Posted by Lieutenant Commander Orvos Legen (Chief Engineer) in Side Sim - The Depths of Time: Seven Swords Sequel

Posted by Commander Stark Nightstalker (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Side Sim - The Depths of Time: Seven Swords Sequel

Posted by Civilian Marishka (Lounge Host) in Side Sim - The Depths of Time: Seven Swords Sequel
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Tello jumped behind the door when Marishka engaged the guard. It hadn’t opened fully and there was room for her slim frame to hide. As she heard them start moving away from the portal, she observed Stark follow them at a distance. Thirty seconds later, Tello moved to follow on Stark’s heels, but far enough behind to not get caught if someone became aware of his presence. She motioned for the others to fall in line with her.

—Anaar

OOC: I want to know who is on this mission? I have Tello, Marishka, Nightstalker, Michail, Orvos, S’Raal and T’Pon? Is that right?
OOC: As far as I’m aware, yes. :)
OOC Yep, with Emrys and Meryidiyth as well, but it’s the four of us that are the main protagonists.

Marishka followed seemingly meekly into the room. She made her way to the center and looked around. It would seem to the hapless guard that she slowly realized where she was. She smiled warmly but did not bare her teeth as a Klingon woman might if she found someone attractive.

“This is a brilliant start but do I look like a woman who walks around in armor all the time? What type of place is this?” she asked as she began to move about the room making careful note of what she saw.

• Marishka

Orvos stuck with Tello for a bit, but soon moved closer to Stark, despite having a feeling that Marishka likely could handle herself well. A klingon here? It didn’t make sense. Then again, nothing ever did when it came to the Q. Orvos kept a hand on his belt where his throwing knives were. He could use them, though he wasn’t the most proficient at it. The sword was his best possibility, but he figured pulling it out now would give away their position. He moved ahead and peered around the corner of the open room to see what was taking place.

-Lt. Commander Orvos Legen, CE

The Klingon was greatly in thrall but he was subconsciously aware that he was not alone, somehow thought he still felt compelled to answer. ‘This is the castle of the Demon Kahless, we serve and obey”.

It was then that he turned slowly, reluctantly. Seeing the others in the shadows he made to bellow an alarm.

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Marishka’s right hand had never actually left her hip. Her movements were quick and silent as he turned away from her. She stepped in close, when he opened his mouth to call out there was only a gurgle as the spear tip end of her chain whip belt protruded from his throat.

• Marishka

Stark stepped in to help lower the dead weight onto the ground without too much clatter. “Nicely done” he said quietly.

Gathering them around he continued to speak softly his ears flicking to the door and his tail lashing a little at the end. “I see two options, someone puts this armour on and we follow at a distance with an early warning from whoever is in the armour, or we just belt hell for leather through this place killing anything that gets in our way until we lay hands on the sword. Either way we need to be quick because the distraction will likely wear off soon and we’ll have more guards to deal with. Thoughts?”

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Marishka stepped back from the corpse and eyed her companions critically.

“Well, whom does it fit better? It’s pretty much as simple as that isn’t it? Hell bent for leather sounds wonderful but I’m not as fond of bloodshed as my father had wished I was.” she said softly.

• Marishka

“Seems to me time is something we are in short supply of. Probably best to make a run for it in the leather.” said Orvos, avoiding the thought of Marishka donning leather. He was aware that leather armor was meant to protect. The idea of something not as protective though, was not lost to him. Thankfully the woman couldn’t read his thoughts as he kept a straight face.

-Lt. Commander Orvos Legen, CE

“It’s going to be a bit loose on any of us but I think you should have the honour Marishka. Once we burst in they’re probably going to overlook you slightly due to that armour and I like the idea of giving you the chance to flank some people. I’ll take the middle and create some mayhem that the rest of you can take strategic advantage of. Any other thoughts before we storm the castle?”

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Marishka had a feeling it would come down to that.

Reaching down she untangled the chest piece.

“Do you know how much this is going to hurt?” she asked looking at her own rather bountiful assets.

Orvos in classic fashion followed her line of sight to the end of it’s road. For a brief moment, he found himself unable to pry his eyes away. However to most it would seem as though he was undistracted as he donned his own set of leather. Though as pulled his eyes away to focus elsewhere, he caught Marishka’s own eyes and quickly averted away as though nothing had happened. Focus! was what he internally yelled at himself as quickly worked.

“Alright, you’re making sense even if I don’t like it. The smell of dead Klingon is not appealing but let’s have some fun shall we?”

A feral grin crossed her face as she sorted out the armor and began to put it on.

• Marishka

Anaar wondered briefly why the group adventure had turned into the ‘Marishka Show’, then shook her head and spoke. “I’m not that crazy about just killing anything that moves. Where is everyone’s respect for life? How can you just toss it aside when it is one of Star Fleet’s main beliefs?” She looked from the dead guard to each person in their group. It was true she hadn’t been involved in the last episode and didn’t know what the rules were in this new place, but could they just kill everyone? Kill without trying to talk first? ask questions? give their foes a chance for survival?

—Anaar (and taking a mental shot at Marishka is just in character, woman to woman, its nothing personal Catt!! :)

The commander had a valid point. However given these folk seemed to be klingon, he had a feeling they weren’t ready to spare them any time soon. “Perhaps I could start off with a negotiation? Hmmm? Unless we just need to get the sword and get out?”

Marishka was well aware that Anaar didn’t know her that well yet and this was no time for female bonding.

“As of this moment I kill one, perhaps, so that I don’t have to kill many in the hours to come. I don’t know if those are Klingons, Humans, or what out there but I do know they are not Star Fleet and they certainly won’t abide by any rules we wish they would.” she explained while finishing adjusting the medieval Klingon plate to fit her feminine curves.

• Marishka

While trying to keep his eyes level with everyone else’s, Orvos added, “That’s also true. Not starfleet. Are they all by chance temporal knights though?”

-Lt. Commander Orvos Legen, CE

Stark shook his head, “I don’t think so”. He paced a little, “They are Klingons, suggesting that perhaps the sword we seek here is fit for someone with Klingon blood, a supposition to be tested… the rules are different this time and I don’t have ten years of info gathered to suggest throughout history where we were going to go. However if they call Kahless, “Demon” here then we are not necessarily dealing with usual Klingons either. I think we can reach a compromise between our multiple ethics”.

“How about Marishka leads the way, we make an appeal and then if they hand over what we want we leave peacefully hoping they don’t connect our visit with recent explosions and if they come for us then we butcher them all”. He gave a bright white smile, “Compromise!”.

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Tello inclined her head. “I’m the stranger here and don’t know how this all works, so I’ll follow your lead on this one. It doesn’t mean I won’t have questions along the way though.” She gave him a cheeky smile and set her hand on the blade at her hip. “Ready when you all are.” Her position was to the back of the group near the stairs.

—Anaar, XO

Marishka had stayed silent during the exchange. She was just as much a stranger here as Tello and felt her silence helped reinforce her confidence. She straightened up and tried to adjust to the armor she had donned. Hopefully she wouldn’t be in it for very long.

“I’ve never been good at talking to Klingons believe it or not. In my father’s court things worked out much better for me if I stayed quiet and the last time someone tried to engage me in conversation it turned out he rather be thrown off the roof so, hopefully, this meeting occurs in a high place.” she said heading towards the door.

• Marishka

Stark returned Tello’s cheeky smile. His tail was twitching a sure sign he was on edge.

They made there way through the castle unmolested for the most part, the occasional ratlike creature crossed their path but the rest were obviously busy out front dealing with the madness and mayhem caused by the others.

Stark followed his nose and used the big corridor rule, ie the bigger the passageway the more important the place it led to. Within himself he could feel Skotos stirring and knew they were on the right track.

Finally they turned into a wide passageway that could have fit a horse and cart. Two guards stood one on either side of a 12 foot wide curved oak door. As they approached rather than the expected response of “halt who goes there” they simply opened the door wide to let them inside.

“Creepy” Stark whispered as they entered.

The door opened up into a throne room. Candled sconces hung from chains from the ceiling above and the walls were hung with the heads of beasts large and small including species they’d never seen before. Archers stood bows drawn from a mezzanine up to the left and armoured knights were on the ground level below them.

Seated centre stage on a raised dais was a huge Klingon fully eight foot tall with a set of boar like tusks sticking out of the corners of his mouth. Before he stood up, Stark took in the bat’leth on the wall behind him. It had runes across the blade and was smaller than was usual for a bat’leth. It was also made of a metal that glowed like pearl with a soft luminescence.

The giant walked a pace forward and spoke in a deep cultured voice, “Stark, I’ve been expecting you…”

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Marishka stopped and took the whole scene in. She knew that her heart was beating like Klingon thunder and wondered how quickly her pheromones would betray her. For now her eyes were drawn to the Klingon and the runed bat’leth. Silently she cursed the ill fitting male armor in several languages. If she had to fight, Marishka knew that she could but it would have been easier in her dancer’s clothing.

• Marishka

Stark took in the angles of fire from the archers and the numbers they faced and silently wished that S’Raal, T’Pon and Michail would show up. If he was surprised by the being expecting him he didn’t show it.

“Kahless, I presume?”

The creature chuckled, deep and low. “I have many names but that one will suffice for now”.

Stark strode forward until he was at the base of the dias finding it gratifying that the archers followed his movement, that at least would give them a chance if fighting broke out. Any team of archers with a speck of imagination would have separated their firing angles over the whole group. This lot worked more like a pack of unimaginative robots, much easier to deal with.

“What about the name Adonis, does that ring a bell”. Stark exulted in the split second flinch in those dark eyes towering above him. He had suspected when Kahless had been named demon that he was dealing with the mirror version of his old shapeshifting nemesis. “So you have been waiting for my arrival with a view towards ending me before it begins”.

“Kahless” snarled slightly and pointed to the bat’leth, “I have the one sword but I’m more than happy to take Skotos from your dying hand. We have been aware of your travels to date. This is my universe, you triumphed in your own but you won’t here”.

Stark smiled languidly and circled the dias to his right putting the line of the archers on a direct tangent to Kahless. One moment of hesitation from the archers was all he needed, fear of hitting their leader would play into his paws. His new position also afforded him a corner eye view of what everyone else was doing.

“By all means keep talking Adonis, you’ve already let slip that you are not alone here and have allies. I mean to take that sword off the wall there and place it in the hands of the Chosen, save your self some trouble and hand it over”. Stark’s whole being looked relaxed, flexible, insouciant but in his core he was locking tendons and setting muscles for his next move. What Adonis/Kahless said next would determine whether people would start dying…

Stark Nightstalker CIO
OOC Just to note two things, I’m happy for people to take direct action, this is meant to be fun for you too :-) Also, the symbiotic swords will settle on the type of weapon that suits your fighting style so even though I’ll describe them as we go, feel free to make them in whatever image suits your story style. To fill you in from the last adventure, Adonis is a genetically enhanced shape shifter with Heleen DNA, very tricky, very dangerous, a worthy foe.

Orvos’s adrenaline began pumping. His heart was racing, and it wasn’t necessarily due to Marishka this time. A fight was about to ensue whether he liked it or not. He could feel the tension in the atmosphere. He looked to each of his comrades, noting their positions as he readied strategies in his mind. He could defend with a sword, but his drone would certainly come in handy. He kept his composure though, hands behind his back as he stood straight up. Behind him, his fingers hovered on the activation button of his drone. He would use his shield device when it was absolutely necessary.

He stood there, a broad smug grin plastered across his face, his silent confidence meant to ooze into the surroundings.

-Lt. Commander Orvos Legen, CE

Marishka felt rooted to the spot but, in her mind, she was attacking the abomination on the throne that was like no Kahless she had ever imagined. Her father’s court had so many legends told of him that she would have known his image anywhere. Of course this was an alternate universe so, naturally, this had to fit somehow.

• Marishka