Lt. Commander Ayiana Sevo - Symphony of Destruction

[Alleran Tan]

Everyone's all mentally messed up this mission, so you know it's just your averae Gorkon mission in terms of acquiring and then dealing with severe trauma. totally ignoring it and hoping for the best.

Although everyone's work has been amazing, reading Sevo's sims has been particularly interesting because of her ability to explore a unique form of Trill-trauma acquired over lifetimes.

Great work, Commander!

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(( ??? ))

 

They had recovered their composure after the latest round of brain-poking by the mysterious aliens. Now, they were trying to figure out how to explore the void of nothingness, with no tools and no frames of reference. It was entirely possible the place had physical form, but was being hidden from them. 

 

Sevo: For all we know, the crew of the Triumphant and Sasu Gol could be right next to us, and they’re simply being hidden from us.

 

sh’Qynallahr: So how do we turn on the lights?

 

That was the question the trio had been wrestling with ever since they got here. There was definitely some sort of connection between the Rift and thought; whether the fact negative emotions like fear were prevalent wasn’t clear to Ayiana. It could be a result of the Rift itself, or active manipulation by the Taniwha. It didn’t help that the Taniwha were whispering at the edge of her thoughts; like an itch in her brain she couldn’t scratch; it was infuriating.

 

Sevo: You guys feel it too? That sense of being watched from something just out of sight? The Taniwha might be curious what we’re doing.

 

sh’Qynallahr: It’s like they’re trying to crawl down my antennae.

 

Reynolds: It could just as easily be our own paranoia, after everything we’ve been through. ::She shook her head. There was no way to confirm either way, and indulging in the feeling seemed unwise.:: Has anyone found anything?

 

sh’Qynallahr: I’ve found nothing here, no walls, it’s like this place goes on forever.

 

Reynolds: Or like a holodeck. Boundaries, but tricks to stop us from seeing them.

 

Sevo: That’s exactly what I was thinking.

 

sh’Qynallahr: Have either of you ever tried meditation?

 

Both Ayiana and Quinn looked at Pira quizzically; wondering where she was going with the question.

 

Reynolds: Why?

 

Sevo: For anger and anxiety; why?

 

sh’Qynallahr: It’s as you said Admiral, it is unlikely we can manipulate the rift alone, but if we all work together, then maybe we can. If we all meditate and focus on the same thing, say a door, then perhaps we can manipulate the rift into giving us one.

 

Reynolds: ::Wryly,:: Yes, that is exactly what I—.

 

Quinn’s response was cut short by the distant sound of thunder. The darkness was pierced by a faint light, like a ghostly reproduction; it was blurry and shone in Ayiana’s not-eyes. The thunder got louder and closer, and the ephemeral light started coalescing into focus, like it was moving closer. A few more seconds, and the thunder resolved into explosions; the light resolved into a blurry scene creeping up on her. It was like the three of them were on a moving platform, steadily moving into the scene.

 

A final rumble, and the scene materialized. Air-raid sirens blared between explosive blasts; the sky above was ablaze from the smoke of buildings razed to the ground; blue streaks of energy lanced from overhead ships into seemingly random places; once beautiful edifices of stone and concrete reduced to dust and rubble. 

 

Despite the damage, Ayiana could still make out the rough aesthetic of the architecture, and instantly knew what was happening. The ships were the familiar Jem’Hadar fighters, lancing down rays of death on the populace of Cardassia at the end of the war. She remembered Toran seeing vids of it broadcast by the Dominion to the quadrant, and further surveillance footage after the fact. While he hated the Cardassians for joining with the Dominion and plunging the quadrant into war, he did not want this ending for them. No one did.

 

Reynolds: This... This is Cardassia, at the end of the Dominion War. ::She frowned.:: Why are we seeing this?

 

Sevo: I-I… 

 

Ayiana covered her ears as the explosions and sirens continued to wail around them. No, not again. She couldn’t go through this again.

 

sh’Qynallahr: Response

 

Reynolds: What if this is a Blip? But from the other side? Not our fear, but someone else's?

 

Sevo: M…maybe? This…this isn’t Toran’s.

 

sh’Qynallahr: Response

 

The surrounding bombardment continued as heavy-booted footsteps approached. Ayiana remembered that sound well; both from Toran’s time on the ground in the War, and the Gorkon’s own experience with the Dominion in the alternate universe. She was breathing heavily, or at least appeared to be breathing, but whether it was real or not didn’t matter. She could taste the ash on her tongue with every breath, and feel the heat of the fires.

 

Reynolds: Stay low—::she hissed, quietly,::—get out of sight. Do not engage them.

 

Sevo: N…no worry of that.

 

sh’Qynallahr: Response

 

The pair crawled low as they crept between debris, carefully avoiding the patrols of Jem’Hadar. They were mercilessly shooting anything that moved, be they soldiers or civilians. Their faces were emotionless, carrying out the duties thrust upon them by their Gods with unswerving loyalty.

 

They soon stopped at what seemed to have once been a major plaza. Crumbled statues littered the ground, burning trees and bushes belched smoke into the air as an entire column of Jem’Hadar slowly marched down the debris-ridden concourse. The women managed to crouch down behind a fallen and broken formerly building-anchored viewscreen, one of many that dotted the public spaces of Cardassian cities spewing government broadcasts to the masses. It spewed sparks as its capacitors were broken, some of it’s internal circuitry shooting flames. Ayiana peered over the rim at the marching column of troops.

 

Sevo: Guess we…we have to wait them out. :: She panted heavily. ::

 

Reynolds / sh’Qynallahr: Response

 

Now that they had a moment to rest, the carnage around them came back to Ayiana’s senses at warp speed. The sounds, sights, and smells of war ignited memories long dormant in her symbiont’s mind from a life previously lived, in a war long since over. The memories of war screamed in her mind; she covered her ears with her hands, vainly attempting to stifle the booming explosions of death and destruction. 

 

Sevo: W-who’s memory do you think this is? :: She asked in a vain effort to switch her focus. ::

 

Reynolds / sh’Qynallahr: Response

 

Whatever they were saying was lost to her as visions of war flooded her mind. Battles from places like Tyra and AR-558 were as fresh in her eyes as if she was experiencing them for the first time. Sweat clung tightly to her skin, collecting the dust of death around them. Tears streamed down her face as she remembered in vivid detail the vicious battles she, as Toran, fought against the Jem’Hadar. She remembered seeing his comrades gutted next to him by a Jem’Hadar bayoneted rifle. Another lost his limb to the swift swipe from a kar'takin. On more than one occasion, he was stabbed with one. 

 

Ayiana began rocking back and forth on her hips, her body slamming into the broken viewscreen with a low “*thud*” each time she came up.

 

Sevo: N-NO! :: She shook her head. :: M…make it stop! I can’t live through this again! :: She cried. ::

 

Reynolds / sh’Qynallahr: Response

 

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Lt. Commander Ayiana Sevo
Mission Specialist

U.S.S. Gorkon

Image Collective

Wiki Ops

V239109AS0

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