There are 3 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. [DL-C] How Selfish Can You Get? (JP)
From: "Arlene" <wondermom@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
2. [USS CAPRICORN] Frothing at the Bit
From: "Arlene" <wondermom@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
3. [DL-N] Shared weeping
From: "Carina Norris" <crinklywhiskers_99@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2005 12:46:40 -0400
From: "Arlene" <wondermom@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-C] How Selfish Can You Get? (JP)
NRPG: Warning - Sensitive issue addressed.
Day 30 (?)
Evening
---
SNIP
---
[Can you see what's going?] he asked Rage, who was now in the air above
the camp.
[Can't see much,] came the short reply,
[Only lots of movement and tents collapsing on the west side of the
camp]
[Bring Mystarria and meet us on east side then, near chieftain tent,]
Memnon replied,
[I'll go see if I can find anything and then meet you there]
He then turned to Saleh and told her where the dragons were headed. She
was gone almost as soon as Memnon finished explaining it to her,
running
off in the direction they had just come from.
---
END SNIP
---
"Run! It's here! It's attacking! Everyone! Run!" Saleh screamed as
she ran past the milling people.
She heard confused questions shouted in the dark along with muffled
screams that were suddenly silenced. She didn't want to imagine what
had happened to the person whose voice had been suddenly cut off.
People began to panic and flee in all directions. When she got to the
dragons they were surrounded by frightened villagers.
"You have to save us!" One woman cried as she grasped Saleh's tunic.
Saleh wrenched free and tried to clamber up on Mystarria's back, only
to
be tugged on from frightened villagers. She kicked out at them, hard.
"Let go! Run away while you still can!"
"Save us dragonrider!" The cry came from several throats and soon
became a chant.
Saleh had made it to the top of her dragon and stared down into the
shadowy crowd. What did they expect she could do? She called to them
to run away and hoped that Memnon would hurry.
He must be coming, for Rage had suddenly pushed through the crowd. His
rider was soon aboard.
The chant continued more loudly, but all Saleh wanted to do was to flee
this nightmare. She was certainly not in the mood for a fight. She
looked over at Memnon and wondered if he were thinking the same thing.
The dragons spread their wings, pu****ng villagers out of the way so
that
they could fly. All Mystarria wished to do was to save her human, and
without any other direction from the frightened woman, the dragon took
matters into her own claws.
[Rage, we are going home!] Mystarria commanded. Within moments the
two
dragons were airborne. They circled once over the carnage below and
tele****ted to safety.
[NRPG: Simon, moving on, so no tag here -- let's pick this up on Day 1
afternoon, after Eth'n and Caly's return from their run-in with the
creature.]
---
Day 1
Afternoon
Rowan had just begun to work on her patrol schedules when she heard
about the attack on Eth'n and Caly. With Andahar busy with Cynthia and
her babies, Rowan was alone when the re****t came in of the attack on
the
young junior queenrider. But as worried as she was for the young girl,
she had to be more concerned about the nomads who had no chance against
that creature. She recalled the re****t that Saleh had given when they
had returned from the nomad camp. She needed to know more so she
summoned the two riders to her. She paced in her office as she waited
for Memnon and Saleh to arrive.
Kat poked her head into the office and said, "I know that it's Alpha's
day for being on duty, but I just heard about Caly... anything I can do
to help?"
"Please. I've just called in the other two dragonriders that have
actually seen one of these s****-things and they should be here any
second..."
Saleh and Memnon arrived at that moment and were ushered in to the
wingleader's office.
Saleh didn't feel particularly good that morning, but she put on a
brave
face when she saw the wingleader from Beta was also in the office.
"I need you to tell me all you can about that creature you saw the
other
night... anything at all."
Saleh let her flood gates open and she just started to tell them all
the
details she could remember, including the insult of being left outside
the chief's tent. She rambled on, getting more and more worked up as
she went.
"But did you actually see the creature?" Kat asked.
"Well, not exactly. I was too busy trying to stay alive and not get
trampled!"
"I saw it," Memnon chimed in.
[TAG: Simon, Carys and Kris B. Kris, I hope this will work with what
you wrote about Kat going to Rowan's office. I just wanted to tie it
all together.]
---
Day 3
Early Morning
---
SNIP
---
[*Ready!*} Saleh called to the gray dragon.
Mystarria landed on the ledge outside the apartment. [But we aren't
due
on the green yet....]
[*I know. Take me to the medical center. There is someone there I need
to see first before we go.*]
As they flew across the warren, her eyes caught the glint of sunlight
on
metal. [*Who is that? Andahar?*]
[No, it is Param's rider]
Saleh's eyes lit up, [*Wait! I've changed my mind. Take me there. To
her.*]
[Her? But you are afraid of her.] Mystarria replied in surprise.
[*Yes, I am... but if she is really Dain Rushela she might just be able
to solve all of my problems.*]
---
END SNIP
---
The gray dragon landed a short distance away from the woman Saleh
insisted she wanted to see. Mystarria wasn't sure what her rider meant
by her assertion that Cholmon would be able to solve all of her
problems, but then Mystarria didn't always understand her human. She
waited as Saleh hesitated a moment before dismounting. The dragon
could
tell that she was obviously afraid.
[Maybe you should go to Feysal? He always makes you feel better.]
Mystarria suggested.
Saleh snorted, [*Yeah... I mean, NO! He's the reason I need to talk to
her...*] And that bolstered her resolve and Saleh slid to the ground.
She could see the woman watching her with those oddly slanted eyes.
She approached the Dain Rushela slowly, while trying to look like she
knew what she was about. She stopped before her and gave a short but
necessary greeting, "Good morning. May the sun ****ne brightly on your
day."
Cholmon regarded the woman as she approached. While they had never
spoken, Cholmon could smell the fear on her. The false pleasantry only
made her more apprehensive.
"What do you need," Cholmon asked simply.
Saleh was taken slightly aback by the direct question. She had
expected
some formal greeting and then slowly work her way to the reason of her
stopping. Well, perhaps this was better. No beating about the bush.
Taking a deep breath Saleh looked Cholmon in the eye.
"I need your help."
Cholmon sheathed the twin swords, in much the same manner that a nomad
chieftain would, and took a step closer. The two women only stood
perhaps a meter apart. Cholmon was nearly drenched with sweat, despite
the cold morning air, evidence of just how vigorous her workout was.
"Sure? My help not often ask," Cholmon said in her oddly accented
nomad.
Saleh looked about. There was no one about on the green at that hour.
She reasoned this was as good a place to talk as any. "I have a
*small*
problem. You see, I already have twins... and they are just so much
work! And then I have my duties... and well, I just can't have another
one, you know what I mean?"
"I can kill child," Cholmon said plainly. "The longer you carry baby,
the sicker you will be. You do not look carry long time, I think it be
easy."
Saleh blinked in surprise. This was easier than she thought! "Can
you?
Really? You really are Dain Rushela! Please, do it now. What ever
you
want, I'll give you if you can!" Saleh gushed with relief.
"Come with me," she said plainly as she picked up her bag and headed
toward her apartment. "If you patrol today, you will be weak. I can
give you herb to push you, but have other effects."
Saleh sighed, "Well... I do have patrol today. Tomorrow? Maybe we
should do this tomorrow? ... I have to be on the green soon..." Saleh
hesitated, but followed Cholmon anyway.
"You do today, if you wait, you change mind," Cholmon said, knowing how
hard it was for Saleh to come to her. "You do today."
Saleh nodded. No backing out now, she chided herself. She felt her
stomach do a queasy flip-flop and stopped. She felt the dry heaves
begin and her face flushed with embarrassment.
[Rider? What is wrong? Are you sick?] Mystarria sent her concern.
[*Nothing! Now go away.*] But her mind flashed: 'not sick, pregnant'.
Mystarria suddenly understood. Her rider was going to be having
another
hatchling! No wonder she was so moody!
Cholmon led Saleh to her apartment, and once the they were inside, she
opened her medicine bag and took out the four herbs she would need,
three to kill the unborn child, the fourth a powerful stimulant to
counter the effects, though with the side-effects of irritability,
headache and soreness. She wouldn't bother to mention those things,
after all this woman meant nothing to her and with death there should
always be pain.
"Sit down" Cholmon commanded as she turned around with the two potions
she had concocted.
Saleh eyed the concoctions nervously. "You want me to drink those? Is
that it?" She began to doubt what she was planning on doing. "What
are
they? What is in them?"
"Drink them, you don't want or need to know ingredients. Either you do
what you set out to do, or you leave and stop wasting my time."
Saleh blanched as the woman's eyes bore into her, as if judging her to
be weak and insignificant. It rankled her and Saleh felt her temper
flare. "It was simple question! I... was... curious. That is all!"
She snatched the two cups from Cholmon's hands. "Which one first, or
does it matter?"
"You decide, doesn't matter," Cholmon replied.
Saleh looked at each cup skeptically. She sniffed one and pulled back
sharply as the pungent odor stung her nose. She sniffed the other one,
and it seemed worse, bringing tears to her eyes. She looked from one
to
the other. Finally she put one down and holding her nose tipped the
remaining cup into her mouth, swallowing quickly. It burned the whole
way down. She gagged. "That was awful!" She squeaked. "Do I have
to
drink other one?"
"No, you don't have to do anything, but if you don't want third child,
I'd drink it now" Cholmon replied. "Although having just stimulant,
without actually killing child will just give you bad headache today,
and deformed unhealthy child 8 months form now."
Saleh paled. The thought of having another baby was bad enough, but a
deformed one? Picking up the remaining cup, she again held her nose
and
swallowed. This one was worse than the other. She put her hand to her
mouth, her eyes watering. "I am going to be sick!"
"Do it outside, or you'll be cleaning my apartment before your patrol."
Cholmon stated coldly, "And then you will have to drink again."
Saleh shook her head. She was not about to drink that nasty stuff
again. She closed her eyes until the sensation passed. When she
opened
them Cholmon was cleaning up her supplies.
"How long?" Saleh asked.
Cholmon looked at her and then nodded in understanding, "You'll be sick
all day, but baby should be dead within hour."
Saleh closed her eyes again and nodded. "I should go."
Cholmon didn't reply.
As Saleh made her way back to her waiting dragon, another bout of
nausea
hit her. Mystarria came to her and nuzzled her rider. [You should go
home and rest.]
[*Can't, we have patrol, remember?*] Saleh commented.
[Not any more we don't!] Mystarria said smugly.
[*Don't joke with me, I feel bad enough...*]
[I know, and that's why we don't have patrol. I told...]
[*WHAT? You told? You stupid dragon!*] Saleh was horrified. It would
be all over camp in a matter of seconds! She looked around her as if
seeing a swarm of mad nomad men coming at her with swords drawn.
Mystarria looked hurt, [I told them that you were ill and needed to
rest!]
[*Oh... thank you.*] Saleh looked abashed.
[Now, let's go home.]
---
TAG: John. Will Feysal find out and put "two and two" together?
Andrew: Saleh had offered Cholmon "anything" if she'd help her, but
didn't pay up -- so she owes her... anytime you want to have Cholmon
collect....
***
Summary:
Day 30? (Pre-graduation)
Evening
Confronted by the carnage of the nadusi, Saleh flees to her dragon.
Worried only about themselves, Mystarria orders Rage to tele****t home,
and the dragons and riders tele****t back to Cleft.
Day 1
Afternoon
Rowan hears the news about Eth'n and Caly's attack. She calls Memnon
and Saleh in to her office to see if they can enlighten her any further
on the creature. Kat stops in and offers her help.
Day 2
Early Morning
Saleh plans on going to the med center to see if there is anything she
can do about this new pregnancy, when she spots Cholmon working out and
goes to her. She begs for her help and tells her about the pregnancy.
Cholmon knows what to do and takes Saleh back to her apartment.
Cholmon
gives Saleh two concoctions. Saleh manages to drink them and returns
to
her dragon, who smugly informs Saleh that she "told" and that they
won't
have patrol duty.
---
Respectfully submitted by:
Arlene Jacobs
AKA
Saleh and Mystarria
And
Andrew F.
AKA
Cholmon and Param
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 2
Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2005 23:03:24 -0400
From: "Arlene" <wondermom@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [USS CAPRICORN] Frothing at the Bit
MD 4
1900
"She'd better check in soon!" Ury fumed as he glared at the poor
communications technician that was manning the Comm.
"Sorry, lieutenant, there's nothing from Commander Phillips." Ury
muttered something under his breath and the comm. tech. mistakenly
asked, "I didn't catch that, Sir?"
Ury turned his fury on the poor crewman, "I was NOT talking to you!
But
if you care to know, I was saying that Commander Philips is not a
responsible officer and if I were the captain, which thankfully for her
sake I'm NOT, she'd be keelhauled and... and... thrown into the brig
for
disregarding orders!"
The comm. tech. blanched and nodded, "Yes, Sir!"
Ury fumed. She shouldn't have gone planetside... and just as quickly
he
thought, and muttered, "I should have."
"Sir?" A yeoman was standing at his elbow with a padd for his review
and signature.
"Sorry, was thinking aloud." He snatched the padd from her hands and
stared at the display without seeing it.
"We still have a trans****ter lock on them. Should we beam them out?"
"I should love to, but... no. There is something down there, and they
might just find whatever it is." Ury sighed.
"Sir, the padd?" The young woman beside him prompted.
Ury blinked, "Right, sorry." He affixed his thumb print and handed it
back. She handed him another and it was then that he realized she had
a
stack of them in her arms.
"Maybe I should do this in the captain's ready room..." He looked
about
the bridge crew and his eye rested on the weapons officer, "Lt. Frank
you have the bridge."
He took the padds from the yeoman and, dismissing her, went into the
ready room to review the re****ts. They might take up some of his time.
He sat at the desk, feeling a bit self-conscious, and spread the padds
before him, putting them in some semblance of order, from least
im****tant to most.
Most of them were maintenance and schedules. Then he came from one
that
Harry Fontaine and Nari Arkele had posted. He read through the first
paragraph and his lips pursed. "Hmm... What did happen to Waverly?
Shoddy re****t; too much left unanswered."
He tapped his comm. badge, "Fontaine, re****t to the captain's ready
room."
*Fontaine. On my way, sir!* came the swift reply.
Ury sat back steepling his fingers, in contemplation. He still felt
disgusted at being left behind on this away mission, but there was work
here that needed to be done. As he thought his comm. badge beeped.
"Rogan. Go ahead."
*Lieutenant,* Frank's voice sounded over the intercom. *We haven't
heard from Commander Phillips, but the doctor just sent back some data
for analysis.*
"Good. Keep me informed when the science team has some results." Ury
wondered what the doctor was searching for, not that he really
understood all that scientific stuff, but there had to be something
that
might answer some of what was going on down there, and just what those
*creatures* were that had attacked his team. The data on that planet
that said there weren't any animals was obviously wrong! He found
himself fuming again. "... And keep a trans****ter lock on them. If
sensors show anything unusual in their vicinity, I want them out of
there!"
*Yes, sir!*
The door chimed and Rogan answered, "Come!"
Fontaine looked in, "You wanted to see me, chief?"
Rogan snatched up the offending padd that had the perfunctory re****t on
Waverly's disappearance. "Yes. I believe you gave this re****t?" He
waved the padd, and slammed it down on the desk.
Fontaine stepped up and glanced down at it and then nodded, "Yes, sir,
Arkele and me."
"You call this thorough investigating?"
"Well, it does appear as if..."
"As if?" Ury found an outlet for his frustration and temper, "Appear?
That's not what I'd call thorough, now would you?"
Harry frowned, "Well, didn't look like..."
"Look like?" Ury threw the words back at him. "I don't care what
things 'look like' I want to know what things 'are'. A crewman doesn't
re****t, and you are speculating?"
"Didn't seem to me that there was much to go on..."
"Here's what we know:" Ury quoted.
---
SNIP
---
"Crewman Waverly, a trans****ter technician, was not as his assigned
station when we departed station." (According to The Chief Engineer.)
"Trans****ter Logs indicate he trans****ted down planetside well before
the Baryon Sweep but the destination was incorrect."
"If the coordinates recorded were indeed his point of arrival, he
would have fallen thirty two point six meters. I do not believe
Crewman Waverly was capable of independent levitation."
.... "Other factors in the trans****ter log indicate tampering.
But a side effect of the Baryon Sweep is that the trans****ter buffers
are cleared. Even if the trans****ters had not been in a state of high
activity while the crew returned it would be impossible to compare the
buffer signal to the one recorded in the Trans****ter Logs."
"I have technicians looking into the matter of discovering where it is
that Technician Waverly trans****ted himself." A'kora continued.
"Interviews with the crew have already indicated he left his post
without waiting for proper authorization. It is possible he deserted,
though such an action would be highly illogical."
"Foreseeing that he might have found a method to outwit the ****p's
internal scanners I have had my personnel have a complete
physical search of engineering spaces and all voids and cargo spaces.
It is possible he is hiding in an unused cabin, but highly unlikely."
"His medical profile does not indicate any suicidal tendencies, but it
is possible he suffered some form of depression which has escaped
notice. I would suggest all departments conduct a physical search of
all spaces; the ingenuity of humanoids set on self-destructive actions
is impressive. Failing to locate a corpse, I can only deduct that
Crewman Waverly did indeed depart the ****p in an illegal fa****on and
has no intent to return to duty."
---
END SNIP
---
"So...?" Ury glared, "I see no indication that all departments
completed such a search of unused spaces! This is just plain sloppy
investigating!"
"We'll get right on it, sir. I must have overlooked that... request."
Harry responded.
"Good! You do that!" Ury picked up the padd and tossed it at him.
"And when you have something, then you write up a re****t. No, better
yet, you come and see me. I really dislike that one of our crew goes
missing and no one knows anything! Now, dismissed!"
---
[TAG: Josh. Will Harry find the missing crewman... or what's left of
him?]
---
As Fontaine left with the padd in his hand, the comm. beeped again.
*Sir, the medical staff has some primary results.*
"On my way!" Ury finally had something to do. He snapped up and
strode
out of the ready room, heading to the turbo lift. As the doors open he
strode in, and making a smart about-face issued the command, "Deck 10!"
The lift doors hissed shut and the small vibration and hum indicated
that it was moving per Ury's request. He didn't have long to
contemplate it before they opened, revealing the hall that lead forward
to the lounge and aft to the sickbay. Briefly he wished he were
heading
to 10-Forward.
Entering sickbay, he was greeted by a nurse, "May we help you?"
Ury hated going to sickbay, and the smells brought back memories of his
recent stay there. "I'm looking for..." He frowned, as he suddenly
realized he didn't know who would have been performing the tests on the
samples, "someone who was conducting tests on the samples sent up from
the planet."
---
[TAG: Carys. Not sure, if that was Andrew? Feel free to fill Ury in
on
the findings. He won't understand a lot of technical and scientific
jargon, so have some fun with him.]
---
Summary:
MD 4
1900
Ury fumes at being left behind on the ****p. After receiving some
re****ts, he notes that the investigation into the missing crewman,
Waverly, was not completed and calls Harry in, venting his frustrations
on him. Hearing that the lab has primary results on the samples Miaren
sent up from the planet, Ury heads to sickbay to hear them first hand.
---
Respectfully submitted by
Arlene Jacobs
aka
Lt. Ury Rogan, Security/Tactical, USS Capricorn
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 3
Date: Sun, 1 May 2005 09:28:19 +0100
From: "Carina Norris" <crinklywhiskers_99@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-N] Shared weeping
Day 8
Just after Dawn
<snip from Bianca's post>
[I'm Lily. You were supposed to be in the cave. Feed me.]
Mallory blinked in surprised at the voice in her head, but the
blue-eyed baby dragon was looking right at her and it was impossible to
look away. The little baby dragon was the most beautiful, most
adorable thing ever. Looking at her, it felt like something broken
had just been fused whole, and her heart sang with the joy of it.
Mallory suddenly remembered to finish chewing her bite and held out the
rest of her breakfast roll to the little hatchling queen.
<end snip>
Jeneve smiled, weakly, and looked up at Tallon.
"I was so worried," she said, "that something would go wrong. Something
else..."
Tallon put his arm around her, protectively. "But it didn't," he
whispered.
"Malani couldn't have taken it if something had happened to that egg,"
Jeneve continued, as if she hadn't heard.
Suddenly her eyes lost their focus, and Tallon knew she was listening
to her dragon soulmate.
"And she needs me now," she said.
"I'm sorry," the young warrenlady pulled herself free from Tallon,
wrapped her pale blue cloak around her and rushed back towards the
hatching cavern.
"Jen!" Tallon called after her. "Come back!"
"No, don't," Dev placed a restraining hand on the young lord's arm.
Glaring, Tallon turned on him. "Don't you *dare* tell me what to do!"
he almost spat.
Dev shook his head, sadly. How could he make the noble understand the
dragon-bond.
"Don't just rush in there," the handsome queenrider continued. "She'll
need you later - but not now. Just follow me."
Still scowling, Tallon followed Dev back towards the hatching cavern.
*******
Now Lily had chosen her human companion, Malani should have been able
to relax, happy that all her babies had found their riders. But they
hadn't.
The golden queen turned sadly away from the entrance of the hatching
cavern, and gently stroked an object that had been almost hidden by her
body as she'd curled around her incubating eggs.
Unlike other queens, Malani had been unable to reject her eggs that had
died. As each one perished, rather than casting them out of the nest,
she had buried them in the sand, uncovering them now and then, watching
as the eggs shrivelled and shrunk to blackened husks. Talking to them,
as if they might wake up and listen. Now the eggs were hardly
recognisable - except to their mother. Every one of them had a name...
A large tear ran down Malani's golden snout.
Jeneve stood before her, and opened her arms to the dragon. Malani said
nothing, but the pain in her eyes tore Jeneve's heart. Suddenly, all of
the emotions of the past weeks came ru****ng to the surface, and the
warrenlady sank to the ground beside her dragon, wrapped her arms
around Malani's huge golden neck, and sobbed as though her heart would
break.
<tag Tree, or anyone else. That's how you'll find her.>
Respectfully submitted
Carina - for Jeneve and Malani
SUMMARY:
After Lily and Mallory's joining, Jeneve senses that Malani needs her,
and rushes back to the hatching cavern. Tallon wants to stop her, but
is restrained by Dev.
Malani is crying for her lost babies, and the shared pain brings all
Jeneves suppressed emotions to the surface, and she breaks down.
________________________________________________________________________
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