Star Trek: Starbase 777 - shopping-plaza

Calliope was perfectly content with the quiet. Naturally, it had to have some reason that made it a cause for alarm. They glanced idly down at the bag they'd brought with them with their new paints and brushes inside. Really, was this even their problem? How frustrating...

Oh man, Veldan was enjoying his new found freedom. It had been a couple of days since his birthday and every day of it he had been out and about on the station moving looser than he had even thought was possible. Today was a little different, it looked emptier - like no one was around. Veldan's feelings were surprisingly spot on as he glanced up at the PA system, then down at his PADD. ... Well there was no way he wasn't going to try and help Vovvi and Rilek.

6

..Very well, then. Some quick thinking told Calliope that most of the civilians on board were either shop or restaurant owners, and there was no group accumulating here, so... They left their bag carefully stashed before looking around for some clue of where to go.

Not seeing anyone else in the shopping plaza (It had vacated rather quickly once the announcement had come over the PA system), Veldan decided to head elsewhere on the station to find people - hopefully enough to start a small resistance to this totally-not-hostile takeover.

Acul hummed as she stood with the distraction team, looked to Verelan and coughed. “You are being quite rude! In fact, and I don’t quite say this lightly.” She summoned the swearing creativity of her students, “You are being a bitch face mcgee.”

"Bitch face mcgee? What are you, fucking twelve?" Maggie spat in response, visibly green with frustration. "Grow up."

"Cuntface is better. I liked what she said earlier, though. 'Wankstain'. Very British. You sure you're a Romulan, Verelan?" Noid said, giving his most obnoxious shit-eating grin.

Acul hummed as she looked at Maggie. “No, but you certainly look the part for 12.”

Verelan shot Acul a look, single eyebrow raised, as if to say "are you kidding me?", before responding in kind... Well, a little more imaginatively, she'd say. "Well now you're definitely getting banned, brat! Speaking to me in that way. And you," here at least was one person who she could insult without fear of regret, "I know too much about you for you to be talking like this, so you better shut up before I screw your head off and hide it somewhere your headless body won't be able to reach it!"

4

*Melody kept on going with the distraction team, taking off her baker's hat and the Phantom mask, and placing the mask inside the hat, to keep it away from the fight so it wouldn't be damaged. Looked around to see who was there... and then got herself into character with a few deep breaths. Alright, actor neutral, shoulders back, big breath in and out... aaand action! * "Look at you all. You're acting like fucking toddlers. I'm surprised you even own shops to begin with, your IQ is probably less than zero."

"You've got a lot of nerve," Maggie hissed, jabbing their finger against Acul's chest. "You've got three seconds to take it back. And apologize to my friend here for your terrible insulting skills."

Following along behind the others, knowing the context of the argument, M'Noa still couldn't help but feel just a bit uncomfortable by it. But it would be wrong and unhelpful if they didn't play along, so play along they did. "Come on now, we don't need to name call and insult each other. We're better than that." They said, sounding very much so like a therapist crossed with a school teacher as they spoke. They weren't going to fight, but they could certainly treat it like a real fight.

Staying in character, Melody glared at M'Noa. "Shut up! Or you're gonna be next," Melody threatened, before she turned back to the group. "Can you all just go get your pacifiers and sleep quietly in your cribs? It sounds like nails on a chalboard whenever any of you speak! FUCK!"

"YOU," Maggie swiveled to Melody, "keep your mouth shut, you god damn toddler. I should crumble that mask of yours into a pile of dust. Honestly, it's pathetic. You talk a big game, don't you? Why don't you do something about it if you hate it so much? Huh?" (edited)

"Lady, you have two seconds to walk away to your little bakery before I start making things real ugly. Stay out of it if you know what's good for you." Aww, Verelan didn't mean that, she wouldn't really punch Melody... well, maybe. Not out of malice, anyway.

On the way up, Yochk tried to muster genuine rage. Her eyes remaining a calm blue hue just would not do for such and endeavor, but this was too low stakes for her to muster more than a purple. Being on a space station had really done a number on her agression, for the worse in her opinion. While the others were 'arguing' she milled about 'shopping around'. Maybe the prospect of not being able to get believably upset, would make her upset enough. She kept an eye on a few exits to the Plaza.

The first few heads were starting to turn, not just of Marked Resolve people, but other civilians. So at least they were grabbing attention just by shouting at one another!

2

Acul hummed. “I work with actual teenagers, and somehow you seem more crass and vulgar then the most uh.” She struggled to come up with a proper rude word for her students, but she couldn’t, “Hilarious ones?”

Admittedly taken aback by Melody suddenly turning on them, or rather pretending to, their all very real reaction only helped to play their part in things further, ears spiking upward in shock. "We don't need to threaten anyone. Just... Use words. Words are far more productive than violence." They implored, acting along.

Melody looked at Verelan - with a mouthed "thank you" to Verelan, now she knew she had someone she could interact with for this fake fight and get some eyeballs on them! "Excuse me?" Melody said, snapping back at Verelan. "Says the woman who can't keep her trap shut when it comes to making lame insults at other people?" Before she looked to Acul. "And you? You're one to talk. What the fuck is even a bitch face mcgee? Grow the fuck up."

"Oh, shut up, you big pussy. Words don't solve anything, and particularly not these ugly elements-damned faces. I bet their mothers don't even mean the nice things they say about them." Verelan was really getting into it now... sorry M'Noa!

Well, she might as well go for it. “At least I actually have a job instead of cosplaying the phantom of the opera, and you!” She put a large finger on Verelan’s shoulder. “Leave the only one with any brain cells here alone.”

2

"You do NOT insult me or my girlfriend like that, you good-for-nothing ass-kisser!" Melody replied to Acul.

"Oh shut up, you big stack of bricks. What's that big head good for if all you're filling it with is air?" Alright, Verelan was having fun, but this was making her a little agitated. There was so much buildup, she needed to get rid of this energy somehow!

she perked up at the word opera. What the hell is a Phantom of the Opera?

5

"Keep your hands off of her." Maggie swatted Acul's hand. They were trying to make themself bigger, more intimidating, maybe, but it was a little hard when you were short and pink and overall adorable. They tried, though! They really tried. "Why don't you go cry to your supervisor, huh?"

Ouch... That was a rough one. Frankly, this was some of the worst insulting they'd ever heard in their life. At least since high school, anyway. "Prophets..." They muttered. "Can we all please calm down and take some deep breaths? Shouting at each other is not going to get us anywhere."

"Do you realize how unintelligent you sound when you speak?" Melody said to Verelan. "Do you know how much you just sound like a whining child?" At this point Melody was really getting into character. "Can you just do us all a favor and shut the fuck up so we don't have to listen to your insufferable disgrace of a voice anymore?!"

Acul looked to Maggie, mouthed a quick sorry and lifted Maggie into the air like they were trying to play with a childhood teddy bear. Her students loved old monster movies, so why not try to look like one of those kaiju. She lifted Maggie, doing her best King Kong impression. “Rawr!”

"You're one to talk, Verelan, seeing as you've got a face only a mother could love." It felt weird saying that since he definitely didn't think she was ugly and had proven so on many occasions, but hey, it was for the facade. "And you, Maggie. Your magic... Is... It's uh..." Nope. Can't do it. Can't insult the magic. "Acul! They can levitate just fine by their damn self, stop lifting them!"

7

"Hey, no, Acul, put them down please." M'Noa suddenly piped up, walking over to the Gorn while sounding like a stern teacher. How ironic.

"Don't worry, emo Dora, I got you," Melody said to Noid, before she turned to Maggie. "Your magic tricks look like they were bought at a credit-store on a budget! Go ahead and find a real stage to perform on!" Melody found this kind of fun... she hadn't embodied this character before! (edited)

"You—!" Maggie squirmed, kicking their feet. "Get off of me!" They raised their cane like a sword, jamming it down into Acul's shoulder. Their gaze snapped to Melody, eyes wild. "And you keep your fucking mouth shut, or I'll rip your god damn insides out and bake them into a cake! At least it would actually be edible!"

6

"There is no one to enforce a noise ordinance I suppose" she crossed her arms watching the isults fly back and forth

Verelan genuinely had to stifle a laugh at emo Dora, but stayed in character for the sake of the mission. "HEY! Put my fucking friend down, you ugly lizard fuck!" Gorn were sturdy right? Right? Anyway, Verelan threw a decently hard punch into Acul's gut.

"I'd like to see you try," Melody said to Maggie. "You can't even pull off a trick right, you can't even intimidate me. You fucking coward."

Acul was not exactly trained in the art of fighting, and getting a cane and fist at the same time genuinely made her stumble back. She made sure not to drop Maggie, setting them down rather quickly before going back into a wall. “Cunt.” She forced out before grabbing Verelan in a fireman’s carry and performing an airplane spin in the middle of the brawl.

Emo dora? Who the fuck? Was that meant to be him? Who was Dora? "Alright, princess on crack, one more word about Maggie's magic and I'm gonna getcha." He put his fists up, ready to fight. It didn't look very intimidating.

5

Verelan started flailing, making herself as hard to hold onto as possible, trying to get a knee in Acul's face somewhere. She was like 50kg, so it wasn't very impressive, but she was trying, okay?

As soon as they hit the ground, Maggie sprung, tackling Melody to the ground. "You have the displeasure of being the most insufferable person I have ever met," they hissed, though, while they were low to the ground, flashed her a wink to make sure she knew they weren't serious. "You've got a lot of nerve calling me a coward. Do you have any idea how hard I work to do what I do?!" (edited)

Terahl, who'd lagged behind significantly, quickened the pace to keep up with the group. "Hey, hey, keep your hands off of eachother! I know we're all frustrated right now, but can't we be civil!?"

She grunted before putting Verelan down, before rushing towards Terahl with a clothesline. “I don’t know what your name is but die!”

"Oh, I'M the insufferable one?!" Melody snapped back at Maggie - and once she saw the wink, she winked back! "Well, apparently you don't work hard enough. You don't fucking scare me, you snobby motherfucking turd!" Melody said, before she got into a full-on tackle match with Maggie! Good thing she knew how to tackle safely so that it looked realistic from the stage!

Flinching backwards at Verelan's punch, and then getting well out of the way as Acul did whatever the fuck that was, M'Noa's ears twitched slightly as the shouting got louder. "Put her down!" They exclaimed to Acul, only to look over at Maggie as they pounced on Melody. "Maggie, get off her!" They then called out. Prophets, they would be a shit teacher and/or parent. Then again, these were adults acting like 6 year olds hyped up on angry crack. Looking over at Terahl, they felt glad someone else was playing the voice of reason side of the fake fight. "Yes, can we all just please calm down? Please break it up!"

Oh, they were definitely keeping the attention of people now, with civilians calling for Marked Resolve guards despite their own hesitance... not that the guards seemed to know what to do at all.

"Never mind. Maggie gotcha. I'm still mad, though." Seeing Acul run toward Terahl, he decided to take her by surprise. "Acul! Think fast!" He threw himself at Acul, clinging onto her like a koala and - oh, the plan was to pull her hair, but she didn't have any. He just sort of slapped her snout repeatedly instead.

6

"You stay out of this, you bitch!" Melody hissed at M'Noa. "Come here, you fucking fraud!" As she continued to tackle Maggie, doing her absolute best to stifle back a smile and a laugh, as she knew she was secretly having a little fun in acting! And it seemed like Maggie was receptive to it!

"I don't need to scare you. All I have to do is know that I'm better than you," Maggie, back on top, shoved her face into the ground. "And I know that." (edited)

Acul was genuinely taken back by the snout slapping and took a knee and started sneezing, covering her mouth and facing away from anyone nearby. “Oh good lord, oof.”

Melody did her best to push off the ground so she could look back up at Maggie again. "Better check your facts then. I've been called worse by better people who were more talented than you!"

"Oh, fucking—" Terahl staggered back. One swift movement, and his tie was undone, tossed hastily to the side before he tried to rip Maggie and Melody apart. "Come on, seriously!"

Oh. She was sneezing. Ew. Gross. He jumped off of her. "We got a plague victim over here, and yet she still doesn't look half as haggard as Verelan does."

trying to deliberately be intimidating was a very difficult thing to muster. Yochk can't find it in herself to be impressed by any of them, but there was no need to judge when she herself was not in action. Closing her eyes tight she shook her head, and then picked up one of the kiosks with trinkets and baubles. Property was a funny things. It was heavier than expected, but she managed to get it over her head. Making sure there was no one in front of her, she threw it at a wall of the PLaza, beads scattering everywhere. "nuqneH!? HoS lI' Dalo'Ha'chu'! Some people are trying to browse!"

7

"And I'll kill you for that, you useless bag of nuts with a screw loose!" She flew at Noid, tackling him.

Noticing Terahl trying to step in, Melody snarled at him, sending a right hook his way! "Shut up and leave your half-assed wank-stained news articles for the losers!"

The last time they were called a bitch it was by a beloved colleague after they had put her stethoscope on the highest shelf in the staff room, so to be called a bitch in an angry tone had a sting to it, even though they knew it was all acting. Prophets was it good acting. "Everyone needs to stop right now and take a step back!" They called out, looking over as Terahl tried breaking up the fight, only to look over as Verelan went to tackle N01D. "Prophets..."

Acul stoped sneezing before turning towards NO1D and Verelan and leaping onto them to form some kind of looney tunes dust cloud. “I’ll give you the plague!”

"Stealing my insults? Awesome, super original! Guess we know why you never went into acting professionally, if that's what your improv is like," Verelan told Melody while still punching Noid.

Melody continued her tackle with Maggie, but looked up at Verelan. "You know that you bring everyone so much joy when you leave the room?" Melody snapped back. "Hold your fucking tongue and use it for something useful."

Terahl successfully got in enough to send Maggie staggering backwards, but Melody socked him in the face, leaving his nose bloodied. Ouch! "It's no use," he told M'Nora, barely staggering back and out of the rumble, wiping blood off with his thumb. "If only those LOUSY SECURITY OFFICERS WOULD GET OFF THEIR ASSES AND DO SOMETHING." Purposefully raising his voice over the noise.

"'Course you would, you two-bit criminal. We all know your goods are stolen, smuggled knockoffs not worth half the price you sell them for." The dust cloud continued, though he didn't really know how to fight so he was just sort of pulling and poking whoever he could reach.

There were like. Two guards standing there. Well, one and a half, given that one of the two was an absolutely tiny Ferengi lady. Terahl yelling had them jump into action, though, using their communicators to supposedly call for backup.

4

M'Noa immediately made their way over to Terahl as he was sent staggering backwards, putting a paw on his shoulder if he'd allow them. "Thank the Prophets for dermal regenerators, right?" They said, offering him a slight smile, before looking over at the security guards. "Seems your shouting might've finally gotten their attention."

Acul was still in the dust cloud and yelling. “And you made me sneeze! That was very rude!”

With a massive whop, Melody got to her feet and held her hands up, clenched into fists, ready to fight whoever was going to cross her. "Anyone want to try and cross me is gonna get nuts! You wanna get nuts?! HUH?! Come on! Let's get nuts!"

Maggie was knocked onto their back, dizzy with exhilaration and the pain that was shooting up their leg. Flushed with effort and breathing hard, they managed to stagger to their feet, sweeping their cane around Melody's knees to hopefully topple her. "Shut up," they said simply.

"Not my fault you have biological functions. Try being an android, we never sneeze." Just then, some dust went up his nose, and he sneezed. "That was a tic. Ignore that." Also, he tried to find Verelan and pin her down. No offense to Acul, but he'd been kinda looking forward to fighting Verelan.

And SWEEP! Melody was swept off her feet, Maggie's cane successfully causing her to fall to the ground. With a GROWL, Melody grabbed at Maggie's ankles in hopes of catching them off balance. "You were saying?! You know if you actually had a brain in there you'd be able to think smart! Verelan should be ashamed of picking you!" (edited)

More security folks were popping up, including the Cardassian and the human from earlier. There were now about six, (five and a half if we were being fair to the Ferengi lady... sorry girl but you are tiny) standing around the group, not really sure how to deal with this. "Hey, y'all," the human tried, "I know tensions have been a little high, big changes and all, but there's no need to be like this to each other..."

Maggie tumbled, though attempted to kick Melody's hands off of them. "Picking me? Picking me for what? Because she actually likes being around me? Somebody's projecting, the only way someone would willingly spend time with you is out of pity!" They swiveled to stare at the officer. "SHUT UP!" before kicking Melody's shoulder to push her further back. (edited)

“Oh my god SHUT UP I HATE ALL OF ALL YOU! YOU ARE TERRIBLE TERRORISTS.” She said before lightly punching at NO1D’s nose (or nose equivalent)

1

Looking over at the security officers, despite them being associated with terrorists, they couldn't help but give them a look of 'I tried'. "That's what I've been saying."

Melody didn't want to address the Marked Resolve directly unless she had to, in order to keep up the act. Maggie's kick to her shoulder sent her recoiling, the pain absolutely real. "AAAAGH!" Melody yelped, before she got back up and charged RIGHT at Maggie like a provoked bull seeing the red cape!

"You guys are really a bit rowdy. I really don't want to have to start physically separating people, I'm not made for it..." You'd really almost start to feel bad for the poor guy.

She poked her head up from the looney tunes dust cloud. “Why are you even doing this? You’re much too nice to be a terrorist.” She said before going back into the brawl.

"You can't even begin to know the definition of 'High Tension'. This setting is incapable of creating that sort of atmosphere, this 'dispute' is small." The Nausicaan had managed to flare up the red in her eyes by throwing that Kiosk, with frazzled hair her head tilted sideways as her tusks flared out. "If you can't handle such a little problem your station is improper"

"Just do your job, man," Terahl gestured, pinching his nose. "Ugh, fucking hell.."

"Is it my job if I don't get paid? And honestly, terrorist is a bit harsh, though understandable I guess. I prefer activist myself, something along those lines. We fight for a good cause, you know." The human guard muttered before being elbowed quite hard by Hasar. "Everyone, stand down, or we will be forced to take measures to separate you!"

Bouncing off what the security officers said, M'Noa decided to continue playing their part. "Everyone please calm down and separate. We don't need this to escalate any further"

Maggie had wiggled out of the fight to catch their breath. Gods, the pain was unbearable by this point, but they couldn't afford to— fucking, nevermind, Melody was on top of them. "If only you had as much spirit for baking you do for fighting. Maybe you might actually make something that tastes good," they wheezed from where the wind had been knocked out from them. (edited)

In truth, this whole fake fight situation was giving Melody a bit of a rush of adrenaline, she was having fun! But she needed to stay in character. "Oh yeah? And what would you know about fighting? You fucking tree hugger. If you think you know about fighting, go ahead! Hit me! Give me your best shot!"

Acul rolled out of the dustup with a cough. “Oh I hope Starfleet doesn’t like, put you into jail or something when they retake the station. You’re not that bad my friend.”

He didn't actually feel pain, so it took a moment for him to go 'ow' when Acul punched him in the nose. Then he got distracted by Maggie wheezing. Okay, he didn't really want an actual medical emergency to happen here, and he still owed her for that Dora comment, so he let go of Verelan, launched himself toward Melody and hit her, just as she asked! (edited)

"I've been hitting you, you single-celled organism," Maggie was running out of good insults. And good punches. Help. Oh! Noid to the rescue, thankfully. (edited)

There had been no indication that the other objective has been complete. If this gets shut down to soon, they others could be foiled. Looking around, she dragged another Kiosk in front of the fighting as a bit of a barrier, and then spat on the floor. "The only resolution to conflict, is letting it play out!" The Opera singer hummed and created a bit of a whistle with her tusks, the tune of a Nausicaan battle chant might be nice for the mood.

3

The hit from Noid CLOCKED the side of Melody's face - the one that was normally hid by her mask! Causing Melody to recoil, and blood to trickle from her nose. A giant bruise formed over her eye, Noid hit her hard! But Melody wasn't done with Maggie yet. Melody swung around behind Maggie, and placed her arm around Maggie's throat, but did NOT choke them. She just made it LOOK like she was choking them, and hoped they'd pick up on it! "You think you're so smart, don't you?! You think you're so clever, you think you're so talented?! HUH?! ANSWER ME YOU BITCH!"

Maggie fake-spluttered for a moment before realizing, right, they were Vulcanoid, they should make this a little more realistic. Prying Melody's arm off of them was easy. Shoving her to the ground and sitting right on top was even easier. "Thanks for the compliment," they huffed, pushing their hair back before landing another solid punch.

Whoa. Did he really hit that hard? Damn. There was blood on his hands now. Call him Lady McNoid. "Sounds like the envious words of someone not very smart, clever or talented to me." Maggie seemed to be handling this just fine, actually. Maybe. It was getting hard to tell what was real and what was fake.

This time the punch was even more solid! Melody's face got bruised up and bloodied twice as much as before, now giving her mask-side of her face a fighting makeover! Before she looked up to Maggie with a scowl, and lunged at them again, back into the tackling match! "INSOLENT BRAT!" She said - and she really felt like the Phantom in that moment, she couldn't lie...

"Alright, that's enough." Hasar, who wasn't small per se, though not a giant fellow, evaluated the fight, but found that there were a few smaller people who they'd be able to grab. They got punched here and there themselves, but within a few seconds, they were holding Melody by the upper arm, Maggie pulled off her swiftly. "If you throw another punch I will forcibly remove you from the promenade, and lock you in your quarters."

Melody was of course expecting the security guard to approach and try to deescalate the situation. So, in her best acting, Melody complied, and then replied simply, in a half-whisper, and a voice that showed that she was SEETHING with anger. "I didn't give you permission to do that." (edited)

"About as scary as a kitten in a ball of fluff." Maggie spat from where they were pulled, thankful to be off to the sidelines and out of the mess.

As Hasar pulled a few of the smaller folks apart, K’tehka, who had been watching from afar, appeared out of thin air and launched the full weight of his body behind a punch at Noid, while screaming, “Hab SoSlI' Quch!” which loosely translated to your mother has a flat forehead. A Klingon insult. You’re devastated right now.

3

"And I didn't give you permission to start fighting in the middle of the street, but here we are. Sit down, and calm down, before I get annoyed enough to stun you." Ah, maybe they should be sending people to the sickbay. Some of them really looked quite beat up.

Acul got out of the way of the giant Klingon. Well, might as well. “A Klingon? Your people killed my father’s cousin.” An abject lie, her father killed his own cousin in the Gorn-Klingon war, but white lies provide the best excuses to jump onto K’tehka’s back with an elbow drop.

3

"Getting annoyed is your problem," Melody said. She herself had taken a beating and half her face was bloodied and bruised. "If you want to do your job correctly you'll have me taken to sickbay. Or if you don't want to do your job correctly you can be impulsive. It's up to you." (edited)

"Shut up already, nobody's listening," Maggie was laying on the floor. Maybe they should take a nap.. (edited)

Alright, Hasar was done. They took out their phaser, visibly setting it to the lowest stun setting, and shot her. She'd not stay down for more than a few minutes, but they were tired.

*Melody's eyes rolled back into her head as she collapsed to the ground -- falling onto the bruised side of her face once more, and bloodying it up further.* (edited)

Noid did not have a mother (nor did he understand Klingon, but his UT translated it anyway) but he gasped in mock offense anyway. "How dare -" Then he was clocked full in the face, toppling over like a bowling pin and rolling away like a rolling pin. Klingon strength, damn. His nose was kind of bent at this point, but he seemed fine, trying to clamber back up. "Yeah, well, your mother has a fat forehead."

3

Now that that was done with, Hasar looked back to the group, but they were clearly the biggest of the guards here right now, and one big fuckoff Klingon just appeared out of nowhere... it was unclear if he had any personal stake in it or was just looking for a brawl. They turned to Maggie instead, pulling them further away from the fight, and getting one of their companions to fetch some water. "Please just explain to me what happened here," they asked, tired to the bone.

"I don't remember. Everyone started verbally fighting, and the fucking Gorn lady picked me up, and everything... exploded," Maggie was sure they looked a hot mess. Flushed, a bit bruised, and their shirt a mess of wrinkles, but nothing bad beyond that. "Didn't help that little baker bitch over there can't keep her mouth shut. Unfortunately for her, neither can me and my friend." they snickered. "I didn't hear anything beyond that." (edited)

Ded. Not really tho. Just out cold.

She had stopped her tune now that conditions were progressing. Seeing the Klingon jump into the frey was great! She was wondering where he went. Crossing her arms the Nausicaan watched security carefully.

Hasar sighed. "Well, I suppose this is a test of our capabilities as a team. Guys, start pulling as many people out as possible, but don't put yourselves in danger." Guess it was starting to become clear why Hasar was here, anyway. They handed a cup of water to Maggie as two people, the human and a trill, started extricating Verelan from the fight too.

K’tehka watched as Noid toppled and rolled away. “AND STAY DOWN!” He yelled, shaking a fist, then gave him a sneaky pitying look and turned to face the rest of the group. When he was suddenly pummeled in the back by a flying Gorn woman. “Oooof!” He yelped, reaching behind her to grab onto her arms or legs and pull her off, while spinning and jerking to make her unsteady and maybe fly off of him. “Ahhhhh!!” (edited)

"You know, I'm really about two seconds away from having them all transported to the brig. Let em cool off in there." Hasar really sounded very tired.

2

3

Well, Hasar was the leader (and likely one of the few ones with any sanity). “Sorry for this.” She spoke to the Klingon and before picking him up, and yeeting him like a sack of shit towards Hasar, they needed a lack of organization from the bad guys, and Hasar had a big target on his face.

3

K’tehka heard her apology and then felt his whole body leave the ground, something that hadn’t happened in a long, LONG time. He soared through the air, and let out the most blood curdling Klingon scream he could muster as he flew toward the guard.

Oh yeah, that spurred everyone on, alright. Two of them immediately drew their phasers, stunning Acul and K'tehka for good measure, while the little Ferengi demanded for the entire group to be transported to the brig.

But nothing happened.

6

5

"Well. Nice knowing you," Maggie quipped. It would only be a matter of time until the both of them were stunned to all hell. At least Verelan was out of the fire— they scooted towards her. Yeah, there it was!

Grogginess. Slowness. Before the world began to sharpen from a blur in her view. From the pool of red on the floor beneath her face, Melody's body gradually found more energy, as she started to wake up...

Acul dropped from the ground, but could reasonably tell they weren’t being beamed out. Heh, good timing. THUD

He could feel his body go limp and heard the Ferengi call for transport, realized he wasn’t dematerializing, and then passed out hoping his body struck at least one of the guards before he was completely unconscious.

"What is going on? Why aren't they in the brig yet, Mik?" Hasar asked from under K'tehka, sounding very winded.

6

Melody found the strength to push herself up with her arms, allowing her to look up at the guards. Half of her face looked like it had taken a harsh beating. "You try our patience," Melody half-whispered. "You're past the point of no return."

K’tehka is 6’2” and weighs roughly 380lbs. He is limp. An arm falls from on top of him and bonks Hasar.

Maggie launched the now-empty cup at Melody for good measure. "Shut up, you can take off the tough guy act."

3

1

M'Noa's attention up until this point had very much so been on checking that Melody was okay, or, well as okay as could be. This thing really got real, huh? But when the Klingon had been thrown at the guards their attention had instead turned to him, moving over cautiously, not wanting to get shot by the guards, hands half up as if hoping that would be of any help. They hadn't done anything, so they wouldn't get shot, right? "Please tell me you just stunned them."

"They're stunned," Terahl confirmed. "No need to fuss, Doc."

"Ow," Hasar said belatedly.

2

Melo-- "Ow." Ow... anyway. Melody took the cup to the head, continuing up to grab her baker's hat, with the mask inside it. Melody managed to pull herself upwards to a standing position... where she took the iconic mask out of the baker's hat, and placed it over the bloodied and bruised half of her face. "No but do you get the reference?" Melody asked Maggie. "Past the point of no return? Don't know that song from the show? Agh, never mind." (edited)

1

"I don't care about your 400 year old musical. I need a nap." They waved a hand idly in the air. "Or six. Ow."

3

1

"Anyone else? Get the reference?" Melody said weakly to the rest of the group. "Past the point of no--- augh. Come on. Fiiine. Well, at least we're not going anywhere anytime soon. They can't transport us." (edited)

Glancing back at Terahl briefly, M'Noa then looked down at the security guard. "Do you uhh... Want help getting out from under him? Or would you prefer your colleagues to help you?"

Acul looked up as she weakly staggered up. “Nhmmm…..that wasn’t fun…”

"Any help would be appreciated, thank you."

"Don't. Leave him." Terahl cocked his head to the side. "Medical can take care of whatever's left later."

All but glancing at Terahl, M'Noa turned back to try and help move the Klingon enough to let the security officer out from undeneath. They were far from strong, though, so they really couldn't do all that much. "Do you people happen to know where a dermal regenerator is? And maybe a medical tricorder? I'd appreciate it if I could check on everyone now the fight has seemingly calmed down." They asked the security guards.

Hasar raised a scaled eyebrow. "Medical deck, just like all the medical equipment? We would've brought you there by now, but the rest are too busy leading civilians away and gathering more men to deal with you. And I'm stuck under this fat old Klingon. I deserve better." Hasar was defeated, more than anything else.

The “fat old Klingon” groaned loudly, his head craning upward to peer around through bleary eyes. “I haven’t been shot in a few years.” He said, almost jovially. “I think I prefer being stabbed.” He turned a little to the side, not getting up, and looked down at Hasar. “Ah, you’re still breathing. I’m going to stay here for now. You might be spending some time with us. I believe my new friends and I have some questions. Though I will let them talk for now.” He grimaced and grinned at the same time somehow, and brought a hand up to his head, still essentially sitting on Hasar so they couldn’t get away - making sure their arms were pinned or that if he could feel a phaser or a weapon he could disable them/it.

Terahl squatted down in front of K'tehka to meet Hasar, cocking his head to the side. "Hey, pal. You comfy?" he queried, resting his elbows on his knees, arms hanging between them. Ass. "How about you do yourself a favor and give up, huh. Tell your men to stand down. How's that sound?" (edited)

"Marked Resolve, retreat as quickly as possible. Starfleet has escaped their quarters en masse, I repeat, Starfleet has escaped their quarters en masse! Retreat!" The announcement rang out throughout the entire station.

Melody looked at the security guards, giving them one final ominous look with the mask on. "You will curse the day you did not do, all that the Phantom asked of you."

She smiled lightly and cracked her neck. “We have won! Good work all! I am deeply sorry for throwing you, my friend.”

"Aaand... there's the cavalry. Too bad. You're kinda cute when you're squished," Terahl chuckled, fixing his tie and standing up straight. (edited)

"Shut up, kid, I don't get your references and you're too short to be scary," Hasar sighed, resigning himself to a few years in prison at the very least.

"My fucking dose is busted and I'm tired as fuck. I gotta take a dap." And with that, he curled up onto the floor and fell asleep.

6

She looked at Hasar. “I have notes on your plan if you want! You could use it as an educational experience!”

Upon hearing the security guard try and retaliate one more time... Melody gave him a snobby wink. "I don't have to be scary for you to be below all of us," Melody retorted. "Use that tongue of yours for something worthwhile from now on." Before she moved away from the guard, to the rest of the group.

"Literally below, considering someone is sitting on me. And anyway, I didn't harm anyone. You're the weirdos who threw someone at me, I was just trying to break up a fight." He had a point, you know.

“Oh I’m sorry about that. You actually seem like the most likeable terrorist I’ve ever met.” She said. “Do you want me to call anyone for medical?”

K’tehka cackled at the announcement. “Cowards! Fleeing like neSngech. And you, stop insulting my friends!” He bounced on them, hopefully shutting them up for a moment.

"Maybe consider alligning yourself with an organisation the Federation doesn't consider to be terrorists in the future. It might do you some good." M'Noa said to the guard, genuinely trying to not be mean about it.

"Jesus, don't kill the poor guy," Terahl protested. Don't squish him, he's kinda hot.

Melody didn't let her resolve down. "Yeah, that's right. They're fleeing like rats to a sewer," Melody said with a newfound confidence. "Cowards. All of them. Look at that - they're scared. Polaris was right. They're afraid."

He scoffed indignantly. “You would know if I was going to kill someone. And I am not. He’s fiiiiiine, right?” He looked down at the guy. He wasn’t trying to murder him, just make it harder for him to spout sass.

"Alright, settle down, killer. You've done enough for today." Semi-affectionately, he swatted the top of Melody's head. "I cast be normal again, or whatever."

1

Melody felt the pat on the top of her head, immediately bringing her back. "Awwww! But it was so much fun being confident!" Melody replied, her voice out of the power trip she was experiencing. "Fiiiiiine." Before she took off the mask, revealing her bruised and bloodied side of her face. "Heh. Not having the mask on ain't so bad." Before she realized... "I punched you, didn't I?? Are you okay??" (edited)

"Literally how is it my fault you guys have decided we're terrorists, anyway? I'm just laying here. I was trying to help some people who were beating each other up. You're the people who fought each other, and me, in order to make yourself feel better about the situation you were in. Does that make me below you, simply because your morals don't align with mine? You had no stakes in this, yet you chose to fight when nobody else was. Perhaps you're the lower ones, and just like everyone else you have to lift yourselves above others to feel better about the sorry choices you make in life." That was, genuinely, the most Hasar had said all day. Then, he sighed, not even complaining about K'tehka's squeezing, simply enduring it as he turned his head away. "Not that it matters now. You will go on deluding yourself that life is perfect when it is normal, and people like me will only fall further through the cracks. I may not agree with Ether on everything, but she's not dumb, you know. She knows how the universe works, better than any of you ever will."

4

Melody had the urge to reply to the security guard, 'if you think that's a good look for you.' But she decided not to dignify him with a response. Ultimately he was supporting the wrong cause.

She coughed. “I think by definition you would be terrorists, not that it really matters because federation standards and what not that don’t really apply to you.” She said with a hum.

"We've not hurt a single person since coming onto the station. That's less than I can say of you. Forgive me if the word "terrorist" in the mouth of the Federation means little to me." Hasar was still not looking at any of them, simply staring into the middle distance.

"Get off him," the reporter finally said, hands tucked away into his pockets. "Listen. It's my job to make sure the little guys get a voice. It's not right, how the 'fleet wronged so many people and corruption run wildly enough to let it happen. So. I'll see what I can do. Alright? You and your buddies, I'll get the story out as best I can. That's all I can do for you. But people will hear you, and they'll be willing to fight for you. Does that...sound like a good place to start?" He grimaced. "Sorry for telling the guy to crush you. That was a little overkill. We were trying to defend our home, that's all."

“You launched a unilateral coup of a station with children on it. It’s the equivalent of taking over a small town or a city. Forgive me if I don’t look at you with the most favour even if I can understand your reasons.” She said quietly. “You wouldn’t have been able to stop people from getting hurt.”

K’tehka hummed. “You took over a Starbase. You locked however many people in their rooms, upended countless people’s lives, and then when confronted, I’m speaking about Ether specifically now, forcibly removed us from a conversation. Ether is reactive. And hurt, which it sounds comes from a reasonable place. Maybe this was not the way to get help, eh? You cannot take over someone’s home, someone’s city in space and expect them to simply stand idly by whether you immediately harm someone or not. We tried talking and it didn’t work, so we did what we could. I would be open to listening to you, just maybe not with the threat of control of where my body goes or whether I get stunned against my will over my head. Make sense?” He thought about letting the man up but knew tactically that wasn’t a great choice.

Before Melody also realized-- "Wait, where's Maggie? Maggie?" Melody wanted to ensure Maggie was okay, because, ya know, she toppled Maggie multiple times and fake choked them. The least she could do was check in to see if Maggie was alright.

Snoring loudly, he rolled over into the family guy death pose.

6

“Also quite frankly, you were deluded to think Starfleet would not have retaken the station eventually. They either would’ve broken out of their prison, or would’ve launched an attack from outside. You likely put more people in danger taking over the station than you ever would have if you simply had attacked an actual solely Starfleet base. You were going to use us as bargaining chips at best, you don’t care about civilians. You care about getting back at Starfleet, a fine moral based on what Ether said happened to them, but regardless. The high horse is not yours in this instance my friend.” She spoke.

"Can you guys stop with the moral speeches? He gets it, jeez." Terahl waved his hand dismissively.

"Calm down, chiquitita, there's hurt people here. Just because you got to nap," Verelan gently chastised Melody from her position next to Maggie.

"I wonder if I can get Timi to princess carry me back to my quarters." Maggie, clearly exhausted and NOT in the mood to speak to anyone besides the Romulan they'd stuck themself firmly beside, was still laying on the ground. They looked fine, though! Just some bumps and bruises and messy hair. (edited)

"Might as well try to call him, I am not doing that right now, sorry love," Verelan replied easily, leaning her head on Maggie's shoulder, similarly tired if less bruised. And significantly less "recovering from a traumatic fall", too.

Taking the note from Verelan, Melody stepped back. "I'm sorry about what I said about you," Melody said to Verelan. "I hope you know I didn't mean it." Before she moved away from Maggie and Verelan, respecting their privacy. "I hope I didn't hurt anyone else," Melody said, looking around at the other civilians.

2

"Yea 's no worries. It was all fake, we know that. Get yourself down to Medical for those bruises, ok? And, uh... I imagine I'll see you down there soon enough." Maggie fumbled with their wand, tossing a rose vaguely in Melody's direction. "There you go."

2

3

Assuming a Starfleet Officer showed up and took Hasar into their custody or whatever it was Starfleet did with prisoners, K’tehka got up and ambled over to Noid, whose snores were unmistakable. He sighed and shook his head, laughing softly, and picked Noid up like a baby and carried him to a comfortable padded bench. He sat down, holding the man in his arms like a toddler, even though Noid was almost his height, feeling sorry for hitting him so hard his nose was crooked. He figured Noid needed medical attention but he seemed fine while he was asleep for now so he’d bring him to the Medical Bay in a few minutes.

5

The rose genuinely caught Melody off guard but she caught it! She looked back at Maggie, smiling at them. "Thanks Maggie.... It's beautiful. You take it easy too. You're probably right, I'll likely see you in medical in a bit." Melody couldn't remember the last time she got a rose for her performance... but this was certainly one for the books. Melody kept the rose close, planning on how she would preserve it in her quarters when all was said and done! (edited)

"I think I need a lie down after this, and I didn't even do any of the fighting." M'Noa said with a chuckle. "Everyone who was injured, I'd recommend going to med bay to get checked out. I can help you there if needed." They offered softly, tail flicking idly as they spoke.

After a long moment of thinking, taking in the relief, and the heartfelt caring for one another, Hasar spoke up again. They'd sat up as they were released by K'tehka, but hadn't made any further attempts to get away. They knew they wouldn't get far. "I appreciate you, sunglasses. That's all any of us could ever ask for."

6

"Put those Kiosks on my bill..." She spat looking at the damage she caused shaking her head.

4

She swore under her breath. “I need my lesson plan ready for tomorrow.” She said with a sigh, plopped out a padd and sat on the ground. “Let’s see….oh good, I don’t have anyone until third period. Let’s see, maybe something about the ethics of the federation and those it leaves behind? Could probably find a way to make it less wordy….but that’s not a bad thought.”

Melody wasn't expecting to hear those words come out of Hasar's mouth, but once they did, she froze. Turned in the direction of Hasar... and found herself arrested by what he said. Ether had spoke of such difficult dilemmas when it came to those who wanted to do the right thing for being wronged... it sounded like Hasar had been wronged by Starfleet as well. For some reason she had an inkling of a feeling that Hasar wasn't just doing this for the money. Melody found herself in a difficult state of mind - the Marked Resolve had a mission in mind which was understandable given how Ether was treated - but then again, the Marked Resolve were a terrorist organization. She didn't know what to think, especially given she endured phaser fire from Hasar. But he spared her life. He didn't kill her. Still, his cause was the wrong cause - so she didn't really know what to make of him.

He pressed his forehead into K'tehka's chest like a reptile seeking warmth, which he was. Seeking warmth, that is. The only Android reptile around here was Rehszan. Speaking of being an android, medical wouldn't help him much - he'd need an engineer. Luckily, it didn't seem like he was bleeding or malfunctioning, so he'd probably be okay until then.

Although Melody felt it necessary to demonstrate that she was capable of compassion, even to those who wronged her and others. Perhaps it would be one of the sparks that helped Hasar move in the right direction. Still looking at him from where she was, she spoke a few simple words... "I hope you find peace someday. All of you." And by the tone of her voice, she meant it! And with that, Melody was off to medical! Did she feel weird being compassionate to a terrorist? Sure. She hoped one day that this kindness shown would help the members of the Marked Resolve feel some mercy and compassion. Although Melody was ready to accept that maybe that day would never come, given the nature of Ether's experiments, and how it could have been the same or a different story for Hasar and the others. But deep down, she wanted them to change. Maybe that would happen - maybe it wouldn't. But kindness never hurt anyone.