Coming together

Posted on Wed Oct 7th, 2020 @ 8:37am by Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson & Lieutenant Sapphire Morgan [Lalor] & Captain Gary Taylor & Lieutenant Commander Aurelia Taylor & Commander Arrianna Salannis an Vantar & Commander Sthilg & Lieutenant Colonel Azhul Naxea & Lieutenant Commander S'hib & Ensign Olivia (Carter) Voight & Lieutenant Commander Alicia Kelea-Salik & Lieutenant JG Ryan Kade III & Lieutenant Scott Gregory [Taylor] & Lieutenant JG T'Kek [Naxea] & Senior Chief Petty Officer Fernando De La Rosa [Taylor] & Lieutenant JG Heather De La Rosa {Kelea-Salik} & Private 1st Class Durak

Mission: SEASON 4: Episode 1: Know Thy Self!
Location: Arena Station - Mirror Verse
Timeline: MD3 - 16h00
3902 words - 7.8 OF Standard Post Measure

IC

Sapphire led the remains of her group into a large area. It was big enough to hold more than the three of them. They had been separated from Miraj and S'hib and now it was just Ryan, T'Kek and herself. "We can make this secure." She said wearily. "We only have a few hours until the Hounds return. Maybe we can find more people.."

Ryan began gathering anything sturdy, pieces of metal, chairs, whatever was big and heavy, too. He toiled away, moving metal cabinets in front of entrances. He piled all the debris he could find into one central pile, using pieces here and there to make door jams and throwable weapons.

T'Kek began to move the heavy containers into place.

While sweeping the station once again, Jess began to hear some talking. She moved from cover to cover and examined the room. It seemed like Starfleet, but she was cautious anyway and kept her phaser rifle lowered. She then tapped on the door frame.

"Pardon me, would you have a moment to talk about the Prophets in the Celestial Temple?" Jess quipped. She was telling herself jokes to keep her mind off the sheer agony she was feeling at every moment.

Alicia and Savar were on the move too, with her senses now alert Alicia sensed the gathering motioning to Savar that she could sense people nearby. It was giving her one hell of a headache keeping her senses active but they needed the advantage. It was only when they got closer that Alicia breathed a genuine sigh of relief. “Could you ... use more help?” She offered a brief smile before almost passing out.

Savar nodded at Alicia's words. "We are here to reclaim our ship, our lives and our missing crewmates."

Alicia offered an apologetic smile. “It’s just the input on my senses, it’s ... constant and it’s overwhelming!”

"Tell me about it, Alicia." Jessica noted as she felt the pain in her mind and held her head. "No... I'm not going crazy. I'm not ever going to surrender. I am a starfleet officer and a pilot. My fate is either death, after many years, with my sons and daughters at my side, or a death serving the Federation proudly, not dying old and insane in a hospital. We have to stop this torture, they won't be able to take it much longer." Jessica turned away, she was too proud for people to see her shed tears.

"We've made it this far Jessica, so have our people we'll win this!" She had to believe it for any other outcome was too terrible to consider.

" Come on keep moving everyone. " The doctor hissed through his broken jaw as he lead the wounded of his group through the corridor. They'd had to abandon their previous hideout after one of the hunting teams had gotten far to close. Hearing footsteps and voices he gestured for everyone to take cover as his artificial arm changed into surgical mode. May the all mother guide his hand if it was some of the hunters.

Alicia looked towards the corridor. "There's more people out there!"

From the other direction came the sound of a baby crying, "Hush little one" Heather gently rocked Connor trying to quieten him down before he alerted the hunters to where they were. As she, Fernando and Connor appeared out of the darkness and saw the gathering and breathed a sigh of relief.

Fernando breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the others. He and Heather had been seeking to the shadows as they made their way through the station all while searching for other members of the crew.

"Alicia!" Heather was so relieved to see Alicia she quickly headed over to her and before Alicia knew it she was having a twelve month old thrust into her arms. As soon as the baby saw her his tears stopped and he smiled up at her. "His name is Connor" Heather looked at Alicia and Savar, "He's the son of your counterpart and ...

"Captain Taylor" Alicia interrupted, "I know, we heard about them." She looked at Heather curiously. "Why is their son with you?"

"The other you, she wants her son to be safe away from his father's influence. She wants him to stay with you." Heather handed over the bag. "There's some supplies in here, we don't have a lot left and my counterpart hasn't returned with more I can only assume she's been caught."

Savar looked at the baby in Alicia's arms and it was natural as could be. A mother and her child. No being from different universe. Just a mother and her baby as it should be.

T'Kek walked over to Alicia, holding the baby. "I hope you have milk or other compatible liquid nutrient for that infant." So far, the child seemed ok...but he knew that wouldn't last long.

Heather looked at T'Kek, "There's a small amount left but it won't be fresh for much longer. The other me find say that her contacts would find us and provide extra supplies but we haven't seen anyone else as yet."

Jessica walked to the small child and looked at him. The one thing about Jess is she'd do anything for her crew. "Heather, Counselor." She asked a question quietly. "We have milk for him." The way Jessica posed this question, the two women would understand. "Though we may need some privacy when we do it. What do you think do we have anything in the supply crate we have that might help with this idea? Because this is the only thing I can think of, as I don't think he could eat a ration pack." Jess said lowly.

Alicia looked at Jess. "Anything you can do to help, I don't want him to starve." She gently rocked the two year old fortunately he was starting to drift off to sleep now he was in the arms of the woman he thought was his mother.

Jess nodded and picked him up carefully, "Heather, make sure no one looks." Jess brought the child to a corner and began to prepare him. "So we're adopting you huh. You can call me Auntie Jessica." She said in a calm voice as she prepared him "You know Connor. I don't have much of a family. Just me and my pilots and fighters. But when I'm at home, being alone is sometimes unbearable. It's not a good way to live. I'm taking you someplace better than this place." Jess mentioned as she held him. And in a way, He somehow began to soothe Jess' troubled mind.

Alicia followed Jess more to make sure Connor could see her so he didn't scream the room down thinking his mother was gone. "I wasn't expecting to be a mother for another eight or nine months, not that I'm complaining."

Jessica nodded and started breastfeeding him. "When I escaped my mother's abuses, Alicia. I swore an oath to protect and defend the United Federation of Planets and to uphold it's articles, and I did not join Starfleet to let a baby starve. If your alternate wants us to take this child away from this Goddesses awful hell, then we'll will do it Alicia. I know what's in store for him if we leave him with his father, oh I know all too well, he will hurt him. The humans here are savage and cruel, even Klingons would never torture their prisoners like this."

The gorn doctor despite his injures was doing his best to help the ship's many wounded. Many of the crew no longer had jackets given they'd been torn up for makeshift bandages. Thought as he worked what he was hearing was troubling him. He finished changing the makeshift bandages on ensign Tenem legs which had been sreaded by the hounds. He didn't say anything, but he could tell the wounds were becoming infected.

Walking over to Taylor he gave the man the best reassuring smile he could given his jaw was still broken. " Sssir wounded been looked after as best we can." he said as calmly as he could. he'd barely slept over the last two days.

Gary looked at the USS Elysium CMO. "Doc, you've done and amazing job taken care of everyone under the worst possible conditions. Let someone help you and take care of that jaw."

"Doctor" Heather walked over to Sthilg. "That jaw of yours looks nasty, sit down and let me take a look at you."

The gorn let out a sight groan as he placed his bulk on the floor. The terran chairs wouldn't take his weight. " How bad isss it sssergeant?" he asked the Betazoid/Human.

Heather took a close look at the Gorn. "It's not as bad as it could be, but it's bad enough given our situation. I can do some of the healing with what we've got but you need proper need medical attention."

" I think we all need some medicle attention." Came the gorns reply as he let her work.

Heather grabbed what medical supplies she had and proceeded to clean up and repair what she could for Sthilg she wanted to talk about what was on her mind. "I think Alicia's pregnant, I sensed something about her before but now I'm here with her I'm more sure of it than ever." She looked towards where Alicia had gone with Jess and the baby.

" We'll have to get her back to the ssship and check on her then. What about you how are you feeling?"

"The emotions and telepathic input here are ... Off the chart" She finished what she was doing and massaged her temples. "I don't know what they do to Betazoids here but if we're here for any length of time we'll all be insane!" She looked at Sthilg. "I hate to think what the stress levels would do to a pregnancy."

" All the more reassson to try and get out of this nightmare. Not that i have any ideasss. I'm a doctor not an engineer. " The lizard said looking over his injured shipmates.

Man'darr stood guard with his Heavy Automatic Pulse Rifle as he noticed a figure approaching him. He turned and smiled. "Lance Corporal Durak! Good to see you. How are you?"

"Other than pissed and tired of dealing with officers, I'm good, Sir," he stated.

Man'darr chuckled. "Hey, I'm an officer--we're not all bad."

"Yeah, but you rose to Warrant Officer through enlisted ranks, Sir." He sighed. "I just want to kill these bastards and get back to our ship."

Man'darr grinned. "Same here. Just stay alert and help any that you can."

Durak nodded. "Aye, Sir." He turned to move off to see if anyone needed aid.

Man'darr grinned, watching Durak head back to the group. He was brash and eager. 'To be so young again,' he thought. With 20 years in the Starfleet Marine Corps, he felt older than he really was at times. His attention was grabbed as he heard a howl, followed by a growl, as two snarling hounds emerged from the shadows at a full sprint. A grin formed as he leveld his weapon. At least tonight they would eat as he fired off two quick bursts, downing the two beasts. "Anyone hungry?" he asked, turning back to the group.

"I think that's a yes from everyone!" Heather turned and smiled. "Those hounds will feed plenty of mouths."

Jess spoke. "I always knew you Marines ate your enemies, but I could never prove it until today." She sniggered. "But hell, telling them we ate their damn hounds sounds badass. I'm up for it." Jess quipped again. Trying to keep spirits up. Trying not to go mad.

"We marines eat whatever we have to eat!" Heather grinned. "It's part of our wilderness training, they throw you out there no food and very little water and leave you to fend for yourself. You have to hunt and eat whatever you find." She shuddered. "Trust me it wasn't pretty!"

Lia watched as the groups came together, she hung back awhile as she was still dressed in an MU uniform. Most here wouldn't even look to see who it was, the uniform would be enough. Then for no good reason she entered the main group, "I need to get on the ISS Elysium, I want volunteers for a boarding party. Who's up for some pay back?" She waited to see what reaction she would get.

Gary looked at her and for the first time really saw her. "Lia? Oh my.......!!! His voice faltered. He quickly recovered, "Am I glad to see you. Count me in. "

"Count me in too" Heather nodded to Lia, "You might need someone with medical training and the doctor isn't up to running around. I can also get us medical supplies from that ship."

"I didn't spacewalk over here with a crate of phasers if was going to have tea and scones with these bastards. I'm on your wing, Lia." Jess smirked and looked at Connor as she finished feeding him. "You alright little guy?" Jess handed him to Alicia. "Getting our crew back is the first steps, but once they lose our crew, They'll open up all their weapons and destroy us before we get the Ely ready for battle. This is not going to be easy. We need time and our Captain back." Jess noted. "I won't lie... we're going to pay the price of freedom here, and it will be steep."

Glancing round Lia now dropped her little secret, "I'm going to signal the Ojnas, these MU people found out about Imik. So if she's here, then her people in MU form have to be here. If we can get them to attack the Elysium, it might keep our casualties down". She walked out to the center of the group, "But first we got to get on board, any ideas just how we manage that trick?"

"Before I spacewalked here with Man'daar and the Del La Rosa's and rigged a makeshift transmitter on a very narrow band and transmitted a distress signal. Very low band too." Jess smirked at Aurelia. "How's your acting? Can you play the part of a deranged sociopath?"

Lia spun round to face Jess, "You dare to talk to me like that you piece of scum? I think a spell in a booth might be arranged, then once I get you trained I can sell you!" She stopped and took a breath, "How's that? Any good?" A broad grin flashed across her face, as she planned the attack on the MU Elysium in her mind.

"Good, you're going to tap your combadge and beam us onboard the ISS Elysium as your slaves." Jess noted. "Once we're aboard. we beam more of us aboard and hit them hard and I do mean hard. Yes. Shock warfare might do the trick here, as they expect us to be defeated, contained, and enslaved."

Lia glanced at the badge sitting on her chest, "Won't the transporter register our weapons? Or do you have a bright idea on how we get them onboard with us?

"I do matter of fact." Gary told her. "I have a communicator. it links the channels the crew of the ISS Elysium use as well as the channels used by the resistance. We can use it to beam aboard with the weapons we have."

Olivia made her way over to Doctor Sthilg to make sure he was still hanging in there after all that he had been through. “I can handle things for awhile Doctor while you get some rest,” Olivia said. “You need to regain your strength in order to be of use once we get back to our ship and have the full access to Sickbay to treat your injuries and others more effectively.”

"I'm in," Man'darr said from where he was finishing skinning the hounds. He powered his weapon down to heat setting and pointed it at the skinned and gutted carcasses of the hounds and began to fire--the phaser beam cooking the meat as he moved it over the meat. The air was soon rich with smell of cooked meat. After two minutes, both of the hounds were ready to eat. "As you humans say, Bon Appetit." He took his knife and cut a large section of meat from one of the hound's thigh.

Alicia smiled as she sat with baby Connor leaning over her shoulder winding him after Jess' feed. "That smells absolutely delicious!"

Heather looked towards Man'darr "Two servings for the mother-to-be please." She looked at Alicia. "I wasn't sure before but I feel it more now. You need to keep up your strength and here .." Heather pulled out the last of the inhibitor she had pressing it to Alicia's neck. "You need this more than us, it'll block out the input for a while."

Alicia breathed a sigh of relief as the voices faded away. "Thank you Heather." She also nodded her thanks as her meat was handed over. She ate it slowly savouring how delicious it was.

Heather waited for her turn getting herself and Fernando some well earned food. "Here you go Fernando." She handed him his share and sat down next to him to enjoy hers.

Fernando smiled at Heather's thoughtfulness. "Thank you Heather but I am not hungry." He said quietly.

"Not hungry?" Heather looked at he husband concernedly. "Are you alright?"

"What? No, not hungry and yes I'm fine." He replied simply.

Heather gave him a worried glance. “You have me concerned Imzadi” She gently reached for his hand to hold. The whole situation was stressful on everyone. “Is there a reason you’re not hungry?”

Fernando smiled at Heather he loved her completely and one of the vows they had taken when they were married was not to keep any secrets from each other. "Heather. I can't eat that.... It reminds me of home." He said quietly.

"Oh Fernando" Heather gave her husband a loving hug. "We'll get out of this somehow, in the meantime I need you to keep your strength up ... Please!"

He shook his head no." Heather, the village I came from is very small, vey poor and sometimes there was never enough food and other means had to be found. You understand?" His voice quiet, somber. "I swore to myself that if I ever got out of there would never eat dog again." He looked at her, his eyes wet. "I'm sorry my love but I cannot." He gave her a smile, "As for getting out of this, I know we will. No doubt in my mind."

Heather nodded. "I understand Imzadi, I'll save you an extra pack of food instead." She smiled warmly gently reaching a hand to gently wipe away a few stray tears as they slowly trickled from his eyes.

Fernando nodded, closed his eyes and tilted his head back so it rested against a wall.

Jess smiled and began distributing food. "This is why we're going to be Victorious. Their plots, their schemes, their treacheries..." Jess noted. "We will never become as treacherous and vile as this Empire is, and the reason for this is? We're kind to each other, not cruel and treacherous. They are not going to see this coming."

Scott was looking for Sam. He had hoped she would come back. But it didn't appear she would. "You can count on me Commander Holmes."

Their numbers had grown, Ryan noticed. He chose to keep focussing on the resources in the room. All of the large furniture was moved to block all the extraneous exits and flanks. His hands were twirling a wire around a piece of metal, tying it to the end of a broken table leg to form a makeshift spear. It was one of several basic weapons he'd been working on with the available materials. They were for everyone else, of course, since he already had his own weapon sheathed in his boot. His mind wandered to Miraj and the Lieutenant, worried, if not a little distracted.

M'Tuuri could hear the voices of everyone echoing down the corridor as she padded along silently, dragging one of the hounds with a tightly clawed grip behind her. "Forgive me for my appearance, I had an awful night..." She hissed as she strolled into the light, her muzzle and neck stained red from blood that was not hers, white teeth grinning as she let go of the dead hound, its throat still leaking vital fluids.

"Right here's the plan then, I'll ask for my prisoners and slaves to be transported onboard along with weapons I've captured. Gregory, Durak. You two will join the weapons as my personal slaves, once we're aboard your job is to make sure everyone gets armed quickly. Got it?"

"Got it Commander." Scott replied crisply.

"Aye, ma'am," Durak replied, looking at Lia.

Sapphire meanwhile was considering things. "Can we swap out like Commander Holmes has done? With our Duplicates? Would that assist?"

Lia shook her head, "Nice idea, but to many people in the wrong place. And they just might get hurt, plus we don't now if they're still in the dark about us".

Malak commented "We should rest here tonight. The hounds will be out soon, and we do not know what patrols there are."

Alicia added to that “I would prefer to have more people here whilst the hounds are loose especially with Connor here.” She smiled as she looked at Gary who was still cradling Connor getting to know him.

"Okay little guy. I'm going to give you back to your mom. But will have some more time together. Once this is all over. I promise." Gary whispered and then kissed Connor on his forehead.

"You shouldn't be cooking the meat... you'll attract more of them," M'Tuuri scowled, contemplating leaving once she saw what was happening. "Plus you're ruining the taste..." She added as she went and sat in a corner to clean her fur.

Alicia looked at the others, “She’s right, the smell of that food will attract trouble. We need to put the carcasses elsewhere to draw them away from us.” She gently accepted a now dozing Connor as Gary handed him back, she looked to Savar. “I’ll get a safer sleeping area set up for us, try and make it more comfortable for Connor.”

"Use a phaser and vaporise them, we can't have people wandering off". She glanced at M'tuuri, "How about you keep your ears alert for those things approaching, then deal with them. Out of all of us, your the best equipped to handle them."

"Besides, not all of us like raw meat--cooked meat is better for you," Man'darr stated. "And if more hounds come, I'll add them to the pile."

Alicia had settled into her corner making it a little more comfortable for Connor not that there was a lot more she could do. She wanted to get more of his things but it would have to wait until Taylor’s forces were too busy to notice her around. During the slave revolt would be perfect.

Malak moved off to the side and settled down. He was not sure how he could help but he would.

For now, though, the group with gather what energy they could, rest for the next day would be busy.

OFF