Normal
The new mission has just begun. An old, but large, unpowered star ship seemingly appeared in the course of the Viking. After a few attempts a basic level of communication has been established and the Viking crew is curiously investigating this ‘coincidence’ from a distance. Demonstrating the Star-Fleet motto, ‘meet strange new races,’ from a safe distance and with phasers pointed.
Note: Luke stepped down as GM as of Nov. 23, 2021, the CO and XO decided to complete the sim as a crew.
11-24-21
As noted above, the Viking discovered a massive alien ship while on a routine patrol of deep space. The ship was transmitting a very friendly greeting, asking for help and welcoming replying aliens to come aboard. When the Viking came in range, it received a sort of “welcome packet” of information about the aliens and their culture—very much like a childhood film showing you the marvels and wonders of a far-off land. The ship also requested two liters of anti-matter, though again in an automated fashion. Some of the crew felt this was suspiciously similar to an event that befell another Federation ship years and years ago, so the crew opted to learn more of the aliens before passing over the good stuff.
An away team was dispatched to investigate the ship, learning rather quickly that the entire crew—what crew there was left—was in stasis. Many were dead in their tubes, but one tube in particular was being handled with great care by the ship’s monitoring systems. This pod contained Lord Hab’rabi, a powerful man of station whose dress and bearing evoked images of old Earth gods. More curious still were the strange ember lights that moved about his head like curious insects, drifting in and out of his skull in a disturbing fashion that seemed to bother him not at all. Not quite convinced of Hab’rabi’s intentions or benevolence, the command staff extended an invitation of sorts for Hab’rabi to come aboard the Viking to discuss the antimatter. Though a bit long-suffering in his acceptance, Hab’rabi agreed upon the condition that he be borne to the Viking via shuttlecraft; he seemed very interested, though wary, of transporter technology that his kind did not yet possess or understand. In the meantime, the Viking took the larger alien ship in-tow and set course for a starbase, offering a limited power transfer to stabilize the foreign systems.
Not long after Hab’rabi was settled in his quarters did the crew begin to realize that the alien was not the only thing to have come aboard. Lieutenant Darz and Commander Sigmundsson manifested some less-than-diligent behavior, and a few other crew members experience bits of lost time or confusion. One engineer decided to abandon his post to go make out with someone he hated working with! Fearing that they had somehow been boarded by a malevolent force or contaminated by an unknown pathogen brought aboard by Hab’rabi, Commander Kohr enacted a containment protocol—force fields sprang up all over the ship, segregating each deck from the others and placing turbolifts on limited-access. The behemoth ship was also cut loose and set adrift on a collision course for a distant star before the Viking engaged shields, changed course, and put distance between them. Security details were dispatched to arrest and contain both Darz and Sigmundsson until their conditions could be medically and scientifically assessed. During this distraction, a security officer in charge of guarding Hab’rabi suddenly turned on him and stunned the alien directly and repeatedly before dropping his phaser and coming to his senses.
—Our Current Dilemma—
The crew of the USS Viking have begun to unravel and something hinky is afoot! The stage is set and there are plenty of mysteries to solve for those writers with the gumption and grit to get to the bottom of what is going on! We’ve got four solid threads moving along and lots of good information just waiting to be discovered, and each department is going to have a role to play in the success—or failure—of this mission. Can the Viking crew figure out what’s really going on, or will chaos and confusion spell disaster? I can’t wait to find out! Oh, and I’ve retitled some of the main sim threads to include a little hint for you all, so keep that in mind!
To help you guys get inspired, here’s some breadcrumbs for your station:
Medical: Ensign Fairweather has reported to Sickbay complaining of some lost time. He’s not happy, either, because he found himself making out with someone he hates working with! His prefrontal cortex has shown a bit of recent stimulation, but so far the medical staff hasn’t figured out what would be causing it. While this was going on, Lieutenant Commander Kohr arrived for a scan in hopes of being cleared to continue his duties when he suddenly collapses! Seconds later, two sparks of light—one a sullen russet, and the other a wan amber—slip free of his skull and loft into the air. The darker mote ripples and vanishes, but the amber mote lingers… and seems to have taken an interest in Lieutenant Fayth. Security teams are on the way with both Lieutenant Darz and Lieutenant Commander Sigmundsson so their behavior can hopefully be explained. Could their scans hold clues as to why the crew have begun acting so strangely? What are the strange spots of light that seem so familiar to those orbiting Hab’rabi, and is there a connection?
Oh, and Lord Hab’rabi’s been shot. Better make sure he’s okay so that there’s not a diplomatic incident!
Security: Ensign Sacco has gone rogue! While on duty guarding Lord Hab’rabi, the ensign drew his phaser and stunned the alien at point-blank range; not appeased by the result, he then fired several more times into Hab’rabi’s head before dropping his phaser and calling for help. A medical officer has arrived to check on the unconscious alien, but that still leaves Sacco unattended… and possibly unhinged. Could the ship’s internal logs have any clues as to what happened, or why Sacco decided to go postal on our visitor? Might Sacco himself remember anything prior to the incident that he’s too shaken to remember? Is there a way of preventing this kind of thing from occurring again?
Science: The science department has a wide open selection of venues they could go in order to help the crew. The first option is to work with the medical staff to learn how these strange lights work, and what they are. Hab’rabi has referred to them as “remnants,” the souls of his people and the echoes of their past. Scans have determined that they work in a way similar to the Viking‘s gelpacks in that they can read, store, and transmit data. They also appear to read much like brain wave patterns. Are they some kind of data storage device the aliens use for their foreign purposes? Are they truly souls, some kind of displaced memory in ethereal form? How do they interact with the world around them?
The second trove of information is contained within the alien ship itself, a behemoth of a vessel several times larger than the Viking. She’s a good fifty years behind current technology, but she’s a marvel of engineering: the ship has traveled to us from the far side of the galaxy with only minor damage, a structural and engineering feat! A ship like that is bound to have records and sensor logs of phenomena never-before-seen on this side of the galaxy; the Federation could potentially learn a great deal about long-term travel on ship design at the very least. She was meant to be a colony ship according to Hab’rabi, but it was sent off-course and they had to make due with their situation. Could understanding what happened to the alien ship offer clues to what is happening aboard the Viking? Would learning more about Hab’rabi and his people shed light on the changes in the crew’s behavior?
Engineering: Your team has both a mystery and a problem. The mystery lies in the alien ship and how to effect repairs to get her back underway. She’s still on minimal power, despite getting a nice charge from the Viking via a direct energy transfer. There’s a bit of radiation leaking from the warp core; while it’s nothing serious or life-threatening, it is obscuring the Viking‘s sensors. It’s a huge colony-type ship with thousands of aliens in deep stasis, though something happened to them and left a good majority of them dead. Still enough for a colony, perhaps, but it’d be iffy. What can be done to repair the damage (once you get it back in-tow)? What else might be going on that the sensors can’t see for the radiation? And what is that secured room in the heart of the behemoth?
Your problem is with the Viking and the mysterious force moving about affecting the crew. The first officer has enacted a containment protocol, and the captain wants a plan to protect the ship from these… energy blobs?… and she wants it yesterday! How are you supposed to shield the ship’s systems from a thing you don’t understand? Can you get a sample to analyze? Have medical or science collected any data you can use? Why is the comm panel lighting up with complaints of malfunctions all across the ship? And why is it so damned hot in here?
Command: This is a fine, sticky mess, innit? The Viking has made first contact with an alien species from all the way across the galaxy, and you’ve rolled out the red carpet in welcome. Sure, you had your hand under the table ready for a cantina gunfight, but you didn’t let that stop you from smiling and welcoming Hab’rabi aboard. Then what happens? Lieutenant Commander Sigmundsson, drinking on the job. Lieutenant Darz, packing away the buffet before taking a skinny dip. Ensigns gone wild with phasers and tongue-spelunking. It’s like high school… in space! Worst of all is that no one seems to have a handle on it, and the first officer has collapsed! What are you to do? Lock the ship down and get down to brass tacks, that’s what!
Kohr is down for the count, but could there be something to that? Hab’rabi was stunned into a coma by a member of the security detail meant to guard him, but maybe if you act quickly you can avoid a first contact snafu. How can you head this thing off at the pass, get the ship back under control? And good gods, will someone please figure out what those lights are and how to stop them?
12-21-21
● [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.
2-16-22
● [Engineering]: An Ever-Shifting Perspective— In accordance with Captain Rende’s orders, Engineering has initiated a static warp field around the Viking in order to prevent subspace travel by the alien energy beings. While most of the crew experiences only minor disorientation, those that have interacted with the motes find themselves suffering nigh-crippling symptoms. Thankfully, the effects seem to subside within moments. How will this affect the energy beings on this side of the subspace barrier? Could the effects be studied to somehow bolster the Viking‘s defenses against further incursions? What consequences will this have on those touched by the motes?
● [Sickbay]: The Price of Existence— Doctors Semenza and Jones have successfully repaired the damage inflicted upon Lord Hab’rabi by the rogue Ensign Sacco, and the alien is conscious. Lieutenant Forgrave and Lieutenant Commander Sigmundsson, finished with their preliminary investigation on Deck 34, begin to question him concerning the goings-on. Hab’rabi submits to the line of questioning as patiently as possible, but is both cryptic and unforthcoming in his responses. Hab’rabi’s mood shifts violently however when the static warp field rips through Sickbay and sends him tumbling from his biobed. Is there more going on than merely an obstinate alien lord and his pride? Could there be something behind what he stressed to Forgrave? Is he an enemy or an ally… or a victim himself?
● [Deck 8]: Chaos and Reason— A concerned call from Repair Team Alpha summons Chief Asam and Ensigns O’Laria and Little to inspect some rather deliberate-looking damage to the isolinear control systems. Unfortunately for Eldorin, he’s called away leaving O’Laria and Little to get to the bottom of things without him. Is there more to the damage than meets the eye? Why would anyone disable the failsafes meant to protect the ship from such malfunctions? What are the commonalities between the most-affected systems? Could something bigger be happening than an unfortunate system glitch?
● [Bridge]: Belly of the Beast— The Viking has returned to take Hab’rabi’s colony ship in-tow, hoping to perhaps find some answers to the mysteries the crew has unearthed. While attempting to retrieve information from the alien ship, Captain Rende encounters Legion—the ship’s computer augmented through integration of remnants. Legion makes it known that it will not assist Rende if it means harm to its charges, but manages to entertain the captain’s probing queries before malfunctioning and terminating the connection. During a storm of audio, the bridge crew is able to piece together some rather disturbing voice snippets… and a chilling account buried deep in the background. Will this alter the captain’s plan to investigate the behemoth, or will the crew brave the unknown vessel in the search for answers?
Hopefully I didn’t miss anything, and if I did feel free to let me know! If you’re not sure of what to do or how to go about something, reach out to Jen or myself via Discord or email so we can help. We’ve started the climax to this interesting tale, so let’s all work hard to bring it across the finish line. Happy writing!
3-6-22
● [Kohr’s Quarters]: Staying One Step Ahead— Though confined to quarters for his rash actions in Sickbay, Commander Kohr nevertheless has taken steps to protect the USS Viking by having the antimatter moved from Engineering to Cargo Bay Two. Captain Rende, however, finds herself curious as to his motives and launches a personal inquiry into the matter. Has the Klingon been compromised? Has the captain? Or is it an evolution of the alien plot to take over the ship by setting crewman against crewman and making everyone second-guess themselves?
● [Sickbay]: The Price of Existence— Lord Hab’rabi is once again unconscious, but not before passing along some information about what occurred on his ship prior to the encounter with the Viking. It seems that his own vessel was taken over by a hostile, possessive force that turned his own crew against each other before being subdued at great cost. While the crew consider the information, Ensign Darz has the medical staff rouse Ensign Sacco for questioning… and he’s got a lot to say about his own encounter with Lord Hab’rabi and the energy entities swirling about him.
● [Deck 8]: Chaos and Reason— With a little help from Ensign Reyes and the rest of Repair Team Alpha, Ensigns Little and O’Larria learn of an attempted sabotage to all ship’s systems having to do with energy conversion—transporters, replicators, deflector control, etc—and that the rest of the damage was caused by a cascade failure involving the Viking‘s compromised subsystems. Though most of the ship has been put to rights, the question still remains: why those systems, and what did the aliens hope to accomplish… or prevent? (Please note that this thread is currently several hours behind the present timeline in other threads, and that events here cannot drastically alter the course of the story. It is purely intended for information purposes.)
● [Bridge]: Belly of the Beast— After passing along the information gleaned from Lord Hab’rabi during his brief bout of consciousness in Sickbay, Lieutenant Forgrave and Lieutenant Yorba attempt to unravel the mystery of the alien ship… and what to do with the strange command Forgrave was given. Yorba presented several theories on where something might be concealed in the damaged derelict, but attempts to reach out to Legion for confirmation place the Valh’kaeri survivors in danger when their communications array draws what little power remains to respond. Captain Rende’s solution is to provide half a liter of antimatter to the ailing vessel but finds it’s been moved and marches off to discover why, leaving Forgrave to puzzle out their next move. With the future of an entire species on the line, will the Viking crew risk rendering aid to the Valh’kaeri with the unknown lurking among her decks? Or will they put it all on the line and focus on the problem at home?
4-3-22
● [Cargo Bay Two]: Shell Game— In a move to bait the energy beings into revealing themselves, Commander Kohr has moved the anitmatter prepared for the Valh’kaeri to a more secure location and set up a containment field. After the meeting with Captain Rende, he and his team are now readying themselves to take a shuttle over to the colony ship in search of answers; the captain, however, has put that trip on pause while she sorts things out with her command staff. Paranoia and doubt, it seems, have given the Viking crew quite a shake… or is it intuition helping them to see things they hadn’t considered?
● [Sickbay]: Feints and Subtleties— After being sent sprawling by the side-effects of the static warp field and rendered unconscious, Lord Hab’rabi is once again awake. Though bearing a strong face, the alien’s experiences in recent hours have begun to take their toll on him in ways not even he is consciously aware of. What secrets could the alien lord be holding onto? What dangers?
● [Deck 8]: Chaos and Reason— After a bit of leg work the self-proclaimed Team Asam has scanned all the malfunctioning bulkheads across the ship and is putting their findings together. A bit of mystery still surrounds the reasoning behind the malfunctions, but there is hope for an answer on the horizon. Was it completely an accident, or was there a method to the madness? What could that mean for the Viking and her crew, and for Lord Hab’rabi’s colony ship? (Please note that this thread is currently several hours behind the present timeline in other threads, and that events here cannot drastically alter the course of the story. It is purely intended for information purposes.)
● [Engineering]: Ghosts in the Machine— After struggling with the task assigned to him, Ensign Caelian Weir is closing in on a solution to tracking and containing the strange energy beings running rampant. While still firmly in the realm of theory, the young engineer is nevertheless heartened by his latest simulations. Now all that’s left to do is to put it with the rest of the puzzle pieces scattered about the crew. Will a broader picture form of what’s truly going on? Or will the Viking team end up with more questions than answers?
5-4-2022
The final summary can not do justice to the story. So I provide this link for any and all to see *Viking's* glorious end. https://www.star-fleet.com/core/stf5/viking/posts/172577/
© 1991-2024 STF. Terms of Service
Version 1.15.11
