Posted by Ensign Dr. P’Mala Dawes (Doctor) in Mission Start - Life & Death

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Cassidy Abrams (Chief of Security) in Mission Start - Life & Death

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Vora Zorell (Scientist) in Mission Start - Life & Death
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

The cat sniffed curiously at Abram’s hand and licked it and then began to purr

Cassidy eyed the cat and couldn’t help but smile as she returned to her station to look up the cat’s likely owner so they could call the crewmember in question to come retrieve the feline.

“Go ahead and put the distress call on screen,” the Captain ordered. “Let’s see what it’s about.”

Who is even out here to send a distress call? he wondered.

– Johann Dvorak, CO

“Aye, Sir,” Vora said, and had the call sent to the viewscreen. She briefly eyed the cat and also thought it weird it was up here but was more focused on the apparent emergency they had stumbled upon.

~Vora Zorell, Sciences

The contented cat became less contented as the viewscreen was replaced and the noises and images began … it edged slowly away from Abrams and went into a corner …

The viewscreen changed from the starfield to static and then slowly an image of man in command red (or is it red from blood), his pips covered in blood, blood from a cut on his face, his hair disshevelled, his beard not nice and neat, obviously he hasn’t had it barbered in a while, his eyes look terrified and his tone is mixed with fear, anxiety and he is very frantic. As he talks, noise of screams, of things being broken, things being bitten, are in the background and he begins. The signal is from ‘Iota-Gamma Outpost’’ according to the log details.

“The distress call is coming from the Iota-Gamma OUtpost,” Zorell called over to Dvorak before looking up at the screen.

“Oh god please help us please. It’s killing us all! Already it took out Alexie and Hardgrove, and … wait … [the commander ducks suddenly and the head of a vulcan … or perhaps a romulan … splatters into the viewer … the head is removed and the monitor is cleaned by the man and he continues] … Wait? What’s that … [heavy thumps are now heard] the recording device goes on an angle] Who’s there? NO!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEL…” His voice is sudeenly cut off. This is then followed by the wet sounds of meat being cleaved in half, of gore splattering against the walls, and of bloodcurdling screams. Whatever is going on is definitley seriously … however the recording device focuses on the Federation logo, so it is mostly sounds … but then that too is cut off …

The cat began hissing when the distress call is on the screen, it arches its back and its tail starts weaving slowly back and forth. The door to the bridge opens as a crewmember walks in and the cat rushes out into the corridor beyond.

-GM Demi Tribble

OOC: Oops, I forgot
IC: In response to the query from the CoS into who brought a cat on board with those characteristics, the computer replied with a list of names. The last name on the list was Barbara Wheeler. it turned out that Barbara Wheeler, an Engineering Ensign was one of the new crewmembers who boarded from Black Rock, had a black cat named Dart. It turned out that Barbara was the last person to board the ship and join the crew of any species or gender.

-GM Demi Tribble, The Forgetful

OOC: Jumping In!

IC: Ensign P’Mala Dawes walked off the lift and opened the door into the Bridge and a little black cat bolted into the corridor.

Abrams watched the flash of black leave the bridge. Great.

She quietly handed the prescription to one of the NE security members manning the stations. “I wanted to deliver this straight to you,” she said discreetly. “You should begin immediately.”

The NE didn’t say anything. He looked shook, ashen. Terrified, even.

“What’s going on?” she asked, a little louder. What had she walked into? And whose cat was that?

-Ensign P’Mala Dawes, Medical

Warm blood seeped over her hand, spilling over his body and onto the deck. His eyes vacant while her hand was wrapped around the knife and she was frozen. The images in her mind shifted. The splatter of blood all over her and Salla as Vora held the gun. Self-defence, but it still shocked them. After the terror the man had inflicted on them for days, they had become the thing that others took pleasure in. Vora just wanted to vomit.

Zorell stood frozen at her station, her breath ragged.

~Vora Zorell, Sciences

From the looks on the faces of the NEs around her, it was like this was a distress call like none P’Mala had seen before, and she had been an ER doc in Kentucky.

She noticed Vora–her breathing seemed… off.

“Distress call,” Abrams called over to the newly arrived ensign. They needed more information and she was about to call over to Vora but the expression on her frined’s face was telling. The Tenraith was so deep in a memory, she’d not likely hear anyone. She needed help but they also had a situation to deal with. Her fingers flew over the keys tapping into the sensor readings. “Double checking for a timestamp,” she said, hoping to establish when this had been likely sent so they had a reference point and checking the distance to the outpost to know how far away they were.

“Vora?” Abrams called over, hoping to grab the scientist’s attention but she knew it was likely of no use. “Doctor?” she called over, gesturing to Zorell with her head. “Bad memories.” She didn’t want to reveal personal information on the bridge, but leaving Vora to suffer in her eidetic brain was hardly the kind thing to do.

Abrams, COS

P’Mala rushed to the Tenraith scientist’s side. “Lieutenant?” she asked. From her Vulcan intuition, medical training, and her brief knowledge of the doctor’s special mind, she sensed a trauma response.

She approached the woman. “Vora, it’s Dr. P’Mala Dawes. Hi. Can I touch your hand?”

P’Mala modulated her voice, cool and warm and slow. “You’re here on the bridge. Take slow, deep breaths, and when you feel calm, look around the room and just describe to us what you see.”

-Ensign P’Mala Dawes

As the turbolift’s beams rotated down his face, Mathys took a deep breath. He was heading up to the bridge to report to the CO face to face. The ship was operating smoothly, but something felt off. It had nothing to do with the old gal though.

When they entered the Copenhagen Expanse, something stirred in his gut. He didn’t like how little data they had over the place. For all they knew, it might’ve been pirate smuggling grounds. Memories of the USS Zeus’ pirate encounter flickered across his thoughts. His eyes closed and pushed his anxiety down, centering himself. Moments ticked into seconds and finally minutes before the feeling died down.

The CE made a mental note to meet with the counselor again.

As the doors open, he took a step out only to halt in his tracks. A black streak darted past him and disappeared down the hall. His eyes watched it until it vanished among the crowd. Letting the rapid beats of his heart become steady again, Mathys continued to the bridge.

Spotting the scene budding, the CE’s concern surfaced. He waited to the door’s side as he tried to figure out what he missed.

-CE, Mathys Ducote