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Posted by Lieutenant Casela Synthi-er (Counsellor / RTF) in side-sim Still in the Lounge

Posted by Commander Ryder Raauhl (Executive Officer) in side-sim Still in the Lounge

Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in side-sim Still in the Lounge

Casela got up from her chair and got right in Cobb’s face. “Don’t. You. DARE Zachariah Cobb! I made this choice and I knew even before the offer was made what the price might be. I knew, and so did Roebuck, what could happen when he sent me out here. I was under orders to report back to him, before we got to our first mission location, to tell him if I thought the crew would survive and what it needed to do so.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but was hard as steel. Her use of telepathy is an indication of how drunk she was. “I don’t pick my loyalties on a whim, Zachariah. You should know that and it’s insulting that you would think I did this for a ‘favor.’ Despite what some members of this crew might think of me, I did this to ensure we succeed and I’d do it again.”

Cobb’s mouth opened and closed, in the manner of a fish reeled in on gleaming hook and being slowly deprived of air.

She sat back down staring Zachariah and then Ryder in the eye. “A report to the admiral was not an unusual request of the CNS on board. It happens more than you think. Problem is, the shadow didn’t like what I said. In not so many words I told Roebuck the problem with these damn ARU/RTF ships is too many people can legally refuse to report to CO/XO of a ship. How they expect you to guide a mission when you don’t have clearance for it, when over half your crew can LEGALLY mutiny is beyond me, and I told Roebuck that.”

The alcohol was making her hot. She got up and shrugged the uniform jacket off, and remembering Doc Fey’s advice is got a very large glass of water from the replicator. “There’s also a message for you from Admiral Roebuck on there. He sends his regards.” She leaned against the wall where the light was the brightest and stared at Ryder. She nodded, “Oh RTF is plenty talented. But how do you fight something that’s a shadow, within your own ranks? Or not? I’m not sure” She sounded drunk as she looked at both of them. “I’m making more sense than you realize.” She paced back to her chair and sat down again, to fend of the dizziness. “Among the section there is rumor of a man. More than rumor I’d bet my reputation. He’s known as only a shadow. I’ve never been on the receiving end of one of his visits, though I have seen those who have and have seen the evidence of his passing. And tonight, he was there with Roebuck. I’m not sure what I did, but I’m in a lot of trouble now.” Her voice got very quiet as she contemplated her predicament. She waited for the yelling to start.

Lt. Synthi-er, CNS

“A shadow?” the Captain echoed, his own voice a sunken whisper. One single glance at Raauhl telegraphed every atom of the old man’s fear and horror at these words. “Aye, Roebuck mentioned…something. I don’t know…thought he was selling me a bogeyman, trying to keep me in line.”

He snorted out a humourless laugh and immediately began searching the area for something worthwhile to drink. And suddenly every nanosecond of his past cried out like a beacon, leading him towards this final, inevitable end. The Federation. Starfleet. Roebuck. All no more than a mirage, a perverted cavern of illusions. Prestidigitation from Mephistopheles himself. For in that moment it became nauseatingly clear. There was no honour to be found in this mission, no accomplishments to be sung of once the deed was done. Only betrayal and deceit so deep it could fill a thousand oceans yet save drops enough for her tears.

“I am so sorry, Cas,” was all he could whisper.

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Casela raised a single brow, “I wish he was only trying to scare you. And don’t apologize. I made my choice, you didn’t make, you didn’t force this choice on me.” Very sternly she looked at him, “You are going to take that, whatever is on that isochip and use it. You, YOU Zachariah, are going to make this ship a thing of legend. YOU are going to make sure they sing songs about us.” She looked at Ryder, “And you are going to help him do it. Both of you. Command put this crew together as a joke. Roebuck knew it and he didn what he could to help. I did my part, now do yours. Whenever this shadow comes, with any luck I’ll have a nasty surprise for him, and if not your success might be enough for Roebuck to get rid of him.”

Her belief in him was touching. But Casela had been lucky. These explorations she dared into Zachariah’s soul had so far revealed only the admirable and the good. How long until she stumbled one single, misplaced step and revealed a side of Cobb that would terrify her to her core?

Casela looked at Ryder, he hadn’t said much, and she wasn’t sure if she’d just ruined it all. And suddenly she understood what T’Jal and Jake had told her all those years.
It really did sneak up on you, and it, he was worth whatever price she had to pay. She was scared and he alone could tell it was all bluster because only he knew that she was reaching for the necklace tucked under her shirt. She had no idea what she would do about her own situation, but that was minor compared to making sure Leviathan succeeded. She needed Ryder, and Cobb needed both of them.

Ryder obviously found himself in something a lot deeper than he initially realized, and the captain seemed to know at least on some level what was going on. “Can someone explain to me whats going on, please. Is this ship in danger? What does the Admiral want and what is this nonsense about a shadow.” He well and truly had his executive officers cap on now as he looked between both he drunk Casela, who he knew would regret this whole evening tomorrow and Cobb.

• Commander Raauhl, XO

She would probably regret it, but at least Ryder had the clearance and so did Cobb, so whatever she said, she was in the clear that way. She would have told them both anyway. She was so tired of shadows and secrets and power games. Casela’s frustration and anger at Cobb’s temporary loss of spine burned off some of the haze and she looked directly at Ryder, her gaze locked on his. She wanted to ask him if they were strong enough for this, if he felt like she was still worth it. But the question seemed too intimate to ask in front of the captain, but her eyes asked anyway. She took a breath and started over, making sure to speak slowly and clearly, for her sake because of the alcohol. “The most important answer, No the ship is not in danger, not from what I’ve done. I am, but not anyone else. This ‘shadow’ is a misnomer I guess. He is a man, humanoid by all accounts. Who specifically he is, I don’t know and most people don’t. Hence the name ‘shadow.’ He…well…I don’t know his rank or how he seems to appear or disappear. Probably technology that is reserved only for the most elite.” She waved her hand indicating Leviathan and the specialized equipment they had on board, and the similarity. “Accounts claim a flash of light, much like a transporter, and he tends to stay in the shadows of the room to ensure his features are hard to recognize, so again the name. For years I thought it was a story to scare new operatives. Until I started questioning my orders and forcing the issue. Till I went “off track” and made decisions for myself. His passing usually is followed by either good operatives turning meek and sitting behind a desk, or disappearing.” She shrugs, she’d never sit behind a desk. “As for Admiral Roebuck, he called me into his office before I shipped for the station. Told me to report to him, anything Zachariah needed to make this ship a success. He knew I was gutsy enough to ask for whatever it was, no matter the cost. He’s a good man, a good officer. He’s concerned with the number of RTF ships that, well, end up like the Einstein. He believes in the purpose and objective of RTF. Much as you’ve said yourself, Ryder, the crew is divided. Roebuck knew it would be, but he gave Zachariah, and you, the best of each department.” She stops, downs the glass of water, and stares at the wall not seeing it. This time her voice is quiet, almost to herself, “And what should have been a simple crew readiness evaluation brought me right back to the notice of the section, and I was only a year from getting out.”

Lt. Synthi-er, CNS/RTF/S31

The captain frowned. He too had heard of the ‘shadow’, although only in passing. And yet he doubted her claim on its almost mystical powers. In Cobb’s experience most monsters had decidedly human origins. And they were all the more terrifying for that fact. And whoever this ‘shadow’ might be, he had his job and he had his orders, the same as everyone else. The real question was, did his orders seek to glorify or to destroy the Leviathan and the ARU?

“I can’t offer much else about the shadow,” Cobb shrugged at Ryder. “But what I can say is that I would trust Roebuck with my life. For whatever that’s worth.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb