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You are here: Home --> Forum Home --> Recent posts by Duncan74
Topic: Star Trek: the Cassius Incident
Subject: The walk to Sickbay


Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Lt. Jesse Graham’s Quarters and en route to Sickbay – 0335 to 0340


As the counselor entered his quarters, part of Jesse cringed at the thought of making himself vulnerable to her ministrations; pride demanded that this raw pain be kept hidden from others. Yet another part of him sighed with relief at the thought of unburdening himself of the pain that he thought he had already dealt with. He didn’t want to be broken anymore, and that part of him desperately hoped that she could help.

Her smile was a ray of sunshine in his storm-tossed world as she greeted him. Embarrassment wound through him as she stepped over to where he had left the bottle of Jack and picked it up. He could only give a shy grin and a nod when she suggested that he had had enough and offered to keep the bottle.

When she stepped to the door and offered to walk him to Sickbay, Jesse’s hand throbbed in sympathy and he readily rose to walk with her.

Jesse was mostly silent as they walked and Serene spoke of recognizing that his tortured past contributed to his distress on the bridge during the simulation. He was inwardly pleased that she seemed to understand, that maybe she could help him beat back the demons of Wolf 359. He had thought that he had put the worst of the trauma behind him, that he had put the dead to rest, but today’s performance seemed ample evidence that he had not. He realized that this must be dealt with, even as he realized he couldn’t do it alone. Complacency in this would mean a risk of putting others in harm’s way, and he silently vowed that he would never let that happen.

As they reached Sickbay, Serene spoke of getting his hand fixed up and relaxing until the meeting with the captain.

““Think you can do that?” she asked, “If so, and you can agree to see me later today after the briefing in my office. I think we can forget this,” she said raising the bottle a bit for emphasis, “and none of this needs to go on your record. I won’t have to go to the Captain to discuss your behavior and life will be simpler for both of us.”

“So, I will leave you here then,” she said waiting for his response.

Jesse knew that Serene was genuinely concerned, and he was touched and grateful that there were those special souls who had a desire to help their fellow beings. “Much obliged, Serene. You hit the nail on the head.” His voice broke a bit as he acknowledged the pain still tearing at him. “ I’ve got some Texas-sized demons still bitin’ at my heels. I thought they were dead, but I guess they were just nappin’. You’ve got my word, I’ll see you later today.” Further words failed him, and he could barely look her in the eye and could only say simply “Please…help me.”

She gave him a reassuring smile in farewell, and walked away as he entered Sickbay.

Moments later, his hand good as new, Jesse went back to his quarters, fell into bed, and hoped the demons would stay away…just for a little while.


Posted on 2012-11-17 at 16:01:44.
Edited on 2012-11-17 at 16:02:06 by Duncan74

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Sorry for delay...again.


Hey all. I've been coerced into bringing some work home, i.e. self-teaching some new machining software for work. 'Tis sucking up my free time, as I am expected to be up to speed on it asap. Will hopefully get a post up on my time this weekend. I ain't lettin' 'em suck up all my free time, dangit.

Posted on 2012-11-15 at 03:03:51.

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Nice post, Teller


I liked it a lot. I agree that, with your post, we can wrap this up until after the meeting. I will post appropriate responses as I have time today, and we can find a good spot to get back to it later in the game.

Posted on 2012-11-12 at 13:20:06.

Topic: Star Trek: the Cassius Incident
Subject: Jesse's Quarters


(OOC: This is the first part of a whole exchange that Aryn and I will build and post later, but I wanted to go ahead and toss this up to kind of set the stage for our conversation.)

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Lt. Jesse Graham’s Quarters – 0335


Jesse’s screams finally faded into silence. His own ragged breathing roared in his ears, just as his ragged thoughts roared through his mind. He couldn’t form a coherent thought amidst all the chaos in his head. Dead…all dead…but I SAW them!...I SAW their bodies floating in space! Captain Craddock…where’re Cap’n Craddock’s legs? His wife deserves a whole body to bury…wait, there’s one of his legs over there…no, that’s MY leg…are those his legs floating past the viewscreen? No, those aren’t really there…am I really here?...Is anything real?...

His churning, tormented ramblings of thought were sharply interrupted by the door chime.

=/\=“Lt. Graham?” the speaker announced, “it is Counselor Markus… Serene. May I come in?”=/\=

Damnation! Jesse thought angrily. I don’t need any damn headshrinker tellin’ me---“ And then he thought about it and mentally slapped himself upside the head. Yer comin’ apart, hoss. Yer brains’re mush right now, and you’ve got th’ hounds a’ Hell barkin’ up yer backtrail. You DO need her right now, ya damned idjit. Somebody’s gotta break you outta this jail, or yer gonna get yerself or somebody else killed.

“Just a second!” Jesse called. He shakily rose to his feet, now feeling the Jack Daniels he had just chugged like a madman, tried to straighten his rumpled, slept-in uniform, and stumbled toward the sofa. He looked down at the bloody shirt wrapped around his hand, wincing as the glass still embedded in his flesh stung and throbbed. Gotta get to Sickbay soon.

“Come in,” he called. The door hissed open and the counselor entered his quarters. “Howdy, Miz Markus,” he said with a shaky grin as he sank onto the cushion. “Guess we got a lot to talk about.”

Posted on 2012-11-12 at 04:54:48.

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: If it's not one thing...


...it's ten. Internet has been down; back up and running now. Teller, I am about to write you an exchange right now, so we can get that going. Sorry I keep gettin' delayed.

UPDATE: Have started PM's with Aryn. Will compile them as one public post when we're done.

Posted on 2012-11-11 at 22:38:16.
Edited on 2012-11-11 at 23:23:46 by Duncan74

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Back on the air


Hey all. I'm home; yay and all. About to get a shower and get caught up on e-mails and other business, then will try to get a post up. This is my first stop, haven't read the game thread or anything yet, so will do that in a bit. Teller, I will get something to you in a PM as well.

Good to be home, good to be back at the Inn.

Posted on 2012-11-05 at 21:22:26.

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Medical poopity


Hey all. The nosebleed was a symptom of something worse. Looks as though I will be in the hospital for at least a couple of days. Once I'm settled I will get hold of a laptop or use my phone to get back in the swing.

Not to worry, it's nothing overly serious, just somethings that needs must be taken care of by a hospital stay.

Love to all.

Posted on 2012-11-02 at 20:06:21.
Edited on 2012-11-02 at 20:06:36 by Duncan74

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Delays


Hoping to get a post up today, but am dealing with a nosebleed that started last night and hasn't stopped yet. Will post and work on PM exchange with Aryn as soon as I can aim my head at monitor for more than 30 secs at a time.

Posted on 2012-11-02 at 14:01:52.

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Change of plan


Minor change of plan with Jesse and Serene's exchange. Aryn and I will build the whole exchange through PMs, then put it up as one post, so as not to unnecessarily clog up the game thread. So we are good with carrying on from the meeting onward, and we can do the exchange as a backpost. Probably not a whole lot going to be said before the meeting anyway, but we shall see how our PMs develop.

Posted on 2012-11-01 at 20:20:40.

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Will be posting pre-meeting


I am going to post something for Jesse that takes place before the meeting. If you need to put a meeting post up before I get it done, t_catt, then feel free to do so. If you need to mention who is there when you post, then count Jesse as being there. He's going to be at that meeting, even if he has to try to b.s. his way around Serene, because his paranoia is going to lead him to believe that the simulation was to prepare the crew for something, and he will believe that the meeting will reveal that. As Aryn said, backposting our exchange is fine with me if we need to.

With that said, in case of a blowup at the meeting that gets Jesse relieved of duty, I will be rp'ing an Ops NPC who replaces him, although I'm not sure which one yet, while at the same time posting for Jesse as he goes through his stuggle. So Ops is covered, either way.

Posted on 2012-10-31 at 22:21:07.
Edited on 2012-10-31 at 22:22:43 by Duncan74

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Thanks


'Preciate that, boss.

Posted on 2012-10-31 at 00:46:59.

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Let the crazy out...


Ok, Jesse's next post is up. Teller, definite toss for you there; ol' Jesse is having a bit of a come-apart. Feel free to expound on the look that passes between Jesse and Serene, and we can go from here. Kind of looking forward to this; haven't rp'd someone quite this disturbed before.

Posted on 2012-10-31 at 00:04:53.

Topic: Star Trek: the Cassius Incident
Subject: Jesse comes apart


Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Bridge -0321


Jesse Graham had never been an evil or vicious man, but he now had bloody, uncontrolled rage throbbing in his head. First the wanton destruction at the Battle of Wolf 359, and now this. As he saw the bodies of his shipmates tumbling through the void, a bloody haze obscured his vision. I’ll find you, he raged. I’ll find ever’ last damn one of ya, and I’ll kill ya. I ain’t gonna rest ‘til ‘til I stomp yer heads into the trail dust. I’m gonna kill yer whole damn race! I’ll cut out yer heart and---

Jesse was pale and shaking with an uncontrollable rage; he knew his face had to be advertising his uncontrolled psychotic anger. Suddenly another hit rocked the ship, and Jesse’s readouts showed that the shields had failed completely. "Captain, direct hit! We've lost..."

Captain Blair cut his ops chief off. "Belay that, Lieutenant."

The Captain stood, then spoke in a measured tone. "Cancel red alert. Computer, cancel simulation."

=/\=Affirmative. Simulation cancelled.=/\= the computer responded. Instantly, the warnings ceased, the lights came back up to normal, and all instrument panels returned to nominal readouts. The viewscreen flashed for a moment, then reset to a slightly different display of nothing but empty space.

Jesse simply sat in silent shock as Blair announced the conclusion of the simulated attack. He vaguely caught Blair’s order for a morning staff meeting as the roaring in his ears slowly subsided. He shouted at himself in his own mind, I saw them! I SAW the bodies! They were REAL! even as his rational mind struggled to accept the fact that the past few minutes’ carnage had only been a simulation.

He struggled to keep his composure as his mind wailed Dear God, what’s happening to me?!

Fighting to keep it together, Jesse stood up on shaky legs and almost ran up the ramp to the turbolift. He saw the counselor staring at him as he passed, and avoided her eyes, suddenly afraid that she could see into his mind and soul and know the torment that was tearing him apart at that moment.

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Dicovery, Lt. Jesse Graham’s Quarters - 0330


Jesse bypassed Sickbay completely, having forgotten about his hand. As he half-stumbled, half-ran into his quarters, a nightmarish and chaotic stream of memories and images roared through his mind: the ceiling of the bridge collapsing on him on the Liberator at Wolf 359; seeing the horrible energy of Borg weapons fire obliterating the mortal shells of friends and crewmates; looking down to see his broken and mangled body as he was evac’d from the Liberator by a med team from the Enterprise; pulling his captain’s body from under the rubble on the bridge, finding that once the captain’s torso appeared from under the smoking pile, that’s where his body ended; awakening later to see cybernetic limbs being positioned close to his body, and then noting with horror the reason for it, his arm and leg simply…gone; and again, seeing corpses of his Discovery crewmates sucked into the void, seeing the faces of some, twisted in horror and surprise…but that wasn’t real, was it? But I SAW it…I don’t know what’s real…please help me…

Jesse snatched up the bottle of vintage Jack Daniels from the shelf by the bed. He turned it up and guzzled desperately, trying to wash away the chaos. He drank until he began to choke, coughing and sputtering the golden liquid.

He sank to his knees. And he started screaming.


Posted on 2012-10-30 at 23:58:31.
Edited on 2012-10-31 at 00:08:36 by Duncan74

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: More tomorrow


It hath been a long day, and I am starting to nod off sitting here at puter. Going to bed, will do my post tomorrow. Night all.

Posted on 2012-10-30 at 01:27:51.

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Wow


What a tweest! Hehe. Good stuff. Will get another post up after groceries and dinner-fixin.

Posted on 2012-10-29 at 21:35:12.

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Confirmation


Yup, Jesse is the only one that sees 'em. Nobody else does. Is confirmed.

Posted on 2012-10-29 at 10:37:23.

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Gotcha


I understand, but now I am getting the impression it might be a hallucination on Jesse's part. When t_catt said that no one else saw the bodies in his first post about it, I thought he was bringing it to our attention as kind of an unspoken suggestion that others should notice such things. But now I am thinking that I may have been wrong and that he really meant that no one else was seeing them; it seems to have been a directive, not a suggestion-hehe. Wouldn't be the first time I have been guilty of overthinking. Again, I am awaiting clarification. Not sure where our glorious leader is headed, and I love that. Hehe. Sensing some really good story ahead.

Posted on 2012-10-28 at 23:46:25.
Edited on 2012-10-28 at 23:54:20 by Duncan74

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Egads


Ok, I may have gained official Derp status.

I am now grasping that maybe Jesse is the only person who sees the bodies.

I may have been mistaken in asking for other folks' reactions. If so, my humblest apologies.

I am awaiting confirmation of my derpness from t_catt, and if this is the case I guess the other posts with reaction to the bodies may need to have it taken out. Again, I'm really sorry. Totally my fault.

Posted on 2012-10-28 at 21:43:57.
Edited on 2012-10-28 at 21:52:30 by Duncan74

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Marines


On a side note, if anyone has questions about Starfleet Marines, I will be happy to help. I'm a member of Starfleet International, and I hold the rank of Colonel in the Starfleet Marine Corps. The Marines have been heavily developed for those who like a more military flavor to their fan group activities. We have like a zillion manuals and it's very well-structured and well-organized. The Marine Strike Group that I command is a Mecha unit; we deploy Mechs into ground-based combat situations to bring peace through superior firepower...and giant frikkin' robots.

sfi-sfmc.org, if anyone wants to check it out.

Posted on 2012-10-27 at 17:39:56.
Edited on 2012-10-27 at 17:51:55 by Duncan74

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Bodies


Re-read the last paragraph of my most recent post for info on bodies. The bodies are ours, the people sucked out the hull breach before the emergency containment fields went up and the people caught outside its range of protection.

Also, according to info I was given, Life Support is on 11, not 24. Might be my mixup, though, I dunno.

Posted on 2012-10-27 at 16:16:03.
Edited on 2012-10-27 at 16:46:46 by Duncan74

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Graham


Jesse's next post up. Some possible soft tosses for Mac, sensor analysis peeps, and an attempt to stop the intruders with internal containment fields that can be addressed in t_catt's next post.

Actioneth packeded game here!

Posted on 2012-10-27 at 01:48:05.

Topic: Star Trek: the Cassius Incident
Subject: Busier'n a one-legged man in an ass-kickin' contest...


Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Bridge - 0319


Captain Blair issued orders for the evasive maneuver. Having served on starships for years, Jesse could feel the sluggishness of one of the impulse engines. His fears were confirmed when he brought up power readouts and saw that one of the engines was only putting out about a third of its intended power. A quick glance at the helmsman’s frustration with the sluggish engine further confirmed it. Suddenly, another hit violently rocked the ship. Jesse Graham let out an involuntary “Sumbitch!” as his injured and bleeding hand collided with the side of the Ops console. Damn, but that hurt worse than gettin’ horse-kicked! Jesse quickly righted himself and took stock of his areas of responsibility as orders and acknowledgements flew around the bridge. He took a second look at the strange sensor readings that had flooded the sensor bandwidth and then quickly disappeared. That ain’t possible, he thought. Klingon, Romulan, Borg, and who th’ hell knows what else there? He was sure his eyes were deceiving him until he heard MacTavish calling out the same information. He hoped fervently that the sensor analysis team would be able to make heads or tails of this. Jesse then began calling up status reports from around the ship---

=/\=WARNING! Hull breach detected on decks twenty and twenty-four.=/\=

Damn! Jesse instantly called up readouts for the affected areas. “Captain! The hull breach on Deck 20 was crew quarters, sir! Emergency containment fields are up, but…sir, we have fatalities! Transporter rooms are beaming out crewmen outside containment areas! Emergency med teams are responding!” He stared in horror as he took in the information on the other hull breach. “Captain, the other hull breach was an impulse engine! Fusion chambers are ruptured! Radiation spikes all over the area! Sir, I recommend we shut it down, NOW, or we may lose half the ship!”

Suddenly Jesse experienced an all-new fresh hell as he read the same thing Tac was seeing and Mac was calling out: intruders on Deck 11. The he saw where they were headed. As soon as Mac had announced the unauthorized presence, Jesse chimed in, “Captain, whoever they are, they’re headed directly for Life Support! Attempting to raise internal containment fields to stop them!”

(OOC: Lemme know if said attempt has any effect in next post, t_catt)

He was about to turn back to Blair for further instructions, when his eye caught a horrible sight. Just drifting into viewscreen range were the freezing corpses of the poor souls caught in the blast on Deck 20, tumbling helplessly through space. Remembering the same sights from the Battle of Wolf 359, Jesse shuddered, and his soul cried out in helpless rage as he even saw that some of them were still moving, flailing desperately as their bodies froze and death took them. His eyes took on a hellish glint as he vowed silently to himself ,

Whoever did this is gonna pay the hangman.


Posted on 2012-10-27 at 01:40:33.
Edited on 2012-10-27 at 01:42:59 by Duncan74

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: Redo here


Gonna be a bit longer than I thought; had a post almost ready to put up, then Eol posted his, and we are apparently chewing on the same brain nugget-hehe. Gotta amend mine so's I'm not repeatin' most of his.

Posted on 2012-10-26 at 22:33:43.

Topic: Star Trek: The Cassius Incident Q&A
Subject: First Post Up


Got Lt. Graham's first post up. Looking forward to this game! And now I have a 101-degree fever and no idea why. Going to be flumpy and lazy now.

Posted on 2012-10-24 at 22:48:57.

Topic: Star Trek: the Cassius Incident
Subject: Enter Jesse Graham


Stardate: 2368.07.08
Uss Discovery, Lt. Jesse Graham’s Quarters – 0312


It was the same nightmare. Jesse was back on the USS Liberator during the Battle of Wolf 359. The hellish memories replayed in his dream: seeing starship after starship wiped from existence by the Borg, seeing fellow Starfleet officers spinning through space after being thrown from their ships with no protection, their corpses bouncing off the hulls of other ships in the fray. Again, he felt the frustration and anger as he raced from station to station on the bridge, trying to get any of them to respond to commands. Again, he felt despair to his core as he dragged the captain’s lifeless body from under the pile of fiery rubble, knowing that it was too late but determined to make sure the man’s wife had something to bury. Again, he saw the thunderous explosion as a weapon blast hit the hull and felt the weightlessness of being thrown across the deck, and looking up in horror as the entire upper deck area collapsed on top of him, the blinding flash of pain, and--

Jesse awoke violently as he was thrown from his bunk to the deck. Hellfire and damnation, he thought, this one ain’t a dream, I’m there again, I’m dyin’!

As he shook off the fog of sleep and realized where he was, aboard the Discovery, he felt a sharp pain in his hand and looked down to see that he had crushed his empty shot glass with his hand when he landed next to the bunk. Thankful that he hadn’t overdone it before bed, he took stock: the hand was bleeding profusely and tiny bits of glass were embedded in it. Aw, hell, he thought, couldn’t even have been the fake one, now could it?

Having fallen asleep in his duty uniform, Jesse boosted himself to a standing position with his other hand, the cybernetic one, grabbed an undershirt lying nearby and, wrapping it quickly around his injured hand, ran for the bridge as the Red Alert klaxon began sounding.

Stardate: 2368.07.08
Uss Discovery, Bridge – 0318


Jesse ran out of the turbolift as soon as the doors hissed open onto the bridge, again using his cybernetic hand to massage his shoulder where he’d been thrown against the turbolift wall when the second impact occurred. He briefly chuckled inwardly as he considered how he looked: hair and thick handlebar moustache still frazzled from sleep, one hand wrapped in an undershirt with blood seeping through it, rubbing an injured shoulder…Reckon I ain’t the purtiest girl at the dance right now…

With well-honed instincts, Jesse took in his surroundings as he headed down the ramp to the Ops console: He exchanged a glance and a brief nod with Jack MacTavish, who seemed busy enough manning the Tac station and grumbling at Soileau. Jesse didn’t know Mac that well yet, other than by reputation, but they had shared a few shots of whiskey, and exchanged a modicum of conversation over said drinks and at department head meetings. Jesse knew without doubt that there was no one else he’d rather have at Tac in a fight than the tough Scotsman. Jesse took in the sight of Martin, looking a bit shaken, trotting past him back up the ramp. He saw Ames at Ops, delivering a report on the situation that was sounding way too vague for what a captain in combat wanted to hear. He’d have to speak to Ames about that later. And he took note of Captain Blair, the calm in the eye of the storm, taking in the reports directed at him from various stations and issuing orders in rapid succession.

Jesse smoothly slid into the Ops couch as Ames got up to make way for him. He hoped the captain’s stare of disapproval at his appearance didn’t bore a hole through the back of his head before he could make a report. His fingers danced across the console as he took in the situation, then began his report in rapid-fire fashion, sending out instructions, commands and taking control of needed ship’s systems.

“Damage reports from multiple locations, Captain. Damage control teams are responding. We’ve got Structural Integrity Field fluctuations on Decks 20 through 24. Initiating crew evacuations from crew quarters on Deck 20. Rerouting power to structural integrity on those decks. Force fields activated around impulse engine access on Deck 24. Multiple casualties; I have medical teams responding. We have crewmen on affected decks unaccounted for: search and rescue teams responding. Rerouting…Captain! Hull breach imminent on Deck 24, impulse engine access area! Emergency force field activated! Ops to Transporter Room 3, beam anyone on Deck 24 near impulse engine access to the cargo bay! NOW!”

As he turned in his seat to get further orders from Blair, Jesse couldn’t help thinking, We sure got us a turd in the punch bowl here…


Posted on 2012-10-24 at 22:34:39.
Edited on 2012-10-24 at 22:39:08 by Duncan74

 


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