SIM:Sinda: All to Ashes

Lt Sinda Essen - All to Ashes

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(( SB118 - Fusion Generator 2 Core ))

:: It was stifling hot. It felt as though she were in an oven. Essen's dry throat was calling out for cool, soothing water. As the thought passed through her mind, a sudden burning pain made her sit up with a gasp, opening her eyes to the hellish scene which raged around her. Pipes and machinery glowed red hot. The generator itself, in the centre of the room, was engulfed in fire, flames licking around the outside and flaring out from where the coolant intake had previously been, now only a streak of bubbling metal left to mark it's existence. The entire room shimmered violently in a fierce heat haze and the decking itself seemed to be almost molten although she didn't understand why it didn't blister her skin. ::

Sinda: oO I must be dead! It's the Fire Caves, the Pah-Wraiths... Oo

Entity: ~Not dead~

:: Essen looked around wildly but she was alone with the fire. ::

Sinda: Who said that?!

Entity: ~I am here~

:: The flames emanating from the fusion generator flared in time to the voice inside her head. Essen's recent memory suddenly made itself known - StratOps, the over-heating generator, her attempt to flood it with coolant and then the fire which had burned her flesh from her bones. Or had it? She glanced down at herself - her Starfleet uniform was gone but apart from soot-covered skin and singed hair she appeared to be intact. ::

Sinda: You're one of the storm creatures, aren't you? Why are you here?

Entity: ~To burn. Burn it all to ashes~

:: Ess huddled as far away from the flames as she could, but the room wasn't very large. Pretty soon warm metal was pressing against her naked back. Warm metal which should have been agonizingly hot. ::

Sinda: Why bring me here, then? Why haven't I burnt to ashes?

Entity: ~Need you. Need you to fight the others. Boil the water, scorch the earth, sear the air~

:: The flames seemed to die down for a moment before surging even brighter than before. They kept flickering so rapidly it was hard to be sure, but Ess felt she could see a face in those flames, a pair of burning red eyes watching her. When the voice came again it was faster, more urgent. ::

Entity: ~Chose you. You have fire in your temper, hatred of the cold~

:: Ess paused. She could hardly deny that. ::

Entity: ~I watched from afar. Now you become my champion~

:: Ess could feel it inside her mind, fingers of flame poking, seeking a way into her thoughts. But once inside she had no doubt they'd consume everything. Fire was nothing if not greedy. She tried to stop her voice from shaking. ::

Sinda: I don't want to see this station burn, what if I refuse you?

Entity: ~You will be ash and I will chose another. But you won't refuse, you want the power, to burn your foes, bring ruin on your enemies. Fire in your blood, in your anger. I see it~

:: Essen hesitated, her thoughts slipping momentarily back to Bajor, to a fresh grave and her brother, Sinda Tor, callously banishing her from the planet. The distraction was all the entity needed and with a fiery roar she felt it burst into her mind, the sparks igniting all her rage and greed and arrogance into a blazing inferno. Ess clutched her head and screamed in fear but quickly found it turned to cackling, crackling laughter. Yes, all would truly burn. ::

(( Fusion Generator 2 - Auxiliary Control ))

:: The fire suppressant system was completely inoperable. Internal sensors seemed to indicate that the entire fluid contents had been turned to steam across the whole deck. Nevertheless, Crewman Clarissa Collins was trying to desperately reroute some from somewhere, not an easy task in a bulky environmental suit. Suddenly, the hatch to the core itself opened. The blast of furnace-hot air which poured out burnt her eyelashes and warped the PADD lying on her desk. It was like standing next to a volcano. Clarissa stared in horror as a blazing figure calmly stepped out of the crucible and approached. ::

Collins: The temperature in there is over a thousand degrees! Who... what are you?

Sinda: Call me... ::she paused and smiled:: Call me Cinder.

Cinder Avatar of Fire