The problem with being a Vulcan/Romulan/Human/Betazoid...
...is THIS.
Lt. M'Konel, security office
The lieutenant nearly collapsed, his knees wobbling. He caught himself on the edge of her desk and cringed in anguish and anxiety and panic. Blinking rapidly, Elihu struggled to get his mental block up. As he exhaled, Elihu stared at Aeris with sympathy, or - indeed - empathy. He gulped and licked his suddenly dry lips before daring to move around the desk toward her.
Elihu was making it a point to keep his hands in plain sight as he spoke softly. "I am not them, Aeris." Safe. Serene. Sympathy. "And if the operatives who did this to you are still alive, I can vow to you that I will make them suffer. But I am not them, Aeris."
He was now standing almost directly in front of her desk computer. He quickly, but non-threateningly, reached over to open a hailing frequency to Starfleet Intelligence.
He said, "I don't want to have to make you look like a fool, Aeris. Nor do I want to commandeer your ship. Please, release the force field and recall your guards..."
With the pressure of her memories releasing, Aeris pulled what little she could of her present-state of mind together and stood. Her back was to the monitor as Starfleet Intelligence blinked on screen.
"Captain Aeris," came Commander Bradden's response. "It's come to my attention you have someone in custody in your office."
Still trying to regain her head, Aeris remained her back to the monitor, leaning over her desk with her hand on her forehead. "Was Lieutenant M'Konel ordered to infiltrate Earth Spacedock and plant unknown devices aboard the station? Are you working with the Tal Shiar?"
"Aeris," sighed Bradden, not intending on answering any of those questions. "I order you to drop your force field and let Lieutenant M'Konel go."
She turned to face the screen. "Commander, what is going on--"
"Do it," interrupted Bradden. "That's an order."
The screen blinked out to Aeris' shock, and she slowly looked over at M'Konel. "Computer," she opened, in disbelief and exhaustion. "Drop the force field surrounding the office."
She only had Elihu M'Konel's word to go on. That, and being under Starfleet's thumb had been her casualty ever since the Tal Shiar incident. The doors to her office swooshed open and she addressed the group outside.
Admiral Nat meets with Sek and the security guard he set up at the Security Office.
"Actually, they're my guards, and I of all people want to know exactly what's going on here."
Winning.
It's what I do. It's what I just did. It's what I'm about to do again. It's being undisputed emperor of an empire that cannot be disproved as the most powerful intergalactic empire in the entire universe; I always win, and everything I've won will definitely be won again... by me. It's my signature move, and thus, it's my signature. Problem, Sonic? Yeah, I mean you, Sonic, because you're being beat up, despite your being super. You can't even hit Shadow back, can you? Nope, he's too strong for you. Of course, I'm not Shadow, I'm the Super Emerald fueled fox that's pulling the strings; trust me, the fight would only be a few frames long if I were in it personally. Oh, and here's something for all you guys thinking you can win Last Post Wins 3.0; trust me, I'll be around a long while after the sun has already consumed the Earth while I sit out with the forum servers on Titan. Yes, I mean Titan... that comparatively little moon orbiting Saturn. It's a nice little place in a version of our solar system where the sun is a lot bigger. I mean, Mars will last longer than your precious Earth, but by then, it'll be one hot planet... and I figure Saturn's moon will be about the right temperate for a super-powered warlord. Oh, and trust me, I packed a lot of rings, and I mean a lot. Trillions, in fact, so I'll never run out of rings to power my super form. Besides, if I start to run out, I can just chaos control more rings into my reach. It's quite easy, really. You should try it. Granted, you'll never have the 7 Super Emeralds that I have in my possession, nor the Master Emerald that I've got hidden away somewhere... absorbed into my body thanks to Sonic logic, but whatever. I win. Again. I'm not kidding, either. Just check Last Post Wins, and if the last post isn't mine, it soon will be. Very, very soon. You can count on it. Seriously. By the way, if you're wondering, there's a really great Super Tails sprite sheet out there... somewhere... by some guy named shadow_91. These sprites are really great. Like, really good. Quality. Just like what I like to see in a sprite sheet. Also, credit to Joe T.E., his Sonic Battle style Super Sonic sprites have a great palette for a Super Sonic being beat up by Super Shadow, who's palette is from a Super Shadow sheet of unknown origin, but it turns out they were "borrowed" from a better sheet made by a certain Domenico. Oh, and the gif is actually a custom made super version of a similar gif, of which there are only 3 or 4 copies to be found by Google, and even then, evidently of an unknown source. Yep, it's one of those things. Stuff people have made, spread around, only for it to vanish and you to be the only person who still has a copy, not even knowing where it came from... like, literally at all. Oh, and anyone notice that Shadow's little chaos snap blast thingies are red and blue now? Yeah, I changed it. Problem, fans of purple? Yeah, I know you got a problem with that one, but you can just deal with it. After all, according to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly... alright, alright, I'll spare you the entire Bee Movie script, just Google it if you want. By the way, ever wonder how your characters would've ended up if they evolved in another universe? Yeah, that. Think about it. Ok, so you probably didn't bother reading up to here, but whatever, here's a surprise for you guys over at ESD (RP) who were crazy enough to read this: Emperor Nat of the mcfreakin' Terran Empire is gonna be right all along! The universe is gonna go BOOM! *Thumbs up to the insanity*
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
Oh, look, an explosion...
0
rattler2Member, Star Trek Online ModeratorPosts: 58,574Community Moderator
Krystal arrives at the Security Office.
"someone steel some cheetos or something?" she asked sarcastically.
It's what I do. It's what I just did. It's what I'm about to do again. It's being undisputed emperor of an empire that cannot be disproved as the most powerful intergalactic empire in the entire universe; I always win, and everything I've won will definitely be won again... by me. It's my signature move, and thus, it's my signature. Problem, Sonic? Yeah, I mean you, Sonic, because you're being beat up, despite your being super. You can't even hit Shadow back, can you? Nope, he's too strong for you. Of course, I'm not Shadow, I'm the Super Emerald fueled fox that's pulling the strings; trust me, the fight would only be a few frames long if I were in it personally. Oh, and here's something for all you guys thinking you can win Last Post Wins 3.0; trust me, I'll be around a long while after the sun has already consumed the Earth while I sit out with the forum servers on Titan. Yes, I mean Titan... that comparatively little moon orbiting Saturn. It's a nice little place in a version of our solar system where the sun is a lot bigger. I mean, Mars will last longer than your precious Earth, but by then, it'll be one hot planet... and I figure Saturn's moon will be about the right temperate for a super-powered warlord. Oh, and trust me, I packed a lot of rings, and I mean a lot. Trillions, in fact, so I'll never run out of rings to power my super form. Besides, if I start to run out, I can just chaos control more rings into my reach. It's quite easy, really. You should try it. Granted, you'll never have the 7 Super Emeralds that I have in my possession, nor the Master Emerald that I've got hidden away somewhere... absorbed into my body thanks to Sonic logic, but whatever. I win. Again. I'm not kidding, either. Just check Last Post Wins, and if the last post isn't mine, it soon will be. Very, very soon. You can count on it. Seriously. By the way, if you're wondering, there's a really great Super Tails sprite sheet out there... somewhere... by some guy named shadow_91. These sprites are really great. Like, really good. Quality. Just like what I like to see in a sprite sheet. Also, credit to Joe T.E., his Sonic Battle style Super Sonic sprites have a great palette for a Super Sonic being beat up by Super Shadow, who's palette is from a Super Shadow sheet of unknown origin, but it turns out they were "borrowed" from a better sheet made by a certain Domenico. Oh, and the gif is actually a custom made super version of a similar gif, of which there are only 3 or 4 copies to be found by Google, and even then, evidently of an unknown source. Yep, it's one of those things. Stuff people have made, spread around, only for it to vanish and you to be the only person who still has a copy, not even knowing where it came from... like, literally at all. Oh, and anyone notice that Shadow's little chaos snap blast thingies are red and blue now? Yeah, I changed it. Problem, fans of purple? Yeah, I know you got a problem with that one, but you can just deal with it. After all, according to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly... alright, alright, I'll spare you the entire Bee Movie script, just Google it if you want. By the way, ever wonder how your characters would've ended up if they evolved in another universe? Yeah, that. Think about it. Ok, so you probably didn't bother reading up to here, but whatever, here's a surprise for you guys over at ESD (RP) who were crazy enough to read this: Emperor Nat of the mcfreakin' Terran Empire is gonna be right all along! The universe is gonna go BOOM! *Thumbs up to the insanity*
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
Fleet Admiral : Joran Tomalak
Ship : Fleet D'Deridex , Ael'Hatham
Location : High orbit new romulus
*Sits im his ready room with the lights dimmed, is looking at a picture of himself and his mother, it was taken shortly after his graduation from the imperial romulan naval academy, again his father had more....important matters to attend, just then the door chimes*
Joran : Enter
*the door opens with the usual hum and woosh, in steps an older man in his late 50s early 60s , in his hand he holds a PADD*
D'Vex : Joran i have a list of damages from our last battle , we need to put in for more extensive repairs as soon as we can.
*joran takes the PADD and begins to read*
Joran : *Sighs* yeah i know D'vex ,we've not a chance to get the old girl worked on, since before the war with the iconians , and now were involved in this whole mess with the na'kuhl and time travel.
D'Vex: Indeed joran its been a stressfull year for sure, ah for the simpler days on viranat , this time of year the nectar would just star being harvested, why i remember tovan would run through the vineyards and...
Joran : Yes tovan always was a brash child, he laments for a homeworld he was to young to remember.
D'Vex : Oh thats right joran, you were born on romulus, didnt you attend the naval academy?
*looks up from the PADD*
Joran : Yes i did D'Vex *shows d'vex the picture* this was the day i graduated , mother was so elated and proud , i hadnt seen her smile like that in a very long time.
D'Vex : Your father mus...
Joran : *cutting d'vex mid sentence* I couldnt care the LEAST what that man thought, it was because of him my mother....my mother fell into a depression , and took her own life, if he hadnt died the day romulus was destroyed, i assure you i would have.
D'Vex : Im sorry joran i wasnt aware you and your father hated one another.
Joran : Its ok d'vex , everytime i think of him , i think of my mother and all the TRIBBLE he put us through, he was more worried about his advancement in the military , his standing with the tal'shiar the sycophants of politics and his place im the romulan aristocracy.
D'Vex : Indeed joran, but your father is considered a great man among the older generation, myself included.
Joran : GREAT? *slams his fists into his desk* all he ever did was cause uneeded tension between the empire and the fedration , his actions along the old federation nuetral zone and his encounters with the enterprise-D, only proves his incompetence and utter disregard for any hope for peace, had he had it his way , the empire wouldve been embroiled in a war with the federation and all to advance his standings in the hierarchy of society.
D'Vex : im sorry joran , i didnt mean to..
Joran : Thats ok d'vex , im the one who should apologise , its your right to think of him that way, you didnt know the man i grew up around...well who was mostly absent ,and when he was home only made life miserable, for me and mom.
D'Vex : You said your father died on romulus, might i ask how?
*puts the PADD on his desk , then looks up with a sly grin*
Joran : Its actually very ironic , as people were boarding shuttles leave, those who could get to one in time, he threw a woman and her two kids off a shuttle , citing "they werent of high birth and had no right to live", me and my uncle were loading the last shuttle , when he saw what my father did , my uncle placed the woman and her kids aboard in his place, knowing full well it meant his death.
D'Vex : Your uncle mustve been brave
Joran : my uncle antarok , was old military his beleif was "you serve your people, not the government or the aristocracy", he was doing his duty to protect the innocent.
D'Vex : So where is the irony in this tale?
Joran : *a sarcastic but pleased grin crosses his lips* The ladys' name was T'lania ....Khev, and the shuttle which my father was on , never left the ground a few seconds after he tossed them off, a lava fissure destroyed the shuttle and all the people aboard.
*joran chuckles under his breath, as he picks the PADD back up and begins reading again*
D'Vex : I see i suppose irony does fit the bill?
*finishes reading the PADD engineering damage report*
Joran : I will see if we can put the old girl into docks while were at new romulus , barring anymore calamities that require our immeadiate attention.
D'Vex : I will return the engineering then , good day joran.
*D'vex leaves the room*
Joran : Computer dim the lights to half
*he picks up the photo and smiles to himself*
Joran : Indeed d'vex , It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Elihu M'Konel leaned against Captain Aeris' desk as the doors opened and questions were asked. He crossed his arms over his chest and snickered at the admiral. However, when he caught sight of Captain Jade, Elihu clenched his eyes shut and gulped. He would've doubled over if he hadn't been concerned about appearances. His hands went to his forehead...
Three Months Earlier...
Lieutenant M'Konel, Counselor Talitha Roseblade, and twin deputies Daniel and Danielle Benson stormed into the armory with no regard for their own safety. However, Talitha remained behind the security officers at the behest of her beloved betrothed.
Lrann was kneeling by another member of M'Konel's security force, crewman Lareth. The Vulcan man was wounded, green blood trailing down his temple. The petite Cardassian-Ferengi woman was shakily pointing a type II phaser at H'Rekthar, a former Hirogen hunter.
“Do not come any closer, M'Konel!” the Hirogen lieutenant shouted as he brandished a type III phaser compression rifle, “Order your people back or I'll open fire!”
M'Konel scowled, “They're your people too, Rek! Our people! Remember?” He sighed. “Rek, what're ya doin', man? I thought we talked about this! I thought I could trust you!”
Fear. Betrayal. Hopelessness. “And I thought I could trust you.”
There is no way someone isn't going to die here.
Elihu slowly holstered his phaser. “Our mission remains the same: defend against the Borg. Defend against the Undine. We have not betrayed the Hirogen defectors. If I had that in mind, I would not have made you head of security when I took command of the Philadelphia.”
He glanced to Talitha as he felt her fear. He knew he was not going to talk the crazed blood-thirsty hunter out of his rage. H'Rekthar had only joined the Philadelphia crew of 26 on the promise that their goal be the eradication of the Undine. However, now that the war was over, the hunt was over. His hunt was over.
Eli, you're reading the situation wrong.
Elihu blinked, looking to the counselor a second time before hearing H'Rekthar's answer: “I do not care about your defense, M'Konel. I do not care about the defectors either. I only care about one thing...”
Peace. Acceptance.
Although it seemed time had slowed, it had not, though his reaction to the Hirogen's emotions had. As Elihu reached for his phaser, H'Rekthar squeezed the trigger on his rifle. A pulse of golden light shot from the barrel.
Talitha shoved him out of the way...
“No!”
0
rattler2Member, Star Trek Online ModeratorPosts: 58,574Community Moderator
Krystal approached Elihu and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You alright?" she asked.
Elihu flinched as Jade touched him, and inched away along the front of the table. His look of terror was brief, but real. He chuckled and shrugged. "Yeah, sure...Captain. Of course."
For the first time in a long time, Elihu lied to protect himself. And he immediately felt guilty.
Centurion M'Konel (the other one), U.S.S. Philadelphia, bridge
"Go ahead, Lieutenant," Lydia said as she continued to stand in front of the view screen, staring at the spacedock.
Lieutenant Lang's disembodied voice came over her comm-badge: "Looks like he had to resort to Bradden, Lyd. Thankfully, they didn't have to go all the way up to Chekov or Toreth..."
"Silence!" Lydia barked at the engineer. "Do you want every eavesdropper in the quadrant to know those names? Get isolated so I can beam you back."
Daniel Benson at tactical and Nel Kestral at ops exchanged nervous, but relieved expressions.
"What about Elihu?"
"He can take care of himself. He always keeps himself isolated."
The expressions of Benson and Kestral returned to their state of heightened anxiety.
0
rattler2Member, Star Trek Online ModeratorPosts: 58,574Community Moderator
"You don't look alright," Krystal replied. Although she wasn't very strong, she did have Limited Telepathy and could tell he was shaken. "Hell... you look like you could use a drink."
"I'll get one on my ship," he said, looking away, "after the gracious Captain Aeris gives me leave of her magnanimous presence." Elihu then looked back to Jade and nodded. "I truly thank you for your concern though."
Picking up on her limited telepathy, Elihu became even more agitated. The last thing he needed was a telepath broadcasting what he was really doing here to everyone in the galaxy.
Commander 11 of 14, acting captain on the U.S.S. Firestorm
11 of 14 sat in the captain's chair, wondering what the U.S.S. Philadelphia was up to.
She gets a call from main engineering. "Commander, the repairs to the U.S.S. Firestorm just finished."
11 of 14 replies, "good, although we won't be moving anywhere anytime soon."
With Admiral Nat and Commander Sek on ESD, Captain Jim (Admiral Nat's first officer) and Commanders Burt and Scott all down on Earth, she and the chief medical officer, 8 of 14, were the only senior officers left on ship. This, to say the least, was a little unnerving.
Winning.
It's what I do. It's what I just did. It's what I'm about to do again. It's being undisputed emperor of an empire that cannot be disproved as the most powerful intergalactic empire in the entire universe; I always win, and everything I've won will definitely be won again... by me. It's my signature move, and thus, it's my signature. Problem, Sonic? Yeah, I mean you, Sonic, because you're being beat up, despite your being super. You can't even hit Shadow back, can you? Nope, he's too strong for you. Of course, I'm not Shadow, I'm the Super Emerald fueled fox that's pulling the strings; trust me, the fight would only be a few frames long if I were in it personally. Oh, and here's something for all you guys thinking you can win Last Post Wins 3.0; trust me, I'll be around a long while after the sun has already consumed the Earth while I sit out with the forum servers on Titan. Yes, I mean Titan... that comparatively little moon orbiting Saturn. It's a nice little place in a version of our solar system where the sun is a lot bigger. I mean, Mars will last longer than your precious Earth, but by then, it'll be one hot planet... and I figure Saturn's moon will be about the right temperate for a super-powered warlord. Oh, and trust me, I packed a lot of rings, and I mean a lot. Trillions, in fact, so I'll never run out of rings to power my super form. Besides, if I start to run out, I can just chaos control more rings into my reach. It's quite easy, really. You should try it. Granted, you'll never have the 7 Super Emeralds that I have in my possession, nor the Master Emerald that I've got hidden away somewhere... absorbed into my body thanks to Sonic logic, but whatever. I win. Again. I'm not kidding, either. Just check Last Post Wins, and if the last post isn't mine, it soon will be. Very, very soon. You can count on it. Seriously. By the way, if you're wondering, there's a really great Super Tails sprite sheet out there... somewhere... by some guy named shadow_91. These sprites are really great. Like, really good. Quality. Just like what I like to see in a sprite sheet. Also, credit to Joe T.E., his Sonic Battle style Super Sonic sprites have a great palette for a Super Sonic being beat up by Super Shadow, who's palette is from a Super Shadow sheet of unknown origin, but it turns out they were "borrowed" from a better sheet made by a certain Domenico. Oh, and the gif is actually a custom made super version of a similar gif, of which there are only 3 or 4 copies to be found by Google, and even then, evidently of an unknown source. Yep, it's one of those things. Stuff people have made, spread around, only for it to vanish and you to be the only person who still has a copy, not even knowing where it came from... like, literally at all. Oh, and anyone notice that Shadow's little chaos snap blast thingies are red and blue now? Yeah, I changed it. Problem, fans of purple? Yeah, I know you got a problem with that one, but you can just deal with it. After all, according to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly... alright, alright, I'll spare you the entire Bee Movie script, just Google it if you want. By the way, ever wonder how your characters would've ended up if they evolved in another universe? Yeah, that. Think about it. Ok, so you probably didn't bother reading up to here, but whatever, here's a surprise for you guys over at ESD (RP) who were crazy enough to read this: Emperor Nat of the mcfreakin' Terran Empire is gonna be right all along! The universe is gonna go BOOM! *Thumbs up to the insanity*
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
Oh, look, an explosion...
0
rattler2Member, Star Trek Online ModeratorPosts: 58,574Community Moderator
Krystal blinked, unsure what was going on.
"Why are you so edgy around me?" she asked.
It's what I do. It's what I just did. It's what I'm about to do again. It's being undisputed emperor of an empire that cannot be disproved as the most powerful intergalactic empire in the entire universe; I always win, and everything I've won will definitely be won again... by me. It's my signature move, and thus, it's my signature. Problem, Sonic? Yeah, I mean you, Sonic, because you're being beat up, despite your being super. You can't even hit Shadow back, can you? Nope, he's too strong for you. Of course, I'm not Shadow, I'm the Super Emerald fueled fox that's pulling the strings; trust me, the fight would only be a few frames long if I were in it personally. Oh, and here's something for all you guys thinking you can win Last Post Wins 3.0; trust me, I'll be around a long while after the sun has already consumed the Earth while I sit out with the forum servers on Titan. Yes, I mean Titan... that comparatively little moon orbiting Saturn. It's a nice little place in a version of our solar system where the sun is a lot bigger. I mean, Mars will last longer than your precious Earth, but by then, it'll be one hot planet... and I figure Saturn's moon will be about the right temperate for a super-powered warlord. Oh, and trust me, I packed a lot of rings, and I mean a lot. Trillions, in fact, so I'll never run out of rings to power my super form. Besides, if I start to run out, I can just chaos control more rings into my reach. It's quite easy, really. You should try it. Granted, you'll never have the 7 Super Emeralds that I have in my possession, nor the Master Emerald that I've got hidden away somewhere... absorbed into my body thanks to Sonic logic, but whatever. I win. Again. I'm not kidding, either. Just check Last Post Wins, and if the last post isn't mine, it soon will be. Very, very soon. You can count on it. Seriously. By the way, if you're wondering, there's a really great Super Tails sprite sheet out there... somewhere... by some guy named shadow_91. These sprites are really great. Like, really good. Quality. Just like what I like to see in a sprite sheet. Also, credit to Joe T.E., his Sonic Battle style Super Sonic sprites have a great palette for a Super Sonic being beat up by Super Shadow, who's palette is from a Super Shadow sheet of unknown origin, but it turns out they were "borrowed" from a better sheet made by a certain Domenico. Oh, and the gif is actually a custom made super version of a similar gif, of which there are only 3 or 4 copies to be found by Google, and even then, evidently of an unknown source. Yep, it's one of those things. Stuff people have made, spread around, only for it to vanish and you to be the only person who still has a copy, not even knowing where it came from... like, literally at all. Oh, and anyone notice that Shadow's little chaos snap blast thingies are red and blue now? Yeah, I changed it. Problem, fans of purple? Yeah, I know you got a problem with that one, but you can just deal with it. After all, according to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly... alright, alright, I'll spare you the entire Bee Movie script, just Google it if you want. By the way, ever wonder how your characters would've ended up if they evolved in another universe? Yeah, that. Think about it. Ok, so you probably didn't bother reading up to here, but whatever, here's a surprise for you guys over at ESD (RP) who were crazy enough to read this: Emperor Nat of the mcfreakin' Terran Empire is gonna be right all along! The universe is gonna go BOOM! *Thumbs up to the insanity*
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
Oh, look, an explosion...
0
rattler2Member, Star Trek Online ModeratorPosts: 58,574Community Moderator
"Because you flinched earlier," Krystal replied. "And... well... if I didn't know any better, I'd say you looked like you saw a ghost?"
In response to both the admiral and Jade, Elihu said, "This beautiful captain-turned-investigator Aeris has incorrectly assumed I or someone on my crew is trying to sabotage Earth Spacedock. But she's since realized her error and will now tell you completely of her own volition that I am free and clear of all 'charges'"... He even made the air-quotes. "Is not that right, Captain Aeris?"
Without warning, but not in a threatening manner, Elihu placed his hand on Jade's shoulder, sending a sensation of warmth and comfort through her. Calm. Trust. He whispered, "Don't leave ESD."
Then, without waiting for Aeris to reply to his previous inquiries or statements, he bypassed the admiral and the men outside and walked down the corridor. Then he was beamed to the Philadelphia.
0
rattler2Member, Star Trek Online ModeratorPosts: 58,574Community Moderator
Krystal blinked, again unsure what to make of the situation.
It's what I do. It's what I just did. It's what I'm about to do again. It's being undisputed emperor of an empire that cannot be disproved as the most powerful intergalactic empire in the entire universe; I always win, and everything I've won will definitely be won again... by me. It's my signature move, and thus, it's my signature. Problem, Sonic? Yeah, I mean you, Sonic, because you're being beat up, despite your being super. You can't even hit Shadow back, can you? Nope, he's too strong for you. Of course, I'm not Shadow, I'm the Super Emerald fueled fox that's pulling the strings; trust me, the fight would only be a few frames long if I were in it personally. Oh, and here's something for all you guys thinking you can win Last Post Wins 3.0; trust me, I'll be around a long while after the sun has already consumed the Earth while I sit out with the forum servers on Titan. Yes, I mean Titan... that comparatively little moon orbiting Saturn. It's a nice little place in a version of our solar system where the sun is a lot bigger. I mean, Mars will last longer than your precious Earth, but by then, it'll be one hot planet... and I figure Saturn's moon will be about the right temperate for a super-powered warlord. Oh, and trust me, I packed a lot of rings, and I mean a lot. Trillions, in fact, so I'll never run out of rings to power my super form. Besides, if I start to run out, I can just chaos control more rings into my reach. It's quite easy, really. You should try it. Granted, you'll never have the 7 Super Emeralds that I have in my possession, nor the Master Emerald that I've got hidden away somewhere... absorbed into my body thanks to Sonic logic, but whatever. I win. Again. I'm not kidding, either. Just check Last Post Wins, and if the last post isn't mine, it soon will be. Very, very soon. You can count on it. Seriously. By the way, if you're wondering, there's a really great Super Tails sprite sheet out there... somewhere... by some guy named shadow_91. These sprites are really great. Like, really good. Quality. Just like what I like to see in a sprite sheet. Also, credit to Joe T.E., his Sonic Battle style Super Sonic sprites have a great palette for a Super Sonic being beat up by Super Shadow, who's palette is from a Super Shadow sheet of unknown origin, but it turns out they were "borrowed" from a better sheet made by a certain Domenico. Oh, and the gif is actually a custom made super version of a similar gif, of which there are only 3 or 4 copies to be found by Google, and even then, evidently of an unknown source. Yep, it's one of those things. Stuff people have made, spread around, only for it to vanish and you to be the only person who still has a copy, not even knowing where it came from... like, literally at all. Oh, and anyone notice that Shadow's little chaos snap blast thingies are red and blue now? Yeah, I changed it. Problem, fans of purple? Yeah, I know you got a problem with that one, but you can just deal with it. After all, according to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly... alright, alright, I'll spare you the entire Bee Movie script, just Google it if you want. By the way, ever wonder how your characters would've ended up if they evolved in another universe? Yeah, that. Think about it. Ok, so you probably didn't bother reading up to here, but whatever, here's a surprise for you guys over at ESD (RP) who were crazy enough to read this: Emperor Nat of the mcfreakin' Terran Empire is gonna be right all along! The universe is gonna go BOOM! *Thumbs up to the insanity*
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
As soon as the acting-captain was transported to the bridge of the Philadelphia, he nearly collapsed. The situation was much worse for him than most, because he had to experience everyone's fear and anxiety and anger, not just his own. Centurion Lydia M'Konel caught her nephew and helped him into the captain's chair.
He gave her a look.
"What?" she asked. "You didn't think I'd take the ship and run, did you, Eli?"
Elihu chuckled and shook his head. "Not quite. Report."
She said, "We're orbiting spacedock, no attempt has been made to take us in. There are enough Fleet ships here to destroy us with a single volley from half of them. Lang is in engineering. He reports we're ready to leave whenever you are."
"Not yet," he whispered, his gaze a million miles away.
Lydia rolled her eyes. "And he's gone..."
Three Months Earlier...
As Elihu reached for his phaser, H'Rekthar squeezed the trigger on his rifle. A pulse of golden light shot from the barrel.
Talitha shoved him out of the way...
“No!”
In front of Elihu, Talitha screamed in agony as she slowly crumbled into ashes before his eyes; they reached for each other but Talitha's pain and terror crippled the empathic man. Elihu went to his knees.
Lrann's phaser had been set to high stun, but it did very little to the Hirogen. H'Rekthar shot and killed Lrann as well. The Benson siblings took him down with phasers set to kill, but his armor deflected most of the energy. He stumbled and fell to a knee, but used the rifle to stand again.
And then H'Rekthar's fear was magnified a hundredfold.
You.
Are.
Weak.
You.
Are.
Over.
Elihu M'Konel was not hindered by his fellow officers' words or hands as he brusquely marched toward the Hirogen, and then he ran at him. For some reason his aunt Lydia was there, but even she was not strong enough to pull her distraught family member off of H'Rekthar. Within seconds the prey was beat to a bloody death, and five minutes later Elihu was still smashing his face in with his bare fists.
Every time Lydia had tried to get close, Elihu drew green blood, so she got everyone out of the armory and locked her nephew inside. The only man on the ship who was remotely strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Elihu had become his victim, and the only full-blooded Vulcan was too hurt; nobody was going to stop this vengeance.
Alone.
Alone.
Alone.
Forever.
Present
"Your orders, Sir?" Lydia asked when she felt like he was back to reality.
Elihu cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes. "Uh, yeah, just...like...keep doin' what you're doin', alright?" He stood up. "I need a drink. I'll be in the mess. I'm sure Aazrus could use the company."
Aeris snapped out of her mental recovery mode and turned to Nat and Krystal.
"Thank you for responding to my calls. It seems the crew of Philadelphia was sent by either Starfleet Intelligence or the Tal Shiar to plant unknown, cloaked devices aboard Spacedock. Lieutenant M'Konel, who manipulated me through projected psionics, was unclear about whether his mission was to destroy us or not. After I attempted to apprehend him for involvement with the Tal Shiar, he threatened to cripple my mind. Starfleet Intelligence was reached, and they ordered that he be released."
She shook her head in realization.
"But how do we know the extent of Intelligence's involvement, or that officer on screen, even? Either way, we're left with too many unknowns. I'm going to get clarification from Starfleet Command."
Then, Reeve came through on the comms. "Reeve to Captain Aeris. Our scanners do not penetrate any of the devices. We're unable to locate them. It's as if they don't exist."
"So, nothing at all?" Aeris asked.
There was sigh over air. "Sorry, ma'am. But we did read some of the electrons in the Cargo Bay as suffering from a distorted angular momentum. Whether that's the result of alien cargo, or something else, we can't be sure."
"Well, keep trying," Aeris added in reluctance. "Let's get science teams on this and screen visitors with access for now."
"Admiral Nat to U.S.S. Firestorm. How are the repairs coming?"
They replied "the repairs are finished, admiral. Was there anything else?"
"Yes, actually. I want you to keep an eye on the U.S.S. Philadelphia. Don't take any action towards them, just don't let them out of your sight. If that means following them to some system in the Delta Quadrant under cloak, so be it. Me and the rest of the crew can always get another ship to go to wherever you end up being. Over and out."
Winning.
It's what I do. It's what I just did. It's what I'm about to do again. It's being undisputed emperor of an empire that cannot be disproved as the most powerful intergalactic empire in the entire universe; I always win, and everything I've won will definitely be won again... by me. It's my signature move, and thus, it's my signature. Problem, Sonic? Yeah, I mean you, Sonic, because you're being beat up, despite your being super. You can't even hit Shadow back, can you? Nope, he's too strong for you. Of course, I'm not Shadow, I'm the Super Emerald fueled fox that's pulling the strings; trust me, the fight would only be a few frames long if I were in it personally. Oh, and here's something for all you guys thinking you can win Last Post Wins 3.0; trust me, I'll be around a long while after the sun has already consumed the Earth while I sit out with the forum servers on Titan. Yes, I mean Titan... that comparatively little moon orbiting Saturn. It's a nice little place in a version of our solar system where the sun is a lot bigger. I mean, Mars will last longer than your precious Earth, but by then, it'll be one hot planet... and I figure Saturn's moon will be about the right temperate for a super-powered warlord. Oh, and trust me, I packed a lot of rings, and I mean a lot. Trillions, in fact, so I'll never run out of rings to power my super form. Besides, if I start to run out, I can just chaos control more rings into my reach. It's quite easy, really. You should try it. Granted, you'll never have the 7 Super Emeralds that I have in my possession, nor the Master Emerald that I've got hidden away somewhere... absorbed into my body thanks to Sonic logic, but whatever. I win. Again. I'm not kidding, either. Just check Last Post Wins, and if the last post isn't mine, it soon will be. Very, very soon. You can count on it. Seriously. By the way, if you're wondering, there's a really great Super Tails sprite sheet out there... somewhere... by some guy named shadow_91. These sprites are really great. Like, really good. Quality. Just like what I like to see in a sprite sheet. Also, credit to Joe T.E., his Sonic Battle style Super Sonic sprites have a great palette for a Super Sonic being beat up by Super Shadow, who's palette is from a Super Shadow sheet of unknown origin, but it turns out they were "borrowed" from a better sheet made by a certain Domenico. Oh, and the gif is actually a custom made super version of a similar gif, of which there are only 3 or 4 copies to be found by Google, and even then, evidently of an unknown source. Yep, it's one of those things. Stuff people have made, spread around, only for it to vanish and you to be the only person who still has a copy, not even knowing where it came from... like, literally at all. Oh, and anyone notice that Shadow's little chaos snap blast thingies are red and blue now? Yeah, I changed it. Problem, fans of purple? Yeah, I know you got a problem with that one, but you can just deal with it. After all, according to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly... alright, alright, I'll spare you the entire Bee Movie script, just Google it if you want. By the way, ever wonder how your characters would've ended up if they evolved in another universe? Yeah, that. Think about it. Ok, so you probably didn't bother reading up to here, but whatever, here's a surprise for you guys over at ESD (RP) who were crazy enough to read this: Emperor Nat of the mcfreakin' Terran Empire is gonna be right all along! The universe is gonna go BOOM! *Thumbs up to the insanity*
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
"Perhaps it's my natural Q animosity towards humans coming out," Aazrus postulated, "but I think you're torturing yourself on purpose."
The tall, dark, and handsome Aazrus used to be a member of the Q continuum, but the other Q stripped him of his powers and made him a mere mortal because he asked them to out of boredom. It wasn't because he committed some heinous crime against the universe. It wasn't because he fell in love with a beautiful mortal woman. It wasn't because he wanted to die or was just too annoying to be allowed to continue existing as he did. He was simply bored.
"I think you might be right," came the surprising response from Elihu.
Aazrus stopped stirring something in a pot and walked around the counter to Elihu's table. "You know, I was just saying that to be mean. I didn't -"
"The Phili crew has only been together for a little less than a year," interrupted the absent-minded lieutenant. "For most of that time, I've been in command. Under my command, we have lost so many people. And one of them... I killed one of them myself."
In a bizarre, uncharacteristic gesture of compassion, the civilian chef sat down opposite Elihu and said, "True. But if you hadn't killed that Hirogen pig-dog, your entire crew would be dead. You can't keep agonizing over it over and over."
Elihu nodded slowly, not knowing what to make of this new "counselor" of his.
"Tomorrow we get our new counselor." Suddenly he got angry. "Why the hell does Starfleet Command feel the need to give me a counselor! Does the Icarus have a counselor? No! Did Sloan have a counselor? No! Did Rakal have a counselor? No!"
Aazrus pointed out, "Rakal was a counselor, Lihu."
Elihu ignored the comment. "Black-ops is no place for...for...!"
"Compassion?"
"Weakness," Elihu clarified with conviction.
Even Aazrus had to gulp at that. He'd only known this man for nine months, but he had known the Betazoid/Vulcan part of him, not the Romulan part. Clearly this was the Romulan in Elihu talking.
"Surely you don't believe that, Eli." Aazrus gave the empath a pointed look. Nervousness. Disbelief.
Elihu looked surprised. Aazrus had never called him 'Eli' before. Usually he made some snide remark about his heritage or call him "Lihu-Hu" or something more offensive. The acting-captain didn't know what to make of it, so he continued pondering the dark thoughts that had surfaced - thoughts he had not had since that fateful day three months prior.
He smirked, staring at the table. "A man like me could become the worst of villains." He looked up and eyed Aazrus dangerously. "What is stopping me?"
"You know what, Elihu," Aazrus said, now positively worried.
Elihu had to chuckle. Here Aazrus was, a former time-traveling, planet-smashing, ion-storm-surfing, spaceship-throwing, war-starting anti-hero of the multiverse, cowering in fear of little old Elihu.
"You're not like us," said Aazrus. "Me. Or even Lydia. We have a certain...quality, a cruelty in us...that you just don't have. You're a good man, and you love people. Everyone."
"Ugh!" groaned Elihu, letting his face fall into his arms on the table. "Ever since I killed Rek - ever since she died...I've been so miserable. But you're right. I'm not gonna let this bring me down. I'm having issues with it now because I'm wallowing in self-pity, and I don't have a guide. If Uriah didn't die six months ago in the Klingon battle, I'd have a spiritual adviser to guide me through this TRIBBLE."
Aazrus shrugged. "You have a Bajoran."
Elihu shook his head, half-smiling. "Listen to yourself. 'You have a Bajoran'... they're not my property, dude. And yes, a Bajoran nurse works in sickbay with Doctor Shran-Vix, but he's not the spiritual type. In fact, if he is, he probably worships the Pah-Wraiths."
Actual joyous laughter burst forth from Aazrus. Elihu snickered and shook his head. He'd never heard the former Q laugh like that. When he did laugh, it was usually at someone else's expense, or in sarcasm. His true laughs were always restrained, like he feared losing control and showing his human side.
"He might," Aazrus stated with a thoughtful nod. "Aren't they all dead?"
"What, the Pah-Wraiths?" As Aazrus confirmed with a nod, Elihu continued, "Nah, one's serving aboard the Lexington without anyone even knowing. I wouldn't have found out except for Icheb's stupid little project with nanos. Did you know the Firestorm has a constant .000001 degree misalignment in her plasma relays that nobody ever notices? One well-timed torpedo modified and fired by a proficient tactician could neutralize her power system before a fight even broke out."
Aazrus grinned. "Indeed. I guess it's good Starfleet doesn't have any of those."
Elihu furrowed his brow in confusion. "What, modified torps?"
"Proficient tacticians."
Elihu laughed and threw a napkin at Aazrus. "Hahaha. TRIBBLE you, dude." As the two men's laughter died down, Elihu stood up with a sigh of exasperation. "Meh, I need to get back to the bridge. No doubt somebody's playing Galaga again instead of monitoring the long-range scans for that Undine ship Icheb's stupid little robots found."
Aazrus too stood up and headed for his counter. "Yeah, I gotta throw out this burnt stew and start over thanks to you."
"Later, man." Elihu waved goodbye as he departed the mess hall.
"I'm not sure how that will go over with Command," Aeris tapped her chin in thought. She then looked at Krystal. "And it seems you knew him as well?"
She then sighed and looked out into the Promenade.
"Anyway, this experience has reminded me that it's my fault I'm stuck at Spacedock. After the Tal Shiar took over my ship, Starfleet Command began to send me on less and less missions. At some point they even stopped retuning my calls. There were steps I could have taken that day to prevent that encounter, but I was too short sighted. Too foolish of a Captain; young and brash. I can't let that happen again."
Aeris looked over at the two. "Whatever your next mission is, I hope things will turn out right for you two."
"If you've been stuck here on ESD that long, you must have been here when the Iconians attacked the system. Have any experience with the Iconians?"
Winning.
It's what I do. It's what I just did. It's what I'm about to do again. It's being undisputed emperor of an empire that cannot be disproved as the most powerful intergalactic empire in the entire universe; I always win, and everything I've won will definitely be won again... by me. It's my signature move, and thus, it's my signature. Problem, Sonic? Yeah, I mean you, Sonic, because you're being beat up, despite your being super. You can't even hit Shadow back, can you? Nope, he's too strong for you. Of course, I'm not Shadow, I'm the Super Emerald fueled fox that's pulling the strings; trust me, the fight would only be a few frames long if I were in it personally. Oh, and here's something for all you guys thinking you can win Last Post Wins 3.0; trust me, I'll be around a long while after the sun has already consumed the Earth while I sit out with the forum servers on Titan. Yes, I mean Titan... that comparatively little moon orbiting Saturn. It's a nice little place in a version of our solar system where the sun is a lot bigger. I mean, Mars will last longer than your precious Earth, but by then, it'll be one hot planet... and I figure Saturn's moon will be about the right temperate for a super-powered warlord. Oh, and trust me, I packed a lot of rings, and I mean a lot. Trillions, in fact, so I'll never run out of rings to power my super form. Besides, if I start to run out, I can just chaos control more rings into my reach. It's quite easy, really. You should try it. Granted, you'll never have the 7 Super Emeralds that I have in my possession, nor the Master Emerald that I've got hidden away somewhere... absorbed into my body thanks to Sonic logic, but whatever. I win. Again. I'm not kidding, either. Just check Last Post Wins, and if the last post isn't mine, it soon will be. Very, very soon. You can count on it. Seriously. By the way, if you're wondering, there's a really great Super Tails sprite sheet out there... somewhere... by some guy named shadow_91. These sprites are really great. Like, really good. Quality. Just like what I like to see in a sprite sheet. Also, credit to Joe T.E., his Sonic Battle style Super Sonic sprites have a great palette for a Super Sonic being beat up by Super Shadow, who's palette is from a Super Shadow sheet of unknown origin, but it turns out they were "borrowed" from a better sheet made by a certain Domenico. Oh, and the gif is actually a custom made super version of a similar gif, of which there are only 3 or 4 copies to be found by Google, and even then, evidently of an unknown source. Yep, it's one of those things. Stuff people have made, spread around, only for it to vanish and you to be the only person who still has a copy, not even knowing where it came from... like, literally at all. Oh, and anyone notice that Shadow's little chaos snap blast thingies are red and blue now? Yeah, I changed it. Problem, fans of purple? Yeah, I know you got a problem with that one, but you can just deal with it. After all, according to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly... alright, alright, I'll spare you the entire Bee Movie script, just Google it if you want. By the way, ever wonder how your characters would've ended up if they evolved in another universe? Yeah, that. Think about it. Ok, so you probably didn't bother reading up to here, but whatever, here's a surprise for you guys over at ESD (RP) who were crazy enough to read this: Emperor Nat of the mcfreakin' Terran Empire is gonna be right all along! The universe is gonna go BOOM! *Thumbs up to the insanity*
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
Aeris nodded and smiled at Krystal's comment. "Thank you. In the meantime, I have to do my best here."
She turned to Admiral Nat to answer him.
"We were all in that war, Admiral. I did get the Zephyra into its fair share of pew pews. I know I am stuck here at the moment, but if another mission arose I would prefer to stay here until my current mission was complete." Her thoughts drifted to her immediate conundrum in the Cargo Bays, then back to the Iconians. "Oh, but were they ever a tough adversary. I took down several Baltim Raiders, a Quas Cruiser and more. At least I didn't have as chaotic a time as Captain Terry did."
As soon as Elihu left the lounge, he felt weak. He leaned a shoulder against a bulkhead. His mind raced in many directions. Certain things didn't add up. This Aazrus fellow for example. And Lydia's ability to be where she shouldn't be, where she could possibly take everything away from him. He shook his head. He was being paranoid. His chef would betray him in an instant if it suited his fancy, Elihu knew, but would his own flesh and blood? He thought back...
Two and a Half Months Earlier...
U.S.S. Philadelphia, Mess Hall
Alone.
Alone.
Alone.
Forever.
The words stung. No, they burrowed. The word “Alone” burrowed into his mind and heart like a living creature, worming its way into his soul and taking up residence.
“He's not going to just 'get over it', Lydia,” said Doctor Shran-Vix.
Lieutenant Commander Shran-Vix was the descendant of the legendary Andorian Commander Shran, the Andorian commando who'd helped Captain Archer form the United Federation of Planets. And unlike most, more dignified people, Vix totally dropped the name every time she felt an advantage could be grasped.
Centurion Lydia M'Konel was leaning against the bulkhead in the Philadelphia's mess hall as her Andorian colleague sat in a chair with a cup of tea in her hand. Lydia cast a mildly derisive glance Vix's way.
It had been about three weeks since the death of the ship's counselor, and Elihu's fiance. Both Elihu and Lydia had known Talitha on and off since the girl was a toddler. She and Elihu had been best friends growing up, despite the age difference. Elihu had found that the 6-year-old was just as smart as most humans his age, and more emotionally mature too. But Elihu had never considered romance until he was 25, and she 16. She confessed her undying love to him with emotions rather than words, and he returned it. Their parents blessed a marriage once she became of age, but Elihu had unexpectedly joined Starfleet when he was 26. His parents thought it was because he was afraid of commitment, but Talitha knew that if he was afraid of commitment, he wouldn't have signed a 4-year-contract and went into the Academy.
“They'd been Romeo and Juliet for so long,” mumbled Lydia, “everyone thought they'd last forever. Surely outlast us.”
She sorrowfully eyed Elihu as he slowly, laboriously ate his meal in a corner, back to everyone. Lydia turned and sighed, heading for her chair.
“Romeo and Juliet ended in Tragedy,” Vix said. As an after-thought, she said, “Yeah, you're right. They're Romeo and Juliet. Looks like you'll have command soon enough.” She smiled and raised a toast.
Lydia batted it out of her hand. The tea cup shattered on the floor and everyone except Elihu reacted. “Everyone except Elihu” included the twins and Nurse Javan Eras.
“Watch your tongue, blue TRIBBLE or rip it out with the tongs of Aazrus.”
A civilian man strode over to the table with a plate of appetizers and a new tea cup for Shran-Vix. “Now, now ladies. Let's not fight. There's more than enough of Aazrus to go around.”
Ugh! He even winked, thought Lydia as she glowered up at the chef. “For the hundredth time, stop referring to yourself in the third!”
After setting the plate down on the table and handing Shran-Vix her cup, he bowed and left with a smile.
“Why do we even have a chef?” shrugged Shran-Vix. “Our crew complement, originally, was 26. What, are we down to 15 now?”
Lydia slouched in her chair. “18.”
Neither one of them said anything for a moment. Then Shran-Vix stood up and said, “Oh, and don't forget I'm a Lieutenant Commander.”
“And I'm a Centurion. You're point?”
“According to SF regs, I outrank you, technically. You'd do well to remember that next time you feel the need to angrily hurl my half-full cup across the room.”
As the Andorian sauntered away, Centurion M'Konel waited for her to be out of earshot and then drew her Romulan disruptor and pretended to shoot her. “WHEEEEEE! WHEEEE!”
She jumped when Elihu approached out of the corner of her eye. “Eli! You scared me. Are you alright?”
He shook his head. Elihu M'Konel had not even bothered to put his uniform on that morning. It was half past noon and he was still in his sleeping clothes, a T-shirt and pajama bottoms. His beard and hair were getting quite long, and he was awfully emaciated as well. Over the last three weeks, he could count the number of times he had a meal on one hand. Well, he couldn't because he was delirious from lack of sleep, nourishment, and mourning. But his aunt could.
“What?” Lydia said when Elihu just stood there staring at her for half a minute.
He said, “I don't want to move on, Lyd.”
She stood up, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Eli, you can't talk like that. I'm not going to allow you to kill yourself...”
“No,” he said, “I mean, I don't want to get over her. I want to live the rest of my life...like this.”
“That's...insane. You can't. You'll be put away. And you wouldn't be any good to anyone like that. You love helping people too much to become a professional miser.”
Elihu almost smiled and Lydia caught it. She smiled and pointed at him. “Got ya. Do that a couple more times and I might just have to stop worrying about you.”
“Oh God, please don't.”
They both laughed. Lydia hugged her nephew.
While holding the Romulan firmly, Elihu's hand removed her disruptor without her knowledge. “Why did you come to the armory that day?”
Lydia tried to pull away but knew that was futile. “What are you talking about? I heard there was trouble.”
“How?”
“Uh, one of the Bensons called me.”
“Which one?”
“I don't remember, Eli.”
“One's a dude, one's a chick, Lyd. Which one?”
“I don't remember!”
Lydia felt her back cracking under his superior strength. Damn. He might be depressed but he's still strong.
Elihu smirked darkly. You better believe it.
“Now how did you know to come to the armory?”
“I told you -”
Elihu tossed the Romulan like she was a rag-doll. She soared over two tables before slamming into the glass separating them from the vacuum of space. He pointed the disruptor at the Bensons.
“Did you call Lydia to the armory?” he shouted.
They glanced at each other in fear. They couldn't recall. Or perhaps they could, but they didn't want to get involved. Either way, it was pissing off Elihu more and more. He went over to Lydia and picked her up by her auburn hair.
Lydia shoved Elihu, but he kept his hold. He pressed the pistol against Lydia's skull. “Give me information, Lydia!”
“I came to the armory to help you, you stupid, selfish son-of-a-Reman!”
Elihu pushed her away and Lydia stumbled over a chair and collapsed onto the deck. As she struggled to her feet, the Bensons and Javan Eras stared wide-eyed at each other. Elihu wiped the tears from his eyes and pointed the pistol at his aunt again.
“Stop pointing that at me, you little brat!”
“You did this, didn't you? You set this whole thing up, didn't you?”
Lydia almost laughed. “What drivel is this?”
“You've always been jealous of her.”
“Jealous of what? That doesn't even make sense! You're my nephew, Elihu!”
The two pointy-eared idiots stared at each other for a few long seconds before they started laughing. It was pretty ridiculous, and Elihu knew it. And the rhyming had put it over the top. Lydia was bent over, hands on knees, wheezing and gasping for breath as she laughed. Elihu had fallen straight to the floor in his fit.
The three crewmen behind him had no clue what to do. Laugh? Don't laugh? Either way was a risk on this ship. So they settled on casually and carefully tip-toeing out of the mess hall.
"Just looking for a couple more ships for a special mission."
The admiral turned and walked away, on a hunt for more captains.
Winning.
It's what I do. It's what I just did. It's what I'm about to do again. It's being undisputed emperor of an empire that cannot be disproved as the most powerful intergalactic empire in the entire universe; I always win, and everything I've won will definitely be won again... by me. It's my signature move, and thus, it's my signature. Problem, Sonic? Yeah, I mean you, Sonic, because you're being beat up, despite your being super. You can't even hit Shadow back, can you? Nope, he's too strong for you. Of course, I'm not Shadow, I'm the Super Emerald fueled fox that's pulling the strings; trust me, the fight would only be a few frames long if I were in it personally. Oh, and here's something for all you guys thinking you can win Last Post Wins 3.0; trust me, I'll be around a long while after the sun has already consumed the Earth while I sit out with the forum servers on Titan. Yes, I mean Titan... that comparatively little moon orbiting Saturn. It's a nice little place in a version of our solar system where the sun is a lot bigger. I mean, Mars will last longer than your precious Earth, but by then, it'll be one hot planet... and I figure Saturn's moon will be about the right temperate for a super-powered warlord. Oh, and trust me, I packed a lot of rings, and I mean a lot. Trillions, in fact, so I'll never run out of rings to power my super form. Besides, if I start to run out, I can just chaos control more rings into my reach. It's quite easy, really. You should try it. Granted, you'll never have the 7 Super Emeralds that I have in my possession, nor the Master Emerald that I've got hidden away somewhere... absorbed into my body thanks to Sonic logic, but whatever. I win. Again. I'm not kidding, either. Just check Last Post Wins, and if the last post isn't mine, it soon will be. Very, very soon. You can count on it. Seriously. By the way, if you're wondering, there's a really great Super Tails sprite sheet out there... somewhere... by some guy named shadow_91. These sprites are really great. Like, really good. Quality. Just like what I like to see in a sprite sheet. Also, credit to Joe T.E., his Sonic Battle style Super Sonic sprites have a great palette for a Super Sonic being beat up by Super Shadow, who's palette is from a Super Shadow sheet of unknown origin, but it turns out they were "borrowed" from a better sheet made by a certain Domenico. Oh, and the gif is actually a custom made super version of a similar gif, of which there are only 3 or 4 copies to be found by Google, and even then, evidently of an unknown source. Yep, it's one of those things. Stuff people have made, spread around, only for it to vanish and you to be the only person who still has a copy, not even knowing where it came from... like, literally at all. Oh, and anyone notice that Shadow's little chaos snap blast thingies are red and blue now? Yeah, I changed it. Problem, fans of purple? Yeah, I know you got a problem with that one, but you can just deal with it. After all, according to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly... alright, alright, I'll spare you the entire Bee Movie script, just Google it if you want. By the way, ever wonder how your characters would've ended up if they evolved in another universe? Yeah, that. Think about it. Ok, so you probably didn't bother reading up to here, but whatever, here's a surprise for you guys over at ESD (RP) who were crazy enough to read this: Emperor Nat of the mcfreakin' Terran Empire is gonna be right all along! The universe is gonna go BOOM! *Thumbs up to the insanity*
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
Comments
...is THIS.
Lt. M'Konel, security office
The lieutenant nearly collapsed, his knees wobbling. He caught himself on the edge of her desk and cringed in anguish and anxiety and panic. Blinking rapidly, Elihu struggled to get his mental block up. As he exhaled, Elihu stared at Aeris with sympathy, or - indeed - empathy. He gulped and licked his suddenly dry lips before daring to move around the desk toward her.
Elihu was making it a point to keep his hands in plain sight as he spoke softly. "I am not them, Aeris." Safe. Serene. Sympathy. "And if the operatives who did this to you are still alive, I can vow to you that I will make them suffer. But I am not them, Aeris."
He was now standing almost directly in front of her desk computer. He quickly, but non-threateningly, reached over to open a hailing frequency to Starfleet Intelligence.
He said, "I don't want to have to make you look like a fool, Aeris. Nor do I want to commandeer your ship. Please, release the force field and recall your guards..."
With the pressure of her memories releasing, Aeris pulled what little she could of her present-state of mind together and stood. Her back was to the monitor as Starfleet Intelligence blinked on screen.
"Captain Aeris," came Commander Bradden's response. "It's come to my attention you have someone in custody in your office."
Still trying to regain her head, Aeris remained her back to the monitor, leaning over her desk with her hand on her forehead. "Was Lieutenant M'Konel ordered to infiltrate Earth Spacedock and plant unknown devices aboard the station? Are you working with the Tal Shiar?"
"Aeris," sighed Bradden, not intending on answering any of those questions. "I order you to drop your force field and let Lieutenant M'Konel go."
She turned to face the screen. "Commander, what is going on--"
"Do it," interrupted Bradden. "That's an order."
The screen blinked out to Aeris' shock, and she slowly looked over at M'Konel. "Computer," she opened, in disbelief and exhaustion. "Drop the force field surrounding the office."
She only had Elihu M'Konel's word to go on. That, and being under Starfleet's thumb had been her casualty ever since the Tal Shiar incident. The doors to her office swooshed open and she addressed the group outside.
"False alarm. Stand down."
"Actually, they're my guards, and I of all people want to know exactly what's going on here."
Winning.
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
"someone steel some cheetos or something?" she asked sarcastically.
The admiral turns to Captain Aeris.
"Captain, what happened?"
Winning.
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
Ship : Fleet D'Deridex , Ael'Hatham
Location : High orbit new romulus
*Sits im his ready room with the lights dimmed, is looking at a picture of himself and his mother, it was taken shortly after his graduation from the imperial romulan naval academy, again his father had more....important matters to attend, just then the door chimes*
Joran : Enter
*the door opens with the usual hum and woosh, in steps an older man in his late 50s early 60s , in his hand he holds a PADD*
D'Vex : Joran i have a list of damages from our last battle , we need to put in for more extensive repairs as soon as we can.
*joran takes the PADD and begins to read*
Joran : *Sighs* yeah i know D'vex ,we've not a chance to get the old girl worked on, since before the war with the iconians , and now were involved in this whole mess with the na'kuhl and time travel.
D'Vex: Indeed joran its been a stressfull year for sure, ah for the simpler days on viranat , this time of year the nectar would just star being harvested, why i remember tovan would run through the vineyards and...
Joran : Yes tovan always was a brash child, he laments for a homeworld he was to young to remember.
D'Vex : Oh thats right joran, you were born on romulus, didnt you attend the naval academy?
*looks up from the PADD*
Joran : Yes i did D'Vex *shows d'vex the picture* this was the day i graduated , mother was so elated and proud , i hadnt seen her smile like that in a very long time.
D'Vex : Your father mus...
Joran : *cutting d'vex mid sentence* I couldnt care the LEAST what that man thought, it was because of him my mother....my mother fell into a depression , and took her own life, if he hadnt died the day romulus was destroyed, i assure you i would have.
D'Vex : Im sorry joran i wasnt aware you and your father hated one another.
Joran : Its ok d'vex , everytime i think of him , i think of my mother and all the TRIBBLE he put us through, he was more worried about his advancement in the military , his standing with the tal'shiar the sycophants of politics and his place im the romulan aristocracy.
D'Vex : Indeed joran, but your father is considered a great man among the older generation, myself included.
Joran : GREAT? *slams his fists into his desk* all he ever did was cause uneeded tension between the empire and the fedration , his actions along the old federation nuetral zone and his encounters with the enterprise-D, only proves his incompetence and utter disregard for any hope for peace, had he had it his way , the empire wouldve been embroiled in a war with the federation and all to advance his standings in the hierarchy of society.
D'Vex : im sorry joran , i didnt mean to..
Joran : Thats ok d'vex , im the one who should apologise , its your right to think of him that way, you didnt know the man i grew up around...well who was mostly absent ,and when he was home only made life miserable, for me and mom.
D'Vex : You said your father died on romulus, might i ask how?
*puts the PADD on his desk , then looks up with a sly grin*
Joran : Its actually very ironic , as people were boarding shuttles leave, those who could get to one in time, he threw a woman and her two kids off a shuttle , citing "they werent of high birth and had no right to live", me and my uncle were loading the last shuttle , when he saw what my father did , my uncle placed the woman and her kids aboard in his place, knowing full well it meant his death.
D'Vex : Your uncle mustve been brave
Joran : my uncle antarok , was old military his beleif was "you serve your people, not the government or the aristocracy", he was doing his duty to protect the innocent.
D'Vex : So where is the irony in this tale?
Joran : *a sarcastic but pleased grin crosses his lips* The ladys' name was T'lania ....Khev, and the shuttle which my father was on , never left the ground a few seconds after he tossed them off, a lava fissure destroyed the shuttle and all the people aboard.
*joran chuckles under his breath, as he picks the PADD back up and begins reading again*
D'Vex : I see i suppose irony does fit the bill?
*finishes reading the PADD engineering damage report*
Joran : I will see if we can put the old girl into docks while were at new romulus , barring anymore calamities that require our immeadiate attention.
D'Vex : I will return the engineering then , good day joran.
*D'vex leaves the room*
Joran : Computer dim the lights to half
*he picks up the photo and smiles to himself*
Joran : Indeed d'vex , It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Lt. M'Konel, security office
Elihu M'Konel leaned against Captain Aeris' desk as the doors opened and questions were asked. He crossed his arms over his chest and snickered at the admiral. However, when he caught sight of Captain Jade, Elihu clenched his eyes shut and gulped. He would've doubled over if he hadn't been concerned about appearances. His hands went to his forehead...
Three Months Earlier...
Lieutenant M'Konel, Counselor Talitha Roseblade, and twin deputies Daniel and Danielle Benson stormed into the armory with no regard for their own safety. However, Talitha remained behind the security officers at the behest of her beloved betrothed.
Lrann was kneeling by another member of M'Konel's security force, crewman Lareth. The Vulcan man was wounded, green blood trailing down his temple. The petite Cardassian-Ferengi woman was shakily pointing a type II phaser at H'Rekthar, a former Hirogen hunter.
“Do not come any closer, M'Konel!” the Hirogen lieutenant shouted as he brandished a type III phaser compression rifle, “Order your people back or I'll open fire!”
M'Konel scowled, “They're your people too, Rek! Our people! Remember?” He sighed. “Rek, what're ya doin', man? I thought we talked about this! I thought I could trust you!”
Fear. Betrayal. Hopelessness. “And I thought I could trust you.”
There is no way someone isn't going to die here.
Elihu slowly holstered his phaser. “Our mission remains the same: defend against the Borg. Defend against the Undine. We have not betrayed the Hirogen defectors. If I had that in mind, I would not have made you head of security when I took command of the Philadelphia.”
He glanced to Talitha as he felt her fear. He knew he was not going to talk the crazed blood-thirsty hunter out of his rage. H'Rekthar had only joined the Philadelphia crew of 26 on the promise that their goal be the eradication of the Undine. However, now that the war was over, the hunt was over. His hunt was over.
Eli, you're reading the situation wrong.
Elihu blinked, looking to the counselor a second time before hearing H'Rekthar's answer: “I do not care about your defense, M'Konel. I do not care about the defectors either. I only care about one thing...”
Peace. Acceptance.
Although it seemed time had slowed, it had not, though his reaction to the Hirogen's emotions had. As Elihu reached for his phaser, H'Rekthar squeezed the trigger on his rifle. A pulse of golden light shot from the barrel.
Talitha shoved him out of the way...
“No!”
"You alright?" she asked.
Elihu flinched as Jade touched him, and inched away along the front of the table. His look of terror was brief, but real. He chuckled and shrugged. "Yeah, sure...Captain. Of course."
For the first time in a long time, Elihu lied to protect himself. And he immediately felt guilty.
Centurion M'Konel (the other one), U.S.S. Philadelphia, bridge
"Go ahead, Lieutenant," Lydia said as she continued to stand in front of the view screen, staring at the spacedock.
Lieutenant Lang's disembodied voice came over her comm-badge: "Looks like he had to resort to Bradden, Lyd. Thankfully, they didn't have to go all the way up to Chekov or Toreth..."
"Silence!" Lydia barked at the engineer. "Do you want every eavesdropper in the quadrant to know those names? Get isolated so I can beam you back."
Daniel Benson at tactical and Nel Kestral at ops exchanged nervous, but relieved expressions.
"What about Elihu?"
"He can take care of himself. He always keeps himself isolated."
The expressions of Benson and Kestral returned to their state of heightened anxiety.
"I'll get one on my ship," he said, looking away, "after the gracious Captain Aeris gives me leave of her magnanimous presence." Elihu then looked back to Jade and nodded. "I truly thank you for your concern though."
Picking up on her limited telepathy, Elihu became even more agitated. The last thing he needed was a telepath broadcasting what he was really doing here to everyone in the galaxy.
11 of 14 sat in the captain's chair, wondering what the U.S.S. Philadelphia was up to.
She gets a call from main engineering. "Commander, the repairs to the U.S.S. Firestorm just finished."
11 of 14 replies, "good, although we won't be moving anywhere anytime soon."
With Admiral Nat and Commander Sek on ESD, Captain Jim (Admiral Nat's first officer) and Commanders Burt and Scott all down on Earth, she and the chief medical officer, 8 of 14, were the only senior officers left on ship. This, to say the least, was a little unnerving.
Winning.
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
"Why are you so edgy around me?" she asked.
"Why do you think it's you?" asked Elihu. "Trust me, the issue is not you."
"You mind explaining what the issue is then?"
Winning.
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
In response to both the admiral and Jade, Elihu said, "This beautiful captain-turned-investigator Aeris has incorrectly assumed I or someone on my crew is trying to sabotage Earth Spacedock. But she's since realized her error and will now tell you completely of her own volition that I am free and clear of all 'charges'"... He even made the air-quotes. "Is not that right, Captain Aeris?"
Without warning, but not in a threatening manner, Elihu placed his hand on Jade's shoulder, sending a sensation of warmth and comfort through her. Calm. Trust. He whispered, "Don't leave ESD."
Then, without waiting for Aeris to reply to his previous inquiries or statements, he bypassed the admiral and the men outside and walked down the corridor. Then he was beamed to the Philadelphia.
"What was that about?"
Winning.
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
As soon as the acting-captain was transported to the bridge of the Philadelphia, he nearly collapsed. The situation was much worse for him than most, because he had to experience everyone's fear and anxiety and anger, not just his own. Centurion Lydia M'Konel caught her nephew and helped him into the captain's chair.
He gave her a look.
"What?" she asked. "You didn't think I'd take the ship and run, did you, Eli?"
Elihu chuckled and shook his head. "Not quite. Report."
She said, "We're orbiting spacedock, no attempt has been made to take us in. There are enough Fleet ships here to destroy us with a single volley from half of them. Lang is in engineering. He reports we're ready to leave whenever you are."
"Not yet," he whispered, his gaze a million miles away.
Lydia rolled her eyes. "And he's gone..."
Three Months Earlier...
As Elihu reached for his phaser, H'Rekthar squeezed the trigger on his rifle. A pulse of golden light shot from the barrel.
Talitha shoved him out of the way...
“No!”
In front of Elihu, Talitha screamed in agony as she slowly crumbled into ashes before his eyes; they reached for each other but Talitha's pain and terror crippled the empathic man. Elihu went to his knees.
Lrann's phaser had been set to high stun, but it did very little to the Hirogen. H'Rekthar shot and killed Lrann as well. The Benson siblings took him down with phasers set to kill, but his armor deflected most of the energy. He stumbled and fell to a knee, but used the rifle to stand again.
And then H'Rekthar's fear was magnified a hundredfold.
You.
Are.
Weak.
You.
Are.
Over.
Elihu M'Konel was not hindered by his fellow officers' words or hands as he brusquely marched toward the Hirogen, and then he ran at him. For some reason his aunt Lydia was there, but even she was not strong enough to pull her distraught family member off of H'Rekthar. Within seconds the prey was beat to a bloody death, and five minutes later Elihu was still smashing his face in with his bare fists.
Every time Lydia had tried to get close, Elihu drew green blood, so she got everyone out of the armory and locked her nephew inside. The only man on the ship who was remotely strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Elihu had become his victim, and the only full-blooded Vulcan was too hurt; nobody was going to stop this vengeance.
Alone.
Alone.
Alone.
Forever.
Present
"Your orders, Sir?" Lydia asked when she felt like he was back to reality.
Elihu cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes. "Uh, yeah, just...like...keep doin' what you're doin', alright?" He stood up. "I need a drink. I'll be in the mess. I'm sure Aazrus could use the company."
Aeris snapped out of her mental recovery mode and turned to Nat and Krystal.
"Thank you for responding to my calls. It seems the crew of Philadelphia was sent by either Starfleet Intelligence or the Tal Shiar to plant unknown, cloaked devices aboard Spacedock. Lieutenant M'Konel, who manipulated me through projected psionics, was unclear about whether his mission was to destroy us or not. After I attempted to apprehend him for involvement with the Tal Shiar, he threatened to cripple my mind. Starfleet Intelligence was reached, and they ordered that he be released."
She shook her head in realization.
"But how do we know the extent of Intelligence's involvement, or that officer on screen, even? Either way, we're left with too many unknowns. I'm going to get clarification from Starfleet Command."
Then, Reeve came through on the comms. "Reeve to Captain Aeris. Our scanners do not penetrate any of the devices. We're unable to locate them. It's as if they don't exist."
"So, nothing at all?" Aeris asked.
There was sigh over air. "Sorry, ma'am. But we did read some of the electrons in the Cargo Bay as suffering from a distorted angular momentum. Whether that's the result of alien cargo, or something else, we can't be sure."
"Well, keep trying," Aeris added in reluctance. "Let's get science teams on this and screen visitors with access for now."
"Admiral Nat to U.S.S. Firestorm. How are the repairs coming?"
They replied "the repairs are finished, admiral. Was there anything else?"
"Yes, actually. I want you to keep an eye on the U.S.S. Philadelphia. Don't take any action towards them, just don't let them out of your sight. If that means following them to some system in the Delta Quadrant under cloak, so be it. Me and the rest of the crew can always get another ship to go to wherever you end up being. Over and out."
Winning.
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
Lt. Elihu M'Konel, U.S.S. Philadelphia, mess hall
"Perhaps it's my natural Q animosity towards humans coming out," Aazrus postulated, "but I think you're torturing yourself on purpose."
The tall, dark, and handsome Aazrus used to be a member of the Q continuum, but the other Q stripped him of his powers and made him a mere mortal because he asked them to out of boredom. It wasn't because he committed some heinous crime against the universe. It wasn't because he fell in love with a beautiful mortal woman. It wasn't because he wanted to die or was just too annoying to be allowed to continue existing as he did. He was simply bored.
"I think you might be right," came the surprising response from Elihu.
Aazrus stopped stirring something in a pot and walked around the counter to Elihu's table. "You know, I was just saying that to be mean. I didn't -"
"The Phili crew has only been together for a little less than a year," interrupted the absent-minded lieutenant. "For most of that time, I've been in command. Under my command, we have lost so many people. And one of them... I killed one of them myself."
In a bizarre, uncharacteristic gesture of compassion, the civilian chef sat down opposite Elihu and said, "True. But if you hadn't killed that Hirogen pig-dog, your entire crew would be dead. You can't keep agonizing over it over and over."
Elihu nodded slowly, not knowing what to make of this new "counselor" of his.
"Tomorrow we get our new counselor." Suddenly he got angry. "Why the hell does Starfleet Command feel the need to give me a counselor! Does the Icarus have a counselor? No! Did Sloan have a counselor? No! Did Rakal have a counselor? No!"
Aazrus pointed out, "Rakal was a counselor, Lihu."
Elihu ignored the comment. "Black-ops is no place for...for...!"
"Compassion?"
"Weakness," Elihu clarified with conviction.
Even Aazrus had to gulp at that. He'd only known this man for nine months, but he had known the Betazoid/Vulcan part of him, not the Romulan part. Clearly this was the Romulan in Elihu talking.
"Surely you don't believe that, Eli." Aazrus gave the empath a pointed look. Nervousness. Disbelief.
Elihu looked surprised. Aazrus had never called him 'Eli' before. Usually he made some snide remark about his heritage or call him "Lihu-Hu" or something more offensive. The acting-captain didn't know what to make of it, so he continued pondering the dark thoughts that had surfaced - thoughts he had not had since that fateful day three months prior.
He smirked, staring at the table. "A man like me could become the worst of villains." He looked up and eyed Aazrus dangerously. "What is stopping me?"
"You know what, Elihu," Aazrus said, now positively worried.
Elihu had to chuckle. Here Aazrus was, a former time-traveling, planet-smashing, ion-storm-surfing, spaceship-throwing, war-starting anti-hero of the multiverse, cowering in fear of little old Elihu.
"You're not like us," said Aazrus. "Me. Or even Lydia. We have a certain...quality, a cruelty in us...that you just don't have. You're a good man, and you love people. Everyone."
"Ugh!" groaned Elihu, letting his face fall into his arms on the table. "Ever since I killed Rek - ever since she died...I've been so miserable. But you're right. I'm not gonna let this bring me down. I'm having issues with it now because I'm wallowing in self-pity, and I don't have a guide. If Uriah didn't die six months ago in the Klingon battle, I'd have a spiritual adviser to guide me through this TRIBBLE."
Aazrus shrugged. "You have a Bajoran."
Elihu shook his head, half-smiling. "Listen to yourself. 'You have a Bajoran'... they're not my property, dude. And yes, a Bajoran nurse works in sickbay with Doctor Shran-Vix, but he's not the spiritual type. In fact, if he is, he probably worships the Pah-Wraiths."
Actual joyous laughter burst forth from Aazrus. Elihu snickered and shook his head. He'd never heard the former Q laugh like that. When he did laugh, it was usually at someone else's expense, or in sarcasm. His true laughs were always restrained, like he feared losing control and showing his human side.
"He might," Aazrus stated with a thoughtful nod. "Aren't they all dead?"
"What, the Pah-Wraiths?" As Aazrus confirmed with a nod, Elihu continued, "Nah, one's serving aboard the Lexington without anyone even knowing. I wouldn't have found out except for Icheb's stupid little project with nanos. Did you know the Firestorm has a constant .000001 degree misalignment in her plasma relays that nobody ever notices? One well-timed torpedo modified and fired by a proficient tactician could neutralize her power system before a fight even broke out."
Aazrus grinned. "Indeed. I guess it's good Starfleet doesn't have any of those."
Elihu furrowed his brow in confusion. "What, modified torps?"
"Proficient tacticians."
Elihu laughed and threw a napkin at Aazrus. "Hahaha. TRIBBLE you, dude." As the two men's laughter died down, Elihu stood up with a sigh of exasperation. "Meh, I need to get back to the bridge. No doubt somebody's playing Galaga again instead of monitoring the long-range scans for that Undine ship Icheb's stupid little robots found."
Aazrus too stood up and headed for his counter. "Yeah, I gotta throw out this burnt stew and start over thanks to you."
"Later, man." Elihu waved goodbye as he departed the mess hall.
Aazrus returned the wave and got back to work.
"I'm not sure how that will go over with Command," Aeris tapped her chin in thought. She then looked at Krystal. "And it seems you knew him as well?"
She then sighed and looked out into the Promenade.
"Anyway, this experience has reminded me that it's my fault I'm stuck at Spacedock. After the Tal Shiar took over my ship, Starfleet Command began to send me on less and less missions. At some point they even stopped retuning my calls. There were steps I could have taken that day to prevent that encounter, but I was too short sighted. Too foolish of a Captain; young and brash. I can't let that happen again."
Aeris looked over at the two. "Whatever your next mission is, I hope things will turn out right for you two."
"If you've been stuck here on ESD that long, you must have been here when the Iconians attacked the system. Have any experience with the Iconians?"
Winning.
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.
Aeris nodded and smiled at Krystal's comment. "Thank you. In the meantime, I have to do my best here."
She turned to Admiral Nat to answer him.
"We were all in that war, Admiral. I did get the Zephyra into its fair share of pew pews. I know I am stuck here at the moment, but if another mission arose I would prefer to stay here until my current mission was complete." Her thoughts drifted to her immediate conundrum in the Cargo Bays, then back to the Iconians. "Oh, but were they ever a tough adversary. I took down several Baltim Raiders, a Quas Cruiser and more. At least I didn't have as chaotic a time as Captain Terry did."
Aeris crossed her arms.
"So, what are your next plans?"
As soon as Elihu left the lounge, he felt weak. He leaned a shoulder against a bulkhead. His mind raced in many directions. Certain things didn't add up. This Aazrus fellow for example. And Lydia's ability to be where she shouldn't be, where she could possibly take everything away from him. He shook his head. He was being paranoid. His chef would betray him in an instant if it suited his fancy, Elihu knew, but would his own flesh and blood? He thought back...
Two and a Half Months Earlier...
U.S.S. Philadelphia, Mess Hall
Alone.
Alone.
Alone.
Forever.
The words stung. No, they burrowed. The word “Alone” burrowed into his mind and heart like a living creature, worming its way into his soul and taking up residence.
“He's not going to just 'get over it', Lydia,” said Doctor Shran-Vix.
Lieutenant Commander Shran-Vix was the descendant of the legendary Andorian Commander Shran, the Andorian commando who'd helped Captain Archer form the United Federation of Planets. And unlike most, more dignified people, Vix totally dropped the name every time she felt an advantage could be grasped.
Centurion Lydia M'Konel was leaning against the bulkhead in the Philadelphia's mess hall as her Andorian colleague sat in a chair with a cup of tea in her hand. Lydia cast a mildly derisive glance Vix's way.
It had been about three weeks since the death of the ship's counselor, and Elihu's fiance. Both Elihu and Lydia had known Talitha on and off since the girl was a toddler. She and Elihu had been best friends growing up, despite the age difference. Elihu had found that the 6-year-old was just as smart as most humans his age, and more emotionally mature too. But Elihu had never considered romance until he was 25, and she 16. She confessed her undying love to him with emotions rather than words, and he returned it. Their parents blessed a marriage once she became of age, but Elihu had unexpectedly joined Starfleet when he was 26. His parents thought it was because he was afraid of commitment, but Talitha knew that if he was afraid of commitment, he wouldn't have signed a 4-year-contract and went into the Academy.
“They'd been Romeo and Juliet for so long,” mumbled Lydia, “everyone thought they'd last forever. Surely outlast us.”
She sorrowfully eyed Elihu as he slowly, laboriously ate his meal in a corner, back to everyone. Lydia turned and sighed, heading for her chair.
“Romeo and Juliet ended in Tragedy,” Vix said. As an after-thought, she said, “Yeah, you're right. They're Romeo and Juliet. Looks like you'll have command soon enough.” She smiled and raised a toast.
Lydia batted it out of her hand. The tea cup shattered on the floor and everyone except Elihu reacted. “Everyone except Elihu” included the twins and Nurse Javan Eras.
“Watch your tongue, blue TRIBBLE or rip it out with the tongs of Aazrus.”
A civilian man strode over to the table with a plate of appetizers and a new tea cup for Shran-Vix. “Now, now ladies. Let's not fight. There's more than enough of Aazrus to go around.”
Ugh! He even winked, thought Lydia as she glowered up at the chef. “For the hundredth time, stop referring to yourself in the third!”
After setting the plate down on the table and handing Shran-Vix her cup, he bowed and left with a smile.
“Why do we even have a chef?” shrugged Shran-Vix. “Our crew complement, originally, was 26. What, are we down to 15 now?”
Lydia slouched in her chair. “18.”
Neither one of them said anything for a moment. Then Shran-Vix stood up and said, “Oh, and don't forget I'm a Lieutenant Commander.”
“And I'm a Centurion. You're point?”
“According to SF regs, I outrank you, technically. You'd do well to remember that next time you feel the need to angrily hurl my half-full cup across the room.”
As the Andorian sauntered away, Centurion M'Konel waited for her to be out of earshot and then drew her Romulan disruptor and pretended to shoot her. “WHEEEEEE! WHEEEE!”
She jumped when Elihu approached out of the corner of her eye. “Eli! You scared me. Are you alright?”
He shook his head. Elihu M'Konel had not even bothered to put his uniform on that morning. It was half past noon and he was still in his sleeping clothes, a T-shirt and pajama bottoms. His beard and hair were getting quite long, and he was awfully emaciated as well. Over the last three weeks, he could count the number of times he had a meal on one hand. Well, he couldn't because he was delirious from lack of sleep, nourishment, and mourning. But his aunt could.
“What?” Lydia said when Elihu just stood there staring at her for half a minute.
He said, “I don't want to move on, Lyd.”
She stood up, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Eli, you can't talk like that. I'm not going to allow you to kill yourself...”
“No,” he said, “I mean, I don't want to get over her. I want to live the rest of my life...like this.”
“That's...insane. You can't. You'll be put away. And you wouldn't be any good to anyone like that. You love helping people too much to become a professional miser.”
Elihu almost smiled and Lydia caught it. She smiled and pointed at him. “Got ya. Do that a couple more times and I might just have to stop worrying about you.”
“Oh God, please don't.”
They both laughed. Lydia hugged her nephew.
While holding the Romulan firmly, Elihu's hand removed her disruptor without her knowledge. “Why did you come to the armory that day?”
Lydia tried to pull away but knew that was futile. “What are you talking about? I heard there was trouble.”
“How?”
“Uh, one of the Bensons called me.”
“Which one?”
“I don't remember, Eli.”
“One's a dude, one's a chick, Lyd. Which one?”
“I don't remember!”
Lydia felt her back cracking under his superior strength. Damn. He might be depressed but he's still strong.
Elihu smirked darkly. You better believe it.
“Now how did you know to come to the armory?”
“I told you -”
Elihu tossed the Romulan like she was a rag-doll. She soared over two tables before slamming into the glass separating them from the vacuum of space. He pointed the disruptor at the Bensons.
“Did you call Lydia to the armory?” he shouted.
They glanced at each other in fear. They couldn't recall. Or perhaps they could, but they didn't want to get involved. Either way, it was pissing off Elihu more and more. He went over to Lydia and picked her up by her auburn hair.
Lydia shoved Elihu, but he kept his hold. He pressed the pistol against Lydia's skull. “Give me information, Lydia!”
“I came to the armory to help you, you stupid, selfish son-of-a-Reman!”
Elihu pushed her away and Lydia stumbled over a chair and collapsed onto the deck. As she struggled to her feet, the Bensons and Javan Eras stared wide-eyed at each other. Elihu wiped the tears from his eyes and pointed the pistol at his aunt again.
“Stop pointing that at me, you little brat!”
“You did this, didn't you? You set this whole thing up, didn't you?”
Lydia almost laughed. “What drivel is this?”
“You've always been jealous of her.”
“Jealous of what? That doesn't even make sense! You're my nephew, Elihu!”
The two pointy-eared idiots stared at each other for a few long seconds before they started laughing. It was pretty ridiculous, and Elihu knew it. And the rhyming had put it over the top. Lydia was bent over, hands on knees, wheezing and gasping for breath as she laughed. Elihu had fallen straight to the floor in his fit.
The three crewmen behind him had no clue what to do. Laugh? Don't laugh? Either way was a risk on this ship. So they settled on casually and carefully tip-toeing out of the mess hall.
"Just looking for a couple more ships for a special mission."
The admiral turned and walked away, on a hunt for more captains.
Winning.
Oh, now don't tell me you want in on all this! Well, ok. Look this that Egg Pawn hanging outside your window, pointing his laser rifle at you, waiting for my next order. He's doing his part. He helps conquer the weak-minded. He roboticizes the weak-bodied. Heck, he even helps keep the useless people from causing any trouble, but you know what? Join. Find the closest Nataran Empire roboticization center near you and join the ranks, before the ranks find you. Oh, I know, you figure it must be so satisfying to know I basically rule the world now, and you know what? It is, but do you want to know the true definition of satisfaction? Well, let me tell you a little story. One day, you see a brand new event. They're giving out boxes that give old event stuff. Your dilithium is plentiful. You buy a whole lot of Phoenix packs on your main, and open them all. You get one epic token. Then, you decide, that since you have all the Breen ships and don't give a damn about the others, you exchange it for an ultra rare, and grab yourself a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship and for the hell of it, a Voth Bulwark. You open both, leaving the Bulwark in your vast masses of starships as you jump into the bugship and deck it out, deck by deck, into the most awesome Jem'Hadar ship you can. You fly it. You enjoy it. Eventually, you get bored and leave, leaving the old Bulwark never flown... until later. Your main is long complete. Your new alt main, based off some character you pulled out of nothing just to explain away some starship being in service without the command of your dear admiral, is also complete. Mostly. Their reps and doffs are hard at work, getting you stuff. You realize the potential, and head back for your dear admiral, pull the most Voth themed build you can out of thin air, and suit up in your giant ship in the shape of you know what. You head out... and cause all sorts of havoc. Enemies scream out your name as their very life is drained away by your swarms of Aceton Assimilators. They complain to the devs of your OPness when you revive yourself from death every time you die. Do you show any form of mercy? No. After all, this isn't the United Federation of Planets, this is mother frakkin' Starfleet, where you explore strange new worlds and kick butt never kicked before. Oh, and you realize that I just wrote another speech rivaling your own signature. Cool. Oh, wait, that's just the original draft, it is part of my signature now. Oh, and yes, I am aware that I have become a Canadian Regent; one day, sooner than you'd expect, we'll suddenly decide to take over the world and declare an "alliance", and I shall become it's Regent. You know, like the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the mirror universe of our beloved Star Trek. Oh, who'll we be taking over with? I dunno, maybe [REDACTED], or maybe aliens from outer space. Guess you'll have to wait and find out, won't we? Until then, don't ask too many questions, or else my Breen allies on Titania might pick up on your -- [REDACTED BY BREEN CONFEDERACY FOR REASONS] Also, psst... keep an eye out for flying Tribbles! Also walls. Big, great walls, separating entire continents apart. Walls patrolled by Tribbles. Flying Tribbles. Flying Nukara Tribbles. Don't worry, it's not like they were on Venus with a herd of Tholians or anything, they just like the extreme heat and brutal weather like acid rain and hurricane force winds as the norm. Oh, and definitely keep your eye out on any two-tailed foxes, because if they ain't glowing, they're definitely an imposter. Possibly an Undine, we caught one of those once in my place once. Oh, and if you find a two-tailed fox that doesn't like the cold... most certainly ask him to say sorry. If he refuses, DESTROY HIM WITH A DOOMSDAY MACHINE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH AGAINST SUCH AN OVERPOWERED IMPOSTER!
tr;dr, I am winning last post wins 3.0. Thank you for your time.