Posted by Ensign Izak Waryn (Engineering Officer) in MAIN SIM - Attack on the USS Ark Angel

Posted by Captain Alex Becket (Commanding Officer) in MAIN SIM - Attack on the USS Ark Angel

Posted by Crewman Sean Moore (Yeoman/Temp. Chief Helmsman) in MAIN SIM - Attack on the USS Ark Angel
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The USS Ark Angel held a steady position on the edge of the Starbase 342 operations zone, its hull silhouetted against the distant glow of the station’s running lights. The bridge was calm but alert, the kind of disciplined quiet that followed long hours of routine watch while an away team conducted sensitive business off-ship. Consoles scrolled with steady telemetry, sensor returns remained nominal, and the ship’s posture reflected cautious readiness rather than immediate concern.

With the captain present on the bridge, the command crew maintained a measured operational rhythm. Navigation maintained station-keeping relative to the starbase, compensating for minor gravitational drift, while tactical systems remained in a passive standby configuration. Sensors continued wide-spectrum sweeps of the surrounding space, tracking civilian traffic, automated cargo haulers, and distant subspace fluctuations common to the region. Engineering reported all primary systems operating within optimal tolerances, with no anomalies detected.

Communication’s we’re down. The away team couldn’t receive anything back to the Ark Angel. Though nothing appeared out of the ordinary, long-range sensors intermittently registered faint subspace echoes beyond the outer perimeter—insufficient to raise alarms, but notable enough to warrant quiet monitoring. The bridge crew remained attentive, aware that the apparent calm of frontier space often preceded sudden escalation.

As minutes passed, the Ark Angel continued its silent watch, shields at low-power readiness and weapons systems primed but inactive. The starbase loomed large on the forward viewscreen, a reminder of the ship’s role as both escort and last line of defense. Beneath the calm efficiency of the bridge, an unspoken tension lingered, as if the ship itself sensed that the stillness was temporary—and that events were about to test the crew’s readiness.

Captain Alex Becket
Commanding Officer/Temp GM
U.S.S. Ark Angel

Cross sat on the bridge, quietly observing the crew as they worked. He sensed their tenseness—an undercurrent that went beyond the usual focus of duty shifts. This was not the sharp, purposeful stress of a drill or the familiar hum of routine operations. It was watchfulness. The kind that settled into shoulders held just a fraction too tight, fingers that hovered a moment longer over controls before committing to an input, eyes that flicked back to sensor readouts even after they’d already been cleared.

From his seat, Cross catalogued it without judgment, the way he’d been trained to. The bridge itself was calm, voices measured, reports concise. No one was panicking. But beneath the surface, the crew was braced, collectively anticipating the unknown. He could feel it in the silence between exchanges—a silence that wasn’t empty, but listening.

Privately, the counselor in him recognized the pattern. Prolonged exposure to uncertainty did this. Not fear exactly, but vigilance fatigue in its earliest stages. The crew trusted their officers and their ship, yet they were operating in an environment that refused to behave predictably. When routines no longer provided reassurance, people leaned harder on awareness, and awareness, sustained too long, became a quiet strain.

Cross made a mental note. Nothing that required intervention yet—no sharp spikes of anxiety, no fractures in cohesion. In fact, there was something reassuring in how shared the tension was. It bound the crew together, a silent agreement to stay sharp for one another. Still, he knew that if this state persisted, it would begin to erode rest cycles, patience, and emotional resilience in subtle ways.

For now, he simply observed, offering the bridge the one thing it needed most in that moment: a steady, calm presence. There would be time later for check-ins, for gentle recalibration, for reminding the crew that vigilance did not have to mean isolation. But here, on the bridge, Cross remained quiet—listening not just to the ship’s systems, but to the emotional rhythm of the people who ran them.

Counselor Alex Cross

Wyatt remained on standby, the brief but urgent briefing still echoing in his mind. The situation was fluid—details scarce, possibilities endless—and that uncertainty gnawed at him more than any clear order ever could. He had reviewed the parameters twice already, committing every word to memory, just in case his name was called next.

He stood at his post, posture rigid despite the tension creeping through his shoulders. His hands clasped behind his back, fingers tightening and loosening in an unconscious rhythm as he fought to steady his breathing. He told himself this was what he had trained for: waiting, watching, being ready at a moment’s notice. Still, the nerves refused to settle.

Part of him burned with anticipation, a quiet but fierce desire to be useful—to prove that he belonged here, that all the long hours of training and sacrifice meant something. If command called for him, he would step forward without hesitation. He would do his duty.

Yet another part of him hoped the call would never come. He prayed that cooler heads would prevail, that this situation would resolve itself without violence or loss. He didn’t fear action, but he understood its cost far too well.

So Wyatt waited, caught between resolve and hope, eyes forward and senses alert. The corridor around him seemed unnaturally still, every passing second stretching longer than the last. Whatever happened next was out of his control now. Only time would decide whether he would remain standing at his post—or be thrust into the storm he was preparing himself to face.

Ensign Wyatt Jacen Blackford

Security Junior Officer

U.S.S. Ark Angel

The tension was palpable to most of them. Moore sat at Helm and watched the positioning of the ship and the Starbase, monitoring what he could with the shuttle, looking out for any signals and sensor readings that might indicate a change.

Sean would call out to the captain and others with stats as needed, but he ensured he was supplying his information to everyone’s consoles immediately, constantly keeping this synced and updated.

Crewman Sean Moore
Yeoman/Temp. Chief Helmsman
USS Ark Angel

Becket looked around and sat down. “Status report.” He said wondering what was going on. “Anything on sensors?” He asked.

Captain Alex Becket
Commanding Officer
U.S.S. Ark Angel

Things were tense in engineering, but part of that came from not knowing exactly what was going on. Engineers were, by nature of the job, a step removed from activity on the bridge.

The ship was still at Yellow alert, which meant shields were up and the engineering systems needed to be ready to support anything. ENS Waryn was just one of many engineers working to keep things running like clockwork. So far things have been quiet, with the main calls requesting support for sensors from Science or Helm.

Unsurprisingly, even with Chief O’Nell working with the XO and most of the other Department Heads on the Away Mission, things were running smoothly. There was a duty roster and a chain of command for a reason, and the engineering team adjusted automatically to accommodate his absence.

OOC: I’m hoping LTjg Katie Hobbes jumps in. She’s the ranking Engineering Officer (currently on the ship) so I intend to follow her lead once things get moving.

ENS Izak Waryn
Engineering Junior Officer
U.S.S. Ark Angel

OOC: Ask and you will receive. I’m still getting use to this format for please excuse me if I accidentally step on someone’s toes.

The Klaxxon had started its deep throated call to yellow alert just as Katie reached the entrance to Engineering. It was not quite the homecoming she had hoped for after being away so long. Nor did it match her expectations for meeting her boss. Even so, there was something invigorating about Engineering during an alert status regardless of the cause.

As she stepped into the main engineering compartment, it was clear that the team was well disciplined. As she entered, a tall, blonde male Engineer was the first to notice her and, after what appeared to be brief instructions to an enlisted crewman, approached her. He was not what she had imagined Lt. O’Nell would like but she prepared to hand her PADD with her assignment orders to him anyway. It was not clear that he was not O’Nell until he was close enough for her to spot the single pip on his collar. An Ensign

“Ensign, ” Katie said pausing a moment to recall the engineer’s name. “Waryn I assume. And I assume this means Lt O’Nell is unavailable at least at the moment.”

She took a deep breath. Right into the frying pan. How much better could this get.

“All right, Waryn. Give me a status report and tell me what is happening. But first, let’s get as many of these people in radiation suits as we can. There is no telling when a yellow alert will turn to red and we will have damage control to worry about.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Katherine (Katie) Hobbes
Engineering Officer USS Ark Angel