Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Reira Akaba (Scientist) in Side Sim: New Horizons, Old Friends - Open to All

Posted by Commander Kara Nakuto (Consultant Researcher - Yellow (Engineering)) in Side Sim: New Horizons, Old Friends - Open to All

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Reira Akaba (Scientist) in Side Sim: New Horizons, Old Friends - Open to All
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
“Checking your credentials…” The man over the communications stated, Reira tapping his foot impatiently. He’d finally got approval to transfer to the Leviathan and now he’d missed it’s departure due to various and complicated reasons he wasn’t going to explain to just anyone… “You’re approved, Lieutenant Akaba. Sending you the flight path, try not to be later than you already are.” The Navigational Officer offered a gentle reprimand as the course came through. “Sorry, Commander. Warp troubles and all that.” Reira offered quickly, inputting the course at high warp and ending communications with a sigh. “Bureaucratic asshole. I’d be there already if you hadn’t asked me about everything short of my life story.” The drone sighed, running his hands through his lilac hair. He didn’t want it in it’s natural colour, it looked too much like… his father.

“Out of sensor range, so let’s go a little faster.” Tapping at the controls, the console began beeping. “Warning, unauthorized technology detected, ini- I THOUGHT I SWITCHED YOU OFF!” Reira shouted irritably at the male voice emanating from the console, the black Starfleet Logo trying to lock out his commands so he tapped in a command sequence on the wall via the physical Borg controls, deleting the program. There was a sudden shift and a small laugh from him. “We’re into Transwarp.” Sitting down, he began removing more and more of the Section 31 coding, analyzing it. It was like peeling an onion, once he thought he had one lot done there was even more.

Still, that’s what he got for stealing a shuttlecraft from his father’s ship, they shouldn’t have left it so lightly guarded. He really didn’t like the original name Nyx, so he rechristened her as the Nova Luna, even updating it in the registry and replicating a new nameplate. It was his fault for blowing his old shuttle up. There were still teething issues, the Section 31 interface didn’t recognize him hence the switch to Alphanumerics and a neural interface, just point and think. “Computer, access my nutritional replicator logs, replicate a large portion of Alpha-343.” Smoothing his hair back into place, there was a familiar hum as a spoon and a dish of chocolate souffle appeared, it wasn’t really suitable for lunch but he had a hard day and some chocolate would really hit the spot.

Soon finishing his lunch, he tapped at the console. “Computer, how long until we intercept the Leviathan?” He asked, placing the empty dish and spoon back into the replicator. “1 minute at current velocity.” The female voice replied. “Drop out of Transwarp, engage maximum warp.” Reira sat down, clicking his neck. He had to see John again, he had a lot of questions for him, the main one being if… if he still loved him. Reira hadn’t stopped loving him, it was an illogical human emotion but the desire to care for someone and be cared for in return was appealing to the former Drone who wasn’t used to it.

The ship soon dropped out of high warp and the drone got his first view of the Leviathan. “She’s pretty nice. Open a communication channel, all frequencies.” Hearing the confirmation buzz, he began transmitting. “This is Lieutenant Akaba of the Nova Luna hailing USS Leviathan. I repeat, this is Lieutenant Akaba of the Nova Luna hailing USS Leviathan, do you read me? I apologize for arriving so late, my shuttlecraft had an engineering problem.” He asked, banging the transmitter as it was sparking, the shuttlecraft was clearly Starfleet in design but a sleek, somewhat shiny black instead of silver with Borg plating and green nacelles. The “engineering” problem was a brief skirmish with Leo’s vessel, the Astraios which knocked out his transwarp drive.

Lieutenant J.G. Reira Akaba (Science)

There was a long pause. Then suddenly the communication was acknowledged and a resonant voice, like waves crashing upon a pebbled shore, replied. =^= Good of you to join us finally, Lieutenant. I had begun to suspect that you had been eaten by one of the anomalies. =^=
Another pause, although this time the comms remained open and a sound of faint chuckling could be heard, before the same voice returned in a tone that was, this time, more officious. =^= Head for bay two. I shall have a security escort waiting to meet you. Not for our safety, you understand. But for yours. =^=

In the CIC, Captain Cobb rose to his feet and prepared to set out for bay 2. But he was stopped at the last moment by a tall and somewhat excitable half-Klingon.
“Captain, request permission to greet Lieutenant Akaba in your stead? He and I have…well, we are old friends.”

And so it was that, as Reira’s vessel became swallowed by the Leviathan, he would find himself greeted by a very familiar face. One that at that precise moment was almost completely engulfed by a wide and ecstatic grin.

• Kara Nakuto (Consultant Researcher)

=^= My apologies, Captain Cobb. I haven’t encountered any anomalies, my propulsion system suffered a significant fault I had to fix before my arrival. =^= Setting the procedures into place, he’d work on the shuttle in his downtime. It could become a prudent and expedient vessel, with Borg Sensor Technology he might be able to really start “pulling his weight” as the phrase went. =^= I understand. =^= A security detail, hm? Really hoping they weren’t dressed in black and carrying phaser rifles, he’d had quite enough of that unpleasantness recently thank you very much. Deactivating the forcefield and opening the shuttle hatch, he saw Kara awaiting him.

His normally stoic and composed face broke out into a smile and a laugh, for the normally unemotive drone this was a big thing as he practically ran off the ramp and hugged Kara tightly, thankful that they were together again. “Oh, have I missed you all!” Reira laughed, looking a little older and muscular than their last encounter, his face having some stubble and his hair a little shorter. “I was worried I wouldn’t see you or anyone else again, Kara. I’ll share one glass of bloodwine with you, since this is a special occasion.” He offered, having finally overcome his intolerance to alcohol where he could enjoy a glass without experiencing drunken symptoms.

Lieutenant J.G. Reira Akaba (Science)

“Kon’nichiwa, tomoyo,” Kara returned both the hug and the sentiment. “For the longest time I thought I would never see another living soul again! But…those times are behind us now,” she was quick to move on from the subject of her time trapped in the still-mysterious void. “But what brings you to the Leviathan? Tell me everything and more over a glass of bloodwine, for surely that is an offer not to be missed!”

Her roar of laughter echoed around the docking bay as she led the way to its exit and out into the heart of the ship. Her path was towards the lounge, where the pair could drink and celebrate their reunion in a manner befitting such close friends. But before that, she took advantage of the corridor’s seclusion to broach a subject far more personal, and painful, to them both.

“John was here,” she stated, each syllable balancing gently as a foot onto broken glass. “On the Leviathan.”

• Kara Nakuto (Consultant Researcher)

It was good to hear his native Japanese language come from someone he didn’t openly despise, his father still used it to talk to him and he hated it. There had been no void for him, but for the longest time he thought he’d lost everyone he knew, everyone he formed a bond with. Some may be lost forever, but there were a few souls from all those years ago where they persisted. His bonds weren’t broken just yet. “Far behind us… It would appear the strings of fate aren’t done with us just yet.” He offered, being interestingly introspective. Fate was an illogical fallacy, but a useful explanation on how he kept running into the same people again.

“I know, your usage of the word was indicates he isn’t anymore… I had unresolved business, but I’m sure I’ll see him again one day. I still care for him, and he’s part of the reason why I came here. I need to know what he was doing, it might give me clues as to where he’s gone. The new Viking is shiny and it’s crew resilient, they don’t need a ghost like me haunting it nor the trouble that follows me as resiliently as my own shadow. Besides, spatial anomalies… I think this ship could use some Borg efficiency in dealing with them.” Reira offered quietly as they reached the lounge.

“Yes, I have heard about this new Viking,” its former captain commented in voice torn between surprise for the new and longing for what had come before. “I hope it shall finally bring the remaining crewmembers peace.”

“I assume you have the good taste not to offer that pathetic imitation the replicator puts out.” He suggests with a laugh, sitting down at a table. “I’m pretty sure you’ve got the real stuff somewhere.”

Lieutenant J.G. Reira Akaba (Science)

“You insult me, Reira,” she mock-scolded her friend, adding a wink as she moved quickly to the bar and then returned with two ornate and gilded bottles. “Captain Cobb is equally no fan of replicated synthehol and maintains an impressive stock of genuine liquors. I have learned not to question their origin too fervently.”

The Jörmungandr lounge offered a contrasting experience to the dark and creepy conditions of the Viking’s Heorot bar. Here the space was light and airy, with comfortable seating upholstered in nautical stripes of cream and ocean blue, with the centrepiece of the space, and already the stuff of legend around the ARU, being the floor-to-ceiling column of an old M/ARA magnetic constriction segment, now polished and repurposed as a vibrant, tropical fishtank.

Drinks poured, Kara settled herself into an armchair, her long legs extending comfortably onto the table as she reclined back and gulped at her wine.
“My own laboratory is next door to John’s,” she announced after a time. “I suspect my clearance is still sufficient to access the space. In truth I have been so busy, with our return to the base and onboarding of new anomalies, that the opportunity to examine his workspace for clues has remained elusive. But perhaps now, your arrival heralds the perfect time?”
A pause, before the half-Klingon added, “I am not aware of any current replacement for John’s position who might have claimed the laboratory as their own? But what I do know,” and now she locked eyes with Reira, leaning forward to murmur in conspiratorial tones, “is that his father and uncle had once again tracked him down. And that his current study involved Reman Imps.”

Her laughter was bereft of any trace of humour, more anger and frustration at the meddling of families insistent on keeping their members chained.
“Talking of fathers,” she continued, reclining once again and draining her glass, “what is the news on your own? Please tell me that he languishes somewhere in a high-security prison?”

• Kara Nakuto (Consultant Researcher)