As there’s a lot going on, I’ve decided to keep this update clear and clean of all previous information; if you need to catch up, please feel free to hit the Parent button below in order to follow this thread back to its source for special bits that you might have missed or need to review. Rather than sort updates by department, I’ve also decided to highlight each individual thread here in order to provide more specific hints and prompts for those in need of help.

Please remember that if you become stuck or confused, you can always reach out to Jenn or myself at any time for clarification. I never consider an opportunity to expand or improve our narrative a bother or inconvenience, so don’t be shy. With that, let’s dig in!

● [Engineering]: An Ever-Shifting Perspective— With a little help from an engineer, Lieutenant Woods was able to discover that there are four distinct types of energy motes on board the Viking. Each type seems to react differently with its environment and will pose its own challenges in terms of containment and study. Learning more about their interaction with the Viking—and even one another—could provide the team with more clues as to their purpose… and quite possibly their objective, should they have one.

● [Sickbay]: The Balancing Edge— The flurry of activity in Sickbay is beginning to dwindle thanks to the diligent efforts of the medical team. They have discovered that interaction with the alien energy lifeforms leaves behind an electrostatic charge in the brains of affected crewmembers. As this energy signature can be detected by the Viking‘s equipment, mobile monitors have been constructed and passed out to the senior staff in hopes of avoiding future behavioral mishaps. While it’s not exactly a defense against encounters with these beings, it will go a long way of providing peace of mind for the crew. Most of the officers present have been cleared for duty once more, and Ensign Sacco is both restrained and unconscious. Commander Kohr, recently overcome with his own struggles with an energy mote, has started to regain consciousness thanks to Ensign Jones’ quick thinking. His strained utterances, however, are a bit concerning.

● [Sickbay]: Triage Command— Lord Hab’rabi is still in a come-like state thanks to the attack by Ensign Sacco… or whatever was influencing the security officer. It’s been since discovered that some of what he managed to tell the crew before the attack was true: he is, quite literally, the keeper of what he calls remnants—motes of energy that bear a striking resemblance to complex patterns of intelligence. Much like the affected crewmembers, Hab’rabi’s mind is awash with electrostatic energy. His mind, however, seemed singularly designed to process and interact with this energy without adverse effect. Though Sacco had used a phaser set on high stun, Hab’rabi seems inordinately affected by the directed blast and has yet to show any sign of regaining consciousness in the near future. If he doesn’t receive help from the Viking crew, he may never wake up again.

● [Brig]: Changing of the Guard— Lieutenant Commander Sigmundsson, once a man detained for his seemingly-erratic behavior previously, has found himself with a reprieve in the form of Lieutenant Fayth’s mobile monitors. Showing no signs of continued influence by the strange energy motes, Sigmundsson has been cleared for duty by the medical staff. All that stands between him and freedom is for Captain Rende and Lieutenant Commander Korczak to sign off on his release!

● [Deck 34]: Meanwhile, Elsewhere…— Lieutenant Forgrave’s investigation into Hab’rabi’s attack was cut short by a call for help from a hapless ensign when not one but two energy motes crossed her path! Thanks to some quick thinking by the responding security team, only one of the motes managed to get away. What mysteries might a dutiful security chief unearth in his search for the truth?

● [Damaged Systems]: Repairing the Bioneural Gelpacks— Lieutenant Asam has finally managed to free himself of the malfunctioning jefferies tubes and has begun a search for the source of the damaged gelpacks… with some help from Ensigns Little and O’Larria! Perhaps some quick thinking and elbow grease will get some of the Viking‘s malfunctioning systems back up and running… and hopefully discover the cause of such an unusual and unlikely failure in the ship’s safety systems.

Hopefully I didn’t miss anything, and if I did feel free to let me know! I look forward to picking things up with everyone after the holidays. Here’s to hoping we all have a safe and joyous new year with friends and loved ones. Happy writing!
—Jas—