Kaspar Von Sturm's page

OJO-

Nothing of note on Gorchnik's station... if anything, it is particularly UN-used... elements left in the off position, etc.

OjO- I like where you're going with this!

T'Neth- you have all sorts of energy readings... assume a spike and then a plateau when the Hyperzephyrians came aboard, then another spike when the crew vanished.

The odd thing.... There is no originating point for the energy.... just general atmospheric surges throughout the nebula and environs. As if you were enveloped by the energy.

The same energy signatures now exist in the Center of the nebula, where the castle is.

Yes.

In the TOS world, officers have different levels of access and use security codes and double-blinds to access certain files and information.

BACK FROM COMMERCIAL BREAK

THE HYPHERZEPHYRIAN CASTLE:

Before Koike and Gorchnik can continue their brawl, a bright light fills the dungeon. Purple Hyperzephyrian warriors storm in, and in a mass of tired, confused bodies, the crew of the USS Aubrey is shuffled out into a dusty arena....

...

Callahan's eyes widen as he sees the colliseum full of his fellow crewmen. It is an enormous structure, filled with countless glowing, violet humanoids in the stands. The Starfleet personnel are corralled in ornate pens.

Across the field, other humans are in pens as well. The doctor immediately recognizes the uniforms of Starfleet Science, and a handful of private R&D companies he had previously seen on research vessels. While he is surveying this odd assortment of captives, Von Sturm grabbed him by the arm, and pulls him out of the doorway with a strong jerk.

"Callahan! Get out of there!" The Captain is panting, slumped up against the wall. "We have the upper hand- for the moment, we are not captives..."

The Captain stands up, still visibly ill. "We have a chance to get our crew out of there. Let's not get dragged in ourselves!" He points to a small lean-to, across a strange wooded area of alien vegetation. "Let's get our bearings. Study the surroundings. See what our equipment situation is. Try and contact Aubrey, or Starfleet..." He moves slowly from the fortress.

"And stay as far away from those... wizards... as we can..."

Are we getting ready to storm into the climax?

Heraclio? Are you still with us?

Let's take a few days and just do some general, slow roleplay. Character building stuff.

Between, Heraclio in the dungeon, T'Neth and Ojo alone on the Aubrey, and The Doctor and the Captain exploring, this is a nice chance to slow down for a stretch.

When everyone is back to full health and back from vacation and ready to waste time at their jobs again, we can get back into the serious action!

;)

OJO AND T'NETH

Feel free to communicate with each other. All ship's functions are normal, but you are the only two people on the ship.

Ojo- please role pley your creature as well, if needed. He is with the crew in the "dungeon".

Callahan increases the dosage of stimulant he gives Frankel and Captain Von Sturm. There'll be hell to pay when it wears off but that's something to worry about later. He informs the captain that the HyperZephyrians apparently are setting up some sort of gladitorial contest pitting members of the crew against unknown opponents. "We have to stop this, Kaspar! We have to convince these aliens we mean them no harm before any more crew members get killed. If we can't, we'll have to fight."

Callahan pushes open the castle gates and leads Von Sturm and Frankel into the castle.

The Captain and Frankel jolt as the medicine enters their system.

Von Sturm slowly crawls to one knee, and says, "Callahan.... I have a nausea... it's overwhelming...."

Slowly standing, Von Sturm says to Callahan. "We need to find our captors... reason with them. We are on an exploratory, rescue mission. There are Starfleet personnel in this nebula who need us. Lives are at stake."

He opens his communicator, but there is no signal. "Aubrey, come in. This is the Captain." This is met with nothing but white noise. The Captain looks like he might vomit.

Frankel looks green about the gills as well, the Doctor notices. He is starting to get a migraine himself, and his extremities tingle. Symptoms of radiation poisoning.

This whole area is saturated with ultra-sigma radiation. There isn't much time. In 5-6 hours, they will be past the point of no return, with lethal dosages of deadly radiation all around.

Von Sturm stumbles towards the gates. "Let's go Doctor. Help me open these doors. We need to get the lay of the land."

CHECK IT OUT:
http://ussaubrey.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-aubrey-from-many-angles.html?m=1

Learning some 3 D modeling, so I did some work visualizing our junker ship. As you can see, it is a few years out of date- next to other Constitution Class ships she is clearly past her prime.

But the old girl has some tricks left in her!

"Madre de dios! Where are we?" Koike exclaims. When he sees Gorchnik he lunges for his throat.

Surprised, a shocked look crosses over Gorchnik's face, as Koike's hands wrap around his neck.

They tumble to the floor of the dungeon, and the other assembled crewpeople scatter, suurounding them but keeping as much distance as they can. Gorchnik lays helpless on his back, as Koike overcomes the older officer.

A security officer, at a loss for what to do as the senior officers tussle, shouts limply "Sirs! Please! Stand down!"

"This has nothing to do with Father's death," T'neth says quietly. "Talking to myself, most illogical. I need to determine if there is anyone else on the Aubrey." Reasoning that the end of the vibrations may have restored communications, the Vulcan presses the button on the nearest com panel. "Engineering to Bridge."

ADA'EM OJO

(You hear this communication clearly on the bridge. It startlingly breaks the silence...)

Kaspar Von Sturm wrote:

Ada'em Ojo wrote:

Ojo continues his route back to the transporter room to check on Chief Ploppleton.

As he runs through the halls, he sees no one, and there is no sign of any crew.

The transporter room shows sign of phaser fire, energy blasts, and carnage, but no one is to be seen anywhere. His footfalls echo through the corridors...

"Damn! Ploppleton is gone," Ojo thinks to himself. He immediately heads back out and makes his way to the bridge.

"Looks like that little beast is gone, too." The Andorian is pleased yet a little apprehensive at the absent weight on his shoulder.

The bridge is empty.

And silent as the grave, but for the infrequent metronome of chirps from the sensor array.

Everyone is gone.

By the communications console, a chain lays in a heap on the floor, alongside an open switchblade. A frantic, blinking, beacon indicator is flashing in the controls usually manned by Lt. Koike.

Sorry for the delay, guys- home for the holidays. Back now, so I should be available to keep things moving for a while.

Heraclio- you're lagging behind, hombre!

BTW, the name of this episode is "CASTLE OF THE SPACE MAGES".

Callahan motions to the remaining redshirts to the wounded, including Captain Von Sturm, and follow him out of the shuttle. He leads them towards the HyperZephyrian in the hallway. "Well, now that you've got us, what do you intend to do with us? I have injured personnel here that need immediate medical attention. I demand that you lead us to your medical facilities so that I may examine the captain and Ensign Frankel," demands Callahan of the enigmatic figure.

The figure stares at him quizzically.

"Your people are aggressive, and violent, yet you show mercy and concern above all else. This is odd. Our experience with humans has not shown they have a capacity for mercy."

The figure advances, using his staff as a tall walking stick. You may have a moment to tend to your fellows. Then they must join the others..."

"IN THE ARENA."

And with that, the uninjured shuttle crew vanish, in a plume of violet energy, leaving Callahan alone with the Captain and Frankel, outside the castle gates.

Ojo continues his route back to the transporter room to check on Chief Ploppleton.

As he runs through the halls, he sees no one, and there is no sign of any crew.

The transporter room shows sign of phaser fire, energy blasts, and carnage, but no one is to be seen anywhere. His footfalls echo through the corridors...

T'neth has to establish contact with the bridge to discover if any crew are missing in other sections, but first she needs to make sure the strange vibrations do not rip the Aubrey apart. Using her jury-rigged control system, T'neth engages the warp drives and tries to establish a variable warp field to counteract the subspace pulses that have been striking the starship since it approached the nebula.

As the tricorder rig hums chirps with activity, T'neth notices immediatley that not only is the Aubrey functioning normally, but the strange vibrations have stopped. All systems are in standard working order.

But the silence and stillness are eerie, and she remains alone in the cavernous engineering facility.

THE AUBREY: THE BRIDGE

Heraclio brandishes his switchblade like a trophy; it glistens like cold icy death in the blinking lights of the bridge consoles. Everything is silent but for the rattling, clinking swish of Gorchnik's chain.

Suddenly, a soft, violet light envelops the bridge crew, and in an instant they are gone.

In less than an instant later, Gorchnik, Heraclio, S'okal, and hundreds of other Starfleet crewfolk are in a huge, dark, mildewy dungeon.

THE AUBREY: THE LOWER DECKS

"Ojo notes the settings and readings on his rifle in case he needs to recreate the phenomenon, and then begins a circuitous route back to the transporter room so that he'll arrive from a different direction. If he has pursuers, he'll have to lose them along the way."

As Ojo runs, he sees crewmen coming toward him. Yet, as soon as he sees them, a bright light fills the corridor. A strange, crackling static rushes over his skin, and again, his rifle becomes absurdly hot to the touch. When the light subsides, as quickly as it came, the crewmen are gone, and Ojo stands alone in the Aubrey corridor.

THE AUBREY: THE JEFFRIES TUBE

... (T'Neth) completes the rewiring in the Jeffries tube then clambers back to rejoin Trent and the others.

As she exits the tube, Engineering is completely empty, and eerily silent. Trent, and the others who were assisting her are long gone.

THE CASTLE OF THE HYPERZEPHYRIANS

The shuttle doors open, and Callahan and the Captain are momentarily blinded by the light streaming in from outside. Purple fog rolls into the shuttle.

A doorway of stone awaits them, outside. In the doorway, stands a single figure. Clad in robes and a tall, pointy hat, a bearded figure with violet skin waits in stillness. His eyes glow white.

Sorry- slammed at work. Will get everything rolling again ASAP!!!

Kaspar Von Sturm wrote:

There is a pregnant silence on the shuttle.

After a long, tense moment, the voice returns.

"HUMANS! YOUR CRIMES AGAINST OUR REALM ARE LEGION. YOU SHOW GREAT HUBRIS IN RETURNING. THE COSMIC MAGES OF HYPERZEPHYRIA WILL SHOW NO MERCY, THIS TIME."

The shuttle fills with an unearthly, violet glow.

Boy, I wish I could just shoot something. :)

"WAIT! YOU HAVE TO GIVE US A CHANCE TO DEFEND OURSELVES AGAINST YOUR ALLEGATIONS! WHATEVER MAY HAVE HAPPENED IN THE PAST MUST NOT PREJUDICE YOU AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE FOR ALL TIME. WE HAVE GROWN AND MATURED AS A PEOPLE. LET US PROVE OURSELVES WORTHY OF YOUR FORBEARANCE." Callahan braces himself for the aliens response.

The voice booms, "YOU HAVE SPIRIT HUMAN. BUT THE ACTIONS OF YOUR KIND HAVE DAMNED YOU. YOU WILL FACE THE JUSTICE OF HYPERZEPHYRIA.... IN THE FLESH!!!

The shuttle moves into the anomaly in the clouds. It becomes clear that it is what appears to be a medieval castle, floating steadily in the clouds.

The shuttle is landing, of it's own volition. The Captain is stumbling, and holding his head in pain.

"Callahan... What is happening?"

The blog has been updated.

And again, if anyone has any images, bio information, etc, they want me or Joe to post, please let me know.

Callahan bends down and examines the captain. He pulls out a hypospray and gives Von Sturm a mild stimulant. "Come on, captain, we need you on your feet."

The stimulant wakens the Captain, but he is disoriented.

"What's happening...!?!?"

The shuttle lurches forward, the slow pull has turned into a rough, violent draw, as if a giant is inhaling an insect.

One of the crewmen shouts, "NO! STOP!" and grabs the ship's controls. A bright violet burst of energy flashes, and when it is gone, so is the upper half of the crewmen.

Only limp legs in black pants and shiny boots remain, steam rising from the waist.

"Madre de Dios ...it IS you! Adrianna, what is happening? What sort of danger are you in? I WILL help you!"

Before Heraclio can get an answer, Gorchnik slams him in the back with a chain. Koike's body tenses in pain as he falls to the ground.

"Doing you a favor! She's GONE! GONE! BLAST IT, THEY'RE ALL GONE AND WE'LL BE GONE TOO!" Gorchnik turns to face the helm. "GET US OUT OF HERE OR I BEAT THIS MAN TO DEATH!" He does not see Koike rise, eyes full of anger. Nor does he see the decidedly non-regulation switchblade appear in Koike's hand ...

"You filthy ANIMAL! Siddown! We're going home- I ain't going back in that CLOUD!!"

Gorchnik's face is splattered with drops of blood, signs of his rampage across the Aubrey. His eyes are wild with rage.

"Those... THINGS..... they killed EVERYONE! I told Star Fleet not to send me back... I told 'em I wouldn't do it! I've seen too much.... THESE EYES! THESE EYES HAVE SEEN MORE DEATH THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE."

He starts swinging his chain wildly...

Ojo and Tneth.... Don't move for a few posts- we need to catch up in the bridge and shuttle... You guys are about five minutes forward at the moment- I want everyone synchs for the next bit...

Ojo keeps running, hoping that breaking line-of-sight will stop whatever the Hyperzephyrians are doing to him. He doesn't have much hope that this will work, however. He finds a human expression that he picked up in Starfleet Academy appropriate to this situation.

"Well, s~@%."

The odd, crackling energy that had surrounded Ojo faded as he ran. The violet warrior shouted "By the smokey stars! What is this madness?" and the other replied, "Lord Zark! How could that blue creature fend off your magics?!?"

If Lord Zark responded, Ojo is too far to hear him.

After a moment, he notices the phase frequency modulator on his rifle is red hot. That is not normal. Or safe.

hahaha

It just occurred to me that in the past thirty seconds (show time) Ojo started firing blazing guns, swung his axe like a club, and then ran off cursing. He is like a madman!

T'neth makes her way through the Jeffries tube. It is darker than she would have anticipated from Starfleet training, but that could be explained by the Aubrey's power fluctuations. What is unexpected is how much narrower the tube is, a result of the massive modifications that had been made to the ship. Arriving at the relay she gets to work on making the necessary connections in the cabling, but due to low light and cramped quarters, the work takes longer than T'neth expected.

T'neth's extraordinary senses detect a distant buzz, and a strange vibration surrounding the Jeffries tube. Otherwise, all is normal. Lot's of strange anomalies in this nebula.... these odd vibrations must be more of the same....

Kaspar Von Sturm wrote:

The other two warriors get closer, holding their lances like rifles, pointed at Ojo. "Come easily, Blue-skin" one says. "We are taking you to the capitol, where the other intruders are penned."

"Surrender while your leader slaughters this crew? Not a chance."

Ojo aims his blaster rifle at the lights above the remaining Hyperzephyrians' heads and fires. He's hoping to create a distraction so that he and the two remaining red-shirts can retreat. Plunging the room into darkness would be an added bonus.

"Retreat! Warn who you can!" Ojo orders as he strafes along the room firing his rifle at the lights.

The phaser burst disintegrates the light fixtures, leaving the room dark except for the dim light of the transporter pads, and the soft glow of the Hyperzephyrian warriors.

Ojo's security men run into the hall. Just as it seems they have escaped to safety, a quick, bright flash of light engulfs them, and they vanish.

The violet warriors' eyes are glowing with a fierce light, and Ojo feels a glow surrounding him, crackling like static....

[

"Full reverse impulse power! Get us out of here!" Assuming that doesn't work, "Call the Aubrey and have us transported back to the ship."

The crew snaps to work, double-fast.

"Doctor! The ship isn't responding! We're being pulled forward!! The engines are frozen!"

[

[b]"WHO ARE YOU AND BY WHAT RIGHT DO YOU ATTACK US? WE HAVE COMMITTED NO HOSTILE ACTS." Dammit, Captain, I'm a doctor, not a diplomat. I don't have any training in first contact situations. Relax, Butcher, relax. Remember your hostage negotians training, try to get them talking, not shooting.

There is a pregnant silence on the shuttle.

After a long, tense moment, the voice returns.

"HUMANS! YOUR CRIMES AGAINST OUR REALM ARE LEGION. YOU SHOW GREAT HUBRIS IN RETURNING. THE COSMIC MAGES OF HYPERZEPHYRIA WILL SHOW NO MERCY, THIS TIME."

The shuttle fills with an unearthly, violet glow.

Kaspar Von Sturm wrote:

He turns to the other Hyperzephyrians, and barks, "Take these three to the slave quarters. I will explore this vessel, and slay the rest of these intruders."

With that, he walks walks confidently towards a wall, while the violet warriors approach Ojo and the crewmen in the doorway...

Momentarily stunned by the double-whammy of the ineffective phasers and the death of one of his security team, Ojo recovers as fast as he can. Roughly sweeping the creature on his shoulder, the creature lands nearby and then leaps to safety. Wielding his rifle like a club, he'll charge the Hyperzephyrian and swing. He'll try to keep his target between himself and the other intruders.

With a ferocious lunge, the Andorian swings his rifle at the Hyperzephyrian. It lands directly on the side of the warrior's head, and slowing slightly, passes through, like wading through quicksand. The Warrior looks at him, smiles, and nods before walking through Ojo. The sensation is disorienting, like stepping into a bright sunbeam on a chilly day, and looking directly up at the sun. The warrior steps again and passes through the solid matter of the wall, vanishing.

The other two warriors get closer, holding their lances like rifles, pointed at Ojo. "Come easily, Blue-skin" one says. "We are taking you to the capitol, where the other intruders are penned."

Once Trent nods his confirmation, T'neth grabs a toolkit and opens the Jeffries tube's hatch. "Right, I should be back soon. Watch out of Grochnik. If you see him, do not hesitate to shoot." T'neth climbs up the ladder into the tube.

Trent and the security men continue to work on the remote helm console; T'neth moves ably up the tube. The relay box is many, many yards ahead, placing her deep in the proverbial belly of the Aubrey as she moves toward her goal.

The shrill hum of phasers echo in the transporter room, as bright orange beams issue from the rifles of Ojo and his security detail.

When the flash recedes, the three violet Hyperzephyrians stand unaffected, but for an odd steam rising from their wide shoulders.

The leader of the three lifts his lance, and a quick burst of bright white flame shoots forth. The blast is terrifying, and creates a loud "BOOM" in the small room. When the smoke clears, one of Ojo's red-shirts has a large, charred, black hole in the center of his chest, and lies dead in the corridor.

"You. Blue-skin. You have a spirit- you are a fighter! You will do well in our arena. Your temerity ... amuses me."

He turns to the other Hyperzephyrians, and barks, "Take these three to the slave quarters. I will explore this vessel, and slay the rest of these intruders."

With that, he walks walks confidently towards a wall, while the violet warriors approach Ojo and the crewmen in the doorway...

Kaspar Von Sturm wrote:

The Hyperzephyrians turn and regard Ojo with annoyed glares.

"The Warrior-Lords of Hyperzehpyria do not lay down their arms! Who leads this vessel? We would subjugate you now. Resist and suffer our ill-temper. We will be most wroth!"

Ojo's antennae twitch forward slightly, in a gesture that the others will come to recognize as curiosity.

"Subjugate? How?"

"This vessel is now ours. We will choose those of you that seem fit to serve as slaves in our realm, and slay the remainder. As every other human vessel that has crossed our threshold, you will be subjugated to the whims of the Hyperzephyrians."

The massive creature steps down off the platform, and marches forth.

"Now, to rig a new interface for the auxiliary helm," T'neth says to the remaining guard as she takes a laser cutter from a neighboring workstation. "Behind this panel are five wire assemblies that lead from the bridge to the auxiliary helm and from the auxiliary to the engines." The Vulcan deftly cuts the panel open as she speaks. "We cut those cables and Grochnik will be unable to change the Aubrey's vector. If we had an alternative input device. It does not have to be complex, just controls for port and starboard warp, pitch and yaw, impulse drives..."

T'neth notices the tricorder strap weighing against her shoulder. She looks at the security man standing next to her and commands, "Go to the stores locker and get me two poliphase signal converters and five one meter lengths of number two optic cable." As she says this, she takes the tricorder from its case and removes the service panel. "I'll also need a standard positronic parallel bus. In five minutes we'll pilot a starship with a tricorder."

Trent and Suzuki move fast assisting ably.

After a moment under the console, pulling transponder cables to ready the jury-rig, Trent looks up at T'neth, and hurriedly says, "Ensign, this plan should work, but rerouting the controls will take just a few minutes. We will also need to pop the relay in the starboard Jeffries tube, to connect to navigation..."

Trent stands up, saying "I can go, but....". Clenching his head, he wobbles slightly. "I can go... just dizzy..."

There is blood on his hand, and he is having trouble standing up. T'Neth is no medic, but the signs of a concussion are easily evident to her observant eyes.

Ojo enters the transporter room and stops short at seeing the strange beings standing on he transporter pad. He was not expecting to see the intruders still in this room, which is the reason he only brought three men along. He was expecting a hunt before the confrontation. He quickly signals that his men should spread out.

Kaspar Von Sturm wrote:

"You humans have returned to Hyperzephora? Did you not learn to fear us last time!?!?"

"First, we are not all human. I am Andorian.

"Second, I have never heard of your Hypersuperfluous. We are here because we detected a Federation distress signal coming from within this nebula. This is an investigation and rescue mission.

"Third, you have boarded this vessel without leave, and it's apparent that you are the cause of whatever injuries Chief Ploppleton has sustained. Any attempt to step off the transporter pad will be viewed as an act of aggression. Now, please put down your weapons."

The Hyperzephyrians turn and regard Ojo with annoyed glares.

"The Warrior-Lords of Hyperzehpyria do not lay down their arms! Who leads this vessel? We would subjugate you now. Resist and suffer our ill-temper. We will be most wroth!"

T'Neth- looks like you have several options for regaining control of the ship. Or whatever you want to do. Give me something good.

Ojo- The action starts with you. Have fun!

Callahan- You are also in a first contact situation. remember that the shuttle is being pulled to the castle in space.

Koike- A few things; you notice that Gorchnik has knocked out Sokal with his chain. You are finally startled out of your romantic haze. Also,don't forget that the coded signal you were deciphering has been broken. I will giv eit to you when you get to it in-game.

Blog is updated with half-assed image.

And the madness begins.

“It’s ultra-sigma radiation poisoning but there’s something different about it.” Callahan wracks his memory for radiation treatments while sorting through his hypos. Finding one with a Σ notation, Callahan dials the smallest possible dose and presses the hypo to the crewman’s neck. Pssst. Nothing. Callahan dialed a stronger dose and tried again, still nothing.
As the doctor struggled with what to do next, he suddenly remembered a case from his early days on the Lunar Colony. His team was called to treat an asteroid miner who came in with unknown radiation poisoning. Nothing seemed to work until one of the real old Loonies came up. Before anyone could do anything, the Loonie pulled out his phaser, adjusted the setting and fired at the miner. The beam, a strange purple color, struck the miner, who stiffened then suddenly relaxed. Callahan scanned him with his tricorder and the radiation symptoms were lessening. "What did you do?," he demanded.
The Loonie showed him the setting he used and said that he learned from an alien he met once and never saw again. Callahan pulled out his phaser, adjusted it as best as he could remember and aimed it at the injured crewman.

A flash of light, and the crewman flinched, but only for a moment. The medical tricorder readings were all stable.

Von Sturm came to the Doctor's side, with an astonished look on his face. "Mein Gott, Herr Doctor... that was genius! It looks like stabilized his radiation levels by counteracting them with an equivalent dose of infra-sigma... harmless in small bursts, lethal over time, but you found the exact frequency. You saved this man's life."

Von Sturm stands, and brushes off his knees. "Well done, Callahan..."

BOOM

The shuttle is rocked, and violet light flashes through the portal. The Captain is knocked backwards, and he falls forward in a portly hump.

A booming voice echoes through the cosmos. "HUMANS! YOU DARE RETURN TO OUR REALM!!?!?"

A redshirt frantically turns to Callahan and shouts, "Doctor! The Captain is out... You're senior officer... WHAT DO WE DO!??!?!"

Sorry this took so long. I struggled with what to do. I thought about exposing him to vacuum but there's no airlock. It seemed like the captain wanted to go with a telepathy cure but I couldn't make that work. Hope this makes sense.

[ooc] it was perfect! PERFECT. Good character moment, original idea, nice flavor with the flashback... awesome![ooc]

"Aye, sir. I will get the engines back online," T'neth says as she slings the phaser rifle across her back. She jogs to Engineering Control glancing quickly over her shoulders to see the security men following her. Normally T'neth would protest the logic of sending two men to help subdue a lone man armed with a chain, but the casualties Grochnik has inflicted defy logical explanation. "Phasers to maximum stun," she calmly tells her escort as she stops at the hatchway to Engineering to get a tricorder reading.

T'neth and her security team see a grisly display. Engineers are everywhere, all with bloody head wounds. The back-up helm console has been smashed, locked into an impulse reverse.

An engineer's mate, stumbles to his feet, holding his head. "Ensgin T'neth! Thank god your safe... Gorchnik came... he was crazed.... We were caught completely off guard. That chain- he was like a madman!"

"He kept mumbling about taking the helm... and 'not going back to that cloud'.... we were afraid for your safety... he was coming for you... "

"Leave him, Ensign. We have medical teams on the way, and you need to get to Engineering. I'm taking a few men to the transporter room.

"At this rate, we'll need to field a team to the kitchens, soon."

Ojo selects three security personnel to accompany him to the transporter room.

Entering the transporter room, Ojo and his team encounter an astonishing scene...

Chief Ploppleton is unconscious, against the back wall. Standing in the center of the beaming platform are three humanoids, all holding what appear to be lances, of ancient Earth.

They are wearing what appears to be scaled metal armor, with long cloaks. Their helmets have strange horned decoration, and they stand close to eight feet. But most astonishingly, their skin is a vibrant violet shade, which seems to glow. Their eyes are pure white, and sparkle with a cosmic radiance.

The center figure speaks, in a voice with a disorienting echo....

"You humans have returned to Hyperzephora? Did you not learn to fear us last time!?!?"

There in the Aubrey, hearing her voice again, he made a slight face.

A gorgeous face, framed by sleek, jet-black hair, appeared on the tiny screen in Heraclio's view-scope. The deep brown eyes widened with recognition.

"Her... Heraclio? My Clios! Is it really you!?!? Please! Help my my Clios!"

The throbbing of his heartbeat in his ears, mixed with the crackling static of the earpiece as he tried to divine a signal, blotted out all the noise of the bridge.

His single-minded focus on Adrianna distracted him from the crazed-eyed Gorchnik that had returned to the bridge, with a long length of heavy chain in hand...

T'neth slaps him firmly in the face. "Wake up, mister. We need some answers."

Coughing slightly, with a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, the dazed crewman mumbles, "It was... Leiutenant Gorchnik... He COUGH COUGH .... said he wasn't going back in that... death trap. We tried to stop him COUGH.... he screamed 'EAT CHAIN' and came at us like a wild man...."

The red shirt falls backwards, still coughing, and in pain.

The ship continues it's slow, imperceptible hum of movement. Too far, and the shuttle will be out of transporter range...

I wanna give The Doctor and Heraclio a chance to choime in before we get much further... we're getting into act 2 fast and furious...

"Ploppleton, can you disable the transporters entirely for the time being?"

"I'm trying sir! It's like they're being controlled by some outside force! They're not responding to me at all!"

zzzzt

zzzzt

"GREAT SCOTT!!!"

A hiss of static..... fshhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... and Ploppleton no longer is responding on the intercomm.

"Sokal, Koike, are you hearing this?"

"We moved, sir. The displacement doesn't register on our sensors, but we moved. I... felt it."

There is no response from the bridge, either hand communicator, or by ship's comm. Lights flicker in the corridor, and the odd lurching, only felt by the talented navigator, continues...

Assume Von Sturm has barely noticed. If he's mid-mission and it's not mechanical, he probably didn't even realize there was an alone marsupial aboard. If he noticed, he would likely just respond with a "hmm. so that's a thing" and not think about it unless it was in danger. He's a "big picture" kinda guy...

I like that it's coming out naturally...

OJO/T'NETH

An injured crewmen is almost conscious, at the end of the corridor... OJO, one of your trusted security mean is buzzing your communicator

T'NETH, you notice a subtle movement of the Aubrey... only you can feel it. As if it just lurched... backwards?

HERACLIO

You have decoded the mystery transmission. It is a hailing frequency like nothing you have ever seen. And the, there is a disturbance on the bridge... Commotion, but you are so focused on your earpiece, what's happening a few feet away seems... unimportant

DOCTOR

The injured crewmen are out cold, but your readings are... a power surge like nothing you've ever seen. Almost as if an energy WILLED them unconcious

PLOPPLETON

the comm unit on the wall chirps.

"Leiutenant Ojo- I'm experiencing interference in the transporter units.... It's like something is trying to barge it's way onto the ship, by way of matter transference... I've never seen anything like it! It's looking like it's gone from an odd glitch to a security matter..."

Do shuttlecraft have airlocks?

Nope.

T'neth wrote:

"Very well, sir," T'neth replies. "Let's get to the weapons station. But... What is this about redacted histories? Grochnik's actions are consistent with an over wrought, frightened man panicking, not some kind of conspirator."

"That's right, you were not in the conference room. There are 22 men in security... and probably additional personnel in other departments who--

Heraclio Koike wrote:

"G!* D$$MIT! He yells across the bridge. Are we just going to SIT HERE? She--THEY ...NEED US!"

"I'll explain on the way. Let's go."

As Ojo and T'Neth move througbh the ship, the corridor lights begin flickering. Personal are scattered here and there, with head wounds.

It is a grisly scene.

The weapons station, thankfully, has been untouched. Six security personel are running toward them, and one shouts "Leiutenant Ojo! We heard shouts, and tried to investigate, but didn't want to get far from the armory. What's happening!?!"

On the bridge of the Aubrey, those years later, Heraclio heard that voice as he continued to decode. "To anyone out there ...anyone that could possibly decode or receive this ...please send help ...we were not prepared for what as to come ...we didn't know ...we didn't know ..."

It was her and for the first time in his life, he heard her need something. Need him.

"G#* D&@MIT! He yells across the bridge. Are we just going to SIT HERE? She--THEY ...NEED US!"

More voices from the darkness... "Our sensors read Federation activity.... Please... please send help! Our distress beacon has been active for weeks... We are frightened, and hungry..."

the low chirping of the mysterious, other signal continues it's maddening taunt.

"Please... Federation vessel... whoever you are... I need you..."