All I know is, it's a nightmare when they start seeing 3's. Yeah, for sure. Editing and rewriting is half of it all. Writers are perfectionists.
I hadn't thought of that. How to make a dilemma into a irreducible trilemma? Do you think their positronic brain implants include a random number generator? That might make for mental chaos, a unique psychosis among Bynars. -Will
Author's notes: These are compiled posts by multiple players for the Earth Spacedock RP on the Star Trek Online forums. My character was Elric (w Zeta). This continues from the last ESD entry. Written in October 2017. Earth Spacedock, Pages 144-146 Na'kuhl base A team of Krenim Coalition security officers beamed in, lead by a Zahl wearing the uniform of a Krenim lieutenant. They were all armed with rifles of some Krenim design, presumably chroniton rifles. "I'm Lieutenant Yolor, and we're the team specifically outfitted for dealing with this entity," the Zahl said as he walked over, motioning to the being, then doing a double take and looking at it with wider eyes. "You can... feel free to continue your mission to capture the Na'kuhl General," he stated, turning back to face Lt. Jade. "We'll keep an eye on this entity and continue with the plan if and when it's necessary." Lt. Jade nodded. "Don't hesitate to call for help if you need any," she said before motioning for her team to move out. --- Mindscape Elric followed. "By the way. Why'd you try to stay on my ship that one time, anyway?" "Oh, no worries, it wasn't your ship I was after," replied Sasha, smiling. "That hunk of garbage isn't even worth stealing." Further back, the familiar hovering black orb watched, presently unseen by the others. "Uh, that hunk of junk could fly circles around the best Starfleet has to offer," countered Elric. "It's not what your ship is made of, but how you Captain it. Maybe a thief wouldn't know about command structure." "Says the guy that got his entire crew killed," shot back Sasha, holding her hands up just a bit. "Oh, right, too soon. Let's just find out whatever we're gonna find out and get outta here." "First of all, you don't know me. Second, I've been thinking about that, and I don't think blaming myself for the actions of the Na'kuhl is healthy anymore," Elric replied. "Though some Admirals disagreed, others posit I did everything in my power to save the ship and crew. Dealing with the Na'kuhl now is starting to open my eyes to that." "Good for you," replied Sasha, seeing that the purple light was looking more like an orb... perhaps a shield around something. It seemed fairly large, isolating a large portion of the land from something. Strom, who hadn't said anything since before they entered the being's mindscape, walked alongside Elric and Sasha, deep in thought. If he were alone, he could send out a mental probe, but with the three of them, the risk was too great. Still, there were a few things he could do. "Are the two of you agreeable to stopping for a short period of time? I would like to gain a better picture of the mindscape." "Oh, you go right ahead," said Sasha, still walking. "But if you can still see me, I ain't stopping. Got something to get a closer look at." Suddenly, as Elric took a step forward, a metallic surface began seeping out from the soles of his feet. The ground around him slowly extended a viral metal, as well as it started, inch-by-inch, enveloping his feet and up his legs. "What the hell?" he said, noticing it in shock. He attempted to shake it off his foot, but the surfaces continued, gradually, to infect the environment and himself. Sasha slowed down, but didn't stop walking. "Oh shut up and keep walking." In the distance, the being slowly came closer, but still out of sight. "This is... your home, then? Is that why you are doing this? To save your home?" Strom released the mental query into the mindscape, where it would be picked up and processed by the being. Watching Sasha and Elric, he exhaled slowly. Everything in a mindscape is a representation of something else - knowledge, a memory, an experience. Even the layout and appearance of the mindscape is significant. To have a mind this vast, yet this empty, meant that either the lifeform was in possession of little intelligence, which Strom found highly unlikely, or that the mind was operating at a small fraction of its capacity... the realization of the being's power disturbed him more than he would care to admit. Should I speed this up, and just send us to where the being is? Or would forcing a confrontation so soon be a mistake? The Vulcan was hesitant to exert the influence of his mind any more than necessary. It was true that he could comb through the mindscape in about a minute or two if he focused intently on searching for a specific thing, namely the mindscape's manifestation of the being, but he was still uncertain about the mental capabilities of this creature. "Where are you two going?" He asked through the link as he began to walk towards the duo. "Do you seek the being, or...?" He let the question trail off, awaiting a response. With serious focus, Elric was able to will the metallic growths back into the soles of his feet. Did that come from me? he wondered. When Strom caught up, his attention switched to the Vulcan. "Strom, if there's a way we can find out what this being is, perhaps we can understand it better?" "This... doesn't look like some manifestation of the being's mind..." said Sasha. "More like a representation of some location..." As Sasha and the others slowly approached the light, they felt a strange tingling sensation. Sasha looked as though it were almost painful; as she got closer to the purple, glowing... bubble... ahead. "It's a... shield...?" asked Sasha to herself, wincing as she brought her hand to the bubble, pulling back in pain when it touched the bubble, causing some kind of spark. "Definitely a barrier of some kind." She looked onward to the other side; the contents were barely even visible. Blurry. Seemingly more distant, even though they were merely a few meters away. "Fascinating," Elric said before realizing he took that opportunity away from Strom. "Sorry." "Can any of you see anything in there?" asked Sasha. The being seemed unusually distant, not approaching the barrier for some reason. "No, but let's take this shield down," Elric said, taking out his mind-manufactured phaser. "Agreed," said Sasha, already blasting it with a mind-made phaser assault rifle. It didn't seem to have any effect, beyond the phaser bolts slowing down as they approached it and stopping entirely mere millimetres from the barrier itself. "Is the barrier temporal?" After Elric's phaser stopped short, likewise, the Captain became just as curious. "My mind-produced tricorder is blinking a dead battery symbol," he said, smacking it a few times. "Sorry, my imagination isn't that great when it comes to conjuring up stuff." "Strange," said Sasha, "let's try another route." Sasha slowly started walking to the side, and then behind Elric, stopping suddenly. "Oh, why not?" She shoved Elric into the barrier, and he, somewhat painfully, fell through it, ending up on the other side. "That was easy." "Augh!" he said after the pain subsided. "Really?" The being... as it seemed... lurked outside the barrier, seemingly staring down Elric in some anger. The side of it facing the barrier seemed to be glowing red, albeit faintly. Sasha looked to it, rifle in hand. "You can't get through, can you?" The being simply hovered closer to Sasha, then headed for Strom; there was nothing it could do about Elric now. The area inside didn't look much different than it did on the outside. Perhaps a void in the being's knowledge that it simply had no power to learn. Perhaps some temporal that adversely affected the anti-chroniton empowered being. A somewhat faint white light was visible much deeper inside the area surrounded by the barrier. Elric walked toward the light. The light was clearly pretty far away. He still couldn't make out the source. Beyond the barrier, Sasha slowly backed away from the being. Elric got closer to the light. The suspense was far too exciting, yet he somehow was able to contain it. The source started to look like a shape. Vaguely round, but asymmetrical, in a standing position. A dull shine from the dying star in the sky suggested the object was somewhat metallic. Strom approached cautiously, like one approaching a wounded animal. His eyes flickered briefly to Sasha, then to the barrier which Elric had gone through. This is dangerous. We should continue together, not split up. But... He looked toward the being again, now only about a foot away from him. I must see this through. Elric stopped and looked back to see what the other two were doing. Sasha looked to Strom, walking closer, skirting around the being and grabbing the Vulcan's arm, walking him to the barrier while looking to the barrier herself. "Do not look at that thing. If you don't perceive it, it doesn't exist, and what doesn't exist can't hurt you." Ignoring the barrier's presence, Sasha began stepping through the barrier unhindered. "I was wondering when the coward would show herself," Elric smirked. "Now now, no need to establish dominance as the alpha male or anything," remarked Sasha, walking towards the light. "I've already got plans." "You've got something alright," Elric said, watching her move. "So, what do you know about this light anyway?" "Well thank you," replied Sasha, "oh, the light? I dunno, really. We'll have to see what it... is..." She stopped, eyeing the object. "Is that... the Guardian?" "The what?" Strom raised his eyebrow but said nothing, waiting for Sasha to explain as he caught up with Elric. "I wonder how much longer the Na'kuhl base's shields can hold?" Elric wondered. "It almost felt like a ship collided into it. It's also been a hell of a long time since Phasma warned Toros about the infiltration. Toros must be long gone by now, if he's got any brains." "You... haven't heard of the Guardian? The Guardian of Forever?" inquired Sasha. "Jeez, you guys actually can keep a secret from your own people. Huh." "How'd you recognize a point of light as the Guardian of Forever?" Elric realized. "Anyway, perhaps this means it's trapped within this toxic being? Maybe we need to free it?" "Can you not make out the shape from here?" asked Sasha, "also, I'm not so sure... the being didn't seem very happy about that barrier, and it's kinda... iffy... in here. Everything is so shapeless, almost like that thing is missing knowledge of this area." Sasha kept walking, moving closer to the portal structure ahead. "Nor would that explain how this entire mindscape is probably the Guardian's planet anyway... could the Guardian's temporal abilities interfere with the being? Maybe that's what that shield was supposed to represent?" she queried. "If that's so, perhaps that's what we want? The being has presented itself as our enemy, and anything that hinders it is beneficial to us," Elric postulated. "If we can't learn anything helpful here, what are we accomplishing by being in this mindscape, other than the risk of our lives at the hands of the Na'kuhl? What are we doing here?" "Why ally with the Na'kuhl?" asked Sasha. "It doesn't seem the type to take sides like that. Unless... unless it needs their help..." The ground seemed to start shaking, like a quake. A few ruins fell down. Elric steadied his footing. He took out his phaser and readied it. "Then again, the Guardian doesn't usually put out enough chronitons to severely affect nearby life..." said Sasha. "Are they enemies or something?" The quakes got stronger, almost intentionally. Sasha smirked at the thought. "What if they're immortal enemies, and the being needs the Na'kuhl's help to defeat the Guardian somehow?" "Perhaps due to the chronitons from the Guardian's capabilities," pondered Sasha. "The being can't get close, hence the hole in it's knowledge. The Na'kuhl could just bomb it from orbit, and they don't care if the temporal cops try to stop them." "So what is this being? Some sort of Enemy of Forever?" "More like... the Destroyer of Forever," said Sasha. "At least, that's what it wants to be." "Beings," Elric cursed, whilst almost losing his balance. "What?" asked Sasha. "What do you mean, beings? Are there more than one?" Elric shrugged. "You never know." "Oh frak," remarked Sasha. "That would be very bad news. Anyway, since we know that there's no reason to not kill this thing..." "We should disable it if we can," urged Elric. "Strom, is there something you can do? Murder should never be the first opt—" But, with the environment continuing its destabilizing shaking, the Captain was interrupted by his own disruption through the reemergence of the metallic surfaces, this time, showing circuitry in them upon his arm. Before he could attempt to will it away, Elric was snatched from the telepathic link by the El Aurian pyramid artifact still in his hands on the base. --- Na'kuhl base The Captain disappeared from the Mindscape when Na'kuhl Captain Phasma broke into the room, and placed his hands on the device Elric was holding. The two then disappeared into the mycelial network. "Damn you!" shouted Sasha in the real world as the meld broke apart. She quickly, and intently looked around at the Krenim officers and their chroniton rifles. "Well, shoot it! Shoot it now!" "Wait!" Strom called out, mind still reeling after the chaos of what he had experienced. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, the Vulcan realized he was still in the creature's grasp. "Don't... don't shoot! I... found something out when I was in the mindscape. The link between us was dissipating, but my link with the being remained, although it, too, was weakening. I... where's Elric?" He interrupted his own thought, unable to move his head more than an inch or two in either direction.
Author's notes: This normally consists of compiled posts by multiple players for the Earth Spacedock RP on the Star Trek Online forums, but this entry in particular was completely written by me as I, instead, temporarily separated my character, Elric (w Zeta), from the main group in order to move my own stories forward. This continues from the last ESD entry. Written from October 2017 to January 2018. Earth Spacedock, Pages 146-148 Unknown Class L Planet Phasma and Elric appeared on a rocky shelf, several kilometres away from an apparent small village. Despite the weakened state of consciousness, the Captain's mechanical hand maintained a grip to the pyramid artifact, ensuring eternal possession. "Why were you just standing there? You humans are strange," criticized the Na'kuhl who had let go of the item. Elric was still getting his visual focus as he came to, realizing what had happened. "No, no! We were just about to disable the Destroyer of Forever!" "I have my own mission," reassured Phasma. "Which is why I brought you here." The Captain got up and checked Zeta, who was still on his bicep. *Click! Ccchhrrip!* "He says 'If you want this, you're going to have to get through the both of us,'" Elric said, taking a fighting stance. Phasma responded in-kind, clenching his fists before him as he smirked. "Easily done." He launched fist after fist, towards Elric's head, hitting air as the Captain dodged and weaved his face around each attack. Elric threw the pyramid-shaped artifact behind him for his android spider friend to catch. "Zeta, hold on to this, please," the human said as Zeta leapt off his bicep and intercepted the ancient device in mid-jump. As the spider landed on the rocky mountain-side nearby with two metallic web-cables, clinging onto it, Elric blocked and fired back his own fists at the Na'kuhl leader's head. The two men clashed wrist after wrist with Elric finalizing a forced-palm hit with his robotic arm. The increased power sent Phasma dragging, still standing, back several meters. "You know what the problem is with your Federation, Captain?" Phasma began as he suddenly pulled an Assassin Plasma Blade from behind his back. "You're nothing but a pawn in greater events. Take your precious timeline, for example: You treasure it far too much to realize it can be whatever you want it to be." Phasma swung the glowing, plasma-charged, curved sword at Elric, with Elric blocking each hack with his artificial forearm, left, right and left again. The Na'kuhl leader used the attacks to open Elric's mid-section to kick the Captain in his chest and send Elric over the stone ledge and down the slope of hard rocks. "Augh!" Elric tumbled down a short distance before regaining his footing at the bottom of the rocky mountain. He looked up to see Phasma jumping down after him. Elric looked behind him to see he had fallen close enough to the village to see that it was occupied by humans. Some of which he suddenly recognized. "It's my crew from the Amaterasu??" Phasma was jumping down the sharp rocks after Elric, nearing close enough to hack his energized blade toward the Captain. Elric got to his feet and caught the blade with his artificial hand, gripping it from further movement. "How'd you do it? I thought you vapourized the entire crew??" Elric said, gritting his teeth in disbelief. The Na'kuhl agent charged up the blade into full force. "What you think happens and what really happens are never the same thing." "Ugh!" the charge suddenly blew Elric's artificial hand apart, shattering it off the arm into pieces in a bright explosion. Phasma watched as Elric was pushed back several steps by the blast, shielding his eyes with his arms. Then the Na'kuhl launched a kick for him. "Case in point, I brought you here to bargain with. Your men, lost to time, for the pyramid." "You're kidding, right?" Elric said, quickly knocking the incoming foot away with his handless, robotic arm. He then leapt up and forward, kneeing Phasma in the head and sending him backward to the ground. Captain Elric landed and then bolted in the opposite direction toward the village. As Captain Elric got closer to the village, he could see his crew suddenly start to recognize him. Upon reaching the edge, he was greeted with a force field that sent him backward to the ground. Looking behind him, where he came, Elric could see Phasma getting up and walking toward Zeta. "No, Zeta, don't—" Elric started. But it was too late. Zeta's response to the threat was to pick at the pyramid for answers. The result suddenly made both Zeta and Elric disappear from the setting. Phasma growled in anger at the sudden loss of his prize. --- Earth Spacedock - Deck 47, Operations Elric reappeared in the early 25th century. Several of the staff suddenly took notice of him. "Captain?" said Commander Allura, turning away from the holographic display. "What happened to your hand?" "I'm back?" the human said, disoriented. Then, trying to gain his bearings, asked, "Was the threat in the future stopped?" Then, regaining where he was, asked, "Where's Zeta?" Allura walked over. "It's just you. Maybe you'd better come with me to the Infirmary." "Computer, locate Zeta," Elric said, tapping his commbadge. The inanimate response replied, "Zeta is located on Deck 58." "Oh no," Elric realized before running off. "Bradden." --- Deck 58, Outside Storage Section Sigma 5 Elric ran down to the lower levels of the station, where he found Commander Bradden taking the El Aurian pyramid artifact off of Zeta in a narrow corridor outside the entrance to the Starfleet Intelligence secret lockers. "Zeta, no!" the Captain called out, but was too late. The Crystal Spinner android spider was still disoriented from the temporal and space jump. By the time he got his bearings, he attempted to fire a web cable at Bradden. Instead, Bradden quickly caught it with his free arm and held it in place. "You did the right thing by coming back here," the Intelligence officer said, acknowledging Elric's presence. "This device is a threat in the wrong hands, and should be locked away for as long as possible." Elric shook his head. "Actually, I need that to save my crew. A Na'kuhl agent is keeping them hostage in some other frame of time. Without it, I have no idea where they are. Not to mention I left a Na'kuhl base infiltration in the far future." "Captain, I feel sorry about that. I do," Bradden said. "But this thing is dangerous. In fact, all these artifacts are. Whatever species pre-dated the El Aurians knew that as well, and went to great lengths to separate and hide them. You're just going to have to find another way." Elric stepped forward as Bradden let Zeta's cable go and opened the door to the storage locker. "Commander, I will fight this with your superiors." "They agree with me. Sorry, Captain," he replied. "Besides, I imagine you must be anxious to see your friend, Claire, now that she's awake." With that, Bradden entered the locker with the door closing behind him. The human walked over to Zeta, in shock. --- Infirmary Captain Elric entered to find Doctor Melzine working away upon an open panel in Claire's head. "What are you doing?" Elric asked, concerned. "Following boot-up instructions from this machine," he replied, closing up the hatch. "After we revived her, she instructed us on some maintenance procedures." Elric walked over. "Can I talk to her?" "She's just coming back online now. The alterations should take a moment to come into effect," the Doctor said. "In the meantime, I have something for you." The Captain looked to see Melzine holding up a robotic hand. "I assumed you would have lost yours at some point, so I was prepared." Elric took it with his human hand. "Of course you did." "Captain?" came the groggy voice from Claire herself. "I'm.... I'm sorry I didn't tell you..." Turning to her in shock, Elric became filled with relief. "You're alive! Claire, you don't have to say anything." "I'm an android. It's true. I didn't say so because I wanted you to like me for who I am, not what I am. And now it's too late." Elric shook his head. "It's not too late. I don't care what you are!" "No," she countered. "It's the recovery programming from my father. It'll repair me, but it'll also—" At that, the Captain noticed a change in her personality. Claire's eyes suddenly began to glow red. "Claire? What are you saying?" "Re-initializing protocol. Location: Earth Spacedock. Receiving instructions. Proceeding," Claire said in a more monotone vocalization. She then opened a panel on her arm, tapped at it and was transported away. Elric tried to swing his arms around her but was too late. "Claire!" "I thought this might happen," Melzine said, carrying over a tricorder. "So I had her bugged. You can track her with this." The Captain turned to him. "How did you think this would happen? Never mind. I'll take it," he conceded, grabbing the device. Checking it, he could see her signal was outside Spacedock, presumably on a cloaked ship. One second it was there, the next, it appeared to go to warp. "There's only so much range you'll get with that signal at warp, so I'd hop to it," the Doctor warned. Elric looked at him and then away. "Elric to Marrakesh. Prepare the ship for immediate departure. Claire's gotten away again, but this time I'm not giving up on her."
Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping... For some reason I kept hearing that song while reading this entry. Thanks!! rbs
Author's notes: This was written in December 2017 as part of the Star Trek Online forums Unofficial Literary Challenge #42 and focuses on my Orion KDF Captain, Elektra, last seen in ULC 41. Menchez was last seen in FC 2-3 where he was blackmailed into cooperating with the Children of Kahn. "The Kramp'Ihri" was a new recurring open mission in STO's yearly Winter Wonderland event, focusing on a creature combining the old European Krampus folklore and the Fek'Ihri of Klingon legend. Direct dialogue is taken from the STO mission. The last time we were in a Winter Wonderland was ULC 18 and, before that, LC 69. The devastation on Raatooras involving Sigon, Deloss and Kronen was in ULC 38. Unofficial Literary Challenge #42: Prompt #1: The ancient tradition of Terran Winter Celebrations is such a festive and playful time less the demonic interference of Earth's own mythological Krampus fused with the demons of the Klingon Empire. Your Captain, participating in Q's Winter Wonderland, is suddenly pitted against the fearsome Kramp'Ihri, a gruesome mashup responsible for kidnapping Gingerbread folks. How does your Captain fare against the massive Gift Stealer, its switch and its loyal minions? Unofficial Literary Challenge #42 "Face the Kramp'Ihri" Captain Elektra of the Ty'Gokor-class I.K.S. Valentine stood before the Kramp'lhri Watcher, in disbelief, upon the Ice Gazebo in Q's Winter Wonderland. "So, you're a hideous fangirl of some kind?" the Orion and Klingon Defense Force officer questioned. The scantily clad Fek'lhri with sharp teeth continued. "No one but me understands how tenacious the Kramp'lhri is! Challenge the Kramp'lhri with honour, creature!" "Oh my. You've got spunk, don't you?" Elektra said, impressed. "I was like you once: devoted, faithful. It's not all it's cracked up to be." From behind her, the voice of Menchez, a Klingon and Commanding officer, broke through the reverie. "You were more than that, Captain. I posit that you had more backbone and destiny than an army of Nausicaans. Not to mention, once said battalion was actually defeated by you." "Weren't you and your ship last seen being hijacked by Augments?" Elektra replied, turning to face him whilst changing the subject. "You were said to be heard screaming in consternation?" Menchez refuted. "That was from an Epohh bite! But, yeah, my enemy one-upped me by threatening to not-kill my crew and I in a heat of dishonour. Sufficed to say, we're still hijacked. Though, our captors and I did find a Q-Junior copy under a sewer pipe on Kentar. Turns out that guy is everywhere." "Well, positioning and self-establishing is how I won all my fights," elaborated Elektra. "Not that I've had much to fight for since the Iconian War. Seems like that thing ended faster than it started without any sense that it was happening in the first place." Suddenly, the bellowing voice of an extra-dimensional entity rang through the Wonderland. "Kramp'lhri has returned! Today is a good day to cry! Hahaha!" "He has been spotted heading towards the racetracks! Glorious!" exclaimed the Watcher. "I'll wager you can't save any of the gingerbread folk he has taken. Still, it might be fun to watch you try." Elektra smiled to her before being transported away. "A woman after my own heart." --- Confronted by the chaotic violence of the giant Kramp'lhri, Elektra joined several others in firing their winter weapons. The result was a shower of coal flanked by switch attacks. "Naughty, naughty, naughty!" declared the immensely, 6-meter-high monstrosity as he deflected snowballs, gummy blasts, and freeze rays from the various participants. Elektra smirked. "Oh, dear. Aren't you quite the sight to take in? I can see why the Watcher was so enamoured with you. Unfortunately, love is blind." "Yooouuuu have been naughty this year!" the beast announced as Elektra blasted her Unrestricted Aggression gun and fired an entourage of foam dart bursts. The attack suddenly caused Kramp'lhri to disperse into a cloud of billowing, spinning dust, escaping into the gazebo and rematerializing upon the snow on the other side. "Ha! My women's scorn knows no bounds," Elektra said, after she and the others caught up to him and reopened fire. "Men like you care not for others, but rather just yourselves! As attractive as that is, I should have expected as much from a newborn Earth myth and Fek'lhri amalgamation." Menchez pulled up beside her with his gun and blasted a barrage of icicles into the beast. "Actually, according to rumour, this creature was, in fact, the same one that revealed himself unto legend in 16th century Earth's Europe." And then, to explain, "I'm assuming a time travel predestination paradox through a Q visit, as those are the most satisfying." "This thing was real?? Well, I suppose we're all aliens, so that shouldn't be surprising," Elektra said. "Not that we see ourselves as the aliens. Point is, do you think Kramp'lhri is kind of hot now? I mean, look at him, right?" Before the Klingon could respond, the build-up of attacks caused Kramp'lhri to lose several large gift boxes, then-splayed all around the attacking group. Just as Elektra attempted to open her own, the giant ran over and plopped his gift-stealing basket over her head. "Naughty, naughty!" Elektra struggled to get it off, realizing now that her presumptuous lowered defenses allowed yet another man to win her over. "Kramp'lhri, forget the Watcher! Run away with me! I've been a baaaadd girl!" "Captain," Menchez said in shock. "Perhaps I was right about your backbone, which clearly can support not only your stance but this year's Breen ship in any gravity environment." He watched as Elektra cut through the basket with her oversized Black Nanopulse Mek'leth. She then threw it into the unrelenting mammoth. It burst into spinning dust once more, releasing the gingerbread folk whilst he disappeared back into his pocket universe. "Nooooo! Not yet! There are still naughty children!" "What the Gre'thor? Why is that mek'leth so large? I just wanted to appeal to him, not send him away??" denounced Elektra. Next, the Watcher's voice rang through. "The magnificent Kramp'lhri may be gone for now, but he will return! Wondering how well everyone did? Behold!" "What?" Elektra said, confused and looking around as there was a long, drawn-out silence. "Anyhow, I suppose I forgot how fun an allegiance could be. I'll forego my previous naiveté." She turned to see Menchez putting his weapon away. The elderly man nodded. "Qapla'! Nice work, Captain. You truly have the heart of a Klingon warrior; unlike the others in our fleet. I may be forsaken, but that has not prevented me from learning about the insolent dishonour that has occurred most recently upon a planet known as Raatooras." "I have not forgotten about our fleet, Captain," Elektra said. Menchez clenched his fist. "Those incompetent petaQ allowed that planet's population to perish in utter failure! Since I'm out of commission, I want you to put an end to Captains Sigon, Deloss and Kronen. That is an order." "Seems somewhat extreme, but Klingons did go bald once," she said, recalling. "As you command, considering what has happened here today. Or is it still night? The sky has mysteriously stayed the same for days now." The two looked up and around, curiously. Echoes of Q-Junior's diabolical laughter suddenly rang through the Wonderland. "Hahahaha!"
Love the bit about a klingon ship remaining hijacked for years because the hijackers threatened to dishonor the crew by not killing them... I have GOT to get me one of THOSE! Thanks!! rbs
It's always good to cheer up with a good holiday Krampus story. Add Klingons and how could it get better? Sad for Electra, though. She earned her prise and was robbed of love. I'm still stuck with Frankie Valli. -Will
For some reason I'm not able to embed video here... But... Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle or: Robert Bruce Scott - Time Traveler Suite
Author's notes: This was written in February 2018 as part of the Star Trek Online forums Unofficial Literary Challenge #43. Captain Reynolds was last seen on the Risa Resort RP, engaging in promiscuity while her fleetmates raced powerboards. In STO, both the Fek'Ihri and Gre'thor were brought back for gameplay. Unofficial Literary Challenge #43: Some cultures bond over shared interests like entertainment or technology. Others join forces to help one another through difficult trials. But the most common bonding, if not the most dangerous, is the bonding over a common enemy. From the Cardassian-Dominion alliance against the Federation to the infamous Voyager-Borg pairing against the Undine, history has shown that even the bitterest of enemies can sometimes unite for a greater cause. Write a log about an alliance your captain has made once to ensure their survival. Perhaps you've sought assistance from the Hirogen with a promise of a grand hunt across time with the Devidians. Maybe you've convinced the Kazon to help you fight against a revitalized Dominion sect. But remember, these alliances will not truly forge a lifelong friendship. There may be a moment in these alliances where even your captain must keep a phaser or disruptor pointed firmly to their left. How far can you trust your enemy? Unofficial Literary Challenge #43 "Deadly Alliance" The Ty'Gokor-class I.K.S. Valentine perched, berthed upon the solar orbital space station in the Galorda system. The Orion and Klingon Defense Force officer known as Captain Elektra entered the station's dank and sordid conference room where she was met with a Betazoid whom was also a Starfleet Commanding officer. "So, the indomitable Captain Reynolds, huh? Rumor has it you've slept your way from Orias to Laurentia. I'm impressed," said Elektra. Reynolds smirked. "I hear-tell you've gone from Sanek to Archanis: Two rows of the galactic map." "It was a slow month for Kirk-ing alien babes." Elektra shrugged. "Anyway, is that your Akira-class ship hanging in space at the edge of system? It looks awfully broken." The Betazoid nodded, disparagingly. "The U.S.S. Hijinx— Yes. It's crippled near-beyond repair thanks to an ambush from these guys." She turned to watch as Lane, one of her subordinates, pulled a wrist and ankle-chained Fek'lhri Chieftain out from the shadows. "Kksssskkkk! I am Rukkh and I claim the Klingon Empire will fall to the might of the death-defying, high-flying, all-knowing, super-jacked Molorrr!" the 3-metre-tall creature announced whilst lifting his chin in prideful altruism. The Betazoid walked over to Elektra with a PADD. "We and three of your ships were thrown into some unidentified realm full of red skies and non-ending Demon-class-planet-like biomimetic liquid. It was a Flat World Conspiracist's dream." She sighed. "Unfortunately, only my ship escaped." "And what, pray-tell, is it you expect in return for this if-worthwhile information?" Elektra asked as she strolled around Reynolds and seductively dragged her finger along her shoulder. "I have some ideas if you're stuck." Reynolds arched an eyebrow. "If I wasn't pressed for time, I'd take you up on that, but just some help getting my ship back to Drozana Station will have to suffice. There's an undercover intelligence operative there that I think is playing both sides." She handed the PADD to the Orion. "As for your teammates, the ships still trapped there are: the I.K.S. Baetal, Masamune and Dragunov." "Those idiots," Elektra said to herself, studying the data. "It's no wonder I have orders to crush them." She then turned to Rukkh and stroked his oversized hands. "And speaking of crushes, well, since our goodie-two-shoes Captain is out, perhaps you'd like to be in? The price being some directions, of course." Reynolds scoffed as Elektra's pheromones began their infiltration into the over-sized Cheiftain's nostrils. "You have a directive to destroy your own fleetmates?" the Betazoid criticized. "And isn't this beast largely out of your weight class?" "I never did make it this far by second-guessing myself," Elektra replied. "You see, Orions, though powerful, are still second-class citizens who have to move fast in the Empire and capitalize on their impulsiveness. Isn't that right, my over-grown, Klingon-out-group-darling?" She reached up as high as she could and placed her hand on Rukkh's chest. The giant Fek'Ihri, now responding to her amorous aromas, smirked mischievously with a foul, repulsive demeanour. "We Fek'Ihri do what it takes to succeed, even if it means coming back as disfigured abominations. It's just one of the many adorably unique qualities that horribly mutates us into who we may or may not are supposed to be!" --- Later, the I.K.S. Valentine was hovering a few meters off the surface of Archanis IV, floating behind Captain Elektra, a few of her subordinates, and the very tall Rukkh. The Orion stopped her scanning process and turned to her diluted enemy. "Is all this really necessary to open a portal to Gre'thor?" Elektra asked. Rukkh closed his device as well. "A specifically modified, short-range, concentrated stream of antiprotons from a starship-grade amplitude deflector dish will grant one access to the realm of the dishonoured. Though, you must accept the presence of such debase souls." "I'm surrounded by cranky, old prune juice loving Klingons on my Bridge every day. I think I can handle it," Elektra reassured. "As for you, I am impressed with your intelligence. Your class of Fek'Ihri are not like the others." The over-bearing man smirked. "I will take that as a compliment. Now, initiate the Sequence of Dooooomm!" And then, "Oh, just ignore that title." "Elektra to Valentine. Begin pressing your various touch screen buttons and virtual panels!" ordered the Orion as she activated her wrist communicator that prompted the starship to initiate its beam into a spot several meters in front of everyone. Just then, a portal opened up which shot a feedback pulse into the Valentine, disabling it whilst releasing a shockwave that threw Elektra and her away team to the ground. "Thank you, my dear! Now my double-cross is complete!" Rukkh announced, quite pleased with his ability to tweak his directions. "Oh, and I disabled your failsafe Kataan probe necklace where you intended for me to live out an entire lifetime in Ressik under terrible living conditions," he said, throwing down the necklace. "Fek'Ihri do not play the flute." Elektra pushed herself off the ground and looked up to him. "My pheromones weren't enough?" "My size, Captain. You would need about seven or eight Orions to have any real effect on me. A spectacle-wearing basement-dweller's fantasy, no doubt," claimed the giant Fek'Ihri. "Perhaps there is deficiency in your philosophy of acting too quickly. As for my intentions, I plan to use your ship to fulfill my plans of Empire domination! Ha! And maybe some cross-species relations as you have intrigued me with as of late. Are there any female Gorn? Curious. Perhaps there is more to this existence of die-hard, constant-yellable revenge." And then, a hard bat'leth blade pierced through Rukkh's chest from his back. He then fell forward to the ground as three men stepped through the portal. "No! I never completed relations with him! He was a timely work in progress, in bed!" Elektra called out at the sight of Rukkh's slaying. Then, sad, "He said there were achievement unlocks for every ten square centimetres." Her 'rescuers' revealed themselves as the three Captains she had come for in the first place: Sigon, Deloss and Kronen. "That's an underworld bat'leth, so it'll probably dissolve or something," the Klingon, Sigon stated, assuming. "What is going on here?" The Gorn, Deloss looked around. "Yeah, the three of us were just discussing our plans for escape when this portal opened up. Coincidence or a plot thing? We simply must know." "It doesn't matter," the Ferasan, Kronen stated. "Our ships are still on the other side. We must open this portal larger to let them through." Elektra stood up and gritted her teeth. These men, her allies, who she had orders to eliminate, had truly become her enemy now. Only, their crews still remained as of yet to be in her line of sight. Crews that would easily realize something was up if their Captains did not respond. Get them first and then complete the mission. "I will help you, Captains," Elektra said, quite deviously, an Orion now becoming wise to the Klingon and Fek'Ihri taste for blood. "We will work together."
Author's notes: These are compiled posts by multiple players for the Earth Spacedock RP on the Star Trek Online forums. My character was Elric (w Zeta). Captain Samya was last seen on the Risa Resort RP, where she had acquired Elric's El Aurian artifacts to help her find her sister but got them destroyed by a Nat instead. This continues from the last ESD entry. Written from February to August 2018. Earth Spacedock, Page 150 U.S.S. Marrakesh, Bridge With the Noble-class U.S.S. Marrakesh at high warp and tracking Claire's unknown cloaked vessel, Elric was speaking with Earth Spacedock over long-range communications. "So, what you're telling me, is that you stole the El Aurian amplifier with medallion and both were blown to pieces?" the Captain rephrased, in mere shock. On-screen, Captain Samya, a human Japanese-descent woman nodded. "Yes, Captain. I'm sorry, but the being that destroyed it was overpowered and unhinged. I had the amplifier on me because I thought it could help me find my lost sister." "Now it's useless to either of us," Elric conceded. The other Captain nodded. "One thing was interesting though," she said. "The pieces never disintegrated. I have them here at Spacedock." "I guess there was a reason it was buried underground with an ancient city," Elric surmised. "Hold on to it for now. As soon as I get Claire back, she'll be able to tell us why her father wants these things so much." Samya looked at him. "One more thing. There's a report on deck that something of value was transported out of one of Spacedock's classified storage sections just before you left. It doesn't say what it was, only a quantum signature identifier that Intelligence wants back. It likely went with your friend. Thought you should know." "The pyramid," Elric concluded. "Claire has it. Thanks, Captain." Suddenly, the lights and panels all throughout the Marrakesh began to flicker on and off. Elric stood from his seat and looked around, confused. "Captain, we've lost control of our systems. Weapons, propulsion, life support-- We can't modify any of it on our own!" reported Gibbs from his station. Akzar turned. "We're dropping out of warp." When the chaos settled, the screen blinked on with the pixelated representations of two eyes and a mouth. "Greetings, Captain. It has been some time that I have desired to catch up with you. It's me, Fury." "You're Claire's father? You took over her mind?" Elric postulated. The screen chuckled. "Her systems are rebooting. She'll come to her senses quite soon, but not before she hands me the pyramid." "So, you and Claire used to be treasure hunters, and now that she's left you, you're forcing her to bring you her finds? Seems kind of petty to me." Fury smirked. "I didn't build her to betray me. She apparently did that all on her own. Whatever drives her now isn't my concern. She owes me this little El Aurian collection for doing what she did." "Listen to me, Fury. I'm coming for you, wherever you are. Your alliance with Claire is over, so you're just going to have to find your precious artifacts all on your own. Or, you know, you could use your Caitian army, as incompetent as they are." The entire Bridge flickered in anger, with several panels exploding. "You won't ever find me! Besides, your history with me far surpasses hers. Don't you know what I am?" And then systems all throughout the ship began to fail and more explosions occurred. "I'm everything! I have no body! Give up your obsession with my daughter and go home, before death finds you once again!" Then ship went dark and the screen off. The Marrakesh sat adrift in the emptiness of space. --- After some time, Elric found himself bored, tossing a tennis ball off a wall aboard the Bridge of Marrakesh. It had been days since the ship was offline, and a distress signal to Earth Spacedock was going unanswered. Gibbs was checking what was left of sensors using what was left of the backup systems, when he picked up a blip. "Captain, I'm detecting a Caitian shuttlepod on an intercept course." Moments later, Claire beamed onto the Bridge to confront them. Elric stood up. "Claire!" he exclaimed in shock. "I'm sorry about what I did. When these systems reboot in me, they forget everything that I'd become. But now I'm back." Elric hesitantly approached her as Zeta leapt onto his shoulder. "The pyramid?" "He's got it. A control of time and space. But in acquiring that, he has learned of the Na'kuhl battle in the future and agreed to send us on one last jump to stop Toros." The Captain scrunched his brow. "So he cares about the galaxy?" "Fury only cares about himself, and he wants to live in said galaxy. I'm not sure when this jump will be, but we should—" --- N.V. Vengeance, Control Center, Back Corridor - 28th century Elric, Zeta and Claire flashed into the corridors, where Toros and two of his men were making a run for it. There were loud blasts heard from the main control room. Toros stopped as the two humanoids were blocking his escape. "That was fast?" Elric said as the two Na'kuhl guards ran for him. Elric grabbed the extended punch of the first guy and countered with a powerful force-palm into his mid-section. Claire blocked the kick of the second guy and kneed him in the stomach, launching said Na'khul into the side wall in pain. "My father must've been waiting for us to meet. He's a program, Elric. He probably kept a monitoring system on your ship." "Typical," the Captain said as he blocked several jabs and Zeta leapt off his shoulder toward Toros. Elric kicked the guard down while Zeta launched his metallic web onto Toros, trapping him to the floor. The N.V. Vengeance was forced to decloak, rapidly nearing the perimeter of Krenim Coalition vessels now moving to intercept them. The U.S.S. Mephiles and the U.S.S. Sally continued their pursuit, now supported by the I.K.S. New Xindus, which quickly continued ahead and charged its delphic antiproton banks and targeted the Vengeance's engines. Toros... was trapped on the floor. The two Na'kuhl guards began retreating, trying to drag Toros back into the control room mere moments before the guards in question began taking hits from Sangok's bat'leth. "This is getting out of hand," the Na'kuhl General said to himself, pulling out his Na'kuhl plasma blade and started using it to cut himself free. "Don't bother with me. You have another problem for yourselves now, if you know what I mean?" Elric felt a somewhat heavy-handed tap on his shoulder. Whatever it was, it was definitely behind him, something that its dark and large shape made very apparent. Meanwhile, the New Xindus opened fire on the Vengeance, impacting the vessel's shields, poking and prodding at them to find a hole through them to strike at the ship's engines directly. The Na'kuhl vessel opened fire in return, coming about and unleashing an angry fury of chrono-plasma discharges at the small KDF-controlled Sphere Builder vessel. Another pair of torpedoes impacted the I.K.S. New Xindus, and the ship exploded after a finishing shot from another torpedo. The U.S.S. Mephiles decloaked nearby, raised her shields, and began opening fire on the N.V. Vengeance. On board, after Toros' remarks, Elric glanced at Claire, confused. Claire just shrugged for a second before she looked up at an apparent dark and large shape behind the Captain. Elric turned at the tapping on his shoulder. A large, ominous arm extended from the being, grabbing Elric and pinning him to the wall. "Back so soon?" the being inquired. "Good." Elric struggled as he was locked against the wall, up, off the floor, by the being. He gritted his teeth in agony from the pressure being applied to him. "Ugggh! Being that you're temporal in nature, I suspected I may run into you again in the 25th century. But, here you are, right where I left you. Heh, heh." He lifted his robotic arm. "Funny thing, when Fury disabled my ship, I had the time to discover something about this. Something I presume Doctor Melzine installed without my knowledge," he said as his artifical arm opened up and began reconfiguring its internal mechanisms. On a display inside, a read-out and computer voice confirmed: "Defence systems, activated." "So, I loaded this thing with chronitons before I left," Elric finished just before he clenched his android-arm and exploded a fierce and powerful burst of chroniton particles upon the being, tearing the creature in half, in agonizing pain. --- Space The Vengeance only returned fire with a single volley, quickly coming about and accelerating out of the area. "Toros is getting away!" said Jim over the comms. "We're in pursuit, but they're charging their temporal drive and rapidly approaching the defence perimeter." "Our forces have already engaged the N.V. Vengeance near the perimeter, and it's also charging up it's temporal drive," replied Captain Prala. "Is one of them a fake?" "Uh oh," remarked Admiral Nat. "Is there anything we can do to identify them? Can we intercept both?" "I've locked onto the real one," reported Captain Nat. "I think, anyway. I'll follow them through their temporal portal and engage them on the other side." The Vengeance broke free of the perimeter and generated a portal. The other ship did the same. The U.S.S. Firestorm-K vanished in a flash of light. --- N.V. Vengeance The being shrieked, his two fragments flying backward and away, breaking down into their basic, floating liquidy form, then merging. "YͅO̵͈̰͓̬̞̱ͅÙ͚̪̫" it shouted, "I҉̺ͅ'͍̝̠L̠̥̣͈̙̳̜L̮̳̣͇͜ ̦̩͡E̴N̟̖̬D͓͓ ̠͔͙Y̮͓̗̘͞O͇͍͈͙U̪̣̱̙̻̪͠,̭͈̬̀ ̺͔̟͔̜͟ͅ, I͕̫͖͜'̼̣̬̫̘̙L̶̴̛̞̟̳̟͉̤̟̣Ļ̼̯͙͈͎̞͠ͅ ̴̛̟͖͚͇̹̯̻̙͠E̟̺͉̲̯͖N̛̫͖͚͕͓̱͉D͕̤̲͓̗̮ ̠̟̥͕͉͉̹̘E̵̫̙̠͔̬̬͡V̢͓̙̮̺͇Ḙ̸͓̥̝͕R̨̝Y̙̜O̴̧͎̼͎̝̹ͅN̪̣̤̹̳̱̭̕E͏̬͕̰͟ ̤̮̖͡O҉͕͉̲̙̫̙̱̣N͎͍͚͕̣ ͏҉̤͠T҉̠͎̰̥̲͡H̬̙̘̤̰͘͟Į̪̻͈̺͙͔̘̯S̶͕͚̙ ̶̨͓̱͍͚̪͙͡S̢̲̻̙͞H͎̮̲͍̰̫̳̻̤I͓̱̦̼̳̲͉̤ͅP̵̲̝̲͇͖͉͕͢,̴͍͉̞͚͉̖̟͔ ͈͚̀͟A̧͏̬̜͎̲̘̬͘͟N͜͏̣͈̼̗̣̠̳͓̮̞͘ͅD̵͞҉̜̤̝͍̙̗̞̳ ̡҉̗̘̼͇̪̰̦͉̖̩̥̥́͡ͅT͏̯̦͎̪̻͙̟̹̰̺́͡͞H̢͇͎̙̳̭̝̕͠͠E̵̸̡̹̩̻̲͔̼̹̕N̤̙̮͈̯̤͕̥͇̠̯̦̲͕̝̬̠̤͘̕͢ ̛̣̝̲̦͙͘I̸̜̬̹̗̳̩̩͔̠̳̼̪͜͡'̨̲͚͕͍̰̗͙̹͚̭̕͟L͟҉҉͎̩͍̜̖̣L̝̭̜̪͙͠ ̺̘̥̫͙͎͍͇͖̠͢͢ͅͅŲ̴̭͈̮̠̪̼Ș̷̣̭̺͚̭̹͖̦̹̩͙̲̀̀͜ͅE̡̳̖̻̟̫̱̰͓̻͘͠ ̴̺̯̬͖̟̖̤͈̻̣͈͇̲̞̞͕͖̯Į̷͟҉҉̼̥͚̜̘̦̫͙̖̦͖͈ͅT̡̢̯̜̹̖͙͔̱ ̖̬͖̪̗͚̬̤̳̹͕́̀T̨̡̮̼̱̰̗̟́̕͟Ó̶͉̗̬̻̼̲͇̞̻̫̬͖̗̣̖͖̼͖͘͝͝ ̝̜̱͚̩̞̹̜͘͠D̨̟̯̹̺̭͍͕͎͝Ę̶̨̻̱̪̰͇̞͍͎͚̗̖͕̻̭͇̠̜͕S͢҉̱̱͚͈̬͎͔͇ͅŢ̵̣̲͍͎̳̗̱̦Ŗ̸̵̱̭̼̳̲̞̺͔̗̮͎̳͙̠Ơ̺͔̟͖͓̳̺̤̩͢Y̨҉҉̬̜̪̗̤̩͓͚͈̰ ̢̰̜̞̙̼̲͙̺̱T̶̫͙̜̜͉͎̠̕͢͡H̸͏̪͚̼͍͡A̴̯̩͖͈̕Ţ҉̶̧̩̙̼͖̦̞̞̬̞̮̠̼͙̫̺͚̳͖͝ ̶̬̲̭͍͚̫̖̗̫̭̹̤̺̮͜P̛͉̼̗̯̖̣̯͍͕̦͈͝Ǫ̧̮̖̮̳̻̪̲̤̰͍̳͎̗̣̟̯̯͍̦͟͜R̷̶̨̺͈̦͇͔̬̬͇̪̫̰̳͇̤̰̹̤̻T͞͏҉̖̠͙̺͚̕A̵̴̤̺͇̗̤͓͖̘͚̟̙̳̤͍͔̫͓͖͟ͅĻ̵͇̫̰̼̞̜͕̤͙̭̜̜͎͎͔́͞ ̴̪̲̘̜̲̯̩ͅT̵̵̛̹̻̯̲̪͙͉̦̞͕̪͇̯̱̤͡͝H̸̷̞̦͉̘̝͚͠I̴̮̭̙̝͙̱̞̠̭̬̳̜̗N̵̢̹̲̬̖͚͕̜̗͖̰͍̳͜G̵̡̡̭̠̬̗̗̱ ̵̕͏̴̢̦̙̘̮̥̫͓̜̪̪͚̭S̶̩̰͍̣̝̺̘̯͓̙̫͍̺͜͞O̯̗̜̲̠͇͘͜͝͠ ̸̸̞͙̭̞͔̹̦͉̠̦͉͟͝I͏͠҉̷͖̗͚̜̹̻̮̝̦̫̖͘ ̸̷̪̣̮͙̩̺̀͢͡Ć̷̖̠̠̻̻̻̣͉̮̼͟A̖͈͕̟̼͓͉̬͔̺͕̖̘̜͚̤͘͡ͅN͈̙͕͚͢͟͢͢ ̲̫͖͍̕F̶̡̰͔̖̭̣͉̠̠̕ͅḬ̧̗͖͔̺͕͚̻͍̳͓̯̘̦͝͞ͅN҉̻͈̫͎̟̜͎̗̗͜͡Á̶̴̢̳̙͎͔̰̳͉Ĺ̷̢̟̥͓̬͈̱͇̳̫̪̣̙͞L̢̛̳̙̺͈̯̤̪̖̮͖ͅY̨̼̘̩̤̱̙̹͈͙̦̲̭̟̭̙̣̠͔͠ ̴̶͓̖̰͉̰̹̩͎̬̝͓̫͕͚͈̀͡ͅW̶̢̛̬̬̘̙͍͓̟͓̥͖̹̩̠͜͞ͅÍ̷̫̯̫͓̱͢͡E̡͖̭̼̪͜͜͡L͏͏̶̴̯̹̜̜̦̰̙̱̞̘͉͎͉̩̰͈͙̺͝D̴͏̴̼̫̙̹͍̯͎͓̰̺̜̩̳̲͡ ̨̙̫̠̭͈͉̮̞̦͕͕̦̻̼̳̱̞̙T̶̵͓͔͍̗͚͕̺̲̻͉̩̺̯͜I̢̛҉̦̰̫̳̱͙̻̘͔͘ͅM̡̰̟̜̯̳̺̞̺͚̝̩͇̫̜͎̞̻̗̫͢͢͞͠E̬̺̱͈͓̘̖̞̳̣͔̪̬̳͍͍͟͝͡ ̱̳̼̱͚̺̪̦̲̲̰͓͓̱̗̲̠̞͞A͞҉̞̪͙͉̤̖̤͖͚S̵̨͚̘͚͔͎͎͉̜̜̳̖̣̪͓̤͈͘͟͞ ͏͏̞͔̤̯̭͉͙̮̪͉̳̗̀ͅI̥̙̙̗̹̠͚͎͙̳͢͝ ̧̡̛̥̘̹̘̤̣͕̠̖̦̰͍͔͉́P̥̙̗̕͢͝ͅĻ̵͓̻̱̦͕͔͚̬͖͜͟͠ͅĘ̴̻͙̥̥̦̭̦̤͟ͅA̷̛̤͔̳̪͉͓͕͔͖̝̹̯̣̩̰̤͝S̵͓̮͉͇̟͈͈̬̪̙͙̭͙̗̀͢ͅÈ̜̫͇̝̬͕̯͎̠͇̳̕!̵͘͞҉̵̬̮̼̗͉͔͔͉̦" The being returned fire with a powerful beam of energy. "Y̷̵͙͙̺̥͕̻̘͍͕͓͎̻̗̺̠͖ͮ̔͒ͨ̌ͤ͊̌ͣ̄ͨ͒̿̃̚̚̚͝O͑̓̈́̇͂͢͢͏̟̙̝̭̪̹̩Ư̢̡̡̪͇̹̩͙̭ͯͪ̔̑ͣ̀̆͌ͥͪ̽̚Ȓ̶̛̮̱̺͓͎̯̟̻̟͎̻͍̭̭ͤ̈́͐̈̓͑̾͂̉̃̾͝͠ ̧̨̧̞̭̪̼͎̝̦̌̓̂̐̆͋͆ͧͤ͘È͚̘̰͎͉̯̖̍ͥ̒ͪ̕X̧ͪͦ̒ͬ͞͏̰̫̰̣I̡͆̋ͯ͆ͯͧ̎̊̽ͪ̽̍ͥ̇̐͏̶͔̰͖̬́͘S̴̶̢̤̦̮̝̮̝̗̰͔̬̣̦͓̜̱͔̄͑̃͛̽̏̄ͨ̀ͣ̓ͮ̄̀ͅT͛̇̎͐̃ͧͯ̾̊ͮ̽̊̃̈̇ͬͩ͝҉̦̦̖̤̪͔͇̩̳̠̣̗͈̗̲̗͍̹É̎ͤ̽ͯ̌́ͪ̃ͣ͌̒ͪ̈̈͐̎ͤ̑́҉̩͉̯͈̩̺̝̲̮̪̣̘͜͜N̦̻̪̳̺̤̊͌̔̍͆ͬ̒͑̏̌̌̈̔̊ͨ͊̚͜͠C̸ͯ͂ͯ͛̉ͦ̇͗ͦ҉̧̭͓̲͙͓͉̀E̡͆̌ͦ̃͌̈́ͣ͒̃̄̒̀̑ͦ̀͗̌͊́͏͖̫̱͎̣̤̗͈ ̷̺̭͉͍̜͊̊̾ͨͭ͐́͞Ę̵̛͖̠͎̙̲̖̳̠͕̻̻̦ͣ́̑̉̆ͥ̋̒̊̂ͤ̄̇ͨ̀͞N̴̢̙̲̮̦͎̆̄̌ͯ̄D͑́ͥͤ̓͌ͫ͝͏̸̡̧̘͚̪̭S̷̎̋͆̑̐͊͂͂ͭ̑̐͆ͦ̓̅҉̵̞̰̩̝͘ ̷̶̨̘̫̯̦̂̾ͦͣ͘͘Ñͪ̂̒͐ͤͩ̃̓͌ͤ͐̉͏̸̙̗̥̥̮̦̘͙̖̳̳̗͎̱́͞ͅÖ̶̸́̓̋͒ͫͭͫͦ͐̀ͦ͑̀͂͐̚͝͏̳͕̩̥̠͚̱̭̹͉͍̺̝̻̳͇ͅͅW̡̨ͧ̆ͪ̋̆̈́̍̇̈͏̴͓͉̫̞̮͎̦̺̥̤̯̞͍.̂̈́ͧ͋̌ͪ̋͏̢͟҉̞̺͎̤͟" Toros laughed, escaping via another entryway and heading elsewhere. Sek came to the door and aimed his CRM 200 at the being, but scrapped the idea of firing in favor of scrambling to access his communicator. "Yolor, if you happen to be aboard this ship... we have a problem. That big doom thing... that entity... is back. Get your chroniton rifles over here and take it out!" Elric landed on his feet as the powerful beam of energy came straight for him. He charged up his chroniton-laced forearm until a ball of energy held over his palm. Out-stretching his arm in a perfectly straight angle, he met the beam with his ball of energy and held it in place. "Zeta, we need more chronitons," Claire said to the hand-sized robotic spider. The little creature perked. *Click! Chirp!* He then scurried over to a console and linked into the Na'kuhl systems. Claire ran over and read the display. "Of course this ship has a temporal drive," she smirked. "Are there any conduits near this section?" The spider hooked in one of its webs as a dataport and began back-door hacking the ship's systems. In a matter of seconds, a particle flow of chronitons was redirected away from the temporal drive's circuitry, toward a conduit in their corridor. "Now we just need to rupture it," she said going over to a Na'kuhl weapons locker and taking out an Assassin Plasma Blade. The being seemingly stopped for a moment, then quickly headed downwards through the floor. Elric nodded to Claire and the robot spider Zeta, after the being descended. "Let's find him," he said. Zeta lept onto his shoulder as he ran off. --- Lower decks Toros walked down the corridor, now guarded by more Na'kuhl security. He had a furious look in his eyes, which quickly changed to a look of fear when a certain black blob descended through the ceiling and stopped a few feet from Toros' face. "Those pests are overrunning your ship," stated the being, evidently directing its words to Toros. "They have disrupted your ability to complete your mission. Do not allow them to stand in the way of mine." "All in good time," replied the general, walking around the being and continuing onward, with the entity following him closely. "T̨͙̩͕̥̝̜͚̪͇I̗̘̱̺̲͟M̷͉͍̖̝̬̦E̷̘͢͞!͖̮̰͎͟?̟͚̺͉̫͖̪ͅ!̣͇̥?̨̞̳͙̼͢" shouted the being in reply. "They've weaponized time itself against me! We have no time." "I've never heard you yell like that before..." said Toros. "We might just have a problem, then. As for our mission... believe me when I say that no one else on this ship could possibly want it completed more... thoroughly... than I do." Toros stopped, turning to the being. "And as we both know, we can't move on to yours until we're already done with mine. Try to make yourself useful, you've been rather useless since Captain Prala got these Starfleet types involved." The being simply replied with nothing, then flew off elsewhere.