|
Post by CO_Capt_Savage on May 13, 2021 20:04:20 GMT
Personal Log Stardate: 12105.08 Location: USS Tempest NCC-1852-A, Ready Room
“Personal Log, Stardate 12105.08. We are almost home, and I am ready to just run off the ship and find a hole to hide in for a while away from all this death. It is bad enough that we have our own war going on, and we must see all the death and destruction brought by the True Federation but now the Klingon’s too! There are times that I hate being me, that I hate this job!” he frowns deeply, laying his head down on the desk.
His voice comes out a bit muffled, “I don’t understand why Starfleet had to choose us for this mission, sure we have ties with House Degra, and they did request us, but this mission was a terrible idea, not to mention a moral hit we didn’t need, and far from something I could ever see Starfleet doing in the past. I don’t honestly know why I’m so upset over this; I know why we did it, and why it is important, I just wish it were someone else.” He says something under his breath that isn’t picked up. “I bet that’s one of those lines no one has ever heard coming out of a leaders mouth before at times like these right?”
“To make matters worse, the loss of civilian life on the planet was terrible, I know the costs of war all too well, but which side was wrong? How is the rest of the galaxy going to see house Martok after this, they put civilian and the entire planet at risk building a mega weapon only to have it get blown up and take a city with it. An entire city brought to its foundations. I don’t care how you cut it, that’s a war crime, but that is probably one that will be handled on a different stage than it should be.”
“It felt wrong to just sit there and watch while house Degra played with their new drone toys just to see what they were capable of, could have done that with a probe, or through other intelligence means. But Starfleet had to sit by and watch. How is the rest of the Galaxy going to view this, the federation sat back and watched with popcorn and a drink while the Klingon’s massacred one another and so many civilians died, and we did nothing.” He scoffs. “We did everything we could, and I know that but its what public opinion will likely see the event as. I hope I’m wrong, but it will do nothing to alleviate the pain of seeing those people displaced, children left without parents, and the destruction we now get to live with in our memories.”
“Well, I suppose it will depend on which News Media runs the program, but now we move forward. The missions behind us, but we now get to carry those scars with us. The ghosts of those dead, who we watched needlessly die, in yet another war with casualties that could have been avoided.”
“Right now, I just want to curl up on the couch with Elianna and sleep, forget about all this. I just might when we finally pull in and I can escape. It might be time to set an appointment with everyone’s favorite Counselor. End log!”
|
|
|
Post by CO_Capt_Savage on Jun 22, 2022 1:04:03 GMT
A joint post between Captain Savage and Lieutenant Evans Stardate: 12206.18
As they left the ward room, Penny followed after Savage. She ducked between people rushing around Station Operations as she tried to catch up. “Captain!” she called him, catching him just as he was getting on the lift. Stepping onto the lift with him just before the doors slid closed. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”
Oliver nodded. “Sure Doc, what’s on your mind?” He moved to the side of the lift. “Central Core, Deck 52.”
“I …” Penny fiddled nervously with the hem of her duty jacket, “I have some serious concerns, Captain. Our ship is compromised, we could be a liability to any offensive they send us into as long as we are still dealing with our … uninvited guest.”
Oliver nodded knowingly. “It’s been on my mind since she came aboard. I’m torn between trying to prove that we’re not all monsters to her to somehow prove this to the real one, but as our friend on board has indicated she’s not the real thing, and even if we could she’s programmed to do what she’s programmed to do.” he frowned. “To be honest, I’m not entirely certain what to do about it. Got any suggestions?”
“I understand the desire to change Adria’s opinion of us, but she’s a program, sir. She was planted here for a reason and the more comfortable we become with her, the more danger I believe we put ourselves in. If we let our guard down, we make ourselves vulnerable to the real Adria.”
She hadn’t felt comfortable talking about it on the ship, as Adria had made clear that there was no area of the ship she wasn’t present in. True, she had agreed she would leave Penny alone, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still there listening. But given they were on the station, Penny thought this might be her best opportunity to speak frankly. “In my opinion, we should be working to limit her access in the ship’s systems until we can remove the program altogether. But I don’t make those calls or have those skills. Perhaps this is something Mr. Derix could help with?”
He nodded again. “I think that would be one path we can take, yes, and in fact I believe we already began that work shortly after she came aboard and have been holding that card for the eventual need to use it. I guess my biggest concern right now is once we start fighting her, and in a way this would be us fighting her, what will she do, what kind of damage can she inflict on us since she clearly has the run of the ships systems” his concern was obvious. “My biggest fear is the harm she can do faster than we can combat it.”
“I understand,” she paused for a long moment, drawing up some courage, “May I speak frankly, Captain?”
“Please do.”
Penny tried to gather her thoughts and when she spoke, her words came slowly, cautiously, “There were times during this mission I questioned whether or not I had faith in the command here. Things you have said since, such as what you had to say in that meeting–” she motioned vaguely in the direction of Station Ops, “have made me realize that I trust your leadership and I wouldn’t want to serve under another Captain right now, even if they offered me the opportunity.”
Here she hesitated, feeling anxiety knotting her stomach with the thought of what she was about to say. Still she pressed forward, “That said, there have been some moments in this mission that have concerned me a great deal. Commander Exeel allowed Adria to establish contact with those planet beings before we even knew what they were and didn’t seem to see why that could have been a problem. And unfortunately, what we learned about them and their song of unmaking, Adria also now knows. I hate to think what something like that in the hands of a terrorist might mean. I question our orders to work with her. I question our ship even being used in active service as long as we have this problem because everything we know, a known terrorist has access to.”
Penny bit her lip and drew a deep breath before putting firmly into words what she was most worried about, “And I definitely question the familiarity with which our Executive Officer treats her. It’s my responsibility to worry about the health and well being of this crew and I believe his judgment where she is concerned is compromised, and that presents a very great risk to this crew.”
It was easy to criticize their orders from the brass. They were far away, you don’t usually have a relationship with them. They don’t always know what it’s like in the moment, on the front line. But her concerns were with someone she feels empathy for, and has built some small rapport with. She might be burning a bridge by having this conversation.
He considers her words for a moment before responding. “I appreciate your position on the matter, and I’m glad you came forward to say something. I value that in the people I work with, honesty. It’s important to me.” he frowns, “I had noticed Commander Exeel’s strange behavior toward her, and a part of me was and still is somewhat concerned, but I’m trying to trust him in that he will do what’s right by us all, that he has our best interest in mind. Even if he’s enthralled with her. But you're absolutely right if he’s going down a spiral of love after a hologram with a particular personality it's a problem.”
“On that note, his behavior has in general been a bit erratic outside of this incident and I figured it might be a quirk of his personality, or something to do with his biology but I’ve noticed he has exhibited some strange behavior. I figured that if it was a problem and medical it would be something that you would tell me if you could.” he held up a hand in case she was going to start to tell him about not revealing confidential medical knowledge. “I realize you have some confidentiality to consider, and I know that if you thought it was a larger problem you would tell me. So I won’t ask, but what I am asking is this; is it related perhaps? This interest in our holographic friend, or is his infatuation genuine?”
“I am not sure about the answer to that question. I have sent some inquiries out to a previous Doctor who may have more information regarding his health, but I have yet to get a response. I think some of this may be related to being joined. It’s my understanding that it’s difficult to distinguish between their emotions and motivations and that of their previous hosts. And he wasn’t properly prepared for joining, so that may be a factor as well. And the Trill are as fallible as any of the rest of us, it could just as easily be a personality quirk such as a savior complex.” She shrugged her shoulders in an almost helpless looking gesture. “All that to say, I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s genuine or not, or what the source is, or frankly, if that even matters.”
“Sounds like we both have some difficult things to work out. I have no doubt you’ll figure your end out with your medical mystery. I’ll have to have a chat with Lieutenant Derix about expanding on our wildcard to see if perhaps we can develop something to boot her from the system. If all else fails, we shut everything down, pull the plug and wipe the computer. Not ideal, but it might be exactly what we need as a failsafe. There are other failsafes, some that I’m certainly not fond of, but I’ll destroy the ship before I let her take it.”
The thought of destroying the ship certainly wasn’t appealing to her, but she respected his resolve. Penny gave a barely perceptible nod and straightened up a bit, unconsciously mimicking some of that resolve, “I’ll do some more research into it, Captain. Obviously, I can’t give you every detail, but if there is anything that you might need to know, I’ll report it to you.”
The lift door slid open, “This is me. I’m going to go relieve my staff until we are needed again. It sounds like they might need to get some rest before things kick off. Thank you for letting me speak with you, Captain, and for listening.” What she couldn’t say was she was grateful because she found it difficult to share criticism so frankly.
“Anytime Doctor, I say it and I mean it, the door is always open. I value honesty, even if it hurts sometimes. It’s hard for most people to open up, especially when it's a new crew. Feel free to talk to me anytime you have a concern, get some rest yourself when you can.”
Penny flashed him a weak smile and responded, “I’ll try, sir,” before heading off down the corridor.
|
|
|
Post by CO_Capt_Savage on Jul 4, 2022 4:32:41 GMT
Stardate: 12206.19 Location: Balcony, Captain Savage & Elianna Kestran’s Quarters
Oliver sat in the relative darkness of the Arboretum, a small fire crackling in the fire pit near his feet. He was still mostly dressed in his uniform minus his jacket which was draped over the back of the Adirondack chair he was lounging in. A Whisky Tumbler dangling from his fingers still containing some of the amber liquid. He looked tired, worn out, his eyes watched the flames dance in the pit for a bit longer before he finally spoke.
“Computer, begin Captains Log.” He said softly, then waited for the customary beeps that indicated the log file was found and the recording had begun.
“Captain’s Log, Stardate 12206.19. The Tempest and crew have returned from what I can only describe as a bizarre, and emotionally draining mission. We were sent out to explore an area where we were told was a Section 31 think tank, a research and development station. Originally listed as an unremarkable area devoid of anything of scientific importance. Obviously, a lie.” He shifted in the chair, taking a moment to sip at the amber liquid in his glass.
“It wasn’t so much the R&D Station and crew that was so trying, granted the encounter did go better than I had hoped, we saved lives which was much to the chagrin of our holographic guest we did it, nevertheless. Once the threat of the station was resolved, we moved on looking for a world we were told was greatly affected by the scientific efforts of those on the station.”
“I was not prepared for what we found; I don’t think anyone on the Tempest was. Never have I encountered such a unique form of life, a living planet. Not in the sense as we see it, a planet with life on it, but a living planet with consciousness.”
“This put us into some very strange circumstances, we proceeded to make contact, and while at first it seemed to go well, it inevitably turned tragic. We found out that those from the R&D station caused damage to the growth process of the planet. We felt we had to make it right so we offered to assist in whatever way we could while in contact with its caretaker. We then left the planet and headed for another nearby planet that was mature and we were told could help. We were able to make contact with the consciousness of the adult planet and conveyed the request from the caretaker over and they agreed to help although they advised us that it would probably not be possible to repair the damage done.”
“We went back to the young planet, went down to the plant again to make contact which resulted in the situation deteriorating rapidly.” He pauses a moment, tossing back the remainder of the drink in his glass, his eyes falling on the bottle considering pouring himself another. “The Rock like creature we brought with us which was given the name ‘Dwain’ connected with the caretaker, and despite all our efforts to assure the younger planet and its caretaker that we could help avoid further contact and disruption it seemed to choose self-termination over working with us, unable to reconcile it began to destroy the environment, nearly killed me and Lieutenant Idaris in the process. Though I don’t believe it was the intent.”
“It pains me to know we did irreparable damage to this life form, all so that Section 31 could get a leg up on its enemies. Despite all our efforts we couldn’t help.” He took a moment to pour that drink. “We left behind beacon’s warning people away, leaving a quarantine of the planet itself. I fear further interactions might lead to something far worse. It’s unclear if the planet we left was completely dead or went back to another state as there was a small area of life still on the planet but compared to the rest it was mostly dead. I can’t help but feel partially responsible, but I know ultimately it was the scientist who caused this.”
“While having access to study worlds that are alive such as these would make for a great scientific study, I’m struggling with how to report this, the Starfleet in me says we should preserve all life, but where do you draw the line. We could cause further damage, or we could learn something about planets that we never even dreamed of. That may be a question to ask Dwain when the time comes. Speaking of Dwain, while the majority of them was destroyed down on the planet, they did leave behind a smaller version of themselves, and as another unexpected turn of events they asked to stay with us to observe us, which I have agreed. Maybe through observation they will gain a unique perspective on us and that might grow into something.”
“Meanwhile we still have our holographic assassin on the ship. While it was appropriate to bring her on for this mission, I don’t believe having them tag along moving forward is going to be a tenable situation, especially considering our next series of mission is likely to take us into dangerous territory. A fact that I was kindly reminded of by my Chief Medical Officer.”
“I’m inclined to ask her to leave politely but going to have to have a solution in place in case she refuses to leave. I’m scheduled to meet with the crew to discuss this and what options we might have in dealing with Adria should she choose to remain against our wishes.” Oliver slowly stood and strolled the short distance to the balcony edge leaning against the railing looking out over the artificially moon lit night. “She said something once that has stuck with me, I think that was her intention when she told me this but that despite how she might feel or what actions she wants to take this holographic version of Adria is still in the real Adria’s control, and if she turns her loose on my ship and crew there isn’t anything she can do.” He took another drink from his cup. “It’s not exactly an ideal situation to be in, a homicidal hologram that’s one command away from doing exactly that, but at the same time it’s a valuable window into the real thing. Not to mention her chance to see us, that were not all bad as she’s been led to believe.” He sighs. “But is it a lost cause or no, its hard to say.”
“Captain th’Zran says were on the verge of another major offensive against the True Federation, we’ve got to decide to go and fight, or stay and defend and take other assignments. I’m personally torn on the subject, part of me wants to go and finish this so its done. But the other side of me wants to continue Starfleet’s other efforts.” He stands back upright, glancing up at the artificial night sky for a moment before turning back towards his quarters. “I’m not going to make this my decision alone; the rest of the command crew should have a say in this. It will be nice to put this all behind us and get back to Exploring again. End log!” he said, finishing his drink and walking back towards the house stopping briefly to shut off the fire, and grab his jacket.
|
|
|
Post by CO_Capt_Savage on Oct 9, 2022 2:35:22 GMT
A joint post between Oliver Savage and Elianna Kestran This takes place during the first QSD transit to the Azure Nebula to assault the True Federation's Interdimentional gate.
Oliver quietly walked down the corridor nodding to the crew as they hurried about preparing for what was to come. It was a common tradition for the Captain to inspect things before a significant event and they were no doubt heading into one. He could feel the nervousness down in the pit of his stomach, felt the anticipation of the coming battle, and the anxiety of the losses they would likely endure. But this door made him pause, he stared at it just a few feet away for a long moment before finally crossing the threshold causing the doors to hiss open.
Sickbay was busy, about as he would have expected as the medical staff worked to prepare for the casualties they were about to receive in the coming fight. He stopped just inside the door, moving off to one side silently watching. Eventually his eyes came to stop on Elianna, he wanted to be mad at her for not telling him that she had come on board, but he knew better than to fight her on it. Part of him felt relieved that she was here.
Her back was to the door, but she could feel his presence. She had felt him coming, she knew she couldn’t hide down here from him for long. Drawing a steadying breath, she set the hypo down that she had just loaded into the waiting case and smiled at the nurse, “I’m going to take a break. Let Dr. Rand know for me, would you?” The nurse looked past her shoulder, seeing Captain Savage, then she gave an understanding nod to Elianna.
Finally she turned and smiled at Oliver, with a look that was somewhere between guilty and apologetic. She crossed the room and stopped in front of him, “I’m guessing you are doing a readiness walk?” She remembered what it was like to serve together, what his little routines were. She knew this was one that the crew had always seemed to respond well to. It gave them courage to see their commanding officer’s face before they went into battle, they knew he saw them all and cared about them all. It helped them trust his decisions. “Can I walk with you for a little bit?”
Oliver nodded. “I was actually thinking of stopping to get some food before time starts to become a premium for such things. You know how it can get once we get to battlestations, might be a while before we get a break.” he gestured toward the door. “Besides, once the shooting starts the replicators are bound to be the first thing to go down. Might want to enjoy something before we end up on Rations.”
“Oh, I don’t know, it’s been a while since I had Rations in my cushy life on the station,” she grinned jokingly, “But yes, food sounds good.” She fell in step with him once they were outside in the corridor, before she finally said, “I suppose I owe you an explanation…” She knew it was true. After all, the civilians were supposed to have been evacuated from the ship, not coming on board.
Oliver smiled as they moved down the corridor, “More out of curiosity than anything, why? We’ve gone into other dangerous situations since you left Starfleet, why this time?”
“This feels different, I’ve never seen a build up like this.” Elianna looked at him, “Don’t you feel like this is different? I’ve been watching the crews coming and going and they all are tense, some of them are downright afraid. If you are flying into danger, I’m not about to let you go alone. Besides…” she gave a small shrug, “if things don’t go well, I might not be safe on the station either, so it’s no use hiding.”
Oliver stopped at the Turbolift hitting the call button. “You're right, this is different. We’ve gone into situations like this before and came out on the other side fine, but I get the feeling we're going to get bloodied on this one. I can understand why everyone’s scared. I’m scared too.” he stepped into the lift as the doors opened to let them in, taking a moment to key in a destination. “I’m glad you're here.”
She looked at him in surprise, “You are? You mean, you’re not upset with me?”
“No, though I would have preferred you talked to me about it.”
Elianna felt a pang of guilt, she tried to hold it in as much as she could. He was right, it was hardly the best way to treat someone you intended to spend your life with, and it was his ship. “I’m sorry, I was afraid you’d try to talk me out of it. What’s the human expression? Better to ask forgiveness than permission? But I was wrong.”
He let out a light hearted chuckle. “I probably would have tried to talk you out of it, but if you had your heart set on being here then I wouldn’t have said no.” he shrugged. “I’m pretty flexible like that. It would be kind of hypocritical of me to tell you that you can’t go into danger when I’m putting myself there too. But thinking about it logically, you're right, danger here, or danger at the station, I’d rather have you here.”
As the lift door opened, she slipped her hand into his and smiled, “I really don’t deserve you.” As they walked the corridor toward the lounge, she thought about all the times they had already faced danger together. They had served on the same crew for a long time, after all. It wouldn’t have felt right if she hadn’t been here. And she never would have forgiven herself if something happened to him and she wasn’t here. “How are you feeling?” She asked as if she couldn’t feel it, because she wanted him to be able to talk to her about it.
He considered the question for a moment, to try and articulate exactly how he was feeling. “Well my stomach feels like I just spent the night drinking with Klingons.” he grinned for a moment thinking it would be much easier than what was coming. “Never been involved in a confrontation of this magnitude, really wishing that we stayed to defend the station, but knowing that by being here we are doing our part to end this here and now.” he scowled. “I think I’m feeling a lot of things if I’m to be honest.”
Elianna nodded thoughtfully, quiet for a moment as a couple engineers passed them in the corridor. “If it helps any, they are scared, but they trust you.” She gave his hand an encouraging squeeze.
Oliver squeezed her hand in return, and he smiled. “It’s good to know, I’d be more worried if they were not scared.” he glanced over at her. “Can you promise me one thing, and I know it's a difficult thing to ask you. If things go wrong, I need to know that you will get yourself safely off the ship. If I have to give the order to abandon ship, and things go terribly wrong I need to know your safe.”
She wanted to say no, that she couldn’t promise she would leave him. But she could feel the anxiety that thought caused for him and she knew she couldn’t say no. She forced a smile, “I promise,” she heard herself saying, even though it would be the hardest promise she could imagine keeping.
Oliver felt a sense of relief wash over him hearing her say it, but also a bit of guilt at having asked her to do something so difficult. “I know it’s not an easy thing to ask. I will do everything I can to get myself safe as well, but just knowing that you are will help. We risk a lot coming out here, and I do it frequently without you these days. I know It’s part of the job, but I’m just not sure what I would do if something were to happen to you.”
Elianna gave him a smile, “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. But you have to promise me that when this is over you will take that vacation and we can go to Earth together.”
He nodded. “That sounds like a great idea. Going to need it after we get through this mess. I’ll put in the time off as soon as we get through all this.” He had a feeling that they would all need the time off after all this was said and done.
|
|