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Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH 2: S [Day 01 | 1533 hrs] Il Dolce Suono mi Colpì di Sua Voce

Last post by joshs1000 - March 28, 2024, 03:04:17 AM

Lok listened quietly as he input some information on his TaConn-PADD while Atlas gave his own personal thoughts on kill scores. While Lok disagreed with it on principle, he wasn’t going to get into an argument about what was ultimately just some paint on a bit of metal.

“Well we all have our views on it, but it’s against regs is all I was saying, if the CAG says its ok then go ahead”, he concluded, putting a bit of a cap on the subject. He then glanced at the time, then back to the still in pieces Valkyrie next to him. The building pressure of falling behind schedule started to form, like a gentle but persistent push against his back. Without really thinking about it Lok started to move back towards the work bench and toolboxes, an array of parts for him to work on called his attention.

He almost forgot that Atlas was standing there until the slightly large Kzin started to ask about unauthorized modifications. Lok, with his sixteen years of living and breathing Starfleet was about to quote the book regarding unauthorized modifications down to the word when he was suddenly taken by surprise at Atlas’s followup question regarding…spankings… His ears folded back almost completely and felt burning hot as a wave of embarrassment tinged with curiosity and perhaps arousal washed over his entire body. The look on his face no doubt gave away his moment of shock and bashfulness. Is…is this guy coming on to me?

He stammered a bit over his words as he tried to regain a bit of composure, “Uh..I..well- y-you should p-probably should ask…us uh before you make any modifications.” He tried to act as if he didn’t hear the second part of the question, but those feelings he thought he had under control from before, the attraction, almost primal, to this new Kzin made a return with a vengeance. Normally he wasn’t this way around other guys, sure he could be shy and bashful when somebody particularly attractive took a fancy to him, but he still had sense enough to throw back his own flirtatious comments or a lewd joke. Perhaps with most other people he could sense their emotions and intentions, not to mention he was also just physically bigger so had a certain power in any interaction.

The sound of a falling piece of equipment followed by some curses broke Lok out of his momentary trance. He turned around and spotted some of his guys picking up some tools and what appeared to be a spilled box of stem bolts. He immediately jumped on the opportunity to one, get back to work before he fell behind schedule, and two, perhaps get away from Atlas before he did anything foolish.

“Hey I need to get back to work Lieutenant, but we’ll have your bird ready to go before tomorrow”, he said with a shy smile. Not wanting to waste the opportunity to perhaps see where things were going with this Atlas he then stepped in close, the other Kzin’s scent making his spine tingle, and spoke in a low voice so nobody else could hear. “Hey if you uh…want to get a drink some time, just let me know…I think they have a bar on this ship.” He was about to step away then, from perhaps a bit of confidence or maybe lust he added, “-and I guess play your cards right and we will-”, he paused to make sure nobody was paying attention then lowered his voice practically to a whisper, “-we will see about that spanking.”

Clearing his throat he stepped back to where he was before.

Interregnum 01-02 S2 / Re: Day 17 [2200 hrs.] Aftermath's Embrace

Last post by Dumedion - March 27, 2024, 05:37:16 PM

[LT Arven Leux | Arboretum | Deck 22 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @EnigmaTales
[Show/Hide]

Arven turned his head slightly to the side, eyes narrowed askance at V’lana’s choice of words while he thought it over – lips curled slightly in amusement at her rationale for keeping ‘assholes’ around. The comparison didn’t bother him in the slightest; that particular shoe fit him very well, after all. In a world of happy-go-lucky morning people, perpetually giddy as they went about their day in the face of a universe that constantly tossed death, destruction, chaos and mayhem at them in new and unpredictable ways, perhaps a few assholes and naysmiths were needed to balance the sheets out a little. Happy morning people were the worst, a plague to be avoided at all costs, but he shrugged that thought to the side with a huff of air that wasn’t quite a snort or a sigh.

“I haven’t been here very long,” Leux reminded her with a dip of his head. “Over all, the majority of the people I’ve met seem decent enough, acquaintances, I’d say. I like to shop around for the really good deals before commitment,” he added with a sarcastic smile. “A lone wolf though? No, never that.”

He finished off the last of his coffee with a chuckle, but didn’t elaborate.

“It is odd though,” Arven shrugged, his features contemplative. “Sitting here talking with you has served as a reminder of sorts that I am, indeed, a social creature – regardless of how I choose to ignore it,” he nodded with a wry smile at himself. “Perhaps odd is the wrong word; surprising? Sure, lets go with that. Either way,” Leux shrugged again, “I appreciate it. Things like this are important, allegedly, for mental health and self care and...all that other shit they teach us,” he gestured to the park and at them with a twirl of his hand.

“Feels nice to get out though,” Arven admitted to himself as much as V’lana, even though the look on his face bespoke of the awkward pain that admission apparently caused; as if he had been thrust into a warm summer day after enduring a lifetime of cold, sunless winters. “Maybe I’ll try again next week sometime,” he shrugged, then blinked himself free of self-analysis.

“Did you want to order some food,” Arven asked her, his thumb hooked over a shoulder at the cafe.

OOC: sorry for delay

Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH 2: S [Day 01 | 1435 hrs] When Trolls Dance, Vulcans Growl

Last post by Ellen Fitz - March 26, 2024, 07:26:44 AM

[ Lt. Cmdr. Cross | Sickbay | D. 21 | V. 3 | “Ranger” of USS Theurgy] Attn: @EnigmaTales

“You mean you don’t have data because, until recent months, we’ve never encountered the Savi to the degree that we’ve had survivors, such as myself, who were ‘corrected?’ How surprising.” Cross didn’t try to hide the sarcasm dripping from his voice. “And I suppose I could either check with the other Vulcans on board to see if they’re skilled in neuro-pressure,” he immediately pictured Hathev, “or I can program something in the holodeck.”

The longer he thought about it, the better it would be if he used the Holodeck or someone other than Hathev. Not because he doubted her skills but because he doubted his ability to sit still and unaroused under her touch and with such close proximity.

“I wouldn’t say crossing into Romulan space uninvited is any more stressful than an average Tuesday on this ship.” Cross chuckled at his own words before responding to V’Lana’s suggestions. “Sounds waves, you say? It makes sense unless you’re suggesting that I’m the one singing and playing an instrument. If you are, I won’t strangle you, but you may want to issue noise cancellation devices to all the crew. I’m not known for having a lovely voice, but a powerful one.”

With the headache sufficiently abated, Cross was able to look at the woman with a more discerning eye.

“Have you been able to readjust back into your work well enough? Any residual issues?” He sat back up again and rolled his shoulders. “Is there anything you need me to address with your department members regarding accommodation?” He now recalled reading part of her file as a part of the dossier filled with all the personnel that had transferred in or been awakened just prior to their mission launch.

Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH. 3 S [Day 01 | 1315] Seeding Unknown Soil

Last post by Ellen Fitz - March 26, 2024, 07:16:54 AM

[ Crewman 3rd Class Jordan Wilde | Arboretum| Deck 22 | Vector 3 | USS Theurgy ] @AbsintheDeux

Before Jordan could respond to Artimis’ query, she felt Brad’s firm grip on her elbow. When she looked up in silent question, she followed his gaze through the arboretum to see what had caused the sudden tension in her friend. Figuring it’d be best for Artimis to be made aware of the nature of the enigmatic man in sight, Jordan gestured for the woman to step closer and made a subtle gesture toward the Romulan.

“That’s Drauc T’Laus. He’s…complicated, to say the least. Most of what we know about him is rumor, but stories tell us that he’s telepathic and empathetic to the nth degree. And that his powers were used by the Tal’Shiar to really mess people up.” Jordan gave a breathy sigh while behind her, she heard Brad groan. “He’s got some gnarly scars, but there’s something about him that’s sexy.”

“Need I remind you of the last time you said, ‘there’s something about her, she’s just sexy,’ you nearly ended up gutted by a Nausicaan.” Brad leaned forward to verbally snipe between the women. “My suggestion, Artimis, just do your job and stay clear of the angsty crew members like Drauc. There’s too much drama associated with them to be dealt with in my lifetime, regardless of how long-lived you are.”

Jordan gave another breathy sigh before nodding her agreement. “You’re right. Not that it makes me happy to say so.” Turning back toward the purple-haired beauty, Jordan let out another sigh. “And back to your question, well, looks can be deceiving. Many of the folks onboard lived through not only the Niga virus but also some Ishtar cunt entity that really did a number on folks too, and she looked as ‘good’ as they come. But,” she swatted Brad before he could interrupt her, “I think you should be given the same courtesy as anyone else. You’re innocent until proven guilty and shouldn’t work under a cloud of misplaced scrutiny.”

“Now,” Brad put his hands on both women’s shoulders and gently pushed them towards the interior of the arboretum, “let’s walk around and see pretty things and stop trying to see conspiracies in each other’s eyes.”

“That’s rich coming from a member of Intelligence.” Jordan laughed, but followed his suggestion and walked alongside Artimis further into the greenery kept in the belly of Theurgy.

Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH 2: S [Day 01 | 2239 hrs] Happiness and Other Falsehoods

Last post by joshs1000 - March 26, 2024, 01:23:34 AM

Lok shook his head a little with a small weary smile when Joe mentioned he was from the Class of 2375. I feel old, he mused, but I guess lucky for him that he could be at The Academy while I was getting my ass shot off by The Dominion. He wouldn’t of course bring this up, to him it never felt right shaming Starfleet personnel who were lucky enough to have been in the Academy, like Joe, or stationed somewhere far away from the fighting. He knew some people who resented it and sure perhaps on occasion he felt a bit of a knee jerk reaction to those who didn’t see the horrors but in his opinion they were lucky.

“Yeah he’s an Ensign, though used to be an NCO like me, some people want to transfer over to become officers but I don’t quite see the appeal, you essentially have to start from the bottom again.” He shrugged his shoulders and took another drink. The buzz was starting to hit noticeably now, his keen eyes glancing off to the young officer at his right, more blatantly taking in his handsome features.

“As for me”, he continued, “I’ve been in oh…sixteen years now, I joined in 2365.” He took another big drink and finished off his glass only to reach for the bottle one more time and pour the last of its contents into his glass as well as a generous topping off to Joe’s. “Doesn’t seem like that long ago but things were different, the last years of the Golden Era, no Borg, no Dominion…no Infested….”

He sighed, thinking about those days when he was a kid, reading about some of the famous Starfleet ships and always looking up reports on the network of the new and wondrous things that would be discovered. He even followed the ongoing news regarding the early Galaxy class ships when they were under construction. While much of that enthusiasm had waned over the years he still brought his physical copies of Hikaru Sulu’s three volume autobiography. Remembering though that he wasn’t drinking alone, Lok spoke up again.

“Hey so what do you like to do on your time off, besides drink with Kzin”, he chuckled and reached out to give another friendly punch to Joe’s shoulder. Though the booze was starting to kick in for sure as Lok perhaps hit Joe a little harder than intended, not enough hurt or anything but certainly enough to perhaps cause the young man a little difficulty keeping their balance in the bar stool. “I mean what’s there to do around here in general too? I’m guessing you have holodecks and all that, but this ship is huge! What else you got? A spa? A full sports stadium?”

He was speaking jest of course about the stadium but considering how large the ship was compared to the largest ship he had ever served on, a Galaxy Class, he wouldn’t be surprised either. For Lok personally though he did kind of have a personal affinity for the smaller ships, a bit odd considering his size, but in his opinion it created more close knit crews.

Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH2: S [Day1|1900hrs] Show us what you got!

Last post by Pierce - March 25, 2024, 07:29:07 PM

[ Lt. JG Tessa May Lance | FAB | Deck 16 | Vector 2 | The Ranger] Attn: @Dumedion @Krajin [Show/Hide]

Tessa nodded at the explanation for the tail which her attention span and ADHD already was moving on from, but wanted to play with it now that she saw it moving around. Shaking her head she looked at Shadow and smirked at the mission "Airtight". "Awe, are we scaring you? But honestly, the stuff we have to go through on this ship, any realistic life or death scenario is going to give you the best sense of what we do here. Not hazing at all. We save that for the locker rooms!" She chuckled at the thoughts of the nekkid shenanigans that take place there. That's also why she slept in her Valkyrie a lot instead of her quarters on those times.

"I will say as far as survival skills, I am one of the few original Valkyrie pilots here still alive and I've seen a thing or two. Just my two cents!" She giggled and skipped around the room like she was partially nuts, which wasn't far from the truth with the mental trauma she'd been part of.

"We also don't have to go it alone. We could do a 3 man squadron and bots! Bots of old comrades though so they're better than the regular holoprojected drones." The taunt of being with the newbie made her eye twitch slightly, "Oh, do I detect a challenge stripes?" Further taunting the tiger man.

Hearing the mention of deciding between a Gryphon and Valkyrie, she nodded. "We can do that. Start you with a flight pattern and then activate the mission if that works for you to get acquainted with the flight controls." She pulled up to a screen to show him a schematic of the Valkyrie.

"While I know nothing of the Gryphon as I've always been a Valkyrie pilot, I can say these bad boys are little jet engines with a payload of ammo that can be customized based on your flight preferences. Valkyrie's have a wide variety of secondary weapons options, excellent hull armor and shielding. Impressive sensors that can dish out as much of a pounding as it takes. Now the disadvantages are low maximum/standard warp speed, unwieldy tetryon pulse canon when extended. But it comes with micro-torpedo's, phaser arrays, turrets, awesome sensors, and much more!"

Her enthusiasm spilling outward for her vessel as she pictured firing holding her hands in front of her and firing with both hands richocheting as if she shot something in an age old airplane.

"So Shadow, Atlas, ready to go?"

Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: Ch 5 S [ D02 | 0600 hrs.] Old Friends Die Hard

Last post by Pierce - March 25, 2024, 07:14:05 PM

[ Lt. Commander Alana Pierce | Avra Trel | Romulus ] Attn: @rae @Ellen Fitz [Show/Hide]

Romulus was a place Alana had spent little time. In fact, most of her contact with them was in this century with the likes of her Assistant of Intelligence and Hirek. She was certainly not ill-informed on the trip, but lacked some of the more subtle nuances that Hirek and the Lillee had coached her on prior to departure. Her senses were on high alert as she attempted to not draw too much attention to herself while the trio traversed the transport to their destination. The meeting that Nysari had put into place with her on-site acquaintance from the past.

The feeling of dread washed over her, almost akin to a 6th sense or woman's intuition? She thought it odd to think of that still but it was slowly becoming the norm. Something wasn't sitting right with her and she couldn't quite put her finger on the what. Romulans after all were a secretive race when it came down to details unless it was advantageous to speak of them to another individual. Her thoughts were back to her surroundings as they approached the meeting location.

She could only hope the data chip that was presented was authentic in nature and that the compromise being sought was one of benefit to all parties and not a detriment to the Federation. The arrival at Avra Trel was
uneventful but was present to a decent sized city and was filled with various Romulan architecture but it was behind closed doors they'd likely be meeting.

"Nysari, any word on what we're walking into on this trek with Belas tr'Rehu?" She turned to Hirek, feeling the crimson hair swiping her Romulan pointed ears as she did before touching them again and speaking. "Hirek, anything we should be on alert about? Any suspicions we need to be careful of as we approach the meeting place?"

Parallel Universes - "What if?" / Re: [2376] Entanglement of Chaos

Last post by RyeTanker - March 25, 2024, 01:11:50 PM

[Ensign XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Ens. Zark) | Cardassia Prime] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

Enyd and Drasat had been pumping the Ompayian for information and had gotten a tidbit about a currency transfer that was supposed to head to Cardassia. Dropping the dead Orion at her feet with a knife still sticking out its eye had terrified the geek sufficiently for her to let slip that the funds were going through a branch of an Andorian bank in the Orion sphere. It was then that the Andorian noticed something was off as her movements became sluggish and her vision had begun to waver. In holonovels and film cinema, the first sign that a knockout gas had been applied was a dramatic misting that flowed from the vents in picturesque cascades. There were some gases that still did this, but were generally considered sub optimal unless the user wanted concealment. Zark let out a strangled cry of "GAS!" and she began clawing at the self contained breather attached to her hip. Zark fell to her knees and watched as everyone else began choking in their desperate attempt to get more air while their bodies suffered the agony of not being able to draw in the minimum amount of oxygen. They were going to die was her final thought as she collapsed to her knees heavily and the breather slipped out of her fingers as the nerve block finally overwhelmed her system. She tried to grip her throat as it seemed her eyes tried to bug out of their sockets.

The tech didn't really know what was happening and looked on terrified at the sudden incapacitation of her captors, but it soon dawned what the plan had been and why she'd gotten an injection prior to taking up her post. She slowly got back up with a cautious smile that spoke volumes about her relief. "Looks like the tables have turned." She taunted. Zark fell to all fours as the Ompayian made her way over to Enyd and planted a shoe on her side and pushed, causing the human to fall onto her side in an undignified lump. Drasat was next as she circled around his back. "Not so scary now are you?" She told him and used her foot again to push him onto his face. Zark could only see the floor as she struggled to stay up. "And you" she said to the downed Andorian. "The way you twisted my arms hurt. At least they didn't do anything painful to me. You though." Zark involuntarily grunted as the geek kicked her in the stomach and barely able to tense her muscles, the hit sank deep as she was knocked over. Fire raced through Zark's mid section and her body feebly tried to cough. Darkness was beginning to take her when the geek kicked her again and again with the sound of her own weak grunts as the sound of shoe slamming into flesh seemed to echo through the room. Thankfully and mercifully, the tech stopped when the door opened and several Cardassians walked in. The last thing she saw as her eyes closed was being lifted off the ground.

It took some time for Zark to realize that her eyes were open and she could see once more. This came as a shock as she'd expected to not wake up from being dragged off. She groaned as her head tried to snap up and her mid section brutally reminded her of its abuse to which there was very little she could do as she found herself tied to the chair by the field expedient of polymer ties. She'd just have to suffer through it till the counter acting endorphin rush did its job. This gave her the chance to take in her surroundings. It seemed they were in a makeshift command centre of some sort. It was typical Cardassian brick with the beeps of computers going in the back ground. There also seemed to be quite the hubbub as voices discussed something or other. There was some yelling going on and Zark mentally winced as she could hear someone having the stuffing beat out of them. It sounded deeper, more bass, male; so Zark could guess that Enyd wasn't the one being tortured at this point. The room shook suddenly and a rumbling bang was transmitted into the room causing some dust to tall. This caused the Andorian to look up a little groggily.

"I never agreed to this!" a familiar voice yelled out and Zark turned her head to see the Ompayian arguing with another Cardassian. "I was just supposed to arrange the transfer line for the money!..." The tech's whining was cut off as Luske Ontatt back handed her across the face and she hit the ground with blood leaking from a split lip. "You have a purpose worm, and you are serving it. Keep quiet and stop distracting us, and we may yet live through this." The Ompayian whimpered as she curled up into a call and began sobbing. Zark looked around a bit more and she saw Drasat tied to a chair. A big Orion gripped the back of his head and yanked back. "Who's shooting at us?!!" He yelled, practically spitting in the troopers bloodied face. The soldier was a tough man and he glared defiance at the green skin before sucking in and spitting in his face. The Orion roared and threw another punch at the Cardassians face to continue the whole beating process.

The facility shook again and Zark's movement might have caught his attention as Luske marched over to where she was tied. The Andorian expected him to go for her, but he went right passed her and her head followed him as he stood in front of Enyd. "This is your doing Enyd Madsen. You and your persistent meddling. Yes, I know you." He told her in a tone of cold menace as he grabbed her hair and yanked it back so she had to look in his face. "Tell me! Who's shooting at me?! Who did you tell and how?! Where are they?!" With each question, Luske vented his frustration on Enyd, striking her across the face, punching her nose so it gushed crimson with a crunch, then letting her head loose and throwing a punch that snapped her head the other way. Zark felt he must have been really on edge as he produced a device with a pair of prongs that arced electricity and jammed it into her chest.

As annoyed as she had been with Enyd, there was no way she could let this happen and the Andorian yelled her impotent rage to as she tried to get out of her chair to strangle the Cardassian with her hands. This action earned her his ire as a strong pair of green hands pulled her back and Luske Ottase made his way over and pulled the raging Andorian by the chin and glared at her. Zark glared back as he stepped aside so Enyd could see the bound Andorian. "Turn her so she can see her friend." A pair of burly Cardassians quickly moved to turn the bloodied human to face the Andorian. "She may not care about herself, but let's see what happens when her intransigence has consequences for others."

Zark knew what was coming and she could only hope she was as tough as she thought she was since she had no clue if anyone was going to help them in this situation. Supposedly the rest of the Special Forces team was in the building. Zark forgave Enyd for all her idiocies right there. There wasn't a point in being mad at her if they were going to die. "Enyd, don't tell them a thing!" she yelled and one of the guards cracked a punch across her cheek that made her see stars. Her head lolled as it tried to reset and in an act of degradation, a guard unzipped Zark's suit and pulled it down as far as it would go before cutting the front of her bra off and tossing it away. Zark could feel the cool rush of air and knew what little ballistic protection she'd had was gone. She could feel a slight warmth at the corner of her mouth that she was sure was blood. "Say nothing." Zark croaked out, then blanked her mind as she saw Luske Ottase held Enyd's head steady while nodding at the guards. She couldn't tell what he was whispering into her ear when she could see, but the security officer was sure, he was inflicting a mental torture on the human to get her to break. That was the only break Ensign Zark had as the two other guards drove fists into her face and exposed body, leaving nothing off the table as her chest and abdomen were pulverised. All Zark could do was grunt, bellow, or scream with each hit and take it as saliva and blue blood sprayed around her. She didn't bother counting how many hits she took since it would imply some sort end to the ordeal.

And suddenly it did end when she felt herself hit the ground and final oof escaped her lips as the Andorian's head bounced off the ground. The battered security officer opened one bruised eye and noticed blue droplets in front of her. It was odd since she was on the ground and sideways, but there was yelling all around her as energy beams lanced back and forth over her head. She must have gotten knocked down in the confusion. She could see Enyd was on the ground as well and people were charging past them. One stopped and kneeled next to Enyd and checked her, then looked over at Zark. "This doesn't look good, but it's not that bad." Ghin Torlan said as he pulled a knife and cut Enyd loose. "Cut everyone else free Ensign, we got killing to do."

Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: Chapter 1: The (hopefully) Great Romulan Smash and Grab [Day 1 | 1800hrs ]

Last post by RyeTanker - March 24, 2024, 10:54:48 PM

[ CPO Dominic Lau | Mary Baldwin | Romulan Space Station | Romulan Space ] @Ellen Fitz @BipSpoon @P.C. Haring @Hans Applegate @Sqweloookle @Stegro88

Getting to the station was easy. Getting passed the patrols was non-trivial, and it had taken the crew some fancy flying when they'd been pounced on by a patrolling warbird, which left the Intelligence team adding to the litany of curses from ages past about not having a cloaking device. After taking fire for a while, they'd needed to do some fancy flying near a large and bright class A star and the judicious application of the ship's countermeasure suite, and Bob was your uncle. Except, the flying had gotten too fancy when the 'freighter' had flipped end over end and surprised the warbird by blasting a couple of holes in it after taking too many hits. Said hits had somewhat fried the internal systems, which were now causing some control issues as the ship hurtled through space towards a Romulan space station that was supposed to be involved in weapons development. A transmission from headquarters had provided an updated operations schedule from the Theurgy team which meant at maximum speed to catch up.

Chief Lau sat in the cockpit of the freighter as the ship vibrated around him. The normal smooth hum of the warp engines replaced with a deep and rough growl. He tapped a button to communicate with the engineering space. "Klaudia, how does it look?" Bessir's face was tight as worked to trim the warp field as much as possible to keep the ship FTL while the powerflow was becoming erratic. There was a pause "Can's say Chief, it's not my specialty. I mean, this was mainly the el-tee's thing. That last torpedo hit we took fried half a dozen relays and patching them isn't going well. We don't have the spares on board." She yelped as relay exploded in the background. Bessir decided to interrupt. "The nav system is starting to act up, we need to pull out of warp soon. I think we're almost at the station's coordinates."

It was a hard call, but the ship was falling apart around them and the Chief nodded. The Cardassian-Bajoran sniper nodded. "Getting ready to disengage warp drive." His fingers engaged the deceleration process and the growl got even louder as the damage control screen lit up like Christmas Tree and instead of a standard shortening of the starscape to pricks of light, the view began to spin as the ship exited warp violently. "Shiiiiit!" Bessir loudly cursed while everyone clung to whatever was handy as the inertial dampening field struggled to keep everyone from being turned into jam. Lau stretched an arm out and the process of re-routing power to the IDF was agonizingly slow as the sequence was input. After what seemed like an eternity, the centrifugal force slowed and the ship began to right itself as the sniper turned pilot got more control of the ship. It didn't take too much longer before the ship seemed to be more or less stable and out of immediate danger that Lau moved to the next steps. "How bad is it?" He could almost feel Cheung shaking her head. "I can't really say, but out port nacelle is leaking plasma and the starboard impulse thruster is having fits." A pause as she worked to make sense of the other information that coming out. "Structural Integrity is compromised, but holding; and everything else is damaged to one degree or another. Sensors, shields, and weapons are mostly okay......and shit! EW is out. Looks like the drop out of warp caused a surge that blew some of the emitters. I don't think we can produce a convincing cover to get us anywhere." That as bad news overall and the next decision was whether to abort. "Do you think the engines will get us anywhere safe?" "If safe counts as a Romulan prison, then sure. Definitely not back to Federation space."

That as bad news indeed and Dominic grimaced. The Chief pulled up a chart of the system that was being built while the ship flew further in system. The station was easy to identify due to the structural makeup and the power radiating from it. Artificial singularities were quite distinctive even from a star. There was one bit of 'terrain' the would make this whole escapade possible and he turned to Bessir with a death head's grin. "How lucky are you feeling?" The teammate looked back with dread, then grinned. "Do I have a choice?" "Well, the alternative is capture, torture, and a firing squad." The hybrid snorted. "Then I'm feeling lucky as hell." The Chief nodded at this and uploaded the flight path to the objective. A quiet 'shit' followed."This should be fun." "Indeed. All hands, secure yourself. This ride is going to be bumpy."

Bessir pumped the impulse engines to maximum. Given the entrance they'd made into the system, there was no hiding, so no sense in being subtle. The Mary Baldwin 'dove' into an asteroid cluster that would lead to the station and Bessir corkscrewed and weaved between masses of rock. The ship pulled at the crew as they made their run in like a mad missile throwing an evasive pattern, but guiding unerringly on a target. "Looks like they're waking up. Let's see what's left of the EW suite. Beginning wide spectrum jamming." Bessir only nodded as Lau cut off communications with the outside and he flipped the ship over and pulled past another rock. Manoeuvrable the freighter was, a small nimble fighter it was not as a piece of astral debris was smacked aside by the shields and the crew lurched forward as the kinetic energy was transferred to the ship. The ship lurched sideways again since Bessir wasn't really a pilot and didn't have the skills to dodge everything in the asteroid belt.

Lau was frankly more surprised that they hadn't collided head on with any of the larger rocks, but soon it got harder as green beams lanced out in their path. There were fewer then expected, which was a small saving grace. The ship shuddered from a glancing blow and Lau ran scans on the station to determine points of interest. A section quickly lit up that was using more energy than the initial scan and the signature matched the one a shield generator would give off. "I'm locking on to their shields and communications system. "Okay, here we go." Bessir announced as the ship cleared the final asteroid and the station lay in front of them stabbing space with angry green beams. "Targets locked and.... Firing!" Micro torpedoes flew into space in angry red orbs and quickly covered the distance between the Mary Baldwin and the station. Orange beams also stabbed out and they hadn't a prayer of overwhelming the entire shield system. While most of the warheads and beams wasted themselves against the energy barrier, they were just enough to cause a local failure and a few torpedoes made it through to the hull. The metal buckled under the blasts of the phasers then the warheads plowed their way through. A Romulan crew standing watch over the primary shield generator worked frantically to try to reinforce the shields, but it was too late as an small matter/anti-matter warhead struck the bulkhead around them and vented its fury into the compartment. They didn't even have time to scream as they were incinerated along with all the equipment. Breakers throughout the station tried to stem the energy feedback and some succeeded, but others failed and other sections of the station exploded as their relays blew up, sending more shrapnel and plasma careening through compartments along the energy's path. Havoc reigned on the command deck as a quarter of the consoles exploded in flaming ruin compounding the green bloody mess of watch crewman being torn to shreds by glass and alloys.

The Mary Baldwin didn't have it all her way though as a beam cleaved straight through the damaged nacelle and shattered it.. Thankfully, Cheung had the presence of mind to shut the engine down, so the damage was limited internally, but the ship would probably never fly again as a chunk of warp coil smashed the undamaged nacelle and rendered it inoperative. Cheung took a moment to check her displays as she picked herself up off the deck.

"Chief, we've lost all warp drive. Both nacelles are gone." Lau confirmed as he checked his own display, then looked out the window to see a metal stub on one side, and streaming wreckage on the other. "Understood. Bessir, drive us at this hab complex and try to brake us before we hit too hard." Bessir now looked up. "Have you lost it?" The chief's rictus grin got more deadly "Not at all." Looking back at the flaming station, he targeted the section he wanted to crash and released another volley of torpedoes, then hit the intercom.

"All hands brace for impact." with scant moments to secure himself and divert all power to the SIF/IDF and shields, the freighter plowed into the cavity the explosions gouged into the station and tore itself deep into the complex. Metal screamed and screeched as systems got jumbled and power relays registered their protest by sparking or exploding. Lau gritted his teeth as he pushed against the console in front of him while the straps dug into his muscled body while keeping him in his seat. Eyes stared wide as metal tore itself apart and the sliding death scream transferred itself into the hull in front of his very eyes and suddenly with a final lurch it was over. With the violence over, Lau stayed put while his brain caught up with the fact that he was alive. A groan to his side caused him to look over at the pilot/sniper and he was gratified to Bessir pushing himself up from the console, then slowly look over with a grin. "See Chief, told ya. Feelin lucky as hell." Chief Lau grinned back. "That's the spirit Bessie, now get your lazy ass out and let's check on everyone else while we gear up. We're going in heavy."

100

Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative / Re: CH 2: S [Day 01 | 1700hrs] Cross on the Titan

Last post by Krajin - March 24, 2024, 12:52:12 PM

[ Dominic Winters | Lower Gymnasium | Vector 2 | Deck 14 | The Ranger ATTN: @Ellen Fitz

Dominic’s ears twitched at the compliment that he in his mind received concerning his restraint on not accidentally pulling off someone’s head. Luckily he had been good enough not to have actually ripped off someone else’s arms off in a fight. At least that had been recorded in some fashion or another. Actions in close quarters during the Dominion war notwithstanding. Dominic listened rather intently as Cross explained things and set himself up, grabbing the pads and adjusting the straps to fit his large hands and got ready.

“So these Savi Extra-Terrestrials ‘fixed’ people and then murdered the others who didn’t match their bogus view of life?” He asked “Come on, hit the pads. I can take a good hit.” He encouraged Cross, hearing his explanation and adjusting the pads to match. Dom had good reflexes and kept tracking Cross’ motions and braced his arms lightly just before the impact was made. “If the Savi tried that with me I would tear their arms out and feed them back to them.” The Kzint growled in reply. Not at all happy about the idea. “Already been poked and prodded enough in life. Get enough when I get medically assessed.” He huffed.

“You know I’ve heard about that, in old war films from Earth when I grew up there. Though they would claim their Motto to be ‘I did it the Hard way’ or something like that when they achieved their commission.” Dominic added. “So you’re saying you’d do whatever it takes to get the job done? Even if the politics behind it are wrong?” He asked. A sore question for some for sure.

Once Cross had sufficiently warmed up and Dominic had began to learn how the Vulcan’s body moved and the strength he put out. He shook out his hands with the pads still attached and got ready once more. “I would have to disagree with you concerning respect and honour in a fight. These can have a place in a War. In a fight, you do what you must to win. As long as you don’t sell or destroy your own soul in the process. No conflict, no organization is worth that.” He tossed in. Catching the motions Cross delivered with the pads as needed.

“History is perception, perspective. My Father told me something once. ‘To us, we are the heroes of our own stories. To the enemy, we are their villains.’ Our victors will tell the story from their perspective and polish it as they see fit. After all, we all have our skeletons.”

He laughed at the question of Cross being Diplo’ Corps final choice in a clinch. “I can agree! I know the feeling. I have zero tolerance for other people's bullshit. Angry, yelling... It's why they kept me out of security. I lacked the… temperament to tolerate and de-escalate conflicts. I handled them rather directly.” Dominic mused.

Following the drill Dominic kept with it until Cross came to his stop. Unstrapping them and adjusting the straps for Cross’ smaller hands. “Who? A few people tried it and learned quickly there are consequences. A School Bully tried. Nearly got my furry hide expelled when he had to get his face sutured together. That one stands out the most in my memory. Some Jem’Hadar tried to exploit it and wound up on their arse. Makes for a great way to sweep the unsuspecting off their feet. There was also Risa but I don’t think you’d want to hear about that.” He chuckled.

Wrapping his hands and then fitting his appropriately sized practice gloves on and adopted a similar posture to what Cross had. “I’ll try to replicate your first drill. Eh?” He readies himself, when Cross was ready with the mitts. He began a slow, routine of accurate, yet weak strikes to get the rhythm of it going first. Jab, cross-jab, arm trap, knee, pivot and elbow. Though he did throw in a tail sweep on the pivot once just to throw Cross off and see how well he landed on the padded training mat they were on!