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CH05: S [D04|0800] Swing of Things

Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

[Zyrao Natauna | Tangled Limbs | Rest for the Wicked | A Little Stress Relief | Not Killing Assholes, Yet | Sabine]
@Auctor Lucan @Absinthe

Zyrao had not imagined that she would get sleep, this night.  She had definitely not expected to find herself an actual bed to do it on, much less a bed to share.  Her meeting with Trent had only shown her his ineptitude at running a ship and being the arm of the Federation when it came to all things Diplomatic.  She had been in a nasty and foul humor after the Asshat, that occupied the still-warm seat of Ives, had finished entertaining her with his temper tantrums.  Zyrao had come back down to the shuttle bay where she had hoped that she would find Sera still drinking from earlier.  There was something about getting drunk that sounded really fucking awesome at the moment.  She could use a few bottles and forget how much she wanted to pummel the face of the Child playing Captain upstairs and take a chill pill.

The fact that this ship was even supposed to be run by that Child just in an emergency boggled her ever loving mind.  She could not imagine how the fuck he had been promoted to the First Officer of the ship but she sure as fuck hoped that Ives had cameras all over that Ready Room so he could see how his backup had fucking failed miserably at his job.  There had to be better people out there.  She was fairly certain that some of the people she had fought beside would do a damn sure better job than that punctured dick hole would.

Sera was not in the bay that she could see.  Zyrao was uncertain of where she should have gone but then, she had been waved too by the young woman from inside the Sabine.  Booze was shone as a bit of a lure, and it worked.  Zyrao could not imagine that booze wouldn't help the situation.  In fact, it was likely all that was going to allow her to retain her sanity at this point.  So she had gone on board the Sabine where Sera offered her the glorious use of one of the bunks.  Since Quarters had yet to be assigned, Zyrao took up the offer of a halfway comfortable mattress versus the Jefferies Tubes that she had thought about spending the night in.

That was how the night had started, anyway.

It was morning now, or whatever resembled morning on a ship like this.  She wasn't even sure what the time was at the moment.  Her skin felt hot and sticky after holding Sera all night.  Both their bodies spooning slightly underneath the single sheet that was only pulled up around their hips a bit.  The rest of the lower bunk was a mess.  Underneath it, was even worse.  There were bottles all over the place that they had shared and left abandoned to drip the last of their contents on the deck plating below or to just lay there until they could be managed with.  The sheer pounding of the headache behind her skull reminded her how long it had been since she had actually been drunk.

Klingons.

That was as far as her mind could amass for the moment.  She knew in the back of her mind it was the night she was picked up by the Klingons and she had regaled them with the travels and tribulations of her life.  But, now, she could only remember that it had been with them.  Zyrao had a healthy tolerance for alcohol and it was abnormal for her to feel this brick-to-the-head kind of pain.  Turning over on her back the cool temperature inside the Sabine hit the slightly moist skin that had been pressed up against the warm visage of Sera vers Aldnoah.  That tattoos on her person were visable to the room as a whole for a moment as she ran a hand over her face feeling rather haggard even though she wasn't.  Her hair was a mess, she'd kill a man for a real shower, and she truly could eat a mountain of food.

Living with Klingons meant you ate, and ate a lot.  Zyrao could put away the kind of food that Brutish bulky men balked at.  But then, she burned it off just as fast as she ate it.  Zyrao was not the sort to sit still and she practically lived in whatever gym she could find when she wasn't working.  Sometimes, even when she was, there was nothing like exercise to make a mind clear and enable you to think past roadblocks that plagued you when you were too worried about the end  game.

Slowly, she rubbed her eyes removing the crust from her eye lids, lights were low as she let her grey eyes flicker open and look around.  Thankfully, no jabbing nails to the skull because of bright lights.  Maybe Sera  Who ever it had been earned a boon from the El-Aurian that shifted, the grit of the sheets was not harsh but it bothered her in her current state of head pounding and stomach quaking.  The shifting of sheets next to her called her attention.  The dark haired beauty that rested beside her reminded her of only some scenes that had happened last night. Zyrao was not into women but she supposed that when you'd had enough booze to drown a Klingon then you were open to just about anything.  The silver eyes of the woman beside her matched the silver ones of Zyrao in a completely different way.

She got up sitting and brushed a hand through her messy hair before she slid to the edge of the bed and looked around at the destroyed interior of the Sabine.  Clothes, bottles, everywhere.  The blanket had somehow ended up on the floor as well.  “Well that sure as fuck beat sleeping in a Jefferies Tube.” she said with a bit of a smirk as she got up and began collecting her Klingon issue clothing and placing it on the top bunk hanging just over the side.  Hanging what clothes she could find of Sera's to the Câroon that she had spent the night with.

Slowly she slid her legs into the flight suit and began to pull it up her slender body zipping it up the front until she got to her hips.  Placing her bra over her chest she clasped it behind her and her eyes shifted to Sera.  “Thank you for the sleep.  And the activities.  I should like that we remain friends on this ship.  We new civilians.” she smirked softly to the young woman and then zipped her flight suit up to cover her chest now.

Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #1 –
[ Sera vers Aldnoah | SS Sabine | Vector 01 - The Helmet | USS Theurgy ] @Blue Zephyr
[Show/Hide]
When the El-Aurian woman in her bed stirred, Sera was tired and sluggish - groaning as she rolled over in the tangled sheets.

It was too long since I drank my native brandy, she thought, opening a yellow eye and peering out from the mess of her long hair. She raised a tattooed hand, her gadd catching the dim light of the Sabine's aft compartment. She was greeted by the sight of the naked El-Aurian, being kind enough to pick up some of Sera's clothing while collecting her own. Distracted by the sight and her many tattoos, all of different origins in the Galaxy, Sera realised that Zy had spoken. Sera enjoyed the company of men and women equally, and while she had no illusions about anything in the vicinity of romance, she regretted how the show was over - that Klingon overall in place again after she'd talked Zy out of it last night.

"Yeah," she grated with a small grin, and slowly vacated the mess of the bed they'd shared. The sheen of sweat on her body caught the light from the LCARS screen on the wall, and as she squinted at it to check the time, she tried to ignore the way her head throbbed. Then, she raked a hand through her hair, stretching while she spoke. "The Starfleeters have their flaming rules and all, and we're outside their chain-of-command, meaning we might get burned lest we look out for each other. My airlock is always open for you, Natauna."

The Sabine was a mess after last night, but Sera had no interest in cleaning it up just yet. Instead, she walked up behind Zy when she finished with her clothes, laying her tattooed hands on her hips and leaned forward - talking huskily into the bared curve of her ear. "And thank you. Burn me, you sure picked up a few tricks over the centuries," she said, wanting to bite that earlobe of hers, but she was in no state or condition to have sex again, at least not yet, so she didn't do more than enjoy the notion. "I'm going to have a shower. You're welcome to join, of course. Otherwise, the replicator is in the main area, above the desk. Knock yourself out."

Having said this, Sera stepped past Zy, running her fingertips across that stellar butt of hers, and sauntered into the sanitation module next to the bunks. The Sabine was not big enough for a separate sonic shower, so the small room had a toilet mounted on the bulkhead, a mirror and a washbasin, but it also served as a stall - the sonic shower emitters in each corner and the acoustic inverter mounted beneath the washbasin. She winked casually to the El-Aurian and vanished inside, the sliding doors closing behind her.

Once inside, the lights switched on automatically. "Ugh, dim light... 20 %..." Once she could open her eyes again, a glance into the mirror told her she looked exactly like she felt like - that she'd had spent the majority of the night drinking Câroon brandy and having sex until she must have passed out. Blast it, it was worth it, she thought with a lopsided grin and closed her eyes, putting her hands on the edge of the washbasin. "Computer, initiate shower, setting two," she said, and immediately, the blue light bathed her bare body, and the sonic waves began to vibrate against her skin. It made the mixed sweat on her skin vapourise, rising from her body, and her mirror image clouded over in front of her. Over the whirr of the shower, she wouldn't likely hear if Zy joined her, but given the small size of the sanitation module, she'd know soon enough.

Between more sex, food or a shower, she didn't care which she'd enjoy the most. Then again, perhaps they were all excuses not to clean the Sabine? Still... with the memories returning, her opinion remained true. "Burn me, it was worth it..." she murmured quietly, coming to lean her aching forehead against that cool mirror in front of her. Meanwhile, the shower's vibrations massaged her and cleaned her at the same time.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #2 –
[Zyrao Natauna | Dirty Girls Get Clean | Awkwardness is Unwelcome | Forging Friendships]
@Auctor Lucan

Sera rose out of the bed and the lights from the LCARS flickered against her skin which had a slight sheen of sweat on it from where they had pressed against one another after they had passed out.  Zyrao's head beat to the drum of her own heart, reminding her constantly, that it had been a while since she had decided to drink that much alcohol.  There was something nice about having had someone to spend the night with.  It wasn't as though it had been a long time since she had enjoyed a good time.  Was it only yesterday?  It seemed a long time ago but those long days did that to you.  Sera mentioned that Starfleeters had their rules and both of them had been left out.  But it also meant, they were outside the chain of command.  Which worked out for them, and they had not slept poorly last night anyway.  The fact that Sera threw out that her airlock was always open to her, caused a slight smirk to appear on the El-Aurian's face.

“I will take you up on that Sera.  If you, at some point, pop by my place, it will always be open to you as well, Friend.” she stated in her heavy accent, the UT picking it up and making sure that Sera could understand her even though she could not speak Starfleet Basic. 

Sera was behind her a moment later, and Zyrao paused in her zipping up of her Klingon issue suit.  She could feel the woman's body against her.  She could feel her warm body, the breath against her ear as she spoke into her ear.  About all the tricks she had picked up over her long life, and Zyrao couldn't help but let a smile take her place.  “Happy to teach.”

Sera removed her tight body from Zyrao's and mentioned that she was going to take a shower and Zy was more than welcome to join.  The El-Aurian watched Sera head over towards the shower commenting about how the replicator was in the front.  There were a few memories that made themselves known about the night before, most of it was still hidden underneath the haze of the hangover that was pounding it's way against her skull.  Any moment, there would likely to be a fracture from the pounding of angry vessels.  She headed for the replicator with her suit still unzipped partially as she replicated herself some raktajino. 

Downing a bit of it as quickly as she could just to give herself a bit of a boost and a decent start on the day she thought about the shower.  Honestly, the sweat from battle, the grime from the day, and then again from last night she knew that she could probably use a good scrub.  She chewed on her lower lip.  It seemed a waste not to shower, and getting clean would be a good feeling now that she was actually on the Theurgy.  Shrugging before she could change her mind she took the suit off and tossed it back over to the bunk bed and headed towards the shower.

Stepping in the lighting was perfect for someone with a headache of their caliber.  She slid the door closed behind her and saw that Sera was already there just as the shower commenced.  She could hear something about it being worth it.  A smile crossed her face as she looked at the Câroon woman.  “Was it worth it?  I'm glad to hear.” she stated calmly as she stepped fully into the blue light and felt the vibrations taking the dirt and debris from her body.  Cleaning her body of all the sweat and over a day of grime.  It felt good to be clean, and as the vibrations hit her tattooed body.  Her eyes closed as she stood beside the beautiful woman that she had shared the night with.

There was nothing awkward about taking a shower with another man or even a woman as in this case.  Honestly, she had done it many times before, Zyrao had not been the sort to be shy about her body for a very long time.  Back when she was only twenty and had enlisted in the El-Aurian Defense Forces she found herself showering with others because they were soldiers.  They worked, cleaned, trained, and fought all together.  That was just how it was done.  This was just a shower, and that was what she was going for.  Friendship was something that she had little of.  There had been people she would consider friends on her her last ship.  They had all been destroyed and now she had no one.  No one that she could be close to, share a drink with, lament with.  She came to talk, last night, to Sera about the horrendous man that played Captain upstairs.  Howe she hoped very adamantly that Ives would return very quickly so that someone with a level head and straight mind could actually run the ship.  She had heard things about Ives, and the rumors about them from the people that served underneath.  There were not many bad comments.  She didn't really ask around about Trent, she had her own opinions and whether they were popular with the whole ship or not was inconsequential to her.

Maybe Trent would be able to save his reputation and elevate her opinion of him.  However, at this point after seeing the kind of man that he was, she was highly doubted it.  People had come back from worse though, she had entertained low opinions of people before and been proven wrong.  But her gut said she wasn't. 

Who knew though.  It was nice just to have someone to bitch about the man with and laugh about his idiocy as well as the fact that he ran a ship of this grandure while throwing tantrums like a two year old child.  Granted, Zyrao had never had children but she had been around them and she had seen them throughout her long years.  Still, it was nice to have someone here that had her back.

“Thank you, for your support and time spent yesterday, Sera.” she said as she ran a hand through her short hair to help the vibrating waves get all the way through it and clean the scalp underneath.  It would itch otherwise.  You could not be badass while scratching your scalp.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #3 –
[ Sera vers Aldnoah | SS Sabine | Vector 01 - The Helmet | USS Theurgy ] @Blue Zephyr
[Show/Hide]
Hearing the comment behind her, Sera smiled before she slowly opened her eyes, turning a bit towards the El-Aurian that had come to share the small compartment with her.

"Indeed it was. Burn me, I haven't had so much fun in quite some time," she said, watching how the vapour rose from Zy's skin in the dim light. She looked otherworldly in her beauty, and given how Sera's gadd dominated her forearms and the back of her hands, she quite enjoyed all those tattoos as well. Sera would rather trace them with her yellow eyes than think about the last time she had sex, because it had been with Hi'Jak in another shower aboard the Theurgy.

When they hadn't talked about Carrigan Trent, they had touched upon the Imperial Agent that the Savi had abducted straight out of the Sabine. How the man had bargained himself aboard the ship with intel he'd gathered at Starbase 84, and there had been no other options available than to dock with the Theurgy. The Knight-class interceptors would have been able to catch up with the Sabine, and they made it aboard before the could be caught. Then, on the Theurgy, Sera and Hi'Jak had ended up having sex, a second time, only to show his true colours on the Coreless Moon. Of course, there had been no romantic interest from either of them, but Sera had considered him a new friend, and he had just sold their lives to the Klingons for personal glory and loyalty to the ignorant Klingon Empire.

Sera raised a hand tracing the Klingon scripture of one of her tattoos, which spanned from the shoulder to the middle of her back. Doing so, Sera saw vapour rising from her fingertips, and decided that she'd help Zy out by brushing off whatever the shower couldn't dissolve.

"Anytime," she said ruefully in answer, tilting her head and stepping behind Zy, quietly brushing the woman's back with her hands - the area which the El-Aurian couldn't reach herself. "My thanks, as well, and I don't believe I thanked you for protecting my ship back on that flaming moon. I'd say your defection to Captain Ives was well-timed... even if I can't imagine what it must have cost you."

Stepping closer, Sera ran her tattooed hands up to Zy's shoulders and began to give her a back-rub, massaging any soreness or knots she could find. She spoke next to her ear in her Câroon accent, so different from Zy's mix, yet equally exotic. "For what it's worth, I think you made the right choice. Burn me, I can't pretend to understand the whole extent of what is going on, but the Starfleeters aboard seems to have a legit claim on what needs to be done."

Continuing the massage with one hand, Sera cocked her hip and ran the other through her own hair, brushing her fingers though it to free the dirt trapped there. "I offered to help this crew to find dilithium, and that dilithium saved the day. The First Officer, one Jennifer Dewitt, came to thank me personally for it. Any other employers would have just given me the next assignment. Seems that woman knows how to handle civilians like us, at least."

Avoiding the topic of the current Commanding Officer on the Vector, since they had spewed vitriol over his and Hi'Jak's name quite enough last night, Sera put one of her hands against the wall of the compartment and turned her back a bit towards Zy. "Do me next?" she asked in a husky voice, the hangover still making her mind leaden. Then she put both her hands on the wall. "It feels like I pulled something last night. Your fault, you know, but I'm certainly not complaining... Not often I get my ashes hauled so well."

After she got some breakfast, she'd be ready for another day of boredom aboard the Theurgy, lest one of the Starfleeters actually needed her for something.

Then, soon enough, there was a chirp from outside - a message on the computer console.

Sera sighed, closing her yellow eyes. Burn them and their blasted sense of timing...

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #4 –
[Zyrao Natauna | Good Company | All Showers Should Equip Masseuses | Forging Friendships |  Pleasant Vibes]
@Auctor Lucan

Burning was apparently a very common phrase in whatever it was the language that the woman used, it seemed to come out very frequently.  Zyrao had no idea what it actually meant, what the context was, but it seemed to be a good thing.  That or something that dealt with slight shock if she was judging by the tonnations used while actually speaking the word.  Zyrao had never heard the language that Sera spoke before today and she thought it would take some time to get used to it.  Zyrao had picked up languages out of necessity before but here with the Universal Translator she doubted that she would really need to have to work at it, because she would not need to be her on translator she had ships to do that for her.  It was actually rather handy though she intended to learn Starfleet Basic to help herself out when she was at a console or the like.  However, she knew that she predominately spoke in either Klingon or El-Aurian.  Now that she was out form underneath the bloodied heel of the Klingon's she had reverted back to her own native languages though there were times that her Klingon tones came out in her speak when she was pissed.

Sometimes, Klingon just did angry better.  They had words for things that just came across better in Klingon than in El-Aurian. 

They had talked a lot last night, Zyrao was displeased to learn that the Asshole Traitor and Ripped Dick Hole named Hi'Jak had not only fucked her friend twice but betrayed her in a grave way.  A similar but worse way than he had the entire crew of the Theurgy.  Zyrao had made no secret of her disdain for the man that had screwed her friend both literally and figuratively.  She hoped that Sera would not put too much investment in the half Klingon. 

Zyrao had closed her eyes as the vibrations worked against her skin and through her shorter dark hair to clean the grime and sweat of a day and a battle from her.  Though, when she felt the familiar hand of the Câroon beside her brushing over the tattoo on her shoulder the silver orbs opened and stared into the mirror where she could see Sera.  Her hands roamed the El-Aurian's back while she spoke about the Coreless moon.  Thanking her for saving her ship and then commenting about her defection.  The fact that Sera understood the decision was not made lightly nor was it made without great sacrifice was a boon to the older woman.  No one quite understood what she had left behind and given up to be standing on the Theurgy today.

She knew that she had made the right decision.  Yet, that ship had been her home for years and those people her family.  She had drank with them, sang with them, traded stories with them.  She had participated in the Eating and Bat'leth competitions.  She had fully integrated into the Klingon society of the ship.  While some were jealous of her relationship with the ex-Captain Drax, she cared not for any of it many of the Klingons had been her friends.  However, there were times when stupidity would only get people killed and she hated that she had been proven right that day.  Having watched her ship, her home, her family of nearly a decade, explode.  Becoming nothing but air, dust, and particles floating in space. 

She missed her books.

Years spent in every Baktag Hole and worthless planet to find all the paper books that she could.  In the languages she knew and didn't.  She was fine with hard work and consistently having to learn new languages gave her a boost of intelligence and allowed for her mind to be on a constant move instead of being stale and just fading away in her old age.

“Thank you.” she said softly.  While the Câroon's hands moved over her back at the mention of the defection a whole slew of knots and tension rolled up on the muscular back of the woman but they were quickly sussed out by the hands of Sera.  She was glad for the woman's hands.  Friends or whatever, it was nice to have someone on her side.  Sera might not have been here long before Zyrao came on board but she was more part of the team than the El-Aurian.  Especially, as Sera mentioned that she felt Zyrao had made the right choice.

“It was the only choice.” she admitted to the woman in the private confines of the shower stall.  “I could have stayed and fought along side Drax knowing all along he was making the wrong calls.  Going against the Klingon way, defying orders, and pertinent information for his own gains.  However, I knew the end would be a grave, one that I do not wish to rush into.  My time will come, and when it does, I will accept it, but I will not seek it out.  To do so is idiotic.  However, I am glad of my decision though I mourn what was lost.  I appreciate you understanding that, few would, many would see Drax and his crew as evil.  His people followed orders; if you look at it that way I am in the wrong.  However, Drax might have been mislead in his ideology and decisions that does not make him evil only without tact or intelligence.”

Sera asked to have a turn and Zyrao switched spots with the beautiful tattooed woman.  Her strong capable hands began to roam over the young woman's back.  Working into the knots and working them out until the muscle was as smooth as the skin that lay over it.  She enjoyed feeling the woman's body but right now nothing was coming of it for her, in any kind of sexual way.  She just was helping the woman work out the bumps and knots in her body brought on by battle, by sex, by sitting in a fucking cockpit for hours because that's what you did.

“I would apologize for you pulling something but this way you'll remember me every time you move that muscle.” she teased the woman with a bit of a mischievous smirk on her face.  “You'll wince in pain then smile as you remember exactly how you got that.”  As she just started working on the muscular backside of the Câroon in front of her she heard the sound of a message in the Sabine pinging them from the shower.  Sera's shoulders dropped and a sigh elicited from her lips.  “Welcome to a ship that needs you.” she whispered into the woman's ears with a bit of a dark chuckle as she stepped back and pressed the button to stop the shower.

“Clean enough, Maqoch” She whispered into the woman's ear before she turned and opened the stall door stepped outside.  Maqoch, the word for Friend in Klingon, she had no idea if Sera would know what it meant but Zyrao did and had meant it when she said it.  Pulling on her suit and zipping it up the front she would allow Sera to get the message as she wished.  This was her ship and her show.  Zyrao was just a interloper for the time being.  Still, she would be here if Sera needed anything.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #5 –
[ Sera vers Aldnoah | SS Sabine | Vector 01 - The Helmet | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
When she heard Zy's husky words next to her ear, talking about how the needs of the ship called once more, Sera had chuckled and reached back, placing her tattooed hand on her friend's hip. She had closed her eyes, drawing her nails across the El-Aurian's skin. "But what about my needs?" she had whispered back in rueful jest, leaning her head against Zy's. "Clean, aye. Content? Ashes, no. Burn me, how can the Starfleeters stand being on duty so early in the morning?"

Nonetheless, the message was likely of import, and Zy was right in turning off the shower and leaving. Sera picked up a towel and ran it a couple of times across her dark hair to get rid of any residual vapour trapped there, and then walked to the work station with the replicator. She put the towel next to the touch screen and powered up the work station, followed by the replicator. "Salty Ganterinth and Opeck juice," she ordered, which was a Câroon breakfast dish consisting of a chopped sand snake and a bitter beverage made of a red and black ginger root. Ganterinth was good for the salt balance after a night like the one before, and the Opeck juice cleansed both the throat and mind - like a firebrand to one's sinus cavities. "Computer, what's the message?"

[You've got an incoming hail from Security. It is Ensign Ryuan Sel, acting Chief of Security.]

Oh, burn me, did we make too much noise last night? Sera asked herself and rolled her yellow eyes, but she popped a pice of her breakfast into her mouth with her fingers and chewed the salty snake meat in momentary thought. Then she and picked up her towel again, holding it to her chest to cover herself a little where she sat, knowing that the Starfleeters were so prim and proper that she'd better preserve her own modesty for their sake. "Patch it through."

On the screen, a Bajoran woman with flaxen hair appeared, shaved on the left side of her head. Sera swallowed her bite and greeted the security officer. "Sera vers Aldnoah here. Is there anything I can do for you, Ensign Ryuan? You know, I am usually not available until after 1000 hrs., but I was already up, so I'm all ears."

She smiled and drank her juice, not making a face and instead enjoying how she could feel it through her entire body. If Zy lingered behind her or not, Sera didn't know, but kept looking at the green-eyed Bajoran with the odd choice in earring, wondering if this was going to be a long conversation of if she was being summoned.

OOC: Enter stage left; Ryuan Sel on video conference from wherever she might be aboard Helmet 2.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #6 –
[ Ens. Ryuan Sel | Security Office | Deck 15 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan , @Blue Zephyr 
[Show/Hide]

Morning duty was not a thing Sel had ever really been able to convince herself to enjoy. In fact, if she had it her way she would work strictly at night. And with her recent erractic shifts, doing doubles and triples just to keep herself occupied, she especially didn't like morning shift, because it often came after a night of little to no sleep.

Yet she was duty bound to do her job and she was not about to fuck it up. She had a morning debriefing planned, to figure out what the hell had happened on that damn mission to the coreless moon. She'd been told the basics that some bastard named Hi'Jak betrayed them, but no details. Now she had to get to the bottom of it. She uploaded the proper forms and some that she though might come in handy to a data entry PADD and checked once more who was on the mission and now on the same vector as her.

"Thea, give me the location of Zyrao Natauna and Sera vers Aldnoah," Sel said as she walked to the replicator in the make shift office and punched in the code for a glass of iced raktajino.

"Zyrao Natauna and Sera vers Aldnoah are both the USS Sabine," came the drab reply of the shops computer and once more Sel was reminded that the ship was now just like the rest of the damn fleet, that which had given the ship it's je ne sais quoi, or maybe it's 'soul", was now gone. All the same, she did raise an eyebrow at the news that the two people she needed to speak to were on the Sabine. To her way of thinking the Sabine was basically docked and taking up a shuttle space. She kind of figured it was being used as the personal living space of Sera vers Aldnoah, which made the news that Zyrao was there all the more interesting, especially this early in the day.

Her instincts told her that people meeting together in personal living space that early in the day often had not departed ways the night before. So she would be interrupting a pleasant morning after glow. She felt some pang of guilt for that, but she also felt a sense of justified frustration. After all, if she couldn't be with her lover, why should she let others lovers be happy? Petty? Maybe, but she'd never not been that petty.

She sat down at her desk and sent a hail to USS Sabine. Given that it was technically a different ship she couldn't use the standard shipboard intercom system, but that really wasn't as much of a problem as it could have been.

A moment later when the line opened she was greated by the face of Sera vers Aldnoah. The woman was pretty enough and if Sel's personal life hadn't been so truly fucked up at that moment she would have considered being more flirty, but things were already screwed up enough for her.

"Sera vers Aldnoah here. Is there anything I can do for you, Ensign Ryuan? You know, I am usually not available until after 1000 hrs., but I was already up, so I'm all ears," the woman on the screen said.

"I'm just doing some follow up on the mission you and Zyrao Natauna were involved in. Specifically, the events surrounding a Mister Hi'Jak," Sel said smoothly, professionally. She tended to not be overly professional unless she had to be, but she also figured the less of a knowing wink she gave, the less awkward she could make the conversation. "Would you be willing to come down to my office in Security Station on Deck 15 and we can go over the finer details? I am certain you can understand our desire to make sure we all understand exactly what happened." She offered a tight-lipped smile.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #7 –
[Zyrao Natauna | Time to get Started | Time for Business | Starfleet Don't Know the Meaning of Rest]
@Auctor Lucan @Absinthe

“Your needs come after the needs of the many, whiny, and child-like Starfleet officers, I'm afraid.” she grinned playfully at the dark headed woman.  Glad, that she had at least had a friend to spend the night with.  Even though, it had not been what she expected, she suspected there were no regrets on either side of the matter.  While Zyrao had never been interested in women, over all, she found that her night, what she vaguely remembered of it was well spent.  The woman, Sera, had her own burn about Starfleet causing the El-Aurian to smile and give a throaty chuckle.  “I believe duty is all the Fleeters breathe if I have seen anything at all.” she gave a slight shrug.

She had no great experience with the Fleeters so far.  There was a child playing Captain, twirling around in the Captain's chair while wearing his 'father's boots' so to speak.  Something she was uninterested in.  She was fairly certain seeing Carrigan Trent again would only result in him losing teeth because of her fist taking residence in his mouth.  However, she knew that would not be looked fondly upon.  Not that she truly cared, she had no where else to go and if the Child decided that he wished for her not to be on his ship she could hop a pod and leave them all to their deaths without a proper tactician.

After Sera finished with the replicator Zy walked over and in Klingon ordered her own tea and food.  Nothing overly much, but she never quite felt right without tea.  Though this tea, was nothing on the collection she had enjoyed on the Hakkarl there was nothing that could be done for it.  She sipped her tea, as Sera, in her towel, headed over to answer the call of someone from Security.  Zyrao was hanging around in the back ground so that she could listen and so that she could be supportive of Sera.

Zyrao heard her name, and her brow rose.  She was all ready dressed unlike the woman that was holding a towel to shield herself from the view of the Ensign on the screen.  Walking up behind Sera, since she too was involved in the call, she placed her hands on the nude shoulders and leaned over.  Her face now more level with Sera's own so that she, too, could see the woman calling them. 

“I heard my name.” she smirked confidently as her eyes surveyed the Ensign, tattooed hands gripping the shoulders of the Câroon.  As the Ensign began to speak about how she wished to have them talk about their last mission and their experiences with Hi'Jak.  “Traitorous Patak” she hissed out lowly though she figured that only Sera would likely be able to heare the vehemence in her voice and the words said since her lips were fairly close to Sera's ear. 

They were asked to head to the Security office, and Zyrao was displeased, mostly because she didn't find herself being taken very seriously on board yet and she wasn't sure if the Child in the Captain's boots was the arm of the entire ship and that was how the ship was run, or if there were actually people that gave respect to those that came on board.  She pulled back and gave a sigh.

“Allow us to finish our morning duties and we will attend.” she said smoothly before turning letting Sera finish off the call however she wished but Zyrao had said what needed to be said.  She then finished up her tea, a shame to rush it, but she would rather finish than let it go cold.  It always seemed somewhat sacrilege to let it go cold for no reason.  Swallowing the last of her meat she waited for the beautiful Câroon woman to get dressed and be ready to go.  Leaning casually against the bulkhead of the Sabine while the woman did her thing.  She had long lovely hair, that much was for certain, Zyrao had only found in her experience that it got in the way and had adopted her shorter hair a good while ago and had only changed it periodically to various degrees of short or various styles.

Finally, Sera was ready to go, and the two stepped off the Sabine in unison.  Requesting directions from one of the, more kind, purple shirt, they made their way to the Security office. 

==Security Office==

Zyrao was not the sort to be shy or even truly wary.  She rapped twice on the Security office door with her knuckles before she pressed the button to the side and opened it.  The El-Aurian and the Câroon stepped into the office together.  She knew that Sera was the kind of woman that was unafraid of much, if the battle they fought in together was any kind of sign.  So she didn't think that Sera needed her to be support really but Zyrao, for one, was glad that she had someone she knew standing in the office with her. 

She felt more confident, more herself, and more ready to face this.  After what Carrigan impressed upon her, her opinions of all things Starfleet was rather low.  There was a lot riding on the Ensign's shoulders, but she wouldn't know it.  Still, Zyrao rose her dark brow.

“Greetings.” she said with a simple nod.  “I am Zyrao Natauna, formerly of the KDF and the IKS Hakkarl.” the El-Aurian said by way of greeting.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #8 –
[ Sera vers Aldnoah | Security Office | Vector 01 - The Helmet | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
The door to the Starfleeter's office opened only after the computer registered Ryuan Sel bidding them to enter, and Sera's yellow eyes took in the woman across the desk, along with the chairs available for them. Sera knew that it was considered rude to just take a seat unless given permission, even more so for a Starfleeter, but since she was a civllian, she considered just flopping down into the seat anyway. She almost did, but settled on putting her hands on her hips and offering some kind of greeting.

"Burn me, you already know who I am, right? After all, you hailed the Sabine," she said with a small smirk, dressed in earthy colours ranging from green to brown, one of her regular attires that she'd picked up at some point along the way in her life of scavenging rare artefacts. The dark green top under her jacket was frayed and cut short below her chest, and the gadd on her forearms and hands, with their swirling fires, were bared.

Truthfully, her mind was tuned to the hearing at hand, since her relationship with Hi'Jak was built on him vouching for her and claiming responsibility for the death of Simon Walt - that pig on the starbase - so him betraying her and the people on the mission by summoning the Hakkarl was a sore thing to her, but she would not let anything on. She was better off letting Hi'Jak drown in the quciksand he'd gotten himself into. It didn't matter the least that he just happened to have had sex with her either, twice. He was still a traitorous bastard.

The question was, how much would it take for two civilians to convince a Starfleet officer that one of her own had betrayed the crew?

OOC: I figured I'd jump straight to the security office instead of splitting my post. Sera wouldn't have said much more than what Zy said to end the call. :) .

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #9 –
[ Ens. Ryuan Sel | Security Office | Deck 15 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan , @Blue Zephyr 
[Show/Hide]

After the call had ended Sel leaned back in her seat. She had seen the casual way the one had touched the other, an almost possessive touch, at least to her eyes. She had seen how the other had not shown discomfort at the touch. The touch had not been hidden, as her own relationship was. She didn't, she couldn't, allow many to know. At least not that she was actually going steady with someone. That she cared the way she did.

The touch haunted her mind. Not out of any reaction to it being between two women, she'd been with enough women herself that it wasn't something she even cared about. But because it was more intimate and personal than she could ever remember allowing herself to be. It haunted her that it had been done openly and without concern of judgment. She had been like that once, but with Sarresh thing had become more... complicated.

She was thus lost in thought when she heard a knock at the door and after calling "enter" she watched the two of them enter. The introductions that followed we're all but meaningless, Sel knew them and her own introduction was not much more than "greetings, I am Ensign Ryuan, mind having a seat?"

And she sized the two of them up. Trying to figure out if she trusted them or if they were in on the same thing that Hi'Jak had been in on. The one had already insinuated that they were not, but she'd been lied to before, many times at that and she knew better than to trust outright. She knew to ask questions, to interrogate if she had to.

Not being one for chit chat she began as soon as they seemed comfortable. "What can you tell me about what happened? What did you see? What did Hi'Jak do and how did he do it? And do you know of anyone else who saw it happen?" she asked cutting right to it. True these were really standard questions, but she would uncover the truth only by asking these questions first.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #10 –
[Zyrao Natuana | Security Office | Telling Tales |  Traitors Outing Traitors | The Voice of Truth]
@Auctor Lucan @Absinthe

Sera had spunk, one of the things that Zyrao enjoyed about her.  She wasn't overly soft, she wasn't the sort that was going to sit there and answer to someone else.  Zy quirked her lips at the Câroon that took her seat when they were able too.  Though Zyrao had not waited for a invitation to sit, she had hardly ever been one to wait for things such as that.  There was little to no reason for her to do so.  Respect was a two way street though Zyrao did not see how taking a seat skewed the results in any way.  Dark eyes shifted to the woman that stood there, beside her, remembering fondly the night prior.  She had never truly been with a woman before, it had never really been something of interest.  Despite how old she was she had been rather stuck in her ways.  Until a lovely dark headed alien had pushed her out of her comfort zone and into a new appreciation for something all together different and pleasurable.  Zyrao knew that neither of them were likely to ask one another for some sort of deep commitment.  Zyrao feared that she was long past that kind of thing anyway but perhaps it was only that no one had warmed her cold stone heart in quite some time.  Still, she was old and there was no reason to rush any decisions.  This, too, was neither the time nor place.

The woman behind the desk wasted little time with idle chatter.  Once more giving her name and then a slew of questions.  Zyrao's grey eyes shifted to the woman beside her, the one she knew rather intimately now, and sized her up.  Curious, if she would wish to go first.  Yet the woman remained silent, and Zyrao was content to go first and pave the way with the knowledge that she had herself.  Thrumming her fingers on the arm of the chair for a moment she mused just how she could approach this. 

Thus far, she had a very low opinion of Starfleet and how they handled themselves.  If anyone held themselves to the opinions and actions that their so-called Captain did, she would wish to rid herself of this ship first opportunity.  A mistake had been made.  While she had not agreed with the Klingon Drex's decisions in the last battle nor his hiding secrets from his father, she did not think that Trent would fair better.  She could see weakness in men, especially those that liked to pretend that they had it all together.  A good Captain never did, a good Captain felt the weight of the ship on their shoulders and they understood the arms in which they stretched throughout the ship and the responsibility of it all.  Trent was a child, playing in the Captain's over sized boots.  Hoping that he could hold this shit together for as long as possible before Daddy returned home and caught him.  If Ives did not return, Zyrao would be forced to make decisions regarding her own life.

“I suppose I will start my own tale.  I have served on the IKS Hakkarl for some years now underneath the Captain Drex.” she explained, feeling no need to elaborate on the fact that she might have been in an actual relationship with the Captain, as it didn't really have any kind of bearing on the situation in hand.  “I acted as a close confidante and a Strategist for the Bridge Crew.  Making use of the Captain's Office while he was on the Bridge I came across an odd message.  One penned from your Captain Ives to my Captain's father, Martok.”

She took a breath for a moment, wishing she had asked for refreshment.  The raktajino this morning had only done a little to soothe her wind pipe and she would be speaking in depth.  However, she had thirsted before, and would likely thirst again, this was nothing compared to the suffrage of a Breen enslavement.  She licked her lips before continuing.

“This message relay the information about the parasites and the Theurgy's current situation.  How there was a parasite that had taken hold of the Admirality, she sought after the aid of the Klingon Empire, stating that we  had fought hand in hand before.  Against a common foe.  Ives detailed a way to find the parasites, stunning them heavily and scanning their body unaware.  I was intrigued at this message, it was interesting to me, as I had not heard of these parasite and the Hakkarl was about to go toe to toe with the Theurgy.  I've been around a long time, Ensign, I have no doubts that the Theurgy would have annihilated my ship with just a few moments time.  Drex however, has a thick skull and a thicker pride.  He would not have let your Captain know the benefit of the Klingon aid.”

The El-Aurian shifted, looking over at Sera, again, not for comfort or support, only to gain knowledge from her facial features.  While Sera knew that Zyrao was on their side and had stood up for her when she had been disrespected upon the Theurgy, she was curious what the woman would think of the full story being laid out here.

“Before I could decide what to do further, I found another correspondence, attached to that of the Captain's.  From a certain, half-Klingon, Hi'Jak.  He informed Drex that he should not act upon the words of the Captain, that while true, there was no reason to rush into any decisive actions.  Not until they were entirely sure, yet, I believe the Captain was certain.  My impressions of hir, and those that know of hir, state s/he would not act rashly.  However, he went on to explain, that the Coreless Moon base, SuD Lang, had been compromised and should be destroyed.  This was while he knew, your team, was on that moon base for a very specific reason.  He set the Klingon's to kill your team on the moon without a second thought.”

Shifting in her seat she crossed one leg over the other.  “While I was there, in the office, I decided to contact Martok.  Drex's father, he spoke to me of Ives and his impressions of your Captain at a small length and then, when I finished with him, I called Captain Ives myself and spoke with hir.  My conversation with your Captain prompted my actions, in which, I volunteered to go down in a warbird with other Klingon's to assist in the battle.  Only, I did not plan to assist in the benefit of the Klingon's.  I knew their business, and I was not interested in the blood bath of the Federation to no actual point.  I went down with two Klingons that I knew, and … I betrayed them.”  she did not say this lightly because she knew, full well, the ramifications of such words.  Here she was calling another man a betrayer and traitor when she, herself, was one, yet lying would get her no where.  She was not ashamed of her actions and whether she found a home on the Theurgy or not would be up to Ives.

“I assisted the Theurgy crew members in the annhiliation of the Klingon soldiers and I worked to save the one known as Ida from her fate floating and wounded without gravity.  I entered the Sabine and we took off with the efforts of Sera and we were on our way to the  Theurgy. Things were rough, and it was then I learned that one of the men on board was the Klingon named Hi'Jak.  I told everyone what had transpired, and he was locked up in the back of the shuttle craft until we arrived on the Theurgy. Only part way there, he was abducted by the Savi. I also know that there was a message from Ensign Mariner, sent from the Sabine after the abduction, stating that Hi'Jak was indeed a traitor and that I, Zyrao Natauna, was coming with the others back to the Theurgy and stated my name as a friendly.”

She thought if there was anything else to add, and yet had nothing more she could recall, so her eyes shifted to Sera.  Allowing her the time to speak.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #11 –
[ Sera vers Aldnoah | Security Office | Vector 01 - The Helmet | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
While listening to Zyrao's account of events, which decidedly had more meat than her own would have, Sera thought back on the development in that docking bay on the Coreless Moon, where they had made it inside the Sabine and transported some of the away team members back to the ship. The Klingon mining outpost had become overun with arachnid creatures, which spat acid and crippled their expsuits. She remembered how injured Hi'Jak had been when they got him back, and how ThanIda zh'Wann had been forced to remove her exosuit. In any other kind of context, it would have been a sight for sore eyes... but not when their lives hung in the balance.

Speaking up, Sera gave her account whilst sitting in the chair next to Zy. The Bajoran seemed to be a good listener, not interrupting the El-Aurian once through the long account, most of which Zy had already told her about the night before, their laments and the Makmyra leading to needed stress-relief in Sera's bunk.

"On SuD Lang, after we had retrieved the dilithium crystals and were ready to depart, Hi'Jak said something after we beamed him back aboard. He had lost a hand, and had acidic burns across half his body, his skin also seared by a malfunctioning disruptor. But he was lucid... he said..."

"Sorry Sera, I guess i'm not nearly as handsome as I was last time we met."

"Klingon raiders dozens of them. A carrier the IKS Hakkarl!" Ida's voice called out from the background, the Andorian in Starfleet issue underwear.

The drowsy look in Hi'Jak's eyes cleared, and despite his injuries, he pushed himself up. "They are early. Drex was..." He even moved to push himself to his feet, and at that time, they could all feel the rumble of a moonquake, which was escalating by the second.

"Sabine!" Hi'Jak's voice was loud but cracked as he tried to yell. "Raise the shields now! That ship is here to destroy the moon!"
Having described the situation, Sera couldn't help but feel some regret about it, but she knew that there had been others on the Sabine. They had heard it too. There was no point in trying to cover for him. The memory did serve to bring up something small in Hi'Jak's favour. "It seemed to me he had not counted on the Hakkarl being so close to SuD Lang. Perhaps he was confident about the Sabine leaving the moon before Captain Drex and his crew arrived? Burn me, I suppose that could be a mitigating factor in this investigation, but at the same time... it seems rather clear he did use his role as an Imperial operative to try and cover up the existence of that Klingon mining outpost."

Sera shrugged, not exactly well-versed in politics, but since she had scavenged dilithium on the outpost before she ended up on the Theurgy, she had done some research for sake of her own interests, not wanting to enter a dig-site without knowing what she was doing. "I heard it was a derelict depot since the Federation-Klingon War, and someone told me it shouldn't be there because of the Treaty of Alliance?"

Having told Ryuan Sel as much, she wondered what the Bajoran might say about it all.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #12 –
[ Ens. Ryuan Sel | Security Office | Deck 15 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan , @Blue Zephyr 
[Show/Hide]

As she listened to the two women speak, watching as they exchanged glances as if reaffirming each other from moment to moment, Sel could not help but feel a pang in her gut. She could feel some quite bond between them, some unspoken thing. She could see it in their eyes and she knew it when she saw it because it was how she looked at Sarresh when she needed to be professional and he was in the room with her. She knew the feeling and at that moment she both envied them for it and hated them for it.

Yet her face remained placid, exposing none of her inner turmoil. The faint twinge of anger just under the surface would have been easy to figure had more to do with the behavior of the certain member of the crew than anything else.

As they both spoke Sel was to have taken notes, she had the PADD in her hand and a data entry pen in her other hand, ready to punch in the various commands needed to fill out the required forms. And if she was as professional as she claimed to be, as she did everything she could be to remain, she would have done just that. But instead she had only written a single thing down, the name of Sarresh looked up at her from the PADD. She had written it in Federation standard and in the unique stylistic text of the Ash'reem. She had not let him know that she had learned to write his name in his native language. She wanted to surprise him with it, to get it marked upon her skin. It would go over a much older marking and would mark her as belonging to him and no one else.

It was a step she had put more than some thought into and as the two women explained to her of the details of the betrayal of Hi'Jak and the defection of Zyrao, Sel was ashamed that her thoughts were far more focused on that mark, and the mark already on her body. The mark she had not been able to remove, not been able to bring herself to remove.

She had been born belonging to a Cardassian. She had been freed when Cardassia withdrew, but the mark remained and she was not truly free. She had given herself to Starfleet, she would be their slave. She left the mark as a reminder of her anger, or her hatred. To remind herself that she was nothing more than a slave and always would be. But maybe... Maybe she didn't have to be.

The two women seemed to be done talking. They had finished their tales and Sel had missed the majority of them.

She blinked and did her best to try and think if she could recall the details, even a few. She could not ask them to repeat it. She knew enough of the other details and she knew that the PADD in her hand was recording the interview, but she should have paid attention. She was having far to much trouble with that recently. She could do nothing without him entering her mind. It left her furious and concerned for her mental health. She knew she couldn't go on like that much longer.

"Sounds like there was more going on than just that," Sel said thoughtfully as she erased the name from her PADD and did her best to act like she had caught everything, rather than just bits and pieces of what was said. "Do either of you have any idea why Mr. Hi'Jak would call for the station to be destroyed? Did you find anything on the station that might explain that?"

She also didn't like the idea that the Klingons had been so close to them as to arrive so quickly. It seemed too convenient, too much like something was going on, something more than one more asshole betraying them. This felt like a conspiracy, though she was not sure if it meant more of those fucking parasites or if there was something, even more, going on. Maybe Hi'Jak was infested and it had been signaling to other infested to come and get them. But that didn't quite add up either.

She wanted to talk to Sarresh about it, see what he thought.

'No!' she admonished herself silently.

She could do this on her own. She didn't need him to be around just to function, just to do her duty. She was a fully capable Starfleet officer and she was going to act like it.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #13 –
[Zyrao Natauna | Office of Truth | Hard Explanations | Bridging Gaps |  Feeling Empathy]
@Auctor Lucan @Absinthe

She had told the young woman beside her all about her side of the story.  How Hi’Jak had done what he had done, and the traitorous status that, in her mind, he had duly earned.  She didn’t see that he had any redeemable qualities, she knew that she probably looked like a Traitor herself.  In some ways, in her mind, she could mock herself for being a complete hypocrite.  She knew she had reasons for making the decisions that she had made during the battle that had lead to her betrayal of people that she had served with.  Yet, she knew that it could be possible that Hi’Jak had the same kind of drive.  A reason for his actions.  She detested the fact that he chose to put so many people in danger on purpose.  Those that were on the Moon had been in grave danger and yet he had not seemed to care about any of that. 

However, what she was hearing from Sera changed her opinions of the man slightly.  Zyrao was never against admitting she was wrong, or that she had the wrong impression due to the circumstances surrounding her knowledge of the situation.  She could tell, and knew that Sera and Hi’Jak had been together.  Still, there was something about the way that Sera spoke that Zyrao felt she ought to reach out for comfort.  She was unused to feelings like this, the kind that made her want to comfort someone.  She was the sort, that tended to distance herself from most.  Not only because it didn’t pay to be as close to immortal as you could get in this day and age. 

She reached over and put her hand on Sera’s arm.  Not wanting to pull her out of the story but just, for a moment, let her know that nothing she said here would change anything between the two friends.  She highly doubted either of them were settling down time, and Sera seemed to have a wild streak.  Zyrao had never, until last night, been with another woman.  So it was unusual and very new for her.  Something she wasn’t afraid to explore but something that she wasn’t going to push either.  Unless Sera gave her the clues she wanted to pursue something deeper, she would remain a friend and the benefits that came as needed. 

She heard the woman’s question, but the woman looked out of place.  Something was off, though Zyrao could not tell what it was.  She had spent far too long around people not to be able to read faces, and this one had completely spaced out during parts of their speech.  Why ask us here if you don’t even actually care about the accounting of events? she thought to herself.  Her fingers, which had been slowly stroking, absently, Sera’s arm for comfort during her own telling of events stilled for a moment and tensed slightly.  Though Sera would likely be the only person that could tell something was up and a second later they went back to drawing small intricate designs on the woman’s arm as if she hadn’t hiccupped for a moment.

The woman asked if she knew any reason why he would want the base destroyed.  She shifted, un-crossing her legs and then crossing them in the opposite direction.  She didn’t move her hand from Sera’s arm, toying with the woman was keeping her mind busy and it was a good thing in this kind of situation.  Her eyes shifted to the Ensign behind the desk and answered.  She could tell her what the import was of the base, what she knew after years with the Klingon’s and learning about them.  Not to mention once she earned the Captain’s favors.  She looked over at Sera, her grey eyes taking in the woman with her long hair and lithe form before she shifted her eyes back to the woman behind the desk.  Wondering if she would listen this time or if she would just hope to glean enough information about it through other means.  Zyrao was not a fan of repeating herself.  When she spoke, it should be listened to, or discounted.

She took a deep breath and decided the truth was the only way to get the people of the Federation to trust her.  If they found out the reason SuD Lang existed later, they would know she had purposefully lied.  Telling Klingon secrets did not come naturally to her, she fully felt like a Klingon most of the time.  She stilled her fingers, no longer did they move on Sera’s arm but they didn’t leave her arm either unless Sera moved away.  The familiarity she had with the woman was a nice treat. 

“It was a dilithium mining facility.” She explained.  “One that was off the radar and completely illegal.  It was a place where the Klingon Empire stored the needed Dilithium if in the event that we .. they ever went to war with the Federation again.” It was not easy, each word was effort to pass her lips, and yet, she felt lighter because of it.  The truth would, perhaps, set her free.  However, she hoped that they would not be too angry she had no doubt that the Federation had supply outposts for the same reason.  No one would want to be ill-prepared if another war broke out.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #14 –
[ Sera vers Aldnoah | Security Office | Vector 01 - The Helmet | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
Oh, Sera appreciated the gesture when Zy put her hand on her, and she glanced over at the El-Aurian with her yellow eyes momentarily. She might not be entirely honest with herself in swearing off any issues with Hi'Jak's betrayal. Thoughts still lingered, and especially in knowing that he had ended up as a captive to the Savi. She had no means to knowing what had befallen him, but she did know what if he made it back aboard the Theurgy - somehow, someday - then he would have to answer for what he did.

Having heard Zy's account, she also thought Hi'Jak had been a fool to not obey the Chameloid captain's orders and sent the message straight to this Martok fellow instead of Drex - the idiot son that had gone ahead and leapt on the opportunity to destroy the moon. If only Hi'Jak had sent the message the way it was intended, the Klingons wouldn't have come to kill them all.

Then again, then she wouldn't have met Zy, since she had arrived on the Hakkarl. So, in a way, it was because of Hi'Jak that Zy had ended up in her bunk last night. Odd, how something so moronic had lead to such delight.

Yet the security officer in front of them, she... she asked something which both Zy and she had already explained, or at least tried to as far as they knew. Was she not listening to them? Raising her eyebrows, she spoke politely, but in a slightly confused tone, since she couldn't see how she could say it any more clearly than she already had. "Indeed, a dilithium mine, and a depot in the event of war. It has been there since the Federation-Klingon War, and it shouldn't be there because of the Treaty of Alliance, I think. It was not like the place was completely abandoned, though. The computer systems on that outpost still worked. Getting it back into operational status wouldn't take longer than a couple of hours... If they managed to clear out all the flaming hook spiders that have taken residence there now..."

Pausing, Sera supposed the question had been of merit, but weren't they called there for a more important issue? Should she cut to the chase? Burn her, she very well might.

"Hi'Jak's motives are unknown, I guess, but as to his guilt... I don't know Starfleeter rules and laws, but I did not fancy being attacked by Klingons, even if Zy helped to mitigate the peril we found us in," she said, giving Zy a rueful smile before looking back at the Bajoran. "He put us in danger, and we could have died, and he didn't send the message the way he was supposed to. I think that's the gist of it, but I can't pretend to know the details, much less what what's a sound punishment. I'll leave that to the Starfleeters and stay out of it. He's not welcome on the Sabine though, that much is certain."

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #15 –
[ Ens. Ryuan Sel | Security Office | Deck 15 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan , @Blue Zephyr 
[Show/Hide]

The whole situation left Sel feeling more than a little conflicted, it was as if she were looking for some grain of truth in a sea of information. It was clear that Hi'Jak's motives were unknown and that the outpost was little more than a mine, a security threat to be sure, but not one so great as to raise the kind of questions that it had already raised. There had to be more to this puzzle than what was already known. Why destroy and mostly decommissioned dilithium mine? why betray the crew and the landing party for the sake of destroying the mine? If the message had been to simply warn the Klingons away from action, why risk the crew at all? it made no sense to her and Sel knew that there was a great deal she was missing to paint a clear picture of events.

If this was all about a simple cover-up of a mining outpost she was going to be quite disappointed. There had to be something. Some detail. Some trigger that had caused this. Yet she could not be certain of any of it. It infuriated her that she could not think clearly. Thoughts of Sarresh drifted in and out of her mind, distracting her from what was right in front of her.

It did not help her mental state that she was with two idiots who were acting like lovebirds while she was busy morning the fact she was separated from her love. She wanted to get up and leave them to their lovey-dovey bullshit, run away and think about Sarresh in peace and quiet. Or better yet demand that they go find him. That they go to where he was and get him back. She would have been willing to fight all the powers of the galaxy and even the fucking Q to get him back. But there was nothing she could do about it, no she had a job to do and one right in front of her.

She did her best to focus on the PADD in her hand, acting as if she were considering the empty fields in the report she knew she was going to have to file. She had to keep driving at the truth, had to figure out what had happened and why it had happened, but none of it seemed to make much sense to her. There was too much unclear, too much muddied by unknown motives.

She was still going to need to write up a report on the nature of the violation and the possible future security risks, as well as her own recommendations on what the punishment should be. She wasn't sure of that yet, but she knew that by the time they had a chance to debrief Hi'Jak, if they ever did, there would be a more clear picture of the events than what she had now.

"Alright," she said with a heavy sigh and furrowed her brow. "How long has this been going on?" She gestured at the two of them, or rather more specifically at the point of contact between the two of them.

At this point she was all but certain she had all the information she was going to get, that until Hi'Jak could be debriefed on all of this there would be a number of unanswered questions. But it didn't mean her interview with the two of them was over. Indeed she had a few more questions just to get a feel for how much she could trust the accounts of the two of them in the long run. Her instincts told her a number of things, though they mostly told her she was fucked in the head and needed to do something about that first.

"You'll have to forgive me for asking, but this is a delicate matter and I need reliable information and at the moment you two are my only source for such information and given your clear infatuation with each other, I need a little bit more context on that," Sel said, doing her best to sound as professional as possible, through a hint of some inner anger was clear in her tone.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #16 –
[Zyrao Natauna |  Pointless Interrogations |  Starfleet Needs to get their Shit Together | Distracted Officers | Useless Questions]
@Absinthe @Auctor Lucan

Zyrao was not pleased.

In fact, to say she was displeased, was a gross understatement of the situation that was happening right now.  She had thought, though unpracticed in reading this particular woman, that she had been completely zoned out and spaced out earlier.  She had asked questions, again, that they had already explained so she was constantly confused why they had been even asked into a room such as this for this questioning if the woman wasn't even listening to them.  Zyrao didn't understand the purpose of such a meaningless moment here.

Starfleet is shit in training their people.  Or perhaps running from the actual Fleet has softened the officers to the point where they forget respect, common decency, and work ethic? she was not impressed by what she was seeing.  If she had still been on the Hakkarl they would have gutted this woman for her lackluster job performance in the center of everyone so that she could be made an example to the rest of the crew of what not-to-do.  In fact, she couldn't think that the Cardassians she had spent her time with would tolerate such things either.  Whatever was on this woman's mind it was not the situation at hand it was something completely different.

Zyrao was not a tolerant woman at times, and when her time was being wasted, it was probably one of her bigger pet peeves.  Again, Sera spoke and Zyrao studied the face of the Ensign that was supposed to be taking down their information and listening to the story.  She wasn't listening, she was distracted, she was curious if the woman had heard anything that they had actually said.  She needed to have herself down on record.  However, this woman seemed to be distracted by something, though what, she wasn't sure.  Something though.

Suddenly, her eyes cleared and she motioned to where Zyrao was tracing lines on Sera's skin with her finger tips and asked how long 'this' had been going on.  Zyrao's fingers paused as she stared the woman down.  Her eyes not peering but piercing through the woman.  Her fingers stilled, and her entire body tensed for just half a second before she forced it to relax less the Unfortunate Ensign read something into it. 

“I don't have to excuse anything.”  Zyrao said smoothly, without missing a beat.  “What goes on between Sera and myself has zero bearing on this situation.  Now whether you're jealous or lonely or just plain nosy why don't we actually stick to the facts at hand.  We've given you the information you requested.”

She was not about to sit here and be grilled about her personal or not-so-personal life.  Not when the actual point of this conversation was to give out the information of Hi'Jak.  She had done so, and if the woman had two thoughts to rub together she could look into the whether Sera and Zyrao had known each other prior or not.  If that was what she was getting at.  Though it should be obvious.  Zyrao had come from the Hakkarl and Sera had come from her own origins.  Their paths had not crossed until fate thrust them together in the same instance.  Zyrao was glad for that, though whether Starfleet was the smart choice for her trust, remained to be seen.

Thus far, she had been less impressed by them and more impressed by those without golden circles adorning their neck.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #17 –
[ Sera vers Aldnoah | Security Office | Vector 01 - The Helmet | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
Oh, Sera wasn't pleased either. What was this Starfleeter insinuating? What kind of possible relevance did hers and Zy's frivolities have to her investigation?

"Not that it's any of your blasted business," she said, trying to keep her Fire Regioneer temper in check, "but Zyrao and I only met on the Coreless Moon yesterday, when she tried to spare us from Hi'Jak's treacherous folly. Obviously, we could only have spent one night together. Burn you, what are you trying to imply?"

Sera took a deep breath, raising a hand to forestall comment. "My apologies, I have a tendency for anger this early in the morning," she said, taking another breath, and tried to be constructive again, as much as she just wanted to leave the office and the prying Bajoran right away. "As we've stated, SuD Lang is likely a sensitive political issue given any current treaties, and Hi'Jak sent the message that was supposed to lead to the outpost's destruction. Then, Zy found it on the Hakkarl instead of its destined recipient, and Captain Drex moved to oblige Hi'Jak's flaming word. It just so happened that the entire away team was still there when the Hakkarl arrived. I don't know how much clearer we can be, so unless there is ought else, can we be on our way now?"

The inquisitive woman had wanted more details about this new companionship between Zy and her? Why?

Did she imply that the two of them were framing the officer? That they were unfounded allegations?

"If you don't take our word for it," she added, "we were hardly the only ones present on the mission. I remember Ensign Mariner's words as well, describing what happened when we returned. It should be there in your logs, along with any other issues he's caused."

Having said this, Sera was ready to leave. Problem was, perhaps they had to tell the woman about what they had done in Sera's bunk on the Sabine? Sera had no idea what was afoot.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #18 –
[ Ens. Ryuan Sel | Security Office | Deck 15 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan , @Blue Zephyr 
[Show/Hide]

That reaction, Sel could not ignore it. Maybe it was her own fucked up mental state, but she felt like she stepped on a nerve. To her, the overt gestures of affection between them had spoken volumes about the relationship, but the reaction to it being touched on spoke all the more. It made her question things, things she took for granted. She had taken their story at face value and was simply asking what she figured was a follow-up question, something that given their body language she assumed was in the open, but that reaction. It made her question them.

And suddenly she realized that this was two outsiders on her ship, saying a member of her crew had betrayed them. Both with attitudes that made her want to beat them both over the head.

She had seen things like this before. Most who had directly dealt with Klingons had. The way they carried on, insisting they were the greatest in the room until questioned and then reacted as if any question was an offense. Sel had fought beside Klingons, seen the kind of honor they had. She knew them and knew how dirty they would fight when pressed to it. Klingon, Cardassian, it didn't matter. All talk.

And there was the issue that she couldn't talk to Mariner about his testimony, she had it recorded, but all it confirmed was that he believed that Hi'Jak was a traitor. She didn't know what he witnessed first hand and what he was told. From where she sat it was just as likely that he was told that Hi'Jak was traitor as it was that the two in front of her had told Mariner and were now telling her the same thing.

She wouldn't have considered it, but the defensive reaction confused her. It raised the question and she had to ask them. But she knew she wasn't going to get any farther with them, at least not like this. She needed to lay down a bit of law first.

After a long pause, Sel set her pad down and narrowed her eyes. "Do not forget you both came aboard this vessel right in the middle of a crisis situation. No stone can be left unturned, especially when I am investigating a member of the crew committing an act like this. I don't care what your relationship is, but I need to know about it so I can figure out how much I can trust your testimony," she said coldly, her voice now showing a great deal of her pent-up frustration and anger. "Given our current situation, we cannot afford to take anything at face value. Those who claim to be friends are having a tendency to either die or wind up trying to kill us. You'll have to forgive us for not being too cordial, but if you know what we are up against then you will know that any behavior, any connection like this, must be inquired about. Especially when you are the ones who showed up just as the action really went down."

She paused, adjusting the cuff of her sleeve. This whole situation bothered her and that damn reaction had caught her off guard. She didn't act like that with Sarresh in the open because she didn't want to be asked. If you act that way, you tend to be asked, especially in matters like this. They had reacted like she was jumping to conclusions and now she had no choice but to do so.

"Now that is all I need from you for now, but don't go anywhere, you're guests on this ship and this matter isn't closed. Keep in mind how thin the ice you're standing on is."

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #19 –
 [Zyrao Natauna | Nosy Fuckers Unite | Respect is a Two Way Street | Fiery Personalities Attract | Stay Calm and Fuck Off]
@Auctor Lucan @Absinthe

Zyrao dropped her hand from Sera's arm when the woman launched into her own verbal tirade.  Whether the Câroon was able to see or not, there was a proud grin on the El-Aurian woman's face.  She did not mind at all that, she too, leapt to defend the both of them.  There was no bearing on the case at hand that weighed heavily on the relationship that did or did not yet exist between herself and the woman beside her.  No, there was no connection that Zyrao could make other than Fleeters being disrespectful and nosy little bitches.  She could, though, definitely appreciate the beauty of Sera's anger.  There was something fiery about the woman, and Zyrao could appreciate that heavily.  She had enjoyed last night, whether that repeated or not, remained to be seen.

Still, she could appreciate the beauty of the woman defending them as well.  It was nice to stand beside a strong woman like Sera.  Zyrao found that most of the time she tended to over power the people around her with the personality that had grown over the decades of being alive.  Now, she just didn't give a shit.  You either liked her, or you didn't, and one way or another it was no skin off her back.

Unlike her, however, Sera gave the woman exactly what she asked for even if it was full of anger.  She gave the woman their small and very brief history together.  She need not have done that, as the woman was not deservant of anything other than the information they were actually here to give.  Zyrao saw no merit in actually placating the woman but Sera, in her anger, had done just that.  She knew that the woman was not nearly as old as Zyrao though she couldn't remember giving her an age last night Zyrao didn't often put a number on it.  And the number was fairly loose anyway.  When you had been a slave, twice over, years tended to blend together and when you had been alive for literal centuries numbers became less important.

Sera apologized.  Zyrao's strong hand slid over the young woman's shoulder giving it a slight squeeze because she wished for the woman to know that Zyrao had her back.  There was no way she would leave the woman to her own devices at the moment, and was glad for someone that would stand back to back with her in the throws of battle.  She hoped that would be the case some day, she would appreciate battling with the Fiery woman beside her.

Sel began to speak again, and did nothing for herself.  Nothing that soothed the ire of the woman sitting beside Sera.  Grey eyes pierced, again, through the woman that sat behind the desk as if she had the rank and the clout to be demanding much of anything.  They weren't Fleet, they could hole up in a Brig with food, water, and some excellent behind-force-field entertainment if that were the case.  They owed nothing to the Fleet and it seemed that the Fleet actually owed them for their mutual help.  Still, she knew not what the purpose of this meeting was.  It had been disguised as a process for gleaning information about the Traitor now it was just a fucking social hour.  Getting gossip from the new members of the crew.  A cleverly disguised gossip fest.

“You're right, we are guests and yet I have not been given the right to feel as such.  I have been labeled an interloper from the get go when I have done nothing but assist you people in the messes you have created.  I assisted on the moon base, I have given information to the various people on board this ship, and I find that the lack of respect is a common thread that all you Fleeters had.  I was in battle when you were not even a sparkle in the eye of your forefather.  I do not deserve nor appreciate the lack of common decency.  We are deservant of more respect that we have received.  We are done, and if you desire to chat more, perhaps you will remember that while we did not attend your Academy we at least have tried to be respectful.”

She rose smoothly and looked over at Sera.  “Let us go.  I believe we can be of use elsewhere.  Perhaps take a look at your ship.  Make any repairs we can manage on our own.  I can't imagine asking the people on this ship for assistance would be met with anything other than disdain.”

She waited for Sera to arrive and then opened the door for the long haired woman allowing her to step out first before Zyrao followed.  Allowing the door to close soundly behind her effectively shutting out the idiot from within.  For a moment, the El-Aurian paused, pinching the Bridge of her nose. Perhaps it would have been wiser to tackle Drex from behind, take over his ship, and just turn the thing around.  Instead of trying to switch teams and trying to save the Fleeters.

They weren't even remotely thankful.

She could have let them all fucking burn.  She could have watched the vaporization of the fucking ship and just gone on about living. It wasn't like Drex was bad at sex, he just had no creativity, she could have gone on a bit longer without the desire to kill him tasting heavily in her mouth.  She could have waited for another opportunity to leave, or perhaps gain a full position on her own.  She had a good thing there.  Strategist, trusted advisor, more.  Now, she was lower than low, and she had sacrificed her career and her people.. her family, for the lack of a better word, for them. 

Not a single thank you.

Not a single ounce of respect.

I hate Fleeters.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #20 –
[ Sera vers Aldnoah | Security Office | Vector 01 - The Helmet | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
Incredulous, Sera listened to the Bajoran as she continued to make outrageous insinuations. She opened her mouth and closed it a couple of times, not quite sure she had heard the woman right. There were just too many arguments stocking up in her mind they didn't make it through her mouth. She even began to think that there was some kind of conspiracy aboard the ship, where they covered for each other.

Could it be..? Was there any history between the Bajoran and Hi'Jak? He had only come aboard the Theurgy a couple of days ago, but then again, Jack had been perfectly clear on how he didn't intend to restrict himself to just Sera. Not that she had been interested in monogamy, but had the traitorous sand flea stuck his fire brand in every orifice he could find? As a cowardly spy, she supposed he would try to ensure his own survival on a ship filled with traitors to the rest of the fleet.

Zy made to leave, firing off her remarks, which Sera felt entirely justified since the one named Carrigan Trent had also failed to be as hospitable as Starfleet used to be. She had heard Zy going on about it for a good while last night, before Sera managed to put those full lips to better use. Sera got up as well, while Zy went to open the door. Sera gave the woman an even stare, the fiery anger there in all but open flame. "I don't pretend to know much about what your job is about, but I have dealt with your fleet before. I ask simply, would a Starfleet officer like Mariner make such an open allegation against a fellow officer if there was only hearsay to it?" she asked her, tilting her head. "Fire and bloody ashes, believe what you will, Ensign Ryuan Sel... but the truth will come forth eventually. At which point... you will look a sorry fool for not listening today. Let's just hope, for your sake, that the traitor doesn't try to kill any more of your people. In fact, if he hadn't pulled that stunt, I would have made it back with the Sabine before the big, bad aliens came with their axe ship. You would have had the dilithium crystals in good time, and been able to go to warp again before the battle even started."

She stepped away, shrugging in an exasperated way. "Then again, if he was indeed abducted by those aliens... then we just might never see him or the rest of them again. May the storms take him for all I care."

When she had stepped out of the office and walked alongside Zy, she didn't quite know what to say. There was the obvious things, of course. The nerve of that woman! Was folly a prerequisite for wearing those silly uniforms? Sera could think of a long list of profanities to hail over the situation overall, but when she glanced at Zy, she saw that her happenstance lover seemed to be seething with another kind of rage. A more resigned, regretful nature to her glare. Sera had no idea what it was like, having given up her old life and come to he Theurgy's aid, only to be second guessed and dismissed by children, her likely many times their age. Oh, Sera knew she'd not handle it as well as Zy did.

"Thin ice? This... was not the kind of ship I came aboard," she murmured, turning an intersection that would lead them back towards the shuttle bay. "I think the battle with the aliens, and the ship being split up... They can't handle it very well. See, when I approached Captain Ives and Carrigan Trent, suggesting we'd collect the dilithium at SuD Lang, the Captain actually listened, delegated staff at my mere word, and even deployed a fighter escort for the mission - to ensure we made it safely there and back again. Would you imagine what these blasted people would do if I were to suggest something like that again? Burn me, I'd be accused for trying to leave, as if I owed them something, and they might even get the idea to confiscate the Sabine since they'd believed it essential to their flaming mission."

Taking a deep breath, Sera tried to quell her fiery temper. "If you hadn't hauled my ashes last night, I might have been a wee bit more irritable, and showed that ridge-nose you don't have to wear a uniform to know how to fight."

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #21 –
[ Ens. Ryuan Sel | Security Office | Deck 15 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan , @Blue Zephyr 
[Show/Hide]

Again they push back of fire and fury and again Sel found herself questioning the motives of the women. And then they were gone.

Alone in her makeshift office, she could not help but feel the knot of rage in her belly. She didn't appreciate the way those two seemed to think they should be treated. She had been a slave and Starfleet had given her a life, she would give everything to protect Starfleet. They could not know what this situation had already cost the crew of the Theurgy and she hated them for their arrogance to presume how they should be treated. This was a war, those who were not a part of the ship, a part of the crew, we're not to be looked upon with any degree of trust. She'd fought the Dominion, she knew the rules in dealing with an enemy who could slip among them unseen until the moment was too late.

She also knew that no Founder would be dumb enough to think to challenge a security chief like that, and no one would challenge the current captain of the vector, not if they planned to keep this mission covert. That alone made the behavior odd to her. What was their game? How deep did this little conspiracy go? And was it possible that one of them was a...?

The Continuance Protocol had them all on edge to be sure, but those two seemed to expect those around them to act as doormats and treat them with unearned respect. That was especially impossible for Sel, in her mind respect was not something given out freely do to deeds or any single action. No, it was the result of steadfast loyalty to a shared cause. And from where she was sitting those two were nothing more than outsiders thinking themselves grand.

Even if she could question how her mental state was affecting her judgment, the knot of rage inside her festered away any sense of self-assessment she might have been capable of. She was pissed and she wanted to break something, to fuck something up.

But with Sarresh not around and her current position she didn't have that option. She had to hold on to her anger, let her rage burrow itself deep into her. She had the mission to worry about, her duty was to the ship and it's crew, but perhaps most importantly to the truth. The truth was more important than her anger at a couple of guests who got under her skin, the truth was more important than her, the truth was more important than any of them.

She sighed and leaned back in her chair, her shoulders slumping as the weight of it all rested on her mind. But this was no time to stand aside. There were steps to be taken.

"Ensign Ryuan to Crewmen Erickson," she said as she tapped her combadge. Erickson was one of the security officers she had stationed in the shuttle bay, he'd been on the ship since the beginning, a good man. "Put a hold on the Sabine, she is not to leave the ship until further notice. Let them have whatever they need to do repairs as long as it is not being used for the repairs to this ship. I want a guard placed on the Sabine at all times, I'll set up a rotation and the schedule will be sent out within the hour. Do not interfere with them, just keep a log of everyone in or out of that ship. If they ask, say something about security measures because of the Devoted. Ryuan out."

She tapped the combadge again and closed the line, and her office, such as it was, fell silent.

This was not how she wanted this investigation to go. She wanted clear answers and she was stuck with two women who seemed set on not being very compliant with much of anything, one more so than the other. We're this a normal ship, on a normal mission, where the stakes were not so high, Sel could have let them be. She would have done what she could to get them to move along. But this was not a normal ship and this mission was far from routine. There was too much at stake to let those who insisted on standing out and causing problems, do so.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #22 –
[Zyrao Natauna | Outsiders are a Girl's Best Friend | Friends with Benefits | We Could Run This Bitch |  Ives, the Only Redeemer of the Fleet]
@Auctor Lucan

She could tell that there was a fire of rage running through Sera.  She could tell in the way that the woman carried her shoulders and the fire in her eyes.  This only attracted Zyrao more to the woman.  Not that she was interested in some kind of deep relationship.  She knew that Sera wasn't either they were not the sort to seek commitment after a sole night together.  If something developed or not they would at the very least remain friends and probably occasional bed buddies.  Right now, it was the Sabine where she stayed, no one had offered her Quarters otherwise and to be honest she didn't trust these assholes with a match stick at this point.

Sera began to lash out, and Zy just grinned because the woman was giving voice to her own thoughts and concerns.  She explained how it had been when she approached Ives and Trent about the SuD Lang base.  Zyrao listened and she brushed a hand through her own hair.  Biting her lower lip, she had a very different impression and experience with Trent but she had a feeling he wasn't a complete Torn Dick Hole all the time people in the Fleet seemed to respect him.  It could just be because of the little golden shit he had decorating his collar.  She would find out at some point she supposed.

She smirked slightly.  “I don't think you would let these assholes touch your Sabine, and I would fight them back to back with you before I'd let anything happen to it.” she admitted as she slid her arm around the slender woman's waist.

She grinned at the woman and her final statement.  Zyrao looked over at the Câroon and gave a nod.  “Well if you ever need to quell the fire inside you know where to find me, though I find I rather like you when you're fiesty.” she winked at the woman.

Now the task was finding what the fuck to do with themselves before they had to report to some kind of other asshole that would demand stories they didn't believe.  She didn't know if Sera had things to do, but she kind of hoped that she didn't.  She was the lone person on this ship that didn't seem to hate her guts so she was more than happy to continue spending time with her for the foreseeable future.  However, something that would not do well with Zyrao would be the fact that Zyrao was not the sort that liked being bored or idle.  She needed to be busy in order to get her shit together.  Idle Zyrao was prone to mischievousness and finding various ways to enjoy herself.

“Was there not, something wrong, with the Sabine during our flight to the Theurgy?  Should we go see if we can mend the ship a bit?  I'm not an Engineer or Mechanic by any stretch but I know my way around a bit of maintenance.” she offered to her newfound friend.

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #23 –
[ Sera vers Aldnoah | Security Office | Vector 01 - The Helmet | Deck 15 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
It seemed Zy had gotten out of her dark thoughts a bit, Sera gathered while feeling the other woman run her arm around her waist - the two of them walking down the corridor. Sera couldn't help smirking to her when she spoke of fighting back to back for the Sabine, and Sera ran her arm behind the El-Aurian's shoulders in a walking embrace. She might not admit to it, but Zy already had started a fire that she'd have to quell eventually.

"Oh, I will definitely let you know when I'm in need of someone to smother my flames," he said ruefully, letting her hand slide down to cup her posterior for a moment before returning to the shoulder - a couple of Starlfeet officers meeting them in the corridor. "I already know you're more than equal to the task."

Zy spoke of the Sabine's condition, and it was an issue she had tried to push aside for the longest possible time. "Indeed, the blasted Savi ventilated her a bit on the flight in. Busted my flaming transporter and some exterior parts. Not sure how bad it is, really, but I chanced upon one of the Starfleeter engineers aboard. One Morgan Song? I think that was his name. He promised he'd speak with his superior officer about sending a repair team this afternoon, but he didn't think they'll have time to do all of it in so short time... so I guess that means that the more you and I can mend it, the sooner she'll be spaceworthy."

She looked over at Zy when she said this, smiling to her. "Thank you for wanting to help me, Zy. Please, just don't get the wrong idea," she said with a warm smile as they turned down an intersection, "you don't have to help out repairing her to earn your bunk. It's yours regardless. It's like the sex, I love it, but definitely not a part of some kind of blasted contract. I want to have sex with you because you might have your own flames to quench, all right?"

Sera was under no illusion that Zy had the wrong idea about the bunk, it was just that Sera didn't know how Zy liked being with another woman, and they had only met the day before. Sera would think it really awkward if Zy had the wrong idea, and she had nerver spent latinum for such services. She was a bit like a Wind Regioneer in that sense, keen on the concept of individual freedom. She'd seen too much slavery on pre- and post warp worlds to have any taste for it, even if she recognized how voluntary sex trade was the right of any free spirit out there in the Galaxy. Which, in short, made her hope Zy wasn't trading services without telling her.

"I like spending time with you, old girl," she said, her smile still present when they stepped into the turbolift. "But I won't hold it against you if you'd rather go explore the ship. Or at least... this third of it..."

Re: Chapter 05: Supplemental [ Day 04 | 0800 hrs. ] Swing of Things

Reply #24 –
[Zyrao Natauna | Keeping Busy Keeps Fleeters Alive | A Busy Mind Doesn't Murder |  Lets Fix This Bitch]
@Auctor Lucan

Ah, there was nothing quite like a lover that answered so readily.  It was something that Zyrao, herself, had played on many times in the past.  That was how she figured out exactly how to get into someone's mind.  Worming her way into their beds was the first step.  Eventually, the fucking lead to trust and trust would lead to secrets.  Pillow talk was not something that happened instantaneously but it was something that was built on.  Once it was there, it just tumbled out time and time again as the trust continued.  It was a method that she had used many times in the past and she would use it again too.  It wasn't something that she intended to do with Sera.  That was not the reason for the previous night nor was it the reason for keeping the woman close just now.

“I am sure I can teach you a few more things.”  Zyrao teased a bit of a grin playing on her lips as they continued to walk down the corridor.  No one seemed to think anything much of the two women that were walking together with their arms around each other.  The caress of her back side was not something that bothered her in the least.  In fact, it caused her to start running her thumb back and forth on Sera's side where her arm lay.  Just lazy circles for the time being.  Toying with her a bit like she had during the meeting.

Sera told her what had happened to the Sabine and that she was unsure of the amount of damage that would have to be fixed.  Zyrao had been there in the end, and she was just glad that they made it all out alive.  Except the woman in the buffer, but she had been dead anyway it was only a way to help her survive a little bit longer and hopefully get her back to a ship that could bring her back to life.  Apparently, that wouldn't be happening now.  She smirked over at the woman and nodded.  “Well I think we can at least fix whatever we can and leave the Engineers to make sure she's space worthy.  I have a feeling these Fleeters are going to need all the fucking help they can get against whatever the fuck their facing.  So many issues on one bloody ship.”

Then there was a serious conversation happening all of a sudden.  Zyrao was watching the looks that crossed Sera's face as she admitted that while she appreciated Zyrao wanting to help it wasn't like it was necessary.  Not to have a bunk on the Sabine, it wasn't even that the sex was necessary.  Zy gave a bit of a smirk and paused part way down the corridor.

“I didn't expect that there was.  However, it's nice to hear those kinds of words spoken out loud.  I only wish to give assistance.  The use of the bunk would be beneficial to me as the Fleeters haven't offered me shit and it's fair better than sleeping in a Jefferies Tube which was the initial plan.” she chuckled softly.  “I have plenty of fires you can help me with.”

She gave Sera a wink as they began to walk again towards the bay where they had left the Sabine when they were called to the appointment that had been both a waste of time and absolutely worthless.  Sera mentioned liking her but allowing her to explore the ship.  The El-Aurian grinned.  “I'd call you kiddo but that just makes me feel that much older.” she teased right back to the woman.

“I don't really want to spend my free time with these assholes.  I have yet to meet one that isn't a self righteous festering anal fissure so I would rather spend my time with someone that enjoys my company and respects me.  More than that, too, is the fact that the Sabine is something that I can put my efforts into.  My mind and keep myself busy.  Because if I'm not busy I'm going to get really pissed off, and no one wants me pissed off here.  I won't be kind.  I try to hold respect for these people here but they make it harder by the minute.  Come, lets get to work.  I feel the need to get.... greasy.”

Again, a wink, as they entered the Shuttle bay and headed for the Sabine.  She did intend to work on the ship but she figured they would likely take a break too, sometime soon.
 
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