Red Flags

Posted on Fri Jun 28th, 2024 @ 9:49pm by Ensign Noah Balsam & Lieutenant Irynya & Lieutenant JG Kestrel & Lieutenant JG Sheldon Parsons & Ensign Tamblem Dravor

Mission: Mean Green Queen
Location: Junior Officers' Quarters 4-13
Timeline: Mission Day 5 at 0800

[Junior Officers' Quarters 4-13]
[Mission Day 5; 0800 Hours]

Josh's gear arrived from the Quartermasters'. The person bringing his two bags placed them on the floor, since Josh didn't know which bed he was getting.

He looked in the bathroom for any indication of someone being there. But he didn't find anything that gave him an idea. He thought of looking through the closets and drawers. but that would be impolite. So, he sat on the couch and waited for someone to arrive.

Two doors whispered open in virtual stereo: the bathing light of the corridor, and its eternal daylight settings, came with a satin-sheened spherical automaton. It hovered by anti-gravity means with a vague ripple under it much like heat vapor. The device chirped and presented in blue LEDs a smile, "I am Dot Epsilon. I am here to assemble and furnish living quarters for Peters, Josh, Lieutenant Junior Grade. My facial analysis suggests this is you. Is this correct?"

Josh nodded. "That is me. Does this mean you know which bed is supposed to be mine?"

The Dots glowing LED face did not falter. "You are assigned to berth three."

The other door that hissed open was dark and came with what was possibly the lankiest, skinniest stick bug of a Human being. He wore black boxer briefs with blue piping that in now way possibly covered the extensive length of two skinny thighs, calves and large bare feet. He was pale and his build suggested he was probably from a lighter gravity world. His arms, too, were long and swaying- at least until they crossed loosely and relaxed across his skinny chest. His hair was a mass of curls, cowlicks and bedhead, very dark. His eyes suggested he was a Betazoid, though they looked bleary with sleep. And he yawned, tugging on his t-shirt marked in white lettering with the word, "SOJO."

Noah Balsam smiled as agreeably as he could for the early hour. He'd only gotten off shift around midnight and fallen asleep by 0100. His eyes settled first on Dot Epsilon and then the stranger. The doors to the corridor parted again and a second Dot emerged- this time with an anti-grav sled with the rest of Peters' goods. "Um. M-morning?" Noah gurgled out to the stranger. His skinniness swayed into motion and he proceeded to the replicator past Peters. Noah wafted of a hint of sweat and the more nuanced hints of a body being in bed and probably needing a shower in the next hour or two. "Um. Coffee, Efrosian Northern Blend. Sweet and strong. Iced."

"I'm Josh Peters, I've been assigned to these quarters. Which bed is available. If you know."

Noah was about to speak when a new voice entered the room. He knew its owner and so he delayed a moment for the amiable and sociable voice to do what came naturally.

"Oh, me too please, Noah. That sounds like heaven." The new voice, arriving on the heels of yet another whooshing of doors, was feminine and with it came the tan skinned and curvy figure of a woman in nearly matching attire. A small gold disc was the only part of her appearance that marked her as not human, but in fact Risian to those who would recognize the ja'risia mark those native to the pleasure planet wore. Like Noah, her t-shirt was black with SOJO emblazoned across the chest and like Noah she, too, tugged at hers, though for an apparently different reason as the fitted shirt had decided that it preferred the hem to sit at her waistline rather than down over her hips. She mumbled something annoyed to the shirt as she wrestled it back to the correct position and stepped out of the doorframe of the bedroom closest to the bathroom.

"Make it two," Noah addressed the computer. He reached around and tugged on his boxer brief leg to stop it bunching on him.

Though she'd addressed the lanky stick-bug she made a bee-line for Peters, sticking her hand out for him to shake. "Nice to meet you Josh," she said with a grin. "Pretty sure you're in the far room." She pointed to the door furthest from the bathroom. She was, in fact, entirely sure that he was in Noah's room considering that she and Sheldon occupied the other, but sleep and a need for coffee, not to mention social convention had her adding the pretty sure to the sentence. Before the other man could move in that direction, though, she added, "Please don't eat him," and then tilted her head toward the tall thin man at the replicator with a wink and a grin.

Josh shook the offered hand. "Very nice to meet you as well." He looked at the far door, then turned back to her. "I guess that isn't your room as well, is it?" He gave me a big smile.

"My uh last r-roommate wanted to do that," Noah added. He approached Irynya and held out the clear coffee mug with the moniker of USS Sojourner NCC-85748 frosted around its circumference. Once Irynya took it, Noah stepped back. "Noah Balsam. I-I'm in berth four." He twisted toward his door in time to see the Dots entering their shared room, presumably to start replicating and materializing the new member's bed and linens.

Josh saw the Dots entering the room which Noah just said was his room. "I guess I'm rooming with you, Noah." Then he turned to Irynya. "I hope I won't disturb any of you. I get up at 0500 and head to the gym for an hour, exercising. Then I come back and shower." Josh looked at Irynya, then looked at Noah. Then back at Irynya. Then thought to himself, Why is a beautiful woman with THAT guy?

Noah watched the exchange and sipped his morning coffee, his Betazoid black eyes moving from Josh to Irynya and back again during their quick exchange. "The Dots will uh, get your part sorted out," he said. "It'll only take them about half an hour. "They never took out Margarar's desk and wardrobe. And I never used it so... they're yours now." he trailed off. But Noah sensed that his new roommate was far more focused on their resident Risian than other details. His eyebrows perked, wondering a moment if any of her leavings were still in there. Were Dots that thorough? Probably.

Noah smiled at Irynya and brushed by her, patting her shoulder, "I'll go wake up Shelly." He said. He hovered a second next to her.

As it turned out, there was no need. The doors to the living quarters whooshed open once more, the last of the roommates entering with a stifled yawn. 'Shelly' -- as his close friends called him -- was hesitant with his steps and his expression was a mix of curiosity and anxiety. He scanned the room quickly, taking in the sight of Josh, the new roommate they'd all gotten notice would be joining them. Sheldon swallowed hard, feeling a knot of tension in his stomach. Meeting new people always made him nervous, and after their last roommate had turned out to be a nightmare, he couldn’t help but worry that Josh might be the same. His eyes darted to Irynya and Noah for reassurance before he forced himself to step forward.

As he did so, Sheldon looked groggy and a bit disheveled, having just woken up. He was clad in a blue bathrobe that revealed a glimpse of his chest and legs, both dusted with hair. On his feet were his whimsical unicorn slippers — plush and white with unicorn heads at the front, complete with rainbow-swirled horns. The cheeks of the unicorns lit up with dancing rainbow lights as he walked, adding an unexpected touch of whimsy to his tired appearance. As he moved further into the room, he felt the slight softness of the carpet beneath his feet, though it was mostly firm. His slippers, however, made standing there more comfortable. He briefly glanced at the large window showing the expanse of space outside, the sight of the rainbow-smudged star-lines indicating that the Sojourner had leapt back to warp after receiving Josh's shuttle.

Whether Risian's leaned heavily into creating welcoming environments or not, Irynya was glad for the brush by from Noah, reminding her he was nearby. And she was equally glad to hear the whoosh of the doors to her shared berth with Sheldon as the taller engineer emerged. Though she hadn't yet put her finger on the specifics, she was fairly sure that Josh was taking their measure and that he'd centered on her. The why of that certainly remained to be seen nor was it the first time she had experienced this kind of focus, but what it meant for her and this new roommate arrangement could go a couple different ways.

"I'm sure your schedule will be just fine," she commented, not focusing too heavily on the timings. She had to wonder if Peters came from a larger ship where rotations were more standardized. This week alone she'd worked Alpha, Beta, and Delta shifts depending on the needs of the small team of flight controllers. Of course her team was small to begin with and missing their chief so that kind of extra flexibility was to be expected. "We all work a range of times so you're experiencing a rather unusual meeting of the proverbial minds."

“Hi everyone,” Sheldon managed to say, though his voice wavered slightly. Feeling pressure to introduce himself first -- figuring the others had already done the same -- he approached Josh, feeling sweat start to gather on his palms. Extending a somewhat trembling hand, he introduced himself, trying to keep his voice steady. “I’m Sheldon Parsons. Junior engineer. It’s nice to meet you, Josh.” He shifted awkwardly on his unicorn-bedecked feet, unsure of what to do next, his mind racing with thoughts of how this new living arrangement might turn out. His eyes wandered to the replicator, debating what kind of morning drink might help steady his nerves.

Josh shook his hand. "Happy to meet you. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better."

Irynya, shifted over a few inches to bump Sheldon with her shoulder offering him an encouraging grin.

"Coffee, Shelly?" Noah asked, pointing one long and hyper-mobile arm back at the replicator. Noah got it- meeting new people was hard. Unless the possibility of a geek out or talking engineer shop seemed in the cards, but their new arrival didn't seem like the engineering type. In Noah's experience, officers who mentioned going to the gym in the first five minutes of conversation were probably Security. Or maybe Flight Control.

Noah locked his dark eyes on Sheldon, ready to move again to the replicator. He mouthed 'coffee' and perked his eyebrows with a thumb point.

Watching the exchange, Irynya sipped her own coffee. "Ask him for one of these," she said with a grin. "It's delicious." Turning back to Josh she resumed her welcome wagon duties, offering him a level smile over her coffee cup. "So what department are you in?"

Sheldon had offered a smile back to Josh, though it was awkward and not exactly what you'd call "winning." He just wasn't good at meeting new people outside of actual on-duty situations -- where the work helped him get past his awkwardness -- and his face made it plain that he struggled. As Noah suggested replicating coffee, though, the young engineer nodded emphatically. Stepping away would offer a chance to busy himself with ordering something and chat a little with Noah -- talking to his brother-in-geekdom would help soothe his nerves a bit while the first few sips of caffeine made his morning brain a bit more social-friendly. With a nod, Sheldon led the way across the room, an ear kept out for the conversation still in progress.

"I'm the assistant security chief, but I would be happy to be in any department you want me to be in." He smiled back at her. He started to wonder if she was this happy to all the men she met.

So it was going to go that way. The Risian woman's reply was almost instantaneous. Brow furrowing her smile dropped. "Well, I'm the Acting Chief Flight Controller and I am pretty sure that's not how crew assignments work," she said. "Maybe clarify for me what you meant?" Though her gaze was level, it now held a patient expectation as if she was merely waiting for the newcomer to explain a change in the weather and not a very obvious flirtation.

Up until now, Noah had been amiable even though he'd almost immediately realized he was, at best, an afterthought to their new roommate's attention. Which was awkward since they were about to share a room. But he went briefly slack jawed when Peters so brazenly... hit on the Flight Controller. Noah circled back from the replicator to Irynya's side and a step behind. He scratched his brow, his arms folded.

"Um. Yuh-yellow alert?" He said with a furtive glance at the new Assistant Security Chief. "Recommend immediate c-course change, Sir," he murmured. Noah's too-wide mouth closed into a firm line. He was unimposing as it was, doubly so just standing there in his t-shirt and underwear. He hoped his gut feeling was right. It was unusual to hit on a superior officer and a new roommate, right?

He looked at Noah. "First of all, only the captain can decide on a course of action. Yes, the other officers on the bridge can make recommendations to the captain for his consideration." Then he turned his gaze back to Irynya. "And yes, that was an attempt at flirtation. How did I do?" Josh smiled at her.

Sheldon had been following the conversation from the replicator, noting that Noah had left his side to return to Iry. Picking up the cold brew he'd ordered -- an infusion of coffee with chocolate and macadamia nut flavors -- he turned and arrived back at the discussion just as Josh confirmed his flirtation and asked for feedback. Though Josh had directed the ask at Iry, it was Shelly who replied first, speaking across the raised lip of his glass, his words rippling the surface of his iced coffee as he spoke. It seemed that poor behavior directed at his closest friend was just what the engineer needed to find his backbone. Whereas before Sheldon seemed so timid and awkward with Josh, it was with a steady and only slightly-nasally tone that he replied now, abject and unfiltered sarcasm coloring his words.

"Well, not very well I'd say," Sheldon said matter-of-factly, taking a sip of his beverage and then shaking his head. "You met her five seconds ago and," the octave of his voice rose by a pitch, "you're going to be sharing these quarters with her. Is flirting really the right move here?" he wondered, not actually leaving a pause for an answer. "I'm going to say no. And even if it were, the whole 'What do you want me to be, baby?' approach is kind of sleazy. Which, if you knew anything at all about Iry," the engineer took another sip before shrugging, "you'd know that wouldn't work at all. But beyond that," his unicorn slippers sparkled their twinkly little lights as Sheldon moved to set his coffee down on a side table, "would that kind of line work on anyone? Also, just to throw this out there...she could totally take you to the XO for that kind of move. Is an immediate two week shuttle ride back to Pathfinder your goal here? Just curious."

Noah followed up on that. He raised his chin and blinked, speaking very clearly. "Computer. Recognize Balsam, Noah H. Ensign, Systems Specialist," he paused for its chirp and then continued, "Activate speech transcription mode, legal standard. Track the voice-identities, medical data and movements of all present on grids D-3 through E3 of Room 4-13." He blinked and added, "Additional. Search passive computer request monitoring subroutines. Include timestamps at minus two minutes from present." Noah looked at Peters. "Authorization Balsam Iota 71 Ampersand. Enable."

Noah folded his arms tighter across his chest. "Your move." He stiffened his lips in a line, briefly remembering his cat and mouse of chess with the LMH. But this seemed so much more serious, "Roomie." Noah shivered at his lower spine, his inward thoughts largely mirroring what Sheldon had expressed. He looked at Sheldon and gave him an affirming nod.

Iry had been about to respond to Peters when Sheldon spoke, but instead stayed quiet as he and Noah stepped up to her defense. It wasn’t that she couldn’t handle herself. Quite the contrary, and Noah and Sheldon both knew it. But in so many ways they’d become each other’s chosen family since coming aboard and she savored the safety of knowing they had her back. Rather than add to the mix she looked Peters in the eyes and tilted her head in a gesture that seemed to accentuate what her friends had already said.

Josh refused to play games with these two children. "First," Josh started, "I never said 'baby'. That would be an insult to the lady. You, on the other hand had no hesitation to saying 'baby', so you", he pointed, 'owe the lady an apology." Then he looked at Irynya. "If I had insulted or embarrassed you in any way, I apologize." Josh paused. "If I can find new quarters, I will ask for permission from command, so in the meantime, I am stuck here so let's make the most of it until I do get a new room." He started walking to his room, then turned and looked at Noah. "By accessing medical records, in spite that you are not assigned to the medical section, you have violated privacy rules, and could face a court-martial." He entered his room, wondering if and how Irynya could have feelings, beside friendship, for those two.

"You-you are free to interpret it that way, Sir. If you want to file a protest with the XO, I w-welcome that discussion." Noah said firmly. He knew he was in the right- there was a big difference between accessing medical records and asking the computer to monitor life signs for safety. As the doors closed to his now-shared room with the Lieutenant, Noah exhaled. His brows knit with genuine exhaustion. "Oh no." His eyes blinked, He ran a hand down his face and then looked at Sheldon and Irymya. His head craned up, "I can't believe I'm saying this..." He closed his eyes, "But I'd rather live with Margarar." Did he do something in a previous life to deserve difficult roommates? "Computer. Close transcription mode. Prepare report and forward to the office of the Executive Officer."

Where moments earlier Irynya had felt appreciation for the support of her two friends now she couldn't help the tendrils of guilt starting to work their way into her head. No, she wasn't thrilled by the interaction they'd just had, but Noah still had to share a room with Peters. The request to move rooms was one she knew, from prior experience, wouldn't go through. If it would then Margarar would have happily agreed to find another room. Maybe she should have just ignored his flirtation rather than engage further. Deep down she knew that wouldn't have solved anything, but she still wasn't thrilled with the outcome.

"I'm so sorry guys," she said quietly, chewing the inside of her cheek. "Thank you for standing up for me. I just wish that hadn't happened at all."

Noah's face was conflicted. "Di-did anything about that seem... more th-than strange to-" Noah began. But there was a strange chirp from the computer- a chime and then the distinct sound of an intruder alert.

"Warning. Anomalous mutagenic life form detected. Warning. Anomalous mutagenic life form detected." The computer intoned this with a serious lean of its normally medically calm voice.

Noah wrinkled his nose to look at the two of his friends. The doors to his bedroom hissed open and Josh Peters, in a hulking stance, somehow looking bigger, menaced out of the door. His- it's?- eyes were rippling crimson. A blood-like jelly substance was oozing from his nostrils, the corner of his lips, and from his fingernails.

"Uh? G-guys?!" Noah froze, his amygdala taking over. "Josh" rushed- almost oozed- towards him. Noah sensed a split second voice in his head along with a rounded sound that snapped him out of his freeze- kind of. Run. Noah pivoted at the presence of Aya's encouragement but the thing that appeared as Josh lunged. Jelly-like tentacles lanced out from what had been Josh's fingers. They wrapped around Noah's neck and torso and began to arch him back.

"Trouble... die.... feed...." Josh gurgled in a very strange guttural-metallic tone.

Sheldon had looked up as the doors swished back open: perhaps Josh had thought of something else deriding to say? But when the man-thing that had looked so perfectly human melted itself into whatever the hell it'd just become, the engineer let out a squeaky scream. "Security!" he yelled with a bleat, reaching for the glass of cold brew he'd set on the table moments prior. It went flying through the air at the monster then, though sadly Shelly's aim was panicked and off, meaning the glass did not make contact with "Josh." Instead if broke against the bulkhead, rivulets of mocha-flavored coffee running down the wall.

"Security!" Sheldon called again, knowing the computer was summoning someone in the background even as he bent down to remove his unicorn slippers from his feet. First one then two were chucked at the beast as it grabbed Noah, bouncing off slimy tentacles having obviously done no damage. The move did, however, earn him his own set of tentacles, which now lashed across the space between them. They grabbed the flailing engineer -- making him look rather "C3-PO-ish," as Ensign Mulhern had once commented about Sheldon's danger responses -- and started pulling him towards the fray with Noah.

"SECUR--unf," Shelly's follow up yell was cut short, one of the tentacles grabbing a thrown slipper and smothering it against his nose and mouth. He felt himself rising into the air as the tentacles around his waist and neck lifted him from the floor.

"Holy Shit!" The exclamation was, at best, a gut reaction as Irynya darted back from the tentacles, somehow, miraculously clear of them. Perhaps it wanted her intact? If she hadn't already been surging with the adrenaline of fight or flight she might have rushed to the bathroom to vomit. Instead, she backed up as quickly as she could without turning her back on the creature. Once against the wall she eyed her bedroom door quickly even as the creature snatched Sheldon, silencing him with a slipper. Her heart sank. She had to move. Do something. Anything. She couldn't let this thing hurt them... kill them... Unbidden frustrated tears sparked at the corner of her eyes and she did the only thing that her brain could think to do. She bolted for her bedroom door, hoping against hope that the creature wouldn't notice, so she could use the spare seconds she'd been afforded to grab her phaser.

A strange, almost scarecrow jaggedness of a smile exaggerated over the post-face of Josh Peters. He twisted one hand and the tentacles that had seized the Lanky Noah began to invade his mouth and nose holes. Noah started to flail and gag as, like Sheldon, he was lifted until he was tiptoed. "Child.... ren.... wasssste time" the jagged mouth gasped more like a tearing tin sound than a real voice. "Meat... bags...." His eyes and the jelly tentacles extruded grew more octarine in hue. swiveled to the movement of the escaping Irynya bound for her phaser. He- it-started to sweat purplish goo through his uniform jacket; or perhaps it no longer cared to hold the pretense of clothing.

Ensign Tamblem Dravor tugged at his uniform as he headed for Sheldon's quarters. As usual, the Trill had awoken early to hit the ship's gym before going on duty, though he had finished his set early so he could grab a shower and check in on Shelly before their duty shifts started. A smirk formed as he thought about how they had changed since Risa. His thoughts were snatched back to reality by a klaxon, "Computer, location of intruder alert?" Tamblem barked, his phaser palmed before the words had been formed.

Sheldon's scream filtered over his comm, drowning out the computer's response. The communication system automatically routed the call for security to the nearest security personnel, the chief, and the bridge. "Shelly!" Tamblem exclaimed as he burst into a run.

He didn't need the computer to repeat the location; only a few meters away, he galloped through the doors, which opened automatically thanks to his frequent visits, and pointed his phaser at whatever the jellied tentacle mass was that appeared to be wearing or absorbing a Starfleet uniform. For half a heartbeat, he hesitated; after all, it wasn't that long ago he had discharged his phaser in perhaps not the best way a Starfleet officer should, but depressed the firing stud of the phaser set to max stun. A crimson beam of light sliced across the room, impacting what would have been the torso area of a humanoid.

For a moment the jellied mass of disintegrating officer seemed to freeze and then the force of the stun seemed to flow through it making the whole creature wobble like gelatin that had been jostled by accident. It's tentacles, blessedly, had paused their assault on Sheldon and Noah's various orfices, but did not withdraw, instead seeming to slacken as if the creature was, at least temporarily immobilized.

It was at that moment that Irynya exited her own room, phaser drawn, sleep shirt rising uncomfortably up to her waist giving her the ridiculous appearance of a party girl on summer break rather than a force to be reckoned with. She slid into the room and had nearly slammed down her own firing stud when she spotted Dravor and took in the scene.

Panic welled up as she realized that both of her friends' airways were being blocked or at least severely restricted and she yelped. "Help Shelly!" She was breathing hard, eyes wide as she moved for Noah who had been closer to her side of the room. "Before this thing recovers." And then she was a flurry of motion, reaching Noah and latching onto the tentacle that had been trying to invade his mouth. She tugged, panic again rolling through her even as she tried to keep her Starfleet disaster training at the forefront.

"No no no no no no no," she muttered, all of her worrying and determination pouring into the words.

Emitting a strange tearing-tin screech, the tentacle that Irynya and Noah had been contending with, withdrew. Noah- his nose bloodied from both nostrils, had bitten down on the tentacles. The tentacles popped off Noah's neck and torso, leaving strange daisy-chains of hickey-like bruises in equidistant points where he'd been lashed. Some bled with the skin being torn, but the overall visage was something like an octopus attack.

Noah collapsed with a stagger, his weight combined with the creature's instinctive "flinch" threw him against the bulkhead. Noah bashed his shoulder and head into the bulkhead. Wild-eyed and bloodied, the stick bug ensign pushed fearfully against the wall, coughing, panting and gagging at the horrible bile-like bitter taste in his nose and throat. "Com-p.-!" He tried before he needed to gasp. And cough. "Com... Ac... Cont-" More hacking coughing.

"You......... will.................." The quivering mass of barely humanoid, lumpen tentacles swiveled what was once its head toward Dravor and craned out a strangely thick neck before manifest a grossly exaggerated, gasping, pale facsimile of Dravor's face, "... Dooo!" Its last word was eerily like Dravor's voice, its pitch based on how Tamblem had shouted Sheldon's name before. It extruded pseudopods at the clear and present danger that was the security officer. Its jibbering, quivering approximation of Dravor's face unhinged and opened like it intended to swallow him.

As the tentacles pulled free of Noah, thrashing him back against the bulkhead, Irynya was tossed to the floor, a writhing tentacle flopping wetly over her waist make her yelp. It was heavy and seemed to automatically latch at her midriff as if unconsciously holding her in place. "Someone shoot it," she yelled as it morphed into a distressing mockery of Dravor.

A tumorous blob in the former-Peters' side puckered and mounded into a slimy fake of the basics of Irynya's facial shapes. It tilted menacingly at her and extruded skinny tentacles, "Hssshhh... then nexxxxt..." Its new mouth-voice warbled discordant between Dravor's and the Risian's voice.

Jolted by Iry's order, Dravor slipped his weapon into his holster and ripped at the tentacle, pushing on Sheldon's mouth. The Trill's biceps flexed as he pulled with all his might, and with a loud throaty growl, the tentacle finally relented under his effort, but there was no time to check on Shelly as he heard a grotesque facsimile of his own voice and ducked as the unicorn slipper covered tentacle he had just removed from the Engineer's mouth made a move for him. Tamblem dove and flipped along the floor, bouncing back to his feet, phaser back in hand, "Go back to whatever hell spawned you," he barked as his phaser let loose another crimson beam, this time set to max power, burning a hole, clean through the entity before he ceased firing.

Scrambling fruitlessly away from the incoming gelatinous mask. Irynya felt her heart thundering in her chest. She had the ominous sense that if that mask made it over her face she was done for. Panic, now almost a constant companion, threatened to overwhelm her ability to think as she fought the hold of the... thing... She barely registered the sound of Dravor's phaser discharge followed by the whoosh of the door and another blast.

The second blast loosed had been set to maximum stun and had originated not from Dravor, but from Kestrel who now stood silhouetted in the doorway. Like the first time the shot seemed to flow through the creature, but this time it had a gaping hole and a garbled screech of anger and pain responded. Kestrel fired again.

Sheldon, meanwhile, had been utterly beset by the creature. Wrapped up in its appendages, he was held a few feet aloft, both feet -- one bare with hot pink toenails, the other still stuffed deep inside a unicorn -- half-dangling, half-flailing as Dravor wrestled with the tentacle that was trying to stuff itself down his throat. Shelly's breath came in short, panicked gasps, and his vision blurred with the strain as he watched the Trill attempt to wrangle the pseudopod away from his face. The sickly sweet smell of the creature's ooze filled his nostrils but the harder Dravor muscled the tentacle, the more Sheldon's eyes somehow both widened and focused on the man.

For a surreal moment, it was as if time itself slowed down. Dravor's biceps bulged impressively under his uniform as he pulled at the tentacle holding Sheldon. The universe -- or perhaps just the edge of unconsciousness playing tricks with his perceptions -- cast the Trill in a golden, hazy light, his every muscle rippling in slow motion with the heroic effort of finally pulling that tentacle away so he could breathe. It was like watching Hercules himself wrestle a gryphon, only Dravor wasn't bare chested and in sandals. Sheldon’s eyes were supernovas of admiration as he regarded Dravor, a thin line of drool that was totally from the creature and not himself (surely?) running down the side of his mouth. It might have been cute if it weren't for the trails of blood also dripping from the corners of lips, cheeks ripped from the force of the tentacle.

Dravor was now busy phasering -- as was, apparently, Kestrel ??? -- but the creature didn't seem keen to let Sheldon go, despite the blasts it had just received. The wounds it suffered, though, did seem to lessen the grip he was being held with at least. Maybe it was enough? Summoning all his strength, Sheldon twisted his body and pushed outwards with his arms. The tentacle around his waist loosened just enough for him to pull free and he dropped to the floor, landing heavily on his hands and knees. Gasping for air, Sheldon looked up, eyes wide with fear and determination.

While Dravor, Kestrel, and the others were locked in their engagement with the creature, Shelly ran back to the replicator and furiously stabbed at its controls. "C'mon, c'mon..." he urged emphatically, trying to will the particles of matter synthesis to go faster as they -- piece by piece given its size -- materialized what he'd called up. "Computer, disable fire suppression," he whispered as he waited for the final component to finish, then snatched it up and swiftly assembled the pieces of his creation en route towards the creature.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!" Sheldon bleated as he bled, his once perfectly coifed hair now a matter of wet ooze and liquid curls. With an emphatic smack of a button, the handle in Sheldon's hands -- a canister of fuel screwed into its base -- let loose a tremendous stream of red-orange flames. While the creature's tentacles flared out to grab and strike at the others, it was its trunk that Shelly focused the fire stream on, watching the beast's slimy skin begin to bubble and pop under the extreme heat.

The shriek of the beast went from hissing menaces to something so shrill, so... bestial.... as if it was peeling away a veneer of something sapient in order to save itself. Its skin, blackening and at the same time looking like burned plastic, began to undulate, throwing tentacles and even strange barb-like spines. One impacted into the bulkhead near Kestrel's breast. Another whizzed by Sheldon's ear.

The creature, long having abandoned a Peters' look or a Dravor or Irynya facsimile, began to stretch for the ceiling. It unleashed another tearing, resonant squawking scream. It lashed out again with tentacles and strange, pinkish-jelly like barbs that resembled harpoon heads. But it latched onto the ceiling and was making for an escape.

Noah, who'd gagged and coughed around the taste of his own blood and the bile of the creature, gasped. He saw the post-Peters lurching for the life support access. "Computer!" He called with eyes squinted, "Level one-" cough- "Containment field in 4-13's luh-life support vents." Noah rolled into a cough. The creature roared and squealed again as the rippling snow of the force field chafed against the dis-incorporating body. The vengeful thing puckered its blistering skin and emitted a last round of strange, glassy barbs. Noah felt one- no, two- graze the inside of his leg- one near his knee and the other mid-thigh.

The creature dropped back down to the floor, large portions of it beginning to turn to pebbly black, plastic-like cinders as its once-chest began to swell with a strange collection of glowing energy and roiling gel. With a final shudder of its lashing tentacles, its chest exploded.

Still on the floor, barely a foot or two away from where the creature's tentacle had been holding her down, Irynya turned sideways and gagged. In its panic the... thing... had let go of her, but only at the very last and as it had done so suction-cup shaped blisters had formed on her skin of her abdomen, bleeding around the edges where the tentacle had ripped away and swelling into angry red welts filled with fluid. She gasped at the tearing pain of it and in doing so had been open mouthed when the thing had finally exploded. Spitting she tried to clear her mouth of the pustulant goo without vomiting in the process.

The face mask, for there was really no other word for it, had been so close. Even now, when there was simply no form left to the thing, the goo on her face made it feel hard to breathe, as if she were trapped. She spit again and then reached up to brush goop from her face, almost clawing it away in a panic to get her face clear. She moaned slightly at the feeling. It was taking too long. She wouldn't be able to get it off. Maybe it would reform... close the mask finally around her face... her head... She felt her breathing shift from gasps of exertion to the panic-driven difficulty to draw a breath and redoubled her efforts to remove the goo only stopping when she felt her own fingernails drag painfully across her cheeks and forehead.

And then Kestrel was squatting down next to her. "You're ok," the Argelian said and somehow, despite the crisis and the fact that the other woman was covered in just as much goo, she seemed calm. "Give me your hands," she said, pulling them away from the Risian's face and holding them tightly. "You're ok."

Goo and air stung her face and Irynya realized, mortified, that there were small scratches on her cheek and forehead. She looked at Kestrel and then at her held hands, and finally, mortifyingly, started to cry.

As the creature's chest exploded, sending goo and barbs flying, Dravor felt a sharp sting in his side but didn't have time to process it. His eyes locked onto Sheldon, who was crumpled on the floor with two barbs lodged in his shoulder and thigh. Heart pounding with adrenaline, Dravor sprinted to his side, his own pain forgotten.

"Shelly! Stay with me," he urged, dropping to his knees beside Sheldon. He quickly assessed the wounds, his hands trembling as he reached for his combadge. "Dravor to Emergency Response Team! Medical emergency in Ensign Parson's quarters! We have multiple injuries, repeat, multiple injuries!" He glanced around, seeing the aftermath of the creature's attack and the wounded crew members.

Dravor's voice softened as he focused on Sheldon, his hand gently brushing the hair away from the young engineer's forehead. "You're going to be fine, Shelly. Help is on the way. Just hold on for me, okay?"

A Post By:

Lieutenant JG Irynya
Acting Chief Flight Controller

Lieutenant JG Kestrel
Security Officer

Ensign Noah Balsam
Systems Specialist

Ensign Tamblem Dravor
Security Officer

Ensign Sheldon Parsons
Engineer

and

The Late Lieutenant JG Josh Peters
(a.k.a. a Mimetic Life Form, Incognito)
Assistant Security Chief