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41
Interregnum 01-02 S2 / Re: Day 16 [2200hrs] A shore for shore leave
Last post by Nolan -
[ PO2 Kythalie Benmual | Holodeck | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Brutus

She was thanked for the consideration and she gave a curtsy nod whilst continuing to look up at the man's bionic eyes. In the meantime, her gesture to brush against his fingers seemed to have gone unnoticed. Or perhaps, he wasn't interested at all? Just Kythalie's hand began to retreat, the man reached out to interlace his fingers with her hand. The caramel skinned Betazoid smiled slightly as she never broke the eye contact with him.

Kythalie remained in place as Sarresh moved slightly closer towards her in the warm water. The surf behind them, creating for a rhythmic sound as the waves lapped themselves onto the beach before the water retreated. Sarresh's hand rose up from underneath the water surface and Kythalie sucked in some air as his hand came in contact with her shoulder, ghosting along the smooth skin as he seemed to explore. That's when he spoke up and the corners of Kythalie's lips tugged slightly further as he murmured to her.

"I wasn't listening or feeling to yours either. One would consider it rude... A breach of privacy." she answered him as they both seemed to not know what was going on in the other one's mind. A problem that could easily be lifted from her behalf if she were to reach and connect with his mind. She wouldn't however do so without his explicit consent.

"I guess we're both in the dark on that front for now." She continued as she let his fingers carry on, not providing any objection whatsoever. She paused for a second as they both stood still in the water, the undercurrent swaying their bodies perhaps ever so slightly. "As for what's going on in my head... I'm sure that I can inform you that it's nothing bad." she chuckled lightly, teasing him slightly with a playful tone. Her own free hand emerged from under the water, tracing lightly against the front of his hip before ghosting up along his abdomen and eventually resting the full palm of her hand against his chest.

Her eyes remained locked with his as she wondered if this was okay with him. Wondered if she'd be allowed to peek into his mind, to feel what he felt. In turn she'd not stop him from feeding his deprived state of touch, like him, she yearned the physical contact. The need to connect, the feeling of belonging somewhere else than the madhouse they were in beyond the doors of the holodeck.

"Besides, you can always ask what's on my mind. Or ask what it is you want to know." she whispered to him, squeezing gently into his hand as her fingers drew lazily against his torso. Her own breathing picking up whilst they stood there in the artificial Betazed sea., her chest moving up and down a tad faster than before. Her heart racing as she allowed the man to come closer than other crewmates. 
42
Interregnum 01-02 S2 / Re: Day 16 [2200hrs] A shore for shore leave
Last post by Brutus -
[ Lt (jg) Sarresh Morali | Turbolift | Various Decks | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Nolan 
[Show/Hide]


For the smallest of moments, a few short, heavy heartbeats, Sarresh's smile fell. Not being able to go back home. Even if they got out of this whole thing alive, Sarresh doubted that first - he'd be able to go back to the Relativity which had been home for a long time and had faded from his memory, just impressions, no specifics. Nor could he go back to his native homeworld. Oh, he might be able to go back to the planet, but he would now forever be apart. No longer Ash'reem. Just some form of enhanced human. He could never truly live as one of his own again.

But the sadness passed swiftly, swept away into the recesses of his mind. His shoulders rose a bit, as if a weight was shifted from him, and he nodded again towards Kythalie. Soon he was grinning, almost but not quite accompanied by a chuckle. He approved of her programing 'cheat.'

"I appreciate the consideration," he quietly told her, and it was true, he did. The warmth felt lovely, and was a welcome counter to the cold waters of that Klingon river that he'd been floating down before his unwelcome encounter with agents of Ageis. Pleasure after what I went through, and she doesn't even know the half of it, he silently mused with a small twitch of his lips. If sunshine and warm waters were her idea of pleasure, he wouldn't argue there. His thoughts lingered perhaps a moment too long on that, what she might find pleasurable, compared to what she thought would be good for him.  The urge to reach out and touch was there again, and he saw that she was now drifting closer and closer. He had been within arms reach already and now...it would be easy.

Her eyes met his, and Sarresh felt his head tilt in turn, dipping closer to hers as Kythalie eased back a bit to look up. She was objectively beautiful, of course. That went without saying. It wasn't the huge pull toward her, or well, not all of it. Her kindness, and the shared understanding, their losses...it was hard to put into words. But then, she was a Betazoid. Perhaps he didn't need words - or perhaps she didn't need to hear them from him. Just feel?

Sarresh nearly jumped as he felt fingertips brush his. So caught up in her eyes he had not felt the hand moving through the water. He hesitated, and then his brain caught up and he reached back out, as her hand was drifting away, and laced his fingers between hers. He realized in that moment just how starved for touch he was. Ash'reem were an extremely communal, touch and pheromone based species. Much of it was genetic, but even then there was a heavy cultural aspect to it as well. And he ...here in the holographic waters, Sarresh realized (perhaps remembered my almost be better) how much he missed touch. He had isolated himself time and again aboard Theurgy. In fairness, every time he seemed to reach out something went horribly wrong for whomever reached back.

This time she reached first, techincally the little voice in his head whispered. He swallowed, smiled, and stepped even closer, his other hand rising up out of the water, fingers ghosting along her shoulder, tentative, seeing if this was okay.

"I can't hear your thoughts or feel your intentions," he murmured softly. "You're going to have to let me know what's going on in there." Maybe it was because he was tired - exhausted really - but he couldn't ignore the needs anymore. Couldn't keep forcing distance from everyone. How much of that leaked out, how much she felt, he couldn't know. That emptiness where connection should have been, yearning for contact. For anything to fill it. For the kindness she showed, and the connection she offered.
43
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: PRO: S [Day 1 | 1235 hrs] Tell Me I'm the Fairest of the Fair
Last post by TWilkins -
[Ensign Sylvain Llewellyn-Kth | | Turbolift | V.2 | USS Theurgy] @joshs1000

“See, I’ve never been all that partial to coffee…” Sylvain replied, trying to recover what few shreds of dignity he had left, with hopes that he could maintain it long enough for the turbolift to reach their destination… Thankfully, the Kzin had been kind enough to instruct the tubrolift to take the pair of them down to deck ten, despite his own destination being deck fourteen, which meant that Sylvain was about to be one step closer to some privacy and the opportunity to have a sonic shower… On the other hand, it also meant that he’d be that one step closer to whatever hellish fate his assignment to the Savi vessel would have in store for him.

Frankly, given the circumstances, keeping the conversation on coffee, as opposed to allowing his mind wander to the horrors of the future, was far the easier option, as much as small talk usually made him uncomfortable… Unfortunately for the Ensign however, Mr Lok had other ideas for where to steer the conversation, and it didn’t leave Sylvain much opportunity to maintain his concentration on such mundane things as tea leaves and coffee beans…

Thankfully however, the Kzin did touch ground on a topic that Sylvain could discuss with him, which seemed nothing short of miraculous considering their circumstances. According to Lok, his mother was employed on Betazed, specifically working with individuals who had psionic abilities outside of the norm; a category that Sylvain was fairly certain, would include himself… Though he hadn’t worked with a Kzinti, or even seen one, during his own time at the Institute, Sylvain knew how big a place it was; it was certainly feasible that he simply hadn’t crossed paths with Lok’s mother whilst he’d been living there... After all, he’d spent the vast majority of his time there in either his room or one of the therapy offices, aside from a few hours a day in communal areas and group activities, neither of which really offered much in the way of conversation; funnily enough, there wasn’t a whole lot of gossip in a place where half of the patients were telepaths with limited control over their own abilities…

“Oh, I spent a few years on Betazed when I was younger, at the El’nar Institute…” Sylvain revealed, comfortable enough in discussing his backstory with the man, or at least, more comfortable than trying to make up some tale on the fly… It didn’t particularly bother the Ensign if someone judged him for that time of his life anyway; they hadn’t been through what he had. “I think I was twelve or thirteen, my mother sent me there when my abilities got really bad, I honestly couldn’t do anything, even getting out of bed just made me want to…” His tone had a note of joviality to it, a helpful salve to ease how painful those memories really were, but he still found his mouth stopping with a certain dryness as he teetered on the brink of that pain. No... Now was not the occasion to recall those memories.

“I’m really lucky actually; apparently some people spend years on the waiting list… I think I got special treatment because my dad was from a non-Federation species… I’m pretty sure it was the first opportunity they had to find out about how our type of psionics worked, it was probably every bit as good for them as it was for me…” He allowed himself a very small chuckle at those words. It wasn’t a lie by any means, he’d had to sign a waiver for his information to be kept for research purposes, but ultimately, the help had been worth it. “They really did help me though; I don’t think I’d have been able to join Starfleet if I’d not been accepted there…”

Sylvain paused, and chose that moment to turn the topic back to the Kzin’s mother.

“I don’t remember seeing any Kzinti when I was there, but then, I’m sure there are a lot of different research venues for psionics on Betazed…” A slight drop of awkwardness returned once again to his tone, realising that in all of his rambling about the El’nar Institute, Lok’s mother might have worked somewhere else entirely. “I met some really nice people on Betazed though, it was a really hospitable planet, such a lovely culture...” The Ensign turned to glance at Lok once more, growing slightly paler at the sight of the feline licking at his own teeth. “A bit too casual for the nudity for my tastes… But I suppose I probably wasn’t complaining quite so much at thirteen…” As soon as the words left his mouth, he worried that his watery attempt at a joke might not have landed, and moved to correct himself so rapidly that he almost tripped over his own tongue.

“Sorry, that was a joke, a bad one… There wasn’t really all that much nudity at the Institute anyway, multicultural and all that, a lot of Vulcan staff… Sorry.” He apologised again. Humour had never been his strong suit, so he wasn’t quite sure what had possessed him to attempt it, especially considering he’d only just developed a rapport with the Kzin. “It was a lovely planet to get to spend time on though, I think I preferred it to Vulcan… Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed the Vulcan teas, even if they all tasted the same… But all that sun and sand didn’t agree with me, I swear that I was still finding sand in my clothes during my second year at the Academy…”

Sylvain let a poignant pause hang in the air for a moment, as he swallowed his rambling and considered the weight of the subject that he was dancing around… It was probably a lot for Lok to have bombarded at him so soon after whatever procedure he’d just had performed, but Sylvain found himself longing to ask. The Ensign kicked himself for not sticking to lighter subjects, but found his mouth opening nonetheless.

“I was living aboard the USS Boleyn before the war, but when it was called to the front lines, I was almost evacuated to Betazed. It was only by chance I ended up being sent to Vulcan instead…” He paused, turning towards Lok once again and offering a somewhat sympathetic face. “I… I hope that she was okay during the occupation? What happened there was…” Indescribable , quite frankly. There weren't words to describe the atrocities that he'd heard about. “I lost friends, and I was only there for a few years, I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you…”

Perhaps after his first mission aboard the Theurgy, he might have a better idea painted within his mind about the ins-and-outs of such tragedy…
44
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: Ch 4: S [Day 1 | 1810 hrs] A Friend Indeed...
Last post by TWilkins -
[ Ensign Sylvain Llewellyn-Kth | Maintenance Tube | Biological Laboratory Quintus | Aft Tertiary Research Deck | Erudite ] @Dumedion

About ten seconds later, very much alive and well, Sylvain tentatively opened his eyes, sheepishly moving his arms away from where they shielded his face, a waterlogged hazel glance flickering down towards where the creature was clamped above his knee, undulating as if trying to swallow, but evidently not achieving its result. It puzzled him. The creature’s fangs had been several inches long, more than enough that they should have pierced through his thigh muscle and possibly hit his bone, yet he scarcely felt any pain at all… He considered that the creature might have had some sort of analgesic venom, though the theory was swiftly disproven when the creature seemed to slide backwards off of him, flopping onto its back with a rather satisfying ‘plap’ sound, no puncture wounds to be seen.

The Ensign straightened himself further, watching as the creature rolled itself back onto its front, trotting its tiny little feet to face his limb once more, its jaw completely distending as it locked eyes on Sylvain's leg, but now void of fangs of any kind… Brows descending further over his confused expression, his gaze moved past the creature that threw itself at his leg once again, and instead drifted further into the junction, looking for any evidence as to what had happened to the rows of fangs that he’d seen not a moment prior… And he didn’t have to work in intelligence to find them, scattered on the floor not far from where the creature had originally bared them at him, nowhere near where he’d flung his phaser…

“Huh?” He vocalised, propping himself up further as he reached forwards, gently putting his hands around the creature’s plump belly and lifting it off of his thigh with ease, trying desperately hard to ignore how ludicrously squishy it was, and failing monumentally in the task. Even for someone as opposed to touch as Sylvain was, the sensation of pressing his fingers against the soft, plush flesh of the creature, was nothing short of euphoric; it was even better than stroking a cat… Though, it became a little easier to move past his overwhelming yearning for squishing, when the creature’s entire face split apart once more, revealing a yawning wide mouth, unusually yellow tongue, and disturbingly bloody gum line…

“Hey Cora, come and look at this?” He called backwards, completely failing to acknowledge how readily the woman had abandoned him, and instead gripped by a robust sense of scientific curiosity that was usually reserved for stellar phenomena; he was hardly a xenobiologist after all… Though, no matter where his curiosity had emerged from, it departed him as swiftly as it had arrived, his entire face swelling up with the unreasonable desire to burst into tears, as the little creature in his hands closed its mouth once again, its own eyes welling up with a heartbreaking deluge of its own tears…

“Moopsy…”

Sylvain didn’t think he had ever heard a noise so sorrowful in his entire life…

“Oh gosh, it’s okay little guy, it’s okay…” Sylvain immediately cooed, hugging the creature softly against him as his own heart seemed to shatter within his chest, any care that this creature had been trying to kill him not a minute prior, forgotten. “I’ll look after you, you don’t need to be afraid right now, it’s okay, you're safe, don’t worry, it’s okay…” He continued to barrage the creature with words of reassurance, conscious that he ought to get some sort of scan of its anatomy, in order to try and establish how he could actually look after it.

The creature wriggled placidly in his grip, not making any particular effort to escape his hands, whilst Sylvain carefully drew his thumb and forefinger away from holding it, in order to get a grip on the zip that hung softly against the top of his uniform jacket. Slowly, as to not startle the creature he unzipped his jacket a little way, before making a thoroughly ridiculous attempt at manoeuvring the creature so that its chunky body would wedged inside his jacket, whilst trying hard to keep its head away from the material. It took a moment, and it was perhaps the most absurdly stupid thing he had done in his entire life, but he succeeded, consequences be damned…

“There you go, nice and safe…” Sylvain’s cooing words continued, looking down at the creature's little head as it nestled in the V shape of his uniform jacket, its body prevented from slipping lower by the combat harness that rested under his chest. Confident that the creature was relatively secure, the Ensign's now free hands reached for his tricorder, pale fingers spidering across its cold surface so that he could make an effort to scan the creature, mentally trying to reassure himself that he’d probably have had a premonition if the thing was going to kill him; that was usually what happened, at least...

Frankly, he knew it was absurd. He just didn't seem to care...

It might have been the fact that he was still light-headed from the smell that he’d been subject to in the corridor, or perhaps it was the lingering remnants of the fact that he’d crashed his head into a solid metal bulkhead… It could have been the lubricant that the Savi had used to wedge the tube down his throat, perhaps he was allergic to it in some way? Or maybe inhaling the Savi’s atmosphere in such a confined space had addled him. Or perhaps it was just the knowledge that he was assigned to a ship that was on an apparent suicide mission, having had to abandon his entire life at the drop of a hat and travel across half of the quadrant, with no idea what their plan actually was, and was now spending his possible last-day-alive, crawling through tunnels in a restricted area of a ship belonging to an advanced and somewhat hostile alien species, all because the only friend he'd tried to make had immediately lied to him...

Hell, it was probably a combination of all of those things, blended with the unfathomable cuteness of the little creature that was now squashed flush against his chest…

Either way, the Starfleet way was to try and help other beings in distress, and he wasn’t going to let his first ‘mission’ as a member of the Theurgy crew, disregard that ideal… Plus, he was fairly sure that the Prime Directive didn’t apply in circumstances where the being in question was already being held hostage by an alien species with technology far more advanced than the Federation’s, so he was all in the clear in that capacity too…

At least, that was what he told himself as he lifted the tricorder up, and started scanning the mournful little creature that was wobbling against his chest.

“Mooooooopsy… Moooopsyyyyyyyyy….”

If Cora gave him any grief about his desire to help such a poor innocent little creature, she had to be one of the infested... Kidnapping the Chief CONN Officer and taking him into a hostile area was one thing, but not wanting to help the squishy little bundle of heart-melting cuteness pressed against his chest, was nothing short of unforgivable...
45
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: Ch 4: S [Day 1 | 1810 hrs] A Friend Indeed...
Last post by TWilkins -
[ Ensign Sylvain Llewellyn-Kth | Maintenance Tube | Biological Laboratory Quintus | Aft Tertiary Research Deck | Erudite ] @Dumedion

Sylvain’s fingers were still tentatively inspecting the device that had been fastened to his nose, brow furrowing ever tighter, when Cora’s latest choice of words once-again came close to pushing him over the edge... Whatever absurd sense of respect the woman had for the chain of command, certainly couldn’t justify the decision to address a Senior Officer as ‘little one’. He might be young, and perhaps it was true that he wasn’t six feet tall or anything, but he certainly rejected the term ‘little’... His mouth had been a hair’s breadth away from another firm admonishment of the woman’s conduct, his dexterous fingers finally figuring out how to activate the breathing strip upon his nose, when an unexpected third voice joined them in the echoing confines of the tube that had become their hiding place.

It startled him more than he would have expected, a tell-tale indication that he’d perhaps not been as concentrated on Cora’s words as he’d believed, his head snapping up as though he’d been physically jolted from a stupor, eyes darting every-which-way as his brain attempted to re-familiarise itself with his surroundings. His first point of reference was Cora, whom he noted had started backing up towards the passageway they'd not yet explored, evidently content on proceeding without any sort of plan or procedure in mind… It wasn’t as though he was surprised that she appeared to be more of the gung-ho type, just disappointed that she'd not been so receptive of his request for a plan...

With that note of disapproval in his mind however, Sylvain suddenly felt a slither of ice bite into the top of his spine…

Cora’s voice echoed out throughout the tube, asking with no small amount of concern, if he’d heard ‘that’, and he had indeed... However his reply got lost in his throat somewhere as Sylvain’s entire body shifted backwards, hands clumsily reaching for his phaser, as his mind painted harrowing illusions of what it might look like if a team of Savi security agents descended into the tunnel alongside them… He would try diplomacy, of course, but he had a sinking feeling that Cora would be more of a ‘shoot first’ kind of officer… He figured it was best to be prepared for both eventualities.

Thus, it was much to his surprise, and relief, that upon turning towards the awaiting threat, phaser in his clumsy grip, that Cora’s apparent concern was no Savi security party at all… Instead, what presented itself was a chubby little creature, its fur plush and flawlessly white, its body overwhelmingly round and wobbly, with spherical black eyes and little ears that tufted out from the side of its face. It looked as though someone had somehow combined the features of a pinniped, a panna cotta, and a rabbit, with the intention of making it the most unfathomably adorable thing in the world…

That didn’t seem to align with the Savi’s usual motives, but frankly, Sylvain was too overwhelmed by how cute it was, to have any room to care.

“Moopsy!” The creature in front of them squeaked with an adorable little voice, before it began to haphazardly waddle towards them, its entire body wobbling from side to side as its tiny little feet pattered against the deck plating below. If Sylvain had been a holodeck character, his eyes might have transformed themselves into hearts at the sight of it; it was the most precious little thing that he’d seen in his entire life... It reminded him of the time that he’d visited England during his time at the Academy; he’d gone on a tour to see the seal cubs basking on the beaches of the North Sea, flopping around with no care in the world, just little loafs of fur and blubber that caused him literal pain, on account of the tour’s ‘no touching’ rule.

He had wanted to squeeze each and every one…

“Oh my gosh... It’s so cute…” Sylvain whimpered with awe, at exactly the same time that Cora’s voice returned to his ears with a distinctive hiss in its tone, as the word ‘run’ echoed softly in the space around them. The overlap of words delayed him for a few seconds, his head turning quizzically towards the tunnel behind him, shifting his posture to glance at Cora’s disappearing form, when the angle change suddenly revealed to him a somewhat disturbing sight.  Hanging limply down from the access panel that he and Cora had just descended from, was a rather ragged lump. On first glance he thought it was some sort of bundle of damp cloth, before his eyes adjusted to the dimmer lighting, and he saw that said bundle of material, very clearly had a face.

“Moopsy!” The creature echoed as it tottled forwards towards him, its fleshy body thudding down into the deck plating as rolled itself further along, wiggling its little feet in the air above it. It might have been a cute gesture, had it not been accompanied by the sight of the creature stretching its own jaw wider than its own body ought to have accommodated, grotesquely gaping open to reveal an orchestra of enormous gangs jutting out from its gumline...

That, seemed more aligned with the Savi’s agenda.

It perhaps took a second for all of the information to hit him, but when it had, Sylvain shrieked with an almighty burst of panic. He immediately fell backwards as horror gripped at his lungs, suffocating him as the creature seemed to pounce forwards, his own large frame impeding him as he made the most desperate attempt to scramble after Cora, away from whatever adorable monster had just been unleashed into their hiding spot.

Descending onto his hands and knees, Sylvain took off at a breakneck pace, immediately foiled by the phaser that had remained in his tentative grip, throwing his balance off and sending him lurching forwards into a messy tumble. As he fell, his shoulder caught against a valve that jutted out from the wall of the maintenance passage, the conduit erupting with a shower of sparks that boiled against the skin of his back, as his face clouted into the deck plating with a solid thud, arms buried beneath him and entire body tangled within his own limbs.

It was a desperate manoeuvre, but Sylvain flung himself onto his back, using one hand to drag himself backwards whilst his other desperately attempted to aim his phaser at the creature, his eyes softening against his will as he noticed that it had once again returned to the adorable shape it had been previously, lolloping towards him like a tiny little jelly bean that he just wanted to squeeze forever… It softened him enough that his thumb froze against his phaser, delaying him for the second it took for the creature to roll itself forwards once again, its jaw distenting once more as its white fur was rendered purple in the light of the glowing power conduits that surrounded them.

Power conduits…

A cold realisation flooded through his body as his eyes took in the fallow glow of the junction they’d just taken refuge in, realising that he had no way to know what sort of purpose these conduits served… Perhaps they were some redundant subsystem, that would fizzle out and die if he struck them with his phaser… Or, perhaps, they controlled the power-distribution to the propulsion systems, and shooting them would blow out half of the section and leave the Erudite dead in space, unable to reach their goal, and thus causing the death of billions… The only thing that he did know for sure, is that he was a severely under-practised shot…

The creature flung itself upwards with disturbing power, launching itself at him like a missile as he utilised the only means of defence he had remaining to him, flinging the phaser in his hands at the creature as he shielded his face with his arms and embedded all of his hopes in the idea that somehow, this creature wouldn’t kill him… Perhaps they only hunted Savi? Maybe barring their teeth was some kind of friendship ritual? It was a waning hope as he felt an impact into his thigh, a grip against his clothed skin, his eyes clamped shut in a bulwark against tears, as he awaited whatever was to come…
46
Main OOC Board / Re: Main OOC Thread
Last post by Brutus -
Just a quick reminder that we have JP posts on the wiki that folks can participate in to help push the current episode to completion, as well as many outstanding story objectives to wrap up. I am going away for the next week (will be back, active on Sunday the 13th) and will be in a location with limited data signal and no wifi/internet. I may be in and out on  the discord but likely will not be able to make updates on the forums.

I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with while I am away. We have an amazing writing base and it continues to be a privilege to collaborate with all of you.
47
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: Ch 3 : The Meeting of Heroes (or Villains) [ Day 1 | 1500+]
Last post by Brutus -
[Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Bridge Crew Mess Hall | D. 1 | V. 1 | 2000hrs | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Ellen Fitz @Nesota Kynnovan @Dumedion @JacenSoloDjo @Eirual @P.C. Haring @Stegro88 @Nolan  [Show/Hide]

It would be an outright lie to say the dinner party was going off without a hitch. Natalie was not naive enough to believe that. She made her way through the crowd, doing her best to mingle and encourage others. She made note of which of her crew saddled up to which Klingons and which Romulans as able - and the far fewer pairings of Romulans and Klingons. Those all seemed to be helped along, mostly, by Starfleet personnel, though it did appear that, at least for a moment, Marktok and Donatra made a pointed effort of exchanging...well, Natalie wouldn't outright call it pleasantries. 

But neither had used the available tableware to skewer each other, so the young Commander would take that as a win.

On the whole, no one had resorted to violence of the physical form, and Natalie had only noted a few sparse moments of raised voices. She clocked Enyd in conversation with a Colonel from Martok's staff, and clocked the Empress' aide making her way back toward Donata. I'll have to follow up on that conversation later, tho I'm sure the Lieutenant will provide a full brief before I can get around to cornering her. Natalie watched Lt. Reggie Suder acting as one of those bridges she'd noted, in conversation with a Klingon and a Romulan, seemingly in deep conversation, and admired the other woman's sliver dress. Though she didn't give that much more than a passing thought.

Looking around again, she found herself torn over the fact that her own paramour was absent from the ship. While it would have been wonderful to have Vanya's company in the moment, she wondered what effect it might have upon those gathered for the statuesque Romulan to be hanging off Natalie's arm in such a public -and charged - setting. No, it was likely for the best, no matter how much the commander missed the scientist. Vanya's very nature would insight some of the Romulan's, and Natalie wasn't stupid enough to believe that her relationship with the android would not call her into question among her Klingon allies.

Its thoughts like that which were the whole reason I wanted to go into Operations and not Command to begin with. And yet, here we are...She was just peeling off to address one of her new tactical officers, a Lt. MacFearland, No, MacFarlane she corrected,the officer in question standing in what looked to be a forced relaxed posture with a female Klingon when the intruder alert split the air, muffling all conversation in the room. 

She felt a hundred eyes turn to her, and a visible trension ripple across the gathered forces. Biting back an oath, she squared her shoulders. "Security, defend the entrances and our guests. They are your number one priority. Chancellor, Empress," she turned to the dignitaries, "for your safety I ask that you remain here. By all means, your personal security forces may protect you if any attack occurs." Not that they would do otherwise if she had suggested anything less. This was a tense balancing act. 

"If you would designate one officer each to accompany me we will see what this is about." Her eyes shifted to the man that had been beside Enyd, Colonel Hauq she remembered, and the Romulan aide-de-camp Jaeih T’haelaa. Before she could address them by name, one of the minor Klingon dignitaries barked out an accusation that the Starfleeters were going to kill them all. And with that, the headache that Natalie had felt brewing in the back of her mind surged forward with a mighty, painful throb, as the shouting broke out. 

It would take her far longer than she liked to calm the mess down, and actually take the representatives down to investigate the utterly bloody mess that had triggered all of this off. But at least no one had died in the conference room. She knew the night was only going to grow longer, and this was going to need a special kind of coordination between increasingly distrustful parties to resolve without all out war breaking out before their mutual enemy even showed up. 

- Fin -

OOC: Alright folks. Anything else that needs to be covered can either be picked up in supplemental threads, or addressed in the Chapter 3 JP on the wiki.

Thank you all for your participation to this point. I look forward to seeing more of what everyone comes up with as we drive this mission to its conclusion.
48
Interregnum 01-02 S2 / Re: Day 16 [2200hrs] A shore for shore leave
Last post by Nolan -
[ PO2 Kythalie Benmual | Holodeck | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Brutus

"Glad to hear that it feels like coming home. I can't imagine what I must be like to never see home..." She answered him and refrained from over thinking the matter further. She didn't want to make Sarresh's thought spiral about home, about what he missed, about what was lost. "As for the water, I may have cheated and created an algorithm that allows for the water to feel pleasantly warm at all times. On Betazed the water is usually warm, yet it does have cooler patches once you go in deeper. Which can be pleasant in turn, though I figured pleasure was something that would be more suited, in the aftermath of what you've went through." She admitted and smiled faintly, hoping the man wouldn't hold it against her.

Kythalie's hair had been soaked by the water in the meantime, clinging onto her caramel skin and draping lightly over her breasts as she brought her hands to her face to get some of the water out of her eyes. Small rivers of water ran down from her hair and trailed along her smooth skin. Sarresh moved a little closer to Kythalie and the latter couldn't help but look him over as he came within arm's length. Unsure whether she picked it up subconsciously or if she was just reading the situation, she felt the faint idea of him wanting to get closer in a way. Perhaps it were her barriers that were lowering as she felt at ease with the man, allowing for the emotions or intentions of the man to be picked up. She blinked a few time before slowly drifting closer to him in turn. At the end, she stood before him, her head tilted slightly back to look up at him. They weren't that much different in height after all.

Kythalie wasn't sure how to proceed further. The relation between the two of them was friendly, very friendly perhaps. Though neither of them had spoken about anything else but said friendship. For the Betazoid, Sarresh felt like a man that had been through a lot. A lot of his emotions were things that she could relate to. The loss of a friend, a lover... These core feelings had perhaps brought them together and she had learned to appreciate the man even more. Though as of late, she couldn't help but also look at him in a different light. Perhaps something more as a friend... She could undoubtedly and very easily peer into his mind to discover if the feeling was mutual or not. If the fine lieutenant held anything else feelings wise beside the friendship they had. Yet she knew how wrong it was to peek under the hood so to speak, thus she refrained from doing so.

However, her eyes kept gazing into the artificial ones that Sarresh had, her hand moved slightly forward as she allowed herself to lose herself in the moment. She'd undoubtedly discover if the man before her considered her as just a friend or if there was a possibility of something else. Her fingers reached out hesitantly under the surface of the water, lightly reaching and brushing against his fingertips as she held her breath unsubconsciously to see what reaction it might trigger.
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Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH2: S [Day1|1900hrs] Show us what you got!
Last post by Krajin -
[ Dominic Winters | Holodeck 3 | Vector 2 | Deck 21 | The Ranger ATTN: @Dumedion @Pierce

He wondered why they were treating him like a complete rookie fighter pilot. He knew full well that things could go tits down, balls up the moment they entered the arena that was battle. Heck, even patrols could go that way if you were not careful or just had an unlucky roll of the dice. Putting his ego away for the moment Atlas understood that these ladies were here to get to know him and his skills, what he can do, and what his flaws are. Dom had been rather harsh in his own judgment of the two.

 
“Yeah, sorry about killing the Sim. Tell you what they do move! I am so glad there’s no RIO involved either, least they complain about getting sick when I pull a high-G turn.” Dominic’s right ear twitched in the form of the Kzint grin. “I like the assessment, formidable. We all can complement each other while in flight.” He nodded lightly. “Going Borg is not a good look for anyone, weird myriad attachments aside that I am sure someone would find an unusual use for.” he joked lightly.

When Shadow brought up his tactic not potentially working he brought the back of his hand up to his forehead like he was feigning a dramatic injury. “Oh, you wound me!” He then chuckled. “Yeah, it's a good trick to run with when you want to surprise your enemy. I bet it would have worked unless, of course, Goldeneye here can see the future eh?” He teased.

He liked the mention of food and when Shadow’s stomach growled his ear twitched in that direction as well and that seemed to tell him that food was a good idea despite her own statement. “Three hours? So no food until 2200? Oh no. This cannot do. How about we sit, break out some snacks from the replicator and snack here with each other? Share a story or two and then go back into the sim. How’s that sound?” He asks, his right ear twitched. “We can learn about each other differently. Eh? Just no Jamie Oliver or those who followed his style of cooking. Ick.” Dominic poked his tongue out in a ‘bleh’ kind of manner. "Maybe as part we can introduce each other to snacks and bits we prefer."
50
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH2: S [Day1|1900hrs] Show us what you got!
Last post by Dumedion -
[Ens. Talia “Shadow” Al-Ibrahim | Training Simulation | Holodeck 3 | Deck 21 | Vector 3 | The Ranger] Attn: @Krajin @Pierce
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While Atlas and Goldeneye conversed, Shadow busied herself by watching the holo-recording from Atlas’ helm during the sim on mute so she could multitask. Her eyes glanced up at the towering Kzin's every other word to linger long enough in an attempt to acclimate herself to his tone and body language, which was proving difficult for her to interpret; not that she was an expert in that area to begin with. Not for the first time, Talia wished she was better at being sociable and more adept at understanding it’s nuances. From his point of view, she could at least understand the confusion, however.

With a nod at Goldeneye’s praise, Talia spoke her mind; helmet shifted from under one arm to the other after she cleared the display on her wrist PADD – voice modulated with calm assertion.

“To answer your question,” she looked up at Atlas, “consider the scenario. Conventional wisdom based on historical events would necessitate an immediate request for reinforcements following positive identification and threat assessment before we bounced the hell out of the AO. Three fighters against any Borg forces would be suicide in reality, which is when I realized that Goldie was taking us for a ride, so I played along.” Talia shrugged and threw a smirk at Tessa. “One of our first sims together was similar, and we got to know each other from the experience. I’d like to say that we understand each other better for it, which is what we’re trying to do here with you, big guy. And yeah, I haven’t been here long, but I learned pretty quick to lighten up and have some fun whenever I can. Still, I learned a new maneuver from you – that attack line-up was impressive – even if it didn’t work and probably wouldn’t have worked,” she shrugged again.

At the mention of food, Talia’s dark eyes glanced down at the chrono on her wrist, then shook her head even though her stomach groaned in protest. Shadow was always hungry, even though she tried really hard not to show it.

“I’ve still got three hours before I can eat and I’d rather not get caught by Janus wandering around when he ordered me in here in the first place,” a glove raked through the mess of her hair as Talia noticed Atlas’ ears twitch with every crunch of Tessa’s popcorn, which she interpreted as annoyance.

Shadow smirked at him then jerked her head to the side towards Goldeneye.

“You get used to it eventually. So, it’s your party, what’s next,” she asked him.

OOC - sorry for delay
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