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Subspace Message. Attn: Kara Nakuto

Posted Dec. 24, 2018, 4:24 p.m. by Civilian Kara Nakuto (Civilian, Former CO) (Sharon Miller)

Posted by Civilian Kara Nakuto (Civilian, Former CO) in Subspace Message. Attn: Kara Nakuto

Posted by John P. in Subspace Message. Attn: Kara Nakuto
OOC: I was pursuing the ship’s page and noticed Sharon had returned. Couldn’t help myself - if this doesn’t Jive with her return, consider my character to be more mental than he already is.

A terminal in Kara’s quarters lit up for a brief second. After another moment, the light came on again. This time it remained, a clear signal that someone had sent her a subspace communication. The origin of the communication was listed as Starbase 731. The number was unrecognizable to most, as the base sat in the interior of the Federation, a remnant of a past frontier.

The communication contained both audio and video. Once opened, Kara would see the face of what looked like a Klingon. Perhaps it was a video from a relative. As the video came into focus, it became clear that it wasn’t. The individual in the video was actually Efrosian, a former subordinate of hers aboard the Viking.

=^= Hello Captain! =^= (it was clear that the Efrosian was not up on current events)

=^= You may not remember me, my name is Ra-Kartovii, I was a scientist aboard the Viking for a few months. I had heard that you were found, and I wanted to contact you. As you can see, I am no longer aboard the ship. =^=

The Efrosian was wearing a white shirt, and looked as though he was in some kind of facility. He paused. His pale eyes looking downward for a moment before hesitantly admitting what had happened to him.

=^= I am actually calling from a rehabilitation center. I have been here for some time now. While I can’t honestly say the Viking didn’t play a part in my institutionalization, it was not the only thing that led me here. The good news is that I am set to be released soon. I don’t think I will go back to Starfleet, but I guess I don’t really have any plans at all. =^=

Scratching his head, he continued, =^= I certainly can’t go back to Vulcan… my home. =^=

After a moment of self reflection, the alien got to the point, =^= Anyway, I am reaching out because I was happy to hear that you had returned. You showed me a great amount of kindness when I first boarded the Viking and I will always remember that. I hope all is well and I hope to hear from you… that is if the ship allows it! =^=

The video began to cut out as a pop could be heard inside the terminal. While Kartovii appeared to still be speaking, there was no audio. Not long thereafter the image began to freeze up. Suddenly the terminal went blank.

Speak of the devil.

  • Ra-Kartovii (Un-rostered character, Former Viking Crewman)

OOC: John!!! So good to see a post from you on the Viking again! Really sorry I haven’t got to this before now, I’ve been so busy with Christmas prep! I promise you a reply tomorrow!
Sharon

OOC: As promised…here we go…:)

IC: So many ghosts. The shadows of her past were gathering in ever-increasing number and frequency since her return, drawn to her like translucent moths to a naked and dangerous flame. Did she possess the power to burn them if they came too close? Or would she reach out a hand to grasp at their wings and find them crumbling into dust…as if they had never truly been here at all?

McHarrie, Reira and now…Ra-Kartovii. Like the others he had been a close friend and confidant, once upon a time. Before the darkness. Before the shift into this new and tumultuous dimension where up and down, left and right, living and dead no longer held any distinction. Did she dare to anchor herself to these sigils from the old world or were they, like all else, now only a perversion of the forms they once took, of the safety and belonging they had once represented.

She reached out and replayed the message once more.

=^= Hello Captain! You may not remember me, my name is Ra-Kartovii, I was a scientist aboard the Viking for a few months. I had heard that you were found, and I wanted to contact you. As you can see, I am no longer aboard the ship. =^=
How many more did this ship have to lose? How many more could it spare? Each departure like a limb, severed from a weak and deteriorating whole. At what point would it have lost so much of itself that existence became untenable? Impossible? All Kara knew was that each departure was like a d’k tahg to her soul.

=^= I am actually calling from a rehabilitation center. I have been here for some time now. While I can’t honestly say the Viking didn’t play a part in my institutionalization, it was not the only thing that led me here.=^=
The Efrosian’s appearance on the small terminal screen matched the image still held fondly in her memory. His face, his eyes, his smile…all relics from a happier time. But of course his surroundings had changed and perhaps some might venture to say for the better? Kara Nakuto knew more acutely than many the loneliness, paranoia and suspicion that were found in a Federation rehabilitation centre. But compared to the terror of the Viking it almost seemed a blessing.

=^=The good news is that I am set to be released soon. I don’t think I will go back to Starfleet, but I guess I don’t really have any plans at all. =^=
So he was to find himself adrift, like her. Two lonely vessels, without course, without direction, without map to safe harbour or compass to calm sea. Of course, she remained still on the Viking, too afraid to leave, to discover what fate held in store for her beyond the distorted and illusionary safety of these metal walls. Could he, like her, find himself drawn back the Viking once more? Cursed to wander the dark corridors and empty halls like a wraith, without meaning, without purpose?

=^= I certainly can’t go back to Vulcan… my home. =^=
Home. Kara found herself recalling the recent hours spent with Ta’lahali Beveres on the holodeck. The pain of longing for a return to a home that only existed now in their memory. The desperate need to find belonging and companionship in a world that had turned its back on them all. She could sense Kartovii’s pain, could hear it in every word and syllable that he spoke. But she could do nothing to ease that longing. For any of them.

=^= Anyway, I am reaching out because I was happy to hear that you had returned. You showed me a great amount of kindness when I first boarded the Viking and I will always remember that. I hope all is well and I hope to hear from you… that is if the ship allows it! =^=
If the ship allows it! For a brief moment, a glimmer of the old Nakuto broke through to the surface. This ship had not managed to end her so far, although it could not be said that its attempts had not been impressive. But nothing in this universe could stop her from reaching out to old friends…if indeed Kartovii was still a friend and not another tool of Section 31, forced to contact her as part of this ongoing campaign to break her spirit and fracture her mind.

As the message began to deteriorate, a heavy frown settled across her ridged brow. A simple communications error or…something more nefarious? Were Section 31 intercepting this conversation? Or had they had a hand in scripting and staging the entire thing? The half-Klingon did not want to believe it but, as her hands reached across the terminal to activate a reply, the thought refused to dissipate from her mind.

=^=Computer, send a reply to Ra-Kartovii at Starbase 731=^= she ordered, the camera activating and capturing an image of a wholly different Kara Nakuto to the one the Efrosian would have been expecting. Gone were the regimental adornments of a Starfleet Captain, replaced by a rankless and tattered tunic. Her midnight hair was still long, although currently it flowed free from its usual bindings to spill wildly around her face and shoulders; and at her temples the black gave way to silver, a relic from this year of hell. Her brown eyes still shone brightly, but carried a pain and an exhaustion within them that was almost immeasureable. And when she smiled, it was as if every curve of her lip demanded the most magnificent effort to perform.

===Begin communication===

=^=Ra-Kartovii=^= she began, =^=It is…good to hear from you again. Unexpected too…although not entirely, I suppose, considering…=^=

Silence followed. Heavy and ponderous. Although were Ra-Kartovii to listen intently, he might make out other voices that did not belong to his half-Klingon friend. Or perhaps it was merely an imperfection in the recording.

=^=As you can see, I am no longer the Captain here. I…there was a situation that demanded my attention for…a long time. And when I returned I found that Starfleet had replaced me.=^= Her tone indicated resignation, begrudging acceptance of her new non-position, but carried on an undercurrent of pure, unmistakable anger and betrayal.

=^=I…also find myself at a crossroads with no current direction or route. Although I have decided to remain onboard the Viking for the present time. Perhaps you are also considering a return?=^= she dared to ask, simultaneously wrestling with the desire for him to accept and the fear that doing so would bring him nothing but pain and torment.
=^=Whatever you do I…I wish you well and would be most happy to hear from you again.=^=

Nakuto reached out a hand to end the recording but then pulled back at the last moment. Her eyes staring intently into the camera, it was clear that her mind was deliberating something. Finally she spoke once more, although this time her voice was barely more than a whisper.

=^=They have returned, my friend. The…reman imps.=^=

===End communication===

Kara Nakuto


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