Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in SPT-ST Prolog: The Galactic Doughnut - All senior staff summoned
<snip>

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Surda (Chief of Security / RTF) in SPT-ST Prolog: The Galactic Doughnut - All senior staff summoned

Posted by Ensign Luna (Security Officer /RTF) in SPT-ST Prolog: The Galactic Doughnut - All senior staff summoned

With in minits Ensign Luna entered the CIC. ” hi whats going on” she asked.
Ensign Luna

Durheim heard the announcement from the captain with interest; he was off-shift currently (as much as that was possible aboard the Leviathan) and had just reached a good stopping point with his personal work. Grinning to himself, he quickly snatched up his ‘go-bag’ and headed towards the CIC.
Shortly after, he stepped into the increasingly crowded room; announcing himself with a cheerful “Hello, Mr. Cobb.” He smiled at his fellow crew members; and his curiosity spiked at the varied specialties on display.

-Durheim; Engineering

Daizi finished inputting a series of commands. She checked and rechecked her work. Everything seemed ok but..... she screwed up her eyes and called out, trying to keep the nerves from causing her voice to waver in pitch like an adolescent school boy getting over excited.

“Shuttle is prepped and Alfred is ready Sir. I have programmed a flight path that will orbit the Holland at what is as far as I can ascertain a safe distance. It will remain on station to provide scanning data and continuously update us on the condition of the Holland until such time as you decide it is safe for the shuttle to approach closer.”

Ensign Daizi Orin - Scientist

OOC: Just fixing my thread split…

IC: “Good work, Ensign. Launch when ready,” the captain responded, before turning towards the new arrivals.

“Ah, Miss Luna, Mr Durheim,” Cobb greeted the pair, “I hope the day finds you in the mood for a puzzle, because we have a conundrum here and no mistake.”
Moving to the sensor information ring, the captain activated the central imaging unit and immediately a vision of the USS Holland appeared. Or…what had at one time been the Holland but was now a nauseating jumble of pure, unrelenting chaos. Entire sections of the ship appeared to have been removed, replaced by a variety of random objects - a corridor of dense jungle vegetation; a statue of a gerbil in a wire cage; a small ocean in the process of swallowing a tiny tugboat; a knot of semi-transparent spiders…

“This…” Cobb roared, one finger jabbing into the midst of the hologram, “is what remains of the USS Holland. Where the rest of her has disappeared to we have absolutely no bloody idea! All we do know is that she encountered some kind of gravimetric distortion and that the crew, or, part of it at least, managed to escape and land on the nearest planet.”

His fingers prodded buttons with the passion of a concert pianist and, seconds later, the Holland was swept away by a new image - a chemical analysis:
- Protein (10%–12%)
- Starch (70–75%)
- Polysaccharides (2-3%)
- Lipids (2%)

“And this…” a wave of his hand momentarily displacing the glowing numbers and letters, before the image restabilised like a pond swallowing an errant pebble, “is all the information we’ve been able to gather so far on the potential cause of these disturbances. That and…well…”
He exhaled a weary breath, hands raking through his hair in the manner of one wresting with uncomfortable truths. “…well, it appears to be shaped like a ring.”

Clearing his throat, Zachariah nodded towards the science station and Daizi Orin.
“Now Miss Orin here is sending a shuttle and holographic pilot in for a closer look at the mess. We are also attempting to establish communications with the surviving crew down on the planet. But Mr Durheim, Miss Luna,” he implored the pair, “we need to come up with a way to stop it. A way to contain it. Before we find the Leviathan turned into a flock of chickens and their proverbial eggs!”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

The shuttle, having a sensor stream far closer to the ship than the probe, is able to relay more of the same information already relayed regarding the status of the ship. The emergency transponder beacon pings the communications system in orbit around the nearby class M planet where the crew is sitting. Their messages are full of static interference caused by magnetic isotopes in the atmosphere, nothing that would cause a shuttle any problems but is a nightmare on sensors and communications.

The holographic pilot finds on the scanners the same chemical makeup the probe reported before it vanished and moved out to get a better look at what it may be cautiously so as not to share the same fate. The small object is difficult to track but easily followed until it bounces off another bit of alien mass that had not yet frozen completely, giving a twitch to knock whatever it is toward the shuttle. It’s not moving fast so it is easy to keep away from it as it comes into clear view. Though frozen due to being in space, it is clearly a red doughnut with green frosting and little white snowflake sprinkles. The holographic pilot runs the scans multiple times on different frequencies just to be safe, however all reports come back with the same result. It is a doughnut.

=^=Shuttle Craft to Ensign Orin, I found an object that matches the probe scans but doesn’t show any activity at the moment. It appears to be a rather festive doughnut, should I conclude this as the anomaly or should I continue the search for something else?=^=

• Storyteller

“Mmm doughnut…” was the first thought that crossed Daizi’s mind, her empty stomach growling at the thought of the breakfast pastry she had left unfinished in her quarters before starting her bridge duty shift.

She double checked the readings to make sure she wasn’t imagining things but no, the readings were what they were, not matter how unusual. There could be only one conclusion…

“Sir, these readings are so strange, I can only conclude that our sensors are somehow being Jammed…”

Ensign Daizi Orin - Scientist and Doughnut enthusiast

“Jammed by what?” Cobb asked, his tone now adopting an almost delirious edge. “Is it strawberry, at least?”
He stared at the footage being broadcast by the shuttle. “And that is our anomaly? A bloody…doughnut?” Where was Quinn Kindle when he needed her. The woman understood pastry better than any other alive.

With the unsteady demeanour of a man expecting to wake at any moment, his gaze returned to Luna and Durheim. “You…see it too, right? The…doughnut?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

There was a distinct pause as Durheim adjusted the goggles over his eyes before replying; his tone make it clear that he chose his words carefully. “…Yes, Mr. Cobb, I do see the doughnut on the screen. As much as my standard of what defines ‘unusual’ has changed since I’ve been on the Leviathan… I believe this is… unique.”

“Computer run a diagnostic of the view screen to detect any malfunctions” Raauhl would not allow himself to believe that a giant space doughnut was what they were seeing. “Is there any sign of photonic energy someone may be playing us for fool”

• Cmdr Raauhl, XO

Luna could not help it she burst into a fit of historical laughter. ” I’m sorry its not… no this is pretty funny I need a minute” she said and giggled for a few more seconds. Finly taking a deep breath and shaking her head. ” so can we determine what is jamming us and why” she asked as if she had not just been laughing at the entire thing. After what she had been through on the Viking a Donut was funny.
Ensign Luna

Surda looked around the room, more than a little confused. “What in the name of the Goddess is a doughnut?”
-Surda, CoS (Missing some essential food culture knowledge)

Surda’s confusion only managed to send Luna into another fit of giggles. ” Ill be right back” she said disapering finding a replicator and retering with a cholesterol sprinkles donut for Surda. ” Here just try it. Its easier then explaining” Luna said. She handed the pastry to her.
Ensign Luna

Surda blinked at the doughnut. “By Mirag it’s a food,” she muttered, scowling at the pastry in her hand.
-Surda, CoS

Cobb’s eyes stared with jealous hunger at the doughnut.
“Aye, it is a food, Miss Surda,” he confirmed, licking unconsciously at his lips as if they were coated with powered sugar, “one of the finest pastry formations of our time. Or indeed, any time.”

But afternoon tea was a luxury currently well beyond their reach. Fathoms below them, on the surface of the nearby planet, the survivors of the USS Holland awaited rescue. And out there, in the usually empty void of space, a different kind of doughnut swelled and grew with malevolent intent.

“So, what do we do?” the captain shrugged, one hand raking through his hair as he took a moment to study every individual in the room. “Lt Surda, Ensign Luna,” he turned immediately to the security team, “as the highest ranking RTF members present, I must ask you, do you believe you could attempt a containment of the…doughnut?”

“And Mr Durheim,” he switched focus momentarily to the engineer, allowing the women brief opportunity for collaborative thought, “if they do make a containment attempt, then we will require an appropriate vessel. Is that something your team might be able to produce? Quickly?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Durheim’s reply began slowly, but quickly became firm. “Y-es… yes, Mr. Cobb; I believe we may have something adequate; though I must say it is a prototype. It has been tested.... but not ‘in the field’, so to speak.” His commbadge clicked, and he quickly issued a few quiet commands; his tone becoming fierce towards the end. “One moment Mr. Cobb; I have an assistant bringing it to the bridge now.”

Roughly a minute or so later, a disheveled engineering assistant arrived at the bridge; panting and with a sheen of sweat on his pimply forehead. In his hands was a small pink box; roughly the size of a loaf of bread. As the assistant caught his breath (and momentarily stopped breathing at the sight of the assembled Brass) his eyes found Durheim; and he hurriedly passed the box over before making his exit. Sprinting feet could be heard once the door closed, though it was likely a coincidence. At closer inspection, it was apparent that the sides of the box were quite flimsy; they held their shape, but deformed slightly even under the engineers’ delicate grip, as if made of thin cardstock. Turning to the captain, Jonathan presented the item for inspection, grinning from ear to ear.

“Here you are, Mr. Cobb. Please don’t be too alarmed by its delicate structure; the important bits are all inside. This is a prototype, as I mentioned, but if it performs as expected it should hold together just fine.” Pausing, he looked at the box closely. “So long as it is treated with care, of course. Unfortunately for now, our focus has been on the containment and power supply; less so on the casement. But it should place any sufficiently small item under a relatively high containment level; so long as the power supply lasts. Under laboratory testing, it has performed as expected approximately fifty-nine percent of the time; with only a fourteen percent catastrophic failure rate!”

Durheim, Engineering