Doctor Thessolonia Samantha de la Croix, MD, PHD, FASFS -
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Karrod Niac
Jun 24, 2026, 12:49:49 AM (5 days ago) Jun 24
to USS Ronin – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG
((Somewhere Absolutely Dripping with Ooze, Posterior Dorsal, Narhelion))
They had scrambled, tumbled, shambled and limped their way through Narhelions moist innards for a time too long for Thess to soon forget, the creature shuddering and thunderous psychic roars all but battering them with every step. They had no idea where they were. They had no idea where the others were, saved for an irritating beeping from their tricorders that was not in any way helpful. Narhelion was wounded. They were lost and possibly being chased. Yet worst of all her hair was dreadfully askew. She never before imagined herself as someone with violence in her heart but she found herself hoping the Alliance suffered for what it had done.
They drew to a halt at one of a series of passageway openings and looked around, trying to get their bearings while catching their breath.
Velis: Looks like we’re good for now. ::pauses:: I hope this means Narhelion has run off the enemy ships.
Thess glanced around with a raised eyebrow, comprehensively questioning how anything about their situation could be classified as 'good.' She shifted the increasingly uncomfortable weight of her weapon slung across her shoulders and let out a long, pitiable sigh.
De La Croix: I suppose hopelessly lost is an improvement over being chased by irritated crystals, although I do hope they're not further damaging Nary's interior. The poor girl has gone through a great deal and I'm concerned about her ability to heal so much internal trauma.
Wren: Response
Marsek: =/\= Lieutenant Dohna had us pressing forward with Commander Kel. If you're in front of the cargo bay, turn and head west. Follow the ceiling cables. ::pause:: Oh, right. This is Marsek. =/\=
Velis: ::shrugs:: I guess we’re going somewhere different?
De La Croix: =/\= Leave it to Starfleet to suggest there's a west inside a space whale...next you'll be telling us to loop by the gift shop in the galleria! =/\=
Thess withdrew a tricorder, wiped some unidentifiable slime off it with one filthy hand, then tapped at it in irritation. She turned in a circle before stopping and gesturing.
De La Croix: West whale is this way, ladies. Lets be about it...who knows, the way this day is going maybe there really is a gift shop.
Wren: Response
Velis: All right. West it is.
Velis: At least this is the most specific set of directions we've received all day.
Thess struggled not to laugh.
De La Croix: Isn't that what you Starfleet people love, the unknown? Quick, look over there...::she gestured in a random direction::...I doubt that's known. Or that. Or any of those.
Wren: Responses
To her surprise she followed the lights upwards and saw, as promised, cabling connected to globes of light heading further down the corridor. She shook her head at the bother of it, wondering how long she'd be expected to stay in such a dreadful state as this without a proper bath, and trudged onwards.
((A few minutes later, Maintenance Bay, Narhelion))
Velis: There they are.
Thess could see the lights of the other teams equipment across the vast space but her eyes were drawn instead towards the massive structure that dominated the center of the room. It pulsed with a heartbeat of light, a rythmic wave that flowed in from the walls in all directions and focused on the chamber itself. Her mind had trouble dealing with the scale for a moment but then she stepped back and looked again from another angle, seeing the device for what it was.
A vast uterine replicator.
It was a device many species had developed versions of to assist in the gestation of their offspring yet Thess had never seen...nor even conceived of one so enormous. Yet the basic design elements all made sense, even if the organic construction and flowing tubules of energy remained inscrutable and alien. Something within was developing...and it was beautiful.
Dohna: Is it building another ship?
Marsek: ...Using...wow, it's using everything it's learned…
Velis: ::murmurs:: It’s so beautiful.
She barely acknowledged the people around her as she drew closer to the most enormous fetus she'd ever seen, rapt with fascination.
De La Croix: Basic bi-radial symmetry...structural elements look complete...there are defined features and protrusions in several places. If this was a humanoid pregnancy I'd say it was well into the first trimester. Maybe early into the second.
She tisk'd a few times towards the ceiling.
De La Croix: Nary dear, I'm very happy for you but it's a bit unladylike to meet a...ship...you like and immediately decide to have a child. Sigh...no appreciation for romance in this day and age.
Wren/Akani: Response
Dohna: ::pointing to the red and blue tubes:: Are those nacelles?
Marsek: ::checks the tubes and does a quick reference on her PADD:: ...Nacelles from what appears to be--wait, is this early Bolian? ::ponders:: Might actually be Trill, I'll have to cross-reference. Sorry, I know it's not important right now, but those are definitely nacelles.
Velis: ::shakes her head:: That doesn’t appear to be a Trill design at all.
Thess rolled her eyes as she gestured towards the nascent Nary with one hand.
De La Croix: This is the most incredible example of self-sustaining bioengineering anyone has ever seen and you're debating the finer points of nacelle design?!
Akani: Responses
Dohna: I'm guessing it's early in the process, but the core is online and the keel has been laid. If those are engines they need to grow quite a bit.
On that at least Thess agreed, nodding to concede the point.
De La Croix: We only have our Federation biotemplates to compare it to but usually a child is somewhere between four to ten percent of the parents mass when born. Considering Narhelions size...::she looked around the massive bay and realized it wouldn't be long until the space was entirely full::...we'll have to monitor the growth rate carefully.
Akani: Response
Dohna: I mean, I'm no doctor, but it seems like its healthy.
Marsek: ::does her best to disguise her hobble over to a monitor and checks:: It's reading stable.
Whatever stable meant in this context Thess was glad to hear it but she couldn't notice the young woman all but limped her way towards them. She pulled the bioscanner off her tricorder and walked over to examine her by reflex.
De La Croix: Stay still, you've torn several ligaments in your leg and hip...what have you been doing? Wait, forget I asked...weren't you dragging an unconscious Commander around? Where has he gotten off to?
Akani: Response
Marsek: Look, it's building inside-out - I think those are the warp coils! I guess it built warp first, impulse second.
Velis: ::grins:: This is marvelous! My colleagues will be green with envy that I got to witness something like this first hand.
Concern flitted across her face as she turned back towards the corridors, her lips pressed into a line.
De La Croix: Ah yes, our colleagues. Fascinating as this is...should we not be...escaping by now? I seem to remember some plan including runabouts...and a bath...
Akani/Dohna/Wren: Response
Marsek: How long do you think this will take? I'm guessing it'll grow more once it's...erm...-birthed-, so to speak. Does Narhelion provide the basics and then protect it until it's old enough, I wonder...
Thess turned the tricorder back towards the gestating infant and compared the readings with ones she'd taken only a few minutes earlier. Her eyebrows rose in surprise.
De La Croix: It's grown nearly two percent in just the last minutes...at this rate it'll be the size of this entire room within a few hours. Beyond that...I have no clue how Narhelions reproductive cycle is supposed to function. I'm a surgeon not an obstetrician.
Akani/Dohna/Wren: Response
Marsek: =/\= Marsek to Commander Raga. Sir, we've discovered Narhelion's maintenance bay and the source of the power drain. She's--she's diverting power to create a new cosmozoan. =/\=
De La Croix: Oh don't forget to mention Commander Kel. I assume he's around here somewhere....and...oh...
A chirp from her tricorder caught her attention. When they'd converged in the room all the lifesigns they'd been tracking had moved...save for one, still registering about ten meters away up along one of the walls.
De La Croix: Did you happen to lose anyone else? There seems to be humanoid lifesigns over there.
Raga/Akani/Dohna/Wren: Responses
Serin stared at the developing vessel, watching energy pulse from the glowing orb into its growing frame.
Velis: It's a nursery.
Thess walked away from the small group, following the increasingly urgent chirp of her tricorder as she closed the distance to the life signs. A segment of glowing blue wall seemed...swollen to her, and just as she reached out a hand the tissue drew back and allowed an EVA suited figure to collapse in a heap to the floor. When she shined a light into the faceplate her surprise immediately transmuted to bemused delight.
De La Croix: Oh look, I seem to have found Beckie.
She kicked the side of his eva suit with a toe and ilicited a small groan.
De La Croix: And he isn't even dead. Will miracles never cease.
Raga/Akani/Dohna/Wren: Responses
Velis: That's...actually kind of incredible. ::grins:: Terrifying. Complicated. Possibly a nightmare from an engineering perspective. ::glances at Dohna:: But incredible.
Dohna: Response
She finished checking over Quentin's biosigns and while injured and unconscious, he didn't appear to be in any immediate peril so she turned back towards the gawking crowd with a shrug.
De La Croix: Much as I'd like to take this opportunity to remove that vile mustache, we should probably focus on Commander Kel.
Raga/Akani/Marsek/Wren: Responses
Velis: ::sighs:: =/\= All right, Commander. Now what? =/\=
Raga: Response
Thess's eyebrows went up so quickly she was certain she'd strained something.
De La Croix: Did he say we're diving towards the fissure? I seem to remember it being a point earlier that the fissure would most certainly kill us all...most thoroughly.
Dohna/Akani/Marsek/Wren: Responses
Whatever she said next was swallowed in light and noise as the chamber...as every surface she could see...surged with bluewhite energy like a great wave pouring forward.
For a long time she could see nothing. Hear nothing. Yet from somewhere all around her she felt something new. Something that replaced the pain and fury Narhelion had been pouring into their minds since the battle began.
Relief. And joy.
Vast, overwhelming joy.
[Tags/End Mission for DLC!]
======================================
Doctor Thessolonia Samantha de la Croix, MD, PHD, FASFS
Duchess of Saint-Malo
Chief Surgeon of a not entirely intolerable rowboat
V239509GT0
They had scrambled, tumbled, shambled and limped their way through Narhelions moist innards for a time too long for Thess to soon forget, the creature shuddering and thunderous psychic roars all but battering them with every step. They had no idea where they were. They had no idea where the others were, saved for an irritating beeping from their tricorders that was not in any way helpful. Narhelion was wounded. They were lost and possibly being chased. Yet worst of all her hair was dreadfully askew. She never before imagined herself as someone with violence in her heart but she found herself hoping the Alliance suffered for what it had done.
They drew to a halt at one of a series of passageway openings and looked around, trying to get their bearings while catching their breath.
Velis: Looks like we’re good for now. ::pauses:: I hope this means Narhelion has run off the enemy ships.
Thess glanced around with a raised eyebrow, comprehensively questioning how anything about their situation could be classified as 'good.' She shifted the increasingly uncomfortable weight of her weapon slung across her shoulders and let out a long, pitiable sigh.
De La Croix: I suppose hopelessly lost is an improvement over being chased by irritated crystals, although I do hope they're not further damaging Nary's interior. The poor girl has gone through a great deal and I'm concerned about her ability to heal so much internal trauma.
Wren: Response
Marsek: =/\= Lieutenant Dohna had us pressing forward with Commander Kel. If you're in front of the cargo bay, turn and head west. Follow the ceiling cables. ::pause:: Oh, right. This is Marsek. =/\=
Velis: ::shrugs:: I guess we’re going somewhere different?
De La Croix: =/\= Leave it to Starfleet to suggest there's a west inside a space whale...next you'll be telling us to loop by the gift shop in the galleria! =/\=
Thess withdrew a tricorder, wiped some unidentifiable slime off it with one filthy hand, then tapped at it in irritation. She turned in a circle before stopping and gesturing.
De La Croix: West whale is this way, ladies. Lets be about it...who knows, the way this day is going maybe there really is a gift shop.
Wren: Response
Velis: All right. West it is.
Velis: At least this is the most specific set of directions we've received all day.
Thess struggled not to laugh.
De La Croix: Isn't that what you Starfleet people love, the unknown? Quick, look over there...::she gestured in a random direction::...I doubt that's known. Or that. Or any of those.
Wren: Responses
To her surprise she followed the lights upwards and saw, as promised, cabling connected to globes of light heading further down the corridor. She shook her head at the bother of it, wondering how long she'd be expected to stay in such a dreadful state as this without a proper bath, and trudged onwards.
((A few minutes later, Maintenance Bay, Narhelion))
Velis: There they are.
Thess could see the lights of the other teams equipment across the vast space but her eyes were drawn instead towards the massive structure that dominated the center of the room. It pulsed with a heartbeat of light, a rythmic wave that flowed in from the walls in all directions and focused on the chamber itself. Her mind had trouble dealing with the scale for a moment but then she stepped back and looked again from another angle, seeing the device for what it was.
A vast uterine replicator.
It was a device many species had developed versions of to assist in the gestation of their offspring yet Thess had never seen...nor even conceived of one so enormous. Yet the basic design elements all made sense, even if the organic construction and flowing tubules of energy remained inscrutable and alien. Something within was developing...and it was beautiful.
Dohna: Is it building another ship?
Marsek: ...Using...wow, it's using everything it's learned…
Velis: ::murmurs:: It’s so beautiful.
She barely acknowledged the people around her as she drew closer to the most enormous fetus she'd ever seen, rapt with fascination.
De La Croix: Basic bi-radial symmetry...structural elements look complete...there are defined features and protrusions in several places. If this was a humanoid pregnancy I'd say it was well into the first trimester. Maybe early into the second.
She tisk'd a few times towards the ceiling.
De La Croix: Nary dear, I'm very happy for you but it's a bit unladylike to meet a...ship...you like and immediately decide to have a child. Sigh...no appreciation for romance in this day and age.
Wren/Akani: Response
Dohna: ::pointing to the red and blue tubes:: Are those nacelles?
Marsek: ::checks the tubes and does a quick reference on her PADD:: ...Nacelles from what appears to be--wait, is this early Bolian? ::ponders:: Might actually be Trill, I'll have to cross-reference. Sorry, I know it's not important right now, but those are definitely nacelles.
Velis: ::shakes her head:: That doesn’t appear to be a Trill design at all.
Thess rolled her eyes as she gestured towards the nascent Nary with one hand.
De La Croix: This is the most incredible example of self-sustaining bioengineering anyone has ever seen and you're debating the finer points of nacelle design?!
Akani: Responses
Dohna: I'm guessing it's early in the process, but the core is online and the keel has been laid. If those are engines they need to grow quite a bit.
On that at least Thess agreed, nodding to concede the point.
De La Croix: We only have our Federation biotemplates to compare it to but usually a child is somewhere between four to ten percent of the parents mass when born. Considering Narhelions size...::she looked around the massive bay and realized it wouldn't be long until the space was entirely full::...we'll have to monitor the growth rate carefully.
Akani: Response
Dohna: I mean, I'm no doctor, but it seems like its healthy.
Marsek: ::does her best to disguise her hobble over to a monitor and checks:: It's reading stable.
Whatever stable meant in this context Thess was glad to hear it but she couldn't notice the young woman all but limped her way towards them. She pulled the bioscanner off her tricorder and walked over to examine her by reflex.
De La Croix: Stay still, you've torn several ligaments in your leg and hip...what have you been doing? Wait, forget I asked...weren't you dragging an unconscious Commander around? Where has he gotten off to?
Akani: Response
Marsek: Look, it's building inside-out - I think those are the warp coils! I guess it built warp first, impulse second.
Velis: ::grins:: This is marvelous! My colleagues will be green with envy that I got to witness something like this first hand.
Concern flitted across her face as she turned back towards the corridors, her lips pressed into a line.
De La Croix: Ah yes, our colleagues. Fascinating as this is...should we not be...escaping by now? I seem to remember some plan including runabouts...and a bath...
Akani/Dohna/Wren: Response
Marsek: How long do you think this will take? I'm guessing it'll grow more once it's...erm...-birthed-, so to speak. Does Narhelion provide the basics and then protect it until it's old enough, I wonder...
Thess turned the tricorder back towards the gestating infant and compared the readings with ones she'd taken only a few minutes earlier. Her eyebrows rose in surprise.
De La Croix: It's grown nearly two percent in just the last minutes...at this rate it'll be the size of this entire room within a few hours. Beyond that...I have no clue how Narhelions reproductive cycle is supposed to function. I'm a surgeon not an obstetrician.
Akani/Dohna/Wren: Response
Marsek: =/\= Marsek to Commander Raga. Sir, we've discovered Narhelion's maintenance bay and the source of the power drain. She's--she's diverting power to create a new cosmozoan. =/\=
De La Croix: Oh don't forget to mention Commander Kel. I assume he's around here somewhere....and...oh...
A chirp from her tricorder caught her attention. When they'd converged in the room all the lifesigns they'd been tracking had moved...save for one, still registering about ten meters away up along one of the walls.
De La Croix: Did you happen to lose anyone else? There seems to be humanoid lifesigns over there.
Raga/Akani/Dohna/Wren: Responses
Serin stared at the developing vessel, watching energy pulse from the glowing orb into its growing frame.
Velis: It's a nursery.
Thess walked away from the small group, following the increasingly urgent chirp of her tricorder as she closed the distance to the life signs. A segment of glowing blue wall seemed...swollen to her, and just as she reached out a hand the tissue drew back and allowed an EVA suited figure to collapse in a heap to the floor. When she shined a light into the faceplate her surprise immediately transmuted to bemused delight.
De La Croix: Oh look, I seem to have found Beckie.
She kicked the side of his eva suit with a toe and ilicited a small groan.
De La Croix: And he isn't even dead. Will miracles never cease.
Raga/Akani/Dohna/Wren: Responses
Velis: That's...actually kind of incredible. ::grins:: Terrifying. Complicated. Possibly a nightmare from an engineering perspective. ::glances at Dohna:: But incredible.
Dohna: Response
She finished checking over Quentin's biosigns and while injured and unconscious, he didn't appear to be in any immediate peril so she turned back towards the gawking crowd with a shrug.
De La Croix: Much as I'd like to take this opportunity to remove that vile mustache, we should probably focus on Commander Kel.
Raga/Akani/Marsek/Wren: Responses
Velis: ::sighs:: =/\= All right, Commander. Now what? =/\=
Raga: Response
Thess's eyebrows went up so quickly she was certain she'd strained something.
De La Croix: Did he say we're diving towards the fissure? I seem to remember it being a point earlier that the fissure would most certainly kill us all...most thoroughly.
Dohna/Akani/Marsek/Wren: Responses
Whatever she said next was swallowed in light and noise as the chamber...as every surface she could see...surged with bluewhite energy like a great wave pouring forward.
For a long time she could see nothing. Hear nothing. Yet from somewhere all around her she felt something new. Something that replaced the pain and fury Narhelion had been pouring into their minds since the battle began.
Relief. And joy.
Vast, overwhelming joy.
[Tags/End Mission for DLC!]
======================================
Doctor Thessolonia Samantha de la Croix, MD, PHD, FASFS
Duchess of Saint-Malo
Chief Surgeon of a not entirely intolerable rowboat
V239509GT0
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