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CH01: S | Homesickness

Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

[ Sar-unga Neleo | Bridge | <The Rebel Yell> ]

"<Could you...tell me what's been going on? It's been a long time.>"
Her own mother tongue felt so strange on her lips. She was unused to speaking it, and more than likely she had some sort of accent. She noticed it when speaking with her mother, but her mother didn't care much. She wondered if Viel and Jaris-Al cared.

Her eyes met Jaris-Al's, hoping he understood. She wanted to know what was going on aboard the ship, but also she wanted to know...did he remember her as fondly as she remembered him? Did he think about their flirty touches, their light kisses, how they laid together, their pillow talk? Did he remember any of that? Did he still care?

Or..was she an outsider now? She thought this as she realized, she was the only one here who spoke Standard, who'd eaten a hot dog, who had rode a horse and played soccer and drank real, honest to god alcohol. She'd seen how a real justice system works, she had learned about things like fairness, equality, opportunity. Did these people know those sorts of things? Was she all alone?

All she could do was hope she wasn't. She hoped Jaris-Al thought about her still, that her mother wasn't the only person in all of Asuria who cared about her.

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #1 –
Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness
Joint-Post by FollowTomorrow & Auctor Lucan

[ Bridge > Lab | <The Rebel Yell> ]
 
Looking at Sar-Unga, in her Starfleet uniform, Jaris-Al wasn't sure what to think. He glanced towards Viel, who curled his lip but nodded, and Jaris-Al got to his feet. They left Viel and the rest of the Asurians on the Rebel Yell's bridge behind and entered the lab, which was the centre area of the Overseer. Once they were alone, away from the eyes of the craven and from Viel, Jaris-Al turned towards Sar-Unga. The deep breath he took made his bare-chested frame seem taller, but it was quite momentary.

<Well,> he said, feeling unsure about her loyalty and yet oddly content to have her back. <Before I tell you anything, could you tell me something only you and I know? I heard about your shapeshifter captain. I just want to make sure you are really you first.>

Dyan followed her former suitor, not sure whether she was happy that they'd be alone or not. She knew that, to the other Asurians, she was probably percieved as lesser in rank. After all, she spent a lot of time among humans, not waging battle. She realized she was probably the most unattractive Asurian she could think of right now, and that Hara character was really, really hideous. The door closed behind her, her tail swished away just in time to avoid the doors closing shut on it. Her eyes were on his chest, much broader than she remembered. She processed his request haltingly. The idea that Ives would ever shift into anything other than, well, Ives was a difficult idea. He was wise to ask, but still. Ives was never deceptive like that. Still, she had to come up with a memory, something only she knew. As she stared at his chest, she could only think of one thing.

<"...When we had sex the first time, we were hiding in some corner somewhere trying to be quiet. I think we were trying to go to your place and we just couldn't make it there.>" She smiled a little. She felt...old. "<You weren't so...muscley back then, but after that I didn't mind so much.>"

Because he hadn't thought Sar-Unga would defect from Starfleet, because her word had led to so many warriors of Asuria being dead, the mentioning of yore days between them settled strangely in Jaris-Al's mind. Before she'd agreed to the lunacy of undergoing physical reconstruction in order to infiltrate the Federtion, he had been regretful, thinking that any chance of calling her a mate again would be lost. Yet there she was, barely having walked ten yards on a native ship, saying she appreciated his body better now. He had put aside the Sheromi tech long enough to become a warrior akin to the rest. That was all. He was just as dangerous with a sindt than any other Asurian now.

<"You helped these cravens,"> he said, baring his teeth a moment and stepping away. <"Some would say you've become weaker than I used to be. Others would say you were fooled, that you are a witless victim but witless nonetheless. They asked if there a veil over your eyes, one making you think like the hornless. Is this true? That you came here in hopes to fool us, and stab us in the back?">

Jaris-Al turned to her with his browridge lowered over his eyes as he continued. <"You look like the mate I wanted before you betrayed me, but instead of just me... are you going to betray us all now? Are the doubters right?"> He stepped up to her, clenching his fists, ropes of muscles dancing down his arms. <"I know better than to think you'd willingly kill your family on the order of this shapeshifter... But I don't even know you any more. How am I to know you are honest when you flatter me, and isn't about to betray me again?">

It was a sensible question and she knew that now. Younger her might've been deeply offended by the very idea that she was so treacherous. Present-day her was only a little offended. "<If you think I am craven, you are mistaken.>" She bared her teeth as she spoke, her tail whipped dangerously. Her voice was rising, but it never reached a truly loud tone. It was more growly. "<I did what I did in service to Asuria, just as what you are doing now is for Asuria. If you only knew how much I suffered, how much I bled for the cravens, you would see that I was the one betrayed. If you were there when it happened, when I saw them die...You'd know.

"<As for your trust,"> She snarled, she didn't like that he didn't trust her, but she's learned enough over the years. "<How do I know you're not one of the parasites? You could use me to fulfill whatever selfish fantasies you had and kill me right after. I've seen it done. How do I know you're not going to betray me?>"

Jaris-Al heard the fierceness in her tone, and she described a perspective he had not considered. He had just assumed she wouldn't have summon most of the Asurian fleet to fight for the cravens if she wouldn't have known their mettle. Could it be she truly gave them the benefit of the doubt? "<So you say you mistook them for true warriors?>" he asked quietly, and then tilted his head. "<I do not know what you mean when you speak that word - parasites - and do it as if it holds any import. I am no 'parasite', in either case, and I have never strayed from Asuria. I betray no other Asurian, as long as they stand by the Queen. In the Queen's name, I have proven myself equal to you, and now fly with Viel. I have nothing to prove any more. You, however... I fear that while I might believe you... I am not certain your word holds any weight on the Motherships. Not after what your summons to Starbase 84 led to.>"

"<Parasites!>" She cried out, exasperated, "<Have none of my reports gone through?! Have I been gagged?! The parasites Jaris-Al, those beings who invade your, your-->" Just as before, she had no words to describe it in Asurian. There wasn't anything for soul, spirit, being. "<--your brain, force you to acts for their benefits, and you are weak and defenseless against their control when they decide to take you over, and they take over anyone they please to tear down everything!>"

Perhaps her anger leaked through her voice, as it should. This ship had inadvertantly ignited in her a passion. It showed through everything she did, especially here. "<They will do everything in their power to destroy our universe and if we don't do something. I did not mistake them for warriors because up against such a threat, they are warriors! My name can be sullied, but my blood will be spilt for the right reasons. I have nothing to prove to you either!>"

Frowning as she claimed to know another, unseen enemy, and how it seized the brain and made you do its bidding, Jaris-Al began to cast doubt upon all events leading up to the present day, but he wasn't sure where to begin. What was most obvious was the nature of the message sent out on all frequencies by Captain Ives. His tail coiled, and he put his hands on his hips. "<Then it would seem the craven Captain would have a 'parasite', because of what he said in that message. The one sent by the base during the battle, claiming to have sided with these Romulans. Judging by the reaction from the Queen, we were lied to.>"

"<You were lied to! Why can't you see any of this?!>" She reached her hands up to tug at her own hair. She'd like to take him by the shoulders, shake him, knock some sense into him, anything.

After hearing this, oblivious to the truth behind that message, Jaris-Al found himself staring at Sar-Unga in the way he had looked upon her before, wondering if he'd been mistaken about her motives. He couldn't say what was right or wrong any more, and especially not if she would be believed in her claim - that one's mind was not guaranteed any more. "<Our people may say you are anathema, to be shunned and punished... You might be challenged. Made a target. You need someone to stand with you.>" He looked at her body, hidden by that detestful uniform, wanting her out of it for several reasons. "<I could... If you want me.>"

 "<I am already a target, every waking day! Any second, I could have one descend upon me and the only thing that stops it from wrecking chaos are my peers! Jaris-Al, how can I trust that you'll know what to do? How will I know that you will believe me, recognize the signs, and kill me before one of them commits acts in my name?>" As she asked, her stare turned solemn. "<I want to go home. I am tired of these Cravens. I am hurt, betrayed by them. But I need to know whether or not you believe me.>"

Unsure what to answer, Jaris-Al supposed he could lie, say that he did believe every word she said. He could be honest, and say he might believe her when he saw more truth, learned more from whatever infromation she had, or he could say what the majority of the Asurian people would say: That her poor judgement had put them all in danger... Then again, they now had the Sheromi.

"<The Cravens are about to die within a few minutes,>" he said, dismissing them, "<and I am certain the Sheromi will aid us with these parasites you claim to have witnessed too. Their tech surpasses the Federations, so if there are things stealing brains out there, you need not prove it. They will find them. Until then, I know one thing for certain...>"

He stepped closer, raised a hand to run a fingertip down one of her horns, and brushed back her hair from her face. "<You look better now than when you left us for Earth,>" he said, emboldened by his own, improved warrior's standing, and would rather think about her than all that Starfleet tech being confiscated by the Sheromi.

He trusted the bugs. Dyan grimaced at first, but the face vanished at his touch. Her hair was still thinned, white and reflecting the ambient light. Her mind raced with so many thoughts. She wasn't used to thinking so much at one time. Could she trust the Sheromi, though she has always hated them. Could she trust her people? Could she trust Jaris-Al? What about the Theurgy? About to be blown to bits, all the people she's come to love. Who could she trust? What should she do? His hand was warm, her skin wasn't. Theurgy was a chilly ship. She leaned into his hand, finding comfort in it. Her tail lowered. "<I spent a lot of time honing my body. I can crush a> watermelon <with my thighs.>"

Jaris-Al frowned, oblivious to both her inner turmoil and her meaning. "<What is a> vatermeloon<?>" he asked wondering if it was some kind of beast in Federation space.

She stared, and blinked. That's right, her world didn't have watermelons. It didn't have eating contests or barbecues. It didn't have ensigns or chain of command, shapeshifters or diplomats or security chiefs. It didn't have direction, purpose, meaning. In all these thoughts, she began to feel the birthing pains of an idea. A stupid, wild, idiotic idea, but before she began, she needed one thing. She draped an arm on the other's shoulder. "<Jaris-Al, just kiss me.>"

Whatever her meaning was, or this beast she'd killed with her legs, it seemed the memory gave her pause. Had she grown softer than even he used to be? Clearly she had been away for far too long. When she spoke, however, dormant desires of his awakened, and he smiled to her, emboldened by her weaker standing.

"<I will,>" he said, and put his hands on her waist, mouth drifting to hers. Where was the significance in a kiss anyway? "<Yet I prefer to mate with you.>" Nonetheless, he gave her this kiss she so craved, but wasted little time in running his hands to her ample chest, and to tear the ugly Starfleet apparel open.

She let him do it.

She missed it. She missed being able to bunch her fists up in his hair, nipping his lower lip. She she'd had enough of his taste, she grabbed ahold of his horns and guided him down to the exposed skin between her breasts. She was panting to catch her breath, but not too heavily. "<Jaris-Al...>" She kept her voice low, quiet and husky.

Roughly, Jaris-Al tore her jacket back from her shoulders, leaving her with a golden shirt with a zipper he'd broken. Her mammaries were covered, and he did not care for all the obstructions. He heard his name from her lips, her desire plain. "<Sar-Unga...>" he growled, attempting to tear off the cover over her breasts with his teeth, failing. Instead, he drove his hand down behind her waistband, kneading her between her legs with his fingers. "<On your hands and knees. Lift your tail for me, so that we can mate... and watch the Cravens die on that screen.>"

That he thought he could tell her what to do, just because he had grown. Silly boy. She had his horns still, she held him still and did not move into the demanded position. "<Jaris-Al...this won't be our last.>" She cooed to him, remembering why she loved him so. In a swift movement, she yanked his head down and brought her knee up.

The sudden impact made him loose all bearings, the pain in his jaw and face making him reel. His hand was still trapped in her ugly uniform, the other flailing for a hand-hold.

She moved again, lifting him up so his face was level with hers. She let go of one of his horns, drew her fist all the way back, and decked him in the face. She hoped the last thing he'd see from this moment was her, looking apologetic.

The strike made him stumble back from her, his horn tearing free from her grip, and he caught himself on the edge of one of the desks in the lab. In truth, it was hardly a lab any more. Only the Sheromi had truly used the area for research. No, this was - to the Asurians - the armory.

So, when Jaris-Al head cleared, perhaps surprising Sar-Unga in how he was not the same he'd been when they were younger, the veil had lifted, and he saw her for what she was. "<I had a feeling....>" he said through his teeth, face hurting and bleeding from his brow, but h tore up a sindt blade from the desk, ramming his hand into the vambrace. "<You were a traitor after all, merely wanting to get behind enemy lines... Well, you're here now... And I'll cut the past to pieces for you...>"

He really had grown stronger. She had assumed it wouldn't take much to knock him out, but yet here he was. Her training would lead her to draw her phaser, but her yearning for the past stopped her. Instead, she spied a sindt, a blade typically about as long as the user's forearm, mounted on the wrist with a hand grip, but capable of flipping backwards. She bolted for it while she had the chance, as the battle had begun way back when she tried to beat Jaris-Al's face in. She slipped her hand through and fastened the wrist-mount on, keeping her front to Jaris-Al at all times. This one wasn't her blade, so it was larger than she was used to, but it would do.

"<You can try.>" She bared her teeth.
 

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #2 –
[ Navigator Jaris-Al Kaori | Lab | <The Rebel Yell> ]
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She told him to try, and Jaris-Al bared his teeth at his former lover. He could not imagine how he had spent decades coveting a traitorous craven like Sar-Unga, how he had almost stained himself by mating with her again, yet even worse, how she had almost  let her overpower him. He knew not her plans, but he would not let her usurp command of <the Rebel Yell>. The Overseer was Viel's and Jaris-Al had proven himself as Navigator despite the weakness of his past. He would not let the word of his blindness to her true intentions reach the saucer's small crew. Sar-Unga had to die along with the rest of the Cravens.

To think he had almost thought there was merit to the shapeshifter's word, placing his faith in Sar-Unga's judgement. Fool!

There was naught more to be said between them, so Jaris-Al went for her, his sindt cutting a silvery arc through the recycled air of the lab. His first cut was short of reaching her, of course, because the rising curve of his blade was aimed towards the padded chair that got between them as they circled each other. The lab chair was bolted to the deck, but his cut sent sparks and padding towards her. He'd cried out with his strike as well, intimidating the craven ghost of his past, before he went after her in earnest.

The second cut went high, a diagonal arc towards her head, but he pivoted with his attack - knowing she'd likely deflect it with her oversized, cumbersome sindt -  and snapped his tail like a meaty whip towards her ribs. The full turn was completed with a falling cut - an overhand strike meaning to end her.

On the big screen in the Overseer's lab, it seemed a full-scale engagement was developing with the Theurgy and its fighters. Yet even if Jaris-Al didn't see it happening, it appeared like the Sheromi were not true to their word, and had launched some kind of fighters against the multivector dreadnought. This must have incited Viel Erion, since his booming voice was heard on the intercom of the Overseer.

[The Sheromi have lied, meaning to claim the lives promised to us! Rebel Yell, prepare for ramming speed. For Asuria!]

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #3 –
[ Sar-unga Neleo | Lab | <The Rebel Yell> ]
 
She heard his war cry and replied with her own in kind, as warriors do. The battle had begun, they would settle this difference with a battle of sindts, a battle of will. Her sindt was unwieldy, but it did well to deflect Jaris-Al's second blow. A sturdy, reliable blade. His tail whipped at her, but she did not let the distraction take from her focus. She trusted her blade to hold as she blocked the third cut, aimed over her head. Despite the turmoil, and despite not quite fitting right, the blade held true, it's strength allowing it to continue on even when it did not belong.

She paid no heed to Viel. He was likely yelling because battle was afoot, the excitement of it all could be overwhelming to some lesser, more excitable types. She was trained by the elite, she was upper class, so she did not behave that way this time. She used the curve of her blade to slide his strike away from her, then lunged closer with a broad swipe aimed at his core. It would miss, however, because it was a ruse. She then brought her arm and her backwards-facing sindt back, meaning to puncture him. She did not fear injuring him, his Velsren sac would ensure health so long as she made no lethal blows. She was not here to kill.

She did not notice the engagement, the betrayal. Such things were not important. Right now, in the heat of battle, she found her soul laid bare alongside his. She was here because she was a blade newly forged, that didn't quite fit, in the midst of turmoil. The universe would find out this day if she would hold true.

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #4 –
[ Navigator Jaris-Al Kaori | Lab | <The Rebel Yell> ]
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Sar-Unga was deft with the sindt, as much Jaris-Al already knew, but he became aware just how skilled she was in those initial strikes they traded. In fact, he would have been skewered by her weapon if Viel Eiron hadn't decided to ram the shield-less Theurgy.

Using the Overseer's kinetic shielding, the commander of the <Rebel Yell> had decided to take the fight inside Vector 01. On the screen in the lab, showing the bridge of the Overseer, it was plain how Viel set a course for the Spearhead Lounge and crashed the Overseer right into the Federation starship. And despite inertial dampeners and the kinetic shielding, the result of the manoeuvre saved Jaris-Al from injury.

Instead, both lovers of old were thrown off their feet by the concussion, where panorama viewports were shattered by the saucer, and for a few moments, the entire lounge was depressurised. Fortunately, the Theurgy's computers and warp cores were getting back online after the Savi had compromised them, so before Jaris-Al had got back on his feet in the lab, the Theurgy's structural integrity fields had closed the gaping hole left by the Overseer, and the <Rebel Yell> had boarded the Theurgy.

[For Asuria!] screamed Viel, and charged off the saucer, leading the way for a boarding party, yet Jaris-Al had no intention of following and letting Sar-Unga escape back to the Cravens. He would end her long life right there on the <Rebel Yell>, and he would do so with a rapid succession of cuts. He went low first, but instead of completing the arc, he raised the blade in a soaring slice towards her neck and face, and in the end, he pivoted to dal the final cut to her neck - meaning to take her head off.

There was regret in his ire, fuelling his movements, for he had hoped that she was still Asurian.

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #5 –
[ Sar-unga Neleo | Lab | <The Rebel Yell> ]

There was a sudden impact, she couldn’t guess from where. She handled herself well, but she was so used to a smooth ride from the Theurgy that the jolt threw off her flow. She landed, but it was a practiced fall. Arms first, pushing herself into a roll. The lab was too cramped for her to get on her feet, but she could still get to her feet with speed.

For just a breif moment, she saw a familiar view. Viel was boarding, and she knew those walls, this floor, that stale, but just barely scent.  Her gaze lingered, but she did not run, despite having the chance.  She turned to face him, and just in time.

Her face filled with her own controlled fire, lit on the day of her birth, tamed by her father, and honed by the Federation. The moves Jaris-Al performed were the result of decades of hard work. His speed and power were unmatched by many of her sparring partners here. Her heart raced, blood rushing filled her ears. Like their first time together, she was smitten.

His blows were met with a defensive stance, her blade holding under each of his hits. She could feel the cuff sliding on her arm with each impact. There were bruises forming and healing in turn. The final blow was something she could not see nor hear, but she knew it was coming. She knew because every move Jaris-Al made was etched into her mind by her father. To avoid it, she allowed herself to fall backwards, relying less on her blade and Asurian training and more on her body.

She felt the skin across her collarbone split, warm blood oozing out. Above her, as she fell, she saw glimmering iridescent blood, shining hair cut loose from her head. Her hands were above her head, her feet raised up with the flow of her backflip as she aimed to kick the blade—and thus Jaris-Al’s arm-- out of the way. She did not complete her flip, but allowed herself to slide onto her shoulder and side, again using her legs to sweep her former lover’s legs out from under him.

When she was a girl, she never knew how to stop her father’s practice blade from coming at her neck like that. He was simply too fast, too strong, too powerful. When she left her home, there were so many maneuvers of her father’s that she could not counter, so many things not done and said. Jaris-Al brought those memories back to the surface, but there was no longer anger there. There was only her father. She saw him there, where Jaris-Al stood. He was smiling. He was proud. He was alive, not in body, but in the actions and thoughts of others.

Her vision began to blur with tears.

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #6 –
[ Navigator Jaris-Al Kaori | Lab | <The Rebel Yell> ]
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Yet her combatant knew not of the emotional turmoil in his past lover's mind.

Even though he might have drawn first blood with his last cut, Jaris-Al not only had his sindt kicked upwards, for the consecutive kick sent him off his feet again. He landed heavy unto his side, and his blade caught a few things on top of a station when he went down. They were both strewn with loose items while Jaris-Al tried to use his set-back to his advantage.

He crawled on top of her, as quickly as he could, and sought to hold down her sindt against the deck plating with his own blade - keeping them both from using their weapons. Doing so, he closed his hand into a white-knuckled fist and tried to strike her ribs first, to get her hands away from her face. If he succeeded, he'd strike her face, as many times it took to discombobulate her.

Another thing Jaris-Al didn't know was the way Sar-Unga had been raped during the mutiny aboard the Theurgy. Then, also, she had been pinned to deck plating with a man on top of her. The first one had been Zaraq, and Jaris-Al now struggled to subdue the lost lover of his, and with instincts guiding him, he wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Was he trying to force himself on Sar-Unga, to make her remember what she has been before defection to the Cravens. Either way...

...he kissed her in the struggle, unable to help himself, while Viel Eiron and the majority of the Asurians aboard the <Rebel Yell> rushed into the Spearhead Lounge and the corridors beyond.

"I'll teach you what your place is, traitor," he hissed between bared teeth as he tried to claim her there on the lab deck.

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #7 –
[ Sar-unga Neleo | Lab | <The Rebel Yell> ]

Of course, the image of her father immediately shattered. The moment snatched from her grasp before she could fully savor it. She was not allowed her happiness, it left her body like the pain from her ribs after Jaris’s-Al’s  strike.. Jaris-Al was able to pin her down easily, her far-away stare and frozen body completely hindering her ability to fight back. She wasn’t even aware anything was happening, as her mind had taken it upon itself to protect her from further trauma.

But she would overcome that protection. Their lips touched, she heard his words, and some great force heaved her body upwards. She slipped her arm out of the sindt’s guard with some effort, she would not have been able to manage this if her sindt was properly sized. With the power of the demons she held inside her damaged soul, her hand seized Jaris-Al’s neck.

Before, she had not done anything that would severely injure her former lover. She believed wholeheartedly he was a good person, and he’d eventually understand. Those beliefs were shattered the second he saw fit to rape her. Instantly, all her feelings about him were gone. Her heart went cold and black. All she cared for now was seeing his corpse.

Her other hand moved to join the first, with all intents to crush his trachea if she could. Her body rose up, despite the force of the other Asurian on top of her. Her eyes were feral, her teeth bared. If Sar-unga was still in there, she was buried deep under horrific memories.

Memories of what happened to her during the mutiny had completely taken over her vision. She saw, heard, smelled everything that was happening then and nothing happening now. It was an awful, nightmarish broken holoprogram, stuck in the same moment on repeat, endlessly, every waking moment and sleeping dream. This time, she had the power to change how the story went, seize the memories and end them right here, right now, forever.

In her mind, it was Zaraq’s neck she had seized. It was Zaraq’s head she slammed against the floor, her whole weight focused on ending him, ending this nightmare. Her body moved without her conscious permission, and that was alright with her. She felt herself reaching for something just beyond her. Her hand gripped the arm-guard of a sindt left on the ground, her own. She did not wear it, but she gripped onto it tight. White-knuckled, she raised the blade up, pointing down at Jaris-Al’s chest. There would only be a quick moment before the other Asurian found himself wounded in such a way that his Velsren sac wouldn’t be able to keep up.

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #8 –
[ Navigator Jaris-Al Kaori | Lab | <The Rebel Yell> ]
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He had underestimated her. This, Jaris-Al knew when he felt his windpipe getting squeezed shut by his past lovers' hard fingers. Still, he couldn't release the push on the sindt he'd pinned to the deck plates - the one still wrapped around her forearm. Choaking, he bared his teeth at her, not relenting, thinking that he still was in control, since his other arm was still free, still holding her down.

Too late, he realised her intent - her other hand joining the first around his throat, and he gasped - eyes wide - when he felt his trachea give away. He saw her green eyes, feral and uncaring, and he recognised her as the Asurian she used to be. The one he had pursued. Now, he had gone too far, and it was too late to get away from her. Desperately, he tried to get air down into his lungs, shaking, when she rolled on top of him. He remembered how she had ridden him, that first time they were together, and despite himself, his eyes went to her exposed skin - the lights catching her body inside her torn, ugly uniform. The lack of air as much as the sight had the same affect on his body, and despite how he might be dying, he was so hard it hurt.

There was no defiance left in his eyes, no ire for her treachery, only the fear that his sac would not compensate in time.

Whatever hope he had of survival, Sar-Unga skewered it with her oversized sindt.

The blade ruptured his heart, translucent blood pumping out of his chest, and a torn aorta made his life gush out over the visage of his lost mate. She'd killed him. He could hardly credit the thought... until he lost that too.

[ Marshal Viel Erion | Outside <the Rebel Yell> | The Spearhead Lounge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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Whilst strapping his sindt to his arm, Viel Erion had already stepped out of the airlock, leaving the Rebel Yell behind together with four other Asurians. He did leave Jaris-Al behind, knowing the past of him and the infiltrator Neleo. For all he knew, they were mating after having been so long apart, but it was of little consequence. He'd give them the time, for his mind was solely on the hunt.

"<You two, fan out to the port side,>" he said, and drew his short, stocky graviton beam rifle out of the holster next to his thigh. "<Find a way to the top of the saucer, and kill their leaders. Hopefully, the Sheromi did not beam out the shapeshifter or his second-in-command. If they didn't... They're mine.>"

He had lost his lover, Yarys-Al, at Starbase 84, and he had boarded the Theurgy for entirely personal reasons. He closed his eyes for a monent, visualising the last time he had been with him, this warrior he'd been mate with for over a century. Captain Ives and Commander Trent had ended it in their craven folly, and now, they'd know the wrath of Asuria. When he opened his eyes again, he waved with his rifle to the two crewmembers left with him, and set out towards the starboard exit. The debris of the Overseer's entry into the lounge was spread all over the deck, and some warning must have gone out about radiation exposure since the area was otherwise vacated.

Save for one soul, who stepped through the sliding doors in front of Viel and his two companions - a slight limp to his gait.

Viel wasted no time in raising his sindt, meaning to strike down the unarmed figure in passing as he exited the lounge. With a roar, he dealt an overhead strike that would cleave the man from shoulder to hip. Yet as the cut fell, the figure was not there any more - his blade merely catching a threadbare robe. He felt a concussion against his ribcage, making him stumble aside, the pain of the blunt strike only coming after a couple of moments. When Viel managed to turn around, he saw the robed figure disarm and strike down one of his fellow Asurians, the graviton beam pistol suddenly in the figure's hand.

There was no time but for instinct, as Viel dealt a rising cut that caught the knuckle-guard of the pistol before he managed to fire it. It was torn out of the figure's fingers, but as Viel raised his short rifle to shoot him down, the figure in the threadbare robe had already whipped it aside with an open-hand strike against Viel's forearm. The thick, aquamarine beam went straight through the remaining Asurian's chest, and Viel was momentarily left alone with the robed figure, whom he had engaged in a grapple-hold that kept both his sindt and his rifle from the Theurgy crewmember.

"<What's your name?>" Viel hissed as he'd locked horns with the figure, since he would honour the Asurian that had been killed with words about his death. The man was strong, and inside the hood of his robe, a scarred countenance stared out at him - dark eyes filled with righteous anger. The universal translator must have been operating, for an answer spilled from his lips.

"I'm Drauc," rasped the Romulan, battle-worn fingers digging into Viel's wrists, "and you threaten to silence the truth of this war."

Behind the man named Drauc, the Asurian he had disarmed silently got back on his feet, and Viel made sure not to look his way - not alerting this man about the sindt that was about to end his life. It would be the first kill of the hunt.

OOC: Tag for 1) @Griff to help a fellow Romulan 2) for @FollowTomorrow to have Dyan process what just happened and to leave the Rebel Yell, and 3) @StarDuster who's character Cir'Cie will encounter the two Asurians that left the Lounge through the port exit. Remember that Cir'Cie will be beamed to another Vector when the Continuance Protocol kicks in, so either the two Asurians are stopped before then, or they are not. Either works!

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #9 –
[ Ens Cir'Cie | Lab | Atten: @chXinya

As a junior science officer aboard the USS Theurgy, Ensign Cir'Cie's time while on duty was spent mostly in the Hydroponics lab as her specialty was botany. Though in the more general all encompassing scope, as a science officer, she would bounce around from science lab to science lab checking on various projects and experiments, updating PaDDs to reflect changes in statistical data or analyses. It was not uncommon to encounter a fellow junior science officer or a laboratory technician while making rounds. Sometimes, a brief encounter with the Assistant Chief Science Officer or even the Chief Science Officer occurred every now and then. What was not a regular occurrence was having an intruder or intruders in the science laboratories. However, aboard the USS Theurgy, Ensign Cir'Cie had on several occasions learned that you had to be ready for the illogical and improbable.

She was standing over a piece of science equipment studying the cell sample of a rather curious plant. When she entered the laboratory, the ensign was as certain as one could be factoring in a logical margin of error, that she had been alone in the science lab. However, a sudden noise had reverberated, snagging her attention and immediately causing her head to raise from the eyepiece of the magnification equipment. Someone or something was in the science lab with her. As 'antisocial' and 'stoic' as Cir'Cie was, her fellow officers and the ship's enlisted personnel always greeted her, even if only to test her patience in a futile attempt to break her concentration.

Whatever or whomever was in the science lab was unlikely a member of the ship's crew. Being on duty, she was wearing her combadge which was her most direct means of alerting security to the potential presence of an intruder. She was not certain if the intruder or intruders were behind her or just really close by. They would need to make more noise for her to mathematically calculate and determine their approximate location with the physics of sound. Where exactly they were, however, did not matter right now. Ensign Cir'Cie continued about her duties looking through the eyepiece. She did not want to alert the intruder or intruders that she was aware of their presence.

The Vulcan calmly reached for her communications badge on her chest and gave it a light tap. “Ensign Cir'Cie to Lieutenant Commander Cinn. I can confirm the success of experiment 19-15-19. I will file it under Three point three dash three point” reported Ensign Cir'Cie. “I do not know how much longer the experiment will hold in present form. It may be prudent for you to come see it for yourself at your leisure” she added.  

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #10 –
[Dyan Cardamone, Sar-unga Neleo | Just inside the newly-made front door | U.S.S. Theurgy ]

Her fist clenched around his neck for some time. He was dead, she knew it, but she had to feel his life leave his body. She had to feel his pulse come to a halt. Zaraq was dead. Her honor had been reclaimed. She let him body go, a bruise on his neck the size and shape of her hand, and yanked her borrowed, bloodied sindt out of his chest. She rose like a specter beginning it’s haunt.

As she walked out the lab and through the bridge of the saucer, she felt memories alive around her. Her father, her mother, her brothers, Jaris-Al. She remembered when she was young and happy, when she wrestled her brothers around the halls and her father had to straighten them all out, her mother combing through her hair and twisting ribbons in it. Her father’s words bounced off the walls of the saucer, defining the walls and angles through the sound. He had so much wisdom in him. She, like almost all the other Asurians, didn’t always understand his words. As she heard them now…
“You will not win every battle, but there is only one battle you must win. The most important battle is the one you fight within yourself.”

..she knew.

Her boots touched the familiar hallways, she stopped to inhale the air. Her clothes were opened and torn and bloodied. She looked like she had gone to hell and hell had just sent her back. Inside of herself, the noise and memories had quieted down. They quickly approached a silence. Her thoughts were clear again, her vision showed her exactly what was there.

The Asurians had boarded. The saucer was lodged in the ship. They were at red alert. She tapped her combadge.
“Dyan Cardamone, Sar-Unga Neleo, reporting for duty. Where do you need me, commander?”

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #11 –
[PO1 Lillee t’Jellaieu]    | The Spearhead Lounge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy Attn: Auctor Lucan

For Lillee, as she strode through one of the endless, identical corridors on the Theurgy, it was an intensely frustrating day. For one, the ship was at red alert and rather than being at a spacecraft’s helm, where she could best utilise her skills and work some magic, she was instead on a damage control team, carrying a completely ordinary repair kit and attending to one crisis after another. For two, the ship was at red alert and she didn’t have the faintest clue who they were fighting, or why.

For three, the ship was at red alert. Once upon a time that had been an ordinary circumstance for Lillee, back during the war and before then, during her service with Grand Fleet. Now, however, after years of normal but safe busywork, focusing as much on being a good mother as a good Starfleet NCO, the red lights and the rush of battle took on a whole new meaning as she continued on through the empty corridor. Alone. It was taking more effort than the blonde Romulan like to admit to not focus on the ‘alone’ part, a difficult experience for a woman who had once been so thoughtlessly courageous. She had been a skilled warrior once, just as fierce and ingeniously lethal as any of her kin from the Hearthworlds, but it had been a long time, a fact that became abundantly obvious as she approached the lounge. She was still very much alone with the Theurgy’s damage control personnel severely overstretched, so Lillee instinctively grasped the grip of her holstered phaser with one hand. The radiation exposure didn’t help matters, even if the little device on her belt theoretically helped shield her from it. Temporarily.

Just get to the lounge, fix the power relay then move onto the nearby phaser guidance system. Simple.

Only as Lillee approached the lounge, the sound of weapon’s fire reached her, causing a purely automatic reaction, born of training in two different militaries. She silently dropped her repair kit, drew her phaser and loped towards the weapons fire, all before she even realised properly what she was doing. Even so, a quick peek inside the lounge was quite enough to dispel any fear as she witnessed an extraordinary spectacle. Someone huge, powerful and strangely clothed was fighting an entire squad of alien soldiers...and winning. Lillee watched in awe from the doorway as he moved with impossible alacrity, escaping seemingly certain death twice in mere moments. She realised with a flash of instinctive intuition that the huge man was Romulan, had to be Romulan to move as he did, but the unpredictable fluidity of his movements also made it impossible for her to fire without risking hitting her kinsman. Lillee waited with frustration, her blood boiling to join the fight directly even if her mind knew better, but as the huge Romulan grappled with the alien, she heard him identify himself, saw the hood fall down and indeed reveal his ears.

More pertinent, however, Lillee saw one of the fallen aliens get back to his feet, where Drauc couldn’t see him. They must’ve all had tunnel vision, focusing on the primary threat rather than watching the door, and she took ruthless advantage as she fired her phaser at Drauc’s would-be killer. The thin orange beam burned a path right through the alien’s chest, neatly severing his torso in half with a minute wave of Lillee’s weapon.

“Drauc!” she called out from the doorway, not wasting time, and on a whim, she elicited to use Romulan, hoping their native tongue would get through to him alongside the automatic translation of his universal translater. “Laivvez-rol si mov peuvriv gachrer-roi!” Let him go so I can shoot him!

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #12 –
[ Dyan Cardamone, Sar-unga Neleo | Formerly the Spearhead Lounge | U.S.S. Theurgy ]

The response ended, and she never answered back. She had no clue what had happened to Cinn. As far as she knew, he was boots on the ground, kicking ass just like everyone else. Hydroponics, he said. She could be there in minutes flat under normal circumstances, since she knew the ship so well, but she had to re-orient herself.

The first set of doors closed behind her, and there was a wait. She didn’t know why, the atmosphere should’ve been pretty similar, as far as she knew. The second set of doors opened and she saw home. As she looked around, she had a few realizations. The saucer crashed into not a hallway like she had thought, but the Spearhead lounge. It didn't look too much like the lounge anymore though. She tapped her combadge again as she ran with one hand, and gripped her newfound sindt tight in the other.

"Ensign McArthur, This is Petty Officer Dyan Cardamone, Sar-unga Neleo," She announced, her voice louder and more confident than the first time. "I'm back and 'bout to kick some ass. Wanna update me on the situation."

It was worded like a question, but sounded like a demand. Her reply came a few moments later, supposedly because the Ensign was either in shock at her informal tone or just plain overworked. She was in the middle of sprinting a corner, her tail whipping about wildly as she did so, when she finally got her reply.
"Welcome back Petty Officer. Asurian and Savi boarding parties on all three vectors. Fighter assault bay is compromised--"
"What the hell is a Savi?" She questioned out loud, and took her steps out the lounge. Time to get to work. However, she did not get very far before she found herself interrupting an unusual scene.

Two Romulans and an Asurian locked in combat. It sounded like the setup to a silly joke. She witnessed the female burn through one of the Asurians. She had sadness within her to see her people die senselessly, but she also knew how they were, and how she was seen. Her words were nothing. Nevertheless, their iridescent blood was not shed without battle.

She fastened her sindt on her arm once more, it’s blade shimmering wet with Jaris-Al’s blood. She didn’t hear her demons taunting her anymore, and it felt good. She meant to call out, to stop everything and make everyone look at her. McArthur did that for her, answering her question on the combadge.
“I believe you call them ‘Sheromi’.”  She smiled painfully. She hated the Sheromi, more than anything else. But damn, if she wasn’t excited to have full permission to launch a personal genocide. She started walking towards the group, speaking loudly back to McArthur so everyone could hear exactly what was going on.
"And you say the Sheromi have boarded all three Theurgy vectors?"
"Yes. They've managed to beam out our Captain, and I'm getting reports of other missing officers and crewmembers too." Excellent, she thought. Just excellent. Evil, nasty, despicable Sheromi.

 “Well? You heard the man! Why are you fighting each other when we have traitorous Sheromi we can slay together?”

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #13 –
[ Drauc T'Laus | The Spearhead Lounge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Posting Order: 1) @Griff 2) @FollowTomorrow 
[Show/Hide]
Hearing his native language, Drauc realised he owed his life to another Romulan aboard the Theurgy, though he did not recognise the voice. Nor could he look away, lest the alien with the horns would wrench his wrists free from Drauc's grip and try to kill them both. The flickering lights of the area cast the large Asurian and Drauc both in garish flashes, both their faces twisted in killer instinct. What Drauc lacked in mass compared to the horned alien he made up for with his people's tenacious musculature, and they were at an impasse. The other Romulan, somewhere behind Drauc, suggested releasing him and moving away so that she might take the shot, but that lent her precious little time before the Asurian could fire back at them both.

"Yes," snarled the Asurian named Viel Erion, "let go... See who dies first...."

Drauc's pointed eyebrows drew down over his dark eyes, the options few, all of them hazardous. If it was just his own life on the line, he might take the chance, but not when there was another life at stake. He could not judge how skilled a warrior the woman was, so he had to assume she was merely a Starfleet-trained shot. While this impasse lasted, Drauc's pointed ears caught the sound of another voice - one coming from the direction of the saucer. The thirty meter wide craft wedged into the Theurgy's hull had been the backdrop for the fight, but it seemed there had been another passenger aboard it.

It was another woman, speaking of Sheromi, also named the Savi. A new faction for Drauc, which he had no reference for. It seemed, however, that the Asurian did. Viel Erion glanced towards the new speaker, eyes narrowed, and spoke in answer. "That's the blood of your people upon you. You have killed him, have you not? Jaris-Al, your bygone mate, and my Navigator. And you think there is any common ground between us and these cravens? You have shed any lingering doubt from all true Asurian minds. You are a traitor."

Fuelled by anger, the Asurian made his move. He wrenched both his wrists clockwise, tearing himself free from Drauc's hard fingers. Doing so, the Asurian could get his rifle's muzzle pointing in the white-haired woman's direction, and shoot towards her. A thick beam of vitriol green energy almost hit her, if Drauc hadn't struck the blade of his hand against the Asurian's forearm. It was a bold strike which had been quick enough, but also left him open for the overhead strike from the blade on the other arm. Drauc tried to deflect the cut by twisting his body, delivering a consecutive attack against the Asurian's head. His strike was true, but he was still cut from shoulder to side. He did not scream, however, ignoring the pain so that he might deal a kick towards the midriff of his opponent.

Thus, when he parted from the Asurian, Drauc fell to his knee after dealing his kick - the extent of damage to his body unknown. Meanwhile, Viel Eiron was reeling backwards from the strike to his temple and the kick to his body - in clear shot for the other Romulan in the destroyed lounge. Drauc could but hope she would take the shot.

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #14 –
[PO1 Lillee t’Jellaieu]   | The Spearhead Lounge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy Attn: Auctor Lucan, Follow Tomorrow

With Drauc and the alien invader locked together, Lillee waited, feeling herself slipping into her old ice-cold battle-mind at the commencement of bloodshed. She stayed where was in the doorway, relying on solid cover, keeping her phaser locked squarely on Drauc’s back in the hope that he could provide her the shot.

Then another Asurian arrived, and it took all of Lillee’s self-discipline to not switch her phaser to the new target, instead half-listening as the male Asurian raged at her. For her part, Lillee didn’t care in the slightest; the other Asurian wasn’t pointing a weapon or making any aggressive moves, so she privately filed the horned woman as a secondary priority. To the Fires with her, focus on the main threat...

Then it all started happening, the male Asurian outmaneuvering his Romulan opponent and very nearly murdering his kin, only stopped by Drauc’s desperate move. The resulting strikes and counterstrikes were almost too swift to see, but Lillee saw Drauc suffer a horrible wound before she saw him fall to his knee, the Asurian lurching backward.

Lillee didn’t hesitate for a second, thumbing the stud on her phaser to unleash a thick beam of fire that neatly severed the Asurian’s left arm and shoulder from his body, as well as a good portion of his upper left torso. He might have yet lived from such a horrific wound, even as he was screaming incoherently in agony on the deck, but Lillee was having none of it. With cruel dispassion, she strode forward from cover and fired again at close-range, this time disintegating the Asurian’s head entirely.

That done, Lillee immediately trained her phaser on the other Asurian as she crouched down next to Drauc, taking in the man’s wound at a glance. Green blood was oozing from the wound, suffusing the man’s odd robes. “I am no medic, Drauc, but your wound should heal well enough if we get you to Sickbay,” she told him curtly, not bothering to voice anything else. Admiration for his skill, appreciation for his heroism, curiosity of how such a strange Rihannsu ended up on the Theurgy; all those questions would come later, as they must.

Instead, Lillee’s focus returned to the female Asurian on whom she kept her phaser carefully aimed. “Identify yourself!” she called out, then realising that the horned woman was injured. Even stranger, she appeared to be wearing a bloodstained Starfleet uniform...what in Eisn’s name was happening? How did one of the invading soldiers come to wear such clothing? But the dead Asurian had called her a traitor...

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #15 –
[ Dyan Cardamone / Sar-unga Neleo | The Spearhead Lounge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Griff

She totally thought this would go the other way. She honestly believed that everyone shared her deep, irrational hatred of the Sheromi and, just like her, would drop everything just to kill some. It was weird that Viel didn’t want to kill them. Although anti-Sheromi sentiment was common, it was not universal among Asurians.

She watched Drauc and Viel engage in battle. It skilled and passionate, every movement meant something. It excited the lust for battle in her heart. She did not flee when she was nearly struck, she did nothing to remove herself from this. At the same time, she didn’t do anything to help Drauc either, preferring to witness this battle as it was.

It was over too quickly though. First his arm, and then his head, and the important parts of Viel’s body were removed from existence. She watched his tower of a body crumple, then followed the action to the female she didn’t recognize. She trained her phaser on her, probably assuming she was an intruder too. Her wild eyes and manic grin didn’t do much to ease her intruder-like status.
“I’m Dyan Cardamone. Sar-unga Neleo! And I work here, you ass--”

Her prideful rant was cut off way too short, or maybe just in time, as she saw Lillee start to glow and sparkle. Before she knew it, she was transported out. She stared at the empty space, and then at Drauc, as if he had something to do with this.
“...Okay, right.” She guessed, “So before you lose your head, who’re you exactly?” He couldn’t be an invader, since he was just now kicking Asurian ass in the most honorable of fashion. Viel had an excellent death, all things considered.
“And more importantly, you think you’re still up for skewering Sheromi?” She eyed the cut. He didn’t have a sac like Asurians did, that wouldn’t heal up in time to kick ass again.

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #16 –
[ Drauc T'Laus | The Spearhead Lounge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow 
[Show/Hide]
The other Romulan took the shot, as Drauc had hoped, and he raised his eyes from under his browridge to see the Asurian fall.

That 'sac' Drauc had heard rumoured about would never be able to compensate for the ruin brought upon the body, the remains falling to the deck as if a puppet's strings had been cut. The shooter, now in plain sight, came forth to crouch down at his side, and his dark eyes fell on her through the tresses of his burgundy hair. She was not just handy with her phaser, but her far-worlder accent and her rare colouring made her stand out in other ways - ways which Drauc knew other minds would be attracted to. He wasn't sure any attraction he felt was his own, but a mere echo of what he'd felt before - a the ghost of a memory not his own.

He failed to answer her before she took aim against the remaining Asurian, the female that had emerged from the saucer. Her uniform was open, showing underwear and skin coated in translucent blood, and it must have been what made Viel discredit her claim - her loyalty plain.

The cut to his torso was unknown in length or depth, since he could but feel how it burned from his left shoulder down to his side, but the pain had made the transport of the Romulan a surprise - the woman gone before he'd even learned her name. He was left with the Asurian, who claimed she wanted to hunt for boarders, even if what she named them made no sense to him. He had not heard the term before.

"I am Drauc T'Laus," he rasped to her, and he rose up from his kneeling position - the motion slow and measured to not cause more damage to his body. "I know not of whom you speak, but if there is a hostile threat remaining, you know more than I."

Having said this, he tried to move his arm on his injured side, and he bared his teeth as the pain set in - copper blood running down his skin inside his clothes. "I'd aide you, like I did on Starbase 84, fighting for the same cause as you did, but I am afraid your kinsman cut me when I stopped him from killing you, so you will have to go on by yourself. A small favour in kind, if you please? Could you activate the EMH for me, since I do not have that kind of security clearance."

Having said this, he sunk down on one knee again, drawing his shoulder back to try and stem the bloodflow as much as he might. Already, blood pooled below his knee. Nonetheless, he met her green eye, seeing that it was not just her front that was coated in Asurian blood, but beads of it lay on her features as well. Her mind was there too, filled with a modicum of appreciation towards his skill, and the aftermath of a conflict - a choice of sides. He also saw the dying eyes of a lover of old, and how that over-sized blade on her arm had been thrust into the lover's chest.

"My condolences on Jaris-Al," he grated, feeling light-headed. He had gleaned the name from that memory. "I defected from my own people as well, and I can but say that as long as you walk a path you pride yourself with, you have made the right choice..." He fell down on his side then, propped up on his arm, but he knew unconsciousness would seize him soon. "You've m-made your choice. So you s-should do your utmost... serving your chosen side. That... is the righteous path."

OOC: Remember how Wenn Cinn said there were hostiles in hydrophonics? Perhaps ending this thread with her going there, only to find two of her own people, and deciding on subduing them, killing them or letting them be beamed off - back to another Overseer? :)

Re: Chapter 01: Supplemental | Homesickness

Reply #17 –
[ Dyan Cardamone / Sar-unga Neleo | The Spearhead Lounge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Griff

Drock...Too-loss? No no, she’d heard this name before. Drauc, she thinks. She knows of him, but she didn’t expect him to be so...ugly. His blood ran down his side, she watched it with more interest than she watched his face. That must hurt.

She watched him slump, the blood forming a puddle around his knee. The cut must be deeper than it looked, or he was intentionally hiding it. She did what he asked, it wasn’t an irrational request after all.
“Thea, activate emergency medical hologram.”  She didn’t look up to make sure it worked. After all, why wouldn’t the EMH work?

She perked up when she heard Jaris-Al’s name. How’d he know that? In fact, how’d he know all of this stuff about betrayal and path-walking? It bothered her, on one level, and on another level it comforted her. Drauc was repeating sentiments her hallucination of her father gave her.

All in all, this man was good. She felt it in her bones. He was passing out, but the EMH would take care of him. She wasn’t trained in anything more medical than fixing her own splints. She hoped to give him some comfort, at least. Some sort of admission of gratitude. Her burning fire to war filled her chest again, the wicked smile filled her face once more.
“Half the blood I spill today will be in your name, Drauc.” She promised, and when she was sure the EMH had activated, she took off.

Hydroponics, that’s where she had to be next. Commander Cinn had mentioned there were hostiles there. She flicked her blade forward, instead of following the bones of her arms, it now extended beyond her wrist. Off she ran, ready to bring down hell upon whoever was unfortunate enough to be in her way.

As she thought, she came to hydroponics in minutes. Before her stood two of her own kin, their backs to her. She was disappointed, to say the least, hoping that she would be slicing Sheromi, not her own kind. The hesitation lasted only a moment, she had a job to do yet. She flipped her blade back, parallel with her forearm, and lunged at the duo as they turned to look for the source of the noise. It would be a bloody, painful battle, one sindt-user versus two, but she would leave them incapacitated, for someone else to find.

- FIN
 
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