Star Trek: Theurgy

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #25 – January 18, 2019, 10:53:20 PM

[Zyrao Natuana | Never Take the Easy Road | Cutting a New Path | Girls Just Want to have Fun]
@Auctor Lucan

Sera was surprised, by the hug.

Zyrao thought she must have mistepped and endeavored not to do so again.  She was not the type to form heavy commitments so easily it was only that they had spent a long night enjoying each other's company and bonding.  She thought Sera a friend, at the very least, and she had been worried knowing that her one and only companion on this Shit-ship had been out there fighting.  The El-Aurian could feel the woman relax in her arms for a moment and knew that while surprising it was not unwelcome.  Still, she would have to hold her physical affections at bay.  Only glad the woman was alive, she would allow herself this one platitude to hold onto her for the moment before stepping back.

They had to move. 

As she mentioned that she had wished to do so earlier and refrained, Sera told her not to let Starfleet propriety get in the way of such things.  A slight smirk on the El-Aurian's features and a single nod of the head.  “I will not.” she gave him a bit of a smirk as they stepped fully inside the ship and Zyrao closed the hatch so that no one would be able to hear what they were up to or their plans. 

Telling Sera they were already out of warp caused the reaction that she had imagined she would get.  Sera was shocked and not ready, neither of them were, but if they were going to make their move they needed to do it now.  Now was their window, their opportunity, it had to be now or they would be stuck.  Neither of them would do well being stuck and suffocating on the life that would be offered them.  No, they had a very different plan in mind and no one on this ship was going to like it.  Neither woman cared. 

Sera worked her way to the front of the ship and Zyrao followed dodging the overhead wires and guts that had been exposed in Sera's precious ship as they made their way to the front.  The woman in front of her explained that she had run a diagnostic and it was in rough shape before asking if they needed to make their move now.  Zyrao leaned against the copilot seat and looked at the young woman that was so full of life and vigor.  She truly hoped that she would find herself a good place to land one day.  Someone that would appreciate all that Sera had to offer.  She was young, but in many ways she was better than many of the Starfleet people that she had come into contact with.  There were times that age matter, and times that it didn't.  Though what really pissed Zyrao off was rank.  Starfleet prided on rank and rank alone, making sure people were called by rank and not name, and it bothered her to no end because there were so many people out there without a rank.. without this  Starfleet Academy that would have so much to offer but, like her, were over looked merely because she lacked a Starfleet Rank.

She could throw other ranks at them.  El-Aurian, KDF, her vast experiences with various races.  But no, they knew none of that.  Not a single person had asked her past, and that was fine, she wasn't a free book.  This was no library.  Only some would ever know the truth behind Zyrao.

“If we don't go now, we won't get to go.  Fire her up.  We have to at least try.” she said to the young woman as she collapsed herself down into the seat next to where Sera would place herself.  Sera chimed in with the computer's read out of the situation and Zyrao let out a long low whistle.  “It doesn't have to be fast, qul tIq , it just has to be capable.” she admitted giving Sera a spur of the moment nickname while she was thinking about it.  She brushed her thumb across the bottom of her lip, calling Sera 'fire heart' was something that just came to her, but it fit well and she figured she would probably use it from time to time. 

Sera saw the moon, and Zy's eyes shifted and narrowed on the place where she and Sera had met.  More so than that, was where her people had died.  Swallowing, she clenched her fists, still unsure that she hadn't made a mistake.  Saving the Fleeters had given her nothing but grief.  If she had stayed with the Klingon she would have been responsible for all their deaths but she would still have her place of prestige among her ship.  Words from beside her and Zyrao looked over at the young woman and gave her a bit of a shake of the head.

“No, I'm definitely sure.  These fuckers used and abused the both of us.  Get us off this fucking ship and good riddance.  Our skills will be missed but it is their loss.” she said to the young woman.  Gripping Sera's shoulder she gave it a warm squeeze.  “Lets do this.  Together.  Lets go.”

Sitting in the seat, she began to buckle herself in while Sera began to get the shuttle ready.  She was definitely not going to miss this fucking place.  She hoped that it did well, there were probably good people here.  She hadn't met any, but there probably were.  Well.. there was Dewitt, she hadn't been bad.  And Marquez had been all right the brief conversation they had.  But the rest, could rot.

“Take us off, Qul Tlq.”

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #26 – January 19, 2019, 10:58:01 AM

[ Lt. Cmdr Thomas Ravon | Hanger | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BZ @Masorin

The big Gorn was hard to miss as he flagged Ravon to come over, by the looks of things he was carrying something big and new. He walked over to Sithick and Ji as she was there to outfit the fighters and get any last minute adjustment to any birds. It was good to see Ji, the last time he had seen her in the weapons storage area she had been in pain and didn't look to be in a happy place, until the drugs kicked in. He wasn't aware that she had already been fit to leave sickbay, otherwise he would've checked in on her. Time however was short and against him to catch up.

Once he arrived at the Gorn he smiled at him as he presented the weapon prototype. He had heard Rawley call out something to volunteer and he could already imagine the woman wanting to retrofit her fighter with it. He looked at the weapon and squatted as he inspected it "Gravity cannon huh..." he murmured as he let his fingers trace over it "Can you run the specs to me? I'll see which fighter I'll assign to have it mounted on." he said to the Gorn with a nod before he turned his attention to Ji.

"Glad to see you back on your feet. You had me worried there for a moment." he smiled with a wink at Ji before he looked back at the Gorn "I'll let you guys know ASAP when I made a decision about the new weapon. I have someone I need to talk to first."

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #27 – January 21, 2019, 02:56:08 AM

[ Tessa May Lance, callsign:  Goldeneye | Fighter Assault Bay | Briefing room | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan,  @Multificionado @Havenborn @Triton @Stegro88 @patches @Fife @Firefox013 @The Ostrich @Griff, @Vox

“So, Lillee, it looks we’re sharing an element.  We should schedule some time in the flight simulators so we can learn to act as a team.”

"I agree.  It has been a number of years since I flew as part of a squadron, so the practice would be welcome, as would the company. Assuming, of course, that we are not committed to battle before we have a chance to train. This insane starship goes to battle like a babe to their mother's teat."

Tessa noticed the formal bow.  Apparently Petty Officer t'Jellaieu was raised in the same conservative region on Vulcan that Doctor Maya was.  The chances of Lillee bonding with Tessa over a simulation of the children’s holo series ‘Pretty Pretty Pegasus’ seemed painfully low.  But perhaps there was another way they could cut through the culture barrier and think as a unit. 

“Yeah, it sure does seem like everybody out there is trying to kill us,” Tessa agreed.  “Scuttlebutt has it that we’ve picked up some survivors from the Dauntless and the Bellerophon.  We might as well just put them in cryosleep right now.  There’s no way they’re going to join us if we blew up their starships!”

She coughed politely as she collected her thoughts.  “Say, I’m going to go over to the food replicator and get myself a strawberry daiquiri.  Do you want anything?” 

When push to came to shove alcohol was a good way to lower the barriers.  Of course, Sh’muk, the Vulcan helmsman Tessa had served with aboard the James Kirk had claimed that his people “had been spared from having to suffer the burden of alcohol.”  Did that mean that there was no booze where Lillee had grown up?  But she wasn’t a hundred percent Vulcan was she?  (If she was even part Vulcan at all.)  Besides, Tessa had heard that the Romulans were the master brewers of the galaxy up there with the Tellarites and the Saurians when it came beer so any species related to the Vulcans must be able to appreciate a good drink now and then (unless Lillee was very religious).

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #28 – January 22, 2019, 07:52:27 PM

[ Sera vers Aldnoah | Upper Shuttle Bay | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] 
[Show/Hide]

The touch on her shoulder, and those strange Klingon sounds she used for her, it was something she'd have to linger on later. The embrace she'd gotten from the El-Aurian had got ideas into her head, but time was simply too short. There weren't even time to tell her how glad she was to hear she hadn't changed her mind, and really wanted to escape together with her. Into the unknown tomorrow.

"Burn you I could kiss you right now," she just murmured and started to power up the Sabine's systems as deftly as she could, her hand darting over the updated LCARS displays. She much preferred the old computer system, that she'd had before Starbase 84 happened, but the interface was similar enough. "Okay, we have thrusters online, and I am activating the antigrav units underneath the ship."

Said and done, the Sabine lifted off the shuttle bay's deck... but they were not the only ones moving. They could see the Coreless Moon moving outside there as well, and it seemed the Theuergy was turning - no longer in it's position. She could hear voices from outside the cockpit, coming from the deck crew out there. They were waving for them to land. Quite frantically, to add.

"Blast it!" she said, yellow eyes darting over the sensors. "The Theurgy is powering up as well. They are about to go to warp. I just might..."

With a hard press with her finger on the controls, she activated the twin thrusters on top of the Sabine, and it lurched forward. It resulted in more shouts from outside, and Sera activated the external PA speaker on her ship. "Drop the SI field out there, now! Or I'll...!"

She got no further, since the Coreless Moon elongated before their eyes, stretching out along with the stars inside the nebula. "No!" she called out, no longer on the speaker, but the ire plainly there in her tone. "Scorch me bloody and haul my blasted ashes!"

The Theurgy was at warp. The Structural Integrity field remained in their way, and Sera had to abort the Sabine's momentum towards the bay doors. Eyes ablaze, she pulled back, and without any other option, she ground her teeth together and keyed in the landing sequence. She had been prepared to threaten the Starfleeters to use her phasers, just to get out of the bay, but it had already been too late. With an air of defeat in the cockpit, she reached for the controls and powered down the Sabine.

There were no words to describe the abysmal feeling of hopelessness for Sera, who knew that the next time the ship dropped out of warp, they were likely going to be in the middle of a battle. With the blasted Borg, no less.

The shuttle bay doors closed before them, shutting out the blue light of the nebula, leaving the interior of the Sabine darker. Sera took a deep breath and looked towards Zy. She just didn't know what to say.

"It was a great plan," she said quietly. "You and me, riding into the unknown. I'm sorry, Zy."

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #29 – January 22, 2019, 10:25:36 PM

[Zyrao Natauna | Flight to Freedom | Shoot for the Moon | Land Among Stars | Two Badass Babes, More Than One Ship Can Handle]
@Auctor Lucan

The woman was nothing, if not effective.  She quickly began to work her hands over the buttons and knobs, and the display that was something similar to what Zyrao had noticed the Fleet used on all it's consoles.  She supposed there was likely even a way to change the language to something that she could read and understand but this was for Sera and it was Sera's ship.  That would be foolish and there was no need to.  The woman to her left knew full well what to do and she would get them off this damn ship where they would be free to go finally.  When Sera mentioned that she could kiss Zyrao the El-Aurian grinned darkly as she looked over at the beautiful woman at her side.

“Plenty of time for that, qul tlq.” she grinned.  “Freedom awaits.”

She could feel that gut sinking feeling as the gravity that held them to the floor of the bay disconnected and the Sabine was free floating.  There were people running for them.  “Don't let them stop us, Sera, they will keep us prisoner.” she whispered softly, and the last thing she wanted right now was to be a slave to the Federation.  After what she had seen here she was not thrilled and regretted every choice she had made including the one where she had contacted Ives.  She should have let the fucking ship explode for all the thanks she got having worked her ass off to save so many.

Zyrao heard the words that she could not believe.  That the Theurgy was already prepping for warp.  Her eyes shifted over to Sera, and gave her a nod.  “We have to do it.  It's worth every ounce of threat.”  she confessed to the younger woman who seemed to feel all the same.  Neither of them said much of anything as Sera looked at the Moon which was moving away from them, and neither of them wanted to stay.  The impulse engines fired and they rushed towards the beautiful freedom that was in front of them.  The bay doors were open but they needed the shield to come down.

Sera slammed down on the communications button about to threaten every fucker on this deck to open that shit so they could pass or else.  But, then, … everything went to shit.  Zyrao's heart sunk in her chest heavily as she watched the moon elongate right before they entered warp.  She sat back with a hard sharp sigh into the seat behind her as Sera quickly set the ship back down on the deck and everything was quiet for a long moment.  Zyrao didn't know what she wanted to do.  Scream, beat something in until it was no longer the shape it had been, her own form of Mutiny, or just fucking give up.  For a moment Zyrao's head hung her neck stretched out that the tattoo on the back of it could be seen in its full for a long moment.

The Borg.

The fucking Borg.

She could have lived the rest of her interminably long life and never run into them and she would have been just fine.  She had barely survived them the first time.  She had survived the Kzin, she had survived the Cardassians, the Breen, and the mother fucking Klingon.  But, this.. this might be more than she could bear.  The Borg that had come in and taken all that was for her.  All that meant something to her.  The one man she had first loved, the family she had loved, the people she had fought beside.  They had destroyed her entire race.  She swallowed heavily.  Hoping that if she came face to face with one of them it was not a face she would remember.

Taking a shuddering breath, she heard Sera speaking.  About how the opportunity was gone.  The plan was good.  And an apology after.  For a long moment the El-Aurian sat there, slumped as she tried to find that inner piece of anger that had always spurred her along.  The fact that she was a survivor and refused to die.  She refused to go down without a really good fucking fight though if the borg were coming there would be no fight. 

It would be a reaping.

Swallowing, her throat worked for a moment, as she tossed her head back against the head rest on the seat and grey eyes looked up at the ceiling of the Sabine.  Still hanging with exposed wires.  Pulling one foot up in the seat, the tread of her boot biting into the leather of the seat, and then her arm resting on the now bent knee. 

“We don't stand a chance.” she whispered softly.  She knew Sera felt bad, but it wasn't Sera's fault. It was Zyrao's luck.  She had never had any.  That or she had used it all up when she escaped the Borg the first time.  Swallowing again, she didn't look at the young woman beside her as she spoke.  Her voice heavy with emotion. 

“They wiped out my race, qul tlq.  A handful of … escaped.  I have survived so much, been through so much.  I was to protect my people, my planet, my race.  I fought.  I fought so hard but we were no match for the Borg.  I had trained my whole life up til that point to defend those around me.  I failed.  I failed and they died.” she said with a heavy voice.  “I can't protect these assholes any more than I could have my own people.”

The tattoos on her arms stood out as she clenched her hand into a fist and rested her forehead on it now.  The tattoos were in all manner of languages.  Some in her native el-Aurian, most in Kzin, some in Breen, and several in Cardassian.  There were pictures as well, there was a lot of ink on her skin.  Her grey eyes were pensive and hard as she stared forward into nothingness.

Problem was, she wanted to protect.  At least, she wanted to protect the beauty that was next to her.  What if she couldn't protect Sera, she seemed like a beautiful warrior but she was soft and untested against the Borg.  A true and heavy weight settled on the soldier's shoulders.

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #30 – January 24, 2019, 01:00:37 AM

[Lieutenant JG Evelyn Rawley, callsign "Ghost" | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Nolan @Doc M. @Masorin @BZ @Firefox013 @Stegro88 @Fife @Vox @Havenborn @Griff @The Ostrich @patches
[Show/Hide]

As Rawley studied the Gorn’s new toy, something began to occur to her: How much power did this bloody thing consume?

If something like this packs a whallop, then odds were, it needed a better power source than a Valkyrie or a Valvarn. Than any class of fighter, to be exact. She was no engineer, but she could tell that toy would need a small ship at least for it to actually work. 

“On second thought, never mind about my request,” she said to Sithick. “If that thing packs a bloody whallop, it could short out one of our fighters easy. And it could be the worst thing that could happen in a battle. You best find yourself another sucker to attach your toy to.”

Stoogie in her mouth, she then returned to watching Phuc and Suvok working on her fighter.

It seemed to her, as she thought about it, that life on the Theurgy was full of surprises. That toy was the latest in a long list of surprises that she had witnessed over the past months…was it a year that had passed since they all had gone on the run? She lost track of time, nor did she ever give days a thought.

On the run or not, she figured a normal life wouldn’t be bloody likely, not as a fighter pilot, not as a Lone Wolf. Not that it mattered; if she wanted a boring life, she wouldn’t have joined the Academy in the first place. And a normal life was boring, if not monotonous, in this day and age, if you didn’t stretch your wings and experience the thrill of interstellar travel.

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #31 – January 26, 2019, 02:09:53 AM

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu | Briefing Room | Fighter Assault Bay | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Doc M.

[Show/Hide]

"Oh, Elements yes, a strawberry daiquiri sounds fantastic right now!" Lillee said with an eager grin as she stood up to walk with her new wingmate, intensely grateful for the woman's open friendliness (and especially the offer of a drink). "It may be syntheholic, but right now, I don't care. Any drink would be wonderful today. With Starfleet, the Klingons, the Borg and who knows what else out there, I haven't been sleeping properly all week."

Taking the initiative, she walked ahead of Tessa to the back of the briefing room, where a small replicator was inset into the bulkhead. "I do adore that about you Terrans. My people may be famous for our ale and meat, but Terran food and drink is just so varied. I keep meaning to give my children proper Rihannsu food, but we all love spicy Bangledeshi and Indian food so much that I can rarely bring myself to it." The off-the-cuff mention of her children stopped Lillee short, her smile briefly vanishing before returning anew as she looked at the replicator. "Two strawberry daiquiris, syntheholic."

After the two glasses fizzled into existence, Lillee took one out and handed it to her new wingmate, still smiling, although her smile was now softer, more sedate. "You fly a Mark III as well, yes?"

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #32 – January 26, 2019, 11:46:44 AM

[ Tessa May Lance, callsign:  Goldeneye | Fighter Assault Bay | Briefing room | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Griff

Tessa noticed Lillee’s smile faltered when she mentioned her children and winced.  Family was a sensitive subject for everyone aboard.  There was no way for the officers and crew of the Theurgy to contact their families without putting their loved ones and/or their shipmates in danger.  Heck for all Tessa knew, every one of her close relatives had met with a fatal accident.  There was always the chance that the big scary conspiracy of parasitic aliens from beyond space would keep their families alive, unhurt, and unaware until someone tried to contact them so they could use them against the Theurgy, so everyone aboard kept their distance.

"You fly a Mark III as well, yes?" Lillee asked as she held out one of the strawberry daiquiris for Tessa to take. 

Tessa started as if woken up from a deep sleep.  “What?  Oh yes, yes,” she stammered as she took the offered beverage.  “The Mark III Valkyrie has better armor and shielding than the Mark II and the Type B Bio-Neural Geldisk FTL Computer Core fulfills all of the functions…” she recited before stopping and blushing, “that you already know about since you’re flying a Mark III Valkyrie too, and I know that because I looked at the new squadron organization chart,” she stammered. 

Despite the incredible difference in rank between the two women Tessa didn’t think she was going to be pulling rank on Petty Officer t'Jellaieu any time soon.  She wasn’t really presenting herself as an expert or a voice of authority.  Maybe Tessa would take charge when they both flew their birds into the black, but she doubted it.

“Well here’s to that ‘death or glory’ spirit, partner!” she toasted in order to cover her gaff before taking a swallow of her daiquiri.

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #33 – January 27, 2019, 05:50:46 PM

[ Sera vers Aldnoah | Upper Shuttle Bay | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] 
[Show/Hide]

Listening to Zy, it was clear that she'd had a nasty run-in with the tech-zombies before. Real nasty. Like, blasted from her home world nasty. Sera had no means to empathise with what that might have been like. Feeling inadequate after such a thorough defeat, and that all training and preparations had been for naught, it might be easy to relate to in small terms, but not when loosing the planet and identity of her people. To have one's shortcomings be the direct cause?

Only though it was't. Even Sera knew this, and she could sense that the El-Aurian was being far too hard on herself. As crestfallen as she felt herself, Sera's way to cope with loss and defeat might be unorthodox... but quite effective. So she gave the El-Aurian a sidelong glance, and grinned quietly.

"Burn me, right now, you're thinking it's all up to you," she said ruefully and rose to her feet. She decided that she was going to try and cheer up this Listener, and perhaps herself in the process. So she leaned down to her where she sat, and draped an arm around the back of Zy's chair, so that she had her face right next to the woman. "You're taking a whole lot more responsibility than you should upon your pretty self. Not like you started the storm, right? You didn't set the fire that burned your people. You told them how to raise shelters and survive, how to quench the flames. Who are you, to say it's your fine ass on the line when they didn't listen, or the storm was simply too strong? Surely it is the storm that bear the blame, yes?"

The scent of the woman was quite intoxicating, when so close, but she didn't make a move. She only bit her lower lip a little, and added. "You know what? You still brought the loot, didn't you?" she said, in a bit of a conspirator's voice, "What do you say about celebrating being alive, as if we were some pre-warp queens of old? Surely we have earned it?"

Having said this, Sera stood up again, and gave the closed bay doors a final look, sighing. Though regretting losses wasn't the way to live. She always tried to look at the moment, and future prospects. There was no way they could escape aboard the Sabine before the Theurgy entered the battle with the Borg. That meant they had so much time to enjoy themselves.

And who knew, perhaps they might escape yet?

"So," she said, the smile returning, and put a tattooed hand on Zy's shoulder, giving it an encouraging squeeze. "Care to show me what you found?"

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #34 – January 28, 2019, 09:00:31 PM

[Zyrao Natauna | Good Distractions | No Time to Mourn the Lost | Moving On | Those to Protect]
@Auctor Lucan

Zyrao did not know what to say.  Right now the world fell heavily against her shoulders and she wished that she had the ability to push it all to the side.  She wished that they had made it off the ship and they could dodge the debris field surrounding the coreless moon.  However, they weren't.  They were stuck and it was something that not only pissed her off but scared her. Little scared the El-Aurian warrior.  She had been through far too much to allow much of anything in the world to get her down.  Yet, she found herself feeling the weight of the Borg invasion as though they were specifically coming for her.  Coming for the one that had gotten away.  She swallowed heavily noticing only in the back of her mind that Sera had put her body into motion. 

She took an inhaled breath, slightly sharp, as arms came around her from behind.  Sera's cheek softly pressed against her own.  The young woman was soft but hard in a good way.  Her body was sheer perfection and she knew exactly what to do with it.  But inside, she was soft, gentle, and Zyrao hoped that she would forever remain as such.  Though, Zyrao could not remember a time that she had ever been so warm and open though she assumed there had to have been a time.

Sera was right.  In all her words, she was right.  Zyrao felt as though, while she didn't know or particularly like the ship, she felt that it was in her very being to save them.  To fight the Borg, take them down, and save as many of them as possible.  Most of them had no idea of the threat that was coming, the heaviness that was settling on this ship.  The fact that the silhouette of doom was coming down upon them at a stout warp.  Sera wasn't wrong though, she hadn't brought the Borg on her home planet, she had fought against the storm and failed but she had not brought them there.  Kind and wise words from a woman that had only known her a few days.

“Are you certain you do not have stone at your center, qul tlq?” she asked curiously as Sera stood up and mentioned something about the rations and supplies that Zyrao had stolen here and there from around the ship. 

She looked over her shoulder at the woman that stood there half way to the bag that Zyrao had brought to the ship and herself.  Finally, the woman squeezed her shoulder and told her that she deserved to have some of fun.  She sighed gently, and brushed her short hair out of her face and she rose smoothly.  Her lips quirked slightly and gave a nod.

“Lets have a fucking party, then.” 

She snapped up the bag from the deck plating and pulled it over.  She didn't bother to open the ramp or anything this was a private party.  She began to pull booze, snacks, food, rations, clothes, and some desserts out of the bag stacking it all around him.  “Keep in mind this was to last us a week or so with rationing but .. I'm going to eat it all.  We may not be alive tomorrow!” she said with a smirk at the young woman beside her.

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #35 – January 30, 2019, 05:01:09 AM

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu | Briefing Room | Fighter Assault Bay | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Doc M.

[Show/Hide]

Tessa's nervous amicability couldn't help but make Lillee smile, even if that nervousness was mirrored in Lillee herself. It was truly surreal to be part of a combat squadron again, to have an actual wingmate, to have her very own fighter once more. The human girl babbled about their craft's advanced technology, and it was so adorably endearing that Lillee chuckled, realised that she was developing a liking towards the human woman instantly.

"To death and glory," she repeated with a grin, taking a swallow of her own drink and relishing the sweet taste, sharpened by the tinge (though illusory) of alcohol. "But more of the latter than the former. What's the use of glory if you're too dead to enjoy it?"

A moment of awkward silence passed, Lillee not knowing what else to say to her new wingmate. What in the Fires did one say to their new wingmate, only hours before they might be thrown against the Borg? They were strangers, yet they also had to trust each other completely, to place their lives in each other's hands without question or hesitation. All in the space of what, a morning? How?

"You were part of the original squadron, correct?" Lillee finally said conversationally, flicking a lock of blonde hair behind her pointed ear, still smiling softly. "I remember your name and callsign from when I came onboard. You have survived all this time, all these battles, all this insanity?"

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #36 – February 03, 2019, 12:30:43 PM

[ Tessa May Lance, callsign:  Goldeneye | Fighter Assault Bay | Briefing room | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Griff

“Oh yes, that’s right, I’m one of the originals,” Tessa nodded,  “and who told you about the insanity?” she asked guiltily, fearing that Lillee had heard about how the pollen from the planet Niga had transformed everyone into rapists and sex maniacs, how the Ishtar entity had affected their emotions, how T’Rena’s brainwashing had turned almost a third of the Theurgy’s officers and crew into mutineers and how the misguided Devoted of Morali had killed a number of her shipmates and put many in sickbay. 

Quickly changing the subject, Tessa cleared her throat and tugged on a lock of her hair that was at the back of her neck.  “There used to be sixteen of us when we went on the run and now there’s only twelve of us left.  No wait,” she frowned.  “We lost Iron-Fox, Morrigan, Outrider, Game, Hurl, and Hat Trick at Starbase 84,” she corrected herself.  “Gun-Shy doesn’t count.  She was a shuttle pilot and only flew with the squadron once.” She gulped as the color drained from her face.  “I mean out of sixteen there’s only six original Lone Wolves left,” she corrected herself.  “No that’s not right,” she frowned.  “No one’s seen Honey Badger since that she, Salvo, and I escorted the Sabine to the Ithacae System.  Okay, that leaves five, five original plank owners of the Lone Wolves left.  No wait, Hardtop and Icarus disappeared during our encounter with the Savi.  We think they were abducted.  So that just leaves… three?” she finished helplessly. 

Her face flushed as she struggled to hold back the tears.  “That’s it?  Out of sixteen, only three original members of the Lone Wolves are left?  Th-that’s all?  Only three of us?”

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #37 – February 05, 2019, 12:56:47 AM

[ LT Daniel Havenborn, Callsign: Salvo | Deck 16, Fighter Assault Bay | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan, @Multificionado, @Doc M., @Stegro88, @patches, @Fife, @Auctor Lucan, @Griff, @Kinvarus

As Daniel was leaving the briefing room he was stopped by one of his new wingmates.  “Lieutenant Garcia; indeed it does.”  He said responding to her, he wasn't fond of her using his callsign outside of a sortie but she was new so he'd let it go for now.  “Yes, my Gryphon did receive an upgrade.  The engines and computer systems were upgraded, so it’s more on par with the Mark-IIIs than a standard Gryphon is.” Daniel replied as he nodded to Knight as he passed by.  So far he hadn’t had any issue with the upgrades and it had performed well in battle against the Klingons, he hoped that it would fare just as well against the Borg whenever that battle happened.

“You were one of the influx from the White Wolves that defected weren’t you?”  Daniel said.  Of course he already knew the answer but the pilot seemed to want to speak to him so he figured this was a good way for them to bond as they were now wingmates.  Daniel wasn’t that much for socializing unless it was someone he wanted to socialize with but he also understood unit cohesion; ‘A squadron that played well together, worked well together.’  He remembered one of his TacCONN instructors would always say that to him, although he never really understood what the instructor had meant until after he had been promoted to SCO of the Resolve’s Fighter Squadron.

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #38 – February 05, 2019, 12:52:39 PM

[Lt.JG Alessia Garcia – Callsign: “Angel” | Deck 16, Fighter Assault Bay | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Havenborn  @Nolan , @Doc M. @Stegro88 @patches @Fife @Auctor Lucan @Griff @Vox

Alessia listened to Havenborn and nodded with approval as he described the upgrades his Gryphon had received. "Those are some good upgrades, and they'll help you keep up with the Mark-IIIs which will always be handy in a fight, although I've got to admit I'm a little curious to see how much better one of those handles in comparison to the standard Gryphon, pilots curiousity." she replied with a grin.

Although what he said about her was started as a question, Alessia knew he already knew that she was but there wasn't many other ways to start a conversation so she opted to answer in kind. "Yes sir I did, along with several others of the pack immediately after the battle at Starbase 84." She answered "After hearing about the parasites I couldn't just ignore that and not do anything about it, although I will admit I hate having to fight against our own. especially when they don't even know what's happening." she added and it was true. Having to fire on fellow Starfleet ships and officers wasn't something she wanted to do, especially when a lot of them had no idea about the invasion and were simply doing their jobs, but they swore to defend the Federation and that's what everybody on this ship was doing, even though nobody else in the galaxy knew it yet.

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #39 – March 04, 2019, 06:28:50 AM

[ LT Daniel Havenborn, Callsign: Salvo | Deck 16, Fighter Assault Bay | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan, @Multificionado, @Doc M., @Stegro88, @patches, @Fife, @Auctor Lucan, @Griff, @Kinvarus

 Daniel nodded as she made her comments.  “The upgrades have long been needed, especially since most of the parts had been cannibalized from other Gryphons and were in need of replacing.”  Daniel said, the Resolve’s trip home hadn’t been kind to his beloved fighter.  “I’ve seen the Mark-IIIs in action and honestly I am still biased towards the Gryphon, it’s a far superior craft in my opinion.”  He said, and as much as he hated the design of the Valravn, he would admit that it probably would serve as a better replacement for the Gryphon than the Mark-III.  As far as Daniel was concerned whoever thought that removing the RIO for a computer was an idiot.

Daniel nodded as she spoke although at the mention of the parasites he let out a soft sigh.  He still had a hard time believing that people actually thought that propaganda was genuine, it reminded him of the stories that he had heard as boy about ancient Earthlings who had believed that the Earth was flat.  He decided that he would keep his opinion to himself however as he didn’t really wish to start an argument.  “Just keep in mind that they will still consider you an enemy all the same.”  Daniel said.  He also didn’t want to fight their comrades but Starfleet saw them as traitors and so he had decided that he’d do whatever he could to protect his new home.

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #40 – March 04, 2019, 09:45:51 AM

[Lt.JG Alessia Garcia – Callsign: “Angel” | Deck 16, Fighter Assault Bay | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Havenborn  @Nolan , @Doc M. @Stegro88 @patches @Fife @Auctor Lucan @Griff @Vox

Alessia found herself nodding in understanding at Daniel's comments "Well I can't argue with that, besides each to their own as they say, besides the Gryphon's are still great fighter's in their own right, as long as they can still do the job I don't see the need to replace them, that's just a waste of a good asset." She replied and smiled "Plus there's always something to be said for pilot preference of course. I've seen many great pilots who just couldn't adjust to something newer for one reason or another, yet put them back in what they knew and they could fly rings around the newer ships."

Moving on to talking about their fellow Starfleet officers not in the loop she again nodded at his comment. He was right of course but still. "I know, you're right and don't get me wrong in a fight if comes down to them or me it's always going to be them but still they're just doing their job and if the knew maybe they'd be on our side." She said and sighed "It's just hard not to think about the fact that that's a potential ally lost if it ends up in a fight to the death you know? I just...I can't believe how many of them buy into this propaganda, or see what Starfleet and the Federation are doing and not questioning it, surely we can't be the only ones? I mean you look at all the species in the Federation they can't all be that naive and gullible can they?"

With another sigh she shook her head. "I know it won't happen but it would be nice if we all woke up tomorrow and the galaxy had seen sense, but it's nice to think about that hopefully one day they will, or am I being too optimistic?"

Re: CH05: S [D06|1000] A New Pack Rises

Reply #41 – March 20, 2019, 01:25:10 AM

[ LT Daniel Havenborn, Callsign: Salvo | Deck 16, Fighter Assault Bay | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan, @Doc M., @Stegro88, @Fife, @Auctor Lucan, @Griff, @Kinvarus

“Indeed.  Once we get some sort of downtime or free time, I intend to get rated on the Mark-III, even if I never fly one it’s always good to keep up with the latest hardware.”  Daniel said, as much as he didn’t like the Mark-III he’d at least get rated on it should he ever have to fly one, which he hoped would never happen as he enjoyed flying his Gryphon far more than any craft he’d ever flown before.  He knew that pilots could be a talkative bunch and with the right subject he could be pretty talkative himself but right now all he wanted to do was get some rest before the upcoming battle.

“In my experience an individual being is smart, but beings as a collective whole are not.  Those people that aren’t naïve or gullible are likely a minority and their voices are drowned out by the majority.”  Daniel stated.  He nodded along as she asked another question.  “Yes it would be nice and yes you are too optimistic.”  Daniel said, he was a realist and understood that very little would ever make sense, sure it’d be nice if what she said happened but he knew it wouldn’t, there would always be conflict.  What form the conflict would take would change over time but there would always be conflict and he understood that and was trained to deal with a form of it.

“If there is nothing else Lieutenant Garcia I would like to get some rest before the next sortie.”  Daniel said.

- FIN