Carl Torek
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Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Sept 6, 2016 18:56:57 GMT
~ Shore Leave ~ The Raven had finally docked. Their mission, if it could be called such, was a success, or at least, as much of a success as they could wish for given the extraordinary circumstances ! Carl had told his Senior Staff that he would meet them in O'Tooles Bar & Grill on Alpha Promenade at eight that evening, while he hadn't made his request an order, he hoped they would join him. but first he wanted to see Chloe, Bethan and Vanessa. They had been abducted from the Raven with everyone else, finally returned when an amicable agreement between Altan, the Empress and Complete ruler of the Delkhii Mongols, and Hemak, representing their version of the Federation of Planets had been reached ... The newly named Temüjin Rift in the Jorgsonn Expanse, had been effectively quarantined, so no-one would be dropping in on the alternate Federation, or the Mongol Empire of the alternate Earth. In some ways, he wished he could have spent more time in the alternate domain. It would be interesting to see how 'their' Federation fared now that Altan's Earth was a part. After handing the Conn to Lieutenant Gerelo, with instructions 'NOT' to allow his Senior Staff to take over, he left the Bridge and returned to his quarters. Bethan and Vanessa ran to him as he stepped over the threshold, both hugging him so hard he worried about breathing for a few seconds, he could see Chloe stood at the bedroom door, watching him and the Children, almost as if patiently awaiting her turn. He managed to pry himself away from the girls and went to her, their kiss passionate but cut short by the constant, and annoyingly distracting giggling. Sighing, Chloe let him go and walked over to the ornate Georgian drinks cabinet, she poured him a cognac and sat on the arm of the sofa, seeing as Vanessa and Bethan had claimed a side each to hug. He told her he needed to go out for a short while later, but wanted a drink and a 'home-made' meal beforehand ..... ooo000ooo It was almost nineteen fifty hours when he exited the turbo-lift on Level one five five one. He walked along the Promenade. Entering O'Tooles he walked to the bar, Sean had just come on duty and saw him. "Well well, good to see you back Carl mi'lad ... Same ol'e poison is it ?" the owner asked, reaching under the bar for a dusty bottle and two glasses. He poured them both a drink and glasses clinked together in a toast. "Is any of the crew here yet ?" "Yet ? ... Why, you expecting them, the room at the back's free if you want some privacy." "No, that's fine Sean, I'll stay at the bar ... Business is keeping you busy I see." Carl said, looking around the busy bar. The two continued to chat while he waited ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Sept 7, 2016 6:21:25 GMT
"Computer, dim lights, 10% illumination." The room's colour faded, deepening to the grey-shaded interior lit up in no way by the starscape visible through the transparent aluminium windows. Blakus had left the curtains open - he wouldn't have installed them if it hadn't been for the night terrors that'd beset him every night for the previous seven, that was, when he'd been able to arrive at the position where he even contemplated a night's sleep...
Starbase 47 grew larger and larger in the window over the course of the night and through the next day. The Raven was still making its way there, back from the rift in normal space lying at the heart of the Jorgsonn Expanse, that unseen tear that had swallowed them - the unwitting - a few short weeks ago.
A timelapse would've revealed the tiny incremental increase in size of the Starbase, though none was needed to show how Blakus endured another fitful night. When he came to, the covers were nowhere in sight, nor was his dinner plate.
The CEO was accompanied to the airlock by Lieutenants Milyanov and Taylor, and he hadn't let it be known to either that he found their accompanying him to be most strange and not in line with protocol; when such a personal moment was approaching, colleagues no matter how close they were as friends could never be allowed to bear witness, yet here they were...
The corridor swam confusingly at the walls' intersection with the ceiling and floor, the leading edges of moulded duranium blurred and without resolution even on close inspection. Blakus stopped at a junction that opened onto blackness in all directions - funny he thought, that he had no memory of reaching here, and yet he could recall it all now as it unfolded back from him, constructing experience and memories of sense data to make the present instant intelligible.
The trio arrived at the airlock, two of them stopping and resting hands on phasers, only Blakus approaching the bleak rift glowing obtusely on the inner airlock door. In the centre of the rift there was a gap showing the airlock interior beyond, someone's breath misting up the small window as they shouted for the door to be retracted... no, the person wasn't shouting, they were laughing.
He was surprised he hadn't noticed the items before. Approaching the stacked cuboidic boxes, watching a couple of them fall as the floor vibrated under his giant's footfalls, Andae with a trembling hand reached out for the nearest sable black lid... His hand touched the rough surface - damp for some reason - and pulled the lid free: Lieutenant Zavial's head severed below the larynx, lifeless eyes staring up at him.
Blakus screamed silently and tried to put the lid back on, Milyanov and Taylor running up with soundless footsteps, forcing him to the ground and proceeding to kick the rest of the boxes over, all the pieces of Zavial tumbling out and burying all three, the entirety of the Raven and the totality of space.
O'Tooles, Level 1551, Starbase 47
Andae sat over his drink in a corner of the establishment with Milyanov and an enlisted named Dohrin - who'd happened to be wandering past as the two engineers had made their entrance; Milyanov with Harton, until she'd taken more interest in the Tellarite Dohrin had brought along from a confectionary the other side of the promenade, and taken off with the man to some holosuite, Blakus had missed the details.
He'd refused to touch the liquid thus far, maintaining the excuse that none of the senior staff had yet arrived. He was therefore chided - Milyanov and the dropped Dohrin accusing him of already having known - when the assistant CEO had spotted the Admiral who'd gone anonymous at the bar.
"Admiral, join us," Milyanov called across to the bar, now immediately standing and continuing somewhat awkwardly, "Or we could join you, sir." Cheered marginally Blakus sipped his drink. He suspected it wouldn't be long before he went back to sulking however. He went back to sulking.
"Crewman Dohrin's lost his Tellarite companion to my former girlfriend," Milyanov explained the enlisted's presence, his two companions joining him in the middle of the establishment.
"Carl, if I may," Blakus butted in, finding himself unsteady on his feet suddenly as he stepped to form a circle with the others. Confused as a haze of grey lowered itself over his faculties, he fell between Torek and Milyanov, the back of his cranium striking the floor hard as he twisted in mid-air. He squinted at them and fought off the fog, "I think I'm lightheaded."
"Has he been drinking?" Dohrin snapped.
"Not that I know of..."
Except here. Blakus's unconscious witticisms were coming through already. "No!" The universe swam before the engineer's eyes... Was it exhaustion? Colours darted here and there in his vision, muscae volitantes in the eyes' vitreous glinting in the light like luminous sparks from an overloaded EPS relay. He tried to climb to his feet, shrugging off the hands of the Mongols trying to relax or disembowel him, "I won't go to the moon again, Froras, your machinations have grown tiresome... Where's my Benzite engineer?"
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Sept 10, 2016 20:24:11 GMT
Chatting with Sean and Chloe, he hadn't realised that several of the crew had entered and were being served at the far end of the bar ... As they found a table, Jan Milyanov noticed him: "Admiral ... Join us. Or we could join you, Sir." Carl walked over as the group got to their feet. He waved them back into their seats and stood between Andae and his Deputy Chief. Milyanov was explaining the presence at their table of a young Officer he didn't know when Andae interrupted the conversation. "Carl ... If I may ..." Blakus said, seemingly swaying as he got shakily to his feet, before dropping heavily to the floor "I feel a little lightheaded ...." "No! ... "I won't go to the moon again, Froras, your machinations have grown tiresome ... Where's my Benzite engineer ?" Blakus ranted as Sean called for medical assistance. Within minutes they had carried him into the back room and a Doctor arrived. He immediately began to examine the Engineer: "He's run down, thoroughly exhausted, but I'm also getting readings that are completely unknown to me. I need him in the Medical Center immediately." "OK, keep the party going, I'll go to the Med' Center with him." Carl said. A mag-lev stretched arrived accompanied by two orderlies. Lifting the semi-conscious Engineer aboard, the Doctor ordered them to take him out. Within minutes they were in the Med Center and Blakus was transferred to a Bio-bed for further examination. Carl asked several times what was happening to his Chief Engineer, finally annoying the Doctor enough that they moved Blakus into a side room, the door closing decisively. Calli too was worried, she had watched him drop to the floor babbling as if speaking to someone they couldn't see. "What was he talking about ?" she asked. "He mentioned someone called Froras, and his dead Engineer ?" Max Calvin said, puzzled, "I'm assuming they were involved in your last mission ?" "Yes ..." Calli said, explaining what had occurred. "Is it possible that someone is in telepathic contact with him ?" the Operations Officer speculated. Carl had thought their previous mission concluded, but could it be possible that someone from the alternate realm was able to penetrate the barrier, no, he didn't believe it for a second. More likely was that Andae was suffering from exhaustion and as a result was hallucinating. He glared at the door, wondering if he could use his rank to intrude despite the Doctors' insistence that they leave. He was about to do just that when it opened and the doctor emerged: "At this point we have no solid diagnosis. The Commander is apparently suffering extreme exhaustion, and dehydration. We are giving him fluids and have sedated him for the time being. You are free to visit in the morning, but not until then." he didn't wait for a reply as he stepped past the door, which closed decisively ! ... "Somethings wrong here." Calli said under her breath. Carl tended to agree, but he was at a loss, as far as he knew his Chief Engineer was anything but dehydrated, or exhausted for that matter. Yes the mission had taken it's toll on everyone involved, including the Civilians and Families, but no more than any mission could, and why had only him suddenly been affected ? ... It was obvious that they were not going to get in to see him tonight, but he was also not going to allow him to be left alone. He tapped his Comm badge instructing the 'OOD' to assign two Security Personnel to the Medical Center on level one four zero one, then he and the others left, entering the nearby turbo-lift and heading back down to the Alpha Promenade, and O'Tooles ..... "How's your man Andae ?" Sean asked as they entered. "They are running tests !" Calli replied, unimpressed. "Then have yourselves a drink or two and he'll be back on his feet in no time, I'm sure of it." Carl nodded. There was no point in reading something into a situation that could be as innocent as the doctor described. He took the offered cognac and sipped the warm golden liquid. Had any of the group cared to look, they would have seen the two Terrellian and one Benzite sat a few tables away, seemingly satisfied expressions on their faces. maybe they were simply amused at the goings-on, or maybe they were complacent ? ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Sept 15, 2016 15:57:52 GMT
The doors sealed shut, Blakus reclined on the bed on the verge of consciousness, medical attendants coming by streamlined and faded such was the state of his wakefulness, for it seemed as he drifted in and out of sleep there was always a nurse approaching and depositing a sedative into his forearm.
This time he was accompanied by three officers in blue shirted uniforms, one of them from the counselling department; strangely she wasn't a member of the Raven's crew but someone from the Psychiatry Institute on Mars, which at this time was hosting a series of seminars with prominent psychologists from Terrellia.
He passed through several ornate and antique halls, polished wooden panelling lining all the walls and now an intricately decorated set of heavy oak doors ahead, on which had been scratched - seemingly with a laser scalpel - the numbers 1 4 0 1. Braziers shone at regular intervals down the sides of the hall and the next corridor, beyond the doors, lighting the place up in naked flame reminescent of great mansions of the old world. He stopped at the door at the end of the corridor, the counsellor stepping past him and making polite noises conveying her understanding of his predicament, she pulled down on the black iron door handle.
The room was distorted at the edges, focus fading at his periphery where it would usually cut off abruptly. A panoramic window of glass twelve inches thick was cut into the far wall, showing the wide rust red plain of Mars's southern hemisphere. The nearest Admiral stood from the table, two Terrellians either side of him shuffling out of the way and apologising; Blakus saw them watching him slyly as the Admiral approached.
A flurry of delighted greetings came from the rest of the table, to which the Admiral added his own voice, "Commander Blakus! we've been expecting you." He gestured to the table. Blakus looked at him in terror. "On it, please."
They wrestled him to the metallic tabletop and gouged one of his eyeballs out, purple blood and ichor spraying over the surface and seminar attendees.
A scream rent the sterilised air from the other side of the darkened sickbay, startling an assistant who dropped a medkit and received a scolding from the the base's CMO. He batted her out of the way and strode into the other room - robe billowing and blocking the light from the few active consoles which lit the room up minutely - and started, squinting at the darkness near the doorway, being sure for an instant he'd seen something scampering across the floor there, at one with the shadows and sliding in between them.
"Computer, lights." He twisted by the wall panel where he'd verified to his satisfaction the seal on the door was secure, now looking towards one of the two occupied biobeds, "Commander!"
Blakus had a sharp implement positioned below his eye, near the cheekbone, the blade hovering millimetres from the epidermis and his hand and eye quivering, both already scarlet with blood. He was sat up, leaning over one side of the bed, seemingly searching for the floor.
Nurses came charging in, the doctor issuing orders and managing to get close enough to the Raven officer to sedate him, averting the possibility he might do any harm to himself. As he applied the autosuture to the wounds on his hands, the doctor's eyes met nurse Coris's opposite him, "My... What was that?"
"How do you feel about that?"
"My eye being gone... I've had to make several adjustments to my daily schedule." He shifted in the seat, uncomfortable for a brief unexplainable instant before once more sinking into it painlessly, "The R&D department is fashioning a synthetic for me at this very moment, unique materials shipped by a consortium owned by one of the Terrellian scientists."
"Ah. Morning." His vision cleared and he saw the doctor standing before him, "How are you feeling?"
He waited a few moments for his senses to acclimatise themselves to the surroundings, then felt the numbness all over his body. He sat up slightly. "Okay."
"One of your fellow crewmembers will be around to check you soon, I imagine. The door must remain sealed, however. They'll be beamed in." Blakus frowned, wondering why such measures had to be taken; he saw the security guards in the background, seeming unperturbed at the statement - he understood Carl had had them posted. He tried to protest but the doctor shut him up, "Rest until then, Commander."
He watched the doctor cast a glance at a woman standing a few biobeds over; Blakus thought she seemed out of place, not a physician perhaps. He lay back and with shaking hand felt for his eye.
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Sept 18, 2016 0:10:23 GMT
They had decided to enjoy the evening, there was no sense in melodrama, the Raven's Chief Engineer had taken a turn and was under observation in the base Medical Center. Either way he looked at it, he couldn't help get the feeling something was amiss ... As long as he had know Andae Blakus, the man had never been unwell, or at least, unwell enough to require hospitalisation, so why now he pondered.
As was usual in O'Tooles, Sean had arranged a band to play, Irish music obviously, but something that always seemed to go down very well with his clientele. Part way through the first set, Cora, the Assistant Manager coaxed Carl onto the dance floor, not being one for exhibitionism, he grinned and allowed her to do all the dancing while holding his hands. Calli finally allowed his escape as she stepped before them bowing deeply from the waist, asking if she would be allowed to cut in. Cora feigned disappointment and let him go, then laughed as Calli took her hand, everyone laughed at his apparent clumsiness, enjoying the evenings entertainment. Relieved, Carl went back to their table ... The three observing were notable for their seeming complete disinterest in proceedings.
Carl sat where he could keep the three in his peripheral vision ... They ordered no drinks, didn't engage in conversation, either with other patrons, the staff, or between themselves, they did however keep the Raven Officers under scrutiny ! ... Calli finally returned, dropping into her seat and taking a long drink from her glass. As they continued with the conversation around the table he got her attention without the others realising, then he held up three fingers close to his chest before pointing to his right. Calli seemingly ignored him and waved for one of the Staff. Asking for another round she gave the three unknowns a perfunctory glance, nodding imperceptibly, Carl grinned, raising his glass.
Ten minutes passed and Calli decided she needed a word with her former dance partner, who was conveniently on the other side of the table where the three unknowns were seated. Taking one of the 'fuller' glasses, she staggered to her feet and began to move toward Cora, but passing the table she staggered forward, practically emptying the contents into one of the Terrellian's faces ... Jumping to his feet he spat a series of what they decided was insults mingled with vague threats against her life. Calli didn't understand almost anything he said, but his from his tone, gathered she wasn't being invited anywhere nice. she leaned forward in an effort to apologise, but fell into the man grabbing for a hold to prevent her from hitting the floor under their table. The Benzite, until now silent, spoke rapidly to the other Terrellian and they began to pull Calli to her feet.
"You sud, shu, watch you're languages mister Terrellianer." she stammered, pushing herself upright and with the help of the Staff she headed directly for the bathroom, presumably to devoid herself of the copious amounts of liquid she had consumed. Once alone she left the bathroom and went directly to Sean's office. Finding a data recorder she took the purloined identification chip and copied it. Once done she transferred the information to a second chip and left. Re-entering the bar proper she went straight to the unknowns table and tried to apologise. Realising it had fell on deaf ears she returned to her colleagues, but not before dropping the 'ID' chip on the floor under the table. They would hopefully believe it had fallen to the floor during the altercation, and if not then there was nothing they could do or say on the matter in her opinion.
As the night was winding down the group left O'Tooles and began to make their way back to the Raven, their 'shadows' not too far behind, An hour later, and completely sober, they were non the wiser as to who the three were. The ID chip contained exactly the right amount of information to allow travel throughout the quadrant, but absolutely nothing else, it was quite obviously fake ! .....
Next morning ::
Carl met with Calli, Max Calvin, their newly appointed Operations Officer, and Harry Wedlerson in the Observation Lounge where they ran through the events of the previous evening. Harry said he would go to O'Tooles before they open and get whatever surveillance data Sean had so he could attempt to establish identifications for the three 'unknowns' ... Calvin needed to get into the base directory and find out where the three were staying, be it on the base itself, or did they have a ship waiting. Calli would accompany Carl to the Med Center to visit the hopefully recovered Blakus.
~~~~~
Arriving at the Medical Center they asked to speak with the doctor overseeing the Chief Engineer. At first, no-one seemed to know what he was talking about until a woman approached them:
"I am afraid your colleague is undergoing extensive tests at the moment and cannot be seen, if you would contact us before visiting I am sure we will have news."
"Sorry ?" Carl replied, wondering what 'tests' they could be doing on a man that was as physically fit, and more so, as anyone in the Fleet, "I'm sorry, but I have no idea who you are or what position you hold here, but I'd like to speak to my Engineer, now. You can run whatever 'tests' you need to once we have spoken." he finished, stepping past her and finding two men in orderlies whites suddenly barring his way to the door to Andae's room.
"As I informed you, Admiral ...."
"Where is the Chief Medical Officer ?" Carl said trying not to glare at the two men barring his way.
"I am afraid that this situation is outside his field of expertise, I am in charge and have requested you leave, Admiral." Carl felt Calli touch his arm unobserved and despite his annoyance he stepped back allowing her to get between the woman and himself. She whispered that he needs to be careful. they had no idea who this woman was, or possibly more importantly 'who' she worked for. it could simply be that Blakus had managed to get something that they need to stem quickly, or something else, but either way, he needed to be careful how he handled this situation. With Calli being an Intelligence Officer seconded to the Raven as Advisor, he took her advice and walked back to the woman.
"I must apologise." he bagan, seeing the two 'guards inch forward in his peripheral vision, while the woman remained expressionless, "I am obviously concerned as to my Engineer's welfare, so if you could allow me two minu ...."
"These men are going to 'escort' you from the Center Admiral. I am sorry it has come to this, but my work here, is law." she interrupted.
"Look, lady !" Calli began, closing the distance between her and the woman while the guards edged towards Torek, "You should allow my Commanding Officer to see Commander Blakus, the concequ ...." Carl stepped back and tapped his Comm badge:
=^= Command Center .. Fleet Admiral Torek .. Initiate immediate lock-down of Level One Four Zero One .. Sections Beta through Delta .. Authorisation: Torek-Alpha-Two-Two-Lambda-Epsilon .. Do it now =^= he eyed the woman calmly as he waited.
=^= Command Center .. Admiral Torek .. Lock-down initiated .. Awaiting further instructions .. .. .. =^=
=^= Stand by Command Center .. Torek out =^= he looked at the two henchmen, then at the woman:
"I'd like to see my Officer .... NOW !" ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Sept 20, 2016 20:41:20 GMT
It was Blakus's guess that the woman had something to do with the Psychiatry Institute on Mars, from having seen her consulted when the mental repercussions of his artificially induced brain wave patterns were discussed by the physicians, and from having dreamt - presumably as a result of some subconscious remembrance - of the Institute itself and attending a rather bloody seminar, in which someone of her likeness had been involved.
A nurse came by him and without any warning - as usual - produced a hypospray and shot another sedative into his arm.
As the soporific set in, there was a flurry of activity towards one corner and twin transporter effects cascaded near the CMO's office; the two beings coalesced, someone he recognised as being a Raven officer - though his mind in its befuddled state couldn't draw a distinction any more than that - led by the psychiatrist woman (the counsellor who'd been asking him about his ocular deficiency in the 'visions').
"As you'll see from studying this bio-profile, the Commander is hardly in a fit state to talk to you." The woman pointed matter-of-factly to the display beside Andae's biobed.
He was seized and pushed past the boxes with their foul contents - remains of the deceased Benzite Zavial, which were sent tumbling as the CEO careened into them. The airlock doors rolled back and he spiralled into the silent void, now attempting to breathe vacuum. As he spun towards infinity a miniscule grey speck appeared on the far horizon of space, enlargening and fixing a red tractor beam on him, dragging him into a cargo bay. Terrellians surrounded him, lifting him on a repulsor gurney to their sickbay, now crowding around and inserting strange ideas of defection into his skull.
He tried to speak to his fellow crew member who'd arrived with the counsellor/psychiatrist, but his words were emitted in less than a whisper - something had stopped up his throat. He watched his fellow crewmember survey the biosigns.
The CMO stood beside the counsellor/psychiatrist woman, explaining to Andae's shipmate, "He's suffering from Itoxia Syndrome, cellular collapse of the muscle tissue that facilitates internal movement of the body: the vocal cords, muscles involved in the digestive system..."
No! he screamed internally, desperately trying to move his limbs, anything to make them aware of this lie. In addition to the sedative, they must've injected something to alter his biosign, make it seem he was suffering from... At least he hoped they had, they must have put a false reading into... he couldn't truly have this Itoxia...
He was back in the alternate room, but any notion this was an 'alternate' of a more concrete, real world, soon left him. Behind the Terrellian scientists in this ship's sickbay, the counsellor/psychiatrist who'd talked to him when he'd lost his eye on Mars - jet black hair and a black skin-tight suit, extremely pallid face - stood staring at him, menacing in her implacableness, "They've only just returned from the Jorgsonn Expanse. I told you this was too early."
The nearest Terrellian rounded on her, "And I told you, when it's at the neural interface, it doesn't matter." In moving he'd revealed to Blakus a Benzite who looked strikingly like his engineer, Zavial, though distinctly a different person - perhaps related.
"Commander... Commander?" The doctor was propping his head up again, "Come now, they're gone."
He reached for the doctor's neck, "You've poisoned me! You're invading me!" Nurse Coris ran up from behind the CMO, in alarm trying to pull the CEO's fingers loose as the man gurgled; Andae grappled with the doctor as the nurse released the grip and tried to rise from the bed, finally managing it and - inevitably - dropping to the floor. He put weight on one hand and kicked the nurse's legs out from under her, standing and charging towards the exit, bundling over an attendant and scattering hyposprays to the floor.
Dazed he started to enter a command code, not considering how likely it was to work, when the CMO flew into him. He struck the CMO with the palm of his hand, the man stopped in his tracks and slumping to the floor, landing on the dozen fallen hyposprays injector-side up; foam began rising from his mouth and he fell unconscious.
Now the door's seal broke though not of his own doing, and the psychiatrist, accompanied by two security officers entered, the latter grabbing him by the arms, the former holding his stare and... communicating - tendrils of her manipulative thoughts of telepathy insinuated themselves with his neural processes, probing, searching... Eyes becoming progressively bloodshot, Andae slipped to the deck, joining the CMO in oblivion.
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Sept 22, 2016 14:30:37 GMT
=^= Stand by Command Center .. Torek out =^= he looked at the two henchmen, then at the woman: "I'd like to see my Officer .... NOW !"
"Computer. Establish level five Isolation Protocol around the Medical Center ... Deactivation on my voice command only ... Authorisation: Tacus-Gamma-Nine-Delta-Phi."
"Isolation Protocol established." the computer confirmed, oblivious of the power-play being enacted.
"We can all play that game, Admiral." the CMO said, a sad look on her face, "You 'will' loose I can assure you of that. You overstepped your authority here Admiral Torek, and if I need to have you confined, and sedated, I will do so until the Section Admiral himself walks in here to have you charged or released. Either way, you are going out of those doors until such time as I 'allow' you to return ... If of course you wish to file a grievance against me or my Staff you are obviously free to do so. But while I have Commander Blakus in isolation, you 'WILL' abide by my ruling."
Carl stood almost toe to toe with the Doctor he felt Calli's hand brush his arm as she moved toward the nearest Bio-bed and leaned against it. With the Isolation Protocol in place, any thoughts of transporting Blakus away if she had continued to insist he not see him, had vanished without trace, and it was highly unlikely that she would release the Protocol around him even if simply out of spite at being called out in her own department. He had little option but to cede. Reluctantly, he tapped his Comm badge and had the lock-down lifted with immediate effect. He wasn't expecting the Doctor to reciprocate, and he wasn't disappointed !
"Commander Blakus is not only my Chief Engineer, but he's a close friend. Being told I cannot see him is a little hard to deal with." he said, trying to sound apologetic while wondering how he or one of his Staff could gain access to the door just a few meters away, again Tacus was all caring as she practically forced them toward the main Med Center doors and into the corridor beyond.
"If, when, Commander Blakus regains any motor function I will have someone notify you immediately, now, good day, Admiral." she steeped back the doors sliding shut with a resounding finality .....
"Something isn't right in there !" Calli said, voicing what the others were thinking. She went to one of the wall panels and requested Med Center status, to be told unsurprisingly that the Center was in Isolation Protocol.
"You took a big risk there Admiral." Harry said, eyeing the doors, "If she takes her own advise and files a complaint ...."
"Let her !" Calli said as Carl mulled the situation over. As he could see it there were numerous possibilities, the main two being ... One; Blakus was indeed seriously ill and the isolation was justified. Two; Blakus was no longer on the Star Base, and therefore possibly in great danger. He silently cured his reaction to Doctors' refusal to let him see Andae, it wasn't like him to go the 'threat' route, regardless of how concerned he was. While they were talking, a nurse, the one who had been assisting the Chief Medical Officer in disallowing their entry to the Isolation Room moments before, came out of the Center and walked briskly away, seemingly not having noticed the three Raven Officers close-by. He asked Harry to follow her while he and Calli returned to the Command Center. He needed answers.
Fifteen minutes later ::
He was waiting to see Admiral Tetsutaro, possibly the only person other than the Section Admiral himself who could help. Admittedly, he knew he was on the proverbial hiding to nothing by taking this course of action, it could only serve to get him deeper into trouble if he continued his attempts to over-rule the Chief Medical Officer. His comm badge chirped to life:
=^= Wedlerson to Admiral Torek =^=
=^= Torek .. Go ahead Commander =^= he said, eyeing those around him to see if anyone was taking any unaccustomed interest in their conversation.
=^= The nurse dropped to Level Sixteen Eighty Five and entered the Cargo Bays .. I managed to get in before the bulkheads closed .. She met with a Terrellian .. Handed him what looked like an isolinear chip .. I couldn't get close enough to hear the conversation Admiral as the Bay is practically empty .. They left separately and I'm watching the Terrellian on Level Twelve Seventeen Civilian Quarters =^=
=^= OK Harry .. We'll meet you there .. Stay put .. If he emerges keep on him .. Torek out =^=
Closing the Comm he stood, Calli following suit as the Admiral's Adjutant, Captain Lemond was approaching, "Nia, thank the Admiral. I don't need to see him after all." he said, turning before the woman could answer ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Sept 26, 2016 22:22:50 GMT
OOC: Not dream-time on this occasion
Walls warped and became indistinct, undergoing unlikely changes in their molecular structure and eventually dissolving to be replaced by a bare grey room, a table at its centre with two chairs and a humanoid figure slumped in one of them, rocking gently from side to side. The observer from the ceiling peered closer: it was him.
"They locked you out?" he asked her. He found his vision being centered involuntarily on her face; she was in her customary skin-tight black suit, sitting opposite and glaring at him, magnetising his one good eye onto hers where she could invade him with her uncanny telepathy capabilities.
"No, you've been locked in. We had no choice."
"You could let me go. But I'm stuck in my own mind."
"That's right. Andae, no one can escape their own mind. Dr Manheim didn't, he escaped his body. You cannot tell me he was able to step outside the assemblage that constituted his mind." She released him from the state of hypnosis, letting him slump towards the table once more as she picked up what he recognised as an old rubix cube, "What matters is what surrounds the sentient being, whether the self is an avatar in its own unconscious, or if it has access to the external world, the world of perception."
"We're still on the Terrellian ship, in the world inside my head, and you're trying to convince me of something."
She placed her hands on the table, pushing them forward til he found his own hands moving forward uncontrollably, the hypnosis setting in again, "It's the only place we could get to you once the intervention of your CO made us have to lock the place down, it stopped the real Terrellians getting in."
Their fingertips touched - like a seance. He grunted, "Somewhere between sleep and hallucination, neither asleep in the sickbay nor fully conscious. Like night terrors, dream objects manifesting themselves in the material world, something overlaid on reality, or underneath it..." The walls seemed to suck in, a sinister breathing emanating from somewhere towards the ceiling - he had the curious sensation he was in a diaphragm or a lung; sharp edges beyond intuition lined the recesses where walls met ceiling, and there was a faint shriek as if far away through the intricate duranium webbing of the ship's chassis someone was being tortured.
"Doctor. How are the patients?" she said. Andae became aware of another having entered the room. In a cold sweat he pivoted on his seat, darkness peeling away and suspending itself in the air about him.
It was the CMO from the Starbase carrying what looked like a picture frame. He smiled at Andae and gave the counselor woman the frame, who flipped it up at him - a mirror! He stared at a pale unwell looking individual, both its eyes very much intact. "I'm awake?" he whispered. Reality pierced a meniscus of illusion, a gap opening up and trauma thundering at his head - never waking up from the worst nightmare, the scene remaining and its essence made indistinguishable from that of reality.
He knocked the chair over as he stumbled back in panic, backing himself against the wall as the counselor rose from her chair and dropped the mirror. The CMO beside her sedately watched it smash before approaching Blakus, who was trying to speak, "... I'm still awake... Ante-room to..."
"To sickbay, on the Starbase, yes. I'm Donna Pearson, from the Mars Psychiatry Institute. I believe you know Dr Myrox." CMO Myrox nodded and glanced sharply at the door, ears attuned to some sort of disturbance taking place in main sickbay. It faded and he shrugged, depositing a hypospray's contents into Andae's neck. "I'm seven eighths Betazoid," Donna said, "I've been tracking you and your crew since before you disappeared in the Jorgsonn Expanse. We thought we'd lost you," she chuckled, "You can imagine how relieved we were when the Starbase received your long range communication a week ago... Unfortunately, the one we managed to capture before your disappearance didn't return with your vessel..."
Andae squinted, fighting through the pain of whatever Myrox had injected and focussing on Pearson, realisation dawned, "Zavial? You captured him?"
"What a loss to Federation medicine," Pearson tutted, "I hope he died for a good cause." She dusted her hands off, "You must forgive us for the intrusions in your sleep you experienced on the return journey; try to understand they were all warm ups for your collapse in the Irish bar on the promenade. That really was the coup de grace, wasn't it, Myrox?"
The CMO shrugged, fiddling with hyposprays and seemingly preparing another injection, "You tell me, you were there."
She smiled to herself, as if remembering something she was particularly proud of, "That's right. Disguised as the Benzite with the Terrellian Somt'chok. Impossible to detect such genetic manipulation, particularly when you've come into possession of a sample of the real specimen's DNA."
"Zavial's... You bloodsucker, what did you do to him?!" Andae exploded in fury, falling to the floor as the CMO injected him again.
Donna waved the CMO off, "What we're doing to you now, Andae. His loss on the Delkhii world is a regrettable one, particularly so as we'd already gone through this stage of things with him, and a good deal more. Did you notice anything strange with him at the outset of the last assignment?" Andae thought, but his consciousness was leaving him rendering it difficult: yes... the Benzite had missed his first three duty shifts, complaining about a migraine... "He only returned to the Starbase a day before the Raven departed, didn't he? And what do you think, Commander, are your chances of boarding your ship for your next venture?"
"Save me the breath," he muttered.
"Zero," she confirmed, "But you'll return to it, probably. It all depends on whether you cooperate with us now, and if your CO is willing to leave you be for..." she glanced at Myrox, "How long, doctor?"
"Seven months."
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Sept 28, 2016 23:06:04 GMT
=^= OK Harry .. We'll meet you there .. Stay put .. If he emerges keep on him .. Torek out =^= Closing the Comm he stood, Calli following suit as the Admiral's Adjutant, Captain Lemond was approaching: "Nia, thank the Admiral. I don't need to see him after all." he said, turning before the woman could answer and left the Command Center, "We need a change of outfit. I can't go wondering around in this." Carl said, referring to his uniform. "Contact Sean. He can have something ready." Calli suggested, Carl agreed, and on their way into the proverbial bowels of the Station the three of them stopped the turbo-lift at the Alpha Promenade ... Minutes later they were back in the 'lift and heading down to Level Twelve Seventeen now dressed in almost completely black. Sean had thought it amusing and frankly Carl didn't have time to argue the point, or question his friends' sense of humour. Stepping into the dimly lit corridor Carl tapped his now concealed Comm badge: =^= Torek to Wedlerson .. We're on your Level Harry =^= =^= Section Beta Three .. Civilian Quarters .. I'm at the North end of the corridor =^= =^= Understood =^= minutes later they approached the Acting Security Chief: "He still in there ?" Carl asked. "He's not come out, so yes Sir. Sorry I lost the girl, but ..." "You did right Harry. This person is more likely to know where we can locate Andae." Moving cautiously along the corridor, they tried to look inconspicuous, alas failing miserably given the few people they passed seemed to know they were from the 'upper' Levels rather than residents of the 'Bowels' ..... They stopped, meters away from the door in question and took stock: All three were carrying Type One phasers, concealed in their clothing, all took them out and checked the setting. Harry took a small device from his tunic and tentatively placed it on the door access panel. He looked at Carl who nodded and they readied themselves fro what could be behind the door. Wedlerson activated the door release and reached over to pull it aside, Carl, Calli, Koni and then Harry all piled into the room ..... "You said you were sure he came in here Commander ?" Carl asked. "He did Sir." Wedlerson replied, he took a tricorder from his pack and began scanning the room, puzzled as to how the Terrellian could have got out without his being seen, then he picked up the faint traces of a transport ... Following the readings he entered what 'should' have been the bedroom, but it had been cleared of all sleeping paraphernalia, and instead, there was a one-person transporter pad on the floor at the far side of the room, "Bloody Hell. Didn't expect that." he said, admittedly both surprised and relieved that he hadn't made a monumental mistake. He moved over to a small control plinth, disappointed to see it empty. "So we've no way of knowing where he went !" Calli said, resisting the urge to kick the seemingly fragile stanchion, "Is there 'ANY' way to check the end point ?" "With this ?" Harry said, holding up the tricorder, "No." Calli had been walking around the room as she asked the question, looking for something her Intel-trained eye could pick up on. She stepped over the inert base during her circumnavigation of the room, and vanished from sight without a sound ! ... Koni, who had been watching her progress around the room ran to the platform but Harry shouted a warning for her not to repeat the process ... It was obvious now that the platform was activated when it established the presence of someone wishing to be transported to it's counterpart, wherever 'that' may be. "This thing is drawing minimal power Admiral." Harry said, kneeling beside the plinth, "In fact, I'd be surprised if it registered anything more than a light going on when in use. It's certainly short-range, maximum say, three, four hundred kilometers ?" he said, admittedly intrigued. "..... And Calli is on the other end !" Carl said, glaring at the platform as if he held it personally responsible ...... Calli Valente ::Materialising, she crouched in readiness for what she might face ... The room was empty, not a duplicate of her later location, but close,no furniture to speak of, no point of reference as to where she could be, but experience and common sense told her that it wasn't a long-range transport, so ... She was elsewhere on the Star Base, on a ship or vessel docked 'within' the Star Base, or in close proximity orbit. she reached to tap her Comm badge then thought better of it, surmising that whomever was using the portable transport could and likely 'would' discover her communication. She stepped off the platform and moved to a position that afforded her a view of the door but where she couldn't be seen until whoever came in was actually inside, and therefore open to attack ! ... She couldn't recognise the decor, but that meant exactly zero. She hadn't been this deep into the Star Base, so had no idea of the decor therein, but knowing the Federation, it would differ very little from the upper levels, so .... One of two options .... She was elsewhere on the 'Base, or she was on a vessel. But which ? ... There was only one way to find out ..........
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Carl Torek
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"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 1, 2016 0:54:35 GMT
"Can that thing transport more than one person at a time ?" Carl asked. "Doubt it, or at least, I wouldn't recommend trying, I've never seen anything like this before Admiral." Harry said, walking around the small platform, "Hell, it could send you into the next room, or into the next Galaxy for all I know, and without taking it to pieces, I don't want to hazard a guess that could be phenomenally wring." he said apologetically. "Well, we can't leave Calli wherever she has gone, so I guess we have little option but to go thro ......" The deck began to shudder for a few seconds and the two looked at each other then at the platform, it was inert, so that couldn't have been the cause. Suddenly an alarm began to sound: "What's that ?" Wedlerson was asking when the 'Base Comms system chirped to life: 'Security Lock-down in effect -- Levels forty seven through five hundred -- Dome isolated -- Dome Isolated' "What the hell is all that about !" Harry said, steadying himself now the underfoot vibration had settled. Carl tapped his comm badge: =^= Fleet Admiral Torek to Command Center .. .. .. Command Center .. .. .. =^= =^= Torek to command .. Can anyone hear me ? =^= "Comms are down." Wedlerson said needlessly, earning himself a glance of Torek for his trouble. He moved to the platform wondering if it required a sister or 'receiver' platform in order to work, it certainly looked more like a traditional 'site to site' device, but then, he could be completely wrong, and truth be told, at this stage he didn't fancy finding out. "Explosion." Carl said quietly, as if thinking out loud, but Harry heard him and asked him to repeat, "There's been an explosion, a big one given the fact we felt it three kilometers away." "Three kilometers ?" Harry said, then realised where they were in the four kilometer high Star Base, "Bloody Hell !" "We need to get back up there." "What about Commander Blakus, and, Commander Valente ? .... We need to find them Sir." Carl was genuinely torn. His 'duty' was to the Personnel who serve under his Command, but he had no clue as to their whereabouts at this point, and now there was the added issue of the Lock Down ... There had been a massive explosion well above them in the four kilometer diameter dome section of the Star Base,it had been significant enough for them to have felt it beneath their feet, albeit more vibration than actual tremor. He speculated possible scenarios, had the explosion been intentional, if so who could have caused it, was it someone connected with the disappearance of Commander Blakus ? ... What damage had been done, and most importantly, how many injured, and dead, where there ! "Harry, you said that that thing only had a short range ?" "Sir, I'm guessing. Without reverse engineering, it cou ...." "Try to find any sort of targeting system. If we can change the place this thing will drop us we may be able to kill two birds with one proverbial stone, so to speak." Harry got on his knees and pulled a small panel aside, lowering his head almost to the deck so he could look inside ... After a long moment he sat up, head shaking. Finally he looked at Carl who was still trying, and failing, to get hold of anyone via Comms. He turned and saw Wedlerson looking at him and approached: "What ?" he said. "It's empty. Completely empty." Harry said, shoving himself backwards on his behind to allow Torek to get down and see for himself. He too looked in shock. The base was simply a three centimeter section of what appeared to be plexi-glass, no power supply, save for the one keeping the light on, no internal working, no mechanism. he realised that this was no more than a prop ! ... It was a means to get them down here, far away from any safe haven. He dropped on his knees, wondering how they could have been fooled so easily, but then it dawned on him: "Calli !" he said. Harry had stood and was circumnavigating the platform once again, but this time looking at the surrounding area. He had almost made a full circle when something caught his eye. He approached it and almost shouted out in triumph, there, hidden by the gloom was what he was looking for ... He stood on a crate and pulled the device from the bulkhead then returned to Torek: "They used this." he said, handing Carl the remote sensor, "They must have set this so that whenever one of them passed into the field they were picked up by a transport beam automatically, no bloody wonder that thing wasn't putting out the power required. At least we know it's not some advanced 'Alien' technology we're dealing with, just good old'e remote beaming ... Not that it helps us find Andae and Calli, sorry." he said quietly. "No, but at least we know they are still around here somewhere !" Carl said, his decision made for him with the new discovery, "We need to get back up top, first chance we get instruct Command to fire on and disable ALL vessels attempting to leave the 'Base." he said, getting to his feet with a purpose and heading for the doors, with luck the turbo-lifts will still be operational, they need to get help. "Sir .... The explosion." Harry said as they rushed along the corridor to the nearest turbo-shaft, "If they have locked down the Dome, it can only mean one of two things, Sir ?" "It had to be a ship Harry." Carl answered, knowing it had to be true, "Whoever did this has more on their agenda than a mere kidnapping. Whoever they are, they want something more than an Engineer, or Science Officer, they could have taken either from almost anywhere without all this .... No, there is more to this, there has to be. If they wanted something from Blakus, they obviously didn't get it, and now, they could have Calli too, but either way they knew we were on to them and were closing in on their possible location, or at least, we thought we were. They played us Harry." he finished, remembering the fake transporter as the turbo-lift hurtled upwards ..... Deck Two Eight One - Visiting Crew Level - Eleven Decks below Dome Docking Bay ::They stepped out of the turbo-lift into mayhem ! ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Oct 1, 2016 2:35:49 GMT
OOC: I wrote this before seeing the latest post and found that stunningly a lot of what I'd written fits really well with the latest events. Two OOC comments have been added to explain seeming discrepancies and make things fit, and a few modifications made, I think it works well if having ended up sort of winding and piecing things together to have it all work lol
"Have my fellow crewmembers tried to get to me?" Andae asked.
CMO Myrox ignored the question, "Somt'chok is impatient. He's the Terrellian, in case you're wondering; he's got three useful little ships not too far from here. Now, this contraption generates a psychic interlocutor in the unconscious," he lifted a spherical object and swung it down on a multi-appendaged surgical arm to Andae's cranium, the Commander's face cast in indigo shadow as it closed about his skull, "Your dreams are about to become more interesting, Commander..."
The woman in the dark suit stepped to the edge of the shadows, unpeeling herself from them and a rough outline of her form becoming visible. "Should you be here?"
He peered into the shadows on the edge of the scarlet and violet tinted discernible features of the room, seeing now her pale face, "Yes. I think so. It's at least what the Terrellians wanted from me... Information on Starbase 47's shield harmonic frequency..."
The shadow floated, rippling and becoming mottled for an instant - a shriek formed itself in his conscious experience, seeming to hover in the middle of his vision and endure without beginning or end - before resolidifying, Blakus's clarity of perception returning at the same time. "And...?" she whispered.
The thrum of the Terrellian ship's power drive emanated from all around, omnipresent in the panic-inducing intersection that lay halfway between the ship's medbay, the bridge, and the airlock where the USS El Capitan had been hard-docked - symbol of safety perhaps? he thought, Who knew. "Personal data for Federation Council..." As he spoke the words her pale face dissolved into the darkness, her shape withdrawing along the corridor towards the dream-bridge, leaving Blakus to sigh and wheel about, studying each of the three possible avenues - one shouldn't be forced into such decisions... Words that could be said, neither linguistic or vocal, sliding into dark places.
He found himself stumbling through the wide corridors of one of the thoroughfares close to the promenade. [OOC: He believes he's been released, but he is unwell, hallucinations etc., actually the seal on sickbay has malfunctioned due to the attack on the station and in his delirium he has managed to escape] Well, good to be out from under the auspices of the desperate Dr Myrox and the strangely seductive Ms Pearson. Blood drained from his cranium and he mis-stepped, falling past a running trio of civilians and careening into a wall between two empty offices. Groaning, he stopped himself from slumping to the floor and put his head between his legs, ordering his thoughts.
"Should you be here?!" a voice asked.
A moment of horror beset him, though he was for an instant glad he'd already quelled the feeling of sickness that rose up through his chest moments before he'd crashed into the civilians. He dared to look up, expecting to be staring into an impenetrable darkness, something insidious which had crept into the processes dictating - in his stead - thought and action. Instead he found himself looking into kindly eyes, even if clearly gripped by terror.
"Don't you think you ought to be in a sickbay?!" the passer-by spoke shakily, "Perhaps everyone should be finding their way to sickbay... You're - you're a Starfleet officer... I'd hoped for a moment you were here to give us the all clear."
Blakus got a hold of his senses, standing upright again and trying to keep the dizziness at a minimum, "All clear? Right..." memory dredged its way to the surface, "The quarantine, and the lock-down... They've been ended?"
"Yes, but now..." The civilian's eyes focussed; he gripped Andae by the shoulders, "Have you been living in a hole! We were hoping to get news from one of your number..." Blakus thanked the man before he could say or do anything further - help him or otherwise - and stumbled down the thoroughfare, heading for the deck 281, the visiting crew level to look for the officer lounge that'd gone missing. Instead he found the holodeck. [OOC: He has actually found the visiting crew level, the hallucinations having him think he's on a holodeck; following events here are delusional but shaped around real events on the visiting crew level]:
Still dazed and perhaps not quite with it, he chose at random from the list of standard shore leave programs. He was shooting an elk with a bow on a muddy hillside when the program changed without warning and he found himself surrounded by a dense metropolis fused with a mesa of sedimentary rock, the borderline between the two landscapes winding through the city and close to the Commander who rocked on his feet. "Computer..." the beep sounded and there was a long interval. "... Arch."
Now the computer made a negative noise; he began crossing a road and while repeating the command - to no avail - he blundered into a rickshaw and knocked driver and passenger flying. Stumbling into a path of an anti-gravity lifted vehicle, the rickshaw passenger was on him in time to push him out of the way towards the other pavement... Both now concussed, they staggered into a commercial tower block, the windows of the foyer of which then burst upon rapid heating by particle beam weapons.
People went about screaming, crunching glass and running into turbolifts, up the stairs in a stampede... One turbolift was opening, two people standing there looking astounded.
Andae stood absent-mindedly in the centre of the foyer, watching the cliff of the mesa - a couple blocks over from the side of the street he'd initially found himself on - where the weapons had been fired from; more fire drilled down from the rock face, searing the marble flooring that Blakus stood on.
He fell back into a chair opposite the huge reception desk and gathered his thoughts: the beam weapon fire was of Terrellian manufacture... how had they got access to the holodecks and found their way onto the station with live weapons? Whoever it was had clearly tampered with the program, surely...? Where had they all come from? At least a dozen had fired into the reception area, he estimated, and perhaps twice that number on the cliff top outlined against the sky.
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 2, 2016 0:03:11 GMT
Deck Two Eight One - Visiting Crew Level - Eleven Decks below Dome Docking Bay ::Stepping out of the turbo-lift Carl could have been forgiven for thinking they had stepped onto some horrific war zone ! ... People were running around, some injured, some confused ... He told Harry to find a working Comm, they needed to know why they had been stopped here rather than their destination. Calli grabbed a passing Officer: "Lieutenant, what's going on ?" "Get yourself to the First Aid post Ma'am, someone will expl ...." "I'm Commander Valente, this, is Fleet Admiral Torek ..." she pointed to Carl who was speaking to a crying woman, "Now, I'll ask again Mister. What is going on ?" the man eyed the two then seemingly recognised Carl, he apologised then told them what he knew. "I'm not one hundred percent certain as comms were cut, but first reports say at least one vessel attempted to depart the Star Base without authority. After the Dock engaged the first vessel with tractors, the second had apparently opened fire without warning. Internal defences activated automatically and the second ship was disabled and held in a tractor, but the first managed to move and dove straight into the Engineering Section of the USS Polyakov, the explosion sent the unknown ship across the Dock and into the ..." the Officer hesitated, glancing at Torek then back at Calli, who urged him to continue, "It, it's Engines were going critical and they either couldn't or wouldn't eject their antimatter. The section slammed into the, Raven. The comms went down but someone from the docking ring said there was little left of all three ships. Ma'am." "The Raven was destroyed ?" Calli asked her thoughts going to the hundreds who would not have been on the Base, then she looked at Carl and thought about Chloe, Bethan, and Vanessa ! "I honestly don't know Commander. But from what little information is filtering down, there's not much left of anything in there." She let the Lieutenant go and looked for Harry, spotting him at an information terminal trying in vain to get it to talk sense. She relayed the information she'd got from the Officer and both headed back to Carl. It was then, for a fraction of a second, Calli thought she saw Blakus. She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes scanning the area she'd seen the Chief Science Officer. Wedlerson had gone a few steps when he realised she wasn't at his side, he came back, looking in the direction of her stare but couldn't see what she was looking at. "Calli ?" "I, I thought for a second I'd seen Commander Blakus." she said, shaking her head, "We need to speak to Carl." she said, glancing back over her shoulder once then heading back to where Carl was speaking with a small group of people, all wanting information he simply didn't have., Calli got his attention and he excused himself. She told him what she had been told, seeing the colour draining from his face as she continued, "There's no saying it's as back as the lieutenant says Admiral, Chinese whispers, It's possible the Raven wasn't as damaged as he thought." Carl was already looking for a turbo-lift, Calli and Harry in close formation, she continued speaking as they walked, and was about to mention Blakus when he practically stumbled into their path ! ... Carl grabbed his friend by the shoulders, thankful that he had been found but his mind on the Raven and, his Family ... "Andae, what the hell !" he said, eyes flicking along the bulkheads in search of a means to get up to the Docking Ring. Andea was seemingly scanning the bulkheads too, but for what Carl couldn't tell, his friend ducked and dived as if evading something unseen. Calli and Harry took hold of him, finding it difficult to prevent him twitching left and right, eyes locked on the ceiling, "Bring him with us." Carl said, moving to yet another disabled turbo-lift, this one though was open as opposed to sealed. He stepped inside and requested Level two zero one, the turbo-lift remained in place, despite him using his Command Access Code. Frustrated, he stormed from the 'lift and towards the nearest Jeffries Tube access. "We'll climb." he said. "Sir, that's Eighty Levels !" Harry commented. "No, we'll go to Level two seven one, that will give us access to the Docking Bay's sub levels, we can get in through there." he didn't wait for them to comment but stepped onto the first rung of the ladder and set off ..... oooOOOooo "What the HELL ! ...." the man said as the hatch slid aside millimetres from his feet and someone poked their head into the acrid, burnt air, ".... Are you playing at, can't you 'SEE' we are locked down." "Crewman, I'm Admiral Carl Torek, we've clim ....." "Torek, Sir, I apologise, I, we, thought I don't know what we thought, after the explosions, the Polyakov, and, well ..." "The Raven." Carl finished for him, Has it been destroyed ?" he asked, dreading the answer, but he needed to know. The Crewman hesitated then took a PADD from his work satchel, he connected it to a working screen nearby and asked them to view the initial data recording of the, incident. The two vessels approached the still closed Space Doors, looking almost minuscule against the massive structures, first one fired and was held in a tractor beam, then the second fired, but this time at the Polyakov, a massive section of her Saucer Section disappearing, the base defence systems sprang into life as the massive Space Doors began to open. They watched as several worker-bee shuttles dove into the unknown vessels to no avail. Then, as the first was disabled and almost destroyed, the second turned, firing on the Dock Control before seemingly diving in an almost suicidal attack on the USS Polyakov, smashing into the Engineering Section and opening it to vacuum, lifeless bodies could be seen as the once life-sustaining air was expelled from the ship. But the vessel wasn't destroyed, it spun, it's core now critical, in the direction of the docked USS Raven-B ... Carl looked away as it slammed into the Saucer Section before traversing the Pylon and smashing into the Secondary Hull, and Engineering ... Even with his eyes averted, he saw the resulting explosion and knew that there could be no survivors from such a devastating catastrophe.
The Port nacelle detached, slamming into the plexi-glass Observation lounge and killing all there, the Saucer, now separated from the Pylon, was randomly colliding with anything in it's path as it pirouetted within the Docking Bay. Tears filled his eyes and he walked a few steps away, trying and failing to compose himself. He knew that even with those availing themselves of Shore Leave privileges, and the Civilians who had gone to the station, there would still have been hundreds aboard the Raven, the death toll with those lost on the Polyakov, the worker-bees, and countless others could and would be in the thousands !
He swore, with every fibre of his being that those responsible would pay !!! ........ "You should watch for the Terrellians you know." Andae said out of the blue. Carl spun on him. "You know who did this ?" "Did .... What, we're on a holo-deck Carl, so no need to panic, though I am a little confu ......" Blakus sank into himself again, becoming almost catatonic. Carl instructed Medical Staff to take care of him while they headed up. He needed to see his ship, hoping beyond hope that all his Family had been away at the time of the devastation. Reaching the Mid-level, where the Raven was formally docked, there was nothing left. Bulkheads prevented them from getting as close as they demanded, and despite his rank his protestations, orders, demands, fell on deaf ears on the orders of the Section Admiral himself. "Carl ...." he spun to see Admiral Tetsutaro and Section Admiral Gheskori approaching, "あなたが安全である祝福私の息子, apologies my Son, my Daughter, it most thankful that you are both still with us, I assumed you both on your vessel at the time of it's demise." Sato said, greeting both Carl and Calli warmly. "What happened ?" Carl asked simply. "There is little we can do here my Son. We will transfer to the orbital Station which is being moved into place as we speak. All those not injured are being moved into safe area's and the Dome is being decommissioned until it can be repaired. We estimate twelve months, in the mean time we shall work from the orbital facilities. You should come with me now." Tetsutaro said, plainly making it an order despite his lower rank. I need to get on the Raven." Carl insisted. But Sato denied his request. As Head of Security Sato Tetsutaro out-ranked everyone, up to and including the Federation President in times like these. Carl looked at Gheskori, who placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded, "But, my Fami ..." "They are safe and well at my home Carl." Sato assured him, seeing his adopted Son close his eyes for a second, grateful and thankful. "Did we get who did this ?" he asked. "We can discuss this at a later date Carl." Sato began, but he wasn't going to be shrugged off so easily and insisted he be given an answer, Tetsutaro sighed, and with a nod from Gheskori, continued, "Those aboard the vessels were killed, but we believe their actions were part of a bigger plot. The kidnap of Commander Blakus could be related given he mentioned Terrellian's ... The Medical Staff say he is suffering from an unknown drug used to induce repeated hallucinatory episodes, but as yet they have no way to counteract it. the Commander is showing fragments of complete lucidity but as yet is unfit to return to duty, obviously." "No, I want him on his feet and talking, whoever did this is not going to get away from us. How long before the Raven is space-worthy ?" "You misunderstand my Son ...." Sato said, "The Raven is no more. What is left is, nothing more than, it is gone my Son. I am most sorry." Tetsutaro said, genuinely in distress. "Then I need a ship, 'ANY' ship, I have to go after these people !" "Calm yourself my Son. There are two vessels almost ready. Construction is complete but the ships are yet to be crewed. The first is a Prometheus Class, and is to to undergo warp trials next week, the second, a Sovereign Class, is ready and awaiting her new Commanding Officer." Carl knew it would need to be the Prometheus, he would never take a Command off an assigned Master, but Sato had other ideas on that, "I have spoken to Captain Prabhakar and he is willing given the circumstances to forego the Sovereign in favour of allowing you to take her as your vessel. She will be ready in three days. Until then, you and your crew will be berthed in the orbital Academy Facility." he next few hours were a blur for him as they were denied again and again access to the Raven-B, but he knew that be it a state of the art Star Ship, in the form of their newly acquired Sovereign Class Vessel, or the lowliest cargo shuttle, he would not rest until those responsible were brought to justice, or dead ... Preferably, the latter ! .......... < Tag : Gheskori / Blakus >
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Oct 3, 2016 2:11:25 GMT
Deck 271, Starbase 47
He followed Carl, Calli and Harry up the edge of the main part of the mesa in pursuit of the Terrellians, sunlight lancing into his eyes and illuminating the dust. They reached the top and pulled themselves off the last footholds, into cover behind boulders whichlay strewn just off the plateau that formed the stable surface of the mesa's ridge. Terrellians were spread in a line along the ridge's edge, still firing into the midst of the lobby of the building a hundred metres away across two blocks, some of them now turning to shoot the newcomers.
There was a quick exchange with Torek who seemed to be taking less regard of the Terrellians than might've been advisable, then Andae found his eyes drawn to the horizon opposite the commercial tower block and the other buildings of its street, towards several figures coming out of the white pearlescent haze, where one might expect a sun, such was the brightness...
In a trance, he watched them coalesce beyond spindly outlines of beings into humanoids dressed in the undercover apparel of Starfleet Intelligence officers. They saw his prostrate body - the pallor of a ghost - and glanced meaningfully at each other - was that concern? Andae thought, Or pressure, the weight of expectation of knowing what they had to do next, an essential phase reached?
Carl waved others towards Blakus, these (whom likewise seemed oblivious to the Terrellians) now moving about him - medics, he saw, lifting him between them and obscuring his view of the silent Intel operatives who continued to regard each other while also keeping an eye on Blakus himself. Out of all the Starfleet officers here, apart from Andae, only the operatives seemed to be seeing the Terrellians, and it appeared only he and the operatives were visible to the Terrellians, yet the Terrellians - far from targeting the Intel operatives - seemed to be actively avoiding them. Looking from Carl to the operatives, it was very clear the Admiral couldn't see the operatives or the Terrellians at all.
Eventually, as he was taken away, he saw one of the operatives turn around to face another, the dark sheen of her hair becoming visible against the white sky... her! Donna Pearson, the seven eighths Betazoid psychiatrist from the Mars Institute! She'd been invading his mind in the base's sickbay, had tried to make him surrender something... something essential perhaps... and then she and Myrox had let him go.
Or had they? Had he left at all? Panic seized him as he was lifted onto a repulsor gurney and moved down the edge of the cliff side along a well-worn path to street level. He tried to rise from the gurney, grappling with the medics who forced him back down, shouting instructions at each other and two of them securing straps about him to hold his arms still, "No damned sedative," one muttered.
* * *
He certainly had been let free, or perhaps had even escaped... None of this seemed real. It didn't make sense that the Terrellians would avoid everybody and only fire at him and the civilians on the street. He noticed he was now being pushed through packed corridors of Starbase 47, somewhere around deck 300 going by the layout, though he couldn't recall the medics having called for the holodeck arch. Perhaps he'd been unconscious. But then why had his fellow shipmates showed up on the holodeck?
Wherever he was, wherever he had been, it stood to reason he was being manoeuvred back to the sickbay. Once they reached a turbolift it wouldn't be long from there - he was gripped with terror again, wriggling under the restraints and making it as difficult for them as possible, "Enough! I'm fine!" After a minute of this he eventually persuaded them to stop.
"I'm not going back there. The nearest triage centre will suffice, if it even has to be that... Look," he turned to the lead medic once they'd released the restraints, "You have to inform the commander of Starfleet Medicine on the station that a criminal act has been committed in the main sickbay." He explained the situation as far as it would convince them to let him go, and he was then led to a secure unit on the orbital station...
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Oct 3, 2016 15:19:26 GMT
Over an hour later, secure unit on contingency orbital station
He was now in the presence of Starfleet Security and some senior officers of the Starbase, "Dr Myrox is I believe colluding with an officer of Starfleet Intelligence, and it's nothing innocent, they imprisoned and attempted to extract information from me," he explained to Admiral Brasidas, colleague of the Section Admiral, who stood a distance from the couch Blakus had been propped on, guards and trusted medical staff in the background, some of the former of which were guarding outside the unit.
"What kind of information?" Brasidas said cautiously.
"Shield frequencies of the Starbase. I can't be 100% sure, but I believe I didn't give it to them. Donna Pearson, a psychiatrist and now I believe Starfleet Intelligence agent, who works or used to work at the Mars Psychiatry Institue, she has telepathic abilities and used them to access my unconscious, or a layer somewhere between wakefulness and sleep."
Brasidas glanced at the senior medical officer, head of SF Medicine in the sector, "We know Pearson. She was discharged from the service three months ago."
"Her and Myrox have been working with Terrellians... I know that at least one Terrellian was on the Starbase, and that they have or had one, possibly two or three ships docked there. Dr Myrox explained this to me casually, as if boasting, so I think he was being truthful."
"The medics who brought you to the triage centre on the Starbase say you were..." the medical officer wringed his hands, "Saying something about Terrellian attackers on the visiting crew level. The same you are referring to presumably?"
"Yes and no," Blakus sighed, "I believe I was... hallucinating. I realised it when they didn't aim for my fellow shipmates. And when one incidentally did, the beam went straight through." The SF Medicine officer explained they knew about his condition, that it was affecting him in fits and starts and that the frequency wasn't at all predictable.
"I also 'hallucinated' several people in Intel uniforms... one of them being Donna Pearson. I don't believe it was merely an effect of what they used on me in sickbay, becaus usually when Pearson's appeared it's been a dream representation, an avatar of her that is trying to acquire information... perhaps she's able to include her corrupt colleagues in the vision manifestations," he shrugged, "Or perhaps it's my mind that's added them, filling in the gaps. If she's still nearby, there's nothing stopping her from trying again, whether or not I'm in her power."
The medical officer spoke as Brasidas left, "It could be that both the Terrellians, and Donna Pearson's fellow officers, were implanted by Pearson as part of the structure of what they've infected you with - I've already found, Commander, that it's an active agent, able to synthesise new appearances to exist with the phenomena in your perception."
Another doctor stepped up beside the SF Medicine man, "Indeed," she said, "It appears to be able to create convincing pseudo-sense data, weaving them into the fabric of consciousness where they simulate themselves as being part of the external world, when in fact they form a memory, a pure past."
Andae sat up on the couch, shaking himself off, shivering and finding himself looking in the mirror opposite - he was deathly pale. How they were discussing him, how there were two of them and how it seemed he wasn't being allowed out, brought back too many painful and very recent memories... The medical officer was clearly concerned as he began to stand up, but he had to get out of here, find Carl and explain to him how the Terrellians played into this, and Donna Pearson with them... And he had to do so soon before he suffered another unfortunate episode of hunting in phantom holodecks and running into imaginary flows of traffic.
"Where's Admiral Torek?" he asked.
"Close to here, Commander. He's on this station and has been working his way to you. There are other things on his mind right now..."
Yes, he knew, the Raven - he'd been made aware when they'd moved him over to here. Having learnt of the destruction and the general disaster in the dome, he'd pieced together what his hallucination in the 'holodeck' must've been and where. He knew Brasidas would pass the information of what he'd said on and thus that Torek would be briefed.
"I'm fine," he insisted to the SF Medicine sector chief, and was allowed to walk around the secure unit, where he was safe entirely, or so he hoped. Any who might be trying to get to him as part of Pearson and Myrox's experiments wouldn't be able to get in here, though he knew Pearson was still at large (Myrox had been arrested 30 minutes ago, currently undergoing questioning regarding the Terrellians)...
He walked up to a wide window showing a view towards the Starbase floating at an angle from the absolute direction vertical, the view putting him at some peace despite knowledge of the carnage and sorrow unleashed under its dome.
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Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
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Post by Marionette on Oct 4, 2016 3:54:28 GMT
~ ~ ~
Some time after the destruction finally stopped, Marionette activated again, being quite the worse off for wear, missing a leg at the knee and her other leg inoperable, her left arm, most of her outer parts, and an eye optic, with her monowire hair either sheared off at a random length, or out-rightly scalped off of her head. Several of her systems were off-line, likely being completely wrecked in the catastrophe. She began to crawl out of the wreckage, one-handedly, meter-by-meter, with several missions on her mind; 1 Re-connect with starfleet chain of command, 2 find out how many Raven crew, Senior and otherwise, and peripheral family, had survived, 3 Actively pursue and detain whoever was responsible for this possible Act of War..... and 5 rebuild the Raven-B or be reassigned to a different vessel, optimally with the surviving crewmembers. She didn't even notice that her power cells had been damaged, nor that her vocal sub processors had been torn out. [OOC, what happened to 4? A- that's how messed up she is.]Eventually reaching a non-ruined bulkhead, as iterated by the glimmer of a force field, she grabbed onto a ruined pylon, and hoisted herself up to standing, leaning against a pile of metal and wood, and carefully extracted a pipe that was about the length of her fore-arm, which would be the same length as her Shins. Her visual measurement systems were off-line, so she had no clue outside of relative length and width. She jammed the hollow pipe onto the nub of the frame of her leg. Hobble-walking over to the door, knee over stiff dead leg and with a bent pipe as a stick-crutch, she peeked in through its single square window, careful not to graze the force field. The interior was somewhat cleaner than the ruined sections she had managed to escape from. She needed to get inside, out of the spaced wreckage areas. Fortunately, the doors comm-panel was still ok.... Even though it sputtered intermittently. Ripping loose wires from her shoulder / missing arm, she stuck the ends into various terminal sockets, hoping to get it to open, however briefly, enough for her to get inside. Eventually, she stumbled across the sequence which lowered the force field for two minutes, but which caused the doors to mechanically lock. She could work with that..... - Fzzt.- She pushed the wires deeper into the circuit board, and leap-scrambled over to the door, hugging close into it and being between the door and the force field. - Fzzt.- It Worked; she was in between the door and the force field. Her own little micro-airlock, as it were. Unfortunately, she had to abandon her crutch. Leaning against the door, she jammed her fingers in the seam of the door, and effortfully pried it open. Most of her android strength was gone, as her servo's had been damaged in the Furious Metalstorm. Lurching through the door, she tumbled and fell against the wall of the inside hallway as the door slid shut again. At last, She was finally 'inside'....
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 6, 2016 19:32:31 GMT
Two Days Later ::
Carl had been reunited with Chloe, Bethan, and Vanessa, who had been shopping on the Alpha Promenade at the time of the carnage ... They had taken refuge with Sean O'Toole for safety, realising that going back to the Raven was impossible. Yesterday he arranged for them to stay at O'Tooles until they could secure temporary accommodation on the Base itself. No-one knew how much damage had been done initially, but further investigation revealed the devastation. The more Senior Staff on the Starbase, and the Command Staff of the Raven were taken from the orbital facility over to the stricken Base ... It had been re-orientated now, but the whole of the Dome, and fifteen decks below it were all sealed off. All levels above Deck forty six, which was unoccupied, comprising of an enormous Section Bulkhead and Explosive separation module were prohibited, while all Decks below Level five hundred were still operational. Four other Star Ships had arrived to assist .....
~~~~~
Approaching now in a shuttle-craft, they could glimpse what was to come. The Raven's Engineering Section had been towed out and was in a holding area, along with the remains of the USS Polyakov. numerous worker-bee and smaller craft were also in situ in the holding area. Three vessels, not including the suicidal Terrellian, had been damaged beyond repair, one being the USS Raven-B herself, which had suffered the brunt of the matter / anti-matter explosion when the Terrellian vessel had destroyed itself. Nothing could be found of the hundred plus personnel that were working on external sections of the numerous vessels docked there, nor were any bodies recovered from the Observation Lounge adjacent to the Raven's Berth. As they neared they were instructed to hold position. Calli felt a tear forming and took Carl's hand, as what remained of the Saucer Section was towed through the ruined Space Doors and into the sunlight. He felt Sato place a hand on his shoulder in support. The death toll was still unknown, and one small part of Torek thanked the Heavens that only a skeleton crew had been aboard at the time, those who remained aboard had reached escape pods, and all but four Eighteen Officers and Crew, six Civilians and two Children had now been accounted for, otherwise the number lost could have been hundreds if not thousands higher.
"We can enter now Admiral." the Pilot informed Gheskori.
"Go ahead." the Section Admiral instructed quietly.
As they passed through the gaping maw that was days ago the Space Doors, Carl could hardly believe he was in the most sophisticated and technologically superior facility in the Federation outside Star Fleet Command on Earth itself. Twisted metal, flotsam and jetsam of vessels, and the innards of the massive Base were drifting seemingly ignorant of their relevance in the ghastly, gruesome scenario. More than once he recognised something he would rather have missed, but those things were being respectfully collected and stored for identification when time permitted. But within the carnage, there was renewal ..... Twisted, scarred, stanchions, girders, beams, were being cut away and pulled into open space, and almost as rapidly, new sections were being constructed and placed. The work would be long and arduous, everyone knew that, but the Starbase would survive, and be better for her ordeal.
"Are there any air-tight section of the Dome ?" Harry asked.
"Yes, and the Corps of Engineers are recovering more space from vacuum every hour. We'll be docking at number eight Pylon, we can go aboard from there, but keep in mind the whole structure is unstable at this point, and while force-fields are in place, they could fluctuate." Admiral Tetsutaro informed them as the shuttle climbed to the aforementioned docking Pylon and confirmed a seal.
"Pilot, you can take me over to the Raven once the Section Admiral and his party have disembarked." Carl said, seeing Andae, Calli, and Harry all look at him, concerned expressions on their faces.
"I'm sorry Admiral, but the Raven is entirely open to space." Gheskori said, trying not to make it sound like an instruction, "Come with us, you'll get the chance to look over your, over the Raven in due course." Carl was about to object, but knew his friend and Senior Officer was completely correct, he could go to what was left of his vessel later, there were other priorities that required their attention, and the last thing he wanted was to put anyone in any more danger than they had already faced. nodding he followed the Section Admiral onto the Gantry, the back of his mind consumed with exacting retribution on those whose caused such wanton devastation ..........
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Sean O'Toole
Civilian
The Luck O' the Irish
Registered: Aug 13, 2016 0:12:33 GMT
Posts: 59
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Post by Sean O'Toole on Oct 6, 2016 23:43:28 GMT
OOC :: Guest post ::IC ::Sean had been busy all day ... The Peldor Festival of Gratitude, the annual Bajoran tradition, was the following week and the Star Base was beginning to receive visitors attending the festival from far and wide, not only Bajoran's, but visitors and dignitaries from numerous races and civilisations .....
The bar was relatively full, and he had arranged, with the help of Admiral Torek, for several artists to perform on the Promenade outside his bar to entice patrons to enjoy the Irish experience. They were listening to a group of Vulcan musicians when the Station shook violently for several seconds ! ... Alarms began to sound and a warning that the Promenade is in effective lock-down began to repeat over and over. Sean went to the doors and could see people milling around, mainly confused, but some were harassing the Security Officers asking why they were being held or if they could just go to one place or another, the answer always being, 'No Sir' ...
Within minutes news began to filter down that there could have been an attack on the Dome and numerous Star Ships had come under fire. Never one to listen to the local 'gossip' even if it did prove useful at times, he re-entered the bar and went to his office. There he opened a Comm channel to the stations Information Center asking what had happened, but could get nothing from them other than a garbled automated message to remain in his current location and to ensure all emergency bulkheads were operational and free of clutter, just in case.
Cara, his Deputy Manager, came into the office saying the place was in uproar, rumours of a terrorist attack were running rife throughout those stuck with no means of getting genuine information. He got up and the two went to the bar. he took a microphone from the stage and asked people to remain in their seats, offering free drinks for anyone willing to stay put rather than add to the growing confusion on the Promenade. For a second he felt almost as if he had stepped off a precipice, and the drinks on the bar climbed up one side of the glasses, but eventually they settled and his motion sickness subsided. He knew that the Star Base had shifted on it's axis violently, but the inertial dampers had at least halted the tilt, for the moment.
He was about to repeat his request when Cara shouted and pointed towards the large windows. He looked in the direction indicated and could see Chloe Sharp, with Bethan and Vanessa, he told Cara to get them inside quickly then informed everyone that if they wished to leave they should so so immediately as he was locking up for the day. Almost everyone left apart from the Staff, Cara, and now Chloe, and the Children:
"Sean, what's happening ?" Carl's fiance asked, hugging the girls to her sides.
"No idea." the bar owner said, crouching down to speak to Carl's Children, "Listen you two, there's books and games in the back office if you want to go in there and play for a while." Bethan and Vanessa both stayed locked to Chloe, so leaning in so Chloe couldn't hear he whispered a little incentive, "You can go behind the bar and help yourselves to snacks and a drink each while I'm not looking." he winked, making Bethan grin, she released her grip on Chloe and hugged Sean for a few seconds, then grabbed Vanessa and ran off. They had only got a few meters when Bethan turned and came back to him:
"Sean, Daddy's OK isn't he ?" she whispered almost inaudibly.
"Of course he is Princess." he said, kissing the ten year old on the forehead before allowing her to run back to Vanessa. As they vanished into the back room, arms full, he stood and turned to Chloe:
"Have you heard from Carl ?" she asked.
"No, I can't reach anyone ...." he said, trying to hide the worry bleeding into every word, "I tried Calli, Andae, and Harry, even your Android, but no-one's answering, and now Comms have either failed, or been cut. listen, you'll have to stay here until we know whats going on OK."
Cara came over and the two women hugged before she said she'd heard something, but was obviously reluctant to say it with Chloe there.
"Come on Cara, if you have something I need to know it."
"There's been some kind of skirmish ...." she said haltingly, eyes flicking between Sean and Chloe, "In the dome, several ships have been attacked, including, the Raven ... I'm sorry Chloe but it's only rumour, i wouldn't read too much into the scare-mongering that's running round, everyone's frightened and confused. Besides, wasn't Carl and the Senior Staff off the ship ?" she asked, hoping it was true.
"Carl was looking for Andae, he's gone off the Star Base without authorisation apparently." Chloe said, her head full of conflicting thoughts, concerns for Carl, the Crew, her friends, the Children, countless others who could be caught up in whatever was happening so far above them. Cara had left them talking when she had noticed people all looking along the Promenade. she went to the window and followed their line of sight, the noise level outside diminishing noticeably, even through the thick glass of the Bar's windows. She returned to Sean and Chloe:
"The emergency bulkheads are lowering." she said ominously ..........
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Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
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Post by Marionette on Oct 7, 2016 4:44:45 GMT
Marionette slowly went along the corridor, hobbling to and fro with grinding servo's, avoiding the trash piles that had blown about in the blowout of the inner sections, and at times, crawling on her hand and knees. It was hard and effortful for her, but she had to continue on. Soon enough, she reached a turbolift, with the door hanging open in a sorry state, it's liftpod long gone. Going over to the open shaft, she peered into its innards and saw a decal on the wall. DECK 327
There was no way she could reach the shaft's emergency ladder on that same deck, and make her way down. Marionette could also not go up, as she could not properly climb within her current state of impairment and damage. She also did not calculate that it was a beneficial decision to tip forward and attempt to grab hold of the emergency ladder while falling, as she was already in quite a state of wreckage. Contenting herself with having to wander to and fro on this deck, she stumbled onwards towards the more inward parts, when she noticed a light - The wiggling beam of a hand-held flashlight !
Shuffling towards the light, she then saw people. The Corps of Engineers. Reaching out to the nearest person, she gently grabbed to get her attention. The other woman freaked out abit at Marionette's wrecked appearance, all wires and burnt steel and borg parts and blinkies. The Gynoid also smelled of fire and hot metal and burnt plastic and rubber. "AAAAAHHH, get it offa MEE !" the female Corps officer yelped, backpedaling onto a pile of stuff, and they both spilled over. Afew other officers smiled deviously, enjoying abit of schadenfreude, but also glad to have found another survivor instead of yet more bodies or remains thereof.
Afew others pried Marionette from the spooked officer and called in a medical team, who checked her over as best they could with the help of another corps officer. One other tapped his comm-badge =/\= Sir, i think Admiral Torek would be pleased to hear that we found his android pilot. She's pretty messed up, but still alive. They're taking her back to the frigate, for now. =/\=
The officer with the medical team spoke."It's a good thing we found her, or she found us. Her battery array is leaking like blackbird on the tarmac. One more hour and she would have shut down and likely been mistaken for wreckage, or dead." he said as he plugged a power generator into a terminal of her innards, before carefully pulling the split-open battery pack and placing it in a haz-mat canister. Marionette was then switched off.
~ ~ ~
Marionette activated again, to find herself on a bed/work table. She was still incomplete, but she now had hair again, some standard medical animatronic replacement limbs (which she was having a very hard time with), and even some synth skin-panels. The rest of her was covered with a blanket. She was still hooked up to a portable power generator, and afew other devices, along with a monitor panel on a stand.
An engineering officer approached "Good morning." She tried to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, she found that she was 'speaking' via a Padd which also displayed her words as text. [Good morning. Where am i ? why do i not have a voice ?] He nervously scratched the side of his face, which sported sideburns. "yes, about that... You're uh, aboard the Corps Frigate Charles Babbage, and uh, Some of your more internal parts were damaged beyond repair, and, well, uh, we don't have replacement parts for Borg or positronic hardware, or uh, specialized one-off parts of the uh, more intricate variety. We were hoping that you uh, you could offer suggestions for satisfactory replacements, and uh, how to install or modify them."
She then saw someone familiar waiting further away, outside of her 'recovery room' area, and almost-smiled, and waved to them to come over to her.
<TAG; All ?>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 8, 2016 0:51:22 GMT
They had spent almost three hours inside the dome Section of Starbase forty Seven. The dome itself comprised over four hundred and fifty Decks, sixty nine of those comprised the inner Dock where Star Ships were brought inside through the massive space doors. Most decks above and below the Dock were still airtight, but had been sectioned and evacuated for fear of a secondary attack ... It was clear that whoever had perpetrated this had more on their agenda than a mere issue with Star Fleet or an individual therein ... Returning to the shuttle, Section Admiral Gheskori ordered they return to the Orbital Facility. They were en-route when a Comm came through for Torek:
=^= Star Fleet command to Shuttle Vanquis =^=
=^= Vanquis Command .. Go ahead =^= the Pilot replied.
=^= Message relayed from Corps Frigate Charles Babbage for Fleet Admiral Torek .. Colonel Lnara Commanding Officer sends her regards ans sympathy for the loss of the Raven .. She informs you that one of your crew .. Commander Marionette .. Was found in the wreckage and is currently aboard .. She has suffered extensive damage both physical and possibly to her neural net and pathways .. Extent unknown .. She requests you attend with all due haste .. Sirs =^=
"Where's the Charles Babbage now Lieutenant ?" Tetsutaro asked.
"Low Earth orbit awaiting docking at the Marine Corps Orbital Training Facility, they are using that as a temporary Hospital Admiral." the Pilot said. Carl looked at Gheskori:
"Change course, contact the Charles Babbage ... We'll come alongside and transfer the Raven Officers."
~~~~~~~~~~
Carl, Calli, Harry, and Andae beamed over to the Charles Babbage to be met by Colonel Lnara. As they walked to the Medical Bay she informed them of the condition of their Android, but no-one was ready for the scene they encountered: Carl knew that Marionette could survive as long as her core processing systems were intact, they didn't need, nor relied, on the Androids extremities to function which was a good thing given Marionette had lost several. They were asked to remain outside where there was an observation window, the plexi-glass opaqueness normally set so nothing could be seen through it, but now it had been modified to be clear, almost invisible in fact ... Carl could see Marionette's head moving, a short sharp sequence of movements as if incapable of full movement. Colonel Lnana nodded through the 'glass' and the doctor approached the Gynoid. The two seemed to speak then marionette looked in the direction of the window, a look of almost welcome crossing her damaged features.
"Can we go in ?" Calli asked, managing to withhold the urge to wave at the Android like some infatuated schoolgirl.
"They are still trying to jury-rig something to give her mobility, you have to be aware Commander that 'spares' for the only Android in Star Fleet are somewhat sparse. We have contacted Command and they are rushing through replacement limbs as we speak. I'm afraid she's not going to be participating in any activity of the 'sporting' variety for a while yet." Calli looked at the Woman wondering how she could make a joke, and a weak on at that in her opinion, at this point in time, but resisted saying so.
"She's waving." harry said, seeing Marionette look directly at him, "Maybe we should go in ?" he said uncertainly, looking at Andae, Calli and Carl in turn.
"We're going in." Carl said, making the decision for them, but Lnana stood in front of the door, effectively barring their way.
"I'm afraid Sir, with all due resp ....."
"Noted Colonel, I'll take full responsibility, now, if you wouldn't mind moving aside, I have an injured crew member to visit ?" he said, raising his eyebrows and waiting, the Colonel stepped aside, albeit reluctantly and Carl instructed the others to go in, he'd follow momentarily. Once they had gone he turned to the Colonel, "You've been back and forth for the last two days Colonel, how's it looking ? and please, spare me the 'official' version OK."
"We've taken out four hundred seventeen bodies, and ... Enough parts to make up approximately another hundred, hundred fifty." the Woman said, the colour draining from her face for the first time since the Raven crew had transported aboard, "Admiral, I've seen some things in my time, and believe me, I don't do squeamish, but this, this ... Rumours are rife that it was the Terrellian's ...... There's talk of war."
"I wouldn't listen to gossip Colonel. You should know better." Carl chastised, knowing that if it was proved beyond reasonable doubt that this devastation and massive loss of life 'was' the work of the Terrellian Empire, war would be the first item on the very short agenda of the soon to be convened Emergency Federation Council meeting ! ..........
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Oct 8, 2016 21:27:43 GMT
OOC: Argh, sorry I missed my name in the last post, I would change to have me there but it would wipe out my whole post lol. 2nd edit: I made a couple other errors too that I have now cleared up
Blakus awoke in his quarters on the orbital station, shifting back the covers and finding the surrounds at once comforting and alien; the former because he was no longer on a biobed at the mercy of Pearson and Myrox, the latter as - strangely - although he was accustomed to spending 'shore leave' away from the Raven, the oddness of not awakening in his room on the Raven on this occasion was given an additional and unwelcome flavour, that of course being knowing he could never go back...
A new ship yes, a new ship with the name of the Raven, but never the same walls, the same chassis, the same thrum of the engine that he could feel through his fingers as his palms rested on the panel of the pool table...
He called Milyanov, who had been on the Starbase - in its guts conferring with Corps Engineers who had found Commander Marionette and taken what'd remained of her to their vessel; Milyanov was now on that vessel along with Carl and the others.
"There are no spare parts," Milyanov told him, "And of course, they're not familiar with her specifications. Some guy's fitted a speech unit to replace the positronic larynx and given her new limbs... I don't suppose Omicron Theta will have any prototypes lying around...? Sorry, Andae, I forgot, how was the night's sleep."
He moved uncertainly, feeling the cold tingle down his spine once more, before his whole torso convulsed and the shudder passed to all of his nerve endings... "Reasonable," he replied.
Thirty minutes later after slouching despondently on the couch and toying with a tumbler of ice water, deep in thought and memories, he summoned up willpower enough to stir him out of his remembrances and use his mental enquiry instead to begin hunting down the Terrellians and/or whoever else may have been responsible.
Seeing he had three hours 'til he had to meet Admiral Brasidas's people, he accessed the dockmaster's logs, locating a file listing all registered vessels that'd passed through the Starbase's surrounds in the last 7 days. After some innovative narrowing of the search, using what he remembered of the internal layout of the Terrellian-owned vessel he'd been led to in his forced dream, he found that the ships destroyed in the calamity were of the same spec as the dream-vessel, and that they matched not two but three ships which had docked at the base the day before yesterday.
The three vessels had come to the station - as far as could be extrapolated - by one of the slightly-less-than-common routes from Terrellia. That was through the Mrgila Star Cluster and the Arishikon Maze, a roundabout set of waypoints but certainly a useful way of nullifying any suspicion about the vessels' true origin, if the researcher hadn't memorised those waypoints three years ago... Well, the Terrellian government had already vehemently denied any involvement, after the Federation had broadcast news of the event mentioning the species, but there was a chance - especially considering the involvement of seemingly rogue Intel officers led by the retired Donna Pearson (whom by all acounts had vanished completely) - that these Terrellians were operating extralegally of the Terrellian Empire; then again, the Empire could be lying about its non-involvement.
But where was the third Terrellian ship?!
He pulled away the wreckage with the help of four maintenance personnel who no longer had a USS Polyakov to fit new impulse engines onto. "Are you sure this is it?" he spoke into his suit's transmitter.
"Positive, sir." Duranium screeched over duranium and plant pots - meagre decoration in this desperate part of the Starbase with its strange metallic flower remnant, bizarre exfoliating, transition-elemental fallout from the Polyakov's destruction. Finally they reached the stellar matter collector interface, Blakus accepting the tricorder and remotely loosening the core unit from its wall socket... It slid free easily and liquid nitrogen breathed over them, revealing through the wispy tendrils the tachyon detector.
"Damaged," a maintenance tech's comm crackled as he lifted one of the detector's components, "As we suspected."
"But not by the blast," Blakus said, half by way of checking with the others - one of them nodded, "Then it was tampered with. Someone didn't want the Starbase finding extra tachyons."
"Therefore we can say..." Suddenly Andae's strength gave out, his skin tone visibly lightening and it seeming for a moment to the people at the table he wore a death mask. He slumped forwards, gasping, calling for the doctor metres behind whom Myrox's replacement had assigned to him; she deposited a serum into his wrist where it could permeate through the suit, and stepped back, standing considerably closer this time with a fresh hypospray vial held ready. "We can definitely say there was another ship."
"Cloaked?"
"No." Blakus looked at the large rent in the hull beside him, out across the expanse towards the depths of Sector 47 with the orbited planet in the foreground, "Experimental masking of their ion trail, turned it into tachyons."
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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 Oct 9, 2016 0:15:56 GMT
He sat a conference table in one of the anterooms off the orbital station's Operations centre, other flag officers present along with COs and specialists of various kinds - many from the warp field theory discipline - and people from Admiral Brasidas's office, the man with command of the orbital station. "The engineers and other experts working on the project have already confirmed to my aides, there's no more room for doubt," he said sternly, "A third Terrellian vessel was here and masked its warp trail."
The warp specialists across from him looked crestfallen and bowed their heads.
"And unsuccessfully," Captain Vuoz of the Impaler added, "They left trace ions in a hyper-temporal substratum that've changed phase to match stellar tachyon emissions." He turned to Gheskori, "Admiral, the Impaler is standing by; I have my first officer ready to give the orders to commence undocking on your order."
Ghes peered at the table, thinking perhaps he might be able to penetrate the electrostatic field of the surface, the floor and the stacked decks, understand all of the people roaming them and each of their minds, their actions and words that were filled with fear and indignation, intersect all points of space in the station and find identity with them, and soak up all of the volatile emotions and distill them in his own person, he who was responsible for these people.
"The Terrellian ship has made for the Arishikon Nebula and that's at similar coordinates to the starting site of your trials, Captain," he told Vuoz, "But we have someone else in mind for this journey... Sato has already pointed out Fleet Admiral Torek." He nodded at the Security head, who nodded back.
Upon realising Ghes was now looking at him, Ambassador Nihkap of Andoria stepped forward from the room corner, his robes swishing, "Our ship carrying a representative to the Federation Council has just reported its arrival at Earth. The emergency meeting will be underway in 45 minutes. It's very possible the Council will approve that we prepare for war.
Ghes nodded, eyes flicking to the others, "I've already spoken to the C-in-C, he confirms it is likely, though admittedly I haven't heard from him since yesterday evening and it must be said he didn't look at his best, ladies and gentlemen. However, regardless of the outcome of the emergency meeting, whether it finds adequate grounds to put the Federation on a war-footing against the Terrellian Empire, I have already approved the mission of the USS Raven, now undergoing its final pre-flight checks at Utopia Planitia under the supervision of Captain Prabhakar."
Commander Gartrei, Admiral Brasidas's aide, spoke, "Deuterium harvesting in the sector is already at record lows. Is it right to propose we send the new Raven in the opposite direction to where Prabhakar's initial shakedown cruise was planned to be conducted? And what's more to forgo the shakedown cruise altogether - spaceworthiness not fully proven?"
"If we go to war, deuterium is going to be required everywhere. This will be nothing compared to that shortage, Gartrei," Vuoz spoke, "Besides, perhaps if the Impaler is required, two heads will be better than one..."
"We'll come to that," Ghes said quickly; indeed combining the resources of the two new ships was something he'd considered, "Look, if the Council votes for peace, it's a one off; either way the Terrellians will be brought to justice. Dismissed."
He nodded and they stood, filing from the room, just Tetsutaro remaining. Ghes looked up at him, "Do you think Carl is up to this."
"Admiral. My son won't stop if he has to pursue those responsible to the ends of the galaxy."
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 9, 2016 14:29:16 GMT
Carl had used his time traversing between the stricken Starbase and the Orbital Facility being used as an emergency investigation and Medical center come temporary docking platform. He knew his Adoptive Father, Sato Tetsutaro was in a high-level meeting with the Section Admiral and the Federation Council via sub-space. He was requested to attend, given the circumstances of the Raven's loss, but persuaded SA Gheskori to allow him to continue with the ongoing investigation.
The numbers of lost continued to climb by the hour, both on the Base, and on the Raven herself, the latest count being thirty three Officers and Crew, along with twenty three Civilians, unfortunately including five Children ... Having returned to the Starbase a third time that day, he was summoned to the Command Canter ...
~~~~~
"They are waiting for you Admiral." Sato Tetsutaro's Adjutant informed him as she opened the door. Within, Gheskori, the Section Admiral, Sato, Head of Star Fleet Intelligence, and several others were indeed waiting. He took his seat at the large Conference Table and waited:
"We have come to a decision regarding moving forward, Admiral." Sato said, directing his comments to Torek after receiving a nod from the Section Admiral, "A Sovereign Class Star Ship is currently en-route to us under the Command of Captain Prabhakar, who was conducting the ships' trials. Though these have not been fully completed, it was felt, that the vessel be placed at your disposal with a view to pursuing the third Terrellian vessel."
"Captain Prabhakar will be in Command ?" Carl said cautiously.
"No ..." Gheskori answered, "The vessel has been assigned and with immediate effect will be designated the USS Raven-C .... You're new Command, Admiral."
"Thank you Sir. I wasn't trying to bring the Captain's ability into disrepute, but ..."
"We fully understand Carl." Sato said, smiling at his Adopted Son, "The Captain will be returning to Utopia Planitia as soon as possible, he has things to do there. You will take Command of the new Raven on arrival, which should be in twenty hours' time. Once she is fully stocked and crewed, you will seek out those who have attacked us with all due determination. Please be aware Admiral, we are on the brink of war with the Terrellian Empire, this could effect how those on the fleeing vessel react if aware of the current situation. You may find yourself up against more than you first thought."
"Further, regarding Personnel ..." Admiral Collins, Head of Personnel at Starfleet Command added via the Comm link, "The Raven-C will require one hundred fifty seven less crew, this can be accommodated by the injured and fatalities. Your Senior Staff are thankfully, intact. Each Officer and Civilian,especially those with Families, were given the option not to return to the Raven in the current circumstances. hardly surprisingly, no-one declined ...You have a loyal and trusting compliment if I may say so, Admiral."
"God speed in your endeavours Admiral Torek." the Federation President added.
"Thank you, Madam President." Carl said, making a mental note to ask Chloe about her feelings regarding remaining aboard the new vessel.
"You will be given information as we get it Admiral Torek, but until your new ship arrives I suggest you appraise your Senior Staff of the situation." she concluded. It was a dismissal. Regardless of the fact that he out-ranked all in the room with the exception of the Section Admiral himself. He stood,nodding to Gheskori and Tetsutaro, before leaving the room. As the doors closed behind him he took a moment, then strode to the turbo-lifts. He had crew to speak to, but first, Chole and his Children ......
Orbital Platform : Two hundred kilometers from Starbase 47 ::
"So what do you think ?" he asked, handing her a glass of wine.
"I'm surprised you have to ask." his Fiancé said, leaning in to kiss him tenderly. She could see him glancing tentatively at the bedroom door where Bethan and Vanessa were sleeping, "They love you Carl. Don't worry about them."
He smiled, for the first time in his life not knowing what else to do.
"To the USS Raven-C ...." she said, raising her glass. He touched his to hers ..........
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Oct 10, 2016 21:48:35 GMT
"Well, I'm guessing you didn't do this to yourself..." he joked, "Where were you in the ship?" He now wasn't surprised Marionette had survived, though at first he was, surprised she'd survived at all (when others in sections of the ship had been pulped, and in most cases - where sections of the ship hadn't been utterly destroyed - the deuterium/tritanium had crumpled into the decks, folding them close and packed together like a deck of cards).
<Tag Marionette>
"Hope to see you back on your feet." He looked around briefly to where Marionette's doctor/technician was picking up a tray of coffee mugs, before turning back to the gynoid, "I'll leave you in the capable hands of -"
He heard a crash from behind as the tray slid off the console to the floor, the technician swearing and nursing his hand where the hot liquid had spilt on him. Blakus sighed, wishing the gynoid well and making for the exit.
Finding his way back to the Starbase and then onto the orbital facility, he returned to his secure unit - where he continued to be protected from any on the station who might want to capture him and start picking at his skull again - and sat at the solitary table with its four seats in the small compartment. It had a view out over the region of space containing the Starbase, the beleaguered station always visible out this window as the contingency facility continually presented the same aspect to the Starbase as it rotated artificially about it.
He understood the new Raven was making its way out here, having been mobilised fast from Utopia Planitia after some goings-on at Starfleet Command and in Paris at the Federation Council offices. The Terrellian interference - whether it's from from their Empire or not - was being taken very seriously by the Federation, as everyone expected, or rather demanded.
Glad he was able to be here - for the most part - in this secure unit... It was impossible to be certain other Terrellian-aligned peoples weren't still on the Starbase, or even on the orbital facility... He had, after all - once he'd been poisoned and had crashed to the deck in O'Toole's - been imprisoned by the very people who were depended on to address sickness, and Starfleet officers what's more.
If they didn't have his best interests at heart, he might dread to think - given the sensitivity of the situation and the undeniably vast quantities of Terrellians that'd been on the station until recently - who else of the anonymous mass would like to or had been forcibly co-opted to try to brainwash him, learn security codes, shield frequencies and flux of zero-point surface of quantum warheads, etc.
He drank some coffee; hmm, that is reasonable. One thing that certainly did happen when he'd been on the holodeck - otherwise known as deck 271, visiting crew level - was that at least two dozen Terrellians had run into the room and started shooting everyone on sight (they'd disembarked from a spinning fragment of their vessel after it'd made its attack).
Eventually after approximately hundred unarmed civilians, officers and enlisteds had been killed - or had fled out of the room and into turbolifts or meeting rooms - dozens of security had arrived to contain the situation; a shooting match had ensued with the Terrellians, lasting twenty minutes, all attackers eventually killed except one.
She'd been lightly injured and had been awaiting questioning - the corrupt CMO Myrox had at that point been under interrogation - but in the evening she was found dead in her cell. Dr Myrox was dead as well. It was unknown whether the two had taken their own lives independently of each other - perhaps as per instructions, if they fell into enemy hands - or if, possibly, another had stolen into the cell block and made the kill. If the latter, chances were they were still loose, unless they'd somehow got off the station despite the freeze on traffic since the attack.
<Tag All>
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Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
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Post by Marionette on Oct 11, 2016 6:28:23 GMT
"Well, I'm guessing you didn't do this to yourself...." he joked, "Where were you in the ship?" he asked. She responded through the Padd-vox unit [ I do not know. All of my more recent memory files have been damaged beyond current read-capability. ] "I'll leave you in the capable hands of - " She heard a crash from behind as a tray with coffee cups slid off the console to the floor, causing the coffee to slosh out and burn the technician's hand, and the cups, thankfully made of plastic, bounced around and rolled to the corners of the room in spiraling vectors. The technician swore a streak of words, and nursing his hand where the hot liquid had spilt on him. Marionette looked at Blakus with an almost-desperate look on her face. Blakus sighed, wishing the gynoid well and making for the exit. She wished she could go with him, but her having only the added second arm, and no legs to speak of, thusfar, it was an actuality that she was stuck in her little medical ward, at the mercy of those experienced with neither Positronic nor Borg technologies. She briefly postulated on whether or not borg nanites would be helpful, but without a way to readily reprogram them, she was currently inclined to doubt it. In order to pass the time, she went back to sleep-mode, and continued trying to defragment and repair her neural pathways. Meanwhile, an officer came and wet-mopped the coffee mess up, along with the rest of her room, with astringent cleaners and water. Another officer, came in behind him afterwards and ran a drying tool over the floor, and rapidly dried the floor, leaving a fresh smell of Hospital Ward behind (not that Marionette could smell it, having not yet had a sense of smell). ~ ~ ~ After some hours of re-compiling her pathways, she activated and found that she had mail; a datapad with her name and information on it, sitting on a white plastisteel overbed table. Reaching over to retrieve the padd, she found that it was slightly too far, so she leaned and reached some more, and alittle more - only for the bed's safety rail to give way, and her to topple out of the bed and hit the floor. The connector for the speech unit also yanked out and skittered around on the end of its cable. Marionette was very nearly-annoyed. Dragging herself within range of the speech unit's connector, she re-inserted it into her neck, just as another mail delivery person entered the room. Not immediately seeing Marionette, as she was obscured by the bed, he looked around the room before speaking to a passing nurse "Isn't there supposed to be an android in this room ? I have mail for a Commander Marionette.". The nurse got a panicked look on her face, scampering into the room - to otherwise immediately find Marionette on the floor, still plugged in to the various devices. Smiling sardonically, she sighed and said, "Well, ain't you a stubborn one.", and signaled for two male nurses to come help get the gynoid back into bed. At the end of that event, she had two pieces of mail; a letter from the institute of xenoarchaeology, and a bouquet of plastic flowers in a vase, with a note saying 'get fixed soon'. She lofted a brow-lever at the bouquet and its note, before setting the vase aside, and entering her access code into the datapadd. She tilted her head down in near-disappointment, before archiving the letter to her personal logs, and laying it aside.
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 11, 2016 16:00:23 GMT
Rec Lounge : Orbital Facility ::
"So what did they say ?" Calli asked after Carl had informed her that their Helm Officer had requested replacement components from Earth."
"The requisition was denied, I've no idea why, other than the fact that she was trying to request the only existing components for her body."
"Why can't we simply manufacture the components ourselves ?" Calli asked, realising it wouldn't be as simple as baking a cake, there would be an immense amount of work to be carried out, and information transferred to the Andriod prior to and during any physical work being carried out. She wondered how Marionette would cope with the work, not to mention who they would need to actually 'do' the reconstruction. One thing was certain, there was no Khan Noonen Soong to piece her together and work through any problems that might arrise.
"They want her to go back to Earth, but that's a non-started." Torek said, draining his glass and asking the steward for a refill, "I need to give this some thought ....."
"Hold on." Calli said, trying to remember the schematics of the Sovereign Class Star Ship, "Doesn't the Sovereign have twenty or more Labs, with at least a dozen dedicated to micro-engineering, and bio-chem-phys labs ?"
"Yes, but ..."
"So use your substantial influence Carl. Get whatever data and information she needs sent here before the new ship arrives. If we can find someone in micro-engineering we can construct individual parts as we go. It might be basic, but at least once she's mobile she can sit back and begin her extensive upgrades. She can go into the Science Division once we get back to Earth." Carl thought about her suggestion then stood:
"Order us something to eat. I'll be back in ten minutes." he said, leaving the Rec-Room at a fast pace, people moving out of the way quickly ......
~~~~~~~~~~
"They are sending the data, and it's a substantial amount I can tell you, direct to the Raven-C ... It will be ready when it arrives." Carl said, sitting down and picking up a sandwich.
"We still have the problem of who's going to do the work. Andae could, but I still think we need a specialist ?" Calli said, happy things were moving forward for their Navigation Officer.
"Sorted .... We have someone coming from the Daystrom Technological Institute. Commodore Alicia Brevet, Chair of the Institute, and her Associate, Commander Maddox. They'll be here in thirty hours with a team and everything they'll need. We can go through the information being sent to the Raven with Marionette and do everything we can to have her as ready as possible. Brevet, Maddox, and their team are fully aware that they will be doing this work while we're en-route. So lets hope they can get her on her feet before we have to engage anyone, because there's no way we'll have time to spin around and drop them off, that's for sure."
"Does Marionette know they're coming." she asked. Carl shook his head, enjoying the chicken sandwich, indicating he hadn't had time to tell her as yet, but Calli was frowning.
"Problem ?" he asked.
"Maddox ... Where have I heard that name before ......." then she remembered, her eyes widening, "..... WHOA ! ..... Wasn't he the Officer that attempted to take Data from the Enterprise !"
"Yes, but he's more than happy with the co-operation Commander Data afforded him and is excited to assist with the work on our android. He's assured me he has no conflicts regarding his duties, as has Commodore Brevet."
"If you say so." Calli said, eyes narrowing, "I think I'll arrange for someone to keep a wary eye on him either way." she said, picking up her sandwich as Carl grinned ..........
< Tag : Marionette >
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