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Alternate Universe Stories / Re: Sprinkles on a Soup Sandwich
Last post by Hans Applegate -
[ LCpl Knox | Bravo Base | Gila DN6 | Imperium Frontier Space ]ATTN: @Ellen Fitz


Knox heard the conversation Hirek was having with Lt. Madsen. He knew they were in for absolute chaos. Seeing her blades, Knox shivered. He had no intention of getting close enough to bugs for using a blade if he could help it. He decided to grab just a few more grenades. Also as an afterthought he picked up an extra bandoleer of ammo for is bead rifle. The extra 1,500 metallic ceramic beads might be useful if the grenades ran out.
Jogging to catch up to the group Knox admired Lt. Madsen’s fine ass. Yep! Ladies should always go first. What a view. He was looking forward to having his way with one of the new sex bots when he got back. Not that fucking a real girl was not fun and all, but bots were much less problematic out of the bedroom. Actually there were no problems out of the bedroom with a bot since he didn’t ever see one when he wasn’t fucking it. Real women felt better. But real women came with lots of issues he didn’t want to deal with while on a deployment. So he decided he would just be a window shopper for now.

Joining the other’s on the tarmac, Knox shoved a 300 round magazine into his bead rifle and dropped the remaining 1,200 rounds of that bandoleer into his small assault pack with the other full Bandoleer and 15 extra grenades. He had 5 grenades and a bead pistol on his chest armor and battle belt.

Knox took one look back at Lt. Madsen as Lt. Sobel was walking up and whispered under his breath. “You think we stand a chance with Mr. Paperwork and Ms. Crazy coming along on the same mission?”
Knox straightened up as Lt. Sobel arrived. He quickly glanced at the other six men and noted what equipment they had opted for. Sniper rifles! The other guys all had sniper rifles! What the actual fuck was going on?? Sniper rifles for 6 guys was unheard of. Then one Lt. who happened to know what was happening had blades! Knox hated to be the last to know things. Especially if those things were actively trying to kill him.

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Director's Cut / Re: [2373] USS Renegade: It's a working holiday challorn, anything can happen
Last post by RyeTanker -
[ Commander Lin's office | USS Renegade]

It was well into the evening when the chime sounded. "Enter!" he called and the familiar form of Chief Zangari walked in.  "You asked to see me sir?" He asked in his usual deep and accented version of Federation standard.  A tight grin pulled at the Asian Security Chief's mouth.  "This was scheduled so don't act like it so sudden."  The Chief grinned back, but was quite punctilious about protocol at times, so he waited for Commander Lin to invite him to sit.  It wasn't a long wait as he was waived to a seat opposite the desk.  Lin didn't bother waiting for Zengari to take a seat before turning around to a cabinet and pulling a dark brown bottle with a long neck. Zengari arched an eyebrow inquisitively. "Saurian Brandy?" Lin placed two clear glasses between them and poured the viscous golden liquid. "Indeed, and only the best." After a couple of fingers were poured in each glass, the two men clinked and sipped, a long established tradition before they got down to business. 

"So, how did she do?"  Zengari smiled.  "You do have the rest of the department to worry about sir rather than one errant cadet." Commander Lin snorted his amusement. "She's also the XO's daughter and the newest addition to the crew, so stop evading and answer the question." The Chief shrugged. "She did fine."  This caused Commander Lin to pause with his glass part way to his mouth and gave the Chief a measuring look.  He took a quick sip then put his cup down. "Okay, we both know that tone. he started as he set the glass down and crossed his arms on the desk. "She did more than okay didn't she? Almost handed you your ass on platter I'd venture?" Commander Lin's grin turned into a small smile. Zengari gave a matching grin. "Not even close sir, but she does have potential.  We can review the video." he offered and the Commander nodded as he pulled up the relevant portion of training.

When the video came up in its paused form, Commander Lin's eyebrows rose.  "Please tell me you got her to change first." Big shoulders shrugged. "Can't.  It's one of those odd dispensations from Starfleet, not often used, but still on the books.  Andorian's can wear lighter for hard training." The security chief looked back incredulously. "She quoted the regulation sir and I looked it up.  She's right."  Commander Lin exhaled with acquiescence even as he thought. She's gonna be trouble.  The fight helmet was definitley sensible, but the tank top and capris shorts showed off a lot of blue and the effect was noticeable as several men and women from all species stopped to watch the vision cautiously walk onto a mat where the Chief stood waiting with his arms crossed.  The two stood facing each other and if he'd really wanted to, Commander Lin could have isolated and listened in on the conversation, but that wasn't the purpose of the review and he waited patiently while occasionally sipping on his brandy.

After a few more moments, the two separated and took up positions a few meters from each other.  A crowd gathered and from his guess, the security chief guessed it was to see the newbie, but mostly to watch the Chief Zengari demolish her.  In a good natured fashion of course.  There wasn't too much expected as the two moved towards each other and began circling each other.  Zark didn't seem to be a fool as Zengari started off jabbing at her while the smaller woman dodged out of the way, or deflected a few punches and kicks that got too close.  She held out for a good few minutes, playing defensive, and he inexperience showed as Lin noted several places he would have taken pot shots at the Chief to keep him off balance.  The image of the Chief seemed to have run out of patience as he surged forward in a blur that caught the Andorian by surprise and her body bent from a punch to her mid section followed by a knee to the head that brought her back up quickly.  Big black arms wrapped around her and Commander had to wince as the lithe blue woman was smacked into the mat.  Several other agreed with the sentiment as their bodies naturally recoiled.  A few placed hands in front of their faces, while others clapped.  The chief got off the cadet and offered his hand to her to help her up and she hesitated for a moment before accepting it.  The hand-to-hand instructor placed his hands on his hips and spoke to the cadet for a few moments and she shook her head from side to side, then nodded vigorously.  She seemed to be bursting to stand on her tippy toes so she could try and match the Chief's height like she wasn't going to back down.

The test seemed to go on longer than expected as Zengari and Zark went at it with each other.  The Andorian got a several shots in and managed to knock down the Chief a couple of times.  The first time didn't elicit much comment, anyone could get lucky.  The second one elicited a chuckle as Lin took a sip of brandy and paused the video. "Losing your touch Chief?" The Chief offered a tight smile as he took another sip. "She's got guts and talent sir, what can I say, she really wanted to get at me."  Commander Lin made a come forth gesture to get more details ad Zengari gave a small shrug. "She's going to have an interesting set of bruises and leave a bit of a bloody rag, but she did get close more than I expected." Lin nodded at this assessment."Did you take part in any of the martial competitions during training?"  Zengari took a sip and nodded while his eyebrows narrowed at the non-sequitor. "I checked her record at the Academy, and she had quite the fight in the ring with a Vulcan. Miss zh'Ptrell won by the skin of her teeth on points, but it was noted that both fighters had to visit the infirmary afterwards."  Commander Lin gave a smile.  "Our feisty Andorian spent some time throwing up after the fight, and her opponent needed to have her nose fixed." Chief Zengari nearly choked on his brandy at hearing how violent the contest had gotten.

That gave the Commander an idea and he began watching how the Andorian moved when she got close to the Chief and the hand to hand expert sat as he let his boss think as he watched the replay.  "She seems a bit stiff doesn't she?" he pronounced afterwards.  Commander Lin tapped the desk for a moment.  The answer was in front of him.  He was sure of it. There was something in the way she moved that indicated a greater potential than the stolid dogmatic movements of the boxing ring.  The Security Chief's eyes narrowed as he pulled up her short service record and scanned it quickly.  The answer seemed to pop out as he looked at her extra-curricular activities. "Chief, I think we need a movie night." This was not what the enlisted chief was expecting and he replied with an understandable "Sir?" Commander Lin turned back to him and took another sip. "We need to expand this young woman's cultural breadth to properly appreciate something besides the holodeck, something like movies.  Zengari's stomach began to sink. "You don't mean..."  Commander Lin gave a tight smile.  "Indeed I do, she's got the combination, so in the next few days, she's going to watch The Avengers and learn to fight like the Black Widow."  At hearing the title of the movie, Chief Zengari stifled a groan at the new round of art related madness his boss was going to infict on himself and the XO's daughter. 
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Parallel Universes - "What if?" / Re: Theurgy: What If...? Below Decks Lounge
Last post by RyeTanker -
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Below Decks Lounge | Deck 28 | Vector 03 | Holosuite 01| USS Theurgy] @AbsintheDeux @Dumedion @Juzzie @Dree

Zark naturally leaned in towards the Shen as she got closer and smiled easily as she listened to how Reika had transformed herself from the proverbial angry duckling to a graceful swan as a stray thought caused the Shen to plow past the question to how her own experiences with martial arts.  The medic could definitely agree that the ability to defend oneself without unduly injuring someone was very helpful in conflict resolution.  Her smile took on a more humorous glint as a memory bubbled its way to the surface from her time at the Academy.

"I'm with Security, but as a medic, I also get all the wonderful extra training to help patch up people long enough on missions till the proper doctors can help them."  Zark leaned in a bit to whisper into Reika's ear like sharing a naughty secret. "I can do a lot of the procedures that surgeons do in the field, but Medical doesn't like to admit that most medics
are trained that way."  The Zhen pulled back and winked then pursed her lips and placed a finger in front of her closed lips.  The sound of air rushing passed her lips was quite audible as she smiled again. 

"Our Zhavey's really are quite remarkable, though mine probably wishes I'd chosen something more sedate, but what can I say; I love the action, even if it has almost killed me a few times." Zark continued as she waited for her drink.  "My Zhavey isn't really good at fighting to be honest..." The Zhen corrected. "She gave up blue to wear command red.  Started out in the sciences, but she was more of an explorer than a researcher and had a great touch with people, which is how she got tagged for executive officer of the renegade.  She didn't have time to worry just about me, so she dumped me on her Security Chief.  Let him sort me out.  Last we talked, she was taking a Luna class towards the galactic core on a five year mission."

Zark was about to ask about Reika's family when the Shen offered her own glass to help quench her thirst from all the talking she'd done so far. The Zhen smiled and thanked the Shen.  Taking the mug, she turned it around and took a sip right where the Ops woman had been drinking while keeping her gaze on Reika's eyes.  It was only a sip, and the burned and blossomed as she'd expected it to.  Her lips gripped the rim of the cup in a semi subtle kiss of the rim before the mug was placed back beside Reika's hand on the bar.  Zark's own sense of friendly impulsiveness kicked in as she snaked her arm around Reika's and her wrist came to rest on top of the Shen's.  This had to bring the two bodies closer as Zark's arm was now linked with Reika's, but not holding hands. Yet.  It also brought the Zhen's leather legging clad hip in contact with the Shen's leather skirt.  The view seemed to have an effect somewhere as someone cursed as their drink spilled while passing by. Xenia arrived and deposited the mug with the blue liquid in front of Zark and she gracefully picked up the mug with her opposite hand, raising it to Reika's for her to return the cheers.
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Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: Ch 4: S [D01 |1830] Second Station from the right and straight on till its over
Last post by RyeTanker -
[Lieutenant ThanIda zh'Wann (Lt. zh'Wann or Ida) | Aerodrome | Erudite | Hobus System] @Tae @Eden @ob2lander961

Lieutenant ThanIda zh'Wann frowned at the plan the Wolf was proposing.  It wasn't the worst idea that she'd heard and in the absence of anything else, the shuttle crew wouldn't have a choice but to go along with it.  She was frowning more over the what she remembered from the Academy about the disastrous consequences of the strike on the 3 Gorges Dam since the US military hadn't been able to totally knock out communications and word had gotten to the leadership of the group leading China at the time.  It had been a case of demonstrating the need to maintain open lines of communication and keep them secured.  The petrified reports from NORAD of retaliatory ballistic missiles had been quite shocking to all the students in class and it hadn't helped that the airborne assault had been a bloody shambles in the face of fierce and unexpected resistance, and the nuking of one of the landing zones.

Lt. zh'Wann stopped for a moment as an exuberant and short pilot joined while making sure she was going to be part of the mission.  The Andorian quirked an eyebrow fervently hoped to avoid any nasty fates since they were placing all their eggs in a few baskets.  Weapons wouldn't amount to much on a shuttle, so there was no need to power those.  "Whatever you're going to do to the fighters, we'll also need it done to the shuttle.  While I hope to avoid any fights, we may have to shoot our way in as well." 

The mission commander stopped for a moment as she worked out the ground component's plan. "So you'll have to breach shuttle bay doors, or an area of the hull that has access to a command node.  Barring that, we'll need access to an area with major computing power.  If we can sneak our way in, all the better, but otherwise, we'll need to fort up while the engineers and scientists can pull any useful information, the find a way to self-destruct the place."  Ida took a moment to look around at the pilots who were going to need to keep their exfiltration route clear.  "And in the mean time, whatever ideas you have to keep your selves alive so we can all get out of the station, voice them now." 

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Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH 2: S [Day 01 | 1435 hrs] When Trolls Dance, Vulcans Growl
Last post by Ellen Fitz -
[ Lt. Cmdr. Cross | Sickbay | D. 21 | V. 3 | “Ranger” of USS Theurgy] Attn: @EnigmaTales

He hadn’t even thought of his senses being a part of the problem, and now he felt like an idiot. Of course, they could be! He’d started using a nasal numbing hypospray, recommended by Hathev, only a few days prior and had yet to figure out what to do with all the noises the ship and its crew were giving off. He highly doubted there was such a thing as an auditor number, at least not one that would still allow him to do his job effectively.

“I think I’m good for now. Thank you for your time and efficiency.” Cross hesitated at her request for a recommendation. He only really knew one counselor on a more intimate basis than most. “I’ll be upfront with you. I only know Lieutenant Commander Hathev well, though the whole department has high ratings. Right now, though, with our vectors hither and thither and yon, whoever you can find should work. You should have access to their professional files to ‘browse’ the options and if you prefer, wait till we’re all back in one piece and go for the one you feel most comfortable with.” He gave a mirthless chuckle. “As for the judging, I can assure you there isn’t a person on this ship qualified to judge anyone for having put something off, like getting counseling. We all have our ghosts that we’d rather not tango with.”

Giving himself one more once over, he shifted toward the door, “If that’s all, I should return to the bridge.”
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Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH 2: S [Day 01 | 1700hrs] Cross on the Titan
Last post by Ellen Fitz -
[ Lt. Cmdr. Cross | Lower Gymnasium | D. 14 | V. 2 | “Ranger” of USS Theurgy] ATTN: @Krajin

Winters was good with his tail sweep additions to the sparring. He appreciated the variations as they kept him physically engaged while the conversation tugged at his mind. He supposed this duality was part of what his body needed to keep the headaches at bay since so many of the traditional Vulcan meditation techniques were a mixture of honing the two, physical and mental. Cross worked to keep the grin neutral, not wanting to confuse the Kzinti with his beam of delight.

“I don’t want my heart surgeon to be mussed with emotions while she’s cutting into me. Likewise, I don’t want my pilot to give in to crippling insecurities while we’re in the midst of an escape. The emotional or philosophical concepts of honor and respect can only be manifested after the crisis is adverted and you are presented with enough of a lull to use the empathy or emotions or what have you to assess. Like you said, having to make the hard choices sucks balls, and it isn’t healthy to try to moralize them at any time really, not if you want a long career in command. You keep yourself highly trained, keep yourself up to date and on the cutting edge of what’s out there, stay informed, know your people, and employ the tactics you believe fit the scenarios. I see it as more precision and follow-through than inviting discussions on the morality of honor and respect. Granted, the precision, follow-through, and preparation before the crisis can and should be based on a values system suitable for the culture. And, of course, our values system may come into discord with another culture’s, hence the crisis.”

Cross appreciated the brief lull in the conversation and sparring to do a few stretches and bounces to loosen up before Winters launched into another set and adjusted the conversation accordingly.

"Loosely connected to the ear-obsession, I have to confess one of the vainest things I ever did was not about my ears but about my cock.” Cross chuckled. “When the Savi ‘fixed’ me, my Bajoran physical features receded, including the ridges on my cock. So, thinking that it may help me adjust to being in this new version of me, I went to have the ridges on my cock surgically…reinstalled? In any case, it was one of the most awkward procedures of my life.”

He waited while Winters laughed, the rhythm of the sparring thrown off momentarily. Cross laughed at the mental image the Kzint drew for him.

“It isn’t the hormonal shit for me. I never really had the same issues with pon farr or only wanting to fuck once every seven years. I just crash and burn when it comes to talking romantically with women. To the point that aside from potential drunken escapades I still don’t remember and my own hand, I never scored until just this year. It is a sheer miracle that I managed to score the woman I'm with now. She's far superior to me in so many ways, and she deals with my foot-in-mouth syndrome whenever we talk about anything unrelated to work, which is a testimony to her good graces.”

Cross laughed, earning himself a knock to the shoulder for his lowered guard. Aside from reeling back a few steps, he was unharmed and waved a hand to reassure Winters as such.

“Why the cockpit, if you don’t mind my asking?”
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Alternate Universe Stories / Re: Sprinkles on a Soup Sandwich
Last post by Ellen Fitz -
[ Lnc Cpl Hirk tr’Aimne | Bravo Base | Gila DN6 | Imperium Frontier Space ]ATTN: @Hans Applegate

Hirek followed Knox from the mess hall, chewing on the remainder of what the higher-ups tried to pass off as jerky of some sort. While he certainly had fantasies of showing bits and pieces of Knox inside Sobel to make the Lt squirm, Hirek kept these thoughts to himself as they crossed the compound to kit out for the mission.

“Hey guys! I’m going with you!” The chipper voice of one of the last people Hirek expected called out a greeting as they entered.

Hirek stopped in the doorway, his body jolting slightly when another team member walked into his back. He exchanged a look with Knox before moving further into the gear room. If Lt. Enyd Madsen was coming with them on this mission then he could discern a few things: 1. This mission would not be dealing with only bugs, 2. This mission was fucked. He’d been on only one mission with the chaos-magnet, manic pixie interspecies specialist before this, and it was by sheer luck that he’d survived.

Of the various lt’s on the base, Madsen was ok, except for her penchant to go off the grid without warning, wander into danger in an effort to accomplish a mission, and seemed to have a target on her back for whatever deity controlled chaos. She was good-looking enough, but Hirek got the feeling that her head was often too far up in the clouds to recognize when someone wanted to fuck her. Not that he’d ever offered.

“Did Sobel brief you on our mission?” Madsen shimmied up to Hirek’s side as he began pulling the gear from the shelves he’d been assigned.

“No, he did not ma’am. Knox and I were assigned point duty with extra ammo and grenades. That’s all we know.”

“Oh,” Madsen frowned and began chewing on her lower lip, brows furrowed in thought. “Well, I don’t want to spoil his ‘fun’ in letting you know in the official briefing but,” she eyed the extra gear Hirek was strapping to his body, “I personally don’t appreciate so much obvious firepower for a potential first contact scenario. This calls for delicacy.” She lifted up her shirt for Hirek to spy an assortment of bladed paraphernalia neatly strapped to her torso.

Hirek smiled, “I’ll be as delicate as a porcelain maker with my grenades, ma’am, don’t you worry."

Madsen gave a wincing smile before returning to her own kitting out. Their group, a patrol of six men plus Madsen, was on the tarmac waiting for Sobel moments later.
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Main OOC Board / Re: STORY WORKSHOP 2022 | EPISODE 02, SEASON 2
Last post by Ellen Fitz -
Hopefully, this helps folks know who is where and what is what with the episode 2 chapters: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KjU5XQH6Qv8dwJEnN5Rms-gPfhnOoUIlrEQHwI3Y6xc/edit?usp=sharing

Don't forget to use the Cosmic Imperative calendar to ascertain when/where you can write with characters who may not be in your chapter (there are time slots before the separation of the vectors): https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Cosmic_Imperative_Calendar

The bolded/hyperlinked names are active writers; those that are listed as NPC can be offed or maimed to your heart's delight just give the GM of the chapter a head's up on that; the unbolded non-NPC names are those who do not currently have active writers but are not slated to be maimed/killed as their writers may return from their current temporary hiatus.
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Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH 2: S [Day 01 | 1857 hrs] Expectations
Last post by joshs1000 -
[CPO Avandar Lok | Arboretum Cafe | Deck 20| Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz
[Show/Hide]

“I’ll take a look next time I’m back down there”, he offered. He didn’t want to sound too dismissive but he also was just trying to figure out what this bald officer was all about. A Vulcan who smiled was already a bit strange but he had never known any senior officers so interested in talking to some lowly NCO like himself. Of course it wasn’t exactly like he was just some human who could blend in, he had plenty of other external features that people noticed first. Being an over two meter tall cat person, people tended to notice that first. This Reaver better live up to the hype, he thought to himself, as he focused his mind back to the conversation at hand.

Having finished his first sandwich, Lok picked up the next one and started to gobble it down. Cross meanwhile had asked about engine types, more specifically, getting down to the specifics of what made a specific engine specifically good. The Vulcan then proceeded to use various firearms as an example of what he meant.

For Lok, guns had never been of much interest. As he told the Commander, he thought of them as a tool, broken out when needed; the personal wrinkle for Lok however was he didn’t think there was ever a need for a gun…one that killed anyway. This wasn’t some idealized opinion he had from watching a few politically driven ads in favor of banning phasers, but rather formed from his own experience in the War when he was forced to kill several Jem'Hadar to defend his crewmates. One particular memory that always made him sick to his stomach was during an enemy boarding, a Jem'Hadar he shot didn't die right away and instead suffered for several minutes, convulsing on the floor.

As Cross continued, describing in great detail his fondness of guns from their looks to their function, Lok showed some bit of discomfort but just silently ate his sandwich, not wishing to be rude. Finally when he was finished, Lok swallowed his mouthful of rather good tasting turkey and thought on the original question about “what makes an engine good”. There were many things really, but he figured this was probably more of an opinion based question, getting an idea of Lok personal preferences.

“Well”, he started, “I guess the best thing is reliability…a fast ship is only as reliable as its engines, and if that engine isn’t reliable then that ship isn’t all that fast.” He smiled a little as he remembered the similar quote told to him by his mentor what feels like a lifetime ago now.

“But, it’s like you said, different applications have different requirements.”

He nodded in approval to Cross’s request about taking his discarded veggies then continued. “For a ship like this, you want something very powerful, as fast as you can make it without sacrificing too much reliability or efficiency. That’s something that Starfleet has perfected over the past two centuries, fast reliable ships, and as a bonus, the ships have highly adaptable systems.”

“Then take a class like the Freedom Class, they were not designed for speed but rather for reliability, owing to their duties as workhorses, spending more time traveling short distances between worlds, courier duties, low level transportation, supply runs, and all that. So you had a very stout engine that wasn’t pushing the margins one bit. It was rare for those ships to suffer issues.” Despite their rather uninteresting and underwhelming capabilities, Lok did have a bit of fondness for the Freedoms, one of them was his first ship after all.

“Now if we are talking about fighters, those are all speed, you want to push those margins as close to the edge as possible without the whole thing just exploding. Basically they are all intentionally designed with too much engine for their size, whether it is warp or impulse.”
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