Stardate: 7.28.14
Subject: The Battle of the Arbiter
- LCDR John Gray
The battle itself started with Weapons stations opening up with every phaser bank onboard. After a five minute bombardment the shields of the enemy ship in front were undamaged. Realising how odd this was the Captain ordered a ceasefire. I commanded Lt. Fiorillo to load tube 1,4 with homing torpedoes and tubes 2,3 with EMPs. Scans later noted that a cloaked vessel on the edge of the sector was heading towards planet. The ship turned to engage and the Demon Hunter was locked onto by weapons station so that Lt. Bennet would be better capable to lock onto the passengers within the Demon Hunter. Following transmitting the location of the passenger to Lt. Bennet he brought all crew members from the Demon Hunter back onboard. The Captain then started communications with the enemy vessel and threatened to fire the gamma radiation torpedoes from tubes 15,16. Following the order to fire Lt. Fiorillo fired upon the enemy vessel and destroyed it to complete effect.
Subject: Battle of Arbiter: Aftermath in MedBay
- CDT CRMN Alicia Latham
The day was uneventful until the battle was over. All medical personnel were ordered to the transporter room where they were to receive the returning crewman. I arrived with Marines and Med Bay beds in towe. Danny, Lt. Marcus, MID Sammy Stauffer, and Terra were the first to arrive. Soon after, Cyrus and CPO Kelsey Timmons arrived in the transporter room. All were brought to Med Bay where their wounds were attended to. Terra had the worst of the injuries. He was unresponsive upon arrival and was later found to have bleeding in the brain. He is unlikely to recover from this event. Danny had a large gash across his chest, but was easily mended with stitches. Lt. Marcus was in worse condition and will take longer to heal. CPO Kelsey Timmons and MID Sammy Stauffer were alert and only wounded minimally.
- SCPO Sarah Jungling
Communication Log: This battle was very uneventful for Communications, the extent of our work was when I tracked the location of the Demon Hunter, in order to beam MID Stauffer, PO2 Taylard and Lt. Marcus as well as Terra aboard to safety. I also managed to get coordinate for CPO Timmons. I was also able to contact the USS Dover United, and warn them that all was not as it seemed, luckily the message was fully understood. I later hailed the Black Dragon, to allow the Captain to call them out on their lies.
Stardate: 7.29.14
Subject: Medbay
- MID Samantha Stauffer
Personal Log: In the wake of the battle, I checked myself into the medbay to be treated. luckily, the seatbelts and cushioning of the pilot’s seat kept me from any excessive internal damage, though I’m black and blue and my leg burns like hell.
The medbay staff informed me that both Danny and Justin were undergoing surgery for internal injuries, and that Terra was in intensive care due to severe cranial hemorrhaging. Kelsey and Sarah came to visit me, along with a very concerned Meeko. It was kind of them, to check in on me. They must have had a lot to do, after all, with the chaos that just passed. Regardless, I was grateful for their company. Danny was wheeled out soon after my arrival, anesthetized but in recovery. Blue alert went on for Justin though, but went off soon after.
The news of the three men’s injuries hit me hard. I felt as though the hair had been sucked from my lungs, leaving me dizzy. My limbs felt as though they were iron, dragging down and collapsing me inwards. Could I not breathe, or did I simply not want to? Danny and Justin were in my charge. Though I feel guilt at Danny’s injuries, I am grateful that he is on the road to recovery. However, my feelings for the Lieutenant are slightly more mixed.
First, I feel angry - nay, beyond angry - though I cannot tell if it is at him or myself. He had to be a hero and shove me out of the way, and if it costs him his life, he seemed not to care. How dare he nearly kill himself? Doesn’t he know his men need him? Did he even think about them? And what about me? It was my duty to keep them safe.
Second, I feel worried sick. If he dies, I am not sure if I will be able to keep myself together. We have known each other only a short while but, besides my department, he is the one I’ve worked with the most to keep the Alaster as out of trouble as our unlucky ship can be. I feel closer to him, to them both, after our time under the stars and away from the ship. I don’t want to lose a friend.
Third, I am confused about my actions. I am a sworn pacifist, I do not enjoy violence nor will I ever resort to it unless absolutely necessary. Yet in that moment, seeing Justin take the blow and seeing Danny and Terra’s injuries, talking to the Delastrian was the last thing on my mind. I tried to disarm him, then, upon his attacking Danny, I tried to kill him. No hesitation. No moral battle. I tried to kill him. I wanted to kill him. And this kind of a want was something I had never felt before. I do not know if it had always been there, but as I sit here and write I can still feel it. A burning hot cherry pit deep within myself, longing to break free of the cage of rationale and calm that I have so intricately and delicately wound around it. I know not what summoned it, but I find myself wanting to bid it rise, if I ever encounter that Delastrian again. I want to be the one to destroy him, and that desire alone is what is frightening me.
Fear also comes from my thoughts for the future. We might have narrowly escaped death this time, but it seems to me each day brings more and more challenges that we are struggling to overcome. I can only pray that the day comes when we will see this blasted war end, when we will finally have peace.
Thinking of the Delastrians, a song rises unbidden to my mind. My father used to sing it to me, his voice a husky tenor. It’s from an old musical, his father used to sing it to him at night, and his father before that. The lyrics go something like this: “Hades is king of the scythe and the sword. He covers the world in the color of rust. He scrapes the sky, and scars the earth, and he comes down heavy and hard on us. But even the hardest of hearts unhardened suddenly when he saw her there. Persephone in her mother’s garden…” (there’s a part here that I can’t seem to remember.) “Suddenly Hades was only a man, with the taste of nectar upon his lips…”
As demonic as these being seem to us, I must remember that they are still capable of all that we are. They surely must love, must grieve, must fear, right? Perhaps they can yet be reasoned with, so we might yet end this war in peace, without the use of the Arbiter’s weaponry. A war that ends by the threat of death is hardly peace, now, is it?
Stardate: 7.30.14
Subject: Medbay
- CDT CRMN Alicia Latham
Two days after the battle and most patients are improving. MID Sammy Stauffer has been treated for her injuries and released. She will have to return to MedBay again so we can gauge the recovery of her concussion. CPO Kelsey Timmons has been released after been treated with minor injuries. Terra has been diagnosed with brain damage and the bleeding in his brain. He will not recover and will most likely be brain dead in the near future. The CMDR has been notified of his condition. Terra has no family that can be notified. Danny has recovered and was alert and responsive when I spoke with him. He will most likely be released in the near future. Lt. Marcus is currently in a medically induced coma. His condition isn’t stable and the coma is helping with the pain. He has been prescribed anti-inflammatory medicine as well. Lt. Marcus’ condition is being monitored and my prediction is that he will make a good recovery once his pain is at a manageable level.
Stardate: 7.30.14
Subject: Released
- MID Samantha Stauffer
Personal Log: Following my dismissal from the medbay, I made my way up to the bridge. On the way, I noticed an unusual amount of people in street clothes, and most were eating breakfast sandwiches. I made a mental note to thank the Captain for leaving me a clean uniform. However, I was surprised to find him not present when I reported for duty. In his place sat Captain James Harvey. He was an old friend of Commander Carlson’s. He informed me that Carlson was at a meeting on the USS Dover. I had Ehrhart bring me a tanto, for swords have become standard-issue on the ship after learning the only way to kill a Delastrian is decapitation.
I left Ehrhart at the helm while I went on a coffee run. However, this did not end as well as I’d planned. I walked into the mess hall and immediately found my feet leaving the ground as I was greeted with cheers and thunderous applause. Thank you, Sparky. I absolutely hate getting picked up. It took everything I could not to scream, though I did not manage to suppress a squeak.
Luckily CPO Timmons walked in at that moment and made them put me down. I grabbed us coffee, promising to return and tell the marines all about planetfall. When I got out to the hall, Kelsey showed me a letter from the ship psychiatrist. She requested I go with her, and I agreed.
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