There are 2 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. USS Capricorn: Past and Present
From: Josh Turnof <josh@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
2. Always something....
From: Keeper <lordkeeper@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 16:40:25 -0400
From: Josh Turnof <josh@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: USS Capricorn: Past and Present
<snip>
> She looked intently at the Captain, wondering if he believed that she
was
> simply paranoid. Heaven knows enough Starfleet Counsellors had believed
so. Or
> were told to believe so...
>
> "We were on the brink of finding something there, sir," she said. "And
what
> happened to my team was no 'accident'. I think we were lucky to escape
with so
> few fatalities.
>
> "I know you'll be careful, Sir, but I just wanted to say my piece. And
..."
> she levelled her uncanny gaze at him again, "if you *do* manage to get
some of
> the information they've been keeping from me all these years, I'd
*really*
> like to know."
>
<end snip>
"Why don't you sit, Lt." Avi said in about as commanding a voice as
he
could muster, passing a PADD across the table. "And that's not a
request."
She took a seat, and looked at the PADD he passed across without
picking it
up. "That PADD contains all of the information gathered over the last
25
years of researching the Marin system. You will notice that your
information makes up the lion's share of the information there, and
its
because of that fact that we are headed back. We are not being
punished,
but I do need to know more about what you found there. What is not in
that
re****t?"
"Sir," she said, scanning through the information quickly. "The
information
listed in here is almost correct."
"Almost, Lt.?"
"Yes."
"Would you care to elaborate?"
"Well, there were difficult things to classify that I included in my
re****t
that don't seem to have made it in." She said, taking a deep breath.
"The
village that we landed near was gorgeous, very light stone walls.
Gorgeous
cathedral looking buildings, with enormous towers and gorgeous
windows.
"Well, We landed during the middle of the afternoon, and it was almost
a
total loss. Yet, it took until well after dark before anyone came to
the
craft to see if there were any survivors. Even then, they waited
until
quite literally the dead of night. It was almost as if they waited
until
after we'd turned the lights out on the outside of the craft before
they
came to find us."
"Was there a war or anything going on?" Avi said, tapping the top of
the
PADD to see if that information had been in her re****t.
"No, sir. This was a planet that, by all accounts, had been free of
war and
violence for over 400 years." She started, just as he found the
appropriate
section in the re****t. "They had known no war, disease or even DEATH,
for
that whole time. One person said he'd seen more than 5 lifetimes
worth of
existence."
"Doesn't that strike you as odd, Lt.?" Avi asked, very very curious
now.
"I suppose from where we sit now, yes." Istria started with an almost
irritated inflection. He had noticed she was a lot more confident
almost
strident, since she had returned from the space station with the
Calypso.
Her attitude was a lot more demonstrative, something that went
directly
against her very nature. It seemed odd. "But at the time, it seemed
fine.
Their attitudes were nothing more than congenial when we'd see them.
Which,
unfortunately, they explained could only be at night." She wiped her
face
with both of her hands. "They said it was a function of the hole in
their
atmosphere, if they were to step foot outside during the day light,
that it
was possible they would melt right there, and cautioned us against
being out
during sun, ourselves. We did as they said, if only because our
tricorders
also showed heightened levels of radiation, as they'd told us it
would."
Avi "hmm-ed" as she was talking, nodding appropriately. This was all
in the
re****t, but she was much more agitated the more she spoke of it.
"Alright, is there anything else that's not in this message?"
"No, sir." she said, almost relieved that he didn't press it further.
"Okay. Well, if you can think of anything else, let me know, and I,
obviously, will do the same."
"Yes, sir." He dismissed her, with little else. She might or might
not
have been hiding something, but for as harrowing experience as this
must
have been, she was still much too angry. She was much too bitter
still. He
was going to need to get a psyche profile on her to make sure he could
trust
her if she was on the away team.
<Bridge to Captain Reckage>
"Go ahead, Lt."
<Captain, Admiral Jackson on sub-space for you, sir.>
"Put him through." Avi said, straightening his tunic. "Yes, Admiral,
good
morning."
"what the hell are you talking about, Reckage! I missed a golf game
this
morning so I could talk to you!"
"Okay, sir. With anyone good?"
"Does it matter?! Its golf! I've missed too many rounds dealing with
your
sorry tail!"
"Yes, sir."
"But, that's not why I called. I need 3 of your officers."
"Excuse me sir," Avi eked out. It was like someone had punched him in
the
stomach. "Which officers and for what purpose?"
"Don't worry. I've sent a D-Warp shuttle to meet you in 5 hours.
They will
be taken to the local starbase and then ****pped off to their new
assignments
here on Earth. Pleasure will send you all of the information."
"Um, Admiral, who are the officers?" Avi asked, fearing the worst.
"Hmmm...I have it right here. From top to bottom, its Lt. Commander
Brendan
Dernah, Lt. Lillyth Graham, and Counselor Ocean Rhayn." Avi had a
sharp
intake of breath on the last one. She'd been avoiding him, since
they'd
left the planet. "All are going to be reassigned to different
locations.
Its my understanding, however, that Lt. Graham is going to be
reassigned
within Starfleet Engineering. Her efficiency is what's truly needed
now
that the Romulan War is over. We will definitely need her."
"Admiral, she is very good, but please make sure she goes through a
thorough
psychological examination."
"Anything I should know, Avi?"
"No, she just had a traumatic experience on the planet's surface, so
she
might need some time to herself." Avi said. He felt bad about
withholding
the truth, but there was no reason the admiral had to know that she
had a
veritable nervous breakdown on the planet. And if he did find out, it
wasn't that much a problem for Avi. He knew the Admiral would
understand,
especially as he'd given him a small head's up.
"Very good, Captain." Willy said, passing a PADD back to Pleasure
off-screen. He knew it was her because she waved. Not much of a
surprise
there. Man, she got away with murder. Probably because she had a...
"Alright, Avi. I need to get in touch with some other captains, to
ruin
their days. Have you ****pped out yet?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good." Willy said, packing up. "Oh, just to give you a head's up,
Admiral
Merryweather is being retired this month. The ceremony will probably
be
while you're out in Marin."
"Please send my regards." Avi said, remembering Percy Merryweather.
A
fantastic man. A very driven man. And an absolute nutjob, with no
concept
of social skills. "I liked him very much."
"I know, that's why I wanted to tell you. Unfortunately, its not so
pleasant a retirement." Willy said, standing up. "With the recent
promotion of Admiral Forbes, Percy is getting swept out the door."
"that's horrible, sir. Please offer my sincerest apologies to the
admiral,
and tell him I will contact him as soon as I can."
"Well, Avi, I actually have an even better idea for you..." Willy
said, with
a twinkle in his eye.
******
Respectfully Submitted,
Captain Avi Reckage, MD
Commanding Officer
USS Capricorn
NCC 1753
NRPG -- Alright, chili is on and done, if you want it to be. (and boy
is my
mouth tired...) We're on our way to Marin, for a date with destiny...
Any
questions?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 17:38:04 -0500
From: Keeper <lordkeeper@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: Always something....
Sleep came fast and hard for the large man as he didn't even feel Ursa
cover him with her own wing. With sleep of that kind comes dreams. But
not
all dreams are a story, some are mere flashes of things in the past.
Some
are imprints of events and happenings that we have no true knowledge
of and
thus it was for Dru'Kar.
Vividly he saw a dear friend fall in battle right before him. He saw
the
wraiths in an attack that cost the tribe dearly and scarred many of
them.
He saw the wild dragon kill his mate and kill and eat his children.
He saw Aradia in the dark...running. He heard the creature chasing
her. He
saw her stumble and clutch at her chest.
He felt something pierce his skin over his heart.
<snip>
With that, she took the rose on her hand and reached out to lay it
gently
upon his chest. But she barely touched it to his bare skin when his
eyes
flew open and his hand shot up and closed tightly about her wrist.
"It's me, Ya****na! It's only a rose - for you!" Xanthia quickly
explained,
instantly realizing the error of her actions.
<end snip>
The massive hand was still tightening down on the delicate forearm of
the
priestess as realization came to the sleepy, nightmare filled mind.
His
eyes shot open wide and fear gripped his heart and it showed on his
face as
he quickly released her arm. He sat up and looked at her.
"I am fine, you didn't hurt me." She said as she looked at him. Then
she
lowered her eyes so that he did not see the falseness of her
statement. No
serious damage was done but she knew the arm would bruise. "Long
sleeves
****rts for a while" she told herself.
As she looked down she saw one small bright spot of red on the large
man's
chest and then to the rose laying on the floor. There was a single
thorn
and it too had a small red spot on the tip.
She looked back to the drop on his chest and leaned forward and kissed
the
spot and her tongue licked the single drop of blood from his chest.
Suddenly she sat bolt straight and wondered in her own mind why she
did
that but at the same time glad she did. Her face blushed deeply as she
looked into the shocked eyes of the guardian in front of her.
Her face still red she stood and walked away. She went back into the
apartment where breakfast was being served.
Dru'Kar sat there in shock for a few more seconds then stood and just
scratched his head for a minute or two.
*She loves you daddy* Ursa's voice interrupted his bewilderment.
*SHE WHAT!?....no no no....your mistaken.....besides.....how would you
know
that?* Dru'Kar thought to the dragon.
Ursa puffed out her chest and raised her head to his eye level and
with the
closet a dragon could come to a smirk sent *SHE told me.*
Dru'Kar's knees buckled and he dropped straight down to a sitting
position.
*But...but...but....*
*I have suspected for some time now daddy*
Dru'Kar finally regained his feet and walked away from the smirking
Ursa.
He entered the apartment and in a daze, walked to the table and had a
seat.
Xanthia blushed an even deeper red and wouldn't take her eyes off her
plate.
Miss Meri was in the background cooking and humming.
Alina had a piece of sausage in her hand and was alternating between
examining it to find the secrets of the universe and gnawing on it
giving
herself a drool bath at the same time.
Miss Meri came and placed a plate in front of the massive man. The
plate
contained two eggs, a pancake and three pieces of sausage. She then
sat a
plate down at an empty chair and had a seat herself. "There now, the
breakfast cooking is finally all done."
Dru'Kar looked at the plate and didn't know if this was no where near
enough for him, it surely wasn't how much he usually ate. His next
thought
was that it might be too much. Clearly the morning revelations were
more on
his mind than his stomach.
Silence encompassed the table, Xanthia looking at nothing but her
plate and
eating slowly in thought. Dru'Kar not eating at all, just a blank look
on
his face. Miss Meri chewing her food and looking between the two of
them
wondering what was going on, she only just met these two people but
was
quite sure this was indeed not the norm. Alina, she continued to
alternate
between her continued deep studies of the sausage and chewing.
Dru'Kar suddenly shook his head violently as if to bring himself out
of
very deep thought. He looked at the food on the plate and piled the
eggs
and sausage onto the pancake and rolled them up. In three big bites
and
hard swallows the food was gone and he stood. "I have to um....take
care of
something."
Just then the very floor began to shake and a deep rumbling sound came
from
the ledge next to the apartment. Xanthia and Dru'Kar moved instantly
and
ran to the large cave area that lead to the ledge.
*WATCH THIS DADDY!* Came Ursa's voice in the big man's head.
He looked to the back of the cave and saw his beloved blue dragon with
her
butt against the wall, her back feet stomping up and down causing her
rear
to wiggle and her tail to rock back and forth. A gleam in her eye as
she
started running towards the edge.
"Um....Ursa?" Dru'Kar said simply as she jumped, his mind just too
befuddled to do anything more.
The dragon's wings spread instantly and caught wind and she began to
glide.
Dru'Kar and Xanthia just stood there with gaped mouths.
"Um I thought she wasn't suppose to be flying yet?" Dru'Kar said
directed
to Xanthia even though his eyes were locked on his "child".
"She's not....she's." Xanthia shrugs "she's gliding".
About that time the dragon put her feet out to touched down and wasn't
braced for the impact. Her feet stopped but her upper body continued
and
slammed chest and face first into the ground of the greens.
"URSA!" Dru'Kar screamed and began running down the steps carved into
the
mountain. He was taking four, five...sometimes six steps at a time. He
hit
the ground level of the warren at a dead run. It was a mere few
seconds
later before he come up to the dragon.
*Are you alright?* Dru'Kar asked the dragon.
*I FLEW!* Ursa said with a bit of dirt and grass hanging off her nose.
Dru'Kar looked at the dragon and just sighed in disbelief and walked
away.
He didn't know what to do or say...he was so proud of her for doing so
well
but at the same time was upset with her for even trying so soon.
Ursa watched him walk away confused by the thoughts going through his
head
but decided she would concentrate on the pride. She smiled and went
off to
tell the rest of her brood mates about the feeling of flying.
Dru'Kar walked up to Xanthia and looked at her. She was slightly out
of
breath and doing her best to calm herself from running down all of the
stairs in an attempt to keep up with Dru'Kar and Ursa. Without a word
he
scooped the small woman up in his arms and began carrying her up the
steps.
Xanthia inhaled sharply to begin a tirade of how dare yous and what do
you
think your doings, but Dru'Kar heard the inhale and knitted his
eyebrows
together in anger and looked at her.
Xanthia just exhaled slowly and didn't look into the man's face, after
she
saw the look on his. She knew there was not going to be any argument
here.
He won before it had ever began.
Dru'Kar walked up the steps and was still taking two at a time. His
sheer
size made taking one step at a time feel awkward. Even at a walk it
did not
take long for Dru'Kar to enter the warren lady's apartment and through
to
Xanthia's bedroom. He gently laid her on the bed and caressed her
hair,
"you stay put."
"But I have things to do.....I have to..." Xanthia began until she
looked
at the guardian and watched him cross his massive arms over his barrel
chest. She knew that there was no arguing with him yet. She knew he
was
just trying to watch over her and her health. "OH! Alright!" she
finally
said as she looked into his face. His amber eyes seemed to turn to
cold
steel and his face to emotionless stone.
He nodded and started to turn and walk away.
"Where are you going now?" Xanthia asked.
"The dining hall." He said and continued to walk away.
"But you already had morning feast?"
As if on cue Dru'Kar's stomach growled loudly. So loud Xanthia heard
it
from several feet away
"I just can't win with you can I?" Xanthia said to the large man and
most
nearly pouted.
Dru'Kar stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. "Some day you
shall
win all but a scant few. You are the priestess by blood but your are
not
yet THE priestess you will become. When that day comes you will know
your
true worth and value in the clan and all that entails. Until then you
shall
be .....taken care of." he then walked to the chest where Xanthia had
Aradia's stuff stored. opened it and dug until her found both Aradia's
journal and her "book of mystery". "Here...read these. It'll keep you
busy
and occupied when no one else is around."
"but I have read them..." Xanthia protested.
"Then you evidently didn't read them well enough....read them again."
and
with that he turned and left the room.
Dru'Kar walked in silent thought to the dining hall. When he did
happen to
notice someone he did the expected thing and waved or at least nodded
to
the person but did not stop to talk to anyone. He ate in silence as
well
and by the time he had finished eating it was already late morning. He
had
thought of going by the med center to speak with Ari and see if the
test
results were in, but then he remembered that his own apartment was
still a
mess. All of the happenings in the past few days had not helped him to
get
completely settled in as it was.
As he walked back out in the morning sun it occurred to him that he
had not
ran in days. Running always seemed to calm him and he missed the
hunting
excursions he and his tribe mates would take. Two sometimes even three
days
of running to get to an area that had good game in it. Nomads were
always
concerned and careful not to completely hunt out an area.
Even the thought of a short run to his apartment brought a smile to
his
face and he looked up to the sun. It was going to be a good day
indeed. One
foot after another in long quick strides and before he had realized it
he
had actually passed the steps to his apartment. He chuckled to himself
and
turned around and ran not only back to the stairs but up them as fast
as he
could. Before he knew it he was standing in front of his door and
forced
himself to enter the apartment. His thoughts were more of being
outside
than what he knew he needed to do.
He started by picking up the furs that had been strewn about and
folding
them and placing them in a neat pile on one corner of the bed. Then he
went
to where the rest of his belongings still sat bundled up in the
corner, the
bundles that the young boy Gob had helped him to go and retrieve from
his
last camp. "The camp where...." he forced the thoughts out of his mind
and
began opening the knots in the leather and fur bundles.
As each bundle was untied a flood of memories assaulted his mind as he
went
through not only personal items of his own, but that of his mate and
children as well. Add to that certain items that were definitely clan
related and the entire spectrum of emotions flooded him over and over
again
but still he fought his way through the memories and kept working.
One by one each of his weapons appeared from bundles and were placed
in a
neat arrangement on the bed and then he found the tribe's standard. A
bright red cloth that normally hangs from a cross member on the end
of a
pole. The cloth was some five feet long from top to bottom and three
feet
wide. In the middle of the cloth was a white bear paw print and in the
center of the paw print was the shape of a bear, within the bear was
the
shape of a man.
It was at about this time he heard a knock at his door. As he opened
the
door he was somewhat surprised to see the man Latnem. Dru'Kar asked
the
obvious as he stepped back to allow the man to enter. "Are you here to
check on Ya****na?"
<begin snip> <just part of the conversation posted by Morgan
Allgood...from
"Bringing it all together">
"What about?" Dru'Kar asked. Clearly this was the first he'd heard of
it.
"About his desires for his present and his future. You didn't know he
was
going to talk with me?" Latnem asked, just to be certain.
"No," the boy's Guardian replied. There was not the slightest tinge of
the
telltale purplish black holes in the man's aura, not any hint of
deceit.
"All right. I just needed to make sure his words were his own before
speaking with Merissa and Th'rin, as children can be pretty
susceptible to
expressing the wishes of those who mean the most to them as their own.
I
was pretty sure before, but now I'm certain, his words did not come
from
you but from his own heart. Thank you."
<end snip>
"Um your welcome...I guess. Is he in trouble for his desires to be
what he
is meant to be?" Dru'Kar asked as he scratched his head.
"No No...not at all. But I really do need to get moving as I have a
lot to
do today." Latnem said.
Dru'Kar escorted Latnem to the door and watched the man walk down the
stairs, shrugged. "Warren folk." Dru'Kar thought to himself still
completely unable to fathom what the problem was and turned back to
his
chores in his apartment.
After a few hours of working he decided he needed a break and went
into the
apartment of the Warrenlady. He wanted to check on Xanthia and Alina.
As he
entered and looked around he found a note from Miss Meri that
explained
that she too had much to do today and that Alina was napping with
Xanthia.
Dru'Kar set the note on the table and went to the door leading to
Xanthia's
bedroom and peeked inside. Both were indeed sound asleep. He toyed
with the
idea of entering to kiss each of them gently on the head but decided
against it. He feared that he would indeed wake them and then of
course
little Alina would want to play or eat or something of the like. No it
was
better indeed to leave them to their dreams.
Just as Dru'Kar was about to turn and walk away he heard the door to
the
outside swing open behind him. He spun himself around and felt the
adrenaline rush through his body.
Oberon walked through the door and began to speak but Dru'Kar put his
finger to his lips and pointed to the door leading to his apartment.
Oberon looked at the door then back to Dru'Kar with a bit of
puzzlement on
his face until Dru'Kar pointed to the boy and then drew an imaginary
line
through the air going to his apartment. Oberon's face lit up and
smiled and
marched to the large man's apartment, his chest puffed out that he had
understood the gestures from his guardian.
As the large man entered his apartment he smiled for most boys would
have
been ogling the weapons arranged on the bed. But the young Chieftain
had
walked right by them and was studying the standard. "That will be
yours
someday." Dru'Kar said as he moved up next to the boy.
"Mine?" Oberon said as he continued to study the flag.
"Yes, it belongs to the chieftain of the tribe and is the standard of
the
clan." Dru'Kar explained.
"Then it is mine now.....isn't it?" The boy asked as he turned to look
at
the Guardian whom he wanted him to teach him everything about his bear
nomad heritage....but more im****tantly how to be a good chieftain.
"No boy, it isn't." The man said as he looked down into the boys eyes
and
the child's eye brows curled in confusion. "you are indeed to be the
chieftain it is your blood right. But there is much for you to learn
and
accomplish before you are truly a bear chieftain. many of the lessons
you
will find to be very easy..." Dru'Kar took a deep breath and exhaled
slowly
as he turned and looked to the bed containing the weapons, "some will
not
be so easy."
Oberon felt a cold chill run through his body as the realization that
some
of the duties of the Chieftain may not be all fun and games.
"But you will learn in time. You will have to......now was there
something
you needed?" Dru'Kar asked as he turned to face the boy with a smile
on his
face. It was a forced smile but at Oberon's age he would not know the
difference.
"Latnem and I are talking to mamma....but Latnem thought it best for
me to
check in with you before we got really into the discussion." was the
boy's
reply.
"Ah ok...well then you'd best get back and have your talk......go on
now
get." and with that Dru'Kar gave the boy a pat on the rear end as he
turned
to leave.
"Ouch!" Oberon said and looked over his shoulder at his mentor and
then
smiled with a boy's mischievous glee sparkling in his eyes. And the
boy was
gone out the door.
After a few more minutes of looking around his apartment the large man
felt
a bit lost and over heated. He decided to head down to the swimming
hole he
had heard about. He grabbed his sword and strapped it to his back and
started to take a step towards the door and he froze. His mind racing
in
thoughts of wondering why he went "on guard" when the door opened in
the
Warrenlady's apartment. Why did he just know grab his sword and put it
on
without a thought of doing it?
Dru'Kar never was one to argue with his instincts and continued to the
door
without taking off the sword. After talking to a few people he found
on the
green he had a clear description on how to get to the swimming hole.
As he
started to leave the group of one male and two females, one of the
females
spoke up.
"But you don't have a bathing suit?" She said.
"What's a bathing suit?" the mountain of a man asked but the only
response
he got was a very bright blush of red cheeks from both women and a
smirk
from the man.
Dru'Kar shrugged and headed of for a nice cool dip.
*******************************************
NRPG: This was a "tie things together post" Sorry no real plot
advances in
this one....but oh boy do I have some things in mind. ;}
Summary:
Morning:
Dru'Kar is awakened from a nightmare and nearly attacks Xanthia, but
Xanthia inadvertently lets slip a hint to her feeling for the man.
Ursa
lets loose the bombshell of Xanthia's feelings for Dru'Kar and then
does
her first attempt of flying/gliding with a bit of a crash landing.
Early Afternoon:
Dru'Kar cleans and explains a small bit of reality to Oberon that
becoming
Chieftain is not all fun and games.
He then decides to go for a cool dip and will be there until late
afternoon
both swimming and stretching out and feeling the sun.
Lord Keeper Bearheart
Chieftain of the Great Northern Tribe.
________________________________________________________________________
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