The Galactic War: Rogue Element ~The Beginning

[Estelore]

Enorryma chuckled internally at Daniel's question. If only this vessel had such far-reaching sensor technology...

<No, this is only a map, not a sensor. If we had developed sensors that could detect activity from this distance, in all likelihood that base would have already been discovered by the Electorate. Are there other locations in that sector, or shall we go now and report this one to Prince Ossanlin? I do not know to what extent he would alter the flight plan, but he may prioritize recovering more of your people.>

[Myitt]

Myitt nods once at Esarvit, smiling warily.

"It has been a good long while since I have stepped foot aboard the Tyrennian," she murmurs, half to herself.

To Ossanlin she says, "We're far from any human doctors, and she is giving birth to twins." She holds up her hands. "I'm no doctor, but I want to ensure we're prepared for as many, ah, difficulties as we need to be."


Niko frowns, looking over her shoulder at the sound of Tess being sick.

Poor girl, he sighs internally, shaking his head. I would've lost my cool a long time ago.

He clears his throat and looks blankly back at the holoscreens, nodding. "Yeah, Daniel, that looks like the nearest one, at least judging from these coordinates. Thanks, man." He eyes him cautiously. The two men had come quite a long way towards amending their turbulent past together, and this small moment struck him as especially poignant.


Lanath turns his attention toward the screens. "Consider it done," he calls to Keslin, although he himself is still straining to focus on the information, let alone memorize it.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin nods.  <<I see.  I'm afraid we'll have to make do for the time being.  My lead physician was one of those who did not join our exodus.  It will take time to adapt our supplies to help humans.  I assume she will not be birthing soon...>>  Ossanlin glances at the gravid woman with a stalk-eye.  <<Our best option would be the Tyrennian's medbay...it would not be...conducive...to desirable results to birth her in the Mirage.>>

A small, quiet alarm sounds from one of the consoles and Ossanlin commands it to display the reason.  He shakes his head and commands the alarm to silence.  Nothing major...and nothing he hadn't anticipated.  Merely a warning that the life-support system couldn't sustain the atmosphere with so many individuals.  The air quality wouldn't change noticeably before they arrived at the Tyrennian, thankfully.  It would be hours before CO2 poisoning began.  The Andalites would be the first to be affected if it ever came to that.

<<I do hope that someone from your organization who is well-versed on human biology survived.>>

[KitsuneMarie]

Tess watches Claxter work, backing towards Dom with a weary sigh. "Thanks," she mumbles and looks up at Dom before leaning against his side. "This is... really bad timing, you know that?" she says with a laugh, although the skin around her eyes is tight with anxiety. "Why couldn't we have had our home destroyed before I got pregnant, you know?" Then, with the absurdity of it, she looks down at the floor, eyes stinging, still half slumped against her friend and long-time comrade.


Daniel's gaze narrows as he considers Enorryma's question, and he glances at Niko before responding to the Andalite. "I think I'd rather discuss it with Myitt and Ossanlin, if you don't mind." His tone is polite, but he looks guarded. "We appreciate all you have done--risked--for us. But paranoia is largely what kept us alive all of those years. We're creatures of habit; no offense is intended."

[Shenmue654]

Keshin crosses his arms, a tired, neutral expression entering Joanne's face. It is the face of someone who kills on an almost weekly to monthly basis, and a countenance Joanne herself occasionally adopts. "I don't care whether you live or die, Terenia." Keshin says in an even voice. "What I do care about is surviving on this ship, and that means we can't remain catatonic. Look..."

Keshin rubs his forehead, thinking of what he could possibly say. "...I don't like you, and you don't like me. But I've seen a lot of people die, and it doesn't mean the world has ended. All of your friends are grieving too. Go to them. Get their---"

Keshin notes one of the rebels staring straight into their eyes. He doesn't recognize her at all. Her gaze has the typical condemnation of those who know their occupation, but it's also rather sharp. "...aid."

<Do we know this chick?>

<....no. But I'd be interested to find out who they are.>

Keshin wanders across the ship's deck toward Aya and eventually comes to stand in front of her. She appears to be running or looking over the ship's map. "I take it you've seen me before," he says.

[Estelore]

Enorryma's eyes narrowed right back at him, but she kept her tone level.

<I see how it is. Well, Ossanlin is right over there; you need only to get his attention. For now, I shall leave you both to this task. The bridge has become crowded, and if there is a problem, it will be difficult to clear it quickly unless somebody moves to create more space. It may as well be me.>

She walked back into the main area, quietly glad that she had left them at a non-networked console.

She looked around the room for the woman who had arrived pregnant, finally spotting her and walking over slowly, tail kept nonthreateningly low toward the ground.

<Greetings. I am Enorryma, the tactical officer of this crew. I wish to apologize for any rough handling you received earlier during the escape. Please alert me if there is anything I can do to assist you while your health condition is sensitive. I am not sufficiently familiar with human biology that I would know of any special accommodations you might require, and I fear that even at our best, the facilities available to us are substandard for human healthcare. I will, however, help to the best of my ability, for the sake of the survival of your young.>

She took a step back from the woman and waited a beat to see if there would be a reply, hoping that her words would not be received badly. Regardless of her distrust and loathing for Yeerks, Enorryma would not conscience putting infants into the same 'enemies' category. After all, their ear canals would be far too small to house a parasitic slug. This may not be peacetime, but any place with infants ought, by right, to be treated as an armistice zone for their sake. War belongs in deep space, away from homeworlds and innocent children. It is only unfortunate coincidence that brings these children into deep space and war.

[Myitt]

"I hope so, too, Ossanlin," Myitt sighs, watching the work on the bridge with a weary expression. "We had a few really good people, it pains me to think we've lost them, too." She forces a bright, albeit slightly sour, smile. "So, perhaps we haven't. Yeah, that's what I'm going to stick with, for now."


Niko watches Enorryma stalk off, and he leans in to Illim, eyes wide. "What the hell was that all about?" he hisses, tapping at the holoscreen and trying to appear nonchalant in spite of his fear. "We can't afford to be making enemies of these people...but she needs to respect our ****ing paranoia. Right?" He sighs shortly. "We can give these coordinates to Ossanlin, Myitt trusts him well enough, but I'm not sure I trust anyone else with the information."


Lanath regards Keshin and Joanne impassively, though Aya's lip curls briefly in revulsion. Then he is all smiles.

"I know you," he says, trying to be polite. "You're named Keshin and Joanne, also known as 'Static Shock' for whatever bizarre reason. A turelek of rather high esteem, occasional thorn in the rebellion's side, occasional boon when the money is good on our side. If...your reputation precedes you without error. I am Lanath One-Four-Eight of the Sulp Niar pool." He tilts his head, looking the woman up and down. "An interesting outfit. I hope you do not think it rude of me to ask: Do you fancy yourself a super-villain from a human comic book story?"

Internally, Lanath snickers dryly to himself--and to Aya.

[Shenmue654]

Keshin shrugs, a smile crossing over his own face. It is, however, a smile that is completely without warmth. He is not fond of the insult---Joanne initially thought of their war as yet another "game" for her to play. The woman's ability to deceive herself about what was really happening was astounding, and suggestive of the trauma he didn't want to touch with a ten foot pole. He had no idea who this Lanath One-Four-Eight was, but she had a serious mouth on her.

"Static Shock is my callsign for those who want to contact me," states Keshin, his tone following along with the carefully crafted smile. "It's ludicrous enough to be remembered by the right people, and our reputation for quality outweighs it. It's also...rather apt, under certain...circumsta nces. We once had a few more tricks up our sleeves than the average turelek, but we have long since become too ill to perform most of them. Ask Myitt if you want to know."

"As for the outfit..." Keshin moves his body this way and that, examining his oddly modified regulation jumpsuit as if just noticing moments ago that he was wearing clothes. "...it's come together over the years. We certainly don't intend to look like a freak, if that's what you're implying. What relation, if I may ask, does a...charming Yeerk and woman like yourself have to the Peace Movement? I don't believe we've ever met."

[KitsuneMarie]

Tess turns her eyes on Enorryma as she approaches, blinking at the verbose words spoken directly to her mind. Still, she smiles, a far warmer one than she has given any of the Andalites yet. "Thank you," she murmurs and offers her right hand, even as she remains by Dom. "I'm Tess. Theresa Franklin's my full name."

"At this point... as much as I don't want to admit it, plenty of rest is probably for the best," Tess says, her smile growing weaker. "So can you confirm--Enorryma, right?--that there really isn't a doctor who can help me where we're going? Our own doctors... they're not here with us. I don't know of anyone among the rebels here who's equipped to help me get through what is most definitely coming. And not long from now, I'm afraid."


Illim sighs, shrugging with a small smirk to Niko. "Well, if it's true what they're saying, that they're as much rebels as we are now, then they'll learn to be paranoid soon enough. It's not until you're in our position that you can really appreciate the fear, I think." He turns his eyes back on the charts. "But yeah, let's take this to Ossanlin and Myitt. See what they have to say." He raises his eyebrows. "Keslin too, maybe?"

[Estelore]

Enorryma hesitated half a beat at Tess' gesture, then belatedly recognized the human greeting and clasped Tess' hand in her own.

<Well met, Tess. The last time I reviewed the crew manifest for our destination, there was no mention of any medical staff; I was concerned about it before, knowing that any of us might be injured beyond the ability to morph and heal, but now I fear we will be particularly feeling their absence.>

She lowered her voice just for Tess to hear.
<<As we speak, some of your people are isolating possible locations where other of your allies may be hiding. I do not say this to give you false hope, but only to suggest it is possible that we may obtain somebody with some medical knowledge... if any remain at those locations. I know that birth is not often a thing which will allow itself to be delayed, but if you can hold out until we know more on that subject, then we may yet find help for you.>>

Releasing Tess' hand, she stepped away to give her more space, an instinctive action she would have made if this were an Andalite mother needing room to move.

<It is not long until rendezvous with our next vessel. I will stay within earshot in case you want me for anything.> She walked toward the entry to the bridge, waiting quietly within line of sight of Ossanlin, but staying out of the main walkway.

[Terenia]

Terenia watches Joanne go, then lowers her gaze back to the floor, knees hugged to her chest.

<<I wonder if she knows Terliss,>> Aya cannot help but wonder. Terliss' own reputation as a turelek was fairly high, but that was many years ago, before he and Aya had met. <<Mind clarifying for her that the rebellion is not the Peace Movement?>> Her snort is internal, but no less derisive. <<Stupid pacifists.>>


Dom's eyes narrow suspiciously at the Andalite, but he does not say anything immediately, letting her converse with Tess.

"Why don't you lie down," he suggests to Tess once Enorryma has moved on. "I can stay near you until Chris and Keslin return." He reaches down and squeezes her hand.


Efaen watches Claxter help Tess for a brief moment, then turns her attention back to the bridge. She shies away a little uncomfortably when Enorryma walks close, and turns all four of her eyes away. Her decision to attempt and be civil with the other Andalites on board does not seem to extend beyond Claxter and though her posture is submissive there is a tense edge to it. She watches Norry out of the corner of her eye, rather than with a stalk eye, uneasily.


Keslin sighs a little and pulls his attention away from the console, able to work at a more leisurely pace now that the Z-space shift has ceased. "Myitt, we need to locate the others," he says, a swell of emotion threatening to return as he is faced with thinking about those they lost. "Illim and Daniel are on it, I assume?"

[Estelore]

Enorryma deliberately gave Efaen as much room as the bridge foyer would allow, not submissive or dismissive, but just doing what she said she'd do, back before the Z-space shifts forced her to man the helm: stay out of each other's way. She kept one stalk-eye toward the main room, one pointed toward the wall near Efaen but not directly at her, and her main eyes facing Ossanlin.

<<Sir, the two passengers at the secondary navigation console appeared to have located at least one other Rebel position which may be en route to the Tyerennian. Do you anticipate that we will be making secondary stops, if that is the case? I ask for the sake of the pregnant human, the one who calls herself Tess. While I am less than eager to be surrounded by more of their people, if there is a possibility of getting her medical care, then I respectfully suggest pursuing it. If things go badly with her, I predict their morale and willingness to cooperate will degrade rapidly.>>

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin glances at Enorryma with a stalk eye.  <<The Mirage is not capable of sustaining unlimited life-support for this many people.  The O2 degradation alarm has already been triggered.  It will be well over an hour before the degradation has any affect, but sustaining flight within the Mirage is too large a risk.>>  Ossanlin grimaces internally, but does not allow his distaste of the situation to filter into his tone.  <<Morale is meaningless if everyone dies.>>  A cold fact.  A hard fact.  And an efficient, ruthless decision.

One lesson Ossanlin had learned early on in his career...men under his command would die.  Though he abhors ruthlessness, it is often the necessary answer to preserve as many lives as possible.  In a perfect world, he wouldn't sacrifice a single life...but it isn't a perfect world, and if one life could save twenty or a hundred or a thousand...he would make the decisions that would lead to that sacrifice.  It goes against every grain of Ossanlin's compassionate demeanor...but there are times when compassion  must be put aside.

<<She and her young stand a better chance of survival in the full med-bay facilities aboard the Tyrennian at any rate.  Your suggestion and compassion, however, are both noted and commended.>>

[Chad32]

Once Claxter finished cleaning, he put the stuff away and went back to the commons area. He knew Tess needed rest, but didn't want to start guiding her into the medbay for fear of a negative response. about the only kind of stranger she was likely to want telling her what to do would be a Human doctor. He took a place near Efaen, not really having much to do. He noticed Terenia hadn't moved at all, though she definitely wasn't asleep. He was almost curious enough to ask why she was so much more broken up than everyone else, but not enough to overcome his distaste for her. It was almost funny that he'd rather spend time chatting with a Yeerk than a particular Human.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin turns his main attention back to the monitor of Z-Space...they're already nearing the exit-point.  <Prepare for True-Space re-entry.>  He speaks mainly to the bridge, but it's loud enough that the entire ship can hear.