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Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #100 –
[ Tessa May Lance, callsign:  Goldeneye | Tac-CONN Briefing Room | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy  | 1500 hrs. ] Attn: @Nolan, @Auctor Lucan, @Havenborn, @Multificionado, @Even Angels Cry, @Jm Von Cat , @Blue Zephyr, @Masorin,  @Triage.

"Sten, you might want to give your cubs a chance to sort personal issues as well. Once we're facing the Borg, I doubt we'll all come out of this in one piece,"

“I’ll pass it on,” the deck chief nodded grimly before noticing that one of the pilots hadn’t risen from her seat.  Tessa May Lance was staring off into the void and had only barely mumbled a response to Meony’s remarks.  “Hey Goldeneye, if you got something to do now’s the time to do it,” Sten Covington called out in his ‘chief’ voice as he walked past Ravon to spare his eardrums.

That opened the floodgates.  ”We’re following the Borg?  Why are we following the Borg?  Can’t we just call somebody and let them handle it?  This is something that can beat all of Starfleet and we’re just half a ship!  No we’re just one third of a ship!  If our weapons didn’t stop the Savi how can we possibly survive the Borg?  Why does everybody want to eat us?  What did we do?  It’s not fair!” Shivering, Tessa bowed in her chair, covered her head with her arms and rocked back and forth.

“I think we lost her sirs,” Sten stiflly announced to Ravon and Henshaw.  

At least one of the Lone Wolves stayed around long enough to console her.  Ensign Christopher Slayton, callsign “Husker” stepped away from Lieutenant Talidenai zh'Idenna , callsign "Terror" and Lieutenant (junior grade) T'Zantha, walked over and plopped himself into the seat next to her.  “It’s going to be all right Tessa,” he assured her.

”No it’s not Chris!” Tessa gasped while rocking back and forth and trying to take a breath.  ”The parasites… the Savi… the Borg, there’s no way the Federation can take all of them on at once, let alone one third of the Theurgy!  It’s the end of everything!  Even a heroic sacrifice doesn’t mean anything anymore; it’s the end of Fed… the Federation!  They all ganged up on us all at once and it’s over!  There’s no hope!  There’s no hope at all!”  She tried to keep ranting but all she could make was quiet hoarse shrieks before she couldn’t even do that anymore.


OOC:  Hell of a time for all of the counselors to be on another stardrive vector...

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #101 –
[ Maya | Primary Surgical Suite | Sickbay | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy  | 1500 hrs. ] Attn: @Nolan @patches, @Mathis @Jm Von Cat @CanadianVet

"Maya.  Would you be so kind to slice away the necrotic damage to his fat tissue and skin?  I think we'll have to remove the spleen and a part of the liver. The initial scans were comforting enough, yet when I look at them... They will probably cause more trouble in the future."

“Agreed,” the greenblooded physician acknowledged as she held out a gloved hand that seemed too large for her short and slender frame.  “Laser scalpel,” she ordered. 

“Laser scalpel,” Nurse Jovela repeated as she handed the little Vulcan the laser scalpel. 

Doctor Rez made an attempt to socialize with Doctor Kobol  but it was clear that he was having difficulty adjusting to the revelations that had pushed him out of the safe and rational world of Federation Starfleet and into the horror and madness of life as a fugitive and the knowledge that the patient they were tyring to save was infected with a monstrosity from beyond the ebony gulfs of transcosmic space. 
Normally Maya would have found such socialization an unprofessional distraction in the operating theatre but the need to assess Elro Kobol ’s dependability and assimilate him into the medical department of the Theurgy was crucial.  In addition, the parasite infesting their patient made him unnaturally stable despite his injuries normally being fatal, so if there were any operating theatre where small talk was appropriate, this would be it.

Amelya didn’t let her conversation distract her from the patient though.  ”How’s it going?"

“We’ve had to strip away a great portion of the dermis,” Maya reported crisply.  “We will need to use a great deal of dermatiraelian plasticine until we can regrow enough of his dermis to make the grafts.”

"Maya, if it's alright with you I'll start with the ribcage in order to get to the lung. Could you remove the spleen and liver in the meantime?  If I'm not done by then, you could start with implementing the liver, perhaps salvage what you can from his pancreas and patch it up where needed," Amelya instructed.

“Yes Doctor,” the greenblooded surgeon replied.  “Suction,” she ordered. 

“Suction,” Nurse Jovela repeated as she picked up a small device that looked like a PADD that was less than half the standard size.  Her fingers played across the surface and the hum of the transporter could be heard, but no one appeared and no one in the room disappeared.

“Exoscalpel,” Maya ordered as she stuck out her gloved hand and spread her long spidery fingers.

“Exoscalpel,” Nurse Jovela repeated as placed the desired instrument in the Vulcan’s hand.

“Preparing to initiate cut,” Maya annouced.   “Suction.”

“Suction,” Nurse Jovela repeated as the hum of the transporter was again audible.

“Prepare to transport Doctor Nicander’s spleen to Doctor Okafor’s lab,” Maya ordered as she hunched over Nicander’s abdomen and made the requisite cuts.  “Tag for transport,” she ordered when she had finished making the incisions.

“Tagging for transport,” Nurse Jovela repeated as she used a small device that resembled a protoplaser to inject a tiny transponder into the ruined organ. 

“Transport,” Maya ordered.  With luck, the scientists in Doctor Okafor’s laboratory would be able to convert Nicander’s ruined spleen into a functioning organ.  “Suction.”

“Suction.”

“Initiate holographic replacement organ,” Maya ordered.  Maya had been skeptical of such an unorthodox technique for temporary organ replacement, but given the unusual circumstances the holographic organs would keep the patient stable until his damaged organs were properly repaired or replaced.

“Initiating holographic replacement organ,” Jovela repeated as a quiet noise that sounded like an electronic exhale was heard.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #102 –
[ CPO Liam Herrold | Tactical CONN Briefing Room | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
With Ravon's announcement, it was clear how right Ji was. She'd said that it was time to prepare all the fighters, but knowing that the brass on the Sword had made the decision to follow the Borg trail to where they'd come from, it almost seemed a moot thing to do. The elephant in the room was that it was widely known how fighters didn't quite have an edge against a Borg cube. The Lone Wolves were cut down in numbers since the battle against the Versant, so even as a squadron working in perfect synchronisation in anti-ship tactical manoeuvres... their claws and teeth were not as long as they used to be.

"Yeah," he said numbly to Ji, getting to his feet. He glanced towards one of the female pilots - Goldeneye - who seemed to be having great doubts about their survival, and Liam was of the same mind. He said nothing, however, as he left the briefing room together with Ji, their repairmen and technicians following them out of the room and into the Fighter Assault Bay. They looked to Ji and him for moral support, a wordless question in their eyes, but Liam had little to offer them in terms of reassurance.

Still, he had to say something, glancing towards them with his light blue eyes. "Starfleet has defeated the Borg before, and we'll make sure the staff has all they need from our warp fighters," he said, beginning to point towards the crafts in the bay. "Run diagnostics on all phaser systems, verify hard-point configurations with all pilots, and gear them up. Make sure all micro torpedo launchers are fully stocked and calibrated with their targeting systems, and finish the maintenance on the Valravn emitter housings. Check the patrol schedule first, though, so that you know which fighters to make a priority. Come on, let's go..."

Once more into the breach.


FIVE HOURS LATER | 2300 hrs.

“It's the fear. Fear of the dark. It's growing inside of me, and one day it will come to life. Have to save. To save my beloved. There is no escape, because my faith is horror and doom.”
― Sharon Den Adel, Within Temptation

“Personal Log, Supplemental. Stardate 57555.12. Time seem to dilate when death is imminent, and I have to remind myself how we got into this situation.

At 1500 hrs. today, we encountered the Runabout Niger, and after the initial altercation, where Commander Ducote and his people ended up in the Brig, the shuttle's crew was willing to work with our staff once the parasitic threat was revealed to them. With an infested aboard, we could provide enough evidence to put most grievances aside, and at 1800 hrs., the decision was made to investigate where the Borg cube that attacked the USS Endeavour came from.

The time is now 2300 hrs., and in the last five hours, after finishing their duties, the crew on the Sword have taken their time to sort out personal matters. The unsaid, the unheard truth... is that we all expect the worst. The Borg is like no other enemy the Federation has faced, different from the usurpers in Starfleet Command. While the latter is insidious and calculating, seemingly undermining all that modern civilisations have built... there is nothing indirect about the Borg.

When possible death stands at my door, I try to take heart in a grim Beninese proverb, one that my mother told me once during the Dominion War. She said that 'the world is a journey, the afterworld is home.'

I do not know if can take heart in those words, because assimilation is not death, and we might be denied the afterworld. Our souls never finding their way home, wherever it may be they belong.”

― Lieutenant Tyreke Okafor, the Sword, Vector 2 of the USS Theurgy

[ Dr. Nicander | Primary Surgical Suite | CMO Office | Main Sickbay | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan  @Doc M. @
[Show/Hide]
Wetting lips as dry as paper, Lucan slowly opened his pale grey eyes. Where am I?

With his memories muddled with darkness and light, pain and prediction, he tried to discern his surroundings. He recognised the deckhead above him, as well as the apparatus of the surgical suite. There were sounds, the customary ones for the room, and he would have felt at home if he didn't feel like he'd fallen from the highest precipice of Envon and struck every plateau on the way down. The throbbing aches and pain, the soreness and tightness of new skin, and acclimatisation to organs foreign and artificial, and below it all...

...feeling the dark abyss still present. This sinkhole in his soul that devoured him.

Yet now, as opposed to his recent memories, he was no longer submerged. Elevated above the edge.

Weakly, his strength yet to return, he looked around, and saw himself contained within a pillar that surrounded the the surgical suite. He was not alone either, seeing armoured guards along the circumference of the room - armed to their teeth with rifles and hand phasers. He thought he caught movements in the back of this well-known office too. Medical Officers talking. Yet inside the forcefield, two women at his right side, at work - yet finished with him. He blinked, and caught the eye of the dark-haired woman. Her eyes widened upon seeing him looking at her. "Doctor..."

Nurse Jovela had been on the Theurgy for years, yet now, she looked at him as if he was a monster baring his fangs. At some level, it hurt him to see her reaction. His eyes drifted to his right arm, where they seemed to be calibrating the synthetic nerves of a prosthetic hand - the forearm opened and revealing the inner machinations of the false extremity. It took him a moment to realise it was attached to his own elbow, and he frowned in confusion, since he believed he could feel his fingertips as if they were his own. He did not move, already propped up by the biobed since they had elevated his torso a bit. He looked down to see his chest bare, and a teal blanket pooled around his waist. His right side, which had been scourged open, was now sealed with new skin, likely covering synthesised organs. The seam was there, yet nigh invisible.

Then, his grey eyes drifted up to the Medical Officer that was finishing with his arm - meeting Amelya Rez' gaze.

"I think the anaesthetics... are wearing off," he grated through his raw throat, his voice sounding foreign to him since his blood was thick with sedatives, and his mouth was drier than the deserts of the Fire Region.

And as if his voice had triggered an alarm, the armoured guards raised their rifles against him, shouting to the Nurse and the Doctor that they needed to be ready to clear the area, that they were about to lower the force field. They shouted a count-down, giving Amelya and Jovela so many seconds to abort, before they were to be let out - the forcefield winking out of existence for just as long as it would take them to vacate the surgical suite.

"Wait..." he tried to say, raising his left hand, unable to reach them - his body not quite obeying him yet. "Please."

This Cycle... You must listen. Where his tongue failed him, he implored them with his eyes. There is no time...


[ Lt. Tyreke Okafor | Battle Bridge | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
The warp trail had led deeper into the Azure Nebula. A straight course into the center of it, where there were no planetary bodies - all blasted out of of existence when the nebula was begotten by a supernova.

In this cerulean void, which stretched for light years, the Sword traversed the nebula's inner heart towards wherever the faint trail would lead them. Instead of reintegrating with the other Vectors, Captain Wenn Cinn had led them to the eerie remnants or what had once created the whole of the nebula. A supernova from mere centuries ago, yet already in the Sedov-Taylor phase. The oddity of the nebula's behaviour was an unsolved mystery for the Science Division of Starfleet, but Tyreke Okafor knew that it held no hospitality for starships of any size or modulation. He just hadn't thought he'd experience it for himself, the hazards ranging from the radiation to the pockets of combustive gas.

Yet this heart of the nebula? This maw of nothing that they entered? It made Okafor long for Earth, and have solid ground beneath his feet again. For even with a ship the size of the Sword, he couldn't help but feel how very small they were.

Seated at the science station, Tyreke glanced towards Wenn Cinn, who had elected to remain on the bridge despite the late hour. The warp trail had steadily grown fainter, until their sensors could barely pick it out any more. It was expected that it would end before midnight, and their search would have proven in vain after all. But with the lack of anything out there, it was as if the void closed in on them by the minute, and all that was left - the only tether to reality - was that faint warp trail. The single constant, deteriorating along with their fortitude.

Then, it was gone, and Tyreke's brown eyes widened.

"Captain," he said, looking in the Bajoran's direction, "the trail ends one light year ahead. I recommend we drop out of warp and scan the area. I suggest we summon the senior staff, and perhaps even the officers of the Niger as well." It was, after all, their search to begin with, and Okafor knew he'd personally like to be summoned if in their shoes.

While Okafor rose to his feet and stepped out from the Science area of the bridge, he saw Ensign Jaya Thorne turn her pretty yet scarred face towards Captain Wenn for confirmation before she pulled back the warp throttle, which made the streaming stars in the cerulean night come to a stand-still. Tyreke stood at the side of the bridge and wondered if the Captain would raise the Alert status of the ship, but at the forefront of his mind, he watched what could be seen on the viewscreen. He narrowed his eyes at the increased light ahead.

It was the heart of the Azure Nebula.

"This is a supernova remnant," he announced quietly in his Beninese accent to the gathered officers, having verified his findings already. "Once charted as FGC-SR37-758. This centre of this nebula consists of argon, oxygen, flouride, and sirillium, just like the rest of it, but from here... the Azure Nebula began to expand over two hundred years ago."

Could the Borg cube emerge from nothing? Tyreke turned to look away from the viewscreen. "According to our sensors the warp trail ends right there. Yet with all the charged energy readings we get, I can't say if the trail continues beyond this point, only having dissipated, or if this is the actual origin of the trail."

If that was the case, wow can the Borg have sprung from nothing?

Yet more importantly, were they out there already?

OOC: All right! For starters, only three locations will be depicted for the time being, the Bridge, the Fighter Bay and Sickbay.

Main Bridge: Here, after chXinya posts, likely going to Yellow Alert (meaning all hands to battle stations), all bridge officers should take their stations. I leave it up to everyone to decide if they already had their characters posted on the bridge at 2300 hrs., since the past 5 hours is open for all kinds of Supplemental threads you may want to write before this scene. They might be in bed for all I know. Here are the bridge crew, and the response time of 7 days begins when Yellow Alert is called for everyone with characters here: [Show/Hide]
Here is the characters in the Fighter Assault Bay, and the response time of 7 days begins when Yellow Alert is called. This, for everyone with characters here, at which point the squadron is scrambled and they are ready to launch: [Show/Hide]
Primary Surgical Suite, Main Sickbay, CMO Office: Here, surgery on Nicander is finishing up. Below list has both characters that in the room, and those ones who I leave it optional for the writers if they have remained there or not since 1800 hrs. If there are security officers that have been replaced they could be summoned by the present guards since Nicander just woke up: [Show/Hide]
Please notice how five hours have now passed since the earlier events in this Chapter! These five hours are, of course, now available for everyone to use in setting up their own Supplemental threads. The naming convention for such threads belonging to Chapter 04 is still: Chapter 04: Supplemental [ Day XX | XXXX hrs. ] Insert Title.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #103 –
[ PO1 Varder Ridun | Primary Surgical Suite | Sickbay | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy  | 1500 hrs. ] Attn: @patches @CanadianVet @Doc M. @Nolan @Mathis
[Show/Hide]
Five hours, split into shorter shifts with rotating personnel. A smart choice, if the posting of fully suited and armed security officers was just for show one group could manage to stand for the duration, however this was not simply a show. If that thing were to awake as a threat every officer present would be needed, ready to respond without weighted feet and clouded minds. Both Bremmer and Taer were on rotation out, Ridun himself was only back on within the last half hour.

From the position he was standing it was slightly difficult to observe for any small motions, doubly so due to the invasive surgery that was still ongoing. The rumbling and sedated voice, although unexpected, acted as an alarm witch prompted an immediate response, one seeming almost mechanical, an effect aided by the metallic exo-suits worn by each member of the security detail.
Clear, direct and aggressive instruction was then spoken by Ridun, his voice amplified by the external speakers of the exo-suit to achieve an almost shouting volume. Step back, Brace for field lowering, Lowered, Leave containment, Raise. His tone making clear the lack of room to argue the point.

As the young Bajoran spoke, his words carried to more than just those within the Primary surgical suite, or even the sickbay as a whole. A direct comm-link to all chosen officers, on or off rotation for this duty was in place. Kino, Eliska, All could hear and knew exactly what the words he had spoken meant.

Nicander was awake.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #104 –
[ Lt Cmdr Vael Kaeris | Battle Bridge | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy  ] Attn: @trevorvw  @Top Hat @Mathis @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @patches @chXinya  

Following the meeting with the Theurgy staff -- such as it was -- Vael would have much preferred to check on the doctor, but such was the commander's prerogative and he wasn't one to challenge the hierarchy of the established command, even under such circumstances.  In truth, it was because of such extraordinary straits that he found strict adherence to protocols critical.  To that end, Vael had accompanied Kai back to the brig to round up the few linger refugees of their ship that had been clinging to the self-same lifeboat as the rest of them.  Two crew members had been sent to sickbay given their earlier injuries, leaving only three hail and hardy enough to withstand the rigors of custody-- a combination of enlisted and civilian experts between the lot of them.

First, it was necessary to confirm to those gathered that they were, in fact, on the USS Theurgy.  Setting aside the gasps, however, he had moved to assure them that renegade or not, the crew had agreed to pick up where the Endeavour had left off, for the time being, and would attempt to pursue the Borg.  Beyond that, he could offer them no certainties, no guarantees-- only platitudes and reassurances that the senior officers would do everything to ensure their safety and well being.

To that end, Vael took the initiative to coordinate with the Theurgy's quartermaster, arranging for a handful of unused quarters in which to house his own crewmates.  He doubted there was much reason to argue over his request for the quarters to be in close proximity... it gave the Theurgy security teams a reasonable area to monitor and it gave Vael an equally reasonable area to keep track of.  He was the one at the disadvantage, however, given the unfamiliar territory of the ship and the lack of manpower he possessed in comparison to the Theurgy itself, even if only a single vector.

After dutifully logging the location and well being of each crewman in the PADD that he'd simply refused to let out of his grip after it had been given to him earlier, he had tracked down the commander in order to provide a report and, in the hopes of getting some insight as to Kobol 's well-being in sickbay.

His duties done, though, he dared to secure himself an hour to himself, and although he wished for a real shower rather than a turn under the sonic shower, it was sufficient to wash away the imperceptible aura of the runabout and all the associated proximity it had entailed for the past few days.  Once more presentable, if not thoroughly refreshed, he'd managed to secure a quiet meal and a cup of tea before an alert from the bridge drew his attention. 

Could they have tracked down their quarry this quickly?  He took a deep breath, casting aside his nerves to find the quiet center that he relied on as a final sip of tea passed his lips.  Rising from his seat, he exited the temporary quarters that he'd assigned for himself and made a course for the Battle Bridge, certain the other Endeavour officers would likely be there.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #105 –
[CPO Eun Sae Ji | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | Fighter Assault Bay | USS Theurgy]
@Auctor Lucan

Five hours.

Five fucking hours of work.

Ji slumped inside the Auxiliary office for a moment.  She had her arms folded on the desk in front of her and she rested.  Her eyes were closed, head turned to the side for a moment.  Hair covering half her face as she rested there for a moment.  She had promised herself that she was only going to close her eyes for a minute.  Just one of them, you know, the kind of thing to just reset your body just a little bit before she could get back to her job.  She had spent the last hours, since the meeting, working hard getting every fighter as ready as fast as possible.  She had run diagnostic after diagnostic.  Tweaked this and that, anything that was even remotely getting to that 'maybe we should replace this point' was replaced.  She had rerouted power where necessary, checked all the wires, done everything she could think of and spent more time with Liam.

The sound of a cup being placed on the desk in front of her made her jump.  She sat up with a start, dark eyes opening as she looked up to find the face of Jeff... one of her boys there with a grin on his face.  “Caught you, boss.”

She grumbled something unintelligible that was likely a curse as she ran a hand across her chin to remove any traitorous drool that might have made it's way out while she caught her cat nap.  Jeff's large mechanic's hand slid the cup closer to her so that the smell of fresh coffee would hit her nose for a moment and she grunted again.  Apparently, she was nonverbal for the moment.  Her hand dropped and took the cup in it raising it to her lips she took a long sip, a gulp, and another before she put it down.  Wincing as the heat seared her throat, but she didn't care.  It was worth it. 

Besides we may not live the day.

She shook the thought out of her mind.  “Where's Liam?” she asked, her first thought, of course was him.  She wasn't sure what today would actually bring but she wanted to make sure that she was fighting beside him as they had last time.  It didn't seem that long ago .. but then again, it seemed like forever ago that she, Liam, and the others had fought for their fighter bay and the people on it. 

“Dunno.”  Jeff shrugged.

“Amazingly helpful, thank you Jeff.” she said sarcastically as she rose up and brushed some of the wrinkles out of her yellow work suit.  None of them smoothed out, they were set from hours of hard work and apparently … as she glanced at the chronometer, fifteen minutes of hard sleeping. 

“Any time, Chief.” he grinned with a chuckle and headed out of the office.

Ji took up her life blood – coffee- and headed out of the office into the hustle and bustle of the Fighter Assault Bay.  Everything gleamed.  When she had finished working on the fighter she and her boys had made sure they were cleaned, polished, shined, and beautiful.  She was not going to have her pilots fighting in fighters that were grungy and soot stained.  The deck was never cleaner than it was right now. 

Her dark eyes shifted around the deck, coffee in hand, a sip taken, to locate the familiar backside of one Liam Herrold.  She knew it well, the planes of it, the muscles.  The way that he stood, his stance, the way his shoulders set.  The ease of his eyes when he saw her.  She knew her eyes, likely, did the same thing when she saw him too.  She spotted him, in his work suit not all that far away.  She could feel a smile crossing her face as she watched him. 

Heading over to him, she knew that they were getting close to action time, she was afraid.  What if something happened to Liam, what if something happened to her?  What if after today, where they planned to run into the Borg, they didn't get to see each other again.  Ji was fairly formal when it came to being on deck.  She didn't often give Liam her affections in public because she felt it was far more professional and she tried to keep the two lives separate.  Today though, she didn't care. 

Yellow Alert. 

It was time.  Time for fighting, for inevitable death, or at least a hard day.  She slid her arm around his waist and leaned against him.  Was it a good time for this?  No.  Did she give a shit?  No.  She was going to take the minute with Liam while she had it before all hell broke loose.

“Are you ready?” she asked looking up at him with her dark eyes.  “Coffee?” she offered him her own cup incase he needed a sip or two she had no worries about sharing with him because they had shared far more things than that.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #106 –
[ Dr. Amelya Rez | Primary Surgical Suite | CMO Office | Main Sickbay | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Doc M. 

The ordeal of keeping nicander on the brink of life took five long hours for the medical staff. Somem inor setbacks were made yet Amelya wondered if the Câroon man could actually die with the parasite inside of him. She had taken the oportunity to 'rummage' around in the good doctor's body while they performed surgery, in the hopes to physically notice or see the parasite inside him, yet this was to no avail. In turn it was an interesting note to add to the file. After the organ damage had been patched up as good as it could, Amelya had given Maya some rest as the procedure was generally exhausting. A break was most definitely most deserved, yet she imagined the Vulcan would not leave the suite in case she was needed back at the table. The Niger doctor, mister Kobol  had also still been present and now and again some small talk was delivered, though mostly they focused those long five hours on the surgery at hand.

Security had been cycling, yet after two hours they sort of became part of the scenery and no longer the distraction the medical staff didn't need. Rez closed up the last of the dermal tissue on Nicander's new prosthetic. It looked leaner than a usual prosthetic as muscle mass was diminished to a minimum. No need to add more muscle mass than that as the patient had been known to be extremely violent. Regardless, he could still do some fatal damage with the newly acquired limb, yet not as much as he could before. It was a bit ironic though... Amelya's eyes darted up to Jovela as she didn't respond to a request she made, the eyes of the blonde doctor turning to Nicander's face as she heard the all too familiar voice. Here eyes looked at his face as she raised her hands instinctively as Varder Ridun, one of the security staff in the room warned them about lowered the force field and indicated them to get out. Amelya's breathing accelerated lightly yet she never broke eye contact with Nicander as he tried to speak. Unsure who had stepped out or not, Amelya remained where she stood, placing her tools down on the tray besides her before she raised her hand for Security.

"Take your positions but don't fire yet!" she said to them, she removed her head mask, so it would be easier for her patient to understand her as she tapped the controls on the surgical bed, restraining Nicander at his legs, arms and waist. Regardless, if he'd lash out or anything he'd feel the pain, not that it would stop him probably. Her hand snaked behind her to get the inoculation device which contained the sedatives "What are you trying to say?" she asked in a soft, yet lowered voice to Nicander as she narrowed her eyes at him. Though the features on her face didn't show the fear or resentment she had displayed before when the roles were turned around not that long ago.

She blanked out the turmoil in the room, the people who would call out to her or Nicander, the chaos that was presumably unfolding behind her. Right now, there was only him and her. If anything else, this might've just been one of Jona's little tricks she thought to herself as a faint smile covered her lips as she steadied herself for whatever would possibly happen.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #107 –
[ Lt. Commander Wenn Cinn | Battle Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
Listening to his Science Officer, this Human that he knew as a hero to the Bajoran people during the Dominion War, Wenn Cinn had remained in his chair, watching the supernova remnant's heart on the viewscreen. His dark countenance held a frown above the ridges of his nose, because he did not know what to expect - the answers of all their questions yet to be revealed. As it were, they still knew nothing.

"Yellow Alert," he said, and he rose to his full height in front of the command chair. "All all hands to battle stations, at the ready for whatever awaits. Indeed, let our guests come here. Henshaw, I want half the squadron out there doing recognisance ahead of us, the rest ready to launch in defence of this Vector."

Slowly, Wenn Cinn stepped forward, towering behind the backs of the seated Junior Lieutenant Nator and Ensign Thorne. His eyes told him nothing, looking at the lights at the heart of the nebula. The shockwave of the supernova had left his area centuries past, and what remained was particles drifting in inertia, just like in the rest of the Azure Nebula. Here, however, the gamma radiation would be higher, whence the cosmic rays had sprung. He was a soldier, and not a scientist, but he had paid attention in the Academy, so many years ago. Knowledge was key to survival, for if there was one thing that had kept him alive during the Bajoran Occupation, it was knowledge. Foreknowledge of Cardassian troop movements, and knowing who to trust - learning who could be Collaborators and who pretended to inform the Resistance.

This mystery shrouded in the clouds of the nebula... It eluded him, and he loathed it.

Tyreke Okafor had suggested scans, and few other options at hand, that's what they'd do. "We may be in close proximity of a hidden enemy," he said, his deep voice carrying on the bridge while people filed in to take their seats and positions, the guests from the Endeavour included. "Our survival is pinned on finding where the enemy is before it may find us. The word is free. Between us all, we should be able to see what's not there, theorise what may have cause the Borg to come through here, and whether or not the warp trail ought to have continued on the other side. Did it dissipate beyond this point, or it this where it began?"

In the past five hours, Cinn had yet to set aside time to visit or speak with Rez, this new host of the woman he'd lost. She been preforming surgery on Nicander, this old 'friend' he'd trusted. He still felt the sting of betrayal, and he had not even reconciled with the fact that he'd chosen to follow the trail rather than reintegrate with the other Vectors. He remained conflicted about abandoning any chance to save the abducted crew from the Savi, even if the Sword had detailed scans of the Versant. He had even made the call in conflict with Captain Ives' last order, to continue the mission, and he felt a traitor to his Captain, even if he thought Ives would understand. Jien had fought the wars of Starfleet, and knew the Borg.

So, as he stood there, at the end of the path he'd chosen for his crew, Cinn sought confidence in an old sentiment of his, that a direct threat was more easily addressed than an indirect one.

"Our sensors may just tell us so much, but we are capable of understanding what might yet be there, even if it's not seen."

As always, in the back of his head, the thought returned to him yet again. Was this the reason the Prophets brought me back?

OOC: More posts to come today from other POVs, yet since 7 days passed and chXinya was too busy IRL to post with Wenn Cinn, I had to step in as GM to progress the story. No worries about that, but I hope everyone have the time to post with their characters on the bridge, in the fighter bay and the CMO office. :) See my previous post's OOC message for orientation, and post away!

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #108 –
[ CPO Liam Herrold | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
The Lone Wolves, such as they currently were, had their fighters prepped and ready for launch. Most of them had been sitting on their hands in wait for this pending engagement with the Borg, but Liam had heard they put their hands to better uses whilst they still had the chance.

As for himself? Wherever his hands may and may not have been, he and his weapons technicans had taken on the full consequences of the Valravn fighters being prototypes, changing out the emitter housings on all the old White Wolves' fighters to keep them from overheating and turning the fuselages into overgrown microwave ovens. Luckily, some of them had been taken care of between the last engagement and this one. Unfortunately, one of the Valravns had taken a nasty hit from a tricobalt shock-wave, the subspace tear nearly warping the entire frame out of shape, but as it were, the shields had spared all save for a wing, which had been so bent five people including himself had to use the "big" tools at their disposal to try and bend the wing back. They still hadn't been able to finish it, and Terror - the Andorian pilot that flew it - and her RIO were not impressed with only having functioning phaser arrays on one side of the fighter.

It left him catching his breath, Terror stalking off with her antennae twisting, but to soothe his sore body and ears, Ji came along, and right then, spent as he was - with his jumpsuit open and sweat beading his brow - her presence and the coffee was more than welcome.

"As ready as one can be, I guess. Thanks," he said. and put his free hand on her opposite shoulder. He might have gone for a cold drink instead, but if it was delivered by Ji, he really couldn't complain. It certainly seemed like the reality of the situation had dawned on her too, for she was keen on being close to him, even if they should stay professional in the fighter bay. He drank the coffee, but couldn't keep himself from checking where Covington was. For since Ji told him what he'd done to her, he had started to wonder what the old Chief might do or say when he saw them together. Oh, he didn't think Ji was being openly affectionate towards him to spite Covington, making him jealous, even if it might seem that way. Liam was merely worried about getting both Ji and himself into trouble needlessly.

"Hey, let's go to the weapon storag-," he began to say, to make her let go and to go somewhere more private, but that's when the Squadron Commanding Officer came to the fighter bay, with orders, no doubt...

OOC: Cue @Nolan ! :)

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #109 –
[ Lt. Simon Tovarek | Battle Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]

Tovarek arrived at the bridge moments after the yellow alert had been sounded. His eyes scanning around at those gathered already before he took his place besides Cinn. He looked at the viewscreen and let out a soft sigh as he whispered to the captain "I've worked on some ideas in case we run into the Borg. Some might seem... Crude." he paused as he looked at the tall dark man before looking back at the screen "Yet I believe it'll buy us some time." he nodded as he looked over at the science station. "Mr Okafor, inform me if anything out of the ordinary shows up on scans." he said to the current CSO.

In the meantime Simon walked around on the bridge inspecting the various screens and panels as the bridge crew worked ahead. He stopped at Henshaw's station as she was relaying her order to Thomas Ravon. Who'd undoubtedly be thrilled at the new set of orders given. Heshaw seemed calm, yet her trembling hands would be the only thing that would give her away. Simon simply placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring nod. The yellow lights around them flashed further as Simon peered into the distance on the screen in front of him. It was as if he was trying to spot anything before the scanners would. Which was unlikely...

The choice to hunt for the Borg had been an uneasy one, even for Simon. Whilst he could work the scans performed on the Versant and studied the weapons and shield technology they had, it all paled when facing the Borg. Anything they had picked up so far would be futile against them. He had skimmed over the logs of Voyager that were stored in the library and made notes on how to tackle a Borg threat. Yet it wasn't much to go on. Perhaps they had chosen the wrong way, yet now would be too late to reconsider. They had positioned themselves here, in the heart of the Nebula.

[ Lt Cmdr Thomas Ravon | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Havenborn , @Triage , @Triton , @Multificionado

As the yellow alert claxon sounded twice in the fighter assault bay the pilots scrambled to their fighters or to the locker rooms in order to get readied up. The pack leader had already been in his flight suit and was carrying his helmet in his left hand as he walked over to Ji and Herrold "Hey, nice job on that Valravn." he complimented Herrold before he looked at the coffee Ji had brought for the both of them and he wondered if he interrupted anything special "Did you manage to outfit the fighters to pilot specifications?" he continued regardless "Half of the squadron will be making a sortie, so if some of them aren't ready, I need to know now." he said seriously. He didn't mean to come across like an arrogant flyboy, though he pretty much sounded like it. The look on his face was stern, yet mixed with concentration and determination. "Whichever aren't ready, I want them ready yesterday. I need every ship that can fly and fire out there!"

After hearing what he needed to hear from the techs he nodded and waved them off shortly before turning around to walk to his fighter. He stepped up to the canopy and looked around the rest of the outfitted fighters "Look alive you bunch of rag tags!" he shouted to the pilots who were scrambling to get ready "Rawley, Havenborn, Tancredi, Garcia! Get in those fighters and rally up on me! Rapid departure, formation Zero Seven Six once we're out there. Make me proud and don't fucking screw up! There are people on this ship that are counting on you." he said as his voice boomed over the fighter bay like Sten's voice would. He simply nodded with at Tessa as he wanted to give her a break considering the fragile mental state she'd been in. Personally though, he'd fly out with the squadron on this deranged mission. It was his job and he felt somewhat personally responsible for the trail he had set them upon.

He looked down at his wing as the desired armaments of quantum torpedoes and additional photon torpedoes were mounted on his wolf "Let's roll Kestrel." he tapped against the side of his ship before he jumped in and waited for the ship to be cleared for departure. Once the flight deck had been cleared, Thomas throttled up and bursted out of Sword as the first fighter. Using TVD he looked around to get his bearings and waited for the rest of his broken pack to fall in. He plotted the course they'd follow to sniff out any resistance. "Theurgy, this is Razor, we'll scout ahead and inform you of any abnormalities when we see them." once he had his pilots with him he took the lead "Weapons hot, call out if you spot anything, keep the chatter to a minimum. Stick close and lets get our asses home in one piece together. Razor out."

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #110 –
[ Lt. JG Evelyn Rawley | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan @Auctor Lucan @Triage @Triton @Havenborn
[Show/Hide]


Rawley had been spending three hours around her fighter. She never returned to her quarters, just stayed near her fighter. She was geared up and ready to go, she was so itching. Her flight suit was on and she kept making checks. She was so anxious to fly again, so certain that her throat was better, she stayed near her fighter, flight suit on, in the event of the fighters scrambled.

Whenever she wasn’t triple checking her fighter’s condition, she was pondering on what to do if and when they encountered the Borg. Or she just napped in the cockpit; she didn't want to go to her quarters. She felt the need to be on hand when the action began.

So, naturally, she snapped at attention at the yellow alert claxon. And when Razor stepped in, loaded for bear as much as she was, she knew what was going to happen. Thomas Ravon never looked so grander as he stepped onto the canopy, despite there not being any St. Crispin’s Day style speech.

“Look alive you bunch of rag tags!"

Rawley smiled. That's definitely the Ravon she knew.

"Rawley, Havenborn, Tancredi, Garcia! Get in those fighters and rally up on me! Rapid departure, formation Zero Seven Six once we're out there.”

She smiled wider in that she was going out there, following him out, with Meony along for the ride. And she will make him proud, most definitely. She will not let him down.

She noticed Ravon’s nod at Goldeneye. Rawley had a feeling she’d be staying behind. True, she was as scared of the Borg as Goldeneye was, but she didn’t break down. Rawley was strong, and tougher than she looked. People tend to underestimate the small woman, but Rawley would easily give Boudicca a run for her money.

She piled into her fighter. Cor, she had missed being behind the cockpit. She followed Ravon out of the hangar, and blimey, it was hard to miss it, let alone hard to not follow it. Whatever he did to that bird, she had an admiration. She wished she’d make her fighter that bad-arse.

"Weapons hot, call out if you spot anything, keep the chatter to a minimum. Stick close and let’s get our asses home in one piece together. Razor out."

“Ghost to Razor, acknowledged,” Rawley answered. Her intuition told her this was the scouting mission she had hoped for. Just not in the way she had expected, but at least the “Sword” was closer than ever, and it’s a bloody long time in a cockpit without a sonic shower or some grub.

She looked up, keeping her eye out for anything. It occurred to her that this particular neck of the woods was different from the rest of the Azure Nebula. Her intuition told her they were in the center of the nebula. Rawley was no science officer; cor, she was no specialist on astral bodies, neither, but she wondered if it’s possible that the Borg was harvesting some kind of power source here. A transwarp conduit powered by sirilium sounded more likely, given their ability to do so in the past.

All the same, she knew the Borg was around here somewhere, somewhere in the heart of the Azure Nebula. Whatever the Wolves would find there was bound to be bonkers.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #111 –
[ Lt. Kai Akoni |Battle Bridge | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] @steelphoenix @Top Hat @Mathis @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @patches @chXinya

After Kai and Lt. Cmdr. Kaeris had collected the civillians from the brig and explained to them what was happening, they had been assigned quarters and had what appeared to be some down time. Kai was pretty happy with this as he was looking forward to a shower. Even if it was a sonic shower, it’d be nice to clean the grime and everything off of him. Not to mention a new uniform would feel like a treat after the last few days.

Kai was in the sonic shower as the grime and sweat and blood was being removed from his skin. It was so relaxing for Kai that he had begun to daydream…or in this case, a very bad dream. His mind raced back to when the Borg attacked the Endeavour. He began replaying his steps over and over in his head, wondering what if…wondering if he could have saved his best friend or his girlfriend. Not only did he grieve for them, he grieved for all the lost Endeavour crew. Kai wondered why he survived and they didn’t and what made him so special to keep living. Kai’s thoughts, which could be described as a mix of survivor’s guilt and post-traumatic stress syndrome were punctuated by the sonic shower shutting off and the computer announcing the sonic shower cycle had completed.

With that, Kai stepped out and made his way to the new uniform he had replicated before stepping into the shower. He then put the uniform on; it was the same type of uniform he had always worn. The replicator pattern was exactly identical; yet it still felt different.

After he put the uniform on he looked at himself in the mirror and sighed to himself.

Almost like it didn’t happen He thought to himself, but the other memories he had reminded him that it had indeed happened.

[Yellow Alert] came the voice through the comm system.

Once Kai had heard this, he made his way out of his quarters and towards the nearest turbolift. Once he was in the turbolift and on his way to the bridge, his thoughts wandered; not to being scared, but to revenge on the Borg. Either way, Kai was certain he would face them again.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #112 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Primary Surgical Suite | CMO Office | Main Sickbay | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
Instead of reaching for her with his tattooed hand, to stop Rez from leaving and resorting to the prudent fear of his awakening, Lucan found his new hand pushed into the biobed's metallic restraint - the thick cuff clasping around his wrist. There was a lot of commotion in the scourged room, and his entire body was restrained by the security measures of the bed. The forcefield shimmered out of existence, allowing for the escape the medical officers working on him. He spotted Jovela bolting away from his side...

...but Amelya Rez remained.

She met his eye, as if he was the man he'd pretended to be for all those bygone years. So recently awaken, he was compelled to seek forgiveness already. But he couldn't. He shouldn't. There were other things he had to say. It was at the tip of his tongue, but the abyss sought to quench his will with doubt. You were a murderer before we found you! it screeched, and Lucan pressed his pale eyes shut, meaning to ward his mind from the blighting words. So who do you think you are? The good doctor they have come to love and now hate? It was all a deception, hiding your true ambitions! The person you were to them never existed, which means the person you seek to be isn't even real. You were merely perpetuating a farce every waking hour! A never-ending charade!

Lucan shook his head, his face contorted, twisted in faltering defiance. "Listen..."

You were your own prince charming in a fairy-tale of lies!

"This Cycle... It is lost..." he managed, opening his eyes, trying not to to think about the implications of what the darkness said.

No matter how many times you lied, you still know the truth. You can't be what they want you to be.

"We can't undo them, can't stop them from happening..." he said, through clenched teeth, tears in his eyes..

Be silent! Nothing you say will make a difference. It is too late already. Surrender, for you can't give them what they need.

"But we can..." he said, breathing hard, closing his eyes. No, there was darkness there.

There is nothing you can do. You're ours!

He opened his eyes wide, letting the artificial light in the surgery suite into his irises, staring at Rez and beseeching her to listen, panting hard, the beeping of his elevated heart rate thunderous noise in his ears. "We can still fight! We must weaponize the light!"

You have already lost. The seeds of war have already been planted. There is naught more to do than watch it all unfold.

"The Radiant!" She clung to the words, to what he had to say, for he had to say it now. "She brought me back... McMillan! She can... her wavelength... Her abilities... She is one of them... One of those left behind... to ward us from it... The Radiants... They... and others... the lost races... the ones yet alive... they could do it... They have not forgotten... She doesn't know... She doesn't know!"

She didn't bring you back. You are a construct of insanity. An excuse to live with yourself. A lie manifest.

"It's still inside me," he rasped through his teeth, face twisted. "Please... I am weak... I need... I need..."

You need to surrender, for this is futile. The Borg will come, and this bag of blood and feces will become theirs.

"Epinephrine... Adrenaline..." he choked on the word, the hormone he sought acting as a neurotransmitter for his strength.

And they... will become ours.

His eyes widened. "The Bo- Borg. They know. They know... They meant to have me assimilated... They will come... They are on the way... All of them.... All of them!"

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #113 –
[ Tessa May Lance, callsign:  Goldeneye | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]  Attn: @Nolan, @Auctor Lucan, @Havenborn, @Multificionado, @Even Angels Cry, @Jm Von Cat , @Blue Zephyr, @Masorin,  @Triage.

Staggering into the fighter assault bay was the tottering and unsteady form of Wolf-03, Lieutenant (junior grade) Tessa May Lance, callsign Goldeneye.  Her cheeks were flush, her topaz yellow eyes were unfocused and the armoa from her breath was familiar to anyone who considered themselves a connasiour of hard liquor.  It was evident that when confronted with the prospect of having to confront the unstoppable threats of the Borg, the Savi, and Starfleet, the only way she could convince herself to show up for duty was to fortify herself with liquid courage.  It was painfully obvious that sythohol wasn’t an ingredient in any of the drinks she had ingested since the announcement that the Sword was heading out after the Borg.

“We’ve been banned from Argo everyone…” she sang slightly off-key as Thomas gave her a friendly nod.  “We’ve been banned from Argo just for having a little fun…”

Tessa screamed when the yellow alert klaxon went off.

"Look alive you bunch of rag tags!" Ravon shouted.  "Rawley, Havenborn, Tancredi, Garcia! Get in those fighters and rally up on me! Rapid departure, formation Zero Seven Six once we're out there. Make me proud and don't fucking screw up!  There are people on this ship that are counting on you."


[ Maya | Medical Lounge | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy  | 2300 hrs. ] Attn: @Nolan @patches, @Mathis @Jm Von Cat @CanadianVet

In the medical lounge across the corridor from Main Sickbay Doctor Maya of Vulcan was staring off into space.   After all of the hours she had put in surgery the little Vulcan had decided that it was necessary to retreat to the medical lounge to meditate in order to insure that her hands wouldn’t shake.  By locating herself in the medical lounge rather than her quarters she remained “on call” at a moment’s notice.  Of course, sitting quietly by herself without responding to stimuli wasn’t reassuring for any other medical personnel who took a break in the medical lounge, particularly anyone who still considered Maya a security risk. 

When the indicators near the door flashed yellow to indicate a yellow alert, Maya’s large hazel eyes blinked twice.  The little Vulcan then rose from her chair in an eerily fluid way and glided out of the lounge to return to duty.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #114 –
[CPO Eun Sae Ji | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy]
@Nolan @Auctor Lucan

The fighter that Liam had been working on looked a shit ton better than it had before his team had gotten ahold of it.  She had been working and commanding other parts of the deck and let him and his crew take care of untwisting and straightening out the metal that had been warped by the horrible attack that had only happened .. recently.  The days blurred together heavily, she knew that she and Liam should be here, being professional, and keeping a distance between them.  But today was the day they were going after the Borg and honestly she didn't give two shits what anyone thought of her or them today.  Tomorrow, when they survived, they could go back to cool professionalism on the deck but for right now she doubted that anyone would blame them for any moment of just being together and knowing that this day would be a hard day.

His hand came onto her shoulder and she smirked slightly.  A solitary front, she had fought beside this man, and made love to this man, and learned new things with this man.  They shared passions, they shared likes and dislikes.  They explored food together and honestly.. she wanted to explore the universe with him.  Though, she wasn't going to be something she would just up and admit.  Slow and gentle was the name of the game right now.  While her heart wanted to race forward, her mind reminded her that they were both people with hectic and stressful jobs.  Being able to find release in one another was nice but making it another catalyst for pressure in their lives would do nothing but poison the relationship.

Unlike him, her mind hadn't really touched on the thought of Covington, she didn't care what the man thought of them anyway.  He had missed his chance, and he was likely with someone else anyway and she couldn't care less whether he was or wasn't.  Liam took the coffee and they both just studied his handy work.  The weapons on that wing wouldn't work and they didn't have the time to get them into order before they would be needed.  Likely the reason for the angry twitching Andorian that had stormed off right before Ji got there. 

Suddenly, Liam asked if she would go to weapons storage but never quite finished because Ravon came on board.  She looked over her shoulder and sighed.  So much for a minute alone, to be expected I think, though.  We're about to jump into battle.  I hope everyone makes it, I never wanted to go after the Borg.  She knew her opinions on the matter didn't really hold any importance to the decision makers and too many people had preferred to go after the borg.  She hadn't, she wanted to go after the other Vectors.  That was what they were supposed to do not go off on a suicide mission.  Her heart skipped a beat at the mere thought of losing the people that were important to her.  Her friends, the people on her deck, Liam.

Ravon was there and came directly at the pair.  Ji was much shorter than Liam but she liked that dynamic for them.  Her eyes shifted over to the Lieutenant Commander that was asking questions.  “They're as ready as they're going to be.  We've been pushing it for about five hours and getting everything prepped.  Prop and power are stable, we replaced a lot of systems that were on the verge of or already fucked over because of previous fights and the damage they had taken.  They should be stable and ready to go at any rate.  This isn't going to be an easy fight, but they're as ready as they can be.” she gave a slight shrug of her shoulders.

Ravon began screaming out orders at his people and then got into his own fighter.  She had Rav had gotten to know each other a little bit.  But on and off duty they were different people.  She still wanted to go to one of his poker games at some point.  Though she might bring Liam too, because there was never a time she wouldn't enjoy reasons to get him naked.  Though she didn't share, and if that was going to be a problem then maybe they'd have to play poker between the two of them instead.  She shifted her eyes back to Liam.

“Still need some consult in the Weapons Storage?” She asked with a soft smile on her face her brow rose.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #115 –
“The Theurgy ain't mah ship. Her crew ain't mahn. They're mah family. An' there ain't nothin' come hell or hah wahter that Ah won't do t' protect 'em. Ah'm afraid, but Ah ain't afraid t' dah fer dem. They're worth it. All of 'em.”
- Krystal "Meony" Tancredi, Cause and Effect

[ Ens. Krystal "Meony" Tancredi | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @Nolan, @Havenborn, @Jm Von Cat, @Blue Zephyr & @Multificionado
[Show/Hide]
She felt no remorse, no elation, no excitement, no fear...okay, she felt a little fear. But more than anything, she felt resignation. Her eyes were reddish, and the red rim beneath made no secret something was wrong with her. She wasn't crying, nor had she been crying. The reddish burns below her nostrils hinted at hastily wiped blood, and her glassy vision at the edges said it all. This was going to be her last flight. Assuming the semi-sentient tumour in her brain allowed it, she was going to help the crew of the Theurgy one final time as a Valkyrie pilot. If she survived after that, no way Havenborn, Ravon or Mariner was likely to let her near a fighter until she was healed.

Ever since the Battle of Starbase 84 and the assault on her and Silim Parnak, the coil had been weakening, and she was beginning to bleed randomly from orifices, even from the eyes. The tumour was beginning to win. Before too long, she would die unless they operated and removed the thing, and then there was the matter of whether she'd be left as a vegetable or lose motor functions. If they saw her now, there was a high chance she'd be grounded right away. But Meony was confident she still had one flight left in her, and she wanted to be out there with the Wolves. There were too few of them left, and as Thomas Ravon said, people on the ship were counting on them. She knew she could do this much. What was she worth if she couldn't fly?

So that was why when she trailed in with Thomas, she was fully suited, with her helmet on, and her hat hanging behind her neck.

She looked over at Rawley, then at Havenborn, and gave them both a thumbs up, before heading over to stand near Tessa. It seemed like despite anything, the woman was still in a sorry state. After listening to Thomas's pep talk, she winced at Tessa screaming. Despite the protection of her helmet, she believed she felt the effects of the scream. Planting a gauntleted hand lightly on the woman's shoulder, she said, “Hey there, hon...” she hesitated to ask how the woman was doing, since even a blind man could tell she wasn't okay, “...lissen, just...stay with us, oh-kay? Ah've got yer back. And Ah always will, one way or another, ya unnerstand? C'mon, let's flah.”

She walked over to her Valkyrie, the Sassy Slayer, examining it top to bottom, running her hands along the hull and crossed under it to the ladder to the cockpit, and clambered in, making no particular rush. She wanted to savour every moment left. It felt weird, thinking of everything with such finality, but she embraced the reality of the fact. After today, she was not going to be fit for active duty in a fighter. And she was all right with this. At least, she had this one chance. Once the debrief and mandatory physical examination took place, the doctors would see what she already knew was happening inside her skull.

“Hey babe,” said Meony to the Sassy Slayer, careful to ensure her hailing systems were offline. Nobody needed to hear this. “You an' me fer th' last tahm together. We live through this, they'll probably give ya t' somebodeh else. Someone able t' flah. Hope they take care o' ya th' way Ah do.” She rubbed the side of the plating in the cockpit as she settled in and let the canopy seal shut over her. “Ah'm dyin'. Ah know it, Ah cain feel it. But there's a chance t' cure me. Small, tiny chance, but a chance all th' same. Better'n nothin'. But b'fore we get to it, we're doin' this last flaht t'gether, okay? So Ah need all ya got, an' s'more besides. Think ya cain do dat?”

She started up the craft's engines after all her pre-flight checks. She left nothing to chance, even repeating the process and running it through twice to be sure. The Valkyrie hummed and sang like the angel of war that it was. Meony smiled. “That's mah girl. We're gonna do what we do best, and they're gonna talk all about it fer centuries t'come, y'hear me?”

[ Cockpit | AC-409 Mk III Valkyrie, Sassy Slayer | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]

She keyed in a open hail to command tactical, “This is Wolf Oh-Fahve, standin' bah.”

Considering the estimated foes they were up against, Meony had chosen to outfit the Sassy Slayer with an ECM Pod, an additional torpedo launcher on each wing-mounted hard points, one containing EMP torpedoes, the other carrying her favourite, Hellhound Cluster Bombs. The last hard point she equipped with an M-142 RF Mass Driver Twin Mount Turret, set to automatically track targets, making her that much more dangerous and able to target more than one foe at once. She also swapped out one of the standard torpedo launchers' complement to house Mark I Hellbore Torpedoes. She had a feeling the Hellbores were going to be useful.

She watched as the other pilots cleared for launch, led by Thomas Ravon. Taking control of the steering yoke, Meony gently but confidently lifted the Slayer off the deck, and moved into position once it was her turn. She followed the guidance and sequence so precisely, it almost looked mechanical and effortless. She was given the all clear and she pushed her thrusters for a quick departure from the Fighter Bay.

[ Cockpit | AC-409 Mk III Valkyrie, Sassy Slayer | The Infinite Coffin | Azure Nebula ]

Gazing at the sight ahead with a sense of awe and wonder, Meony's mouth hung open within her helmet. “It's beautiful.” She said to herself, her hailing systems off, leaving her in her own company for a moment before Thomas addressed them. “Meony t' Razor, Acknowledged.” was her clipped reply to the flight leader. As ordered, the redhead kept the Sassy Slayer close in a tight formation with Thomas, Evelyn and the rest. No unnecessary heroics, no showboating, no banter. Meony was...not being Meony, for once.

The pros and cons of the Azure Nebula were almost one and the same: It was hard to see anything out here. It was one of the reasons why they chose to hide out in here in the first place. Task Force Archeron and anybody else would have a hard time seeing past their own noses while in here, and pinging on active sensors would give them away like a lighthouse beacon on a foggy night back on ancient Earth. As it was, Meony was actively tracking more on her sensors and HUD for regular and constant updates on the whereabouts of her fellow Wolves when she couldn't make or place them with a canopy inspection. There was a fifty percent chance she'd crash against the hull of Borg cube before she knew it was there. But she had an idea, something she'd seen A'vura and Vivian Martin do back on the Resolve.

“Meony t' Razor,” said the Redhead, making an open message to be heard by all Wolves and the Sword's Tactical Command, “requestin' permission t' flah ahead an' run low res ATS (Advanced Tactical Sensor Suite) scan at max range with high res Standard Nav.”

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #116 –
[ PO2 Kino Taer | Primary Surgical Suite | CMO Office | Main Sickbay | USS Theurgy ] @Nolan @Jm Von Cat @CanadianVet @Auctor Lucan

Kino double checked the seals on her exosuit as the reports of Nicander’s waking and orders for exosuit qualified Security personnel came pouring in over the communications system. She nudged the dozing woman next to her, making sure she was awake if the sudden volume of chatter already hadn’t.

“Come on, sleepyhead. We’re up. Naptime is unfortunately over.”

After grabbing her rifle and checking it, she ambled off from the medical lounge room to where the infested doctor was now housed under what would normally be considered quite excessive amounts of safety measures and restraints. The last time Kino had seen this amount of potential firepower and security in one room, it was during an active combat operation. It was somehow both comforting and mildly distressing. Sickbay was supposed to be one of the safest areas aboard the ship and explicitly non-combatant in nature.

Naturally, there was already plenty of shouting going on and a mild panic among the medical personnel present as Ridun ordered them to clear out so that Security could ensure proper containment and safety. Interestingly, one of the doctors stayed next to Nicander.

Is that … Rez? Dr. Rez? What is she doing?

Signaling her intention to approach the pair to the other Security officers, Kino slowly walked towards them, her rifle pointed not quite at Nicander but ready nonetheless. She could barely hear him talking to Rez, but he didn’t speak loud enough for anyone else to hear until near the end. Still, his voice was hoarse and it was clear it took a lot out of him.

The Borg? Really? The fucking Borg. Fantastic and we’re actively looking for them too. He doesn’t know that, though.

The Trill tapped on her fellow Trill woman’s shoulder with her left gloved hand, the servomotors in her armor allowing her enough fine-tuned control to make it gentle enough to still get her attention. It was a challenge for her to be within reach for that but also out of immediate for Nicander to potentially seize her or her rifle.

“Doctor Rez, we need to ensure your safety. Would you mind getting back behind the forcefield now?” Her voice made it clear it wasn’t quite the request her words might have otherwise made it seen, the steel underneath showing Kino’s resolve to see it through that Rez moved out of danger.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #117 –
[ PO2 Eliska Bremmer | Primary Surgical Suite | CMO Office | Main Sickbay | USS Theurgy ] @Nolan @Jm Von Cat @patches @Auctor Lucan

There were worse things than prisoner detail.  And being part of the quick reaction force for a prisoner detail was one of them.  Eliska, and Kino for that matter, had been kept off the guard roster for the monster in Sickbay, but they hadn't been dismissed.  Instead, they had been told to wait up in the medical staff's lounge and be on hand to be a mailed fist should Nicander get uppity.  So, hurry up and wait became the name of the game.  And Bremmer knew how to play it quite well, and she did so by locking her servos, and letting herself fall asleep. 

And she had been woken up.  At first by the voice coming from the comms suite, and then from Kino as she shook her shoulder.  So it was time.  Game on.

Following her colleagues through the corridor and into the surgical suite, Bremmer pushed her way forward through them all.  There was a lot of talent in Theurgy's security team, but so far as she knew, she was the only one with the combination of close-protection training and ACS; which meant her place was close to the monster, and hopefully with a clear shot. 

But the monster was conscious, and rambling.  And one doctor remained way too close for comfort, and while Taer went to get her to move, Bremmer went around the head of the bed and raised the muzzle of her rifle towards the crown of his head.  "Settle. Down."  Her voice was flat, cold.  "Settle down, or we'll see if your little friend can keep you kicking even without a head."

But there was something he said that gave Bremmer pause.  Radiants?  MacMillan?  What in the world was he talking about?  What didn't this little scientist not know? 

And the Borg?  Were they the 'they' he was on about?  Or the monsters inside him? 

"Slow the fuck down," growled Bremmer, "deep breath and make some sense!" 

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #118 –
[ Lt JG Nator 159 | Battle Bridge | Deck 01 | The Sword ] Attn: bridge-present folk

The Hermat's eyes felt a little raw around the edges, but s/he was alert in hir seat as s/he monitored the ship's systems while they travelled. Somewhat selfishly, s/he looked forward to the Vectors' reunion so s/he could wait for Stark to find the logs that betrayed the fact that not only had Nator worked as long as s/he asserted s/he could, but that neither s/he nor the department had collapsed while s/he had done so. Apart from a quick break in the middle for a three-minute sonic shower and a 'meal' that mostly consisted of a replicated shoulder of terran ham, s/he hadn't left hir post but for the Futility Committee in the middle.

Three hours of my life I'm not getting back, Nator considered sourly.

The leather of the centre seat creaked as the captain stood, issuing the Word:

"Yellow Alert."

Dutifully, though not without a certain trepidation, Nator punched in the command. The lights dimmed somewhat, a klaxon sounded twice as an audible reminder before falling silent again, and the background hum of machinery deeper in the hull changed subtly as power redistributed around the ship and various generators spun up or down as needed.

"Systems ready, Captain," s/he reported, leaving the 'as they're going to be' unsaid.

Nator was somewhat surprised to find hirself as sanguine as s/he felt. S/he seemed to be entering a philosophical stage of coping with hir trauma; hir wound should rightly have been fatal, so everything that happened after was bonus time. Idly, and not for the first time, s/he wondered what the Borg might do with hir. To hir knowledge, no Hermat had ever encountered the Collective - would s/he be deemed a suitable assimilation candidate? Or would hir hyperactive metabolism and short (unaugmented?) life span count against hir?

Keeping one eye on the sensor returns, piggy-backing the Science station feed in one spare corner of hir console, it seemed s/he would be granted a little more time to consider the question. The trail ended in clear space. Casting another glance around the compartment, s/he tried to place to whom the new scents in the room belonged; those at least s/he still had a memory for. Matching them to their accompanying faces, however, was the rub. Focus, now. It didn't matter. There had been no trouble from their guests - well, with one exception - once the fuss of their arrival had been dealt with. If they'd been cleared to access the bridge, s/he wasn't about to argue. And any insight they could provide, having already encountered the Borg in this region, would be better than their absence.

A deep breath.
Nator 159: "I accept no responsibility for the ensign's manifest stupidity. Sir." [Show/Hide]
Ranaan Ducote: "A ship is a home; its crew a family." [Show/Hide]
T'Less: "Your odds of prevailing against us are... slim." [Show/Hide]
Valkra: "Come! We will shake the gates of Sto'Vo'Kor!" [Show/Hide]

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #119 –
[ Lt. (J.G.) Alessia "Angel" Garcia | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] [size=10]Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @Nolan, @Havenborn, @Jm Von Cat, @Blue Zephyr & @Multificionado[/size]
[Show/Hide]

"All wolves, rally up. Grab your weapons from your fighters and meet me at the hangar deck. Double time. Ravon out." Alessia missed the familiar security of a good Type-3 Phaser rifle in hand, a sensation amplified by her armored combat outfit. Alessia Gargia's tour in Starfleet Security made her familiar with to the ‘sniper’ configuration in particular, she was motivated by her new outlook on life: Revenge.

Alessia’s gaze hardened as the Captain of the Runabout threatened to blow up the Fighter Assault bay and everyone aboard. Hijo de pu… she murmured something unpleasant to herself, taking aim squarely at where the CO of the ship ought to be, given her many hours in Danube-craft before. Past the deuterium-tritanium hull and shielding, there was little she could do but hold her fire and look tough. Honestly, she doubted this kamikaze would have his way.

If given the chance to shoot through the shielding and hull, she would have blasted that skipper’s hand back to Mars (or at least to la chingada. Her sharp gaze told in the intensity of her expression as she heard the familiar footsteps of her RIO, “Fury”, the brunette Latina only lightly tilted her ponytail-with-bangs head at his arrival There was no time for chit-chat, so she nodded at his direction, getting her vision cleared as her French-braid ponytail aligned with her target. “Hey, Vin. Just like Old times, eh, Cabron<tough-guy>?”

“Ever been mistaken for a  real bad-ass, Garcia?” Vinnie joked as he acquired and charged his rifle.

“No. Have you?” Angel quipped back. It was the 100th time she’d used this comeback at him, but had to re-use the joke now and again. “But this loco captain? Who knows.” She closed in on her aim and controlled her breathing as she constructed the Phaser preset fire modes out of muscle memory; to Angel such abilities were as simple as typing without looking. “Bring it on, you fuckers.” She growled as she made the final setting to auto-fire compression bolt setting, instead of beam mode. Just then, one of the younger pilots broke rank and cursed back at the runabout's apparently-suicidal CO.

"Ah dare ya t' come out 'ere an' act lahk Starfleet officers, if ya still got an ounce o' decency left'n ya!"

Whom SCO Ravon summarily relieved from duty.

"How'dja think Ah was gunna react? Asshole trahd t' kill us. Rude fucker. An' t' think Ah was bein' mah most diplmatic too..."

“That Chick’s a badass." Angel chuckled within earshot of her RIO, Sliding to the now-benched Texan hotshot’s loud-mouthing, weapon trained and path carefully selected, as she used her peripherals to secure her colleague's spot.

"If anyone else is feeling trigger happy, know is your time to step out." the SCO boomed. Alessia Nudged Vinnie. The bald Human RIO cracked a half-smirk. The countermeasures the mechanic pulled off upped the ante. But the stand-off didn't last as the occupants were beamed to holding cells. Good, no point in green-on-green misunderstandings.

[ Lt. JG Alessia Garcia, callsign: Angel | USS Niger | Vector 02 | Deck 16 , USS Theurgy Fighter Assault Bay

Without a word, Alessia moved in to secure the Danube. Anyone who'd ever served on one of these ships knew that messing with the datarods between the two control seats was lible to start the self-destruct. It was how she rigged her Kobeyashi Maru simulation when put through it during her Lieutenant's exam. Losing her brother tempered her to the fear of death, and the fear of discommendation by Garcia's own family was already tempering her own outlook on a lot of things. The fear of losing her family permanently weighed heavily on her.

Angel arrived on the scene and got to work sweeping the vessel when arriving on the bridge and checking the Jeffries tube for any hitchhikers, stowaways, or any hint of tracking devices. Her suit’s tricorder didn’t read much. “Clear!” She announced within earshot. Then she holstered her rifle on her back magnetic holster and remotely interfaced with the ship’s databanks and at once sotred a copy on her datapad. She was careful not to trigger any self-delete booby traps. Seeing Husker Slayton take a particularly staggering injury made Angel wince. That looked like it hurt. “Nice going.” Garcia quipped, hardly containing an amused grin. Tali made the right call as far as Angel was concerned, Same with that Texan chick.

"Do you think they are all right" Vinnie quietly asked.

[Show/Hide]

Upon downloading what information she was able to secure from the runabout, opened her padd to see the Borg Evidence for herself to verify contents. Just then, she and the boarding party jolted out after Lt. Cmdr Ravon at the mention of a familiar callsign. Alessia was the last one out, in case it was an ambush, rifle drawn by the time she left, but saw that it was one of their own squadmates. She’d seen the squad mural and identified “Ghost” Rawley from the rendering.

Alessia was reviewing the runabout crew’s personal logs on her Padd, scowling at whan she saw and when Vinnie formed up on her, affirming his desire to work with her.  She raised a fist and bumped it with his in an old Orcus squad salute, but held her gaze on her padd and shared it with him. “Chingada…<Holy Fuck.>[/i] she responded at the sight of what she saw. “Sure. We'll find our people."

Alessia had seen enough at her findings, based on the lowly-toned voice she uttered. “Mind on the mission, Fury.  keep focused and we’ll get our people back; or we’ll do them the courtesy. Better dead than… assimila-ted.” It was a bad joke but one commonly agreed upon by wingmates. Alessia heard how the Borg… created babies. It gave her nightmares best left forgotten.

“Commander, Sir! I found some data from their encounter.“ Alessia approached her CO when a window presented itself between the SCO and Lt. Rawley.  She held out her handheld datapad. “Combat logs, data entries, even the Borg’s last known hull and power read-outs, but given how the bastards regenerate, it’s probably dated. Could give us a firsthand look on their output and kill ‘em with bug-bites. Sir.” She suggested, offering idle hope that they would have a shot in combating the Borg.

[ Three Hours Later | Tactical CONN Briefing Room | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]

"Our opinions do not matter, the senior staff will voice their opinions to the Captain who will then make a decision.  Our time would be better spent getting prepared for whatever choice the Captain decides to act on."

Garcia agreed. There would always be a risk to pilots in particular, but it was more important to survive, than to die foolishly. It was more important to see bigger picture. In this case, it was making sure there was at least one witness to tell the tale to anyone who could help or vindicate this crew;  rather than let the Borg speak it to anyone left in the Age of the Parasite. She stayed silent at first, letting the hotshots identify themselves.

“If we go, we go in force and cover our tracks as we head home. If Slayton is out there, you know he’ll destroy us if we leave a trail. We’re wolves, not bears. But the Versant’s a whale—all can be killed. The Borg are the plague itself— gotta be wiped out." Garcia affirmed, in the middle of her thirty-eighth sit-up in the most recent in a string of exercises she was routinely seen doing while the command staff debated their next move. "We sure as hell are gonna rip the Borg's own power sockets out and feed it to them for a change. Beyond that, my vote’s on going in force and finding our people and best chance of winning.” For whatever a junior lieutenant's vote could do at this point, even if she was as of now the highest ranking survivor from the Orcus aboard.

"We don't have to engage the Borg. We just need to find where they come from. We can do that, and make it back. Should the order be given, I would gladly fly with Rawley and Tancredi. A Valravn fighter is even faster than a Valkyrie, so if we need to run fast, the old White Wolves are equal to the task."

Before Alessia could shush her RIO just then, the Call came in from the SCO:

"If I may have your attention." Thomas started as he gazed over the audience "Senior staff has decided that we'll be following the warp trail left behind by the Borg." "This means that the fighters are to be combat ready at all times. Furthermore combat patrols will be doubled up. Wolves from this point on we'll be functioning as if we're on yellow alert," he stated before he licked his lips a little, "These will be rough times ahead, so if you have any personal errands to run I'd suggest you do so now.  I want us to be ready for whatever comes our way. Good luck ladies and gentlemen. Dismissed."

Alessia sat up and quit polishing her exo-suit’s knife, making sure it was ready to be used as a last-resort means of losing a limb if it meant avoiding assimilation—if she was lucky. When the order was given by Lt. Cmdr Ravon, Alessia knew the drill and parted with Fury, smirking in relief to be out of the uncertainty of the next hour. She tapped Vinnie and got to work, “Get the Chimaera prepped and ready for launch. I’m gonna check the survival gear and prepare for trouble. Make it double, Fury, go! A chambiar! <Get busy!>."



She’d recently changed the name of her fighter, to reflect her Lion-like attitude and his snakelike calm but remarkably aware sense of surroundings. Together with the stubbornness of rams, their Valravn wore the name proudly, though the paint was still fresh on their fuselage along with their two names and callsigns. Angel and Fury.

FIVE HOURS LATER | 2300 hrs.

[Lt JG Alessia “Angel” Garcia | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]

Five Hours. Five Hours of Combat Air Patrol, maintenance, weapons and fighter-readiness inspection; except for mandatory sleep, shower and a quick, caffeine-injected meal, Alessia was ready for anything at a minute’s notice. Someone on this ship had even managed to upload an authentic Mexican Birria beef stew into the replicator—She’d like to find out who that was, though the familiarity of it took her back to her days on the Hornet.

It was clearly something that had once been homemade at some point, when the new generation of replicators was introduced, Alessia had made every available use to revisit her family’s menu, but the last month had been a most trying one, and she didn’t enjoy food as a luxury onboard the Orcus, while only keeping herself busy, or otherwise routine. Even Capoeira, kickboxing and trips to the phaser range and combat simulator had helped the Latina stay ready to defend herself if that exo suit would help her combat prowess against those zombies. “Assimiate this, Hijos de Cubetas. <sons of buckets>."

The fight-or-flight nature of this last week’s trials and revelations had the Spaniard indulging in some of her old ways as a means to celebrate living while she still could. That’s what made finding Dragon all the more personal. The last Five Hours faded in a haze of dutiful monotony as Angel and Fury both kept their minds on the mission and the chatter to an absolute minimum, apart from flying in formation and reporting information. Fascinating stuff, ultimately, but the almost heavenly backdrop of this nebula might as well have been a black hole of danger.

On the fifth hour, word came in that the warp trail had stopped, and the golden ‘Yellow-Alert’ klaxons buzzed to life. Alessia had caught herself sleeping in her Exo-suit, ready to scramble. Fortunately, she’d showered just before slipping into that after a round at the gym. She took the chance to bathe her muscular yet curvy body with actual water and a steam-room visit, but after a full shift rotation preparing herself entirely for battle, she caught a nap while she could.

Thus Angel was lying in preparation for this moment; and she had the comfort of knowing Vinnie had done the same in time for her preliminary and final pre-launch inspection where she was now, she could see she was more in synch with her RIO than she thought possible. They clinked helmets as they climbed into the newly-recrhistened “Chimaera” emblazoned on their craft. Alessia personally thanked Sten Covington for approving  such a ridiculous favor, but she’d cited the need for new beginnings and would owe him a favor, including maintenance at a later date in return. Alessia had previously inspected every last bit of damage replaced in the Valravn prototype’s hardware and software from stem to stern. She gave a whistle to the deckhand from the Resolve. “Nice job, Liam!” She gave a thumbs-up as her cockpit sealed. The [Chimaera] was spelled correctly under her’s and Fury’s names and callsigns.

[ Cockpit | AC-477 Mk I Valravn | Chimaera (Launching) | Fighter Assault Bay  | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy | Azure Nebula ]

[Wolf 10, Angel, Standing by.] she reported.

” "Look alive you bunch of rag tags! Rawley, Havenborn, Tancredi, Garcia! Get in those fighters and rally up on me! Rapid departure, formation Zero Seven Six once we're out there. Make me proud and don't fucking screw up! There are people on this ship that are counting on you." Lt Cdr Ravon barked orders and Angel was all too ready to acknowledge

[Sero-Seven-Six. Angel, Aye.] Alessia responded. Once her HUD had read all systems were go and her ‘transmission’ channel was set to the Wolves’ secure frequency. She had a short-range one for Fury piped into a secure line.

Customarily before a flight, She made a discreet prayer as her fighter lined up in the bay’s launch queue and made a quick shape of a cross before entering the Azure Nebula with the blessings of the patron saint of travelers.

"Weapons hot, call out if you spot anything, keep the chatter to a minimum. Stick close and let's get our asses home in one piece together. Razor out."

Angel had gotten better at gunnery recently, and had grown increasingly more accurate in fewer, but carefully aimed shots, rather than full automatic salvos, but was not beyond using volley fire charge-up shots on her Valravn’s phaser banks; she would, of course, but always conform to phalanx tactics and fly as safe as she could fight effective, to stay in the fight.

[Copy, Wolf-One.] Alessia texted.

“Fury, Weapons. On-Screen.” Alessia requested as her RIO pulled up the inventory of Chimaera’s short-range photons for knife fight distance or sudden ECM countermeasure alternatives, as well as keeping the more powerful quantum torpedoes on standby for longer-range kills. It turns out that Fury knew how she exactly how the Dominion War taught her, and in their first simulated engagement, he showed a seamless ability to anticipate her warhead loadout, giving her more time to plot vectors and make snap turns. At her command, though, she could unload as much hell as she was cleared to. “Fury, pull up Previous CAP’s phaser output and enable weapons safeties to SCO’s clearance. Let’s not light the fireworks til after the bastardos are lit up." Behind her helmet, Alessia smirked wolfishly.
Lt. Commander Leon "Striker" Marquez
Chief Tactical Officer, USS Theurgy
"No one left behind."

Ensign James "Jimmy" Mariner
Security Officer, USS Theurgy
"Showtime!"

Lieutenant (J.G.) Alessia "Angel" Garcia
Valravn Fighter Pilot, USS Theurgy
"You're not the only one with a gun,"

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #120 –
PO2 Sithick | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
[Show/Hide]

The last five hours had been an interesting flurry of activity for the Gorn. The saucer had been too large to move, and too blown out to be useful, so it had been up to Sithick and a small crew of other engineers to rip her apart as quickly and safely as possible. The initial pathway had been cleared in under an hour with most of the hull stripped away for parts cutting the saucer into quick and dirty sections.

Now that they had done the deconstruction however came the fun part. Salvage operations were always interesting, parts needed to be taken apart, cataloged quickly scanned, put back together, and it all had to happen with ruthless accuracy. Sithick had never been in charge of an operation like this before, and yet with engineering stretched thin over the three vectors here he was. His history working with ships not just of Federation build, but of Orion and Klingon as well made him an obvious choice to rip apart the foreign technology he had the most varied experience with alien technology.

Even so the saucer was beyond him. Sadly the power core was blown, whatever amounted to fuel, and engines on this ship was long gone, so the omni directional drive a fascinating development was beyond his reach.

Considering his history in weapons however Sithick had taken a keen interest in the Asurian Graviton emitters. The four large eyes of the saucer had been taken out, and sithick had managed to put one of them back together in the alcove of the fighter bay where the Reaver had been prior.

He was working with a few external power supplies, trying to figure out how to get it to turn on so he could scan the process. He was using salvage from two of the other three eyes of the saucer to get one to work, and still having trouble doing so.

If he could manage to fix up even one, and figure out how they were channeling the Graviton particles without creating black holes, or destructive after affects then he had a few ways he was thinking he could apply it, maybe an adjustment to one of the Swords main deflector dish to mirror the capabilities of this thing, or if he was really lucky he could start re constructing a shield formula to help fight off the Graviton lance the Asurian's and Savi were using.

Once they had weapons and shields on par with the savi, they could go back, and get back his lettuce from those aliens.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #121 –
[ Tessa May Lance, callsign:  Goldeneye | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]  Attn: @Nolan, @Auctor Lucan, @Havenborn, @Multificionado, @Even Angels Cry, @Jm Von Cat , @Blue Zephyr, @Masorin,  @Triage.

As Tessa searched her cockpit Ravon, Rawley, Havenborn, Tancredi, and Garcia flew off into the black.  Finnally the tipsy pilot found a hyposray that she placed against her neck and activated it, sending a chemical that would harmlessly break up the alchohol molicules in her bloodstream.  She then sat down in the cockpit and waited for the hangar to stop spinning. 

In minutes she was stone cold sober, and she had a sobering thought.  She climbed out of her Valkrie and slowly turned allowing her topaz yellow eyes to drink in a three hundred and sixty degee view of the fighter assault bay.

“Holy smokes, Ravon, Rawley, Haverborn, and Garcia, they all left!” Tessa gasped.  “Until they get back, I’m in the ranking officer!  What was Tom thinking, leaving me in charge?”

“He didn’t you bonehead,” Lieutenant Talidenai zh'Idenna callsign "Terror" informed her.  “You may have seniority over T'Zantha, but until they get back, I’m the ranking officer when it comes to the squadron.”

“Oh thank you Tali!  Thank you-thank you!” Tessa exclaimed as she hugged the Andorian in gratitude. 

“You’re…welcome,” Tali grunted as she tried to push Tessa away and free herself from the other pilot’s embrace.

Lieutenant (junoir grade) T'Zantha, callsign “Sniper” and Ensign Christopher Slayton, callsign "Husker", watched with mild amusement.

“You know for someone who said that she wasn’t ready to enter a romantic relationship with us she’s awfully clingly,” Christopher commented.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #122 –
[ Dr. Amelya Rez | Primary Surgical Suite | CMO Office | Main Sickbay | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan , @CanadianVet @Jm Von Cat  @patches  

As the raspy voice of Nicander start to fill the room, Rez listened intently to her patient as he tried to deliver a message. However, the message he tried to convey was riddled, broken, disjointed. Almost like how his body had been hours ago. There was no real starting point and she narrowed her eyes as she tried to make sense of it all. After that he began talking about Radiants and McMillan, words that meant nothing to Amelya as she shook her head slightly "You're making no se-" she was interrupted by the strong arm of Kino Taer as she tapped her on the shoulder and requested her to move behind the field.

She turned her head to see the Trill security guard yet also felt the resolve of the woman as she wanted to move the doctor out of danger. Conflicted the doctor shook her head "Give me one more minute." she stalled authoritatively as Nicander asked for adrenaline or epinephrine. This was her department after all now, so she felt like she was at least entitled to some privileges. A drug that Amelya knew she couldn't deliver. The risk of jacking him up with those drugs would either make him more lucid to them or awaken the beast inside of him. Since they clearly didn't know how this infestation worked, it was a danger to administer those drugs. Not for her life, but for everyone on the ward, if not everyone on the ship. "I can't give you that doctor." she told him with a resolute voice.

Nicander suddenly began to rave about the Borg, that they were coming... For them. Yet what he meant with all of them wasn't entirely clear. Surely, the entire Borg collective couldn't be here? Amelya stepped back after those words of Nicander, to the relative safe distance of the force field to be activated. She looked at the other security guards present and tapped her badge "Rez to Bridge. Nicander is awake after his surgery. He claims the Borg are coming to assimilate him. How far along are we on those scans?" she requested as a cold feeling started to develop in her gut. Had they followed the Niger logs into a trap?

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #123 –
[ CPO Liam Herrold | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] @Blue Zephyr @Masorin
[Show/Hide]
"Still need some consult in the Weapons Storage?"

Liam caught the look Ji gave him when she said that, after Ravon had moved on to launch half of the Lone Wolves squadron. He looked around the fighter bay as he picked up his PADD and started to compile a report about the current state of the fighters, about to send it to Ravon as a message, while he spoke under his breath to Ji. If they were about to take on the Borg with only a third of the whole Theurgy ship, then he wanted to take every opportunity for a private moment with Ji that he could. "Yeah," he said, and cleared his throat. "I think we need to make an inventory of the emitter housings, now that the Valravn fighters have such a frequent demand for new ones. They are on... shelf 4C, in the back of the storage. I'll join you there shortly, and we can decide how many new ones we need to replicate..."

Having said this, Liam finished his message to Ravon, and cast glances towards Sten Covington, wondering if he suspected anything. He waited a couple of minutes, watching the Lone Wolves launch, and then turned on his feel towards the weapon storage area on the starboard side of the fighter bay.

Eventually, when he entered the closed area, he took a deep breath, heading towards the shelf he had told Ji about, but as he set his steps in that direction, his peripheral vision caught the massive frame of a humanoid standing over one of the assembly tables. It was the Gorn that he and Ji had fought alongside when the Savi attacked them, just two days ago. Sithick. Liam had forgotten about him and the graviton emitter project being conducted there, and he realised that whatever he and Ji were going to do, they'd either have to be really quiet... or they could dismiss the crazy idea and instead go talk to the Gorn about any recent findings in the project.

Thus, torn between going to Ji or the Gorn, Liam caught the eye of his new girlfriend through the shelves, and he wondered if she had any notion about the Gorn being there, and if she also felt that the risk of them being discovered was too high with Sithck being only ten meters away.


[ Lt. Tyreke Okafor | Battle Bridge | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All
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Even when the word was free for the bridge crew to offer suggestions, there were few ones. Tovarek had ideas for when they actually encountered the Borg, but right then, they were facing a mystery, where the cube that had destroyed the Endeavour seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. As for that particular conundrum, there were few words given.

Thus, Tyreke Okafor felt a bit out of his depth, his fortes being something quite else than sensors, but thankfully, he had the cutting edge of the Theurgy's sensor arrays at his disposal, and since the mentioning of Borg - when they conferred with the crew of the Niger - he had done his research, as expected of him if he was to be the leading Science Officer on the Sword. Having set up what he believed to be the best methods in descending priority, he stepped away from his console. The sensor calibration was working on the viewscreen in front of everyone assembled, data cascading along the sides of the screen.

"Since the Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant, their discoveries have helped augment the whole fleet when it comes to detecting the Borg and dealing with them, but since Admiral Janeway demolished the transwarp network that the Borg used to travel across the whole galaxy, these methods have remained theoretical at best, with no chance for practical application. However, with this in mind, I have started to look for high-energy triquantum wave-by products. I have also tried to filter out false positives by screening triquantum wave residues from the Borg cube that actually went through here." Catching some of the looks that he was given, Okafor explained. "A triquantum wave is an energy phenomenon which can accompany the opening of a transwarp conduit. They are subspace disruptions, and those with a field magnitude of 2.9 teracochranes, and a highly-symmetric power-utilization curve, are characteristic of a transwarp conduit, which is generated by a Borg cube."

Turning towards the viewscreen and the data accumulating there, Okafor continued. "All scans show the immediate area empty, except for the radiation field further ahead, where the nebula was born," he said, Jaya Thorne taking them closer to the exact point where the warp trail would end. He frowned, seeing red numbers beginning to appear. He stepped back to his console to make some comparisons. "I'm mapping the particles of the nebula... I have found this. There is no sign of space-time curvature in this area... but particles moving through the radiation field ahead have their directions and velocities altered. Effects of something... we can't see."

At least it was something. Evidence. But of what?

"I am going through the full range of likely methods... and now... we re trying the unlikely ones." He paused, seeing that there was no results yet. "Ensign Henshaw, could you please ask the Lone Wolves on reconnaissance to share the Sword's sensor interlink? That way, I might be able to triangulate any findings we make more efficiently. The more eyes we have, the better, and by pooling the data, we don't have to sort out the readings separately. They can't go too far out, though. Please keep them around the end of the warp trail."

Then, there was an incoming message from sickbay. [Rez to Bridge. Nicander is awake after his surgery. He claims the Borg are coming to assimilate him. How far along are we on those scans?]


[ Dr. Nicander | Primary Surgical Suite | CMO Office | Main Sickbay | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan @Doc M.  @patches  @CanadianVet  @Jm Von Cat 
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Nicander felt too weak, but the urgency of what he had to tell them kept his mind afloat. Rez denied him what he needed, yet as he reviewed the situation from their eyes, as best as he might given his state of mind, he understood the decision, even though he needed the adrenaline to better fight off the thing within that tried to exploit his weakness. Lucan watched, pale grey eyes darting to the two security officers in exosuits that had come to 'save' Doctor Rez from him. They seemed to have caught on to his words, at least to some extent, and behaved as they ought to as Starfleet officers, despite all the experiences aboard the Theurgy that might have warped their sense of duty. He was gratified they didn't just begin shooting at an unarmed man in restraints, and heard that there was more than met the eye.

Say the word, release the restraints, crack their shells...

"No," he croaked, to the voice, but to Rez as well. She got it wrong. She had stepped back and contacted the bridge. She asked for a status report. Scans? Scanning for...? Don't tell me they are...

"No, the Borg... They are not the ones..." he called, louder, so that the bridge could hear his words. "They don't know... They know, the Infested! They know the Borg are coming. They want access... They want me assimilated... The Collective... Knowledge... The parasites are not really here... Not fully... They touch upon this reality... But they will not be assimilated... Just the Host... They... will just get the knowledge... In other Cycles... They could condition... the new Borg Queen's decisions... through the hive mind."

Lucan blinked. He just wanted to rest. But in rest there was darkness. He had to continue. He had to tell them. Scans. They were scanning. For the Borg? Oh, no... They are not there, are they?

"Listen to me," he said, speaking loudly enough to be heard through Rez's com-link. "Collapsing the passageways... is the swiftest means of stopping... the Borg from invading."


[ Lt. Tyreke Okafor | Battle Bridge | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All
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[Collapsing the passageways... is the swiftest means of stopping... the Borg from invading.]

Hearing those haunting words from Sickbay, from the voice of Doctor Nicander, whom the Theurgy crew had come to know as a man quite else than he proved to be, it made Okafor's skin crawl. But the content of those words...

"Passageways?" he asked, frowning, looking at the other bridge officers. As much as he didn't care to speak with Nicander, not knowing his full nature any more, he felt compelled to ask. "Are the Borg building another transwarp network?"

[No,] came the voice from Sickbay, [subspace tunnels. Like wormholes... they serve as a passage for rapid travel between distant points in the same universe... The difference is where... and how... they exist.]

Tyreke, having served for years on Bajor, knew that the Bajoran wormhole had a structure made possible by a twelve-dimensional helical verteron membrane and a series of verteron nodes, with an as-of-yet-unknwon energy source maintaing its tunneling effect through space time. "Is it like the one at Deep Space Nine?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips, not sure if the words heard from Sickbay could be trusted. He still awaited word from the Lone Wolves to add their sensors to the interlink.

[No... By the winds, these tunnels... are just similarly shaped. They don't exist... in normal space-time. They only exist in subspace, powered by a energy... drawn from normal space time. They are filled... with hyperphasic radiation... which desiccates organic matter and disperses it into subspace... within twenty seconds. Yet a... properly harmonised... shield frequency... should... be ...]

The silence lingered. "Nicander? We need to know how to detect these passageways. Doctor?"

[This is Doctor Elro Kobol . The patient is unconscious.]

No more had this been said... than Keval ch'Rayya spoke up from the tactical station. "There is a vessel approaching," he said tightly, his antennae twitching. "The bandwidth of these short-range sensor sweeps, and the nebula... it made us blind to it. Scanning now with long range sensors. Recommend we go to Red Alert."

OOC: All right! Here is the bridge crew, and the response time of 7 days begins today: [Show/Hide]
Here is the characters in the Fighter Assault Bay and the Lone Wolves Squadron, and the response time of 7 days begins when @Nolan posts with Thomas Ravon & Ens. Henshaw for those on reconnaissance: [Show/Hide]
Primary Surgical Suite, Main Sickbay, CMO Office: Here, Nicander has passed out, and either the patient stays where he is, or he is moved to the Brig. The ranking Security Officer is Vader Ridun, but there is the health of the patient to consider, and the current mission: [Show/Hide]
Please notice how five hours have passed since the earlier events in this Chapter and 2300 hrs, which is the present time. These five hours are, of course, now available for everyone to use in setting up their own Supplemental threads. The naming convention for such threads belonging to Chapter 04 is still: Chapter 04: Supplemental [ Day XX | XXXX hrs. ] Insert Title.

Re: Chapter 04: Charades [ Day 05 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #124 –
[ Lt Cmdr Thomas Ravon | Kestrel | Heart of the Azure Nebula ] Attn: @Triage , @Triton , @Havenborn

"Meony t' Razor, requestin' permission t' flah ahead an' run low res ATS (Advanced Tactical Sensor Suite) scan at max range with high res Standard Nav."

Thomas looked over to Krystal's ship as she flew over to his right "Denied, we're not breaking formation." he answered her before he looked at the core once more. What the fuck were they doing up here? He looked at his own scanners and he added to Krystal "Use your ATS from here and keep me informed if anything pings up." he concluded as he looked back at the Sword as they made a gap between them and the place they called home. His eyes darted over his instruments before a message was passed on to them by Henshaw.

"Commander could you interlink your squadron with Sword's sensors for maximum scanning? We're triangulating on a signal. Mr Okafor has claimed that this would make the scanning far more efficient.However do not venture further than the trail. Mission ops out."

What fucking signal? Thomas thought to himself as he felt rather left in the dark about the entire ordeal. The warp trail ended a few thousand clicks ahead. and it'd be a matter of minutes before they'd reach it "Krystal, do you have anything on scanners yet?" he called out to her, listening to her answer before replying "New orders for everyone. Link up with Sword's sensor feed, apparently it'll make their scanning more efficient." Thomas said as his own scans were unsuccessful yet his gut feeling told him something was off about the entire situation. As soon as the squadron had linked up with Sword's sensors, the scanning on their ships became somewhat distorted.

As they reached the end of the trail the fighters circled around it like blood hounds. There was no clear sign to where the Borg were or where they had emerged from. All that seemed to be here was radiation and nebula. Thomas tried to eyeball anything out of the ordinary, yet with their sensors hijacked by Sword, there wasn't really much they could do. The feeling gnawed at the pilot as he felt like a sitting duck yet he had received his orders "How are we all doing?" he asked his squadron, trying to gauge their feeling about the situation.

 "Henshaw to Ravon, be advised we have a ship approaching. Bearing on the following position. We'll transfer the coordinates to your squadron." The pilot groaned lightly at hearing the message as he looked at the coordinates only to realize that their scanners just couldn't pick up on it. "Theurgy, how long do we have until we have actual contact?" he gnarled as he was not amused with the new information. Even with the largest zoom functions aboard the ship, they'd be unable to make out what was out there. "We've got contact bearing 7-6-2, stick close and wait for my call to pounce it. Confirm!"
 
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