Dizmim ChNilmani

Connie def needs a musical episode. Not quite sure how we would pull that off.

Welcome, welcome and congratulations on your graduation!!!

The last part cracked me up. Veir is self aware enough that her curiosity could get her in to situations. lol

LMAO. I just laughed at this. Of course, Cade does.

Still haven't stopped chuckling.

This had such a three stooges feel. LOL

LOL. I now want to see Cade on more diplomatic missions....just to see the chaos.

This made me chuckle.

MMMMm.mmmmm.mmmmmm!!!! (Her mouth is covered. You expected to understand her?)

And another.

Tannhauser made me chuckle. LOL

Welcome, welcome!!!

Congratulations and welcome to the fleet!

Yay! my favorite grumpy doctor won! @Sal Taybrim Congratulations to all!

Congratulations to everyone who won!

Congrats everyone!

Congratulations to all the winners!

(( Somewhere, somewhen, or nowhere )) Bright sunlight shone down on her face as she turned her head backwards to receive the warmth. The chirping and call of the sea birds floated into her ears and a gentle salty breeze brushed over her skin. It was a perfect moment. As she opened her eyes the purple water spread as far as one could see, sparkling like diamonds in the reflection of the sun. As her eyes moved to the side faint at the edge of the horizon she could see two moons above the Korchub mountains. It had been a good idea to come to Trill. Holodecks could depict this really well but there was nothing like actually coming home. The sound of moving sand behind her barely announced the visitor before arms wrapped around her. The feeling of comfort as she leaned back was soothing and she placed her hand on the arm around her waist or tried to. It landed on her own waist. A breeze came from behind pushing hair into her face. Voice: You shouldn't be here. It was a whisper in a familiar voice right next to her ear. Her eyes widened as she jumped around, but there was nothing. It had clearly been Viktor. The one person she never ever wanted to see again. But as she looked around the beach she was alone. Jalana blinked in confusion but then shook her head. It must have been the wind playing tricks on her. Turning once more she looked at the Marketplace in front of her, wares displayed in all the colours of the spectrum. Fruit and Vegetables, spices, clothing and knick-knacks. It didn't occur to her that there had not been a market on the ocean before. It was supposed to be here. Strolling along the booths she picked up a Bajoran jumja stick from a sweets stand and suckled on the sweet confection as she continued her walk. The cascade of all shades under the sky lured her closer. While she hadn't even attempted to sew clothing or even curtains in this life, the memories of the runways, the studios, the long hours of designing, sewing, changing.. they were all vividly replaying in her mind. Her fingertips ran over the fabric, feeling the texture of the weaving as her eyes rested on the gentle reflection of the light on the pattern. Another bolt of fabric got her attention, the multichrome semi-transparent fabric seemed to move with the slightest motion of her body and as she reached out it was smooth. So smooth that she couldn’t feel any texture at all. She unrolled a bit of the bolt and held it against the light. How was it possible to make fabric without visible weaving? She blinked. She had the feeling she'd done this again, seen this before, but couldn't remember where and when. Deja vus were normal for Trills but this didn't feel like a past life memory. Merchant: You shouldn't be here. Raising her green gaze she looked at the woman behind the piles of fabric. Rajel: Pardon? Merchant: I said it's thirty credits a ball. Jalana was sure she had heard something else but nodded and after a moment she reached out to press her finger on the pad. It beeped as it denied the charge. The Merchant slapped the tool mumbling about it always causing issues. When she turned it to Jalana again the running text that listed her order read "You shouldn't be here". Jalana blinked shaking her head but once she looked again it just listed the ball of fabric. This time when she put her thumb on the pad it worked and she grabbed the fabric under her arm and continued her way. She did notice that people kept looking at her as she passed by as if she had grown a second head. As if they knew something about her she didn't. As if... she shouldn't be here. It ran cold down her spine and she tried to ignore the people as she suckled on her jumja stick again until someone walked straight up to her. To someone's that were one, Bynars. Bynar1: You shouldn't Bynar2: be here. Rajel: Why does everyone keep telling me that? The scene suddenly changed and she stood in a dim light surrounded by metal and what looked like market booths, but it was not the same market. The soft hum of the floor under her feet was something she usually couldn't feel or hear. This was a space station. Was this 104? She walked through a gasp between booths, there was nobody here. What was this? As she turned around again she could see a shape of a person in the light cone before she stepped forward. A woman, with pitch-black eyes. She looked oddly familiar but Jalana couldn't put a name to her face. The woman grabbed her at her shoulders. Woman: Wake up. You need to wake up! But Jalana didn't. The woman let go and the little light that had been around her turned off with loud clunking sounds like someone switched a lever to make it happen. She opened her mouth to call out but not a single sound came from her mouth and in that pitch-black void around her she couldn't see a thing... but she had a distinct feeling that they had been right. She shouldn't be here. ----- Commodore Jalana Rajel Commanding Officer USS Constitution B Image Team Co-Facilitator A238906JL0

"Wheeeeeeeeeeee!"

(( Federation Dilithium Mine - Backsim )) The Saurian crouched down to sneak up to the area where the noise came from and peeked around the corner. His large eyes scanned the area. Jalana watched him with a frown, hearing more phaser fire and a loud thud. It took a moment before Camdar came back. Trex: Two pirates, four officers: Pascal, Strixx, Manfredi and Vok. They are covered in blood and are clearly injured, two looked unconscious or dead. But the pirates appear to be in a frenzy and seemingly unimpressed with being hit by the phasers. Nugra: Well, that's not a good sign. T'Seva: Drugged? Miner: Yeah sometimes they were like that, aggressive and reckless, like they were high. Jalana thought back to a past mission when they had faced the Syndicate. Back then they had occupied a planet to harvest treesap that was the main ingredient for a rather popular street drug. Rajel: Hrm.. 'All time high' caused hallucinations and a high, but it didn't cause that reaction. Nugra/T'Seva/Officers: response Rajel: It would fit the description. If the highest stun settings don't work... Nugra: We might be dealing with a different strain of something. T'Seva: Blacklight? That causes aggression. Jalana sighed and nodded. She didn't like that thought but she had to protect her people, if two of them were down and all of them injured they had to act now. And she knew she couldn't. She hadn't even been able to shoot at the man who had attacked her a while ago. She had to leave that to the pros. Rajel: Do it. Shoot to kill. She exchanged glances with both Nugra and T'Seva. They knew her well enough to know what that meant. Do it for me. She wouldn't but even if she wanted to, she couldn't. But knowing that they had officers down, Jalana would rather take care of them anyway. They saw their preparations and had to remind herself that it was necessary. Nugra: I recommend you stay near me or T'Seva, Commodore, so that you won't have to use your weapon. She nodded to him, grateful for having her back like that and opened her Medkit to retrieve the Tricorder to have it ready immediately. The other medical officer did the same and they gave each other a nod. Rajel: Be careful in there everyone. It usually went without saying but she felt better to do it anyway. Nugra: On three. A deep breath, listening to the groans and shots from next door. Nugra: One. A wild scream like an angry animal ready to pounce its prey. Nugra: Two. She could see Nugra's muscles tense up. Nugra: Three! And off they went. Jalana waited a moment with the other medical officer, allowing Nugra, T'Seva and the Security detail to draw attention first. Phaser and Rifle fire shot through the room. Jalana turned to the medical officer. Rajel: What's your name. She really wanted to know for some reason. A sudden urge. There were so many people on the ship and no matter how much she tries she couldn't know them all. She wanted to know who she was working with. Why now and not earlier? Who knew. Han: It's Soo Mi, Ma'am. Han Soo Mi. The Trill nodded and smiled at the woman who reminded her of Ji-hu. Maybe they came from the same region on Earth. Rajel: Call me Jalana. Keep your head down in there. Let's find the downed officers and get them out of the line of fire. Han: Got it Ma... Jalana. They nodded at each other again and then Jalana gestured for them to get in. She crouched down and entered the 'fray'. Looking around she immediately spotted one of the downed officers. She gestured to Soo Mi that she was going that way. A nod in return and Jalana moved quickly, glad she had changed into pants, which made this easier. She slipped behind cover and peeked around the edge waiting for a pause in shots before she quickly rushed to the other side. She saw the Officer and looked to the raging pirates that kept the others busy. Soo Mi had found the other one and was on her way to him. At the right time Jalana jumped forward, reached for the sleeve of the officer and pulled him behind cover. She knew very well it could cause injury if she did not check on him first, but if they remained in the line of fire they could both go down. The medical team could fix injuries but not death. But as she opened her Tricorder and looked down at the scan she realized she didn't have to worry about that. Her face hardened with a grim expression as her hand hastily wandered to his neck trying to find a pulse. Rajel: Come on Vok. ::She mumbled and her fingers ran along the side of his neck, desperate to find just one throb.:: I didn't dismiss you yet. But he didn't reply, didn't move and no matter how hard and where she checked for any sign of life, be it pulse, reaction in his eyes or other, there was nothing. If she interpreted the readings correctly, he had been dead for at least five minutes already. A shot in the back. Jalana's shoulders slumped and she placed her hand on the man's cheek, patting it slightly. Rajel: Rest now. She whispered and bit her lip before she raised her eyes, staring at the piece of wall in front of her as she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. If she cried now that wouldn't help anyone. The sounds of the struggle around her were a clear sign of that. Davis: =/\= This is Lieutenant Lazarus Davis. Syndicate members, we have recaptured with facility. There is a Galaxy class starship out there, and the–the Theseus and Minotaur have been destroyed. You are at our mercy. Any remaining Syndicate operatives, lay down your arms and gather in the mess hall. You will not be harmed. All teams: shuttles have been signaled, prepare to return to the Constitution. Davis out. =/\= The voice sounded weird, metallic and distorted but she recognized it as Lazarus. She hoped that the pirates would follow his words, she had the feeling that the ones in here would not. She saw though that they were confused. Definitely drugged. But then jumped back into action. Nugra: Watch out! Nugra's sudden shout made her look in his direction, she couldn't see what he referred to but he quickly moved and stood in front of Camdar and then a loud bang and an explosion rattled the room and threw her off her knees. Her ears rang and or a moment she felt disoriented but as she found grasp a thought again it immediately went to Nugra, then to the others. It was silent now for a moment, then there was a groan, a woman. Who was it? She looked up from behind her cover. What she saw first was a mountain of lizardy skin with red wet spots. Blood! Her eyes widened and she was about to sprint off when she remembered pirates but she couldn't hear them. Carefully she rose and peeked over the edge and as she could not see them she stretched her legs and looked to where she had seen them last. It looked like the explosion had hit them as well, even if they were still alive they would be suffering hell. Seeing at that they wouldn't fight her that easily she quickly rushed towars Nugra. Rajel: T'Seva! Are you okay? ::calling out:: ((OOC: Cleared that with T'Seva beforehand )) T'Seva: response Hearing her voice was a relief. She slid across the floor and came down on her knees next to Nugra as she called out to the other woman. Rajel: Check on the pirates. Make sure they don't attack us again. If they were still able to that was. T'Seva: response She looked down at the Gorn and found the Saurian under him, but he was already crawling out from under the mountain of a man. Jalana ran her tricorder along his body and exhaled. Rajel: He is alive but badly hurt. He's losing blood, open wounds, organ damage, his blood pressure is unstable... ::She trailed off and then reached into the medkit to retrieve a hypo to stabilize him. She could see that he was unconscious but this would keep him out of it so he wouldn't move and make things worse.:: We need to get him to the ship.:: She looked up and two of the other officers who looked worse for wear nodded and ran out. She knew they would retrieve the antigrav units for transports.:: T'Seva: response Rajel: Soo Mi what about Manfredi? No answer. Rajel: Soo Mi? A small groan and Camdar had freed himself and was up on his feet, he limbed and didn't look good but he could walk and was rushing to the medic's side. He covered Jalana's view. Trex: We're here... keep calm. The words and the non reply alarmed Jalana and she got up to head over and there she saw it. Soo Mi was next to Manfredi, and a large shard of debris had hit her body in a way that it cut right through her. Her face was pale and there was blood, not enough for that kind of wound, but scrapes and cuts over her skin where other pieces of debris must have hit her. An unseemly Trill cuss came over her lips and she dropped down next to her immediately taking her vitals that were rapidly dropping. She had internal injuries and there was no time to get her to the ship for the surgery she needed, she was fading already. T'Seva: response Rajel: Soo Mi, we are here. We'll get you back to the Conny you hear? Soo Mi: ::barely whispering:: Manfre... The Saurian had checked on his colleague and his huge eyes looked down to the medical officer. His translator doing all the heavy work today. Trex: He's alive. I'll check on Nugra let you know if his condition changes. ::With that he headed over to the Gorn.:: T'Seva: response Soo Mi smiled, a shake of her lips and it looked a bit like a grimace, her body started to shiver, the pain spiking even on the tricorder display. Jalana put the tricorder on the floor and reached into her medkit with her free hand, trying to remain calm. She wanted to fight for her, make sure she would see the ship again. But if her work in the Emergency room had shown her something, it was that sometimes you couldn't do anything. The damage was too extensive to do anything here with the means she had. If they had a field medic maybe. But they hadn't. The surgery needed had to be done on the ship and it would take over half an hour to get to it even if they hurried. Anything over 10 minutes would be too late. She hated it, but if she couldn't help her, she could make sure she wouldn't die alone. Rajel: I'll give you something for the pain. ::The Hypo hissed against the woman's neck who visible relaxed.:: Jalana patted her hand gently and fought the tears, trying to smile for the woman who even now had worried more about Manfredi than her own. T'Seva: response Soo Mi's eye lids became heavy, Jalana saw her try to keep them open but in the end she failed. Her breath came ragged. Rajel: You did well, Soo Mi. Rest. We'll get you home. As if she had waited for those words the body of the young woman went limb and the only reason her arm didn't drop to the floor was that Jalana still held it. Her eyes dropped to the Tricorder before she closed the display and closed her eyes with a deep breath and carefully placed Soo Mi's hand down before she stood up. T'Seva: response Rajel: The injuries were too bad, she wouldn't have made it even to the shuttle. I didn't want her to go in fear. T'Seva: response The hurried steps of the officers pulled her attention and they brought the antigrav units in from the shuttle that was still waiting outside. They brought one right over to Nugra and began to work on putting him up on it. The surviving officers were able to walk so Jalana indicated where Vok was and stepped aside to make room to get Soo Mior too. The Trill felt tired, and defated. But they couldn't just stand here and stop functioning. She raised her green eyes to T'Seva and reached out with a hand trying to grab her forearm for a squeeze. Rajel: Let's get them home. T'Seva: response And that was what they did, in silence. The events of the day hanging in the air pressing down on them. Though she stayed at Nugra's side, constantly checking for his vitals. She was not losing him too. ----- Commodore Jalana Rajel Commanding Officer USS Constitution B Image Team Co-Facilitator A238906JL0

Congratulations to everyone who won!!!

(( Office of the Chief Science Officer )) Forms, reports, explanations, extrapolations, reviews, redactions, signatures, assignments… on and on it went. He had much to account for, and almost as much to atone for. Alone in his office, at some point the lights got turned down and set to a warmer color temperature, almost mimicking the ambience of a candle-lit room. As per usual, music was playing in the background as he worked; but he was unable to find something suiting for all that he was feeling and thinking. Listless, ambient music invited his mind to wander too much. Orchestral music was too predictable and dull. He needed to find that sweet pot: interesting enough to partially engage with, to keep his mind from wandering too far, but not too interesting as to rob his attention. In time, he found his way to a late 20th century band, Talking Heads. They were a long-standing favorite, at least as far as old Earth music went. Like most art from long ago, it’s hard to appreciate it in the context of the present, because it is a product of its time and place; neither of which Lazarus shared with the band. Familiar enough, without being too gripping. Quaint, even. "And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack And you may find yourself in another part of the world And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife And you may ask yourself, "Well... how did I get here?” (( OOC: link is to the Talking Heads - Once In a Lifetime music video )) That last line caught Lazarus off guard. Something he didn’t quite understand about himself is how a song or a lyric could sometimes feel as if someone had just slipped a knife between his ribs and began to twist. He gasped for air as his throat choked up, and tears welled in his eyes. oO How *did* you get here? Oo There was the story he told himself, a dry narrative of recounted dates and places. It wasn’t inaccurate, but it felt somehow incomplete. He was just some guy from Earth, and now he’s been given the power of life and death? He’s living in luxury on a starship; married to a punk alien woman; galavanting across the sector. Why *him*? Why here? What did he do to deserve this? How and why was he given this life? "Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down Letting the days go by, water flowing underground Into the blue again after the money's gone Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground” He was here because this is where the currents swept him. Sometimes the waters pushed him places against his will, other times he studied the currents before diving in. In either case, the result is the same: he was ultimately powerless in all of this. If not him, then someone else. If he hadn’t lead that away team, someone else would have. The pirates killed Mar[...]o, not him. And the pirates tried to kill or enslave everyone on the Constitution. Was it not his obligation to be willing to kill to protect his peers, and the families on board, from such a fate? A credible threat was made, so what was he not only justified in responding with lethal force, but required to? At that point, it seemed clear that the pirates were not interested in negotiation. Them or us, simple as that. They may try to pin a medal on him for it, too. "And you may ask yourself, "What is that beautiful house?" And you may ask yourself, "Where does that highway go to?" And you may ask yourself, "Am I right? Am I wrong?" And you may say to yourself, "My god! What have I done?” The PADD in his hand–“his” PADD–flexed under the pressure of his grip as the tears began to peek out from under his eyelids. Circumstance, morals, and ethics didn’t mean a damned thing. Not one damned thing! People died. And those people had friends and families; hopes and dreams. They were maligned, but that’s the nature of existence it seems: to be wrong, and to learn to be better. He had deprived 12 people that opportunity. Davis: :: choked with grief :: Computer, lock the door. "Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down Letting the days go by, water flowing underground Into the blue again, into the silent water Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down Letting the days go by, water flowing underground Into the blue again after the money's gone Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground” As the song reached its climax, Lazarus felt rage boil within him, seated behind his desk. “His” PADD creaked under the stress of his hands wrenching it around, and one of the access panels on its back popped off, not able to flex with the twisting force he was unwittingly applying to the body and he cried and shouted profanities in the soundproofed room. Mercifully, the song receded into an epilogue. "Here a twister comes, here comes the twister Same as it ever was, same as it ever was Same as it ever was, same as it ever was Once in a lifetime, let the water hold me down Letting the days go by” And he caught himself between the gasping breaths to slow down and inhale deeply. Release the grip on the PADD. Exhale. Set it down. Inhale. Open your eyes. Exhale. In a few moments, he had re-grounded himself. At his feet, the unyielding access panel on the ground. The PADD was flexible, and capable of handling great stress without breaking. The access panel, however, was too rigid. When the PADD flexed and contorted too much, it broke away. There’s no stopping the currents. We can only hope to ride them well, and be flexible. Otherwise we break when contorted, and fall away from the whole. Same as it ever was. Regaining his composure, Lazarus raked his hands through his curls and leaned back in the chair to stare at the ceiling for a moment, before looking back down at his desk at all the PADDs and forms and processes he still had to do. Same as it ever was. —— Lieutenant Lazarus Davis Chief Science Officer USS Constitution-B Podcast Team Facilitator IDIC team member ASDB team member C239510LD0 (he/him, character) (he/they, writer)

I really liked the way this one flowed and the emotion was shown. I had to share. (( Captain's Office - Constitution )) Finally. Finally the Constitution was back on their way home. Not without a lot of help of the Galactic Starship Service though, but they were on their way home. While the teams had been in the mines, the Stardrive section had caught up to the Saucer and reunited, so when the shuttles returned from the surface the whole ship, sans warp nacelle and plus a couple of holes, had waited for them. The 'tow' service members had been muttering and ranting about the state of the ship, but they had gone straight to work. Jalana stood at the window looking outside to a tiny dot in the distance that was slowly getting closer and between that dot and her was a Cardiff Class Starship connected via a tractor beam pulling them forward at higher speed then the Conny was able to. Jalana's green eyes landed on the back of that ship, the circular rear warp-drive glowing in a bright blue between the nacelles that for almost any other ship would be the location of the warp drive but not in this ship. It made for an interesting aesthetic. Rajel: Captain's log supplemental - Stardate 239806.13 - We have left Osteris II and the Shahar Nebula behind and are on our way back to Starbase 104, in tow of the GSS. Once we arrive repairs will have to be made and who knows how long they will take. Replacing the lost warp nacelle and reparing the holes in our hull alone would take some time, that does not include the interior damage and the time the crew will need to recover from these events. With combined efforts we were able to retrieve the away team, injured but alive and the surviving miners who are being brought to the Starbase for testimonials. I hope that they will be able to visit their families or spend time away from all this afterwards. My report to HQ will include the recommendation to send a survey team to the mine and reevaluate how it is operated and protected before sending anyone back there. Jalana took a deep breath and then continued. Rajel: We are not yet aware if this particular group of pirates belong to a bigger cell or not, but their leader Elder fled the scene back into - what we assume - Orion space. I have the feeling this may not be the last time we saw him. We were able to capture sixteen pirates alive, who of course are not the most talkative. They will be handed over to the authorities back on the base. Another dozen or two were killed in the mines. It is difficult to know exactly as some had to be disintegrated to stop their attacks. We retrieved two bodies of pirates that appeared to be on a drug that would raise their aggression and immunity to be shot. They are examined in the morgue for traces of the substance. The rest of their remains will be taken care of by sweepers HQ will send. Once more she paused and looked down to her hands. She ran her fingertips over the porcelain starship in her hand. When she had entered the office after returning to the ship she had been relieved that it was still in one piece but ironically it had a little crack along the same pylon that had been damaged on the ship. She could feel it even though the nacelle held on tight. Rajel: We also suffered major losses. Firstly among the miners. We recovered too many bodies for identification and allow their families their proper last rites. Among our officers we lost several officers. Salvador Marcinko, Zilan, Sh'tran, Han Soo Mi, Q'Ren, Syanir Kol and Vok lost their lives in the line of duty during a rescue mission in the mines of Osteris II, fighting off pirates of the Orion Syndicate. Another seven lives were lost during the battle between the Constitution and the Theseus and Minotaur. S'Ral, Horm, Paden Runa, Kylie Williams, Chus'it Haihnan, Scrol Ar'el and Dhelvad. A memorial hall for the lost Crew members and miners is being set up in Holodeck 4 for those who wish to pay their respects and say their farewells. Shipwide announcements have been sent out. Luckily most that were injured had been able to recover or were still on the way. It could have been worse, a lot worse. But despite the comparably low number of death crew members every single name pained her. The knowledge that they hadn't been able to avoid fatalities. With each mention the weight on her shoulders felt heavier. Rajel: Both Sick Bays have been working around the clock and are treating the injured crew members and miners. Counseling works with them to address the trauma for those that want to deal with it at this time. Sarah Mason, T'Mar and Sawyer Moore are still unconscious and will be transferred to the Medical ward on Starbase 104. Nugra has been considerably injured by an explosive. Surgeries were a success to stabilize him but he will need a few weeks to recover. Though he is conscious by now his optical nerve has been severely damaged and is being treated. She really didn't like this, not one bit. Nothing of this felt right. But this was life in Starfleet. Often they were lucky and then there were missions that just went belly up. She would have to update Sal as well, after all they were Syndicate and without his knowledge in her head, things could have gone so much worse. That split moment warning they had before the attack had been enough to raise the shields and be prepared. Without that the ship would have been hit directly from the start. But that she had his knowledge was not something she could put into a public accessible Captain's log. Not even in a personal one with a passcode. The danger of someone finding it was too big. Rajel: We will arrive at Starbase 104 in about an hour, where repairs on the ship will be taken over by Station personnel in tandem with those of the crew that wish to stay and work with them. Other than that the crew will have a well deserved and desperately needed shore leave and are free to remain on the station or visit home, go on vacation ... anything they need right now. She thought about it for a moment. Was there anything else she needed to record. Maybe... but she couldn't think of it. Her head pounded and she still needed to head to Sick bay herself. That cracked rip had been silent thanks to a hypospray because others had been more important to be taken care of, but she worried about falling back into old habits. She could not let that happen. So she shook her head. Rajel: End Captain's log. The computer chirped and she stepped away from the window before she carefully placed the slightly cracked starship back on the shelf, which immediately turned invisible as the tractor beam from the model Starbase 118 turned on to hold the ship up. She would have to get this crack fixed before it got worse. Was she still talking about the model ship? ----- Commodore Jalana Rajel Commanding Officer USS Constitution B Image Team Co-Facilitator A238906JL0