| Author | Message | ||
     Lt. JG Maiko D'rall |
The cold morning dawn woke Maiko with a light drizzle and daylight barely making it through the thick clouds overhead. The fire had gone out while she slept leaving naught but a pile of cinders. For a moment, the little 8 year old girl was confused, but as she sat up and rubbed her eyes, she finally recalled last night. In the light, she could see her surroundings, not recognizing anything or even seeing any sign of civilization nearby. Gathering her meager belongings, she scattered the cinders and made her way cautiously up the rain-slickened pebble-strewn slope. If she found her way, she'd be home in time for lunch, her empty stomach growling its agreement. -=- Another bad idea, Maiko reflected while wandering the outskirts of Alexandria - both wandering on that day and deciding to come down to the surface in Xanadu. What prompted her continued hike on that day had not only been hunger but pride. If she had gotten home, she could have simply passed it off as staying at a friend's place for the night. The walking tour of Alexandria seemed like yet another bad idea that started in good intentions. Having stared at the city proper from Coronado's docked position had given her shivers the first time she had seen it; this time was no exeception. Was it the thought of the empty city, of the countless people who had lived here who no longer did? Perhaps just being in a place where the world curved up and not down? No, there was something else... the feel of the place? The fact that it happily moved on its own violation? The holographic program she had heard was rather reluctant to give out information the first time they were there yet was now being quite helpful? Her thoughts wandered again as she idly poked around inside a random building... -=- The day came and went, Maiko picking her way over the rocky terrain, skinning her knee and earning a nasty cut on her palm. Despite her minor injuries, she continued, taking only a moment to have the last of her crackers. By the afternoon, she had even managed to reach the thin forest she was pretty sure she had walked through on her way towards the mountain. Plunging in, she trudged her way until darkness begain to steal her sight. Where had she taken the wrong turn? She should have been home by now. As she huddled, curled into a ball against a tree, fear finally began to knaw at her. With shaky hands, she managed to start another fire, this one better fed. Under the cover of the trees, the fire's warmth slowly dried her out as she cried herself to sleep. -=- A porch stoop let Maiko take a moment's rest from her restless roaming of Alexandria. Situated on the outer edges of the city, this one had a somewhat clear view of the terrain beyond, of the mountains and lakes. The stoop was about the only thing she felt safe sitting on; having walked out from the denser parts of the city towards the rim, it seemed the use of stone dropped off slightly, and other material - not being an engineer by trade and without any sensor access, she had to assume it was false matter. Granted, she could ask Alicia, but that went right back to one of the things that made this place spooky. Maybe it was the lack of people. Maybe it was the eerie feeling that there was something wrong with the place. For the moment though, she worked to put that feeling to the back of her mind. If they were going to be here for a while, she might as well start working to ignore that little voice in the back of her head and the feeling in her spine... even if that sense had served her well in the past. Dusting herself off and steeling herself against the brace of wind that came rushing around the corner of the building, she head further out away from the buildings. -=- HELM REPORT No change since the last report. Relief officers continue to handle flight ops duty until main shift officers return from shore leave. The warpshuttle fleet remains on ready status, and flight ops is also currently co-operating with the Onyx and our own engineering department regarding the co-ordination of workbee flights. Helm is presently looking for a replacement relief helm officer to cover a gap in our shift coverage. Anyone willing should let Lieutenant D'rall know as soon as possible before operations has a new officer shipped to us. All scheduled Flight Challenge sessions have been completed; if you still wish to participate, please schedule a session with Lt. JG Stackpole before the end of this week. Results - as well as the announcement of the overall winner - will be announced at the start of Alpha Shift next Sunday. -=- |