Urgent Reunions

Posted on Mon Sep 23rd, 2024 @ 2:06pm by Lieutenant Commander Caradan Eunidas & Ensign Aenardha Sh'vastarth & Captain Nycolas Temple & Commander Mindo & Commander Owen Nash & Lieutenant Commander James Smith & Lieutenant Daniel Keith & Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri-Smith & Lieutenant Zo & Lieutenant JG Olivia Keith & Lieutenant JG Aeryn Jameson & Raven Mattel & Ignatius

Mission: The Only Thing Left Was Hope
Location: Risa - Nuvia City
Timeline: Current

ON:

It had been a simple message, sent with urgency via subspace to all of the remaining Pandora crew:

"Pandora Crew Reunion Party! Let's raise a toast to the Pandora @ a bar called Destiny, with a special live performance by Warp Nine!" with a set of coordinates and a time attached.

Of course, it wasn't a party at all, but merely a ruse to coordinate the date and location where the crew could finally meet up in person. Having heard from most of the remaining Pandora officers and knowing many had also been visited by the mysterious stranger, Nyx was eager to swap intel and start progressing towards finding the ship. But, given the many questions involving the Pandora's disappearance, he wanted an extra level of protection.

The location given was a bar called Destiny, which Ignatius, Raven, and Mindo had discovered. The bar, with its random transporter entry system, was the perfect place to set up the ruse. Raven and Mindo had used their Risian contacts to establish a private room for the returning crew, accessible only by security clearance. The crew would use their code and be transported to the secret location. Anyone else who may have seen the party invite message and planned to crash the event would find themselves in a particularly free-spirited pleasure parlor, instead of the hidden meeting room.

==========

It was late evening on Risa now, Nyx had given enough time for everyone to reach the city. Wearing his Lucis V jacket over a black hoodie, he cut a mysterious figure as he quietly approached the location. He used his clearance code at the transporter pod and was waved through by the burly security guard, finding himself teleported to a small, empty apartment somewhere on the outskirts of the city. He immediately whipped out his tricorder from his jacket pocket and started scanning for any unwelcome devices.

Krysia walked the darkened street with James, glad they were back together. “I know Risa is considered safe, but I can’t say I like doing the whole covert thing.”

James nodded his agreement as they walked through the street. "Being covert is part of my job. But when we are suppose to be on vacation I try to avoid it."

Approaching the location, she stepped up using her clearance code the guard waving her through. Moments later she was standing in an apartment. Looking around she smiled as she saw Nyx busy scanning the room. “Captain! Am I glad to see you.”

"Finally in person!" Nyx beamed as he walked over to give them both a hug. The "reunion party" may have been intended as a cover story but now here they were, reuniting after so long apart and Nyx was feeling emotional. Maybe there was more than a little truth in it.

Krys couldn’t help but smile as gave Nyx a hug. “I’ll be the first to admit I’ve missed you Sir!”

James smiled and gave Nyx a hug as well, "it's so good to see you old friend we have been away far goo long."

Caradan had been all but glued to her captain's side upon their landing on Risa. Understanding the importance of this meeting, and upon seeing a few wondering eyes in their direction, Caradan decided it was best for them to arrive at their destination via different paths. Without saying a word, Caradan had turned and gone a separate way. She was fully clothed, head to toe, with even her head covering leaving her face and only her face showing. And her face was the only bit of her being that she made appear completely human. The rest of her was her pasty looking humanoid mimicking Changeling self. Of course all that was covered up with real clothing; black pants and a tan long-sleeve shirt, her white gloves, her al-amira head covering, and black boots.

She had walked down a street parallel to her captain. Of course Risa was never known for many Klingon visitors seeing as how Risa was not entirely their idea of paradise, but Caradan did spot a few Klingon hybrids. With her lingering anxiety getting the best of her, she had turned down another street, and then another. Despite the paradise of Risa, all places, and all cities had their areas that people regarded as the 'rough side of town.' Trying to avoid attracting attention, trying to avoid her phobia of Klingons, all the while trying to get to the rendezvous, Caradan pressed on.

She arrived, nodding to the security guard, who made no recognition in return. His eyes only watching her as she entered her security code. Once that was accepted, she looked at him again briefly and he only gave a single nasal hum of affirmation. Stepping forward, Caradan was teleported to the rendezvous. She immediately recognized her captain and then saw the other unfamiliar faces. The anxiety of meeting new people washed over her gently and Caradan reformed her face to her decided-upon pasty appearance; not wanting to keep anyone guessing at her species, but clearly illustrated that...yes...Caradan is a Changeling.

"Lieutenant," Nyx called out warmly to Caradan, "Please, come meet some of your new crew mates."

Caradan started in their direction. She had not learned everyone's names or faces or ranks yet. She had hardly spent time going over the Pandora's roster, knowing that who was on board before may not be a crew member now. So, she regarded the two new faces with nods to each respectively. "I look forward to serving with you," she said.

Nyx put on a smile, indicating to the officers, "This is Lieutenant Smith, he's our Chief Intelligence Officer, and Lieutenant Kaleri-Smith, our Chief Counsellor. Guys, this is Lieutenant Eunidas, our Chief Security Officer."

Krysia gave Caradan a curious look, it was obvious Caradan was a changeling. “It’s nice to meet you Lieutenant. Anytime you need a chat or just someone to drop in on feel free.”

Though Caradan wanted to scoff and outright deny that as even an idea, feeling she had her fill of counselors, she managed to say, "Of course. I will keep that in mind. Lieutenant Smith," she regarded James, "with you in Intelligence, I foresee our departments working together a great deal. I look forward to the collaboration." Caradan did not make eye contact with him long before looking back at the counselor, then to the Captain, then away.

James nodded, "I look forward to working with you as well Caradan." James continued to watch door keeping an eye for anyone else that may be joining them.

Next In was Aeryn, “Well I’ll be...look at all of you!” She smiled as she greeted everyone. “It’s good to see you all again.”

Caradan was facing away from the others, away from the teleportation location as she was looking over more information on her PADD when another teleport came in. She was not one to openly meet new people and wanted nothing more than for this group to be all that would meet right now, but she also was the head of Security and needed to know who all was arriving.

Mindo appeared in the chamber and stepped out. He wore white shorts, a pair of nice brown sandals, and an open "Hawaiian style" yellow and red shirt revealing a much trimmer and tanned build than he'd had three years prior. He wore round, blue-lensed sunglasses with thin gold rims. It was highly obvious that Mindo had consulted Ignatius for fashion ideas before arriving.

Seeing him, seeing Mindo suddenly in the flesh after some years, Caradan froze, almost solid. Her right hand shifted inside her glove causing her to lose her grip on her PADD, but her left hand did, in fact, turn nearly to stone. And that grip tightened to near PADD-breaking proportions. It was the longest she had kept her eyes on anyone in nearly two years now, but Mindo was not looking back at her. In fact, it appeared as though he did not even recognize her. His sunglasses, and her being nearly completely covered up save for her face, probably kept his recognition away. Regaining herself, Caradan turned away and went back to her PADD, swiping at it and looking at whatever random information popped up. Her mind though was becoming flooded with thoughts, full conversations, past events, and concerns on how meeting Mindo again would turn out.

“Mindo!!” Krysia grinned as she rushed across to Mindo giving him a gentle hug. “It’s been so long! I’ve missed you.”

Mindo returned the hug. "Krysia! It's good to see you too!" he said. "Gosh, I've really missed everyone!"

Olivia and Keith were next to arrive, they were some of the new faces amongst the crew. She smiled and nodded as she greeted those already present.

Daniel was at Olivia's side and like her smiled and nodded to all those in attendance.

=====

Caradan half decided to speak to Mindo, at least to say 'Hey' when another from her past showed.

Situated in the far corner, Zo and Warp Nine started playing a folky little song. Zo played banjo while bassist Jim on an upright bass, drummer Tyler on cajon, and Keeva playing a small wooden xylophone. Their dress was casual, a real change for the band who were used to having the flashy equipment and overt apparel. It was evident they were enjoying themselves, having fun with the atypical arrangement and just being part of the ambience.

Caradan watched as the band played and the people watched. With all the teleportation that had been going on, so to keep this meeting secret, a harsher wave of anxiety came over her. She hastily put her PADD to standby and slid it up the back side of her shirt. Pressing it into her back where the pulled it into her being for storage. Retrieving her hand, Caradan was holding a tricorder. Nervously, she pressed a few buttons then started a scan. She was not discreet about it but covered the readout the best she could in the event anyone attempted to see what she was scanning, or what she was scanning for. Seeing the readout, her anxiety visibly waned and she placed the tricorder behind her, pressing it into her back and pulling it into her being for storage. She did not retrieve her PADD. Though she wanted to get on with business, it seemed the others had at least a little socializing to tend to first. Caradan wanted little to nothing to do with that and simply stood there, off to the side, watching and flitting her eyes from person to person.

Nyx had gone around the room and caught up with everyone, as well as met some people for the first time. The band playing gently in the background was giving this clandestine meeting more of a family reunion vibe, which had taken over the seriousness of the event. He was beginning to forget why he had brought them all here. As much as he wanted this night to go on as it was for longer, he couldn't forget there was a purpose to bringing everyone together again.

Standing up at the front of the room, Nyx cleared his throat. "I want to thank you all for coming tonight. It's an honor to see so many friends - new and old - here. I wasn't sure what to expect when I sent out the message, but it's truly heartwarming that so many of you responded."

"The Pandora was our home." He continued, "We fought the good fight, we saw many amazing things, we helped spark a rebellion within the Expanse. Unfortunately, our entanglements with Starfleet's shady operators saw our ship mothballed. I had to make a deal. Start a lengthy investigation which could have tied us all up in hearings and court martials. Have our every action analyzed with a fine toothcomb and judged. Put a stain on all of our careers. Or..." He shrugged, "Let High Command deal with it their own way. They got our data and our ship; they would tie up the loose ends for us. Of course, I took that deal."

He paused, looking around the room, hoping to see some sympathetic looks. He had wanted to fight for the truth, expose the whole ordeal to everyone and anyone who would have listened, but the cost to their lives and careers would have been too high.

"Like many of you, I was visited recently by a stranger who insisted that I return to the Pandora." Nyx said, "That our time was not over yet. Something I had been thinking myself for some time. I had always thought the day would come that I returned to our ship. Imagine my surprise then, when I discovered the Pandora could not be located. In fact, not even Admiral Milne knows where our ship is currently."

'Visited by a stranger,' Caradan thought to herself as the captain spoke the words. With so little detail and the fact that this 'stranger' had visited 'many', all she could think was Section 31. She too had been visited by someone who had entanglements with that section, though Miles O'Brien was no stranger to her. He never mentioned the Pandora by name but did say that he had found her an assignment she would enjoy. So far, he was not lying, but the coincidence of it all seemed too convenient. Caradan listened on and went about reading the room.

“The ship has vanished?” Krysia looked at Nyx. “What could anyone want with the Pandora? It’s not like she’s a prototype of any sort.” She couldn’t help but wonder.

Mindo spoke up. "Perhaps not, Krys. But she received a lot of unconventional modifications while we explored Iconnu. Some of them might be dangerous in the wrong hands." He looked around the room. "Look, I was visited by some boogeyman too. But I'm not reenlisting. Starfleet made it clear many times that they don't want me, and frankly, the feeling's mutual." He set down his glass of champagne and walked to the portal. "It was great to see you all, but count me out of this one." He stepped into the portal and put Destiny behind him.

Caradan witnessed Mindo's little speech from the far side of the room. She thought to go after him but recalled his final word to her while still aboard the Tornado. ~~~"I don't want to see you again."~~~ he had said.

"Perhaps we will have another chance," she spoke to herself and returned her attention to her PADD.

Nyx looked to around with pleading eyes, hoping someone could go after Mindo for him. He was too important to the mission to allow him to leave.

In other's stead, Caradan decided to take that first step forward after Mindo. Getting him to stay with the crew, however, was not what she had in mind.

Turning back to the others, Nyx gave a sigh, "I understand his feelings. I do. Our journey into the Expanse, to Pithos in particular, was not what I expected. But there is another mission ahead of us, something that I believe is of grave importance. Finding the Pandora is the first step in the mission. I would hope that all of you have gathered here because you want to be part of it. If not, speak up now."

Still holding his guitar, Zo stood and said, "Captain, the band and I can't think of a better gig!"

“You can count us in” Krysia looked between James and Nyx. “We’re with you all the way.”

“I know we’re the newbies here” Olivia looked at Temple, “but you can count us in too.”

“And me!” Aeryn offered a warm smile. “You need a Doctor onboard ship.”

Feeling he had the support of the room, Nyx nodded and tried to hide his smile. "Very good." He said, his voice choking a little. He clapped his hands together as a means of moving on. "But there is one more set back. As you have noticed, Commander Nash is not here. He has taken up an assignment to captain his own ship. As much as he would want to be here and help us, he's been given an urgent mission and he needed to start his new assignment."

Aeryn’s smile faded a little at the mention of Owen, the two of them had been romantically involved but with his assignment away from the Pandora, and Aeryn, for an unknown amount of time a mutual decision had been made to go their own ways. She’d thought of trying to get an assignment on his ship but Owen had denied it on the grounds that the Pandora needed her more.

Krysia wasn’t happy about Owen’s departure either, she had originally joined the Pandora to be with her brother, but at least she considered the friends she had on the Pandora her family, as well as James and their children.

"I will hope that Mindo will return because I need an XO for this mission." Nyx admitted, "Of course I am going to miss Owen, he was my right-hand man for most of our time in the Expanse. But he has his own ship now and I respect that his duty now lies with them. So, let's get to why we're here."

Moving over to the small table in front of them, Nyx retrieved a PADD and placed it on the surface. After a few button taps, a map was being projected in the air in front of the group, showing Earth, the moon, and Mars. An icon of the Pandora starts on the Moon and begins to travel towards Mars.

"From what we can gather, the Pandora left the Luna shipyards on stardate 683428-point-9, heading towards Mars." Nyx said as the map moved with the trajectory of the ship, "Mars at the time was in conjunction to Earth, on the parallel angle to the Sun. For some reason, the Pandora took the longer transport route around the outside orbit, whereas most traffic was using the shorter route. Obviously to hide what was about to happen. About halfway towards Mars, the warp signature for the Pandora stops. It's just... gone."

The map showed the Pandora's last location, as the ship icon disappears.

"We believe," Nyx gave a nod to Smith and Kaleri, "That a large vessel of some kind, intercepted the Pandora and took possession of her. They put the Pandora inside and left the area. It had to be something big enough to house the Pandora, but without warp capabilities as there was no secondary signature. Whatever took the ship was big and slow." He looked to the group, "Which is a good thing, because hiding something like that won't be easy."

Nyx looked around the room, "We won't have Starfleet's full support. But I know we can do incredibly things together when we try." The transporter pad in the doorway illuminated once again and Nyx looked to it expectantly. "Ah, it looks like Mindo and Nash have returned."

"Sorry for my outburst," Mindo said to the group. "I am interested in what's going on with all this, but I can't guarantee I'll be coming back."

"We're so glad to see you." Nyx said earnestly, stepping forwards to embrace his friend.

Nyx was about to speak again when the transporter pad activated once more. As the shimmering lights faded, there was an unfamiliar figure there. A tall figure dressed all in black, wearing a combat uniform and dark helmet. Nyx immediately reached for his phaser but the figure held up his hand.

Caradan was a singular step ahead of Nyx with her hand already on her phaser.

"I mean no harm." The voice said. A familiar voice. "I have come to help you on your mission, Pandora crew. As I told you all once before, it's time to go back to your ship."

Caradan did not take her hand off her phaser, but did not draw either. "You have not told me that before," she said. Her eyes beamed steely at him. I demand you identify yourself." Caradan did have a similarly mysterious acquaintence who also seemed to speak in riddle, arrive as though from nowhere, even vanish without a trace.

Inside her head, and behind her eyes, Caradan kept her tricorder stored within her being. Unbeknownst to all in the room, she was already and inwardly working the controls to scan the new arrival.

“Time to go back to our ship?” Olivia looked towards the figure. “My husband and I were never there in the first place, although we are assigned there now.”

The figure cocked his head slightly, "It is your ship now, then." He merely replied.

“Just Who are you?” Krys is looked towards the figure. “Why are we so special?”

"Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a person in a mask." He stated, "My mission is to return you to the Pandora. The why cannot be explained in any way that would not make the mission itself come undone. But know that it is of utmost importance that you do."

Nyx rolled his eyes deliberately, "I have no patience for secrets anymore. If you know something, then tell us!" He growled at the end, equally deliberately.

Caradan slowly made her way to Nyx's side, just a few steps before him. She never took her hand off her phaser.

"The Pandora's whereabouts can be found by looking at where she has been." The figure said with a gentle shrug.

"Luna shipyards?" Nyx guessed, looking perplexed "But she is not there now."

"Before your hiatus, Captain." The man replied, "The Expanse. Her experiences. That will guide you to where she is now. Should you succeed, we will meet again."

With a flash, the figure was gone. This time not using the transporter pad but disappearing as he had done on Earth and their previous encounters. A silence followed in his wake as the crew considered his words.

"Riddles," Caradan said with a degree of disgust. Why did it always have to be riddles? With people and ships appearing and disappearing into and out of thin air these days. She had met White Eyes. Now she had met Mr. Mystique.

“As much as I tried to get a reading on him, I couldn’t” Krysia sighed. “So I guess we play backtracking our steps?”

"My tricorder registered nothing at all," said Caradan. It was all very similar to her previous visit with White Eyes. Except, Mr. Mystique showed himself before all. White Eyes showed himself only to Caradan. Not even Nyx knew of that meeting. And Caradan was forbidden from telling him, or anyone for that matter.

"Anyone else get a Q vibe from that guy?" Zo asked.

"So does this mean going back to the Expanse?" Mindo asked. "I'm following you, Captain. Just say the word."

But when Mindo turned to look at Temple, the Captain was no longer standing there.

"Captain?" Mindo said, looking around the room.

Caradan turned to look as well. Nyx had been only an arm's length behind her. But no longer.

From behind everyone came another flash, and the mysterious man reappeared.

"Where is the Captain, Mr. Mystique?" Mindo demanded.

Caradan did draw her phaser this time and took aim at the intruder who seemed unnerved at having a weapon pointed at him.

"Mr. Mystique," the man ruminated. "I approve, Mr. Mindo."

Mindo gritted his teeth. He hovered up to Mr. Mystique's height, glaring. "I said..."

"Captain Temple is on his own quest now," Mr. Mystique replied. "As all of you are about to be on yours."

"To find the Pandora?" Mindo asked. Mr. Mystique nodded.

Caradan wanted to speak, had questions of her own but did not want to engage this mystery man just yet. If he did not know that Caradan was involved with the crew, she did not want to clue him in on that fact now. He did not respond to her previous outburst or seem to recognize that she had spoken at all. Could it be that he did not recognize her in the least, see her at all? Whatever he was, were Changelings invisible to him?

"Are you going to help us?" Mindo asked.

Mr. Mystique just smiled. Another flash, and he vanished.

"I take that as a 'No'," Caradan said as she holstered her phaser.