PNPC 1LT Alene Torado —When Life Hands You Men…
Naxell
((OOC: Only extending this a couple tags to give Max time to link up from the aft compartment scene.))
((Shuttlecraft “Ozark,” Velithari Cloud, Ceram Archipelago))
The shuttle shifted, but the only indication that anything had happened was the way Khitomer twisted beneath them. It was eerie and nervewracking. And while there was usually some comfort knowing that space was mostly big and empty, they didn't have that here.
Michaels: Be extremely careful. The filaments inside Khitomer are extremely thin. They also appear to be draining Khitomer's power. I suspect they are part of how they are holding us.
Torado: ::gritted teeth:: I won't be able to tell if it's gonna grab us until it already has…
Michaels: With this nebula obscuring everything and no information concerning where on their ship we should go, using a tractor beam to grab us would seem to be the logical approach.
If they had any. With the way the cloud seemed to glom onto Khitomer's nacelles, Alene wondered if they had developed the technology for tractor beams at all. It wasn't clear that they needed to.
Torado: I have no idea where I'm going. Try comms?
Michaels: =/\= Khitomer Shuttlecraft Ozark enroute to Jorogumo. Please supply us with destination coordinates. =/\= :: beat :: And now we see how friendly these "man-eaters" are.
There was a short pause. They were using the comm frequency Lieutenant Semara had identified on the briefing PADD, as far as Torado could tell, but in addition to “where are we going exactly” and “what have they done with Ensign Matthews,” the fine details of perceived Velithari comm etiquette were absent.
Velithari Comms: =/\= Standby Kitomeer shudlecrat Osalk. We are setting an approach for you. We will bring you aboard under our control when you are within 50 cliggers. Please limit your speed to 5 cliggers per furth. Jorogumo out. =/\=
Michaels: Do you have any idea any of that means?
Torado: Oh, hundred percent. There's about eight furths in a glarb.
She had little way of knowing whether her sarcastic humor had an effect on Lieutenant JG Michaels. Not because she was Vulcan, Alene wagered, but because she was an Engineer. Lera's eyes were fixed ahead, while Alene's flitted around her controls. She didn't really need the windows.
Torado: Something’s cleared up ahead of us. Can see straight through to… I think that's a shuttlebay. Or a mouth.
Michaels: That will make navigating considerably simpler. :: She turned and called to the others. :: Amelia. Talia. Ras. You are going to want to see this.
At that, Alene looked up to see the blinking lights and opened pathway to the alien ship. It meant little to her, from here. She was far more concerned with what they would find inside.
Michaels: I was unaware you were there, Amelia. :: turning back to the front. :: Our new found friends appear to have complete control over the nebula. That requires an immense amount of energy and, unless they have mastered matter to energy conversion, there is only one feasible source of that energy; the star. :: beat :: I suspect that the nebula, at its core, is actually a form of Dyson Sphere constructed of cables rather than plates.
Semara: Response
Michaels: Amelia. I am concerned on behalf of Ras. It seems logical to me that any society that heavily favors females over males would have laws to enforce that system. Quite probably laws to punish male insubordination or pretending to be female. :: Lera turned toward the back of the shuttle to face Amelia directly. :: It follows that those laws would prescribe severe punishments which might include a death penalty. If our hosts decide that we are subject to their laws... Perhaps bringing Ras along was a non-trivial mistake.
Alene made a noise. Mistake or not, these aliens were like as anything to kill them all, she estimated. This cotton candy nebula was massive, and clearly had been around for a while. It was hard to remain unknown and “unencountered” without a fair amount of blood on your hands. Alene was glad she was going in armed.
Semara: Response
Torado: I mean, maybe it's good they figure him out.
Semara / Michaels: Response
Her tone didn't change much. If she hadn't been busy flying the ship through a deadly ship-snaring cloud, she might have turned apologetic. But as it was, she just seemed distant, focused on not crashing.
Torado: Not good, but useful. Maybe they take him the same place they took Matthews, and then we bust ‘em both out.
Semara / Michaels: Response
TBC
——— ▯ ———
1st Lieutenant Alene Torado
Marine Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
As simmed by
Commander Nax-Ellarneii-Tellargo
Commanding Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A240001NH3