Posted by Lieutenant Mike Stone (Chief Engineer) in A lonely corner of the engineering deck

Posted by Civilian Kara Nakuto (Civilian, Former CO) in A lonely corner of the engineering deck
Snip

Posted by Lieutenant Mike Stone (Chief Engineer) in A lonely corner of the engineering deck
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

“Errr…” Mike said quickly making a glance behind him but not seeing anyone there. One year missing…Kara mentioned darkness and loneliness. If she was indeed all alone in a darkness somewhere for a year.... halucinations were probably the least of the side effects. Physical and mental health must have taken quite a toll.

”…let me help you get to the sickbay. I’m sure you can recal the way, but I think it would be better if I come along. We can catch up on things.” He smiled warmly.

Letting her wonder all alone on the Viking, no doubt she’d scared anyone unprepaired to meet her.

Lt. Mike Stone, CE

She had no strength to argue and, in truth, after so many months wandering alone in the dark, she was glad of the company.
“Very well, Lieutenant,” the half-Klingon agreed, moving to Mike’s side and taking hold of his arm for vital support. “Let us go to the sickbay.”

Slowly she began to walk, practically dragging Stone along beside her, despite her current lack of strength. Out into the corridor, her eyes took a moment to re-adjust to the gloom. Conditions on the Viking appeared reassuringly familiar, the lack of lighting and pervading chill almost comforting after her recent ordeal.

“So,” she continued to talk as they moved along the corridor, “let us catch up. Tell me, Lieutenant Stone. What have I missed?”

Kara Nakuto

“Well you haven’t missed much. The Viking is still fighting to stay floating. It’s managing somehow. We even brought Stellar cartography online, though do watch your step if you go check it out..the floor is a bit wobbly.”

For this statement, Stone received a raised eyebrow of stunned appreciation from his former Captain. Clearly the engineering department had been battling against the chaos of the ship. And winning.
“I daresay it was one of the few right moves that I made, promoting you, Lieutenant,” she remarked with a grin.

”…Other then that we still get all the shitty mission no one else wants. The last one, we had to shorten our refit…again.. to go on a research station and reply to a distress signal. When we got there we learned they developed an AI there which.. went a little rogue and killed all adults. Luckily we got the kids out of there.” He shook his head. “Was quite a mess. I still wonder if it wasn’t intentional sabotage…but that’s not my job to find out. Well other then that we’ve been doing quite ok.” He said with a smile. “You returned.. I think that’s definately a reason to celebrate. Maybe our luck is turning at last?”

“Sabotage?” Nakuto echoed. She was no stranger to the wanton destruction that could be wreaked by a powerful actor with malevolent intent. Indeed, the Viking had suffered an episode of this very nature immediately prior to her coming onboard. They never had identified the perpetrator…

From his experiance, this was just the calm before another shitstorm hits the fan.

Lt. Mike Stone, CE

The expression on his face was familiar. And shared.
“So,” Kara attempted to voice it aloud, “now you are watching nervously for any sign that such a run of successes is simply ‘too good to be true’? Spending sleepless nights attempting to predict exactly where and how the next catastrophe might begin?” A laugh, humoured but bitter all the same. “I know that feeling all too well, Stone. I used to let it consume my every thought, my every movement. But one thing I have learned is that the unpredictable takes great pride in living up to its name.”

As they continued to walk, Kara allowed her eyes to study their immediate surroundings. Perhaps this vessel was no longer as familiar as she had initially presumed? For surely the lighting along the narrow corridor, although still weak, was a fraction of a lux brighter? And there, in the corner, did not the shadows appear to dance with a reduced intensity?

“My advice would be to enjoy each success as it comes,” she declared. “Celebrate it. Rejoice in it. Gods know they occur so infrequently around here.”

But perhaps the Viking’s luck had changed? Perhaps with their accursed Captain detained in the realms of darkness, the crew had found their fortunes vastly improved? The unavoidable conclusion of such a prospect was one that Nakuto could not stop herself from voicing aloud.
“I only hope that my return is not the catalyst for further horrors onboard this ship.”

Kara Nakuto

“You’re kidding.” said Stone “Having you return is one of the best good news ever since I came on board of this ship. If you came back then perhaps others that dissapeared onboard could return as well. Gives us something to hope for, and if nothing else, one more reason to keep this old box of bolts and wires flying further.” He said it with a sincere voice.

He stopped for a minute. “I know you need to get back on your feet and recover first but.... Would a position of CO or XO interest you once more here on the Viking?”

The ship wasn’t quite the same without Kara, and Mike knew it was a tough question to ask. If he was trapped for a year, would he want to stay on this ship for any longer then needed, or would he ask for immediate transfer? He wasn’t sure.

Lt. Mike Stone, CE

Despite everything that had happened, despite the pain and weariness and disorientation coursing through her, Nakuto let out a deep and hearty rumble of laughter.
“Mr Stone, I think that is the best welcome back I could have ever asked for. And possibly far more than I deserved. But I have missed you too, my friend,” she continued, delivering a decent slap to the man’s back, “and I have missed this ship and my…this crew.”

His following comment, however, caught the half-Klingon almost completely off-guard. Only now was it beginning to solidify in her mind that she was no longer the commanding officer of this vessel. Only now were the full implications of the effect her year-long absence must have had on the rest of the crew being made clear.
“I am…sorry that I have not been here for all of you,” she offered. “I am sorry that I left you all to battle against this damned ship without me.”

Would she be willing to step back into the fray and take up command again? Deep down, in the pit of her stomach, something was telling her that Starfleet would be unlikely to ever offer her such an opportunity again. And then there was the matter of their new chain of command. Which unfortunate soul had been shackled to this most desperate of posts in her stead? Had Commander Akorem seen fit to seize his chance for the centre seat? Or was there another…a stranger…now treading in her own, worn footsteps?

“Surely you have a new Captain in command of the Viking?” she attempted to coax the information from Stone. “And judging by the current state of the ship, it would seem they are doing a far better job of it than I ever did.”

Had they also taken over her quarters? Were they too plagued with the poundings and voices and screams that had kept her awake and in fear every night? In truth she did not envy them for their lot and yet…to be relegated to the position of guest was a dishonour that she had not yet the strength to face.

“Whatever happens,” Nakuto concluded after a time, “I have no intentions of disappearing again. It seems I was destined to spend the remainder of my days on this vessel.”
Another laugh, although this one lacked the humour of the first. “The next time I depart from the Viking I suspect it will be inside a torpedo casing.”

Kara Nakuto