Posted by Lieutenant Laraan (Counsellor) in Main Sim - Bridge: A Mid-afternoon Anomaly.

Laraan looked at him quickly rolling her eyes. “Hello. Did I not just ask this? If you have trouble hearing my voice I can talk a lot louder, but I doubt you could take that.” she said and instantly refocused back on Ghubari. She had it with R’han. It was no secret that he thought of her, what she was doing an her place on the bridge as unnecessary, unessential, all but menial, never deigning to even think of the possibility to make use of her services. She didn’t mind the silent rejection, even the veiled scorn, but if he started messing with her business, he’d better dress up warm.

• Laraan, CNS

OOC: for some reason I processed this as a whisper so I acted like he didn’t hear it. And he didn’t really like her being so close as to him the captain is now dangerous as she is unknown so his behavior was more to protect Laraan and the ship. I don’t know about the “thought” he has about Laraan. He don’t have a negative opinion of her aside from the fact she could be dangerous. Which is unremarkable because - considering someone dangerous - is normal for R;han.
Luke

OOC: Relax dear, it’s all IC fun :)

Ignoring the tension around her, Ghubari exhaled slowly and closed her eyes briefly. She could feel the pull and seeing the anomaly again, things didn’t feel any more clear, but at least there was direction. S eh rose to her feet. “I don’t know… exactly. It’s hard to explain. It was some sort of… message.” She shifted her intense gaze to Laraan, feeling incredibly determined as her crew knew she could be. “Whether it was some alternate dimensional space or something, I don’t know, but it felt real. And we need to go into the anomaly.” She could and would give an order here, but her crew needed to trust her. Did she believe they would follow even an extraordinarily odd order? yes. But she also knew given recent missions, that their discomfort would be eased if Laraan could convey that she wasn’t out of her right mind.

Fl. Captain Koraia, CO

Orvos raised both eyebrows. Go in to the anomaly? What in blue blazes was going on? Encounter with some sort of alien that told her to enter the wormhole. Yeah, great idea. Next time Orvos met a strange being that told him to walk straight into hell and never return, he would be certain to do just that.

Then again, for all he knew, it was the course of action that needed done. He had no idea. All he knew was that wherever the Athena flew, he would need to be there. It wasn’t the first time doing something crazy, and he was certain it would not be the last.

Laraan held Ghubari’s gaze, seeing the clarity behind it. Gently, she took her hand into hers and felt the Captain’s energy. It didn’t feel off or disturbed in any way, just normal. The silent assessment only took a few seconds, though it felt longer and there was understanding in Laraan’s gaze.

Koraia felt relieved and a tiny smile pulled at the corner of her mouth.

Without breaking the connection she said out loud
“You heard the Captain. Set a course into the anomaly.”
she rarely used the full power of her multi- layered voice but this time she did, so everyone on the bridge heard her as loud as if she was standing in front of him.

• Laraan, CNS

“Or,” broke out Orvos as he heard the sudden agreement with the captain’s actions. “What about that Probe Mr. Dan was just talking to us about? Eh?” He gave his eyebrows a wiggle and pointed a thumb behind him towards the occupied science station.

R’han was not moved by the change is Laraan’s volume. It was the XO’s duty to execute the captain’s order not the counselor especially when there were two higher ranked officers available. “Begging the Captain’s Pardon, What’s the rush? The anomaly will be there in an hour after we run a full scan of it.”

R’han

And without refrain, Orvos then pointed two fingers to the CTO. “I think he might have a point there. Why put the ship so quickly at risk?”

Luka looked at Laraan, frowning slightly. “I am not certain if you are accustomed to the chain of command, Counselor Laraan,” she stood to her full height, looking imposing, “But you do not have the authority to order the vessel to do anything when I am on the bridge. I am the officer who holds that position.”

Laraan’s eyes locked with Luka’s. “I’m not certain that you realised I just did a psychological assessment and then was merely repeating the Captain’s orders to confirm that this assessment has turned out well. Somethings should not be spelled out in order to preserve crew morale.” she said in a low voice to Luka. How dare this youngster quote protocol to her as if she was a greenhorn. Now Luka had forced her to spell out the truth that Laraan would rather have kept in a silent communication between her and Ghubari. This bridge crew needed to trust their Captain now, and not wonder why she was in need of a psychological assessment. She swallowed her anger about Luka though, if the new XO was clever, she let it lie. She would have to have a serious conversation with Luka when this was over, explaining a few of the finer point of crew dynamics.

“Captain, I must ask a similar question as R’han, simply because my duty is to put the safety of this vessel and her crew over my devotion to your orders. What reason do you have to go through the anomaly, and what makes you think we will not be torn asunder by passing through it?”

Luka, XO

It was then that Orvos shut up and listened intently.

Laraan managed to not roll her eyes at Luka’s words. She moved herself to stand next to Ghubari with her hands clasped behind her back and looked at the crew with certainty in her eyes, a silent move to back up her assessment with the gesture. She knew the look in Ghubari’s eyes, in fact she was joyful she had seen it again now. Ghubari was at her best when there was no doubt in her mind.

There were only a few people on the ship who truly understand how deeply her spiritual beliefs went and fewer still who had witnessed her in her deep meditations. But what happened when she was elsewhere was no less real and impactful than her conversations with Mshuri. Could she truly ask people to simply accept that and give her the benefit of the doubt?

Turning to face Luka more, Ghubari felt intensely calm as she drank in her new first officer. Luka was still learning about her captain and the ship and Ghubari understood that implicitly. “We won’t. I can’t explain how I know, other than someone else who would not want to see us harmed made that clear.” She exhaled forcibly as she glanced about the bridge and raised her voice slightly so everyone for sure could hear her. “We’ve been through many difficult times as a crew, and while I can’t tell you what is on the other side of that anomaly, I can tell you that it’s imperative we go through. You’ve all trusted me before. You need to trust me now.”

“Helm, set a course for the anomaly and engage.”

Luka could contradict her orders and declare her under an influence they were uncertain about, but as she gazed intently at the Laleri again, all had extreme clarity of mind, as if she had been caught in a storm and the clouds had just broken. She was certain, and she was calm. They would either go with her on this, or else this all ended here.

Fl. Captain Koraia, CO

“They say the eyes are the window to the soul. I do not have a lot of experience with you, Captain Ghubari, but even with my limited ability to read human non-verbal communication, I can see in your eyes the sincerity of your decision. You do not look like one deluded or lying.”

A light smile returned to Laraan’s face. There was hope yet for the young XO.

She nodded to NE Packer at the Helm, who had been looking nervously at what seemed to be a brewing conflict. The young woman nodded back, and set the course as instructed. Within seconds, the Athena was drifting towards the anomaly.

“I said it before, and I will say it again. We have no knowledge of how bumpy this transition is going to be, so I will suggest now that everyone find somewhere to sit, and hold on tight. We do not want people flying across the bridge if this ride gets bumpy…” to prove her point, she grabbed onto the arms of her chair. If they had seatbelts, she would suggest those as well. She pressed the comm button and sent out a call on all speakers. =^=Bridge to Athena, this is a general call. Everyone hold onto something. We may experience some turbulence as we enter the anomaly…=^=

Luka, XO

Laraan returned to her aux station, sat down and fastened the emergency seat belt.

The wormhole seemed to almost expand towards the Athena as the ship sailed into the unknown. Flying arcs of pure energy flew around the ship but without touching and people’s faces lit up in time with the flashes. There was a presence here, it was palpable, this was no mere ordinary phenomenon, there was an intelligence at work and although no one could point to it, everyone knew that in this corridor of space, they were not alone.

Junior Gamemaster Conspiracy Theorist
OOC If people want to sidesim some character development here feel free to have your own Celestial Temple of the Prophets experience at this point.

Orvos sighed inwardly. Truth be told, could someone speak something untrue without realizing they were wrong, and still come across as telling the truth? He trusted the captain, that much was certain. And he was fully aware that this crew, as unique as they each were, were bound to encounter crazy situations. He was in this for the long haul. Besides, for all he knew, time was causing his race to be run all the quicker. Why not embrace it?

He took his seat, sending a message to main engineering. =/\=Secure yourselves and all equipment. Report any abnormalities as necessary.=/\= And with that, he kept his eyes moving from the viewscreen and his readouts.

-Lt. Orvos Legen, CE

Stark had remained silent throughout the narrative. He had run multiple scenarios through his mind, was the captain who returned the same Captain that left? In this forever degrading universe of anomalies and time distortions he knew nothing was certain and in times like that he chose to do nothing and see which way the cards fell. He was also wondering how they could have been sent to scan an anomaly that hadn’t appeared until they arrived. He quietly started looking over the communication logs looking for answers.

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Laraan’s eyes were on Stark. She thought she had an idea what he was thinking about. Another part of her was annoyed with him because he took no measures to secure his furry butt! But in reality she was scared. She had the sinking feeling that this was all pre-ordained, all part of the larger picture that their unseen pupeteer was painting as they went along - laughing evilly.

• Laraan, CNS

Luka blinked, and seemed to shift a little with discomfort, then smiled softly. She looked over at Ghubari and there was a strange expression in her eyes. If Ghubari looked at Luka in the moment, the XO would nod slightly, and Ghubari would see the same determination and clarity in the eyes of her new XO. “I understand now,” she whispered.

Luka, XO