Doomsday Aftermath (Open to All)

[Nira Said]

[{NPC} Enarrain Nirreen of House Caligula | Bridge | IRS Opalius | En Route to the Ildius Nebula]

The whole bridge was silent as they stared at one half of the viewscreen, channeled in from hacked satellites around Jupiter. It was the planet-sized cube against a lone Galaxy-class starship. A class of starship supposedly retired recently. But what was the surprise of it all was what was labeled on the starship: USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.

"Where in the fiery elements did it come from?" snapped Enarrain Nirreen not for the first time when it was called in of a ship not part of the Borgified Starfleet heading to Jupiter. She had previously enjoyed watching the bombardment of the primary orbital facilities around Earth, but even as the fleet was preparing to bombard the planet, Nirreen was focused on Jupiter.

It dove within the cube. Nirreen wondered if it will meet its destruction within........only for the ship to re-emerge and the cube explode in a fireball, the rest of Starfleet breaking from Borg control.

"NOOOOO!!!!!!"

All too rarely has Nirreen lost control like this, and it had been decades since her last burst of fury. Nonetheless, the sight that the one man she was worried about had accomplished the impossible, had thwarted the greatest plan to destroy the Federation, set her wild. The ancient Vulcan in the days before Surak, with the uncontrollable rage demonstrated with utmost strength, strength similar to a Vulcan's because of her and other Romulans living in a desert planet much like Vulcan, manifested in her as she ripped the chair she sat in from the floor and slammed it repeatedly to the ground.

It was understandable why she was reacting like this. She had a role in the planning with the Praetorians and the rest of the League of Typhon, and they were banking on the Borg-controlled Starfleet to aid them against the outer Federation worlds. And now this. None was more angry than Nirreen.

Finally, Praetor Hakul came over and pinned her by the arms. "Nirreen! Enough!" And he wouldn't let her go until she was calmed.

"Damn it all, Hakul, haven't you seen...?"

"I saw," said Hakul sternly. "Centurion, get me the Praetorians."

Then the pale faces of Domitian and Nakir came on, replacing the sickening triumph of the Enterprise and the Titan flying back to the fleet in style of an honor guard. Nakir looked to be just as furious; his teeth were still clenched and bloodstains were evident in the background. Domitian showed no sign, other than hard eyes, one of them twitching.

"Praetors, I trust you just heard?" asked Hakul.

"That we have," Domitian said, smoothly but angry; Nakir only growled in assent, trusting himself not to talk.

"And we have all been giving the orders for the fleets to prepare. But Starfleet is no longer under Borg control!" shouted Nirreen.

"As our Tzenketh friend, Belrenank Tor Tel-AA, is so fond of saying, 'Be it as it may,'" said Domitian, "Starfleet is greatly weakened, thanks to the Borg."

"Wounded, but can still strike back!" said Nirreen. "We relaxed ourselves too much! We thought we could have all the time in the next year or so to give the Borg time to destroy the Federation until we all can assemble at the Typhon Expanse...!"

"And we still have a year," said Domitian.

"How so?" snapped Nakir.

"The Federation will be on the alert, thanks to Changelings and our news," said Domitian. "We can build more ships with help from our Dominion friends and methods of stealth. Meantime, we wait for the Federation to relax their guard. Let them lull themselves into a state of complacency. That's when we will strike."

Dawning came upon Nirreen and she nodded with a grin. "That we can do. We are long-lived, we can be patient. And hopefully our Changeling friends will lull them into complacency sooner. But the rest of the League of Typhon will need some soothing over, least of all our Cold friend."

"Leave the politics to us," said Domitian. "How long until you reach the Idilus Nebula?"

"Shortly," said Hakul. "We will see about the status of our fleet and send out messages to our allies to keep preparing our ships, albeit clandestinely."

"Good," said Nakir, and the viewscreen was off.

[Commander Nira Said | Sickbay | Deck Seven | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

If the day could get any better after having the oxygen pump off and being completely defrosted, Nira was relieved to hear that communication with Starfleet has been restored. Then came the results.

Thirty-five percent of the junior ranks and sixty-five percent of senior officers dead. Casualties that took the Dominion two years to inflict had taken less than a day for the Borg to do. It had to be a record. Overall Starfleet capacity reduced to twenty percent. That is what Nira had been reading on her PADD on her bedside.

Her worry about Earth lingered even after the destruction of the Doomsday Weapon - more of an accident on part of Neva, if anything. Now that communication was restored, Nira was itching to find out about Torra and Malik. Unfortuantely, she was still confined in bed even as Challenger returns to Earth.

Reports regarding the Federation borders had surprised her. Aside from the Changelings, the Praetorians had to know about Starfleet's capacity, given they openly declared being in league with the Changelings, and thus the Dominion, who had been helping the Borg - what's left of them before their complete annihilation. What surprised her was that along the border boundaries of the Federation - particularly along the borders the newly declared New Romulan Empire, the Kzinti Patriarchy, the Tzenkethi Coalition and the Breen Confederacy, virtually everywhere around the Federation - had no reports of attacks.

Despite keeping checking, she still had an inkling: They could've known Starfleet around Earth was freed from the Borg, and thus, they had to adjust their strategy, or even postpone their invasion. Whatever the reason, Nira was sure they wouldn't be willing to attack Starfleet now that it was freed from control of the Borg.

Nira looked up from her bedside, up to Savar, who didn't want to leave her side, then around at the rest of her away team, who are still being treated. She felt sorry she had to order them blown out, but she had no choice.

[Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas]

[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Sickbay | Deck Seven | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A | Angdarr System]

Lieutenanant Zhukdra'shar wandered into the Sickbay after the doors opened with a soft hiss. He felt an uncomfortable stupor around his mind which made him feel as if he was slightly drunk, so his steps sometimes wobbled a little. Much to his chagrin. No one had commented on it thus far, which at least put him at a slight, tense ease.

It had been a result of the time he had spent awake in the past mission, no doubt. And probably, the exertion he had gone through. But at least, the Doomsday Machine had exploded in a grandiose explosion that had made him stare in awe at the viewscreen - until it darkened for the safety of his eyes. He was glad for modern technology integrated into the ship.

Still, he could not dream any further. He had woken up half an hour ago, and he could not reconcile his sleep. A pang of worry had visibly set in, and he could not shake it off. Not until he saw her once more.

He walked up to the resting Head Nurse Chloe Davies and proceeded to place a hand over her, gently squeezing. He stroked the back of her hand with her thumb, as he looked at her, concern written all over his face. He was uncertain if this would be allowed by the Medical staff, so he remained wary of their approach.

He had to make sure that she was alright, though. And he had to get something off his chest.

"Head Nurse Davies... Chloe," He began, in a murmur, "I apologize for not being here sooner. I did not expect those curs to harm thee. But I made sure that justice was dispensed to them. They will not escape from their prison anytime soon..."

He wanted to say that he would have done much worse to them if he had the means. And if it could not be traced back to them, but he held his tongue. No one truly needed to do that, and the punishment would be enough. He lovingly stared at her for a few moments more, before letting go of his hand as he prepared to take his leave.

"I hope that you recover with much haste, Chloe. I l- I miss thee... Our conversations always bring me much joy."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Crewman Zala | Sickbay | Deck Seven | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A | Angdarr System]

Zala fortunately, felt much better after she had been treated by Abas the day before. After Blackfeather retrieved her weapon to take it back to the Armory, Zala had been asked to remain on the bed until she recovered. Thus far, though, she had not been cleared to leave. Perhaps, her burn had been much more grave than she initially suspected. Or perhaps, after the recovery of the injured Starfleet members from space, she had been forgotten. In any case, she enjoyed the small rest and the time to recover from the shock of yesterday.

It was also nice to have Mo accompanying her. Mo had found her after his ordeal with his teacher being caught in an explosion. He excitedly told her how he was brave enough to head out with his Bolian friend out of the classroom. He then told her he found Kyan, who then proceeded to get them to Sickbay. Fortunately, the children had been spared the worst of the hostage situation, safeguarded in a room out of view of the gnarly scene the Medbay was in, as well as the firefight. His heroics brought a smile to Zala's face, though now he slept soundly on her chest.

Slightly bored, and unable to do much but look around, lest she wake up Mo, she was relieved to see one of the members of the expedition to the Doomsday Machine wake up. With a smile, she proceeded to get their attention with an awkward wave,

"H-Hello! How are you feeling?"

[Neva Cordon]

[{NPC} Enarrain Nirreen of House Caligula | Bridge | IRS Opalius | En Route to the Ildius Nebula]

The whole bridge was silent as they stared at one half of the viewscreen, channeled in from hacked satellites around Jupiter. It was the planet-sized cube against a lone Galaxy-class starship. A class of starship supposedly retired recently. But what was the surprise of it all was what was labeled on the starship: USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.

"Where in the fiery elements did it come from?" snapped Enarrain Nirreen not for the first time when it was called in of a ship not part of the Borgified Starfleet heading to Jupiter. She had previously enjoyed watching the bombardment of the primary orbital facilities around Earth, but even as the fleet was preparing to bombard the planet, Nirreen was focused on Jupiter.

It dove within the cube. Nirreen wondered if it will meet its destruction within........only for the ship to re-emerge and the cube explode in a fireball, the rest of Starfleet breaking from Borg control.

"NOOOOO!!!!!!"

All too rarely has Nirreen lost control like this, and it had been decades since her last burst of fury. Nonetheless, the sight that the one man she was worried about had accomplished the impossible, had thwarted the greatest plan to destroy the Federation, set her wild. The ancient Vulcan in the days before Surak, with the uncontrollable rage demonstrated with utmost strength, strength similar to a Vulcan's because of her and other Romulans living in a desert planet much like Vulcan, manifested in her as she ripped the chair she sat in from the floor and slammed it repeatedly to the ground.

It was understandable why she was reacting like this. She had a role in the planning with the Praetorians and the rest of the League of Typhon, and they were banking on the Borg-controlled Starfleet to aid them against the outer Federation worlds. And now this. None was more angry than Nirreen.

Finally, Praetor Hakul came over and pinned her by the arms. "Nirreen! Enough!" And he wouldn't let her go until she was calmed.

"Damn it all, Hakul, haven't you seen...?"

"I saw," said Hakul sternly. "Centurion, get me the Praetorians."

Then the pale faces of Domitian and Nakir came on, replacing the sickening triumph of the Enterprise and the Titan flying back to the fleet in style of an honor guard. Nakir looked to be just as furious; his teeth were still clenched and bloodstains were evident in the background. Domitian showed no sign, other than hard eyes, one of them twitching.

"Praetors, I trust you just heard?" asked Hakul.

"That we have," Domitian said, smoothly but angry; Nakir only growled in assent, trusting himself not to talk.

"And we have all been giving the orders for the fleets to prepare. But Starfleet is no longer under Borg control!" shouted Nirreen.

"As our Tzenketh friend, Belrenank Tor Tel-AA, is so fond of saying, 'Be it as it may,'" said Domitian, "Starfleet is greatly weakened, thanks to the Borg."

"Wounded, but can still strike back!" said Nirreen. "We relaxed ourselves too much! We thought we could have all the time in the next year or so to give the Borg time to destroy the Federation until we all can assemble at the Typhon Expanse...!"

"And we still have a year," said Domitian.

"How so?" snapped Nakir.

"The Federation will be on the alert, thanks to Changelings and our news," said Domitian. "We can build more ships with help from our Dominion friends and methods of stealth. Meantime, we wait for the Federation to relax their guard. Let them lull themselves into a state of complacency. That's when we will strike."

Dawning came upon Nirreen and she nodded with a grin. "That we can do. We are long-lived, we can be patient. And hopefully our Changeling friends will lull them into complacency sooner. But the rest of the League of Typhon will need some soothing over, least of all our Cold friend."

"Leave the politics to us," said Domitian. "How long until you reach the Idilus Nebula?"

"Shortly," said Hakul. "We will see about the status of our fleet and send out messages to our allies to keep preparing our ships, albeit clandestinely."

"Good," said Nakir, and the viewscreen was off.

[Commander Nira Said | Sickbay | Deck Seven | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

If the day could get any better after having the oxygen pump off and being completely defrosted, Nira was relieved to hear that communication with Starfleet has been restored. Then came the results.

Thirty-five percent of the junior ranks and sixty-five percent of senior officers dead. Casualties that took the Dominion two years to inflict had taken less than a day for the Borg to do. It had to be a record. Overall Starfleet capacity reduced to twenty percent. That is what Nira had been reading on her PADD on her bedside.

Her worry about Earth lingered even after the destruction of the Doomsday Weapon - more of an accident on part of Neva, if anything. Now that communication was restored, Nira was itching to find out about Torra and Malik. Unfortuantely, she was still confined in bed even as Challenger returns to Earth.

Reports regarding the Federation borders had surprised her. Aside from the Changelings, the Praetorians had to know about Starfleet's capacity, given they openly declared being in league with the Changelings, and thus the Dominion, who had been helping the Borg - what's left of them before their complete annihilation. What surprised her was that along the border boundaries of the Federation - particularly along the borders the newly declared New Romulan Empire, the Kzinti Patriarchy, the Tzenkethi Coalition and the Breen Confederacy, virtually everywhere around the Federation - had no reports of attacks.

Despite keeping checking, she still had an inkling: They could've known Starfleet around Earth was freed from the Borg, and thus, they had to adjust their strategy, or even postpone their invasion. Whatever the reason, Nira was sure they wouldn't be willing to attack Starfleet now that it was freed from control of the Borg.

Nira looked up from her bedside, up to Savar, who didn't want to leave her side, then around at the rest of her away team, who are still being treated. She felt sorry she had to order them blown out, but she had no choice.

[Ensign Neva Cordon|USS-Challenger|Sickbay]

Neva sighed in thankfulness when she heard Nira's calm assurance all was ok. 'Thank you...' She managed in kind.

Neva was thankful. She LIVED. Yet even as she felt that her heart clenched at how she'd nearly cost her crewmates their lives. She'd thought the airlock a good idea, but then the Spacing...oh Gods! Tears burned down her cheeks at the thought.

She tried as best she could to heed and work with the Medical staff to feel better and as time went on, she did. Her mind spun on the "should've/could've' hamster wheel. over the Planet Killer. Each time, the same ending. She'd probably be doing a debrief with Nira and the Captain. She could discuss things then.

She wished for the comfort and safety of her bunk, her blanket tucked around her, and a book to read. Maybe even her favorite sandwich. The thought of making fresh bread from her machine brought a smile to her face. She secretly enjoyed how her crewmates "happened" to visit her, at those times, even as she growled and bitched at them for snatching most of it on her.

Neva pulled herself very gently into a sitting position against the pillows of the biobed. She looked out and around the area, smiling when one of the doctors came up to her.

"Can I get out now, please? I at least want the comfort of my bunk for a bit, if not cleared for duty, Sir." She asked simply.

[Jalen Kartos]

Neva pulled herself very gently into a sitting position against the pillows of the biobed. She looked out and around the area, smiling when one of the doctors came up to her.

"Can I get out now, please? I at least want the comfort of my bunk for a bit, if not cleared for duty, Sir." She asked simply.

In the wake of the Doomsday Machine and the return of the Away Team, the entire Medical Staff was activated and brought back on duty. Jalen was doing the rounds when he saw one of the ensigns from the away team awaken and try to sit up. He rushed to her side and helped stabalize her and place the pillows behind her so as to ensure she didn't lose consciousness. He then went about scanning her and ensuring that she was stable. He did so while listening to her insistence on leaving. At the moment Sickbay was rather packed, and he made a call. He reached into a bedside cart and retrieved a neural monitor and gentle grasped the woman's chin in his fingers and placed it on her temple.

"œOf course, you can, sometimes the best healing happens at home. But you'll have to wear this neural monitor for now and call in immediately should you feel strange at all. I'll have one of the orderlies escort you back to your quarters." Jalen then signaled for an orderly and ordered him to take the woman back to her quarters.

"œIs there anything else you require?"

[Neva Cordon]

In the wake of the Doomsday Machine and the return of the Away Team, the entire Medical Staff was activated and brought back on duty. Jalen was doing the rounds when he saw one of the ensigns from the away team awaken and try to sit up. He rushed to her side and helped stabalize her and place the pillows behind her so as to ensure she didn't lose consciousness. He then went about scanning her and ensuring that she was stable. He did so while listening to her insistence on leaving. At the moment Sickbay was rather packed, and he made a call. He reached into a bedside cart and retrieved a neural monitor and gentle grasped the woman's chin in his fingers and placed it on her temple.

"œOf course, you can, sometimes the best healing happens at home. But you'll have to wear this neural monitor for now and call in immediately should you feel strange at all. I'll have one of the orderlies escort you back to your quarters." Jalen then signaled for an orderly and ordered him to take the woman back to her quarters.

"œIs there anything else you require?"

[Ensign Neva Cordon|USS-Challenger|Sickbay->Neva's Quarters]

Neva smiled and held still as the doctor put the monitor on her forehead. Once done, she took in his instructions and nodded as she made her reply.

"Yes, Doctor, I will make sure of that. I have no wish to deal with that again!" Despite her smile, she shivered at the memory for a moment.

Neva hopped off the Biobed and joined the orderly. She said her "thank you's" and goodbyes to the doctor and half led-half walked bedside the orderly. She made idle chit-chat with him, trying to stay away from the reason for her convalescence.

Once at her quarters, she sighed and rolled her eyes as the orderly insisted he make sure she got in bed. She led him in, went to the bed, kicked off her boots, and got under the covers. Settling her blankets how she wanted them, she looked at the orderly and raised an eyebrow.

"Mission accomplished now?" she asked wryly. The orderly nodded, waved to her, and left the room. Once she was sure he was gone, she hopped out of bed and took a very hot shower and got into more restful clothes.

Neva grabbed her PADD and jumped into bed again, pulling the covers up to her shoulders. She then sighed in contentment and proceded to read her trashy romance novel.