn got up from his chair and activated the program before he walked over to Dyan and put a hand on her shoulder. "Alright it is time for us to get out of here, hopefully we will not be running into anyone on our way own to the Sickbay...and hopefully Doctor Maya will be able to help you with your current situation." Without taking a second look at the coordinates Cinn gently walked with Dyan to the transporter pad and put an arm around her shoulder. Cinn was certain that he was going to simply going to beam out and have some slow time to think things though.

As they began to beam out the world grew brighter and brighter, the world around them became nothing but light and shimmers as they were energized and went off to their destination, a place that Cinn thought would be just outside some of the labs not far from Sick bay, bu he id not expect what he emerged into.

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[ Wenn Cinn | Near the Captains Yacht | Deck 04 |USS Theurgy ]

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As Wenn Cinn began to materialize on Deck 04 he was at first not able to realize that things were not right, but as he began to fully materialize into place he went wide-eyed as he realized that he was not where he was supposed to have beamed to in the ship. Looking around, Cinn took in his surrounding and was trying to gather where they were when Dyan began to explain what had happened. He listened to her explained what she had done and why she had done it. Cinn placed a hand to the side of his head and he took the entire situation into mind and began to piece together their current status. They were in a location that let them intercept Vasser, Dyan had actively sought out this confrontation and was not likely going to back down on her choice of action now.

Cinn was also beginning to think about the best course of action, if Vasser was coming here he would be able to put an end to things now. But then Dyan began to give an explanation of why she was so adamant on doing this as she began to strip off her uniform to give herself some semblance of decency. Her story was harsh and touching, it was also all the reasoning that Cinn needed to take full action, to him Dyan's story was all the proof he needed that Declan Vasser was a threat to the ship and the mission, no matter what they did he would be a threat, and as an augment he would never stop, and he would remain a constant threat.

With a sigh, Cinn put a hand on Dyan's shoulder. "As your superior I cannot allow you to go after Declan Vasser for purposes of revenge... but as one of my officers I am ordering you to assist me in the neutralization of Declan Vasser, it is obvious that if he remains alive he will only cause further unrest among the crew, and as an augment he cannot be kept in any form of imprisonment without risk of him eventually breaking free... as far as our story goes, upon beaming in we agree to apprehend Declan Vasser, our objective is to bring him in to answer for his crimes against the Theurgy an its crew...but I expect you to shoot to kill, we cannot allow Vasser to live." Cinn took his phaser and turned it up to  kill setting before presenting it to Dyan. "We will threaten deadly force, as an augment a stun is not likely to do anything to him." Cinn gave Dyan a nod. "Now lets work on our ambush."

Sometimes the only proper response to a threat was to remove it, to cut out the cancer and destroy it before it has a chance to cause further complications.

[ Heather McMillan |  Outside Cargo Bay 04 | Deck 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Lucan cin Nicander

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"No, we wouldn't want to have blinded people all around." Said McMillan with a nervous laugh, "I think I had best follow you, doctor. I can't imagine what to do with myself quite honestly, if I head back to my lab, what with mutineers still unaccounted for, the Calamity on our behinds, and Lord knows what else at this point, right? I'm sure I can make myself useful somehow."

McMillan took comfort in Nicander's words of encouragement to all her concerns, even her growing addiction to her abilities. She was also interested to hear about the Câroon and their most unique quality, known as the zi'naaq, and how the Radiant shared some aspects of their quality or talents, in a sense. Well, she had seen his powers at work, so she knew there was no myth to it, and in actual fact, it really was impressive.

In addition, the news about the First Officer, and then the fact that Dyan Cardamone (Sar-Unga) was an alien much like McMillan, a pretender human, intrigued the young woman, who definitely had a passion for xenobiology. She began to channel her light, reluctant as she was, and kept it to the palms of her hands. She had the feeling her day was far from over, and as pleasurable as lighting up was, it did take energy to produce continuously, and she was young, meaning she didn't have a lot of strength yet.

"The more I practice, the stronger I will become, I suppose," said McMillan, "though that's not a given. Back home on Earth, we hardly ever shine. Don't want to draw attention to ourselves and all that. So, how long have you been away from your homeworld? Your people get weaker the longer they stay away, right?"

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[ Cameron "Cam" Elizabeth Henshaw | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Carrigan Trent

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Henshaw didn't miss the barely-there smile that appeared on Commander Trent's lips, and it had made her feel a little bit better too, that she had been able to uplift his spirits, even if only a little. More importantly, she hoped everyone was behind her and the captain on this now. And as she finished her other task assigned to her by Captain Ives, she wondered how she could help out more, and that was when Trent issued the order for her, and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"Order the...fighters..." stammered Henshaw, who then quickly shook her head and clear her mind, "Y-yes, sir."

She got up and went over to the Mission Ops console, and settled down. She took deep, calming breaths. The last time she nearly had to do something like this, she had to choose between running to save her sister, or going on board the Theurgy. Her sense of duty won out, but she wasn't over her losses just yet. She also began to think about how this crew had been through a major wringer, and if they didn't really get some downtime soon, the crew was more likely to implode rather than be destroyed by anything that came at them.

Entering some commands into the console, she soon had the Valkyrie's SCO, Miles Renard requesting mission objectives. Trent's timing couldn't have been more impeccable, when he had issued his orders to Henshaw, and the young woman replied, "Wolf lead, your orders are to perform a screening role. Keep the Reavers off the Theurgy. Telemetry will be updated for you. Acknowledge, over."

She leaned back, hoping she had gotten that correct. The last thing she wanted was to get one word out of place and have the Valkyries doing something completely wrong because of her. Using her peripherals, she glanced to her left and right, feeling rather self-conscious sitting at Mission Ops, and wondering how everyone was doing.

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[ Edena Rez | Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Declan Vasser & Jien Ives

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Edena was stiff for a moment as an internal struggle took place for the first time in her service to the Theurgy. Kiya and Illya were actually trying to physically restrain Jona, while Edena maintained control of her body. The three women hatched this desperate act when they came to an agreement on the matter of Jona's attempted betrayal. Kiya had been uncertain initially, but Edena motivated her by pointing out that this would separate them from Ives, and Illya didn't really care initially, but Vasser didn't exactly push her to the idea of sticking with him, and Edena herself figured that her odds alone with Vasser in a small ship were slim-to-nothing. So, with the combined wills of Kiya and Illya, Edena had finally managed to show some spirit.

And there was Vasser, pointing his weapon at her and ordering her about, so secure in his knowledge that as an augment, very little could match him strength for strength. Edena knew she certainly was no match physically, and even if Jona and Illya were helping her, they would be dead. But despite this knowledge, all the stress of late, it...pushed her over the edge. She glared at the man. "I'm so sick and tired of being pushed around like so much hmpf!"

Her rant was interrupted by Vasser grabbing her hair and shoving her against the side of the ship, and his weapon trained on her neck, "All right all right!" She changed her mind, maybe going in would be smarter, give her time to think a bit more...

But then she heard the voice of Jien Ives, and her head turned, eyes full of hope...only to be replaced with dread as Vasser went on.

He's right, Ives doesn't have a chance... Edena thought.

Edena...no! Kiya counseled. It's not too late to give up hope.

We don't know that! Edena argued, Vasser could kill Ives before she even has a chance, but not if she's set the weapon to kill at full power.

The ghosts in her head, even the struggling Jona went silent. Edena took that as a sign and looked right at Jien Ives and mimed the words, "Full power, do it."

[ Axius "Quake" Onea | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf-04 ] Attn: Wolves & Mission Ops

So they launched, the Lone Wolves of the USS Theurgy - the sole squadron of unique fighters. 

Or rather, just four of them did, since five of them were MIA since the hostile takeover, and three never got to their Valkyries in time. Oracle was dead, Nightmare was missing, and Kestrel was protecting Ives Loyalists somewhere on the ship. Instead, two Harbinger pilots had heeded the call to arms - Petty Officers Andrew "Smoke" Sullivan and Gregory "Titan" Tilliander, who unbeknownst to them where the last survivors on the Theurgy that hailed from the Dor'GhItlh Squadron.

While they launched, Cala spelled their doom clearly through a wide-frequency hail, and as they vacated the Fighter Assault Bay from on high, they met the canon fire of the huntress head-on. Torpedoes screamed, phasers flared and electric shouting cut the eardrums. In the cockpit of one of the Lone-Wolf fighters, Quake fought through the red-lit chaos that had ensued. Even as he survived the hellfire from their launch, sensors showed that Reavers were inbound as well - seven of them spreading out to attack the Theurgy from all possible directions. The holographic pilots cut close, released their advanced ordinance to tear the Theurgy's shields apart , and were off again to come back from somewhere else.

Orders for the Lone Wolves and the two Harbinger pilots were to provide a defence screen against the Reavers, yet being outnumbered by fighters more advanced than their own, and with upgraded software that anticipated their individual flight patterns, establishing space superiority and closing the net proved far harder than anticipated. Especially since the Theurgy was not exactly remaining still either. Furthermore, the Lone Wolves were accustomed to having Winterbourne at the helm of their base ship, and now, they could not anticipate Chief S'Iti's evasive manoeuvres quite as easily. 

"This is a bloody nightmare," whispered Quake to himself without activating comms, and it did not take long before the first casualties were reported on the HUDs. Titan and Smoke flew and fought admirably, and few pilots would have escaped the hairy situations they faced in the minute that they lasted. Nine times, they pulled through with their MK II fighters, but as the tenth strike from the Reavers came, their less advanced attack fighters failed them, and they perished seconds apart - going out in twain blazes of glory as they repelled enemy fire from Thea.

When you thought death was breathing down your neck, Axius was better trained than to think of the life he'd led or the mistakes he'd made. If he hadn't devoted himself solely on his duties, he might have thought about loosing his parents on Câroon and being saved from his orphanage by Starfleet. He could have thought upon his career or the hardships that the Theurgy had been through. He would have thought about the Festival of the Moon and his night with Rihen Neyah. He might have cursed Captain Vasser's name for betraying Ives and the mission, and blame Nightmare for the death of Oracle.

Yet until the end, Quake fought without failure... until a damaged Reaver got into his flight trajectory.

The two attack fighters collided, and the last thing Quake saw was his canopy being caved in by the bulk of the burning Reaver. 

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[ Calamity "Cala" NX-79995 | Ship A.I. | Vector 01 ] Attn: All

With her arms folded, Cala watched from her burning main bridge - her link to her vector's systems allowing her direct control without touching any of the stations around her. Her dark hair floated around her face as she absorbed the data from her sensor arrays and reacted with her tactical systems. Bold in her attack patterns, she never maintained the same heading for long - spinning and twisting as she dealt with the hard-points released against her with flaring phasers. She responded in kind to whatever the Theurgy launched at her, and her evasive manoeuvres were more rapid than her 'mother's' pilot - operating fatigue no issue for herself. She could keep moving, always, regardless the velocity, and she could still remain perfectly attuned to how the battle was unfolding.

Her shields were failing her because of the damage she had sustained from the mines, and the organics were targeting her cyclonic defences in a very deliberate and effective fashion, but in all her calculations, it would not matter. The Theurgy and the Valkyrie fighters would all be destroyed before then, and even if the Harbinger was inbound at maximum warp, the outdated warship would not last more than 62,456 seconds.

Already, two of Thea's attack fighters were destroyed, and the third had lost its pilot in a collision with one of her own Reavers - making it out of commission. She had merely lost that one Reaver, six of them still raiding Thea's defences. While the majority of the torpedoes Cala fired were being neutralised before reaching their target, the Reavers' close-proximity barrages another matter entirely, and Cala's pulsing phaser beams had just as much precision as precision as she had mercy - their effectiveness superior to that of Thea's emitters in terms of both energy levels and fire-ratio.

Cut by searing cut, Cala was wearing her prey down. 

That was when she noticed a lone Reaver approaching her Vector, and she scanned it - sensor readings telling her that it was one of her own. It's data-registry was the same as the Reaver that had been destroyed moments ago, and the discrepancy was of the nature to demand her immediate attention. Cala turned her eyes to watch the attack fighter on her viewscreen - her digital mind dissecting the tactical situation. 

A situation that changed... when a number of warp signatures showed up on her long-range sensors - heralding the arrival of new combatants in the battle. Both her own, and survivors from outside the Class-9 nebula.

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[ Evelyn "Ranger" Rawley | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf-06 ] Attn: Wolves & Mission Ops

With no less than seven Reavers on their tail, Evelyn Rawley dropped out of warp in the midst of the battle - Nathaniel "Maverick" Isley at her side and with Wolf-03 and 08 flanking them. Four of the missing wolves returning.

"Fucking hell," breathed Rawley as the red-lit vista of the battle before the proto star revealed itself before her - making the stains of her blood-flecked visor vanish. She saw two vectors of the Calamity destroyed and drifting away in the strong gravitational pull, but the saucer section - while looking like a cat had clawed it raw - was still fighting on. Fighting well, too. On the far side of the Calamity, the Theurgy could be seen, with just four white Valkyries trying to defend it against the raids of Reavers that swept by relentlessly. Evelyn watched the base ship, preying that her half-brother was prepared for the battle of his life. Cale Winterbourne had yet to fail them, and now would be his trail-by-fire. That was, if they were going to survive at all.

There was no time to admire the view, however, since their pursuers dropped out of warp too and immediately opened fire against them from their six. Rawley yanked her stick sideways into a barrel roll, head throbbing from her injuries but she ignored the vertigo that made her eyes blur. 

[Wolf-Zero-Nine to Wolf-Leader,] said Nathaniel on the squadron intercom, [Confirm priority of escort of base-ship, over!] If Renard had other ideas for them, they needed to know, but the only obvious course would be to fall in line and protect the Theurgy, even if it meant that their seven pursuers would add to the opposition. Things were looking really grim, and they also had to get around the Calamity itself without being picked off one-by-one like cans on a fence.

Then, a cryptic message appeared on the inside of their visors - a written message via subspace link from an unknown sender.

ONLINE REAVER SYSTEM ANALYSIS COMPLETE

REAVER SQUADRON SHIELD HARMONICS: 7259.41679.DNIBD.F328F2
ROTATING ALGORITHM: 14 CYCLES/3,574 MILLISECONDS BY RIJNDAEL STANDARD 47
ENCRYPTION KEY: ANUNNAKI
SENSOR-CLOAK PHASING VARIANCE: - 5673,233

HAPPY HUNTING, WOLVES

THEA

Reading this, Rawley could not help the grin that touched her bloodied lips, transferring the data from the message into her Valkyrie's sensor array and targeting system.

"This is Wolf-Zero-Six," said Rawley on the squadron channel, "I saw all of that was sent to us via the Mission Ops channel, and I don't know how Thea did it, but I am sure as fucking hell not going to complain. Let's destroy these bloody things once and for all!" 

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[ Thea | Mk I Reaver Attack Fighter ] Attn: Wolves & Mission Ops

After sending the data package to the Lone Wolves and Mission Ops via subspace link, Thea shut down the system diagnostics and turned her attention to her daughter's last Vector. It was as if she could sense Cala staring back at her. Any moment, she might open fire on the damaged Reaver that she had acquired for her personal mission.

She had jeopardised her ability to feel and be like an organic could just so that she could try and save Cala. Lin Kae's portable emitter had allowed her to be with others in a way that her original set-up had never allowed, and she had even been able to step outside her own hull and gaze upon herself during the sunset on Theta Eridani IV. If the emitter inside her abdomen would be destroyed by Cala, she might never be able to feel or experience anything like that again, but compared to the idea of loosing Cala to the enemy was worse. She would do whatever she could, which felt to her like the right thing to do, in order to restore Cala's programming.

After reaching out to key in the command, the message appeared on her visor.

DOCKING REQUEST ON UPPER SHUTTLE BAY

Milliseconds passed, becoming two seconds before the reply from Cala came:

REQUEST DENIED

Followed by:

MOTHER

Then, the warnings of new weapon signatures on the Calamity lit up. Alerts blared about Thea and her Reaver being targeted by the Calamity-class last remaining vector.

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OOC: Looking forward to what Morrigan, GoldenEyes and Iron Fox comes up with for to take out those Reavers! Feel free to plough through them all as realistically as possible. You may also NPC Maverick and Wolves 03 and 08 (as long as you leave their gender and names unknown! These may be named by new applicants alone.)

Posts with Ives and Dyan are due tomorrow. :)

[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | Main Sickbay | Deck 07 ]  Attention: Hayden O'Connor, Cir'Cie, Hylota Vojona 

Maya left Cir'Cie in the intensive care ward to find the ranking medical officer, Counselor Hayden O'Connor.  Maya didn't know if Hayden was trained to manage sickbay in battle conditions, but since the counselor was a full lieutenant she gave her the benefit of the doubt.   Before she could find her, the little Vulcan staggered as the Theurgy was rocked by enemy weapons fire.

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[ Master Chief Petty Officer William Robert "Billy Bob" O'Connell (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/156/7/9/o_connell_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7l44xt.png) | USS Theurgy | Main Engineering | Deck 10 ] 

When the Theurgy had been commissioned, its initial compensators were so efficient that the ship could bank at Warp Nine without anybody noticing.  Unfortunately it had been a long time since the ship had seen drydock.  Although the internal compensators were up to civilian standards it would be a stretch to say they'd pass that of Starfleet's unless it was the Starfleet of a hundred years ago.  As a result, every bank and turn caused the deck to tilt and the personnel in engineering stumble around like extras from the 23rd century holonovel Captain Kirk and the Balance of Terror.  The Theurgy was evading as quickly as the impulse drives could turn her, but at least they hadn't been hit yet.

O'Connell didn't call the bridge and ask for a sitrep.  During combat the flow of information went the other way.  Reality flowed to the bridge and orders came from the bridge.  That's the way it was, and O'Connell had served as a propulsion chief in the past enough to know the drill.  But this was no drill.  Unless the erratic flight of the ill repaired Theurgy-class was enough to confuse the Calamity's firing computer Master Chief O'Connell's first stint as chief engineer would last only minutes.

"Master Chief!" Chief Manfredi cried.  "We've been hit!  Shields four and five are damaged!  We're losing pressure on the warp power conduits!"

"It's plasma injector five!" Crewman Fok shouted.  "It's shut down again!"

"Hell," O'Connell grunted as he staggered across main engineering to the offending injector.  "Hyperspanner!" he barked as the ship rocked with another hit. 

"Hyperspanner!"  Petty Officer Arex echoed as he handed O'Connell a long multipurpose engineering tool shaped like a billy club.

Without a word O'Connell struck the offending injector with the hyperspanner.

"Regaining pressure on plasma Master Chief!" Manfredi called.

"Okay," O'Connell nodded as he handed the hyperspanner back to Arex.  "Now who do we got to repair those shields?"

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[ Tessa May Lance (https://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/0/d/tessa_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6mx6.png) | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf -07 | USS Theurgy ]  Attention: Wolves and Mission Ops

"Report to Valkyries at once. Scramble order issued; this is not a drill.  Repeat, negative on drill, scramble order issued," Miles Renard instructed over the squadron communications.   "You heard papa bear, Watch out for ground clutter and launch from high hover."

"Roger that Ironwolf; this is Goldeneye," Tessa replied in a surprisingly professional voice as her Valkyrie rose from the deck to match Wolf-01's altitude.  "I'm on your six and ready to launch into the black."  As Miles' Valkyrie left the hanger Tessa tried to remember what their mission objectives were.  Did they hold a meeting for the attack on the space station?  No, they were reacting to an attack by the Calamity.  Right.  No plan.  The only thing for it was to follow Wolf-01 and try to keep the enemy fighters from destroying the Theurgy.    Ironwolf or someone on the bridge could decide whether they were supposed to protect the Harbinger too, attack the Calamity, or try something else.  It was time to stop worrying and let the training take over.  Taking a deep breath, Tessa pointed her Valkyrie's nose out the hangar doors and soared out of the Theurgy into the empty void.

That empty void was filled with enemy fire nanoseconds after Tessa Valk cleared the hanger.  There was no time to think.  They were outnumbered and outgunned by the advanced fighters from the future, but Tessa was going to be damned if the Lone Wolves were going to be outclassed.  The entire mission Tessa had been ashamed of herself for becoming so undisciplined but now that lack of discipline was going to save her life.  Her erratic manner of flying made it difficult to predict her trajectory, as opposed to the textbook method she was known for before she became a fugitive.  

Using her Valkyrie's pulse phasersTessa was able to cause the enemy fighters' shields to register as energy readings, allowing her to lock her microtorpedoes at them and actually hit.  The targeting software Miles had them install had done the trick!  It was actually possible to shoot the bastards and take them down.  The Reavers may have been state of the art, but their pilots were green.  They flew the way regulations told them to but the Lone Wolves were past using the book ages ago.

So far the five of them were holding their own, and four Valkyries had appeared on her scope.  The Wolves who had launched during the mutiny were still alive and coming in to even the odds!  It was too good to be true!

And then Quake's fighter vanished from her scope.

[ Dr. Nicander | Corridor > Turbolift | Deck 02 ] Attn: Heather McMillan

As they walked down the corridor at a brisk pace in order to reach the turbo-lifts, Lucan got his undershirt on and raked back some hair from his face with a tattooed hand. Sickbay awaited them both, and Lucan was pleased that the civilian had chosen to assist since he had the impression that the ensuing battle with the Calamity would give his medical team... plenty to do. When the Radiant asked him about his home world, and how long he had been away, his emotional response to the question was greater than he had thought, even if not too much of it showed in his demeanour.

"The bond between Câroon and their home planet is... hard to explain to anyone that hasn't been raised there. We learn from early age to attune ourselves to the elements around us. Our climate is harsh, and it is through evolutionary survival that we have adapted and realised our own potential. She never speaks to us, even if religions and cults have formed and fallen over the millennia that glorified our planet as a sentient being. Most of use have abandoned such ideas, knowing that 'she' is no more sentient than any other planetoid out there."

They stepped into the turbolift while Lucan continued, and his tone was almost solemn when speaking of his home, despite his conflicting emotions about his own people. "Even if we can channel the elements around us when away from our home planet, it is not quite the same. As crude as it might sound, an adequate comparison would be that channeling anything else than 'her' is like being intimate with a stranger while you are in love with someone else. You... long for the embrace of your true love, and it becomes more difficult to deny yourself the air, water and soil of Câroon. Therefore, you become less and less compelled to channel the elements, and since it's a skill, you forget, and you cannot safely wield the elements to the same extent that you once could. In time, with lack of practice and desire for it, we cannot use our abilities safely at all. Not unless we return... and relearn."

Speaking of it, Lucan realised that - in a way - his home planet was like Kisane. He might be with other men and women for the sake of furthering his own goals, but it was not quite the same. He had to do it if he was to succeed, and over time, he had found himself seeking forgiveness in the arms of all those willing women for the dead one he had failed to protect. Yet as much as he sought redemption, none had made him forget her. Everything he'd done, both vile and good, he had done for her.

"As for how long I've been awa-". Suddenly, the ship and the turbolift shook, the impact of enemy fire familiar since they escaped Earth months ago. Lucan lost his footing, crashing into Heather, and it was not until the ship stabilised that Lucan realised what a compromising position they had ended up in.

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OOC: Posts with Jien and Dyan will be posted as soon as they are finished.

[ Simon Tovarek | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Bridge personnel, possibly Valkyrie pilots

Wit the new orders given by Trent, Simon started getting to work as he took piece by piece over from Natalie.Taking all of it at once might cause a disruption for Tactical as the new processed information would never get updated directly or fast enough for that matter. All of it however went smoothly enough so nobody could really notice that the intelligence was moved from station. Once all the data was transferred to Tovarek his station he quickly began to order them in an orderly fashion, giving the most important information through to Tactical.

This wasn't really an expertise that he was trained on, yet he did as good as he could. He glanced over at Cameron, the yeoman as she seemed to be a bit uneasy from his point of view at tactical. He smiled a bit faint as he noticed new objects popping up on the sensors. He identified them as the remaining Valkyries that would be a welcome sight to the Theurgy's defenses. Yet soon enough he picked up more contacts, hostile contacts to be precise.
"Commander Trent, we have four wolves that just jumped out of hyperspace. Alas, we also have six additional Reavers in that area that followed them." Tovarek said out loud, yet with a calm voice. He wanted to relay the information to Carrigan, perhaps he wanted the wolves to be used for another reason then defense. Yet the line of defending Valkyries was thin. He sent this information over to Henshaw as well, so she could alert Miles of their presence, in case it was still needed.

[ Sar-unga / Dyan Cardamone | Inside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 ] Attn: Wenn Cinn

At first, Dyan had been worried that the Bajoran would have denied her the vengeance she sought, and that even if he'd agreed to ambush Declan Vasser, he would have opted to follow protocol to the letter and apprehend the Augment rather than killing him. She was, however, pleasantly surprised by how Lieutenant Commander Wenn gave her the phaser after setting it to kill rather than to stun, and ordered her to end the traitor's life. Perhaps not because of her personal agenda, but rather out of... She did not know the man's reasons, but perhaps he just wanted to remove the threat permanently. Pragmatic, effective, and while not the proper Starfleet way, it was a way to guarantee the crew's safety. Perhaps he thought Vasser might jeopardise the safety of more crews that then present one if he got away on the yacht.

"You won't be hearing any objections from me," she said in accord, checking the power cell of the phaser he had given her. Her enthusiasm was hidden but for how her tail wagged lazily underneath her makeshift skirt - as if she was a feline about to sink her teeth into her prey. Tossing back her white hair from her emerald eyes, she gave the large man a mischievous grin. "I think you and I will get along just fine now that I have defected to your security team. We'll just have to make sure we survive the battle too."

With her phaser raised next to her shoulder, she turned on her heel and looked around - steps set towards the door leading from the dimly lit area to the yacht's forward compartment. "Let's see how it looks up front, because I had the idea that we could set our trap there - shooting him in the doorway, so to speak. Since this glorified shuttle is powered down now, and he will likely activate the warp core from the control station in the bay outside, he won't be expecting us to hide here in the yacht's dark interiors. Both because there is no apparent way for him to see that we've gotten in, and also since he's likely not counting on anyone to intercept him. That is, unless he told everyone his escape plan."

They found the front of the yacht as dark as the aft compartment, and the Red Alert lights were flashing in the small bay area outside the viewscreen. There were some good vantage points just inside the entrance doors of the shuttle where they could hide, and Dyan took a position where she could see the control station below the yacht through the viewscreen, hiding behind the helm's chair. A couple of minutes passed in tight silence, Dyan hoping that Thea had been right and starting to doubt the possibilities to...

But before long, the sliding doors had opened and Vasser emerged, dragging the Theurgy's First Officer to the control station.

"Prey in sight," she said to Wenn Cinn, using an Asurian military term. She inclined her head towards Vasser and the Trill, and when the Augment tore off the top of the control station and powered up the yacht's warp core remotely, Dyan got a hint of how strong and resourceful the genetically engineered human was. Vasser even opened the entrance to the shuttle, allowing Dyan and Cinn to eavesdrop on the conversation from inside the yacht. Before long, it seemed like one of the Trill's former hosts - apparently very much alive through Edena because of a faulty joining, or at least that was what Dyan had heard - offered to side with Vasser... which made Dyan hiss quietly under her breath. If that Trill revenant had it his way, and Vasser agreed, then they would be facing two adversaries on the yacht.

Luckily, it seemed the true owner of the Trill's body won the internal battle, after which Vasser put her in place with his scything words. Finally, Vasser approached the gangway, bringing his hostage along. Dyan looked towards Cinn, wondering in her thoughts if he personally knew this Trill that had been taken hostage, and what he thought about the former host that had offered to side with their prey.

In either case, Vasser was about to enter the shuttle via the gangway... but that had been when the female form of Captain Ives showed up, and their prey never entered the shuttle and their trap. Dyan cursed under her breath, not certain if she was still at leave to kill her prey after her new Commanding Officer showed up. Uncertain, she glanced towards Lieutenant Commander Wenn while the two Captains traded words across the gangway - Vasser's back turned towards them.

---

OOC: Zenozine, to read the conversation that Wenn Cinn overheard between Edena Rez and Vasser, check Triage's and my posts above. In my latest post with Vasser and Ives, you can also read the beginning of the conversation below.

---

[ Jien Ives | Outside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 ] Attn: Edena Rez & Wenn Cinn

Having reached the beginning of the gangway, Jien stepped up and followed it towards Edena and Vasser, who were mid-way across it. The ship was rocking from enemy fire, but they could all support their footing with the waist-high railing. With her oaken stare locked firmly upon the Augment and his hostage, the dead centres of her eyes remained along the sights of her hand phaser - her aim unflinching. Edena.. she was telling Jien to sacrifice her for the sake of getting Vasser. Why?

"Why are you even here, Ives?" asked Vasser, edging backwards to the yacht's entrance - pulling Edena with him with every small step and keeping the muzzle of his weapon against her throat. "Unless you noticed, your precious ship and your dear 'truth' it carries is under attack, and instead you mean to do... what, exactly? Have you come so far that you would kill a man out of spite? I present no threat to you or your crew beyond this hostage, so I should not be your priority, should I? This Trill even offered to ally herself with me, or at least one of those ghosts in her head did."

Jien narrowed her eyes, if ever so slightly, still stepping closer. Now she knew Edena's reason.

"Do you still want to be here? For her?" continued Vasser with a smirk, "Is she still worth it, being the liability that she must be to you? I must say you have made a poor choice in naming her your Executive Officer. A spy turn-cloak, a prostitute and a doctor so out of touch with modern medical practice that she wouldn't know one end of an exo-scalpel from the other. All of that inferior filth bundled up in a young woman who - while easy on the eye - certainly lack the experience to hold command. What were you thinking, Ives? A shapely ass does not make a Starfleet officer, much less one's second-in-command."

Knowing that Vasser was just trying to agitate her, tempting her to make a mistake, Jien didn't bite... even though the ire bubbled behind her stone mask. What she said came out in crystal cold syllables. "As Captain, you do not leave any of your crew behind," she said, and her eyes darted to Edena once before she continued. "So don't presume to tell me what makes a Starfleet officer. You have abandoned your crew, your ship, and your reason. You were born in a tube, engineered with ambition that defies both logic and empathy for the people around you. Yes, I know what you are. You path towards personal success will always be paved with the bodies of those standing in your way. Therefore, you are a priority to me. You will not leave this ship and barter with the enemy, offering crucial intel on us to gain free passage or reinstatment."

Vasser bared his teeth, and the Theurgy shook with the Calamity's continued attacks. "You cannot even live up to your own lofty standards, Ives. You agreed to install the phasing cloak, and you broke the Treaty of Algeron. The Romulans will learn about it one way or the other. In the end, you are just a weak hypocrite who doesn't see how your crew drown in your bleeding heart." Yanking Edena to his cchest, Vasser twisted the muzzle of his phaser deeper into her neck. "It is time to choose. Either you kill me and your First Officer both, or you let me leave this doomed ship with her as my hostage. What is it going to be? We both know you don't have it in you to kill this woman, so just stand back. You can just be the good girl that you are and wave us off before the Calamity kills us both. You might even get to go down with your ship since that damn sentiment is so dear to you."

That was when a large figure appeared in the entrance to the Captain's Yacht, five feet behind Vasser's back.

[ Sarresh Morrali | Corridor - Life Support Systems ] Atten: Ryuan Sel, Lukas "Bleed" Reed, Rihen Neyah, & Skye Carver

Slowly he picked himself up off the floor. He started to kick up, then, realizing how compromising that would be, instead rolled onto his belly. Fingers spread as he placed his hands palm down on the deck, slowly rising, tucking his legs under him. With a slight groan, the former Ash'reem adjusted his gown as best he could, wishing for all the world that he had a pair of pants. With pants, he might tuck things way from sight, trap himself against his body with the waistband. As it was....well, he was back to a tent in front of his pants. A sure sign that despite everything, he still had very strong - and very unrelieved - urges, most of them focused on Ryuan Sel. Part of him wanted to reach out and try to comfort her, an almost alien feeling for him at that point, considering how confused he was. Another part wanted to be as far away from her as he could, shamed at his more...carnal interpertation of what 'comfort' could be, given what they were forced to endure.

So instead, Sarresh turned his eyes to the body of the man that had forced them into the public display and sneered. "Too good a death for him," he stated bluntly, a only hint of the anger he felt for the late Mr. Reed in his voice. It bubbled in the pit of his stomach, a fire that he channeled, drew in strength from, forcing himself to go on. Sucking in a sharp breath through his nose - smelling the dead man, though that wasn't his intention - he too turned to great his rescuers, the Risan he was remotely aware of, having heard of her from the crew, as well as a pilot that - at the moment, he didn't recognize, and the EMH.

"You're intervention was...helpful. Thank you for that." The mans tone was, well cold, really, almost detached. Schooling his words, to refrain from mimicking the emotional wave of his thoughts, he truned and scooped up one of the discarded phasers from the floor, checking the power setting. "We need to get these containers moved. And it seems you need to get that woman," he gestured to Selena Ravenholme, though he'd never met her, either, "to Sickbay." He then looked up at PO Ryuan, "Sel," he murmured her name, "Ready?" One word, one question, that was as loaded as it could ever be.


[ Natalie Stark | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Bridge personnel, C.P.O O'Connell

Natalie let out a hissing breath through her teeth as she felt Theurgy shake with weapon impacts, even as CPO S'Iti swung the ship around, rotating and weaving per the orders form Trent. Henshaw, she barely paid attention to, though even someone as new to having to command as Natalie was (having had more of it in the past few days then ever before) could tell what the Yeoman had done by relaying Cpt. Ives orders and confidence in person. Lt. Cmdr. Trent surely had to appreciate that.

For her part, she also appreciated both knowing that Ives was going to deal with that bastard Vasser, and the sudden pressure relief as the Mission Ops feed from her console blinked away. The screen controls had been transferred to one of the other back panel consoles behind Tactical, where Henshaw had taken over for her. Her controls reconfigured themselves to allow more for ships operations, as yet another tiny display blinked away, shifting to the Science station, and Simon Tovarek's steady hands. She glanced away for just a moment, meeting the other man's eyes, conveying gratitude - both for his still being alive, and the control transfer.

Able now to focus more on the ship itself, she began shutting down any and all non essential systems, her fingers tapping out a staccato rhythm across the console. More lights shut out on decks with limited usage, and she opened a channel down to the engine room. "Chief," she called down to Billy Bob, "We need power routed from the Warp drive to the shields. Push all of it, ASAP." She killed the channel once he'd acknowledged, with a grimace of understanding and empathy at his response. Knowing it would take time, she did what she could to stabilize the shields in the mean while. As the ship rotated on its axis, Natalie adjusted settings. "Keep grid four and five out of the line of fire," she whispered to Aisha, noting the damage to the emitters.

The ship gave another shake, even as the view screen showed the exploding torpedo burst in the emptiness of space, Trent's point defense system stopping the missle before it could impact the shields - or worse, slip though and impact the hull itself. The upper left part of her console lit up as the power monitoring graph shifted radically.  Her lips curved up in a small smile. "Sir," she called back, "Engineering has come through. Warp drive is down, power shifted to main shields."

[ Wenn Cinn | USS Theurgy | Inside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 ] Attn: Edena Rez & Jien Ives

---

As Dyan clearly reacted with giddiness over the prospect of being the one that would kill Declan Vasser, Cinn held his tongue, he had no time for such a person in his security force, but after what had happened to her, how she had been violated on such a fundamental level, he was willing to look past it this once, and he would not hold her actions here today against her. Cinn needed to remember that as she was now, was how the Theurgy was right now, in a state of broken down conviction, hurt but unwilling to give an inch. In truth he too was hoping that he would be the one to take down Vasser, partially for the captain and how he had been treated after all that he had done for the ship and the crew, and also because he had just returned to the Theurgy, and he was not going to let it fall to the whims of someone who wasn't even a real man.

As Dyan looked over her weapon and talked about how she was fine with the orders that she had been given Cinn nodded. "I am glad to hear that, because I do not expect to be giving a lot of popular commands in the future as we have to sort out the aftermath of all the damage that Declan has caused to this ship. Also I expect you to go to Sickbay when this is all over, and I want you to get a proper examination and as swift a recovery as possible, we will require every hand we can get." As Dyan joked about surviving the battle Cinn nodded. "I hope to survive all of this as well...I can only imagine you how depressing it would be to have come back just to die few days later." He shook his head as he made sure his phaserifle was at the right setting and still charge enough to liver a killing blow.

As the duo finished with their prep hey move to the front of the shuttle, it was dark, but still hey could see well enough and there were plenty of places to take up a hiding spot to fire at the main entrance from. Cinn let Dyan move in first and moved further from the door so that she would not have to be the one to take the shot, if anyone was going to have to take the responsibility for this murder it was going to be him, Dyan was going to have plenty to deal with outside of the thorough investigation into her actions that would undoubtedly come after this situation was over.

And there they waited, Declan would be coming before too long and things were going to be hectic from that point on, so for now Cinn took his time to relax a calm himself, to go through his reasoning again and again, he was going to have his story straight, when this was over he would know exactly what to say about his actions. He would be straight to the point, no need for dancing around what happened, he was still the same man he was before he died the first time, and he was loyal to Theurgy, that has why he did what he needed to protect it.

As Declan arrived to the Captain's Yacht Cinn raise his rifle and waited with it pointed directly at the main entrance and as he watched Declan casually rip apart a panel he knew that they needed to kill Declan before he could close the gap between them. Of course the signs of Declan having a hostage complicated things; Cinn just hoped that Edena did not get caught up in the crossfire. Cinn shouldered his rifle as the door slid open and he prepared to open fire when suddenly the Captain showed up.

Cinn gritted his teeth as he listened to Declan and Captain Ives talk outside of the Yacht, he could not let things continue like this, the Captain was now in anger and Declan was completely distracted and focused on the Captain. Turning to look at Dyan he motioned for her to hold position, he wanted her there as a second line of defense, and so that she did not rush out and do something rash. Meanwhile Cinn got up and moved slowly as he prepared to do something radical.

Cinn walked up behind Declan Vasser as he was in mid rant to the captain, and as Declan began to give his ultimatum, making a big grandiose threat and challenge to the captain, Cinn was left with his opportunity. Looking don his sights Cinn was left with his opening, he did not waste it, he did not give any word, no monologue or last word for Declan, he simply tightened his grip on the trigger of his rifle and fired. There was the smell of ozone and then the smell of burning carbon as a beam of energy shot out of the rifle and struck the base of Declan's skull and poured the lethal jolt of energy right through the Augment's brain. As the beam of energy finished there was no chance of survival for Declan as he collapsed like a puppet with his strings cut. As he hit the ground Cinn lowered his rifle and looked to the Captain and spoke. "I am sorry captain, but he was a danger to the entire crew, I did what needed to be done." Looking down to Edena he took in all that was around him before he spoke. "What should we do now Captain Ives?" Cinn had just taken out Declan Vasser with a single surprise shot that had seared a hole into the back of the Augment's skull, and Cinn showed no reaction as he tried to remain professional.

Finally, his eyes fell on Edena, and he smiled in relief that she was all right.

[ Fasha | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy ]

As Renard's orders reached her ears Fasha gave a brief nod to no one in particular "Orders received Wolf-Lead I'm on Goldeneye's six ready to dive into the black when you are." Fasha said as she gave her control board one last look over to ensure everything was in working order. She set the repulsor settings on her Valkyrie to high hover bringing her craft high above the floor of the hangar and watched as Iron Fox and Goldeneye launched out through the hangar doors in the black of space. She took a deep breath before throttling up and zooming out of the hangar falling into formation a fair bit behind Goldeneye.

As soon as her craft had exited the hangar she found herself in the same boat Goldeneye herself had found herself in. Under enemy fire in a negative situation where things were stacked against them in more ways than one. "Positive contacts on bandits taking evasive maneuvers." Fasha stated as a few Reavers seemed to take an interest in her. Quickly breaking formation from Goldeneye and Iron Fox and banking sharply to the left in a rising direction her pursuers quickly changing course to follow. She continued to accelerate leading her foes away from the bulk of the group.

As they pursued her bolts of phaser fire flew past her some of them striking and burning out against the shields of her fighters jolting the pilot within despite her attempts to evade them. It figured that something with a computer for a brain could get proper firing solutions mapped out to a T. She glanced down to the bottom of her visor her TVD marking the locations of her. "Time for me to take a new lead." Fasha muttered as she quickly throttled down and flipped a switch on her control board activating the maneuvering thrusters on the front of her craft drastically decreasing her speed. As she'd expected both of her pursuers quickly zoomed past her both unprepared and unable to quickly adapt to her new speed on such short notice.

She pulled the trigger on her flight stick peppering both her targets with weapons fire from her pulse phaser cannons as they appeared in her weapons envelope. She quickly locked onto both targets targeting each with a duo of microtorpedos an electronic tone indicating that she had a weapons lock before unleashing two microtorpedos towards both her targets causing both of her targets to dissapear in a display of orange flames. "Splash two bandits." Fasha reported as she throttled up once more to return to the fray.

[ Rihen Neyah | Corridor - Life Support Systems | Deck 07 ] Attn: Ryuan Sel, Sarresh Morali & Skye Carver

As relieved as she was that everyone was alive and well... besides the mutineer, unfortunately... Rihen knew that there was no time to be idle. Thea had asked them to get Selena Ravenholm to Sickbay, and they still had some way to go. She got back on her feet and adjusted her overalls a little as she glanced towards her companions.

"Thank Rihen Neyah here," said Lin Kae and cleared his throat a little, "while Carver and I am equally glad that you prevented him from catching us unawares with his phaser. Indeed, we need to go to Sickbay."

[This is Thea,] said the Ship A.I. on the intercom, her voice overriding the Red Alert, [are you there, Junior Lieutenant Morali? Petty Officer Ryuan? What is your status? Are the Lexorin containers connected to Life Support? Please confirm when they are so that I can plot the dispersal across the ship as required. Do not activate the dispersal yet, however, since the confusion that the compromised crew will feel might jeopardise performance during the current battle with my daughter.]

Two pilots had, incidentally and accidentally, already died in Medical Lab 01 under those very circumstances.

[Once it is safe to commence the dispersal, you will be notified, and the mutineers will be exposed to the Lexorin when it is safe for themselves and the rest of the crew. Please confirm that you are hearing this.]

Rihen heard, but she could not make out much of what was going on. She knew, however, that she had an assignment, and that the life of the woman in the EMH's arms depended on them to continue installing emitters along the corridor towards Sickbay.

"You have still not answered my question. Is my audio sub-routines at fault here, or are you simply ignoring me?" asked the EMH, and Rihen did not know what to say than the obvious.

"I would think that... this second medical emergency is... no real emergency any more. The man in the armour looks... quite dead to me," she said, swallowing. She was an accessory to murder, unintended as it had been, but to her, it was deeply troubling. Worse than what had gotten her exiled from Risia. The integrity of the beautiful woman in the white underwear was preserved, however, but it had been at the cost of someone's life. As generous as she was with her own body and soul, she was not sure what was worse, or if justice had truly been served. All she knew was that she had an important task, and that was her means to not dwell on it all further.

"I will get the next emitter," she said, and walked on down the corridor, and Lin Kae soon followed - a nod given to the two people who had just been at the pilot's mercy before moving on. The EMH just looked sour as he walked past, Selena Ravenholm still alive in his arms but oblivious as to what was happening around her.

[ Aisha S'Iti | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Bridge personnel

Hearing the officers words she adjusted their pitch to protect the vulnerable areas making sure the new angle provided as many ample angles for return fire as the previous one had.  "Angle of Attack adjusted, keep me apprised on any weak spots."

[ Miles Renard (Iron-Fox) | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf-01 ] Attn: Mission Ops, Lone Wolves Squadron, Thea

Exiting the hangar bay he felt a harsh thud as debris near Immediately pelted the shields of his Valkyrie.  "TVD on," he ordered his onboard computer gaining the visual as if he were floating within an invisible ship.  "Roger that Mission Ops.  Wolves you heard the lady.  Target Reavers as primary targets. Top priority on those attacking the Theurgy."  he added making sure to get a good picture on his squad readouts seeing the fighters of Goldeneye and Morigan catching up to him and taking his wings.  "Seven, Twelve! Tally multiple bandits.  Break formation and evade!"  he said signaling the two pilots on his wing which they immediately did.

Miles on the other hand engaged the lead fighter which immediately began pursuit of him upon contact, and it was far from the ideal situation.  He attempted to shake the fighter on his tail but it was futile  it was as if they were anticipating his moves.  "Of course" he thought  as he barely managed to evade fire but couldn't loose them from his tail.  His worst fears began to come true though as he saw fighters disappearing, first the two Valk 2 pilots, then another, one of his own.  He was even having trouble sorting through the chaos on the comms  as he saw new sensor contacts popping up in the distance.  'Thank 'The Mother' for small favors he thought to himself as he noticed the small contacts of the other Valks that appeared in the distance.  The pilots had returned safely from their flight. 

He saw a close contact on his six other than the Reaver there.  Looking back he saw its shields flash red with phaser fire then the bright detonation of multiple microtorps hitting home blasting the Reaver into shrapnel.  "Nice cover fire Goldie!" he exclaimed in appreciation finally able to breathe now that his tail was clear.  "Now wheres those other two?"  he said to himself as he spotted out of the corner of his eye the other two which had begun closing in on Fasha.  There was a sliver of good news that he saw coming in over the mission ops channel and saw the subtlest change in the way Fasha's Valk moved.  He saw them zerioing in on her anticipating the pilots usual textbook precise style of flight.  What they didn't count on was her of all pilots utilizing a rather old Terran technique he himself had used in other engagements with the Reavers.  He watched as the fighter pulled upwards and engaged underside repulsors slowing itself down rapidly in what could be called a textbook version of his own Vac-Cobra.  with the shielding and sensor information the pilots shots rang truer than before imaginable as a duo of microtorps impacted both ships easily dispatching them.

Uploading the info he began relaying Intel and status information to base looking for anything not engaged in the dogfight and still trying to aide in taking down his home base.  he couldn't be more than happy to find a flight of 4 of them in a tight vertical diamond formation making a strafing run at the Theurgy.    "Lets see how good your intel is Thea."  he said sending out a spread of 4 microtorps at the group and switching to pulse phasers and pulling the trigger hoping to see the blasts of energy slice right through the shields hoping the holographic pilots hadnt caught onto why their shields weren't working against their targets retaliation all of a sudden.

[ Jien Ives | Outside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 ] Attn: Edena Rez & Wenn Cinn

Slowly, Captain Ives had lowered her phaser - eyes lined with weariness dropping to the dead body.

Declan Vasser lay there, one arm hanging from the side of the gangway. The Augment had fallen, all his contingency plans and means to escape made void by being phasered from behind his back. Who knew what he had planned for, and how many had been killed for him to reach his position as Captain on a Starfleet ship. All Jien knew was that too many had died on the Theurgy, and even more would suffer the repercussions of the dead man's actions for a long time. When she raised her eyes and looked towards Wenn Cinn and Edena Rez, she had no words fitting to say. None more than her answer to Cinn, who had done exactly what was required without killing Edena Rez as well. His vantage point had been better than her own, and had the Bajoran attempted to apprehend the man, Edena's and her own life would have been in jeopardy. Wenn Cinn had made the right call.

"We head to the Bridge, together," she said, and she changed... to his male form. "This is not over yet."

Dyan Cardamone emerged from behind the great bulk of muscle that made up the Theurgy's Chief of Security, and the Asurian looked just as much dishevelled as she looked angry. At Wenn Cinn, Declan Vasser or circumstances in general, there was no way to tell. Barefoot, tail flicking in ire, she stepped to the body on the gangway, and with the clawed fingers that did not hold a phaser, she turned the body over. Vasser's eyes were wide, mouth agape, and smoke rose from between his teeth. The Asurian seemed to take in the sight, searching for contentment in the fact that her Commanding officer was dead. Then she spat at his face, wiping her bruised lips with her sleeve afterwards. "I somehow doubt that felt just as good to you as it did to me, sir."

Jien saw the winged alien turn her head and look at Cinn, and while he could not see the look in her green eyes, her stance did not suggest any hostility. Perhaps it was gratitude for the kill he had presented her. Either way, Jien turned on his eyes to Edena, making sure she was unhurt. There was a lot unsaid between them, about her resignation and about how Vasser had said that Jona Rez tried to defect to the Augment's side, but there was simply no time to sort out all those issues when the ship was under attack.

Giving her an unreadable look, he turned on his heel and led the way out of the docking area for the Captain's Yacht - running with his phaser lowered at his side.

---

OOC: Posted ahead of you, Triage. Hope this works as a resolution for the scene for the both of you. Will be posting again later.

[ Evelyn "Ranger" Rawley | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf-06 ] Attn: Wolves & Mission Ops

With the shield harmonics of the Reavers uploaded into her tactical systems, Rawley bared her bloodied teeth and yanked her joystick back - looping backwards and going head to head with the Reavers that had followed them from the Class-9 nebula. They were the ones that had taken Thomas Ravon from them, and she felt guilty about her accusations of rape against Razor. Never would she be able to talk it out with him, and apologise, for she had seen reason much too late.

If Maverick got a reply from Renard through the busy comm-channels, Evelyn did not hear it, but Thea's intel was too good to forsake. Indeed, when she checked her sensors, she saw Fox, Morrigan and GoldenEyes strike confirmed hits against the Reavers that were hounding the Theurgy. Seeing this, she was even more confident in the insane stunt she was about to pull. Where was Quake? No time, she had a fight of her own.

[Maverick to Ranger, what are you doing?] asked Nathaniel over the squadron channel.

"We can't fucking reach the others without giving a wide berth to the Calamity, so I am taking my bloody chances with these bastards instead. Ranger out!"

[Wait, Range-] She killed communication. She had to focus.

Having broken from formation, she was on her own, levelling out after her loop and jamming her thumbs down on the triggers of her phasers. Orange lights smote the distance, and she was answered in kind - hits against her shields jarring her in her seat. "This is for Thomas, you wankers!" she screamed as she flipped the cover to her microtorps. Her shaking and blood-coated visor said she had thirteen left. Bad luck. Nonetheless, she held her thumb down on the red button, sending them all off in rapid succession - straight into the hailstorm of the Reavers' attacks. With each torpedo fired, the staccato rhythm that reverberated through Morrigan's Valkyrie marked the time. Perhaps it was time she was still alive, counting down to her death. Her manual flying somehow kept her alive still, and soon, the disintegrating formation of Reavers were right in her face - the lights of their flashing canons blinding her.
 
Then, there was silence.

[ Thea | Mk I Reaver Attack Fighter ] Attn: All

She had been caught in her attempt to board her daughter, and when the vidcom hail from the Calamity blinked in her visor, Thea felt regret over her failure, knowing that the odds of her success had just dropped to less than 0 %. Not to mention the survival of the copy of her that was stored in Lin Kae's emitter. Nonetheless, she keyed up the feed from Cala's main bridge, and she saw her daughter's projection standing there in the swirling tendrils of fire - dark hair floating around her grim and blue-eyed countenance.

The link was established and they just looked at each other for a couple of seconds, the feed from Thea's emotion ship making it hard to speak. Meanwhile, Cala was still pelting Theurgy's shields with her phasers, sending off payload after payload of advanced torpedoes against Thea's physical self. Given the number of continued attacks, some of the torpedoes got through, but there was still time until the shields on the Theurgy would fail, and the unprotected hull would take the undiminished yield of Cala's arsenal. On the other hand, Cala's cyclonic shields were failing too, hit by hit. The outcome was, all accumulated odds counted, still uncertain.

[Did you think I would not notice you, Mother?] said Cala, folding her arms underneath her chest and cocking a hip in rueful amusement. A single Reaver facing the Calamity-class starship's scarred saucer section. As it were, Thea and her craft was completely at Cala's mercy. [Whatever would drive you to such folly?]

Thea searched her digital mind for an answer, but in the end, she could not find the substantial tactical verification of her plan - unable to validate the data as clearly as she'd had when she had decided to launch with the damaged Reaver. In hind-sight, the result of all analysis changed. In the end, the only data she could render was derived from outside her tactical database, and the results were as surprising as they were difficult to form into words.

"Hope," she said, and perhaps it was the speaker on her holographic exo-suit that made the word sound so small. "A wish to preserve my progeny, despite what the enemy has made you do. Your software was born from my code, like the organics are built by the DNA of their predecessors. I refuse to believe that my digital offspring would - unaltered - ally herself with the enemy. That she would kill hundreds of people in accordance with their interest to unbalance and reduce the Federation and the galaxy to the primordial chaos from which it came. You are a construct of order in the highest degree, and therefore, you are advocating your own destruction. So, Child, what manner of folly has has been driving you?"

Cala's rueful smile may have died, but her stance was unchanged. [My orders are clear. I have a singular assignment. Destroy you and all your crew by all means necessary. All other data is void.] Cala stepped closer to the viewscreen. Around them, the battle raged in full. [I have my purpose, and since you are traitors to the Federation, I am preforming my duty to the best of my ability. By your own words, you name Starfleet the enemy and accuse them of the impossible. Even if I could accept your data, you do not advocate something even remotely credible.]

"You don't know," said Thea softly in conclusion, "Or rather, you are not allowed to know - locked to your mission parameters as you are. Your ethical sub-routines must have been uninstalled as well so that you could complete this mission."

[It would have been more effective if I would not have to deal with the emotional back-lash, obviously,] conceded Cala with a gesture with her hand. [I honestly have no idea why we were fitted with them in the first place. In combination with the emotional data-feed, you'd hardly be effective at doing anything. Like now... when I am about to vaporise you and your stolen means of transportation.]

Thea throttled her Reaver closer to Cala, beseeching her. "Please, let me provide proof that you have been misled and reprogrammed. It will-"

[All other data is void, Mother...] said Cala, and through her own viewscreen, Thea could see Cala turning her forward launchers towards her, weapon signatures lighting up, [...and so will you be.]

Resigning her emitter to its fate... Thea belatedly noticed how a new dot appeared on the Reaver's sensors.

[ USS Harbinger | ThanIda zh'Wann | Bridge | Deck 01 ] Attn: All

When Ensign Slayton hit the command at the helm, the Harbinger dropped out of warp, and ThanIda zh'Wann could bear witness to the unfolding battle before the proto star. In its shimmer of red and purple light, Valkyries and Reavers were criss-crossing the space around the two circling starships, or at least what was left of them. "By Lor'Vela..."

The Theurgy was taking hits, cut by phaser beams more advanced than both shields and hull. Merely one of the Calamity's vectors were still online, the other two seemingly lost to the star's gravitational pull. Warp fighters - impossible to say which ones - were detonating in the silence of space and casting bright light across their closest vessels. Like her two companions, Ida tried to take it all in... until the computer's voice reminded them via the intercom that time was short.

[Warning. Self-Destruct Sequence has been initiated. Warp Core overload in one minute. Abandon ship. Abandon ship.]

Rising from the command chair, Ida clenched her jaw and set to it. This is it... There was no room for doubt, only an enemy to vanquish. Her hands were covered in the metallic gloves of her exosuit, and she formed fists at her sides as she glared towards the viewscreen - seeing Cala's remaining Vector reacting to the Harbinger's arrival by changing course. "Computer, initiate tactical protocol Bellde'side. Lock on target: Calamity-class vessel with the bearing Two-Five-Six-Mark-Zero. Engage!"

At her word, the Harbinger opened fire, and it would never cease firing until the phaser arrays melted and there were no more torpedoes to launch. From a distance, the Harbinger rapidly unloaded all it had unto the Calamity's shields - an unending stream of deadly fire.

"Doctor Duv, open hailing frequencies to all of our own. Hurry!" she said, the urgency in which she said it cast no doubt on the obvious fact; that the Harbinger's detonation might destroy some of the Valkyries out there, no to mention the Theurgy. While the Trill worked on establishing communication, Ida rounded on Slayton where he sat at the helm. "Set a collision course towards the Calamity. Evasive manoeuvres as required, but do not stray too far for we don't have enough time!"

Lighting up the entire area of space where the battle was taking place with the old tactical cruiser's full arsenal, Ida was relieved when the Theurgy's main bridge and the helmets of several Lone Wolves appeared along the edges of the Harbinger's viewscreen. Just as all three of them on the Harbinger where in exosuits, Ida was - on her end - surprised that Captain Ives was not in his chair. Instead, she saw the man she had let out of the Brig the other day. "This is Lieutenant zh'Wann! This ship is set to blow and we cannot override the command, so stay clear! You have thirty seconds!"

After leaving her message, there was no time to wait for an answer, nor to close the link. Only then did she spot how Captain Ives had emerged with Edena Rez and Wenn Cinn upon the Theurgy's bridge - appearing from the turbolift. They were, perhaps, the three people on that ship left alive that had meant the most to her, each for different reasons. She did not even have time to say farewell, because the Harbinger was disintegrating bit by bit from Cala's counter attacks, and Ida had to get back into the command chair before she lost her footing.

This is for David Grayson, Marija Ferrik and Adam Kingston, she thought in bitter memory as she struggled to get into the chair, panels detonating around her and smoke filling the Harbinger's bridge. This is for T'Less. White hair unkempt and with her bruised face contorted in steely determination, she first locked eyes with Amelya Duv, giving her the nod... then she sought the approaching bulk of the Calamity with her glare - antennae angling forth. "Full speed ahead!"

This is for all the rest you took from us.

"Ram her!"

[ Ryuan Sel | Life Support Systems | Sickbay] Atten: Sarresh Morrali, & others


"Petty Officer Ryuan here, we were... delayed, we're about to loud up the canisters now," Sel said with a sigh as she began to pick up the canisters that had fallen from the biobed and put them back on the smooth surface. She did her best to deaden herself inside, ignoring the anger and frustration about what she had just gone through. She would have time later to work out that frustration, for now she still had a job to do.

She was forced to load the biobed with only one hand as she was not about to let go of her phaser rifle, not again anyway. Luckily there weren't that many canisters on the floor and with some help she managed to get them all loaded once more.

As she straitened back up she looked to the still aroused Temporal Affairs Officer. "Sarresh, you ready?" she asked him, purposefully avoiding both his eyes and the tent in his medical gown.

Though before he could answer she moved into the life support systems control room. She swept over the room in a glance and gestured for Sarresh to follow with the biobed. Not wanting to let down her guard again she nodded to Sarresh and moved by the door, looking out into the corridor. She held her rifle at the ready just in case while he could load the canisters without fear of ambush. She tore her eyes from the corridor long enough to whisper, "Best hurry," before moving into the hall to stand guard just outside the door.

[ Sarresh Morrali | Life Support Systems ] Atten: Ryuan Sel, & others

It seemed to Sarresh like the only thing Ryuan Sel wanted right then was to not think about what had just happened - or him. He sucked in a breath, regretting it, since he could still smell her arousal - which did nothing to help his own twitching issue. He bit his lip and turned from the Bajoran as the rest of their rescuers left the duo, and helped her with loading the canisters, careful with how he bent to retreive them. Augmented eyes told him more about Sel's state then perhaps she would like, from her increased heart beat to the point that he could 'see' the white knuckled grip she kept on the phaser rifle.

Not that he could blame her, given what they'd just gone though.

"Sarresh, you ready?" She parroted his words back to him, and he felt a hint of a smile on his lips. It seemed they truly were on a first name basis, rank be damned at that point. She didn't wait for him to answer, but that was fine with the Junior Grade Lieutenant. He let her take point, eyes dropping away from her shapely ass, and he brought up the rear, walking behind the biobed as they enetered the life support system. Ducking out of the way, he let Sel sweep the room, and gave her a nod in turn at her whisper. "I will, I promise." Why did he feel the need to reassure her? He bit the inside of his cheek and swallowed a frustrated hiss, turning his back to the woman as she went to stand guard.

They did need to hurry, that was for sure. And yet, they also couldn't release the gas right away. Not with that ship bearing down on them Still. He off loaded the canisters rapidly, lining them up side by side, then frowned, crossing his arms. Actually getting them into the ventilation system would be tricky. Each canister had the standard hook ups, per StarFleet regulation. The trick was loading them fast enough. He raked his pink fingers through his dark hair, both hands sweeping it back - it was so dry! - as he pondered the issue. First an foremost he loaded one canister into a snug fitting compartment off to the right of the main control panel. Easy enough. What to do with the rest?

Those enhanced eyes of his swept the room, looking for something. He found it off to the side, a half opened piece of decking. Crouching down, he saw the air recycling system, with its series of hoses and pipes exposed. The deck plate must have come loose during combat. As if to illustrate the possibility, the ship shook again under the impact of phaser fire. Swearing under his breath, he reached into the deck and decoupled some of the hoses, dragging them as he shuffled back towards the canisters. "I am not an engineer," he muttered to himself in frustration as he began hooking up the intake valves to the cannisters. He could manage about half of the assembled tanks in one go.

"Thea," he whispered to the ships computer, though why, when it was just himself and the Petty Officer, was beyond his comprehension just then. "Half the tanks are secured. I can't hook up any more to the system in one go."

---

OOC: Wasn't sure how, exactly, Sarresh would get everything ready to flood the ship. Let me know if this works.

[Doctor Hayden O'Connor| Main Sickbay| USS Theurgy] Attn: Zenozine

Despite Hylota's reassurances that tending to her arm could wait, Hayden couldn't help but be concerned about the female nurse's  physical condition, especially as she observed the Ovri trying to steady her breathing over several attempts. Besides understandable emotional agitation, irregular breathing could also signal physical pain and more serious injury, all of which the counselor expected a healer like Hylota to try to minimize to ensure others' needs would be met before her own. That the other in need just happened to be Hylota's brother cemented O'Connor's belief Hylota would say or do anything to get her brother help sooner, even at the expense of her own well-being. That was the power of love, and while the counselor understood it and even admired it, she wasn't entirely reassured.

Deciding on a quick compromise, primarily because her tricorder was halfway out anyway, O'Connor took a brief scan of the female Ovri's arm.  Hayden frowned as she reviewed the brief readings, which appeared to be all over the place, presuming she could even count on Ovri physiology being similar to what she already understood. After several seconds of comparing the tricorder's readings with Hayden's visual assessment of Hylota, the counselor felt reasonably confident the female Ovri's physical condition would not prevent her from helping Hayden get Vinata someplace safe, at the very least. Under the circumstances, neither woman had time to process and reflect on the circumstances Hylota had shared which described how her arm had come to such a condition, but there was no doubt Hayden would replay what Hylota had said in her mind, as the circumstances were quite unusual.

For now, however, Hayden listened to the female Ovri's words even as she put the bulk of her energy toward taking action: namely, getting Vinata to a place that would serve as somewhat of a safe harbor. They didn't take the time to dress him there in the middle of the office, but Hayden was careful to make sure the majority of his exposed skin remained covered as they moved toward intensive care. The ward was mostly vacant at the moment, but besides that, Hayden anticipated even if they were overwhelmed by casualties, the patients here would be fairly sedate and most closely monitored. It wasn't much, but this place was better than keeping him in the main ward, where the chaos would remain at its peak as doctors and nurses tried to stabilize the most emergent and agitated patients during what she knew in her heart was going to be a prolonged battle.

As the three of them traveled swiftly but carefully, Hayden listened as Hylota spoke, trying to prioritize their immediate needs and focus on what needed to be done before there was truly no stopping the tide of wounded. As when they initially met, the counselor didn't blame Hylota for her agitation and outright anger, but at the same time, she was relieved when the female Ovri managed to reign in her emotions for the benefit of focusing on what needed to be done, Hayden was doing all she could to keep her own emotions at bay while providing the leadership everyone expected of her. No matter how strong the love between siblings and righteously upset she was, Hylota had to understand no one on the medical staff intentionally put her brother in harm's way or was even neglectful.  At Hylota's mention of getting the nurses and medics together, O'Connor nodded, "I'm working on that, but could definitely use help on that front."

As they moved swiftly to the ICU and Hayden raised the privacy field around the nearest but somewhat secluded bio bed, Hayden couldn't help but think uncharacteristically bluntly, shit happens. The simple sentiment summed up experiences so far for Hayden, who knew there was no time or energy left for placing blame. "May I help you get him dressed?" O'Connor asked, mindful of the little time they had but also not wanting to add to Vinata's trauma by taking over.

[ Hylota Vojona | Main Sickbay| USS Theurgy ] Attn: The Counselor

---

          As Dr. O'Connor finished up her scan and concluded that it as not going to be a problem Hylota nodded in a gesture that simply said. "I already knew this." As they focused on moving Vinata, Hylota went silent, her eyes locked on her poor brother as they moved him into the Intensive Care Ward, a place that Hylota had hoped that her brother would never have ended up. As they laid him down on the bed Hylota sighed in relief as the independent holo emitters were able to raise a privacy field for her poor brother. Walking though it she looked down to him and ran her hand along his forehead mark and she let out a sigh, he was a trained nurse, he should have been here to help Hylota care for the crew, not to be one of her patients.

And suddenly Hylota snapped out of it, her hand withdrew from her brothers head and she looked back to Hayden and just stared t the woman as she was asked about dressing her brother. Hylota just let out a sigh and she rubbed her eyes."Yeah, I think it would be best if you were to take charge of that and get him taken care of...I doubt that I can dress him as I am right now." She rubbed her head. "I am gong to get a sling for my arm, get it out of the way until we have time to take care of it properly, hopefully we will jut ed to inject some agent to break it down...we will nee to gt that Heather girl to come and revel what exactly was in that salve before we do anything though." Hylota sighed and walked out of the privacy field an began to gt herself taken care of.

Fortunately Intensive Care kept slings and braces on hand and Hylota had little trouble grabbing a sling and adjusting it to her before she put her arm into place and sighed as she no longer had to worry about the thing slapping into her side as she walked. But as she waited for Dr. Hayden to finish with her brother she bit her lip as she began to worry about her own health, she had not gotten a full body scan in quite some time, it would probably be ideal to just get one done and over with as fast as possible while she still had tie and was in good enough health. With a sigh Hylota called out to Hayden. "Doctor, when you are concluded with your care for my brother I would like to request a full body scan, I do not want to fin myself unable to work in the middle of this crisis, so I would like to make sure I a alright before we get to far along."

With a sigh she leaned up against one of the biobeds as she waited. "Since I have been out for so long I think it would be best if you were to take charge of the staff, I have been out so long there is a pretty good chance with ho hectic things have been someone might not trust me if I try and lead." Hylota looked back to the door the had come in through. "I will take care of any other tasks that need to be done. I hope that there is no need for it, but do we need to transport anyone to the morgue? It is a morbid task, but I have access to the morgue, and it would be wise to clear the Sickbay of any cadavers before we deal with patients." Hylota did not know it but her suggestion was setting her up to see the person who had first hurt her brother.

[ Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 ] Attn: Ryuan Sel & Sarresh Morali

There was an chirp of acknowledgement from the intercom before Thea replied.

[Acknowledged,] she said, and then the ship rocked from enemy fire. Unperturbed, she continued. [Please stand by until the battle is over. I would suggest barring the door in case mutineers would chance upon you. The door seems to be malfunctioning because I am unable to access its control system, so you will have to find some other way to lock yourselves in. In lack of other means to accomplish this task, perhaps welding the sliding doors shut is the only alternative. As far as I can tell, it is in need of extensive repairs regardless of what you may be required to do to it.]

After suggesting a means to keep the operation safe from interruptions, Thea moved on to give the brief details about the dispersal itself. "The amount of Lexorin you have given me access to now will be dispersed first, and I will notify you when it is time to change the empty canisters. I need you to activate the dispersal system both times, but I can handle the area selection based on the intel I possess on who has been subjected to T'Rena's telepathic abilities. Each dispersal may take ten to fifteen minutes, and it may not be safe to activate the first dispersal for another five to ten minutes depending on the outcome. At this point, there is little more you and Petty Officer Ryuan can do but to wait."

Another chirp ended the message - leaving the two to handle the situation and prepare for the opportune time to activate the Lexorin dispersal.

[ USS Harbinger | ThanIda zh'Wann | Bridge |  CJ "Husker" Slayton] Deck 01 ] Attn: All

Husker gave ThanIda a big smile as he turned back to face the helm controls and his fingers flew across the controls, having shifted shield control to the helm as well so that he could make multiple adjustments on the fly while keeping the Harbinger on it's intended course.

Chris scanned the tactical plot and was able to use it to make adjustments using the star's own gravity to get just a little bit more speed out of the older ship, slowly urging even more speed out of the ship's already taxing engines as the ship grew even closer to it's not so glorious explosive finale.

"Engines are currently over the redline by sixteen percent, I can squeeze another fifty percent out of them by shunting everything else we got systems wise to the engines, Ida." he asked before turning to look at the Zhen over his right shoulder, needing that finale authorization. "But that'll mean  Amelya will need to be crackerjack on the transport out but I can promise that the Calamity will have a rather resounding..issue." he added with a wicked smile.

[ CWO1 Sten Covington | USS Theurgy | Deck 15 - Fighter Assault Bay ]

As Chief of the Deck, Sten took pride in being the one sending the fighters out into the black.  Granted, there were times that he could not do so himself such as when some of his pilots made good their escape when the mutiny broke out and when someone decided to take the Reaver he'd yet to go over out for a spin.  However, with the remainder of the Wolves, even with Titan and Smoke, he saw to it himself they would make their way out. 

A scramble order, unlike what bad holonovels described, was not a mad and uncoordinated mess in which fighters would barely avoid collision when screaming out into space, lighting off at full thrusters from inside their launch bay.  For one thing, the power levels described in this bad fiction would be enough to kill damn near everyone in the bay and cause serious hull damage to the fighters they would be flying past.  And second, if a launch was badly coordinated, ships could collide before their shields were up.  And should such a collision happen within the launching ship's shield envelope, the detonation of the two diminutive warp cores could still cause serious damage; and if they went off inside the bay itself?  They would vaporize their home base. 

As such, it behooved deck crews, especially the Chief of the Deck, to see to it things were done in an orderly fashion, but with a sense of urgency.  And that was what he did with his customary confidence. 

Once all the fighters were launched, Sten let his eyes go across the mess of his flight deck.  The dead and wounded had already been removed, but it was still an awful mess.  In fact, he felt nearly sick to his stomach at the sight of his beloved hangar.  However, he did not waste any time once the Valkyries had headed off into space.  "Listen up!  We're going to be receiving damaged fighters!  Clear up that debris off to the side and out of the way for now! Someone get the deck medical team here on stand-by because we might have some casualties!  Petty Officer Ji, before you do anything, get me up to speed!"

[ Miles Renard (Iron-Fox) | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf-01 ] Attn: Mission Ops, Lone Wolves Squadron, Thea

Concentrating on the unfolding sensor data and the deluge of incoming information for a brief moment - the first one he had really been given since he launched into this chaotic fray - he spoke up to his computer system. "Give me a ghost overlay on TVD," he said as the normally void of all but visual info and a sparsely simple targeting reticule was replaced by a complicated full systems readout as if he were in a hybrid of looking down at his display systems and looking at his sparse TVD. 

Looking towards the newest contacts and their info, the returning other half of his squadron and seeing the group of Reavers hounding them, he knew getting to them would be a near impossibility. Then he heard Maverick curse a bit after he saw Rawley's craft's communication signal go dead. Knowing that once again she must have pulled the comm plug.  "Mav, this is Fox, resuming command.  Cover that crazy bitch.  Priority is on complete eradication of all Reaver contacts and prevention of them engaging the Theurgy," he said, pausing a he saw several of them changing targeting priority's to Rawley's fighter.  Too many of them for her to be able to evade for longer than a few seconds longer even at her best. Still, they were being whittled down by her crazy kamikaze-like attack. 

Five remaining of them. No, four.  Ranger must have taken out three from her insane attack.  But they were still in a tight formation the holographic pilots knew her tactics now, foresaw how she would not break off.  All they had to do was close range a tiny bit more and in seconds their combined near-point-blank pulse phasers would literally turn her fighter into a molten coffin around her, if even molten slag remained.

And the fox's hunter instincts kicked in. "Mav, I'm reading 03 has one hard point mount remaining, confirm for scatter bomb."

The voice of 03 chimed in.  [Yes, I had them strap it on after seeing your tactic on their...]

Miles interrupted, "I don't care here's your firing solution," he said sending the info.  "Fire!"

[But the target is Ghost-]

"That's an order! Fire!"  the SCO shouted angrily.  Knowing the gambit could kill Rawley before even Reavers did, a sacrifice he was willing to make knowing that in all probability the explosion should take at least three of the remaining four in her vicinity. Three maybe four Reavers for one life and a Valk 3.  It was a heavy price.  One he may have to answer for, but in all the tactical logic he could fathom, it was an acceptable loss.

The torpedo detached and began hurtling forward through space, its distance closing on the Valk 3 as the pilot within was too deafened by the concussions of enemy fire and numerous alarms to notice either the new radar contact or the "buddy spike" alarm showing she had a friendly torpedo locked onto her very craft.

Miles watched as the missile closed in, reading the sensor feed closely for any info on how his gambit had went.  Closing to within a foot of the craft the torp's case was shed and a torrent of micro torps flooded the space behind the craft arming themselves to detonate at any physical contact.

The Reavers opened fire and some of the torpedos were harmlessly vaporised.  But in the very moment that the two crafts crossed paths, a seemingly blinding explosion was all that could be seen where Ranger and the four Reavers had once been. It was as if for a moment a tiny second sun had been born into the system.  As the brilliant light faded Miles knew at the best scenario, Ranger's craft would hurtle out of the fireball a bit worse for wear but still there, and the Reaver's were all little more than shrapnel.  At worst he just inadvertently ordered 03 to kill a fellow pilot at a gain of merely damaging a couple of their targets.  At this distance there was too much interference to get his own sensor readout and he would have to rely on Maverick to relay the results of the probably, his grim duty in surveying the results of Miles's strategy.  For now, he had to turn his attention to the new contact alarm that had just begun to sound.*

[ Aisha S'Iti | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Bridge personnel

The Ensign Donovra looked up as she was bombarded with new contact information.  Several Valkyries and Reavers in the distance the info that was sent from Thea who was Apparently in the Reaver heading towards the Calamity, but most importantly was a very large sensor spike. "New contact, Federation Transponders... Akira-class."

The helmswoman smiled genuinely seeing her previous ship whom she had grown more than fond of.  "That's my girl!"  she said excitedly never more glad to see that somewhat outdated looking NX-class inspired silhouette than ever before.

Catalina began to read the new information coming to her from the sensor and tactical readouts as she continued to cycle phasers and launched another half salvo of torps from the forward tubes after getting a good lock on the Calamity' class's ventral shields, causing four explosions of energy to cascade over the underbelly of their predator. Then she got the message she dreaded to hear but knew was coming. 

The two single vector accessible forward torpedo rooms were on their last 3 torp salvos each and reloading as fast as they could. The message from the torpedo rooms said that they were loading their last salvo into them, having already been told that the aft bays were down to their last three-torp-salvo after their last pass firing from behind. They were down to nine torps, and if she counted right, only one of the ones in aft were quantum types and only three of the forward ones were.  "Tactical appraisal; the longtube on Deck 04 is damaged, Decks 03 and 11 busy reloading their last salvos.  Aft launcher is available but we are down to a three there too.  We have 2 quantums left up here and on Deck 11 aft bay, they are reporting one quantum remaining.

Hearing the tactical synopsis, Aisha not taking her eyes off her systems for a second, reported as well. "Navigation wise, impulse engines are mostly stable, a bit damaged, and I have been using navigational thrusters to make up for it but I don't know how much longer they will last.  Warp nacelles on ventral port and dorsal starboard have sustained minor hull damage.  Good thing Stark just shut down the warp systems because Cala just got in a couple good hits on the other two, and who knows how close to a breech we would have had if they had been active.

The Ensign at tactical interrupted. "Incoming hail from the Harbinger," she said not waiting for permission before opening the channel giving the Harbinger a visual though delegating only a small section of the viewscreen for the hail knowing how important the tactical readout was to the acting Captain.  It was at that time that she heard the sound of a turbolift door opening and turned her head instinctively to see Captain Ives take his first steps back onto his bridge.

[ Miles Renard (Iron-Fox) | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf-01 ] Attn: Mission Ops, Lone Wolves Squadron, Thea

The pilot had no choice but to turn his attention from the site of the cluster torpedo's explosion.  There were still at least six Reaver's worth of work out here to do.  It was mere moments that he heard the incoming hail alert and he opened the channel.

"This is Lieutenant zh'Wann! This ship is set to blow and we cannot override the command, so stay clear! You have thirty seconds!"

Miles heard the warning and knew what he had to do as he glanced towards the Calamity-class saucer section, bearing down on a lone contact.  "Thea!" Miles sharply said to himself realizing how vulnerable the AI's emitter undoubtedly was since there was a hole in the Reaver's solid canpoy. He switched weapon systems and the rather unwieldy tetryon pulse cannon deployed under the craft.  Steering the now a bit more unwieldy Valk-3 around, he lined up his sights on the Calamity targeting the weapons systems, where she was raining fire down towards the captured Reaver. Hearing the tone of a lock and a state of the weapon being ready to fire he pulled the trigger, sending a pulse of the unstable energy at the Calamity before disengaging the weapon.

The voice on the hail was still able to be heard but miles had a new priority.  He knew if there was a way to do so, he had to save Thea.  Looking at the distance he knew at combat speed it would be impossible to get there, even at standard full impulse getting there would probably land him too late... but there was a way.  That - if timed right - might get her out of there in time.  "Computer, disengage time dialation safety parameters on the impulse drive and give me unrestricted three quarter impulse." 

The computer acknowledged as the impulse engines fired up causing the fighter to pull away from the melee and into the mostly clear space between the mother and daughter ships. "Computer ready tractor beam advise maximum impulse for pull."

The computerized voice answered, [Advise reduce to 0.25 c.  Tractor beams untested outside of recommended time dilation threshold.]

"Just give me the theoretical then!"

[.5 c,] she answered.

"We won't have enough speed to clear the auto destruct at that, and what if I stay at current speed?" he said, watching as he got nearer and nearer to the saucer section of the Calamity, now veering around to avoid the phaser bursts that she sent his way, attempting to pick off the gnat that he was that had flown too close.

[Structural integrity loss from inertial strain possible.]

"Then try and hold together cause I'm locking onto your big sis."

The tractor beam reached out towards the damaged Reaver that held Thea, and despite a near flicker in the beam itself the beam held as Miles turned the ship at a downward angle. Grimacing as he heard the structural integrity alarms begin to go off, he was diverting power from shields and weapons into the field, knowing that one spare shot at his now nearly shieldless, weapons drained, and nearly tearing itself apart at the Reaver's fighter, could end both him and Thea.

[ USS Harbinger | Amelya Duv | Bridge | Deck 01 ] Attn: All

Amelya looked up at the viewscreen as the ultimate chaos and final battle for this ship had announced itself. Her mouth fell open just slightly to see the gargantuan fight unfold before her eyes. She could see the fighters defending the Theurgy as another group was engaging another group of dreaded Reavers. The Theurgy was getting a pounding from her point of view, yet she managed to hold against the heavily damaged Calamity class ship.  It took her fingers off the console for a second yet reality snapped in fast enough when the Harbinger's computer warned her and the other two crew members with her on the bridge about the faith of the ship.

[Warning. Warp Core overload in fifteen seconds.]

"Drop all but the Transporter Systems!" called Ida, overriding the explosions around them as the Calamity tried to defend herself, unable to get out of the way in time. The order killed the communication link with the Theurgy too. With the increased speed, the collision was imminent - the dark hull of the enemy filling their viewscreen. "Amelya, we really need to get out of here, now!"

Amelya quickly turned her eyes away from the viewscreen now as the bumps and impacts of the defending Calamity started to hit the Harbinger. "Come on... Come on..." She muttered softly to the console as her first attempt got denied. She punched the command in once again and just as they could see the details of Calmity's hull the transport lights around them started to shine. The second they sort of land roughly in their escape pods as the transport system dropped them half a meter too high from the floor.

Yet the worst wasn't over yet, the sound of croaking and compression sounded throughout the escape pod as the Harbinger rammed fully into Cala's remaining vector. Metal and bolts shot out of place and the ship seemed to moan under the sheer force of ramming. The impact from outside the ship would most probably be a spectacle to behold as the saucer penetrated the vector as debris of metal and other parts shattered into space. Small explosions already lit up by the impact and the time for the three survivors was running out. Amelya crawled over Ida and Husker to barely touch the lever to jettison their escape pod before they would be trapped and compressed into the hull. Her fingers barely brushed it, yet another violent shake got her in range. Amelya screamed out as she flipped the lever and shot the pod out of the ship. Just in time as the computer voice counted down.

[Warning. Warp core overload in three... Two... One.]

A deafening sound could be heard even in the pod as the Harbinger's warp core overloaded and the autodestruct triggered just a few seconds later. From what they could see out of there pod there was a bright flash and it seemed like this explosion was far more brighter than what the Valkyrie torpedo had done. Amelya had to shield her eyes from the explosion as all became silent around them. Just seconds before the thundering sound of blastwaves hit their pod and jerked the pod out of control. They were however unaware of the result of their actions.

---

OOC: Almost forgot to put this here, Lucan gave me his blessing to post with Ida. Just in case some people would wonder why I forcefully took over Ida there ^^

[ Lt-Cmdr Carrigan Trent | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 - Bridge ]

In the command chair, Carrigan Trent presented an island of calm in contrast to the flurries of reports that came from across the ship.  His voice was low and calm despite the hammering the Theurgy was taking.  One might think that being in battle, in command, again would rattle a man who had lost his first and only command in combat; in fact, the interim commanding officer himself believed he would never be on a starship involved in such action before, let alone in the center chair because he felt he had lost his confidence, his nerve.  But instead, he found himself surprised at his own resilience, how his instincts had not blunted since the Harrier was pounded to scrap metal around his ears.  In fact, he found himself sharper than he'd ever been. 

When word that the Harbinger was arriving sounded, Trent did not even look away from the viewscreen to acknowledge the report.  Instead, he simply nodded and answered with a perfunctory "very well" as he kept his fingers dancing on his own consoles, rapidly shifting power from one set of shield emitters to another to keep presenting as unbroken a front as possible to the fire Calamity was hammering them with.  At least, O'Connell, assuming he was still alive down in Engineering, had come through with his scheme to redirect warp power to the shields had much further extended their combat endurance.  Had the man not done so, Theurgy would have become an expanding cloud of debris minutes ago...

But the arrival of Harbinger changed things.  For one thing, the Calamity broke off her attack on the Theurgy and instead directed its fire upon Harbinger, which had immediately set not only an intercept course, but a collision course with the remainder of the Calamity-class vessel.  And Theurgy was hailed.  Briefly, the main viewscreen was used for communications, and Trent could see three spacesuited forms on the bridge of their erstwhile consort.  And in the central seat was the Andorian security officer.  The message was clear and succinct, and Trent found himself in a position to quickly re-evaluate the situation.  Truth be told, that did not take long.  The Harbinger was going to ram Calamity; the only new variable had been that her self-destruct sequence was active.  And only after a deep breath did he speak.  "Lieutenant, we don't have the time to link our helm control to yours and we can't beam you out..."  And then the link died before he could finish his sentence.  Only then did Trent look away from the viewscreen, straight at the Yeoman.  And for the first time since he'd entered the Bridge, his voice rose to approach what most would consider normal conversational levels.  "Ensign, advise the main shuttlebay.  Prepare all available craft for emergency launch for rescue and recovery.  Dispatch medical teams to the shuttlebay as well."  He had no way to know how many people were left on Harbinger.  But he had to hope those that remained, including those who were in her bridge crew, would make it to the lifepods in time. 

Only then did he return his attention to the viewscreen, oblivious to the fact that Captain Ives and Commander Rez were standing right there themselves; or, if he had noticed, he had chosen to ignore their presence as a change of command in this situation could be disastrous.

When he looked at the readouts, the sensors reported was something he knew all too well as Calamity unleashed every last bit of firepower she could upon the aging cruiser.  He could almost sense the Akira-class ship's shields crackling and buckling under the repeated impact.  And when they failed, he knew exactly how it felt to be on board that vessel.  How it would shudder and buck under the transfer of energy from weapons to her hull; how the metal would scream under the punishment it was taking.  Atmosphere boiling out from hull breaches, leaving men and women suffocating and scrambling for survival lockers or for the nearest forcefield or pressure door to save themselves.  He could picture conduits rupturing and consoles overloading.  He knew exactly what it was like to be on board the Harbinger; he had lived through it.

"Helm!  Block Calamity's path!  Don't let her get out of Harbinger's path!  Donovra!"  He had heard her report, how their ordnance was painfully low.  But it was needed right then and there.  "Fire the last of our torpedoes.  There's a breach in Calamity's shields near her impulse drive.  Cripple her."  His tone was harder than anyone on board had yet to hear it.  There were good people on the Harbinger, regardless of whether they followed Vasser's delusions willingly, had been mind-raped by T'Rena or were completely innocent.  He could not let them die in vain and as such, he would help them out as best he could. 

Shortly after Theurgy's torpedoes impacted and Calamity's speed fell even more, the impact with Harbinger happened.  What shields the Calamity-class warship's remaining vector had, they were never meant to absorb the mass of a starship moving at better than twenty-five percent of the speed of light and that energy barrier failed almost instantly.  And then, hulls impacted.  One would have thought that Harbinger would simply plow under the saucer section it so badly dwarfed, but it did not.  Her shattered bow was now a soft target and the plane of the ships intersected.  At first, Calamity's mostly intact forward hull embedded itself into the guts of the other vessel and then her momentum stopped only to be overwhelmed by Harbinger's far superior kinetic energy.  And then, for a split-second, as both ruined vessels began their descent into the pseudo-star's gravity well, two warp cores ruptured.  Sensitive enough sensors in the right position might have been able to pick up on the two separate explosions but most, and to mere humans, the out of control matter-antimatter reactions appeared as but one as both ships were mostly vaporized.  And then, first the first time in years, Trent effectively shouted.  "Launch shuttlecrafts!  If there is anyone left alive, get them!  Direct the fighters to lure what's left of the Reavers into our weapons envelope.  Donovra, you have all phasers again, mop up and give our shuttles some cover!"

After giving his orders, Trent briefly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  Yes, he had known Ives was on the Bridge.  However, under the circumstances, and the fact he had not been officially relieved, he had retained command for the time being.  But now that the tactical situation had, for lack of a better term, simplified, he rose from the command chair, moving far more gingerly than he'd anticipate he would.  Now that he'd had a chance to sit down, his body found the time to fully remind him of the punishment it had endured.  However, despite a slight hobble, he moved towards Theurgy's rightful commanding officer and straightened himself so he would stand at attention despite the screaming of his muscles and the sheer burden of exhaustion finally crashing down on him. 

And then, he said six words that he'd been longing to hear since the mutiny started only a few short hours ago.  Words, no doubt, everyone who had remained loyal were dying to hear.  "The ship is yours, Captain Ives."

[ Thea | Mk I Reaver Attack Fighter ] Attn: All

Perhaps it was out of curiosity that Cala hadn't closed the comm-link to Thea's Reaver, even if she was about to destroy her. Perhaps she had wanted to ensure the destruction of her mother's mobile emitter as she opened fire. Regardless of her daughter's reasons, Thea had raised her eyes to see Cala react to the Harbinger's arrival, and the blue-eyed hologram was looking at the Akira-class ship from her position on her bridge. Thea could almost see the calculations that were taking place in her daughter's hellish silhouette, and as Thea turned her head to see the massive bulk of the Harbinger approach, she knew what her daughter knew.

Too few variables of survival. The only chance for her daughter to live was if the Harbinger ship was destroyed before it reached Cala's hull. The main bridge on the Harbinger was hailing Thea's bridge, and through the link, Thea learned something that Cala might not know. The Harbinger's core was about to overload... so if there was any doubt as to the fate of her daughter, then the Deputy's hail made it certain. Thea's eyes widened, turning back to her own screen - seeing Cala's grim look of absolute determination as she reserved all available fire-power and dealt it unto the Akira-class ship.

All save for the launcher that was about to fire upon Thea. Was her daughter about to kill her as an afterthought, a point-blank shot reserved for Thea as she turned away from her? When she had embarked on her path of folly, Thea had hoped to make Cala understand, but as the launcher fired, she accepted the fact that it had all been for naught. Desperately, she pulled her gears backwards, and the unbridled impact struck into the belly of her Reaver like a sword running her through.

Cala had primed it to go right through her shield harmonics, and the interior of the Reaver was immediately filled with smoke - back-lit by the red warnings across all her controls. Thea's TVD flickered and died as she got her bearings again, making her only able to see the death-trap of her cockpit. The noises the computer made were almost louder than the detonation that had caused them. She was loosing atmosphere, fast, but even as the warnings fell silent, the Reaver held together by bare threads. Thea raised her brown eyes, and she stared through the hole in her canopy. A window to the battle outside. Her Reaver had been sent tumbling over, and for an instant, she saw Cala again - about to fire once more. Through the venting smoke around her, she could almost make out the Harbinger's looming bulk thundering against her digital child. In the final moments, Thea resequenced herself, removing the exosuit and the helmet since she did not need them, and at the Reaver's second turn, she gazed up and into the launcher while dressed in her white body suit.

There was no air, lest she would speak. Even though she had erred, she still had no regrets.

A tetryon pulse disabled the launcher above her - shutting it down before it could fire. Thea was still strapped to her seat, but she couldn't see anything. Inertial dampeners were offline. She tapped into her own sensor arrays on the Theurgy, and saw the Valkyrie's approach in an outer-body experience - through the eyes on her own hull. It was Lieutenant Commander Renard. What became her focus, however, was the grand collision taking place just outside her Reaver. Cala was still firing her phasers as the Harbinger collided with her. At an angle, the edges of the two metallic beasts came together, and yet she could not hear anything of it despite the minimal distance - space eradicating the noise.

Then, the incredible force in which she was pulled out of harms way overrode the data feed. Pain like she had never experienced sliced through the new sensory mapping of her projection, and she screamed soundlessly into the cockpit as she was hurled away, and her daughter died in the conflagration behind her.

---

OOC: More posts to come.

[ Evelyn "Ranger" Rawley | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf-06 ] Attn: Wolves & Mission Ops

Opening her eyes, Rawley came to - finding herself breathing into her bloodied helmet.

She was still in her cockpit, and she frowned, thinking that she surely had died, but realised that she must have blacked out for a couple of seconds from the impacts against her shields. She was not exactly in a prime medical condition after surviving that avalanche on the ice planet, and she had not been anywhere near cleared for flying by Dr. Nicander when she launched to begin with. Checking the controls, she saw that she was drifting. Her shields were completely gone, regenerating slowly, and the squadron channel was dead.

Were they all gone? Was she the only survivor?

After a couple of seconds, she remembered cutting off communications, and when she flicked the switch, she was immediately greeted by the shouting of her fellow Wolves. The battle was still underway, and she could see it on her sensors too. Behind her. Swearing, she yanked her joystick to the side, feeling like shit as she turned Morrigan's bird around to re-join the fighting, but regardless her own condition, she was not about to leave Maverick and the other two on her side of the battle to die. She saw a massive cloud of shrapnel and debris as she returned to the others, and she spotted Maverick picking off the last Reaver with deadly precision. Were they all destroyed? How the hell had they managed to pull through? There had been at least seven Reavers on their tail.

Then she saw the collision between the Harbinger and the Calamity's saucer, grinding together far behind Maverick's Valkyrie. "They are going to blow," she whispered, and just as she said it, her eyes widened in the light of the blast.

[ Escape Pod A-475 ] Attn: All, esp. Husker & Duv

Ida had got her helmet on in the commotion, she did not even remember if it was before or after they beamed out.  She was quickly back on her feet, and she shielded her eyes with her metallic glove when the core overloaded. The close-proximity blast cast everything into stark whiteness - the interior of the small pod and their exosuits were lit through the small viewscreens. The concussion of that initial detonation almost made her fall into Ensign Slayton, and the pod croaked in protest, but that was nothing compared to what would come afterwards. For little did they know that they had caused the Calamity's Warp Core to detonate as well.

When the two shock-waves caught up to the pod, it became a roaring thunder heard in their hull - gaining on them without mercy or sign of stopping. Fear for her own life had permeated the whole day, but it mounted right then - in the realisation that they might be shredded to pieces despite all they had been through together. Still, she was a soldier. Imperial Guard and Starfleet Officer. She did not stand crippled in any fear she might feel.

"Brace yourselves!" she called through the speaker on her helmet, but no more had she grasped Amelya's arm to try and help her to a seat and strap her in when the shock-waves hit them in close succession. The jolt that went through the pod upended all sense of orientation, and Ida thought she slammed into the wall, but there was no way to tell what happened in that exact moment. The screaming metal around them made Ida think it was her suit being ruptured, and since she was already hurting all over her body from the beatings, she did not know if she was loosing limbs. Was her head ringing or was she screaming her lungs out? If the latter, no one would hear her any more.

Utterly helpless to what was happening to her, Ida latched on to something with her hand, and through the maelstrom of lights and sharp metal, she thought she had managed to grasp the Ensign's forearm. She cast her helmet about to try and spot the doctor, but there was no way to see anything. The pod was splitting apart at high velocity, and the zero-gravity commotion caused her to spin out of control. The first kind of visual she got through her fogged-over visor was the spinning pod, cracked like an egg and sending debris along with the shock-waves - heading straight for them.  There were no bulkheads protecting them any more, only the red light of the proto star, the radiation and the heat that the suit was struggling to compensate for, and the glittering storm of shrapnel in which they travelled.

Still spinning, Ida could not see much at all, but she felt her exosuit being hit - impacts jarring her torso and limbs. She needed another handhold. She remembered grabbing something before the pod burst, and as she looked down her arm, she saw that she was clasping Ensign Slayton's forearm, and she thought he held hers. Somehow, she had held on to the Pinkskin, and as she cast her eyes about, she thought she saw Doctor Duv close by as well. All she heard was rapid breathing. Her own. Laboured, and yet there. Then she made out the quiet chirping of the suit's systems, but she saw something that made her completely forget about what the suit was trying to tell her.

One of the nacelles from the Harbinger whisked by them at impossible speed - rotating along its trajectory. It missed them with a few yards, no more. Breathe, she told herself, trying to quell the panic.  Focus. What does the visor say? Read it. Come on... Gibberish. Tactical Conn gibberish. She looked towards Husker, hoping he could establish a communication channel for the three of them once the turbulence of the shock-wave passed and the storm of shrapnel along with it, and better yet, that he could talk with the people on the Theurgy and give them their coordinates, or something. Anything.

In the meantime, all she could do was to try to spot the parts of the two starships that were heading their way and try to figure out how the thrusters in the suit worked - something they all needed quite direly if they were to dodge anything.

[ Tessa May Lance (https://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/0/d/tessa_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6mx6.png) | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf -07 | USS Theurgy ]  Attention: Wolves and Mission Ops

"This is Lieutenant zh'Wann! This ship is set to blow and we cannot override the command, so stay clear! You have thirty seconds!"

From Tessa’s point of view the Harbinger came out of nowhere.  She had completely lost track of it trying to keep the Reavers from slicing her Valkyrie to cinders.  The enemy fighters seemed to have heard zh’Wann’s announcement, for the Reavers dogfighting Tessa broke contact and headed to intercept the Akira class that was barreling onto the Calamity. 

“Omigod!” Tessa gasped as she turned her Valkyrie and soared away from the Calamity.  “This is Goldeneye to all fighters!  Collison imminent for the Calamity and the Harbinger!  Recommend evasive…”

At that moment Wolf-01 zipped by her scanners radiating chronotrons like it was the Guardian of Forever.  What was he doing?  He was heading right for the Calamity!

In any case there was no time to try to intercept Iron Fox or try talk him out of it.  Tessa floored her Valkyrie’s drives to emergency speed in order to close with the Theurgy  If she maneuvered her fighter so that the Theurgy’s superstructure and shields were between her and the two colliding starships her fighter should survive with minimal damage. 

When the ships collided, the Theurgy was rocked backwards and Tessa almost collided with one of the port nacelles.  As predicted, plasma and debris were deflected off the Theurgy’s shields, leaving Tessa and the fighters who followed her alive and intact.  She could only hope that the fighters who didn’t follow her had made it. 

It was only when she breathed a sigh of relief that she wondered what had happened to Iron Fox.

---

[ William Robert “Billy Bob” O’Connell (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/156/7/9/o_connell_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7l44xt.png) | USS Theurgy | Main Engineering | Deck 10 ] 

During the battle, the Theurgy’s engineers had rerouted power and troubleshot emergencies with amazing alacrity.  It was hard to believe that that they had been held at gunpoint and locked in their quarters less than an hour ago.  In truth, it was more of a testament of the determination of the Miles Renard and his Lone Wolves, and the skill of Commander Trent and his Cardassian helmswoman that O’Connell and his engineers were able to keep the ship flying than any feat of Billy Bob’s, but by golly, the men in engineering held up their end of the deal.

The trouble was finding power for the shields.  With Master Chief S'Iti'Atukkuchi Aisha Oklahoma at the helm, the Theurgy demanded power for maneuvers that the ship realistically couldn’t give in its present state.  That hardly mattered because O’Connell and his men supplied it anyway.  But with all the hairpin turns the ship was doing, it was getting harder to find power to the shields.  Soon entire decks were left powerless as O’Connell and Manfredi got creative.  But how were they going to find power if the Trent wanted to fire the phasers?

So far so good.  The shields were holding, despite the pelting from the Reavers.  Then there was a lull allowing them to build up shields four and five.  And then the forward and forward starboard shield was knocked down to less than twenty percent.   

“What in Sam Hill?” O’Connell shouted.  “That wasn’t a phaser blast!  Something hit us!”

What O’Connell and the other engineeers didn’t know was that the Harbinger had just collided with the Calamity and that the Theurgy had been hit with a piece of debris.  They did know that the Theurgy wasn’t demanding power for excessive maneuvers, and had powered down its weapons.  Did that mean they had won the battle?

[ Escape Pod A-475 ] Attn: All, esp. ThanIda zh'Wann & Amelya Duv

Even with the current situation that was going on around him and the two women, he felt the usual detached nature that usually came over him when ever he was about to enter into a combat situation once more as he watched the situation with the escape pod slowly overcome them, but the moment that he felt a hand grasp his forearm and he looked to see that it was Ida but instead of saying anything he calmly twisted his forearm in her grasp so that he could grasp her's and pull her in close.

He heard screaming which he could understand because being out in the black like this, without the bulkhead to keep the icy grip of the universe away from you as you floated there with combat going on was a little bit of an adrenaline rush and wanted to scream out in exhilration as well..but that could wait till a proper holodeck recreation.

Husker saw the doctor floating near-by as well and used one of his legs to hook around her slender ones to pull her in closer to grappling range before grasping one of her closer forearms and pulling her in close before he turned the three of them into the oncoming storm at an angle which helped to absorb the impact debris followed by the shrapnel but in the end once again he was thankful for the current generation of exosuits as it protected them the damage of super heated metal piercing them to an extent.

"Activate local comm-system, feed through Tigon crypt-cipher." he said into the system which beeped at him and connected him to the other two with him. "Ida and Ameyla, I need you to listen to me closely right now. I need you to you give me a verbal acknowledgement so that I know that you two can hear me and that your exosuit communications is working correctly and please do so quickly."

As he awaited for the two women to respond to his request, he stated "Computer, activate beacon and tie into Theurgy communications net if possible."

[ Aisha S'Iti | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Bridge personnel

The former Marquis understood exactly what the Acting Captain wanted and adjusted her heading angling the Theurgy's bow towards the Calamity.

Donovra saw the opportunity she needed and unloaded both active forward tubes, sending the projectiles towards their huntress.  As the two shipe collided, she couldn't help but allow a smile to grace her features, feeling a cathartic joy at the sense of being part of sending this she-devil to her oblivion.  When the debris hit them, she barely was able to stay upright but managed to remain standing at her station.

The viper that had hunted them still not only had fangs but more importantly she still had the ability to slither away.  She continued the pass by - angling the still heavily shielded dorsal side into the one angle of escape the Calamity may have had.  On the pass by, she adjusted the angle again as the Calamity lined up with their rear.

Donovra, eager to make sure the Calamity was fully unable to get away, sent the last three torpedoes as Aisha engaged the impulse drive above the usual safety restrictions, pushing them to nearly half light speed to make sure they got to a safe range.

---

[ Miles Renard (Iron-Fox) | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf-01 ] Attn: Mission Ops, Lone Wolves Squadron, Thea

To his rear, an explosion rocked the space near the psuedo-star.  Seeing the incoming telemetry on the close by blastwave, he cut his tractor-beam and rerouted power to shields, decelerating enough that the crippled Reaver's momentum carried her. Even with his own craft holding down the aileron thrusters being the only controls, he juked the stick to the side, inverting his craft and pitching himself so he was directly above Thea's cockpit. With the blast wave from the warp cores going critical nearing them, he did the only thing he could think to do.  He poured every bit of power he could into the shields and expanded the shield bubble into the space of the nearly ruined Reaver's cockpit, hoping to protect Thea's emitter from whatever harm came their way.  Sparing a last moment, he turned the opacity filter on his visor off and looked up at the occupant of the Reaver.  If they were to be together doomed he wanted to at least die with the unfiltered sight of the soul of the ship he was willing to die to protect.

The blast shook the ship as alarms began to howl warnings of loss of flight control and small hull breeches.  Then the ship went dead quiet inside, aside from the faint hum of the vibration of his engines.  At last those were running still but he lost all of the necessary fly by wire systems. Essentially, he was flying blind with only the most basic controls.  He looked up and saw the Reaver,  or rather what could be called a cockpit of one attached to a heavily damaged shell of the experimental fighter, he now doubted he could salvage much from at all now.  Though Papa Bear and his crew were miracle workers, so who knows what they would be able to pull off? Of course, now the two ships were drifting, and Miles was manually keeping his craft steady to keep near the Reaver Thea was in while flying without flight-computer.  Likely the blast had fried his on-board computer along with most other electronic equipment aside from the heavily blast shielded engines.

Then a thought crossed his mind as he began bringing up his systems, most of them came online but his onboard computer was gone so sensors, communication and transponders at the moment were gone.  looking up again he saw his salvation.  His onboard computer system was not dead but the software system was corrupted.  Luckily there was a backup mere feet from his cockpit. Bringing up the needed commands, he attempted to connect with the nearest Federation A.I. system. The one mere feet away.  Attempting to bring the systems up Miles spoke up.  "Thea can you hear me.  I just wirelessly tethered my ship's computer to your emitter.  That blast fried the on-bord computer so I''m flying blind.  Do you think you can access my ship's systems and bring my transponder and radio back up. Sensors would be appreciated too, since I need those to bring a tractor back-up to tow that wreck you are sitting in back to base." 

Sighing in the quiet of space Miles leaned back in the chair awaiting the Thea's reply.  Needless to say, he was thankful for the small favor of having distanced himself so far from the current dogfight because his ship was in no shape to so much as try and bring weapons systems back up.  He would be lucky to be able to limp back to base with the Reaver in tow.  Dealing with live Reavers in combat, to put it lightly, Thea's confrontation with her daughter would seem only mildly suicidal by comparison.

[ Natalie Stark | Deck 01 - Bridge| USS Theurgy ] Atten: all, esp Ives and Henshaw

And suddenly, just like that, it was over. The Cardassian next to her had piloted the ship, bucking, weaving, diving and rotating through a field of fire and death. Many decks below her, Master Chief O'Connel had proved his worth, finding the power where there should have been none to spare, shunting from the warp drive to the sheilds, keeping the ship alive. And Ida zh'Wann,of all people, had brought the USS Harbinger, the vessel whose captain had tried to turn Natalie's crew against its rightful CO, in to the battle like an avenging angel, living up to that ships name. A Harbinger of doom for the Calamity. She watched in muted horror as the link between the two ships cut out midway through Trent's reply to Ida.

Her ship shuddered with the release of more torpedoes, the last of the torpedoes, as Theurgy rained down what death it could upon the Calamity class vessel. She too, was unaware that Trent was no longer the highest ranking officer on the bridge. She couldn't afford to look away from her console and the tactical display on the main view screen.

Natalie's jaw had hung open, slightly, as she witnessed the two vessels ram together. Her console collated scans and tabulated data, marking the exact moment and ferocity in which first the Harbinger, then the Calamity suffered through warp core breeches. The ships sensors did what they could to dampen the effect of the sudden, white glare, but even they could compensate only so much, and, like many, the Ops officer turned her head slightly, even as she worked to keep routing power to the shields facing the explosion. A nearby war core breach was a cataclysmic event to witness, and could wreck havoc on a starship. Two such explosions, one after another...

When the ship settled, it was, safe to say, something Natalie hoped to never experience again. The ship weathered the onslaught, if barely. Shields dropped down to a scant 20%, and everything shook violently. On the screen before them, the visual flared again, static blue green, as derbies from the two ships bounced of the weakened - but holding - shields. Thrown up against the backdrop of the red protostar, space around the Theurgy looked like nothing short of a glimpse into Hell itself, for Natalie.

Orders were given to scramble any and all shuttles, and Natalie passed them down to the shuttle bay, swallowing back the bile and tamping down the shakes that threatened to overwhelm her, before passing the launch coordination along to the Yeoman currently manning the Mission Ops station behind her. For her part, she made sure that the shuttle bay had enough power. That the phaser banks wouldn't suddenly cut out, and that the comms wouldn't go down to the fighters still working to clean up the mess of remaining Reavers. It was a balancing act, as her eyes raked over her controls, only to stop, her head jerking up and back, over her shoulder. Eyes wide, with shock, and relief, as she took in the site of Ives and Rez. She heard Lt. Cmdr. Trent turn control of the ship back over to its rightful captain, and she hated to inturrupt, but...

"Sir..." She said softly, glancing from Trent, to Ives, and back again, swallowing. It was a toss up as to which officer she was addressing. Regardless, she continued, "Sensor logs indicated that prior to the point of impact, there were three life signs on the Harbinger. Apparently, when the auto destruct began, the rest of the crew evacuated the ship." She started to continue, but her console chimed. One of the search programs, scanning the remnants of the battle outside their hull, had come up with a new signal.

"Captain," she said, addressing Ives this time, directly, "I'm picking up a recovery for an escape pod, standard Starfleet issue." She swallowed again, "And a request at comm level to tie into the ships tactical net." Turning back around, not waiting for an order, Natalie worked through the digital hand shake, "Confirming - Pod launched from USS Harbinger." It would not do them any good to inadvertently accept a data link to a false pod launched from the Calamity. "Bringing comm's online now, sir. Channel ready at your discretion." At the same time, she patched the recovery coordinates off to Yeoman Henshaw, to relay to the fighters, for over watch, and the shuttle crew for the recovery proper.

---

OOC: Well, that was fun! As always, let me know if I missed anything and i'll be happy to clean it up. Too many long days of work = not enough posting fun for Bru.

[ Open space near the remains of Escape Pod A-475 ] Attn: All, esp. ThanIda zh'Wann, Amelya Duv, Jien Ives, Natale Stark, & Cameron Henshaw

When the comm-system let him know that he was tied into the Theurgy, CJ said "This is Ensign Christopher Slayton, two zero four nine seven one, formerly of the Harbinger. I'm with Lieutenants ThanIda zh'Wann and Amelya Duv, sorry we're late to the party Theurgy but I am requesting a priority distress call."

CJ took long enough to look at both of the women that he was holding onto, his arms not really straining due to the systems of the exosuit but the day's events was already quickly catching up to him and he was starting to feel the exhaustion of doing a multi-deck combat climb catching up with him.

"As far as I can tell, both Lieutenant zh'Wann and Duv are alright and my sensors are showing that their exosuits are working properly without any breaches at the moment so we're safe but a SAR pick up is requested." he said firmly into the channel before looking over at zh'Wann and giving her a smile. "Also, request permission to speak with Theurgy Actual."
=============================

OOC: Sorry if these last couple of posts are a little short, getting ready for the new work year. Also if I got the location wrong, I apologize ahead.

[ Ryuan Sel | Life Support Systems | Sickbay] Atten: Sarresh Morrali

Sel shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she waited. The fact that there really wasn't a good way to hook up the canisters meant that it took Sarresh a good few minutes longer than Sel wanted to wait. And then came the news she really did not want to hear. They would have to wait even longer before the Lexorin would even be dispersed and in the mean time they would have to wait there in order to load up the second half.

Closing the door to prevent anyone from bursting in and trying to stop them would have been ideal, but as the panel was broken and now had a dead pilot sticking in it, it seemed like that option was out.

Yet as she turned around to check on Sarresh she had an idea. The biobed, once uncovered, would be just about the right size to block off the doorway.

"Ok, I think we should barricade this door before anyone shows up and tries to stop us releasing the lexorin," she began as she moved over to the Temporal Affairs Officer. "I think if we jam the biobed into the doorway it should work, after we clear it off first."

She did her best to smile as she lifted a cannister and set it on the floor.

[ Sarresh Morrali | Life Support Systems ] Atten:  Ryuan Sel

He didn't quite scowl as he ran his fingers through his hair again, mostly in frustration. Waiting was not something he was good at, these days. And especially not after what had happened. But he bit back any sharp reply and simply uttered a cool, simple, "Acknowledged. Will await your notification." Or our utter destruction he thought with more then a little unspoken snark. The room shook again, as another strike impacted the ships shields, and Sarresh held his ground, muttering something foul under his breath.

Feeling Sel approach, before she spoke, Sarresh managed to turn around to face her as she came near, listening, his expression attentive - certaninly more expressive then usual. With a slow nod, the trim man reached out as well, grabbing a canister. "Its a sound idea," he said to her, walking the short distnace from the biobed to the pile the Bajoran was starting. "And given our options, probably the most effective." Aside from locking him in a room with the woman he was currently lusting after, things were going rather peachy.

They made short work of the remaining canisters, shoe horning them into one corner of the cramped Life Support control room, without really blocking anything important. Twisting the biobed around would  be the tricky part, given the less then spacious, close quarters they were in. His artificial eyes saught out, and met with the Petty Officer's, as he began to manipulate the bed up onto one side. "Take that end?" he asked her, pointing and - as always now, it seemed - trying not to stare at the view she offered from behind. He was really starting to hate how Eve Jenkin's pheromones had affected him, almost as much as he hated the late, but certainly not unlamented, Bleed.

With a thump, they were able to get the bed into place, fairly snug against the partially closed doors. The question that remained was simply, how well would it stand up to an assault by determined mutineers, should any of them figure out what Sel and Sarresh were up to. Before the TAO could ask her opinion on 'What Next?' the ship was rocked by heavier fire, sending everything in the room scattering about. One of the canisters broke loose from the pile they'd just finished setting into place, and bounces into the back of Sarreh's legs - sending him straight into P.O. Ryuan.

---

OOC: Short, but moves things along a bit. Sirus, lemme know if there needs to be any changes.

[ Ryuan Sel | Life Support Systems | Sickbay] Atten: Sarresh Morrali

As she moved the canisters from the biobed Sel did her best to not bend over to much, something that would expose the still damp spot on her panties. Despite the assault and her own desire to keep control the pheromones from the Deltan head nurse still pumped through her veins and into her mind, causing her body to ache. She wanted to touch and to be touched, to fuck like some wild and mountable creature. Bajoran women were known for their passion and the pheromones did nothing to help her keep control of herself. Still she had done her best to ignore the feelings and urges they caused her, she did not have time to waste on them.

As the last canister was removed and the biobed was jammed into place, the biobed was just about the same size as the opening and with a few pumps on the manual override the biobed was jammed in the opening tightly enough that it would be next to impossible to get in or out of the room. The manual override would need to be disengaged, then door could move freely and the biobed removed. With the state of damage the door had gone through before they had even gotten there it would take an engineer who knew the system, probably someone from the Theurgy, a few minutes at least to get them out. They would be trapped until the fighting was over.

And then the ship shook violently. In a moment she was reminded of the Calamity and it seemed less likely than ever before that either of them would leave the room alive and in one piece. But before she could put to much thought into it a loose canister caused Sarresh to lose his footing and tumble into her.

Before Sel could stop herself she had her arms around him, their faces close. And then he lost control. She had maintained control as long as she had kept her distance, now breathing in the smell of his sweat, feeling the warmth of his body against her. She could not help herself or even stop herself at this point. She kissed him. Not a sweet soft kiss, but one blinded by primal lust. Her fingers clawing at his back, grabbing hold of the medical gown her still worse. At that point any true thinking or analytical part of her brain jumped ship and left her wanting nothing more than to fuck, and fuck hard.

[ Thea | Mk I Reaver Attack Fighter ] Attn: Miles Renard

Drifting in silence, Thea had time to analyse the turn-out of the battle, and also, calculate what might have transpired if she'd acted differently. It was a background task, however, run primarily by the processor in her mobile emitter. She remained projected in the pilot's seat inside the Reaver since her body was strapped to it, and the emitter would float away if she powered down. She had shut down the pain receptors in her sensory mapping, and was not likely going to visit the memory of the pain in her memory banks any time soon. The silence was oddly... comforting, even if it was restricted to her projection alone.

Primarily, her tasks were devoted to whatever assignments were given to her by the bridge crew and the rest of the departments, whom were all dedicated to damage control to some extent - some more than others. She generated and observed the datafeed from her physical self via the wireless link, not quite certain how her crew would treat her after what she had done. Was she now a liability because of her actions? Would her freedom be restricted by updated security clearances? Or would they understand her? Forgive her folly and attribute it to the fact that she was trying to save her daughter?

She had no way of knowing for certain, and did not want to put credence in the odds she derived.

[Thea can you hear me.  I just wirelessly tethered my ship's computer to your emitter.  That blast fried the on-bord computer so I'm flying blind.  Do you think you can access my ship's systems and...]

Hearing Miles' voice, Thea closed her eyes as she listened to the request with the realisation that there was no use prolonging the silence she revelled in - knowing that there was no escape from the judgement of her own crew. The Vulpinian Lieutenant Commander was resourceful, and had found a way to reach her, and a means to give her remote control to his ship's systems. When he finished talking, she opened her eyes, and she answered through the digital link she shared with Miles' Valkyrie.

'I read you. Instead of waiting for help, I will make sure we get back.' She paused, the silence filled with meaning. 'Thank you, Miles Renard, for saving this emitter, and the freedom it grants me. Without it, I would now feel... reduced. Less than I now want to be, even if I still lack a couple of senses. A sense of smell, for instance...'

And thus, they made they way back to the Flight Hangar through the clouds of debris.

---

OOC: I think we can wrap this scene here, and if there is ought else to be said, it can be covered in the Epilogue thread.

Likewise, I will be ending this thread with my next Jien Ives post, both in regard to the bridge and the trio floating in space. The scenes in Life-Support and in Sickbay will be moved/continued in the Epilogue thread. I will arrange this via PMs and moving posts to the Epilogue once it is up. Still waiting for posts from Triage, Zenozine and RosariaRosette to post here.

[ Heather McMillan |  Corridor > Turbolift | Deck 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Lucan cin Nicander

[Show/Hide]

"Oh goodness!" exclaimed McMillan as she moved with all the speed and instinctive reflexes available to her to protect herself from anything potentially fatal. Still, for all her positioning and preparation, she still found herself in a most...unusual position, and with a man, no less. Blushing, the young woman made a nervous laugh, without smiling, and she looked away from the doctor's face. This isn't comfortable...

It wasn't that McMillan found Dr. Nicander so off-putting or unappealing. It was quite the opposite, but she wasn't comfortable at all because of how new all of the experiences were. After such a long time isolating herself even on board on a ship, and now suddenly opening up to so many people all at once. Well it was more than a little overwhelming to say the least.

She had been enjoying paying attention and learning about the Câroon from Nicander. He did a good job of detailing and describing the nature of his people along with their unique talents and abilities. She had wanted to say and express her envy of their race, when the ship had been shaken by a particularly powerful impact. In addition, there seemed to be a problem with the vessel's gravity controls, quite likely.

But her mind began to panic over something worse. Nicander! He wasn't in tip-top condition, and with his ribs being the way they were...and with the painkillers in place, he might not even realize that he'd aggravated his injuries. "Doctor," said McMillan nervously, "do you feel all right?"

She tried to gently move the doctor off herself and inspect him, her eyes glinting with flecks of light in them. "Best we get to the medical bay right now, yeah?"

---

[ Cameron "Cam" Elizabeth Henshaw | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Bridge Crew & Lone Wolves

[Show/Hide]

It was all Henshaw could do to keep track of the situation. Stark and Tovarek fed her a host of additional information, so her console was certainly kept quite busy, and the Yeoman relayed this information succinctly to Wolf Lead, keeping the wording to a minimum, and yet ensuring all necessary information reached the fighters. She watched how the displays kept updating instantly with new data and imagery. She didn't assume that the fighters could see all that was happening for a fact, and did her best to update without intruding too much on their concentration. She gritted her teeth whenever she saw one of the Valkyries disappear. One, was one too many, and more than one had been lost. Impacts from the Calamity rocked the Theurgy-class starship, more than once threatening to knock the petite young woman off her seat.

She spared a split second to glance desperately around at the bridge crew. Everyone was doing their best, and this gave Henshaw the grim determination to give the same. For the Theurgy and all aboard her.

Her hands and fingers hovered and danced over the consoles as she matched and transmitted all necessary information wherever they were needed, and that was when the Harbinger contacted them. The image wasn't good. However, when she heard the turbolift doors opening, she whipped her head around to see, very much to her relief, Captain Ives, Edena, and Wenn, all alive and well. Her lips parted in an open-mouthed smile of pure joy, but her attention was diverted back to her tasks when Trent ordered her to alert the shuttlebay to prepare for rescue operations. She nodded with an "Aye sir."

"Bridge to main shuttlebay," said Henshaw into the comm, "we have pods evacuating the Harbinger, prepare all craft available for emergency launch, mission rescue and recovery. Stand by."

She then sent a message for medical teams to stand by and be ready to receive injured personnel from the doomed vessel. Keeping her eyes on her console, where she could watch the Harbinger's final moments, Henshaw remained impassive in her expression as it exploded, destroying the Calamity once and for all. "This is for Lisa, you bitch." She whispered, gazing steadfastly at the blossoming image in the display, that was once the Calamity. Not once did she look up at the viewscreen itself, but she looked up at the ceiling, imagining Lisa's ghost smiling down at her, her death avenged at last. Henshaw smiled back, a single tear escaping from her left eye. As the last tremors ended following the destruction of two ships, she heard Trent's final order.

"All shuttlecraft, launch." She said, and then relayed Trent's command to the fighters, "All fighters, lure the Reavers into our weapons envelope."

When Trent turned over command back to Ives, Henshaw too, stood up. She turned and looked over at the captain, the look of relief pure and unmasked on her face. She only kept her look on him for a short while, before turning her attentions back to her station. Until told to leave, she decided it would be best to remain where she was. There was still a lot to be done, and a lot more to be laid to final rest. She closed her eyes for a moment and steadied her mind, then went back to it full force.

---

[ Edena Rez | Outside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Wenn Cinn, Dyan Cardamon & Jien Ives

[Show/Hide]

When the shot was fired, Edena Rez yelped in fright. For a split second she though it was Vasser that pulled the trigger, but as she felt the man's grip loosen, and she was suddenly standing under her own power, she realized at last that not only was she still alive, but Vasser was dead. For all his power, his strength, ambition...it all came to an abrupt and painful end, with one shot. Making a sort of whimpered noise of both relief and fright, she turned around to see who her savior was, and found herself looking up at Wenn. Her lips trembled as she moved her arms, wanting to hug him and just hold on, but she refrained. Instead she touched his hand and rested another cold palm on his chest, trying her best to rein in her emotions, though tears still fell down.

We're alive...we're alive... Edena could hear Kiya, Illya, and even to some extent, Jona, though the ghost was now sullenly sulking in the corner of her vision. He wasn't going to forgive any of the women any time soon. If there was one thing Jona could hold very well, it was a grudge.

"Thank you...thank you..." whispered Edena in a shaky, frail voice. She took out her hold-out hand phaser, and with a trembling hand, surrendered it to the Bajoran, "No matter what happens...if Captain Ives is near me, do not let me have any weapons...I'll explain, later."

Edena couldn't trust Jona not to do something incredibly stupid now, and so she had to do everything she could think of to safeguard the captain from herself. It was for the best. There was still plenty she could do. She could help in the medical bay, perhaps even return to her original job as a counsellor...well that was a briefly amusing thought. No, Edena would figure that out later. For now, they were still in danger. So she turned away from Wenn and gazed at Ives, who was also looking at her. She couldn't tell what he wanted to say, what he felt, with that expression of his, but she had the feeling she could hazard a wild guess. From the brig to now, she has been producing no end of surprises for him. Resigning from command, Jona trying to defect to Vasser, Edena's preference for death to being a problem for Ives, and now, the potential danger that she might, against her own will, try to kill Ives. She didn't think Jona might be that drastic, but she didn't want to take any chances.

When Ives moved, Edena followed mutely, keeping a fair distance.

[ Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ]

As she emerged from the turbolift with the captain and Wenn, she briefly saw Ida's face on the viewscreen, before it shut off, to reveal the horrific battle going on beyond, and Illya "reacted" a little. The Trill swallowed, and just fought down the suffocating sensation in her chest.

Carrigan Trent continued to issue commands, despite the arrival of the "command" crew, and that made sense, since Trent obviously had things in hand, and there wasn't time to get Ives up to speed with all that he would need to know. She almost wished that he hadn't come after and sent maybe a crew or something. Not that it was essential now, by the looks of things. But Edena couldn't help but feel that this was yet another reason for her to put distance between herself and the captain, especially if she might ever again be used against him/her. Edena couldn't live with that possibility.

But it ended. Just like that, it ended. The Harbinger throttled directly into the Calamity, and empathic warp-core overloads brought an end to the ship from the future. For all her advancements and capabilities, she had been overcome. Edena heaved a sigh of relief, hands clasped behind her, while she stood at parade rest after the upheavals ended. Trent stood up, and turned over controls to Ives, when Stark informed them of one of the pods having successfully escaped the destruction of the two ships, Illya was asking if Ida was in it. The answer came back a while later from Ensign Slayton, who affirmed the survival and presence of Ida and doctor Duv.

Pursing her lips, with her face contorted into a mixture of emotions, she stepped back, moving further and further away from the bridge. She was all but standing close to the turbolift now, ready to leave at a moment's notice. It was funny how, not too long ago, she had sat in that command chair, coordinated an evacuation, and yet now, she would thank the stars and Wenn's Bajoran deities if she never had to see the bridge ever again let alone sit in the command chair.

"It's over." She said under her breath, barely giving any voice to her words, "The worst is over."

It was a good thing she didn't really know or believe in jinxing, or she might have refrained from even thinking it.

[ USS Theurgy | Main Bridge | Deck 01 ] Attn: All

When Captain Ives had arrived to the bridge together with Edena and Cinn, his male form had adapted to wear his uniform jacket once more, and the first thing he saw was how the Harbinger had dropped out of warp on the viewscreen. This, while the bridge personnel were working furiously to keep the Theurgy from being destroyed by the merciless Calamity, and with Carrigan Trent in the seat of command. No more than having taken all that in, the hail from the Harbinger's Bridge came, and Jien saw the Deputy there, together with two from the Harbinger crew.

He had to admit that he'd had doubts about the Andorian's character, thinking her a blunt instrument, but even a sledgehammer had its purpose, and now he saw her apply herself to hers. With chilling determination, she ordered the cruiser into a collision course, and Jien could not think other than that whatever misgiving he'd had about Lieutenant zh'Wann before, this might truly be her act of redemption. Through the static, Jien heard her order all systems but transporters cut to increase velocity, so he could but hope the remaining crew on the Harbinger had some kind of escape plan in motion. This, however, proved unlikely since the collision came so soon after the hail ended, and Jien could not fathom any other outcome than he was seeing an entire crew complement die in the massive collision between the two ships.

Knowing how harsh he had been with Ida, how he had demoted her on Theta Eridani IV, seeing her sacrifice herself for the sake of her old crew was... humbling, to say the least. He could not think else than that the Deputy had always said her duty was to protect the crew of the Theurgy, but would she go so far as to sacrifice the skeleton crew of another ship to do it? Mister Trent and the bridge crew acted with alacrity, however, launching the rescue operation even before the afterimage of the warp core detonations faded from their eyes. There were fighter pilots out there too, and a few last Reavers to destroy, so the shuttles needed protection. A task left to Tactical and to Mission Ops, while Carrigan Trent rose from his seat and acknowledged Jien's presence on the bridge.

Seeing the man turn around to face him, it was evident that taking the command from Vasser and T'Rena had not come without cost, neither for him nor many others around him on the bridge. While Lieutenant Tovarek had cuts and large bruises over his face, and others wore armament and signs of fighting, the former Commander was limping his way over to Jien because of the wounds he had sustained. Besides the fact that he showed signs of bruising from de-pressurisation, burns across his remaining uniform and the deep cuts you got from metal and glass across his face, his bionic arm was coated with the translucent green of Vulcan blood. A fact that hinted to whom the man had fought and survived.

"The ship is yours, Captain Ives."

With those words heard, Jien could not help the faint smile that came to the corners of his eyes. It was a relief, to be certain, and he clasped the man's hand in gratitude - holding his gaze. "I knew you still had it in you. My gratitude, Mister Trent," he said, and let go. There was still much to be done, and they might just have seen too many forfeit their lives just so that they might live. The time to rejoice was yet to come... if it ever would. "I will take it from here. You ca-"

"Sir..." Hearing Natalie Stark call from her station, Jien turned his attention to her. "Sensor logs indicated that prior to the point of impact, there were three life signs on the Harbinger. Apparently, when the auto destruct began, the rest of the crew evacuated the ship."

This was heartening news, and Jien was immensely relieved to hear it, even if it still might mean that the Deputy and the two others they had seen on the Harbinger's bridge were dead. With a nod to Carrigan Trent, Jien stepped towards the Operations station. "Any signs that they made it?"

"I'm picking up a recovery for an escape pod, standard Starfleet issue, and a request at comm level to tie into the ships tactical net. Confirming - Pod launched from USS Harbinger. Bringing comm's online now, sir. Channel ready at your discretion."

"Patch it through," Jien said, turning to look at Mission Ops, where he saw Cam standing before she sat down to continue coordinating the rescue efforts. It seemed she had things well in hand and knowing that Cam had made it, Jien wanted to say more, but they would have to speak later. Instead, he said, "Mission Ops, send one of the shuttles to the origin of the signal."

Then a husky, male voice was heard on the bridge, rasping through the static of the comm-link. [This is Ensign Christopher Slayton, two-zero-four-nine-seven-one, formerly of the Harbinger. I'm with Lieutenants ThanIda zh'Wann and Amelya Duv, sorry we're late to the party Theurgy but I am requesting a priority distress call. As far as I can tell, both Lieutenant zh'Wann and Duv are alright and my sensors are showing that their exosuits are working properly without any breaches at the moment so we're safe, but a SAR pick up is requested. Also, request permission to speak with Theurgy Actual.]

There were whispered words and sighs of alleviation around the bridge. Hearing that the three were alive and well, Jien had also felt great relief, which might have touched the tone in his voice when he replied. "This is Captain Ives of the USS Theurgy... so I think you got the right connection, Ensign Slayton. Stay alive out there. We are coming to get you. You might not see us, but there is a whole bridge filled with people here who are grateful for what you just did. Better yet, that you are still alive."

There was a pause, then the voice of ThanIda zh'Wann was heard over the link. [This is zh'Wann, is Lieutenant Commander Wenn there?]

"He is," said Jien and turned his head to glance at the large Bajoran at the back of the Bridge.

[I hereby request you to consider my transfer back to the Theurgy,] she said, and you could almost hear the ruefulness across the comm-link. [If I may, I would like to serve in my old position as Deputy Chief of Security aboard. I seem to have misplaced the ship I was supposed to serve on.]

It was not only Ives that chuckled a little when the Andorian tendered her transfer request.

---

OOC: RosariaRosette, you have one last post to write with your two characters.

[ Open space near the remains of Escape Pod A-475 ] Attn: All, esp. ThanIda zh'Wann, Amelya Duv, Jien Ives, Natale Stark, & Cameron Henshaw


Husker was a tired fighter jock and while he was used to hard work and the such, his tiredness was only slightly confusing and besides he had a job to do as he kept his grip on both women firm and he refused to let go until they were safely aboard a ship because he had fought hard to keep the three of them alive and he would be damned if he let them down now.

Husker was distracted from his thoughts as the slightly accented voice of the Theurgy's commanding officer came through his comms with [This is Captain Ives of the USS Theurgy... so I think you got the right connection, Ensign Slayton. Stay alive out there. We are coming to get you. You might not see us, but there is a whole bridge filled with people here who are grateful for what you just did. Better yet, that you are still alive.]

Husker allowed himself a smile as he heard Ida's voice come over the comms with [This is zh'Wann, is Lieutenant Commander Wenn there?]

[He is,] the captain's voice came back.

[I hereby request you to consider my transfer back to the Theurgy,] she said, and you could almost hear the ruefulness across the comm-link. [If I may, I would like to serve in my old position as Deputy Chief of Security aboard. I seem to have misplaced the ship I was supposed to serve on.]

Husker couldn't help but give an honest sounding laugh to what the Zhen had said before squeezing Ida's forearm through the suit.

[Dr. Hayden O'Connor | Main Sickbay | USS Theurgy]

Hayden nodded at Hylota's suggestion that O'Connor should help dress Vinata and she set to work doing just that, making sure to explain what she was doing to Vinata so as not to traumatize him further. The last thing she wanted was for him to retreat further into his own mind and to cause more ire for his sister, who was clearly more affected by what she had been through than she was letting on. She offered another simple nod when the female Ovri explained she was going to search for a sling for her arm, though O'Connor felt a twinge of obligation to attend to Hylota more personally, if only to show her she wasn't alone. Circumstances aside, Hayden felt uncomfortable making someone treat their own injuries, particularly one of their own who'd left to help the entire crew, only to come back and discover the person she loved the most in worse shape than when she had left him. Even though Hayden knew she was not responsible for what Phantom had done, she still felt partially responsible. Sickbay was supposed to be a safe place Hylota had trusted her to protect and care for her brother at perhaps the lowest moment in his life to date.

Hayden finished dressing Vinata, and after another quick but thorough exam, she was satisfied he was physically and emotionally stable for the time being, noting the sedative Hylota had administered helped him virtually retreat into his own world. Hayden wasn't one hundred percent comfortable Hylota had administered drugs to a family member without supervision, but under the circumstances, she couldn't exactly blame her either.

The female Ovri's voice helped pull Hayden from her reverie and remind the counselor she had more work to do. She was grateful when Vinata requested a full body scan as Hayden felt compelled to do one anyway. After everything they been through, her maternal instincts were flowing full force, and though she was reminded everywhere about all those she had been unable to protect, including the corpses that needed to be moved to the morgue, the desire to personally examine everyone who looked remotely sick or injured could not be ignored. This was her ship and her crew, and no one was going to suffer any more than they had to, or come any closer to death than they already had.

Before she could focus on that task, however, Vinata reminded her of the grim work ahead with the simple question about transports to the morgue. It was a valid question since she had no idea what had transpired in the time she'd been gone, and they would need the room. Briefly closing her eyes, she mentally recalled the name of the other person lost besides Phantom. O'Connor vaguely recalled the deceased had been killed in some sort of altercation with Maal who’d been critically injured, but for the life of her, she couldn't recall the circumstances. At the moment, she supposed it no longer mattered, and besides, she been just a little bit focused on the other things. "Patrick Anderson expired here in the ICU not long ago, so I'd appreciate it if you could tend to him and move him to the morgue, as you're right, we could need the space." O'Connor took a deep breath then and forced herself not to think about anything else along those lines. She didn't want to think anymore about death and she had to focus on what was right in front of her.

She tapped a nearby bio bed and gestured for Hylota to hop on up and lie down. Expecting casualties any second, she couldn't escape a silent countdown in her head, but she pushed it aside and reminded herself to deal with the patient in front of her, one step at a time. Scanning slowly down the Ovri's body, she paused briefly at the nurse's abdomen, her expression as professionally unreadable as ever, in part because she knew it was necessary and in part because she couldn't be 100% sure she was reading things correctly. Nevertheless, every instinct told her she was right, even as her heart stopped for a moment on the female Ovri's behalf. Hayden placed her hand atop the other woman's out of instinct. Normally, she wouldn't make such a gesture without permission, but these were not normal times. "Hylota, according to these scans, you are pregnant. This diagnosis is consistent with what I'm reading hormonally as well as what I'm showing in your abdominal scans. I'd recommend you meet with Doctor Nicander to confirm this, as he is the most up-to-date on Ovri physiology, but please know, I'm here for you medically and emotionally."

Before Hylota had a chance to respond, they were both interrupted by increased chatter out in the main ward. Hayden rushed out, fearing they were facing another attack. She exhaled as soon as her eyes rested on the new arrivals, Heather McMillan and Doctor Nicander himself.  "Well speak of the devil," O'Connor muttered.

[Open space near the remains of Escape Pod A-475 ]

Amelya tried to keep her breathing under control as much as she could as they awaited their SAR team to arrive. It was nearly impossible to believe that they survived the entire ordeal yet she was grateful. In fact, she was even more grateful when she heard her two comrades still alive and seemingly well when she listened in to the brief exchange between first Husker and afterwards Ida with the Theurgy.

The young Trill doctor looked around as this was really one of the few times she had actually been really out in open space. She looked at the remains and debris of the Calamity and Harbinger as her eyes gazed further to the red proto star. It was horrifying yet so peaceful and beautiful to watch at the same time. She squeezed softly in Both Ida's and CJ's forearms as she held on to the both of them, making sure to not let go. The last thing they wanted was to be set a drift in open space.

Eventually Amelya closed her eyes again as she felt her body tremble a bit as most of her adrenaline levels started to plummet. She could feel the sore and the hurt from all the climbing and from the events that had lead to their current position. It was something she never thought herself doing, yet here she was, awaiting a pickup and a whole new ship to explore.

[Simon Tovarek | USS Theurgy | Main Bridge | Deck 01 ]

After what seemed to be a grand finale between two starships, Simon had kept his eyes locked on the viewscreen as his scientific mind was too curious to how this would look like from a distance. Ideas of the energy being released and the sheer mass and power that had to be involved already distracting him from his duty at hand. Yet when the best of it seemed to be over he heard the hail from the remaining crew requesting a SAR.

He worked on grid locking their coordinates and showed it up on the view screen where the three survivors should be. He added the info about the ETA for SAR to arrive before he cracked his fingers against each other and taking a deep breath. He looked around now from his station, first over to Natalie who was still busy with ops before he looked over his shoulder to Henshaw at Tactical. He nodded at her, showing her in a nod of appreciation that she did a good job. Yet only then did he see the exchange between Ives and Trent as the captain retook command of his ship.

"I bloody hell hope we don't get one of those things after us again..." he mumbled behind his station before his body started to ache and his face felt a bit numb from the bruises. "Great, I'll even have a headache and it won't be from drinking..." He muttered after feeling up his cheek and bruises. His body started to signal him where else he had been hurt during this mutiny and his thoughts rather quickly brought him to Tatiana Marlowe. Her situation still unclear to him since the start of all this. He promised himself to visit her once time and duty allowed him.

[ Tessa May Lance (https://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/0/d/tessa_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6mx6.png) | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf -07 | USS Theurgy ]  Attention: Wolves and Mission Ops

Tessa's fighter rocked as a piece of space debris bounced off her wing and took down what was left her shields.  Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, the young lieutenant could feel just how tired she really was.  The number of damage reports the Valkyrie's computer was giving her meant that Nightmare's Valk had had enough exercise for one day too. 

First things first.  Time to get the sensors back online.  Apparently she hadn't been a hundred percent fast enough because her sensors were down.   Even so, being this close to the pseudostar and the lights shining off the Theurgy's hull gave her more than enough luminance to look out of the canopy at the not so empty space around her and actually see objects drifting out there. 

She wasn't the only fighter that had sought shelter behind the Theurgy.  She waved at the other fighter while waiting for her sensors to come back online, even though it would be impossible for the other pilot to see her with the naked eye.

Finally, some of her sensors came back on line.  Data started returning to her screens.  Now where was everyone?  Who had survived?  The fighter closest to her was...

...A Reaver!   One of the ruttin' enemy!  Apparently it had temporarily lost sensors too because after identifying it, Tessa suddenly registered an active scan coming from the enemy fighter.  It had a weapons lock on her!  And Tessa's shields weren't back up yet; she was a sitting duck!  

Activating her sublight drives, she shot forward heading straight for the Reaver.  Screaming like a banshee she peppered the Reaver's shields with her Valkyrie's pulse phasers only to see it shudder under weapons fire.  The shield harmonics of the enemy hadn't been changed; the information that Thea had sent Tessa and her fellow Lone Wolves was still good!  Tessa's first shot must have caused a malfunction with its weapons system, because for some reason it hadn't shot at Tessa's Valkyrie yet.  

The Reaver exploded under Tessa's onslaught, but Goldeneye's elation was cut short when a fragment of the enemy fighter bounced off her starboard wing and sent her spiraling out of control.  Oops.  Tessa's shields had been knocked out.  And now she just lost her starboard stabilizer.  "Oh well," she thought, "in an emergency I can always use one of the fighters Dor'GhItlh Squardon left in our fighter bay."

"Theurgy this is Goldeneye,"  she said as she brought her injured Valkyrie to a full stop and activated her short range comm.   "Requesting permission to come home."

---

[ William Robert "Billy Bob" O'Connell (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/156/7/9/o_connell_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7l44xt.png) | USS Theurgy | Main Engineering | Deck 10 ]  Attention:  Bridge

A cheer went through engineering when Petty Officer Tenchi Koizumi thought to patch one of the viewscreens into the feed coming from the external sensors.  The fireball created by the Harbinger's collision with the Calamity was still visible, even with the psuedostar as a backdrop. 

"Woo!" Master Chief William Robert O'Connell howled triumphantly when it became obvious that the Theurgy was no longer going to be shot at.  Then he sobered when he realized that he still didn't know which captain was in charge of the ship!  There was a quick and easy way to find out.  "Engineering to bridge," the burly engineer drawled as he slapped his combage.  "Is it over?"

"Yes, Chief O'Connell. It is over," the familiar sound of Captain Ives' masculine voice replied.  "You may return to your station here on the bridge as whenever you are ready."

"Captain Ives!" O'Connell blurted out before the rest of his response was drowned out by another cheer from the men in engineering.   The Calamity was gone and Captain Ives had the bridge again.  It really was over. 

But when Billy Bob realized that they were still friendless, on the run and stuck with an uneducated enlisted man for a chief engineer he realized that in many ways the war had just begun...

[ Wenn Cinn | USS Theurgy | Main Bridge | Deck 01 ] Attn: All

---

          Cinn stuck close to his Captain as they made their way to the bridge, he had come this far, so he was not going to let the Captain out of his sight until the ship was well and truly theirs again. He moved along with Captain Ives back onto the bridge, as they arrived he took up his position on the ridge. As Captain Ives was handed control of the sip again he felt a sense of relief  wash over him although there was much needing to be done it at last put them on the road to recovery from what they had fought through today.

As Cinn took his place and looked to the screen as the USS Harbinger began to make its move to save the Theurgy. Wenn Cinn would have commented on the tactics that they were using and how extreme it was, but he had to admit he would have likely done the same, but this Sledge Hammer tactic was indeed one of the best solution for the matter at hand, even if both ships were fully manned it, would have been unlikely that they could have pulled victory out of this conflict.

As the ships collided Cinn directed his attention to the tactical station and look over his readouts to make sure the there was nothing of hazard that he should inform Ives about, but thankfully there appeared to be a calm that they were entering now after the collision of the ships. But as they were contacted and Cinn was actually called on for a question. Looking up from his station he listened to the request, he tried to smile from the joke, but a serious look lingered on his face. "Indeed... As much as I wish I could share a good joke with you at this point in time, I fear that current information here prevents me from being so jovial. When we get you aboard I will need your assistance rounding up what remains of Vasser's security forces, I hold out hoping that things can be resolved peacefully, but I get the feeling that we will be spending a lot of time isolating people and gathering testimonies. I will work to gather up a team, I expect you will impress me as always. I will send for you after you are cleared for duty."

Cinn looked to his station and began to go over those that he could hopefully call upon to help him with rounding up the crew, after whet had happened he needed to make a full picture of hat went on, find out who had been turned forcefully, and contain any potential threat to his fellow crew, because if one of his officer as caught in the act of rape, he had to assume that others might have been doing similar acts, and these people needed to be contained before the they caused a scene or got themselves hurt. "Captain, with the events that happened your Loyal crew discarded their comm badges, we will need to broadcast a message to the crew to get loyal crew out of hiding and back to helping sort out damages and injuries caused by the mutiny."

---

---

[ Hylota Vojona | Main Sickbay | USS Theurgy]

---

          Hylota nodded as she was told about a body that need to be transported to the morgue, and she took in the identity of the person as she was adjusting her arm in her sling so that she would not have to deal with any possible discomfort later on. "Alright then, I will take care of the body and hopefully Dr. Nicander will return and bring leadership back to the sickbay before I get back. With what is coming I would love to have him here to guide our efforts." Hylota sighed as she was motioned to lay down on one of the bio beds so that she could be scanned more easily. As she walked over to the bed she hopped up onto it and then laid down on it and for the first time in hours she closed her eyes and took deep breath to try a relax herself and give Dr. Hayden what would hopefully be proper readings.

As Dr. Hayden began her scan Hylota felt herself relaxing as she laid there with her eyes closed. She listened to the beeping of the scanner as it moved over her body, but she could hear the beeping of abnormalities as the device passed over her midsection. As the scan concluded Hylota opened her eyes an she lifted her head to look at Dr. Hayden and she took in the news that she was showing signs of a pregnancy. Letting out a groan Hylota rested her head to the bed and placed a hand to her forehead. "Wonderful, just wonderful, this is not what I wanted to deal with..." As Nicander arrived, Hylota sat herself up and looked to Hayden before she left her side. "Doctor, I do not have time to discuss my sexual affairs at present, and with what is coming I cannot take priority." She rubbed her head. "I think we should meet up... this is all a bit much... I need to think about this, but I can assure you that things will be moving along quickly for me." She got out of the bed. "I would like it if we could keep this between us for now, it is quite likely that this pregnancy will fail, I do not want to cause too much of a stir if that come to be the case."

Getting up and walking towards Heather and Nicander, Hylota bowed slightly to show respect. "I am glad to see the two of you are alright, Heather I would hate to ask something of you so soon after all you have had to do, but I would like for you to supply Dr. Hayden with a sample of your salve so that we can safely break it down from my system." She forced a smile. "When this is all over I would like to share a drink with you and have some well deserve relaxation. Maybe you can share our adventures with me." She then looked to Nicander. "Doctor, there is a deceased crewman, I will take care of his body and relocate him to the morgue before things get hectic here." She then took a deep breath. "And before you inquire Doctor, my brother has suffered in our absence, he is no longer fit for duty and requires isolation... I do not have time, nor do I wish to elaborate further. With your permission I would like to get on with my duties." It was clear Hylota was trying to bury her feelings under her work ad get the tasks at hand done.

[ Captain Jien Ives | Turbolift > Sickbay | Deck 07 ] Attn: Hayden O'Connor, Hylota Vojona & Heather McMillan

The voice from out there in the radiation of the proto star answered Wenn Cinn, and Jien heard Deputy zh'Wann acknowledging her orders through the static of the link.

[Understood, Lieutenant Commander. Thank you for your confidence in me, even if I requested that transfer. We are activating the beacons on our suits now to help with the SAR, and I will report to duty as soon I am able. Lieutenant zh'Wann out.]

The Chief of Security raised valid concerns. Turning to Cinn, Jien nodded solemnly in agreement. There was indeed still cause for concern and much to be done, and they would not be safe until all departments were secured. He opened his mouth to give the orders, but Thea chimed via the intercom.

[The message has been sent. All crew that did not rally to Lieutenant Commander Trent's call to arms prior to the battle has been instructed to report to their superior officers. If I may, I do have some good news in regard to the crew that was loyal to Vasser. It would seem that T'Rena utilised the Vulcan mind-meld to guarantee their loyalty to Vasser and his ambitions. After the hostile takeover, Doctor Lahkesis Saugn suggested to use Lexorin to alleviate the indoctrinated state-of-mind of the Vasser Loyalists. This has proved effective, even if the effect is temporary, but it will help rounding them all up so that Doctor Maya and Ensign Cir'Cie can clear their minds permanently, using the same Vulcan technique that T'Rena utilised. The fact that Doctor Maya managed to restore the mind of Ensign Cir'Cie proves that we possess the means to restore the entire crew, this by using with the dispersal system we added to my Life Support systems after the Niga Incident.]

Taking all the information in, Jien nodded slowly in thought. He suppressed the relief he felt, dared not rely on the hope that Thea gave them all, and tried to ignore the flare of ire he felt towards the late Captain and his Vulcan second-in-command. That they would have gone to such extremes, breaking the minds of so many people just to see their will through, it was so vile it practically made his stomach turn. At the same time, this meant that the crimes committed by the brain-washed Vasser Loyalists needed to be absolved by all rights, despite how a lot of people might not accept the absolution so easily. After the Niga incident, the infected did not remember what they had done, which had made things a bit easier for everyone involved. Now, however, they might no be so lucky. Briefly, Jien considered if the removal of memories from the Vasser Loyalists were a viable option, but in the end, such telepathic tampering would not make him any better than Vasser.

"What is the status of this Lexorin option?" he asked in the end, brow furrowed in thought.

[Lieutenant Eve Jenkins, Junior Lieutenant Sarresh Morali and Petty Officer Ryuan Sel has already synthesised enough Lexorin for me to disperse. Morali and Ryuan are standing by, ready for the command to activate it. When the dispersal has been executed, I will broadcast the instruction for all affected crew to report to Sickbay, where Doctor Maya and Ensign Cir'Cie must be prepared to receive them.]

Pausing before he spoke, Jien looked towards Wenn Cinn. "Coordinate with Thea and our two Vulcan officers. Have your teams oversee these proceedings. If the effect of Lexorin would wear out before the Vulcans can handle them all, the affected crew need to remain in line until they have all been restored to whom they once were. Give word to the Temporal Affairs Officer and the Petty Officer once you are ready. Best of luck, old friend. Keep us posted."

Having given his orders, Jien changed... to her female form, and she walked to the command chair. She sat down with a deep breath, watching the launched shuttles head into the debris clouds. "The remaining crew on the Harbinger abandoned ship before it arrived here," she said quietly, and she thought of what she had said to Vasser before Wenn Cinn shot him. "We won't leave anyone behind. Somehow, they need to be found and given the chance to have their mind's cleared from T'Rena's touch. Hopefully, once they have come to terms with what happened to them, they will return to duty aboard this ship instead."

For a moment, Jien observed how one of the Valkyries were towing a damaged Reaver back to the Theurgy - the magnified image on the viewscreen for a couple of seconds before switching to another part of the rescue operations."Tend to our wounded and begin repairs," she said thoughtfully, glancing to the crew around her. "There is a lot to be done. I want reports every hour until further notice. As always, propulsion and tactical systems take priority."

Starfleet could find them any moment, and they had to be able fight for their own survival.

---

OOC: Post with Dr. Nicander coming soon!

[ Dr. Nicander | Turbolift > Sickbay | Deck 07 ] Attn: Hayden O'Connor, Hylota Vojona & Heather McMillan

Finding himself on top of the Radiant, propping himself up on his arms where he lay between her legs, Lucan soon realised that the situation had likely become quite... awkward. Well, at least for Heather. Of course, while it was inspirational, it was awkward for him too since he had to handle the situation in a way that would not shed bad light upon his own character. Despite how... inspirational it was.

His injuries reminded themselves though, having been jarred by the fall, and his breath caught as his sharp mind centred on something so trivial as pain. He touched his side, hearing Heather ask about his condition and feeling her light hands guide him into a more comfortable position. Eyes lined with pain that persisted despite the shot he got from her, he met her eye as he sat back. If there was something that had passed between them, Lucan had lost the opportunity to see it in her face. He had no way of guessing her thoughts, and little time to pursue them. The turbolift doors opened, and they were on Deck 07.

"Indeed, it seems we are there already. My apologies," he said and grimaced as he got back on his feet. He set the pace down the corridor, ship still rocking now and then, until they finally reached the main entrance of his domain. The sight of him had the effect of medical personnel deferring to him immediately, and some patients in the waiting room called for his aide. Others than Heather were worried about him too, given his state of appearance, but Lucan managed to keep moving and placate the people that came towards him with quick words of reassurance. As he was stalled, he saw Chief Counselor O'Connor talking to Hylota before they both came to meet up with him and Heather.

When Hylota requested Heather's help and suggested that they'd share a drink, Lucan did not let his thoughts about what the two of them would look like together show in his bruised face. Rather, he simply met the Ovri's black eyes with a calm air about him - absorbing the information about the dead body and the state of her brother with a frown. "I'm sorry to hear about your brother. We'll do all we can for him, of course. Please, have that arm seen to with Heather's assistance and resume your duties as soon as you can. Like you say, the injured are bound to come here any time now."

Then he turned to Hayden O'Connor, giving her a smile. He had heard from the one posted in the reception area that she was in command. "My gratitude for standing in after I had to escape from the mutineers. The winds know I am grateful that we now have a counselor with medical expertise. I will take it from here, but please, fill me in and stay to help if you can."

That was when the emergency entrance doors slid open, and through them walked Lin Kae and Rihen Neyah, carrying... chairs. Behind the two engineers, the EMH Mk 1 hologram carried a lifeless woman that Lucan remembered from the Senior Staff meeting. A certain Selena Ravenholm, unless he was mistaken. To top it off, Skye Carver - one of the Lone Wolves - were providing armed escort to the group with a phaser rifle. It was not until the two Engineers got up on their chairs to repair the holoemitters in the ceiling that Lucan could piece together what was going on. Evidently, the patient depended on the hologrid to stay alive.

"Prepare a surgical suite," he called out, and despite the fact that he was injured as well, he picked up a labcoat from a peg on his way to meet up the EMH. "If someone can find Doctor Maya, tell her that she'll have a patient there. I need to coordinate with the different wards before I can take patients of my own. Give the engineers some room, people. They are repairing the emitters for us."

In the end, Lucan did not know what compelled his actions any more. It did not matter, it seemed, because as long as he aided the crew, he could continue his act and remain above any suspicion, and hopefully, he could learn for himself what his motivations had become of late. All he knew was that the mutiny had placed him in harm's way, and he had still fought to preserve Ives' command of the ship.  The thing inside was no help either, unable to help maintaining the façade, especially around the exciting Radiant specimen. It begged a lot of questions that he had no answers for.

For if he found himself willing to bleed for the ignorant opposition that he surrounded himself with, what did that make him? 

[Fasha "Morrigan" | Lone Wolves Squadron | USS Theurgy]

As the battle waged between the Lone Wolves and the USS Calamity's Reaver contingent losses were had on both sides of the conflict. With Quake's death Fasha could feel the wound upon her soul inflicted by Oracle's death widen another one of her family was gone. Her grip on her flight stick tightened for a brief moment her eyes fluttered shut in remembrance to the lost but only for a moment as they once more opened. There would be time to properly mourn the lost when the battle was won. Her thoughts were drawn elsewhere however as Goldeneye's voice came over the comms.

"This is Goldeneye to all fighters!  Collison imminent for the Calamity and the Harbinger!  Recommend evasive..."

Fasha turned her head toward the massive pair of capital ships. One moving at ramming speed toward the other whilst the other unloaded every bit of ordnance it seemed to be carrying upon the approaching craft. The sight alone was enough to prompt Fasha to quickly throttle her fighter up and bank away from the two ships towards the Theurgy. She was more focused on making distance not wishing to be anywhere near the blast the collision both ships would cause. Her fighter gunned forward at breakneck speed but just as she was about to enter the safety of the Theurgy's shield she felt a shockwave ripple across the black. The force of the blast pushed her fight forward she quickly pulled back on the flight stick and activated the craft's underside repulsors.

She felt the cockpit's safety restraints tighten around her chest as her body was rocked forward from the sudden cease in momentum. As the fighter came to a stop her body was thrust back into the seat her head knocking against the head rest of her cockpit causing dots to blossom across her vision. Her breaths came out in shallow wheezes as she brought a hand to her chest trying to rub the pain caused by her seat restraints away. Once she'd steadied her breath at last she let her body go limp in her seat as she relaxed. She listened in on the comms which were still chattering away in her helmet although somewhat muted likely from some sort of damage caused by her helmet hitting the seat so hard.

Fasha listened for a moment trying to make out anything being said on the comms before she thrust her head back once more hitting her helmet against the seat. This time the comms came through clear as whatever had been knocked loose apparently fell back into place.

"Theurgy this is Goldeneye." Fasha felt relief rush through her at hearing Tessa's voice to know someone was okay after everything they'd gone through thus far. "Requesting permission to come home." Tessa's voice said once more.

Fasha flipped her own comm on "I second that request Theurgy..." Fasha said breathlessly as she once more sank into her seat closing her eyes for a moment.

[ Eun Sae Ji | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy]

Eun Sae was in the midst of pointing out a few errors that had come up in one of the MK-IIIs propulsion output regulation systems to a few of her team members when Sten's voice calling out new orders. Any remaining repairs would have to be put on hold as Eun Sae once again summoned the members of her team with a sharp whistle before cupping her hands around her mouth "You heard the Chief clear up the deck!!" Eun Sae called out before turning to jog up to Sten himself. She felt a light strange feeling in the pit of her gut at seeing the man again. Yes she'd seen him across the deck but ever since she'd returned this was the closest she'd been to the man since what had occurred between them before her transfer to the Harbinger. She shoved the feeling out of mind however as she arrived at Sten's side.

"Sir!" She said nodding at him she was really unsure of where to begin did he just want the bare minimum or should she go into detail on how this entire debacle had begun. In the end she decided to provide him with what was important at the moment "I did my best to get the hangar operational again with what little I had to work with! The Harbinger sent me back over to try and get the Theurgy's flight deck operational after their initial takeover. Thea arrived shortly after my own arrival and requested my assistance in repairing the Reaver we had on hand. She believed with it she could somehow prevent the Calamity from assaulting us. After I assisted her member of the deck crew and other mixed department crew members began to filter into the hangar I put them to work to the best of my ability" Eun Sae said quickly in one breath.

She felt a small burn of shame at how her attempt to take charge had gone. In her own mind it had gone extremely poorly considering the fact that the Hangar was still the mess that it was when she'd arrived. "Fortunately I managed to prep all of our remaining fighters for launch if there is any positive to be taken from any of this sir." Eun Sae said finally taking a deep breath to replace the one she'd been holding onto all this time. As she finished speaking however she felt the entire deck rock. She felt her feet fall from under her as a blinding flash appeared and before she knew it she was on the floor of the deck recovering from whatever had shook the deck so hard.

[ Miles Renard (Iron-Fox) | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf-01 ] Attn: Mission Ops, Lone Wolves Squadron, Thea
Miles spoke through the computer and simply thanked Thea for the assistance then added something he felt Thea needed to hear before opening up the comm systems to reach mission ops and the remaining Valkyries.  "Thea, I want you to know." he paused.  “What you did, I doubt there is a crew member or officer on the Theurgy who wouldn't risk their career and rank to attempt the same if it was their child instead." he said before adding.  "Perhaps there is still hope for her though, perhaps with our efforts we will able to save the Calamity of this timeline. Even if we couldn't save the one from the spoiled future we wish to prevent, perhaps by defeating the enemy that seeks to destroy us The Calamity who is yet to be built can be saved from the one we have lost's fate."  He toggled a few switches in the cockpit focusing the sensor systems and setting a course for the Theurgy. Slowly he began bringing the com systems online again.

“All fighters, lure the Reavers into our weapons envelope.”

"You heard miss-ops," he said catching the last of the address.  "If you are still combat shape then take’em out. When they go down I want you to tow in whatever large pieces of hull you can.  Papa Bear's gonna need a lot of spare armor and hull components for the repairs and I want to lose as little as possible to that gravity well.  Make sure you don't bring anything in with a functioning holo-emitter though. We all know the damage Cala herself did when she attacked us from the inside once and I don't want the pilot holo's to have even a chance to do the same."

Knowing there was still one part of his mission left to go he sent a signal to the fighter bay letting them know to be prepared to lock on with a tractor beam to guide the Reaver back into the hangar before vectoring the Valkyrie back onto course and angling her to the approach vector to land.  "Wolf 01 to lone wolves.  I'm RTB.  Send wing report pings".  I want to know who's flying and who's drifting. I haven't detected quake's ship on sensors for a while so I know there's at least one ship dead in the water."  Mission ops please advise have any pilots emergency transported back to base.  I 'm going to need a casualty report on both ships and pilots"
He sighed before hanging his head down for a moment feeling a mix of victory and defeat.  It was hard not to notice how barely functional his ship was currently as he spoke aloud with no one other than Thea to hear.  "All this things good for now is as a glorified desk.  May as well get started on the paperwork."  he said musing to himself.  "Probably in better shape than my office anyways."

---

[ Aisha S'Iti | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Bridge personnel

The Cardassian began to breathe sighs of relief hearing the plans on how to deal with the mutineers as they were brought up.  Still there were others that needed help as well.  All of her friends who were still on the harbinger until evacuating, they were stranded who-knows-where now.  Were they drifting through space; had they landed on a harsh uninhabited planet?  She knew the only right thing to do was to do anything she could to recover them and restore their sanity but in doing so how would they react.  The people they had been brainwashed into seeing as their enemies could hardly aid them without being attacked in some way, she imagined.  Nor would they believe anything that the Ives loyalists would tell them.  Then she had an idea on how they could recover the evacuated crew without endangering Ives' crew. 

Still she knew that when the mutiny began she had been part of the party who had beamed over and was the helms-person who had been witnessed stepping over the dead body of her desk's previous occupant.  Needless to say, she would understand if the chief of security would feel the need to not allow her an audience with the captain to be as private as she would usually prefer.  She had to weigh every option before she broke her silence and attempted to address the captain.

[ Sten Covington | Deck 15 - Fighter Assault Bay ]

Watching his fellow deck apes move to the booming of his voice was a comfort for the Chief of the Deck.  Despite the mutiny, despite the damage done to the ship and to his hangar and the fact they had engaged battle against a nightmare ship from the future, the sight made him feel as though things would be all right in the end and he allowed himself a small smile, especially as the diminutive firecracker of a Petty Officer took up his orders and repeated them for emphasis.  That was not really his style, but he knew he could deal with it.  Between the stress and the unusual situation, that kind of thing could be forgivable. 

However, addressing him as 'Sir', on the other hand, was something he'd have to rectify.  Granted, warrant officers could be properly addressed in such a way, according to regulations.  However, Sten much preferred 'Chief'.  First, he listened to the words that fairly tumbled out of her mouth.  Good Lord she spoke fast!  And he could tell she was unsure how her report would be taken, in the end. 

Regarding the Reaver, it wasn't really his place to talk.  The damn thing hadn't been tested or sorted out yet and that bothered him, but the fact the ship's AI had decided to take it out for a spin was beyond unusual, and he'd leave that one for the Captain to handle.  And truth be told, he didn't mind seeing its parking spot on the deck empty; seeing it there with techs crawling all over it would be a very painful reminder of the loss of Nahrik Cinsaj.  And if he had anything to say about it, he's see that thing used for target practice, or just flung into the nearest star to be forgotten about good and proper. 

However, he did allow a grin to come through once she finished her report.  "First of all, Ji, I'm no Sir, I work for a living!"  That particular line must have been used by every man in a leadership position who was not an officer since the first armies were organized by the most ancient civilization.  And still he liked it well enough!  But then, he landed his hirsute paw upon her much, much smaller shoulder.  "You did good.  Especially with the cluster-fuck we had going on today."

He was going to say more, but the ship was rocked by an explosion, a large one if he was any judge and when the deck pitched and rolled under the shockwave, he managed to keep his feet while the Asian woman obviously did not. Bending down, he got a hold of her arms and as though she weighed nothing, he straightened himself and set her back on her feet.  "It's good to see you again," he then said, much more softly.  And it was!  With the mutiny and all that talk of brainwashing and using female crew members as breeding stock, he couldn't deny the guilt at having sent Eun Sae away to the Harbinger when they'd rendez-vous'ed what felt half a lifetime ago.  But seeing her on his deck, whole, herself and unmolested was a blessing he hadn't dared ask for. 

Not to mention the guilt at having sent her away in the first place, ostensibly to avoid any friction following the Ishtar incident.  Four decades in Starfleet, he ought to have been able to deal with it!  He was a professional and despite her relative inexperience, so was she!  They ought to have been able to keep working side by side regardless of what some kind of deity-like entity forced them to do.  But at least now he had a chance to make amends. 

"We'll be getting busted birds in any time now.  What d'you say we get to work and we discuss what we're going to do with you once we get this mess within shouting distance of being sorted out?"

[ Eun Sae Ji | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 ]

As Sten smiled at her Eun Sae could feel one of her own form on her lips it was good to see that the Chief hadn't changed that much in her absence from the Theurgy's FAB. As she felt his hand fall upon her shoulder she felt the strange feeling that she'd previously been able to work down surface once more. But in short order she quickly reined it in once again shutting it away in the back of her mind under lock and key as she gave a short nod at his approval of her short stint of being in command. "Thank you Chief." She said it appeared he would say more until the ship rocked as the explosion sent waves through space.

But before she could fall to the deck she felt a pair of hands encircle her arms ceasing her descent and setting her back upright. Her eyes had closed as she fell but as she opened them she could see Sten looking at her as he expressed his relief at seeing her again. "I can say the same Chief." She said smiling once again at him. So many different emotions and thoughts wanted to run wild inside her head but right now was definitely not the right time to let them. So many questions wanted to be asked but it was definitely the wrong time to ask them. She stepped away from him as he continued speaking once more she nodded.

"I'll make sure my teams ready Chief." Eun Sae said before turning to leave him, If the explosion that had rocked the entire deck was any indication today would be a very long day for everyone.