Posted by Ensign Wyatt Blackford (Security Officer) in Side Sim: Runabout Rescue

Posted by Lieutenant Izak Waryn (Chief Engineer) in Side Sim: Runabout Rescue

Posted by Lieutenant Hegush Falz (Chief Operations Officer) in Side Sim: Runabout Rescue
Posted by… suppressed (28) by the Post Ghost! 👻
=/\=”This is Flight Control, you are clear of the Ark Angel. Good luck on the mission… we’ll see you back the starbase.”

A few moments later the ship went to warp and left the Fulcrum-class Runabout on its own.

A distress call had come in while the Ark Angel was returning to the starbase. A freighter was stranded and in need of repairs. The crew indicated they were in no immediate danger, so it was determined a runabout could be dispatched rather than rerouting the ship.

The only concerning part was the fact that the distress call cut out. That’s one of the reasons Security was part of the mission crew.

The Fulcrum-class runabout was in its Engineering Lab/Repair shop configuration and was loaded with as many tools, repair parts, and medical supplies as it could hold.

Even though Starfleet answered hundreds of distress calls a year, there was no such thing as a routine mission. The runabout’s crew needed to be ready for anything.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Izak stood in the cockpit of the Runabout and watched the Ark Angel go to warp through the the windows.

He was a little nervous to leave his department unattended, but he knew the Crewmen were skilled. It had taken time and effort, but he’d also developed some solid Shift Leaders over the last few months. And getting an infusion of experience from personnel transfers doesn’t hurt either.

He was about to head back to Engineering but turned to Lt Hegush first. “Sir, I crunched the numbers before we left. The freighter is .86 light-years away. If we push Warp 6 for a full 12 hours and then maintain Warp 5 afterward, we can reach her in 25 hours.”

It was never easy on a ship to run at maximum velocity, but Lt Waryn figured the Chief Operations Officer would want to get to the freighter quickly. Izak was confident he could handle the system realignments and minor repairs the stress would put on the runabout.

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

The corner of Hegush’s mouth twitched in amusement, “We could Lieutenant Waryn, but I know as well as you do that that would be pushing the limits. I personally would like to make it home. The call didn’t indicate any sign of danger before it cut out. There could be a lot of reasons as to why it did. Moreover, if there is danger, I’d prefer to have the ability to run away, not limp.”

“I suggest Warp 6 for 8 hours instead of 12. We’ll keep trying to hail the freighter and get back into contact with them again if we can. Any sign of anything amiss then at least we won’t have a runabout trying to fall to pieces around our ears.”

Lt. Hegush, COO

Izak let a faint smile show on his face. “If this was the Ark Angel, I’d tell you that she could handle 12 hours at max Warp easy… but I haven’t spent any time on this particular runabout. Playing it a bit safe is probabaly a good idea.” He reached down to the console he was standing by and plugged in a new calculation. “That would get us there in 26 hours and 51 minutes.”

Not a big change all things considered. If the freighter is fine… 2 hours should be no big deal.

Vaarek considered himself honoured to have been invited on this away mission. He was not quite sure why – had he served on a fully Vulcan ship, he would likely not have been chosen. Perhaps there were perks, after all, working under non-humans. But what had their purpose been? There were more qualified physicians – and Vaarek was only a cadet. Perhaps all the other physicians had declined.

Then again, was it important to know? He had been chosen. He needed to prove himself worthy.

Looking out of the porthole, seeing the Ark Angel warp out, Vaarek was confronted with the experience of being in a small cramped space in the middle of nowhere. He noted an emotion from his gut – fear mixed with loneliness – and suppressed it, the good Vulcan he was. Yes, he was nervous.

He paced to the medical console, double-checking again that everything was in order. Like the last time, he checked, it was.

Cadet Vaarek, Medical

Wyatt listened to them quietly as he carefully checked over the phasers one more time, making sure every setting and power cell was functioning correctly. His fingers moved across the controls with practiced precision, running diagnostics he had already completed twice before. Most people would have probably called it overkill, but Wyatt had learned a long time ago that preparation kept people alive. You planned for the worst and hoped for the best. That was how you survived in Security.

They weren’t expecting trouble on this mission. Officially, this was supposed to be simple—investigate the sudden loss of communication, Repair the ship, and return home. Easy. Routine. The kind of assignment officers joked about while drinking coffee afterward.

And that was exactly what bothered him.

Wyatt frowned slightly as he checked the readout again. Everything looked fine. The phasers were fully charged, safeties operational, targeting systems calibrated perfectly. Still, the uneasy feeling twisting in his stomach refused to go away.

He leaned back slightly, glancing around at the others as they prepared. Some looked calm, others mildly annoyed at having to suit up for what was probably nothing more than a damaged relay or ion storm interference. He wished he could believe that was all it was.

There were dozens of harmless explanations for a transmission cutting out so suddenly. Damaged communications arrays. Electrical failures. Plasma interference. Solar radiation. Even simple human error.

But there were worse possibilities too.

Far worse.

Wyatt swallowed quietly and pushed the thought aside before it could settle too deeply in his mind. He had spent enough time in Security training to know that instincts mattered. Ignoring a bad feeling usually ended badly. Still, instincts weren’t evidence, and he didn’t want to be the nervous rookie jumping at shadows.

He secured the phaser back into its holster before checking the second one just to be safe. His movements were calm, controlled, though the slight tapping of his fingers against the weapon betrayed his nerves.

“I’m probably overthinking it,” he muttered quietly, more to himself than anyone else.

But even as he said it, he didn’t fully believe it.

Something about this mission felt wrong.

And Wyatt was really hoping he was wrong about that feeling.

Ensign Wyatt Blackford

Security Junior Officer

U.S.S. Ark Angel

Lt Waryn saw Blackford and Vaarek were busy at their stations, and didn’t think he was needed in the cockpit snymore. Still… he didnt know if the Chief Operations Officer had any guidance for them before the mission started in full swing.

“Sir… if there’s nothing else… I’ll head back to Engineering to monitor ships systems for the first part of our trip, then get familiar with the repair shop’s features.”

OOC: Since its over a day… do we have any particular duty rotation to man the cockpit/pilot the Runabout?

This also might be a good time to determine the specialties of the 4 nameless crewmen with us.

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

OOC: I definitely agree with the suggestion of two engineers since this is expected to be a “simple” repair mission and at least one more security officer. #4 I’m not fussed about what their specialty is.

I suggest we do one hour of settling into the shuttle, making sure everything is running and then 8 hour shifts after that, then be in the first two hours of shift #4 when we arrive, that way all our characters will have had a chance to be rest at some point along the journey.

Lt. Hegush, Chief of Operations.

The Fulcrum-class runabout jumped directly to Warp 6 and, at Falz’s orders, the crew was alert for any potential problems or system failures. A few alignments were required to stabilize the warp field and balance the draw on the EPS grid, but soon the ship was humming along and the team settled into their watch rotation.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The ship was halfway into Gamma shift, approximately 21 hours into the mission overall. The Chief of Operations had instructed them to continue to monitor for the distress signal, but comms had been uniformly quiet. The entire shift had been quiet, actually. Mind numbingly quiet.

Nights on the Ark Angel were slow… but still held plenty of activity. There were typically dozens of people still moving around and working, from Engineering doing a critical repair or overhaul to Science attempting to monopolize the sensors for their research. Without any of that background activity, the crew on the Fulcrum-class runabout had to find ways to keep themselves busy and alert.

Until now.

The console chimed alerting the officer on duty that they were receiving the automated message again. It cut in and out at first… as if there were interference or some sort of equipment malfunction, but then it stabilized. A quick glanced at the chronometer showed there was only 6 hours left until they reached the stranded freighter.

OOC:
I’m not sure who would be on watch, but with 3 engineers onboard I’d say Waryn is asleep and one of the NC (Nameless Crewmen) is back in Engineering.

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

Meanwhile, in the crew compartment, Vaarek went to the replicator. He did not know what the others expected of him. This was his second away mission. Honoured to be asked, he was no engineer nor pilot. A young cadet, he was inexperienced with the intricacies of away missions. He observed as much as he could, making mental notes.

Others rarely stopped moving (except for Waryn and a crewman sleeping). They all seemed to have found something to inspect, recalibrate, or verify. To Vaarek, they looked… comfortable. They spoke a language of plasma flows, EPS loads and field harmonics that he only partly understood.

Security was different.

Ensign Blackford checked his weapons repeatedly. At first Vaarek wondered whether the officer had forgotten he had already performed those inspections – had there perhaps been a miscalibration of Blackford’s medication? Vaarek examined his actions in Sickbay and ruled, no, Blackford’s medication was optimal. Moments later, Vaarek came to the realization that the repetition itself was the point. Confidence came not from assuming everything worked, but from proving it over and over again.

Perhaps Vaarek not so different after all.He found himself returning to the medical station every hour, confirming the inventory had not somehow changed since his last inspection. He checked the hyposprays, cortical stimulators, and other equipment. All was present. He recognized the behaviour in himself and looked at Blackford again with a look of solidarity and recognition.

He spoke to the replicator.

“Vulcan spice tea.”

The warmth spread through his hands before he took the first sip. In his stomach, he noted aa faint tightness. Isolation, he decided, naming the emotion. It was not fear exactly, but the awareness of his and his crewmates’ loneliness in the vastness of space, and the paradox that they’re cramped in the runabout, in the emptiness of it all…

He looked around the compartment again. Went to Blackford.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, hoping not to come across as too un-Vulcan. He wanted to give Wyatt a recognition of recognising the uneasiness in him, but also to say that Vaarek was there for him, should he need him.

Cadet Vaarek, Medical
Wyatt smiled as he spotted the young Vulcan approaching. “I’m hanging in there. How about yourself?”

The words were out before he could stop them. Inwardly, he winced.

It happened every now and then. No matter how long he’d been in Starfleet, growing up in the Midwest had left him with habits that refused to disappear. His accent would slip through, along with the familiar way of speaking he’d grown up with. Most people probably didn’t even notice, but Wyatt always did. Every time it happened, he found himself mentally correcting it, wishing he sounded just a little more polished and professional.

Trying not to dwell on it, he turned his attention back to the console in front of him. Lines of data scrolled steadily across the display as he adjusted a few filters and replayed the automated transmission for what felt like the hundredth time.

“I’m trying to see if I can clean up the automated message a little,” he explained, his fingers dancing across the controls. “There’s so much interference that it’s hard to tell what’s part of the recording and what’s just static. If I can isolate the background noise and sharpen the voice patterns, maybe we can pull out something we’ve been missing.”

He paused the recording again, listening to the distorted words before letting out a quiet sigh.

“I don’t know…” he admitted, his expression growing more serious. “Something just doesn’t feel right about this whole thing.”

His eyes remained fixed on the waveform displayed on the screen.

“Maybe it’s nothing,” he continued. “Maybe it’s just my imagination because this is my first real deployment.” He shook his head slightly. “But I’ve learned it’s usually better to pay attention when something feels off.”

He looked back at the Vulcan for a moment before returning his focus to the console.

“I’m hoping if I can make the message a little clearer, maybe it’ll give us a better clue about what’s really happening out there. Right now, it feels like we’re missing a piece of the puzzle… and I don’t like not knowing what that piece is.”

ooc: so sorry for the delay i’m was dealing with several tooth pain and had to get two teeth pulled today (Fun)

Ensign Wyatt Blackford

Security Junior Officer

U.S.S. Ark Angel

The signal was garbled and distorted. Although he wasn’t an Engineer, it looked to Wyatt as if it was result of heavy interference combined equipment malfunction. The signal strength itself would swell and fade… but the latest filter he ran indicated that a lot of the apparent instances of “lost signal” were actually pauses or gaps in the transmission.

A lot of short gaps in the transmission.

His next filter isolated those pauses and at first glance he was confident there was some sort of pattern… even if he didn’t know what it was just yet. He ran it through known cyphers and a short time later the Runabout’s computer identified it as one of many ancient tap codes. A means devised by various species, where prisoners could covertly relay information to one another without their captors knowing.

The tap code spelled out one world. T R A I T O R.

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

Wyatt’s fingers froze over the keyboard.

For a moment he simply stared at the data scrolling across his console, his eyes narrowing as his mind tried to make sense of what he was seeing. The message couldn’t be right.

Could it?

He leaned closer to the display, his heartbeat picking up ever so slightly. Rather than jumping to conclusions, he forced himself to stay calm. He ran the diagnostic again, watching as the computer reprocessed the incoming telemetry. Every line of code, every encrypted packet, every sensor reading flashed across the screen in meticulous detail.

The result was exactly the same.

A knot formed in the pit of his stomach.

“I knew it…” he muttered under his breath.

His instincts had been nagging at him ever since the transmission had been interrupted. He’d tried to convince himself it was nothing—a communications glitch, a sensor hiccup, some harmless interference. But something had felt wrong from the very beginning, and now the computer was confirming his worst suspicions.

Wyatt quickly opened another window, comparing the latest results with the original automated distress message. He highlighted discrepancies, checked the timestamps, and verified the signal origin one final time. Every piece of evidence pointed in the same direction.

His hands hovered motionless over the keyboard before he looked toward the bridge, his expression growing noticeably more serious.

“We need to get the lieutenant right now,” he said, his voice low but urgent. “I knew something didn’t feel right…”

Without wasting another second, he reached up and tapped the communications badge fastened to his uniform.

“Blackford to Lieutenant Waryn.”

Ensign Wyatt Blackford

Security Junior Officer

U.S.S. Ark Angel

Ensign Blackford poured over the data multiple times, wanting to be sure of what he saw. In the end, the data was clear. The seemingly intentional pauses in the transmission were only present in the new distress call.

The first call… the one where the ship had briefly talked to somebody… did not have the hidden message. Something had changed in the interim, but they had no way to know what it was.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Izak had sent one of the crewman to sleep so they could rest up and take the third watch. He decided to take the second Watch himself and and then spent most of first watch settling in or familiarizing himself with the cockpit.

He assumed shift and it was largely uneventful. He spent part of the time familiarizing himself with the repair shop’s funcions, hoping it would make things easier once they arrived at the freighter.

Once the Chief Engineer was relieved by the next crewman he went directly to his bunkroom. It seemed like he had only just laid his head down to sleep when his comlink chimed.

=/\=”Blackford to Lieutenant Waryn.”

Izak opened his eyes reluctantly and saw that a few hours had passed.

EDIT:
=/\=”This is Izak… I’m on my way to the cockpit.”

He didn’t know what the problem was… but he didn’t think the Security Officer would have woken him up without reason. Lt Waryn was already getting dressed and heading out the door.

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

Blissfully unaware of anything going on, Hegush snoozed on the floor of the Engineering lab. Needing something to do until it was his shift he had decided to go and do another inventory of their equipment and had sat on the floor to count screws. He hadn’t intended to, but there were only so many screws one could count and he had ended up dozing off.

Lt. Hegush, Chief of Operations

=/\=”Waryn to Hegush. Blackford just woke me up so I figured it was important enough to contact the boss. Meet you in the cockpit?”

It wasn’t a big ship and it didn’t take long for Izak to arrive at what passed for a bridge in the Runabout. Still, he was likely a few steps behind the Chief of Operations.

OOC: figured I’d do a minor retcon so you could be in the know and can get the info the next time Wyatt posts.

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

OOC: Appreciated, thanks.

IC: Years in a work camp had taught him to always be on alert, even whilst sleeping. So as soon as his com badge went, he was up and gathering the screws up before they could roll across the floor. His knee throbbed slightly, stiff from the awkward position he had been dozing in. His old injury voicing its opinion. Doing loops of the small space trying to stretch it back out again he tapped his com badge =/\= Acknowledged=/\=

Giving up on his knee. It wasn’t going to loosen up unless he kept walking and he didn’t want to waste time. It was more important to meet Lieutenant Waryn and Ensign Blackford and find out what was going on.

Wyatt went over the data one more time, Everything matched. What he was looking at was real.

A knot formed in the pit of his stomach.

He slowly leaned back in his chair, letting out a measured breath as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Please tell me I’m missing something… he thought. But no matter how many times he checked, the results stayed exactly the same.

His fingers hovered over the communications panel for a moment before he finally tapped it.

=/\=Sir… I think you should come see this.” His voice remained calm and professional, though there was an unmistakable seriousness beneath it. “I found something.”

Wyatt deliberately left it at that.

He didn’t want to discuss the details over the comm system. Starfleet communications were encrypted and considered secure, but “secure” didn’t mean impossible to intercept. His instructors had drilled that lesson into every cadet from day one.

He also knew from personal experience.

Back at the Academy, he and his sister, had spent countless evenings testing the security of various Academy systems. They had never done it with malicious intent—quite the opposite. It had started as a challenge between two curious minds, seeing if they could find weaknesses before someone with bad intentions did. More than once they’d managed to slip into communication channels they weren’t supposed to access, quietly listening to routine conversations simply to prove the vulnerabilities existed before reporting them. It had earned them more than a few stern lectures, but it had also taught them a valuable lesson.

No communication system was ever completely secure.

Because of that, Wyatt refused to say another word over the channel. If someone was listening, he wasn’t about to hand them valuable intelligence.

Instead, he minimized the report on his display, keeping the relevant files open and ready. His foot began tapping lightly against the deck as he waited for the lieutenant to arrive, his eyes never leaving the screen. The uneasy feeling he’d had since the beginning of the shift hadn’t gone away. If anything, the discovery sitting in front of him only confirmed that his instincts had been trying to warn him that something wasn’t right.

Ensign Wyatt Blackford

Security Junior Officer

U.S.S. Ark Angel

Emerging first, despite his slight limp, Hegush walked over to stand behind Blackford. “Lieutenant Waryn contacted me,”

Once Waryn had arrived, he spoke again, “What is so important to disrupt my very important job of screw counting? and Lieutenant Waryn’s beauty sleep?”

Lieutenant Hegush, Chief of Operations.

Izak was about to make a retort about Falz needing beauty sleep more than he did, but the look on Wyatt’s face made him reconsider. The Security Ensign was concerned about something, so it didn’t seem the right time for jokes.

Instead, he waited to see what had caught Ensign Blackford’s attention.

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

Wyatt gave the smallest hint of a smirk at the comments about counting screws and needing beauty sleep, the expression disappearing almost as quickly as it had appeared. Despite the joke, the knot in his stomach hadn’t eased. Something about the distress signal had been bothering him from the moment it had come across his console, and he hadn’t been able to let it go.

He reached over to his workstation, tapping a few controls. The main display shifted, replacing the standard waveform of the transmission with several highlighted sections and lines of translated text.

“Sir,” he began, his voice noticeably more serious, “I thought the distress signal looked… weird. At first I figured it was just interference or damage from subspace distortion, but the pattern was too consistent. So I started digging.”

He glanced between the two officers before continuing.

“The distortions aren’t actually distortions.”

His fingers danced across the console, enlarging the repeating pulses.

“They’re an old form of communication—Morse code.”

Another tap, and a translation appeared beneath the waveform in bold letters.

TRAITOR

Wyatt let the word hang in the air for a moment.

“I thought there was no way that could be right,” he admitted. “So I checked it three times. Then I wiped my work, started from scratch, and decoded the entire transmission again without using my first notes.”

He swallowed, folding his arms behind his back in an attempt to hide how uneasy he felt.

“I got the same result every single time.” His eyes returned to the screen. “Whoever sent this signal wasn’t just asking for help. They hid a message inside it, and that hidden message spells out one word…” He looked back at them, his expression grim.

“Traitor.”

He took a slow breath before adding, “I don’t know if they’re warning us about someone on their ship… someone on ours… or if it’s meant for someone else entirely. But I don’t think it’s an accident. The encoding is deliberate, and whoever put it there wanted someone who knew what they were looking at to find it.”

Ensign Wyatt Blackford

Security Junior Officer

U.S.S. Ark Angel

Izak walked in behind Falz and listened as Wyatt gave the Operations Officer his report. He was fairly impressed that the man had discovered the code. Not only was the method of transmission hidden, but the code itself was also pretty obscure.

He walked over to the console to review the findings for himself. “This is great work, Wyatt… a really good catch.” He compared the distress calls that had restarted a few hours ago to the one they had originally received before it cut off, then frowned slightly. “Am I right that the hidden message is only present in the transmissions that resumed a few hours ago? I wonder what changed during the time the message wasn’t transmitting.”

He brought the data up on a larger screen so everyone in the cockpit could see it, then waited to hear what Lt. Hegush and Ensign Blackford thought of the situation.

The Chief Engineer had basic combat training, but he was by no means a tactician.

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

Hegush peered over studying the waveform a thoughtful expression on his face. “I think you are right Lieutenant, they look similar but not identical.” Like Izak he wondered what had caused the change in the two forms. Who sent it? Why was the message coded? Who were they hiding it from? They were clearly being warned about someone or something.

Possible scenarios floated through his head; Were they calling one of them a traitor? Falz couldn’t think of a reason why they would be. Starfleet then? He wasn’t sure of that either. Why code the message if they were. He let his thoughts drift another way, a coup on the freighter maybe? Or was someone trying to warn them the freighter was a siren on the rocks. Could this be another U.S.S Patriot scenario?

Falz woke with his head resting on his arms on the table, bottles around him on the table. The lights flickered RED ALERT and the air was smokey yet that wasn’t what had woken him. Not the alarm, not the sound of phaser fire or the tremendous sound of assault. Maybe it was like they said that it wasn’t noise that wakes a drunken man but silence. Half asleep he stood up, still groggy from the drink, looked around and saw all the destruction around him. The mission was supposed to be a routine aide and assist, responding to signals from another ship. He’d been off duty, relaxing after his shift, fallen asleep and somehow slept through an attack.

He’d carefully picked his way through the debris and over fallen crewmen. Adrenalin brought clarity as he moved towards the doors of 12 Forward and walked straight into a Cardassian barrel.

Falz blinked focusing too hard on the screen in front of him as he reminded himself, he was no longer there. What he had remembered was nearly 20 years in the past now. One deep breath and he straightened back up again as if nothing had ever happened. Because for the others nothing had, all they had seen was him freeze for a second or two. He turned towards Blackford “Good job spotting that Ensign. Not everyone could have picked that up like you have,”

“How far in range are we?” He asked, “Close enough to send them a message of our own back? We could encrypt ours like they did their one so whoever sent it might know we heard them,”

Lt. Hegush, Chief of Operations

Izak looked down at the screen and tapped a few buttons to call up their flight path. “It looks like we’re just under two hours away, Lieutenant.”

He looked over at Ensign Blackford. “You cracked the code… think you could reverse it and send a message of our own? If you need it, I can tune the comms to add enough distortion to mask the pauses carrying the message.”

He glanced back at Falz. “That leads us to the most pressing question… what message do you want to send?”

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

Wyatt nodded in agreement, his fingers hovering over the console as ideas raced through his mind. He looked from the display to the others, his expression thoughtful but determined.
Wyatt nodded, leaning forward slightly as he looked between the officers before turning his attention back to the console. His fingers rested lightly over the controls, already working through the process in his head. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that this was their best chance of making contact without tipping off whoever might be monitoring the transmission.

“I was thinking the same thing,” he said. “If they’re still listening in, even if they can’t respond openly, this would at least let them know we got their message and that we understood what they were trying to tell us. Whoever sent that warning went to a lot of trouble to hide it. They had to know someone on the other end would have to notice something was off and take the time to decode it.”

He glanced at the waveform still displayed on the monitor, the tiny irregularities standing out now that he knew what they really were.

“Maybe, if we’re lucky, once they know we’ve figured it out, they’ll be able to give us more information. They might know what’s waiting for us, how many people are still alive, or who this ‘traitor’ is. Even one more word could make a huge difference.”

Wyatt looked back at the captain, an idea continuing to form as he spoke.

“I think I can send the same kind of coded message back. If you make a regular transmission saying we’re on our way, I can hide another message inside the signal just like they did. It’ll look like nothing more than random interference or normal signal distortion to anyone listening in. Unless they’re specifically looking for Morse code buried in the transmission, they probably won’t even notice it’s there.”

His hands moved over the console, already pulling up the communications software and beginning to map out how he would inject the subtle timing changes into the outgoing signal.

“I’ll keep it short so it blends in better. Something simple like, ‘Message received. We understand. Rescue ship en route.’ That tells them everything they need to know without drawing attention to it. If they’re able to reply, they can use the same method again.”

He paused, his expression growing more serious.

“If whoever’s controlling things over there believes they’re the only ones who know about the hidden messages, they won’t have any reason to suspect we’ve caught on. We might be able to have an entire conversation right under their noses.”

Wyatt looked up from the console, determination replacing the nervousness that had been there moments before.

“It’s a long shot,” he admitted. “But if there’s someone over there risking their life to send us hidden warnings, I think we owe it to them to answer the same way. It might be the only secure line of communication they’ve got left.”
ooc: sorry about the delay i thought i wrote of Leave request but i guess it didnt go through…i was away at a convention all weekend but im back now)

Ensign Wyatt Blackford

Security Junior Officer

U.S.S. Ark Angel

OOC: All good, I accidently went AWOL as well.

IC: “Don’t tell them we’re on our way. Ask for a status report from the freighter on the open communications and tell them we are going to investigate if they don’t respond. I want to see if our traitor will react to that” Hegush said quickly. “A coded return message is a great idea but I think our coded message needs to be as short as we can make it, they used one word for a reason. If this traitor picks up the message hidden in our signal it could put our friend in danger.” provided they really are our friend he thought to himself, still skeptical. “Something like ‘We hear you,’ or ‘Acknowledged’, the shorter the message the better you can hide it. Trust me,” there was a different undertone to his last sentence. It was darker, heavy with pain.

Another prisoner in the camp, someone from a different ship had tried to send a message out in a similar manner but had been caught and they’d all been punished for it. They had put too much information into their message, Kraj’s friend and one of the smartest people from the U.S.S Revolution had said. He’d gone on to explain as shorter a one or two word message could be seen as a blip in the system and be easily overlooked but the longer the message was the irregularities in the signal were more likely to look suspicious and be investigated.

“We’ll just have to trust that our messenger is intelligent enough to work it out.”

Lt. Hegush, Chief of Operations

Wyatt nodded, his attention immediately shifting back to the console as his fingers began flying across the keyboard. Lines of code appeared rapidly across the screen as he pulled up the encryption protocols he had been working with.

“I can do that,” he said, giving a quick glance toward the other officer before returning his focus to the terminal. “All right, if you want to make your message, I’ll embed the code into it. It should look completely normal on the surface, but the code will be tucked into the message where only the intended recipient should be able to recognize it.”

He paused for a moment, checking the encryption sequence twice before adding another layer of security.

“Just give me the message when you’re ready. Once I have it, I can take care of the rest.” Wyatt leaned closer to the screen, a faint crease forming between his brows as he concentrated. “And I’ll make sure it doesn’t leave any obvious traces that someone monitoring the transmission could pick up.”

Ensign Wyatt Blackford

Security Junior Officer

U.S.S. Ark Angel

The Chief Engineer pondered what their response should be. “We can cover the normal stuff in the actual response to the distress call. Something like, ‘This is Lieutenant Hegush aboard a Federation runabout. We’re en route to provide engineering and medical assistance and will be there in one hour.’ The encoded message is another issue altogether.”

The Brekkian shook his head. “‘WHO?’ is the obvious question, but we don’t know if whoever is trying to communicate with us has the time or opportunity to send another message. ‘UNDERSTOOD’ would let them know we’ve received the message, but I’m not sure how that helps us.”

Izak turned to Falz, waiting to see what hidden message the man wanted to convey.

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

“I like your suggestion for our service message Lieutenant Waryn, sounds close enough to any standard message an assistance crew like us would use. Let’s do that,” Hegush said. His finger tapped his are, the movement a silent acknowledgement that the encoded message needed careful consideration. One screw up and not only could they be in trouble but their secret messenger as well. “I was thinking with ‘UNDERSTOOD’ could be a way of testing the waters. If our messenger replies than it would mean that they have somewhat open access to the ship’s comm system. No response might mean the message was a hopeful shot in the dark,”

Falz ran his hand through his hair, “If only we could ask ‘WHO’. A straightforward answer would be excellent,” He grinned, “Perhaps we could transmit their passenger manifest and ask the traitor to underline their name.”

“But if our traitor realises they’ve been named and shamed, they could panic and then who knows what they could do. You are right though, we need them to tell us who the traitor is, without us overtly asking.” His finger began tapping on his folded arms again. “What about ‘CONTINUE’, in isolation it could mean anything. Continue what? Our traitor would be confused but our messenger would know exactly what it meant. Perhaps they could give us clues and we could work out who our traitor is off of those clues”

Lt. Hegush, Chief of Operations

The Chief Engineer raised his eyebrows. “That… is actually pretty good. ‘CONTINUE’ would at least tell them to take some kind of action, whatever that might be. ‘UNDERSTOOD’ wouldn’t do that.”

Izak looked down at the console. “We’ve got a little under two hours until we arrive. More than enough time to send the messages and make our final preparations. On that note…” The Chief Engineer trailed off as he looked at the Chief Operations Officer. “Do we want to carry Type-II phasers openly, or have Type-I phasers hidden in our uniforms? I’m not sure if openly carrying them would dissuade these ‘traitors’ from attacking early, or if the sight of our phasers would provoke an immediate response.”

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

Wyatt thought for a moment, his brow furrowing as he considered the possibilities. “Isn’t it standard protocol to ask a ship in distress for their manifest and crew list?” he asked, glancing between them. “We could have them send it over the regular channels. Nothing suspicious, just a routine request so it doesn’t raise any alarms.”

“I don’t think we even need to request it, the crew manifest should be submitted when the freighter mapped out their flight path,” Hegush said.

He tapped a finger against his datapad, thinking through the idea. “Then, through the code, we could ask them to give us some kind of indication—something only they would understand—to tell us if they know who the traitor is. Maybe a specific word, phrase, or even a number hidden somewhere in the transmission.”

Wyatt hesitated, his expression becoming slightly uncertain. “That way, we’re not directly asking them over an open channel, and if someone is monitoring their communications, they might not even realize what we’re actually asking.”

He gave a small shrug, looking down at his datapad. “Although…” He let out a quiet breath. “Maybe I’m just overthinking this. I don’t know. Something about that transmission still doesn’t feel right to me.”

Ensign Wyatt Blackford

Security Junior Officer

U.S.S. Ark Angel

“Never trust a fact until it’s a fact,” Hegush nodded, “All we know is there is a freighter that requested repairs and a cryptic secret message that only says traitor. Do you think we could be heading into a trap? I was thinking Lieutenant Waryn and I follow standard away protocol and carry the Type-I Phasers to appear as unassuming as possible, while Ensign Blackford carried a Type-II Phaser which as our acting Chief Security Officer I could easily charm away. The traitor currently believes they’re the only person keeping a secret.”

“Lets not deprive them of that comforting illusion,”

“But I’ve learned over time to trust the instincts of a security officer. Which leaves the predicament, we’d need to be better armed but if we’re armed openly the traitor knows we’re suspicious. If we aren’t sufficiently armed, our traitor may become the last person aboard to enjoy the joke. What exactly are your instincts telling you Ensign? Can you put your finger on exactly what it is?”

Lt. Hegush Falz, Chief Operations Officer

Izak glanced at Wyatt, curious about the thought process of a trained Security Officer. Now that they were closer to arriving at the freighter, he had to wonder if a more… overtly defensive posture… might not be the way to go.

The Brekkian had grown up on an independent freighter himself. Piracy was always a looming threat. As a young boy, Izak had been told multiple stories of ships that were boarded and their crews and passengers killed or brutalized. Fortunately, piracy had rarely impacted his family’s freighter during those years.

At least directly.

His uncle Mordan captained a separate ship, and he repeatedly tried to get Izak’s parents to work with him on one shady business deal or another. Things were always tense when Mordan was around. His parents never said it outright, but rumors suggested that Mordan was a pirate who had committed multiple crimes. Izak had disclosed as much on his application for Starfleet Academy. Either there was limited proof that his uncle truly was a criminal, or Starfleet had deemed the familial tie insufficient to disqualify him from service.

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

“I feel like there’s more to this than we’ve been led to believe. I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is, and I don’t have anything concrete enough to point to yet.” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “Maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for everything we’ve seen so far.”

Wyatt folded his arms, his expression thoughtful.

“But my instincts are telling me we should be very careful about how we proceed. We don’t know the full situation yet, and if someone isn’t telling us everything, rushing in could put the ship and the crew in a bad position.”

He took a slow breath before continuing.

“I’m not saying we should ignore the situation or refuse to help. That’s not what I mean. I just think we should take our time, verify what information we can, and keep our guard up until we know exactly what we’re dealing with.”

His gaze briefly dropped to the console before returning to the captain.

“At the very least, I’d recommend we keep security and sensors on high alert and make sure we have a way to verify anything we’re being told. If my gut is wrong, then great—we lose nothing by being cautious. But if I’m right…” He paused for a moment. “I’d rather find that out before we walk straight into whatever they’re not telling us.”

Wyatt gave a small shrug, still looking uneasy.

“Maybe it’s nothing, sir. I honestly hope it is. But something about this situation is setting off every warning bell I’ve got.”
Ensign Wyatt Blackford

Security Junior Officer

U.S.S. Ark Angel

Lt. Waryn nodded slowly as Ensign Blackford spoke. “I’d say that’s a fair concern… I don’t like the number of unknown variables at play either. But we are Starfleet, and we do need to render aid to a vessel in distress in a timely manner. I’m not sure waiting is much of an option.”

Izak thought for a moment, rhythmically tapping his fingers against the side of the console as he did so. “I agree that caution is warranted. There are eight of us on the shuttle… maybe we leave two crewmen onboard—a trained pilot and a trained engineer? They can watch us on sensors, monitor comms, and be prepared to transport us out or use weapons as necessary.”

The Chief Engineer turned to Lt. Hegush. “Those of us who do go onboard can always travel in groups of two or three and watch each other’s backs. We can conceal Type I phasers so we’re armed without being overtly hostile. I’m pretty sure we can hide a Type II phaser in our toolkits without attracting attention.”

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