Star Trek: Theurgy

CH05: S [D04|1415] A Tactician's Debrief

April 26, 2018, 05:11:19 PM

Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1415 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

[Tesserarius Lorad | Personnal Quarters | Deck 8 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton
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Lorad sat on the end of the mattress in the bedroom he had chosen; the room filled with the ambient light from the surrounding nebula. The quarters he had been assigned had a three room design with a common area in the middle with a bedroom at each end. He had chosen the room to the right of the entrance and the first thing he had done was have Jennifer show him how to lower the light levels down to something that was comfortable for him. He wasn’t sure how it had affected Jennifer’s vision and a part of him realised that he hadn’t even considered it. And that felt wrong to him.

After everything she had done for him. The transporter room, the sickbay, getting quarters for him and being present when he had spoken with Captain Trent; she deserved better than that. But how to make it up to her.

Thinking of the meeting with Captain Trent brought up everything in his mind again of what they had spoken about and some choices that Lorad would have to make very soon regarding his presence aboard this ship. The Theurgy, they had called it.

Lorad was considering how to send a message to the fiery-haired Lieutenant Commander when the door to his quarters chimed. Broken from his thoughts, Lorad stood up and moved towards the entrance. A part of him hoped that perhaps she had come to check on him.

Reaching the door, he opened it to find a man, a little shorter and leaner than himself, standing there.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1345 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #1 – May 06, 2018, 09:02:06 AM

[ LCDR Leon Marquez | Personal Quarters | Deck 8 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]

A few moments earlier, Leon had been on the flag bridge working with the Ex-KDF tactician on utilizing potential use of every and any weapon in Theurgy's arsenal, particularly only the one vector's payload. It wasn't much, but there had been accounts of vessels taking on exponentially-larger hostile craft and prevailing. None came close to the vessel Leon had obsessed about destroying ever since some of his old crew were kidnapped. Never mind just revenge, but at some point that craft would want to pay the Federation worlds a visit amid the chaos caused by the Parasites. The line had to be drawn, and he'd need every input, however minute and trivial. From a memorandum on the bridge during his evaluations with Zyrao, Leon received word that they'd just rescued a Reman shuttlecraft. Leon's ever sharp coach's instincts began drawing and analyzing habitually as he conjured up a short-list of potential maneuvers. Privately, upon receiving the knowledge of a Reman crewmate or passenger, he also conjured up any latent or active knowledge he had or the Romulans' soldier caste.

Upon acting on the initative of having a potential asset to train, he was played the figurative 'good cop', routine, as despite his gruff exterior, Marquez was more than willing to lead with an olive branch instead of a closed fist but was not beyond testing out just a bit of contention or competition. During the Eagle Project, a betazoid officer informed him that some of the Romulan shock troops retained some sense of low-yield telepathy. Though the Remans were disguised by identity-hiding visors, Leon was under strict orders not to speak to them nor concern himself with their well-being. It wasn't until he read about the Reman uprising that he learned of the inhabitants of Romulus II, now established to the quadrant as the Reman race. In retrospect, Striker wondered if that Scorpion-class was in fact of Reman design, rather than Romulan as his counterpart claimed.

Upon his arrival, Leon's tactical monocle translated onto an issued PaDD into a series of hieroglyphics onto Lorad's granted programming, so that Marquez's communications left nothing apart from translation as he broadcasted the very feeds that were new to him only relatively recently regarding developing matters in the Beta Quadrant.

"Who is this man to you?" Leon showed a copy of the last Romulan Praetor. "Or this ship?" Leon indicated a direct rendering of the Human warlord's vessel. "Your people launched a revolt against the Romulan Praetor and the Senate. An in-road to peace was formed before the Romulan civil war. One ship. One dreadnought nearly wiped out the Federation. One man can make the difference in this quadrant. Can one make it aboard this ship when as-many lives are at stake? Human -or- Reman?" He cemented the thesis of the nature of his visit. "I'd like all the expertise you can spare: We're facing a craft that defies description, and it's hunting us." Suspecting that would get the Reman's attention, he continued, staying in the quaters' door way.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1345 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #2 – May 07, 2018, 05:32:12 AM

[Tesserarius Lorad | Personnal Quarters | Deck 8 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton
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Lorad stared at the man in the doorway, unmoving and unresponsive as he wondered what to do. On the one hand, this ship had saved not only his life but also that of his sister’s. They had provided him a place to stay. And so far, they had been nice about it.

But this man. He was rude, demanding and confrontational. He had not even introduced himself before he produced a PADD and began demanding answers to questions. Questions that Lorad would calmly have answered if this man had had the forethought to consider the situation Lorad found himself in at the present time. He was alone, in a strange place with no idea what to do next.
 
Looking at the PADD, Lorad identified the man as Shinzon; the human that had promised to lead the Remans to freedom but died instead going after a Starfleet Captain. And the ship was the Scimitar that had perished along with Shinzon. But he knew little of the craft that this ship now evaded. And while he would be happy to repay the debt he now owed them; he would not be their slave.

“Shinzon. Scimitar. You sound like Romulan,” Lorad uttered in Federation Standard even as he stepped back into the room before turning his back to the door. “Come back when do not,” he advised before returning to his bedroom and closing the door.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1345 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #3 – May 11, 2018, 09:12:12 PM

[ Lt CDR Leon "Striker" Marquez | Guest Quarters | Deck 14 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]

"You're valuable, and I could use your wisdom in helping us escape a foe that threatens us all without bias." Leon offered, though he had to bend a rule here to get attention. He spoke as clearly into his translator as he'd rehearsed. "Does that sound like something a mere Rihannsu Romulan would say? Gacrux System," Leon listed a stardate towards the end of the last war after the mention of a Romulan Neutral Zone world where the Dominion used an Earth-Romulan War era starbase as a repair outpost until the outbreak of hostilities. In some circles on both factions, it was an unpleasant historical site and one of considerable allied bloodshed.

Leon activated opened a translator unit and opened a combat record from his PaDD and the screen in the quarters illuminated (with the contrast/gamma settings pre-set to Reman settings) to show some declassified still photos of Starfleet, Reman and Romulan ground forces reclaiming the planet below while their space forces blew up the concealable siege outpost. Decoded and translated Heiroglyphics aptly enough translated footage with font to explain. In ensuing footage, entire provices were wiped out from retaliatory bombardment but the planet would recover. While it was a tactical victory on land, the staggering loss in orbit kept the battle out of the FNN reports and the Imperial News Ministry, because the Romulan Empire needed victories more than it needed heroes. And the Dominion would continue to carry a resistance-grade presence on the world until the Dominion surrender.

"Starfleet and Imperial forces were besieged until we fought our way out to a D'Deridex in orbit captained by a faceless captain by the name Shinzon, who marooned our Romulan colleagues who died as martyrs by the war's end; I never met nor knew the man himself, but he spared me and my crew." Leon paused when a still image of the man known only as the Viceroy appeared from the Enterprise-E reports. "His first officer sensed we shared the same enemy and we made it back to allied space, where my crew were returned to the Starfleet-Imperial alliance and to wage further war against the Dominion. We face a similar common enemy now." Leon explained as best as he could, given his only real familiarity with Remans had barely any words exchanged betweeen one another, the Romulans didn't permit the Remans and Earth-men from speaking to one another, an order given right until they were marooned during the planet Gacrux's evacuation. "I've fought with your kind before, but I've never offered to have a meal with one, until now."

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1345 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #4 – May 21, 2018, 05:56:23 AM

[Tesserarius Lorad | Personnal Quarters | Deck 8 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton
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Lorad sat on the edge of the bed as the man in the other room continued to speak. He said he was valuable but what value could a simple Reman shock trooper be to Starfleet? The next bit was garbled as the man’s voice and a garbled translation overlapped each other. With the Universal Translator disabled in his combadge, it must have been from something the man had brought with him. He mentioned a stardate from near the end of the Dominion War but Lorad didn’t recognise it specifically. He had spent most of the later part of the war behind Dominion lines, raiding small installations and outposts.

The man stopped speaking at this point, and Lorad was grateful for the silence. His wind was awash with everything that had happened. His sister, his ship, being rescued, his sister in stasis, meeting Commander Jennifer Dewitt and Captain Trent. He had been grateful for the solitude of his assigned quarters after that. But then this man arrives. It had taken all of Lorad's will not to strike the man but walk away instead. It was too much.

But now, with the silence, his mind turned over what he had been told. The man was misinformed about the Reman revolt, such as it was, that was led by Shinzon. Instead of helping Remans, he had only made it more difficult for them in the end. But that was the past. He said he was here for help against a ship that defied description. Personally, Lorad had never heard of such a thing. Anything could be described if one had the time and the patience.

In the other room, the man began speaking again but Lorad ignored it to consider his options. He could sit in this room until his sister was healed. He could wander the ship, maybe learn in their library. Or he could do something that he was good at and trained for. Making his decision, Lorad stood and padded over to the door.

"I've fought with your kind before, but I've never offered to have a meal with one, until now." The man stated as the door opened and Lorad saw the screen on the wall shut down.

"And you won't have one until your manners improve," Lorad announced in Reman from the door way, his arms folded across him as he looked down at the man. "I will assume you are here because you know who I am. But, in case you have forgotton. I am the Reman shock trooper, Tesserarius Lorad."

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1415 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #5 – June 09, 2018, 08:39:43 AM

[ LCDR Leon Marquez | Personal Quarters | Deck 8 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]


"My name's Lieutenant Commander Leon Marquez; call me Leon.", he clarified, changing his tone and his features changed to match a more diplomatic approach rather than his usual coach-y one. "Sorry for the rudeness but I presumed you would be partial to a more familiar attitude, I'm normally the," the 'good' cop, he thought to himself but didn't pause, "One who reminds others that we're not Romulans... nor Imperials." He offered a handshake and transmitted the gesture's meaning through his padd's program in what Meony sometimes referred to as an 'emoji'. He made notice of the reman's clawed hands, and considered the forearm handshake but opted for the more universal gesture.

Unlike most Imperial-aligned races, average Romulans believed Earthers and their allies to be unpredictable barbarians. Leon, Jimmy and other volunteers first served on a D'Deridex in the early weeks of the romulan alliance and were subject to an unprecedented culture clash, with only Leon seeming to actually appear to enjoy the Romulan cuisine. Now, it time to get to know a Reman, without any Imperial officers around to keep the Earthmen and Warrior-caste from interacting. Nor any stigma regarding the unspoken thought regarding the late Praetor's superweapon.

"I'll tell you what, then, Lorad." Marquez took an inspection of the quarters, then input a visual depiction of the Helm Vector's gymnasium. "There's one thing I feel would do you some good after your... experience out there. Some of the photonic sparring partners may include opponents you may have fought before, and others you haven't but always wanted to." Knowing both the UT and his own pictographic point to point 'text messages' were recording his first attempt at a conversation. "Combat gets the mind going when survival's concerned." Leon quoted an Andorian motto, though the invite was only one of several back-up plans to open a discussion.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1415 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #6 – June 09, 2018, 08:41:30 AM

[ Tesserarius Lorad | Personal Quarters | Deck 08 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton  
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Lorad was confused, was this officer truly that clueless. He had just been rescued from blowing up his own ship and injuring his sister so badly that she was now in stasis. And this Leon had offered him a meal and now a combat session. And that cursed translation program. It was hurting his head. Jennifer Dewitt had seemed nice and understanding but this Lieutenant Commander Marquez was appearing to be the exact opposite.

 But through the pain, he realised something. This man wanted his help. He may not have been sure how to speak with a Reman or perhaps he was just bad with people in general. But he was here now. Lorad didn't know why or what help he could be, but he would listen to what this man had to say.

"No fight; my weapons were taken. You want something from me," Lorad stated in Standard. "What is it? And turn off translator. It hurts my head."

Even if he was rude, this ship and its crew had saved both himself and his sister. He owed them for that. So, he would be patient and try and make this man understand things from his point of view.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1415 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #7 – June 09, 2018, 08:44:20 AM

[ LCDR Leon Marquez | Personal Quarters | Deck 8 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]

There were only a few options he could employ at this rate if he wanted to gain anything worthwhile out of this encounter, and Marquez didn't have any free time to spare, with the Versant on the prowl and a Federation task force out after them, but this was a threat that would indefinitely haunt him when asked many years from now in the event anyone on this vessel was ever pardoned.

From an objective standpoint, it seemed to be a collection barge for only the damned and whoever else came in on their own accord. Leon found it foolish for anyone with anything to contribute to withhold it for the sake of mutual survival, but if they lobotomized this Reman and taken away his hands so that he'd never spar again? Marquez may have understood. Alas, he knew the Star Empire to be efficient, rather than completely barbaric.

"We're being hunted by Starfleet under the command of Founder-class infiltrators." he admitted, hoping to keep it brief "We need your help to survive. We'll return the favor for you and your sister and get you to safety when we're out of this mess. I'll even throw in a new pair of hands for you if it helps you get your sparring edge back, but if you don't need them, I'll be in the gymnasium." Leon turned to leave, pausing in the doorway before either staying or striding out, at either rate he wasn't going to stand about. "There's a photonic array there, and the Romulan opponents make for challenging targets."

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1415 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #8 – June 09, 2018, 08:46:27 AM

[ Tesserarius Lorad | Personal Quarters | Deck 08 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton
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“Wait,” Lorad called out as the Lieutenant Commander turned to leave. He did not understand why he would need new hands. But this man had information he needed. 

His father had taught him that knowing his opponent was important. To know how they fight, how they die. What they believe is honourable and what they believe is dishonourable. Because these things could guide how a person, a unit, even a civilisation fought. Were they willing to commit suicide to complete their goal? Lorad had himself been taught to consider all options when it came to completing his own missions but that to throw his life away recklessly was the act of a coward.

Now, he was here, on Vector 01 of the Federation starship Theurgy. And he had a mission. If he was to protect his sister, and this ship as a by-product, he had to get that information. Even if it meant doing something he didn’t want to. 

“You have information of the threats to this ship? And you want my help to survive? That is why you came here?” Lorad asked as he rubbed his head. That translator this man had activated was getting to be very painful.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1415 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #9 – June 09, 2018, 08:48:57 AM

[ LCDR Leon Marquez | Personal Quarters | Deck 8 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]

Leon left out to the corridor, but methodically felt deliberately annoyed enough to take off his monocle headset and pocket his padd before leaving the otherwise painstaking effort to break the ice with the reman to return to its origins in the replicator before he turned to leave.  In the event this happened to be a culture-clash, it was best to metaphorically roll up his sleeves and explain the situation, leaving it up to chance and the Universal Translator.

"Starfleet is hunting former bystanders like you and I. With extreme prejudice. That means no quarter, no mercy." Leon narrowed his words. "You and I are caught in the crossfire unless we can do something about surviving on the same craft for as long as we can. Neutral Zones, Alliances, Borders be damned, we've got loved ones aboard." If that didn't translate well enough, Marquez didn't know what would. "So how about we find some common ground and talk shop?" He concluded, redispensing the translator into the replicator buffer of the guest quarters.

Excerise had been what he hoped for at first, working with more exercise-infused hemoglobin to get his mind thinking more rapidly, but an early afternoon mug of Andorian coffee would get his gears going, and he ordered one with a word in Andorian, and seemed to leave the invite open. They'd talk in here if they had to; Leon didn't seem to mind the darkness.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1415 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #10 – June 11, 2018, 11:23:22 AM

[ Tesserarius Lorad | Personal Quarters | Deck 08 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton
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At least he had gotten rid of that annoying painful translator. The pain in his head began to lessen as Lorad watched the man get a cup of some foul-smelling drink from the replicator. It seemed like he was prepared to talk more normally so that Lorad could begin to try and understand him; if that was at all possible. Lorad didn't have a shop to talk about. And he had no idea what a bystander was, so how could both he and this Lieutenant Commander be one. But he understood no mercy. That had been his life since birth. No mercy was an old friend.

"You have said many strange things, Leon Marquez. Most of which do not make sense to me," Lorad said slowly in Reman as he moved around the room to the window, gazing out into the Azure Nebula for a moment as he gathered his thoughts and translated everything he had heard so far, before turning back around to refocus on the Human. "You have mentioned a merciless Starfleet, a vessel that defies description and infiltrators that rival those from the Dominion. Of what help could a Reman Shock Trooper be to you in facing these threats?" Lorad didn't understand why this man was here. But he knew he wanted something.

"I have given this ship weapons and technology that you did not have," Lorad proclaimed. "What else is left for me to give? What would you take?"

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1415 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #11 – June 12, 2018, 02:02:30 AM

[ LCDR Leon Marquez | Turbolift| Deck 8 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]

"Your wisdom, Shock Trooper." Leon had been career Starfleet and needed reference points to break ice with first contact species, leading his point by addressing Lorad's rank. The Reman's choice in words almost made Leon want to dumb-down many of his responses, he answered in the spirit of cultural clashing. "You might know this, but our kind were unwitting adversaries. My kind made it a point of policy to attempt communications with and negotiate with any faction." He indicated Remans in the Romulan War.

Leon led Lorad to a turbolift and waited until they had a queue of other await-ees for the turbolift. Almost as if he'd willed it, he noticed a Tellarite and a Benzenite midshipman duo carry on a report on phaser weaponry. Phaser pulse cannons and torpedo volleys versus a bait and bash point of view, akin to a Tellarite scorpion. The exchanged appeared minor and the two continued their business.

Privately, Leon kept a dialect almost to a directed near-whisper. "What do you make of our situation? On Romulus, there exists a certain.... ecosystem about it, where predators and prey live among eachother. Seems like a universal constant." Leon disguised their topic, hoping his counterpart got the hint to keep classified information or potential secrets about Reman combat tactics and survival in a Jungle, whether on Romulus, the diverse jungle world with as many peaks, valleys, buttes and... population centers as Earth. And Remus. Even Marquez had read further on Captain Riker's logs on Romulus-II. "How do the prey elude one of their own? An outcast predator apart from its pack?"

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1415 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #12 – June 18, 2018, 11:58:33 AM

[ Tesserarius Lorad | Personal Quarters | Deck 08 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton
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This man was, Lorad did not know a word to describe what he thought of this man. One moment he was sitting and enjoying a drink and the next, he had stood and walked out the door without a word except to say that he wanted Lorad’s knowledge. Lorad, having no understanding of what this Lieutenant Commander Marquez meant, could do nothing but follow him out the door and down the corridor.

As they waited at a turbolift, Lorad heard but pointedly ignored a conversation between two other members of the crew; a Tellarite and a Benzenite. But then Leon began to speak again and Lorad listened as he spoke about predators and prey before asking how one evades the other. He tried not to be insulted by the reference to the Romulus ecosystem; Lorad had never set foot upon the capital of the Romulan Star Empire.

"Predators and their prey, even when sharing an area, are always aware of what the other is. That is the nature of the relationship between them. The prey is always wary of the predator, keeping them at a distance, lest they be attacked. It is the need to hunt in the predator that tips the balance," Lorad said in Reman as he considered the second question. "A predator that is away from the pack, either seeks to create a new pack from others like itself or chooses to hunt different prey that it can kill and consume on its own."

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1415 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #13 – June 21, 2018, 08:49:47 AM

[ LCDR Leon Marquez | Turbolift| Deck 8 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]

Leon smirked. "Humans are a diverse species too; many peoples under one species. My own people revered warbirds and pictographic hieroglyphics. At some point before their pre-industrial empire was outclassed by a more modern civilization, of... predators. Invaders. Foreigners." Leon inferred to what scientists and theoretical physicists compared to when one species in all its glory could fall to biological or technological superiority. From his time spent with the acerbic Romulans, the parralels of subjucation and tyranny of other races for the sake of empire, Leon was hoping there was at least that in common.

The moment was interrupted by the telltale ping of a Starfleet hail. Something was up. "Marquez here." He listened intently, holding onto his earbud, the one he ham-handedly attempted to use to communicate with Lorad. Fortunately, the Universal Translator sufficed to interpret the Reman's words before he headrd

"I'll be right over. Summon Zyrao to the AI Core and inform the XO that he'll have a list of solutions on his desk before the day is out. Thanks, Klex." Leon answered after thoughtfully mulling over the Reman's advice and the progress he and the El-Aurian, Zyrao Natauna had made.  "There's to a session in the gym at 2145. We can talk more then. Marquez out."

Leon concluded the transmission and had to cut this moment short. "Shock trooper." He offered. "There's a provisional position here with our crew if you feel you could be of service. " His tone was reflective of an idea that was soon becoming a possibility. "There's no obligation to accept, nor is there a reason to decline, but it would be an honor to have you among many." This was Leon's stop in the turbolift. "You have my channel, and my trust." Marquez nodded as he stepped off the turbolift

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 1415 hrs. ] A Tactician's Debrief

Reply #14 – June 23, 2018, 12:20:37 PM

[ Tesserarius Lorad | Turbolift | Deck 08 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton 
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Now what was he supposed to do? There he was standing in the turbolift as the doors shut on the departing form of the officer that had come to him, wanting his wisdom or so he said. He had led him from his quarters to here, going Lorad knew not where; and now he was gone. Lorad felt the urge to punch the wall but felt that would not leave a good impression with the other crewmembers that currently occupied the space with him. 

He had thought before that he spoke oddly, but now he was sure of it. But perhaps that was just the way he was. Maybe that was what his life had made him. Lorad had seen Remans that were so broken from their time in the mines that they were no longer able to speak coherently. All they did was mumble and the words they said made no sense. But he apparently had the officer's trust, such as it was. Lorad assumed that was a good thing; he wasn't sure of it though.

But back to the problem at hand, what was he supposed to do now. Alone, on a strange ship, where he knew no one.

"Deck 8."

- FIN