POST INDEX
| Post # | Character | Title |
| 001 | Morningstar | Having A Ball |
| 002 | T'Leia | A Garden of Crystals... |
| 003 | Mizore | The Grand Game |
| 004 | Ya'Han | Green Scare |
| 005 | Stark | Small Steps |
| 006 | T'Leia | Touching Bases |
| 007 | Shar'El | Looking for Answers |
| 008 | Ya'Han | Curiosity |
| 009 | T'Leia | Mystery Intriguing |
| 010 | Maya | The Mathematical... |
| 011 | Mizore | Symphony of the Night |
| 012 | Shar'El | Unexpected Passenger |
| 013 | Stark | Stargazing |
| 014 | Ya'Han | Late Night |
| 015 | Morningstar | Curiouser and Curiouser |
| 016 | Stark | The Morning After |
| 017 | Paquette | Adlibbing |
| 018 | Shar'El | Reality of Dreams |
| 019 | Ya'Han | Luxury Breakfast |
| 020 | Stark | Still Waking Up |
| 021 | Maya | An Unexpected and... |
| 022 | Shar'El | Thinking and Thinking... |
| 023 | Ya'Han | Most Important Meal... |
| 024 | Stark | So Many Colors |
| 025 | Shar'El | Wandering Feet... |
| 026 | Ya'Han | Never An Easy Solution |
| 027 | Stark | Bump On The Head |
| 028 | Shar'El | Delay Tactics |
| 029 | Ya'Han | Focusing On Staying Still |
| 030 | Maya | All You Need Is Science |
| 031 | Shar'El | The Best Things... |
| 032 | Ya'Han | What Next |
| 033 | Morningstar | Questions and Debates |
| 034 | Ya'Han | From Green to Red |
| 035 | Shar'El | Searching For Something |
| 036 | Stark | Thinking About The Mission |
| 037 | Ya'Han | Trolling |
| 038 | Paquette | Acquisition |
| 039 | Morningstar | Plans Within Plans |
| 040 | Uxtar | Return of the Hunter |
| 041 | Doyanne | Long Lost Contacts |
| 042 | Stark | Vacation is Over |
| 043 | Shar'El | Question of Time |
| 044 | Ya'Han | From Ferengi to Fear |
| 045 | Uxtar | From Fear to Freedom |
| 046 | Shar'El | Fleeting Freedom |
| 047 | Stark | Fast Feet and Fingers |
| 048 | Ya'Han | From Fear to Funnies |
| 049 | Morningstar | Freedom Fighters or Foes |
| 050 | Shar'El | From Feared to Fluidic |
| 051 | Stark | From Fluidic to Frantic |
| 052 | Doyanne | From Frantic to Foxy |
| 053 | Uxtar | Facing Facts |
| 054 | Shar'El | From Facts to Fiction |
| 055 | Paquette | From Feisty to Flirty |
| 056 | Ya'Han | From Flirty to Frozen |
| 057 | Shar'El | From Frozen to Forever |
| 058 | Stark | From Forever to Freaky |
| 059 | Maya | From Freaky to Fascinating |
| 060 | Shar'El | From Fascinating to Firsts |
| 061 | Doyanne | From Firsts to Fraud |
| 062 | Ya'Han | From Fraud to Friends |
| 063 | Stark | From Friends to Fighting |
| 064 | Shar'El | From Fighting to Furious |
| 065 | Uxtar | From Furious to Finder |
| 066 | Doyanne | From Finder to Flirting |
| Post # | Character | Title |
| 067 | Dalziel | From Finder to Farraginous |
| 068 | Paquette | From Farraginous to Factoids |
| 069 | Ya'Han | From Factoids to Fools |
| 070 | Stark | From Fools to Fascinating |
| 071 | Uxtar | From Furious to Follower |
| 072 | Morningstar | From Follower to Physics |
| 073 | Doyanne | From Physics to Fraud |
| 074 | Shar'El | From Fraud to Fatigued |
| 075 | Uxtar | From Fatigued to... |
| 076 | Ya'Han | From Fact-Finding to... |
| 077 | Stark | From Forgotten Family to... |
| 078 | Paquette | From Fairest Female to... |
| 079 | Shar'El | From Furtive Flair to... |
| 080 | Uxtar | From Fraught for Friends... |
| 081 | Doyanne | Friends' Faulty Fortune |
| 082 | Ya'Han | Fractured Family |
| 083 | Stark | Forcibly Flattened |
| 084 | Shar'El | Fast Finesse |
| 085 | Uxtar | Fine Fit |
| 086 | Maya | Pheromones and Photons |
| 087 | Ya'Han | A Father's Fury |
| 088 | Stark | A Fool and his Physician |
| 089 | Uxtar | First to Fifth |
| 090 | Shar'El | Failure |
| 091 | Ya'Han | First-Rate Friend... |
| 092 | Doyanne | Fighting Failures From... |
| 093 | Stark | Flattened to Famished |
| 094 | Ya'Han | Feisty Females Form... |
| 095 | Uxtar | Finding Familiar Figures |
| 096 | Shar'El | Frightful |
| 097 | Stark | Flamboyantly Failing... |
| 098 | Doyanne | Finding the Flagitious Foes |
| 099 | Morningstar | Only Fools are Fearless |
| 100 | Shar'El | Finding Friends... |
| 101 | Ya'Han | Flabbergasted |
| 102 | Dalziel | Finding a Flaw |
| 103 | Uxtar | Fools and their Follies |
| 104 | Stark | Feeble Follower |
| 105 | Doyanne | Frightful Feelings |
| 106 | Morningstar | Fabulously Fearless... |
| 107 | Ya'Han | Flashed |
| 108 | Uxtar | Failure |
| 109 | Stark | Fascination |
| 110 | Maya | Fast Feet |
| 111 | Ya'Han | Floored |
| 112 | Shar'El | False or Forever Friends |
| 113 | Uxtar | Figures |
| 114 | Doyanne | Fighting Fair |
| 115 | Stark | Frightful Fears |
| 116 | Ya'Han | Family Feud |
| 117 | Shar'El | Forced Finding |
| 118 | Uxtar | Flushed |
| 119 | Ya'Han | Fiery Fury |
| 120 | Shar'El | Forget About Fighting Fair |
| 121 | Stark | Fidgety |
| 122 | Paquette | Feisty Female & Freaky... |
| 123 | Ya'Han | Friends, Family, Fears... |
| 124 | Doyanne | Fixing Faults |
| 125 | Uxtar | Fascinated |
| 126 | Shar'El | Fast Footed Friend |
| 127 | Stark | Forgotten Feelings |
| 128 | Doyanne | Finding Friends in Former... |
| 129 | Stark | Face-to-Face |
| 130 | Ya'Han | Falsifying Facts to Fool... |
| 131 | Shar'El | Frightened Friends... |
=-=
"Frightened Friends, Fascist Foes and Frightful Findings"
[previous post was "Falsifying Facts to Fool a Felon" by the hovering Hanali]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 23
Stardate: 30153.0840
With a single move the acting ExO / ILO had stopped both the CEO and CSciO from rushing ahead. It had not been hard to imagine that the two women had wanted to help the Chief of Security who's life had appeared to be hanging in the powerful grasp of the Hirogen Uxtar.
"That petaQ is going to kill her," Sonja said in an enraged whispered voice. Whatever the plan might have been, the CEO had been convinced that there had to have been a better way to go about tricking Drask Pharren and his sidekicks.
"They both know exactly what they are doing," Shar'El whispered back, never taking her eyes off the Pythron merchant as she scanned the man's memories as they came into view. The discussion with Uxtar had brought to the surface several very interesting memories, especially those dealing with Ya'Jun whom he believed to be right there in front of him.
"Even if we wanted to, it would be very unlikely that we could successfully overcome both of the bodyguards before either one of them reacted," Maya said, also keeping her voice to a mere whisper as she watched the scene unfold with some sense of concern. "As much as I may not want to state it, the best course of action at this time would be for us to wait and see how the current situation progresses."
"Patience was never my strongest attribute," the redheaded engineer huffed as she pressed her back against the nearby wall and allowed herself to slide down into a sitting position from which she would not be able to witness the situation in question.
"Now my friend," the merchant continued, his words dripping with venomous glee, "if you would be so kind as to release the lady, my man will be more than happy to take charge of her."
Faced with little choice at the moment, Uxtar thought it best to comply. For the time being keeping Ya'Han safe had been the most important aspect and as far as the Hirogen hunter had been concerned, the advantage had still been well on their side.
"What about the remainder of my payment?" the hunter asked as he released his grip on Ya'Han's neck causing her to fall to the ground. The Hirogen's grasp may have been uncomfortable but he had expertly held the Chief of Security so as to not cause her any unnecessary pain. The drop back to the floor had also been a short one, leaving the woman with the royal colored hair to land on her feet with silent overstated ease. Still, to continue the charade it would have been strange and curious to have Ya'Jun be able to land standing after all that she had supposedly endured.
Like a rag doll the woman collapsed of her fullest weight onto the floor, appearing like a puppet whose strings had been cut, an imagery that had not been lost on the Chief of Security.
"You two," Drask commanded of his bodyguards without even looking at them, "take care of her. Ye'Lan, pay the man for his trouble."
Everyone watched with silent trepidation as the Hupyrians reached down and took hold of Ya'Han who was fetched from the floor as if weighing nothing more than a single small feather. As Ye'Lan approached, Uxtar leaned in as if trying to make it easier for the shorter green haired entertainer to reach him in order to grant him the payment owed.
"She is in your care now," the Hirogen whispered causing the low ranking Nylaan woman to pause for a few seconds. "Whatever happened before will not change the fact that what will happen next will be affected by what you say and do from now on."
"Is there a problem?" the Pythron merchant demanded, not having expected his entertainer to be spending so much time so close to the Hirogen.
"No problem at all," Uxtar replied as he returned to his full standing height, several strips of gold pressed latinum now resting in the palm of his hands minus one, a strip that he had purposely left in the hands of the entertainer hopefully as an added incentive to help the woman she believed to be the daughter of her own High Sovereign.
An uneasy silence spread through the small area beyond the closed door to the room labeled as 23-130 as everyone seemed to be looking at one another as if waiting for someone to make a move that would shatter they agreement that had already been concluded.
"Master," Ye'Lan began, her eyes cast down onto the floor in front of the man she had been sworn as his property to obey. "Having Lady Ya'Jun carried in such a manner may draw a great deal of unwelcomed attention. If I may be so bold, may I offer to help her Ladyship instead."
"Do you presume to tell me what I should be doing and how to do so?" Drask demanded, his anger and rage having gone from zero to eighty in less than a single heartbeat.
Before anything else could be done or said, Ye'Lan had fallen to her knees, half cowering from fear of her master's retribution, half hoping that the more submissive posture would show the Pythron merchant that her words had not been meant to challenge his authority in any way, shape or form.
Seeing the perfect opportunity to make their presence known and force the hand of the less than pleasant merchant, Shar'El nudged Maya out from the corner they had been hiding around. The knowledge from having looked inside the man's mind had made it clear that Drask Pharren would rather keep this entire story from the general public's knowledge. After all he had not been the only one after the runaway Nylaan princess.
"Excuse me," Shar'El asked to the genera gathering which stood several meters ahead of her current location. "Is this deck 22?"
"No," Uxtar quickly jumped in with. As a member of the MASQUERADE DREAMS' staff it had been his responsibility to assist any and all passengers, and as far as Drask Pharren had been concerned, that role had still been the Hirogen's. "You are on deck 23. You can access deck 22 using the stairways which are only a few meters behind me."
The two women appeared thankful for the Hirogen's assistance and made their way passed the gathering as they glanced momentarily at the odd way everyone seemed to be behaving.
Having faced such a close call, Drask reluctantly gave in to the green haired entertainer's suggestion, making a mental note to properly *thank* her for having done so at a later time. The image in the merchant's mind had been so strong that the Ullian had not even needed to force her way into his memories to see what he had intended to do; a vile act that he had obviously done before which had left him with the need of a new servant.
"We can't let them reach their room," Shar'El whispered for everyone else to hear through the subdermal communication network. "He is planning on killing Ye'Lan the moment they are behind closed doors."
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Falsifying Facts to Fool a Felon"
[previous post was "Face-to-Face"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-130
Stardate: 30153.0835
The loud crash on the door had summoned both the Nylaan Sec/Tac and Hirogen hunter to stand at the ready, half expecting that they would be dealing with some sort of break-in. Ya'Han could only guess that whoever had been on the other side had been after her older sister or the terrorist being cared for by Doctor Doyanne. As much as the woman with the red streaked black hair had not held Fenix in the highest regards, she had been ready to defend everyone in the room with her last breath. For her sister it had been a matter of protecting her so that she could be there to one day possibly forgive her younger sister for what had happened. For the Rutian it had been a matter of making sure he would be capable to stand trial for all of his crimes.
=/\= It's Jayson and he's being attacked by Pharren's bodyguards, =/\= Commander Shar'El said over the subdermal communication network informing those inside of the room as to what had been happening on the other side of the door.
"Drask must be looking for me," the Hirogen sighed heavily. "That man has absolutely no patience and those two Hupyrian goons are more than capable of pulverizing Jayson straight into the lower decks."
Ya'Han glanced quickly over her shoulder, not truly taking notice of Fenix and Lillie but rather looking only at her sister who had still been unconscious on the bed. "I have a plan?" the Sec/Tac asked as she turned back to look at Uxtar. "Drask Pharren is looking for Ya'Jun and hired you to find her for him. What if you brought me to him instead? I might be able to convince him that I am Ya'Jun which will serve to save Jayson and keep that merchant and his bodyguards out of this room."
Uxtar grinned. The plan had initially been his but he had never been given the opportunity to present it to the Chief of Security. With the situation on the other side of the door, Ya'Han had come up with the same idea although for a different reason. Still, whatever the reasons might have been, the plan had been sound, at least as far as the hunter had been concerned.
"Let me do the talking first," Uxtar said with a nod of his head. There had been little time to work out the specifics of this plan leaving the two undercover officers to wing it as best as they could. As the door opened the Hirogen took a solid hold of the back of Nylaan woman's neck and brought her out as if carrying a weightless prize.
"See," Drask said laughing, "I knew I could count on you to tell me where he was."
While still holding Ya'Han by the back of the neck, Uxtar glared down at Jayson. The trail of blood on the wall leading to a small pool on the floor and made it clear that the undercover Ensign would not have lasted much longer.
"Great," the Hirogen hissed at the beaten man. "You do realize that I am the one that will have to clean this mess after I am done here? Get your worthless primate hide back in the room and find a corner to cower in while you wait for me. If you are in any way lucky I will end your life before I skin you and pull your backbone out as trophies for my wall."
Using what little strength he had left, Jayson did has he had been instructed knowing that Uxtar had very likely saved his life. At the very least he had given him the opportunity to get out of the situation that he had somehow found himself in without resolving to more violence. It was only when the door began to close and he looked back that the Ensign noticed who had been with the Hirogen and the shocking position in which she had been.
"So you did find her?" Drask asked, his voice seething with distress.
"Don't let her hair color fool you," Uxtar said in reply as he made it look like he had been applying a fair amount of force against the woman's neck to force her to change her hair color thus revealing her true heritage.
As Ya'Han's hair changed to display the purple color that the merchant had been so anxious to see, his green haired companion actually found it impossible to hide her own sadness. Even as the property of the Pythron man, Ye'Lan had still been very much conditioned to respect and even admire those of royal lineage.
"Your highness," Drask said as he offered a meek bow of his head in mock respect to the woman being held by the Hirogen. "Your father will be most pleased to have you return to him alive. Truth be told, he had not expected to see you back standing on your own two feet, but I am glad that the Hirogen found it within him to control his deadly hunting skills."
Ya'Han found it interesting that the merchant had not questioned her identity in the least nor had mentioned anything about her having been on her father's 'most wanted list'. Had it been so long since she had left that he had forgotten about her and had Ya'Jun lied about the High Sovereign's all consuming desire to seek revenge for what his youngest daughter had dare to do?
Some answers had been obtained, but this left the woman impersonating Ya'Jun with one crucial problem that they had omitted to consider. How would she be able to get out of this situation without risking injury to herself or Uxtar, and without having to forgo her freedom and likely her life by continuing to play the role of her older sister?
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
"Face-to-Face"
[previous "Finding Friends in Former Foes"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 23, Corridor
Stardate: 30153.0830
Jayson's thoughts had been lost in a haze of colliding memories and feelings. He could clearly remember the sweetness of her voice and the enchanting reflection in her eyes, but the OPS officer could not state with certainty if whether these things had belonged to Ya'Jun or Ya'Han.
With each wandering step that brought him closer to the room where the two women had been along with Doctor Doyanne, Jayson's hope for an answer grew. The confusion that he felt should have slowed his progress but instead it had made him walk that much faster. He wanted to know, he needed to know for which sister what he felt had been meant for. Only then would he be able to at least try to understand if these thoughts had been his or forced upon him by some sort of female NYLAAN mind-trick.
"Hello."
The sweet delicate voice brought Jayson to a complete stop in mid stride, and as he looked up he half expected to see Ya'Jun standing in front of him. As the features of the woman began to register he wondered if it had not been Ya'Han who had spoken in such an enchanting way. It took several seconds for the OPS officer to recognize the green haired woman and although she had been NYLAAN, the entertainer had not been either of the ladies he had expected or even hoped to see.
"I don't have time for you right now."
His tone had been cold and dismissive to the point of being rude. Jayson had not wanted to come across as such but his mind had not been in any way, shape or form ready to play diplomatic games with another NYLAAN woman, one who could not help him understand his feelings. In fact he suspected that should he give the green haired woman a chance, she would make things even more complicated for him. So for now it had been best for him to simply avoid dealing with her or anyone else for that matter.
"That's alright, it is not you that we have business with, but we are looking for someone that you seem to know. Your name came up when I asked questions about a certain Hirogen maintenance staff member. So why don't you save us all a great deal of trouble and time and just tell me where I can find him."
The Pythron merchant spoke without fear, confident that his two Hupyrian bodyguards would be more than able to handle the likes of a Human like Jayson.
For a split second the OPS officer wished that he had still been in possession of his subdermal communicator. At least that way he would have been able to relay to the others the fact that Drask Pharren had been on the prowl for Uxtar. As to how the merchant had made the connection between the two man, Jayson could not begin to understand his mind still far too lost in the issue that had brought him here in the first place.
"My patience is gone and I do not care about whatever arrangement you might have with him. My business with the Hirogen is of the utmost importance and right now you appear to be my best bet to finding him quickly."
He could hear the threatening tone in the merchant's voice which only served to increase the OPS officer's resolve to not help. Drask might have had business with Uxtar, but Jayson had business of his own to take care of, business that involved the two NYLAAN sisters.
"Have you tried looking for him in the lower decks? That is where the maintenance staff can usually be found when not up here with the passengers. It is also where garbage like you is disposed of, so don't let me keep you here, I am sure that there is a garbage shoot large enough for you and your oversized friends down there waiting for you."
Had he really said that? Had his mind been so turned up-side-down that he had forgotten who the merchant had been and why he had been onboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS? Had Jayson truly expected that his overtly defiant words to be simply ignored? The answer came in the form of two large Hupyrian fists finding their marks on his body, one connecting with his stomach hard enough to wind him, the other impacting against the side of his head sending him crashing into the nearest door. A door with the numerical identification of 23-130.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
("Finding Friends in Former Foes")
Previous post by the ensorcelled Jason ("Forgotten Feelings")
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We accept the love we think we deserve - Stephan Chbosky
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-130
Stardate: 30152.0825
==========^*^==========
Working over the broken Nylaan sister had proven to be quite the challenge. Although her anatomy wasn't completely unknown, the wounds which she had endured made it difficult to find skin that wasn't bruised. The young doctor worked over her patient calmly, only speaking when requesting a tool or quick helpful hand from the Chief of Security standing anxiously beside her.
"Good news is that she'll live, the wounds may look bad but none of the broken bones seemed to have managed to puncture any arteries or organs. No internal bleeding that I've managed to uncover besides the obvious bruised tissue. She has a broken leg, jaw and arm. The bones in one of her hands on the opposite arm seem to have been shattered. She's exhausted, dehydrated and has lost a lot of blood. I'll do what I can with her from this room but the equipment on the ANUBIS would be helpful if I want to do some reconstruction work on her bones..." Lillie informed, her hands not stopping their seemingly endless investigation over the young woman's battered form
"She's not going to die?" Ya'Han asked, relief obvious in her tone
"Not under my watch she won't, but there's not much more I can do here without the proper equipment. I've used what we had available to do some quick fixes but to really help her we'd need to get Ya'Jun into the medical bay as soon as possible"
"Can I... stay here with her?" the raven haired woman requested, her color only recently returning to it's regular hue from that which the medical profession use
"The main threat is gone... I don't see why not but it's not my call to make" the Tarellian soothed, pulling back from the two Nylaan sisters
"Don't you have another to tend to now doctor?" Fenix called politely, grinning up the the Hirogen holding him prisoner against the far wall
Lillie was hesitant to reply, though her training and personal mantra deemed that he deserved all the medical care given to any other in his condition, it was difficult to imagine that this terrorist and the gentleman she had begun to admire were one in the same. Fighting conflicting emotions the Ensign turned to their Rutian guest and nodded to Uxtar to release him.
"Don't even think of doing anything you'll regret" the hunter warned in a low and menacing undertone "Lay a single finger on anyone in this room and I won't hesitate to put you down like you deserve"
After being pushed forward with a bit too much force, the bomber growled back at his more muscular captor before returning his attention to the blonde woman in front of him. Possibly his only chance at survival among the entire Starfleet squadron he had come to learn was aboard.
"Sit" Doctor Doyanne commanded, pulling a chair away from the desk in the opposite corner of her room. This way Fenix and Ya'Jun had as much possible distance between them as the small room allowed.
Taking a seat, the Rutian calmly and knowingly regarded his physician "Going to look me over are you?"
"As is my duty, not my pleasure" Lillie assured, taking the Rutian's hand into hers to quickly begin scanning up his arm
The terrorist had a surprising amount of damage done to his person considering how long he had been in the company of her fellow undercover officers. The medic was able to uncover at least a dozen bruises scattered along his body but mostly along his torso.
"Had a bit of 'fun' with my patient did you?" Lillie grumbled, looking back the the Hirogen accusingly
Uxtar raised his hands defensively "Aside from keeping him in line I never laid a hand on the man, though I would like to"
Ya'Han's shoulders stiffed as the doctor's gaze fell upon her. The coldness in the icy blue eyes of their medical professional was barely concealed and unexpected from the usually warmhearted woman.
"Causing pain for pleasure is not something you should take into yourself Ya'Han... not under any circumstances"
The words of the Tarellian cut deep, but her point had been made. Though she had been holding back a fair bit in regards to the man whom was initially responsible for her outburst, the Chief of Security felt a small pang of guilt at the harshness of her treatment. To say she was sorry she did it however was another issue entirely.
Returning to her work, the CMO began the necessary injections of hypospray when she was suddenly pulled down into the Rutian's arms. The Hirogen waiting patiently got his chance to flatten the man against the desk before his arms even made it fully around the doctor's slim figure, but not before his whispered words reached her ear.
"What did I tell you about touching her you piece of..." Uxtar began, fully intending to give the terrorist even more bruises than the ones he had entered with
"Don't!" Lillie insisted, placing herself between the hunter's imposing fist and her patient "You'll only be causing me more work... we'll restrain him to the chair for the time being"
Had the massive predator been anyone less trained the clenched knuckles would have flown directly into the doctor now blocking it's path. Luckily the angry Hirogen was able to withdraw his attack and assist in binding their captive. The entire thing lasted barely a few seconds, enough that had Ya'Han blinked she would have only witnessed the beginning and end result.
"I did what I needed to..." Fenix commented casually once his arms were bound behind him, making Uxtar quickly look towards the CMO standing behind him. Physically the doctor remained unharmed, but there was an unfocused, haunted look in her eyes that made the hunter question what exactly the terrorist had done to her.
Before any questions could be asked, the entire group heard the sounds of a struggle outside. Ya'Han and Uxtar acted immediately, moving from their positions to block a path into the room. Lillie remained unaware of the situation, standing beside Fenix dazed and confused when his next low whisper found her ears.
"You know it's true... do they?"
==========^*^==========
Ashley Shane
Ensign Lillie Doyanne
Chief Medical Officer/Researcher
USS ANUBIS
"Forgotten Feelings"
[previous "Fast Footed Friend"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 23
Stardate: 30153.0700
Jayson had not even noticed that he had wandered away from the group. His mind, like his feet, had been going around aimlessly, moving from thought to thought. He remembered what he had done, how he had been responsible for what had happened to Lillie. He felt anger, shame and disgust at what he had done, what he had put his fellow shipmates through.
Then he would remember Shae, the way she had smiled at him on that first day, the way her voice made him lose track of time. More important though had been his remembering the way she looked in the arms of the Hirogen. No one had said who had been responsible, but Jayson had not been simple minded enough not to pick up on the obvious clues.
Had Uxtar been the one to put Shae in such a state, the hunter would have most certainly shown some sort of pride in his handy work. Hirogens had never been known for being modest in their achievements, regardless of how easy or difficult they might have been. Instead the OPS officer had seen only surprise and disbelief in the eyes of the hunter, a clear hint that he had not been the one responsabile.
This left Commander Shar'El, Commander Maya, Lieutenant Paquette, Ensign Ya'Han and the terrorist Fenix as the possible culprit. Given what he knew of each one, and based on what he had observed, the OPS officer knew this: the ExO could not have done this, her compassion for others having been too strong to be so completely turned up-side-down to have her inflict so much pain on another. Commander Maya was a scientist, a person dedicated to research, so it had not been within her to be cruel to the extent that had been required to inflict such injuries.
Cruelty had likely been a second skin to the terrorist known as Fenix, so it had been well within his grasp to be the cause of what had happened to Shae, but she had been his follower, his companion and Jayson could not imagine her doing anything that would have turned the terrorist so completely against her. This meant that there had been only two other possibilities, the light-hearted Engineer and the woman he had come to admire in many different ways.
As an Engineer, Sonja likely possessed the strength to inflict the injuries as he had seen them, but the woman's character had made her to be an unlikely candidate for having actually done as such. Granted, under the right circumstances he was sure that Sonja could be properly motivated to unleash hell itself, but he could not imagine Shae having been capable of pushing the CEO beyond the breaking point.
So only one possibility remained, a possibility that he could barely imagine yet unable to ignore. Shae had been a sweet lady who had made some questionable decisions, but as Ya'Jun to older sister had been in a perfect position to reach Ya'Han in a way that no one else could have. As the Chief of Security of the ANUBIS, Ya'Han had gained both the skills and knowledge to inflict the wounds that he had seen without any problems.
Jayson rubbed his chest as he felt a tightness take hold of him. Had he been feeling anxiety and fear for Ya'Jun or had he been experiencing anger bordering on rage towards Ya'Han? He remembered admiring her, the way she moved, the way she talked, but what troubled him the most was that with each step he took he could not clearly remember if it had been Ya'Han or Ya'Jun he was remembering.
Had his falling for Ya'Jun so completely been because of the feeling he had kept hidden for Ya'Han? Had the older sister reach his heart and mind so easily because in a way she had taken her younger sister's place in his unconscious dreams?
He knew what needed to be done. Without thinking he found himself heading back to the room where the two sister had been. There he to find the answers his mind and heart had been silently searching for. Whatever would come to pass he needed to understand his feelings, his thoughts and who they had been truly for.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Fast Footed Friend"
[previous post was "Fascinated" by the fearsome Mark)]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 23
Stardate: 30153.0800
More and more passengers were coming out of their rooms to tackle the adventures of the new day, none of them aware in the slightest way of the crisis that had been averted. The acting ExO / ILO had made sure to keep Ensign Stark well in view, anticipating that he might wish to return to the injured Nylaan's side. Whatever spell the older sister of the ANUBIS's Chief of Security had used, it had been one that had worked excessively well on Jayson.
"Hey," Sonja hissed as one of the passengers bumped into her, the aged man having been heading somewhere in a most single-minded way. "That figures," the redheaded engineer sighed to herself, "I save the whole bunch of them from becoming a part of an unexpected July 4th celebration and all I get is a shove and a grunt. At least a Klingon would have looked me in the eyes while he tried to push me into the wall."
"Would my offering you a 'thank you' on their behalf help make you feel better?" Maya asked, having witnessed the stated accomplishment first hand.
"You can keep your 'Bush-style' thank you to yourself," the engineer chuckled. "I have never been a big fan of political insincerity, and that regardless of what century or world it originated from."
"Still," Shar'El said with a smile as she turned to look at the hero of the hour, "your efforts and accomplishment should be acknowledged in some way. You saved the day back there, unfortunately in the line of work that we find ourselves in, open and public praises will never be offered. So look around and keep in mind that many of these people are alive and going about their usual business because of you and what you did."
As Sonja took in the words spoken by the acting ExO / ILO, her eyes fell onto a familiar form, one that made her stop dead in her tracks. Luckily, the merchant known as Bruk had not taken notice of them, the Ferengi having instead set his gaze onto one of the many shapely passengers.
"Thank you Commander," the redheaded engineer half growled while still managing to have a faint smile on her lips. "I will try and do my best not to regret what I did." As she looked ahead to the acting ExO / ILO, the CEO noted something, or more accurately she noted that something had been missing. "Where's Jayson?"
Shar'El's head spun around in an attempt to locate the missing Ensign and when her search revealed nothing, the acting ExO / ILO turned back to look at the other two women. "He was right there next to me. He could not have gone that far."
"Looks like our Operations Officer is a slippery fellow," Sonja said as she began to do a visual search of their surroundings. "Maybe he was a Democrat working under Clinton in a previous life. Actually, my guess is that he *was* Clinton, which leaves only one guess as to where he is heading."
"We have to intercept him before he gets there," Maya noted as she began to head back toward the room where Doctor Doyanne, Ensign Uxtar, Ensign Ya'Han, her sister and the terrorist had been. "Who knows what he is capable of doing."
"Commander Shar'El to Ensign Uxtar," the acting ExO / ILO said, knowing that her subdermal communicator would pick up and retransmit her words.
=/\= Go ahead. =/\= the Hirogen replied.
"Just wanted to make sure you understood what is happening," the dark haired woman explained. "It looks like Ensign Stark may have doubled back and is heading back to the room."
=/\= No worries, =/\= Uxtar said almost laughing, =/\= He won't get far if he actually manages to get in. =/\=
=/\= Morningstar here. It would be in Ensign Stark's best interest if you found him before he reaches his destination. I do not to remind you about what would happen if he was to disobey a direct order. Do I Commander Shar'El? =/\=
"Not at all Sir," the acting ExO / ILO said as she shot a quick glance to he other two women next to her. "We'll find Jayson before he does something that he will regret."
"I don't know," Sonja said with a hint of amusement despite the annoyance in her voice. "Might be fun to see him get his head scrambled from the outside in by Uxtar instead of having to deal with his brain having been scrambled by Ya'Jun."
With that idea in mind, the three women rushed back towards Room 23-130 while hoping that they would be able to catch Jayson before he could do something that the Captain would be forced to address officially and in he harshest possible manner.
Whatever the reason might have been for Jayson's actions, it had not been ample justification for him avoiding being made accountable for what he would do or be the cause of.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
-+-+-+-+-+-
"Fascinated"
[Previous post "Fixing Faults"]
-+-+-+-+-+-
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 23
Stardate: 30153.0655
She was as light as a feather in his arms, and her body appeared almost lifeless, the faint rising and falling of her chest as she breathed being the only indicator that the sister of the Chief of Security had still been alive. Every so often the Hirogen would glance at the younger sister, amazed and concerned at the same time by what the woman had done. Uxtar had never thought of Ya’Han as being a weak or delicate woman, knowing that her training as a Starfleet officer would not have permitted it. That said, the hunter would never have expected the usually quiet 5’6” Ensign to be capable of unleashing such fury, especially against a member of her own family.
Uxtar had not needed to be a Counselor to know that there had been something at play here, something from the woman’s past that had led her to explode as she did. What the Hirogen found even more fascinating had been the now complete absence of the anger that had to have been at the core for the attack, in fact the hunter had noticed a hint of remorse in the woman each time her eyes ventured onto her sister.
As the group entered the room where Doctor Doyanne and Ensign Stark had been waiting for them, noted a distinct change in the air. As surprised as the blonde haired woman had been at seeing the state in which the Chief of Security’s older sister had been, Lillie had almost instantly shifted her attention onto the terrorist. The opposite could have been said for the Ops officer who say his anger towards Fenix vanish the moment his eyes fell onto the motionless form of the injured woman.
“Uxtar, put her on the bed,” Commander Shar’El said as she turned to look at the somewhat mesmerized Doctor. “I believe that your patient will be ready for your care.”
Lillie seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning her attention onto the older sister of their Chief of Security.
As Shar’El turned to face Uxtar, the Hirogen simple grinned and took a solid hold of the terrorist’s shoulder. “You have nothing to worry, he will not be going anywhere,” the hunter growled softly as if almost daring the man to try and escape.
“Will she be alright?” Jayson asked as he rushed to the Doctor’s side causing the younger sister to step in.
“You need to get out,” Ya’Han said having agreed with their CO’s idea to have the man anywhere else rather than in the same room as the woman who had him under such complete control not so very long ago.
“Doctor,” Shar’El continued. “I know that this may take some time, but I urge you to not waste any time. We still need to address the situation with Drask Pharren and will need Ya’Han and Uxtar to be there.”
“I will do my best,” the CMO acknowledged with a sigh, medical care never having been meant to be rushed, no matter the circumstances. With the Chief of Security acting as a makeshift nurse, Ya’Jun’s injuries were being looked after while the terrorist fell under the watchful eye of the Hirogen leaving the First Officer and Operations Officer to make their way out of the room.
Without his being able to attend to Ya’Jun, Jayson found his attention go onto the man he held responsible for what had happened. Even if he had not been the one who had inflicted the injuries, the Operations officer had been more than ready to see him pay for what he had seen. With one hand the Hirogen held the combative Ensign at bay while with the other the hunter insured that the terrorist would not move from the corner that he had been shoved into.
“Now is not the time or place my friend,” Uxtar said not wanting this to escalate into a situation where he would be forced to use a strength that would surely lead to more injuries.
“Uxtar is right Ensign,” Shar’El said in a commanding tone as she took a caring hold of the man’s shoulder. “We need to leave now and let Doctor Doyanne do what she needs to do.”
Reluctantly Jayson agreed but not before he curled his upper lip at the cornered terrorist showing that in any other circumstances he would have been made to pay dearly for what he had done.
“I do not believe your friend likes me,” Fenix said in a amused chuckle, the man having been well beyond the reaf for such simplistic threats and fears.
“Do not fool yourself,” Uxtar quietly growled back, “no one here *likes* you all that much and I would not hold any bets as to who will get to you first.”
Like water on a duck’s back the words of the Hirogen flowed off the terrorist as he watched with great interest the blonde haired physician work on the older sister with the younger one by her side. As much as Uxtar might not have wanted to see it, Fenix suspected that there had been at least one person in the room partial in some way to him and his continued well-being.
-+-+-+-+-+-
Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Fixing Faults"
Previous post from reformed Hanali: "Friends, Family, Fears and Failures"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The best doctor gives the least medicines - Benjamin Franklin
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-130
Stardate: 30152.0740
==========^*^==========
Continuing to keep a watchful eye on her fellow Ensign was a task that had become easier as his condition subsided. Jayson's eagerness to reach Ya'Jun's side was troubling, but also possibly useful if redirected. Holding the small communicator away from the Operations officer, Lillie tuned in to allow those on the other end to hear her.
"Uxtar, can you bring Ya'Jun and Fenix up for medical attention while the others dispose of the bomb?" the Tarellian inquired "I'll send Jayson down to help you ladies, he seems restless staying here and I'd prefer his continued avoidance of our other Nylaan woman for now..."
=^= I wanted to care for Ya'Jun personally if it's not a problem... =^= Ya'Han insisted, sounding to the blonde haired doctor as if there were an important reason behind her request.
"Very well... but at least send her up for some numbing agents, I'll keep her comfortable until you arrive to assist with her treatment" Doctor Doyanne compromised. It would be easier to re-locate and mend the young woman's bones with assistance anyway.
=^= Why do you need Fenix to come up there? =^= Sonja asked =^= This low-life isn't worth any of your time, much less your care =^=
Sighing deeply away from the communicator so only Ensign Stark could possibly hear, Lillie answered "Regardless of his actions I'm sure he was wounded at some point, if not by any fault of his own then most likely by one of you lovely women. A doctor's job is to heal the sick and injured despite their personal feelings towards them. Also it gives me something to do while the rest of you wrap things up in the bowels of the ship"
=^= I insist on remaining within the room with you as you treat your patients. This man is a slippery character and I don't like to think of what would be possible if her were to obtain the upper hand against you. =^= Uxtar requested, already moving down the hallway leading to the staircase that would deliver himself as well as his cargo to the higher floor on which the doctor awaited them.
=^= I want a report on the captives sustained injuries =^= Captain Morningstar agreed =^= As long as Stark is removed from the room while Ya'Jun is within =^=
"Well don't I feel trusted" Jayson muttered out of range from the communicator.
Placing her hand over the small device, the Tarellian reassured her companion as best she could "We trust you Jayson, it's merely a precaution. I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't blame you for anything you may have said or done while under her influence"
The unexpected, and in his opinion undeserved, empathy from the doctor managed to slightly lift the Operations officer's spirits. From what he had been told the blonde woman before him had been carried away in confinement in his arms while he was entranced, if it was possible for Lillie to forgive him then maybe the others would as well.
=^= We're on our way to your location Doctor, prepare your supplies. =^= Ya'Han reported, waving slightly to the others before forcing Fenix to his feet to follow after the hulking Hirogen and his charge.
Relieved, the CMO quickly began clearing space on her bed for her anticipated patient as well as acquiring a sturdy chair on which to place their more conscious terrorist. Having become slightly enamored with the Rutian's charm herself, Lillie began to internally question his motives as she and Stark worked to gather the medical supplies they may require.
==========^*^==========
Ashley Shane
Ensign Lillie Doyanne
Chief Medical Officer/Researcher
USS ANUBIS
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Friends, Family, Fears and Failures"
[previous post was "Feisty Female & Freaky Follicles"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 29
Stardate: 30153.0730
A sigh of relief was shared by the undercover officers immediately following Sonja's announcement that the bomb had been disarmed. That they had been down in the lower decks or somewhere else on the ship had not mattered, everyone had been thrilled to hear the news. From having faced a possible catastrophic implementation of the Shadow Protocol, the situation had quickly changed to being completely under control.
The fear of seeing the MASQUERADE DREAMS reduced to a pile of floating debris had apparently brought out the best out of the undercover officers. Well, at least for some. As far as Ya'Han had been concerned the morning had been a difficult one leading her to realizing a great many things about herself and how the events that had taken place had changed her as a person.
Commander Shar'El had spoken only a few whispered words, but they had proven to have a profound impact on red-streaked black haired woman. What Sonja had said before that had also pointed out that something had changed about the Sec/Tac, a change that Ya'Han had never expected to happen or even dreamt had been in anyway needed.
Everything started when Fenix pointed out how she had always been under the influence and control of someone else. He had tapped into deep rooted anger and fears that had been made to be unleashed with a force beyond that of the Sec/Tac's imagination. That these dark emotions and feelings had been so easily made to target her older sister had made Ya'Han realise something that she had never known had even been there to start with.
What the Sec/Tac needed to do now was to understand what hap happened and how it would all come to affect her as a person. There had been a definite change in the way she say herself, no longer thinking of who she was in reference to whom she once had been. Whatever hold her father had on her, this despite her having run away from home so many years ago, had been severed thanks to Fenix's influence. That had been the one and only positive quality that Ya'Han had been willing to associate with the terrorist. The fact that this epiphany had nearly cost the life of her older sister had been something that she would never be able to forgive him for.
With that thought in mind, Ya'Han turned her attention back to the sister in question, her limp form still draped over the arms of the Hirogen who had been carrying her. Disbelief could be seen on the face of the Sec/Tac officer as she tried to understand how anyone could have show such hatred against another person. Even more troubling had been the fact that she had been the one who had brought her sister within inches of her life. As skilled as Fenix had been with his words, the anger that had come out had been all hers and as much as the younger sister wanted to blame him for what had happened, she could not escape the truth. The way the older sister appeared now had been solely because of what she had done.
"Like it or not," Fenix said as he looked up from the floor on with he had been sent earlier on. "You and I are not as dissimilar as you would like to believe."
Ya'Han narrowed her eyes as she glared at the man, imagining how simple it would be for her to make him experience what he had made her do to her sister. The difference though being that she would not stop herself this time and make him feel the full extent of her skills and anger until he would welcome death with a smile. Instead of advancing towards the terrorist though, the Sec/Tac looked up at her friends. Both Shar'El and Sonja seemed to understand what she had been feeling and offered simple smiles.
"Sorry to disappoint," Commander Shar'El said as she turned to look down at the beaten terrorist, "but you and her have nothing in common. Whatever game you were playing, whatever ideas you might have had, everything that you had come here to accomplish has failed."
"Yes, you failed," Ya'Han said as she moved to stand directly over the floored terrorist. "You failed to take me away from my friends. You failed to make me hurt what little family I had left. You failed to have my fears take control of me under the claim of my gaining my freedom. The best part is that you failed even more as a terrorist."
Enraged by the words spoken to him, Fenix jumped to his feet and lunged at the Sec/Tac who sent him crashing back to the floor with a simple defensive move. Various cheers came from those who had witnessed the scene making it perfectly clear to all, Ya'Han had not been one to be underestimated in her skills or independance.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=====
"Feisty Female & Freaky Follicles"
Previous post – Jayson's "Fidgety"
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 29
Stardate: 30153.0710
The red haired Chief Engineer had been working on disarming the bomb for a while now but to no avail. The device had been rigged like nothing Sonja had ever seen before and refused to speak to her in the mechanical language she had naturally learned over the years.
The Shillian cautiously pointed to one of several components, this one having begun to glow. Out of the few dozen similar parts, some would glow while others flashed, all seemingly without reason or pattern. As much as this had troubled the Chief Science Officer, Maya could only imagine as to how this had grown to be beyond annoying for the Chief Engineer.
"I can't even figure out what type of explosive device this is," Sonja sighed heavily while keeping her voice to be just barely louder than a whisper. "Heck, as far as I am concerned this thing could be nothing more than a toaster. A very annoying toaster that I am going to turn into scrap metal in about 3 seconds."
"So glad that you are here," Maya said, welcoming Uxtar, Ya'Han and their two wards as they approached.
"Having problems disarming my little toy are you?" Fenix said, gloating to such an extent that Sonja glared over her shoulder at the pompous man.
"Toy?" Sonja exclaimed. "Why didn't I think of that, it's nothing more than a pathetic attempt to a science project from an inept five-years old," the redhead added in pure revelation before she dove back into her work. "Yup, nothing more than an annoying set of flashy lights."
"Figures that Starfleet would employ worthless women to be in key positions," Fenix offered far to sure of himself. "Then again they are expendable."
Without saying a word, the Chief of Security who had been keeping the man tightly in line unleashed a single quick punch to Fenix's kidneys sending him crashing to his knees.
"Nice shot," Sonja chimed half wishing that she had been the one to send the humanoid male crashing down. As she looked over her shoulder, the redhead grinned. "On your knees are ya? Dogs should always be brought to heel." The redhead chuckled before she paused for a moment as she noted something odd about the Chief of Security. "Whoa girlfriend nice hair. Love the red streak. Seems like our girl has made her feisty side visible for all to see," she continued in a clear tone of joyful approval.
Appearing a little confused, Ya'Han reached up for her hair to bring a strand into view. It was then that the Chief of Security realized that not all of her hair had returned to the commoner's black that she had expected to be there following the most recent events.
"No worries," Shar'El whispered as she leaned in a little closer to Ya'Han having reevaluated the need to address this matter at a later time. "It actually looks nice and suits you very well. Just goes to show them all that you are now your own person. In that small way you have gained your own independance and are happily showing it," the Ullian added, the memories of what had been said by Fenix and the uncertainties it had created in the Nylaan woman still all too fresh in her mind. The two women shared a short gaze before the Commander leaned in even closer to whisper into the ear of the Chief of Security. "Nobody owns you, not even Starfleet. You are now more then ever your own person, a distinct individual as free from her past as you wish it."
Ya'Han grinned faintly, thanking Shar'El without words for what had been said. After a short moment, the eyes of the Chief of Security drifted back to the broken form of her sister who rested in the arms of the Hirogen hunter. The youngest sister could not escape the reality of what she had done while under the influence of the charismatic Fenix, but after all had been said and done, it had all been needed for her to realize her independance.
Today would be the last day that the youngest sister would ever acknowledge having been the thirteenth daughter of the high Sovereign of NYLA IV. Today, she would forever take ownership of being Ya'Han, a woman free to do as she wished, and at this time that decision made her to be a member of Starfleet as the Chief Security Officer of the USS ANUBIS.
As those thoughts came into focus, the Chief of Security stood a little taller with pride in that knowledge as her fingers ran through her single thick red-streaked black hair and her foot found once again the kidneys of the Rutian terrorist.
Everyone's attention suddenly shifted onto the redheaded Chief Engineering Officer as she exclaimed with unbridled joy; "GOT IT!"
=====
Lorraine Paquette
Lieutenant JG Sonja Paquette
Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
"Fidgety"
[previous "Forget About Fighting Fair"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-130
Stardate: 30153.0700
With their subdermal communicators having been removed, Jayson and Lillie had been for all intents and purposes isolated from the rest of the group. The peace and quiet had been nice at first but it had soon become more than the OPS officer could handle.
Using the available public communication system of the MASQUERADE DREAMS, Ensign Stark was able to send a message, one that he knew the ANUBIS would not only intercept but also understand. The text had been a simple wish from someone missing their home and wanting that there had been some way for them to at the very least hear from the rest of the family. Seconds later a single communication device appeared on the night stand, one that had been set to receive and transmit should there be some need on the encrypted signal used by the rest of the undercover team.
"At least this way we will be able to listen in on what is going on."
Lillie words had barely made their way out of her mouth when the communicator activated to relay the conversation that had already been in progress.
=/\= We found both Ya'Han and Ya'Jun. =/\=
The announcement from Commander Shar'El had instantly sent the OPS officer cheering to his feet. The news had been great, but for a split second he could not pin down the exact reason for his rather emotional reaction. Had he been happy that Ya'Han had been found or had his reaction been due to whatever hold Ya'Jun still possessed on him.
=/\= Not sure what happened but Ya'Jun is going to need urgent medical assistance. =/\=
That statement erased whatever joy he might have felt and caused him to quickly turn to face Doctor Doyanne who had heard the same report but appeared unwilling to act.
"We have to go and help."
Jayson's hasty comment was countered by the calm and collected shake of the Doctor's head who had reached for the communicator and muted it by taking it firmly into her hand.
"We can't. First of all it is only because of you getting that communicator here that we even know about this. Second, we have been told to wait here while the others take care of the situation. Third and most important, we have no real idea as to where they are or what else is happening. I know that you are worried for Ya'Jun, but we have to think very carefully about this before we go rushing in blindly. Leaving this room without knowing everything could very well endanger everyone's lives. Is addressing Ya'Jun's injury truly worth the lives of everyone else, including Ya'Han's?"
Why had Lillie focused on Ya'Han over anyone else? More important had been why had the mention of the ship's Chief of Security been enough to make him forget about the enchantress that had so easily taken over his will not so long ago?
Doctor Doyanne stepped up to the OPS officer and placed a gentle, caring hand on his shoulder.
"I know that you are worried and want to do more than just waiting around, but for the time being it is the best way for us to help them; by staying out of their way until they call for our assistance."
A a long deep sigh Jayson agreed with the logic that he had been presented with. Whatever his feelings and wishes might have been, Doctor Doyanne had been right and he needed to control himself so as to not risk the lives of his shipmates.
Casting his gaze down on the Doctor's closed hand, he conveyed his wish for Lillie to allow them to continue listening on the ongoing situation. being herself curious, the request had not been long in waiting to be grated.
=/\= I won't be able to carry Ya'Jun. I think both of her legs are broken as well as one arm. If you take care of her, I ill make sure that this sorry excuse of a life form gets where he needs to be. =/\=
Hearing Ya'Han say this sent Jayson into a state that Doctor Doyanne had been incapable of missing, or ignoring.
"You, SIT! I am starting to think that being able to listen in on what is happening was not such a good idea."
To avoid doing or saying that he ha been sure to regret at some point, the OPS officer quickly sat on the nearby bed and sheepishly looked up at Doctor Doyanne. Whatever would happen next concerning them would be decided by her, a reality that he had been, strangely enough, happy with.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Forget About Fighting Fair"
[previous post was "Fiery Fury" by the apparently vicious Hanali]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 29
Stardate: 30153.0700
The sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the small room well before the door that Uxtar had kicked clean off its hinges had reached the far wall. The Hirogen hunter had used all of his might to clear path and gain as much of an element of surprise as possible an in doing so had interrupted something unexpected.
Where Uxtar and Shar'El had expected to find surprise, they instead found anger. The man known as Fenix had visibly been ready to unleash a fate similar to the one that Ya'Jun had been dealt not so long ago, although by whom had still been unclear. With little effort, Uxtar took hold of the man and pinned him against the nearest wall insuring that he would not go anywhere, allowing the dark haired Commander to address the bloody mess at the other end of the small room.
"We found both Ya'Han and Ya'Jun," Shar'El announced with joyous relief. "Not sure what happened but Ya'Jun is going to need urgent medical assistance."
=/\= Is the situation contained? =/\= the Captain asked, still very much bound by the requirements of the Shadow Protocol that he had initiated when the situation had gotten out of hand.
"This piece of turd is not going anywhere," Uxtar growled as he momentarily released Fenix only to slam him that much harder against the wall that he had been pressed against by the Hirogen.
=/\= Turd! Really? =/\= Sonja sighed, the engineer still busy with trying to figure out how to deal with the explosive device that had been found.
"With Fenix and Ya'Jun in custody, the situation is contained," the Shar'El confirmed, rather anxious to see the possible outcome of the Shadow Protocole being lifted.
=/\= Regroup with Lt. Paquette and Commander Maya, =/\= the Captain said, his tone having come across as colder than the acting ExO / ILO would have expected given the success of their endeavors. =/\= Do whatever is required to have Mister Fenix assist in the disarming of the bomb. =/\=
The Rutian grinned at the thought of helping these people in undoing what he had worked so hard to accomplish. Having noticed this, Uxtar leaned in and snarled in the captive man's face. "What if he decides not to cooperate?"
=/\= You are authorized to use all available means to achieve your objective, =/\= Captain Morningstar said. =/\= If you cannot disarm the bomb, strap him to it. =/\=
"Is he kidding?" The Hirogen whispered to the black haired woman who had been trying to make sense of the scene involving the two NYLAAN sisters.
"Doubt it," Shar'El nodded as she glanced back to the Hirogen. "I can imagine that the official story would be made to be along the lines of the bomb exploded taking along the incompetent terrorist that had placed it there."
Having heard this, Fenix struggled in rage against the Hirogen's hold, but to no avail. Size along, Uxtar possessed the clear advantage, and once you took into account the hunter's strength and training, there had been no way for the Rutian to even come close to escaping.
"Are you alright?" Shar'El asked of the red haired Chief of Security, catching glimpses of memories that gave the acting ExO / ILO an uncomfortable idea of what had transpired before their sudden arrival.
"I will be," Ya'Han replied following several seconds of silence in which the woman considered the actions she had taken and the reasons that had triggered them. "I'll take care of Ya'Jun."
"Are you certain?" the acting ExO / ILO asked, the last memory to have flashed in the woman's mind having made it perfectly clear that the blood on the hands of the Chief of Security had been that of her own sister.
"Yes," the woman said as her red hair began to change back to the usual black that her shipmates had grown used to seeing her with. "She is my sister, and maybe the only family that I actually have left."
"That is not true," the dark haired woman said as reassuringly as possible. "You have now and will always have a family here with us. No matter what you may have done or thought of doing."
Ya'Han glanced over Shar'El's shoulder to see the hatred in Fenix's eyes, a hatred that she had been made to share in not so long ago, a hatred that had nearly claimed the life of her sister. That hatred had touched her in a way that Ya'Han had never expected leaving her to deal with the aftermath of the actions she had taken while under its influence.
"Sonja, we're heading back to you," the acting ExO / ILO announced as Ya'Han moved passed the acting ExO / ILO to stand directly next to Uxtar.
"I won't be able to carry Ya'Jun," the younger sister explained. "I think both of her legs are broken as well as one arm. If you take care of her, I ill make sure that this sorry excuse of a life form gets where he needs to be."
Uxtar glanced at Shar'El to make sure that the plan had the support of their acting ExO / ILO. With a simple nod of her head, the plan was accepted and acted upon.
Although relatively short in distance, the journey to regroup with Commander Maya and Lt. Paquette had proven to be a long one filled with near perfect silence. Anger and sadness could be seen trading places on the face of the Chief of Security as she made sure that the man responsible for what she had done to her sister stayed on track. On his end, Uxtar had remained silent despite his analysis of the physical damage of the woman currently in his arms.
Even as a Hirogen hunter it had been difficult for him to imagine anyone capable of inflicting so much pain on a single person, and Uxtar could not bring himself to accept the possibility that this had been Ya'Han's work. The Hirogen had not been ready to openly asked what had happened, and the Ullian had not been ready to reveal what she had seen through the most recent memories of their Chief of Security.
Maybe once they would return to the ANUBIS the situation could be more closely looked at, but for the moment the acting ExO / ILO thought it best to leave things alone. Dealing with the bomb had been their last obstacle before the crew as a whole could put the events that had transpired behind them once and for all.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Fiery Fury"
[previous post was "Flushed"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Unknown Location
Stardate: 30153.0655
Slowly the red haired Sec/Tac wiped the blood splatter from her cheek and lips. Ya'Jun had managed to put up a fight using whatever skills she had learned to earn her red hair, but those skills had been far from being a match for her Federation combat training.
Ya'Han's fiery hair had matched her emotions as she unleashed volley after volley against her sister, all under the continued encouragement of the one and only witness to the scene. There had been something in Fenix's voice that the exiled daughter of the High Sovereign had recognized, a lust for the pain that the undercover Sec/Tac had been inflicting on her sister. No matter how hard the red haired woman would strike, the observer to the battle edged her on to hit harder.
"Please," Ya'Jun begged as she did her best to crawl away from her enraged sister who had remained perfectly silent throughout the beating handed by her own hands. Looking down at her sister, Ya'Han could only guess as to how many bones had been broken, the sight of the misaligned limbs having been but a hint as to the extent of the damage that she had inflicted.
"You are almost there," Fenix said, his joyous voice having been an odd counter to the rage and sadness that had filled the room for the last several minutes. "Give in to your anger, give in to your rage and let it flow freely. Your freedom, the one that you have been so desperately been searching for during all those years is finally within your grasp. Kill your sister and take her place by my side as an equal. Her blood will forever severe the strings from your past insuring that no one will ever be able to get to you."
With a vision as red as her own hair had become, Ya'Han reached for her sister's throat and brought her up against the nearest wall. In her beaten state, the older sister had been unable to offer any sort of resistance, only one hand having been capable to be raised to weakly hold on to the younger sister's wrist.
"Please," Ya'Jun repeated, fear so easily identified in her eyes slightly hidden beneath a veil of purple. Had she been scared of death, of how her sister would bring an end to her life or had the twelfth daughter of the High Sovereign been afraid of something else?
The Caitian engineer had been on board this ship trying to protect her. The Pythron merchant had been here trying to capture her. Obviously there had been some sort of interest in the older sister, interest that the younger sister had long ago distanced herself from by escaping into Federation space and joining Starfleet.
"There is no need to hesitate," Fenix edged on with a voice that seemed to beg for blood to be spilled on a scale beyond what the red haired woman could conceive. "Kill her and get it over with, your freedom from being a mindless puppet awaits."
Slowly, the hold on Ya'Jun's throat tightened as the two sisters gazed into each other's eyes. Years of shared memories flashed between them in silence until the body of the older sister fell limp as what little strength had been there vanished. It was at that moment that Ya'Han realized what she had done, what Fenix had made her do.
With reflexes available only to the highly trained security personnel of Starfleet, the red haired woman reached for a loos pipe and hurled it towards the man who had been standing well out of range of the fight. As the pipe flew through the air like a missile, the door to the room was forcefully kicked in intercepting the projectile as if fate itself had played a role in the event.
When Uxtar flew in, Fenix shot a glare at is new protege, questioning without words if she had been the cause of this or a victim as he was. Her reaction in the seconds that could follow would provide him with the answer he sought.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
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"Flushed"
[Previous post "Frightful Fears"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 29
Stardate: 30153.0655
What Uxtar had just done to Kytith would nearly ensure that the Hirogen would lose his position on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS. Assaulting another member of the crew had certainly not been permitted but the hunter had been left with few other alternatives. Time had been against them and the Caitian had possessed information that would allow the two undercover Starfleet officers to act in a much quicker manner. Not believing in luck, the course of action that had been taken had been the one and only possible one.
Even if Kytith failed to report the incident to the command staff of the Risian Cruise Liner or even his immediate engineering supervisor, Uxtar had not planned on staying on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS beyond the conclusion of the current mission. It made perfect sense for the undercover maintenance staff member to return to the ANUBIS and retake his rightful place there although he would have to learn to deal with the new command structure, namely the First Officer and her unique skill set. Having a Commander who believed in luck had not pleased him, but for the time being the hunter needed to focus on the situation at hand.
Locating Ensign Ya'Han and bringing her back safely had been the one and only target that currently mattered, and the Hirogen had been beyond certain that luck would not have any role in the reaching that specific target.
"There," Shar'El said as she pointed to a door several feet in front of them, one partially hidden behind a couple of large conduits. "That's the door I saw in the Caitian's memories."
"It's the secondary storage room for the artificial gravity generators," Uxtar muttered to no one in particular. "The room is lined with special insulation to avoid the components inside from being affected by whatever emissions may occur on this deck, and since the stock was not replenished at the last maintenance layover, the room is nice and empty. It is the perfect location to hold someone without risking being discovered, especially when considering that the insulation does make the room nearly perfectly sound proof."
"Guessing the sensors won't be able to tell us if someone in in there," the First Officer sighed quietly knowing that their only course of action had been a direct frontal assault of the room through the only access point available.
Uxtar and Shar'El exchange a quick glance, the two of them finalizing the plan of action without actually speaking. Under normal circumstances the First Officer would have been the one to lead such an assault, but given the restricted room and high risk of a less than pleasant welcome by whoever had been inside that room, it had made more sense for the Hirogen to be the one to rush in first.
"Wait,” Shar'El said, placing her hand on the Hirogen's shoulder just as he had been ready to begin his assault run. “You belong to the maintenance staff, what if you simply walked in looking for something. Yes the element of surprise would play in our favor but if we can get a better idea of what is inside before we go barging in, it might save us a lot of trouble.”
"Still playing on the luck angle?" the hunter asked in a half growl.
"No," the First Officer quickly replied back. "I just believe in knowing what it is that we are dealing with before breaking any bones."
"If there is even only one armed person inside, our just walking in tip the advantage back in their favor,” Uxtar explained. “You are my superior and I will comply to your wishes, but it is my duty to point out that in this particular situation, we cannot afford to play it safe.”
=/\= Just let the muscle bound man do what he needs to do, =/\= Sonja said over the comms channel. =/\= He is probably overdue for his daily dose of bashing something in. Also, I would not mind not having to hear you two arguing this much longer. I should not have to remind you that there is someone here trying to figure out how to disarm a bomb. =/\=
Shar'El sighed and gave the Hirogen a single nod of her head, giving Uxtar the go ahead to proceed as he had wanted to from the stat. Without wasting any more time, the hunter rushed for the door and with a swift and powerful kick sent it flying open granting them access to the room and by the same token taken those inside by complete surprise.
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Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
=-=
"Forced Finding"
[previous post was "Family Feud" by the asserting Hanali]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 28, top of the stairs leading to Deck 29
Stardate: 30153.0650
The orders from Captain Morningstar had been crystal clear, no one was to venture anywhere below decks alone, so as much as she had wanted to go down and start looking for their missing Chief of Security, the Acting ExO / ILO stay put. Being patient had never been a issue for the Ullian, such an attribute having been needed to deal with some of the more complex memory scans. To rush into a mind could have unexpected consequences that could hinder or even render useless the quest for deeply buried memories.
It was with no small amount of joy that the acting ExO / ILO welcomed the towering Hirogen back, his presence making it possible for the two of them to go down and help in whatever way they could.
"What game are you playing with that merchant, Drask Pharren?" Shar'El asked of the maintenance staff member who had taken point. "I know that you are not planning on turning Ya'Jun over to him if we actually get to find and apprehend her."
"Not her," Uxtar said, his smile visible even to the women walking directly in his wake. "But if all goes well, I hope to have the next best thing stand before him. That way we can figure out exactly what his angle is and hopefully discover who hired him to seek out Ya'Jun."
A rapid scan of the Hirogen's memory gave the acting ExO / ILO all of the answers she had been looking for. "You want to have Ya'Han play the part of her sister in front of merchant. Now I have to agree with Sonja, you are far more a gambler than I or anyone else could have imagined you to be."
"Gambling involves relying on luck," the Hirogen said, his senses trained on every part of his surroundings as he tried to see if he could pick up a hint as to the whereabout of their missing Chief of Security. "I rely on skills, in my case, those of a hunter. What you believe to be a gamble, I see as a calculated risk. This way."
Without asking any questions the acting ExO / ILO followed, willing to place her trust in the Hirogen hunter's skills well before counting on he unpredictable hand of fate. After only a few seconds of following the nimble maintenance staff member, Shar'El heard something that drew her attention to something ahead of them. "There is someone ahead of us," she whispered.
"I know," Uxtar said, never looking back to the woman who had been following him. "I caught his scent about 20 meters back. I know who is it and I think he may be of use to us."
Before the acting ExO / ILO could say anything else, the Hirogen leaped over several large conduits to land within arm's reach of a Caitian who, according to his uniform, belonged to the Engineering staff of the MASQUERADE DREAMS.
"Someone your size should not be able to sneak up on someone like me," Kytith hissed. "What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?"
"I don't have time to play games with you today Kytith," Uxtar said as he grabbed the Caitian by the throat and pushed him again the nearest bulkhead. "I know that you have been keeping tabs on one specific passenger, a woman who goes by the name of Ya'Jun. I also know that you are involved with her on some level, I don't know how or why and frankly I don't care, but I need to know where she is now."
"I... not... know..." The Caitian said, barely able to breath thanks to the crushing hold of the Hirogen.
"You know the lower decks," Uxtar continued as he motioned Shar'El to step closer with his one free hand. "Where, on this deck could someone go to hide from an unwanted search. somewhere that would give them privacy without the risk of being stumbled upon by someone from the staff?"
Having understood the plan, the acting ExO / ILO gazed at the pinned alien who had been utterly incapable of breaking free from the Hirogen's hold. It had not taken long before the memory of a specific location came into view of the Ullian, which was what the woman figured had been the plan all along.
"Got it," Shar'El said. "You can let him go before we end up with another dead body on our hands. I am sure that Mister Kytith here will understand that his continued survival will depend on his ability to keep this little encounter a secret from anyone else."
"Yes... nothing happened," the Caitian said, still struggling to regain his breath despite the fact that Uxtar had released his hold.
"Let's go," the acting ExO / ILO ordered as she took point. The memories she had seen in he Caitian's mind had been remarkably clear and precise despite the stress that the man had been under. "I have a good idea of where this place is, but that still does not mean that we have the right place. We'll just have to hope that we get lucky."
"Lucky?" Uxtar growled. "Luck had nothing to do with this so far and will not determine if we have the right place of not," the Hirogen said somewhat angrily as he moved ahead of the woman to take point, the general heading that she had taken having been all that he needed to figure out where they had been going.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Family Feud"
[previous post was "Frightful Fears"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Unknown Location
Stardate: 30153.0640
With her older sister reeling in pain at her feet, Ya'Han tried to make sense of the conflicting emotions that filled her mind. The two of them had shared so much as siblings, and being close in age had made it so that the two of them had taken part in the same trainings and lessons. Granted, being the daughters of the High Sovereign had not cancelled the natural sibling rivalry, but never had the now red haired Chief of Security expected to feel such hatred and disgust for her sister.
"Impressive," a dark and sinister voice said, taking Ya'Han's attention away from her sister and onto the new arrival. "Most impressive." The smile on the lips of the man known as Fenix had seemed almost evil in nature, hinting to man's character and ideals.
"What do you want?" the red haired undercover officer said, ready for a fight that would end with him on the floor just as her sister had if he would be lucky.
"To make you an offer," Fenix cooed. Despite her loathing for him for what she believed he had done to her sister, Ya'Han could not ignore the charm that the man radiated. Whatever his life had been, it had made him to be skilled in the ways of talking to people to have them listen.
"Not interested," the Sec/Tac said back, keeping her answer short and to the point so that she could concentrate on finding a weakness, be it physical or psychological, in the man that she would be able to use. The goal of the red haired woman had been a simple one, to get both her sister and herself to safety and away from the terrorist, if he should be injured or even killed in the process, it would be a welcomed bonus.
"Your sister said the same thing the first time we met," Fenix calmly explained as if he had all of the time in the world, "but I saw something in her, something that she had not seen in herself. It is the same thing that I now see in you. In fact I can see that you have it in you to be better than you could have ever imagined. Better than Ya'Jun could have ever been."
For a brief moment the Sec/Tac's eyes returned to her sister who had still been on the ground trying to recuperate from the beating she had received. Whatever Ya'Han might have felt before, guilt for what she had done began to creep into her mind. The Sec/Tac needed to find a way to get them both out of there to safety, and the only way to do so was for her to play the game the terrorist wanted to play.
"Still not interested," Ya'Han said. If she had appeared too willing to listen, Fenix might have become suspicious, so the Sec/Tac had thought it best to continue as she would have normally. Offering a reluctant and pessimistic glare to the man had therefore been natural and easily believable.
"It's not like you will even be able to return home," Fenix said, a dark and evil smile touching his lips. "From what Ya'Jun has told me, daddy dearest would have you pay for your insolence for the rest of your natural life and maybe even beyond. Also, as you heard your sister claim just now, your mother would not come to your rescue if you did in fact return to face your father. That leaves you to be alone as a mindless puppet of Starfleet. I can assure you this, without a past or future, you will soon find yourself hating each breath that you take, filling you with an emptiness that can never be satiated."
Ya'Han met Fenix's gaze for several seconds, actually finding herself thinking of what he had said. She had started this with the intent to do nothing more than play his game while searching for a weakness, but now the black haired woman had found herself actually listening to not only the words but their significance.
Seeing the hesitation in the woman's eyes, Fenix smiled and approached the standing sister. "You left your home because you did not want to become a puppet for your father to use as he wished. Like so many others before you though, your escape led you to fall into a different setting with the exact same situation. As an officer of Starfleet, you are nothing more than a puppet to those above you, and no matter what rank you will achieve, you will remain as such, always following the orders and demands of your superiors. What I am offering you here is true freedom, a chance for you to become the person that you have always wanted to be, a person free of the strings people have and continue to use to control each and every aspects of your life."
The words washed over Ya'Han like a hot shower, making her think of her life, both past and present in a clearer and more relaxed way. She had sought freedom from her father's control and as Fenix had pointed out, she had fallen to be under the control of a different set of people. From one master she had escaped into the control of another.
"What do I need to do?" the Sec/Tac asked, surprising herself that the words had made their way past her lips.
"You need to cut the strings that are holding you captive as someone else's puppet," Fenix said as he came even closer to Ya'Han, able to place a hand on her shoulder. "That you realize it or not, you are still very much under the control and influence of your past, your father. You need to severe those strings first before you can even hope to be able to gain the freedom that you so desperately have been searching for all your life."
"How do I do this?" Ya'Han asked, again surprised that those words had crossed her lips so easily and honestly. Had this man actually held the answer to her search from freedom and individuality?
"You must cut the strings by casting away everything that is your past," he said, placing another hand on her shoulders as he stood directly behind the black haired woman. "Those strings are there only to control you, to hurt you. The only way to achieve the freedom you seek is to cut them in a way that can never be rebuilt."
"How?" Ya'Han gasped, finding herself desperately longing for the answer.
"It will not be easy," Fenix said as he slowly turned Ya'Han to face and look at her sister who had just manage to get back to her feet. "You will need to make sacrifices, but those sacrifices are necessary for you to be able to leave the hold of your past behind where it can never reach you again. Are you sure that you are ready to make such sacrifices, no matter how difficult they will be?"
"Yes," Ya'Han answered, quicker and with more conviction than she could have ever imagined herself using. Had this truly been the answers that she had been searching for all this time?
"Then kill your sister."
Ya'Jun gasped in horror. After all that Fenix had said to her, after everything that he had convinced her to do, how could he dismiss her with such ease?
Having felt the hesitation in her shoulders, Fenix continued, making sure that Ya'Han's gaze never left the form of her troubled and now terrified sister. "Remember the hatred you felt for her when you beat her to the ground. Remember what she said to you, that you two are no longer sisters. Remember the shame she mentioned. She represents the family that now despises you, the family that still controls the strings that link you to your past. They care nothing for you other than to use you as a mean to show others what the price is for disobeying. Kill her and you will take your first step to becoming truly free from your past, free from the strings that are still today holding you back as a worthless daughter of the High Sovereign of NYLA IV. Kill her and you experience for the first time what it truly means to be free."
Ya'Jun looked into her sisters eyes certain that she could never act as she had been instructed, but when Ya'Han's hair turned red once again, the older sister knew that Fenix had won. The cold expression on the now advancing woman left nothing to the imagination. The younger sister would use all of her strength and skills to end the life of her older sister, all in the name of finding the freedom she so desperately wanted to claim as her own.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
"Frightful Fears"
[previous "Fighting Fair"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-130
Stardate: 30153.0650
He laid on the bed, his back against the softness of the sheets, his eyes locked on some unseen point on the ceiling. Lillie had been right, in his current state of mind he had been useless to the rest of the team, scarier had been that fact that he had been useless to himself.
Everytime he pushed the thought of the enchantress out of his mind, she would find a way back. Every time he would force another memory at the forefront, her face, her eyes and her smile would return. Whatever the Doctor had given him had helped, but he had not been ready or willing to admit that it had not been enough to free him of the spell that Shae had cast on him.
How easily she had broken him, making him relive events that he had done his best to hide away and forget. A shiver swept through his body as he remembered telling her about who he worked for and that he had not been alone. That memory triggered another and Jayson instinctively reached for his cheek to rub it. To say that Shae had been angry would have been an understatement of galactic proportion, the lasting soreness of his cheek being proof of this.
Still, he would have endured that pain and discomfort a thousand times over if had insured him keeping his mouth shut. Talking about his past had been one thing, something that might have led to unpleasant memories returning to anchor themselves in the present. To talk about his time at the Academy and as a member of the ANUBIS had crossed a line that he knew could not be easily forgiven, whatever the reason might have been.
In doing so he had placed everyone in danger. The crew of the ANUBIS worked best in the shadows, but knowledge of their existence should shine a light that none of them could afford to have on them. Like the pieces of an elaborate placed domino set, each part played a delicate role and should only one fall, the rest would soon follow.
Losing his commission and position on the ANUBIS scared him beyond words, but the reality that what he had revealed could place the entirety of the NEW ALEXANDRIA complex at risk had been more than the OPS officer could bare. If only he could remember for certain what he had said to her. Had he simply shared the accounts of his time in Starfleet Academy or had he said something about the secret based where he had been covertly taken to? Had he actually mentioned the ANUBIS and the member of its crew by name or had he managed to keep those details vague enough to avoid a complete breach of security?
If only he could remember.
Jayson wanted to bounce off the bed and rush after Shae to confront her, to demand that she tell him what he had told her, but he knew that this would not be possible. Lillie had been all too right in her evaluation of his condition and how he would be the moment his eyes would fall once again upon the enchantress. There had been nothing that he could do to fight against her powers over him, and if he had indeed not fully betrayed his fellow shipmates, seeing her again would insure that this time around he would tell her everything.
If only he could remember.
He closed his eyes, loathing himself for what he had done even though he could not remember having actually done it. The simple possibility of him having divulged such sensitive secret information to a woman who was associated with a known terrorist had been enough to make him sick. Had he been able to knowing that this would make everything right, he would have gladly given his life in the most painful of ways. How many lives would be affected or even lost because of what he had done and said?
If only he could remember.
All that Jayson could do was to wait in the darkness of his closed eyes and the silence of his removed subdermal communicator for what would happen next, powerless to do anything about it, and frightfully scared of what would come to pass, not for him but for everyone else.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Fighting Fair"
Previous post from divious Mark: "Figures"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stop hating yourself for everything you are not. Start loving yourself for everything you are.
- Unknown
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-130
Stardate: 30152.0645
==========^*^==========
Heaving with all her might, the blonde woman was able to hoist the Operations officer back onto the bed. Whilst still barely conscious the man had managed to throw himself from where Uxtar had placed him. The ghostly look in her crewmate's eyes was enough to make the doctor worry, but first something else needed to be tended to.
Lillie dragged her body over to the desk nearest the walls and opened a drawer. Fiddling around inside the Tarellian was able to grasp hold of a lifeline, the cure. Pushing back her long hair so that it fell over her opposite shoulder, the plague victim pressed the hypospray to the side of her throat and injected the serum into her veins.
The dizziness that followed forced the already kneeling Ensign to place her head on the floor in an attempt to not immediately eject the fowl concoction from her body. Blood pooled in the doctor's mouth as she waited for the cure to take effect. Slowly, the undercover officer's breathing slowed and her body returned to it's usual state of nullified health.
Thankful, Lillie turned her full attention to Jayson after having drank a glass of cool water to wash out her mouth "Ensign Stark? Are you conscious yet? Is there anything you need?"
"A new brain... one that isn't trying to escape my skull would be best" the Terran man groaned, having turned on his side during the doctor's treatment.
"Well, if you're healthy enough to make jokes I suppose you'll be okay to receive some medication for the dizziness. But I will need to re-treat the hormones Ya'Jun produced in your mind"
"We don't have the time... I need to find her. We need to stop them. What about the bomb?" Jayson panicked, attempting to push himself out of bed only to meet the gentle but firm hand of his overseeing doctor
"Jayson no. You won't be of much help to anyone in the state you're in, and frankly neither would I. Our best bet is to wait on our colleges and be readily standing by for if they need our help. I'm going to prepare some minor things here to help anyone who may be injured and you can help me... how do you think it will be if you go back out there and Ya'Jun catches you?"
A sick feeling entered the very soul of the ANUBIS officer upon remembering the enchantresses control over him, as well as his own betrayal of the friend he had grown to respect and cherish during his time aboard the ship.
"Jayson? Stay here with me okay? I can give you some doses to fight against the pheromones and at the same time it will keep you away from her" Lillie reassured gently, already preparing a workspace in the case of anyone requiring her assistance.
Disheartened, the Operations officer laid back on the bed provided and worried, fear gripped him as he wondered how his crew would react to his revealing them. Would Starfleet see this as ample enough reason to pull him off the ANUBIS roster? Jayson begged the very stars that he could remain, having found one place in all the universe where he could heal.
==========^*^==========
Ashley Shane
Ensign Lillie Doyanne
Chief Medical Officer/Researcher
USS ANUBIS
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"Figures"
[Previous post "False or Forever Friends"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 23, outside room 130
Stardate: 30153.0640
It had not been easy to bring both Doctor Doyanne and Ensign Stark back to a room without being seen by the other passengers of member of the cruise ship’s crew. A lot of questions would have likely been asked to explain why a member of the maintenance staff had been so unceremoniously carrying not one but two passengers. Luckily for the Hirogen, his assignment to the maintenance staff of the MASQUERADE DREAMS had giving him the knowledge and means to travel the ship relatively unseen.
Uxtar would have liked to be able to help the Doctor as it was clear that something had not been right, but the Hirogen’s skill set had been more along the lines of tracking and killing humanoids instead of healing them. By bringing them back to the Doctor’s own room, the hunter had done his best, now what he needed to do was to return to the lower decks and see if there had been something else he could do to assist.
"I am disappointed in you," a cold and calculating familiar voice said bringing the Hirogen maintenance staff member to a full and abrupt stop. As he turned to look at Drask Pharren, the hunter was a little surprised to see the man without his customary escorts, the green haired entertainer Ye’Lan or the two Hupyrian bodyguards. "Given your race’s reputation I had figured that you would have found your target by now."
"Mr. Drask, who says I have not found Ya’Jun," Uxtar countered with making sure to clearly speak both names to inform the rest of the undercover team of what was happening.
"Where is she?" the Pythron merchant demanded, his patience having apparently been reduced to absolutely nothing since the last time the two had seen one another.
"Last I heard, she was in the lower decks of the MASQUERADE DREAMS," Uxtar answered which caused several members of the undercover team to gasp the causal manner with which the Hirogen had divulged the information. "She’s no angel. Seems that she has been trying to gain access to some of the ship’s systems, the reason for this I have not yet figured out. What I have figured out though is that you have not told me the entire story about why you want her so badly. If she was a mere royal runaway brat, she would not be trying to gain access to restricted systems."
"She may be on to you," Drask said as he tried very hard to hide the surprise he felt to show on his face.
"You didn’t know," Uxtar continued with a hint of amusement in his voice. "You just took on the bounty without looking closer as to who the lady was or why she had run away."
"Fine," the Pythron merchant growled through clenched teeth. "I'll double your reward, but I want her in my possession before noon day. Do whatever it takes, but I want her."
"Well, guess I’d better be heading back down below then," the Hirogen said, taking care of both the merchant and notifying Captain Morningstar and the others of where he would be heading to.
"Do not fail me," Drask said menacingly despite the fact that the Hirogen could have easily snapped his neck with little effort. "I have too much invested in this to let her slip through my fingers again or to have those under my employment not live up to their obligations."
"I would suggest that you return to your quarters and enjoy a cold relaxing beverage," Uxtar said calmly, certain that this would insure the merchant staying out of not only his but everyone else’s way during the crisis. "Ask your green haired lady to give you a massage, by noon today you will have another lady in your room and our deal will be concluded."
With that the Hirogen hunter turned away ad began to walk away from a fuming Drask.
=/\= What are you playing at Uxtar? =/\= the Captain asked, not sure of what the latest member of the undercover team had been up to.
"I have a plan," Uxtar said with a troubled sigh. "Unfortunately I will need to find Ya’Han before noon for it to work."
=/\= Didn’t realize that you were that much of a gambler Uxtar, =/\= the Chief Engineer said over the communication channel. =/\= You are placing bets that you may not be able to collect, especially if I can’t figure out how to turn this blasted thing off before it blows. =/\=
"I have the greatest confidence in your skills Lieutenant, now all I ask is that you have a little confidence in mine."
-+-+-+-+-+-
Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
=-=
"False or Forever Friends"
[previous post was "Floored" by the asserting Hanali]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 28, top of the stairs leading to Deck 29
Stardate: 30153.0630
The Acting ExO / ILO did her best to address the immediate needs of their Chief Medical Officer, but her attention kept returning to the bottom of the stairs where she hoped to see Uxtar and Jayson return safe and sound along with Ya'Han. With her subdermal communicator no longer operational, there had been no way for anyone to know what had been going on or even if the Chief of Security had still been alive.
The fact that both Lillie and Jayson had been found alive had raised the odds that Ya'Han would also be located in the same state. The difference in this case though had been that the Chief of Security possessed a link to the terrorists that no one else did. Being the sister of one of them would either grant the undercover officer complete immunity from harm or make her a target for immediate and unbridled retaliation.
All that Shar'El could do was to hope in silence and have confidence in the woman's ability to take care of herself by leaving behind the purple of her past and the black of her shame to instead embrace the red of her training. Based on all that she knew, from memories extending to lives beyond her own, the acting ExO / ILO knew that this would prove easier said than done.
When Lillie stirred, Shar'El quickly turned back to look at the woman with a mixture of guilt and gladness in her eyes as the CMO gradually regained consciousness. The secret that the Talerian had entrusted the acting ExO / ILO had been meant to seal their friendship, and the fact that she had been forced to reveal the woman's true origins weighed heavily on the First Officer's mind. The fact that Lillie had been there in front of her alive had filled the Commander with immeasurable joy, but that emotional had been insufficient to counter balance the guilt she felt at the betrayal of trust that had committed.
"You are safe," Shar'El said in a reassuring tone as she took hold of the Doctor's cold hand.
Lillie took a few seconds to gather her bearings, offering a gentle smile in reply to the statement that had been made to her. After that the CMO realized that someone had been missing, namely the undercover officer with whom she had been held captive with. "Where is Jayson? Is he alright?"
"He's fine," Shar'El said in the same reassuring tone. "Uxtar is bringing him back as we speak."
"What about Fenix and Shea?" the woman with the golden hair asked, recalling the verbal exchange that the two pairs had shared with one another.
"No signs of them yet, but we are searching," the acting ExO / ILO said, keeping the details of the latest missing officers to herself for the time being. For now, Lillie's attention needed to be on her own situation and no one else's. "In the meantime you need to relax an rest."
"No time," the CMO said, her words filled with discomfort bordering on pain. "I need to get back to the ANUBIS before it is too late."
Seconds passed in silence as Shar'El tried to figure out what to say. Under the guides of the Shadow Protocol, only the unit's CO had the authority to authorize someone to leave the quarantined zone, and somehow the acting ExO / ILO doubted that Captain Morningstar would be willing to allow Doctor Doyanne to return to the ship in her current state.
The sound of heavy footsteps drew the attention of both women onto the Hirogen as he made his way up the metallic stairs. "We need to move," Uxtar said as he reached down and took hold of the CMO in one arm while still holding on to the Operations officer with the other leaving Shar'El to feel both useless and thankful.
"Uxtar is taking Jayson and Lillie to a safer location," the acting ExO / ILO said wanting to let everyone know of their current location and heading. "Sonja, Maya, if you need something just say so."
=/\= Some peace and quiet would be nice, thank you, =/\= the Engineer snapped back, her tone hinting that if she had been able to, the subdermal communication device would have been ripped from her neck a while ago.
With a motion of her hand Shar'El instructed Uxtar to go while she stayed behind, the reason for this having been multiple fold. One, she wanted to stay nearby enough to be able to quickly help the CEO and CSciO should they need anything, two, the acting ExO / ILO had hoped to find something to indicate the whereabouts of their missing Chief of Security and three, the dark haired woman thought it best if she stayed away from the golden haired Doctor for the moment, still having difficulties dealing with the betrayal of trust that she had willingly done under the excuse of wanting to find her.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Floored"
[previous post was "Fast Feet"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Unknown Location
Stardate: 30153.0630
To say that she had a headache would have been a huge understatement for Ya'Han. The impact against the deck floor had caused the Sec/Tac to see stars, and not the ones that she enjoyed looking at at night or through one of the windows of the ANUBIS. Slowly the black haired woman began to regain her wits, recalling with ease from where she laid on the floor the anger that she had seen on her older's sister's face seconds before being knocked out.
Four years at Starfleet Academy during which she had received special security training had not prepared the thirteenth daughter of the High Sovereign for what her sister had done. The truth was that although Ya'Han had seen the sphere long before it had been activated, there had been no way for the black haired woman to strike at her older sister as she would have needed to. It may have been a long time since the two of them had seen each other, but the fact that they were sisters had still been very much present in the mind of the Sec/Tac officer.
"Well, well, well, look who is finally waking up. So much for that high and mighty Starfleet training that we heard so much about from those merchants visiting father," Ya'Jun said, her voice as cold as ice and as sharp as a thousand deadly blades.
"Why are you doing this?" Ya'Han said feeling a sharp pain on her neck where the subdermal communicator had been implanted before the start of their mission.
"Don't bother," the twelfth daughter hissed as she threw the communication device at her younger sister, the small communicator still stained with the woman's blood. "Your friends can't hear you. Unlike you, I learned to survive on my own and not depend on others. Odd isn't it? As I recall it was you who was always saying that we needed to learn to get out of father's shadow and become women of our own. Look at you now, you are a disgrace to our family. Exiled and powerless to take care of yourself, even from the likes of me."
"I am not the pawn I once was Ya'Jun," the purple haired woman said in return as she forced herself back onto her feet. "I held back because you are my sister, because I know that dead down you do not wish me harm just as much as I do not wish to harm you."
"You stopped being my sister the day you ran away like the ungrateful coward that you are," the older sister said, her own hair now matching that of the woman barely standing in front of her. "You lost the right to dawn that color on that day," Ya'Jun added as she sent her opened hand flying through the air to land flat across the other woman's cheek.
The impact had been strong, far stronger than Ya'Han would have imagined it to be, and it sent her stumbling to the side for several steps before she managed to regain her balance. As she glared back at her older sister, the Sec/Tac officer felt the warmth of her own blood caressing her lower lip before it dripped onto the floor at her feet.
"So we are no longer sisters?" the woman with the now black hair asked, her voice meek and laced with shame where one would have expected anger.
"You are nothing to me other than a reminder of the disappointment you caused our father and the pain you inflicted on all of us by your absence," the older sister hissed with even more anger than had been present in her words seconds before.
"Fine," Ya'Han spat as her hair changed to the fiery red of her world's military trained division. "If we are no longer sisters, there is no reason for me to hold back," the combat trained woman said as she leaped towards the surprised woman who had been given no time or opportunity to prepare for the counter attack.
Without the self-imposed limitations of facing her older sister, Ya'Han called upon all of the knowledge and practice she had accumulated throughout her Starfleet Academy combat training. Within mere seconds, Ya'Jun was made to see that the stories told by the merchants to their father had indeed not been exaggerated and that the once thirteen daughter of the High Sovereign had learned quite well to defend herself, even from the likes of a woman like her sister.
The battle ended just as quickly as it had begun, the final result seeing the red haired security trained Starfleet Officer standing tall over the floored purple haired twelfth daughter and former sister. The few drops of blood that had fallen from Ya'Han's lips had been joined by countless others from the woman who now glared back with venomous rage at the woman she had severely underestimated.
"You can do whatever you want with me," Ya'Jun said as she spat blood toward the feet of the standing woman who had been nothing more than a stranger to the purple haired woman. "Father will never accept you back, and if he did for some unfathomable reason, you would not live to see the day where you would actually get to stand before him and beg for forgiveness. Mother would make sure of that"
Although Ya'Han had been standing well over her sister, the last words spoken had hit a nerve, one that sent the black haired woman's spirit crashing to the floor to shatter in a thousand pieces. Living with the hatred of her father, and even that of her sisters had been something that the thirteen daughter of the High Sovereign had accepted the day she had run away, but never had she believed that her mother would share in this hatred towards the youngest child who she had done so much to protect over the years while on NYLA IV.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
---
"Fast Feet"
(Previous Post: "Fascination")
---
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 29, Aft Section
Stardate: 30153.0625
The Chief Science Officer followed the Hirogen as best she could, the hunter moving with an agility and speed that had been unexpected for someone of his imposing stature. At over 2 meters tall, one would have expected the Hirogen to be clumsy and slow, but Uxtar had been neither moving through the unseen decks of the MASQUERADE DREAMS in a way that would have made many envious.
It was only when they were near their destination that Uxtar slowed down enough to allow the scientist to catch up. More than once the Chief Science Officer had thought of hanging her form to allow her to keep up with the focussed Hirogen. As a Gralo, a wolf-like creature native to her long lost homeworld, she would have been able to keep us with much grater ease. Of course the drawback of performing such a transformation would have been the simple fact that the Shillian would have been naked once she would return to her humanoid form. Not knowing the exact state of the situation they would encounter once they would arrive had insured that she would not act on her thoughts, at least not unless some dire situation came to pass.
After having scanned the area for possible threats Uxtar cautiously made his way to the only form that he had seen, that of the Operations Officer who had been on the floor flat on his chest. As the Hirogen stood tall above the man to insure that no unexpected surprises would com their way, the Shillian dropped to her knees and turned Ensign Stark onto his back after having visually inspected him for injuries. In this new position the Chief Science Officer would be able to get a better sense of his condition and act accordingly. At first glance he had not appeared injured, aside from a nasty lump on his forehead and a glazed expression on his face.
"We have Stark," Uxtar announced for all to hear through the subdermal communication system. "No signs of Ya'Han."
=/\= Maya, can you handle bringing Stark back to the upper decks on your own? =/\= Captain Morningstar asked, but before the Shillian could offer any sort of reply the Commanding Officer continued and clarified his reasoning for the query. =/\= Uxtar knows the layout of the MASQUERADE DREAMS as well as several of its key components. He will be of greater help to Sonja in dealing with the explosive device that was reported to us earlier. =/\=
=/\= As much as I appreciate the sentiment, =/\= the Chief Engineering Officer cut in with, =/\= I do not need a scaly giant looking over my shoulders. There is no need to have two of us in immediate danger when one is plenty. Now if he wants to take my place, i will be happy to have him blow himself up instead of me. =/\=
The Shillian Scientist smiled for a brief moment as she imagined the face of the woman who had just said those words. When it came to issues of Engineering, it had been best to leave the expert unhindered and to her own affairs, but still the situation as well as the Captain had called for no one to be alone while in he lower decks of the cruise ship.
Knowing that her words would be heard by all, the Chief Science Officer motioned for the Hirogen to come closer. "Uxtar will carry Stark back while I make sure that all goes well."
=/\= With all due respect Commander, =/\= the Chief Engineering Officer continued. =/\= You are a lousy liar. Stay if you have to, just don't stand over my shoulder to see what I'm doing. =/\=
=/\= Fine, =/\= the Commanding Officer sighed. =/\= Uxtar, bring Jayson back up. Maya keep an eye on Sonja and help her in whatever way she wants, or doesn't want. =/\=
With an ease more then expected for someone of his size, Uxtar reached down and lifted without little effort the Chief of Operations. After having received a confirmation nod from the Shilian Scientist, the Hirogen began his journey back to the higher decks leaving the Chief Science Officer behind to regroup with Lieutenant Paquette who had been diligently working on the latest bomb issue they all were faced with.
As quietly as she could the Shillian pressed on, doing her best not to have her approach disturb the working Engineer or alert anyone else who might have been in the area. Since Lieutenant Paquette had made it very clear that she had not wanted anyone looking over her shoulders, the Chief Science Officer had thought it best to make sure that Sonja would remain unbothered by anyone or anything as she worked her magic on the explosive device.
From where the Scientist had stopped, she had been able to see a fairly large section of the area where Sonja had set up shop kneeling in front of what appeared to be a rather imposing crate. Although she could not make out what the Engineer had been saying, it had been clear that things had not been going as easily as one would have wished.
The sound of rapidly shuffling feet drew the attention of the Shillian away from the Chief Engineering Officer, but regardless of how hard she tried to identify the source of the sound, the Scientist could not find who or what had made the sound. The absence of a visual cause had alas not removed the certainty that they two officers had no longer been alone in this section of the MASQUERADE DREAMS.
=/\= Commander Maya, =/\= the artificial life form currently in charge of the USS ANUBIS began. =/\= Sensors have picked up something moving very quickly in your general vicinity. I am unable to further identify the bio signature as they seem to know exactly where to be to avoid being fully detected. =/\=
=/\= Great, =/\= Sonja sighed in a whispered voice. =/\= From a scaly Hirogen to a shape shifting Shillian it seems that I now have to deal with overly zealous roddens who are trained to avoid being detected and want to join this party. Can this day truly get any better? =/\=
---
Jessica Solarik
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
&
Captain Selene Fiona Iverson
Commanding Officer
USS BASTET
"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
"Fascination"
[previous "Failure"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 29
Stardate: 30153.0625
His head hurt in more ways than he could count. The feeling had been as if his head had been smashed against the side of a ship before being used as a ball by a bunch of pissed off Cardassians, and that was just the outside pain. His mind hurt just as much as he tried to piece together what had happened to him. Vague visions tried to come into focus, while disjointed memories attempted to reorder themselves in a sequence that made some sense.
He could easily recall her eyes and voice, two heavenly items that he wanted to sample once again at all cost while at the same time to never again see or hear. Whatever powers Shae had used on him had been far more effective than he could have ever expected them to be, leaving the confused and disoriented Terran man to question what he had said or done.
"Who do you work for?"
That had been the last question he remembered her asking, a question that she had repeated time and time again because somehow he had managed to fight back the urge to answer. Normally this would not have been an issue, but while under her spell, he had been ready to tell her everything he knew about the ANUBIS, the NEW ALEXANDRIA complexe, and all of the other ships operating from the secret base. It was true that his knowledge had been limited, but he knew enough to endanger each and every officer working for the shadow operation organization.
He felt the cold hardness of the floor against his chest. How had he made his way to being in this position. The last thing he remembered was Shae asking him the question while he stood, or had he been sitting? That one detail continued to elude him but one thing had been for sure, he had not been face first on the floor when she had asked him the question last, or when he had answered it.
Panic flashed through the OPS mind as he struggled with the realization that he had answered her question. Despite all of his efforts not to, her hypnotic voice and gaze had broken through his resolve, how ever weak it might have been, granting her the prize she had been so bent of getting. Jayson tried to push himself up but found himself too weak to do so. Somehow the pain in his head has travelled to his entire body making it impossible for him to move as he wanted to.
The cold air from the floor filled his lunges as he took in a long breath of disappointment. How could he have betrayed his friends and fellow shipmates? Thinking back to the woman and the effects her eyes and voice had on him, the OPS officer wondered how he had been able to deny her wish for as long as he had. The enchantress could have asked anything of him without a second thought on his part, yet something had held him from answering hat one question.
The more he tried to identify the reason for his unexpected strength against the charms of the enchantress, the more he found himself focussing on the eyes that had enslaved his mind. Each time he tried to push that image away, they would return as if they had been the answer he sought and not the cause of his question. There had been something about those eyes that had been more than what he believed them to be, something familiar about them than extended to a part of him that had not existed before his arrival on board the ANUBIS.
The sounds of rushing heavy footsteps made his look up as best he could, but in his current state Jayson had been unable to identify the source of the sound. By the time he looked again, the feet had been almost close enough for him to touch, not that he had the strength to do so.
He felt himself being turned on his back and when he reopened his eyes, he saw another set of eyes looking down at him. Although they had the delicate features of belonging to a woman, the gaze had no been that of the haunting enchantress, something that he found to being a disappointment and relief all at the same time.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
-+-+-+-+-+-
"Failure"
[Previous post "Flashed"]
-+-+-+-+-+-
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 28, At top of stairs
Stardate: 30153.0620
The Hirogen had wanted to put as much distance between them and the CEO who had opted to remain behind and work on the bomb. As much as he would have been ready to stay and assist in whatever way he could have, the Hunter had received specific orders which he intended to comply with to the best of his abilities. As he reached the next level Uxtar stopped and looked back to make sure that Ya’Han had not been too far behind.
=/\= We have lost Ensign Ya’Han’s comm signal. =/\= The Avatar said in a way that almost bordered on concern, something that as far as the Hirogen had been concerned had been an impossibility since ANI had not been a living entity but a mechanical being.
“Heading back to see what has happened,” Uxtar said having already lowered down to one knee to place the body of the blonde haired CMO down as carefully as he could.
=/\= Negative! =/\= The Captain said halting the Hirogen’s dead in his tracks. =/\= Bring Doctor Doyanne out of there. Commander Shar’El will meet you at the nearest entrance to the lower decks. Once she had taken charge of Doctor Doyanne, you are authorized to return along with Commander Maya. I do not want anyone down there by themselves making the situation worse than it already is. Either we control this situation or I will move the ANUBIS to act on the final stage of the Shadow Protocol. =/\=
The tone in the Captain’s voice had left nothing to the imagination. The man had been deadly serious about containing the situation and insuring by any means available to him that no one would leave with information that had not belonged to them. There had simply been too many lives at stake to let that happen, this regardless of the lives that would be affected by the failure of resolving the current crisis.
Speaking of failure, that is what the Hirogen saw in himself. In his haste to get away while carrying the Doctor, he had left a member of his team behind and because of this she had fallen prey to something or someone. Although he had been sure that no one would actually hold him responsible for what had happened to the Chief of Security, Uxtar could not bring himself to being that understanding. He had failed in being there for her, and blamed himself and the years he had spent alone in the Delta Quadrant for having done what he had.
With the idea of returning to Deck 29 with the greatest of haste, the Hirogen had broken every speed record he could to bring his ward to Commander Shar’El. Whether or not Commander Maya would be there and ready to accompany him, the hunter had already made up his mind to leave the moment the CMO had been placed in the arms of the ExO.
It was with no shortage of joy that the Hirogen saw the two Commanders waiting for him at the top of the last set of stairs, separating the lower personnel-only decks to those meant for the passengers. This meant that he would be able to go back with the slightest possible delay and hopefully be able to undo what he had allowed to happen to Ensign Ya’Han, whatever that might have been.
“Good luck,” Shar’El said as she took hold of the Doctor before looking down at the pain filled visage of the unconscious woman.
“I hope that you can keep up Commander,” Uxtar said as he began his return trip with the Chief Science Officer right behind him, taking the entire stairway in a single step. Whatever anyone might have thought of his speed before now, the hunter had no intention of taking a single second longer than he needed to in order to get back and hopefully find Ensign Ya’Han and Ensign Stark where he believed them to be.
-+-+-+-+-+-
Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Flashed"
[previous post was "Fabulously Fearless Freedom Fighters"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 29, Near the Aft Section
Stardate: 30153.0615
The way she moved Sonja could have been a member of the Security staff instead of an engineer. It had taken everything that the black haired Sec/Tac had to keep up with the redhead woman as she rushed down to the lower decks. Once there the obstacle course started and Ya'Han came to further admire the CEO for her speed and skill. When she had something on her mind, there had been no stopping her.
As strange as the redhead might have been from time to time with all of her weird alien references and foreign voices, when it came down to the wire the CEO had been all business. If they were heading straight into the heart of this terrorist mess, Ya'Han had been happy to have Sonja there by her side. Whatever might happen, the Sec/Tac knew that they would find a way around it if not through it.
With a motion of her hand the redhead instructed the Sec/Tac officer who had been closely following to stop and duck behind one of the larger vertical pipes. "S, Y, in position," the CEO whispered, the letters having referred to the two women standing by for the next step of the plan.
=/\= Lost sight of number three, =/\= Uxtar said with urgency. =/\= Do it now! =/\=
Out of reflex the two women placed their hands against their ears to ward off the effects of the hyper sonic blast. Truth be known, had either one of them been in range of the blast, the instinctual move would have proven useless. After a few seconds Sonja and Ya'Han looked at each other and after having confirmed with a glance that the other had been fine, the two of them rose to their feet and rushed in.
Three undercover officers appeared from behind various conduits expecting to find three or maybe even four unconscious bodies, but it seemed that luck had not been on their side. Only the forms of the two kidnapped officers were found right next to what appeared to be some sort of explosive device.
"We have to get them out of here," Sonja said as she pointed to Uxtar to grab the CMO leaving Ya'Han to take care of the OPS officer. "Uxtar is bringing Doctor Doyanne and Ya'Han is going to bring Ensign Stark back. I'm staying behind to see what I can do about this bomb."
The black haired woman stared at her friend and shipmate for several seconds debating the best way to get the CEO to not try and disarm the bomb. In the end though, Ya'Han recognized the look in Sonja's eyes, a look that left no room for debate or argument. The redhead had made up her mind and there had been nothing anyone could say that would change it.
With that understanding in mind, Ya'Han turned to picked up Jayson as best she could while Uxtar easily carried the limp form of their CMO. It had taken everything the Sec/Tac had to keep up with the CEO on their way here, but now that she had been carrying someone, the black haired woman had found it impossible to match the Hirogen's pace. The best she could do was to try and stay in his wake and put as much distance between them and the bomb.
As she pressed on, Ya'Han felt something catch the fabric of her shirt. At first the Sec/Tac had believed it to be some piece of metal that she had missed but the way that it had been tugging indicated that it had been something completely different that had stopped her. As she turned to see what had caught her this way, the thirteen daughter of the High Sovereign was shocked to see her older sister standing there with a look of anger about her.
"Starfleet!" Ya'Jun hissed. "Not only did you abandon your family but you joined Starfleet?"
Before Ya'Han could say anything in reply, the rapidly moving hand of her older sister found its mark squarely against the Sec/Tac's cheek. The strength of the blow had been enough to force the black haired woman to stubble to the side for a couple of steps.
"I did what I had to," Ya'Han said in a pleading way, hoping to avoid another strike from her sister, one that she would have no other choice but to stop and counter as per her training.
=/\= Had to do what? =/\= the Captain asked, unaware of what had taken place.
Ya'Han ignored the question as the two sisters gazed into each other's eyes as if trying to figure out what the other would do next. Within a heartbeat, Ya'Jun produced a small sphere and presented it to her sister. Before the Sec/Tac could ask or even wonder what the item had been, a bright flash of light blinded her.
Unable to see anything, Ya'Han felt her strength slip away causing her to drop the unconscious form of the OPS officer. The loud thud that Jayson made when he landed would have normally caused the Sec/Tac to react and reach for him, but instead the black haired woman found herself losing her balance.
The last thing she remembered was the sensation of the hard floor impacting against the side of her head.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
##########
"Fabulously Fearless Freedom Fighters"
Previous post "Frightful Feeling"
##########
"Physics tells us that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. They hate us, we hate them, they hate us back. And so, here we are, victims of mathematics!"
- Ambassador Londo Mollari
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-112 (Erik)
Stardate: 30153.0600
The Native American glanced at the time displayed and inwardly sighed to himself. With each passing minute more passengers were making their way from the relative safety of their rooms to wander the numerous decks of the MASQUERADE DREAMS. Each individual unaware of the crisis at hand, their presence increasing the potential complications.
"ANI," the Counselor began, hoping that the report from the ship's Avatar would help ease the concerns that Eve had seen grow on the brow of her Commanding Officer. "How are we with that energy pulse?"
=/\= The layout and materials used for the MASQUERADE DREAMS makes it impossible for the ANUBIS to fire a specifically targeted energy beam within the ship. Any such attempt would result in the energy discharge to be distributed throughout the ship causing everyone onboard to be knocked unconscious. =/\=
"If it was not for the internal anti-terrorist system on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS we would be able to use hand-held phasers," Eve pointed out, not al all missing the irony of the fact that a system designed to stop a terrorist attack had been the one thing standing in their way to easily stop such an event.
"We need a more direct delivery system," Erik noted out loud. "One that will not trigger the internal security system and cause a ship-wide lockdown and panic. After all, that is what we are trying to avoid here."
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Corridor Deck 20
Stardate: 30153.0603
With the subdermal comm system locked open and scrambled, everyone had heard the debate taking place between the CO, Cns and the Avatar of the ANUBIS. The reasoning had been a simple one; to insure that everyone knew what was happening and to able anyone to offer an alternate perspective or option is available.
"The security system on the MASQUERADE DREAMS is design to stop any weapon from being brought aboard," the redhead Engineer said in a tone that clearly hinted that she had more to offer.
"So we need to come up with a delivery system that will not be recognized as a weapon while still giving us the ability to stun a fair sized area. The question is how do we do that?" the dark haired Chief of Security added before realizing that the eyes of her shipmate had been trained on her with mocked anger.
"Elementary my dear Watson," Sonja huffed. "Clearly patience is not one of your virtues deary. I was about to explain it before you asked," the redhead added with a wink. "A hyper sonic blast will have the same effect as a low energy discharge. The weapon is easily concealed and can be effective in a room up to 100 square meter in area," the Engineer explained with unmatched confidence.
"How do we create such a device?" Ya'Han inquired causing her crimson haired friend to grin ear-to-ear.
"ANI," Sonja all but said laughing out loud, "could you enlighten our wee friend over here," the redhead added in a clearly Scottish accent.
=/\= There is no need to construct such devices as we have them available on the ANUBIS, =/\= ANI stated. =/\= In fact, with specific enough coordinates I could beam several such devices to a location thus insuring that only those targeted would be affected. =/\=
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-089 (Maya)
Stardate: 30153.0605
"Guess that leave the next problem for us to solve," the Chief Science Officer jumped in with.
"Actually," the Executive Officer continued, "with the information we have on Lillie, it should not be too long before we have a set of coordinates that we can use to focus our efforts on."
"Using the extensive scanning capabilities of ANUBIS in junction with the knowledge that we are looking for a Tarellian female should make our search a relatively simple one," Maya stated as she studied the results of the first set of scans which had been relayed to one of her many PADDs by ANI.
=/\= A target matching Teralian physiology has been located on deck 29, aft section near the primary propulsion system of the MASQUERADE DREAMS, =/\= the Avatar announced.
Quickly Shar'El snatched and took hold of the PADD that the Chief Science Officer had been holding onto so that the ExO could analyse the stated discovery herself. "The readings are weak and fluctuating, if it is Lillie she's in a bad state."
"The presence of Terran lifesigns next to those of the Terallian would support the possibility that we have indeed found Ensign Lillie Doyanne," Maya continued as she retrieved the PADD from the hands of the First Officer. "There is a problem though. Sensors have also picked up an singular energy build-up in that area of the ship from a source that appears to be completely independant of the MASQUERADE DREAMS' systems."
=/\= That bastard sat them down on another bomb, =/\= Sonja spat in disgust. =/\= If I find this guy I will personally feed him to Uxtar in bite-sized morsels, and ANI remind me to have a talk with the so-called design engineers of the Risian Cruise Liner, their anti-terrorist system is worth just as much as a non-battle trained toothless Klingon. Did they actually design this system in crayons? =/\=
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Deck 29
Stardate: 30153.0608
The Hirogen had been quietly listening to everything that had been said. The report of the life signs having been found in the aft section of Deck 29 had sent Uxtar rushing in to see if he could help. At best he would be able to rescue the kidnapped officers, at worst he hoped to at the very least be able to confirm their location to allow for a more direct plan of action from the rest of the under cover team.
The statement made by the redheaded Engineer had actually made the Hirogen grin. Although he may not have known the fiery haired woman, her character had been something that he could appreciate. Being honest and to the point had always been Sonja's trade mark and had been something that Uxtar had learned to appreciate over the years.
=/\= Uxtar is 148 meters away from the lifesigns we picked up, no other life signs are present in the vicinity, =/\= ANI reported, but still the Hirogen proceeded with caution, his skills and experience as a Hunter having long ago taught him to not take such reports for granted.
The Hirogen came to a complete stop when he heard the sound of footsteps coming from somewhere in front of his current location. If Lillie and Jayson had been tied down on top of a bomb, the footsteps could not have been theirs, and if the Avatar's report had been also correct, the footsteps belonged to a ghost.
Moving silently from behind one conduit to the next in an effort to remain unseen, the Hirogen pressed on until he was able to see the two missing officers. "Confirming *three* targets in sight," Uxtar stated in a whispered voice wanting to make it clear to everyone that the third individual had been invisible to the sensors of the ANUBIS.
He watched with great intensity as the third individual hovered over the Chief of Operations. The black haired woman possessed several features that made Uxtar think of the Chief of Security, but the Hirogen knew that the two women could not have been one and the same.
=/\= ANI, using Uxtar's location, prepare to send one of the hyper sonic devices. Set it to detonate upon arrival. Uxtar, find a way to protect yourself. You will be the closest to act. I am sending Lieutenant Paquette and Ensign Ya'Han down to your location to assist,=/\= the Native American stated, keeping any hints of hopes for success to himself.
=/\= Already on our way, =/\= Sonja confirmed, the two women having set a course to the lower decks the moment ANI had confirmed the presence of a Terallian and Terran in the aft section of Deck 29.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Deck 29, Aft Section
Stardate: 30153.0610
The woman known as Shae to most and as Ya'Jun to only a select few had kneeled in front of the dazed Terran male, her influence on him having rendered the man unable to think in the slightest way for himself.
"Who do you work for?" she asked, her hypnotic voice causing the man to actual jerk slightly as he tried to fight against the woman's magic. "Don't be so stubborn, not if you want to help your friend here. She doesn't look so good and you answering my question will go a long way to helping her as well as yourself. All I need you to tell me is who you are working for."
Jayson managed to turn his head enough to catch a glance of the golden haired woman tied with him. As much as him mind had been lost in a pheromone induced fog, the Operations Officer had held on to enough clarity of mind to see that Shae's claim had not been exaggerated. Lillie appeared to be in a somewhat urgent need of medical care, the problem was that she was the CMO and that any help that would be coming, if any, would have relied on her skills and knowledge to offer whatever help would be needed.
"Stop looking at her," Shea dryly ordered as she took a solid hold of the man's chin, forcing his gaze back onto her, "and answer my question. Who are you working for?"
--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette
Captain Erik Morningstar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
AND
Lt. Commander Elan Fairborn
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Frightful Feeling"
Previous post from the humble Jayson: "Feeble Follower"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Health is not valued till sickness comes.
- Thomas Fuller
- Thomas Fuller
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Unknown Location
Stardate: 30153.0555
==========^*^==========
The hazy clouds slowly began to part from the Ensign's mind, leaving room for clearer thought processes. Before opening her eyes to betray her new awakened state, Lillie remained still and limp as though still lost in her own subconscious. Delicately and discreetly flexing different parts of her body the doctor realized her wrists and ankles were bound behind her and were attached to something metallic. Puzzled, the Tarellian chanced a peak threw her eyelashes at what she could be tied to.
A bomb. Not unlike the one that had been previously described. What did that mean? Could Fenix actually be plotting to detonate the device with Lillie strapped to it as she was? Another sensation surprised the Ensign momentarily, a sharp pain at her throat over where she had previously implanted her subdermal communicator. So no communication with the rest of the ANUBIS... not good.
Jayson! The Operations officer had been with her during the confrontation with the newly discovered terrorist and his wicked mistress. Was he safe? Sitting up slightly Lillie was able to quickly scan the immediate area for any signs of her friend. He wasn't too hard to find. Sitting adjacent from her, next to the other side of the explosive, was the young man she sought. Unbound and looking dreamily over her shoulder at something - or more likely someone.
"She's awake. Are you sure about this?" came the voice Lillie dreaded and her fellow captive craved.
"He said she's a doctor. Meaning she could be very helpful to our cause" Fenix's voice assured, sounding strained but hopeful.
"I... still won't help you" the barely-conscious Tarellian muttered.
"You see? There's no reasoning with her, we have Jayson and he knows much more than she could either way."
"Regardless, having members of their stature aid in the cause will bring even more attention to it. Powerful allies are nothing to squander."
"You knocked the girl unconscious, that doesn't really but us on good terms with her" the Nylaan retorted.
The conversation continued, but Lillie could only barely hear as she attempted to inch closer to the deluded Operations officer mere inches away. His eyes looked foggy and glazed, like a patient would when given too much anesthesia. Luckily a quick look over his profile made it obvious that the Terran had suffered no physical injuries. Ensign's Stark's battle was being raged within himself, a place where not even the most seasoned doctor could aid him.
"Why not just do away with her? Get it over with?" the blonde woman heard the royal daughter suggest, somewhat hesitantly.
"I told you. We are NOT killing her. She'll end up helping us one way or another, either as a pawn or in other ways."
"You don't... like this woman do you?" Ya'Jun asked, accusation dripping from her tone.
"She reminds me of someone I once knew, but that does not mean I particularly like her per say. This is business and nothing more, you'd do well to remember that your highness" Fenix spat back defensively.
Lillie heard a soft mechanical click noise and the Nylaan enchantress curse softly "I broke his... this things are made quite well."
"I'm finished with mine, but after hearing notice but static interference I suspect those on the other end have already noticed their missing operatives and have initiated some sort of encoded bypass. Regardless, it would be useless to them now even if I had kept it on, the tracking mechanism programmed into it was easy enough to disable."
"Fenix..." Lillie called, wondering if the man was so engulfed in his own world to have heard her or not.
"Yes?"
"Why are you doing this? There must be better ways... have you not tried reaching out to people with kindness?"
The Rutian sighed deeply, looking at his raven-haired companion before explaining "Some people only react to fear. If given the chance the vast majority of the universe would abandon us, so we keep fear alive in their hearts to assure that we are not forgotten. That the people know to regard our cause with fear."
"Really... cause this seems like nothing but a cry for help. If I were any passenger aboard I would take pity on you, not fear you" the Tarellian soothed, finding it hard not to empathize with a man who felt a need to protect his race.
"You speak as if you understand me. Don't fool yourself. Even in times of hardship it is well known that those of your race have easily bounced back" Fenix growled.
"I know more than you think..."
"Fenix. This isn't the time to be talking, focus on readying the broadcast - if we're going to show these two to the ship then during the early morning hours would be best" Shae insisted, feeling a pang of jealousy that she decided to ignore.
"All communications are down, outgoing and incoming. Trying to send anything right now will signal a red flag in any area scanners. Don't underestimate our opponents. I'll run the feed as soon as we're ready, but a test run is out of the question. We don't want to create any unnecessary hotspots of activity" the knowledgeable Rutian mused, returning to work.
"Fine..." Ya'Jun pouted "I'll try to get something else out of him while you work... and I'll gag the blonde while I'm at it."
Tied up as she was, it was difficult to assert any resistance as the raven-haired woman wrapped a gag over and around the doctor's mouth. Lillie felt close to tears. Terrorism was wrong, even if you never hurt anybody - and now she was a part of some plot to strike distress into the core of the cruise ship.
Devastated the Ensign hung her head to brainstorm ideas when a sudden pain pulsed through her. The throbbing in her chest was all too familiar, something the young woman had grown up dreading. Desperate, Lillie thrashed in place trying to get a glimpse of anything that might display the hour. There, above a boiler in the corner of the room was a small display screen with the numbers 0555 blinking on it.
Panic shot through the Ensign, dismay coiling in her heart like a hungry snake. The time was up... it had been exactly 48 hours since Lillie's last injection of the cure. Without her hypospray the entire ship could become contaminated within a matter of hours. Another torturous sting sliced through the doctor's chest, marking the culmination of her disease. Quickly the undercover operative calculated her time carefully. It would take awhile to become contagious again, that part only came after the pain subsided.
Previous tests had shown that those injected with the cure would become contagious again after spending over two hours without the serum re-administered to their bloodstream. Without her treatment, the Tarellian-born woman was a walking disease that would infect all living being on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS. Lillie had until 0755 to receive her follow-up dosage... or else catastrophe was the least of their worries.
==========^*^==========
Ashley Shane
Ensign Lillie Doyanne
Chief Medical Officer/Researcher
USS ANUBIS
"Feeble Follower"
[previous "Fools and their Follies"]
[previous "Fools and their Follies"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Unknown Location
Stardate: 30152.0545
He followed the sound of her voice as if his life depended in it, the limp form of the unconscious CMO in his arms barely registering in his mind. As an Intel trained officer he knew to keep track of each and every detail that passed by him, to help guide his escape out or a possible rescue in. Under the spell of the Nylaan enchantress though, Jayson had been unable to focus on anything but the woman walking ahead of him. Where she went, he followed, obediently and without hesitation.
"Stop."
The command had been simple and instantly obeyed. Had he been able to, he would have stopped in mid stride and kept his right leg off the ground, but the form of the blonde haired Doctor weighing in his arms had made that impossible.
"Wait."
Another simple command, one that he had been more than happy to obey. To please her had been is one and only wish, and in order to accomplish this he would gladly do whatever she demanded of him. He scanned his surroundings in a sudden panic having lost track of the woman who commanded his body and mind. How could he have lost her like this? Had she not been the most important thing to him? So why had he looked away? Why had he looked down on he woman in his arms instead of keeping his fullest attention on the only person that mattered to him?
The question repeated in his head over and over again until he looked down once more at the blonde haired woman in his arms. There had been something familiar about her, something that drew him to look closer in an effort to remember what she meant to him. Had she been a friend, a member of his family or had she been something else, something more?
Disconnected images forced their way into his mind making him relive events that he knew while yet could not properly remember. Something in his mind stood in the way of his remembering the woman in his arms and what she meant to him. Had she not been unconscious she might have been able to help him make sense of all this, to help him figure out who she was and why she seemed to be of importance to him.
"Come."
His enchantress had returned and the smile that appeared on his face showed to the whole universe how pleased he had been. Not only had she come back, but she had done so to give him a way to please her in some way. Immediately his feet resumed their previous task of carrying the men and his cargo forward so that he could follow the woman that meant everything to him.
Step after step his joy grew in the knowledge that he had been doing what she wanted. To obey her every desires had been his one and only goal, so why had his eyes once again fallen back onto the blonde haired woman in his arms?
As he gazed down, his attention to he task of pleasing his mistress wavered slowing his steps. At first this had not been overly noticeable, but with each half step taken the distance between him and the enchantress grew until she took note of the growing space between them.
"What are you doing? Follow me!"
The voice and the command it carried felt as if they had reached into his very soul. His questions shattered into a million pieces as the earlier focus took hold once more. The woman with the black hair had been everything to him and his obeying her all that mattered. With a single word from her lips he would die or even kill, so following her as she had ordered him to had been a simple task.
Wherever she commanded he would follow. Whatever she wished he would do. The identity and importance of the woman in his arms did not matter, his will and thoughts belonging to the enchantress with the voice he could not ignore. Maybe one day his questions would be answered, but for now only his obedience to his mistress mattered.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
-+-+-+-+-+-
"Fools and their Follies"
[Previous post "Finding a Flaw"]
-+-+-+-+-+-
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 23, Corridor
Stardate: 30153.0540
Something had not been right. Uxtar had not heard or seen anything out of the ordinary during his early morning rounds, but he knew that something had happened. Humanoids referred to such a sensation as a sixth sense, but the Hirogen called it nothing more than what it was: a hunter’s instinct. That he had received a message requesting his *urgent* presence to a passenger room that he knew belonged to one of the undercover officers of the ANUBIS had sealed the matter. What he needed now was to know what exactly had happened and how he would be called to assist.
The maintenance staff member straightened his uniform before he knock at the door labeled 23-089. Whatever the situation may have been, the Hirogen still needed to play his part for the sake of keeping his true objective a secret from everyone else. Having received an invitation to enter, Uxtar did just that and quickly closed the door behind him.
“You called for someone from maintenance?” the Hirogen said, his tone perfectly professional.
“You can relax Uxtar,” the dark haired pale skinned woman offered. “The room is secured. We need your help in dealing with a situation as quickly and quietly as possible, but before I tell you more you will need this.”
As a hypospray was brought close to his neck, the Hirogen quickly moved and grabbed hold of the woman’s wrist. Although it had been well within his strength to snap her limb with little effort, Uxtar simply held it as he glared at the woman to whom it belonged.
“It’s a subdermal communicator,” Commander Shar’El explained, not appreciating having to explain herself at this time. “We need everyone to be in contact and out of each other’s way.”
“My apologies,” the hunter said as he released the woman’s arm and turned his head away, offering his neck to the undercover Executive Officer.
Immediately following the sound of the implantation, Commander Shar’El took a step back before speaking. “Two of our officers, Doctor Lillie Doyanne and Ensign Jayson Stark have been taken hostage by the man who is responsible for the earlier bombing attempt.”
“I knew something was wrong, I sensed a disturbance through the ship,” the hunter said as he rubbed his neck, not out of pain or discomfort but rather to insure that the small device had been able to be pushed through the Hirogen’s thick skin.
=^= What is he, a Jedi? =^= the quick witted Chief Engineering Officer commented, showing by the same act that the communicator had indeed been working.
“I am guessing that their communicators have been somehow disabled or you would not have asked me here,” Uxtar continued having understood that time had been an issue.
“You know the MASQUERADE DREAMS and can access areas that we cannot without having people asking too many questions,” Shar’El explained. “We need you to help us locate our people so that we can get them out before it is too late.”
“Too late? Please explain.” the Hirogen said.
“Captain Morningstar initiated Shadow Protocol,” the woman sitting on the bed and surrounded by countless PADDs said, her eyes never stopping their search for information that could prove useful.
The Hirogen’s eyes opened wide. Never would he have expected anyone to be so bold as to call for such drastic measures so quickly, but then again it had been a while since Uxtar had been in a situation where the safety of the entire federation rested on the actions of a few people. After having overcome the shock, the hunter took in a short breath and straightened his work uniform once again. “I will see what I can find out and will keep you informed.”
“Yes you will,” Commander Shar’El said, adding a smirk as she touched her neck reminding the Hirogen of the communication device that had been implanted and that would insure that he would follow the progress of all their efforts as they occurred.
-+-+-+-+-+-
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Decks
Stardate: 30153.0600
The hunter moved quickly through the conduit filled narrowed corridors of the lower decks, searching for the man and his prisoners. The rest of the undercover team could handle the public desks, so it had been his responsibility to search the lower decks for any sign of the missing officers. The thrill of the hunt would have normally been more than enough to push Uxtar to perform to his very best, but the knowledge that the Shadow Protocol had been called had focused the Hirogen’s thoughts even more.
Under the parameters of this protocol a great many lives were at stake, including his own, so there had been no reason to accept any sort of excuse to delay what he needed to do. As large as the MASQUERADE DREAMS was, there were only a few locations that the Hirogen knew of that would permit anyone to hold hostages while remaining well hidden from everyone else. Given the urgency of the situation, Uxtar figured that those had been the best possible places to begin his hunt.
-+-+-+-+-+-
Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
"Finding a Flaw"
(Continued from "Flabbergasted"
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-004 (Eve)
Stardate: 30153.0525
Hostile situations, terrorist procedures, and hostage protocols flashed in Eve's head, perhaps in the same way the inside of a warp coil did for the Chief Engineer. She saw possibilities. Her mouth drew in a thin, grim line as the outcomes also came to mind; very few of them were pleasant.
"Counsellor, report," Erik Morningstar said crisply.
"Sir," she responded evenly, but not without an intense desire to help. Her gray eyes were wide with urgency. "We know Fenix is fond of destructive displays to get his point across. Until now, bombs have been his known means of outreach. But this time, he's taken hostages."
"Starfleet does not negotiate with terrorists." The CO punctuated his words with an absoluteness.
Dalziel sighed. "That's not a problem. I really don't think we have anything to bargain with. I mean, other than the ship itself, which is definitely off the table, what do we have that Fenix would want more than the hostages he has right now?"
The CO of the ANUBIS tried to dissect the workings of a madman's mind. "With the bombing, I thought he was aiming for destruction, to create a scene of some kind or direct attention to his cause. We could just mount a direct strike and neutralize him." Morningstar wrestled with the idea.
"But if you were willing to sacrifice the few for the many, you would have already done it. You didn't call 'Shadow Protocol' on a whim. So I'm guessing you'd prefer other options?"
Erik nodded. That was exactly what he wanted.
"The plans that Fenix so carefully orchestrated did not have their intended result. But rather than retreat and cut his losses, he continued to work aboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS."
"Why do you think he did that?" the Native American inquired, knowing from experience that the Cardassian born Counselor had a way to get into other people's heads.
"He shows trademarks of being a highly organized criminal. I suspect he had contingency plans or at the very least some kind of backup plan."
Apparently it was a backup plan that included two of his senior staff. "What do you think his intentions are towards Stark and Doyanne?"
Eve tilted her head to one side. "I don't think he means to harm them, Captain... but I don't think he wants to let them leave either."
"Explain, please." Erik's voice was dry, his mind rushing through the endless possibilities that he would have to deal with in one form or another.
"In his delusional state, my opinion is that he thinks he's found two more members to add to his terrorist ranks. He sees them both as pawns, but highly skilled and formidable ones he can make into his henchman and henchwoman. He seems to have genuine affection for Lillie as well, as if she reminds him of someone or something he once lost." Lillie's exposed 'secret' hung in the back of the Counsellor's mind. If she truly was Tarellian, why wasn't she showing any obvious signs of illness?
"Not bad," Erik said. "Perhaps there is a family member or friend we can uncover from his past to use as leverage."
"I don't know if we have that kind of time," Eve countered. "But maybe we can use some of his own medicine against him."
"What do you mean?"
"Mind control and suggestion are some kind of vocation to this man. Maybe we can create a type of energy pulse similar to what was embedded in that mirror. Something that would incapacitate him long enough to get our people out."
A faint smile flashed over the Native American's features. Eve had provided him with what he had hoped for; an alternative that held a solid chance of both containing the situation and saving Doctor Doyanne and Ensign Stark.
--==(/\)==--
Susan Ledbetter
Lieutenant JG Eve Dalziel
Cns
USS ANUBIS
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Flabbergasted"
[previous post was "Finding Friends or Fighting Foes"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 22, Corridor
Stardate: 30153.0525
As the Sec/Tac officer of the USS ANUBIS, Ya'Han had known about some of the details concerning this 'Shadow Protocol'. Knowing about it though had not prepared her in any way to be right in the middle of a situation that required the protocol to be implemented.
During her time at Starfleet Academy, the protocol had been mentioned a few times in passing, insuring that everyone doing security studies knew about it existence. The privilege of knowing all of the specific details about this protocol had been reserved to those who followed a course of study more in line with Intel work. Because of this Ya'Han knowledge on that particular matter had been incomplete in many different ways.
As Sonja and Ya'Han made their way to the last known location of their missing officers, the lack of specific knowledge of the black haired woman was filled in by the redheaded engineer who had taken point. What surprised the Sec/Tac officer the most had been the ease with which her companion had explained the darker aspects of this protocol, namely that stopping the security breach stood higher as a priority than saving the lives of their friends and fellow shipmates.
For the sake of protecting the Federation as a whole, the captured officers were deemed expendable. Insuring that none of the classified information they possessed fell into the wrong hands had been the highest and most important aspect of this protocol, which authorized the use of lethal force.
Although she had not been ready to admit this openly to anyone, there had been no way Ya'Han would be able to 'terminate' either Jayson or Lillie, no matter the situation or reason. She understood the need to insure that no classified information, however small, made it off the Risian cruise ship. Knowing this though, the Sec/Tac could not bring herself to warrant killing her friends in order to do so. Another course of action had to be available to them, and the black haired woman would make sure to find and use it.
"Does the Captain truly intend to kill them?" the black haired woman asked in a trembling whispered voice, low enough she hoped not to be picked up by the subdermal communicator.
"If he had truly wanted to 'terminate' them, you and I would not be here snooping around for clues," the red haired engineer answered in the same whispered voice. "With the ANUBIS near by, he could have transported all of us back to the ship without any advance warning. From there he could have easily reduced the MASQUERADE DREAMS into a cloud of floating particles. With an official report from SFI as to the presence of a bomber on board, the Risian government would have believed this to be the result terrorist attack. No questions asked."
Ya'Han swallowed hard at the cold and dark image painted by the Chief Engineer, the black haired woman unable to come to terms with both what had been described and the ease with which Sonja had done so. How could anyone be so casual about what had been described?
The two women had reached their destination when the news about the CMO's true origin was made. The silence that had followed the Captain's announcement had made it clear that this had been something of great significance, but to the exiled thirteenth daughter of the High Sovereign, the information had actually meant little at first. Ya'Han was forced to remember several of her classes on aliens civilizations before she finally understood what all the fuss had been about.
"Lillie is Tarellian? I thought they were all dead," Ya'Han whispered to herself, hoping once more that her words had been softly enough spoken to avoid them being transmitted for all to hear.
"Apparently not," Sonja said in reply, matching perfectly her companion's whispered tone of voice. "Although I can see why they would want everyone to believe that. People can be rather cruel when dealing with their own irrational fears."
"Irrational?" Ya'Han asked, still trying to come to terms with the implication of what had been said.
"Listen," Sonja said as she turned on her heels to face the black haired woman. "She made it through Starfleet Academy and was taken on as part of the NEW ALEXANDRIA staff. Obviously they all know something that is above our pay grade. So you can either accept this as a fact and work to save our shipmates before it's too late, or you can head back to the ANUBIS and let me work on my own. We really don't have time to bat this issue around."
The black haired woman looked back at the redhead engineer for several seconds as she rapidly blinked. Never had she expected Sonja to be so dry in her words or opinions, but in the end the Sec/Tac could only be thankful that her friend had been so blunt and direct.
"Sorry," Ya'Han said, lowering her head in shame. Even if the thought and fear had been in her mind for a split second, the Sec/Tac could not help but feel that such a debate should never have taken place in her mind.
"No need to apologise to me, keep that for Lille," Sonja said as she returned her attention to the nearby walls and floor to see if a clue could be found. "You being able to say that directly to her will mean a lot more. So no more talking and a lot more searching."
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Finding Friends or Fighting Foes"
[previous post was "Only Fools are Fearless" by our great leader Francois]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 23, Corridor
Stardate: 30153.0510
Shadow Protocol. A seldom used set of procedures called upon only in the direst of situations, namely when a security breach is threatening the security not only of a ship, but of the Federation as a whole. The Acting ExO / ILO had been hesitant to make such a call and she had been relieved that the decision had fallen upon the Captain. The reason for Shar'El misgivings had not been about the scrambled encoded communications or the fact that the ANUBIS now stood at full combat readiness, those had been normal day occurrences. The problem had been that under this special protocol, all measures were deemed acceptable to contain the situation.
When speaking about captured undercover operatives this meant that an action plan had to be enacted upon with the greatest possible haste. The goal, to either rescue the operatives and gage the extent of the security breach, or to terminate everyone involved so as to insure that no vital and classified information would slip out.
Under the watchful eye of the USS ANUBIS, the MASQUERADE DREAMS now stood isolated from the rest of the universe, no communications being able to be made to or from the luxury Risian cruise ship. The undercover team now needed to act as quickly as possible to contain he situation and insure that none of the secrets held by either Doctor Doyanne or Ensign Stark would walk off the ship in someone else's possession.
The idea that the lives of both officers partially rested in her hands insured that the acting ExO / ILO moved with the greatest of speed as she made her way to join Commander Maya. Their task, to find a way to locate the missing shipmates, and the speed with which it would be accomplished would dictate the extent of the shadow protocol's provisions.
Without any undue social convenience, Shar'El stepped into the room where the Shillian had been waiting, several PADDs scattered about her bed.
"What do we have?" the acting ExO / ILO asked, all too aware that Maya had already been very much at work in finding the missing CMO and OPS.
"The task may be more difficult than it appears," Maya said as she grabbed another PADD and tossed it towards the dark haired woman who had just arrived. "Being Terran will be very difficult to isolate Doctor Doyanne and Ensign Stark from the almost 2000 other humanoids currently on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS who share a great deal of similar genetic markers. Without their subdermal communicators, they are now nothing more than a faceless figure. As great as the sensors of the ANUBIS may be, we would still need something specific to either one of them to be able to identify who it is we are looking at."
Shar'El paused as she considered the problem at hand as well as the guidelines set by the protocol Captain Morningstar had called into play. Time had been of the greatest importance, each second that passed moving the need for action from simple rescue to complete containment. In the world of Intel knowledge had always been the most precious of commodity, able to protect a single man from any and all harm or capable of bringing an entire civilization down in matters of days if not hours.
In this particular case, the acting ExO / ILO possessed one such piece of knowledge forcing Shar'El to silently debate the need to share the information with Maya. Doing so would betray the trust that she had been given, but it would also help move things along much faster and increase the odds of finding and returning both missing officers safely.
"Maya," the acting ExO / ILO began, knowing that her words would not only betray one person's confidence but would do so to the entire ship in one swift and possibly devastating move. "Doctor Doyanne is not Terran."
"Not Terran?" the Chief Science Officer repeated with confusion as she reached for yet another PADD. "According to Starfleet records and the medical reports from Starfleet Academy and NEW ALEXANDRIA, Doctor Lillie Doyanne is shown to be Terran. Are you suggesting that there is some sort of mistake on the official records?"
Shar'El hesitated once more, knowing all that had been at stake. Had revealing Lillie's secret and possibly saving her life been worth the entire crew knowing about her true origins and the illness that she carried within her? Had this been one of the rare cases where death would prove to be a better option? As much as the acting ExO / ILO tried to fall in line with that way of thinking, the Ullian could not bring herself to agree. Through all of her memories, be then from her own past or from worlds and dimensions away, life in whatever its capacity had always been preferable to death.
=/\= Commander Shar'El is referring one specific detail about our CMO, a detail that was classified at the highest levels to avoid the spread of panic,=/\= Captain Morningstar said, once again leaving the acting ExO / ILO to feel a great deal of relief. =/\= Doctor Doyanne is Tarellian. =/\=
Complete and absolute silence followed the announcement as each member of the away team processed the significance of the information they had just been granted access to. As a member of a plagued race doomed to never have a world of their own, the Tarellians had been driven to the very edge of extinction more than a few times over the last century.
"That will make a difference," Maya said, shattering the silence that had established itself as appearing unbreakable. "I suspect that there are not too many Tarellians on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS. A simple reconfiguration of the biosensors should allow us to scan the entire ship and find Doctor Doyann, from there we can only hope that Ensign Stark will be there with her."
"ANI?" Shar'El called out.
=/\= Modifications to the sensor array are already underway, =/\= the Avatar replied. =/\= We will be able to scan for specific Tarellian life-signs in just a few minutes. =/\=
"I'm sorry," the dark haired Ullian said tearfully to no one in particular, her thoughts and memories solely focus on the woman that she believed she had so completely betrayed for no other reason than to save her life as well as that of Ensign Stark.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
##########
"Only Fools are Fearless"
Previous post "Finding the Flagitious Foes"
##########
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
- Bene Gesserit Litany
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-112 (Erik)
Stardate: 30153.0450
The Native American listened carefully as his Executive Officer reported on her most recent and troubling discovery. She now knew beyond any doubts the identity of the mastermind behind the earlier bombing attempt of the MASQUERADE DREAMS. If that had not been enough though, Commander Shar'El had also discovered that the same man had been responsible for the bombing of a medical facility many years ago. That bombing had proven to be a dramatic turning point in a single man's life as it claimed the lives of a woman and her unborn child.
Based on that information alone, it had been well within Captan Morningstar's jurisdiction to pull Ensign Stark off their current mission due to the expectation of extreme emotional and personal bias. Erik could easily imagine Jayson wanting to seek revenge, camouflaged under the cloak of justice, should he come to learn the identity of that man, but the situation had been made that much more complex with the unexplained silence of both the Operations Officer and Chief Medical Officer.
"So we are faced with two scenarios, either one of which I am overly fond of," the Native American offered with a sigh of displeasure. "Either Ensign Stark has somehow learned about what have just informed me of and knocked Doctor Doyanne out of his way so that he could act unhindered; or this terrorist as well as any accomplices of his have captured them both and are likely being held as pawns for some dark purpose."
"Even if Jayson had somehow learned about what I discovered leading him to become rage stricken I doubt very much that he would have injured Doctor Doyanne in any way, even if she had tried to stop him. Furthermore it is very unlikely that he would have disabled both hers and his own subdermal communicator to cover his tracks," the Executive Officer offered in the man's defence. "Based on what I know of Jayson, the worst he would have done would have been to take his own communicator out so that we would not be able to easily track him. It is not in his character to hurt a woman in any way and I am sure that he would have never wanted to leave us unable to come to Lillie's aid should something happen."
"It does fit into his psychological profile," the Native American agreed somewhat reluctantly. "This of course takes us from two possibilities down to a single one," the Captain added through clenched teeth. "ANI, override all privacy modes and patch me through ship-wide."
"Captain," Shar'El jumped in with right away, not wanting Erik to say something more before she could voice one last concern to her Commanding Officer. "The fact that the communicators were disabled and / or removed could indicate that our frequencies are no longer secured."
=/\= Ready Captain, =/\= the Avatar confirmed having easily complied with the orders she had so far received.
"ANI, initiate 'shadow protocol', on my authorization," the Native American said, nodding his thanks to his quick thinking Executive Officer.
=/\= Shadow Protocol has been initiated. All privacy modes have been cancelled and internal transmissions now on a rotating encoded frequency. The ANUBIS is now at Red Alert and is jamming all general communications to and from the MASQUERADE DREAMS. =/\=
"Attention all personnel. It seems that we are now faced with a hostage situation involving our own people. Doctor Lillie Doyanne and Ensign Jayson Stark have fallen into hostile hands, their subdermal communicators have somehow been disabled. Shadow protocol has been initiated and the ANUBIS is now at full combat readiness. I am ordering everyone to drop everything. Locating our missing officers and bringing them back safe and sound is as of right now our one and only priority. Last known location of Doctor Doyanne and Ensign Stark was on Deck 20 of the MASQUERADE DREAMS. No one is to go anywhere or do anything alone, members of the away team will be paired as follows. Lieutenant Paquette and Ensign Ya'Han, head to deck 20 and see what you can find."
=/\= Understood Captain, =/\= the Chief of Security acknowledged.
=/\= On our way Boss. Will keep you and 'spy girl' informed if we find anything. Off to do some super sleuthing, catch you later. Roger and out, =/\= the Chief Engineer added, showing that despite the demands and stress of the situation she had still been more than capable of staying calm and collect.
"What do you need me to do?" the Executive Officer inquired, ready to do whatever had been required to see their people be returned safely and as quickly as possible.
"You and Maya will work together, if there is a way to locate either one of them without using their communicators, she will be the one to figure it out. Use whatever you need. I am hoping that you can find something in the memories you intercepted to help you figure out what this terrorist is up to. As for me, I will be with Eve to see if we can come up with a psychological profile on our bomber that will give us a clue as to what kind of man we are dealing with. If you think or remember anything that might prove significant, let everyone know. Right now the slightest possible advantage we can manage could mean the difference between getting our people back or arriving too late."
=/\= I will be waiting for you Captain, =/\= the Counselor announced over the more secured frequency now in effect. =/\= It might be an idea to get Uxtar up to speed on what has happened, for all we know he could offer a kind of help that we would not otherwise be able to get easily. =/\=
=/\= His assistance could prove indispensable, =/\= the Chief Science Officer added. =/\= As a Hirogen his tracking skills could prove very effective in locating our missing officers, and as a member of the maintenance staff, he would know of good locations to keep our people hidden and be able to go places without raising to much suspicions from others including our terrorist. =/\=
"Very well, as I said use whatever means necessary to locate Doctor Doyanne and Ensign Stark, and if that includes Uxtar, then so be it," the Native American stated as he motioned for his Executive Officer to leave his room so that she could join with Commander Maya and tackle the task that had been given to them. "If there are no questions, good luck to us all."
--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette
Captain Erik Morningstar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
AND
Lt. Commander Elan Fairborn
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Finding the Flagitious Foes"
Previous post from the talented Jayson: "Flamboyantly Failing at Following"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scariest monsters... are the ones that lurk within the depths of our souls.
- Edgar Allen Poe.
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Inner Decks
Stardate: 30153.0435
==========^*^==========
Fear shooting through her, Lillie clasped the Operations officer's shoulders and gave him a solid shake "Jayson? Jayson please don't do this... you were doing so well" regret seeping into her words, the Tarellian wished she had taken her own advice and brought the now enthralled man to his room when she had the chance.
"He can't hear you. None of your friends can..." the raven-haired sorceress chuckled.
"Lillie please try to understand, whatever you may think of us there is a very good explanation. Instead of fighting against it, join our cause. This young man and yourself can assist us in helping thousands who can not help themselves" Fenix coaxed, reaching out to run a gentle hand through the blonde locks cascading down the back of the young woman in front of him.
Pulling away suddenly, attempting to sound as threatening as possible the CMO hissed out her next words "Release my friend. I want nothing to do with your attempts to harm the innocents aboard this ship!"
"Who said we were planning to harm anyone? You should know full well that the previous attempt had only been a scare tactic, otherwise it would have been placed somewhere much more central"
"What should we do with her? I can't control them both..."
"You won't be controlling either of us soon enough!" Lillie snapped, tears of anger beginning to pool below the lids of her eyes.
"Oh? You want a bet?" Ya'Jun challenged, turning her gaze onto the spell-bound ANUBIS operative "Jayson... be a dear and restrain your little blonde friend for me won't you?"
Somewhere in his flooded mind the Operations officer cried out that he refused, that his loyalty would not be compromised because of some witch. To the young man's dismay, his body moved as if pulled by a puppeteer's strings to grab and arm around the waist and throat of the doctor in front of him. Without a word Jayson easily held the struggling CMO in his arms as his strength far out-matched that of the clinically weakened woman.
"Be careful with her, she can still be of use to us..." the amused Rutian commented, watching his target flail in the hold of her once loyal companion.
"Fenix why... what did I do? What did these people do to you?" Lillie growled, her struggles becoming more useless as her strength drained away.
"My entire race is at risk. I'd do anything to help my cause, you'd understand if your entire race's existence was threatened" Fenix spat back, yet again having to explain his reasons to another who would not understand
"You're nothing! You're scum! You don't know anything about being a member of a dying race! You're nothing but a liar and a terrorist! Fear won't make people help you! Kindness will! You're the ones who knows nothing!" the Tarellian screamed, tears now flowing freely down her face
"Shut her up... do you want the entire cruise liner to hear us!?" the Nylaan growled venomously, glaring at the young blonde.
"I'm sorry Lillie... you've left us no choice" the Rutian sighed, moving in close enough to grasp the woman by the throat and knock the back of her head hard enough to render the CMO to slip into unconsciousness.
"Bring her with us" Ya'Jun ordered Jayson, keeping his eyes and her own focused solely on each other "What do we do with them?"
"The second bomb... it's in place and I want them both tied to it" Fenix said calmly, leading the way down the corridor towards their destination.
"You're going to kill them?" the royal daughter gasped, pausing to take in the sudden change of plans
"Of course not... the detonator in this particular model is not connected to where it should be so there won't be any explosion, but no one else on the MASQUERADE DREAMS will know that. We'll continue as planned and force the fear down their throats even if we have to fake their deaths..." the Rutian chuckled darkly, a sort of madness tainting his usually calm voice "I'm sure their friends will be much more accommodating if they assume the lives of their companions are at risk..."
"I'll make sure to remove whatever communication devices they have once I get the chance..." Ya'Jun assured, suddenly feeling uneasy at the side of her unstable boss.
"As soon as possible would be preferable" Fenix agreed, not even stopping to look back as he spoke.
All four figures slowly faded into the dark depths of the flood of early rising guests. Soon enough seeming like just any other passenger among the rest. Though this hadn't been what was planned, it would have to do. Fenix was running out of options and desperation was beginning to seed in his heart. The mission would be completed. No matter what.
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-112 (Erik)
Stardate: 30153.0445
==========^*^==========
"Doctor Doyanne, Jayson do you read me?" Captain Morningstar called into the communicator, not having been able to reach either his CMO or Operations officer since their communications had gone dead.
=/\= My readings indicate that both Ensign Doyanne and Ensign Stark are still within frequency range, but I am receiving no active responses from either communicator. =/\= ANI reported =/\= They stopped moving temporarily only to continue moments afterwards. I cannot seem to connect verbally to either operative, but I can say that the doctor is unconscious. =/\=
Just as he was about to instruct the rest of his crew to investigate the suddenly radio silence a knock at his door distracted Erik. Oddly enough the woman he had wanted to reach was directly behind the closed doors. Shar'El stood before her Captain slightly out of breath from having run to his side to report the discovery her talents had made known.
"Captain! It's about Stark... I need to tell you something"
"You know what happened? Why have their communicators gone silent?" the CO demanded, the mission beginning to take yet another turn for the worst.
"What are you talking about? I ran into them just a bit ago..." the Intelligence officer mused, rethinking her mad dash to her commanding officer.
"Doyanne is unconscious, from what we can tell Stark is carrying her somewhere..." the Native American grumbled, confused as to the sudden change.
=/\= Captain, the connection to both crew members in question just went dead. Last known location was on Deck 20, below sleeping accomodations. The life signatures are gone. =/\= ANI reported
Cursing in his native tongue Erik reopened all the channels to the remainder of his crew "Stark and Doyanne have gone dark. Find them, this is everyone's top priority." the man insisted, turning to his second in command with worry lines etched over his features "Now... what else is wrong that I need to know about?"
==========^*^==========
Ashley Shane
Ensign Lillie Doyanne
Chief Medical Officer/Researcher
USS ANUBIS
"Flamboyantly Failing at Following"
[previous "Frightful"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Inner decks
Stardate: 30152.0430
After seeing the First Officer make a rapid retreat, Doctor Doyanne turn to face the motionless OPS officer.
"Jayson?"
He knew that Shar'El had not done it on purpose. All she had done was to relay what she had seen in the mind of the man she had been after. Looking into other's memories being what a Ullian did by natural design. The problem was that the simple mentioning of explosions had been enough to trigger something in Jayson that he had not expected. After countless hours of psychological sessions and the aid offered by Counselor Dalziel, he had truly hoped that this part of his life had been something out of reach. Yes it would forever hurt and cause him pain, but he had done so much to being able t live in the present instead of reliving that moment over and over again.
"Jayson?"
Lillie came to stand directly in front of the OPS officer, trying to draw his attention on her instead of on whatever had been on his mind. From getting no reaction, the CMO finally got a single blink of his eyes, followed by another a few seconds later.
"Sorry. I was just lost in a memory. The one where I lost..."
The Doctor quickly placed one of her fingers on his lips to stop him from saying what she knew would only be painful. The gesture had also served to show him that he had not been alone and that she understood.
"Do you want to go back to your room?"
The question had been asked out of kindness, the Doctor trying her best to help in whatever way she could. The truth thought had been that she had hoped he would refuse, showing the CMO that he had indeed taken the necessary steps to place his painful past behind him.
"No. I think it would be better if we went after whoever it was that put Shar'El in that state. Maybe we can figure out what happened and find a way to help."
Lillie nodded her approval of the plan as well as the happiness in Jayson's attitude. Given what he had suffered through, it would have been easy for him to fall back into the dark abyss of his past ignoring the thrills and challenges of the present.
Moving as fast as they could without actually running, the two undercover officers did their best to retrace the man's path. When unable to seeing him ahead, they would turn down the closest corridor having expected that he had done the same and hoping to see him further down. So it was with great surprise that after turning another such corner the two of them came face to face with the man that they had been after.
"Looking for me were you?
The Rutian's words had not been pleasant one leaving Lillie stunned and unable to move for several seconds. When Lillie finally managed to look to her side to see what Jayson had been up to, she found him frozen in place, his gaze lost in the eyes of the raven haired woman he knew as Shae.
"Jayson, can you hear me?"
Lillie quickly asked hoping to avoid the man from falling once again under the woman's spell, but the smile that appeared on the woman's lips made it perfectly clear; she had been in control of Jayson once again.
"Sorry sweetie, he's mine."
Her eyes and smile were all that he could see. Her tender sweet voice all that he could hear. The voice in his head screamed for him to run away or even better still to strike out at the enchantress standing before him. The more he gazed into her eyes though, the more he felt his strength being drained from him. All he could do was to stand there and wait for her to speak, to command him as she wished and to have him obey without hesitation or question.
Like a man falling into a bottomless pit, he felt his grasp on reality slipping from him leaving him powerless to resist her. With a simple word from her lips he would lie for her, betray his friends and uniform but worst of all he knew that he would feel no remorse in doing so. It was only a question of time before her hold on him became unbreakable.
For a split second he found himself wishing that the Doctor had brought along a hypospray to use on him, to severe the hold Shae had on him and save him from saying or doing something that he would sadly in time not even be able to regret.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Frightful"
[previous post was "Finding Familiar Figures" by the not so sneaky Mark]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Inner Decks
Stardate: 30153.0415
Alone with her thoughts, the acting ExO / ILO had wondered the various decks of the MASQUERADE DREAMS for quite some time and yet she had only seen a fraction of the luxurious cruise liner. Recalling memories that were not her own, Shar'El was in awe as to the size of the ship which surpassed many space stations that would be found out there in the cosmos. Elegance and style radiated from every corner of the ship making it easier for the dark hair woman to find something else to think about aside from the problems encountered on their Intel gathering mission.
Betazoids, due to their telepathic abilities, learned at an early age to filter and even block out the stray thoughts of others. For a Ullian, this was much simpler as a memory scan required a direct line of sight, so avoiding looking at someone directly insured that Shar'El would not have to deal with someone else's memories. Having to sort through the implanted memories from the ancient machine found on PI ALPHA III had been more than enough for the time being.
With the decks being nearly empty due to the early hour of the day, the acting ExO / ILO had no problem keeping her gaze from falling on any particular individual as she wondered the decks, admiring the decor and elegance of the Risian cruise ship. That was until someone forced their way passed the dark haired woman, sending her tumbling forward for a few steps.
Instinctively the acting ExO / ILO moved to stay standing and looked up at the individual who had been in such a rush that they had not seen her standing there. A flood of images came rushing into the mind of the Ullian as if the individual's complete and turbulent past had been on the man's thought at that time. Memories of destruction, war, chaos and even death flowed one into the next at a dizzying rate.
The shock had been so sudden and the images so emotionally troubling that Shar'El found it impossible to remain standing, forcing the acting ExO / ILO to fall onto a knee to keep her from making too much of a spectacle. As her mind began to clear, a familiar voice called out followed by hurried footsteps.
"Are you alright?" Doctor Doyanne asked as she dropped to the ground next to the dazed Ullian, wrapping her arm around the woman's shoulders.
"I will be," Shar'El replied with a great deal of hesitation as she forced the unexpected memories and images out of her mind. "Someone ran past me and when I looked up at them, I just picked up on a lifetime of memories that were rather troubling."
"What kind of memories? Can you stand? Should I call for help?" Lillie asked in rapid succession as if the acting ExO / ILO would be able to answer everything with a single word.
"I'm fine," Shar'El restated, this time with far more assurance. "There were so many memories, all of them filled with a pain that I had never felt before. There were also a lot of explosions, none of which seemed to be directly link to one another, yet they were in that man's mind."
Shar'El mentioning these explosions and the emotional pain that the man had felt made Jayson recall his most painful memory, one that also dealt with an explosion. Lost in his thoughts, the Operations Officer stood in a world of his own creation as Doctor Doyanne helped the acting First Officer back to her feet.
"Jayson, are you alright?" Lillie asked when noticing the man's vacant expression which drew Shar'El gaze onto the man. Out of concern, the Ullian listened in on the memories that Ensign Stark had been focussing on and the image that she saw made the dark hair woman gasp in frightful realization.
"What's going on?" the Doctor demanded, both of the officers standing next to her having all of a sudden acted in a most atypical manner.
"I'm fine," Shar'El stated once again, this time with a tone of seriousness that the Doctor could not ignore. "You take care of Jayson, I need to speak to the Captain. Now."
Before either Lillie or Jayson could form any sort of opinion or voice a comment, the acting ExO / ILO had left leaving the other two undercover officers by themselves and wondering as to what had actually happened. For Shar'El, there ha been no doubts as to what she needed to do next, their Commanding Officer needing to become aware of what she had discovered.
Normally the acting ExO / ILO could have used the subdermal communication system to inform the Captain an the rest of the crew of her findings, but in this particular case the dark haired woman had thought it best if one member of the crew had not been informed of her most recent finding. As trained professional everyone would have reacted as such to the news of her having run into the mastermind behind countless bombing including the attempt on the MASQUERADE DREAMS, but Shar'El could easily understand that the reaction of Ensign Stark would not be so. Especially given the fact that the man responsible for the bombing attempt on the ship and the bombing that had killed his wife and unborn child had been one and the same.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
-+-+-+-+-+-
"Finding Familiar Figures"
[Previous post "Feisty Females Form Forever Friendships"]
-+-+-+-+-+-
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Observation Deck
Stardate: 30153.0400
The start of his maintenance shift had been about an hour away which meant that the Hirogen was running out of time to find clues as to the whereabouts of the elusive Ya’Jun. With more and more passengers getting up and walking about the decks for an early morning stroll, the task of locating the woman had been made even more difficult. Added to this the insistence and growing impatience of his ‘employer’, the merchant known as Drask Pharren, the situation had become increasingly more complicated. Still, Uxtar accepted the challenge he had been faced with as he remembered one of his race’s driving ideals: The harder the hunt, the greater the reward.
As the hunter had been ready to turn down into one of the numerous corridors leading to the inner decks in search of clues, a familiar figure in the distant caught Uxtar’s eye. The humanoid man appeared visibly upset; more so than any passenger should have appeared to be this early in the morning while being aboard a luxury cruise ship. The heavy footed walk indicated that the man had been going somewhere specific and the anger in his eyes as he made his way closer meant trouble.
The hunter watched silently and motionlessly as each step of the man brought him closer. Determination echoed through the entire ship with each footfall leaving the hunter to prepare himself for what he was sure would be an all-out confrontation.
“Good morning Sir,” the member of the maintenance staff politely said as the man arrived within only a single footstep. The quick eye contact and complete lack of a verbal answer as the man walked straight passed him gave the Hirogen all of the information he had needed at this point. Whatever the problem had been to place the humanoid in such a state had not been ship related. Had it been, Uxtar figured that the man would have given the ship’s maintenance staff member a full thrashing regardless of what the reason might have been. Instead the man had just shot a rapid glare up before he continued on his way leaving the hunter with only one possible choice of action.
Uxtar listened for the footsteps as they grew faint telling the Hirogen that it had been safe to turn around and follow. In any type of wilderness or even urban setting, the hunter would have hid behind something to help camouflage is presence, but on the MASQUERADE DREAMS such obstacles had been few and far in between leaving the member of the maintenance staff to rely on his uniform as the only means to hide in plain sight.
Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible someone measuring almost seven feet tall, the Hirogen followed the man for several minutes in the hopes of discovering what had been the focus of his anger. After a few more turns Uxtar noticed two other familiar figures heading his way, these one being a far more welcomed sight than he could have expected to be.
With a nod of his head he greeted the two undercover officers who each did their best to acknowledge back without being too obvious. The blonde haired Doctor flashed a quick smile as the Hirogen while her accompanying friend took in a deep breath, likely recalling the recent flattening event. With another nod of his head, the hunter directed the attention of Lillie and Jayson onto the angered man rapidly walking away.
Having quickly recognized the man as being her date from the night before, Lillie had been more than willing to follow. Hopefully she would be able to get from Fenix some details as to why things had happened as they had the night before. On his end, remembering little about what had actually happened; Jayson followed hoping that the answers the CMO might get would help him understand what had happened to him.
As much as he might have wanted to, Uxtar decided to halt his pursuit of the man certain that despite his skills as a hunter, his size in this particular environment would prove to be a nuisance. All that the Hirogen could do was to silently wish them both good luck in the hunt that had becomes theirs.
Feelings and memories of his time in the Delta Quadrant came rushing back as Uxtar watched the two undercover officers vanish from his sight. Being alone had been a way of life for the Hirogens, something that he had to remind himself of several times during the two year mission away from the life he had come to know. Having become a Starfleet officer, the idea of never being able to rely or depend on anyone else had gradually vanished from his thoughts.
The Delta Quadrant had tested his skills and resolves on more than one occasion, but each time the Hirogen had come through. Those trials had reinforced the concept that the hunter had not needed anyone, yet his response to seeing Lille ad Jayson had stated otherwise. Maybe soon he would be able to speak to them and even to Captain Morningstar to clarify what and where he would be once this mission and hunt had been completed.
-+-+-+-+-+-
Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Feisty Females Form Forever Friendships"
[previous post was "Flattened to Famished"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-155 (Sonja)
Stardate: 30153.0345
Sonja and Ya'Han had continued their early morning chat, each sitting crossed legged on the bed facing one another and sharing bits of their past. Neither had expected to reveal what they had but still the conversation went on without any indication of ending any time soon.
It was true that the sharing had not been perfectly equal, but the black haired woman did not seem to mind this imbalance all that much. As far as she had been concerned, it had been nice to be able to open up to someone about a past that at times she had done her best to forget.
Each held a glass of water in their hands as they spoke and listened, the clear liquid offering an occasional break as well as the means to stay hydrated. One could end up with a rather dry throat after having talked about so many past events.
As luxurious as the MASQUERADE DREAMS had been, the passenger rooms had been designed with only the most basic comforts. Guests were expected to enjoy the many activities and specialized rooms offered on the ship, returning to their rooms only to rest for the next day. Of course at this early hour of the day, many of these special areas had still been closed leaving the two women to find alternatives to take care of their most immediate need.
"ANI, send over a bowl of strawberries please," The redhead engineer said as she put the glass of water down on the side table and knowing that the Avatar had been listening in on their conversation.
"You are using her for room service?" the Sec/Tac gasped in amusement, certain that Captain Morningstar would not at all agree to the ANUBIS' resources being used in such a way.
"You have to learn to make the best of whatever advantage you have," Sonja grinned. "You being the Chief of Security should know that better than anyone else."
A bowl of succulent red strawberries appeared directly between the two sitting women, the Avatar having complied with the request without as much as the slightest objection.
"Taking advantage of a position, a weakness or even of a gap in the defence of an opponent is not the same thing," Ya'Han said as she watched the engineer bring one of the fruits to her lips. "This is an abuse of power."
"An abuse of power?" the redead repeated with her mouth nearly full after having taken a bite out of the juicy red fruit. "How is this an abuse? I am the Chief Engineering Officer of the ANUBIS and as such it is my responsibility to insure that all of the systems are working to their best possible level."
A disapproving expression formed on the face of the black haired Chief of Security as a second bite made the strawberry vanish from between the engineer's fingers.
"Not only am I testing the replication system, but this also allowed me to confirm that the memory banks for the food patterns are working as they should. The transporter system is also apparently working well as are the targeting scanners since the bowl landed perfectly between the two of us," Sonja explained with an air of pure joy about her.
"I doubt that the Captain would see it the same way as you are," Ya'Han said, not sure if she was courageous enough to try one of the fruits that her bestie seemed more than fond of.
"There is more," Sonja said almost laughing. "This little exercise was also a way to check to make sure that the subdermal communication network with the ANUBIS was working and tat the privacy settings were operational. Could also add that it was a way to see if ANI was listening and ready to react quickly in a time of need," the engineer continued as another strawberry was brought to her lips.
"Saving the mission one strawberry at a time are we?" the black haired woman chuckled.
"For all we know, any of the bad guys out there could be deathly allergic to strawberries," Sonja said as she popped the last bite into her mouth and watched as Ya'Han's hand pulled away from the bowl. "You have to learn to live on the edge," the redhead added in a teasing manner. "It would not be that much of a far fetched possibility that us having had strawberries could save our lives."
"Have you always been like this?" the Sec/Tac asked, never having expected anyone to be as Sonja was.
"Like what?" the engineer said adding a wink before pushing the bowl of strawberries closer to her roommate. "Doing my best to enjoy life and making the best of every situation? You and I are not that different, you took a huge risk by leaving your world and family behind, and I like strawberries."
Ya'Han offered a weak smile before her eyes went down to the bowl now touching her legs. Slowly she reached for one of the smaller fruits and slowly, cautiously brought it to her lips.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
"Flattened to Famished"
[previous "Fighting Failures from Former Flashbacks"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-143 (Jayson)
Stardate: 30152.0345
Falling back asleep had not been an option for him. His mind was filled with images, dreams and memories of Shae, and the problem was that he could not tell which were which.
Based on what Doctor Doyanne had said, the memories of his having dinner with her had been real. This left him to question how the images of his showing her the places from his past had come to be in his mind. It had been only hours since he had met the woman, so of course it had been impossible for him to have done what he remembered, yet the images were so real. Where Shae had been concerned, reality and fantasy had not just collided but merged into a single thing that made little sense.
"Tell me what happend again."
Jayson spoke softly, almost as if he had been on the edge of tears or insanity. Maybe even both.
Lillie had told the same story several times but she understood the man's need to hear it against. It gave him a solid starting point to make sense of the feelings he had for the woman and the returning images of her in his mind.
"You went on a date with a woman last night. You knew her as Shae and we now believe that she may actually be Ya'Jun, Ya'Han's older sister. Based on everything that we have seen, both during your dinner and after you were brought here, it seems that she managed to put you under some sort of psycho-emotional control. While under the influence of her 'spell', your inhibitions were reduced to nil, leaving you to answer any and every question she asked you. Uxtar and several others were forced to intervene before you revealed everything about the ANUBIS and its crew."
His hand began to shake once again as he heard the story once more. Had he truly been so close to betray his shipmates? How could he ever hope to make it up to them after this? Whatever powers that woman had may have caused him to be that way, but to the OPS officer, that had not been an acceptable excuse for what he had almost done.
"Thank you Doctor. I guess I owe everyone an apology for what happened and a special thanks to Uxtar for having done what he did, even if it meant trying to turn me into a living pancake."
"You have nothing to apologise for. There was no way for you to know who she truly was or what kind of abilities she possessed. You did what you could and the others did the exact same. That is what being part of a crew like that of the ANUBIS is all about. Dealing with the unknown and unexpected as best we each can."
Jayson gave the CMO a half smile. She had been perfectly right, had he been alone, all of the secrets he knew would have been spilled without a second thought. If was because they had all been here together that this catastrophe had been avoided. After taking a long deep breath, he stood from the bed where he had been sitting on and went to the closet to fetch a fresh set of clothes.
"Going somewhere?" Doctor Doyanne asked, instinctively reaching for the hypospray once again. The answer she would get would determine if the man would be allowed to remain on his feet or forced back into a world of sleep.
"No worries Doctor, I am not going to be searching for her. Whatever she hit me with did a number on my brain and stomach. You helped get my noodles back now I have to take care of my other problem. I just hope that the cafeteria will be open at this hour because I am famished."
"I hope you won't mind if I go with you?"
Jayson had been ready to snap at the Doctor accusing her not not trusting him, but he quickly held back. That response had not been his, but something that had come from whatever had been left over from his dinner with Shae. That alone had been enough to convince him that the last thing he needed was to be left alone.
"I would be honored if you came with me and kept me from making more of a fool than I have already been."
"No worries Jayson. I'll make sure that nothing bad happens."
The Doctor waited for the OPS officer to turn his back to her before she slipped the hypospray into her pocket. Unlike Uxtar, she lacked the size and strength to physically restrain him, but equipped as she was, she would be able to handle whatever situation might arise.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Fighting Failures from Former Flashbacks"
Previous post from the amazing Hanali: "First-Rate Friend and Faulty Family"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose.
-C.S.Lewis
-C.S.Lewis
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-143 (Jayson)
Stardate: 30153.0305
==========^*^==========
Passing the tricorder over the unconscious Operations officer for yet another time, Lillie felt assured his condition had slowly been stabilizing. The pheromones had a strong hold over the young man, one that he would hopefully overcome with time. As her fellow officer stirred once again from his induced slumber, his ever vigilant doctor clasped another hypospray firmly in her grasp.
"Jayson... do you know where you are?"
"I'd have a better idea if you delightful women would stop injecting cordrazine into my bloodstream..." the Operations officer groaned, still barely managing to control his urges but slowly overcoming them "What happened...?"
"Well... first off I never touched her. Last time you woke up you got very angry and assumed I had done something unthinkable to your dinner date..." Lillie reassured, keeping her hand firmly on the man's shoulder
"My date... where is she... why is she not here?" Jayson queered, his head throbbing painfully as he grasped the bed sheets in earnest
"She left after Uxtar flattened you... but the others, particularly our Sec/Tac officer may be able to tell you more..." the Tarellian mused, cautiously putting the hypospray down.
Though seemingly struggling, Lillie was confident enough in her counterpart to relinquish her hold over the only defense she had.
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-098 (Fenix)
Stardate: 30153.0300
==========^*^==========
The Rutian despised failures, more so than he did almost anything else. Pacing in front of the raven-haired woman sitting on the edge of his couch the aggravated terrorist grumbled. Since the thwarted explosion, it seemed this group - which he supposed they were dealing with - had been determined to shove a very annoying wrench into his plots. This required Fenix to think up another strategy, having not fully lost the young doctor's confidence would help. Another coin in his pocket was the susceptible nature of the young man Ya'Jun previously attempted to seduce to their side. The mastermind could easily see both intruders being used in his future endeavors, yet somehow they had managed to contact one another before much was learnt.
"How did it happen?" Fenix asked again, venom not unlike his companions coloring his words.
"I already told you, I don't know what happened. He was telling me everything before the blonde one jumped in..." Ya'Jun assured, avoiding direct eye contact.
Hissing slightly the Rutian grabbed the young Nylaan's chin and forced her glittering eyes to meet his "Don't play with me girl. If it weren't for me your father would have found and retrieved you by now, his hounds are already sniffing about for you" a grin replaced the man's scowl as he spoke the next words "You wouldn't want me to turn you in would you? A pretty thing like you? Wouldn't the High Sovereign just LOVE to have not one but both his youngest daughters safely home?"
Feared and anger twisted inside the red-headed woman's chest as she stood up in what she hoped was a menacing way "I. Told. You. Everything. You will not dare touch her."
"Oh? I had assumed you hated the sister who abandoned you to your father's wrath"
"I... it's not that I... it's complicated..." the Nylaan stuttered, unable to find the words to describe the pain of betrayal she felt at the thought of her younger sister escaping without her.
"My dear, lovely Ya'Jun..." Fenix coaxed, drawing the woman into his arms "You know I would never betray you... I love you" the lie flowed from his tongue as it had many times before.
Her hair returning to it's original shade of midnight black, Ya'Jun sighed slightly still unsure of the truth in her counterparts declarations towards her "What do you want me to do...?"
Grinning, the false romantic pulled back from his initiated embrace "We need to change our tactics... they know you're here now, that much is obvious. We'll stick to the same targets but switch roles. The others will be expecting you to attempt another approach on Jayson so it is I who will lead him away while you find and lure Lillie to our rendezvous point. Avoid all contact with your sister do you understand? She must not see even the tails of your gorgeous hair flow around a distant corner. Best to avoid all the others as well, the red-head and giant staff member"
"Your little blonde already knows me, how will I convince her to follow me?" the royal-blooded woman muttered
"LURE her. Allow only that woman to see you and chase after you"
"We already established that they're using some form of unseen communication, how exactly will my sister and whomever else is with her not be made aware of my presence?"
"I have a few things stashed away for such emergencies..." the Rutian mused, now facing away from his companion "A few adjustments to our communicators should do the trick. Whatever they're using has to be transmitting a signal, your device will act as a sponge for the signals sent from or to that girl as long as you're within a certain proximity to her. I will use the same technology on myself"
The second youngest Nylaan princess watched as Fenix grabbed bits from other devices on his desk and began assembling the tools they'd need. Sadness came over Ya'Jun as she recalled a particular story the man before her had once indulged at a time of weakness "You are a brilliant mechanic... you could always return to your homeworld and assist in other ways..."
"You know very well, to my dismay, why I can't." Fenix hissed, attempting to ignore the young woman's probing suggestions.
"I'm just saying... you could build a life, have a family?"
"A family..." the Rutian chuckled darkly "As if I deserve such a thing..."
"Fenix..." Ya'Jun pleaded, reaching out only to have her hand smacked away.
"Don't patronize me woman. I lost whatever chance I had at normalcy when I helped detonate that bomb at the medical facility" sighing deeply the Rutian stood still as a statue reflecting on the day "Multiple bombs had been placed... one at each facility. It wasn't meant to kill... each one was designed to weaken the structure, to strike fear into the hearts of all within. Instead they all died, every last civilian within the walls on that godforsaken world"
"That wasn't your fault, you didn't know the mechanics had been tampered with"
"Silence girl. Go and freshen yourself up while I finish these, I want to hear no more of this"
Reluctantly the Nylaan woman did as she was told, only looking briefly back to the man she had once considered an inspiration to freedom.
==========^*^==========
Ashley Shane
Ensign Lillie Doyanne
Chief Medical Officer/Researcher
USS ANUBIS
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"First-Rate Friend and Faulty Family"
[previous post was "Failure"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-155 (Sonja)
Stardate: 30153.0300
It had been strange for Ya'Han to be up so late talking to Sonja about anything and everything. As the thirteenth daughter of the High Sovereign, one would have assumed that woman now sitting on the bed had done something similar countless times before as a young girl with her sisters, but the truth had been far from it.
Following her nightmare, the purple haired woman had not been in a rush to go back to sleep, and the redhead who had come to her rescue and sat next to her had been more than happy to accommodate. Captain Morningstar had instructed Sonja to stay by Ya'Han's side for the remainder of their mission on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS, but the Sec/Tac had hoped that their friendship as it had evolved would continue well after leaving the Risian cruise ship.
"So, you never had a crush on some poor curious boy who awkwardly looked at you with a smile?" Sonja asked, their conversation having made its way to earlier romantic involvements.
"I was not allowed to have such feelings for anyone, and being the daughter of the High Sovereign, no one dared to even glance in my direction in that manner. Doing so would, let's say, offer unpleasant health risks should they be caught, and my being under constant surveillance made that outcome a pretty sure bet," Ya'Han said in reply as she tried her best to hide the shame of her past.
"If you want real health risks, try dating an overly amorous Klingon," Sonja laughed out loud before noticing a distinct air of curiosity in the eyes of her purple haired roommate. "Don't ask. That will have to be a story for another night, one that will require a large bowl of icecream and a lot of bloodwine." The two women looked at one another for a few seconds before the engineer continued. "Tell me more about your hair and the way you get it to change color," the redhead said trying to change the topic of discussion back on Ya'Han.
"Not a lot to say," Ya'Han said with a grin, having picked up on her roommate's tactic to change the subject of their conversation. "It is something that my people have known since the early days of our history and something that until recently we never thought as being anything special."
"Let me guess, your view of your own race changed the day you first encountered the Ferengi Alliance," Sonja said, easily imagining how that first encounter would have gone.
"The fact that only women could change their hair color, and that it had been meant as a way to display their position in our society was something that the Ferengi who came to our world were very interested in," the purple haired woman confirmed. "Needless to say that they were quickly drawn to whoever displayed the green hair of the entertainment field, and from there they worked their influence to my father."
"Yeah," the engineer sighed, "all about the best way to make a quick credit or two. I am surprised that they didn't try to take them all off your world."
"They tried," Ya'Han chuckled. "For several years, no member of the entertainment field could display their color publicly, which only increased their value on our own world. Father even went to forbid my sisters and I to ever use that color even if instructed to entertain a guest of his."
"Entertain?" the redhead asked with a raised eyebrow. "Should I ask?"
"Dancing," the woman clarified as she stood from the bed and brought her now green hair to flow over her right shoulder. "There are very specific moves and techniques that are used, each one meant to charm anyone watching. Some of the moves are meant to please and relax, others to allure and excit." Without realizing it, Ya'Han had been performing those exactly moves as she described them to Sonja, causing the redhead be a little surprised by her own reaction.
"Add in that 'weirding voice' of yours and I can see it be very difficult to anyone to resist the women of your family," the engineer said which caused the woman who had been dancing to stop dead mid-move. "Sorry, guess I said something wrong."
"No," Ya'Han quickly said adding a bright smile to reassure her friend. "In a way I am glad that I never completed that training, it makes me just that much less a nameless daughter for my father to use as he wished."
"Still," Sonja continued with humor in her voice, "would have been nice for you to be able to teach me how to do that. Imagine all of the fun things we could have asked poor Jayson to do without him ever being able to refuse us."
The two women laughed as they imagined for the nest hour or so one thing after another, each more amusing and humiliating as the previous.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Failure"
[previous post was "First to Fifth" by the prowling Mark]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-031
Stardate: 30153.0300
The night had been a long one for many, the acting ExO / ILO not having been an exception to this. Luckily the members of the undercover team from the USS ANUBIS had been given back their privacy, the subdermal communication link they all shared having been suspended for the night. In some way Shar'El had been pleased to not have to listen in on everyone else's conversations, but this silence had also caused her to feel alone which caused her to fall back onto her own thoughts and memories.
There had been no doubts that their Captain had been troubled by something. His staying in his room monitoring through the subdermal communication network the conversations and reports of the rest had been proof enough of this. Knowing Erik as much as she did, which was sadly not as much as a First Officer should know their Commanding Officer, Shar'El knew that he had been a man of action, not one satisfied in simple observation. Because of this, the acting ExO / ILO could do nothing more than guess as to the reason or reasons for his behavior. That said Admiral Charles N. Koniki, and his reasons for having sent the team here without prior knowledge of the Hirogen Uxtar, had thus far ranked first on her list of probable causes for their CO's current mood..
The surprised and unexpected return of Ensign Doyanne, the reinstated Chief Medical Officer had also been one of those variables that the acting ExO / ILO considered as having been at play in Morningstar's isolation. The general attitude of the rest of the crew had been one of pleasure and gratitude, but again there had been no doubts that Erik had not been as enthusiastic about the woman's return as many others. Of course Shar'El had been one of the privileged few to know the truth behind the woman's Tarellian biology.
The situation involving their Chief of Security Ensign Ya'Han and her sister Ya'Jun had been a strange one to say the least. With Drask Pharren and his companion Ye'Lan on one side and the undercover team on the other, it had been a wonder that the older sister had not jumped into the nearest lifeboat to make a hasty retreat. Of course this raised a simple question, one that had not been so easily answered; what or who had been behind Ya'Jun's presence on the MASQUERADE DREAMS?
Shar'El sighed as she closed her eyes and tried her best to clear her mind. For a simple and relaxing intel gathering mission, this had become anything but. The failed bombing attempt had only added another layer to this mission, one that had taken on a life of its own leaving the crew to be on constant vigilance unable to predict what would come next.
"ANI, are you awake?" the acting ExO / ILO asked, having wished to hear someone else's voice other than her own echoing through throughs and memories.
=/\= Of course Commander, =/\= the Avatar replied. =/\= Being an artificial being means that I do not require rest like yourself and most other Humanoids. How can I be of assistance? =/\=
Well, she had asked a stupid question, so it had been only fair that she had received a matching answer. "Am I correct in guessing that you are keeping tabs on every member of the undercover team?"
=/\= Of course Commander, do you wish me to contact someone in particular, or maybe all of them? =/\=
Shar'El chuckled to herself. A 0300 wakeup call was sure to make her a very popular person, and not for any good reason. "No ANI," the Acting ExO / ILO said to make sure that there would not be any misunderstandings. "I was just wondering if you could tell me who is awake at this hour?"
=/\= Based on the vital signs and what I can hear from each member of the team, it would appear that Commander Maya, Lieutenant Paquette and Ensign Ya'Han are presently fully awake, =/\= the Avatar reported.
"Ya'Han and Sonja are probably chatting up a storm in some weird version of a slumber party while Maya, well Maya is Maya which means she's buried in some research with a PADD in each hand and a few more sitting in front of her," the Acting ExO / ILO said to herself not willing to interrupt any of them to satisfy her need for company. "Don't bother them, I'll just head out and take a stroll around the ship. Maybe the change of scenery will do me some good."
=/\= Very well Commander, =/\= ANI acknowledged. =/\= I will be here should you require anything more. =/\=
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
-+-+-+-+-+-
"First to Fifth"
[Previous post "A Fool and his Physician"]
-+-+-+-+-+-
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Observation Deck
Stardate: 30153.0245
Sleep had never been something a Hirogen needed in large quantity. That had likely been the only thing that played in Uxtar’s favor in the eyes of his supervisors. Long before the Alpha Shift had been schedule to start their early morning duties, the hunter had already been up and ready to make the best of the few free hours ahead of him. As much as he might have disliked his role as a member of the maintenance staff, the hunter had to admit that there had been some clear advantages to him having such a position. Access to the greater majority of the ship without being overly noticed by others, this included both the passengers and other crew members.
With the exception of a very few passengers and security personnel casually wandering the observation deck at this hour, the MASQUERADE DREAMS felt like some sort of ghost ship. Although generally empty of people, the scents left by those currently sleeping still filled the hunter’s nostrils allowing him to hone his senses on the prey that he had been tasked to find.
Thanks to what had happened in the Main Dining Area the evening before, the Hirogen had sampled the prey’s unique scent which would make it a lot easier for him to find her, no matter what appearance she may have taken. Once Uxtar had locked in on her trail, there had been little that the woman could do to escape the hunter. All of his thoughts gave way to the task at hand, the hunt having taken on a life of its own with only one possible conclusion.
Uxtar moved from corridor to corridor, from deck to deck with single-mindedness, the instincts of the hunter having taken over completely. It was only when the faint sound of a foot step from behind him that the Hirogen stopped. He remained perfectly still as he listened through the surrounding silence while he sampled the air to identify who or what had been following him.
During the early years of a Hirogen’s training to become the best possible hunter they could be, one exercise imposed on the younglings had been the teaching of the five rules of a hunt. The First Rule stated that the hunter needed to know himself, his strengths as well as his limitations thus insuring that a prey could not use anything against them. The Second Rule stated that the hunter needed to know everything possible about his prey, so to be able to use any weaknesses against them. The Third Rule stated that the hunter needed to be as aware and familiar of his surroundings as possible. The Fourth Rule stated that the hunter could not abandon the hunt once it had begun. The Fifth and final Rule stated that the hunter could not, under any circumstances allow an outsider to claim the prize of a hunt for themselves.
The noise that Uxtar had heard had quickly reminded him of the Fifth Rule, one that had brought the hunter on the verge of turning around and killing whoever had dared to follow him. Before doing so though, the Hirogen took in a deep breath and recalled all five rules and how they applied to this particular situation.
First Rule; to know himself above all else. Yes he was a Hirogen, but above all else he had now been a Starfleet officer, one with a duty not only to himself but to the others here with him.
Second Rule; to know his prey better than they knew themselves. A young woman, sister to Ya’Han and currently un the run from her father. She would not be a prize to be claimed by a hunter, but a person to be saved by an undercover officer.
Third Rule; to know his surroundings and become familiar with them. This had not been some unwelcoming wilderness, but a luxury cruise ship requiring him to be far more mindful of the consequences of his actions.
Fourth Rule; to not abandon the hunt. Although fourth on the list, this rule had been the one rule that Uxtar had always reminded himself of, no matter the situation.
Fifth Rule; to not allow someone else to claim his prize. The initial reaction had been for the hunter to eliminate the competition, but as the seconds passed Uxtar became more aware of exactly who had been following him. The footsteps had been soft, delicate, indicating that a woman possessing a certain amount of skill had been the one tailing him. When her scent finally reached him, the Hirogen knew who and why she had been there.
“Why are you following me Ye’Lan?” The hunter demanded of the green haired woman without looking back at her. “Go back to your master before you get hurt.”
He could fear in her breathing as she dashed away, but this had not answered the question that had been asked; why had she been following him?
-+-+-+-+-+-
Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
"A Fool and his Physician"
[previous "A Father's Fury"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-143 (Jayson)
Stardate: 30152.2040
Most guys would have been thrilled to have two lovely ladies in their room at the same time. Then again, most guys were not under the influence of some space siren that had turned their mind into mush.
With each passing hour, the fog in his mind lifted a little more, but still the OPS officer had to focus to remember who the ladies next to him were. They were his shipmates, people on who he could could to take care of things, to take care of him. So why had he wanted to run away?
Each time the smiling face of Shae appeared in his mind he had to fight the urge to call out her name. Each time he remembered her angelic voice he had to dig his fingers deep into the bed to stop himself from bolting out of the room. He was ready to tear the ship apart with his bare hands to get to her, but somehow he managed to keep control. Barely.
"The neural inhibitors do not seem to be as effective as they should be."
The Scientist said, the readout on her tricorder confirming what she had observed from the man.
"If we increase their setting, we might cause him to go into a coma."
"Something is happening."
The Doctor quickly scanned the man and noticed an increased in heart rate and breathing. Brain activity had also show a drastic spike leaving the CMO with few options.
"Whatever that woman used on him is nasty. He's going through some sort of withdrawal which will very likely force him to seek her out. At this rate, he will either rush out of here or suffer some sort of brain damage."
"What can we do?"
"The only thing we can."
The Doctor reached for a hypospray and applied it against the man's neck pushing the content into his bloodstream. Within seconds Jayson was out cold.
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-143 (Jayson)
Stardate: 30152.2330
With he patient unconscious there had been nothing for the Doctor and Scientist to do. Their research had required him to be awake, so Maya had returned to her quarters leaving Lillie to watch over her sleeping patient. While she waited for him to regain consciousness, the CMO reviewed the data that had been collected earlier.
His shifting on the bed drew the Doctor's attention on him. Long before he had opened his eyes, hers had been on him, his vital signs being monitored through the tricorder in her hand.
"How are you feeling?"
He blinked several times, finding it very difficult to focus on anything. The fog had still been there in his mind, but for now he did not feel the overwhelming need to run out to search for Shae.
"Tired, and I have a splitting headache."
"Do you remember what happened?"
The question had been meant to test his mind and memory. It would also help the Doctor to gage the extent of the hold the woman had on him based on his most prominent memories.
"I was having dinner with Shae, then..."
The CMO sighed has his worlds just trailed into silence. The woman's hold on him had still been very much present, his first memory having been all of the proof she had needed to reach that conclusion.
"What else do you remember?"
"I don't remember. There was some sort of conflict, a battle that I took part in. I had to protect her, to save her from... Uxtar."
Jayson sat up on the bed, fire in his eyes as he tried as best he could to put the disconnected pieces of his mind back into some sort of image that he could understand.
"Why did he want to hurt her?"
The Doctor sat next to him, her hands on his shoulders in the hopes that her presence would calm the agitated man.
"He was not there to hurt her, but to help us, to help you."
Jayson looked into the woman's eyes. At first he accepted what she had said, that the Hirogen had been there to help, but the more he looked at her, the more he remembered about the event.
"You were there. You tried to get me away from her. The battle with Uxtar was only because you failed. That's why you needed him to keep me away from her so that I could not protect her. WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?"
Lille had hoped that the short sleep would have reduced the woman's hold on him, but it was easy to see that this had not been the case. The hypospray that she had in her hand in case was quickly pressed against the closes patch of exposed skin. Seconds later Jayson fell back on the bed, once again asleep and free of the siren's control.
As soon as time permitted she would get in touch with Maya and see if maybe the scientist had discovered something that would help them get the OPS officer back as the person they all knew instead of this love struck fool that she had made him to be.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"A Father's Fury"
[previous post was "Pheromones and Photons"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-155 (Sonja)
Stardate: 30152.2300
After all that had happened, Sonja had thought it best for them to return to the safety of their room. To avoid even more problems, the CEO had suggested that the two of them spend the night in her room, just in case something came up.
Still troubled by her run-in with her older sister, Ya'Han had not been in a state to argue with her bestie, so it was without any opposition that the Sec/Tac officer followed.
No a great deal had been said after their return. Sonja had suggested to Ya'Han to take a long hot shower to help her relax. This had left the redhead alone with her thoughts for a little while, allowing the CEO to try and figure out what exactly had happened.
After her shower, the black haired woman had headed straight to bed as per the insistence of her roommate, Sonja having volunteered to take the first watch. The Chief of Security had been ready to argue the need of such precautions but in the end Ya'Han decided to just give in.
The glass of warm milk that the CEO had offered as a way to help her friend relax had been reluctantly accepted. Had the black haired woman known of the presence of a sleeping agent in he drink, she would have more than likely refused it. By the time the drink had passed by the woman's lips though, it had been too late for Ya'Han to do anything other than fall asleep.
The sleeping agent had made it possible for the thirteenth daughter of the High Sovereign to fall asleep despite her troubled thoughts; unfortunately it had been little to stop those same thoughts to follow her into her dreams. There Ya'Han came face-to-face with her sister Ya'Jun as she remembered her to be so many years ago. The walls and floors of the palace appeared exactly as the inexperienced purple haired teen remembered them, her reflection in the numerous mirrors being that of a young woman who had long ago ceased to exist.
"Father want to speak to you," Ya'Jun said causing a shiver to pass through the sleeping woman's body. Such a phrase had always been the sign of something unpleasant to come, something that although unknown everyone knew to fear, the daughters of the High Sovereign more than anyone else.
Fear instantly took hold of the purple haired teen who, out of a desire to protect herself began to run down the corridor, away from her sister.
"Ya'Han! Come back! You can't run away like that. Think of me."
Tears flowed down her cheeks as quickly as her feet ran beneath her. The corridor went on for as far as the eyes could see, but still Ya'Han continued her mad dash, hoping to escape her father's wrath. Too many times had she been made to feel the extent of his anger for things that had not been her fault, but being the youngest had granted her to unenvious position of being the one to whom everything was blamed upon.
Finally a door came into view at the end of the corridor, a door that opened before she could reach it enveloping the purple haired teen in a bright white light. When the light vanished, Ya'Han found herself standing next to her sisters facing the ruler of their world as well as their father. The rage in his eyes had not been something new, in fact it had been something that they all had seen far too many times.
"You," the High Sovereign said, his voice sounding like that of a demonic beast as he came to stand directly in front of his youngest daughter. "You betrayed your world, you betrayed your family, but worst of all is that you betrayed me."
His arm rose to extend high above the opposing shoulder, Ya'Han's eyes glued on the backhand that she would be made to feel once again with all of his strength and anger. Just as the hand came down, the purple haired teen closed her eyes but instead of feeling the stinging strike of her father's fury, the thirteenth daughter instead heard her sister cry out in agony.
Ya'Han quickly opened her eyes to see Ya'Jun on the floor, cowering in fear, crying and begging for their father's mercy as he readied himself for another strike. A thousand thoughts rushed into her mind, some belonging to a childhood ruled by fear, others by a world and training based on equality between people. As the High Sovereign readied himself to strike again, the now grown up purple haired woman moved to stand between her father and sister, presenting the angered man an alternate target.
"If you have to strike someone, strike me!" Ya'Han screamed as the backhand came crashing down. Instead of feeling the heat of the strike, the thirteenth daughter instead heard her sister cry out once again. Enraged and confused, the now red haired Chief of Security faced her father in as much challenging manner as she could. "I said *strike me!*."
"He can't," Ya'Jun said as her tears mixed with the blood that had been made to flow from the corner of her lips. "You ran away, remember. You weren't there to challenge his anger, or to be the target of his fury."
"No!" Ya'Han pleaded as she turned to face her father once again; her own tears flowing caressing her cheeks.
The High Sovereign lifted his arm once again and send it down seconds later with even more force, passing through the purple haired woman as if she had not been there despite her efforts to stand in the way and protect her sister from their father's fury.
"Nooooooooooo."
"WAKE UP Ya'Han, wake up!" Sonja said as she shook the sleeping woman who had been screaming in her sleep.
When she finally woke, Ya'Han shot up on the bed to see her friend sitting next to her. Without saying anything, the purple haired woman simply took a solid hold of Sonja and hugged her as she sobbed and begged forgiveness in a whispered voice to her sister.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
---
"Pheromones and Photons"
(Previous Post: "Fine Fit")
---
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-143 (Jayson)
Stardate: 30152.2020
The Shillian Scientist had listened in on the development of the situation that took place in the Main Dining Room of the MASQUERADE DREAMS which had concluded with the Operations Officer and the Chief Medical Officer heading out together. As much as she might have wanted to, there had been little the Chief Science Officer could have done to help them at that time.
With Ensign Stark now back in his room under the care and supervision of Doctor Doyanne though, the Shillian had found her opportunity to help in a way that she knew best. Long before the scientist had stepped into the room, ideas and theories as to how the Operations Officer had been made to lose control to such an extent had been formulated. All that remained had been for the Chief Science Officer to either prove or disprove these theories in the hopes that the process would be understood and possibly even countered.
"Will you stay still," Doctor Doyanne demanded of the Operations Officer as she rushed back t his side pushed with some force his shoulder back down on the bed, this after having opened the door for the Shilian Scientist. "I have not yet cleared you, and until then you are to stay put."
"Is there a problem Doctor?" the Shillian asked, wondering if maybe there had been some need for the Scientist to use her rank as Lieutenant Commander to insure a higher level of cooperation from her patient.
"I do not believe so," the Chief Medical Officer sighed while glaring down at her patient. Pleasantries between he two women would have to wait for later, a detail that the Chief Medical Officer actually found pleasing, things having been as if she had never truly left. "My guess is that he is still suffering for some after effects of whatever that woman used to get him to be so compliant during dinner."
"He may still be under the effects? Perfect," the Shillian said with far more enthusiasm than the Doctor could have ever expected to hear. At least one person had appeared pleased, if not ecstatic, about the problems the Chief Medical Officer had been encountering in her efforts to treat Ensign Stark.
"The medical tricorder did not show any signs of foreign substance in his blood," Doctor Doyanne reported thinking it best to fully cooperate with the Shillian and her efforts to get to the bottom of this mystery. "Whatever that woman used was not some of sort of drug, but there are clear signs of an altered brain chemistry which is what I am attributing his reluctance to cooperate with me."
"The eyes so seem to be somewhat dilated indicating some lingering neurological effect," the Chief Science Officer noted before she reached for her own tricorder to perform scans of her own. "I am also reading elevated levels of testosterone in his system as well as a rather high level of activity in his hypothalamus which would easily confirm your hypothesis of a lingering effect to whatever that woman did to him. Unfortunately this still does not address the question of how this process what triggered and continued to be maintained at some lower level."
"If I did not know better I would say that she bewitched him," Doctor Doyanne sighed, wishing that there had been an easy solution at hand to restore the Operations Officer to his normal self.
"What many refer to as magic is nothing more than the application of a scientific process that is unknown to those people. Imagine a race at the earlier stages of technological evolution seeing someone using a transporter or even a dermal regenerator. The only way they would be able to explain what they say to themselves would be through references to powers beyond their understanding. The same way many races still believe in some sort of deity to prove an explanation for those things they either fear or lack the intellectual strength to comprehend. This said, I am very certain that magic or anything the likes of which was not used in this matter, all we need to discover is what sort of physical and/or biological process was used to have the Ensign become so enamoured with the woman that he would reveal everything to her."
"I was not implying that actual magic had been used," Doctor Doyanne corrected with a sigh before quickly realizing that it had been best to continue with the research. Trying to point out this difference between what had been meant and said by the Chief Medical Officer would have been nothing more than a waste of both her time and breath. "I was going to test to see if I could find some sort of residual pheromone in his system."
"Pheromones? That is a brilliant idea Doctor," the Scientist admitted with unrestrained admiration as she leaned in closer to Ensign Stark and gazed deeply into his eyes which the Shillian had forced wide open using her fingers. "Pheromones are a chemical substance produced and released into the environment by a great many mammals and insects to affect the behavior and physiology of others of their species. Some more potent types of pheromones have been known to cross the boundaries of species to have reduced, equal or even in some rare cases greater effects. In this particular case, the use of such a natural substance would go a long way to explain why Ensign Stark behaved as he did and why we are having such difficulty in identifying the chemicals in question."
"I agree that the analysis would be much faster if we were on the ANUBIS, but I suspect that Captain Morningstar would prefer if we all stayed here for the time being," Doctor Doyanne said, actually finding herself missing the equipment and general feel of the room and department that had been her home before her reassignment to NEW ALEXANDRIA.
"As much as I would appreciate having access to all of the analytical devices aboard the USS ANUBIS, I find this sort of field research to be very fascinating on its own, the challenges encountered and overcome only adding to the euphoria of the discovery. Since no one is presently in any immediate or life-threatening danger, we can dedicate ourselves to the research at hand. That said, had we been on the ANUBIS we might have missed this; an odd hyper-stimulation of the optical serve which seems to hint that pheromones may not have been the only tool used by this woman in her gaining control of Ensign Stark. I would theorise that she may have used some sort of hypnosis to keep his attention on her to insure that the pheromones would have enough time to work their way into his system. Then again it could have been the other way around, the pheromones having been used to insure that his attention remained entirely on her so that her hypnotic abilities would break through any mental barrier the Ensign would have tried to raise in his defence," the Chief Science Officer said in a single breath, or at least that had sounded to the Doctor who simply shook her head in amused disbelief.
"Maya," Doctor Doyanne chuckled under her breath, "I missed you."
So enthralled in her research had the Chief Science Officer been that she did not hear the last comment made by the Chief Medical Officer, a reaction from the Shillian that simply made the Doctor smile that much more.
---
Jessica Solarik
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
&
Captain Selene Fiona Iverson
Commanding Officer
USS BASTET
"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
-+-+-+-+-+-
"Fine Fit"
[Previous post "Fast Finesse"]
-+-+-+-+-+-
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Decks
Stardate: 30152.2215
Over the last two hours, while Uxtar went on with his duties as a member of the maintenance staff, the Hirogen kept thinking back to what the ANUBIS' First Officer had done. Without hesitation she had stepped up and taken the heat that had been aimed in the hunter’s direction. Now he knew that this had been done for the sake of the mission, but still the action taken by Commander Shar'El had made him feel as if he had been an actual and valued member of the team.
Two whole years by himself in the Delta Quadrant had made Uxtar forget what it felt like to belong to a crew, to belong to a group of people who acted towards one another more like family. This had proven to be something that despite his greatest efforts the hunter had missed more than he cared to admit.
“I was told that there was some sort of commotion in the Main Dining Area earlier this evening,” Drask Pharren said as the unexpected figure appeared in the hunter’s field of vision just as he turned the corner. For a split second the Hirogen cursed himself for not having picked up on the man’s presence long before now, his thoughts stuck on the earlier event. Had he not been distracted Uxtar should have picked up on something from the merchant, a scent or a sound warning him of the impendent ambush. In the Delta Quadrant, such a lapse could have easily cost him his life, a realization that hit the hunter very hard.
“Nothing of importance,” Uxtar said dismissively trying to think of the best way to approach the situation while not abandoning himself to his own anger. “One of the passengers became agitated and I simply insured that no one got hurt.”
“Agitated?” the employer repeated in a way that clearly challenged the Hirogen's statement. Although Uxtar had not been flat out accused of lying, the way the Pythron merchant had looked back at him had left little room for anything else. “Now, you wouldn't happen to know who the young lady was who left with him after he became ‘agitated’.”
“A friend I would guess,” the reply came after a few seconds, the Hirogen trying to make it appear as if he had been thinking back to the event. The reality had been that he had tried to find a way to return the favor Commander Shar'El had done for him in some small way. “They did seem like they knew one another as they left,” the hunter added hoping that his story would fit whatever information he had already been in possession of in regards to Doctor Doyanne and Jayson Stark. “Whoever she was though, it was not the woman you have hired me to find, she doesn’t fit the profile.”
“Fit the profile,” the merchant said with an actual chuckle. “Please, I would greatly appreciate you educating me in this profile of yours.”
The merchant known as Drask Pharren had not been one to trust people, that the Hirogen had gathered, but this lack of trust seemed to border on the edge of paranoia which would make the situation severely more difficult to handle. Still Uxtar continued to play the role of the hired hand. “You mentioned to me during our first meeting that the woman you are looking for is capable of changing her hair color and that she possesses certain medical training. I did my research base on the information you provided and know that the prey would likely revert to a white colored hair when dealing with some sort of medical situation. The woman who came to the gentleman’s aid in the Main Dining Area had light blonde hair, not white. Plus her physical form did not match the general idea of the prey. Changing one’s appearance is one thing; diminishing one’s height is an entirely different matter.”
“Alright,” the merchant hissed, “I guess I will just have to trust you on this issue. Just remember, I hired you to find her, not spend your time flattening other passengers. I have been waiting too long to get my hands on her and I want this hunt of yours to be completed as quickly as possible.”
Paranoid and impatient, the Pythron merchant had been a very unstable man, one that Uxtar knew he needed to handle with that much more care from now on.
“You have nothing to worry about,” the hunter said in as much a reassuring manner as he could. “My duties as a member of the maintenance staff grant me access to all of the areas where the passengers can go, and it is only a matter of time before I can track down the prey. Once I do, you will be informed, but in the meantime it would be more prudent for you if you avoided contacting me in such manner. Your presence here could create issues that would conflict with our shared final objective.”
“Fine,” Drask said with displeasure. “We will not meet again before your hunt is completed, but do not fool yourself to believe that I will not be keeping a very close watch on you and your activities. I am not one to let my investments go unsupervised.”
Uxtar watched as the Pythron merchant angrily walked away, certain that his last words had been as much of a threat as the man could give. The Hirogen would have to be that much more careful from now on to insure that nothing would be done or said that could endanger the rest of the team or even give away Ya’Jun in her new identity.
-+-+-+-+-+-
Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
=-=
"Fast Finesse"
[previous post was "Forcibly Flattened" by the flattened Jayson]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Main Dining Area
Stardate: 30152.1950
Shar'El could see that the officer had been angry at something, and the acting ExO / ILO had not needed to look too far to figure out what that thing had been. From the point of view of the undercover team, Uxtar had intervened just in time to stop Jayson from doing something that the Operations officer would surely have come to regret at some later time. From the point of view of everyone else on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS though, it had appeared as if a member of the maintenance staff had tackled to he ground one of the passengers. To make matters even worse, it had appeared as if the Hirogen had done this for no apparent reason which had shocked and surprised a great many. This had left the dark haired woman with the need to imagine a rapid explanation to address everything that had happened in view of so many.
"Explain yourself," the command level officer demanded of the imposing maintenance staff member. For those listening in, it had not been a far fetched idea that the Hirogen would be thrown into the nearest airlock and jettisoned into space, this likely after receiving a thorough dressing-down.
"If I may," Shar'El quickly interjected, making sure that she stood directly between the two men. As a passenger the acting ExO / ILO knew that she possessed some leverage and if used properly she hoped to be able to solve this matter in a way that would satisfy everyone. "I would like to state for the record how delightfully pleased I am with this man's quick actions."
Although she would not have stated so openly, Shar'El was rather pleased when she noted shock and surprise flash over the officer's face. Of all the things he had likely expected to hear about the Hirogen and what had taken place, a high praise had certainly not been on his lengthy list.
"The man that was on the floor was suffering from what I can only guess was some sort of involuntary convulsions, which caused him to flail around madly," the dark haired woman explained with exaggerated flamboyance. "If it was not for the rapid intervention of this fine gentleman, I am sure that the man in question would have injured not only himself but other passengers as well. I admit that I am no medical expert, but I have no doubts that had it not been for this fine member of your staff, things would have been much, much worse."
Disappointment engraved itself deeper onto the officer's face, the account of the event that had taken place obviously not having been what the man had expected or even hoped for. As his narrowed eyes shifted to fall onto the Hirogen, Shar'El took the opportunity to scan the officer's memories hoping to find the reason or reasons for the very apparent dislike of the Hirogen.
Within seconds the Ullian discovered the source of the man's feelings, as unreasonable as it might have been. Based simply on hearsay and accounts from strangers, the entire race to which Uxtar belonged to had been labeled as being mindless savages. What had further bothered this man had been the fact that a member of that race had, to his greatest dismay, been forced upon him as a member of crew. As Shar'El pushed her memory scan of the officer deeper, she came across an unrelated event that she hoped would prove very useful in bringing this matter to a speedy and peaceful closure.
"I understand that appearances may have led you, as well as several others to believe that this was some sort of attack," the dark haired woman continued, the confidence in her voice having drawn the officer's gaze back onto her, "but I assure you that this was not the case. In fact I plan to contact the cruise line main office on RISA to inform them of the rapid injury-saving actions of this man. If you would be so kind as to provide me with both his as well as your name, I will make sure to mention you both for your vigilance and quick response on this case."
The fact that his name had been mentioned on the case of a discontented passenger a month or so back, the officer had been more than happy to have something positive be mentioned on his behalf. Not living up to anyone's expectations when it came to relaxation and entertainment had been something that the government of RISA looked upon rather harshly. Of course this simple fact had been a well known detail to the Starfleet officer and one that the Ullian had counted on after having scanned the man's memories.
Although not entirely pleased with the situation, the officer of the MASQUERADE DREAMS appeared willing to let the matter drop and allow everyone to return to whatever they had been doing beforehand. As the crowd dispersed Shar'El scanned her surroundings and noted Sonja and Ya'Han by one of the entrances. The Commander offered a gentle nod which was quickly returned by both women, confirming that the two of them had been well despite Ya'Jun having slipped past them.
With Doctor Doyanne handling Ensign Stark officially as a friend, the acting ExO / ILO had been left with the towering Hirogen. Relief spread through the acting ExO / ILO as she noticed that he other passengers had decided that there had been nothing worth their continued attention.
"Thank you," the dark haired woman said with a deep nod of her head, keeping up with the story she had provided as well as offering genuine thanks to the hunter for his rapid intervention. Now the next step had been to see if Ensign Stark had been alright after having fallen so completely for the charms of Ya'Jun and to gage the extent of the security breach. Finding the sister of the Chief of Security would be a very close second objective should there be any concerns as what the Operations officer had revealed during his trans-like state.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
"Forcibly Flattened"
[previous "Fractured Family"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Main Dining Room
Stardate: 30152.1945
Her voice had been the sweetest sound he had ever heard, and her eyes had been all that he could see. The time they had spent together could have been a few seconds or entire years, and to Jayson there had been no difference. He could only remember the things she had asked him to tell her about, everything else not having mattered to him in the least. He could not even remember what he had said to her, just that she had asked him for information and that he had been thrilled to do something that would make her happy.
Somehow he had lost sight of her eyes and her voice had gone silent casting him in a world of nothingness. For a moment Jayson felt as if he had been drowning as the one thing he needed most to survive was taken from him. From a place where all was peace and tranquility, he slowly found his way back against his greatest wish to a world filled with chaos and conflict.
In time Jayson realized that he had been having a great deal of difficulty in drawing breath into his lungs as a crushing pain pinned him against a large flat surface. It took a few more seconds for the OPS officer to reorient himself using the gravity holding him in place to gather that he had been flat on the floor with someone on top of him.
"Get off."
He had wanted his words to be loud and demanding, forcing the person on him to move, but the best Jayson managed to do was to sound like an elderly man unable to breathe. From his vantage point, all he could see where several sets of matching shoes, all of the belonging to women. In addition to the confusion that had invaded his thoughts, shame joined in to a point where he almost wished for the weight pressing down on him to push him through the floor and out of sight.
"Jayson, can you hear me?"
Commander Shar'El asked, trying to figure out if the pinned man had regained his wits or if he had still been under the influence of the siren that he had been dining with.
"Yes."
One simple word that had come out as if it had required the man's entire strength to say. By the sound of things, that words had almost sounded like it might be the man's final say in this life. With a nod of her head, Commander Shar'El motioned Uxtar to release his prey which he did with caution, ready to pounce once again should the man show any sign of wanting a fight.
A long deep breath filled his lungs, causing his body to force itself back into a three-dimensional shape. After several more such breaths, Jayson managed to look up at te Hirogen standing over him.
"Did you really need to drop an entire starship on me?"
"Sounds like he's back to normal," Commander Shar'El said with a hint of relief.
"What is going on here?"
All eyes turned to an officer of the MASQUERADE DREAMS as he quickly walked towards what he believed to be the center of the disturbance. The officer's eyes had already found the towering Hirogen in the crowd and the expression on his face pointed to Uxtar being set-up to take the blame for whatever had taken place.
"Lille, take Jayson out of here."
Shar'El whispered into the subdermal communicator as she thought it best to have the cause of the disturbance be removed out of the room while she took care of the officer from the MASQUERADE DREAMS. Hopefully she would be able to find a way to smooth things over without too many questions behind asked.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Fractured Family"
[previous post was "From Friends' Faulty Fortune"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Main Dining Area
Stardate: 30152.1945
"Ya'Jun..." the black haired undercover officer said, not sure if she had been thrilled or terrified to have run into her sister like this. Since the discovery of the potential presence of her older sister aboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS, the Sec/Tac had been torn as to how best to go about ad feel the situation.
Ya'Han had not seen anyone from her family since the age of 14 following her running away from home to avoid her prearranged marriage to a Ferengi troll. As much as some of her siblings had made her life difficult because of her unorthodox ideas and views of the world, the black haired woman had not been able to stop missing them all. Afterall they were her family, no matter what had been said or done, and they remained so even after all those years.
On the other hand, Ya'Han feared running into her sister as it would confirm her presence on the cruise ship and possibly lead those working for their father to her. This possibility, that of her father having sent someone to bring her back, had always been in the mind of the self exiled thirteenth daughter of the High Sovereign. The difference in her case had been that as a member of Starfleet and as part of the ANUBIS' crew, the youngest daughter had found a certain immunity from her father's reach. Ya'Jun on the other hand had not been so fortunate and could prove to be an easy prey for any hunter sent to bring the missing daughter back.
Time had come to a stop as the two sisters looked into each other's eyes, instinctively recognizing who the other was. It had been easy to see that the older sister had undergone some sort of surgery to better hide her true identity, but Ya'Han still knew who she was and the expression in her sister's eyes indicated that Ya'Jun too knew who had appeared to stand in her way.
"You?" the older sister said, the single word having been filled with years of accumulated anger. Quickly Ya'Jun glanced over her shoulder to see Jayson still behind held by the Hirogen while more people gathered around to see what the commotion had been all about. As her eyes went briefly to the man from RUTIA IV to catch his unpleased gaze, the woman understood that this had not been the time or place for a family reunion.
Without offering any explanation, Ya'Jun attempted to pass by her younger sister, pushing her to one side with her arm. Instinctively the Chief of Security took hold of the woman arm to stop her escape, causing the older sister to shot a defiant glare back. With a quick jerk the captive freed herself but her efforts to shove her sister away proved ineffective as the attack was diverted.
"Your combat skills have improved," Ya'Jun said, venom dripping from each and every word, "but now is not the time for us to see just how much you have learned." Just as the older sister said this, she reached for the redhead who had been standing next to Ya'Han and pulled her on top of the younger sister sending them both to the floor providing the opportunity the older sister had needed for an escape.
As Sonja moved to regain her footing and composure. the two redheads looked into each other's eyes for a moment, both reflecting surprise although for completely different reasons.
"Your hair," the Chief Engineer whispered as she rose to her feet, the woman understanding that the shock of what had taken place had triggered a reaction beyond the control of the Chief of Security.
As Ya'Han focused on changing her hair back, she tried to see where her sister had gone to, but instead the Chief of Security saw no signs of woman who had vanished as if she had not been there to start with.
"Charming, isn't she," Sonja huffed as she offered a helping hand to the once again black haired Ya'Han who, for reasons easily understood, appeared confused and troubled by the way her sister acted towards her.
"Why was she so angry at me?" Ya'Han asked as she returned to her feet with the help of her mission bestie.
"I have the feeling that you will be able to ask her that question yourself soon," the engineer said with a sigh, "too soon for my own liking I would wager. In the meantime let's go check on Jayson. I fear that Uxtar might have turned him into a mushy pancake."
With that the two women casually made their way into the main dining area, Ya'Han looking back at the exit used by her sister every so often. The thoughts of the Chief of Security were lost on the unknown reason or reasons why her sister Ya'Jun would have displayed such anger towards her her. Sadness took hold of her as the possibility of this anger being found throughout the extent of her family in her regards. Almost a full decade could prove to be a very long time in which to hold such negative feelings for someone.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Friends' Faulty Fortune"
Previous post by the watchful hunter Mark ("Fearless Fiend Finder")
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friendship is a horizon - which expands whenever we approach it.
-E.R.Hazlip
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Main Dining Room
Stardate: 30152.1930
==========^*^==========
Drinks with Fenix had become less obnoxious than the Tarellian had thought it would be with the presence of the Operations officer within the room. Lillie felt more at ease knowing that one of the ANUBIS crew had been in such close proximity, even if it had been because he was on a 'date' of his own.
"So tell me about yourself?" the Rutian coaxed, swirling the liquid in his glass around hypnotically.
"You asked me here, wouldn't it be more socially acceptable for you to tell me a bit about yourself first?" the Ensign responded, hoping that her quick response was enough to avoid a lengthy explanation about her colored past.
"If you insist... I was born and raised on Rutia IV by my mother's family. My father had been indoctrinated into an organization when I was very young after my mother had passed away due to a political dispute." Fenix indulged, purposefully leaving out the name of the organization he himself now was a part of.
"That sounds... horrible, I'm very sorry you had to go through that" Lillie sympathized, not daring to imagine the pain of losing both your parents at such a young age "So you're here on the cruise because...?"
"It was something my father always wanted to take my mother on, beyond that it's simply a luxurious vacation from the day-to-day grind" the terrorist lied, not yet willing to divulge his plans.
"A toast to their memory?"
"I couldn't think of anything more appropriate."
The soft clink their glasses made upon contact made the Terran-like woman shiver slightly, perhaps the drink had done more than the doctor wanted to realize.
"So... I've told you a bit about myself, now it's your turn" Fenix probed, hoping to learn more about his potential target.
"W-well" the Tarellian stammered "I grew up on a small farm out on Earth, it was in a bit of a backwater town. My parents eventually raised enough to send me into the city to train as a doctor's assistant."
Lillie was sure none of the crew knew a story that was any different, besides the Captain and Shar'El of course. It seemed in the Ensign's best interest to hold true to the story she had gotten used to repeating while undergoing training in Starfleet.
"Very interesting, so do you know about a lot of species or did you specialize in treating your own."
"A bit of both, my primary focus is my own race but I know enough to treat others as well" this was not a lie, the blonde woman found herself able to make eye contact again while speaking.
=/\= Ensign Stark is not responding, =/\= the Captain stated, drawing everyone's attention to his next words. =/\= I need however is closest to report in his condition and intervene to get him out of Ya'Jun control. As of right now, Ensign Stark is to be considered as an extreme security risk, and he is to be apprehended and contained until we can find out more about what as happened. =/\=
The familiar voice came over her subdermal communicator in a rush, the Tarellian having been so enveloped in the conversation that she had barely noticed the others speaking until now. Rising from her chair suddenly, Lillie scanned the dining area looking for the table at which Jayson and Ya'Jun would be seated at.
"Is something wrong?" her Rutian companion questioned, standing as she did and grasping lightly to her arm. The Ensign wondered if it was meant to be a supportive hold or a restraining one.
"That friend of mine I saw earlier... I just realized I have something I needed to ask him, it'll only take a moment."
"He's in good hands with his lady friend already it seems, no need to rush" Fenix charmed, a soothing tone entering his voice.
"No really, I need to go. I'll come back afterwards..."
"How can I be sure?" the grip around her wrist tightened, slowly Lillie began to feel afraid.
"Let go of me..."
"I can't do that, we just started our date."
"Let go or I'll... I'll...
"Or you'll what?" the Rutian said, a hint of underlying menace finding it's way into his tone.
"I'll scream... you wouldn't want to make a scene now would you?" the doctor challenged, barely keeping her pounding heart at bay.
A moment that lasted forever seemed to come over the two as Fenix contemplated his next actions. Releasing his prey now would make it hard to reconnect with her afterwards, but if he pressed the issue then the blonde woman's trust may be out of his reach forever. Regrettably the Rutian allowed his grasp to loosen and release it's hold.
Seemingly grateful, Lillie left the false gentleman's company to seek out and apprehend her mind-controlled crew mate. Hopefully the Operations officer would be glad for the rescue, but if bewitching was somehow involved the Tarellian doubted his compliance would be forthcoming.
"On my way to Jayson now, I have a visual. The woman with him seems to be... an older version of our Chief of Security to be honest, only she's bit of a more slender build. I'd say she's about five inches taller. Ya'Jun doesn't seem to realize my approach yet." Doctor Doyanne conveyed into her subdermal communicator, weaving her way through the crowds towards Jayson's location.
=/\= Keep on him Lillie, we're on our way. =/\= Sonja's voice ensured.
=/\= I'm coming to you as well. =/\= came Shar'El's encouragement.
Somewhere in her mind the Tarellian knew that engaging the enamored Ensign Stark alone would most likely end badly for her, but she didn't care. With his new status as a high risk to security the Terran man had to be confronted as soon as possible. Lillie didn't know much about Jayson personally, besides that which he had just mainstreamed to their entire crew, but the one thing the doctor did know was that her friend needed help.
"Jayson? Can I have a word with you?" the doctor asked, tapping his shoulder to ensure the man knew she was there. Even so Stark seemed lost in the eyes of his counterpart.
Grabbing the Operation's officer's shoulders with more force then the doctor was accustomed to using, Lillie forced her friend to look her way "Jayson! Will you please answer me?!"
As if his arm had been pulled like that of a puppet's on a string, Ensign Stark's hand came up and threw his concerned crew mate to the ground before. Pain shot through the Tarellian's side as she crashed awkwardly into a nearby empty chair.
"What... what do you... Lillie?" Jayson queered, seeming to temporarily be fighting the effects of Ya'Jun's compulsive gaze.
As if correcting a fault in his programming, the raven haired woman used a single finger to drag his eyes back to hers "Who is she? Your girlfriend?"
"Of course not, Lillie Doyanne is part of the..." the Operation officer's words were cut off with a quick hand wrapping around his mouth, belonging to his previously thrown doctor.
"What are you doing Stark? Wake up!" Lillie begged, placing a hand over the Ensign's eyes as well as his mouth.
Cutting the Terran's line of sight seemed to be helping, but not by much. Being strong enough to overpower the doctor easily, Jayson attempted to pull free of the Tarellian's intruding grasp, leaving his crew mate having to hold on for dear life as he thrashed. The scene seemed to be drawing unwanted attention from around the room.
"Who are you and what do you want with my date?" Ya'Jun accused, angry that her direct contact had been blocked "Are you THAT jealous of me?"
"Jealous?! I'm not jealous, you're the one who needs to control someone to have them like you" Lillie responded in kind, hoping the low blow would stagger the Nylann's control over her own mind as well as that of the Operation's officer currently escaping her hold.
Regrettably, the snide comment seemed to have the exact opposite effect on Ya'Jun's control. The woman struck like a black viper, pushing the Ensign's hands away from the key points she needed to access in order to remain in command of their starstruck crew mate.
"Make her leave us alone, don't you want to talk with me more?" the Nylann's hexing words prompted, like angelic music to the ears of her chosen mate.
Renewed vigor overtaking his mind, Jayson managed to again throw the blonde woman off of him and turned to her. Still listening to the sound of his siren's orders, the Operation's officer raised his hand to strike the Tarellian woman where she stood. Instead it was him who was struck, like a red flag being punctured by a bull.
Uxtar's body was a rock solid mountain compared to the Ensign's slimmer build. The hunter easily pinned his target beneath him. Looking up to the blonde woman staring at him, the undercover maintenance staff nodded that it was safe for her to rise from where she had fallen.
"I'll hold him. Grab the girl." the Hirogen ordered, not unfamiliar with having multiple targets. The small framed woman before him could obviously not hold down her crew mate, so the female was her best option.
The Nylann cursed under her breath and attempted to make a quick exit, with her hunter powerless to pursue it seemed like an easy get-away. The prey had been so close... but the hunt wasn't over, not for Uxtar. He would find his target again. Yet, inches from the escape she longed for, the royal-blooded woman came face-to-face with another of her own race with hair just as dark as her own.
"Ya'Jun..." her sister pleaded, the tone of her voice reflecting as if it had been centuries since they'd seen each other.
==========^*^==========
Ashley Shane
Ensign Lillie Doyanne
Chief Medical Officer/Researcher
USS ANUBIS
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"From Fraught for Friends to Fearless Fiend Finder"
[Previous post "From Furtive Flair to Fraught for Friends"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1930
With the information provided by Ensign Ya’Han, the Hirogen had a much clearer idea of the person he had been searching for on behalf of the merchant Drask Pharren. Although the lack of a physical description would make things much more difficult for the hunter, this detail had in no way diminished Uxtar’s drive. That he had been a Starfleet officer or not, his need to take part and successfully complete a hunt such as this one had been embedded in his genes. For him not to hunt would have been like asking a Klingon to be a pacifist or a Vulcan to be overly emotional.
Not having in his possession a subdermal communicator, or any other means to directly get in touch with any of the undercover members of the ANUBIS, the Hirogen had been forced to handle the matter at hand on his own. For some this might have been an issue or maybe even a problem, but for the hunter being along had not been something that he had been unaccustomed to. In fact after having spent two whole years in the Delta Quadrant with no one but himself to rely upon, Uxtar had grown used to this type of situation.
Ya’Jun, older sister to the ANUBIS’ Chief of Security Ya’Han, twelfth daughter of the High Sovereign of NYLA IV located deep inside Ferengi controlled space, had been a woman on the run for about seven months now. With access to even the most basic of medical technology, the royal runaway could have very easily changed her appearance to avoid being recognized. One thing that would be far more difficult to alter would have to be her mannerisms and her own personal demeanour.
Only the highest covert operations trained Intel agents could truly become a different person, taking on thoughts, ideas and gestures that had not been their own. Although the odds had been there for Ya’Jun to be thus skilled, the Hirogen hunter doubted strongly that the woman would have been able to simply let go of the person she had been for countless years before. Uxtar’s logic was further reinforced as he recalled the way the youngest sister had acted and reacted when interrogated by him. For four years Ya’Han had trained to become a Starfleet Officer and yet he could tell that there had been something about her past, about her upbringing that did not fit the person she now claimed to be.
This same discrepancy would be the key for Uxtar to identify his prey allowing him to find a single person trying her best to hide an ever shifting crowd. Knowing the woman’s relative age, that of being slightly older than her sister, had permitted the hunter to easily dismiss a great many from his search. Through scent, the Hirogen could pierce the cloak of clothing, make-up and cosmetic surgery meant to make someone appear younger than they really were.
Still, with all of the information and skills at his disposal, the hunt would prove to still be a challenging one. The layout of the MASQUERADE DREAMS and the constant moving of the passengers and crew would make it far more difficult for Uxtar to isolate certain elements from the general crowd so that only his prey would remain. As strange as it sounded to him, the Hirogen would have to count on something that he himself did not believe in: luck.
=/\= Uxtar, this is the Delta shift supervisor. Please report to the Main Dining Area, someone reported an issue with one male designated bathroom. =/\=
The Hirogen sighed as he reached for the communication device that clearly identified him as a member of the maintenance staff of the Risian cruise liner. His hunt would have to wait for the time being, his keeping up with the undercover role that he had been given had been essential to allow him free access to pretty much all areas of the MASQUERADE DREAMS.
“On my way,” the hunter offered sombrely, silently wondering if the shift supervisor had done it on purpose to send the Hirogen on all of the ‘dirtiest’ tasks he could find. Whatever the reason or reasons had been behind his receiving these specific assignments, Uxtar accepted the responsibility as well as the opportunity to scan another area of the ship for his prey without drawing any unwanted suspicions from the guests and other members of the MASQUERADE DREAMS’ staff.
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Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
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"From Furtive Flair to Fraught for Friends"
[previous post was "From Fairest Female to Furtive Flair" by the fabulous Lorraine]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-112 (Erik)
Stardate: 30152.1930
Two hours had not been enough to give Shar'El all of the rest her tired body and mind had required, but it had been more than enough to allow the acting ExO / ILO to subconsciously understand that something had been wrong. The tone of voices that had echoed through her mind had recalled her to the waking world, a call that she had not been all that against in answering.
Twice the Captain had called for their Operations Officer to reply and twice no answer had been given. The subdermal communicator had made it impossible for Shar'El not to hear the distress and urgency in their CO's voice, so it had not been such a surprise the see the man troubled when she woke.
The acting ExO / ILO sat up on the bed just in time to meet his gaze and hear his last order to the crew instructing them to consider Ensign Stark as a security risk and to apprehend him as soon as possible. As the Operations Officer, Ensign Stark held a great deal of information about the ship and its crew, information that could prove disastrous if it fell into the wrong hands.
"I gather Stark got himself into a bit a trouble?" Shar'El asked while trying to set her own thoughts and memories straight. The events that had led her to take an unexpected nap on Erik's bed had not been entirely clear, but the dark haired woman remembered enough to know that she had not been herself at the time.
"Looks like we found Ya'Jun," Erik voiced with a sigh, the discovery not having been made in the simplest of ways.
"You can fill me in on the way there," Shar'El said as she pushed herself back onto her feet.
"You need to rest," the Captain returned as he placed his hand on her shoulder, almost as if threatening to push her back down onto the bed she had just stood from. "The rest of the crew can handle this, us being out there will only make tings more complicated and will most certainly draw that much more attention to us all."
"Not wanting to be in the middle of the action is not like you," the acting ExO / ILO said, not entirely sure why she had spoken those words as several images of the man in the midst of dangerous situations had jumped into her mind.
"I can't go running in each and every time something comes up," the Captain said with a sigh, turning away from Shar'El so that he could look out the small window at the stars beyond.
"Captain?" the acting ExO / ILO said after a short pause in which she had wanted to call him by his first name. As his First Officer, it would have been acceptable for her to do so had the two of them been working together for some time and while alone, but Shar'El could not bring herself to being so informal at this time.
"Go," Erik said with a dismissing gesture of his hand. "Just keep me informed as things progress. I'll be here."
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 24, Corridor
Stardate: 30152.1935
Shar'El looked back at the door she had just stepped through, leaving the ANUBIS' CO behind. Something had definitely not been as it should, not as far as to what the acting ExO / ILO knew of the man and his ways. The memories the Ullian saw had been freely broadcasted by the Captain, meaning that they had been right there in his mind for him to see and review of his own accord. For one reason of another something had driven the man to remain isolated in his room, and as much as she might have been worried for him, now had not been the time to do anything about it.
The situation involving Jayson had been of the highest importance, requiring an immediate intervention. Shar'El's concerns for a fellow shipmate would have to be entirely focussed on the Ensign for the time being, the Captain would just have to wait, not that the acting ExO / ILO expected their CO to suddenly just walk out. Whatever she had felt from him had been deeply rooted and would require some time to get to, even for a Ullian.
"Shar'El here," the acting ExO / ILO announced as she began to walk away from the Captain's room and towards the Main Dinning Area. "I'm on my way to see what is happening for myself, is anyone already there who can report on the current state of Ensign Stark? and give us a description of Ya'Jun?"
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
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"From Fairest Female to Furtive Flair"
Previous post – Jayson's "From Forgotten Family to Fairest Female"
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-089 (Ya'Han)
Stardate: 30152.1930
The Chief of Security and Chief Engineer looked at one another with puzzlement as they listened in on the conversation between Ensign Stark and his dinner date. The way the Operations Officer had been revealing any and all aspects of his life as per his companion's request had proven to be humorous for the redhead and somewhat troubling to the black haired woman.
"Looks like Jayson is trying really hard to find a 'lady friend'," Sonja said jokingly, as she mimicked heaving into a bucket. "I will say this, he is going over the top. Kind of laying it a little thick there."
"I really hope not," Ya'Han replied as she closed her eyes and shook her head.
"You're right," the redhead Engineer nodded. "Telling the new flame everything about his past relationship is a definite mood killer," Sonja continued before noticing a strange expression on her friend's face, one that the CEO could simply not ignore. "Wait a minute, do you fancy him?" The redhead chuckled in a British accent as she attempted to wiggled her eyebrows, this having been the only reason she could image that would explain the look on Ya'Han's face.
"No!" the Chief of Security countered nearly instantly then paused, her thoughts having drifted into a world light years from the room in which they had been. "I just don't think I could handle having him as a brother-in-law," Ya'Han added absentmindedly as if the admission had been just as much a surprise to her as anyone else.
"A WHAT?" Sonja gasped. "Alright 'sista' park your keyster and start talking," the redhead ordered as she dragged the dark haired woman onto the couch before sitting right next to her.
"I can't," Ya'Han said hesitantly to the woman sitting next to her, actual fear having appeared in the young woman's eyes as she spoke.
"ANI, privacy mode for Ya'Han and myself," the Chief Engineer said, hoping that the isolation from the the rest of the crew would allow for the Chief of Security to being more forthcoming with the reasons that had triggered this. At the same time, Sonja welcomed the absence of Ensign Stark's continued romantic efforts which had brought the CEO on the verge of needing an 'air sickness' bag.
=/\= Privacy mode engaged. =/\=
"Alright," Sonja began in a soft and reassuring tone, her hands having taking hold of her friend's shoulders to show both support and an inability for Ya'Han to just walk away from this should she wished to. "It's just you and me now, so tell me what's going on. Why would Jayson being with that woman end up with him becoming your brother-in-law?"
"It's hard to explain," Ya'Han said while being on the brink of tears. "It is something that we are not allowed to speak of, not even amongst ourselves."
"What? You mean between members of your race?" Sonja inquired, her curiosity having been beyond piqued.
"No," the now purple haired woman said as she shook her head. "Between us... between the daughters of the High Sovereign... my sisters."
"I'm sorry but I don't understand what the problem is," the redhead pointed out without hesitation or reservation. "You left that world and those rules behind to be able to live your own life, and you will never be able to do that if you hold on to the limitations that were imposed on you back then. I am here to help you, we all are, but you have to make a decision; either leave your past behind and embrace the present or forget about being able to ever live free because you are holding on to the shackles of your past."
Ya'Han blinked several times as she looked back at her friend, not entirely sure if she should be hurt or grateful for Sonja's bluntness. After a few seconds, a smile appeared on her lips as her hair colour changed once more, this time back to the customary black.
"It is a well kept secret, one that is passed down from royal mother to daughters," Ya'Han began to explain, her voice filled with sorrow as she forced herself to recall the world and people she had left behind. "The daughters of the High Sovereign are able to attract and keep a chosen mate by using a technique that is only theirs to use. It is a mixture of voice and eye contact, one that renders the male powerless to resist them."
"What? Like the 'Weirding Ways'," Sonja asked, trying to make a connection between what she had been told and what she had read in a book, once long ago.
"I don't know anything about any 'Weird Ways'," Ya'Han admitted a little confused, "but all of my sisters were taught on how to use this ability to insure that their husbands would always be true to them and keep the interests of our world and its people in view no matter what happened."
"Can you do that with any male or are you limited to only the ones you are interested in?" the redhead Chief Engineer asked, still trying to wrap her head around the full significance of what had been confined in her.
"My sisters can do this to anyone they chose," the Chief of Security admitted as she lowered her eyes. "I, on the other hand, was never completed my training to use this skill as I ran away from my world before my mother could finish instructing me in on how to use it fully."
"Well, never mind about that for now," Sonja brushed off with a gesture of her hands, "what's this about the brother-in-law bit? Are you actually saying that Jayson is having dinner with your sister Ya'Jun?"
"It would appear so," Ya'Han nodded with a sigh. "The way he seems powerless to refuse her demands and the way he spoke of the most painful moment of his own history without the slightest hesitation leaves me to believe that he is with Ya'Jun now and that she is using him, for what though I am not sure."
"Oh crap, there's a nice lovely wrench," Sonja said with a pronounced sigh. "ANI, open the channel to everyone," the Chief Engineer demanded of the Avatar with haste.
=/\= Privacy mode disengaged. =/\=
"No time to explain, but I have it under good source that Jayson may be with Ya'Jun as we speak and that she is using some sort of voice initiated controlling mumbo jumbo to have him answer her questions and tell her everything she wants," Sonja stated for everyone to hear hoping that something could be done before it was too late. "In short he's bewitched," she added.
=/\= Morningstar to Ensign Stark, please respond. =/\=
Silence was all that anyone could hear through the subdermal communication network, everyone waiting with baited breath to see what would happen next.
=/\= This is Captain Morningstar to Ensign Stark, respond now! =/\=
Sonja now wished that she had not gone private with Ya'Han, at least she would have known just how far this little mind-control thing of Ya'Jun had gone.
=/\= Ensign Stark is not responding, =/\= the Captain stated, drawing everyone;s attention to his next words. =/\= I need however is closest to report in his condition and intervene to get him out of Ya'Jun control. As of right now, Ensign Stark is to be considered as an extreme security risk, and he is to be apprehended and contained until we can find out more about what as happened. =/\=
"I don't hear any wedding bells in his future anytime soon," Sonja half joked as she took hold of Ya'Han hand and pulled her back onto her feet, the two women making a rapid exit and trip to the Main Dinning Area of the MASQUERADE DREAMS to hopefully help Jayson or at the very least get a look at the woman he had been with, a woman whom they now strongly believed to being Ya'Han's sister.
=====
Lorraine Paquette
Lieutenant JG Sonja Paquette
Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
"From Forgotten Family to Fairest Female"
[previous "From Fact-Finding to Forgotten Family"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Main Dining Room
Stardate: 30152.1915
His earlier run-in with Lillie Doyanne, the reinstated CMO of the ANUBIS, had already been long forgotten. Not because he had wished it, but simply because of the woman sitting across the table from him had taken hold of all of his senses.
Lore from EARTH's ancient past spoke of women possessing irresistible beauty. The voices of these fabled beings was said to charm any men upon hearing them. He had believed these stories to have been nothing but wild folkloric tales, normal events that had been exaggerated over the centuries. At least that had been what he believed up until now.
Jayson looked across the table at the woman sitting there as if the two of them had been the only ones in the universe. Even the possibility of the thought of looking away had been absent from his mind. All he wished for was to hear her speak, her voice having become the most valued and rare commodity.
He gazed into her eyes as if the answer to every possible question could be found there. Maybe he would be able to find a way to make her say a few words and grant his greatest wish. How had it been that he had not felt this way before and how could he manage to go on in any other way?
"If you continue to look at me that way, you might end up making me blush."
His wish had been granted, making his heart race, but greed soon took hold of him. The words she had spoken had been nothing but a tease, leaving him wanting more. So much more. In a matter of seconds she had become everything he could desire making him hers to do with as she would wish.
"No worries, all I can see are the stars in your eyes."
She smiled a smile that made him let out a long enamourous sigh. He could not explain how he felt, or how this feeling had come to be, but Jayson wished that he would never stop feeling this way. Against the most basic of logic, he knew that his place had been by this woman's side for as long as she would have him.
"Tell me about yourself, your home and those you have left behind to be here."
Her words had washed over him like a spell, depriving him of all conscious thoughts and leaving him with an undying desire to please her and do as she wished.
Memories of his life before this one immediately came to mind. Images of Leena; their wedding day and night; and their home on a world on the border of Federation space flowed without any challenge. The world that they shared had been one with troubled politics. That same world saw the end of his dreams of a happy family in the explosion of one medical facility among countless others.
The memories should have been painful to say the least, bringing the OPS officer to tears as it had done so many times before, but not this time. For an unknown reason Jayson felt no sadness in remembering the images of his dead wife and the life he had left behind to return to EARTH afterwards.
Even more surprising had been that he smiled as he told his dinner companion about his former life and the wife who had meant so much to him. Without any sort of hesitation he told her of the first time he had meet Leena, how they had become engaged and talked about having a family of their own. He sounded genuinely happy when he spoke of how the two of them had decided to leave EARTH to make this dream come true.
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-101 (Ya'Han)
Stardate: 30152.1925
"What's wrong?"
Sonja had seen something odd about the way Ya'Han looked. The Sec/Tac had appeared troubled and concerned, but the CEO could not see why. The engineer had long ago tuned out the voice of the OPS officer as he told the story of his life.
"That does not sound like Jayson."
Her own whispered words had been meant not to interrupt him, although the Chief of Security doubted that anything could have done that. Just listening in on the conversation, Ya'Han could tell that there had been something different about the man, something that had made him to not be the person she thought she knew him to be.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"From Fact-Finding to Forgotten Family"
[previous post was "From Fatigued to Fact-Finding"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-101 (Ya'Han)
Stardate: 30152.1810
The question had come out of nowhere and had hit her like a quantum torpedo set to detonate upon impact. Although simple in wording, the query made by the Hirogen Hunter and undercover Intel Operative had been anything but simple for the exiled thirteen daughter of the High Sovereign to handle. Unable to answer right away due to the unexpected nature of the question, Ya'Han actually took a step back to help steady herself.
"Tall *and* inconsiderate," Sonja huffed as she went around the standing living tower to offer her 'bestie' the emotional support the redhead had been sure was required at this time. "You are the whole complete package aren't you?"
"I am sorry if I was too blunt," Uxtar said while appearing more confused than apologetic. "I did not see the need to not get right away to the point of my being here so as to limit my time here and risk exposing us all for whom we truly are."
"It's alright," Ya'Han said with difficulty as she returned Sonja's smile and steadied herself against the nearest corner or a desk, "he just caught me by surprise. Secrets, as I have come to learn, are not a good thing to keep between us. Since everyone else from the ANUBIS knows the details, I believe that it is only fair he also be made aware of them. "
"I don't see why," the redhead said in a low growling tone, shooting a narrow-eyed glare back up to the Hirogen. Sonja had accepted the task of protecting Ya'Han while they were on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS, and this apparently included defending her from an overly curious and overly tall Hirogen.
"I have no idea as to the specific reasons why you are all here," Uxtar pressed on, "but I have stumbled upon something that I believe to be of some importance. It may have nothing to do with the bombing attempt that we stopped, but I can tell that there is a lot more at stake in this than I was told. So again I ask, are you in any way related to the woman the Pythron merchant Drask Pharren is searching for?"
"She is my sister," Ya'Han said after having taken a deep swallow as she combed her fingers through her thick black hair that had fallen forward over her shoulder. "Her name if Ya'Jun and she ran away from our father roughly seven months ago. I suspect that Mister Pharren has been searching for her ever since."
"Your sister?" Uxtar asked sounding ever more confused then before. "Why would a ruthless merchant the likes of Drask Pharren be looking for your sister?"
"The reason is that she is the twelfth daughter of the High Sovereign and ruler of NYLA IV," the now purple haired woman replied, "and because our father is not one to allow his daughters to just do as they please he has likely offered some sort of reward for her return, a prize that Mister Drask Pharren is certainly wishing to collect."
Uxtar tilted his head ever so slightly as he observed the woman in her new hair color, confirming in some way the claim that the two women had been related. "Thank you for your answer. It has given me a great deal more information to work with which will certainly help me a great deal in my hunt."
"YOUR HUNT?!" Sonja snapped. If memory served her well, the Hirogen reproductive organs were right where she needed them to be to teach that overly tall beast some well deserved manners. "Ya'Jun is not a prize to be hunted like an animal," the redhead pointed out with frustration, having decided not to strike at the towering imbecile, at least not just yet.
"My words were ill chosen," Uxtar said, actually taking a step back from the now enraged redheaded women. "My intent is to search through the passengers of the MASQUERADE DREAMS to see if she is indeed on board, and should I find anything I will report back to you and Captain Morningstar before Mister Drask Pharren is made aware of my findings."
"You'd better," Sonja snarled as she held Ya'Han just that much tighter, "or I can assure you that I'll turn you into minced meat, feed you to a Klingon targ and toss the entire stinking mess into the warp core of the ANUBIS."
The towering hunter looked down upon the woman who had just threatened him, not sure if he should be amused or concerned. "I have one last question, this one in regards to the lady accompanying Drask Pharren," Uxtar continued having found the words and attitude of the redheaded engineering uniquely interesting.
"Yes," Ya'Han said having guessed what the Hirogen had been about to ask. "She is of the same race as me but no she is not one of my sisters. Ye'Lan may very well be the property of that merchant and the source of his knowledge on my people. The fact that she is always seen with green hair makes it rather certain that she belonged to the entertainment cast of my people, and as such was someone to be highly sought after."
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
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"From Fatigued to Fact-Finding"
[Previous post "From Fraud to Fatigued"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1715
Uxtar watched with interest as Drask Pharren walked away escorted by his two imposing bodyguards. A lot could be learnt from observing the way a prey moved. The Pythron merchant had a very confident step, one that indicated that the man knew what he wanted, but the way his bodyguards followed ever so closely showed the hunter that the man had been nervous about something. It was very possible that through several of his dealings the man had made enemies, and that information could prove an asset for the Hirogen.
“He’s not one to waste time or words,” Uxtar said out loud as if speaking to himself while in reality he had wanted to gage the green hair woman’s reaction. Gathering as much information as possible had been an essential trait of any hunter or Intel operative, and for the undercover Hirogen hunter, this was even more important.
“No he is not,” Ye’Lan confirmed, but it was the hesitation in her voice that spoke volumes. As much as the merchant had been nervous about something, the green haired woman had been equally nervous about him, even possibly scared. Through his observation of Drask, Uxtar had pinned him to being a ruthless merchant. With the woman’s reaction, the hunter came to understand a little more as to just how ruthless the Pythron man had been.
The two bodyguards had followed their master leaving the green haired woman behind to fend for herself. True there had been the possibility that she had been more than capable of handling herself in a crisis, but Uxtar doubted from what he could see that she would be able to truly defend herself in a life or death situation. Through this the hunter understood that Drask had been a man interested in the final goal, and not in the price that he or those around him would have to pay to get it.
Had he been anyone else, Uxtar might have felt some level of pity for Ye’Lan who he saw now more than ever before as a worthless pawn to be used by his new employer. Maybe by the end of this mission something could be done to help her, but for now her role had been clear, just as much as his own.
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Deck 27
Stardate: 30152.1745
It was interesting to read the description of the woman Drask Pharren had been so eager to find. The woman’s physical details strangely fit that of the ANUBIS’ own Chief of Security, Ensign Ya’Han. According to the information provided by Ye’Lan, his prey possessed the ability to change her hair color at will, leaving the hunter to wonder, even if only briefly, if Ya’Han could do the same.
Very little background information had been given to Uxtar, likely because Drask Pharren had not wanted the hunter to know too much about who he had been sent to find. This was another clue as to the merchant’s state of mind and how cautious he had been. The Hirogen actually smiled as he imagined the man always looking over his shoulders to see if some unwanted entity had been closer than he would have liked them to be.
With several puzzle pieces missing for him to be able to properly begin his hunt, the Hirogen decided to seek out the assistance of the woman who’s description matched so very closely that of his prey.
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 23
Stardate: 30152.1800
The passenger manifest had shown Ya’Han to be in Room 23-101, so after having falsified a work request for that exact location, the Hirogen had made his way there to see if he might be able to gather a little more information on the elusive prey.
“Yes?” the redhead woman said as she opened the door, her eyes having to climb their way up to meet those of the Hirogen maintenance staff member.
“You reported a malfunctioning light fixture,” Uxtar said as he looked over the woman to see if Ensign Ya’Han had been there.
“Light fixture?” the Engineer repeated adding a raised eyebrow for good measure. She had not made such a report and had there been a malfunctioning light fixture, the CEO of the USS ANUBIS would have been more than capable of handling the crisis herself. As she imagined ways of cutting the Hirogen down to size, the fiery haired woman realized that the giant standing in front of her had been the same one who Ensign Stark and Commander Shar’El had been with.
Figuring that he had a valid reason to have presented himself with such a story, Lieutenant Paquette invited the Hirogen to step in. “What can we do for you?” Paquette asked as soon as the door closed behind their guest.
“I have a few questions to ask of Ensign Ya’Han,” Uxtar said as he noticed the women in question step in view of the Hirogen. The hunter displayed pleasure in having succeeded in this first task, his smile a sharp contrast to the expression of concern that had appeared on the woman who had been the reason for his presence here.
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Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
=-=
"From Fraud to Fatigued"
[previous post was "From Physics to Fraud" by the deviously talented Ashley]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-112 (Erik)
Stardate: 30152.1710
The voices had somehow been silenced and the memories of places and people she had never seen before had faded back to a past that had not been hers. Calmness had returned to her thoughts, a state of mind that she found herself delightfully pleasant.
Gradually images of place and people she knew as well as voices she recognized began to slip back into her mind. Each returning memory was welcomed with an inner smile as Shar'El's sense of sanity reinforced itself. These had been the places and people she knew, voices that she enjoyed and even had come to miss.
One particular voice came to be clearer than any other for a short period, the voice of the ANUBIS' former Chief Medical officer, a pleasant woman with a difficult past, a person whom Shar'El had been pleased to call a friend. At the time, the two of them had been outsiders keeping a complicated secret from those around them. That had been the source of their friendship, having found one another in their attempts to remain hidden from the rest.
It had been strange that the source of their friendship had been a secret that they had initially wished to hide from everyone, a secret that Shar'El eventually revealed to all while Lillie's forced her to leave the ship and its crew, including her friend.
With her thoughts focused on the golden haired woman, Shar'El began to remember several specific memories dealing with Lillie Doyanne. One had been the Doctor's own recollection of a happier time, but the others had been of the two women's time together including a short encountered on this very ship. The encounter, as the acting ExO / ILO remembered had not ended well for both the CMO and OPS officer whom she remember pushing away with all of her available might.
"It's alright Shar'El," a reassuring voice said, bridging the realms of dreams and reality. "You are safe."
It had taken a few moments for the acting ExO / ILO to recognize the voice has having been that of the ship's Counselor, Eve Dalziel, a voice that Shar'El had been more than happy to hear.
"Where am I and what happened?" the dazed woman asked, still lacking the physical strength to even force her eyes to open.
"You are safe," Eve answered, thinking that specifying that she had been on the bed of the Commanding Officer might have caused more harm than good. "As for what happened, a psyonic inducer was discovered in the room that you were investigating. From what we gathered, it caused several of your implanted memories to surface all at once."
"In other words; I was not working on all thrusters," Shar'El said with a long sigh, not even trying to open her eyes knowing that she lacked the strength to do even that. "I hope that no one was hurt while I was performing an experiment in artificial stupidity."
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Eve said, glad to see the acting ExO / ILO sounding a little more like herself. "This was not your doing, Sonja and Ya'Han found a device behind the mirror you had been looking at. It caused some of your implanted memories to surface."
"All those memories coming at me all at the same time was just too much for me to handle," Shar'El said as she allowed her body to relax against the softness of the bed that she had been laid on. "*That* I remember," the acting ExO / ILO added with disappointment.
"Doctor Doyanne got you back to us thanks to the information discovered from the psionic inducer," Eve said, just as a way to fill in some of the possible gaps in the dark hair woman's mind.
"Lillie was here?" Shar'El said as she snapped up to sit on the bed, not at all sure as to where the energy to having been able to do this had come from.
"You need to relax and rest," Counselor Dalziel quickly said as she helped the acting ExO / ILO back onto the bed. "I am sure that you will be able to thank her in person at some point, but for now you need to take it easy."
Reluctantly Shar'El complied with the Counselor's words, not that she had a lot of options to act otherwise. The reaction that she had gone through after hearing that doctor Doyanne had been there by her side had deprived the acting ExO / ILO of whatever strength she might have had.
"I'm sorry for taking up space in your room," Shar'El said as she felt her tired mind and body slipping into sleep. "I'll go back to mine right after..."
Eve just grinned as she and Captain Morningstar watched the dark haired woman fall into a peaceful slumber while on the bed of the ANUBIS' own Commanding Officer.
"Looks like you will have a woman sleeping in your bed for a little while longer," Eve said teasingly to her Captain who appeared somewhat unimpressed by this latest turn of event.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"From Physics to Fraud"
Previous post by the ever-wise Francois "From Follower to Physics"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The gift of words is the gift of deception and illusion.
- Frank Hubert
- Frank Hubert
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-112 (Erik)
Stardate: 30152.1705
==========^*^==========
Taking the tiny trinket may have been an easy feat for most, possibly even an honor, but the coldness in her previous Captain's eyes indicated that the gesture had been one of necessity and nothing more. Lillie felt her throat dry as she reached out for the subdermal communicator that would allow her words to be heard by all currently enlisted on the ANUBIS.
"Thank you," Doctor Doyanne said as she accepted the offered device.
"You and I will need to talk," the Native American added in a much colder voice than the CMO had anticipated hearing. "Soon."
The statement earned their CO a quick questioning glace from Eve before she wrapped her long lost companion in a hug "Welcome back to the USS ANUBIS Ensign Lillie Doyanne, can't wait to work with you again" the lieutenant beamed a gentle and reassuring smile as she released the doctor.
Grasping the acting ExO's hand in her own, the blonde woman gave their interlaced fingers a soft squeeze "She'll be alright... the frequencies should slowly be subduing the memories effected by the psionic inducer and will be bringing our good old Shar'El to the surface soon"
"Are you leaving?" Dalziel asked, her head tilting in slight confusion.
"I had an... encounter earlier with someone who I'll need to deal with, but it hopefully won't take long. Keep me posted if any anomalies occur and if her eyes start to pull too far back try to soothe her, words only though best not to touch her until we're sure our second in command has returned to herself"
Lillie gave the Cardassian-born woman a reassuring smile the doctor turned to leave. Shuddering slightly when passing the Native American's side, the Tarellian made sure to avoid physical contact and could tell that he was doing the same. Having been at Shar'El's side throughout the worst of her treatment would have to be enough because although it wasn't vocalized the blonde woman knew that her sudden return wasn't as welcome as Erik had made it seem.
After waving to the retreating doctor Eve turned her attention to the Captain, a delicate hand on her hip "So... what was that all about?" she questioned him curiously, watching his body for any physical reaction like that she observed between the two mere moments before.
"We can talk about it another time. Afterwards." Morningstar mumbled slightly, having noticeably relaxed a decent amount after their unexpected aide had left.
The counselor decided to drop the topic - for now - though her curiosity still burned. Was there something about Ensign Doyanne's departure that had upset their CO, or was there something else driving his apparent icy nature towards their medical officer.
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-130 (Lillie)
Stardate: 30152.1730
==========^*^==========
Back in her room, Lillie stared at the tiny device and debated on if to place it on herself before or after her date. Finally the importance of being at the beck and call of the ANUBIS crew outweighed the possible embarrassment the Ensign would need to face having them hear everything. Privacy settings could be enabled regardless if there was ever the need.
The subdermal communicator in place, the newly reinstated CMO tested it's connection "Can everyone on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS hear me?"
=^= Affirmative. =^= came the quick reply of their resident science expert, toiling away to further unlock the mysteries behind the terrorism devices from within her room.
=^= Roger that! =^= Sonja's lighthearted voice sounded, Lillie could practically see her with a thumbs-up in the air.
=^= Who's Roger? =^= came the inquisitive answer from a Ya'Han, a woman the Tarellian knew little of but hoped to know better in the coming days.
=^= Online. =^= was the cold answer that came from their Native American Captain.
=^= Great, more voices in my head... =^= Ensign Stark chuckled sarcastically, obviously previously occupied.
=^= We're all here Doctor =^= Eve reassured, sounding as caring as always.
A smile graced the blonde woman's face as she heard so many familiar voices sound off their presence. A tight sensation gripped in the medical researcher's chest as she thought of the deception that she herself was pulling them through. Although the Terran-like woman meant no harm, the dishonesty was sure to make her crew mates distrust her.
None of them were yet aware of Lillie's true purpose on board of the MASQUERADE DREAMS. While dressing for her night, the doctor's eyes continuously fell upon the corner of the PADD hidden beneath her mattress, the one containing all her most updated notes. Sighing slightly the Tarellian took the device into her hands delicately and quickly scanned it's contents.
Research spanning generations of families. Research that cost the lives of thousands to acquire. Research that would hopefully end the blonde woman's race plague forever and render them an active culture among the Federation. All the research pointed to one person - a single woman with their answers, lost centuries ago to the plague. Luckily her memories had been preserved... within the fragile mind of acting ExO Shar'El.
Tears came to the Ensign's eyes thinking about the false pretenses under which she had rejoined the ANUBIS team. Sadly, with the temporary cure slowly failing, Lillie had no other option if she was to save her people. Without the permanent cure the side-effects of her temporary injections would overwhelm and kill her, even worse her children had been showing some signs of the side-effects as well even without having even been plagued or injected themselves.
The final image displayed on the screen of the PADD was that of her children, their frozen smiling faces gazing back at her through the screen. The Admiral had pointed the Tarellian in the direction, had acquired her a room. The rest of this mission rested solely on the fragile woman's shoulders. It was a mission Lillie refused to fail. Her very life, that of her children and even race were dependent on it' success.
Dressed in a shimmering blue evening gown, Doctor Doyanne sat in a chair provided to look lovingly at the PADD in her hands. A knock on the door interrupted the doctor's thought process and rose her from the comfort of the chair she had been pondering in. Pulling on a light blue shawl and placing the PADD back in her personal luggage, Lillie went to the door and opened it, not at all surprised as to who she found on the other side.
"My lady, you look positively gorgeous this evening" the Rutian charmed, adding a dazzling smile to accompany his words.
"Fenix... I was somewhat hoping you had forgotten..."
"Forgotten? A delicate flower like you?" taking the Tarren-like woman's hand in his, Fenix kissed her palm gently "Never."
The gentleman offered his arm to the undercover officer, which she took hesitantly "I... I haven't been out for a very long time..."
"How long is that?"
"About 6 years, I stopped after my husband's... accident"
The usually charming man's face reflected sympathy, possibly even empathy as he spoke "I'm truly sorry to hear that, did you have any children?"
"No..." the Tarellian was unwilling to mention her daughters to a man she had just met, the lie cut her deep inside.
"A shame if they would have inherited from you" the Rutian soothed, rubbing an absent hand over the woman's blonde hair.
Her cheeks red from embarrassment the Ensign cleared her throat and tried to ignore the softness of the hand on her head. A softness that reminded the doctor of times long past. The unlikely couple walked the remaining distance in silence to the main dining room. Although, with the Terran-like woman's heart beating so loudly in her chest it was most likely that she wouldn't have heard her counterparts words even if they had been spoken.
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Main Dining Room
Stardate: 30152.1855
==========^*^==========
"Jason?" Lillie exclaimed upon entering the well lit main dining room, having spotted her friend from a short distance away.
Ensign Stark was dressed in the most appealing outfit she had ever seen on him. His face was cleanly shaven and from their close proximity Lillie could smell the pleasant musk of his cologne. Obviously her fellow undercover officer had plans of his own with someone special this evening. Doctor Doyanne's thoughts were confirmed when she saw the look on Jason's face.
"L-Lillie... what are you doing here?" the nervous man exclaimed, his mind so filled with the dreamy images of his soon to-be dinner date that he hardly realized the doctor had a friend of her own holding around her waist.
The Operations officer hadn't planned having anyone else from the ANUBIS at his personal soiree with his goddess, though he could think of worse people to have around. At least having the doctor nearby meant that no medical emergencies would go left unchecked in any worst case scenario.
"You know this man?" Fenix questioned, seemingly sweet but Jason could make out the hint of venom in his tone, directed of course at him - the man in question.
The ANUBIS crew mates exchanged hesitant glances a moment before Lillie answered "He's a friend, from back on Earth"
"Ahhh, well then I hope you'll excuse us. Your friend is owed a drink." the Rutian said, bowing slightly to the Ensign before pulling his date away towards one of the more luxurious tables set.
Well... this just made both their evenings that much more complex.
==========^*^==========
Ashley Shane
Ensign Lillie Doyanne
Chief Medical Officer/Researcher?
USS ANUBIS
##########
"From Follower to Physics"
Previous post "From Furious to Follower"
##########
"No one undertakes research in physics with the intention of winning a prize. It is the joy of discovering something no one knew before."
- Stephen Hawkins
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-112 (Erik)
Stardate: 30152.1630
"Greetings Doctor," the Native American offered as the former CMO of the USS ANUBIS entered the room. "Your presence on the MASQUERADE DREAMS is most fortuitous, and we are all very happy to see you here."
The tone of voice used by Captain Morningstar had been more reserved than grateful, yet Lillie had not experienced the coldness and distance that she had expected to receive from her former CO. She knew that her own unique medical condition had made it difficult for the Native American Captain to accept her on board the ANUBIS when she had initially joined, and it had made sense to expect the same level of caution from him at this time. Truth be told, the absence of what she had expected came as a welcomed surprise.
"As you had earlier suspected, we believe that Commander Shar'El is suffering from some sort of induced psychotic break from reality, one that was likely brought upon by a psyonic inducer targeting traumatic memories, maybe even a specific one," Eve explained, as she took hold of the blonde woman's hand and brought her to stand by the side of her patient.
"Guess Lieutenant Paquette and Ensign Ya'Han found something in that room," Doctor Doyanne deduced, the information allowing her to tackle the problem at hand with greater focus and a higher probability of finding a solution. "I was able to get my hands on a few reports concerning Commander Shar'El and the memories she received while on the moon of PI ALPHA III. Based on what you have just said, it makes sense that she would have reacted this way. If whatever was found was calibrated to focus and amplify a single memory, the results in her case would have been more than sufficient to break her hold on reality."
"Can you help her?" the Captain inquired rather dryly, ready to ask for his First Officer to be beamed back to the ANUBIS should there be any need to do so.
"I believe I can," Lillie replied, having glanced in the Native American's direction ever so briefly before returning her fullest attention to the sedated woman. "Luckily I brought a few medical essentials with me."
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-143 (Jayson)
Stardate: 30152.1640
Ensign Stark had returned to his room with a rather noticeable bounce in his step, the thought of having dinner with the black haired woman who had called herself Shae having been all he could think about.
Through the subdermal communication network, the Operations Officer had kept up with the events concerning their Acting First Officer and her condition, but it had been clear that neither his presence of expertise had been required at this time. So it was with no hints of guilt or concern that Jayson went about his preparation.
After all he only had two hours and fifteen or so minutes to make himself to be the perfect gentleman, one he could only hope would be able to impress her half as much as she had him.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-049 (Bomber's room)
Stardate: 30152.1645
Lieutenant Paquette and Ensign Ya'Han had left no wall-mounted decoration unturned, making sure that they looked at everything in the hopes of finding something more to shed some light on who had been behind the earlier bombing attempt. So far though, their efforts had been fruitless, the room having yielded no clues as to the identity of the would-be bomber or those he had given his life for.
"I hope that Commander Shar'El will be alright," the Chief of Security offered in a soft whispered voice, not wanting her words to distract or interrupt the efforts that were underway to help the woman in question.
"She's in good hands," Sonja reassured. "Think it's time for us to make our exit. I don't think there is anything else for us to find here," the redhead Engineer stated as she motioned for Ya'Han to join her so that the two of them could make as quick an exit as possible. As much as the room had been meant for only one person, there had still been the possibility of an accomplice walking in to see if anything had been left behind, which unfortunately had not been the case.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-101 (Maya)
Stardate: 30152.1650
Although the Shillian had not been in one of the numerous labs on board the ANUBIS, she had still managed to find herself very much at home surrounded by various PADDs and displays, each one relaying some specific data from the ANUBIS.
The analysis of the bomb had yielded some interesting facts, such as the possible point of origin of several key components in its manufacturing. Likewise, the strength and dispersal pattern of the controlled explosion had made it clear that the MASQUERADE DREAMS had been meant to only be shakened, not crippled by the explosion.
On another PADD, the preliminary report on the device found by Lieutenant Paquette and Ensign Ya'Han had begun to appear. Hoping to find something that would prove to be of some help to Doctor Doyanne, the Shillian wasted no time in scanning the information.
"Maya to Captain Morningstar, the device that was found behind the mirror is in fact a psionic inducer, one that was set to work on a frequency of 0.736 hertz. My guess is that it was set to the occupant's highest specific Delta Wave susceptibility. It is therefore very likely that a similar frequency, set of course on an inverse amplitude, could be used to counter the effect and allow Commander Shar'El to regain control of her thoughts and memories," the Chief Science Officer relayed. "I would also suggest that if Doctor Doyanne is going to be helping us on this mission that she be given a subdermal communicator of her own. It would help a great deal if she could communicate back and forth with the rest of the undercover team without us having to relay messages every time the needs arises."
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1655
The Hirogen listened carefully to the business proposition being offered to him. Although the man had obviously not been a Ferengi, the way that he spoke hinted as to the merchant having had several dealings with that particular race.
"So allow me to recap," the Pythron merchant continued. "I would like for you to track down this woman who has eluded me thus far. Her safe return is of the utmost importance to those I represent and I am ready to generously compensate you for all your troubles. Of course, I would ask that you keep our arrangement private during and after its completion should you be successful. Failure to do so would force me to become a far less amicable business partner."
Instinctively Uxtar's eyes shifted up to the two bodyguards, easily imagining what Drask had meant. Normally, a Hirogen would not agree to such a deal, the hunt being its own reward and the prey having come across as having been nothing worth his time, but these had not been normal circumstances and the prey had seemed to be challenging enough to pique his interest.
"I agree," the Hirogen nodded stoically.
"Excellent," Drask announced with a beaming smile. "Ye'Lan will provide you with all of the information we have to help you on your hunt as well as payment for your time so far. I did say that I would make this meeting worth your while regardless of your final decision."
The green haired woman leaned over the table and placed a PADD and a pouch in front of the still sitting Hirogen, adding an alluring smile to add to the hunter's compensation.
Uxtar was of course tempted to take both but instead he only took the PADD leaving the pouch on the table. "I will take the reward only *after* the hunt has been successful."
"And that is why I like dealing with people such as yourself," Drask grinned as he leaned back in his chair. "Single-minded and focus. I am sure that we will be speaking again very soon. Should you need anything, Ye'Lan is at your disposal and can relay any information back to me should you need to do so. Good hunting my friend."
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-112 (Erik)
Stardate: 30152.1700
It had been nearly 30 minutes since Doctor Doyanne had walked into the room, and it had been just as long since she had started to work to free the acting First Officer from her psychosis. The information provided by Commander Maya had proven indispensable as Shar'El began to show clear signs of improvement the moment the frequency had been modified as suggested.
The Native American had kept the second part of the recommendation of his Chief Science Officer to himself for the time being. Welcoming Doctor Doyanne back, even if only for the rest of this mission would open a door that Erik had not been entirely ready to face. Still, the more he saw his First Officer's vital signs return to normal, the more he had to admit to himself that the Doctor would be a very positive addition to the undercover team.
"I think she will be fine now," the Doctor announced following her latest tricorder scan. "Please relay my thanks to Commander Maya for her help."
"You can tell her yourself," Erik stated as he handed over one of the spare subdermal communicators to the former CMO of the ANUBIS. "I suspect that you know how and where to instal it?"
Lillie glanced at the small device for an instant before looking at Eve who simply smiled and nodded. Although the words had not been spoken per say, it was clear that the Captain had welcomed her back as a member of the ANUBIS.
"Thank you," Doctor Doyanne said as she accepted the offered device.
"You and I will need to talk," the Native American added in a much colder voice than the CMO had anticipated hearing. "Soon."
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-049 (Bomber's room)
Stardate: 30152.1715
The frustration of the failed bombing of the lower decks of the MASQUERADE DREAMS still hung over his head. So far he had not been able to figure out what had gone wrong, but that had not stopped him from moving ahead with an alternate plan.
As the Rutian man stepped into the room, he immediately noted the absence of one particular item; the mirror that had been set on the wall across from the room. An angered growl echoed from deep within his throat as he quickly glanced around the room to see if the thief or thieves had still been here. When he confirmed that he had been the only one in the room, Fenix simply pivoted onto his heel and left.
His plans would have to be pushed ahead to insure that whoever had taken the mirror would not interfere again as they had likely done the first time.
--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette
Captain Erik Morningstar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
AND
Lt. Commander Elan Fairborn
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
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"From Fascinating to Follower"
[Previous post "From Fools to Fascinating"]
-+-+-+-+-+-
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1645
Uxtar had not wanted to take the chance of missing the meeting that the note in his locker had invited him to. The secretive nature of the note had insured that the Hirogen would come ready for anything. It had been very unlikely that something major would come to happen, but it had never been a good practice for a hunter to not be ready for any eventualities.
As he scanned the people who were going about their business on the deck, Uxtar noticed a familiar face, that of Ensign Stark. The man seemed lost in a world of his own creation and it was clear that the Hirogen, despite his size and appearance, would likely not be able to draw the man's attention onto him. Still, the hunter thought that this had actually been best, he would be able to report with more details after the meeting to someone from the ANUBIS. if not Ensign Stark than anyone else he would come to run into, either by chance or design. As a member of the maintenance staff of the MASQUERADE DREAMS it had been easy for him to walk about the ship and find reasons to actually present himself to their room.
So many people from so many different walks of life could be found on the deck. Any of them could, with he proper incentives and training, been the one who had brought to note to be in his locker. As Uxtar met the gaze of some of the passengers, he began to wonder if this had not been some sort of test, a way for someone to see if he had been the type to actually respond to the note instead of ignoring it. It would have been just as likely that this had been some sort of trap, one meant to make an example of him for what he had done during the two years undercover in the Delta Quadrant.
Paranoia unfortunately became a dear friend and companion to those who spent a great deal of time undercover, always expecting something to cast doubt on the chosen role that they had played for whatever purpose. Luckily, the odds of this had been negligible and the Hirogen believed that the meeting had been just as it had been stated: a business proposition aimed at someone possessing a unique skill set.
Only a few minutes remained before the stated hour and still Uxtar had not been able to identify anyone who could have been responsible for the note. This caused the hunter to question his own skills as a tracker as he figured that by now he should have been able to identify someone who had been either out of place or had been like him waiting for something. To counter this idea, the Hirogen instead began to think of his potential employer as being someone who had been skilled and knowledgeable in this particular field, a realization that only served to raise the bar for himself.
What sort of work would require such a level of secrecy as to bring a Hirogen to meet an unknown and unseen individual on a ship such as the MASQUERADE DREAMS? In a few minutes, Uxtar hoped that at the very least that particular question would be answered in some small way.
"Glad that you decided to come," a woman with striking green hair said as she moved in closer and took a caring hold of Uxtar's arm. "Just come with me, he's waiting for you by the side of the pool."
So many questions the Hirogen wanted to ask, but he knew that this woman had been nothing but the inbetween, a way to insure security and anonymity for her employer. The hunter had half expected to be brought to a place where he would not see the person in question, but instead the green haired woman invited the Hirogen to sit at a table where a man sat with two large Hupyrian bodyguards.
"Mister Uxtar, I am very pleased to see that you decided to join us, please sit and enjoy a drink," the man said as he gestured for the hunter to join him before pushing a glass of clear liquid forward. "I know of your kind, and you have nothing to worry, the glass is filled with nothing but pure, fresh water."
"Thank you," Uxtar offered with caution as he eased himself down into the chair that had been offered to him.
"I am so sorry, where are my manners. Please allow me to introduce myself, I am Drask Pharren, a man who knows the value of rare and precious things and one who is accustomed to getting the things that he has set his eyes on. It is why you are here, because I need you to help me find something... well, someone."
Uxtar offered a faint smile as he played the role that had been required of him, a role that in all honesty had been his to play since well before his birth.
-+-+-+-+-+-
Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
"From Fools to Fascinating"
[previous "From Factoids to Fools"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1630
After Shar'El's escape and recapture, and with Doctor Doyanne heading to join Sonja and Ya'Han, Jayson had been left to his own device, to wander the cruise ship in search of clues as to who had been behind the bombing attempt.
He had not made any efforts to hide his feelings about people who used terror to draw attention or even sympathy for a cause. To him these people were nothing more than cowards who did not deserve to live, let alone hurt the innocent who all too often knew nothing of why there had been a battle.
Leena had done nothing to deserve her fate, and their unborn child had deserved this even less. The explosion that destroyed the medical facility had destroyed the lives of countless, many of whom had not even been there at the time, like him. Everything he knew, everyone he loved was taken from him in a single bang, one that the local authorities decided to file as having been an accident.
The cover story had been a good one, and had served to help many put the entire event behind them. Jayson though was not so easily convinced and the few clues he managed to stumble upon made him doubt that the explosion had been a simple accident.
It had taken many years for him to be able to put that life changing event behind him, and it had taken even more work for him to stop looking back to the life that he had been deprived of. He did not blame Eve or anyone else for having made him fall back onto the memories he had so desperately tried to distance himself from. What he needed to do now was to regain control of his thoughts so that he could once again be a useful member of the team.
He sighed as he stopped walking and closed his eyes. The task had been one far easier said than done.
"Are you alright?"
The question had been sweety asked, her voice had been almost angelic, and for a very brief moment he could have sworn that it had been Leena who had spoken to him. Jayson opened his eyes expecting to see someone from the staff of the cruise liner, someone doing their duty in ensuring that all passengers were having a great time. To his surprise he saw another passenger looking back at him with concern in her eyes and hair as black as night.
"Are you alright?"
She repeated the question only making Jayson feel that she actually cared about what he felt. Maybe he had appeared far more lost than he had expected himself to be. Whatever the reason had been, in the end she had come to check up on him, whoever she was.
"I'm fine, thank you."
Jayson kept his reply short and to the point. He wanted to say so much more and the woman's smile made him instantly at ease. Although she looked nothing like Ya'Han, the way her lips curled when she smiled reminded the OPS officer of the way the Chief of Security also smiled.
"Your words say one thing, but your eyes tell an entirely different story. It's alright, I am not here to pry. I just wanted to offer you my help if you needed it. Sometimes the best thing that can happen to any one of us is to be made aware that we are not alone in this universe."
Jayson just listened. The woman's voice was enchanting and again reminded him of someone else. There had been no doubt that the two women had been completely different in countless ways, but the odd similarities drew him even more into her charms.
"Words are something all we have."
He was not sure what to say, or even of the thoughts behind the words. All he wanted was to hear her voice once again.
"No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world. I believe that this was said by someone from your world."
Smart and charming, whoever this lady was, she had it all and Jayson found himself unable and unwilling to end this little conversation of theirs.
"My name is Jayson, and I would very much like for us to continue this discussion. Maybe tonight for dinner we could share a table?"
Like a kid in high school he felt his heart beating out of his chest. How wonderful would it be if she said yes. How devastating for him if she said no.
"I would like that very much. Lets say at 1900 in the main dining room?"
"It sounds perfect, but you have not told me your name."
She smiled a smile that could have brought an entire army to a dead stop.
"Just call me Shae."
For a moment Jayson suspected that the name she had given him had not been hers, but he truly didn't care. Whatever name she chose to give him would be the one that would echo in him mind until dinner later that evening. Until then he would just enjoy the thoughts and ideas of her, and how they could so easily change the world.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"From Factoids to Fools"
[previous post was "From Farraginous to Factoids"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-049
Stardate: 30152.1625
The Chief of Security looked at the device found behind the mirror with hesitation, for fear that it might again trigger some unwanted memories. Ya'Han could not help but be thankful and concerned at the same time for the redhead engineer being closer to the device than she was. Having felt its unique purpose, the black haired woman had wanted to keep her distances from the device and wished that Sonja had done the same.
Still their discovery had shed a well needed light on what had happened to Commander Shar'El and would hopefully led to a cure to be found. In the meantime the two women currently in the room had to deal with the actual discovery and figure out how to proceed.
"What kind of terrorist uses such tools?" Ya'Han found herself asking out loud in a whispered voice, her dislike for the person she knew little about growing with each breath the Chief of Security took.
=/\= People who use terror to bring attention to a cause are usually desperate individuals who see themselves as having no other choice but to act in that manner, =/\= Eve said, having heard the question now that the full communication network between the undercover officers had been restored.
=/\= I call those types cowards, nothing more, nothing less, =/\= Jayson added with a tone of anger in his voice, the loss of his wife having been as far as he believed at the hands of such desperate and cowardly people.
A moment of silence followed as everyone tried to figure out the best way to continue. What Jayson had gone through had not been easy, but it had been something that needed to be left in the past for both his sake and that of everyone else around him. As different as they two of them had been, Ya'Han could in a way understand how difficult it had been for the Chief of Operations to leave a painful past behind and try to see the light ahead.
"As soon as we think it is safe to be transported, I will have the device beamed back to the ANUBIS for isolation and further testing," Sonja eventually said, her attention still fully cast upon the device. "After that, Ya'Han and I will resume our search through this room with a better idea of what we are looking for."
"Have we not found what it was we were looking for already?" the black haired Chief of Security asked, finding herself more than willing to leave this place.
=/\= Whoever the mastermind is behind the bombing attempt, he is obviously someone who does not only rally people to his cause but also uses them with little regards as to their thoughts and feelings. It is therefore very likely that there would be other such devices in the room, or hints as to how they maintain control over those they have enlisted, =/\= the Captain said over the subdermal communication network.
"ANI, as far as I can tell the device is not booby trapped, so lock onto the energy signature and beam the device back to the ANUBIS," Sonja said, sounding as if she had been anxious to get more information on the specifics of the tool used by whoever had been behind the bombing attempt.
"Would it not be safer to beam the entire mirror as well," Ya'Han said. "The device might be incorporated into the mirror or its frame in a way that we have not yet noticed."
"Good thinking," the redheaded engineer said with a smile. "ANI, change of plan. Beam the entire thing over. The MASQUERADE DREAMS will just have to deal with having one less mirror for the time being."
The two women watched as the transporter sequence was initiated and the mirror vanished into nothingness. Ya'Han found herself staring at the empty spot on the wall where the mirror had been only seconds ago.
"Please tell me that we are not going through that again?" Sonja joked, playfully pushing the Chief of Security on the shoulder.
"No, I was just thinking of what kind of person actually does this and what kind of people actually fall for it and follow," the black haired woman mused with a sigh.
"Fool I would guess," the redhead engineer said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Fools?" Ya'Han repeated. "Which one, the one leading or those following?"
"Both my dear Watson, but now the game is afoot and it is clues that we need most."
The black haired woman sighed softly as she wondered if she would ever be able to figure out the red haired woman and all of her strange expressions.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=====
"From Farraginous to Factoids"
Previous post – Susan's "From Flirting to Farraginous"
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-049
Stardate: 30152.1615
"ANI," the Chief Engineering Officer said softly, knowing all too well that the Avatar had been listening in, "initiate privacy mode for both Ensign Ya'Han and myself."
=/\= Privacy mode engaged, =/\= the artificial woman on board the USS ANUBIS confirmed, isolating the two women from the rest of the undercover team.
"So since it's just you and me now, girl" Sonja said from across the room, "tell me about NYLA IV, how was it growing up royal must have been interesting."
"Do you really want to know?" Ya'Han asked with a bit of scepticism.
"Yes I do, why else would I ask" the engineer said with a grin, "but if don't wish to talk about it that is fine too, it's your story to tell if you wish to tell it," the redhead stated with a genuine smile. "This is NOT a Spanish inquisition after all, those are unexpected," CEO said laughing out right this time.
The dark haired woman found herself looking at her companion in confusion over her last statement… yet again.
Sonja seeing this look just waved her hand dismissively with a grin.
"I asked ANI for privacy to possibly make it more comfortable for you, if you wanted to share that is. Might be easier if the entire crew wasn't listening in," the CEO shrugged.
Ya'Han looked into the eyes the redhead and saw no malice only friendship and curiosity which seemed to be part of her natural state. The security office took a breath and began to tell her story, such as it was.
"As the thirteenth daughter of the High Sovereign, all of my needs were taken care of even before I knew I had them. My days were scheduled to the minute with various training, activities and studies. Etiquette, finances, diplomacy where on the agenda every day," the purple haired Chief of Security said, not at all sounding overly happy with the memories that had been brought back up by the CEO's request.
"Wow," the redhead huffed, "Sounds like it was 'rathah boring'," the last two words having been spoken in a posh British accent.
"Fun was not on the daily agenda. I actually rarely saw my father unless we were both attending some sort of official banquet or reception," Ya'Han admitted, her gaze having fallen to her immobile feet. "There were days when I even wondered if he knew which of his daughters I was."
"The perfect loving father," Sonja said rhetorically.
"I may not have felt a great deal of his love for me, but I did feel the full extent of his wrath more than I care to remember," Ya'Han said as she drew in a long deep breath, as if trying to hold back her emotions and tears from openly flowing for her friend to see. "It was never a wise idea to not obey the wishes of the most powerful man on NYLA IV, whatever reason I might have convinced myself of using," the white haired woman added hinting to there having been some condition which had required a medical intervention at the time. "Perhaps feeling his wrath was better than being invisible to him."
Sonja thought that things might not have been perfect in her own upbringing, but they had certainly been better than what Ya'Han had endured royal or not.
"I was looked down upon by my sisters because I seemed bent on going against our father's wishes," Ya'Han said, pleasant and unpleasant memories clashing in her mind as she recalled her twelve older sisters and the way they all spoke to her whenever they had the chance. "Some did offer their support and counsel, others though saw me as nothing more than an insult to the family. Our role as daughters was to represent our father to the best of our abilities, secure as many economic ties with our world as possible through marriages, no matter the personal costs that we would be asked to pay."
"Like having to marry a Ferengi?" Sonja said with a small moue distaste.
After a few moments, Sonja stepped back into the main living area when she did not get a response to find Ya'Han staring at the mirror in an odd manner, as if the woman had somehow been hypnotised by her own reflection.
"Are you alright?" the redheaded Engineer queried as she took hold of the other woman's shoulder. "You suddenly stopped talking to me."
"I..." Ya'Han began as if she had just been snapped out of a daydream. "I didn't hear you speaking; I was lost in the memory of the last time I spoke to my father."
"You were doing more than that," the Engineer pointed out as she turned her attention to the reflective surface hanging on the wall. "You were staring at that mirror the same way Shar'El was when she went wack-a-doodle."
"Do you think there is something special about that mirror?" the Chief of Security asked as she watched the Chief Engineer study with great care the outer edge and frame of the item in question.
"Not something special *about* the mirror," Sonja corrected as she took the mirror off the wall hinges, "but something special about something behind it. ANI, patch us through to Commander Maya."
=/\= What can I do for you Lieutenant Paquette? =/\= the Shillian Scientist acknowledged right away.
"Ya'Han and I discovered something about the mirror in the room, the same mirror that Commander Shar'El was looking at when she lost her marbles, there was something that was secured to the back of the mirror" the Engineer began as she carefully analysed the strange device that had been placed perfectly in the middle of the back of the mirror. "I wanted your opinion before I actually did anything with it. From what I see, there is a miniature Tetryon power cell feeding whatever this thing is. The other parts that I can actually identify just by looking at them appear to be some sort of cerebral inducer, similar to those found in our own Sickbay."
=/\= When looking into the mirror, do you or did you feel a sense of losing control, of having a specific thought being forced into your mind? =/\= the Chief Science Officer inquired, Maya having already come up with a possible theory as to the purpose of the covert device.
Ya'Han simply shook her head. "Nothing was forced into my mind as far as I can tell, but I did recall a very traumatic memory in perfect detail, as if I had actually been there."
=/\= I thought it might have been some sort of thought control device, =/\= the Shillian admitted, =/\= but based on what you have just said, I would be more willing to believe that the device is some sort of psionic inducer, forcing one or more specific memories to the surface thus likely insuring the person looking at the mirror from having their thoughts wander off target. =/\=
"Well that would make sense," Sonja said with a sigh. "Sounds like a good way to make sure that any would-be bomber did not get cold feet just before going out in a big bang."
=/\= It would also help explain what happened to Commander Shar'El. If the device is indeed a psionic inducer designed to focus the thoughts of an individual on a specific traumatic memory, the Commander would have had her mind filled with countless such memories following the knowledge and memories she was given from the ancient machine back on the moon of PI ALPHA III. It is very easy to imagine that several traumatic memories had been placed in her subconscious and that this device brought them *all* to the surface, shattering the Commander's hold on reality. =/\=
"ANI, restore full communication," Sonja demanded. "Captain, we may have found something here that could help Commander Shar'El as well as to give us a better idea of what kind of uber sicko we are dealing with in regards to the bombing attempt."
=====
Lorraine Paquette
Lieutenant JG Sonja Paquette
Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
"From Finder to Farraginous"
(Continued from "From Finder to Flirting"
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-112 (Erik)
Stardate: 30152.1615
The Native American deposited the woman as gently as he could, setting her down in the middle of the single bed. The situation had been something new for him despite the fact that Captain Morningstar had dealt with countless other matters spanning multiple universes and dimensions.
"I wonder what happened," Erik offered with a sigh as he looked down at the unconscious form of his First Officer.
"I am wondering what is happening now," Eve added, her experience as a Ship's Counselor having made it very easy for her to notice the telltale signs of an deep inner conflict within the Ullian Commander. "Just for the sake of discussion while we wait for Doctor Doyanne to get here, what kind of sedative was in that hypospray?"
"Just your standard Ambizine, nothing more," the Native American replied, a faint smirk having formed in his lips.
"Captain, if I did not know better I would guess that you are trying to deceive me," the Counselor snickered back. "Ambizine is not a standard issue tranquilizer although it is widely used in Starfleet Medical circles. Diphenylmethane is the standard issued tranquilizer, at least according to the latest report from Starfleet Medical on that particular subject. I also know that the ANUBIS has a rather large stockpile of both Tetrovaline and Improvoline, which you could have accessed prior to the start of this mission."
"Been keeping up with our Medical department have you?" The Native American teased. "I would never use Tetrovaline as it weakens the recipient's immune system while Improvoline is more effective when used as an aerosol."
=/\= Surely Captain there are easier ways for you to get a date other than using some kind of sedative, =/\= Sonja jumped in with having been listening in on the exchange between the two Officers. =/\= That said though, I would personally suggest Anaxol as an effective tranquilizer. It may not be as quick to knock someone out, but once it does kick in, you can take several hours to shave a Klingon bald without him ever knowing what happened. =/\=
=/\= And that would be another reason why I am glad Lieutenant Paquette works in Engineering instead of Sickbay, =/\= Ensign Stark chuckled. As curious as he and the others might have been, no one had been willing to ask as to how the CEO had possessed such specific knowledge.
"Why did you ask?" Erik inquired of Eve, hoping that the question would take the attention away from the current line of thought and back on the matter at hand.
"Because Shar'El is not fully responding to whatever it was you had given her," the Counselor pointed out as she motioned to the sedated woman's eyes and hands. "Most sedatives would knock someone out completely, but in this case she is still very much lost in whatever psychosis that she was in when she tried to run over me. Ambizine is very effective on most Humanoid races, including Ullians as far as I knew, so I am rather concerned as just what is happening in that mind of hers."
Lieutenant JG Dalziel regarded the restless form of the ship's ExO with concern. She wanted inside the woman's mind, beyond the limits of what medicine could provide. But she was not aware of anyone nearby that could enter Shar'El's consciousness.
Eve had spent a good chunk of her teen years despising her Cardassian genes. Countless times she wished to be anyone else, anything else, than what she was, as if that would provide escape from the internal turmoil that seemed everpresent. A Bolian pirate, a Breen guardian, an Orion slave girl, it didn't matter.
But right this minute, she only wanted to be one thing. A Vulcan. A stoic Vulcan, well-educated in the mind-meld.
"You're being too quiet," Erik chuckled.
"I'm beginning to think the only person who could really help Shar'El, is another Shar'El," Eve said as she drew in a ragged breath. "And it's not me," she added ruefully.
"My people still believe that each one of us has a spirit guide meant to help us on our path to metaphysical development."
"Aren't the spirit guides usually represented by an animal?" Dalziel asked, gently flicking her dark hair over her shoulder.
The CO of the ANUBIS nodded. "Some think there are spirit guides specific to different situations. A journey spirit guide, for example, is known to appear when you come to a fork in the road or when a decision is needed in order to change the course of your path in life. This animal remains at your side until your journey is complete. This journey can take days, months, or even years. I keep trying to imagine what Shar'El's might be."
"I only hope it makes itself known soon," Eve replied, laying her hand softly on the Ullian's forehead.
--==(/\)==--
Susan Ledbetter
Lieutenant JG Eve Dalziel
Cns
USS ANUBIS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"From Finder to Flirting"
Previous Post by the awesome Mark "From Furious to Finder"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometimes I trust to easily... not because I'm naive but because my heart wants to believe not everyone is out to deceive.
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 22
Stardate: 30152.1605
==========^*^==========
Rubbing her temples to induce concentration, Lillie left young Stark's side to retrieve her personal medical supplies from the suite in which she had been given. Though her fellow officer had offered to guide her to and from the room, the doctor had politely declined. Suddenly being thrown back into the chaos she had grown unaccustomed too had pushed the Tarellian to seek out time alone with her thoughts, and the walk between rooms would provide her with just that.
==========^*^==========
He had watched from the shadows as the most amusing scene had played out. What had happened to their companion was to no concern of his, but if it impeded their further involvement with the plan then Fenix was glad it had happened. The Rutian knew now that their were far more than just three woman attempting to hinder him. There was the Terran man as well, not only that but he had seen them talking into thin air as if receiving directions from an unknown source. Who knew how many of them were there.
Just as he was about to take his leave of the oddly assembled group, Fenix noticed his target branching off from the others. The fragile-looking blonde seemed to be over her head and dazed from whatever had occurred as she walked away from her counterpart with a short wave. Though not entirely sure how, the extremist knew he had to intercept her at some point before she rejoined the rest of them. His chance meeting with her earlier could come in handy with that. A thoughtful smirk graced the Rutian's features as he rejoined the shadows to follow his prey to her destination.
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-130 (Lillie)
Stardate: 30152.1615
==========^*^==========
Finally back in her room, the blonde woman closed the door behind her and sighed deeply. Moving at a pace befitting the situation, Lillie rushed around the room gathering some essentials and other small pieces of equipment into a shoulder bag. First to go in was the Tarellian's trusty medical kit as well as a hypospray of her own in case the time required of her lasted long enough to precede her last dosage. Considering Shar'El's disposition, confusion and apparent memory loss, the doctor assumed that the cause of her trauma was neurological. Therefore Lillie also grabbed her hidden cortical monitor and psychotricorder.
Picking up a few last minute things, Lillie prepared herself with a deep soothing breath and exited her chambers. The doctor was met with an unexpected presence directly in front of her and proceeded to once again fall to the ground... for the fourth time in one day for those counting. Which she definitely wasn't. the man in front of her offered his hand to assist the momentarily clumsy Tarellian to her feet. Surprised, the young blonde realized she recognized this gentleman as the one who had helped her on the Masquerade deck as well.
"Fenix right? What are you doing here?" the doctor questioned in shock, not having expected to ever meet this man again, and assuredly not so soon.
"Well..." the Rutian chuckled, rummaging through his pocket "I found this on the floor where you fell, assuming it may have been yours I came looking for you to return it. I saw you enter this room as I was heading to my own and decided to drop in"
In his hand was held a small silver brooch like that which was often sold in Ferengi controlled space. It was beautifully crafted and looked fit for royalty, but it definitely didn't belong to the Tarellian female he now offered it to. Unbeknownst to his target the trinket in fact belonged to someone who he was very close to.
"No... sorry you went through all this trouble, but that isn't mine. Perhaps give it to a member of the staff to take care of? I'm sure they could find it's owner. I don't mean to be rude but I am in a bit of a hurry so..." Lillie reassured the man, attempting to edge around him and into the hall.
Moving to intercept his prey, Fenix gently took the blond woman's hand in his, bringing it to his lips softly "A tragedy... seeing as an article of such beauty is only befitting of one matching it's charm"
Crimson coloring immediately found it's way to the undercover operative's cheeks as she stammered "T-That's a very kind thing t-to say but I r-really do need to leave now..."
"Of course, but promise me one thing first?" the Rutian coaxed, feeling triumphant already that his ploy had succeeded "A drink, just the two of us? I can come retrieve you from here later on tonight?"
Feeling trapped, Lillie realized there was no way to get past this man without the use of force unless she agreed to his terms. Being not too strong herself, the Tarellian realized that a physical dispute with the obviously muscled Rutian was probably not her best strategy "Fine fine, I'll come have a drink with you later... but for now I really would like to go, I'm meeting some friends"
Fenix beamed the woman a charming smile as he stepped aside to let her escape "It's a date then"
"I d-didn't say that..." Lillie mumbled to him as she moved past and into the more accommodating hall, backing towards the staircase leading to her destination.
"You didn't have to" the false gentleman assured, watching the retreating woman's back as she quickly climbed up the nearest staircase and out of sight. The moment her delicate frame exited his field of vision, a grin replaced his smile.
Walking away from the target's room, the terrorist felt proud of his own deception. The blonde woman had been a good choice, not as fiery as the redhead nor as reserved as the raven haired had seemed to be. Her reactions were on cue and easily anticipated. This would be all too easy. The plight of his people would get the recognition it required on way or another.
"And so the trap is set" the Rutian muttered to himself as he returned to the awaiting darkness in the shadows.
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 23
Stardate: 30152.1625
Standing outside the door was almost just as intimidating as the thought of those who laid beyond it. Having been gone so long, Lillie had begun to wonder if any opinions of her had changed - particularly that of her commanding officer and captain of the USS ANUBIS aboard which she hoped to be. Erik had proven very hesitant to be near her before, having been the only one previously to know of her true race and the usually extremely contagious sickness the doctor battled within her each day she lived.
Eve was someone who the Tarellian had come to know and respect, but their rare moments together did not solidify their bond as Lillie hoped it would. There was much about the physiological specialist of which the young blond was uncertain, but her heart wasn't one of them. Ensign Dazel was without a doubt a good and honest person at heart, though not someone who knew her secret as of yet. A secret which she would soon have to share with the entire crew to earn their trust.
Depressing thoughts pushed aside, the Engisn placed her hand on the door and released the breath she was holding. Two solid knocks to cautiously inform those inside of her entry were properly pounded before Lillie gathered her wits and doubts to enter the room in which she knew an ailing friend needed her.
==========^*^==========
Ashley Shane
Ensign Lillie Doyanne
Chief Medical Officer/Researcher
USS ALEXANDRIA
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"From Furious to Finder"
[Previous post "From Fighting to Furious"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Deck 29, Maintenance Staff Locker Room
Stardate: 30152.1600
With the situation following the failed bombing attempt in the hands of his former shipmates of the USS ANUBIS, Uxtar decided to return to the locker room and freshen up. The bomber had been stopped and chaos averted, but the Hirogen’s inability to take a more active part in the aftermath investigation had been bothering him. Standing still and waiting for something to happen was a skill usually associated with a hunter, but for a Hirogen, the hunt was a very demanding activity, one that required both physical and mental strength far more than patience.
Admiral Koniki had sent him here to track and stop the bomber, but why not inform him of the presence of Captain Morningstar and the rest of the ANUBIS’ command crew? What game had the Admiral been playing at and what role had Uxtar been meant to fulfil in all of this? As much as he enjoyed the hunting aspects of the Intel world, the cloak and dagger secrecy and deceptions had been something that the hunter still found difficult to adapt to.
Under normal circumstances the Hirogen would have sought out the opinion and suggestion of a superior officer, in this case that of Captain Morningstar. This he knew to not being a wise course of action as it would risk revealing the presence of the ANUBIS’ crew to others. Uxtar might not have been a member of the crew anymore, but as an Intel operative, one with several years of undercover work experience, the hunter knew all too well the importance of keeping one’s true identity and purpose a secret. So far they had been lucky and the hunter knew better than to press this luck further without a truly urgent need.
The best the Hirogen could do for now was to go about his business as a member of the maintenance staff of the Risian Luxury Cruise ship MASQUERADE DREAMS. While taking care of whatever task would be assigned to him, the hunter would stay alert and kept his senses trained on his surroundings in case something strange would happen. The possibility of another bombing attempt against the MASQUERADE DREAMS and its passengers insured Uxtar’s highest level of attention and awareness at this point in time.
When Uxtar opened the locked that he had been assigned to, the Hirogen was surprised to find a neatly folded piece of paper with his name handwritten on it. Obviously the note had not been there earlier this morning when he had checked his locker, so the unexpected discovery made the hunter immediately wonder as to what had happened. After shooting a quick glance over his shoulders to see if anyone else had been in the room with him, Uxtar cautiously reached in for the note and opened it.
[I have a business offer for someone possessing the skills and talents that are yours naturally. If you are interested, please come to the Promenade deck at 1700. I guarantee that it will be well worth your time. Surely there are better things for a great Hirogen hunter to do aside from fixing broken hinges or malfunctioning light fixtures.]
No name or indication as to who the sender of the note had been could be found by Uxtar. Had this been a way to get the Hirogen up to meet with Captain Morningstar? If so though why go through so much trouble to arrange for a simple meeting on a public deck? The more the hunter thought about the note and the offer mentioned therein, the more he believed that this had been something entirely different. Someone had taken notice of his presence on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS and was hoping to use him for a yet undetermined goal.
With the possibility that the clandestine meeting had something to do with the failed bombing attempt, Uxtar decided to be on the Promenade deck as he had been instructed. This had been the only way to figure out who the note had come from and their intent. Depending on the outcome of this meeting, the Hirogen would seek out someone from the ANUBIS and inform them of the situation. Until then there had been no reason to bother Captain Morningstar or the rest of the undercover crew who had likely their own issues and problems to deal with at this time.
-+-+-+-+-+-
Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
=-=
"From Fighting to Furious"
[previous post was "From Friends to Fighting" by the trouble Making Jayson]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 22
Stardate: 30152.1600
Voices that she knew filled her mind, yet she could not put a face to any of them. Shar'El tried her best to make sense of the shapeless memories that seemed to emerge each and every time one of those voices echoed in her mind, but her inability to do son led the dark haired woman to wish that she could silence them all.
=/\= Commander, please, all we want to do is help. =/\= The voice had bee that of a woman, gentle and caring. Somehow Shar'El believed that whoever this person had been, she would have made a perfect Counselor, but how could a disembodied voice be of any help? With each additional step that the dark haired woman took, the closer she believed herself to be heading into madness.
The sounds of approaching footsteps drove the frantic woman up the nearest set of stairs. She knew that sh had been on some sort of ship, but the idea of being aboard a secret military vessel did not match the luxurious decor that surrounded her at every turn. What Shar'El needed was time, time to figure things out, to understand all of these images that filled her mind and to hopefully figure out who exactly she had been.
Being one deck higher than when she had started this mad rush into the unknown had not helped matters any. The ship appeared just as strange and alien as before, and the voices trying to coax her to stop running only served to push her further.
=/\= Doctor Doyanne says that you are likely suffering from some sort of trauma-induced psychosis, =/\= a male voice said, the youthfulness of his words made Shar'El think of one person, a tall man with brown eyes reflecting both pain and hope. Who had this person been and why as she thought of him after hearing that voice? Had they been one and the same, or had this all been some sort of trick to have her stop running so that she could be captured. =/\= You need to stop and let one of us help you. This is for your own good. =/\=
Memories of an imprisonment camp lost in the middle of a deep crater came rushing into her mind like a tsunami, wiping everything else out in one swift swipe. The bodies of countless inmates could be seen beyond the towering walls, showing to everyone inside how completely futile any escape attempt would prove to be. Screams the likes of which Shar'El had never heard before, not even in her worst nightmare, pushed the dark haired woman onto her knees for a brief moment as she tried her best to ward of the feeling of total desperation.
Escape was all that she wanted, escape from these images, memories and voices. When another stairway was spotted, Shar'El dashed for them. The walls of the crater may have been tall, but with enough of these stairs she believed that an escape had been within reach.
The luxuriously decorated walls on this deck appeared just like the ones from before, at least in some ways. In other they appeared like some sort of rock face that would prove impossible to climb even with the best of equipment. Memories became reality as more and more details of her surroundings gave way to a world Shar'El had been desperately trying to escape from.
She needed to find another set of stairs if she was to escape this prison. This was the logic and drive in her almost running down the passageway. Escape had been her only goal, for failure would see her be just another body amongst the countless others that filled the crater beyond the walls of this jail.
"Shar'El, stop!" For a split second the acting ExO / ILO recognized the woman who had appeared directly in her path as being Eve Dalziel, the Counselor of the USS ANUBIS, alas that knowledge was driven from her mind just as quickly as it had come. A heavily armed warden now stood in her place instead, blocking the one and only path to the idea of freedom.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Shar'El screamed at the top of her lungs as she tried to force her way pass the woman she had known in another time, another life.
The battle between the two women was short lived as a hypospray was applied against the neck of the acting ExO / ILO. In only a few short seconds, the fury and rage of Shar'El was drained from her, and as she collapsed to the floor her eyes caught sight of a bearded man with distinct Native American features.
"Well done," Eve said as she looked over her shoulder to insure that no one else had witnessed this odd scene. "Although I am curious as to why you carry a hypospray containing a sedative."
"Because," Erik answered with a concerned grin as he reached to take hold of his Executive Officer, "you never know when you may need to subdue a foe, or in this case a friend."
"We have her," Eve announced through the subdermal communication network. "Taking her into Room 24-112. Jayson, please have Doctor Doyanne come here as soon as possible."
=/\= She's on her way. =/\=
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
"From Friends to Fighting"
[previous "From Fraud to Friends"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 22
Stardate: 30152.1545
He did his best to help her walk down the hallway. The problem had not been her inability to walk, but rather her lack of attention on putting one foot in front of the other. Shar'El it seemed had been distracted about something.
"We're almost there."
The Doctor's words had been encouraging and reassuring. So much so that Jayson wondered if they had been been for Shar'El or him. The trek between rooms 22-049 and 22-031 had not been as easy as the OPS officer had hoped it to be. At one point he had even considered picking up the disoriented woman in his arms and carrying her to the room, but in the end he thought against it.
When Shar'El suddenly stopped, he nearly fell forward not having expected the woman to come to such an unexpected complete stop. When he looked into her eyes, Jayson say fear instead of confusion. With a nod of his head and called over the Doctor for her to have a look at this. Hopefully she would be able to understand what was happening.
"Everything will be alright, we are just taking you back to your room."
Lille took hold of Shar'El hand and gently coaxed her forward but without success. For one reason or another the woman had decided to stop dead in her tracks no matter what either one of them said or did.
"We only have 30, maybe 40 feet to go. If you want I can carry you."
Jayson made the offer but hoped that Shar'El would decline. Not because he feared being unable to carry the woman's 5 feet 5 inches 125 pound frame, but because he felt rather uneasy with doing something like that to the ANUBIS' second in command.
Against his hopes though, the Doctor nodded her agreement. Is Shar'El had not been ready or in a position to accept he offer, Lillie would do it for her. Slowly Jayson went to wrap his arms around the motionless woman as best as he could so as to not cause her any discomfort. True he had begun to accept the idea of being in the company of other women since Leena, but this was not what he had been ready for, not by a long shot.
Back in the bomber's room, confusion had been visible in her eyes. Along the way back to her room, that confusion had been replaced by fear, and from there suddenly anger came to look back at the OPS officer.
Before Jayson could understand what was happening, Shar'El had knocked him flat on his back with a single move, one that Uxtar would have likely been impressed by. Speaking of the Hirogen, the OPS officer had almost wished that the hunter had been here to lend a hand, hopefully he would have been quicker to subdue the crazed woman.
"We are here to help," the golden haired Doctor said just before Shar'El sent her flying against one of the sidewalls of the hallway. She might have appeared small, but the First Officer appeared to possess a strength and skill that none had been aware of before now.
"We have a problem."
Jayson said as he tried to regain his breath.
"Commander Shar'El just threw both of us to the ground and dashed of. We need to get to her quickly."
Lille added as she swallowed hard, doing her best to ward off the effects of the rather unpleasant shove that she had received from the confused and now fugitive First Officer.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"From Fraud to Friends"
[previous post was "Firsts to Fraud"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-049
Stardate: 30152.1540
The black haired Chief of Security glanced at the redhead Engineer for a split second. Who was this *Houston* she had spoken to, and what had been their role in this? For now though that had not been important, so with a sign Ya'Han returned her gaze onto their troubled First Officer. The woman appeared as if she had been out of place, lost in a place other than where she was, looking at people that she knew yet could not recognize.
"Doctor, will she be alright?" Ya'Han asked in a trembling voice of the blonde haired woman. The concerns the Chief of Security felt had not only been for a fellow shipmate but also for a friend, a person who had been there to offer her help and understanding many times before.
"I am not sure," Lillie said just as the door to the room opened to allow Jayson Stark to burst into the room as if the devil itself had been chasing him.
"Sorry it took so long for me to get here," the Operations Officer said, unaware of the extent of the situation that he had just walked into. "Is she alright?" Jayson asked as he moved closer to Shar'El. The woman turned her head to meet the new arrival, but instead of familiarity Jayson saw nothing but confusion reflecting in her eyes. "Okay, what's the deal here?"
"Looks like our First Officer has gone cuckoo for cocopuffs," Sonja said. As much as her words might have been interpreted as being lighthearted or even inconsiderate to the situation of their First Officer, the tone of the engineer's voice echoed concern and even some fear. As much as Shar'El had been second in command and as such demanded respect, the woman had found a way to become a friend in one way or another to each and every one of them.
"Maybe it would be best to have her beamed back to the ANUBIS," Ya'Han suggested. As luxurious as the MASQUERADE DREAMS had been, as a cruise liner it had not been equipped or the right place to deal with anything like this.
"Her vitals are strong, and for all we know this memory lost could be only temporary," Lille said not having been ready to let the woman slip from her care. As much as the blonde hair Doctor had been more than ready to return to the ANUBIS, this had not been the way she had wanted to see it happen.
"We sure can't have her stay here like this," Sonja said, pointing to Jayson to get closer to the confused woman. "Stark, you and Doctor Doyanne will take her back to her room, which luckily enough for us is on the same deck, so it should limit the amount of questions and dancing you two will have to do. If anyone does ask though, just tell them that she had too much to drink. Once there lock the door and keep us informed as to any changes in her condition."
"What about us?" Ya'Han asked of the redheaded engineer, the woman who had been told to stay by the side of the Chief of Security until the end of this assignment.
"You and I still have a room to investigate," Sonja said looking directly back at the black haired woman. "Hopefully we will be lucky enough to find a clue as to where we can find Shar'El's lost wits and memories. You'd figure with a head full of alien memories though that there would have been a few to spare for her to use."
"What room are we taking her to?" Lillie asked, not having been aware of the set-up and assignments for the crew's sleeping accommodations.
"Room 22-031," Jayson answered as he took a hold of Shar'El and helped her towards the door, followed by Doctor Doyanne.
Sonja and Ya'Han watched in silence as the other three left the room, not wanting to voice out loud their concerns for their friend.
"I hope she will be alright," the white haired Chief of Security said, wishing that she had possessed the skills and knowledge to help more than she had.
"Don't go all medical white on me," the redhead said dryly back. "She's in good hands and we have a job to do here. So if you have a color in there that will be helpful in us finding something in here, I suggest you bring it out now."
Not having realized that her hair had changed color, Ya'Han quickly returned it to the customary black of her new life before turning her attention to the room that they needed to search for the sake of their friend Shar'El.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"From Firsts to Fraud"
Previous post by the always helpful Tiffany "From Fascinating to Firsts"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of being a second-rate version of someone else.
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-049
Stardate: 30152.1535
==========^*^==========
On her knees, curled in as close to her own chest as possible, the Ullian remained silent as her mind was tormented and blessed with image after image of memories not her own. The elder man at her side was a soothing presence, but not one she wanted to have for eternity. Remembering those closest to her aboard the ANUBIS gave the acting ExO/ILO a new purpose and strength.
"She's not snapping out of it.... doctor do something?" Ya'Han pleaded, waving her hand in front of the frozen visage of her friend and comrade. Though silent, the usually vocal engineer also had a look of worry on her face.
Taking a deep breath, Lillie squeezed her small frame between that of the raven-haired woman and the mirror she stared blankly into. Recalling their first meeting with tenderness, the Tarellian opened her mind once again to the memory the Commander had first been shown. The wind over the grass, great pain accompanied by unmatched joy and fearful anticipation.
"Please Shar'El... please come back to us..." the blonde woman begged, wrapping her arms around the shoulders of her friend and pressing their foreheads together in hopes of reaching her.
Deep in the darkness, still plagued by the rolling recollections of thousands before her, the Ullian sat in a daze staring up at the old man. Her elder gently placed a hand on her head and spoke again, making clear her mind.
"Time spent reflecting on the past is time lost in the present"
A surge of electric sensations assaulted all of the Commander's five senses. The sweet smell of fresh dew trickling off grass blades. The sounds of encouraging and familiar voices hummed in her ears. The salted coppery taste of blood mingling with sweat. The extreme pain assaulting her lower body. Finally the sight, a loving mother looking down at her clothed in a hazmat suit meant to keep in a sickness instead of keeping any out. Although the scene had been familiar, the black haired woman knew that was she was experiencing was not her own memory but that of one of her closest friends.
"Please Shar'El..." the Ullian heard, a voice stricken with worry and fear reaching to her within the depths of her sub-conscious.
A sense of urgency dawned on her. She was missed. She was needed. Fighting back the swirls of memories that threatened to keep her contained, Shar'El rose up from the ground and staggered in the unseen direction in which the voice had come from. Wave upon wave of reminiscence broke over her, like water throwing itself at an immovable mountain.
"Even the hardest of stones wears thin over time" the old sage's voice echoed, now causing more memories to assault her instead of clearing them away.
"Please..." the far away voice begged, urging her onward.
A dim light began to shine, piercing through the darkness. A ray of hope. Shar'El forced her heavy legs to take steps towards it, as she neared the light became brighter, warmer. The acting ExO/ILO reached for the light, as if hoping to find a hand reaching back for her.
"Come back to us..." the sweet voice coaxed, seeming closer than before.
Close enough to feel the light's hot embrace, the Ullian woman rejoiced and pushed forward with all she had left. The brightness stung her eyes, yet felt familiar. When she opened her eyes again, the scene she saw was a familiar face looking back at her with worry. Tears came to the officer's eyes as she opened her mouth to speak.
As she did so, fear gripped her. Though it was indeed her voice that came out, it was not her words. Silence met her as the memories faded into the distance, and yet she was not the one in control. Another had taken her place.
"Who are you?" the raven-haired woman questioned her previously frozen features twisted into a look of confusion.
Taken aback, the doctor closed off her mind and simply stared at her friend, had it been that long since they had last spoken? She seemed to have recalled her before?
Sonja gasped behind her and commented glumly into the subdermal communicator for all still connected to hear "Houston we have a problem..."
Ya'Han, one hand held over her mouth in shock, had little time to wonder who this Houston was.
==========^*^==========
Ashley Shane
Ensign Lillie Doyanne
Chief Medical Officer/Researcher
USS ALEXANDRIA
=-=
"From Fascinating to Firsts"
[previous post was "From Freaky to Fascinating" by the science minded Jessica]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-049
Stardate: 30152.1535
To be lost in a universe created by one's own memories one would expect to encounter an entire world of familiarity. After all, memories unlike dreams are not supposed to be random or unpredictable in nature.
For Shar'El thought there had been nothing but darkness around her, an absolute emptiness that would become at times filled by voices or images of people she did not know.
"Words have meaning. And Names have power. The universe began with a word, you know. But which came first? The word or the thought behind the word?"
The voice had been that of the old man whom she had seen before in this place, a man possessing wisdom born from the beginning of time and yet a being whom she had never before today knew of. Each time he spoke, her mind would be stripped of all thoughts and like an new black canvas it would wait for inspiration to create something new. One of countless memories buried deep in her mind would be presented so that she would be able to see it first time.
The next images that came to challenge the eternal night that stretched all around her it had been of an unknown yet familiar place, of a world and a person. Although she knew beyond a doubt that this had been the first time she had laid eyes upon any of them Shar'El could not shake the feeling that she somehow intimately knew them all.
As strange and unknown as the flowers on the hillside may have appeared, their fragrance had been pleasantly remembered with a warm smile. As alien as the landscape had been, the triple moonrise had filled the dark haired woman with memories of a heart-racing romance which brought a tear to her eye. As completely unknown as the tall and handsome man standing before her had been Shar'El could recall the softness of his touch and the sweetness of his lips.
"Love and death. Each an inescapable part of the cycle you know as life.
The old man's words once again cleared her mind, leaving being nothing but darkness so to allow for new memories to be seen. Alas not all of these unknown memories hidden within her mind had been pleasant ones to see for the first time. The death of hundreds of people each as close to her as a brother or sister threatened the sanity of this only child. Shar'El could remember mourning every single one of them, yet she could not recall a single name.
They all had died for a cause, for something they believed in beyond the fear of the unknown darkness that awaits us all after death. Shar'El wanted to scream and cry, to let the universe know of the sacrifices these people had made, but she could not recall why so many had willingly given their last breath or even if their cause had benefited from their sacrifices.
"It is easy to find something worth dying for. Do you have anything worth living for?"
The voice of the old man took the dark haired woman by surprise, Shar'El never having expected such words to be spoken. Once again darkness descended around her and as new memories came into view, the acting ExO / ILO found that she actually knew the places and people she had been looking at.
The USS ANUBIS, a mighty SCARAB-CLASS Intel cruiser and the ship that had become her new home.
Erik Morningstar, the man in charge of the ship and a friend who had welcomed her as his next in command.
Eve Dalziel, counselor to the crew and friend to the Captain, a woman who seemed already ready to listen and offer guidance to those in need.
Maya, the reclusive scientist, last of her kind with a mind able to stretch to any distant star in the cosmos.
Jayson Stark, a man who had lost everything and still managed to find something to make him smile as a new day dawned.
Ya'Han, a noble woman who escaped from her gilded cage to seek life on her own terms.
Sonja Paquette, the quick tongued free spirited redhead who came across as one able to fix anything for anyone.
"Commander Shar'El, can you hear me?"
The voice had been that of Lillie Doyanne, a woman with hidden secrets of her own, and a person whom Shar'El trusted without the slightest hesitation.
Yes, all of them and many more had been a reason for her to give her life to protect, as they had been a reason for the acting ExO / ILO to fight to live another day. Klingons were quick to claim that 'today is a good day to die', and for the first time Shar'El found herself ready to fight more than ever before in claiming that today would be the first day of the rest of her life.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
---
"From Freaky to Fascinating"
(Previous Post: "From Forever to Freaky")
---
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-089 (Maya)
Stardate: 30152.1530
With Doctor Mizore back on the USS ANUBIS to perform bio-chemical and genetics tests on the sample that had been taken from what had been left of the bomber, the Shillian Scientist had been tasked with the analysis of the other variable involved in the bombing attempt of the MASQUERADE DREAMS; the bomb itself. In order to fully dedicate her complete attention to this matter, the Chief Science Officer had requested that she be momentarily taken off the communication network. This way she would be able to communicate with the Avatar ANI without involving or interrupting everyone else.
The explosive device had been beamed out of the hands of Ensign Stark less than a second away from detonation and kept in stasis within the transporter buffer to render it inoperative. The Chief Science Officer had established a secured link between the small visual display monitor present in her room and the computer of the USS ANUBIS. This would enable her to supervise the research of the device without actually being there, hopefully they would be able to identify the origin and substances used in the construction of the bomb. The fact that this specific device had passed through the security measures of the Risian Luxury Cruise Liner undetected had been one of many points of great interest for the Shillian Scientist.
=/\= The containment field as well as all security measures have been set to your specifications and are ready Commander, =/\= ANI, the Avatar of the USS ANUBIS, informed having been as always perfectly efficient in completing the tasks that had been demanded of her.
"First step is for the transporter pattern to be transferred from the current buffer to the secured one that has been set-up for this test," the Shillian said with anticipation, her eyes glued onto the small screen sitting on the table which allowed her to follow each and every step of the process.
=/\= Transferring the patter now, =/\= ANI complied without any worries in her voice, not that the Shillian had expected there to be any. As an artificial life form, the Avatar of the USS ANUBIS had been unburdened by superfluous feelings or emotions, something that any Vulcan would have been rather envious of. =/\= Transfer completed. No anomalies detected. The pattern in the isolated buffer is reading at one hundred percent integrity. =/\=
"Perfect," the Chief Science Officer noted with some level of gratitude. Although this had likely been the first and easiest part of the tests, the process still held a certain amount of risk that would have jeopardized the entire research and very likely deprived them of the answers they had been searching for. "Bring the quarantine isolation field to maximum, lower artificial gravity to minimum and establish a level 10 forcefield around the entire cargo bay. If this experiment should not go as expected I want to make sure that no one on the ANUBIS is affected by what would happen."
Cargo bay 15, located on deck 26, had been specifically selected by the Shillian Scientist for this unique experiment for several reasons, the first being the ability to control the environment of the spacious room to help minimize any negative effects. Given the complete unknown nature of the explosive device or the destructive capability that were held hidden within, caution had been of the greatest importance.
=/\= Everything is ready Commander, =/\= ANI said only a few seconds later, the Avatar having once again displayed the extent of her efficiency in all matters concerning to the USS ANUBIS.
"We are going to do a gradual matter reintegration," the Chief Science Officer said. Although there had been no reason or need to explain the specifics of the plan to the Avatar who had already been briefed on the process, the Shillian had wanted to insure that there would be no misunderstandings as to what would take place and what had been expected. "We will start at twenty percent and increase by two percent every ten seconds, this should give us ample time to run a full a sensor scan on the bomb at each materialization step and hopefully this will give us enough time to identify any potential problems and react accordingly. If anything strange is detected, pause the rematerialization sequence so that we can further investigate what is happening. Should sensors pick up anything that seems to indicate an uncontrolled cascade reaction beyond what we are expecting, you are to open the outer bay door and vent the bomb into space. It is my hope that this will further limit the impact and possible damage to the ANUBIS. Of course I would like to keep that option as an absolute last resort as it would make it impossible for us to get any useful detailed sensor data from an explosion outside of the ship."
=/\= Initiating rematerialization sequence, starting at twenty percent matter reintegration and increasing by two percent every ten seconds, =/\= the Avatar announced, informing the Chief Science Officer that the process had begun while at the same time making her wish that she had been there to witness the event first hand.
Instead the Shillian Scientist had been left with reading the data gathered by the sensor scans, identifying as best as they could the materials which comprised the explosive device. Seconds ticked by slowly and by the twenty four percent mark of the bomb re-materialized, there had only been limited information available about the outer casing, and even less about the explosive components within. The good thing at this point had been that the bomb had still been non operational allowing the test to continue with the hopes for some answers very much alive.
=/\= Rematerialization sequence now at thirty percent, =/\= the Avatar announced, confirming that the data being analysed by the Chief Science Officer had been in sync with what had been taking place on the ANUBIS. =/\= All readings showing negative as to an explosive potential. =/\=
The Shillian carefully studied the sensor data rapidly scrolling on the small screen in front of her. The process had been fascinating and the Chief Science Officer inwardly wished that they could spend more time dissecting and understanding the device, but Captain Morningstar had made it perfectly clear that time had been an issue.
=/\= Rematerialization sequence now at thirty eight percent, sensors are picking up a slight energy fluctuation emanating from the lower-right quadrant of the device. =/\= ANI reported, certain that the Shillian Scientist had also noticed this anomaly.
"Looks like we have identified the power source of the device," the Chief Science Officer said, trying to keep her own puzzlement to herself at this point. The truth had been that she had never seen anything like this and had been in a complete inability to even offer a guess as to what had been used to provide energy to the bomb. "I think it would be safer if we reduced the rematerialization rate to one percent every ten seconds. These power readings need to be more closely monitored and analysed as we might be dealing with a completely unknown system. ANI, run a comparative search between current sensor readings and any similar energy outputs that we have on file. I find it hard to believe that anyone targeting a Cruise Liner would have access to a never before seen energy source. Maybe we should involve Captain Morningstar and Commander Shar'El at this point. With the Captain having served on board the USS PARADOX and the implanted memories in the head of our First Officer, maybe one of them might be able to help."
=/\= That may be more difficult than it sounds, =/\= ANI said. Although the Shillian Scientist had not heard any of the discussions pertaining to the current state of Commander Shar'El, the Avatar had kept track of everything, just in case her unique skills had been required in some way or another.
---
Jessica Solarik
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
&
Captain Selene Fiona Iverson
Commanding Officer
USS BASTET
"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
"From Forever to Freaky"
[previous "From Frozen to Forever"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-143 (Jayson)
Stardate: 30152.1530
After the hot shower and vigorous scrubbing Jayson had gone into the living area of your room. Wrapped in the last dry towel, he had sat in one of the comfy chairs to relax, trying his best to forget what had happened.
Dealing with the idea of a bomber had been stressful enough, but for him to run with the actual bomb in his hands had really brought the OPS officer to the edge. Carrying the dead body of the bomber a few minutes after that had not helped in any way, especially when it had started to disintegrate into a pool of muck on his shoulder.
For some this would have been a nothing deal, a run of the mill event, something that they would have been able to handle without thinking twice. For Jayson thought it had proven to be something a lot more difficult to handle, something that he had needed to stop and deal with before it made him be unable to do anything else.
In the stillness of his room, Jayson closed his eyes and remembered the words of wisdom of Counselor Dalziel. Focusing on the good of the day and being thankful for them instead of only thinking of the negative that. Granted this had been meant to have Jayson stop dwelling on the passing and absence of his wife, but for the time being it would have to do to have him stop thinking about what had just happened.
Yes the events might have been traumatic on some level, but he had lived through them without a scratch. The bomb had been beamed out of his hands before it could explode and the ooze from he melting bomber had never actually touched him. All was fine, so there had been no need to freak out.
He eventually managed to calm himself enough to fall asleep on the chair, a welcomed alternative to going straight out of his mind which should have made things a lot easier for him. Should being the key word. Instead of relaxing though, he found himself drawn into a world of dreams shaped by the events he had wanted to distance himself from as much as possible.
In this dream Jayson found himself back in the lower decks of the MASQUERADE DREAMS, the bomb still in his hands while his feet were stuck in a vile looking ooze. As hard as he tried to escape, there had been no way for him to break free of the ooze that had actually started to crawl up his legs. The sensation of the liquid flowing up his bare legs sent him into an absolute frenzy.In a panic without equal, he looked around to see Uxtar and Shar'El grinning at him as if the nightmarish scene had been nothing more than an amusing show.
"Help me!"
He pleaded almost on the verge of tears, fear having taking hold of his ability to reason in any way.
"Commander?"
Jayson heard himself ask in response to the silence to his words, wondering as to why the First Officer and Hirogen seemed pleased by the situation that he had found himself in. Stranger still had been the fact that his voice had oddly sounded like that of the ANUBIS' Chief Engineer.
"Commander?"
The title was repeated a few seconds later, and Jayson was completely surprised to hear the voice of the Chief of Security instead of his own. Why had his voice changed like this? The question, as worthy as any other, fell unanswered as the sensation of the ooze crawling up his leg refocused his mind into an earth shattering panic.
That was when Jayson woke up in a startle, sitting on the chair of his living area wearing nothing but a bath towel. No bomb had been in his hands, and there had been no sign of any ooze or other liquid anywhere near his legs.
"Sorry, this may come as a strange question but I was asleep. Is everything alright? Thought I heard something while I dreamt."
Jayson asked, not sure if what he had heard had originated from his dream or if his dream had been reflecting what he had heard through his subdermal communicator.
=/\= It's Commander Shar'El. She's not moving, as if she had somehow become frozen in time. =/\=
Concern could easily be heard in Ya'Han's voice.
=/\= She is unresponsive to us. Her eyes are opened but they are just staring at her own reflection in the mirror. Doctor Doyanne is trying to figure what happened now. =/\=
Sonja had come across as more calm but still he could hear her troubled by he situation.
"We're on the same deck, I will be there right away, that is as soon as I get dressed."
Jayson's offer had been meant more as a way to keep him busy than to offer help. After all he was the Chief of Operations, what could he possibly know about dealing with a First officer who had just stopped moving?
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"From Frozen to Forever"
[previous post was "From Flirty to Frozen" by the skilled writer Hanali]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-049
Stardate: 30152.1520
Ullians have the unique gift of being able to look into someone's mind and see their memories, from the earliest childhood recollection to the most recent events. In time this special ability can be refined to allow the individual to seek out long forgotten or traumatic memories or even to push away haunting images that make life impossible to live.
This ability to manipulate memories in such a manner is something that Ullians as a race do not like to make known to the general public, but unfortunately is it a part of that people's way of life, and like everything else it is something that can be used for good, or abused for evil.
Normally a Ullian is unable to scan their own memories, as if the mind of a specific member of that race had been immuned to the abilities of that individual. As frustrating as this limitation might have been for some, most saw it as a gift, allowing them to be able to look into a mirror without seeing more than a simple reflection of the present.
For Shar'El though things had not been normal. Since her merging of minds with the ancient machine found on the moon of PI ALPHA III, the woman's mind had been filled with memories that had not been her own. It was likely because of this simple detail that the acting ExO / ILO had found it possible to scan the mind of the person whose reflection she had seen in the mirror.
The mental gesture had been nothing more than a reflex, one born out of the need for answers and the unlikely possibility that the reflective surface would hold some memories for her to access. So it was with unexpected shock that Shar'El found herself touching not one, not a few, but several lifetimes worth of memories as she reached out to her own reflection.
Although her body had remained exactly where it had been when the contact was made, the mind of the Ullian was drawn into the world that extended well beyond her reflection. Time and space collided to fill a single room in which Shar'El found herself to be a prisoner in.
Images of worlds never before seen filled the walls of this imaginary room, letting the woman believe for a brief moment that she had not been locked away in some invisible prison within her own mind. Voices that had not been heard for countless millennia told strange and amazing stories of events both wondrous and disturbing.
Normally a Ullian could sever the link between their mind and that of another person should there be a reason to do so, but this was not a normal situation. There had been no link to break, for Shar'El had done the impossible, that of looking into her own mind and memories. Powerless to do anything else, she watched and listened as the history of countless worlds passed before her inner eyes.
The whirlwind of images and voices had almost become too much for Shar'El to manage, but she found herself unable to move beyond the room as if her feet had been frozen, not only in space but also in time. Somehow she had found a way to open a door that she had been told did not exist, a door that she had been incapable of finding, let alone close.
All became dark as she fell onto her knees. Nothing but darkness reflected from the walls around her, walls that she knew were still there despite not being able to see them. In an effort to regain control, Shar'El forced her eyes closed but nothing changed, from an endless darkness of the mind she went into a dark void limited only by her own eyes.
"Do you know where Nanmi is?"
Shar'El quickly opened her eyes to see a young Ullian child standing in front of her, the tears about her face showed the girl's deep felt sadness.
"Nanmi is between your bed and the wall," Shar'El softly explained to the teary child who had been in her nightgown. "It fell there during the night."
How had Shar'El known this? Who had this little girl been? As strange as it seemed the Ullian knew that the answers had been right there on the tip of her memories, but whose memories had they been?
"Without darkness one would not know light when they saw it."
Shar'El turned around to find the old man who had just spoken, forgetting about the young child as if she had never been there, not that she had been. The aged man appeared old enough to have seen the birth of the universe and his words carried with them a wisdom that the Ullian could not help but admire.
The dark haired woman smiled as if she had just seen someone who had been very dear to her, someone whom she had not laid eyes upon for several lifetimes. He gazed back at her with loving recognition in his gray colored eyes and yet she could not find his name amongst the memories that filled her mind.
Who were these people and why had she been here?
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"From Flirty to Frozen"
[previous post was "From Feisty to Flirty"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-049
Stardate: 30152.1515
The arrival of their Commander into the room had scared everyone. Maybe it had been the maintenance man who had returned having changed his mind, or to see the surprise described by the redhead first hand. So Ya'Han and the others had been pleased to see Shar'El instead of anyone one else, the Chief of Security not truly wanting to have to deal with another 'unplanned' plan.
"Split up and search every corner," Shar'El said in a commanding way. Time had not been their ally in this situation and the need to find answers only pushed them to move quickly. Without knowing who else might have a key to this room, they could not afford to waste any time.
Everyone scattered leaving the Commander to make her way to the small table where she had seen the handwritten note in the bomber's memories before he died in the harms of the Hirogen. As she carefully approached the small table, Shar'El saw her own reflection in the mirror on the wall. If only she could access the reflections captured therein as easily as she could see the memories of others a great many answers would have been found.
With Lillie meticulously going over every inch of the bathroom while Sonja and Ya'Han investigated every fold of the bedroom, no one noticed Shar'El having suddenly stopped a few steps away from the table.
"The bed looks like it has not been slept in at all," Sonja said, silently considering the possibility that room service had already come by to fix the bed and possibly destroy some of the clues they all had been so desperately searching for.
"The cruise is set to last three whole weeks without any stops, right?" Ya'Han asked. Although she knew the answer, she had wanted to hear some sort of confirmation to justify what she had found.
"Passengers will enjoy three weeks of luxury and peace while onboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS, one of RISA's most renowned cruise ships," the redhead answered in a deeper voice as if she had been reading some sort of advertisement or trying to sale the cruise to someone else. "Why do you ask?" Sonja continued as she turned her attention to the focused Chief of Security.
"One small travel bag," Ya'Han said as she pointed to the bag in the corner of the room. "Who goes on a three week long cruise with only one small bag?"
"Someone who knew they would not be here for the entire time," the engineer said with a sigh. "That would explain why the bed was not used. The bomber likely paced up ad down the room the entire night thinking of what he was about to do."
"I still find it hard to believe that anyone would be willing to blow themselves up like that," Ya'Han said in disbelief.
"When your back is against the wall for whatever reasons, people can justify to themselves doing pretty much anything," Sonja said having turned to face the black haired woman. "Everyone acts and react differently to certain situations. You for example decided to run away from your home, and I am sure that it was not an easy decision, but it was one that you justified to yourself because you had to."
Ya'Han looked back at Sonja, thinking of the life the daughter of the High Sovereign had left behind as well as the train of thought that had led her to accept such a difficult decision. Instinctively the Chief of Security reached for her purple hair as she brought it to flow over her right shoulder.
"It was not easy," Ya'Han admitted, for the first time not feeling any worries that someone else could see her with different color hair. "There were days when I wanted to go back but I knew what this would mean," the daughter of the High Sovereign said as her hair shifted to match that of the engineer.
"You going back would have meant a nasty fight," Sonja understood, "and to avoid that you justified continuing running no matter the cost."
The two redheads gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, Ya'Han seeing the understanding of a friend reflecting back at her while Sonja saw years of sadness and pain crunched into a few simple seconds.
"It's alright now," Sonja said as she brought Ya'Han into a caring hug. "You don't have to be alone anymore."
The two women shared a hug, one that would have been normally reserved to be between very close friends or even sisters. After a few second though, Sonja slowly broke away having noticed something very peculiar about their First Officer.
"Commander?" the engineer asked as she made her way to the frozen woman closely followed by the black haired Chief of Security who had become aware of the odd scene.
"Commander?" Ya'Han repeated as she moved to be in a position to see the woman's face, one that seemed frozen in time as had been her body.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=====
"From Feisty to Flirty"
Previous post – Tiffany's "From Facts to Fiction"
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 22
Stardate: 30152.1500
The numbers on the room read 049, which meant that they had reached their destination, or at least the door to it.
"Alright ladies, no time like the present," Sonja announced. "We are here," the redhead added making sure that Shar'El and the rest of the undercover crew of the ANUBIS knew where the three female musketeers had been.
=/\= Looks like I found my way to the wrong side of the ship, =/\= Shar'El stated with an annoyed sigh. =/\= I will be there as soon as i can, there are just too many people around right now for me to get a site-to-site transport. =/\=
"Guess this party starts without you," Sonja stated as she began to tinker with the panel next to the door in an attempt to gain access to the room.
Ya'Han and Lillie each tried to force the doors opened but to no avail.
"Makes sense that they would have these doors be temper proof," the Chief of Security offered. "Would not make sense to have the passenger's personal belongings easily accessible to other passengers."
"Wish I had my tools," the Chief Engineer said with a grimace. "Weird, she won't talk to me, guess it's due to my lack of tools. That little stubborn minx does not realise that I mean business."
"Who is she talking about?" Ya'Han inquired in a whispered voice to the physician standing right next to her.
"I believe Sonja is referring to the ship," Lillie explained with a giggled sigh. "Don't ask, just go with it, it's safer for all of us that way."
"People seem to say 'just go with it' a lot when speaking about Sonja," the Chief of Security remarked with amused puzzlement.
Sonja had managed to pry the panel partially open, allowing her to force a hair pin inside in the hopes of triggering the doors to open when Ya'Han elbowed her partner in crime.
"Excuse me," a firm male voice stated from down the hall, "can i help you ladies?"
Lillie gasped as she tried to figure a way to deal with the situation. Ya'Han on her end had prepared herself for a fight, a reaction worthy of the Chief of Security. Sonja had her back to the man and asked the physician for details as to the appearance and age of their unexpected interruption.
"Young, Human-like, male, likely in his mid twenties and by the looks of the uniform possibly maintenance?" Doctor Doyanne answered in a faint whispered voice.
"Good I can work with that," Sonja announced as she flicked the red hair over her shoulder and adjusted the top of her dress. "I would not have been able to do this to someone from Security," the engineer added as she undid two buttons from her collar. "Girls, need you to look as enticing and alluring as you can. Just follow my lead and leave the talking to me."
"Having a problem with the door?" the member of the MASQUERADE DREAM's staff asked as he drew closer to the trio.
Sonja straightened and turned to walk towards the man. In only a few steps the woman had swayed her hips and exposed as much of her cleavage as she could offering as truly sultry view to the approaching male. In a charming, annoyed and slightly overly 'blonde' voice that only a woman could manage, the redhead spoke. "Sir, I would really need your help. I lost my key and it's my boyfriend's birthday and I need to get in to set up the big surprise for his gift. Any help would be greatly appreciated," the troubled woman offered as she ever so gently ran her hand over his shoulder and added a faint quiver of her lower lip.
The man swallowed hard, his eyes locked several degrees lower than the woman's own eyes. "I am not sure that I can..."
Sonja continued, interrupting the man's laboured and distracted words. "Please Sir, if you could just let us in so that I can make this an oh so special birthday with his gift."
"Sorry," the man struggled to say as he forced his eyes away from the woman's ample and exposed upper chest. "I do not see any gift," he managed to add having kept just enough wits about him to make this observation.
"Well," Sonja began as she lowered her head and played with her red locks. "The gifts are my two friends over there. Since he already has a Redhead, I thought he would be pleased with having a Blonde and a Brunette to complete the set," the undercover engineer explained, glancing at her two friends in a way that suggested far more than mere words could say.
Having well gotten the idea as well as their cue, Lille and Ya'Han did their best to play the role in which they had been cast into. The blonde haired physician pouted her lips while the dark haired Chief of Security placed her hands on her hips to enhance the scene.
"Oh... I... ummm... completely understand," the male stammered.
"Ooh I knew you would," the CEO stated in a girly voice. "Now you see how important it is for me to set this up before he gets back, don't you?" the redhead leaned into him further. "Pleeeeaaassse," she added with a pout.
"I'll open the door but you can't let anyone know that I have done this for you," he stated, overwhelmed with the thoughts of what this meant for this lucky 'boyfriend'.
"We can keep a secret," Sonja said in a sing-song manner, "can't we girls?" the redhead added as she brought a single finger to rest against her pouted lips in a manner indicating secrecy.
Lille and Ya'Han both smiled and responded by mimicking the gesture causing the man to once again swallow hard as he shifted his stance before opening the door.
"Thank you so much Sir," the Brunette and Blonde offered as they walked into the room to be soon followed by the Redhead who leaned in and placed a simple kiss on the man's cheek. "Maybe you will get a lucky birthday too," she added with a wink.
From down the hall, Fenix observed the latter part of this little show, having seen the three women be given access to the room where his compatriot had been staying. judging by the man's shifting walk, it had been easy to understand how the woman had gained access to the room, but this left the question of who where they and what had they been after?
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-049
Stardate: 30152.1505
As the door closed behind the three woman, Sonja looked to her friends and grinned. "See, told you that boobs could come in handy."
Doctor Doyanne shook her head in disbelief. "I sure did miss you guys," she admitted with delight. "Things are never boring when you are around Sonja."
"I am starting to fully realise this," Ya'Han stated as she meet the engineer's gaze. "You are a rather unpredictable individual, but your plans do seem to have a habit of working. I will admit that I like this one more than the last one," the Chief of Security admitted causing Doctor Doyanne to look at the two women quizzically.
"She ended up getting licked," Sonja explained rather quickly. "By me. I will explain more later, right now we have work to do in here."
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 22 Hallway
Stardate: 30152.1505
Fenix needed answers but now had not been the time. Although they had been only women, their numbers and unknown background had made them to be too dangerous to approach at this time. He would have to bide his time before being able to get to the bottom of this. For the time being he would commit their faces to memory, there would be ample opportunities to delve into this development.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-049
Stardate: 30152.1515
Lillie, Ya'Han and Sonja froze in their search when the door hissed opened of its own power. A general sense of relief was felt by all three women when a familiar face stepped in.
"You girls just couldn't wait could you?" Shar'El pointed out as she saw the Chief of Security and Physician point an accusing finger in the direction of the redhead Engineer.
"HEY!" Sonja exclaimed with a smile. "It worked didn't it? Anyway, what took you so long? Did you stop by the promenade for some last minute shopping?"
=====
Lorraine Paquette
Lieutenant JG Sonja Paquette
Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
=-=
"From Facts to Fiction"
[previous post was "Facing Facts" by the fun loving Jayson]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck 22
Stardate: 30152.1500
During her walk from the lower deck the acting ExO / ILO found herself lost in her own thoughts.
Past and future came together in a swirling mixture of what she expected to find once she would join Sonja, Ya'Han and Lille; and what she had experienced through the memories of the Hirogen hunter Uxtar. Questions without answers echoed through Shar'El's mind leaving her to walk near blind to what had been happening around her.
Looking back into the past, the acting ExO / ILO reviewed what she had seen about Uxtar, his time on the ANUBIS and his undercover mission to the Delta Quadrant. The Hirogen had been skilled, there had been no denying this fact, but somehow Shar'El could not shake the feeling that the towering alien felt as if he had failed.
One day maybe she would ask Uxtar about the details of his two years in the Delta Quadrant, a part of the galaxy that had been more a home to him than this part of the cosmos could have ever been. Still as she touched his memories, the acting ExO / ILO had felt a sense of belonging and comfort when the Hirogen recalled his time on the ANUBIS.
Looking ahead into the near future, Shar'El wondered with amusement as to what she would find. The redhead Engineer had proven herself more than once to being a skilled free spirit, one who could step out of her Starfleet upbringing with ease when the situation demanded it. Ya'Han had grown to finding her place as a free-willed woman, distancing herself a little more each day from the shackles of her title and responsibilities as a daughter of the High Sovereign of NYLA IV which she had abandoned nearly a decade ago. Then there was Lillie, a skilled physician as well as mysterious woman who seemed to wear her secrets as most would do normal clothing.
Putting the three women together had insured an endless set of probabilities as to what the acting ExO / ILO would come to deal with once she joined them. At the very last Shar'El knew that her time with them would prove to be anything but boring.
With Uxtar and Lille on the MASQUERADE DREAMS, Shar'El could only wonder as to what Admiral Koniki had planned and if anyone from the crew of the ANUBIS would ever become aware of the secretive man's actual reasons for doing what he did.
Sometimes in this line of work, it had been safer to simply go on about your business instead of dwelling too much on the reasons why things had been said, done or required.
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Observation Deck
Stardate: 30152.1500
The charming Rutian man known as Fenix wandered without purpose, confused and saddened by the calm and joyfulness he saw on the features of those around him. For an unknown reason the plan to see a bomb go off in the lower decks of the Risian Cruise Ship had failed. The chaos and fear would have served to draw attention to his world and the hardships his people suffered each and every day.
As much of a setback as this had been though, Fenix had never been one to be so easily defeated. There had been others on the ship who had rallied to his cause and stood ready to help at a moment's notice. All the Rutian man needed to do was to figure out who amongst them would be called upon to cast fear through the passengers, and how this seemingly simply task would be accomplished.
Security on the MASQUERADE DREAMS had been described as minimal, so Fenix had never expected there to be any problem with their initial plan. Now the Rutian needed to re-evaluate this earlier evaluation in order to insure that the odds of success in his next plan would be well in their favor.
Sabotage of the ship's propulsion would not prove to be as effective as a bomb to create fear in the passengers. On the other hand disabling the life support system would certainly cause more than enough chaos, but the plan had been to educate those on board through fear, not to injure them. If the cause he believed so much in was to benefit from his actions, they needed to be carefully planned so as to insure that only memories and knowledge would last. To injure or even kill anyone would only serve to rally support against what he believed, and this Fenix could not allow.
"Can I help?" a soft voice asked from behind him, the woman having made sure not to make eye contact with him, that way if something went wrong, he could have denied ever knowing who this woman had been. The fact though had been that he knew her, not very well, but enough to know that she had been trustworthy.
Fenix had encountered her on another cruise ship and the two of them had talked for what had seemed like days. Actually, he had done most of the talking while she listened, visibly unwilling to speak about herself more than absolutely necessary. From her gestures and speech patterns he knew that she had been from a highly educated background, one that had greatly limited her vision of the universe.
When he began to mention the hardships of the people of RUTIA IV, Fenix saw in her an interest that he fed until she offered her help to them without asking for anything in return. She had told him a name when he asked for one, but he knew right away that it had not been hers. It had been easy for him to see that she had been running away from something or someone, so he never asked for her name again. Like him, she had wanted to remain as an unknown face in the crowd, so he referred to her only as 'Shae', a word that in his native tongue referred to a beautiful woman cast from the stars to live life as a mere mortal.
Fenix abandoned caution for a moment as he turned to face her so that he could run his fingers through her midnight black hair, a common color that strangely did not seem to suit her. With what he knew of the woman he called Shae, he would have expected her to have hair as red as fire, as blue as the ocean, as green as the tree tops or any other radiant color suiting her secrets. "I will need your help soon," he whispered before walking away. He needed to come up with a plan, one that would create the fear he needed without hurting anyone. A plan that would make full use of what this ship had to offer and the abilities of those ready to give their lives for the cause, like the woman he knew as Shae.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
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"Facing Facts"
[previous post "From Frantic to Foxy"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade deck
Stardate: 30152.1450
"I made you a promise," UXtar casually said to the shorter dark hair woman walking next to him as the two of them neared the staircase leading up to the public decks. For a brief moment the two of them looked into each other's eyes and Shar'El found it odd that she had not felt like a prey being stared down by a hunter, but rather felt as if the Hirogen had been another person, and nothing more.
"A promise?" the Ullian First Officer asked in return. Shar'El suspected that she knew what Uxtar had been referring to, but the undercover Intel operative had not wanted to make any assumptions.
"For me to give you all of the answers you were looking for earlier," the Hirogen clarified. The words and expression on his face made Shar'El understand that he had been a person of great integrity, one who could be trusted at all times to keep his word.
The Ullian offered a faint smile as she looked up. The foot and a half separating the two of them seemed to be a universe unto its own, but in only a few seconds Shar'El had crossed the distance without moving, her mind having reached into that of the waiting Hirogen.
Memories flew by one after the other with he greatest of ease. The Ullian had not needed to dig into the Hirogen's mind, the memories having been made freely available to her. Images of the NEW ALEXANDRIA complexe, of those who served there, his promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade, his strange friendship with a Doctor by the name of Lea Summers. Memories of shared moments with Counselor Dalziel and Lieutenant Commander Maya while on the ANUBIS meant that Uxtar had known them for a while. Discussions with Captain Morningstar and Admiral Koniki also indicated that the Hirogen had not been a sudden arrival into the shadowy world on Intel.
Then the memories became darker. Shar'El could feel that this part of the Hirogen's life had been a very difficult one, painful in many different ways, yet he did his best to give the Ullian complete and unrestricted access to it. As curious as she may have been though, the much shorter woman decided to respect the hunter and not dwell too long on that part of his life. She had seen enough to know that Admiral Koniki had sent him on a deep undercover mission into the Delta Quadrant, one that had lasted two whole years.
The most recent memories, those dealing with the reasons why the Hirogen had been assigned to the maintenance staff of the MASQUERADE DREAMS had failed to give a better understanding to Shar'El as to why Uxtar had been here. Being the First Officer of the ANUBIS, the Ullian had found it hard to believe that the Admiral would have kept this mission a secret from them, but knowing the man as she did, Shar'El did not put it passed him to have wanted to see how the crew would react to this unexpected turn of events.
"The Admiral never told me that anyone else from NEW ALEXANDRIA would be here," Uxtar said having felt the Ullian's mind pulling away from his own.
"I would guess that we are on two separate missions that ended up overlapping," Shar'El said, knowing that her words would be transmitted to the rest of the crew. "Maybe the Admiral thought that that you would deal with the bomber without out even knowing about him, or he wanted to test us to see if we would be able to identify the threat. Whatever his reasons were, we are here together now and faced with a situation that seems to be far more complex than anyone could have expected."
"My mission was to stop the bomber and put an end to the threat," Uxtar said in a dry and distant fashion. For a moment Shar'El believed that the Hirogen had been about to say that the rest had not been his problem, an attitude that did not fit with what she had observed from the hunter's memories. "The bomber has been stopped, but it seems that the threat still remains. I would be happy if you accepted my help in whatever way I can offer it to see this threat permanently taken care of."
Now that had been the Hirogen she had expected. The Ullian smiled, nodded and gave Uxtar the key to her room. At the very least it would give the member of the maintenance staff a reason to seek her out at a later time while giving him the knowledge of where he could find her and that his generous offer for help had been graciously accepted.
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Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.]
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"From Frantic to Foxy"
Previous Post "From Feared to Frantic"
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When a woman smiles during a problem, she's thought of someone to blame it on.
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1445
==========^*^==========
Desperately craning her neck to view over the heads of guests had given Lillie a crick in her neck, and still there was no sign of anyone recognizable. Maybe they were all in their rooms? Or in another part of the ship doing undercover work? All the young woman could discover was that no one was here on the Promenade deck with her. Disheartened and frankly quite sore the doctor started back towards the corridor that lead to the sleeping accommodations, a rest would do her some good before setting out to search again.
Closing her eyes a brief moment as she rubbed her neckline, the blonde woman yet again managed to bump right over someone who hadn't been in front of her moments before. Scrambling to remove the hair from her face and apologize to her unknown target, Lillie heard a familiar voice gasp in astonishment.
"Lillie!? Lillie Doyanne is that you!?" the woman exclaimed, her one hand clasped over her mouth.
"Sonja?" the Tarellian inquired, remembering the brilliant female engineer on board the ANUBIS.
Before the vacationing officer could get out more than another breath she was engulfed in arms and red hair and tight arms. Barely able to move Lillie smiled softly, though refrained from returning the gesture. Physical affection had never been her strong suit outside her race, but it complemented her companion just fine.
"Where have you been? You left without saying much to anyone, I assumed you were still on the NEW ALEXANDRIA" Sonja laughed, still beaming from her friendly encounter.
Ya'Han cleared her throat subtly, attempting to remind the seemingly love struck CEO of their purpose. The woman turned to her Nylaan counterpart and nodded.
"Ya'Han meet Lillie, our previous CMO before Seska joined us. Lillie this is Ya'Han, the ANUBIS's current Chief of Security" the lieutenant waved to them back and forth.
"A pleasure I'm sure" Lillie nodded towards the woman "Glad to see some friendly faces, you wouldn't believe how rude some people on this cruise liner can be... like that Ferengi I bumped into earlier..."
The Sec/Tac officer's eyes widened slightly as she let out a sigh "Well at least it's not only us he's bothering..."
"Huh?" the blonde muttered, confused.
"It's a long story" Sonja assured in a light tone, smirking at Ya'Han deviously "Either way, we need your help"
The Tarellian tensed, having been released but suddenly feeling as if tight vices were again around her "What's wrong? Is someone hurt?"
=^= You could say that... =^= Shar'El commented to their engineer, a chuckle trickling over the subdermal communication network after having recalled Ensign Stark's earlier desperate flee.
The redhead shook her head "No one's hurt... well besides a liquefied terrorist, but that's being handled. I need you to help us break into his room and look for any reason why he'd be on board to begin with"
"Liquefied? Terrorist? What... how... huh?" the Tarellian stammered, confused by this sudden overload of information. Suddenly she was reminded of yet another crew member she missed dearly, the always informed Maya.
=^= I see a slight problem in your plan Lieutenant. How are you going to get into the room without the keys Shar'El is carrying? =^= Captain Morningstar observed, his voice sounding strained.
"That's right... I guess we would need the keys..." the Ya'Han muttered, thinking of ways to acquire them quickly.
"Now how do you plan to get in with no key?" Lillie stared in disbelief, still reeling from the information she was attempting tp process.
Sonja shrugged "Not sure yet, but I'll think of something. Hey the last plan I came up with worked" the CEO said with a smile.
Ya' Hans eyes opened wide at the thought the engineer having yet another unplanned plan.
“Don't look at me like that” Then redhead said placing a hand on her hip "It did work after all"
“Ok any ideas?” The blond woman laughed, seeing the slightest hint of a blush touch the Nylaan woman's features.
A grin spread on the engineer's face "Well we are three smart women and if that fails, we have boobs" the CEO said with laughter "the latter is often the key, and can mollify a savage beast."
=^= Or, and I'm just throwing this out there, I could beam to your location and we can all go? =^= Shar'El chimed in, somewhat hoping to see her old friend again as well.
"Even better!" the CEO exclaimed "Then it'll be four beautiful, talented and intelligent women against this liner and all it's secrets, we can't fail" the Sec/Tac officer at her side chuckled.
Lillie grinned, warm spreading through her chest at seeing the light hearted aura surrounding her friend and soon to be traveling companion. Though not entirely sure of the exchange that had taken place, the Tarellian felt at ease again. It was as if she never left.
==========^*^==========
Ashley Shane
Ensign Lillie Doyanne
Chief Medical Officer/Researcher
USS ALEXANDRIA
"From Fluidic to Frantic"
[previous "From Feared to Fluidic"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-143 (Jayson)
Stardate: 30152.1440
He could not have returned to his room fast enough. He had been the one carrying the body of the bomber when it started to disintegrate, and later on he was pretty sure that some of the ooze had touched the bottom of his shoes. For all he knew, there could have been some of the liquefied remains land on his clothes and make its way through them to his skin.
Doctor Mizore had been way too casual about the entire thing. All that the OPS officer could think of was him turning out the way the bomber had: as a pool of biomatter on the floor. If Shar'El had thought that he had run fast while holding the bomb, she should have seen him making his way through the corridors of the cruise liner.
Commander Shar'El had been very calm about the whole thing as well; then again she had not been the one who had carried the body. At least she had seemed understanding enough to let Jayson rush back to his room as soon as possible. He thought that he had heard her chuckle when he left, but he had been in too much of a hurry to look back and investigate.
The door to his room had not fully closed behind him when his clothes had been ripped from his body. There would be ample time to burn them afterwards, but right now he needed a shower. Urgently! The sight would have been hilarious to anyone else, but to Jayson it had been nothing short of a matter of life and death. His!
Jayson grinned as he thought of the classification of the MASQUERADE DREAMS. It being a *luxury* cruise ship meant that there had not been any sonic showers in the passenger's' room, but genuine water showers. As the water fell on his naked form, the scrubber in his hand had been frantically traveling over every inch of his body.
As he continued to cleanse his skin of whatever residue might had been there, Jayson began to worry. If his body had begun to liquefy as had that of the bomber, there would be no way for him to know while being in the shower. How would he be able to tell apart the water from his own fluids?
In a moment of panic Jayson jumped out of the shower and dried himself as quickly as possible, trying to see if the feeling of wetness on his skin could actually be removed. It took only a minute for him to get completely dry, a sensation that rejoiced the man more than he could have every imagined.
Dry, naked, and standing outside of the shower, Jayson began to feel cold and itchy. Had he missed a spot? Was his skin beginning to peal from his body? Frantically he jumped back into the shower and once again began to scrub his skin as if his life depended on it, which as far as he had been concerned had been what was happening.
It took him several more minutes before he realized that the itchy sensation had been caused by his having scrubbed his skin far too roughly. Small lines of blood had begun for form on his arms and legs making him see just how paranoid he had been.
Having finally calmed himself enough to think straight, Jayson wrapped himself in the last dry towel and headed for the living area. There he would sit and rest for a little while as he let the painful itchiness of his skin remain untouched.
Maybe being bored on this mission would have been a better option than being frantic about the prospect of melting into an unrecognizable pool of biomatter ooze.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"From Feared to Fluidic"
[previous post was "Freedom Fighter to Foes" by the Commanding Francois]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Deck 27, Section 15
Stardate: 30152.1425
Shar'El and Jayson watched in horrified astonishment, powerless to do anything to stop the body of the bomber from vanishing before their very eyes.
"What could have caused this?" Ensign Stark asked to no one specific as the pool of liquid biomatter crew larger and closer to his feet.
"I would have to guess some sort of chemically induced cellular degradation," Doctor Mizore replied although the question had not been directed at her. It had taken only a second for the CMO of the USS ANUBIS to come up with a diagnosis based on her immediate observations.
"Thank you for coming here so quickly Doctor," Shar'El said, the acting ExO / ILO having been rather pleased that someone from the medical staff had been able to see this for themselves. "Before you even ask, we did not come in contact with anything suspicious."
"Still," Seska whispered, matching the tone of voice of the acting ExO / ILO as the CMO kneeled next to the clothes soaked in a pool of biomatter. "I will have to run some tests on you both, just in case."
"What?" Jayson gasped. "You think this is going to happen to us too?"
Doctor Mizore reached into her pocket and retrieved a small sample jar which she used to collect some of the biomatter closest to the formless clothing. "The rate of liquefaction seems to be far too rapid to be naturally occurring. Also, based on the fact that the clothing themselves appear intact, I would have to guess that we are dealing with some sort of specific biological disolvant."
Shar'El glanced at the man standing next to her, seeing concern and even fear in his eyes, two feelings that the actin ExO / ILO had to admit she also experienced given what they had just heard.
=/\= It would be highly unlikely that such a substance would be found on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS, =/\= Maya said over the subdermal communication system. =/\= Any type of dangerous chemical would have been intercepted prior to departure well before it made it on board the ship. It is far more likely that someone found a way to hide a small enough amount of such a chemical from the sensors to be used as a failsafe. =/\=
"I agree," Seska said as she nodded her head and studied with her eyes the sample that she had gathered. "Hopefully we will be able to get some sort of information about the bomber and the chemicals that were used from this sample," the CMO said as she let out a lengthy sigh. "Although I doubt it."
"Given the extent of the precautions taken," Shar'El said as she helped the CMO back to her feet, "it would be unlikely that we will be able to get any sort of information from that liquid. My guess is that the cellular degradation will be extensive enough to render any type of individual, or even racial identification through DNA impossible."
"The ANUBIS has equipment that would not have been accessible to the medical staff aboard a Risian Cruise ship like this one," Doctor Mizore said with renewed confidence. "So we might still have a chance, although I will admit that it is a minute one."
=/\= Doctor Mizore, head back to the ANUBIS and run all of the tests you need, =/\= Captain Morningstar said, a hint of frustration audible in his words. =/\= We need answers, and I suspect that it will be to everyone's advantage for us to get these as rapidly as possible. =/\=
"ANI, I am heading back to the transport location. Please beam me directly to Sickbay," Doctor Mizore said leaving the other two officers behind and appearing rather confused.
"You can't just leave us here like that?" Jayson pleaded.
"The odds that there is enough of the chemicals present to affect either one of you in the same manner are extremely small," Seska said without cracking the sliest smile. "I would simply suggest that you dispose of the clothings and head back to your rooms. If you are truly worried, I would suggest taking a shower."
"A shower?" Jayson huffed. "I hate to say this, but I think I liked Lille better as our CMO," the OPS officer whispered to the acting ExO / ILO who could do nothing but watch Doctor Mizore walk away, the small jar firmly in her grasp.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
##########
"Freedom Fighters or Foes"
Previous post "From Fear to Funnies"
##########
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."
- Plato
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-112 (Erik)
Stardate: 30152.1410
Things had happened very quickly but everything had worked out in the end. Thanks to the unique skills of Commander Shar'El and the rapid intervention of Lt. Uxtar and Ensign Stark, the bomb threat had been dealt with without any problems or casualties, save one, the bomber himself. As far as the rest of the passengers of the MASQUERADE DREAMS had been concerned, nothing out of the ordinary had taken place and life continued as it should.
"It was rather fortuitous that Uxtar was here to help with this bomb situation," Eve said with a half amused grin, the Cardassian born woman knowing very well that the Native American had not been one to subscribe to the ideas of luck or coincidence.
"Morningstar to Shar'El," Erik said as she shot a unimpressed look at the grinning Counselor.
=/\= Go ahead, =/\= the acting First Officer replied without delay, she and Stark still working on bringing the body of the bomber to a location where it would be able to be beamed back to the ANUBIS.
"As soon as you can, try to get Uxtar to give you all of the details as to his being here," the Native American demanded, his tone of voice making it clear that he wanted answers now instead of later.
=/\= Will do, =/\= the Commander confirmed, understanding all too well the sentiments expressed by the ANUBIS' CO.
"In the meantime, Maya, coordinate with ANI and try to get as much information on that bomb as possible," Morningstar ordered. The fact that the bomber had been stopped had not removed the problem, one that needed to be quickly addressed. "We need to figure out how they managed to get it on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS and find a way to see if there are any other such explosive devices still present."
=/\= Understood, =/\= the Shillian confirmed. =/\= I will get to work on this matter right away. =/\=
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Deck 27, Section 15
Stardate: 30152.1415
Walking about the lower deck carrying a dead body had proven to be a lot more difficult for the undercover Chief of Operations than it had been running with a bomb, still Ensign Stark did is best to move as quickly as possible. Commander Shar'El had done her best to follow the Ensign while trying to keep an eye open for Uxtar and whoever he had gone to intercept. Trying to explain how three passengers, one of which now dead, had found their way to the lower decks had been something that the Ullian had hoped to entirely avoid.
"Thanks for the help," Jayson offered all of a sudden. "Whatever it is that you are doing is making this body a lot lighter."
"I have not done anything," Shar'El stated matter-of-factly, wondering if maybe the Operations Officer had been speaking to someone else.
"Well this body has gotten a lot lighter since Uxtar tossed it on my shoulders," Jayson explained sounding rather confused. As the Ensign lowered the body to inspect it, both Shar'El and he noted the way the humanoid form slipped to the ground, as if the skeletal structure had someone been removed from the body.
"This can't be good," the acting First Officer noted with surprise as they watched the body of the dead bomber disintegrate at an increasingly rapid rate.
"Shar'El to Doctor Mizore, are you alone?" the dark haired woman inquired with a sigh, knowing all too well that anything they tried doing to bring the body to the ANUBIS at this point would be pointless.
=/\= Yes, why? =/\=
"Stand by to be transported to our coordinates." Shar'El half explained. "The body of our bomber as all but disintegrated leaving us with very little to work with if we are to get any sort of answers to our questions."
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Deck 27, Section 14
Stardate: 30152.1415
It had not taken long for the Hirogen to locate the person he had heard earlier. After having been assigned to the maintenance crew of the MASQUERADE DREAMS, Uxtar had made a point to carefully study the layout of the lower decks. His own skills and experiences as a hunter had also greatly facilitated the task.
"Uxtar? What the heck are you doing here?" the Caitian Second Class Engineer demanded, surprised to having found the Hirogen in this section of the ship.
"I heard something and came to check it out," the Hirogen explained, hoping that Kytith would not press the issue.
"Did it sound like a faint walk," the Caitain inquired further, obviously having a very specific idea in mind as he did so. "Like the footsteps of a woman?"
"Lonely are we?" Uxtar snarled back, presenting himself as a rather sizable living wall for the Second Class Engineer to go around if he wanted to continue on his strange search.
"Nevermind," Kytith sighed as he did a 180 and started to walk back the way he had come. The Caitian had somehow lost track of the woman he has tasked himself to protect and feared that maybe the Pythron merchant or one of his henchmen had gotten to her. Not having any time to debate this with the Hirogen, the Second Class Engineer left in somewhat of a hurry hoping that he would not be too late.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade deck
Stardate: 30152.1420
"Disintegrated?" Ya'Han repeated in a faint whispered voice as she looked at the Chief Engineering Officer standing next to her.
"Makes it easier for the clean up crew?" Sonja jokingly theorized, the redhead being just as puzzled as her travel companion. "Whoever these terrorists are, they are not your usual mindless muscleheads. This is starting to look like a very well planned deal with specific contingencies in place."
=/\= Ensign T'Leia, can you ask Serron and Admiral Balren if they might have any idea as to who this terrorist is or what group he might have belonged to? =/\= The Native American said, at this junction being ready to call upon all available resources to get some sort of clue as to what was happening.
=/\= I will ask, =/\= the Vulcan / Terran hybrid stated, Erik hearing the usual Vulcan nod of the head as the woman spoke.
"Anything you need us to do?" Sonja inquired sensing that everyone had been given some sort of task to perform with the exception of Ensign Ya'Han and herself. As demanding as being two good looking vacationers had been, the redheaded had been ready to do something a little more challenging and suspected that the Chief of Security had felt the same.
=/\= Sorry to cut in, =/\= Shar'El offered, =/\= but we might have something. We found a room key on our bomber, or at least what's left of him. Room 22-049. =/\=
"On our way," Sonja happily stated as she started to walk while still holding on to Ya'Han's hand, causing her to be dragged along.
=/\= How are you planning on getting in? =/\= Stark playfully queried, =/\= we have the key here. =/\=
"I find your lack of faith disturbing young padawan," the redheaded Chief Engineer said in a low, sinister voice. "You have two very smart, strong and gorgeous women here. I don't think a simple door is going to be much of a problem for us."
"Padawan?" Ya'Han repeated in a whispered voice, not having been familiar with the title or reference, leaving the woman yet again in the dark.
=/\= Try not to punch a hole through the side of the ship, =/\= the Native American offered, sounding rather exasperated while everyone could hear the soft chuckle of the Counselor in the background.
--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette
Captain Erik Morningstar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
AND
Lt. Commander Elan Fairborn
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"From Fear to Funnies"
[previous post was "Fast Feet and Fingers"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1400
Sonja had squeezed Ya'Han's hand to reassure her, to let the black haired woman know that she had not been alone and that there had been nothing to worry about. Uxtar might have been an accomplished hunter with skills to be envious of, but the position of Chief of Security on board the ANUBIS had been hers and hers alone. It had been easy to see that the gesture had been very much appreciated by the troubled Sec/Tac officer.
When Ya'Han squeezed back the hand of her red haired friend not very long after, it had been for an entirely different type of fear. Through the subdermal communication system, everyone had heard the muffled grunts and rapid breathing of what everyone could only guess had been Ensign Stark as he rushed to dispose of the bomb before it went off.
A sigh of relief was shared by those who heard Commander Shar'El acknowledge the man's rapid actions instead of hearing any sort of explosion.
"Where is the kaboom?" Sonja softly said in a voice that had not been her own. "There was supposed to be an earth shattering kaboom!" The use of this strange voice had made it impossible for Ya'Han to take what had been said seriously, and the smile on the redhead proved that this had been the intent. The goal had been to lighten the mood, and Sonja had accomplished just that with uncanny easy and style.
Sonja's smile quickly vanished though as she saw nothing but confusion in the eyes of their Sec/Tac officer. It quickly became evident that the woman had never heard of the 20th century cartoon character who had been the inspiration of the voice used by the red haired engineer.
"Marvin The Martian. loony toons?" Sonja explained with visible disappointment. "You never heard of him? Really?"
Ya'Han silently shook her head, the explanation having only further confused the black haired woman who knew very little about on martians in general, let alone a specific one named Marvin.
Sonja rolled her eyes in mock exasperation, "Well, when this is all over you have to stop in and meet the gang," the red haired woman said with a wink. Ya'han was not sure what this entailed and possibly didn't want to know, especially given the engineers recent actions. Still the black haired woman's curiosity had been piqued about who or what this 'gang' had been.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Another part of the Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1405
It had to be her. The family resemblance had been uncanny, but why was she here? After nearly ten years since she had last seen her, why had she chosen to be on this ship at this time?
The timing could not have been worse and her presence risked complicating things. Part of her wanted to rush in and hug her little sister whom she had not seen for so long. Part of her wanted to grab her by the throat and make her cry for what she had done, not only to their father but to their mother and the rest of the family. Lastly, another part of her just wanted Ya'Han to be anywhere else but here.
A single tear formed in the corner of her eye as she watched the way the two women interacted with one another. They appeared to be more than close friends, something that she admired, envied and despised all at the same time.
As a daughter of the High Sovereign none of them had been allowed to have any such friends as it would distract them from their duties and responsibilities to their father and people. Somehow Ya'Han had found such a friend in her self imposed exile, a fact that the elder sister had to deal with as best she could for the time being.
She dried her tear with a single finger and vanished once again in the crowd, invisible to those looking for her.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
"Fast Feet and Fingers"
[previous "Fleeting Freedom"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Deck 27, Section 15
Stardate: 30152.1401
His heart was still racing, and his finger still tingled from the beaming of the device from his hands. There had been so little time that Jayson did not have any chance to put the bomb down. His subdermal communicator had served as the tracked for the ANUBIS to find the bomb, and it was the Avatar that did the rest. having been too deep in the core of the ship, Jayson had to quickly move towards to outer edge. Luckily for everyone, his feet had been quick in taking him and the bomb to a place where the transporter could reach them.
It had taken some very quick fingers to narrow the transporter beam to take the bomb from his hands and nothing else. When the transport sequence had been completed, Jayson swallowed hard and smiled. He would have to thank ANI for her speed and accuracy when they returned to the ANUBIS. He had grown rather used to having ten fingers and was happy to still have every one of them.
Whatever joy and pride he might have felt in what he had done, Jayson could not find it within him to rejoice. The lifeless body of the bomber had cast a dark shadow over their success and accomplishment. The man, whoever he might have been, had been on a suicide mission, one that he knew he would not be returning from regardless if it was successful or not.
Uxtar had let the limp body of the bomber slip from his hold with a low angered growl. Jayson did not know if this had been because his prey had died in a way other than by the hands of the Hirogen or because this would make their getting details as to the reasons for the bombing that much more difficult. Whatever the reason for the growl had been, the OPS officer had no intentions of asking the displeased hunter.
"We need to beam the body back to the ANUBIS for examination."
Commander Shar'El figured that maybe through a medical examination and autopsy some of their questions might be answered. Unfortunately this also meant that the body of the dead bomber would have to be moved.
Another growl came from the Hirogen as he grabbed the lifeless body and swung it over his shoulder.
He just watched as Uxtar made his way over and through the various pipes that Jayson had just hurdled past less than a minute before. It would take another set of quick fingers to make sure that no one on the staff of the MASQUERADE DREAMS would come looking for the missing passenger.
"Someone is coming this way."
Uxtar had heard something that no one else had, and he had reacted faster than anyone could have asked. Before Jayson could even figure out what had happened, the body of the dead bomber had been tossed over his shoulder letting the Hirogen deal with whoever had been in this section with them.
With a gesture of her hand, Commander Shar'El showed the way that she wanted Jayson to take, a path that took them in the opposite direction to which the Hirogen hunter had taken. Hopefully once the body would be transferred to the ANUBIS and some tests were run, they would be able to figure out why someone would have wanted to cause an explosion that had not been designed to actually destroy the cruise ship or even hurt those onboard.
From a simple intel gathering mission sold to them as a vacation, the crew had not been faced with a full blown mystery involving an unknown number of terrorists working for a yet to be determined cause.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Fleeting Freedom"
[previous post was "From Fear to Freedom" by the skilled Mark]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Deck 27, Section 15
Stardate: 30152.1355
=/\= Ready, =/\= Stark was heard saying ever so quietly as he kneeled behind one of the large vertical conduits only meters away from the unsuspecting target. Jayson could have easily tackled the bomber from where he was, but he had decided to wait for some sort of confirmation. Normally the order would have come from the acting ExO / ILO who had been the highest ranking officer present, but that responsibility had been passed on to the Hirogen who had taken charge of the situation. So far no one had voiced any complaints about this, and Shar'El suspected that no one would, least of which having been herself.
The acting ExO / ILO had been ready to let Uxtar know that Jayson had set up position on the other side of the power generator, but somehow Shar'El suspected that the Hirogen had already known this. The imposing creature had proven himself to be a highly skilled hunter and tracker, one who seemed very well aware of everything around him. Based on that fact alone, it had made perfect sense to let him call the shots in this particular instance.
Uxtar turned for a brief moment to look at Shar'El. The Ullian suspected that it had been to really some last minute instructions, but the acting ExO / ILO saw this as the perfect opportunity to seek the answers she desperately wanted. Instead the Hirogen just shook his head taken the raven haired woman completely off guard.
"I promise to answer all of your questions and even let you do your Ullian mind tricks on my memories after," the Hirogen said in a very faint whisper. "Now is not the time. Tell this Jayson of yours to focus on the bomb, I will take care of the bomber."
There was no denying it, he was good. After only a few minutes Uxtar had correctly identified her race, this despite the fact that her appearance had been surgically altered to be more Humanoid. As much as she might not have been ready to admit it, or ever would be, Shar'El found that she respected and maybe even admired the man.
"Stark, go for the bomb," the acting ExO / ILO relayed. "Uxtar will take the bomber."
=/\= Roger that, =/\= Jayson quietly confirmed.
With seconds rapidly ticking away, Shar'El nodded to Uxtar to confirm that the message had been relayed and understood. What the acting ExO / ILO saw next sent a shiver down her spine as a dark lethal expression descended over the Hirogen's face. This would be the final strike of the hunter, one that he would not allow anyone or anything stand in his way and for a brief moment the raven haired woman felt pity for the bomber.
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade deck
Stardate: 30152.1359
Everything had gone according to plan, all that remained had been for Fenix to wait for the explosion and trigger the sub-space transmitter so that his people could take responsibility for the explosion and the chaos that followed. He had even been ready to make his own presence and affiliations known to further educate those on this ship as to the plight of his people.
Five seconds was the time left before his message would be carried on the fears each and every single passenger onboard. Some would come to hate him for what he did, but others would understand and maybe even rally to the cause of his people.
In four seconds his homeworld of RUTIA IV would be made to be look at once again by those who had turned a blind eye to the hardships of his people. Beyond the criminals who were present in his government, those who sat on other words and chosen to do nothing needed to be made to face the reality of his people.
Fenix held his breath as the last few seconds ticked, his eyes locked on the small time display buried firmly in his hand.
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Deck 27, Section 15
Stardate: 30152.1400
Jayson let out a long sigh as he rejoined the others. In only a few seconds he had managed to snatch the bomb and run to a location where the ANUBIS had been able to beam the device out of his hands. There in the stasis of the transporter buffer, the bomb would be harmless and could even be studied at a later time.
"Well done Ensign," Shar'El said as she welcomed Jayson. "I think you might have broken a few speed records on that last dash."
"I wanted some excitement," the Operations officer admitted. "Looks like I need to be careful what I wish for from now on. What do we do with him?" Jayson wondered as he looked at the man held firmly in the Hirogen's muscular arms.
"He's all yours," Uxtar said as he turned to bring the would-be bomber face-to-face with the raven haired woman, the Hirogen knowing very well that her unique ability would serve much better than any other interrogation technique.
Shar'El half grinned as she gaze into the man's eyes and saw his desperate attempt to block her memory scan. Whoever this terrorist had been, he had received limited training if any in blocking any sort of mental scan.
One memory surfaced above all others, one where the bomber stood in front of a mirror located in one of the small rooms on board the cruise liner. Fear reflected in his eyes as well as conviction as he likely thought of what he had been about to do. A small hand written note had been left on the table in front of the mirror. Shar'El had been unable to read the note but she was able to hear the man say a single heartfelt word. "Goodbye".
Before the acting ExO / ILO could call for help, the man began to violently thrash in the arms of the Hirogen who only increased the strength of his hold. Seconds later the man stopped moving as life drained from him and his body went limp.
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade deck
Stardate: 30152.1401
Fenix solemnly gazed up at the stars visible from where he stood. Their mission had for one reason or another failed, but for now there had been nothing that he could do about it. As he walked by one of the disposal chutes, the man expertly reached in and disposed of both the time display and the sub-space transmitter.
There would be other opportunities, Fenix would make sure of that.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
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"From Fear to Freedom"
[previous post "From Ferengi to Fear"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade deck
Stardate: 30152.1350
A confident smile danced on the man's lips. To him, fear was a friend, one that he had come to know intimately over the last several years. A friend that he would take great pride in introducing to everyone on board this cruise ship. This fear was meant to educate those who knew nothing of his life, nothing of his struggles and of his desperate search for freedom. Fear was needed sometimes to wake people from their slumber of ignorance.
Those who enjoyed freedom on a daily basis often took the sweet smell of this dish for granted, not knowing or choosing not to see that this gift had not been available to all. For too many, this rare delicacy had been one denied for so long that they could not even imagine its intoxicating taste, but to those who had been granted the chance to sample it, the hunger for this forbidden fruit could no longer be contained.
The Rutian known as Fenix glanced at the time display held tightly in his hand. In less than 10 minutes the most important part of their plan would be revealed to everyone. It had been the hopes of those who had come with him that this display would draw people to their cause, as it had so many times before back on their home world. The plan had not been to hurt anyone, that honor had been reserved for their oppressors. Setting off a bomb inside a ship such as the MASQUERADE DREAMS had been meant to do nothing more than raise awareness for their cause. For nearly 100 years now the small group within the civilization of RUTIA IV had fought against oppression, and this had been their way.
The path to freedom was cast in he shadows of ignorance and could only be lit for all to see through heart pounding fears.
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower deck 27, Section 15
Stardate: 30152.1355
They were getting close, Uxtar could smell it. Although he had a very good idea as to where the man had been heading to, the hunter had not taken anything for granted. Preys could prove to be highly unpredictable when sensing that they were being tracked or near capture, so it had been best to proceed carefully while doing so as fast as possible. As long as the bomber believed that all was going according to plan, they would be able to close in and strike without any complications.
It had never been his aim to make the task of the woman following him difficult. Every second that passed meant that they had one less second to find the man and insure that the bomb would not go off. The hunter could feel the woman behind him searching for answers within his mind, but now had not been the place or time for him to give her the answers she sought, not that he had so many to offer.
Admiral Koniki had sent him to track a dangerous individual, and that had led him here, on this ship. Arrangements were made so that he could be on board without raising suspicions as a member of the maintenance staff. That had been all he knew, and honestly it had been all he needed to know. To him the hunt had been the only thing that mattered, and he had now been minutes away from claiming his prize.
Uxtar froze suddenly as he noticed a second form moving beyond the power generator. At first he thought that maybe the bomber had an accomplice but the way the second man moved and smelled painted a different picture. There was an almost giddy sense to the second man, one that in no way fitted with the scent of nervousness the first man had about him. Likely the second figure had been the one named Jayson the woman behind him had spoken to earlier.
With only three minutes to go before the bomb went off, they were nearly in place to strike in a way that would hopefully insure that no one on board the cruise liner would ever know of the situation that had taken place below their happy little feet. If all went according to the Hirogen's plan, the lives of the passengers would freely continue without having been touched by fear.
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Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"From Ferengi to Fear"
[previous post was "Question of Time"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1350
Sonja was the Chief Engineer of the ANUBIS, a woman who appeared relaxed yet confident and in control no matter the situation. So it was odd for Ya'Han to look at the redhead standing next to her feeling envious of the person that she was.
Ya'Han's fingers gently touched the area of her face where the redhead had earlier 'claimed' her for the benefit of the annoying Ferengi. The warmth could still be felt although the Chief of Security had not been sure as to whether it had been from in internal or external origin. The gesture had been entirely unexpected but had been required in order to achieve the intended goal. The expression on the Ferengi's face had been well worth the momentary discomfort. Thinking back to what had happened though, the black haired woman could not imagine herself having agreed to this had she been made aware of the plan beforehand.
It seemed that Ya'han lacked the courage and boldness to act the way Sonja had, despite the needs of the situation. The dawning of this realization made the black haired woman think of her situation. Decisions made in the past that had been brought on by what she considered to have been necessities filled her mind. Those decisions had led to her being who she now was, a member of a secret Starfleet team working in the shadows of the everyday life of countless. All of this left the woman wonder as to what had been in store for her future.
Red was the color of those involved with the military forces, those responsible for the general security on her world, a position that Sonja would have done very well in. The black haired woman had to admit that back on NYLA IV, the Chief Engineer would have likely been better in such a role than herself. As the one of the daughters of the High Sovereign, Ya'Han had received training in every field, including combat so that she could earn the right to display the red in her hair. As the same daughter though, she would never have been expected or required to take part in any activities and task demanded of those in that particular field.
Through the hardships that she had endured during her escape from her home world, the need to be better equipped to defend herself had been indispensable. Strangely though, while faced with the fact that a bomb had been only minutes from detonation, it was Ya'Han that found herself taken with fear.
The two women listened in on the conversations and reports between Ensign Stark and Commander Shar'El. As much as she might have not wanted to admit it, Ya'Han had been both happy and disappointed in not having been part of the hunt for the bomber. As the daughter of the High Sovereign her place had been to be as far away from any sort of danger, but as a Starfleet officer, one responsible for an entire security department, her job demanded that she had been in the center of the matter.
"Whoever that Uxtar is, he sounds like he knows what he's doing," the redhead engineer said, offering a smile to the woman standing next to her.
Ya'Han's eyes met those of Sonja, a deep felt sadness reflecting in them making it clear beyond doubt of what the Chief of Security had been thinking.
"Not that good," Sonja said without actually speaking with a small wink, each word having been mouthed slowly so that Ya'Han would understand both the meaning and strength of the words. She felt the redhead take her hand and give her a reassuring squeeze.
Confusion settled in Ya'Han's mind as the silent conflict between her past and present raged on. Two people from very different walks of lives had been trying to reside in the same physical form. She had run away from being the daughter of the High Sovereign because that had not been the life she had wanted for herself, but the fear she felt at the idea of a bomb being only minutes away from exploding had been unworthy of someone in her position.
Ya'Han found herself scared of so many things all at the same time. Had she made a mistake in running away from her home? Had she made an error in joining Starfleet? Had she been wrong in thinking that Security had been where she now belonged?
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Question of Time"
[previous post was "Vacation is Over" by the happily active Jayson]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower Deck
Stardate: 30152.1345
How could a bomb have been brought on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS? Cruise liner had been equipped with countless safety measures to insure that such occurrences would never happen. Terrorist of all over the galaxy saw these types of ships as perfect targets to bring attention to their causes, so the safety measures had been a required necessity.
Despite his imposing size, the black haired acting ExO / ILO found it difficult to keep up with the Hirogen hunter who had taken the lead. Maybe it had been due to his genetic predisposition to this type of situation, or maybe his Starfleet survival training had made Uxtar to be just that much faster than Shar'El had been. More likely had been the fact that the Ullian kept sneaking peeks into the towering man's memories in search of some answers.
Their mission had simply been to gather intel, at least that was what Admiral Koniki had made them understand. If he had known, even of only a remote possibility of a bomber being on board, why not mention it? Why send the Hirogen alone on this quest without letting him know of the undercover crew's presence?
Whatever snippets of memories Shar'El could catch as they rushed down the lower corridors of the cruise ship made it clear that Koniki had said nothing to Uxtar. This only served to add even more questions that the acting ExO / ILO had no time to contemplate at this time. If they did not catch up to whoever that bomber was in the next 14 minutes, there would be no way to know just what kind of chaos they would be faced with.
Shar'El managed to catch up to the Hirogen when he stopped at an intersection, listening for something to help him figure out which way the man had gone.
"I hear footsteps from the left," the acting ExO / ILO said but before she could start to head in that direction and massive hand was thrown directly in front of her.
"What you hear is the echo," Uxtar said, his head slowly turning to look in the opposite direction. "This way," the Hirogen whispered before bolting around the corner.
There had been no denying it, Uxtar was an expert tracker. Shar'El could understand the reasoning behind the Admiral's decision to send him on this mission, but the questions about why the crew of the ANUBIS had not been included still remained.
Just a little over 12 minutes remained according to Shar'El' mental count. Finding the bomber had only been the first step of this crisis, dealing with the explosive device before it went off would quickly follow.
=/\= Commander Shar'El, this is Stark. Where are you? =/\= The question was heard by everyone with the exception of the Hirogen hunter who would have likely not even heard the words spoken, his fullest attention having been focused on tracking the bomber.
"Lower deck 26, section 17 I think," the acting ExO / ILO replied trying to find some sort of indicator to confirm her answer. The layout might have made sense to someone working on board, but to Shar'El the sections and corridors of this ship all seemed to look exactly the same.
"Footsteps down a metal stairway," Uxtar said as he quickly glanced over his left shoulder at the raven haired woman following him. "He's gone down to Deck 27, likely making his way to section 15 where the aft power generator is located."
"Jayson, get to deck 27, section 15," Shar'El relayed knowing that everyone else would also be made aware of the plan. "Uxtar believes that the bomber is heading to the aft power generator."
=/\= Roger that. =/\=
=/\= Although the proximity of a power generator would amplify an explosion, the support structure of the ship in that section would greatly limit the effectiveness of any blast. The final result would likely only be a temporary power outage throughout the ship causing the auxiliary systems to kick in seconds later, =/\= Maya said, the CSciO obviously having followed the progress of the hunt through whatever verbal report had been made.
=/\= Flat out destroying the MASQUERADE DREAMS is unlikely his goal, =/\= Captain Morningstar said.
=/\= Glad to hear that, =/\= Ya'Han said with a faint sigh of relief.
=/\= The explosion and the following chaos is likely meant to cover something else, but what? =/\= Eve Dalziel wondered out loud.
=/\= I would rather us not find out the way the bomber has planned, =/\= the Captain continued, wishing that there had been something more that he could have done. The problem had been that sending too many people after the bomber could lead to complications, so Erik had reluctantly agreed to a more covert and limited effort.
=/\= I think I see him, =/\= Stark said in a whispered tone, obviously not wanting to alert the bomber as to his proximity.
Just about 9 minutes left before the dreaded 1400, and as crazy as it sounded they were heading closer to what would be the center of the blast instead of away from it. Some vacation this Intel Gathering mission had turned out to be, but at least there were a couple of officers who seemed rather pleased with the rush to action.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
"Vacation is Over"
[previous "Long Lost Contacts"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-143
Stardate: 30152.1315
He sat in the large comfy chair, trying to recuperate from the blow to the head that he had suffered. The truth had been that Jayson had been biting at the bit to get busy with something. This mission had pretty much been a vacation, and as much as he might have told the others that he was enjoying the idea, the opposite had been true.
Some people enjoyed life at a casual pace, but he had spent too long letting life pass him by after Leena's death. Joining Starfleet had given him a reason to live, a reason to get up every morning. Counselor Dalziel had also helped a lot with continuing his sessions after the Academy, but it was the down time that proved to be the hardest for him.
Having too much time on his hands without anything for him to actually do had not been easy. Enjoying life had been something that he had denied himself the luxury of after Leena. Despite all of the help, he knew that there had still been a lot of work for him to do before being able to do this again.
Jayson listened in on the conversation about the anomaly. He had felt actual pride in his shot to Ya'Han while hoping that she would take it as it had been meant. The OPS officer respected the woman at the head of the Sec/Tac department, and hoped that she considered him a good enough friend to accept such jokes.
When the Captain called for everyone to resume the tasks that they had been given, Jayson actually sank further into the chair. Three weeks of this was going to kill him, or at the very least force him to seek out the Counselor for a few extra sessions.
He had been so lost in his own misery that Jayson missed the part where Shar'El asked about someone named Uxtar. What followed from the ExO though was not missed.
=/\= ...but we have a bigger problem. There is a man on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS with a bomb which is set to detonate at 1400 precisely. =/\=
Jayson's eye went wide open.
"Well, there goes our vacation."
The words had been said while he pushed himself out of the chair. He doubted that he had come across as disappointed, but now at certainly not been the time to hide feelings. Gathering Intel or figuring out if Ya'Han's sister had actually been on board would have to wait. Right now dealing with whoever this bomber was had become the one and only priority for everyone.
"I'm on my way. Where do you need me to be?"
The MASQUERADE DREAMS was a huge ship, so running out without an actual plan had not been the smartest option. So Jayson found himself waiting for a reply, his eyes glued to the still closed door to his room.
=/\= Uxtar and I are on deck 20, aft section, but we suspect that he may have gone down to one of the lower decks. =/\=
Half a ship's length and more than two full decks below is current location. There had been no way for him to cover that kind of distance in what little they had. So the OPS officer went with the only option available to him.
"ANI, can you do a site-to-site transport and get me near Commander Shar'El?"
=/\= Stand by for transport. =/\=
He straightened his posture and waited for the transporter to do its magic. Given the situation though, every split second seemed like an eternity as the OPS officer waited for the transport sequence to start.
Even getting to that part of the ship faster had not guaranteed that he would be able to help, but being on his feet actually doing something had been a lot better than being in his room hoping that all went well.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Long Lost Contacts"
Previous Post "Return of the Hunter"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, then it's yours. If it doesn't, then it never was.
==========^*^==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1320
==========^*^==========
"Thank you, but no I really don't need anymore..." Lille reassured the tray-carrying attendant, who simply nodded sharply before turning away to offer food to other various vacationers.
With a deep sigh the Terran-like woman continued to scan the crowd for any familiar faces. If her intel was correct then Captain Morningstar was here with the rest of the ANUBIS crew... somewhere. Despair set in her chest like a coiled viper when she recalled leaving the ship in pursuit of a new lead in her quest to cure the illness of her people. Though necessary it was one of the hardest things she had ever had to do, and she did so with barely a word to anyone beforehand.
Weaving gracefully through the crowds of people, the officer didn't notice a man on the ground till it was too late. Catching the toe of her heels under his bent shin, Lillie toppled over the crouched figure and landed mere inches from him at the feet of multiple others. A rosy hue flushing her cheeks the Tarellian turned her head immediately to apologize to the man who, to her surprise, was already to his feet and obviously straining to maintain a controlled tone.
"Watch yourself woman, you nearly made me drop something much more valuable than you" The Ferengi hissed venomously before turning and skulking away, seeming as if he was searching for someone.
Momentarily dumbstruck Lillie's jaw went slack. A hand reached down to take hers and helped the blonde-haired woman to her feet, she nodded her thanks to the stranger.
"What was that about?" the medic queried, watching as the furious Ferengi's figure disappeared into the crowd.
"He was rejected by some girl from what I saw" the Rutian answered with a nonchalant shrug "I'd stay clear of him on this trip"
"Noted. Thank you mister...?"
"Fenix. Just watch yourself pretty thing, you don't want the wrong crowd around on this liner" the young man bowed, turning to leave.
Lillie waved as she watched the man depart, alone yet again she strained to see above the heads of the more vertically gifted of the guests. No sign of anyone she recognized, at least not yet.
==========^*^==========
Ashley Shane
Ensign Lillie Doyanne
Chief Medical Officer/Researcher
USS ALEXANDRIA
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"Return of the Hunter"
[previous post "Plans Within Plans"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Lower decks
Stardate: 30152.1315
Being 6 feet, 11 inches tall had made him being a member of the maintenance team difficult to start with. Being a Hirogen had not made things easier. As long as Uxtar limited his travels to the lower decks there had been less of a chance for him to start something by is mere presence. That he liked it or not, anyone who knew of his race instinctively gave the Hirogen a clear path.
The mission that he had received from the Admiral had been a simple one. Uxtar had to find the man before he could set and detonate the bomb. The task seemed almost too simple for a Hirogen hunter to bother with, but Uxtar had never been one to turn away from a hunt. It also had not been in him to refuse an assignment handed to him by a commanding officer.
The bomb had been constructed using common materials, so scanning for it had not been an option. The description of the would-be bomber had been extremely general further challenging the hunter. The more Uxtar worked on this mission, the more he found himself driven by the hunt. The prey had been a difficult one to find and track but he had been close. Very close.
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Rear observation deck
Stardate: 30152.1340
There he was. Uxtar could smell his fears from where he stood out of the way of the other passengers. To those around him, the man had simply been someone preoccupied, nervous and hurried. To the Hirogen hunter he had been his prey, the one person he had been searching for since having boarded this ship.
To conclude the hunt now would have raised too many questions and scared a lot of innocent people. If cornered the bomber might even detonate the device early, so Uxtar decided to wait. He would be able to stop him easily in one of the side corridors without attracting too much attention from others.
The man rushed down the corridor without noticing the large figure around one of the corners. Uxtar had done his best to hide, but still the hunter found it amusing that he had not been noticed. As the Hirogen stepped into the corridor he felt something crash against his form.
"I am truly sorry about that Miss," the Hirogen politely stated as he offered a helping hand. "It was not my intent to be in your way. That said, may I ask as to the reason for your apparent hurry?" Normally Uxtar would have wanted to continue tracking his prey, but there had been something about the woman that caught his attention. She felt out of place, as if her place had not been here on this ship. His Hirogen instinct demanded that he resumed the hunt, but his Starfleet training required him to further investigate. Whoever this woman was, she had been involved in this in some way, that the hunter knew for sure.
Her gaze felt as if it had been reaching into his soul, and for an unknown reason Uxtar began to recall his time on board the ANUBIS.
"Are you alright Miss?" the hunter asked, worried that maybe this crash would jeopardize his mission. Remaining an unknown face amongst the maintenance staff had been essential to him in order to complete the mission, and now time was against him as his prey drew further and further.
A strange sensation took over Uxtar as he felt his memories being scanned. The woman clearly appeared Humanoid but her ability to look into his mind had belonged to another race. For an instant the hunter thought of reaching for the woman's neck and snapping it, allowing him to end this and resume the hunt, but something stopped him. When the image of Admiral Koniki flooded his mind, the Hirogen knew that the woman had not been a regular passenger.
"Erik, do you know a Hirogen named Uxtar?" The hunter heard the woman say. Who had she been speaking to? Had she been using some sort of invisible communication device and had the 'Erik' she mentioned been the one from his past on board the ANUBIS?
The expression on her face spoke of a unheard reply to the Hirogen. She had been speaking with someone, but who and what had been their reason for being here on this ship?
"Well, he is here standing in front of me," she stated as she accepted the Hirogen's assistance to get back onto her feet before continuing, "but we have a bigger problem. There is a man on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS with a bomb which is set to detonate at 1400 precisely."
"It appears that we are after the same person and for the same reason," Uxtar said, already several steps away from the woman he had just helped back to her feet. He would be able to figure out who and what she was later, right now the prey had taken a strong lead on them, a lead that they needed to cover apparently with the greatest of speed and urgency.
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Mark Hutchings
Lieutenant JG Uxtar
Currently on an undercover mission
##########
"Plans Within Plans"
Previous post "Acquisition"
##########
"You are transparent. I see many things. I see plans within plans."
- Oberon, Dune
=====
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section I-1, A dark room
Stardate: 30152.1250
Perfect absolute darkness. That was the one and only way to describe the inside of this location, a single room hidden deep inside the NEW ALEXANDRIA complex, and one which only a select few knew the existence of as well as its content.
"There is a 79.4 percent probability that he will not be able to act in time to stop the attack," a soft spoken female voice said, hinting that the total darkness of the room had been occupied by some sort of living entity. The event targeted by the stated odds had been something very specific although the words used had been rather vague.
"The odds drop to 62.1 percent if he runs into any of his former shipmates," another voice continued, the intonation and cadence of the words making it clear that the two voices had been closely related in some way, like sisters.
"Plans within plans," a third voice, equally similar to the previous two, added. "I see a 92.6 percent probability that the Admiral was never actually planning on stopping the attack. It is far more likely that he hopes this event will be some sort of catalyst, one that will change the crew in forcing them to face what they did not wish to see."
"I see the presence of the Nylaan royal on board increasing the probabilities of the mission reaching a complete failure point to 27.4 percent," the first voice added, the three unseen sisters obviously communicating in ways that stretched far beyond the normal reach of human senses.
"Complete failure will only happen if the crew responds negatively to both the attack and the discovery of his presence on board," the third voice stated. "The odds of this happening are 9.2 percent. It is far more likely that the Captain will rally those under his command as he has done countless times before for to address the unexpected chaos and use all available resources to his advantage. When taking everything into account, including the appointment of a new Executive Officer, the probabilities of the crew becoming a more effective entity is 92.1 percent. The attack may not be stopped, but the final result will likely be what the Admiral had intended it to be from the very start."
"Agreed," the other two sisters voiced at the exact same time before stillness returned to the darkness that filled so completely the hidden, secret room. With the theoretical probabilities debate completed, the voices retreated back to their individual silence.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-040
Stardate: 30152.1310
The guest room had not been the largest the vessel could offer, but it had been one of the more elegant, a detail that pleased and very well suited the Pythron merchant. Two separate bedrooms stood on either side of the imposing living area, Drask and Ye'Lan sharing one while the other was at the disposal of the two Hupyrian bodyguards who took turns claiming the single bed when not out in public.
"My sweet little one," the Pythron merchant said as he took a gentle hold of the Nylaan woman's chin. "How absolutely fortunate I was to run into you the way I did," he added, his voice having gradually shifted from tender to almost devious.
Fear reflected in the eyes of the emerald-hair woman who dared not move. In the public's eye Ye'Lan had been an enticing and charming companion to the merchant, happily following him and fulfilling his every wishes. Privately though the Nylaan entertainer had been nothing more than a possession to be used as he wished. The fact that she belonged to the famed race from NYLA IV had opened up a great deal of possibilities to Drask and forever sealed the woman's fate beneath his demanding heel.
"She might actually be of royal blood, the similarities in the features are impossible to ignore, but she is not Ya'Jun," the woman stated, her eyes forced to meet those of her owner, his hold on her chin having only grown in strength over the last few seconds.
"Do you truly believe me to be that stupid?" Drask angrily demanded as he shoved the woman down onto the nearest couch in one swift move. "I know that she is not Ya'Jun, but through her we will be able to flush that royal brat out. I honestly do not care *who* or *what* she is, but right now we need her to bait the trap. If we make it know that we have found the daughter of the mighty and powerful High Sovereign of NYLA IV it will draw out that curious little diva to see who it is we actually have. Once Ya'Jun comes out from hiding to satiate her curiosity we will have her exactly where we need her to be - in our grasp."
"What if Ya'Jun doesn't show?" Ye'Lan nervously asked, barely able to contain the fear that her owner had instilled in her over the years.
"If the Nylaan royal brat doesn't show, you might end up with a new friend," the Pythron merchant said as he looked down upon the cowering woman next to him imagining there being two green haired women at his mercy instead of only one. "That or I might just replace you by whoever that other Nylaan is if you disappoint me further. I know several people who would be more than happy to acquire someone like you, and I can assure you that they will not be as caring as I have been."
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1330
Ya'Han and Sonja casually made their way down the spacious deck, rather pleased to have left the apparently love-struct Ferengi merchant Bruk behind. For a brief moment the two women were able to forget their woes and worries in order to enjoy the sights and sounds of this particular location of the Risian Cruise Liner.
=/\= The scans have finally been completed, sorry for the delay, =/\= ANI reported through the subdermal communication network, instantly drawing everyone's attention. =/\= Sensors were able to confirm the presence of two Nylaan females on board, as well as one anomaly. =/\=
=/\= One anomaly? =/\= The Native American repeated asking for clarification while dreading another complication being added to their current situation, one that they had been told had been nothing more than a restful Intel gathering exercise.
=/\= I knew that there was something weird about you Ya'Han, =/\= Ensign Stark interrupted with, not having wanted to waste such a perfect opportunity to take a playful shot at the Chief of Security. =/\= Maybe it's that weird tasting makeup of yours. =/\=
"I think he likes you," the redhead Engineer snickered quietly as she gently elbow-nudged her travelling companion.
=/\= The anomaly is independent of the two confirmed Nylaan readings, =/\= the Avatar detailed, actually causing people to have more questions than answers at this point.
=/\= Could it be due to some sort of a genetic half-bread? =/\= Doctor Mizore hesitantly offered as a possible explanation. As a Medical Officer, she had been in a perfect position to understand the possible biological complexities of such mixed background individuals.
"Very unlikely," Ya'Han said as she turned to look at Sonja as if the undercover Sec/Tac Officer had been speaking to her and not the entire undercover crew of the USS ANUBIS. "Because of our unique genetic make-up, there are only a few specific races whom having children with is possible, and even those present very high risks. My people as a whole sees this as a way of maintaining the purity of the race."
Sonja looked back at Ya'Han, the latest revelation indicating that the Nylaan woman had given up far more than she had previously mentioned. Although there had still been a great many ways for the Chief of Security to have a family of her own, the option of carrying an offspring had pretty much been taken away from her because of the decision she had made many years ago.
=/\= If we go under the assumption that Ya'Jun is actually on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS, it would be reasonable to believe that she has found some way to hide from such biological scans. Some sort of genetic inhibitor could, in theory, mask her specific and unique heritage thus leaving us with the two confirmed readings already mentioned, =/\= Maya explained, the CSciO having already worked out a scientific reason to explain what had and had not been found. =/\= Of course that does not preclude the possibility of some sort of spatial, subspace or even dimensional interference which could disrupt the sensors and create some sort of out-of-phase echo. =/\=
=/\= Great, =/\= Eve sighed, easily imagining what their Commanding Officer had been feeling. =/\= That means we are no closer to confirm if the anomaly is Ya'Jun or if this is just a glitch in the sensors. =/\=
=/\= Maybe not. It would be a logical course of action for Ya'Jun to do her very best to hide from anyone looking for her, =/\= Andromeda stated, her Vulcan heritage all too clear in her words and tone. =/\= If we are capable of confirming the status of the sensors, we could confirm with a certain level of accuracy that the anomaly is in fact someone of possible interest to us. =/\=
=/\= Looks like we are back to our original plan, =/\= The Native American offered with a faint sigh. =/\= ANI, run a full diagnostic on the sensors, the rest of us will keep your eyes open and do our best to find out as much as possible on anything being talked about. Maybe one of us will get lucky. =/\=
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Rear Observation Deck
Stardate: 30152.1345
With the results of the scan having been less than helpful, Shar'El decided to take a walk and search for answers the best way she knew how. Although limited to a line-of-sight field, the method used by the Ullian had been much faster and accurate than any other used by the rest of the undercover team of the ANUBIS.
Granted so far her success had been less than noteworthy as the memories she had been able to sample had dealt with nothing remotely of interest to the shadowy world of Intel. Voices and images overlapped as the acting First Officer scanned the gathered passengers until one specific memory caught her full attention.
~ Remember, it is set to go off at 1400 exactly. Don't be anywhere near it when it does. ~
Shar'El quickly looked at the numerous passengers who had been directly in her field of vision. The task had become so monotonous that the Ullian had been on autopilot and not actually registering the person whose memories she had been scanning. After a few seconds, the acting First Officer noted a single figure hastily making his way through the crowd. As she fell behind him, doing her best to remain within line-of-sight, Shar'El peered into the individual's mind in the hopes of finding an explanation for what she had picked up earlier.
Strange images flashed through her mind in rapid succession, each one painting a much darker picture than the Ullian could have expected. Just as she had been ready to inform the rest of the undercover team of her discovery, Shar'El was knocked clean off her feet as she collided with a massive humanoid form which had appeared out of nowhere.
"I am truly sorry about that Miss," the Hirogen politely stated as he offered a helping hand to the fallen woman. "It was not my intent to be in your way. That said, may I ask as to the reason for your apparent hurry?"
Shar'El had wanted to leave the massive creature being and quickly resume her tracking, but it soon became evident that the individual had vanished in one of the corridors leaving the Ullian with no way of tracking him. Instinctively the angered undercover acting First Officer glared at the giant and looked into his mind. Mere seconds later the Ullian picked up something that she had never expected to find - a memory that dealt with the ANUBIS and its Captain.
"Are you alright Miss?" the Hirogen asked with concern, fearing that maybe he had injured her in some way and that this would be reported back to his shift supervisor. After all, as a member of the maintenance crew of the MASQUERADE DREAMS it had not been in any way acceptable for him to run into a guest. let alone injure one.
Not ready to let this go, Shar'El drilled into the hunter's mind to uncover what his link to the ANUBIS and Captain Morningstar had been. As she did so, the Ullian came across several more recent memories dealing with NEW ALEXANDRIA and its CO; Admiral Charles M. Koniki.
"Erik, do you know a Hirogen named Uxtar?" Shar'El inquired, her whispered voice loud enough for the hunter to hear it.
=/\= That was a while back. He was taken off the ANUBIS and sent on some special assignment by Admiral Koniki, why? =/\= The Native American replied, not at all understanding where that question had come from.
"Well, he is here standing in front of me," the acting First Officer stated as she accepted the Hirogen's assistance to get back onto her feet before continuing, "but we have a bigger problem. There is a man on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS with a bomb which is set to detonate at 1400 precisely."
=/\= Well, there goes our vacation, =/\= Jayson huffed, not sounding half as disappointed as some might have expected anyone to be.
--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette
Captain Erik Morningstar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
AND
Lt. Commander Elan Fairborn
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
=====
"Acquisition"
Previous post – Hanali's "Trolling"
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1310
As Sonja and Ya'Han walked away from the annoying Ferengi, the two women suspected that this had not been the end of it. If anything else, Bruk had certainly appeared to be the highly annoying and persistent type, bent on a new acquisition.
As they made their way through the crowd with no particular destination, just to get away from the Ferengi and into a more public area, Sonja looked sideways at Ya'Han and noted that the Chief of Security seemed far more at ease than before. This likely due to the fact that she had opened up to the rest of the crew and revealed her most personal secret, the one about who she had been before joining Starfleet.
"I am glad that you shared your past with us," the redhead stated in a whispered voice. "You look far more at ease and lets face it, in our line of work secrets are never a good thing to have from each other. They have a nasty habit of coming back to bite you in the rear... like that nasty Ferengi."
"So am I," Ya'Han admitted. "Still, it will be nice to get off this ship and away from that Ferengi."
"Speaking of which," Sonja said with a sigh as she noted the return of Bruk along their new chosen travel path. Quietly speaking to her travel companion, the redhead nodded in the direction of the Ferengi, "He's back, but I don't think he spotted us yet. Stubborn little thing ain't he?"
"How are we going to get rid of him now?" Ya'Han asked with an exasperated sigh as the two women looked around in search of a way of escape.
"Seems far too soon to have us deal with him again," Sonja admitted in a less than pleased manner. After a few seconds and evasive maneuvers the Engineer continued, "Alright, I might have a plan if he manages to intercept us," the redhead noted with a slightly evil grin. "It is unfortunate that there are no airlocks nearby."
Ya'Han laughed as the two women made their way through the crowd, once again trying to put as much distance between them and the Ferengi merchant.
=/\= Sonja, you know that using an airlock is not an option, =/\= the voice of their CO was heard over the subdermal communication network.
=/\= He's right you know, =/\= Eve quickly added. =/\= The paper work that we would have to file is just not worth it. =/\=
"Okay, okay," Sonja half sighed. "Party poopers all of you. You guys can't take a joke, sheesh. Then again, I guess I may not have been kidding all that much, still you guys could cut me some slack."
Out of sheer curiosity Ya'Han jumped in with a question. "So, what is or was your plan? You know, the one that does not include an airlock."
"Not a plan really," Sonja admitted with a smile, "more like a long list of ideas. It all depends on what our little toad friend decides to do. Seat of our pants sort of situation." The redhead's words left her travel companion speechless as she found herself unable to make sense of the saying, especially given that both of them had been wearing dresses.
As they rounded the next corner, the two undercover officers came face-to-face with Bruk who had apparently discovered some sort of shortcut to get him ahead of the two ladies.
"It seems to be fate that I would run into you once again," the Ferengi grinned showing the full range of his pointed teeth. "It seems that the fortune of the Grand Nagus is smiling upon me today."
Sonja once again took a step forward placing herself in front of Ya'Han to defend her ward and squarely confront the Ferengi. "I don't see why the Nagus would smile on anyone with such tiny little ears."
The Ferengi instantly became upset at the insult hurled his way. "You 'Umans' understand nothing of our culture and what is valued. As a member of the Ferengi Alliance, the women of NYLA IV on the other hand understand us and their own value much more," Bruk stated, his attention solely focused on Ya'Han as if Sonja had not even been there. "So I am certain that you will appreciate this little token of my deepest and sincerest admiration," the Ferengi added as he handed a single flower which appeared to change color every few seconds.
Not wanting Ya'han to be drawn in by the Ferengi's tricks, the redhead intercepted the gift with a single swift move causing something to fall from within the flower. Being who she was, Ya'Han instinctively nabbed the small glimmering item before it could reach the floor, and to her surprised found that she had caught some sort of precious stone.
"I am sure that you will recognize it," the Ferengi grinned, proud that his plan had worked despite the interference of the Human female. "A pure Byzatium crystal, a truly rare and precious item such as yourself."
Sonja smacked the back of Ya'Han's opened palm causing the precious stone to jump from the woman's hand and with another swift gesture the redhead Engineer batted the stone back towards the Ferengi who, lacking the skill and speed shown by both women, found himself scrambling to recover the precious gem from the floor.
"She does not need your children's trinkets," Sonja spat as the Feneri who was now on all fours before them. "Unlike your rule number 98, not every woman has a price," the Engineer said rather pleased with herself for having used one of the Rules of Acquisitions against the Ferengi."
"You have no right to quote or defile the Rules of Acquisition," Bruk huffed indignantly as he managed to retrieve the previous stone from the deck's floor. "Every man *does* have a price, and she will be mine, like it or not."
"Well," Sonja smirked, "she is already *mine*, and if you have not yet noticed, I am a woman and neither one of us has a price, especially not for the likes of *you*."
=/\= Sounds like Sonja has that little Ferengi on the ropes, =/\= Eve giggled wishing that she had been there to see the entire scene, but more specifically the expression on the Ferengi's face.
=/\= Ya'Han, =/\= Shar'El added, =/\= I can see you both from where I am and think it would be best for you to follow along with Sonja. She has that Ferengi on the verge of losing both of his lobes. =/\=
=/\= If Sonja has a plan and Shar'El supports it, =/\= Erik said, adding his two cents worth to the ongoing situation, =/\= go with it. That said though, Sonja, be careful. Let's not start an interstellar incident. =/\=
As the two women made to depart, leaving the Ferengi still sputtering, Bruk tried one last effort. "Nylaan females were never meant to be with the 'Umans'. You will be happier with someone like me who actually understands you and your culture."
"What part of my having said that she is mine did you not understand?" Sonja spat as she turned on her heels to face the Ferengi. "We are all too well aware of how you Ferengis treat your women," the redhead said as she took hold of Ya'Han waist and pulled her in as close as physically possible. "As I said, she is *mine*," Sonja reiterated in a whispered venomous tone, glaring at the Ferengi the entire time. Before Bruk could counter, or Ya'Han question where this was going, Sonja took a solid hold of her shipmate's chin before licking the woman's exposed skin; from her collarbone all the way to her temple, circling the edge of her ear in the process.
Ya'Han held her breath for several seconds as she tried her best to make sense of what had just happened, forcing herself to remember the words recently spoken to her by their CO how had instructed the Chief of Security to simply 'go with it.'
"Now leave us be before I report you as the stowaway that you obviously are," the redhead added with a sneer as she looked him up and down. "You do not have the latinum to be in our presence," Sonja continued as she took Ya'Han away, catching the grinning smirk of Shar'El in the distance.
=/\= What happened? =/\= Jayson asked, not having been there to see the event unfold.
=/\= You wouldn't believe me if I told you, =/\= Shar'El chuckled, herself not entirely certain of what she had witnessed. =/\= Let's just say that I know a few cultures in which what happened would have seen as either a full out declaration of war or a royal betrothal. =/\=
=/\= A WHAT? =/\=
"No worries Captain," Sonja said as the two women continued to put as much distance between themselves and the stunned and gapping Ferengi, "I did not start a war, well at least I don't think that I did."
=/\= I truly hope that you did not, =/\= Erik offered sounding somewhat reluctant.
"By the way Ya'Han, what kind of makeup do you wear? That stuff tastes *nasty*."
=/\= TASTE? TASTE! WHAT... =/\= Jayson exclaimed, now more than ever curious as to what had transpired between the two undercover Starfleet officers and the Ferengi.
=====
Lorraine Paquette
Lieutenant JG Sonja Paquette
Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
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"Trolling"
[previous post was "Thinking About The Mission"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Promenade Deck
Stardate: 30152.1250
She was the Chief of Security for the USS ANUBIS; in charge of protecting each and every member of the crew from whatever threat they might come across. So it felt a little strange for Ya'Han to have Ensign Paquette, the Chief Engineer walking next to her, acting in a way as her bodyguard.
Although she was a few inches shorter than Ya'Han, Sonja had a presence about her that warned most to keep their distances. It was not that the red haired Chief Engineer appeared mean or unfriendly, in fact the opposite could have been said, but the woman gave off an aura of no-nonsense that none so far had dared to challenge. Appearances wise, the two women were out for a casual walk about the MASQUERADE DREAMS, to enjoy the bounty of the cruise liner on their own terms and no one else's.
Three hours ago Sonja had simply been told to stay with Ya'Han until further notice. The idea had been to insure that the black haired Chief of Security would not again be alone should the green haired entertainer or her apparent partner were encountered once more. It seemed that the Pythron merchant and Nylaan entertainer believed the undercover Ensign had been her sister Ya'Jun, a member of the ruling family of NYLA IV who, like Ya'Han, had also run away to escape from their father's control.
Not knowing if her sister had actually been on board the Risian cruise liner MASQUERADE DREAMS had made the black haired Chief of Security to be on edge. With each deck they walked on, with each corner they turned down in, Ya'Han almost feared running into her sister. To find her would confirm Ya'Jun's presence on the ship and complicate matters a great deal as the undercover crew would be asked to help in whatever way they could. The added complication of Ya'Han's own identity and presence being revealed only made this even more problematic.
It had been almost a decade since Ya'Han had seen her older sister, and although they two of them might not have a lot in common other than their upbringing, the black haired Chief of Security could relate to the woman and what had likely caused her to run away as she had. It was because of this unspoken understanding that Ya'Han knew how important it had been for the two of them to not be found out if at all possible.
"There you are," someone said rather joyfully from ahead of the two wandering women. As the crowd continued to move, a single, short figure remained still indicating the source of what they had heard.
"Not him," Ya'Han sighed heavily, having completely forgotten about the Ferengi whom she had noticed back in the ship's main dining area earlier that same morning.
"A friend of yours?" Sonja asked sarcastically in a whispered voice, keeping her eyes firmly on the Ferengi who had begun to move closer.
"Just someone who seemed rather interested in me at breakfast," the black haired Chief of Security answered with despair. "I had never seen him before and hoped to never see him again."
"Alrighty then," Sonja grinned before taking a diagonal step forward, placing herself directly in between the Ferengi and Ya'Han. For a brief moment the large eared troll and red haired woman gazed into one another's eyes as if gauging each other's resolve.
"Please allow me to introduce myself, I am Bruk, and I would like to speak to the lady behind you about a business proposition that I hope will prove t be most profitable for both of us," the Ferengi eventually said, confident that the woman directly in his way would not move, either of her own will or otherwise.
The toothy smile sent shivers down Ya'Han's back and instantly made her feel ill. As much as she might never have seen this particular troll before today, there had been not a single redeeming quality about him that the Chief of Security could identify.
"Not interested," Ya'Han hissed as she placed her right hand on Sonja's shoulder, indicating by the gesture that she had still been there and was ready to move as far away from the Ferengi as possible.
"A woman with your skill set should not be hiding them behind the black of your hair," the Ferengi said as the two
women began to walk away. Not at all having expected to hear this, Ya'Han came to a complete stop until Sonja took hold of her wrist and pulled her ahead.
"Does he know who you are or does he believe you to be Ya'Jun?" the red haired Chief Engineer demanded through clenched teeth, Sonja appearing rather shocked by what she had just heard. For someone who Ya'Han had never met, this Ferengi troll seemed to know far more than anyone could have expected.
"I don't know," the Chief of Security said, hesitation in her voice. It was impossible to deny that Bruk knew something about Ya'Han, but the question had been what and how much?
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
"Thinking About The Mission"
[previous "Searching For Something"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-143
Stardate: 30152.1215
He could have been anywhere on the cruise ship, but after what had happened by the pool, the OPS officer had thought it best to lay low and take it easy for a little while. The Doctor of the MASQUERADE DREAMS had prescribed rest after having given him a clean bill of health, no concussion having been found despite the force of the blow and how difficult it had been for the man to make it all the way to the infirmary.
As polite, kind and skilled as the cruise liner's Doctor had been, it had not taken long for Jayson to recognize the competence and knowledge of their own CMO. After the experience, the OPS officer had concluded that Starfleet had been doing a great job in training its medical personnel. At the very least this entire ordeal had served to give him a new appreciation for Doctor Mizore and all others who worked in that field.
The Captain's recent call to the team to stay alert and report anything back to ANI had served to remind the OPS officer that this had not been a pleasure cruise. Their job, to gather information, had been a simple one, although the 'doing' had not been as easy as the 'saying'. Dealing with Drask Pharren, Ye'Lan and their connection to Ensign Ya'Han had been an unexpected sideline to their primary task. Dealing with this situation could not interfere with their larger objective, no matter how much any one of them might have wished it otherwise.
As much as he might have wanted to solve this mystery as fast as possible to help their Chief of Security, Jayson had to accept that this had not been the only task on their collective plate. Finding a way to getting the Pythron merchant into the nearest airlock and jettisoning him into space, all of this without raising anyone's suspicions, would just have to wait.
All that he could do for the time being was to wait for the ship-wide scan to be completed and read up on various events and activities taking place all over the MASQUERADE DREAMS. How knows, maybe amongst those 1500 passengers scattered throughout several dozen activities and shows, someone held the answer to this mystery. Either that or this unknown person might be able to give the crew of the ANUBIS a reason to celebrate and actually enjoy their time on the Risian Cruise Liner as genuine guests.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Searching For Something"
[previous post was "From Green to Red" by the very colorful Hanali]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Forward Observation Deck
Stardate: 30152.1200
The chairs in this section of the MASQUERADE DREAMS had been laid out in neat little rows to provide passengers with the best possible view of the stars which hung in the emptiness of space ahead of the Risian Cruise Liner. The sight had been a remarkable one, but to the acting ExO / ILO it had been nothing that she had not seen a hundred time before. A drawback of being a member of a starship's crew such as the ANUBIS, this sort of amazing display of the universe' charms had become almost routine.
Shar'El had taken position in this locale as she waited for the sensors of the ANUBIS to be recalibrated to scan for Nylaan physiology. The information provided by Doctor Mizore had been used as the foundation for these modifications which the undercover crew hoped would prove sufficient in their search for the sister of their Chief of Security. The acting ExO / ILO had 'set up shop' here for another reason; that of being able to scan the memories of those who had come to enjoy the enchanting starry scenery.
As far as Shar'El had been concerned there had been no reason for her not to continue her search for information that could prove useful to the crew of the ANUBIS or even to the staff of the NEW ALEXANDRIA complex. In many ways, the proper information could prove a hundred times more valuable than gold pressed latinum. With this in mind, the Ullian woman scanned the memories of each and every passenger who happened to enter the room, picking up with little effort their most recent recollections.
As interesting and rique as some of these memories had been, Shar'El had not discovered anything of great interest to the Intel community over the last hour or so. Recollections of past lovers and recent steamy romantic interludes might have been interesting to some, but they had in no way drawn the raven hair woman's interest. The acting ExO / ILO had set her aim on memories pertaining to their mission on board the cruise liner and so far she had been rather disappointed by her lack of useful information she had been able to gather.
=/\= Sensors have been modified to scan for Nylaan physiology, =/\= the Avatar on board the ANUBIS announced. =/\= Initiating ship-wide scan of the MASQUERADE DREAMS. =/\=
=/\= How long before the entire ship has been scanned? =/\= Ya"han asked. Although she had done her best to sound as the concerned Sec/Tac of the ANUBIS, the woman had instead come across as an anxiously curious woman searching for very specific answers about her sister. Truth be told, the majority of the crew had been equally curious as to whether or not Ya'Jun had actually been on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS.
=/\= Given the size and complexity of the ship, it will take approximately an hour to perform a complete scan. =/\= The answer provided by ANI was quickly followed by a sigh which everyone suspected had originated from their Chief of Security. Of all of members of the undercover team, Ya'Han had the most invested in the result of this ship-wide scan.
=/\= Patience is a virtue they say, =/\= Counselor Dalziel said, her voice filled with support and understanding.
=/\= Stay alert people, =/\= the Captain followed with. =/\= The results of the scan may answer a few questions but it is not the final goal of our mission here. Keep your eyes and ears open and report to ANI anything that may prove to be of interest. =/\=
Shar'El chuckled to herself as she imagined reporting some of her discoveries to the ANUBIS' Avatar. Although ANI had been an artificial being, the acting ExO / ILO wondered if the android would actually find her report amusing or possibly even entertaining. Short of actually testing this with a report, the raven haired woman thought it best to present the situation to the one and only expert in the field who was presently on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS; Lt. Sonja Paquette.
Seeking out the Chief Engineer would also provide the acting ExO / ILO with an opportunity to check up on their Chief of Security as they waited for the results of the ship-wide scan. As much as Sonja had been tasked with keeping Ya'Han in close proximity it had not been a bad idea for Shar'El to check up on both of them. With 1500 passengers and a crew of over 400, the MASQUERADE DREAMS held a great deal of potential surprises for all of them.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
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"From Green to Red"
[previous post was "Questions and Debates"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Observation Deck
Stardate: 30152.1000
=/\= Stay put Ya'Han, I'm on my way and will be there in two-shakes of a lamb's tail. =/\=
Sonja's voice seemed almost joyous, but what did a lamb's tail have to do with any of this? For the moment, that question would have to wait as Ya'Han had a lot more to think about and deal with than she cared to admit. Everything around the Chief of Security seemed to come to a standstill, time itself having conspired against the black haired woman.
For a brief moment suspended in time, nothing seemed to make sense. How could everything that she had endured to make it this far be so easily challenged and even possibly destroyed?
328 meters might as well have been 328 lightyears for the woman. Starfleet Academy did its best to get under the skin of the cadets during the four years of their training, especially those in the field of security. So the black haired Chief of Security had not been a stranger to the experience, or so she had believed. As she thought back at what had taken place, Ya'Han had to admit that she had not at all been prepared to deal with what she had heard.
The problem had been that the green haired Nylaan entertainer had struck in a way that Starfleet Academy could never have hope to. Even the psych test, which was designed to hit at a cadet's very core, have not made the Chief of Security feel this way. Ya'Han felt emotionally weak, drained of all strength and feeling more vulnerable than she had been since her crossing into Federation controlled space over four years ago.
A part of the currently motionless woman wanted to run away, to escape back to her room so hat she could hide from not only Ye'Lan but from the entire universe. The rest of her being taunted and urged the Chief of Security to seek out the green haired woman in order to confront her and end this once and for all. Feeling the way she was, Ya'Han wondered if maybe having accepted a position on an Intel ship had been such a great idea, her having discovered to being ill equipped to deal with this cloak and dagger world of whispered secrets.
Hiding had not been an option and neither was pinning Ye'Lan to a nearby wall demanding answers and explanations. Both had been an ill chosen course of actions which left the woman at a lost. The best the Chief of Security could do was to try and calm herself while she waited for the arrival of ANUBIS' Chief Engineer; Lt. Sonja Paquette.
As she looked up, Ya'Han noticed that the woman in question had been more than half crossed the distance that separated them. What surprised the Chief of Security was the manner in which Sonja moved, almost bouncing as she took each step. The woman truly appeared unburdened by anything that had so far taken place, as if she held all of the answers. It was unrealistic to believe that the Chief Engineer knew the answers to everything, but she definitely showed a confidence that the black haired woman felt envious about.
The fiery woman with the matching hair would hopefully find a way to help her regain control as well as offer a more suitable course of action. Neither the Pythron merchant or Nylaan entertainer could be permitted to win this, whatever all of this actually was.
"Looks like you and I just became best friends for the rest of this little three-week tour," Sonja said giggling while at the same time presenting herself as someone who cared and would be there no matter what. "Now all we need to do is to figure out who Gilligan is," the engineer added as she took hold of the black haired woman's arm before they headed off the Observation Deck.
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Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
##########
"Questions and Debates"
Previous post "What Next?"
##########
"Great Maker! Sometimes I feel I don't understand anything anymore."
- Londo Mollari, Babylon 5
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-112 (Erik)
Stardate: 30152.0945
"Ya'Han, is everything alright?" Eve Dalziel asked as the Native American looked upon her, his head ever so slightly tilted to one side. As much as Erik might have been concerned for the well being of the woman, it had not been in him to ask so openly. Luckily for the CO of the USS ANUBIS, he had not been the one listed as the ship's Counselor.
Everyone from the ANUBIS's covert team had heard what the Sec/Tac had said to Ye'Lan, and none doubted that the meeting had not been a chance encounter or that the verbal exchange had been meant to rattle Ya'Han on a personal level.
=/\= I am fine, =/\= the Sec/Tac whispered back, her trembling voice having been more than enough to cause the Cardassian born Counselor to shake her head, making the Native American know that the Counselor had not accepted the soft spoken reply.
=/\= ANI, who is the closest to Ensign Ya'Han? =/\= the Captain inquired, having already decided that he would not let the Chief of Security be by herself now or for the remainder of their time on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS.
=/\= Lieutenant Pauquette in on the same deck as Ensign Ya'Han. 328 meters away. =/\= The ship's Avatar replied almost instantly, ANI having kept tabs on every member of the crew using the ANUBIS' extensive sensor system.
=/\= Roger that, =/\= the Redheaded Engineer stated, having easily anticipated the CO's intentions. =/\= Stay put Ya'Han, I'm on my way and will be there in two-shakes of a lamb's tail. =/\=
As confusing as the expression used by the Terran woman had been to the exiled daughter of the High Sovereign of NYLA IV, Ya'Han said nothing other than a simple 'understood' to confirm that she had received the message and would be complying.
"ANI," Erik continued as he rubbed the side of his beard in a rather upset manner, "engage privacy mode for both Lieutenant Dalziel and myself."
=/\= Privacy mode engaged, =/\= the Avatar promptly stated, ANI never having been one to question orders or the reasoning behind them.
"Don't tell me that you are upset for my wanting to make sure Ya'Han was alright?" Eve queried, truly not expecting that the Native American would reply in any way positively to her question, but it had been a perfect way to get him to open up, something that the Counselor suspected he had already been ready to do.
"What I need right now is a friend," Erik sighed, "not a Counselor."
"Oh," Eve noted with surprise as she shifted on he bed, the only chair that had been in the room having already been in use by the Native American. "What's going on?"
"This entire mission," Erik pointed out as his hands pointed to nothing in particular. "Koniki sending us here on a three-week Intel gathering mission already came across as being weird, but now I can't help the feeling that we have been played for fools."
"You know better than most how the world of Intel works," Eve stated as she offered a warm, reassuring smile to the man sitting not too far from her. "Plans within plans are the norm, and not revealing everything about a specific mission is something that you have used yourself at times to make sure that those involved do not fall into a tunnel vision mentality."
"You know," Erik sighed, "maybe it would best if I did speak with a Counselor instead of a friend."
"Why is that?" Eve questioned rhetorically, the grin on her lips having grown quite a bit. Years of working with the Native American had given her a unique perspective and understanding into the man sitting in front of her.
"At least a Counselor would take my side in this story instead of trying to make me be one of the bad guys," the Captain explained as he shook his head while letting out a long sigh.
"You are not the bad guy here," Dalziel said, her voice having returned to a much more serious and professional tone. "Neither is Koniki. He did what he thought was necessary to get the job done, which included sending us all here. The situation surrounding Ya'Han is likely one of several more that prompted the Admiral to his final decision to send us here. If we were told of four, five or even six possible missions, we would all have been unable to see anything happening around us, trying to fit any strange happening into one of those boxes."
"I know," Morningstar said as a faint smile tried to form on his lips. "Without a specific mission objective we are not trying to get to the end. Right now all we can do is try to figure out what is happening and why. That said though, it just goes to confirm that I was right about not trusting Koniki and his official reasons for sending us here."
"As much as you will not want to hear this," Eve said as she leaned back on her arms, "you and Koniki think a lot alike. That is why you end up arguing so much one against the other, because he knows that you know what he's thinking in the long run."
"You know what," Erik said as he let his head fall backwards over the edge of the chair he had been sitting in. "This is not helping me feel better."
=/\= ANI to Captain Morningstar. Sorry to bother you, but I thought you would like to be made aware of this. The data collected by Doctor Mizore has been transmitted and received. The ANUBIS' sensors should be able to be adapted to scan for Nylaan physiology in about two hours. =/\=
"Thank you ANI, keep me informed of your progress," the Native American acknowledged, the Avatar's call having brought his mind back on the mission at hand. "You can disengage privacy mode."
"Guess that means we are back to business," Eve said as she added a wink.
"In about two hours from now we should be able to scan the MASQUERADE DREAMS and see just how many Nylaans are on board," Erik explained sounding rather anxious to see what the final result would be.
"Whatever the result of that scan will be," the Counselor pointed out, "it will not be the answers we need but rather give us a lot more questions to try and answer."
"Agreed," the Native American nodded with certainty, "but at least we will have actual questions to tackle instead of this not knowing what it is we are supposed to be doing here."
--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette
Captain Erik Morningstar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
AND
Lt. Commander Elan Fairborn
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
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"What Next?"
[previous post was "The Best Things Are Done Slowly"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Observation Deck
Stardate: 30152.0940
With breakfast and everything that had taken place afterwards well behind the black haired Chief of Security, Ya'Han had decided to take a few moments for herself and enjoy some of what the MASQUERADE DREAMS had to offer.
The crew's mission on the Risian Cruise Liner had been about gathering Intel, but after having been made to be sick, brought to the infirmary and scanned from head to toe by Doctor Mizore, Ya'Han believed that she had been entitled to a little piece and quiet. One thing for sure though, it would take a long time before the Chief of Security would go for breakfast again, regardless of where, with whom or the menu offered.
The black haired woman looked up into the darkness beyond the large transparent window overhead. The view instantly made her smile, the stars appearing much more beautiful than she had expected them to be. As she studied these distant twinkling lights, Ya'Han wondered for a moment if she would be able to see the ANUBIS. The Chief of Security quickly thought of herself as being silly for thinking this, for if she had been able to see the ship, it would have been an unacceptable failure on the part of the Intel group. As large as the ship may have been, its equipment had been designed to insure that it remained unseen and undetected by those who might have been looking for it.
Still, the black haired Chief of Security wondered if she might be able to see something that would maybe hint as to the ship's actual position next to the MASQUERADE DREAMS. At the very least this would present her with a playful challenge, one that would help her relax and unwind.
"Are you searching for your lucky star?" a woman said as she came to stand next to Ya'Han. As the Chief of Security turned her head in the direction of the voice, she saw with surprise the green haired Nylaan escort of the Pythroon merchant; Ye'Lan.
Ya'Han thought of confronting the woman and demanding to know the reasons why she had been on board the cruise ship as well as her association with Drask Pharren. Such a demand made by the thirteenth daughter of the High Sovereign could not be ignored, but the Chief of Security knew that she could not play such a card. Her decision to run away from her home had made it impossible for her to claim this right, and the situation at hand made things even more complicated.
"Just searching for answers Ye'Lan," the black haired Nylaan eventually replied, making sure to say the woman's name to inform the others that she had been right there next to the Chief of Security. "Where is you Master?"
The question had been simple, and one that Ya'Han actually regretted asking the moment that it had crossed her lips. As much as she might have wanted to learn more about the green haired entertainer, the Chief of Security had not wanted to do so through revealing anything about herself, or maybe even opening the possibility that she would be mistaken for someone else, like her sister.
"You seem to have a rather sharp tongue for a commoner, would you not agree?" Ye'Lan playfully said through a half grin as she touched the black colored locks resting on the woman's shoulder. As much as Ya'Han hated to admit it, the green haired woman had scored the first points in this engagement. As the Chief of Security for the USS ANUBIS, she knew how to fight, how to dodge and how to avoid being hit by pretty much any physical attack, unfortunately this battlefield had been a verbal one and it was perfectly clear that she had been at a disadvantage. "To answer your question, Drask Pharren is not my Master, and like you we are searching for answers."
The smile on Ye'Lan as she looked at the black haired woman made the Chief of Security nervous, wondering as to what would be said or done next. Instead the green haired entertainer simply nodded her head and began to walk away. It was only after a few steps that the escort of the Pythron merchant stopped to glance back over her right shoulder and speak once again. "To be perfectly honest my dear, black is not your color."
The words spoken by Ye'Lan hit the Chief of Security like a runaway starship and left her unable to say or do anything for several seconds until she heard another voice, one that no one else around her would be able to.
=/\= Ya'Han, is everything alright? =/\=
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Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"The Best Things Are Done Slowly"
[previous post was "All You Need is Science" by the very scientific Jessica]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Hallway
Stardate: 30152.0900
It had roughly been twenty minutes since the MASQUERADE DREAMS' Doctor had started his journey back to the Infirmary with a passenger who had suffered a 'nasty' bump on the head. Thanks to the efforts of Ensign Stark to slow the Doctor down combined with the delay tactics used by Ensign T'Leia, the simple trip had so far taken over 20 minutes, and they had yet to reach their final destination.
=/\= That wounded puppy act is working great, =/\= Sonja said laughing through the subdermal communication network that all undercover officers of the USS ANUBIS were connected by. =/\= Just be careful that you don't end up getting a flea shot. =/\=
=/\= That was not very nice, =/\= Eve chuckled back. Although no one could see the shaking of the Cardassian born woman's head, the tone in the Counselor's voice had made it rather obvious.
Shar'El had wanted to say something but thought it best to keep her comments to herself for the time being. Keeping the channel open had been the prudent thing to do, but being able to deal with this situation in a more lighthearted manner had insured that whatever stress had been created by this would not grow to becoming overwhelming for anyone.
=/\= Given some of the medications that I have seen in this infirmary, I would not be surprised if some sort of Siphonaptera treatment was amongst them, =/\= the Bajoran CMO said in a very calm and controlled manner, not having allowed her verbal report to interfere with her ongoing work.
=/\= How are the scans coming Doctor? =/\= Erik asked after a few seconds of silence. As the ANUBIS' CO it had been his ultimate responsibility to oversee the mission and its completion. So far though the Captain had been rather happily uninvolved, glad to see everyone jumping in of their own volition to see that Doctor Mizore had as much time as she required.
=/\= Thanks to Ensign Ya'Han having been able to remain perfectly still, the scans should be completed in a few more minutes, =/\= Seska said, the intensity in her voice hinting that this had been a crucial moment in her work.
=/\= I have been keeping track of the Doctor and Ensign Stark, =/\= Ensign T'Leia cut in with. =/\= They should be turning into the corridor leading to the infirmary in less than a minute. =/\=
=/\= Can we take a few seconds, =/\= Ensign Stark said as he continued to do his best to delay the return of the MASQUERADE DREAMS' Doctor to the infirmary. =/\= I'm feeling a little dizzy. =/\= After a short pause the Operations officer continued, indicating that his latest effort had failed. =/\= Alright, since you say that the infirmary is right around that corner I will do my best to continue. =/\=
"I am guessing that the Doctor has had enough of all these delays," the Acting Exo / ILO sighed. "Looks like we are about to run out of time."
=/\= I see them, =/\= Maya said, using those three simple words to state her intent to try and further delay the Doctor while at the same time inform Doctor Mizore that she had only seconds left before being interrupted. =/\= Doctor, I have been waiting to see you, I have this problem that I would appreciate speaking with you about. It is not a matter of life and death, but I would feel much more at ease having your opinion on this medical matter. =/\=
=/\= Hey, no need to push. I am the injured one here, remember, and I am moving as fast as i can, =/\= Ensign Stark said less than a second after Maya had spoken, indicating that the Doctor' patience had finally reached its limits and that he was returning to the infirmary regardless of what problems might be presented to him.
"Doctor, time's up. Sounds like you are about to get company, like it or not," Shar'El said as she felt her own heart rate suddenly increase. Everyone had done what they could to slow the Doctor down, but now there had been nothing anyone else could do. Everything rested on the ANUBIS' CMO and her ability to finish this task in the next few seconds.
The deafening silence that followed made everyone nervous as they waited for someone to say something that would indicate as to whether or not the scans had been completed and if everything had been returned as is to insure that no one would suspect what had taken place. Had Ya'Han and Seska managed to return everything to normal or had the Doctor of the Cruise Liner found them doing something that they obviously should not have been in the middle of?
=/\= Thank you Doctor, =/\= the Chief of Security said, causing a general sigh of relief to be heard through the subdermal communication network. =/\= I am feeling much better now. Whatever you gave me seems to have done the trick. =/\=
"Well done everyone," the Acting ExO / ILO said with a glowing smile. "Doctor Mizore, you and Ensign Ya'Han get out of there as soon as possible. Our next step is to find a way to transmit this data to the ANUBIS without anyone else knowing about it."
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
---
"All You Need Is Science"
(Previous Post: "Focusing On Staying Still")
---
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Hallway outside the Infirmary
Stardate: 30152.0850
The Shillian Scientist stood outside of the infirmary, her arms loosely crossed over her chest while a pensive expression quietly danced on her features. How absolutely wonderful would it have been to have the renowned Doctor Professor Kor-Kova give a lecture on her theories about parallel universes and their shared quantum signatures? To be perfectly honest, the Chief Science Officer of the USS ANUBIS would have been beyond delighted to hear the famous scientist talk about anything relating to her extensive work in spacial dynamics, quantum resonance through subspace or transdimensional energy transfers just to name a few.
As much as many of her fellow shipmates had come to look upon the Lieutenant Commander as an expert in all things scientific, the Shillian had to admit that her own expertise paled in comparison to that of the Doctor Professor. The woman had been nothing short of a genius amongst geniuses, a person who had dedicated every seconds of her life to challenge the most distant and solid scientific boundaries or concepts. The Doctor Professor had not been one to simply question the universe, but had been the type to question the questions and the reasons why these questions had been asked as well as the reasons that had led to the answers. To the famed scientist an answer had not been the end of the scientific process, but rather the beginning.
It had been rumoured that Doctor Professor Kor-Kova slept less than an hour a week, the rest of her precious time being divided between countless seminars and actual laboratory research. One day maybe, if the stars perfectly aligned in favour of the Chief Science Officer of the USS ANUBIS, the Shillian would be able to meet and possibly even share ideas and theories with Kor-Kova. The Shillian could only imagine what she would be able to learn through spending only a few minutes with the renowned Doctor Professor.
In the meantime though the Lieutenant Commander would have to make due with the mission at hand and the part of it that she had chosen to make hers. The Chief Science Officer had placed herself on stand-by right outside the infirmary should Doctor Mizore and Ensign Ya'Han need more time to complete the medical scans. Not an expert on diversionary tactics to say the least though, Maya had figured that she would at best be able to give the two women inside a few extra seconds as she gave them both one last warning on the return of the Doctor.
While the Shillian officer waited, her mind returned to Doctor Professor Kor-Kova and the undercover officer who had mentioned the name not so long ago; Ensign Andromeda T'Leia. Although assigned to the ANUBIS as the Assistant Chief Medical Officer, the woman had displayed an unexpected knowledge of people and research found deep within the field of pure science. Being in the middle of a mission had made this an ill time to bring this matter up to Ensign T'Leia, but the Chief Science Officer wondered if Andromeda would not prefer to work with Maya in the Science department instead of the Medical one.
Granted many would argue that both fields belonged to the same general domain of scientific work, but each branch possessed very specific areas of research and goals to be reached. To the Shillian woman there had never been any questions as to what division of Starfleet she would be working under, Science having been in her blood from the very start as she followed the footsteps of her father. That said though, the love that the Chief Science Officer of the USS ANUBIS possessed for her field of work did not apply to everyone else, so it had been imprudent to assume that Ensign Andromeda T'Leia would be happy to change department if given the opportunity to do so.
Maybe once this mission had been completed and the crew had returned to the ANUBIS, the Lieutenant Commander would be able to approach the Ensign with such a proposition, but until then the Shillian knew better than to have her mind and thoughts on something other than the immediate task at hand. The Focus of the Chief Science Officer needed to be on the here and now so as to prepare herself should she be needed to give Doctor Mizore and Ensign Ya'Han whatever extra time she could.
Various ideas and formulas danced their way through the mind of the Shillian Scientist until a single specific one remained. Given her immediate surroundings and the limited items available to her, the Shillian had come up with a unique scientific way to delay the Doctor and patient. All that remained was to wait to see if the Chief Science Officer would be required to use it and if it would actually work.
---
Jessica Solarik
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
&
Captain Selene Fiona Iverson
Commanding Officer
USS BASTET
"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
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"Focusing On Staying Still"
[previous post was "Delay Tactics"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Infirmary
Stardate: 30152.0850
As the thirteenth daughter of the High Sovereign of NYLA IV, Ya'Han had been told countless times during her youth to remain still, either during her studies or because she had been required to be part of some important official function. Maybe that had been one reasons among so many others that explained why she had been so ready to escape the only life she had known.
As a fugitive hiding in the darkest corners of whatever alien and far too often dirty cargo ship she could find, Ya'Han had been forced to cultivate this specific skill for her own safety. When she found herself unable to do this simple task, the consequences were all too often quickly handed down, unpleasant and even even at times brutal. With each failure to remain perfectly still, she had been made to pay a price, one that each time led her to learn a new way to protect herself emotionally and physically.
Once she had crossed the border into Federation controlled space and later on joined Starfleet, all of those experiences had made the decision to go into the field of Security a simple and dare she admit it, a logical one. It had never been a prerequisite of a security officer to remain still, their skill set usually requiring them to move and act, and sometimes to do so as quickly as possible. Survival no longer depended on her ability to remain still but rather had become dependant on her skills to strike quickly and efficiently.
"Please, do not move," Doctor Mizore sighed quietly, pointing once again to the failure of the black haired Chief of Security to remain perfectly still. Despite her continued efforts, Ya'Han had been unable to stop herself from moving, even if only in the slightest way.. Nervousness as to them being discovered made her body twitch against her will, while memories of her earlier failures while running away from home filled her mind with memories that she had wished to simply forget.
"Maybe it would be easier if you put me to sleep," the black haired Chief of Security said. At the very least this would insure that she would stop moving and possibly give Doctor Mizore the tranquility that the CMO so desperately needed.
"The scans require you to be awake to provide a solid reference basis," the CMO said while calibrating the instruments once again. "You being asleep for the scans would only serve if we are to be searching for another Nylaan while they too sleep."
With her idea having been dismissed by Doctor Mizore, Ya'Han did her best to clear her mind of the unwelcome memories, focusing on each and every muscle of her body. The woman's black hair began to turn red as she remembered her combat training at the Academy, but this change did not last long. Seconds later the red color gave way to the green of an entertainer which also soon gave way to the blue shade of science and eventually stopped on the white of medical.
It was there, in the middle of her medical training, that Ya'Han found the focus she had needed to keep her body as still as possible. The Chief of Security could imagine the frustration of the woman standing next to her, but she figured that the CMO would be happy to trade the shifting hair color for a perfectly still patient.
There would be time enough after the scans were completed for the Chief of Security to regain her black colored hair, but for the moment the white strands resting on the pillow had been the best and most effective way for Ya'Han to help in their quest. Hopefully this would allow Doctor Mizore to find that one specific genetic marker that would be used to find her sister Ya'Jun, if indeed she was onboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS.
The unspoken issue tough remained, did Ya'Han actually want her sister to be here? How would they react to seeing one another and how would such a meeting affect them both in the future?
Maybe this had been a reason why the Chief of Security had found it so difficult to remain still. Maybe somewhere deep down she had feared what would come to pass should they actually find her sister.
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Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Delay Tactics"
[previous post was "Bump on the Head" by the honorable Jayson]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Poolside
Stardate: 30152.0845
With the recital over an hour away, the acting ExO / ILO knew that she had ample time to check on Ensign Stark and his improvised diversionary tactic. Shar'El had not been surprised that the Operations Officer had stepped forward when the call for help was made, especially given that it directly dealt with the ANUBIS' Chief of Security.
As much as Ensign Stark might have wanted to deny it, even to himself, it was becoming increasingly obvious that he had developed a soft spot for the woman and her hair changing ways. As much as Starfleet frowned upon relationships between officers, the Acting ExO / ILO could not find any fault in this particular one; Ya'Han and Jayson having become more than simple shipmates through whatever relationship had developed between them.
Onboard a regular Starfleet ship, such a relationship could be looked upon as a hinderance to the performance of an crewman's duties, one that would open certain weaknesses that would not have been there otherwise. Onboard an Intel vessel though, one working well beyond the normal boundaries set to the rest of the fleet, such close inter-personal links between members of the crew could prove to be an immeasurable asset. Through dealing with the coldest and harshest types the galaxy could create, Intel officers could easily be affected by an unfortunate side effect; that of becoming detached from their emotions and those working with them. It was because of this that the Acting ExO / ILO believed strongly that such relationships had been a good thing, permitting these people to somehow hold onto the core of their humanity.
That said though, allowing for any external show of emotions could prove deadly in this line of work, so Shar'El remained unemotional and uninterested as she caught from the corner of her eye the man in question as he stumbled away from the pool with the assistance of the MASQUERADE DREAMS' Doctor. With the communications channel fully opened, everyone could follow the man's progress as well as that of Doctor Mizore and Ensign Ya'Han. The reason for this had been a simple one; should any sort of trouble happen, every undercover officer of the USS ANUBIS would be made aware of it instantly, and act accordingly if needed.
=/\= No, I can walk, =/\= Jayson Stark said, likely in response to the ship's Doctor having offered some sort of alternate and quicker way to get to the infirmary.
As great as the subdermal communication system had been, it possessed one weakness, that of having everyone limited to hear only what a member of their team could say. Still, such a limitation had been easily contoured with a simple repeating of what had been said by people of interest or stating out loud things that were taking place around them. After all it had not been so uncommon to have people talking to themselves about the world around them.
=/\= The scans are taking longer than I had anticipated, =/\= Doctor Mizore said only a few seconds later, the cold tone of her voice hinting to the CMO having been less than happy with the progress of what would have been an easy task while onboard the ANUBIS.
=/\= I have Ensign Stark in sight and will provide you with as much time as I can, =/\= the voice of Ensign T'Leia was heard next, the newest member of the ANUBIS' crew having taking it upon herself to help in a yet undetermined manner. =/\= Please forgive me, but I was hoping that you would be able to direct me to where the Science Symposium will be taking place. I would very much like to be there early so as to secure a good seat for the event. =/\=
Shar'El smiled inwardly. Although she had lost sight of Ensign Stark and the ship's Doctor, the Acting ExO / ILO could easily imagine the scene as it played out. Likely, Andromeda had made sure that no other crew member of the MASQUERADE DREAMS had been close enough forcing the Doctor to take the time to help another passenger.
Doing his best to insure that this latest diversion would take as long as possible, Ensign Stark remained perfectly still and quiet, not wanting to give the Ship's Doctor any reason to speed up his giving the directions to the grand conference hall.
=/\= Thank you very much for having taken the time to answer my query, =/\= Ensign T'Leia said after a short silence. =/\= Would you happen to know who the guest speaker or speakers will be. I was told by a friend that Doctor Professor Kor-Kavo would be in attendance to this symposium and I am most interested in her theories on parallel universes and their shared quantum signatures. =/\=
A short and pleasant hum was heard through the subdermal communication link, one that everyone had been quick to assign to the ANUBIS' resident specialist on all things scientific. Had this Doctor Professor Kor-Kavo, who had been mentioned by Ensign T'Leia, had actually been on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS there would not have been any doubts that Lt. Commander Maya would have already reserved her seat to the symposium.
Unfortunately for the Shillian, this had been nothing more than another delay tactic, one that seemed to be relatively effective as Andromeda could be heard stating her disappointment at the absence of scientist she had mentioned.
=/\= I can walk. The rest was nice though, but I can walk. =/\= Jayson said next confirming that Andromeda's intervention had come to an end and that the Doctor and his patient were about to resume their journey to the ship's infirmary.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
"Bump On The Head"
[previous "Never An Easy Solution"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Poolside
Stardate: 30152.0835
He could see so many wonderful stars twinkling all around him. As a Starfleet officer this should not have been such an oddity, even if he had been undercover. The problem was that the OPS officer had not been looking up into the night's sky but rather at the faces of people staring down at him as he laid flat on his back.
"Do not try to get up."
Jayson had no idea who had said this but he knew that it had been best to comply. Even with his back squarely resting against the smooth surface found all around the pool, he could feel the swaying of an invisible ocean light-years away. For a tiny little thing, she sure packed quite a swing.
He had approached one of the ladies who had been swimming in the pool earlier. There had been no other reason for his selection than that she had been the closest to him. That she had been gorgeous had only been a bonus. The plan had been to see if he could find out more about the event that he had been a witness to and see if he could find a way to get the MASQUERADE DREAMS' Doctor to come here.
Jayson vaguely recalled the short conversation with the bikini clad woman and how her golden hair seemed to glow of its own light. Maybe he had said something along the lines of her hair being amazing and questioned her origins. Maybe he had made a reference to another race and the way they prized their women for having hair as bright as hers. He could not recall the exact words that he had said, but he sure could remember her reaction.
Had the lady been a member of the ANUBIS' crew, Jayson would have made it a point to recommend her to Ya'Han as an excellent recruit for her security team. The woman possessed lightning fast reflexes and obviously a hidden strength that she had used to break a nearby pole over his head.
When the OPS officer opened his eyes once again he notice the ship's Doctor looking back down at him. Whatever had happened, the final result had been what he had hoped for, although the sizable bump on his head had been an unwelcome addition. Nevertheless the objective had been reached and now it had been his next goal to keep the Doctor busy for as long as possible.
"I will need to bring you back to the infirmary. Can you walk?"
Panic took hold of the man laying flat on his back. If he answered yes, they would be heading back far sooner than he had wanted to, and if he said no the Doctor would likely call for help to have the injured passenger brought back to the infirmary. Either way they would both be heading back and run the risk of interrupting Doctor Mizore and Ensign Ya'Han. Jayson had to find a way to delay things as much as possible.
"I think I can walk."
Jayson's words were weak, not that this had been due to any great acting skills on his part. The blow to his head had been powerful enough that he could still see stars, but being able to stand on his own feet would insure that he would set the pace of their journey to the ship's infirmary. Hopefully this would give the others the time they needed to complete whatever scans Doctor Mizore had wanted to perform.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Never An Easy Solution"
[previous post was "Wandering Feet, Wandering Thoughts"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Infirmary
Stardate: 30152.0830
Whatever Lt. Commander Maya had done to her had worked perfectly. The mixture of fruits that she had been told to eat had caused the black hair woman's stomach to feel like a warzone between the Klingons, Cardassians and Romulans. As bad as the sensation had been though, the MASQUERADE DREAMS' Doctor had quickly dismissed the condition as having been nothing more than space sickness, so Ya'Han had been placed under observation after having been given a single white pill.
"Time to get to work," Seska said as she walked into the one and only observation room with determination and purpose.
"Where is the ship's Doctor?" Ya'Han asked, not wanting for him to walk in on them and ask questions that neither one of them would have been able to answer without explaining far more than they should have.
"The good Doctor was called away on an emergency," the CMO answered as she studied the medical scanners available to her. "It seems that someone was hit over the head with a blunt object hard enough to have them lose consciousness."
"I hope that they will be alright," the now white haired woman said, forgetting for a brief moment about her unique ability. The change of hair color immediately drew a glare from the ANUBIS' CMO which caused Ya'Han's hair to revert to its previous color seconds later. "Sorry about that, but it is hard to concentrate feeling the way I am."
"Of course," Seska said with a nod as she reached for a hypospray that she had been keeping hidden in her pocket. The moment the item was pressed against the neck of the Chief of Security and its content injected into her, the pain and discomfort immediately vanished. "Now we need to get this scan done with the greatest haste. There is no way to know how long Ensign Stark is going to be able to keep the Doctor occupied."
"Jayson is involved in this?" Ya'Han asked, not sounding all that surprised that the name of the Chief of Operations had been mentioned in connection with the incident.
"A general call for a diversion requiring medical assistance was made and Ensign Stark was the first to volunteer," the CMO said as she began to perform scans to identify something in the Nylaan's physiology that would help the ANUBIS to find others like her onboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS.
The black haired Chief of Security shook her head and took in a long deep breath as her thoughts went to the Chief of Operations, wondering with amusement and curiosity as to what he had done to have the Ship's Doctor rush to his side as he had.
"I am certain that Ensign Stark will be more than happy to give you all of the gruesome details of his adventure," Seska said having noticed the smile on Ya'Han's lips. "In the meantime though I will need you to remain perfectly still. The medical instruments available here are basic to say the least and have no margin for errors for a scan of this complexity. What would have required only seconds to do back on the ANUBIS will take several minutes here I am afraid."
Ya'Han did her best to remain perfectly still while Doctor Mizore performed her scans. Hopefully the CMO would be able to find something useful, something that would allow the ANUBIS and its undercover crew to know once and for all if her sister Ya'Jun had actually been onboard the Risian cruise liner.
The silence that took over the infirmary was only interrupted by the occasional beeps and chimes of the scanners as Seska worked as fast as the devices permitted. Although the task had sounded simple, finding a specific biological marker that could be scanned by the ANUBIS to identify a Nylaan amongst the rest of the crew and passengers of the MASQUERADE DREAMS had not been so simple.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Wandering Feet, Wandering Thoughts"
[previous post was "So Many Colors" by the pleasantly distracted Jayson]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Walkway
Stardate: 30152.0815
With each passing minute more and more people emerged from their rooms to embrace the new day on board the luxury cruise liner, and the raven haired woman had decided to be amongst them. With Ensign Mizore and Ensign Ya'Han heading to the ship's infirmary, thanks to whatever trick Lt. Commander Maya had come up with, the Acting ExO / ILO had thought it best to be out there in case some extra assistance had been required.
Without the immediate resources of the USS ANUBIS at their disposal the crew would have to rely on their skills and wits to face whatever challenge would present itself to them. Being the highly trained Starfleet officers that they were, the Acting ExO / ILO had no worries about any of them being able to find their way out of any situation.
Shar'El began to imagine unthinkable situations that could take place on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS, most of them leaving the Acting ExO / ILO to be very thankful that the ANUBIS had been close by under armored cloak. The Risian Cruise Liner might have been a remarkable ship, but its primary objective had been to offer all possible comforts and amenities to its guests, so medical facilities had been ill equipped to deal with any grand scale matter.
It would have been unthinkable for a Starfleet ship with a crew of over 1500 people to have only two sickbays equip with only the bare essentials, but the MASQUERADE DREAMS had not fallen under the same governing system and rules. Shar'El had made sure that only one medical officer had been on duty at this time in the main infirmary, making it a lot easier to insure that Doctor Mizore would have the opportunity and time to perform the scans she needed.
The Acting ExO / ILO could only hope that despite the ship's infirmary not being a fully equipped medical facility that it would have what the CMO needed. Being able to isolate a specific biological marker for a Nylaan would hopefully permit the ANUBIS sensors to see if Ya'Jan had actually been on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS. Of course if the scan came back positive as to another Nylaan being on board, their current mission would take on an entirely new path.
For the time being though, it had been best for things to unfold slowly so as to not alert anyone as to the presence of the ANUBIS' senior staff on board and risk an incident that could quickly become problematic.
"Good morning, Miss," Doctor T'Leia said as the Vulcan / Terran hybrid came to stand next to the raven haired woman.
"Good morning to you as well," Shar'El offered in return to the newest member of the crew. The woman appeared as anyone would have expected a Vulcan to, standing tall and proud despite her 5'6" stature. Ensign Andromeda T'Leia radiated a sense of assurance that instantly commanded respect and the Acting ExO / ILO could not help but feel a certain level of gladness at her having been assigned to the USS ANUBIS.
The issues faced while serving on an Intel ship could prove to be far more demanding, both on a psychological and emotional level. So it had been a tremendous asset to have someone able to have a strong control over themselves.
Being a Ullian, Shar'El could listen in on the surface memories of those within her line-of-sight, and by simple reflex the Acting ExO / ILO had allowed herself to see what had been the most prominent memories of the Vulcan / Terran hybrid. The raven haired woman was pleasantly surprised to see calm and order reign within the aCMO's thoughts, a credit to Andromeda's self discipline and training and a source of envy for the undercover First Officer standing right next to her.
"I am currently debating between attending the Science Symposium to be held in the grand conference hall starting at 10:00 or the Risian Symphony recital which is scheduled to play 'A Wonderful Morning'." Andromeda said, her calm and logical gaze locked far ahead. Shar'El half smiled as she understood what the aCMO had done, informing the Acting ExO / ILO of her possible plans without having actually said so.
Maybe the Ullian might make it a point to drop in on the Risian Symphony recital, the Science Symposium having been something that would have likely interested Commander Maya far more than herself.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
"So Many Colors"
[previous "Most Important Meal of the Day"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Poolside
Stardate: 30152.0800
Blue. Red. Green. Black. White. Gold. Silver. So many colors and those had only been the ladies' hair. When adding the range of skin tones, the combination had been nearly infinite. Of course there had been the bikinis which added a whole different level with their suggestive cuts and colored designs.
Jayson had found a seat near the pool that gave him an unobstructed view of the show that he had stumbled upon. He had still not figured out what all of this had been about or why it had taken place so early in the morning, but asking questions had not been on his mind. Whatever guilt he might have felt had been dismissed under the reasoning that they had been sent here to observe and gather intel on anything and everything they could. So discovering why all of these lovely ladies had come here had fallen within the jurisdiction of that mandate.
So he sat on the edge of the seat, his eyes staying on any single lady for no more than a few seconds. For all he knew one of them could have been hiding something or had wanted to use this event to contact someone without anyone else being the wiser.
Anytime he saw someone with black hair though, his eyes stayed on them for a little longer as he confirmed with more diligence that they had not been the woman who had been in his room the night before. That she had appeared so much like Ya'Han had been surprising enough, but to have her just vanish from his room had been troubling in some ways.
The question of her identity had never been answered and this had forced Jayson to become almost fixated on locating the woman to see if she was Ya'Jun, the Chief of Security's sister.
"Enjoying the show?"
The words had been filled with an energy that only a woman could provide when speaking to a man, and Jayson found himself instantly taken by whoever had spoken even if he had not yet seen her. When he turn, his eyes fell onto a blue skinned, white haired woman sporting a breathtaking metallic silver bikini. Her smile had been simple but seemed to hint to something far more devilish. All he could do was to return the smile as best he could as she walked away and rejoined the other woman who had started to line up by the pool's edge.
"Great, another woman who just left without telling me her name. This is starting to be a bad habit."
As upset as he might have been, the OPS officer did not let this latest setback distract him too much from his 'intel gathering' assignment. There would likely be ample more opportunities to speak to anyone of the ladies and learn more about the event that he believed had been about to start.
One by one the ladies dove into the pool following some sort of unseen signal. The choreography had been nearly perfect making Jayson believe that this could not have been a simple coincidence that all of these ladies had come here like this.
From where he sat the OPS officer could see the ladies come up for air before going back down beneath the watery surface in what appeared to be a synchronized routine. The mixture of hair and skin color as they became visible before vanishing once again had been hypnotic. It would have been impossible for him to draw his eyes away had he wanted to, and doing so right about now had not even been a distant thought.
Whatever this 'show' had been, it had been a most enchanting one that Jayson had thought himself to be extremely fortunate to have been permitted to enjoy. Maybe once the show would be finished he would be able to understand what this colorful display had all been about.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Most Important Meal of the Day"
[previous post was "Thinking and Thinking Some More"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Main Dining Area
Stardate: 30152.0750
She hated to admit it but the black haired Chief of Security had actually tuned out the woman sitting directly across from her at he table. The explanations as to how she had found a specific detail had simply been too long for anyone to keep track of. Ya'Han could only hope that Maya would give her some sort of warning before actually revealing this breakthrough data, if she actually did reveal it at all.
When the Chief Science Officer became silent for more than a split second, Ya'Han quickly raised her head fearing that she had missed the conclusion of the wordy explanation. The fear had not been that the Chief of Security had missed the conclusion but rather that the Chief Science Officer might decide to start back from the beginning. When a single whispered word was uttered by Maya, the black haired woman knew that something was up.
"Understood?" Ya'Han said, repeating the word as well as the quietly whispered tone used by Maya.
"I cannot explain at this time but I will need a few additional items from the buffet. Stay here and wait for me," the undercover Chief Science Officer said as she stood from her chair and headed back to the buffet in a single minded attitude leaving behind a confused and puzzled Chief of Security.
Ya'Han debated contacting ANI to ask what had happened but instead she just leaned her chin on the palms of her hands, her elbows having been anchored firmly onto the table top to watch Maya as she went about her business. Being onboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS had made the black haired woman forget for a moment her rank in comparison to that of the woman currently walking towards the buffet. If Lieutenant Commander Maya had decided to take care of something without informing the Ensign that she was, Ya'Han had little choice or say in the matter.
No longer distracted by the seemingly endless explanation provided by the now absent woman from the table, the Chief of Security became aware of a set of eye intensely observing her every move. It had not taken long for Ya'Han to identify the location of this scrutiny and it was with a great deal of discus that she met the gaze of the Ferengi as he stared back at her.
Instinctively the black haired woman had wanted to rush through the nearest exit, but given her current situation that option had not been a valid one. As a member of Starfleet and of the USS ANUBIS, Ya'Han now possessed a certain protection and combat skills that she never had before when faced with a similar situation. Beyond that, she had received a direct order from a superior officer to remain where she had been, so there had been nothing else for the Chief of Security to do but to wait.
Her hatred for a specific Ferengi as well as her wish to not become his 'property' had led to Ya'Han despising the race as a whole, but after a few moments of contemplation the Chief of Security decided to look back once again. She had come to know a fair number of Ferengi merchants and officers during her time on NYLA IV as well as throughout her running away, and now she wondered if the one sitting several tables back might have been one of them.
Slowly Ya'Han turned and met the troll's gaze once again, his pointy teeth smile almost enough to make lose whatever breakfast she had been able to eat so far. She smiled back and carefully studied his features before turning back satisfied that this had been the first time the exiled thirteenth daughter of the High Sovereign had ever seen him.
"Is everything alright?" Maya asked as she placed a new tray on the table, this one having a very odd selection of fruits and juices.
"Everything is fine," Ya'Han said with a sigh not truly wanting to go into the details of her personal hatred for all things Ferengi.
"Again I cannot explain at this time but I need you to do something for me," Maya said as she returned to the seat on the opposite side of the table the two women shared.
"Of course. What do you need me to do?" The black haired Chief of Security said hoping that whatever it was that she would be asked to do would take her far away from this room and the Ferengi troll that sat in it.
"I need you to eat all of these," the Chief Science Officer said as she pushed the new tray forward. "More specifically, I need you to ingest each item one at a time starting from the upper left corner and working your way across until you reach the bottom right."
"Why do I have the feeling that I am not going to like the outcome," Ya'Han said. She had no intention of not doing as she had been told, but the black haired woman had still wished that a little more details had been given as to why this task had been requested from her.
"It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Maya said with a soft grin as she took notice of the arrival of Doctor Mizore into the main dining area.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Thinking and Thinking Some More"
[previous post was "An Unexpected and Welcomed Opportunity" by the evil Jessica]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-031 (Shar'El)
Stardate: 30152.0730
"ANI," the acting ExO / ILO said as she stood in front of the mirror located in her room.
=/\= Yes Commander, =/\= the Avatar answered through the subdermal communicator insuring that only the Ullian could hear the voice of the artificial being.
"Is Doctor Mizore awake?" Shar'El asked while her eyes studied the reflection that stared back at her with a perplexed expression.
=/\= Doctor Mizore is in her room and awake, =/\= ANI replied. Any other officer would have likely inquired as to the reason for this request, possibly even going as far as to question the raven haired woman's health. One advantage of the ANUBIS' Avatar had been her Vulcan-like efficiency and directness, which avoid a great deal of lost time with unneeded questions and chat.
"Good, open a communications link between Doctor Mizore and myself please," the acting ExO said before she paused for an instant and sighed at her reflection. Ya'Han had been courageous in revealing so much about herself to the crew, a courage that Shar'El found herself envious of on many levels. As much as the raven haired woman would have liked to continue thinking on this matter as she had been doing for a while, their mission and the needs of the Chief of Security to know the reality of their situation had taken priority.
=/\= Good morning Commander, how may I be of assistance this morning? I doubt very much that you are going to tell me that you are suffering from some sort of space sickness.=/\= The Bajoran said, her voice having replaced that of ANI through the subdermal communicator. Although the CMO's voice had come across as being far warmer than that of the Avatar, the acting ExO / ILO could not help but hear a distinct Vulcan tone echo in her words.
"I was thinking of a way to help locate Ya'Jan, if she is in fact on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS," the acting ExO / ILO said. "If we limit ourselves to luck in running into her amongst the other 1500 guests, we run the risk of completely missing her during the entire three weeks of of stay here.
=/\= What did you have in mind? =/\= The CMO asked sounding interested and perplexed all at the same time.
"Why not use the ANUBIS' extensive scanning capabilities to locate any other Nylaan on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS?" the Acting ExO / ILO said, sounding almost surprised that no one else had thought of this simple and efficient method to attain their objective.
=/\= If memory serves me well, =/\= the CMO began, clearly trying to recall the details of the last medical scan performed on the Chief of Security, =/\= there are actually very few biological differences between the inhabitants of NYLA IV and most other Humanoids including Terrans. =/\=
"I was afraid you'd say something like that," Shar'El said not trying to hide her displeasure. As much as she knew that this idea had been a long shot, the raven haired woman had still held onto the hope that this could have resolved their problem with little effort on their part.
=/\= That said, maybe I could find some sort of genetic marker or biological divergence that the ANUBIS could actually scan for, =/\= the CMO continued, her words having caused the Acting ExO / ILO to grin more than she had done since the start of this mission.
"What would you need?" Shar'El said, ready to jump into action to make the demands of the ANUBIS' CMO become a reality.
=/\= I would need to perform a complete and thorough medical examination of Ensign Ya'Han to see if there is something that we could easily use to identify her race from all others in the crowd that is present on this cruise liner. =/\= Although Seska's voice had been calm, Shar'El could not help but hear a distinct *but* hidden in her words.
"I am guessing by your tone that you foresee some complications with this plan of yours," the raven haired ExO / ILO sighed. What could it not have been simple and easy?
=/\= Returning to the ANUBIS would risk revealing the true nature of our presence here and without any dedicated medical equipment, I would not be able t perform the required examination, =/\= Doctor Mizore explained.
"ANI," Shar'El continued, an almost evil grin having formed on her lips. "Where is Ya'Han now?"
=/\= Ensign Ya'Han is currently in the Main Dining Area along with Commander Maya. =/\= The Avatar answered having made sure that both the Acting ExO / ILO and CMO had heard her report.
"Doctor, I think you should report to the Main Dining Area with all due haste," Shar'El said, a devious expression having engraved itself onto her features.
=/\= Why? =/\= Seska asked puzzled by both Shar'El's last words as well as the tone in which they had been spoken.
"I believe Miss Ya'Han is about to suffer from some sort of malaise that will require her to go to the ship's infirmary. Once there, I am sure that we can arrange for you to have some quiet and alone time with the patient to perform the required examination.
=/\= On my way, =/\= the CMO said having been made to understand the plan although the actual specifics of how this plan would come to be brought into action had still been rather sketchy.
"ANI, open a link to Commander Maya," the raven haired woman quickly continued with.
=/\= Ready. =/\=
"Maya, this is Shar'El. I know that you are in a public area but all I need from you right now is to listen. Doctor Mizore needs to perform a few medical scans on Ya'Han to help us locate her sister through a ship wide scan that the ANUBIS could perform, but we need specific details on the biology of a Nylaan. Doctor Mizore will escort Chief of Security to the infirmary but in order for this to work, Ya'Han will need to actually be *ill*. I hope that you can find something in your immediate surroundings to make this happen. To make this seem more real to everyone else, I would suggest that you say nothing to Ya'Han about what is about to happen."
=/\= Understood. =/\= Was all that the Chief Science Officer said, a short and direct answer that actually troubled the Acting ExO / ILO, the Shillian not having been known for ever being short on words.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
---
"An Unexpected and Welcomed Opportunity"
(Previous Post: "Still Waking Up")
---
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Main Dining Area
Stardate: 30152.0730
The steaming cup of pureed gree-worm sat on the table held tightly in his small greedy hands as his shifty tired eyes wandered about the room without any actual purpose. Rule of Acquisition number 22 clearly stated that 'A wise man can hear profit in the wind,' which had been the reason that had led him to book a three week Risian cruise getaway, his instincts having directed him to this particular ship at this particular time.
The moment he had become aware of the Black and White Ball he knew that this had been the reason for his having been on board. Unfortunately for him, and despite the Ferengi having made a loud and obnoxious show and fuss to the staff of the cruise liner, he had been categorically refused entrance to the event. Like it or not he had not been invited to the elite and exclusive event. As far as Bruk had been concerned, this had been a missed golden opportunity to introduce himself to some very wealthy and influential individuals through which he would most certainly have secured countless highly profitable deals.
Instead the denied Ferengi had spent the entire evening and night alone in this public space, trying his best to figure out a way to salvage the trip while wondering how his instincts could have been so wrong. The smell of profit still hung in the hair but Bruk had begun to question his skills at being able to take the fullest possible advantage of whatever opportunity might present itself.
Rule of Acquisition number 74 echoed over and over in his head; 'Knowledge equals profit,' and right now the Ferengi seemed to lack rather heavily on both, far more than he could ever care for. With each passing minute Bruk felt the would-be gold-pressed latinum profits slipping further and further from his grasp, depressing him that much more. The rather common, mid-class merchant had needed to find a way to make a profit on this trip and fast, or risk losing whatever small reputation he had managed to claim for himself.
---
Since she had approached Ya'han back at the breakfast buffet, the Shillian had not stopped talking about the extensive research that she had been involved with through the night. Even as the two women walked to one of the many vacant tables with their trays in hand, the undercover Chief Science Officer of the USS ANUBIS continued to give elaborate details as to how she had managed to find one specific piece of information amongst everything else.
The two women sat on opposite ends of the small square table, their trays filled with a wide variety of fresh fruits which Ya'Han had figured had been the safest possible selection for her to sample this morning. The undercover Chief of Security watched with great interest as the Shillian cut into one of the small green coloured fruits and brought the bite to her lips while she continued talking. At the very least this should grant a few seconds of silence to be shared between the two, but alas the Scientist had found a way to enjoy her breakfast without actually taking the slightest break from her half whispered and overly detailed explanation.
The best that the Chief of Security could do at this time was to focus on her breakfast and hope that the Shillian would, sooner rather than later, actually reach the conclusion of her explanations and reveal the information of interest that she had discovered.
---
There had been no reason for his gaze to have locked on either of the two women who had just sat down several tables away, but for some unexplainable reason the fullest attention of the Ferengi had fallen onto the woman with the black hair who now sat with her back to him. A Humanoid female who appeared rather physically fit, the woman seemed to be the type to not be worth his time or effort. Females such as her usually held interests worlds apart from his own, yet he could not bring himself to stop looking at her. There had been something oddly familiar with the general shape and unique posture of the woman.
Bruk reminded himself several times of the Rule of Acquisition number 94 which firmly stated that 'Females and finances don't mix,' but still the Ferengi could not shake the feeling that the physical features of the woman with the black hair had appeared uniquely familiar. Had his interest in her been instinctual or had the Ferengi been so depressed that he had unconsciously sought out someone who might be able to bring some joy to his currently miserable life?
The more he looked at the woman with the black hair, studying the way she moved and even the way her hair flowed over her shoulders, the Ferengi tried to imagine as to what pleasures she would be able to provide him with. As great as Oo-Mox would have felt at this time, Bruk very much doubted that she had been the type to do such an act, her muscular frame lending itself to activities far more graceful and demanding.
Images, bordering more on dreams and fantasies, of the woman taking part in various physical activities filled the mind of the Ferengi causing him to smile, That was when Bruk figured out what had been so familiar about the woman and what he had found so out of place; her hair colour had been entirely wrong. As a Ferengi merchant he had traveled to NYLA IV on numerous occasions and had enjoyed the hospitality of that world, especially that of the women belonging to the field of entertainment. It had come to him as both a shock and surprise that a female from that world had been on board such a luxury cruise liner, but the possibility of her having been here as an escort of some rich and powerful guest had opened up a very interesting business opportunity.
Performers from NYLA IV were renowned for their multitude of skills and where always very highly sough, so Bruk began to formulate a plan that he hoped would see this prized female gem make this trip a most profitable and enjoyable one.
---
Jessica Solarik
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
&
Captain Selene Fiona Iverson
Commanding Officer
USS BASTET
"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
"Still Waking Up"
[previous "Luxury Breakfast"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Outer walkway
Stardate: 30152.0725
He had been casually walking along the outer walkways of the ship since he had waken from his dream. The images and sensations had been real enough to make sure that he would not be able to get back to sleep anytime soon. So in the hopes of clearing in mind, the OPS officer went for a walk about the luxury cruise liner.
The reason for his stroll about the ship might have been troublesome, but the view that followed his ever steps had been anything but. The MASQUERADE DREAMS had been designed to please its passengers in every way possible, even if they were doing nothing else but walking. It had been hard for for the OPS officer not to find the scenery next to him inviting and charming. All that stood between him and the stars had been an endless string of large panes of transparent aluminum. The illusion of floating in space had nearly been perfect and certainly had helped in taking Jayson's mind off last night's dream.
As he walked though, one problem kept up with him, the unexpected disappearance of his 'guest'. Instead of learning more from the mysterious woman, the OPS officer had only been left with questions and an empty bed. Jayson could have asked the ANUBIS' Avatar for some help but he decided against it in the end. For the time being he thought it best to try and solve this puzzle on his own, especially given that he had so little to work with. Of course not wanting to even try to explain how he might have ended up with Ya'Han's sister in his room and how she had just vanished had been a huge reason for his not wanting to tell anyone.
So he continued to walk, his eyes moving from the enchanting stars to the walkway stretching before him. Suddenly a flash of green hair down the walkway immediately drew his fullest attention. Although he had not seen the actual person, the length and color of the hair had been enough to make Jayson believe that it had been Ye'Lan. Blasting into a full out run would have drawn far too much attention, so instead he simply picked up the pace and made sure to turn around the corner where the green haired person had vanished.
Jayson came to a complete full stop when he saw the gathering further down the corridor. There had been no way for him to quickly understand what he had stumbled upon, but the OPS officer knew that it had been something beyond the ordinary. His head tilted slightly to one side as he studied the several dozen women dressed in revealing bikinis, their hairs covering the full range of colors.
At this hour it seemed odd to have such a gathering, but Jayson had not been one to simply dismiss the discovery. So after tugging onto his civilian shirt, the OPS officer continued down the corridor half wondering if he had still been dreaming.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Luxury Breakfast"
[previous post was "Reality of Dreams"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Main Dining Area
Stardate: 30152.0700
Ya'Han made her way to the dining area with a certain sense of nervousness and uneasiness. The events of the night before and the unexpected visit of a shadowy character in her room had made the black haired Chief of Security hyper vigilant. The added fact that she had been heading for breakfast had only made matters worst, her more recent experiences with this specific early day meal not having been as great as many had claimed it would and should be.
It had been a late start for the Chief of Security who had remained in her room well past her normal hours, but Ya'Han was surprised to find very few people present in the ship's main dining area. It appeared that being onboard a luxury cruise liner meant, at least for some, that getting up in the morning had been an elective activity. Then again, taking into account the Black and White Ball from the evening before, it made sense that a fair number of people had needed several more hours of rest before starting the day.
Keeping a close watch on those few around her, the black haired woman made her way to the imposing breakfast buffet. In this age of food replicators and artificial nutritional supplements, it had been quite a shock to see such a wide range of fresh foods having been made available to her and the rest of the guests. Even her own memories of official breakfast when she was but a child back on NYLA IV failed to rival with the layout set by the kitchen and staff of the MASQUERADE DREAMS.
"What do you mean these eggs are imported from RISA?" a woman a few meters ahead of Ya'Han demanded in a very irritated manner, bothering on full blown anger. "The brochure clearly stated that all food items would be *fresh*, so explain to me how something *imported* can be *fresh*?"
The black haired woman could not help but inwardly laugh at the woman's outrage. It was truly amazing to see how some people could act and react in certain situations. The worst of it was that Ya'Han could recall one of her own brothers being very much like this lady was, possessing a idea of self-importance that stood well above all else.
Ya'Han's shoulder sank ever so slightly as her thoughts went from her brother to the sister who might be onboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS. So far no one had been able to confirm or deny her actual presence on the luxury cruise liner, which meant that the conflict that raged within the self exiled thirteenth daughter would unfortunately continue for some time.
"Princess."
The black haired woman had been so caught up in her thoughts and memories that she had not heard anything other than that one specific word. Fearing that it had been directed to her, Ya'Han quickly looked around in an effort to locate the person who had spoken it. The eyes of the Chief of Security fell upon one of the servers on the other side of the counter, his own eyes locked on her.
"Excuse me?" Ya'Han asked in a hushed tone, very much afraid that she had been recognized although the title used did not fit as her father was a High Sovereign and not a King.
"My apologies," the man rapidly said in a trembling whispered voice, his eyes having quickly found the floor between his feet. "It was not my place to express my personal opinion of some of our guests. I humbly plead for your forgiveness." To say that the man had been scared would have been a huge understatement, and the way his entire body shook only hinted to just how terrified he had so quickly become.
Ya'Han turned her eyes back onto the woman who had still been in the midst of her argument with another server before returning her attention to the shamed man trembling on the other side of the counter. "I assure you that you have nothing to apologise for as I did not hear you say anything inappropriate, be it to me or anyone else."
The server's head very slowly came back up as a nervous smile tried to become visible. The Chief of Security understood all too well the need for the crew to be respectful of the guests at all times and this regardless of what might be said or done, but Ya'Han had learned the hard way how people such as him could be made to regret the slightest of indiscretions.
"Thank... thank you Miss," the server said as he tried to calm himself down in the hopes of ending his body's tremors. Before either could say anything more another guest came in to stand directly next to the black haired woman.
"You will *not* believe what happened to me last night," someone said in a half whispered voice as they slid in next to the Chief of Security, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder as if the two of them had been long-time acquaintances.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Reality of Dreams"
[previous post was "Adlibbing" by the sneaky Lorraine]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-031 (Shar'El)
Stardate: 30152.0210
It is the philosophy of certain races that the universe which surrounds us is shaped by the thoughts and beliefs of the observer. Reality therefore takes on the form that they wish it to, but what of dreams? If reality is nothing more than ideas and dreams given form, would it not be logical to agree that those same dreams are a reality onto themselves?
Before the events surrounding Ensign Ya'Han had begun, the raven haired acting ExO/ILO had been listening in on the memories of those in the ballroom. With so many people present in a single area, it had taken all of the Ullian's concentration to not let these surface memories overwhelm her. Making sense of all these images and emotions had been the next imposing challenge.
Parents remembering events of importance in the lives of their children; diplomats recalling difficult negotiations with other races; politiciens explaining how they had been forced to bring drastic changes in their world's social structure; as well as a few high ranking military officials boasting about their victories against ruthless, bloodthirsty invaders. All of these had been but a small sample of what Shar'El had observed through the broadcasted memories of others. The ILO had also listened in on other's personal accounts which had allowed her to identify the players amongst the crowd whose interest had been nothing more than to add new conquests to their already lengthy list.
Once she had retreated to her room, Shar'El had calmed her mind to review all that she had learned. Through this jumble of disconnected memories, the acting ExO/ILO had done her best to make sense of it all hoping to find some bit of information that would help Ensign Ya'Han and the rest of the undercover team of the ANIBUS to locate the Chief of Security's older sister Ya'Jan. Her efforts had proven futile as no one seemed to remember anything having to do with the runaway daughter of the High Sovereign of NYLA IV, but the physical demands of the evening and current research had proven too much for the Ullian.
As various memories came and went while she slept, some of Shar'El's own memories began to surface despite her desire for them not to. Some of these had been from her time at STARBASE 118 and Starfleet Academy, but others dealt with time and events that had never been hers to experience. Subconsciously the Ullian knew that these memories had been taken from the ancient machine discovered on the moon of PI ALPHA III, but this knowledge had not helped the raven haired woman to sort through the countless images that came into view.
In the world of reality, the occasional twitching and involuntary movement of her arms and legs were the only hints as to the struggle she faced in the realm of dreams. Her time connected to the ancient machine had given her a gift, one that had been pried open and analysed during her extensive debriefing after the mission.
Her promotion and reassignment to the USS ANUBIS as acting ExO had been because of these memories and the knowledge that she had gained through them. The ideas and beliefs of several cultures and civilizations that had long vanished had made their home in her head, each one giving Shar'El a new perspective into the universe. Logic and emotions, believed by some such as the Vulcans as being on opposite ends of the equation of life, had slowly come to be together in near perfect harmony within the ILO's dreams.
The mission that they all had been on began to slip from the acting ExO/ILO's mind as her dreams began to shape a new reality around her, a universe where personal conflicts and individual power gave way to a greater universal understanding. Shar'El found herself awestruck by this concept, one that she could not truly understand, but one which had served its purpose; to help the raven haired woman understand a little more the fundamental building blocks of individual realities.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
=====
"Adlibbing"
Previous post – Jayson's "The Morning After"
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Engineering Lower Deck C (Deck 28)
Stardate: 30152.0200
Although she had been an Engineer, Sonja moved with the speed and skill of a trained Intel Operative as she ducked behind one of the vertical conduits to better observe whoever or whatever had emerged from the hidden crawlspace. The redhead had made a point to memorize the schematics of the MASQUERADE DREAMS, so it was with a great deal of surprise that she had found her knowledge lacking.
With her emerald eyes fixated on the unexpected member of the engineering staff, the CEO mentally reviewed the ship's layout in an attempt to determine where the hidden crawlspace might have led to. With 27 decks above her head though, the list of possibilities had been too numerous to explore at this time, but the redheaded Engineer had made a mental note to research this further when the opportunity would present itself.
Having noticed an opportunity to make a discrete and unseen exit, Sonja pivoted on the tips of her toes, planning to return to the public decks and eventually her own room where she would be able to research this hidden crawlspace. As she turned though, her elbow caught the edge of a tool that had been left behind.
:: What kind of numbskull engineer leaves their tools behind like this,:: the Chief Engineer thought to herself, powerless to stop the metal device from hitting various pipes and conduits as it made its way towards the floor plates. If the clanging sound of the tool playing pinball with the pipes had not been enough to draw someone's attention, the loud echoing crash of the device's final impact should have been enough to alert whoever had been on duty all the way up on the bridge.
"Who is there!?!?" The demanding request had been quickly followed by the sound of rushing footsteps leaving Sonja with no time to hide or even to attempt a rapid exit.
"Not so loud," the redhead said in a hushed voice, motioning the man who had come running to investigate to keep it down with both of her hands. Acting as if she had been severely impaired, likely due to excessive consumption, Sonja gazed up for a split second to see if her efforts had at the very least been mildly successful. To the Engineer's surprise, she saw a furry Caitian standing in front of her instead of a Human.
"You should not be here," the MASQUERADE DREAMS' lower class Engineer noted with a low growl as he rushed in closer to catch the woman who had just lost her balance.
The truth had been that Sonja had done this to draw the Caitian in closer, thus limiting his ability to move and insuring that should she need to subdue the man, she would be able to do so with much greater ease.
"Thank you," the redhead half mumbled as she ran her hand through the Caitian's fur located directly behind his neck. While he would believe that the intoxicated woman had done so to help stabilize herself, Sonja had found the perfect way to get a solid hold of the Humanoid should she need to introduce him to the nearest bulkhead. "This is the first time that I have been rescued by such a soft kitty," Sonja purred.
It was easy to see the dislike on the Caitain's face in the use of the tern 'kitty’, something that he had likely heard far too many times for his own liking.
"Miss, I am not sure how you got down here but you need to return to the upper decks," the Caitian offered, obviously doing his best to maintain his composure. After all he had been a member of the crew of the MASQUERADE DREAMS and she had been a passenger, one who could possibly make his life a lot more complicated than it had already been.
"I don't think I will be able to make it on my own," Sonja added with a slight slur as she forced one of her feet to slide from beneath her body, placing the greater majority of her weight in the arms of her 'saviour'. "Why don’t you help me out fuzzy,” the redhead added dreamingly as she touched the Caitian's face in almost a caressing manner.
The low level Engineer drew in a deep breath to help calm himself. Not only had the redhead been drunk but she had been flirting with him forcing he Captain Engineer to be even more careful as to how he needed to approach the situation. "The name is Kytith and I will help you get back to the upper decks," he said as he helped the stumbling woman to the nearest turbolift.
After having helped the intoxicated woman in, Kytith took one large step backwards, leaving the redhead alone in the transport pod.
"Aren't you coming along?" Sonja asked in a sing-song tone. "Always wanted to know what a living fur blanket feels like."
Kytith rolled his eyes as the door to the turbolift closed, ending his nightmare encounter with the red headed woman. On the other side of the doors, Sonja let out a sigh of relief. "So glad fur-face didn't follow me to my room, that could have been a hard mess to untangle."
=====
Lorraine Paquette
Lieutenant JG Sonja Paquette
Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
"The Morning After"
[previous "Curiouser and Curiouser"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-143 (Jayson)
Stardate: 30152.0540
He studied her through the night without making a sound, scared that his simple breathing would wake her. She appeared so peaceful there on top of the bed.
On the Skydome deck Jayson had thought that this woman had been Ya'Han. The mistake had been an easy one to understand given just how much the two of them looked alike. The unknown woman had returned to his room while hanging onto his arm. The feeling had been both nice and strange all at the same time for the OPS officer.
The last time someone had held on to him that way had been in another life. Because of this he felt guilty in the tender warmth that he had experience through such a simple act. Jayson felt even more guilt when he would look at the woman and see his shipmate holding onto him. He could not tell if the gesture had been caused by fear or loneliness, but he could not find it within him to stop it.
Once in his room the two spoke about themselves, yet she managed to never reveal anything about her actual identity. The woman had remained a complete mystery until she fell asleep on his bed. Not having learned anything, Jayson hoped that she might reveal something in her sleep, so he watched in silence.
She mumbled something that he had been unable to make out from the corner of the bed where he sat. So he leaned in closer hoping to be able to make out words from the sounds that came from her lips. He watched and listened with such intensity that Jayson could see nothing else but her lips.
He was completely surprised when she wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes having opened to the fullest in a single second. Had she baited him or had he woken her by his closeness? The only thing he needed to had was to gently grab her wrists and free himself from her hold. His only crime having been to lean in too close to hear what she had been mumbling.
She fought against his effort to escape while she smiled. Her strength had not been anywhere close to that of their Chief of Security Ya'Han. A subtle reminder that this woman had been someone else, a stranger, but Jayson could not bring himself to use his strength to break free. Her smile was intoxicating and he soon found himself leaning in even closer.
She did not push him away, in fact she pulled him closer until their lips touched. Flashes of his wife invaded his mind as well as dreams of the woman with hair as black as night who had tossed him onto the gymnasium mat the first time they sparred together. Confusion filled his thoughts as he found himself wanting to take the woman into his arms to explore his feelings, while wishing above all else to be anywhere but here.
Kissing a stranger had been a forbidden act, one made to be this way because of the loving memories of his wife. Kissing Ya'Han, even if only in appearance had been crossing a professional line that he could not permit himself to ever do. Yet, the warmth against his lips had been so inviting, so perfect that there had been no way for him to resist.
Just as he felt himself ready to completely lose control, he found the emotional strength to do what he had needed to do. As gently as he could, he pushed himself away, forgetting for an instant that eh had been sitting right at the edge of the bed. The shortfall seemed to last an eternity as he saw the distance between the woman resembling Ya'Han and himself increase. It had been as if he had pushed himself down a bottomless abyss, a move that he had instantly regretted when his eyes met those of his shipmate.
He fell into nothingness until his limp body finally crashed onto the floor with the force and elegance of a thousand starships.
Jayson pulled himself back onto his feet to find himself at the feet of the bed and not its side. What he saw next confused him even more, the bed had been empty, the strange woman having left without his knowledge.
The kiss had been nothing more than a dream, but what a dream it was.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
##########
"Curiouser and Curiouser"
Previous post "Late Night"
##########
"It's quite a place. A place of good times and bad, of pain and growth, but in the end a place of great hope. - But if you ever do come aboard, remember one thing: No one there is exactly what he seems. But then, who is?"
- G'Kar, Babylon 5
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-112 (Erik)
Stardate: 30152.0130
The Native American sat quietly at the small table that had been pulled from one of the walls of his room. As luxurious as the MASQUERADE DREAMS may have been, the quarters that the ANUBIS' CO had been assigned to had been small by any standards. The undercover Captain suspected that this had been arranged by Admiral Koniki as some sort of retribution for something the Commanding Officer had either said or done in the past. Still the accommodations had been more than enough for Erik to be able to rest, relax and review the plentiful information that had been provided by ANI. Simplicity did have its own charms.
The core of their mission on board the luxury cruise liner had not changed; they were here to gather as much Intel as possible from as many different sources. The events that had taken place during last night's Ball and seemed focused around Ensign Ya'Han had added a level of intrigue to their mission. The revelations made by their Chief of Security afterwards as well as the possible presence of an older sister on board had rallied many members of the Senior Staff onto a single-minded perspective and goal. To find this Ya'Jan and through this help both Nylaan sisters secure a long, prosperous and hopefully happy life.
Erik had not at all been surprised when he failed to find anyone by the name of Ya'Jun on the ship's guest list. Had the woman been so easily found, Drask Pharren and others like him would have been able to locate the missing Nylaan long before now. This left the Native American and his officers with the task of discovering the woman's potential alternate identity in order to permit them to find her, if she was indeed on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS. Given that they had only began this investigation, it had been a fair assumption to consider that time had been very much against them.
"ANI," the Native American said as he stifled a yawn.
=/\= Yes Captain, =/\= the Avatar promptly replied, =/\= Should you not be resting at this hour? It is my understanding that most Humans require several hours of sleep to maintain a good working condition. =/\=
"Have you been talking to Ensign Mizore?" the CO chuckled, the words used by the ANUBIS' Avatar having easily come across as if they had been spoken by the ship's own CMO.
=/\= I have not, =/\= ANI confirmed, =/\= After having spoken with Ensign Ya'Han, both Doctor Mizore and Counselor Dalziel returned to their quarters without speaking to me or anyone else. =/\=
"They must have been busy with their own thoughts," the Native American figured out loud. "Anyway, I need your help in trying to find this Ya'Jun. It makes sense that she would not be using her real name, but given the security precautions used on vessels like this one, she would not have been able to use just any name that came to mind. She would have needed an established identity, one that could be researched and cleared. So I need you to access the passenger clearance files for this ship as well as any other operating within 25 light years of this location for the last seven months. We need to find a 25 years-old or so woman who has boarded one or more cruise liners over this period, use whatever search criteria you feel may help us narrow the list down."
=/\= I will begin the search, =/\= ANI said, her usual Vulcan-like tone of voice actually sounded taken aback for a moment. =/\= Any additional information you will be able to provide will be of great use. =/\=
"As soon as we get anything more you will be the first to know," Erik said through a gentle sigh knowing very well that the task he has sent ANI on had been one that would test the extensive capabilities of the AVATAR and ship that she had been an integral part of.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-101 (Ya'Han)
Stardate: 30152.0135
"Who are you?" Ya'Han demanded of the shadowy form sitting only a few meters in front of her. Although surprised by the individual's unexpected presence, the Chief of Security had been more than ready to defend herself should the need arise.
"Don't tell me that you don't remember your old friend," the shadowing individual said, fainting hurt emotions. "After everything that I did for you, I would have hoped that you would be happy to see me."
"I'm sorry," the Nylaan undercover Starfleet Officer said as she tried to come up with something more to say. Given that she had never heard the name before now, it had been easy to guess that the individual had mistaken Ya'Han for someone else, likely Ya'Jun, and if he had the Chief of Security needed to play along to learn as much as she could about the possible whereabouts of her older sister. "You startled me. I was not expecting anyone to being in my room, plus I think I have had a few too many drinks tonight."
"You! Drink?" the man echoed with audible surprise. "Well, guess after seven months of running and hiding it was bound to happen although I would have thought that the incident that followed your first time drinking that Benzite Bubbly would have been enough to keep you away from anything that might cause you to lose control."
Ya'Han cringed as she believed that she had made a mistake, one that could lead to whoever this unknown individual to discover that the woman standing before him had not been the one he had thought her to be. "There were just so many people enjoying themselves, I just followed without thinking," the undercover Chief of Security added, hoping that this would be enough to convince the shadowy man.
"You have never been one to step away from good music and fun," he laughed, "That is one of the reasons why you are here and why I have come to speak to you," the man continued while remaining hidden by the shadows that filled the room. "You need to keep a lower profile, there are people out there looking for you and I have limited resources that I can use to protect you. The fact that you came on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS without telling me is by itself asking for trouble, there are just too many people and ways that someone can get to you here."
"I can take care of myself," Ya'Han said, only realizing after the fact that she had made the statement more as herself than as her sister would or should have.
"Yeah," the hidden man said in a dismissive tone, "I remember just how well you took care of yourself the last time. Listen, I am here to help you because you asked me to seven months ago, but I cannot be here all the time. I have things to take care of, people to see and deals to make. All of these force me to travel back and forth. You need to take things easy and keep a low profile."
"I'm sorry," Ya'Han added, sensing that the unknown individual seemed to actually care for Ya'Jun's safety in some way. "I will do better from now on."
"Good," the unknown man said as he stood from he chair that he had been sitting in. "If I was able to find you, the others will be able to do so as well, so be careful."
Ya'Han had been ready to say something more when she realized that the presence that had been there had somehow vanished. "ANI, someone just left my room through some sort of transporter system. Can you track them?"
=/\= I am sorry, =/\= the Avatar reported. =/\= Sensors did not pick up any type of energy displacement, be it from a transporter beam or otherwise. =/\=
"Well, I wasn't talking to myself," the Chief of Security huffed in frustration, not yet ready to question her own senses or sanity.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-004 (Eve)
Stardate: 30152.0140
The Cardassian born Counselor drew in a long deep breath as she closed her eyes and fell backwards onto her bed, her tired form happily welcoming the soft, cushioned sensation of her sheets. Eve could only hope that everyone else from the ANUBIS had been given such luxurious rooms and that they would all rest as well as she suspected she would.
It was true that there had been a great deal of work and research to be done in regards to Ya'Han's sister and her possible whereabouts on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS, but after the lengthy talk shared between the Chief of Security and Chief Medical Officer, the Ship's Counsellor had been more than ready to call it a night.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-143 (Jayson)
Stardate: 30152.0140
The Chief of Operations sat on the edge of the bed and watched with great interest the woman who had accompanied him back to his room. At first glance she could have easily passed for the ANUBIS' Chief of Security but Ensign Stark knew better.
More than once he had wanted to contact ANI but feared that any sound he made would wake his unexpected guest. So he sat and watched, trying to understand the situation that he had found himself in while not doing anything that might risk waking the mysterious woman whom he knew nothing about, including her name.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-089 (Maya)
Stardate: 30152.0145
The Chief Science Officer had laid out more than a dozen PADDs on the bed on which she should have been resting in over an hour ago. With her mind filled with questions, each demanding to be answered with the greatest of urgency, the Shillian Commander had been unable to rest. The desire and need to find the answers had been all that she could focus on, so her task had been a simple one, at least by definition. Was Ya'Han's sister Ya'Jun actually on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS and if so what identity had she been using to avoid being recognized by Drask Pharren and others like him?
The fact that people such as the Pythron merchant were actively searching for the escaped high ranking Nylaan woman only drove the CSciO to work as fast and hard as she could. This mystery required a rapid solution if the outcome was to be a good one for everyone involved.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 24-102 (Seska)
Stardate: 30152.0145
As a member of Starfleet's Medical Staff, Doctor Mizore had been very well aware of the importance of getting a good night's rest. This biological requirement of most Humanoid races had been hardwired into their physiological make-up from the dawn of time, so it had not been such a hard sell for the CMO to convince herself to get into bed.
Sleep had a way of clearing one's mind and allowing them to approach a somewhat complicated situation with much greater clarity upon waking. What Seska had not counted on had been to be unexpectedly awakened from her peaceful slumber by a strange noise that seemed to come from behind one of the walls of her room.
Under normal circumstances the ANUBIS' CMO would have dismissed this as having been a figment of her imagination, but given all that had taken place not so long ago, Seska found it rather difficult to return to her former state of rest. The eyes of the Bajoran woman scrutinized with intensity the shadow covered walls as if expecting someone or something to emerge from behind them.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 23-002 (Andromeda)
Stardate: 30152.0150
Andromeda's gaze extended well beyond the window of her room onto the stars countless of light-years away. Although she was biologically a half Terran hybrid, the Vulcan born woman had followed the path of discipline and logic. As the newest member of the USS ANUBIS, Ensign T'Leia had been confronted with an inescapable reality, one that would force her to leave the past she had known behind to embrace a new and unknown future.
Of course doing so did not mean leaving the connections and people she knew behind, logic dictated that she moved on while keeping the many resources she had access to. Locating Lady Ya'Jun would be the testing ground of her ability to do just that; finding a balance between the world she once knew and the universe that had been opened before her.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-031 (Shar'El)
Stardate: 30152.0155
The ANUBIS' Acting ExO / ILO had fallen prey to her fatigue despite her best efforts to remain awake so as to work on the problem at hand. Ya'Han's revelation, the possible presence of her elder sister on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS and the fact that an undetermined number of people seemed out to find the escaped daughter of the High Sovereign of NYLA IV had made this simple mission certainly more interesting than it had been expected to be.
Now lost in a universe of dreams of her own creation, the Ullian found herself exploring places and minds that she had touched during the Black and White Ball through the memories of countless individuals. While awake Shar'El had tried her best to make sense of the mixed up images and feelings that she had picked up on, but while asleep it had been her subconscious hope that she would find something that they would all be able to use to attain their mission's new objective.
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Engineering Lower Deck C (Deck 28)
Stardate: 30152.0200
The redheaded undercover Starfleet Engineer knew all too well that by now she should have been in the room that had been assigned to her, and that 24-155 stood four full decks above her in the public section of the ship. Instead, Sonja had found her way into the bowels of the MASQUERADE DREAMS, navigating through the restricted corridors meant for the ship's personnel.
At first the CEO thought that she would be able to explore a little and use some excuse as to her having lost her way to explain why she had been in a passenger restricted area. Instead, the woman had allowed for her curiosity to drive her deeper and lower into the ship, the Engineer having found it simplistically natural for her to find her way and avoid the staff as they went about their business.
Sonja froze though when one of the panels ahead of her opened, as if pushed by a force hiding within. Within seconds the redheaded Engineer watched as a member of the MASQUERADE DREAMS' own Engineering staff emerged from a hidden crawl space.
Alone with this unknown individual the undercover Chief Engineering Officer had been left with two possible course of actions; to follow her curiosity and investigate both the strange man as well as the passage he had used, or for Sonja to make a quiet exit and retreat to room 24-155 where her assigned bed had still been waiting for their first encounter.
--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette
Captain Erik Morningstar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
AND
Lt. Commander Elan Fairborn
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Late Night"
[previous post was "Stargazing"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Corridor
Stardate: 30152.0125
The black haired undercover Chief of Security felt tired and drained. The evening had been taxing as events unfolded to make her reveal her personal history to the rest of the crew. Eve and Seska had made their point in that this revelation had been a good thing that with knowledge came power and that the rest of the crew would be able to help her now more than ever before.
The Chief of Security had never expected any of this to happen; not the encounter in the ballroom and certainly not her making 'a mess of scattering eatable seeds'. Ya'Han actually grinned as she recalled the confusing expression used by Sonja, a saying that the black haired woman had not been anywhere close as to understanding how it related to her revelation. The Chief Engineer said that she would explain 'spilling the beans' later, and Ya'Han found herself looking forward to whenever this would take place.
In the meantime she would have to deal with the facts that had been presented to her by the Ship's Counselor and Chief Medial Officer. Events beyond anyone's control had come to pass and forced the crew of the ANUBIS to deal with a situation that no one could have anticipated. As difficult as it would be for some, namely Ya'Han, one fact had been pointed out above all others; she would not be alone to face this.
To have someone from her home world present on the MASQUERADE DREAMS had been completely unexpected. That it seemed as if this woman had recognized the 13th daughter of the High Sovereign had been very disturbing. Beyond this, what Ya'Han found even more troubling had been the likelihood of another woman from her world being onboard. The possibility that Ye'Lan, the green haired performer, had actually been looking for her older sister Ya'Jun had sent the runaway Nylaan into an emotional conflict that she needed to resolve.
If Ya'Jun had indeed been onboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS, this would give Ya'Han the opportunity to reconnect with a member of her family, someone that she had expected to never again see. That simple possibility made the undercover Chief of Security smile, a smile that was unfortunately short lived as other thoughts came into mind.
The presence of Drask Pharren and Ye'Lan here on the ship meant that her father had likely sent people to find and bring his shameful daughter back. Ya'Han understood that her ability to continue hiding from hr father would come at the price of her older sister's freedom amongst other prices that she would be made to pay. As High Sovereign, their father needed to set examples of those who disobeyed his commands and wishes, which had been one of the many reasons why she had run away so many years ago.
To protect her sister, Ya'Han would have to make herself know to Ya'Jun, a revelation that would most likely not remain secret for any length of time. To side with the Pythron merchant would insure the continuation of her new life but would condemn her sister to a fate that the Chief of Security had run away to escape from.
All this left Ya'Han half wishing for her sister to actually not be onboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS, allowing the Chief of Security along with her shipmates and friends to deal with the situation as best they could.
With her head filled with distant memories of her sister, Ya'Han stepped into the room that she had been assigned to. The soft light from he far away stars caused shadows to fill the room, hiding the form that had found its way inside.
"It's about time you show up, looks like you had a late night," a strange yet familiar voice said startling the undercover Chief of Security. "I've been here waiting for you for quite some time."
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
"Stargazing"
[previous "Unexpected Passenger"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Skydome Deck
Stardate: 30151.2345
She had told him her name several times by now but Jayson could not remember it. His mind had been in a place further than the stars that could be seen through the large clear dome over their heads. It was true that he had not truly known Ya'Han, but to suddenly discover that she was a member of some royal family had been a difficult reality for him to grasp.
At first he could not understand why he had felt anger towards her, but in time he came to see that he had been jealous. As a daughter to the High Sovereign of NYLA IV the world had been placed at her feet and yet she had ran away because of an arranged marriage. Jayson felt as if the two of them had been standing of opposite ends of the universe despite serving on the same ship. His future had been taken away from him and was forced to join Starfleet to rebuilt his life. Ya'Han had run away in a childish fit and joined Starfleet to seek an escape from the life of luxury she had been born into.
His anger stayed with him for a while until he came to see things a little more from her point of view. In a way her life would have been taken from her through the arrange marriage and Ya'Han had acted in the only way open to her to safeguard the life that she wanted for herself. It took a little while but Jayson came to feel sorrow instead of anger for his shipmate, her life having been as unfair as his own in some ways.
"Are you even listening to me or are you just looking at the stars?"
The question took Jayson completely by surprise. He had not realised as to just how much he had been lost in his own thoughts.
"Sorry, I guess I have something on my mind."
"I will leave you and your thoughts alone. Maybe I can find someone back at the ball who will be interested in listening to me and spending a night *with* a star instead of just looking and dreaming about one."
Jayson had wanted to say something, to explain and apologise but in the end he just watched the woman leave in a huff. Some Intel gathering agent he had turned out to be. Having lost this match, he once again looked up to the stars and sighed. After a few moments he decided to check up on Ya'Han and try to offer her his understanding and support. Just as he had been ready to contact the ANUBIS he saw someone from the corner of his eye, someone who appeared very much like their Chief of Security.
As he went towards her, Jayson thought that her dress had been even more charming than he remembered, almost as if she had changed into a new one. With each step he found it easier to say what he needed to, understanding her motives and reasons a little more.
"What is a star like you doing in a place like this? Should you not be out there twinkling brighter than the others instead of being here with us mere mortals?
He thought that he would be cute, playing the role of the charmer to not have anyone else question as to why he had approached the woman with the white dress and black hair.
"Well, aren't you the smooth talker. A girl could get used to being talked to that way, but I have to ask; are you here looking for someone in particular or have you just been shut down and are hoping to salvage the evening with me?"
Jayson swallowed hard. Whoever this lady was, she had not been Ya'Han although she could have easily passed for her sister. The face and even the way the black hair flowed over her shoulders seemed identical, but he knew that he had made a mistake, one that he would need to find ways to correct.
"It is not every night that a man gets to be in the company of a beautiful star such as yourself, even if only for a few seconds."
It would have certainly been safer for him to keep looking at the stars instead of trying to play Cazanova with a woman who very strongly resembled Ya'Han, but he had gone too far already and after what he had said Jayson knew that there had been no turning back.
"Thank you. You made my day *and* night. If only everyone was a kind as you."
Her last words surprised him as he saw sadness and even a little bit of fear reflect in eyes he would have been ready to swear had belonged to Ya'Han, not that he had even seen her in such a state. The Chief of Security had always come across as someone with boundless inner strength, but this woman despite her resemblance appeared tired, beaten and on the verge of giving up on life itself.
"Whatever it is that is troubling you, you don't have to face it alone, at least not tonight."
She smiled before falling into his arms, as woman does to a protector or even lover. Jayson looked up into he stars once again and wondered as to just what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Chief of Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Unexpected Passenger"
[previous post was "Symphony of the Night" by the creative Gwen]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Room 22-031
Stardate: 30151.2330
The crew had been tasked with gathering general Intel while onboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS, but Shar'El suspected that Admiral Koniki had wanted to take this opportunity to give the crew a break while performing some remote character evaluations and reviews. At least that had been the ILO's thoughts as she shed off the ball dress that she had worn up until now.
The Black and White ball had not officially ended, but as many of those present began to leave, the ExO/ILO had seen an opportunity to escape from the event in order to think about what had happened. In the same manner as Shar'El suspected that Admiral Koniki had alternate motives for what he had done, the Ullian considered that Drask Pharren and his escort, a green haired Nylaan woman by the name of Ye'Lan, had not come to be onboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS by mere chance.
The more the ILO thought about the way things had unfolded, the more she found herself ready to concede to the idea that this had all been a very elaborate plan, one designed to see if Ya'Han had been whom they believed her to be and if she had been alone. Unfortunately for the undercover team, the plan had been a resounding success when considering the reaction enlisted from their target and the subsequent follow-up from not one but two other people; namely Erik Morningstar and herself.
"ANI," Shar'El said with a sigh, no longer needing to whisper when addressing the ANUBIS' Avatar.
=/\= Yes Commander, what can I do for you? =/\=
"Where are the others?" the ExO/ILO asked, hoping that there had been at least one person with whom she would be able to talk to about her thoughts on the current situation.
=/\= Ens. Ya'Han is currently in the Courtyard Gardens speaking with Ens. Mizore and Lt. Dalziel. Ens. Stark appears to be entertaining one of the female guests on the skydome deck. Lt. Paquette is currently walking through the restricted lower decks. Captain Morningstar and Commander Maya are both alone in their respective rooms while Ens. T'Leia is, well shall we say, busy for the moment, =/\= the Avatar reported leaving out any specific details that the ILO truly did not need to know about.
"Open a link between Captain Morningstar, Commander Maya and myself," Shar'El instructed, the ExO/ILO's eyes having traveled to the peaceful stars visible from her room's window.
=/\= Link has been established, =/\= ANI reported, letting everyone know that they were now in communication with one another.
=/\= Everything alright? =/\= Erik asked, expecting the worst right of the get go.
"Everything is fine," Shar'El reassured. "I just wanted to share my thoughts with you about what happened in the ballroom with Ya'Han. I can't shake the feeling that this was not a coincidence and that Drask and Ye'Lan played us for fools."
=/\= I would not say that we were played as such, but I do concur with Commander Shar'El in her analysis that it is very unlikely that all of this was mere coincidence. I have been reviewing the information provided by ANI on Mister Drask Pharren and his companion Ye'Lan. The two of them have been travelling together for quite some time, and there seems to be a specific pattern as to their selected activities. The two of them have been going from one luxury cruise ship to the next for nearly seven months now, apparently asking a great deal of questions about a certain missing member of the Nylaan royal family, =/\= Maya said, making it clear to those listening that that research had been one of her many strengths.
"I was right, they made her," Shar'El growled at the realization that not only had the true identity of the Chief of Security been compromised, but that her not have been alone on the ship had been confirmed through the subsequent actions of Captain Morningstar and herself.
=/\= It may not be as bad as you think, =/\= Maya continued, the grin on her lips audible in her words. =/\= I thought the same but dug a little deeper and discovered that there is another member of the Royal family of NYLA IV who went missing roughly seven months ago. I believe that Drask and Ye'Lan are actually looking for her and not Ya'Han. According to the information I have been reviewing, Ya'Jun took advantage of a trip organized by her father that brought her very close to the Federation / Ferengi border. Reports are rather sketchy as to what actually happened but it seems that Ya'Jun found a way to get onboard a supply shuttle and arranged to be taken into Federation space where she vanished. =/\=
=/\= Why would she be onboard a luxury cruise liner if she is trying to avoid being discovered by her father's henchmen? Wouldn't it make more sense for her to keep a low profile? =/\= Erik said, confused to an extreme.
"Maybe not," Shar'El said as she recalled some of the memories and feelings the Ullian had picked up from various people while taking part in the Black and White Ball. "Luxury and extravagant lifestyles are a normal way of life for many who were at the ball. Ya'Han left when she was much younger and learned to take care of herself through necessity, Ya'Jun may have never had the chance or necessity to learn these skills and is now surviving as best as she can."
=/\= So she is hiding in the only environment that she knows, one that is constantly on the move making it harder to her to be found. At least that is what you believe is her way of thinking, =/\= Erik said thinking that this latest development would help in some way and make matter more complicated in others.
"Whether or not Ya'Jun is actually here, this is going to make things much more difficult for Ya'Han," Shar'El said. "It might be best to have her return to the ANUBIS to avoid her running into Brask and Ye'Lan."
=/\= Although I do see the tactical problems that this situation may cause, I do not believe that sending Ens. Ya'Han away at this time is going to make things any easier. She has just displayed an amazing amount of trust by revealing who she truly is to us, so to respond by sending her away would, in my opinion, only destroy that trust. Also, taking into account that one of her sisters may be on the MASQUERADE DREAMS would only make sending her away that much more difficult. Ya'Han may very well be the best person to find Ya'Jun before Brask and his escort, =/\= Maya explained, making her point all too well to those listening in.
=/\= I agree, =/\= Erik said as he cut in. =/\= We will keep sending Ya'Han back to the ANUBIS as a final option, but for the time being we need to get ahead of those two and anyone else here looking for this Ya'Jun. ANI, we need a list of all passengers who fit the profile of this woman. If she is actually onboard, we will need to find her quickly. =/\=
"If I may ask Captain," Shar'El sighed. "What do we do after we find her, if she is in fact onboard."
=/\= Honestly, I have not thought that far ahead at this point. Let's first see if she is onboard, then we can try to figure out how we will proceed afterwards. =/\=
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
_____________
" Symphony of the Night "
[Previous Post "The Mathematical Probabilities of the Situation" by Jessica]
_____________
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Room, Second Level Terrace
Stardate: 30151.2147
Mizore had remained idle, as time passed, slipping slowly, extending what was to her, a most sadistic night and the events it held. Still observing those on the second level around her, examining and studying each closely, everything from mannerism, to posture, to body language. There, behind hazel eyes, was more to the mind of the CMO than she dared to visibly let on. Sure to notice even the smallest act, not even the most insubstantial detail had escaped her vigilant gaze.
The majority of her attention had settled on the Aenar attaché and an Orion female that piqued her interest, while staying passively focused on the conversation taking place between the two, only meters from her own location. Only when the sound of music started once more was the Bajoran's concentration interrupted, moved by the wistful etude, her attentions had shifted to the scene below.
It was only a short time, as her eyes skimmed the crowd, before she visually located Morningstar. A few paces away, Shar'El stepped lightly away from the captain, Mizore continued along the direction the path lead, finding Ya'Han and Paquette sitting relatively below her own position. Something had seemed to negatively impact or affect the Nylaan, judging by the slightly erratic, unsettled expression worn on the woman's demeanor, as Paquette acted, protective while offering some form of comfort to her.
_____________
=/\= Ya'Han here. Sorry for cutting in on your current discussions and activities, but, I believe that I owe you all an explanation. I always thought I needed to keep this secret to myself, to make it easier on those around me, but it is clear that this secret is only going to make things complicated. =/\= The black haired woman said before she paused for a moment.
Mizore, with an imminent sense of concern and haste tied to the escalating situation, rose to her feet. While she moved, gliding as graceful as she could manage or was able, slowly weaving her way through the mass as she descended to the lower floor, never letting her sight stray away from the Nylaan.
" You do not owe us, nor do you 'need' to explain anything to anyone, Ya'Han. We all have our own secrets. It is up to each one of us whether we keep those secrets to ourselves, or choose to share them with someone, or with others. "
=/\= I am Ya'Han, the thirteenth daughter of the High Sovereign of NYLA IV. =/\= The black haired woman admitted as she focused on keeping her hair the color it had been. =/\= At the age of fourteen, I was betrothed to help solidify my world's economical ties, but, being unable to abide by my father's wishes, I ran away, leaving everything that I knew behind. =/\=
_____________
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck Eleven, Crystal Room
Stardate: 3O151.2158
" I think we have all run from one thing or another in our lives, Ensign. " The CMO delayed a moment as she stopped speaking, looking at the Nylaan. " I am not the optimist sort or type, so I may be grasping or reaching here. Perhaps, if I may be forward with you. It might not be that you were running away from something, from a life controlled by your father, the High Sovereign. So much as running toward something, the freedom of a life of your own that you can be proud of? "
Making her advance, as the Bajoran approached her intended destination, ceasing only when she came to stand before the two women. With a pause, she dropped to offer obeisance to Paquette and Ya'Han. As she curtsied, Shar'El had stepped forward, out of the guests on main floor, and joined the rather small gathering that was starting to form around the Nylaan.
" Evening ladies. Salutations. " She pressed her lips in to a sweet smile, attempting to play the part. " I am Heron Simza, or simply Simza, a Ranjen acolyte. I am most honored and pleased to meet you. " Her eyes of hazel moving from the red headed engineer, to the pale skinned first officer, before locking a stare with the dark haired Chief of Security who seemed troubled by the look of her expression.
Paquette, watching Mizore with an arced brow, wasn't sure whether to play along or drop to the floor laughing at the CMO's 'acting', even the Ullian was at a loss, curious and wondering about the Bajoran's strange behavior.
" I thought to mention, in hopes that one of you might join or accompany me for a little walk and maybe a little conversation in the courtyard gardens. " Gradually extending a left hand palm up toward Ya'Han at a leisurely speed, never breaking the smile on her lips as she gave a quick wink before her hazel eyes motioned rather insistently to come or follow.
Reluctant and cautious, Ya'Han lowered a hand as it dropped in to Mizore's, the Bajoran lightly gripped the Nylaan's fingers supportively assisting her as she rose to stand on her feet. When the two women had come to stand side by side, the CMO casually slipped a hand inside the curve of the Security Officer's elbow as the two slid over the floor, and crossed the room.
_____________
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck Eleven, Courtyard Gardens
Stardate: 30151.2209
"I hope you will not mind me asking, though, would you tell me what happened?" Mizore asked, her head tilted to one side ever so slightly, listening, as the two of them walked.
"What happened to make me run from my home and family, or what caused me to almost lose it in the room?" The black haired woman asked in return, still a little shaken, as her words were slightly choked.
"Both, actually," the Chief Medical Officer whispered in reply with an almost Vulcan tone, leading, as she escorted the Security Officer to a more secluded location in the northwest corner of the courtyard garden.
"My father betrothed me to a Ferengi troll, claiming that it would help our world's economy. I knew that it would not help, as much as secure his own position as High Sovereign. I could not refuse, and I knew that if I did anything to try and sabotage his plans, I would be severely punished. Being the daughter of the High Sovereign might have granted me many privileges, but being the thirteenth child meant that my ability to influence him was limited at best." Ya'Han paused for a moment as she did her best to control her emotions. "I was fourteen, young, and idealistic..."
"So you decided to run away," Mizore said with a nod of her head, almost as if this had been the perfectly logical course of action, at least for a fourteen year old daughter of a planetary ruler. The CMO stepped aside, moving as she motioned to Ya'Han, allowing the Nylaan to become comfortably situated, the raven haired woman lowering to sit on the edge of a high rise like a stool.
"Yes," Ya'Han said in shame. "I traded my skills as a performer to earn passage on whatever freighter I could find." The now verdant haired woman said letting the Bajoran understand a little more as to why the Chief of Security had reacted as she had when approached by a woman with similarly colored hair.
"I could only imagine as to how difficult that was or must have been for you." Noticing the scars of a deep pain reflecting in Ya'Han's eyes, at having left everything and everyone she had ever known behind.
"I quickly learned to take care of myself," the daughter of the High Sovereign said as her hair turned shades of white as clouds, hinting as to the nightmares that she endured and had been forced to deal with on her own. "Whatever medical skills and knowledge I had been taught, were put to good use over the next two years, until I finally escaped, making it into Federation controlled space."
"Well, princess. . ." Her lips curled into a pleasant smile as she tried to lighten the mood from the grim and somber memory. Taking the woman by the hand, placing it in her own, her long fingers folding around Ya'Han's, applying the soft pressure when she held the woman's hand in her gentle grip. "You are not alone, not anymore. You are a member of Starfleet, and the Federation. You are one of us, and we take care of our own." Mizore closed the gap, her hazel eyes met those of Ya'Han, pulling the Ensign's awareness from the vacant, distant stare.
_____________
The Chief of Security found it hard not to give a smile in return, even if it was an uneasy one. Mizore released the Nylaan's hand, stepping back a pace or two so that she could stand on her own. Curiously, Ya'Han turned her hand over, in her palm, was a small hypospray. "Why did you give me this?" A strange, confused expression fell over the black haired woman's face.
"That is all I can offer or do to help you. It should assist in maintaining a single hair color, in case you find yourself in an unfortunate or undesirable situation. I should warn you though, it will only last for one half hour, do not take it in excess of one dose every six hours, and the faster your heart rate, the less it will linger in your system, affect you, or temporarily alter your specific genetic body chemistry."
Ya'Han tipped her head as she nodded slightly before the CMO turned away to look at the stars that glittered in the infinite void of space.
"Mizore to Counselor Dalziel." The CMO hushed in quiet words, leaning her back to the wall behind her, occasionally glancing toward the Security Officer. "Would you please join both Ya'Han and I at our present location. Thank you."
_____________
Gwen Spellblade
Ensign Mizore Seska
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
---
"The Mathematical Probabilities of the Situation"
(Previous Post: "Mystery Intriguing")
---
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Ballroom, Upper Balcony
Stardate: 30151.2200
Until now the Shillian scientist had closely watched those present in the ballroom without actually focussing on anyone in particular, making notes on the oddities of several individuals for possible later investigation. This global research pattern came to a sudden alt when Ensign Ya'Han began to reveal the nature of her origins, a revelation that had been a rather emotional one for obvious reasons.
The Chief Science Officer had quickly made a comment about how far the stated world had actually been, the fact that it stood deep inside Ferengi space had only made things that much more complicated when considering the escape that the woman had made almost a full decade ago. Crossing the Ferengi / Federation border might not have been such a difficult task, but the lack of any solid diplomatic or trades agreement between the two powers had insured the journey to be a potentially troublesome is not a dangerous one. It had not been uncommon for independant freighter undertaking such a long journey to fall prey to piracy or sabotage all in the name of acquiring wealth in the truest nature of the Ferengi Alliance.
From where she stood, the Shillian could see how the attention of the other crew members had changed to be directed onto the confessing woman. Everyone appeared ready to offer support in one form or another but their current situation, that of being undercover Starfleet Officers amidst a crowd of people potentially of interest to the Intel group, had made any direct interaction nearly impossible. Luckily for the raven haired Ensign, the crimson haired Lieutenant in charge of Engineering had already been next to her and appeared to be doing great at providing the emotional support the Chief of Security needed.
With the situation being as much under control as it could be, the Shillian Scientist resumed her observation of the crowd below, noting that the tall blond Pythron man who had been escorted by the green haired woman had both left the ballroom along with their two bodyguards. Normal procedures would have had them followed by one or more members of the team, but given that all of them were on board a cruise liner for the next three weeks had insured that they would be running into them again sooner or later. Of course the Chief Science Officer had every intent on making sure that a repeat encounter would happen sooner rather than later.
For the time being it had been best to keep the incident that had taken place as low key as possible and for the crew of the USS ANUBIS to continue on with their primary mission; to gather as much Intel as possible from as many different people as possible. In the world on Intel it was not infrequent to discover that people and events which originally appeared to be completely unrelated could in fact be linked in some strange way.
There had been a mathematical probability that the green haired woman had simply been on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS as the escort of the Pythron merchant and that she had, by simple and unaffected chance, come across the undercover Chief of Security. Under the same ideas of mathematical probabilities though, it had been conceivable that Drask Pharren and Ye'Lan had orchestrated this entire affair to confirm that Ya'Han had in fact been whom they had suspected her to be. According to these same probabilities, the incident could have been designed to also test the surroundings of the Chief of Security so as to see how many others had been here on the ship with her.
To act without confirming the woman's true identity would have caused unwanted commotion and possibly brought forth the attention of people who had been best kept out of the entire affair. Sending Ye'Lan to 'test the waters' as the Human saying went, had been a sound tactical move, one that the Shillian Scientist could not help but admire. Of course this almost meant that the two individuals had been part of a much larger and darker plot, one that raised a great deal of questions, namely in the part of their presence on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS having been a strange coincidence or had they been here for another reason, one that might or might not have involved the raven haired Chief of Security.
"ANI," the Shillian whispered to herself. "I will need a complete historical review of the travels of Mister Drask Pharren and is companion Ye'Lan. I will need all data pertaining to date and time of ticket purchases as well as location. Might help to also have a copy of his financial records."
=/\= Am I to understand that you are questioning the potential reasons as to their presence on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS? =/\= the Avatar of the USS ANUBIS replied in a way that leaned to the android possessing humanoid characteristics which should have been well beyond her programming.
"Coincidences and nothing more than mathematical probabilities that had not been considered," the Chief Science Officer added, already looking forward to returning to her quarters to review and analyse the information that she had requested from ANI.
=/\= I will have the information transmitted to your quarters on a secured channel as soon as it has been compiled, =/\= the Avatar said complying with the request with her usual efficiency.
For the time being the Shillian would continue her observation of the crowd below while she silently calculated the mathematical probabilities of all the various possibilities that would have lead to the two individuals in question to being on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS at this specific time. Not having been one to believe in coincidences, the Chief Science Officer had already held high her expectations of finding something of value in the data that would occupy her time during the night to come.
---
Jessica Solarik
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
&
Captain Selene Fiona Iverson
Commanding Officer
USS BASTET
"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Mystery Intriguing"
[Previous post "Curiosity"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Ballroom
Stardate: 30151.2150
Andromeda T'Leia listened to the song, as she finished the dance with Admiral Balren. Cloudt Eagle finished the last note of the song, bowed and handed off his Cherokee Flute to an assistant who would see that it was returned to Cloudt Eagle's quarters.
Andromeda T'Leia thanked the Admiral for the dance, and made her way to the butterfly arboretum, just off the main ballroom, she stood watching the various butterflies, she opened the doors and walked into the large expansive arboretum, touching the flowers and looking as Butterflies landed on her arms. She gracefully continued to walk around the plant filled butterfly area. Her dress crystals tinkling with a lovely song as she moved, her crystal clear heels tapping a song of their own on the floor.
Serron soon found her. He walked along with her, neither exchanged words, 'No Words' were necessary between them. As they walked, watching the butterflies and listening to the music, suddenly there was a rather bright light that shown briefly inside the arboretum. Andromeda T'Leia looked up at Serron whose finger was in front of his lips in the silence position. She nodded as they stood perfectly still.
It was as if a fairy or elf arrived, the butterflies all hovered near the light and the one drenched in the light, it was a warmer golden light now, and the being in it was so lovely, wings that were see through, the long long platinum hair streaming along as the creature danced with the butterflies. Andromeda T'Leia stood fascinated by it. As did Serron.
Wilton Cloudt Eagle made his way slowly around the ballroom seeking his friends, he also had seen a bright light he made his way silently to the Butterfly Arboretum and opened the doors quietly, stepping inside he watched as the Goddess of the room, flew along with the butterflies and danced among the roses. Cloudt Eagle watched with a smile on his ruddy face, she was bewitching and wondrous, and something more...
[/\][/\][/\]
Renda Carr
Andromeda T'Leia
Assistant Medical Officer/Research and Development
USS ANUBIS
NCC 18501
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Curiosity"
[previous post was "Looking For Answers"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Ballroom
Stardate: 30151.2150
The redhead engineer held the still trembling hands of the black haired Chief of Security waiting for some sort of explanation as to what had happened. Captain Morningstar and Lt. Commander Shar'El had gone searching for the green haired woman but their finding her had only raised more questions.
Who was Drask Pharren and what had been his connection to Ye'Lan and through her what had been their interest in Ya'Han? Those questions had the reason why the Chief of Security had been in such a state, something that had required a lot of effort and time from Sonja to gradually undo.
"Feeling better now?" the redhead asked, glad to see that the woman's black hair had remained as such for a while now.
"Yes, thank you," Ya'Han said slowly as she tried to hide her shame. Never had the Chief of Security expected to lose control to such an extent of her ability to change her hair color, an ability that would easily enough identify her origins and status. "I'm sorry for what happened."
"No worries," Sonja smiled as she tapped the back of Ya'Han's hands, "although it would have been interesting if we had started dancing on the tables. It would have made this ball to be something a lot more interesting for a lot more people I suspect."
Ya'Han actually laughed, even if only momentarily, a reaction that the Chief Engineering Officer had been more than happy to see. Laughter had been something impossible to genuinely fake when faced with a stressful situation. "I doubt the Captain would have been overly pleased with such an unexpected display, regardless of the reasons," the Chief of Security said through a weak grin.
"Maybe," Sonja nodded enthusiastically, "but it would still have been something fun to do, if only to see everyone else's reaction. I see way too many stuck-up and over serious people in this room. Now, by the way, you owe me an explanation. I may not need to have all of the details, but it would be nice to know a few things, like where did you learn that 'rainbow-hair' trick of yours."
The black haired woman sighed. She knew that sooner or later she would have to let those of the ANUBIS' crew know about who she really was, but never had Ya'Han expected it to be so soon and in such a public venue.
"ANI," Ya'Han said under her breath, "please relay to everyone."
=/\= Ready when you are. =/\=
"Ya'Han here, sorry for cutting in on your current discussions and activities but I believe that I owe you all an explanation. I always thought I needed to keep this secret to myself, to make it easier on those around me, but it is clear that this secret is only going to make things complicated," the black haired woman said before she paused for a moment.
=/\= Take your time, there is no one rushing you, =/\= the voice of Eve Dalziel came over the subdermal communicator, the Counselor always being ready to help someone in need.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Ballroom, another section
Stardate: 30151.2155
Although he had been surrounded by several women, each one possessing their own unique charms and allure, Jayson's attention had turned towards the woman who's voice he had been the only one that the table able to hear.
=/\= I am Ya'Han, thirteenth daughter of the High Sovereign of NYLA IV, =/\= the black haired woman admitted as she focussed on keeping her hair the color that it had been. =/\= At the age of 14 I was betrothed to help solidify my world's economical ties, but being unable to abide by my father's wishes I ran away leaving everything that I knew behind. =/\=
=/\= NYLA IV is a world deep inside Ferengi controlled space, =/\= the Chief Science Officer said from her location on the upper balcony. =/\= Your escape out of area of space and into Federation space could not have been an easy one. =/\=
=/\= It was not, =/\= Ya'Han said, the trembling in her voice hinting to some of the nightmares she had endured along the way. =/\= I had hoped that my being so far away from home and in Starfleet would offer me some security from my father's wrath. Although it has been nearly ten years since I ran away, I am always worried that he may have sent people to look for me, and possibly to even punish me for what I did. =/\=
Jayson's initial reaction had been to jump to his feet and rush to Ya'Han's side to offer comfort and support, but the Chief of Operations quickly remembered where he had been and how he and a select few others had come to hear the woman's confession.
"Is everything alright darling," one of the woman sitting at the table asked of the only man there, "you suddenly seemed troubled by something."
"Just thinking about a few things, nothing of importance," Jayson answered as he returned his attention to the table where he had been sitting. The woman who had noted his distraction, a young and charismatic silver haired enchantress he had come to know simply as Lady Heliwr quickly looked down the direction where he had been looking.
"Do find her more interesting than us, than me?" the Lady asked, a challenge tone in her voice.
"What? No! Who?" Jayson stuttered in his defence.
"The lady with the black hair over there, the one sitting next to the redhead," Heliwr explained through a half grin. "Do you not find me more interesting than her? She seems troubled and you have no need of trouble or do you? I could be troubled and needing the help of a kind and strong man like yourself," the Lady said as she ran her hands over the full length of the man's arm, insuring that his attention remained on her and only her.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
=-=
"Looking For Answers"
[previous post was "Touching Bases" by the collaborating Renda]
=-=
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Ballroom
Stardate: 30151.2140
There had been no doubts that something had severely troubled Ya'Han. Anyone with the slightest telepathic ability would have felt the mental distress that had been so openly broadcasted, but it was only because Shar'El knew the raven haired woman that allowed the Ullian to be able to pick up on who this disturbance had originated from and why. A quick scan of the memories of the Chief of Security had made it clear that the woman with the green hair had been at the center of this, and therefore needed to be sought out so as to uncover the reason and possibly a solution.
ANI had been unable to help in tracking the whereabouts of the mysterious woman leaving the ExO/ILO to go about the search in a much more direct manner. The more people would be involved in the search, the greater the odds would be of finding her, so Shar'El figured it best to start at the top and enlist the assistance of the ANUBIS's own CO.
After having joined forces with Erik and received input from their Shillian 'eyes-in-the-sky', the duo headed for Ensign T'Leia and company in hopes that one of them had seen something. Along the way, the now First Officer of the ANUBIS kept glancing back at the table where the troubled raven haired woman sat along with the red headed engineer who seemed to be offering a great deal of support. Shar'El knew that in the care of Sonja, Ya'Han would be safe leaving the ILO to pursue her quest for the woman and the answers she held.
With the Captain by her side, the two of them sought out the help of Ensign T'Leia who had been heavily involved in the organization of the event and hopefully would be able to assist in their search in a way that no one else could. Through one of the aCMO's acquaintance, namely a gentleman by the name of Wilton Cloudt Eagle, the pair of undercover officers were pointed in the direction of the woman in question. That the green haired woman had been holding on to the arm of a tall blonde man only further fueled the ExO/ILO's interest.
With everyone's attention suddenly directed unto the unexpected native flute music that filled the ballroom, Erik and Shar'El were provided with a golden opportunity to close the gap to their intended target. Withing only a few seconds, the duo had cut the distance by more than half, leaving them with some certainty that they would soon resolve this mystery.
As she hung to her protector's arm Ye'Lan looked back and appeared not at all surprised to see a couple of people heading in her direction, as if all of this had actually been expected. Just as Erik and Shar'El closed in on the tall blonde man and his green haired escort, a pair of muscular Hupyrian bodyguards stepped up and blocked the duo's path.
In order to avoid any sort of confrontation, and mostly to not risk drawing far more attention than needed, the undercover pair took a step back without saying a word.
"Looks like we will have to wait to get the answers you were hoping for," Erik quietly said as he turned to face his acting First Officer.
"ANI," Shar'El whispered as she turned away as if wanting to look at those on the ballroom's dance floor. "Tall, blonde hair humanoid with a pair of Hupyrian bodyguards. We need to know who he is."
=/\= There are several high ranking officials who are currently on board with their entourage and who fits the given general description,=/\= the Avatar replied so that both the ExO/ILO and CO could hear. =/\= Luckily there is only one listed with a pair of Hupyrian guards. His name is Drask Pharren, a wealthy Pythron merchant with a taste for exceptionally rare and exotic items. His reputation within the Ferengi Alliance is that he is capable of finding things what no one else can. =/\=
"So what is the connection between them and Ya'Han?" Erik softly asked as he leaned in closer to Shar'El who had turned her attention to the table where the raven and red haired women had still been sitting.
"I don't know," the ExO/ILO sighed as she looked directly at the troubled black haired undercover Security officer, "but I think it is time for us to find out more about what is in Ya'Han's past."
Knowing that his presence would only complicate matters, Erik remained behind and watched as Shar'El made her way back to the table where Sonja and Ya'Han were sitting at.
=-=
Tiffany Reeve
Lieutenant Commander Shar'El
Acting Executive Officer / Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
##########
"Touching Bases"
Previous post "Small Steps"
##########
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Ballroom
Stardate: 30151.2145
The atmosphere within the Crystal Ballroom had been in many ways magical, the room itself appeared as if it had been plucked from someone's dreams and the music had been beyond enchanting. It had been made perfectly clear to everyone present as to why the ship had been named as it was as illusions and reality came together to create this dreamy place.
For the Native American this had been a perfect chance to unwind and forget, even if only for a few brief seconds, the universe of conflict that surrounded them. For this evening he would be nothing more than a man doing his best at enjoying the moment, all of this while never truly forgetting his responsibilities as the Commanding Officer of the USS ANUBIS.
The man's smile wavered slightly as he noted a certain undercovered black haired acting ExO heading towards him. ANI had not reported anything, so Erik could only guess as to the reason behind the woman's obvious move.
"Is everything alright Miss?" The Native American inquired of Shar'El as she came to stand right next to him, the undercovered CO trying his best to maintain the illusion of them not having actually known each other.
"I am sorry," Shar'El beamed back, conveying that everything had been alright while still requiring her superior's input if not assistance. "I was just looking for someone. A green haired woman."
Erik raised an eyebrow to display his surprise at the statement. "Maybe we could find someone to assist you in your search," the Native American added knowing very well that ANI had been listening in.
=/\= Lt. Commander Shar'El already asked me to locate the person in question, but unfortunately the ANUBIS was never expected to keep track of all 1500 passengers, only the Senior Officers. Given that I have no other information other than her gender and hair colour the search has been rather difficult to complete, =/\= the Avatar stated, her words having been transmitted to the CO and ExO only.
As the Native American glanced at the upper balcony level, Erik noted a familiar face amongst the crowd. "ANI, Maya," the CO whispered to no one in particular although his First Officer heard the names and quickly understood what he had intended on doing.
=/\= Lt. Commander Maya, we are currently in search for a green haired woman who was in the Crystal Ballroom not long ago,=/\= the Avatar relayed to bring the Chief Science Officer up to date.
From the main floor, both Erik and Shar'El could see Maya scanning the room's occupants with her eyes before she shook her head. =/\= Maybe Andromeda, =/\= the Chief Science Officer offered having spotted the aCMO in a location that might have permitted her to notice the woman in question.
=/\= Ensign T'Leia is 62 meters away heading 277 mark 0, =/\= the Avatar reported sending the two undercover officers to seek out the help of the newest member of their crew.
=====
Andromeda T'Leia waited for Serron to return with their drinks, she shook hands and talked small talk with Ball guests, turning around as she heard her name. She nodded politely to two of the ANUBIS' officers.
"Good evening Miss," the Native American offered as he added a deep bow of respect. "I was hoping that you might be able to help this lady," Erik offered as he invited Shar'El to step up.
"I was hoping that maybe you or one of your acquaintances might have see a green haired woman who had been here not long ago. I seem to have lost track of her," Shar'El explained as best she could while trying to maintain the premise of them not belonging to the same crew and on a mission of Intel gathering.
Andromeda T'Leia looked up as Wilton entered, he looked handsome in his tux, hair pinned up behind his back, the lack of Eagle feathers in hair. He bowed and said. "Please excuse my tardiness, I had some business to tend. " He looked around at the question of Green Haired Woman. "I did see a very pretty Green Haired lady she just departed the buffet table, over there." Wilton Cloudt Eagle pointed to the back of the green haired lady, she was on the arm of a tall blonde gentleman.
T'Leia introduced Wilton to Erik and Shar'El, "I would like to present to you both, Wilton Cloudt Eagle." She decided that ranks were left at the doors tonight. Wilton nodded to Shar'El and Erik, "It is a pleasure to meet you."
Serron looked around , Rommie could tell that his, keen senses were in full gear. His eyes alert and his senses all honed in on objective.
T'Leia looked around as Admiral Balren tapped her shoulder and said. "Ah, my dear you owe me that dance."
She curtsied and he took her gloved hand, leading her to the dance floor. Serron and Wilton, looked at the other, then proceeding to a secret agenda. As they passed by two lovely ladies, data chips were passed to them; discreetly, they placed them into their jacket's hidden inner pockets.
The orchestra leader, a little late to start the next dance due to having to procur the Native American flute for Wilton. Handing it to Cloudt Eagle he made his way to the dias and tapped the music holder in front of him and said. "Ladies and Gentlemen for your pleasure, Cloudt Eagle playing his Native Flute and a song that he wrote, "Nebula Romance." with our orchestra accompaniment.
Wilton stood on the solo artist spot and begin the opening bars of the song. Andromeda T'Leia turned in Admiral Balren's arms, she knew this song, it was her song. The other title for it was Andromeda T'Leia's Theme. She danced slowly with the Admiral, Serron looked on, raising an eyebrow he made his way to his seat and sat down, several lovely ladies joined him, he nodded politely and ordered drinks for them all.
=======
Renda Carr
Ensign Andromeda T'Leia
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
"Small Steps"
[previous "Green Scare"]
[/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Ballroom
Stardate: 30151.2140
The ball had been only 40 minutes old but Jayson had already manged to receive several invitations for the night after the event. It had not taken a lot of imagination to understand what the ladies had expected from him, but all seemed rather shocked at his reservations and unwillingness to commit to anything after the ball.
Some believed that he had already been spoken for while others figured that he had been waiting for a 'better' offer. Of course this only served to have the offers to be increasingly more demanding and elaborate. Somehow Jayson had become a prize to be won and that troubled him on several levels.
Since Leena he had not been with someone else, so much so that he had actually never even thought of anyone in that manner. During his time at the Academy, this had served to brand him a loner, something that he had not entirely been against, granting him the time and personal space he wanted. It had taken him some time to be able to actually make friends, but to even consider a relationship, even one that would only be of a physical nature, had never been considered. Until now.
Guilt quickly settled in as he explored the possibilities. As much as some of the offers and those making them had been very alluring, Jayson could not bring himself to consider accepting. The simple accepting of a drink had proven to be beyond him as he considered the act to be a betrayal of his feelings for Leena.
He scanned the room for someone specific he hoped would be able to help but when he found her, Jayson thought against acting as he had wanted. Eve appeared rather busy with a Ventaxian delegate and from where he stood the Ops officer could imagine that she had been expertly performing her part of their mission.
This left him contemplating his own situation in another aspect, one that unfortunately did not help matters in the least. Had is inability to play the role that the ladies had expected of him hindered his being able to meet the mission objective; to gather Intel from the passengers on board the MASQUERADE DREAMS.
Joining Starfleet had allowed him to reclaim his life, at least in one aspect. Counselor Dalziel had made it possible for him to focus more on the present than the past making the task that much easier. Still there had been a part of his life and past that he had not been ready to let go of, and likely would never be able to.
As he looked up, he momentarily met the gaze of the former First Officer, a woman who had been forced into a decision that best suited not only her but the crew. It had been easy to imagine that the decision had not been an easy one, but it had been a required decision, like the one that Jayson now faced.
As a Starfleet officer he had duties and responsibilities, and while on this particular mission these included him finding the best possible way to gather as much information as possible from as many different sources. Of course this did not mean that he had to abandon his values or change the person that he had become, but it did required him to stop looking back to a life that no longer existed.
The memories of Leena could be the anchor that held him back or provide the strength and determination for him to move forward and be the best he could. He knew that this would not be easy, that he would question and doubt himself countless times to come, but being ale to take that first step had been a victory that even he realized had been a major one.
After having fetched four champagne glasses from the bar, Jayson made his way to one particular table where three ladies whom he had caught their attention sat and laughed. He hoped that having said no to them earlier would become the launching platform for an evening of laughter filled Intel gathering.
[/\]
Jayson Sousa
Ensign Jayson Stark
Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
"Green Scare"
[previous post was "The Grand Game"]
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Ballroom, another section
Stardate: 30151.2120
[From Francois' "Having a Ball"]
"Who was that?" Sonja inquired as she returned to the table, two glasses of champagne in her hands.
"A secret waiting to be revealed," Ya'Han cryptically replied as she accepted one of the glasses from the visibly puzzled Engineer.
[Mine]
The once daughter of the High Sovereign found herself slipping back into memories that she had done her best to hide well out of her mental reach. Her past as a member of the royal Nylaan family had best been forgotten to insure that she would be able to live a life that would be hers and not one dictated by her father or the social economical ways of an entire race.
Ya'Han tried to dismiss as best she could the encounter with the green haired woman has having been nothing more than an odd sequence of strange and unusual events. Many races counted people with such colored hair, some because of genetics and others simply because they enjoyed changing their hair to that color. So it had been a valid possibility that the woman who had approached her had in fact been from any one of these numerous other humanoid races.
She had introduced herself as Ye'Lan, a name that fall well within the boundaries of names given to members of her race, but still there had been a mathematical probability that such a name could be found on one or more of the worlds present in this galaxy. Still, what had been the odds of such a coincidence taking place?
Then there had been the way that the unknown woman had approached and addressed the raven haired undercover security officer. Respectful as one would have expected when addressing a member of the royal family. Every gesture including the way her eyes fell onto the floor pointed to Ye'Lan knowing something about the Chief of Security that no one else knew, but how could this have been possible? It had been nearly a decade since she had escaped from her world, from her father and that Ferengi troll of a betrothed husband. How could that woman have known who she was?
Ya'Han's breathing became shallow and rapid almost to the point of hyperventilating as memories of her father and his dealing with those who disobeyed him came to mind. Escaping from her home world had been a way to avoid marrying that Ferengi troll, but it had also been a way for her to avoid her father's unforgiving wrath. If Ye'Lan had indeed been a member of the Nylaan Performing Arts field, and if she had indeed identified the black haired woman as being one of the daughters of the High Sovereign, Ya'Han feared that all of her work to have a life free of her past would have been in vain.
"EARTH to Ya'Han," Sonja said as she took hold of one of the trembling woman's arms. "You know the shakes are supposed to happen *after* you have had a few drinks, not before you even have your first sip, right?"
A forced smile flashed on the woman's lips as she was drawn back into reality, her sitting at one of the countless tables at the black and white ball. "Sorry," Ya'Han added before she downed the entire content of her champagne glass in one single gulp.
"Woah," the redhead chuckled dryly, knowing that something had caused the woman to be troubled to such an extreme. "As I see it you have two choices there lass, you can either start talking about what it is that has you in such a troubled state or I can get you a few more drinks and wait until you are drunk as a skunk to get you to tell me what's bothering you. The first way means that things stay between you and me, the second is likely going to involve some fancy and daring dancing on any one of these tables. The choice is yours although I will admit that I am partial to the second. I think there are a lot of people in here who would love to see something unexpected take place."
"It's complicated," Ya'Han whispered as she closed her eyes and drew in a trembling breath.
"I gathered as much," Sonja said as she gently squeezed the harm of the Chief of Security. "You might want to start by calming yourself enough to change your hair back. Purple is sure way to attract a lot more attention than I suspect you want to have aiming your way right about now."
Ya'Han had been ready to bolt out of the ballroom but Sonja held onto her arm tight. At first the Chief of Security had wondered why but it soon became clear that the Chief Engineer had saved the scared woman from making a scene that would have for certain drawn unwanted attention to her. As she closed her eyes and drew in slow, long breath, the Chief of Security once again became the black haired woman that she wanted everyone to know her as.
[/\] [/\] [/\] [/\] [/\]
Hanali Han
Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
_____________
" The Grand Game "
[Previous Post "A Garden of Crystals - A Time To Dance" by Renda]
_____________
“I know it’s crooked, but it’s the only game in town.”
- William ‘Canada Bill’ Jones
_____________
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Twenty, Guest’s Suite
Stardate: 30151.2041
She looked at the time displayed on her own custom PADD, in the same peculiar shade of blue Bajoran ideograms, as it read 2O21 hours, which brought a loud sigh surfacing to her lips as it escaped her. The vast sense of anxiety and infinite dread that filled her had almost become something of an affliction or curse, though, she could not decide which was more accurate.
:: If I can only survive to make it through this night. ::
The Bajoran thought, as she slipped her hands over the flawless ensemble, her hands starting to twitch nervously upon reaching to find the hem of the train. Nigh wild with hysteria, as she glanced herself over once or twice in the wall mirror, taking on a more lucid state. There, staring back at her with dual chromatic eyes, was some kind of twin or doppelgänger in strangely foreign attire, unfamiliar to anything she had ever having seen.
Wresting her attentions away for the moment from the phantom reflection, the CMO continued to prepare for the dance. Placing a multifaceted emerald and jet colored crystal camellia flower pin, worn left atop her head, careful not to mess or ruin her fashionably draped front and feathered back peacock hairstyle, prior to adding the final touch. A timeless latinum plated antique memento on her right ear, an heirloom, given by her mother, who received it from her mother before her, and has since been passed through generations of her family for almost a millennia.
_____________
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Deck Eleven, Crystal Room
Stardate: 30151.2059
With one last, deep exhale preceding a breath held in terrible hesitation, the Bajoran stepped slowly in to the main hall. She moved, pacing ever to the fore, the fanfare sounded as they had announced her presence.
“Introducing, Lady Heron Simza, Ranjen punjak a pagh’tem’far.”
As Mizore continued to make her way through, using an alias to completely avoid unwanted or unnecessary suspicion, or dissociate any ties to Starfleet or the Federation that her actual name might otherwise reference to the contrary or enlighten the truth of her identity. Grateful to the fact that she was among the very few guests attending the event to be counted among the first to arrive. Secretly hoping her choices and the decisions on what she was wearing was sufficient toward maintaining a level of anonymity, keep both low profile and her own presence out of sight and off the radar.
Still quite conscious of the fact she was wearing the simple a line, silhouette style dress white as the new snow, with an off the shoulder Queen Anne neckline, made entirely of Andorian silk, a lace up ribbon corset back, and a smooth layered hourglass ruffle design skirt, accented with a long empire chapel train.
_____________
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck Eleven, Crystal Room, Second Level Terrace
Stardate: 30151.2127
Situating herself to a solitary corner, which had given her the best possible location from which to utilize her specific strengths. Mizore had given a significant count in hours of thought, realizing that she did not possess the relatively similar skills to the others of the team. She knew she was not inspirationally commanding like Morningstar, intriguingly desirable like Stark, scientifically calculating like Maya, socially charismatic like Paquette, physically intimidating like Ya’Han, exotically mysterious as Dalziel, mentally intuitive like Shar’El, or culturally sophisticated like T’leia. It was this that she did, did well, and did best. Examine, observe, and study.
“Moves and countermoves.” her voice hushed, as a short lived playful smile appeared not a moment before Maya had wandered into her field of vision, catching her sight. The Bajoran, raised the crystal flute stemware to her lips, sipping the sparkling cider champagne to whet her dry, parched throat. Looking squarely at the CSO, a dark glint of hazel eyes that leered over the PADD in her hand, while locking gaze with the Shillian’s own for a fleeting instant, as a small show, acknowledging that Maya’s presence had not gone unnoticed.
“I am indeed, rather fine Lieutenant. There is no need for concern. I do, however, appreciate you taking the time and showing an interest as to inquire on my status, condition, or lack thereof.” The CMO whispered holding the PADD to obscurely conceal her mouth. Intentionally feinting her focus on the various conjured and fabricated religious contents, information, records, data, and reports on the device.
To Mizore, it had only just started. The board had been set, the cards dealt, the rules established, the players arrived, and now...
“Let the Grand Game begin.” A quieted sound of an amused laugh could be found originating from her to those who concentrated on, or intently listened for it.
_____________
Gwen Spellblade
Ensign Mizore Seska
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
##########
"A Garden of Crystals-A time to dance."
Previous Post: "Having A Ball"
##########
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Ballroom
Stardate: 30151.2100
Andromeda T'Leia, made her way to the main balcony stair case, her white gown snowfalls with the matching crystal tiara, elegantly designed by one of her favorite earth designers, La' Troi. She smoothed the skirt down with her silken gloved hands, and waited for the powdered wigged Announcer to annouce her formally into the ball.
"Hear ye! The Lady Andromeda T'Leia, chairperson of our board, and tonights Queen of the Roses."
Andromeda's eyebrow raised at that announcement. The court arrived with her cape of the Roses and her bouquet of miniature yellow roses that the court maiden tied to her wrist with white ribbon.
"Thank you," she said politely to her court. She walked down the stairs slowly, nodding politely to everyone as she descended the stairway. At the bottom, her escort waited to turn as she stepped onto the ballroom floor. She made that final step and the escort turned around, she looked up into familiar eyes.
Her escort extended his gloved hand and said. "Your Grace, may I have the honor of this dance?" Serron's blonde hair looked like golden wings in the ballroom lighting his black tux perfection.
She bowed slightly and said. "You may." Her hand slipped into his, he lead her to the dance floor as a waltz began. Serron looked down at her as they danced and her gown floated as if on air around the room. "You look very beautiful tonight, Rommie." She looked up into the kind eyes and the handsome face of a dear friend, one that she had known for years and yet he still had that tiny devilment about him, half Vulkhunsu and half Human, Serron had many a Lady chasing him throughout his life, and yet he had not given his heart away to any of them, just yet....
Andromeda T'Leia danced on with Serron she nodded politely to some of her new Crewmates and she nodded to Admiral Balren and Lady Balren; her heart seemed to beat faster than normal. Serron's close presence could definitely make the heart speed faster.
As the waltz came to a close, she ended with a dip and then the raise slowly, her face up turned, she saw something of a glimmer of mischief in those eyes of Serron, her friend. She blushed slightly, as they walked off the dance floor, to meet and greet guests and make certain that everyone had their favorite drink and plenty of party treats to munch on before the dinner.
Serron leaned in and whispered. "Have I told you that you look like a Angel tonight?" She blushed again and replied. "No, but you may continue."
They walked around shaking hands with Brass, and with High Ranking Civilians, Andromeda T'Leia also took note of the silent auction bidding that supports the Childrens Charities, something close to Lady Balren's heart.
As they walked and talked, Serron whispered. "Wilton will be here soon, he had something to tend before arriving. Just incase that is who you are looking for, Rommie."
She looked up at Serron and replied. "Oh Serron, if I were looking for him, I would find him."
Serron stood looking at her emotionless face, raising an eyebrow he said. "I see, well in that case, a dance my Rose Queen.
The Tango, a favorite of Serron's. Andromeda T'Leia, stepped into place,her fan extended hiding her lips. His keen step up and then the music started and they began their dance apart the alluring, and ever so sexy dance of Tango. He embraced her in his arms, her waist so tiny that his large hand seemed to over take the small of her back. She stepped to his lead, the dance a very very visually romantic encounter. One of the Admirals remarked.
"Who said Vulcan's did not know how to dance? Well, they don't know what they are talking about." He clapped, as Serron and Rommie danced by...
As Serron lead her into the final step and into his arms again. Music ceased, she he looked down at her and, gently whispered. "The Admiral is correct, isn't he my Rose?"
Andromeda T'Leia nodded, slightly out of breath she replied in a whisper. "Definitely, Serron. Definitely."
They left the dance floor and Serron procured two glasses of Janovian Solar flares, they sipped the cold sweet drinks, and walked around the ballroom. The crystals on her gown made musical noises as she moved. Serron nodded and greeted other guests, and gave compliment to the Ladies.
The Alcove off the Ballroom:
Serron whisked Andromeda T'Leia off to the private alcove for a moment. He watched her face as the crystals from the ceiling with the lights making snow like prisms of light upon her face. "You look like a Goddess tonight. A very beautiful Goddess."
She blushed and said. "I am just a mortal, nothing Goddess like about me." He drew her closer and whispered. "Never will you make me believe that statement, Rommie."
She could feel his cheek against her's she could also feel the strange feeling of lightheadedness at his being so close.
"I am fortunate to have such an agreeable escort." She whispered back to him. Her eyes looking up at him as if he were the only man around.
Serron raised a blonde eyebrow and said. "Perhaps, I shall take you away from all of this, to some deserted Monastery where no one can find us."
=====
Renda Carr
Ensign Andromeda T'Leia
Assistant medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
##########
"Having A Ball"
Previous post "Friendly Chat"
##########
"I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams."
- The Doctor, Season 6, Episode 6
=====
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Ballroom
Stardate: 30151.2100
The Native American stood in his finest civilian attirement, his eyes carefully scanning the gathered dignitaries and guests to this special ball while his hand held tight onto an elegant champagne glass. To say that this had been a 'high-class' affair would have been a grave understatement, and the list of well known people within the room only served to reinforced this concept.
Most of these dignitaries Erik did not recognize, but for those he did, the undercover Captain had half wished that he had not been aware of their identities and of their personal histories.
The extensive list of questionable behaviours from the rebellious daughter of a high ranking Bolian diplomate for one had made Erik cringe as he figured that this setting would offer more than one occasion for the blue-skinned woman to add to this list. On the other side of the dance floor, the Native American also recognized an Efrosian Ambassador who held the unfortunate reputation for not being overly discriminating when it came to casual partners to spend his nights with.
Given that the MASQUERADE DREAMS held 1500 passengers Captain Morningstar had managed to be pleased while considering the larger picture, after all it had not been everyday that he and the rest of his crew were set to spend the next three weeks on board a luxury Risian cruiser. Had it not been for the numerous and more colourful individuals on board, the Intel gathering mission would not have been necessitated, so Erik decided to focus on the positive and make the best of the situation that he and his crew had been thrown into.
"ANI?" the civilian dressed undercover Starfleet Officer whispered under his breath.
=/\= Yes Captain, =/\= the Avatar replied, her words able to be heard only by the Captain.
"Testing," Erik added, again keeping his voice as low as possible so as to not drawn any unwanted attention for those immediately around him.
=/\= The subdermal communicators and transponders are working perfectly, =/\= the ANUBIS' Avatar confirmed. =/\= I am currently tracking every member of the Senior Staff and monitoring their conversations. Everyone in on board as required, and from your current position you should be able to see Lieutenant Dalziel who is currently having a conversation with a Ventaxian diplomatic delegate.
"Well done," the Commanding Officer offered, knowing very well that as long as ANI kept tabs on the crew, nothing major could take them by surprise. Now all that Erik needed to do was to mingle a little more amongst those who had been invited to the Black and White Ball.
The Native American was startled when he felt a hand land onto his shoulder, but immediately relaxed when his gaze met that of his own Acting Executive Officer. Shar'El said nothing so as to not give away her actual identity, only using the gesture to request without words for the man to permit her to gain access to the dance floor. Erik did so with a gallant bow, noting to himself that the ILO had selected a rather exquisite dress for the occasion.
This mission had already started on a most interesting note leaving the Captain of the USS ANUBIS to only guess as to what would actually come from their time spent on the MASQUERADE DREAMS.
==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Ballroom, another section
Stardate: 30151.2115
The the black haired Chief of Security headed for one of the tables after having enjoyed a first dance, the redheaded Chief of Engineering having been there waiting for her.
"I thought you would be having more fun than this," Ya'Han said as she lowered herself onto one of the vacant chairs.
"I have never been one to enjoy all of this fancy shmancy stuff," Sonja sighed in return. "I would take a uniform and an engine to fix over this in a heartbeat."
"You need to learn to enjoy yourself a little more," the black haired woman stated.
"You have fun your way," the redhead huffed with a grin, "and I will have fun mine. This is not the type of setting that I have my most fun in. Take me to as club where I can really get my booty shaking and I will show you some *real* fun."
"Speaking of fun," the Chief of Security said as she looked around the room, "where is Eve?"
"She's rubbing elbows with that Ventaxian delegate," Sonja replied as she gestured with her head in the general direction of the Counselor. "Maybe she is trying to have herself pass as Ardra. Might make things interesting if we had an all powerful deity on the team."
Although the three women had been set to be at the ball as individuals, it had been easy for them to gather at the same table without drawing anyone's attention. Guests were after all expected to mingle and chat with both people they knew as well as complete strangers.
"I need something to drink," the undercover Engineer sighed as she rose from her chair. "I just hope that they serve Blood Wine on this boat."
Ya'Han simply shook her head as she watched the redhead walk away, hopefully the Chief Engineer would find something to make the next three weeks more pleasant.
"Excuse me," a soft and delicate voice offered from the black haired woman's other side causing the Chief of Security to turn in her chair. Ya'Han immediately froze as she noted the colour of the hair of the woman who had come to stand next to her; the green tint perfectly matching that of the members of her race who belonged to the field of Performing Arts. "I am truly sorry for troubling you, but I could not help but wonder if you were someone that I knew."
"Very unlikely," Ya'Han promptly offered with a forced smile on her lips. It had been a long time since she had been on home soil, and the daughter of the High Sovereign counted of those many years to help shield her true identity.
"You are right," the Nylaan woman stated with an unusual and unexpected deep curtsy of deference. "The lady that I believed you to be would have had purple hair. I am truly sorry for having bothered you in this manner. My name is Ye'Lan and wish that the evening be a most pleasant one for you Milady."
The black haired Chief of Security watched with concern as the woman backed away for a few steps before walking away, certain that she had indeed recognized her to be whom Ya'Han actually was.
"Who was that?" Sonja inquired as she returned to the table, two glasses of champagne in her hands.
"A secret waiting to be revealed," Ya'Han cryptically replied as she accepted one of the glasses from the visibly puzzled Engineer.
==========
Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Crystal Ballroom, Upper Balcony
Stardate: 30151.2130
From this vantage point the Shillian could see pretty much the entire ballroom and those in attendance to the Black and White Ball. Maya had noted that Andromeda has stayed in the vicinity of Admiral Balren and his wife for obvious reasons, the Vulcan/Terran hybrid having known them for quite some time.
As the evening progressed, the Scientist saw Jayson Stark making his way through the crowd, attracting the eyes of several women in attendance. If his intent had been to pave the way for him to gather intel from any one of them, his task had seemed to be more than half done.
Maya's eyes stopped on one particular tables set against the furthest wall from the dance floor, what drew the Shillian's attention had been that there had been a single, lonely person sitting there by herself.
"ANI," Maya whispered to herself. "If everything alright with Seska?"
=/\= All vital signs are nominal, =/\= the Avatar replied through the subdermal communicator. =/\= I assumed that her being against the far wall and remaining quiet had been a purposeful method of gathering Intel on those around her, although I will admit that your own location is far more conducive to that purpose. =/\=
The Shillian nodded to no one in particular as she looked at the distant Chief Medical officer. It was an undeniable fact that not everyone enjoyed being in such a busy and bustling environment. Maya sighed to herself as she too would have preferred to being somewhere quieter, but the details of their mission had been to gather Intel and mingling with the passengers of the MASQUERADE DREAMS had only been the beginning of their latest mission which would stretch for a whole three weeks.
--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette
Captain Erik Morningstar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501
AND
Lt. Commander Elan Fairborn
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA