Posted by Lieutenant Commander Soral T’Varan (Chief Diplomatic Officer) in Main Sim: Ark Angel Bridge

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Alex Cross (Chief Counselor) in Main Sim: Ark Angel Bridge

Posted by Lieutenant Izak Waryn (Chief Engineer) in Main Sim: Ark Angel Bridge
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Lieutenant Commander Soral T’Varan stood at the science station, the familiar cadence of sensor analysis returning with remarkable ease despite the passage of time since he had last occupied the position on a regular basis.

With Captain T’Nara, Commander Kelley, Lieutenant Commander Ezeami, and Ensign Gibbs aboard the listening post, operational command of the Ark Angel rested with Lieutenant Commander Jax Storm at the conn. Soral required no reminder of the chain of command; his responsibility was to provide the acting commanding officer with the clearest scientific picture possible.

His fingers moved methodically across the LCARS interface, refining sensor resolution and comparing the latest telemetry from the listening post with the ship’s own passive scans.

“Sensor telemetry from the away team remains stable,” he reported calmly. “All four commbadges are transmitting normally. Biosigns indicate no physiological abnormalities.”

A series of spectral analyses appeared across his display. He examined them for several moments before making another adjustment.

“I am filtering residual subspace interference surrounding the installation. The refinement has increased sensor resolution by approximately five percent. Should the listening post emit any anomalous energy signatures, detection time will be correspondingly reduced.”

The work felt familiar.

Although his duties had long since shifted from science to diplomacy, scientific methodology remained ingrained. Data was collected, verified, and interpreted without assumption—an approach equally valuable in first contact as it was in astrophysics.

Another stream of telemetry arrived from the listening post.

“No changes to environmental conditions,” Soral continued. “Structural integrity readings remain constant. Communications latency is negligible.”

He turned slightly toward Lieutenant Commander Storm.

“Commander, I will continue monitoring both the away team’s telemetry and the installation. Should any deviation from expected parameters occur, you will be informed immediately.”

Without another word, Soral returned his full attention to the sensor displays. The bridge remained quiet, each officer focused upon their duties while the Ark Angel stood watch over those exploring the mysterious listening post. The silence was not uncomfortable; it was simply the calm that preceded discovery.

Lt Cmdr Soral T’Varan
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Ark Angel

Izak had the comms open with the bridge and was glad Lieutenant Commander T’Varan was handling the other sensor duties so well. It freed him up to focus on the temporal aspect of the anomaly.

The Chief Engineer knew that… if it was really the Pathfinder and there were people still alive… that would be the mission priority. He wouldn’t even argue otherwise. There would always be another anomaly to study. There wouldn’t always be another chance to save a crew.

Other than his personal fascination with temporal mechanics, Izak had learned one thing about chronal distortions: every time scientists thought they understood them, another exception came along and rewrote the rulebook. They were notoriously erratic. The Brekkian smiled as he recalled one particular lesson back at the Academy. I remember old Commander Grabe joking that temporal mechanics wasn’t a science so much as a collection of exceptions pretending to be one.

As long as the Pathfinder was in or around the temporal disruption, the crew of the Ark Angel had to contend with a daunting number of unknowns. Every unknown they eliminated now was one less surprise waiting for the crew when they entered the anomaly.

Lt Izak Waryn - Chief Engineer - U.S.S. Ark Angel

“How are the readings from the area around the Pathfinder, Commander?” Cross asked as his thoughts dwelt on the Pathfinder crew as he hoped they could be in time.

Lieutenant Alex Cross
Chief Counselor
U.S.S. Ark Angel

Lieutenant Commander Soral T’Varan looked up briefly from the science console as Lieutenant Commander Cross spoke. His attention had remained fixed on the continuous stream of telemetry, but the counselor’s question was both appropriate and timely.

“The readings continue to support our initial assessment, Commander.”

His fingers moved across the console, refining the display before forwarding a summarized report to the bridge.

“The temporal field remains active and is cycling at consistent intervals of three minutes and fourteen seconds. During each oscillation, the distortion briefly stabilizes, permitting greater sensor penetration into the anomaly.”

Another scan completed, its results matching the previous data.

“The residual warp signature continues to correspond with the USS Pathfinder, and the intermittent power emissions persist. While the signal remains weak, it has remained consistent throughout successive scan cycles.”

He examined another set of sensor returns before continuing.

“At present, there is no evidence of catastrophic structural failure. However, the temporal distortion continues to prevent internal scans of sufficient resolution to determine the condition of the vessel or her crew.”

Soral turned slightly toward Cross.

“That said, the continued presence of an artificial power source after four years is… encouraging. It does not constitute evidence of survivors, but it does indicate that the Pathfinder has retained some degree of functionality.”

His gaze returned to the science station.

“The predicted temporal surge remains approximately three hours and forty-three minutes away. If the computer’s projections prove accurate, it will present our greatest opportunity to obtain more comprehensive sensor data.”

With that, Soral resumed his analysis, continuing to monitor the anomaly with the same quiet concentration that had become characteristic of the Ark Angel’s Chief Diplomatic Officer—and former Chief Science Officer.

Lt Cmdr Soral T’Varan
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Ark Angel

“That’s what’s bothering me, Commander T’Varan.” The Chief Engineer chimed in through the open comms channel from Main Engineering. “The surge is expected to let our sensors penetrate deeply into the anomaly. Almost any Starfleet captain would jump at the chance to study the inside of a temporal distortion. I can’t help but wonder if that’s how the Pathfinder got trapped in the first place… and if we’re about to make the same mistake they did.”

Izak knew there could be a lot of people still alive aboard the Pathfinder, and it was the Ark Angel’s mission to rescue them if they could. He also knew that the Captain would have to weigh that against the hundreds of lives aboard the Ark Angel that could be ripped from the timestream if something went wrong. Risk came with serving aboard an exploration ship. In truth, it came with serving in Starfleet at all. I suppose working the sensors and interfacing with the bridge like this makes it feel a bit more real this time.

“There are dozens of studies on chroniton manipulation that might give us some insight.” The Chief Engineer’s jaw clenched, annoyed that so much of the information about temporal devices was restricted. He felt like he was fighting with one hand tied behind his back. “I believe there are also mission reports from several starships that constructed rudimentary chroniton devices. I’ll review them and see if any of the findings apply to our situation.”

Lt Izak Waryn - Chief Engineer - U.S.S. Ark Angel