Star Trek: Theurgy

Re: Day 17 [1600 hrs.] Anyonic Emission Failure

Reply #25 – May 29, 2020, 05:21:06 PM

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Creator of Destruction | Escort Ended | Interrogation Time]
@Auctor Lucan @Top Hat





Escorted from Sickbay between two officers in exosuits was not exactly how she expected this situation to end.  She had wanted to see what the antedote did, she wanted to see what they had used to negate the virus and allow the pods not to destroy the people.  The seed pods were nasty, painful, and dangerous.  There were many reasons she didn't want the Niga out of the Azurite station and whey she had tried to stand her ground when it came to her job on the Azurite.  Until she had thought she had gotten through to everyone, only to find out, later, that that wasn't the case.  They had taken her research and found someone that didn't care enough about people and the consequences of using plants like this to finish up and refine what she had started.  However, her name would always be a label on the device.

She wasn't taken to the Brig, which was a relief, because she could not figure out why she would be sitting in a Brig.  She hadn't done anything wrong.. not really.  Not to the ship.  She had not brought the virus on board, she had only created it on a black site.  She sighed softly as she was lead to an interrogation room and asked to take a seat.  Zephyr sat down in the uncomfortable metal chair and rested her hands in her pockets.  Zeph looked at the large blank walls though she knew there were cameras probably stationed all over the room even if she couldn't see them.  Zeph had never sat in an interrogation room, it was odd for sure.

The door opened and in walked a woman with dark skin and a black braid coming down her front in a large thick rope.  She wore a security uniform and her pips described her as a Lieutenant.  She sat down and looked at the PADD in her hand. 

“I am Lieutenant Marsha Hallow.  I'll be speaking to you about the situation in Sickbay.”

Zeph furrowed her brow.  “I didn't infect them.” she said with a shrug of her shoulders.  “I don't understand why I'm being treated like I did.”

Hallow looked up at the young Scientist and Doctor.  “You created it.” she said a bit tensely. 

“And, told the people that asked me to to scrap it.  It didn't do what it was supposed to do.  I thought it had been scrapped, when I found out otherwise, I left.”

“Uh huh.” Hallow looked down and began to type on her PADD.  Zephyr poured her heart out for what must have been hours, talking over and over and over again about the same things.  Answering the same questions, and growing more fatigued with every question that was tossed at her.  Finally, a door opened, and Zeph and Hallow looked over to see the First Officer step into the room. 

“All right, Lieutenant, I'll take it from here.” he said quickly leaving little room for argument.

“But sir, I was ju-”

“And I appreciate your work here, I'll take it over now.” he said leaving the door open and waiting for the dark haired woman to leave.  She got up clearly unhappy with the result but she left and headed out.  Ducote shut the door and walked over to Zeph sitting down.  He took a moment to thumb through the questions and the time that Zephyr had been sitting in that chair without a break.  Once Ducote had gone through everything, he sighed and put the PADD down.

“Who were you working for?” he asked simply.  “Who asked you to create it.”

“I was working for the Federation, I've always been in the Federation.” she explained.

“Who specifically.  You said it's classified, I don't care, you're here now.” he reminded her.

Zeph swallowed and fidgeted in her seat, like most officers of black sites might have because giving away things they were told not to was hard.  It was a huge penalty to give things away, she could get killed, she had heard rumors.  You didn't go to a blacksite and come back out to a normal life, that wasn't how it worked, they had special places they sent their officers when they were not able to work any longer.  If you did make it out you never spoke of your job. You talked around it.

“I was stationed on a black site.  They asked me to work with Botanical situations.  Botanical Warfare, Botanical and Chemical components, Medical upgrades, things like that.  We were tasked with finding various new things that we could do with plants all over the galaxy.  Merging those with blood, with chemicals, other plants, whatever.  We were experimental scientists, it was our job to design and create new things.  It wasn't like I chose to release the virus.” she reminded him as tears brimmed in her eyes but she blinked them away, she would not cry in front of the Commander.

“Where.” he reiterated. 

Zeph looked down at her hands.

“I don't care if I have clearance.  Tell me everything.  It's not as if you could go back there after being on this ship anyway.” He said calmly. 

She liked him, he was calm and not angry with her, which was probably why she felt on the verge of tears.  “I was assigned to the Azurite Station.  I was there for two years.” she said softly weight slipping off her shoulders she didn't even know was there.  “I went there because I was recruited.  For my Botanical work and hybridization of plantlife.  The N1G1, or Niga as you guys call it, was supposed to be a relaxation plant.  Something to calm natives, first contact, or difficult cultural rifts.  When I realized what it actually did... I went to Commander Cartwright, he summoned me after the failed experiments and told me to stand down.  To turn in all my research and start over.  I thought that was it, afterall, I didn't want to create anything like that either.”

“After that, I was charged to create fruit trees that could produce twice as much fruit, faster, and without taxing out the tree and soil too quickly.  For terraforming projects this and vegetables like it would be key.  I began to do that, and had various meetings with Cartwright afterwards to include my research since he over saw everything.  However, on my way back from one of our meetings I noticed a hallway that had flickering lights down and wondered what it was, I had never noticed it before.  I was the Lead Botanical Researcher for the Azurite, so my clearance went everywhere.  There was a Botantical Containment Lab, and I was shocked because being who I was, I should have been in charge of it and could find no reason there would be a containment lab for any of my work.” she said brushing a hand through her messy curls.

“I looked in through the view windows and realized they hadn't scrapped my research at all.  They had grown full plants in that lab, and given them people to use.  The plants were.. well you know what they were doing to men and women.  They were enjoying it.  There was an ajoining morgue and .. I went there too, all the people on the metal slabs were dead because of the plants.  I put all my research, as much as I could anyway, onto some drives and the next time a shuttle came around, I snuck on it and stowed away.”

“Where is the research?” he asked.

“The Savi.” she explained.  “I never found out what they did with my things.”

Ducote nodded.  “Well Lieutenant, I think we're done here.  I'll send these reports to Ives.  However I think it's wise for you to spend the night protected in the Brig.”

Zeph nodded.  Ducote rose, and Zeph did as well, she was tired from having sat there for hours and been questioned.  The First Officer opened the door and a security officer took her towards a Brig cell.  The force field shimmered into place behind her.  Zeph lay on the cold bunk and pulled the blanket on top of her.  Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared out at the still brightly lit corridor outside the force field.  Eventually, sleep came.




[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Next Day | No Visitors | Surprise Confrontation]




“Up and at em Praise.” called a Security officer.

Little did he know that she had hardly been out.  She knew she had slept for a little but when she had woken the room was still dark and the corridor beyond was still lit but quiet.  She knew that it wasn't time to raise so she had lay there in her bunk tossing and turning.  She had thought Khorin would come to visit her, but, that hadn't happened.  He was probably just on duty and she would see him after.  She rubbed her eyes as she sat up, her curls were a mess and her hair tie was off somewhere she couldn't find at the moment in the half-light as the computer began to raise the level of light in the Brig cell.  Standing up she stretched a moment, her body sore from the unfortunate comfort of the metallic shelf bed. 

“Where am I going?” she asked, since she could tell things were about to move.

“Captain has asked for you.”  said the Security guard as he lowered the force field and she stepped outside of her cell.  There were two guards a male and a female, the male was large with massive arms the size of her waist, a chest that looked more like a barrel, and a lot of scarring about the face.  The grey in hair hair told her he had been at this for some time, and the disdain in his emotions told her many other things.  The female was shorter, muscular, and yet had a lovely face.  Her hair was pulled over into a small bun on the side and if Zeph was not mistaken she was also wearing make up.

“I'm Ensign Callaway, I'll escort you.” said the woman.

“All right.”

Zeph fell into line with the woman as they headed out of the Brig and towards Ives' office.  As they walked Zeph was quiet, she didn't know what to say and she didn't feel anything from the woman beside her.  Not that she was trying to anyway.  But, she did feel something, some kind of massive anger or something that she couldn't quite place until it came around the corner in the form of the body from last night.  She remembered his face, the way he had tried to fight the woman he was with until he gave in.  And then he stopped in front of her and laid into her.  Accusing her of making something only because she could and just because she could didn't mean she should. 

Zeph wasn't sure what to say, her mouth was dry, her throat wouldn't work, and tears welled in her eyes again.  The man brushed off down the corridor having said his peace.  She turned to say something “Wa-”

“We don't have time.” Callaway stated and pushed Zeph forward.  “The Captain is waiting.”

Zeph turned and continued her walk towards the Captain's office.  Was she to be kicked off at the nearest port?  Was she to be sent back to Azurite?  Left on Aldea?  What was to become of her.  She had worked with the others in forming the weapon against the parasites.  She had gone down on the planet and fought with the Orion syndicate there to get the illegal materials needed to make the damn weapon.  Surely, she had done enough here to speak for herself.  Surely her life could not be defined by a virus that she accidentally created and tried to stop.  Surely, the world was not that backward.

The doors to the Captain's office opened, and Callaway lead Zeph in with a hand on the back of her arm.  “I've brought you the Lieutenant Captain.” she said before leaving Zeph alone with the Captain having headed back into the corridor incase she was needed to escort Zephyr elsewhere. 

Zeph's eyes, hazel-green, swung over to the Captain and she swallowed the lump in her throat.  “Captain.” she said with a slight but nervous nod.


======================================

OOC:  Ducote written with TopHat's permission and input.

Day 17 [1600 hrs.] Anyonic Emission Failure

Reply #26 – June 05, 2020, 03:36:04 PM

[ Captain Ives | Ready Room | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @BZ
[Show/Hide]

When the scientist had entered, Jien Ives didn't look up from the computer console, sitting there in his male form and still reading the findings from the investigation. "Thank you, Ensign," was all he said, and the woman left - leaving Lieutenant Praise behind. She spoke, but he didn't look up, wanting to finish reading before dealing with the matter at hand. "Have a seat, Doctor."

Yet while the ready room was utterly silent, each footfall of the botanist heard, Jien's mind was far from quiet.

Memories of the Niga Incident were vividly recalled, as much as he could recollect since the antidote had eradicated most of the memory engrams the infected had formed whilst under the spell of the virus. Though whatever he mightn't recall he'd learned, how he was responsible for the fates of four different crewmembers. Two had been subjected to stasis after their injuries, one had been virtually thrown to the mob of other infected, and he'd nigh sealed the fate of the whole ship by infecting Edena Rez. But his own actions during the incident were far from the whole picture, since to the present day, his crew remained harrowed by the events at Niga. Harried and persecuted across the Alpha Quadrant, they had lived through an ordeal in which they'd turned on each other in the most obscene of ways, and those not infected remembered every moment of it.

Therefore, Jien struggled with being unbiased in the matter of Doctor Praise, who still waited for him to speak. Unsmiling, he did not look at her, since the last lines of reading were the most crucial, detailing her actions when she'd synthesised the flora which would come to play a key role in the plans of the Infested. Evidently, the woman wasn't one of them, because the anyonic sweeps had made that clear, but this creation of hers was nonetheless something atrocious - regardless if she was complicit in the events or not.

Finally, Jien finished reading, and he closed the computer console with an audible click. His oaken eyes now rested squarely on the Lieutenant. Someone who'd been of great assistance in the project of replicating the transphasic wavelength of the Radiants, and even been part of liberating Jien from the Scion's Nest on the Versant. The latter two facts, along with what he'd just read, was the only reason why he hadn't already demoted her, perhaps even removed her rank all together.

For another couple of seconds, he said nothing, his oaken stare hiding the thoughts of his crew, and their unspoken demands in regard to this scientist and her creation. As far as mistaken creations went, the Niga virus outbreak could be deemed unforgivable. It had nearly ravaged the entire Galaxy, as according to Captain Ducane on the USS Relativity. The timeship had found the antidote, far into the future and long after the Borg Invasion had caught the infected unawares. It had travelled to the Theurgy down the timestream and set things right, curing the crew and setting them out on the mission anew with Sarresh Morali aboard.

"After we learned where you were assigned before the Savi captured you, I had Admiral Anderson give us the files we needed. They were still accessible, and the logs tell me that after you created the virus - by mistake - you stepped away," he said quietly. Whether or not that was a relief for the Doctor to hear, Jien didn't know, and quite frankly, it mattered little. He rose to his feet and walked towards the viewport overlooking Aldea's surface, leaving Zephyr sitting by the desk.

"You have been a great asset to this mission after you joined our cause, even though you were an unknown entity among the many different crews that have amassed aboard. You had no affiliation with the Endeavour, the Cayuga, the Bellerophon, the Resolve, the Black Opal or the Harbinger, coming to us alone from the captivity on the Versant. Given the catastrophic repercussions of your mistake - your vile creation and what it subjected this crew to endure - you would have otherwise been removed from service and stripped of your rank." He turned his head towards her and changed.... into her female form, before she continued to speak. "But the main reason I will allow you to continue working in the botanic sciences... is that the logs from the Azurite Station suggest you followed protocol after you got an inkling of what you've created."

Having said as much, the 'but' hung in the air like a sword, and Jien did not give her a smile of forgiveness. Far from it.

"To prevent any further mistakes, I have informed Commander Martin that you will no longer be allowed to work alone in the botanic field." Her tone suggested that the decision was in no way or form open for negotiation, and she slowly returned to her seat while she explained. "All your projects will be made available to Ensign Cir'Cie, who has served this crew in hydrophonics since before the Theurgy had to escape the Sol System. Besides you, she is our leading scientist in the field, and will be able to understand what you are working on far better than Martin might. Yes, your work will be subject to oversight, which is the least you ought to expect given the results of your errant creation. A second pair of eyes, to make sure you don't make another mistake of such grave magnitude."

Seated again, and having told Praise what would happen next, Jien did raise herself above the memories from the events of old, and smiled faintly to her at last. "That being said, you remain highly regarded for your aid in our mission, and I am certain that with time, the truth of your background and what you've created will fade in the wake of your new accomplishments. Prove to me that I have made the right call today, in not subjecting you to further disciplinary actions, and we'll be able to put this behind us eventually."

Pausing, Jien wondered...

"How much do you know about what happened here, before you came aboard?"

Perhaps she didn't even understand the whole picture? What that mistake of hers had cost them all.

Re: Day 17 [1600 hrs.] Anyonic Emission Failure

Reply #27 – June 10, 2020, 04:40:23 PM

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Emotional Fall Out | Harsh Punishments | What Even is the Point Anymore?]
@Auctor Lucan




The emotional realm in the room was enough to make Zephy'r stomach twist as soon as she stepped into the room.  She knew this wasn't going to be good.  She had no idea what was going to happen, surely her Fleet jacket would prove that she wasn't a horrible person.  She had created something without intending to and now she would be punished for it.  It wasn't that she was reading Ives' mind or anything but she could tell this wasn't going to be a good natured talk about things past, present, and future.  It was going to be some kind of decision one that seemed already made up in Ives' mind without ever actually speaking to the Doctor about it herself.

That was something that rubbed Zeph the wrong way.  While she had spoken to Ducote as well as the Security officer, she should have had a conversation with Ives without something just being thrown at her.  Judge, jury, and sentencing in one tight little package.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she crossed the room and found one of the seats lowering herself into it.  Her hazel green eyes shifted over to the Captain who was still reading, she brushed some of her curls out of her face and behind her ears.  She could use a shower and a nap, but right now she needed to see what was going to happen here.

The Captain closed the computer and looked at her.  Praise rose her brow waiting for him to speak, and yet, he didn't.  For several long, silent, awkward moments, Praise sat there waiting for her doom to be unleashed upon her.  She had no doubt it was not going to be good, whatever she had said had not seemed to placate or calm anyone.  Yes, she had created the virus, but she had gone through all the proper steps to do her job correctly.  That it was used after she had gone through proper protocol was not her fault, but apparently it was because of her hand in the creation of the N1G1.

Finally, he spoke, and Zephyr at least could tell that he had read her file.  Having gotten it from Admiral Anderson he stated that he could tell that she had created the Niga by mistake and done what she was supposed to.  Her eyes followed as he rose up, she was used to Ives having some warm qualities to him, but for the time being, she felt cold and shut out.  All because of an accident.  Ives continued talking about how she had been a great asset.  Even though she was unknown she had worked hard with the crew on board.  He began to name various ships that people had come from, and yet she, had come from neither of them.  Though it was odd to think that Black Opal was completely normal and Azurite Station was not, as they were both Black sites.

He told her that given her creation and the reprocussions, she would have had her rank removed.  Her mouth opened, and jaw dropped.  Angry and outraged tears burned behind her eye lids as she tried to catch up with what he was saying.  Something she was ordered to research, something that went wrong, something that was stolen from her when she went through proper protocol.... he told her that the only reason she would still practice her love for Botany was because of that very last thing.  Zeph looked away because she would not give the Captain the honor of looking him in the face. 

And here I thought him level headed....

He told her that to prevent any further “''''''''''''mistakes'''''''''''''” he had already informed Martin that she was no longer allowed to work on her own.  She would be monitored by Ensign Cir'Cie.  Zeph stared at a fixed point on the floor while she fought mentally with this information because it was total shit.  No, it was total shit.  She didn't understand how that wasn't a massive slap in the face.  Not only was he hoped she would be all 'thank you for not stripping my rank' but he was thinking she should be okay with someone that was a junior officer to her being her Botanical Babysitter.  He told her that all her projects would be made to the Ensign. 

Errant creation.... that got her attention.

“Errant creation!  I was asked by my superiors to make the plant.  While it didn't do what it was initially supposed to do that's part of science.  Sometimes you fail, sometimes you succeed, and sometimes things go really wrong.  My intent was not to infect the universe with this unknown virus, I tried to do the right thing.  I went to my superiors, I told them what to do, I was pulled from the project and turned onto something else, I did my JOB.  So you can stand there all pretentious like you wouldn't have done the same damn thing.   Please don't judge me for this alone, I've not done anything on purpose, I don't want people to suffer. "  she asked, she was on a roll now.  “I ran so that I could warn the Federation, I ran so that I could tell someone of the nefarious things going on at the station, and guess what.  I ended up abducted and subjected to the Savi like everyone else.  Then I came here, and I'm on a ship that can't communicate with the damn Federation because we''re on the damn run and it's too late to warn anyone about it now because it's already out there, and you stand there and have the nerve to judge me for doing my job?!”

Zeph took a deep breath and calmed herself, tears streaming down her cheeks.  Her lower lip quivering and her hands shaking as she looked over at the Captain.  "Sorry, Captain." she whispered softly.  "I just.. I know how bad the virus was, and it wasn't supposed to get out.  To my knowledge, until I left the station... it was gone.  When I found out that it wasn't, I tried to get away and tell people.  I really tried.  I'm sorry your people had to suffer.  I never wanted to create that, I never sought to create such a horrendous thing.  It's not easy to sleep at night knowing you were the cause of untold suffering.." she trailed off and wiped sadly at her face sniffling softly trying to get control of herself.

Ives sat down again, Zeph crossed her arms over her chest, her guard was up now, no longer did she think she could trust the man sitting across from her as he told her that hopefully she would prove to him and the rest of the ship that she was worth keeping around.  Tears built up in her eyes, and she angrily wiped at them as he asked her if she understood what had happened before she came on board the ship.

“I have only been here since the Savi, so all I know about is the parasites, that's it.” she said with a shrug, she had checked out.  She wanted to be out of this office, her skin was crawling, and she felt that this was ridiculously unjust.  The whole thing had been.  Was it really important for her to get arrested?  Was it right that she had to sleep in the Brig?  And now, this?  This slap in the face? 

Re: Day 17 [1600 hrs.] Anyonic Emission Failure

Reply #28 – June 16, 2020, 02:02:06 PM

[ Captain Ives | Ready Room | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @BZ
[Show/Hide]

Given the unprofessional outburst that the Lieutenant made, whom ought to have known better than to deteriorate into a state in which she verbally accosted her Commanding Officer, Jien had fallen silent and just stared at the scientist, incredulous as to how she got the notion she could just stop acting like a proper officer when it was her very conduct that might spare her from further disciplinary actions.

Jien had a mind to stop the unbecoming little tirade she was making and send her away, deeply unimpressed with her, but she kept her peace when she saw how Lieutenant Zephyr was fell into an obvious state of deep remorse over what had happened. It lessened the frown that had built in her countenance, and it was obvious that while - judging by her words - she knew some of the repercussions of her creation, she could yet fathom the magnitude of what the virus could do. What it actually had done, before the USS Relativity reversed the effects of the outbreak.

"Apology accepted," she said quietly, but didn't otherwise move where she sat. Was it right to tell her the whole extent of what she'd caused, or would that just build upon this remorse she felt about her actions? No, Zephyr was an officer so she had the right to know what she'd done wrong, and why there would be a period of oversight into what she was working on currently.

"You say you ran, so that you could warn the Federation. That you ran, so that you could tell someone about what was happening on Azurite Station. Yet while you mightn't reach the Office of Science Ops on Earth right now, it certainly wasn't 'too late' to tell someone aboard this ship. It's been over two weeks since you came aboard, and despite what you saw there, you didn't tell a soul. You only did so in the isolation ward, when discovering the virus aboard, and according to eyewitnesses, you certainly didn't show any remorse over the fate of the two officers that Commander Tiran pulled from the phase variance they'd ended up in. If the recordings were to show anything, it was how you seemed excited about the discovery."

Now, Jien paused, before she continued. "You say your intent was not to infect the universe with this unknown virus, and that you tried to do the right thing... but if you'd sit in my chair, Lieutenant, judging your behaviour, you and I both know it certainly looks like you didn't bother to tell a soul about the virus until it showed up before you, and rather than horrified about it, you seemed thrilled." Her words were still quiet, and she tilted her head as she continued. "And by your own words, you knew the potential of this viral agent, for it did infect the whole galaxy, and this crew was right here to witness it. It began right aboard this ship, and every crewmember alive at the time were victims to it. The USS Relativity came here, to this time, from a galaxy in bloody tatters because of that virus. Whole civilisations helpless and unable to stop being ravaged by the Infested, and through them, the Borg. If it wasn't for a single personal log we managed to leave behind, containing the antidote, that would have been now."

There it was, the extent of her error, and if anything some temporary oversight into her botanical projects was far more lenient than Ives had a reason to be, judging by her unwillingness to actually try and prevent a disaster after she came aboard. She debated whether or not it was enough... but beyond that negligence, the Lieutenant had proven herself a good officer. Jien still worried about her reaction when facing the virus again... hoping there wasn't more to it. That her role as Lead Researcher of Botanical Origins at that accursed station and her silence didn't suggest that she was complicit in the extended experiments; that she hadn't run to warn people, but to hide - her continued experiments having gone out of hand. She wanted to trust the Doctor, the main reason being what Anderson had provided in terms of paper-trail about when she left Azurite Station, and how it appeared still active.

"You will have a chance to do something about it," she added, and she leaned back a little. "We already destroyed the uninhabited planet upon which the virus had been planted - a temporal breach allowing it to spread there before our arrival. Yet before the virus has become finalised, or leaves Azurite Station, I want you to work with Ensign Cir'Cie on some more effective countermeasure for this bioweapon than a mere inoculation. And knowing what you do now... perhaps you see how it's more than fair that another scientist lends assistance in this project. Not just for sake of oversight, which this crew might find prudent, but because the stakes are too high to let a single person make it happen. I would rather a whole team of scientists work on this, but you and Cir'Cie are the only ones we got with your level of expertise in the botanical sciences. I want more options than just asking Andersson to evacuate and destroy the whole station, in case we'd be too late."

Having said what needed to be said, Jien ended the meeting. Her earlier statement still stood, in how surely Praise would be able to regain trust aboard the Theurgy, if she just proved herself able to do something about what she'd created.

"Dismissed," said Jien, and waited until the Doctor left before she opened her computer console again, showing the images Andersson had pulled for them. A vivid reminder of what had happened. Disgusted, Jien closed the report, the memories making her skin crawl.

Re: Day 17 [1600 hrs.] Anyonic Emission Failure

Reply #29 – June 21, 2020, 01:52:48 AM

[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Words in My Mouth | Assumptions Make You an Ass | I Thought Better of the Theurgy]
@Auctor Lucan




He didn't understand.

In fact, she was pretty sure that he.. she.. whatever, just didn't want to.  As much as she wanted to tell him that he was wrong, and that he was not going to win this battle, she knew it was a lost cause.  His mind was already made up about her.  She was a waste of space, she did not deserve her rank, her title, or her work.  She did not deserve to be on his ship and yet there was little else he could do with her other than desert her on Aldea.  At this point the only thing keeping her on the ship was Khorin and she hadn't even seen him since she had been arrested.  It left a sinking dark pit in her stomach.  As much as she was going through she had expected him to find her, even if he was on shift he would have come as soon as he had gotten off, that was Khorin.  He would have gone to the ends of the Earth for her and yet here she sat, alone, taking the brunt of the Captain's anger and prejudice.

Zeph kept her mouth shut.  She could cry, she could tell him that she understood, she could tell him again and again how it had been for her.  But, until he was in her shoes, until he could look at it unojectively (which would never be the case) she could not count on him.  Zeph lost all hope when it came to this ship.  She had thought they would understand, she had thought that the Captain had a level enough head when it came to this stuff.  He had forgiven the Savi for what they had done, rumors of an upcoming alliance drifted all over the ship and Zeph had been interested in reaching out to their Science department to work together on some projects.  Now, she doubted that would be possible. 

I thought I had found a home.

How was she to know it had been out affecting things on a larger scale the only thing she knew they had done with it was the fact that they had used it on the station, in a lab.  This, was a whole different level.  This was not something he obviously could put his head around, and it was something that sickened her heart.  She wanted... a place she could believe in.  Here, was not that place.  Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she angrily brushed the traitorous drops off but they were only replaced with more. 

The fact that the man dared to say she seemed excited about seeing her virus in Sickbay made her want to punch the man.  She had been horrified, she had been in wonder, how her virus could have ended up there.  When the last thing she had known it to be was off on the station she had left behind.  She wanted to say so, that he was putting words in her mouth.  That he was putting thoughts and emotions in her mouth.  But she was pretty sure at this point if she opened her mouth she was just going to puke all over his floor.  Which might have had it's own sense of justice.  Zephyr's tears came more freely but her silence remained, she didn't know what else to say, and her face had taken on the pale-green palor of someone rather sick with the whole situation.

Ives told her that she could earn her place on the ship by working with an Ensign Cir'Cie and getting some kind of bioweapon against the virus created.  She figured that wouldn't be too hard, she knew more about the virus than most people but that meant she was going to have to play with the live virus, she wondered if the man at the desk understood that.  In order to test the vaccines and the weaponry against such a thing they were going to eventually have to actually work with the live virus.   Simulations could guide them so far, but eventually that would have to be the thing.  She hoped he understood that but again she didn't speak.  She had thought to but he had dismissed her and turned to his computer.

Zephyr rose, her face more pale than before.  Her legs were shaking slightly, her knees felt weak, as she turned.  It was like an out of body experience.  She walked, but she wasn't walking presently.  She moved but she felt as though she was just gone from her body at the moment.  The door slid to the side and she stepped outside the Captain's ready room and collapsed against the wall to the side of the door.  Her sobs came loud and hard for a long moment.  Before she took several deep breaths and headed for her Quarters.

She didn't know where else to go. 

The ship she had come to in hope, had forsaken her.

Re: Day 17 [1600 hrs.] Anyonic Emission Failure

Reply #30 – June 25, 2020, 03:29:27 PM

It would seem, also, that there was someone else that had forsaken her.

Once she'd arrive to her quarters, her computer console quietly blinked, indicating that she had awaiting messages. Whenever she'd muster the energy to look, she'd discover that it was only one message, and it was from Khorin.

TO: LIEUTENANT COMMANDER ZEPHYR PRAISE FROM: LIEUTENANT JUNIOR GRADE KHORIN DOUGLAS SUBJECT: WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME? I have heard what you did before the Savi abducted us. Think me a coward, think me without honour, but I cannot quell the anger I feel over how you didn't tell me. I know what the virus did to my fellow crew here on the Theurgy, and knowing you created it, I initially wanted to spare you from this anger that won't leave me. The stories I've heard... Because of my connection to you, I was not allowed to look into the investigation, much less the classified things from that station, but whatever I wasn't privy to see matters little. The fact that you wouldn't tell me suggests you trust me as little as I trust you now. I was going to write that I need some time, asking you to not contact me. Then I thought I would have said this in person instead. Yet I realise, now, that with my Klingon blood might still betray me. Even as the night has passed, I don't trust myself seeing you again. I don't believe I can retain my composure. In fact, I feel like I don't know you any more, so perhaps that's best. That we become strangers to one another. It seems we already are. Khorin

- FIN

Re: Day 17 [1600 hrs.] Anyonic Emission Failure

Reply #31 – July 08, 2020, 11:19:06 AM

[ The Presence in the Darkness | A Different Phase Variance | Somewhere on the USS Theurgy ]
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Far too early, the long missed entertainment had come to an end.

Vexing as it might have been, how the two playthings had vanished, Nicander had lashed out against the bulkheads with his abilities - draining the EPS conduits and scorching the metal. He'd stirred the air and made it howl down the corridors, carrying his cry of anger. Alone once more, he stalked the flickering halls of the damaged starship, until he reached the derelict labs in the upper decks. There, as he looked at the abandoned control panels and consoles, an idea gradually formed in a mind riven from sanity.

With thoughts bent on destruction and pleasure, wanting more, he raised his tattooed hands and activated the LCARS screens. With pale grey eyes squinting at the glare from the displays in the darkness, an almost cruel grin touched his features. He had accessed the internal sensors, and pin-pointed the time index in which the two playthings had both arrived and vanished. He used to be a doctor, not a scientist, but bent as he was on tearing everything apart, there was no lack of motivation towards learning where they'd come from.

He chuckled, as he began to sift through the readings available. It would take trial and error, weeks and months of research, but eventually, he might succeed. He would replicate the breach from whence they had come...

...and follow them.

It was meant to be, for as they might prevent the spread of the Niga virus where they were, even destroy it, he could continue the paradox, and make sure he Cycles never came to an end.

- FIN