Tiana Galwyn Cet
Commander 1C
Ever journy starts with a dream
Registered: Jun 4, 2007 13:33:11 GMT
Posts: 420
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Post by Tiana Galwyn Cet on Jun 11, 2015 12:50:48 GMT
Representative Elliane Ryat "I appreciate everything that can be done for my son, madam representative," Saryn answered politely as he walked with the Trill woman. "I have done all I can for Commander Cet and I will continue to offer my services in her care. As long as she has been on the Enzio, I have been her primary caretaker, though I will freely admit that due to my...unique circumstances,.. I know extremely little about Trill and their symbionts and I would welcome any further education on the matter that can be provided to me." Elliane nodded, “I will organise that for you Doctor”.
It really wasn’t her place to make such a promise. In truth she really shouldn’t even be here. Tiana was not her responsibility but Elliane had made a decision when she had entered in to communication with Tiana after her initial mission was over. She would do everything she could to help the other woman.
*********
Representative Elliane Ryat "The data contains information on the personalities that manifested themselves in Commander Cet during her time in our sickbay. Our CMO identified at least five distinct personalities rising to the surface; it was difficult to distinguish which were individual previous hosts and which might've been combinations of them. Perhaps the pattern of their emergence can furnish you with further clues as to the nature of her condition." "Thank you."Ghes acknowledged and the channel closed.Elliane waited until the communications link had closed before sighing. As far as she could learn, then yes, it would help diagnosiss to know whether all of Cet’s hosts were fighting for dominance, or a subset or just one. However, even then … Well, things were not promising.
She returned to sit with Tiana’s parents and await news.
********** C1C Tiana Galwyn Cet The memories continued to flow so fast that Tiana could not keep track. She was dimly aware that was she was seeing wasn’t real, it was simply how her overwrought mind was coping with the information overload. Well, she also knew that her mind wasn’t coping, if this continued then… Well, maybe they would be able to save Cet. Maybe… A strong will was one of the requirements to become a host, you needed it to balance the personalities of the previous hosts contained within the symbiont. Right now, however, Tiana was the mental equivalent of hunched up in a corner with her arms wrapped round herself and her face buried in her knees. She wasn’t out yet but she had most definitely taken a beating. She was surrounded by shouts and screams from Cet’s memories. Not all bad memories but just so many… Suddenly a new voice enters the chaos around her. Tiana? I can sense you, I can sense your mind, your thoughts...can you respond? Even though she knew this was some form of mental communication Tiana still looked up expecting to see Savin standing somewhere near. She swallowed hard. Could she respond? She had never scored high in psi exams and she could hardly even focus right now. All the same she had to try Savin? I’m here... The words seemed to echo back at her from the inside of her own head. She closed her eyes, taking a second to wonder what she was actually doing that she was visualising like that, and a deep breath. She called up her memories of Savin and hung on to the grimly not wanting to let they go, scared they would join the maelstrom whirling around her. The more she hung on the more she became convinced that there was a pale thread, slender as spider silk, leading off into the darkness beyond the storm. She knew what that thread represented she knew who was on the other end Savin, I’m here. I can hear you
Tag: Savin I’m afraid Savin, I don’t know what’s happening to me and I don’t know how to get back. It’s so good to hear you though.There was a moment before Savin responded when there was a flicker from somewhere else in her mind. Tiana glanced round again although there was still nothing to see. She knew her tone must have changed when she continued to talk to Savin. Once again a flicker of hope had been born in her mind. I just saw a something Savin. There is an answer out there. Well… she paused to laugh and wondered if that could carry over the link to Savin …perhaps I should say in here. I think one of Cet’s previous hosts knows something.Tag:
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Jun 13, 2015 14:24:58 GMT
To Telmak's surprise, he'd managed to evade Hood's security teams. If he was being honest with himself, he was glad he hadn't had to confront Gheskori's security chief a second time; the CTSO had floored him once already in hand to hand combat, he had no wish to repeat the experience. Telmak had ended up in the brig. Then to add insult to injury, the brig officers and periodically visiting security guards, under Mr Hood's purview, would peer into his cell now and then, as if they were weapons being deployed by Hood to torture him, to remind him of his defeat.
The Romulan stopped at a junction, now just a couple sections away from Gheskori's quarters. He waited several seconds til he was sure of what'd happened. The ship had stopped shaking... no longer under attack from the Valdore type ships he knew were in the area. He listened intently for the deep thrum that emanated through the ship from the warp core... No change, the Enzio was still in the system. Some impasse had been reached in the fighting, perhaps, as if he cared.
The access module he'd been given by Sotok on the Scimitar class Khrzan - still cloaked above the Trill planet's north pole - gave him access to Ghes's quarters. He swept his hardbacks and manuscripts from Ghes's coffee table into his satchel, not wanting to give his erstwhile friend the luxury of their pages - though he possessed a measure of sympathy for the Starfleet Admiral: the Denobulan hadn't asked for this, a double agent presumed close friend (though they'd never met face to face until their encounter on the Starbase prior to beginning of the USS Enzio's mission) turning his back on him to recapture his family's honour.
Checking his stolen tricorder, he deduced the way to the nearest transporter room. Shield override technology aboard the Valdore type Haykana would allow him to beam through a hole in the Enzio's shield grid, take his findings to his compatriots amidst what was presumably an ongoing and stilted diplomatic action between the Enzio and the two Valdores. It was up to the Enzio crew to stop him escaping the ship with the classified information!
<Tag Hood, All>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
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USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
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Post by Gheskori on Jun 13, 2015 14:26:15 GMT
OOC: Scan up for previous post - split into two as the above is solely from Telmak's perspective lol
The stalemate had endured for long enough; the advantage this time however, Ghes had to concede, that it was in the open. No cloaked ships slipping by in mysterious orbits in the lower atmosphere, or in the outer blackness - the Valdore type warships, after a brief fight with the Enzio had soon requested a 'cease fire'.
This time Ghes was interested in what they had to say. "Commander," he said, tapping his fingers on the command chair arm panel with a look of quasi-feigned disinterest, "Are you ready to talk? What do you want on Trill?"
"The Pools... Our objective lies there." The Commander had to subdue a subordinate making noises of protest at his CO's revealing of this information, "Certain chemistries between molecules of exotic heavy elements - unusually stable, not prone to radioactive decay - in the Pools are of interest to the Star Empire's Imperial Institute of Biochemical Research..."
"What kind of chemistries?" Ghes concealed his alarm at the idea the Romulans were looking for something that originated in the Symbiont Pools, especially as the Pools were intrinsically linked to the Trill joining process, which of course was very much linked with the long-serving Enzio science officer's plight.
<Tag Tiana/Elliane, Saryn/Savin>
"I can't say..." the Romulan Valdore CO said.
"Beg your pardon, Commander, but do you call this diplomacy?" Ghes was called back, the viewscreen audial link muted; stand-in 1st and 2nd officers pointing out the Romulans had ceased firing first, and that perhaps they'd want something in return. Ghes, looking slightly irked, turned back to the screen and indicated that the audio be reactivated, "Perhaps you'd like something in return, Commander?"
"Your complete surrender, submission to boarding of your ship and its confiscation, Admiral. Your crew will be beamed to the surface of Trill."
Ghes kept body language to a minimum, though his mind was screaming at the absurdity of the demands, "You know that would constitute an act of war, Commander."
"We outgun you, especially when we call in our Scimitar class for support. You'd have no choice if you'd want to preserve the well-being of your crew.
This is preposterous, Gheskori thought, Receive information from the Romulans on what biomolecular chemical reactions in the Symbiont Pools the Romulans were looking for, in return for the surrender of the Enzio itself? The Romulans would get the Enzio; the Enzio crew would find out what the Romulans want on Trill, but they'd be on the planet's surface with no ship and potentially at the Romulan's mercy. So were the Romulans were playing for a stalemate here? "No deal," Ghes said, shrugging.
"So be it. Then find your own way of deducing what we want with the Symbiosis Commission, and the joining pools. We know one of your crew has had trouble with her joining, for the last several years in fact..." the Romulan said satisfied, "Who knows, she might know what I'm talking about."
Ghes froze, the sensation quickly melting into rage. He had the channel closed. Of course, the Romulan Navy would have knowledge of Tiana's ailment, thanks to Telmak. The situation could soon well escalate, Romulan ships converging on Trill, war between factions that'd had an uneasy peace. Of course, Ghes would do all in his power to prevent that.
<Tag Tiana, All>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Jun 18, 2015 20:14:15 GMT
There was no other choice but to beam down to the surface. The threat in the Romulan Commander's words was unmistakeable... If he intended to find out if Tiana knew what he was talking about, that meant he might be wanting to speak to her, face to face, and that situation could only be arrived at under one of a very select few scenarios. "Hood, you're with me. Double the search for Telmak with your security teams. He can't be allowed to wander too far from the brig, which he doubtless will have done -" "Sir," the Ops officer spoke, "Internal sensors reading a transporter operation taking place, transporter room 2." "Identity!" Ghes already knew the answer. "Damn," he said, trying to make it sound as light as possible, as if he was on Denobula and had just heard news of a forecasted light shower for that afternoon when he'd been planning to head for the market. "It is Telmak," Ops confirmed. "He's beamed to the nearest Valdore class... Through their shields somehow, sir." A similar trick to that which Ghes himself had routinely pulled on his constant up from and down to the surface of Trill. Now he was being called, by necessity, back down to the surface again. "Allan, bring your best security squad along, and speak to the Senior Marine Officer, we could do with a few of her squadrons guarding the medical centre down there..." He sighed, looking around the bridge, "Let's go." Minutes later they were on the surface, climbing the steps to the entrance of the Commission's HQ once more. The Trill star was setting, tangerine and indigo streamers exploding from the heart of the descending sun as it cast its light in ever longer wavelengths in the atmosphere of the planet. Entering and passing through the corridors with Lieutenant Hood and three security guards, he found Dr Saryn in the lobby to the medical centre. "Doctor, we meet again. Any progress?" he nodded at the responses, understanding that progress had been slow, "Did you get my communique from the ship? There's no way we can risk sending forces over to the Scimitar class, I'm sorry. I don't believe the cure is there and in the case that it is, I'm not willing to risk the lives of more of my crew. We'll have to find another way. "Have either of them considered the possibility of the pools of Makala?" he asked, referring to Tiana and Savin. "What about Cet him - ... herself?" <Tag Saryn>Elliane Ryat approached from behind them. Ghes turned, "Ah, Representative, you may wish to pass this to higher authorities. We believe there's a very real threat to this facility. The Romulans have suggested they could attack, with ground forces, at any moment. They wouldn't risk an orbital attack... They're still transfixed on finding Tiana," he said, mystified by the Romulans' strange and oddly directed persistence. He turned to the security chief, "Secure the perimeter. Liaise with the SMO to coordinate the Symbiosis Commission's security forces if you can. Tell them to expect Romulans incoming." <Tag Hood> <Tag Allllll >
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2015 18:47:09 GMT
[Savin]
I just saw a something Savin. There is an answer out there. Well… she paused to laugh and wondered if that could carry over the link to Savin …perhaps I should say in here. I think one of Cet’s previous hosts knows something.
Though his body didn't move, the indicators above his head showed increased mental activity and the comatose Vulcan's eyes seemed to be moving beneath closed eyelids. How can I help? Do you want me to try and see if Cet's previous hosts will talk to me? I need you to be my guide, my lifeline. Savin seemed hesitant, though surprised at the same time over the strength of their mental connection.
I cannot physically join you. He continued. I am...ill Tiana. I am dying unless a cure is found. I have been poisoned... But I want to help, I want you to live, because I love you and I will do everything I can, in any way I am currently able, to see that happen.
>> Tiana
Saryn]
Saryn continued to keep the people around him briefed on the condition of both Tiana and Savin, though the later was physically rapidly deteriorating. According to the scanners however, mentally there seemed to be nothing wrong with him. Yet. And what was more surprising, was the reading of telepathic activity. It seemded as though the younger man had found himself a temporary anchor to hold on to. His face however, turned into a dark scowl as he learned that Telmak had escaped and had been monitored to be on the Scimitar class vessel. What was worse, apparently the admiral wasn't inclined to send anyone after him.
"Have either of them considered the possibility of the pools of Makala?" he asked, referring to Tiana and Savin. "What about Cet him - ... herself?"
Irritated at the chance of subject, Saryn shrugged. "Cet could be returned to the pools," he agreed, "though preferably with Tiana. There is this Trill ritual...I forgot the name but I came across it in literature. People close to Tiana can take up the personality of one of the symbiont's prior hosts, as she bathes in the pools. It is a temporary effect. But yes Cet should return soon. As for Savin I do not know. He has no symbiont, though he has a connection to Tiana. You must arrange for the representative to have them sent there. It cannot harm them further if we do try."
But he had other business to attend to and as soon as Gheskori turned his back, Saryn slipped away, gathered his sword and even acquired a phaser, a weapon while qualified to carry, he always had refused. holding the transporter operator at gunpoint, he ordered the poor crewman to transport him over to the Romulan vessel.
Once the Vulcan was gone, the crewman tapped his commbadge. "Transporter room to Admiral Gheskori. Sir, this is Crewman Robert Carter...Doctor Saryn just transported to the Scimitar sir. I couldn't stop him, I'm sorry."
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Jun 23, 2015 20:34:55 GMT
"... But yes Cet should return soon. As for Savin I do not know. He has no symbiont, though he has a connection to Tiana. You must arrange for the representative to have them sent there. It cannot harm them further if we do try."
"Very well. Thanks, Doctor," Ghes surveyed the medical lobby room, espying a wall panel showing a schematic of the building. Representative Ryat was near the main reception area. Although he understood this wasn't her general area of expertise, she had built up a strong attachment to Tiana, and Tiana's bonding with the Cet symbiont - that'd started during that catastrophe of an operation against the Kasan'thar some years ago when both Ghes and Tiana had served aboard the Victory under Colonel Wong - had become, Ghes understood, a matter Ryat felt she should very much remain a part of.
He approached the reception area, seeing Hood standing with security guards and marines, relaxed in their postures with phaser rifles swinging loosely at their sides. "Perimeter secure, Lieutenant?" Hood nodded; there was no sign - the ship had reported no surface bound transporter streams - that a Romulan assault force was preparing to land anywhere near the facility. At least for now.
He approached Elliane with some trepidation, an expression of uncertainty clear on his features. Though Ghes had suggested the idea of the Caves of Mak'ala, he was dubious about the chances of success. If it was true that in those caves someone close to Tiana could represent a previous host of Cet, he had slight doubts about Savin's ability given his weakened state to be able to fulfil that role.
"Representative... My Chief Medical Officer's son's condition continues to worsen. Is it true... there's a ritual that'll allow Tiana to commune with her previous hosts through someone close to her, say Savin, my CMO's son?" Ryat explained, Ghes nodding, "While this may seem irregular, I'd strongly suggest both Tiana and Savin be moved to the Caves of Mak- "
<Tag Elliane, Tiana, Savin>
"Transporter room to Admiral Gheskori. Sir, this is Crewman Robert Carter...Doctor Saryn just transported to the Scimitar sir. I couldn't stop him, I'm sorry."
"The Scimitar! He's after the cure." He paced about the lobby, security guards neatly moving out of his way as he slapped his forehead.
"Possibly, sir, yes..." Carter sounded absurdly calm, "Also detected a transport in progress, shortly after Saryn's beam-out, from the Valdore class closest to us to the Scimitar... one individual."
"Telmak possibly? ... Saryn. Saryn, Saryn..." Ghes sighed in exasperation, "Contact the Warbird, Carter. State that if they don't provide an adequate explanation for their continued presence here we'll be forced to immediately send a boarding party, and that, just like the trick the Doctor pulled, we know how to get through their shields." Carter acknowledged and closed the channel.
<Tag Saryn on Scimitar class - find Telmak there if you wish>
"Representative. A moment please..." Ghes ushered the Trill into the office behind the main reception desk of the lobby and to chairs at a table, "Saryn believes," he paused, "Or maybe doesn't believe, perhaps he's only after Telmak - a Romulan double agent assigned to the Enzio for this mission - that the cure for Savin's ailment is aboard the Scimitar class Khrzan. Representative, that ship is at your north pole, cloaked. My security chief has reason to believe it may be carrying a Thalaron Generator.
"Whether they intend to use it - and I believe your civil government knows of the possible effects of a release of thalaron into Trill's atmosphere... - or whether the Romulans intend to send ground forces we cannot tell. If they want something of particular value to them here, they might take the latter option. Either way we need to be prepared -"
They were cut off by an urgent female voice accompanied by a shrill alarm. Ghes's eyes darted up to Ryat's. "Planetary defence perimeter alert, incoming craft... Configuration, Romulan. Seven vessels... Assault landing craft. Heading for the Caves of Mak'ala!"
"There's no planetary anti-aircraft at Mak'ala. Only civil defence militia," Elliane said mutely, still absorbing the shock.
Ghes hurried to his feet, the chair scraping on the floor and toppling over, "Scramble your people. I'll get as many of my security and marine personnel down to the surface as I can." He commed the ship to have Hood dispatch his officers to the Caves, to which Tiana and Savin were en route!
<Tag All, Lt. Hood, Ryat>
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Tiana Galwyn Cet
Commander 1C
Ever journy starts with a dream
Registered: Jun 4, 2007 13:33:11 GMT
Posts: 420
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Post by Tiana Galwyn Cet on Jun 30, 2015 14:37:25 GMT
Representative Elliane Ryat
Elliane was taking a moment to herself when the Enzio’s CO arrived. Tiana was calmer and her parents were busy up dating her brother and fiancée who had just arrived.
"Ah, Representative, you may wish to pass this to higher authorities. We believe there's a very real threat to this facility. The Romulans have suggested they could attack, with ground forces, at any moment. They wouldn't risk an orbital attack... They're still transfixed on finding Tiana," he said, mystified by the Romulans' strange and oddly directed persistence.
Elliane blinked once convinced for just a second that she had misheard, the look in the Denobulan’s eyes confirmed every word. Elliane hurried into a side room and set up a secure comm channel, first to the Council and then to the Defence Force. Both were difficult conversations but things were set in motion.
She knew she would have to go to the Council Chamber in person, and probably speak before a full assembly. She probably should try to get some rest first… She walked out of the office only to find Admiral Gheskori looking for her once again.
"Representative... My Chief Medical Officer's son's condition continues to worsen. Is it true... there's a ritual that'll allow Tiana to commune with her previous hosts through someone close to her, say Savin, my CMO's son?"
Elliane nodded. “The zhian'tara.” She knew he wanted details and she gave as much as she could as quickly as possible.
Ghes nodding, "While this may seem irregular, I'd strongly suggest both Tiana and Savin be moved to the Caves of Mak- "
Elliane nodded, it seemed as reasonable a suggestion as any other it would have to go through the medical staff and the Guardians and probably other people. Then again the Caves were probably as good a place for a symbiont in danger as anywhere else on the planet.
It did not take long for the suggestion to be made and transport to be arranged. Once again Elliane wondered if she should go home to bed. Tiana’s parents had gone to a family room to sleep. Although Havan Ren and Luci Vergain were still sitting vigil even though Tiana was no longer here. The plan was to transport the four directly to the Caves after Tiana had arrived and was settled in.
"Planetary defence perimeter alert, incoming craft... Configuration, Romulan. Seven vessels... Assault landing craft. Heading for the Caves of Mak'ala!"
"There's no planetary anti-aircraft at Mak'ala. Only civil defence militia," Elliane said. She knew there were other defences at the Caves but… she was still absorbing the shock.
********
Commander Tiana Galwyn Cet
I just saw a something Savin. There is an answer out there. Well... she paused to laugh and wondered if that could carry over the link to Savin ...perhaps I should say in here. I think one of Cet’s previous hosts knows something.
How can I help? Do you want me to try and see if Cet's previous hosts will talk to me? I need you to be my guide, my lifeline.
Tiana was surprised at Savin’s suggestion although the more she thought about it the more sense it made. Please Savin. They’re all talking to me right now... Her thought trailed off. She was unsure how to proceed. She had never had a zhian'tara but in essence that was what they were attempting. Separating out one host from the others and from the symbiont. I wish you were here she murmured over their link, she knew how lucky she had someone who could reach her here at all but she was still so on edge that any moment she might crack completely.
I cannot physically join you. He continued. I am...ill Tiana. I am dying unless a cure is found. I have been poisoned... But I want to help, I want you to live, because I love you and I will do everything I can, in any way I am currently able, to see that happen.
Tiana couldn’t stop the tears that fell. Didn’t want to if truth be told. You be careful, I don’t want you to wear yourself out. Even in the tangle that was currently her mind Tiana could not face looking at a future which did not have Savin in it. I swear I will do everything I can for you too Hoping that feelings transferred as well as words as she knew she could not verbalise precisely what Savin meant to her she focussed on that and sent it to Savin.
Tag: Savin
Tiana tried to focus on the memory she had half glimpsed in the maelstrom around her. It felt like an old memory so probably best to start at the beginning and work forward. We’re look for Veron. She looked out into the swirl of memories around her trying to catch one from Cet’s first host.
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Jun 30, 2015 16:38:37 GMT
Bridge, USS Enzio...
"Negative, I will not commit the murder of those Romulans until directed to fire on them by the Admiral."
"Sir, they're clearly of hostile intent!"
"Return to your station, Crewman Carter!" the duty officer ordered, Robert Carter backing away and returning to tactical, having taken over the post from the assistant tactical officer after Hood had he and most of his security - and the marine contingent - beamed to the surface to protect the Caves of Mak'ala. "We can't be sure of hostile intent," the duty officer continued, "Those seven craft may wish to negotiate... Crewman, I will not be responsible for starting the first interstellar war of the 25th century."
"No response was received from the Scimitar Warbird..." Carter whispered, "How can it be anything else but an invasion?"
Surface of Trill...
The last of the security teams were beamed down and transferred directly to the Caves of Mak'ala along with Savin, Tiana and her close relatives. Ghes watched them translate through the lobby of the Symbiosis Commission HQ - whose staff were clearly unaccustomed to handling this much traffic as they directed the armed officers and crewmen to transporter rooms.
<Tag Savin, Tiana, Allan>
Ghes left Elliane and his own guards - who hurried along after him - and followed the last group of marines to a transportation point. He walked up to the Trill transporter operator, the latter turning in surprise. Ghes demanded, "Beam me to the Scimitar class IRW Khrzan. Same method as Dr Saryn used."
"Admiral, I must advise against that," a marine lieutenant, standing on the pad with his squad about to be beamed to Mak'ala said obstinately, "The risk is unacceptable. You'd be a prime target."
Ghes thought about it again. Tiana had her family about her; whatever the outcome of the treatment of Cet - whether that entailed healing, death of the symbiont and perhaps of the host, or separation - she had those who were closest to her by her side. The same should be for Savin: whatever critical distance Vulcans kept and their coldness towards each other, even amongst relatives, Saryn's place was at his son's side as he lay apparently fatally injured. Not on a Warbird chasing Telmak on a mission of revenge, and perhaps to end a blood feud.
"Then you're with me, Lieutenant," Ghes said. The marine officer acknowledged, looking about at his men who raised their rifles. Ghes nodded at the transporter operator and the beam-out coordinates were redirected to the estimated position of the still-cloaked Scimitar class Warbird. He stepped onto the pad with the security guards he had in tow.
"Energise."
As the process began, the Trill operator started crying out, "Wait I'm having trouble with the matter stream! Scattering of the confinement-"
They were on the Warbird. Darkness was all about them, the ship in power-saving mode while it was still under cloak. A deep thrumming emanated through the deck under their feet, and as Ghes glanced around, he realised that aside from a marine private, he was alone.
"The scattering, sir," the private whispered, "The squad could be spread all over the ship."
The Denobulan sighed, "Let's head in the general direction of the prison cells... I think I can remember the layout from the report on the original Scimitar. Hopefully your CO and the others will get the same idea - thus if the Romulans are holding Telmak in the brig, any one of us could run into Saryn en route." They headed through several dark wide passageways, an occasional guard slipping by but the ship otherwise seeming strangely deserted. "If Telmak, or indeed if Saryn is not there, we can redirect to the bridge."
"Begging your pardon, sir, but that sounds... rather rash."
"They don't answer our comms... How else do we find out what the Romulans want here, Private? If they already have what from our view was a cure for Savin that they intend to use for other purposes, then they'd already have departed with it, no? They still need it, whatever it is, and I'm guessing it's at the Caves of Mak'ala." He pictured the attack or otherwise on the Caves already underway, Romulans heading up hill to fight Allan Hood's teams, Tiana and Savin in the Caves beyond.
Ghes dived into cover as the first shot rang out; he glanced back, knowing what'd happened when the soldier hadn't responded to him immediately: the private lay dead. He tried to get an idea of how many there were, down the far end of the corridor - it was difficult, like picking out enemies at dusk in ground combat.
An Admiral alone and under fire in the labyrinthine corridors of a Warbird that dwarfed his own ship. Perhaps this hadn't been such a good idea. Looking back, he noticed a ventilation shaft that the ill-fated marine private had actually been trying to get into; he backed off, firing covering phaser shots before diving into the shaft. He closed the hatch behind, clambering along several tens of metres, then up a service ladder a couple decks; he stopped, panting for air. "Damn it, Saryn, where are you?"
<Tag Saryn>
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2015 19:46:52 GMT
[Saryn]
After arriving on the Scimitar, Saryn made quick work of the first Romulan he encountered. Fortunately, the Romulan was of similar size to the Vulcan so he switched their attire, even though he kept his red-bladed sword. Now disguised as Romulan officer, it was easier for him to travel across the large ship. Searching deck by deck, using his tricorder whenever it was safe to do so. Though he didn't speak the language, both Rihannsu and Vulcan had a common root language and as such Saryn could make out the odd word here and there and piece information together.
Telmak was here, he was certain of it, and now he had committed to finding him. He was convinced Telmak knew where to find the cure for the poison he'd administered to his son. Revenge drove the Vulcan doctor, his warrior's blood singing in his veins. Deck by deck he searched, following the trail, convinced he'd find the errant scientist sooner rather than later. "I know you are here," he growled under his breath, "you cannot hide from me."
He looked up as he rounded a corner, coming face to face with another ROmulan officer. "Who are you," the officer demanded harshly. "You don't belong here, who are you!"
In response, Saryn drew his sword and ran the poor man through, easing him to the deck. "I am sorry," Saryn whispered to the dying man. "But I have no choice, my son's life depends on me finding what I need. I truly am sorry."
Now that he had killed a second officer, Saryn knew he had to hurry. One body he could probably get away with, but two was certainly going to raise alarm.
>> Tag Telmak
[Savin]
Savin was aware of being touched, and transported somewhere. Though he could not see, because his eyes were closed, he could certainly sense that they had gone briefly outside and were now somewhere dark and cool. He could feel damp air touch his lungs, which responded to the humidity. As a Vulcan, he didn't do well in humid conditions, but he knew whoever was taking him here, was meaning well. He felt hands touch him, undo his clothes and wash him. He was aware of being reclothed in what felt like a light fabric.
Tender hands carried him and by their cadence felt he was being carried down steps. His body tensed, his breathing stalled as he felt cool water surround his body. Tiana! The Vulcan cried out. Where are they taking me! I feel water, I do not know how to swim, I will drown! Panic registered on the monitors the medics that had carried him were carrying.
But as he was lowered into the pool, he felt something touch his leg, something quite out of the ordinary. Where am I? He sent to Tiana. What are they doing? What will they do to me? A shiver passed through his otherwise prone body as it rested on the hands of his caregivers. His head remained above the water level but the rest of his body was completely submerged.
>> Tiana >> Anyone else at the pools
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
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USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
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Post by Gheskori on Jul 5, 2015 3:17:54 GMT
The cloaked IRW Khrzan lay dormant and dark around him. Telmak huddled in his alcove, away from prying eyes... This was where they'd situated him on the bridge; out of the way of as many officers, dignitaries, intelligence agents as possible. Even though his information for the latter had proven useful, clearly, to them he no longer was.
"Security alert," the Centurion Telmak understood to be called Rrikhra intoned, "Uhlan found dead, deck 19, section F-442. The officer was stabbed." Rrikhra looked up at the command chair. The silhouetted body sitting there waved a hand dismissively.
"He'll find his way here, if he so desires," Admiral Sotok replied, his hidden eyes locked on the viewscreen. The ship was rigged - effectively - for silent running... situated above the north pole of the Trill homeworld. Two away teams had made their way through their shields - nevermind their supposedly impenetrable cloak - so far; it'd to do with the magnetic field lines, the way they were bunched up round the magnetic pole, it caused them to interact with the cloak in some way.
Telmak had quietly suggested they move position to somewhere less conspicuous; Sotok had disagreed, letting on that he was expecting, was indeed hoping the Enzio crew would be drawn onto their ship. A trophy of a dead Starfleet Admiral to go with the other spoils, he'd said, or some such.
More pressing matters were at hand however; Saryn was aboard, creeping through shadowy hallways somewhere below, drawing ever closer to the Scimitar class's nerve centre. He'd have gone to the prison decks first; wouldn't have found Telmak there, of course. The pretender to the head of the House of Hirnak (Telmak) was an important asset, he thought, drawing himself up. But he was here! Ready to exact revenge... What else could he possibly want?
"Security alert," Rrikhra said more forcefully this time. Telmak retreated further into the darkness. "Close-quarters combat reported on deck 3."
Still Sotok seemed unperturbed; unbeknown to the bridge crew, Telmak, heir to the deposed House of Hirnak, had slipped out the back of the bridge, descending to deck 3.
<Tag Saryn>
~ Security alert, security alert... Intruder detected, deck 3. ~
Ghes crawled out of the tight shaft, closing the grille behind him; he found the corridor beyond mercifully empty - dark hinted-at cavernous spaces at the end of the left turn in the passage, "That helps," he grunted, dragging himself loose of the tunnel. He wondered what section Saryn was in... Probably an area closer to the pinnacle of the ship, near to where the bridge was.
He approached a guard from behind - who stood by a turbolift door with disruptor rifle in hand - and tackled him to the ground. After a brief struggle, during which, the Romulan thankfully hadn't been able to raise another alarm, Ghes rose mostly unscathed. He gripped the disruptor rifle and rode the turbolift to deck 3, on its exit, to be confronted with... Telmak. Down the ethereal corridor - quite a few metres - he saw an indistinct humanoid shape holding what looked like a dagger. He glanced from the distant weapon to Telmak, then back again.
<Tag Saryn? - have left it ambiguous as to whether it's you>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
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Post by Gheskori on Jul 5, 2015 5:01:36 GMT
Capital city on Trill surface...
He made his way through the bare ante-chamber, grey walls on either side and a doorless exit in its left rear corner from his perspective. It was one room of part of his network of hideouts from those out to get him. He'd done it once too many of course; you couldn't fool the Tal Shiar, not once.
Approaching the balustrade he stood beside his acquaintance, Muran Heqx. They both gazed out across the cityscape. Part of it was obscured by the complex of hideouts: hi-rises, squat office blocks, crystal tunnels, dug in the earth as if by burrowing creatures with titanium claws. He looked at Heqx; the Trill nodded, pointing towards the Council building beyond which were the Caves of Mak'ala, chief site for the diversion.
"All assault ships landed successfully. The Reman shock troops are pushing for the Caves. If they can capture the pools, it would be some victory." Heqx looked at him, expecting something positive.
<Tag Tiana, Savin - at the symbiont pools>
"I care not for the victories of the Star Empire," he turned away in disgust, crossing the roof courtyard to view the other side of the city. He saw distant repulsor vehicles criss-crossing in the deep azure sky. He needed to get out of the city.
"The complex is secure, Commandant."
He looked down, over the balustrade, at these pathetic people living out their lives. He tried to identify by simple notions such as their manner of movement whether they were joined or not. Not that it mattered. His temporary Trill allies would serve him well, whether they had worms in their stomachs or not.
"Don't you realise," he murmured through gritted teeth, out of earshot of Muran Heqx, "They're going to get me." He turned and spoke across the bleach-white roof, "No, it's not. We need to get out of here, now. I'm sure our friends in orbit won't mind lending a hand."
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 20, 2024 1:52:51 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2015 19:20:09 GMT
[Saryn]
Feeling like he had covered most of the ship by now, following the trail of the traitor, Saryn lifted his sword high as he saw Telmak loom up in front of him, ready to strike. Then he thought better of it and rushed at the Romulan, smashing him against the bulkhead, sword pressing against his neck. "You will tell me where the cure is," he hissed, "and you have ten seconds before I extract the information from your mind, and then kill you."
Having had a taste for killing now, and being trained as he was, Saryn was to be reckoned with now. He would kill Telmak if he had to, his oath be damned. His son's life was on the line, and he would stop at nothing to save it.
>> Telmak >> Gheskori
[Savin]
Feeling the tremors in the water, Savin was even more afraid now, and clung to his link with Tiana as if his life depended on it. He could sense the other symbionts in the pool, could feel them swim past his legs. But he couldn't respond. Help me Tiana! he begged. What do I do? How do I help you become you again? Please...we have little time. I am fading! His mental voice weakened as his strength waned away.
>> Tiana >> Anyone else
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Gheskori
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USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Jul 15, 2015 6:08:01 GMT
"Get this... ryak'na off me!" Telmak yelped. Saryn's strong forearm across his chest pinned him to the wall and the Vulcan's knife was at Telmak's throat.
Ghes watched, immobilised by indecision - not a good position for a ship's Captain; he knew he should act, needed to do something... they were only two decks below the bridge! And could not be very far from it. He rushed forward suddenly, barrelling into Saryn and sending both himself and his Doctor crashing to the grilled flooring a few metres from the traitorous Romulan expat.
Telmak slumped down against the wall, rubbing at his neck where blood had nearly been drawn. "Oh... oh..." he murmured, holding his thorax now where Saryn had exerted pressure with his forearm. Telmak collapsed with a groan, semi-conscious to the side of the deck, green dripping from the side of his mouth.
"Silence, Telmak!" Ghes snapped before he realised the Romulan double agent's broken state. He brought Saryn up before him, being cautious - fully aware that Vulcans possessed superior strength and that his Doctor was no mere Doctor, but a warrior. How far would Saryn take that side of himself though to protect and save his son...? Ghes did hope it didn't extend to the regulation pertaining to homicide of Starfleet flag officers.
"Saryn! Sorry about that, Saryn, listen. The cure is not here." He spoke the words as calmly as possible, roles almost reversed for the moment as, Ghes liked to think, he was instilling some logic into the maddened Vulcan CMO. "There's nothing on this ship that can save Savin. What they want must be on the surface below. The Romulans have deployed ground troops; they're attacking the compound around the Caves of Mak'ala now, where your son and Commander Galwyn have been moved to."
The intruder alarm was still blaring, Ghes realised. Intruder alert, deck 3. He glanced down the wide hallway to double doors beyond which was a turbolift, expecting them to slide aside at any moment and reveal armed squadrons of Romulan soldiery.
"Whatever they've been looking for here, Saryn, they haven't found it yet and it's certain they won't be using it as a cure. It must be in the Pools of Mak'ala, where their troops are attacking." Realisation came to him, "That explains why they were so interested in Tiana's fate in the first place and had Telmak smuggled aboard with us... They knew that Galwyn would fall ill and that she'd need to be taken to the Pools... the relaxing of defences around Mak'ala to allow her passage are what the Romulans are taking advantage of now." [OOC: he's not quite right]
Ghes saw that the turbolift lighting panels were flashing purple on either side, indicating, if he knew his Reman pictograms (for the original production run of ships of which this vessel must be a member), that those doors were about to open.
"It's time we got off this ship," Ghes helped Saryn to his feet, glancing back at Telmak who was just now lifting himself off the deck.
<Tag Saryn, various places to respond if you like>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
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USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
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Post by Gheskori on Jul 22, 2015 21:55:46 GMT
"Telmak, if you're with us, you're with us... come on." Ghes dragged his former friend to his feet and assisted him along the dark corridor, out of sight of the blast doors that were just now sliding open, revealing a half dozen Romulan soldiers with disruptor rifles, led by three bulkier figures - Remans! he realised - charging down the passage in front of them, weapons raised - a rifle in one hand, a long blade in the other, Ghes saw. It seemed they continued to use their neighbours - although the Romulan-Reman system had been destroyed of course - as shock assault troops, as they had 25 years earlier in the latter stages of the Dominion War.
"Gheskori... I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen," the Romulan bookseller moaned from the floor round the corner, out of sight from the oncoming troops. Saryn crouched behind them, ready with his hand-to-hand weapon should the worst come to pass.
Ghes sighed. "Whether that's true or not, Telmak, you have put myself and my crew in a very difficult position. I'd be willing to forgive, with time... But don't expect free reign in your trading exploits about the Federation interior after all this, if you are returned to civilian expat status. A lengthy prison term is more -"
Disruptor fire and barking Rihannsu voices - officers issuing orders - emanated from down the shadowy passageway. Who would he rather end up with? Ghes thought of Telmak. He imagined, from his own experience with Romulans, that he'd prefer the Federation. But if Telmak thought the humane way in which the UFP treated its criminals would let him off from some of the 'hell' that was to come for him, he was quite mistaken.
"We can get off the same way we got on, correct?" Ghes asked Saryn, darting round the passage to see the on rushing attackers but not daring to return fire, lest he definitely give away their position. Saryn nodded; it was a simple matter of entering the coordinates for the ground so they could surreptitiously slip through the Romulans' shields once again, just as Saryn and Ghes and his marine team had got aboard in the first place. The only obstacle was finding a beam-out point.
After chases through several corridors, they came to a transporter room, occupied by two Romulan guards. "Saryn, you take the one on the left. Telmak, if you feel comfortable attacking your supposed former allies, yours is the one on the right." Ghes shook his head at Telmak's look of protest, "Uh uh, don't think I and my medical officer are going in there with you watching our backs. I'm bringing up the rear.
"Remember beam-down coordinates... the Caves of Mak'ala. Let's hope the fight's not finished yet, unless it's in our favour." Something odd occurred to Gheskori then. He'd heard no reports or otherwise of the Romulans success on the surface below... not even any updates on the comm, or words exchanged between Romulan guards that he'd sneaked by en route to the levels below the bridge.
<Tag Saryn> <ALLLL> - nearly done folks
Trill Capital City...
"Here they come..." the Trill Heqx said.
The Commandant gripped the edge of the railing - it bordering the edge of the circular gantry that traced the circumferential line of the compound. They were in the command centre. He looked about in disdain; this was as good as it got: antiquated machinery, user interfaces, repulsor vehicles that might just lift him to the next city to escape the incoming Valdore-type Warbirds. They'd already launched their ground assault craft, inbound for the capital.
Screaming ramped up in volume seemingly from all around them, until it localised itself to a point in front and above him: incoming missiles. The compound shook, dust dislodging itself from the ceiling. He steadied himself on the gantry and turned his eyes to the concealed entrance below on the ground floor. Trill were running back and forth, in a state of panic.
All his efforts... The genetic manipulation, the disguises... He'd been on the verge of being accepted to the Commission so that he might begin the joining... It would've been a first. It would've furnished him with memories of several centuries, all the more to gain a vast and indomitable perspective of the Star Empire's position and tactical situation as it'd unfolded over that time period. All the more to allow him to find his way to the upper echelons of the falling, fallen Empire of old...
Romulan landing craft were all too obviously parking outside, clouds of dust billowing in under the supposedly concealed entrance and filling the compound with choking airborne particles. The doors disintegrated moments later in a spectacular hail of disruptor fire - white-hot duranium igniting and smashing in quick succession in a flurry of explosions like fireworks - and Romulan ground forces piled into the entrance. Sporadic combat began, defences conducted by what few Trill were willing to defend their Commandant to the end.
He took one look back as his Trill began to fall and ascended to the roof level, Heqx, the Trill who'd warned him that the Romulans were incoming, accompanying him. "Where is my ship?!" the Commandant turned, striking Heqx across the face when nothing was forthcoming.
"Commandant... Commandant, I don't know. They said it would be here."
"Liar. Traitor!" he revealed a disruptor and shot Heqx in the midriff. His former number two crumpled to the floor of the grey-brushed roof of the complex, the Commandant himself looking about panickedly, wondering what was coming from below. They had him...
- OOC: This is the Romulans' true objective, the attack at the Caves of Mak'ala a diversion, though the Caves are still massively important of course to save Tiana and Savin lol
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Tiana Galwyn Cet
Commander 1C
Ever journy starts with a dream
Registered: Jun 4, 2007 13:33:11 GMT
Posts: 420
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Post by Tiana Galwyn Cet on Jul 24, 2015 22:46:08 GMT
OOC: Once again I find myself apologising for my absence. My job situation has now been mostly resolved although I still need to do a lot of waiting and planning to move cities. But I think I am back. - Not really sure if we do trigger warnings here, but there is a mention of a suicide attempt in this post, nothing graphic.
"Where am I?" Savin sent to Tiana. "What are they doing? What will they do to me?"
Tiana was really aware of the state of her physical body, but Cet knew where they were. As long as Cet had spent in host bodies these pools were home. The thought calmed the maelstrom in her head somewhat. If there was any way to make accessing Cet’s memories easier then this was it.
"They're symbiont's Savin." Tiana 'said'. "Cet believed we are in the Caves of Makala which is home to all symbionts. Outside of a host symbionts are somewhat telepathic. I think they're trying to talk too you." A wave of emotion that she didn't think started with her washed through her. "I think the symbionts like you." She laughed and then was once again lost in swirls of emotion and memory.
"Help me Tiana!" he begged. "What do I do? How do I help you become you again? Please...we have little time. I am fading!"
The despeation in Savin's tone gave her something to focus on and once again brought Tiana back to what passed as 'herself' in this mindscape. “No” Tiana’s words were a shout along their mental link. “I won’t let you go. I won’t. We will get out of this. Both of us.” Her words were accompanied but all the mental strength she could muster. She wasn’t sure if Savin would be able to utilise it but she had to do something. Maybe it was emotional and irrational but she had to do something.
“We have to look at Veron Cet’s memories.” With that she looked around and then latched on to an image of a young dark haired man receiving an award for valor. She tugged her connection to Savin trying to pull him with her. If he had physically been physically present she would have wrapped her arms around him. She attempted the mental equivalent, if there was a mental equivalent? She was a complete novice at this telepathy stuff, did this even strictly count as telepathy? She really was blundering about in her own head. It was kind of embarrassing really. If, no when, they got out of this she was seriously going to have to take lessons or something.
Veron Cet had been a police officer who had been alive more than 400 years ago, back when Trill had had a police force. The perspective shift in his memories was quite jarring but eventually Tiana found a memory of Veron having to restrain a grey haired man who was babbling incessantly. She remembered wrestling the knife away from him, only narrowly preventing him from, well, Veron insisted on thinking of it as ‘hurting’ himself. He had been lost in a whirl of his symbiont’s memories and needed treatment, probably hadn’t even known what he was doing
Tiana winced, as far as she knew she hadn’t tried to do anything like that. But then, she had very little idea what she was doing physically and she had all ready picked up a weapon once while lost in Cet’s memories. Part of her was desperate to see what happened to this man, part of her wanted to shy away from it completely. A rational path that may have had something to do with Savin but Tiana couldn’t really tell which thoughts were hers at the moment. Maybe all of them were, maybe none of them.
As she watched the memory playing out, Tiana was desperately hoping that there was some answer here.
Tag.
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Gheskori
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Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
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Post by Gheskori on Jul 29, 2015 0:54:58 GMT
The Commandant - having expected an attack from below, from the winding staircase from whence he'd come - was now faced with the unfortunate eventuality that the Romulan assault craft had approached the roof-garden from above. He stepped onto the asphalt from the grass sward, where birds seemed to titter in the darkening air, and came near to where Commissioner Heqx lay, the Trill's blood forming a pool around him. Kneeling, the Commandant closed the hatch that led to the main operations room below. He had to accept his fate now.
Heqx's blood trickled towards the closing gap, then pooled in the crack of the sealed hatch. It was unfortunate; the Trill had been his way into the Symbiosis Commission - to go before them to see if he would be accepted onto the second stage of the Joining. It would've only been a matter of time before he found out if the genetic modifications and additions to his biochemistry would take and allow for his body's acceptance of a Trill symbiont. Tuva was the name of the symbiont he'd provisionally been paired with. He grimaced, looking to the horizon: the name was an amusing coincidence, no more.
The assault craft descended to about a foot above the roof's surface amidst a roiling whirlwind mixture of grit and dust, hydraulic steam and exhaust fumes. A figure emerged from the airborne dust that stuck to plant life scattered here and there in this still growing - not growing anymore - garden. The figure spoke, "Tevio Ch'varak... We meet again."
The Commandant fell to the side from the force from the craft's idling jet engines, shuffling back along the ground. His face contorted in anger, "No! You...! No, that name, that name means nothing now!"
"You're no Trill, Ch'varak," the voice said derisively. Its figure motioned with its right arm and Romulan army soldiers appeared from the dust cloud, the ground assault craft's engines screaming over everything. As the soldiers grabbed him he attempted to gnash at their arms, spitting fury, and he heard the voice again, tutting, "Why did you kill poor Heqx? This was a worthy Romulan, Tevio. He let you believe he was your closest ally, an actual Trill, betraying you at the end and even then, no even now you still don't realise it... No? Ha. It will dawn on you some day."
This awful figure - standing over Heqx's body - arched its back and laughed, the sound cutting over the unabating whine from the hovering assault craft. The Commandant thought he'd like to smash the Tal Shiar agent in the temple, if he could but find his feet and shake off the prehensile grasp of these cretinous troglodytes. His face seized in a rictus of hate at the Romulan soldiery as they attempted to drag him off the ground.
The Tal Shiar had stolen his identity, his entire career from him twice now, and in the intervening periods: when he'd 'enjoyed' that respite aboard the IRW S'Harien under several distasteful if, he grudgingly had to admit, impressive Commanders; when he'd free reign at Navy Intelligence headquarters on the lost and not missed Romulus... Through it all he'd never quite reached his myriad subversive goals. He would've been Praetor. Or a Proconsul somewhere, perhaps near the Neutral Zone. As for his Trill conversion experiment, yes, the S'Harien Doctor had nearly discovered the intentional runaway genetic mutation effect Tevio had instigated in his own body (the matter of his strange blood that Sural Taranek had so persisted with in his cold, exacting if not entirely unfriendly manner), but the S'Harien's chief tormentor and CMO had never got to the truth, yet neither had the Commandant (Tevio) reached his own truth: bonding with lifetimes of experience, a position to conquer the Star Empire with the perspective the Joining offered him, and the connections he still maintained in the Empire's interior.
He was bundled on board the assault craft, its suborbital engine jets' high-pitched whine perpetual, and with the nameless agent back on board, it screamed off into the hazy air over the Trill capital as the city began its descent into evening, then began a rapid and steep climb to the waiting Valdore-type cruisers in orbit.
OOC: Romulans true objective complete. Hood, Daya, everybody, let's protect Savin and Tiana at the Symbiont joining pools!
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Gheskori
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Post by Gheskori on Aug 12, 2015 20:45:05 GMT
Gheskori lunged at his assigned Romulan, Saryn flanking him on one side and Telmak - somewhat hesitantly he felt - on the other. He executed the classic attacking move all officers learnt religiously at the Academy, a double-fisted blow to the gut, causing the Romulan to double over, followed up by a double-elbow - fists still clenched together - in the small of the back. With a muffled groan the Romulan slipped into unconsciousness.
He looked round to see how his green-blooded allies were faring, seeing Telmak engaged in a strangling match with his quarry. He rushed towards his (perhaps former) friend - though he still had time to make amends, if he hadn't already - to assist, taking the Romulan soldier's legs out from under him. The transporter room lay just beyond. Leaving Telmak to (hopefully) assist Saryn, he rushed round the corner and then darted left into the room, glad to find it was empty.
There was a lull in the fighting, that extended to a palpable silence. "Saryn? Saryn?!" Ghes edged his way round the corner of the transporter section, that was part of the open plan complex they found themselves in, trying to espy what was happening.
“What!” Saryn snapped, pulling his sword from a fallen Romulan. The red blade was glinstering with green blood, his clothes spattered with more though insofar he knew, none was his. “Oh, you managed to get in…” He still wasn’t happy with being pulled away from Telmak, and he wouldn’t trust the Romulan beyond where he could see him.
The Vulcan grabbed their Romulan ‘ally’ by the arm and propelled him into the room, sliding in after him. “TIme to leave now,” he said, “I want to get back to my son...if he and Tiana have not perished in the attacks already.”
“Well, point taken, Doctor,” Ghes answered, stepping onto the pad, glancing around nervously, “We should get out of here before any more of ‘your’,” he stared pointedly at Telmak who bowed his head in possible shame, “Any more of your ‘allies’ interrupt our departure.”
“Saryn, no hard feelings… as the human saying goes? for barrelling into you earlier. But come on, we’re all friends here really.”
With them all on the pad and the automatic beam out they’d set about to commence, disruptor fire streaked into the room. Ghes ducked, caught in this posture as he was dematerialised and rematerialised in what seemed to be a warzone - though most of the fighting, he noticed, seemed to have progressed upwards, to the levels of the Caves themselves.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2015 20:47:28 GMT
Telmak groaned, wondering perhaps why they hadn’t been able to be beamed straight into the Pools. They lay prone, to hide from the Romulans up the slope who were thankfully more concerned with pressing home their attack on the Cave entrance. Ghes answered, “No, this is a tactical advantage. We approach the Romulans’ rearguard, take them unawares. With Hood and security on one side, us on the other, we can throw them into disarray.”
Saryn glared at Telmak. “He is no friend of mine, he tried to murder my son and unless he finds a cure, he will have quite a challenge making amends if my first born dies.”
The Vulcan glanced ahead at the mayhem in front of them. “There are five of them close to us,” he said, “they are easy prey between your phaser and my sword.” He started crawling, keeping his blade on hand and ready to use. “We do not have time to lose,” he added, looking back over his shoulder at the waiting men.
Telmak glared up at Saryn, tempted to drag the Vulcan back down (perhaps, he considered later, for Saryn's own safety), "No your son got in the way, I tried to murder his mate. There's a difference. Surely people from your planet should realise that." He regarded the Vulcan coldly, surprised Saryn was willing to turn his back on his supposed enemy like that.
Gheskori flashed a look of warning at his former friend and followed Saryn's general course, keeping close to the ground and making his way between the boulders that were strewn down this flank of the approach to the Caves. He could see the group that the Doctor was indicating: a five-man unit, right at the rear of the attacking formation with some item of machinery - perhaps for battlefield communications - between them... Possibly a base camp of some kind.
He saw Saryn edging his way forward from behind another boulder, the Romulans remaining completely unaware of their presence. Ghes took aim with his phaser, ready to dart into cover to fire from another position; then, with the Romulans distracted and confused at the direction the attack was coming from, Saryn would, hopefully, lunge in with his sword.
Ghes fired and the 'fight' was over in short order. "Thanks for the help," he said over his shoulder, shaking his head as Telmak trailed him into the battlezone where Saryn stood.
"I will not injure or kill another Romulan during this farçe," Telmak answered, "These people, despite my allegiance, are brethren.”
“You don’t even have a weapon, Telmak.” The book trader started protesting. “Enough! Right. Going by the comm traffic, I’d suggest we would be able to outflank them to the Caves if we headed up that way,” he pointed and took the lead, “Let’s go...”
Saryn wasted no time nor even any breath on Telmak. His sword was dripping green with blood and if he had a chance he would kill Telmak too. Their journey to the Caves took several precious minutes but when they got there, they were entering into another fight.
A fight which, with the added firepower from Ghes’ phaser and his own sword, was over before it really started. “Down there!” he called, pointing to the figures in the pools. One of them clearly was unconscious, the way he semi-floated/semi-drowned in the milky water. Saryn could see jolts of electricity around the bodies, could see them react to it. “What are they doing, what are they doing with my son?”
Ghes watched the Romulan landing craft in the hazy distance take to the air, whatever remaining manpower they had available to commit to a fight clearly not considered by their commanders a viable tactical option. He turned to the interior of the Cave, nodding at Hood who stood near the entrance. He instructed the security chief to secure the perimeter before making his way after the Enzio’s CMO into the gloom of the Caves and the play of light on the rock surfaces up ahead.
Saryn acknowledged the security chief as well but did not pause to greet him. Sword still drawn, he hurried down to the pools, leaving the remainder of the Romulan invaders to the specialized crew already engaging them. he stopped short on entering the pool, somehow knowing this wouldn’t be appreciated. “What are they doing?” he asked, suddenly very aware of a certain tension in the air, as if a thousand telepaths were somehow communicating
“I believe it’s called the Zhian’tara,” Ghes said, kneeling beside the pool, “Trill ritual, or some variation of it, involving contact with previous hosts of the symbiont.” He didn’t rightly know.
“Tiana is attempting to make contact with previous hosts of Cet using the Vulcan’s telepathic abilities as a medium,” an authoritative female voice spoke behind them. Ghes turned round, recognised it was Elliane Ryat, “If the symbiont is dying, then it hasn’t sufficient strength to project previous hosts in the material world as in the ordinary Zhian’tara. Finding Cet’s weakness inside the… mind meld, may serve to cure it and the Vulcan, too.”
Saryn didn’t turn to acknowledge the woman, keeping anxious eyes on his immobile son. “I do not sense him,” he murmured worriedly.
Ghes scrutinised the pool with something approaching wonder. The two figures lay - unconnected, contrary to what one might expect in a mind meld - still in the crystalline water, moaning occasionally, shifting in their semi-consciousness.
As they watched transfixed, a tearing, echoing sound of something like anguish or terror filled the room. The sound resolved itself into a scream as it got closer, and Ghes had just enough time to see Telmak emerge from the cavern’s entrance and plunge screaming into the pool containing Tiana and Savin below.
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Aug 12, 2015 20:48:12 GMT
“No!” Saryn cried out, watching in horror as the two bodies were engulfed with the milky fluid when the body splashed in. Tossing his sword aside, he waded into the pool, feeling the symbionts brush past his legs. HIs clothes clung to his body as he hurried towards the two youngsters. “Help me!” he called out to Ghes, “help me keep them afloat, help me keep them connected.” If this pool was the cure, then he needed them to be able to fully connect. He held up Savin’s body, keeping only his head above the waterline. “Take Tiana!”
“Ok!” Ghes called hesitantly, lowering himself into the pool and delighted to find it wasn’t overly cold. Bright green fluid that he soon recognised as Telmak’s blood diffused from the dark hulk of his body, intermingling with the silver milk of the pool’s water.
“What have you… - What has he done?! Guards, how did he get in here?!” Ryat was shouting to the level above.
Ghes manoeuvred his body so that he was supporting Tiana’s limp limbs, keeping her afloat and face upwards. He called across to the CMO, who was bringing his son back into position amidst the distant shouting and the weapons fire, and the lapping of the pool’s waters, “Saryn. That’s Telmak, is he alive?”
Several Commission attendants came down to drag the bloodied Romulan expat from the water, symbionts shifting and squelching on the ground beside him. Ghes could see that he was still breathing. Meanwhile, the telepathic process seemed to have resumed. “I do hope this connection doesn’t have some impact upon ourselves…” As soon as he said it, whispers, pervasive suggestions of voices seemed to fill his head, halfway between voices heard internally when in a state of exhaustion and voices heard for real. Tiana, Savin, Nawar Cet that distant figure of history among them...
“Can you hear that?” Ghes asked Saryn. “The Zhian’tara?” Ryat nodded from the pool side, suggesting it seemed Cet had found additional bodies with which to give voice to its former hosts. “My race isn’t telepathic. How is this possible?”
“The Trill aren’t telepathic either, technically, before joining.” As Ryat said this a deranged, grievously injured Telmak shrugged off his attendants and dived in again, clasping his hands around Savin’s throat - a macabre final attempt to throttle him with his blood-stained hands.
Saryn roared in fury and clamped one hand down on Telmak’s neck, while keeping his son afloat with the other. “Let him go or I will break your neck,” he threatened, applying a little pressure to make sure the Romulan knew he was serious. Tal’shaya was one of the techniques Saryn had been taught as part of his training from a young age on. The one-handed technique to break someone’s neck, cleanly, and efficiently. He too was aware of the voices, the telepathic exchange between symbionts and the additional voices coming from Cet.
Ghes was no longer in the pool. He was a place that reflected a thousand, a million... countless versions of himself off invisible reflective surfaces - caught, as it were, in a symmetrical polyhedron whose number of sides tended to infinity. The last thing he remembered: Telmak choking Savin, the medic's enraged father gripping the Romulan by the neck. "Saryn, no!" he called, his voice echoing endlessly. He ran through corridors that opened up before him, kaleidoscopic colours shimmering along them beyond which lay blackness.
Thinking at first he'd slipped into unconsciousness and that this was some bizarre dream - whose nature was being dictated by the telepathic connection his mind had become entangled with - he soon realised he wasn't far from the truth! This was 'inside' the mind meld, the Zhian'tara meld initiated by Tiana and Savin.
Telmak nodded slowly, minisculely, fearful that if he moved his head too suddenly it would prove fatal - the crucial neck bone would slip under the Vulcan ryak'na's subtle but firm grasp. "Ok... Ok," he choked, slowly withdrawing his hands from the younger Vulcan's neck. "Terror took me. My own people shot me." He withdrew to the pool side - the silver waters once more contaminated with his blood - surrounded immediately by guards. He spoke in short gasps, "I charged through these caves with the injury my Romulan brother inflicted upon me. I turned all my anger, hate, desire for vengeance onto you and your family, seeing in you the cause for all my family's misfortunes."
Once Telmak had let go and drew himself aside, Saryn could focus on his dying son, pressing his hand against the younger man’s face, closing his eyes in concentration.
Ghes came upon a small enclosure; it was a room, with recognisable walls, visible interior layout... a welcome change from the vertiginous maze of tunnels wildly chromatic, that'd seemed to twist through several dimensions and orientations. There was a chair at one end of the room on which sat an old man, dressed in rags, rocking back and forth. Ghes looked into the darkness at the opposite end and experienced a chill: he saw silver slits of pairs of eyes, whose figures he couldn't quite make out. They all looked on expectantly, with a general sense of unease, he thought. Two seemed to be reaching out, at the front of the group, their hands extended towards the old man, rocking back and forth oblivious in his chair.
Saryn too saw the shadows, but didn’t know what to make of it. He knew extremely little about Trill and still had to update his expertise. His son seemed more knowledgeable though but Savin was still fading. Slower now, but still dying, the poison creeping it’s way through his body, attacking vital organs and systems.
<Tag Tiana>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Aug 19, 2015 20:53:15 GMT
Most of the Enzio's surface teams had been recalled to the ship now, with only Lieutenant Hood and a select few of his staff still on the surface overseeing the reconstruction of the Trills' defensive installations around the Caves of Mak'ala and other areas around the capital city itself. The civilian forces defending the Caves next to the Enzio's security had been shaken by the experience. Gheskori imagined the Federation Council would be very interested to hear that what was tantamount to a Romulan invasion of Trill, a Federation world, had taken place, and Ghes planned to take the Romulans to task for their transgression, even though they'd seemed in the latter stages more interested in something in the centre of the capital city. A fire had engulfed two blocks of the city around what appeared to be a landing platform sunk into the ground, and Romulan ground assault craft had been spotted leaving the area. Before Ghes had a chance to make another attempt at contact with Admiral Sotok of the Scimitar class Khrzan however, the offending ship and its two Valdore-type support craft fled the region, on a course back to the Romulan Neutral Zone. Ghes grimaced, resisting the urge to actually growl at the viewscreen as he watched the ships jump to warp after deactivating their cloaks - his report to Starfleet Command would be the same, and the 'issue' would be taken up with the Romulan Senate. "Commander, good to have you back aboard," he greeted his temporary XO - the officer assigned for the interim between Commander Matthew's departure and when Ghes finally agreed to appoint a new permanent officer to the position - who made his way down from the turbolift, "We didn't know how far you'd had to travel to recoup and avoid detection." The XO - who'd commanded the tertiary hull that'd had to flee during the fight with the Romulan warships - shook his head and took his seat, "7.9 lightyears. 22 casualties, 10 of them fatal, Gheskori." At least, he thought, they'd saved two of their number, whose conditions had been part of the very reason they'd come to Trill and wound up in the Caves of Mak'ala. Saryn was attending to his hopefully fully recovering son and Science Officer Galwyn in sickbay. The fate of Cet, remained unknown. The matter had been a closely kept Trill secret, with only members of the Symbiosis Commission, Dr Saryn (after much persuasion on Ghes's part) and Tiana herself knowing of the health and/or whereabouts of the Trill symbiont. <Tag Tiana, Saryn/Savin>With the recovery operation complete, the Enzio began the long trek back to Starbase 47, its original mission dashed, but with two of its most valued crewmembers saved. Later, in his ready room, the false stars (made to seem as such by the distorting effects of the warp bubble) shooting by, Ghes thought on what the Romulans really could've wanted. Why had they been so interested in that complex in the Trill city? What lay there that'd made their attack on the Mak'ala Caves seem more like a distraction? Mission effectively concluded. Please feel free to add closing thoughts here everybody, before I start a shore leave thread up properly tomorrow. And thank you all for another great outing.
Be warned, Telmak will return!
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Tiana Galwyn Cet
Commander 1C
Ever journy starts with a dream
Registered: Jun 4, 2007 13:33:11 GMT
Posts: 420
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Post by Tiana Galwyn Cet on Aug 22, 2015 21:50:00 GMT
Tiana Galwyn Cet
They told her she had been unconscious for four days. Apparently she had switched from unconscious to sleeping some time last night, it was roughly the same time that Cet's neurological signals had stabilised and separated from Tiana's. There had been a lot of questions. Tiana had tried to be honest but it was very difficult, she genuinely didn't know what had happened. She had to accept that a lot of what she recalled had happened no where but inside her head. A lot of it made no sense, as far as she could tell she and Cet had come to another understanding, one that ran even deeper than their previous one. It seemed that the mind meld had worked... Here Tiana spoke in general terms, what had happened between Savin and her had been intensely personal, intimate even, it was certainly true that he now knew her better than she knew herself. She could recall talking to some of Cet's former hosts but she had been informed that what had happened to her did not negate the need to actually perform a Zhian'tara. That of course was the least of her worries. She was the first joined Trill in more than three hundred years to contract cascade flu, it was nice to have a name for what had happened to her but it meant that there was a steady stream of medical personnel who wanted to poke and prod her. Cascade flu was a relic, it infected any number of races but rarely induced more than a headache. In joined Trill, it was very serious, causing a mental feedback loop between host and symbiont that continued until at least one was reduced to neurological mush. She shivered involuntarily as she remembered how close she had come to that fate. All Trill were vaccinated against the disease as a matter of course and hosts received a booster prior to joining. Naturally Tiana had missed the booster and apparently the virus had gotten past her childhood vaccination, still that had most likely been why she was still alive.
She had been so relieved when they had finally let her family in to see her, although annoyed that she would not be released for at least another day. Still she knew that she was lucky to be alive and even luckier to be sane. After that everything else was a bonus.
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