From bullseye@earthlink.net Mon Jun 29 14:18:28 1998 Date: Sat, 27 Jun 1998 22:16:23 -0600 From: Patrick Schumacher To: "Berg, Kristine" , "Blair, Gabrielle" , "Chappelle, Les" , "Denniston, Vicke" , "Denniston, Vicke 2" , "Fianges, Karen" , Gateway , "Hamilton, George" , "Jenkins, Jeffrey J." , "Lobelich, Dana" , "Reich, Alton 1" , "Reich, Alton 2" , "Schumacher, Patrick J." , "Uribe, Jeff" , "Young, Josh" Subject: USS YAMATO: The Long Road to Return" MD 7.1627 SD: 100627.2100 (MST) Scene: Engineering. The door hissed open alowing Connor to walk in and get his first look at Main Engineering. Yesterday, when he had passed through here on a cursory inspection, the walls had been clean and polished, the terminals all alight and operational and the walkways had been free of debris. Today, however, after the impact of the exploding Dalriada ship had tossed them about--and quite luckily had not killed them all in the fireball that struck the YAMATO--Engineering was in mostly the same shape as the rest of the ship. The walls were streaked with soot. A few terminals has overloadaed and light up in sparks. Those fires had been quickly extinguished, but the smoke had clung to the walls and coated most everything in grime. The ship's environmental systems had already exchanged the air aboard, replacing it with fresh atmosphere, or else the room would certainly have a dusky hue and still smell of smoke. A few terminals were out, others flipped gibberish on the screens or displayed static. Most were still functional, but appreared dimmer somehow--Power drain most likely. Broken eqipment and chunks of wall were strew on the floors and kicked out of the way into most accomidating corners. There were also a few areas where shattered glass covered the floor like a glittering carpet, and then there was the large hole in the far wall with the black power cable strung through it. Alex let out a low whistle, surveying the damage. "Love what you've done with the place." He remarked in a soto voice, his tone mocking flamboyant interior designer a bit 'light in the loafers,' "Gawd, such pale colors, you need more windows--let in the light!!!" "Ensign," Connor barked, his voice a deeper normal, "Where's Morgan?" he spoke down to Royga Hibiki's legs which were sticking out from the inside of whatever panel he's crawled partially inside in the process of repair. In some mock parody of a scene from "Wizard of Oz" the Engineer's mate lifted his left leg and managed to bend it to the point his foot pointed towards the anti-matter reactors. "Last I heard him, he was down there, Sir. Probably still looking at the structural dampening field." Alex looked up, scanning. He didn't see Wolfe. Better go try for him on the far side of the room. "Carry on Ensign." Royga continued working, never poking his face out. "Weapons status, Mr. Bal?" Alex asked, reaching the far side of main Engineering and still not seeing the CEO. "Horrible. We couldn't even last against a Yridian trawler." The Ferengi replied. "I wouldn't go picking any fights on the way back to OMEGA if I were you Commander." "ETA for full repairs?" "*Full* repairs? Commander, I don't do pipe dreams. Happy Hour and occasional miracles, perhaps." Bal turned his head, scratching his left lobe. besides releving the itch, he smeared a dark streak of goo a bit further across his forehead. "We'll have a decent tactical capability in two to three hours. Full operational status won't probably be until after our return to OMEGA." "In the meantime we're relagated to using, what? Strong language?" Alex remarked dryly. "I can get an external loudspeaker hooked up for you in less than ten minutes." Bal replied. "We can probably recruit a few Klingons to shout insults, should the Dalriada show up and the cloak fails. Maybe we can offend their sensitive constitutions. We'd probably fair better if we could get the Medical Chief to the microphone, I've heard her out-cuss most sailors before." It was difficult to tell if Alex was smirking or frowning at the idea. "I'll work on getting her back up to full speed later." "Your life insurance paid up?" Alex grunted in afirmation. "Finished my will too, just in case." He added. He scanned again for Morgan, couldn't find him. "Really? Are you leaving me anything?" Bal asked. "Yes. Standing orders to get the weapons fixed. Beyond that you'll have to wait with everyone else to see if I survive. Where's Wolfe?" "He should still be in Jeffries Tube AA-14." Bal replied. "I think." With a curt word of thanks, the First Officer moved off, still looking for the Chief Engineer. The Ferengi Weapons Specalist watched him leave. "Humans." he remarked, shaking his head. MD: 8.2300 > Lisa looked into his eyes, then gently lowered her eyes to her own chest. > Alex reached forward to ease the shoulder strap apart. The toga fell in > folds around Lisa's waist. " Body. " > > The briefest of nods showed he was doing well. He let out a breath he > wasn't aware he had been holding. He could feel Lisa's mind burrowing > deeper into his. It was tapping into something primal, into his Being. He > could feel emotions raging behind his eyes. It was if he was reliving every > emotional moment of his life. Dimly, he became aware of hands moving down > his stomach, fingers resting, a thought, ^ soul ^. His own hands moved, > almost of their own volition. "Soul." > > The wave engulfed him. Anger, fear, jealousy, mistrust. He could hear > someone screaming. > > A roughness in his throat proved the scream his own. Faces appeared. He saw > moments he was "remembering". A year's pain was flowing through his mind. > He felt Sulak's regret at betrayal, a mother's agony at being separated > from her children. Dying men screamed their defiant rage, a child held back > a sore finger. Large and small, the emotions that Lisa had been fielding > washed over him. > > She had been unable to absorb, unable to release, until now. Now it all > came flooding through Alex's mind. His body reacted. Adrenaline flowed, > endorphins filled his bloodstream. There are a thousand physical and > chemical reactions that the human body uses to cope with stressful > situations. All these things Lisa's system lacked; all these things > battered at her defenses. Things she must have because she chose to live > with these emotional beings. A dull scream was forming in Connor's throat: still formless, soundless, just begun. His body arched, he wasn't exactally sure if he was still in physical contact with Lisa--couldn't really feel. The emotions still flodded on, pounding against him in a rising fury. His teeth clenched, his pain increased. A knot of rage, of anger, vengance, pity, sorrow, fear. Every dark emotion imaginable: rushed him. consumed him. Engulfed him. Became him. > At last, just he could take no more, the eye of the storm. Alex felt Lisa's > lips on his. The kiss tasted salty. Sweat and blood mingled. Then her lips > moved once again to his throat. > > The storm renewed. Nothing bad, just intense, all those, 'funny' feelings > that were neither pleasurable nor unpleasant, merely there. Again, his mind > watched what she had seen, his body supplied what she needed. Almost ebbing. Almost. The same overwhelming, on rushing sensation, relentles in approach, but this time the emotions riding on it were just *there* not as dark and dismal and destructive as before. These were neither good nor bad. They just *were*. > Again the kiss: the salty taste. Again the tide surged in. > > This time all those feelings of joy, relief, pleasure, laughter. He could > see his own face, and others. Smiles, laughter, climaxing cries, all became > a swirl of intense ecstasy. It all became the sharing, her life, his whole. > Blackness. > Alex awoke to find himself still in the circle, but the candles gutted out. > Lisa lay beside him, breathing shallowly. "Lisa?" He touched her face > gently. Lids fluttered as she stirred. Her eyes opened and looked up at > him. > > "Good morning. I am famished. How do eggs sound?" Alex sat, uneasy. His head in one hand. "Fine." he replied, not exactally to sure one way or the other. He was still burdened with the accumilation of a year's memories in the span of a few hours. It was taking a bit to adjust to: memories that were'nt his own. Alex could see how some didn't life through the process. Right now he considered Juels crazy for even considering a second try. "Eggs. Good." Alex felt Lisa's hands taking his own free hand, helping him to stand. Strange appitie forming, strange cravings. "With salt. And Lima beans. Rigalian musk-octopus." Lisa usered Connor to the kitchen table, looking down on him as if he were a hung-over drunk. An amusing species at times. "Humans." she laughed playfully, moving to the replicator. MD: 8.0950 > "CAPT, I'm detecting several ships patrolling the area between us and > OMEGA," LT D'Artgnan announced. > > "Nice of Brooks to send out the welcome wagon for us," CMDR Connor said. > > "I doubt they're here for us," Isaac replied, "I'd guess there out here > for the Dalriada when they > finally arrive. LT, can you identify the welcoming comittee?" > > "Aye, sir. I'm detecting the AGINCOURT and the... PROMETHEUS," Bregnan > said. He turned slightly and grinned at Isaac, "I'd recommend doing a > close fly- by and waving at Sovak, sir." > > Isaac grinned in return and said, "I'd like to remind you that he's now > CAPT Sovak, LT." > > Bregnan turned forward again and muttered, "He'll always be Robo-Vulcan > to me." > > Alex leaned forward and whispered, "Sovak's a bit stiff, Sir?" > > "Duranium is more flexible, XO," Isaac said equally quietly. Then he said > loud enough to hear, "LT > M'gan take us out of warp and let's see if we can find out what BATRON 9 > is up to these days." Alex moved out of camera line as Stern opened the channel to his former ship. He moved towards the rear near the upper portion of the bridge where "COB" Harris sat at tactical and Dave Kieran had the Sciences station. He watched the exchange between CO and his former science officer with interest, noted that D'Artagnan was also looking on with a bit of unrestrained glee. "Gee," he whispered dryly. "imagine considering a Vulcan to be a bit flat and emotionless." "You'd be surprised, sir." Chief Harris answered back in a half-whisper. "Word is that Sovak is as deservant of the 'robo-vulcan tag as Captain Farthington is of his moniker." "Ol' lead-bottom?" Alex asked, his voice rising a half octave. Man, that's something." Just then, Issac made his comment about Sovak making a terrible human. Alex almost let out an audible laugh. He barely caught it and found the Vulcan giving him a careful eye before signing off. In response, Alex merely raised a quizical eyebrow, arms still folded across his chest. > The viewscreen showed the system again and Isaac returned to his seat. > "LT M'gan, get us back to OMEGA, warp 4." MD 8.1213 D'Artagnan held the center seat, Ensign Mahs to his right. Connor and the Captain had dissaperaed in preparation for the return to Starbase. Lord knows what they were up to. They had disappeared into the Ready Room for over an hour after learning of the treacherous acts of James Phaser. The whole YAMATO was still abuzz with the FNS breaking story on that one. "Cleared to dock on Platform 1." Tami Gladden reported from OPS. "Helm," take us in 100 kph." Bregan commanded. "100 kph, aye." M'Gan replied. Her face held a thick grin as she nimbly moved the light cruiser into position. This was among her favorite things: besides flying, a skillful landing. And double chocolate Aldelbarian sundays.... The YAMATO clinked as the ship embraced the docking port. They had returned to OMEGA at last. Respectfully Submitted Pat Schumacher-aka Alexander Bonn Connor First Officer USS Yamato Alton: Wasn't too sure if theis was supposed to go out to the INDIGO mailer or not. No real direct timeline impact. And I hope I didn't butcher Bal too badly in the Engineering scene. Short cameo "swan song" for ENS Mays, who is now officially replaced by Gabrielle. (Welcome aboard!) I couldn't rebeber if we'd killed him off or just relagated him to NPC status. If he died a horrible death someplace, substitute any facless NPC in his stead. Please "complete" repairs--most of it was done en route. Feel free to comment on the Phaser/OMEGA happenings or the general state of the war as it is. Casualtiy lists are continuing to pile in. Most everybody will have lost some friends. Also, if you department needs anything, please request it thru XO. Most other ships like PROMETHEUS will have gone first and greatly depleated the stations available resources, but if you are short personell or whatever, ask away and we'll see what we can do. Gabrielle: Stern will likely be in his ready room, or off conferring with fleet higher-ups. Connor will probably be on OMEGA attempting to drum up supplies. You may wish to report to LT Bregan D'Artagnan, our "dashing" OPs officer, who will most likely have the conn...if he's not in a space suit painting the hull. And we'll take it from there. Les: if Alex ever found Morgan, he was probably coming to tell him to get some sleep. Karen: That was about all I was going to add to the scene, save a bit here or there. I figured it was nothing major to hold you up and wait for. Any Tensyon side effects for Alex to worry about?