Jacien never had a chance to react. The Raichu tore through the doorway, still dragging the entrails of Admiral Nick and Milmar in its wake. They hadn't stood a chance against the enormous evolved Pikachu.

Now it had its sights set on Jacian, and lunged toward him with fangs bared, hurtling toward the cadet with startling speed, considering its size. The yellow cartoonish horror was clearly just getting started with its killing rampage. It had not yet noticed the other occupant of the room...

As the creature closed in on the strange energy mass that was its opponent, it took a moment to glance at the food in the corner of the room. The food had barely started cowering in shock at the sight of it, and the creature smiled again in anticipation. The food was lumbering and SLOW, barely having moved from its original position at the sink. It knew it would have no trouble when the time came for a feast. 

The creature then turned its full attention to the mass of energy bounding towards it. The energy mass was not living, was not food, yet it also had a gleam in its eyes of the hunter, one who is used to eating what it wants. Perhaps it is a kindred spirit? No, there were no kindred spirits in the world of food and not-food. It was competition, and therefore must be eliminated.

The two clashed. Energy versus not-energy, light versus not-light. 

A solid blow from raking claws to the creature astonished it. It reeled back from the unfamiliar contact, gathering itself into a small ball of swirling, dark mist. 

How had it been touched? Was this purple energy, this "Gengar", stronger? Faster? More cunning? it thought. Nothing had ever touched it before like that.

Another solid swipe across the creature temporarily cut it in two, but it reassembled itself quickly, moving around to the side. It lashed tendrils onto the Gengar, and tried to drain its energy, but to no avail, as the tendrils were shrugged off, almost negligibly. And then another attack slashed the creature in two again, claws raking through its essence and scattering it for a moment. It reeled to the side again, reassembling itself. 

It studied its opponent for a moment...then realized that part of the essence of is opponent streamed upwards at an angle, towards a small panel on the wall. 

Was this the source of its power? it wondered to itself.

It moved to the wall and then ascended, tendrils of its essence trailing behind it like a smoky spiderweb. The Gengar flew after it, claws slashing at it, but the creature dodged as best it could, losing some of its essence in the process, before it finally made it to the panel. The panel itself hid a mass of energy inside, and the creature was able to insert its tendrils into the housing. A tendril contacted a photonic energy conduit and sparks flew from the panel. The Gengar flickered for a moment, looking astonished, then renewed its attack on the creature. 

Unfortunately for the Gengar, in touching that energy conduit, the creature learned something. Solidity. Mass. Energy. These were all the same thing. It touched the energy inside again, and again the lights flickered in the room and the Gengar faded slightly. Its claws slashed again at the creature, but now met with resistance and solidity. The creature lashed back at the Gengar, semi-solid tentacles of essence ripping into the holographic image, while simultaneously draining the panel dry of its remaining energy. 

The Gengar vanished. The lights in the bathroom went out.

The creature reveled in its newfound strength. The energy it had drained from the panel infused it with new power. It could feel the surface of the wall it clung to, it could feel the atmosphere of the ship, sense the vibration of far away machinery. It paused a moment, assessing its newfound powers and found them...not quite adequate. It wanted more...and that more stood in the corner of the room, only now realizing its peril. Mere seconds had passed between the time the food in the corner had turned towards the battle and the creature's inevitable victory over the hologram. 

The creature smiled to itself again, even twittering slightly in gleeful anticipation, as it gathered its newfound solid form, crouched, and LEAPED towards Jacien, just as the door to the bathroom opened...

A sliver of light cut through the hall, Mstfrancis could see shadows cutting swathes of darkness through the light beaming through a door. He ducked behind a bulkhead and parsed his breathing. As he heard what sounded like the door being pried open. He reached for his side arm, which wasn’t there. 
Damn new regulations, he thought to himself. Remembering zanderhawk shooting a cadet in the face accidentally and new regulations were put in place. What was that guys name? And did he ever get a new ear?
He peered at the placard indicating he was on deck 12 corridor 47, junction 5, he reached up to feel the wall. The familiar plating  changed to an access panel. He was at a Jefferies tube junction, his chest eased as he realized he had a fast way out incase they were boarded. He sat waiting to punch in the access code as he heard, “Shut up Wesley,” from behind the door.
His face turned to relief as he realized it was a Starfleet Officer. He picked himself off and made his way to the room where he made out the shadow of a person standing in the corridor. 
“Hello there?”
The voices went silent, possibly shocked that there was another person in the hall. The silhouette turned to reveal a familiar face.  “Do either of you know what’s going on here?” He asked. 
Th’val dusted his uniform, peering through the haze building in the hallway.  “No, we were just about to make our way to Operations.”
“Good plan, see if you and Wesley can override environmental controls and bring main power online. I’m heading to Auxiliary to see if I can get us some lights and secondary batteries online.”
And as only for a second a yellow flash blurred through the hallway, leaving only a quick chirp as it left. 
“Did you see that?” Mstfrancis asked. 
“See what?” Th’val replied. 
Mstfrancis was at a loss, the image seemed familiar, yet alien. He drugged it off, “Never mind” 
Th’val nodded and Mstfrancis turned on his heels and returned down the corridor back into the darkness... 

Quote by Thval

“No, you pull it down not up. Come on, how do you not know how to use a manual door release?” Th’val muttered as they pulled aside the dead doors to the lab. “We need to get to operations, find who is on shift and get them to tell us what the hell is going on.” The corridor was pitch black, with an eerie cheerful sound emanating from the distance. “I’d say we should find some phasers, but you’d only shoot yourself in the foot.”

“I passed phaser training actually.” The quivering cadet sighed.

“I doubt that. You failed this test immensely, even if I overlook the fact you didn’t keep a single answer under two sentences.”

“It’s hard! I’m sorry, please don’t assign me to aid the other admirals again. Whenever I say anything they just saying ‘shut up, Wesley' and giggling.”

“Frankly, if I’d knew you’ve be such a drop out I’d never have agreed to be your godparent.”

“Wesley’s not even my name.”

“Shut up-“

Th’val was cut off mid-stride. The cadet looked back to see he was alone, the pitch black corridor stretched off behind him with an ominous shadow looming behind him, crunching.

“Come on, let’s find the others.”

 

Dax peered around the corner to see Th'val and the cadet whom he hasn't meet before walked down the corridor. Sweat was dripping down his face as his has been skipping around the Station for a while. Giggling at the sight of them, he saw them turn in the direction of his giggle.

"OOPS.... Better not let them see me before they see their surprise that i have in store for them." Saying to himself as he watching ever so quietly. Dax twirls his hair tighter and tighter with every passing moment. 

Quote by audiored

So does that mean I'm just a runner up?  =\

Well maybe I'll do an alt anyway... 

Yep. A team can only have 5 people in it, sadly. So I chose four random people to join me (and it was a hard choice to make!) :(
But we might do this more often in the future, once we're done with the playthrough we're about to start. So feel free to respond then again! :D

“No, you pull it down not up. Come on, how do you not know how to use a manual door release?” Th’val muttered as they pulled aside the dead doors to the lab. “We need to get to operations, find who is on shift and get them to tell us what the hell is going on.” The corridor was pitch black, with an eerie cheerful sound emanating from the distance. “I’d say we should find some phasers, but you’d only shoot yourself in the foot.”

“I passed phaser training actually.” The quivering cadet sighed.

“I doubt that. You failed this test immensely, even if I overlook the fact you didn’t keep a single answer under two sentences.”

“It’s hard! I’m sorry, please don’t assign me to aid the other admirals again. Whenever I say anything they just saying ‘shut up, Wesley' and giggling.”

“Frankly, if I’d knew you’ve be such a drop out I’d never have agreed to be your godparent.”

“Wesley’s not even my name.”

“Shut up-“

Th’val was cut off mid-stride. The cadet looked back to see he was alone, the pitch black corridor stretched off behind him with an ominous shadow looming behind him, crunching.

“Come on, let’s find the others.”

 

The creature reached out to the food running a liquid over its appendages. It savored the moment, the moment before the kill, the moment when the prey realized its life was being leeched out of it, delicious morsel by morsel, until there was nothing left but a husk, something left behind for others to find. That was good, as it heightened their fear, and made future kills all the more sweet. 

A tendril reached out from under the sink module where it had been hiding. It neared the food's lower appendage on the floor, every so slightly closer...and...

A sound. A presence...something else in the room. A competitor!

It whirled around, still silent on the floor, and gazed at a mass of energy. Vaguely shaped like the food, only different. No life, no warmth, just...energy. It studied its foe carefully, watching its every move. The energy mass gazed back at it, and smiled in a way which the creature was familiar. A challenging, hunting, gloating smile, when one sees an enemy it seeks to defeat. 

And then the energy mass spoke. "Gengar," it said.

The creature and the energy mass streaked towards each other, ready to kill...

I was mostly wondering for those that placed second and third, they had great matches durring the competition.

Meanwhile back on Deck 32 Milmars reaction to Nicks questioning about giving away passwords struck a memory, he did infact give all access passwords to GXV3.
Milmar approached Nick Seductively, kissing him on the cheek and playfully pulling at the feathered collar of Nicks Silky pink night gown. "Ill sort it my little love trumpet" Milmar wispered.

Milmar contacted Gareth and asked him what he had done to the Stations computer.
A few conversations passed and it appears that Gareth was trying to bring to life a 21st century popular 2D "cartoon" called pokemon.
Something had hapened when a passing Nebula struck the station, and all the holo emitters on all decks of the station malfunctioned.. and are now projecting Evil pokemon looking for battles all over the station! .. with the safety's offline!

That idiot Replied Nick in hearing this news.. I better get onto this and clean up his mess before someone gets killed... no wait ... ill do it after our bath time.. maybe. "Cadet @Jacien" nick called out to the other room... have you finished running our bath?
But there was no reply... Nick walked slowly to the bathroom of his quarters, he peered around the door and saw..........

It moved through the ship's nooks and crannies, the spaces between the floor plates, the air between circuits in the walls. It no longer cared for stealth, as its need for sustenance drove it to recklessness. A circuit snapped in its passing, sparks flew. Lights flickered and dimmed, and to this it smiled. The shadows, the darkness, was its friend, an ally that covered its swift approach. 

It could TASTE the food's warmth as the creature settled, unseen, into a small shadow, the shadow beneath a flat, thin, and rectangular object. One that hummed slightly, glowed slightly, and seemed of importance to its prey. It was one of a number of these objects scattered on the floor, and the creature settled into the shadow of one nearest its food. 

The prey suddenly curled up amidst a number of these objects, and the creature smiled to itself. It was about to reach out and claim its food, when to its surprise, the food reached out toward the very object it hid beneath...

Back in the Admiral's quarters, a nearby console flashed to life. Instead of the Omega symbol which had been present earlier -- a symbol which, inexplicably, everyone who had seen had chosen to completely ignore -- this time the screen displayed a small, fuzzy, yellow, and very tribble-like image.

"Pika pika," it blared. "Pika pika!"

Admiral Nick sighed and shook his head. "Gravity, did you give your password to @GXV3 again?"

So does that mean I'm just a runner up?  =\

Well maybe I'll do an alt anyway... 

@mstfrancis finally started coming too, his sullen pale complexion becoming flush with color again, he lifted him self off the floor. He smelled the air, which was oddly sweet with tones of burnt roast and cheap perfume. A familiar scent of roses and Ferengi candles seemed to permeate through the sweetness. It smelled of desperation and failure. He knew whatever was around the corner was trouble a brewing. 

After a long moment catching his bearings, he realized the station was in duress, and if he was going to get out alive, he would need a bottle of Chateau Picard that he left stored in his locker, for some courage. He dusted himself off noticing the fog in front of him wafting through the corridor. He blinked and set off into the darkened hallway, feeling his way down the cold metal walls. 

Quote by Voleron

As this drama unfolded, a drama of its own was unfolding on deck 32, from within Fleet Admiral @NicholasJohn16's dimly lit quarters, which were illuminated only by the occasional flicker of a pair of Ferengi earwax candles that he'd lit on his dining table for ambience.  Reaching across the table and past an impressive spread of culinary delights, including Szechuan Targ, sauteed Ratamba stew, and a generous cut of snail steak, Admiral Nick clutched @Gravity's hand, holding it in a tender and loving embrace. 

"I've waited for five years for the perfect moment to sneak you into my quarters" whispered Nick... "commanding officers can't be seen in the romantic company of... subordinates, you understand; you're ABSOLUTELY sure that your crazy and jealous boyfriend @Dax_aussie_boy didn't follow you here, right?", worried Nick, failing to notice the glow of the Omega alert that had filled his workstation screen.

Meanwhile at the Academy where Ensign Marriott has finished learning steerfleet protocols and regulations, has been assigned to train in tactical and engineering because of interest's in both field's, coming a medical family background wanted to try something new and not wanting to become a science officer. "You are to be stationed in a Beta project in the Khitomer sector" Commander Xhul states. Curious as what Beta project Starfleet is starting.

Later that night in preparations for departure for the Khitomer system. A young ensign Marriott wondered what was going to happen. So he went to a holodeck for some much needed relaxation and to train for what was to come, maybe a scenario or two with combat training and engineering situations to get a better hand on what was to come. 

Quote by Voleron

As this drama unfolded, a drama of its own was unfolding on deck 32, from within Fleet Admiral @NicholasJohn16's dimly lit quarters, which were illuminated only by the occasional flicker of a pair of Ferengi earwax candles that he'd lit on his dining table for ambience.  Reaching across the table and past an impressive spread of culinary delights, including Szechuan Targ, sauteed Ratamba stew, and a generous cut of snail steak, Admiral Nick clutched @Gravity's hand, holding it in a tender and loving embrace. 

"I've waited for five years for the perfect moment to sneak you into my quarters" whispered Nick... "commanding officers can't be seen in the romantic company of... subordinates, you understand; you're ABSOLUTELY sure that your crazy and jealous boyfriend @Dax_aussie_boy didn't follow you here, right?", worried Nick, failing to notice the glow of the Omega alert that had filled his workstation screen.

And as @Gravity and @NicholasJohn16 are embracing each other in the dimly lit quarters of the Fleet Admiral's, @Dax_Aussie_Boy is plotting around the ship, creating false readings on the internal sensors, resequencing the replicators to materialize ghoulish and unpronounceable cultural delights in the mess hall and small but frightening booby traps with the corridors of the ships. His giggles in the most scary and obnoxious laugh that could be heard throughout the ship. 

"Daxie Poo has come to play!", says Dax as he skips down the corridors, avoiding tripping the traps he has set up. His face looks like a drown clown after a long night from partying too hard, hair coloured in pink and blue tips and strips and clothes looking tattered and ripped from crawling through the jefferies tubes for the last 24 hours. "Time to play with all the little people in their room's. "Time to find @medgirl1025 and play hop scotch together." Says Dax as he twirls his hair and popping his gum in his mouth.

Nick wasn't sure what to do. Years ago, he had accidentally had flowers sent to the wrong quarters. After @Gravity had seen them though, he professed his love. Nick found it too awkward to reject him and after 5 years, it had been just too long to come clean now. Nick scanned around the room, trying to find any place to direct his gaze. That's when he noticed the curious symbol casting a glow in the dimly lit quarters.

As this drama unfolded, a drama of its own was unfolding on deck 32, from within Fleet Admiral @NicholasJohn16's dimly lit quarters, which were illuminated only by the occasional flicker of a pair of Ferengi earwax candles that he'd lit on his dining table for ambience.  Reaching across the table and past an impressive spread of culinary delights, including Szechuan Targ, sauteed Ratamba stew, and a generous cut of snail steak, Admiral Nick clutched @Gravity's hand, holding it in a tender and loving embrace. 

"I've waited for five years for the perfect moment to sneak you into my quarters" whispered Nick... "commanding officers can't be seen in the romantic company of... subordinates, you understand; you're ABSOLUTELY sure that your crazy and jealous boyfriend @Dax_aussie_boy didn't follow you here, right?", worried Nick, failing to notice the glow of the Omega alert that had filled his workstation screen.

Quote by Thval

Quote by Laeren

Quote by Mstfrancis

From deeper within the ship, a soft chuckle resounded, too low for the rescuers to hear, resonating from something dark that lurked deep inside its lower decks. It sniffed the air and was instantly fully aware of every biological function of the rescuers - their heart beats, the sound of their breathing, the warmth of their bodies - all these things it longed to caress, to pull from them, to rip from their souls, while listening to their screams of agony and dispair, and knowing that the agony would continue for days, weeks, even months, before it allowed them to expire in paroxysms of delicious terror.The soft echo of footfalls paraded through the room, at first almost unheard, and Zander knew once again that they were not alone. "Wh-what was that?" Zander exclaimed sheepishly as his heart began racing even harder. He looked around only to realize no one else seemed to hear anything. "Come on guys" Voleron said, "We still need to find Milmar! You know we'll never hear the end of it from the Klingons if any of the bloodwine goes missing."****The creature, a wisp of inky darkness, moved in the shadows towards the lighted figures, shifting from shadow to shadow, moving from wall, to ceiling, to conduit, into the ventilation and out again, but always moving, inexorably, towards the figures in the light. It could FEEL their essences as it grew closer, patiently waiting to touch them, to feel them, to absorb them, as its essence yearned to drain all that they are into itself, to consume them, and with a single touch, turn them into its food.

The lights began to flicker throughout the station as the entity made its way through the walls hitting relay after relay, panic set in as Voleron realized the air was getting thinner, as he saw a thin whisp of smog fill the halls. 
“Nebular gas!” He shouted realizing the decks were slowly filling filling with a haze that scattered the light of his flashlight. 

A dilemma occurred to the creature - it sensed two distinct sets of food, in two different directions, two distinct sets of warmth and life on which it wanted to feed - and solved it by watching the gas from the exterior of the ship permeate the structure, then proceeding to mimic the spreading gas by dividing itself into two entities - both with the same, inevitable goal of consuming the life of its targets. It parted ways with itself with an almost gleeful sound, as it proceeded in separate directions to hunt down its food, as it did before.

“Do you think the others are okay?” the cadet asked; which was not the correct answer to the most lethal nebula gases.
Th’val groaned and threw her PADD down, “If they weren’t, exactly what aid would you render them when you’re this close to dropping out, cadet? Quit daydreaming and focus, I cancelled all your other appointments this evening.”

“What, even my therapy session? I can’t help it sir, it’s this storm and the darkness; I keep imaging things crawling through the station, hunting people, multiplying like a virus-” The young Betazoid buried his face in his hands, hiding from the PADDs around them as Th’val rolled her eyes and moved onto reciting the next set of questions to the imaginative cadet. 

**Posting on Kieran's behalf - he was having posting troubles**

"I'm going to need double therapy sessions after this..." the cadet muttered under their breath.

Suddenly feeling an uneasy presence not far away they felt their body stand on edge not fully paying attention to Th'val anymore.
One half of the creature moved towards the nearest lifeforms it could sense, destroying bulkheads in its path, rupturing EPs relays, disrupting bioneural gel packs, causing system after system to crash.

The lights cut out, and the remaining light was replaced by pulses of blue flashing light

"What is going on now?" stated Th'val slightly annoyed. 

"Blue alert. All personal report to code blue stations," the computer command then both.

The computer screens lit up with a single icon, the letter "omega" and was requesting level 10 clearance 

"Uh, sir? Blue alert? But that's for landing starships on planets! Is the station going to crash?!" the cadet asked, panicked.

woop woop

There should be, we'll get right on that. Sorry about that @Niko