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Thread: Star Trek RPG - Mission #3: "Some Other Side of Paradise"

  1. #1201
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    "I am not upset, doctor." Kylah continues to stalk her way forward, feeling as brittle as the thinnest ice across a lake. One wrong move and the shell will break to reveal the frozen void within. "It has been a long day and I am tired. And I am embarrassed that a search party was sent looking for me because I was foolish enough not to return a hail. That is all."

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    "I'll just finish this off," says Rangin suddenly tapping away on his tricorder, "It's good to hear she's safe and everything looks normal again. Besides they will be coming through here shortly anyway to get to the main path to the research station. I'll probably come back with them."
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

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    "Fine" says Collins, "You coming, Delaney?" as she heads for the door.

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    "Right behind you, ma'am," Delaney says. He and Collins go outside, into the dark, and begin walking towards the OC3 research station.

    T'Var matches her stride with Kylah but says nothing else for the moment. They don't know it, but they are a few minutes ahead of Collins and Delaney. The two walk to the top of the small hill between the resort and the research station, and take a moment to admire the brilliantly starlit night sky overhead before heading downhill. The research station is ahead of them, well-lit and just a short walk away.

    Graham is still near the hotel elevator lobby, and Rangin is seated in the main lobby with his tricorder.

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    Tapping on his tricorder, Rangin has been waiting, his seat just in the right place to see the others outside on the grounds who have just come from the hotel. At each person's approach he's looked up, but only this time does he see the small figure of the person he's been waiting for. He darts from his chair and heads out the door before she can disappear on the other side of the hill. "Kylah?"

    Kylah continues to keep her gaze downward until a familiar voice calling her name breaks through her turbulent thoughts. Her heart makes an uncomfortable lurch when she turns around and sees Rangin jogging up the hill to her. She knows she cannot ignore him and slows down, even as her mind pleads: Not now, not now, I am not ready... Looking at T'Var, she waits for the doctor to keep moving before warily turning around.

    As Rangin nears Kylah and sees her more clearly thanks to the moonlight, he scowls. His first hope is that everything is fine, just like all the other thoughts people had had through the day about the Vice-Admiral, but something seems odd and Rangin can't quite put his finger on it.

    Kylah looks behind Rangin, expecting to see Collins or Graham or Delaney--anyone else--in the vicinity. Somehow the realization that Rangin is alone is worse. "I--I thought you would be with the rest back at the station," she says awkwardly. "Why are you here?"

    At this close distance, Rangin can see something is slightly off. She's not looking as well as when he was admiring her earlier when she appeared in that incredible dress. Tiredness, overdone it, she doesn't look the greatest, but it's been a long day.

    Rangin's face wavers between his usual smile and concern. "I'd thought I would wait for you, see how you were, although I was expecting you to be with Graham and T'Var going back to the station" Rangin hesitates, wondering if he should ask the question, Is everything all right. He decides for something not so depressing instead. "How did it go?"

    "Mr. Graham left almost immediately after informing me I'd caused an alarm by not yet arriving at the location he expected me, and making the grievous error of not hearing my communicator," Kylah says acidly. She does her best to meet Rangin's gaze, but it is difficult. "Dinner was fine. I did not learn much that we did not already know. And what I did learn--" Her throat is again tightening up and perilously close to choking. She can hardly bear the kind, gentlemanly concern on Rangin's face. Of course, Jan was concerned as well. No, do not think about him. Do not. "I... I will have to tell all this to Collins in ten minutes. I might as well wait until then, if you do not mind. I had better go... I am probably in enough trouble with her and Graham as it is." She gladly darts her gaze away and turns to continue her way downhill.

    But Rangin follows her. "Well, Graham did give that speech on always taking care earlier, no surprise he followed up on it. I guess it makes sense to tell everyone at the same time." Rangin nods along, Kylah seems unwilling to say much more, but it makes sense to wait for Collins and the rest of the group to hear her news all at the same time. He wonders about the questions he was going to ask, from earlier on and then about the camera footage and thinks better of it. No, now is not the time, she's tired, and probably just wants to give a report and go to sleep. His questions can wait.

    But there is one thing he can do, it may help, it may not, but the least he can do is offer. "One moment Kylah," he says as he transfers his phaser and communicator from his jacket to his pockets and then slips the jacket off his shoulders. "It's getting cold. May I?" He holds up the jacket by the collar offering it to her to keep her warm for the short journey.

    Kylah stares at the proffered jacket. It is a gallant gesture and her heart aches that he would make it for her. But she feels even more wretched in contrast to his thoughtfulness. She does not deserve it. She betrayed him. True, they have nothing more than a friendship, but in her heart she's wanted more--and that should have been enough to keep her from making such a stupid, reckless mistake.

    She cannot reject his offer without being rude. Silently she moves closer and lets the jacket fall over her shoulders. She's terrified that he'll touch her, because if he does she has no idea how she'll react. Kylah clutches the lapels herself to tighten the jacket over her arms. "Thank you," she murmurs, not trusting her voice or even able to look at him. She moves quickly away from him, almost running downhill.

    "You're welcome." Rangin's voice follows her in the cool night air, unsure of what just happened. Why did she leave so abruptly? He had been about to offer her an arm in escort back to the station, but now she had already left and Rangin wonders if he did something wrong. Or is she having a guilty thought about the footage? But no, she couldn't know anything about that yet. Well, not unless Graham said something. But then, a few hours ago, she faced off against Graham and Collins, and now...now, she didn't look him in the eye.

    He isn't sure what happened but it is confusing Rangin quite a bit. Probably just the long day, it had been fraught.

    Picking up his tricorder, Rangin counts to sixty to give Kylah the headstart and space she seems to currently want before heading after her. After the final debrief tonight, she might be more receptive to answering questions and Rangin will be curious to find out more. Looking up at the stars above, he wishes for nothing to go wrong on this trip. Rangin sadly smiles with a shake of his head. Of course, something will go wrong, it's been doing that every couple of hours so far given the number of squabbles, paranoia and general actions of some of the team, and just now it's happened again.

    Rangin sighs. He forgot how much he disliked the cold.
    Last edited by CatInASuit; 14 Jan 2014 at 10:53 AM. Reason: Kylah by choie, Rangin by CIAS, because why not.
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

  6. #1206
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    Graham wonders whether he can use his previous tricorder readings to determine which room Kylah had been in, in order to go up there and find out what really happened. He's less disturbed by the potential consequences of doing so than by his doubts about Kylah's honesty and intentions: as a result, he rules it out. I'd really live down to Rangin's expectations if I barged up there and dragged some guy whose only crime is being handsome out of his bed, he thinks.

    He sighs and contemplates getting a drink. Fringe benefit...maybe some rich heiress will invite me up to her room. But dismisses that as well as he's sure he's pushed things with Collins as far as he can today while still being able to have a decent rapport and figure out why unit cohesion is such a mess.

    He does his best to take an alternate path back to the research station in order to avoid any of the crew. Once outside, he looks up at the stars--he remembers his conversation with Bennett and wonders what she's doing at the moment. Then he proceeds to the station.

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    "Would you like a moment to collect yourself?" T'Var asks Kylah. "Or should we continue on to the station?"

    T'Var considers placing her arm around the young ensign, but thinks better of it. The doctor can sense Kylah's raw emotional state. Something happened in that hotel room. And T'Var has a fairly good idea of what that something might be.

  8. #1208
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    Kylah is moving fast enough that she's almost overtaken T'Var, despite the older woman's head start. At the Vulcan's question, Kylah shakes her head . "I do not need to collect myself, thank you," she says in a low, rock-hard voice. "I am not nervous, I am not angry, I am not sad, I am not hysterical, I am not anything that requires any attention whatsoever. I just wish to get this day over with."

    She hugs the jacket closer and walks faster, glad the Vulcan can only read her thoughts if they have contact with one another. She has no intention of even brushing up against T'Var if she can help it. Without stopping further, she can now see the research station up ahead. It is hard to believe all that has happened since they were last here. Never in a million years, when they were walking out from the pristine laboratory into the beautiful but harsh sunlight, could Kylah have expected that she'd soon lose her dignity thanks to Collins's harsh words, and later lose her own control over what happens to her body.

    Closing her eyes, Kylah stops in front of the door, gathers herself, and enters the station.

  9. #1209
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    A young male Science ensign is there to greet Kylah. "Just a moment, please, ma'am," he says. "Let me call Lt. Palver." He does, and the research station's director responds that he'll be right down.

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    "I am with the Yorktown crew," Kylah says, suspecting she must look like a guest who's wandered away from the resort. "I know I am out of uniform. My name is Ensign Kylah." She stands there, awkward, and the clean, spare surroundings make her feel even filthier. Quickly she takes off Rangin's jacket, realizing that she should not have worn it in the first place. Not with another man's smell still on her. Not to mention...

    The sudden thought sickens her. She bites her lip, forcing herself to stay calm. Regardless of what her teachers and parents told her about half-breed fertility, Kylah can take no chances. Somehow, she'll have to manage a visit to the resort's hospital tomorrow.
    Last edited by choie; 14 Jan 2014 at 05:03 PM.

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    Lt. Palver enters the small lobby, sees Kylah and smiles. "Welcome back, Ens. Kylah." He says to the other officer, "It's OK, Bob. I'll take it from here." Dr. T'Var then enters by the outside door, followed shortly afterwards by Collins, Delaney, Rangin and finally Graham. "Welcome to you all," the scientist says, looking around at the group. "I hope you had a worthwhile visit to the resort...?"

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    "Yes, thank you. I think we each learned something," Collins says un-ironically. "Are our quarters ready? Some of my want to freshen up before we debrief each other."

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    "Some of your what?" Palver asks.

  14. #1214
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    All right, that's it, goddammit, Graham thinks, hearing Palver's response. Do these spores make everyone on this planet ball busters, or just science division types? For all his inclination to ask Collins one-on-one what the hell she's doing, and despite any temptation to watch her twist in the wind, she's still his mission commander. He strides forward until he's face to face with Palver, backing off from an aggressive posture at the last moment since he accepts the fact that their rank differential makes going drill sergeant on a superior officer a losing proposition.

    "Her egg-bearing Hortas...." he mutters while on approach, then then drastically moderates his tone to all business. He stands at attention and then shifts to parade rest and clasps his hands behind his back. "Sir, I believe the lieutenant meant her team, sir."
    Last edited by general_urko; 15 Jan 2014 at 01:46 AM. Reason: minor edit, misspelling

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    As he wanders back to the station, Rangin considers what he wants to do that evening. He doesn't feel like sleeping and needs to blow off some steam. He's already written up the report and other than trying to get answers out of Kylah, it's pretty blank. Then again, given Kylah's actions she looked like she just want some space and some sleep.

    What else did that leave: he could beat Collins at chess, he could lose to T'Var at chess, Graham probably didn't want to speak to him right now, and he probably wanted as much space as Kylah did from him right now. As for Delaney, any technical talk would go over Rangin's head and anything biological would probably go over his.

    Looking back into the distance at the resort, Rangin wonders about his earlier considerations. The nightclub, hmm, how could he clear that with Collins as being an acceptable venture. But other people, socialising, dancing, interacting, even if just for an hour or two. He skips a couple of steps to a song in his head before continuing the trudge back to the station, Rangin's mind putting together the right questions. It passes the time and as he arrives with a smile back on his face he's ready with a couple of questions. Don't ask, don't get, right.

    He greets the others and Lt Palver as he arrives, sees that Kylah has his jacket firmly wrapped over her arm, and that Graham hasn't arrived yet. While waiting for Graham, Rangin starts with Kylah, approaching carefully and quietly to ask. "My apologies Kylah, I wasn't able to keep up with you, could I have my jacket back please?"
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

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    Kylah returns Rangin's jacket with a quiet "Thank you," flicking her gaze up to his face only long enough as is necessary. She waits quietly, not wanting to look at Collins either, but for once grateful that the lieutenant is suggesting a break. On the one hand, she has been dying for a chance to wash since... everything happened. On the other, she'd rather get the debriefing over with so she can take her time in the shower or bath or whatever they have. Perhaps they have some decontamination chamber I can use, she thinks darkly. That is the only way she will feel clean enough.

    But then Graham suddenly advances on Lt. Palver. She hasn't been paying attention and his aggressive move startles her, causing her to step backwards, almost shrinking at the implied violence in his stance.

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    "Yes, my team" Collins says, only slightly embarrassed for herself, moreso for Graham's attack of Palver. "We'll reconvene in 20 minutes" With that, Collins heads for her quarters for some alone time.
    Last edited by anyrose; 15 Jan 2014 at 10:10 AM.

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    Having gathered his jacket and still stood near to Kylah, he is surprised to find her shrinking backwards at Graham's actions. Then again, he's been doing it all day

    Thinking that Graham has decided once again to be an idiot, albeit this time to Lieutenant Palver, Rangin's mind is fairly well made up. Debrief, see if Kylah wants to talk, and then try to get out of here. Of course Collins could pull the rug out of the entire thing just by calling for everyone to stay. But as there were only two male Ensigns, he would bet that he was going to be bunked in with Graham and that was something to avoid. Rangin was fairly certain Graham was going to snore as well.

    "Debrief in 20 minutes, Sir, " he politely enquires of Collins. Just long enough for a brief shower to freshen up after the day.

    Then he asks Lt Palver with a complete straight face, "Excuse me for asking, but do you happen to have any studies about the effects of Audio and Visual Stimulation on the Social Habits and Activities of those who have undergone Spore Therapy". The little voice in his head whispers to itself, Go on, you know what I'm asking. I bet every intern here has asked that question and its deliberately never been answered. Say no, go on say no. Give me a chance to convince Collins.
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

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    Long past being surprised by Collins's lack of leadership or willingness to discipline Graham--she must enjoy having an attack dog to do her dirty work--Kylah walks to Palver and says softly, "Please forgive our behavior, sir. It has been an arduous day."

    She looks around, hoping for some guidance as to which way to go. Uncertain how Collins knew where their quarters are, she turns back to Palver. Before she can ask him where they are to be staying, Rangin asks the question about the spores. Kylah flushes slightly--she knows more about the social habits of spores than she would dare to admit--but waits to hear the response.

  20. #1220
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    Lt. Palver's expression clouds over briefly at Graham's behavior, but he turns and says calmly to Rangin, "There has been research of that type, with various stimuli, but no particular effect was noted. Unless an adrenaline surge is triggered, those exposed to the spores behave just the same as before."

    He says to Collins, "We have two double and two single guest rooms, Mr. Collins. I'll leave it to you to assign rooms to your party as you see fit. There's a conference room on the third floor you're welcome to use for your debriefing. There's also a replicator there if anyone hasn't yet had their supper, or you can go to our mess hall on the fifth floor whenever you like. Please follow Ens. Weinstein upstairs."

    He nods at Kylah's remark, and clears his throat. "Mr. Graham, wait here a moment."

    Science Ens. Weinstein leads all but Graham to the sixth or top floor. It is well-lit, spare and clean, just like the rest of the station. "Your room assignments, ma'am?" he asks Collins.

    When the lobby is empty but for the two of them, Lt. Palver rasps, "Attention, Mr. Graham." When the Security man has come to attention, Palver stands squarely in front of him and leans close. "I don't know how they do things on the Yorktown, mister, but here on OC3, what you just did is very rude, and might be - hell, very likely would be - considered insubordination. I suspect Capt. Singh and your department chief would be displeased to learn of your behavior. What do you have to say for yourself?"
    Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 15 Jan 2014 at 03:49 PM.

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    "I'll take one of the singles," Collins is glad that rank does sometime have its privileges "Lt Delaney can have the other, then Doctor T'Var will share with Mr Kylah, leaving Ensigns Rangin and Graham in the other double."

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    "Thank you, Mr. Weinstein," Kylah murmurs. "May I ask a further question? Our uniforms were beamed back to the station earlier today. Do you know where we might find them?" She looks briefly at Collins. "Sir, you may wish to contact the ship to arrange for our night clothes to be sent over."

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    Rangin's night just went from bad to worse. Thanks to Graham, Palver probably didn't care about his loaded question, leaving him stuck here. And now he gets to share a room. At this rate, Graham probably snored like an elephant.

    Rangin turns to Collins. "I take it camping rough is out of the question then."
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

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    Collins nods to Kylah and calls the ship to have the team's overnight bags beamed down.

    Upon hearing Rangin's comment, Collins raises an eyebrow at him "Yeah, ... no. You're only sharing a room, not a bed."
    Last edited by anyrose; 15 Jan 2014 at 04:52 PM.

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    "Yes, Sir," replies Rangin to Collins.

    "Thank you for an image I didn't need, Sir", he mutters more quietly to himself.
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

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    T'Var is quite concerned about Kylah and her behavior. Obviously, something happened up in the hotel room to cause great emotional distress.

    For now, the doctor will remain silent and watch Kylah closely. When the briefing is over, there will be time enough to find out just what is going on.

    T'Var sighs. She has also noticed that Collins has not been acting quite right. The doctor will keep an eye on their mission leader as well.

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    "Dr. T'Var," Kylah asks, looking somewhere near the Vulcan's left shoulder. "Do you mind if I take a shower, or do you wish to take one yourself?"

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    "I am fine," T'Var tells Kylah. "Though I could use a snack of some kind before our briefing."

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    Graham returns to attention. "There's no argument to make, sir. Your perspective is entirely reasonable," he answers evenly, and, in point of fact, sincerely.

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    Kylah nods at T'Var's words, grateful that she can take her time in the shower. "Lt. Palver mentioned that there is a replicator in the conference room, and a mess hall upstairs. Perhaps you can get something to eat up there beforehand."

    She hopes T'Var chooses the mess hall. The ability to be alone, even for a little while, would be a blessing. She also realizes for the first time that she's been feeling a dull ache of hunger for some time; of course, she ate very little at dinner except for the appetizer Jan recommended...

    Kylah swiftly turns her mind away from that train of thought.

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    Palver looks over Graham with narrowed eyes and finally says, "I suggest you think before you act next time, Mr. Graham. Part of being a good Starfleet officer is knowing what to do, and what not to do, under different circumstances. I'll overlook what just happened, and make no report to your chain of command - assuming there is no repeat of that or any other similar behavior while you're on this planet. Do I make myself understood? If so, dismissed."

    Overnight bags including clean underwear, uniforms, socks, nightclothes, toiletries etc. are beamed down from the Yorktown for each of the landing party. Each guest room has a small adjoining bathroom.

  32. #1232
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    After being dismissed, Graham does a regulation pivot while at attention to take his leave, then heads up to the room. He goes into the bathroom, removes his shirt, and spends a few minutes washing his face first with very hot and then bracingly cold water.

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    Kylah takes her overnight bag into the bathroom and shuts the door, then locks it. Stripping out of her dress, she stares at herself in the mirror for some time. She looks tired, pale and slightly red-eyed, but otherwise there is no physical change. Not that she thought there would be. There are some red marks on her breasts, which mean nothing since she's always been easy to bruise; these are just where his lips and fingers took possession of her. But he didn't hurt her. Not that way. Not intentionally.

    She throws the dress in the wastebasket, and the underwear too. Finally she steps into the shower and turns it on to full blast, as scalding hot as she can stand it. For some moments she just stands beneath the water, purposely suffering the painful heat, and then scrubs herself clean until there's almost nothing left of the soap.

    When through, she gets out and dries herself off, towel-dries her hair, and again she examines her reflection. Now all of her skin is an angry, glowing red. She brushes her teeth, glad to get the taste of him out of her mouth at last, and puts on her leather knife strap, her weapon, and her underwear, uniform and boots.

    At last she leaves the bathroom, dressed again as a Starfleet officer. Instead of a harlot.

    She takes her communicator and phaser out of the purse and throws the bag in the trash too. Finally she is ready. A look at the chronometer shows that she took such a long shower she's minutes away from being late for the debriefing. Loosely tying her damp hair back with a clip, she leaves the room and heads to the conference room.
    Last edited by choie; 15 Jan 2014 at 10:51 PM.

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    Kylah sees Delaney in the hallway, also headed to the conference room. He walks beside her. He's back in a regulation Starfleet Engineering red shirt, the half-stripe of a lieutenant junior grade on his cuffs, with black pants and boots. "Hey, Kylah," he says. "Long day, huh?"

    There are stairs or an elevator down.

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    "Yes, sir," Kylah says, her voice neutral. "Very long indeed." She presses the elevator button, but then shakes her head and addresses Delaney without looking at him. "I'm sorry, do you prefer to walk....?"

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    Having reached the room first, without Graham in sight, Rangin looks and grabs the one furthest from the door. Memories of a space station not fresh, but still there.

    Neatly folding the suit he dives through the shower more to freshen up quickly than any sense of having to clean off, its not been that physically strenuous a day, more mentally tiring. He doesn't acknowledge Graham who is doing his own thing as he gets dressed and then heads back to the bedroom. He stretches slightly then neatly puts the rest of his clothes and things away, acknowledges Graham with a nod, while picking up his tricorder with all his notes on and phaser before heading for the door.

    As he gets there, he stops, takes a deep breath and turns around, "Graham, I'm going to find some coffee, did you want anything?", he politely enquires.

    I've been after him all day about his attitude, hopefully Palver might have made think as well. Time to build some bridges and see if there is some hope for him after all. Rangin thinks waiting to see what the reply might be.
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

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    "No, I'll take the elevator, too," Delaney says. The two go to the third floor and find the conference room just down the hall. It's plain and undecorated, about half the size of those on the ship, but certainly big enough for the six of the landing party. The engineer offers Kylah something from the replicator.

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    Alone in her room, Collins sits on the bed and tries to clear her head of the day's abrasiveness. She leans forward at the hips, and drops her head, shoulders, and arms to the floor. She stays like this several minutes, listening to her heartbeat; then stands, does a few yoga stretches, changes into her uniform, and heads to the debriefing downstairs.

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    Kylah thanks Delaney and starts to say no, but changes her mind. "May I have some hot cocoa, please?" she says. The drink might help soothe her, even as she racks her brain to come up with something to say about tonight.

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    T'Var makes a quick trip to the mess hall for some refreshment -- a glazed pastry and herbal tea -- then heads to the conference room.

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    Graham grunts in response to Rangin's question. "Whiskey, lots of it." Then he smiles a little and shakes his head. "I'm sure you're thrilled about rooming with someone you think is a big idiot," he says while he looks for a clean tee-shirt in his kit. "Like I'm sure my daughter was always wondering how a smart girl like her wound up with such a stupid jerk of a father. It was my wife, you know--she was brilliant. In every way, I guess, except marrying me."

    He pulls the shirt on, wondering what Rangin was thinking on seeing the numerous scars on his torso --probably ah ha! proof of all the times you were beating on some helpless murderer with your ribcage or your kidneys, he thinks. "Anyway, thanks for asking, I'll see you at the briefing."

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    Rangin shrugs at Graham's comments before sighing.

    "Graham, just a few quick points. One, you've been further up the ranks than anyone here, you're not stupid and you know it. Two, self-deprecation is funny, self-pitying isn't. Three, I apologise for the comment about your daughter earlier. It was low. See you at the briefing"

    Rangin turns to leave, "Oh and four, if you snore like an Elephant, I'll be back to asking Collins if I can camp rough again."

    Out the door, Rangin whistles low. Nice set of scars, there's someone who's been in the business for too long. Wonder what he will think of me when he sees my latest set tonight.

    Rangin heads to the debriefing room, acknowledges the others and heads straight for the replicator to get a double coffee.
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

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    Graham chuckles to himself after Rangin leaves. This guy's brutal. Smart guy though. Graham muses that it would be ideal if the science officer were smart enough to sort out time travel, so they could travel back and re-start this crappy day. But given that this is unlikely, looses up his neck and shoulders, takes a deep breath, and heads for what will surely be a deservedly painful debriefing.

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    Kylah sees everyone gathering around the table--she's looking down at her hands in front of her, but her peripheral vision notes the others as they enter. She is jumpy and anxious. Why are they not starting? What is Collins waiting for? The sooner they start, the sooner this ordeal will be over and she can crawl into bed.

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    Rangin looks round the table at the long, silent faces. All brave, bold and true, and not one of them ready to stick a hand up and start the conversation.

    "Sir,", he aims in Collins' direction, "who would you like to start the debriefing."

    Rangin waits, expecting Collins to jump on it and nominate him.
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

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    "Doctor T'Var," Collins decides, "would you please start?"

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    Graham clears his throat. "Um, if you could let me have me a second, Doc."

    "I've been on a lot of landing parties, and today our unit cohesion sucked. Now before anybody starts to argue about whose fault it was or that 'I was god's gift to Starfleet but so-and-so was the problem,' I don't expect you to listen to me like the Old Wise Man from the Mountain. I'm not going to argue the point, and I'm not going to say boo about anybody else, I'm just going to put my opinion out there and speak for myself."

    He stands up. "Today I made mistakes." He glances at Rangin. "I'll bet some of us disagree on which decisions were mistakes and which were right. And the fact is..." He can't help but look at Kylah. "The fact is that I'm not sure myself which calls were right or wrong." He shrugs. "Well, antagonizing Palver is for sure up for there in competition for Alpha Quadrant Preventable Stupidity of the Year Award... Anyway, aside from anything else, I didn't do the team or the ship proud today. Regardless of what anyone else did or didn't do, that's on me, and I apologize."

    He looks at Collins. "And if you want to write me up for being out of line, that's OK, L-T, but it is what it is, I needed to say this." Graham sits back down. "Sorry Doc," he says to T'Var.

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    "Well," Collins says to Graham, "As long as you have our attention, you might as well share what useful information you've got."
    Last edited by anyrose; 16 Jan 2014 at 09:12 PM.

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    Delaney leans back and looks expectantly at Graham.

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    Kylah warms her hands around the mug of hot cocoa which Delaney got for her, and stares into the little cloud of whipped cream swirling and melting into the liquid. When Graham suddenly speaks instead of T'Var, she rouses herself to at least listen to the security officer. He's talking about unit cohesion. She knows she should care about unit cohesion; right now she's doing all she can to keep herself cohesive, because if it were up to her she'd dissolve into the same nothingness as the whipped cream.

    She feels his gaze on her at one point and, hearing him talk about bad decisions, curls her fingers more tightly around the mug. He cannot know what happened, so why is he looking at her? Since he doesn't know he can't be blaming her, and he certainly should not blame himself. Even if she had checked in every hour as he originally recommended, not a single thing would have changed. A lot can happen in an hour. A lot did happen in an hour.

    But it does not matter because he will not know. None of them can. It would kill her.

    Then Collins speaks, breaking into Kylah's thoughts. The mission commander doesn't seem to acknowledge anything her junior officer said. Just asks him to continue. Kylah shakes her head infinitesimally and returns her focus to the drink. Nothing has changed. Everything has changed for her, but for the others... Nothing has changed.
    Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 16 Jan 2014 at 11:07 PM. Reason: Cocoa delivered, yes, ma'am!

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