"Trouble"
(Previous Post was Tiffany's "A New Day Comes")
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Setting: SEA BREEZE, Main Deck
The young woman leaned over the edge of the wooden ship… her emerald eyes scanning the horizon for a ship she could not see… her mind pondering the growing difficulties they as a group had encountered since they had set out on this *simple* mission. The ANUBIS' CO had ordered everyone back to their quarters to rest… a directive that she had spent a great amount of time trying to comply with but in the end the redheaded woman had sought out the soothing properties of the ship's main open deck to help her think.
Memories of the FCO's insubordinate acts filled the young woman's mind to such a point that Rikar forgot for a brief moment the reason as to why she and the other members of the senior staff present on the SEA BREEZE had been here. This momentary laps was further pushed to the far recesses of the CO's mind when a strange sound echoed over the waters of the ship which drew the redheaded woman's attention towards the front of the boat.
"Thunder?" The young woman said out loud with puzzlement… unable to see any signs of clouds anywhere in the general vicinity from where the rumbling crash had come from.
"That is not thunder… the city of City of Xian-Fer is under attack,"
the tall and grey coloured Cat who had been hiding in the shadows next to
the ANUBIS' CO calmly announced as he made his presence next to the
redheaded woman openly known.
One would have thought that living with an Intel Operative such as Lt.
Cmdr. Enaii the young woman would have grown accustomed to such surprises…
yet the unexpected appearance of the imposing fury beast took the redheaded
woman by such surprise that she instinctively reached for her chest as if
wanting to make sure that her heart had not stopped.
"Are you sure?" Rikar inquired after having managed to regain her wits
and confirmed that her heart had indeed not stop beating from the fright
she had been given.
The sound of a second crash reached the SEA BREEZE which made Venger
slowly nod his head in response… the demeanour of the Cat now more then ever
reminded the ANUBIS' CO of someone she knew all too well. Obviously
the large grey Cat had been a creature of few words… a character trait that
the young woman had been more than acquainted to thanks to her life-mate,
yet the lack of information provided proved to only increase the young
woman's frustration.
An endless string of questions came into the mind of the young woman
but before any of them could be answered the repeated ringing of a bell
filled the air. Both the redheaded woman and her current furry companion
shifted their gaze upward to the crow's nest where the vigil had decided to
alert the ship of the chaos he had discovered.
"Two fires are burning in Xian-Fer," the creature atop of the central
mast yelled to those below. As if on perfect queue Fasham stepped through
the door which gave onto the lower decks and immediately cast his eyes onto
the horizon ahead of the SEA BREEZE where two faint trail of smoke could
now be seen.
"It seems that we may be too late… I had hoped that the presence of your friends would have delayed this but alas it would seem that I was wrong," the half fish creature offered with a distinct tone of sorrow in his voice.
"Explain yourself!" The young woman demanded having grown tired of
being kept in the dark about more things than she cared for.
"The city of Xian-Fer is for all intents and purposes controlled by the Cats although many other races live within its protective walls. Rumours of a rebellion had made its way to other cities but many feared that this could only end in an unnecessary carnage since the Cats were simply too well entrenched and equipped. The presence of your friends there… and their need for rescue… was the perfect argument needed for us to finally mount an assault on the city. We had hoped that your friends' presence would also keep the rebels at bay until we arrived… but it would seem that this is not the case," Fasham explained while his eyes continued to scrutinize the distant watery horizon.
"Why would the presence of my people there cause the rebels to delay
any actions they might have wanted to take against the Cats?" The young
woman inquired puzzled by what had been explained to her. Surely the fact
that the Cats had captured four *strangers* would have been incentive for
the Rebels to speed up their plans… not delay them.
"Let's just say that things are not as simple as you might believe them
to be," the half fish being replied… his enigmatic answer having done
nothing to ease the young woman's growing concerns for her people and
frustration towards the situation in general.
"Your kind is feared by most if not all," Venger clarified to the
dismay of Fasham who simply glared at the grey furry beast. As far as the Fish had been concerned there had been no need for this information to be
divulged… at least not at this point in time, but obviously the Cat had thought otherwise.
"Feared? Why?" The half Vulcan FCO asked as he and the others stepped
onto the main deck in response to the alarm that had been rung.
"There is too little time to fully explain… but know this… Men are the reason why this world is as you have found it and why the Cats are at war with the rest of us. The legends of the Men and of their power has filled the hearts of many with a darkness that has made it impossible for us all to live in peace as we were meant to be," Fasham explained further letting for the first time his uncertainty about the young woman and of the others who accompanied her to be openly known.
"So you wanted to help us save our people so that the Cats would not
discover whatever secrets you believe we possess," Akira offered more
as a statement of shock then a questions.
"We had hoped that by our showing you kindness you would bestow upon us
some of your grace… or at least in a worst case scenario not make us suffer
your wrath and anger at the capture of your friends," the half fish man said
this time his voice echoed and sadness and fear that further stunned the
redheaded woman and the other members of her crew.
"Fasham… we do not have any of the powers you believe we control… and even if we did we would *never* use them to punish you or anyone else… it is not our way," the young woman said in an attempt to reassure the fearful Fish.
"If you say so…" the creature acknowledged with a bow before retreating
by a few steps in order to be able to turn his attention to his people and
give them instructions as to how to approach their destination and to
contact the ships that had been following them.
The young woman just stood in the middle of the main deck and sighed as
she figured that no amount of explanation on her part would be able to
alter the perception these people had of them… even though the ANUBIS' CO knew
them to be false if she could not fully explain why.
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The moment the SEA BREEZE had arrived at port the young woman and the
rest of her crew quick disembarked and assessed the situation to the best of
their ability given their lack of their customary instruments. The
Hirogen Sec/Tac suddenly moved in front of the redheaded woman in a bid to
protect his CO when he noticed someone running towards them. The powerful
hunter had been ready to pull out the weapon he had at his disposal but waited
in case this had been nothing more than someone seeking help.
"They came! As black as night and on wings of iron… They attacked
without notice and left just as quickly as they had come… like the legend said… they swept through the city on their wings of death," a disturbed half man, half sheep being said, the trembling in his voice clearly indicating that he had been both elderly and terrified of what he had experienced.
"This was not the act of the rebels?" Fasham forcefully inquired as he
took the Sheep by the shoulders as if wanting the man to admit to his folly
and error in order to confirm what the Fish had suspected since they had
seen the fires from out at sea.
"The rebels dared not show their faces when the BLACK PANTHER arrived
with its cargo… and they were even less willing to let their presence known
when Broot beat one of the Masters to the ground with his bare hands and in
front of the other three," the frantic half man, half sheep man explained as
he slid free of Fasham's grasp.
Having heard all that she needed to hear the young woman stepped forth
and confronted the frantic being who nearly fell backwards when he realised
that the redheaded creature he had only glanced at in passing upon his
arrival had been another 'Men'.
"Where are they now?" Rikar demanded in a way that did not hide in any
way her growing frustration… at least that had been until she saw the
Sheep's eyes open to their fullest and reflected a terror the likes of which
the ANUBIS' CO had never seen or even imagined before. Fasham had not been
kidding when he had said that Humans were feared, but the young woman
could not have realised the extent of his statement.
"They were taken by armoured birds… toward the mountains," Enaii
replied as she stepped out of the shadows and join the group on the docks.
The young woman had been most happy to see her life-mate safe and sound… not that she had doubted in any way Enaii's ability to take care of herself through whatever problems or situation she might have come up against,
but still Rikar found it impossible to hide her relief and joy at the sight
of the ILO.
"Can you take us to those mountains?" The ANUBIS' CO inquired as she
quickly turned to face Fasham who seemed now more than ever before lost in his
fear induced convictions.
"I am sorry… we cannot… no one can. If you are truly not the Men we believe you to be, then your friends are as good as dead… but if you are trying to deceive us, you will not succeed in bringing any of us there… at least not without a fight," the half Fish creature replied without hesitation leaving it doubts in anyone's mind that should the rest of the ANUBIS' crew wished to go, they would have to do so without any help from the people of this world.
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"We are Grey, we stand between the Candle and the Star, between the
Darkness and the Light" 2006 post #283
Stardate: 61038.0545
Setting: CABRY III, City of Xian-Fer, Sea port
Stardate: 61038.0710
Sabrina Jones {sabrina_sweet@hotmail.com}
Captain Sabrina Rikar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
-Entilza Delenn, Babylon 5
