[DSX] Lt. Alora DeVeau - "Come Into My Parlour, Said The Spider..." (Arachnid Dome)

[Amanda Nordstrom]

OOC Ok, I lied...I got a second wind... and um...got carried away..


IC:

((Arachnid Dome, DSX))


:: The dark kept the trio and the spiders within its grip and Alora
trembled. Whatever had happened didn’t seem to bother the spiders for
they continued to ‘explore’, gently drawing their appendages as if
exploring what strange creature had suddenly presented herself to them.
Behind her she could hear the chirping of a tricorder and Calderan’s
voice sliced through the darkness.::


Calderan: What’s happening?


Asmara: I suppose they are trying to communicate using the tricorder.


DeVeau: What are they…


::Calderan spoke exactly as she did.::


Calderan: What are the saying?


Asmara: I trying something here. Hold on.


DeVeau: Holding.


::Barely. Alora hadn’t really felt fear when she’d volunteered to step
forward. Now that she was confronted with them, and the size of them,
she couldn’t stop the trembling that spasmed through her body. Yet they
made no move to harm her. Deep breath...deep breath...in, out...slowly
she began to relax - just a little.::


Calderan: oO How is that still working? Oo


Asmara: Say something chief. I am trying to configure the tricorder to
translate those neural impulses.


DeVeau: Say something...um. Hi? I’m Alora. I’ve heard about you guys and
am glad to finally meet you. Um...we’re having some trouble with some
bad guys who are trying to destroy the space station so…


::The tricorder beeped and Alora craned her neck to peer back at the
glow that emitted from the tricorder.::


Spider Queen: ++ Help us to help you.? Is that what you want? ++


DeVeau: Well...that would be nice. If you’re willing. We know you guys
like the station and we like the station too and we really don’t want it
to get destroyed or damaged if we can help it. There are these nodes
that were put in...they aren’t doing anything now, but they’re bombs and
they could destroy the station.


::Though supposedly they were deactivated - but could they trust that
man’s word? How much time had passed? It seemed an eternity. There was
no immediate response from the spiders and the moments ticked on. And
on. And on. Finally, beneath the silence in the depths of the shadows, a
hum stirred followed by another. Lights flicked then sprang to life,
swallowing the room in its warm glow once more.

That was when she saw the queen - the massive spider that was three
times as big as she was, a giant among the dog-sized creatures of her
retinue. Fear gripped Alora and laced its fingers around her throat,
threatening to choke her. Yet, the creature didn’t move save for it’s
mandibles, as if trying to decide whether or not she would dine upon the
puny insects that had dared to invade her domain.


A moment passed and finally the queen responded once more.


Spider Queen: ++The Great Host is coming back online.++


RESPONSES?

DeVeau: Th...thanks.


::Somehow she managed to squeak out the words despite the air that
seemed hesitant to continue to inflate her lungs. Slowly, carefully, she
drew in shaky, shallow breaths and finally managed to coax her body into
an almost normal rhythm. During those few moments, the queen seemed to
consider them once more. Finally, she moved forward and stretched out a
leg toward her. Alora stiffened, her heart resumed its pounding, but her
legs had frozen and refused to allow her to flee. The appendage poked
and prodded her, but in such a gentle fashion that the young woman
couldn’t help but relax despite the awesome sight before her.::


Spider Queen: ++Not parasitic.++


::The statement stirred confusing to mingle among the fear. What did she
mean, parasitic. There was another pause before she continued.::


Spider Queen: ++Symbiotic in nature. Life forms will be allowed to
continue. ++


::Well that was a relief and it was enough to allow Alora to truly
breathe normally again and relax. The words that came unbidden from her
lips were supposed to have remained a thought, a silly one, not meant to
be voiced but voiced none the less.::


DeVeau: What’s your name?

RESPONSES?


::Again the queen paused as if to ponder her response and when she
finally did so, the sound she made was like no language Alora had ever
heard. Although it was unpronounceable by her, she thought she might as
well at least return the favour.::


DeVeau: I’m Alora.


::The response from the queen was quicker that time. She repeated the
name - vocally and in Alora’s own voice.::


Spider Queen: Alora...


::There was a click and a whirr and then a flash as her name appeared on
her triPADD and the tricorder::


Spider Queen: ++ Alora maker. ++


DeVeau: What?


RESPONSES?


::That time, the queen did not remain to discuss anything else with
them. One last message flashed.::


Spider Queen: ++It is time to repair.++


::With that, their conversation came to a halt, punctuated by the
withdrawal of the spiders, including the queen. Where had she come from?
How had they missed her even among the masses of smaller ones? Somehow,
she draw herself along the sides of the walls and squeezed through some
of the metal latticework. A few moments more, and the small group was
alone.::


DeVeau: Wow...that was….really really scary and...really really cool.


::She turned to her companions and the relief on Calderan’s face could
not be missed. Alora had a feeling her own expression mirrored the
Lieutenant commander’s.::


Calderan: Whew! Good work team.


RESPONSE?


DeVeau: Right...thanks for the translation Asmara...I owe you.


:: A few spiders emerged only to disappear again as they removed the now
deactivated nodes. Nia’s commbadge chirped and Alora’s gaze shifted back
to the arachnides that popped in and out of view.::


Egan Manno: =/\= Commander Calderan, this is Captain Egan Manno. Please
respond. =/\=


:: Nia clenched her fists in relief before tapping her badge.::


Calderan: =/\= Oh Captain, you are a sound for weary ears! Oh, sorry,
Calderan here Ma’am.=/\=-


Egan Manno: =/\= The Garuda will be there in sixteen minutes, Commander.
What assistance do you need? =/\=


::The Garuda was back! Alora wondered how their mission had
gone...hopefully it had been less exciting than their own recent
adventure.::

Calderan: =/\= We need medical teams and security teams. Where do I
start? The Maquis were behind this whole enterprise! They wanted the
release of political prisoners, and they killed the Cardassian CO with a
bomb to make a point before lacing the station with booby traps. We’ve
neutralised the pathogen thanks to the medical staff under Doctor
Skyfire, who used his own body to develop a cure – brave but slightly
reckless. The cure is being spread throughout the stations airducts, and
the engineers have apparently rebooted the whole station’s systems with
an EMP to knock out the booby traps =/\=


Egan Manno: RESPONSE


Calderan: =/\= The Maquis? I think they’ve fled. Their ship has gone.
Can you do a sweep of the life signs. I need to know if anyone is
unaccounted for? =/\=


Egan Manno: RESPONSE


Calderan: =/\= Commander Valen is not on board DSX? Oh my =/\=


Egan Manno: RESPONSE


Calderan: =/\= Understood... See you soon Captain. Calderan out. =/\=


:: That wasn’t good news. Where had Valen gone? Had she secured a craft
somehow and gone after the Maquis? Why would she do that? Nia was
obviously upset and without a word she turned to lead them through the
duct and back toward the comm quad. Alora paused to take one last look
at the dome. While the experience had been frightening, it had also been
exhilarating - particularly once she’d felt certain they weren’t going
to hurt her. She would have to make sure she returned at some point.::


DeVeau: Well...that was an adventure.

::The comment echoed slightly through the area they crawled.


RESPONSES?


DeVeau: I didn’t realise they were quite that _huge_ especially the queen.


RESPONSES?

DeVeau: I think...I think I’ll call her...Sheba.


RESPONSES?

**************


Lt. Alora DeVeau

Chief of Science

USS Garuda