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Topic: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive (Read 60156 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #25 –
[ Lahkesis Saugn | Chief Medical Officer's Office | Deck 07 ] Attn: Lucan

From deep inside her mind Lahkesis was vaguely aware of being stripped and tended to a piece at a time by someone. Her limp body easily moved as her uniform was removed and she was shifted to a seated position. She heard speaking, though the words were lost on her, her mind completely unable to focus on them long enough to understand them. She felt the warm rays of the solar lamp followed moments later the the coolness of water on her feet. And yet her detached mind could not really process any of it. She was torn between memories of the long past and vague connections to the world around her.

As her body soaked up the light from the solar lamp and absorbed the water around her feet her nightmarish visions of the past began to subside, leaving her breathing easier and more peacefully. Her expression become less pained and more relaxed. Though her mind as still very much detached from the reality of the situation she was in, she was at the very least no longer showing signs of pain. And though the apparent burn marks and color in her skin and hair did not seem to react to much at all, it was still far to early to tell.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #26 –
[ Edena Rez | CO Ready Room | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Jien Ives & Sneaky Dressing Ninja (Cameron Henshaw)

[Show/Hide]


The seconds weren't all that long, and maybe Ives was just busy preparing the headman's axe for her. She could almost hear Kiya gently chiding her to not be such a suicidal pessimist. But really, would it be far-fetched in light of recent events? She begged to believe otherwise, contrary to Kiya's advice. Not that Kiya was around at all. No, she'd be away for a little while longer, Edena suspected. Along with Illya and Jona. Long enough for her talk with Ives, in total private. Just her, Edena, and her captain. She fidgeted a while, taking the opportunity to compose herself, and straighten up. When she finally heard the feminine voice of Jien Ives beckon her to enter. She took the opportunity, probably for the last time, as a first officer to skip the whole whole passing through Yeoman Henshaw first. Edena felt her nerve wouldn't stand up to seeing even one other soul before she spoke with the captain. The Yeoman was very straight-to-the-point from what she had seen so far, though she wondered what she was like with the captain.

When she entered the room, nothing looked out of place, and yet, something felt amiss. She couldn't help giving the room a quick once-over. Unlike Jona, Edena lacked subtlety or the swagger and air of absolute confidence, so her examination was as obvious as the shining rays of the sun. She had noticed something shiny and familiar looking in the ceiling, but she avoided pausing or dwelling on why a rank insignia was stuck to the ceiling. Maybe the captain was bored and started shooting sharp objects to see what would stick...she told herself.

The voice of Ives was thick, and emotional, which was a little heartening to Edena, but she was all-the-more resolved to go through with her decision. It was unfortunate, but very necessary. A part of Edena that was Kiya felt a strong and deep attraction towards the male form of Ives, and in a ways, that feeling extended into Edena herself, who developed a desire to safeguard the captain. And the best tactical way she could achieve this goal would be to distance herself from Ives as much as possible. So when the question was asked, the young Trill woman nodded her head, "Yes ma'am, I have.".

She gave her captain a tight smile, practiced, by the looks of it, because that smile never reached her tired and sad eyes. Her hands clasped behind her back, she stood at semi parade rest, almost remindful of Jona, except her shoulders were slumped, and she was not trying to be assertive, just trying to get a point across.

"I'm sure you've had the reports about what happened before you reached the Hangar. But so that I'm not assuming anything...Jonatriedtosellusoutbutwestoppedhimbecausehe'sajerk."

Her eyes widened at her own frantic explanation, took a breath, and tried again, "He tried to throw in his lot with Vasser." She spat the name out like a bad-tasting food. "I never thought he'd do such a thing. We never thought he would. But if he could do it once, there's not telling or guarantee he won't try again."


[ Cameron "Cam" Elizabeth Henshaw | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Jien Ives & Captain Oblivious (Edena Rez)

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Henshaw finally had some headway with her uniform when Edena finally entered. It made the young woman move even more quietly and breath more lightly than before. When did the Ready Room become so mind-numbingly quiet? It was like you could hear a pin dropping.

A pin dropped.

A hairpin to be precise, and while it was probably just her panicky mind on overdrive, Henshaw thought it sounded like a quantum torpedo going off in the room. Grabbing the offending pin and shoving it back in place, she tried to finish the rest of her dressing. Since when was getting dressed this challenging? Rolling her eyes to herself, she struggled in silence, and also caught the conversation between Ives and Rez. It made the woman pause in her actions. So...this Jona Rez actually tried something like that? That made him very dangerous indeed. He seemed treacherous and deadly. While she liked Edena herself well enough, the woman warranted a closer watch.

Oddly enough, it seemed Edena thought the same thing.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #27 –
[ Fasha | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 ]

Fasha didn't know what to do or say when she'd returned to the hangar. Tessa had shown up first and appeared to be questioning members of the crew about the casualties. Fasha didn't need to ask she didn't want to at the end of the day they would collect their fallen and the losses would be made clear. At least for a little while she could pretend that they didn't exist for what little time she could. Fasha shut her eyes turning her face up to the ceiling her helmet loosely hanging from her fingers as she took a breath.

For a few moments she remained still and unmoving it appeared strange to some around her. To others perhaps they were familiar with it by now expecting it from the Catachan pilot. As she continued to take deep breaths her lips slowly moved reciting a prayer to her maker for her survival and another prayer for rest to those lost. Once she'd finished she brought herself back to the present moving through the bustling activity going on about the deck. Her eyes scanned the deck briefly looking for her own fighter. She sighed her shoulders sagging as she took in it's less than pristine condition. She supposed it was a foolish wish to hope that it would be in the same condition she'd left it in before this entire crisis.

Though the fact that it was back in somewhat one piece though was as good as she was going to get so there was no use wishing for more now. As she entered the locker room she began to strip off pieces of her exo-suit dumping the pieces into one of the containers set about the room. As she peeled off the bodysuit of the suit she winced looking down at the bruise slowly forming in the center of her chest from when her chest restraints had crushed against her chest. She stripped out of the last article of clothing before claiming the last remaining sonic shower speaking the voice command and once more closing her eyes as she allowed her head to rest against the cool surface of the wall.

As she heard one of the showers stalls open she turned her head to see Rawley's head move past the top of her stall door. She mulled over any words that could be said at that moment in light of their situation but in the end decided to go with something simple. "It's good to see you in one piece Evelyn..." Fasha said.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #28 –
[ Lin Kae | Sickbay | Surgical Section | Deck 07 ] Attn: Rihen Neyah


"Three pilots dead, one in the battle with the Calamity-ship. A fourth one - Thomas Ravon, or Razor - is still missing after the fighting. I am sorry. The dead were called... Nightmare, Quake and... Yeah, the last one was called Oracle."

Lin Kae's mind and body as one suddenly stopped and he looked down at a woman that he was particuarlly fond of with a look that was possibly new to his youthful looking face.

Despair.

Soo young had been the second Tacical CONN officer that he'd slept with, Skye being the first, but she was the more interesting of the two and he recalled the morning after the festival, waking up next to her naked and not recalling the events of the night before.

But then everything started to click and oh how did they start to click. They had gone from a little bit more than slightly awkward introductions to his first time sharing a shower with someone, he remembered everything about her from the feel of her skin, the taste of her lips, the feeling of how tight she was around him..everything.

But most importantly he remembered how he felt just being there with her. Yes it was his first time with a telepath but there was something else he felt and he hoped that he could find out more about that.

And now she was gone.

He didn't see Skye suddenly leaving the room at a dead run and he scantly remembered hearing Rihen saying "I'm sorry, I didn't know... I..."

Without closing up the emitter, Kae climbed down from where he was and without getting any of his tools together, he honestly couldn't think as he just stood there, his face was blank with despair as he felt nothing.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #29 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Sickbay | Deck 07 ] Attn: Lahkesis Saugn

As he checked the readings on the tricorder, Lucan found that the measures taken were sufficient to sustain Lahkesis health. She would have to be put under observation and her strange burn marks tended to by other means, but she would make it.

That was when the slithering malevolence inside demanded him to seize this rare yet graciously presented opportunity. It cared not about the state of her skin. If anything, it excited the beast. It wanted him to sample this rare specimen, simply because it could. The wet body glistened underneath the stark, artificial light in the office, and Lucan found that the parasite's excitement was making him hard.

Before he knew it, he was hovering over the bare Medical Officer - tattooed hands gripping the armrests of the chair until his knuckles cracked. He scented her proffered neck. He wanted to lick the water from it. Sink his teeth into it. Suddenly, thought became action. He found that had the base of his rigid erection in his hand, pushing it between her spread legs. The sensation was only made sweeter by the taste of her unique blood in his mouth. He was biting her, sucking the blood as it gushed against him. By the winds, he was gnawing his way into her neck! Her sudden trashing made her move against him, and...

No, it was not real.

Lucan was still standing before her with the tricorder, blinking away the vision before his eyes. The fact of his arousal was the evidence of the parasite's involvement... but it had not been real. The sudden panic he had felt washed out of him, relief competing with revulsion as he staggered away. Fingers numb, he dropped the tricorder on the floor. He reached the waste bin in time, retching into it as his legs gave away. He hugged the bin for support while it lasted, and it became not just a necessity for what he did, but an anchor for him - keeping him in the present.

How can I accept this life? he asked himself with red-rimmed eyes as he wiped his mouth, momentary clarity coming to him. How can this benefit me? Living in a waking nightmare, gradually loosing myself into it... How will I honour Kisane's memory if I am no longer myself?

Yet as fleeting as his thoughts were, his new nature asserted itself as it always did. "What choice do I have?" he murmured, curling his upper lip as he climbed back on his feet. He wiped the cold sweat from his brow and went to find something to rinse his mouth with. "Thea, see if there are any biobeds available in the Recovery Ward. Dr. Saugn will be moved there for further treatment and observation. Hopefully, she will be able to advise us about the cause for her condition and prevent it from happening again."

OOC: We can end the scene here since we have the Interregnum avaialble for further scenes if that is ok with you.

[ Evelyn Rawley | Locker Room | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 ] Attn: Fasha & Tessa May Lance

Hearing Morrigan speak to her, Rawley paused her step and glanced towards her sister wolf - her rolled-up towel held across the back of her neck in both her hands. "Likewise," she said and turned towards the closed stall. "Last I saw you, Hannah had..."

She got no further than that, the memory of Nightmare - how she had floored Fasha with the butt of her phaser rifle - returned to her. Now they had been informed that she had been under that Vulcan bitch T'Rena's influence, some kind of Lexorin dispersed across the ship to alleviate the condition enough to let the Vulcan medics in Sickbay treat them all, but Hannah... She had ended up dead before that. They did not know who had done her in, but given the state of things aboard, it could have been anyone. Knowing that Morrigan was likely as troubled by what had happened to their squadron, Rawley tried to move past the subject of Hannah and what she had done before she ended up dead.

"Sorry for taking your exosuit and your Valkyrie. I had little choice in the matter. No time to get my own. Those Harbinger bastards were trying to dock and everything... Had to try and stop them," she said instead. Rawley did not know anything about what had happened since she launched during the hostile takeover, but likely Fasha had seen things better left unspoken, just like she had no desire to speak of Thomas, the aliens dwelling in the ice, and having to leave him behind. "I may have nicked your bird a bit... but that's not something Papa Bear and his team can't fix. It should be top notch in no time."

It felt like she was skirting around the fat cow in the middle of the room, and she hated the fucking pretence that everything was okay. Shit were pretty far from okay. "This one hit close to home, didn't it?" she said quietly, and she glanced towards Tessa's stall, wondering if she was listening too. Holding her towel by her thigh, she ran a hand over her shaved head - eyes distant. "We have lost people before, but not so many in such a short time. Miles seemed pretty upset about it... and I fucking sympathise. It's so bloody fucked up."


[ Rihen Neyah | Sickbay | Surgical Section | Deck 07 ] Attn: Lin Kae

Biting her lower lip, Rihen saw Lin Kae climb down, and she wanted to keep apologising for her mistake. She had not known - but she should have known - just how close the crew of the Theurgy had become after the hardships they had been through. The young engineer had climbed down, and the look in his eyes spoke volumes. She tried to recall if she had heard some rumours about Kae and the Lone Wolves, but she fell short. She had no idea about which name, or names, had been the trigger for his despair.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered and stepped up to him, embracing him and holding him tightly, "I did not mean to let you know like this. It just slipped out. I'm sure someone better than me would have told you eventually, but as far as I came to know them during the week on Theta Eridani IV and during Lohlunat , they were fine people. All of them. Was..."

She paused, swallowing and blinking away compassionate tears of her own, and she stroked his short hair with her fingers while she held him. "Was any one of them particularly close to you?" she ended up asking quietly, offering all the warmth and comfort she could give him in the embrace. They might only have come to know each other on Nimbus III before the mutiny brought them together again, but she was nonetheless generous towards him. He might have altered the industrial replicator when she left her, fooled her, but she realised that did not mean anything to her now. While she still dreamed of rebuilding Paradise City and making it worthy of its name, she now knew that she had come to accept the fact that unless the Theurgy's mission was successful, it would not matter what she did back home.

And in that acceptance, she had come to forget the sadness she had harboured about being tricked by Kae and the other Starfleeters. This crew needed her. She felt an obligation to make them laugh and rejoice in the smaller things... Which made her mistake all that much worse to her.


[ Jien Ives | CO Ready Room | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Edena Rez & Cameron Henshaw

Getting a modicum of control on her voice, Jien nodded when asked if she had heard about Jona. She had heard it from Vasser himself in his acerbic commentary, and later from Wenn Cinn and Dyan Cardamone in full detail.

"Agreed," she said and folded her arms underneath her chest, looking towards the deck plating below their feet in thought. "He showed his true colours when we confronted the Ishtar Entity, and when he detailed the nature of your original mission as an SI operative aboard this ship. His rationale at those times were great examples for why I left Starfleet Intelligence behind, but this... this was something entirely different."

In the back of her head, Jien hoped that Cam was not feeling too bad about hiding in the antechamber. As it were, she ought to be able to come out of hiding since she was barely in their line of sight. It would require getting dressed, of course, but hopefully she had not forgotten something in her office.

"Jona being what he is, and because of what he has done, I can sympathise with your desire to resign," she said quietly, rubbing her brow. "Not to mention the... other reasons you mentioned in the Brig. Had I known what my male form might remind you of on a daily basis, I am surprised you have stayed by my side for so long. And Kiya... Well, you hold the memories, and the circumstances..."

Jien trailed off, not sure what she might say. There was a lot to address, so she did not know where to begin.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #30 –
[ Hylota Vojona | Sickbay | USS Theurgy | Deck 07 ]


Hylota looked back to the ship's counselor and lock eyes. "I am sorry but we are going to have to get things worked out later, I will just wait for you to contact me when you have time to just...whatever." She put a hand on the side of her head and sighed. "Things are already beginning to get busy around here it seems, I will be getting to my duty as well, and I will take care of transporting the body on to the morgue." Hylota rubbed her eye before she walked out of the intensive care wing and made her way to her the body of her brother's rapist was being stored.

Hylota walked over to thee body and looked down at it coldly as she clenched her one good fist. In hr isolation Hylota took this time to speak to the body in  cold angered tone. "You are lucky you died from the wounds you received you waste of matter, if I had found you alive I could not guarantee you would ever fully recover without constant suffering in your life, but now as you are I can still ensure that you are never able to get a respectful end." Hylota did not far talking, it was not like the systems in the room were all working, audio recording was still out in most of the Sickbay.

Hylota went though the usual procedure of preparing the body for transfer, getting it into a body bag an onto a gurney before walking to a storage space to get an embalming fluid to administer, but Hylota rubbed the side of her head and then intentionally grabbed a chemical that would accelerate decomposition and she administered it before heading off to the morgue with her delivery. As she walked she recited her explanation of her actions in hr ha. "Oh No...I...No, I am so sorry, I must have gotten confused as I-" No that was too foolish sounding... "I apologize, in all the stress I must have grabbed the wrong chemical as I was preparing the body, embalming is not a practice I have spent much time-" No she had to keep it simple... "I apologize, I had no idea I made such an error. I admit I should not have been working, if I had made such a mistake with a patient I could have done irreparable damage. I accept any punishment for my mistake." Yes that was what she would say, simply take charge of the situation and mark it as a failure on her part to administer the proper chemical, make it seem like stress, it would be believable.

As Hylota arrived at the morgue she placed the body among he others and filled out the information, intentionally making tiny mistakes to add to her case, and with that she turned and left, the body behind her and her duty before her, taking a deep breath Hylota walked back to the Sickbay, there was a lot of work to be done and little time to waste. But at least she knew for sure that the people who had harmed her brother were dead and ruined for their deeds, no one would ever look upon their bodies with fond memories ever again, no the body she had just left would be looked upon with sickening disgust, and  in all honestly it all did help to make it all bearable for Hylota in the end as she took on her duty as nurse without any complaint and got to work.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #31 –
[Ensign Chris "Husker" Slayton| USS Theurgy| Deck 15| Fighter Assault Bay] Attention: IronFerrox, Lone Wolves, RosariaRosette


Chris hauled the last bit of major debris from the section that he was helping with before brushing the sweat from his forehead with his left forearm before looking around and seeing one of the deckhands moving equipment around. "Excuse me, Mister??" he asked.

"Phuc, sir. What can I help you with?" the Petty Officer asked.

"Well Mister Phuc, I'm curious who do I goto to find out what else I can do with helping around here on the deck?" chris asked with a faint grin.

This slightly confused Phuc because he didn't know the man in front of him, let alone an officer in the Tactical CONN division. "Um that would be Petty Officer First Ji, sir. I think she's over in the maintenance area." he offered up while pointing in the area of the bay in question.

Chris smiled and nodded. "Thank you." he said before going over to where his uniform jacket was and grabbed it before nodding respectfully to the junior officer and heading over to the maintenance area.

As he walked he took a look around and noticed that a few of the engineering staff was taking stock of the damage done during the mutiny and Chris found himself feeling slightly depressed as he stopped for a moment to watch an engineering team lift up a wing section of a damaged Valk to help move it into a separate bay. *How did the Survivors come to this?* he thought to himself as he reached up and gently touched the small vial that he kept on a length of chord around his throat before shaking his head and continuing on his way.

Once he reached the maintenance bay that Phuc indicated, he stepped in and asked "Excuse me, I'm looking for Petty Officer Ji, is he or she abouts?" in a respectful tone.
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[Lin Kae| Sickbay| Surgical Section| Deck 07] Attn: Rihen Neyah


Kae didn't say anything at first for some strange reason before he finally nodded. "Yes..her name was Soo Young Seung.." was the only thing that he could think to say as he blinked something out of his eyes which made him reach up and he found that he'd been tearing up.

It wasn't usual for him to be at such a loss but there was a strange feeling that just wasn't there and it was really confusing him. "Rihen, I'm at a loss for how to describe how I'm feeling..I just feel..empty."

Kae didn't know what else to do but he simply buried his face in Rihen's shoulder and let himself just collapse for a little bit quietly in her presence, not really caring at all who saw him as every bit of stress of the past few hours suddenly hit him all at once and with the impact of a starship crashing into a planet.
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OOC: Sorry about using the male pronouns with Phuc, I didn't know if the deckhand was a male or female.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #32 –
[ Edena Rez | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Jien Ives & Cameron Henshaw

[Show/Hide]


Edena folded her arms and sighed softly, "Yeah."

It was why Edena was willing to die at that point. She wouldn't let Jona betray them all, for his own goals. She had no idea how treacherous and dangerous he was until then. Well, she knew, but she just couldn't fathom that he'd cross that line. Up until then, she still thought he had some measure of principles, a sense of honour, like Ives. But she was wrong. Once again, her naive optimism was her undoing. She imitated Ives' action of looking at the deck plating. It was a bittersweet thing. Edena worked her entire life thus far to be able to become a Joiner, and to be able to contribute to Starfleet to the best of her ability. She became Joined all right, but only because circumstances left everyone with no choice, and look what that did. Edena was in a perpetual state of constant "hallucinations", and one of them was turning out to be an asshole.

All this time, after the struggle, the young Trill had to come to terms with the fact, that Starfleet was not her path. At least, it wasn't the best. Was it supposed to always be a vertical uphill struggle? She somehow doubted it. And it shouldn't be a job where one was always second-guessing ones' self. Especially now, when she knew there was someone who might try to do things just to get at Ives, and probably her too. Ives knew it too, based on all she was saying, plus all that they talked about earlier in the brig. She smiled wanly at the captain, "It wasn't...your fault."

Of course, the memory of the experience would forever be etched in her mind. She still gave involuntary shudders when she thought about it, and whenever she saw Ives in her male form. But she had to keep telling herself it wasn't him/her in control. It was that...thing. "Captain, none of the ghosts are present, especially Jona. Right now. It's just me, and you. I just want you to know, I am, and always will be grateful to you, for all you've done for me, and for giving me a second chance when I didn't deserve any."

She ran a cold palm over the side of her neck, the other clutching her command pins and rank insignia. "Unfortunately, Jona's unpredictability and his willingness to sell us out...it...it's just foolish for me to stay, and for you to let me. He cannot be allowed access to weapons and anything else where he might do harm to the crew."

She stepped closer to the captain, and held out her palm with her pin and insignia, "Captain Jien Ives. It is with deep regret and after a long time of serious contemplation, that I hereby resign my position as Commander and First Officer of the Theurgy, and from Starfleet, effective immediately. Please accept my command pins."

Biting her lip, she fought to keep a tear from getting out. "It's for the best. I need to find my own way in life, and it isn't going to be in Starfleet. Granted, I don't exactly have a vast array of options right now, but I'll figure something out."

"Also," she added with a wave of her index finger, "Don't let what happened on Niga affect your actions with me. It wasn't within your ability to control." She quirked her lips, "Plus, Kiya and I kind of like him." She meant the male form of Jien Ives.


[ Cameron "Cam" Elizabeth Henshaw | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Jien Ives & Edena Rez

[Show/Hide]


Henshaw finally managed to finish dressing, and none-too-soon. She settled herself into the chair, and tried to look like she'd been there the whole time. Not much to be done about her hair. If anyone asked, she'd just say she was going for the wild haired look. Her eyes widened when she heard Edena Rez announce her resignation from Starfleet. Was this really the best time for officers to be quitting??? But then she weighed the woman's problems with one of her ghosts, and realized, it was probably for the best. Yeah, it was. But she did her best not to judge. They'd all been forced to do questionable things. She stifled the urge to laugh when Edena admitted that she and one of her ghosts liked the male form of Jien Ives. Truthfully, she ought to be feeling jealous. But she wasn't. Ives looked darn good as a man. Who wouldn't like him? Plus, it was a good thing that he add an attraction besides his/her charisma and capacity as a captain.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #33 –
[Doctor Hayden O'Connor | Main Sickbay]

Hayden was more relieved than she would ever let on to see Doctor Nicander in one piece, not because she didn't believe in her ability to manage sickbay in a crisis, but because it was where he belonged. So much had been turned upside down in just the last few minutes alone that she was grateful for any return to what could closely approximate normalcy since she'd arrived.

Her mind still partially on the bomb she'd dropped on Hylota, she was pulled from her reverie when the CMO addressed her personally.  "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." "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."

Despite how tired she was and how much work she knew she still had to do, she felt herself smiling warmly at the compliment.  She in turn was grateful for the small real moment to feel connected to another sentient being. So much of their time and energy had been devoted to mere survival and watching helplessly as they tore each other down in violence, Hayden had begun to wonder if in their quest for survival they had sacrificed who they truly were and what they ultimately stood for. "And I am grateful you are alive and well, Doctor." Of course, on the latter point, she was presuming a great deal. If he was severely hurt, however, Nicander was doing a superb job of pretending it was merely superficial. "I know I can never take your place, but I am willing and able to assist in sickbay however and whenever I can."

O'Connor handed him a PADD, one of two she carried with her. "My notes should be specific and up-to-date, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me. I should probably catch up with the team to tend to those just coming to terms with what they have done under T'Rena's mind control, but I will return here as soon as I can."

The counselor had to admit she was grateful when the CMO took his leave a few moments later in, pulled away of course by the wave of injured that had begun pouring in. Still feeling Hylota's eyes on her, Hayden wanted to tend to the very shocked and clearly overwhelmed being just a few feet from her. Turning, however, the nurse was working hard to move on and focus on what needed to be done.  "I am sorry but we are going to have to get things worked out later, I will just wait for you to contact me when you have time to just..whatever." She put a hand on the side of her head and sighed. "Things are already beginning to get busy around here it seems, I will be getting to my duty as well, and I will take care of transporting the body on to the morgue."

O'Connor wanted nothing more in the moment but to wrap her arms around Hylota. She could only imagine what the Ovri was going through, dealing with her brother and now this. At this point, Hayden had absolutely no idea whether the nurses pregnancy was the result of consensual or nonconsensual sex, but given what Hayden knew already, she knew the odds of the pregnancy being the result of consensual welcome intimacy were slim. She offered a soft but clear, "I will come to you soon and it will be all right," to Hylota's retreating back before her attention was pulled to the other PADD in her possession that was alerting her to urgent information that needed her attention.


[Outside Zaraq's Quarters]  Attn: Auctor Lucan

Hayden stood outside Zaraq's quarters and rang the chime for the second time, her anxiety level increasing. According to Thea, the Klingon Master-at-Arms was in his quarters but was simply not answering. Her mind told her not to jump to the worst conclusions even as her gut told her not to ignore them. For all she knew, the Klingon was simply in the refresher unit, too preoccupied to respond to her chime. Gods' knew, recent events were enough to mess with anyone's stomach.

Still, she felt something was wrong. Zaraq had been a victim of mind control and according to her text alert, he'd been recently healed by Cir'Cie. Like the others, he had been instructed to return to his quarters and await her arrival. As much as she wished she could only mini all emotional risk, she couldn't attend to everyone at once, which meant everyone would have to sit and process the weight of what had been done to them and what they had done to others, at least for a certain amount of time, alone.

Trusting her gut, and unable to withstand the anxiety any longer, Hayden decided she had no choice but to override his door using her security code. To her relief, the doors promptly hissed open without incident, and the counselor stepped inside the eerily silent room. "Lieutenant? Are you here? It's Counselor O'Connor."

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #34 –
[ CWO1 Sten Covington | Deck 15 | Fighter Assault Bay ]

Work was proceeding well on the Flight Deck.  Between the repairs to the fighters and the mess in the hanger, the entirety of the Bear Cubs and the remaining pilots were busy.  And even Sten himself was getting his hands dirty.  As a rule, the Chief of the Deck was not a primary maintainer or worker; he directed the work and lent his assistance where his superior expertise was required.  However, given the number of casualties and the extent of the damage, he had to get in there. 

And in this case, he was busy pulling a burnt out pulse phaser coil from one of the Valkyries when some random ensign saw it fit to be wandering about his flight deck.  Granted, they were not at flight ops but the hangar deck was still a restricted area and the last thing he needed was some lookie-loo wandering around there, getting in the way.  And what galled him even more was that considering he had absolutely no business on the flight deck since the Chief of the Deck had not been made aware an outsider was coming in, an ensign ought to have his hands full dealing with any of the thousands of details that would need looking after in the wake of the mutiny and the battle.  Setting down the coil, the imposing Chief Warrant Officer started wiping his hands on a rag as he closed the distance, just in time to hear the newcomer calling for Eun Sae. 

Covington came to a stop less than a foot in front of the ensign and cleared his throat.  "I'm the Chief of the Deck, and this is a restricted area.  Who the fuck are you, what the fuck are you doing on my deck, and what the fuck do you want with Petty Officer Ji.  Ensign."

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #35 –
[Ensign Chris "Husker" Slayton| USS Theurgy| Deck 15| Fighter Assault Bay] Attention: CanadianVet


Chris blinked as he turned around to see that while the Chief of the Deck was a man of the same height as himself, he had a rather uncanny way of...well LOOMING over Chris which had the pilot actually finding himself impressed with the chief. "Ensign Christoper Slayton of TacCONN but presently unassigned, offering to help around on the deck and I'm still learning my way around, Chief." he answered respectfully. "I've been trying to help with cleaning up the mess down here."

Chris kept his face respectfully neutral as he talked to the Chief of the Deck, this was Covington's territory and he had every right to question his presence..even though Chris dreaded what was possibly going to be one of the questions soon to follow.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #36 –
[ Eun Sae Ji | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 ] Attn: CanadianVet , DocReno

Eun Sae scowled as once again the engines on one of the fighters overheated engaging the propulsion computer's automatic safety cut off. "Gaesekiya!!" She growled as her theory was confirmed throwing her PADD onto a nearby work bench and stepping away. If the propulsion drive's output regulation system was out of commission that meant that any attempt to start the engines would result in the engines using more thrust and energy than needed resulting in the automated safety cut off activating shutting off the entire engine to prevent catastrophic failure. The few members of her team working around the bay turned to look at her having grown accustomed to their bosses' small outbursts of Korean from time to time.

Eun Sae bit her lip and crossed her arms staring at the propulsion drive she was working on. She'd been hoping to avoid it but at this point it looked like she'd have to tear out the entire drive and dig into it's guts to find the issue. And knowing the luck they'd had so far with most of the maintenance around the hangar so far it wouldn't be something as simple as one of the wires or conduits coming loose somewhere in the system. Before she could express her irritation with more curses uttered in Korean however a member of her team jogged up. Word had spread across the deck through various sources and it didn't take long for word of the Ensign looking for her to reach Eun Sae herself. "Ji there's some guy looking for you out on the deck." He said.

Eun Sae nodded sparing one last glance back at the fighter before turning away scooping up her pad and dropping it into one of the large pockets on her uniform. By the time she'd made it out onto the floor she could already see Papa Bear towering over the ensign like his call sign described like a very angry bear wanting to know what this ensign wanted with one of his cubs. From the looks of it Sten was not happy to have the Ensign on the deck and she already knew why people who didn't know what they were doing on the deck were dangerous they get in the way and one dumb move could trigger way bigger issues when done by the wrong person. But taking pity on the Ensign she approached the two hopefully her arrival would draw a bit of heat away from the Ensign at least for a little bit.

"Did someone call for me Chief?" Eun Sae asked looking toward Sten first before turning her eyes to take in the Ensign that had apparently been asking around about her.

[Translation]
Gaesekiya!! = Son of a Bitch!!

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #37 –
[ Fasha | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 ] Attn: Auctor Lucan


Fasha's lips curled down into a scowl as she brought a hand up to touch the still tender bruise left from the butt of Hannah's rifle. The rifle that no doubt still sat somewhere out on the deck after she'd abandoned it during the rush to get the Squadron out into the Black. Her other hand curled into a fist as the words she'd heard Hannah spoke still rang clearly in her mind, Perhaps she was just a victim to all of the insanity that had overtaken the crew because of the Vulcan witch Vasser had at his beck and call. But some part of her told her that it didn't matter she'd killed a member of their family in cold blood.

Her fist loosened as Evelyn changed the subject likely for the better considering the conflicted thoughts that Hannah had brought up in Fasha's mind. Fasha's gave Evelyn a small smile barely noticeable to most but the other woman would be close enough to notice the small upward twitch of the Catachan's lips. "It's fine just remind me next time we pass by an asteroid field to climb into your bird  and go on a joy ride, We'll call it even then." Fasha said. She sighed as she thought back to the condition she'd seen her bird in hell her exo-suit seemed like it had seen better days too but there was no use being bitter about it especially when Rawley was right she didn't have much of a choice at that point in time. If their positions had been reversed Fasha had no doubt in her mind she'd likely have done the same thing.

The atmosphere in the room however went cold however as Evelyn spoke on a new subject the losses they'd taken. The hit's they'd sustained. Fasha's head turned to stare at the floor of the stall. Her hands fell to her sides clenching into fists she'd wanted to forget about the losses for a bit but it was pointless to try in the end they'd still be there no matter how much she didn't want them to be. "We'll get them back for this...Whoever the hell forced us down this path..." Fasha muttered. "We'll throw them head first into hell and watch them burn..." She hissed. It was so much easier to be angry it felt better in Fasha's opinion. Sadness left you cold and tired, Anger though it was hot, warm it could drive people forward to do so much and in the end that was what Fasha preferred.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #38 –
[ CWO1 Sten Covington | Deck 15 | Fighter Assault Bay ] Attn: Doc Reno, RosariaRosette

Covington did not budge by an inch.  He maintained his position close to the newcomer, this Ensign Slayton, while he explained who he was.  He was a pilot and there to help?  Considering there was no pilot named Slayton on Theurgy's roster, that could only mean one thing.  He had been from Harbinger.  And that was plenty to make the Chief of the Deck less than welcoming.  And at this moment, he was quite ready to call Security and have him taken to the Brig, let the officers sort it out.  However, before he could speak, the little Korean tech arrived, asking if indeed someone had called for her. 

"PO, this guy says he's from TacCONN, but he's definitely not one of mine.  So if he's a pilot, he's from Harbinger."  Sten did not even look at Eun Sae.  Instead, he kept his gaze locked on Slayton.  He had been one of that psychopath Killinvos' men.  And from what he'd observed, not a one of them was fit to be trusted, let alone spend any time breathing the air of his bay.  "So, do you know this guy?  And even if you do, do I call for Security to haul his ass to the Brig for questioning?"

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #39 –
[ Miles "Iron-Fox" Renard | Deck 15 | Fighter Assault Bay ] Attn: Doc Reno, RosariaRosette, CanadianVet

Miles was walking through the bay and noticed a white collar near the familiar jumpsuit of his Deck Chief.  the face was far from familiar, he didn't think there were any ember of Phantom's squad that survived but then he remembered looking over the most basic debriefing info on the battle and remembered seeing something about one of the harbingers Tac-conn boys having been involved in piloting the Harbinger on its crash into the Calamity.  Deciding he needed to defuse the situation he jogged over. 

"Hey...I've been meaning to catch up with you.  Don't worry bout helping out..." He paused barely a moment glancing at the mans neck checking the rank before adding his rank having no idea how else to address then pilot who he knew absolutely nothing about aside from his presence was about to make Papa bear blow a fuse.  "Ensign. You've done enough work today and I think you've earned the rest of the evening off.  Now, get some rest, I need to see you In my office at 0500 tomorrow,"  he said before glancing back to the pilot from the Harbinger making sure he understood that it wasn't a request by adding.  "That's an order." he added a bit forcefully knowing the best option was to end the confrontation here and now not allowing either side to do something that could cause an incident.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #40 –
[ Captain Ives | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Edena Rez & Cameron Henshaw

Benumbed, Jien accepted the rank insignias from Edena. It was not often in her career that she had experienced such a complete resignation, much less when she was the Commanding Officer. There were protests on her mind, motivations to be said for her to stay in service, but in the end, Jien knew that Edena was right. A precaution as much as it was something she wanted in her heart. She had been granted a rare opportunity as First Officer, and it was even more strange to Jien that she would end up a civilian aboard. Removed from all duties, when they sorely needed women like her on the active duty roster.

Yet Jona was right there with her, waiting to strike out whenever he saw the chance, it seemed, so her being removed did serve the integrity of the mission and eliminated risks otherwise hard to avoid. When Edena came aboard, her mission from Starfleet Intelligence was to preserve the integrity of the prototype tech aboard the Theurgy, and Jona had been prepared to do so by any means necessary. His belief in the mission parameters had been that the entire crew complement aboard was expendable if the tech might fall into the hands of enemies to the Federation. Even in a civilian position, and with the knowledge that Jona possessed about the Theurgy specifically, he still constituted a very potent risk to the crew even if he was restricted to civilian security access.

Jona was even a great risk to Jien's own person, since he knew the nature of Jien's abilities as a Chameloid. Edena was trapped, unable to serve and unable to completely trust herself, yet she faced this truth so bravely. She even made a joke after handing over her rank insignia, waggling her finger at Jien and reassuring her that her male form might have attempted to do something vile because of the Niga virus, but that she and Kiya still liked it that version of her. It made Jien rub her own temple and chuckle - slowly shaking her head as she looked down at the deck plates.

"You have a bigger heart than most of us," she said and looked up, folding her arms underneath her chest. There was no way to... comfortably address the compliment that she had made upon her male form, but perhaps she could reciprocate. In fact, she knew she could - the words unlocked and coming freely. "For what it's worth, I regret how I doubted you when you first told me and the Senior Staff your real name. When you let us know your true affiliation and mission parameters - objectives surely set and to be enforced by Jona Rez before he died. I should not have let Wenn Cinn throw you into the Brig. I should have listened to you more readily. But at the time... we were still at Starfleet's mercy, still not having escaped the range of the fleet's collective sensors. I felt that I could not afford the risk of a spy roaming freely aboard, but I know now that I should have trusted you."

Catching the implications of her own words just as she said them, she chuckled ruefully. "Then again, I suppose I have just been proven right. Perhaps I was right not trusting you after all."

It was all in good nature, the bitter-sweet joke, but it was still difficult to imagine that Edena would not be at her side any more, having done so much for her and the crew after she lost Commander Nerina during the Niga Incident. Images, glimpses of what had befallen the former First Officer of hers, they still came to her at night, along with the actions of others during that nightmarish time. Savagely, Jien suppressed the memories.

"Any idea what you will do to pass the time?" she asked with a faint smile, wondering if Edena's ruminations had come so far as to suggest an off-duty way of aiding their cause. "Where will I most likely find you?"

Too late, Jien realised that the question might imply something more, and she became painfully aware that Cam was listening and likely wondering what she had meant too. Worst of it was that she didn't know herself.


[ Rihen Neyah| Sickbay| Surgical Section | Deck 07 ] Attn: Lin Kae

Hearing Lin Kae say the name of the pilot made Rihen understand how much it had affected him, and the pain was so obvious it made her heart ache for him. His pain was hers because she had caused it, even if she knew he'd learn about Soo Young Seung's death in some other way, eventually. Then again, she was just the messenger, while the true cause for his pain was this merciless enemy that had sent the Calamity to hunt them.

As a mere civilian engineer, Rihen did not know if the threat had put the two crews at each others' throats, or if the actions of Vasser and T'Rena had led to the same result even if the Calamity had never arrived in their time and killed so many of the Starfleeters. Was there any difference, though, when the dead were still dead and the ones living still had to face another day at the run? These poor souls all around her deserved some respite, and to restore their faiths in their common cause before they went off on the crazy attempt to board a Starbase filled with people who thought them all traitors.

One thing could be said about the Starfleeters, and that was that they certainly did not lack in courage.

"It is all right to feel empty," she said to Kae and stroked his hair while their embraced. "You have just lost someone you cared for, and that loss is felt as a void inside you - a wound that will heal over time. You just need to find the time to grieve, and to remember her not because of what happened to her, but because of what you and her shared."

Little did she know exactly what had happened between Lin Kae and the pilot that very morning.


[ Evelyn Rawley | Locker Room | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 ] Attn: Fasha & Tessa May Lance

Fasha was a wolf who shared Rawley's sentiment about the enemy, and certainly so in the wake of what had just happened. Grinning, Rawley dropped her hand from her shaven head and idly started to dry her bare and bruised body with the towel in her hand. The sonic vibrations still left damp residues, and while she might air-dry, there was no time for it if she was to help out clearing debris on the deck as according to Papa Bear's orders. Perhaps there was time to talk about the night before, and see if the chief wanted to sing a few more songs.

Fuck new they needed to rest and just go back to basics after something like this.

"How about we go drink to their memories later?" she suggested as she stepped closer to Fasha's stall - unable resist the vapour-shrouded sight of Morrigan over the edge of the door. Being so short, she had to stand on her tip-toes for it too. She was certainly not about to go to Sickbay for a check-up unless she could avoid it. Miles was likely going to send her off there anyway after reading her report. Assault and with an avalanche as frosting on top of it did seem like reason enough for a medical check-up, but she had spent most of the past month with doctors and nurses, and like hell she was going back there willingly.

"I am sure they would all like for us to visit Below Decks and drink in their honour, right?" she added and she turned her head to call to Tessa, "Am I right, Goldie? Would you tag along?"

Little did she know about Miles' intention for them to have an early start on the morrow.

OOC: 3 am here so I will write the Zaraq post after I get some sleep. I will correct typos here then too. G'night!

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #41 –
[ Zaraq | Junior Officers Quarters | Deck 07 ] Attn: Hayden O'Connor

Breathing heavily through his nostrils, Zaraq sat in an armchair - facing the door with the collar of his uniform undone. He had not asked the Ship A.I. to turn the lights on, so the only luminescence came from a couple of glowing control panels and the computer console sitting on the table next to him. He might have heard the chirping of the door, but he had chosen to ignore it. Too heavy were the thoughts that weighed down on him, the recollection of his actions making it hard to breathe, so he focused on that. Breathing, alternating by trying to shy away from the images that came to him as he sat there, and to absorb them all in their sharp details.

Breathing, he was too aware of the gleaming piece of metal in his coarse fingers. The hand phaser was a small thing, but enough to serve its purpose. At it's highest kill-setting, the end would come swiftly, and without margin for error. The only issue that remained... was his bravery, for he did not know if he was ready despite how he deserved to die a coward's death.

Sto-Vo-Kor, it was where in his people's mythology the grand afterlife awaited, yet only for the honoured dead. All their true warriors went there after they died. They fought an eternal battle against great enemies, proving themselves the champions alongside their ancestors. Yet in light of what atrocities Zaraq had done, he knew himself to be dishonored, and instead to be ferried on the Barge of the Dead to Gre'thor. Fek'lhr, the monstrous being of ancient stories awaited him at the gates of Gre'thor, and he would fight it like all the dishonoured had done before him. For he did not deserve Sto'Vo-Kor. No he would be at Fek'lhr mercy, made to weep in defeat until he lost track of the millennia.

Hence the hesitation. Trapped between the death he deserved and accepted, the impossible redemption and promise of Sto-Vo-Kor, and the chirping of the damnable door. To make it stop, he needed just push the button of the Starfleet weapon. A meek press of the thumb, and he would have done right by his victims, and made to suffer for what he had done. An exiled Klingon, name put to shame for crimes he did not commit, would give merit to his people's slander, and die for his ignominy. Yes, it was only right.

The cirping of the door had ended. It was time.

He raised the measly weapon to the side of his shaved head... and bared his teeth in bitterness.

Yet the door opened before his thumb ground down upon the button, and momentarily, he thought the sharp light from the corridor was the phaser going off and that he died, yet he saw the dark silhouette in the doorway, and knew that it was no Klingon to man the barge. It was a human, and he was yet alive. Eyes narrowed against the light, he defied the will to throw the weapon aside in shame for the cowardly act he was about to commit. No, for it was only right, and he bared his teeth at her, nostrils flaring, because she was about to dishonour his victims by making him stay his hand.

"Get out, female," he rasped - voice reverberating in his chest and in the air of his dark quarters. His silence broken, he dared her step inside. "I care not for words. I merely need respite. So whoever you are, leave... and do not look back."

The rough surface of his thumb teased the button of his phaser - end swift to come.

Transl. sto-vo-kor = heaven & gre'thor = hell

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #42 –
[ Tessa May Lance | Locker Room | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 ] Attention:  Evelyn and Fasha

Tessa was in a still in a fetal position when she heard voices and movement. 

"It's good to see you in one piece Evelyn..." Fasha's voice greeted hesitantly.

Likewise," Evelyn's voice replied.  "Last I saw you, Hannah had..."  An awkward pause.  

Hannah was a sore spot for all sorts of reasons and Tessa wasn't up to talking about her right now, but she did have to admire Evelyn for making the attempt. 
 
"Sorry for taking your exosuit and your Valkyrie," Evelyn continued, as she prudently changed the subject.  "I had little choice in the matter. No time to get my own. Those Harbinger bastards were trying to dock and everything... Had to try and stop them."  Another pause.  "I may have nicked your bird a bit... but that's not something Papa Bear and his team can't fix. It should be top notch in no time."

"It's fine just remind me next time we pass by an asteroid field to climb into your bird and go on a joy ride, We'll call it even then," Fasha sighed as she tried and failed to make light of things.

"This one hit close to home, didn't it?" Evelyn admitted softly.  "We have lost people before, but not so many in such a short time. Miles seemed pretty upset about it... and I fucking sympathize. It's so bloody fucked up."

"We'll get them back for this...Whoever the hell forced us down this path..." Fasha muttered.  "We'll throw them head first into hell and watch them burn..." she hissed hatefully.

"How about we go drink to their memories later?" Evelyn suggested bravely.  "I am sure they would all like for us to visit Below Decks and drink in their honour, right?" she added before her voice increased in volume.  "Am I right, Goldie?" she called. "Would you tag along?"

"Hm?  What?" Tessa muttered.  "Oh yeah, right!" she called back as she uncurled her body and rose to stand on unsteady legs.  "Sure.  Count me in," she announced as she shut off the sonic shower.  "Just try not to stare if I start weeping and shouting hysterically all right?" she smiled weakly as she staggered out of the stall to face her sister Wolves.

She had tried to make it sound like a joke, but she had a feeling that she was being dead serious.


[ William Robert O'Connell | USS Theurgy | Ship's Corridor outside the main entrance to Main Sickbay | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy  ]  

When Master Chief Petty Officer William Robert "Billy Bob" O'Connell arrived with Crewman Dom Fok in tow, the line outside sickbay wasn't hard to find.  A line of defeated, frightened, and glassy eyed people watched closely by a team of security personnel trailed out into the corridor.

"Don't wander off," the master chief grunted as Crewman Fok tried to lag behind.  The entire trip to sickbay Billy had kept the crewman's wrist in a vicelike grip.  If he didn't keep a weather eye on the lad Fok just might try to kill himself just to stop the voices in his head.   "This the line for the hypnotized people?" he asked Senior Chief Petty Officer Calvin 'Animal Mother' Reagar of the security division. 

"It ain't the line for the mess hall," the burly one point nine three meter security specialist quipped back.  Like O'Connell, Cal Reagar was a veteran of the Dominion War and had seen action both in space and planet side.  "I'm not surprised that you're not in this line Master Chief.  What's the matter, too paranoid to let your guard down?"

"I guess even a stopped chronometer is right once a day," O'Connell nodded as Crewman Fok took his place in line.  Who would have guessed that Starfleet's reigning conspiracy theorist's paranoia would keep him out of trouble?  "Well I gotta git back t' work," he admitted with a rueful sigh.  "No rest for the wicked."

"Makes you wonder how the Vulcans who are gettin' everyone back to normal are handling it," Cal Reagar mused thoughtfully.  "Contacting that many messed up minds.  Can't be good for 'em."

"You got that right," O'Connell nodded.  "I guess no matter how bad your job is somebody's got one that's worse."


[ Maya | Main Sickbay | Counselor's Office | Deck 07 ]  Attention: Cir'Cie .

After finishing up in surgery, Doctor Maya washed up and changed out of her surgical scrubs before making her way to the corridor.  She waited until Cir'Cie was finished deprogramming yet another compromised crewman before speaking.  "I apologize for the delay, but I've been in surgery," Maya said with a formal nod.  "I am available to relieve you if you need to rest.  Your ordeal must have been quite grueling."

Maya had been delayed for quite some time.  Even though the combat with the Calamity hadn't resulted in any serious casualties, the Vasser's mutiny had kept the greenblooded physician in surgery longer than she had expected.  Doctor Saugn had made herself scarce and Doctor Nicander had only recently returned to sickbay.  Maya hadn't been spared a moment to look for either of them and had been forced by her duty to use her Vulcan discipline to suppress her concern.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #43 –
[ Edena Rez | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Jien Ives & Cameron Henshaw

[Show/Hide]


When the pins fell from her cold hands into Ives', Edena felt the weight of something leave her shoulders. She knew she shouldn't be feeling so lightened when the captain still had such a great burden. But she/he had a damn fine crew, a crew that she too cared deeply for, as her friends, as people she would die for, something Jona would never understand. It was because of that thought, Edena allowed herself to feel better, for herself, and for Ives. This was how she would protect the captain and crew. By keeping herself from the opportunity to harm them, to keep Jona at bay. She watched Ives' face, to figure out what the Chameloid was thinking, when she chuckled, and then looked down.

"You have a bigger heart than most of us."

"Heh..." Edena smiled and gazed at the deck plates, she wondered if it would make the floor a more interesting place to look at if they were allowed to do some murals and artworks. Great, now she was thinking like Illya or Ida. She couldn't be sure how much of the Andorian was getting to her. She considered Ives' words, and smiled sweetly, "I didn't exactly make it easy for you lot."

She shrugged her slender shoulders, "You can trust me, Kiya and even Illya...but Jona? And who's to say he might not one day masquerade as me? Or the other two?" She looked down again, "What a contradiction. You can trust me with your life, and yet, you can't, or you'd die."

She grinned as she looked up at Ives, "I hope they don't make a holovid about us. This scene would give everyone a headache." And she laughed at her own joke. It was so absurd, how could she not laugh?

One eyebrow arched, and she felt her own heart racing just a little, with the way that question was asked. Edena was glad that despite her resignation, she still would like to see her. It was something the young woman cherished deeply. "For now, you can always ask Thea. Unfortunately, I haven't quite figured out where I could go..." her mind blanked for a second, and then she suddenly thought about Below Decks, what she'd seen of it when she beamed over with Henshaw and the captain prior to her abduction by Vasser. "You know...maybe I'll be at Below Decks. I think there's something there that Illya and I could do to help out, and keep myself busy for as long as it will take us to get home safely."

She said it more as a when than an if. Such was her faith in Ives.


[ Cameron "Cam" Elizabeth Henshaw | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Jien Ives & Edena Rez

[Show/Hide]


Henshaw had busied herself with her PADD, thumbing through data and also keeping an ear on the conversation with Edena and her captain. It wasn't like she had much choice; the distance wasn't enough to put her out of earshot. And she quirked a lip upwards when she heard Ives' last question to Edena. It seemed like she had a little healthy competition with Edena for Ives' attention. Or maybe not. After all, Denobulans were quite unusual in their extended family ideals, where they all had three spouses, both the men and the women, which basically could interconnect the entire planet through marriage. It was hilarious, and an interesting culture.

Now, Henshaw wasn't that open to sharing love. But on the other hand, she didn't feel it was her place to begrudge the captain if he/she chose to have more than one close companion. But she'd most likely pull back if that were the case, focus her skills and talents in other ways. And that perhaps, made her realize she wouldn't like that. She wanted Ives' whole attention. It was a bit of a headache, so like she would do these days, she pushed the thought aside to process at a later time. Right now would not be the best time. Edena was already making plans for civilian life aboard the Theurgy. Seemed like the woman had it all together, for someone with a case akin to multiple personality disorder, that was rather impressive.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #44 –
[ Captain Ives | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 ] Attn: Edena Rez & Cameron Henshaw

Hearing Edena suggest that she might be helping out in Below Decks brought mixed feelings. On one hand, Jien's immediate thought was that Edena's talents and experience would go to waste there - a place that she had come to associate with the kind of seedy Greek bar that William Regal had turned it into before his passing. He'd even had a hologram that would flip its skirt at his command, at least at intervals between the times when Jien had ordered Security to purge that holographic matrix from the place. Since Regal's death, it had been a desolate place run by more nondescript holograms, few people going there.

Then again, the place had earned itself a new reputation since Theta Eridani IV, when the Irish celebrity had begun to turn the place into something far more respectable. Rory Callahan seemed to run the place in a way far more befitting a starship. And knowing how Edena had served in the capacity of Asst. Chief Counselor before she revealed her true name, perhaps she could make a difference to crew morale if she was there, lending an ear and a word whenever it was needed. It was only speculation at that point.

"I will make sure to come down and see how you are settling in, and to hear what your plans are. I wou-"

There was a chirp from the antechamber, heralding the first of many appointments with different officers. At the moment, Jien regretted that she had asked for reports from all departments by the hour, but it was the only way for him to ensure that the crew and ship operations would get up and running again. It meant, however, that this meeting would have to come to an end, even if there was so much more to be said.

"My apologies," she said, taking a deep breath, "We'll speak again before the morrow, about when this is to be made official. There is the matter of your successor to settle on, and countless other things to solve before I may earn some rest tonight. Thank you, Edena, for now."

- FIN

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #45 –
[ Evelyn Rawley | Locker Room | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 ] Attn: Fasha & Tessa May Lance

When Tessa May Lance emerged from the sonic shower, vapour trailing in her wake, Rawley could appreciate the sight despite everything they'd been through. For while Tessa's attitude was on the softer side compared to her own, that body of hers sure wasn't any more soft around the edges than her own.

"I can't make any promises I won't be staring at you, Goldie." Evelyn emphasised the remark with a once-over scan where she stood only with a towel behind her neck. The rueful smile she gave the hazel-eyed beauty shed any lingering doubt about what she was talking about and she turned her head to give Fasha a wink over the door of the shower stall. It might have been crude, but it was the only way Rawley knew she could cope: To joke as if they were sharing the locker room like any other day. For fighter pilots such as them, it was an instinct of survival. To carry on no matter what.

Something that was about to be put to trial. This, in form of Maverick stepping into the locker room. The beared, half-Vulcan man would usually have given Rawley and Lance a wolf-whistle or a comment, despite the fact that they had shared the locker room since the third iteration of the Valkyrie-program started up, but Nathaniel Isley seemed to bring ill news.

"Evelyn," he said gravelly, and he hesitated, which made Rawley frown. She could not remember the last time Mav addressed her by her first name, if he ever had. He was still dressed in his Exosuit, helmet underneath his arm.

"What is it?" she asked, turning to fact him with her twisted towel still looped behind the back of her neck, its ends held in both her hands. "Any sights of Razor out there?"

"No I... I had to ask after the battle," he said, and he frowned, perhaps realising that there was no point of return. "I knew something was off. I just had no idea what it meant."

"Ask what?" Rawley stepped a bit closer to the man, having to crane her neck to look at Nathan.

"The base ship. We have protected her regularly the past months. We fly in perfect sync with the CONN Officer at the helm of the Theurgy. It has been key to our survival, and to the protection of the crew. Today, something was off, so I had to ask. It... It was not your brother at the helm."

Honestly, Rawley had thought as much herself. Cale Winterbourne, her half-brother to be precise - had always been the unnamed wolf that stayed behind in the den. Merely an Ensign, he piloted the starship like a Veteran thrice his age. "Who was it then, and where is..."

"He is dead, Ranger." Nathan looked towards the deck beneath their feet. "Zaraq, that new Klingon, he shot Cale dead on the bridge at the onset of the mutiny. T'Rena's order. He was made an example of to prevent others from resisting the change of command. I'm sorry. I don't know what to say."

At first, Rawley was not sure she had heard Mav right. Then she thought he was kidding her, playing some morbid joke on her. She was about to give him a derisive snark when she realised he was dead serious. Then, any kind of humour drained from her face, and in its wake, she could not stop the building anger from washing through her - riding the tidal wave of her despair.

"What the fuck did you say?" Her eyes were slits of rage, and she sucked a breath through her teeth. She clawed a grip around one of the lockers and flipped it out on the floor. "Is Cale dead because of that Vulcan bitch? And Zaraq just shot him without question? How the hell did that happen? He could just have... No one flies this base ship like he does! How the fuck did they think they'd fight the battles to come without him? Where the hell is that Zaraq? I will kill that fucking ridge-skull! No, I will blast off his legs with my phasers, and I will.... Fuck it, where is he... Where is he..."

At some point during her tirade, she sunk down on her knees, and when her words ceased to come, her tears followed in their wake. Bent over the overturned locker, she found herself bawling, she was no longer asking for Zaraq, but of her brother - remembering Cale from their home in Britain.  Summers and winters of childhood lost, and now just hers alone to keep. Her body may have been bruised and scarred, yet this wound went to her soul - bleeding through her eyes as she mewled her baby brother's name.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #46 –
[Ensign Chris "Husker" Slayton| USS Theurgy| Deck 15| Fighter Assault Bay] Attention: CanadianVet, RosariaRosette, IronFerrox

Chris looked over at the newcomer and realized that it was the Theurgy's TacCONN chief. "Understood sir, I was just wanting to stay honest and the chief doesn't know me so understand his concerns with everything that's happened."

Chris then turned to regard Covington and gave a very Andorian nod towards the Deck Chief. "I meant no disrespect, Chief." he said before turning to look back at both of the men equally.

"Permission to leave, Chief and Commander?" he asked.
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OOC: with that last part, it's a common courtesy and not any form of being snarky.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #47 –
[Doctor Hayden O'Connor | Zaraq's Junior Officer's Quarters | USS Theurgy] Attn: Zaraq

After entering Zaraq's quarters, announcing herself, and receiving no answer, she might have stopped in her tracks and simply listened for a moment. After all, as she'd already considered, there were probably a million reasons the Klingon wasn't answering the door and at least half of them were benign. Even the darkness wasn't enough to initiate maximum panic, as she reasoned after receiving the healing mind meld that would restore his mind to some semblance of normalcy following the attempted mutiny, the Master-at-Arms was likely exhausted. She didn't know the man personally, but given what she knew of Klingon culture, it wouldn't have surprised her if he elected to take a nap rather than wait for her to arrive so that he might talk about his feelings about the brainwashing he'd received. Starfleet regs aside, Klingons and other races like them, not to mention particularly stubborn humans, didn't exactly make a secret of their disdain for counseling. To some, expressing even the barest hint of an uncomfortable feeling was the equivalent of advertising personal weakness. Of course, these were the people Hayden wanted to approach the soonest, because in her experience, these were some of the folks who had the hardest time coping with trauma.

She would later remember what came next seemed to hit her in slow motion, her eyes taking an agonizingly long time to adjust to the darkness. When they finally did and the light illuminated the full horror-filled reality, her brain didn't immediately process it at first. It was only when  Zaraq ordered her to leave and it felt as though his voice actually rumbled the deck plates beneath her that she knew she wasn't sleeping and she wouldn't wake with relief from this nightmare. Indeed, there was no denying this was a counselor's worst nightmare, a circumstance one fought like hell to avoid, a circumstance one didn't even talk about aloud for fear it might become a reality. This was her warp core breach, her cardiac arrest, her mutiny.
 
As she'd been required to do so many times before in just the past few hours, Hayden forced herself to take a slow, centering breath. She'd worked with plenty of suicidal people before, but never had she come upon anyone on the verge of taking his life. Still, O'Connor knew she didn't have a lot of time to turn things around, especially as she noted Zaraq didn't even bother to lower the phaser when he saw her. Either it was just part of the image he wanted to project so she would leave him alone, or he was truly determined to take his own life, and he didn't give a damn who knew it. Saying a silent prayer for strength, Hayden replied calmly, "I'm Counselor O'Connor and I won't dishonor myself by turning and walking away from you in this moment. Would you truly ask a colleague, a fellow warrior," Hayden emphasized, "to dishonor her name?"

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #48 –
[ Ensign Cir'Cie | Sickbay | Deck 07 ] Attn: Doctor Maya

The line of mutineers had been long, but the progression swift enough. Less than half the estimated number had been treated - minds restored to the inevitable guilt.

When Doctor Maya came to relieve her, Cir'Cie had experienced her fair share of T'Rena's taint. A stain of madness not keenly felt until enough minds reflected it over and over again. She stepped into a hall of mirrors each time she applied her hand to the faces of the mutineers, and T'Rena was there - an elusive spectre of malign intent that cast its image across the minds of her victims. The only boon to the repetition was that Cir'Cie became more skilled at finding the source of the reflections - the scar of her touch upon innocent minds.

Lowering her hand, Cir'Cie turned her head to look at Doctor Maya. At first, she was not satisfied with the answer she wanted to give the older Vulcan - her throat locking when she meant to say that the ordeal was manageable. Then she realised that it would be a lie. Only then, the fact that she would not have to chase through another deceased mind settled in her own, and she raised a hand to fold it around Doctor Maya's wrist. Slowly, she raised Maya's hand towards her own face.

"If you would cleanse m-me, I can do the same for you... after you have taken care of the rest." Her halcyon voice had almost held throughout the sentence, but it was frayed at the edges from what she had absorbed. All the violations, the sensations and the sights, the killings and the decisions that sprung from the Acolytes will. It was too much to hold on to. It needed to be gone.

Re: EPILOGUE: Precepts By Which We Survive

Reply #49 –
[ Eun Sae Ji | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy ]

Eun Sae felt a small tinge of guilt for the Ensign as Sten didn't even turn away from him even for a second granting him a moment's reprieve from the Chief's intimidating gaze. Though she had to grant the man credit he was handling being under Sten's scrutiny far better than she'd witnessed other officers do. She didn't know if Sten knew it but she part of her was quite sure he did but the man had a stare that could make an actual damn bear back down if it ever came to it. Part of her wanted to step between the Chief and Ensign Slayton just to form a bit of distance between the two before anything hasty was done by either man.

In her short service upon the Harbinger she'd only seen Ensign Slayton a few times but it only took one for her to realize that he was different from the rest of the members of the Harbinger's pilots. The man was respectful the few times she'd spoken to him and unlike most of the other men in the squadron he didn't eye her like a piece of meat. And then there was the time that cemented her thoughts on the man. It seemed Eun Sae had poor misfortune of being about whenever the crew of the ship liked to regal one another about their sickening activities. One pilot who went by the callsign Riptor if she wasn't mistaken had been going about the deck all day telling his own story of how he'd raped a woman upon the Theurgy before strangling her.

It made her sick she wanted to find the nearest toilet and throw up but she forced herself to keep working even as he went into each sickening detail of his retelling of the tale. But then the deck erupted into a scuffle as one man broke the character she'd learned to expect from most members of the Harbinger's crew and assaulted Riptor. But before he could really give the man what she felt he deserved the security officers posted to the hangar hauled the man away.

Now the question remained did she trust Slayton? The answer was simple, No she didn't but this was due to the simple fact that she didn't even know the man all that well. "I know him Chief he's okay." Eun Sae said before she could stop the words from leaving her lips. Why had she said that? She didn't know but she didn't regret it one bit as far as she was concerned Slayton was thousands of times better than anyone else she'd met aboard the Harbinger and if one little lie could help him fit in just a bit better on the Theurgy that was a price she was willing to pay.


[ Fasha "Morrigan" | FAB Locker Rooms | Deck 15 ]

Fasha felt a small smile pull at the corner of her lips as Evelyn stepped closer to her stall. It was easy to see that Evelyn hadn't been changed too much by the incident. Which was comforting to Fasha it made everything seem just a bit more normal something that she felt was needed right now. As Evelyn mentioned having a few drinks to commemorate the fallen Fasha nodded "I could use a good drink." She said cutting off the cycle on the sonic shower. As she stepped out of the stall she shook her hair letting a few droplets of water fly loose from her slightly damp hair. As she took in the sight of Tessa her smile faded a bit out of them all it seemed Tessa was taking the losses worst.

And Fasha couldn't blame her one bit loss was never easy but there were always people who took it better than others. Fortunately Fasha was one of those people having seen so many of her people die during the Dominion war was enough to steel her to death but leave her with enough humanity to still recognize the tragedy that came with every death. "I don't think anyone will blame you for that Tessa." Fasha said as she grabbed the towel she'd hung up by the stall and began to dry her hair.

As a new voice was heard however Fasha looked up to see one of the remaining survivors from the squadron standing there still dressed in full gear his helmet tucked in the crook of his arm. The look on his face made Fasha's stomach dip she knew the look it wasn't hard to decipher. Someone was dead and considering he was here it was someone close to one of the three women standing in the room. She watched Evelyn's progression starting at anger and slowly descending into a downward spiral of grief. Fasha remained quiet as she listened to Evelyn utter the name of her lost loved one. Fasha's hand slowly curled into a fist wondering how many others this conflict planned ot take from her sister wolf before this all ended.

Fasha knelt down slowly reaching out to place a hand on Evelyn's back she didn't know what to say. She'd never known it was better to let Evelyn know she was here than to try and find any words to try to ease the pain or try to say that she knew what it felt like.
 
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