Corporeal Punishment

Posted on Sun Jun 4, 2017 @ 4:36pm by Captain Madelina Weisz & Commodore Michael Aravan & Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Barnes

Mission: Avatar
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: MD 10 || 1800 Hours

The climb had been long and arduous, especially since the Bridge level was only just above Deck Nineteen. But after minutes of fighting zero-gravity, Thomas and the holographic doppleganger of the ship's Executive Officer finally arrived on Deck Eighteen, home of the command level. The bridge had been secured, but thankfully there was a Jefferies tube egress nearby. Security guards posted outside the bridge were quick to raise their arms at Tom's companion, to which Tom instantly held up his hands. "It's okay!" he told them, counting on his position more than rank. "She's with me."

Maddy raised her hands as a sign of surrender... as a sign she meant no I'll will toward any of them. A lot of damage had already been done, and she didn't wish to cause anymore. "I wish to speak with your Commanding Officer. If you wish to follow and keep your weapons on me at all times, you may do so, but this has gone on long enough."

The security officers, though hesitantly, stood down, nodding as Tom led the way onto the bridge.

"Captain," Tom said as he stepped onto the bridge and spotting the ship's Commanding Officer. "A word please."

Like the others on the bridge, Michael was on his feet the moment that Barnes and the intruder or whatever it was came through the Jeffries Tube onto the bridge. "What's the meaning of this?" he asked, his eyes narrowed and his former Security training fighting for control of the calm that he normally wore while on the bridge.

"We're here to talk, Captain," said Tom, slowly raising his hands in an attempt to assure calm. "Well, she is. I... I just led the way."

"As your Operations Chief has already pointed out, I wish to speak to you," the redhead said. "He was kind enough to bring me here. You have every right not to trust me, and as a sign of good faith, I am more than willing to put an end to the madness."

"Start by deactivating the internal weapons and activate communications, the turbolifts and give me control of my ship back," Michael said before he motioned for them to follow him as he headed for his ready room.

"Consider it done," Doppelganger Maddy answered with a nod of her head as they moved into the ready room. And, just like that, everything the Captain just asked of her was done. He was now back in control of his ship with all systems back to normal. The internal weapons were now offline, and those that were able, were beginning to ascend back into the ceiling.

Tom moved to the nearest terminal to verify that what she'd said was done. After a quick view of the Situational Display, and a Level Five Diagnostic on the affected systems, he looked up to the Captain. "Confirmed, sir."

The Captain nodded to Barnes and once they were in the ready room and the doors closed, Michael let the fury he was feeling show on his face. He was exhausted after five straight shifts and the concern he had for the crew had been dragging him down, but he shoved it aside. "Now do you mind telling me who or what you are and why you attacked my ship?"

"I am Thasian," she stated, keeping her attention locked on the man before her. "My home... the satellite your Commander brought aboard your ship... was dissected and studied. Anger fueled me. Revenge fueled me. I am... quite sorry for the trouble I have caused."

"Your home?" Michael asked, confused as he tried to remember what had been brought aboard recently. "The probe. That first contact probe from Earth was your home?"

Tom's eyes widened a bit. It seemed to be a popular action, commandeering a probe and using it for other purposes. "Seems like a lonely home," he remarked.

"Yes, my home," the redhead stated. "As lonely as it might have been, it was mine, and now... it is gone."

Michael looked down, then at the entity still posing as his Executive Officer. "But...if that was your home, surely you understood the purpose of first contact," he said. "We are out here to learn and meet new species. It was never our intent to bring harm to others. I understand your anger and you have my apologies on behalf of myself and the crew, but all we wanted to do was learn. Why didn't you try to contact us before now?"

"Because I was angry. It was not until your Operations Chief put his life on the line for other members of your crew that I saw the error of my ways. His act of selflessness and compassion showed me my behavior was wrong," the Thasian answered. "I will leave your ship as soon as I have completed any punishment you deem fitting for the crimes I have committed."

Michael looked at Barnes. "I want to personally thank you for doing all that you have, Mister Barnes," the Captain said. "Your record will certainly reflect it."

Tom wasn't sure how to respond that. He hadn't performed his actions for any reason other than to protect his crewmembers. Nervously smiling, he said, "Thank you, Captain, but I didn't do it for recognition. I did it because my colleagues were in trouble."

"Any action above and beyond the call of duty, Mister Barnes, is a mark of an excellent officer," Michael said before he looked at the Thasian. "Do you have a preferred form of address?" he asked the woman, then he wondered if she were a woman at all.

"My name is Zahara," she said, finally abandoning the form of the ship's XO and taking on her own. Now was the time to see how the two men around her would react.

Michael was stunned by her ethereal beauty and fought hard to keep his attention focused on her when he could see other parts of the ready room through her. "I am Captain Michael Aravan of the USS Triumphant and on behalf of the United Federation of Planets, I bid you welcome, Zahara."

Tom blinked and had to quickly stifle any thoughts. Thought he and Maddy were exclusive, as someone well trained with technical systems, he couldn't help but appreciate what the Great Bird had created.

"Thank you, Captain," she said, her voice matching her form... wispy. "I am ready to face the consequences of my actions, and you have my word that I will not make any attempt to escape."

"Two hundred and one beings died as a result of your anger, Zahara," Michael told her. "As a non-corporeal being, any form of punishment that I can think of wouldn't be fitting. However, we believe in rehabilitation. We can either confine you to a holomatrix until we arrive back on Earth for others to decide your permanent fate, or we can put you in another probe and have you spread the word of peace and exploration in your contact with other species."

"There is another option, should you be willing," Zahara said, trying to sound hopeful.

"What would that be?" Tom asked. He'd been stunned at the high losses the ship had sustained, and he was quite happy that the number wasn't any higher.

"I'm listening," the Captain told her. In all his years of service, he had yet to be put in the position he was in now. One crewmember here, one there...but two hundred and one? He couldn't wrap his mind around the number fully.

"I wish to apply as a good will ambassador," she stated simply. "And to help with the repairs." Zahara felt shame at the number of lives lost, and while she could do nothing to bring them back, she could attempt to right that horrible wrong.

"You wouldn't be accepted, Zahara," Michael said after a moment of thought. "And I don't have the power to make that kind of decision. For the time being, I see no choice but to confine you to a holocube until we return to Earth and hand you over to the Federation for rehabilitation. After that, then perhaps you can make atonement on the ship once it's been determined you're no longer a threat regardless of your sincere chagrin at the acts you've committed."

"Very well, Captain. You will get no resistance from me," the wispy woman stated, turning toward Tom. "Your Maddy is an incredibly lucky woman, Mister Barnes. The two of you will go far." She turned back toward Michael. "I am ready for my confinement."

Michael turned to Barnes. "If you'll prepare the holocube, Mister Barnes," he said.

Tom nodded, and moved over to the replicator systems. With them being back online and functioning without error, it did not take him long to prepare the holocube and its operational matrix. After about a minute, he returned to where the Captain and Zahara stood with the device. "It is ready, Captain."

The Captain hesitated for a moment. "Is it possible to program in an accelerated version of a Federation rehabilitation colony, Chief?" he asked. "Something which would give her time to learn of us and our ways while having a degree of freedom while interacting with it? I can petition the Federation to count it as time served and acceleration of the rehabilitation since she's a non-corporeal being."

"While I wish to learn more about you and your ways, I do not wish any special treatment. I will serve my time just as anyone who has committed a heinous act must," she said as her form began to disperse a bit in order to prepare for entry into the cube.

"Is it special treatment if one is capable of absorbing information at a faster rate than humanoids?" Tom asked aloud. "Starfleet has seen beings who can assimilate knowledge in a matter of minutes when it would take others years to learn."

"That's a question best left to a board of ethics," Michael decided before he looked back at Zahara. "I regret that our contact has not been more beneficial, but I do look forward to seeing you again, Zahara," he said with true regret despite everything. "Are you ready?"

Without a word, Zahara entered the holocube and prepared for it to be locked down. There was little point in resisting. After all, she'd committed what she perceived to be an unforgivable act.

Michael watched the Thasian enter the holocube and looked at Barnes. "Lock it down and take it to containment," he said. "Then start getting the repairs under way with Engineering and find out exactly where we're at," he said. "We have a lot of work to do and a short time to do it."

"Aye, sir," Tom said immediately. With a nod, Tom excused himself from the ready room. With the holocube in hand, he crossed the bridge and immediately entered the turbolift. Once inside, he paused and gave the computer no instruction. He looked down at the device that he held. The holocube flickered with activity, and he could feel the processors at work within the operational matrix. Zahara was certainly making herself at home, and hopefully become a wiser lifeform because of it.

He then thought of Maddy, the woman he'd become so enamored with. As the Triumphant had been traveling at transwarp for the last day, and Tom working on the computer attempting to regain control of the ship, he hadn't been able to check on her and see how she was doing. He regretted it, but he was certain she'd understand. He'd have to find her as soon as possible though, and hopefully before she was released from sickbay.

"Security," he finally ordered the computer. It was time for life to return to normal.