He's gone!

Posted on Sat Apr 5th, 2014 @ 10:53am by Petty Officer 1st Class Arianna D'Tal & Commodore Kathleen O'Shea

Mission: New Frontier
Location: USS Merlin - D'Tal Personal Quarters
Timeline: Prior to docking with starbase (Right after "Undercover")

As she had every day, since becoming her father's Yeoman, Arianna D'Tal awoke promptly at 0600. She took the half hour that was her norm to get a shower, dress in her uniform, and do her hair.

With Jasmine having left for Vulcan, Arianna always made it a habit that if her father wasn't to be on duty before her, she'd wake him up to let him know she was leaving for duty. Today was one of those days.

She made her way across their quarters, and into her father's room. As she turned on the light, she saw that the bed was empty, and was also not made up.

"Odd..." She said with a raised eyebrow. "Computer, locate Captain D'Tal."

"Captain D'Tal is not on board the Merlin." Came the monotonous reply.

Surprise quickly lit up her features as she heard this. "You're kidding... That can't be right!" She said seriously. "Computer, scan again, and tell me where my father is."

"Captain D'Tal is not on board the Merlin." The computer replied again.

Without hesitation, Arianna tapped her COMM badge. "Yeoman D'Tal to O'Shea."

[O'Shea's Personal Quarters]

Kathleen stirred, not quite awake but functional enough to understand that the call was for her. She slapped the bedside table several times before finally making contact with the comm badge laying on it. "O'Shea here..." she yawned. "What is it?"

=A= "Commodore, did you send my father on a mission, without telling me?" =A= Arianna's voice was a mix of confusion, and curiosity, as she asked.

Kathleen was instantly awake. She muted the comm for a moment. "Computer. Location of Captain D'Tal."

"Captain D'Tal is not on board at this time."

She un-muted the channel. "When was the last time that you spoke with your father?"

=A= "Last night at dinner. He went to bed, right after we ate. Kathy... Something isn't right. His bed isn't even made, and that is not like him at all." =A= It was very rare that Arianna called her Kathy anymore. Most times, she called her Sir, or Commodore.

Kathleen was already pulling up the ships craft inventory and transport log. Nothing was out of the ordinary. "He didn't say anything at dinner?" Knowing that the question was senseless as Arianna would have already told her anything like that...but a gut reaction none-the-less.

[D'Tal Personal Quarters]

As she talked to Kathleen, Arianna continued to look around her father's room. "He didn't say anything..." Her voice trailed off, as she realized the one thing, which told her he was truly gone. "Commodore, his Katana is gone too, and he never leaves without that... My father is gone." As she said it, tears slowly began to streak down Arianna's face, and her eyes changed color from Crystal blue, to pitch black. "He left me alone..."

In a sudden fit of uncontrolled rage, Arianna grabbed a nearby lamp, and flung it hard across the room, shattering it against the far wall. She didn't care that the COMM link with Kathleen was still open. All she knew in this moment was anger, as she began pulling the dresser drawers out, and tossing them across the room, along with the clothes they still held. Each time the 17 year old girl would throw something, a violent, hateful scream could be heard.

[O'Shea's Personal Quarters]

At the first sounds of destruction, Kathleen threw on a robe and was out the door. She quickly made her way to Darok's quarters, signaling Security to stand down as they had already been alerted to an incident occurring there. Reaching the room, she typed in her override code into the room's lock and quickly entered. The first thing she saw was Arianna tossing what was left of her father's dresser across his bedroom, which was now a disaster area from her rampage.

"Arianna...stop now!"

Arianna had moved to her father's bed, picking it up , and turned it over with her Vulcan strength. As she heard Kathleen's voice, she turned to face the older woman. Along with the abnormally black color in her eyes, there was unadulterated rage, and hatred shining brightly.

"And why should I do that, Kathleen O'Shea?" It was the first time Arianna had ever used Kathleen's full name. "Why should I stop, when I've lost everything I love?"

The room turned cold as Kathleen's eyes grew crystal blue. "Well, for one...it's my ship you are destroying. But even more importantly is this. Just how are you helping the situation with your actions? We don't know what has happened yet."

"Jasmine, and Aidan left to return to Vulcan, and now my father is gone!" Arianna snapped. She didn't mean to snap at Kathleen, but her rage had control. "He left me alone on this ship!"

Kathleen's demeanor did not change one bit. "You have absolutely zero facts in this matter. For all we know he was kidnapped."

"It's not fair!" As Arianna said it, tears streamed from her eyes, and she dropped to her knees, crying helplessly, her rage breaking, and her eyes returning to their normal color. "Everyone I love has gone away, and left me alone..."

Kathleen moved closer and, kneeling down, placed a tentative hand on Arianna's shoulder. "Listen to me. We will get to the bottom of this. I swear. Darok means a lot to me as well. You should know that. And you should know that I will not take something like this laying down. I will find out what has happened."

Arianna looked up at her, wiping tears from her eyes. "Thank you." She said, moving to hug Kathleen. It was rare for her to show such emotions in front of others, but she trusted Kathleen more than anyone left on the ship. "I hope this means you'll keep me around, since I have nowhere else to go."

Kathleen looked Arianna directly in the eyes, brushing back a stray strand of hair. "As long as I live, you will always have a home." She stood and helped the young girl to her feet. "Now, what do you say we head to security and start trying to figure this out?"

"Sounds like a good idea."Arianna stopped to look at the horrible mess she'd made in her father's room, then sighed, looking back at Kathleen. "Guess I have a mess to clean up, when I get off duty." She said, then turned to leave the room.

As they reached the door, Kathleen turned to look at the room. An odd feeling crept through her...one that she was not happy with. She put an arm around Arianna's shoulders as they exited. "We'll worry about that later."

If only she had known...

Commodore Kathleen O'Shea
Commanding Officer
USS Merlin/SB 80

&

Petty Officer 2nd Class Arianna D'Tal
Executive Officer's Yeoman
USS Merlin/SB 80