Launch
Posted on Sat Sep 13th, 2025 @ 4:00am by Captain Calypso Skyie & Lieutenant Commander Alexander Espersen & Lieutenant Rebecca McMillen & Lieutenant JG Raven Windancer & Lieutenant JG Rala & Lieutenant JG Kally Kellerman & Senior Chief Petty Officer Jadizon Enor & Lieutenant JG Katie Kellerman & Ensign Henry Taylor
Mission:
A Princess Of Tial
Location: Shuttlebay
The initial shuttle from the Tialans had come and gone, the commanding officer from the Tialan warship having come aboard to what fanfare had been able to the thrown together in the short notice they'd had. A brief visit of about fifteen minutes had been all he'd had before he'd boarded his own shuttle with the statement that he'd respond within 30 vekrande, roughly thirty minutes, regarding Tessa, who'd successfully proven who she was. That word had come back in under twenty, with a gruff warning that any aggressive move by Chimera would result in an attack, but that they would have two hours before they were anticipated to land at one very specific spot.
Jenna had been one of the first to show up, even before most of the crew that was going to go down on the first shuttle. It was in part to get away from her new Chief, but also to check out the two craft that would have many of the senior officers on board them going into an unknown environment. The second shuttle would have fewer personnel, since it was carrying samples of trade goods from the Federation and the Hegemony, along with duffel bags of equipment for the promised evaluation of technology.
Katie rushed into the shuttlebay, eyes wild with excitement. "My first away mission! I get to see a whole new planet, no one in the Federation has seen before!" She hugged her tablet to her chest like a schoolgirl, looking at Jenna. "Do you think they'll let me take holos for later? I'd love to show Jadizon, and send copies home to Papa."
"Ah think that's going to depend on a few things, Katie, like if your PADD survives the atmosphere down there, or if you're just gonna get holos of the 'safe' areas that the girl was tellin' us we were goin' to go to. If she's tellin' the truth, your PADD wouldn't survive five minutes on the ground." Jenna smiled and shook her head, "Unless you've got an old-fashioned mechanical camera, you may be outta luck."
"Ohmygodyes!" Katie shouted, heading back for the corridor before a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards the second shuttle. "N-n-n-n-n-o c'mon wait I can just pop back to my quarters to replicate something--AH!" she squealed as she was yanked into the shuttle.
Rala entered the shuttlebay not long after Katie did, wearing her dress uniform along with a quartet of slightly curved one-handed swords across her back, two with their grips above her shoulders and two at the small of her back. She shifted the harness, trying to get it settled more comfortably.
Raven'd changed into a slightly crisper uniform...with a bit of 'fly-girl' finessy.
"Whistle! Digging the swords, girl." Raven whistled approvingly.
Rala looked up, seeing Raven eyeing the weapons. She smiled. “Thanks. They were a gift, just before I left for the Academy; modern replicas of what were common in our age of sail.”
"Oooo, even cooler!" Raven smiled, then started to stretch, a habit she'd formed to make herself loosen up for a mission.
Rebecca was.... not there. Her presence was on the bridge doing as she was instructed. Scanning the atmosphere and the stellar corona of their central star. She didn't need to keep an eye on the shuttlebay, it had like..... almost all of the primary crew there. If there was any trouble, security could handle it, and if that was a bust, they'd surely call.
Cally came in resplendent in her dress uniform, fidgeting with it because she genuinely hated it, too constrictive, too uncomfortable, just too... Formal. At least most of the initial team going to the ground was here, two shuttles already spooled up even if the second wasn't leaving for at least fifteen minutes after the first did. "All right ladies and gentlemen, let's get boarded and ready to go, why don't we? The sooner we're on the shuttle, the sooner we can get off."
Espersen came with the Captain but just to walk with her. He was planning on going down, but he'd be part of a later batch. "Good luck, everyone." He was out the door and heading back to the bridge before even the guest of honour could arrive. Shame. He had been hoping to say farewell.
Rala nodded at the Captain's instructions, even if they hadn't been directed specifically at her, and headed for the first shuttle, shifting her harness one more time as she went.
Tessa ran in, literally, seeing the shuttles powered up and ready to go and she gave a sad smile to Calypso as she did, "I'm afraid Lady Kellerman isn't coming on the first trip, she wanted to say to go without her. I'm sorry, My Lady."
Cally gave the girl a confused look before looking at the doors to the deck, "I'll take your word for it, Tessa, go ahead and get on board, we'll leave in just a minute."
Henry knew he was running late, but it had taken time to get a good-fitting dress uniform replicated, and he'd had a last minute idea. He walked into the shuttlebay with a package under his arm, a white case with the Starfleet diplomatic corp delta on it.
"Captain," he said, seeing her standing by one of the shuttles. He knew it was the one Tessa was on, but she'd already said goodbye to him in the turbolift, and he didn't want to draw things out. He'd be able to say goodbye on the planet.
Calypso was watching and checking on the people that were going to be on the second shuttle down. The first shuttle was full and just waiting for her, being a few minutes behind schedule. "Ensign Taylor," She recognized the head nurse from her frequent visits to sickbay to... Be evaluated by the doctor, "What can I do for you."
"Please, when you have a moment, give this to Tessa," he said, quietly.
She hesitated a moment before accepting the package that she was handed, "I can do that for you, Ensign, but I'm not sure she'll understand."
He smiled a bit. "She will. Tell her: Tradition four: Going away presents. Something to remind her of her time here."
Cally nodded and smiled at him briefly, "I'll be sure to do that."
He stepped back and nodded as she entered the shuttle and the hatch sealed, the engines powering up.
He walked to a safe distance as the shuttle lifted off and moved towards the bay doors. He watched for a moment, seeing his future fly away, but rallied himself and walked towards the second shuttle.
He stopped short as a transporter beam appeared in front of him, depositing Doctor Kellerman. She looked bruised and battered, she was half out of her dress uniform and covered in blood. "Kally? What the hell happened?"
Kally wheezed from a bruised lung and barely repaired ribs. "Henry..." she said, desperately. "You can't get on that shuttle."
"What?" Henry said, looking confused. "Tessa's expecting me. She told me to be on the second shuttle so that she could arrange--"
Kally stumbled in his way and grabbed his arm. "No, she isn't. She needs you to stay on the ship."
Henry wrenched his arm from her grip. "I told you I wouldn't cause any problems," he said, angrily. "And I meant it. I'm getting on that shuttle and I am going down there to see her off."
Kally grabbed him again, trying to stop him and failing miserably. At that moment she saw the bay doors open and Jadizon come in, responding to the call she'd made before beaming in. "Help!" she said, continuing to try to restrain Henry.
Jadizon stepped through the bay doors, nodding to a few enlisted crew as he strolled in, two petty officers trailing behind him. His eyes caught the shimmer of a transporter beam—and then Kally, bloodied, struggling against Henry Taylor.
“Taylor!” Jadizon barked, boots pounding across the deck. Kally’s desperate “Help!” barely left her lips before Jadizon’s fist cracked across Henry’s jaw,
Henry stumbled as the equally large Chief of the Boat grabbed onto him, but he dug his heels in. "No!" he shouted. "You can't do this!"
Kally was losing oxygen but she put herself in front of Henry. "Henry, please, understand, she can't have you there."
Jadizon’s jaw clenched as Henry dug in, shouting like he had a choice in the matter. The Chief’s hand shot out, grabbing a fistful of Henry’s uniform. With a practiced pivot, Jadizon yanked him off balance, hooked his hip, and slammed him to the deck plating in one clean motion.
Before Henry could even register the fall, Jadizon was on him—knee pressed hard between his shoulder blades, one arm wrenched behind his back. The man squirmed, but the Chief of the Boat’s weight and leverage made it useless.
“Enough!” Jadizon barked, voice carrying across the bay. “You’re done fighting, Taylor.”
Henry was half crazed trying to get out of Jadizon's grip and stared at Kally. "How could you do this to me?" he finally said. "I thought you trusted me! She trusted me!"
"I do. She does. She just...can't trust herself," Kally wheezed, which was immediately the wrong thing to say, because Henry redoubled his efforts to get away.
Katie came to the shuttle exit to see what the commotion was and her eyes got wide. "Kal?"
"Go! Launch now! That's an order!" Kally said, shouting as best she could.
Katie didn't question, she rushed back inside, shutting the shuttle hatch.
"NO!" Henry wailed as the engines powered up and the shuttle lifted off. He choked and stopped fighting Jadizon as the shuttle lifted and flew through the forcefield into the void.
Kally collapsed to her knees and coughed, wincing and grabbing her chest. "Jadizon...let him go..." she said.
Jadizon felt Henry’s fight drain away beneath him as the shuttle cleared the bay and slipped into the void. He kept the man pinned a beat longer, then lifted his gaze to the petty officers and the armed security guard who’d closed in.
Henry lay on the deck, breathing hard. He'd never felt so betrayed, so hurt, so abandoned. His uniform jacket was half torn open in the scuffle and he did his best to straighten it as sat up slowly. He wanted to say something cutting, something mean, but he felt too defeated to muster even that much.
“On your feet, Boy,” Jadizon growled, hauling him halfway up before shoving him toward the waiting hands. His voice thundered across the deck, sharp and absolute: “Get his ass down to the brig—and he doesn’t breathe free air until I say he does. Nobody opens that door but me. Clear?”
The enlisted men snapped a sharp “Aye, Chief!” as they seized Henry, dragging him out with no room without argument. Jadizon exhaled hard, rolling his shoulder once before glancing toward Kally, still on her knees.
Kally gasped for air, the ordeal too much for her and collapsed to the deck. She wanted to call for Sickbay but realized she didn't have her combadge anymore.
Jadizon’s eyes went wide as Kally crumpled, her breath ragged. He was on her in an instant, scooping her up like she weighed nothing.
“Move!” he barked, shoving aside the hands that reached in. Cradling her against his chest, he turned toward the nearest console, voice booming through the bay.
“Emergency site-to-site! Sickbay—now!”
The authority in his tone left no room for hesitation. Jadizon held her tight, her weight secure in his arms as he glared at the crew frozen around him.
“Now!” he thundered.
The transporter beam shimmered to life, wrapping him and Kally in cascading light. In the span of a heartbeat, both of them dissolved into energy—then were gone, the shuttle bay left empty where the Chief and the battered doctor had stood.
