Posted by Lieutenant Cherp’Eng (Chief Science Officer) in Side-sim: Where is everyone. . . .

Posted by Lieutenant Saxon Kreeger (Chief of Security) in Side-sim: Where is everyone. . . .

Posted by Lieutenant Kaia (Chief Engineer) in Side-sim: Where is everyone. . . .
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Lt. Cmdr. Sebastian d’Aramis’ alarm went off at 0500 hours, as it normally did.

The Manhattan’s CIO arose and began his usual daily routine: isometric exercises, shower, and get dressed. Next, it was off to the officers mess for some breakfast.

He stepped out of his quarters on deck four and immediately felt something was . . . .off. He would normally see other officers in the corridor, but today there were none. No one coming to or going from the DH quarters on the deck. That was odd.

He rode the turbo lift up to deck three. Stepping out, again, the corridor was devoid of life. Getting closer to the mess hall, one could normally hear dishes clanking and voices ringing out as the officers enjoyed their breakfast. Today, there was only silence.

Stepping forward, the doors swooshed open to reveal the mess hall completely empty. Not one single person in sight. No one at any tables, no one standing near a replicator, nor was there anyone in the galley. . .

What the hell is going on? Where is everybody, he thought?

Tapping his commbadge, he made a call. =^=d’Aramis to Capt. Cochrane.=^= His call was answered with silence.

=^=Bridge, this is Lt. Cmdr. d’Aramis. Please respond.=^=. Again, nothing.

=^=Sickbay?=^=

No response from every department he tried. Usually, a very calm person, Sebastian began to sweat a bit. Was he the only person on board? That couldn’t be possible, could it?

He thought for a moment, then hit his comm badge again. =^=Calling all personnel, this is Lt. Cmdr d’Aramis. Can anyone hear me? Is there anybody else on board? If you are receiving this message, meet me in the main briefing room on deck one ASAP. d’Aramis out.=^=

He left the mess hall, he made his way to deck one. . . . .

---

Sebastian let the briefing room doors slide open before him. He hoped there would be someone in the room, but it, too, was empty.

He sat down at the table and began to wait, and hope. . .

Lt. Cmdr. Sebastian d’Aramis
CIO-USS Manhattan

Kreeger entered the briefing room silently, phaser already in hand but held low and controlled.

The sight of Lieutenant Commander d’Aramis sitting alone confirmed one thing.

He was not the only one left.

The Chief of Security stepped inside and allowed the doors to close behind him.

“Lieutenant Saxon Kreeger,” he stated evenly. “Security.”

He did not waste time with pleasantries.

His eyes moved across the room, checking entrances, exits, ventilation access points, and potential tactical positions out of habit.

Satisfied that there was no immediate threat, he turned his attention back to the CIO.

“Commander, I received your transmission.”

Kreeger approached the table.

“I have been conducting a security assessment since discovering the same situation you have.”

He placed his tricorder on the table and activated the display.

“Shipwide internal sensors are offline. Security monitoring systems are unavailable. Communications are non-responsive. The computer is denying access to several critical systems.”

A pause.

“Most concerning…”

His expression remained unchanged.

”…the computer cannot locate any life signs aboard the Manhattan.”

Kreeger looked toward the empty room.

“No signs of combat. No damage reports. No evacuation order. No indication the crew left the vessel.”

His eyes returned to d’Aramis.

“Whatever happened here was controlled.”

He tapped the console on the table and brought up the crew manifest.

The result appeared.

TOTAL ASSIGNED PERSONNEL: 0

Kreeger stared at the screen for a moment before closing the display.

“I do not believe this is a system malfunction.”

His voice remained calm.

“I believe someone or something altered the ship’s systems.”

The terminal flickered.

Kreeger immediately turned toward it, hand moving to his phaser.

A message appeared.

TWO REMAIN.

He studied the words without moving.

“Computer,” he ordered. “Trace source.”

“Unable to determine origin.”

Kreeger watched the screen carefully.

No panic.

No reaction.

Just analysis.

“Commander…”

He looked back at d’Aramis.

“We need to operate under the assumption that whoever—or whatever—is responsible for this knows exactly what we are doing.”

The message changed.

SECURITY. INTELLIGENCE. OBSERVERS.

Kreeger’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The screen went dark.

He picked up his tricorder.

“I am initiating a full security sweep of the vessel.”

A brief pause.

“Deck by deck.”

He looked toward the door.

“The Manhattan is still our ship. Until proven otherwise, my priority remains the same.”

His gaze hardened.

“Find the threat.”

Another pause.

“And find our crew.”

Lieutenant Saxon Kreeger
Chief Security Officer
USS Manhattan • NCC-88000
Starfleet Command

“Security Through Preparedness. Honor Through Service.”

Main Engineering;

The steady thrum of the engine was interrupted by a comm call. Deep in discussion about theoretical warp physics, power conduits, and the morality of keeping rabbits as pets, five sets of eyes turned as one towards the single commbadge which had received the message. Two humans, one vulcan, a trill, and a raka all stood up from whatever surface they were sitting or leaning on - well, T’raath didn’t stand, as he was already standing.

The communication was fuzzy, like a radio signal caught only barely. Kaia and her team listened intently.

=^=Calling …this is … Aramis. …anyone hear .... anybody else ....? If … receiving this message....main briefing … deck one .... out.=^=

Kaia reached over to her commbadge and tapped it, but there was no chirp or indication of a response from the main computer. Tilting her head, she turned to the engineering consoles all around her. They seemed normal, but when she tapped on them for further information, there was no response. … Almost like she was locked out? And yet, the engine core kept turning, like nothing was wrong. Frowning, she indicated to her team to head out. “CIO wants us to meet him upstairs, so let’s go see what he wants, maybe he has deeper insight into the situation.”

They hit their first snag at the turbolift, which refused to open. Ever the engineers, they didn’t hesitate to manually open the lift doors, only to find an empty shaft. “Not safe to try to climb that, let’s take the access shafts,” Nohl suggested. Kaia nodded to them, and the cluster of engineers headed to the ladders that led up and down the length and height of the ship. It’d be a workout to get from deck 20 to deck 1, but they could manage.

“I had noticed it was a little quiet,” Grant commented in a small voice.

“We get up at an unreasonable hour,” Johnson replied with a grin, looking towards Kaia.

“Well, it’s the best time to have our Team Lead meeting, before the Captain and everyone gets up an starts making requests,” Kaia defended herself.

“I agree with the Lieutenant,” T’raath contributed.

“You always agree with the Chief,” Johnson said, heading up the first set of ladders.

“I refute that claim. I disagreed with her last week regarding a matter of plasma converters.”

“It’s called teasing, T.”

…

So it continued. Easy banter, unaware of the greater issues at play, until the five of them filed into the briefing room, more than tripling the population of the room. “Uh, hi… we got your message?”

Lieutenant Kaia
Chief Engineer USS Manhattan

Kreeger watched as the engineering team entered the briefing room.

For the first time since discovering the empty corridors of the Manhattan, the silence was broken by something other than his own footsteps.

People.

Actual people.

He allowed himself a brief moment of relief before returning his attention to the situation at hand.

“Lieutenant Kaia,” he acknowledged with a nod. “I am relieved to see Engineering has personnel remaining.”

His eyes briefly moved over the group accompanying her, noting their condition, their equipment, and their overall demeanor. They appeared calm. No injuries. No signs of confusion beyond the obvious.

A good sign.

“Commander d’Aramis sent the alert because we appear to have experienced a ship-wide personnel disappearance.”

Kreeger gestured toward the terminal on the briefing table.

“The computer is reporting zero assigned personnel aboard the Manhattan. Internal sensors are non-functional. Communications are unavailable. Access to several primary systems has been restricted.”

He paused.

“Except for a handful of systems that continue operating normally.”

His gaze shifted toward Kaia.

“Engineering being one of them.”

That detail bothered him.

Not because it was unexpected.

Because it was deliberate.

“Your systems are still functioning, correct? The warp core, life support, power distribution, and environmental controls?”

Kreeger folded his arms.

“I need to know if Engineering has experienced any anomalies. Power fluctuations. Unauthorized access attempts. Computer errors. Anything unusual before or after you received the transmission.”

He glanced toward d’Aramis.

“The message we discovered after your arrival indicated that there are two remaining individuals.”

A beat of silence.

“Then the display changed.”

His expression remained controlled.

“Security. Intelligence. Observers.”

Kreeger let the words hang for a moment.

“I believe someone—or something—is monitoring our actions.”

He stepped away from the table and activated his tricorder.

“Until we determine otherwise, we are treating this as a potential hostile action against the Manhattan.”

His eyes moved between the officers present.

“Chief Engineer, I will need Engineering to assist in restoring access to ship systems. Commander d’Aramis and I will continue investigating the disappearance of the crew.”

A pause.

“And if anyone attempts to contact us…”

His hand rested near his phaser.

“We proceed carefully.”

Kreeger looked toward the empty briefing room beyond them.

“The Manhattan did not lose her crew by accident.”

His voice lowered slightly.

“Someone wanted us left behind.”

Lieutenant Saxon Kreeger
Chief Security Officer
USS Manhattan • NCC-88000
Starfleet Command

“Security Through Preparedness. Honor Through Service.”

I read your Side Sim posts with great interest, the way you guys kept yourselves busy during the time you had no CO/XO/GM/most of a crew was impressive - which is why I wanted to join you guys here.

Russell
Cherp’Eng: CSO
USS Manhattan

Thanks, Russ!! Glad to have you aboard.

Captain Daniel “DaVinci” Colter
Commanding Officer USS Manhattan