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Topic: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing] (Read 20914 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #25 –
[Eun Sae Ji | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy]

Eun Sae turned her head towards the SCO's office as she heard the sound of a transporter beam come from within. At this point people were showing up out of nowhere and she wasn't all that surprised by it anymore. There was a lot to do now and still not enough time to do it all even with all the extra help. She nodded towards Fasha, Tessa and Sten hoping that they could manage without her for the moment as she quickly made her way to the office. As she glanced through the shattered window looking into the office from the hangar she could see the Lone Wolves SCO Miles Renard in the midst of getting dressed in a new set of undergarments.

As he asked her if she was the one in charge of the prepping the Hangar for combat she answered with a nod. "Yes sir!" She said. There was little time to stand on rank and formality however as he quickly requested a her SitRep on Flight Operations in the hangar. "We're still clearing away some of the debris from the earlier battle but we've managed to clear the runway, All of the Valkyrie's are powered up and have gone through their pre-flight checks already. We just need to finish fitting the armaments on a few of the others and the entire squadron will be combat ready within 5 minutes provided everything goes smoothly." Eun Sae said quickly and accurately relaying the information just as she'd had to many times before. Once her report was given she turned to leave before she was given another question to answer regarding the SCO's hardsuit.

"It's all set up beside one of the Valkyries." Eun Sae responded turning her head wracking her mind to recall which one she'd placed it beside. "I-I can't remember off the top of my head I'm sorry sir." Eun Sae said before moving back out to the hangar cupping her hands around her mouth. "SITREP!" Eun Sae yelled. Multiple voices answered back from various locations around the hangar reporting readiness or estimated times until readiness was reached.

[Fasha "Morrigan" | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy]

Fasha broke from the group heading towards one of the spare Valkyries located in the hangar considering her own craft had been taken by Rawley during her escape from the Theurgy. She wasted no time stepping into the hardsuit that hung from the rack set up beside the fighter securing the seals on her chest whilst a nearby crew member assisted in securing her arms and legs ensuring each seal was properly set. The crew member undid the latch holding the suit to the rack allowing Fasha to step away from it. She could feel the suit shaping to her body hugging her body snug.

She ran up to the ladder leading to the cockpit of the fighter the crewman following behind her handing her the suits accompanying helmet as she took her seat in the cockpit. She slid the helmet over her head tucking her hair into the back before securing it as well the seals giving off a low hiss. The cockpit slowly shut giving off a hiss of their own as the cabin's oxygen was sealed off from the hangars and life support oxygen re-purification began to kick in cleansing every breath of air Fasha took. She looked around the hangar spotting Axius climbing into his own fighter and she spotted what she thought appeared to be SCO Renard but from where she sat she couldn't be entirely sure.

The sight that struck her most was the two Harbinger pilots stalking across the hangar towards their Valkryie MK-IIs her hand grasped the flight stick of her fight settling over the trigger for her phaser banks. But after a moment of contemplation her grip loosened settling to watch and see what they would do first. There would be no tactical advantage to killing the two if they had come to their sense regarding the entire situation. And in this endeavor they were about to embark on she felt that they would need each and every pilot they could get.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #26 –
[ Tessa May Lance | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy ] 

Tessa and Adara followed Fasha and Sten out of the lift and dashed back into the fighter bay.  The ugly scorch marks and holes in the walls were nothing compared to the scent of burnt flesh and chemicals that still lingered in the chamber.  Wordlessly, she followed Fasha to the rack of hardsuits and noticed that Miles Renard was still in one piece and so was Petty Officer First Class Eun Sae Ji.  

Axius vel Onea, call sign 'Quake' appeared with a group of deck hands in a shower of sparks accompanied by the nearly silent hum of the transporter beam.  His part of the operation must have been a success; well it was enough of a success for Quake and his group to get back to the fighter bay alive and intact anyway.   Thank God for small favors!  They hadn't lost everyone in the mutiny!

Tessa May Lance missed the Harbinger's pilots heading for their Valkyries because her eyes were drawn to the fighter parked in stall 07, the Valk used by Wolf-07, callsign Goldeneye.  Her!   "Look!" she gushed as Petty Officer Adara Hussein helped her put on her hardsuit.  "It made it!  It's okay!  Somehow my Valk's still flyable!"

"That's Ensign Slaverton's Valk, Ma'am," Petty Officer Hussein corrected as helped the young lieutenant suit up.  "Yours is over there."  

Tessa's topaz yellow eyes looked over at stall 11 where a dilapidated Valkyrie was unable to hide it's battered hull, scarred by explosions and particle energy beams.  Earlier, it had been parked in front of the locker room where Hannah's fighter was now and everybody on both sides had used it for cover.   "Oh," Tessa whined forlornly. 

"We'll take good care of it Ma'am," Hussein assured her.  "Just bring Nightmare's Valk back in one piece.  We can't exactly replace them you know."  Already the petite Persian was looking jealously at the fighters that had been flown in by the hijacking members of Dor'GhItlh Squardon.   Eun Sae Ji had probably already set some aside to replace the fighters too damaged to fly.

"I know," Tessa signed as she boarded Hannah's Valk.  Her own fighter was a wreck that needed days if not hours of work just like she did.  Hopefully Hannah's Valkyrie was up to the job.

"May the Great Bird of the Galaxy watch over you Ma'am," Hussein called in a businesslike tone.   Tessa's reply was lost as the cockpit door closed.   Soon (hopefully) Tessa would be following her fellow Wolves into the black.


Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #27 –
[ Miles Renard | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Eun Sae Ji

Miles nodded taking in the situation report before heading out the door of what was left of his and Covington's office.  "I'll find it then." he said hoping they had placed the suit near his own Valkyrie which given its position near the bay doors he hoped would still be in good condition.  "By the way about who is officially in charge on the deck, if you weren't already then you are now.  Until papa bear gets back you are officially deck boss.  If you haven't already, get the Valk 2's ready too.   I want every bird from both ships available and ready to launch if and when we get the order."  He said as he made his way out of the office on his way towards the aft of the ship where his own fighter was parked happy to see the only damage was a few rogue scorch marks.

Looking closer he noticed there was a suit waiting beside it and was relieved to see the cloth pocket that would hold a tail coming out of the back side of the suit recognizing it as his own.  It took only a few moments to stow the com badge into its slot on the suit before he began to quickly don it.  It was mere moments before he snapped the helmet in place and felt the coolness of pressurized gasses filling the suit with the artificial enclosed atmosphere that made the suits capable of sustaining a pilot's life even without an escape pod.  He hurdled himself into the cockpit of his fighter activating the sensor suites and com systems of the fighter. 

On his "radar" screen he noticed a single out of place contact that had switched from a friendly transponder signal to a strange unrecognizable seemingly-jammed transponder signal.  The craft was too small to be anything but a fighter but not matching either mark 2 or 3 Valkyries sensor profiles.  It was then that the possibilities hit him and he opened a signal to the person he had made acting deck boss.  "Petty Officer, who took off in the Prototype."  Distance indicates launch should have occurred moments before I transported into my office."  He asked but without an answer he knew who it had to be.  "Dammit, its Thea isn't it?"  He guessed knowing the only tactical reason to appear as an enemy would be as a means to try and dock with the Calamity.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #28 –
[ Natalie Stark | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 - Bridge ] Attn: Bridge Crew, fighter pilots

"Thank god" she muttered a small prayer of thanks under her breath as the mines were released. There was no time for further gratitude, or rest. Calamity flew into the path of the mines and was jerked to a staggering halt. Damage reports sprung up on Natalie's console, and she grinned in savage heat at the results. Oh, they'd wounded the great nightmare of a ship, for sure.

Orders began coming in, and the ship shuddered ever so slightly as a full spread of blue-white quantum torpedos shot out from the ship. The savage grin stayed on her face right up until Lt. Cmdr. Trent called out orders to her. "Chief S'Ithi, she's still too deep into that gravity well to go to warp, and we can't let her escape.  Intercept course, full impulse.  Commander Stark, give the order to launch fighters."

"Aye, aye, sir" the Ops Chief, called out. With no one manning Mission Ops, that role too fell on Natalie's shoulders. As the ship came about, the brunette punched up launch orders and sent the automated scramble command to the fighter bay, followed by a verbal hail. "Bridge to fighter bay.  All pilots to your ships, all fighter's are clear to launch. Repeat, all pilots to your ships, all fighters to launch. We are bearing down on target Calamity. Pursuit and destroy. Good hunting - Bridge out."

In the screen, the enemy vessel came under the brunt of the torpedo assault. Natalie spared a glance at the brutal glory and almost let out a whoop of joy - but it died, silent in the back of her throat, as one of Calamity's vectors managed to engage it's shields. Instead she softly swore, doubtful that anyone could hear it.

"Helm, if you know of anywhere that thing as less weapons coverage, keep us there and keep rotating us to maximize our firepower.  Commander Stark, find us power somewhere to give us maximum combat endurance and get damage control parties on standby."

This time there was no verbal acknowledgment of the command, just fingers flying over controls. Plasma was rerouted, ODN power conduits temporarily disabled or enhanced, and all over the ships, lights dimmed as power was drawn away from anything and everything non essential. All the while, Natalie was on the horn with her people, ordering damage control teams into position, cajoling and herding right up until Thea drew her attention.

[Incoming transmission from the Calamity on all hailing frequencies. Data scan complete. Connection secure. Should I patch it through?]

Natalie frowned, glanced back at Trent, then with more confidence than she felt, "Let's hear it..."

Of course, she hadn't quite realized that Thea would send the call to all of the ship, and not just the bridge, but then Natalie perhaps should have been more concise in her order. The visual popped on the screen and she found herself face to face with the monster Thea called 'daughter'.

"At this point, you ought to know that I will never give up the chase. Even with just one of my Vectors, my tactical systems are superior. After using your mines, you have nothing to set against me that will make any difference."

"I will not negotiate," she added as two more phaser arrays underneath her saucer was revealed, "I will agree to no terms set forth. Stand down now and your destruction will be swift. If you do not... you will merely prolong the inevitable."

The flame affect was horribly overdone, Natalie thought, just utterly tacky. Despite the angry energy that lashed out at the Theurgy and the utter, deadly seriousness of the situation, something about the presentation of Cala's threat caused Natalie to crack, just the smallest bit, inside. She almost giggled at the absurdity of her own thoughts, though she managed - some how - to reign that impulse in as the transmission cut. She should, by all rights, be terrified. And yet she wasn't.

Calmly she reverted the screen to show the approaching vector, it's beams lashing out towards their ship as it crossed in front of the proto star. Everything shook, and an EPS-conduit exploded on the bridg. Rory Callahan was caught in the conflagration, and though Natalie panicked at the sight, she bit her teeth together and weathered that assault well, hands never settling. She didn't have time for self reflection, for fear of Rory's life, to explore her atypical reaction to the message of certain doom. Too much to do.

"Commander, deck crew reporting fighters have launched," she called out to Trent, "overlaying tactical grid on view screen and patching in tac conn signal beacons." A grid superimposed itself over the main viewer, as blue dots lit up to mark the location of Valkyries, too small to easily be seen at the current magnification. On her own console, a running list of attack fighter and pilot status reports snapped into view, consciously updated along the data links between the 'wolves' and their ship.

OOC: Only positing with Natalie for now. Will follow up with Sarresh later.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #29 –
[CWO1 Sten Covington | USS Theurgy | Deck 15 - Fighter Assault Bay]

The turbolift ride from the Bridge seemed interminable, even to a weathered veteran such as Sten.  Even after four decades in Starfleet and many a battle under his belt, the Chief of the Deck could not avoid the trepidation that came before open combat.  When the doors opened, it was without even looking behind himself for the pilots or Petty Officer Hussien that Covington made for the hangar.  When the blast doors opened, he was struck by the sight before him.

Harbinger's fighters had done a good number to his bay and it was a miracle that fuel pods for the fighters or the ordnance magazines had not been struck by their fire.  However, the deck was strewn with debris.  And in the midst of that chaos, he could see a diminutive woman who tried to keep control of it.  Eun Sae Ji.  Last he'd seen her, it was when he sent her off to the Harbinger to put some distance between them after the events involving the Ishtar incident.  Apparently, she had been sent back from the Akira-class starship for some reason, and it looked like she had stepped up as the Deck Boss when things went south.

As he strode onto the deck, Covington looked at what was going on around him.  Yes, a good number of his Bear Cubs were back on duty, but the place was also crawling with random members of the crew.  Some were doing grunt labour and making space for fighters to operate, but others were actually trying to do various tasks that were the purview of properly trained personnel.  Another glance also revealed the presence of Iron Fox.  The Vulpinian looked rather worse for wear, but his presence on the deck was a welcome boon, especially since he'd had no idea about his fate since they had been separated in the initial assault. 

"I have the deck!" There was no time for niceties or to get a proper run-down of the situation.  The ship was at Red Alert and the word to launch fighters could come at any second.  Which meant it was a time to take charge of the situation.  Especially since the hangar speakers started to blare out the siren that was synonymous with the order to scramble fighters.  "Clear the flight line," the Chief Warrant Officer bellowed at to the top of his lungs.  There were too many people down there, too many who hadn't a clue about the operations of a flight deck and this was the kind of thing that could too easily lead to serious injuries, even for experienced crews.  "Cubs, lead everyone who's not a deck hand outta here and get to work!  Pilots, watch the FOD, launch from a high hover!"

As a rule, once fighters were powered their operation was the purview of their pilots and Commander Renard.  However, within the bay it was the Chief of the Deck who controlled the flow of traffic and was free to dictate restrictions as the case may be, especially on matters of safety.  And the last thing he needed at this time as a fighter doing a standard take off and sending debris flying everywhere and hurting people or damaging equipment.

It was with a purpose that he strode for the SCO's fighter and he gave the hull two solid thumps with his palm before looking up at the still open cockpit where his boss was sitting.  "You better get to it, Skidmarks," said the grizzled veteran, using the nickname so very few people knew about or let alone could use without risking a broken nose.  After all, the Vulpinian and his Chief of the Deck did go back a long way and that single word was all the human could spare to let him know he was damn glad to see him in one piece.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #30 –
[ Simon Tovarek | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 - Bridge ] Attn: Bridge Crew & Wolves

After glancing over at Nicander to check if he indeed was only just hurt at the ribcage, Simon got up on his feet and nodded at the mention that he'll probably be of better use on the bridge. "Well, one can just hope that those things finished the job, but we can't be sure... Take care of yourself Lt. Cmdr." He nodded and with another sympathetic nod to McMillan, Tovarek rushed away through the corridors to make his way to the bridge. He didn't bother to inform the people there of his approach since he thought the situation was tense enough with the Calamity this close on their tail. He was curious though about the effect of the mines yet his gut told him this was far from over.

He stopped at the nearest Turbolift and got into it tapping for the bridge like a frantic man. "Come on, come on..." He muttered impatiently and when he did arrive at the bridge it seemed like he walked in just at the right time. As the doors opened, the first thing he saw was Cala with a blazing firestorm behind her, waving her hair all over the place as she seemed to threaten the Theurgy and it's crew. Another Russian curse slipped past his lips as he stood there baffled for a second before he made his way to his station.

Quickly tapping at the console to check how badly the damage was to the console and how much he could still get out of it to work, he looked sideways to the message of Cala. Once it was gone he looked up only to see the incoming fire from Calamity towards their ship. "Oh for Go-" He got interrupted by the impact of the first beams. He tapped further at his console before he looked towards Carrigan Trent, who had assumed his place in the center chair, and he realized that he hadn't called out to him that he had reached his station.

"Lieutenant Commander Trent," he said in his Russian accent, "during the encounter with the Acheron fleet, I installed an upgrade to our sensor systems that allowed more precise data collection. In addition to your contribution that allows to scan through some of the jamming, I've taken the liberty to do a scan of the active Calamity vector. I'm noticing that, even though her shields are superior to ours in any way, there are still some cracks starting to form, but very slowly. Likely, it's caused by the the damage she has sustained. I'm relaying the info now to the Wolves and to the rest of the bridge consoles. The lit markers are soft spots so to speak, so hitting them would improve our chances to penetrate the shield and effectively damage the vector."

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [05: Anodyne]

Reply #31 –
[ Hylota Vojona | USS Theurgy | Ship Corridors Heading to Sickbay ]


Hylota took a little bit longer than she had desired to get back to Sickbay, but as she drew closer an closer a smile crept across her face as she imagined sitting with her brother, getting herself sorted out before she would get to work with him to help with thee undoubtedly heavy amounts of casualties from this incident. She did slightly dread he amount of work that was going to follow this, especially with how her heat was progressing, well at lest she had Maal now she figured.

A few moments more, a few slow corners  she checked for any trouble and Hylota was back at the Sickbay, a weak smile spread across her face as she believed she was about to enter a safe place. Hylota walked into the Main Sickbay and was greeted by many apprehensive looks, looks of far and confusion, and it worried Hylota. She scanned the room taking in everything, her heart wavering over the pit of despair and worry. It was only when she looked to where her brother Vinata should have been that her heart felt as if the ground had fallen out from under it, sending it plummeting into a fear that she had not flt since the Triage Center. She took a few shaky steps forward and looked at the messy corner, her brother missing.

She would have hoped that he was just off helping with patient care, but the discarded gown, the signs of a struggle, it was all too much to be anything other than the site of a struggle. Hylota took a deep breath and she could swear she smelled the scent of sex here, and her one good hand clenched into fist as she began to fear what the mutineers she had overhead had planned and done with her brother. She clenched her jaw in a hope to contain herself as she rushed to the door to the hall, the world tuned out around her as patients began to try a talk to her. She reached the door and it open, but the sigh before her caused her to grow cold and she felt her heart stop as one word slipped from her mouth.

"...Vinata..."




[ Vinata Vojona | USS Theurgy | Deck 7 | Sickbay ]


 Vinata was walking slowly to the storage closet to get himself something to hopefully calm his nerves so he could get to doing the job that was required of him. He felt himself shudder and shake, he wand to scratch away  his nose, to dig out the smell of Phantoms body, no matter how much he had been sterilized he could still smell that monster on him, his head was practically spinning as he thought about it. Raising one hand to the side of his head he blinked away tears as he could swear he was hearing screams, the begging, gods he needed help now!

As he was about to open the door to the medical storage room, he stopped as he heard the door to the main Sickbay open and he twitchily turned his had to look at his sister, standing before him with one of her arms hanging limply at her side, her shoulder seared and singe from a phaser burn. Hylota his sister, the stronger of the two of them, was covered in soot, filth and looked like she had crawled her way through hell, and as he saw her eyes wide, her mouth open and she spoke his name in a gentle tone, things fell apart.

Hylota walk forward towards Vinata, but his mind was at its end, things were overlapping, the smells, sight, and sensations made things bled together and he was there, the world around him on fire and his sister nothing more than a shambling corpse. It was at this moment he began to scream,  shrill shriek that fill the entire Sickbay as he threw himself away from his sister, his arms flailing about as he hit the wall behind him as he collapsed to the floor yelling. "GET AWAY! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME ANY MORE! JUST MAKE IT STOP!" Vinata kept screaming as he wildly flailed as he began to cry as he descended into his horrors.




[ Hylota Vojona | USS Theurgy | Sickbay ]


As Hylota saw her brother, in his broken and shattered state, falling away from her and falling into his own horrors. She hurried to her brother and wrapped her arm around him and held him close as her eyes closed tight. "Hush, Hush it is alright, there is nothing coming after you. You are alright." She clenched her jaw as she looked over her twin and inspected his physical state. She was angry now, she had left her brother in faith that this place would be safe, and out of everyone he seemed to have suffered the most here.

She held Vinata close and hushed him as he descended into gibbering madness and she spoke softly. "It is alright, I will get you something to help. Something to sooth your mind brother, just remain calm and I will help you...and then I am going to have Words with the staff here." Hylota walked into the medical storage and got a simple sedative and returned quickly to her brother's side and gave him a hypospray to calm and sooth him and gently caressed her brother's face as he began to breath calmly and relaxed.

As she knelt there beside her brother, Hylota took a deep breath and she decided she would wait, she knew that someone on staff would come for the screaming soon enough, and then she would find out Why Her Brother, in his current st was up an about on his ow, and why he was in such a broken state. And how they had failed this miserably.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #32 –
[ Heather McMillan |  Outside Cargo Bay 04 | Deck 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Lucan cin Nicander

[Show/Hide]


"Easy now, doctor," said McMillan, placing a glowing hand very daintily on his bare chest, her touch barely there. She was afraid even the simple action of removing his undershirt would aggravate his injuries more, though she did find his impressive physique most appreciable, "If I remember Câroon physiology correctly, then you're in an awful state. Annnnd sadly, you do have quite an unpleasant amount of damage to the ribs. Treatment at the medical center will see to it in short order, but for now..."

She took out some cold compress and picked up Nicander's hand, and made him place the compress over the injury himself. In the mean time, her body was beginning to glow brighter, and her hair was floating all over the place with the slightest movements of her head, as she had left it untied once more. She removed a hypospray with painkillers and made a verbal double check, "This should be okay for your kind, it's a painkiller. I suppose I don't need to tell you this, but nevertheless, try and breathe normally, so you can keep your lungs clear. Rest, and occasional shoulder exercise, and keeping low on strenuous activity is a good idea too, if at all possible."

She applied the painkiller, and when Nicander thanked her, the girl blushed, and looked nervous, patting her hair down, she noted how her light was changing to a shade of pink, and she shifted. "You're welcome," she said, "But no need to thank me, really. The whole lot of you did all the hard work...d-do you think people would have a reaction to learning I'm not human at all?" She seemed most concerned about that, "It's just that, in all these centuries, I am the first Radiant to ever reveal my nature to the Federation. I didn't see any other choice at the time, but doctor...I'm scared now. Humans aren't always the nicest people, it's why we kept our existence a secret."

Finished with her work, the young woman settled back on her knees, and looked away, and then sighed, looking at her glowing hands. Her face hair and even her body was clearly shining with lights of shifting colours, "Bloody hell, mom was right, it is hard to stop once you start..."

She looked up at Nicander, and showed her hands, "Normally, we never use more than our hands to light up, but once you light up your entire body, it, it becomes rather addictive. Feels good to use it too, really good. Blimey, I sound like a roddin' junkie, sorry..."


[ Cameron "Cam" Elizabeth Henshaw | Turbolift | Deck 04 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Jien Ives

[Show/Hide]


Henshaw nodded as she listened to her captain as she gave the Yeoman instructions. It was gratifying, in a sense, to know that Ives regretted doubting her, and it made Henshaw smile, despite the situation. As she left, the Yeoman stuck her head out of the turbolift and called after Ives, "Don't you dare die, captain, or I swear I'll kill you!"

Well, she was most likely going to be written up for insubordination with that reckless remark, but she decided to say it nonetheless. "All right, then..." she kicked the turbolift back into work, and had it going to the bridge.

She mentally readied herself for what needed to be said to Commander Trent, and prepped the words in her mind so she wouldn't make a complete arse of herself before the bridge crew.

[ Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Carrigan Trent

She stepped out of the turbolift and marched forward with swift strides, until she was standing just behind Trent, and spoke with a clear and even voice, so that everyone present could hear her, "Commander Trent," she addressed him with all the respect she could possibly muster, in her own belief that it would boost his confidence further, "from the lips of Captain Ives, she wants you to know that she has the utmost faith in you, and her absence, unfortunately, cannot be avoided at the moment, as she is currently in pursuit of the renegade, Declan Vasser, who took Commander Rez hostage."

She held up a hand to forestall any potential questions and protests, "The captain will have Vasser, and I trust in her abilities to be able to match even an augmented being like Vasser. But more importantly, commander, trust in the people around you, just as we trust you to see us through this. The Calamity has taken too much from us, and we cannot afford to let her escape through a time-rift again, or she'll come back stronger than ever. I lost a sister and many friends to her already, so..." she glanced at the crew around her, hoping they truly shared her sentiment, "...on behalf of all of us, kick that bitch's photonic arse, and put an end to her forever."

Finished with her statement, she followed Ives' last instructions and went over to the support staff control panel, "I'm going to try and help Captain Ives with Vasser. He's trying to escape the Theurgy by the Captain's yacht." Tapping on the console, she quickly brought up the schematics of the smaller vessel, and inputted the command to lock the docking clamps in place. Vasser would be forced to manually attempt freeing the ship, which should buy Ives time to get to him. She turned to Trent, a twinkle in her eye, and a satisfied smirk. Vasser was so screwed.


[ Edena Rez | Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Declan Vasser

[Show/Hide]


"Aughf!" Edena, briefly in control of herself, cried out when Vasser hurled her against the control station, and she quickly turned around, eyes wide with terror, only to find a phaser pointed at her. She nodded nervously when he ordered her to keep still. She sank down, until she was seated on the ground, and cried out again, cowering with her hands raised defensively over her when the augment ripped open the casing of the control table, sending sparks right over her. She thought she would be used to this by now. From that time with zh'Wann, and all the craziness that has since ensued, but Edena was still frightened.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Illya Rez, watching, looking frustrated, and possibly about to take over again, but Jona beat her to it.

Immediately, the demeanour of the Trill woman changed, and she no longer looked terrified. Rising to her feet, she stepped around Vasser, arms clasped behind her back, while watching the Augment work. After Edena's revelation to Ives in the brig, and her decision to step down from command, and the gall she had to tell him to shut up, after all he had done for her, along with Ives' reaction to all he had to offer to help with the crew of the Theurgy, the ghost of the SI agent decided that Vasser might just be more appreciative of what he had to offer. "I know Ives," said Jona, with Edena's voice changing to a much deeper timbre than she normally used, "you tried to use his/her obligations against him/her. A smart move, but you left behind a voice of conscience in the captain's ear, the Yeoman."

From her corner of the mind, Edena was screaming at Jona to stop, "Quiet." He coolly said in a mild, even voice to the young woman, a reminder of how she'd told him to shut up before. But Kiya and even Illya were raising their voices at him now.

You can't do this!

So typical of a rogue...takes one to know one.

Jona, please!!!

"No doubt," Jona continued, ignoring the voices of the three women in his head, "Ensign Henshaw would likely urge the captain to come after you instead. Now I've been watching you, and I believe that together we c*..."

Jona made a strangled noise and suddenly lurched backwards, and his demeanour changed. Edena was back in control. ""No...no I won't. This is my body, Jona, and we're not going anywhere!"

She stepped back from Vasser, looking worriedly at the Augment, her hidden phaser still kept away, but ready to be drawn. If Jona was right, then Ives was on her way, and the Trill hoped she would make her appearance soon.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #33 –
[Dr. Hayden O'Connor| Main Sickbay]

Hayden tried to ignore the red alert klaxon as she moved swiftly around Main Sickbay giving orders and doing what she could to ensure they had the supplies and equipment to handle incoming casualties. Of course, there was always the hope all their preparation would be for naught and there would be no additional casualties, but O'Connor need only look around at their still recovering wounded to know that was just wishful thinking. They were short staffed, a reality that was reinforced for her every time a junior nurse or medical technician looked at her with fear in their eyes, but Hayden tried to remind herself it could be worse. As far as she knew, their senior medical personnel were still alive, just out and about trying to restore the crew to some semblance of physical and mental health.

As she strode through sickbay with purpose, a thousand things raced through her mind, the number only growing as the scant staff approached her with questions or concerns. All of them were professionals and familiar with Nicander’s emergency protocols, but they kept her informed out of respect for her as the officer in charge. She was thankful for small miracles and that she'd been brought up to speed concerning the patients present before the red alert, so for the most part, it was simply a matter of making sure patients who were ambulatory were moved to appropriate wards as well as those who needed less intensive care. O'Connor knew they had to be prepared for anything, given what she knew of the Calamity, unfortunately, she knew they were going to need a number of trauma beds available.  O'Connor also knew that is one of the few doctors in sickbay, it would fall to her to handle any emergency or surgical procedures that were necessary. Nurses and med techs could triage and handle the minor injuries, but the bulk of the seriously injured fall to her, at least until other doctors return to sickbay.

Even with so much of her mind focused on the present, the fight with Phantom and everything that came before wasn't far from her thoughts. It didn't take her long to gather clothing for Vinata, though with everything going on around her, unfortunately, it took her a while to head back in his direction. Her heart dropped as she heard him screaming. She jogged toward the noise, scrubs in one hand and med kit slung on her shoulder.

Despite the circumstances, Hayden was glad to see Hylota had returned. Despite O'Connor's training, given her brother's mental state, Hylota was the best person to offer him a sense of safety and familiarity. She knelt beside them both, careful not to get too close to agitate either one of them further. It didn't take a position to know the female Ovri had been through hell herself. She spoke soothingly to both of them, but directed the bulk of her words to Vinata.  “I’m here, Vinata.  I'm here. You are safe now, and I brought you some clothes just like I promised. Will you let me help you put them on?"

Hayden could see there was practically steam coming out the female Ovri's ears, and under the circumstances, Hayden could hardly blame her. That said, it was clear their shared priority was reassuring Vinata and offering  him care, none of which could be accomplished if she were to recount exactly what happened to him right in that moment. To Hylota she offered, "I know you're upset and I know you have a lot of questions. I will answer them, I assure you, but our priority needs to be your brother. He trusts you and for that reason I could use your help, but first, let's take a look at you and that arm, okay?"

O'Connor was asking out of politeness, but without waiting for an answer she began to take out her tricorder and other items from her med kit. Even if the female Ovri refused to submit to an exam for some reason, there was Vinata attend to.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #34 –
[ Hylota Vojona | USS Theurgy | Main Sickbay ] Attn: Dr. Hayden O'Connor

          Hylota watched as Dr. Hayden arrived, Hylota had been hoping it would be Maal, or perhaps Dr. Maya, someone she knew or who had been in charge that she could pass judgement on, but in truth Dr. Hayden was the best person to have arrived at this point in time. Hylota was till seething with rage over what had happened, but Hayden was able to get past that with her action as soon as she arrived. As Dr. Hayden voiced concern and offered cloth to help make Vinata conceal his nude form she loosened her fist and took deep breaths as Hylota knew that the two of the were going to need to work together to help her poor brother back from the edge of insanity.

Hylota listened to Hayden talk about how she needed to work together so that they would be able to help Vinata, and she simply nodded as she kept taking deep breaths to help calm herself, but as she was told that her arm needed a scan she scoffed and shook her head no. "My arm is having a reaction to a soothing balm that was accidentally administrated by one of the science staff. It is not the most critical thing at this point in time, our first objective should be to help my brother into a safe and isolated location where he can be left while things are still somewhat calm.'' Hylota repositioned herself and wrapped her one good arm around Vinata and lifted him up to his feet. "Once we get that all taken care of we can worry about my problems, but my guess is that I will need to have a sling to keep it out of the way after I clan myself off." Hylota shushed Vinata as he began to mumble to himself. "I was hoping to come back and get help, but it looks like I am still needed."

Vinata shook his head as he tried to clear it from the sedative running through his body, but it was helping him remain calm, he was no longer seeing the fires, but he was still not in any state to be doing anything. Seeing Vinata like this made Hylota sigh before she look to Hayden. "When we get him a room we will get him dressed, and then I want to know what happened since I have been gone, how is it that you people have-." Hylota stopped herself and closed her eyes and took a deep breath to top herself from going off at the only help she had at this point in time. "Listen lets just get him taken care of, then you can scan me and explain what has happened here, after that I am going to get myself cleaned up and hopefully I can find Maal and we can organize some of the junior nurses and medics."

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #35 –
[ Sarresh Morrali | Corridor - Life Support Systems | Sickbay] Atten: Ryuan Sel, Lukas "Bleed" Reed, Rihen Neyah, & others

"If either of you make the wrong move, the freak's head will be vaporized, so just enjoy yourselves while you can. Its not every time you get to have this much fun while on duty." The words grated in his ears, and brought a nasty, harsh sneer to Sarresh's face. Unable to keep the disgust he felt for Bleed under control, he quit trying, letting it all show. The sick little shit had forced them on each other, and what could have been - well, a relief, what had been promised, was now a heinous act. The more it happened, the angrier he got, and Sarresh was aching, waiting for P.O. Ryuan to make her move.

He had been expecting Sel to be the one that acted, even as she suckled his cock. His aching, throbbing, shamefully needy cock. She had, after all, tapped out that warning along his lenth. So the chair flying across the corridor came as a complete and utter surprise to Sarresh. Everything seemed to happen at once, the chair impacting, Sel popping off his shaft, twisting and slamming the canister. Bleed's phaser went off, as the gown clad Lt. dropped to the floor with a whumph. He rolled, trying to avoid getting caught up in his gown, and bounced off the far side of the corridor. He braced, rolled again, and kicked out.

Oh, it hurt like a son of a bitch, his bare feet smacking into the exo-suit. But with luck, it would throw 'Bleed' off balance even more. It was the best he could do at the time, his legs clamping around the other man, twisting, trying to bring him down to the ground, trying to take advantage of the confusion, and the blunt impact of that cannister to the bastards head.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #36 –
[Eun Sae Ji | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy]

Eun Sae turned as she was addressed by the Lone Wolves Squadron SCO. She seemed a bit hesitant to answer Renard's inquiry but after a brief hesitation she nodded confirming his suspicions. Without anymore time wasted she moved out to try to bring some order to the mash of deck crew and conscripted volunteers scattered about the hangar. But a loud booming voice drew her attention first causing her to jump a bit from the sheer volume of it. There was only one man she knew who could shock the entire hangar into silence. She turned her head to see Papa Bear moving through the chaos of the hangar barking orders that those who heard him quickly scrambled to follow.

As soon as the siren had went off all control of the situation had slid from her grasp. To people who heard it that siren immediately meant one thing to them "Panic" As soon as that sound had filled the large spacious area of the hangar she could already tell that most of her words would be falling on deaf ears. But as soon as Sten's voice sounded it was as if a switch had been flipped in everyone's mind. Members of the deck crew immediately tuned in to listen to his commands and carry them out whilst many of the volunteers began to file out as soon as the orders had left his lips. She couldn't help but feel the smallest hint of envy of how easily others followed Sten in comparison to her. In the beginning when she'd stepped up in his absence people stared at her puzzled about why they should even consider listening to her orders. It took her infamous temper and the yelling that came with it to get anyone to listen to her.

She shook her head shaking the thoughts from her head as she moved to follow Sten's orders just as the rest of the Cubs were. She quickly began directing some of the volunteers out of the hangar, Once a sizable amount had emptied from the hangar freeing up space she quickly singled out members of her department and stuck her fingers into the sides of her mouth and let out a loud high pitched whistle. A whistle that most of her department knew and recognized. Pulling her PADD from one of the pockets on her uniform she quickly brought up the diagnostics of the Fighters still waiting to launch as her department's members gathered around her. She quickly began to give out assignments singling out which fighters needed the most work and what could wait till a later time.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #37 –
[ Sar-unga / Dyan Cardamone | Inside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 ] Attn: Wenn Cinn

Two individuals materialised inside the Captain's Yacht, the light from the transporter beam making the shadows inside the powered-down vessel dance along the walls. Once they solidified, Sar-unga looked around the aft compartment to make sure Declan Vasser hadn't got there ahead of them. Then, she rounded on Wenn Cinn, half expecting the Bajoran to be wroth with her even before she had a chance to explain herself.

Looking at him, however, he appeared like a mirage - the sight of him shifting between the image of her yore enemy and that of the Theurgy's Chief of Security. Frowning, it took her a moment to realise that her Velsren sac was healing the 'damage' that the Winter Queen had inflicted upon the synaptic patterns of her brain. Blinking, she tried to make the large man stay in one shape, but to no avail. In time, she supposed, the effects would have subsided completely.

"Yes, I changed the destination on the transporter controls," she said, and she supposed that if they made it through the ensuing battle, the man would be her new department head. "I wrote to Thea and she replied that the traitor, Declan Vasser, is heading in this direction."

While she said this, she deftly removed her uniform jacket, pulling it back from her arms and her wings with a bit of an awkward struggle. Especially since Zaraq had torn off her trousers and her panties before he... No point in lingering on what had happened in the interrogation room. Her golden undershirt was riven apart at the front as well, and she imagined that she had blood on her chin after biting the Master-at-Arms since she saw her fair skin flecked with blood across her bare breasts.

"She also wrote that the man was an Augment, and while I am not sure what that means, exactly, I seem to recall that they were some kind of genetically engineered humans, were they not?" she barged on, wanting the Bajoran on her side. She tied the uniform jacket around her hips to restore a modicum of modesty in front of her superior officer. It was the best she could do given the circumstances. Once the torn and tattered garment was secured, she reached up to try and tie her split undershirt together as well.  "I mean to ambush him here, and take him out. Yet if you insist, sir, I suppose he must be apprehended and put into the Brig as according to security protocol."

As she struggled, the flashing lights from the compartment's windows - the red alert klaxons muffled to them - caught her white hair and her small, curved horns. Her subtle claws almost snagged at her undershirt while she worked, finally managing to tie the undershirt across and underneath her breasts. Done, she folded her wings behind her back and raised her chin to look into the Bajoran's eyes. "I won't lie. Killing Declan Vasser is personal to me. I was on the Harbinger, and he betrayed me both in the capacity of my Commanding Officer and as a lover. When I got to the bridge to try and stop him, to making him abandon the sudden intent to secure the Theurgy for himself, he had his Vulcan slattern break my mind and throw me into the Brig. There, Zaraq - your brain-washed Master-at-Arms - f-forced himself on me. Sir, I hope you understand my reasons, and I hope you can support me, rather than stop me... Please."

Her eyes were hard in the flashing lights of the dark compartment, and it might be the shadows playing a trick on the eye, but there was a mixture of emotions radiating from her green orbs. Ire mixed with shame for her defeat. She was a warrior, proud and old, and by Vasser's orders, she had been reduced to something... less. In human culture, which she had tried to emulate when she had just been Petty Officer Cardamone to everyone around her, there was a saying that seemed appropriate for the moment, and she remembered it well from her preparations to enlist in Starfleet.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

OOC: More posts due here as soon as I can write them.

Also, since Jien Ives, Cameron Henshaw and Edena Rez beamed to Below Decks via the shuttle before getting into the turbolift and being attacked by Vasser, Sar-unga and Wenn Cinn has arrived to the aft compartment of the Yacht before Declan Vasser dragged Edena Rez there. It gives us a couple of IC minutes to an exchange between Wenn Cinn and Sar-unga before they hear the commotion outside the Yacht. No worries, I think we can cover the wait for Declan to show with my next post, and tie the entire scene together into a single time-frame. In summary, they hear nothing besides the klaxon just yet. Looking forward to read Wenn Cinn's reaction to this, no to mention seeing Edena Rez at Vasser's mercy.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #38 –
[ Rihen Neyah | Corridor - Life Support Systems | Deck 07 ] Attn: Ryuan Sel, Sarresh Morali & Skye Carver

Seeing the chair hit the armoured man, even if he struck it aside with his arm, made Rihen realise the great folly of her actions. The Starfleeter was armed, and as a Risian, she knew how hateful men might react if denied what they wanted in terms of the Jamaharon. Her people's generosity bridged that dark hate and placated their anger, but her act had not been generous. She had thrown a chair at him, just as he was about to...

The brief glimpse of his narrowed eyes assured her that her final moment had come.

But suddenly, his gaze - or his whole head - was jerked to the side. Struck by a metal canister and sending the man reeling sideways. A disjointed stumble, which might have been jocular if it weren't for the way the bone structure of his face looked afterwards... and the fact that he still brandished a phaser in his right hand, and a bright, deadly beam scorched a sharp line across the bulkhead, going straight for Rihen.

With a scream, Rihen dove to the deck to save herself. She did not realise that her companions were coming around the corner behind her.  Not until it was too late. She looked over her shoulder, eyes wide in horror as the beam cut straight towards Skye Carver and Lin Kae. Both were about to die, she realised, and yet she couldn't tear her mismatched eyes away from the imminent death of the two Starfleeters she had met on Nimbus III. Was she screaming for them to get down, or just out of panic? In the end, her fear bested her and she curled up, covering her eyes. The beam would cut across their faces and their necks.

There were no screams of pain, so their deaths had to be quick. It was a small comfort to Rihen, who had failed to warn them. Her survival instincts made her look at the man in the exo-suit, at least, to see if he was going to kill her next. What she saw, however, was that the hateful man had taken a bad fall - tripped over by the man in the gown.

While the limp arms and legs danced a galvanic gavotte because of the energy pulses, the man's head had ended up inside a wall-mounted control panel. Rihen could see cables sticking out of it, so it must have been damaged before his fall into it. The phaser lay on the floor, no longer emitting its deadly beam, so maybe...

She looked back to see Lin Kae and Skye Carver.

They were still on their feet, if perhaps a bit shocked.

"What is going on here?" asked the EMH when he rounded the corner as well, still carrying Selena Ravenholm in his arms. His frown travelled between the escaped patient in the medical gown who was getting back on his feet, to the barely clothed Bajoran with the phaser rifle who did not look happy at all, then to Rihen looking so relieved her smile was positively beaming, and lastly to the Holographic Specialist and the fighter pilot, who looked like they'd just had a near death experience. None of the organics seemed to acknowledge that there was - ironically so - a man sticking out of the wall next to Life Support.

"My programming has not covered this situation," he said, not entirely pleased about being unable to attend the medical emergency before him. Apparently, the repairs of emitters down the corridor had ceased, and the present crew members were just looking between themselves, so he could not carry the patient in his arms much further either. "What should I do?"

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #39 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Corridor | Outside Cargo Bay 04 | Deck 02 ] Attn: Heather McMillan

It was hard not to watch the strange and yet fetching phenomenon of the Radiant's body; how it glowed and shimmered with every movement. It was as if the thing inside watched her too, but with a wary stillness that Lucan thought uncharacteristic to the parasite. Normally, it would chant for him to brutalise her - to harm and defile her dead body. The silence could have meant anything, of course, but when she laid that glimmering hand against his bare torso, it was as if the nameless darkness... retreated.

No. The sudden and desperate surge for control of his body made him understand - the shriek that came from the abyss making it plain. When cornered, it would attack. The loud demand for her blood was deafening, and yet he maintained control, not letting himself slip away. He had thought it harder, of late, but it was as if the presence of the Radiant gave him the willpower to resist, and while images of what he'd do to her flashed before his eyes...

His tattooed hand tearing her hair, slamming her into the bulkhead. Repeatedly. Screaming as he struck her head open against the unyielding surface. Gushing blood hit his eyes, and yet he stared into her cerebral cavity - white teeth shining in a face blackened with blood. Did Radiants have the same sanguine, iron-based blood as himself? He had to spill it all to know for certain. Taste it on his fingers.

...he merely smiled gently to her as she helped treat his wounds. His mind intact, he could instead appreciate how her hair glowed and floated on the minute air currents in the corridor. She shifted colours too, and it made him wonder what it meant. If he did not know better, having observed what his bodily impression did upon both genders of most species, he would say she was attracted to him. He held the cold compress against his ribs dutifully, and watched her every movement with his pale grey eyes, thanking her quietly when she gave him the hiss of her hypospray - eyes unblinking. "My gratitude."

Then she spoke of her trepidation; her fear for the crew's reaction. Slowly, he took the bundle of his dirty undershirt into his tattooed hands, sorting out the garment as he spoke his mind - unravelling the complicated matter.  "I cannot claim any deeper understanding of the human race, but those in Starfleet are more than used to the unknown. Also, it would not be the first time someone on this ship revealed themselves to be... other than they first said they were. Our First Officer initially revealed herself to be an operative from Starfleet Intelligence, sent to ensure that our unique technology aboard wouldn't fall into the wrong hands by any means necessary. That included the death of everyone aboard. Compared to what you appear to be, that is far worse, and see how that turned out for her." His eyes travelled between the piece of cloth and her while he spoke in his deep voice. "Then you have the more recent matter of Dyan Cardamone, a Petty Officer in Security that was like you - unique and hiding in plain sight. Sar-unga, which would be her Asurian name, allowed us in Medical to use her Velsren sac to save the life of Sarresh Morali - our Temporal Affairs Officer. Her true mission had been to observe and evaluate whether or not the Asurians ought to make a diplomatic approach the Federation and apply for a membership."

The notion made him chuckle. "I reckon that Dyan would advise against it, given the circumstances."

Then, she spoke of her luminescence and how it was quickly becoming an addiction. When she said that it felt satisfying to use her abilities, Lucan could but compare them to his own. "When I touch the elements around me, I do not feel anything else than the drain and the... immensity of channeling the powers through the zi'naaq in my body. While addictive to some Câroon, our psionic link to the elements can kill us if we do not learn how to control the flow. Those who try to channel too much all end up dead, or their zi'naaq are burned out, which equals a bedridden life with severe mental trauma. When the zi'naaq are balanced and whole, we are too."

With that as a comparison to what she said she felt, he climbed to his feet with a kind smile. "If your mother did not warn you of any dangers, then you should feel blessed, and feel free to express who you are. The Radiants have been hiding until now, so indulge yourself as long as you don't blind people or intimidate them." Standing, he tried to get back into his undershirt without jarring his ribs. "Life is too short to deny oneself the simple pleasures in life, unless you absolutely have to."

Since he was supposed to avoid strenuous activity, perhaps he had to. Then again, doctors were the worst patients...

"I need to return to Sickbay, but we could use a hand," he said, not objecting if she'd offer to follow him. His dirty undershirt caught across the bicep of his injured side, he added with a slow chuckle. "In fact, I could too."

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #40 –
[Carrigan Trent | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 - Bridge]

When the hail from Calamity came, Trent wasted no time in ensuring the link would be receive-only.  For one thing, he entertained the certainty that the AI that controlled the future starship had no idea he was on board the Theurgy and while he could be reasonably certain that every tactical log and analysis pertaining to the senior and tactical staff of both renegade starships were part of her databases, it would not do to give her a hint there was someone on board whose patterns and way of thinking were not immediately on hand.  Also, there was the risk of cyberwarfare.  A two-way link might be all that Calamity would need to attack their own computers. 

The sight of the Calamity-class ship's bridge might have rattled some; after all, it had been savage and there were fires burning uncontrollably in zero-gravity.  If anything, maintaining atmosphere in a section that had visibly been hulled already was something that was notoriously inefficient for a ship that lacked a living and breathing crew and Trent was left with the single conclusion that the choice had been made to affect weak-willed biological lifeforms, if the message itself had not been clear enough.  However, if that was the desired effect it had been sorely failed with Carrigan Trent.  He knew what it was like to be on a Bridge on fire, to feel his ship get demolished about his ears.  And knowing he was responsible for the damage a superior foe had already incurred did not result in a blow to his confidence but it bolstered it instead.  In fact, if it had been a pristine Bridge showing, that would have been much more likely to rattle him, at least at first. 

Once the line cut and the incoming torpedoes showed on the plot, Trent's voice sounded again across the Bridge as his fingers moved furiously across his own consoles at the command chair.  "Donovra, I'm taking over shield management and a few emitters from each phaser strip.  Focus strictly on offence and getting good firing solutions.  Miss Stark, we're going for broke.  Have engineering take the warp drive off line and redirect the warp core's output to the shields."  Indeed, this was not an engagement that would be allowed to end inconclusively with one or both ships withdrawing.  Calamity was fully intent to vaporize the Theurgy and conversely, the AI-controlled warship could not be allowed to escape by virtue of their quarry going to warp.

As he spoke, Trent's fingers were still doing their magic with the portions of the phaser array he had taken control of.  By design, the phaser strips were intended to be as flexible as possible and emitters could be task to independent targets.  And what the Lieutenant Commander was doing was a rapid reconfiguration for a little-used possible function and he drastically lowered the power output, shortened the length of each blast and increased the rate of fire.  Against even a contemporary starship it would be the next best thing to useless; a fighter hit squarely might be rattled but unless they had taken repeated impacts they were likely to get out of such a blast in one piece.  Torpedoes, on the other hand, were unshielded and unarmoured.  And considering that Calamity's electronic warfare suite had either been vaporize alongside two of her three vectors or had been part of the debris field that was streaming from her remaining one was unknown but it meant that Theurgy's active sensors were functioning unimpeded and along with the staggering computing power that could be devoted to the tactical systems, the use of phasers as a point-defence system against incoming torpedoes was more than a viable option.  In fact, while Calamity's phasers struck and were deflected by Theurgy's shields, her torpedoes did not even get within a two hundred thousand kilometers of their target. 

As Theurgy twisted madly, interposing different shield sectors to incoming fire and bringing different weapon aspects to bear, Trent was a steady presence in the command chair.  His face was impassive as he kept designating incoming torpedoes for destruction and constantly adjusting shield power to maintain as unbroken a defence as possible.  And this was when he heard Lieutenant Tovarek speak.  When had he entered the Bridge?  So absorbed by his work had Trent been that he hadn't heard the doors opening.  And the man's voice sent a brief pang of regret through his gut as his accent reminded him of that kid, Yelchin back on the Battle Bridge and how he'd been murdered by T'Rena.  However, the information he provided was more than valuable.  "Outstanding Mister Tovarek.  Feed that to Tactical.  In the meantime, take over updating the tactical plot from Commander Stark, give her something less to worry about."

The orders were given quietly, not even turning his head away from the viewscreen, focused strictly on the overlaid tactical data.  Back when he was at the Academy and after he took over as captain of the Harrier, he had made a point to not allow the viewscreen to be used as a glorified windshield when the ship was taking part in drastic maneuvers; after all, it only took one man to lose his lunch from the combination of the inertial dampeners not fully compensating for the movement of a twisting and turning starship and the rapidly shifting view to make the Bridge a thoroughly unpleasant place.  And that was a lesson he had learned the hard way on a simulator. 

But despite his calm demeanour, Trent was nervous.  What sort of combat endurance did Calamity have?  These gaps in her shields, would they give enough of a chink in her defences to be fully exploited before she would batter Theurgy into scrap metal?  He had no way to know.  However, his doubts never made it to this face.  Instead, he was simply giving orders in his typical near-whisper voice, letting the officers about him do their work even as he did his.  And his train of thought was barged into, again, by another familiar voice.

Henshaw, the Captain's yeoman.  He had seen her horror when Fedd had tried to convince her to join the mutiny and that had been enough to convince the Intelligence Officer that she was to be trusted.  The report she made was a little long-winded for his taste, but then again she wasn't a tactical-trained officer despite her red shirt and as such he would refrain from addressing that at a later time.  But the fact she made this report, aloud and for everyone to hear, brought  a ghost of a smile to Trent's lips.  Part of it, whether she knew it or not, would cement his authority on the remainder of the Bridge crew.  After all, if Captain Ives had full confidence in his abilities to command it ought to resonate well enough with those loyal to the Chameloid.  And to know that she was going personally to hunt down Vasser and exact upon him what retribution she saw fit was also good news.  Yes, Vasser had to have gone over Ives' files, as much as he could.  But he was not Intelligence, and there was much, much classified data he could not have had access to.  And that tidbit turned his barely existent smile, albeit briefly, into a savage rictus.  Vasser really had no idea who he was dealing with.

However, when she was finished, Trent spoke directly to the Yeoman, although his eyes remained fixed on the screen in front of him and he never paused from his work with the shields and his point-defence efforts, first addressing the Captain's orders.  "That was the plan, Ensign.  It's them or us and I intend to still be breathing at the end of the day."  Optimism.  Everyone needed to hear that just about now.  And even with his doubts as to Theurgy's combat endurance compared to their enemy's, he actually meant what he had said.  He intended to live and see Theurgy through this mess. 

However, it left the small matter of what do with the Yeoman now that she was up there.  He already had a useless pair of hands in the form of that loudmouth Security crewman and he had overworked personel to deal with.  "Yeoman, I need you at Mission Ops.  You're taking over controlling the fighters.  I want them in a screening role against those Reavers; we can't afford a fight on multiple fronts right now."

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #41 –
[ Declan Vasser | Outside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 ] Attn: Edena Rez

When the Theurgy's First Officer decided to defy his clear instructions to stay where she was, Declan Vasser had half a mind to kill her on the spot, but that was an impulse of short-sightedness that he would never act on. The Trill was his bargaining ship for free passage away from the battle. This, of course, provided that he managed to launch the yacht before the Calamity gained superiority and attacked him instead. In that case, he had an alternative plan, but the odds were less fortunate.

So, he did not shoot Edena Rez when she moved to stand on the opposite side of the control station, but the muzzle of his hand phaser followed the Trill's every move. His aim against her heart was unfaltering because of his perfect hand-eye coordination - peripheral vision quite sufficient.

While the possession of the woman's body was at contest, Declan secured the power flows to the connectors. He heard the broken-off suggestion from the Rez symbiont's former host while he made sure the yacht's power would remain online for the launch - hard-wiring the supply to prevent Thea from shutting him down. The port access door had to remain opened. Next were the docking clamps, which were another matter entirely. He could not do anything about them from the control station. Therefore, he raised his hard stare to scowl at the Commander as Edena Rez, evidently, regained control of her own body.

"No...no I won't. This is my body, Jona, and we're not going anywhere!"

"How can a ghost offer me counsel," he said in cutting, uncompromising judgement, "when he can't even retain his voice? A traitorous ghost, no less, who try to flatter himself into my grace, and in the next breath speaks of the obvious as if it was some kind of secret - privy to him alone. Of course the Captain may come here, and if he does, I am fully prepared to handle that contingency. The only thing you and the other hosts can offer me is that female body's pleasant company for as long as I need it, so you should devote your collective efforts and years of experience to make sure you are truly pleasant company. Even then, you would not be more than an idle curiosity - easily discarded when rations run short."

Declan walked around the control station that separated them, each step perfectly measured and calculated - phaser secure in his fingers by his hip. "All aboard, Commander. Start walking... and do keep your hands where I can see them. It is not like I will be missing them if I have to burn them off."

From the cockpit, he would gain access to the weapon systems, and then he could use the phaser array to cut the yacht out of the belly of the starship. Like a caesarean section, only with the newborn wielding the exo-scalpel to free itself from its dying mother.


[ Captain Jien Ives | Outside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 ] Attn: Edena Rez

The doors along the corridor whisked by as Jien ran towards the docking bay of the Captain's Yacht. There were hardly any people in her way, and before long - and with Thea's confirmation that the last part of the path was clear - she burst through the sliding doors with her weapon in a one-handed grip. Her oaken eyes scanned the bay area and quickly spotted Declan Vasser and Edena Rez. They were on the middle of the twenty meter gangway to the yacht, about to enter the vessel through the port access.

Declan spotted Jien immediately, and with a brutal grip on her hair and pressing her up against the waist-level railing of the gangway, the Augment had put Edena Rez between himself and Jien - pressing the cold emitter of his hand phaser deep into the side of the Trill's troat. Jien secured her aim with both hands and approached her end of the gangway with careful steps - chest heaving from her sprint but eyes focused along her sights.

"It seems even dead people can predict you, Jien Ives," said the Declan cryptically - ice-blue eyes locked with the Chameloid's across Edena's shoulder. "Unless you throw your weapon into the maintenance pit below, I will remove the head from your First Officer and toss it there instead. Either way, I am quicker than you, and my aim more true, so you will die. It is merely her life in the balance here, so it would be a pity if you wouldn't practice what you've preached in your final moments alive. How do you want to be remembered? Like me, or like the insufferable red-tapist that you are?"

Jien did not answer at first, edging closer to the gangway - her dark hair framing her austere countenance. "You took command of my ship," she said, crystal clear words echoing across the docking area, "and now you are abandoning it. I am merely here to ensure you stay, like any Captain would."

While the battle with the Calamity raged in full, and the docking area heaved with the impact of enemy fire, the two Captains had reached an impasse...

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #42 –
[ Aisha S'Iti | Main Bridge | Deck 01 ] Attn: Bridge Crew
The veridian hued officer obeyed as the ship turned into arc repositioning the ship so the most of the ships non recharging phasers could come to bear on the Vector of the calamity that remained.  As the two ships exchanged fire she carefully adjusted the angle of attack so fresh shields were more easily rotated by into place by the Captain. 

At about that time though the desk that the new arrival had been assigned to began to issue a soft beepling sound.  The clear signal that the squadron was requesting information from the mission ops desk


[ Miles Renard | Wolf 01 | Fighter Bay ] Attn: Bridge, Deck Crew, Tac Conn Personnel
Miles nodded to the specialist as she answered his question.  "Understood," he said as he saw her head off to her duties seeing the figure of the deck boss appearing within the bay and heading over to his ship.  About midway there the bay was overcast in a red pulsing light and the lights at the bay's exit began to strobe yellow and red as the green launch clear light activated and stayed solid showing the visual signal for both clearance for take-off and the strobing red and yellow of a scramble order.  Miles looked over as he saw the deck chief reach his fighter. Giving the chief a nod he flipped the switches activating the repulsors and causing the cockpit canopy to close and seal. 

Opening a squadron wide channel he spoke. "Report to Valkyries at once. Scramble order issued; this is not a drill.  Repeat, negative on drill, scramble order issued," he calmly ordered before keying over to the mission ops channel having not received any objective information aside for a scramble order. "Wolf lead to bridge, report on mission objectives over," he said sending the mission objective request to the mission ops desk on the bridge. As he waited for the reply his fighter rose into the air rising to a high altitude within the hangar bay the canopy nearly touching the ceiling.  Keying back into into squadron communications he added, "You heard papa bear, watch out for ground clutter and launch from high hover." He throttled up the fighter, cut the repulsors, and launched himself into the unfriendly airspace.  Not for certain if their objective was to aide in damaging the Calamity or to engage enemy fighters as escort support for the Theurgy.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #43 –
[ Ryuan Sel | Corridor - Life Support Systems | Sickbay] Atten: Sarresh Morrali, Lukas "Bleed" Reed, Rihen Neyah, & others

With phaser rifle in hand Sel got to her feet. She felt and looked like a complete mess. Her hair clung to her sweat and saliva covered face and her clothes were equally soaked. She did her best to adjust her panties to cover her still slick and aroused sex. She could not help but feel as if she had been caught fucking someone, and if that distraction had been even a few seconds later she would have been. Part of her wished they would have been later. Her pheremone adled brain did her no favors there. Her body itself had left her feeling humiliated and exposed.

She looked down at the now very dead man and for a moment felt like shooting him a few more times with her phaser rifle for good measure, but that would have been a waste of a battery pack and she knew she would need it for other things soon enough.

She turned at looked at the new arrivals. "Thank the Pah Warth you got here when you did," Sel said letting out a breath as she walked over to them. Her breath was still shaking, both from her continued state of arousal and the part of her mind that was still freaking right the fuck out from the ausalt. She glanced down at 'Bleed' for a moment before looking back at the newcomers. "Though I wouldn't have objected to a few seconds earlier."

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #44 –
[ Wenn Cinn | Lower Shuttle Bay | Deck 07 |USS Theurgy ]


          Wenn Cinn as completely oblivious to the changes of the beaming coordinates, he was simply far too involved with his work on the shuttle as he tried his best to ensure that it would survive his whole ordeal, if they lost the shuttle it would likely lead to a lot of problems down the line for the Theurgy. Finally getting a set of operation that he liked Cinn ran one final simulation of the scenario to ensure that he had gotten everything on the way he had intended, and once he was ready, he set the trigger of the events to be the successful beam out of Him and Dyan.

Wenn got up from his chair and activated the program before he walked over to Dyan and put a hand on her shoulder. "Alright it is time for us to get out of here, hopefully we will not be running into anyone on our way own to the Sickbay...and hopefully Doctor Maya will be able to help you with your current situation." Without taking a second look at the coordinates Cinn gently walked with Dyan to the transporter pad and put an arm around her shoulder. Cinn was certain that he was going to simply going to beam out and have some slow time to think things though.

As they began to beam out the world grew brighter and brighter, the world around them became nothing but light and shimmers as they were energized and went off to their destination, a place that Cinn thought would be just outside some of the labs not far from Sick bay, bu he id not expect what he emerged into.





[ Wenn Cinn | Near the Captains Yacht | Deck 04 |USS Theurgy ]


As Wenn Cinn began to materialize on Deck 04 he was at first not able to realize that things were not right, but as he began to fully materialize into place he went wide-eyed as he realized that he was not where he was supposed to have beamed to in the ship. Looking around, Cinn took in his surrounding and was trying to gather where they were when Dyan began to explain what had happened. He listened to her explained what she had done and why she had done it. Cinn placed a hand to the side of his head and he took the entire situation into mind and began to piece together their current status. They were in a location that let them intercept Vasser, Dyan had actively sought out this confrontation and was not likely going to back down on her choice of action now.

Cinn was also beginning to think about the best course of action, if Vasser was coming here he would be able to put an end to things now. But then Dyan began to give an explanation of why she was so adamant on doing this as she began to strip off her uniform to give herself some semblance of decency. Her story was harsh and touching, it was also all the reasoning that Cinn needed to take full action, to him Dyan's story was all the proof he needed that Declan Vasser was a threat to the ship and the mission, no matter what they did he would be a threat, and as an augment he would never stop, and he would remain a constant threat.

With a sigh, Cinn put a hand on Dyan's shoulder. "As your superior I cannot allow you to go after Declan Vasser for purposes of revenge... but as one of my officers I am ordering you to assist me in the neutralization of Declan Vasser, it is obvious that if he remains alive he will only cause further unrest among the crew, and as an augment he cannot be kept in any form of imprisonment without risk of him eventually breaking free... as far as our story goes, upon beaming in we agree to apprehend Declan Vasser, our objective is to bring him in to answer for his crimes against the Theurgy an its crew...but I expect you to shoot to kill, we cannot allow Vasser to live." Cinn took his phaser and turned it up to  kill setting before presenting it to Dyan. "We will threaten deadly force, as an augment a stun is not likely to do anything to him." Cinn gave Dyan a nod. "Now lets work on our ambush."

Sometimes the only proper response to a threat was to remove it, to cut out the cancer and destroy it before it has a chance to cause further complications.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #45 –
[ Heather McMillan |  Outside Cargo Bay 04 | Deck 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Lucan cin Nicander

[Show/Hide]


"No, we wouldn't want to have blinded people all around." Said McMillan with a nervous laugh, "I think I had best follow you, doctor. I can't imagine what to do with myself quite honestly, if I head back to my lab, what with mutineers still unaccounted for, the Calamity on our behinds, and Lord knows what else at this point, right? I'm sure I can make myself useful somehow."

McMillan took comfort in Nicander's words of encouragement to all her concerns, even her growing addiction to her abilities. She was also interested to hear about the Câroon and their most unique quality, known as the zi'naaq, and how the Radiant shared some aspects of their quality or talents, in a sense. Well, she had seen his powers at work, so she knew there was no myth to it, and in actual fact, it really was impressive.

In addition, the news about the First Officer, and then the fact that Dyan Cardamone (Sar-Unga) was an alien much like McMillan, a pretender human, intrigued the young woman, who definitely had a passion for xenobiology. She began to channel her light, reluctant as she was, and kept it to the palms of her hands. She had the feeling her day was far from over, and as pleasurable as lighting up was, it did take energy to produce continuously, and she was young, meaning she didn't have a lot of strength yet.

"The more I practice, the stronger I will become, I suppose," said McMillan, "though that's not a given. Back home on Earth, we hardly ever shine. Don't want to draw attention to ourselves and all that. So, how long have you been away from your homeworld? Your people get weaker the longer they stay away, right?"


[ Cameron "Cam" Elizabeth Henshaw | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Carrigan Trent

[Show/Hide]


Henshaw didn't miss the barely-there smile that appeared on Commander Trent's lips, and it had made her feel a little bit better too, that she had been able to uplift his spirits, even if only a little. More importantly, she hoped everyone was behind her and the captain on this now. And as she finished her other task assigned to her by Captain Ives, she wondered how she could help out more, and that was when Trent issued the order for her, and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"Order the...fighters..." stammered Henshaw, who then quickly shook her head and clear her mind, "Y-yes, sir."

She got up and went over to the Mission Ops console, and settled down. She took deep, calming breaths. The last time she nearly had to do something like this, she had to choose between running to save her sister, or going on board the Theurgy. Her sense of duty won out, but she wasn't over her losses just yet. She also began to think about how this crew had been through a major wringer, and if they didn't really get some downtime soon, the crew was more likely to implode rather than be destroyed by anything that came at them.

Entering some commands into the console, she soon had the Valkyrie's SCO, Miles Renard requesting mission objectives. Trent's timing couldn't have been more impeccable, when he had issued his orders to Henshaw, and the young woman replied, "Wolf lead, your orders are to perform a screening role. Keep the Reavers off the Theurgy. Telemetry will be updated for you. Acknowledge, over."

She leaned back, hoping she had gotten that correct. The last thing she wanted was to get one word out of place and have the Valkyries doing something completely wrong because of her. Using her peripherals, she glanced to her left and right, feeling rather self-conscious sitting at Mission Ops, and wondering how everyone was doing.


[ Edena Rez | Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Declan Vasser & Jien Ives

[Show/Hide]


Edena was stiff for a moment as an internal struggle took place for the first time in her service to the Theurgy. Kiya and Illya were actually trying to physically restrain Jona, while Edena maintained control of her body. The three women hatched this desperate act when they came to an agreement on the matter of Jona's attempted betrayal. Kiya had been uncertain initially, but Edena motivated her by pointing out that this would separate them from Ives, and Illya didn't really care initially, but Vasser didn't exactly push her to the idea of sticking with him, and Edena herself figured that her odds alone with Vasser in a small ship were slim-to-nothing. So, with the combined wills of Kiya and Illya, Edena had finally managed to show some spirit.

And there was Vasser, pointing his weapon at her and ordering her about, so secure in his knowledge that as an augment, very little could match him strength for strength. Edena knew she certainly was no match physically, and even if Jona and Illya were helping her, they would be dead. But despite this knowledge, all the stress of late, it...pushed her over the edge. She glared at the man. "I'm so sick and tired of being pushed around like so much hmpf!"

Her rant was interrupted by Vasser grabbing her hair and shoving her against the side of the ship, and his weapon trained on her neck, "All right all right!" She changed her mind, maybe going in would be smarter, give her time to think a bit more...

But then she heard the voice of Jien Ives, and her head turned, eyes full of hope...only to be replaced with dread as Vasser went on.

He's right, Ives doesn't have a chance... Edena thought.

Edena...no! Kiya counseled. It's not too late to give up hope.

We don't know that! Edena argued, Vasser could kill Ives before she even has a chance, but not if she's set the weapon to kill at full power.

The ghosts in her head, even the struggling Jona went silent. Edena took that as a sign and looked right at Jien Ives and mimed the words, "Full power, do it."

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #46 –
[ Axius "Quake" Onea | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf-04 ] Attn: Wolves & Mission Ops

So they launched, the Lone Wolves of the USS Theurgy - the sole squadron of unique fighters. 

Or rather, just four of them did, since five of them were MIA since the hostile takeover, and three never got to their Valkyries in time. Oracle was dead, Nightmare was missing, and Kestrel was protecting Ives Loyalists somewhere on the ship. Instead, two Harbinger pilots had heeded the call to arms - Petty Officers Andrew "Smoke" Sullivan and Gregory "Titan" Tilliander, who unbeknownst to them where the last survivors on the Theurgy that hailed from the Dor'GhItlh Squadron.

While they launched, Cala spelled their doom clearly through a wide-frequency hail, and as they vacated the Fighter Assault Bay from on high, they met the canon fire of the huntress head-on. Torpedoes screamed, phasers flared and electric shouting cut the eardrums. In the cockpit of one of the Lone-Wolf fighters, Quake fought through the red-lit chaos that had ensued. Even as he survived the hellfire from their launch, sensors showed that Reavers were inbound as well - seven of them spreading out to attack the Theurgy from all possible directions. The holographic pilots cut close, released their advanced ordinance to tear the Theurgy's shields apart , and were off again to come back from somewhere else.

Orders for the Lone Wolves and the two Harbinger pilots were to provide a defence screen against the Reavers, yet being outnumbered by fighters more advanced than their own, and with upgraded software that anticipated their individual flight patterns, establishing space superiority and closing the net proved far harder than anticipated. Especially since the Theurgy was not exactly remaining still either. Furthermore, the Lone Wolves were accustomed to having Winterbourne at the helm of their base ship, and now, they could not anticipate Chief S'Iti's evasive manoeuvres quite as easily. 

"This is a bloody nightmare," whispered Quake to himself without activating comms, and it did not take long before the first casualties were reported on the HUDs. Titan and Smoke flew and fought admirably, and few pilots would have escaped the hairy situations they faced in the minute that they lasted. Nine times, they pulled through with their MK II fighters, but as the tenth strike from the Reavers came, their less advanced attack fighters failed them, and they perished seconds apart - going out in twain blazes of glory as they repelled enemy fire from Thea.

When you thought death was breathing down your neck, Axius was better trained than to think of the life he'd led or the mistakes he'd made. If he hadn't devoted himself solely on his duties, he might have thought about loosing his parents on Câroon and being saved from his orphanage by Starfleet. He could have thought upon his career or the hardships that the Theurgy had been through. He would have thought about the Festival of the Moon and his night with Rihen Neyah. He might have cursed Captain Vasser's name for betraying Ives and the mission, and blame Nightmare for the death of Oracle.

Yet until the end, Quake fought without failure... until a damaged Reaver got into his flight trajectory.

The two attack fighters collided, and the last thing Quake saw was his canopy being caved in by the bulk of the burning Reaver. 


[ Calamity "Cala" NX-79995 | Ship A.I. | Vector 01 ] Attn: All

With her arms folded, Cala watched from her burning main bridge - her link to her vector's systems allowing her direct control without touching any of the stations around her. Her dark hair floated around her face as she absorbed the data from her sensor arrays and reacted with her tactical systems. Bold in her attack patterns, she never maintained the same heading for long - spinning and twisting as she dealt with the hard-points released against her with flaring phasers. She responded in kind to whatever the Theurgy launched at her, and her evasive manoeuvres were more rapid than her 'mother's' pilot - operating fatigue no issue for herself. She could keep moving, always, regardless the velocity, and she could still remain perfectly attuned to how the battle was unfolding.

Her shields were failing her because of the damage she had sustained from the mines, and the organics were targeting her cyclonic defences in a very deliberate and effective fashion, but in all her calculations, it would not matter. The Theurgy and the Valkyrie fighters would all be destroyed before then, and even if the Harbinger was inbound at maximum warp, the outdated warship would not last more than 62,456 seconds.

Already, two of Thea's attack fighters were destroyed, and the third had lost its pilot in a collision with one of her own Reavers - making it out of commission. She had merely lost that one Reaver, six of them still raiding Thea's defences. While the majority of the torpedoes Cala fired were being neutralised before reaching their target, the Reavers' close-proximity barrages another matter entirely, and Cala's pulsing phaser beams had just as much precision as precision as she had mercy - their effectiveness superior to that of Thea's emitters in terms of both energy levels and fire-ratio.

Cut by searing cut, Cala was wearing her prey down. 

That was when she noticed a lone Reaver approaching her Vector, and she scanned it - sensor readings telling her that it was one of her own. It's data-registry was the same as the Reaver that had been destroyed moments ago, and the discrepancy was of the nature to demand her immediate attention. Cala turned her eyes to watch the attack fighter on her viewscreen - her digital mind dissecting the tactical situation. 

A situation that changed... when a number of warp signatures showed up on her long-range sensors - heralding the arrival of new combatants in the battle. Both her own, and survivors from outside the Class-9 nebula.


[ Evelyn "Ranger" Rawley | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf-06 ] Attn: Wolves & Mission Ops

With no less than seven Reavers on their tail, Evelyn Rawley dropped out of warp in the midst of the battle - Nathaniel "Maverick" Isley at her side and with Wolf-03 and 08 flanking them. Four of the missing wolves returning.

"Fucking hell," breathed Rawley as the red-lit vista of the battle before the proto star revealed itself before her - making the stains of her blood-flecked visor vanish. She saw two vectors of the Calamity destroyed and drifting away in the strong gravitational pull, but the saucer section - while looking like a cat had clawed it raw - was still fighting on. Fighting well, too. On the far side of the Calamity, the Theurgy could be seen, with just four white Valkyries trying to defend it against the raids of Reavers that swept by relentlessly. Evelyn watched the base ship, preying that her half-brother was prepared for the battle of his life. Cale Winterbourne had yet to fail them, and now would be his trail-by-fire. That was, if they were going to survive at all.

There was no time to admire the view, however, since their pursuers dropped out of warp too and immediately opened fire against them from their six. Rawley yanked her stick sideways into a barrel roll, head throbbing from her injuries but she ignored the vertigo that made her eyes blur. 

[Wolf-Zero-Nine to Wolf-Leader,] said Nathaniel on the squadron intercom, [Confirm priority of escort of base-ship, over!] If Renard had other ideas for them, they needed to know, but the only obvious course would be to fall in line and protect the Theurgy, even if it meant that their seven pursuers would add to the opposition. Things were looking really grim, and they also had to get around the Calamity itself without being picked off one-by-one like cans on a fence.

Then, a cryptic message appeared on the inside of their visors - a written message via subspace link from an unknown sender.

ONLINE REAVER SYSTEM ANALYSIS COMPLETE

REAVER SQUADRON SHIELD HARMONICS: 7259.41679.DNIBD.F328F2
ROTATING ALGORITHM: 14 CYCLES/3,574 MILLISECONDS BY RIJNDAEL STANDARD 47
ENCRYPTION KEY: ANUNNAKI
SENSOR-CLOAK PHASING VARIANCE: - 5673,233

HAPPY HUNTING, WOLVES

THEA

Reading this, Rawley could not help the grin that touched her bloodied lips, transferring the data from the message into her Valkyrie's sensor array and targeting system.

"This is Wolf-Zero-Six," said Rawley on the squadron channel, "I saw all of that was sent to us via the Mission Ops channel, and I don't know how Thea did it, but I am sure as fucking hell not going to complain. Let's destroy these bloody things once and for all!" 


[ Thea | Mk I Reaver Attack Fighter ] Attn: Wolves & Mission Ops

After sending the data package to the Lone Wolves and Mission Ops via subspace link, Thea shut down the system diagnostics and turned her attention to her daughter's last Vector. It was as if she could sense Cala staring back at her. Any moment, she might open fire on the damaged Reaver that she had acquired for her personal mission.

She had jeopardised her ability to feel and be like an organic could just so that she could try and save Cala. Lin Kae's portable emitter had allowed her to be with others in a way that her original set-up had never allowed, and she had even been able to step outside her own hull and gaze upon herself during the sunset on Theta Eridani IV. If the emitter inside her abdomen would be destroyed by Cala, she might never be able to feel or experience anything like that again, but compared to the idea of loosing Cala to the enemy was worse. She would do whatever she could, which felt to her like the right thing to do, in order to restore Cala's programming.

After reaching out to key in the command, the message appeared on her visor.

DOCKING REQUEST ON UPPER SHUTTLE BAY

Milliseconds passed, becoming two seconds before the reply from Cala came:

REQUEST DENIED

Followed by:

MOTHER

Then, the warnings of new weapon signatures on the Calamity lit up. Alerts blared about Thea and her Reaver being targeted by the Calamity-class last remaining vector.

OOC: Looking forward to what Morrigan, GoldenEyes and Iron Fox comes up with for to take out those Reavers! Feel free to plough through them all as realistically as possible. You may also NPC Maverick and Wolves 03 and 08 (as long as you leave their gender and names unknown! These may be named by new applicants alone.)

Posts with Ives and Dyan are due tomorrow. :)

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #47 –
[ Maya | Main Sickbay | Deck 07 ]  Attention: Hayden O'Connor, Cir'Cie, Hylota Vojona 

Maya left Cir'Cie in the intensive care ward to find the ranking medical officer, Counselor Hayden O'Connor.  Maya didn't know if Hayden was trained to manage sickbay in battle conditions, but since the counselor was a full lieutenant she gave her the benefit of the doubt.   Before she could find her, the little Vulcan staggered as the Theurgy was rocked by enemy weapons fire.


[ Master Chief Petty Officer William Robert "Billy Bob" O'Connell | USS Theurgy | Main Engineering | Deck 10 ] 

When the Theurgy had been commissioned, its initial compensators were so efficient that the ship could bank at Warp Nine without anybody noticing.  Unfortunately it had been a long time since the ship had seen drydock.  Although the internal compensators were up to civilian standards it would be a stretch to say they'd pass that of Starfleet's unless it was the Starfleet of a hundred years ago.  As a result, every bank and turn caused the deck to tilt and the personnel in engineering stumble around like extras from the 23rd century holonovel Captain Kirk and the Balance of Terror.  The Theurgy was evading as quickly as the impulse drives could turn her, but at least they hadn't been hit yet.

O'Connell didn't call the bridge and ask for a sitrep.  During combat the flow of information went the other way.  Reality flowed to the bridge and orders came from the bridge.  That's the way it was, and O'Connell had served as a propulsion chief in the past enough to know the drill.  But this was no drill.  Unless the erratic flight of the ill repaired Theurgy-class was enough to confuse the Calamity's firing computer Master Chief O'Connell's first stint as chief engineer would last only minutes.

"Master Chief!" Chief Manfredi cried.  "We've been hit!  Shields four and five are damaged!  We're losing pressure on the warp power conduits!"

"It's plasma injector five!" Crewman Fok shouted.  "It's shut down again!"

"Hell," O'Connell grunted as he staggered across main engineering to the offending injector.  "Hyperspanner!" he barked as the ship rocked with another hit. 

"Hyperspanner!"  Petty Officer Arex echoed as he handed O'Connell a long multipurpose engineering tool shaped like a billy club.

Without a word O'Connell struck the offending injector with the hyperspanner.

"Regaining pressure on plasma Master Chief!" Manfredi called.

"Okay," O'Connell nodded as he handed the hyperspanner back to Arex.  "Now who do we got to repair those shields?"


[ Tessa May Lance | Lone Wolves Squadron | Wolf -07 | USS Theurgy ]  Attention: Wolves and Mission Ops

"Report to Valkyries at once. Scramble order issued; this is not a drill.  Repeat, negative on drill, scramble order issued," Miles Renard instructed over the squadron communications.   "You heard papa bear, Watch out for ground clutter and launch from high hover."

"Roger that Ironwolf; this is Goldeneye," Tessa replied in a surprisingly professional voice as her Valkyrie rose from the deck to match Wolf-01's altitude.  "I'm on your six and ready to launch into the black."  As Miles' Valkyrie left the hanger Tessa tried to remember what their mission objectives were.  Did they hold a meeting for the attack on the space station?  No, they were reacting to an attack by the Calamity.  Right.  No plan.  The only thing for it was to follow Wolf-01 and try to keep the enemy fighters from destroying the Theurgy.    Ironwolf or someone on the bridge could decide whether they were supposed to protect the Harbinger too, attack the Calamity, or try something else.  It was time to stop worrying and let the training take over.  Taking a deep breath, Tessa pointed her Valkyrie's nose out the hangar doors and soared out of the Theurgy into the empty void.

That empty void was filled with enemy fire nanoseconds after Tessa Valk cleared the hanger.  There was no time to think.  They were outnumbered and outgunned by the advanced fighters from the future, but Tessa was going to be damned if the Lone Wolves were going to be outclassed.  The entire mission Tessa had been ashamed of herself for becoming so undisciplined but now that lack of discipline was going to save her life.  Her erratic manner of flying made it difficult to predict her trajectory, as opposed to the textbook method she was known for before she became a fugitive.  

Using her Valkyrie's pulse phasersTessa was able to cause the enemy fighters' shields to register as energy readings, allowing her to lock her microtorpedoes at them and actually hit.  The targeting software Miles had them install had done the trick!  It was actually possible to shoot the bastards and take them down.  The Reavers may have been state of the art, but their pilots were green.  They flew the way regulations told them to but the Lone Wolves were past using the book ages ago.

So far the five of them were holding their own, and four Valkyries had appeared on her scope.  The Wolves who had launched during the mutiny were still alive and coming in to even the odds!  It was too good to be true!

And then Quake's fighter vanished from her scope.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #48 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Corridor > Turbolift | Deck 02 ] Attn: Heather McMillan

As they walked down the corridor at a brisk pace in order to reach the turbo-lifts, Lucan got his undershirt on and raked back some hair from his face with a tattooed hand. Sickbay awaited them both, and Lucan was pleased that the civilian had chosen to assist since he had the impression that the ensuing battle with the Calamity would give his medical team... plenty to do. When the Radiant asked him about his home world, and how long he had been away, his emotional response to the question was greater than he had thought, even if not too much of it showed in his demeanour.

"The bond between Câroon and their home planet is... hard to explain to anyone that hasn't been raised there. We learn from early age to attune ourselves to the elements around us. Our climate is harsh, and it is through evolutionary survival that we have adapted and realised our own potential. She never speaks to us, even if religions and cults have formed and fallen over the millennia that glorified our planet as a sentient being. Most of use have abandoned such ideas, knowing that 'she' is no more sentient than any other planetoid out there."

They stepped into the turbolift while Lucan continued, and his tone was almost solemn when speaking of his home, despite his conflicting emotions about his own people. "Even if we can channel the elements around us when away from our home planet, it is not quite the same. As crude as it might sound, an adequate comparison would be that channeling anything else than 'her' is like being intimate with a stranger while you are in love with someone else. You... long for the embrace of your true love, and it becomes more difficult to deny yourself the air, water and soil of Câroon. Therefore, you become less and less compelled to channel the elements, and since it's a skill, you forget, and you cannot safely wield the elements to the same extent that you once could. In time, with lack of practice and desire for it, we cannot use our abilities safely at all. Not unless we return... and relearn."

Speaking of it, Lucan realised that - in a way - his home planet was like Kisane. He might be with other men and women for the sake of furthering his own goals, but it was not quite the same. He had to do it if he was to succeed, and over time, he had found himself seeking forgiveness in the arms of all those willing women for the dead one he had failed to protect. Yet as much as he sought redemption, none had made him forget her. Everything he'd done, both vile and good, he had done for her.

"As for how long I've been awa-". Suddenly, the ship and the turbolift shook, the impact of enemy fire familiar since they escaped Earth months ago. Lucan lost his footing, crashing into Heather, and it was not until the ship stabilised that Lucan realised what a compromising position they had ended up in.

OOC: Posts with Jien and Dyan will be posted as soon as they are finished.

Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [07: Undoing]

Reply #49 –
[ Simon Tovarek | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Bridge personnel, possibly Valkyrie pilots

Wit the new orders given by Trent, Simon started getting to work as he took piece by piece over from Natalie.Taking all of it at once might cause a disruption for Tactical as the new processed information would never get updated directly or fast enough for that matter. All of it however went smoothly enough so nobody could really notice that the intelligence was moved from station. Once all the data was transferred to Tovarek his station he quickly began to order them in an orderly fashion, giving the most important information through to Tactical.

This wasn't really an expertise that he was trained on, yet he did as good as he could. He glanced over at Cameron, the yeoman as she seemed to be a bit uneasy from his point of view at tactical. He smiled a bit faint as he noticed new objects popping up on the sensors. He identified them as the remaining Valkyries that would be a welcome sight to the Theurgy's defenses. Yet soon enough he picked up more contacts, hostile contacts to be precise.
"Commander Trent, we have four wolves that just jumped out of hyperspace. Alas, we also have six additional Reavers in that area that followed them." Tovarek said out loud, yet with a calm voice. He wanted to relay the information to Carrigan, perhaps he wanted the wolves to be used for another reason then defense. Yet the line of defending Valkyries was thin. He sent this information over to Henshaw as well, so she could alert Miles of their presence, in case it was still needed.
 
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