[Round 13] Ritar, Fourth of the Father - Entertain the End

[FltCapt. Sidney Riley]

(( Corridors - USS Tiger ))

:: He'd almost been expecting it, actually. Another mistake, another

wrong decision by a Reaper who should, above all else, know better.

He'd shifted his attention to the young Starfleeter, the one with the

longest head-fur. Consciously, he hadn't wanted to, but his lack of a

power source and his extreme anger over the Avora Summoner's breaking

combined to shift the brunt of his attack on her. He compelled her, he

knew: She walked toward him, ignoring her compatriots, singing all the

while. He smiled.

He was foolish. The other Starfleeters were still there, after all,

and without his full focus on them as well, one of them had knocked

him to the floor. He rolled over to stare at the ceiling, his reaping

mindset broken, with the voices of the Avor and the other Reapers so

far away....

He wasn't completely out, though; as before, even though he appeared

unconscious, he could still perceive what was happening around him,

even if he couldn't act. In this case, he could see the Starfleeters

moving warily at the edge of his vision. More important, though, were

his fellow Reapers, fallen and useless around him. Obsidian shapes,

nothing more, with even the light points of their eyes fading-

Wait. He forced himself to concentrate, even though doing so was

enough to nearly enough to send him into full unconsciousness. It

wasn't just their eyes that were fading, it was their bodies! The

station's hold on normal space was tenuous as best, and it was

beginning to fade away - and it was taking them with it! They were

going to fail, *again*.

Well. Not if Ritar, Fourth of the Illustrious and All-Powerful Father,

had anything to say about it. His reaping powers were gone, he was

phasing involuntarily, and he could barely move his physical body, but

there was one weapon left to him.

His plan would proceed on schedule: He would use whatever power he had

left to stretch out and touch the Avor, and use them to destroy half

the ship. The Starfleet resistance would end, and even though they

might lose some Reapers - Lonsad, perhaps, and the other tech-minds,

thanks to their presence in the power core - it would be for the good

of the race! The greater good! Who would argue with him? Not Dodhun,

not if they escaped from the Erati prison. Not even the Father Himself.

He reached out, feeling as he had before, touching each Avor one at a

time, gradually bringing the entire network under his control. Once he

had enough of them listening, he gave them a simple command, one even

their limited collective mind could comprehend:

Destroy.

But in return, he didn't hear the whisper against his mind that said,

Yes. Destroy. Instead, he heard something completely unique, something

the Avor had never dared to say.

No. ::

To Be Continued!

Ritar, Fourth of the Father

First Officer

Rihac Gorshun

as simmed by

Lt. Commander Lily Ventu

XO, USS Tiger