Stardate 08.02.14
Subject: Inviting Madness
Location: En Route to Earth
Personal Log: During Kelsey’s appointment yesterday, we got notification that Lt. Marcus was awake. Not even pausing to say goodbye, I rushed down there. I must admit, I let my emotions get the best of me. He took my reaction with a grain of salt, seemingly unperturbed. We chatted for a while, and he told me to get Sparky to work on the Demon Hunter. I left to do so, but could not find him. Worn out, I retired early.
This morning, when I awoke, I was plagued by shadows from the night before. I did not know what of, for a veil was cast before my eyes. I only felt a distance, a disconnect between myself and the hustle and bustle about me. I could vaguely remember a dream, a nightmare. The man that attacked the Demon Hunter was present, I was sure of it. I could see his face, partly hidden in the shadow of his hood. I could hear his voice echoing in my head. “You win, this time.”
Sarah interrupted my musings, and convinced me to go with her to the holodeck. We met up with Sparky and Michael Knight there. Meeko was found in the vents proudly wearing Sparky’s badge, a sight which caused me to burst into much-welcomed laughter.
Upon regaining my composure, I asked why Sparky had tagged along. This was a mistake, for as soon as he mentioned the shape of the Demon Hunter, I remembered. I remembered everything. The entirety of my nocturnal torture flashed before my eyes, and I was helpless to stop its tide.
There was a cliff. It stood high, vivid, in stark contrast to the pale whitewashed sky behind. And a lake, wherein the Alaster sat. We were on the cliff. The marines, I mean, and Lt. Gray and Captain Carlson. I was more just there, an observer only. There,too, was the hooded man. The bodies of the marines were strewn about, their eyes blank, their bodies soaked in blood, lips turning blue in the pallor of death. Marcus was among them, the blood still oozing slowly from the slit in his throat. He, and the others, had died not merely fighting for their lives but fighting to protect someone, something. All of them lay there, their lifeblood staining the ground and turning it into a red clay. Yet Andrew and John stood strong, exhausted and battered but unyielding. As I watched, frozen, John charged, swinging his sword with deadly speed. WIth an even faster response, the man swung his own weapon. It was a large thing reminiscent of a warhammer. Even from my distance I could see the blood that caked it. John was caught across the face. I could hear the crunch as his jaw and cheekbones shattered. Like a ragdoll, he dropped to the ground, limp and lifeless. As I watched, the weapon changed from a warhammer to a sword at the click of a button. I tried to cry out, but I was voiceless. I was frozen. The man toyed with the captain, raining blow upon blow with Andrew parrying, no time given for his own strike. Exhausted, Andrew finally slipped up in the game of cat-and-mouse. His back was to the edge of the cliff. The figure stabbed forward, and the captain could not sidestep in time. He took the blade full on. I saw the glinting metal hesitate a bit as it skittered across a rib before plunging deep into his chest. I saw as the light faded slowly from his eyes. The hooded Delastrian picked up one foot, pushing my Captain off the sword with disdain. His body tumbled over the edge of the cliff.I was mute and paralyzed, helpless to do anything. The man looked up, his gaze locking mine. I could feel my blood turn to ice as his features twisted upwards into a broad smile.
Struck suddenly with this barrage of images, I felt myself freeze. I leaned against the wall for support. The blood drained out of my face and I was suddenly weak, shaking. Sarah tried to call for medical help, but I refused it. I struggled to gain control of myself. The Captain ordered me to either go to the medbay for treatment or to go see Dr. Blake, the psychiatrist. After arguing against treatment, I finally caved and chose the latter. Sparky helped me get there, whereupon I collapsed onto the beanbag chair and curled up into a ball, hoping desperately that it would help shield me from the images of the people I loved, corpses that glared accusingly at me behind my closed lids.
Story Log: When I was growing up, my parents used to take my brothers and I camping. I’m not talking cabin-camping or glamping, I mean real survivalist training. I learned everything from my mother – how to forage for food, how to purify water, how to identify poisonous animals, how to make rafts and cross water, how to tie knots, even how to set traps and snares (much to my dismay and the horror of little Josiah). One year, when I was ten, we had a bit of a fright. Five-year-old Alex went missing from the campsite. We were three days deep into the Rockies and had no idea when he had left during the night. It was the first time I had to use my tracking skills. Mother thought it would be a good training exercise, and some mother-daughter time as well. She took me, leaving the boys at the campsite with Father.
With four kids, you don’t exactly get a lot of alone time with anyone. This was one of the only times I saw my mother in her element. Sure, she was highly effective aboard a Starship, but this was her one true love. With all the technology and diplomacy erased.
Excitedly, she pointed out the rubbed and broken ferns that marked something had gone through. I followed the trail, with her behind me. In a spot of mud, I noticed my brother’s footprint. I pointed it out to Mother. She encouraged me, her face aglow. She brushed the track with her fingertips, remarking it was less than an hour old. I rushed ahead, crying out Alex’s name. Mother followed, smile gracing her thin lips.
Eventually I heard the wailing of my brother. I burst into a clearing where he sat, knees scraped up from a tree root he tripped over.
“Tammy!” he cried as I ran over to him, checking his knees for injury and asking if he was okay while lightly admonishing him for wandering off.
“Sawwy Tammy, I won’t do it again,” he sniffled.
I turned to look at Mother. She was leaning against a tree, a proud smile firmly etched on her face.
“Well done,” she said.
Stardate: 08.02.2014
Subject: Lost our Marbles
Location: USS Alaster
Duty Log: The day had started out with Petty Officer Hitchner reporting to security that he had found a heavy marble in Engineering. Following this a security team was dispatched to relieve the Petty Officer of the object and bring it to Sciences. In Sciences I arrived and started a scan for more of the marbles. Myself and Benny Blueshirt found that there were fourteen more of them scattered across the ship in no particular pattern. At this point I alerted Lt. Bennet to the issue by putting the numerous marbles into “custody”. The marbles themselves weigh approximately fifteen pounds on average and are made of a dilithium titanium alloy that exhibits magnetic qualities. After some time I questioned the Lt. as to the whereabouts of the final marble. The marble was lodged between the lights on the ceiling outside of Command Deck. I made my way from Sciences to the scene of the problem to see if anything could be done about it. I arrived to find Lt. Bennet and two other Security Officers attempting to pry it from the ceiling. At that time Petty Officer Hitchner arrived, presumably to help in our endeavor to retrieve the marble. Seeing as he was an Engineer and he had found the first marble I ordered the Security Officer off the ladder and ordered Petty Officer Hitchner to retrieve the marble from the ceiling. After a bit of tugging it became obvious it wouldn’t be moved under normal circumstances. And since it would be a security hazards to leave it there I notified the Captain, who was in Engineering to seal off our corridor and shut off the gravity. As soon as this occurred Petty Officer Hitchner was able to pull the now weightless marble from the ceiling. Making sure everyone was properly oriented I alerted Commander Carlson that he could return us to normal gravity.
Having retrieved the final marble I made my way back to sciences with Petty Officer Hitchner in tow. Once there I released him to go back to his station. The Science Officer present then informed me of the laser reflective qualities of the marbles. If a laser were concentrated on a marble it would begin to reflect it to adjacent marbles. No other information is currently know as to the purpose of these. But their presence on the ship leaves more questions than answers.
Stardate: 08.02.2014
Subject: Recovery in Med Bay
Personal log: At breakfast this morning, I heard talk that Lt. Marcus had awoken in Med Bay and that Danny had been released. I immediately went to Med Bay and spoke with the shift nurse. She reported that Lt. Marcus had recovered better than could be expected. He was able to sit up and do some movement without pain. I was unable to speak directly with Lt. Marcus because he had a visitor when I arrived: Second Lt. Brandon Johnson, his second in command.
Stardate: 8.02.2014
Subject: Marbles
After reporting for duty later than I would like to admit, PO Jenson brought me up to speed on recent events. He informed me of Danny’s condition and Department Head Freed’s decision to stay with him in medical. After trading a few sarcastic remarks, I left Jenson in Engineering while I performed my usual rounds. I must admit, I felt a little apprehension when I arrived at the rear shield generator, seeing as how it almost blew me up the last time I was there. Fortunately, no such fiasco occurred this time, and it seemed as though the repairs that were made had done their job.
The same level of normalcy was not the case in the forward shield room. While nothing exploded, there was a strange, metallic object on the floor. The size and shape of a marble, the object had the weight of a bowling ball. I contacted security to inform them of my discovery, after which Lt. CMDR Gray ordered me to stay put while a team of his people came to retrieve the item in question. I would later discover that this “marble” was but one of many.
Later in the day, I once again encountered the XO and his people in one of the ship’s corridors. They were all gathered around a crewman on ladder next to a light fixture. Before I could ask what was going on, the Lt. Commander ordered me to take the place of the man on the ladder. When I got to the top of said ladder, I discovered another “marble.” After a few moments of unsuccessfully trying to pry the object from its hiding spot between the wall and the light fixture, Lt. CMDR Gray had engineering cut artificial gravity to the part of the ship we were in. Without any gravity, the sphere floated out of its perch, where I was able to retrieve it. Once gravity was restored, I accompanied the XO to science, “marble” in tow. When I arrived, I was greeted with the sight of 14 different objects identical to the ones that had been found earlier. You might say I was dumbstruck, even incredulous. I had never even heard of such a dense metal before. Sadly, my curiosity would have to wait. I was dismissed by my superior immediately after delivering the “marble.”
Stardate: 08.02.14
Subject: Madness
Personal Log: Today I was on my way to the holodeck to spar with Michael Knight when I ran into MID Samantha Stauffer. She was very out of it when I approached her which was worrying by itself, but after inviting her to join me on the holodeck she seemed to perk up a bit. Once we arrived Michael came with Sparky in tow. Sammy had been looking for Sparky earlier. Just as Michael and I were about to begin sparring Sammy froze and began looking incredibly pale. I rushed over to her, getting her to sit down, while calling CPO Kelsey Timmons and CDT CRMN Alicia Latham, a friend and medic respectively. Sammy insisted she was fine, claiming it was just a nightmare she’d had the night before. I was insisting she at least be looked at when the Captain arrived in the hallway. He asked if she was alright, saying she looked less than fine. Sammy insisted that she didn’t need medical attention for a simple nightmare, the reaction the captain had to hearing it was a nightmare was very ominous. He insisted that “dreams are not meaningless.” Which made me wonder what kind of dream this could be. After reiterating his point a second time, the Captain left, and Sammy headed to the psychiatrist.
Now that we’re headed to Earth I have to wonder what is in store for our crew. Marbles, Marines, and Nightmares… Oh my.
Story Log: This whole incident reminded me of an event that seems almost a lifetime ago.
Growing up with my only immediate family being an older brother that I barely ever saw except on rare occasions when he had time off was tough. He was enrolled in the Academy before I was even 3 years old, by the time I was . Still even though he was hardly ever around he was always there for me. He always took time to send me letters of all his adventures, he even managed to show up at my 10th birthday party, to this day I have no idea how he did it, the last I had heard was he was scheduled to leave from Tranquility Base on a mission. The pride I saw every time my brother would tell me about the work he was doing is what made me join Starfleet to begin with, but it’s not what made me stay.
If I recall it right it must have been within the first two week of starting at the Academy that I got the news, my brother Levon’s ship had come under attack and he’d been badly injured. I was devastated, no one would tell me when I would get to see him again, IF I would get to see him again. Needless to say the next few weeks were a complete blur. I was questioning everything I thought I knew I wanted. It wasn’t until three or four weeks after the initial news that I found out my brother was alive, but he wouldn’t be going on anymore adventures. He’d spent two weeks in a coma, awakening with a severe speech and movement issues. His spinal cord was lightly damaged around his C7 and T1 vertebrae, so he had limited muscular control of his hands. It looked like he would be spending the next year at the least in rehabilitation.
It was about two months since my brother’s accident and I was almost done filling out the needed paperwork to be dismissed from the Academy when I realized I was missing a few forms. I had to print them out so I was on my way to the library with the papers in hand. As I turned the corner right by the library I was knocked flat on my ass, my forms scattered everywhere. It came as no surprise to me to find that the person who had run into me was none other than Kelsey Timmons, the girl had been trying to get kicked out of the academy since day one. (I’ve always thought she had been so unsuccessful because of her automatic reaction to display her good manners) I never did ask what exactly she’d been running from, but it must not have been too important because she immediately started gathering my stuff up off the floor. She must have read the top of the form, because (despite her constantly insisting she didn’t want to be here) she seemed surprised that anyone would fill out the proper paperwork to leave. I don’t remember what she said but whatever it was it struck a chord and I realized that my best bet, to both honor my brother, and care for him during his recovery, was to graduate the Academy.
The first time I saw my brother after the accident was the beginning of my second year at the Academy. By that time Kelsey and I had become reluctant friends, her always trying to get kicked out, while I saw to it that she didn’t get kicked out.
Stardate 08.06.14
Subject: Not My Baby!
Location: San Francisco, Earth
Personal Log: This week we are on Shore Leave, meaning we are once again on Earth, feet firmly grounded. I returned to my apartment for the first time since being assigned to the USS Alaster. Everything was still in boxes, though it had gathered much dust. I found my motorcycle's keys underneath a long-dead potted plant. Heading down to take her to stretch her legs, I found instead a bicycle and a note. "Sis, borrowed the motorcycle. Hope you don't mind."
I bet my behind it was Alex. The ass-hat, how dare he take her for a joyride? Rather pissed off, I stomped up to my apartment. I would deal with him later. For now, I had to unpack my apartment which was going to likely take until Wednesday....
Subject: The Pink Flamingo (Who paints their shuttlecraft pink?)
Personal Log: Kelsey, Boris, Tigger, Michael Knight, Sparky, Meeko and I are aboard a bright pink shuttle headed to California for our shore leave. The week holds lots of possibilities both good and terrifying (Tigger’s still trying to set everyone up on dates). I can only imagine what this week will bring, but it should be entertaining. On another note, whoever had the bright idea to let Tigger take point in piloting the shuttle will be swiftly kicked in the shins. I love that girl to death, but she’s way too excited about this week, and Kelsey and I seem to have horrible luck with shuttles as it is. That being said, Tigger has a giant heart and only wants the best for us, even it isn’t necessarily what we want.
