Posted by Captain Johann Dvorak (CO) in Mission Start - Life & Death

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Mathys Ducote (Chief Engineer) in Mission Start - Life & Death

Posted by Ensign Dr. P’Mala Dawes (Doctor) in Mission Start - Life & Death
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

SNIP

The viewscreen changed from the starfield to static and then slowly an image of man in command red (or is it red from blood), his pips covered in blood, blood from a cut on his face, his hair disshevelled, his beard not nice and neat, obviously he hasn’t had it barbered in a while, his eyes look terrified and his tone is mixed with fear, anxiety and he is very frantic. As he talks, noise of screams, of things being broken, things being bitten, are in the background and he begins. The signal is from ‘Iota-Gamma Outpost’‘ according to the log details.

“The distress call is coming from the Iota-Gamma OUtpost,” Zorell called over to Dvorak before looking up at the screen.

“Oh god please help us please. It’s killing us all! Already it took out Alexie and Hardgrove, and … wait … [the commander ducks suddenly and the head of a vulcan … or perhaps a romulan … splatters into the viewer … the head is removed and the monitor is cleaned by the man and he continues] … Wait? What’s that … [heavy thumps are now heard] the recording device goes on an angle] Who’s there? NO!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEL…” His voice is sudeenly cut off. This is then followed by the wet sounds of meat being cleaved in half, of gore splattering against the walls, and of bloodcurdling screams. Whatever is going on is definitley seriously … however the recording device focuses on the Federation logo, so it is mostly sounds … but then that too is cut off …

The cat began hissing when the distress call is on the screen, it arches its back and its tail starts weaving slowly back and forth. The door to the bridge opens as a crewmember walks in and the cat rushes out into the corridor beyond.

-GM Demi Tribble
SNIP

That was not what Johann expected to see. That would be expected as possible from a distress call, but it was actually pretty atypical to just see a violent murder like that happen.

“Increase speed to warp nine,” the Captain said solemly.

SNIP

In response to the query from the CoS into who brought a cat on board with those characteristics, the computer replied with a list of names. The last name on the list was Barbara Wheeler. it turned out that Barbara Wheeler, an Engineering Ensign was one of the new crewmembers who boarded from Black Rock, had a black cat named Dart. It turned out that Barbara was the last person to board the ship and join the crew of any species or gender.

-GM Demi Tribble, The Forgetful

SNIP

Ensign P’Mala Dawes walked off the lift and opened the door into the Bridge and a little black cat bolted into the corridor.

Abrams watched the flash of black leave the bridge. Great.

She quietly handed the prescription to one of the NE security members manning the stations. “I wanted to deliver this straight to you,” she said discreetly. “You should begin immediately.”

The NE didn’t say anything. He looked shook, ashen. Terrified, even.

“What’s going on?” she asked, a little louder. What had she walked into? And whose cat was that?

-Ensign P’Mala Dawes, Medical

Warm blood seeped over her hand, spilling over his body and onto the deck. His eyes vacant while her hand was wrapped around the knife and she was frozen. The images in her mind shifted. The splatter of blood all over her and Salla as Vora held the gun. Self-defence, but it still shocked them. After the terror the man had inflicted on them for days, they had become the thing that others took pleasure in. Vora just wanted to vomit.

Zorell stood frozen at her station, her breath ragged.

~Vora Zorell, Sciences

From the looks on the faces of the NEs around her, it was like this was a distress call like none P’Mala had seen before, and she had been an ER doc in Kentucky.

She noticed Vora–her breathing seemed… off.

“Distress call,” Abrams called over to the newly arrived ensign. They needed more information and she was about to call over to Vora but the expression on her frined’s face was telling. The Tenraith was so deep in a memory, she’d not likely hear anyone. She needed help but they also had a situation to deal with. Her fingers flew over the keys tapping into the sensor readings. “Double checking for a timestamp,” she said, hoping to establish when this had been likely sent so they had a reference point and checking the distance to the outpost to know how far away they were.

“Vora?” Abrams called over, hoping to grab the scientist’s attention but she knew it was likely of no use. “Doctor?” she called over, gesturing to Zorell with her head. “Bad memories.” She didn’t want to reveal personal information on the bridge, but leaving Vora to suffer in her eidetic brain was hardly the kind thing to do.

Abrams, COS

Johann turned from the viewscreen. Uh-oh, he thought.

P’Mala rushed to the Tenraith scientist’s side. “Lieutenant?” she asked. From her Vulcan intuition, medical training, and her brief knowledge of the doctor’s special mind, she sensed a trauma response.

She approached the woman. “Vora, it’s Dr. P’Mala Dawes. Hi. Can I touch your hand?”

Vora didn’t reply, her gaze unfixed.

P’Mala modulated her voice, cool and warm and slow. “You’re here on the bridge. Take slow, deep breaths, and when you feel calm, look around the room and just describe to us what you see.”

-Ensign P’Mala Dawes

Good, he thought approvingly of the doctor he had not really gotten a chance to meet yet. He didn’t know if the touching her hand thing was actually going to be the best approach idea given Vora’s memory, but it was a good idea. He was going to watch what happened here without looking too obviously concerned. Even though he was. He had to think about more than just her right now.

As the turbolift’s beams rotated down his face, Mathys took a deep breath. He was heading up to the bridge to report to the CO face to face. The ship was operating smoothly, but something felt off. It had nothing to do with the old gal though.

When they entered the Copenhagen Expanse, something stirred in his gut. He didn’t like how little data they had over the place. For all they knew, it might’ve been pirate smuggling grounds. Memories of the USS Zeus’ pirate encounter flickered across his thoughts. His eyes closed and pushed his anxiety down, centering himself. Moments ticked into seconds and finally minutes before the feeling died down.

The CE made a mental note to meet with the counselor again.

As the doors open, he took a step out only to halt in his tracks. A black streak darted past him and disappeared down the hall. His eyes watched it until it vanished among the crowd. Letting the rapid beats of his heart become steady again, Mathys continued to the bridge.

Spotting the scene budding, the CE’s concern surfaced. He waited to the door’s side as he tried to figure out what he missed.

-CE, Mathys Ducote

Johann saw Mathys, obviously concerned. He happened to be more concerned but there was a starship to keep running. That starship needed to run faster. Getting the ship to go faster required people to be doing their jobs and not rubbernecking. “People” included himself.

“Ducote,” the Captain said. “We need more speed.”

– Johann Dvorak, CO

As often happened, Vora snapped to without being able to fully differentiate between memory and reality. It was brief but just the presence of someone next to her made her take a step back, her panicked breath catching in a gasp as she put her hands out to create space between her and the scene. She blinked and saw the console and P’Mala and the bridge. She bent at the waist and forced herself to breathe, her cheeks hot. Not again.

~Vora Zorell, Sciences