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11
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: Chapter 1: The (hopefully) Great Romulan Smash and Grab [Day 1 | 1800hrs ]
Last post by Ellen Fitz -
[ Riov Vrikol i-Dorvik tr’Khev’ | Command and Control Center | Aboard the Tal’Shiar Ihnerha Faehht Emaifha Laeosa Mniohr (Tal’Shiar Second Secret Disease and Weapons Research Space Station) |  Romulan Space, approximately 24ly from Romulus ]  @Stegro88  @RyeTanker  @P.C. Haring  @Sqweloookle  @Hans Applegate

Damage reports and casualty reports were pouring in from all over the station without an end in sight. Although he’d initially thought the infiltration team small, perhaps he’d underestimated their foe’s numbers. Miscalculated his response. Vrikol inwardly groaned, already curious which of his underlings would seek to assassinate him to take his place should he not succeed in curtailing this chaos.

“Sir, the Khetor and Kririr have engaged a cloaked vessel orbiting the station.” There was a pause before the uhlan added. “The Kririr is coordinating an attack grid for any who try to escape.”

Vrikol smiled. Finally, some good news.

“Order all our forces to disengage, let the cowards flee to their deaths. Send an updated report to headquarters on Romulus. If these Starfleet vermin were bold enough to seek out our tech here, perhaps they were foolish enough to try for our homeworld.”

The uhlan nodded and turned to relay his message. It would only be a matter of time before the winner of this unexpected encounter was declared, and Vrikol intended on being that very man.

TBC...

Please direct any of your on-station posts to the first objective on the wiki, and also, please continue to chip away at the objectives that haven't already been touched on the wiki as we seek to shut down these chapters and reunite at the Triangle for the final space battle of this episode!
12
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: Chapter 1: Triggered Much? [ Day 1 | 1800hrs ]
Last post by Ellen Fitz -
[ Pilot Xikam | RSE Khetor, Snakehead class Romulan fighter | Approaching the Tal’Shiar Ihnerha Faehht Emaifha Laeosa Mniohr  |  approximately 24ly from Romulus ]  ATTN: @Stegro88  @Number6  @Nesota Kynnovan @Dree

His orders had been to investigate the coordinates relayed by the Kirir and report back his findings. However, in the time it’d taken Xikam to board his vessel and launch, approaching said coordinates, chatter over the comms indicated Starfleet infiltrators on the station. He was no longer interested in merely investigating. Xikam was invested in destroying. However, he wasn’t about to damn himself by going in without proper authorization, just in case he was to survive this attempted infiltration by the conniving Federation.

[ This is the Khetor, in a favorable position near the station at the end of the travel trajectory of the anomalous coordinates. Request permission to fire at potential cloaked vessel. ]

[ Sub-lieutenant Ennarrain t’Radaik | Aboard the warbird Kirir ]

Her blood boiled. How dare they slip past them and hit the station! How dare they seek to steal what was rightfully theirs–whatever it was they were obviously seeking to steal. t’Radaik’s vision was red as she continued to issue orders to what ships were outside the station, coordinating a counterattack to any who sought to flee the iFLEM with stolen ships or cargo. She heard the incoming request from the Khetor and smiled.

[ This is the Kirir. You have permission to lay down a grided fire pattern in the following coordinates around the station. ] t’Radaik signaled Uhlan  tr'Llhweiir to send the coordinates as she continued. [ Your efforts will be supported by a few scout ships. Report if there is any indication of impact or damage on a cloaked vessel. ]

[ Lt. Carson | onboard the formally cloaked Apache ]

Cradling the unconscious form of Saresh Morali in his arms, Lieutenant Carson blinked at the various consoles as they fired off warnings left and right, the reports of the skeleton crew coming in one after another as the ship continued to receive heavy fire from the attacking Romulan ships. Although the ship was still capable of sustained flight, its cloak had been damaged in one of the earlier grid-like bombardments and that had been enough for the enemy to concentrate fire on them. Their orders to remain where they were until the teams were done were going to get them killed.

Carefully placing Morali’s head on the deck, Carson moved back to his seat. He hated his job, but he wasn’t going to abandon the crew. Issuing orders to repair and improvise as needed, Carson directed the ship closer to the station. Almost to the moment of Morali’s grievous injury, he’d heard the report of successful trigger scanning, with the crew ready for pick up. Damned terrible timing for Morali.

[ Get transporters ready. ] He called over the comms. [ And secure the hatch area. Open it up for any in the EV suits who can get in while we swing by. ] He grimaced as the ship gave any lurch from attacking fire. It would be a miracle if any of them survived this.

TBC...

Please direct any of your on-station posts to the first objective on the wiki and also please continue to chip away at the objectives that haven't already been touched on the wiki as we seek to shut down these chapters and reunite at the Triangle for the final space battle of this episode!
13
Main OOC Board / Re: Main OOC Thread
Last post by Brutus -
NOTIFICATION OF RULES UDPATE!
We've gotten some questions about AI use lately. While we do allow the posting of AI Art (see channels in discord) we are a writing simm at our heart. If you made it in the door here, then you are already more than good enough to write here, and don't need to use AI. As such, we have updated the rules accordingly to include the below.

Quote
AI Use
Any use of AI writing software is prohibited. This includes any program that writes text for you, or takes your text and rewrites it for you.
Editing software like Grammery, Prowriting Aid, and built-in spell check may still be used to check posts for errors.
Any posts made with AI will be removed by the GM.

We never want to stifle creativity here. But using AI to write for you is stifling your own creativity. AI assisted (or wholly created) writing is jarring, and it's obvious that you didn't write it yourself. Don't use it.

A final note: we are not going to call anyone out over past use of AI writing. Anyone who has used it prior to this announcement should go remove the content and replace it with an originally written post instead.
14
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: Ch 5 S [ D02 | 0600 hrs.] Old Friends Die Hard
Last post by Ellen Fitz -
[ Belas i’Mirek tr’Rehu | Personal Solarium | Kir Baratan | Romulus ] @rae   @Pierce

Once he arrived home, sending tr’Ethien to meet up with their Reman allies in preparation for what would undoubtedly be a complicated mess to clean up regarding tr’Aimne and his Starfleet infiltrators, Belas sent a message to the senator.

[ Made contact and secured tentative support from the unexpected visitors. Contacts became compromised, likely captured. Will require follow-up. ~ B]

The senator’s reply was equally short, received mere minutes after Belas’ went out.

[ Also made contact with another group, likely connected. They interrupted assassination attempt. Also compromised and taken to Citadel. Will send support to rendevouz point for the follow-up. ~ V]

Belas shook his head at their luck. On two fronts, they managed to secure an audience with members of Starfleet, and on both fronts, their new contacts and potential supporters were captured by the Tal’Shiar. Belas frowned. Most likely, this was the work of General Jeiai, a man with a personal vendetta against the Federation and the tr’Aimne family.

Switching screens on his console, Belas accessed the supposedly secure planetary reporting system. If there were two teams captured, that could mean that a third team was lying in wait, cloaked somewhere. All he needed to do was find anything out of the ordinary and dispatch teams to those locations to find any remaining allies who could help their teams get the Starfleet personnel out from under Jeiai’s clutches. He found six potential sites and quickly sent the coordinates to three of his undercover agents, sending the rest to the rendezvous point as the senator indicated.

Undoubtedly, this was all a trap, and it was Jeiai’s hope that Belas and the senator would hang themselves. But, if things took a turn in their favor, it wouldn’t be the first time the trap maker became the victim of his own trap.

FIN

Writers can presume they were either apprehended or got away, as deemed in the joint post currently ongoing (to be posted as a thread once complete). Please continue to write either on the story prompt JP "No One Left Behind" and/or continue to peck away at the objectives in the chapter 5 wiki so we can resolve our chapter and reunite without fellow crew at the Triangle.
15
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: Chapter 5 S [D02 | 0740 hrs.] We The Disgruntled
Last post by Ellen Fitz -
[ Senator Vkruvux | Personal Chambers | Hall of State  | Kir Baratan | Romulus  ] ATTN:  @P.C. Haring  @Griff  @chXinya  @Dumedion

“Colonel Xiomek,” Vkruvux nodded to the newcomer, gesturing for him to sit. Using a telepathic link, he added, “What news do you have?”

The commanding presence of the fierce Reman seemed difficult to contain with uniform or chair, yet the colonel managed to seat himself in a civilized manner. Xiamek had been with Vkruvux when the Praetor negotiated to lend Reman resources to stabilize her government in exchange for his provisional seat in the Senate. Xiamek had also been with Vkruvux when the “Empress Donatra” had basically promised the same thing, alongside full citizenship for all Remans. Without having to hear the colonel’s words, Vkruvux understood the man’s frustrations well: both self-declared leaders desired their resources and were willing to make them puppets, but neither had any plan to treat them as equals.

“One of my men made contact with Starfleet infiltrators.” Xiamek’s voice sounded in Vkruvux’s mind. “They managed to interrupt a plot for your assassination, although it doesn’t seem like they realize that’s what they did.” He shifted in his chair before speaking audibly, “My lieutenants wished to extend their thanks for your recent gift.”

“Let me serve you some tea,” Vkruvux spoke aloud as he waited for the colonel to go on, standing and moving to the replicator. “You should tell your men that it was a gift that barely did the work justice. They are true representatives of the spirit of our people.” He waited until the first tea cup was filled before he spoke along the telepathic link. "That was most fortunate that they interrupted the attempt. Do we know which of our fair leaders sought my demise?"

“No, we don't have definitive proof of which made the attempt and before my man could establish a firm connection with them, relaying our desires, the group was taken to the Citadel. Though my man is remaining in contact. The last I heard from him, General Jeiai seems to be behind this, both their apprehension and the plot on your life, though he is always merely a puppet for the one he deems strongest at the time.” He accepted the tea from Vkruvux. “Do you wish me to extend these sentiments, or are you willing to visit the barracks to speak for yourself?”

“I’ll contact a friend and have him send a contingency to the rendezvous coordinates we spoke of to collaborate with your men. These Starfleet infiltrators may yet be our best option for ridding our people of the chains both bitches wish upon us, no matter their promises. And any opportunity to undermine Jeiai should be thoroughly pursued.” The senator took a long sip before he replied for any listening ears to pick up, “I shall accompany you, colonel. I believe it would boost morale.”

The colonel and the senator nodded mutely to one another, sipping their tea and contemplating the hurdles ahead.

FIN
Writers can presume they were either apprehended or got away, as deemed in the joint post currently ongoing (to be posted as a thread once complete). Please continue to write either on the story prompt JP "No One Left Behind" and/or continue to peck away at the objectives in the chapter 5 wiki so we can resolve our chapter and reunite without fellow crew at the Triangle.
16
Interregnum 01-02 S2 / Re: Day 15 [0823 hrs] Starships Aplenty
Last post by tongieboi -
[ Ensign Joseph Adams |Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Pierce ]

At her words, he couldn't help but raise a slight brow, craning his neck to look at the Martian behind him. How had she been able to tell what he was thinking at that moment?

"What, are you a mind reader?"

He asked, a wry grin tugging at his lips. Had he been that obvious with what was on his mind? Or perhaps she was thinking something similar?

"I'm not sure the holographic museum would appreciate a joyride, but if Kirk can get away with it..."

He mused, turning his attention directly in front of him. To the great beyond that stretched out in front of them on the viewscreen ahead.

"I suppose straight ahead would be as good an idea as any."

He just hoped there was no chance of hologram Starfleet chasing them, the real thing had been traumatic enough! Looking down at the Captains controls embedded within his armrest, and after wondering how one didn't accidentally press one of the buttons whilst resting their arm or elbow against it, he began to decipher their purpose.

"I don't suppose any of these happen to be helm controls embedded in the chair, would they?"

It would be a tad anticlimactic, if after Lauren's encouraging speech, he'd have to get out of the chair anyway to fly the bloody thing out of the museum. His fingers hovered over the controls for a moment as he decided which of these buttons he'd have to press first. The ship still needed its moorings released and who knows what else? Did they need to stock holographic provisions too?

'Nah, the trip probably wouldn't last that long.' He reasoned to himself as he pressed the button he thought most resembled what he was after.
17
Director's Cut / [2381] Operation: Firewall
Last post by Nesota Kynnovan -
Stardate 57680.35
April 28, 2381
2000HRS

[Ensign Jaya Thorne | Holodeck 01| Deck 8 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy]

Ensign Jaya Thorne woke up to a sharp ringing sound in her ears. The sound perfectly synchronized with the painful, throbbing pressure which seemed to originate from her temples and somehow spread throughout her entire forehead to link up with increased intensity just behind her amber eyes. When the brunette Denevan tried to open her eyes, her already bad case of tension headache only got worse; for a brief moment, it felt like her eyes tried to burst out of her skull through her barely opened eyelids. It drew a painful gasp from the Assistant Chief CONN Officer’s chapped lips and she immediately squeezed her eyelids shut once more before bringing her right hand up to shield her eyes from the light.

Or rather, she would have if her wrists hadn’t been bound to the bench she was sitting on. Surprised to find that her wrists were bound this time, Jaya briefly struggled against her binds in an attempt to slip out of them, but she couldn’t muster the strength to even properly raise her sore arms and the chafing of the metal handcuffs against her already painful wrists caused her to give up relatively quick. Instead, the Ensign let out a deep sigh and, ignoring the painful protests of the sore muscles in her neck, slowly tilted her head backwards in an attempt to alleviate some pressure from her forehead.

It were the kind of movements which drew attention onto her though because, mere moments after her feeble attempts at slipping out of her binds, Jaya could hear a voice coming from directly in front of her. ”Hey, you. Ensign.” While she attempted to regulate her heavy breathing, the brunette Ensign slowly opened her eyes as far as the pain allowed her to. The searing pain immediately flared back up but Jaya managed to fight through it and, through her eyelashes, could see a young, blonde-haired man staring back at her. He was wearing a red Starfleet uniform and his hands were similarly bound. Out of habit, Jaya quickly looked at his collar to see what she was dealing with and saw the two gold pips of a Lieutenant attached to the right side of the man’s collar. ”You’re finally awake.” While he spoke, the Lieutenant’s voice was friendly enough and Jaya just barely managed to present the man with something that somewhat resembled her signature smirk. Everything was sore, painful and hurting; even something as routine as smirking was painful at that moment.

For a brief moment, Jaya closed her eyes once more to ease the pain. Even though she was just barely gazing through her eyelids, the light almost felt like it was burning through her eyes and into her skull. It didn’t seem to bother the Lieutenant in front of her though, as he paused just briefly before continuing, but now on a somewhat more remorseful tone. ”You were trying to cross the border, right?” Taking a deep breath to prepare herself for the pain to come, Jaya slightly opened her eyes once more to look at the Lieutenant. Contrary to before, his face now held a more serious expression which matched the tone of his voice. ”Walked right into that Cardassian ambush, same as us…” The Lieutenant tilted his head to the left and Jaya could hear the distasteful undertone in his voice. ”…and that thief over there.”

Jaya slowly followed the Lieutenant’s tilt and, fighting against the sore muscles in her neck, turned her head to the right just far enough to see a dishevelled man wearing dirty civilian clothes. Just like her wrists and those of the Lieutenant, the wrists of the thief were bound to the bench in front of him. The haggard expression on the man’s battered face betrayed that he’d been through a lot even before the obvious beating he’d clearly received quite recently. In response to the Lieutenant’s voice, the man spit onto the floor of the transport before mumbling something that Jaya could barely interpret as ”Damn you, Starfleet.” As he spoke, the thief turned his attention towards her and the sheer hatred on the man’s bruised face was enough to make the hairs on the back of Jaya’s neck stand up straight; there was no doubt about it that this was a dangerous man and a part of Jaya actually felt relieved that he was restrained. ”The Stormlands were fine until you came along, the Cardassians and their Vex cronies were nice and lazy.”

While she was listening to the thief, the transport they were in was suddenly rocked to the left. Almost out of instinct, Jaya held her breath and tried to remember what would happen next. This was the second time she’d played through the opening sequence of Operation: Firewall after all. The first time she had been so preoccupied with her own physical condition that she failed to pay close attention to her surroundings, and that had cost her dearly. Game over. It was the beauty of this program and the reason why it had become so popular amongst the enlisted since someone found it in the library; the higher science behind it was lost on Jaya, but the program somehow tricked the mind to make a player believe that they were truly injured and, as such, forced anyone who played this program to fight both a physical and mental battle.

As Jaya was holding her breath, she heard how the thief continued talking as if nothing was going on. ”If they hadn’t been looking for you lot, I would’ve been halfway to Andor by now.” The thief spit on the floor once more, adorning the already dirty floor of the transport with a combination of phlegm, blood and what looked like one of his molars. In response to the thief, the Lieutenant spoke up once more but on a somewhat more solemn tone; almost as if he had accepted his fate. ”We’re all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief.” Jaya remembered those words from her first playthrough and, suddenly remembering what was about to happen, felt how the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand up straight. Ignoring the painful protests of her bruised body, she began to brace herself like she’d learned during flight training. She pulled against her binds to tighten them as much as possible and leaned forwards as if bracing for a crash landing. It caused both the Lieutenant and the thief to fall silent and look at her in surprise but, as if on cue, she could hear a loud banging against the transport’s interior wall followed by a cold and disdainful voice. ”Hey, shut up back there!”

Twenty-one…

Twenty-two…

Twenty three…

And then it happened. A loud explosion ripped through the transport and threw the heavy vehicle onto its side. Jaya, who had been bracing herself for this particular event, felt how she was suddenly thrown backwards against the wall behind her. This time however, unlike the previous playthrough where the simulation had abruptly ended (most likely because the sheer impact with the wall had broken her neck), Jaya managed to survive. Regardless, the Assistant Chief CONN Officer felt how the air was painfully forced from her lungs and her legs immediately went numb as a burning feeling, emanating from her tailbone, raced up her already sore spine.

Given how the simulation had ended right there the previous time, there was nothing that could have prepared Jaya for what happened mere moments later, when the transport rolled onto its roof before flipping over once more and coming to rest onto its other side. At some point, while she was thrown around, the restraints that bound her wrists to her chair snapped free; sending her rag dolling through the back of the transport before coming to rest with her legs across the thief and her head resting onto the chest of the Starfleet Lieutenant. While she painfully groaned in response to her painful… well, everything, she could feel the Lieutenant’s laboured breathing before he began to cough directly into her brown hair. Behind her, somewhere where her feet were at that moment, Jaya could hear how the thief also grunted before summarizing their predicament in the only way it could be summarized.

”Fucking hell…”
18
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: PRO: S [D01|0500] Sleep is overrated, coffee is king
Last post by rae -
[ Lt. Azrin Ryn | Recovery Ward | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Dumedion
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“Shampoo works on normal hair grease created by your scalp or whatever, not the stuff we work with down in engineering. Industrial cleaners make my head itchy. And it’s not an allergy or anything, skin isn’t rated for that kind of solvent. You have to do it in small increments over a couple of days.”

Azrin explained it all matter of factly, all while reversing her earlier efforts and redressing until her coveralls were back in place. She had a dirty job, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t know how to clean up when necessary. But she was working so consistently right now that it wasn’t worth irritating her skin to remove grime that would only find its way back minutes later.

Out of interest, she rubbed her forehead on the injection site, feeling for… any difference really. She’d never thought much about hyposprays until a minute ago. Dezra had understood the basics of how they’d worked, but she’d focused on the medical applications. When Azrin thought back to it, her interest was on the mechanics of the hypospray itself. She plucked her current object of fascination off the bed where Arven had dropped it, popping out the vial of medication, then quickly started to deconstruct the whole thing.

She might have remained fully engrossed in that, until receiving the totally out of the blue offer of stimulants. Azrin’s head snapped up to stare at him, mouth open in shock. Wasn’t this the doctor who wanted to heavily sedate her? How did he go from that to offering stims? Especially since he still didn’t seem to understand why she absolutely could not be sedated right now. The quick snap of his fingers brought her back into focus. “Really?” she blurted out, the word coming far too late after a long baffled silence. “That’s– yea– wait– Is this some kind of test? Because I already told you that I’m all good to go once you fix the shoulder stuff. Well, and the nose. But that’s new, and way less annoying than not being able to use my arm. I’m not going to fall asleep during the most exciting moment of my li–” Why was it that bodies always decided to yawn at the most inconvenient times? Was there some sort of biological imperative for it?

Could she program it out?

“Ok,” she relented, “A stimulant might be nice. I just need–” another yawn interrupted her mid sentence. “I just need to be in engineering at 0900. Important engineering things are happening. My project. Ship either goes really fast or explodes. I’m the one who makes sure we go fast.” Azrin could also dumb things down to people who didn’t understand. But while Arven had sounded like he was talking to a child earlier, Azrin tended to act like she was talking to a Pakled. She’d always liked Pakleds. Going fast was an excellent and admirable goal.

“You’re supposed to tell Commander Arnold,” she waved the comment away, still preoccupied with the stimulants. Unfortunately, she tried to physically wave the comment away with her injured arm, which was feeling much better thanks to the pain meds, but apparently not good enough for that specific movement. Azrin winced, arm jerking back down to a better position, and completely dropped all the little odds and ends of the hypospray that she’d disassembled and was holding in that palm. “Oops!” But the word was almost lost amid the tiny plinks of metal hitting the floor. “I can clean that up. And put it back together.”

“But can I have the DTR first? I put my sleeve back on and everything.” Azrin turned at the waist, giving him a better angle on her shoulder to place the bandage wherever was best.

“And I agree to stims only if you swear that this isn’t part of some secret plot to get me to sleep. I have my whole life to sleep! After we activate the slipstream drive in…” Azrin trailed off, a slightly panicked look crossing over her face. She had time right? How long had it been since she’d checked? “Thea, what time is it?”
19
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: Ch 4: S [Day 1 | 1810 hrs] A Friend Indeed...
Last post by Dumedion -
[PO2 Cora Davison | Maintenance Tube | Biological Laboratory Quintus | Aft Tertiary Research Deck | Erudite] Attn: @TWilkins

Her head tilted at his first question with absolute confusion. Potatoes? What?  But then it clicked; the scientific names she'd used. Cora's mouth opened to explain and clarify as Sylvain attempted to placate and remove the Moopsy from his neck, only for him to share his thoughts on what they had discovered. The analyst blinked in response, a tad surprised but relieved that he agreed; the added speculation (which she hadn't even considered) only added to her worry, and frankly, her outrage at the entire affair. Granted, they only had the stolen journal of a single Savi researcher, who may or may not have been performing said research alone or under some manner of supervision – but there was more than enough actionable evidence at hand.

Cora stood, frozen with fear at the implications alone – not to mention the moral and ethical wrongness of their so-called ‘allies’. What else are the Savi capable of if they can cross so many lines of morality? Breeding a genetically altered creature into a biological weapon might just be the least of our worries. What if they –

Her thoughts were instantly derailed by something wet and sticky splattering across the entire side of her face. “Ngh,” Cora grunted, one eye closed on instinct as she shook visibly, unsure what to do. "Eeeew," she whined, her hands froze raised up, fingers fanned out. It was dripping off her chin, and cooling quickly, like snot or…The first gag hit her as a silent protestation of her stomach, which really didn’t help her situation at all; Cora’s mouth flooded with acid-laced saliva and opened in a mute heave – the same reflex action she suffered brushing her teeth sometimes when she managed to distract herself and brush too deep. Once the first reflex passed, Cora, without thinking, licked her lips and swallowed.

Oh – no!

She shook herself in panic and started swiping the viscous, green-tinted fluid from her face; determined not to deal with the fact that she’d just ingested saliva from a bone-drinking, genetically modified apex predator that just ate a Savi researcher – then had spent the last several minutes trying to suckle through Sylvain’s skin. Don’t throw up. Don’t do it. It didn’t happen. It didn’t happen, IT DIDN’T HAPPEN, Cora repeated to herself as she flung the drool off her hands onto the floor and pulsing conduits. Her jacket was unzipped and pulled up to wipe off more with a grimace, as the Ensign wondered what they might feed the thing that just slimed her.

Cora shot him an incredulous look – Really? – it said, as the man suggested that they should name it, then suggested yogurt as a high calcium substitute for bones. Even without a specific scientific education in that field, Cora doubted it would work – however, Sylvain rendered the notion moot before she could audibly respond.  Again with the potatoes? The analyst rolled her eyes as she attempted to comb the worst of the slime out of her hair with a grimace. She couldn’t get the taste out of her mouth, and the more she tried to pull out of her hair, the more it smeared into her curly locks.

“Uhh, yeah, its common enough, sure," Cora grunted a reply to his query about bone broth, “but...we don’t know enough about it’s digestive system to –“ Sylvain shot up suddenly, faster than she was prepared; the sudden movement caused her to jerk back in response with an alarmed sqeak. “Sorry – sorry,” Cora flinched, shook herself, as he talked. Her nerves were fraying, what with all the…developments, so much so that Cora didn’t fully follow his line of reasoning.

“I’m sorry – hacking? What d’you – oh,” her head tilted at the device, waiting for Sylvain to continue. She frowned at his very odd phrasing, not sure what he was getting on about; from what she understood, Savi had no interest in – ohhhh...

Cora blinked rapidly, processing the possibilities. The analyst cleared her throat quietly with another head tilt at him. “To be clear – and, please stop me if I’m wrong – but…it sounds like you’re suggesting we…use the…,” her hand gestured to the creature – Moopsy – Potatoe – whatever. “Them, on the Savi? And how does that make us any better than them, sir?”

Cora's hands found her hips. Yes, she had done questionable things do get the job done; her moral compass wasn’t always a luxury to have, nor did it always point to true north, but she had her limits. If that was his plan, then she had an obligation to point her objections – which, to be fair – were slim compared to the potential havoc the Savi could cause by unleashing the Potatoes – damn it – the Moopsies – on an entire world or worlds.

She waved his response aside, it was a rhetorical question anyway.

“It doesn’t – but if it keeps these creatures from the exploitation that they have in mind, I can live with that. Actually pulling it off is another matter entirely,” Cora sighed and consulted the PDA again. “We know where the center is. We just need to get there…,” she frowned, concentrating as her fingers tapped rapidly. “This’d be a lot easier with a working terminal,” Cora grumbled to herself, oblivious to the fact that she was pacing away and back to him, past and back again. Each time she passed by, the Moopsy squirmed in the corner of her eye, prompting a deeper frown as she skidding away from it. The enhancer was clamped onto the PDA with a snap, promptly powering up.

“The Savi transporters are crazy advanced. I can’t even begin to understand the physics, but a system is just a system. If I can gain access, even for a single action, I can ride their system using our badges into their buffers,” she murmured aloud, fingers tapping faster and faster as she spoke. “Wait – wait I almost got it….almost…there!”

Cora grabbed Sylvain’s arm just as they both vanished in an instantaneous wink of light…

…And appeared inside a transparent tank of slimy yellow fluid. Cora released a stream of bubbles in a muffled scream of alarm and hit the button again, her free hand clamped tight around Sylvain’s bicep as they vanished again...

…And reappeared, dripping foul liquid, in the middle of some sort of hangar, lined with row upon row of sleek, shiny craft, directly behind a group of four towering Savi. Cora hit the button as they all turned, and the pair disappeared again, leaving only two puddles behind…

…and they appeared again, in a cramped wardrobe of some sort, lined with various outfits and lined with dozens of odd looking devices – almost medicinal looking. Cora frowned and grimaced at what appeared to be restraint harnesses built into the walls. "Ohh, hell no," the analyst hissed as she hit the button yet again…

The pair popped into existence in a vast chamber, clean and whole. Cora blinked and twitched, feeling nauseous at what they’d just seen and suffered through, but otherwise alright, until she realized where they were: Cora and Sylvain, with little drool-slinger on his hip, stood surrounded by dozens, hundreds, of bubbling stasis pods; each one held a cluster of somnolent white balls of fur, each one riddled with tiny silver tubes drilled into their adorable little bodies.

“I think we found the potatoes,” Cora whispered nervously, with a glance at him. "So...right - what now, then," she asked with a shrug.
20
Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: Ch 2: S [D01 | 1642hrs] The Spare Tire
Last post by rae -
[ Lt. Talera Emlott | Passenger Section | Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs ] Attn: @Dumedion @joshs1000 @Havenborn
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“Data stream coming your way!” The pilot called back, but Talera barely heard her, her mouth falling open in a silent ‘oh’ at the information already populating her console, relayed from the alien convoy through fighter pilot communicating with them.

Forced into the role against her will, the doctor was nonetheless giving temporal physics her best shot, though it was certainly taking her longer to parse than it would have taken any real expert back on the Theurgy. But even the most elementary student of temporal mechanics knew that coming back in time to kill one’s ancestors was a fairly self-explanatory paradox. Something to be avoided at all costs.

But apparently someone had cracked time travel without getting that particular memo.

Aggressive behavior suggests it is intent on disruptive action against current time-line.

Of course, the drone’s ancestors would be the ship that stayed behind. Now that the Friedrich Mohs had three ships to analyze – the aggressor, the ancestor ship identifying itself as Oaarian, and the many identical little drones now exiting it – the shuttle’s onboard computer was running comparative analyses that confirmed similar design aesthetics and components. Fred could see an evolutionary path between them.

“Fred to the Lone Wolves – don’t let the drone destroy that ship! The temporal incursion for the convoy will be massive, and I can’t even begin to predict how it might affect us.”

Well, Talera couldn’t, but the sensors and the computer might be able to help out. “We need to get closer to the temporal drone,” she informed Ava. “We might be able to help if we learn more about it. Or at least we might understand what it’s doing here.”

“We were told to keep out of the AO,” the pilot replied.

“We weren’t given a specific distance, just told to keep out of the Wolves way. That means we can get closer.”

That got a chuckle out of the other blonde. “Alright Lieutenant, let it be on your head then.” 

[ Lt Cmdr. Jaru “Janus” Rel | Cockpit | Wolf-01 ]
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Janus wasn’t about to let any ship under his watch get destroyed, mainly because he wasn’t an asshole. But sure, they could sprinkle in a little temporal bullshit too. What was life without a little added drama, just for fun?

“Understood, Fred,” he replied quickly, then cut the communication again. At this point, he was fairly certain that Shadow’s comms were out. Though operational, her ship looked worse for wear, and she hadn’t answered any of his hails. It didn’t really matter. The new information didn’t change his plan, and Shadow was doing excellent work as his wingman even without comms.

Honestly, unless they came back with some concrete weaknesses he could exploit on their bogey, Janus was too busy fighting to care.

Now that the drone was in their sights again, Janus throttled forward into another attack run, diving and reorienting to set an angle that would keep his phasers well off the convoy ship wrapped in its tentacles. But he didn’t get that far before another bright flash of red popped into his HUD. “Abort!” Janus shouted to Shadow – who couldn’t hear him, but habits were habits – before flipping the Valkyrie hard to back off in the face of oncoming torpedo fire.

[Federation vessels, this is the Arosan ship, Xebrek. We are here to assist, let us take some of this work off your hands.]

“Fred, Wolves, be advised, someone else is joining the party.” Arosan sounded vaguely familiar, but it wasn’t a name that Janus could place automatically. But practicality won out. After seeing what getting caught by that thing had done to Javert and Shadow, if someone else wanted to come be the bait, that was fine by him.

“Xebrek, this is Commander Jaru of the Federation Starship Theurgy. We appreciate the help, have at it. My pilots will reengage when you open fire, we need to know where your batteries are for close quarters engagement.”

Taking friendly fire was just embarrassing.

As though mocking him for the thought, there was a small, concentrated explosion on his wing, taking a thruster along with it. “What the—” he began, right as the little drones started to swarm. “Fuck!” Since they’d come out of the convoy ship that was feeding them information before falling prey to the drone, Janus had originally thought the deluge of smaller ships was either a defense mechanism or some sort of escape pods. His Valkyrie had agreed, the onboard computer marking them as friendlies in his display. How wrong they both were. The HUD adjusted quickly – thanks for nothing Thea – a swarm of red gnats filling his vision right as the Xebrek and its torpedoes turned green.

“On second thought, maybe some pest control first.”

[ Lt. Talera Emlott | Passenger Section | Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs ]
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Talera remained focused on her console at Fred approached the combat area, letting Ava do her thing and choose the approach she thought best. Before long, they had arrived at the distance the shuttle’s sensors needed for intensive, detailed scans, and data began flowing across the screen at faster and faster rates. Far too fast really, Talera could hardly keep up.

“Oaarian Ark, what are those auxiliary ships? Please advise.” Ava was talking behind her, but Talera wasn’t listening now. Her entire focus was on understanding the difficult science unfolding before her.

“Look at this—” Talera began…

“Brace!” Ava shouted, at the same time….

Talera’s vision went white, the console disappearing from view…

Then she knew nothing at all.

[ Lt Cmdr. Jaru “Janus” Rel | Cockpit | Wolf-01 ]
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The Valkyrie was one of the most maneuverable ships he’d ever flown. But even that couldn’t compare with a two-meter-long drone, especially when it came with a few dozen friends intent on boxing him in.

Skewering them with phasers a few at a time was too slow. He didn't want to waste their limited supply of torpedoes with the other ship still out there, but it was getting to be necessary. He’d take a shot, ducking and weaving as the swarm tried to surround him, but another drone would take it’s place before the dead one was even cold. Janus also considered, then decided against, attacking the mothership. He still didn’t have enough information on why one of the convoy ships, which had been asking for their help a minute before against an obvious aggressor, was attacking them now. If it had changed sides, why was the original bogey still going for it?

He saw Fred fall into the trap, multiple drones self-destructing around the shuttle at once, but was too far away to do anything about it. Then their distress beacon started going off.

“Salvo, Janus. Protect the shuttle. Shadow, if you can hear this, I’m going to get the little bugs’ attention. I’ll lay them out for you. Prep an array of torpedoes for areas with high densities of drones. Let’s see how they like proximity detonations.”

“Sorry Xebrek, we’re going to have to leave you on your own for a minute.”


OOC: Go save your wife Daniel, it’s too late for Talera…
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