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Topic: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [Part II] (Read 18969 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: Prologue: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #50 –
As much as she fought it Dyan found herself smiling at his words. As he raised his hear her eyes looked into his. "Then perhaps one day we can share another drink," she spoke waiting tell he had stepped away before retrieving her weapons hearing he was going to make his way down that corridor anyways. "I won't say no to the company, your fur is softer then I though it would be," When the door opened she stepped out but not before giving him a look that she hoped would read as a silent 'thank you'. As they headed out the door she could only hope it would mean she would find out that she would be getting back to her ship and the medicine that would help prevent any more changes. As much as that one taught was with her there was still the thought of Sarresh Morali and the consideration that she could help heal him. Of course the physical closeness shared by the one who walked beside her even as brief as it had been still played through her mind. Somehow her brothers words came back to her. 'All things happen for a reason and only in the times they are meant to happen. Nothing we can do can prevent or force them to happen. All we can do is our part,'.

"Tell me Miles, do you think everything happens for a reason?" she asked as they drew closer to the corridor. She couldn't prevent her discovering if it was to come. No more then one could prevent their death. If it was to happen it was to happen. She would let fate decide what would happen next. As they approached zh'Wann she would salute her superior officer. "You wanted to see me ma'am?"

Re: Prologue: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #51 –
[ USS Theurgy fighter bay - CWO1 Sten "Papa Bear" Covington ]

There was no hiding the amused smirk and chuckle from the Chief of the Deck when the pilots began grumbling about their reports. Perhaps the Captain promised them downtime in the lounge, but they still had some obligations. And really, while he and his staff were more than capable of pulling the ship reports themselves, it would take more time and slow down the maintenance routine. As for the flight and tactical reports, those had to be done up by the pilots themselves, since they were far more subjective in nature than the cold hard facts of system statuses and ammunition expenditures.

And with a further eight birds needing their engines de-gunked, it would be some time before the Theurgy's squadron would be fully combat capable again. And not to mention a shuttlebay to sort out, a new runabout to check out and either strip for parts or add to the ship's complement. And that nightmare fighter Rawley had somehow captured to go over.

Yes, the Cubs and their Chief would be busy all right.

However, despite the planning he was starting to come up with, Sten did manage a few replies to the pair of pilots that had been the most verbose.  First, he addressed Ranger.  "Your flight suit and how you wear it is your responsibility, girl. If you want to stow it in your locker right now, I'm sure no one is going to complain. I know I'm not."

Then, as he gave Slaverton's report a quick once-over, he did give her a cursory answer. "Thanks for the heads-up. And don't worry, the mess will get sorted out. And since none of you are going to fly for a while, I might put you pilots to do some real work. Have fun while you can, because once you're back on duty you're going to get dirty."

Despite his gruff tone and the seriousness of the work at hand, there was a certain playfulness to Covington's words. After all, they were his pilots and it was his job to bust their chops and keep them from getting too big for their britches. And having them do some deck ape work helped in reminding everyone the flight deck was a team environment and that cooperation between the ground crew and the pilots was necessary so both could do their jobs right.

However, the Harbinger's SCO did not even stick around long enough to get a reply. To Sten, it seemed as though that mess of a man was one who firmly believed pilots were far above their deck crew. His words, while courteous as he was really in no position to make demands, were laced with the expectation his fighters would be fully spaceworthy by the time they would cross back to their own hangar. And part of Sten wondered if Kilinvoss was actually expecting a full maintenance work-up done by the time he would fly home. However, that the Chief quickly answered for himself: no fucking way we're burning more man-hours than we need to get them home safely. Not until my birds are sorted out., was his unspoken thought.

As Sten began to compile the consolidated report in his mind and firming up the priority of work, his own SCO walked out of his office and addressed him on his way out with that cute little thing who'd searched the runabout earlier.  "Take your time, Boss but we'll take whatever help you can rustle up for the grunt work. Right now, we're looking at a minimum of two-three days just getting your Wolves ready to get back out there unless we run into trouble with anything." The rough estimate was given with the conditions Sten had been imposing after any major flight ops. That would mean his crew working fourteen hour days and meals delivered to the bay instead of wasting time with showers and changes of clothes. "But one way or another, the deck took a pounding with the combat landings. Even if the Captain wanted flight ops, I'd have to shut it all down until the divots get pounded out and we confirm deck integrity. And that's at least another day. More if we need to shore it up or replace some framing. Kick me all your pilots and I can shave maybe eighteen hours right off the top, more if you can convince Phantom and his pilots to get their hands dirty too."

And, with this report given and his superior gone, Sten turned to his bay and his staff, and quickly addressed them. "Thomason, take two guys with you and get to the shuttlebay. Get that unfucked and work on the shuttles. Come back when you're done. Rest of you, let's divide and conquer. Marquette, take three and get those Mark 2's spaceworthy. Unless it affects basic space worthiness, leave if alone. Minimum work on these. Once you get that done, back to our birds. Rest of us, let's get to work, you know the drill."

Having so addressed his personnel, Sten then accessed the fighter bay public address system via the engineering PADD he always carried in his toolbelt and before long, the aggressive beats of the ancient Earth band AC/DC's Thunderstruck joined the sounds of working men.

Re: Prologue: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #52 –
Miles shrugged, I dont like to really think about the whole question of fate and destiny to be honest.  Guess its cause I don't have a clear answer for myself on it.  Still I am sure that whatever happens or whatever you decide to to it will be fine," he said continuing to walk with her before they turned the corner and approached the deputy.

((OOC: sorry for short post I just needed to wrap it up and give her her answer is all.))

Re: Prologue: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #53 –
[Tatiana Marlowe | Main Engineering]

Finally getting a moment to look over a complete list of repairs needed she sighed heavily, there was a lot of work that needed to be done.  At least they were still in one piece and they could still move under their own power.  Things could be worse.  As soon as the thought passed through her mind she quickly added 'but I really don't need them to be, please and thank you'.

As her combadge went off she sucked in a breath sharply with surprise, she had been so intensely reading she had drifted off into her own world of planning, the breath led to a coughing fit that had her double over.  Tia pulled a disgusted face before spitting out some more volcanic gunk into the tissue she had been given.

"Marlowe here Tovarek.  Right now I wouldn't say no to help from anyone but you might just regret that offer.  I'm sure you can see how much needs doing.  I'll prioritise the list for you, if you get started on what you can do I'll get on with what I can do down here," Tia smiled, this definitely seemed like a great crew.  There was plenty of hands-on for the crew down here to be doing and having someone up there able to work on the remote things was a blessing.

She ran through the list, prioritising what they would need to survive, before uploading it for everyone to see.  Pulling together the team leaders she set out tasks and sent them on their way to relay orders and begin working.  Tia would work on making sure they had the power and the cloak available just in case whatever was going on up there needed it.  With a bit more time to tinker with her new toy she thought she might just be able to get it integrated into their systems a little better than the jury-rigging she had had to pull off to get it working in the emergency.  She had no idea how long it would have held out for and if there was a sudden need for it again she didn't want to see it blow itself up.

[Wenn Cinn | Brig]

"A lot has happened, Commander Wenn. Explanations will have to wait."

Damned straight there were a lot of explanations needed.  Nerina in stasis and a proven spy now masquerading as XO.  No mention of his friend.  Whatever was going on here needed a stiff drink along with that explanation he thought.

He sat there, in his cell, his forearms on his knees, fingers clasped together, looking up through the forcefield that kept him inside.  It looked different on this side of the cage. Yet there was nothing he could do except wait, caged like an animal.  Imprisonment was not something Cinn was good at, too many years of seeing what it did to people back home had left the negative impression in his subconscious about it although he could control it and knew nothing like that would happen here.

Cinn resorted to his outlet and shifting position he decided to test this dead body of his out a little.  Placing his feet on the bed he dropped into press-up position and began to work out.  He changed from both hands to one and then the other, testing his strength hadn't left him.  Each movement was slow and controlled, designed to test the limit of every muscle fibre.  It felt good to feel the muscles working, to have that sensation of being very definitely alive after everything that had happened. 

Re: Prologue: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #54 –
[Declan Vasser - Harbinger XO Ready Room]

T'Rena resorted to the use of the Vulcan Mind meld, the process by which she could relay information with much more clarity and visual focus, providing not just raw data, but even vague visions of the future how she saw it.  What she foresaw was an army, ships from various cultures commandeered for the use of fighting back against the compromised Federation, manned by crewmen who were hybrids of many races, all joined with his DNA to create something stronger, something better.  Even if it wouldn't in his lifetime, it would be his legacy, that which he left to the galaxy, freedom from parasitic oppressors of unknown origin.

Vasser's hand rose up, gripping T'Rena's wrist and forcing it away from his face.  "If you're going to show me, you should me, T'Rena.  Did you think I wouldn't feel you, tapping into my emotional center, trying to make me more agreeable with your plan?"  As though she were a frail woman, with the strength of a kitten, not the physically superior Vulcan she was, Declan, forced her back against the desk, back pressing to the table, as a hand pressed against her throat, offering the threat of strangulation.

"Didn't I warn you about doing that before?  When you were trying to change my mind on the defense strategy near Outpost 49?"  She thought his plan suicidal, and had attempted to alter his thinking, only for him to force her off that time too.  He proceeded with his plan as was, and not a single life aboard their ship was lost, a major victory for the Harbinger, as well as for Declan over T'Rena's way of thinking.

"I'm not exactly disagreeing with what you're suggesting, but I don't like being manipulated, Commander.  I'm a player in the game, not a pawn to be moved about the board."

Re: Prologue: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #55 –
[USS Theurgy Brig - LCmdr Carrigan Trent]

The tingling of the transporter beam was something Carrigan Trent was quite familiar with. After all, being attached to an Admiral's staff involved a fair bit of travel as a rule and to this day, there were still few convenient ways to board a ship in orbit or to move from ship to ship in close proximity.

But in this case, it was not some anonymous transporter pad that received Trent but the equally anonymous inside of a holding cell. And at least, while his combadge had been taken in the transport process, they had not taken his prosthetics. Hopefully, it was a sign of decency and consideration from the security staff and not an oversight from the transporter operator.

What was there for Carrigan to do? First he paced, second drank some water from his tap, and finally sat down on the bunk after stripping off his coat and uniform jacket. With a chuckle, the Intelligence officer called out, not even sure if his fellow recent arrival could hear him.  "Hey, Wenn, not to speak ill of your shop, but this room could use a better view. How is the room service here?"

There was little humour in the Human's voice, but at least it was there. For what else could be do?

And, without waiting for an answer, Carrigan neatly folded his jacket and rolled his coat into a crude pillow, which he then laid on.

Now, the wait before the interrogation. Hopefully, whoever was going to conduct it could tell the difference between friends and foe. At this point, it was uncertain if anyone on this ship even thought they had allies of any sort out there...

Re: Prologue: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #56 –
[USS Theurgy, Main Bridge]

"Doctor Duv to Fedd, I'm afraid that lieutenant Cooper didn't make it. We did our best yet he couldn't be saved. I'm sorry lieutenant. Duv out."

Sjaandin realized he had spaced out. It was unusual for Betazoids, being mostly a Terran affectation. Amelya's words finally made it to his cerebral cortex and he shook his head in sorrow. He had not known Rennan Cooper very well, nor particularly been fond of the man... but he was a good officer. To go down like that... Fedd had hoped to earn his position through merit, not through a string of tragic deaths. While the bridge was less crowded now, they were out of danger for the moment and other crew members' minds were beginning to wander. The strain was getting to him again, and Sjaandin realized he had been digging his nails into his palms, leaving angry red marks. He ought also to get that cut on his hand fixed...

As he turned away from his station to locate the nearest medkit, he found himself looking at Natalie again. As he walked towards the medkit's storage space, near the rear of the bridge, a sudden urge to read more of her thoughts hit him, and he suddenly reached out towards her with both his mind and his left arm, a curiously hungry expression on his face. Suddenly he paused, blinked, and restored his face to an attitude of total neutrality. Clearing his throat, he lowered his arm and continued to the medkit.

"Excuse me," he mumbled.

Now where the hell had that come from? Adrenaline, psychic feedback? Were someone else's feelings imprinting on him again? He needed to make another appointment with the counsellor, if they ever had any time, if they even still had a ship's counsellor anymore. He was beginning to have trouble keeping track.

Fedd did not even notice that his hands were shaking as he fumbled to open the medkit and check if the regenerator was charged. It was, and he began sealing the cut. It healed up nicely, being the most minor of injuries. He wished he could point the bloody thing at his mind, fix his emotional barriers. A disturbing thought occurred to him, and he swept the room with his mind to see if anyone was looking at him. When he was sure he was not being observed, he quickly pressed a hypospray to his arm. It was loaded with a mild sedative, less than half the smallest dose. Just to dull the edges of the telepathic saw blade being drawn across his mind, he told himself. He coughed, to cover the soft hiss of the injector, and put the medkit back before returning to his station.

"So, Tovarek. Did I miss anything?"

Re: Prologue: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #57 –
[ USS Theurgy | Deck 15 | Corridor A ]

As the two approached Deputy ThanIda zh'Wann was leaning against the wall of the corridor next to the turbolifts. She looked up, arms folded, and inclined her head in answer to the salute - pushing away from the wall..

"You wanted to see me ma'am?"

"Yes, it is urgent that all personnel are fit for duty, and you are not in your condition," she said, turning to face the Petty Officer - antennae rising. "You need to report to Sickbay and get your wounds tended to. Once you are cleared from medical, you will either report back to the Harbinger, or - if we have yet to rendezvous with them - you will report for duty aboard the Theurgy in the meantime. Hand over all your weapons, Petty Officer. Here is a lift to take you to Sickbay."

Ida held out a hand, all business and not expecting any argument.

On her mind was the solution for determining the truth about the new passengers. Medical scans seemed to not do the trick. At least not yet. They were liabilities until proven otherwise. Question was if they could ever be trusted. A dead man and someone who could shut down a full fleet - one-time-opportunity or not.


[ USS Harbinger | Executive Officer Ready Room | Deck 01 ]

To have her hand wrenched away - the mind-meld aborted - made T'Rena's head reel. Such a deep connection torn out, and the strength of her arm was nothing, it proved to T'Rena that she had been utterly right.

Yet as correct as her analysis of her Captain might have been, she was being strangled, thrown to the side and pressed down into the desktop - Vasser now on top of her. She got no air past the iron fingers that clamped her throat shut, and she feebly clawed and pried at the wrist of the hand that held her down. Her legs were spread around Vasser's torso, bare and smooth limbs thrashing. Only vaguely, she picked up on his words, the commotion t0o loud, but her eyes remained passionless - her actions to get free effective in theory yet useless in practice.

He was mentioning Outpost 49, which had been the catalyst for her investigation upon Captain Vasser, where he had also been able to withstand her mind-meld. She was highly proficient in its usage, her will-power strong, and she had not been able to put the incident aside. Now, as she was on her back, the mere threat of strangulation remained present, yet Vasser was no longer fully choking her after he had gotten the upper hand.

"Yes, Captain," she said in a forced voice where she lay when he asked her to not manipulate him again. What was most important right then was not her actions, but his: what he meant to do now. When he knew. The asphyxiation did something to her body, and without emotion, she wondered if he would be so true to his word that he would seal their accord together, and perhaps even siring a child by her to begin with. He was too vague now, so she needed confirmation. Also, it would be convenient to distract Vasser from the idea of killing her and carrying out their new mission alone.

"So what are your orders," she asked tonelessly, and reached down to open his uniform trousers, "when we rendezvous with the Theurgy?"

Re: Prologue: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #58 –
She watched him from the corner of her eye as he shrugged. She could respect his view point even if hers was different. Where she came from things where different. They where raised to believe that all things happened for a reason. That life had a master plan. Even if you didn't personally believe in it was the accepted way of looking at things. As they approached zh'Wann she couldn't fight back the butterflys that where fluttering in her stomach. Such a large part of her wanted to remain hidden while the other half wanted it all to be over. To keep from wondering from day to day if this would be when she would make a major mistake.

With in nine words Dyan knew where this was going. It would seem fate had choice the course for her even if it scared the  hell out of her. She wanted to argue that she was in that condition. Hell she had recaptured a killer, oversaw her transport and did security detail in this 'condition'. As much as she worked on hiding it her disapproval shown of her soft pale features. Her expression only soured hearing she was to be disarmed as well. She could almost handle being sent to sickbay but being disarmed was a while different thing. It would take a few moments before she slowly slipped one rifle off  handing it over before the other followed, the two phasers. When zh'Wann had cleared her hands Dyan handed over three stun grenades she had retrieved from the weapons locker on the hunt for that damn woman. That only left one weapon still in her possession. Slowly she pulled out the weapon that had been handed over to her by Selena. "This is an undocumented weapon carried by CWO Ravenholm. I was ordered to process it and return it," she said handing the weapon over feeling odd being without a weapon.

"I will report to Sickbay straight away. Although I would like to state my disagreement on my ability to preform my duties," She said knowing it wouldn't do any good to argue but she still wanted her position to be known. She knew what waited for her. They where going to find out. Her change was too far along now to pass as human. There would be something that told them she wasn't human. Slowly her eyes turned back to the one that had walked with her offering him a soft smile. "I am looking forward to that second drink," she said before slowly turned heading towards the turbolift. She would report to Sickbay but first she had a small side trip.

Re: Prologue: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #59 –
Quite familiar with frequent discontent at having to report to Sickbay, Ida was not the least surprised at the reaction. Like Fighter Pilots, her people were not the kind to agree to medical treatment without protest, thinking themselves better than needing help. It would seem the security personnel on the Harbinger were no different. Ida was pleased, however, that she would not have to repeat herself or explain the regulation of why someone so obviously injured needed to get a medical check-up.

"I will make sure our Master-At-Arms process the weapon and leaves you a report to give to your Captain," she said as she accepted the civilian weapon hilt-first. It was just clerical work that anyone with the clearance on her staff could do. She spared the handgun a cursory glance. When Petty Officer Cardamone wanted to file her disagreement with her order, Ida had the common sense to not laugh at her, limping around as she had been doing since she arrived. She might have challenged the petty officer to run back and forth the length of the Flight Hangar. She just shot a meaning glance in the direction of that leg and took a deep breath. Indeed, this was not the first time she'd had this conversation with someone. "Duly noted, Pinkskin. Dismissed."

Facing Miles Renard briefly after the Petty Officer left, Ida inclined her head. "Commander," she said cordially as the second turbolift arrived, and she stepped into it. Adjusting the veritable arsenal of weapons she carried, her mind kept returning to the probability of Wenn Cinn actually being who he was, compared to the well known nature of their enemy. Perhaps the parasites could animate dead bodies, tap into their memory engrams in the brain. In that case, Cinn's death had become the perfect cover.

If there were three enemies in her Brig, the passing thought came to her that they needed but one specimen for studies.

For what the parasites did to the planet Niga, and made her do to the crew she wanted to protect, she desired to exact vengeance.

Re: Prologue: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #60 –
Miles nodded to each of them made their ways off.  He had a bad feeling that their "masked" guest was about to have her cover torn from her.  He headed back to his office quickly as he knew soon he may have to disclose the conversation he had promised her to keep secret.  He only hoped that before reportig to sickbay she had a means of keeping herself concealed of if that wasn't possible at least tell the captain.  At least that way he could do what he could to minimize any possible incident that could occur based on potential discovery of her true self. 

He didn't know why but he was sure the captain would understand why she had the need for her cover.  After all it wasn't like the Federation hadn't done far worse things in the guise of lessening the strains of a first contact.  Yes it was spying but it was obviously spying for the purposes of avoiding incident in a first-contact scenario that much was painfully obvious despite her not wanting to share further info.

Re: Prologue: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #61 –
"I appreciate it," she said almost reluctantly handing over the last of her weapons.  As Ida cast a meaning glance in the direction of her leg she almost wanted to speak and argue over the fact that it was just a minor flesh wound, but there was sometimes you needed to admit when things where a lost cause. It wasn't until she was in the turbolift that Dyan would allow herself to breathe again. "Deck 7," she said watching the turbolift doors slide closed knowing she had something to take care of first and knew how she was going to do it. She had been planing this for a long time she just didn't think it would be aboard the Theurgy. It seemed just as soon as she left the doors slid open and she was looking at deck 7 that held the sickbay but also her first stop. Walking down the hallway she could feel the weight of what was about to happen resting heavy on her shoulders. Her path to one of the VIP Quarters was quick knowing more then likely the Theurgy would be short on VIP's. Stopping outside the first she quickly accessed the door panel using her security clearance to open the door before she stepped in locking it from the other side.

Slowly approaching the computer she knew she wouldn't have much time. She worked quickly setting up a triaxilating signal sending out over the subspace channel knowing it where detected it would be hard to break. She was careful making sure to hide as much information hidden as she could. The message itself was short but it would be enough to make sure official first contact wasn't made yet. She knew her people where monitoring the band she had spent it out on and they where sure to pick it up. Standing she slowly made her way towards sickbay still feeling her stomach lurching at the realization that it almost all was going to be over soon. Still she had fulfilled her duty. For some reason she didn't understand her footsteps to sickbay where slow.

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #62 –
[Natalie Stark | Deck 01 - Bridge | USS Theurgy]
Natalie stiffened suddenly in the center seat. She had been looking out at the view screen, her jumbled mind needing a brief respite from the rush of information she had been looking over on what she would think of as the Captains status console. It was amazing what kind of information you could call up at the tips of your fingers, there in the command chair. But it was also overwhelming, and Natalie needed that break, even for just a moment, to let it all settled and take root in her mind.

Which was exactly when she felt something reach out and caress her very thoughts. Some alien presence that had her heart beat racing a mile a minute. The last time she had felt anything, anything at all in her mind that wasn't her thoughts was the Niga incident, and the repeat of it that had followed, the forced infection. That overwhelming drive to copulate, to reproduce, an overpowering presence that dominated and supplanted her very thoughts.

This was different, of course, but it was an intrusion, all the same. She paled and her breathing increased rapidly. Get out...getout...GETOUTGETOUTGETOUT she screamed in her mind, but vocally all she managed was a very small squeak at exactly the same time Lt Fedd said "excuse me."

And just like that, it was gone, and she was sagging back into her chair, the panic receding as the presence, the intrusion into her mind vanished. She had no idea, at all, of the (mostly) benevolent drive behind what had just happened. She didn't know who had caused it, just that something had clearly been in her mind (having no realization that her surface thoughts were practically screaming to any telepath on the ship anyways). Fedd;s outstretched hand didn't even register. All the startled Ops officer could do was pray that no one noticed her and wonder, deep inside, if what had happened was real....or if she was starting to finally slip over the abyss.

OOC: Leonal - Natalie is a bit high strung at the moment (PTSD anyone?) From what I read, it seemed like she just might be able to feel Fedd taking a peek in her mind this time. Lemme know if the post is a bit much or not

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #63 –
It did not fail to register on Fedd that Natalie Stark had registered his intrusion on her mind. He had not meant to project himself so forcefully, only to try and read... and it was the echoes of her mental scream that he was partially trying to silence with his self-medication. As he idly half-listened for Tovarek to answer the question he had asked to cover his inner turmoil, he reached out more gently this time and attempted to touch Natalie's thoughts.

Rather than shove himself awkwardly in like a telepathic rapist, he extended information first, like passing a note in class or shaking someone's hand. There was a huge difference between trying to contact his commanding officer in the middle of a heated, hostile situation, and contacting someone who was already receptive when he was at rest.

Natalie... Natalie, it's Sjaandin Fedd... I am sorry if I frightened you.

His head remained slightly tilted in Tovarek's direction, perpetrating the charade that he was merely sitting casually at his duty station, awaiting the science officer's answer to his casual banter.
OOC: No problem at all, Brutus. Feel free to have Natalie not hear Fedd's query, or misinterpret it, or whatever.

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #64 –
[Simon Tovarek| Bridge]

Tovarek looked up from his station now as Sjaandin made his way to the medkit. He wondered why he didn't just go to sickbay to get it patched up more decently than he could do so himself. Yet he soon made the math to himself that during a crisis like this, running away from your station would be unforgiving. Darwin's law would always strike when you least expect it. While getting more intel from engineering about the most damaged areas, he sent the most critical reports through to his department. Even though his staff was more or less scientists, they weren't afraid to get their hands dirty in engineering. Hell, some of them might try to implement experimental or enhancements while they were at it, yet all of it had to be given a green light by Tovarek and of course Tatiana.

His memory train got halted when Fedd suddenly made a rather awkward move to Natalie and he frowned a bit and parted his lips to say something. Yet words didn't come to his mind. He wasn't sure what he had to say to it, this tactical officer sure was a bit weird. Even weirder than Rennan? It was unlikely that this man could be, during his short stay, Rennan sure had an amazing yet chaotic mind, but Simon had not seen or monitored this Fedd person before.
"Noticed nothing out of the ordinary. If anything blips that isn't supposed to I'll give you a heads up though." He answered with a calm voice and looked at the man once more "You sure you don't need to head to sickbay for that cut?" he asked eventually, wondering if the weird behavior of before wasn't to blame to head trauma.

[Thomas Ravon | Fighter Assault bay]

Scrolling through his PADD the young pilot eventually turned up before the big man that now had the assault deck. "Not much to report, just the usual maintenance to the bird. Not much damage or ash in the engines since we only took off late and the armaments should still be good." He reported to the Sten. His eyes glanced over to the badly damaged reaver now and he bit his lip "Say, chief... Could you keep me in the loop what will happen to that Reaver? I'm dying to get my hands on it and if it's okay with you I'd like to see if I can help out with the cubs how we can get that thing back into flight..." He smirked now and winked "Also, don't let Rawley near that bird again or I'm sure we'll never hear the end of it..." With a humble nod Thomas returned to the rest of his bunch that were walking to hit the showers. Below decks sounded like a fine place to go to after that...

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #65 –
[Natalie Stark | Deck 01 - Bridge | USS Theurgy]
Sure enough, no one had seen Natalie's physical reaction - the way she froze up - but someone had seen Fedd's. Lt (jg) Tovarek's voice, and his even toned query carried down across the bridge, prompting a few eyes to dart back towards the aft sections, where the two junior lieutenants seemed to be having a conference. Swallowing, and pale in the face, Natalie zipped up the open collar of her shirt and forced herself to watch the conversation. Suddenly, even that open collar left her feeling naked and raw, after what had just occurred in her mind.

So it was with some trepidation that she felt, as much as heard, the words in her mind. They were like a caress, as opposed to the probing that had occurred moments before, but they still startled her, and still caused her fingers to curl into the armrests of the center seat. Her breath still caught in her throat as she silently studied the acting Chief Science and Tactical officer's. Her mind, however, was racing about as fast as her thoughts.

Sjaandin Fedd she managed to bring up what little she knew about the man by focusing on his name, if not his words. Betazoid... she swallowed, realizing that there was every chance that the voice in her head was actually Fedd's. She blinked, and then frowned, visibly, looking at the tactical officer. There was no mistaking the sudden flash of anger on her features, but the bridge crews focus was not on the woman in the center chair, thankfully. The panic from before was being swiftly replaced by anger, hot, boiling, and truly uncharacteristic anger. Then again, Natalie had been through a lot lately - they all had. She had plenty to be afraid of, plenty of ghosts to haunt her dreams, and plenty to be angry about. And the brunette's control, the control she'd tried so hard to keep in place on duty, was starting to crack.

I don't care how sorry you are she distinctly thought, trying to summon up the tone of 'voice' that Hendricks would use with irresponsible junior techs, back before all of this had gone to hell and he'd died. Get the Hell out of my head. NOW

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #66 –
Fedd's eyebrows moved closer together, two thin lines appearing on his otherwise smooth forehead. Why was Simon so concerned with his health? "I'm fine, r--" He winced and leaned forward a bit as Natalie Stark essentially screamed into his head. Well, now he looked like a liar. Touchy, he thought back to Stark, withdrawing from the periphery of her psyche. You get out of mine then. He decided to leave well enough alone. She was in command right now, and it wouldn't do to go bothering her even if she was overreacting a bit. He turned his attentions to soothing Tovarek's concerns

"Really, it isn't anything to worry about. Nothing a dermal regenerator couldn't fix. If you're half as concerned about your readouts as you evidently are for my health, then the ship is in good hands."

It had come out sounding more snappish than Sjaandin intended, but oh well. Tovarek wanted to pry, he could risk the consequences. Instead, he tried a different tack. "So you think I'm weird?" He grinned placidly and tapped his temple. "Betazoid, remember. You think to yourself that I'm weird, and I hear it. I am not angry. Most of my race can filter those sorts of idle musings out, but I, sadly, do not have that option."

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #67 –
Of all the nerve! she thought, indignant. She didn't even want to possibly know what thoughts the betazoid man was having of her in his head, because she certainly hadn't tried to go prying around in there univinted. Never mind the fact that she had absolutely no idea what he really meant, her mental state wasn't exactly a kind one at that point, to herself, or to one Sjaandin Fedd. There was a strong sense of indignation and borderline rage that visibly rippled across Natalies face for a moment, sending her pale complexion to something just short of the shade of a tomato.

Catching his small explanation to Simon about his fliter being broke, well, it took a bit of the heat out of her skin, but not the anger out of her gut. That seemed to just settle right in, just behind her stomach. Her arms were now crossed under her breasts, and she was tapping her foot against the floor. All eyes were on the duo in the aft section, and not on their consoles. Swallowing, and trying to keep her tone even, she interrupted the two officers.

"Gentlemen," she said, cutting off Tovarek mid reply, "lets cut the banter, shall we? Lt. Fedd, if all you need is a patch job, hup to it. Lt. Tovarek, eyes on those monitors." She addressed the rest of the bridge, "in fact, that last bit goes for all of you. Snap to it."  For someone so usually mild and quiet, her tone brokered no argument, and certainly had Ens. Winterbourne's pale eyebrows shooting right up his forehead. "Yes ma'am," he said from the helm, setting the tone for the other bridge officers, a round of follow up "aye aye's," echoing like a precise chorus across the bridge.

With a sharp look across the whole room, Natalie turned her attention back to the view screen, trying to ease herself into the chair. She was too angry to be nervous at the moment, so at least that was something.

ooc: hope I didn't steamroll anyone there. Lemme know and I can backtrack as needed - Bru

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #68 –
Tovarek was simply being concerned since the last guy on the tactical station had died without any clear signs of injury. Who knew what could happen thanks to a simple cut. Sepsis due to bacteria on the monitors, small arteries or veins that could be severed causing bleeding within the hand that could obstruct the movement of the hand. Allergic reactions perhaps to dermal generators? Though that would be unlikely since the man was still talking to him...
The chaos in the head of Tovarek was pretty much at full speed now as he smiled at the man and shook his head "Oh a beta-" the sentence got cut off by Natalie who now raised her voice. 'Zoid, that explains... Don't mind my thoughts at all though, you might end up in an asylum if you try to keep up.' He thought further, wondering if Fedd could hear him. This however was promising, he could just shout out thoughts to Fedd which would reduce the time lost by actually voicing out all of his concerns or suggestions.

"Aye aye, ma'am." Was all that came out of Tovarek's lips now as Natalie had given him the instruction to keep his eyes on the monitors. All readings were still normal and he started to put his focus back on helping out the engineering department.

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #69 –
She walked along side her captain paused as she looked up at her offering him a small but weak smile. They had lost so many. So many who didn't make it off that god forsaken planet. Moral was going to be shit for a while. Everyone loss someone. She had loss her Lisa. Now they had to deal with an unknown shuttle and a seemingly unknown that had crippled the fleet that tried to kill them. Even through this though those pleasant memories of the night before had made the bitter seem just a shade sweeter. "You're welcome Captain," Cam spoke softly the pain of loss still laying heavy. "I wish there was something we could have done for him," It would be almost impossible to save any piece of Sarresh Morali. Another crippling blow to crew moral.

Looking up at her she could see the heaviness that had been there before. The heaviness she wished to take from her. Still how could she form her when it lay so heavy on her shoulders. Nodding her head Cam continued mentally noting everything that needed to be done even if for the moment it felt like going through the motions. "Yes, ma'am," she said watching her captain leave before she would find herself standing alone. Her mind telling her she needed to go to her office clean up and be ready to assist the captain. Still her feet refused to move.

Looking back she noticed the white haired security officer and Miles heading towards his office. Odd how one noticed small things. Slowly she turned heading back to the turbolift knowing she needed to get cleaned first. It would not be as wonderful as the last shower but it would still feel good to try and get everything off of her. Stepping in she leaned back against the turbolift wall. "Deck five," she spoke softly as the door slid closed. It was that quite time alone her thoughts seemed so much louder. Loss, desire, duty, pain all flooded her mind. When the doors slid open she quickly made her way to her quarters having not had a chance to even unpack her stuff. Only enough time to drop her bags before leaving. Stepping in she didn't bother checking that her bags where still there. Heading towards the bathroom she shed her clothing along the way before stepping into the shower.

Turning on the water she let it hit her small lean body as she allowed everything to hit her at once. A few tears rolled down her cheeks. She lost her Lisa. Everyone that had died. Everything hit her hard as she the hot water washed over her body. Once the first tear fell more would come in rapid succession. Slowly Cam sunk to her knees as she tried to force the pain that had been building out.

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #70 –
Miles Returned to the Fighter bay and sighed looking around at the controlled chaos that Sten had orchestrated.  The pulse pounding meats of Terran rock seemed to only accelerate the pace of the workers in the bay as Miles headed over towards the chief. "Excellent choice of auditory motivation as always, Zero."  Miles quipped as he glanced at the work requests.  "I see Ravon already put in a request to be put on a repair team on the captured Reaver as has Rawley."  he sighed, "Given their wanting to make some kind of war spoils claim I feel the only way to currently solve this is to give the bird a designation and a current pilot before further claims are made.  PapaBear, She's your fighter until re-designation."

He then continued as he sighed a bit explaining further, "That said I do think the two claimants do have a fairly stated vested interest in it so I would like to request you assign the both of them to be the primary technicians regarding repairs to your new fighter.  I have full confidence that the two are competent at repairs and given competent direction the two will make excellent repair techs for our squadron's newest acquisition.   Keep in mind that I do not intend to keep this fighter as yours obviously though I have yet to decide what its role in our squadron will be or who will be its pilot.  As I imagine you would like to study its specs Since its designated as your Fighter it will be fully within your authority to do whatever you feel is necessary.  I doubt the two will enjoy the prospect of being forced to work together on a ship they both want to claim as their personal trophy.  Still Rawley is the only person with actual flight experience in the damned thing and Ravon does have re a fair claim that he should'a been the one in its cockpit instead of her.  It would be unfair to keep him out of the repair loop on it.  Besides its fitting that he has to repair it since he guy who put that hole in it."

"Unless you Have any objections I will be on my way to Below Decks to inform Both Rawley and Ravon of their new duties starting tomorrow.  Hell I needed to find something for them to do while us Wolves have our boots glued to the deck.  Besides High Priority R&D assignment.  Surely Lucan wont deny my request to have Rawley released from medical leave officially when she is needed for that kind of assignment."  he said looking around a bit hearing the music starting to wind down as it ended. 

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #71 –
Fedd bristled at Stark's treatment of him and Tovarek. It felt like he was just beginning to make some kind of connection when she shut them down like a schoolteacher. What is she trying to prove-- he thought to himself, before cutting it short when he realized she might still be able to hear him. He shook his head to clear his mind and focused on the task at hand, only to be interrupted by Simon now telepathically trying to banter with him. He also heard some snippets of the man musing about this wonderfully efficient new method of communication he had discovered, and inwardly groaned. Last thing he needed was the CSO babbling whatever bright ideas he had into his consciousness. Ah, here he was being negative again. He should be thankful that the man was not offended by Fedd's brusque tone.

Projecting thoughts to another is actually more difficult, he thought to Simon, unless they're already listening. So if I'm fairly quiet please don't mistake my silence for rudeness. Sjaandin had no desire to anger any other bridge officers today. He did, however, continue running passive sweeps of the surrounding space, the astronomical equivalent of sleeping with one eye open. If the Calamity or a Klingon patrol showed up he did not want it getting the drop on them.

While doing that, he also tapped out a brief message to the ship's counselor, outlining his situation re: mental filters, and politely requesting a session at their earliest convenience. In all his attentiveness to his work, he failed to notice he had completely forgotten to acknowledge Natalie's order.

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #72 –
[USS Theurgy fighter bay - CWO Sten Covington]

Sten Covington was starting to get busy opening up one of the Mk III Valkyries when he was approached by his SCO. A faint smile touched the human's lips when his superior approached and commented on his choice of music. "I am to please, Skidmarks, I aim to please."

The privacy afforded by the dissemination of personnel and the noise of the work was the reason Covington referred to Renard by the nickname he had given him during the early test phases of the Mark III program. Granted  a few others knew of it, as scraping the entire length of a hangar deck with the landing legs of a fighter under full thrusters tended to be noticeable. But anyone caught speaking it who was not Sten Convington or a close personal friend involved in that incident was typically explained the error of their way in no uncertain terms.

When the officer began addressing some of the work orders, Sten straightened and turned to his superior, wiping grimy hands on a rag he had tucked into his toolbelt. So, that nightmare fighter sitting at the far end of the hangar in an enclosure of barrier tape was to be put back into space? So be it. As for the work assignments, the Chief scratched his chin for a moment, considering the request, and then spoke.

"Boss, I can see how this thing can be of use, but right now I have a dozen of our fighters and eight from the Harbinger that need their impulse drives and thrusters pulled out, taken apart and cleaned out from that volcanic gunk. And that's just to make sure they're spaceworthy and won't get incinerated when the exhaust vents give out from over-pressure, never mind the maintenance to tactical systems and sorting out the hull ablation issues that need looking into to to be combat-ready."

Those words were spoken quietly but with a confidence born of forty years of experience working with auxiliary craft and nearly half of those four decades spent with fighters. And the man had literally written the book on Valkyrie maintenance requirements, taking the designing engineers' nominal tolerances and further tightening them in order to ensure each and every fighter would be a finely tuned weapons platform that a skilled operator would be able to extract every last picogram of its designed performance from. And Sten would never allow any cutting of any corners. Not with the fighters in his bay, the lives of their pilots or the success of their mission.

"So in the immediate, I need Rawley and Ravon, all the pilots really, to do the grunt work on their Valkyries so my Cubs can focus on things your guys can't do. With the luck we've been having, we need our fighters back into space soonest. And I can't do that it I'm crawling all over that thing or I need to have some of my techs burning man-hours they don't absolutely have to cleaning engine parts. And that leads me to something else."

Sten took a deep breath before leaning back against the fighter. "Kilinvoss and his pilots. I need them in here. I could spare four warm bodies to work on their birds, but without extra hands, I'll be lucky to have two of their birds spaceworthy by the end of tomorrow's work. I just don't have enough people, Boss."

Yet, the old man wasn't done. "And in the interest of working faster, think you can get Engineering to kick me a team from Hull and Structure? If I can have these guys crawl around to fix up my flight deck and do the structural assessment, it'll shave some time until I can start launching birds again and start working on our little project."

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #73 –
He nodded, "Of course, I as merely meaning to give them the news that after the Valks and your deck were repaired that would be their new assignment.  It might motivate them to double time it on the repairs and then contribute everything they can into helping out with wherever they are needed.  Getting to work on a project you want to work on can be quite the motivator after all."

Saying that he moved onto the other requests.  "I'll talk to Phantom, I was gonna head to below decks and give my pilots a bit of an informal debriefing and since he's down there i'll relay your request.  Anything to get that psychopath SCO of theirs out of our bay the better."  he said for the first time tellign someone what he really thought of The SCO from the Habinger.  The man's coldness the dark chill in his voice everything about Phanom made miles feel uneasy.  He didnt know what it was but for some reason Miles could just sense that this man lived for blood.  More than once had the man tried to fick a fight with Miles.  TO miles it was clear, Phantom wasn't a soldier to protect or defend; no this man lived for the blood on his hands.  He desired the kill not the defeat.  This man was a murder given license to kill.

Finally miles turned to the other request adding simply as he was already beginning to walk away witha bit of speed a sure signal that if there was any further argumeent over how things woudl progress it woudl have to be settled at a later time, "I'll see what I can do about getting you some additional manpower by the way.  Surely there are a few engineers that can be spared from cloak babysitting duty to work for real.  I'll get to work on the Paperwork request for you soon as I get back in my office.  Top priority I promise," the last few words sort of yelled back as he headed out the door again.

Re: PROLOGUE: Under the Bludgeonings of Chance [ Part II ]

Reply #74 –
[Declan Vasser - Harbinger, XO Ready Room]

"When we meet with the Theurgy," Declan began, "we are to proceed as we already have been.  The . . . ideas you have about what we should be doing are not something one accomplishes overnight.  It would be far better to go about such things covertly, don't you think?"

T'rena was talking about a hostile takeover, for the good of the Federation, but such a thing wouldn't get put down quickly if it were attempted in the open.  Vasser wouldn't have put it past Ives to self-destruct his ship before letting it be taken.  After all, if they came at him aggressively, he would simply suspect that Vasser was compromised, and Theurgy was better off destroyed then controlled by him.  This was not the kind of job one took without careful consideration and thought.

"If I might speak your language for a moment, T'rena, it would be illogical to show ones cards in the middle of a hand.  Besides, just because your little trick didn't work on me a moment ago doesn't mean there aren't some people who wouldn't be so resistant to . . . seeing things your way."
 
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