SIM:Adyr Aftershocks
((Conference Room, USS Arrow))
Cayden sat just to the right of the head of the table in a room full of officers and one civilian. In silence, she looked over the sleek black surface to the various pairs of hands that were either on the table, unseen under the table, or in some state between on and around both. Having called the briefing, she knew some of what was coming, but she kept it all to herself and avoided any sort of speculation as they waited for the man who would sit at their head.
In a whirlwind, and in a moment as sudden as a supernova, the man of the hour walked in with purpose and took his place at the end of the table.
((Flashback, Betazed, 2374))
A thin beam of moonlight shone through the crack in the door illuminating the dirty faces that had gathered around the table in silence. Barely heard were even the sounds of life that indicated their breathing, and it seemed almost as if they were all holding their breath, waiting for the man who would lead them. As her eyes looked across the scratched surface of the once shiny table, she watched the stillness of various sets of hands. Some lay still upon the once smooth surface, while others had found their way into pockets.
And then, without a sound but with a definite stir in the stagnant air of the room, he walked in with both purpose and determination and quietly unrolled a large paper between them all.
((Conference Room, USS Arrow))
Shayne: Who’s up for some exploring?
The voice was overly familiar and immediately pulled Cayden back into the moment. The interspaced memories of past hosts often chose the most inconvenient moments to make themselves known in her mind and memories from Alaryc's past, and those that had come from his, were still surfacing. The removal of the memory block had its effects on the symbiont/host link, and she found herself still living them. Often triggered by events that seemed doomed to replay through history, she had found a way to settle through with the help of Alaryc, Jazra, and the idea that something always came of it.
Shayne: This is the Emisa System.
From the center of the table sprang a holographic representation of a seemingly conventional star system, with several planets circling.
Shayne: Starfleet’s long range gravitic telescopes have picked up small-scale warp distortions in this area of space. Seeing as we’re not sure what we’re dealing with, we’ve been assigned to investigate. Commander?
Cayden looked up...
((Flashback, Betazed, 2374))
...and met the inky black eyes of the man leading the charge. Andrus Jaxx had been her friend since her bestie had introduced her to him. After all, the betrothed of her best friend was of course her friend. He'd always had a kind face and a regal look about him and he almost never got mad. Countless hours had been spent between them sitting on stone walls along rural paths leading out of the city watching sunrises and sunsets. Entire nights had been spent in each other's company staring up at the stars. Good mornings and good lucks were spread around before class and in front of tests. It was a simple time.
It was a time that would never come again.
The image of her best friend and his love dying in the street was burned into both of their minds, but it was only reflected in his face. There was no more regal patience. There was no more kindness. There was only vengeance.
Jaxx: They've taken the city proper, but they are arrogant. News of where they are keeping their stores has made its way to us and we are going to do something about it.
((Conference Room, USS Arrow))
MacKenna: Warp signatures have not previously been detected from this system, and SFI is on alert. It is very probable nothing beyond perhaps a localized population reaching into space.
Shayne: However, what with the… what is it, the Lattice Alliance?...
The Lattice Alliance. It was a name that sent a shiver down her spine, a very familiar shiver.
Shayne: … making moves on inhabited and uninhabited planetary systems with ships that could secure parsecs of space on their lonesome, they want us to scope it out; if they have sent one of these big boys to the region and that’s the cause of the warp signals, Starfleet wants the most… well, the second-most tactically effective starship in the region to make the initial surveys.
Nearby she heard a whisper.
Hobart: ::barely a whisper:: And then run away as fast as we can…
((Flashback, Betazed, 2374))
Running was something they were going to get good at. By the time they were done coordinating in the dark, the moon was setting and the darkness seemed to get even deeper. That would be on their side as the small group of young adults spread out and tiptoed along the rubble towards those same stone walls and dusty paths that had once been the source of peace.
Now it would be the path to war.
TBC
-- Commander Cayden Adyr Executive Officer USS Arrow R238605KN0
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