Posted by Civilian Kara Nakuto (Civilian, Former CO) in Ready Room -Nakuto goes in search of Akorem
Snip

Posted by Commander Akorem Nevin (Executive Officer) in Ready Room -Nakuto goes in search of Akorem

Posted by Civilian Kara Nakuto (Civilian, Former CO) in Ready Room -Nakuto goes in search of Akorem
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Kara raised an eyebrow at Nevin’s admission, but made no further comment. Although his revelation concerning their current CO was some cause for concern.
“Medical grounds?” she repeated. “What happened?”

Relaxing back into the worn chair, Kara swallowed the rest of her kanar before continuing, the warmth of the cerulean liquid spreading to her face and enticing a genuine, if somewhat weary, smile across her lips.

“So, how have you been, Commander? How have you all been?”

Kara Nakuto

“Most of us are well. Or As well as this ship allows. Ensign Akaba has been on medical leave, but is due to join us again when we reach starbase,” Nevin replied, “Antos is growing.”

-Akorem

“Antos,” Nakuto smiled warmly. She had met the young boy only once before her disappearance. But his innocence and youthful energy had been like a light in the darkness of this forsaken ship.
“How is your son taking to life on the Viking, Commander? I hope he is not…troubled by…well, you know as well as I the things that lurk around this vessel.”

Kara Nakuto

“He had an encounter with one of the ghosts aboard. It had taken the form of my biological uncle,” Nevin said. He looked down before continuing. He felt embarrased about what had happened and it reminded him of his own childhood when he had been Atos’ age. He felt as though he’d failed as a father, “And some of his ‘less savoury’ appetites.”

Nevin drank his kanar before continuing “I’m sure he’ll get over the experience. He’s too young to fully understand what has happened so it may not hit him till he’s a teenager. I just hope that when he does, he doesn’t blame me.”

-Akorem

Kara nodded. She knew only too well the incident of which the XO spoke. Before swallowing her, the portal had unleashed a tsunami of disturbing and traumatic visions upon the crew, monsters clawing their way out of long-distant pasts to be made wholly evil once more. She shuddered at the recall.

“I am glad that he escaped relatively unscathed from that…incident,” she replied, before adding more softly, “And I am sure he will not blame you. You was a victim too. And you did everything that you could to protect him.”

The half-Klingon rose to her feet and wandered over to the murky picture window, gazing through the gloom to the infinite space beyond. Somewhere out there flew countless other starships, vessels with full and adequate lighting, with functional warp cores and safe holodecks. Vessels where the crew could feel safe and empowered to perform their assigned duties without the ever-present whisperings of death. What a forsaken lot they had been given, this unfortunate crew.

“But our ability to protect is greatly dampened on this ship,” she stated, turning once more to face the Bajoran Commander. “Be sure to keep Antos at arms length always, Nevin. For a light so bright must surely be a beacon for more than just the living on this vessel “

Kara Nakuto

“There is a reason that Section 31 is so interested in the operation of this ship,” Nevin said, “And I dare say that is why this ship has not been moth-balled. What-ever the reason, I strongly suspect it is related to the odd goings on. There’s too many co-incidences.”

Nevin paused, “Until you get a new command, would you mind staying and helping me figure it out? I could really use a friend.”

-Akorem

Her thoughts returned immediately to the McHarries. Days and nights spent scouring every inch of the ship for uninvited guests of the non-humanoid variety. The saboteur had never been identified to her satisfaction. Was he or she or…it still buried somewhere in the bowels of the lower decks? Was the vessel still at risk from its deadly and unhindered subterfuge? Or had its mere existence been nothing more than an illusion? An excuse?

Moving back into her seat, Nakuto set her elbows on the desk’s worn surface and locked eyes with her former second in command.

“Section 31? You think they had a hand in all of this?”

How had she not considered such a possibility before? Even chasing along corridors after James McHarrie’s Reman Imps it had never occurred to her that this entire nightmare could have been crafted by those whom he served. Perhaps by his very own hand?

Occam’s Razor. She had allowed her fear to blind her to that fundamental scientific principle - that, all things being equal, the simplest explanation was usually the correct one. But in truth what was more probable? More tangible? That the vessel was infested with malevolent, supernatural entities? Shadowy, ethereal wraiths from the very depths of Gre’thor itself? Or that this entire nightmare had been constructed by a technologically-advanced, but still undeniably living, group.

“To what ends would they do such a thing?” she considered the possibilities aloud. “To test us? Is this some kind of psychological experiment to discover how much torment a mind can endure before it breaks? How much of the unexplained a normally rational consciousness will accept when faced with it on a never-ending loop?”

She sat back in her chair, her mind a dizzying vortex of possibilities. It almost seemed too simple. The things she had seen, had heard; the places she had wandered, trapped for months on end with no glimmer of hope for an escape - something in her gut was beginning to churn with an insistence that this evil was too powerful to have been borne of man. And yet if her years of toil in the Dominion war had taught her anything, it was that humanoids capacity for cruelty was matched only by their imagination.

Rising to her feet once more, Nakuto held out a hand to Akorem, a human gesture of challenge accepted. Contract agreed.

“I will help you get to the bottom of this, Commander,” she declared. “Even if it takes me the rest of my days.”

Kara Nakuto

OOC: Bump for Jim…or had you finished with this thread?