Thoma replies, "Aye, Sir, will comply."

Maynard says, "Odyssey remains at Red Alert, defensive measures only; aye Captain"!

Smith confirms, "Silver Ball coordinates locked in, will maintain via your veridium tags."

Thoma signs off, "Odyssey out!"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:01, Sun 01 Nov 2020.

I suggest we have dinner and see how the situation develops.  Captain Thelev, I suggest we have plan B on deck.  On codeword “Pelican” have the Odyssey jump and emergency transport everyone up. McCurrvey intends to use the time to get a better feel of all the players.  He is somewhat concerned that the civilians will try something, so he makes a special note to keep his eye on Spaxter and Sam.

In reply to Commodore Bradron McCurrvey (msg # 40):
[OOC: I'm assuming (since I'm a benevolent GM who only claims to be evil) that Brad waits until Sam and Spaxter have left the chapel before speaking to Thelev about Plan B, and that Thelev waits until he's alone before sending a scrambled message to Odyssey.]

Lord Dhark looks up at the senior officers as they return. "Ah, Gentlemen, I presume you've made your plans with your ship. Will the Yew Ess Ess Odyssey be joining us?" When informed that this will not be happening, he replies, "Oh dear, I was so hoping to observe your no-doubt beautiful vessel and meet its valiant crew. Well, no matter. Let us retire to the dining hall."

He puts his fingers to his mouth and whistles a loud, piercing note. The air behind him ripples and once more the Starfleet personnel feel a change in the ambient air pressure as a hideous for teleports into the space. It is a large dog-like creature with hands on all four legs and a naked pelt of corpse-white skin. The head, atop its long, curved neck, is an ivory skull with a gaping mouth, a ragged, black tongue, teeth like needles of yellow bone. Atop the cranium is a bush of transparent bristles like glass fibres. From floor to scalp, it stands just shy of two metres.

Dhark lays a hand between the beast's shoulders and scratches. In return, it purrs loudly, like a Terran tiger, and closes its eyes. "This is another of my pets. It is what you may think of as a Hell Hound. Once they were a wide-ranging predatory species, but we have, over the last few millennia, domesticated as hunting and guard animals. Another example of guided breeding, Captain Mercer, wouldn't you say? Its name is Pistos."

He walks over to the large ivory doors, followed by Pistos. He sketches a glowing glyph in the air and the doors open onto a large dining hall. The ceiling is lower than the amber room, the wall appear to be elaborately carved walnut, and the floor is luxuriously carpeted. A few tapestries featuring fabulous beasts adorn the walls.

This message was last edited by the player at 05:26, Mon 02 Nov 2020.

In reply to Lord Dhark (msg # 41):

Prior to Thelev joining the party to rejoin Lord Dhark, Thelev does do as a God suggests and sends a scrambled message, “Thelev, to USS Odyssey, Maynard, Dr. Smith, be prepared to initiate your plan on code word ‘Pelican’, Thelev out.”

Once done he joins the group and once Pistosvappears, he says “What a magnificent creature, may as I be so bold and ask what it is.” Mainly as some pre-dinner conversation.

Lord Dkark chuckles and once again scratches the hellhound between the shoulders, once more eliciting the thunderous purr. "The species is formally called a VaarDuvée, but it's normally just called a Hell Hound, Captain Thelev."

It reminds Thelev as nothing so much as an even more monstrous version of the jadashha, a Klingon beast used as a guard animal on Rura Penthe, and commonly called a jackal mastiff. The paws look so much like humanoid hands that he can imagine it able to perform all kinds of mischief. The beast makes eye-contact with him and he'll be damned if he doesn't see a glimmer of malevolent intelligence. He fancies he hears a chuckle mixed in with the purring. Khendron has no problem seeing the creature as the result of generations of genetic manipulation. He shudders to think of what an undomesticated vaarduvée would be like.

Suddenly a long gong sounds. Lord Dhark gestures to the table. "Dinner, I believe, is served. Please be seated." Once everyone has taken his or her place, Dhark frowns at the Verlegg. "My son, while it is a candle-lit meal, please douse your own flames."

Verlegg grates petulantly, "As you wish, my father," and reaches behind his neck to pull up a black hood. The flame vanishes, leaving only his death's head visage.

Ladye Masque, seated at her husband's right hand, announces, "Imagine the most delicious meal you've ever eaten. Visualise it, smell it, taste it and feel the texture as you take a bite." A capon appears on her plate and she deftly dissects it with her fork and knife, raising a small portion to her mouth.

A steaming bowl of plomeek soup appears in front of Saavik. Tentively, she sips a spoonful and a look of approval comes over her features.

Boluri smiles as a trio of broiled Orion wing-slugs, 10 centimeters long and weighing about 20 grams, with four membranous wings and an oozing snail-like brownish-green body appears in front of him. He delicately slices them into small morsels, discards the wings and begins eating with obvious pleasure.

A mug of steaming katheka appears in front of Thelev. He hesitates, but the smell is enticing.

Similarly, everyone else has a favourite dish appear in front of them. Sam has a large sandwich grilled golden brown with oozing melted cheese and salami, while Spaxter finds himself confronted by a deep-dish pizza. Bilgebottom has a raw steak of heroic proportions, and Dr. Marcus has an elaborate pasta dish in Bolognese sauce.

As the command crew looks to see what each person has summoned, they suddenly notice that one person is missing—CPO David Alexander is not at the table.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:57, Tue 03 Nov 2020.

McCurrvey begins to stand.  Where is CPO Alexander???  He thinks about the last time he saw him and who he was with.  He reaches for his communicator.

LCdr Saavik announces, "The last time I recall observing him was while you were in the chapel on the communicator. He was standing with the rest of us."

Lord Dhark looks concerned, "Well, by all means, let us return and search for him. I take my host responsibilities seriously." He strides to the doors and sketches the glyph in the air. The doors swing open, revealing the amber room.

Bilgebottom tosses his tricorder to Boluri and orders, "Lieutenant, scan the area for Human life signs." He draws his assault phaser, as does the Orion lieutenant.

Saavik kneels and closely inspects a spot on the floor. "Doctor, a single drop of Human blood, reasonably fresh—not completely dried. Type AB positive," she says to Driveon.

Driveon consults his tricorder and mutters, "Shit, that's the Chief's type, alright."

Dhark looks at the ceiling and commands, "Hepzibah, attend!" The small door in the end wall opens to admit the harpy and her two subordinates.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:04, Tue 03 Nov 2020.

Saavik stands. "He was standing right here. Sam and Mr. Spaxter had just gone into the chapel, and he was talking to..." She frowns and puts a hand to her temple. "I... I... can't remember..."

Driveon moves to her side, the peripheral scanner for his tricorder out. "Damn, I was certain she'd recovered from Verlegg's psionic attack." Scanning her, he concentrates on his tricorder screen. "Checking... She seems to be fine, except... There's a suppression of impulses in her short-term memory. If only I could get her back to sickbay. Perhaps a shot of cortical stimulator." He presses a hypospray to her neck and motions Bilgebottom to support her. "This is going to make you a little light-headed, Saavik," he warns and triggers the injection.

Saavik stiffens, then sags into the Ursan's embrace, her face flushing a dull greenish colour.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:37, Sat 07 Nov 2020.

Boluri scans the area, keeping his assault phaser at the ready. "No Human life signs, present company excepted. I'm reading human remains behind this panel." He presses against one of the amber wall panels, and it clicks, then swings out into the room, revealing a alcove lined with bookshelves. The Chief's body lies crumpled on the floor of the small room. There are perimortem bruises on his face, and his hair is matted with blood.

Saavik straightens up, her complexion returning to its normal pale olive. "The Vizier—he was talking to the vizier..." she whispers.

The Ilithid dignitary is nowhere to be seen.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:37, Sat 07 Nov 2020.

In reply to Lieutenant (JG) Plessio Boluri (msg # 47):

"Lord Dhark, are you able to identify where CPO Alexander is. And do you mind if my team removes this panel and try to identify what they have discovered." Thelev asks.

Lord Dhark replies, "No Captain, I have not seen Mr. Alexander since we entered the dining room." At this point, Boluri presses against the panel, and it opens revealing the body, as noted above. "By the gods!" he exclaims, "I believe we have found him!"

Saavik straightens up shrugging free from the Major, her complexion returning to its normal pale olive. "The Vizier—he was talking to the vizier..." she whispers.

The Ilithid dignitary is nowhere to be seen.

Dhark looks around and calls out, "Milord Vizier, reveal yourself!"

Driveon attempts to push past Boluri, who resists. "I am sorry, Doctor, but Chief Alexander is dead. Please touch nothing. You may scan with your tricorder, but do not enter the closet."

"Dammit, Lieutenant, I'm familiar with forensic procedures!" Driveon takes a small device out of his medkit and sets it in the doorway. It hums and a barely visible force field fills the opening. "There, I've engaged a steri-field. Happy?" He sprays his hands with a clear liquid which instantly solidifies into a solid film. He reaches in through the steri-field and scans Alexander's head.

"Doctor Driveon, let me guess. You're detecting severe bruising around the face as if it had been held in a crushing grip. Further, there is a fist-sized hole bored into the crown and the brain is absent. It is typical for the victim of an Ilithid feeding," Dhark explains. "Hepzibah, alert the entire Guard. The Vizier is not to be allowed to return to his vessel. His guest-rights are hereby rescinded.

"Commodore, Captain, all my staff are at your service. As I noted earlier, I take my host-obligations seriously."

In reply to Lord Dhark (msg # 49):

Khendron does a quick mental head-count to ensure that all everybody else is accounted for, and records the count on his tricorder. He suspects that there may be some sort of psionic manipulations happening, and plans to make frequent tricorder readings and recordings from now on, in the hopes of unmasking any discrepancies.

"My Lord," Khendron says turning to Dhark. "The Ladye Masque recently, beyond all hope, revived our Lt Boluri. Is she able to repeat this miracle for our Chief?"

"I'm so sorry, my dear Captain Mercer, but there are limits to my powers. Lt Boluri had merely been disintegrated physically and only seconds prior. His subatomic matter and the energy derived therefrom were all still in the room, as were his psychic engrams. Though difficult and requiring much concentration, it was not an insurmountable task to reassemble. In the case of your CPO Alexander, his brain—as is typical in an Ilithid attack, has been consumed, both the matter and indeed the psychic self. That is, after all, what the Ilithid feeds upon." Masque's voice sounds unutterably sad.

"I'm afraid she's right, XO," reports Driveon. "The skill has been neatly trepanned as cleanly as I could do in surgery The perforation is 72mm in diametre and the dural matter has been excised. The spinal chord and cerebral-spinal fluid have all been removed. The reason we don't see five litres of blood all over the parquet is that somehow the circulation was stopped."

Lord Dhark explains, "Yes, the four tentacles around an Ilithid's mouth grasp the victim by the head, leaving the prominent facial bruising, the Ilithid injects a powerful paralytic thus stopping the victim's heart having already psionically immobilised him. It then sucks the brain and spinal chord out. The process takes about three minutes by your reckoning, but the Ilithid projects a glamourie about itself. It is a wonder that your Lt. Saavik remembers anything at all regarding the incident." This is all revealed in a scholarly tone which then softens as he continues, "I am sorry about the loss of your man. Ilithids usually are more circumspect and the Vizier had vowed under his guest obligations to maintain a fast while you outlanders were here. I cannot imagine why the Vizier—they do not have names as we use them, being a telepathic species—would break his vows."

Boluri interrupts, "The Chief still has the Commodore's tricorder on his body though his phaser is appears to be missing. As he was at his duty post, he didn't have a communicator. I've completed the forensic scans, so the Doctor can lower his steri-field and we can examine the Chief's body directly."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:32, Mon 09 Nov 2020.

[OOC: Since we're all used to gaming in the 24th century, I thought I'd just refresh the record on available technology.]

2250's Phaser, Phaser 1, Phaser 2, Assault Phaser

Communicator, Tricorder, Personal Access Display Device, Field Medikit

Security Helmet

McCurrvey: Phaser 2, Communicator
Thelev: Phaser 2, Communicator, Tricorder
Mercer: Phaser 2, Communicator, Tricorder, PADD
Saavik: Phaser 2, Communicator, Tricorder, PADD
Driveon: Phaser I, Communicator, Field Medikit, Tricorder
Bilgebottom: Assault Phaser, Armour with Helmet communicator, Communicator
Harris: Phaser 2, Communicator, PADD
Boluri: Assault Phaser, Armour with Helmet communicator (destroyed), Tricorder (Bilgebottom's)
Alexander (deceased): Phaser 1 (missing), Tricorder (McCurrvey's)
Spaxter: Phaser 2, Communicator, Meld Gear, Gauntlet
Marcus: no equipment
Sam: Helmet with Communicator, 2250's Phaser (concealed)
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:13, Sun 22 Nov 2020.

Driveon steps into the space vacated by Boluri. He deactivates the steri-field covering the doorway and places it on Alexnder's corpse. Switching it on, he asks Boluri, "Lieutenant, in my medikit there's a roll of protective film. Cover the table and help me carry the Chief to it—Major, we'll need your help as well."

Between them, he, Boluri and Bilgebottom carry the limp form of Chief Alexander to the covered table. Everyone maintains a respectful distance. The Verlegg shuffles the three pirates off into a corner, The Least Spawn keeping an eye on them. The three Harpies have departed, presumably to conduct the search for the Ilithid Vizier.

There is a change in the air pressure denoting an arriving teleport. Two young women abruptly appear, both tall and slender. One is completely hairless save for her eyebrows, with pale skin and completely nude. The other is dark brown skinned with severely cropped black hair, dressed in what is essentially a collection of black leather straps fastened by silver buckles.

Ladye Masque looks up. "Isis, Nile, you're here. M'Lord Husband, the twins have arrived." She looks to McCurrvey, Thelev and Mercer. "Gentlemen, these are my younger daughters. They are skilled sorceresses."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:59, Thu 12 Nov 2020.

The CMO sets up his tricorder to record his comments. "Deceased is a forty-year old Caucasian Human male, 1.88m tall. He has four vertical contusions equally spaced about his head indicating a forceful grasp by a four-lobed grasp by a biological entity. Epithelial cells embedded in his epidermis indicate the lobes were covered by a fleshy integument similar to skin, but not of Human origin. There is a perforation in the skull on the sagittal suture 72mm in diametre bordering the anterior fontanelle, shoeing microabrasions from what appear to be teeth."

He goes on to describe the excision of the brain and spinal chord in minute detail.

Lord Dhark produces a manuscript showing Ilithid anatomy. It depicts a nightmarish figure like something out of Lovecraft's fever dreams.

"Illithids have a humanoid body with an octopus-like head. They have four tentacles around a lamprey-like mouth, and require the brains of sentient creatures as part of their diet. An Illithid who snares a living creature in all four of its tentacles can extract and devour its living brain. Their eyes are pale white, and they can see perfectly well in both darkness and light. Their sense of hearing is slightly poorer than a Human's; they have difficulty distinguishing between several sounds mixed together, yet they are good at discerning from what direction sounds came from. Their skin is purplish blue to gray-green and covered in mucus, and is very sensitive to sunlight. They loathe sunlight, though it does not actually harm them," he reveals.

"One of their most feared powers is the dreaded Mind Blast, where the Illithid emits a cone-shaped psionic shock wave with its mind in order to incapacitate any creature for a short amount of time. Illithids also have other psionic powers, generally telepathic in nature, although their exact effects vary from account to account. Other powers include a defensive psionic shield and powers of psionic domination for controlling the minds of others. You yourselves have experienced its ability to cast a glamourie."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:15, Sat 14 Nov 2020.

In reply to Lieutenant Commander Winston Driveon, MD (msg # 55):

"Lord Dhark, are people with psionic aptitude more or less susceptible, such as Commander Saavik to the Ilithid, and how does psionic training impact that." Thelev asks knowing both he and Captain Mercer have limited psionics with no real training. "Does the Commander's psionic training reduce the effect of the glamour on her."

"Ladye Masques, will Nile and Isis be able to track the Ilithid, or at least protect us from another attack."  He ask, as he turns and gives a slight nod of respect to Isis and Nile.

"Captain, trained psionics are not entirely vulnerable, as evidenced by your Commander Saavik retaining memories of what she saw. The glamourie does affect such persons, but to a lesser degree. No-one knows the full extent of Ilithid powers, as their powers vary from individual to individual depending on their talents and training, just like any sophont," replies the Dread Lord.

Ladye Masque chimes in, "All my daughters are worthy sorceresses, but the twins can act as a gestalt entity. They are not trackers, for that we rely on Hepzibah and her harpies. Acting together, Isis and Nile can weave a spell of restraint. We must proceed judiciously, as even though the Vizier has violated his personal guest-oath, he is still a high-ranking member of the Underdark Emperor's court, and by tradition only the Emperor may try his Vizier. The Emperor of the Underdark is an Ulitharid, an elite noble of Ilithid society, and even more powerful than a normal Ilithid. Even the twins working in concert with Lilith and I would be hard-pressed to go against even an inexperienced Ulitharid."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:22, Sun 15 Nov 2020.

In reply to Lord Dhark (msg # 57):

"Lord, can you at least aid us in tuning our scanning devices which we call tricoders to detect the Ilithid or perhaps something specific that Vizier typically has on him. For if we can help detect him coming it may give sufficient warning to the Lady and your daughters to focus their weave." Thelev states.

"And I know we are your guests but will it be beneficial if we use our weapons in the event we are attacked. To help defend us, or at least distract Vizier." he adds.

[OOC: Been doing a little housekeeping. If you noticed to date any images of PCs/NPCs with a label at the bottom suffered from .JPG compression artefacts around the name. I've been converting these illos to .PNG which retains the 6 million colours without lossy compression. May not have bothered anyone else but it bugged the hell out of me. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.]

Lord Dhark sighs. "I'm afraid we do not use instrumentality such as yours. We manipulate forces directly through thaumaturgy—what you would call magic. I quite fear that I would not have the slightest clue as to how you could adjust your... tri-corders."

Driveon looks up from his post-mortem examination. "Well, I think I may be able to help you there, Captain." He holds up a sample vial. "I have here about a cc of what I can only describe as a saliva analogue from old squid-face. There're a few unique chemical compounds that you maybe able to scan for. Also, I've been able to isolate what that creature uses in the place of DNA. Select channel alpha on your tricorders to receive data."

Sam steps up. "I don't normally like to reveal the secrets of my headdress, but quite aside from I'm certain you've deduced about its life prolongation capabilities, it's also got an artificial psi-jammer. Usually I use it as an edge when negotiating with certain—types of people..."

Spaxter says, "Yeah, I noticed that. It's a somewhat primitive version of my own meld gear." He removes his fedora to reveal a metal implant peeking through the hair beneath the hat. "Dr. Driveon and Lt Devlin know the rough basics about the meld and my gauntlet. I assume Devlin briefed the Major here."

"Affirmative," growls the Ursan Marine. "Personally, I'd like to see this rasper in action."

"Don't worry, sirs," Driveon says, "Trask and I did a full psycho-tricorder session to ensure he and Ms. Goodbody weren't a threat. Unfortunately, the report is still sitting in your message queues... Sirs!"

In reply to Lord Dhark (msg # 59):

Once he receives the data on his tricoder he says "Okay everyone please make sure you are scanning for this creatures unique chemical compound.  If you detect it let everyone know."

Thelev examines Sam's head dress and using his Systems Engineering - Small Equipment 2(6) along with Personal Equipment 4(5) to help understand the head dress to determine if he can duplicate its effect, using the limited equipment they have with them.

Thelev discovers that the helmet is made of common materials, but the design is rather... primitive. Some of the circuitry is rather novel, and some resembles the old-style life-support belts of the late 2260's even though when asked, Sam replies that he first discovered the device in 2259 in a wrecked ship orbiting the Bridgetown asteroid.

As Thelev had deduced when Sam was deprived of the headdress, the effect wears off after about a hour and Sam ages rapidly until he reaches his chronological age. According to Cdr Harris, Sam told her that he's a former Starfleet officer named Sam Lowry who left Starfleet in the late 2250's, which would make his chronogical age in his late 60's-early 70's; and according to Spaxter, the headdress duplicates some of the functions of his own meld gear, including artificially induced telepathy and something called a Shadow Shield. Also according to Spaxter, Driveon had taken complete scans of his meld gear during the medical exam on the Odyssey.

Everyone on the Starfleet team acknowledges Thelev's order. Dr. Marcus requests a tricorder, as her work required a high level of skill with the device, so she could free up someone for other tasks.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:14, Fri 20 Nov 2020.

Suddenly, every Starfleet communicator begins chirping an emergency hail.

"Captain, Commodore, we've come under fire. The Cardassians arrived as well as an unidentified ship, demanding to speak with Sam. When the Orion representative, a Mr. Mor explained that Sam had disappeared during a meeting with the Federation representatives, they became belligerent. Things went to frell fast and they're firing upon us. Kang and—get this—Charvanek came to our aid and are also under fire," yells Thoma. She is interrupted by a loud explosion. She resumes, through heavy interference, "Commander Manyard is wounded and being taken to sickbay..."

She is interrupted by a familiar voice, "Odyssey, hold position. We are moving to interpose our shields between you and the qarDaSnganpu'. BaHwi! Fire all disruptors on the qarDaSngan battle cruiser!" snarls Kang.

DesMarais comes on the line, "Attention all hands this is the acting captain, Blue Alert!"

Thoma says, "Captain, executing case Pelican!"

There is a brilliant flash of light through the huge window and everyone's hair stands on end from a static charge. There is a harsh stench of ozone as the Odyssey appears in the sky, flanked by the IKS K'Tanko and the RSN Star Empire. The Odyssey dwarfs the other ships and even more so the Ilithid Nautiloid.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:06, Tue 24 Nov 2020.

In reply to Odyssey GM (msg # 61):

Before the sudden communication from the Odyssey, Khendron asks Dhark "My lord, when an Ilithid feeds, is it gaining just sustenance, or does it also gain the knowledge and experience of the victim it is consuming?" Khendron is deliberately phrasing his question generally, in an attempt to detach his personal feelings about what has happened to Alexander.

When the Odyssey appears, Khendron turns to Thelev "Captain," he says. "We can probably easily scan for the Ilithid using the Odyssey's sensors. I suggest I return to the Odyssey and continue the search from there while you and the Commodore handle the, ah ... diplomatic relations. Dr. Marcus should also be taken to the Odyssey ASAP!"

In reply to Captain Khendron Mercer (msg # 63):

He turns to Lord  Dhark “ I would like Captain Mercer, Dr. Driveon and Dr. Marcus along with the remains of CPO Alexander to return to our ship.  There Capt Mercer can take command of the situation, Dr. Driveon can help treat the injuries aboard the ship and Dr. Marcus being a civilian can be taken out of arms way. The remainder of us well stay here as your guests. I hope that is okay with you.”

“And as you can see our ship along with our Klingon and Romulan friends are here.” As he points up into the sky.  “It appears Commander DesMarias and Commander Thoma have had to initiate our emergency plan in light of events that arose.”

He then taps his comm badge “Commander Thoma, please put me through to the Klingons and Romulans.”

Once connected “This is Captain Thelev of the USS Odyssey,  I along with several members of my crew and Sam are guests here on the surface. Once everything is settled I will explain what I can on how you arrived here, please be assured we will mean you no harm and will get you back to our sector safely.”

I will leave it there, since I am sure that is already more than I could actually pull off before things explored