Star Trek: Theurgy

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CHAPTER 04: TRUE NATURE [ DAY 06 | 0900 hrs. ]

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[ Echtand qi Versant | The Quarters of the Voice | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]The lights of the Azure Nebula had grated on his black eyes, so he had closed the panoramic viewport's shutters several hours ago. The faint illumination that remained in his quarters rippled across his large hands, casting shadows along the barren walls.

Through most of the night, Echtand qi Versant had been hard at work in his research center - making preparations for the day that had just begun. Days and nights were, of course, a relative concept in space, rather a matter of chosen sleeping cycles. He had adapted his own to the Correction Program for the sake of his endeavour, so that he could utilise his assets more effectively. He had suffered a minor distraction by Sclergyn, which had delayed him for two hours. He was weary, his head aching, and he had staved off the doubts and the fear of failure several times. Again and again, he had to acknowledge the fact that there could never be a second opportunity, since with the Scion High Council ending the Correction Program, he could never have access to other specimens to aid him.

Schematics were displayed on some of the screens. Inventory list on others, followed by the layout of the security systems that had been raised around the Archive, and thus, also the source of the Code. He had partial access to those already with his position aboard the Versant, but the rest, he had to get creative with. No one else aboard the ship would even have a shot at penetrating the security systems around the Archive, and if he was to succeed, the specimens from Starfleet would play an essential role. Not just as a distraction, but as a... how would they put it? A can opener? Wrecking ball? Battering ram? His studies into the Federation's linguistics had been unclear on that.

"Echtand?" came a voice from behind him, and his three-fingered hands grew still. He made a quick inventory of what was displayed on the screens before him, before he slowly turned his black orbs towards the female Ante. His frown cut a dark line between his hairless brows.

"I merely wished to ask," she said, not demure, but resigned to their accord, while she approached him in the dim light, "why you did not give me the vecar?" Just like him, she wore the bodysuit that all Savi wore. Even though the hour would normally beg for her attendance in the Biolabs, why would she go there now, when there were no specimens left to study? Her question, however, forestalled that condundrum.

"Is that not obvious?" Echtand said, his intellect and strength making her inferior, yet somehow, his tone did not equal his irritation. Even the mating he had subjected her to had been... gentle, for a lack of better word. "I wish to propagate."

If he was to die for the restoration of the Code, and the truth about the Scion Directive, he found it... fitting, that he'd leave something of himself behind. After the customary announcement, Sclergyn stood silent, and like all of High Class, the control she wielded over her emotions was admirable. It was what made him chose her. The only thing she did, was to look down towards her abdomen, and to run a hand over it, in premonition of what was to come, if she chose to accept. In the end, she inclined her head. "Then I will will take the thym. I am... gratified that you chose me, and it will be a privilege to bear the Child of the Voice."

Echtand stared back at her, thinking about his parents. He wished he could impart more upon Sclergyn, so that the child - if his black seed took - might learn what what he knew. Alas, there was no time, and he would have to leave his research for Sclergyn to find on her own. Perhaps he'd even record a message for her, if he could spare a few minutes.

Without another word spoken of their agreement, Sclergyn turned to leave, which made Echtand speak anew.

"Why do you return to your research?" he asked, not even demanding an answer with his tone. "There is naught for you in the Biolabs."

Sclergyn paused in the antechamber, the set of her shoulders making her look conflicted. As if she did not wish to speak. "I have... violated the Code," she confessed quietly, and Echtand suspected that the only reason she admitted this to him - the Voice - was because of the exchange they just had about propagating. "I did not submit something to the Archive. It is an object of such rarity, that I could not let it be Recycled. It is-"

"An egg," said Echtand, his mind faster than hers, and a bout of ire making his tongue quicker still. He had sought it for a long time that night. "Carrying an ovum of mixed mammalian and amphibian genome. An Ovri-Klingon cross-breed."

Sclergyn actually looked shocked, as if he'd struck her. "How did y-"

"I am the Voice," he said, with such resolution that it sounded like it was obvious, even if it was a lie of omission.

"I... seek pardon for m-" she began, looking down to the deck.

"There is no need," he said quietly, even if his stare was unchanged. "All I ask is that you keep your orderlies away, make it accessible, and prepare it for display, for I wish to see it for myself."

Sclergyn relaxed, looking surprised about the development. "When will the Voice arrive for inspection?"

"You may still use my name," he reminded her in a quiet tone, "I will not file a violation report, nor do I - however - know when I might make the inspection. I want you to make the arrangements, and then return here. Immediately."

"I understand. Thank you... Echtand." She lingered for a moment, as if she wished to say more. Perhaps she even thought he meant to mate with her anew upon her return. In any case, the relief was as plain as a Low Class' in her face. Somehow, Echtand even found it... endearing. Clearly he had delved too much into Federation culture. She turned to leave, and he was alone at last.

He was ready to initiate the operation. After he did, there was no turning back. He rose from his seat, paced his quarters one last time, with his face buried in his hand. He had to do it, for the sake of all Antes in the entire Savi Flotilla. He didn't actually, have a choice, since he represented the interests of his entire race. He spoke for the Savi, and now, his voice would call the Scions out for what they'd done, and he'd transmit the proof to all, High Class and Low. It was time to make himself heard.

With a deep breath, he picked up his tablet and left his quarters. He still had full access to the research center through the device, and he began to execute the plan whilst he descended the corridor at a brisk pace. With a quick addition about the Ovri/Klingon egg, he transmitted a prepared message to Blue Tiran, and executed the Transport protocols.

DELIVERED: ARMAMENT IN THE SHAPE OF STARFLEET RIFLES AND HAND PHASERS, THE LETHAL SETTINGS ARE ONLY ACCESSIBLE WHEN IN TEN METER PROXIMITY TO A SCION BIO-SIGN. I MAKE A REMINDER ABOUT THE INNOCENCE OF THE ANTECEDENTS. IF I LEARN THAT THE AGREEMENT HAS BEEN VIOLATED, MY CONTINUED SUPPORT IN YOUR ESCAPE WILL END.

DELIVERED: FIFTY-SEVEN DATA TABLETS WITH HIGHEST AREA ACCESS ENABLED. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE WHOLE OF THE VERSANT, YET INDIVIDUAL ACCESS MIGHT BE TERMINATED BY YOUR OPPOSITION. TERMINATED ACCESS CANNOT BE RESTORED. TABLETS ARE EQUIPPED WITH COMMUNICATION ACCESS BETWEEN ALL OTHER TABLETS.

DELIVERED: COMPLETE DECK PLANS UPLOADED TO ALL DATA TABLETS, ALONG WITH SENSOR ACCESS TO REVEAL SAVI PRESENCE WITHIN THIRTY METERS FROM THE TABLET'S POSITION.

DELIVERED: LOCATIONS OF KEY POINTS-OF-INTEREST THAT HAS BEEN RELAYED TO ME UPLOADED TO ALL TABLETS. OBJECTS AND SPECIMENS YOU WISH TO EXTRACT HAVE BEEN HIGHLIGHTED IN THE DECK PLANS.

REQUIRED: LISTS OF NAMES YOU WISH TO HAVE TRANSPORTED TO THE CLOSE VICINITY OF EACH LOCATION. NAMES WILL SUFFICE.

REQUIRED: TERMINATION OF SCION ADMIRAL SEMATHAL. ITS BIOSIGN HAS BEEN UPLOADED TO ALL TABLETS. ITS CURRENT LOCATION IS INSIDE THE SCION NEST, WHERE CAPTAIN IVES IS BEING HELD.

WHEN SEMATHAL HAS BEEN TERMINATED, I WILL TRANSMIT ESCAPE ROUTES. NOT BEFORE. IT IS MY SOLE DEMAND, AND KEY TO REVEALING THE NATURE OF MY PEOPLE.

TRANSMIT YOUR DEPLOYMENT LISTS AS SOON AS YOU ARE ABLE.

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There! Seven days of posting with your characters begin after @BZ has posted! Moreover, you can use the Plot Discussion thread to state preference in which mission objective your character should be sent to. I will, however, veto against everyone going to save Captain Ives, or Thea etc. We need an even distribution of characters across the objectives. If this can't be handled in an orderly fashion, I will pick where all characters should go. @BZ , obviously, it is time to gather people around, and Nerina will be there as well, whom I will write in the gathering.

The naming convention for Supplemental threads belonging to earlier Prologue - leading up to 0900 hrs. this morning on Day 06 is: PRO: S [DXX|XXXX] Insert Title. Here are the characters present in Blue Tiran's hideout in the Maintenance Bays: [Show/Hide]

[LCdr Blue Tiran | Let's Get this Shit Started | Murdering the Assholes | Taking Back Lives | Moby Returns]
@Auctor Lucan @patches @Fife @Triage @Numen @all

There was a weight, above her, pressing down on her head.  And a soft, warm, and strong hand holding her close.  Lost in the mass of curls that refused, like their owner, to conform to any sort of proper do.  She felt, oddly, okay for the moment.  But then, Blue had never ever in her life been called a morning person.  The brain, was much like a computer for her.  It had to boot up, go through the loading screens, initiate all important processes before anything could actually begin working in earnest.  Her brain was still in that blue-loading-logo screen mode when she snuggled into the shoulder that was currently underneath her head.  She heard a sound, like a moan... a groan. … something zombie-esque anyway and from the vibrations in her lungs she figured it was her.

Her chest rose and fell. 

Her face scrunched slightly.

She could hear people around her.  The sensory information slowly reaching her.  Ranaan was used to her mornings.  He tended to wake her up, if he was home, without a need for an alarm which she usually crushed with her fist.. or a wrench.  He would pry her from bed with the smells of coffee and breakfast.  There was one rule at the table; no blankets.  The first time she had burrito-d herself up and shuffled into the living room surrounded in dark fur with just a pale face poking out... had not gone well.  He picked errant fur from his teeth all day, he said.

Fuck

Her first thought.

Why does my neck hurt?  She had spent the entire night leaning up and cuddling up against a Vulcan that had been her conscience on the Escape Pod and half her support system since reuniting again here. 

This shoulder has promise as a future pillow...

Blue felt something digging into her stomach, her hand clenched on it and realized it was the odd form of the Savi PADD she had not let a single person touch yet.  Finally, while her eyes didn't open it seemed that all systems were operating and running normally again.  The weight of her situation, of her world, began to settle again on her shoulders.

Fuck you life.  Fuck you... need to get up and do shit today.  Fucking.. mother of all fucking headaches... are there any twinkies left?

Finally, crystalline sky blue orbs opened.  The grit of a night's sleep sticking slightly at the corners.  One strong pale hand slid up from the PADD and quickly rid the corners of their green interlopers.  She hadn't quite moved yet, but as she did, she realized that she had spent the entire night on Cross' shoulder.  And his hand was holding her close, as if he was protecting her or cherishing her or something.

It was weird.

It was damn weird.

It was mother fucking weird.

I thought Vulcans were allergic to feelings.

She finally popped her head up and she looked over at Cross.  Her heart thumped heavily in her chest.  Not because she was attracted to the Vulcan but because he had allowed her to sleep there.  He had held her against him and not woken her or shifted her.  She had never had anyone outside of Ducote try to care for her.  Most people thought she was a raging bitch and gave her a wide berth.  Most of the time, it was due to her own hard work.  For someone else to care for her, set her off a little.  She felt as though she was outside of herself.  She swallowed hard, watching as Cross himself woke up and realized the kind of position they were in.

A blush dusted across her features.  Even as a Vulcan he could probably read through to the vulnerable girl hidden behind all the layers of anger and hurt for just a moment.  Eye contact made for that first few moments waking up.

“T... thanks.  Thank you.” she said softly and cleared her throat.

Well if this isn't the most mother fucking awkward morning ever I don't know what the fuck is.  Maybe I should ju-

Her thoughts interrupted by the buzz from the PADD in her hands.  She quickly ripped her gaze away from Cross so that she could check out what was going on with it.  Running her thumb across the bio scanner she found it unlocked so that she could read the messages that were penned by one being and one being only. 

Ugh.  Work.  Fuckin' Moby.

It was time.  Go time.  Don't give a Fuck time.  It was time to get some as sand get the fuck off this ship.  Brushing her curls out of her face she began to read the messages that were sent.  Glad that he was holding up to his bargain.  She didn't mind him reminding her of their bargain.  He likely did it to reassure himself more than her.  He had no idea who the fuck he was dealing with and if Blue Tiran made a deal she wasn't going to back out now. 

1. Weapons had been delivered.  Set to only work on Scions, would be beneficial.  While she was fine with their bargain she had to hope that all the other fuckers in here were going to be following the rules too.
2. The white headed mother fucker had delivered tablets to the rest of the fucking crew.  Good they won't want mine anymore.  Bitches need to leave my shit alone.
3. Tablets were equipped with Savi Sensoring Programs and deck plans.  Well that shit will be useful.
4. List of the groups and destinations to be transported to.  That'll make shit easier than having to go through the hallways as a fucking huge group.
5. Echtand's boss needed to die.  He was with Ives.  Okay, that's fine i'm sure these fuckers will be eager for some revenge anyway.
6. Once Boss-Asshole was dead they would get escape coordinates. 

Blue sighed and rested her head for a moment against the bulk head behind her.  Closing her eyes she tried to refocus herself.  It was time to get shit done.  To get out of here.  To get the fuck off this ship and try to figure out what the fuck she was going to do with herself afterwards.  Now was not the time to miss Ducote and now was not the time to wish desperately he was here.  She knew that he would pick up this whole team and get them going in the right direction. 

Blue's eyes opened again, and she looked down at the PADD.  This guy needs a code name so that I can protect his identity but at the same time people can make sure they're talking to the right Whitey before they make any decisions.  Blue penned a quick message to Echtand.

[I HAVE DECIDED TO GIVE YOU A DESIGNATION.  I AM GOING TO TELL MY CREW YOUR NAME IS MOBY.  THIS IS YOUR CODE NAME.  TO PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY FROM BEING LEAKED WHILE YOU ASSIST.  THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPLIES.  I WILL SEND YOU THE LIST ASAP]

Time to channel my inner Commander...

As she rose from her position her body cried out with resistance.  Sleeping as she had resulted in sore tight muscles but she would live.  Pain would help keep her focused.  She popped her fist over a switch and the lights in the bay flickered on.  She winced at them, but her eyes adjusted. 

“Rise and shine bitches!  It's battle day!” she called out at the top of her lungs. 

In the middle of the night, at some point, medical kits had been given to them.  She hoped that they could or would be used.  Had been used .  Something.  She waited until the people started waking.  Coming out of the rooms that ajoined the larger one.  They would see the crates that were beside Blue where she stood.  Those that would contain a great deal of goodies for the people on the deck.  Once she was sure that most of the people were awake she took another deep breath.  Afterall, this was the hard shit.  This was the shit that was going to make or break this team.  Not everyone, would likely survive, but they had a huge mission and those that did survive would be forever grateful for the movement they were about to make.

“I have heard from our benefactor.  He has sent every single one of you a PADD interface that will allow you access to the deck plans, the population sensors, and the local areas of interest.  He has been able to locate your, Captain Ives, and many other places of interest.  However, the deal is as stands.”  Blue called out to all those that could hear her.  “You will only target those that look more like bugs and less those three fingered white faced fuckers.  The white ones are those that will survive, and yes, that is the line.  You want to live, you don't hurt a single white faced mother fucker on this ship.” she stated calmly and straight forward making sure that it was fully known.  “Our benefactor is known as Moby.  If you want to know if he is the one that I've been in contact with, that didn't kill me, and didn't kill you, you ask what his name is. If he gives you that name, yes he speaks Federation Standard, then you know.  Any other name, give no information to.”

“We will be killed if we hurt one.  We need to break into teams and allow the man time to transport us to those areas.  I and whatever team is going with me, are going to head for the Machine lab.  I've heard that there is something of import there for myself.  I believe there is a .. thing.. person... I'm not actually sure what it is, called Thea in the same zone.  So those that wish to go with me, need to come forward.”

Blue pushed buttons on her PADD and the holographic image of the Savi ship came up showing the various points of interest that Echtand believed would be important. 

“Here” she pointed, is where the egg is being kept for those that asked fdor it last night, myself and Moby came through for you.” she said meeting the eyes of the three that had asked the night before.  She figured they would mount a rescue as well.  “There will likely be an Egg team.  A Team to kill Semathal, the leader of this whole fucking ship.  The one that is pulling the strings and experimenting on our people.  Other races as well.  The one responsible for all your genetic fuckery.  That fucker has to die.  We need a group for that as well.”

She pointed to the other spots that were pointed out.

“We need to decide who wants to go where.  Who is needed where.  I need a list of each team as quick as fucking possible so we can get this shit show on the road before we or our Buddy gets caught.” she said quickly as her eyes cast around the room. 

“volunteers?”

[ Khorin, son of Margon, of House Mo'Kai (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Khorin_Douglas)| Day 6 | 0900 hrs. | Maintenance Bays | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Attn: @Fife @Auctor Lucan @BZ @Zenozine @patches @Triage @anyone else


Khorin had never been a sleepyhead, quite the contrary. He was one of those people who wake up in a jump to the minimum noise, with no intermediate step between sleep and wakefulness. It was true that before his correction this characteristic had been fueled by huge amounts of sugar, but it seemed to be something inherent in his Klingon genetics. So, when a familiar buzzing sounded outside the room he occupied with Zephyr, he sat up staring instinctively at the door, all senses alert, ready for action. Only the presence of the slender betazoid prevented him from leaving the room like a whirlwind. He tried to disentangled himself from her embracing with care, dropped a soft kiss on the crown of her head and leave the storage room without making a sound, delicately closing the door behind him. He really tried to do so, he put all his skill into it. More or less he had the same success that a bull trying to sneak in a china shop. It was really difficult for a Klingon to went unnoticed. Even if he tried.


When he left the small room, the first thing he noticed was the appearance of a new set of boxes and supplies, almost at the same spot where they had appeared the night before. The pilot came to sniff around the boxes, a hungry rumble resounding in his stomach. However, he didn't get to put his big hands on any of the boxes, because a sudden movement distracted his attention and led a cocky grin to his face. Commander Tiran had just woken up, having spent what seemed like a good part of the night sleeping on the shoulder of his brother-in-arms. Who would tell that just a few hours after the klingon had promised Cross that he would act as matchmaker for the vulcan.It seemed that after their conversation Cross had rushed to make his own arrangements. He even seemed to have been protecting the woman, with one of his hands on her head. The scene ended suddenly, when the woman with strands of blue hair seemed to wake up suddenly, exchanged a few words with the vulcan, with a too obviously awkward expression on her pale face and left his side likely terrified, her eyes fixed on her PADD. Oh well. That was the Cross he knew.

Without hesitation, Khorin stood next to his friend, a crocked, knowing grin in his face. Cross received him with a frown of his ugly brows, but the klingon ignoring his bitter gesture, squatting in front of him, so that their faces were at the same height. His grin widened even more when he looked into his eyes and, with his operistic bass voice, he began to sing. "Cross and Blue, sitting in the tree, K-I-S ..." The song was interrupted by a strong vulcan's elbow hit in the pit of his stomach, which prevented the children's song from continued resounding in Cargo Bay. His friend struggled to keep him out of breath long enough for the commander to move away and began to summon the crowd around her, organizing the abductees for missions that would allow them to leave that godforsaken place.

The pilot missed the first part of the speech, deafened by the rumble of his own laughter, once he was able to gather enough air to emit it. Then he went back to his feet, and went to the periphery of the crowd, still teasing Cross waggling his thick eyebrows. However, soon his playful attitude disappeared while Blue developed the details of the plan. It disgusted him exceedingly that his captors were untouchable, and that he couldn't fullfil with them the revenge he was so anxious for, but something else made him frown and look for Hylota in the crowd.

Pulling the crowd aside, the Klingon stood before Blue, a cocky grin in his lips, but his serious gaze fixed in the nurse. "No son of Qo'noS will be at the mercy of these P'taQ, much less a pup. I volunteer to rescue Hylota's egg." He nodded in the nurse's direction, the Ovri woman had earned his respect, and he wasn't going to abandon her now in that moment of need, neither her unborn child.

[ Lt. Cross | Maintenance Bay | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @BZ @Numen

Cross had risen during the night, having slowly and carefully shifted the slumbering engineer so as not to wake her. Having finally extracted himself, eliciting some dozing grumbles from the Commander, Cross had slipped off to meditate in solitude in the hopes to gaining some degree of control over the storm of emotions his correction had brought with it.

It was not to be.

Instead he’d been discovered by the Klingon who seemed intent of tormenting him, the two of them ending up in yet another scuffle prior to having a rather serious and personal discussion. As a result, Cross had managed only a short meditation session. Frustrated and tired, he had returned to his slumbering crewmates and seated himself next to Blue once more, only to have the engineer shift herself and snuggle into his shoulder once again. Resigned to his fate, Cross had kept watch over the sleeping twinkie addict, his hand once again resting on her head, until he too had been overcome by fatigue.

And so it was that Cross found himself stirred awake by a shifting of the warm weigh that rested against him. He could feel the cold bulkhead against the back of his head, and as he opened his eyes and slowly blinked himself awake, he lifted his hand from the warmth it rested on and stretched his shoulder, the joint tight from remaining in the same position throughout the night. Then he shifted his gaze down to his side, only to find his view filled by two sky blue eyes staring back at him, framed by black hair with streaks of blue. Groggy and not yet fully awake, it took a moment before Cross’ mind processed what he was looking at.

Blue Tiran had been sleeping on him. Cross had been resting his hand on her head protectively.

What… Cross’s mind slowly tried to make sense of the situation before the memories of the previous day and night came rushing back to him. He remembered how small and fragile she had seemed, how he had wanted to protect her. He saw a glimpse of that again as he saw her pale cheeks bloom with a reddish tinge as the Human blushed. He could feel the green colour rising in his own cheeks as well. For a moment, Blue once again looked small and vulnerable, hardly the Blue Tiran who had brought the running joke of “Blue Alert” into being.

”T… thanks. Thank you.” She spoke softly, clearing her throat. The engineer obviously felt as awkward in the situation as he did. He was about to mutter a response when the PADD she was holding buzzed, the alert saving the Vulcan from the awkward, fumbled words. Blue quickly turned her gaze to the PADD, and Cross too quickly directed his attention elsewhere in an attempt to forget the awkward moment. Unfortunately, his vision was then filled by the stupid, beady-eyed face of Khorin, the pilot’s face adorned with a shit-eating grin. Cross’ expression turned from one of embarrassment to scowling irritation as the Klingon opened his mouth and began to sing.

”Cross and Blue, sitting in the tree. K-I-S…”

The Klingon made a high-pitched, wheezing sound as Cross’ fist buried itself in the pit of the Klingon’s stomach, effectively silencing the Klingon while at the same time proving rather therapeutic for the Vulcan. Cross considered pummeling the Klingon further as Blue rose and moved to stand by the crates which had appeared in the Maintenance Bay as they slept, calling for the abductees to gather around.

”You <fucking> idiot.” Cross grumbled as he rose to his feet. ”It’s not like that. We…” He glanced at the other man, knowing what he was saying would just serve to further entrench the idea in the Klingon’s soup-like mind. ”<Damnit>.” Cross shook his head again, a slight grin spreading over his features as the Klingon continued to wheeze in an attempt to catch his breath. ”You really are an idiot.”

With those words, accompanied by another shake of his head, Cross walked with the Klingon to where a crowd had gathered around Blue. The Klingon had unfortunately regained his breath, and pestered Cross with more teasing comments about the Lieutenant Commander.

He never shuts up… Cross thought with a sigh as the two joined the crowd to listen as Blue laid out the plan. Once she finished speaking, Khorin had barrelled through the crowd in his usually manner, announcing his intentions loudly. Cross had followed in the Klingon’s wake, moving to stand next to Blue.

”I’ll go with you to the Machine lab.” Cross informed Blue, meeting her gaze for a moment while attempting to ignore the feeling of awkwardness which caused the green colouring to once again rise in his cheeks. ”I’ll watch your back, Commander.”

[ Hylota Vojona & Vinata Vojona | Day 6 | 0900 hrs. | Maintenance Bays | The Versant ]Attn: @Auctor Lucan , @Fife , @BZ , @Numen , @Triage , @All
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Hylota had been slow to rejoin with the group after she finally woke for the day, after her outbursts the day before she felt it would be prudent to keep to herself for the time being, allow things to blow over and for her anger to subside before she returned to the group...at some point she would have to apologize to the commander, but for now she needed to keep a level head as the news came in. As she rejoined her brother Vinata smiled weakly to her, but before he could speak she took the lead and began to apologize. "I am sorry for how I acted yesterday, I threw all that weight on your shoulders and expected you to carry my burdens while I lashed out at the world, I have been acting horribly unprofessional as of late." Hylota hung her head and slowly shook it in resignation before Vinata reached out to put his hand on her shoulder as he pressed his forehead to hers in a show of solidarity. "It is alright, we all have our breaking point, you have only now been pushed to yours. I honestly would not have expected anything better considering what we had to endure so far." The two shared a moment of comfort before suddenly Blue began to make her announcement to the rest of the crew.

Turning their attention to Blue the siblings remained silent and respectful as the news came in, the limitation to not killing the Savi crew did made Hyota tense, her blood running cold as she felt as though she had been robbed of something that she was owed. She felt even worse knowing that she had been correct, knowing that her egg had been taken aboard, that she had lost her last tie to Maal. If she ended up finding one of the people who they were allowed to kill, Hylota wondered if she would get in any trouble if she chose to use the butt of a rifle to do them in instead of a phaser beam. Seeming to sense his sister's aggression Vinata reached up and wrapped an arm around his sister, gently massaging her shoulder as he spoke softly to her. "Calm down, there is an entire mission ahead of us, you need to keep yourself here, focus on the task at hand." Hylota glared at her brother for a moment before eventually resigning to accepting his point and letting out a sigh as he nodded in agreement with his statement.

Of course the seriousness of the moment was suddenly jarred as Khorrin suddenly began to sing a rather strange mocking song towards Cross and Blue, but a swift blow to his gut ended the song. In all honesty Hylota felt that this was the ideal outcome for Khorin. He needed to be confronted with force, it was really the only thing Klingon's recognized as a command. With his full Klingon body Hylota could imagine that he was having the time of his life doing as he wanted, but as he was the first to suddenly step forward and volunteer to help rescue her child, Hylota could do little more than state into his eyes before she nodded in acceptance of his aid. "Thank you Khorin, it means a lot that you will be there by my side helping in the rescue. I promise I will find some way to repay this kindness when we return to the Theurgy." Hylota straightened up more as she began to realize that there was a chance for more people joining her rescue and that she would need to carry herself professionally once more. She would have to come off as in control here, she needed to remain composed until they were free once more.

[ Lt. JG Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Maintenance Bays | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @Brutus, @Zenozine, @Masorin, @SummerDawn, @chXinya, @Absinthe, @steelphoenix, @Blue Zephyr, @YasyraTrill, @patches, @Fife & @Numen
[Show/Hide]It seemed she managed to get a little more rest after all, despite all that transpired thus far, because she found herself opening her eyes when she heard Blue's voice. It was time to act at last. Rising up in one fluid motion, the Bringloidi strode forward after the Klingon and a bald Vulcan or Romulan. The suit provided by their Savi ally was very effective; there was no sound generation no matter how she moved or folded her limbs. The footpads seemed to absorb shock and impact, reducing noise and even dampening their footfalls. It was indeed, made for stealth, and this would be extremely effective for what they had to do next it seemed.

She absorbed everything Blue said, and took stock of the situation. It was more complicated. They were not to harm any Savi, which was logical, considering their benefactor was one, and there was a way to differentiate their quarry, who resembled bugs, apparently. She eyed the new supply caches. She wanted to get the weapons and the PADD with all the information. She also examined her left forearm and her waist, where she noted there were indentations where something might be latched or hooked on to. Perhaps that would hold the PADD, freeing her hands to perform other actions. This was good and ideal. She idly considered being allowed to keep this outfit once they made their escape.

When she heard Ives' name the redhead snapped about, fixing her silvery, almost-glowing blue eyes on the woman who had seemingly taken charge of the operations. Choosing between Thea and Ives took only a split second for the woman, her duty was clear. She had to secure Captain Ives first. Also, since it was likely that Semathal would be with the captain, her duty would become two-fold. Kill the Scion leader, and save her own. Stepping forward after Khorin and Cross, the slender woman raised her hand, “I have been traihned extensively in stealth an' martial combat,” said Sinead, “Sen' meh t' eliminate Semathal an' rescue Captain Ives. It stan's t' reason tha' th' Scion leader wouldna let th' captain far from his person. More'n likely we'll fin' both in th' same place.”

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Storage Room | Hard Floor | Morning After]
@Auctor Lucan @Numen @Fife  @Triage

It was cold.  Just down right cold.  Zeph tried to snuggle into the warmth that had been next to her all night, but alas, it was gone.  The cold deck plating and the lack of any blankets or comfort was what really woke her up.  The chill in the air was enough that she could almost make out her breath around her.  There were the sounds of others, sleeping, and most of them waking up as the day began anew.  The night had been rough, but good for them all, to get that rest that they were going to need in the hard battle they would be taking on today. 

Dark black eyes opened and Zephyr lay her palm flat on the deck pushing her body into a sitting position.  Her body hurt, laying on the ground here was no picnic, and she never thought she would miss the tiny room she'd had since being on this ship.  But she, at the very least, missed the matress.  Looking around she didn't see Khorin anywhere so she got up and headed for the door dodging around and walking carefully against the sleeping people on the floor.

She opened the door and stepped out.  It was not hard to find Khorin, he was currently across the hall singing to Cross.  Her brow rose as he got an elbow in the gut for his efforts.  She crossed the room to the pair and rose her brow at Khorin. 

“Really?  You're going to tease the man for finding someone to spend the night with?  What do you think you were doing, with all your snuggles and happy smiles?”  She didn't mention the tears.  She might want to give Khorin a hard time and play with Cross' team a little bit, but she didn't want to embarrass him.  She liked Khorin, a lot, something she hoped would continue once they were safe and on another ship.  She wasn't from the Theurgy and she wasn't from the Endeavour.  No one seemed to care where she was from only that she was a Doctor and Scientist and had been helping them out.  She had feared, initially, that they would believe that she was not one of them.  But no one had questioned and she was quite glad of that.

She walked with Khorin over to where the blue haired woman from yesterday was speaking.  Zeph stil couldn't feel her.  Whatever shutter she had put around her mind yesterday was still there.  She couldn't figure out what to make of a human with such strong mental shields.  It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before.  Still, she hoped that the woman would be all right today.  While sleep and some food had put a little color back into her cheeks, she found that the woman still looked like a strong gust away from full collapsing.  Zeph's eyes darted around the area and she found that there were medical kits. 

I wonder if she'll let me fix her up before we go out there. she thought curiously before her attention turned back to the information at hand.  Zeph took in all the rules, the Moby name, and the fact that they were issued guns and padds.  This was really happening.  Blue's person had truly come through and now the rest was on them.  Zeph leaned against Khorin, feeling the weight of his large arm coming around her slender shoulders.  What a sight they must be.  He was so large and she was so petite against him but there was nothing that couldn't be mended with the kind of chemistry they seemed to have found so far. 

Khorin left her to go tell Blue what he wanted to do, and Zeph thought about the options available and knew that the egg was important but she felt that she might be needed elsewhere with her medical expertise.  Cross decided that he would go with the Blue haired woman, which was good.  They all needed to figure out where they were best suited. 

Zeph stepped forward then, and looked at Blue.

“I'll go with the Ives team.  There's no telling what kind of medical care that the Captain might need.  I'm a doctor, I'll take a medical kit with me, and I can also shoot and fight.  I think that's the best course for me.” she said confidently and looked over at Khorin.  Sliding her hand into his.  They were going separate ways but she knew … or at least hoped, that at the end of all of this she would see him again.  She hoped that he would have lots of cuddles for her when she returned to his arms.  She wanted to know as much about him as she could. 

Now was not the time, but, hopefully in the future... all would be well.

[ Commander Nerina (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Nerina) | Maintenance Bays | The Versant ] Attn: All
[Show/Hide]The ramifications of what Blue Tiran told them were not lost on Commander Nerina, who stepped up to join her, pleased to hear the present abductees announce their preferences or suggestions on where they would fit best. There were plenty of objectives, even if only the killing of this 'Scion' was the sole prerequisite for getting the escape routes from 'Moby'. All of them were important for different reasons. Nerina gave it some thought, until her eyes settled on the Ovri. The loss of a child was so deeply personal, and Nerina realised she had already made her decision.

"I will accompany you to the Biolabs," she said, with a glance towards the hologram, before looking at the two Ovri and the Klingon - whom she'd learned to be one of the original Lone Wolves. She hardly recognised him anymore, and deep down, she envied him - having retained his Klingon heritage instead. She refused to touch her smooth forehead, however, looking towards the next speaker.

[ Lieutenant ThanIda zh'Wann (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=ThanIda_zh%27Wann) | Maintenance Bays | The Versant ] Attn: All
[Show/Hide]With her arms crossed underneath her chest, ThanIda zh'Wann looked at the layout of the Versant. With all the gossiping around the Maintenance Bay, Ida had picked up on some things, among them speculation about the Omega Device. It was not so much the object itself that made her blue eyes drift to it, but how she'd heard that it was somehow connected to Hi'Jak.

And Ida still didn't know what had happened at the end of the away mission to the Coreless Moon.

"I will go to the center mass of this ship, and collect the Omega device, whatever that is. Apparently important enough for the Savi to steal from the Theurgy, and that's good enough reason for me. It tells me that they shouldn't have it." Ida looked towards Blue Tiran, taking a deep breath. "By Lor'Vela, I do hope your asset - this 'Moby' - deliver as promised, because I really can't see any evident escape routes when I look at this."

Then, she looked at Hi'Jak, waiting to see if he'd join her.

[ Devyrie "Dragon" Okhala (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Devyrie_Okhala,_callsign_%27%27Dragon%27%27) | Maintenance Bays | The Versant ] Attn: All
[Show/Hide]Standing next to her sister, Devyrie looked at the hologram and sighed. She exchanged a look with Laurel, who nodded.

"I will try to collect the Reaver from the Aerodrome, that enormous docking bay of theirs, together with Laurel, but we need to figure out a way to do it, and if we are to launch it, I think only one more person may fit inside the cockpit. I can't say I know how to fly that thing, but between Laurel and I, we ought to figure out how it works on the fly."

Devyrie looked around the Maintenance Bay, hoping for another volunteer, but she pointedly refused to look in the direction of the Ovri, since she didn't wish for her mind to relive what she'd gone though at the mercy of that male-looking alien. She might know it wasn't entirely the Ovri's fault - what had happened - but it remained with her, and she loathed the reminder.

[ Ensign Lin Kae (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lin_Kae) | Maintenance Bays | The Versant Attn: @Zenozine
[Show/Hide]There was only one decision for Lin Kae. Every fiber of his body compelled him to say it, but he waited until the silence returned to the bay.

"I... am responsible for what Thea has become. I mean, she grew and became what she is on herself. I merely enabled her. I helped her, not just in making her find her way through the mess caused to her subroutines after she was unshackled. I upgraded her, tried to help her emulate human behaviour. I..."

He couldn't say he loved her. Not like this, and not when she couldn't say it back. Not when someone had been there, at the Black Opal, and knew of his betrayal. Lin Kae turned his head, to find where the Andorian stood, and she was indeed staring at him, as if she hoped he'd make a mistake.

"I will accompany you, Lieutenants Cross and Tiran."

[ Ens. Nathaniel Isley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Nathaniel_Isley,_callsign_"Icarus") Maintenance Bays | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Hearing that Ives was an abducetee, and at the mercy of the insect-version of the aliens, Nathaniel felt his Romulan blood stirring in reaction.

Whatever Doctor Maya had done to him, and regardless what had been said since then, Isley knew that he had only one objective that meant something for him, aside from getting off the ship. As it were, it might be so that one objective would meet both requirements, as long as he could bring that thing that would be guarding Ives its knees, and kill it. Starfleet training had taught him better than to kill, but with the stakes involved, did he have any other choce?

He glanced towards Ida as well, this cold Andorian that had conducted the investigation. Not heeding his words about the misconduct in the cockpit. He had abandoned the notion of being close to her again, because of the suspicions raised against him, and the way she had dismissed him for sake of her investigations. He spoke up, the choice made.

"I will kill this 'Semathal'," he said, hands balled into fists at his sides, "and with the volunteers so far I will get the Captain back. Who's with us?"

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)| Day 6| Maintenance Bays | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]
Attn: @Auctor Lucan @chXinya @BZ @Triage @all


“There's nowhere to run
Darkness is closing in
I don't fear the setting sun
Or the twilight that it brings “

No fear for the setting sun


"Rise and shine bitches! It's battle day!" The hideous voice of Commander No-so-Blue echoed through the bare walls of the cargo bay, ripping Shar from the arms of sleep. She had dreamed of OM-12, better, simpler times, when everything wasn't as screwed up as it was at that moment. When life made sense, even if it was small and childish. When not everything was an insurmountable obstacle after another and every small light at the end of the tunnel was consumed by a shadow even darker than the previous one. She sat up, rubbing her tired eyes, the soreness of her bruises remindered her the output of last night's conversation. The shame and anger returned to her mouth with a taste of bile and her gesture, usually dour became even bitterer. Weak. A disgrace to the Andorian race. She'd tried to do things as good as she has knwon, but the zhen words had made her sank so low that she was surprised she hadn't hit rock bottom. Her worst moments, the moments that had broken her future had returned to remind her that she did not belong. She didn't deserve a place among the Andorians and, even less, in the Starfleet. That realization made her hearth shudder in her chest another time, painfully.

Shar looked to her sides before rising over her feet. The males awakened at her side, reacting like her to the voice of the former Chief Engineer of the Endeavour. The shen felt the twisted biological bond that connected to them tried to soothed the dark feelings that seized her, but she clung to the bitterness with which she had awakened. She didn't deserve them. They didn't deserve the misfortune that she represented. Without saying a word, she stood on her feet and joined the crowd that was beginning to form around the woman she had hated the most aboard the Endeavour. From her current perspective, that seemed almost good times, her enmity a childish attitude. In spite of that, the human was still insufferable.

While the briefing was developing, the andorian discovered without surprise that there was little place for her in the plans that were being developed. In most cases, she cared little or nothing about the task at hand, and there were a couple of them that made her compose a grimace of disgust as soon as she heard them. Given the state of her forced kelthreh, she refused to participate in that egg-rescue operation, especially when that klingon blabbermouth was going to participate in that useless charade. She cared little about Blue's  bloody robo-owl or the Theurgy's AI, though it would keep her close to her crewmates, however much the distance between them would have expanded within that ill-fated ship. Cross had always maintained his position next to her archenemy, had little relationship with Okhala (who in turn seemed more interested in remaining with the woman with fair dreadlocks) and R'Rori, who had been her Counselor for a full year, seemed reluctant to support her in that moment of need. The best she could do was to get away from them all. As soon as Ida step forward to volunteer to recover that Omega device, Shar refused to participate in that mission. Which left her with only two options: the first one, follow Okhala to rescue the fighter and, perhaps, be the first people to leave that damn vessel. But her lack of hope told her that this was a meaningless mission, an aspiration neither of them could fullfil. The second, the rescue of the captain of the traitorous starship was more tempting, an almost suicidal mission that would take them to face the leader of their captors and could  allow her to unleash her anger or die trying. A last blast of anger before ending the shame her life represented.

Without looking at anyone who knew her, the antennas tightly pressed against her skull, the andorian walked into to the group of two women and a man who had positioned themselves to go to the Scion's nest. "I'll try to kill our captors' leader" she whispered between clenched teeth, her features hidden under the downcasted forelock. One last chance of redemption before her own twilight.

[ Lt. R'Rori | Day 6 | Maintenance Bays | The Versant ] @BZ @Fife @Auctor Lucan

R’Rori woke slowly, hir body protesting the very notion of moving from the corner that s/he had curled up in at some indeterminate point. Thankfully, this last burst of sleep had been dreamless and deep, leaving hir slightly more rested than the last attempt. Just as s/he was about to fall back asleep somehow, a familiar voice pierced hir ears and elicited a sound that was somewhere between a growl and a groan.

Battle day? Really? Just going to storm the castle?

Relucantly, s/he stretched her body and pushed hirself off the ground. After the first abortive attempt to stand up all the way, R’Rori managed to get to hir feet and stretched again, this time using the wall to keep hir balance. S/he blinked away the last of hir sleep and walked over to mingle in with the rest of the crowd.

Huh. I didn’t think I slept that close to Blue and Cross. S/he mused as s/he realized where exactly s/he was standing in relation to Cross. The Klingon friend he made was teasing him and the counselor smiled to see such good natured ribbing here. Grey eyes refocused on the bearer of blue-streaked hair as the engineer in charge spelled out the contents of the new bounty gifted to the escaped lab rats and launched into a description of their mission. Hir expression hardened at the mention of weapons and killing. Whoever this Moby was did not have to worry about R’Rori hurting anyone, at least. S/he fully intended to not even grab a rifle.

The Klingon was the first to answer the call for volunteers, naturally, and Cross followed him. The Ovri affirmed their desire to go after the egg. The woman R’Rori had spoken to earlier in what passed for the middle of the night here volunteered for the assassination mission, which didn’t come as a big surprise, especially with her captain likely being nearby. As others piped up, R’Rori mulled over where s/he wanted to go. A look at Blue and Cross was all it took for hir to decide.

“I would like to go with you, Blue, if that’s alright.” S/he called out after stepping forward.

[ PO1 Mickayla MacGregor | Maintenance Bays | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]

Mickayla had sat back, away from the gathering, listening to what was being said but keeping her distance as well. She wasn’t ready to be near people. Much less people that she didn’t know. She just wanted it to all be over. But her talks with Lieutenant Cross and Khorin had, got her thinking. The Savi had taken everything from her. Her blood, her clan, her family. But as the two men, both corrected just like she was, had pointed out; she was still alive.

And if she was alive, then she could go on. Maybe get some of what she had lost back. Who knew what Starfleet Medical could do? Maybe they could change her back? The two hadn’t said it but Mickayla wondered if the thought had occurred to them just as it had her. But that was for later. To get to that hope, they had to live, live and escape.

And so she was listening as Commander Tiran spoke of someone called Moby and the objectives they had to complete to escape the ship they were trapped on. Khorin had elected to rescue an egg while Cross was accompanying Lieutenant Commander Tiran to the Machine Lab. She listened as others chose where they were going to go, trying to decide where she should go, or if she should even go anywhere at all.

It wasn’t until the human standing next to the Endeavour’s Conn Officer spoke of collecting a ship from the Aerodrome; a Reaver they called it. They freely admitted they didn’t know how to fly it but were confident that they could. All they needed was time. The other catch was that only one other would be able to fit into the cockpit with them. Space and time. Something sparked inside her. A notion, a belief that she could be what they needed. She was small enough not to take up much space in the cockpit and she had the confidence in her own abilities to buy them the time they needed to figure out how to fly this ship they were after.

“I,” Mickayla called as she stepped forward to be noticed. Her voice was tightly controlled even if it's owner was barely on the edge of maintaining that control. “I will go with you to collect the Reaver. I can get you the time you need to learn to fly it.”

[ Deacon | Maintenance Bays | The Versant ] Attn: @summerdawn @patches @auctor @triage @BZ @Fife @Numen @Zenozine @stegro88

Deacon was slow to rouse.  The night had proven nearly as exhausting as the day that preceded it, although for none of the more anticipated reason one might have expected from his wedding night.  This was the innate desire to stretch and to find a warm spot in the sun, even simulated, to sit for some time before the ritual of grooming and then preparation for the day.  He found he missed Below Decks even with as little time as he'd overseen it. 

Looking down at K'Ren sleeping beside him, he lightly ran his fingers through her hair and down her cheek.  "Time to wake.  The spongecake fetishist is drawing up battle plans and placing demands on who we're allowed to kill," he commented, a small amount of irritation hidden in his words, part at being awakened, part at being instructed to not to enact bloody vengeance on the ghost-skinned slugs that had violated him, his mate, and cost them their first kits.  The female asked much.  Had he been less tired and more invested in her words, he might well have bared his fangs, such as they were.

A multitude of objective were laid out.  Ives: the captain, his patriarch, to whom he'd given his word to guide and defend.  Thea: his first friend in this new life, who rushed to his aid when he lay along and dying.  The rest held little personal significance to him.

As the various crew rose to volunteer for the various points, he noted R'Rori stepping forward to accompany the blue-haired female on the team that would likely liberate Thea.  The latter groups, though, seemed understaffed at best.  Deacon tensed his lips to the point that they seemed little more than a thin bloodless line between chin and nose.

Taking a breath, he looked to K'Ren. "I have to save the captain.  If I'm to be limited on what I can kill, then I have to go where there is a certain target."  His expression was almost apologetic, resigned, but the gold flecks swimming in the blue of his eyes asserted at once, turning dangerous, feral, "And someone has to pay for violating my love," he added, placing a hand against her abdomen.  Casting his glance back towards the rest, he added, "It appears they have pilots already assembling for the Reaver, I will trust R'Rori to assist with extracting Thea.  The ovri appear to have an opportunity to save their offspring.  The last..." his brow furrowed, "I have no idea what an omega device is, but it seems a larger task than a single operative can manage."

Placing his forehead to hers, he added, "Scar's throat lies in many places it seems.  It will take many fangs to tear it loose."  Softly, he kissed her lips several times before rising to stand.  "Hunt well, and return to me on the other side."

Pivoting on his heel, he approached the others, pausing momentarily at R'Rori's side as he did, giving her an accepting nod as he spoke.  "R'Rori... Theurg... Thea is... a friend. Please make sure that she is safe."  He then continued, approaching the group that had declared the captain as their mission objective, shooting a dark glance at Blue.  "I will kill someone for this.  If that death must be limited to a specific target, so be it.  I have sworn my life and service to Ives, so I will see to his liberation."

He paused, glancing at Sinead, eyes narrowing, uncertain of what he felt from her, determined as he was to keep himself shielded from the feelings of those around him as best he could, but seeing a certain familiarity in her features.  Ah, yes.  Hamburgers.  She had been the one sitting with the strange spaceworm.  Giving a nod, "I will ensure we feast well once we return to the ship," he told her.  "Hamburgers, chips, ketchup, mayo... I'll even make more algae puffs for F'Rell." 

[Ens. Irnashall “Shall” ch’Xinya | Maintenance Bays | The Versant]

The moment the pressure waves from the first shout reached his head, the lone antenna on top of the chan’s head responded and turned towards the sound, simultaneously rousing its owner out of his sleep.  Fluttering his eyes open as he quickly roused to full wakefulness he looked down at Shar who was currently picking herself off of the floor, Sehl by her side.  Shall had opted to sleep sitting up, leaning against the bulkhead for support, the thought of spending a night at another’s side not sitting quite right with him.

Helping the two of them up, Shall followed the rest of the combined crews as they gathered around this Commander Blue who was already barking out instructions.  Standing in the middle of the press with his arms cross, his antenna wouldn’t stop squirming with each new condition and objective announced.  Plans, weapons, scanners, everything we need to move around the ship?  It’s almost too much to be true.  He wasn’t sure if he trusted this “Moby”, but if this was the same one responsible for saving them all from their executions then he’ll go along with it for now.  Plus it wasn’t like he would have a choice, Commander Nerina was clearly all for this, so he couldn’t refuse, not if he wished to maintain his honor and dignity.

Listening intently to each of the different objectives, Shall couldn’t tell which one was best suited to his skills.  Thea, the captain, some other objects, and an egg of all things were all to be rescued.  Assassinating the Savi leader was tempting…but that didn’t quite feel right.  Thinking about it, Shall was wondering if there was a way to get a team together to get into the Savi’s computer system in order to find the data from their little “experiment” done on the quad when Ida spoke up, yanking him away from his thoughts.

“I’m going too.” Shall blurted out as soon as the zhen finished her announcement, surprising himself doing so.

By Lor’Vela what did I just do…  He kept his eyes on Blue, but he could feel the burn from Ida’s gaze on his skin.  Would she use her own authority to block him?  He knew that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, or the others really.  Especially not after the other evening.  But in his core, Shall knew he needed to go.  For some reason he had this need to prove himself to the zhen, and he couldn’t explain why.  On top of that, this Omega device sounded oddly important, and his scientific curiosity was piqued.

[ Lt (jg) Sarresh Morali (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sarresh_Morali) | Maintenance Bays  | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Masorin @chXinya @BZ @Auctor Lucan 
[Show/Hide]

"Rise and shine bitches!  It's battle day!" she called out at the top of her lungs. Sarresh's head snapped up from where he had finally fallen asleep, curled into a corner, lost in thought about those that weren't there in the room. Ives, the bastard, his Captain. That damned sense of duty to the man that had made him the monster he was. Sel. Sweet Sel - she'd have killed him if she'd heard him think that. Amazing how a few days without had crystallized the growing feelings he'd been having. Damn these Savi.

And Damn whoever the hell it was that woke him up like that. His eyes snapped about, spun and focused, narrowing on the woman. Blue Tiran his mind recalled. I think I hate you. And to think I'd decided to be a good boy last night and let you grieve in peace. No good deed....;

Standing swiftly, Sarresh forced his body through a series of quick stretches. Yoga, he believed it was called, something that the late Eve Jenkins had suggested (ordered) he do upon his transformation. Help him accommodate to his new body. He hated the body but that had lessened over time (somewhat, and thanks to Ryuan Sel, mostly) but the advice Nurse Jenkins had given him, before everything that had happened to her had been sound. Of course he had no real idea of her eventual fate, here on this ship. He had just assumed she'd died, after everything had broken inside of her.

The time traveler ambled over towards Blue and the others, looking as surly as the day he'd first beamed aboard the USS Theurgy in the wake of rescuing them from the situation on Niga. He crossed his arms and stared, silent and stone faced, listening. There appeared to be limits on who they could take out. Well, fair. A deal was clearly made. Having to abide by it wasn't all that much of a stretch. Didn't mean he was thrilled about it either, but Sarresh didn't, as a general rule, go about killing people so there shouldn't be much of an issue there.

Foul mouthed one, isn't she? He concluded, looking about the gathering. Familiar faces, and some not so familiar. At least two crews here, intermingling. Everybody seemed to know someone, in any case. He pulled his wandering mind away and stared at the holographic map on display. Listening to Blue was a chore at first, but only at first, because then he saw it.

Omega Device. Fuck me he swore in his head, as foul as Blue had aloud earlier. His eyes went wide - real, natural eyes, not the synthetic ones he had born since his rebirth. They failed to hide his emotions like the old ones had, and if anyone  had been paying a lick of attention to him in that moment, they would know something was wrong. Very wrong.

Where in all the Hells of creation had that come from. How had they got their hands on OMEGA? he asked himself, resisting the urge to pull his hair out with his fists. This as bad. This was very, very bad. Even in the 29th century knowledge of this substance was restricted. And yet from the second he saw its name, floating on the map, he knew what it was, and why it was dangerous.

Ida zh'Wann had volunteered to go fetch it, as had some other Andorian. He knew that the man served on the Theurgy and was, in fact, fairly certain he shared the same department as Sarresh himself, but he would be damned if he could remember the males name. At least the female was a formidable fighter.

"I'll go after Omega."

The sound of his voice sounded strange to him. Toneless, flat. As if  this were of no concern. But it was of the most rigid concern.

A few faces stared back at Sarresh but he looked as if he were carved of stone, standing there, stock still with his arms crossed over his chest. What would they think of that pronouncement. This 'savoir', 'the Morali' as some of the fools called him, marching off after something none of them had heard of with an icy certainty that this must be done?

It doesn't matter what they think, he reminded himself. Everything had changed, and he could not allow this device to remain in the hands of the Savi. he had a suspicion the future would depend very much on that. Perhaps more so than recovering Ives, or the AI for the mighty ship both of which had initially drew his attention as means to achieving his mission.

This matters more.

Hi'Jak | Maintenance Bays | The Versant] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Absinthe @Brutus
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Jack stretched it was actually the first time he had put on the bio suit, having spent the last night basically taking out some of his frustrations on Lahkesis's body, not that he even knew that name. Taking a moment to tie off the material that hung off his stump of a left arm a task that was cumbersome but he was getting used to life with just one arm. He was pretty solid on his idea of where to go from here. Looking over the map and targets others could focus on things like the ships captain or the AI. In fact he would assume that the heaviest resistance would be on those poor souls who decided to storm the bridge and try to assassinate the leader of this place.

No he wanted to head in the direct opposite way of all that noise. Which brought him round circle to the puzzle box. He had thought the thing was a toy when he had gotten it from Sera, and he had held onto it out of a sense of curiosity, and the fact that Sera never asked for the toy back.

Then the thing turned out to be some super secret project that only the captain had authorization to know about. Further more, it was now in the hands of the Savi, and none of that sounded like a good thing.

When Ida spoke out about wanting to go in that direction he almost wanted to glare at her. His one eye trailed up and down the blue woman's body, and he sighed, the last thing he wanted was to be on the same team with a woman who had tried to assassinate him, but he was pretty sure if he changed targets now he would be risking a more dangerous mission. He glanced towards Moralli as he also claimed Omega to be his objective. There was something to note about the mans eyes, was Moralli afraid? He  supposed the man had every right to be.

"I'll go with you." He said speaking towards Ida, and Moralli as he started to recover his equipment. The tablet was of the more important devices that he could think of, having some ability to read the language and code break the thing, ability was one thing, but the tablet was the main issue, sure it could be hooked onto an arm, but he currently lacked one of those. He decided to keep the device in hand, the pad was small, not exactly  3.07 by 6.24  but he could work it if he stretched his human hand out far enough. The gun he planted on his hip, hopefully he wouldn't have to use it. He was left handed and while he could use his right hand fine, it tended to shake and the aim was unsteady.

He walked up to Ida, but also made absolutely sure that he walked behind her. If she tried to pull a gun on him again at least he could try and shoot her before she turned around. He trusted Moralli at least a little. He had spoken to the man for a few hours, and worked along side him all day yesterday, so that made the connection easier. He only had one eye, and for now it was planted firmly on Ida's ass, for observation of course.

[ Lahksis Saugn "Nicotiana" | Maintenance Bays | The Versant] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Masorin  @Brutus
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The matter of where she would go and what she would do were simple. She would go where Hi'Jak told her to go and if he did not tell her to go somewhere she would remain by his side. And then she would do as he told her, if he didn't tell her to do anything she would remain by his side and wait. This felt in some way natural to her, as if some part of her was built for this specific purpose. She was a tool for him to use as he willed, to discard if he willed. She had no other function or purpose, at least none she could consciously be aware of.

So she helped him as much as he would allow as he dressed in the odd suit they had been given. She did not put anything over her own body until he allowed her to get dressed, and then she did so without complaint, even though she found the material to be unpleasant on her skin. She had disliked the feel of her standard issue Starfleet uniform at first as well, the fabric had felt odd on her skin. Yet as unpleasant as that had been she found the exosuit to feel more so. It was form fitting and did not allow her skin to breath or gain access to light as easily as she would have liked. Yet it seemed his will that she wear it, so she did.

Then when she listened to the others planned she stood at his side and remained silent. She kept herself on the side he was missing an arm of. She wished to act as his arm, as his hand. When he moved beside Ida, she moved with him, barely responding to the world around them. Nothing else mattered. She had no true will of her own anymore, she would only be an extension of his will. Whatever he willed for her would be what she would do.

[ K'Ren (http://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=K%27Ren) | Maintenance Bays | Main Research Hull | The Versant | Day 6 | 0900 ] Attn: @steelphoenix  @patches @auctor @triage @BZ @Fife @Numen @Zenozine @stegro88 @all
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K'Ren stirred a little at the sound of a familiar voice telling her it was morning. She felt like it was a bad dream she'd been through and even Deacon's remarks about battle plans and killing things took a few seconds to percolate through her mind, realization setting in that this had been no dream. Eye's opening, she glanced around, seeing the suit in her dreams, her mate as hairless as he'd been in the same. She slowly sat up, her balance still wasn't quite there yet, or at least the sensations were still new and a bit loud, like a dull painting suddenly amped up to full vibrant color.

She listened from her sitting position as the rebels were given their instructions, and the various objective's laid out for them. She knew that Deacon would be torn from her again, even if for a hopefully short while, though fate rarely dealt one the hand one so desired. She curled up close to him, afraid to lose him, unwilling to leave his side even as she knew she must. "I will go with the Ovri and rescue this egg Deacon. Perhaps in some small way I can atone for my failure to protect our young, ensure that an innocent child survives this." She placed her head on his, hoping this would not be the last time they touched, hoping they would come out of this alive. A single tear rolled down her cheek but she kept herself composed. "I will come back to you mate. In this life or the next I will find you." She paused, "If we survive mate, I wish to find a quiet place on a secluded planet we can settle down, be lost to history, and raise a few cubs away from this horror."

She stood with Deacon, running her hands over the suit in somewhat of a grooming reflex, a bit odd given the suit but habits die hard.  She glanced over at the two Ovri, and to the rest of the team clustering around them. She looked at the two aliens. "I will come with you. I lost a cub to these creatures, I do not wish to see another lost, not if I can stop it."

[Lieutenant JG Gideon Drake | Maintenance Bay | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Stegro88 @Numen @Triage @Fife @Masorin @Absinthe @SummerDawn @Brutus @chXinya
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Gideon Drake awoke to the sound of "rise and shine," and for one wild moment, he thought he was in Heaven. Then it occurred to him that angels neither said "rise and shine," nor were they so foul-mouthed. And the voice was familiar as well...

He woke up and, after rubbing his eyes, got a bearing of his surroundings. Wonderful. He was still on the Savi ship. And...

He instinctively felt his nose and felt a smooth surfacing.

He definitely wasn't dreaming. He definitely was still on the Savi ship. The ridges showing his Bajoran roots were removed along with his genes when he underwent the Correction process.

Gideon felt he wouldn't care about what he looked; hardly anybody noticed his ridges, not in his time as chess champion as a lad, and certainly not during his time in the Maquis.

Finally gaining his bearings, he finally recognized the voice: Blue Tiran.

He even recognized his boss, Lieutenant Cross. Well, his direct boss, the man in charge of his department.

He hung onto Blue's every word. He could see a slew of captives and studied the schematic from "Moby." As everybody listed on what to go after, Gideon took note of the fellow captives. He thought her heard mention of Captain Ives...The Captain Ives?

Gideon had respect toward Captain Ives, as much as he had for famed captains like Jean-Luc Picard and Benjamin Sisko, and even the Maquis leader Michael Eddington. He was disappointed to hear about Ives, but those feelings can wait.

Finally, he spoke up.

"Commander, I'd like to volunteer. Gideon Drake, by the way," he added, introducing himself. "Lieutenant Junior Grade, Tactical Officer, Starship Endeavour. It's good to see you again, commander. You too, boss," he added, nodding to Cross; he always called his department superiors "boss," as a term of great respect. He had done so ever since his first posting on the Starship Bismark.

"I'd like to volunteer to escort the ladies to seize the Reaver," he added, nodding at Mickayla McGregor as he spoke. It was a little unnerving to see full Klingon on Mickayla. The two got along very well on the Endeavour.

"Us mongrel Scots ought to stick together."

He smiled at those words. They had something in common. Both their half human selves came from Scotland, after all. And he had respect for half-Klingons ever since he met B'Lanna Torres in his time on the Maquis.

He never felt this thrilled on an assignment since, again, his first posting on the Bismark. People scoffed at him as he recalled; the Longbottoms, as the old Proximas were referred to (out of the fact that from dorsal and ventral views, a Proxima-class bore the semblance of an elongated arse), a stupid assignment, stressing the first three letters in the word "assignment." Gideon didn't mind the assignment. The Longbottoms were old, but they had teeth.

He was looking forward to help Mickayla. He may be unlikely to board the Reaver, but the least he can do to help is seize it.

[LCdr Blue Tiran | Battle Bitches | Ready to Rock |  Unifications of Badassery | Savi Shit-Show]
@Auctor Lucan

One might say it was heartening, to see everyone standing up.  Being Spartacus, doing the Spartacus thing.  Volunteering for the areas they thought would most suit them, the areas they were most passionate for.  It was good to see, for certain, but Blue's heart had grown cold a few days ago when her fiance had died in the vacuum of space.  She hoped that she could kick the ass of every Borg she came across.  Quite interested in making sure they paid for every cell in his body.  He deserved at least that much.  Vengeance was often said to be best served cold but she wanted to serve it boiling hot and filled with the rage of a jilted lover.

Right now, that was on the back burner.

She had to get off this fucking ship first before she could fulfill her vendetta. 

Eyes darted around, and her fingers moved so quickly over the padd in her hands that it was almost a blur.  Blue had always been gifted at computers and engineering.  Once she got a system for how he had set this PADD up for her and the Federation style interface she had laid waist to the key board and allowed herself to truly meld with it.  Her fingers were creating lists very quickly and making sure that everyone was where they wanted to be.  This was important information to give to Echtand when she was able to send it and how they would be able to actually get after this Savi shit show.  She wanted off this damned ship and she hoped that it was nothing more than space dust.  Though, if Echtand was right and the lower class were the better class, then have at it boys, drink the wine, eat the cheese, and get the fuck out of my way.

Finally, everyone had spoken.  Everyone was paired into groups.  They all consisted of the officers that she knew, the officers from the Theurgy, and officers that she didn't know.  Everyone was fully accounted for.  All fifty seven members of the Ragtag crew that stood before her including herself.  Not a single person was left out.  There was even a crew of people that she didn't give enough shits to know the names of … except on PADD, that would be sitting tight waiting for the directions for how to escape this hell hole. 

Those could not come soon enough.

“Prep yourself with supplies.  Eat the food.  Get ready, I'm sending the list now.” she said as she looked out over all the people that filled her once massively lonely room.  She still felt alone.  Though, her eyes found Cross, in the crowd and her eyes locked with his for a moment.  It was only last night she was not alone.  It was last night, on his shoulder, that she found herself feeling as though she had a place to belong.  Even briefly.  He had given her a gift she could never return.  finally, she tore her gaze away and sent the message to Echtand. 

Lets get this shit started.

[ Echtand qi Versant | Elsewhere | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Elsewhere on the Versant, Echtand had received the message from Blue Tiran, where she had insisted on giving him a name other than his own. It was a small source of irritation, since he had already asked her to not name him in such a fashion, yet her explanation held merit. If the specimens were to refer to him, he'd appreciate that they didn't incriminate him. There was no telling what the Starfleet specimens might say if they were taken captive. While he walked down the corridor in a brisk stride, Echtand tapped a quick reply to Blue Tiran.

ACKNOWLEDGED. That was all he had time for, since he had just stepped into the main area of the Operations Surveillance deck. Some of the Savi present turned their heads, but most of them were engrossed in the hundreds of floating screens that showed what was happening on all the decks of the Precept-ship. Echtand walked straight through the large area with it's many terraces, heading for the back chamber, where his first objective. With every step, the doubt about his endeavour increased, yet as a scientist, he could not ignore the preliminary evidence he'd found, and had to learn the answer. The question that drove him, that couldn't be ignored. Who were the Antecedents, before the Scion Directive changed the Code?

He was in the phase of the scientific method that involved finding and evaluating more evidence for his hypothesis, and he'd do so with personal observations or assertions. The first assertion he'd made would enable him to proceed further. With this firmly in mind, he entered the chambers of the Eye.

Inside, in its own observatory, the Scion named Aerthal qi Versant filled the space more with its ominous presence than the physical fact of its body. In the middle of a great cylinder of moving screens, it turned its four eyes towards Echtand. He had hoped to not find the Scion present, yet he'd known it was a small chance of that. The Eye was known for its vigilance. When it spoke in it's resounding, clicking manner, it was with the usual disdain that Scions used against the Antes, despite Echtand's elevated position aboard the Versant. "<What's the word of the Voice?>"

Echtand knew that his next action was irrevocable, and as if seeing himself from outside his own body, he raised his tablet. "<Truth,>" was all that he said, and tapped his tablet only once.

The forcefield cage was tinted in green light, but the Scion did not fling itself against it until the sterilisation field's power made the air buzz inside it. Aerthal flung itself against the forcefield, with all its weight, yet still, the concussion in the air stripped the Eye from its chitin outer layer and bodysuit alike. It screeched, still alive, when the force field cage winked out of existence. Echtand frowned at the result, having thought the field was enough to vapourise a Scion. Otherwise, he'd have the cage remain. The sanitation protocol he had programmed had simply been too inadequate. The Eye was still alive, making a ruckus, writhing on the deck of the observatory, and Echtand had to proceed before it regained composure enough to fight back or call for aid.

Echtand could feel the stereo thumping of his twin hearts in his head when he walked past the writhing Scion, and set his steps straight up to the main console of the room. He had to impede internal sensors, even more than he'd been able to do from his research station in his quarters, and did so in short order. It was not difficult, but he was distracted by the screeching behind him. Only when he was finished did he turn around and tapped his tablet again, energising another prepared protocol. In a shimmer of aquamarine light, a hand-held graviton pistol appeared next to him. He seized it before it fell to the deck, lip curled, and aimed it at the remains of the Eye. It was already blind, so it didn't see the three shearing lances that pierced it in close succession. The Eye merely stopped moving, and Echtand lowered his pistol, hearts still beating rapidly. It was far too messy for his taste, but he'd achieved the first objective. He'd simply have to write a stronger sanitation protocol to get rid of the body, and he'd already made the area's internal sensors just as blind as the Eye. As of yet, no one knew what he had started.

That was when the tablet of his whirred, and he saw Blue Tiran's deployment lists. He took a deep breath, and began to execute the insurgency preparations in accordance to the message. He had prepared it all, so it was only a matter of picking names.

TRANSPORT PROTOCOLS LOADED. ENERGISING IN TEN SECONDS. He paused, moved to add something more, but he wasn't sure what to write. There was no time. STAY ALIVE. SPARE THE ANTECEDENTS. TERMINATE SEMATHAL.

There was no turning back any more.

---

OOC: This is but one of several posts about to come up, four of them being Supplemental threads. The fifth will be posted here, where the Scion's Nest objective will be illustrated. Stay tuned!

A Joint Post by Numen & Auctor Lucan

[ Khorin, son of Margon, of House Mo'Kai (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Khorin_Douglas)| Maintenance Bays | The Versant ] @Fife @BZ
[Show/Hide]Standing next to the Ovri siblings, Khorin offered a slight nod in response to Hylota's assertion. However, the cocky grin etched in his face slowly turned into a disgusted grimace, while a frown fell heavily over his eyes. The rest of the abductees kept sorting in several small teams, grouping around into the different piles of black boxes with the accoutrements for each of the missions. The reason he frowned was that the groupings pushed away the people he cared for, more and more, away from him.

Khorin's attention was only on two people. Mainly on Zeph who, to his surprise, decided to join the group that would tackle the most dangerous mission. A part of him was proud of the courage of the slender Betazoid, of that Klingon heart that seemed to beat in her chest. But most of him simply felt how the worry knotted in the pit of his stomach, a heavy stone of uneasiness and discomfort. Khorin tended to live in the moment, not looking much further than the circumstance at hand. To lucidly think about the ramifications of what was happening took away the attention of the moment, divided concentration too much and make every effort efficient. Think too much about the future simply mutilated it, if one acted with forcefulness in the present, the future was solved by itself. And yet, even knowing that... the weight in his stomach didn't disappear. The chances of death with the Scion were very real and even though Zephyr had a reserved position in the barge towards Sto-Vo-Kor, it wasn't the place where he wanted to meet her again when this situation was over.

The other person he looked for, Cross - on the other hand - had decided to pack together with his shipmates, breaking his oath.

Anger suddenly bubbled through the knot in his stomach and Khorin clung to it with greed, because that was an emotion he knew how to manage, how to thrive on. With a broad movement, he braced his equipment and strode with great strides towards the group led by the woman with blue strands in her hair, dodging the rest of the abductees until he was able to face the Vulcan.

"What the hell are you doing? You promised me! " He growled lowly, reaching a hand to grasp the fabric that covered the Vulcan's chest. But his fist closed around air, when Cross and the rest of the machine intelligence lab team got lost in a myriad of aquamarine sparkles. Khorin's eyes met those of the man who believed his brother-in-arms for a moment, before Cross disappeared completely. His own stare shone darkly with anger at the betrayal, and outrage, that had been committed against him.

Khorin pushed back his lips, showing his serrated teeth in a snarl of frustration, the fist that had tried to reach Cross balled in front of him until his knuckles turned white. It was then that he realized it. He straightened again and turned on his heels quickly, looking for Zeph. Within mere seconds to spare after Cross vanished, he could hardly take a couple of steps towards her, hand trying to reach her - his voice rumbling across the bay.

"Kyamo!" He shouted with a hint of dispair in his voice, but he was already dematerialising. He ran out of time. He needed to tell her. The sensation of lightness of the transport seized his limbs and Khorin hurried to approach her, he must tell her, he had to. "Zeph, I ..."

The phrase remained in the air when the Klingon dissolved into a cascade of luminous particles, leaving only silence behind him.

[ Ens. Nathaniel Isley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Nathaniel_Isley,_callsign_"Icarus") | Maintenance Bays | The Versant ] @Triage @BZ @steelphoenix @Numen
[Show/Hide]Adrenaline running high, which was fuelled not just by his Romulan genome, Nathaniel Isley foght to school his features into something less than a mask of fury. At the prospect of battle, of dealing all his ire unto the Scion that ran the hellish ship, Isley wished nothing rather than storm this nest they were being sent to, and tear the thing apart. Yet he remained still, though his breathing was shallow, until the transport energised, and he vanished from Blue Tiran's hideout. He heard his Wolf brother, Khorin, call out, but when he turned his head, there was naught more to be heard.

When he materialised again, he found that the volunteers had appeared on top of some kind of platform. A terrace, encircling something that appeared like a large turbolift shaft, only not even remotely of Starfleet origin. The circular platform cut into bulkheads that stretched far into the darkness above, as well as the plummeting fall just beyond the railing. At first, there appeared to be no way off the platform lest you'd fall to your death, but when Isley's eyes grew accustomed to the darkness - only lit faintly by emergency lights along the platform's edge - he could see a narrow spiral staircase behind him, which led both up and down the wide shaft. His immediate question was where they were, but a whirring noise from the tablet on his left wrist caught his attention. It was a message from Blue's Savi asset.

ORIENTATION: YOU ARE STANDING INSIDE AN AUXILLARY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION, USED IN CASE OF EMERGENCY TO LET THE ADMIRAL REACH THE VERSANT'S BRIDGE. IT IS ONLY USED IF THE SHIP'S TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS WERE TO BE DISABLED. THE SCION'S NEST IS TWENTY METERS BELOW. THIS IS THE BEST ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF ACCESS I CAN PROVIDE. IF YOU WERE TO TRY AND ENTER THE NEST THROUGH THE MAIN ENTRANCE, YOU WOULD BE BESET BY SEMATHAL'S PERSONAL GUARDS, WHOM ARE BOTH ARMOURED AND HEAVILY ARMED.

YOU NEED TO DESCEND THE MAINTENANCE STAIRCASE TO THE BOTTOM LEVEL. THERE, YOU NEED TO DISABLE THE DOOR MECHANISM AND PUSH THE SLIDING DOORS OPEN. YOU NEED TO ACT QUICKLY, FOR WHILE I HAVE BLINDED THE SENSORS WHERE YOU ARE STANDING, SEMATHAL'S INTERNAL SENSOR CLEARANCE IS HIGHER THAN MY OWN. I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HIDE WHAT YOU DO TO THAT DOOR.

THE ASPECT MAKER, WHOM YOU REFER TO AS JIEN IVES, IS BEING HELD IN A QUANTUM STASIS FIELD THIRTY METERS FROM THE DOOR. THE WHOLE NEST IS FIFTY METERS WIDE, AND THE HIGH BULKHEADS HOLD PLATFORMS DEDICATED TO DIFFERENT RESEARCH FIELDS AND ARCHIVE ACCESS. THE FORE WINDOW, WHICH COVERS ONE SIDE OF THE NEST, IS TOO THICK TO BREACH WITH YOUR WEAPONRY.

WHEN SEMATHAL HAS BEEN KILLED, HIS ACCESS WILL BE PASSED TO ME, AND I CAN ASSIST IN FREEING THE ASPECT MAKER. I WILL ALSO TRANSMIT ESCAPE ROUTES TO ALL PRESENT TEAMS AND THOSE IN THE MAINTENANCE BAY HIDEOUT.

That was all it said. Isley curled his lip and looked towards the gathered team. An Andorian, a former Kzin, a Betazoid and six NCOs and Junior Officers from the Theurgy and Endeavour alike that Isley didn't know the names of. The Betazoid - whom Khorin had called out for - and the Andorian both outranked him, but he wanted nothing rather than just descend the spiral staircase and heave the doors open, assaulting this creature before he knew what happened. It took a lot of willpower to remain where he was.

"The map we got suggests that there are pillars inside the nest, aside from those terraces around the bulkheads. It's likely dark too, just like the rest of this ship. Any thoughts?" he offered, schooling his dormant rage enough to actually suggest some kind of planning, even though he just wanted to throw himself into this battle. He had a lot to prove, both to himself, and to Captain Ives. If he didn't live, so be it, but he would die doing his utmost to right all the wrongs he'd suffered.

---

OOC: After asking you all in chat if it was needed or not, I have decided to have us do this without a map. I suggest we have one round of planning, these first 7 days of posting, and then they breach the nest? :) Feel free to name the six Redshirts NPCs if you all like as we go. I'll open a Discord planning Group DM too!

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)| Day 6| Looming over the Scion's Nest | The Versant ]
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Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triage  @BZ  @steelphoenix



In quick succession, each different team began to disappear from the maintenance bay, beamed by their invisible benefactor, destiny to the unknown. Shar waited for her team turn, when a small tummult made her turn her head just to see how the Klingon oaf  strode towards where her group stood, shouting something in his barbaric language. But before the big idiot could even begin to articulate a coherent sentence, Shar felt the tell-tale lightness in the pit of her stomach, signaling the upcoming teleportation. The last part of her that could be seen before disappearing completely in aquamarine sparks was a sardonic grin, resembling the Cheshire cat's one....

---

... When her body rematerialized, she found herself on a elevated platform, dimly light barely allowed her to discern the surroundings. The young zhen blinked rapidly several times, trying to accustom her eyes to the darkness, but before she could so, an insistent bleep sounded on the tablet attached to her left wrist. A chorus of beeps echoed around her, when her teammates began to receive the same message. Without further ado, Shar brought the device close to her eyes, and meticulously read the data that were slowly unfolding on the small screen.

After a careful reading of the content of the message, the Andorian let scape out a scoffing snort: she had spent most of her career crawling in Jefferies tubes and now would face their desperate attack to the monster that awaited bellow through the service tunnels. It was ironic for a pretentious handywoman.

She adjusted the weight of the rifle on her shoulder, still sore and bruised after the conversation of the previous night. Just remember the incident made her crush the antennae against her skull. She prefered look like angry than let the shame come to the surface of her face. Unconsciously, she brought her right hand to her hip and felt the smooth muscle next to it. When she felt the subtle round shape under her fingers, she closed her eyes, squeezing her eyelids tightly. There was no hope. There were nothing left. Nothing more to lose.

No. That was not quite true. She still had something left. She had the promise she had made to the spirit of Layiss. She was an Starfleet officer. And it had been too long since she had behaved as such, as Ida had reminded her. All she had left was the uniform, and she would cling to it with all her strenght. That was the only thing she had to try to hide the emptiness within her. She must complete that last mission, and it must succeed. The better way they could, the best way they should. As officers.

She cleared her throat loudly to acknowledge her presence  to the rest of the team members.

“Starfleet personnel must not take an intelligence life." She said with a hoarse tone in her voice. Shar wasn't used to talking to public, she was more used to avoiding people than trying motivated them to listen her. At least, that cryptic sentence had managed to bring her several gazes, dimly curious.

"That is Starfleet order 2. Not only that, but one of the very first UFP General Orders expressly forbids the death penalty. Despite all this, we have come to this place with the intention of killing that creature, that 'Semathal'. In this, we shouldn't gloat. It isn't something to  be proud of. It is important that we haven't come here to satisfy our personal vendettas, to make someone pay for the outrage that have been committed against us, to revenge the violations against our bodies. No, we've come here because this is the only way we have to save our fellow captives, our friends, our loved ones.” Shar paused a second and took a deep breath before continued.

"Many of them are involved in other missions at this moment, recovering important objects but, at the end of the day, their success or failure will matter little if we fail. Nearly fifty people depend on that we are able to accomplish this mission. If we fulfil our duty, fifty lives will be saved. Their future, their dreams, are in our hands. It is possible that some of us won't survive the coming battle, but keep this in mind: Today we fight for something greater than ourselves, today we fight for our fellow crewmates, for our brothers and sisters. We are Starfleet. Let us never forget it.”

She looked at the presents one by one, checking that her message had percolated in their hearts. Before the silence thickened too much, Shar gave a soft clap to refocus the attention of the crowd.

"Now, time to make plans. If Moby's plans are accurate, we can access through a secondary entrance to the lair of our enemy. I propose a main group that concentrate fire close to the door, to grab the attention of Semathal and his bodyguards. A second group could deployed by the lateral platforms to cover the greatest number of angles to find his weak spot as soon as possible. We have only one chance to success, so we need to multiply our opportunities. I need to study the plans with more detail to found if it's possible, but maybe a couple of people could go into the maintenance tunnels to surprise the creature from above, while the main group distract him. Does anyone have a different proposal? "

---

Starfleet General Orders (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Starfleet_General_Orders_and_Regulations#Starfleet_Orders)

[ Deacon | Day 6 | Auxiliary Access Outside the Scion's Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Triage  @BZ  @Numen

"Starfleet personnel must not take an intelligent life," the female andorian had said.

Deacon smirked darkly.  "Lucky for you, I'm not Starfleet.  On homeworld, not only would I gloat, I would wear its ears on my belt.  If it has ears."  He gave a derisive glance at the phaser type weapon in his hand.  This was not an honorable weapon -- in fact, kzinti were forbidden to have such devices by the despised treaty with the Federation and appearances not withstanding, Deacon was still kzin.  He desired nothing more than to sink his claws and his fangs into the flesh of this Semathal creature, but they had stripped him of his claws and nearly done so to his fangs if not for the unplanned interruption in the midst of his so-called correction.  Had he any choice, he would prefer to make the matter far more personal, but practicality gnawed at him.  The creature needed to die and die quickly, his preference for a one-on-one battle of honor aside.

Taking a deep breath as the andorian finished her speech, he focused his mind once more, doing his utmost to block out the pensive emotions of those around him -- fear, anxiety, rage.  There was no question in his mind which of those feelings were truly his own, but he didn't care for the distraction.

"Kzinti senses are superior to a human's and while they tried to strip mine away, I do still have some ability to see your heat signatures, so the dark is not as much a hindrance."  He tightened his lips, his mind a swirl with debate, wondering if his next disclosure served the pride or served his own catharsis.  Omitting truths at the brink of battle could prove fatal; admitting the unnecessary, however, could prove equally disastrous.

"I... also have the ability to perceive the emotions of others.  It has been... difficult to control since their procedure, but still there."  He wanted to tell the others to keep themselves in check -- that their fears and panic would just be a hammer against his skull, but calling it out would just add to the self-doubt of his companions.  Better they should focus on their efforts to kill rather than their efforts to remain centered.  And he could hardly deny them the secret thrill of the hunt.  Not all monkeys shied away from that dark pleasure, no matter what their morals, ideals and codes of ethics told them.

[Lt.  Zephyr Praise | Things Left Unsaid | Separate Ways | Stay Alive to Live | Strategic Plans]
@Auctor Lucan @Numen @steelphoenix

His voice echoed in her mind.

In her ears.

In her head.

In her heart.

He had wanted to tell her something, right before she was beamed out of the room and here with the others that had signed on to go after the Captain.  Her heart was a bit heavy, skipping several beats while she tried to figure out what it was that Khorin would have wanted to tell her.  She couldn't imagine what would have been so important for him to scream out for her like that.  Right at that moment.  Did he know something that she didn't?  Had he come by some extra information that had made things change a little bit?  Did he want to give her one more hug and kiss before they had separated.  She had even seen and felt his distress when Cross had told him that he was going to follow  Blue on her mission and not coming with Zephyr.  Though why she thought Khorin would be mad about that she couldn't quite figure out.  They had only just met though the feelings that had come between them so quickly and in such a flash made her wonder if they were something more than just friends.  She hoped that when they were out of this craziness they would be able to decide if it was something temporary or if it was something more permanent. 

Zeph had missed having friends and people that she could lean on.  She didn't want to make any rash decisions for her future but on the other hand she had really wanted to find someone again.  It had been a long time since Ethan.  This is not the place to be thinking about your heart and where you're going to put it, Zephyr.  She teased herself. 

The little device on her wrist buzzed with a message and she looked down to read the information that Moby had decided to send them about where they were.  This was going to be one of the harder missions that was for certain.  The Captain to the ship that most of these people had come from was being held in a place that wasn't close to the others.  Which mean that they were special, or they were being experimented on.  Whatever it was that they were going to find in the lab she was going to be needed and knew that she had made the right decision.  As much as she would have liked to go off with Khorin and be beside him in his endeavor to get to the Reaver she knew that there was no better place for the Doctor to be.  Zeph brushed her hair out of her face as she finished reading just how amazingly hard this was going to be.

Of course they weren't just going to have a sign pointing to 'Hey!  Captain here!  Please take a number and we'll be with you momentarily to brief you on the care of the Captain as you rescue them from the snappy buglike claws of these crazy aliens.

They needed to go down a staircase, disable a door, take out the guards and kill the big bad guy.  This sounds like a great super hero movie. she thought to herself as she tried to even warp her head around the fact that the things they had to do was almost insurmountable.  They were Fleeters though, they could do this, she knew that they could.  She just had to figure out how she fit in this and where everyone fit.  They all had some kind of talents.  She knew that they did.  Only she wished that she had a Science kit, she still remembered the time that she had been held captive on a planet that had been for training purposes until it wasn't.  She had used her basic Science kit to create a bomb and blew it up for diversion.  It had been amazing and she had been rather proud of that.  It would not be an option here, she had a med kit but that was mostly fixing people up though she supposed she could go in with a scalpel if she needed to.  She just didn't want to have to do that.  She had her phaser though, and hoped that she could at least lay down some suppressive fire when she was able to.  First, though, they had to get down the stairs and into the room. 

“I'm Zeph.” she said to the group, as they began to speak, and then she shrugged.  “Just thought that it might be good to know everyone's names instead of yelling hey you .. blue girl, or hey guy with the hair... or whatever.” she shrugged again.

They began to try to figure out the plan.  The blue one was mentioning that it was not okay to take intelligent life, that it was Starfleet protocol.  “No one likes to get bloody but sometimes for the greater good you have to do things you don't like.  These people are literally correcting other races and running experiments on them for a good time.  We have to protect the people that they will go after as well.” Zeph reminded Shar.

The rest of the woman's speech made Zeph smile at her.  She gave a quick nod.  “I agree.  We're not here to settle some kind of blood tally, this isn't to get back at the people for what they have done to us, this is to get us off this ship.  This is the bargaining chip we have to complete so that we can get home to those that we have left behind.” she said with a warm smile.  “I for one, would like to find a normal life again.” she stated wryly.  “cookies.  Bacon.  Cuddles.  Romance.  Something that makes your heart skip a beat, all of that is worth living for.”

Shar had a good plan and Zeph was not really surprised but she was surprised that she liked it so much herself.  “I would like to be one of the team that are up above.  I'm a medical doctor and scientist, a botanist at heart.  I think that while my hand to hand is up to par and my shooting is all right, I think I'd be better served to help the captain when we get to them.  Who knows what they have done to them.”

She looked over at the Kzinti who spoke of his own strengths and she gave him a nod.  “It will come in time.” she promised him.  “It's a muscle, and once stretched, it's sore but it will come back around and be stronger for it.  Focus on what you know, and focus on what you feel.  You will find that finding that central place within yourself will allow you to block out the thoughts and emotions of others.  I've been an empath since birth, and now that's compounded with the telepathy.  Keeping everyone out of my head is not easy but it's also the same.  Center, and you will find peace in your mind.” she said warmly in support for the Kzinti.

“So who wants to go on the balconies with me?”

[ Lt. JG Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Auxilary Transporter Platform - Scion Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @steelphoenix, @BZ, @Fife & @Numen
[Show/Hide]She nodded at Deacon when he addressed her, according him with an upward quirk of her lips. Once Blue Tiran had concluded the briefing and planning - short, to the point, just how Sinead liked it - the auburn-haired Bringloidi made her way back to the boxes, now fully aware of what resources had been availed to them by their Savi benefactor, Moby. She did not know who it was, but the woman had her suspicions. It had to be someone significant enough, it could even be the top man here, but until she had more evidence, she simply went on faith. Everything was in their favour for now. They had the element of surprise, and as she retrieved her allotted supplies, she slung the rifle over her shoulder, holstered the phaser pistol to her right hip and strapped the PADD to her left forearm as if wearing a wrist chronometer.

She had had a small meal of whatever was available, and gathered with the assigned crew dedicated to rescuing the captain and eliminating Semathal and any Scions that got in their way. As she felt the familiar sign of nausea, she knelt down and squinted her eyes in anticipation, one hand resting over the grip of her pistol, ready to draw in a flash if needed. She had made sure to silence the PADD, as the need for stealth superceded everything else for the moment. When she saw no immediate threat, and the bright beam of the transporter faded to nothing, she straightened up, brushing strands of hair back behind her ear, assessing their immediate surroundings, then taking stock of everyone and the available resources.

Her eyes went down to the PADD when she saw a faint flash calling for her attention. She read the message over and nodded to herself. The others had gotten the same briefing. Nathaniel was once a half-Romulan hybrid, but now he was a full-blooded Romulan; his strength, speed and stamina would be unparalleled by almost anyone here, including her...especially her. He was their best hope if it came down to a brute force melee with Semathal. He was also a pilot, meaning he had razor-sharp instincts and significant combat prowess. She remembered reading a small dissertation concerning the Romulan Drauc T'laus, when he fought with a Parasite-infested Captain Ian Hawthorne, he was the only one who remotely came close to matching the man in strength and capabilities.

They should hold him in reserve as a last resort.

There was Deacon, his human-ish form still possessing feline grace and strength. She did not know where he would fit best, but by her immediate estimates, he was a potent threat in battle. He was best suited for an ambush, or a direct attack, whichever he wished. She was beginning to formulate multiple strategies that she could suggest to the team, while she continued down the lines to access the team's strengths. The Andorian was emotional, which was normal, but that could compromise their plans. Still, Andorians were usually excellent executioners of plans and combat, she too would be needed in the frontlines.

The moment her eyes fell on the petite black-eyed woman, whom she had heard offering her services as a medical specialist, Sinead's eyes widened and she felt an overwhelming need to ensure the woman's safety. She was the most important of them all, and the Bringloidi took two steps back away from her, fearing the danger she presented to the Betazoid. All she had to do was snap her neck, and they were minus a trained medical officer. Sinead was the biggest threat to Zeph's safety and survival. They had to stay apart.

“Lieutenant Junior-Grade Sinead O'Riley, formerly of th' Resolve, now, Theurgy.” said Sinead in a clipped tone, her lilt not quite hiding her worry. She brought all her primary concerns to the forefront for Zeph, and she said, “Yeh need t' read me mindh. Please.”

Keep yer distance from meh, was her thought first, and she showed memories, of the doctors cutting into her head, seeing her skull opened via the mirror hanging overhead, flashes of memories of her killing anyone that moved. I have no control over what they put in meh. As much help I can be, I can also be yer end. Th' Savi know this. They may use it. Yeh be too important t' allow harm upon yeh. She turned to look at Nathaniel, then the Andorian, then Deacon, as they all spoke while she projected her thoughts for Zeph to easily see. Sinead hid nothing from her. Her mind and her life was an open book. All the bottled up emotions, that she had learned to suppress, could be felt.

“'Tis a good planh,” said Sinead to Shar, “but as yeh saihd, we need t' maximize our chances, we no be understandin' how Scions fight, but we do be havin' th' element o' surprise.” She nodded at Deacon, “Like him, me eyes do be seein' better'n th' dark than most o' yeh, an' I might be havin' a trick or two tha' can breach'n th' door without raisin' an alarm, once the forward team goes in, I be needin' two o' yeh,” she gestured to some of the other volunteers, “up high with meh, one'a yeh stay wi' th' good doctor, an' no yeh be lettin' anything happen t' her, mindh!”

She offered a bit more, “I work best alone, an' from a position t' surprise, I will be goin' apart from yeh all, tha' woul' be leavin' at least three t' fourh groups'n individuals from the higher platforms t' assist th' group from th' groundh. The rest woul' be stormin' th' door and cryin' murderh t' call 'em on yeh. Be watchful. If I may, p'haps Deacon 'n' I be goin' in first, one from th' groun' and one above, we signal through our PADDs and attack when we all be in position.” Of course, once they did make it in, all plans could likely fly out the window within the first ten seconds. And that was being optimistic.

No matter what, Sinead thought to Zeph, especially if I get hurt, stay away from meh. We canna risk yer life. Th' Captain needs yeh.

[ Ens. Nathaniel Isley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Nathaniel_Isley,_callsign_"Icarus") | Maintenance Bays | The Versant ] @Triage @BZ @steelphoenix @Numen
[Show/Hide]Prone to anger as he had become, prone to passion, emotions running high and low, Nathaniel Isley felt like he was caught in the rise of a storm. A storm that already raged inside, unbridled, and yet he weathered that storm. Somehow. Perhaps it was because of his Starfleet training, keeping him sane, when the Romulan torrent of emotions ran wild.

Taking deep breaths, he listened to the Andorian, the former Kzin, the Betazoid and the Human with the strange eyes - glowing in the dark. Planning, where they should be killing. He wanted nothing rather than descend that staircase, tear the door mechanism apart, and pry those doors open. He wanted to hurl himself at this leader of the beasts, blasting it apart. Those present were not Corrected. They were corrupted. And the thing awaiting them below was at fault for it. In lack of unleashing his fury opon the whole population of this nightmare ship, he would concentrate it on one living being. This Scion would take it all. Not because Starfleet protocol forbade him, but because this Savi asset denied him - making him and the others bereft of the satisfaction to kill the scientists that oversaw the Correction Program. Just one bug seemed a poor compensation.

Eventually, the talking ceased, and Isley's dark eyes sought either of the NCOs. One that Sinead hadn't claimed. Briefly, Nathan hoped the meditation had helped the woman come to terms with things. Eventually, he nodded to tall Human male, and the dim light flickered over his own Romulan forehead with the motion. "You're with me. We'll use the pillars for cover. We move close enough for the kill setting to activate, and stay within close proximity. You understand? We don't let up. We don't give it time to breathe."

Did they even breathe? Didn't matter. As long as it could bleed.

"I understand," said the Human NCO, looking ill at the prospect.

"What's your name?" asked Isley.

"Fredrik Thurnell, Chief Petty Officer."

"You can do this, Chief. Just stay close to me, and do what I say. Okay?" Then, Nathan looked towards the rest gathered there on the platform. "I suggest we go down there. The quicker we can get the escape routes from Tiran's asset, the sooner we can get off this damn ship."

He wasn't sure where he stood with Ives any more, with the demotion, followed by the reveal of what Maya had done to him. He had regained the rank of Ensign, at least, but he had lied just to get out of the Brig. He wasn't trying to liberate Ives because of his rank or the prospect of a career, of course, but he... No, there was no rhyme or reason to whatever lay between him and the Captain since the Niga Incident. He could not put it into words. All he knew, was that he was willing to die for this mission, perhaps not out of loyalty, but to prove himself reliable after what he'd been forced to do to Skye Carver.

Then, they all descended into the darkness below - to the gates of the beast's lair.

---

OOC: Since Isley is just an Ensign, and there were ideas about that door, I will let you all end your next posts with the door being opened. @Triage , you post next, and everyone's next post should end with entering the Nest. I can take it from there. Feel free to name the six Redshirts NPCs if you all like as we go.

[ Lt. JG Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Auxilary Transporter Platform - Scion Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @steelphoenix, @BZ, @Fife & @Numen
[Show/Hide]There was little else to be said in the end. The ideas were all tallied and added up, flaws in each plan addressed, evaluated, corrected where possible in as little time as they could manage, no plan was truly perfect, and no plan was guaranteed to last past the doors opening. There could be a Scion waiting right at the door, there could be every Scion behind the door waiting with guns aimed at them, or there could be Semathal holding a weapon to Jien Ives. So much could go wrong, and so much was left uncertain. But what could anyone do but strengthen their resolve, take courage from one another, and hope.

So Sinead found herself leading the way, and standing before the door. The access panel looked almost so foreign as to be unrecognizable for what it was meant to do, or what purpose it served, but logic dictated what it was most likely to be, and having heard Nathaniel's plans with one Fredrik, the former whom had the intention of drawing attention to himself and the chief petty officer with a frontal assault, Sinead felt finding a way to open the doors without detection prudent to maintaining the element of surprise for as long as possible. Referring to her PADD on her wrist, she called up the design specs of the panel, and the simplest, if not necessarily the most convenient way to remove it without alerting the entire ship.

Remember what I saihd. thought Sinead to Zephyr with a quiet look at the woman, then she turned her attentions to the task at hand. Rewiring and gaining access to the door was easy enough, the trouble was to do so without triggering any alerts. She realized that she had been fortunate when removing the panel itself that she hadn't set off anything, as the PADD's information had suggested tamper alerts in some of their systems, though this door panel was thankfully not one of them, mainly due to the general accessibility of this door being available only to Semathal and the specific Scions. No one would be foolish enough to dare crossing them, was apparently the thought and belief behind the lack of an alert system here. Taking advantage of that, Sinead's engineering skills and know-how came into full effect as she quickly learned the ins and outs of Savi technology, she carefully detached the wire for the detection alerts, while maintaining the power supply, then she undid the locking mechanisms.

Soon the doors could be simply opened without requiring access. “Be readyh for anythin',” said the Bringloidi as she drew her pistol and placed a hand over one end of the door while one of the officers mimicked her actions on the other side, also with a pistol in hand. Once rifles and pistols or both were ready, and once she readied herself for whatever waited on the other side, she drew the doors open and aimed her weapon forward. They were going to save Jien Ives and get him off the ship one way or another. Nothing mattered now, except the Captain's survival and safety. Well, that was not true. Sinead wanted everyone to survive, and she was going to fight tooth and nail to the last breath for her crew.

Her family.

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)| Day 6| Auxiliary Access Outside the Scion's Nest | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]
Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triage  @BZ  @steelphoenix


Shar couldn't avoid rolled her eyes at the declaration of the humanoid who designated himself as a former Kzin. A brainless beefcake full of bravado, a know-it-all full of conceit. Just what they needed in a delicate mission where their lives and those of everyone else hung in the balance. The Andorian cared little if she must perish in their captor's lair, but before that she wanted the mission to be carried out successfully. Without endangering others. They already had enough problems with the unknowns that awaited them in the Scion's Nest as to have to worry that a haughty child in the body of an adult male jeopardized the mission to prove he was better than the others. Her white brows furrowed deep on her eyes, her combative nature ready to throw away her desire to stay professional and brush-off the felinoid to stick to the plan. However, she couldn't unleash her wicked tongue, as the betazoid that held the med-kit came forward to introduce herself ... and to agree with the shen's words. With her desire to stay true to the principles of the Starfleet. With the general features of her plan.

Shar wasn't used to warm smiles and encouragement. She tended to antagonize almost everyone she met, she was used to fight tooth and nail for the recognition of her plans and decisions, for her work being acknowledged. Zeph's sincere and positive reaction to her words caught her off guard. She hesitated for a moment, not knowing if the betazoid was making fun of her, antennae wringing slowly with suspicion. But it soon became clear that this was not the case. It was just a cheerful woman that agreed with her. Recognize that fact in the shitstorm in which they were immersed puzzled her for a second. So much that she allowed herself to relax slightly her sour expression for a second, barely a glimpse of her face without her usual bitterness etched on it. She could almost hug the woman to thank her that kind words. Almost. Maybe in other life.

However, the change of expression was fleeting, when the one that presented herself as Lieutenant JG O'Riley also agreed to follow her plan. The andorian must struggle with the warm camaraderie feeling that grew inside her. But she couldn't allow herself those childish distractions. She must remain focused, professional. Then the human with glowing eyes continued to outline the plan. The Andorian had a hard time following the strange cadence of her words, her intonation so different from the standard to which she was accustomed. When she got to understand her contribution, she just nodded curtly, showing her agreement. "I'm Lieutenant Junior-Grade Khelleshar sh'Zenne, from the USS Endeavour. Shar, for short” She finally introduced herself, just before everyone started the descent to the beast's lair. Like most Andorians, she knew that her name was impossible to pronounce for non-Andorian throats and preferred be referred with her shortened name to hear how the name of her Keth was perpetrated.

Without further ado, she followed the group down the stairs. As soon as they reached the level of their enemy's hideout, O'Riley went to work on the lock on the door, while the rest of the group distributed into the different groups for the assault. Shar, on the other hand, squatted by the bulkheads, with the savi's padd in her hands. Once she understood the basic functions of the device, she began to analyze the blueprints provided by their benefactor, Moby. The room where Echtand would perish seemed to be strongly protected, the ventilation and maintenance ducts could only be accessed from inside the room except for the entrance in front of which they waited. Once they got through the door, if she kept stuck to the left wall and advanced several meters, she could access to a ventilation duct. From there, Shar could ascend to  a narrow ladder to the ceiling of the chamber, to then dragged herself by another conduit to perched over the center of the room, from where she could act as a sniper. The Ops. Officer tried to fix in her memory the turns and bends of the path she had chosen. She needed to act fast once they entered the nest and neither of them couldn't afford to waste time looking at the padd once the attack started.

Unsure if her plan could be carried out, she studied a second route, one that would take her from the door to the upper platforms that surrounded the room as quickly as possible. If she couldn't use the vent, she would try to advance as far as possible while the frontal attack distracted the beast, looking for the blind spot of the creature. Just when the shen nodded to herself, both routes memorized, and grabbed her weapon to prepare for the impending battle, the voice of the human announced the imminent opening of the doors. Shar stood up, the pistol firmly gripped in her fist, antennae crushed against her scalpl with determination. The door opened with a soft hiss. The first group stormed in the room, following the lead of the assault team leaders. The Andorian took a deep breath and prepared to join the second wave of attackers, ready to plunge to the left as soon as possible. A silent signal indicated that the second group needed to enter the room and Shar hurried to move. The hour of battle had reached them at last. With long strides, Khelleshar crossed the lintel, not sure what she would find in the other side.

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Doorway to Domination | Semathal' Lair | Savi Ship]
@Triage @steelphoenix @Auctor Lucan @Numen

It was go time.

Zeph felt her stomach twisting and was glad that she hadn't really had time to eat breakfast.  The last thing they needed was for her to lose her fruity breakfast on the floor tiles and alert the Scions to the presence of the infiltration team.  Her mind thought back, again, to Khorin and what he had needed to say to her before everything went down.  But, she supposed it was something she would have to ask him later.  Something that she would have to figure out what she had the time.  He had better make it through his collection of the Reaver.  She knew that as soon as they were all back together she would be head counting for the boisterous Klingon. 

Right now though, she needed to focus.  Remember her training.  Having been a researcher for some time she was a little rusty, probably, when it came to using her phaser.  Hopefully, it was like many other things in life and you never really forgot how to use things.  She knew she could still play with a Bat'leth she had done that in the holo decks along with hitting the gym regularly.  She had just not found it fun  nor important to keep up on her phaser skills.  The voice in her head helped her focus, she shifted her eyes over to the woman that was working to get the doors open for them and nodded simply.

It seemed the Andorian was, at least, interested in giving her name.  Zeph's answering smile for the knowledge of her name, rank, and ship was bright and almost out of place in a environment like this.  Her bright smile lit up the room for a moment and she gave a nod.  “It's a pleasure, Shar.  I hope we can talk more when we're not about to jump feet first into a fight.” she beamed at the Andorian before turning her attention back to the door.

It was time to race in there, time to take the leader down, and get their escape plans from the Engineer's connection.  People probably thought that Zeph had been hurt by Blue, but that was not the case.  When she stepped up to the angry and wounded engineer she knew exactly what she was getting herself into.  But, she found often, that with people as gravely wounded as Blue Tiran, just the hope and prospect of someone caring.. someone that would listen helped.  If Zeph made herself available the woman might come seek her out at some point.  Or at least feel safe to seek someone else out.  Regardless, she could also feel how wounded the woman was.  Talking about it would cause her to fall apart and the cracks in the surface of her psyche to become cavernous chasms.  Zeph understood the desire not to fall apart here and in front of everyone else.  Blue Tiran was a very strong woman.

The doors opened and Zeph pulled out her phaser with the rest of them.  She stood next to Shar because she too, was going to go up high.  She was the doctor, and the one that could help treat whatever had happened to Jean Ives.  This was highly important and she would be needed.  Thus she couldn't run in there and get herself killed.  As much as she wanted a hand in whatever death was dealt the asshole that decided to kidnap and experiment on others, she knew that her job was something completely different.  She looked over at Shar and gave her a bit of a nervous smile. 

“I'm going up with you.” she whispered quietly as she stuck to the woman while they entered the room in the second group.  As Shar split from the group so she could be the sniper, Zeph followed so that they would be together. Zeph could at the very least lay suppressive fire from above while the others were doing what they needed to.  She wouldn't be sitting up there having a snack while the battle raged, but she needed to remember what was important.  There were plenty of officers to take Semathal down, she was going to be needed after that. 

Or if she saw an opening to get Ives out while Semathal was busy.

[ Deacon | Day 6 | Auxiliary Access Outside the Scion's Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Triage  @BZ  @Numen

At his admission, he did his best to close down his perception of those around him.  Unwise, perhaps, but reflecting on thier questions, doubts and concerns would simply be another distraction.  One dark eyed female addressed him, speaking of sore muscles and finding his center -- the very same sentimental nonsense that kzinti so disdained about the members of the Federation.  A telepath... Betazoid, no doubt.  His lips tightened against his fangs but he repressed the urge to bear them in threat, reminding himself that now was not the time to cultivate new enemies, especially not in the midst of a mission to rescue his Patriarch.

Taking a deep breath, he availed himself of the advice given, finding the circumstance extraordinary enough to warrant a new approach.  Finding his center was a concept foreign to kzinti.  He'd heard the term many times before and he supposed it was akin to removing ones self from the fray, to stand apart and observe.  It was the Black Priest way.  It was at the very heart of his training, and here he stood ready to rend and tear at this... scion or whatever it professed to be like some first year soldier.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he drew himself inward.  Observe, Deacon.  Observe, learn, exploit.  That is the way of the Black Priests.  It is your way.  Be smarter than the prey.  Savagery works only against those who have no means to rise above it.  "We have not seen these creatures in action.  Do not lose yourselves in the moment," he said, his tone far more controlled, instructive.  "Do not take your eyes of this scion for it is likely it knows more about us than we know about it and that gives him a distinct advantage until we can acquire its counter.  But if the opportunity to strike presents itself, do not hesitate.  These creatures care nothing for us or our well being.  They've mutilated us for their own ideals and, at the slightest test of resistance, were ready to discard us for base components."

He readied the weapon he'd been given, giving no more question to its utility or its lack of honor.  "If you must take this creature's life, comfort yourself in knowing it will spare no second thought in taking yours, and with it removed, we might be able to save countless more."  Turning his gaze towards the door, he bared his fangs, the swirling sparks of gold in his eyes overwhelming the blue almost completely.  "Hunt well, monkeys."

[ Ens. Nathaniel Isley | Scion's Nest | The Versant ]

His heart thump-thumping in his chest, his goal just in sight, and danger on all ends. He could die here. He understood and accepted that he could very easily lose his life here. It was only a question of how much bug guts he could get on the wall before he went down. He felt his blood scream, as the Klingons said, as the doors before them opened.

He would be the distraction. He would be the very first half-Vul---Romulan to step foot in the chamber here. So when the doors opened, he did, his weapon clutched in his hands tight.

The first thing he noticed was that the room was dark. It felt cold, though he couldn’t ascertain for sure whether it was because of the fate he faced, or because it was actually a bit chilly. There were pillars of some sorts around the room, it almost felt like the shadows leaked from the ceiling down these pillars. He saw the Azure Nebula in it’s fully glory on display in a large viewscreen, and he followed the light it cast onto another scene…

Ives! He thought, and fear took his voice away. On the other side of the room, there was Ives, and she—he? Nathaniel couldn’t tell hir sex at this time, because s/he was so covered in blood. There was so much, just all over. S/he was held in an oval-shaped quantum stasis field, with some sort of machine on either side that, presumably, maintained the field. Ives, held hostage like this—this was not the image Nathaniel wanted to see. It’s not how he wanted to greet his captain and former lover.

“What in the hell” He shouted, with a determined pace towards the looming shadow that dominated the room. Semathal, he presumed. “Do you think you’re doing with our Captain looking fresh out of a meat grinder like that! Have you no respect for authority?!”

The irony of what he was calling for was not lost on him, but his emotions, his sheer passion was taking him on a journey. He wasn’t going to fight it. He was going to get in it's face, cause it to focus on him. Almost there, almost there…

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?! Release the Captain at once!” Yes, now he was nice and close. In it's personal bubble. He readied the weapon, “I’m busting Ives out of here, whether you like it or not!”

He realized in an instant, as he, a tiny little Romulan staring up at whatever sort of bug Semethal was, that this was the stupidest thing he has ever done. Period. He was placing a lot of trust in his teammates to get this shit right the first time.

[ Captain Ives | Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Sounds.

The days, hours and minutes had been filled with the same sounds in the darkness. Besides, of course, when the abuse began. Then, he made the sounds, in one form or another, emitted through whatever throat the Scion made him wear. It had become a broken constant. The torment, almost a welcome comma in ceaseless darkness, the senseless violence a reminder of existence. Plagued by doubt and pain, regret and dying hope, Jien, was - for better or worse - still alive. Only then, at that given hour, Semathal had left him to bleed, making the pain and injury linger when it normally wouldn't. To what purpose? Jien didn't know, and had begun to think where wasn't any purpose to it. Perhaps that was the point.

An expression of what the enemy truly were. Chaos.

For while the hosts of the enemy were with purpose - being vessels of control - with just enough order... they still perpetuated that which had infested them. The symbiotic relationship was merely of ambition, the result being entirely in the nameless darkness' favour. Often, in listening, in trying to learn more, Ives had wondered what made the hosts willing to accommodate that which had overtaken them, and at first, he'd reasoned that they were selected because of some trait. Yet later, he had come to think that wasn't the case. For he remembered Cameron Henshaw's father, and did not think him willing to serve. No, it was something else. Perhaps it was more insidious, in how the minds of the infested were bent in some way, to make them accept their inevitable fate.

Such things, such notions, were all Jien had, as he weathered the abuse, and tried to remain defiant.  Of late, it had become difficult, and he kept seeing Heather MacMillan being vapourised before his oaken eyes.

The sounds, these new sounds in he darkness, they made him open those eyes. The quiet light of the Azure Nebula was still there. Always, and he had come to loathe it, and associate it with his imprisonment. Yet there were new sounds, and through the haze of pain, he drew a rattling breath, and lifted his head. The movement was all that he could muster...

...until he saw new shadows in that darkness. Voices. Even a known one. Isley?

"Guards!" called Semathal in his clicking voice, and even as he didn't want to, Jien flinched from the sound. Jien struggled, feebly, to move, as he saw members of his crew opening fire against the Savi Admiral. With Isley, who looked strange, was another officer, but they all wore the same, strange black suits that the Savi wore. The light from the phaser beams flickered over their limbs as they made their first assault against the Scion. He was protected, by suit and some kind of wearable force/field, but that onslaught against Semathal was unbridled, and eventually, both the suit and the forcefield failed under the collective energy yield of the assault.

Yet even as a couple of beams pierced through the Scion, making holes through its hideous bulk... it remained on its three feet.

"It's..." Jien tried to speak, the rattle rising in power as he saw the peril his crew was in. "It's an Infested!"

Too late. Semathal moved, and it was as if its movements were not bound by the physical restrains of the host body. Suddenly, it had impaled the young officer next to Isley with one arm - having covered five meters in virtually no time at all. With a motion of utter disdain, the Scion threw the trashing body aside, and with the turning movement, it kicked at the rifle in Isley's hands - tearing it's aim far to the side. Jien was sure it might have killed Isley next, if it hadn't been for more officers being present, dying by the second because they were too close to the demonic alien's range of movement.

The main entrance to the nest had opened too, and there were Antes pouring through the high gates. Six of them, wearing black armour and helmets, armed with graviton rifles. For some reason, they began to fire at the balconies, until Jien saw that some had taken refuge there. The distance was too great to make out any individual faces, but the alarm animated him, making him try to stand, despite what Semathal had done to him.

At that point, the majority of the officers that had tried to make a direct assault against Semathal were running for their lives. Others had their limbs yanked free from their torsos, or their bodies torn open by the Scion's blade-like fingers.

---

OOC: Seven days of posting begin anew. Think of this as if fighting a dragon in its lair, and have fun! :)

[ Lt. JG Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Balcony | Scion Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @steelphoenix, @BZ, @Fife & @Numen
[Show/Hide]Stealthy as ghosts, the team that was to take to the balconies had made their way across by whatever means were available to them, whilst Nathaniel Isley led a team forward, loud and proud, to keep attention drawn on them. By the time she had reached a balcony, a fair distance from the rest, Sinead O'Riley had seen how quickly the situation had deteriorated. Captain Jien Ives said something, and she definitely heard Infested, and watching how Semathal moved confirmed it. She had reviewed the records pertaining to the accounts about Sonja Acreth, and the behaviour was similar. The poor officers with Nathaniel barely had a chance, and lives were being ended. She had only scant moments to act.

“Begin video recording an' give meh th' physiology o' th' Scions,” said Sinead to her PADD, hoping it had voice recognition software as well as a holovid caption mode. She also recalled the accounts about Ian Hawthorne. The only being that could remotely match the human infested was a Romulan, but even so, he was barely holding his own. The big problem now was that this Infested was a Scion, and from what she could tell, they were so different from their predecessor species, the Savi, they might as well be an entirely new species. It was as if they were the result of an evolution after enduring a million years of continuous warfare. This would put their physical capabilities beyond anything Sinead had ever faced. She was likely overestimating them, but it was far better to do that than to underestimate.

She could only hope she would make even a sliver of a difference.

Unslinging her rifle, she rested the barrel against the edge of the platform, then gripped the pistol with her other hand. Still not the most optimal, but she had two weapons ready to use now, and not a moment too soon. Falling back on her experiences and training fighting in the Dominion War, Sinead drew on every ounce of concentration she could muster as she began to multitask. Observing Semathal's movements, she tried to anticipate where he was going to be next, whilst also making note of Nathaniel and the rest of the officers on the ground level, while adjusting her rifle's aim and ducking her head to avoid a graviton shot from a Savi defender. Using only her peripherals for them, and making sure her Rifle was on stun, she squeezed the trigger, letting fly with a steady beam of energy. Moby had warned them about harming the Savi, and Sinead took that seriously. She did not want to be the one to cause them to lose their only Savi benefactor's support.

While firing on the Savi, she kept her main focus on Semathal, and aimed a little ways from where he actually was, making sure Nathaniel was away from the danger zone before she squeezed the trigger on her pistol, firing off a short burst of bolts. The PADD in the meantime was feeding her the information she requested. Knowing the weak point of the bug-like being was one thing, now the hard part was actually getting a hit. But Sinead was relentless, and until she was dead, she wasn't going to stop trying to hit the Scion. Meanwhile, she continued firing with her rifle, slightly more inaccurately, but her main intent with the rifle was to keep the Savi ducking for cover or until they were all stunned and subdued. Captain Ives was right there, and she needed to end the threat of Semathal, so that Zephyr could get to work. They had to succeed.

As the Jem'Hadar believed: Victory is Life.

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)| Day 6| The Scion's Nest | The Versant ]
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Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triage  @BZ  @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow


Khelleshar didn't hear clearly the Romulan's words as he approached with decided steps to the monster in the room. The words, the boastfulness, the full bravado didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that the four Scion eyes turned towards the pilot, the empty black wells staring at Isley emotionless, like a cruel child would look to an insect under a magnifying glass. The rest of the advance party stretched on either side of the Romulan, the nebula bluish light shining diffusely and ominously in their weapons, the shadows of the tall pillars darkening their faces. The abductees dwarfen in front of the impressive mass of the Scion that towered over them all as an immeasurable mountain of chitin, bladed limbs and palpable malevolence.

Time seemed to expand infinitely while the pilot endured the unnatural scrutiny of the monstrous creature, pitting their will against each other. Finally, the jaws of Semathal clicked an order and time rushed forward, accelerating as if it were sliding down a frozen slope, faster and faster, approaching without the option of stopping towards an unknown destiny.

The Andorian saw out of the corner of her eye how O'Riley was sliding towards the platforms on the right with the grace and silence of a predator that stalks her prey. Shar dived to her left, looking for the vent. For her fainting, she found that the betazoid fulfilled her threat and followed her closely. The shen didn't want the responsibility of take care of the life of the only doctor present. She didn't want to have to watch her back. She wanted to make sure that the mission was carried out, that was true, but she also wanted the opportunity to be careless, to commit an intrepid and extremely stupid act that would allow her to finish with everything without feeling guilty. A final sacrifice that washed away the shame that carried her name. But Zephyr's presence had stolen those options. The life of the doctor was more important than her own, since the life of the other crewmen, of the Theurgy's captain, depended on her survival. She had to be protected at all costs. Shar gave her a poisonous look, the antennae firmly pressed against her scalp, her face distorted in a hideous grimace.  For a second, her blue eyes met the betazoid's full-black. And in that pich-black pupils the andorian only found resolve and trust. Faith in the others. Faith in her. Shar felt her stomach churn. She hated not being able to hate her. It was a detestable contradiction

Either way, she couldn't waste time on such considerations, so she looked away and kept running forward, determined to get to the maintenance entrance as soon as possible. Behind her, the sound of the Scion's chitinous legs reverberated in the room, the hiss of the steel-like legs tearing the air, the buzz of the phaser shots crackling in the air, the beat of the shields, the odd sound of Savi's weapons whirring incessantly. The incredulous gurgling of the first wounded. The rattle of the first dying body against the floorplates. The Andorian dropped to her knees as she reached the grating. She skidded a couple of meters and crawled back on her footsteps, the rifle that slung on her shoulder painfully hitting her ribs. She studied the entrance to the air duct frantically, her fingers digging into the tiny slits. She threw, she kicked, she struggled with all her strength. But the grid remained in place. All her knowledge, all her abilities were useless. She didn't have tools. And the grid was riveted to the wall. Out of sheer frustration, Khelleshar grabbed her weapon with both hands and threw a couple of blows with the rifle butt. The only answer she got was the tintinnabulation of metal against metal.

"Shelat!" She grunted with disappointed as she got back on her feet. She didn't look if the doctor kept herself next to her, she simply hung her rifle on her shoulder and made a slight gesture with her hand, indicating that she should follow her.Meanwhile, the chorus of gunfire in the center of the room had grown into a deafening fanfare. They had no time to lose. The following minutes became in a shapeless blur. A succession of ramps, ladders and platforms, one stride after another, a leap after other, several tumblings. Shar didn't stop at any time, until she reached the highest platform.

Once there, the Andorian launched herself on her belly. The impact against the floorplates received her with a pang of pain in her lower abdomen. Shar didn't want to deepen into the reason for such pain. She hovered over the raging battle, her hands gripping firmly the rifle. She leaned a little more over the edge of the platform, until she loomed precariously over the room. The vertiginous fall made her dizzy as she looked down into the abyss. Any false move would be a sure death.

The Andorian supported the barrel of her rifle at the edge of the platform and took a deep breath. She pointed towards the huge mass of the Scion, looking for a very specific point of its anatomy. Inhale. The shields of the monstrous Savi flickered. Exhale. A flurry of gunfire hit Semathal from the other side of the room, bouncing on the shields and creature's chitinous skin. Inhale. Bright red blood covered the room's floor, the volunteers of the frontal attack fought desperately for their lives. Exhale. Some of the Ante bodyguards noticed the presence of the rioters on the upper platforms and began firing at them. Inhale. A graviton shot whizzed past Shar's head, bristling her hair and leaving an aftertaste of ozone at the back of her throat. Exhale. The monstrosity that massacred her companions moved at an impossible speed for a creature of such size. Inhale. For a second, the black-eyed nightmare raised its head. Shar held her breath. The shields flickered again. She pulled the trigger. The phaser blast flew straight to Semathal's head, only to bounce off the shields at the last moment. Shar kept holding her breath, her aim still under her crosshairs. The swirling light that signaled an active shield disappeared. Shar pulled the trigger again. Exhale. The Scion let out a sharp grinding sound, blue blood spilling from its face. One of the chitin plates over its eyes had disappeared. The Andorian allowed herself a shark-like grin. Her shot had barely scratched the creature, but no matter how superficial the wound, it had hurt it. What could be hurt could be killed. She cocked her weapon again and inspired once more. Another shot. Just that.

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Platforms |  Death's Door |  Saving Lives |  Safety in Numbers]
@Numen @Auctor Lucan

She got the feeling that she was not what the Andorian expected.  But, Zephyr was used to catching people off guard.  She was actually somewhat talented at it.  It was probably why she had so many friends that were so varied.  She hoped that she would be able to actually make friends, that she would live through all of this horror and get herself to safety.  She hoped that she would find a new place to be and people that wouldn't ask too many questions.  There was much about her life that she wouldn't be able to talk about.  Working on a Black Site did that to people and she wouldn't be able to even tell people that part.  Just that she had been working and that was all she could say.  It would be difficult to form friendships and relationships with those that sought outright clarity and complete honesty.  Zeph was lucky in the fact that she was empathic and therefore could tell if someone was being authentic or not.  Still, she  hoped that it would all be all right when they were rescued from this place.  She, for one, could not go back where she came from.

It still surprised her that not a single person asked her where she was from.  She chalked it up to the fact that the Theurgy crew likely thought she was from the Endeavour and vice versa.  She wasn't going to tell them they were wrong at this time.  Everything was so heavy and fast right now she didn't need to put that kind of weight on herself.  Who knew if she would even survive the fight today.  She sure hoped so, she needed to get down there and help the Captain.

The man down below might not be her Captain but it was someone that was in need of medical assistance.  Zephyr was never the sort that could step aside while people needed help and just watch.  It wasn't in her blood, in her heart, or in her soul.  She would help those in need no matter their race or home.  It was just about her being needed and having the skills that they desired so greatly.

Zephyr crawled with the blue woman across the beams that were so high above the battle below.  She could literally feel the man's death as the beast down there skewered him on his massive claw and flung him to the side. For a moment, the young Betazoid paused, and nearly wretched.  She was a strong woman but feeling someone die was a completely different thing than just seeing it.  Seeing it you could distance yourself to it, you could remind yourself of the future, what steps needed to be taken in the future.  Your goal.  The endgame.  But feeling, the flicker of life just sputter out like that, the pain and agony, the shock and surprise, before the quiet.  It was so hard for her to wrap her mind around for the moment.  Her face turned pale, bright white, and she took a few shuddering breaths. 

What do you see, Zephyr.  I see... I see the metal plates. she thought to herself running through a mantra that her counselor had spoken to her about.  What do you hear?  I hear the sounds of battle, of people fighting.  What do you smell?  I smell blood.  What do you feel?  I feel the grate beneath my fingers. she completed her training and her eyes opened.  Shar hadn't gone too far ahead and Zephyr pushed herself forward so that she could get closer again.  Up ladders, across more platforms she followed the Blue woman trying to keep up with her though feeling useless for the most part. 

Up above, Shar dove for the plating and Zephyr lowered herself more carefully to the ground, clutching the medical kit with her entire being.  Her eyes shifted around looking for the Captain.  Surely he was down there, and there, she spotted him.  He was barely standing on his own two feet but he was forcing himself upright which meant that his will power was paramount.  That was good, she was going to need that will power for when she got down there to treat him.  Shar was already firing shots, and Zeph could sense the Ante's down below that were firing up them.  She grabbed up her phaser and took aim on the highest stun setting and began to at least try to take some down.  She was just doing blanket coverage because she couldn't see them as high up as they were all too well.  But she could feel them when they were stunned and fell.  She had been able to get at least two of them, she thought, and hoped that it would at least make it easier for the others to get them.

While she was doing so, the storm of shots at their platform began to reign more heavily.  We've been found. she thought as she ducked down and wondered if there was a way that she could reach Ives.  Closing her eyes for a moment she opened her mind and hoped that she could connect with Ives in a mental capacity.  She had never sought to do this before but she wanted to try.  She felt the oddity that was the mind... it was nothing that Zephyr had ever felt before.  She only touched on it lightly, and didn't dive into any memories or surface thoughts.  Just a slight presence.

~Excuse the intrusion, Captain, my name is Lieutenant Zephyr Praise, a Scientist and Medical Doctor for the Federation.  We are here to rescue you and provide aid.  We are coming.~  She hoped that if he received the message and understood it, that it would at least give him more courage and of course the hope necessary to make it through the battle to when she could get down there to him and actually treat him.

[ Deacon | Day 6 | Scion's Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Triage  @BZ  @Numen @FollowTomorrow 

Deacon made a sour and indelicate sound in the back of his throat as he watched the first of the invasion team all but eliminated within the span of a few moments.  He persed his lips, wondering if this, perhaps, was the secret reason Kzinti avoided names among the undistinguished rank and file... so much easier to report that soldiers one through fifteen had fallen in battle than to wrack one's memories for their names.  But, they had done as any kzinti warrior would do... lunged heedlessly into battle, a battle cry on their lips.  They would've made any patriarch proud.  Well, if they'd lived.  And if patriarchs didn't disdain monkeys as much as they did.

And here he thought he'd taught them better.  Perhaps he'd been too cryptic.  Telling them that the scion knew more about them than they about it... implying that only greater knowledge would offset that advantage.  Oh well.  This is why the front lines were the front lines and strategists stood apart.  His eyes followed the movement of the massive creature, flitting periodically to survey the territory around it, harkening back to the hunting strategies all young kzin were taught. Size, strength... these were insignificant hurdles.  Practically everything the kzinti hunted were three to ten times their own size with strength and ferocity to match.  Speed was, perhaps, the truest issue in this fight.

As the antes entered the room, their graviton guns drawn to support the scion, Deacon spared a wicked grin.  "What a novel little toy.  No ears to speak of on those giant heads, so I'll have to take a different type of souvenir," he thought to himself.  Still, it was but another of a long array of ranged weapons.  Dishonorable, unsatisfying.  But full of opportunities for the right engineer.

Returning his gaze to the scion, he slowly shifted his position, minimizing his aspect against incoming attack.  He would prefer to restrict the terrain into which the scion could move.  Fire, caltrops, pits, snares... all the things that would be useful in the open against an unthinking beast would likely trip up his own would-be companions here, as ungraceful as the monkeys seemed to be for the most part.  That left him with few options.  Taking aim, he readied himself, carefully tracking the creature's movements, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

The andorian fired, striking the insectoid beast in the head.  It was enough of an opportunity as he unleashed a searing bolt of energy from his own weapon, not aimed for the head, but for one of the oddly jointed legs, knowing it unlikely to completely immobilize their target, but hoping it more than sufficient to slow it down.

[ Ens. Nathaniel Isley | Scion's Nest | The Versant ]

When the thing lurched and spoke, many things happened at once. The young man next to Isley was snuffed out so quickly and in such a cruel way—impaled, and then thrown to the side as if he were no more than garbage. It’s limb came towards Isley and he was sure that he would meet his end next. Instead, his gun went flying into the darkness, landing...somewhere, likely. He never heard it hit the ground, because his body was knocked over and his head hit the ground. He heard ringing in his ears instead. He was closest to Semethal and did not see what happened to the team behind him, but he knew the Scion had attacked them. He did not need to see them to understand what fate met them.

He was clearly outmatched. It registered in his mind that this Scion was Infected. Knowing what he did about the parasites, he was so outmatched that simply being here, pushing himself up to his feet a few meters from Semethal, was suicidal. But he was behind the Scion, no longer the center of attention, and he already had an idea.

He sprinted towards the guards. Time felt like it was going by too fast, like he made it there quicker than he should have. They had weapons too, and they were firing at those in the balconies. That was, until Isley came.

He grabbed one guard, specifically his arms, and redirected the gun at...well, everything. There were two people trying to use this gun. What wound up happening is a spray of weapons fire, mostly at the hulking figure of Semethal, but also at the viewscreen, the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the balconies, and particularly the other guards. He tried to elbow the guard in the face, but it was a struggle to do so. Weapons fire sprayed everywhere before Isley finally got control over the weapon.

“You didn’t kill me yet you over sized shit-beetle! What the hell kind of swipe was that anyway?! I’ve seen children fight better than that! Hey, fuck all of you too!” He called out, and turned to the fellow guards. He fired at and around them, to force them to back off more than to hurt them.

[ Captain Ives | Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Helplessly, Jien Ives watched the carnage unfold - unable to assist in any other way than warning them.

The second notion that came to him was to tell them to stop. To leave, and save themselves, leaving him behind. He was not worth the lives of all those people out there. Isley, for one. He didn't want Isley to throw his life away in a futile attempt to save his life. The Scion was Infested, and there were more of the Savi on the way inside the nest, armed and armoured. Isley had retreated from Semathal, thankfully, and Jien saw him fight the Scion's personal guard. While there were beam energy whipping about the nest, he did manage to deter the personal guard's steady advance, half the success being on account of those firing from the research lab balconies.

There.... was suddenly a distinct voice in his mind, seeing the development. A voice that tried to allay his fears, and give him hope. Yet at the same time, in contrast to her words, Semathal had just dug its claws into the leg of a young officer Jien didn't recognised, and with the grip, the Scion smashed the officer to death against a pillar. Three consecutive swings, without pause for breath or delay. The officer was likely dead from the first of them, but by the time the Savi Admiral tossed the mess of meat and bone aside, there was no doubt to it. The only boon, was that the beast had stood still longer than he'd done before in the ensuing battle.

And someone on the balconies fired away, pelting the Scion with phaser energy, and since its forcefield had already taken its toll of shots from Isley, the rest that Ives didn't see, and the now dead officers strewn across the nest... the force field was finally breached.

Jien saw how Semathal lurched from the shot it sustained to it's head raising a clawed hand to it. Meanwhile, another man Jien... couldn't place... came for the Scion, and used the opportunity to fire at one of it's three legs. The screeching noise was short-lived, however, for the Admiral was not entirely itself. It was more. Other. And it didn't waste a moment to close the distance to the last shooter down on the deck, and directed a backhand strike towards him that would - if it hit - likely send the shooter rolling across the deck.

Trying to focus, to think clearly, Jien raised his eyes to the balconies. He could barely stand upright, but he would not just be lying on the floor. Seeing Semathal hurt, at last, had indeed stirred hope, and he would answer the telepath somehow. He closed his eyes a moment. Leave me behind. You should escape, not fight. It is Infested. You are too few.

When Jien opened his eyes again, he could see beams from Isley's weapon piercing Semathal - perforating the Scion's massive bulk. It seemed to do naught more than agitate the demonic alien, which rounded on Isley, about to kill him. Jien couldn't do anything about it. Fortune favoured Isley only in the fact that Semathal was a little bit slower, one leg damaged. Furthermore, the fighting had taken Semathal directly beneath the lab balconies along the bulkhead.

The personal guard was not deterred, however, since they made a second advance, four armoured Antecedents firing against the balconies anew. The railings had begun to give away from the graviton beams, crashing down towards Isley, the shooter with the tail, and Semathal.

That was when Jien saw glowing eyes in the dark, directly above the Scion's limping path.

---

OOC: Seven days of posting begin anew! @Triage goes next as previously discussed? The rest have no set posting order, so just chime in when you can within those seven days. :)

“Nae I no be thinkin' meself smart or brave. Stupid, aye, very much soh!”

[ Lt. JG Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Balcony | Scion Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @steelphoenix, @BZ, @FollowTomorrow & @Numen
[Show/Hide]They were losing, they were dying. The captain was no closer to safety than when they first came in. There was no feasible way to get Zeph safely over to him to render aid, and they. Were. Dying. The loss of one life was one too many that Sinead didn't want to see. Semathal had to be stopped, and he had to be stopped now. Her PADD was recording the entire incident, and she knew what she could do to even the odds. There were three possible outcomes that she could see. The best one guaranteed she could maintain a modicum of control, but in case she couldn't, she locked eyes with Zephyr, and nodded, thinking at the Betazoid, If I start attacking everyone, shoot me.

“Continueh recordin',” said Sinead to the PADD, “forward live feed t' Moby. Forward with message, urgent: Critical failure imminent. Assistance required. Semathal too strong.”

She removed the PADD from her wrist, slung her rifle, ducking her head to avoid a graviton beam, then holstered her phaser pistol after making sure it was set to its maximum power. She stood up, watching as Shar's shot finally destabilize the gigantic Scion, bringing him directly under her balcony. She looked at Deacon briefly and said softly, “Go low, I be goin' high.”

Without any further ado, she leapt from her perch, the PADD continuing it's assigned task of recording and providing a live feed to Moby, with an urgent message. Semathal's form zoomed up to meet Sinead as she swung her legs forward, her left hand gripping the back of his neck, as the momentum carried her onwards. She twisted her torso to lock one arm in a scissor, and she balanced herself in front of him, supporting her weight by her right palm on his shoulder, her left hand drawing out her pistol with lightning speed, and she stuck the barrel into what passed for the Scion's mouth, then without further delay, squeezed the trigger.

This either worked, or Moby would need to send another team to finish what they started.

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)| Day 6| The Scion's Nest | The Versant ]
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Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triage  @BZ  @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow


Shar was a privileged observer of O'Riley's suicide attack through the sight of her rifle. While she was preparing herself  to keep weakening the Scion's cranial plates, she was able to watch how the bright-eyed human burst into her line of vision. For a few seconds that seemed to extend infinitely, both O'Riley and the Scion struggled, the insectoid creature trying to get rid of the threat posed by the human, this determined to fullfil her desperate attack. Finally, the engineer got her goal and embedded the barrel of her weapon deep down between the monster's chitin mandibles. Sinead didn't hesitate a second on pull the trigger, aiming from with the Scion mouth to the plateless spot of his head. Instantly, a shower of dense blue blood was projected from the side of Semathal's head, mouth, cheek and jawline blasted open. Shapeless pieces of flesh and exoskeleton spilled around the creature, smearing everything around them with cerulean vital juices. The gargantuan creature emitted a high pitch scream, an unnatural sound in which surprise, pain and anger were plaited. One of his jointed legs hit violently the body of his attacker, hurling off the human against the farest window. The last glimpse of the woman that Shar could see was the human flying towards the blurry image of the nebula, her body limp as a broken toy.

Almost at the same time, the Andorian was forced to duck behind the railings, due graviton beam fire intensifying against her position. The shen crawled on her elbows and knees away from the edge as shots increased around her, tearing shards from the floor panels. In a few seconds, the parapet that protected them collapsed under the intensity of the shots, plunging into the main room, many meters below them. "Zztann!"Growled the Andorian between clenched teeth, while looking within Zephyr's eyes. She found the doctor too close to the void for her taste, her hands firmly gripped around the medkit, a vacant stare in her black eyes. A chill ran down the spine of the youngest member of the Zenne clan. The betazoid wasn't there, or at least not totally. She was using her mental abilities for ... for something that escaped the understanding of the Andorian. Whatever she was doing, she seemed only tangentially aware of what was happening around her, making her an even more vulnerable target. "C'mon, wake up!" Shar yelled, standing on her feet and shaking the doctor. Regardless of her reaction, she rested one of her hands on the doc's nape, forcing her to keep herself crouched, while using her body to shield her from the next burst of gunfire. She was the only doctor among the attackers' group, she must keep alive, no matter what it cost.

When they had almost reached the balcony point closest to the wall, a violent impact shook the platform, causing both women to stagger. Shar lost her balance and fell painfully on her knees. A metallic moan resounded on the platform they occupied, the structure that held it mortally wounded. The glances of both women crisscrossed for a second, while the rostrum leaned slowly toward the center of the room, plunging in slow motion into the void. Shar dropped the rifle, which scurried across the increasingly sloping surface until it disappeared over the edge of the damaged platform. "Get yourself safe!" Shouted the Andorian as she struggled to cling to the falling surface of the balcony. Her fingers searched desperately for a crack, any crevice that would allow her to move toward the safety where Zephyr remained, but the metal surface was as smooth as a first year icefield. Shar clung to the platform, keeping herself from falling from sheer force of will. But it was not enough.She had managed to avoid plunging towards the abyss but she was unable to move towards a secure position. And the platform tilted more and more every second, slowly but inexorably approaching her to a certain death. In a desperate last act, Shar pushed forward slightly and extended her left arm in front of her, fingers desperately extended toward Zephyr. If only she could reach her hand. If only...

A flurry of graviton gunfire whizzed around them again, permeating the air with the acrid smell of ozone. Shar screamed as one of the shots hit the shoulder of her outstretched arm, numbing pain spreading from the wound. The Andorian's fingers contorted and Shar lost the weak grip that held her to the platform. She felt herself falling...

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Platforms Above Death | Crawling with Andorians | Boosting a Captain]
@Auctor Lucan @Numen

Zephyr was not even there.  Her eyes were zoned out as she made a connection with the man down below, the one that was hurt and most definitely having a hard time.  He had been through a lot, there was no doubt what so ever, but she hoped that he wasn't destroyed.  That was all that they needed, these people, the ones from the Theurgy needed him to be fine.  Maybe not whole, but not destroyed.  They needed a Captain that they could believe in, stand behind, and boost up.  They had come here for him because he had meant something to the crew.  The sign of a good Captain, the sign of the man and the kind of Captain he was for the people under his command.  Zephyr had no doubt that he was worth saving and she hoped that he wouldn't do anything stupid like sacrifice himself just for the fact that it would make people stop fighting for him.  What he didn't realize was that they weren't here for just him.

This was part of the deal.

~Leave me behind. You should escape, not fight. It is Infested. You are too few.~  The male voice slid back into her mind, it was odd, not having it be Khorin that she heard.  He was, so far, the only one she had allowed into her mind at the moment.  Still, she knew that it was the captain, the feel was right, she could tell that he was pulling himself back together.  He didn't want them to die, but he didn't want to die either.  Despite what his words were, it seemed that he was gearing up for a fight at the very least. 

~Your people beg to differ.  They believe you are important but you are not the sole reason we are here.  A bargain has been struck to save your people, the people of Starfleet, and the others that are imprisoned on this ship.  You will not be left behind.~ her voice was kind but she was firm and stalwart in her mental voice.  So he would know that she spoke the truth.  ~Do not gi-~

Her voice stopped suddenly as she felt someone shaking her violently where she was in her body not in her head.  Her dark eyes blinked and she looked at the blue face of the woman that she had taken herself with.  A moment, was all it took to realize how bad the situation had grown from the moment before she had latched onto Ives' mind, and the fact that she was near a large drop to death down below.  She swallowed heavily. 

“Sorry!” she cried out, it was clear on her face alone that she hadn't meant to put herself in danger like that.  “I just wanted to tell the Captain that we were coming and what was going on.” she told the woman in front of her.  “Though in hindsight I probably should have given you warning.  I'm here now.” she admitted as she looked at the Andorian.  Thankful that somehow she had been able to keep herself and Zephyr both alive at the same time.

She stumbled after Shar and then both of the women were stumbling forward as a shot rocked the whole platform.  It wasn't going to last much longer and if they both fell from this height they were going to die.  We need a grapple gun or something, super archaic, super handy.  Could be pink.  She thought as Shar fell down to her knees.  Zeph, in her stumbling she fell so that she crashed into Shar just a little bit but caught herself well enough.  Her eyes searched the Andorian's face for a moment trying to figure out if she was in need of medical care right now or if it was something that she could push through and get on with the day.  Something that Zephyr could take care of then.

There, just ahead, was a platform that was still securely bolted to the wall.  Zephyr pushed herself at Shar's comment towards the platform so that she could get to a place where they weren't about to plunge to their deaths.  Turning quickly her eyes looked down at the woman that was clawing at the scaffolding that was currently lowering itself over and over and over again.  She gasped softly, and crawled to the edge.  She didn't want her to fall, she could not have the death on her hands.  She had enough of them and she really would like not to have another one added to the tally. 

“You're supposed to get yourself to safety too!” she admonished the woman gently as the woman reached for Zephyr.  Zeph tried to ground herself as well as she could, the woman had once been eternally clumsy but a wealth of training and age had changed that largely about her person.  So she felt much better about reaching out over the precipice of doom for Shar.  Hooking an arm and a leg around one of the platforms railing that was still in tact and fully bolted to the deck plating.  Of course, while she was wrapping herself up as best as possible so that she would be able to support the Andorian properly the woman slipped out and her hand let go of what had once been a firm ground support for her. 

“No!  You will not die today.” She said to Shar as she darted out without thinking of her own safety.  Gripping the bar as much as she could she reached out and grabbed a hold of Shar's Savi uniform.  Holding her for a moment, her strong scientist hands wrenching in the fabric there giving Shar a moment to grab onto Zephyr's arm as well.  “You can't help if you're dead.” she said quickly as she began to work to pull the andorian up enough that she could get enough of a purchase on the platform that she could get to safety and both of them ended up falling backwards on the platform breathing heavily. 

“Well.  That wasn't okay.  And exciting.  And hey can we save death defying circus maneuvers for the holodecks once we're off this boat?” she asked with a bright smile as she looked over at the Andorian and sat up.  “We have to get to Ives.” she admitted to Shar before she crawled over to a small hatch that seemed to lead to a ladder that would take her back down to the deck.  It would be a long climb down but if she could get down there she could crouch and hopefully lie in weight til the time that she could actually help Ives and get him all patched up.  Who knew what had actually been done to the captain, but the doctor and the Scientist in her wanted to set it all back to rights.

“I'm going down.” she told Shar.  “I'm going for Ives.”  Zeph didn't wait for an answer she began her descent to the ground floor hoping that Shar could give her cover.

[ Ens. Nathaniel Isley | Scion's Nest | The Versant ]

There was significant damage done against Semethal. He saw the balcony go down. Was that his fault? Probably. That’s okay. He snatched the gun from the Ante and used it to smack the Ante in the face. He did the same to the next one, and in no time the Antes’ guns were aimed at him.

Already he expected to die a handful of times in this battle, and here he was again expecting to do so. And yet...it never did happen. He grabbed one Ante, rolled him over his shoulder and pelted them over at another, and he ran at yet another with fury. He wasn’t going to die here. Like the very belief that he would not die sustained him, he kept going, throwing some poor unconscious Ante at the doorway where even more were coming.

“You think all of you can take me?!” He shouted down the oncoming Antes, giving them a moment’s pause as he established his power, mostly by aiming his gun at them. “You couldn’t take my dick! Come at me you fucking penises!” And he began to spray weapons fire, forcing the oncoming Antes to either take cover or get hit by bits of interior collapsing.

Semethal was taken care of. He knew that because, a minute before all this, he was sprayed by chunks of something semi-solid and gross. It came from Semethal, so he assumed that the Scion had…exploded. He didn’t want to look at that, actually. Let’s not. He was trying nice and hard not to puke all over the Antes he was trying so hard to intimidate. He hoped the flesh and blood made him look intimidating, for what it was worth.

[ Deacon | Day 6 | Scion's Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Triage  @BZ  @Numen @FollowTomorrow 

Retaliatory strikes.  A common response.  Perhaps not so quick, but common.  Wounded prey often lashed out at the cause of their pain.  He flexed backwards, expecting to shift under the swipe to reposition himself, a tactic he'd performed dozens of times back on homeworld growing up, learning to hunt.  But that was before the correction, that was before the fundamental change in his skeletal structure, and where he'd adapted to his changed in mobility on a conscious level, the old instincts held true to what had gone before.

A sharp pain erupted from the back of his head as it strafed the ground, his muscle memory overcompensating for the kzinti rib lattice that he no longer possessed, the flexibility in his back as a human ironically more significant even as his legs folded under him, the scion's swipe passing a hair's breadth past the tip of his nose.

Biting back the pain, he rolled to the side, focused on the flailing of the target so as to avoid being stomped on physically even as his own internal monologue of critique assailed him.  Alone, such an unseemly position would likely have proven fatal for him.  Damaged as it was, the scion still moved and struggled with all the ferocity of a grlor even at 1/25th the size.  Analysis now was hardly ideal. Survive the battle and redress the mistakes in recovery and laugh over the scars.

Deacon caught a flash of movement above him as the female bringloidi descended from her perch making another direct assault on the creature's head.  An excellent strategy.  Had he the position and strength, he'd've set his own weapon into the wound rigged to explode.  Wishful thinking.  A momentary blood lust that would have been glorious.  Wasn't there a klingon in here?  A klingon should be singing opera right about now.

Focus... focus...

He supposed it was fortunate that the personal entourage of ante guards were more focused on the balconies above or the officers in their midst.  It made for fewer things to dodge from his position.

The bringloidi's stratagem had done significant damage to the creature's head -- at least what had remained of it.  But it wasn't enough, not to him, not to reality, not to whatever had crawled inside and taken control over the chitinous puppet.  Either way, Deacon had not scored enough against the beast.

Again, he raised his weapon, this time taking aim for the center of the legs and pulling the trigger, whether to sever spine from hip, or even disable another limb, he was intending to ensure this thing never had opportunity again to move from this spot.  Immobilized, it would die.  He was convinced, even as he felt  the warmth of his own blood beginning to drip down his neck, the edges of his vision blurring.  It would die... even if the monkeys had to do it...

[ Echtand qi Versant | The Archive Access | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Standing above the dead body of the Memory, Echtand had just finished his transmission to Blue Tiran, in which he'd forgiven her for what her actions had led to; the death of twenty Antes. She'd freed a Deltan from the biolabs, and not told him, but Blue had done it before the accord was made. Had she told him, he might have been able to save the Deltan's life, but now, the Eye had spotted her in the night, and had the escaped specimen slain. Because of the Deltan, the Eye had deployed search-teams through the entire Precept-ship to find out who had issued the female's transport.

He wasn't entirely sure why he'd let Blue's actions pass without repercussions. Perhaps it was because of his own level of commitment to success, and he needed the specimens still? For some reason, he could not bring himself to cut her off, and made them all scapegoats. Whenever the notion came to him, he saw the eyes of his mother and father anew - the reproach in their stares as they were led to their deaths in the biolabs.

Whatever might compel him, Echtand had now killed both the Eye and the Memory, and waited outside the Achive Access, the blood of two Scions on his hands. He remained true to his ambition. There was no turning back any more. All he needed now, was to wait for word about Semathal, and access to the Archive would be his - unfiltered by his mere level as Voice of the Savi. With the Eye, the Memory and Semathal gone, he'd gain full disclosure of the Archive's history on the Code, and the key to his people's true origin... before the Scion Directive.

The seconds felt like minutes, the minutes like hours, without word from those that would breach the Scion's Nest, and rid the Versant from its admiral. He'd aided the specimens in the Aerodrome, but there was no word from the other areas yet, and he found himself pacing back and forth, passing by the body of the Memory again and again in wait for the access confirmation. He refused to indulge in doubt, certain the circumstantial evidence would prove him right once he was inside the Archive.

There was a whirring noise from his tablet, and he raised it to see a message, at last, from the Nest. Though it was not the message he wanted. "<Failure imminent?>" he said, incredulous. The team was armed, was it not? Had he not granted them access to the Nest, and an element of surprise? Were Starfleet so inadequate? Had he overestimated their will to live? There was a blinking symbol next to the message, which would render him a live feed from the wearer of the tablet. Frowning, he tapped the symbol, and the tablet projected the holographic scene as the sender experienced it.

Seeing what transpired, Echtand was taken aback. Being up-close to semathal and seeing the sender blast the Scion Admiral's head open at the side. For a moment, he thought it was over with.... but then the sender - tagged Sinead O'Riley - was thrown away from Semathal. The tablet kept up the live feed, however, and Echtand could hardly credit his eyes. The Admiral was still moving. Still fighting? Incredulously, from afar, Echtand saw a tailed specimen fire against the damaged body of the Scion, the phaser blasts eating away at the lower body, yet Semathal still struck the weapon out of the specimen's hand, and leapt towards its assailant.

"<Cack!>" Echtand had no idea what was happening, but he knew that his whole endeavour was in peril. Even if he beamed the specimens in the hideout to the Nest, they were likely not armed or prepared. There was no time. "<Cack!>" Fuming, Echtand realised he had no choice. For all his planning through the night, he had not anticipated this scenario. Nonetheless, with deep bitterness and trepidation towards what he'd witnessed, he extended a finger towards his tablet, and issued a reply.

I WILL ARRIVE THROUGH YOUR ACCESS POINT. DO NOT ATTACK ME. Once that was sent, after giving the vault behind him one last glance, he accessed the transporter system.

[ Captain Ives | Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Jien had no words to give the telepath, the sight of the battle drawing his eye - any words forgotten.

Illuminated still by the blue stasis field, face mauled and body broken, hope had stirred him. The pain felt was a feed from a mimicked form, a construct of his morphogenic matrix. The only reason he could move, and might yet remain sane, was because there had been no use in perfectly mimicking human pain reception. While the agony was felt, it was not anything akin to what a human in his position might.

His despair was in seeing the development, helplessly watching those who'd come for him getting slaughtered by the Infested thing in the nest. Watching from where he stood, O'Riley had ended up behind a pillar, and Isley was too far off, dealing with the personal guard, but he believed they were retreating. The balconies were crashing down against the deck, and yet two female figures seemed to have managed to avoid the fall. Semathal, however, had disarmed the tall figure with the tail, and closed a grip around his neck. Decapitation was imminent, those nacreous claws about to close - even if the Scion's footing seemed precarious. Damaged, yet not damaged enough, and still remaining upright. In that instant, Ives got the notion that the victim had to be the Kzin. Deacon.

"No..." he wheezed. Yet something in his peripheral vision caught his eye. Another figure entered the nest. Another Savi. The one who once visited the Scion. With long strides, armed with a graviton pistol, Ives expected him to kill those on the balconies, or shoot Isley in the back. Yet instead, when the figure raised his weapon, he fired against the ceiling. A careful shot made, before the Savi rounded on the Scion. Semathal, in turn, had yet to decapitate Deacon - it's remaining eyes turning towards the new arrival.

There was Savi speech heard. A loud proclamation from the Ante, which made Semathal toss Deacon aside. Whatever had been said, it made the Scion lurch towards the Ante. It sounded as if Semathal tried to answer, to issue some kind of voice commands, yet his head was too damaged, making the sounds no more coherent than a broken facet of blue blood. Was Jien watching some kind of power struggle? The Ante had his wrist raised towards the advancing Scion, tapping commands into a tablet. Two things happened.

The front entrance of the nest was sealed, shutting out the personal guard that Isley had pushed into retreat - leaving the pilot inside the nest. Secondly, as if the Ante was conjuring spells with his fingers, blinding yellow geometries appeared in the dome of the nest, and struck down against Semathal. Over and over again, the yellow lights smote the Infested, and gradually stripped away his outer chitin armour.

Though while the Scion screeched through a damaged throat, it still advanced towards the Ante.

"Kill it!" snapped the Savi, still tapping at his tablet, the words in accented Federation standard as he asked the remaining Starfleet officers to finish the fight. Slowly, focused on his typed commands, the Ante stepped backwards, but Jien saw that it was only a matter of seconds before the remains of Semathal would reach this unexpected ally in the nest. Deacon had slowed the Infested down considerably, but it was still moving, and still alive, animated by the nameless darkness.

---

OOC: By the end of this next round of posts, Semathal should be sufficiently destroyed to cease moving. Echtand will continue to strike him with purification fields throughout your posts, until there is only smoking soup left, but Echtand needs help stopping the advance and blasting the Scion into smaller pieces. Otherwise, he's done for.

[ Lt. JG Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Balcony | Scion Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @steelphoenix, @BZ, @FollowTomorrow & @Numen
[Show/Hide]For a moment, Sinead dared to hope, as her pistol unleashed the full power of a vapourizing phaser blast, that it would be over. But even as she redecorated the wall behind Semathal with Scion goop and brain matter, the foul thing screamed, hurting the unprepared Bringloidi's eardrums, she realized she was now riding an extremely furious eight foot tall rampaging monster. Even as she released her leg lock on one of his arms, his middle leg kneed her, hard. The impact knocked the breath out of her and she silently flew towards a display window. Forcing air into her lungs, she twisted herself as she sailed, until she landed roughly on the floor, lying uncomfortably on top of a Graviton rifle, belonging to one of the Savi guardsmen that had entered to assist Semathal.

Nathaniel was holding the entire Savi reinforcements remarkably well by himself, and she slowly pushed herself off the ground, seemingly forgotten in the excitement of it all...or Semathal was working with only half his brain and therefore, was not functioning with his full faculties. Either way, she saw Zeph making her way to the ground, approaching the captain. Sinead felt momentary panic at the doctor's actions, but she stamped it down in light of the fact that it was down to them, now, and they could ill-afford to keep anyone from trying to contribute. Deacon had jumped down just before her, but he suffered injuries, a concussion by her guess, and now the Scion had the tailed human in its hold. Her phaser pistol had flown out of her hand when Semathal kicked her, and was on the far side from where she was. She swung her phaser rifle around, only to notice the side of the weapon sparking and sizzling.

The weapon had taken the brunt of the Scion's kick, suffering damage, saving Sinead from the worst of it. Even so, the woman could feel pain with each breath she drew, and suspected at the least, bruised ribs. Getting into a kneeling position, she picked up the Graviton rifle after abandoning her phaser, and examined it. The functions were essentially the same. She noticed a message coming in on her PADD and she tried to raise her voice, “MOBY IS COMIN', DO NO' BE SHOOTIN' HIM!”

When the Savi appeared, Sinead's sense of shock lasted for only a brief moment. Logic told her that Moby had to be of significant influence. Echtand qi Versant was certainly that. Though his alliance with them was curious, she focused on the assistance and tactical advantage he just provided them. Sealing the Savi security force outside mitigated distractions from their only task at hand. On top of that, he had called down some sort of laser support systems that began to destroy the Scion's chitinous armour. “Protect the Savi!” Sinead wheezed as loudly as she could, and whipped the Graviton rifle into her hands, taking careful aim.

The others began their attacks, and Sinead took aim at Semathal's legs, beam after beam seared out from the rifle and cut the creature's legs, “Semathal!” the Bringloidi shouted, “Look at yeh! Yeh are weak! A failure! Th' Scions are an embarrassment. How can yeh call yehself superior?!?” The laser support continued its brutal work on the Scion, tearing away more protection and leaving it vulnerable to attack by the Starfleet officers and Echtand.

She kept firing at the creature's legs, and continued taunting him, trying to draw his attention to herself. “Yeh are bein' brought low by lesser beings. How does it feel?” She squeezed the trigger and drew a line from its middle leg to most of its back. “If yeh want th' Savi, yeh cann crawl t' him.” One final beam completely cut the middle leg right at the joint, and another leg was cut in half, but the woman kept firing, determined to reduce the Scion to nothing but atoms. “Officers, DESTROY TH' SCION!!!” Her eyes blazed like blue suns, and she stood up, firing as she drew closer.

Rarely did Sinead allow her emotions to rule or dictate her actions ever since embracing the ways of Surak. But this once, the Bringloidi indulged herself, and allowed anger, indignation for countless lives devastated or lost, due to the alien before her that she was firing on, and so she poured her hatred, and raw fury into every single shot. She made every moment the most painful cut into the Scion. She inflicted suffering. And she took sadistic pleasure in it.

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)| Day 6| The Scion's Nest | The Versant ]
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Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triage  @BZ  @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow


She had saved her. She barely knew her, not really, and in spite of it, she had save her. She'd grabbed her dark garment and dragged her to salvation,drawing an inconceivable strength from nowhere given her petite frame. Risking her own life looming over the void without considering her own safety. Despite the little love she had for her own existence at that moment, the Andorian's self-preservation instinct still worked perfectly so that as soon as she was able to reach one of the edges of the battered platform, Shar clung to it, putting all her strength to climbing to the balcony, lightening the task of her savior. Finally they both rolled down the platform, away from the danger of a sudden fall. The Andorian rolled on her back, panting heavily. Zephyr's breathing did not seem much more uniform. Shar turned her head to look at the woman to whom she owed her life without knowing what to say. Maybe she should thank her it. Maybe she should blame her for stealing the chance to die on a mission, with a real meaning. So she simply stared her, antennae lashing against her forehead. Shar opened her mouth to say ... something. Anythig. But the betazoid doctor talked before she could form any words. And she smiled. Shar wasn't even able to understand what she was saying. It was just that she offered hope. And in the dark despair in which the Andorian was plunged, she was like seeing suddenly the light of day again. It just blinded her. She didn't deserve hope. Not her. The Andoria's shame.

However, she couldn't reveal herself against that positive feeling she offered her, because with the same rapidity that she had launched over the edge to save her, Zephyr stood up proclaiming her intention to go in search of Ives, using a hatch to reach the lowest level. Even before Kelleshar regained verticality, Praise was already descending the narrow ladder, taking the lead. She took a second to look at the hole through which the other woman had disappeared, still uncertain how to feel about her. Zephyr really tried hard to be endearing to everyone. It was an attitude that had always disgusted Shar. And still, the betazoid started to grow on her. Like a parasite. The Andorian bit her lower lip hard, until the delicate surface opened, staining her mouth in indigo. Without giving a further thought to the subject, she ran forward and began to climb down the ladder, in pursuit of Zephyr.

The descent lasted what seemed like an eternity. The shaft was narrow and even darker than the rest of the Savi installations, with barely a spot of dim lighting every ten rungs. Most of the climbing happened almost in complete darkness, the noises of what happened below distorted and amplified until they were converted into an unintelligible clamor. It was like being inside a percussion instrument of the size of a starship. The Andorian found it difficult to hear even her own thoughts, let alone unravel how the fight was unfolding.

When they finally reached the lowest floor, Shar quickly grabbed Zephyr by the elbow to keep her from running wildly in search of the captain. "Just wait a minute, remember you are the only doctor here" he rebuked her, more for giving vent to the bitterness that was innate in her than because the betazoid had done something crazy so far. Except, of course, save her life. She didn't want to deal with the contradictory feelings that caused her, so she was quick to evaluate the situation. The floor plates were smeared with red and blue blood, the smashed bodies of the advance squad covered the ground like a macabre harvest. The Andorian's eyes moved quickly in search of the Scion. The creature was heading toward the door through which they had entered the room, his strides slower and less secure than the last time she had seen him through the sight of her rifle. Despite the grotesque wounds he had suffered, the absence of an important part of his head, the terrible damage to two of his three lower appendices. In spite of everything, the creature moved, guided by an unnatural energy against one of the contenders. A savi. A savi who was screaming in a heavy accented Federation Standard while he tapped frantically on the padd attached to his arm. Almost instantly, yellow lights began to flash over the Scion, dissolving little by little its chitinous armor, but without stopping his ominous advance. The only logical deduction is that this new savi was an ally. And their only ally among the bulb heads was Moby.

Her reasoning was confirmed when O'Riley's voice echoed through the room, asking for protection for the newcomer as he fired a crazed blast against one of the monster's three legs, which broke with an unpleasant wet crunch. Even with only two barely functional legs, he kept moving forward. "Go for Ives. Don't put yourself in danger, don't do anything foolish. I cover you, " she ordered to Zephyr before releasing her elbow and gripping the phaser pistol. It was not by far the most dangerous weapon against that creature, but the Andorian didn't have anything better available. Turning her back to the doctor, she straightened to face the Scion's rear, calibrated the weapon in the higher settings and began firing at the monster.

Her shots were barely able to dissolve small pieces of the gargantuan Savi's armor or caused black burns if they managed to reach the bluish flesh of the creature, where one of the yellow flashes had weakened the impenetrable shell. But Semathal kept moving forward. Desperate at the futility of her attack, Shar took a decision. She manipulated the settings of the weapon until she could overload it and ran towards the Scion. When she got close enough, she threw the gun, re-turned into a grenade. Just before hitting the Savi's right shoulder, the gun exploded, vaporizing a good portion of the creature's arm and damaging his torso. At the Andorian's horrified gaze, the monster kept moving forward.

[ Deacon | Day 6 | Scion's Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Triage  @BZ  @Numen @FollowTomorrow 

His hazy delirium was snatched away in an instant as the creature was upon him, snaring him by the thin flesh of his neck, the serrated claws of its opposite hand ready to strike.  Did it expect fear?  Groveling?   Tears?  Clearly it had mistaken Deacon for one of the monkeys he resembled, but his heart and his will remained steadfastly kzinti.  At any moment, he could be cast from the mortal world to join the eternal hunting ground and if such a fate were to fall, he would welcome it bravely, with eyes open, as his god would demand.

This thing clawed at the edges of his perception, foreign, hungry, a twisted visage that defied understanding, a terror made manifest.  It hammered against the edges of his ziirgah whether attempting to instill him with dread or stir a moment of regret, but Deacon remained defiant, unwilling to allow even the smallest breach in his mental defenses.  He would deny this creature.  What it had done to his flesh, he would grant it no ingress to his mind.

And then, he was cast aside, as another entered the nest, causing the scion to turn its half exposed head and charge in protest of the newest assault against its person.  An ante?  Deacon frowned.  These creatures were a hazard to themselves and others.  The universe might well be better rid of them all.  But for the sake of the captain and the remainder of the crew, he was avowed to do no harm to the pale skinned bastards, no matter how great his desire.

The scion was, however, another matter, and as it continued to lurch forward, the others continued to lash out at him.  One beam tore through the remaining leg, an explosion tore a deep hole in its torso, sending one of those clawed arms flying.  No no... Deacon wasn't done.  This thing woke him up and now he wasn't done.  Drawing the weapon that had managed by some miracle to remain in his grip, he fired towards the near-hollowed remains of the creature's head.  One of the humans had briefly mentioned a thematic feasting day centered on the consumption of seared flesh encased in hardened shells, often scooping out a liqueous concoction of spiced vegetables... what was the word?  Salsa... yes... why did this moment make him think of...?  FOCUS... FOCUS...

[ Ens. Nathaniel Isley | Scion's Nest | The Versant ]

He thought he’d be doing this forever. His main goal was to fight Semethal, and here he was constantly swamped with the big bug’s personal ant pile. And just like ants, they  never stopped coming from their little mound. He beat them back, uses suppressive fire, but they were tenacious. He was reaching a point where he couldn’t get a shot in at Semethal…

Suddenly, the doors were closed and locked, right in front of his face. He paused, just for a half second, to see if the doors would open once more and he’d be swarmed again. Sure enough, they stayed closed. But why?

He turned around, and the answer was clear. It was Echtand, their grey, creepy benefactor. He was using pinpricks of light to mince Semethal, and how effective it seemed! How did he know to come here? It didn’t matter, he thought, as he trained his weapon on Semethal once more. The fight would renew, and Isley was invigorated. For Ives, he thought, for Ives!

He felt the excitement in his blood as he began bolting towards Semethal, passing Echtand as he did so. Sinead’s screamed orders, he screamed back, a wordless expression of...of everything. All this change, all the secrets uncovered, all the lives that had ended. Bright flashes of light came from his weapon, each one piercing the lump of biomedical waste that Semethal had come to resemble. He had no fear of death—doing this was far more important. It gave him meaning. He felt so damn alive.

Hunks of flesh carved from Semethal’s body dropped, looking like sloppy cuts of meat that fell off a butcher’s table. Blood sprayed everywhere, he was sure his face and clothes were stained. Isley had placed himself between Echtand and Semethal, so close to the parasitic beast that he could smell the flesh of the bug as he ripped through it with shot after shot after shot. Semethal was close--but Isley's passion felt bigger than any bug right now.

[Lt. Zephyr Praise |  Lets Get Medical, Medical |  I Want to get.. Medical |  Not Enough Hypo]
@Triage @Numen @FollowTomorrow @steelphoenix @Auctor Lucan

The floor was chaos.

Should have stayed up top.  Zeph admitted to herself, though she would never say such things out loud.  Black eyes surveyed the scene around her as she finished climbing down the ladder and turned to see what was going on.  Here, on the ground floor the large Scion seemed even larger than he had before.  Up above even though she could see the difference in sizes of the Fleeters and the Scion it was a whole different thing to see it up close.  They're so brave. she thought to herself.  Zeph had been through a lot and flashes of a certain Botanical Lab incident she had been privy to played against the shadows of her mind.  However, that had been years ago and while red flashing lights still sometimes triggered her initial fear reactions she found that she was better able to stop them.  She didn't fall prey to it the way she had when she was younger and when the memories were fresh.

One of the woman screamed out that Moby was coming.  Zeph's eyes shifted widening slightly at the mention of the alien that only the Angry-One had seen before.  Still, she didn't know what her purpose was going to be down here but she ultimately wanted to get over towards Ives and see if she could help the captain.  If she could take away his pain or at least heal whatever had been done to him externally maybe he could even join into the fight.  Or at least, be less of a liability.

She moved, or well, she tried to but her elbow was grabbed behind.  Zeph whirled around and found that Shar had ninja-followed her down the shaft.  Zeph had been just trying not to die.  One wrong foot in the darkness would have sent her body into a crumpled and broke heap at the bottom of the shaft.  However, she had manged to make it by just being absolutely careful, focused, and it helped that she had taken it one rung at a time.  One- two, one- two.  Now, she was out she realized that she had been so focused on her own descent that she hadn't heard the Andorian making the same one.  Still, Zeph was then reminded that she was their only doctor.  To be safe, stay close, and Zeph's eyes widened slightly.

She understood the sentiment.  But, she could also fight on her own too.

“Don't think I'm weak, just because I have a medical license.  However, I don't think thats what you're thinking.  I know I'm the only doctor and we have to fix Ives, and any of the others.” 

A warm comforting smile crossed Zeph's face as she put her small petite hand on top of the Andorian's.  “Don't get any crazy ideas out there of dying for prestige.  You're the only Andorian.” she winked.  “We need you.”

They turned and things were crazy.  There was Moby screaming out about killing the Scion that despite having lost most of it's head was still making for the white headed alien.  Zeph could feel the hatred on the end of both parties, and probably the slight panic of Moby that was coloring the fact that he could very well die if they didn't get to him.  The Andorian and she were still almost holding hands and watching the carnage of battle unfold around them.  Shar told her to get to Ives, be safe, and she would be covered.  Zeph's smile was a warm and bright thing that lightened her whole face.

“I couldn't ask for anyone better.”

Zeph turned and tried to focus.  There in the blue light was the Captain standing, sort of, but obviously in pain.  Who knew how well he had been cared for here but if she had to hazard a guess it wasn't very good.  She had been changed, fed, and kept.  But, he had been sent up here and who knew what the crazy bug man had done to him. Need an exterminator.  I am the exterminator!  Okay I'm not .. I'm the Health Bringer!  Zeph crouch walked, hoisting her med kit up over her shoulder for a better more comfortable fit as she worked her way over to Ives.  Her eyes were on the battle as well because one wrong graviton beam and she was a smear on the deck plate.  She couldn't be a smear, she had too much good left to do in the world.  Still the battle, was intriging and distracting at the same time.  The large bug charged for the Ante.  The Ante was screaming.  Beams fell from the ceiling carving parts of the being off or.. getting rid of them.. whatever it was doing it was working.

Still it moved.

It's like one of those damn bugs that would survive the apocolypse.  What was that one movie with the robot who had a pet bug... I can't remember, but I feel like this is his descendant.  She thought as she felt the light of blue glowing around her and knew that she was closing in on Ives.

I got to hurry while he's distracted.

Zephyr looked over where Ives was in the blue light and started to move faster.  Only in the dim lighting she didn't see the body of a dead alien on the ground.  She tripped over it and crashed into the deck plating.  A slight pop in her shoulder told her, well.. the pain actually, told her she had likely dislocated it in the fall.  She would be all right, nothing someone couldn't help her with, hell she could pop it back in herself with something to grab onto.  Right now though, she was going to have to be careful.  Getting up she found that her face had come into contact with one of the rifles.  Carefully, she picked it up and looked at it.  This is kind of a cool design.  I wonder if we could reverse engineer something like this back on whatever ship we get put on after this. she thought as she stood up holding the weapon. 

Ives, I have to get to Ives. she reminded herself.

Zeph turned to see the Captain rather close.  She started forward when an errant beam was caught by her peripheral vision and she ducked down quickly.  Crouching.  The gun, shifted in her hand, and her finger slid into the trigger guard without her realizing it and. … boom!  A beam shot from the rifle and right across the room.  Straight through what was left of the brain matter that had once belonged to the large Scion beast.  It was now blue liquid brain juice that slid through the remaining body parts and pitter pattered onto the deck plating below it before the entire body fell.  Whatever was left of it.  Bits, parts, and small pieces all slopped down with a thick wet sound. 

Silence, for the moment. 

“Oh!  Ives.” 

She didn't even realize what she had done.  Tossing the rifle that wasn't going to do her any good what so ever she worked her way to Ives.  “Hey Cap. I'm Zephyr Praise, Lieutenant and medical Doctor.” she smiled warmly at the man.  Kneeling down she opened her Medical kit and pulled out her tricorder so that she could get a reading on what exactly was going on with the Captain. 

“I think there are a lot of people here that are really glad you're still around.  We've got an alliance with some of the aliens on this ship.  Mutiny and some kind of plan to help the white headed guy back there against the creepy bug guy that … “ she looked over her shoulder “Is good now.  Anyway, we're going to get off this ship.  So, we need to get you all fixed up too.” she looked up and smiled at him warmly.  “Just going to scan you for any kinds of damages for a minute okay?” she beamed over at him warmly and began to work him over with the scanner hoping that it wasn't anything she couldn't fix.  Or at least triage for the time being.

"Strange, I am getting two readings..."

[ Echtand qi Versant | Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Focused as Echtand was, the rising fear tethered, he was trying to tune the yellow blasts of fission to vaporise more and more of Semathal's hard and soft tissues. Scions were created to withstand the pressure of space, and the safety protocols kept him from dissolving the deck beneath the advancing Admiral. Thankfully, the specimens present aided when called upon, and with a common effort, they attacked the animated corpse, or at least this.... thing that should be dead already. He had no means of knowing how Semathal could still move, but he was applying all his acumen to stop the Scion.

One of the Starfleet officers even interjected himself between Echtand and the moving monstrosity of tough flesh and steaming chitin armour. As surprising it was, it presented the difficulty of changing the light-vectors to spare the specimen, but it also granted him an opportunity. He accessed the safety protocols of the Nest, which took him more seconds than he cared for, and disabled them. After that, he fired off new purification fields, which were far more... efficient.

From a 90 degree angle, Echtand blasted Semathal, his own face twisted into a mask of revulsion and hatred. The tight control on his emotions was brittle from facing the thing before him and the protective Romulan. The Starfleet officers cut the Scion to pieces, blasting away parts of its torso, making Echtand have to cover his face with his arm. He gave up his fine-tuning calibrations, merely hitting the 'Repeat' command over and over again, and with the safety protocols offline, along with the precision shooting of the present specimens, the thing that used to be Semathal collapsed on the deck. Five more blasts it took, before there was nothing more than a biomatter trail of soup across the deck, and the body finally gone. So was, incidentally, the deck plating where the Scion has drawn it's last breath.

His scientific curiosity compelled him to ask those present if they could explain what had happened, but his concern couldn't remain with Semathal, now that it was dead, and instead initiated his command access to the Versant. His breathing elevated, he cued the authority protocol, and waited for the result. Only then, in the wait for recognition, he raised his black eyes to the present specimens, and inclined his head to the Romulan.

"My thanks," he said in Federation standard, trying to calm down the rapid beating of his two hearts. "I am waiting for command recognition, now that Semathal is gone. The Versant will be trying to scan for its life-sign, which is routine protocol. I will then be able to release your Captain." He paused, looking at the survivors. "I do not know how the Admiral could be this augmented against physical violence. Had I known, I would have aided you better from the start." The bodies littered the nest, which was a clear indication of his failure. More so than theirs.

Irritated at how his precautions had been inadequate, Echtand had still heard what the Betazoid female had said, and while he might just transport himself to the Vault once more, there was no point in doing so without command access. Therefore, with his graviton pistol at his side, his steps led there, to the female's side, and he offered the obvious explanation to the dual readings she had detected on the crude Starfleet-issue tricorder he had replicated for her - just like he had replicated all their armament and suits. When he spoke up, the mild curiosity of the conundrum was plain to him.

"The Aspect Maker's readings should not be showing two biological aspects at once," he said in his contralto voice, the Federation standard coming even easier when using scientific terminology. "I know this, because the morphogenic matrix of your Captain is not made to create dual forms. Rather, there must be a second reading in the stasis field. The reason you cannot isolate it is because the tricorder is set to just read mass."

[ Captain Ives | Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Hardly able to credit his eyes, Jien watched, whilst swaying on his feet, how his tormentor was brought to its gruesome end. The whole nest was flashing from the brilliance of the blasts and weapons fire against the Scion. It was only through common effort, and coordination, that Semathal finally stopped moving, and the last pieces of its massive bulk could be vaporised.

As battered as he was, layers upon layers of congealed blood on his form, Jien slowly turned his oaken eyes towards the Betazoid in front of the stasis field, who was scanning him. He wished to tell her that whatever afflictions he suffered, they were merely a part of his present form. Yet while pain was not the same kind of issue that it was for real Humans, the toll taken upon his present form - which he could not change - was making it hard to focus on her words. She spoke about there being two readings, but he could not sort it out properly.

Then, the Ante came. This one that had come to the nest a few days past. Obviously, an ally, and not a Scion, so Jien looked at him indifferently - not yet settled on what he thought of the tall figure. The alien also spoke of a second reading, and Jien wondered what it was about. "Please explain," he managed, his throat dry.

Echtand qi Versant glanced his way, and there was no pause, no sign of irritation. Perhaps science - despite applications thereof - was an arena in which Starfleet and Savi could meet in understanding, askew as they might be in terms of progress. "I'll verify," said the Ante and raised the tablet on his wrist, starting to issue commands into it. "There is actually a second life-sign in the stasis field."

"Someone else?" asked Jien, frowning, since he couldn't see how it was possible. The Savi was already loosing credibility.

"Contrary to the beliefs of the Federation's Science Division," said Echtand, seemingly familiar enough with the progress of science in Starfleet, "bio-molecular disintegration does not mean cessation. In other words, while disassembled, biomatter can be held in animated suspension if preserved from decay by electrostatic energy. This vapour is what you've detected."

There was a pause of silence. "Vapour.... McMillan," said Jien, not wanting the reminder, "Semathal killed her."

Echtand seemed to be annoyed now. "'Disintegrated' should be the term."

"Semantics aside," said Jien, wishing that he could leave his state of perpetual torment, not having it added upon, "can you deactivate this field?"

"Of course, I am just waiting for the clearance," said Echtand, frowning at Jien now. "If I do, however, the second life-sign's biomatter will start to decay. Does this hold no relevance to you?" The Ante seemed surprised, for some reason.

"She's dead," said Jien, frowning with his mauled face at the pale aspect of the alien outside the field.

"Yes," said Echtand, but it was as if he could not see the congruity of the argument. "In a medical sense, she is now dead. I am saying that re-integration is possible, and yet you dismiss it? I thought Starfleet was built on more noble principles than waste of life, yet as far as I have understood the way the Scion Directive has changed my people, perhaps I am too quick to pass judgement."

Stunned, Jien found himself stepping closer to the edge of the stasis field. "Re-integration?"

By then, there were loud noises coming from the main entrance of the nest, with the personal guard gradually breaking down the doors with graviton energy and force. It would not be long before they were inside. Echtand glanced in that direction, seemingly conflicted about how much more he had time to tell them. "I may be the Voice, but before I earned my position, transporter technology and science was my main field. I am trying to tell you that the genetic coding of this individual, it's sequence, should be stored on the Versant. Using the DNA sequence, I can easily isolate her atomic fragments in this stasis field. Under other circumstances, I'd propose the reconstruction and re-animation her fragmented set of biosystems, assembling it from billions of subatomic particles. Unfortunately... it seems we have run out of time."

Jien felt his heart beating faster in his chest. "She's a Radiant," he hissed from his broken face. "Do it. Now."

Echtand frowned. "I fail to see..."

"She is a key to stopping others like that Scion!"

Clenching his teeth together, the Ante was an intelligent being, and in a couple of seconds, it seemed like he could derive things others mightn't, having witnessed the Scion's abilities, and realised that there was some kind of explanation for it, and perhaps also a means to fight them.

"I will try," Echtand said, and then looked towards the others, even as the main entrance was destroyed. "Stop them. Their armour have transporter inhibitors, so use lethal force if you have to. I see no other recourse."

Captain Ives didn't even have to give the order, the look he gave them was clear enough on the importance. They had no choice.

---

OOC: In this next round of posts, there will be 10 armoured Antes to deal with. Don't let them shoot Echtand while he re-materialises Heather McMilllan, just like Doctor Jetrel tried to do with the victims of Rinax in the Voyager episode (https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x57mzfd) named after him (the relevant part is at 43 minutes in). Here is a link to the Memory Alpha article (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Jetrel_(episode)). Whereas Janeway and Tuvok failed, the Voyager's systems inferior to the task, perhaps Echtand might do it? ;)

“I am not without fear...I lived through th' Dominion War. No one goes through that without bein' changedh. What do I fear?...I fear...everything.”
[ Lt. JG Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Balcony | Scion Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @steelphoenix, @BZ, @FollowTomorrow & @Numen
[Show/Hide]Try as she might, once the adrenaline wore off, Sinead could not stop the trembling in her hands and that all-consuming sense of tiredness, the pain in her side and chest increased tenfold, and she wanted to lie down and sleep to her hearts content. She would even consider joining Suq in a jeffries tube built for tribbles at this point for a little rest. She could not believe the resilience of the creature that was now little more than a puddle of soup and gooey matter on the floor. She'd had to watch her fire once Semathal got too close to Echtand and Nathaniel, but through their combined efforts, the horrible deed was done.

Her breathing was reedy and short, as she walked over to check on Deacon, failing to suppress a pained groan as she knelt down to feel his pulse, running her tricorder on him whilst slinging the Graviton rifle on her back, almost regretting the action as it filled her vision with stars. Her skills on battlefield treatment was worth next to nothing without equipment or medical gear, all of which Zeph had. Rising even as Echtand spoke, she took note of all he said, and keyed in a request from her Savi-issued PADD, and read the information as she crossed over to Zeph, tapping the woman gently on the shoulder.

Speaking quietly so as not to interrupt Echtand's conversation with the Captain, who was in a horrid state, but alive, which was what was important for now, she said, “Deacon has a concussion, and will needh your assistance, as will I...my ribs...be bruised.”

That was when the commotion outside the doors became impossible to ignore, and she remembered that there was a force of armed Savi warriors that they needed to deal with, not that she had forgotten them, and even factored in the terrible danger they were in. Echtand confirmed this. Whipping her head back to Zephyr, she spoke, bleeding a little more urgency in her voice now, “Treat me first. At least somethin' for th' pain. Echtand qi Versant.”

She had turned to look straight at the Savi leader while Zeph applied some field treatment with a strange expression on her face, and she spoke, in his own language, but lacking the most accurate accent or pronounciation, “< Thank you. For all you have done, and for all you are doing. >”

She thanked the doctor and gently patted the Savi on his arm as she passed him by, her face now resolute as she considered the best course of action. She'd pulled up more Savi words from her PADD, even as she prepared contingencies, taking note of the distance from the rifle that Zeph had earlier abandoned to assist Jien Ives, as well as her own phaser pistol, which was also sliding distance from her current position, and she dropped her own rifle, kicking it over towards Deacon, making sure the hilt and trigger was within easy reach of his hands. Even though Echtand had now authorised lethal force, she remembered his earlier instructions, plus she suspected a sense of reluctance in his voice, and also realized that these Savi, unlike Semathal or the other Scions, were, despite the situation, innocent in all this.

She then remembered something more important than the mortal danger about to face her, the officers and Echtand: She was a member of Starfleet, of the United Federation of Planets, and they were explorers, peacekeepers and ambassadors first and foremost. She also saw how tactically unsound their situation was, with most of their forces already decimated or in a battered state, that not even Nathaniel and Shar could withstand another onslaught. “Take cover,” said Sinead, indicating everyone, as she raised her arms in surrender, but tensed her muscles to leap for any number of weapons within reach of herself should this fail, and watched impassively as the door was breached and at least ten armoured Savi poured into the chamber, and she shouted in Savi, “< HOLD YOUR FIRE! >”

She idly wondered how Captain Kendrick would have handled this situation, then continued, having taken a chance already, “< I are Signet O'Riley of the United Federation of Eggplants, and I swear to you that we do not wash to fight. We mean you none harm. Please, let us mouth before harm more is conductor. >”

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)| Day 6| The Scion's Nest | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]
Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triage  @BZ  @steelphoenix

When the beast finally fell, its monstrous shape reduced to a pool of aminiacids and other simple organic molecules, Shar felt the tension of the battle preyed on her. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and panting to catch her breath in the thin atmosphere their captors preferred. Their Savi ally, the so-call Moby, thanked them for their assistance and hurried to approach the stasis field where Zephyr was scanning the Theurgy's captain.For an instant, the Andorian muscles tensed again, ready to fight with her fists for want of another weapon if the Savi showed any hostile intent. But soon the three figures seemed engrossed in tricorder readings and scientific chatter. They were safe, at least on that front.

The shen regained verticality to look at the door where the Antes bodyguards had been pouring no so long ago. The noises of blows and shots increased in that gateway, the determination of the defenders to reenter in the nest, even more driven. Sooner or later they would make their way again, the battle was far from over. And Shar was unarmed. A new adrenaline boost flooded her veins, with the mental coldness that it brought in someone of her kind. A weapon. Just that. She needed a weapon. She had lost her rifle when the balcony rushed into the void and the pistol had turned into a grenade against Semathal. But the battleground was strewn with debris, pieces of plating, wreck from fallen platforms, chunks of chitin, scion soup and the dismembered corpses of the advance team. Their weapons must have been scattered among the remains. Shar launched in their search, ignoring the nausea that insisted on climbing up her throat facing the dreadful spectacle that surrounded her. And for ignoring the twinge of pain in her lower abdomen. Her gruesome scavenge only gave her fruitless results: smashed rifles, discharged guns, Savi weapons utterly useless.It was a disgusting and desperate search in equal parts, whose only result was to soak her arms and hands of vital fluids. She almost appreciated the blackness of the savi jumpsuit that prevented her from distinguishing the scope of that stain. She had more than enough seeing her cerulean hands turned into burgundy.

Just when the Antes managed to penetrate the room, Shar seized a Starfleet rifle. It's familiar humming filled her hears, proving that it worked properly. The Andorian gripped it with both bloodied hands, facing the door, willing to sell her life and that of her group at a high price. Before she had time to aim at the new enemies, Sinead ordered her and the romulan to take cover, while she advanced towards the Antes, hands up and mouth full of unintelligible gibberish. She could only guess that the engineer was trying to use the diplomatic way. And even though the Scion had shown that there were enemies against whom there was only the option of fighting, they were the Starfleet. They were explorers, investigators, diplomats, not soldiers. As much as the Chekthora formation weighed in Shar actions. They were better than that. They MUST be better.

For a moment she looked at the pale face of their ally, almost indistinguishable in the woman's eyes woman to the rest of the bulb-heads. Even Moby, that had been crystal clear about they mustn't harm the Antes before, had given them his permission to attack the new enemies. Anything to get him time to obtain the control of the starship. But O'Riley wanted to try another solution, a better solution. Shar could not but agreed with her intent. With studied slow movements, the muzzle of her weapon aiming to the floor, the Andorian advanced until being placed just behind the human. She was shorter than the Ops. Officer, which allowed her to have a perfect perspective of the Savi while keeping her weapon and hands hidden by Sinead's back. For the moment, Shar just waited. But at the slightest aggressive movement by the Ante bodyguards, her position would allow her to push the human aside and start firing. Antennae firmly crushed against her scalp and a deadly stare in her eyes, she remained idle, but prepared.

[ Ens. Nathaniel Isley | Scion's Nest | The Versant ]


In battle, there was always the moment just after the battle finished and just before the adrenaline wore off that made him feel shaky, like he was going high speed and everyone else was very slow. He was gripping the gun he stole from an Ante, staring at the porridge that was formerly known as Semethal. He expected it to rise, start again, to kill them all. Then, when it didn’t do that, he expected that he was actually dead and Semethal really did kill him.

But he heard Sinead and Ives and Echtand, and he heard something about Heather, and he heard Shar’s voice and Deacon’s name. He felt aches in his body—a lot of aching. He was alive, by some miracle, and damn did it hurt.

He started to move towards the others. His body was covered in...well, he didn’t want to identify it, but it felt kind of like giant alien snot. It came from the admiral they just slayed. He supposed he sort of looked like a slime-monster himself. HE had meant to speak, to say something, but Sinead told them to take cover.

Right then, the adrenaline was back. He tried to take cover behind some debris from the balcony. He was not very well hidden, but it was cover. He looked over and saw the personal guard from earlier. He held his fire, waiting for the one moment they slipped up and tried to attack Sinead.

He was starting to tire out though. His whole body felt like a brick. He hoped that they would be peaceful, because he wasn’t sure if he’d survive another battle, and he’d rather not die covered in slime.

[ Deacon | Day 6 | Scion's Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Triage  @BZ  @Numen @FollowTomorrow 

Deacon was staring at the pile... the sludge that had been their enemy.  He knew he should be getting up, claiming some prize from the steaming pile of malignant goo.  An ear would do.  Did it have an ear?  Six or seven, he was certain.  It had to have had at least that many to move around so quickly.  Wait... not ears... noses.  No... that didn't sound right either.  But running noses amused him for some reason, so he chose to let that decision lay.

The bringloidi female hovered over him, the faint beeping of the tricorder in her hand causing his ear to flick slightly, well, as much as it could, but when he looked up at her, her features seemed hazy, out of place, indistinct.  An equal match for his thoughts, which seemed to flit and dance just out of reach.  There was pain, and given he'd not known pain since his childhood, he found he had not missed it.

Slowly, his eyes moved from one survivor to the next, settling at last on their objective, his patriarch, his captain, whatever face s/he chose to wear.  A sense of resigned contentment settled inside his chest.  Success.  He had succeeded.  The enemy was now slag and the captain was once more secured.  He had fulfilled his oath.  Perhaps not in a dignified manner nor one suited to what he saw as his station, but the Fanged God gave him a challenge and he had met it.

"Take cover," the female had said.  When had she said it?  His thoughts were too much like syrup, unwilling to cast off the tethers of pain and fatigue.  He felt the weapon once more in his hands, but the blurred images at the edge of the room were far from suitable targets and he lacked the energy to charge into their midst.  Staggering to his feet, tail limp and arms barely propped out to the side, he could rationalize but a single objective that remained within reach -- he had to protect those behind him.

Wait... who was behind him again?

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Scion Nest | Dual Scans | Dual Lives | Surprises Never-ending] @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow @Triage @Numen @Auctor Lucan

The white alien creature was speaking. Zephyr was busy not-listening because she was far too busy trying to get Ives free and clear. He needed medical attention and even though he did not think himself worthy of such attention and so many people coming to his aid she knew that it was important. He was important to the crew of the ship he had Captained. That much Zeph knew, and it wasn't just the words that his crew had mentioned about the importance of the man involved. It was the way they felt. The respect, the reverence, the way that they were all solidified in the fact that he was of utmost import. She could tell that he meant something to the people around them. Thus, he became important to her even though she had never met him. She had no loyalty to the man and it was more so than the fact that he was a Starfleet Captain that drove her to make sure he was all right. 

What struck her as odd was that there were two readings. Stating so out loud seemed to summon the white Torture-Beast to her side. Though, he didn't feel like the others had. She didn't really know how to read his emotions or the like only because she had never really encountered their kind. She could tell some things, things she had felt while she was forced to chose her future race and while she was fed and cared for afterwards. But he, was an enigma and one she couldn't easily find the emotional range for. Given time, she knew that she would figure it out but it wasn't as though empathy worked the same across the board for all races. 

He began to spout scientific and medical terminology, of which Zeph was luckily both and able to understand and follow along well enough. She had never met a dual-gendered person such as the Captain before. Zeph would like to get her hands on the files of the man who could seemingly chose what gender he wished to be and pick his brain about his origins and race. But, this was neither the time nor the place. Maybe he would indulge her later. 

"Two life signs?" she looked up at the strange black eyes of the being that was much taller than the petite officer. She wasn't short for a woman either, but she felt dwarfed next to the one codenamed Moby. 

The Captain asked for an explanation, and Zeph waited for one as well. Moby scanned the area and said there weren't two life signs. Ives was speaking which worried Zeph more because the man was in bad enough shape and she hadn't been able to treat him yet. Which meant that he was weak and not getting any better. Still, she knew that he was trying to get to the bottom of the anomaly that they were reading right now. All Zeph wanted to do was heal the Captain. Zeph felt like she was currently back at the Academy when the Ante began mentioning that just because the atoms that made up a person were disintegrated that didn't meant that they ceased to be. 

How is that.. even possible?

As the two bantered back and forth Zeph was absorbing this new information. It was definitely something she wanted to work on when she was able to get herself into a science lab or medical lab. The fact that atoms, weren't exactly gone if they were dead so long as they had been able to shift to something else, like a stasis field. She wasn't sure if it was because of this person.. Macmillan, if it was because of her race, or if it was because she was close to the stasis when she had ceased to be. The Ante said they could re-integrate her, somehow. Zeph's eyes widened. The mere thought they could do such a thing, it excited her and made her want to do all kinds of research on the Fleet's stasis fields and transportation buffers, not to mention seeing if they could use things like the transportation beams to accentuate such things. 

Ives wanted it done. She didn't doubt that he would. Of course, he would want it done. One of his own, back the way they might have been before.  Who knew what this person would be like when they were brought back from their DNA signatures but, she hoped it worked. She also wanted to work with Macmillian once they were back. Do testing on how they were. Compare their after reintegration to the before. There would be all sorts of Fleet files on the former MacMillian. 

Zeph's mind was racing. 

A tap came to her shoulder as she sat there thinking about all the things she had just learned, the things she wanted to do, the things she wanted to explore. The other woman, Zeph couldn't remember her name, but she could feel the soft waves of pain coming off of her. She couldn't tell exactly where the woman was hurt but she could tell that she was. Seeing her thrown around in the battle, she had no doubt that something could be broken or bruised. She hoped it wasn't the former but then she wouldn't be able to tell until she actually did a scan. The woman explained that Deacon, the other person with them, had a concussion and needed to be fixed up. She was also afraid that she likely had a bruised rib or two. 

"Of course!" Zeph said with a bright smile on her face. Before she could get started the pounding on the door grew much more demanding and it wasn't going to be long before whatever was on the other side of the door was in here with them. Moby mentioned that it was going to be the crew that was trying to figure out what happened to the big boss and he was going to be trying to put MacMilliam back together again which meant that they needed to protect him, Ives, the Stasis field, and keep the others from intervening. Sure. Sounds like a cake walk.

Zeph's eyes turned back to the bruised woman with the odd accent. "Right. Of course! You first." she said as she turned with her tricorder and quickly scanned the woman in front of her. Sure enough, bruised ribs, one was cracked slightly and was probably the cause for the sudden sharp pains here and there that Zeph could sense from her. Quickly she opened her med kit and pulled out the hypospray, it was already loaded with enough drugs to get through a lot of things including the woman's injuries. She quickly dialed in the proper drug, to alieviate the pain as well as heal the ribs. Bringing it up to the neck of the woman in front of her she injected her quickly. 

"Give it just a moment" she said as she grabbed up her osteogenic stimulator and ran it over the rib region of the woman's body to heal any weak spots and of course the one crack that the tricorder had detected. "Good as new, be careful out there. I'll see to Deacon." she gave a warm smile to the woman and looked around for where Deacon was currently at. 

Of course like any Federation patient he was trying to get himself up off the ground. She quickly moved past Moby who was doing his Moby-thing and she made her way across the deck over to the man who's tail was limp. "You can't just rocket off with a concussion. If you don't get that looked at and fixed you could get permanent brain damage. Some things can't be fixed you know." she said quickly as she put her hands on his shoulders for a moment to steady him. 

"You're Deacon right? The one over there with the accent spouting nonesense said you needed my help. I'm Zeph!" she beamed at the man and slowly guided him back to sitting on the deck with her. Pulling out her tricorder she quickly began a scan. Her hands covered in the same goo that he was covered in but it didn't seem to phase her in the least. She nodded at the results. "You know, you have to take care of yourself too, and in this lull of battle now is the time to seek medical attention. I am sure you're like most fleeters. No medical care, just pushing on, but then you could end up dead. If the swelling on your brain didn't stop you could have a seizure or fall into a coma. At the wrong moment that could spell your death." she said flashing her black eyes up at him as she grabbed her hypo and began to administer the medication that would decrease the swelling, increase the healing, and kill the throbbing that was likely in his head. 

"But! Lucky for you, you have the best doctor on the deck with you." she gave him a little wink and a smile. "You should feel better now. So, now you can get up and charge into battle. Be safe! Call me over if you need me." Zeph packed up her medkit again and rushed off quickly back to the side of Ives, and to hopefully see what was going to happen with the second life sign. Not to mention make sure that it was stable, secure, and viable.

[ Captain Ives | Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]From behind the shimmering stasis field, Jien Ives watched how things unfolded, and despite the enduring pain, and the weariness, the suspense kept him on his feet.

He saw the mixed group of remaining officers, known and unknown, were taking defensive positions to repel the threat of the Scion's personal guard, who was just about to breach the sealed doors. A quick glance told him that Sinead O'Riley was reading Savi words from her tablet, speaking to the present Ante, before she also stepped towards the imminent threat. Once the personal guard did enter, other alien words from the Engineer did stall the Savi from firing immediately. They appeared momentarily... confused.

And when they saw Echtand - which Jien believed was his name - standing by the stasis field and not fighting them, they had another reason to stay their attack, bewildered about the Voice's presence. Perhaps they believed the Ante a hostage, forced to free Jien. The guard leading he group frowned deeply behind the visor of his black helmet, apparently not able to fully understand what was happening. One thing was apparent, however. Their Admiral had been killed. They had witnessed the battle, and now, Semathal was gone, and there was Scion ichor smeared across the ruptured deck plating. Jien could already tell that the pending decision wasn't about to be a good one.

The order was passed, a sharp sound of a Savi word, and as one, the armoured guard raised their weapons, firing.

Only their beams never reached Sinead, Isley, Deacon and the others.

A green, shimmering forcefield separated the two opposing factions, having snapped into place mere moments before it was too late. Jien looked around for an explanation, and then he caught it, how Echtand had turned his head towards the front of the nest - the green forcefield shimmering in his black eyes. Only he could have raised it, and the stare he gave the guards was unreadable, perhaps even conflicted, but be that as it may, he turned back to the machine that held Jien captive, and resumed his work. He shouted in Savi, speaking to the guards while he worked, before he suddenly switched to Federation Standard.

"I'm activating an emergency containment field for the reintegration," he said, tapping rapidly at his wrist-mounted tablet. "The internal sensors is feeding the DNA sequence through the targeting confinement. I am achieving bond cohesion... but the scattered fragments were not all caught by the stasis field. I am widening the targeting scan to the entire nest..."

Meanwhile the Savi outside seemed conflicted over Echtand's words, in the end, it seemed they still decided to try and deactivate the forcefield and were shouting, apparently sending orders for reinforcements. At least that's what it appeared like to Jien, who wasn't sure what to tell the Ante standing outside the stasis field. "How much time?"

"I am reassembling a living humanoid from vapour," said Echtand, the cut of his frown clearly annoyed at the interruption. "Phase transition coils are at 50 %. Biogenic field at peak efficiency. Atomic cohesion transmit imminent in ten seconds. Pattern buffers are receiving biomatter. Yet..."

"What?" asked Jien looking at the agitated guards and their efforts to try and deactivate the field, or do something to deal with the present threat in the nest. Echtand must have had a clearance higher than the guards after Semathal was disintegrated, since they were obviously having trouble with getting that forcefield down. Moments of precarious safety lasted still, but it was only a matter of time before it might change.

"This specimen, this Radiant, was not in the Correction Program," said Echtand as if that explained it all.

"Which means?" Jien turned his attention back to the Voice.

"Which means that the Archive does not have a full genetic profile saved, much less tissue sequences for replication. 99,9 % of the biomatter held in animated suspense was attainable from the stasis field and the nest. There is, however, a loss of 0,01 percent to the particles outside the stasis field, which has decayed beyond a state which I could not revitalise, and that amount can't be used for the reintegration. If she had been in the Correction Program, I might have been able to compensate for the loss."

"Does this mean you can't bring her back?" asked Jien, even knowing how absurd such a demand might seem in the context of this extraordinary scientific feat that the Savi suggested he might preform.

"I can, but then I will have to compensate using other biomatter. I have access to it all, but I need a moment to research options from the gene bank." Echtand glanced up from his tablet for a moment. "I have a fairly good idea what samples are viable for the reintegration. This would mean she won't be the same. Not entirely. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to research alternatives. It is all I can offer you."

"You do not know the importance of this species," said Jien thickly, stepping closer to the edge of the field, which was still there to preserve Heather. Some of the other officers were there next to them, the Betazoid the first to arrive.

Echtand clicked with his teeth, his frown stern. "You do not know at what personal cost I am helping you, much less what my prolonged presence here in your midst might mean for the future of my people," replied the Ante, his look sharp as he turned to include others present. "I need to enter the Vault, learn the truth about the Scion Directive, and speak it to the Savi Flotilla as a whole. The seconds which I linger here jeopardises my opportunity of command and communication. The Vault may be shut for me. I cannot stay."

Jien could only grasp the gist of it, how it was important to the Ante and their future. "This... what you are doing now, is more important than the Savi, even the Federation as a whole. The Radiant species is the key to figh-"

"You have already told me," said Echtand, spending a few more seconds with his task, before he lowered his tablet. "I have automated the reintegration, and the shut-down of the stasis field. I must leave you now... "

"How do we get off this ship?" Jien demanded.

"I will transmit your escape routes as soon as I am in the Vault, Aspect Maker. Await the reintegration, and then, you will be free. I may also be able to give you what you need to revert the Corrections made upon your officers, but for that to happen, I need to be in the Vault."

"Wait!" called Jien, knowing that they were left in a really precarious situation.

But already, Echtand had entered a command into his tablet, and he vanished in aquamarine light - leaving them behind. And as he did....

...the containment field that would reintegrate Heather turned visible, a few yards away from the stasis field. It was a dome-shaped light, and within it, a prostate form began to assemble in the vague shape of an unconscious woman. Slowly, gradually, the form was taking it's shape, and Jien was in awe of the process, despite the fervency in which the guards tried to deactivate the forcefield.

---

OOC: Sorry for the delay, site issues and all. Hope you have enough to work with here!

[ Echtand qi Versant | The Archive Access | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Once he materialised outside the Vault once more, Echtand stepped past the body of the Memory, still lying there on the deck, and headed straight for the entrance.

"<Echtand.>"

Already on edge after facing Semathal, Echtand whirled around with his graviton pistol raised, only to find himself facing another Ante armed with the same kind of weapon. The figure was lit from behind, the door to the corridor open, and he squinted to make out it's features. Soon, it stepped sideways, and that face was well known to him.

"<Sclergyn,>" he said, almost lowering his pistol, before he realised she must have derived how he'd been the one that killed the Memory. Why was she there, though? He had told her to return to his quarters after leaving the Ovri egg on display. Did she..? Echtand bit his teeth together. His following question was as much a confession as it was asked out of concern. "Were you hurt?"

His mate was not impressed. Not in the slightest, but as for how hurt she was, it seemed her affliction wasn't physical. She looked at him with a mix of hate and loss, not to mention confusion. It seemed she couldn't comprehend the reason for his actions, and he did not blame her for it. When she spoke, her contralto voice lashed like a whip. "<I am, but what have you done?>" she demanded, the pistol still raised towards him, and he could not stand down either. Too much was at stake to put his faith in her understanding. She wasn't finished. "<What are you trying to do? After I was attacked by the filthy specimens you sent to my lab, I tried to contact the Eye, to alert it about the escaped specimens that you were supposed to have Recycled, only to find him gone. Did you kill the Eye as well? Do you have any idea what Admiral Semathal will do to you?>"

"<Semathal is dead,>" said Echtand, surprising even himself how calm he sounded about it, given what he'd just lived through. "<I am now next in line for command of this ship. I have lear->"

"<The Flotilla will never recognise you as Admiral. Surely you see->" Sclergyn was incredulous, eyes wide.

"<I don't care about the command of the ship. The Versant is not important.>"

"<Then why?>" she asked, beseeching him for an answer as she stepped closer, "<I took the thym for you! I thought our child would have brilliant prospects for any field of study. That our child would get indicators fit for the High Class, and that we might even bring a Scion of our own to life! That we would further our species into the next stage of Savi evolution! Now, we will both be sent to the biolabs, our bodies given to science, along with the child inside me. The only way I can spare myself, and the child, is to stop you. Only then may I aid our species in all the discoveries to come.>"

The mere mentioning that he might have seeded a Scion in her womb was enough for Echtand to lash back. "<You don't know what the Scion Directive has led us to,>" he said, circling the antechamber to the Vault, the body of the Memory between them. <"I believe we are on the verge of another Cataclysm. That we have pushed too far for our own evolution, forgetting ourselves in our need for more, and corrupted ourselves beyond recognition. We have lost our identity, and I mean to prove it. And the evidence... is inside there.>"

Echtand raised his free hand towards the entrance to the Vault. Sclergyn glanced in that direction, but only for a moment.

"<So you are doing all of this on a mere hypothesis?>" she asked, not the least impressed, "<You scheme and plot with primal specimens and use them to further this mutiny. You arm them and have them kill us Vigilant of Sa just to prove this ungrounded claim, without knowing you are right?>"

"<I am right!>" snapped Echtand, even if she also had truth in her claims, "<In a matter of years, us Antes will be gone, and what's left are only the Scions, who altered the Code before we were even born!>"

"<How would you know this?>" hissed Sclergyn, the muzzle of her pistol still following his every step.

"<Because there is no Purity Syndrome!>" he shouted, the memory of Blue Tiran's revelation vivid in his mind. "<It is a lie! We do not release the specimens we Correct. They are all Recycled! There are no records in the Federation about the the thousands of specimens we have let back into their natural environments.>"

"<I have seen those very records myself...>" said Sclergyn, shaking her head. "<Countless times. They always mention the Purity Syndrome. Of course we release the Corrected as according to the Code. It's the legacy of the Progenitors that we carry out.>"

"<No, those records are added at every forage we make! Our ships add them to their databases every time.>"

"<How do you know this?>" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"<Because one of the specimens told me,>" said Echtand, and even as he said it, he knew what the answer would be.

"<So you trust the word of a primate over that of our own systems?>"

Time was running out, and Echtand had to do something. He just didn't know what to say to convince his mate.

“The cost for peace is always high, but the cost for violence is even higher.”

[ Lt. JG Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Balcony | Scion Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @steelphoenix, @BZ, @FollowTomorrow & @Numen
[Show/Hide]There had been a moment of hesitation, consideration, to all that she had said, and all that they could see. What they saw was that their test subjects had broken free, armed themselves, and killed their leader. She had little time to react when the bolts raced towards her torso with alarming accuracy, only for it to splatter harmlessly a scant few inches away from her against an unseen forcefield that had been erected, by Echtand. Whipping her head to glance at him, she then dove for the nearest graviton rifle, and held it ready, but she was not ready to resort to absolute violence just yet.

Taking partial shelter behind one of the fallen platforms, she keyed in more translations and began to speak in Savi some more, “< HOLD YOUR PYRE! PLEASING! >”

It was a vain hope that Echtand might make a public announcement that could pause the violence going on throughout the ship. But in the event that did not occur, they had to find some way to negotiate a ceasefire, or more lives could be lost, and they couldn't afford to lose Jien Ives, or this Heather person, apparently. “< WE ASK FOR TIME, TIME! WHAT HAPPENING HERE WILL BE EXPLORED! WE SWORE! WE NOT DO WISH YOU HARM! >”

She pointed towards a stunned guard beyond the force field from their earlier skirmish, “< Looking! Meat not non-functional! Respirating still yes much. >”

Even as she spoke, she began to input instructions into her PADD to access the cleaning beams that Echtand had used to great effect earlier. If this went badly, they may have no choice but to use every tactical advantage they had available to even the odds. In the meantime, there was one last ditch effort she could make, “< LEADER YOURS. HE AM YOUR ENEMY! LISTEN! WE CAN EXPLAINING! >”

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)| Day 6| The Scion's Nest | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]
Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triage  @BZ  @steelphoenix


O'Riley's attempt to carry out a peaceful solution lingered on the Antes' minds for a few minutes, but it was finally discarded when the bodyguards of the fallen commander raised their rifles and pulled the triggers against the abductees' battered group. The engineer sneaked out to cover herself behind debris parapet but Shar didn't move from where she was. She simply raised the barrel of her phaser and pulled the trigger.The odds were against her, but she could take some Antes down before she was incapacitated. The Andorian tensed her muscles, in anticipation of the burning pain of the graviton bolts that soon would hit her... but that never reached her body. Her own blast dissolved harmlessly against the greenish forcefield that had just appeared between her and her enemy. Khellesar blinked a couple of times looking at the barrier that separated her from their enemies, their expression as perplexed as hers, as far as she could understand the alien's features. Behind her there was a slight hum and when the shen turned around herself, the only thing left of their Savi ally was an aquamarine sparks field that indicated the point from which he had been transported. They were on their own again.

For a moment, she was petrified on the spot, the weapon pointed aimlessly to the floorplates, and her gaze roaming around the battlefield. The Savi seemed to recover from their puzzlement in front of her, initiating actions to bring down the force field, while Sinead continued to scream nonsense on their enemies' tongue from their hiding place. Finally, Shar was able to move her long legs and backed up to hide herself behind the rubble of one of the fallen balconies.She needed to think, conceive a new plan, but her mind had gone blank. It was the worst moment for that to happen, she thought in frustration as she nipped the inside of my lower lip. "C'mon Shar, think, think think," she scolded herself. She took the rifle from her shoulder and prepared to drop it at her side when a twinge of pain made her look away from the Savi and gaze the floor close to her. A sharp metal shred had torn the calloused skin of one of her fingers, spilling a drop of cobalt blue blood on its tip. What Shar saw was not a scrap of metal or a weapon ... what she saw was a tool. He dragged out the piece of metal from the rest of the debris and placed it on her lap, before she reached the padd on her wrist and typed until she got again the map of the ventilation ducts that had been the start of the battle in the small screen. It could work. Now she could open the panels and provide everyone an escape route. She traced the escape route through the service pipes and shared it with her teammates' padds, before she got back on her feet and run towards the vent she had selected, holding her improvised tool firmly in her hand.

Ignoring the conversations around her, the dome where a humanoid form was beginning to form, the shouts of O'Riley toward the Savi, the rifle that she had been forgotten behind... Shar began to work. If the force field fell, they could escape, she was going to take care of that.

[Lt.  Zephyr Praise | New Discoveries | Eye Openers | New Experiments | Miracles]


The information, the whole situation, it was all very new.  Zephyr was soaking it up like a sponge left to dry in the desert long forgotten.  She had a million questions running through her mind.  So many plaguing the apt mind that ran behind the skin there.  She needed to know so many things, so many answers.  She wanted to get her hands on the Savi research, she wanted to find out how exactly they took DNA sequences that were just basic particles from the stasis field and recreated a person.  She knew the science behind transportation and beaming, she wondered if they were similar or altogether different.  She wanted to dissect and figure out how this whole process worked. 

For the first time, part of her wished she could stay on and learn with the Savi.  They would be invaluable teachers, if she could get them past the whole.. disregarding the actual choices and genetic make up of the universe around them part. 

So lost in thought she was that she didn't even realize the Antes charging into the room ready to fire at the team thinking that Moby was likely in danger as well.  She was lost in thought, eager to see how the whole process worked.  Her mind drinking up the knowledge, the hints, and every tiny thing that Moby was able to give to her.  She listened to every word and followed every single tap of the long white fingers.  She couldn't read his language, it had never been a gift of hers; languages.  Though she knew a few words of this and that she had picked up through life she would never claim to be able to hold conversations.  Still, her eyes followed, she listened, she absorbed the whole process as he expanded his genetic marker searching to a broader spectrum.  She wondered if that would make them harder to pull into the woman or if that would make them, somehow, weaker.

Zeph was full of so many questions and curiosities.

Ives was curious how long it was going to take.  Zeph was too, not because she was in a hurry but from a purely scientific standpoint.  She desired to know how long it would take, she wanted to find the minutes, the seconds, the mirco seconds... how many breaths would it take to get a person from particles back together.  Would they be the same?  Would they be different?  Would their chemical make up retain it's form or would something happen.  Could the genes be tampered with, so many thoughts rushing through her mind she had at this point completely forgotten that she should probably take this time to heal Ives.  It had completely slipped her mind in the excitement of the possibility of learning something completely new.

99.9% had been saved but there was that .01% that the system could not find.  Zeph hung on every single word that the white bastard said, her eyes wide with avid curiosity and it was likely something that Moby would recognize and likely saw in his own people.  Zeph had a very strong morale code though and she tried very hard to hold to it.  Though things she had done on the Azurite station, things she could no longer speak about, things that would probably get her hated or worse... killed, were things that were oddly similar to what the people here did.

She could not judge them too harshly, she was cut from the same cloth.

Moby was pulling biomatter from another, but compatible sample.  “How long does it take to reintegrate the DNA of a sample and recreate a deceased person?” she asked though she doubted that Moby was going to answer.  She didn't expect him too, but she was so bursting with curiosity that she couldn't help but ask the question.  “I'd love to get my hands on that research.” she muttered more to herself than anyone specifically.

Ives was impatient and Moby was not having any of it.  The Captain was in no place to ask for favors or criticize the process.  She hoped that Moby would be able to finish the whole reintegration process because she was desperate to see it working.  She had so many questions to ask Moby so many things that she wanted to know and then, suddenly, he was gone.  “Wait!” she cried after him at the same time as Ives. 

“You didn't answer.. my question.”

Shoulders slumped as she realized a wealth of information  had just beamed himself right off the deck and out of question range.  She looked over at Ives and knew that she really needed to heal him.  He deserved it and it would only be to the benefit of everyone else in here.  Crossing over to him fully she rose her tricorder and began to scan him again.  He wasn't overly injured, nothing that she couldn't repair, and nothing that a full service sickbay couldn't make a thing of the past.  Right now though, she reached forward and grabbed her hypo from her medkit and rose it up, pressing it slightly agianst the neck of the man.  Injecting him with pain killers, something to give him a boost of energy and to start the healing process.  Quickly, she ran him over with dermal and osteogenic stimulator for anything else that might be wrong before she stepped back.

“Good as new.” she said to the man with a warm smile.  “There are a lot of people that will be happy to see you.”

Zeph turned to see where the being was being recreated.  Her eyes alighted on the dome where the woman was being turned back into a living breathing thing.  She rushed over, nearly stumbling over her own efforts to pick up her medkit.  Dying for samples, for scans, for anything.  Whipping out her tricorder she aimed it at the dome to collect any and all information that she could.  Hungry for anything at all that she could gather about what was going on right now.  While the tricorder gathered any and all information that it could, the screen going wild with readings, she was readying her hypos incase the woman was in pain, reading her regenerators incase something was not quite as it was supposed to be.  Readying a sedative if the woman woke up and freaked out because she wasn't as she had been before.

Zeph was practically bouncing with excitement, her body humming with the desire for the knowledge that lay just a few feet in front of her. 

Waiting, was hard.

[ Deacon | Day 6 | Scion's Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Triage  @BZ  @Numen @FollowTomorrow 

One of the unfamiliar females had come to tend to him, her mouth moving oddly fast but the words didn't seem to reach his ears at the same pace, at least that was the way it seemed as he stared at her, feeling at once oddly disassociated from his own body and yet very much anchored by the weight of it.  Care.  Battle.  Death.  He managed to filter one or two words from the woman's monologue.  Was she praising him?  He rubbed his forehead even as he felt a pressure against the side of his neck -- the side, at least, that hadn't born the brunt of the scion's clawed grip.

With a questioning glance, he watched her return the hypospray to her pack.  Treatment?  Medical attention.  Slowly, the heavy thoughts began to stir, the neurons sparking back to life as the medication worked its wonders and his attendant gave some parting words of assurance before returning back to the captain.

He remained seated for a moment, letting the pain dissolve from behind his eyes, taking inventory of his senses, blunted as they were.  The antes had resumed their assault, a forcefield the only thing ensuring their own safety for now.  Opening his blue eyes, he took stock of the wreckage around him.  Their so-called ally had departed.  The female doctor hovered near the captain even as they seemed to watch another nearby device intently.

The bringloidi seemed to shout at the body guards, but they seemed unimpressed, unmoved, or as disturbed with her translation as he was.  Admittedly, he didn't know the language of these creatures any more than he knew how to speak Sheliak or Tamarian, but he'd heard it enough since their capture to recognize when the cadence and tone were off.  As he grew, he found that each new language he mastered tended to make the next all the simpler as if each was a piece of a greater puzzle of polyglottic unity.

Once more, he rose to his feet, trying not to disturb his fresh wounds unduly. He was light headed enough and bleeding out now would help no one.  Carefully, he moved beside Sinead, taking a look at her PADD.  A translation protocol?  "Would have been nice if our benefactor would've just given us a translator," he grumbled as he studied the display, his mind piecing the translation together with what snippets of the Savi speech he'd heard, approximating tones, emulating the dialect.  Looking up at the guards, he reiterated, taking great care to pronounce the language precisely, hoping the syntax made sense, "<Your leader was your enemy. Listen. We can explain.>"

With a sigh, he added under his breath, "I speak the languages of almost every major power in the Alpha and Beta quadrants and then some.  Our luck we get kidnapped by someone completely new."

[ Ens. Nathaniel Isley | Scion's Nest | The Versant ]

A shot from one of the Ante’s guns came at them and Nathaniel braced himself for the hit, but all he felt was a wave of adrenaline and the shiver of his muscles. As he looked around the debris, there was a force field in place. Before him, a great dome of light shown, illuminating the dark room around them and causing him to squint as his eyes adjusted to the brilliance. The Radiant, probably—but she wasn’t here earlier! It was like suddenly, she was appearing out of nothing. He’d never seen anything quite so...miraculous.

He stood up, his weapon still in his hands, but he just...needed to see this. It was important that he bear witness, but he didn’t know why. In due time, he saw the figure and shape of a woman. It was important to witness this because it was the birth of life into this universe, he figured. She must have been replicated, or cloned—something about this didn’t look like the usual transporter. It was...beautiful. Whatever it was, it was beautiful.

The sound of Sinead speaking Savi jolted him out of his mesmerized state. He didn’t have the faintest idea what she said, but he figured that there were no words that would soothe the angered Antes. He ducked back down behind his cover again and took aim. Deacon, the hulking man he was, began speaking as well. Nathaniel still didn’t understand it. But he was ready to fire, focused entirely on the possibility of battle once more. He had his sights trained on one of the Antes in specific, seemingly leading the charge against the strange forcefield erected moments ago. This time, he would shoot to kill, only if they posed a true danger.

[ Captain Ives | Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]As mesmerising as the gradual coalescence of the Radiant might be, it was plain that the Scion's personal guard could bring down the forcefield any moment. Therefore, as a counter-point to the awe in which one might otherwise be, Jien Ives watched the resurrection of Heather McMillan with great trepidation - fearing for the lives of them all.

In an odd variation of a transporter sequence, as the containment field pulsed with energy, the prone form materialised, and in short order, Jien could see the Radiant take shape. In the meantime, the Savi were... not entirely impressed with the efforts of the present Starfleet officers as they tried to speak to them, to reach some kind of non-violent solution. Jien held little hope towards the endeavour, the guards likely picked for their loyalty to the late Admiral. Why would they listen to creatures that they felt were far beneath them? If one thing had become plain to Jien, it was the way in which these aliens thought themselves superior to all other species. In their eyes, they were all curious animals. To be studied and experimented upon. The disregard had been comlplete, as far as Jien knew, until he'd seen this Voice come to their aid.

Yet on the other side of the Nest, an Andorian seemed to be working on a means for escape. Jien saw this, and clenched his fists, eager to be free from his confinement at long last. The Betazoid was there, ready for when the stasis field dropped....

...and then it did, the release so sudden it made Jien's core twitch in animation. His morphogenic matrix was freed, and with an internal convulsion, Jien drew a shuddering breath. Zephyr Praise inoculated him against the lingering pain from his torment, while he was still recovering from the shift, and he nodded towards her while he attempted to shift his form - finally - after too long of staying in one shape. At least he had been allowed to shift, at the behest of his tormentor...

...but it took many seconds until he could make his matrix respond, momentarily fearing that he'd lost his other from. But then, as if from muscle memory, he managed... and she wore her female form once again. She was dressed in her uniform, and while the process had been unstable, she did found herself again. She could see, however, how her skin rippled across her hands, her matrix not having recovered quite yet, but she hoped that in time, she could make a complete recovery. At least the pain had subsided.

The disappearance of the stasis field meant that the Radiant's particles had been collected, and true enough, when Jien looked at the dome, the figure was complete.

The pulsing light of the dome continued it's work still, minute mist settling around the bare form. Jien stepped away from her prison and towards that dome, tilting her head to look at that face. For a moment, she was alarmed, because that face did not belong to Heather McMillan. Then she remembered the words of the Voice, about what the Ante had been forced to do in order to save her life, and Jien had to believe what she saw was just the result of the compromise - the compensation for the loss. The science of it all was beyond her, and time was short. Eventually that dome would vanish, and it would be time to flee.

"Isley," she called to Nathaniel, having seen - to her relief - that he appeared uninjured. "As soon as this thing is finished, and the containment field drops, I need you to carry her." Having given the order, Jien then directed her eyes to the Andorian.

"Officer," she called, not knowing the short-haired woman's name, "have you found a way out? We leave and take shelter in wait for the escape plan from the Voice. Yet if we don't hear from him, we might have to find our own way off this ship. Get that open, before the forcefield drops."

And then, as if switching of a light, the dome around Heather McMillan vanished - the reintegration complete. A glance towards the armoured Savi on the other side of the dome told him that they could not count on them changing their minds. They didn't even appear bothered to speak with Sinead and Deacon, thinking it beneath them to address the escaped lab rats that had killed their commanding officer. It was an admirable attempt to try and speak with them, but it was in their best interest to escape and hide.

"Officer Zephyr, you'll have to scan Heather on the way. We leave now," said Jien, stepping towards the Andorian and the path she'd found behind the debris. Jien's steps were measured, not trusting her matrix just yet, but the brisk pace was quick enough to get her across the accursed Nest. She turned her oaken eyes to Sinead and Deacon next. "Come! It's no use. We must leave, for they won't listen to us."

[ Echtand qi Versant | The Archive Access | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]"<How can you listen to them?>" demanded Sclergyn, her pistol still raised towards Echtand. "<Do you take their word over our own?>"

Echtand understood her point, and any other time, he'd agreed, but how could he make her understand when his conviction lay not entirely in scientific fact, but in memory, and in intuition? How was he supposed to tell her that he'd remembered his parents when he'd looked into the eyes of the Aspect Maker, and began to question things? How that look of reproach had made him recall their opposition towards the Scion Directive, and what it would lead to for the Antes? They had been old, his parents, and seen things no Antes that lived today had. What had they known, that made them risk their lives for their endeavour? Why would they defy the Code? In the years where he'd been with his Decataria, Echtand had hated them for their moronic, idealistic fight. They had risked their lives, and left him behind, and for what? A notion? An idea? A mere hypothesis without grounds?

No, there had to be something more. The unsaid was just beyond the entrance to the Vault.

Yet could he kill Sclergyn, who carried his unborn child, for his conviction?

In her eyes, he saw that she knew this. Her confidence lay in him not being able to kill her, because she had taken the thym.

"<I believe,>" he said as he came to stand still with his back towards the Valt, speaking quietly to her, "<that we were once scientists of a different kind. I believe that the Progenitors did not wish for us to carry on their legacy in the absurd fashion we do. I believe that the Correction Program is a lie, to feed the Flotilla, and that the Code has been changed to control us. We depend on the Code, more so than any other species I've studied. We depend on it because we believe it will spare us from another Cataclysm. We follow the Code to try and preserve our Archive, but once we decided to evolve ourselves, the Scions saw how they could use the Code to make us more efficient. We live as unknowing slaves to a doctrine not our own.>"

Sclergyn just shook her head. "<I am still not hearing any form of evidence, merely supposition.>"

Echtand sighed, closed his eyes for a moment, and slowly lowered his graviton weapon. He was a scientist. They all were, and yet what he said next was quite unrelated to science.

"<I think you and I have felt the truth... more so than other Savi,>" he said quietly, not entirely sure how to phrase it. "<When I began to study the language of the Federation, I also studied their societies, and learned about the way their myriad of cultures looked upon procreation. Since then, I have... not forced myself upon you. I have taken your wishes into consideration. Your consent... and willingness to procreate, gradually became the only way in which I wanted to be with you. And I found how... natural, it felt, in lack of a better description to my findings. This is not something I can prove or disprove as scientific fact... and I don't think you can either. And yet... I think... you may have felt it too.>"

Sclergyn was silent at first, even if her frown remained. "<So you mated with me like the primates do?>" As harsh as her words were, the phrasing a revolted accusation... her tone was off point. "<It proves nothing.>"

Echtand shook his head. "<The Code facilities dominance as the order in which we should breed. We have been taught to be as we are, and mate as we do, by the Code. Yet when you and I strayed from the texts... and found mutual respect, you were willing to take the thym for me, without contest.>"

Sclergyn's frown remained, but she was silent now. Echtand spoke anew. "<I received your name suggestions, I just couldn't respond,>" he said said, and stepped towards Sclergyn. "<You honour me, linguistics being the field that would name our child. Thank you.>"

"<That was before I learned what you've done,>" she warned, but her words were more quiet now.

Lights then lit her face, reflecting against her eyes. The iridescence of her black orbs were plainly seen, yet as captivated as Echtand might be, those lights were transporter sequences...

...and they were no longer alone.

"<Fire!>" came the call, and the antechamber to the Vault was riddled with graviton beams. Sclergyn cried out, and Echtand screamed.

[Lt Zephyr Praise | Scion Nest | Go-Time | Saving our Asses | Getting Out of Danger][/b]

Zephyr had never witnessed, before, what she did now.  The changing of the man to woman in front of her.  As a medical doctor she had read and researched man races for various projects or things that she needed to know so that she could treat just about anyone she came up against.  Still, it was really cool, for the young Doctor and Scientist to actually see the changes taking place in front of her.  To watch the skin ripple and change.  It wasn't as though they just changed their sex.  The bones, the muscles, the whole thing moved and changed.  She was slighter now, with lovely long hair and dark eyes that were the same as her male counterpart.  Her skin still that same somewhat asian look as it had been before, and yet she seemed more gentle.  Gentle and yet not because her eyes held a fierceness that really resonated with the young woman that was trying desperately to treat everyone. 

Zeph was just happy to be of use, to be able to heal people.  It had been a long time since she had been able to put her actual medical practices to work.  She had been more of scientist and researcher.  She could understand the Savi, the way their minds worked, and how things could go wrong so quickly given the opportunity. 

While she waited for Heather to be remade and while she waited for everything to finish up so they could leave, she felt weary.  Not really tired in the physical sense.  Sleeping next to the warmth and strength of Khorin had her sleeping very well.  But emotionally she was tired and she just wanted to curl up under a warm blanket and watch a movie.  Do something normal.  She didn't regret leaving the station and it was something she would eventually have to explain.  At least, to the Captain because she knew that when Ives eventually went to find out what kind of officer she was, and where she had been stationed she would see a big black area.  Zephyr had disappeared years ago, only to reappear right now.

The woman seemed better now, hopefully because of what Zeph had given her.  Ives began to bark orders around and Zeph smiled.  It was good that she was doing that.  It gave her purpose, drive, and it would allow the people to rally around her.  Zeph knew the mark of a true Captain and knew she was seeing one right now.  She shifted her attention to Shar across the deck who was trying to get things ready for them to get out of here.  She was glad for it because Zeph hadn't even thought of that being something they needed to do.  She supposed that was why they were a team.  Heather finished and the shield around her dropped.  Zeph stepped forward but the woman was already being held by another officer.  Ives explained that she would have to treat and scan on the way.

“Right.  Got it.” she turned on her heel and walked with the group towards Shar.  All the while she was scanning Heather's new form, what it was.. how it was, and collecting all sorts of information for herself.  As she did so she was checking to make sure that she wasn't in any real pain.  She didn't want Heather suffering, that much was for certain so if there was anything she could do and allow Heather a calm and swift recovery she would do it.

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)| Day 6| The Scion's Nest | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]
Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triage  @BZ  @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow

Shar endeavored herself to open the hatch that could gave her access to the ventilation ducts. While the metal shard was an improvement with respect to her previous circumstances, when she could only rely on her own hands, it was far from being a real tool. The situation didn't improve if she added to the mix the pressure of the Antes trying to tear down the forcefield that separated them from the abductees and the accumulated fatigue and tiny wounds and bruises of the day that began to make a dent in her. As she struggled with the last rivets, an unfamiliar voice deconcentrated her enough to make her drop the metal shard and land painfully on her rear. When she turned to see who was the one interrupting the limited time she had available, she found herself looking at an unknown woman, dressed in a red Starfleet uniform. The pins on her neck pointed that she possessed the rank of captain. The andorian looked at her confused for a moment, blinking slowly and trying to understand who she was. The brief glimpse she had had of Theurgy's CO had shown her a male humanoid with human-like traits of Asian descent. A man, not a woman. However, after a close inspection, she found a je ne se quoi in the firm line of her jaw and in the steel determination of her eyes that suggested that they both could be the same person. "Captain Ives" she guessed, doubt plain in her voice. She combed her short hair a single time before continued speaking. "Liutenant JG Shar, madam." Introduced herself brieftly before squatting down again next to the battered bulkhead and reinserting the scrap of metal into one of the tight rivets that still supported the metal plate. "There is an access to the ventilation ducts behind this plate, it will be a bit tight, but we can move through that tubes to one of the main corridors and try to make our way to the The Beas... to commander Blue's hideout. If the Savi keep actively pursuing us, we can keep moving through the ducts, it will be slower but possibly safer. To my knowledge, Commander Blue has been in them for days, under the radar of our enemies, so it will be the safest route to reach the main group or to wait till our ally could beam us there... " Accompanying that last sentence, the lid of the hatch emitted a metallic wail and fell to the side, leaving behind it the view of a narrow and unlit tube. Kelleshar couldn't stop her antennae from abandoning their everlasting position agaisnt her scalp and let them arched more naturally over her forehead. The rest of her face remained, however, imperturbable, frozen in the sour expression that was characteristic. The andorian peeked into the black entrance illuminating her surroundings with the soft glow of the padd attached to her wrist. "We need to crawl twenty yards, and take the first detour to the right after that. That will take us to one of the main maintenance tunnels. We can move more comfortably since there, captain. " The Andorian explained as she reviewed the route she had drawn in the Savi tablet. "I've shared that course in the other officers' padd, I'm going to advance and scout the path to the junction, madam," She enunciated confidently before stepping into the tube, crawling on hands and knees. When her slender figure had completely disappeared in the hatch, just to let her voice resonated again. "I will inform as soon as possible, but don't hesitate to follow me if the situation worsens"

[ Lt. JG Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @steelphoenix, @BZ, @FollowTomorrow & @Numen
[Show/Hide]The effort was truly in vain. Sinead was joined by Deacon, who tried adding his own skill at negotiation, and he seemed to speak the Savi language better than her. Yet, their words fell on deaf ears (where were the Savi ears?!?), and the Captain called on them to abandon any further attempts. “Yes, captain.” said Sinead and immediately turned, having made note of the strength of the forcefield, but she also pinned a security request of the cleansing beams that Echtand had used. Once everyone was through the escape tunnels discovered by Shar, Sinead activated the beams to prevent pursuit as she followed the rest. She'd recovered whatever usable weapons could be found and provided them to whomever was in need or able to wield them.

Acting as the self-appointed security cordon, Sinead positioned herself before the immediate threat and kept the captain directly behind her. Jien seemed to also place importance over the newly reconstituted woman, whom she did not recognize as the supposed Heather McMillan. Although she'd only glimpsed the personnel file for the woman, Sinead was quite certain this Heather looked nothing like what she saw in the records. Looking at the update on her PADD from Shar, the Bringloidi wondered at the wisdom of waiting for her. “Captain, p'haps we should no' wai' 'ere much longerh. There be too many o' th' Savi Guardsmen for us t'figh'.”

[ Ens. Nathaniel Isley | Scion's Nest | The Versant ]

“Isley,” rang out a voice so sweet and pure that it made him shiver, and he looked over to see...Ives! Ives, she was here and she was standing, and though her form seemed to ripple like water, she was at least whole.

He was given the order to carry her. He nodded his head to acknowledge his orders and approached the dome of light, putting his graviton weapon up to free up his hands. As if on cue, the light faded, and he found her in his arms.

She was startlingly light. He had been expecting just a little bit more mass, but it was like holding a pile of feathers. Regardless, he held her body in his arms like he held hope in his heart, because that’s what she was. He couldn’t let himself be too taken. But for a moment, he held the newly made woman in his arms and marveled at a science so advanced it seemed like magic.

He cradled her close and started moving towards the group, it seemed they had found a way out. Good, because they couldn’t stay long.
“Whichever order we go in, someone come up behind me. I can’t cover our rears and hold the missus at the same time.”

[ PWO Heather McMillan (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Heather_McMillan) | Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @steelphoenix, @BZ, @FollowTomorrow & @Numen
[Show/Hide]It felt like she had been asleep for months. She had been somewhere else, heard a voice or a thought that had not been her own, then there were voices all around her, speaking a language she did not understand. Emotions she had never felt in her life were now ever present in her mind and her consciousness. She felt cold, and heavy, and weak, yet stronger...stronger than she had ever felt in her life. Who was she? What was she? Oh...she began to remember things. Her name...wait...what was her name??? Voices, she had to concentrate...why couldn't she see? What was going on? Were they fleeing a ship? What was the ship's name?

She realized though that she couldn't see, probably because her eyes were closed. The hair on her head felt heavy...was it always this heavy? Who was carrying her? Why was she being carried? Was there something wrong with the bed?

Finally she opened one eye to look at the handsome stranger carrying her, and for a moment she thought she saw a face that she recognized, but then her vision cleared as she opened her other eye, and saw the Romulan clearly, and she asked a question that she thought was extremely important and relevant to their situation at present, “Did I make the tea correctly?”

How could she feel strong and so exhausted at the same time? She could move, but she didn't want to. Instead, she thought she'd wait until Mr. Fancy told her what's what. There was a woman with Oriental features nearby, and a woman with glowing blue-white eyes, but why did she feel the Oriental woman was important...hold on, did those pips mean she was a, “Captain?”

[ Deacon | Day 6 | Scion's Nest | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Triage  @BZ  @Numen @FollowTomorrow 

Deacon made a sour face as his efforts to broker peace, in spite of how counter to his own training it might be, went unrewarded.  These earless cretins clearly had no appreciation for what they had just accomplished and what more they could unleash.  Even the kzinti had learned to give the monkeys their time.  He curled his lip in frustration.  This was not the time for that comparison.

Casting a glance over his shoulder as the captain spoke, he turned a knowing glance towards the female beside him and, as if of a single mind, he echoed her actions in perfect symmetry, darting through the wreckage of the nest to snare anything that could be of use -- weapons, technology, even the inscrutable.  There was no time to be selective.  They would need to have all available options when and if they found safe haven again and he was not one to overlook opportunities.  But there was something he made particular effort to grab -- the biosuits that clothed their fallen.

An instinctive revulsion clung to his gut as he slipped the suits from the bodies as rapidly as he could.  Kzinti had a marked dislike for tampering with the dead -- something he'd analytically considered odd given their propensity for killing -- but he could not shake the illogical sense of dread that had been ingrained into him by the culture in which he'd been raised.  The dead could linger in their possessions and haunt the living.  He could only hope the kills fresh enough and their deaths worthy enough to be welcomed by the Fanged God... or whatever god they'd clung to.  The need of the pride was too great.  Suits in hand, damaged though they may be, he spared another moment to liberate any additional weaponry that crossed his path.

He circled back towards the others, motioning for the group to move ahead, recognizing his own size as a clear obstacle towards navigation.  Better that the smaller members of the team move ahead and set their course.  As the captain took her own position in the line, he handed her one of the suits.  "They hide our biosigns."  The second he draped over the female carried by the romulan that had been called Isley.  The matter of camouflage aside, only the matter of offense remained.  Slipping one of the phasers into the captain's possession, he added quietly, "Nonlethal to the grey ones, but better than nothing until we can seek alternatives."

The shield would not avail them much longer and as the last of the team slipped into the vents, he too slipped out of sight, silencing that part of him that demanded he stay and fight.  Now was not the time for foolish kzinti bravado.  The mission had been accomplished. Sometimes it was that bravado that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.  Now he had to rely on his monkey companions to show him the way.

[ Echtand qi Versant | The Archive Access | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]The antechamber to the Vault lay silent.

Pale skin rent. Thick blood spreading over the deck. Bodies clad in black. Suits and armour, all sheared. Dim lights flickering, control panels destroyed. Sparks raining, reflected against black orbs. Unseeing eyes behind shattered visors. There was little movement in the haze. Smoke from the damages thick in the neox air. The gate to the Vault loomed high above it all, indifferent to what had happened. The Archive had no entity, even if it had led many lives, surviving the folly of its keepers countless times.

"<You should not have come here.>"

Weakly, a pale hand rose through the smoke, coated in blue blood. It reached for one of the faces, but it stopped. It had been stayed to preserve that countenance from the touch of cerulean ichor. It did not deserve to be stained, the sight of it ruined. As it were, framed by the haze of the aftermath, few things could compare to it. Especially, when those black orbs blinked, and the answer came.

"<You're wrong,>" said Sclergyn, and in her eyes were the reflection of her tablet. She wasn't even looking at him - focused on her task.

"<No,>" said Echtand, propped up against the bulkhead as he was, the wound through his abdomen making him grimace. "<I know I am right. If you doubt me still... why did you..?>"

"<I mean that I should have come here. Otherwise, you'd be dead,>" said his mate, unhurt, and treating him as best as she might. She did not look emphatic towards his plight, the doubts still there. She glanced up from her datapad for a moment. "<As for your belief in this unfounded hypothesis of yours - this claim with little merit - I have no means to disprove you without clear facts. You have challenged the Code, with no evidence, and I suppose there is but one way to counter such a challenge. Nothing less will clear your emotive doubts. It is stated in the Code that all challenges must be addressed.>"

Echtand knew then, that he had chosen right in picking Sclergyn for his mate. Slowly, he turned his head to look at the gates to the Vault. "<It is stated,>" he said, when he realised what she meant. "<I should have told you. I should not have done this alone.>"

"<No,>" she replied without pause, shaking her head, "<I would have stopped you, reported you, and I would not have taken the thym for you. On your feet. Here, I will help you stand.>"

The makeshift treatment of his wound finished, Echtand realised it was time. Despite the numbing pain, he reached up and took Sclergyn's hand, and struggled to find his balance. She supported him, running his arm over her shoulders, and they turned to the gate together. They stepped over the bodies of fellow Antes to reach the Vault, and once there, Echtand put his graviton pistol aside on the access console, and laid his less bloodied hand against the cool surface.

"<I, Echtand qi Versant, Commanding Officer of the tertiary Precept-ship, request access to the Archive, under the authorisation of the Code, and in the memory of the Progenitors.>"

There was a whirr from the console, and in the dreaded seconds that followed, Echtand thought he had erred.

Then, the gate opened for them. He shared a glance with Sclergyn, picked up his weapon, and then they stepped through.

Once inside, the access point to the Flotilla's Archive was just a barren area, but this was expected. The flat bulkheads revealed nothing, but the Vault did not possess something as archaic as physical records. No, the Archive was a network of incorruptible data, and in the node which they stood, they were able to access anything they needed. The fact of the Archive's transparent storage records was key to its merit. The problem was, that the records of changes had been hidden for Savi with inferior access. The Code's current edition was available to all, and the changes always supposed to be communicated. No changes had been announced, nor put on public record, since before Echtand was born.

"<I request the history of the Code,>" he announced in a loud, clear voice, and the Vault answered him. Without delay, the information sprung out of nothingness, data accumulating in a timeline that spread around the two Ante mates. Dates, words and images flashed before them as the revision history unfolded. It was all there, some records still preserved from the time before the Flotilla, when they had conducted their research on Sa. Their lost home planet. The Cataclysms had erased far too much of the early Code, but as Echtand and Sclergyn gazed at the information around them, the common denominators were plainly there. They were High Class. They were of the elite scientists of their species, practised at reading sentences at a rapid pace. Their method of reading didn't just focus on getting through the words, but understanding what they were reading as well. Echtand raised a hand against the shimmering information around them, and with his bloodied fingertips, he narrowed his focus on the latest revision history of the Code.

Sclergyn's hand was also raised in the same direction, and together - the sceptic and the believer - they learned the truth about their people.

---

OOC: Another post due soon. :)

[ Captain Ives | Leaving the Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]It was not just Jien Ives' morphogenic matrix that was in turmoil after the days spent in the Scion's Nest, the consequences obvious in how her form did not completely solidify. No, approaching the exit that the Andorian had found, she wanted nothing rather than flee, and cover as much distance as possible between herself and the area of her torment. Though she knew she had to restrain herself. To keep her head level and her wits about her, even though her animal instinct was the complete opposite. She knew far too little of her own species - less than the Savi did - but like any other solid, she certainly had a natural fight or flight instinct. She balled her hands into fists, her jaws clenched, and listened. She forced herself to, since it was expected of her.

While Sinead moved to join them, collecting things, and Deacon did the same - if that truly was the Kzinti she'd come to know - Jien had listened to the Andorian's words. Shar, as she introduced herself, had suggested that they'd use the maintenance tunnels and that she'd scout ahead. She mentioned a hideout, and without knowing much more, it seemed like a good destination. Jien did not know who Commander Blue was, but if she'd been able to hide there for a long time, it might be their safest alternative. The Andorian even suggested that she'd scout ahead, and that they were to follow whenever required.

"Well done, Junior Lieutenant," said Jien, and nodded, seeing her vanish into the darkness. A voice behind her made her turn around, and she saw Deacon there, holding two suits and draping one over the bare Radiant in Isley's arms. She was told the suits masked biosigns, and she supposed it made sense, else they would have a harder time entering the Nest undetected. Zephyr was there too, scanning Heather, who was both talking incoherently and not looking like herself. It was alarming, to say the least, but there was naught more Jien could do for the Radiant at the time, so she tried to push the concerns about Heather aside. One thing was certain. It seemed evident that Jien only had this opportunity to get into one of the damaged suits. "Thank you."

Her voice tight, there was no time for propriety, and it had already been lost given the state they had found her in. She shifted her form, which took longer than before her captivity, so that she only wore regular Starfleet underwear. While she did so, she worked her feet into the suit, deftly donning it as quickly as she could. Once the magnetic seals clasped shut, she took the phaser from Deacon and checked its' settings. "Noted. My thanks," she said, and once she could look the tailed man in the eyes, she was certain it was the Kzinti. Just like Isley, the Savi had altered him, for no other reason than curiosity, as far as Ives knew. She just didn't know what to say to the former Priest. Nothing seemed adequate.

Isley spoke up, about needing someone to cover him if he was to carry the Radiant, and the comment made Jien turn to look at Semathal's personal guard, who were engaged in communication with other teams, by the looks of them, and two were still working on bringing down the force field. There was only a matter of time, and this was the only opportunity they had to escape.

"I will take point," said Jien, not about to take a backseat role in the escape after her crew had sacrificed so much to free her, and Sinead came to position herself next to the opening. "O'Riley, you go next, then, Isley and... Zephyr? Keep the Radiant under observation. I have learned that their abilities might be key to deal with the threat of the Infested. Keep her alive. Deacon, you go last, make sure we aren't pursued. Like Sinead says, we cannot linger here for much longer... so we move out now. "

Without further delay, Jien entered the crawlspace, her eyes and her phaser primed towards the darkness ahead, her suit torn by Semathal's claws, and a loyal crewman's blood lining it. She pushed forth, having to slow down to not let her sense of flight overcome her reasoning and training. There was no sign of the Andorian named Shar yet, and she had no idea what O'Riley had set up for the personal guard they left behind. Jien just knew that they had a chance to hide somewhere in wait for the Voice to finish whatever he was doing for his people. As far as Jien was concerned, she didn't trust him. Because of what she'd been through, she wasnt' sure how she could.

As rife as the tension was, their lives at risk and their discovery pending, Jien lost track of time there in the maintenance tunnels of the Versant. She was given directions after catching up with Shar, the dim light revealing the crawling Andorian ahead after some time. Hushed voices. Small displays on their wrists lighting up their faces. Directions suggested, as they navigated the guts of the Savi dreadnought. The distances which they had to over seemed preposterous, larger as the ship was than any vessel in the Federation. Eventually, however, the silence was broken.

Sounds in the tunnels. Movements. Shouting in an alien tongue. Metal noises. Armoured knees and gauntlets scraping the insides of the tunnels. They were no longer alone. Somewhere, down either of the intersections ahead, the search teams were closing in. If they were armoured, then there was little chance of stunning them effectively. Jien clenched her teeth together, and she needn't tell the officers behind her. Waste of breath, and noises made, when their silence may save them. She did not have to explain that they may have to fight for their lives.

Yet the dreadful, shuffling noises were soon cut off by a voice.

It spoke in the language of the Savi, and there was no telling what it said. Jien frowned and glanced towards the others behind her. "Try to find some kind of universal translator system on that thing," she whispered to O'Riley, her voice drowned out by the booming announcement, which was heard throughout the entire ship. She checked the power level on her phaser then, trying to hear the search team ahead over the voice.

[ Echtand qi Versant | Level 1 Bridge | Armoured Bridge Module | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]The tall doors slid open, and Echtand qi Versant limped unto bridge of the Versant, his face contorted by pain and determination.

There were over thirty Savi present, including three Scions, and as mixed as the reaction was - ranging from outrage to quiet loyalty - one thing was constant. Sclergyn's presence, right beside him, armed with two graviton pistols since Echtand couldn't carry it any more. She was there, as if the xenobiologist had become a personal guard, and when one of the Scions moved forth, she checked it with one of her pistols, her stare offering no compromise. Echtand gave the Scion officer a passing, unreadable glance, while he continued towards the command chair. Just a little further...

When he finally made it there, and sat down, he realised that even the command chairs had been fitted for Scions. And while hit tall frame was diminutive to that of a Scions, he sat straight. He was not interested in the reports and words of the present Savi, letting the thick silence linger, while he reached for the control to the intercom system. His bloodied hand shook, but he pressed the touch screen control, and a whirr told him that it was time.

"<This is Echtand qi Versant, your new Commanding Officer in accordance to the Code,>" he said, trying to keep his voice clear and true, and not reveal how weakened he was by his wound. "<I am an Antecedent. This is what we are called, now that the Scion Directive has determined our future. We are the old, inferior caste of our people, oft reduced to labour which the Scions never carry out. This... is our fate, until we no longer serve any purpose, and the Scions are sufficient in number to carry out all the research in our scientific fields, and preserve the great work of the Progenitors. At some point, in a not so distant future, the Flotilla will be completely automated, and the Scions will take our legacy into the millennia to come. We will become better, since the Antecedents are insufficient. This, is stated in the Code, along with all other ways in which we conduct ourselves and carry out our research. It is stated.>"

"<It is stated,>" came the affirmation from most of the present Savi on the bridge.

Having made this declaration, Echtand swallowed, and shook his head a little to clear it from vertigo. He sensed movements at his side, and he knew that it was Sclergyn. He looked at her, the truth spoken, and she - the sceptic - smiled faintly to him.

Now, was the time to reconcile with all the things he had done. He had a lot to say, well aware that the specimens were still at large.

[ Denary Biolab | Main Research Hull | The Versant ]

Elsewhere on the ship, in the biolabs, an Ovri mother was examining the small stasis pod which held her single egg, protected by armed members of the Theurgy and Endeavour crew. Little did they know about the battle fought in the adjacent lab, where Commander Nerina gone to Sto-Vo-Kor, since the Ovri had lingered where she was. While she examined the stasis unit, and the voice on the intercom had fallen silent, Hylota Vojona happened to press the top of the device, and a holo-projector activated.

It caused the figure of a humanoid to appear in the air above it. A projection of the child inside the egg, as it would appear when it reached maturity. A tall, wide-shouldered, unprecedented cross-breed between Ovri and Klingon. Black of eye and forehead creased in proud ridges. Defined in muscle tone and yet sleek, with minute scales - coarse and gleaming. As the image of Maal's son looked back at its mother in dark laboratory, the voice on the intercom was heard again - the words now deciphered by one of the NCO's tablets.

[Yet if you examine the revision history that I now broadcast across the whole ship, available in every terminal and lab, you will find that our Code has been corrupted. Defiled by the ambitions of the Scion Directive, and that for our whole lives, we have been made to think ourselves lesser than we are.]

At this point, clear sounds of fighting was heard across the transmission, a firefight breaking out - the outcome unknown.

[ Lieutenant ThanIda zh'Wann (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=ThanIda_zh%27Wann) | Unknown Medical Bay | The Versant ] Attn: @Masorin @Brutus @chXinya @Absinthe
[Show/Hide]Whatever words Shall might have had about being denied access to the Andorian experiment's results, they had been drowned out by the voice on the intercom. The present medical officers had been riveted by the words, and Ida raised her eyes while she listened, hearing the battle rage on what might be the bridge of the Versant.

The words still came, even while the battle lasted in the background. The Voice of the Savi would not be silenced.

[Once, we were not taught to take what we wanted, to examine what we wished, or to dominate while we bred. We did not judge our brood by the indicators in their infantile, undeveloped brains. We did not subject them to a lifetime of slavery when they were found inadequate. There were no High Class or Low Class Savi in the Flotilla. There were only the Vigilant of S-Sa...]

There was a pause, and something like coughing was heard, the voice wet as it resumed.

[...but we have lost our identity in our scientific achievements. Blindly, at one point in our recent history, a number of us thought we were not enough, and had to become more. The problem, lay in how our creation - the Scion caste - used our short lifespans against us, and turned us into this shadow of what we once were. They changed the Code, to control us, and to make us take the lifeforms of the Galaxy aboard our ships, just to feed the machinery of their ambitions, and to make sure no species would be their equal.]

Ida looked towards the two present Antecendents, and it was impossible to see what they were thinking, behind those wide, black eyes.

[ Adjacent to the Machine Intelligence Labs | The Versant ]

In a lab close to the Machine Intelligence Labs, a firefight has ensued between Savi and abductees, while Thea's positronic brain was being connected to the Versant.

At the beginning, when the voice of Echtand qi Versant had been heard over the intercom, the firefight had continued, but as the announcement was drawing to an end, someone among the Savi had raised their hand and called a cease-fire. So, while the words were still heard, the two opposing factions were holding their weapons raised, eyes along the sights, and ready to open fire once more. An uneasy cease-fire held, while the Voice of the Savi spoke to the crew of the Savi dreadnought.

[Inadvertently, we have almost caused ourselves a new Cataclysm, loosing ourselves in our achievements. Perhaps it's too late, since the children of our genius are all around us. Some of them may be at fault, and some may not - unknowing of the High Council's design as they might be. As your Commanding Officer, I demand for all fighting to cease immediately. We were once a people of peace and curiosity, not control and corruption. We needn't fight, but examine the Code as it was meant to be, and accept that the Scion Directive was not made our future by general consensus in the Flotilla.]

Thea's eyes moved between the opposing Savi in the laboratory, processing the information while Blue Tiran worked behind her.

[Lay down your arms, against each other, and against the specimens still aboard. For in this hour, we determine who we really are.]

[ Echtand qi Versant | Level 1 Bridge | Armoured Bridge Module | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]On the bridge, Echtand raised a trembling hand to his face, and wiped his lips.

Sclergyn was at his side, pressing a hand to to her side, but still holding one of her pistols raised against one of the remaining Savi.

Other Antes also there, armed, and protecting their Commanding Officer. Rallied by heart or Code, they had stood with the Voice, while he spoke to the crew. Echtand was almost finished.

"<My only command,>" he said to his crew, fighting the urge to cough again, "<is that you all examine the evidence presented, and see the truth about ourselves... before we make any further mistakes. Stand by... for further orders. Echtand out.>"

Then, with a numb hand, he switched off the intercom. The only reason he had faith in his proclamation, was that his people would not reject scientific truth. Unlike most species they had examined, they had not been prone to biased opinion before the Scion Directive, but accepted proven fact over fear. It was, perhaps, one of their most redeeming qualities, even if it would never be enough to forgive all that they had done.

He could hear Sclergyn say his name. He felt her hand on his shoulder, felt her squeeze it tight, and he wanted to look up at his mate, as if to learn if he had done well.

Only he couldn't. For the hand of his mate was all that held him upright.

Echtand's research had come to an end, but perhaps... his discovery would change everything for his people.

Angry people want you to see how powerful they are. Loving people want you to see how powerful you are.

Freedom is the right of every sentient being.

[ Lt. JG Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Leaving the Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @steelphoenix, @BZ, @FollowTomorrow & @Numen
[Show/Hide]Sinead's head whipped around when the captain declared that she would take point. The former Security officer wanted to offer protest, her lips even parting, her emotions and feelings clear, for a change, as her control over her emotions briefly slipped, before she pursed her lips once more and spoke not a word. At least she heeded the Bringloidi's words. She cast a glance at Heather, wondering at the woman's value and import, but all things that could be found out later. If the captain decreed so, then Sinead would protect Heather with her life.

Deacon had assisted by retrieving more weapons and even clothing for the captain and Heather. A tactically sound move, since stealth was what they needed the most.

The crawlspace was going to make it tricky for Nathaniel to carry Heather through, but she supposed if anyone could carry a Radiant and crawl through tiny places, a Romulan could do it. Plus, she read that Radiants were very light, lighter than they appeared to be. Silent as a ghost, Sinead bent and moved with cat-like grace, as she stalked behind Jien, rifle in hands, she quickly shifted to input commands into the PADD at Jien's request, and she got a text-only translation of all that was being spoken in Federation Standard and shared her PADD with the captain. In the low light, her silvery-blue eyes shown clear and bright, almost creating a reflection off the PADD"s surface.

At Echtand's urging and command to cease fighting, Sinead allowed a small smile to play on her lips, hoping that perhaps for a change, diplomacy might work out. The sounds of fighting appeared to have slowed to a halt, perhaps listening to Echtand. All the same, she moved ahead of the captain and studied their surroundings, watchful for the approach of anything.

---

[ PWO Heather McMillan (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Heather_McMillan) | Leaving the Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]She felt something drape over her body, and that was when she realized she was as bare as the day she was born, for all to see. Her face warred with the appropriate reaction of relief and sheer mortification that she was naked before the captain and so many others. On the one hand, she rather enjoyed being free of the weight and cover of heavy fabrics, but on the other hand, she had been raised in England all her life, and had developed a strong sense of modesty that often was at odds with her Radiant nature...

...Radiant?

She smiled and murmured her thanks, as she gently lifted the clothes off herself, which had some serious damage and ichor. They were drawing close to a crawlspace, and the Romulan was still carrying her. “I-I can walk...th-thank you, sir.” said the tiny blonde as she slid herself from the man's hold, losing her balance and fell heavily to the ground.

She gasped and pushed up, surprised at her own weight, and also the strength within her. She could feel the light within her body, but her skin felt thick...too strong. Once she was back on her feet, she slid into the suit, which barely fit her, as she was much shorter. She held the Romulan's arm lightly as they journeyed through the crawlspace, all wary for pursuit or an ambush ahead. Then the booming voice began to speak. The blonde moaned softly and covered her ears, feeling intimidated and frightened. “Wh-what is happening?” she asked.

[ Lt (jg) Sarresh Morali (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sarresh_Morali) | Unknown Medical Bay | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @chXinya @Masorin @Absinthe @Auctor Lucan 
[Show/Hide]

Sarresh was finding it harder and harder to keep track of things in the aftermath of their raid to acquire the Omega Device. Having the most volatile and dangerous particle in known creation hanging from his shoulder had a way of ruining one's ability to focus on the present moment. Too much 'what if' and 'oh please no' kept circling about in his head.

On the other hand watching the male Andorian lose his control and pull one of the doctors aside, babbling threats about research on Andorians did have a way of refocusing one's attention.  One minute Shall (Sarresh believed that was the man's name) had been at a nearby console. The next, he too had a gun against one of the doctors heads, pulling him away and demanding some research on Andorian's that the Savi had conducted. Sarresh didn't know what any of that was about and he didn't care.

"Now is not the time, people," he barked, angry before being interrupted by a series of comm messages, and then one very, very loud, very long message. Everyone in the room seemed to freeze up, and stare, listening to the voice of Echtand qi Versant. For a moment, the woman on the table, the angry pair of Andorians, even the device hanging from Sarresh's shoulder was forgotten. The voice over the speakers made its case, in what seemed to Sarresh to be a slow, measured pace. Labored almost. A knot of worry built in the pit of Sarresh's stomach. This...this could go one of two ways, and one wasn't too bad, but the other was...well.

The voice stopped, giving its final orders, and Sarresh looked around the room, slowly. He met Jacks' gaze, then Ida and Shall's, though both seemed to be locked in almost a staring contest of their own. Then he looked to the two Antes, the doctors in the room. They looked shell-shocked. Sarresh had seen it before, in other faces, other cultures (ones he couldn't even properly remember). A huge chunk of their world view - from what the time traveler gathered - had just been called into question.

And no one was moving. No one was doing anything.

"Okay, people," Sarresh said slowly, filling the sudden silence with his own voice, going for clear and collected. He slowly lowered his firearm and held his arms out to the side, making a gesture that he hoped came over as calming. "Let's take a breath. your big boss man just laid a wallop of information on you and that's going to take time to process. So...how about we stabilize the lady on the table as best you can, while we -" he gestured to the Starfleet personnel, "let you work unmolested. Once she's not going to die right away, it sounds like you guys have a lot of reading to do, and I don't want to keep you from doing that. So lets...let's play nice, like that Echtand chap said, eh? Sound good?"

In all honesty Sarresh didn't care one bit about what the Savi eventually decided to do about themselves. He just wanted to get off the damn ship in one piece, and get back to the one person in this whole damn timeline that mattered to him. That might be the one saving grace of the past few days; there was no doubt in Sarresh's mind about how he felt toward Ryuan Sel. He just had to get back to her first, and that meant calming these two alien doctors down.

[ Ens. Nathaniel Isley | Leaving the Scion Nest | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ]

The ragtag group of officers began down the maintenance tunnels, and Isley, knowing the jeffries tubes aboard the Theurgy, thought the trip would be short, cramped, and quiet. He was fortunate to get two out of three correct.

The journey was terribly long. Though he did not mind watching over his charge, lifting her when she fell and offering his support, the pressing silence and stillness of the air would drive him crazy. At any moment they could find themselves ambushed. His heart pounded every time he saw a shadow that looked like an alcove or another hallway. But nothing came. It was a long journey full of nothing and that was almost worst than an ambush in some ways.

Then, noise. Isley had fallen into the trap of reliving they were safe, perhaps, when he heard the shuffling of armor. Then...a voice? An announcement?

The language was too alien, so he did not understand any of the words spoken. Even the tone was strange, but he had the impression it was an announcement. He had no PADD, nothing to translate with, so he remained silent. Sinead had a PADD, which he gravitated towards, reading from a distance.

“...It’s a call for peace.” He whispered to Heather, “The Savi are having a change in command, and he’s trying to call for a ceasefire.” He explained as succinctly as he could. Heather would need the in-depth at a point in time where he wasn’t carrying the radiant around.

He did not know if Echtand would be successful. He didn't know if he would even still be alive, since the wet sound of his voice did not sound normal nor healthy. He just held hope that it would, and prepared for the worst.

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)| Day 6| The Scion's Nest | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]
Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triage  @BZ  @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow

Shar paused for a moment to catch her breath. The next intersection was barely three meters ahead and, like all the previous intersections, it was brighter than the rest of the crawlspaces, with thin stripes of light on each of the different corridors' apertures. She let herself felt, leaned her back against one of the walls, her legs slightly clenched, so that the curve of the corridor folded around her body as if it were a bed. She had always liked small spaces, especially if the light was dim and there were hardly any sound that could heard. The Andorian pushed the hair from her face and allowed herself to close her eyes for a bit. She was exhausted. Her joints ache. Dozens of small scratches on her fingers stung each time she rested her hands on the floor plates to keep crawling through the cramped tube. Without opening her eyes, she rested one of her bruised hands on the side of her belly. She ran her lean fingers over the smooth surface of the Savi suit until their tips felt a rounded, tiny shape. Shar bit the inside of her cheeks. She had hoped to die in the Scion's nest. When the platform had collapsed under her feet and she began to fall into the void, the instinct for survival had dominated her, but now... now all she could think was that could had been a liberation. She would have got rid of duty, the anguish, the doubts. But it would have been the easier way and Shar never had the chance to choose the simplest option. Her people believed that the shen gender was ruled by the Water Guardian. She must be guided by a Storm Bringer. Her antennas faced each other, her amusement hidden to anyone else except herself in the dark. That hilarity didn't las long, due her belly clamped under her slender fingers and she grimanced as an answer. She opened her eyes and sighed. It wasn't the time to stop. She couldn't lose a minute longer than necessary.

The rest of the group was outlined in the corridor, just a few steps from her position. With a low groan, Shar crouched down  again and advanced to the next intersection. In the moment she straighten herself in the middle of the juction, she heard them. Noises of armor rattling, hasty footsteps, the low buzz of charged weapons. She remained motionless, as if she had just discovered that she was walking on thin ice, and it had began to crack under her weight. The light of the crossroad dazzled her. The echo of the corridors confused the direction of the sounds. The enemies were approaching and she was simply petrified. Suddenly, the Padd of her wrist began to buzz and  emitted a baritone voice. The translator activated itself after the first couple of words and Shar thought she recognized the voice of his ally, from that "Moby". However he sounded more plaintive, weaker and pained. And at the same time, firmer, resolute. Shar understood the words, but didn't find full sense of what he was telling. There were many variables that she didn't know in that speech to fully seize it. But they gave them time. The soldiers who surrounded them hesitated hearing the words of their ally and didn't take action as froze as her. That gave her time. Time for her eyes to adjust to the contrast of light and shades. There were Antes on her right and in front of her. With the rest of her team behind her, there was only one option left. She turned her head slightly to his left, to the empty tube and, when the voice on her wrist interrupted the speech by a gurgling cough, Shar dove in that direction.She crawled upside down a stretch, full body stuck to the floor. And she waited. The voice of her wrist fell silent and that silence spread in the crawlspace. Slowly, almost afraid, the Andorian sat up to look at the junction again. The Savi soldiers still didn't move. Shar thought she could see doubt in their strange black eyes. Slowly, very slowly, the shen crouched, not knowing how to react. "Zztann" she whispered.

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Into the Rabbit Hole | This Ain't Wonderland |  I Could Use a Druggy Caterpillar Right About Now]
@Auctor Lucan @Numen @Triage @steelphoenix

They were going into the vent systems. 

Zeph sighed.  She didn't mind tight enclosed spaces or anything, she didn't mind them in the least.  But the dark could get to her from time to time.  So long as the lights weren't red she would probably be fine.  She'd probably be find even if they were red, she hadn't had an episode in a while.  No flash backs in recent memory but she was always afraid that it was going to happen.  She supposed that one day that gut drop feeling she got when darkness descended would fade and she wouldn't even remember that was a thing any more, but, for now she could still feel her body's preparation for such an event.

Deep breath, Zeph.  Gotta keep together.  You're the only Doc.

The Captain turned to her and she gave a quick nod at the name she was called and then a quick smile.  “You got it.” she said warmly with a bright smile.  Zeph was the kind of person who's soul was lit up from the inside and she just seemed to brighten a room with her mere presence.  It was the kind of happiness that just settled well at her core.  Though she was curious what it was that could be done with the Radiant, how she could help them get through everything that was going on and how she could help get them back to their ship.  But, the Captain seemed to know what would help and Zeph didn't need to know the answer yet.  If she stuck around she would find out at some point.

Zeph got in line and they began to move forward.  She let the wrist light on her hand brighten her space just a little bit as did the others.  Casting odd shadows as they moved ahead but at least they could see a bit.  They moved and wormed through the ship and followed the lead of the Andorian that seemed to have at least an idea of where they were headed.  She just wanted to get out. 

I hope Khorin is okay.  I'd hate to get out of this and find out that something bad happened to him.  He's such a good guy.  I really want to get to know him better.  Maybe we can get a drink or a snack or something when things aren't so crazy.  I could do with some bacon...

Zeph mused to herself a little bit as she crawled after everyone and worked on keeping an eye on Heather.  Then, there were sounds ahead that threw Zeph out of her own head space.  She heard Ives asking another officer to work on some kind of translator, and Zeph wished that she had said gift but she didn't.  She couldn't even really use her empathy or telepathy because she didn't know the languages or the feel of the brains of the creatures.  It would all be foreign to her and would do them no good.  So all she could do was keep going forward and wait for another time when she could be actually useful.

A ceasefire was being called, the woman ahead of them said deciphering the odd tones that were coming from the intercom system of the whole ship.  Zeph smiled.  “Good job.” she said to no one inparticular but honestly it was meant for the man that Commander Tiran had allied with.  The fact that he was holding to his bargain so far, the fact that he was doing what needed to be done to set his race back to rights was a good thing.  He had a good heart, Zeph believed that just about any race out there had those of good hearts and those of shaded hearts.  She knew that every race had those natures the differing poles of personalities.  Both like herself and like Commander Tiran.  Though, the thing she had noticed about Tiran was that her shell was all on the outside.  A slight glimpse into what was underneath it when she was falling asleep had Zephyr understanding about the young human woman a whole lot more than most around her.  Watching her with Lieutenant Cross this morning, how they teamed up after a night of sleeping side by side.  It was something to see.  Knowing that while she might be sharp tongued commander Tiran had not lost her desire to be accepted and be someone that others found merit in.  She didn't seek it but let it seek her out. 

Heather mentioned something about being able to walk and slid down.  “Wai-” Zeph tried but the girl collapsed underneath the weight of her own body or .. her weak muscles.  “You're not quite ready for all of that just yet.” she chuckled warmly at the young woman.  “Give it time, you're body is brand new and not quite ready for all the activity your mind would want.  Let us take care of you a bit longer while your body finishes getting ready.  A step at a time.”

[LCdr Blue Tiran |  Patience; A Skill Not Possessed | Nefarious Plans for Tin Cans | Genius Amid Chaos | Fixin' Shit]
@Auctor Lucan @patches @Fife

Shit shit shit shit fuck shit.  Who the fuck created these mother fucking conduit cables?!

Blue Tiran was a mess as she stood there attaching Thea to the conduit system that would allow her positronic brain access to the mainframe of the Versant computer systems.  Allowing her to effectively take over the ship, or at the very least, get word out of where the fuck they were so people could fucking come get them al-fucking-ready.  Lack of sleep, no joys, and a dead fiance made Blue a really pissed off woman.  Not to mention that her day had been pretty shit.  Cross had lost a mother fucking hand, R'Rori had lost her mother fucking fur, and Blue had a nasty gash in her leg that was still throbbing though no longer leached bodily fluids.

Pain was a distant thought though, of course it hurt like a son of a bitch, and wouldn't stop throbbing but she was concentrating on something else and if Blue was talented at anything more than Engineering and Hacking it was compartmentalizing her life.  She had brushed off any and all attempts made by anyone around her to fix the fucking thing.  She supposed that she should have someone look at it but right now the most important thing was to get Thea all hooked up and ready to go.  Someone, less intelligent, would have made horrible jokes about poking about in ports.  Blue was not such a person she was all about getting this shit done because all she really wanted to do was go fucking home.

Fuck, I'm tired.

Another snap as two cables sorted together quickly and she twisted to lock them into place quickly before she looked at it to make sure that it was properly aligned and wouldn't fall out or come loose.  That's all they really needed right now was a little jiggle to start the whole fucking thing over again. 

[Miss Blue, you are aware that the Starfleet Standard conduits are not perfect alignment grids for the Savi interfacing that you are trying to merge.  The two varying technology is not created to meld in this way.]

“No shit, Sherlock.”  Blue grumbled as she grabbed another one of Thea's cable ports and dug into her bag for the tool she had been using to bend shit to her will and make it fit the Savi parts she was working with.

[I fail to see how a fictional character has anything to do with this situation.]

“I fail to see how you nattering on like an old bitch is getting us anywhere.”

Albert shuffled slightly on her shoulder, if he could have lifted his feathers to be ruffled the likely would have.  He had no feelings but he did not quite understand the reason Blue was so pessimistic when he was only offering careful advice.

[I was unaware you made any changes to my outward appearance, Miss Blue, last I recall you had me styled like an Earth bound noctural bird like creature.]

“A quieter one too.”  Blue said with no shortage of snark as she tossed her pliers back in her bag.  She double checked the Savi provided port before merging her handi work with it and twisting it in place.  Digging further into the bag she pulled out a small roll of electrical tape and began to wrap around junction to further secure it.  Tearing at it with her teeth.

[I would recommend a cutting implement.  Dental specialists request that teeth not be used as tools.]

“Dental specialists can get fucked right in line with you.”  Blue said, as Echtand came on the loud speaker and she looked up from her work for a moment.  She couldn't tell what he was saying but she sure as fuck knew his voice.  “What the fuck is Moby going on about?”

[If you mean Ecta-]

“No, I mean Moby, can't you understand code names.  Initiate protocol eleven delta six one four.”

Albert's eyes went bright blue for two seconds then back to his normal blue.  [Protocol initiated.]

“Well at least that shit still works.  Replace Echtand with Moby until we are off the Versant safely.”

Beeps and chirps, sounds that Blue had heard for years chimed and then his blue eyes flickered again.  [Protocol eleven delta six one four complete.  Moby.]

“Fantastic.”

Blue looked over at her shoulder.  The tension in the room hadn't lessened by one fucking degree.  There were all the guns, all the death power, the laser beams, the teal beams of death from one side or the other.  She wasn't keen on anyone firing.  She wasn't in a place to protect herself since she was elbow deep in getting Thea up and running on this ship.  Moby's voice boomed over head but she tried hard to tone it out since she couldn't tell what he was saying anyway and it was only distracting her from everything she needed to do.

[Miss Blue, it would behoove you to leave my current programming intact.  Altering my current programming format could alter the personality matrix that has been initiated by the Savi.]

“Wouldn't that be a mother fucking tragedy.” she grumbled angrily as she worked on the last junction port for Thea and the Versant.  Blue ducked underneath where Thea was and got her tools ready to twist and work the metal to something that was at least slightly compatible.  It wasn't perfect, she could have done better as a grade schooler if she'd had a bit better tools but she was making use of what she had and doing a damn fine job at it.

[Contrary to your constant need to verbally abuse those around you, including myself, I believe you have some sort of attachment to me.]

“You just keep right on believin' that.”

[I do recall a certain embrace when I was liberated from my metallic cage.] he reminded and if she wasn't crazy she swore she detected a hint of smugness to his words.

“I also recall threatening to recycle you.  The offer is still valid.” she quickly retorted before she twisted the last junction into place and secured with the same tape.  She ripped it with her teeth and stepped back looking up at Thea.

“You're all set, give her a whirl.  Be careful, we don't know what being honest to God connected to this shit storm could do to you.  If you detect anything fucky get the fuck out.  I'll be right here to cut the cables if necessary.”  Blue pulled out a large pair of scissors with large teeth perfect for puncturing such tubing as she had gotten Thea hooked up with. 

Now Thea had to do her thing. 

[ Hylota Vojona | Denary Biolab | Main Research Hull | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]

---

Hylota almost completely missed the message that was being broadcast to the ship, she got the general idea, but she was much more interested in her egg, and more specifically the image that was projected above its stasis container. Hylota reached out a and pawed at the holographic image, the being depicted was distinctly Ovri in most regards, but in others it was clearly as Maal had been. Her child had Maal's strong jaw and powerful build, if not for the more bright and colorful body markings Hylota would have thought the child to have been her daughter. Her son was beautiful in her eyes, and she had a feeling that based on what she knew of Klingon biology, he would be a wonder in the eyes of geneticists, perhaps being the gateway behind a new step in Ovri development. Then again her son was a strange hybrid and would likely not be considered a stable subject by Ovri standards. She was certain he would have the attention of the planetary guard. If her son had the mind for combat perhaps he would grow up to hold a seat on a council one day." Hylota smiled softly before she looked back to the stasis module and deactivated the hologram before turning to look at the few crew who were still with her and taking stock of the situation.

Hylota listened to the last few moments of the call to the Savi crew to stand down and do whatever had been so important. Honestly Hylota did not care, the Savi were an interesting curiosity, they shared superficial traits with the Ovri and a coincidental name similarity to boot. Hylota did not see a point in concerning herself with their matters any further, so long as they followed through with their commitment to stop abducting people and leaving her and her child alone. So long as her child was not put in danger again. "Alright, we need to get out of here, I am sure that Nerina had things under control on her end, we need to make our way back to the rest of the group, if things are going to devolve into a civil war around us we will want to seek out strength in numbers." Hylota did not know the fate of her brother, but considering who he had rushed off after, she was certain that he would be safe with the others, as things were right now, her group was either going to head down the same path as the rest of their team had gone, or they would be heading off to regroup with another team. Hylota figured there would be able to link back up Khorin, K'Ren, Nerina and her brother sooner or later. They would be safe on their own, she trusted Khorin and Nerina.

[ Unknown Medical Bay | Precept-ship Versant ] attn: @Auctor Lucan @Brutus @chXinya @Masorin

There was a long moment in which nothing happened. The Ante at the controls of the examination table had not moved an inch since the Andorian had grabbed the other Ante. And then had come the transmission. Both Ante listened enraptured to it, to the words that torn into their very existences, they barely knew how to react. Of course, they were scientists, they had to confirm, but deep in their hearts, they knew the truth of the words spoken. A great sin had been committed and if it was to be undone, they would need to act.

The only question was how to move forward.

The ante at the controls, Botand gi Versant, felt in his bones that the answer would not be found in the stomach contents of some specimen, If there was an answer, it could only be found by looking at their history and learning from it. They had blinded themselves to the past and thus had fallen. Perhaps they had been purposefully blinded, that was not impossible, but as Botand saw it, they were blind all along.

"The radiant lifeform was decompiled some time ago," Botand said after a moment. His long fingers moved over the controls to pull up the Radiant lifeforms file. "Her usefulness proved at an end and she was ordered to be decompiled in front of the aspect-maker in an attempt to bend the aspect maker's will." His voice was emotionless, these were facts, not open for debate or emotional interpretation. They were on file for all to see. he would pull up the file and show them, and hope they did not take out their frustrations on the Antes. The file sprang up before him and he noticed something.

There was new information.

His dark eyes moved over the text quickly. "Or perhaps not as much as it would seem," Botand said his dark eye growing wide. "it would seem Echtand attempted to do something quite difficult. There is no data here on its success, but the process was begun to recompile your crewmate. I believe if you get this specimen to the Radiant lifeform within an acceptable amount of time, you may save her life. Only the Radiant Lifeform can stimulate the correct photogenic receivers, Should the Radiant Lifeform not have been properly recompiled, it is likely this specimen will die."

The probe shining the light on Lahkesis withdrew. "I can do no more with the equipment I have here, if you release my colleague we may be able to run a scan and see if we can locate the Radiant Lifeform so that you may reunite with it sooner," Botand said. He looked to his colleague. Both had made up their minds. If they were meant to die, it would be as tools of this great reformation. Standing in the way of these specimens desire for their freedom would not further that goal.

[ Khorin, son of Margon, of House Mo'Kai (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Khorin_Douglas)| Day 6 | Denary Biolab  | Biolabs | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Attn:  @Auctor Lucan  @Zenozine  @SummerDawn

A voice broke the silence.

At first, Khorin couldn't identify it, but it had familiar timbres. The voice sounded strangled and pained, almost as a death rattle. The pilot looked for the source of that agonyzing sound, but it seemed to come from everywhere, broadcasted by the Versant inner comm system. The voice also seemed to come from a closer spot, from the padd that the Scion's attack had taken from his arm and rested on the other side of the metal table. He could also hear the voice on Vinata's wrist, so that Moby's voice formed a strange chorus around them, voices repeating several times in an alien disharmony. The Klingon kept his body in tension as the words spread out around them, exposing the internal conflict that had been unfolding around them, a budding civil war that threatened to take over the humungous starship.

A sideway grin bloomed in his face. It was delicious that his own captors were the executors of his revenge killing themselves without outside interventions. If the conflict intensified to reduce that shit-hole to some scattered metal debris drifting in the nebula, Khorin would be more than satisfied. In any case, that the Savi were distracted by their own internal problems would possibly facilitate their scape. Khorin couldn't keep his mind in this line of thoughts, due a sudden twinge of pain made him look towards Vinata again.

The nurse seemed to have finished using the osteogenerator on his ribs and was checking if the device had made its work properly. The slender blue fingers pinched his tender flesh and that was what had caused the painful pang. The Klingon grunted in exasperation and turned away from the nurse, trying to keep his features from showing the discomfort he felt. He needed to show a stoic behaviour, without Nerina, the others would need someone to follow. And he'll try to do his best to keep them toguether and safe.

"Enough, Vinata, we can not lose more time." He adressed the Ovri with all the calm he was able to muster. Around them the echoes of Moby's voice had gone out, leaving only the ever-present murmur of the starship's engines. "Our ally seems to have enough problems of his own, we can't count on his help anymore. We'll need to Commander Blue's hideout by our own means" he mused aloud, frowning deeply with his thick eyebrows.

Following the thread of his thoughts, he crossed the circular room until he reached the other side of the metal table. His steps were rigid and his arm protested with each of his movements, but he had to recognize that Vinata's ministration had alleviated part of the damage of his body. He was far from being at his best, but at least it wouldn't be a burden on the rest of the group.

He crouched down carefully and retrieved the Savi's padd from the spot it'd been dropped. The device had a scratched screen and some dents in its surface, but it still seemed to be more or less functional. Khorin deposited it on the table and tapped on its surface, trying to find a map of the starship or, if he was lucky, a communication system that would allow him to contact the rest of the teams.

[ Deacon | Day 6 | Air Ducts | Main Research Hall | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Triage  @BZ  @Numen @FollowTomorrow 

Deacon moved quietly through the ducts in pursuit of the rest of the team.  He spared no thought for the confinement around him -- claustrophobia was, blissfully, never a problem.  On homeworld, even at his full height, he was still considerably smaller than the pure blooded kzinti of his age and where that might be seen as a weakness among soldiers, as a priest, it allowed him to often go unnoticed, allowed him to observe without being observed.  Cast among humans, however, the situation had changed overnight, causing him to do nothing but stand out, towering over most, and although the Savi had seemingly stripped away some of his height in their misguided efforts to 'purify' him, he still felt awkwardly over-sized next to the others.

A broadcast seemed to reverberate around the ship, jarring in its abruptness.  Some of the team paused to review the PADDs in their possession which, to their fortune, had been set to translate the alien tongue.  Deacon couldn't help himself but to attempt to compare the translation to the words spoken, his years of linguistic training refusing to set academic curiosity aside.  If given half the opportunity, he would need to find a way to master this language as well -- assuming they survived long enough to return to the ship and resources permitting.

A ceasefire?  After all this?  Part of him scoffed, although he was hard pressed to say whether it was hit kzinti upbringing or the desire to carve out some personal retribution. The team closed ranks, whispering among one another, their hushed conversations seeming to echo in the shafts, but it was not the sound that brought a twinge along Deacon's spine.  Loud as they were, it was nothing compared to the ephemeral wave of emotion that he had begun to recognize and dread.

Until now, nerves had given way to singular focus, dedication, courage.  It had been all but indistinguishable from his own.  It had required no particular effort to filter out, allowing him to ride the moment with the others.  Now, adrenaline was wearing thin, and he knew he'd lost a fair amount of blood in the exchange -- he was pushing limits he'd never had before, physically and mentally.  Now, the emotional tide had shifted.  The spotlight of focus exploded into a spectrum -- hope, fear, courage... but more-so than those felt by his team, he could feel their pursuers, the Savi dispatched to harrow their escape.  From them he felt confusion.

His shoulder hit the side of the crawl way, a hand covering his eyes in a futile effort to filter out the intangible.  "F...focus..." he whispered to the others, voice tinged by the phantasmal pain, lips curled back and fangs bared.  "Too many emotions... too close... need to focus... c-calm them..."

[ Lt. Cross | Lab Somewhere Near The Machine Intelligence Labs | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @patches @BZ

Cross ducked back into cover behind a console and adjusted the way his phaser rifle rested on his left arm. Between the loss of his left hand and the dose of painkillers, he had been having some difficulty keeping the arm braced against the weapon. Finding himself satisfied with how the stump supported the rifle, Cross leaned out from cover and fired several shots, the bright orange tracers left in his eyes from the lancing energy bursts mingled with the different colors of the Savi beams that streaked past him, narrowly missing him. He saw a Savi fall to one of his beams, the rifle once more set to stun, and ducked back into cover.

Cross glanced to the side as he once again adjusted the way his left arm supported the weapon, his eyes falling on R’Rori taking cover behind another console. S/he still carried with hir the medical case, but s/he also held a hand phaser as well, though had yet to fire it. ”R’Rori!” Cross called out to hir as he blinked away the residual tracers left in his vision from the weapons fire that streaked through the air. He ducked out and fired several more shots blindly in the Savi’s direction before withdrawing back into cover again and calling out to the counsellor once more. ”R’Rori, you need to fire that weapon!”

Cross found himself grateful that he had only taken a small dose of the painkillers R’Rori had given him. He could certainly feel their effects, his mind feeling somewhat sluggish. Thankfully his reactions, and the handling of the weapon, were unaffected as the Vulcan continued to fire at their captors, his body operating almost on autopilot. As Cross ducked out of cover and fired several more busts, dropping another of their bulb-headed assailants, he could hear Blue and Albert bickering somewhere off behind him. Despite the gravity of the situation, the fact that they had enemies trying to kill them while they, in turn, were not permitted to kill the Savi, Cross found himself smiling. It was hard not to, hearing how frustrated Blue was getting.

Another shot. Another Savi fell. Another growl from the aggravated engineer, something about Alberta behaving like an “old bitch”. The owl didn’t seem to understand what the words implied, which Cross suspected would only serve to further aggravate Lieutenant Commander Tiran. It was a shame that he had to keep fighting to keep their attackers at bay. Cross would have loved to watch Blue’s reactions to the exchange with her mechanical friend.

Cross ducked out again, pushing those thoughts away as he fired another volley. His mind was foggy, but he knew he had to keep the Savi back, away from Blue and the Theurgy AI as they finished their work. His head swam, his arm pulsed with faint pain, the majority of it dulled by the painkillers, and his eyes burned with rage that he couldn’t properly exact on the Savi since Moby had restricted the use of deadly force. Cross saw another Savi fall before he ducked back into cover, several Savi beams striking the deck plating where he had just been.

Whatever Blue and the AI were doing, Cross could only hope they were going to do it soon.

---

OOC: Sorry for the delay in posting! I haven't been able to post much recently, but that won't be the case going forward.

[ USS Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Machine Intelligence Labs | The Versant ] Attn: All
[Show/Hide]While the abductees from Starfleet returned fire, covering Blue Tiran while she worked, Thea had continued to aid as best as she could - picking off Savi with her hand phaser. This, while the Savi voice on the intercom spoke of a great treachery amongst their own.

At this point, when Lieutenant Cross and Thea were the only ones firing back, the rest having fallen except for the Counselor named R'Rori. There was a strange shift in the lines of the opposing forces. Lieutenant Commander Tiran was still working behind Thea - Albert talking in an unconcerned tone despite the firefight - when the green beams gradually ceased to come. This, Thea observed, because of the call of a cease-fire. Her brown eyes darted between the Savi and Cross, and Thea held out her hand to the Vulcan. "Hold. I believe they might comply with the word of this Voice."

That was when Tiran finished, and Thea could feel it. The power output was higher than necessary to boot her positronic brain, but her brain's energy transformer did manage to protect her circuitry, she believed, because the next moment... her mobile emitter found the subspace synchronisation link, and the processors and subroutines of her stand-alone emitter was suddenly slaved to her true brain. Eyes darting between the hesitant Savi that faced her, she spoke to Cross, R'Rori and Tiran - and Albert.

"I have access," she said quietly during the standoff, phaser still raised. Three simple words, so inadequate to describe all that was happening behind her eyes. "Processing..."

The words of the Voice had died out by that time, and eventually, one of the Antes spoke up. "We have orders not to shoot you, specimens, and we have to study the new Code before we know the proper protocol to deal with you. Will you stand down? If you don't, we'll have to end this the way it began." The Savi looked at Blue Tiran and back to Thea, evidently familiar with what she was, judging by his next set of words. "Regardless what the Code says, you cannot remain connected to our ship. You are an A.I., and that means you represent a danger to all the lives aboard the Versant. If you do not disconnect, we still have to protect our ship, our mates, and our offspring."

Thea was still processing, but she spoke nonetheless. "Then we have no guarantees. I will remain connected, until you lay down your arms, and ensure the safety of any other surviving abductees."

"We cannot accept those terms, not while we are at risk," said the Savi, not yielding, and the seven Antes raised their arms anew. "Disconnect, and you live. You will be taken to the Commanding Officer. I can take you there myself. Yet you have ten seconds to power down that thing you've connected to our ship."

Thea ran one last diagnostic, before she turned her head to Blue Tiran. "It's okay. Do what he says. The odds of our survival are higher than expected."

She then looked at Cross, her face unreadable. She could not say it...

...but she had done what she needed. 

[ Captain Ives | Maintenance Tunnels | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: All
[Show/Hide]In the maintenance tunnels, Ives carefully read what Echtand was saying, the tablet she'd been handed translating the noises on the intercom into text. When the silence returned to the tunnel, only she shuffle of bodies in the darkness heard, Jien was not quite sure what she'd make of the outcome. It appeared the Savi were ahead of them were silent too - their emotions revealed by Deacon.

It took a full minute before another voice called out from ahead of them, and it appeared that this Savi in the tunnel might have activated some kind of universal translator system, because the words were in Federation Standard.

"This team of eight Savi will comply with the word of the Voice, until further notice," said the contralto tone of a female Ante, a decision likely made. The echo of the statement rolled over the abductees in the tunnel. "We will adhere to the cease-fire, and we will retreat the way we came from. I would recommend that you come the same way, and our Commanding Officer can decide the next action in your regard. The eight of us extend this offer only once, to take you to the bridge, because if what the Voice said is true - and you ended the life of a Scion that sought to corrupt us - you deserve protection until the information about the Scion Directive has undergone scrutiny by the full population of the Versant."

As much ill fortune that Jien and her crew had suffered for months on end, it was odd when the realisation came to her. They had been fortunate indeed, that the Savi that faced them actually had listened, and put credence in Echtand's words. Jien did not wish to think about the other kind of scenario, where sceptic Savi would have begun a fire-fight in the tunnels. Since the Savi had those graviton weapons, it would not have been a short battle indeed.

There was no trust on Jien's part, having undergone a lot at the hands of the Savi, but she was also a Starfleet officer, and did believe that the alternatives to continued battle were always better. She gave it careful consideration, looking at the faces around her in the darkness, before she made the decision. "If there is a risk for civil war on this ship, and you are offering protection... we will follow you."

[ Lieutenant ThanIda zh'Wann (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=ThanIda_zh%27Wann) | Unknown Medical Bay > Bridge Module | The Versant ] Attn: All
[Show/Hide]Afterwards, Ida could hardly remember what kind of verbal exchange had passed between her and Shall in relation to the forceful way the Stellar Cartographer had tried to gain access to research data on the experiment they had undergone. Sufficed to say, she'd made Shall stand down, and both the present Savi had made good on their word - working along the premise that Sarresh Morali had suggested, and tried to locate the Radiant.

The results of this endeavour wasn't immediate, however, since the suits they all wore suppressed biosigns. When there were results, the Savi had received word already. Someone, not Echtand, was coordinating the matter of the specimens, and the standing order was that any specimens encountered were to be transported to the Bridge Module. When Ida heard this from Botand, as he'd introduced himself, they had also learned that Heather McMillan was there. She had no way of knowing what exactly had been done to the Radiant, but time was precious.

Ida did not trust the Savi in any regard, but she would respect the cease-fire if it held true. As much she ordered the present team as well... before they were transported to out of the medical bay....

...and into a large area with soaring viewscreens. The lights of the Azure Nebula shone upon Ida's face as she looked around, and saw other flares of transporter lights. More faces known to her, seen in Blue Tiran's hideout. They were being gathered on the open floor of this alien bridge, apparently out of consent. Ida's concern was the member of her team that was dying, however, so her immediate words were a call for aid. "Heather McMillan!" she said, looking around at the abductees in black suits. They were fewer than the original fifty-seven, and it didn't take long to spot Captain Ives - which on it's own was a sight for sore eyes to Ida. Their Commanding Officer was alive, even if the suit she worse seemed torn and damaged.

"This is McMillan, Lieutenant." The Captain gestured towards an unknown woman.

Ida supposed what the Savi had said might have something to do with the new face the woman wore. "Come, Doctor Saugn needs you." Having said this, she led the way to the dying Teslyliac duplicate, and at the demand from the Savi, the two were taken into an adjacent area, since the Savi had an aversion to light. Their former captors allowed others to accompany Saugn and McMillan too. This was also when Ida noticed that there were armed and armoured Ante guards around the bridge, and instinctively, she moved to touch her phaser...

...only to find that it was gone.

"By Lor'Vela," she swore, not liking how all the abductees had been stripped of their weapons when relocated to the bridge of the Versant. But as a Security officer, she could understand the sentiment. If they were on the bridge of the ship, she wouldn't have allowed aliens to bear arms there either, not about to risk the lives of their senior officers. It seemed, however, after she'd glanced towards what Morali carried with him, that the transporter protocol had merely collected their weapons, and hadn't recognised the Omega Device. Quietly, she moved to the former Ash'reem, looking at all the Savi eyes around the bridge that were watching them.

"Keep that out of sight," she whispered, just as a female Ante stepped up to the imposing command chair of the bridge.

Where is this 'Echtand'? Ida wondered idly, while she hoped that Doctor Saugn would make it.

[ Vigenary Model I-9 Surgical Android (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=V-Nine) | Bridge Module | The Versant ] Attn: All
[Show/Hide]
With her back to the view of the Azure Nebula, the lens of V-Nine's cranial unit moved over the specimens in the centre of the bridge. Her medical protocols assessed them all from afar, noticing lacerations and bruising, but without proper scans, she could not make a detailed diagnosis of their overall health. The suits they were prevented scans as well, so her efforts proved quite inconclusive.

The surgical android entered an idle mode instead, listening to the words of the Commanding Officer, who stood before the centre chair, addressing the specimens below her. She was holding a graviton weapon in one hand, and kept her other towards her side. She looked dishevelled, and not far from the bridge, weapons fire could be heard. Likely a Scion attacking again, trying to retake the bridge. V-Nine didn't care much about the fight for command, but her programming made her wish to treat the female Ante at the first given opportunity.

"I am Sclergyn qi Versant," the Ante announced to the specimens, her voice tight, "and as stated in the Old Code, when a Commanding Officer dies, his or her Mate assumes the duties of the lost Savi... until there is a new candidate chosen by the High Council. It is stated."

"It is stated," came the affirmation from Antes present on the bridge.

"You are here, Aspect-Maker and members of the Federation..." she said, still standing, and not taking the empty seat behind her. It was as if she did not want to sit in it, "...at the virtue of the Old Code and a promise I made to my Mate. Right now, the Scions and those who have yet to read and accept the Old Code are fighting us. This area is the heart of the ship, and we who are enlightened will not yield it. Your hideout was compromised, so we could not return you there either, and I believe all who are still alive have been accounted for."

A woman that V-Nine did not know by name, but her sensors quickly singled out as the Aspect-Maker, stepped forward and spoke. "My condolences," she said, and there was no telling how earnest she was. V-Nine did not know such social aspects well enough, especially not in the cultural variations of the Federation. "Am I to understand that you will free us, because of this old law that you now follow? Furthermore, do you know about the efforts we've taken to aid the Voice?"

Sclergyn gestured towards the tablet mounted on her wrist. "I know it all," she said, and V-Nine had no means of judging the weight behind those words. "And yes, he told me that the Old Code should apply to your care as well. You have not just earned it. You should not have been taken to begin with."

Captain Ives took a moment to think. "The Voice told us - after Semathal died - that he might give us what we needed to restore those who were altered in the Correction Program. Will you uphold this promise as well?"

"If this ship was operating under normal circumstances, I would have devoted all our xenobiologists to aid you as swiftly as possible. Unfortunately, this ship is in no state to handle such an undertaking, and it would be at the risk of your lives as well."

"So you are saying 'No'," said Ives, and even V-Nine could read the facial expression of the Aspect Maker when she said it.

Sclergyn took the comment in stride, likely already having an alternative offer. Perhaps she was just weary. V-Nine did not know. "I would have offered to send a group of Savi with you. Unfortunately, they can't breathe the air on your ships. Unlike the Scions, we are forced to breathe only neonox, like you have been breathing since you arrived. Instead, I am willing to send something else with you. Something that you need more than we do."

Then, Sclergyn looked towards V-Nine, and the android stepped out along the elevated podium when the Commanding Officer of the Versant beckoned for her to come. Sclergyn spoke again. "The Scion Directive was supposed to automate the Flotilla, replace us Antes with machinery and holograms for all tasks except those worthy the Scions' attention. This... is an android that was supposed to replace the needs of Antes in the biolabs. Her full name is Vigenary Model I-9, but the project's name was simply V-Nine. While I am not too familiar with our robotics division, I know she is the prototype of our most advanced android project, and while her chassis is unfinished, lacking refinements and organic appearence, I have been informed that this surgical android will be able to fulfil the Voice's promise to you. She will be able to reverse all the Corrections made, once all the medical data has been uploaded into her system."

V-Nine turned her cranial unit towards the arrayed species below her, her lens focusing on them. She had no personal reflection on her fate of leaving the Versant, but since she was fitted with programs for a pleasant bedside manner, a prompt for a greeting entered her runtime.

"Greetings, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am V-Nine, but you may call me 'Vi', if you wis-"

The static of her feminine voice, heard through a speaker on her cranial unit, was cut short when there was more weapons fire heard from afar. But after a few moments, it became quiet again. At his point, V-Nine's greeting was forgotten, and Sclergyn was about to speak to the gathered Federation officers again. Only this time, humanoids behind the Aspect-Maker began to talk, asking questions, and V-Nine cancelled the process of her introduction.

---

OOC: Sorry for the lengthy post, but I had some ground to cover. All abductees still alive are now on the bridge of the Versant, stripped of weapons, except for Lahkesis Saugn and Heather McMillan (+1-2 if you want), who are in an adjacent room for the light treatment. Seven days of posting begins now, and I will have Sclergyn, Ives and my new character V-Nine reply then, ending the Chapter. I had first thought I could do it in this post, but I think the next would be more prudent.

[LCdr Blue Tiran | The Truth of the Situation | Hope in the Darkness | Can't Catch a Fucking Break]
@Auctor Lucan @Fife @patches @Numen @steelphoenix @everyone-else

Thea began to power up, and Blue had to admit she was slightly jealous that she could not do so herself.  She had tinkered with the systems via the pad Echtand had given her but she couldn't read the Savi language and their programming language was nothing like anything she had read before.  She had been unable to do much of anything much less get in.  So she had left it alone she did not wish to set off any alarm bells or anything like that.  She didn't want to fuck everything up so she hadn't.  She wouldn't risk the plan, or the survival of so many people over the desires to hack into the system.  Thea, being artificial could do so with ease.

The Savi were firing in the direction of Cross and R'Rori.  Albert was oddly quiet on her shoulder at the moment.  His metallic claws were rather painful as he retained his position there by his own hinges and pully systems built into the claws by yours truly.  She had long ago altered her usual uniforms to have a specific spot for him to clasp onto so he wouldn't hurt her, but this Savi shit had nothing like that and so while uncomfortable it was actually good.   There was a bit of pain involved.  Pain was good.  Pain was focus.  Pain was the kind of thing that kept her mind sharp.

Thea was whiring and making all the proper noises to say that she was doing her fucking magic on the system while Echtand's voice faded and the others began to speak.  The whole fire fight stopped, she could hear the demands.  They would stop as long as she got Thea disconnected from the system that she was not allowed to do it.

“Fucking controlling mother fuckers.”  Blue muttered under her breath in a way that only Thea would be able to hear though she was likely far too fucking busy to listen anyway.

Thea and the Fuckers, which should totally be a band name, were exchanging conversation about whether she should remain connected or not.  Blue stood there listening to the whole thing.  Disconnect or else.  Nope, she wasn't gonna, you moon faced mother fuckers.  Then they were all but we have to protect our babies.  Blue rolled her eyes and nearly said something that would likely cost all the progress they had made so she literally bit her tongue to keep herself from doing so.  Finally, Thea mentioned that she was ready to be disconnected.

Blue was also running diagnostics on Thea.  Because she was connected to the unknown.  The PADD in her hand was scrolling with all the information from before she was fully hooked up to the Death Ship and it was comparing it to the after.  Another window gave her the read out of the processes that were being completed.  Her eyes widened when Thea gave her the order to disconnect.  But, it wasn't the order that caused her eyes to widen it was what Thea had done.

She gave Thea a knowing smirk and quickly began to disconnect her.  It was far easier to disconnect than to connect, the ports she had fucked with would have to be fixed properly once they were back on an actual ship but for the time being they would work well enough.  She picked up Thea once she was fully disconnected and held her in her arms as she turned to the others. 

“Thea she h-”

The cool tingling feeling of the transport beam encircled what was left of the crew and they were suddenly taken away from the Savi who pointed guns at them.  When they rematerialized Blue looked around, she had to look a sight.  Deathly pale, overly thin, with a mechanical blue-eyed owl on her shoulder, and carrying Thea's positronic brain in her arms.  Her own blue eyes, circled in heavy shadows from her time here on the ship looked around and noticed the woman that was entering the room.  Her brows furrowed.  Afterall, that should be Echtand not some female.  Where was Echtand.  Her eyes darted to the side. 

Fear filled her guts.

Had it all failed?

Were they about to die? 

Was it all fucking over?

They fucking killed all those fucking aliens and for what?!

Blue's free hand grabbed at Cross' only hand.  Holding onto it tightly.  Her breaths were shallow, there was a cold sweat breaking out on her fore head, her neck, and she couldn't feel her legs, but she was standing.  Sheer will power, and the fact that she refused, even in the end to be a fucking weak person.  Still, her calloused hand held onto the Vulcan the only sign that she was having any kind of issue.  R'Rori would want to have a fucking pow wow right now, and Blue couldn't talk about all the shit that was going on in her head, heart, and soul.  She just fucking needed someone strong for two minutes, while her brain processed all the incoming input.

Her name was unpronounceable by human standards.  Basically, if Blue ever had to say it out loud she planned to just hawk a lougie.  It'd probably sound similar at this point. 

Commanding officer dies... what the fuck?!

Blue gripped Cross' hand harder, unaware that it might hurt or be uncomfortable, he was literally all that was keeping her upright at this point.  They had come so fucking far and if they were completely unable to get off this fucking death boat she knew that she wouldn't make it outside this room.  Her body had been through enough, her mind was spend, she had nothing left.

Some woman stepped forward and offered condolences.  She was one of them, but Blue had never met the woman, seen the woman, she could only imagine that she was of import to all of this.  Maybe she was the lost Captain, the one that they had needed to save.  Her eyes flickered across the room as the people around them beamed in here and there.  The bitch that tried to soothe her soul earlier was there, the weird Klingon that she hung out with was there too.  She could do without the puke inducing cuddles right now though.  The Captain and the Woman exchanged pleasantries.

We want to be fucking fixed!

We can't do that!

But you promised! 

Etc.

They were being gifted a robot.  Blue's eyes shifted over and sized up the white and metallic matrix that made up this beauty.  Ohhhh fuck me twice from Sunday I want to play with that!  As the thing spoke, Blue looked back over at the woman that was standing in the center of the room, and she worked her way forward.  Letting go of Cross' hand as she shoved herself forward, stumbling slightly because she was tired.. so tired, and she needed to know.  As she broke out of the crowd and stepped up next to the Captain because.. well .. this was Blue Tiran and she didn't really give a shit about ranks.  Especially here.

“What the fuck happened to Echtand!?” she demanded her eyes fierce and searching as she waited for the woman to answer.  “We.. We had a deal.” her voice nearly breathless.  She was on the edge, on the edge of losing her shit completely, of fainting, of something... but she needed to know.  They had a deal, a tentative trust, and it wasn't something that Blue gave away lightly. 

She had expected him here at the end.

[ Lt. JG Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Bridge Module | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @steelphoenix, @BZ, @FollowTomorrow & @Numen
[Show/Hide]It was a surreal feeling. The danger was for the moment, paused. Echtand's words was the key to stopping all the fights. Where Sinead's attempts at diplomacy were sore failures, she realized that it wasn't a true failure on her part, but more the conditioning, culture and protocol of the Savi, not to mention the sight of them shooting their leader dead didn't exactly make anyone particularly conversational. Still, it was a real relief that she didn't need to fight anymore for the time being.

But until they were safely aboard the Theurgy, the Bringloidi wasn't moving from her position in front of the Captain, which she had taken once there was no need to read the translation on her PADD. She held her rifle ready to raise in a split second. She followed the eight Savi officers, forming a defensive cordone around the Captain, with Heather bundled close to the Chameloid. They didn't get to consider or strategize, when she felt the familiar mild nausea, and she quickly half-crouched, anticipating danger or betrayal...

But they were simply brought before a gathering of Savi on what had to be the bridge of the massive ship. Making a quick study of the layout, Sinead made note of any place that one could take cover and return fire. When she flexed her fingers, she knew that she had once again been disarmed and the frustration of the fact showed on her face for a moment before she regained control of herself. It was a minor setback only. They still had their minds, their wits and if it came down to it, her fists and feet would suffice. She would until so required, observe.

When Sclergyn spoke, Jien Ives stepped forward to address the apparent new leader in the late Echtand's place. So he had a mate, and Echtand had died in the process. Sinead had no strong emotional attachment to the Savi, but she still felt sorrow and loss. Compromises were being made, and an attempt to restore order was in progress. They were also being offered a highly advanced android to act as a gift, and perhaps a peace offering, if the Bringloidi understood Sclergyn's words correctly. But Blue Tiran was more excitable, and concerned, perhaps, if her outburst was anything to go by.

“Tiran...” said Sinead with a mild tone of rebuke as she stepped towards the woman, but then, she paused, and turned to observe the Savi's response. Perhaps Blue's demanding query would help her gauge the situation with their...hosts.

---

[ PWO Heather McMillan (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Heather_McMillan) | Medical Bay | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]With a small yip of surprise, the little half-Radiant felt the tingling sensations of a transporter beam and thought she was being vapourized again, but when she saw that her surroundings had changed, she figured out what it was. Still, she was shaking and more nervous than ever. As the Savi female leader spoke, Heather reached up to grip handfuls of her hair and tugged worriedly at them. Her golden hair felt heavy. Heavier than it had ever been. And sturdier too. What had they done to her?!? She wished there was a mirror for her to take a look, because she was quite certain she looked different in entirety. Her face had a phantom itch and a unfamiliar sensation.

She had no time to consider it though, as she was sought out. It took her a moment to remember her own name before she responded, though the Captain had done so on her behalf. “C-can I help you, sir? Ma'am? Uhm...wh-what do you need? Oh...where are we going?”

Who was Doctor Saugn? She had a wild guess that perhaps the prone woman with pink hair was the doctor. Did the doctor need a doctor? Heather was full of questions, and she felt like she was sorely underequipped for whatever they needed her help with. But weren't there hyper-intelligent biologists here? They needed her instead? She was still feeling disoriented and her memories had holes in them. What did they need her to do? Wait, was this woman some sort of sentient plant lifeform? She vaguely remembered something about that. She glanced at her palms and willed them to light. A mild glow of gold and white light began to appear, but it took concentration and strength to keep it going. Was it supposed to feel like that? She became more nervous.

“S-something's wrong with me.” she said, “I-I-I'm not sure I can h-help. What does Doctor Saugn require?”

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | In Transition | Changes in Plans | Next Steps are Complicated | Ready to Go]
@Numen @Auctor Lucan @steelphoenix @patches @everyone

She was worried about Heather.  She could understand the desire to move under your own volition, she could understand the desire not to burden anyone, but at this point in time in her life she needed to be a burden.  Not to worry so much about everything else.  It wouldn't be that important in the end.  She would eventually be able to walk on her own and chose her own direction but right now she was new to this body, new to this.. whatever it was that the white headed guy had done for them.  Zeph was worried that Heather was going to push herself too far too fast and end up spending far more time in Sickbay than she would likely need to.

Though it seemed that it wasn't Heather who needed her concern it was Deacon.

Suddenly, his shoulder impacted the side of the crawl space and he began to try to focus.  Talking to himself.  Zeph stepped over to him, and she brushed her hand against his shoulder to offer her support.  Dark black eyes looked into his own.  He was tall, she wasn't short, but he definitely had more height than her.  Still, with him slouched down like he was she could tell that he was having a hard time.  She wasn't sure what was exactly going through his mind, she had shielded her own from all the external thoughts but she could feel his emotions.  She could feel that he was struggling.

“You're okay.” she said in a calm voice, and she touched her fingers to his cheek so that he would look into her eyes.  She knew that most of the time during panic attacks giving them something to focus on it would help them center back together.  “Look at me.” she said firmly but it was all calm and gentle.  “Breathe with me.  Sync your breathing to me.  You have no shields.  We need to make you one.  Block them out.  So what I need you to do is imagine a wall.  Whatever kind you like; fire, rock, stone, metal, darkness. You pick what suits you best.”

She waited to hear his breathing calm now that he had a job.

“Now, you put that wall in the way of those emotions.  Set it firmly.  Give it a great foundation.  It won't last forever.  It's going to be weak and it's going to fall.  But, with training, with help, you'll be able to block it all out a lot better every time.” she promised with a smile.  “Do you feel the quiet?  Can you breathe now?”

Once she felt that he had a solid hold on his temporary shield she stepped back and gave him a smile.  “If you need me, I'm here, okay?  It's hard, when you're new.  I spent my youth figuring out that shield, but it wasn't strong enough until much later when I made it that way.” she told him as they continued to walk until they ran into the other Savi.  It seemed they were needed on the Bridge and so the team followed them to the Bridge.

On the Bridge, everything was different.  Though she could feel the surprise, the shock, the worry of those around her.  Zeph brushed her mind out allowing her mind to feel the emotions of the entire room and all the people in it.  She was used to being an empath, it was being a telepath that was new to her.  All of a sudden she could feel him.  She felt him arrive, felt his mind, his emotion, his pain as he materialized on the Bridge.  She turned quickly and searched the massive amount of people to find his tall form.

Their eyes locked.

She felt her heart lift, and weight slide off her shoulders and then she was moving.  Weaving through all the people to get to him.  He was tall, and bulky, and he was.. not really hers, but .. she felt like he could be.  He leaned down and scooped her up in one arm to get a hug.  Zeph nuzzled herself against him for a moment.  Afterall, it had been hours, and no one had been entirely sure they were going to make it to begin with.  She hugged him but noticed his pain far more sharply now that they were actually touching.

“Oh, Khor...” she whispered as she pulled back from his single armed hug and softly with careful fingers she looked at the wound.

His arm was broken, she could see the bone, the wound was horrendous.  Her eyes flickered up to him, and her face softened.  “My brave warrior.” Zeph cupped his cheek gently brushing her thumb across the apple of it before she ducked down and put her medical kit down.  There was so much talking going on but Zeph was too focused on healing Khorin at the moment.  She pulled out the osteogenic stimulator and stood up taking his arm in her careful fingers she went after healing the bone first.  She popped the bone back in place knowing that prolonging it or making him aware of the plan would only make it hurt worse.  So she just did it then she healed the bone itself.  Afterwards, she healed the skin around it with the dermal regengerator.

As the wound closed she heard the angry one yelling out about Echtand.  Zeph had no idea who that was but could surmise it was Moby's real name.  Zeph put her med kit tools away and stood up again looking up at Khorin.

“I'm so happy... relieved.. that you're all right.” she admitted softly looking into his eyes, not bothering to look away.  What happened now was out of her control, so she found herself rather spending her time with Khorin instead of worrying about the rest right now.

[ K'Ren (http://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=K%27Ren) | various | The Versant ] Attn: @steelphoenix All
[Show/Hide][ Denary Biolab ]
Even as the voice of the Savi spoke, the same voice that had spoken to them before they'd been beamed into their hideout, saved by the actions of this same being, K'Ren kept her guard up, weapon at the ready, prepared to fire on any other threat who might present herself. She felt gross, covered in grime and whatever passed for the dead scion's bodily fluids, which smelt horrible and she suspected she'd be spending a lot of time washing the smell out of her furr if and when they got back to the Theurgy. She hoped Deacon was still alive, there had been no word of the other teams, but she had the bond and she'd have felt the tearing of the link, the mental anguish of feeling him die. She hadn't felt the madness of a broken link so could only assume he was still alive. Glancing over at Khorin and Vinata, her gaze caught the empty shell of Nerina, left there in the klingon tradition. Watching them, she felt the familiar grip of a transporter beam, there was nothing she could do, and she sighed, fate it seemed was moving her again, where and why she did not know.

[ Bridge Module ]
She materialized, sans rifle, in a large open area, surrounded by the Ante's on this ship. She was not alone, there were many other gathered here like her. Her intial reaction was fear and anger, her claws extended she glanced around, hissing a little before she realized that there was no threat, no standoff between her compatriots, they had been gathered here to listen to a female standing beside a large chair. She recognized the female, at least she thought she did, the female ante she'd threatened the life of less then an hour before. Her ears flattened as she realized just how much of a mistake she'd made, threatening one of the ship's senior staff. Her guilt and fear of retribution was soon replaced as she glanced around, seeing a familiar person amongst the crowd. She could smell him, could catch his scent in this crush of beings and she made her way over to Deacon, unsure how she would respond when she reached him, how he would respond to seeing her.

She made sure he saw her though as she came close, going up close to him, tears running down her cheeks as his survival was no longer a hope but a reality. She barely heard what the Savi female was saying, her whole world was her mate as she hugged him, tears streaming down her face. "Deacon," she choked out, "My tznrrow."

[ Lahksis Saugn "Nicotiana" |Medical Bay | Precept-ship Versant ] attn: @Triage (& anyone else who wishes to be present)
[Show/Hide]
The world was sensation and noise, beyond her ability to understand any of it. She felt as if she were falling. Every moment or so she'd return to the world, falling into herself, she could see the vague lights and shapes, figures moving, speaking, but she could identify none of it. She could not see the faces clearly, and the voices sounded distant and muddied. All she could do was try and hang on, try and grip reality, but a moment later the darkness would keep in from the corners of her vision and then all would fall into darkness and she fell into the howling void once more.

A pair of Antes moved and lifted the doctor. Her body was limp, though it did seem to be rigid in several places. Once she had been moved to the side room they began to stripe the bodysuit she had been given away. Laid bare, her skin told the story of the damage done to her. She was covered in dark brown bruising, phaser bolts shot in the shoulder, abdomen, and hip had burned through the bodysuit and into her skin, exposing the odd mix of pale tissues and brown root-like structures weaving through them. There bruising covered much of her body, even a large bruise that resembled a footprint on her breast. It was all damage her body would have normally been able to heal, damage that if she had regular access to the mineral water she was dependent upon and the solar lamps that provided her some energy, she would have been able to recover from with no effort. But she had been badly damaged and she had not been allowed to recover.

"She needs a complex light," one of the Antes said to Heather as it moved away from the now undressed Lahkesis. "Her body needs the energy of a more complex nature than our equipment can synthesize. The biological component to your light may be able to give her body the complex photological radiation required for her recovery. Should you be unable to do so, it is likely that she will die."

[ Khorin, son of Margon, of House Mo'Kai (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Khorin_Douglas)| Day 6 | Denary Biolab  | Biolabs | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Attn:  @Auctor Lucan  @Zenozine  @SummerDawn

Khorin flexed the fingers of his right hand, trying to get rid of the tingling sensation that ran through them. It was a strange sensation, his arm was immobile from the shoulder down, only the sling prevented the limb from drapple uselessly in his side, numb and stiff. Despite this, he felt pins and needles in the fingers, in the palm, rising to the wrist until it becomes a dull ache at the elbow.  And from there, well... his grandfather used to say that the pain was the body reminding you that you were alive.He knew he should be grateful for the pain, it was a challenge to his warrior spirit, he should be proud to have that opportunity to harden facing it. And yet, however ... however, he would have preferred that the outcome of that mission have been different. Not very different from how it had been, but with key differences. The egg would have been rescued. The Scion annihilated. But his recklessness wouldn't have caused Nerina's death. He hadn't caused her death by his direct action, but his impudence had put the entire mission on the threshold of disaster. It'd been mostly his fault. The Klingon's gaze strolled to the colorful man in his side. Although he rarely thought too much about it, his actions had consequences and could be disastrous. Not only for him, but for others. Maybe he NEEDED to think before act. Sometimes. "Vinata" The pilot addressed the shorter Ovri man. When the nurse looked up at him, his unfathomable eyes unreadable, Khorin felt the usual sensation of lightness in the pit of his stomach, the faint sensation of vertigo of a transporter in action. He didn't know what their captors had in store for them on that occasion, but he was ready. There would be no more casualties on his guard. He owed Nerina that. He clutched the rifle firmly in his left hand before he disappeared from that museum of horrors, leaving the commander's corpse behind them...

---

[ Khorin, son of Margon, of House Mo'Kai (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Khorin_Douglas)| Bridge Module | The Versant ]

@BZ   @all

...They were rematerialized in a wide room, stairs and tribunes all around them... They were rematerialized in a wide hall, stairs and tribunes all around them, the white faced aliens surrounding the bedraggled group. One of the walls of the room was dominated by a panoramic window, its upper limit lost in the shades of the high ceiling. The bluish glow of the nebula brought a little more light to the gloomy environment that the Savi seemed to favor, creating hard profiles, violent backlights. In front of the massive window stood a dais with a seat in its center and it wasn't needed a sharp mind to recognize a throne in it. Khorin flexed and extended the empty fingers of his left hand, missing the weapon that hadn't arrived with him to the hall, feeling vulnerable again, in the hands of their captors. When his gaze reach the command chair, the klingon frowned deeply. The Savi woman who had threatened Hylota's egg was the one standing at the side of the center chair, the new ruler of that wicked people. He suspects that, despite her words, she would have little appreciation for the abductees, at least for K'Ren, himself and their group. When she began to speak, her words sounded somewhat conciliatory, so Khorin set out to keep low profile until the situation of the group became clear. He wouldn't threaten the group wellbeing. Not again. But it was almost impossible for a Klingon to go unnoticed. But this time it happened in a way he didn't expect.

He felt the pull in his mind. The trepidation. The excitement. His heart rose. His stomach sank. He turned around. She looked at him. He felt himself falling into those dark eyes again. She ran to where he stood and he... he just stayed froze where he was, smiling like the idiot he was. He welcomed her, open arms and embraced her with his healthy arm. She cuddled in his chest and he sweared his heart sang as it'd never done before. She hugged him tight and his tender ribs protested, but he did not care. She was there, safe and sound, as safe as they could be. He couldn't ask for more. She moved away from him, just a bit, and that ached more than his arm. She cupped his face and he leaned his head against her palm. And in that moment, he knew for sure he could be hers and only hers. And it was the right thing. When she called him her warrior, he couldn't feel more proud, he'd been gifted with the best praise in his live and, for a moment,  doubts and remorses were forgotten. He brought his hand to her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "It's just a scratch," he joked as she kneeled and buried herself in her medical kit, looking for something to patch him. When she looked up and he could see her features again, there were blood in her face. Because there were blood in his hands. Grief siezed his heart, the dying spark of Nerina's eyes still fresh in his mind. He didn't say a thing, but he knew that his disquiet percolated in Zeph's mind. He couldn't hide it from her, and he didn't want to. So he simply looked at her in silence while his inner self was shaken by the contradictory mixture of emotions that overwhelmed him, enjoying her presence, how her mind brushing his as her hands took care of his injuries. He didn't explain why, but when she was in the verge of finishing healing his wound, he closed his hands over hers, and delicately moved the dermal regenerator away of his skin. "Kyamo, let it be, let the scar." He softly rumbled, the need behind his request hiden in his voice, but plain for her in their minds. "So when I see it, I'll remember."

There was a commotion near the stand, the voice of the one who called herself Blue revolting against... whatever. Against the situation, against the Savi, against the female scientist. He knew he should care. That he should pay attention to prevent Zeph from running the same fate as the commander. But when his betazoid spoke again, he drank her words like a shipwrecked man who finds fresh water after days and days lost in the ocean. He rested his hands on her cheeks and rubbed away the blood that he had smeared on one of them. Khorin felt lost in her eyes again and leaned his forehead to hers til they touched. And then he closed his eyes, he closed them because just the mere fact of seeing her made him so happy that it hurt badly. "Come with me" He asked without thinking, without seeing her, just feeling the touch of her skin in his. "I don't care what starship you belong, when we get out of here, come with me." He pleaded. He knew it was a burdensome request, given the situation in which Theurgy was involved. That he was being selfish. But he needed to try.

[ Deacon | Day 6 | Air Ducts | Main Research Hall | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Triage  @BZ  @Numen @FollowTomorrow 

In the midst of the turmoil, a female approached, one whose expression he could only assess as an enforced benign, although judging by her dark eyes and tone, she could only be Betazoid.  He tried to restrain a hiss of warning -- why was it he was constantly beset with telepaths during these attacks?  If he were inclined more to paranoia than cynicism, he'd almost suspect them the cause -- some galactic conspiracy of psychics intent on combing through his brain for... what?  His secret recipe for oolerg steaks?

The swirling chaos of blue and gold in his eyes solidified for the barest moment, their feral tinge replacing the near green that had dominated as he curled back one corner of his lips, a single fang exposed, not so much in warning as irritation.  He did not like showing this portion of himself to the monkeys -- to anyone, really -- and to ensure the success of this mission, he'd disclosed too much.  Here, now, he wanted nothing more than privacy, an opportunity to collect himself, replace that carefully crafted facade that he'd spent nearly a lifetime perfecting.

Gold faded once more to blue in his eyes.  He wanted to push her away, such was his disdain for telepaths, let alone that a female was instructing him.  Still, this was not how things were done in the Federation, and his patriarch was half-female, it seemed.  This was something he would have to accept, but the Savi had stripped away so much of himself that he struggled to desperately cling to those ephemeral elements that he'd grown up with.  It was one thing to let go of the things that he had grown up with so long as the face in the mirror remained the same -- that was natural, that was choice, that was growth.  But now, in a matter of days, the face in his mirror had become as alien to him as those around him.  His choices had been torn away from him.

"I'm... fine," he stated to the female, even if only superficially accurate.  The disparate emotions around him had coalesced once more it seemed, giving him enough opportunity to reconstruct his mental defenses.  His desire to tell her to mind her own business, that he was well versed in the arts of mental defense, were countered by a certain begrudging appreciation for her intervention.  If nothing else, his resentment of her nature gave him a singular focus that he couldn't deny.  "K'sarungaa yahuung t'kovaraa...*," he whispered, readying himself to resume his duty to the captain, such as it was.

An accord had been reached, one that would, for the time being, ensure the safety of the pride in exchange for a cessation in hostility and guarded captivity.  He didn't care much for the terms, but for the sake of the others, especially the wounded, they had precious little with which to negotiate and far too much ship to navigate on their own.



[ Deacon | Day 6 | Bridge Module | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Triage  @BZ  @Numen @FollowTomorrow @SummerDawn  @patches  @Fife  @Numen  @Absinthe 

And then the transporter held them.  That bit of technology was, to him, becoming to convenient a conceit.  Did no one on these ships value walking?  He was amazed they weren't deconditioned, though it was admittedly difficult to assess the grey ones beneath their armor -- for all he knew, they could be little more than giant heads atop tiny bodies suspended in those suits.  It was an idea that brought him a moment of amusement mid-transport before they appeared in what could only be described as the alien bridge.

From their various missions, the rest of the hostages appeared, their proximity threatening to hammer against his mental defenses once more.  He paused, taking in a deep breath as he worked to buttress his mind and repel the empathic tide that swirled around him, doing his utmost to remain near the captain as was his training -- the Black Priest to his Patriarch.  But losing himself here, in this place, would be unwise.  It was necessary to maintain the appearance of strength even where these was none.

A familiar voice, a comfortable presence moved close.  "Deacon, my tznrrow.**" 

"Tznrrow," he replied, taking K'Ren into his arms and holding her close, feeling the warmth of her, the scent of her.  In an instant, he felt complete again, any threat of mental walls collapsing on sand abandoned, any worry of failing, set aside.  Slowly, he reopened his eyes, focusing on his wife, inspecting her to ensure her well-being, fussing over her, ignoring his own disheveled appearance, the wounds along his neck, the stains of dried blood that covered him.  It was unseemly to be so ungroomed, but circumstances forbade such indulgences.  Still, it could not stand in the way of a kiss, at once passionate and yet gentle, defiant in the face of the lie of the so-called-Code that brought them here, and affirmation of the truth that would find a way to get them home.

The blue haired female -- the sponge cake fetishist -- approached the captain, indignation screwing her features.  "What the fuck happened to Echtand!?  We.. We had a deal." 

The corners of Deacon's lips twitched, his fangs ready to bare, to reprimand her for speaking out of turn, but wrapped in K'Ren's embrace, he quelled that desire, the instinctive flare, allowing his more diplomatic inclinations to rise.  "It would appear that she was your associate's... mate," he stated, attempting to give the statement as much consideration as possible.  "Given her new position, I would say that he now stands before the Fanged God."  Disdain and irritation for the grey skinned worms aside, he had to admit that hunters deserved hunter dues, and dying for one's goals -- and these seemed important to the aliens at least -- was an ambition worthy of acknowledgement, especially if it was sufficient to inspire others to pick up his fallen banner.

He turned his gaze towards the captain, giving a slight inclination of his head, as a sign of deference and support for what was to come.

---

* - "Adapt and live..." (start of a common kzinti proverb "K'sarungaa yahuung t'kovaraa rao tadaa yahuung hmadizhraa" which translates to "Adapt and live or decay and die.")
** - "lover" (not actually a kzinti word; Deacon coined the term based on the kzinti word nrrow ("to desire"))

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)| Corridors | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triage  @BZ  @steelphoenix @FollowTomorrow



When the Antes offered a truce and surrounded the group of fugitives, Shar left the side tunnel in which she had taken refuge and approached cautiously to the cordon that protected, or threatened, Semathal's killers. Without fully trusting the goodwill of the Savis, she remained near the tail of the squad, true to her distrustful nature. Her eyes averted from time to time to the white-faced aliens, suspecting a treason at any time. When lightness sensation took over her stomach and saw how the rest of the abductees became more and more intangible, she knew that they had been betrayed. She cursed the new misadventure that creeped out of them in her native language, the Savi's UT unable to translate the coarse language.Lastly, if someone had remained in the corridor, she or he would have witnessed her antennae crushed against her scalp and her lips pulled back to show her teeth, clenched in a silent sneer.

---

[ LtJr. Khelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)|  Bridge Module | The Versant ]
@Auctor Lucan @BZ @Triage @steelphoenix @all


They reappeared in a large hall and the andorian thought she recognized a bridge, although, as with so many things, their captors design seemed like a twisted, perverted versions of what it should be. In the present case, it seemed more designed to impress, to make those who stood at the foot of its high stairs feel small and humble. It wasn't structured around the idea of being functional, it had been created to humiliate, to extol the figure of the captain as if it were a regent leading the court. Shar hated it the moment he realized all that. And she abhorted her captors even more for it. She loathed them even more for that need they displayed there to show them as superior to the rest of the species, to publicize in word and deed that they were the pinnacle of evolution. All this clashed with the little pride that remained inside Shar and, above all, with her training as Starfleet officer, which was one of the few things she had left, what little of her that hadn't been reduced to shreds. So she straightened up in full height, lanky and covered in Scion innards as she was. She would show herself as the best version of an officer that she could impersonate.

Around them, group after group of abductees began to materialize, but the andorian's attention was focused on the words of the Savi that stood next to the commanding seat. Soon, the ante's voices chorus chanted the words of the female resouning in every corner, as a prayer, as a sentence that condemned them all. 'It is stated' were her and their words. It was difficult for Shar to control the irritation that was growing in her as an answer and, despite her determination, one of her antennae slashed against her scalp again. It was difficult for Shar to control the irritation that was growing in her as an answer and, despite her determination, one of her antennae slashed against her scalp again. Around her, the rest of the abductees were reunited with their friends, with their loved ones,  and were afflicted by the absence of the fallen. She tried to suppress the yearning to look around, searching for several pairs of antennae (and a lonely one), gorgeous blue skins, the longed profiles of her forced bondmates. she knew she should not. She knew she didn't deserve them. She KNEW that they had been forced to form that bond in spite of themselves. But the biological imperative was there. As she pondered about it, her right hand slid unconsciously to her belly, and her fingers instantly found the tiny, rounded shape they sought to find. When she realized what she was doing, Shar put her hand away and balled it at her side. It was a vain hope, however much she clung to it. At that moment, Ives put aside the pleasentries and asked the Savi female about the deal with the late 'Moby' about the reversion of the Correction most abductees had undergone, and in the sound of that, her own experiences came back to her mind like a wild blizzard. She looked at the floor, trying to control the heat rising up her neck with intent to settle on her cheeks, trying to avoid a glimpse of blue skin or of a feathery white hair in the corners of her eyes. The scientist in charge of her experiment had proclaimed that Savi could solve the dilemma that her species was facing. Stop the decline of Andoria. She stepped forward, having in mind she must ask about it for the sake of her people, she needed to get hold of that investigation, not because of a selfish desire, but as an altruistic duty towards all Andorians.

The Savi's leader offered a robot as a solution for those whose DNA had been modified, a sample of cutting-edge engineering that, on a different occasion, she would have been willing to study, but at that moment her mind focused on the task she had to perform. For her people. Not for herself. When Ives fell silent, Shar set out to make her request, but before she could say a word, The Beast stomped in front of Sclergyn, demanding to know what had happened to his ally, her eyes crazed, showin she was in the verge of a meltdown. The antennae of the youngest of the Zennes were projected backwards, her archenemy seemed to detect the important moments  to spoil them, to make her resolve stagger, to let her moment pass and prevent her to do what she must do. However, this time others got ahead of her, Sinead rebuked her, the former kzin somehow chastised her too. Shar smirked. A bad shaped smirk, the smirk of someone that did not really know how to shape it. She approached the commander and grabbed her by the shoulder, plunging her long fingers deep in the pink flesh, seeking to hurt her as she held her. She forced her to turn slightly, her pale blue eyes darting the human ones. "You know," she whispered, those few words meant only for The Beast's ears. "After this time I thought you would have learned  how to cope with death. It seems that you are still fainthearted, you should be grateful that the XO has not survived to see how embarrassing you are for his keth. " Her words poured as poison between her tight lips. She didn't allow her to answer and pushed her back, with more force than she should, although, from an external point of view, it would give the impression that The Beast simply staggered due to her own weariness. Without looking back, Shar moved one step behind Ives, and raised her query. "We'll need the andorian research too, in addition to any raw information you got from us or our other compatriots, as well as the conclusions to which the investigation team could have come." she demanded with her most diplomatic tone, which sounded suspiciously like her usual sour tone.

[ Nathaniel Isley | various, by Heather's side | USS Versant ]

It...it ended. Just like that. These opponents, so ferocious and even frightening at times...they just ended the conflict. Just like that. Nathaniel would’ve spoken up, said something about it being a trap, but...Even he hoped it was true. That they would live, maybe even be sent home relatively unscathed. Still, he held fast to his charge for the moment. Until they were aboard the Theurgy, he would not count on peace. As he glanced around, the dim light of the PADD illuminating faces, he somehow felt that everyone else agreed.

He followed orders, stayed by Heather’s side, kept his eyes on his teammates. Ives, he thought, he wanted to talk to her...but now wasn’t the time. Would there ever be a time though? Would they live?

Surrounded by innumerable amounts of Savi, his weapon probably lost somewhere, he thought not. He stuck to his job, not only because he had to, but damn, it was the only familiar thing here. He stuck by Heather, almost speaking up to console her, but then...the Antes appeared. There was a doctor. He reached to Heather to...do something? He wasn’t sure, really, his emotions were leading him. Here, they led him to take her hand, soften his voice,
“You need to shine. Make light. Can you do that?”

He felt awful, asking her to do literally anything. Really, if he didn’t have respect for her autonomy, he’d have carried her around regardless of what she said. She was just...re-made, from particles. From death, she came back. Heather was soft and squishy to begin with, but divine resurrection would have knocked the strongest of them off their feet. Never mind the Radiant.

Speaking of...did her face always look like this? Was she always able to...just reach out and touch her skin? He wasn’t familiar with her, but he remembered seeing her around. She made one hell of an impression—one she wasn’t living up to right now.

[ Lt. Cross | Bridge Module | The Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @BZ @all
[Show/Hide]Cross tried as best he could to push away the haze brought on by the painkillers as he materialized on what he could only assume was the bridge of the Savi’s ship. There were other Starfleeters on the bridge, and numerous Savi. All in all it was quite the gathering, and the tension in the room was palpable. Cross’ mind still struggled to take it all in as he felt something grab his hand. He glanced down and saw a hand holding his. Part of his mind wondered what had happened to the phaser rifle. He supposed it must have been removed when he was transported to the bridge. Or had he put it down for a moment when the cease-fire had began? His befuddled mind couldn’t recall.

The Vulcan’s eyes trailed up the hand, further up an arm, and he found himself looking at Lieutenant Commander Blue Tiran in profile, the engineer’s face looking even paler than he had previously seen it. Cross could see that she was breathing rapidly as she squeezed his hand, her palm felt rough and clammy at the same time as it pressed against his. She seemed to be mentally recoiling from some sort of shock, her grip tightening on his hand yet again. He could feel a slight tremor in her grip, though he wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or simply the strain of trying to crush his bones. Either way he knew, even in his somewhat muddled state of mind, that Blue Tiran was a woman barely holding on.

Worry crossed the Vulcan’s features, his brows furrowing as he studied her. Fatigue, lack of nutrition, and having survived alone for who knew how long, only to fight her was through a hostile ship, and not to receive some shock that he wasn’t quite sure about.

Yes, Blue was teetering on the edge.

She let go of his hand then as she moved forward, stumbling slightly as she went. Cross followed her with his eyes, but he suspected that whatever had shocked her so much had left her unwilling to reason and so made no attempt to stop her.

Then she was speaking. And swearing. At least that was familiar, even if the signs of fear weren’t. Cross finally realized what had shaken her. Echtand was missing.

”Tiran…” another of the abductees said, the word coming out like a reprimand, though it’s speaker made no further move to rebuke the engineer. The male felinoid, who’s correction was incomplete like R’Rori’s, spoke to Blue as well, though Cross had trouble following his words, cloudy as his mind was. Cross gritted his teeth and gave his head a shake, trying to clear his mind a little. He had to be alert in case the situation turned hostile. He raised his hands to his head, massaging his temple with the fingers of his right hand as the stump at the end of his left arm bumped against his cheek. Cross paused and glances at the ruined arm before letting it fall to his side once again.

As his eyes returned to the scene unfolding before him, Cross found that Blue was being confronted by Shar, the Andorian’s arms holding Blue’s shoulders. They were too far away for Cross to hear what Shar whispered to the Human, but from the change in Blue’s body language, coupled with Cross’ knowledge of the history between the pair, the Vulcan suspected the words would be anything but comforting. He saw Blue stumble back, no doubt assisted by Shar in the most malicious of manners. Cross took a quick step forward and braced Blue’s back with his hand to prevent the exhausted woman from collapsing to the floor in a heap. As it was she stumbled into him, her back butting up against his chest. It was the second time in the past 24 hours that Blue Tiran had been this close to him, and part of him felt just as uncomfortable as the previous time.

A larger part of him was just worried about someone he was beginning to think of as a friend. He pulled Blue further away from the Savi that the Andorian was now addressing a tone that was perhaps a touch more civil than her usual unfriendly tone. Blue was shaking as he guided her to the back of the crowd, his useless left arm held across her back as though to shield her from the rest of the people in the room. ”Come on.” He murmured as he steered her along, feeling her rapid-fire breathing against his arm as they went. Too fast. She was going to pass out if she kept breathing like that. Cross steered her to the edge of the room, guiding her to stand against the wall. ”Commander.” She didn’t look at him. She was still hyperventilating, her eyes unfocused. ”Blue. Look at me. Focus.” Cross positioned himself directly in front of her and placed his hand on her left shoulder, resting his stump on her right. Again he realized too late that his hand was missing, though this time he didn’t bother removing it. He was worried about Blue, not his arm. ”Blue, you need to breathe. Take a slow, deep breath. In through your nose, out through your mouth.” His eyes bored into hers as he spoke, trying to drive his message through to her. ”Make each inhalation and each exhalation last for three counts.” Cross craned his neck downward so that his eyes stared straight into hers. ”Commander, I need you to try and calm down.” Cross searched her eyes with his gaze, as though he hoped to discover the cause of her distress. Part of him wondered if he was going to have to try and nerve pinch her to stop her from having a complete breakdown.

[Miss Blue appears to be in an advanced state of distress.] Cross jumped at the words, his whole body tensing as they were spoken so close to his ear. He hadn’t been paying attention to Albert, had practically forgotten about the thing, and now the damned owl had chosen this moment to make such a stupid observation.

”Shut the <fuck> up,” Cross snarled at the owl before adding a muttered "Bloody metallic pigeon…" before turning his attention back to Blue. ”Blue…” The name came out more like a growl, his annoyance at the mechanical bird tainting his words. He took a breath and softened his tone, suspecting that harsh words would do little to help his friend at the moment. His eyes held worry in them as he focused his unblinking gaze back on her, his body swaying slightly from the combination of the pain meds and the shock Albert had given him. ”Blue, talk to me.”

[ PWO Heather McMillan (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Heather_McMillan) | Medical Bay | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @FollowTomorrow & @Absinthe
[Show/Hide]She understood now, what they needed from her. What she had to do. This new body (for it could not possibly be her old one) felt so foreign and unusual to her that she was a little worried she would not be able to help Saugn. Her memories were fading in and out as she tried to piece things together, like the nice Romulan god that insisted on trailing her. She blinked a moment at him when she felt his hand on her, and then shivered involuntarily, her face immediately reflecting panic and fear. It was her base instinct, because everyone and everything was stronger and more powerful than her, and a mere touch could prove fatal to someone like her. Yet she had an underlying certainty now that it would take a bit more than that to actually hurt her.

“I...yes, I think I can do that...uhm...” said Heather, answering Nathaniel and the others, “...p-please stand back...thank...uh, thank you.”

She vaguely remembered that these Savi could not take her light very well due to their sensitive eyesight and pronounced darkvision. Like a muscle memory, she began to recall how her light waves and patterns could be manipulated through will, thought, and actual muscle applications. As she did so, her entire body, or at least, the uncovered parts of her, began to emit a multi-hued prism of light, much like she used to do almost without thought, though now, she clearly showed intense focus and concentration in order to maintain the light. She channeled most of her light into the palms of her hands, which she held over Saugn's body, and the light began to brighten, once she saw that the Savi had moved out of sight.

As the shine grew, beads of sweat appeared on the half-Radiant's brow, her eyes squinted, and her teeth gritted together as the effort to keep shining so put a strain on her entire body. She'd never felt this before whenever she used her light, and if she dropped her concentration, the light would fade so quickly, but instead of feeling loss, she felt relief, and there was no sense of delight or pleasure from keeping herself alight. Her shoulders and head gave the brunt of a soft pink, white and gold hue, whilst her hands flared with every colour of the rainbow, and she felt something within herself flow through the light as she continued to shine upon Saugn, bathing every inch of the woman in rays and photokinetic nutrients.

She kept it up for as long as she could, but she lost track of the time, and she was soon too tired to even keep her body alight, save for her palms, and before long, even that faded. Her body swayed, her eyes rolled upwards and she pressed her palms onto the examination table, no longer able to hold herself aloft. Without warning, she slumped backwards, fainting.

Lt Jg Hi'Jak (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Hi%27Jak) | Medical Bay | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Absinthe @Triage @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]The ship wide alert had been a bit shocking to hear. He had a few guesses as to the culture of these creatures, and had a few theories on exactly how they had developed, but to hear that there was something larger going on in their own way was a bit odd. There was also the andorian's going at it. Frankly he didn't care what the blue assassin or the other wanted. Andorian problems were just that, andorian, and were far away from the problems of his pet's life. At least Ida seemed to agree that they all had more pressing matters, and his 'friend' the man from the other time line kept his focus.

At least he was starting to understand that there was another man in the science department on theurgy whom Jack could work with, and possibly even call a friend, it was something in short supply in the  days of 84 where he had only one. The borg drone.

When the cease fire was declared and they were transported, he grabbed onto Lahkesis. His hand extending to her so that if nothing else he could stick with her.

~~~

He had stayed with Lahkesis, at least he had learned her proper name now because he knew that if all positions were reversed and he was dying on the table instead of her, he knew he would want to have someone with him. Jack doubted he was good company for that. He had always been a bit more of a casenova, never able to really give himself to any one relationship he was a flake and a coward.

But he was all that Lahkesis had at the moment. "You'll be fine."

Heather? When the heck did she get here? she hadn't been in the tanks when they had been reassembled, nor the holographic enterprise, or even the bay where everyone had met up. He had to wonder did she recognize him? He was human now, his forhead was gone, the stuble beard was a bit new from the days they had spent without any real cleaning or proper sleep. The arm and the lack of an eye was a bit of a give away if he asked anyone. Though the scaring that should have ruined his once charming good looks didn't exist thanks to the best that the Savi's science had to offer.

She asked everyone to stand back, and he did so, having to turn away from the light as she worked her... well it wasn't magic, UV rad treatment was the proper scientific word for it, but it was bright shiny lights from nothing. He supposed a pre warp civilization could have thought of it as a type of magic.

The thought of having the radiant burned at stake was an amusing one. He could blame her for a lot that had gone sideways in the coreless moon, the fact that the klingon ship he had been itching to get a ride out on had been incinerated was squarly in her hands for instance.

Then again his people had been the ones to build around a long dead weapon, and he had been the one to invite the ship there in the first place. She honestly probably saved him from having lost a lot more than his eye, even if he was now being watched by the blue assassin.

Who wasn't here... double score. "Did it work?"

Jack asked as his eyes adjusted to regular light after a few moments, blinking in confusion.

~~~~~~

OOC: I know I was gone for a bit, and so I wasn't really around for anyones posts, but it didn't really make sense for Jack to leave Lahkesis's side with all the development that had been going on between the two of them, and the scene prior.

[LCdr Blue Tiran | Foreboding Fuckery | Blue is for Bitches | Barely Held Together | Mental Murder Sequence Commence]
@Numen @Fife @Auctor Lucan

Warnings fell on deaf ears.

Her name was called out, she didn't give a shit if anyone thought it was time to be careful.  Her time spent on this mother fucking ship had been enough.  She was tired, she had been through hell and back, while her friends were in their rooms with food and drinks she was starving and fighting every day to stay conscious, to stay relevant, and to find a way to get them the fuck out.  They thought it was easy, being her, there she was not corrected, not experimented on, and not recycled.  They probably thought how fucking lucky she was and they had no fucking idea what it was like surviving day after fucking day just trying to remain invisible so she could get them out.  She was the fucking reason they were out.

Her.

Her and Echtand had done this shit.

And whatever upstart bitch took his seat now, could get the fuck out of her way or explain herself.  Because Blue was perfectly justified in her questioning.  It wasn't even particularly harsh for Blue.  She could have inserted a slew of worse words and insults but she had been shocked and in need of the answer.  Echtand should have stood there.  Echtand should have been there to receive her and the rest of the crew.  He wasn't, something was up, some kind of fuckery was going on here and Blue demanded to know the answer.

A hand dug into her flesh, the shoulder that didn't have Albert on it and she spun around.  The hand didn't leave like it should have but instead dug painfully into the flesh there underneath her Savi given uniform.  Fire light up in Blue's eyes as she studied the woman before her.  They had moments of understanding but for the most part she and Shar could not have hated each other more if they tried.  Her eyes narrowed at her as Shar .. with her grin that spelled disaster for the young Blue haired engineer.

Anyone that was used to death was a cold hearted bitch.  No one should be used to that shit and while Echtand was apparently dead by some means, she didn't think it was okay.  She certainly didn't need the one fucking person she had put her hopes into fucking disappearing before he had finishing the deal.  There was a fucking deal!  What Shar said next though... Blue would remember for the rest of eternity.

It wasn't the pain in her shoulder.  That actually kept her somewhat grounded for the time being.  Grounded enough to let the words of the woman shift through her anger and to the brain .. to the hollow place in the center of her being.

The hollow place she had spent the last hours ignoring in favor of getting the fuck off this ship.  Her own survival secondary to the rest of them because she was ready to write off this whole fucking universe if she could.  Ran was gone.. gone... and now....

She couldn't breathe.

Her lungs, wouldn't work.

Her eyes widened, pupils dialated. 

She gasped. 

Not for air, no her lungs refused to inflate despite her body's intent for them to do so.  Finally she choked out just enough that her lungs gave a little.  Darkness began to cloud her vision as suddenly her lungs were working over time.  Inflating and deflating with remarkable speed. 

I will rip off your mother fucking antennae and I will shove them so far up your ass you will never fucking find them and while you bleed out on the floor in front of me you will know that not a single mother fucker in your life will give a shit about you.

The woman turned away.  Blue felt herself shoved.  She stumbled backward and knew that she wasn't going to stay up on her own.  Her face was paler than normal.  Her breathing coming in harsh gasps, a full panic attack of epic proportions.  Suddenly, there were arms.  Someone caught her, and she went limp for a moment.  Her head dropped, mass of black and blue curls hid her face for the moment.  She couldn't control herself, she couldn't see.  He said to come, she went, she didn't ask questions, she just knew that she couldn't stay.  Forcing herself upright, she followed him, head bowed as she tried to stay sane.  She tried not to run across the deck and claw the bitch's eyes from her sockets and force feed them to her through her nostrils.

There was a wall.

At her back.

Blue felt the cool of the steel and her eyes sought him out.  It wasn't Ranaan, it would never be Ranaan again.  But it was Cross, he was her only friend here, and it was so hard to think of that word with anyone.  It was hard for Blue to make friends but here she was with a friend.  Someone that was looking out for her.  Everyone else in this room would have let her faint and not knowing the effect the words of a mother fucking Andorian waste of breathable air had on her.  He called her, by her rank, and it did little.  She clenched at his uniform, her hand balling it up in her fist as she continued to try to calm down.  Tears, legitimate tears fell down her face.  The pain in her chest was radiating heavily throughout her entire body.  Every muscle, every bone, every vessel. 

Her heart beat.

Ranaan. … Ranaan … Ranaan... Ranaan

Every beat, his name. 

Every breath, his name.

Every single movement … his name.

He was there.  Eye to eye.  He was so close.  Helping her breath.  Blue's hand clenched in his uniform still, her fingers digging in there.  The other hand, the other hand was digging so hard into her palm that blood pooled in the center of her palm and began to pitter patter against the deck plating beneath her.  Small bright red dots against the polished silver. 

Pain.. pain was good.

Pain focused. 

She breathed. 

Breatheonetwothree

Breathe onetwothree

Breathe one twothree

Breathe one two three

“I ca.. ..ca...ca...can't.”

Her first words, and then Albert was speaking and Cross was telling him to get bent.  Blue was searching his face.  Her name growled at her, she was trying so desperately.  Blue's vision cleared slightly as she continued to breathe with him. Her fearful, tearful, crystalline eyes never once left his.  She shifted her teeth sinking into the tender flesh of her cheek and again, drawing blood, as her vision cleared more fully and her breathing began to mellow out. 

Her lower chin trembled and her fist loosened on Cross' shirt.  She slumped against him slightly her head to his shoulder-chest area.  Albert was likely uncomfortable against him since his metallic chassis would be pressing into him a little bit but she just needed that support for a minute. 

“I can't fa..fail... I .. I can..can't fail... not a...af...after everything.” she whispered.

[ K'Ren (http://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=K%27Ren) | Bridge Module | The Versant ] Attn: @steelphoenix All
[Show/Hide]K'Ren burrowed herself into his arms, holding him tight like a scared cub might after finding it's mother, caring little for the world around her. For this moment, all was right again in the world. She could smell the scent of blood on him, but she smelled similar all around her, the smell of injury so it didn't concern her, her head remained pressed to his chest, the sound of his hearbeat pounding in her ear. It was only when her mate released her from the hug, fussing over her disheveled fur, that she really looked at him properly, seeing for the first time how torn up he really was.

He didn't give her much time to look before he kissed her, their faces coming together in the midst of the others. It was as much a tender symbol of care upon being reunited with her mate, but also on some levels a defiant gesture, these aliens, their code that forbade species from interbreeding> Here she stood, after being forced, as Deacon had, to survive by choosing what ancestry would be removed, despite the forced choice, despite the correction, these aliens couldn't brek their will, their desire for each other. That remained, and whatever befell the two of them, nothing could break the bond she shared with Deacon, and he with her.

Once they'd kissed though, the tender greeting of two lovers, K'Ren nuzzled him, making sure he knew how much she cared for him, nuzzling his neck, her hands holding him close, rubbing her ear against his face. "You are injured mate," she finally said, "But alive. I am glad you made it." She paused, "Did you exact the vegeance you desired? Were enough ears collected for what was done to us?"

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Home is Where the Heart is | Home Away from Home | Is this the Imzadi You're Looking For? | Corner Confessions]
@Numen

He was a massive wall of muscle, but his heart was such a soft little thing.  She could feel it fluttering against his emotions.  Small butterflies of happiness and joy brushing against her psyche as they hugged and she cuddled into him.  His strong arm holding her crushing her against him.  She could tell that he hurt, though she was not good enough to pinpoint where though she would not realize it was his ribs at the moment she was far too concentrated on the fact that his arm was broken.  That was what she worried about, his pain, and an infection.  Who knew how clean this ship could actually be.  She didn't want him to suffer any more than he already had and luckily he was close with the best doctor on the Federation side of the Versant.

Just a scratch.

Zeph's brow rose as she hissed at him to quit it.  She knew that he was the sort to just pretend that something wasn't as bad as it actually was but it was.. broken.  And she refused to let him stand around with a broken arm so she set to work doing some of what she did best.  She missed her plants, and her gardens, her arboretums, and her research.  She missed all the hybrids that she made and grew and cultured in her work.  Nothing that she would go back for though, nothing she didn't have research to remake when she got settled somewhere else.  But she would have to be careful, being a runaway from the Azurite station carried with it a bit of danger.  One, the population of Starfleet didnt know about the station, but they could easily lie about who and what she was and make her an enemy and turned back into the Azurite.  She didn't want to be a prisoner on the station again.

She refused to be the person that made such terrible things again.

Zeph didn't even notice that there was blood on her cheeks where he had touched her. In another instance she probably would have felt the wetness transfer to her cheek but here, where they were together, where she was fully worried about him and not herself meant that she didn't even think about it.  This was Khorin and he needed her care.  As she worked on his arm, she did her duties with her heart fluttering and her stomach sinking at the sight of the wound.  Even as it closed itself and began to mend.

She was surprised as he pushed the regenerator out of reach, and her dark black eyes shifted up to his with a wide, innocent, questioning gaze.  Kyamo... likely her new favorite word in the world, melted her soul ever time she heard it.  She could feel his mind brushing against hers, the outcry, the rage, the sadness and the loss of someone that he could not save.  Zeph felt her face soften as he told her to let it scar so that he would always remember.  She could feel the internal war of emotions, the weight on his heart and his mind.  A soft smile came to her face.

“Of course..” she said softly tucking the regenerator away so that he would know she understood and wasn't going to push for treatment.  He leaned forward, her eyes and her face lit up from within.  As his ridged forehead pressed against her, the tension bled out of her body to the point where she forgot where she was.  He was here, and that was all that mattered.  They were both here, both alive, and both able to see one another again.  She knew it was stupid to put such huge emotions on someone that she just met but she could tell easily that he felt the same way that she did.  There was something there, something deeper than just attraction.  The way that she felt at home with him.. it was something she had never quite known before.

'Come with me.'

His words hit a chord she didn't know had been dormant for such a long time.  A gasp escaped her lips at the weight of his request.  Not because she was against it and certainly not because she was afraid of it, but because she had not expected it.  No matter how much of his emotions she could feel she had not expected him to speak those words to her.  He continued; stating that no matter what ship she belonged to he wanted her to come with him.  To his ship, to his life.

Zeph bit into her lower lip, depressing the soft flesh there with her teeth.  Draining it of it's pink color for a moment.  She knew.. she knew that it wouldn't probably be easy, she had no idea what the Captain would say when Zephyr could not explain where she had been, what she had been working on, and why she had escaped from an off-the-radar place that no one knew existed.  Letting go of her lip she swallowed heavily.

“There are things about me you do not know, my heart, things I am not even allowed to tell you.” she whispered softly, her eyes closed as well as they just basked in the glow of each other.  The mayhem going on around them, she could feel the distress, heavy distress at the other side of the room.  But right now she needed to finish speaking to Khorin.

“If you truly mean that... me and all that I am... then I would love to come with you.”  she smiled softly opening her eyes to look up at him.  “I would stand beside you come whatever may.”

She brushed her fingers against the warmth of his cheek.  The despair was so palpable right now that Zephyr had to turn her eyes away from Khorin for a moment and seek out the Blue-haired woman that rebuked her help earlier.  She was against the wall talking to the Vulcan from the previous night.  Leaning against him, she could feel the awkardness between them, but their desire to stand side by side and bond that was formed from necessity and founded in mutual need.  The woman was strong but so shaken, so cracked, so very very fragile at the moment, and there he was, holding her up when she needed someone the most. 

“That Vulcan, he is good people.  She is very grateful for him, as he is holding her together when she is ready to fall apart.  I hope they come with us.” she said looking back up at Khorin.

[ Nathaniel Isley | Medical Bay | USS Versant ]

Heather asked him to stand back, and so he did—and shielded his eyes the best he could. He didn’t know her full capabilities, and he rather liked being able to see. The light she emitted was less like a laser directly into his eyeballs and more like sunshine. Warm, comforting…

He didn’t let himself sink into it though, because he could see she was struggling. Sweat on her brow, teeth gnashed. She was really struggling, he thought, watching her wobble. He didn’t see her start to faint, but he knew something was coming. He moved back into action to catch her, and rather than hitting the floor, she slumped into his arms.

He adjusted her so that she was being carried princess-style. Seemed fitting for her—but from the reports, he thought she was much more powerful than this. Right now, she seemed so...tired.
“I think that’s all the light we’re going to get for now.”

[ Khorin, son of Margon, of House Mo'Kai (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Khorin_Douglas) | Bridge Module | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]
@BZ

Khorin opened his eyes when she didn't answer immediately and he saw how she bit her lip, hesitant. And when she spoke and explained that there were parts of her life that she could not share, his dense brows knitted for a second, without fully understanding the implications of her confession. But she had called him 'her heart' and Khorin held his breath for an answer, a real answer, his heart racing in his throat. And when she opened her eyes and looked at him, those black eyes like the emptiness between the stars, and confirmed that she would go with him and felt the caress of her fingers on his cheek, the Klingon grinned more broadly than he had done in his life. So much so that the corners of his lips ached, but he didn't care at all. She would go with him. Even his recent mistakes, those same mistakes that had caused Nerina's death, tasted a little less bitter knowing that she would be in his side. It was true that honor gave little comfort to a man alone in his home, and in his heart. Victory as hollow as defeat. The caress of her fingers worthed more than a thousand victories.

At that moment, Zephyr averted her gaze from him to look away, observing something behind his back. She said something, something about a vulcan. Cross, possibly. He was alive, that was a good thing. He was his brother-in-arms after all. But at that time, he didn't matter. Or he mattered only a little. No, at that moment, he only cared about one thing. Only one person. Khorin rested two fingers on her chin, encouraging her to tilt the head and look at him. And when she did, he kissed her. It was a long, passionate kiss. One that said more than he was able to say at that moment. "I don't care" He rumbled when their lips parted. And he didn't explain if he meant Cross or to her previous statement about what she couldn't tell about herself. “qatlhejDI' matay'. latlhpu' vItlhejDI' jImob, Kyamo.” He whispered, something he had heard a long time ago, in the Homeworld, and that he had not really fully understood until then, until he had meet her. "Kyamo, that means 'when I accompany you, we are together. When I accompany others, I am alone.' I'll stand by your side, no matter how." He whispered, and there was truth in his words and in his heart.

[ Lt (jg) Sarresh Morali (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sarresh_Morali) | Bridge Module  | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan 
[Show/Hide]

This day kept getting worse and worse. He flexed his fingers, noting the lack of a firearm. Well, it wouldn't have lasted forever. I don't get to have good luck like that, the time traveler thought. Carefully, as he looked and listened, he tucked himself in behind Ida zh'Wann. That seemed to be the smart call, given the way the Andorian's antenna pressed back against her forehead, and the warning she muttered to him, in regards to the package they had retrieved from the labs, before ensuring that McMillian, the girl that had been there when the loop forked again.

Do wrake-fish shit in the sea?  Sarresh asked himself, rhetorically. Of course he was going to keep it out of sight, as he let the makeshift satchel swivel around to hang under his harm. He tucked it in tight, hoping that this would be enough. There was shockingly little that he could do beyond that. He watched, dispassionately - and missing the enhanced view his former eyes possessed, as the Radiant - that was the name of her species - was moved toward the plant-nurse - Sagan? Snaggun? Her name was escaping him again.

There was a pause, and a frown. She looks different. Too different, he thought. What did the Savi do to you? All I got was a fresh pair of eyes...but you...that's not the face you had when...when it all went awry again.

What, the actual, fuck? He'd picked that phrase up from some crew-mates. It fit. He had no idea what was going to happen next. He didn't like that. The engrams offered....nothing. Just an impulse to protect what was in his hands, while Captain Ives - he could hear the woman now - handled things for the crew. Assembled crews. More than one, he reminded himself. What a damned mess.

He would repeat those words time, and again, as the scene unfolded around him. The news of 'corrections' being corrected. New Code, Old Code, a robot that was going to come with them. And thus Sarresh stood, with his arms crossed tightly over his chest, listening. Trying not to fidget about. Attempting to affect an air of calm, and control. To radiate confidence, reassurance. While every second he could feel the weight of the device, dragging him down...down...down...

And then, for just a moment, the weight seemed to lift. His eyes, wide, were drawn to the light that was Heather. Bight...Radiant he thought with irreverent mirth. As she shown bright, Sarresh's burden eased. It faded - the light - but for the moment, Sarresh was better able to focus on his surroundings, and not the end of all things that hung from his shoulder.

[Ens. Irnashall “Shall” ch’Xinya | Bridge Module | Precept-ship Versant]

If Andorian blood was red then Shall’s face would be a deep purple at this point.  The answer was there, in his hands.  Just a few forced commands from that pale-skinned alien and the data he needed would be right in front of him, ready for download.  Before that could happen though, another set of blue hands ripped them apart, once again denying Andoria its future.  Whirling around with his antenna plastered backwards in his hair Shall growled a challenge to the zhen.  Some Savi announcement started at the same time as his anger flew out from his lips, his words drowned out for all but Ida herself.  Before things could devolve any further the transporter beam whisked them all away, ending the argument before it really began.

Finding himself in a sizable room, Shall looked around as different groups materialized all around.  Up above on an elevated dias another Savi and some robot looked down on all of their captives, lording over the powerless.  Mostly staying put, the chan just shifted around a bit until Sarresh and Hi’Jak were between him and the zhen.  When then Savi started talking Shall didn’t listen, he was far too riled up for that.  Fingers flexed, his rage starting to translate into a nervous energy that was becoming hard to contain.

Finally, before he completely lost it through his growing impatience, the speech came to an end and a number of people started to shout questions at their captor.  Without thinking, Shall pressed his way forward to make his own demands.  It was pretty easy to guess as to what he would demand of this ship’s assumed commander, the only question was how he would do so?  He couldn’t hold her at gunpoint this time, but there were other methods at his disposal.  Before he could get to a point where his voice could carry over the din, someone beat him to it.  Looking in surprise, Shall could see the top of Shar’s head there at the front, hand on their blue-haired compatriot from the night before.

Something changed deep inside the chan at the sight of the shen, the rage draining out of him, at least by a bit.  Knowing that there was a better way for things to develop now, Shall changed his goals.  Still moving forward, the Andorian was now making his way to the other.  By the time he got there Blue had collapsed and another were taking care of her while Shar stood nearby.

“Shar…” Shall called out to her when he got close enough.  Reaching out through the crowd he took her shoulders and pressed his forehead against hers, antenna reaching forward out of his hair to touch its companion.  “You survived.”

[ Deacon | Day 6 | Bridge Module | Precept-ship Versant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Triage  @BZ  @Numen @FollowTomorrow @SummerDawn  @patches  @Fife  @Numen  @Absinthe 

Deacon quietly watched as the blue haired female was man-handled from one crewman to the next until she seemed to break down in the arms of a vulcan... possibly the one that had participated in the two man riot in the holographic fraud of Below Decks... what was it called again?  Something forgettable.  Still, he would have to ensure that there would be no such recreation of those events once they returned to the Theurgy... not in his territory.

The radiant, too, took a moment to shine.  He didn't know whether her newly reconstituted state or his diminished senses were at fault, but she seemed a tough less intense than she had been when first he met her.  No doubt, the doctor would have something choice to say given her performance directly on the heals of being declared dead.  Still, like Thea, Deacon found that he didn't mind this one -- she was unlike the monkey females.  Perhaps it had something to do with the sense of artificiality that he mentally imposed on them, taking their semblance for humans as little more than conceit or convenience?  It was a question he would explore at a later time.

"You are injured mate, but alive.  I am glad you made it."

It was amazing how readily and naturally a smirk crossed his features, even as he ran one hand across the wounds along the sides of his neck.  "The so-called scion was not nearly as decisive as it should have been.  It was a fatal flaw.  One it will be unable to correct."  He took a breath, "Still, if I am to face such circumstances in future, I will need to master their infuriating beam weaponry.  Honorable melee seems a lost art."

"Did you exact the vengeance you desired?  Were enough ears collected for what was done to us?"

At this, he scowled, though he did his utmost to obscure his expression from those who seemed to stand in judgement above them.  "They lack ears," he mumbled, though he raised his tone sufficient for the captain alone to overhear as he continued, "but I had secured some samples of their weaponry as suitable trophies.  Far more useful in our endeavors than an artificial lifeform these Savi would seem to want to be rid of in the first place."  His gaze rose to lock onto the female Savi that dominated the stage before them.  "But a deal was made.  I serve my patriarch, and for the sake of the pride, my vengeance must be satisfied with the scion."

Running his fingers through K'Ren's mane, his expression was, it seemed, apologetic, his wrath stemmed by the prospect of what he could yet lose.  After a moment though, he arched an eyebrow, his blue eyes moving once more to the captain along with his words.  "Still, a graviton sword would be nice."

[ Lt. R'Rori | This is definitely not my bed | The Versant ] @BZ @Fife

There was so much going on. Really, too much for R’Rori to adequately process right then between all the shooting, the effects of hir Correction, the emotional impact of the recent death, and now that damned Voice of the Savi piping up over the ship’s intercom. A part of hir really wanted to take the pistol s/he picked up at the last minute and shoot out the nearest speaker somehow because it was really quite enough, thank you, for hir senses to process everything as is without the same mysterious Savi that forced them into this situation to begin with droning on.

“R’Rori!”

Hmm?

It was Cross. S/he recognized hir name more than the voice at that moment, though. It sounded oddly distant, only just distinct from the cacophony surrounding the four of them.

“R’Rori, you need to fire that weapon!”

Weapon? Oh, the phaser.

Wait. “I don’t shoot people, Cross!”

"Shoot the <fucking> walls then. I don't care. Just shoot!"

Ugh, I just want some hot tea and some quiet right now.

R’Rori supposed it was a fair request. There were no longer Security escorts with them and he was missing an arm. But damnit, s/he was a counselor. S/he was supposed to be safely on a ship or a station, listening to people complain about their lives or mental health and help them stay sane while serving one what amounted to a really fancy space submarine. This absurd scenario in which hir ship was blown up by the Borg, hir escape pod picked up by genocidal alien scientists that forcefully fundamentally remade hir, and now supporting one of those alien scientists in staging a mutiny was not part of hir contingency training.

Neither was dealing with a fully sentient AI and robotic owl, honestly, but at least that the former Caitian could wrap hir head around.

Sighing deeply, R’Rori peeked up above the console she was hiding behind and nearly dropped the phaser pistol in hir effort to heroically shoot somewhat to the left of the nearest member of the Savi response team. S/he missed wildly, of course. Such was not only hir intention but s/he was also a poor shot in the first place, barely passing mandatory marksmanship tests in the Academy. S/he had thought about it once and settled on hir pacifism meant s/he just really did not care to actually try for mastering more than the bare essentials of handling a weapon. Of course, that was easier to justify when your claws were weapons and you weren’t supposed to be anywhere near the front lines like this.

Not for the first time since they left the bay, the counselor mused on how much more useful hir sister would have been here. She was every centimeter the warrior that R’Rori wasn’t, even enlisting in Caitian-specific kill teams during the Dominion War.

Oh! They’ve stopped shooting. What’s this shouting about? Ceasefire finally!

No wait, where are you beaming us to?

Ugh. It stinks even more of blood and guts in here. Is this the bridge? Is that … Captain Ives? Who’s this tall bitch talking at us? Is that a droid? More robots? Am I just going to be surrounded by robots at the end of this?

Wait, am I a robot?

No, I’m pretty sure I’d know if I was a robot.

Ugh, I’m tired.

R’Rori, already not quite steady on hir feet, nearly collapsed on the ground where s/he stood just apart from Cross and Blue. S/he caught hirself at the last moment, somehow. S/he suddenly felt so very cold and empty, and shivered violently for a moment until a commotion pushed through the fog enough to catch hir attention. Tiran’s familiar swearing had gone quiet and while R’Rori couldn’t quite see her face, her body language expressed shock as she was shoved back by the Andorian.

It seemed like s/he blinked and then there was Blue and Cross against the wall together. Hir ears could still just faintly pick up the sound of Cross talking to the engineer.

He’s trying to calm her down. Shouldn’t I be doing that? Why can’t I seem to … do anything right now?

It took a lot more willpower than normal for hir to move, nearly crawl, to where hir fellow Endeavour survivors sat. Blue was whispering something that R’Rori couldn’t understand as she buried her face in Cross’s chest. It was probably something related to what triggered this reaction from the normally defiant woman. R’Rori scooted up to the wall next to Blue and, after pausing a moment, started rubbing Blue’s back with one hand.

“Hey Blue,” R’Rori said softly with more than an edge of fatigue in hir voice. “I’m here for you. Do I need to punch Shar for whatever she said to you?”

[ LtJr. Kelleshar sh'Zenne (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Kelleshar_sh%27Zenne)|  Bridge Module | The Versant ]
[Show/Hide]Attn: @Auctor Lucan @chXinya

While she waited for the response from the leader of their captors, Shar heard someone told her name in the crowd. She recognized the voice, but didn't turn around to see him coming. However, her antennae abandoned their almost eternal position, flat against her scalp, and stood rigid over her head, subtle quivering. Of course, she had recognized the voice, but she did not want to acknowledge the chan's presence. Not now. Not yet. She had more urgent matters to attend to. Besides, she did not deserve him. She deserved none of her forced bondmates, if she was honest with herself. However, Shall didn't leave her many options and, despite her reluctance, he put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to turn around, his forehead pressed against hers, his long dreadlocks hidding their features. "Of course I've survived, ch'te" she barked, her voice as angry as usual. In spite of her bitter tone, her antennae reached his, one curling gently around his full one, the other caressing softly the stump of the damaged appendage. One of her hands rose hesitantly and, finally, leaned on his chest. The other moved unconsciously to the lower part of her belly. She remained like that for a moment, without saying anything. "I'm glad you're here too" she confessed at last with a tiny voice. A soft, liquid gaze in her pale eyes. Her stare in his dark ones. But that tenderness lasted barely a second, and soon Kelleshar pushed him away, using the hand in his chest to keep them at distance again. "Now, shut up, klazh" She growled. The Savi on the dais had seemed ready to answer her demand and she needed to know the answer. And she knew well that he wanted to hear it too. So without adding anything else she turned to confront the Antes' acting leader. Despite the abruptness of her rebuke to Shall, her hand sought his and, when they found each other, she grabbed his tightly. In spite of how ill-advised was the bond that united them, she felt solace having him by her side. While Sclergyn's voice resonated in the dark bridge, she could only hope he really felt the same.

---

klazh -> An animal known for its careless way of moving

[ Lahkesis Saugn "Nicotiana" |Medical Bay | Precept-ship Versant ] attn: @Triage @Masorin @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]
It was not long after the ante's had left to allow the Radiant Being do what must be done that the process began. They were not concerned that the specimens were a threat at this point, so much having changed in the last hours. The strain of the process on the Radiant Being would have caused concern to them had they seen it, but their aversion to the light forced them to retreat.

At first, Lahkesis did not seem to react to it, her body remaining motionless on the medical table. Then a light under her skin began to glow, seeming to harmonize with the light of Heather, refracting and turning a rainbow of prismatic colors as it rushed through the network of veins just under her skin covering her body, seeming to swell in the areas of damage, the light shimmering with a rainbow light as it did so. The light of Heather remained the more powerful source but the light within Lahkesis seemed to increase and pulse as her body reacted to it. Her back began to arch off the table, as if her body strained to get to the light. The light began to fill in the gaps of Lahkesis's skin until it seemed that the whole of her body was glowing with ever-brightening light. The transitions of hue and vibrancy seemed to act as one between them, Lhakesis's body reacting near instantaneous to ever change of Heather's light, her own light swelling ever brighter. Unified the light seemed to merge in essence until it was so bright that the eyes of the onlookers could no longer even make out the distinct shape of Lahkesis's body at all. The light flooded out seeming to fill every corner of the room. In the midst of it, Lahkesis's breath seemed to fill with millions of tiny spore-like pinpricks of light, each drifting into the air, surrounding the two of them in a glimmer of a glowing star-like dots of light. The air was filled with the distinct smell of some unidentifiable berry, seemingly never before smelled by any within the room before, some sweet alien smell.

And then, as if to counterpoint to the slowness of the beginning, it stopped. The light of Heather died down and she fell back into the waiting arms of Nathaniel Isle. The shimmering light of Lahkesis's body did not die down quite as quickly, but the intensity disappeared nearly instantly, leaving only a soft glow on her skin as it faded back to the pale color it had once been, the deep brown marks on her skin having disappeared. Her hair shimmering in rainbow hues as it seemed to hang in the air weightlessly, not unlike that of Heather before her own unique transformation, yet not quite the same. Moving with some otherworldly grace, almost like she was submerged in water, Lahkesis suddenly sat up, her pupilless blue eyes turning around the room, glowing with an inner light.

Though she looked in essence to be the same, she was distinctly different, something in the face was not the same. Where once she had some indefinable girlish quality to her, like a child gazing at the world, now there was some new quality, something more mature, something more refined. She seemed like an almost different person entirely. The glow of her skin continued to fade as she moved off the table, her body moving much more gracefully than it had ever done before, each movement slow and purposeful, a clear intent in her movement.

She moved to Heather and bent her knee to crouch before her and stare at her with an unreadable expression. Some detail unspoken. She reached out her hand and gently cupped Heather's cheek, before leaning forward to press her lips to Heathers. It was less a kiss and more some alien tender touch as she breathed into Heather, filling the Radiants lungs with a mixture of pure oxygen and some trace element of a narcotic like chemical compound. As with all features of her body, the chemical process seemed to affect each who would inhale it differently, seemingly incapable of being lethal.

As she withdrew the last traces of the tiny spore-like compounds in the air escaped her lips and shimmered only briefly before all the spores seemed to fade into nothing. With the light of the spores dying so too did the inner light within Lahkesis, the last of the glow fading, her hair falling gently around her face, seemingly longer now, as the rainbow hues slowed and became solid in a vivid ultramarine color.

Lahkesis Fell backward from heather, her body falling now at nearly the normal rate, though she did seem to fall surprisingly lighter and as the glow of her eyes seemed to fade last she looked around the room, gazing at each person there for a moment as a look of confusion grew across her features.

"Where am I?" she asked as her eyes fell on Hi'Jak, her voice not that of the same woman he had spoken to only a handful of hours before. For better or for worse, the woman they had all known as Lahkesis Saugn was now gone and a new creature, a changed creature, now sat on the floor before them, seemingly unashamed of her nakedness.

---

[ Nephele Soong | Medical Bay | Precept-ship Versant ]
[Show/Hide]OOC: Information about the change - Teslyliac Typing Info (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Teslyliac#Teslyliac_Typing)

OOC: Naming - Now you may be asking yourself, WTF has been up with Lahkesis's name in these posts and WTF is up with her having another new name. The answer is surprisingly simple. Type B Teslyliac Duplicates made by Lahkesis's maker were named after lesser beings within the Greek pantheon, Type A was named after goddesses. Each was built with 2 names, just in case they would one day achieve Type A status. The name Nicotiana was given to her by Hi'Jak and thus was purpose given as his way of claiming some part of her. She will only respond to the name if he speaks it and if anyone else speaks it, she will object. As for the name Nephele it now acts as her "true name". If you are familiar with naming practices in some cultures, a person's true name is only given to one they bind themselves with in a truly intimate way. As Lahkesis has not done so, her given name on all records will remain Lahkesis and she will still respond to it, however soon enough she will reveal said name to a limited number of people, and given her story thus far I believe many of you may be able to guess who the first to learn it will be.

For the purposes of my posts, I will have her refer to herself as Nephele at this point, however, when she speaks of her name it will be Lahkesis. Hopefully, this does not seem to complex and please be aware that she would prefer to be called her given name in most circumstances as her true name has a power over her she would prefer most do not learn of.

[ Vigenary Model I-9 Surgical Android (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=V-Nine) | Bridge Module | The Versant ] Attn: All
[Show/Hide]As her cranial unit slowly swivelled to the first speaker, V-Nine had no experience with the kind of emotion that could be heard in the outburst. This loud demand, from a woman with a blue colour in her hair, to know what had happened to Echtand qi Versant. V-Nine's lens whirred as it focused on the speaker, as well as the next, a human - with a tail? - who answered her with the obvious fact of the Voice's demise. Another thing that was inconclusive for V-Nine was the way in which the Commanding Officer - Sclergyn - looked away, as if she did not wish to answer, and the woman with the blue in her hair vanished into the small crowd. Organic emotions were quite incalculable, as far as V-Nine could determine.

Then, V-Nine saw that an Andorian shen had pushed her way to the front instead, and demanded the research done on the Andorians, along with the findings of an investigation team. According to V-Nine's memory bank, Sclergyn had led both the Andorian and Ovri mating research, but the Commanding Officer did not speak immediately - looking introspective. When she did speak, her voice was a bit more quiet than before. "I am afraid there never was an investigation team assembled to solve the decline of the Andorian birth rates. The Savi have no interest in that kind of research. The task set before me was to update the Archive with information lost in the latest Cataclysm, cataloguing the mating rituals of your species. I conducted this research as according to the Code that I knew at the time... and I used falsehood to create incentives for you to initiate coitus. My apologies."

V-Nine saw how the Andorians in the crowd of specimens received these news, but she had a hard time determining their reactions. Was it... rage? Regret? Shame, because of the public humiliation in front of their peers? Sclergyn raised her hands, perhaps trying to appease them? "All I could determine with certainty - if there is any kind of consolation - is that the four of you had a very high compatibility rate, the chances for offspring almost certain. This is why you were taken in the first place. I regret my actions, now that I follow the Old Code, but there is nothing more the Savi can do for you."

Having been informed that she'd only aid in reversing the Corrections, V-Nine looked between the Andorians and the Commanding Officer with her lens, and then looked down, wringing her hands. She was programmed to not speak out of turn, else she would have offered her services as a form of compensation - even if her success-ratio was yet unknown. The one who spoke next was the Aspect-Maker, whom V-Nine had been led to believe was the leader of the specimens.

"When can we be returned to our ship?" she said. Demanded? V-Nine wasn't sure about the tonality.

Sclergyn folded her arms beneath her chest. "I would assume you are referring to the Federation starship Theurgy, since the Borg destroyed the Endeavour? We only picked up specimens from her escape pods."

Those words seemed to give the Aspect-Maker great pause. It almost seemed like she couldn't believe what she just heard. She even turned to look at some of the faces in the crowd, as to confirm what Sclergyn qi Versant had just said. Soon, however, she turned back to the throne and the Savi. "If there are Borg present in the Azure Nebula, then the Alpha Quadrant might be facing an invasion. On behalf of the Federation, we hereby request the aid of the Savi to repel them. This ship could be decisive in a battle with..."

The Aspect-Maker's words trailed off, because Sclergyn was already shaking her head slowly where she stood.

"Even in the old Code, it is clear that we have merely observed. We have never engaged with the empires we've seen rise and fall. The Borg is known to us. They do not know of us. We wish to keep it that way. It would be in your best interest as well, since if they were to assimilate Savi technology, they would prove even more unstoppable. W-"

"When can we be returned to the Theurgy?" the Aspect-Maker said. Now, V-Nine was quite sure she demanded the answer.

Sclergyn did not look amiable. "Unless you noticed, the Scions are trying to reclaim command of the Versant. The Antes that have yet to read an-"

"Frankly, I couldn't care less at this point," snapped the Aspect-Maker, her hands fists at her sides as she walked towards the throne. "The Savi have killed officers in my crew when you first abducted us. You have held us prisoners for days. Against our will, you have preformed experiments upon us. Defiled us. Liquefied us and fed us to this ship! You may have been ignorant, this Code of yours corrupted - as you say - but the Federation is now in danger, threats both foreign and domestic. You've treated us like animals, and this zoo that you think you're privy to observe upon, it may be destroyed unless you commit to it's protection! We demand you do right by us!"

Sclergyn looked away when V-Nine turned her cranial unit towards her. "Before we can do anything for you, the Old Code needs to b-"

Suddenly, V-Nine's servos had to compensate for a sudden shift. The whole Bridge shook, and the Azure Nebula moved outside the viewscreen. She turned her teal lens back towards the bridge, and she could see Antes in the control alcoves, lining the sides of the bridge. They were shouting, and V-Nine's audio receptors had a hard time making out the words. Sclergyn held on to the throne, shouting back to the Antes on the alcoves. V-Nine's lens saw something glimmer among the specimens, and zoomed in. There was a dark-haired female holding what looked like a metallic brain, and she seemed to have attached it to a Savi tablet.

"Captain," she said, and V-Nine could hear it since she had activated her directional microphone program when she zoomed in, "I don't know how long this energy cell will last, but I am connected to the Versant through the subspace network that the Savi are using. I have already laid in a course towards my hull. Some of the ship's engines are still damaged, but I will have an ETA soon."

"Well done, Thea," said the Aspect-Maker, and she then looked at the Antes around them. "Can you do something about our hosts?"

"I have already accessed their life support systems. I am filling the neonox with a higher mixture of oxygen," said the woman, who did not appear organic to V-Nine's sensors. What was she? And was she killing everyone? It might have been an obvious question, for the woman already supplemented her reply. "I will not kill them, of course. I will keep them unconscious until we are off this ship."

"Aspect-Maker!" called Sclergyn from the side of the Throne, her face twisted in rage. She reached towards the leader of the specimens. "I should have known... Your kind... caused us... the latest... Cata..."

V-Nine raised one of her hands to the front of her cranial unit, seeing how Sclergyn slumped towards the deck. There were still twelve armoured guards, with their own neonox supplies, and shocked as they were, they were about to attack the specimens. The Aspect-Maker was quicker. "Thea! Forcefield!"

In the nick of time, the woman made of photons had complied, and the specimens were protected from the flare of graviton beams. Next, before they could change their tactics, the guards were transported out of the bridge, merely leaving their rifles clattering against the deck. Once everything was still, only V-Nine was left standing on the podium, in front of the specimens. She had little in terms of social skills, and none of her programming quite covered that kind of scenario. She supposed she did have her allotted task, and that was to lend her aid. She folded her hands behind her back.

"As I was saying, you may call me Vi. I look forward to making your acquaintance," she said, making sure she had a pleasant tone.

"Defend the bridge!" called the Aspect-Maker, and she changed... into a man? V-Nine wondered if that was a habit of that specimen, and if she was required to change pronouns at every turn too. Either way, the next call was decidedly male in tone. "The Scions can breathe air, and right now, there is nothing between them and us. We have to make sure Thea stays in control of this ship! To arms!"

As the specimens acted on those orders, the Versant went to warp, on a course towards the Theurgy.

- FIN

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OOC: If anyone cares to post a Supplemental thread where we can write how they fare, I welcome it! I can do it too if I am quick enough though. :) I'll happily participate with any and all characters until the Versant appears in Chapter 05: Battle of the Apertures!

This concludes Chapter 04: True Nature. To keep both the Borg and the TFA from detecting them, Ives will decide against sending a message to the Theurgy, since they are bound to reach them very soon anyway. Thea may even figure out how to cloak the ship on approach, when the sensors pick up on the Borg and Klingon ships at the heart of the Azure Nebula. Thank you for all the fun we've had on the Versant (so far)!