Once Again, With Vigor

Posted on Tue Nov 21st, 2023 @ 11:31pm by Ensign Noah Balsam & Captain Björn Kodak & Lieutenant JG Sava & Lieutenant Irynya
Edited on on Wed Nov 22nd, 2023 @ 12:30am

Mission: Stardust and Sin
Location: Gravity Well Bar, Hukatuse Tagumik
Timeline: Mission Day 2 at 1930

Previously...

"Fascinating/enlightening/unusual," Moritana replied. "I have seen such things but the way you led," Moritana looked at Noah with fascination, "No-ohah... I thought... and bartender/drinkmaker/hardshell said they would send over an interested to help person." The alien flicked her tongue out and curled it back. "I flush/scalepop. Please go. Much humiliation/embarrassed/wish to hide." And with that, the slim and flexible alien rose, shouldered her garment and jogged into the room she'd retreated to.

It seemed as if, with Moritana's retreat, all of the air left the room, following on her heels. She was up and out before Irynya could protest or make some further attempt to fix the mistake she'd so clearly made. Instead she turned darkened chastened eyes on Noah. "Should... we should go... right?"

Noah looked very uncertain himself. "I-I guess. We still have to find Kaldri." Noah frowned, "Did that bartender, um, pa-pawn us off on this lady just to get rid of us?"

Irynya's eyebrows knit, creasing her forehead in a way that made her usually soft features look more severe. "I don't know," she said. "But you're right. We need to find Kaldri. And... I... I guess we should at least try the information she gave?" She moved toward the door as she spoke, stepping out into the dimly lit corridor with a sense of relief so immense that she immediately felt bad for it.

And now...

The walk from Moritana's living space back to The Gravity Well seemed to take infinitely longer than the first time they'd traversed the path. On several occasions one or the other of the two had paused, opening mouths to speak, and then, seemingly unsure what to say, had simply stayed silent, moving as quickly as possible without actually seeming to flee as they could.

Irynya found herself picking back through the whole encounter, looking for where she might have realized things sooner. As they passed a familiar bordello, it's four breasted woman still practically pasted to the window and leering at them as they kept walking, she finally got up the nerve to speak. "Are... are you ok?" she asked first, realizing that as much as she was feeling badly about things, it was Noah whose body had nearly been sacrificed for the incubation of reptilian babies.

Noah pushed his hands into his jacket. "I'm fine. Just..." his brows knitted, his nearly-black eyes darkened. "Still trying to figure out where the, uh, buh-babies were supposed to go. I-I only have so many holes."

The statement, so frank and simply... Noah-like... caught Irynya off guard and, despite the seriousness of the circumstance, she snorted a laugh. "Oh my goodness," she said, covering her mouth as she walked to try to stifle the slightly hysterical giggle that threatened to break loose. "I mean, right? She must have had some kind of plan?"

Noah's eyebrows raised and his eyes widened, "I-I hope so. But..." He shook his head, "I'm still trying to figure out why the bartender sent us to her. Just s-sort seemed mean. She just needed a..." Noah shrugged, "Well I guess an incubator." His wide mouth frowned and the engineer started to walk again.

Irynya's giggles quickly quelled and she shifted back to silence, walking quietly for a few moments as she thought. "I suppose she did match the description of what we were looking for. I asked for a regular who might have seen Kaldri... and Moritana did see Kaldri... or at least a hostile female Kazon. That's a lead if nothing else. Maybe the bartender really was just doing what I asked?"

They'd come back to the bar's entrance and as they did, Iry drew to a halt. "I feel like we need a plan," she said with an apologetic shrug. "We go in, find Malik, see if we can get him to talk to us, and then get out?" she rattled off, ending the list in a question rather than assuming Noah agreed. "Does that sound right?"

"Y-you're right. I think something about this place... sc-scares me a little. I feel like we've been tossed in-into the deep end." He pushed his hands deeper into his jacket pockets. "It sounds like a good plan. Hopefully this, um, M-malik is still there. He looked huge." Noah peered inside. "When are we supposed to check in?"

"Yeah," Iry agreed, eyeing the entrance with a bit more trepidation than the last time they'd entered the bar. "But we're Starfleet and if Commander t'Nai thinks we're suited to this then..." she shrugged, the air of confidence only halfway effective in its display. She glanced at a chrono affixed to her arm and twisted her lips to the left, calculating quickly. "Another hour," she said. "Enough time to try to get information and then maybe check it out a bit... assuming this guy will talk to us."

"OK," Noah said breathily. His lips tightened into a line and he seemed to shrug to himself. "I'll-I'll go first again. I guess." he started to walk inside and then backtracked, "Wish me luck," he said. Then Noah started walking inside again. And then back out, "But, you know. Cuh-come with." He tightened his smile again with a nod and popped his neck with a hand under his chin. He ventured within, past a pair of aliens who seemed to be smoking some kind of overly sweet and pungent aroma. It had no exact Human analog.

"Hi. Uh, hi," Noah said with a raise of his hand at the bartender. "We're back."

Unlike before where Iry had left Noah to lead, she was right on his heals, so much so that when he came to a halt at the bar she had to sidestep quickly, her hand accidentally brushing against his own before she resituated herself to a normal proximity.

The coralline bartender from earlier seemed to eye them with some suspicion. "Already told you. We get Kazon," it commented, with a touch of irritation. What passed for its head looked back and forth between them and, Iry could have sworn that if the creature had eyebrows and eyes in the sense that they were used to they would have been narrowed.

"We know," Iry chimed in. "We're looking for someone else now."

A call from across the bar drew the coral alien's attention and somehow his whole personage seemed to vibrate with annoyance. "We get Kazon. Talk to Moritana," it emphasized making as if it was going to turn away again.

"Uh, hold up. N-no. I already talked to her, and I a-almost got pregnant be-because... well... because of that advice," Noah said. He blinked and looked back at Irynya, "S-sorry was that passive aggressive sounding? I didn't mean it to be." Noah frowned and pushed his hair behind his ear, "I'm still processing that." He redirected and tried again at the coral-being, "We want to talk to Malik." Noah said. He was trying but his voice held no authority, truly.

The name Malik seemed to have an effect of the alien and it paused in its movement to look at Irynya and Noah face on. Had Iry not already found the creature's mannerisms hard to pin down she might have thought it was glaring. "You have an appointment?" it asked?

Irynya frowned, squaring her shoulders and narrowing her eyes. She may not have been sure of the body language she was seeing, but somehow projecting confidence seemed important here. "Malik will want to speak with us," she said firmly.

Noah's looked on at his companion with an eyebrow pop. He would have just said no, they didn't have one. Irynya was cleverer in these situations.

For a long, tense, moment the three seemed to be at an impasse. The bartender was unmoving, what passed for eyes seeming to size them up as if seeing them fully for the first time. Just as the Risian felt sure that it was about to call her bluff the creature seemed to relax, turning away again, but this time adding, "Wait here," as it did.

"How did you do that?" Noah asked with one eye squinted.

Goodness gracious, did the patrons of the bar make her look normal by comparison. Sava could've sworn she'd seen at least fifteen different species on her journey from the ship to the Gravity Well itself. Dressed in a black tank top that left her midriff open, jeans and a grangy brown jacket, Sava searched the crowd for the two she'd been told to find - which wasn't hard, mind, seeing as they were probably the only two people without any form of facial ridge or ridiculous hairstyle or things growing out of their chins or any of the myriad of physical features she'd seen on people so far. "Hello. I'm lieutenant junior grade Sava. Assistant head of security. I was told you two might need some backup," She quipped with a smile as she came up behind the two. Sava towered over them both, which probably made her look a little more imposing than she might've liked - but then again that was her to practically everyone else, including the crowd here, so far from home.

"I take it you two were discussing next steps before I found you?" She asked, glancing between the two junior officers.

The Risian welcoming demeanor fell back into place just about as quickly as one dons a comfortable pair of worn shoes. "Ah," Irynya commented, tilting her head to look up at Sava. The Kelpien woman was easily a foot taller than she was. She had to tilt slightly to look at Noah as it was, but this one might mean a crick in her neck. "You came onboard with the relief crew a few weeks back, right?" she asked. "I don't think we've had a chance to meet yet. I'm Lieutenant Junior Grade Irynya, assistant chief flight controller." She held out her hand for the other woman to grasp.

Noah looked on at the two senior-to-him officers. He didn't know this person and he'd only heard of her species. "Um. Noah Balsam. Systems Engineer. Hi." He tinkled his fingers in a shy way and then tentatively held it out in greeting. Noah almost retracted it, questioning if Kelpiens shook hands.

Sava shook both their hands firmly. For someone who looked like she might fall over and break if you pushed her too hard, her grip was surprisingly firm. Kelpiens had always been deceptively strong.

Introductions made Iry gave the security officer a quick run down on their efforts so far, leaving out the more... unusual... details of their interaction with Moritana by simply saying she'd eventually told them to look for Malik. It was... true... although it allowed her to skip an explanation about how she had nearly gotten Noah pregnant with alien reptile babies.

"And now we're just waiting for the bartender to come back," she finished, looking to Noah to fill in any gaps she may have missed.

"Yeah," Noah puffed up his cheeks and put his hands on his hips. He breathed out, longing for the simplicity of the holo-lab and writing code. "It's b-been an evening. A weird one." It was then that Noah acknowledged to himself that he was quite hungry- but after he and Irynya's voyage into deeply alien food, he felt gunshy about trying anything in here.

The faint snail-like flavor of Sluggo Cola wafted past his nose as a memory.

While the under-cover-Starfleeters chatted, the coral-covered alien had moved far down the wraparound bar. It synced up with a huge, hulking figure who had been standing a silent sentinel’s watch over The Gravity Well, his glowing red eyes not missing a single happening within his establishment. As the coral alien exchanged a quick, terse flurry of words with the man, it became apparent that the massive watcher was not a bouncer but was, in fact, Malik himself.

Looking from his bartender to the Starfleeters, Malik gave the coral alien a grumpy-looking nod before tracing the path he’d taken back to Irynya, Noah, and Sava. As he walked towards the trio, the light played across his bulbous form, a good 500 pounds of towering, solid muscle. For as tall as Sava was, Malik was a good foot taller even: a height that caused all others to look up fearfully as he passed them.

“I am told,” Malik’s voice emanated as a deep, icy rasp, “that you’ve reason to believe I’d wish to speak with you.” He folded his massive arms across his chest and leaned back against the counter behind him, his bulk causing the tabletop to sag slightly. “Speak then,” he commanded coolly.

Noah's bedroom eyes blinked wide. Jesus. This thing was huge. Bigger than Nausicaan huge.

Stepping back from the bar slightly, Iry tilted her head up to look at Malik. "We've been told that you spoke with a Kazon woman a few days ago. A woman named Kaldri. She may have come in looking for someone or... something... she's... we're trying to reach her."

A twinge in the small muscles across the top of her back and into her neck made Irynya wince ever so slightly and she made a show of looking to Noah and Sava, using their slightly lower height as an excuse to alleviate the crick that was rapidly forming in her neck. "My... partners and I need to find her, urgently," She added.

"We-we're not looking for trouble. We just want to-to help her," Noah added, still a little wrapped the size of this being. He wished he was someone more like Timmoz, who seemed to just drift through situation like this with ease.

"No one ever is," Malik grumbled back, his glowing eyes darkening into a smolder. "I do not know this 'Kaldri,'" he said, putting even more of his bulk on the back counter. It sagged even further, though gave no sign of giving way...yet. "Many people come and go here, however. Including some of the Kazon variety. I have not seen one in many days, however."

"Perhaps this friend who needs your help has already left the station?" Malik offered, glowering at the trio of Starfleeters. Sava in particular received his focused gaze, the proprietor's glowing eyes tracing her up and down. She was clearly the muscle in this group -- she was the one to potentially worry about. The waify lank of a boy and his lithe female companion were of little to no concern.

At that moment, a warbling alert from Noah's pocketed tricorder began to sound. It was the chirruping confirmation that signaled that the combadge they'd been tracking had finally been found. And apparently, the combadge in question was on Malik's person...

Sava stared down the proprietor coolly. Malik was a giant, yes, and most certainly much stronger than she - but agility was likely something he lacked. If need be, she was confident that she could probably outmaneuver him till he tired - or lost. "Well, have the Kazon you've met before ever given you anything interesting?" She asked. "Exotic artifacts, perhaps, or technology they claim is entirely alien in origin?"

Noah raised his device- more conspicuously than might've been desired. He frowned. "Well, um. You have her commbadge," Noah said to the hulking man with the glowing eyes. "Are-are you sure you haven't seen her?" He asked, tapping at his tricorder to triangulate and confirm its position.

With two of the three officers confirming what was now painfully obvious, Irynya stayed silent, though she crossed her arms, hip popping slightly with attitude as she stared down the hulking figure before her. She had no doubt the commbadge was on this man's considerably large person, though she'd hate to think about where. Hopefully just a simple front pocket. Eyebrows raised in expectation, she waited.

If Sava's question had been a backdoor insinuation, Noah's seemed like a full blown accusation, especially with Irynya's penetrating glare focused on Malik like a spotlight. The proprietor had been about to respond when the young man manipulated the controls on his sensing device. The tricorder instantly began to trill at a more urgent pace and tone. Malik eyed the device with contempt and knew the jig was, at least partially, up. Unfolding his arms from across his chest, the towering alien stood to his full height and rolled his considerable shoulders as if loosening up for a fight.

He raised an arm then, reaching not for a concealed weapon -- as one might have thought -- but for a compartment he opened on the outer shell of his partially-armored chest vestments. From it, Malik withdrew the familiar chevron the trio'd come in search of. The combadge was a bit scratched and scuffed -- perhaps indicating Kaldri had run into some trouble since Xex had tossed it to her -- but otherwise seemed completely intact.

"Had I known," Malik rumbled deeply, "that this device was being tracked, I never would have bought it from your Kazon 'friend,'" he used the term doubtfully, questioning if these people really were here to help the Kazon in question. "Obfuscating further serves little purpose. So yes," the behemoth of a man nodded his giant head, "I did see your Kazon. She came here trying to raise money to get her ship released from impound. I deal in certain...commodities," Malik explained, "and often put potential buyers in touch with motivated sellers. But this, I wanted for myself," he said, tumbling the combadge over and over in the enormity that was his right hand.

Noah lowered his tricorder a little, having sunk his teeth with thinking into his lip. "We-we just want to help her," he said, pocketing his device. "She's running from someone. Other Kazon. We tried to help her but, um, her shutte warped away in the chaos." That was the limit of Noah's knowledge of the situation. In memory of the event, the boy rubbed the shell of his ear, which had been torn and split on his time on that moon. "We don't want to hurt her or anything." He felt safe supposing that and looked to the two women he was under. "So, uh, anything you can tell us." He looked at Irynya and Sava again, "To-to help us. Would be appreciated. We're friendly, I-I swear. We're all friendly so let's just uh... be-be friendly."

Lesser men than Noah would've wet their pants by now. Sava had seen it happen. Literally. And the person they'd been talking to then was an Orion man about half Malik's size. Everything about Noah's body language suggested that he was deathly terrified of the mountain of muscle that was Malik - and yet here he was, doing his best to get what they wanted. She would've hugged him there and then, but something told her his pretty female friend might've thrown her for six if she tried. She admired him.

Now, though, there was another emergency. She could hear murmuring around them - the perks of having hearing meant to allow you time to run miles away from danger before it found you - and not of the idle kind. The four were beginning to draw attention, which was the last thing they all needed. Sava quickly maneuvred her rangy body between the crowd and her companions while keeping Noah in sight. "Would you happen to know where she went, or what she took with her?" She ventured. "Or if she was alone? Anything is helpful."

While her two colleagues had spoken, Irynya had remained quiet, laser focused stare still on Malik even though he had revealed the commbadge and admitted to knowing Kaldri. The bit of information about the impound was useful, but only if it was recent. A bit of pride swelled in her chest for Noah and Sava both knowing that none of them were likely feeling well matched against the hulk of a man before them. "And when," she added after Sava finished. "When did you see her? And have you seen her again since?"

"So many questions," came Malik's deep, rumbling voice. Even through the din of clinking glasses, music, and conversation -- not to mention the bings and whistles from the gaming floor upstairs -- the proprietor had no trouble making himself heard. Under the onslaught of said questions, however, the alien's thoughts turned inward and it was clear from his face that he was working to make a decision. Having finally stepped through whatever mental door he'd decided to open, however, Malik continued turning the combadge over and over between his fingers -- rather like a poker chip -- and said, "This stays mine. I paid for it. But," he held up his left index finger in a staying motion, "I will tell you what I can."

Gaze gathering up the three figures before him, the bar owner said, "She was here two days ago. Her ship had been badly damaged and she was on the run from someone. She chose to hide here," Malik explained, gesturing all around him -- clearly meaning Hukatuse as a whole rather than the bar itself. "Unfortunately, she only had enough money to pay for one night of docking fees. Someone here apparently owed her metal and she was confident she'd get enough to stay a few days more and pay for the repairs of her ship. Unfortunately," the alien slowly shook his massive head, "the individual in question had turned up dead some weeks back. Some kind of bad business deal, I believe."

"Unable to get the money she needed, your friend," Malik again used the term questionably, "came to me yesterday with this." He held the combadge up then, tilting it slowly side-to-side in order to catch the light. "I scanned this thoroughly and the metals it's made of could fund my operation for three months, easy." The proprietor tossed the combadge a foot into the air and then caught it before slipping it back into the compartment on his vestments. Mine, his body language reinforced. "I offered her only a sixth of its worth -- I have to make a profit, you see," Malik explained earnestly, "and she took the deal. But before she could return to the Docks to pay her overdue fees, two Enforcers showed up."

"They took her to The Hole. The Governor," the title was said with a bit of derision, "doesn't like it when payment for Hukatuse's services is late. Especially when it isn't the first time," Malik underscored with a light shrug. "From my understanding, her money was confiscated as interest on the overdue docking fees and her ship was sent to the Chop Yards. Apparently it, too," his eyes narrowed at the trio, "was made of valuable metals. Something of yours, perhaps? I saw your little device there," he gestured with a hammy finger at Noah's pocket, where the afore-beeping tricorder had been stowed. "Let me guess," he leaned in with a frown, "she stole your ship and you want it back? Wouldn't be the first time," Malik grumbled.

"N-no," Noah said. He looked again at his companions, "At least I don't think so. We're really just trying to help her. It um," Noah folded his tricorder and put it in his uniform. "Sounds like she's in deep. With some people here. The Governor, you said." Noah hesitated and rocked on the heels of his shoes. "Is the Governor a-a person we could talk to?"

A frown tugged at Iry's lips creasing the ja'risia on her forehead with it. She didn't think it likely the Governor would talk to them. Captain Kodak maybe. Or Commander t'Nai. But the three of them... all second string, if that? Thoughtful, she pulled her cheek in between her teeth and pursed her lips to the side. An idea was very very slowly percolating, but she wasn't sure it would help anything. Still, if she understood correctly the whole point of finding Kaldri was to get a better understanding of Subrek and his advanced technology. Maybe... if Kaldri was already gone... a look at her shuttle would do the trick. "Or do you think her ship might still be around?" she appended onto Noah's question, trying to seem laid back about it as if the idea of examining an alien vessel filled with advanced tech didn't fill her with a well of excitement.

Their person of interest was in some kind of prison god knows where. Lovely. Sava felt a little bit of irritation tug at her. They couldn't afford to keep chasing one Kazon round the Delta Quadrant - not when they had other things to do, more important things. Her feelings swiftly dissipated, though, as the sound of murmuring reached her ears - and not all of it was pleasant. From what she could gather the crowd were astounded at what they could overhear from their conversation. A few even sounded scared, whispering The Governor's name in hushed tones along with indecipherable mutterings her commbadge could not adequately pick up. "Or anything else that she's been using. Anything you hsve will be helpful, and I promise we'll be on our way after." Sava added. Once again they were attracting too much attention. If they didn't go soon she sensed that there'd be much more questioning from the crowd ' or worse, more hostilities waiting for them afterward. Time was running out.

To Noah, Malik rolled his eyes. "Governor Dendrak has been known to meet with the commanders of visiting vessels. He likes to forge relationships with the smugglers who come here. It helps him gets the things he wants and needs. Those people are potentially very valuable to him. But a little thing like you?" The proprietor actually snorted at the idea of Noah being so important a person as to be a ship's captain. "You'd have better luck stumbling upon a stable wormhole than getting the Governor's attention, small one." This was said with a droll, patronizing tone before the bar owner's eyes slid away from Noah and onto Irynya and Sava.

To their questions, Malik waved a dismissive -- and decidedly massive -- hand. "I've already told you. The Governor had her shuttle sent to the Chop Yards. My guess is it's going to be sliced into metals and spare parts for trading. Or perhaps its metal plating will be used to reinforce weak spots on the station's hull, I don't know," he said. "If you want to take a look at it, I suppose it's possible they haven't begun the process yet. Koloss -- the foreman there -- has been backed up for a week or more." At this, the proprietor shrugged his thick shoulders. "There's nothing more I can tell you here, though."

Here. The word choice was, perhaps, interesting. Said innocuously, Malik might mean he had nothing more to say in general. Or that particular word could indicate he couldn't be more forthcoming in such a public area. With so many people watching and listening, though, Malik seemed unwilling to divulge any more than he already had. "I've things to do. Why don't you go pester someone else with all your questions." And with that, the large alien turned and made his way back down the line of the bar, no longer amenable to interacting with the covert trio.

Noah had drifted to the back of the pair as Malik's ire- and limited assistance- had grown. Using the pair and an extra pair of patrons clamoring for a drink, Noah opened his tricorder at thigh level. It's lights blinked, pulsing, while he used an agile thumb to poke at the controls. He paused and worried teeth across his lower lip. On the screen, words read, "Wang, Xex," listed his service number and the EM band of the badge on Malik's chest.

Noah glanced up at a serpentine patron he was using as cover and double-took at their unusual yellow eyes. Their tongue flicked out, tasting the air around the little Human. Then they shifted as sinuously as their heritage would seem , shuffling again in the queue to get a drink. Noah swept his fingers against the controls- and he manually boosted its signal to maximum. Then he reached under his brown suede jacket and tapped his own badge. "Sojourner. Balsam. Lock on to the cuh-coordinates of the signal four meters behind me b-bearing 213 carom 0. P-please track it. If it leaves this area, let us know. I'm activating its transporter enhancer, um, also. Balsam out."

Sava made a hissing sound through her teeth. And to think that they'd at least be able to get him to return the commbadge with diplomacy. Evidently here in the Delta Quadrant, tens of thousands of light years from home, the locals were far less reasonable than in Federation space. Something something harsh climate, she guessed.

On the other hand, though, she could still hear people around them murmuring. Sooner or later someone was going to ask them questions, or accuse them of being some kind of hostile presence, or something like that, surely, and then they'd never leave - dead or alive. This team's safety was her responsibility, making it her job to get them out of here and back to the Sojourner alive and with all their limbs attached. "Come. Our business here is concluded. For now." She stated in a whisper. With a quick glance back at Malik she looked to the exit of the bar. "We should leave. Walk naturally. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," replied Noah. He fell in line with his two superior officers. It was best that Malik feel he'd won. And they had come away with a fragment of information. Once they'd reached the door, Noah cleared his throat. "Should we-we check in with the Captain and Commander?" Noah was smiling broadly. Too broadly.

Irynya's responding grin was impossible to miss. Noah's enthusiasm, after all, was contagious. She glanced between the Kelpien and the Enceladan and nodded her agreement. "Want to do the honors... Ensign?"

Noah nodded once and again, he reached under his jacket. There was a high pitched click. "Balsam to Commander t'Nai." He double-tapped his commbadge to put it on auto-scramble.

There was a pause, a bit longer than the standard reply, and then the voice of the Sojourner's XO could be heard by the three lower deckers. The Romulan's tone was business-like and clipped, and not a little bit muffled by the fabric between Noah's badge and the open air.

"t'Nai here. Another pause and then, "Go ahead Ensign. was added.

"M-Ma'am we found Xex's stolen badge. A man named Malik... sort of a uh crime boss feel... bought it from her. He said our Kazon, um," Noah closed his eyes to try and remember everything chronologically, "Came to the station a few days ago. Something called The Governor seized her ship and-and is having it chopped. Kaldri, it sounds like, had unpaid debts. She's in some version of jail."

Another pause and the XO's voice came across again. "I see."

Irynya's eyebrows knit with curiosity, unsure if it was the muffle of the fabric, the tone of voice, or some combination of the two that was making it hard for her to guess what Commander t'Nai was thinking. The voice continued, though.

"Good work Ensign. We have a lead on the Governor," Emni's voice advised. "See what else you can learn. t'Nai out." And with that the line went quiet.

Noah double-tapped his commbadge to deactivate it. "OK. They-they have a lead on who the Governor is. They want us to find this Chop... place?"

"Chop Yards," Iry confirmed, as much for her own need for assurance that she'd remembered correctly, as anything else. She looked between Noah and Sava quickly and then, with a shrug, took the lead.

"Might as well get going," she said, and then turned about in a circle as if that would inform her of the way. "I mean... as soon as we figure out wehre they are."

=/\= A Mission Post By =/\=

Lieutenant Junior Grade Irynya
Assistant Flight Controller

Lieutenant Junior Grade Sava
Assistant Security Chief

Ensign Noah Balsam
Systems Specialist

Guest Starring... Malik (written by Brad)