Posted by Vashkilu (Infiltrator) in Welcome to the Albatross!

Posted by Nathan Murray (First Mate) in Welcome to the Albatross!

Posted by Elias “Eli” Trenor (Medic) in Welcome to the Albatross!
Posted by… suppressed (20) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The Albatross had been docked at Earth, its Captain, one Sisnil Zoi, paid to steal a file off the Academy’s main frame. It should have been easy. It was a simple matter for Sisnil, he had a fake ID and a uniform, all he had to do was get in and get out.

But everything had gone wrong. Sisnil had happened upon an Intelligence officer who’d caught on that he wasn’t a Cadet. He’d managed to slip Noril the PaDD with the file, and told him, in code of course, to take it and get away. Noril and the crew re-boarded Albatross, and waited. Shortly after, they received a short message: A two tone message that simply meant: They’re onto me, leave. It was an emergency signal.

Then nothing. There the Albatross sat, having waited several hours, with no word from Sisnil.

Then, Noril began to panic. “I can’t sense him. He was there… he went unconscious, now he’s not there at all.” He began to pace the bridge. This was his twin brother, with whom he did everything. With whom he shared the Captain’s quarters. They were both the Captain, technically, but Sisnil was the leader out of the two of them. Without him, he felt lost. “Where is he? Did they kill him?” His ‘twin sense’ told him Sisnil wasn’t dead, but then, why had he gone off the empathic radar?

~ N, Captain

Vashkilu glided across the bridge and set a hand on his arm. “Unlikely. Star Fleet doesn’t do that, unless it is extreme circumstances. Sisnil knows not to fight back. He signaled, they were on to him. He probably got caught. Heavy stun probably knocked him out.” Her Deltan ability to calm only worked with contact so she kept her hand on him.

“He is Betazoid. They are probably keeping him sedated so he cannot call for help. We have a procedure. Sisnil will expect us to follow it, so he will know how to reach us when he can call for extraction. We should follow the plan.”

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

“I’d agree,” Nathan said, standing from Weapons and taking a few steps towards the two. “I was an officer for several years. Even at the height of the war, that was never the first option. I’m sure Sisnil’s fine, if maybe battered. At the moment, we should stick to the plan.”

Nathan Murray
First Mate / Weapons

Eli stat in the pilots chair watching and listening to the conversation. His shoulders tensed and his eyes narrowed as if looking for something off in the distance. Starfleet was no friend to him, rage built at the meniton them. He turned his head and made a spitting sound though nothing came out. “Star, fleet” the words escaped his mouth with contempt and loathing. Thought of the conlony they abandoned and the twin of his own that they cost him. “I’ve seen their true nature, the cost of their peace. You act like they are a force of good. Saints of the galaxy by the sounds of it.” he paused his hands gesturing as if gathering the entire galaxy in them.

He smirked and turned his eyes back to Noril. “I know better” he said as his eyes past to Nathan and then to Vashkilu. His face relaxed some showing the two of them a bit a regret as he stood out of the chair almost cliping his head on the overhead. He stood considerably taller than the others making him seem a little out of place. His large frame moved across the bridge with a suprising amount of grace toward Noril. Placing his hand on the man’s shoulder, he looked him in the eye his speach softened some “Still Murray and Vashkilu are not wrong. Fleet will want to interogate him at the very least. It buys us some time to figure something out” he paused “We’ll get him back, we are with you”.

Elias ‘Eli’ Trenor
Medic

It wasn’t that they were exactly all chummy and they definitely weren’t the cuddly hugging type, but they were a crew. They all knew bits and pieces of each other’s stories. Vashkilu didn’t mind the outburst. Elias was huge, but she had been in his care too often for the man to not have earned some of her trust.

It was mostly Vash’s Deltan abilities that calmed him. He had the training to tell when his emotions were being manipulated, but this was most welcome. He shook his head. “He’s not battered. I felt no pain, just a brief flash before he went unconscious.” He smiled at Vash, a way of silently thanking her.

She rubbed his forearm with a slight nod.

“You’re all right, of course,” he said, Vash’s continued contact keeping him calm enough to think clearly. “In that case, we leave orbit. Finish the job,” he pointed to the PaDD, “and return to help him when things are calmer.”

~ N, Captain

Vashkilu would never intentionally use her training on the crew without consent. There were things she could not control, like her pheromone production and its effect, but she didn’t take advantage of it. With the crew anyway. However, the look she gave Elias was understanding. “We know, Elias. I don’t think they are benevolent, but I do think that they are desperate to hold o to that myth and won’t do anything to break that on Academy grounds. That buys Sisnil and us some time.”

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

“He’ll be alright. Okay,” Nathan said, returning to his seat. “Eli, please stand by to take us away from the system and to our rendezvous point. We can discuss our next move on the way. Captain, on your command?”

Nathan Murray
First Mate / Weapons

Elias’ less than positive feelings about the Fleet weren’t helping Noril ‘s anxieties. “Let’s… Yeah, go.” He shook his head, murmuring, “How can I just leave him? What do I do?”

~ N, Captain

Vashkiku stepped in front of him and set a hand along his jaw. Her fingertips traced along his forehead down his temple, infusing calm. “We aren’t leaving him. We have to make the drop or others will be after us. We can use our contacts to find out more. We can’t do it. They will be looking for his accomplices. We would just get caught. Give it 48 hours. That’s the plan, then we can reevaluate.”

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

Noril knew that was why he told them to take off. To avoid them capturing accomplices. Her abilities were keeping him out of a panic. He looked at her and smiled a little. “Forty eight hours. Right.” He nodded to Nathan, “Take us out of here.”

~ N, Captain

Eli’s face twisted into a thin smirk, “There he is,” he said noting Noril’s collection of him self giving him a firm swat to his back. “Besides, knowing your brother he’ll have starfleet eating out of his hands by dinner.” he chuckled, turning to move back to his station giving Vash and Nathan an apologetic look as he passed. Taking his seat he confirmed their destination and confirmed the calculation.

Vashkilu patted his shoulder as he passed. They were okay.

“Course laid in, ready to go to warp at your command.” his deep voice echoed across the bridge.

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic

Noril smiled a little as their medic slapped him on the back. “Take outta here, Eli,” he said in his best approximation of his brother. Considering they were twins, he sounded almost exactly like Sisnil.

The ship had a center chair, and Sisnil normally sat there. Noril either sat on the floor next to it, or at a vacant station. Today, he picked a vacant station to stand at. “We’ll get paid a hefty sum for this one. Sisnil… I’ll keep his share to give to him when we get him.” The deal was everybody got a fair share. Sisnil and Noril always made sure it was fair and even. Out of their own shares, they put aside for their Syndicate dues.

~ N, Captain

There wasn’t anything for her to do on the bridge. She filled in where needed, but she wasn’t an expert in any of them like the others were. She squeezed Noril’s shoulder as she passed him and headed toward the Galley. Vashkilu was like the morale officer, entertainer, and protective sister.

She was also a d@mn fine cook. She made sure they all ate extremely well, even when on rations. She got to work making one of Noril’s favorites to make sure he would eat.

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

Eli smiled as the command was given and Vash left the bridge. He took note that Noril did not take the commad chair. “Aye Captain” he said in response to the order to get under way. He engaged the warp drives and with a building hum the ship shot off into space toward their destination. Once they were under way he kicked his feet out a little and leaned ack in the chair watching the various senors but relaxing a bit. He check his scanners to make sure they were not being followed.

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic

It was shortly after they left that ships started circling, looking for them. But they were already to warp.

---

Their rendezvous point was just over ten hours’ flight away, on a small, out of the way colony world. As they dropped out of orbit and approached, Noril said, “Bring us into orbit, we’ll beam down near the edge of town.”

~ N, Captain

Feeling the engines slow and the ship drop from warp, Vashkilu made her way back to the bridge. She was dressed in typical Orion garb, which meant alluring and minimal and tasteful, but expensive jewelry.

John finally emerged his usual grease-stained yellow jumpsuit clinging to him like a second skin. Nine times out of ten, this was his attire of choice when working in the engineering compartment, and today was no different. He scanned the room, taking in the sight of his crewmates. They were a motley crew, each with their own quirks and idiosyncrasies, but they had one thing in common: they all needed this ship and each other.

“Did I hear right,” he started, his gruff voice cutting through the chatter. “You left Sisnil? Didn’t think you had it in you!” His tone was dry, as usual, carrying a hint of sarcasm that was his trademark.

She narrowed her eyes as she walked over to Noril’s station. John had a mouth and an attitude that he didn’t know how to use. If he wasn’t such a d@mn miracle engineer he would have been visiting Elias a lot more. At least that was her opinion

John wasn’t exactly the go-to nice guy, and he knew it. He’d joined the crew out of necessity, not some deep-seated sense of camaraderie. He respected his crewmates, sure, but he was rough around the edges and his humor was as dry as the desert. As he moved further into the room, he noted the surprised and somewhat amused looks on their faces. This was his new reality, for better or worse, and he was determined to keep the ship running, no matter what.

John
The Chief
Albatross

Noril whirled around and stared at John. “We aren’t leaving him. We’re getting paid, letting things cool down, and then we’re going back for him.” He stared the other man down with a look to rival his twin’s. “You’ll learn to watch that mouth one of these days.”

~ N, Captain

John raised an eyebrow at Noril’s fierce response, but a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. He respected Noril’s loyalty, even if he had his doubts about their chances. “Sure, sure,” he said, his tone still rough but less biting. “Just didn’t think you two could function without each other for this long.”

“Keep your thoughts to yourself.” Noril snapped. In truth, it was hard for him. But John’s comments weren’t going to help.

He stepped further into the room, wiping his hands on his already grease-streaked jumpsuit. “Anyway, the reason I came to see you lot wasn’t to start a fight. I need to get my hands on some spare parts for the antimatter containment unit and a new batch of machine coolant. Ship’s running hot, and we can’t afford a meltdown out here.”

John glanced around the room, noting the mixed reactions. “If we’ve got time and you can do without me for a few hours?, I’d like to meet up with a contact of mine here. He can get us what we need, no questions asked”

John
The Chief
USS Ark Angel

Vashkilu didn’t even attempt to hide her massive eye roll. All this aggressive posturing within a crew was outside of Orion cultural behavior. Oh sure they did it to adversaries and opponents. Trying to get a rise out of them, rattle them, but this practice inside of a unit was seen as very uncivilized and threatened profits and power. “Noril, do you want me to go along?” Her talents were useful, but also very specific.

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

OOC: I’m taking everyone so we all have posting to do, we’ll have an implied crew member on board since you can’t leave ships empty.

IC:
Noril nodded. “Vash, Nathan, Eli, I’ll have with me. John, go meet your contact. Maybe a walk will fix that attitude. But if you’re late, we’ll leave your ass. Understand?”

~ N, Captain

Eli stood out of the pilot seat stretching his hands high above his head, “Ahhh nice to get out of that chair” he said then reached down to adjust his low slung side arm. “I’ll go grab my party bag” he said referring to his med kit looking at Vash as he walked by, his attention drawn by her beauty.

“You little one, are going to give some poor fool a heart attack one of these days” he jabbed playfully at her, smiling as he continued past her.

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic

Vashkilu grinned knowingly at Elias even as she ducked the jab with a laugh that shivered over everyone in the room. “I already have, Elias.” She turned and watched him leave the bridge for a moment before turning back.

“Aye, aye,” Nathan jokingly saluted. “Are we expecting trouble?” He meaningfully glanced at the type-2 phaser by his station - an older model, but still perfectly capable of inflicting damage. “Or just covert arms?”

Nathan Murray
First Mate / Weapons

“Always expect trouble is my thought.” She shrugged. She would take her usual covert arms as Murray called them, but also anything else she was told to take.

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

“We don’t want to look like a threat, but going unarmed would be foolish.” Noril said. “We’re hoping to turn over the file without trouble so we can get back and get Sisnil.”

~ N, Captain