Kalianna Nicholotti

I kinda like this take. I could see a series out of it.... http://www.stphoenix.com/

I read that today too. The bit about Farmville made me grin... ::Hides the padd she was playing Farmville on...::

Conga rats to all, you were all a pleasure to sim with and I look forward to seeing you around the Fleet! ^.^

I have Pandora, with a station built around James Horner and Hanz Zimmer (with some John Williams too). Most of the time it has a steady stream of epic music that tends to be quite motivational for me. There's some Trek (mostly from the new movie) as well as a lot of Titanic, which I love, and The Last of the Mohicans, Vantage Point (love the main theme!) and more. A while ago I had a CD I think was called Symphonic Star Trek. It provided a lot of great music (the downside being there are also sound effects in there...) but I used to sim to it a lot. =)

There was, at one time, a Starbase 118 fleet inside STO. We did a lot of build up leading to the release of the game, including an interview on hailing frequencies! =) I'm in the same boat as Tracey though; the game simply lost my interest after a few weeks. I think it was more like a few months for me, but I have pretty much forgotten about it. I'm not sure if there are any left from the original fleet in the game, but it might be worth looking up for those who are interested.

Congrats and welcome! =)

((Noosphere - Thracia 2)) ::The noise of all these new minds can be unbearable, like a collection of lost souls on one of those pilgrimages down below. One of the space-fairing vessels leaves and I slowly run my fingers across its inhabitants. The skin rubs up against one last mind. It's a strange mind, somewhat lonely, somewhat connected. There's a cold distance and a child-like curiosity inside and.... maybe I would have made this place home in another life. But the mind slowly disappears. There's a last glimmer as the space around it folds and I whisper into the newly-formed void.:: ::Remember.:: ((Bridge - USS Victory)) ::They were at warp now and Kevin felt calm and glad. He ran a finger over his console and something came to mind... something strange. He'd found it in his grandfather's journal one day, when he'd been sixteen. Unlike the other entries it didn't have a date. At some point in the man's life he'd experienced what was written, but Kevin couldn't be sure when.:: ::He'd known a superior at work, someone whom, Kevin gathered from the text, he'd regarded as a mentor. Over the years he'd borrowed styles, everything from the way the man walked to the way he talked. He'd learned an outlook on life, a hard-nosed skepticism toward any new idea, mixed with a child-like faith propped up by what seemed to be the flimsiest spirituality. His grandfather had become aggressive himself, not because he was certain of anything he might have said as he displayed that aggression but rather because he was certain it was a way of getting results, of looking strong and sure of himself.:: ::He'd spent years trying to live up to the man's reputation, trying to be like him. But then one day the man had been discharged -- they'd called it fired in the parlance of the day. He'd been too brazen in commenting on the "strategic direction" given by the new leadership. At that time Kevin's grandfather had been shocked, uncertain what would happen to him. He'd copied so many of his mentor's idiosyncrasies, stolen so many of his thoughts and ideas, that he was certain he would be next to go. He'd spent hours each night, crying and shivering alone in the darkness. Someone who seemed like he could move mountains, like he could destroy someone or raise him up in an instant, had been so quickly disposed of.:: ::Every time Kevin read that journal entry it seemed as though it could fit anywhere in the old man's books. Every time he thought he found the place it might fit he'd find two more begging for attention. Maybe it had happened in 2019, during one of those particularly interesting periods in the man's life when he'd been trying to explore new ways of approaching the world. Or maybe it had been 2011. That didn't seem likely compared with 2004. When Kevin considered the wording it seemed more likely to have been sometime around 2023, but that was only when he ignored the idioms used in the second paragraph.:: ::The entry had been typed, not written. The paper it was set on was a thicker cardboard sort of material. It hadn't needed to be treated the way the rest of the pages of the journal had. Not at first anyway.:: ::Of course the old man had ended the page with the usual litany of promises that he would soon commit suicide, that his life was over, that there was no way out of the grave he'd dug for himself by acting the way his former mentor had acted. The other side of the page had been blank, save for the usual blemishes that came with time. Sometimes while growing up Kevin would read that page and then the medical report from the day his grandfather had died. Heart failure. Sarah, the man's former wife, had signed as his next of kin. On the faded paper her signature had looked like a congregation of so many other flecks aimlessly wandering.:: ::Kevin even now could almost imagine the man's corpse lying there alone -- maybe slumped over his desk having died while writing one of the thousands of pages that were now missing from the journal. The room would have been silent when he'd died, save maybe for the breeze at the windows. If he'd looked out the window he might have seen the empty roads, the cars now almost all gone save for the few motorists rich enough to afford fuel. The rest of the building would have been silent as well. It would have been around 2 in the morning and the old man's ears would have still been ringing from the beat of so much electronic music an hour before. By then the text would have repeated itself, following the same grooves over and over again, as the mind which composed it slowly spun about one axis of obsession or another. He would die soon. He had no future. He was free. He was alone. He had his stories and the characters in them. He had an endless universe. He possessed boundless emptiness.:: ::Kevin sighed. He imagined the night his grandfather's daughter had been conceived, when the old man had been younger. Maybe he'd been thinking of his mentor. Maybe he'd not even met him yet. Maybe he'd been ashamed, believing he shouldn't be doing what he was then doing. He wondered if Sara had been happy to have a man such as him. He wondered if she had yet begun to notice the cracks, the way his mind would dwell on one thing for days, weeks even. Maybe she had. Maybe she hadn't cared. Maybe she'd thought the man's wild intellectual tangents charming, been taken in by the illusion of wit or of genius.:: ::Sometimes the old man frustrated Kevin from across the centuries, hiding the most important parts and showing only the shrill emotion of a child not getting his way. It seemed more often than not that the man had just wanted to scream. He hadn't ever had anything to say. He hadn't ever been a cogent person, just a body, a mind, and a haphazard arrangement that implied the two should exist together for the duration of his time on Earth. And then they'd parted ways, his mind scattered about like so many flecks on thousands of disintegrating pages.:: ::Kevin was glad. He imagined his identity holding fast like a mountain, refusing to be moved as the people came into his life and receded like waves, some taking a little of him with them, others adding to him, but never enough to truly compromise who he was. He was happy he was certain because that identity always remained.:: ::He remembered Karynn Ehlanii, who'd taught him not to be afraid to feel, and T'tala, who'd done much the same, understanding him in ways few others seemed able. There was a pang of sadness when he thought of T'tala. David Cody had taught him to be made of sterner stuff, not to depend so much on his superiors for guidance. Ralik had shown him that it was possible to make something radically old like capitalism current and useful in a world such as this. And all the while he'd been there, mingling with the crowd and always being himself. Taking part in the action while remaining distinct. And when the people had left and others had taken their place the sadness had been short-lived. Sometimes he'd cried, even felt a little guilty. But then it had passed.:: ::A clank roused him from his reverie. Had he been thinking about this for long enough to reach home? The docking clamps were grasping the Victory and he moved to power down the engines.:: Nicholotti: Keep the engines running. Don't shut her down quite yet. Breeman: ::Quietly:: Sir? Nicholotti: We might need her. ::He nodded, pursing his lips. He decided it would be best to remain on full alert.:: Breeman: Aye sir. ::By now the shield emitters had been reset to their normal parameters and he ordered the work crews to begin calibration diagnostics on the auxiliary engine systems for now.:: Nicholotti: Turn your stations over to your relief and head to the Hub for debriefing. ::He looked back up. Then down again, setting the warp systems on standby and automatic maintenance.:: Breeman: Understood. ((Moments Later - Turbolift)) ::Kevin stood watching the hulk of the starbase whooshing past as the lift rose to the command tower. He remembered the day he'd gotten rid of his grandfather's diary. It had been when he was twenty-three. The pages by then were beginning to tear again. ((Flashback - Ancaster, Earth)) The first thing to go into the fire was the typed story of the mentor. It curled a little and then just sat a while in the hot coals before finally bursting into flames. Sometimes Kevin recognized a word or a paragraph. A hole was rapidly forming in the middle of the phrase that had led him to believe the entry had been written in 2007. 2010, meanwhile, oozed a gentle flame like a candle, while 2011 began at first as a couple of twinkling ashes which soon tore a hole into the first word of the sentence until, word for word, it was gone.:: ::Kevin didn't want to see any more of it. He grabbed the first book of the old journal and tossed it on top of the burning page. There was a shower of sparks as the old man and his idol disappeared beneath the weight of so much more writing, the flames licking and consuming all of it in time.:: ::He blinked. Someone was approaching. He recognized the form of his mother.:: Jan: Kevin! ::He looked at her as she approached.:: Breeman: Heh... Surprised? ::Still feeling a bit guarded after the argument he'd had with her a month before about the merits of the old man's journal, he allowed a smile to form slowly across his face.:: Jan: Kevin.. I'm proud of you. You need to be yourself. Everyone you meet in life is going to have something to offer you. ::By now she was sitting on one of the logs that surrounded the fire.:: Jan: And you'll have something to offer everyone else. But nobody is worth... ::She gestured at a corner of the cardboard still left intact and sticking out from under the burning books:: ....that kind of worship. ::Kevin nodded slowly.:: ::For a long time she looked at him as he methodically tossed each subsequent book into the fire. A month ago he would have seen this as akin to suicide or patricide. But now there was something resigned, then peaceful, in his revolt against the dead. He looked back up at her after tossing in the last book. She looked as though she was about to say something.:: ((Present)) ::Clank:: ::The lift stopped and Kevin stepped out into the hub.:: Anyone: Response? Breeman: Good morning. Anyone: Response? TAGS/TBC Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Breeman Chief Engineer Starbase 118

((Security Office - Starbase 118)) ::A blink. That's all it takes and Rowls isn't sure where he is for just that fraction of a second. A blink and he's compromising the safety of other members of his team. The involuntary act lasts exactly one hundred milliseconds. Rowls doesn't know that of course but if he were to ask the computer that's about how much time it would indicate.:: ::In the marines any sergeant catching him doing that would have given him a drilling from hell. Blinking so deliberately? No marine would ever do that! And no Marine would ever qualify to join Starfleet proper. But he did. He won, became what he'd always dreampt of becoming. The battle is over and he can go home. What is home? At home Mom and Dad were so proud when he became a marine. He wasn't.:: ::He blinks.:: ::Time passes more slowly when his eyelids lower for that tiny instant, and Rowls descends to who knows where.:: ::It's always the same. He's standing somewhere in a deserted city. The air is stagnant. But the rat tat tat of metal in the distance tells him something's moving somewhere. It's a staccato clanging mixed with a forlorn howl that seeps its way into every pore of the sensory experience, saturating Rowls with an unfamiliar acquaintance. Something's about to happen.:: ::94.3 milliseconds pass. His eyelids rise again. It's all it takes and Rowls isn't sure where he is, who he is. He's Rowls. It returns to him, a familiar acquaintance with the present.:: ::The computer chirps.:: Computer: =^= Ensign Rowls. Your duty shift ends now. ::He nods, bowing a little in the empty room. The doors part before him as he leaves. He almost expects something other than the corridors to appear before him. Stepping out into reality, into the hall, he walks a little cautiously, blinks a bit nervously. He rounds the corner and stops. Gasps.:: ::Seated at the edge of the wall is a brown cat. It stares deeply into his eyes. Rowls takes a step toward it and it rises, trotting away. He blinks and the animal is gone. Shaking his head, Rowls looks up at the ceiling, seeing the reassuring path of light leading down the corridor.:: ::He walks forward again. In another life he might have thanked the engineers for constructing such a simple arrangement. You go forward or you go backward. And the light never fades but remains there, fixed, above. On track..:: Ens. Rowls Security Officer Starbase 118 Ops as simmed by Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Breeman Chief Engineer USS Victory

(OOC - I have filled in any open tags in this sim to make it flow. I have included the signatures of all writers at the end of the sim.) ((Jen Malcolm's quarters)) ::Jen had changed into a fresh uniform, and was looking forward to meeting the new medical staff that had come aboard from SB 118. As she walked down the hallway her commbadge chirped, something that always promised excitement:: Nicholotti: =/\= Sickbay to Doctor Malcolm. =/\= Malcolm: =/\= Malcolm here =/\= Nicholotti: =/\= I need you in sickbay as soon as you can be here. =/\= ::She recognized Nicholotti's voice and was a bit concerned with the other doctor's exasperated tone.:: Malcolm =/\= Is there a problem?=/\= Nicholotti: =/\= Something is very wrong with the holographic doctor. =/\= ::In sickbay, the EMH appeared in front of her right then and leaned in towards Kali’s chest.:: EMH (to malcolm):=/\=No it's not. Everything is fine here. We're fine. We're all fine, here now, thank you. How are you? =/\= ::Kali pushed him away and the image faded once more.:: Nicholotti: =/\= I think I'll call engineering too. See you in a minute. =/\= Malcom: =/\= On my way =/\= ((Sickbay, USS Victory)) ::Kali looked at the contents of the shelves now resting in various directions on the floor. The sheer time wasted was testing the final nerve she had. She silently hoped that it was something that could be fixed quickly, because they couldn't operate effectively with a crazy hologram running amuck.:: Nicholotti: =/\=Sickbay to Ensign Tali. =/\= Tali: =/\= Ensign Tali here. Go ahead. =/\= Nicholotti: =/\= We seem to have a broken holographic doctor. Can you come take a look at it? =/\= Tali: =/\= Certainly Lt I'll see you there. =/\= Nicholotti: =/\=That would be great. It's really bad, so the sooner you get here, the better. =/\= Tali: =/\= Understood. Tali out. =/\= ::As the comm link closed, the hologram appeared again on top of one of the biobeds. He slowly flapped his arms and moved his head much like that of an earth chicken. To her side, the doors to sickbay opened revealing yet another doctor.:: Nicholotti: Watch out, the EMH has just gone insane. ::Kali wasn't afraid of him, but she was highly annoyed at the situation. Her cynicism shone through the sarcastic and condescending statement.:: Ijinia: Oh come now, everybody is just a little bit insane. ::As if on cue, he jumped down from the biobed and made a show of tiptoeing towards the ensign.:: EMH: Hello. Perhaps you will be more fun that the tall one over there. ::He laughed and jumped back, holding his hand out to her.:: Care to dance? Ijinia: Ah well I don't exactly know how.... EMH: Sheesh, all of you are so...::The image faded again.:: Nicholotti: Sorry. ::She frowned.:: Dr. Malcolm and Engineering are on their way. ::Kali leaned back on the wall and waited for everyone to arrive, hoping that her patience would last that long. Once again the EMH appeared and sat on one of the biobeds strumming an imaginary guitar while singing 'The Wheels on the Bus'...:: ::Jen entered what she had expected to be a well-stocked, organized and relatively empty Sickbay. The room was relatively empty; however it had taken on the appearance of some deranged kindergarten, with supplies strewn across the floor, and the EMH perched on a biobed singing a child's tune. Nicholotti completed the picture, looking for all purposes like the haggard teacher:: Malcolm: Dr. Nicholotti? ::Before the other woman had a chance to respond the EMH noticed her and hopped off of the bed::: EMH: oh dear! You certainly are sick! ::Jen watched in stunned fascination as the EMH skipped across the room to her. He grabbed her face in his hands and peered into her eyes.::: EMH: ::shaking his head:: yes, yes. just awful. ::pressing his thumbs into her cheeks:: and I've never seen such bad skin! Malcolm: ::looking over at Nicholotti while still in the hands of the EMH::: I see what you mean. Nicolotti: He just gets worse. ::The EMH released her and skipped across the room again to the medical supplies. He began organizing them into little pyramids while humming 'Happy Birthday' to himself. Malcolm: How long has he been doing this? Nicholotti: For about a half hour now...or, since I got in this morning. EMH: You know, you could've wished me a happy birthday. I would only be polite! ::He slid a hypo across the room:: Here, I think you were looking for this. Nicholotti: How about putting it where it belongs? Would that kill you? Malcolm: ::taking a tentative step toward him:: Um, why don't you put those back where they belong? EMH: Oh for the last time...THEYAREWHERETHEYBELONG! ::He phased out for a moment.:: ::Jen retreated back toward Nicholotti and Ijinia.:: EMH: Please state the nature of the fashion emergency. Geez, you all should get out more. You all have the same thing on. ::Throwing his hands in the air, he retreated to the other side of the room.:: Malcolm: well, let's just hope no one comes in for a physical. ::Kali half laughed. It would be their luck that this had to happen on the day that they were receiving most of their crew. She was sure that there would be plenty of people in for their physicals sometime soon. She silently hoped that Ensign Tali would be there soon. The EMH dissolved once again and poofed back into existence in front of Malcolm.:: EMH: What? The more the merrier. I like my sickbay full of people. Malcolm: Sorry to disappoint you, but this is my Sickbay. And I prefer having the equipment where we we aren't going to break our necks on it. EMH: It doesn't matter how you like your sickbay, because this one is mine. ::He put his hands on his hips and glared at her.:: ::Jen copied his pose:: Malcolm: No, it's mine. EMH: No, it's mine. I was here first. I claimed this area of the ship in my name. I'm sure I have the deed on holotape somewhere if you would like to review it. Malcolm: :::huffing::: I can't believe I'm having a fight with with a lunatic hologram! EMH: I called dibs. It's mine. That's it. ::The holographic image retreated to the other side of the room again ignoring anything else she said.:: Nicholotti: It's like fighting with a brick wall, only he talks back. ::She sighed.:: ::Turning, Kali began to clean up part of the mess that had accumulated near the bulkheads. The EMH seemed content to practice handstands against the wall near the far side of the room while the three doctors stayed relatively close together on the other side. It was odd to her, that suddenly their EMH would be on the fritz. Still in the end it would probably end up being a spec of dust on some super sensitive chip that was positioned far inside the center of the ship. That's how it usually worked in the military anyways. She smiled. At least life in Starfleet never changed.:: ::Lost in thought, she didn't realize that the holographic doctor had come up behind her and began pulling down what she had just picked up. He bumped her while he was moving from the shelf to the floor and she spun towards him again.:: EMH: You know what? I am really getting tired of cleaning up after you people. I think you should respect how I want my sickbay. Nicholotti: But it isn't yours you moron. You are a hologram, search your memory banks for information on that. ::She stopped picking up the floor and simply stood with her hands on her hips.:: EMH: Right. Me hologram, you, homo sapien. Very good. Our next class will be on alien species. ::Kali half growled, half roared at him in exasperation. Not only had this tested her nerves, but it seemed to have no end. She retreated to the alcove near the entrance and leaned back against the wall to await the arrival of their engineering friend.:: ::Jen walked over to a computer console:: Malcolm: Why can't we just turn him off? Nicholotti: Because he just comes back. ::It seemed his phasing in and out was totally random thus far.:: ::The EMH phased into appearance beside her and pinched her sides, causing her to jump and yelp as he tickled her::: EMH: Well, Miss Smarty Pants! I see you learned a few things in your medical classes. But I think you should just stay away from my computer ::Jen raised her eyebrows and wondered if she should bother arguing with him until she was spared by the arrival of Tali::: ::Elya arrived and looked in disbelief at the EMH, who was currently attempting to jump between two rather distant biobeds. Despite repeated failures, he was constantly reappearing on the original bed to try again. Looking around, she spotted Kali and Ijinia leaning impatiently against the wall watching this spectacle.:: Tali: ::setting down her pack:: Hmmm... I thought by "broken EMH" you intended to say a holo-emitter was malfunctioning, or something to that effect. Nicholotti: I wish it was that easy. Actually, can we break the holo emitter? EMH: ::materializing just over Elya's shoulder:: I don't believe we've met - it's a pleasure to meet you - who are you again? ... Do you enjoy dancing? ::Elya flinched away from the hologram and walked over to a console:: Elya: That's strange, the holographic matrices appear to have been severely damaged four or five times over the last few days... ::Elya hesitated, noting that one of the inexplicable events coincided almost perfectly with the admiral's disappearance.:: I would suggest that someone has been tampering with the EMH, but the modifications seem entirely random. It's impressive programming that the EMH's matrices reestablished at all in fact. EMH: Why thank you I pride myself on ... Elya: ::ignoring the EMH and turning back to Kali:: Unfortunately I don't think repairs will be possible in this condition... our best option until I figure out what is happening would be to revert him to a few days ago before this started. Malcolm: If he'd let us get near the computer. Nicholotti: If only. ::She sighed as she looked out across the mess throughout the entire bay, and the hologram that was only getting worse.:: JP by: Ensign Jen Malcolm, MD Chief Medical Officer USS Victory and Lt. Kali Nicholotti, MD Medical Officer USS Victory As simmed by Lt. Ash MacKenna With appearances by: Ensign Elya Tali Engineering Officer and Ensign Adani Ijinia, MD Medical Officer and "Mark" the EMH Mark II Holographic Doctors As simmed by the Medical Department All of the USS Victory

Slavery. The term had existed long before the Cardassians had shown up, and it would probably exist long after. Still, never had she thought she would live to see such dismal times. At fifteen, she should have been out playing or enjoying life, but since the occupation began two years ago, all the childhood hopes and dreams had long since died. Humanity had reached an all time low. There had been a time where nothing could cage the human spirit, but those days, like the dreams of a child, had drifted off into the twisting nether that now encompassed the planet. Never before had she shunned technology, but when faced with the pain that technology had brought with it, she now loathed it. In the darkness of the corner she had retreated to, Julie did her best to hide. The occupation had brought out the worst of mankind, and buried that which had made their species so great. Gone were the days of kindness and compassion. Now, they had been replaced with greed, lust, hate, and the never ending quest for a moment of pleasure. The Cardassians were worse in many aspects. Not only could they kill for whatever reason they wanted, but they could not kill as well. So many times had she wanted to provoke them into killing her, but they seemed to know that was what she was after, and they simply gave her more pain instead. They had found pleasure in the torture of humanity, learning from the worst of our history and putting it into practice. Unfortunately for her, and thousands of children like her, she fell at the butt end of the entire process. It didn’t take long for the Cardassians to segment all of humanity into camps. Everyone worked for them, or they died for them. Food was scarce, entertainment consisted of moments of solitude in the dark and as a population, the world was dying. Calamity. This would be the end of the human race. What was once such a great and thriving species had been broken down to nothing more than scrawny laborers. Julie smacked a bug as it crawled up her bony leg and she pulled the ragged blanket tighter. Winter was setting in, and she was praying for death to find her this year. Her strength had waned over the past few months, and now she was nothing more than a sack of bones. Sounds that reverberated through the cave made her jump, but she no longer had the energy to run. She knew they were coming for her, and a tear ran down her cheek as she prepared herself for the onslaught. The boots of the Cardassians drew ever closer, and she tried her best to pull up her inner strength. Knowing that there was nothing she could do, not even incite death, she simply tried to force her mind into another place; one that was far from where she was now. Around the corner they came, and tighter she pulled the tattered excuse for a blanket. She blinked and looked up into the ashen face of her tormentors. “I liked it better when she fought.” The deep voice of the highest ranking Cardassian spilled into the darkness and clung to the air like smoke over water. “Perhaps we could feed her more?” The taunting of a second Cardassian met Julie’s ears. The thought of food made her mouth water. It had been a long time since she had felt full and free from the pain of hunger. While half of her wished they would feed her as they said the other half simply wanted to be left to die. She closed her eyes and shivered as they moved closer, like vultures circling their prey. Tears fell from her eyes as one of their large hands moved closer to her taking the tattered blanket and throwing it to the side. Two other hands grabbed her and ripped her from the corner, their laughs resonating through the cavern walls. ***** A scream rang out through the stillness of the night. Women gathered around her, the last shreds of compassion in a world that had gone totally insane. Sweat poured down the face of the sixteen year old girl as another contraction gripped her frail and tiny body. The pain shot through her like jagged daggers, yet she could not escape it. “ Push hun. “ Another scream broke the night, and the women quickly scurried to cover Julie’s mouth. Fear of the wrath that it might bring overrode any sense of hope that a new child would have brought. No, they were simply worried that the noise would attract the Cardassians. Julie struggled to breathe as she pushed with the little strength that she had. “Let her breathe!” The pressure over her mouth lessened, but did not disappear. Julie’s body shook from the shock, the pain reaching a threshold that she simply could not bear. Another contraction loomed and she pushed with everything she had. Her tiny body was losing the battle, and darkness seemed to loom over her. A cloud of fog descended on her, and she could feel the pain, but suddenly she just didn’t care. Another push and she could feel her thin skin rip. A cry echoed in the silence of the darkened room, but it was quickly muffled. Julie opened her eyes and met those of her newborn child as it was being taken away. Just before it was out of sight, she saw it slump in the arms of the woman holding it, and she knew it was for the best. Halfbreed children only faced a horrible future, but in her mind, Julie cried. The women around her dispersed, not a one coming to her aid. Her strength had been spent in birthing the child, and now she lay alone in the dark. Unable to move, she simply closed her eyes and waited for the tide of death to rise up and meet her. Silence took over the once crowded room, and in the dark she thought she could hear the laughter of years past. “Mama?” A soft, parched voice reached her ears and startled her. It had been so long since she had heard the sound of her own voice that it now seemed so…alien. Blinking slowly, she felt herself fading. Reality was melting into a dream as she bled to death, and the pain faded with every minute that passed. She gasped for air as she felt her heart slow; its’ ever slowing beat echoing in her ears. Finally, she could hear it no longer. The suffocating cloud of death had come for her, and she welcomed it with open arms. ***** “Get that out of here.” said a gruff voice. Two women grabbed the arms of the broken and bruised sixteen year old and dragged her out of the room past the three Cardassian men. Behind her, a path of crimson blood followed, sinking into the wooden planks of the small shack. In silence, the three Cardassians turned and left the room. They were nothing more than inconvenienced, but in death, she had finally been able to annoy them if nothing else. If Julie had been there, she would have laughed. They had come for her like they did every week, but this time she had escaped.

Nope, this is the place you go. Because yours was posted twice, I just moved the duplicate away as to not clutter up the boards. =)

It is not mentioned that when somebody else is opening a thread for entrant should sign/denote it as finished with the horizontal arrow post icon when opening. I re-posted story signing it as finished. You can delete first thread - the not denoted one! Taken care of. Good luck Mr. Lawn

Congratulations guys!

Conga rats!!!!!

Opening Topic for Mr. Rhul's entry.

Conga Ratz!!!!

There ya go...I threw in my attempt.

The glow of red reflected through the department eerily, sending chills down her spine. Though the alarm had been silenced, the deafening roar of the battle still raged. Around her, there was no hesitation as everyone rushed to their jobs, piecing together the dying ship in an attempt to keep her alive just long enough to evacuate. The world was spinning, and though she tried to keep her hands steady, they were refusing to cooperate in the growing darkness. Coolant leaks were popping up around her, and the air was filling with the thick clouds of disaster. The system was going into overload, and soon would be beyond repair. The floor beneath her shuddered as the great ship took another barrage. The decks were parting, and in her mind, she knew that the shields had been brought down. It would not be much longer now. “All hands, this is the Captain, abandon ship. I repeat, all hands, abandon ship.” There was sadness in his voice, and it resonated through the very core of the ship. Her heart sank, and she looked up momentarily before she returned to the task at hand. It seemed as if the rest of the department had chosen the same course of action; if anyone could buy the rest of the crew time to escape, it would be the engineers. The deck under her feet shuddered again, this time bringing her to her knees, and in the darkness she could hear the walls tumbling down on those around her. “We’re trapped!” cried a fearful voice. Looking in its direction, she was able to see the thin shape of one of the junior officers pointing just beyond the threshold of the room that housed the warp core. Running to her side, Jenna gasped as the smell and the sight reached her senses at the same time. Instinctively, she drew her arm up over her face, pulling the junior officer into her chest and walking backwards at the same time. The heat from the flames licked at their faces as they moved further into the room to escape the blaze. Perhaps they had remained in the department too long…and for what? Was there anything else they could really do for the great beast that was falling to pieces around them? It was crying, the whine of melting and twisting metals rang through the decks; a final testament to its glory. The ship that had so faithfully protected the children inside from the harsh realities of space travel was screaming out its last, “Give me Liberty, or give me death!” Still, those with cool enough heads remained at work, attempting to patch the leaks and bring the core back under control. Glancing at the readouts, however, Jenna knew that it was pure impossibility. Another heave of the floor, and her boots lost their footing just as a pair of strong hands wrapped around her waist. Together, the two bodies sought shelter in the eaves of what was left of the room. As the smoke cleared for a brief moment, she saw that there were only a handful of crew members left, and most of them too young to know what to do. Still, they stood tall, and in that moment she knew what had to be done. A deafening silence fell across the ship; the barrage outside seemingly ceasing, at least for the moment. Her mind was racing. Just beyond the gauntlet of flames were the escape pods and every one of the officers and crewmen left deserved to live. As the chief, she knew it was her job to get them to safety, even if it meant…no, she refused to think of any other outcomes. “All Engineering staff to me, NOW!” She yelled. Startled, the handful of crewmen that were left began making their way to where she was standing, gripping the wall rail near the main entrance. As the staff collapsed on her point, she looked frantically for one specific face, and she nearly fell apart when it did not appear. Looking from one young face to another, she knew somehow that she would never see her sister again. It was at that moment her fears were banished. Death itself was clawing at those who were still barely hanging on to the last dangling threads of life, and she was determined to face it and beat it. She would make sure that the brave souls in the engineering department that day would make it out alive. “Kale, take the girls and the fire suppression pack and run,” She was yelling to be heard over the new alarms that were sounding, “Get in the first pod you see and go.” She watched for a moment as her friend and long time lover pulled four crewmen together and quickly gave them instructions. Their eyes met, and he knew that this would be their final parting. Running to meet her in what was left of the deck, his passion for her erupted as he brought her lips to his, kissing her hard and deep. Giving into the moment Jenna nearly lost herself in the embrace. The deck below them buckled, and threatened to give way. He backed toward the flaming gauntlet that stood between the few crew members that were left and the escape pods. Gripping the railing once more, her eyes betrayed all of her emotions at once, flooding with the love and passions they had shared. Then, within a blink of her eyes, the flames in front of them swallowed the group. Tears began to fall, and she fought hard to suppress them. Looking around her, she pulled together what was left of her engineering crew and quickly prepared them for the flight through the fire. The stench of melting metals and burning wires was growing stronger, threatening to strangle them before they could escape. The last junior officer stepped up to the threshold and took the lead. Jenna pulled up the rear, making sure that everyone was out. She had taken a single step towards the flames when the metal plates shuddered again, sending her flying through the air only to smack against the wall with a sickening thud. The taste of blood filled her mouth as she tried to clear her vision enough to see where she had landed. The door was still in front of her, and she crawled towards it in an attempt to pull herself free of the tangle of wires and consoles. It was then that her hand brushed another uniform. Her head snapped to the side and her already spinning mind took a dive for the worst. The blood soaked hair that fell around the uniform in next to her sent her into a frenzy. Putting two fingers on the officer’s neck, she could feel life still coursing through the veins. “SASHA!” Her blood curdling scream swept through the empty compartment and echoed back to her in the deathly stillness that had taken the ship after the last upheaval. The eyes of the girl flickered open, and a small, weak smile spread across her face. She opened her lips to speak, but no sound came out. Adrenaline kicked in, and Jenna was soon on her feet despite the growing feeling of vertigo. Dragging with every ounce of her strength, the girl, her sister, was soon free of the tangled mess. Her legs were visibly broken, and the white shards of bone protruded through the delicate white skin of the younger woman. She was fading, and doing so fast. Looking to the rising flames, Jenna knew that there was but one chance to make it for both of them. Lifting the girl on her back, she ran full speed into the blazing inferno. Heat flooded across her body, fusing her once perfect uniform to her skin. The stench of her own burnt flesh quickly overtook her sense of smell, sending her stomach into knots. From all sides, there was nothing but a wall of fire and heat so intense that it was melting her boots. Weakness was taking her, and it was doing so rapidly. Burns were making it difficult to grip the woman on her back, and her skin itself seemed to be melting from her very bones. Pain shot through her small body and she pushed on, the punishment pummeling the few nerve endings she had left. Blood began to seep through the cracks in the burnt skin, and her breathing became more and more labored as her lungs tried to cope with the superheated air. She knew enough to realize that she was burning, both outside as well as in. The escape pod hatches came into view as she involuntarily slowed even more, the pain and agony bringing her to her knees. Blinded by the heat, it was the knock back that she felt when hit with the fire suppression chemicals that clued her in to the help that was just beyond the fire. With the last of her waning strength, she heaved the smaller woman over her and pushed her in the direction of the man made wind. Hearing voices in the distance, she collapsed into the flames as the floor buckled and then dropped out from under her. Somewhere, somehow, she could hear the loud hiss as the airlock pressurized and the last of the escape pods got away. Letting go of her fear, she fell as the ship imploded beneath her, flopping like a rag doll against whatever was left of deck floors and bulkheads. In the final moments of the flight of the Liberty, Commander Jenna Hart lay on what used to be a cargo bay. Her body was broken; nothing more than a bloodied heap lost within the twisted wreckage of her beloved ship. What remained of her limbs were bent at awkward angles on the mass of metal she had finally fallen on, and what was left of her skin and uniform were burnt and blackened. Through her unrecognizable, sightless eyes, which had been burned as well, she envisioned the last glimpse of the stars that she had called her home for so many years. Far above her, the flames from the gauntlet rose higher and higher until the great ship could simply take no more abuse. Having reached a critical stage, the great heart finally exploded; the core breaching and sending the ashes of the ship, as well as her loyal children into the vacuum of space. Jenna, content in knowing that her duty had been completed, felt the agony vanish as her life instantaneously become nothing more than a memory.

I have no power, nor real direction, but if you tell me what I need to do, I will do it to the best of my ability...=)

Welcome to the Fleet! I am sure you will enjoy it ^.^

Conga rats, and welcome!

Hey, three heads are always better than two! =)

I know I'll regret this, but... Here's one! And two. ::Raises hand::

Well, lets do it!

I'd have to agree. Lets get it going again under the rules that now exists so that it doesn't fade away while we worry about the red tape. Something is better than nothing I think in this situation. Maybe as things progress, we can modify and revert rules as needed, and of course I offer any help I can give with the contest, setup, or management...just give the word.