Distraction From The Apocalypse

Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2020 @ 12:43am by Commander Owen Nash & Mujal Junyx & Belaia
Edited on on Tue Jul 7th, 2020 @ 2:08pm

Mission: New Moon Rising
Location: Salvaxe
Timeline: Current

A Mission Post by Mujal Junyx & Lieutenant Commander Owen Nash & Lieutenant Katniss Wakefield & Belaia
Mission: Into The Wild
Location: Salvaxe
Timeline: Current
Thu Mar 8th, 2018 @ 8:45pm


The Federation and Mendazian delegations have been talking for a while now, comfortably seated as they discussed the various things that naturally came up during a first contact. The Mendazians were trying hard to stay focused and seem unimpressed, but there was no hiding their sheer sense of awe at the occasion. Besides Belaia, after all, none of the Mendazians had ever met an alien.

Then a cold splash of reality arrived as a soldier, wearing what appeared to be gleaming gold combat armour, hurried into the room, found Mujal and whispered into the old professor's ear. Mujal listened intently, his expression serious, before the soldier saluted and quickly departed. Mujal looked to the Starfleeters somberly.

"Lieutenant Commander Nash," he said gravely, "Lieutenant Richmond, Lieutenant Wakefield, our military have detected the Carnage and your own vessel in close proximity to each other, exchanging what we believe to be weapons fire. Regrettably, we believe that the Ravagers are winning the battle. Your ship is flying evasively, but it is besieged by what appear to be explosive autonomous drones and is unable to counterattack its fire."

Upon hearing this report, Owen now understood the coded message that Brennan had received and why she had to leave so suddenly. "Thats not good to hear," he began to say before deciding to throw in a positive. "With the Pandora being one of the smaller classes in the fleet, that often means she has to employ tactics that often seem to counter-act what is expected... We have a capable crew on board who often put original thinking to use in situations like this."

Whilat he explained the situation, Owen was unhappy that this had happened whilst he was on the away team. Without knowing more, he had to assume there was a plan that involved Nyx, Cailus and Griffin and that it was already underway.

"Indeed," the professor said somberly. "Regardless, on behalf of the Mendazian people, I freely offer you sanctuary on our world should the battle go ill. Your shuttlecraft is returning, and it shall of course be permitted to land once more within the umbrella of our city's energy shield. Even if your vessel should fail in its valorous defence of us, Salvaxe has other defences at its disposal."

Then Mujal smiled devilishly, sharing an enigmatic look with his fellow delegates. "We are a peaceful people, but we were not always such, as you may have perhaps divined from our more martial cousins in the Talarian Empire. While we are out of practice in the art of the war, we have not forgotten...and we shall remind the Ravagers of this salient fact. You shall be protected as our honoured guests."

Knowing that the Shuttlecraft was on its way back and that the Mendazians would take the away team under their protection at this time was a great help and Owen took it as a positive that they hadn't been asked to leave. However he was curious to know more about why they had decided to take this course.

"We appreciate your graciousness to protect us and we thank you very much for taking this decision," he explained. "As you can imagine, we're concerned about our crew mates and our ship... Is there someway we could monitor how this situation is proceeding and would you be able to explain more behind the decision to move away from the practice of war?" He asked.

Katniss glanced across at Nash, the ship was under attack and not doing well, she felt as though she should be there, not that she could really do much, she then turned her attention to Mujal. "I would certainly like to know more about your peaceful people and history, I am researcher, you say you are out of practice with war and that you haven't forgotten, what changed and took you from that path, I would be ever so interested to learn more," she said out of curiosity.

Mujal stroked his long white beard thoughtfully. The other Mendazian delegates were shifting uncomfortably in their seats, and he smiled at Katniss. "An excellent idea, my friends, and one that I believe we can accommodate without difficulty."

Owen smiled at the suggestion. "This sounds like a good plan then," Owen agreed before moving to a point he wanted to raise. "May I ask that once the Shuttlecraft arrives that the pilot is informed of where we are or even brought to join us...it will provide some solace to our crew that they know we are safe," he explained.

"I can make sure of that," said Belaia, turning to Mujal. "With your permission, of course."

"Of course," Mujal replied to Belaia with a quirk of his head, then looked to one of the other Mendazians, a tall middle-aged woman who towered over everyone else present. The delegate had been discreetly tapping away at a device attached to her sleeve for the last minute, and at the elderly professor's meaningful look, she smiled before looking to Commander Nash and the others.

"Our guest-friends," the woman (who had identified herself as Toph earlier) said in a rich, warm voice, "in the other great city of Salvaxe on our southern pole, there is an ampitheatre that is reserved for only the most significant events of our culture. It is there that we propose to take you by way of direct matter-energy transmission to watch the ongoing battle. Quickly, please, as this battle may be over before we can witness it."

Owen looked around the rest of the Away Team before he nodded in agreement. "Please do show us the way," he granted permission as he was curious to know what their Transporter system was and how it worked. However, a side thought occurred to him about the mention of the battle between the Carnage & the Pandora being a significant event of the Mendazians culture... "I've always loved the effect of a good amphitheatre," he added.

With consent given, Toph moved to one of the curved walls. She waved her hand in a strangely elegant fashion, causing the wall to retract to reveal a small room beyond. There, plain as day, was a transporter pad, very similar in appearance to that of countless other transporter pads throughout the galaxy, with a team of golden-suited Mendazian technicians manning an array of controls. Toph inclined her head briefly at the technicians before stepping up to the transporter pad along with several of the other delegates, leaving only Mujal and Belaia with the Starfleeters, then within seconds, they all were all whisked away in a golden flurry of sparkling light.

Owen had motioned for Wakefield and the others to take a spot each on the Transporter pads before them. With the Engineer in him still curious about their technology, Owen had a quick look around before taking his own spot on the pad. He felt safe enough that the tech seemed similar to what the Federation used and was willing to take a step on faith.

The contrast from beam-out to beam-in was extraordinary. One moment, the Starfleeters were in a quiet, tightly enclosed space; the next, they were standing in the midst of a truly immense ampitheatre that was packed to the rafters with Mendazians, creating an almost painful cacophony of noise. It was night outside the stadium but inside there was enough light to seemingly outshine a star, and it was just as well for in the vast open space above the center of the stadium was the main event.

There, rendered in excruciatingly detailed holographic form, the Pandora and the Carnage clashed, weapons fire bursting forth from each ship with wild abandon. The Federation ship was maneuvering with extraordinary agility, literally flying rings around the larger Ravager battleship, although the Starfleet vessel's shields were plainly getting hammered by the Ravager's endless array of cannons and drones. With each phaser beam that impacted the Carnage, a hundred thousand Mendazians shouted and roared in celebration, but with each hit that the Pandora received in return, a hundred thousand Mendazians groaned in despair. Just in front of where the away team had beamed in, Toph and the other delegates stood right next to the railing, so transfixed with the raging battle that they had quite forgotten their diplomatic duties.

Taking a moment to gather himself after the trip, Owen was impressed in the speed and manner of their Transporter system, however the ampitheatre almost blew his mind. The sheer size of it was immense and the size of the crowd turnout was amazing.

However, it was the detail of the battle itself, live before them, that started to sink his heart a little. Mujal's report had been right. The Luna Class starship was being overwhelmed by the Carnage with its drones and Owen's first thought was that he wasnt aboard her either as an Ops Manager or the XO. The cheering of the crowd was a good sign but he knew that unless the crew came up with a solution, there may not be a ship left much longer.

"This is live?" He asked Mujal, just to confirm the scenes before him. "The detail is amazing... I've already got a list of repairs in mind for our Chief Engineer..." Owen looked at Wakefield with a hopeful look on his face...

"It is gratifying that we manage to impress you," Mujal said loudly, although even with his voice raised to carry over the extraordinary noise, there was still a certain twinkle in his eye. He invited the humans to sit down before carefully stepping up to Toph who was still standing at the railing, watching the battle with nervous agitation. The tall Mendazian woman jumped when he tapped her on the shoulder, smiled bashfully at having been caught, and joined the others in their seats.

Keeping one eye on the battle, Mujal leaned over to Owen, Katniss and Mera in the seats to his right, although he did them the courtesy of holding his long white beard back to avoid draping it over Owen's lap. "This is indeed live, my friends, although some artistic license is used to compensate for the limited resolution of our far-system scanning stations. For our people, in fact, this is a unique cultural event even more than you may realise. It is the first time in centuries that this place has been used to show a deadly battle. Some of the more pacifistic elements of our society, myself included, are very uncomfortable with this return to barbarism, but given the stakes..."

Then the old professor gasped. The Carnage, presumably tired of being outmaneuvered and humiliated by the Pandora, was now simply charging directly at its prey. Even more disconcerting, the Pandora appeared to be turning to meet its larger attacker in a suicidal head-on pass. Mujal shook his head, remembering that he had been speaking.

"To answer your earlier question Lieutenant Wakefield, this place was one step on our path to move away from our martial past. After we renounced war and conquest following our exile, we nevertheless had countless warriors who suddenly had nobody to fight save each other. One of the forerunners of this ampitheatre was used as an outlet for such people, showcasing the best of our warriors slaughtering each other for the entertainment of the masses. It was a barbaric time, lasting centuries, before we moved on to more civilised pursuits."

Katniss gently placed her hand on Nash's shoulder, she felt the same concern he did and she wanted to reassure him, she gave him a smile and a nod before turning to Mujal.

"Similarly on our own planet, we used to have Gladiators who used to fight each other in the same manner, but over time like yourself if became barbaric, However even into the 21st century, some nations still executed criminals for the crimes they committed as well. We used to be a blood thirsty world, with war and hunger, while some nations amased a fortune others were starving. It took time to get where we are today, but I understand races desire to become more enlightend and focus on other things other than war."

Owen appreciated the reassurance from Katniss, however he was focused on the battle before them. Once again his ship...his home was under attack and he realised once more the sudden moment of loneliness out here in the Expanse that reminded him of how this could be a very dangerous place...

Conversation died down as the spectacle beyond them ramped up to its climax, the two ships flying right at each other, weapons blazing. Then a fiery red beam from the Pandora hit something tiny close to the Carnage, causing an immense explosion that was almost painfully bright, the audio emulators of the stadium translating it as a great thundering crash, as if the explosion had happened a kilometer away rather than many billions of kilometers. The Ravager ship wallowed, its engines plainly disabled, and now more phaser beams carved into the Carnage’s armour, their shields clearly offline.

While that was happening, the transporter behind the humans fizzled again, this time revealing a tall Deltan ensign in Starfleet uniform, his undershirt red. The man tapped Owen on the shoulder from behind. “Commander?”

Owen looked around as he recognised Ensign Rysal, one of the Shuttle pilots from on board the Pandora. Owen excused himself for a moment as he went to speak with his fellow officer. "Ensign, welcome to Salvaxe...its good to see the Mendazians beamed you over to us here at the Stadium," he pointed out. "I take it your our lift home?"

“Yes Commander,” Rysal said loudly so that his voice would carry over the din of the cheering Mendazians. Both ships had stopped firing, with the drifting and burning Carnage making it seem as if the Pandora was the victor, and the euphoria of the Mendazians at their apparent salvation was extraordinary. The ensign leaned directly over Owen and Katniss so he could talk into their ears. “Sir, Captain Temple and his team is aboard the Ravager ship, but there was still no word from them before I left the ship. They may have been captured.”

Owen looked back at the visual to notice that the firefight had ended and with the Ensign's report in mind, he knew they had to get back to the Luna class Starship. He looked over to Mujal to inform him of this.

"Mujal, with the hostilities over, my crew member has reported that our assitance is required," he began. "With your kind gracoiusness, we need to return back to our vessel... I have been requested that we return and provide assistance to the rest of the crew whilst we hold the upper hand over the Ravager vessel," he exolained, hoping he would understand why they had to leave.

Mujal stood, beaming at the Federation representatives, then bowed deeply, holding himself there for a good couple of breaths. The old professor winced as he straightened, holding a hand to his back, but he was smiling widely nonetheless.

“Of course, Lieutenant Commander Owen Nash, of course,” he said loudly. “All of you, on behalf of my world, we thank you for your efforts to defend our world. You may have placed us in peril, but you then risked your lives to save ours with no thought of reward. Such actions lend the veneer of truth to your earlier words, and the Mendazian people shall honour them as such in our future talks with the Federation...for there shall be talks, I am certain. Now Lieutenant Commander Owen Nash, Lieutenant Katniss Wakefield, Lieutenant Mera Richmond, go now and fare thee well. Know that you have friends on the world of Salvaxe, a safe harbour should you need resbite during your travels.”

Owen smiled as Mujal made his declaration to the Away Team. Knowing that they now had friends in the Expanse meant that it didnt feel like such a lonely place anynore. With Mujal's declaration made, this also meant he had good news to pass onto Nycolas. Owen bowed in return to Mujal as they prepared to leave. "Thank you Mujal, that is most gracious of you," he said as they were led back to the Transporter Room.

As the Federation representatives beamed away, Mujal sat back down, smiling with relief. The loudspeakers spread throughout the stadium were announcing that the Ravager ship appeared to have been defeated, and predictably, the crowd was going berserk. The normally calm, civilised Mendazians were dancing madly, hugging and kissing everyone closest to them and yelling with mad glee at the sky. The entire population of Salvaxe had been going through emergency drills for days, preparing for the awful end of their entire civilisation, but now that salvation had arrived, all that tension was released with wild abandon.

It was set to be the biggest, wildest party in the history of Salvaxe, everyone celebrating their miraculous survival, all thanks to the mysterious alien in their silver spaceship.