Star Trek: Theurgy

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

Reply #125 – July 16, 2018, 03:08:20 PM

[ Lt. JG Evelyn Rawley | Cockpit | AC-409 Mk III Valkyrie, Winterbourne | Azure Nebula] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Nolan @Triage @Triton @Havenborn
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"New orders for everyone. Link up with Sword's sensor feed, apparently it'll make their scanning more efficient."

Rawley was more than happy to comply to Razor’s orders. This was a scouting mission, after all, but nonetheless, it was a fool who didn’t expect a fight. And she expected, at any moment, a geometrically shaped ship of any size to appear, as usually befitting the Borg. Of course, Rawley didn’t mind her own fighter extending the range of the Theurgy’s sensors. It’s like being a satellite, except that satellite’s ready at any moment to scarper quickly or to kick some arse.

All the same, so far her own scans told her nothing, and if that’s the case, if the other Wolves haven’t caught the scent yet, she wouldn’t be surprised. And yet, her intuition was abuzz, once again. Just as it was bloody accurate when it came to what was really wrong with Nicander, Rawley’s intuition was telling her something was wrong. She didn’t know if the rest of the Wolves felt like she did, but her intuition was telling her to expect anything, a trap, an ambush.

"How are we all doing?"

Rawley had just opened comms with the Kestrel to report to Ravon, but just as she opened her mouth, she heard Ensign Henshaw over the comms.

"Henshaw to Ravon, be advised we have a ship approaching. Bearing on the following position. We'll transfer the coordinates to your squadron."

“Crikey,” said Rawley quietly. Rawley could hear Razor’s groan over the comms, and she couldn’t blame him.

"Theurgy, how long do we have until we have actual contact?" he gnarled as he was not amused with the new information.

She received the coordinates from the Theurgy just as Razor sounded off.

"We've got contact bearing 7-6-2, stick close and wait for my call to pounce it. Confirm!"

“Ghost to Razor, coordinates received,” Rawley acknowledged. “And I can confirm our sensor readings: Ship approaching, bearing 7-6-2. I had a feeling something didn’t smell right, Razor.”

She can see it, alright, with her sensors connected to the Theurgy, again like a satellite. Reception was foggy, but she can see the ship, and what's more, she can see its trajectory. From the vessel’s trajectory, she can tell it was on course heading for the “Sword.” She can't tell what kind of ship it was, foggy as the sensors were, so she'll have to rely on eyesight. She gazed into the sky-blue void, to see it coming.

She narrowed her eyes as she turned back to her sensor readings, wondering if Nicander was behind this. Yes, it would make sense. Best case scenario: Did he somehow tip the Borg off? She would’ve preferred that to be the case, so she use that as an excuse to, as she indicated in her recorded threat, whether Nicander got it or not, empty her ordinance into his arse. Or perhaps there’s something worse.

Worst case scenario: The Borg are seeking to assimilate the wanker and the bloody worm inside him. And to what end…? The infernal worms control plenty of higher-ups in Starfleet, could it be possible they want control of the Borg?

She shuddered at the thought. It was bad enough Starfleet superiors are possessed by the parasites. But to control the Borg? The galaxy will be screwed if that happens.

---

OOC: I'm open as to what name Rawley has for her fighter, or to know what she has called her fighter in the past.

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

Reply #126 – July 16, 2018, 09:01:55 PM

[CPO Eun Sae Ji | Fighter Assault Bay | Weapons Storage | Deck 16 | USS Theurgy]
@Auctor Lucan @Masorin

She could see Liam's face.  Her eyes shifting up to his, him being that much taller than her.  But, she liked that he could fold around her and hold her.  Ji was not overly tall and she could sometimes be referred to as slight.  Despite the wealth of muscles and the personality to back them up.  She also knew that there were times she just wanted to feel like a woman, a girl, someone that could lean on someone else briefly.  Where she could close her eyes and hear his heart beat pounding in her ears while he protected her for just a moment.  She didn't need anyone to do it, but sometimes, the inner girl just wanted it.

He told her where to go, and what to get.  She smirked softly and wondered if he was worried about people finding them out.  She didn't know if he was embarrassed by her or worried that they might get in trouble.  She didn't know what he wanted to do, they hadn't really talked about it and maybe they should.  Biting her lower lip she gave a nod, she was a bit unsure of what to do honestly but any time she could gather alone with Liam would be special. 

“I'm on it.  I'll get started.”

She turned and took off for the weapons storage her mind filled with worry and concern over what Liam might have thought about their relationship.  All of the things that had gone down with Sten had made her wary of being something of.. a hidden burden.  Or if he was embarrassed to know and be dating her.  That was her fear, that he was ashamed that he was with her, that she wasn't worth what she hoped that she was.  The fears plagued her heavily on the way to the weapons storage.

So much so, she didn't notice the Gorn that was in the room after she stepped in and closed the door.  Walking through the rows of weapons and parts she found the fourth row and headed down to the third column where the C was and she leaned against the rack there.  She could smell the dust, and reminded herself she needed to get someone to come in here and give it a good cleaning.  The next person that crossed her would be a good candidate.  However, her mind flickered back to Liam rather quickly.

He knows your history with Sten, he wouldn't discount you like that. 

But, what if he does?  What if it was all just words and fluff, what if there is no steady male out there that will give me the time of day.  What if I am too boy-ish, what if he longs more for the curls, long hair, painted nails kind of person.

No, if he wanted someone more girly he wouldn't have spent that night holding you.

He wouldn't be the first to do so.

Liam can't be the same scum bag that Sten was...

The door opened again and her dark eyes zeroed in on the man in her thoughts.  Dragging her away from the thoughts that were plaguing her more heavily and the self doubt that came with them.  She needed to talk to him, really talk to him, but she wasn't sure if that was actually going to be a good idea.  Here?  Now?  Before shit hit the fan??  They were going after the Borg it was honestly now or never.  She was just glad to have the opportunity that she could with Liam.  He made his way to her, and her eyes followed him, she had not noticed the Gorn, not in the least.  But then, she had been lost in her thoughts about Liam and what if... not that it was a good idea to be so lost, but a woman could not always control where their thoughts went.  Considering her history it made snese.  Even if Liam would not probably understand it.

As he came down the row, she grabbed his hand and pulled him closer.  Nearly so much so, that she was a bit pressed against the rows of the weaponry behind her.  Kissing him heavily, hungrily, and her muscular arms around him tightly.  Her slender frame holding him as close as she could for a long moment before she broke the kiss.  Holy shit that felt good. she thought to herself, as she looked up at him with those large brown eyes of hers.

“Can I ask you a question?” she whispered softly close to him, not letting him go even though she feared, desperately for the answer.  “You're .. not ashamed to be seen with me are you?” she whispered softly.  Her eyes bore into his, she feared the answer, but for her own sanity she had to know.  She needed to know.  She wasn't try to sound insecure but this was all very new, and she had seen his face on the deck. 

“If you prefer to keep it quiet, between us, then .. that's fine I just need to know how to go forward from here.” she admitted, still unaware that Sithick was in the room with them, though that was her own fault for being otherwise preoccupied.

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

Reply #127 – July 16, 2018, 10:41:35 PM

[ Ens. Krystal "Meony" Tancredi | Cockpit | AC-409 Mk III Valkyrie, Sassy Slayer | The Infinite Coffin | Azure Nebula ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @Nolan, @Havenborn, @Jm Von Cat, @Blue Zephyr & @Multificionado
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She'd looked up at her flight leader to her left from the canopy of her cockpit, locking eyes with him for a moment, wondering if he'd go for it. From what she'd known of him so far, he seemed to be quite by-the-books, only slightly less strict than Daniel in adherence to protocols. So she wasn't too disappointed when he denied her request. But he did allow her to go ahead with her scan request. So that worked out fine enough. She only wanted to minimize risk to the squadron by distancing herself from them. If her active scanning was picked up and a ship jumped right on her, the squad would have time to react from a safe distance. Now, if the worst happened, they'd probably all pay the price together.

“Copy, Razor.” said Meony, and began adjusting her sensor suite, keeping it on low resolution to increase the range, and then she began to tune in her navigational sensors, which boosted over several lightyears altogether with the ATS. It wasn't a perfect reader, and on low resolution, coupled with the garbled volumes that can be picked up by the Standard Nav sensors, it would take something of a miracle to get a good and valuable read, unlike her scans of the Versant and the Savi fighters. Still, it was better than being utterly blind. She pinged what could be potential signatures belonging to Federation vessels, but they could be traces or recent arrivals, and she couldn't make head or tails. So when Thomas asked if she'd found anything, she replied a little sadly, “Nothin' worth hollerin' about yet, suh! Lotta maybes and possibly only. Got signals that could be th' other vectors or other Federation starships, lightyears away. No way t' tell fer sure. Sorry.”

She looked out her canopy again at Thomas' fighter, feeling like she'd just wasted their time. Jimmy would probably tell her she was being silly or too hard on herself. She missed him. At least she had Sharky to keep her company.

Following her new orders, Meony banked the Sassy Slayer carefully, keeping a tight formation with Thomas, and as she allowed flight ops to take control of her ship's sensors, she didn't know what to make of the readings, and just relied on her ship's on navigational systems and her eyes - which was getting a bit blurry - to keep track of the Wolves. Using her suit's built in system to cool her body temperature and the temperature in the helmet itself, she realized she was likely bleeding again. Making sure her communications was shut off, she muttered to herself, “Hang in there, hang in there! God if ya cain hear meh, lemme live this long t' see us all through!”

When Thomas asked them how they were doing, Meony laughed mirthlessly, then turned on her hailing systems, opening it to the squad, “Just peachy keen, suh!”

Suddenly the situation became grim when Thomas informed them that there was an inbound contact. “Meony t' Razor, confuhmed, bearing seven-seix-two.”

She juked her Valkyrie with the manuevering thrusters, turning in the direction of the expected arrival, whilst still moving in formation with the rest of the Wolves, and still moving in her original trajectory, but mindful of her position adjacent with all the others so as to avoid a potential collision.

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

Reply #128 – July 17, 2018, 03:02:01 PM

[ Cmdr Ranaan Ducote | Battle Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @steelphoenix @trevorvw et al

The turbolift doors hissed open to release Ranaan into the command compartment. There was an air of anticipation clouding the bridge, tinged with a healthy wariness of their potential quarry. If they were lucky, it would be as he assumed and they could confirm that while this was the area in which the Borg had penetrated the border, they were alone and they might take a crack at closing whatever conduit they had used to get here. If they weren't... well. Why not continue the theme of the week?

Ducote picked out Kaeris and Akoni amid the officers of the Theurgy. He moved over to them, taking care to stay out of the way of the working staff in the room - partly out of respect for their tasks, but mostly out of practicality. He moved a little gingerly, slightly favouring one side, though he made no complaint. Since the meeting, he had managed to take the time to shower and shave, replicate a fresh uniform, and had even managed an hour or so of fitful sleep. It was nowhere near enough, but it was a start. He was sort of able to remember how to be a civilised person again. As he got closer to Vael and Kai they might spot his freshly-grazed knuckles and a bruise running along the right side of his jaw, but the latter didn't stop him offering a tight-lipped smile of greeting as he took up post next to them.

"Commander. Lieutenant," he said quietly. "I hope you managed to get some rest. Have they found anything yet?"

It was odd to witness the activity on a ship and have no handle on any of it, after so long in Command positions. He wasn't sure where he fit here, as he hadn't defected as they had and wasn't an exactly willing guest either. But for the moment, their goals aligned, and assuming the information they had shared was on the level they weren't the villains as which they had been painted, too. He still wondered if there was a way to get his people off this deathtrap-in-waiting, though. They might be able to work away at the parasite problem from outside, even. Shortly after he had his reply, there was a call from below decks and a chilling objective mentioned by the parasitic host in sickbay.

Not sure how much we should trust it, though. But that doesn't mean he isn't telling the truth, either.

On a more personal level, he was relieved to hear Elro's voice come in at the end, bedside-tone in full swing. Several of the other Niger survivors were still in the infirmary, and knowing Kobol  was there to supervise them was something of a reassurance despite the situation.

"There is a vessel approaching," came a call from the Tactical station. The more modern bridge layout was something he was going to have to get used to, as well. The Endeavour shared the older Galaxy-pattern bridge modules, whereas this was part of a newer generation. "... Recommend we go to Red Alert."

He stopped himself from appending a "By all means," to the end of that, though only after taking a breath to project his voice. He let it out in a long sigh, instead. Not my ship. Not my crew.

Ranaan closed his eyes as he mentally reset himself. This day wasn't about to end yet. God, please let her be safe and well and let me see her again.

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

Reply #129 – July 17, 2018, 03:52:13 PM

[ Ensign Jaya Thorne | Battle Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]

Jaya was there, at her station, the new ensigns pips still feeling psychologically hot on her collar, she still couldn’t believe too much how she had actually passed all those tests and made officer, albeit the lowest of the low ranks in Starfleet. She heard the orders given by Lieutenant Commander Wenn Cinn and quickly switched her helm console to its tactical preset, giving the vector slightly faster response times and better maneuvering through pre-selected settings designed to help in combat.

The young woman’s mouth was dry from anticipation, this would be her first encounter with one of the most feared species in the universe, the all assimilating Borg Collective, one of the most intrinsically evil races ever encountered by anyone. At least this is how they are seen by pretty much anyone not already a mind-controlled drone of their collective. All right Jaya, you’ve got your post, you’re flying a big girl now and you need to act like one and don’t let them see you’re nearly crapping yourself with nervousness at facing the Borg. She thinks to herself, managing to keep her brain to mouth issue in control for now. 

All LCdr. Cinn heard from her was. “Aye sir, helm set to tactical mode, progressing on ordered course, nothing on sensors yet sir.” Said the young woman, hoping her voice didn’t sound too shaky from her nervousness as she reported back to the vector’s commanding officer, hands flying on her consoles LCARS as she made sure everything was set right over and over again, terrified that she would make a mistake at such a crucial moment.

She kept the ship on course and kept a speed that would allow thorough scanning while not leaving them as “sitting ducks” as the expression went. She took a few slow, silent breaths, attempting to remain calm although her mind was screaming like a wild banshee about facing the machine people.

She did not, however, falter in performing her duties and paying attention to her orders, she was helming one of the USS Theurgy’s vectors now, not some small scout ship modified for better combat performance. She was playing with the big boys and girls and was determined to properly step up and show that she earned her pip and that she did earn her scores in the various test, including the dreaded Kobayashi Maru test.

When given the order to stop as a heavy radiation pocket was ahead, she quickly acknowledged the order, hands deftly tapping the proper command sequence onto the LCARS. “Aye sir, all stop, setting engines and thrusters to position holding mode.” She spoke with what confidence she could inflect into her voice.

She blinked, listening to that voice from the medbay, it still, gave her a massive shiver down her spine but the things said made sense, for those who knew anything about it, she guessed, to her it was all egghead Gobledegook, so she didn’t pay too much more attention than she had to in order to know what is going on. Just then the ship got a hail from a fighter out on patrol, just as her own sensors flashed. Just after the fighter reported in she turned to LCdr. Cinn. “Sir! Confirmed vessel, unknown type bearing 7-6-4 mark 3, distance 0.72 light years.” She said, turning back to her console, checking her data. “Orders sir?”

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

Reply #130 – July 17, 2018, 06:40:22 PM

[ Lt. Kai Akoni | Battle Bridge | Deck 1 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] @Top Hat @steelphoenix et al.

Kaeris and Kai had been standing out of the way of the Theurgy crew while they went about their duties. Kai found it a little difficult and slightly unnerving that they were just observing, rather than participating. As Kai stood there observing the situation, he noticed Commander Ducote arriving out of the corner of his eye. He turned to face him and noticed the Ducote looked a little worse for wear. Kai assumed that he had vented some anger and stress out, but he wasn't about to ask about it.

The Commander came up beside the two and whispered "Commander. Lieutenant, I hope you managed to get some rest. Have they found anything yet?"

Kai leaned in a little closer and gave his reply in the same hushed tone, "They've followed the warp trail to this location, but it just seems to end here" That was all that Kai knew at this point, as frustrating as it was.

After the quick little 'briefing' the two had with Ducote, the creepy conversation with the entity in sickbay, outlining possible objectives followed. Just hearing the conversation and thinking about the outcomes if this were even remotely true; turned Kai's stomach. Kai wasn't entirely sure what to do, but he knew that he wanted to do more than just observe.

His thoughts were punctuated by an urgent beeping from a console, even though he didn't know which station it was coming from. He soon found out it was the tactical station as the tactical officer called out "There is a vessel approaching... recommend we go to Red Alert."

The usual red lights started flashing amongst the bridge and Kai stood there in anticipation, waiting for what kind of vessel it was.

Is it the Borg? He thought as he waited for them to identify it.

The helm officer confirmed the contact, however the vessel was still unidentified.

The Theurgy crew awaited orders on what would follow, while the Endeavour crew members had to just sit and watch...

At least put us to use.. Kai thought as he waited with baited breath.

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

Reply #131 – July 17, 2018, 11:37:26 PM

[ 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.

Meanwhile, in the Fighter Bay on Deck Sixteen the lights flashing a ‘red alert’ signal didn’t go unnoticed.

“Okay, look alive Wolves!” Lieutenant Talidenai zh'Idenna callsign "Terror" called out.  “This is it; I hope both you and your fighters are ready to fly!  When we get the order to launch, I want every pilot in their cockpits!”

“Showtime,” Christopher Ensign Christopher Slayton, callsign "Husker", commented as he tapped Lieutenant (junoir grade) T'Zantha, callsign “Sniper on the knuckles with two fingers and headed for his fighter.

Lieutenant (junior grade) Tessa May Lance, callsign Goldeneye pouted as she watched the casual display of affection.  “Why am I programmed to have only one partner at a time?” she grumbled to herself as she climbed into her Valkerie and pulled on her helmet.  “Oh well, there’s no point complaining.  By tomorrow I’ll probably have an entire Borg collective to share my life with,” she muttered as she checked the seals of her exosuit.  As she went through her preflight checks she could hear Tali’s voice through her comm system:

[ This Terror; Nobody launch until we get the order.  If we really have found the Borg we may have to get away fast and Starfleet isn’t going to send us any replacements for whoever falls behind.  I repeat; wait for the order. ]

Tessa took a deep breath.  The only thing worse than a battle was waiting for one.  It was more than likely that if their mission was a success they were going to make a run for it without even launching the remaining fighters, but Tessa wasn’t going to place any faith in their mission going smoothly.

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

Reply #132 – July 18, 2018, 12:47:44 AM

[ PO2 Kino Taer | Primary Surgical Suite | CMO Office | Main Sickbay | USS Theurgy ] @Jm Von Cat @CanadianVet @Nolan

“Give me one more minute.”

Those were not the words Kino wanted as a response, though she half-expected them. Doctors tended to be stubborn about their patients, a trait that Kino enjoyed as a patient but exasperated her as a Security officer. At least Dr Rez was refusing to give . . . Nicander the adrenaline he was begging for, but that lack of such medication didn’t stop the disgraced medical officer from continuing to babble on about Borg, the parasites, and something about “passageways” that weren’t wormholes or whatever.
She might have been educated enough to have a passing understanding of the subject but at that moment, Kino Taer really didn’t care. At least it was now only her and Eliska in the area adjacent to the raving infested man. She tapped Eliska’s shoulder and gestured for the other petty officer to step back further with her to the force field line. It would be there that the Trill intended to spend the rest of the conversation.

Kino let out a sigh of relief that she wasn’t aware of holding for so long after Nicander finally passed out. She lowered her rifle slightly and opened a channel to the other exosuited Security officers. “Looks like he’s out for the count. Since he’s well enough to talk, I suggest we move him to the Brig where we can keep him under a stronger lock and key. Ridun, what’s your call?”

The Trill didn’t bother to expound on why. The reasoning was as plain as the spots on her body, plus the potential threat of Borg demanded a Sickbay that was clear to operate without Security interfering and it would free up Security officers themselves to deal with any potential intruders. Tying up the ship’s most qualified personnel guarding a prisoner, even a very dangerous one, in Sickbay felt like a complete waste of time and people.

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

Reply #133 – July 21, 2018, 04:49:58 AM

[ LT Daniel Havenborn | Fighter Assault Bay, Deck 16 | USS Theurgy, Vector 2 ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @Nolan, @Doc M., @Triage, @Triton, @Multificionado, Other Lone Wolves

Daniel was inside his fighter’s cockpit going over the new upgrades that had been finished not too long ago.  Knight was inspecting their weapons loadout making sure that it was correct and secured to the fighter’s hard points.  He had chosen a pair of twin mass driver turrets and a pair of Hellborne torpedoes, the fact that they could penetrate into the Borg cube before detonating would help them if only slightly.  Daniel would take any advantage that helped them complete this asinine mission.

Hearing the order from Commander Ravon to rally up meant that it was time, they were actually going to do it after all.  They were going to willingly seek out the Borg and try to take them on without support from anyone else.  Daniel had heard that the newcomers from the Runabout had been behind the change in their orders.  Instead of making the rendezvous with the other Vectors they were instead making a suicide attack against a Borg cube.  He hoped that Commander Ravon had argued against the attack but since he wasn’t privy to the staff meeting he supposed he’d never know, not that it really mattered anymore.

He watched as Knight climbed up the ladder and clambered into the cockpit behind Daniel.  “Hard points are secured and correct Salvo.”  Knight said.  Daniel nodded, it wasn’t that he didn’t trust the Theurgy tech crews; it was more that this was part of their tradition.  Even on the Resolve and the Persephone, Knight would check to make sure that everything was secure and correct as requisitions could get confused sometimes.  As Knight buckled in Daniel closed the cockpit and a few short moments later they were out in the nebula.  Daniel confirmed he Zero-Six-Seven formation and upon hearing the orders from Ravon about weapons hot and maintaining communications silence he felt like that was a common sense moment, this wasn’t a time for idle chat as they needed to be alert to their situation and focus their attention on trying to find a fucking Borg cube.

[ LT Daniel Havenborn, Callsign: Salvo | Cockpit | AC-307 Mark-II Valkyrie “Hellcat”]

After a few minutes of flying he heard the request from Meony to break off from the group and he stopped himself from denying her request as he wasn’t in command of this flight at the moment.  Although hearing Ravon deny her request made him happy as right now the biggest advantage they had was the fact that they were grouped together in formation with the Sword not far behind them.  Hearing the order to link up their sensor feed to the ship was kind of odd but Daniel didn’t question it and linked up his sensor feed sending the information to the Sword.

He looked out his cockpit at the others fighters in formation, a trio of Mark-IIIs, a Gryphon and a Valravn.  It was like the start of one the bad jokes that Knight would tell him every so often about how some unlikely people walk into a bar or some place and the comedy was supposed to ensue afterwards but Daniel never really understood them.  Suddenly he got the coordinates from the Sword for the contact that they had detected.  Daniel did a quick check of his fighters systems and once he was done with that he confirmed Ravon’s order.  “Salvo to Razor, waiting on your command confirmed.”  Daniel said.  The worst part about all of this was the waiting, now something was happening and whether it led to their deaths they’d know in a matter of minutes.

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

Reply #134 – July 21, 2018, 05:08:06 AM

[Lt. Commander Wenn Cinn | Battle Bridge | Deck 8 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy]

The worst part of security work was the waiting.  Humans called them stakeouts, the operation where detectives and others sat around watching a point of interest looking for something to happen.  Whatever they were called, they were mind-numbingly boring, and it took the dark-skinned Bajoran a long time to get used to being patient like that in his work, both while in the Resistance, then later in Starfleet.  This was worse.  There were hundreds of people under him waiting for his next orders, but what were they supposed to be?  The Sword was already at Yellow Alert and the Wolves were out in the nebula, extending their sight to more of the nebula.  Tovarek had arrived with news of having come up with several new strategies, something that earned a grateful nod from Cinn.

Okafor was running at full tilt, constantly digging up records and current theories on how the Borg worked and fine-tuning the sensors to look for whatever the other scientists back at Starfleet had come up with.  Such diligence went far with Cinn, but he could do with fewer details honestly.  Would it work or not was all he needed to know.  The man was prattling on about triquillium waves powered with Zephram Cochrane’s favorite booze or something like that and it was giving him a headache.  The frantic call from Sickbay was almost a welcome relief.  As soon as Rez’s voice filled the Bridge Cinn was on his feet and heading to the security station, fearing the worst.

It wasn’t Rez screaming for help while that thing wearing Nicander’s face tore her throat out and raped her with it, but hearing his voice wasn’t very high on Cinn’s wish list either.  Listening to the raspy voice try to get some message out, the Bajoran was confused at first.  “Infested” want to be assimilated?  He looked over to Tovarek to get any inclination of a thought from his XO, but Nicander kept going, and the message came through.  By the Prophets, the power of the Borg in the parasite’s hands? That was not a happy thought.  Amazingly, the man who was supposed to have been dead managed to be a fount of information, if it was only the most basic of briefings.  He continued on to Okafor, the two of them going on about how the Borg were moving around the galaxy.  It sounded like a pie-in-the-sky ramble at first, the ravings of a madman making up theories out of whole cloth, but if that mental link with the parasites was two-way…

ch’Rayya brought a quick end to the captain’s internal deliberations, the normal sensors picked something up in the nebula and it was coming for them.  Considering what they were looking for, there was little chance it would’ve been something benign.  The order was given as before Cinn had returned to his chair.  “Red alert, all hands to battle stations!”  Sitting down, he turned to the person over flight ops.  “Hold on fighter launch for the moment, no need for them to get picked off before we can cover them.  ch’Rayya, set all weapons on a random modulation, and keep each blast short and sweet, lets not make it easy for them to adapt.”  It was sure to be a redundant order, but one never knew.  “Helm, when the target is in sight I want to swing us around to give the Wolves a straight shot out of the hangar.  The others should already be moving in a flanking pincer, coordinate with Mission Ops as needed.”

With the primary departments all taken care of, there was one other group that needed taking care of.  Turning around to see Commanders Ducote, and Kaeris with Lt. Akoni standing in a small group out of the way.  “Commander Ducote, Lieutenant Akoni, you have security experience, correct? Take the security station, prepare teams to repel boarders. Commander Kaeris, assist Mr. Okafor, the faster he finds a solution to Mr. Nicander’s ideas the sooner we can get out of here.”

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

Reply #135 – July 22, 2018, 05:31:54 AM

[ 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]

"Angel, you gonna synch sensors?" Vinnie asked, noticing Alessia hadn't yet synchronized her sensors yet. It was on the side of safety, she avoided that but stayed well within the formation, making only light maneuver changes to bob-and-weave as her fighter negotiated with the nebula. It was like the Argo All-Terrain-Vehicle she tested out on Luna.

"Not yet. Start with minimal-emission scans, then broaden the spectrum. Cross-check any readings or hits and send the scans to Razor... Okay, here we go; Easing up and taking overwatch. She maneuvered her fighter in dives and pitches to avoid bitting on a predictable vector while doing her best to stay in formation and within marked range of the squadron.  "I'm keeping us off-grid til we're ready to fire. And hit hard.".

Alessia took the tail-end wing position, to give her Valravn's turn rate some needed corner speed. She'd out into the final frontier this time out with an extra pair of cannons so that Fury could swivel two of them aft and handle any plasma torpedo or catch a firing arc to hit a Cube's tractor beam emitters. "This could be another vector. Watch for buddy spikes, but nothing that'd give us away."

"We've got contact bearing 7-6-2, stick close and wait for my call to pounce it. Confirm!" Razor reported.

"Ghost to Razor, coordinates received, and I can confirm our sensor readings: Ship approaching, bearing 7-6-2. I had a feeling something didn't smell right, Razor." The Scottish accent was clearly Ghost.

Alessia was apprehensive as contact was reported. It was now when she briefly activated her sensors to get a momentary readout. Previously, She hadn't gotten around to synchronizing her sensors to the Sword's systems, on the side of stealth and caution at first. She also kept her comms limited to hers and Fury's private channel. But she texted a green 'affirmative' on their squadron channel, seen somewhere on her SCO's HUD without Angel transmitting. She was still playing a careful approach.

[Reading contact. Unidentified.] Angel texted to the squad, staying verbally silent and using an extremely low-frequency ping the message.

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

Reply #136 – July 22, 2018, 02:40:26 PM

[ PO1 Varder Ridun | Primary Surgical Suite | Sickbay | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy  | 2300 hrs. ] Attn: @patches @CanadianVet @Doc M. @Nolan @Mathis
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When two of the officers under his command moved forward Ridun made no attempt to halt or join them, they knew their business as he knew his, as did the other Security officers present. Despite the edge that everyone had due to the nature of their duty at this moment, noone made any rash choices. A fact Ridun was pleased to note, however minor it might seem.

The 'good doctors' ramblings were on the verge of inaudible to the young Bajoran as he sidestepped slowly so as to position himself behind and between Petty Officers Taer and Bremmer. The expected and disliked response was provided from one Trill to another, at least Rez made no movements toward the former CMO.

What disturbed Ridun most about this situation was not this creature's rambling, it was the look on its face, conviction? Determination? it was a drive, something difficult to explain but well known by those whom have seen. Yet this thing was the enemy, or was there a conflict within? Thoughts to shake from his mind, irrelevant thoughts to his present duties.

Then Nicander faded into unconsciousness, his ravings finished.

"Looks like he's out for the count. Since he's well enough to talk, I suggest we move him to the Brig where we can keep him under a stronger lock and key. Ridun, what's your call?"

Kino's words were a good anchor for Ridun to place everything into a manageable perspective, even the blind and perhaps the dead were aware that something was occurring beyond this one room. His knee-jerk reaction was to agree with Kino for immediate transportation. Red alert, however, convinced him that now was indeed the time to go off reaction. The sickbay and medical personnel would be needed, he and the other Security had duties to perform as well. There was no way the sword could afford to have so many tied down.

"Have the patient secured and transported."

His rifle lowered to the resting position, barrel towards the ground as he adjusted his view towards the one medical professional in a position to make any quick assessment. "Doctor Rez if any stabilization is required I recommend detailing a medical officer to the duty.", he spoke quickly, calmly but in such as manner as to be clear this was more than a simple request.

Having received the Trill Doctors response if any, Ridun addressed the other security personnel present, "Alert the Brig regarding their imminent guest. Those not needed on immediate detail report to stations for Red Alert. Bremmer, Taer, we are Transport escort." The suit he wore concealed all minor movements and ticks that Ridun normally would display, providing the outward appearance of stoicism from the Bajoran.  

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

Reply #137 – July 23, 2018, 03:03:40 AM

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

This was another time Bremmer was glad the exosuit hid her face from prying eyes.  Because she was terrified, and that was hardly something to show the squishies who only received basic self-defence training in Starfleet.  In battle, even the hard professionalism inculcated by ACS could crack; they had been told it could.  And that it was all right to be scared, and it was even ok to show it, so long as one didn't allow sheer terror to control them.

And, lately, Eliska had to admit she had come close.  On that goddamned moon, when she and that pilot were about to be eaten by spiders. 

And now that monster on the biobed was also threatening her calm.  Speaking of how the parasites actually wanted him assimilated, how they would use the body of Nicander to have the monster within be in a position to affect the Collective as a whole by affecting the Queen.  That was the stuff of nightmares and bad holo-novels, not that of reality...  Well, at least that is what she would have said a week ago. 

And of course, now there was a Red Alert to go along with everything.  When it rained...

And there she stood, her rifle shouldered and ready indeed blow that thing's head off when she felt a tap on her suit's shoulder and she backed away, her muzzle never flickering away from its target.  If it was faking, she would open up and undo all that nice work the doctors did.  Keying the network that was shared among the suited personnel dealing with Nicander, Eliska spoke.  "Hey, Varder, how about we beam it into the Brig instead?  If you want us to walk alongside a gurney, it's your call.  But I'd rather not risk it just faking and breaking loose when we're already in the shit."

Then, just as she was about to stop talking, something came to her mind.  "Just thinking out loud here, I know he's a source of information on those parasites and whatnot, but if we let the Borg have him, not just the Federation would be proper fucked.  Maybe bounce it off the Sir upstairs, but we should consider taking Nicander off the board completely."

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

Reply #138 – July 23, 2018, 11:21:35 AM

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

As the doctor lost consciousness Amelya worked her way back to the force field as she needed to get a read on his vitals. The low buzzing sound of the field made her stop, the effects of touching the field would be more than unpleasant. She looked up at the armored security personnel as one suggested to move him to security as he seemed fit enough. Amelya shook her head, yet knew perfectly that security wasn't too keen on leaving the man here.

Rez her eyes moved through the room, Maya had not returned yet and Elro Kobol  was still present "Dr Kobol ... Would you be so kind to follow up on the patient for me? I'd do so myself, yet with the red alert, I think it would be best if medical staff saw recognizable faces. Feel free to make calls concerning his health on your own, but if time allows it, I would like to keep updated on his situation." she asked first before giving the reasoning behind her way of thinking.

"He's not stable enough to move through the ship corridors however.. He's barely good enough to stay in the Brig. Yet I only sign off on it because I'm confident Dr Kobol  is more than capable enough to look after him. If he weren't here, I'd strongly object to him being moved. I recommend a site to site transport." she said sternly as she had turned herself towards Varder in the meantime "I don't need to remind you Mr Varder that he is technically your concern now, should any harm come of it, I'll hold you and your colleagues responsible." It was a thing Amelya herself would not do in the past, perhaps her more assertive personality was fueled by the joining of the Rez symbiont. Time would tell what else was different about Amelya.

With that she simply removed the surgical scrubs of her and released her blonde hair from the bun it was in. She stepped out of the scarred primary surgical suite and moved through Sickbay now as she looked for updates on incoming patients or those already there.

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

Reply #139 – July 23, 2018, 08:47:13 PM

[ Ensign Jaya Thorne | Battle Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]

Jaya kept her eyes on her console as things happened, a message from sickbay, some discussions on ideas about stuff she would rather not be thinking about much, while she stayed alert, she did keep an eye on the fighter group deployed ahead of the sword as they called this particular vector of the USS Theurgy’s multi vectored hull design. You know, just to be cautious, she didn’t want anything bad happening to their pilots out there.

She then heard the red alert blare as it was activated shortly after she reported the confirmation of some unknown vessel. She quickly set her station to full combat mode, hands flying over her LCARS as she spoke. “Aye sir, unknown contact still bearing 7-6-4 mark 3, distance now 0.68 lightyears, contact seems to be accelerating, distance 0.60… 0.50! Closing Fast Commander!” She stated as calmly and clearly as she could but her mind was already racing. Oh shit, this is bad, this is sooooo bad, god please please please don’t be some monstrous Borg Tactical Cube or something worse! She thought to herself as she calmly prepared to swing the ship around and slam the hangar doors open to scramble what fighters they had left to launch.

Her sensors, though impaired could begin getting an outline of the unknown but she still couldn’t get an identification, whatever it was it wasn’t exactly small. She swallowed, her mouth feeling like sandpaper, she coughed, clearing her throat. “Uhm, does anyone have a better scan on this thing?” She asked out loud. “Because, with all due respect to everyone here, that don’t look friendly or small!” she said, her voice a bit hoarse but still managing to keep it calm as she continued to maneuver the ship through the nebula as ordered, the unknown vessel continuing to close. “contact now 0.32 light years out, 0.22!”

She kept as cool as she could be, they had combat craft already out and her console indicated they had quite a few more of them ready to scramble the moment she got the ship angled at LCdr. Cinn’s order. Her mind was racing as she continued monitoring her systems, maneuvering the ship as ordered, keeping an eye on the sensor blip ahead. “Sir they aren’t slowing and are headed straight for us… 0.04 light years and closing!”

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

Reply #140 – July 24, 2018, 06:54:10 AM

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

Maya was moving past the head nurse duty station to take her post at the medical officer duty station when her acute Vulcan hearing picked up an interesting conversation coming from the open doors of the primary biobed and surgical bay.

One of the many disadvantages for the socially awkward was being unaware of information known only to a priviledged few.  Indeed ‘word of mouth’ was still an effective method of disseminating data even in the 24th century.  Doctor Maya of Vulcan often had to resort to other methods of keeping abreast of current events, such as eavesdropping.  Her people’s hearing was very sensitive and listening to other people’s conversations wasn’t difficult if one knew how to focus.

And focusing was what Doctor Maya was doing now, even though there was a red alert klaxon that was calling everyone aboard to general quarters.  If what Doctor Nicander said was true, the malevolent intelligence infesting Starfleet’s top echelon could possibliy take over the Borg if any one of them were assimilated.  That explained why the Borg were attacking.  The intelligence that had taken over Starfleet had summoned them, probably by using Borg technology that Starfleet had scavenged from earlier attacks.  Doctor Nicander had passed out before he could reveal the secret of the subspace pathways, information that he had inferred could prevent the Borg’s arrival in Federation space. 

As silent as a ghost, she glided past her duty station and the door to the recovery ward to enter the medical storage closet to retrieve the appropriate paraphernalia to achive her purpose.  Within seconds she glided out of the medical stoage closet gripping a hyposyringe filled with the appropriate stimulant and maneuvered past the security personnel that were guarding the entrances into the primary surgical bay.  “Excuse me petty officers,” she murmured dreamily in her lilting mezzosoprano voice as she glided past Ridun and Bremmer, two security noncommissioned officers that she chose to move past because they had been revived recently and had not been on duty when she had been incarcerated.  It would not do for them to know what she intended.

“Doctor Rez,” she greeted distantly as she approached Doctor Nicander’s prone form with a smooth gait that masked the intensity of her motivation.  When she reached her destination the hand that held the hypo darted towards the possessed Câroon’s wrist as quick a a cobra…

…and stopped mere centimeters from Lucan’s skin.  The greenblooded physician pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at the former chief medical officer who was now classified in a limbo between patient, prisoner, and specimen.  Finally she spoke.  “Doctor Rez, I believe the patient has more to reveal to us; information of a vital nature.  I believe that it is imperative that we receive this knowledge in a timely matter.  Therefore I suggest that we revive the patient as soon as possible.”  Her lips twitched strangely before she forced her gaze away from Lucan cin Nicander in order to focus her large hazel eyes on Ameyla.  “The decision, of course, is yours,” she finished as she handed her superior officer the hypo.

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

Reply #141 – July 27, 2018, 07:15:03 AM

[ Cmdr Ranaan Ducote & Lt Kai Akoni | Battle Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Joint post between Top Hat and @trevorvw Attn: @Auctor Lucan @chXinya @steelphoenix et al

"Commander Ducote, Lieutenant Akoni, you have security experience, correct? Take the security station, prepare teams to repel boarders."

Kai heard nothing else that Lt Cmdr Wenn Cinn said after issuing the orders for the two erstwhile officers of the Endeavour. Which was fair enough; Ducote sensed the immediate mix of relief and excitement that welled in the giant of a man at having a task after so long.

For Ducote's own part, as he was wrenched out of his prayer for Blue's safety, his initial reaction had been one of hesitation. While he could accept, intellectually, that the crew here posed no (current) danger to the survivors of his crew, it was a different thing believing it. What swayed him was that their fates were currently entwined no matter what he thought, and not pulling together could endanger them all. "Come on, Kai. Over here," the commander said, glancing at Kaeris on the way past. He was reasonably sure the scientist would be on board, pragmatic as he was.

About damn time! Kai thought to himself, still  before catching himself and realising that Ducote had spoken. He hadn't heard exactly what Ducote had said, but eventually the Commander had reluctantly turned around and headed for the security station. He followed. The Theurgy's battle bridges followed the Intrepid main-bridge pattern, which if nothing else was testament to the scale of the complete vessel, but it made the relevant stations easy to find.

About a million thoughts and tactical scenarios were flying through Kai's head about all the possibilities. The problem was the Borg - they could project and simulate and strategise just as much as they could, except they had more computing power by orders of magnitude available to them. While Kai's brain galloped ahead, Ducote remained stoic.

Kai strode over to a weapons locker where a diminutive crewman, at least compared to Kai, was standing. This was Kai's first hurdle, to see if the Theurgy crew would trust him and Ducote with weapons.

"We need some phasers, crewman." Kai said loudly and quite insistently to a Security enlisted near one of the exits. Ducote looked up from the console where he was pulling up the Security roster, one eyebrow raised as he looked between his Chief of Security and the Theurgy officers present. The crewman in question didn't even bat an eye before shaking her head apologetically at the lieutenant.

"I'm sorry, sir," she said. "Standing orders; only Theurgy crew may be armed on deck."

"Wh-" Kai began.

"Lieutenant," Ducote said, holding up a hand to show acquiescence to the status quo (even if he still felt naked without his habitual type-I in his pocket). "We'll do without for now." He nodded his head back to his console to indicate the larger man should rejoin him.

"They should set their weapons to a rotating modulation," Kai stated. "I was working on something like that on the Endeavour, but... well, not much use for it there now. No time like the present to test it, though."

The commander nodded. "Draft a recommendation here and send it out. That test is better late than never," he added ruefully.

While he took care of that, Ducote was ordering teams be sent to fortify (with about equal priority) Engineering, Environmental Control, the Main Computer chamber, and the Bridge. The rest were ordered to patrol all decks and to move in groups. He nearly hit send after signing it with his own name before his still-tired brain caught up with the fact that he was now on a different ship, and merely appended 'BRIDGE' in the 'From:' field. No sense muddying the waters with his own... notoriety, for now. He made sure Kai's note about frequency modulation went out signed the same way, too.

Ducote looked over to Kai's panel group, taking a quiet moment to infer what he'd been working on. Kai had been studying the blueprints of the Theurgy for what seemed like hours but in reality was only a minute. While Ducote had been directing the teams towards specific compartments, Kai had taken care of the approaches - pinpointing where they could cut off enemy movement with random-nutation forcefields (or, if things got truly dire, with EPS junction overloads) and flank with Security teams.

Corridor fights against the Borg... Santa Maria preserve us, Ducote mused. He couldn't shake the image of shooting one of his own trapped crew rather than let them be assimilated. Did I decide if that was an act of mercy, an execution before the fact, or a straight-up murder yet? He didn't say anything, though, choosing instead to watch as Security crew moved around the ship in response to their deployment orders.

It's nice to be useful again.. Kai thought as they worked. Ducote, picking up the new contentment from his colleague, couldn't help but agree with the sentiment despite his own inner conflict.

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

Reply #142 – July 27, 2018, 07:27:55 PM

[Lt. Commander Vael Kaeris | Battle Bridge | Deck 8 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] Attn: Anyone on the bridge

Lacking a station assignment and given the constrained, utilitarian structure of the Battle Bridge, Vael had capitalized on the data PADD he clung to so diligently.  He had interfaced with the Theurgy conn systems in order to monitor the ongoing search for the Borg because, of all on board, he was the most familiar with the protocols and procedures that had been under investigation on board the Endeavour and, frankly, he still did not hold enough trust in the crew of Theurgy to adhere to them faithfully.  Still, he limited his hacking to monitoring only, making no secret of his efforts to any who might happen to pass him -- it was the best option to occupy his time and keep him out of the way of those otherwise tasked with the duties he observed.  True, he could hover obsessively over their shoulder, breathing down their necks as he did, but he found that such activities seldom did anything to further the assigned tasks and was considerably less than ideal for building confidence or competence among the crew.

He made no efforts to insert a command override or even an interface beyond simply monitoring queries to the nearby stations.  That could be seen as overly intrusive at best, threatening at worst, and he was not about to land them back in holding cells again.  At Commander Ducote's approach, Vael gave him a cursory glance, noting the improved grooming as well as the bruising that it now highlighted.  He raised an eyebrow, a clear sign of his curiosity, but made no verbal comment as he showed his PADD to the commander to provide him with an update on the current scans.  As to whether he had secured any rest -- well, the bactrican remained tight lipped to that point, merely detailing how he had seen to quarters for the Endeavour refugees and that they were to contact him directly if they encountered any issues in the interim.  Until they reunited with their ship, Ducote was Captain and he was the second in command, ensuring to the necessary well-being of the crew beneath them, even in such a compromised situation as this.

Word from Sickbay was, simultaneously relieving as to Elro's continued good health, and disturbing at the premise that there may be some connection between the Borg and these so-called parasites that had purportedly taken the Theurgy's CMO to host.  While the concept of a parasitic infection infesting the Borg was a scientific curiosity, it was not one he was prepared or willing to entertain in the wild, and certainly not understaffed and underarmed as they were.

At the mention of an approaching vessel, his focus returned to the PADD, but the bridge commander, the dark skinned bajoran, tasked him to assist one of the crew.  His answers were rapid fire as he strode purposefully towards the one he was assigned to assist.  "Prepare to scatter the bio signs of sickbay to limit their ability to localize and identify potential targets.  If there is concern of your CMO being abducted, it would be logical to place an inhibitor in proximity to keep him from being transported readily.  Further, a monitor could be placed to terminate the patient in the event that he is removed from the ship or upon contact from any potential nanites."  Realizing the coldness of his statement, he turned to look back at the bajoran.  "Strictly as a safeguard against the potential doomsday scenario your doctor has described.  Seek his permission to proceed with those if you need."

That said, he returned his attention to the PADD, reviewing the incoming telemetry for any sign of familiarity.

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

Reply #143 – August 18, 2018, 03:51:19 PM

[ CPO Liam Herrold | Tactical CONN Briefing Room | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Blue Zephyr @Masorin
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As he had approached the row of shelves, Liam had been thinking about what to say to Ji, about how what they were doing was too risky, and that there was a big Gorn in the room that could overhear them, but despite how he had rehearsed those words in his head, all those words were decimated by the kiss that Ji pulled him in for. He must have made some kind of surprised noise in his throat, surely, but even that notion escaped him as Ji pulled him to herself and moulded her body against his, even making him push her up against those shelves.

In the span of that kiss, Liam found himself lost in it, and responding with equal fervour. Whatever smidgen of thought that came to him was whether or not they could do this and not be heard by Sithick, because surely Ji must have seen the big Gorn? Did she get off on almost getting caught all the time? First on top of Covington's desk, where he or Ravon could have walked in any second, and now this? Liam didn't know if he could keep quiet enough to not alert the Gorn, but if Ji really wanted this, despite his misgivings, he'd try and accommodate her.

Suddenly, she whispered to him - quite seriously - asking if he was ashamed to be seen with her. And... in the context of this bold kink of hers to do it in public, Liam thought she asked if he didn't want to do it with her any more. But then, as she continued to whisper against his lips, he realised her question was about their relationship overall. Or at least he thought so. He wasn't sure any more, riled up as he was and not sure about anything besides wanting her. "Oh, I want you," he breathed, kissing her again, "and if you want to risk us being seen... I'm game. I just hope the deck crew won't think less of us if we're finally caught."

Still convinced Ji wanted him right then and there, with a hurry, he would open her jump suit whilst still kissing her, easing it off her body. Then, he would turn her around so that she faced the shelves, letting her take care of her own panties, while he shrugged out of his own jumpsuit off and pulled down his underwear. He would never really stop kissing her, tracing all over her skin, while his hands soon might roam her body.

[ Lt. Tyreke Okafor | Battle Bridge | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]
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Okafor listened to the man from the Endeavour, of course, since the situation was developing into a battle. Yet his current task was the gradual accumulation of the data, and the answer to the mystery disappearance of the warp trail. Focus on this task was imperative. It was essential that they got all the sensor data while they still could, even if there was a vessel inbound and likely about to destroy them. Moreover, since the man wasn't a part of the crew, Okafor did not recognise Kaeris' words as orders. "Good ideas. I'm setting up comm-link for you so that you can reach Doctor Rez directly from this station, but she might have to relay orders about transporter inhibitors and jamming fields around Nicander on site, since I am not sure it can be done from here. I do know that the Brig has transporter inhibitors as standard. I'd suggest moving Nicander there, and defend the area."

All the Lone Wolves triangulated the readings that the interlink sensors pooled into the Sword, and gradually, there was some kind of manifestation in the maelstrom of data. A pattern, corresponding with the behaviour of particles. "It is working," he said to Kaeris, overriding the noise on the bridge to be heard, eyes widening as the shape took form.

And once the shape was there, the negative image of what wasn't there became plainer by the second. "It's not just one... There's... twenty-seven apertures. All of them here, clustered together. Can you see it? They are all openings leading to - or away - from this very heart of the nebula. Yet they... They're closed. Sealed? Yet if we can utilise the data from the Voyager's reports about the Borg and their conduits... we should be able to use a soliton wave to open one of them. But... See the wavelengths? They all appear to have different frequencies. And if I am to guess, it might take hours to find the frequency to open just one of them."

And there was no telling which one the Borg trail had come from, the weakened trail too dispersed over the apertures.

"Captain," said ch'Rayya at the tactical station, his antennae rising along with his eyes. "The unknown vessel. It's right upon us. We have a clear signature now. It's not Borg or Savi. Not even Federation."

Who is it then? With no more time left, Okafor finally entered the command, severing the sensor array interlink and relinquishing the sensor streams back to the bridge and the Lone Wolves. He saw the answer himself on the viewscreen at that point, and he could hardly give credit to his eyes.

- TO BE CONTINUED...

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OOC: These events are continued in Chapter 02: Vantage Points, in part two of the Courage is Fear double feature: LINK