Predators are not for the faint of heart

Posted on 24 Aug 2019 @ 3:27pm by Captain Jonathan Reynolds & Commander Amelia Fox & Lieutenant JG Lilura Karakalakss & Lieutenant JG Rosaline Belikov

Mission: Mission 1 - In the pale moonlight ...
Location: USS Andromeda - Main Engineering
Timeline: MD5 0700 hours
1626 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

The Chief Engineering Officer was in her office, thinking. Her engineering crew were skittish, very skittish. While they kept doing their jobs, their actions and reactions were beginning to affect the ebb and flow of power and propulsion for the ship, and that was NOT a good thing. Something was affecting them, and she did not have a clue as to what it was.

As a Soliodaran, she was from a highly psionic race. Normally, all of their race had Telepathy and Telekinesis, but she had been born shut out of telepathy and only with minor telekinesis. It happened, and she accepted it. However, that also meant it was damned hard to affect her telepathically, which for the most part, was a boon, mostly. However, with her engineering crew being skittish, and having nightmares, some waking, she wished she could know if something external was affecting them psionically, but, for the most part, she couldn't know, due to her 'birth defect' of being shut out telepathically.

Then, it happened. Her Senior Chief Engineer, Matthew Aslanar, saw a shadow of a saboteur in the Matter/AntiMatter engine control computer. She called security.

=/\= Security, Engineering. Possible Saboteur at the node feed computer for the main engines power plant. Please Respond=/\=

=/\= Security acknowledge =/\= came the response. Five minutes later, Rose rushed into Engineering with a squad of Security officers all with phasers drawn, "spread out, search the area" she ordered, as she started looking for the Chief Engineer, "Lieutenant Karakalakss?"

The tall Sauriaform Engineer came over to Rose. She smiled to the shorter blond 'Terran' (still taller than most Terrans, Lilura noticed), and responded, "Here." Lilura moved over to a bald Terran who was subtly keeping track of the 'intruder'. Lilura nodded to him and said, "Is the intruder still there?"

Senior Chief Aslanar nodded and shifted his head to subtly point down between racks of equipment to a shadowy area among the computer control consoles for the field energy modulation arrays for the main power plant. "Still there, Ma'am. Not doing much, probably trying to still get into the controls, which are print encoded only to engineering personnel, as per your request."

Lilura peered back into the shadows to see .. something moving. But, it wasn't appearing humanoid, at least to her. Matthew was seeing a humanoid shape. Lilura replied, "Umm, sure it's humanoid? I'm.. not so sure. Lieutenant Belikov? What are you seeing?"

Rose shook her head, "I'm not sure. Stay back for now" she said, signaling for her squad to go around and block it's escape, before slowly moving to a better position to get a look at this person.


=^=Bridge to Engineering=^= The Captains voice came across the comm. as all around them the lights and alarm changed to an intruder alert. =^=What's this about a saboteur? Internal sensors are not picking anyone up. Have you been able to ID them?=^=

Lilura looked confused as she hit her combadge. =^= Karakalakss here, Bridge. We are seeing something in the access way to the control computers for the main power field arrays. Senior Chief Aslanar saw it first... and... oh HELL no, how is THAT here?=^= At the same time, Matthew's voice could heard over Lilura's comm =^= There, the Saboteur, I see him.. =^=

Stopping still, Rose was surprised, "it can't be, how is this possible" she said, her hand starting to shake.

Lilura's tail swept Matthew and Rose back behind her as she stepped forward, arms spread, with her claws extending from her hands. She growled and yelled out, "Arumvarnaxtch, keep back!" and then leapt forward, body crouched together and then landing into the moving shadows in the confined space. There was the sound of a crunch and metal tearing, and then silence.

The comm. channel still open Jon mouthed to Amelia, "What the hell is a Arumbarnaxtch?"

Amelia looked as puzzled as the Captain. "I have no idea Sir but it doesn't sound friendly."

"I think maybe you better get down there number one," Jon ordered.

"On my way....." Amelia shouter back as she jumped out of her chair and headed for the turbolift.

Arriving in engineering, Amelia saw some of the engineers looking worried toward the maintance hatch. She poked her head around to see the engineer snarling, claws extended but...... she was alone.

Lilura had pieces of electronics and metal in her hands and pierced by her claws. When she had leapt in, the Arumvarnaxtch was crouching and ready to leap forward to catch prey smaller than it was. In Soliodaran terms, anything under 6' 2" of height, which was pretty much all of engineering crew. Yet, when she had went in for mortal combat, seeing as the Arumvarnaxtch could kill her if it landed penetrating blows, nothing had happened except for her rending electronical gear... was this a science experiment representation of an Arumvarnaxtch? She paused, trying to still the memories of stolen pets and children by the Arumvarnaxtch, a six legged panther style predator from her homeworld.

Remembering how the Captain and herself had seen something that wasn't their Amelia, called out but kept her distance from the claws. "Lieutenant!"

Lilura looked up from the remains of the equipment around her and snarled out, "What is it? The Arumvarnaxtch.. ummm, I thought was an Arumvarnaxtch... shoot." She looked over to see the XO. She shook her head, then took in a cleansing breath to let out. She now said, "Yes, XO? Umm, the Arumvarnaxtch is not here..."

Amelia managed a smile. "It's ok Lieutenant, I think you can stand down."

Signaling for her security teams to stand down, Rose walked over to Lilura, "what is a Arumvarnaxtch?"

Lilura begins to divest herself of the pieces of whatever it was she tore apart. She replies to Rose, "An Arumvarnaxtch is a six legged pantheran like furred reptile that is four feet at the shoulder, can shift its grey hide to be various colors of black and grey to hide in shadows, is a predator of opportunity, and loves to eat anything smaller than around 6' 2", which is most of the crew on board. I had a niece who was snatched and eaten by one, I don't wish that on the crew, and thus why I jumped it... well, it was there, and now not. I think... I'm starting to understand what my engineering crew have been talking about."

Looking curiously at Lilura, Rose turned to the XO wth a serious expression, “why wasn’t I told about this? If there’s something loose on the ship, I’d like to know about it.”

Amelia frowned "No, there's nothing loose on the ship. It seems that several members of the crew are starting to experience visions, possibly hallucinations. Myself and the Captain included. What ever is causing them, they seems to be spreading and getting more intense."

“More intense? I don’t like the sound of that. That was pretty intense already if you ask me” Rose said, motioning to where the visions were centered not long ago. To her it wasn’t a creature, but something that shook her to her soul just as deeply, “if these are just visions, I don’t look forward to seeing what I just saw over and over again”

Amelia tapped her comm badge “Fox to bridge. You can cancel that intruder alert. False alarm. Captain, I recommend that until we know what’s causing these.... visions and how to batter handle them that all non essential personnel are confined to quarters and that Lieutenant Belikov organise some security teams in key areas.”

"Isn't that a bit extreme number one?" Jon asked.

“Captain. Our chief engineer just made mincemeat of a console because of one of these visions. The last thing we need is someone taking a phaser to the warp core because they think they are under attack from a Gorn or something like that.”

Jon was silent for a minute. "Good point number one. Okay get that in motion. Is the chief engineer okay?"

Lilura hit her comm badge. =^= Hey Captain, Krakalakss here. Yes, I'm okay. Whatever somebody had stashed back here is mincemeat though. As far as essential equipment, my claws couldn't penetrate any of the gear around here, I think. Anyways, I have a subtle suggestion, if the XO, security and you think it will help. Have the security rovers have their phasers set to stun with a standing order to all crew that anybody seeing something out of the ordinary call security and have them stun it. If real, threat stopped. If vision, no harm done and any personnel within the vision waking up later and not harmed. Sound okay?=^=

"I'll take it under advisement but first of all I want you to go get checked out in sickbay, that's an order," Jon replied. "Lieutenant Belikov, what do you think to Lieutenant Karakalakss idea?"

Lilura answered, =^= Aye Aye, Sir, on my way.=^= She wasn't really sure why she needed to go to sickbay, she was as healthy as a horse, as the saying went. Well, whatever a horse was. She curtsied to Fox and Belikov, "Thank you." And then she left for sickbay.

Amelia tapped her comm badge again. "Fox to bridge. I believe everything is under control here. I'm on my way back to the bridge." She turned to Belikov "Lieutenant, would you please organize those security teams?

Rose nodded, "they'll be ready"

OFF:

●○ Lieutenant JG Lilura Siana Karakalakss
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Andromeda

●● Lieutenant Amelia Fox
Executive Officer
USS Andromeda


●●● Commander Jonathan Reynolds
Commanding Officer
USS Andromeda


●○ Lieutenant JG Rosaline Belikov
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Andromeda